-1A/N: Well, haven't updated in forever. Yes, my punishment for getting a bad grade in physics was over a long time ago. Unfortunately, that made my mother force me to study more and harder. Therefore, depriving me of my time on the computer. But, since midterms are almost over, I won't have to study as much anymore! Woo hoo! Sorry if I've been leaving all of you hanging. I don't mean to! So here's the next chapter of Looks Kill. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: A Diet Disaster?

That night, when Shuichi got back from hanging out with Hiro, he did the unthinkable. He denied Yuki sex. Shuichi Shindou NEVER denies Yuki sex. This was indeed very odd to the novelist and left him sex deprived all night long. The boy's excuse was that he was too "tired". When was that ever the issue when it came to hot, passionate, steamy, sex! It definitely wasn't an issue before with Shuichi, so why now? And what had made him so "tired"? It couldn't have been the outing with Hiro, he had done that plenty of times and still had enough energy to do his usual bouncing around afterward. Something wasn't right. Was he upset? Did Hiro make him upset (though that was slightly impossible)? Did Yuki upset him somehow? If he did, then he didn't know how. They had hardly interacted with each other the whole day. Was the vocalist all depressed about that? Of course, it was his choice to go out with Hiro the all morning, afternoon, and evening, so it couldn't be that. What was wrong with him?

Yuki decided that he was becoming all too paranoid about the situation. He was just sleepy from being out and having fun all day. That happens to people, right? And Shuichi is a person, so it could happen once in a while to him too, right? Yeah. It was logical. So, with only a hint of doubt in his mind, Yuki worked on a little bit more of his story, and went to bed soon after.

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"Yawn!" Shuichi's mouth gaped open, his arms stretched up to the headboard. "That was a good sleep! I was so tired yesterday for some reason. And now that I have all of my energy back I can go on with my day!" The boy swooped up out of bed and grinned madly, an arm punched into the air. But as he stood there, his knees felt weak and his vision blurred slightly.

"Whoa… wha-?" The vocalist swayed from side to side and caught his balance on the bed-side table. "Woo! Must have gotten up too fast." He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head with one arm. After straightening up again, he found that his eye sight was still going hazy on him. "Umm, why is everything so weird?…" Shuichi shook his head and held it with one of his hands, closing his eyes to clear the wave of dizziness. "Maybe I'm still sleepy. But I don't feel like it." He glanced over at the slumbering form of Yuki for a moment and was about to wake him up when another shot of dizziness overwhelmed him. "What's going on?" He asked himself a little worriedly. The singer fell down once more and this time barely was able to hang onto the bed-side table without knocking over the alarm clock to the floor. He hung onto it by his forearms while his legs lightly touched the carpet. And that's when the nausea hit him.

"Kami-sama… I think I'm gonna be sick…" He whispered to himself, breathing a little raggedly. Shuichi felt his diaphragm moving back and forth in brief spurts, that sickening vomit feeling climbing up his throat. Trying to hold it back, but failing miserably, he let it all out onto the plush blue carpet.

The noises Shuichi was making caused the sleeping writer to wake up slowly. At first, he rubbed his eyes and was so groggy that he thought the sounds emitting from inside their room was the television. That's when he realized that they don't have a television in this room, and this fact made Yuki sit up as fast as a catapult. When he looked around for his lover, Shuichi wasn't in bed. This made him panic and search frantically around the bed for him. After the man pinpointed where the vomiting sounds were coming from, Yuki looked over the edge of Shuichi's side of the bed and saw the little pop star hunched over low and throwing up on the floor.

"Shit!" The novelist cursed as he leaped out of bed and rushed to Shuichi's side. "Shu-" He realized that calling the boy's name wouldn't get a response since he was a little preoccupied at the moment, and instead ran for the trash can. He put it under Shuichi's mouth, but the boy had stopped right then, slightly frustrating the author. He tossed the bin aside and rubbed the singer's back comfortingly, hoping that the trauma was over. He didn't like seeing his little lover hacking all over the floor… nope, not one bit.

Shuichi's breathing was still scratchy and short, but at least the sickening feeling was gone now. His first thought after he had finished hurling was, 'What the hell brought that on!' He didn't feel feverish or anything, so why was he throwing up? That's when he noticed another presence beside him. Shuichi slowly looked up and saw his favorite pair of eyes staring back at him.

"Y… Yuki…" God, he probably looked like a mess right now…

"Shhh. Come here." The author didn't know what else to say or do except hold the boy close to him in a puzzled state. Happily, yet exhausted, Shuichi obliged to that offer and crawled helplessly into his lover's arms, still breathing pretty hard.

Meanwhile, Yuki kept asking himself over and over again, 'How did he get this way? I don't remember him ever getting sick. It couldn't be just a spur of the moment, could it? Can someone get sick that fast?' The vocalist shook in his grasp. 'Maybe… maybe he's got a stomach bug or something. Perhaps food poisoning. It was probably the restaurant he and Hiro went to last night. The order Shuichi got must have been undercooked…' Yuki would sue them later, but first priority was to get his baka cleaned up… as well as the floor…

He helped Shuichi over to the bathroom and set him on the toilet seat. Grabbing a towel out of the cabinet from across the sink, the novelist then wiped Shuichi's mouth and face with it. He was sweating a bit, so might as well have gotten the perspiration off too. He dampened the cloth with water and gently rubbed Shuichi's face and exposed skin areas with it. Maybe this way the boy would feel better now that he was a little cleaner.

After the singer was done, it was time for the carpet. Yuki quickly grabbed another wet rag and laid it over the mess, being sure to rub it in real good to soak up all the liquid. He would have to get some carpet cleaner to completely get the stain and stench out, but he'd do that later. He still had to find out why Shuichi had vomited all over the ground.

Carefully, the author stepped slowly into the restroom and gazed at the pink-haired boy questioningly. The younger man looked back up at him with the same intensity. And was that… confusion in his eyes?

"Shuichi… are you okay now? Do you still feel nauseous?"

It took a while until he answered, "…Yeah. I think it's over." Shuichi rubbed his arms up and down, almost as if he were ashamed of himself. "I… I'm so sorry Yuki. I didn't mean to… to get your floor all…" The pop star looked as if he were about to cry, so Yuki sat on the tub's edge next to him and tried to reassure him.

"It wasn't your fault. I know that you didn't throw up on purpose, so don't get so upset about it. Things like that happen." Yuki patted his back calmly. When Shuichi noticed the tenderness in his lover's eyes, he sniffled a bit and ceased from crying.

After an awkward moment of silence, Yuki spoke up and asked, "Do you feel sick?"

"No." Came the droned reply.

"Then… how?… Do you think the food you ate last night was undercooked?"

"Mm. No. It tasted and looked perfectly fine. The chef there is very good with his food. He even shows all the customers the inside of their meat or whatever just to reassure them that everything is well prepared. It was a really nice restaurant. Hiro introduced to me just yesterday."

"Hm." Yuki contemplated to himself. If he wasn't sick, and it wasn't food poisoning… then what was it that made him…

Sudenlly, Yuki thought of an option.

"Shuichi…" He started slowly.

"Hm?"

"The, uh… diet program that you're on right now. I know you say that you can eat as much as you want without getting any bigger, but… what exactly is this program?"

"…." Great. This was the question that Shuichi had been dreading. He knew that one day Yuki would ask it, but he at least wished it was after the shoot. By then he wouldn't be on the diet anymore and the diet pill would wear off… right?

You must have a read brocheur on this thing. Did it have any certain work outs on it explaining any side affects that might harm you?"

"… Well… not that I knew of. There wasn't anything on the thing that had any warnings except if you're smoking or pregnant or had some kind of heart problem or muscle problems like arthritis.

Yuki contorted his face in confusion. They both knew that Shuichi didn't have any of those symptoms. He didn't smoke, and SURE AS HELL wasn't pregnant! He didn't have any heart problems since he always had such boundless energy to spare, and unless the boy was lying about his age, Shuichi didn't have arthritis. No one just throws up randomly like that, so what was the problem? This was starting to bother Yuki. He liked to know what was going on with his lover at all times; where he was, what he was doing, and how he was. This little propaganda left him at a dead end, and he didn't like it one bit. He wanted to know what was wrong so he could help in some way.

From beside him, Yuki heard a soft giggle emitting from Shuichi.

"You should see the look on your face, Yuki. You look like you're about to have a brain overload in a minute. You shouldn't worry so much. I'm fine now. I don't know. Maybe it was the food last night. I mean, that can be the only explaination, right?" He smiled for the first time that morning. It sure looked like the kid was alright now. Maybe he was right in his prediction about the restaurant…

"Well! I'm gonna go eat some breakfast. For some reason, I'm so hungry right now. I guess that emptying out of my stomach has made me want a refill." Shuichi skipped off out of the bathroom and into living room that was connected to the kitchen.

The novelist still sat there, amazed at how much kenetic energy the boy had after the situation earlier. Oh well. That was the way of Shuichi.

Something still bothered Yuki to no end though, and he wanted to figure out if Shuichi really was hiding something like Tohma said. Not many problems arised when it came to the singer (at least not any serious problems) so it unnerved the older man to see his partner so down this morning.

Then… it was at that moment he realized…

"… Oh my god… Shuichi is…"

………………………………...

"… making breakfast!" The author lept up from his current postion and sprinted toward the kitchen. If Shuichi was so queezy this morning, then no doubt he would somehow hurt himself in the kitchen.

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The whole rest of the day, Yuki kept checking to make sure his lover was alright. He had ordered the boy to stay inside all Sunday until he was sure that the moment of nausea was done and over with. As Yuki put it, 'It could strike again at any time'. Shuichi knew that the blonde was over exaggerating the situation a litte bit, but it was rare that one ever blew chunks in the morning when there was no sign of sickness visible. A few times throughout the day, the vocalist would occasionally wonder outloud whether he was pregnant or not and that maybe he had morning sickness. Yuki would here him talking about this, hit the singer on the head, and explain how impossible and utterly horrifying that would be. After about seven hits on the head from that remark, Shuichi stopped suggesting it.

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"Woah! Really?" Hiro said loudly through the receiver of the phone.

"Geez, Hiro. You don't have to scream." Shuichi replied, sticking a finger in his ear to stop the ringing.

"But why? I mean, what did you eat that made you throw up this morning?"

"I don't know. Yuki thinks it's something I ate at the restaurant yesterday with you."

"Hmmm… I guess it could be possible. So it's food poisoning?"

"That's what we're predicting. I can't think of any other reason why."

"What about… your diet program? Are you doing anything to harm yourself; to harm your body?"

Shuichi gave an exasperated sigh. "Why does everyone seem to worry about that? Don't worry Hiro! I'm fine! This doesn't have anything to do with the diet I'm on."

"Yeah well, if you ask me, I still think you don't need it."

"Yes I know. We've been through this Hiro. I promise I'll get off it once the shoot is over, kay?"

"You better! I don't want a strawberry pocky stick for a friend."

"Hey! What are you implying? That I'll look like pocky?"

"IF you got too out of hand with the program." Hiro smirked into the phone.

"Well, that won't happen! So don't get your hopes up!" Shuichi stuck his tongue out into the phone.

"Ha ha, calm down Shu. I'm just kidding." He smiled.

"You better be…" He pouted.

"Hey brat! Keep it down in there!" Yuki yelled from his study.

"Oh! Gotta go Hiro! Yuki's getting cranky. But it's okay. He's just worried about me."

"I said keep it down!" The author shouted back.

"Yes. I can hear that." The guitarist rolled his eyes.

"See you tomorrow Hiro!" Shuichi waved his free arm in the air excitedly even though they were talking on the phone.

"Bye Shuichi." And with that, they both hang up.

After smiling happily to himself, the pink-haired ball of energy bounded into his lover's study and stood next to him innocently.

Yuki noticed this, glanced up at him briefly, and went back to typing. "What do you want."

This made Shuichi's grin widen. "Tee hee! You're so cute Yuki!" The musician gave a light peck on the blonde's cheek and headed off into the bathroom.

"Whatever…" The writer ignored the gesture of love and stayed focused on his work, though once the boy had left, he paused and lightly rubbed the spot on his face where he had kissed him in slight amusement.

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In the restroom, Shuichi waited until he heard the typing of computer keys again and opened the over-sink cabinet. He searched behind a bunch of other medicine bottles until he found the right one. The TW pill. Now that he thought about it, the name was kind of weird for a pill.

Brushing that random thought aside, Shuichi examined the orange cylindrical container again for any signs of instructions or warning on it's side or bottom. Nothing. What kind of medicine was this! ALL things like these had labels. Maybe the instructions were on the box that had packaged the drug. He had already thrown it away though… great. What if it really was the pill that did this to him. He felt better since this morning, but it was still a possibility that the TW could have…

"Shuichi? You okay in there?" He heard a stoic Yuki's voice through the bathroom door.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Just doin' my business." He stated a little too cheerfully.

"Alright. Tell me if you feel sick again, kay?" Then the blonde walked away.

Well, whatever it was that made Shuichi hurl, it had better not happen again. Otherwise he couldn't go to the shoot! Yuki wouldn't let him go anywhere, period! It wasn't a shock that the man was fretting about him so much. After a few years, the musician had gotten used to it, though it was still adorable of his lover.

"Are you done, or what? I need to take a dump!" The novelist grunted through the wooden door. Such a charming man.

"Um, almost!" Shuichi flushed the toilet to make it seem like he had been doing something the whole time, and rushed out soon after. "It's all yours!" He chirped and headed towards the living room for some TV veiwing.

Yuki stared back at the doorway leading out to the den and squinted suspiciously. The kid wasn't acting right, but that could've been the result of being kind of sick. Without another thought, the author closed the door and did the above mentioned.

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Shuichi gazed at the television mindlessly, not really focusing on the program at hand.

'I won't go to a doctor, otherwise he may find out about the TW pill I took. I can't tell Hiro about the medicine cause then he'll worry too much and eventually tell Yuki about it later on. I most defenetly cannot tell Yuki, cause then… he'll kill me. So I better keep this pill thing a secret if I want to be in The ONE. I shouldn't worry so much myself either. Everything will work out okay. I know it!' He reassured himself happily and finally began paying attention to what was playing on the TV.

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A/N: Okay! One more chapter down! A few more to go and I'll be done! What do you think is wrong with Shuichi? Will these strange symptoms from an unknown source cease to be, or will they come back to haunt him? Will he be able to premiere in The ONE, or will this diet get the best of him? You'll find out in the remainding chapters! For now, I hope you all enjoyed this one. Please review. It's been so long since I've written anything, and I need all of your reviews to keep me going. Kay? Sank you!