A/N: Yeah yeah, sorry for not updating lately, yada yada yada… well, I'm back! And I better start writing now before I loose my urge to continue more of my story. See? Told ya I wouldn't give up on this fic!

Hmmm…. I think I'm gonna change my profile. First, I'll have to figure out how to do that. Well, here's chapter 10. Enjoy.

OH AND BY THE WAY… I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT DATE I PUT THE PHOTO SHOOT FOR THE ONE ON AND I'M TOO LAZY TO GO LOOK IT BACK UP IN MY PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, SO I'M JUST GONNA MAKE UP A DAY FOR IT. BARE WITH ME HERE PEOPLE.

Chapter 10: Shallow Front, Deep Consequences

"Wow, Shindou-kun. It seems that you've changed during this week." Sakano said when he noticed Shuichi's figure.

"Huh? Oh, thanks! I'm getting in tip top shape for you-know-what!" He smiled proudly and twirled around to show off his slightly different body.

"Yup. Shu sure has changed quite a bit." Hiro nodded.

"But I'm still the same old me!" He cheered.

"Hn. Yeah, but sooner or later, who knows how it will turn out." Suguru mentioned in the back of the room.

"Huh?" The group looked back to face him, blinking curiously at what he had just implied.

"What are you saying?" Shuichi said, with a hint of malice in his voice.

The younger man made eye contact with his superior. "I said, who knows what will happen once you take this too far."

"Who said I was going to take this too far?" The lead singer shot back.

"Well, that's what happens with every super model, doesn't it? And you're starting to act like one of them anyway. Who says that you won't begin to take on their traits?"

"What are you talking about?" This was starting to tick the pink-haired boy off.

"Just keep going on that senseless diet and sooner or later you'll be just another stick you see on TV or in fashion magazines. I mean, you are acting pretty shallow nowadays."

Shuichi didn't know how to react towards Suguru's statement, so in blind anger, he yelled, "You're just jealous!" And he ran out of the NG building without another word.

"Sigh… again?" K came into the recording studio nonchalantly.

"Suguru, you shouldn't have said all those things. You know how sensitive Shuichi can be." Hiro informed calmly, used to the whining and constant bickering that occurred between the two almost every day.

The keyboardist snorted and replied, "Well, all he does is talk about himself like he's the next big star of Tokyo. It was really getting on my nerves, so I had to let him know one way or another about how snobby he was getting."

"Well, Shuichi practically IS the next big star of Tokyo these days. You guys are, after all, near the top of the charts, right?" The blonde manager cut in.

"I guess… but that doesn't give Shindou-san the right to flaunt around like a big-shot all the time!"

"If I didn't know any better Suguru, I'd have to say that you really were envious of Shindou-san's new look." The trigger-happy American smirked.

"What! I am NOT! How can you even suggest such a thing. In case you didn't notice, I actually LIKE the healthy body I'm in right now! C'mon, you can't deny it! Have you even gotten a good look at Shindou-san lately? He's almost as skinny as a pole! I swear, he's going to turn anorexic later on-"

Hiro slammed his fists on the table, shaking slightly. Everyone turned to look at him with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Uh, N-Nakano-san?" The nervous producer addressed unsurely.

The red-head didn't say anything for a while, then after intense silence mumbled deep under his breath. "Don't… talk about Shuichi that way…" And with that, the guitarist relaxed, and began leaving the studio.

"Uh, wait Nakano-san! What about the rest of the song!"

There was no answer returned.

After some more silence, Suguru finally spoke up. "Well, I don't see any point in continuing for today. Guess I'll be on my way as too." He packed up his music and duffle bag, then quietly exited the room.

"Suguru." K called out to him before the boy got a chance to close the door.

"…… Don't try to deny it. I know you can tell too. Everyone knows, so what's the use in hiding it?" He said in an all-knowing tone, and left.

Sakano and K-san were the only ones left in the recording room.

"Great… what do we do now? Shacho is gonna be very angry…" The producer said solemnly.

"…" The gunman stared at the door ahead and shrugged. "It's true."

"Huh?" He looked up at the manager for BAD LUCK.

"This whole 'being shallow' and storming off thing has been going on since Shuichi ever started his new diet. You could say he is becoming a little vain."

"Oh, r-really? I couldn't notice at all."

"Yeah, he hides it well with his usual hyperactive self, but his physique has changed plenty much. It's too abnormal. Me thinks he's taking this modelling shoot way too seriously.

"Then what should we do?" Sakano asked hopelessly.

"The only thing we can do." K-san said grimly, which only made Sakano dread the answer even more.

"W-what is that then?"

K's eyes hardened. "We take it… to the mothership."

"Huh? Mothership?" The man blinked.

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Shuichi trudged along the path to his shared apartment with a frown on his face. Why did everyone have to be so critical about his new look for the photo shoot. Just because they couldn't loose weight as fast as he could, didn't mean they had to pick on him. Fujisaki was always the rude one of the group, but he just went too far back there! It was jealousy. Yeah, that was it. The teenager was just jealous of Shuichi popularity and good looks. I mean, after all, he was still going through puberty…. Wait, do guys still have puberty at the age of 16?… oh well, that wasn't the point! The point was that Suguru had just insulted him back there, and, for some reason, it really ticked Shuichi off! He was totally in control of this whole diet thing… and he would NOT become like one of those supermodels you see on TV, all show-offy and nothing but skin and bones… definitely not! At least he had some supporters, like his friend Hiro and Yuki. As long as they were okay with this, he was okay with it too!

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Hiro was also trudging down the path to his house while contemplating all the things Suguru had said in the studio. No matter how harsh it sounded, he was right. Shuichi was becoming a little too obsessive with the whole dieting thing. It killed Hiro every day to hear from Shuichi that he had lost weight. For every pound lost, a pound of Hiro's life ebbed away. Something had to be done. Someone had to tell Shuichi to stop all this nonsense. But it couldn't be him. It had to be someone closer to the boy. Someone who was always watching over him. Someone like… Yuki.

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Shuichi came stomping into the apartment in a furry. The author noticed this right away and blinked at the enraged vocalist.

"Umm… something wrong?"

"Huh?" The singer hadn't even seen the man sitting on the sofa. "Oh… no. It was nothing. Just something stupid Fujisaki said at the studio." He clenched his fist and glared down at the floor.

"Doesn't he always say stupid things?"

"Well, yeah, but this time he just went to far!" The boy whined angrily.

"What was it then?" Yuki asked carelessly.

"Well…" Though it probably wasn't a good issue to bring up, Shuichi's emotions were too overwhelming for him at the moment, and out the complaining came. "Fujisaki said that I was all obsessive with the diet program I'm on and that I'm getting too skinny and that I'll become anorexic sooner or later!" He blurted the whole story out in a huff. He then folded his arms and sat on the floor in front of the coffee table.

Yuki stared at the pop star for a few minutes, before answering stoically. "Well… there was at least some truth to what he said…"

Shuichi whipped his head around and looked up in disbelief at the novelist. "What! You're taking his side! How could you say that Yuki!"

"I said there is some truth to what he said. Jeez baka, don't you ever listen?" He growled back, and blew some smoke out from his lips.

"What was so true about what he said?" The boy pouted.

"Well…" Yuki started off. "… you are kind of getting a little to into this whole dieting process. I mean, it's not like you're gonna get any fatter than you already… aren't…"

"GASP! Are you saying I'm fat Yuki!"

"NO! That's NOT what I'm saying you idiot! I'm saying that you're too skinny!" Yuki shouted, not meaning to be so blunt about it.

"… Too… skinny? So you think that too?" Shuichi furrowed his brow.

"Sigh… listen brat…"

"Don't you 'listen brat' me!" The boy stood up abruptly as his eyes became misty. This caught Yuki by surprise. "You ARE on his side, aren't you? I can't even trust my own lover to help me through this difficult time for me, of trying to keep in shape for such an important shoot!"

The blonde twitched. "Geez, is that all you care about? That stupid photo shoot! What about your band, your music?" He shot back.

"Wha… what are you saying?"

"You know what, I think you are too hooked up on this whole magazine thing, er whatever. You need to stop dieting so much and let your body go back to normal."

"Normal! What in hell does that mean! That I'm abnormal!"

"No! You aren't listening to me baka!" Yuki stood up fiercely and glared right into the brat's eyes.

"Then what do you mean!" Shuichi glared right back.

"You wanna know what I mean? You want to know what I think of this whole thing, Shuichi? Okay, then, here it is! You… are… killing yourself Shuichi! I've let it go on for this long, but not anymore! I can't stand to see you walking around with barely nothing but skin and bones on you! At first I didn't think it was too serious, that maybe it was phase for immature, brats like you, but now you've gone to far with this! It's ruining you!"

All the emotions that Yuki had kept pent up inside of him had finally come out. He had desperately wanted to tell Shuichi all these things for a while now, but didn't know if he should because of his 'phase' theory. Unfortunetely, he hadn't noticed Shuichi's condition worsening, and it took him now to realize how worried he was about his lover.

"It's… ruining me! What are you talking about! This diet is going to get me into the big league for The ONE! BAD LUCK will raise even higher in the charts because of this!"

"Are you doing this for BAD LUCK Shuichi, or are you doing this for yourself? Cause from my point of view, you seem more self-absorbed with yourself than your friends. Has it made you this selfish!"

Furious, Shuichi stomped over to the taller man, and slapped him square on the cheek. "How dare you! I put my friends ahead of me before I do anyone else! You of all people should know that!" He screamed loudly and strode into their bedroom, slamming the door shut.

The novelist stared at the spot where Shuichi once stood, and sighed. Maybe they had gotten a little carried away there…. But everything that he and Fujisaki said was basically true. Somehow, he had to make his lover see that. Unfortunetly, the vocalist wasn't exactly the most relenting person on earth. But neither was Yuki, and he'd be damned if he just let the boy wither away like this.

Everything had gotten pretty heated though between them, so Yuki decided to wait a while for the singer to cool down before heading on in there to talk with him again.

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Shuichi sat on the bed and stared angrily at his knees. How could Yuki be so… so… insensitive! He had hoped that the author would be supporting on this matter.

'I guess that was asking for too much…'

He thought sadly.

It seemed like the whole world was against him now. A feeling that he hadn't experienced in a long time. It was uncomfortable, so Shuichi stood up and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Maybe it would help take his mind off all the things that were going on.

Shuichi turned on the water, adjusted it to warm, and began stripping in front of the mirror.

"Hmph! Yuki and Fujisaki are just worry-warts. There's nothing wrong with me. I feel perfectly fine! And besides, my body looks absolutely-"

Shuichi froze at what he saw in his reflection.

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Yuki was busy typing on his laptop and smoking a cig. His train of though kept getting interrupted by his concern for Shuichi. He knew he would have to confront him again about this later, no matter how much he preferred not to. The singer's wrath was more than he could handle sometimes.

The writer continued to jot down more of his story.

The woman paused at the ominous rewood door in front of her. Though Mizuki's heart felt like a bird trapped in a cage, she had no choice put to open it. Her love might be in there! So, with a steady hand, she slowly reached for the knob, her palms sweating slightly, and twisted the cold brass to the left. Once she got a glance at what was waiting for her in the dimly lit room, she screamed-

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Yuki jumped suddenly at the bloodcurdling howl coming from Shuichi's room. Without another thought, the novelist jolted from his seat, his laptop haphazardly placed on the coffee table, and ripped open the door. Once he didn't see a Shuichi inside the bedroom area, he immediately went for the bathroom. Opening the door, his eyes widened at sight before him.

A/N: Yes, I know. Cliffhanger. Sorry. I won't go 'ha ha' or anything because I know how agonizingly painful these things can be. I am being very considerate of yalls' feelings. Anyway, sorry if it wasn't long enough. But I had to put something up! It's been so long… I'm just as frustrated as you guys at my lack of updating! So this is what I have put up! Hope it was to your likings. See you in the next chapter!