Hello again. Here I am with the third chapter, and I want to give a huge thanks to all of my reviewers. You don't have to review, but I really appreciate the fact that you do. People need motivation, you know? But I want you all to know that you shouldn't be afraid to give constructive criticism. When working on something, you need to be aware of what you're good and bad at, so you can work on your bad point while still keeping your good points. If you don't have criticism, don't go making something up, but if you do don't be hesitant to share (Do I sound like a kindergarten teacher or what? Oh well). Thanks again!
Before I start, I just want to answer the distress call of a few of my reviewers: NO, Eiri is NOT going to hook up with Ruri and she is most definitely NOT going to try anything. This is purely a teacher-student relationship. Honestly, get your heads out of the gutter… Also, to graviluvr, there are going to be more ShuichixEiri bits as the story goes on, but I'm not going to rush into a relationship like so many stories I've read have. I know you desperately want to get to that part – we all do – but I promise to try to make it worth the wait. Now, without further ado, on with the show!
-o-o-o-o-
The bell sounded loudly throughout Tokyo Arts High School, signalling that it was time for lunch break. All the students in room E154 stood promptly from their seats, filing past their teacher Ueseugi Eiri toward the exit. Each girl that passed giggled and waved slightly before rushing out, trying in vain to hide the blush covering each of their faces; they still had not gotten used to the fact that their teacher was a gorgeous, sought-after celebrity.
One girl, Hanako Ruri, was the last to leave. She walked up to Eiri's desk with a look of dwindling confidence, a large stack of paper in her hand.
"Ue-Ueseugi-sensei." She said, trying to control her quavering voice. Eiri's head, which had previously been down as he was grading class work, rose slightly. He was wearing his thin, wire-framed glasses, and he as well as everyone else knew they gave him an intimidating and sexy look. Eiri guessed this was why Ruri's face looked like a tomato.
"Yes, Hanako-san?"
"Sensei, I was wondering if…" she started, then shook her head as if that's not what she wanted to say. She began again, "Well, you see, I've been working on this…story…" Ruri's voice trembled as she slowly raised the paper in her hand. Distress was written in bold letters on her forehead as she continued, "and I was wondering…if…"
"And you were wondering if I would read it and give you my opinion." He finished for her.
"W-Would you?" She asked; hope was slowly finding its way back into her voice.
"I do have a lot of papers to grade…but, yeah, I can glance at it." He offered. Obviously this was enough, since Ruri's head almost exploded as she contained the loud shriek boiling in her throat.
"Thank you, sensei!" She squealed, running out of the room with twinkling eyes and a grin as wide as the Pacific Ocean. He sighed, laughing slightly as he leaned back in chair with his eyes closed. This whole 'role model' thing was tiring, and he was hoping to get some quiet time to rest during this lunch break.
"Hey." Eiri heard the soft whisper. Maybe not.
He opened his eyes to see a smiling Shuichi. What else was new? Eiri only looked at him for a second before replying calmly, "Oh, so we're having lunch-time visits now, too?" Any fool could tell his voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Shuichi just laughed.
"Now, Ueseugi-san, there's no need for that. I was only teaching you a lesson." He said, still beaming.
Eiri felt like smacking the smile off his face, but instead just look out the window with bored eyes and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Shuichi looked at him with an all knowing expression. "I saw the twinkle in her eyes when she walked out of this classroom," he said, "There's no point in playing dumb."
"If you're referring to Hanako-san, you'll be glad to hear that she was a very active participant in today's class." Eiri said, still looking outside and ignoring Shuichi's stare.
"I'm sure she'll tell me about it all 6th period." Shuichi said, grinning. When he received no response from Eiri, he too looked out the window. They stared in silence at the students scrambling around, searching for their friends, eating lunch in their groups, laughing and smiling. For several minutes, they just watched, until Shuichi broke the silence.
"So, Ueseugi-san, I was wondering…do you want to get a drink or something? You know, so we can get to know each other better. I mean, you don't seem to have made many friends here so far, and I thought I'd put the offer out there."
Eiri stared at him as he mulled the idea over in his head. Yes, he hadn't been to a bar in a while, and yes nothing sounded better then getting a beer with a relatively laid-back person, but his job did not allow it. He wondered how Shuichi was even able to think about going to get a drink during a school week when there was so much work to be done.
"Actually… I've got a lot of work to do. I've got papers to grade, my editor wants to meet with me later this afternoon…Oh, and then I've got this book my student wants me to look over. Sorry, but I'm swamped." Eiri said.
"Oh, understood. Teaching's a tough job, you know?" He said with consideration in his eyes, "Maybe some other time."
"Yeah, some other time." Eiri replied, glad that Shuichi didn't lose his rag. Said person raised his hand in a slight wave and gave a little smile before walking out.
-o-o-o-o-
"Ugh!"
A quiet groan was heard in the silent house of Ueseugi Eiri. For the past two hours he had been staring at the same paper, grading it over and over again. He could not take a whole year of this. Eiri was seriously considering going to a bar, getting smashed, and calling in sick tomorrow, but he knew he couldn't do that.
Just when Eiri thought he couldn't get any more irritated, his phone began to ring. He glared at it, as though daring it to ring again, and when it did Eiri grabbed the phone and slammed it back on the receiver. With a smirk, he turned back to his original enemy; the pile of class work. Knowing that it was childish to think he could grade the papers by having a stare down with them, he once again picked up his red pen.
But, before it could even touch the next paper, the phone began to ring again. Sighing deeply, he gave in and grabbed the phone, holding it to his ear and uttered a single word, laced with venom: "What?"
"Oh, Eiri-san, what a rude tone. Why so cross?" 'Oh, great; my editor. This is just what I need. '
"Mizuki, why are you calling?" He asked, clearly impatient.
"I was just calling to remind you about our little date later on. I trust you haven't forgotten, have you Eiri-san? It's very important."
"It always is…" He moaned, letting his head fall on the desk.
"Okay, well I'll see you in one half-hour at our favourite little café. Bye!" She said, hanging up abruptly. Eiri set the phone down on the receiver and heaved a great sigh. He stood, entering his bedroom to get changed in a sloth-like manner, wishing he could just go to sleep.
-o-o-o-o-
"Long time no see, Eiri-san." A cheery looking Mizuki asked, sitting with her legs crossed in the back of the small café. Eiri didn't even look at her as he grumbled a 'hello' and sat down in the chair next to her. "Well," she began, "I trust you know why I called you here. Where's my manuscript?"
"Chief, I told you, I have writer's block. I can't think of anything, and every time I write something, I immediately delete it. It's as if…there's no more inspiration left in me." He said, looking out the frosted window. It had started snowing while he was on his way to meet Mizuki, and it only seemed to add to his depressed mood. He took a sip of the black coffee in front of him, which his editor always kindly ordered for him before he arrived.
"Well, Eiri-san, I suggest you find your inspiration or we'll have to refer you to a different company. You know we don't tolerate tardiness." She said. Her smile was still in place, but her eyes were stone cold with seriousness.
"Will do, chief." He said, rising from his chair and turning toward the door. He was stopped, however, by a small hand on his shoulder. 'What a pointless visit. '
"Eiri-san," He heard Mizuki say. Her voice was light, filled with sympathy and understanding, a tone not usually heard coming from her. "Good luck." was her final whisper. Eiri nodded and continued to walk out into the white world outside of the small café, leaving his nearly full coffee cup behind.
-o-o-o-o-
It was 5:30 in the morning, and a very pissed Eiri was walking down the East hallway of TAHS with an expression of resentment towards anything in his line of sight. 'I got ONE FUCKING HOUR of sleep last night; one hour! I cannot believe I even showed up today!'
He walked with heavy steps, dragging his unwilling person down the hall in a sluggish manner. However, a familiar voice stopped him in his languid march.
"Hello, Ueseugi-san! Man, do you look tired. Let me guess…you got shagged last night, right?" a grinning Shuichi asked, coming up and standing right beside him. Eiri shot him an exasperated look before walking slowly on. Shuichi began to follow.
"I wish. No, I was up all night grading papers. Honestly…I don't know if I can go on like this." He said, sighing.
"Like what?" Shuichi asked.
"Well, let's see… I get three hours of sleep on a good night, my hair is falling out, and I've become such an excessive drinker that I've thought about moving into liquor store down the street from my apartment." He said, ranting about his terrible situation as he walked with an intently-listening Shuichi right behind whom easily kept up with his relaxed pace.
Shuichi suddenly stopped and Eiri turned around to see that they were in front of his room: E137. Shuichi opened the door with his key and beckoned Eiri in. The writer walked in and sat down on the top of a desk, setting his bag beside him.
"So…" Shuichi started, "what you're saying is that you're stressed out, tired, and a drunk. Well…" there was a pause, and Eiri hoped that it would soon be followed by some helpful advice to get him through this rough time. "Welcome to the world of teaching!" Shuichi said in a cheerfully sarcastic tone.
"Thank you for all your help." Eiri said, hanging his head in despair. 'My life is over…' Suddenly, his nostrils were filled with the sweet scent of coffee, and he looked up to mug placed right next to him on the desk.
"I usually get enough coffee for two people, and you need it more then I do, so I decided to share……You're welcome." Shuichi stated.
"Thank you…" gratitude was overflowing in Eiri's voice, and he sighed contently as the artificial energy spread throughout his body with the first sip. "Damn, I need to start bringing this from home."
Shuichi smiled politely and walked over to a row of guitar cases. He examined a few before picking out one and pulling the instrument from its tattered black covering. He then began tuning the guitar.
"Anyway, back to our original subject: you're having trouble with the job, then? Well, we all do. But, you know, I used to struggle a lot more before I realized that it was no help to bury my head in my work. I think you'll find, Ueseugi-san, that it's a lot easier to deal with a teaching position if you give yourself a break every once in a while." He said.
Although Shuichi had not even looked up once from his task, Eiri continued to stare at the young man as he spoke. It seemed that Shuichi was always teaching him a lesson, and of course it crushed Eiri's ego every time but…he respected his younger co-worker; Shuichi seemed to be a lot more life-smart then most people, including himself.
"Oh! It's 5:45 already, Ueseugi-san; I think you should get going. I imagine you have preparations to make before school starts." He said, looking at the thin black watch on his slender wrist. "And don't worry about the mug; I've got plenty."
"Oh, okay." Eiri said, grabbing his bag and walking out of the room. He paused at the doorway when Shuichi's previous words filled his head. '…give yourself a break once in a while.' He looked back at the man who was softly strumming the newly perfected cords and said, "Hey, do you want to…well…get a drink after work?"
Shuichi stopped playing and looked up at him with slightly-shocked expression, his open mouth slowly forming into a grin. "Well, you know, I do have a lot of papers to grade, and I need to practice this new song that I've been working on…"
'I had that coming.' Eiri felt a little guilty, but understood the actions of the younger male. He turned to leave in a 'tail tucked between my legs' sort of way. "But…" The word stopped him, and he turned back to see a grin on Shuichi's face, "I think I can squeeze you in. I've got a favourite bar that I go to, so I'll just meet up with you after school, okay?"
Eiri was mortified; Shuichi had played him, once again shattering his pride and making him look like a classic fool. He glared at him for a second, but seeing that Shuichi's smirk didn't leave, he gave up with one word:
"Fine."
-o-o-o-o-
You're welcome, people. As requested, I added a bit more EirixShuichi bits. And, everyone, I hate to burst your bubbles but this rendezvous that Eiri and Shuichi have got going is not a date. It is merely a drink between friends. You'll have to wait for that stuff, folks.