Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation. I like to buy things related to it, though.
A --- indicates a scene change. Text without quotations is not spoken.
Italics are internal dialogue/thought.
"Quotations are spoken dialogue."
---Chapter 6- Contention---
The next few weeks passed without much incidence. Rage was pushing them harder than ever in rehearsals and recording sessions, wanting to get the album finished and shipped out by the end of the month, and they were already half-way through it. Suguru and Shuichi were both subject to the brunt of her anger- Shuichi for not writing songs to her satisfaction, and Suguru for not making fast enough progress in his vocal training. Hiro was often left to the side of things, occasionally being yelled at for not playing his part correctly, but otherwise left alone. The other two couldn't help but feel jealous at some times for that, though Suguru admitted that they were being driven so hard because they had the more important parts. Upon hearing that Hiro requested that he have a massive guitar solo- because he "deserved one"-, Shuichi granted his request with a great deal of muttering that his friend "wanted to feel special too".
In the meantime, Suguru was still splitting his time between school and Bad Luck, though he was having a harder time getting his homework done. After the episode the day after they had moved in together, he and Shuichi had been more awkward around each other. This confused and irritated him a little bit. Suguru felt that they should just drop it and move on- it had simply been a bad day. However, Shuichi refused to talk about it when asked, and after several attempts, he had simply stopped trying, assuming that it had something to do with Yuki as well, since the baka had finally started to cry over him after he came home every day.
---
"Fujisaki! Seguchi-san wants to see you in his office!" Called Rage, startling him out of his deep concentration. Suguru had been trying to perfect the bass part for a song Shuichi had written called "Karui". It seemed a little ironic to the synth player, but he had obliged to do it because it was for the band. "Karui" was a dance song and didn't have many lyrics, so it was the bass and not the vocals that would make or break the song.
To him, the lyrics seemed to contradict the title of the song, but Suguru wasn't going to dispute that with the singer unless someone else said something. That was his business… though he had half a mind to rewrite them himself, since they were getting stuck in his head already.
Michi ni mayotte shimaimashta
demo!
Sug modorimas
kimi o sagashite imas
kimi o sagashite imas
Ugokanaide kudasai
tengoku made tsurete
itte kuremasen ka?
Watashi wa so
wa omoimasen…
Hitori des, hitori des
kimi ga hitsyo ga!
Hitori des, hitori des
kimi ga hitsyo ga!
Watashi o
ni dare mo
kimasen deshta
"It's about time we did something besides pop songs," Suguru murmured to himself as he neared Tohma's office. "It's tiring doing the same thing all the time. It's a nice change."
Hearing his cousin's mild complaints outside his office, Tohma's mouth formed into a predatory grin. Things were going to change, again, and he was wondering if Suguru's appreciation of change would be the same after the conference…
---
"So Shu, why the depressing lyrics?" Hiro asked as soon as Suguru was gone.
"Huh? They're not 'depressing'… just a little different."
"You're a bad liar."
"You're a bad interpreter."
"Of what, words? Oh come on. 'Watashi wa so wa omoimasen…'. Not exactly the cheeriest lyrics ever written."
Shuichi simply shrugged non-committaly and continued to hammer out the more intricate parts of the song… he was tempted to put it in a minor key, but that would be giving himself away too much… he'd have to settle for a major key. But, just to be difficult, it'd be G flat, one of the more obscure ones. He hoped Suguru wouldn't mind having to transpose it again.
"Don't think I don't know that you're still upset over Yuki- it's written all over your face. Listen, I don't care if you write this in a minor key- Suguru might, since that would make it harder for him to transpose- but you've already let us know that you're deeply unhappy. It's okay to have a downer of a song sometimes, y'know? We can't be happy all the time. And you, as crazy as you are, are no exception."
Hiro grinned widely as Shuichi turned around, eyes and nose running like faucets. He was trying to kindly thwart his friend's attempts to glomp him by way of thanks as Rage stepped into the studio. She looked unusually worried.
"Shindou-kun, you and Fujisaki-kun are living together, yes?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.
"U-uh, yeah. Why? Is something wrong?"
"Well, Seguchi-sama's not happy about it- he and Fujisaki-kun were having a pretty serious argument in their office when I went to retrieve him so we could actually get something done…"
"WHAT!"
"Yo, Shu, calm down!" Hiro grabbed the enraged Shuichi by the hem of his shirt and forced him to sit down on a near-by chair, where he promptly began to fidget and complain about not being able to help his friend.
"That PRICK! I just KNOW he's picking on Suguru!"
"Shu-"
"If I could get my hands on him…"
"You'd what, Shu? Get a grip! If they're arguing, it's probably over something to do with their family! We have no place in it!" Shuichi stopped trying to escape and turned to face Hiro, listening. "Suguru can probably hold his own in an argument- just let it pass, and get working on that song so we can actually do something when he gets back. He doesn't need us to fight his battles for him."
"Yeah, yeah, all right…" mumbled Shuichi after a few moments of deep contemplation.
But you didn't see him that first day- he was wrecked. Suguru's not a rock of solid emotion… he's just like us, Hiro. He has dreams and fragile feelings too. He's just better at hiding them. … I'm worried…
---
"Suguru-kun, do sit down. This may take a while."
Tohma's blue eyes flashed with malice. Suguru's own were tired, but he didn't let it show- instead, he had a carefully prepared expression of indifference on his face, knowing full well that it was likely to crack despite his best efforts later on.
"Thank you, Tohma-san. And though I do not mean to be rude, Bad Luck needs me as soon as possible to finish our recordings."
"Yes, I am aware of that… now, let us dispense with the false politeness and talk as family. You remember our conversation last week, right? Of course you do," he said with a grin, as Suguru's eyes briefly betrayed a hint of the pain that hadn't quite faded away yet. "You're doing so well with hiding your thoughts and feelings from Shuichi… how is he, by the way? Has Yuki asked for him back yet?"
"Not that I know of, but he's been crying over him since we moved in."
"Don't be so cold, cousin…" Tohma got up from behind his desk to walk around and lean on its front, using his advantage of height to smirk cockily down at his younger relative. "After all, family's all you got left. We are all you have ever had."
"Feh. Tohma, as far as I'm concerned… I have no family. Few friends, no one I can really trust- surely, you understand why I think this way? I hope you do, someone of your intelligence knows so much more than the average person."
"Yes. I understand. Perfectly- moreso than you yourself do. And I hope that one day soon, perhaps, you will find out exactly why that is. But we digress." Tohma stood up and pressed the speaker for his secretary. "Yes, please send them in now. Thank you."
Who else would he drag into this…?
"Suru-chan, we've missed you so much! It's so good to see you again!" Cried a familiar, feminine voice. Tohma's expression settled into a cruel, superior smirk. Sometimes, he loved how much of a bastard he could be…
"Suru-chan, it's been so long…" intoned a deeper, masculine voice. But it made no difference of the genders of the speakers- it was the personalities, the people who used those voices. The people who had the greatest hold over his mind, his heart… the only two people on the entire earth who could cause him to quake where he sat merely by greeting him.
"M-mom… dad…"
---
"Hn… Suguru's been gone for a while. We should check on him."
"Shu, you've been saying that about every five minutes. For the last time, he doesn't need us up there- we should be finishing our parts for him so he knows where everything goes."
"But Hi-ro…"
Hiro played a nasty chord on his guitar in frustration. "SHUICHI- we have to finish this! Just because Rage left to do something else doesn't mean we can lose our focus."
"Right…" Shuichi dipped his head and poured over the manuscript again, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. Their manager had left them to their own devices again- without an explanation, of course- and ever since she had left, Shuichi had lost all pretense of focusing on the song and started vocally wondering after Suguru instead. Hiro wasn't sure how long Rage was going to be gone for, and he desperately wanted to be spared her anger if she returned to see nothing done, so he was trying to put Shuichi back on the fast-track to saving their lives. But things were conspiring against him today…
"Nakano, you're getting more and more like me every day. Have you missed me?"
He whipped around to find himself staring down the barrel of a hunting rifle, a blue eye visible in its scope. The holder of the gun grinned manically and used a hand to move a few strands of long blonde hair out of the way as he winked at his target.
"K-san!"
"Hello! Delighted to make your acquaintance again, Nakano! And Shindou," he said, nodding. "I see you're still your unproductive self. Good!"
"K-san! WAAH!" Shuichi flung himself from his working stool and rushed to hug his old manager, before he was tripped by a wire and landed flat on his face. K smiled again and began to loudly banter about Shuichi's inherent clumsiness, lateness, and general stupidity. Shuichi himself didn't care in the slightest- he was happy to see his old manager again. So was Hiro.
"So, erm… K-san. What brings you back here?" asked Hiro, slightly nervous. He was still in point-blank range of what was most likely a loaded gun.
"Big news! I have been re-assigned as your manager! Rage pulled out whatever stick she had up her ass, and asked me to come back and look after you idiots. Of course I immediately abandoned my meager job as a doting father at home and jumped at the chance to come back to Japan to look after Bad Luck- Rage is so very stingy when asking for help!" His speech about how he left Michael and Judy at home to return to his "most favourite band of incapable morons" went on for several minutes, completely engaging Shuichi's meager attention span, and Hiro's personal intrigue.
No one noticed when Suguru came back in the studio room as if nothing had happened and began to silently work on the bass part, not caring that Shuichi had put it in a minor key, making his job even harder. He was in his own world, seeking to escape the one he was doomed to live in.
---
Later, Shuichi and Suguru were sharing a dinner of instant ramen on the porch. It was the first pleasant night in a while- the wind was calm and slightly balmy, there was no humidity, it was too early in the year for insects, and the traffic below was relatively quiet. The sun had set by then and some stars managed to show themselves through the constant light of Tokyo. The moon hung low, a bright white crescent in sharp contrast with the darkness of the night sky.
The two teens hadn't spoken a word since they had left the studio. Shuichi was still stunned about K's unexpected return, and his own worries about Yuki's offer to take him in again. Suguru was having trouble with the storm of emotions that had plagued him since he had left Tohma's office hours earlier.
-- Flashback, Suguru's POV--
I couldn't comprehend it, and I know that my disbelief and fear were plain as day on my face. WHY was all I could think of- why had Tohma done this? I couldn't even hate him right then- I could only fear, I could only remind myself to breathe.
I could only remind myself that they couldn't do anything to me in Tohma's office.
"Tohma-kun has told us about you leaving my sister and… shacking up with a band-mate of yours. Suru-chan, your mother and I are afraid for you- we only want what's best for you."
My shocked silence must have been a cue for my mom, because she started spouting more of the same. It was to the effect of "we love you, we're worried for you, please come back to us."
Lies. Never once did they apologise to me, never once did they even mention that me coming back to live with them would be a second chance at redemption for their damned souls. They can go back and rot in whatever hellhole Tohma found them in, and while I thought about it, he could join them. The three sources of my deepest hatred and mistrust of humanity could go and wallow in misery together. How I wished it would happen.
"Suguru-kun, what do you say? It's been years, more than enough-"
"No. Thank you, but no. I choose to stay 'shacked up' with Shindou-san. He's an idiot, yes, but he's also kind and… less liable to damage me."
The chaos that I caused lasted for only a minute or so; both of my parents started half-begging, half-demanding that I come home with them. Tohma raised his voice louder and louder to get over the din until I was sure the windows would break.
Once they were settled again, Tohma quietly threatened me with legal action. He'd get the government involved… he'd use his connections to remove me from my current home and place me back to that of my childhood.
The buildings could change every day. The countries too, and just as often. But as far as I was concerned, any place I lived with the two devils incarnate that were my parents would be the same as the one that haunted my nightmares- a dingy, two-room apartment in the outskirts of the residential district of Tokyo.
-- End Flashback, normal POV--
The unusual tranquility of the evening was not totally lost to Shuichi or Suguru- their meditations were often disturbed by a playful breeze, or a moment of appreciation for the lovely weather. Still they refrained from speaking to one another, however, as the minutes stretched into an hour, and then to two. The moon rose higher and higher until it was eventually directly above them- at that moment, Suguru decided that enough was enough and he should get to bed, shaking his head and unconsciously brushing his arm as if it would erase the worry in his heart. He got up and went back inside without so much as a "good night" to Shuichi, who was now a little lonely without his friend's quiet companionship.
He wasn't left alone for too long before the phone rang. Curious and a touch annoyed, Shuichi padded inside and picked it up without bothering to read the caller ID.
"Shindou here," he said, stifling a yawn. It was nearly midnight.
"Hey, Shu- did you think about my offer at all?" The voice on the other line was disarming, seemingly innocuous- but Shuichi knew better than to trust it.
"Yuki, it's nearly midnight. Why-"
"Listen brat. Did you think about it or not?" Yuki was trying to make the insult sound loving as it had once been, but it came out as a direct attack to Shuichi. Things weren't the same any more.
"Yes," he admitted hesitantly.
"And?"
"I need more time… I mean, no, I decline."
The soft whispered laughter on the other side of the line proved that Yuki wasn't fooled one bit by his ex's conviction about leaving him. "I'll give you another week, is that okay, brat?"
"Don't call me that, and don't call here ever again!"
"Be careful you don't wake your new lover up with your shouting."
"He's not my lover- we're just friends. Su-" he stopped short, horrified. Oh no…
"Su? Your roommate wouldn't happen to be Fujisaki Suguru, would it?"
"N-no. It's some one else. Bye, Yuki."
A sarcastic "yeah right" was heard before Shuichi hung up the phone. He walked back out on to the porch and sat in a seat, trying to find the moon, but it had already disappeared from sight. He started to cry and hugged his knees to his chest, trying to find some comfort to help him forgive his careless mistake.
What have I done?
--- End Chapter 6 ---
A/N: Sorry for the more technical parts of music. It's not crucial to understand it, but… well, let's say my inner bando/orcho/choro nerd was shining through for a moment. Music and writing are my biggest passions. Maybe that's why Gravitation is so appealing- fantastic music, cute guys, and endless possibilities for stories. Murakami-sama really gave us a nice cast of characters to work with!
Okay! The band/football season is officially over now (fake emo-tear of sadness), and once the multiple concerts and Thanksgiving are out of the way, I'll be good until Christmas. I think. The homework's been getting a little bit much, but nothing I can't handle at the moment.
I've been on a tiny break of sorts writing a 4x1 fic for Gundam Wing… nothing huge, really, I'm looking for it to be anywhere between twenty and forty pages. I love Gravitation too, and there's no way I'm going to let this go! So don't worry, if you ever worry about stuff like this…
FUDGE! I like putting thank-you's to reviewers at the end of chapters! has too many rules. u.u; At any rate: thanks Cherushii and Kyuunen-kun, again. I guess I'll have to send you guys individulalized stuff now, huh?
Oh yeah. A friend of mine who can draw has graciously started to make this into a doujinshi! Her DeviantArt name is Sashi Mizumoto.
Next is Chapter Seven- Mindful Disarray. Hopefully I'll be able to make it a bit longer too. I realise I've been slacking with plot as of late.