Disclaimer: I still don't own Gravitation, nor am I making money off of this. (I'm SO broke.)
I think you know the drill with this kind of text by now.
/Text/ is internal thought during dreams.
I've been having some formatting errors thanks to where double punctuation isn't showing up- I hope I've fixed that with this reposting, but I'm not sure. If something seems off with punctuation, please let me know. In trying to make writer's lives easier, just made this one's harder...
---Chapter Nine- Thinning Atmosphere---
Shuichi's hair fell up as he walked along the stairs, strangely uncaring that he was upside down and if he fell, there was little doubt that he'd crack his skull open and die. There was absolutely nothing securing him to the… stone? stairs he was climbing, though whether he was going up, down, or sideways, Shuichi had no idea. He was very calm about his entire situation, actually. For what seemed like forever he had been wandering around in this Escher-like landscape of impossible stairs and optical illusions. Not a single one fazed him.
There was an awful lot on his mind, after all.
Shuichi had accepted the fact that his footfalls made no sound, he had no voice at all, and the air was perpetually stale in this strange landscape from the start. It had been so obvious and so right from the very beginning that he had never questioned it. As he mindlessly switched from one set of stairs to another, his thoughts had only been occupied by one thing and one thing only: pocky. Before that it had been full of Suguru and how he was going to face him tomorrow, then when that became unbearable, it switched to how much he hated Yuki and Tohma, then he got too angry and upset and thought about work, but that stressed him out… with Suguru being in school all last week and not at the studio, Shuichi had gotten next to nothing done- thereby putting his life in considerable danger. So now he was thinking about the one thing that consistently made him happy- food.
"Mou", he mouthed, lacking a voice to speak with, "I'm starving! So… hungry…" He doubled over and held his stomach as a sudden pain racked through his entire slender frame. "H-hungry…!" The pain grew worse and he fell on the steps, quickly deciding that he was not enjoying the calm serenity of this silent, confusing place any longer. As he began to roll back and forth, Shuichi noiselessly moaned and curled up into the fetal position. He began to long for something- anything- to help him kill the incapacitating pain that was making his eyes prickle with tears.
"I-I, I don't like th-this anymore!" he screamed, his words finally echoing off the thousands of staircases all around him. He was so surprised that he over-rolled and fell off his particular set. Shuichi cringed and tried to hold himself as he fell, dreading every second that he would inevitably end up crashing into the ground below and splitting open his skull.
However, he only fell faster and faster into a sudden and profound darkness.
Shuichi tilted his head a little bit and tried to look around, but he could only see himself, strangely illuminated, as he began to fall at a less intense rate. His pink hair refused to move and remained still. Shuichi was confused- if he was falling, wouldn't it make more sense for his hair to be flying everywhere, and why the hell was he being flipped upright! He wanted to go back to the first part were all he was concerned with was sneaking pocky into his home without K or Reiji noticing…
"Sh-ich-!" suddenly called a disembodied voice from all directions, the owner shrouded in the darkness.
/What? Is someone else here/ Shuichi's eyes opened wide and tried to scan his environment, but only saw the total blackness of the void.
" -ichi! Shui-! Sh-i-i!"
He looked around frantically for the broken voice that was trying to call his name. "What? Who's there?" he asked the darkness, mentally kicking himself for sounding like a dumbass.
"Shu-chi!" The voice only continued to call his name disjointedly, panic and loneliness evident in it; it sounded familiar to him somehow, though for the life of him, Shuichi couldn't place who it would belong to.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" he screamed. The voice didn't respond. Instead, it drifted farther and farther away, fading out and leaving Shuichi with a sense of failure. It seemed that he was supposed to do more than think of his own predicament…
/The voice… it sounded so sad… who was that? I know I've heard them before, just… where…/
Shuichi closed his eyes and relaxed completely as his descent picked up again, until he was completely free falling into the bottomless dark.
---
"Wake up…"
"Nngh…? Mou, wha…?" He groggily scrubbed his eyes and opened them slowly, blinking as they adjusted to the soft light from above. Where was he now?
"Get up, brat."
Shuichi twitched involuntarily as he obeyed, flinching again as he placed the command with the person.
Standing before him was Eiri Yuki.
"Shuichi-kun."
He whirled around to see Suguru standing behind him, holding himself as he tried to remain standing; his body was broken and his clothes badly torn to show grievous wounds underneath. Suguru's breaths came out in ragged gasps, as though his next one might be his last. The hazel eyes that were normally so full of life and emotion now stared at the floor as windows that would allow anyone to peer into his naked and deadened soul.
"Sug-"
"Shut up, baka. Look at me." Yuki's cold voice cut through his mind like a knife as his body couldn't resist the double command. Shuichi's mouth clamped firmly shut and he swiftly- albeit unwillingly- turned his back to Suguru again.
"You've got to chose between us now. I'm tired of hanging around, waiting for you to come to your senses. Either you'll stay with me, or you'll go with… him." He casually inclined his head to Suguru, who was now struggling to remain upright while on one knee. It was almost like a sardonic display of fealty. "Personally, I think I'm the better choice. I don't have any more secrets from you, my past is already dealt with, and I can provide for you much better than some high school kid can. Look at him- he can't even stand up."
"Shut up," he whispered with immense effort as he gazed fearfully into the golden eyes of his former lover.
"Suguru-kun's almost completely unknown to you or any of us. He's never been fully honest with you, Hiro-kun, or even Tohma, much less anyone else. His entire life is a complete lie. Do you really want to get caught up in his past? It's bound to bring you down and bind you to him so you'll both drown under the pressure that he can't cope with!" Yuki sneered and shoved his hands into the pockets of his large black overcoat. "I know what he did, if he can't tell you. It honestly makes me look like a saint."
"Shut up!"
"And what about next year? Regardless of what either of you want, Suguru's going to college at the wishes of his family. You'll need to find a new synth player then… and a new pet."
"SHUT UP YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"
Yuki looked slightly taken aback for a few seconds before his usual cocky expression was firmly back on his face. He looked cruelly amused as Shuichi went on to say:
"Bad Luck will remain together, forever! I don't give a damn what Tohma wants us to do- we're staying as we are! He could drop us from the label and everything and it'd still be okay because XMR and Reiji would still be willing to take us, and there's nothing Tohma can do about that. Besides, I don't care what you say about him- Suguru's my friend. I like him more than that, and I think he does too! So just leave us alone!"
Shuichi turned around on his heels and walked over to Suguru. He sat him down and let him relax against his body, much like he had done in Hiro's apartment. Once he was sure Suguru wasn't going to die on him then and there, Shuichi angrily glared at Yuki and continued.
"You know I don't have any problems helping out the ones I love with their pasts- just look at what I did to you. Even though I regret it a little… okay, a lot… you're still whole again. It's not a good kind of way to be, but you've filled up all the little gaps that Kitazawa left behind by drinking and indulging in other areas of life… like fucking whores." Yuki flinched at this but Shuichi kept going on as if he hadn't noticed. "But Suguru really needs help… not to belittle what you went through, but somehow I get the feeling that his is a lot worse. And…" Shuichi looked down, softly breathing into Suguru's hair. The boy had gone unconscious in his arms… though it worried him that Suguru hadn't said anything at all to him beyond his name, Shuichi wasn't going to panic. He knew that things would be okay soon enough. "I know he's not going to abandon me once he's healed. He needs me to be that stopper in his heart, or maybe the stuff that's going to pull it all back together- I don't know exactly what yet. But, Yuki, he won't be like you and throw me away once he's okay again."
Yuki growled softly- dangerously- but didn't deny it.
Suguru stirred slightly in his arms. Shuichi was about to let him go since he seemed to be regaining consciousness already, but Suguru stopped moving once he was repositioned. The top of his head was leaning against Shuichi's collarbone, the rest of him curled up in his lap. One of his hands clutched at Shuichi's shirt.
"Touching," sneered Yuki. "I'll be seeing you later, then."
Shuichi looked up as Yuki turned around and faded slowly out of sight as he stalked away. Shuichi didn't say anything- just stared. Part of him wanted to chase him, beg for forgiveness, try to return things to the way that they had been, but it was very small now. So very small.
Shuichi himself began to fade out of his surroundings until his eyes flashed open again-
To stare down at a rifle aimed point-blank at his face.
"Shindou-kun! Good morning!"
His eyes traveled upwards slightly to find himself staring at the smiling face of Reiji.
She pushed the muzzle of her rifle firmly against his forehead and grinned even wider, if that was possible.
"Do you know what time it is, Shindou-kun?"
"Uh… morning?"
"Close… but," the safety lock clicked. "Not quite close enough."
Shuichi was just about to guess early afternoon when there was an eruption from the kitchen:
"K-SAN, I'M ALLERGIC TO EGGS! I WILL NOT SACRIFICE MY LIFE TO ADHERE TO YOUR DIETING REGIMEN!" Maniacal laughter was the only reply.
"Uhh… Reiji-san, what's going on…?" He was just a tad confused right now…
"Oh, nothing much. You and Fujisaki-kun are only five hours late for work."
---
Fifteen minutes and more than a few gunshot wounds later, Suguru and Shuichi were unceremoniously hauled into NG Studios like criminals. There were real handcuffs around their wrists, gags in their mouths, and the two of them blushed furiously with humiliation as they were paraded around the entire building at gunpoint in their pajamas- in this case, the clothes they had worn the day before. Many of the staff who saw them stopped what they were doing to stare, then silently thanked whatever spirit was listening that they didn't have to work for the two crazy Americans.
When Hiro saw them, he did a double take before hiding his amused snicker behind a polite hand. Shuichi and Suguru simply glowered at him and waited for the handcuffs and gags to be removed as K and Reiji gave the staff their daily instructions.
"Well, ah, good afternoon guys…" said Hiro. His voice cracked a little with suppressed laughter as his band mates shot him identical Glares of Death. "I take it you two had a late night?" The corners of his mouth twitched madly in a supreme effort not to smile, but failed as first Shuichi started to cry in anger and made as if to strangle him, then as Suguru's eyes narrowed dangerously and he growled through his bright pink gag that sported yellow and purple creatures of varying cuteness.
"Oh come on, I'm just ki-"
"FUJISAKI-KUN! SHINDOU-KUN! FRONT AND CENTER!" Screamed Reiji suddenly. Startled, her charges (victims) hastened to obey, trembling slightly as she and K stood in front of them, each pointing one very dangerous-looking gun at an extremely fearful musician.
"I'm ashamed of you, Fujisaki-kun! It's so unlike you to be late! It must be the influence of this one," said K as the safety clicked off, gun still pointed at an invisible target in the middle of Shuichi's forehead. "Clearly, an intervention must take place!"
Intervention! WHAT THE HELL! Suguru screamed to himself as he tried not to remember that right now, he probably looked like a wreck, had been paraded around his cousin's company like a criminal –Tohma wouldn't ever let him live that one down- and he was likely to lose his life because of a one-time screw up…
"And though we have grown accustomed to your habitual lateness, Shindou-kun," chirped Rage cheerfully, though her eyes glinted with a random light that they could only assume to mean that she was angry," it's still inexcusable to be five hours late. If you can't be somewhere close to fashionably late, then yes- there must be an intervention!" Suguru gulped as the sound of the safety trigger being released echoed slightly in the recording studio, wondering, again, why he had said "yes" when Tohma had offered him a chance to perform live…
Being a man of action, Shuichi decided to save their hides. He suddenly slammed into Suguru from the side. Bullets whizzed over his and Suguru's heads as the shots from their managers just barely missed their marks, earning enraged shouts from the wielders of the weapons and a frightened noise from Hiro as he dodged the bullets that were now aimed at him. Shuichi smiled in successful defiance and wiggled around, very pleased with himself. Suguru's prone form stiffened underneath of him as the sensation of a writhing Shuichi that was on top of and therefore extremely close to him registered in his muddled head.
"That's it," said K, obviously enraged at being cheated out of his kill, "BRING IN THE NINJAS!" he screamed as he reached towards the ceiling as if calling a divine power.
WHAT THE FUCK!
Suddenly, a multitude ninjas broke through the ceiling. All was chaos with K and Reiji reigning supreme as they laughed like the maniacs that they were, watching the madness unfold with frightening glee.
---
"Ugh! That was the recording session from hell!" whined Shuichi as he collapsed at a table in the cafeteria of NGR Recording Studio. "I nearly died at least fifteen times!"
"You're not the only one," sighed Suguru as he sat down next to him. Indeed, the lives of Bad Luck had been in considerable jeopardy for the past four hours, even after the ninjas had been called off. But all three of them proved that they could perform at peak levels even under great pressure.
"But look at the bright side- we finally finished Warped Frame! Now it's just the song that you wrote, Shu, and we should be all set for the final mix-down and getting ready for the tour!"
"How can you be so fucking happy Hiro!" exclaimed Shuichi, tears of hurt and anger coursing down his face as he grabbed the front of his best friend's shirt from over the table. "I don't care if we've finished, we nearly got our heads blown off more times than I can count by those nut jobs we call managers!"
"I don't think that's saying much, Shuichi, considering your excellent marks at school."
"HIRO! STOP BEING SO MEAN! YOU KNOW I CAN COUNT AS HIGH AS YOU CAN!" Heads turned as Shuichi continued to scream at the top of his lungs.
"Shu, come on now, you know I was joking… calm down…" Hiro gingerly patted Shuichi's shoulder. "You're not dumb, I know, I was just teasing you!" He shot a desperate "help me!" glance to Suguru, who was staring fixedly at some distant point on the high glass ceiling above them. Suguru's eyes only flicked from Shuichi's drama queen antics and back to their original position, offering no help at all.
Hiro inwardly sighed and kept saying whatever came to his head first, trying to get Shuichi to at least lower his volume level so that he didn't pose an immediate danger to their hearing. He felt safe in the assumption that most of the people in here couldn't afford to be deaf.
"H-Hiro, you're so cru-cruel…" Shuichi sniffed after another two minutes of intense crying and yelling.
"Uh, whatever… okay." Hiro relaxed back into his seat with a relieved sigh as Shuichi settled back in to his as well. Hiro then noticed that they were almost completely alone- Shuichi's temper-tantrum had scared off everyone else but the staff that was required to stay.
"Hey, where'd everybody go?"
"Dumbass, you scared them off!" Hiro reached across the table and playfully bopped his friend on the side of the head.
"Nu-uh! … Did I really?" Shuichi asked curiously. "That's odd- I thought they had all gotten used to stuff like that by now."
"You'd think!" said Hiro with a bright smile. "But that was pretty intense, Shu."
A comfortable silence stretched between the three of them as they all took out their lunches – the parts that had passed inspection by Reiji and K- and began to eat. They weren't worried about time at all, since both of their managers would be gone for quite a while.
When asked why he had suddenly decided to come back and manage Bad Luck again, K had said that he and Judy had had a falling out and decided that they needed some time apart. After about a month, if things didn't improve, they would file for divorce. K, in the meantime, had gotten custody of their son Michael and had brought him with him to Japan, where he was enrolled in an International school/daycare. K felt that he'd be abandoning his duties as a father if he didn't check up on Michael at least once a day and used his lunch break to accomplish that task. Meanwhile, Judy called Reiji every day at the same time- she was very upset and missed her son very much. She was extremely bitter that because her profession called her away for very long stretches of time compared to K's, he had gotten custody of Michael and taken him to Japan while she was still stuck in the States. The phone conversations could last for hours on end sometimes- it all depended on what kind of day Judy was having and what her mood was like. The members of Bad Luck had no complaints about this arraignment at all since it gave them a normal lunch period instead of the five- to ten minute breaks they had grown used to over the past two years.
"Ne, guys, how was your weekend? Anything exciting happen?" asked Hiro after Shuichi had wolfed down his entire lunch and began scrounging around for seconds. Shuichi paused as he leant over at an interesting position to search underneath the table for any scraps. He then sat up slowly, a nervous smile on his face as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. Hiro and Suguru looked slightly disturbed as their friend laughed loudly… and wouldn't stop.
"Um, Shu…?"
"Ah, thanks for asking Hiro- our weekend was fine," Suguru said suddenly, smiling pleasantly. Shuichi shut his mouth and looked intensely at him- clearly, he was planning to freak out in some manner. Before he could, however, Suguru gripped his hand from under the table and continued; "Not much happened, really. How did yours go? Is Ayaka-chan doing well?" Shuichi winced as Suguru's iron grip tightened, telling him to keep his mouth closed- or else.
"Huh…?" Hiro looked bemusedly between Suguru, who was still smiling in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Tohma, and Shuichi, who looked like he was on the verge of an emotional explosion. He shook his head slightly and decided that the weirdness must be normal; he had just been too wrapped up in his own life to notice it much. "Well, actually… ah, things aren't going too well. You see…" he sighed and ran a nervous hand through his long brown hair. "Ayaka's tired of waiting, and… well, she's planning to call the whole thing off."
"WHAT!" the other two yelled simultaneously.
"I can understand. I mean, it's been over a year since we first pitched the idea, and frankly, we haven't gotten anywhere. Besides, I…" Hiro couldn't hide his furious blush as both Suguru and Shuichi leaned in from the other side of the table in anticipation. "I think I might have fallen in love with someone else."
If Shuichi's emotional outburst had scared away everyone but the staff, then the combined noise of Suguru and Shuichi's indignation on their friend's behalf would have cleared the entire building.
Hiro grinned fixedly at the two as they carried on and on about how Ayaka was a real bitch – did he know that!- and OH MY GOD WHO DID HE LIKE NOW! Truthfully, he knew that if he divulged all at this point in time, things would be incredibly awkward and not likely to end well… so he kept smiling as Shuichi began to shake him by the shoulders and Suguru sat back down and let his anger simmer as he savagely attacked his salad.
This would be so amusing if I wasn't involved.
"You are two minutes late. Punishment will commence in thirty seconds if asses are not removed from cafeteria," interjected a deep and cruelly amused voice from behind Hiro.
Bad Luck packed their remaining food and hurried back to their studio with frightening speed.
---
Not for the first time, Suguru wondered how Shuichi managed to function on a daily basis. He knew that even though Shuichi wasn't quite as dumb as he let on, the guy was only about five steps away from being classified as mentally retarded. Or damaged- perhaps both-, but Suguru figured that if the rest of the world loved the baka and their records sold as fast as they had been since they burst on to the music scene two years ago, then it wasn't something for him to be overly-concerned with.
At least, that was what he told himself.
Suguru had watched the subtle changes in Shuichi's personality from the time he had ran into him at NG Records to now. He wasn't quite as hyperactive or incessantly happy, and his energy levels had dropped considerably, though he didn't outwardly show it. Suguru knew that when Shuichi had been living with Yuki, the boy had been through hell and back several times over with the novelist- whether he had been on the receiving end of anger or it had been his own. It had manifested itself with cuts and scrapes, bruises under his clothes, sometimes an unkempt appearance or the occasional day where nothing was accomplished because of his emotional craziness. And while everyone else seemed to accept this as a normal Shuichi, Suguru knew it was more than natural ditzyness on his part. The slightly haunted and hurt look in Shuichi's eyes that never really went away was similar to his when he caught his reflection in a mirror. Shuichi had suffered, and was suffering, but didn't want anyone to know. Both of them were, in some respects, two sides of the same coin.
Then they had come to live together through a bizarre series of circumstances, and Suguru had found that Shuichi's personality was full of self-contradictions and an extreme willingness to avoid reality by diving headfirst into things that would fully absorb his attention- video games, music, and especially people. Shuichi loved people. But at the same time, he had a deep fear of being left alone and abused as he had been with Yuki, and tended to mistrust anyone that he didn't know well. And even then, he'd stay with someone who hurt him because he was afraid of letting go and having no one to depend on; Shuichi was also a very emotionally dependent person- it showed in almost every song he wrote. So, Suguru surmised, underneath the fluffy and simple exterior, Shuichi was in actuality a very complex and searching person.
Shuichi, like Suguru, was always looking for someone who wouldn't ever let him down.
He thought that last night's drama was enough to prove that theory. Suguru had revealed as much of his past as he could at one time, and Shuichi had only held on to him and supported him- never doubting, never outwardly questioning its validity. In all the two years they had known each other and become friends, they had been building a connection that was deeper than they knew… it was what allowed Suguru to trust Shuichi with his terrible history, and what allowed Shuichi to believe it. He remembered that they had clung to each other like they were lost at sea in a maelstrom- a sea of angst and a storm of emotional uncertainty. Suguru himself had gradually succumbed and fell asleep in Shuichi's arms. He vaguely remembered surfacing briefly in the night, afraid that he was back in his parents' house. He began to panic, but then saw Shuichi's unconscious form beside him, looking ethereal and innocently child-like in the light of the early dawn filtering through the blinds. Knowing that he was with a person he could trust and depend on had calmed him down immediately and let him return to more pleasant dreams, until K and Reiji had infiltrated their home and dragged them to work.
Shuichi, for his part, had been showing a strength that Suguru never would have expected from him. Yuki had called nearly every day- each time leaving Shuichi in a puddle of tears, but also more resolved than ever to stay away from him. Shuichi told him that he was tired of being used like "some old doll"- he needed someone who needed him as well. Clearly, now that Yuki was past the Kitazawa incident and most of his own self-doubts, he didn't need Shuichi anymore. Yuki had always snorted sarcastically, made some witty and sharp parting remark, then hung up on him. Suguru had only ever listened in on these conversations and never said one thing or another about them- it was Shuichi's fight, not his, though he'd try and be there as much as he could. He admitted to himself that he had been depending more on Shuichi than the other way around, but he hoped it would even out soon enough. He hated to feel as though he was indebted to someone.
Suguru mulled all of this over as K and Reiji were screaming at everyone for some reason. He had learned to tune them out early-on, since these fits of rage were never addressed to him in particular. It was either one of the techs or Shuichi that received the brunt of anger in these circumstances.
That was another thing, he realised- for all he got yelled at in the studio, and for all his life had been in considerable jeopardy for mistakes and lateness, Shuichi kept coming back to create music. Suguru wasn't so sure that he'd be able to handle being an emotional punching bag in addition to writing songs, school, and his own personal problems. Shuichi seemed to handle it with ease, though he did cry a lot.
Well, that's one of our main differences, he thought. I have a lot more stress in my life than he does. I'm glad my work ethic and position as a support member prevents me from being screamed at… I'm not sure how I'd handle it. It reminds me of… them…
"RYU-KUN!" shreiked Shuichi suddenly, bringing Suguru's thoughts to a screeching halt. "SHU-CHAN!" came the enthusiastic reply as everyone in the studio turned to watch the most famous idiot savants in Japan glomp each other at the door. Suguru noticed with mild shock that Ryuichi was dressed as a giant version of Kumogoro, with the bunny himself perched precariously on his owner's head. His sparkling blue eyes were alight with glee as he and Shuichi began to babble excitedly about something in a language only they could understand as soon as they broke apart, still gripping each other's arms.
"Well, um, that was unexpected," said Hiro from his right. Suguru looked over to see him still holding his guitar, ready to strike a chord. Apparently, they had been just about ready to start playing something… well, then it was a welcome surprise that Ryuichi had shown up when he did, or else Suguru would have likely found himself staring down the barrel of yet another gun for not paying attention.
"So Shu-chan, how's the song going? Do you have lyrics yet? I've got an idea for a melody, if you wanna hear it!"
Song lyrics? Suguru listened in, since it appeared that the two were now speaking an identifiable language.
"Um…" Shuichi visibly sweat-dropped and laughed nervously. "Well, no…"
"That's okay! It might be better if you listened to the melody first anyway, so that the words match the music!" chirped Ryuichi brightly. Shuichi sighed in relief and agreed happily. "Okay, so, hmm… ah…" Ryuichi began looking around the studio for something, inspecting every corner thoroughly. Suguru couldn't help but think of a giant pink rabbit looking for some carrots as he watched, also marveling at the way that Kumogoro managed to stay on his owner's bobbing head. "Here! Suguru-kun!"
He twitched in surprise as some manuscript paper was shoved under his nose. "Can you play it, please? I forgot that I couldn't play the keyboard!" grinned Ryuichi as he rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed and apologetic gesture. "Please?"
"Uh, sure," he said, dubiously looking over the sloppily hand-written score. "But it looks like someone else will need to play with me- I can't cover both parts on my own, at least not right away. I can at least play the basic melody, but knowing you, the background is just as important as everything else…" Suguru sighed as Ryuichi nodded in agreement, a somber look on his face. Curse him for being a genius songwriter.
"Ne, Suguru… I can play the other part," said Shuichi shyly, suddenly on his left. "I used to write, sing, and play all of our songs before NG signed us on. Though I'm probably a little rusty since it's been a while…"
Duh! He knew that! Suguru wanted to smack himself for forgetting that he was only there because Sakano had wanted Shuichi to focus exclusively on his voice training; he was basically there so that could happen. And because Noriko had gone back to Nittle Grasper, leaving the position open. Tohma had wanted Bad Luck's image to be young but exceptionally talented, so he put his prodigy cousin in there to fill the gap…
Bastard cousin, more like…
"Suguru, you okay?"
"Ah? Yeah. Sorry, let's set up the spare keyboard and see what this sounds like. I'll take the first part and you take the second, okay, Shuichi?" There was no reason to have anyone worry now… if Shuichi had questions about his behavior, then he would hopefully wait until they were home again. "Reiji-san, K-san, do you mind if-" Suguru looked up and realised that both of their managers were nowhere to be found. "Where did they go?"
"They needed to punish some of the tech guys for slacking off. Apparently, instead of making an equipment list, they decided to practice their 'German Suplexes' on each other. So, K-san put me in charge until one or both of them got back," explained Hiro, who was by now sitting down and re-tuning his guitar in the far corner.
"Okay… well, let's see if we can't get this done before they get back," said Suguru as he finished setting up the spare keyboard next to his own. Shuichi procured another stand and they both settled in behind the instruments. Shuichi immediately turned his on and began to run through some scales and fragments of tunes, trying to remember how it all worked.
… He's not bad. Not as good as me, but he could have been close if he had been able to stick with it and hone his talent. In exchange for him teaching me how to sing, perhaps I could show him some tricks on the keyboard. Suguru winced with everyone else in the room when Shuichi hit a blatantly wrong note. But we'd first have to re-pollish his old skills.
"Okay, Ryu-kun! Count off for us!" said Shuichi when he felt as ready as he'd ever be.
"Okay! Na-no-da!"
There was a pause, then Suguru realised that that was Ryuichi's way of counting him in. He played the first few bars a bit hesitantly until Shuichi came in underneath of him, then he let the music take over and the melody soared, their two separate parts twining in and around each other- neither one being dominant over the other, but rather sharing the spotlight and helping each other to form the entire song. Suguru's breath was taken away as he realised how intricate the song was- the melody itself was a happy if somewhat wistful tune- but it took two distinctly different parts to make it as such. It wouldn't have held up if just one person had tried to play it.
Suguru and Shuichi played it until the end with only a few minor mistakes, sighing when they finished the song. It was only about five minutes long, but while they had been playing it, it had seemed to last for hours.
"Eee! Isn't it great, Shu-chan! Nori-chan helped me write it!"
"Yeah… wait, what?" asked Shuichi. "Noriko-san helped you with it?"
"Yup! Kumogoro and I got stuck sometimes, so she helped us out when our brains hurt too much. I know Tohma doesn't give her much credit, but she's an amazing person! She's helped me with some songs before, only we didn't tell Tohma because I'm supposed to write them all by myself, na no da." Ryuichi looked at the floor and chewed guiltily on one of Kumogoro's ears. "But I can't be sparkly all the time. So, Nori-chan will help me and Kumogoro when we need it. She doesn't even mind that she doesn't get any credit, though some day I'm gonna tell Tohma. Maybe when he isn't so stressed and mean."
"Oh. Well, okay." Shuichi couldn't help but look and sound a little lost- the great Ryuichi Sakuma had help with some of his songs? His genius was limited? Shuichi needed something to shock him out of his stupor… where were K's ninjas?
"Hmm… Sakuma-san, are you done with the manuscript? It might be easier for Shuichi to write the lyrics if the music that they'll be placed to is on-hand." Suguru glanced worriedly at Shuichi as the baka stared blankly at his former idol. He had known about Noriko helping Ryuichi out with the songs- it had been in the music itself: a slightly different sound and feel that he had somehow instinctively known to belong to the often-overlooked second keyboardist of Nittle Grasper. Apparently, though, he was the only one who had noticed.
"Sure, Su-kun! And call me Ryuichi! Ry-u-i-chi!"
"I'll call you by your first name if you don't ever call me that again," he grumbled to himself as he gathered up the sheets of music. But Ryuichi wasn't paying attention to him anyway- he just remembered that he was supposed to have been back in Nittle Grasper's recording studio ten minutes ago. They had some new songs for the tour too, na no da. Ryuichi said his hasty good-byes and practically ran out the door in anticipation of receiving a lecture from Noriko for being late again. Seconds later, Reiji and K whirled in to find another keyboard set up for no reason, Hiro sitting in the corner and looking dead to the world, and Suguru and Shuichi staring somewhat dumbfounded at where Ryuichi used to be.
"YOU THREE ARE ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE! I SHOULD BE HEARING MUSIC, SEEING YOUR WORTHLESS ASSES PLAYING, BUT INSTEAD I SEE YOU LOOKING SO GLAZED OVER THAT ANYONE COULD COME IN HERE AND ASSUME ALL THREE OF YOU HAD BEEN JACKING EACH OTHER OFF! WE HAVE A TOUR IN ABOUT TWO MONTHS AND ONLY ONE NEW SONG DONE! WE'RE SO BEHIND NITTLE GRASPER THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK LIKE A JOKE UP THERE NEXT TO THEM-" Reiji's angry and long-winded rant stretched on for several minutes as her frightened charges kicked into high gear and got themselves ready to begin recording the other song that Shuichi had written. Meanwhile, K was sporting a most evil grin and idly rubbing his thumb along the muzzle of his pistol, deciding which member would have the bad luck to taste bullets just before dinnertime. It was a shame, really, since it was four o'clock on a very nice evening, and still early enough that many of the good restaurants wouldn't be crowded… well, maybe… just maybe…
The world stopped for a moment as K put a hand on Reiji's shoulder and smiled wider. "You know, they finished one song today, and I have to pick Michael up. Let them go and get something to eat- we'll grill them tomorrow."
Silence.
"WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT DRUGS ARE YOU ON!" the other four screamed all at once. It had to be OCC day. It just had to be- they must have missed the notice somehow!
"Go now before I change my mind," he growled dangerously, pointing his pistol at Shuichi's head. Reiji simply huffed and stomped out of the room to dismiss the "worthless, incompetent staff" that she had been cursed with. Bad Luck packed their instruments up in almost record speed and were rushing out the door when K threw his arm out and choked Shuichi just as he was about to bound out the door to freedom.
"Aww, K…!"
"Shut up. If I let you do this, all three of you must promise me two things," he said, glaring down at them imperiously. They gulped and nodded their heads. "One, don't expect such treats ever again. I'm feeling nice today- but if I hear any complaints tomorrow, not only will I regret this decision, I'll make your lives a living hell. Two, if I hear from anyone else that I let you go early, I'll flay you so hard you won't be able to move for another month. Don't tell anyone."
"Yes, K-san," replied Hiro, appearing mostly unfazed as he bowed slightly. "We will arrive on-time tomorrow without complaint, nor will we speak of this to anyone else. Thank you very much."
Satisfied, K lifted his arm and Shuichi squealed with glee as he ran out to the hallway with his arms held out like wings, making plane noises. Suguru and Hiro shook their heads and followed him out, saying good-bye to their manager. Suguru caught Hiro lightly stroking K's hand as he passed in the corner of his eye but didn't say anything.
---
"Wheeokaywherearewegoing!"
"Calm down Shu, you're going to damage something if you keep jumping around like that!"
"Shuichi, please control yourself…" Suguru just barely dodged a Shuichi Missile as the baka bounded off of one wall to another in the somewhat crowded train station. He had been unable to contain his excitement since they had stepped out of NGR and agreed to go and get a meal as a band, something they hadn't done in a very long time.
"ButohmygodI'msohappywowthisisgreatandheyWATCHOUT!" he screamed, a little too late as he collided heavily with Suguru from behind, knocking him over- and consequently into other people.
"OOF!" The air rushed out of him as Suguru was toppled into the people in front of him and then to the ground. Shuichi, still on top of his back, started to apologise very loudly to everyone around them as Hiro politely took responsibility for his friend's crazy behavior. Suguru remained facedown and tried not to freak out.
"I'M SORRY! I, SHUICHI SHINDOU, APOLOGISE TO THE WORLD!"
And with that dramatic statement, all hell broke loose in the train station.
---
"Shuichi, rule number one of being a star- never, ever, EVER say who you are in public, even if you're wearing a disguise. The only exception is if it's a concert or promotional tour."
"Sowwy, Hiro."
"Well, now that we're out of that mess, where to?"
"What do you mean, 'out of that mess'? We're still in it, Suguru."
"No, we're not. Our stop's right here," he said coolly as the train they were on glided to a standstill and opened its doors to let the multitude of people it was carrying off. Suguru was the first one to set foot on the floor of the station and the first one to reach the outside world above the subway.
"Wow, Suguru, you really don't like crowds, do you?" asked Shuichi when they were all caught up. "How do you survive! There's crowds everywhere we go!"
"If you haven't noticed, I don't exactly get out much. But I do my best when the occasion arises," he said, tilting his head back and sighing as he looked at the sky. It was a very nice day- not too warm, a little breezy, and virtually no clouds. He felt perfectly comfortable in his lightweight long-sleeved black shirt and jeans, though Shuichi might be a bit on the chilly side since he was wearing a tight purple vest with a pink shirt on underneath and feminine shorts and sandals. Hiro claimed to be fine in his usual t-shirt and jeans. In fact, it was thanks to Hiro that they had been able to go home and change at all- he hadn't minded stopping by their place before going out.
"Okay, guys, without drawing attention to ourselves, where do we want to go?" Hiro smiled as Shuichi self-consciously adjusted his had so as to better cover his conspicuous pink hair. He wasn't really angry with his friend, just messing a little bit.
"Um… I dunno. Suguru, is there anywhere you want to go?" asked Shuichi.
"I don't particularly care. I don't know of very many places."
"Mou, okay… oh! Hiro, let's take him there."
"Shuichi, are you sure? I mean, it's… well, yeah," flustered Hiro. Was Shuichi crazy?
"Of course I'm sure! C'mon," he said, grabbing a confused Suguru by the hand and leading them on into the heart of Tokyo, babbling about how wonderful their destination was.
The small clicking sound of a camera was lost amid the noise of the city.
A/N: Filler chapter, sorry… this chapter was harder to write than the one before it… I'm really sorry it took so long to update… I was out of my mind for a little while. Still out in orbit a little bit, but closer to "home" at this point. Again, my apologies. I hope it's good enough to make up for the lack of anything new in that long stretch.
Did anyone get the reference? "German Suplex" was the name of Shuichi's move in the OVA where he picked up K, Sakano, and our very own Suguru and slammed their heads into the ground by bending over backwards. –hugs Lyrics of Love and its soundtrack- I got the last copy that Suncoast had… I'm so happy… and the soundtrack is actually a pirated copy from Hong Kong. ; I got it with three others from the anime off of e-Bay, and being the silly, naïve person I am, thought that they would be legitimate copies… whatever, it works. They all do. :3
I feel kind of stupid for having a really long Author's Note at the end most times, but gosh, I just have so much to say. Sorry? ..;
Special note/thanks:
This fic is officially over 100 pages now. Sweetness.
I've gotten more reviews than I ever hoped for- thanks so much guys. In excess of 2,700 hits as well. Truly, I feel loved when I see stats like that… it might not be much in other fandoms, but I think for my first serious and long-running fic, it's an amazing start.
Next up is Chapter Ten- Warped Frame.