--- Chapter Eleven- Pure Intentions---

Shuichi idly reflected that if this were an anime or manga series, it would be raining as he stared out the window of the crowded subway car. However, the weather was almost painfully beautiful- balmy with a cool breeze accompanied with a fantastic sunset that he had glimpsed before descending down to catch and board a train.

Behind him, a multitude of strangers primarily dressed in business attire occasionally sent bemused glances his way, but never looked back twice once they met K's sharp eyes. No one wanted to mess with the tall and formidable-looking American carrying what looked like a loaded Magnum. To Shuichi's right, Hiro leaned on the window with his arms folded defensively across his chest, facing the people in the car and silently challenging anyone who had the nerve to look him in the eye. Shuichi himself was bowed down with Suguru's unconscious weight on his back. He knew that they must stand out quite a bit, dressed as they were, but Reiji's giant Panda was in for repairs and K had refused to use his connections to take them home, though no one was sure why that was..

Shuichi's eyes widened as Suguru shifted slightly, burying his face deeper into his neck. The little synth player had yet to actually regain consciousness, though he had nearly surfaced in the train station- he had suddenly stiffened and Shuichi could feel his pulse accelerating rapidly, but once Shuichi had whispered soothingly in his ear and nuzzled him a bit, Suguru had relaxed again and showed no further signs of waking up.

Hiro and K had both been on high alert since they had left Perushana. They seemed to be able to communicate telepathically, holding each other's eyes, nodding, then performing some complex maneouvers around Shuichi and his burden. It would have been comical if not for the gravity of the situation.

Gravity… Shuichi sagged a little bit under Suguru's weight. Sure, he was in good shape, but that didn't mean he was particularly strong. Not like K or Yuki… he shivered a bit at the thought of those two getting into a serious fight. The entire city might have to be evacuated. Shuichi wondered if he could somehow convince K to go against the Shacho's dire orders and assassinate the writer. It certainly would make things a lot easier.

Out of the two men, Yuki was the most dangerous at the moment. Tohma and Yuki were polar opposites in their methods of "persuasion" and made quite the deadly duo. If Yuki's brutal and confrontational tactics didn't work, then Tohma's mind games and stealthy use of proxies would. And since Tohma seemed to be preoccupied with Suguru's parents for the time being, the members of Bad Luck had to go on an actively offensive defence, meaning that all their senses had to be tuned in to the slightest sign of trouble while still being ready to attack at any time. It felt like they were on a hunt; both parties were the prey of each other, it was just a matter of who got a jump on who.

"Shu, want me to carry him? You look beat," murmured Hiro suddenly. Shuichi looked up from his contemplating and stared at his best friend, noticing the worry and care in his eyes. He still wondered how the hell he had managed to find and keep him by his side all these years.

"No, I'm-I'm good. Besides, you're stronger than me, and if Yuki finds us…" he trailed off and looked away, unwilling to finish the thought. It was useless anyway, since both of them knew the implications. They all did.

Besides, he's my burden to bear. He's never been entirely outward with it, but I know Suguru's been relying on me to help him keep a normal life. It's my turn to help him get that back.

"Destination reached. Commence next phase of plan." K grabbed Shuichi by the wrist and dragged him out as he was still thinking. They were pressed against on all sides again in yet another crowded, noisy station. Hiro scouted ahead and quickly surveyed the area, gave some sort of covert signal that only K understood, and then Shuichi suddenly found himself being pulled at a furious pace towards the exit to the world above. On his back, Suguru moaned and began to become restless, causing Shuichi to divide his attention between wondering what had happened and making sure they didn't lose Suguru. Not sure what to do, he gripped his friend's wrists in his free hand and hoped that would be enough to make sure he wouldn't slip off and be lost in the station. Now, why were they going so fast…?

"K," he gasped, "what's going on? Tell me!"

K glanced at him from behind his shades with an unreadable look, then jerked his head backwards. Shuichi turned around, scanning the crowd as best he could. There were many people in business attire, some groups of teens in outrageous clothing, and the odd tourist, but nothing… there.

Eiri Yuki and Shuichi Shindou made eye contact for a split second.

SHIT. Shuichi began to run until he was side-by-side with K, hoping that Suguru would be able to forgive him for jostling him around so much.

They made good time and got back above ground in less than a minute. From there, Hiro pointed to the left and the three of them sprinted, not caring who or what they mowed down along the way. Distancing themselves from Eiri Yuki was the number one priority at the moment. Even if the man wouldn't stoop to actually chasing them on foot, he could just as easily arrive at the apartments before they did. There was nothing Reiji or K could do to actually harm or impede Yuki's progress because of their orders from Tohma, and while this may be a situation of life or death, personal problems and the work place were to never interfere. It would only make both situations worse.

Shuichi glanced behind a few times to see if Yuki was still there, but all he could see were a mass of groaning people getting up after being charged by Bad Luck. He figured that Yuki would somehow get a car and show up to apprehend them at their home anyway- that was more his style. The dramatic appearance from the shadows, then beating the crap out of whoever pissed him off. He could only hope that Reiji had come up with some ingenious plan that would slow the man down enough without violating the Sacho's orders, which might give them the slight edge that they needed to win the race.

Race. Heh. Who was it that said "survival of the fittest" again? They were right.

He looked up and trusted K, who still had his wrist in a tight grip, to guide him along. Suguru was starting to moan again, a little louder and longer than before. Shuichi half-hoped that meant that he was waking up, but at the same time, he wanted him to stay unconscious until they were home so he could explain things in a quieter setting. He had a feeling that Suguru wouldn't be able to do much but sit quietly and shiver for a very long time after tonight… he didn't know what had happened exactly, but he could only assume that Yuki had either raped him or, judging from what he had said earlier, there were some things that Suguru had neglected to mention last night. … Had it only been a day? Just twenty-four hours? It felt like an entire week had gone by at least.

I hope this is over soon. I don't want anyone to suffer anymore.

"Shuichi, stay sharp!" barked K. Shuichi stopped looking at the sky between buildings and refocused his attention dead ahead. He recognised where they were- the apartments were just a little ways in front of them. He could see some of the building as well.

Almost there. Hang on.

His breath was coming out in ragged gasps as they finally entered the lobby and dashed past the receptionists to the elevators. They had seen neither hide nor hair of Yuki, which lifted their spirits a great deal, though they all knew it wouldn't be over until they were safely back in the apartment.

Shuichi stood, shaking and sweating slightly, feeling his heart thump rapidly against his chest. He could feel Suguru's heart beat too- it was almost normal but slightly erratic. His breath came in short bursts against his neck, causing Shuichi to shiver as he tried to resist the urge to scratch the area- he was quite ticklish. Hiro and K stood alert on either side of the doors, ready to deal with any interference. Luckily, their elevator went straight up without a hitch, and as soon as the doors opened, they began to sprint towards the end of the balcony, or rather, tried.

"Kyaa! What's up?" demanded Shuichi after he collided into Hiro. He wished he could rub his smarting nose…

"I'm not sure. Shh," he whispered back. "It looks like Reiji, and… someone else is in front of the door."

"Well, if it's Reiji, then why can't we go? She's on our side."

"It's the other person that we're worried about." Hiro and K held each other's gaze again, leaving Shuichi to wonder when his best friend had become telepathic, then K suddenly turned and marched deliberately ahead. Shuichi was about to follow him before Hiro threw out his arm and caught him.

"Stay here, Shuichi- we're not sure who the other person is yet, and it looks like they're giving Reiji a hard time of it…"

"D-do you think it could be Yuki," whispered Shuichi as he adjusted Suguru's position. Suguru groaned again and tried to snuggle closer, causing Shuichi to blush a little.

"Anything's possible," responded Hiro darkly. "But Reiji and K are more than enough to handle anyone who tries to cross us."

Shuichi sighed and looked over the railing to see the Tokyo skyline. The setting sun ignited the skies in a red and gold blaze of glory, fading out to pink and muted purples and oranges almost directly overhead. He remembered how, on nights when they got home earlier than usual, Suguru would make a mug of tea for himself and watch the sunset. Shuichi had never joined him because he had gotten the impression that that was the extent of Suguru's alone time without work, but he might start barging in now. Time without Suguru was wasted time…

"Ne, Hiro, you and K seem really close nowadays… what's up between you two? And the whole telepathy thing," he blurted out of the blue.

Hiro blushed. "What? We're- ah, well, it's not the time for that right now," he flustered. "Look, K's coming back!" He started forward eagerly in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

Yeah, there's something going on between them. But I'll ask later. I wonder who was bothering Reiji…? I hope it's not a minion of Tohma's or anything…

"It's all clear. The suspect is harmless and had been dealt with." K met them halfway and smiled as he cocked his gun in salute. "Reiji is now inside and scouting the premises."

Okay! All clear, though I hope they didn't actually harm whoever it was. And how did they get keys to our apartment?

---

"So, what's our plan of action? We can't ditch those two, but we can't exactly /live/ here with them either. This place just isn't big enough for five people."

"Good point, Hiro… well, two of us can patrol outside and one stay in here with Shuichi-kun and Fujisaki-kun. We'll rotate positions when one person on the outside gets tired. That sound okay?"

"Excellent idea, Reiji- I was about to suggest the same thing. You and I will scout for now- Hiro, stay with the other two."

Hiro, Reiji, and K were all seated around the little café table in the kitchen, a mug of tea each, their grim and serious expressions killing whatever cozy atmosphere Shuichi's obnoxiously cute re-decorating scheme might have created. Even the little Kumogoro salt and peppershakers produced no effect, though they did evoke memories of another slightly addled singer…

"Ryuichi-kun is here too, right?" asked Hiro as he took a sip of his luke-warm tea.

"Yes. He was unable to be deterred from seeing Shuichi-kun," muttered Reiji, "but his presence seems to have a positive effect on our singer's mood and he poses no threat. I know for a fact that while he and Seguchi-san are the best of friends, they don't see eye-to-eye on the triangle that is Shuichi-kun, Fujisaki-kun, and Yuki-san. So he's an ally of ours, for what good that's worth."

"It's worth more than you think, Reiji. Having Ryuichi Sakuma on our side of matters helps us a great deal," said K, smirking with grim satisfaction. "With him here, Tohma won't go so far as to send hired goons after us since he's an innocent in all of this, and he might get hurt." K thumped his fist on the table as he began to grow more passionate; "Also, Shuichi has another close friend to support him in this dark time! Yuki will undoubtedly make some sort of public request for Shuichi to return to him –a brainchild of Tohma's, no doubt- which will cause havoc with the media let slip the dogs of a PR war! When and if this happens, Ryuichi can speak on Shuichi's behalf while we keep him and Fujisaki-kun hidden from sight. The adoring public will be torn between the handsome romance novelist and the legendary front man of Nittle Grasper… it'll all be down to who can spin the most convincing story."

Hiro placed his mug down and folded his hands, staring directly into K's eyes. "You seem so sure about this. I think you're forgetting something huge, though- Tohma is our boss. He's also Ryuichi's band mate and a close friend- it's more than likely that Ryuichi will decline to speak on anyone's behalf in order to keep friendships on both sides. He's a very emotionally clingy guy. And I hate to say this, but Tohma can cancel everything we've got planned and drop us from the label at the drop of one of his overly expensive hats. It'll take too much time to get us back to where we were, and I don't think we can switch to XMR now that Reiji broke off her ties there. We'd be finished if we tried to fight back against him."

"That's true, but you've lost sight of things again, Hiro-kun," said Reiji. "I'll admit that everyone involved with Bad Luck down to the lowly studio assistants won't have anywhere to go if they lose their jobs at NGR. We'd be totally done for, through and through. But think about it this way- would you rather have your job and see your friends suffer, or be jobless and know that those you care about have a chance at recovering and starting over?"

Hiro looked at her, surprised, and simply stared. Reiji looked back with a neutral expression, though he could see that she was truly concerned and her words had been entirely heart-felt by the way her eyes shone a little. There was emotion there.

"Reiji, stop stealing my lines! But yes, that's all true- a life with friends is better than a life with… er… a successful job and miserable band mates. Or something like that." K nodded wisely and seemed to agree with his own insights. "I think it's fairly clear that as the managers of Bad Luck, Reiji and I are honour-bound to protect its members. And you, Hiro- as the best friend of both your band mates, you are morally required to protect them as well, or your conscience will kill you."

There was a silence that stretched on while Hiro absorbed this and K and Reiji simply watched him, self-congratulating themselves

"I guess… I still have a lot to learn." Hiro sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "We're no ordinary band, that's for sure…"

"Bad Luck may be living up to its namesake right now, but we're going to get through this and give Tohma something to sweat about! Our tour isn't very far off, and in case you've forgotten, we're going to be on-stage with Nittle Grasper, come hell or high water. That's one of Shuichi-kun's biggest dreams, and I want it realised- we'll beat Tohma at his mind-games and underhanded tricks to wipe out Fujisaki-kun so Shuichi-kun's dreams are realised!"

"Well-said, Reiji! Yes, we will keep Bad Luck alive and kicking so that the tour with Nittle Grasper may go on as scheduled!" K and Reiji stood up in preparation of doing their rounds, yelling excitedly about how Tohma would be brought down to the level of a demi-god instead of the all-powerful being he was now. It was just as they were getting to the part where Tohma would be disgraced and forced to resign as president that Hiro held up his hand and waited for silence.

"… and then we'll take every one of his hats and donate them to relief shelters! Though I really want to burn most of them, especially that one with the feathers... oh, Hiro-kun, do you have something to say?"

"Yeah, Reiji, I do… now it's you guys that have lost sight of the important stuff," said Hiro with an unreadable grin.

"How can you say that, Hiro-kun! We've got to keep Shuichi-kun and Fujisaki-kun safe so that Shuichi-kun's dreams are realised!"

Hiro shook his head, still smiling. "It's not just that. I actually think that Shuichi's forgotten about that for the most part."

"WHAT! THIS IS HIS BIG CHANCE! HE'S GOING TO-" Reiji was suddenly cut off by K's hand on her mouth.

"You're saying that Shuichi-kun's priorities have changed, is that it?" asked K, his eyes glinting strangely.

"Yup. The tour's important to him, sure, but something else overshadows that. He'd even call the thing off if it meant that-"

"Fujisaki-kun was well again. I get it," finished Reiji as she removed K's hand.

"Yeah. So we'll patrol, but also keep in mind that Shuichi won't be dragged away if Suguru has to be left behind. He's got to get better before the baka even goes outside of the house," Hiro said warningly. "We can trust Ryuichi-san to make sure he eats and keeps basic hygiene habits, but everything else depends entirely on how fast Suguru recovers."

"Just like when Yuki-san was his world…" murmured K. "Fine. I'm not sure what we can do without drawing public attention, but I'll look in to getting our little keyboardist pyschoanalysed or something." He and Reiji turned to leave and go outside. "We'll report in about an hour. Keep things under control in here, Hiro."

K was suddenly stopped as Hiro wrapped his arms tightly around him from behind. "Come back safe yourself. Don't do anything reckless, you crazy American…" he whispered.

"I'll come back, I promise. Keep an eye on the others." K squeezed his hand, then unwrapped himself and gave a salute before walking out the door.

"I will. I just hope everyone comes out of this in one piece."

---

"Ne, Shu-chan, I'm sorry… I thought you'd be at home…" muttered Ryuichi miserably as he hung his head. "I wanted to warn you…"

"It's okay, Ryu… I don't think any of us would have been able to stop it. I'm just glad it's over now," he sighed.

"Is it really? What about Su-kun? And Tohma-kun… he… he and Yuki-san…" Ryuichi shivered with fear and clung to Kumogoro. "I didn't think they could be so mean!"

"They… I guess you can't know someone through and through all the time." Shuichi sighed again and stroked Suguru's head.

You never know someone until they cling to you in the doorway and cry on your shoulder, telling you as much of their horrible childhood as they can before it becomes too much.

"Right…" Ryuichi scooted closer and clung to Shuichi, pressing Kumogoro between them, crying. "Su-kun's gonna get better, right? Because Yuki didn't actually hurt him, right?"

"He's got some nasty cuts, but they're all bandaged up… it's whether he's the same person or not when he wakes up is the question."

Shuichi put his arm around Ryuichi as he looked down at Suguru. As soon as they had gotten inside and regrouped, K, Reiji, and Hiro had explained that they would keep an eye out for anything suspicious while Ryuichi, Shuichi, and Suguru were to stay in one of the bedrooms. They had accepted this without question and as soon as Hiro helped Shuichi get Suguru out of his costume and tend to the boy's wounds, the three of them had been left alone while the managers and Hiro hashed out guard duty.

"He'll be okay, Shu- you're here for him. That's all he'll need."

Shuichi looked at Ryuichi carefully, surprised by the sudden serious yet sincere tone of voice he used. The childish Ryuichi stared back at him, teary-eyed and on the verge of wailing out loud with pent-up emotions. His personalities that swung back and forth from time to time -the adult Ryuichi and the mental case Ryu-chan- came out at appropriate but unexpected times. No one was used to them yet, not even Noriko or Tohma, and they had known him for years.

"I-I guess…" I hope…

"Ne, Ryu-chan… how did you know what was going to happen? Tohma didn't tell you, did he?" asked Shuichi after a few moments of silence.

"Well, no… Kumogoro and I overheard it while we were waiting to surprise Tohma-kun, didn't we, Kumo-chan?" said the singer, unlatching himself from Shuichi to do a puppet show with the pink rabbit. "We were really clever and hid in the bottom drawer of his desk so when he opened it, we'd pop out and say hi! But when Tohma-kun came in, we heard him talking to Yuki-san. They were making bad plans about Su-kun and his parents… I think… Su-kun's parents are… gone now…" Ryuichi began to sob suddenly, curling up into a wailing mass on the floor. "Tohma-kun was so mean and cruel! He wanted to get rid of Su-kun because he was a murderer, and his mommy and daddy because they were poor and it wouldn't look good if people found out! He was so happy about them going away forever…"

"Geeze, what a prick! I can't believe he's Suguru's cousin! I hope he's… wait… what do you mean, he's a murderer? Ryu?" Shuichi urgently poked his friend. "Is Suguru a convict or something? Tell me!"

Ryuichi sniffed and wiped his eyes then looked at Shuichi with a distant, forlorn expression. "You don't know? How much did Su-kun tell you?"

"Just that… he was a mistake, and his parents pretty much hated him, and that Tohma was the only one who was nice to him until he joined Nittle Grasper… then he had a little brother and his parents were going to kill him but mess with his mind first… jackasses…"

"So… he didn't tell you what happened after that…" It wasn't a question. The mature Ryuichi was back, sitting up in front of Shuichi, all trace of childish tears gone.

"There's more? I mean, of course there is, but… he grew up and joined Bad Luck, and lived…" Shuichi stumbled on his thoughts and lapsed into silence, realising for the first time that there was still a sizeable chunk of Suguru's life that he didn't know about.

"His parents played mind-games with him, you know that much. His mother was warm and affectionate and bitterly angry with him at unpredictable times, which caused him to withdraw and form that trademark "Seguchi Family Mask" so people at school wouldn't see him breaking apart inside, and he gave his mom so satisfaction of letting her know how much she was damaging him. His father, though, took to roughing him up most days, sometimes actually hefting him up and throwing him against the walls of the house and kicking him when he was down. He was quite careful to avoid hitting Suguru's face, hands, or any other exposed parts, so Japan went on unknowing and uncaring about little Suguru Fujisaki. Even now that he's in a smash-hit band, you and Hiro steal the limelight away. He's not close to a single soul except for you, Shuichi. Just you."

The hard look in Ryuichi's eyes made Shuichi shiver with the deep, deep fear of realisation. Suguru had let Tohma in, hoping to find love, but was left behind instead. His parents –especially mother- toyed with his desperate need for love and broke him a thousand times over. Outside of Hiro and himself, Shuichi had never heard Suguru mention people he saw or talked to regularly for casual things. It was as if…

"Suguru doesn't trust or let anyone in, does he? He's been hurt so many times he'd rather wall everyone off than risk putting himself out there…"

"No, Shu-chan, you didn't listen. I'll repeat myself: he's not close to anyone but you, Shuichi. Just you."

There was no way for him to respond to that. It was impossible. He simply resumed stroking Suguru's head, wishing that he could help the boy somehow. He'd give up singing and even go back to Yuki if that was what it took. Especially to get rid of the label of "murderer" that Tohma had slapped on him for some mysterious reason…

"Ryu, why did Tohma call him a murderer? Suguru spazzes from time to time, but he never… never hurts us badly… just throws things and yells a lot," he whispered, closing his eyes.

"Ryu-chan?" asked Shuichi when he got no response. "How come?"

"I'm not sure if I'm the one who should tell you that. I overheard everything from the course of several years since I met Tohma –once you get him drunk he'll tell you anything and everything- so while I know, it's probably Suguru's place to do it. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Ryu… you're right. I'll let him tell me." If he wakes up…

--- End Chapter 11 ---

A/N: Ugh. This chapter is utter crap! SORRY! TTTT Lotsa stuff happened and before I realised it, it was early July… I'm SO SORRY and I won't be sane for the next month and a half, and the Band Camp starts and then school… Junior year is a BITCH. /3 I want to finish this though! I'M NOT LETTING IT DIE!

… Though if I post more chapters like this, I'll just lose my mind… x.X;;

Thanks for reviewing in my absence….