Hello! I just want to say a quick THANK YOU to DreamingToThis (my very first reviewer!), Chiyoku Shibata and MoonLightMare. Here's the next chapter! Btw excuse the poor song lyrics! They're English translations of the original songs (there's actually a few different translations but they're all a bit shoddy…).
DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any shape or form, own either Harry Potter or Gravitation. They belong to J. K. Rowling and Maki Murakami respectively. Please don't sue me. Thank you. (Same for chapter 1. Forgot to put one there lol oops!)
Chapter 2.
The airport bustled with activity. Families reunited and friends caught up with joy. One such person stood to the side of all this however, taking in his surroundings and waiting. The shine of his pale blonde hair muffled by his black hat, his body leaning nonchalantly against the wall, his face showing none of the anticipation he held in his heart.
"If someone told me a few years ago that I would be waiting eagerly for a muggle friend, I would have sent them to St. Mungos for therapy," he thought wryly. Suddenly he felt someone watching him, glancing up his grey eyes met with familiar blue ones.
"…"
"…"
"DRACO!" the brown-haired man shouted, and without warning preceded to glomp the current president of NG senseless.
"Wait! Stop!" Draco yelled back, trying to untangle himself from the other man.
Suppressing his laughter as he watched the blonde's failed attempt to pry the brunette off, a second blonde stepped forward pulling the blue-eyed man back by the collar, "Since we're here incognito, we shouldn't be making such a big scene!" he pointed out.
"Oh right, this is Japan. Sorry Drake,"
"It's all right," Draco replied, heart warming a little at the old nickname, before turning to the other blonde, "You've done a good job, K-san. Having to put up with this guy all the way here, thank you," he said, barely containing his amusement at his friend's screech in indignation.
"That's a manager's job!" K said, waving away the thanks.
Nodding slightly to K, Draco faced the blue-eyed man once more smiling affectionately, "Well, it's been three years. Welcome back Ryuichi."
I've been charmed by your eyes from far away
wake up and wait for me.
Call out and break the night's barricade
the crowd comes out of the reflection.
There is no way out
if you plan to endure the impact
"Did you see that?" said Shuichi, "That was close to Ryuichi Sakuma, right?"
"You've been imitating his style since you were in high school," snorted Hiro.
"Well, Sakuma is like my god."
Until it collapses
a projected lie
"Yeah, I remember you cried when Nittle Grasper disbanded a few years ago."
Smile as you become reborn"He's working in America now, isn't he?" Hiro asked thoughtfully.
And paint your whole body
see the world suddenly burning up miraculously
"Right", he answered, "But that's to be expected of my Sakuma."
"He's not yours you know," Hiro retorted, the twitch of the corner of his mouth revealing his amusement.
As we met by chanceHumming in a way that could have been agreement or disappointment, Shuichi's gaze flickered around the empty hall from his place on the stage, his soul humming joyfully in response of being able to perform in front of hundreds of people for the very first time, "Let's sing one more Grasper song…"
"What on Earth are you two doing!" a new voice interrupted in horror, "Why aren't you rehearsing! Your live concert is tomorrow!"
"It'll be alright Sakano. We already know our song really well. Plus anyway, don't you like Grasper too Sakano?"
"Eh? Of course I do!" Sakano replied vehemently, "The current president of NG and the former keyboardist for Nittle Grasper is Draco Malfoy! And he is a genius! I can still hear his magnificent performance in my head!"
"What are you doing here?" questioned the lead singer of ASK who abruptly appeared on the stage, "This place is reserved today for ASK's rehearsal."
"Yes that's true," responded Sakano, "However, someone should have mentioned to you that your opening act, Bad Luck, would also be rehearsing here today."
"Bad Luck? I haven't heard about this."
"That shouldn't be…"
"I suppose it's because the audience is going to be here to see ASK anyway, so the warm-up band isn't important."
"What!" Shuichi yelled in outrage.
But before he could throw a fit, Hiro cut in, "Well, we'll be sure to do our best for the crowd and so as not to embarrass you. But if you're worried that our opening performance will outshine yours, we'll slack off for you."
"Hiro!" Shuichi cried in delight at his best friend's comment.
"Ah, look here," eased Sakano, hoping to defuse the situation before it's too late, "If we start something here today, the concert will be…" But he never got to finish as all of a sudden, a bright red sports car crashed through the wall, skidding to a halt in front of them. A brunette, unfamiliar to everyone except Sakano, stepped out of it.
Staring at each of them as if they were pesky bugs, her brown eyes eventually locked onto the tufts of pink on Shuichi's head, "Shuichi Shindou, that's you right?"
"Aren't you that woman from before?" Shuichi queried, the identity of this woman slowly dawned on him.
"I have to talk to you. Come with me," she said, and without warning, dragged Shuichi by the collar towards her car. The others watched in morbid fascination, as he tried desperately to struggle free only to be thrown into the backseat.
"Wait a minute! Help me!" Shuichi pleaded one last time, before the door slammed in his face.
"Why would she be looking for Shindou?" wondered Sakano, as they watched the car speed back out the hole it made in the wall.
"Who was that?" asked Hiro, finally shaking himself out of his daze.
"Well," Sakano gulped, "actually, she's…"
"Welcome back, Hermione."
"I'm sorry for borrowing the whole place," she said after nodding her hello to the owner, making her way to the bar.
"No problem. You're always a good customer." Noticing Shuichi idly glancing around he asked, "Who's this?"
"Evan's new toy."
"Toy?" Shuichi questioned.
"What is he thinking, messing around with this kid?" She continued without taking no notice of him, "And a boy even…"
"Well sorry!" Shuichi bit back.
"I never said you did anything wrong," she said calmly. Sitting down, gesturing to Shuichi to do the same, she took a sip of the drink placed in front her before she speaking again, "The truth is, I need you to do me a favour."
"A favour?"
"Yes, I want you to reason with Evan. Of course I'm not asking you to do it for free. You'll be suitably compensated for your efforts."
"What? Wait a minute, what are you talking about?"
"NG is sponsoring your debut, correct? Wouldn't you like to solidify your support?"
The sound of the door opening saved Shuichi from babbling in confusion but the sight of NG's president only sent him into a deeper state of shock.
"You're late," Hermione snapped while the owner welcomed the other man.
"I'm sorry Hermione. I had to meet someone on the way. What did you want to talk about?"
"Draco Malfoy?" Shuichi suddenly spoke up.
"Shindou?" he blinked, only just noticing the young man's presence, "Ah, it's nice to see you again. Yesterday's meeting was interesting to say the least. I'm looking forward to your concert tomorrow."
"I'll do my best," Shuichi replied with vehemence.
Sparing the pink-haired singer a small smile, the blonde extended his hand. Eagerly, Shuichi reached out to take the proffered hand in his own, but another hand stretched forward and slapped Shuichi's hand soundly away from Draco's.
"Ouch!"
Ignoring the blonde's slight frown in displeasure, Hermione said, "Don't shake his hand as if you know him."
"What? Are you saying you know him better?"
"Of course. He's my husband," she replied primly.
"Your husband? But what about Evan?"
"If you can persuade him, then I'll even let you become friends with Draco. After all, without the proper support, how can you make it to the top?"
"Well, yes but…" Shuichi reluctantly agreed.
"You're his boyfriend aren't you? So you will go do as I say and convince my brother Evan that…"
"Are you having family problems?"
Giving the younger man leaning against his doorframe a brief look of confusion, Evan questioned, "Why do you ask?" before he went back to his typing.
"Well, your sister…"
"Who!" Evan interrupted, his voice rising a little while twisting slightly to give Shuichi his full attention.
"Your sister…" Shuichi repeated cautiously, uncertain of what he may have said wrong.
Green eyes narrowed, "And who said that?" he said coldly, sending shivers down Shuichi's spine.
"That woman from the other day… er… Hermione?" Shuichi replied, vaguely recalling what the president had called her.
Evan's eye twitched.
"That… BINT!" he screeched, all the glass around him shattering. Forgetting completely about the other person in the room, he screamed a string of profanities and derogative descriptions that cannot be mentioned here because of the rating, "I can't believe she #&$ dared to say that! She lost the right a long time ago!"
Taking a deep breath, he slowly calmed himself. His study was a mess. Glass littered the floor, from broken windows and his sparking monitor. "Merlin," he thought faintly, "I'd forgotten how much damage I could do when I get angry…"
"Shuichi?"
"Here," Shuichi answered, peaking into the room from the hallway where he had taken cover. He stared in shock at the pandemonium, it was as if a tornado had come and gone, "How did this happen! Sure he had been screaming really loudly… but not to the point it would break glass!"
"You're hurt!" he said, alarmed at the sight of the small trickles of blood trailing down from the various minor cuts on Evan's body. Evan had been standing too close to get away unharmed.
Sighing softly, "I'm fine."
"Do you have a first aid kit?" Shuichi rushed, ignoring Evan's denial.
To tired to argue, the raven-haired man mumbled, "Bathroom."
Taking off to where he remembered the bathroom to be and after a quick search, Shuichi pulled out the kit from one of the cupboards. Rushing back, he pulled an unresisting Evan gently into the living room, sitting them both on the couch. Picking an anaesthetic and a mixture of bandaids and bandages, Shuichi began to patch him up. Evan wincing every so often from the anaesthetic, they sat in comfortable silence. While Shuichi dabbed away the blood, his mind ran a hundred miles per hour. He was determined to reunite Evan's family, "After all, the unconditional love that binds a family together is like no other."
"So-" Shuichi began.
"She's not my sister," Evan's voice breaking Shuichi off.
"But-"
"The liar," Evan said, "She must be getting desperate. Probably heard from the Weasley matriarch again. Unfortunately for her, I'm not returning to England."
"Evan-"
"Yes?"
"Your family-"
"Shuichi, let's get this straight. They are not my family. Most of my blood relatives are dead," he snapped, ignoring Shuichi's gasp of surprise, "The remaining ones, well the hate between us is mutual so I don't consider them my family. And lastly, of those I consider my surrogate family she isn't one of them. Whatever she may have told you to make you believe otherwise were lies."
"…"
"Why are you here anyway?"
Shuichi didn't know how to answer. There were so many things to choose from yet none seemed appropriate. He was saved from answering, however.
"She offered to pay you didn't she?"
Shuichi froze, "What?"
"I said, how much did she offer to pay you? 1000 yen? 5000 yen? 10000 yen?" Evan arched an eyebrow, "She hasn't changed at all. Refusing to admit failure. Always believing she knew what was best for you. So did she?"
"No, that's…"
"Or did she promise a connection with Draco Malfoy? Is that it? That's why you came to talk to me right? Or maybe you just couldn't stand her nagging… She can drive a pack of orcs to suicide with her nagging…" he grinned wryly, tone bitter.
"NO!" Shuichi shouted, finding the ability to speak at last.
"You mean she actually didn't nag you?"
"No, I mean…"
"It's okay Shuichi. I don't care. She's butted into my life so much it doesn't faze me anymore anyway. Just… leave. And don't come back. I don't see how she thought you could make a difference anyway."
Shuichi couldn't take it anymore. Once more he jumped in without thinking, this time however, he pressed his lips against Evan's. It was only a light kiss, his arms wrapped around the older man's tense shoulders, but to Shuichi it was eternity. An eternity that passed in a blink of an eye. But he had to let go. "Evan doesn't want this," his heart cried in anguish.
Leaning back into the couch, their eyes were still locked, "Why doesn't he say anything!" Shuichi searched but those green eyes told him nothing. Blurred emotions flashed but they were gone before he could catch them.
"Why then," Shuichi eventually spoke up, "Why did you kiss me? I know it was only one on the cheek and probably didn't mean anything to you but," he rambled, eyes cast down as tears started to well up in them, "but it meant something to me! Yes it's true Hermione did offer these things to me but I don't care about some reward! I wanted to know more about you and even if it wasn't much I thought I was helping you!"
"Helping me? Don't make me laugh. Nobody does anything without expecting something in return these days. Just go home Shindou, I don't need your help," Evan replied and walked back to his study, leaving Shuichi behind just like before.
Except that the tears streaking down his face were not of happiness.
That's it for now! Reviewing makes me happy!