Disclaimer: No one belongs to me. Duh...
A/N: AU POT story.
Thank you featherlight, Ikyutakei, Jamoozalee, Cheeseburger of Doom, Posterior Praiser, Suke-san, Tezuka Eiri, and Vanilla Fox-san. Wah! I thank you for spending your time to read my story and, and...so kind for giving me reviews! They make me so happy...(sob)
This is a relatively short chapter as compared to the previous one (yes, I can actually write short chappies, LOL). It's to set the stage for the rest of the story. Some Oishi/Eiji and then...Yuuta appears?
Chapter III: Tokyo
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Tokyo, Present Day: Tokyo General Hospital
"Moshi, moshi. Delivery for Kikumaru Reika–san."
Reika lifted bleary eyes from the thick stack of patient records and glanced up. Her eyes immediately brightened with surprise as her brother's smiling face greeted her, "Eiji! What are you doing here?"
"Kikumaru Eiji speedy delivery service." Eiji grinned and lifted the bundled package in his left hand, "Heard that you have to work an extra shift today, so Kaa-san made some onigiri and soup. There are also some fresh clothes for you." Lifting an eyebrow, Eiji winked conspiratorially, "Plus, I got some daifuku for you from the confectionary."
At Reika's gasp of delight, Eiji thumped his chest and assumed a preening posture, "Nya, don't you have a wonderful otouto?"
"The best!" Reika proclaimed as she hugged Eiji impulsively.
"Woah! No monkey action with sexy visitors allowed in the hospital!"
At the warning, Reika turned and found her colleague, Susume, staring at her with mock severity. Reika's face split into a grin as she stretched and draped one arm over the much taller Eiji's shoulder, "Susume-chan, meet Eiji-kun, my very delectable otouto. As you can see, good looks run in the family."
"Nee-san!" Eiji felt a dull heat spread across his face as his sister chuckled evilly and Susume swept an appreciative eye over him.
"Definitely a sight for a pair of sore eyes," Susume smiled, "however, I must say that your otouto is far prettier than you are."
"Ch! See if I'll share my food with you!" Reika stuck a playful tongue at Susume, before turning to Eiji and leading him out of the room, "Come. I'll walk you out. Susume and I only have another hour before we start out next shift, so we can't dally around too much."
"Do come back and visit us, the lonely nurses, Eiji-kun. Perhaps I'll take your temperature next time." Susume half shouted at their retreating backs.
"Tell me who's the older sibling here." Eiji remarked tolerantly as he glanced at Reika, who was shaking with silent laughter.
"Hey, it's not my fault that she finds you hot! Furthermore..." Her sentence was left unfinished as the incongruous sounds of breathless giggling and excited chattering filled the air.
"What's happening?" Eiji was puzzled.
"Come with me!" They rounded the corner and found the source of the cacophony. A group of ladies had surrounded a man, presumably a doctor, judging from his white-clad back, and were gesturing and talking in tones that were pitched several octaves higher than was normal.
"Why are they behaving this way? He's a doctor isn't he?" Eiji asked in bemusement, "It's as if they were members of his fan club or something."
"Oh, but they are." Reika laughed at the look of incredulity on Eiji's face. "They are "members" of the Oishi Syuichiro fan club."
"He's a doctor?" Eiji's brows were knitted as he peered at his sister, wondering if she were joking with him.
"Not just a doctor! He's Oishi sensei, star pediatrician. Intelligent, patient, kind, humorous, good looking and," Reika wriggled her eyebrows lasciviously, "his butt is seriously cute when it's not covered by his hospital coat."
"Nee-san!" Eiji exclaimed, a mixture of exasperation and amusement.
"What? I am engaged, but I am not blind!" Reika retorted, before she frowned as she surveyed the scene, "He was up the whole of last night. One of the patients had an unexpected complication during surgery. He must be dead tired but he's too nice to chase them away. Well, it's Nurse Kikumaru to the rescue."
"Oishi sensei! Nishikawa-kun in ward eighty-three needs your attention immediately!" Reika announced as she burrowed efficiently through the perfumed ladies.
"Hai. I will come with you right away. Please excuse me, ladies." Oishi turned around as he smiled apologetically at the disappointed faces.
As Reika and Oishi got out of the sight of the noisy group, Oishi paused and said curiously, "Ano, Kikumaru-san. There is no ward eighty-three."
Reika's response was a beaming smile. Oishi laughed, "I was beginning to get desperate there. Thanks for helping me."
Had she not been watching his face, she would have missed the moment when Oishi froze and his eyes suddenly widened, then darkened imperceptibly. He was looking straight ahead, his lips lightly parted, drawing shallow breaths; there was something in his eyes: not so much as shock or astonishment, but an awareness, heavy, and almost intimate.
Who or what can possibly induce this sort of reaction from Oishi sensei? Reika turned to the direction of his gaze and barely stifled a gasp of surprise. Eiji?
It was almost like staring at a reflection of Oishi. Eiji was as still as a statue, his face pale like cool marble. His pupils, were dilated, making his lapis eyes appeared almost midnight blue; there too, was awareness in his darkened gaze, but there was another emotion as well. An emotion that made his face almost vulnerable.
Then it was gone. All that remained was friendly interest in Eiji's eyes as he smiled, "What a pleasant surprise to meet you again. I am Kikumaru Eiji, Reika's otouto."
"Ah, it's good to meet you again as well. I am Oishi Syuichiro." Oishi bowed, his tone light and amiable.
Reika bit the inside of her cheeks as she regarded the easy, smiling faces of the two men that stood before her. She couldn't have imagined what she had seen could she? "Ano, both of you have met before?" She asked curiously.
She sensed, rather than saw the hesitation before Eiji replied, "A couple of weeks ago. In a bookstore."
"In a bookstore? You never go to bookstores, Eiji. You absolutely detest reading," Then understanding crept into her eyes, "Eiji, is this about Ryu..."
"I just wanted to get out of the cold that day and I just happened to be walking past the bookstore." Eiji interrupted.
Undeterred, Reika turned to Oishi, "Oishi sensei..."
"Ah, I went there after work and was just looking around. Kikumaru-san was holding a book that looked interesting and I asked to have a look." Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, he continued, "I must have disrupted his browsing, and I can't even remember the title now."
"Nee-san, I think you should go and have a break before your shift starts again. You only have about forty minutes left." Eiji advised gently. For a moment, Reika looked as if she wanted to protest. Then she nodded and bade a polite farewell to both men.
"Arigatou." Eiji said quietly.
Chuckling lightly, Oishi stared at the tips of his shoes. "I don't usually tell lies, but somehow, I didn't think you would feel comfortable about..." There was a light pressure on his arm and Oishi looked up, startled.
"Would you have a drink with me? I want to thank you properly." Eiji's voice was non-committal, but there was a heat in his eyes that made Oishi light-headed.
"Tonight at eight. Tsukiya. It's a block away from the bookstore."
Eiji nodded, "I'll be there."
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Tokyo, Present Day: Shikai Gallery
Save for the sounds of their breathing, the place was completely silent as they studied the photographs. When he finally looked up after staring for an inordinate amount of time at the last piece of work, he found his nee-san smiling at him as she handed him a glass of drink. It was then he realized how thirsty he was. Tipping the glass, his eyebrows quirked before he downed the amber liquid, feeling its heat trailed down his throat and spread into his veins.
Yumiko chuckled as she regarded her otouto over the rim of her glass, "I thought we both needed something strong."
"Ah." He nodded before turning his attention to the photographs.
"They are stunning aren't they? I almost stopped breathing when I was looking at them." Taking a slow sip, Yumiko swirled the brandy in her mouth, savoring its rich, silky smoothness. "Syusuke has outdone himself."
"Hn, that's an understatement." Yuuta said wryly. Even now, he could feel the constriction in his chest. "I don't know how he did it. I have been to all these places in Tokyo. I have always appreciated them on an aesthetic, historical and maybe even an emotional level, but these photographs..."
"He stripped them bare." Yumiko said softly. Stripped of human life, stripped of their grandeur, and stripped of their illusions, until all but a raw and seething cauldron of emotions remained: sadness, anger, bitter-sweetness, ecstasy, agony, longing, despair...
There was another moment of silence before Yuuta sighed as he ran his fingers through his cropped hair, "I supposed I should be prepared for the barrage of questioning when these finally go on exhibition."
Yumiko's laugh was like a twinkling bell, "I think you may need to go hiding somewhere. They will want to know who the mysterious Haru is. Remember what happened four years ago?"
"It was a nightmare." Yuuta shuddered with remembrance. Four years ago, Fuji had agreed to display his works on Kyoto under the name of Haru. The exhibition had generated a frenzy of interest and the entire series was sold despite the photographer's identity being completely unknown. Fans and reporters had dogged Yuuta's every step for information on Haru.
There was humor in Yumiko's eyes, "You'll also have to placate the egos of other photographers whom you handle exhibitions for."
"Echizen and Atobe have enough self-belief to fuel the sun. Aoi will be excited since he's a big fan of Aniki's works. It's Mizuki Hajime who's going to be really upset." Yuuta groaned at the thought of another of Mizuki's tempestuous tantrums, "I am sure that he'll think that I am hiding Haru's identity just to generate publicity. Mizuki-san loves basking under the limelight. The idea of anyone hiding from fame and glory is completely alien to him I am afraid."
Yumiko strolled towards the window. Leaning her face against the cool panes, she stared at the glowing lights amidst the darkening city. After some time, Yuuta stood beside her as well.
Both of them knew that Fuji would never show up for any of his exhibitions nor would he ever want his identity to be revealed. It was the same reason he never took a second look at his photographs once they were developed.
"It's Aniki's soul in the photographs. He would have destroyed all of them if we have not begged him." Yuuta's lips twisted with pain as he whispered, his breath misting the glass. "Are we doing the right thing?"
"Wakaranai, Yuuta." Yumiko closed her eyes. "Wakaranai."
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daifuku traditional chewy rice cake
otouto younger brother
wakaranai "I don't know."