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To all my reviewers, THANKS! You guys have my eternal gratitude! .:touched to the brink of tears:. It's really encouraging to know there is people somewhere out there who actually enjoys my story! I love you guys! (Just ignore my blabbering. I'm a little high today, having managed to actually complete chapter 7. Heh heh.) I feel kinda bad I didn't manage to personally reply everyone's reviews but it's really late right now and I'm too sleepy to type so forgive me! Ahem, I'll shut up now…the scene everyone's looking forward to is (finally) here so read on
Disclaimer: Gravitation does not belong to me…only the torture scenes do.
Scene 7-The truth behind the person you imagine me to be
"What…the…hell…?"
Yuki stood at the doorway in transfixed horror for just a spilt second. Before even he realized what he was doing, Yuki had pulled Ryouji off Shuichi and punched him. Hard. Putting himself between Shuichi and the man as a barrier, Yuki glared at him and hissed. "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"
Ryouji ambled up to his feet, feeling his face where Yuki had punched him as he did so. He shrugged his shoulders, drawling. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just barge into someone's house and hit people." He gave a leer, nodding his head towards Shuchi. "That boy's just a prostitute anyway. What's the big deal?"
Yuki responded to that question by punching him again, this time is the gut. Ryouji gasped for breath as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his middle as he went. This time, he didn't get up.
"Sooo…what did you say he was again, huh?" Yuki glowered at him menacingly.
"You must forgive me. I have a reaaally bad hearing. That must be the reason why I thought I just heard you call Shuichi a prostitute. Isn't that right, Ryo-ou-ji-san?" Yuki kicked his side with every syllable he said.
"…Yu…ki….stop…"
Somehow, through his murderous red haze, Yuki heard Shuichi's feeble whisper. Giving Ryouji one last kick as a parting present, Yuki hurried to Shuichi. Seeing Shuichi's condition up close, Yuki felt a stab thought his heart. "That bastard is so dead."
Shuichi eerily resembled a broken doll; his clothes torn, his pink hair all a mess, his delicate body badly battered. The only thing that gave away Shuichi was no doll were his eyes. His large beautiful eyes looked empty and dead. The eyes that had cried so much, no tears were left.
"Shuichi…" Yuki shrugged off his jacket and tenderly covered Shuichi's thin frame with it, fighting back the urge to cry as he did so. Shuichi seemed so lifeless, barely responding to him at all.
"RYOUJI!"
Shuichi's mother came rushing into the room, crying out when she saw her unconscious boyfriend on the floor, bleeding. She stared at Yuki in fright. "What have you done? You killed him, didn't you? Murderer! Oh, Ryouji!"
Yuki piercing eyes glared at her icily. "Is that all you can say?"
Nanri yelled at him furiously. "What is that supposed to mean? What if he's really dead? Who do you think you are? I'm calling the police! They'll come and they'll arrest you! You crazy-…"
Slap.
"Wha…. I…you…How dare you!"
Yuki calmly watched as Nanri sputtered indignantly, his hand still raised. When he finally spoke, his voice was dangerously soft. "Who do I think I am? Call the police?"
Yuki sneered mockingly. "Who do you think you are? Do you honestly think the one getting arrested here would be me after the police finds out what's been going on in this house?"
He bended over ever so slightly so that they were eye to eye. "What kind of person would put her own flesh and blood through this hell? You're despicable."
Shuichi's mother shouted back. "It's not my fault! It's his fault! It's his fault for being born. It's his father's fault…if it hadn't been for the both of them, I wouldn't have had to suffer so much!"
Hearing such a selfish reason made Yuki's blood boil. He did what he could to relieve his rage; he slapped her again. Not bothering to listen to any more of her rubbish, Yuki turned his back on her. He looked over at Shuichi. His features softened and his voice was almost gentle. "Shuichi, we're leaving." He watched as Shuichi struggled pathetically to stand up for a moment before snorting and striding over to him. He easily lifted Shuichi up, ignoring his unconvincing protest to put him down.
Nanri blocked the doorway in panic. "Where are you taking him? He's MY son!"
Yuki glared at her, unmoved. "Its because of that I'm taking him away. You're the worst, not even protecting your own son."
Yuki delivered his crushing blow before brushing past her and carrying Shuichi out of the house.
"You don't deserve to be his mother."
XXX
"Shuichi, are you trying to drown yourself in there?"
Shuichi ignored Yuki's voice, muffled through the bathroom door. It wasn't that he was doing it on purpose really. It was just…Yuki had seen him like that…
Shuichi contemplated on really committing suicide via drowning in the shower. Then again, this wasn't his house; it was Yuki's and Shuichi somehow suspected that he would be more than a little displeased at finding a dead body in his bathroom.
"Shuichi, enough already. Open up!"
Shuichi answered to that order by ducking his head directly under the flowing water, effectively blocking out Yuki's voice. Think. He needed to think. Earlier on, Yuki had brought him to his house after giving his mother a piece of his mind. Shuichi had been dully surprised to discover they lived so close together; he wondered how long Yuki had known.
The ride to Yuki's house, although short, had been painfully awkward. Shuichi had been unable to look at Yuki for fear of the disgust he was sure to find in Yuki's eyes. As for Yuki…Shuichi smiled bitterly to himself. For once, Yuki had seemed loss for words, his sarcastic wit failing him. Yuki had actually stumbled on his words, unsure of what to say. Not able to bear the stifling silence a moment longer, Shuichi had asked to used the shower and Yuki, startled out of his reverie had hastily agreed.
Which was what Shuichi was doing now. Having a shower. Shuichi could still hear Yuki's voice even over the deafening sound of gushing water. Was it his imagination or was the volume of his voice ascending? Oh well, it didn't really matter anyway. Nothing mattered anymore. He closed his eyes and concentrated on ignoring it.
Shuichi wondered if it was possible to spend the next -oh, about fifty years or so showering.
XXX
"SHUICHI!"
Yuki glared at the bathroom door. All the while during their short ride to his house, Shuichi had refused to look at him; refused to respond when Yuki had tried speaking to him. Yuki understood Shuichi's need to be alone. Which was why he had agreed when Shuichi suddenly spoke up, asking to use the shower.
"But even so, this is just too much!" Yuki fumed, though he was beginning to feel more than just a tinge of worry. "It's just not normal for a shower to last almost forty-five minutes!"
Yuki rapped the bathroom door forcefully. "Open up already!" Only the sound of rushing water deigned to meet his ears.
Okay, that did it. This wasn't funny anymore.
People would be amazed if they knew just how strong Yuki really was, despite how slender he looked. He rammed the door with his shoulders. Rammed it until it gave way. Yuki pushed it open, stepping inside cautiously. "Shuichi…?"
Shuichi had immersed his head in water, still ignoring him.
Yuki leaned against the doorway with crossed arms; relieved Shuichi hadn't died in there or something. He sighed. "Shuichi, what are you trying to do?"
"…myself…"
Yuki didn't quite catch that mumble. "What?"
"…drowning myself…"
Yuki shook his head in exasperation. "I'm sorry Shuichi, I don't think that's possible. Not in the shower, anyway."
No respond.
Yuki gave up. It was obviously useless trying to talk to him. Therefore, Yuki did something that would guarantee his undivided attention. He reached out for Shuichi-and pulled him into his arms.
As Shuichi stiffened in shock, Yuki could see that his skin was red, scrubbed all raw. Shuichi immediately retaliated, pushing Yuki away in pure panic. "LET ME GO! Don't touch me! Don't-…"
Yuki held on tight as Shuichi struggled wildly, refusing to loosen his embrace. His vision was getting blurry. "Shuichi, its only me, Yuki…Shuichi, please don't do this…please…its only me…" Yuki's broke off raspily, unable to continue.
Through his panic filled desperation, Shuichi felt moisture on his face.
One drop.
Two.
The water wasn't from the shower. It felt warm. It was salty. How mysterious it was. Somehow, he was calming down. The shower was still on. Water gushed from it at full blast. It sprinkled like the rain and pooled at two pairs of feet.
Shuichi put his hand to Yuki's face and brushed something away. As Yuki looked down at him, a ghost of a smile traced over Shuichi's lips.
"Why are you crying?" I'm the one who should cry."
Yuki only held on to him tighter, not embarrassed in the least.
"Then, cry with me."
Yuki obviously considered his solution a good one. Apparently, Shuichi did too.
XXX
Yuki tossed and turned in his bed, restless. In the silent darkness of his room, only the sound of his clock ticking away could be heard. The glaring red numbers screamed that it was two-twenty in the morning. Yuki glared right back at it, challenging the clock to provoke him further. The clock responded by moving its needle, now pointing at two-twenty one. Defeated, Yuki rolled over to face the door so that the defiant clock was now mocking only his back.
To state the obvious, Yuki was having a very hard time falling asleep. With all the drama crammed in one day, it was no surprise he felt a headache coming. Although he always had his suspicions, Shuichi's secret still dealt a great shock. Yuki sighed again, probably for the billionth time.
Today, Yuki Eiri discovered just how much Shuichi could cry (and himself too, but that's a different story.) They had to clung to each other and sobbed their hearts out in the shower like idiots. "Well, at least Shuichi's probably worn out enough to sleep after all that…who knew crying took so much energy?"
Since Shuichi said he wasn't hungry, Yuki had insisted for him to rest. Shuichi now occupied the guestroom and Yuki could only hope he had been able to fall asleep after his nightmarish experience. As a precaution, Yuki had left his room door open in case Shuichi needed him.Which had been a good call beacause the pink-haired boy in question was now hovering at the doorway hesitantly.
Yuki sat up immediately, concerned. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
"…" Shuichi shook his head slowly. A no.
Yuki rolled his eyes, taking another guess. "You're hungry?"
"…" Shake. No again.
Shuichi opened his mouth to speak, apprehensive eyes watching Yuki's. "I…can't sleep…alone…"
Yuki wordlessly stared at him for a moment. "Of all things…"
Reading Yuki's expression correctly, Shuichi hastily turned to go. "I'm being stupid. Sorry for waking you up-…"
"What are you saying? Come here." Yuki snapped out of his thoughts in time to stop him.
"But…"
"Oh, stop making me waste my breath. I was still awake anyway. Hurry up, it's a cold night." Yuki lifted up his blanket, beckoning him to get under it. Shuichi didn't need any further invitation. He hurried over and meekly slid under the blankets before Yuki had an apoplexy.
Tick...tick…tick…
"ARGH! That stupid clock is getting on my nerves! It needs to die; right here, right now!"
Shuichi had been feeling nervous sharing a bed with another person-even worse, a man at that- when Yuki suddenly flung the blanket off himself. Startled, he looked at where Yuki had bolted upright and was now sending murderous vibes to the poor innocent clock that was only doing its job.
Shuichi couldn't help giggling, thought he knew he shouldn't; Yuki was behaving just like a fractious child who hadn't had enough sleep, picking a fight with an inanimate clock like that.
Unfortunately for Shuichi, Yuki heard his giggle and therefore redirected his rapidly growing annoyance at his new victim.Whose fault was it that he was too nervous to sleep anyway? "Ha-ha, very funny."
Hearing Yuki's sarcastic growl only made Shuichi giggle harder. When he finally managed to cease his laugher, it suddenly hit Shuichi that the atmosphere wasn't tense anymore. If anything, it felt comfortable. Shuichi pondered over that for a moment. Yeah, it was comfortable to be with Yuki. After all, Yuki only seemed grouchy and surly on the outside where he was actually a softie at heart. Just like…"Just like a big teddy bear."
Yuki only shook his head sadly when Shuichi suddenly broke out in a fresh attack of giggles, now even more severe than before. "Must have been more traumatized than I thought, that poor kid…"
On impulse, Yuki gathered Shuichi into a hug, silencing his giggles instantly. Yuki mentally berated himself. "Oh, shit! I forget he hates people touching him." He immediately started to withdraw his arms but stopped at a sound of protest from Shuichi.
"…"
"…Shu…ichi…?" Yuki cautiously tested Shuichi's reaction.
"…"
"Shuichi?"
"….zzz…"
Yuki stared in amazement at the snoring Shuichi in his arms. "He's fine with it? More importantly-when did he even fall asleep?"
Shuichi snuggled closer to Yuki. A smile slowly spread over Yuki's face, reaching even his eyes. "Oh well, who cares about little details like that?"
When morning came, it was to find the two of them sound asleep in each other's arms. Somewhere on Yuki's dresser, a clock ticked away smugly. Hey, who could blame it? After all, it did survive the night without suffering death sentence through Yuki's hands.
I DID IT! I managed to write semi-mushy Yuki and Shuichi scenes without cringing! (Not much anyway) Whoo-hoo! I hope it turned out okay! Minna-san, you know what to do! Reviews, please! Thanks! .:wanders off cackling manically:. (Sorry, I'm suffering from lack of sleep…my eyes cant stay open anymore…zzz….)