Author's Note:
-sigh- my mom spilled coffee all over our main computer, rendering the key board useless. Which means, I have to restart and rewrite chapter nine on my tiny HP notebook... Damn. Oh well, back to work. oh! By the way, to all those who joined my DA group, don't worry, I will write the stories I promised to write, just been really busy -sigh-
Chapter Nine: Presence Revealed
Yuki:
Yuki placed the cold barrel of the gun into his mouth and pulled back the hammer, listening as the bullet clicked into place. Shutting his eyes, he thought of Shuichi's face as his finger tightened around the trigger. Just as he was about to spill his brains in an abstract pattern, the gun was pulled from his hand.
"You might not want to do that.
He looked up, standing above him, golden hair shining in the sun light, was K, spinning the gun around his finger.
"Give it back, K," Yuki said as he fought back his tears, "I'm done. Life is over and I want nothing to do with it anymore."
K sighed as he began to play with the revolver, sliding the chamber open and shut. "And why the sour attitude, cowboy?"
"Shuichi... Shuichi betrayed me." K just stared at him, waiting for a deeper response. "Last night he... he took advantage of me... raped me."
"Have you ever even noticed the size of him?" K asked as he fought back a smile, "You're telling me that the boy that barely reaches your chest overpowered you and raped your backside sore?"
"Fuck you!" Yuki shouted as he reached for the gun, "He was stronger than normal... he was... different."
"Different?"
"I can't explain it, but... he was just different. Stronger... Evil."
"You know the feeling when you're being watched?" K asked. "Well, lately, I've been getting the feeling that somone's watching me. A sort of cold presence comes down and chills me to my bones. Like... well... I think it's him, Yuki. I think he's here and might have something to do with Shuichi's behavior last night..."
Yuki shrugged and snatched the gun back from K, "Sounds like a lot of paranoid bull shit to me," he said. He placed the barrel back into his mouth.
"I'm not gonna stop you, Yuki. Suicide is your decision, but you better make sure you decide correctly."
Shuichi:
"Hello? Ryuichi? Is that you? Is Yuki with you? I can't find him." Shuichi looked left and right before crossing the street to the cafe. He had been searching for Yuki when he received a phone call from Ryuichi's cell.
"Shuichi," Ryuichi said on the other line, "I am so, so sorry."
"Ryuichi!" Shuichi shouted. The voice was raspy and weak, "Are you ok? What's wrong?" Shuichi stopped and crouched down on the sidewalk to focus on his friend.
"It's him, Shuichi... He's here!" Ryuichi sounded nervous and panic. Tears seemed to threaten his voice. "And I helped the bastard, oh god, I'm so sorry."
"Ryuichi? What are you talking about? Who's here? Where are you? Do you need help?"
"No. Shuichi, it's him... A.F. has been here the whole time." Shuichi almost dropped the phone when he heard those initials. "And I've been helping him." Ryuichi burst into tears. "I'm so sorry, Shuichi!"
"Ryuichi! What are you talking about? Where is he? What's going on?" His eyes were widened with fear and he shook his head in disbelief.
"Shuichi, last night, you did something awful, but it wasn't you! A.F. somehow possessed you and you really hurt Yuki! A.F. is planning on Yuki killing himself."
"No! Ryuichi, where is Yuki? What have you two done to him, fuckers!" Shuichi was fuming with rage and he stood up with rage in his heart.
"Shuichi, I'm sorry. I don't know where he is. I tried to stop him last night, but he broke me and left without a trace. I'm so sorry." Ryuichi was still sobbing on the other line.
"Calm down!" Shuichi shouted, "I'll call someone to come and get you while I look for Yuki. You need to tell us everything you know about A.F.'s plans, and if you don't corporate, or Yuki dies before I can get to him, I'll kill you myself."
Ryuichi took several deep breaths, "... Shu-chan..."
"Just hold yourself together a little longer, I'm going to call someone and send them to your apartment." Shuichi hung up on Ryuichi and began to search through his contacts. Finally, he came across a good name. Tohma. Tohma could go and save him.
Tohma:
"I'm sorry, Seguchi-san" Hiro said as he slid on his shirt, "We can't do this anymore." He slumped down in a chair and began to tune his guitar.
"What are you talking about, Hiro?" Tohma walked across the room and slid his hands up Hiro's chest and caressed his face. "Don't we treat each other well?"
Grabbing Tohma's wrists, Hiro pulled the hands off his face. "My heart already belongs to another."
"What? Who?" Tohma pressed his head on Hiro's chest and tried to bite the flesh through the thin fabric.
Hiro pushed Tohma off and stood up. "It's Usami Ayaka. She's coming to America soon, and I have to make sure that I remain loyal to her from now on."
"Don't be an idiot," Tohma barked at him. "You won't be able to-" Tohma's phone began vibrating. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the name on the caller ID. Shindou Shuichi. "Dammit, hang on, Hiro. I need to take this. We're not done talking though." Tohma walked out of the room and answered the call. "Hello? Shuichi-kun? What is it?"
"Seguchi-san? Is that you?"
"Of course it is, what do you want?"
"Ryuichi! He's really hurt! I need you to go over to his apartment and pick him up. A.F. got at him and he sounds like death. Hurry please and help him!
"Damn, alright, I'll be there." Tohma hung up his phone and looked over at the defiant Hiro. "I've got to go, but this conversation isn't over."
Tohma walked out of the hotel room without another word. Outside, he walked to his car and opened the trunk. Pulling out a baseball bat, he studied it and took a practice swing before putting it back in the trunk and getting behind the wheel. Across the court yard, Sakano watched curiously and decided to follow him in a taxi.
K:
"Listen to me Yuki, don't do it. Killing yourself know fits right into his plan." K placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder and squeezed it. "You'll be delivering Shuichi right into his sick hands."
Yuki shook K off and said, "You don't even know if he's actually here. A 'cold feeling' isn't enough to-"
"Shut up for a second," K said as he pulled out his gun. "The cold... He's here."
Yuki's eyes scanned the field in front of them for a sign of anything. Rustling from the wind shaking the trees pricked his senses as his looked into the shadows for a monster cloaked in black.
Several moments pass. "Alright, K," Yuki set the gun down on the bench. "I won't do it. You're right. i felt this... this pressure. Maybe he is here."
K turned around to see A.F. step out of a shadow behind him and grab him by the throat and throw him to the ground. Reaching over the bench, A.F. grabbed the gun and pointed it at Yuki. "You fucking moron!" he shouted, "You were supposed to kill yourself!" A.F. tilted his head back and let out a blood curdling laugh. "Allow me to do it for you."
Ryuichi:
Dragging himself across the floor, Ryuichi propped himself against the couch and attempted to wipe the dried blood and tears from his face. Pain had passed, and now his legs were numb besides the occasional throb that shook his nerves.
Across the room, he heard a knock against his door. A pause. Then another series of light tapping. Slowly, the unlocked door creaked open, and Tohma poked his head out and looked in. Ryuichi was too weak to speak, so he merely let out a sigh of relief and gave a weak smile towards the producer and former band-mate.
"Ryuichi! Look at you!" Tohma shouted as he entered the apartment, his hands behind his back. "What the hell happened? Why didn't you just follow the plan and let everything happen the way it was supposed to?"
Ryuichi gave Tohma a look of confusion. He watched as Tohma lowered his arms and revealed the baseball bat he had hidden behind his back.
"Don't you know the one thing that's better at making money than a living rock star?" Tohma swung the bat and shattered a vase on the end table. "A dead one!" he shouted.
Ryuichi fell backwards and tried to crawl away as he attempted to wrap his mind around what was happening. Behind him, he heard a sick crack and felt warmth gush from one of his legs. Looking back, he watched as Tohma ground and crushed his already shattered knee into the carpet.
"If you would have listened to A.F., the way I have been, everything would be perfect. Instead, you decide to grow a heart and try to stop him."
Tohma used his foot to kick Ryuichi over on his back. Taking a practice swing, Tohma than placed the tip of the bat against the temple on Ryuichi skull.
"N- no..." Ryuichi managed to croak out, but he was too weak to fight. He could feel death begin to grab around his heart. Instead of fighting, he embraced the icy grip and began to give his mind over to that black abyss.
"Unfortunatly, A.F.'s beating isn't enough. You know too much and need to be silenced. Goodbye, old friend."
Ryuichi shut his eyes and waited. Nothing. No pain, no feeling, but he heard the sickening crack of a skull breaking. He waited, but death never took him away. Opening his eyes, he saw an unconscious Tohma laying next to him with blood seeping out of his head, and a wide eyed Sakano, breathing heavily, and holding the same fire poker that had been used to cripple Ryuichi.
He threw the fire poker down, pulled out his handkerchief, and began to wipe Ryuichi face clean. "C'mon," he said, "Let's get you to a hospital."
Shuichi:
Running across the park, Shuichi looked up and saw K standing next to Yuki. Shuichi's face broke out into a smile, and he ran forward. Suddenly, his blood ran cold as he watched A.F. come up from behind and aim a gun at Yuki's head. He watched as A.F. squeezed the trigger. Before hearing any bang, Shuichi opened his mouth and let out a horrifying scream.
Yuki:
Yuki watched as A.F.'s finger tensed. Turning to K, he said, "Take care of Shuichi."
K smiled and responded, "I won't need to."
Before Yuki could question K's statement, he saw A.F. close his finger around the trigger. He shut his eyes and waited for the bullet to rip through his skull and end his thoughts. But nothing came. Across the park, he heard a familiar scream and he opened his eyes.
"What the fuck?" A.F. shouted as he opened the chamber of the gun to discover it was empty."
K threw a handful of bullets at A.F., "When I took the gun from Yuki, I made sure to unload it."
"I thought you said it was my choice if I wanted to die?" Yuki said with a smile.
"Yes," K responded with a nod, "But I had to be prepared if you tried to make the wrong choice."
"Fuck this," A.F. said as he threw the gun down, "I'll kill you with my bare hands!"
"Get away from my Yuki!" A.F. turned around and saw Shuichi run towards him and crash a rock against his head. Screaming, A.F. wiped the blood off his face and grabbed Shuichi by the neck.
"Fuck you, Yuki!" A.F. screamed as he began to drag Shuichi to thick area of trees. K pulled out a gun while Yuki jumped off the bench to chase them down. By the time he reached the trees, A.F. and Shuichi had vanished.
He fell to his knees as K ran up besides him and pulled out his cell phone. Yuki beat his fists against the ground as tears burned his eyes. "A.F." he hissed under his breath, "I... will... kill you."
After Note:
Yay! I finished another chapter! This weekend is Collosalcon at Kalahari! I will be doing my Eiri Yuki cosplay, along with my Soubi cosplay! SO excited!