Kumagoro\'s New Shiny

**Typical fanfic warnings—we don’t own Gravi or it’s characters. Please be respectful to our originals and not use them without asking. This fic takes place near the end of Ryuichi’s time in America, shortly before the beginning of the anime.

Major angst warnings—if you’re hoping for a constantly bouncing Ryu-chan, this isn’t the fic to read. -_- This is angst angst angst, so read at your own risk!

//= Thoughts
*= emphasis
::= speaking in Japanese
**


Kumagoro’s New Shiny
Chapter Ten

The next several days passed in a blur; somehow K was able to pull strings to get his paperwork in order, buy him almost an entirely new wardrobe, and sweep him off to another country before he could blink. It was a bit much for him, even for someone as adaptable as Jace, but he\'d managed, so far, not to let anything get him down.

It was a bit different matter, however, when he slipped out of the airport bathroom, having taken a detour while K tried to locate their . Th. The infamous Tohma…with Ryuichi unsure how to approach the reunion, Jace had no idea. But when he rejoined the group to find Ryuichi gushing over a youthful-looking blonde, he remembered all the protocol he\'d been taught, and bowed deeply. \"::Good to meet you, Seguchi-san.::\"

Tohma glanced up at the boy as Ryuichi beamed. \"::Aah! Tohma, here he is.::\" He grabbed Jace by the arm and tugged him forward before switchio Eno English. \"Jace, this is Tohma Seguchi. Tohma, this is Jace Jackson. He doesn\'t speak Japanese very well yet, but he\'s learning.\"

\"::So I see.::\" Tohma\'s eyes darted briefly between the pair before bowing as well. \"It is nice to meet you, Mr. Jackson. I did not realize there would be another joining us.\" He glanced pointedly at K.

K grinned innocently. \"::Picked up a stray, sort of,::\" he admitted lightly. \"::He\'s a good boy, really. The kid\'s pretty attached.::\"

Jace glanced between them. //Is he talking about me?// He straightened, hoping it would be all right to speak in English. \"Mr. Sakuma-san said he could use an assistant,\" he said with a smile. \"I\'m looking forward to it.\"

\"That\'s right,\" Ryuichi put in, pouncing playfully on the younger boy, hugging his shoulders tightly. \"So you better be nice, Tohma.\"

Eyes slightly narrowed, he nodded. \"::I\'m going to assume you\'re paying him. NG doesn\'t really have the funds to support \'tricks.\'::\"

Ryuichi grew serious, his anxious movements stilling and his arms tightening just slightly. //Tohma....// They stared at each other through their sunglasses. \"::I\'ve got it covered,::\" he replied at last, tone low.

//He doesn\'t look happy.// Jace tried not to frown, though he could easily recognize the face Tohma was giving him. //I\'m still a whore, as far as he\'s concerned, by the look of it.//

K, as was only his way, broke the tension by dragging Tohma into a headlock. \"Oh come on, don\'t be rude to the boy. He\'s a fast learner and a good sport! Even learned to piss in a hole, didn\'t you, kid?\"

\"Oh--right,\" Jace perked up. He grinned. \"Japanese toilets are weird.\"

Ryuichi laughed, his mood changing immediately as he dragged Jace after them. \"I agree. Good thing I already got a regular toilet in my place.\"

Tohma pulled away from K, straightening his coat as he sent a brief glance back at the pair. //Tall blonde and a pop singer.// He sighed to himself as he continued to lead the way. //Now I\'m not so sure they should meet.//

---

Ryuichi swung his arms happily, ignoring the people who had to dodge out of his way as he skipped. \"Shopping, shopping, shopping on our day off!\" he sang in English, causing several curious stares. He beamed at Jace walking next to him. \"It\'s your three week anniversary--we should do something fun!\"

\"Something fun?\" Jace rolled his eyes. \"Like sex? Haven\'t you had enough?\" He would have given him a spank or a bump or even a kiss, but he\'d caught on pretty quickly that such displays of affection weren\'t well received here. He wasn\'t sure he wanted the attention. He settled forchinching the edge of Ryuichi\'s coat to keep from being swept away from him in the crowd.

He giggled in reply. \"Weren\'t you the one wiggling up to me the other night?\" he teased. \"I think we\'re both pretty insatiable, hmm?\" Ryuichi caught his wrist to tug him closer, smiling brightly as they continued on.

//Not really much else to do.// Jace glanced around, hoping the street would seem more familiar. It…did, a little, but he still didn\'t know what half the stores were, and knew the street names even less. Though he had been doing his best to fit into his new home it was still somewhat daunting. \"So? What did you have in mind?\"

\"Food!\" he crowed. \"I want something good to eat. What do you want? Sushi? Or maybe even burgers? Oooh, that would be good....\" Ryuichi started turning in circles, searching for a possible place.

\"Burgers?\" Jace echoed hopefully, his mood instantly revived. //If I can get some meat, that\'d be great. I\'m so sick of rice and miso!// He bounced lightly. \"None of that teriyaki shit--I want real a real burger.\"

Ryuichi brightened at the other\'s expression. \"Then it\'s settled! There\'s a great place just down around the corner.\" He gave the other another brief tug before skipping down the street again. \"Burgers burgers burgers and fries!\"

\"Hey--wait up!\" Jace hurried after him, bumping into several people on his way. He said quick apologies and continued. //They…all look the same....// He bit his lip, but just when he was about to reach Ryuichi\'s side once more he ran into a group of high schoolers that his companion had somehow managed to avoid. They pushed him irritably aside, and when he\'d gathered his balance and wits once more, he turned his gaze up to find...a sea of dark-haired heads.

//Oh shit.//

Ryuichi skipped his way around the corner, still singing to himself as he reached the door. \"Tada! Here we are, Ja--\" Turning, he paused, blinking to find himself alone. \"Jace?\"

Jace stood still, glancing around carefully. His greater height was an advantage, but Ryuichi hadn\'t dyed his hair recently, and he couldn\'t pick him out of the crowd of same-looking men, women, and teens. //Okay, just…stay calm.// Jace took a deep breath and moved closer to the shops. //Ryu will realize you\'re gone and come back. You\'re not lost. You\'re d--yd--you can\'t get lost in Japan.//

\"::Hey. Aren\'t you going to apologize?::\"

Jace glanced up, a little startled to find the high school boys he\'d bumped into glaring at him. One of them was talking to him with a definite air of annoyance. \"Um...shit.\" He grinned sheepishly. \"::I\'m American,::\" he said in his own broken Japanese. \"::I can not speall.:ll.::\"

The teens glanced at each other, moving closer. A second boy lifted his chin in a smirk. \"You bow then,\" he said in heavily accented English, pointing towards the ground. \"In sorry.\"

\"Bow?\" Jace scowled, and set his hands on his hips. \"Listen, punks, I just bumped into you. It\'s not a big deal. And I\'m not going to bow.\" When the boys stared at him, not following his English, he tried again. \"Me,\" he said, gesturing. \"No bowie, got it? Me no bow. Got that?\" He snorted. \"Shit head.\"

\"Shit head?\" one of the boys echoed. He seemed to understand that much, and he shoved Jace hard in the chest, so that his back struck the store window behind him. \"::So I\'m a \'shit head\', huh?\"

\"::Punk. You really going to mess around with us?::\" He caught Jace\'s chin in a tight grip, eyes narrowed threatening. \"You bow--apologize. Or you eat fist. Shit head,\" heed fed for good measure.

//I didn\'t back down to Ulrich, I\'m not backing down to high school kids.// Jace slapped the boy\'s hand away, meeting his gaze without flinching. \"No,\" he replied. And then, remembering a few of the phrases he\'d actually bothered to look up in his Japanese dictionary, added, \"::Go fuck yourself.::\"

Ryuichi finally spotted a flash of sunlight on blond, and without hesitating he plowed through the group of boys without a thought. \"There you are!\" he crowed, grabbing him around the neck before glancing at the boys. \"::Thanks for finding him!::\" he said brightly in Japanese. \"::I hope he wasn\'t too much trouble--bye!::\" Without giving them a chance to reply, he started pulling Jace back down the street.

Jace nearly collapsed in relief, though that probably wasn\'t a good idea--the boys were still glaring after them, and he stuck close to Ryuichi\'s side as they continued toward the restaurant. \"Jesus, took you long enough!\" he said exaggeratedly. \"I thought I was going to have to break his face.\"

Ryuichi checked him over worriedly as they slipped around the corner. \"You\'re okay though, right? I thought you were right behind me--what happened?\"

\"They plowed right into me! And you all look the same, so I kinda...lost sight.\" Jace hugged Ryuichi\'s arm. Though he wasn\'t exactly shaken by the experience, he couldn\'t help the uneasy quiver at the back of his stomach. \"But yeah, I\'m okay.\"

Ryuichi turned to touch his forehead against Jace\'s temple in a brief sign of comfort, uncaring of whoever might be watching. //I\'m sorry.// \"I\'ll slow down,\" he promised, tugging him into the dinner and to a booth. \"Lets get you some good food, okay?\"

\"Yeah, okay.\" Jace slid into the seat opposite him, regaining his composure. \"I\'m fine,\" he assured with a grin. \"Get some meat in me, and I\'ll be perfect.\" He winked.

Relieved, Ryuichi nodded. He stretched out a foot to brush his lover\'s ankle. \"Geatevatever you want--it\'s your anniversary, after all.\" //I\'m glad he\'s alright.//

\"Okay!\" Jace glanced at the menu, and was glad to find it was one of those trendy joints that had English written in it. He quickly found himself the biggest looking burger on the menu and made a point to ignore the outrageous price.

Ryuichi ordered their meals happily, playing with the condiment bottles left on the table. \"We should go shopping after this,\" he said brightly. \"There\'s g be be a big concert in another week or two with that young guy I mentioned. And a party,\" he added in a sing-song, wiggling his eyebrows.

\"Oh?\" Jace grinned, but then he ducked into his shoulders a bit. //Right, a party. It\'s…been a while since I\'ve been to one of those.// He gulped down his water. //It\'s not like I\'ll be sneaking into any back rooms.//

\"Yeah! We should get some sexy outfits.\" He giggled, nearly dancing in his seat. \"Though that might take away from Shuichi....\" Ryuichi considered a moment, then shrugged. \"Ah well. It\'s his concert--he\'ll get enough attention.\"

\"Shuchi?\" Jace laughed. \"Sounds like sushi. But he must betty tty good, if he\'s getting a hot shot like you to notice him.\"

\"Shu-i-chi,\" he corrected automatically. Ryuichi\'s expression softened faintly, accepting his soda as it arrived and taking a sip. \"He\'s...a lot like I was,\" he said, tone a bit more subdued than it had been a moment ago.

Jace\'s eyebrows perked. \"Oh?\" He set his chin on his palm with a grin. \"A crazy plushie freak?\"

Ryuichi chuckled, playing with his straw. \"Naw, that\'s what I am now, right?\" He watched the ice swirl in his cup, the bubbles rising to the surface. \"Shuichi\'s energetic, talented, determined. Young....\"

Jace chuckled. \"He does have that on you,\" he teased, kicking him lightly under the table. \"But yeah, you do sound a lot alike.\"

\"You should see him,\" he went on. \"He\'s got pink hair--stands out even more than you do.\" Ryuichi took another sip. \"Says he was a big fan, wanted to be like we were, in Grasper. Wanted to surpass us.\"

\"Yeah?\" Jace realized he liked the way Ryuichi talked about this kid--there was something like pride in his face that made his eyes light, making him all the more handsome. \"Has he?\"

Ryuichi snorted, ducking in his se\"He\"He hasn\'t gone to America yet, but K will probably drag him off eventually. Then he just needs to make a comeback. After that....\" He shrugged.

\"Well, I hope I get to meet him,\" Jace said with a smirk. \"He sounds funny.\" He reached across the table to give Ryuichi\'s hand a squeeze. \"Though I\'m sure he has a long way to go before reaching you.\"

Ryuichi laughed and returned the squeeze. \"I don\'t know--he\'s pretty quick.\" Deciding to change the subject, he took a long drink before straightening and brightening. \"Mmm, you should see what else we have in common,\" he teased, giving Jace an obviously look over.

Jace\'s interest perked. \"Really? Small world.\" He laughed. \"Though, you\'re all \'artists\' after all.\"

\"Yeah, but this would really surprise you.\" He giggled. \"In fact, I think I\'ll save it--wait until you actually get to meet him.\" Ryuichi abruptly grinned. \"Ooh, we should make them double with us. Yuki would have a fit, I\'d bet.\"

\"Yucky?\" Jace shook his head. \"Yucky sushi. That\'s just perfect!\" He applauded as their order arrived.

Ryuichi laughed, raising his drink in a mock toast before stuffing a pair of fries in his mouth. \"You really are awful at Japanese,\" he teased as he kicked at him under the table. \"You better eat all of that burger, too, since I\'m paying a fortune for it.\"

\"Then it\'s a good thing you\'re around to rescue me,\" Jace laughed and he munched happily on his fries. Though his own words rose in him a moment of relived anxiety, he pushed it down. \"I\'m trying, you know.\"

\"I know. And I\'m just teasing you.\" He rubbed his foot along the back of Jace\'s left calf, grinning over his own burger. \"You have been getting better, though. You\'re better than I was when learning English, back when I first got to America.\"

\"If you say so.\" Determined to get the rest of his spirits back, Jace set into his burger, taking huge bites.

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