On the Street of Dreams

Chapter summary: “He just left,” came Hiro’s voice over the line.

***

Eiri’s Face Off


Eiri’s head was spinning. He felt violently ill. It felt as if he were suffocating. It just seemed so surreal. Eiri did not want to believe it. It was too radical, too extreme. It was like something out of a book or a Lifetime movie. He wanted to bury his head in the sand and forget everything he just heard, pretend it never happened and go back to the way things used to be. Go back to what he knew and was comfortable with. It was like learning that face on the milk carton belonged to you. You did not want to believe it, could not believe it, even though the evidence was slapping you in the face.

Everything he used to know, his whole world had been one giant lie fabricated by his own family.

This was too much.

Because his mother had been a neutral, his abandoning him and his brother and sister had translated into all neutrals not being worth spit. If his mother could be a heartless jerk, than what was to stop the rest of them from being the same way? He knew it was unfair, but that was how his brain processed the whole thing. It was how he had been able to cope with the rejection. And that transferred into alienating the only person he ever felt a strong attraction for, a yearning for, a connection with.

This was their entire fault. His indecision over what to do now about his and Shu’s relationship was because of them!

Eiri did not get it. How could his father agree to something like that? How could he allow his mother to just waltz right in and take over his life like that? Had he not loved the man whom he married, the man whom borne his children? He could not have loved him very much if he had been so willing to go along with his mother’s dastardly plan and let her toss him into the wind like a piece of useless lint.

The mind numbing shock was slowly starting to give way to blind fury.

He spent his entire life despising someone he thought hated him and wanted nothing to do with, but now everything he knew was no longer valid. Did these people understand what kind of hell they put him through?

Before he had time to think about it, Eiri found himself striding out of the shadows beside the temple towards the three old biddies. His grandmother and her two sisters were still chatting away without a care in the world and had yet to notice him.

“…ka is such a beautiful girl,” his grandmother was saying softly.

“Very kind and considerate,” Aunt Sanami agreed, nodding.

“And quiet,” Aunt Shuri exclaimed. “She’ll make a very obedient wife for Eiri.”

That stopped Eiri cold. He blinked in confusion, his burning fury ebbing away in the face of his bewilderment, but his perplexity was washed away as his anger returned with a vengeance when he realized the girl they were talking about was probably the same one his father was trying to get him to marry, the girl Tatsuha told Shu about. It had been the reason why he had chosen to go to Tokyo that weekend instead of coming to his father’s dinner party.

He stopped to think. If he would have known all this before, he could have blown off the interview and actually came to dinner, with Shuichi. That would have been great. Just seeing the expression on his old man’s face would have been worth the visit back home.

Maybe he could still do that. That would really get their goat, especially when they realize not only was Shuichi a man, but a neutral? Oh, yes. He would more than eagerly come home for a visit. But was it right to use the kid like that, to get his family off his back? What about afterwards? Would he be able to handle something he had spent his whole life hating?

All that would have to wait though. First things first. He had to deal with his grandmother and her two sisters.

A surge of rage poured over him. Who did they think they were, toying with his life like this, as if he were some brainless idiot? What gave them the right to carve out a future for him and screw up everything he had worked so hard for?

Damn them all to hell!

“And of course,” Eiri said irately, stepping forward, “my opinion doesn’t count.”

Grandmother Maki spun around, a hand over her heart. “Eiri,” she gasped in surprise.

“Eiri,” Aunt Sanami and Aunt Shuri shrieked in frightened surprise, catching sight of the blond writer.

He nodded his head somewhat politely in their direction.

“When did you get here?” Aunt Shuri asked her nephew in pleased astonishment, embracing him.

“A while ago,” he said stoically. When his aunt let him go, he felt dirty, soiled, and desperately wanted to shower.

“You look good, Eiri,” Aunt Sanami commented, hugging her nephew as well.

“Thank you,” he grunted, feeling slightly embarrassed despite everything. He felt twice as dirty now. A nice long, scolding soak in the bathtub was what he needed. It felt as if he was covered in the filth that was his family’s corrupted lies.

“We missed you at dinner on Friday, Eiri,” Grandmother Maki said poignantly.

Cannot say the same thing, Eiri thought. “I had a previous engagement,” he admitted. “If I had known before that my father was planning a family get together, I would have made the extra effort to attend,” he lied effortlessly. His was speech fluid and flawless, each word was accentuated carefully. He was trying to keep himself as composed and polite as he could. As angry and upset as he was with every single Uesugi right now, he did not want to make a scene. And this way, he might just be able to figure out just what the hell they thought they were doing. “As it was, I had a scheduled interview and photo shoot in Tokyo with a very celebrated journalist that could not be broken.” Silence descended upon the group, which Eiri had no inclination to break. He regarded the elder Uesugi women, trying to keep his swelling anger in check, but he could see his grandmother’s rising fury rapidly and she was not trying to hide how angry she was.

“Eiri, this has got to stop,” Grandmother Maki exploded.

Eiri’s eyebrow shot up. “What has to?”

“This! This,” she exclaimed, gesturing wildly at him.

Oh, that clarifies things, he thought.

“You’re twenty-two, Eiri,” Aunt Shuri reminded him.

Eiri barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Thanks, he thought sarcastically. I never would have remembered.

“And it’s about time you started taking on more responsibility around here.”

Eiri glared suspiciously at her. And what was that supposed to mean?

“This little rebellion of yours has gone on long enough,” Grandmother Maki stated firmly.

Oh, so now it was a rebellion!

“You’re father is too soft with you boys! He lets you get away with way too much,” she snapped angrily. “First he lets Tatsuha runs off with that…that gay rock star, that freak, who’s perverting and corrupting that innocent boy!”

Eiri chuckled softly in amusement. Tatsuha? Innocent? Ryuichi was perverting and corrupting him? Please! If anything, it was the other way around.

“And then there’s you!”

Eiri raised an eyebrow at that. Oh? He crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He could not wait to hear this.

“First off, you stand out way too much!”

Aunt Shuri nodded in agreement. “That milky white skin, that blond hair and yellow eyes!” She clucked her tongue.

Eiri’s eye twitched. Oh, so now it was his fault he looked like this? And his genes had nothing to with it whatsoever? The fact that they had some Caucasian blood somewhere back in the Uesugi lineage had no bearing on the way he looked.

And of course, Aunt Sanami had to add her two cents. “And that earring-“

That was it! Enough was enough! “So sorry we’re all so screwed up,” he shouted furiously. He had the pleasure of seeing his grandmother and aunts pale and back away from him in fright. “But you see,” he continued in false sweetness, “we grew up without a mother!”

The women just stood there staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

His grandmother was the first to recover. “How dare you,” she hissed.

“No, how dare you!”

Aunt Shuri and Sanami gasped at the gull of their nephew.

“How dare you try to rule this family like a dictatorship? What the fuck do you know about anything? Just because your life has been nothing but a miserable, fucked up existence doesn’t give you the right to make everyone else around you miserable too!”

That was all too true. His grandmother’s parents, his great grandparents, had arranged her marriage before she was even born. Grandmother Maki was raised strictly in the traditional Japanese role of dutiful housewife. She had had no say in anything pertaining to her life. Nothing. As much as she hated it, she said nothing, went along with everything and did everything expected of her.

“Father found someone he loved with all his heart, someone he could picture himself spending the rest of his life with, someone he could not live without and you hated that! Honor! Tradition! Bullshit! You were jealous! You were given no choices and you were going to make damn sure that your children didn’t either!

“And don’t think I don’t know what that dinner on Friday really was! It’s never crossed any of your minds that I may be seeing someone! That I have no desire whatsoever of marrying some dumb chick just so I can produce an heir. I’m not like you and I have no desire to be!”

“Eiri,” Grandmother Maki scolded, stepping towards her grandson. “Have some respect!”

Eiri held back a growl and squinted at his grandmother angrily. She had the gull to talk about respect? After everything she did?

“Ayaka Usami is the only daughter of the Ryugan Temple. She is a very proper young lady.”

Eiri rolled his eyes. And he should care because…?

“She would make a very humble wife.”

Humble? What century was she living in?

What a minute. Ayaka Usami? Daughter of the Ryugan temple? Why did that name sound familiar? Eiri shrugged it off. It did not really matter who she was because he did not intend to marry her or any chick now or ever. He did not care how disrespectful or dishonorable he was being.

“I don’t care who she is,” Eiri snapped. “I don’t care how nice, pretty, modest, prim and proper she may be! If I’m going to get married, I’ll choose my own bride!” A picture of his pink haired singer flashed through his mind and his heart soared.

“Eiri dear,” Aunt Sanami said, stepping forward and laying a hand on his arm. “See reason! Ms. Usami-“

“Is someone I have no interest in,” Eiri snapped. “She could be the last female on the face of the planet and I still would not touch her! I would rather let the Human species die out then betray Shuichi!”

The three older women gasped.

Eiri blinked. Where had that come from? Strangely enough, he meant it. Shaking his head, he gave them a not so polite once over. With a sneer, he turned on his heel and marched off towards his car, slipping on his sunglasses.

Here was to hoping he did not run into anyone else.

As he made his way across the yard to the driveway, he heard the laughter, squeals and the loud voices competing with one another. He heard his father’s deep chuckle boom above everything else.

Eiri’s nails made half moon shapes in his palms. He needed a cigarette.

He knew he had to confront his father eventually, but right now, if he laid eyes on the man, there was no telling what he would do. It was a wonder he had been able to restrain himself earlier.

Eiri wove around the dozens of cars to his black Mercedes Slé. He was fumbling in his pockets for his car keys when an annoyingly sweet voice called out to him. Eiri closed his eyes and breathed deeply, praying for patience. He was in no mood to deal with this shit. He ignored the girl as he unlocked and opened his car door. That soft girly voice continued calling out to him.

He was sliding into his car when a small well-groomed hand appeared on his arm.

Sighing in irritation, he looked up and saw a petite, young girl that could not be much older than Shuichi with long shinning brown hair. She was a pretty thing in a long, simple skirt and plain white blouse buttoned all the way to her neck and down to her wrists. She looked vaguely familiar, but he could not place where he had seen her before, but really did not care either way.

“Eiri,” she smiled sweetly and innocently.

Eiri turned his head sharply. He stared at her coldly.

The girl dropped her head and blushed a deep crimson when she met his eyes.

He sighed in disgust and irritation. He was not in the mood to play nice. “Who’re you?” he snapped angrily. “What do you want?”

The girl was not put off by his attitude. “Ayaka,” she whispered. “Ayaka Usami.” Her eyes rolled up and looked at him shyly.

Ah! So, she was Ayaka. He looked her over once. Once again, he was hit with a sense of familiarity. Then it hit him. He mentally slapped himself for being so stupid.

He could barely remember an Ayaka from when he was growing up. She had been a very shy and quiet little girl who tagged along with him and Tatsuha everywhere they went. She used to follow them around like a little lost puppy and annoyed the hell out of them. It looked as if time had not changed her or his feelings towards her one bit, especially not her fascination with him. That was just great.

“When Daddy first mentioned the arranged marriage,” Ayaka told him in a soft voice, “I was angry, but when he told me I was to be married to you-“

“Look, Ayaka,” he said, his voice strained with the effort to keep himself from lashing out. He grabbed her hand and gently lifted it off his arm.

Ayaka frowned, looking at him in confusion.

“I don’t know what my father told you, but I have no intention of marrying you,” he told her evenly.

Ayaka’s face fell. “But, Eiri,” she protested weakly. “I love-“

“I’m seeing someone,” he said point-blank. “And if I marry anyone, it will be him.”

Ayaka paled.

Eiri blinked, astonished once again at what had come out of his mouth. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He slammed the car door, turned on the ignition and peeled out of the driveway and down the street, not once looking back.

*

The pen hesitated over the bottom right hand corner. Against his better judgment, Hiro signed the check with a heavy sigh and then handed it over to his best friend.

“Shuichi,” he sighed.

This was a bad idea. He knew it. He had a feeling this was going to come back and bite him on the ass. What did Shu need ¥68,000 for anyway?

Shuichi shook his head as he took the check and stuck it in his bag for safekeeping. “Please, Hiro,” he pleaded. “Don’t.” He searched the older man’s face intently. “Just trust me, okay?”

Hiro sighed heavily. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his long reddish-brown hair. “I do, Shu, but….” he said, opening his eyes and planting his hands on the smaller man’s shoulders. “You’re my best friend and you know I love you, right?”

Shuichi smiled sadly at Hiro. “I know.”

“If you were in trouble, you’d tell me, right?” he asked pleadingly, staring into those supernatural violet eyes.

“You know I would.” And under normal circumstances, he would, but not this time. This was something he had to take care of by himself. He could not drag anybody else into this mess. As Tatsuha said earlier, he did the crime, now he had to do the time.

Besides, if he told Hiro what he needed the money for, he would have to tell him everything and the last thing he wanted was for his best friend to know that he had been some mob boss wannabe’s concubine, nothing more than some whore. He just would not be able to face Hiro after that confession. And he certainly did not want to tell him about Taki or Eiri. Hiro would kill Taki and Eiri…Shuichi did not want to take the risk that Hiro would let it slip about their relationship and have it get back to the wrong people. Despite the fact that he and Eiri were at odds right now, Shuichi did not want to cause Eiri any problems.

Hiro dropped his hands with a sigh.

Shuichi shouldered his bag and slipped into his sneakers. “Thanks, Hiro,” he told his friend over his shoulder. “And…please don’t tell anyone I was here.”

“Sure,” Hiro said automatically. He opened the apartment door and stepped out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

Hiro looked over his shoulder at the phone, biting his lip. He had promised him he would call if he heard from Shuichi, but he had also promised Shu not to say anything, but what if Shu was in trouble? He was his best friend and best friends looked out for one another, right?

He walked across the room, grabbed the phone and pressed speed dial.

*

Tatsuha slowed to a stop as a light turned red. Sighing in frustration, he leaned his head against the headrest and smacked the steering wheel hard. This was ridiculous. He had looked up and down almost every street in the damn city! Where the hell could Shuichi be? How hard was it to find a pinked haired sixteen year old?

The ringing of his cell shook him out of his thoughts.

Reaching over to the passenger seat, he picked up his phone. Checking the digital display, his eyes widened. Flipping it open, he cried loudly, his heart beating rapidly, “Tell me you heard from him!”

“He just left,” came Hiro’s voice over the line.

Tatsuha’s heart was beating in excitement. When the light finally turned green, he floored it and weaved in and out of traffic like a maniac making his way to Hiro’s place. His was deaf to the angry protests that followed in his wake.

In his apartment, Hiro walked out onto the porch and leaned over the railing. He could still see Shuichi in the distance, walking away towards the downtown area. He relayed this to Tatsuha.

“Good. Thanks, I’m on my way.”

“Wait, Tatsuha,” Hiro cried over the line, trying to catch the older man before he hung up.

“Yeah?”

“Shuichi…”

A dead weight landed in the pit of Tatsuha’s stomach. “Yeah,” he prodded against his better judgment.

Hiro hesitated. “He, uh…”

“He…what?” Now his heart was beating from an entirely different reason.

Hiro licked suddenly dry lips. “You know that the advances we got from signing with NG have not cleared yet right?”

“I…yeah,” he admitted. “Shu said something about that. Why?” He was nearly there.

“Well, Shu came over here wanting to know if I had divided up the money we earned doing gigs and whatnot all over Kyoto.”

“’Kay.” Where was he going with this?

“I told him not yet. I had planned on going to the bank tomorrow morning.” Hiro paused, taking a breath and gathering his thoughts. “He asked how much his share was. I told him and he asked for…for ¥68,000.”

Tatsuha blinked. “68,000? What does he need all that…mon…ey for?” His eyes widened as a horrible thought occurred to him. Shu really would not…? “Shit,” he cursed loudly. He flipped his phone shut with a snap and threw his phone onto the passenger seat, flying through an intersection as the light changed to red. He hoped to God he was wrong and he just had an overactive imagination. Please, God, let me get there in time!

*

With his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans, Shuichi walked down the crowded sidewalk with his head bowed. He stared at the ground, not really seeing it. With each step he took towards the clinic, it felt as if his feet got heavier and heavier.

It felt as if he were walking to his death. His heart hurt. His stomach was in knots and he felt nauseous. His chest was tight and his breathing was sharp and labored.

He really did not want to do this, but what other choice did he have?

*

Watching from the shadows, Taki followed several feet behind the kid. He was careful to stay hidden and not let Shuichi see him.

He had been getting off the bus and on his way to his new job when he had spotted his ex-lover.

A surge of anger washed over him. Shuichi ruined everything! Everything! Because of his big mouth, Kizou had kicked him and the guys out of the compound. That same night, the executives at NG denied them a contract with the new record company claiming they just did not have what they were looking for.

On top of that, the pink haired idiot decided that he did not need him anymore. He had fallen in love and found himself a better lover. Ha! There was only one person good enough for Shuichi and that was him! And it was about time he showed him that.

***