On the Street of Dreams

Chapter summary: When he heard the annoyed growl over the line, Ma-kun said, “He passed away earlier this morning.”
Insert: “Web of Night”, TM Revolution

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Web of Night - Never Say Goodbye


Without the usual daytime chaos, the hospital seemed eerily empty. The only sound came from the soft-soled sneakers squeaking against the laminate floors as they went about their duties. Janitors in grey overalls pushed buckets down the empty halls with mops as they took advantage of the downtime to clean and sterilize the hospital.

It was well after midnight and the hospital was as silent as a tomb, but the serene silence was shattered quite unexpectedly as an alarm went off in the ICU ward. The nurses in their brightly colored uniforms and white lab coats immediately jumped into action. They knew exactly what to do thanks to their training. Dr. Burrey, a physician visiting Japan from Wales on a cultural exchange, happened to be at the nurse’s station updating one of his patient charts. When the bell sounded, he cursed sharply and raced down the hall. He was vaguely aware of a female voice over the intercom.

The door to an ICU room was flung open and a stampede of men and women flew into the room. There, the beeping was the loudest. Shouts, various orders and a cacophony of noise filtered through the once silent hospital corridors.

The patient lying prone in the hospital bed looked like he was taking part in a reenactment of the mummification process that all ancient Egyptians participated in with all the bandages encasing him. It also looked as if he was part of some scientific experiment in a futuristic sci-fi movie with all the tubes and wires stuck to him. He was surrounded by machines of every shape and size that monitored every aspect of his health and status. And they all shouted that things were going down hill and fast.

The covers were flung back by someone, but in all the commotion, it was not clear who was responsible, but it was not important. CPR was started, thirty chest compressions before breathing in the patients mouth. When the crash cart with the defibrillator finally arrived, the paddles were pressed against the young man’s chest, taking the place of the manual labor.

“Clear!”

A button was pressed and the bandaged body jumped off the bed. This was tried repeatedly, each time the voltage upped, but try as they might, soon it became evident that their tries were futile.

The noise ceased and silence once again reigned supreme in the hospital. The only sound was a loud steady beep.

“Call,” said Dr. Burrey, glancing down at his watch.

A heavy feeling of disappointment and frustration weighed heavily upon the occupants of the room.

At ten after one in the morning, one Takanori “Taki” Aizawa was pronounced dead.

The machines were shut off and the sheet was laid over the now deceased patient.

*

In the distance, it was just beginning to grow lighter with the approaching dawn. It had been a cool night with a gentle warm breeze, but with the approaching daybreak, the wind died and the heat started to warm the land. It was going to be another scorcher. It was a good thing he had had his air conditioner fixed.

Eiri sat on the stone railing that enclosed the porch and leaned against the side of the apartment building, one leg bent before him and the other hanging straight at his side. Tipping his head back, he placed his cigarette between his lips, inhaled deeply and then tossed the butt on the cement block, crushing it under his foot and exhaled a thin stream of smoke into the air.

He vaulted when he heard the sudden sharp shrill of the phone. He had left the patio doors open to let the breeze circulate through the apartment and so he could hear Shuichi in case the kid woke up. Cursing his jumpiness, he walked back into the house and grabbed the nearest extension.

He glanced at the clock in the corner. Red glowing numbers told him it was a little after five in the morning. Whoever thought it was funny to call so early was a dead man. “Hello?” he asked irately.

“Uh,” stuttered the male voice over the line.

Eiri sighed heavily. It was way too early for this crap.

“Uhm, is this…the Uesugi residence?”

Eiri glared through squinted eyes, fuming with impatience. “It depends,” he snapped. Fuck etiquette. At five o’clock in the goddamn morning, he was not in the mood to deal with morons who could not tell their ass from a hole in the ground.

“Uh,” stuttered the man.

Eiri heard him gulp. He was beginning to get a headache. “Was there a point to this phone call, other than annoying the hell out of me? Or do you just get a kick out of waking people up at five in the morning?” he snapped harshly.

“Uh, well...I was…Is Shuichi there,” he said quietly. His voice sounded thick and nasally. Eiri wondered about that. “I called his cell phone and his brother told me he was with you.”

Eiri growled. Why the hell would that idiot do something stupid like that? “He’s asleep,” he snapped. “What do you want?”

The man cleared his throat. “My name is Ma-kun. I’m a friend of Shuichi’s.”

Eiri raised a suspicious eyebrow at that. He could not remember Shuichi ever mentioning this Ma-kun guy. A surge of jealousy washed over him. How did his Shuichi know this guy? Was he a friend or a…“friend”?

“And…?” His voice betrayed his suspicion and malice.

Ma-kun had a feeling this was the guy he heard about from Kizou and Taki the other week. Just thinking about his old friend sent a fresh wave of sadness washing over him. He blinked rapidly to dispel the gathering tears blurring his vision. He cleared his throat, trying to vanquish a sudden lump in his throat. “I got a phone call from Mrs. Aizawa not too long ago,” he told Eiri, his voice tight and strained.

“And I should care because...?”

When Ma received the phone call from Taki’s mother yesterday about the accident, he had been sure that the man would pull through. He was strong and as stubborn as a mule. That was the reason he decided to wait to go and visit him. Taki had survived some major shit in the past, so something as trivial as an accident was not going to stop him. Or so that was what he tried to convince himself anyway. In truth, the real reason why he put off going to see him was that he had been afraid. He did not want to see the man he regarded as somewhat of a superman looking so fragile and helpless. It was like realizing the person you had a crush on was nothing more than a heartless jerk. It shatters your illusion and that was what Ma-kun had been trying to avoid.

“I thought…I thought he’d like to know that…” His voice choked to a halt. He tipped his head back and opened his eyes wide. “Tell Shu that Taki…”

This was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He had known Taki his entire life. He was his best friend. As hard as he tried, he could not remember when he met him. It had been when they were children he was sure of that, but the rest was clouded in mystery, not that it really mattered. Taki had always been their leader. He had looked out for him and Ken. He had taken care of them.

But as much as he cared for his lead singer, not everyone felt the same way. Taki and Shu had never spoken one civil word to each another in the year they have known each other. In fact, as far as he knew, the two of them hated each other’s guts, had since the moment they laid eyes on one another. Actually, Taki had hated Shuichi on sight, or claimed to anyway. He said the boy was a freak, not natural.

Shuichi, on the other hand, had tried to be civil and courteous, but it had fast been apparent that friendship was the last thing on Taki’s mind. Though, Ma-kun had to admit he had always had a little suspicion about all that contempt Taki had for the pink haired boy. Especially after he started sleeping with him, but in all that time, Taki still claimed to hate Shuichi’s guts. He claimed that was all the boy was good for, but Ma had a feeling that Taki hated the boy not because he thought he was a “freak” but because having him around made him realize something about himself that he had been trying to ignore.

“What about that asshole?” came an angry, impatient growl.

Ma-kun snapped out of his thoughts with a sharp shake of his head. He cleared his throat of a threatening sob. There was a sharp pain in his heart when he heard the disgust that filled the older man’s voice. Shuichi must have told him about everything Taki did to him. Ma-kun could not blame him for hating Taki, but he could not find it in his heart to feel the same. To him, Taki would always be Taki, no matter what he did.

Nobody had told him what exactly happened this afternoon. All he knew was that Taki had been in a scuffle with someone and that when he turned to leave, he lost his balance and fell in front of an oncoming car. Now, he wondered if that “scuffle” had been with this guy.

When he heard the annoyed growl over the line, Ma-kun said, “He passed away earlier this morning.”

Eiri blinked stupidly as his mind drew a blank. Passed…away? As in dead? Gone? A grin slowly crossed his face. That meant Taki had not been killed instantly like he first ho-first thought, but what did that matter right now? He would be first in line to thank the Grim Reaper or Shinigami, or whatever the hell it was that helped a soul cross over. Now, that bastard was finally out of their hair for good. If Taki had survived, then that would have been a cause for alarm, especially with him being the father of Shuichi’s baby- unless there was something Shuichi had neglected to tell him.

His grin vanished as quickly as it appeared as he thought about his lover sleeping soundly down the hall.

He mumbled something that sounded almost like “thank you” before hanging up. He stared down the dark hallway, deep in thought. He could care less what happens to that evil bastard, but Shuichi was another story. Just how was he supposed to tell him about Aizawa?

1 Week Later

…Kimi ni kokoro tsunagare te
Kanarazu tadori tsukeru
Kizutsuku dake no shinjitsu kara
Omoi yo
Yume wo Kogase.

The song blared over the car speakers. The bass buzzed through the car, vibrating the frame. Eiri gripped the wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white under the pressure. He gritted his teeth in irritation. His head was pounding in time with the damn song. Not caring if he got a ticket, the writer sped up. The faster he got them home, the sooner he could turn this damn noise off!

Shuichi, oblivious to his boyfriend’s pain, bopped his head and tapped his finger against the car door in time with the beat.

“And that was ‘Web of Night’,” the DJ was saying over the ending of the song.

Shuichi smiled happily and flicked the radio off. He settled back into the seat with a content sigh.

“Thank God,” Eiri muttered as he turned down the street to his apartment.

“What?” Shuichi turned towards his lover.

“That damn shit was giving me a freaking headache.”

“Oh!” Shuichi blinked at Eiri. “I’m sorry,” he blushed, looking sheepish. “You should’ve said something. I woulda turned it down.”

Eiri sighed irritably. “Why must you insist on listening to that crap at deafening levels? You’re going to be deaf before you turn twenty at this rate.”

“What?” Shuichi stared in shock at the older man. “I will not,” he argued, shaking his head. “Besides, I love that song!”

Eiri cast his lover a quick glance with a snort. “And you can’t love that song at a lower volume?”

Shuichi blinked stupidly at him. “Why would I?”

Eiri sighed. Oh, boy, he thought. “Never mind,” he mumbled. “Anyway, what’s your excuse for every other time you watch TV or listen to the radio?”

Tohma Seguchi gave Shuichi the week off so he could relax and recuperate after everything that happened. Eiri had been the one who had insisted on his lover spending the time at his apartment and by the end of the second day he had been ready to toss the boy right out the door on his cute, little tight ass. It was something he had not known about his adorable boyfriend. Shuichi has to listen to the television and the radio at ear splitting levels. The damn brat just could not have silence in the house. To him it was sacrilegious, or something. It was very annoying and very distracting.

Shuichi shrugged nonchalant. “What can I say? Music is in my blood!” He tossed his hands in the air and laughed.

Eiri smirked, shaking his head in disbelief. “Unbelievable,” he said. “What. A. Moron.”

The laughter stopped as if a switch had been flicked. Shuichi turned towards him. “What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering how I got stuck with such a geek for a boyfriend.”

Shuichi beamed a smile at the writer. He clasped his hands in his lap. “Just lucky!”

Eiri snorted as he signaled and pulled into the driveway. Shuichi was a crazy kid with some quirky habits, but he loved him. Why? Now that was the question of the century. Why does the sun shine? Why is the grass green and the sky blue? Who knows? Who really cares?

“Hey, look!”

Shuichi’s shout snapped Eiri out of his thoughts. He followed the kids pointing finger and cursed. Standing outside his apartment were their brothers. “You’ve got to be kidding! Jeeze, why don’t they just move in if they’re going to come over every single freaking day?!”

“Oh, come on, Eiri! They’re family!”

Eiri pulled into his assigned parking spot. “Family or not,” he told his lover, “we don’t have time…” He glanced over at his lover…or rather where his lover had been sitting. The passenger door was flung wide open and racing across the lot towards his brother and his lover was Shuichi. “Dammit,” Eiri cursed. He had not even waited until the car had come to complete stop! “How many fucking times…?”

Shutting off the car, he grabbed his cell phone from the middle console and stepped out of the car. Clipping it to his belt, he shut the door, rounded his Mercedes to the passenger side and shut the door Shuichi left open. Angrily, he stormed towards his lover who was talking rapidly and gesturing wildly with their guests. He was most likely telling them about his doctor’s appointment they had just come from.

According to the doctor, Shuichi was indeed pregnant. She estimated about ten weeks. It was official. He was not the father, but that would not stop him from being a father to this child.

As he crossed towards his lover, he could not help but notice that his lover had a healthy glow about him. He had a giant smile plastered on his face. He was beaming, like a pair of headlights in the darkness. He had not stopped bouncing or smiling since they left the doctors. He had never seen Shuichi happier in all the time he had known him.

But that was why the idiot should not be bounding out of moving vehicles!

“Shuichi Shindou,” he bellowed angrily.

Shuichi stopped in mid-sentence. He glanced over his shoulder and cringed at the furious expression on his lover’s face. Now what had he done? “Uh, Eiri? What…?”

Eiri slapped his lover upside the head when he got close enough.

“Ow! Eiri,” Shuichi cried. He covered the back of his poor, tender head. “What was that for?” he sobbed, his voice trembling and tears running down his face.

Ryuichi and Tatsuha gasped in shock. Ryuichi glared at the older writer.

“Idiot,” Eiri yelled angrily. He enveloped his boyfriend in a bone-crunching hug. “Do you want to get yourself killed?” He stepped back and cupped Shuichi’s face. “Never do that again, understand?” He brushed away his lover’s tears with his thumbs, leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

Shuichi’s eyes grew wide in shock and a deep blush crossed his cheeks as Eiri kissed him right in front of his brother!

“It’s not just you anymore,” Eiri reminded him in a softer tone, pulling back. “You have to think about our baby…and me.”

Shuichi’s eyes grew wide; this time in shock at what Eiri was telling him. He flung himself at his boyfriend and hugged him tight. “I’m sorry,” he cried. “I’m sorry.”

Eiri hugged him back. “It’s okay. Just don’t do it again, okay?”

Shuichi stepped back and wiped at his wet face, nodding.

Eiri draped his arm around Shuichi’s shoulders and held him tightly against his side, who turned and wrapped his arms around his waist. Eiri glanced suspiciously at his brother and his lover.

Tatsuha grinned at his brother. He had never known his cold-hearted brother had a soft side. It was so cute!

Eiri growled. He knew that look. He knew what his brother was thinking. He sighed impatiently. “What the hell are you doing here? Whatever it is will have to wait. We just came home to change, and then we’re going to a funeral.”

Ryuichi, who had been watching his little brother and his much older boyfriend closely, snapped out of his ministrations. “What funeral?”

Eiri rolled his eyes. “The brat wants to go pay his respects to that asshole Aizawa.” He grunted, doubling over when sudden pain laced his side. He glared at his tiny lover, who had elbowed him and who was now glaring angrily at him.

“What time do you have to be there?” Tatsuha asked.

Eiri glanced at his watch. It was not even ten o’clock. “An hour.”

Tatsuha nodded and exchanged a knowing look with his lover. “Well,” he said, “you may want to be late for this.”

Eiri raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Shuichi glanced from one person to another. “What’s going on?”

Ryuichi stepped forward. “Shuichi,” he said. He glanced down, trying to gather his thoughts. “Shuichi,” he began again, raising his head, “what if…what if Tatsuha and I were to become your legal guardians?”

Shuichi blinked, stupefied. Ryuichi and Tatsuha wanted to become his guardians? Why? Was his mother and father not his guardians? Had something happened? He glanced from Ryuichi to Tatsuha and back in rising panic. His heart started beating rapidly. “Did something happen?! Is Mom…?”

Ryuichi shook his head. “No, no, no. They’re both fine, Shu. It’s just that Tatsuha and I thought that…we’d be better guardians for you than…Mom and Father.”

Shuichi blinked in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“We petitioned the courts to become your legal guardians.” He dropped his head, gathering his thoughts. “Shuichi, Father and Mother...they gave up their parental rights. We are now…officially your legal guardians.”

Shock sent his system into over load. Shuichi went pale as his brother’s words sank in. The world started tilted haphazardly. Then everything went dark.

*

Eiri sat on the opposite L of the couch from Ryu and Tatsuha. His ankle crossed over his knee, the writer draped an arm along the back of the couch. “So,” he drawled, taping the fingers of his other hand on his folded knee.

He so needed a cigarette, but he had promised not to smoke in the apartment any more. There was no way in hell he could stop smoking, even if he wanted to, but for Shuichi and the sake of the baby he compromised with the brat and decided to cut back and not smoke in the apartment. It was harder then he thought possible, but it was well worth the hell he was going through.

“Seguchi helped pull this whole thing off, did he?” It was so like him to stick his big nose into everything.

“Yes,” Ryuichi said with a nod, “he did. We told Tohma what we wanted to do and asked him if there was anything he could do and he said he would do everything in his power to help us.”

“He really cares about Shuichi,” Tatsuha said, “and would do anything for the boy.”

Apparently, Eiri thought. This went to show how much influence the president of NG Pro had. Either some people owed him some favors, or he knew a little something-something about the right people. Eiri thought about it and decided the last sounded more like his brother-in-law. He snorted and shook his head.

“Without Tohma’s connections, it would’ve taken months.”

Eiri raised an eyebrow in question.

“Shuichi would have been taken into custody with Social Services until the claims were thoroughly investigated and that could’ve taken…who knows how long,” Ryuichi added in agreement.

Eiri blinked, slowly going over what the idiot Sakuma just said. Shuichi would have been taken into custody? Meaning he would have been taken away from him? Oh, no, no, no! Hell no! Shuichi was his and he did not intend to ever let that damn brat go. He raised an imaginary glass. “Here’s to Dictator, General Tohma and his connections,” he toasted.

His brother laughed and imitated him. “Here, here.”

Even Ryu chuckled.

“Ya know,” Tatsuha said after a few moments of silence, “even if we had gone through the proper channels,” he continued, “I don’t think it would have taken all that long.”

Ryuichi turned to look at his lover in question.

“How so?” Eiri asked.

“Well, I was just thinking that there wouldn’t have been much to investigate. Ryu and I have been thinking about this for a while now, ya know? Since Shuichi hasn’t been home in…God knows how long. He’s always either here or at our place. It’s common knowledge that Mr. Shindou doesn’t care about his son.”

Eiri scowled. So, what Shuichi told him was true.

“My dad...he... hates my guts.” The tears flowed faster down his face.

“What?” Eiri could not believe that to be the truth, maybe an exaggeration, but how could a parent truly despise their child? “I’m sure that’s not true.” He reached out with his other hand and gently brushed his fingers across the boy’s wet cheek. “I can’t imagine anyone thinking that about you,” he whispered huskily.

“It is,” Shuichi protested. “I’m just a freak, a mutation, a waste of flesh...!” he sobbed. “My brother was more of a father to me than Dad ever was! He ignores me like I wasn’t even there!” Great sobs racked his body, making him shudder. His face was red and wet from all the crying. “My father...he doesn’t care what I do! I could show up as dead as a doornail on his doorstep and he wouldn’t care!”

It was hard to believe. How could anyone hate Shuichi? What was there not to love about the kid? Damn that man! He could kill him!

“We’re the ones he comes to for help and advice,” Tatsuha continued. “We’re the ones who’ve been taking care of him his entire life.”

“When we confronted my father about what we wanted,” Ryuichi continued in a soft voice, “he…he didn’t even argue.”

“What?” Eiri cried in shock as he flew up. “Are you saying he didn’t put up a fight?”

Ryuichi and Tatsuha shook their heads.

“He gave up his parental rights,” Ryuichi confirmed. “He essentially washed his hands of his son.”

Eiri was still in shock. He could not believe that a father could do give up his child without a fight. Eiri shook out of his thoughts as Ryuichi stood up.

“I’m going to go check on Shu,” the older singer said.

“Wait,” Eiri called out to him. Ryuichi sat back down and looked at him curiously. “There’s actually…” He bowed his head and blushed. He scolded himself for being so weak. “There’s something I wanted to ask you guys.”

Tatsuha and Ryuichi glanced at each other then at the once cold and stoic writer.

“It’s about…Shuichi and me.”

***