The Key to My Heart

Title: The Key to My Heart: Chapter 3
Author: JadeHeart
Archived: Found on gurabiteshiyon.net. If anyone else would like it, please ask me first!
Fandom: Gravitation
Rating: R
Warnings: Bad language mainly
Timeline: After the anime/manga finishes.
Characters: Yuki, Tohma, and original character, Agent Jim Harris (yes, he’s all mine!)
Feedback: Feedback is always welcome!.
Summary: Just how far would Yuki go in search of Shuichi?
Author’s Notes: thanks to chocho for the kind review, hope you continue to enjoy! But a word of warning, this story has a lot of twists so don’t give up on it. At least not yet!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they belong to the creators of ‘Gravitation’, nor am I making any profits from this.

The Key to My Heart: Chapter 3


The plane shuddered to a stop. Yuki was on his feet before the seat belt sign had even switched off, stepping past Tohma, and heading for the doors. The flight attendant didn’t even try and say anything to him. During the course of the flight, his silence and scowl had told them it was far better to just leave him alone. So, as long as he hadn’t been disruptive or dangerous, they were prepared to overlook the smaller things.

He tapped a foot impatiently, waiting for the doors to open, listening to the loud thumps and clanking of mechanisms, as the walk way was connected. It was taking forever. He was aware that Tohma had come to stand behind him, coat draped over one arm, hat in hand. More clunks and a soft jolt to indicate the process was completed. How much longer were they going to take? Gods, he needed a cigarette!

Finally the door was swung open, and Yuki exited the plane immediately.

“Thank you for flying….” He left the flight attendant far behind.

Tohma flashed the woman a smile to make up for Yuki’s rudeness.

“Thank you for your attention to our comfort.” he said, with a small inclination of his head.

“It was our pleasure, Mr Seguchi.” The flight attendant responded with a warm smile and low bow. “We look forward to serving you again.”

“Thank you.” and he stepped out and hurried after Yuki’s tall figure, as it disappeared into the terminal.

Tohma sighed, lengthening his stride further, covering the ground faster without having to break into an undignified run. He knew that Yuki would eventually slow down. He had no idea of where to go, or what to do. Tohma was his only lead at this time. So he would eventually wait for Tohma to catch up with him. Tohma let out a small chuckle. Eiri really was quite a handful to deal with!

He saw Yuki pause, and Tohma caught up with him. He reached out and touched Yuki’s arm lightly. The flinch and look of anger thrown his way wasn’t entirely unexpected, but he also glimpsed a flash of worry that quickly disappeared from those familiar golden eyes.

He sighed softly. His Eiri was suffering again. Just when he had come to believe that he would no longer have to worry about him. That was supposed to now be someone else’s job to do that, namely Shindou.

But now…without Shindou with him, Yuki was at a loss. Strange how that boy had squirmed his way so deeply into the hidden parts of Yuki’s heart.

“This way.” he said to Yuki, with a small inclination of his head.

Yuki followed Tohma as he headed over to address an airport staff member. Soft words were exchanged and then she spoke briefly into the two-way she was carrying. After listening for a moment, she spoke again to Tohma, and began to walk off.

Tohma looked over his shoulder to Yuki. “Come on.”

Yuki followed, not knowing what Tohma was up to now.

They passed the crowds exiting at their gate, and when some free space appeared, a courtesy car arrived, light flashing on the back.

“Hop on.” Tohma said with a smile, settling himself. Yuki followed suit, and the car moved off, navigating the milling masses.

“So we’re riding in style.” Yuki said.

Tohma looked over with that calm smile still on his face. “Why walk when you can ride.” he said.

“Humph.” was Yuki’s only reply.

Yuki then noticed them bypass the signs pointing towards baggage claim. He tapped Tohma’s shoulder.

“What about our bags?”

“Don’t worry. It’s all taken care of.”

Yuki settled back. He wasn’t worried. Tohma had obviously organized all this. If there was one thing that Tohma was good at, it was organising.

It didn’t take them long to reach the customs area. They alighted from the cart and followed their guide, past the long lines extending as far as the eye could see, to a side door. They entered, and Yuki let Tohma continue to handle things. Their bags were already there waiting for them, having obviously been collected directly. They handed over their passports, and with a few quiet words, they were cleared through customs.

They exited through another door that now let them out on the other side of that forbidding wall of bureaucratic red tape. Yuki couldn’t help but be impressed. Tohma was really very good at this!

Their guide was still with them, leading them through the crowds towards the exit doors. Yuki followed and could soon see the hordes of people crowding outside, as they waited to meet passengers arriving. How he hated crowds!

He steeled himself to face the onslaught, but their guide took them once more to a side door, marked for staff only, and opened it with a swipe card. Tohma said some quiet words and bowed in thanks. Their guide flashed a smile, the first she had shown, breaking the austere look and aloof demenour she had maintained all this time, and waved them through.

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief, pulling out his sunglasses and putting them on. They had bypassed all the crowds and stood in a corner fairly much to themselves. Picking up their bags, they began to make their way towards the front of the terminal building. Yuki then noticed that they weren’t entirely alone in this spot. A man stood leaning nonchalantly against a column.

As Tohma drew nearer, the man stood upright, waiting for them to join him.

“Hey, Tohma! Good to see you.”

“And you.” They shook hands, smiling in greeting. Obviously Tohma knew this person.

“Have you still not learnt to use a razor?’ Tohma said, indicating the after five shadow across the man’s face.

The man smiled and reached up to rub a hand over his chin. “Yeah, it’s a bit rough. But don’t worry yourself, I wont scratch you’re tender skin!”

“How considerate of you! I wonder what your colleagues would say?”

The man laughed loudly. It was a carefree laugh, and completely uninhibited. “They’d never believe it! Me? Gay? I like the ladies too much to give them up. Even for your pretty looks!”

“Well, I must say that is a relief. Or should I say, a disappointment?”

“Speaking of women, so how’s your little lady?”

Yuki nearly choked as he realized that the man was referring to Mika. She may be a lady, but she definitely wasn’t anyone’s ‘little lady’!

Tohma gave a soft laugh. “She’s well. And the only reason you call her that, is because she isn’t here.”

“Too bloody right! She’d probably gut me on the spot.”

“Most likely. And be able to do so without breaking a nail.”

“She’s one hell of a looker. But, geez, Tohma, she’s scary as all blazes! You’re a much braver man than me to take her on!”

Yuki ignored the banter between the two and reached into his coat pocked to pull out his cigarettes. His eyes felt gritty. They had left Tokyo in the early evening, and now it was late morning of the same day. The nine hour flight itself would have been enough to make him feel tired, as his body was trying to tell him it should still be night, albeit the early hours of the morning. And on top of that he had already literally been up an entire day, as well as not having slept very much over the previous two nights before. So his body and mind were exhausted, drained, and yet he hadn’t been able to sleep on the flight, no matter how tired he felt. His mind continued to race, thoughts bombarding him, questions being asked…..and still no answers.

Now, they were standing in LA, with the sun blazing through the glass and hurting his eyes. Yes, it was only the sun that made his eyes begin to water.

“Sorry, bud.” the man said, looking at Yuki. “Can’t smoke in the terminal.”

Yuki glared at him, but the man just smiled and half shrugged, indicating it was out of his hands. Yuki’s hand clenched around the cigarette packet in anger. Bloody stupid rules! Bloody stupid Americans! The man stared right back at him, not turning his gaze from Yuki’s baleful look. Slowly Yuki released his strangle hold on the packet, and shoved it back into his pockets.

“Ah, yes. How rude of me. Please forgive me for my bad manners. I would like to introduce my brother-in-law, Eiri Yuki. Eiri, this is an old friend of mine, Jim Harris.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Jim said, holding out his hand.

Yuki shook it, nodding curtly.

“Doesn’t say much, does he?” Jim said, looking across at Tohma.

Tohma just smiled. “Shall we go?”

“Sure.” Jim said, turning. “This way.”

They followed him outside and down the ramp to the executive parking area. Tohma settled into the passenger side, with Yuki sitting in the back, their bags piled next to him. Jim started the vehicle, and blended into the traffic as it streamed away from the airport.

“We should have a pretty good run at this time of the day. We’ll get to my place in about half an hour. How was the flight?”

“Uneventful.” was Tohma’s reply.

“Hey, buddy! If you want to smoke now, feel free to do so.’ Jim called back to Yuki, looking in the rear view mirror.

Yuki gratefully reached in and pulled out the cigarettes, placing one between his lips, as he began to search his pockets for his lighter.

“Here.” and a flash of silver flew through the air to land in Yuki’s lap. He looked up to see Jim grinning at him. “Help yourself. Hate to see a grown man suffer.”

Yuki said nothing as he picked up the lighter and lit the cigarette, breathing in deeply. He held the smoke in his lungs, savouring the tang, before exhaling. Gods, how he had needed that!

He tossed the lighter back to Jim, so it landed with a clatter on the dash.

“You sure he can talk?” Jim threw the question to Tohma, humour lacing his voice.

“Only when he wants to. Eiri isn’t one for meaningless conversation.”

“So I see.”

“So,” Tohma’s voice turned business-like, a change that Yuki had heard many times, as his brother-in-law moved from a seeming calm, mild-mannered, drifting personality, to the shrewd business man he was. “What have you got for me?”

“Not too much at this time. It’s still too soon. The crash site has been pretty much unapproachable since it happened. It’s really only settled down enough over the last 12 hours for anything to even start to happen. Look in the pocket of your door.”

Yuki could see Tohma lean to the right a little, and then the rustle of papers. He moved forward to hang over the back of Tohma’s seat, chin almost resting on his shoulder, so he could see what Tohma was holding.

Tohma turned his head a little, his lips almost brushing Yuki’s cheek. “Why, Eiri, how sudden. But please, not while we’re in public.” he said, in an almost simpering voice.

Jim let out a loud bark of laughter and slapped a hand down on the steering wheel in mirth.

“Shut up.” was Yuki’s only response, which was greeted with a further laugh from Jim.

Tohma just smiled at him, and turned back to the file resting on his knees, opening it to the first pages. “So what is this?”

“As you can see, every report I have so far is in there, as much as I could get at the moment. There’s been a complete shut down on this one as there’s talk it might have been terrorism. There’s nothing definite, but until the investigation is completed, their holding their cards very close to their chests.”

“What makes them think it was anything more than a simple crash?” Tohma asked, flipping through the pages, stopping to scan the text now and then.

“A buddy of mine from Special Forces gave me the intel that they came across some pieces in the wreckage that they think may have been part of an incendiary device. It’s still too early to tell, but that was enough for them to call the shut down on the site. The investigators, and forensics, are both in there trying to find out what went on. They’re trying to determine if the pattern of the damage was due to an explosion midair, or just due to impact. Forensics have been sifting through the wreck pulling out everything they could find to identify remains. And believe me, that’s one bitch of a job, because there’s not a hell of a lot left of anything.”

Jim cast a quick glance in Yuki’s direction. “I understand you’re looking for someone?”

Yuki stiffened. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that Tohma would have had to have told Jim about why he wanted this information, and why Yuki was there.

“Look, sorry I don’t have much more at this time to give you, but I’m still working on it. I’ve got a few more favours to call in which might give us some more info.”

“What about the report of survivors?” Tohma asked, still looking down at the papers, his voice quite calm. Yuki’s heartbeat sped up.

“I’ve got it on good authority that there were some survivors. Last information indicated eight people. But I don’t even have any information as to what sex they are yet, let alone what state they’re in. They were air lifted from the site directly to a hospital for immediate medical treatment. I’m trying to track down which one, but due to this being a suspected terrorism act, the government doesn’t want anyone coming into contact with those survivors. Not until they have the chance to confirm who they are, and so eliminate the possibility that one of them may have been a suicide bomber on the plane, or for them to explain exactly what did occur. So they are under complete lock and key at the moment. The fact that there were even any survivors is a miracle in itself.”

“When do you think you’ll be able to find out more?” Tohma closed the file and looked up.

Jim was silent for a moment as he merged with a lane of traffic to take the next exit, leaving the high speeds of the highway behind them. “In the next couple of days I should have some more. At least the location of the hospital the survivors were taken to.”

“How come you know all this?” Yuki asked, speaking up for the first time, curiousity getting the better of him. That, and suspicion.

Jim threw him a started glance. “So you do talk!” he said with a brash grin. Then he sobered. “Tohma hasn’t told you?” Jim looked at Tohma, who shook his head slightly.

“Told me what?”

“I’m FBI.”

Yuki was startled. He threw a look towards the mild-mannered Tohma. Just how did he know someone from the FBI so well. Just what has Tohma been up to over the years? Yuki turned his attention back to Jim as he continued to speak.

“I’ve got quite a few contacts that can help us out here. On both sides of the fence, if you know what I mean. I know that you’re not doing this to be a threat to national security, or anything like that. So I don’t see any problems with giving you a hand. But I have to warn you now. It’s not going to be easy, not one bit. But I’ll try to help you as best I can. I….I know what it’s like to be left waiting word about someone.”

The catch in the man’s voice indicated some deep loss from the past. Yuki didn’t press the issue. That told him enough. He now felt that Jim was definitely on their side. That sense of loss the man had expressed, obviously about someone he had cared for deeply, Yuki could relate to that. He knew what it was like to feel like your heart was being squeezed in a vice, that you never seemed to be able to get enough air in your lungs to breathe properly. But the difference was going to be, that unlike Jim, Yuki would not remain like that. He /would/ find what he was looking for!

But a couple of more days? Could he wait that long? What was he supposed to do? His fingers drummed on his thigh as he blew some smoke away, looking out at the scenery as it flashed past the car. He wasn’t good at just sitting still, not having anything to do. What could he do? Where could he go?

No, he had to try and be patient. To wait. Wait for Jim and Tohma to find the information, to give him what he wanted, lead him to where he needed to be. Shuichi was here. Yuki was sure of it. Sure, in the deepest part of his soul. He refused to accept anything else.

He looked at his reflection, seeing the smoke from his cigarette curling around his head like a halo. He was no angel, but he had been called a devil by more than one person. And he would move Heaven and Hell to reach his goal.

The sun beat against his face, but the warmth didn’t seem to penetrate further than the surface. He felt so cold inside. He blew out another tendril of smoke. He was here. He was in the US. He was where Shuichi was.

Somewhere.