The Key to My Heart

Title: The Key to My Heart: Chapter 31
Author: JadeHeart
Archived: Found on gurabiteshiyon.net. If anyone else would like it, please ask me first!
Fandom: Gravitation
Rating: R
Warnings: angst, bad language
Timeline: After the anime/manga finishes.
Characters: Yuki/Shuichi/Shindou family/Hiro/K/Sakano/Suguru/Annette (OC)
Feedback: Feedback is always welcome! If I don’t get feedback, I don’t want to continue!
Summary: Just how far would Yuki go in search of Shuichi?
Author’s Notes: Again, sorry for the lengthy delay. I am not deliberately trying to drag this story out, or try and torture my readers! I really can only write if I have the inspiration of what the next chapter is to be – remember this story isn’t planned out so I have nothing that I’m working towards. So no inspiration – no chapter. Perhaps the characters have themselves in such a confused pickle about things that they just need time to sort a few things out. Welcome to new reviewers; BTDTGTT (yes, I do know what that stands for! As another friend added – by the time you get to our age the t-shirt’s used as a dust-rag!), Tyson, maazka, LustrousJade, fullmetalguitar (nice to see you reading this series as well as ‘Three Times a Charm’), fuzzbunnytoo, Suanne, and Ida’s Flowers – thanks for the reviews and comments. A big thank you to my regulars – Reyn, A Lafaye, mandi, Krystal, the soul…..sorry to upset you, blue – does this now mean that you won’t have to slit my throat? And I’ve got a pretty little neck? My, that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me for ages! Am I now in the clear?
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they belong to the creators of ‘Gravitation’, nor am I making any profits from this.


Chapter 31


Sakano walked out of the bathroom into the darkening room, wiping his hands fastidiously on a towel, when the door to the hotel room shook with three resounding thumps like the peals of doom approaching.

He felt a shiver run up his spine as they sounded again. No hotel employee would knock like that, so who could it be? The place wasn’t haunted, was it? Yuki hadn’t mentioned that it was, nor had the hotel staff.

He shook in his shoes as the thumps sounded out for a third time, wondering what he should do. He could see the door bathed in the dim lighting thrown by the night light in the short hall.

Oh, no! He panicked - he hadn’t put the security chain on! Had he locked it? Surely he had, surely he was safe!

He shook harder and his heart froze in his chest as he saw the handle slowly turn. It was locked, it was locked, he muttered in a silent mantra. It was locked, he was safe!

His frightened eyes were fixed on the slowly moving handle, watching it turn further and further, and then his breath caught as he heard the click of the latch opening.

“Aarghhhhhhhhh!!” he screamed, falling to his knees as the door was thrust violently inwards and a dark shadow was silhouetted in the space, looming tall in the doorway, arms outstretched to touch either wall.

It was monstrous! It was huge! Sakano babbled silently. I’m going to diiiiiieeeeee!!!!

“Are you ready yet?” The room flared into brightness, causing Sakano to blink owlishly behind his glasses. K stood in the door, hand still on the light switch, looking down at his friend huddled on the carpet, quizzically. “If you’ve lost something, you’d have a better chance of finding it if you had turned the lights on.”

Sakano breathed a sigh of immense relief, straightened his tie then righted his skewed glasses before standing, settling his shoulders back and drawing himself up to his full height.

“Ah, well, I….oh, never mind.” He turned away and walked over to where their bags were lying open. “Is it time?”

“Yes. Shuichi is waiting for us downstairs.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to seeing Shindou again, it’s been a while. It’s such a relief to finally know that he is all right.” Sakano pulled out a large portfolio file from his case.

“What’s that?” K wanted to know.

“Oh, I took the liberty of compiling a simple portfolio of Bad Luck’s career to-date. I thought it might help jog Shindou’s memory.”

“Humph!” K muttered, grabbing his jacket from his own case. “Why shouldn’t he remember everything when he meets all of us?” He said sounding disgruntled. “We were the ones working with him all the time and putting up with his constant mood swings!”

Sakano tipped his head to one side, watching the blond American. “Well, it doesn’t seem likely that he will do so. After all, he hasn’t remembered a great deal even after meeting with Yuki and I, for one, thought that would have been the true trigger. It would appear that the damage may be more intensive than we at first thought.”

“Well, if Yuki had just told the kid about the two of them in the first place then he probably would have.” K growled. “All this pussy-footing around is ridiculous!”

Sakano pushed his glasses up his nose with one long elegant finger. “The President said that we were to follow Eiri Yuki’s lead on this, and not to deviate from that plan.”

“Tohma doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” K glared out the window of the room. “How does he expect to get his number one selling product back to Japan and straight into the recording studio if we don’t get his memories back!”

“The President believes that Shindou has not lost his talent, even if he has lost his memories. He is sure that he will still be able to sing, and most likely still write lyrics also. So the fact that he still doesn’t have all his memories yet is a minor inconvenience. What he does want this meeting to achieve is to help convince Shindou to return to Japan and the life he was leading there. That is our number one priority at this point.”

“Shuichi will return with us, never fear.” K said firmly.

Sakano held up a hand. “We can’t force him to do so. The President made it quite clear that it had to be his choice, with no coercion from us.”

“Oh, I’m not going to force him.” K said with an evil grin. “All he needs is a little incentive to see our way of thinking.” K pulled out one of his guns and waved it around. “I’m sure I can convince him of that.”

K turned to the door and Sakano called out. “You can’t! The President most specifically said we were not to do anything like that!”

“Tohma’s not here to know about it, and he’s not going to care once Shuichi’s back!” K kept walking.

“Nooooooo!!” The loud wail was followed immediately by a long hard body tackling K from behind and pushing him to the floor.

He was caught completely by surprise at the unexpectedness of the attack, something which didn’t often happen, and before he knew it his beloved weapon was snatched from his hand. “Hey, give that back!” he demanded, sitting up as the weight was removed from his back.

He looked up to see his metallic baby clutched in Sakano’s unsteady hands. K slowly stood, warily eyeing the violently shaking man. Despite his fear and the obvious uncertainty of handling a gun, Sakano actually held himself in a proper firing stance, something that impressed K a little, even in the current situation.

“I can’t let you go against the President’s orders.” Sakano said between gritted teeth, the gun still wavering.

“Ah, Sakano, let’s put that down now, shall we?” K reached out to take the weapon and heard the click as Sakano released the safety.

“You…will…not….change…the ….plan!” Sakano grated out, glaring at K quite fiercely.

K let his hand drop and eyed the man before him. He knew that Sakano couldn’t hit the side of a house when he aimed a gun, but that just made him far more dangerous. Because he would hit the light-post, the garbage can, the weathervane on the roof, the next door’s cat, and anything else within the vicinity of the reach of the bullet – but he couldn’t hit the side of the house!

So a fully loaded, unlocked gun in the hands of this bumbling novice became a far deadlier weapon than it would ever be in K’s capable grip. K wondered if Sakano realized that.

K let out a deep sigh of disgruntlement and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, you win.”

Sakano eyed him warily. “You won’t threaten Shindou in any way?”

K shook his head. “No, I won’t.”

“You won’t try to shoot him accidentally?”

“No.” Though K had been trying to come up with some possible scenarios where he could do just that. Damn, foiled again!

“You won’t hire anyone else to do something to Shindou, like kidnap him or anything?”

“No.” Damn it, Sakano was good! He knew every trick that K was likely to think of!

“You won’t let slip about Shindou’s relationship with Yuki. You will maintain the story as it has been told to him at the moment, and you will support it whole heartedly.” Sakano said firmly.

K glared at him sulkily, shoulders slumping, hands thrust in pockets in anger. “Do I really have to?” Sakano glared at him icily. K sighed again. “Fine! Yes, I will. Happy now?” K knew that he sounded like a child but didn’t really care. Sakano had just spoiled all his fun!

Sakano watched him for a moment longer and then he slipped the safety back on the gun before tossing it to a startled K. After being around K for so many years, Sakano had had no choice but to learn quickly a little about the handling and use of firearms, mainly in the hope of avoiding the manger’s bizarre habit of toting weapons around and using them indiscriminately on whomever he decided was in need of bodily ventilation at the time. Sakano had intended to prevent that from occurring to himself at all costs. Self-preservation is a wonderful incentive to learn!

K quickly reached out to catch the weapon thrown towards him, and cradled it lovingly against his chest, running his hand gently over the outer casing as though checking it hadn’t suffered any harm from being held by an amateur.

“Good. I’m glad we understand each other now.” Sakano said in a calm clear voice, which held a touch of steel.

K looked at his friend and fellow colleague. He was always surprised when he glimpsed these brief moments when Sakano showed he really did have a backbone under all that jelly. He wondered why Sakano never seemed to reveal more of this hidden side of his character. Was the man that uncertain of himself, or was there a deeper reason for it? Sakano had been around Tohma Seguchi for a long time now, had even been trained by him. Tohma didn’t suffer fools gladly, which more than one person had learnt to their detriment. Tohma wouldn’t have kept Sakano around for this long unless he was good - not only at his job, but also if he knew that Sakano had what it takes to go far in this business.

Hmm, K slipped his weapon into the holster under his arm, thinking. I wonder if most of what we see is the real Sakano or was it just a front? A little like the ever-present, pleasantly smiling countenance that Tohma Seguchi wore for the world. Could Sakano also have developed this as a façade? Now that was a scary thought!

“So, we have to stay with things the way they are?” K queried in the hope that Sakano may still change his mind and allow him to drag Shuichi, kicking and screaming, or gagged and bound – whatever works, he thought – back to Japan.

“That is what the President has requested.” Meaning ordered, K interpreted correctly.

“I don’t get it.” K said, slipping his coat on. “Why isn’t Tohma more worried? His best asset for NG Productions could slip away if he’s not careful.”

“The President believes that Shindou will return.”

“Why? We’re not really giving him any real incentive to do so.” K said. “What makes Tohma so sure?”

“He doesn’t believe that Shindou could ever truly give up music.” Sakano explained. “Sooner or later, he would come back to it. The President believes that this time of new experiences that Shindou has been through will only enrich his lyric writing and so he expects that Bad Luck’s next album with be a huge success.”

K raised an eyebrow. “He’s already thinking that far ahead?”

“Of course. That is why Tohma Seguchi is the president of NG Productions.”

That was only too true, K thought. Tohma always had a hundred strings held in his hands and always knew just which one to pull to get the result that he wanted. He seemed to be absolutely certain that Shuichi would return, even though their meeting with him hadn’t even occurred yet. K shook his head in amazement. The manipulations of Tohma Seguchi were a wonder to behold. It was like watching a blond good-looking angel make every wish come true. As long as that wish was Tohma Seguchi’s!

He cleared his throat to break the silence that had descended between them. “Well, shall we go?”

“Certainly.” Sakano walked towards him, holding the file in his hands once more. “Don’t forget to lock the door properly.” he told K. “And turn off all the lights.”

K rolled his eyes at the other man’s fussiness but followed the instructions, and they both walked towards the elevator.

***************

“Shu.” He heard his name softly spoken. “Shu.” It came again. He grumbled a little as he began to pull his mind out of the inky blackness of sleep. Blinking his eyes, he focused on Annette leaning over him, one hand still gently shaking him on the shoulder to rouse him. She smiled down at him.

“I was wondering if I was going to have to get more violent.” she said with humour. “You were dead to the world.”

Shuichi yawed widely and stretched his arms upwards, feeling joints pop and grate. “That felt good.” he said, rubbing his hand across his eyes to remove the last vestiges of sleep and sitting up. “What time is it?”

“Almost time to meet everyone.”

“Oh.” Shuichi looked around the room. “Where’s Yuki?”

“He went to pick up the others from the airport.” Annette told him. “We didn’t want to wake you if there was no need.”

“So they’re already here?” She nodded silently. “Hmm.” He gazed silently off into space.

Annette sat down next to him. “Worried?” she asked.

He looked over at her. “A little. Nervous, I guess. I…just don’t know what to expect.”

“Well, the thing is to not expect anything.” Annette said practically. “Why create a bad scenario when there’s no need? You may find that they are all perfectly ordinary and you’ve been worrying about nothing all this time.”

Shuichi ran a hand through his hair, straightening out the longer length at the back. “I guess.”

“Don’t fret about something you can’t change.” Annette said with a smile to him. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

They then heard a clatter drawing closer to the door and looked over to it. Shuichi felt his stomach tighten a little in trepidation, and felt Annette take his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze.

The door opened and he let out a huge sigh of relief to see that the first person to enter was Yuki. The sight of the man made him feel calmer and stronger immediately and he took comfort from that. His parents and sister followed, which was another reassuring feeling.

Coming after was a tall man with long blond hair, a lean man with glasses, followed by a younger man in his early 20’s with long red hair and an easy smile, and a shorter teen with dark intense eyes and a serious expression.

Four knowns, four unknowns, Shuichi thought, immediately categorizing the groups. With Annette here, that means the knowns make 5 and so outnumber the unknowns. That simple thought gave him some comfort.

He released Annette’s hand and stood to meet the new people. Yuki stepped to one side to make way for the others, whilst his family seated themselves on one of the couches in the room.

“This is your manager, K; your producer, Sakano; Nakano and Fujisaki are the other members of Bad Luck.” Yuki made the curt introductions.

All four smiled at Shuichi and he tried not to feel like he was facing a group of piranha with large teeth about to shred him to pieces. The blond man, K, especially seemed to have a very predatory gleam in his eye.

“Ah….hi?” Shuichi said uncertainly, not quite knowing what to do or say.

“Shuichi!” Hiro pushed forward with joy, reaching out to embrace him, but the blank look and small involuntary shift of weight away from his advance pulled him up short and he didn’t complete the motion.

Hiro looked into Shuichi’s face. With an effort, he kept his calm smile in place. He could see there was no recognition in Shuichi’s eyes, but even the confused intensity of his gaze at this moment, was very familiar to Hiro, reminding him of so many other times his friend had looked like that.

No wonder Yuki looked like shit, he thought with a pang. Seeing Shuichi remembering nothing of his association with him must be tearing him apart. It hurt - as Hiro now realized only all too well.

Shuichi looked at the man before him; tall, lean, with long, flowing red hair. The smile was open and friendly, with warm eyes. Shuichi felt something tugging at the back of his mind but nothing came forward.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Yuki’s voice cut through Shuichi’s concentration. He glanced quickly over to the other man, feeling a little panicked as Yuki turned to the door to leave.

“Aren’t you staying?” he asked, trying not to sound desperate.

Yuki glanced over his shoulder. “No. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

“I’ll see you later. Right?”

Yuki paused, not looking back this time, then answered. “Sure.” and left the room.

Shuichi saw his mother whisper something quietly to his father and stand, giving him a quick smile before she followed Yuki out the door.

*************

“Yuki!”

He turned at the call from behind to see Shuichi’s mother hurrying to catch up with him. When she came abreast with him she smiled brightly and said, “Come and sit down for a coffee with me, will you?”

He didn’t really feel like being with anyone, certainly not any member of Shuichi’s family as they all reminded him far too much of his partner. All the little family mannerisms that they mirrored in each other only served to remind him of what he didn’t have and it hurt to be around them. However, he also couldn’t deny her so he silently followed in her wake.

As they settled at the table, he remained uncommunicative whilst she ordered for him, knowing exactly what he liked and how he liked it. The coffee arrived quickly, along with a slice of strawberry shortcake for Yuki. He glanced up her, and she smiled back, eyes twinkling.

“You may as well eat up and stop pretending you don’t want it.” she said, laughter in her voice. “I know you can’t resist it, so humour me.”

He looked back at the plate and was tempted to rudely push it aside but just at that moment his stomach rumbled loudly enough for both of them to hear. She let out a light peal of laughter and his shoulders slumped. Betrayed by his own body, he reluctantly picked up the fork and took the first mouthful.

“So are you really just giving up?”

The question caught him off-guard and he froze, fork poised half-way to his mouth. He looked up to see her watching him over the rim of her cup. She took a slow sip and carefully placed her cup down, before leaning forward onto the table.

“Won’t you try and make things right between you both?”

Yuki laid his fork down, the thought of further food nauseous to his roiling stomach. He looked away from her gaze. “It wouldn’t do any good.” he said flatly.

He heard her sigh and the soft chink of china as she picked up her cup again. “That is where I think you are wrong.” she said.

He looked back at her. She was still watching him. She sighed again and her eyes softened further. She smiled gently at him. “We can’t do anything to make you change your mind, I know. This is your choice but, Yuki, I want you to know that you will always be welcome in our home. Please keep in touch, and don’t forget about us, no matter what you decide. Will you at least promise me that?”

Promise, Yuki thought, she wants me to promise something like that! I can’t! His throat refused to work as a feeling of entrapment filled him.

Another sigh and she spoke again. “Very well, I’m sorry. I can’t make you promise such a thing but please at least think about it? I truly do believe that there is still hope. I know my son, I can see the way he looks at you. There’s still something there, deep inside. I’m sure of it.”

Yuki turned away again, his hand in his lap clenched tightly. She was wrong. There was no hope, she hadn’t been here before and seen how Shuichi would pull away from him. She obviously hadn’t noticed Shuichi holding that girl’s hand when they had come into the room just now. There was no hope. Hope was gone.

“I’ll be leaving soon. I’m making arrangements.” he said abruptly.

“Oh.” was her quiet reply.

He picked up his own nearly-cold coffee cup. “There’s not much point remaining here any longer now. Shuichi’s got everyone he needs here. It’s time I got back to work.”

He felt his stomach kick at him again as the lukewarm coffee hit it and he lowered the cup before he was ill. He pushed his chair back, making ready to stand.

“Just a moment.” Shuichi’s mother stayed him with her words as she reached into her handbag, pulling out a small velvet box and pushing it towards him. He looked at it, then up at her. She nodded at it, “Go on. Open it.”

H reached out and did so. Nestled inside was a watch, old and ornate, obviously worth quite a sum in antique value alone.

“It belongs to my husband, and has been passed down through his family from generation to generation. It would have gone to Shuichi upon his marriage as has been tradition.”

Yuki looked up at her, remaining silent, unsure of why she was telling him this.

“We have no way of repaying you for everything you have done in searching for Shuichi. You have returned to us the most precious thing in our lives, one of our children. There is no greater gift. We want you to have this watch to say thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for payment.” Yuki felt anger at the suggestion that he had done so.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that! I’m saying this very badly.” She caught his hand, clenched still on the box, looking at him earnestly. “We want you to have it because you are a part of our family. It’s not just a thank you for your help in this matter, it’s because we truly believe that this watch should stay in the family.”

“Then giving it to me would be a waste of time.” Yuki snapped the lid shut loudly.

“No, it wouldn’t. We believe that you and Shuichi will be together again one day. On that day, on the day that you return to each other once more, give this watch to Shuichi.”

“I can’t take it.” Yuki stood but she held fast to his hand, looking up at him imploringly.

“Please, Yuki! It would mean the world to both my husband and I. Please accept it.”

Yuki couldn’t find it in himself to brush her aside, to turn and storm away and ignore the box on the table between us. They thought that this trinket would bind Shuichi and him together? They were that certain that it would remain in the family by giving it to him? Were they crazy?!

He looked into her eyes, seeing the unshed tears. Shuichi’s mother had always been supportive of his relationship with Shuichi, although the intensity at which she would sometimes try and mother him he had found quite daunting at times. This was also the first time that he had heard that Shuichi’s father also supported his son’s lifestyle choice. Now /that/ was a surprise.

Slowly he reached out and picked up the box, slipping it into his pocket. “Alright, I’ll take it, but I’ll only keep it for a year. Then I’ll give it back to you.”

“Give it to Shuichi.”

Gods, she was so stubborn! It certainly showed where Shuichi got it from!

“Which ever comes first.” He compromised, turning away.

“Thank you.” he heard her say as he walked off.

****************

“Really? I met Ryuichi Sakuma?!” Shuichi’s voice rose another notch with excitement.

Everyone was seated now in the room. Shuichi and Annette sat on one couch, joined by Hiro. Opposite sat K, Sakano and Fujisaki, whilst Shuichi’s parents and Maiko occupied the third. Shuichi’s mother had returned not long after leaving and rejoined them. Shuichi had looked up hopefully as she had entered, wondering if Yuki had also changed his mind and decided to join them but there was no sign of the older man.

The conversation had been a little stilted at first as Shuichi tried to place the relationships he had had with the various people now surrounding him. He continued to flick back and forth through the portfolio Sakano had presented to him, pictures and clippings filling each page. Some of the images Shuichi could remember seeing when he and Annette had searched through the internet, others were new. However, nothing was leaping out at him.

Then the subject of Ryuichi Sakuma had come up in passing and Shuichi’s ears had pricked up and his blood had begun to race with excitement. Now he was being told that he had actually /known/ the famous singer!

“You’re kidding?!” Shuichi couldn’t believe his ears. Surely this must be some joke!

“Not at all.” K said. “You and he were even friends.”

“Friends? No way! How could I have been friends with him?! He’s a star! I’ve been listening to him the whole time I’ve been over here. I was going to go to his next concert because I just think he’s so great!”

“You did know him, Shindou.” Sakano told him. “You’ve even sung with him.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened even further with surprise. “Sung? With him?!” his voice squeaked.

“A number of times. He was always very supportive of you. You knew all the members of Nittle Grasper.”

“Nittle Grasper? Oh, the band Ryuichi was in before, right? I haven’t heard any of their music, but I’ve got everything Ryuichi’s done solo!”

Interesting, Hiro thought listening to his friend gush with enthusiasm. Shuichi couldn’t remember Nittle Grasper, his all time favourite band, and yet had immediately gravitated towards Ryuichi Sakuma anyway. Guess it was to be expected. It was Ryuichi who Shuichi had been most alike and wanted to emulate.

Or it could just be idiocy calling to idiocy.

“Could I meet him do you think? Could I? Could I?” Shuichi sounded like an exuberant puppy, his eyes wide and sparkling with excitement at the thought of meeting his idol. That look was so familiar that Hiro couldn’t help but smile.

“Of course, you can. He’s been asking after you for months. He wants to see you before you go home, so we can stop off in New York on our way.” K said.

“For real? He’s been asking about me? He wants to see me?” Shuichi was nearly bouncing off the couch.

“Absolutely.” K stated. “You two really are friends, you know. He was very worried when you went missing.”

“Wow! Annette, did you hear that?! We’ll get to meet Ryuichi Sakuma!” Shuichi was positively beaming now.

Annette just smiled at him. “It should be fun!” she replied. She didn’t sound quite as excited as Shuichi, but she was obviously still interested.

Yep, Hiro thought, his enthusiasm was still contagious. He always infected everyone around him, no matter how you tried to inoculate yourself against him.

“So, that means we should organize the flight home as soon as possible, ensuring that we have time to stop in New York and fitting in with Ryuichi’s schedule also.” K said.

“Ah…” Shuichi seemed to suddenly deflate at those words, uncertainty flashing across his face.

K frowned at him. “You do intend to return to Japan, don’t you? You’re not going to disappoint Ryuichi, are you?”

“Ah… well….”

Shuichi saw K’s hand slowly move inside his jacket towards his left side, and he felt a sudden flood of fear and a rush of adrenalin through his body. Without thinking, he found himself diving over the back of the couch, noting that Nakano was only a hairs-breadth behind him in his actions.

He lay there on the floor panting for a moment, as his thundering heart pounded in his chest. What the hell was he doing?!, he wondered in confusion. Why the hell did he just do that?! He hadn’t had any conscious thought about doing so, it was purely instinctual.

Cautiously, he raised himself up, placing both hands on the top of the couch so he could peer over the back. He could see K still sitting where he had been before, one hand still tucked inside his open jacket and look of complete surprise on his face. As he watched, he saw Sakano’s hand drop to the other man’s shoulder.

K hadn’t been expecting to see not only Hiro but also Shuichi, disappear over the back of the couch when he reached into his jacket. The sudden action had taken him completely by surprise. He felt a heavy hand land hard on his shoulder and slowly squeeze vice-like. Glancing back, he looked up into Sakano’s stony face, his glasses catching the glare of the light in the room so he couldn’t see the man’s eyes at all, giving him a slightly demonic appearance. Scary, K thought with a mental shiver, and he slowly removed his hand from inside his jacket to reveal that it held only a tissue, holding it up to Sakano as evidence of his innocence. With deliberate motions he blew his nose loudly and Sakano released his grip, making K relax with a sigh of relief.

Shuichi started a little at the loud sound of K blowing his nose. He turned his head to see that Nakano was crouched next to him, mirroring his actions in every way. Hiro looked his way to meet Shuichi’s wide eyes and smiled broadly, eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Glad to see that you haven’t lost your knack for self-preservation!” he said with a chuckle, standing.

Shuichi followed his example, still feeling nervous. “What….why the hell did I…?” His words trailed off as he just found the entire situation too ludicrous to even warrant the question.

“Why did you dive for cover without a seconds thought?” the other young man, Fujisaki, filled in for him. “Because that idiot called a manager has a nasty habit of trying to get a better performance out of you, and most other people, by aerating them with a firearm. The size of the weapon used depends on the mood he happens to be in at the time. It was his way of ‘inspiring’ you.”

Fujisaki frowned at K, who had the grace to look a little sheepish, then the youth turned the frown on Shuichi. “As you were the one most often requiring that ‘inspiration’, you began to develop a very keen sense of avoiding the full brunt of his ‘message’. I guess some things don’t get forgotten no matter what.”

Annette had sat silently watching Shuichi interacting with his fellow band members and business associates. She was completely lost with many of the things they were discussing, although she did notice that Shuichi seemed to follow the jargon easily enough, probably without being fully aware that he was. It just showed that he obviously was familiar with the language of the industry.

She felt very uncomfortable around these new additions to Shu’s life. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them, or there seemed anything wrong with them, they just seemed so….odd. Or perhaps, different was closer to the mark. They were different from the people that she normally associated with, different from the people that she and Shu had surrounded themselves with.

So this was what Shu’s life had been like before, she mused, listening to the conversations swirl around her. When he and Nakano had disappeared over the back of the couch, she had nearly leapt in fright also. She still couldn’t quite follow what the younger man - what was his name, oh yes, Fujisaki – meant by reference to guns and inspiration. It all seemed a little bizarre to her. Perhaps it was another one of these industry references that she couldn’t grasp.

What would it be like to live in Japan? she wondered. How big was Shu’s apartment there? Would she still be able to continue her studies? She had heard that the universities in Japan were very competitive and places were restricted. Would her marks be good enough to gain her a place in one? She had worked so hard to get where she was and she didn’t want to give it up now.

She wondered how it would be once Shu began working again. He would no doubt have concerts to do, which would mean a lot of late nights. With her studies, she probably wouldn’t be able to go to all of them, but that wouldn’t be that much different to now with his work as a DJ.

But what if he had to go on tour? Everyone kept saying how good the band was so she assumed that they did go on tour sometimes. She probably wouldn’t be able to go with him then. What would it be like to be left on her own whilst he was away? Would she get jealous of all the fans fawning over him? Probably, she admitted honestly. She couldn’t say that she was going to like seeing it, but it was going to be part of the territory.

She watched as Shuichi continued to chatter to everyone, a cold feeling creeping over her. Sometimes it felt like he was slipping away from her, slowly drifting into another world that she could not enter. He seemed so animated around these people, so alive and full of energy.

It had been his music that had first begun to have that affect on him. From the first time he had heard it he was always singing or humming, drumming his fingers on the table. She had even seen him scribbling down notes on some paper and when she had glanced at them she was certain that they were lyrics to a song. Had he been writing the words to a new song for the band?

She had also noticed that his style of dressing had begun to change in the past few days. Not so much in his every day wardrobe, which had remained for the most part as either long baggy shorts or cargo pants, with t-shirts or tank-tops, No, the change was definitely in what he would wear for working at the club at nights. His trousers were tighter, his shirts were shorter, he seemed so much more….confident in himself, seeming to take pride in how good-looking he was and in his own sexuality.

She had been a little surprised at this change, although she could also admit that she found it a complete turn-on! He looked damn good when he dressed like that – hot, sexy and completely awesome! She snorted to herself in derision. Here she was acting like some stupid fan-girl drooling over her idol! He was her boyfriend, for goodness sakes!

She focused back on the conversation Shuichi was having with Nakano.

“Oh, yeah, pocky is the best! I had a friend in New York that showed me a shop I could get it from. I just love it!” Shuichi’s face was alight with happiness.

Hiro nodded in enthusiastic agreement. “I know, I know! It’s the best!”

“Man, Nakano, I thought I had died and gone to heaven the first time I tried it!” Hiro had fully introduced himself to Shuichi in the hope that it might jolt some memory, but still his friend seemed to only want to address him formally.

“It’s almost orgasmic!” Hiro replied, leaning back on the couch with a deep sigh of remembered contentment.

“Hey, Hiro!” Shuichi suddenly swung around, a wide smile on his face. “Do you remember when we each used to start at an end of a pocky stick to see who would turn away first?!”

Hiro felt his heart leap. Shuichi hadn’t called him Nakano, but instead called him by his name in the same familiar manner he normally would have!

Shuichi seemed to suddenly realize what he had said and paused in shock. That just sounded kinky! What the hell was he saying?!

Hiro saw Shuichi just looking at him, a little confused frown creasing his forehead, thoughts visibly swirling around in his head..

“Uhm….sorry. That was probably…rude of me to call you like that. I don’t know what….I was thinking of.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Hiro said fondly, ruffling the spiky hair on top of Shuichi’s head. “You always did before. It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember everything right now.”

“So I used to call you Hiro, did I?”

“Yep. You sure did.”

“And that thing with the pocky? We really used to do that?”
Hiro chuckled. “Oh, yes! It was a sort of dare to see who would turn away first and lose the bet before our lips touched. It was just a way to tease. The girls used to love watching!”

Shuichi’s eyes widened at that and he blinked rapidly.

“And you have a motorcycle?” he suddenly said, face screwing up in concentration.

“Sure do.” Hiro assured him calmly, not trying to pressure him in anyway.

“And we’d go riding together?”

“Absolutely!”

Suddenly, the confusion disappeared, to be replaced by a bright smile, one tinged with delight as well as relief. “So we really were friends?!”

“None better!” Hiro raised his hand and Shuichi responded by giving a hi-five with a broad smile across his face.

“That’s great! I remember!” Shuichi threw an arm around Hiro’s shoulders, giving him a quick hug. “Hiro!!”

Hiro nearly wept with joy.

****************

Annette leant against the wall. She had got up from the couch moments before and wandered over to the side of the room. They had been sitting here for a couple of hours now and she wanted to stretch her legs. Shuichi was still deep in conversation with everyone.

“Well, I can see that he hasn’t changed at all in some ways.” A voice said at her elbow.

“How do you mean?” Annette asked, turning to look at the quiet young man next to her.

Suguru Fujisaki had been introduced as one of the other band members, but he didn’t seem like some sort of pop star. Hiroshi Nakano sort of fit the picture she had in mind of what to expect; tall, slim, tight jeans, long flowing hair and good looks to die for. Yes, he fit her image of a pop star, and she could certainly see legions of fans screaming at him. What did surprise her was his gentle nature, intelligence and obvious affection for Shu. And the young man next to her seemed far too serious to be in any type of band, let alone a very popular rock one.

He turned to her, leaning against the wall. “Shindou always had far too much energy when he was on a high. It was always more than he knew what to do with most times. The only place he could ever really pour all that energy out, was during his concerts. Then it was just the perfect amount and he really knew how to use it to its best advantage. Anywhere else was just plain exhausting for everyone around him.”

“So how do you think he’s changed?”

He glanced at her sidelong, “What makes you say I think he has changed?”

“Because you said that one thing that hasn’t changed is his energy. So that means that you must have noticed other changes if you’re comparing.”

“Hmm.” he said, turning his head to look back at Shuichi and the others. “I guess in some ways he seems more stable than before, not quite as bipolar, either on a high or completely depressed. That might have been more due to his being with…never mind.” He turned to face her, smiling. “Yes, there are some changes, but that’s to be expected. He’s been through a lot after all. However, I don’t necessarily think the changes are a bad thing. Either way, he’s still himself. I’m glad he’s okay.”

Annette smiled back at him. “So am I.”

“I think you must have been good for him.” he said.

She blushed at the compliment. “Oh, I don’t think it’s had anything to do with me.”

“I do.” Suguru said firmly. “I think you’ve given him something steady in his life. I think that has probably helped him grow.”

“But he was doing well enough on his own before meeting me.” she insisted.

“Maybe, but Shindou seems to work best when there are people he cares about around him; people he wants to be his best for. Hiro’s one of those people. So was…. Anyway, then there’s you. You would have been the only one here for him, so it would have been because of you that he’s so happy. Though I’m dreading the scene when he meets Sakuma.”

“Why?” Annette asked curiously.

Suguru looked at her with a pained smile. “Sakuma is not the ….easiest person to be around.”

“Why? Is he one of those terribly obnoxious celebrities?”

“Quite on the contrary.” Suguru assured her. “Let’s just say that he takes a little getting used to. He and Shindou always seemed to be able to connect though, so I imagine that it will all go well. At least from their perspectives. The rest of us will probably be tearing our hair out!”

Annette laughed. “I really don’t understand what you mean, but you sound so worried.”

Suguru grimaced, “No, actually it’s nothing to be worried about. It’s just downright tiring.”

“So how did you join the band?” she asked curiously

“Oh, I was asked by my cousin to help out.”

“Really? Did your cousin know Shu?”

Suguru seemed surprised by her question, then his expression cleared. “Oh, of course, sorry, you wouldn’t know the story. I keep forgetting that. My cousin is Tohma Seguchi, he’s the president of N-G Productions. That’s the label that produces Bad Luck.”

“Oh!” Annette felt a little overwhelmed. This young man’s cousin was apparently a very rich and influential person back in Japan.

“And before you ask,” Suguru continued, a touch of steel in his voice. “I didn’t get the position due to nepotism. I got it on my own merits. I’m a damn good keyboardist.”

“I….hadn’t thought anything of the sort.” Annette said, a little taken aback. It was obviously a sore point for him, judging from his reaction.

He gazed at her for a moment before relaxing again. “Sorry. I’m just so used to people thinking that. I get tired of it.”

“That’s okay.”

“Look, they’re going to be jabbering for ages yet. Why don’t we go get a coffee and a bit of fresh air?”

Annette glanced over at Shuichi. Suguru was correct - Shu was talking a mile a minute to Hiro, with the other two, Mr. K and Mr. Sakano, interjecting at various times. Yes, it looked like they were pretty settled and would be there for some time to come. Most of what they were talking about still made little sense to her. Shuichi appeared to be remembering some further things relating to his past relationship with Hiroshi so they were completely engrossed in the discussion.

She wondered if Yuki would return later this evening or not. He had taken off right at the start and hadn’t said that he would come back here, although he had indicated to Shuichi that he would see him again. Well, he had just been here to organize this moment, probably there was no reason for him to have remained any longer.

She thought for a moment longer. The room was a little stuffy, and she had been cramped up here for hours already. She couldn’t really join in the conversation, so she made up her mind and turned to Suguru with a smile.

“I’d really like that.”

“Good, come on then!” He led her to the door, opening it for her with a small bow like a real gentleman. She glanced back over her shoulder, feeling a little pang of guilt about leaving but Shuichi didn’t appear to notice her impending departure so engrossed in his conversation as he was.

Okay then. She’d come back later. She smiled again at Suguru as they walked out, the door closing behind them.