The Whisper at My Side

Author: JadeHeart
Fandom: Gravitation
Warnings: bad language
Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and for being so patient with the story. I have just returned from a couple of weeks away to the USA which was business, but I managed to swing a bit of pleasure in as well – by going to yaoi-con to have the chance to meet Ashcat and Despina which was something I couldn’t resist! Now unfortunately it’s back to work, work, work – but I will try my best to continue to fit a bit of writing in there as well!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this, they belong to the creators of ‘Gravitation’.


The Whisper at My Side: Chapter 4


The night air was split with a high pitched whine that shattered the stillness, echoing against the buildings lining the streets. Two motorbikes sped towards each other at break-neck speed, drawing nearer and nearer like two ancient warriors charging into the final battle. The wind whistled past the two helmeted riders astride their steel mounts, like dark avengers in the night. They hurtled onwards, drawing ever closer…closer.

Suddenly brakes locked, a slight twist in direction and they skidded to a screaming standstill, halting side by side, facing in opposite directions, mere inches separating them, knees almost touching. There was silence again, broken only by the gunning of the throttles as though two angry tigers were straining at the leash of their captors, fighting to reach their opponent. The faceless helmeted heads turned at almost the same time towards each other and the bikes engines quietened to a soft purr as the predators retreated and lay down to sleep, tamed once more.

The rider on the right raised a gloved hand towards his face and lifted the visor, finally revealing his features as the other did the same.

“Any luck?” Tatsuha raised his voice only enough to be heard over the quiet humming of the engines.

Hiro shook his head. “Nothing,” He sat up a little straighter, releasing his grip on the handles and stretching his aching back.

Tatusha glanced behind him down the street from where he had come, a frown on his face, before turning back to Hiro. “Where the hell has he gone this time?!” he said with some exasperation and no little worry.

Hiro looked around them also, checking the names of the side streets branching off from the main road where they had stopped, checking through his mind the routes they had already covered, the places they had already ticked off, wondering what they had missed. Tatsuha was right to be worried. It was never a good thing when Eiri Yuki decided to disappear like this.

“Shit!” Tatsuha spat out, bringing his gloved fist down with a thump against the metal of the fuel tank before him. “Damn you, bro! Where the fuck are you?!”

Hiro could see that the younger man’s shoulders were shaking, although his dropped head hid his face from clear view so he didn’t know if the youth was actually crying or just shaking with rage. Perhaps a bit of both.

Hiro took a deep breath to calm his own frustration and anxiety. It wouldn’t do for them to lose their heads now; they still had to find Yuki. “Look,” he said, breaking into Tatsuha’s thoughts. “Why don’t we head back into Shinjuku? If both of us do it together we’ll cover more ground and we might get lucky.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Tatsuha agreed, although it was with little enthusiasm or hope. He reached up and pushed his hair away from his eyes. Or was he wiping away tears, Hiro wondered.

“Have you heard from Tohma?” Hiro asked, knowing that the last time he had checked his cell phone there had been no new messages.

Tatsuha shook his head, looking even more depressed. “Not a thing.”

Hiro pursed his lips a little. This really wasn’t looking good. Usually Tohma managed to dig up something fairly quickly with all his contacts whenever this happened. The fact that it was taking this long was not a good sign. “Well, that only means he’s obviously not going to the usually places. He probably figured out that Tohma would find him if he did. Which means,” and this time Hiro grinned a little, “that he’s somewhere that he thinks we’ll never look for him.”

Tatsuha frowned. “So where the hell is that?”

Hiro thought for a moment and his grin suddenly grew wider. “What?” Tatsuaha wanted to know, seeing his expression.

Hiro half shrugged, but the smile didn’t go away. “I don’t want to raise your hopes or anything but where would be the last place on earth that you would expect to find your brother?”

Tatusha thought for a moment then shrugged. “Damned if I know.” he said. “I never could predict what Eiri would do, and even less now. You obviously think that you have an idea.”

“Yeah, but it is just an idea. I could be completely wrong.”

“How could that be any worse than us not turning anything up so far?” Tatsuha said, reaching up to close his visor. “Lead on and I’ll follow.”

“Okay then,” Hiro dropped his visor as Tatsuha gunned his engine awake and spun it around 180 degrees to be at Hiro’s side and they both took off down the street.

*****

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Tatsuha shouted over the din as he looked with wide–eyed amazement around where they stood.

“Where else is the most unlikely place to find him?” Hiro shouted in return, pushing through the gyrating bodies before him.

“But here?” Tatsuha’s disbelief was palpable as he followed. Not surprising really. They were currently making their way through the crowded dance floor of a gay strip club. Well, Tatsuha thought as another well-oiled, muscled chest rubbed against his leathers and conjured up mind-bogging fantasies, causing his head to spin and his trousers to tighten, Hiro was absolutely right. If there was a more unlikely place to find his brother he didn’t know where that would be.

He was still skeptical though. He thought Hiro was clutching at straws here in desperation. It had never taken them this long to track Eiri down before. Sooner, rather than later, one of them would locate him in some bar and haul his drunken arse out of the squalor, throw him under a shower in an attempt to clean him up a little, before rolling him into bed to sleep his binge off for the next twenty-four hours.

This time hadn’t quite been like the others. For starters, Eiri had disappeared earlier in the day than normal and had literally dropped off the radar. At least off Tohma Seguchi’s radar, which meant he was no-where to be found. Not a good thing. It was then they had all kicked into overdrive in the search for the wayward novelist.

Now, as a handsome youth a few years younger than he smiled invitingly at him and suggestively ran his hand down his bare chest, over the taut stomach, to dip fingers under the waist of low slung pants, Tatsuha may have thought he was in paradise but he couldn’t see Eiri being in this environment. It was everything Eiri hated.

Another sumptuous Adonis winked at him and gave a ‘come hither’ wriggle of hips and arse and Tatsuha groaned in despair. He had been wrong. This wasn’t paradise; it was hell. All he could do was look and not touch, and turn down every tempting luscious offer. Oh, how it hurt! Damn you, Eiri!

So engrossed was he in the delectable sights surrounding him that he ran right into the back of Hiro, who had halted in a quieter position in the club having broken free of the main crush. Tatsuha couldn’t help but take the opportunity to let his arms circle the lean waist before him and press up tightly against the firm buttocks. He had always found Hiro quite enticing, even if his taste tended to be more for the childlike look such as Shiuchi Shindou had and his still top-billing star of nearly every wet dream he had, Ryuichi Sakuma. But that didn’t stop him from copping a feel when the opportunity presented itself of the tall, good-looking, red haired guitarist.

“Keep your hands to yourself, Tats,” Hiro said calmly, not even bothering to look around. “Or you’ll be picking your butt of the floor.” Now he did look over his shoulder at the dark-haired youth pressed up against him. A smile touched his lips but his eyes held a hint of warning also.

Tatsuha sighed. He knew that Hiro wasn’t exactly disgusted by the idea of ‘man sex’ – how could he be when his best friend had shacked up with his brother? On top of that he had been surrounded by people of dubious sexuality ever since Bad Luck struck it big – from Ryuichi Sakuma to Tohma Seguchi, and even Tatsuha himself. So Hiro was pretty immune to it all and didn’t bat an eyelid at any of the antics that inevitably followed, including walking in on Shuichi and Yuki having sex at the studio more than once. But Tatsuha knew he also didn’t swing that way himself. Hiro had been happily married to Ayaka for a number of years now and didn’t seem to have any hankering to try the ‘other side’ of life. What a waste.

However, his sexual fantasies were not worth losing a friend over so he reluctantly released his hold and moved to stand by Hiro’s side, scanning the crowd, getting his mind back on the job at hand. “You’ve got to be crazy to think we’ll find him in here!” he said loudly, looking over the milling mass and trying not to stare at certain more than delicious sights. “You know how much Eiri despises these places. He wouldn’t be caught dead in here!”

“Which would make it a perfect hiding place, don’t you think?” Hiro said with a smirk. “Where else could he hide from Tohma?”

Tatsuha shook his head. “Not even Eiri would stoop this low!”

“You think not?” Hiro replied, his eyes settling on something in the distance. He nodded slightly to draw Tatsuha’s attention to what he was watching and, sure enough, when Tatsuha followed his line of sight he could see the familiar hunched figure perched on a stool, leaning on the bar. He grimaced, tossing a quick glance towards Hiro who said, “You owe me a bottle!” as he stepped forward to push through the people once again to reach Eiri while Tatsuha followed, grumbling. It had begun as a joke, which had become a regular bet that whoever found Eiri last had to buy the other a bottle of whatever alcoholic beverage they chose. So far he was well in the red. He was beginning to think that Hiro had a tracer planted on Eiri as he seemed able to find him so often.

Tatsuha tried to keep his mind focused on his brother and not on the other more enticing sights all around him as they dove back into the crowd. It was extremely hard work, but fortunately it didn’t take them long to reach their destination, so he didn’t have time to get too distracted.

“Hey, bro!” he shouted directly into Eiri’s ear, wondering what response he would get. His brother was definitely looking the worse for wear.

The blond head remained stationary for a moment and then rolled to one side of view his younger brother. “When did I dye my hair black?” he mumbled, staring at Tatsuha.

Tatsuha rolled his eyes. “You didn’t, you idiot,” he said good-naturedly, grabbing one elbow as Hiro clasped the other and they both heaved, managing to get Eiri to his feet where he would have fallen if not for their steadying hands.

“Oh, I talk,” Eiri sounded surprised. “I sound different, too.”

“Oh, great!” Tatsuha muttered under his breath, looking at Hiro who just quirked an eyebrow in sardonic humour. “He’s really gone this time!”

“Let’s just get him out of here,” Hiro said, throwing one of Eiri’s arms over his shoulder whilst Tatsuha slipped under the other. Eiri seemed to be trying to help by walking but he seemed incapable of actually making his feet move and certainly not in the way they should be, so it as left to the two of them to literally drag the taller man between them as they navigated their way out of the club.

“Okay,” said Tatsuha, giving another heave as Eiri began to slide towards the ground a little further. “Just how are we going to get him home?”

It was a valid question. Tatsuha wasn’t even going to contemplate putting his brother on a bike in this drunken state and that was the only mode of transport he and Hiro had. “I suppose we can put him in a taxi and just follow.”

Hhiro also gave a heave to settle the semi-limp form. “On his own?” he said, looking at Tatsuha as though he was being exceptionally stupid. “You’d trust him to actually stay in there on his own and not cause trouble?”

Tatsuha looked at the slumped figure between them. “He’s pretty far gone.” he said, trying to justify his suggestion. “He should be right to just stay there. He’ll probably just pass out and we can collect him at the other end.”

“Yeah, right,” Hiro said firmly. “Just like that last time when we ended up chasing the damn taxi around half of Tokyo because he kept paying the driver more to just keep going. You didn’t think he was going to wake up then either.”

Tatsuha flushed a little but he couldn’t really deny it as Hiro was completely correct. It had been at his insistence that they had put Eiri into a cab that time, telling the driver to return him to his apartment whilst he and Hiro followed after on their bikes. Eiri had already passed out, or so they had thought, so it had seemed like a safe enough move. Hiro had expressed some concern but Tatsuha had overridden his worries, after all Eiri was his brother so of course he knew best, so that was what they had done.

The unfortunate thing was, that half-way to their destination, Eiri had woken up and when the driver had explained what was happening had simply thrown a wad of money on the seat and told the driver to keep going and not return to the apartment. That had then left Hiro and Tatsuha frantically chasing after the rapidly meandering cab wondering if Eiri was holding the driver hostage or some other such horrible scenario.

They had just about reached their wits end when suddenly another car had swerved out in front of the cab, causing it to come to a screaming halt and narrowly avoiding an accident. Hiro and Tatsuha had to do some fancy maneuvering from behind also or they would have suffered a worse fate. When all the vehicles had halted the tableau had held for a moment before the back door of the car that had caused the hold-up had opened and Tohma Seguchi had stepped out, silhouetted in the headlights of the taxi.

When Tatsuha had yanked open the back door of the cab he had found Eiri sulking in the seat, and the moment he had been hauled out into the cool night air he had promptly thrown his guts up (over Tatsuha’s boots, no less) and passed out once more. Tohma had insisted on driving Eiri home then, ordering Tatsuha and Hiro to follow and there were no further mishaps.

Another time had been even worse when Eiri had thrown himself out of the moving cab, which fortunately had slowed right down to turn a corner, which had earned him a slight concussion and sprained shoulder. That could have been much worse, something Tatsuha didn’t want to even think about.

So Hiro was quite right. They did not want a repeat of those times; they had to come up with another option. The last thing he wanted was to have that withering look from Tohma Seguchi directed at him again. “So what do you suggest?” he grudgingly asked, still feeling as though he should be the one making the decisions where the well-being of his brother was concerned.

“I’ll leave my bike and go with him,” Hiro said. “I can always pick it up later. You follow us.”

“Why you?” Tatsuha asked, feeling a little put out.

Hiro grinned at him. “Because if he starts getting out of hand I won’t have any qualms about knocking him down where you’ll be more concerned about hurting him.”

Tatsuha knew that Hiro wasn’t a naturally aggressive or unkind person, but he did also acknowledge that he and Eiri still seemed to have a bit of a ‘love-hate’ friendship and spent most of the time trying to rip each other apart, more verbally than physically, than having any kind of normal relationship. Some things really don’t seem to change, although Tatsuha was more than glad to see this strange interaction between the two of them. He really believed that Eiri needed that aggravation in his life, someone who wasn’t going to be always concerned for him, someone who would make him fight back. “You sure?” he queried, still feeling a little bad about releasing his brother into someone else’s care.

“Not a problem,” Hiro assured him. He stuck a hand out and flagged a taxi down. “Let’s get out of here before we get noticed.” That was sound judgment so Tatsuha quickly helped bundle his almost comatose brother into the back seat with Hiro, made his way back to where he was parked, and soon pulled in behind the still waiting cab. He wanted to stay close in case anything untoward occurred but fortunately nothing happened and they arrived at his brother’s apartment unimpeded.

He helped Hiro lug his brother up the stairs in the hope of avoiding any other people in the building especially if they were using the lift. Eiri was still too easily recognized; despite the fact that he didn’t put out as many novels as he used to he was still extremely popular as an author. They met no-one on their way and soon had Eiri safely inside, both of them breathing heavily and sweating from their exertions. It was no easy task to maneuver his taller brother around.

“Can you manage him in the shower?” Hiro asked as they struggled into the bathroom. “I’m going to phone Tohma and tell him to call off the search.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Tatsuha indicated as he let his brother slither to the floor and simply rolled him into the bath and turned the shower on the still fully clothed figure. Hiro laughed seeing this treatment as he left the room. Tatsuha wasn’t so cruel as to leave the water cold, he actually wasn’t trying to sober Eiri up fully, just enough to make certain he was actually all right and not in danger of suffering some form of attack due to the copious amount of alcohol on top of the medication he was still taking - if he was bothering to take it as he should be. It was always a big worry for him that one day the alcohol in his brother’s bloodstream would be too much for his abused body to cope with and he would be found dead in some gutter on the streets. Tatsuha really hated those nightmares.

By the time Hiro returned Eiri was stirring slightly, head turning to avoid the spraying water on his face, bleary eyes blinking in the light. “Looks like he’s beginning to come round,” Hiro stated, standing back to watch.

“What did Tohma say?” Tatsuha asked, keeping watch on his slowly stirring brother.

Hiro just shrugged. “Pretty much what you would expect; ‘Thank you for letting me know’, and ‘how is he?’”

“Is he coming round?”

Hiro shook his head. “No, he just said to make certain that he was dried off well before putting him to bed and to call him if we needed anything.”

Tatsuha just nodded, reaching in to turn off the water as the mumbled complaints from his brother increased. Gone were the days of Tohma rushing to Eiri’s side when this occurred. It was a sign of the immense trust that he was showing Tatsuha and Hiro in giving them the sole responsibility of looking after Eiri at such times. There was one time that would never have happened. Although Tatsuha acknowledged that it was probably only Hiro’s presence that did that, he doubted very much Tohma would have trusted him alone. His opinion of his youngest brother-in-law hadn’t seemed to have changed much over the years and he still considered him a wastrel most of the time and totally without a sense of responsibility. Which was true in many ways, even Tatsuha would admit that, but sometimes, just sometimes, he would take his responsibilities seriously. Especially where his family was concerned.

Eiri had begun to thrash around a little in the wet bathtub, arms flailing, invectives beginning to flow more legibly. “We’d better get him out before he hurts himself.” Hiro advised, stepping forward and grabbing one weakly swinging arm. Tatsuha reached in and hauled on the other and between them they dragged Eiri’s long, dripping form over the tub edge and semi-upright.

They began to strip him, dropping sodden clothes to the floor as Eiri began to speak to them now. “Ge’ offa me,” he growled, the words still slurred. He half batted at Tatsuha who was struggling to undo his belt and get his trousers off his long legs. “You bloody perv,” he stated swatting as Tatsuha dodged. “You’re ma brutha and yur tryin’ to suck me off!” As Tatsuha was on his knees, head in line with Yuki’s groin, it wasn’t an entirely unreasonable assumption for him to make in his current state.

Tatsuha looked up and frowned, screwing his nose up as he answered. “As if!” he declared, getting one foot out of the damp clothing. “In this state you wouldn’t even be able to get it up!” He struggled a moment more to release Eiri’s second leg and sat back with a sigh. The truth of his statement hung limp before his face. His brother hadn’t bothered putting on any underwear today.

Eiri drunkenly leant over to view his own anatomy, Hiro’s supporting hands the only things preventing him from toppling over fully. He blinked a couple of times and raised one hand to try to grab the dangling object. It took him a couple of goes before he connected but when he did he gave it a couple of experimental tugs then shrugged, letting go so it swung loosely. “All gone,” he moaned, looking forlorn. “All dried up. Only Shuichi could bring it back to life. Only he..” He gave a gulping sob and Tatsuha knew the tears would flow shortly. He sighed sadly as he got to his feet and began to divest Eiri of his shirt, struggling with the wet material and buttons. “Only Shu,” Eiri continued to mumble. “He could do it, every time. Even when he was gone I could feel him still, he could still make me come. No matter what.”

Tatsuha only half listened. He had heard this all before, as had Hiro. The first time Eiri had let slip that he had still had a sexual relationship with Shiuchi after death he had been surprised. He hadn’t realized that Shuichi had been able to manipulate his surroundings to that extent; most spirits were nothing more than a presence. Generally it was the more malevolent ones who would manifest further as they fed on the negative energies of the people and world around the, acting like spiritual leeches. The more benign spirits didn’t do this and so couldn’t generally absorb enough energies to interact with the living as much. He had wondered how Shuichi could have done this as he had still never sensed any negative feelings from the youth’s spirit.

When he had expressed his concerns to Hiro he had just shrugged and said, “Shu’s just stubborn. If he could find a way to do it then he would.” Perhaps that was all it was, but Tatsuha was still surprised and wondered about it.

“Shuichi would look after me,” Eiri continued to mumble as Tatsuha engulfed him in a large towel and began to vigorously dry him off. “He was always there for me. Now he’s gone. All gone.”

Tatsuha tried to ignore the stab of sympathy he felt at the pain in his brother’s voice. He had felt heartbroken himself to find out that Shuichi had gone again, leaving Eiri. He didn’t understand why he had but Eiri had said he’d been told that he would return - but that had been six years ago. Six long years for Eiri.

As though reading his mind Eirii suddenly reached out and gripped Tatsuha’s shoulders hard, glaring at him. “So you tell me why he’s not back!” he snarled, fingers tightening so Tatsuha could feel them digging into tendons. “You tell me where he’s gone!”

Tatsuha could see Hiro tensing, ready to pull Eiri away if it appeared he was going to cause physical harm to his younger brother. He relaxed a little as Tatsuha’s shake of his head indicated it was okay. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly, although still with a pang of guilt at not being able to offer more comforting words to his distressed brother.

“Why not? You’re the fucking monk!” Eiri gripped hard, eyes suddenly focusing and voice gaining strength and clarity. “So tell me where he is? He promised!”

Tatsuha reached up and placed his hands over Eiri’s, looking his brother directly in the eye. “If he promised he’ll be back,” he said with complete certainty. “He will be. He wouldn’t be able to lie to you in spirit form. Do you really think he would?”

Eiri growled something Tatsuha didn’t catch. “Eiri, he said he would be back. You told me that. You have to have faith in him.”

“Faith?!” Eiri snorted. “In him? He’d forget his brain if he had one!”

“Maybe,” Hiro spoke up for the first time quietly. “But there were only two things he was absolutely committed to; his music and you.” Eiri strained his head round to look over his shoulder to try and see Hiro without releasing his hold on Tatsuha. “Do you doubt that?”

“N……o,” Eiri reluctantly dragged out, looking away as he was unable to keep his head turned in that awkward position any longer. His head dropped then, chin nearly to his chest, shoulders slumping and lank hair falling to hide his face. “But where is he?” The last was said quite plaintively and Tatsuha’s heart broke.

He leant forward so his brow rested again his brother’s, trying not to weep for him. “You have to believe,” he whispered brokenly. “Don’t stop believing.”

They remained like that, the two siblings, dark and light hair mingling, sharing the pain. Eiri was the first to move away, jerking back suddenly and swaying a little so Hiro took a tighter grip on him, steadying him. His face was distorted with pain and anger. “It’s all a lie! You’re all lying to me!” he exclaimed, swinging at Tatsuha. “He’s not coming back. He’s never coming back to me!”

Hiro did his best to try and restrain the suddenly struggling body as he flailed at his brother who was unable to duck quickly enough to avoid a fist that landed squarely on one cheek and knocking him backward against the high side of the bath. Tatsuha felt a stab of pain shoot through one shoulder from the impact and winced.

“Yuki!” Hiro shouted, encircling the taller man and pinning his arms to his sides as he still twisted and turned, eyes filled with concern for Tatsuha. “Yuki!”

Tatsuha struggled to his feet and propelled himself back to his brother, reaching out to place both hands on either side of his face, holding it steady and forcing him to look him in the eyes. “Eiri, he will come back!” he almost screamed, trying to get through to his brother. “He promised you!”

“He left!” Eiri denied violently, refusing to listen, refusing to believe. “I’ve got nothing to give him. Why would he come back to me?” Now the real fear showed. Eiri’s fears that his own failings were what was keeping Shuichi from him. That this was still all his fault. Tatsuha couldn’t let him continue to think that. At that moment, he could almost hate Shuichi for leaving Eiri like this, however irrational that was.

“Because he promised!” Tatsuha said fiercely. “He promised and in sprit form he can’t lie! He’ll come back!”

“When?” Eiri’s voice broke again as all the fight seemed to drain out of him. “When? It’s been so long!”

Tatsuha stroked the side of his face, gently wiping away tears. “When he can,” was all he could offer. He motioned with his head to Hiro, indicating they should leave the cramped bathroom and between the two of them they managed to navigate the hall to the bedroom. Tatsuha gave his brother one more careful wipe over with the towel to ensure he was completely dry, then they carefully sat and rolled his long frame onto the bed before gently covering him so he wouldn’t be chilled.

“Why won’t he come back?” Tatsuha heard Eiri whisper in a slurred voice. “Why won’t he come back? I’m waiting for him.”

Tatsuha smoothed his hair back from his brow, already noting that the eyes were already closed. “He will. Someday.” he whispered quietly back, leaning in close to place a gentle kiss on one white cheek. “You’ll see.” He stood, careful not to rock the bed, and tiptoed out of the room with Hiro close behind then closed the door quietly.

“Do you really believe that?” Hiro said softly as they made their way to the kitchen.

“Yes,” Tatsuha replied, though perhaps not as confidently as he should have been. “Do you want a beer or a coffee?” he asked, opening the fridge.

“Coffee,” Hiro replied. “I’ve still to ride.”

“Humph,” Tatsuha replied. “Well, I need something stronger.” he said, grabbing a beer though he did withdraw the milk also for Hiro.

As he put on the water to boil Hiro spoke again. “So why do you think Shu hasn’t come back?”

“How should I know?” Tatsuha looked at him a little defensively.

“Because you are a monk,” Hiro pointed out, seating himself.

“Doesn’t mean I know everything,”

“No, but you’d have a better idea than the rest of us.”

Tatsuha sighed, “I really don’t, Hiro,” He ran fingers through his hair in evident frustration. “I could understand him coming back. He loved my brother so much that it really didn’t surprise me. Why he’s gone now? I don’t know. It seemed as though he had to for some reason but he also seemed just as adamant that he would return.”

“What could be taking him so long?” Hiro questioned as Tatsuha turned to the boiling water and began to make his coffee. They were both completely at home in Yuki’s apartment, having spent more than one night watching over the novelist.

“No idea. This isn’t really something I’ve had a lot of experience in, you know.”

“What about your father?” Hiro asked.

Tatsuha screwed up his nose a little. “He can’t help either. I asked.” He confirmed answering Hiro’s questioning look.

“Does he believe Shu came back?”

“Actually, yes,” was Tatsuha’s surprising answer. “He does believe in that sort of thing and has seen plenty of similar things so he did believe me.”

“And does he have any ides of what’s going on now?”

Tatsuha took another swallow of beer. “He says not,”

Hiro looked at him over the rim of the cup. “He says…does that mean you don’t believe him?”

Tats grimaced. “I don’t know. I just feel that he knows something more that he’s not saying.”

“Like what?”

Tatsuha shrugged. “I wish I knew. Maybe then I could help Eiri.” He looked complete defeated. “Do you think he’ll be okay?” he asked glancing towards the darkened passage leading to the bedroom.

Hiro nodded. “He always has been.” he said.

“But this has been the worst he’s been since..” Tatsuha said worriedly.

Hiro frowned. “True. I think we’ve got to concentrate on reminding him that Shu did promise to come back. Keep him focused on that.”

“It’s a long time for someone to believe in nothing more than a wish,” Tatsuha said quietly.

“But it’s the only thing that’s probably keeping him alive, isn’t it?”

Tatsuha sighed. “Yeah, most likely it is.” he acknowledged grimly, not wanting to even think about the consequences if Eiri gave up completely.

Hiro pushed his chair back and stood. “I’m going to head off,” he stated, picking up his helmet and jacket. “I’ll borrow your bike and pick you up from here in the morning.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.” The two of them had often ridden each other’s bikes depending upon the circumstances so he was quite comfortable with Hiro taking his tonight.

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Hiro opened the front door and paused for a moment, casting a quick glance back down the darkened passage way. “Keep an eye on him and give me a call if you run into any trouble.”

“I will,” Tatsuha confirmed although he didn’t think there would be any further disturbances from Eiri. It was highly unlikely that his brother would even wake up till well in tomorrow afternoon, by which time Mika would be here to look after him whilst Tatsuha had to return to work.

“Right. Take care.” And Hiro closed the door softly behind him.

Tatsuha listened as Hiro’s footsteps faded away and sighed as he switched off the slights and slumped down on the couch. “Where are you, Shuichi?” he whispered into the stillness. “When are you going to come back? Eiri needs you so bad.”

He sighed again, and then swung his legs up onto the couch, rearranging some cushions behind his head and trying to make himself comfortable. Another night of sleeping on this instead of his nice soft bed. What a pain.

He rolled over and closed his eyes, snuggling a little deeper, feeling sleep tugging at his mind. As he drifted off into slumber he thought he heard an almost inaudible whisper, “I’m coming”, and then darkness enfolded him.