Chapter 4: Strike Out

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid… STUPID!

“Yuki! Yuki stop! Yuki please! It’s not what you think – Yukiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Fists beat on the closed door of the elevator as Eiri Yuki punched the ground floor button viciously, lighting it up. He was so stupid. So incredibly, amazingly, ridiculously stupid. What, had he thought that the little brat would wait for him?

Well…yeah, actually…

But come on, he hadn’t seriously expected him to not fuck with anyone else, had he?

Of course I did! He’s mine, dammit all, and –

There’s no and here, Eiri. You had your chance. You had your chance and you fucked up. Big time, baby. Pandora’s Box was a glass of spilled milk compared to you…

Shut up! It’s not like I actually thought he’d really leave! Why should I have? It’s not like he gave me any warning…

Oh, but he did. Don’t you remember?

“Come on, Yuki, let’s go out We never do anything fun...”

“Yuki, you’re falling asleep at the computer again. Come on, come to bed.”

“’Yuki, will you listen to –‘ ‘Leave me alone, you damn brat!’”

Stop it!

“Yuki, what’s wrong? Why won’t you talk to me?”

“Dammit Yuki! Why do you always ignore me?”

“Just LISTEN to me, Yuki!”

“I swear to God I’m going to leave-“

“FUCK YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU BASTARD! GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!”

The elevator doors opened with a small ding, and Eiri Yuki looked up. He was not quite sure how, but he was now crouched on the floor of the elevator with his hands flung over his head, looking very much like he was trying to avoid an atomic bomb. Leaning against the open doors in front of him stood a heaving, panting, pink-haired boy who was clutching his side as he gasped for breath.

“Y-yuki…Had to…catch you…Not…what you think…”

The blonde man stared at him, his light eyes full of anger. Shuichi faltered. He knew that look, he had seen it before, so many times. It came from interrupting a train of though, or from making too much noise early in the morning. It came from breaking something, or from being a fool. It came from almost everything he did, everything that he couldn’t help but do. And, like all those things that he did, that look meant trouble. That look meant sleeping on the couch, it meant not leaving the house or risk being locked out. It meant no sex, it meant being screamed at and worse: it meant being ignored for an indeterminable amount of time by the only person that really mattered. For Shuichi, that look was a fate worse than death. But this time, that look had a small spot of life in it: Yuki had come to find him. He had come here to get Shuichi, and Shuichi would be damned if he was leaving without him.

Lost in his thought, he hadn’t noticed Yuki pick himself up off the floor. It didn’t register that his prey was getting away until he felt the light brush of the older man’s arm as Yuki pushed past him out of the elevator. Shuichi watched his retreating back for a few seconds before running after him.

“Yuki, stop! Yuki, please, just let me explain…!”

He grabbed the blonde’s jacket sleeve, stepping in front of him.

“Listen to me, Yuki, I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. I’m not with Hiro, it was an accident. I swear! I’m not –“

“Get out of my way,” growled the novelist. He tugged his arm out of the pop star’s grasp, only to have the same hand latch on much tighter to his arm.

“No. You came to get me, and you’re not leaving here without –“

“I said get out of my way!” Yuki shoved the smaller boy hard in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards a few steps. Shuichi looked up at him with wide eyes as he moved toward him again. “You want to try and stop me again?” Yuki’s eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to the other. He had to get out of there, before he did something he’d regret. When Shuichi didn’t answer, he brushed past him once more, determined this time to make it out the door.

Shuichi was not so easily determined. He was going to be heard, dammit. The worst that Yuki could do was hit him, and he figured that he could take that.

“Yuki, stop” he did his best to make his voice commanding. The blonde back paid no attention to him, however, and kept on course to the door. Staring at that back, at the perfect hair, the crisp lines of the coat, hearing the soft click of his heels on the tiled floor…something inside Shuichi snapped. Yuki. Would. Listen. To. Him. He ran forward and grabbed the blonde’s arm, yanking him into an abrupt about face.

The novelist’s hand rose to push the younger boy away, and he opened his mouth to no doubt issue another ‘Leave me alone!’. Before either thing could happen, however, a small, hard fist attached to a long thin arm came into contact with the side of Eiri Yuki’s face.

XxX

It was a standstill. Anyone walking through the halls of the Green Bamboo apartment complex would have come upon a very strange scene indeed.

One of Japan’s most popular novelists stood stock still, his head tilted slightly to one side. His mouth gaped open and there was a slight dark spot forming on his cheek (It just so happened that Eiri Yuki bruised easier than an over-ripe fruit). Directly in front of him, though about half a head shorter, stood one of Japan’s most popular rock stars, staring at his own raised arm in horrified shock.

“I-I…I…” the power of speech left the young pop star as he tried to register what he had just done. Had he really just…? Yuki’s shocked face confirmed it. He had. Oh boy. As for Yuki himself, he was in shock. Had that really just happened? Had this little mouse of a kid just socked him? Was this really the same Shuichi that he could make cry with a few mean words? His brain refused to believe his eyes. It was impossible. No one could be that double sided…could they? He shook his head and his eyes came back into focus. He looked down at the pink-haired kid in front of him and took a step backwards.

“Y-yuki…” Shuichi’s eyes were pleading. Yuki took another step back. He knew that the door was only a few paces behind him. Shuichi tried again. “Y-yuki, I-I’m –“ before he could finish the apology, Yuki was out the door with a swish of his coat.