Still Raining

Still Raining
Sequel to: On the Street of Dreams
Written by: chochowilliams
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Summary: There was one woman at the press conference that refused to leave well enough alone. Two years later, she’s back and causing trouble. She’s determined to prove that Aizawa isn’t the biological father of little Takanori. What if she’s right?
Chapter Summary:
Warning: angst, drama, romance, m-preg, language, m/m, hentai
Inserts: flashbacks to “Street of Dreams” chapter 7, chapter 16, chapter 1
A/N: Thank you to glostarz, UnratedCrimsonBlood, bookworm51485, ferler, secret hidden within me, Acherona, Bfly-Ronaldita, Mrs. Hatake Itachi, Charlie-becks, Lena, MP for your reviews and for sticking by me through the long waits between chapters. I am not sure how long this story is going to be or how many more chapters there are after this. I’m just making it up as I go along. So, anyway, enjoy!

+---+---+---+

Last Time

A male face flashed before his eyes. Shuichi shook his head to rid himself of the image. Impossible. He knew it. Taki had known it too, which was why he had claimed the child for his own because there was just no other option. That was why he refused to accept what had always been there right in front of his eyes. Besides, what did it matter? Eiri had accepted responsibility for a child that was not his. Tohma had had his attorney in Japan draw up the papers and had them faxed to his attorney in New York City where Eiri had signed the papers legally adopting little Takanori not even twenty-four hours after his birth. Eiri’s name was even on the birth certificate. Eiri was their son’s father. That was all there was to it. Some stupid piece of paper was not going to change that.

But…

They were trying to relearn how to breathe when Shuichi’s soft voice broke into the silence. “Why did you press the issue of getting that paternity test done?”

Blinking, Eiri turned to face him. “Why?”

“Yeah.” Shuichi flipped onto his side. He held up his head with his hand. His other hand rested on his swollen belly. “Why? You’re his father, Eiri. Does it really matter who fathered him?”

Eiri turned his gaze away from Shuichi’s searching one and stared up at the ceiling, hidden within the shadows. “Not really. Not to me.”

Shuichi‘s gaze narrowed in confusion. “Then-?”

“But it will matter…to him…someday. He’s going to want to know the truth.” Eiri turned his head around so that he was facing him. “Will you be able to give it to him?”

…he could no longer deny it. You can only ignore the giant pink elephant in your living room for so long. The older his son became, the more evident it was.

Pushing away from the doorframe, Shuichi stepped back into the hallway and quietly shut the bedroom door behind him. He walked down the hall and out into the living room. He hade his way silently through the house to the kitchen. He picked up the cordless phone extension. His fingers danced over the keys.

“…It’s me,” he spoke into the receiver. “Sorry to wake you, but…I…I need to talk to you.”

+---+---+

Chapter 6: The Visitation Brings Them Back

In route to Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan

One of eleven wards of Kyoto, Kita-ku- meaning "North Ward"- was home to four universities. There was Bukkyo University; Kyoto Sangyo University; Ritsumeikan University, Kinugasa Campus and Otani University. Three well-known temples were located within the ward as well, the famous Rinzai sect temple Daitoku-ji, as well as the Kami Kamo Shrine, which was one of the oldest shrines in Japan, and Kinkaku-ji, the “Golden Pavilion”, which was one of the Japan’s most famous temples. As of 2008, there was estimated to be a population of about 122,391 people residing within Kita. One of those people just happened to be Kizou, pimp, drug lord, mob boss and ex-lover to Shuichi Shindou.

With his elbow resting on the lip of the window and his chin cupped in his hand, Shuichi gazed blankly out the window of the speeding train as the scenery whizzed by in blurs of colors. His fingers drummed a staccato beat on the armrest of the seat.

He felt nauseous.

The last time he had seen Kizou…

---

Growling, Kizou clenched his hands into tights fists of fury. “Get out,” he said slowly in a dangerously low voice.

Shuichi's laughter was silenced as if a switch had been flicked. Blinking, he sat up and looked at him in confusion. “What?”

Kizou rounded the bed and grabbing Shuichi's arm dragged him off the bed and out of the bedroom.

Suddenly sober, Shuichi tugged against the painful vise-like grip on his arm. He planted his feet on the floor. “Kizou,” Shuichi whined. “You're hurting me! Kizou!”

The other occupants of the house were startled away as Kizou continued to drag Shuichi kicking and screaming through the house. Whispers followed the couple. “What's going on? What's happening?”

“What did I do?” Shuichi asked the man as tears flowed down his face. He tried prying off the hand clamped around his arm. “Kizou! Please!”

Kizou slammed open the front door in a fury and disgusted haze. He marched down the drive past the cars, still pulling a reluctant and hysterical Shuichi behind him. He tossed the boy down the driveway. Shuichi lost his balance and fell, hissing in pain as he skinned his shins and elbows. “Get out of here,” he snapped. “Now!”

Shuichi rolled around onto his back and stared up at the tall man who had been his entire world for the past year. “Why? What did I do?” he cried as the tears flowed down his face. “Please! I don't understand!”

Kizou gazed at his little lover and felt like a complete heel. All he wanted to do was pull the boy into his arms and never let go. He wanted to wipe that expression off his face. A smile suited Shuichi best. He truly did love this boy and he knew Shuichi felt something for him. It may not be the same feeling that he felt for him, but there was some sort of connection between the two of them. And he knew this was the only real home the boy had. But he just could not do it. He had a reputation to uphold. Besides, with the way things were right now, he could not continue to guarantee Shuichi’s safety. The last thing Kizou wanted was to pull Shuichi into the dark underworld of this organization. This way Shuichi had a chance to give the child that was growing within him a much better life than the kind of life he would have if both mother and son remained here with him. Someday, Shuichi will thank him for this.

Steeling himself, he marched towards the boy and hunched over his quivering, half-naked form. “I. Don’t. Like. Freaks,” he hissed. It broke his heart to witness Shuichi’s complete world shatter around him. But it was all for the best. He just had to continue saying that to himself. It was all for the best.

Shuichi's eyes widened and his face paled.

Freak.

That word echoed in his mind over and over again. Once again, he was an outcast. Once again, he was forced to abandon his home all because of something he could not control.

Kizou unfurled himself and at his full height glowered down at the sniveling boy. “Get the fuck out of here,” he ordered. “And never show your face around here again!” He turned his back and vanished into the gathered group of curious onlookers.

---

…his entire world had been flipped upside down.

Had that really only been three years ago? It seemed more like several lifetimes had come and gone since then. The person he had been then was not the person he was now. The Shuichi of three years ago and the Shuichi of today were two completely different people. It was difficult to even contemplate they had at one time been one and the same.

Back then, he had been utterly and completely alone. His father had adored Ryuichi and had raised him as if he were his own flesh and blood. When Maiko was born, their father had been the proudest parent on the face of the earth. He had radiated happiness and glowed with pride, but when it came to the son he had actually fathered…Shuichi could have been a speck of lint on his sleeve. For the only attention his father had ever shown him was when he brushed him out of his way. As for his mother…She claimed to love him, but in the end, what she loved was the image of him she had in her head.

Then there was Maiko…Though they were siblings, they could not have been more different. She was popular, smart and beautiful. She did not sleep around, did not drink, did not experiment with drugs, did not hang around with questionable people and had a future ahead of her that could “put food on the table”. Essentially, she was the perfect, ideal child. She was everything that he was not, a child that a father could be proud of.

Ryuichi was the only one who had ever loved him for who and what he was. Ryuichi had never seen him as a failure or a mistake. Ryuichi had loved him and cared for him when nobody else had. Ryuichi had raised him like his own. Unfortunately, though, because he was the lead singer of Nittle Grasper, Japan’s hottest rock band, he had never been there for him. Not really. Ryuichi had always been out on the road, in the studio, at a photo shoot or being interviewed for some program or magazine. His career had come first before anything else, even him. During those few times when Ryuichi had actually been around, he had been overtly overprotective and had spoiled Shuichi rotten in an attempt to make up for all the time when he was absent. When he was younger, Shuichi had eagerly awaited what little time they could spend together. He’d loved all the attention and gifts Ryuichi showered him with. As he grew, though, the anticipation and excitement had dwindled and died. No amount of presents in all the world could make up for not having his big brother around and where the “over-protective elder brother” routine used to make him feel proud and special, it had grown quickly into an embarrassment. He could not express adequately enough what an abhorrence it had been to him.

With a father who hated the ground he walked on, a mother who chose to pretend her son was something he was not, a sister who seemed to want nothing to do with him for one reason or another and a brother who was never there for him when he needed him, he had been left all alone.

Yes, there had been Hiro and Suguru and even Tatsuha, but it was not the same. Tatsuha was just his big brother’s lover. Hiro and Suguru were his friends. When it came right down to it, they were not just his friends. Having known one another their entire lives and being in a band together, they were a pseudo-family in a way, but it was not the same thing. Being acknowledged by his friends was one thing, but being accepted by your parents was something else altogether and it was that recognition that he had craved though had never received.

That despair of being all alone in the world had sent him into a downward spiral. It was like that patch of black ice on the road in the middle of winter. Even though you could not see it, you knew it was out there somewhere. It did not matter how careful you were, for when you find it there was nothing you could do to stop your vehicle from careening out of control. All you could do was go alone for the ride and hope that when you stopped you could walk away with only minor cuts and bruises.

In his depression, he’d had thoughts of just ending it. Nobody would miss him anyway. His father never acknowledged his existence. His mother would never miss something she never wanted to know existed in the first place. Maiko had been so caught up in her own little world that she might as well have been an only child. Ryuichi was never around in the first place so what he did not know would not hurt him. As for Bad Luck, the guys could always find a new singer. It happened all the time. Bands replaced members like normal people changed their clothes.

Then Kizou had entered the picture. He had walked into that disgusting, cockroach infested, and urine-smelling bathroom in that seedy bar with his ever-present shadow at his side and offered to turn his frown upside down.

When he had entered Kizou’s world, though he had been surrounded by the prostitutes, junkies and countless others vagabonds that Kizou employed, he had still felt that desolate despair and it slowly continued to eat away at him. So he tried filling that hole with whatever he could. He polluted his body with those experimental drugs Kizou continuously offered him. Though Kizou forbid it, he’d even started drinking. Though Kizou and Taki were the only ones he had ever actually slept with in that house, he had given out and accepted “party favors” from countless others. It was all so that he could forget that he was nothing more than a good for nothing piece of shit.

The more the sex, the drugs and the alcohol failed to make him forget, the more the huge hole within him widened and the more aggressive his usage became. It would have killed him eventually. He could say that with absolute certainty. The sad part was that back then he would not have minded. He would have welcomed Death with open arms.

All that changed one night when a tall, mysterious blond haired, blond eyed writer decided to go for a walk through the park to clear his head. His whole life turned around the night he met Eiri. Even if their one night together had remained just that, Shuichi knew he would not have minded. Like a person who had been blind since birth being given the miracle of sight, that brief rendezvous had opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

Today he had a wonderful life. He had a husband who worshipped the ground he walked on, a beautiful son; he was carrying his husband’s twins and his dream of being a professional singer had come true when Tohma had honored the contract Bad Luck had won from L8r Records at the Battle of the Bands. He finally had a relationship with his sister Maiko and he had a father who was always there for him and who loved him no matter who or what he was.

As painful as Kizou’s words had been on that day, he had actually done him a favor and for that he would be forever grateful.

+---+---+

NG Productions Executive Offices

As the ringing continued, Tohma swiveled his chair around. He took in the view of his city spread out before him. It was indeed a remarkable sight. The metal and glass landscape seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see.

He was not sure how he felt about Shuichi agreeing to have a paternity test done. It could be argued that this was the only option they had to get Nami Mataguchi off their backs once and for all, but anybody who knew anything about terrorist negotiations knew that you never gave in to their demands. Ever. It did not matter what threat they used. People like that were never going to be satisfied. You give in just once and they were going to walk all over you because what was there to stop them from demanding more? Besides, just because you paid the kidnapper’s ransom, did not mean that you were going to have your child returned to you, at least unharmed.

Besides, who said that Nami Mataguchi would be satisfied with the results? What if they came back and it was discovered that Taki Aizawa was indeed little Takanori’s biological father? There was no way Nami Mataguchi would accept that. She would be out there screaming about conspiracies. People like her were not satisfied unless they were proven to be right, whether she was or not.

Then there was the opposite. What if her claims were proven to be true? What if Shuichi was wrong and Taki Aizawa did not father little Takanori like she has been insinuating ever since Eiri and Shuichi’s relationship was exposed? There was no way she would stop there. With the proof to back up what she has been saying all along in her hand, her inflated ego would go on the rampage.

“If they were hiding something like this, then what else are they hiding?”

She would pick apart Eiri and Shuichi’s relationship. Whether they had anything to hide or not, even the most in love couple could not stand up against the constant barrage of attacks from the media. He had seen it enough times to know.

What was there to stop her from pressing an issue she had only insinuated at once over a year ago?

“It’s clear what the truth is, Mr. Seguchi. Why don’t you just admit? Ryuichi Sakuma and Shuichi Shindou’s relationship is more than just that of mere siblings, isn’t that true?”

They were lucky that Shuichi had not pressed the issue. He was not sure what they would have told the young singer.

But if Nami Mataguchi was proven correct in her assumptions about little Takanori, then…

Little Takanori was only two years old, so all this fighting over who actually fathered him was something that would not truly affect him. Shuichi himself had told him not long after little Takanori was born that he would make sure that his son grew up knowing the truth. But if the truth came out that Ryuichi was actually Shuichi’s biological father and that his mother was locked up in a psychiatric center for the mentally insane because he’d tried to kill himself while still pregnant with Shuichi before Ryuichi could actually speak to Shuichi first…all hell would break loose.

There was a click and then a masculine voice broke into the silence. “Yes. This is Takashi Iba.”

Tohma spun his chair back around and grabbed the receiver. “Yes, hello. This is Seguchi from NG Productions.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Seguchi. Hello, sir.”

“I do apologize for calling you so early, Mr. Iba, but if you do not mind I would like to get right down to business.”

“Of course, sir,” Takashi replied. “It’s no problem at all. What can I do for you?”

“I have an artist here at NG Productions who would like to have a paternity test done. Can you explain a little on how this is done?” Though he was not mentioning any names, he had a feeling that Takashi Iba knew to whom he was referring. Unless he had been living under a rock, everyone in Japan knew all about the challenge Nami Mataguchi issued. The wicked bitch of the East was probably gloating right now over her success. Oh, how he wished he could have used his connections to silence her. Unfortunately, that would have cause more harm than good.

“O-of course, sir. Well,” Takashi continued sounding a little nervous, “in a standard DNA paternity test, the tested parties include a child, the alleged father, and the mother. It runs about 45070 yen. We start the testing process with a 9500 yen non-refundable partial payment.”

With a nod, Tohma jotted down some quick notes.

“The mother‘s participation helps to exclude half of the child‘s DNA, leaving the other half for comparison with the alleged father‘s DNA,” the man continued. “However, we can perform a paternity test without the mother‘s participation. Though this involves additional analysis, there is not any additional charge.”

Good to know.

“Either way, the results are equally conclusive.” The man cleared his throat. “We also can test additional children or alleged fathers if needed, though there is an additional 18595 yen fee for each additional tested party.”

Tohma hoped that service would not be needed, though knowing what little he knew about Shuichi’s past, he had a feeling his hopes might just be dashed. This was one time he hoped he was wrong.

“Motherless tests are guaranteed to have at least a 99.9% probability of paternity for inclusions and 100% for exclusions.”

Good. That way it would be easy to include or exclude Taki Aizawa as the father of little Takanori Uesugi. “Now, how would you go about getting a DNA sample for testing?”

“Usually, we use the painless buccal-”

“That is…?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. What we do is swab the inside of the cheek to collect samples.”

Ah. Jut like those police dramas. Tohma frowned. There was one problem with that method. “And if the alleged father is deceased?”

“Oh, well, there are several options in that case. If there is a pathology or autopsy sample from the hospital or morgue from the deceased alleged father then that could be used. If not, then we can collect samples from one or both of the deceased alleged father’s parents. If they are not available, then we can test multiple ‘first degree’ relatives of the deceased. This is when we collect samples from at least three known biological relatives of the deceased.”

“Good. Good. That should be simple enough.” Hopefully. Truthfully, he was not sure how the Aizawas would feel about this whole affair. Taki Aizawa had been an only child and his parents had only been able to move passed their son’s death because they had believed that he had left an heir behind. Tohma was not sure what this would do to the grieving Aizawas if it were discovered that their grandson was not really their son’s child.

“I am taking it that the alleged father is deceased?”

“Yes, he is. He was in a car accident not long after discovering that he was to be a father.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but as I said, we have several other options available if needed.”

“Hm. How long would it take for the results to come in?”

“You will receive the results within three days time.”

“That fast?”

“Yes, sir.”

With his pen gripped in his hand and the phone held to his ear with the other, Tohma reclined in the leather chair behind his desk in a smooth motion. He beat the pen against the desktop rhythmically. “And I do not have to remind you that this is of the utmost confidential.”

“Of course, not, sir. I trust all of my employees whole heartedly.”

“Good. I would not like any leaks to…impair our relationship. You will fax all the necessary paperwork to me here at NG?”

“Y-yes, sir. Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Returning the handset to the cradle, Tohma set his pen down and sitting back, steeples his fingers under his chin.

What a mess.

+---+---+

In Route to the Uesugi-Sakuma Residence - Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

What the hell had possessed him to agree to allow his pregnant husband to travel alone to visit his ex-Yakuza-lover? It was one of the stupidest decisions that he has ever made. Allowing Shuichi to move out for several months being the other asinine choice he ever made. His regret over allowing Shuichi to go visit Kizou in Kita had nothing to do with the fact that the two of them used to be lovers. What was there to be jealous of? Shuichi chose him over that man didn’t he? No, the problem was the man was as dangerous as a starving lion at a buffet. He was a mob boss guilty of ordering the deaths of countless people, drug trafficking, weapons possession, smuggling, dealing in prostitution and then there were his so-called “legitimate” business that included gambling halls, banks, restaurants and apartment complexes to name a few. He has been under investigation by the PSIA for years. Just because the Public Safety Intelligence Agency has never been able to find any solid evidence to convict the man did not mean anything.

Having any sort of association with someone like Kizou was dangerous, but what if what Shuichi believed was true? What if Kizou was indeed the biological father of little Takanori?

Eiri shook his head. No. That was impossible. It had to be.

---

“Back off,” Taki barked. He was glad his voice did not betray how terrified he actually was of this dude. Inside he was trembling like a leaf. “If he's pregnant I have the right to know!”

Oh, God! I do not do this, Shuichi silently begged.

“If he's far enough along that he's thinking of getting an abortion, than that rules you out as the father, Romance Man,” he snapped, poking a finger into Eiri's chest. He was gaining more confidence as he went along.

Shuichi's head snapped up and he paled, this time for a different reason. What? Oh gods no. His stomach churned. This was not happening. Shuichi had always known, but he had not wanted to face the truth.

Taki smirked smugly at the stunned writer. “And ever since Kizou had testicular cancer, Man Land just has not been the same,” he pouted.

---

He slowed to a stop at a red light.

When that ass from ASK made such a presumptuous statement, everyone had believed him. They all just assumed that Kizou was unable to have children, but what if they had been wrong? What if they had leapt to the wrong conclusion? If Eiri was to believe Shuichi’s claim that they were the only two other than him who he had ever slept with, then by a process of elimination, if it wasn’t Taki then Kizou had to be little Takanori’s biological father.

He was not sure he particularly cared about that fact.

A squeal had him looking into the rearview mirror. He smiled at the sight of his son who was strapped into his booster seat behind him.

Well, in the end it did not really matter who fathered little Takanori because…

“I. Don’t. Care. I’m not going to get a paternity test done just to prove who fathered my son. You are his father and that is all that matters.”

Still…

His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

…it did not mean he had to like the idea of his baka, his pregnant baka mind you, traveling all alone to Kyoto. He knew he should have gone with him, but all Shuichi had to do was give him that look and he found himself caving in to all of Shuichi’s whims.

When the light turned, green, he blew through the intersection.

That still did not mean that he was jealous.

---TBC---

A/N: You guys have now chosen. “Kita” won with an overwhelming 18% of your votes for their son’s name and “Kaya” won with 14% of your vote for their daughter‘s name. “Tsukiko” came in at a close second with 12%. Thank you to all of you who voted! BTW. If you are interested in reading an original story I’ve written, go to my profile and follow the link. Thanks!