Sakura Michi - Chapter 14 -
Title: Even Cherry Blossom Paths Can Lead Astray
Pairing: KoKame, KameDa (one-sided), MaruDa friendship, JinDa friendship
Rating: This chapter... PG-13-ish
Genre: romance, drama
Disclaimer: I don’t own them! I wish I did, but I never will (tear)
Warning: Lots of random guy-on-guy smut, some swearing and alcohol use. And another Uncommunicative!Ueda character (laugh)
Summary: (based between Cartoon KAT-TUN II You tour and Queen of Pirates) Kame and Ueda have been going steady since shortly after Jin left for L.A. and Kame finally decided to confess… but what happens when the little things start pushing the two apart? Will they be able to bridge the growing gap, and when Kame decides to take things into his own hands, how does it bode for his lover?
A/N: this story is modeled after my older writing: it alternates between Kame’s and Ueda’s P.o.V. It’ll be marked, but try to keep track or you’ll get confused! (Believe me: I’ve done it XD )
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3| Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 |
| Chapter 6| Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |
| Chapt. 11 | Chapt. 12 | Chapt. 13 |
Chapter 14
_- Kame's P.o.V. -
When Tatsuya finds us, he’s shaking and there’s a rapidly swelling bruise on his face, just by his left eye. I almost choke and run up to him, but he flinches away from me when I try to brush his hair from his bruise. “D-don’t touch me…” he whispers.
I hear Nakamaru sigh and he leaves, presumably to get ice.
Our manager sighs impatiently. “We’re going to be late,” he says. “Now, I’ve waited, as promised, but we have to get going! Someone fill him in on the way. Him too,” he says, as Koki staggers in.
“I can explain everything to Uepi,” Taguchi says.
“I… can tell Koki about it.”
“Tell me about what?” Koki’s voice is hoarse. His left eye is swelling, too. He must’ve hit Tatsuya first, then; Tatsuya’s always been a fan of an-eye-for-an-eye treatment. That used to excite me. Now that he and Koki are volatile… it almost makes me sick to think what could happen.
Nakamaru comes back with two ice packs and hands them out. I snatch one before Koki can so much as register where it is- he seems pretty dizzy- and I wrap my scarf around it before gently placing it against his head. He winces, but stays still. Once he seems to have adjusted to it, he raises his own hand to his face and holds it there himself. “You going to be okay?” I ask softly.
“I’ll be fine… when I can breathe properly… again,” he says, and smiles strangely at me.
“…Breathe?” I look at his chest. I run the back of my hand gently over his chest and he seems fine, until I brush against where his diaphragm is.
“Itai…” he groans. “Don’t touch there…”
“He punched you there?”
“I made him,” he says quietly, so the others can’t hear. Jin is talking with Taguchi to Tatsuya, and Nakamaru seems to be off in his own thoughts, glaring at the wall. “He was so… ugh. I couldn’t stand it. So I made him react. I had to… I just hope I-”
“Wait-what? You wanted him to hit you?”
He smiles goofily at me.
I furrow my brow. “You’re a masochist…” I mumble.
“Must be, right?” he tries to laugh but ends up coughing, doubling over painfully.
Nakamaru gives Tatsuya a stern look. Tatsuya shrugs, his expression cold.
I glare at Tatsuya myself, but when he feels my eyes on him and turns, his expression softens imperceptibly.
Our manager takes the brief pause to lead us to where we'll be conducting our latest magazine interview. "Come on, move along. Does Tanaka-kun need help?" his glance is uncharacteristically concerned.
"I've got him," I reply, and help Koki to stand up a little straighter, breaking my staring match with Tatsuya.
Tatsuya seems to sigh softly, and Taguchi pats his shoulder. Tatsuya shrugs him off, but there isn't much effort, or really any violence: just a last attempt at force before resignation.
"Uepi, let's go," Taguchi leads him out, Jin walking between Koki and myself and them.
The room where the interview takes place is small, cramped and so tense I start to fear for my life. The interviewer, a surprisingly young girl probably fresh out of college, seems terrified of the lot of us and even Jin's fake flirtation falls flat. The whole room feels just wrong. But after the girl scurries out an hour and a half later, the atmosphere intensifies and I have to get out. I exit calmly enough, but as soon as the door is gently shut, I run to the nearest washroom. I splash cold water over my face and wish it would clear my fuzzy thoughts, relax my tense muscles. The door opens behind me and I glance up in the mirror, surprised to see a copper head instead of a buzzed one.
"H-hey," Tatsuya's voice is whisper-soft and unsure. "I... I don't really know-- well...could you meet me on the roof after work? I think I'm ready to… explain... things."
I tug my shirt up and dry my face, still facing the mirror, pretending not to notice the way Tatsuya licks his lips instinctively, how he can't seem to look away from the patch of revealed skin. "Umm...sure," I pull the shirt back down and he looks away as if disgusted with himself. I try not to see the way he bites his lip sharply, too hard to be a nervous reaction. I turn to face him, hoping it doesn't scare him off. He's like some wild animal when he's like this: one wrong move and he's gone. "Are you sure you don't want to talk now?" I ask.
His head twitches a sharp 'no.' "Not now," he says. “After work.”
I nod. It's no good to push him; he just gets more nervous, more anxious when you push him. He completely shuts down. "Okay, after work, then. Would a café not be better?"
"I think the least chance I have to run, the better," he says with a ghost of a smirk. Something in my chest loosens, relaxes.
I smile a little. "Guess you're right. We'll head out right after the meeting for our schedules?"
He nods.
I take a slow step forward, raise my hand and lay it gently on his shoulder. He tenses at first, but then relaxes to the point that he looks vulnerable and defeated. Something in my heart breaks and I take another step, capturing him in an embrace. At first, I think he's going to resist but then he just stands there and begins to tremble. His head drops to my shoulder and I swear I feel hot tears staining my shirt. He raises his arms stiffly, as if they're carrying mountainous weights and when he grips my back, trapping the cloth of my shirt in steel vices, I realize that he was. Weights intangible as air and heavy as despair--maybe it is just despair, who am I to say?
Tatsuya mumbles something, but I can't discern it. I make a questioning noise and he backs away slightly, but doesn't loosen his grip on me. His face is soon streaked with damp. "I--I'm sorry," he says a little more loudly. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… for everything… and now… now I’ve hurt him and he’s the one trying to help you, he’s the one who’s actually doing something for you, and I’m not going to make excuses so just-just-I’m sorry…” and all his strength seems to escape with the last whispered word and he falls, his death grip on my shirt suddenly disappearing as he crumples.
I scramble to catch him, “T--Ueda? Ueda?!”
He shakes his head, grimaces in pain. “I’m so dizzy… why does everything keep going black? Why does it take so long to open my eyes…?”
“Ueda, it’s okay; I’ll bring you to the hospital and we’ll get you checked out. Just stay awake, okay?”
He makes an affirmative noise.
“If I help you, can you stand?”
“Yeah, yeah, I can,” he replies, but his legs are barely able to hold him up when I stand, one of his arms wrapped around my shoulder.
We meet Nakamaru in the hall and he immediately takes Tatsuya from me, giving me a concerned and worried look.
“I don’t know either; he almost fainted in the bathroom and I helped him this far… I think it was Koki’s punch from earlier. But there’s no way he could’ve hit him hard enough---”
“That doesn’t matter,” Nakamaru interrupts me. “Koki’s fault or not, he needs help.”
“Maru? I’m fine, Maru. Just tired, I guess…” Tatsuya argues weakly.
“You’re not fine!” he snaps. “I’ll take over from here, Kamenashi. Go tell the others we’re leaving early?”
I nod dumbly. I shiver at the ache in my chest and watch Nakamaru leave with Tatsuya, watch Tatsuya’s legs give out on him and watch Nakamaru hold him steady. I shake my head and turn away, head to our change-room.
“Where’s Tatchan?” Jin immediately demands when I walk through the door.
“Where is Nakamaru-kun?” our manager asks.
"They both left," I reply numbly. "Ueda...he almost fainted, and he's dizzy... I think--I think--"
Koki's in front of me of a sudden and he wraps his arms around me, holding me close. "Ssh, he'll be alright..." he comforts me, but I can tell he's trying to assure himself, too.
I nod for him. "Nakamaru, he's taking him to the hospital. They won't be coming back today," I announce, mostly for our manager.
"What is wrong with you people today?" Manager grumbles to himself, thoroughly frustrated now. "Someone please fill in Nakamaru-kun and Ueda-kun too, when he's better. For now, let's just call it a day. But be prepared to make up the time tomorrow morning before work, 10:30. Now, I'm off to another meeting. Bye!" he heads for the door, with just a few subdued “thanks for your hard work”’s at his back.
"So? Are we going to the hospital or what?" Jin asks impatiently when I step away from Koki.
I clear my throat, fighting the knot lodged there. I nod, gathering my voice. "Yeah, let's."
He nods and leaves, Taguchi right on his heels. Koki takes my hand, tugging gently. "Are we going?" his voice is hesitant, like his grip on my hand.
I squeeze that hand and smile faintly at him. "Y-Yeah."
He nods, smiles encouragingly at me.
We arrive at the hospital not long after that, and Nakamaru is already in the foyer talking to Jin and Taguchi. Nakamaru looks livid, but when he sees us come in and glares, I sense it's not actually Koki or me who made him that mad.
"How is he?" I find myself asking, and hating how weak my voice comes out.
Nakamaru shakes his head. "Seems Koki's punch aggravated an injury he already had. He has a hairline fracture just behind his left temple."
Air is sucked from my lungs into a void. How did he not notice? How did I not notice? If he knew, why wasn't he telling me anything?
"It'll heal fast enough," Nakamaru continues, "But he might have dizzy spells if he exerts himself. He's aware that's sure to happen, with the rehearsals for our PV starting in a few days."
Koki looks away, looking guilty. I go to take his hand but realize that might not be the best thing to do in public. So I lay my hand on his shoulder instead. "How...what caused the injury in the first place?" I ask hesitantly.
"Boxing's my guess," Jin answers before Nakamaru can. "I saw his trainer a few days ago at some club or something, he asked if Tatchan was doing alright. He said Tatchan's been almost down-right vicious in the ring lately, but distracted. Said he paid for spacing out a couple times, though Kawada-san didn't think he had any serious injuries."
Silence follows for a time as we digest this. Then Koki sighs softly. "So, where is he?"
Nakamaru motions to follow and we do, up to a room on the second floor. Tatsuya's sleeping when we enter, but his eyes are still beneath his lids so he can't have been for long. He stirs lightly when we come in, but stays asleep or dozing. He grimaces in his sleep and his breathing seems to get infinitesimally shallower, probably with pain. I walk up to the bed, quietly so as not to disturb him, and sit in the chair next to it. Koki comes up beside me and rests a hand on my shoulder. "I'm just causing one problem after another for him," he whispers. "First I steal his boyfriend, then my punch injures him enough he faints and now he can't even rest because the rehearsals for my drama's PV are starting!" He sighs, a sound of defeat. "At least I'll be missing some of those rehearsals so he'll have a break from me..."
"Koki..." I start, but I don't know what to say.
"Koki, I think it'd be best if you leave," Nakamaru says gently. "You can talk to him when he wakes up. But just remember: he doesn't blame you for anything. Tatchan's not like that. He's just trying to take everything onto himself again and it's..." he trails off, searching.
"It's tearing him apart," I finish bluntly.
He doesn't argue, but looks away like he doesn't want to admit it. Who would, really?
"I'm... going to stay here until he wakes up," I announce. "You guys should go get food. I'm sure it's been a while since anyone ate."
"You haven't had anything since breakfast this morning either," Koki argues.
"Kou-chan, just leave him be," Taguchi asks. "Kame needs to be alone right now--"
"What do you know of what he needs?" Koki hisses back.
Taguchi looks like he wants to back off, but stays firm. He glances to me and says in a subdued tone, "I just think Kame wants to be alone, or he wouldn't suggest it..." he looks back to me.
I nod, feeling guilty.
On to | Chapter 15 |