Migraine Coma chapter 8: Hypnophobia pt1
Title: Migraine Coma: "Hypnophobia pt1"
Chapter: #8/#?
Author: rookie_cherii
Band/Pairing: Chiyu x Takeru (SuG)
Rating: PG
Warnings: none.
Summary: Chiyu has found a new path to follow and his life seems to be back on track. Then, an unexpected incident pulls him into the nights of Tokyo, and back to the blackest eyes of the boy he thought had forgotten about him.
Comments: To be honest, I'm very slowly starting to build up the full picture of the plot, myself. If there are things that seem to not match yet, I'm sure you'll understand later. :| Also. Long chapter is long - this is part 1.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
*Probably a typical name for a club, but this one's fictional. Up to a point, at least.
You're nothing more to him than game.
Chiyu sits in the living room. The sun has dyed the walls and the room is bathing in light. His hair is still damp from the long shower which has done nothing to wake him up. The note sits on the table next to a large cup of coffee.
Another day he's skipping lessons. Yuji must be pissed at him, but the other hasn't called him to let him know. Chiyu knows he'll have to force the tad shorter guy to tell it straight later, though, but it's not the matter now.
He can't quite comprehend the situation. It's as if he was still asleep and this was all just a bad dream. The scents and voices are back, haunting him with their distant presence.
Shinpei.
For some reason Takeru dislikes Shinpei. But why? Is there something Chiyu should know? He thinks back, all the way back to when he first met the blonde boy. The blackest eyes... The things Takeru ever said. He remembers how it turned out Masato had paid Takeru money for whatever they'd called favors. He remembers Takeru's brother tell him about the company the boy used to hang out in.
Shinpei has to do with the past Chiyu doesn't know about. Takeru hardly explained things to him despite clearly opening up before the accident. They didn't talk about what Takeru used to do, really, although it was clear to Chiyu the blonde had gone through rough times.
He wonders if it'd be okay to talk about it with Shinpei in person.
Masato can't help with this as Masato doesn't know Shinpei; Chiyu doesn't have mutual friends with the boy, either. There's no-one else he can ask about Takeru from but Shinpei - and Takeru himself, but Takeru probably wouldn't tell him.
He sighs and reaches for the coffee.
The phone rings. It's drowning into sofa cushions. Chiyu fishes it out and flips it open mid-sip. "Mmhmmh?"
"Good morning", says Hazuki's familiar voice.
"Morning. Whether or not it's good I can't really tell." Chiyu puts the cup down and leans back on the sofa.
"How are you feeling? Did you sleep at all?"
"I think I did. I saw some weird dreams, at least."
"That's good." Hazuki remains silent for a while. Chiyu hears the sounds of passing cars. "Say, you went out yesterday."
"Yes." Chiyu nods, although he knows the other doesn't see it.
"With Shinpei, I assume?"
"Yeah..." Chiyu nods again. He bites his lip for a moment, thinking. "Are you following me or something?"
"Let's not go into that", Hazuki chuckles. He sounds so awake it's scary, for Chiyu's so tired. "What happened during the meeting?"
Chiyu sighs. "He got an upsetting phone call."
"From whom?"
"He didn't say. Well, he said he didn't know the person but they had to do with someone he..." Chiyu frowns deep, remains quiet for a moment. His brain is ticking. "You. You're an acquaintance of someone he used to know."
"Bravo, bravo. You've got something to work on, now."
"And that message you left me. I know what it means, now. What's Takeru got against Shinpei? They know each other." He reaches for the coffee and sips it.
"Sorry. I don't know the details."
Chiyu sighs. "So I have to figure it out."
"Or you can accept not knowing everything. Whichever you prefer. I do want you to realize that I'm not a bad guy. I told you, you're not alone in this. Many people know Takeru. He's influential, if you will. But if you ask for my honest opinion he really needs the sort of help he doesn't get from anyone else."
"Flattering", Chiyu mumbles and suppresses a yawn. "So how did you get into this, anyway?"
"Takeru befriended someone I'd lost and helped me find them", Hazuki admits. Chiyu hears a train station announcement but can't tell which station's. "Thanks to him, I managed to help out this friend. You spoke with him once."
Chiyu rummages through his head. "Mr Idiom?"
"His name is Yuuri", Hazuki says with an amused tone, "but I understand that nickname. He's peculiar. I ran into him by accident once... We got close, but then, his family sent him to Yokohama."
"To the mental facility", Chiyu says.
"Yes. The same place where Takeru was in. Another coincidence brought Takeru to me."
"And you feel like you owe him?"
"Sort of. He told me he had someone he wanted to see, but there was something that had to be done first. But don't worry. Plunging into this won't get you killed."
"You told me that." Chiyu can't help but smile a bit. "I'd have to go through the dark first. If I follow the directions and do as I'm told I'll come out sane."
"That's right. I guess you've understood what accepting meant."
"Yeah. I'm going crazy."
Hazuki chuckles. "You'll understand why. Anyway, I got to go. Talk to you later."
The other brunette hangs up leaving Chiyu to listen to the beeps. The Osakan sighs and puts the phone aside, finishing his coffee. The sun keeps climbing higher and higher.
So, he knows how come Hazuki's helping Takeru out, but that doesn't really explain half the game. Neither does it explain the notes dropped in to his entrance hall.
He ponders, considers, and then takes the phone, sending Shipei a mail. I want to meet up, he writes, at my place. I want to talk to you about something in person and in private.
Getting up, Chiyu goes to the bedroom and gets some clean clothes. He also goes to start up the washing machine and wipes the kitchen table; small things he hardly likes doing, but they're good for moments such as this when he doesn't quite feel like taking up big tasks.
Making a bread the brunette stands leisurely in the kitchen until the phone beeps to announce an incoming mail. Getting the phone Chiyu returns to the kitchen for another cup of coffee and the newspaper.
Sure, says the reply mail. I'll be there in an hour, is that ok?
An hour? Chiyu raises a brow before realizing it's Saturday. A full week has passed since the first messages. What's he done during the week, really, apart from eating odd sushi and trying to sleep?
Shaking his head a bit Chiyu replies with an "ok" and flips the paper open. There's nothing interesting in it really. The hunt for whoever has been painting the various walls continues, but the news have grown even smaller.
He doesn't pay attention to the time passing. In what feels like a minute the doorbell suddenly rings. Chiyu is startled by it, but then hurries up to get the door. Shinpei stands right outside, smiling a little at the taller male as Chiyu lets him in. "Morning."
"Morning", Chiyu nods. He watches Shinpei leave his shoes by Chiyu's, and then leads the other into the living room. Shinpei's been here before and knows the way, but the boy seems to feel the tense atmosphere. "Do you want something?"
"Uh. Coffee, please."
With a nod Chiyu goes to get the other a cup and pours himself the third one. As he returns he asks Shinpei to sit down, and the small male slumps down on the sofa. "Thanks", the small brunette nods when the Osakan hands him the mug. "So, uh... What'd you want to talk about? ...Us?"
Chiyu can't help but chuckle, although the sound is dry. "No, not really."
"Thank gods. I was really afraid you were going to say something like... You know..."
"No." Chiyu shakes his head a bit. "No. It's about something else."
He puts down the coffee and swallows. Getting up Chiyu wanders to the living room drawer and pulls out the photo album. Shinpei follows him with curiosity from the sofa as Chiyu flips through the pages and finally pulls off a picture where Takeru has been caught off guard sitting in shallow water, having just turned to look at the camera (held by Yuji; Chiyu remembers the moment so well), shading his eyes with the good hand.
He puts the album down and walks up to Shinpei. The brown-eyed male looks at the photo for a while longer before setting it on the table in front of the small boy.
"Do you know him?"
He inspects Shinpei's face. There's a quickly passing mixture of emotions that are hard to tell apart. Surprise, maybe. But Chiyu can't quite decide what does it mean. Shinpei picks up the photo and has a good look. There's a long silence. Sure, it's a rather small picture, taken from further away, but Chiyu's starting to believe Shinpei is going through his options on what to answer rather than having a good look.
"Yes", the small boy answers finally. "Or I used to. It's Kondou Takeru."
"Yeah." Chiyu goes to lean against the windowsill. He bites his lip. Shinpei puts the picture down. "Is he the friend who that call was about yesterday?"
Shinpei sighs. "Yes... Yes, he is."
"How'd you know him? You said you grew apart after high school."
"I was his senior by a year. But he hardly showed up to school, anyway." Chiyu is sure he can see a little tenseness on the sweet face. "He was an odd case. But we got along. Yeah, I guess you could say we got along. He liked basketball and I played in the brass band."
"Did you hang out?"
"Sometimes." Shinpei nods and sips the coffee. He's serious, now.
"What sort of stuff would you do together?"
"Chiyu. If there's something you want to ask, then go ahead." Shinpei frowns a bit.
Chiyu sighs and hangs his head for a moment. "What happened between you that made him hate you?"
Shinpei looks elsewhere, and Chiyu tries to follow his gaze, but the small male is looking into the distance. Finally, running his tongue over his lips first, Shinpei says, "It's a long story."
"Please tell me."
The small male turns to look at Chiyu by the window. With a sigh, he parts his lips, hesitates. "We were something like friends. I played basketball against him when he didn't have anyone else to play against, and we'd go out at times. I said he was an odd case though." His eyes wander. "One time he suddenly asked me if we were dating."
Chiyu listens carefully. It doesn't sound like Takeru, at all, but maybe the boy has changed since then.
"Sure, I liked guys too, but... It caught me off guard. The way he put it, I realized he'd taken me for much more than a friend all the time. It was freaky. When I said I didn't think of him that way, he got hurt. I guess it was all much bigger to him than to me. So we grew apart and I never saw him since. I graduated, but I guess he never came back to school, either."
The Osakan thinks of the time when Takeru had come to wait for him at the school. The boy had been in a state of panic when Chiyu had found him waiting. The boy really hated school, it seemed; the mental image of Takeru ever actually going to school is strange to him. He can't picture the boy in a uniform.
But somehow, although he can imagine it having been a shock to Takeru, Chiyu finds it difficult to imagine Takeru getting so upset about something like that.
After everything he'd gone through...
But he only sighs and nods. "And that's why he'd put up a show to let me know he doesn't like us seeing each other, you reckon?"
"I guess so", says Shinpei.
Chiyu sighs again, finishes his coffee, and nods. "All right."
"Is he hurting you?" Shinpei asks then. Chiyu raises a brow, looks at him, and then turns to look out of the window.
Hurt? He wonders. Shinpei waits for his answer patiently. Chiyu isn't sure what to say. Saying Takeru is hurting him would possibly be a little beside the point. Sure, this is painful. Sure, going through this is painful. But saying Takeru is hurting him? Is he, really? He's chosen to put Chiyu through this for some incomprehensible reason, but whether he means to hurt Chiyu this way...
"I'm feeling hurt", the brunette mumbles, finally, "but I'm guessing that's because of the way I'm thinking. It's not direct, anyway..."
"He calls you, right?"
"Takeru? No. But I'm aware he's doing this."
"He has someone to call you."
"Yeah. The guy who called you." Chiyu shrugs a shoulder.
"...You seem to be taking it really calmly...", Shinpei says quietly, and Chiyu can tell some sort of worry in the other's voice. He turns to look at the smaller male, giving the other a tiny, forced smile.
"It's something I have to see through", the Osakan answers.
Shinpei sighs. Then, he checks his watch and gets up. Walking around the table the short male comes to hug Chiyu gently; the Osakan wraps his arms around the tiny frame, buries his nose into the hair. It doesn't feel the same as all the memories of holding Takeru this way, and Chiyu feels a little surprised about having noticed the difference to begin with. They stay like this for a while before Shinpei steps away, smiling a little.
"If he does hurt you", the smaller brunette says, then, "tell me. Please?"
Chiyu nods a tad. "All right."
"Promise?"
Chuckling, Chiyu nods again. "Fine. Promise."
Shinpei reaches up to place a peck on Chiyu's cheek, and then leaves the room. Chiyu follows him to the entrance, watches the brunette pull on his shoes. "You're leaving, already."
"Yeah..." Shinpei struggles to stay on one foot as he ties the shoelaces. "I have to pick up a book I ordered and finish a project."
"Okay." Chiyu nods. "See you later?"
"Yeah." Shinpei smiles and picks up his bag from the floor. "See you later."
As the small brunette has left Chiyu stays in the entrance hall for a while. He doesn't really think about anything. Then, the lean male returns to the living room where he falls down on the sofa and takes the photo from the table.
The memory is so bright and clear in his mind. He sits there, looking at the picture, traveling back in time inside his head.
Then, finally, after a period of time which he hasn't paid attention to has passed, Chiyu gets up and returns the photo to the album, puts the album back to its original place, and then goes to the kitchen.
He doesn't know what to do with all the time that's left, but now as he knows it's Saturday it makes sense that Yuji hasn't called and asked why isn't he showing up. Chiyu roams the kitchen slowly and aimlessly, trying to come up with something to occupy himself.
Finally (thank gods) the phone rings.
Chiyu has to look for it for a while as he's unsure where he's left it. The ringing leads him to the bedroom where the phone rests on the bed, blinking its signal lights happily. He picks up without checking the ID. It's becoming a strange habit. "Hello?"
There's no answer. Chiyu frowns a little, and brings the phone far enough to see the screen. No visible number. Sitting down, he stares at the floor. "Hello...?"
"I want you to see something", comes a whisper, finally. The voice is too quiet for Chiyu to tell who is it. He tries adding volume, but there's a hum coming from the background at the other end which only makes hearing harder.
"See what?" Chiyu asks, still concentrating on the voice. He wants to be sure if it's Takeru, but the voice is so hard to tell apart. If he was outside amongst traffic he wouldn't be able to hear a word.
"Eleven pm, come to Heaven* in Kabuki-cho."
"Heaven?" Chiyu has never heard of such a place. Is it a club, a bar, a hotel, he doesn't know.
"Don't be late."
The phone call ends just as suddenly, and Chiyu is left confused. He repeats the orders in his head, then goes to the computer, searching for an address. He finds that it's a club with a small website; there's a photo from some live performance, contact information and a map, but no schedule or a venue map like most the places he knows of have.
Sitting there, he finds it a little suspicious after all that he's already been through. He wishes there's someone he knows there - like when he was asked to come to Air, or when he met Masato in the club. Leaning back in his chair Chiyu momentarily thinks about Chisa, and comes to the conclusion that no matter how awkward it might be, even the platinum blonde would do, although meeting him again would hardly result in enlightening answers.
Unable to figure out how to spend the whole day Chiyu crawls back into bed fully clothed.
***
continues in pt2
Chapter: #8/#?
Author: rookie_cherii
Band/Pairing: Chiyu x Takeru (SuG)
Rating: PG
Warnings: none.
Summary: Chiyu has found a new path to follow and his life seems to be back on track. Then, an unexpected incident pulls him into the nights of Tokyo, and back to the blackest eyes of the boy he thought had forgotten about him.
Comments: To be honest, I'm very slowly starting to build up the full picture of the plot, myself. If there are things that seem to not match yet, I'm sure you'll understand later. :| Also. Long chapter is long - this is part 1.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
*Probably a typical name for a club, but this one's fictional. Up to a point, at least.
You're nothing more to him than game.
Chiyu sits in the living room. The sun has dyed the walls and the room is bathing in light. His hair is still damp from the long shower which has done nothing to wake him up. The note sits on the table next to a large cup of coffee.
Another day he's skipping lessons. Yuji must be pissed at him, but the other hasn't called him to let him know. Chiyu knows he'll have to force the tad shorter guy to tell it straight later, though, but it's not the matter now.
He can't quite comprehend the situation. It's as if he was still asleep and this was all just a bad dream. The scents and voices are back, haunting him with their distant presence.
Shinpei.
For some reason Takeru dislikes Shinpei. But why? Is there something Chiyu should know? He thinks back, all the way back to when he first met the blonde boy. The blackest eyes... The things Takeru ever said. He remembers how it turned out Masato had paid Takeru money for whatever they'd called favors. He remembers Takeru's brother tell him about the company the boy used to hang out in.
Shinpei has to do with the past Chiyu doesn't know about. Takeru hardly explained things to him despite clearly opening up before the accident. They didn't talk about what Takeru used to do, really, although it was clear to Chiyu the blonde had gone through rough times.
He wonders if it'd be okay to talk about it with Shinpei in person.
Masato can't help with this as Masato doesn't know Shinpei; Chiyu doesn't have mutual friends with the boy, either. There's no-one else he can ask about Takeru from but Shinpei - and Takeru himself, but Takeru probably wouldn't tell him.
He sighs and reaches for the coffee.
The phone rings. It's drowning into sofa cushions. Chiyu fishes it out and flips it open mid-sip. "Mmhmmh?"
"Good morning", says Hazuki's familiar voice.
"Morning. Whether or not it's good I can't really tell." Chiyu puts the cup down and leans back on the sofa.
"How are you feeling? Did you sleep at all?"
"I think I did. I saw some weird dreams, at least."
"That's good." Hazuki remains silent for a while. Chiyu hears the sounds of passing cars. "Say, you went out yesterday."
"Yes." Chiyu nods, although he knows the other doesn't see it.
"With Shinpei, I assume?"
"Yeah..." Chiyu nods again. He bites his lip for a moment, thinking. "Are you following me or something?"
"Let's not go into that", Hazuki chuckles. He sounds so awake it's scary, for Chiyu's so tired. "What happened during the meeting?"
Chiyu sighs. "He got an upsetting phone call."
"From whom?"
"He didn't say. Well, he said he didn't know the person but they had to do with someone he..." Chiyu frowns deep, remains quiet for a moment. His brain is ticking. "You. You're an acquaintance of someone he used to know."
"Bravo, bravo. You've got something to work on, now."
"And that message you left me. I know what it means, now. What's Takeru got against Shinpei? They know each other." He reaches for the coffee and sips it.
"Sorry. I don't know the details."
Chiyu sighs. "So I have to figure it out."
"Or you can accept not knowing everything. Whichever you prefer. I do want you to realize that I'm not a bad guy. I told you, you're not alone in this. Many people know Takeru. He's influential, if you will. But if you ask for my honest opinion he really needs the sort of help he doesn't get from anyone else."
"Flattering", Chiyu mumbles and suppresses a yawn. "So how did you get into this, anyway?"
"Takeru befriended someone I'd lost and helped me find them", Hazuki admits. Chiyu hears a train station announcement but can't tell which station's. "Thanks to him, I managed to help out this friend. You spoke with him once."
Chiyu rummages through his head. "Mr Idiom?"
"His name is Yuuri", Hazuki says with an amused tone, "but I understand that nickname. He's peculiar. I ran into him by accident once... We got close, but then, his family sent him to Yokohama."
"To the mental facility", Chiyu says.
"Yes. The same place where Takeru was in. Another coincidence brought Takeru to me."
"And you feel like you owe him?"
"Sort of. He told me he had someone he wanted to see, but there was something that had to be done first. But don't worry. Plunging into this won't get you killed."
"You told me that." Chiyu can't help but smile a bit. "I'd have to go through the dark first. If I follow the directions and do as I'm told I'll come out sane."
"That's right. I guess you've understood what accepting meant."
"Yeah. I'm going crazy."
Hazuki chuckles. "You'll understand why. Anyway, I got to go. Talk to you later."
The other brunette hangs up leaving Chiyu to listen to the beeps. The Osakan sighs and puts the phone aside, finishing his coffee. The sun keeps climbing higher and higher.
So, he knows how come Hazuki's helping Takeru out, but that doesn't really explain half the game. Neither does it explain the notes dropped in to his entrance hall.
He ponders, considers, and then takes the phone, sending Shipei a mail. I want to meet up, he writes, at my place. I want to talk to you about something in person and in private.
Getting up, Chiyu goes to the bedroom and gets some clean clothes. He also goes to start up the washing machine and wipes the kitchen table; small things he hardly likes doing, but they're good for moments such as this when he doesn't quite feel like taking up big tasks.
Making a bread the brunette stands leisurely in the kitchen until the phone beeps to announce an incoming mail. Getting the phone Chiyu returns to the kitchen for another cup of coffee and the newspaper.
Sure, says the reply mail. I'll be there in an hour, is that ok?
An hour? Chiyu raises a brow before realizing it's Saturday. A full week has passed since the first messages. What's he done during the week, really, apart from eating odd sushi and trying to sleep?
Shaking his head a bit Chiyu replies with an "ok" and flips the paper open. There's nothing interesting in it really. The hunt for whoever has been painting the various walls continues, but the news have grown even smaller.
He doesn't pay attention to the time passing. In what feels like a minute the doorbell suddenly rings. Chiyu is startled by it, but then hurries up to get the door. Shinpei stands right outside, smiling a little at the taller male as Chiyu lets him in. "Morning."
"Morning", Chiyu nods. He watches Shinpei leave his shoes by Chiyu's, and then leads the other into the living room. Shinpei's been here before and knows the way, but the boy seems to feel the tense atmosphere. "Do you want something?"
"Uh. Coffee, please."
With a nod Chiyu goes to get the other a cup and pours himself the third one. As he returns he asks Shinpei to sit down, and the small male slumps down on the sofa. "Thanks", the small brunette nods when the Osakan hands him the mug. "So, uh... What'd you want to talk about? ...Us?"
Chiyu can't help but chuckle, although the sound is dry. "No, not really."
"Thank gods. I was really afraid you were going to say something like... You know..."
"No." Chiyu shakes his head a bit. "No. It's about something else."
He puts down the coffee and swallows. Getting up Chiyu wanders to the living room drawer and pulls out the photo album. Shinpei follows him with curiosity from the sofa as Chiyu flips through the pages and finally pulls off a picture where Takeru has been caught off guard sitting in shallow water, having just turned to look at the camera (held by Yuji; Chiyu remembers the moment so well), shading his eyes with the good hand.
He puts the album down and walks up to Shinpei. The brown-eyed male looks at the photo for a while longer before setting it on the table in front of the small boy.
"Do you know him?"
He inspects Shinpei's face. There's a quickly passing mixture of emotions that are hard to tell apart. Surprise, maybe. But Chiyu can't quite decide what does it mean. Shinpei picks up the photo and has a good look. There's a long silence. Sure, it's a rather small picture, taken from further away, but Chiyu's starting to believe Shinpei is going through his options on what to answer rather than having a good look.
"Yes", the small boy answers finally. "Or I used to. It's Kondou Takeru."
"Yeah." Chiyu goes to lean against the windowsill. He bites his lip. Shinpei puts the picture down. "Is he the friend who that call was about yesterday?"
Shinpei sighs. "Yes... Yes, he is."
"How'd you know him? You said you grew apart after high school."
"I was his senior by a year. But he hardly showed up to school, anyway." Chiyu is sure he can see a little tenseness on the sweet face. "He was an odd case. But we got along. Yeah, I guess you could say we got along. He liked basketball and I played in the brass band."
"Did you hang out?"
"Sometimes." Shinpei nods and sips the coffee. He's serious, now.
"What sort of stuff would you do together?"
"Chiyu. If there's something you want to ask, then go ahead." Shinpei frowns a bit.
Chiyu sighs and hangs his head for a moment. "What happened between you that made him hate you?"
Shinpei looks elsewhere, and Chiyu tries to follow his gaze, but the small male is looking into the distance. Finally, running his tongue over his lips first, Shinpei says, "It's a long story."
"Please tell me."
The small male turns to look at Chiyu by the window. With a sigh, he parts his lips, hesitates. "We were something like friends. I played basketball against him when he didn't have anyone else to play against, and we'd go out at times. I said he was an odd case though." His eyes wander. "One time he suddenly asked me if we were dating."
Chiyu listens carefully. It doesn't sound like Takeru, at all, but maybe the boy has changed since then.
"Sure, I liked guys too, but... It caught me off guard. The way he put it, I realized he'd taken me for much more than a friend all the time. It was freaky. When I said I didn't think of him that way, he got hurt. I guess it was all much bigger to him than to me. So we grew apart and I never saw him since. I graduated, but I guess he never came back to school, either."
The Osakan thinks of the time when Takeru had come to wait for him at the school. The boy had been in a state of panic when Chiyu had found him waiting. The boy really hated school, it seemed; the mental image of Takeru ever actually going to school is strange to him. He can't picture the boy in a uniform.
But somehow, although he can imagine it having been a shock to Takeru, Chiyu finds it difficult to imagine Takeru getting so upset about something like that.
After everything he'd gone through...
But he only sighs and nods. "And that's why he'd put up a show to let me know he doesn't like us seeing each other, you reckon?"
"I guess so", says Shinpei.
Chiyu sighs again, finishes his coffee, and nods. "All right."
"Is he hurting you?" Shinpei asks then. Chiyu raises a brow, looks at him, and then turns to look out of the window.
Hurt? He wonders. Shinpei waits for his answer patiently. Chiyu isn't sure what to say. Saying Takeru is hurting him would possibly be a little beside the point. Sure, this is painful. Sure, going through this is painful. But saying Takeru is hurting him? Is he, really? He's chosen to put Chiyu through this for some incomprehensible reason, but whether he means to hurt Chiyu this way...
"I'm feeling hurt", the brunette mumbles, finally, "but I'm guessing that's because of the way I'm thinking. It's not direct, anyway..."
"He calls you, right?"
"Takeru? No. But I'm aware he's doing this."
"He has someone to call you."
"Yeah. The guy who called you." Chiyu shrugs a shoulder.
"...You seem to be taking it really calmly...", Shinpei says quietly, and Chiyu can tell some sort of worry in the other's voice. He turns to look at the smaller male, giving the other a tiny, forced smile.
"It's something I have to see through", the Osakan answers.
Shinpei sighs. Then, he checks his watch and gets up. Walking around the table the short male comes to hug Chiyu gently; the Osakan wraps his arms around the tiny frame, buries his nose into the hair. It doesn't feel the same as all the memories of holding Takeru this way, and Chiyu feels a little surprised about having noticed the difference to begin with. They stay like this for a while before Shinpei steps away, smiling a little.
"If he does hurt you", the smaller brunette says, then, "tell me. Please?"
Chiyu nods a tad. "All right."
"Promise?"
Chuckling, Chiyu nods again. "Fine. Promise."
Shinpei reaches up to place a peck on Chiyu's cheek, and then leaves the room. Chiyu follows him to the entrance, watches the brunette pull on his shoes. "You're leaving, already."
"Yeah..." Shinpei struggles to stay on one foot as he ties the shoelaces. "I have to pick up a book I ordered and finish a project."
"Okay." Chiyu nods. "See you later?"
"Yeah." Shinpei smiles and picks up his bag from the floor. "See you later."
As the small brunette has left Chiyu stays in the entrance hall for a while. He doesn't really think about anything. Then, the lean male returns to the living room where he falls down on the sofa and takes the photo from the table.
The memory is so bright and clear in his mind. He sits there, looking at the picture, traveling back in time inside his head.
Then, finally, after a period of time which he hasn't paid attention to has passed, Chiyu gets up and returns the photo to the album, puts the album back to its original place, and then goes to the kitchen.
He doesn't know what to do with all the time that's left, but now as he knows it's Saturday it makes sense that Yuji hasn't called and asked why isn't he showing up. Chiyu roams the kitchen slowly and aimlessly, trying to come up with something to occupy himself.
Finally (thank gods) the phone rings.
Chiyu has to look for it for a while as he's unsure where he's left it. The ringing leads him to the bedroom where the phone rests on the bed, blinking its signal lights happily. He picks up without checking the ID. It's becoming a strange habit. "Hello?"
There's no answer. Chiyu frowns a little, and brings the phone far enough to see the screen. No visible number. Sitting down, he stares at the floor. "Hello...?"
"I want you to see something", comes a whisper, finally. The voice is too quiet for Chiyu to tell who is it. He tries adding volume, but there's a hum coming from the background at the other end which only makes hearing harder.
"See what?" Chiyu asks, still concentrating on the voice. He wants to be sure if it's Takeru, but the voice is so hard to tell apart. If he was outside amongst traffic he wouldn't be able to hear a word.
"Eleven pm, come to Heaven* in Kabuki-cho."
"Heaven?" Chiyu has never heard of such a place. Is it a club, a bar, a hotel, he doesn't know.
"Don't be late."
The phone call ends just as suddenly, and Chiyu is left confused. He repeats the orders in his head, then goes to the computer, searching for an address. He finds that it's a club with a small website; there's a photo from some live performance, contact information and a map, but no schedule or a venue map like most the places he knows of have.
Sitting there, he finds it a little suspicious after all that he's already been through. He wishes there's someone he knows there - like when he was asked to come to Air, or when he met Masato in the club. Leaning back in his chair Chiyu momentarily thinks about Chisa, and comes to the conclusion that no matter how awkward it might be, even the platinum blonde would do, although meeting him again would hardly result in enlightening answers.
Unable to figure out how to spend the whole day Chiyu crawls back into bed fully clothed.
***
continues in pt2