The Page of Brezo

The Darcy Diary - Chapter 1

2009-05-20T21:03:30Z

Title: The Darcy Diary
Pairing: RyoUchi, Akame, Tegopi and more to come...
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: Safe so far, might not stay that way...
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not the characters or even the original plot - this is my interpretation of a classic with a JE twist :)
Summary: In their own ways, Nishikido Ryo and Akanishi Jin are the most frustrating men that Hiroki and Kazuya have ever met and unfortunately for them, pride and prejudice aren't the only problems standing in the way of their happy ever after...

...

I’m not the romantic type, am I? Then why do I need to find someone? That’s all I ever hear from Ryosuke… “Nii-chan, why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Because all men are idiots that’s why, myself and my brothers excluded… well, Kazuya and Tat-chan at least. Kazu says that one day someone is going to catch my eye and then I’ll have to watch what I say but that’ll never happen… What’s wrong with being single anyway?

…

As fingers traced lightly and swiftly over the piano keys, the beautiful melody swept through the small house, gently raising the two eldest brothers from their slumber. The younger of the two groaned at his dreams being interrupted, causing his older brother to smile and ruffle his hair.

“Wake up, Hiro,” Kazuya gently prodded his brother’s shoulder before sliding out of bed. Instead of doing the same, Hiroki decided he would rather enjoy having the double bed to himself now that his brother was out of it.

“Hiroki.” Kazuya’s firm voice put an end to Hiroki’s hopes and the younger man reluctantly pulled himself out of bed.

“NII-CHAN!” A young but loud voice filled the house, causing an abrupt end to the piano music.

“Ugh…it’s too early in the morning for this…” Hiroki moaned and Kazuya just chuckled.

Yamashita Hiroki was not, under any circumstances, a morning person. So when the youngest of his adoptive brothers came crashing into his room, the urge to strangle said brother was very strong.

“What’s the matter, Yuri?” Kazuya asked with amusement.

“The Jimusho!” Yuri replied with a huge smile. Hiroki frowned.

“Aren’t you a little young for that bar?” he asked and Yuri immediately shook his head.

“It’s a special night, they’re celebrating the new manager so younger people are allowed to go…with adult supervision…” with the last three words Yuri immediately turned on his puppy eyes and Hiroki’s eyes widened with realisation.

“Oh no…we’re not taking you!” he insisted.

“Pleeeeease…” Yuri begged, trying to look at both of his brothers as innocently as possible. Hiroki shook his head firmly. Yuri’s eyes began to water…

“We’ll think about it!” Kazuya finally conceded, earning a glare from his closest brother.

Knowing that his brother’s answer was a ‘yes’ in disguise, Yuri did three jumps around the room before hugging Kazuya and racing back downstairs. Kazuya turned around sheepishly to see his brother glaring at him.

“Oh come on! You know I can’t help it when he makes those eyes…” he defended with a guilty tone. Hiroki had to agree with him though. Yamashita Yuri’s puppy eyes were infamous among their family and friends, no warm-hearted person could watch them without crumbling.

Sadly, beneath his calm and sensible exterior, Hiroki’s eldest brother Yamashita Kazuya was very warm-hearted. As the eldest of five adopted brothers, he had learned to be amiable and patient from a young age.

“Tat-chan won’t want to go will he?” Hiroki suddenly though out loud.

Their middle brother, Yamashita Tatsuya, was no exactly the partying type.

Kazuya shrugged his shoulders.

“I doubt it,” the elder replied.

“Yay! Arigatou Tat-chan!” a happy voice interrupted their thoughts and Hiroki’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Kazuya looked equally surprised but smiled.

“Now he just has to persuade Ryosuke,” he suggested and Hiroki groaned.

“That shouldn’t be hard…”

…

“Kawaii! I knew the yellow scarf would look good!” Yuri squeaked, earning a disapproving look from his two eldest brothers.

“Hold still, Yama-chan!”

“Kaa-san! Don’t call me that!” Ryosuke moaned as he fidgeted in the arms of his ‘mother’. The five brothers were all adopted and Yamashita Yuya insisted on taking on the role of their mother.

“Ow!” Ryosuke moaned again. Thankfully there were no other customers in the small clothes shop they had crammed into. When Yuya had discovered they were going to a party he had insisted on them getting new clothes.

“No sons of mine are going to a party without looking their best!” Their mother had insisted. Tat-chan had been the only one to escape the impending shopping excursion.

Yuri, of course, loved shopping and so did Ryosuke, when his mother wasn’t fussing. Kazuya and Hiroki were content and the eldest could help but laugh as, every time they went shopping, Hiroki fell victim to his greatest weakness - pink. The second eldest loved pink: pink bags, pink shirts, pink scarves, anything with that colour would catch Hiroki’s eye the moment he walked into the room and it never ceased to amuse his elder brother.

“It’s too hot in here…Kaa-san, I’m going to wait outside,” Kazuya told Yuya.

“Ok, don’t go far, we won’t be long,” Yuya told his second favourite son, the first being Yuri. Hiroki sighed and followed his brother outside.

The two walked a short distance and settled on a bench, noting how quiet the shops were. Hiroki guessed that most people were getting ready for the party. Judging by the rumours he had heard about the new manager, it wouldn’t surprise him if everyone in town was going to be at the party tonight.

“I wonder what I’ll wear…” Kazuya mused out loud. Hiroki scoffed.

“With the amount of clothes Kaa-san buys you I’m sure you’ll find something and besides-” He stopped mid sentence when something, or someone, caught his eye.

The man in question was on the opposite side of the street from them. He had short, dark hair and was wearing a blue, hooded jumper. He seemed to be wandering in no particular direction.

“Hiro?” Kazuya prompted after noticing the younger man had stopped.

“Who is that?” Hiroki asked, trying to sound casual. Kazuya followed his gaze just in time for the man to turn and see them. He held Hiroki’s gaze before looking down to the floor, apparently losing interest in the pair on the bench. Hiroki watched him for a few more moments before the shorter man turned and walked away.

“What an arrogant guy…” Hiroki brushed off the way the man’s gaze had unsettled him.

“Hiroki, you don’t even know him, I’m sure he’s nice,” Kazuya scolded his brother gently, causing the other to laugh.

“You don’t know him either but you’re already determined to think the best of him, like you do with everyone else…” Hiroki mocked and his older brother pouted slightly.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed their wrists and pulled them forwards.

“C’mon lets go, before Kaa-san tries to fit me into anything else!” Ryosuke muttered darkly and dragged his older brothers away…

…

The long cue waiting outside the club defied even Hiroki’s expectations. It stretched across the front of the building, round the corner and down the pavement before ending a few yards in front of them.

“I told you we should have left earlier!” Ryosuke whined. Kazuya pouted in response.

“I had to finish work…” the eldest muttered. Tatsuya gazed at the line.

“It’ll take hours to get to the front of that…” he pointed out. Yuri chose that moment to speak up.

“No it won’t,” and he pulled five VIP passes out of his pocket. Three gasps and one raised eyebrow made him grin. Kazuya finished gaping first.

“Those are so expensive…did you steal them?” He asked with disbelief.

“No! I would never do that,” Yuri insisted and then grinned, “You know how Kaa-san wanted Otou-san to visit the new manager and welcome him to the neighbourhood?”

“Of course, Kaa-san insisted that we’d be ahead of the rest if we were on familiar terms with him before the party…but Otou-san refused to go…” Hiroki replied with confusion. Yuri grinned and then shook his head.

“He did go, without telling Kaa-san and the new manager was so touched by the gesture that he gave the passes to Otou-san to give to us, he’s even reserved us a table in the VIP area!” The youngest squealed with excitement. At this, even Tatsuya smiled. VIP treatment was something none of them had experienced before.

“LET’S GO!” Ryosuke cried with excitement before dragging all of his brothers to the entrance.

…

As the strong tasting liquid trickled down his throat Kazuya couldn’t help cringing. On the other side of the table his brother laughed.

“Relax Kazu, its not paint stripper!” Hiroki told him.

“It might as well be…” Kazuya replied. Hiroki just shrugged.

“I can’t believe you’ve never tried vodka before,” he mused but Kazuya didn’t reply. Hiroki followed his brother’s gaze and saw Yuri and Ryosuke dancing with some young men.

“They look a bit older than Yuri and Ryosuke,” Kazuya suggested.

“But not older than us, don’t worry,” Hiroki added before turning his attention to their surroundings.

The Jimusho was a fairly large bar and tonight it was filled to capacity. But so far no sign of-

“The manager…” Tatsuya spoke from his seat in between the two eldest. Hiroki and Kazuya followed his gaze to the far end of the bar where a young and very handsome man was preparing cocktails for a group of girls. Hiroki could appreciate his looks but the silly grin the man wore wasn’t appealing to him. Kazuya, however, couldn’t seem to take his eyes off him.

“Kazu? …hey, Kazu!” Hiroki clicked his fingers in front of Kazuya’s face and that managed to break the man’s gaze.

“W-what?” Kazuya asked as if he’d just been pulled from a trance. Hiroki sighed and shook his head but then noticed that the object of his brother’s attention was walking over to them.

“Eeeek!” Yuri squealed, scaring the life out of the older brothers who hadn’t noticed his return, “It’s the manager, Akanishi-san!” He sounded nervous but his eyes couldn’t hide his excitement.

The older man finally reached the table and set down a tray of cocktails. Yuri’s eyes lit up.

“The orange and green cocktails are for you and your dancing brother - non-alcoholic,” the manager said firmly but with a smile. Yuri’s face fell into a pout.

“Akanishi Jin, pleased to meet you,” the introduction was to everyone but he held his hand out to Kazuya. The eldest brother obliged and was surprised when Jin brought the hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

“Yamashita Hiroki,” Hiroki replied, grinning at his brother’s blushing, “and this is my elder brother, Kazuya,”

“Kazuya…” the name brought a twinkle to the manager’s eye, which only made Kazuya blush more.

“These are my younger brothers, Tatsuya, Ryosuke and Yuri,” Hiroki pointed to them in turn and Jin nodded a greeting to all of them, including Ryosuke, who was now waving from the arms of his dancing partner. Jin chuckled.

“He’s certainly having fun, how about the rest of you? Is the table I reserved for you ok?” Seeing that his brother was still without the ability to speak, Hiroki answered the manager’s questions.

“Yes it’s wonderful, arigatou,” he told Jin but the other brushed away his thanks.

“It’s nothing, in fact I’d like to reserve it for you permanently…”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Yuri squealed loudly. Hiroki rolled his eyes.

“Baka, you’re not coming again anytime soon, you’re too young,” the truth came crashing down on Yuri and it was as if his life was over.

“Can you really do that?” Hiroki asked once his attention was back on Jin. The older man laughed.

“I’m the manager, besides, it would be great to have some familiar faces around now that I know you all by name and your father was so kind in coming to welcome me,” Jin explained with a smile but Hiroki only took in half of the statement. Over Jin’s shoulder, Hiroki’s eyes had caught a familiar sight. The same man from earlier was stood behind the bar, only this time he was wearing a suit. Despite his best efforts, Hiroki couldn’t fail to acknowledge how handsome the man was.

“That’s Nishikido Ryo,” Jin told him after following the younger man’s gaze, “He partly owns the bar and is also my best friend since middle school,” Hiroki glanced back at Jin and then thought out loud.

“Why does he look so serious?”

“That’s just how he is,” Jin laughed before bowing and walking back to the bar. Hiroki’s eyes met Nishikido’s and the shorter man seemed to look him up and down before turning his attention to the waitress speaking to him.

To his surprise, the cold look stung Hiroki and though he tried to shrug it off, the look in the older man’s eyes would not leave his mind for the rest of the evening…

...

a/n: So what do you guys think so far? I hope you like it, please comment! This is a return to fanfic writing for me after a while, I will update my other fics when I can.

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Epilogue

2008-08-31T20:16:01Z

[Contest Entry]
Title: Smokey Paths - Epilogue
Author: brezo1816
Rating: T / PG13 / something like that...
Genre: AU, Drama/Romance
Pairing: Akame, some RyoUchi
Summary: Five-year-old Kamenashi Kazuya was caught in a house fire when he was alone at home. Six-year-old Akanishi Jin managed to climb through a window and get the younger boy to safety...
Seventeen years later the pair meet again...but this time it might be Jin that needs saving...

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

a/n - its finished and its 21:14 where I am so i think its within the deadline. Thank you all for your comments, I really appreciate them and also good luck to all the other contest entrants, I've read a lot of them and they're all amazing so ganbatte! ^^

...

The smirk wouldn’t leave his face as he counted the notes in his hand. Business was good...very good and Tatsuo was enjoying every minute of it. He used a key to open one of the drawers in his desk and placed the pile of notes on top of his handgun that lay inside.

Once the drawer was closed and locked Tatsuo walked over to the filing cabinet in his office and searched through a few files. He eventually found the file he was looking for, its title was written in bold – ‘Akanishi Jin’.

He chuckled with amusement as he sat back in his chair and laid the file on his desk. He called out for his men and three muscled thugs immediately entered the room.

“Are the other four taking care of that matter I mentioned?” he asked them without bothering to look up.

“Yes, sir,” one of them answered. Tatsuo nodded and pushed the file across his desk towards him.

“This one has just left hospital, we discussed this earlier, you know what to do...all three of you can go, I don’t need any men here tonight,” His men hesitated after this decision but he turned to them.

“I’m not paying you to stand there like vegetables, move it!” he snarled and they quickly obeyed his order. Once alone he went back to his filing cabinet and pulled out more files to look over. He barely noticed the door opening and someone shuffling into the room.

“I thought I told you to get to work!” he groaned and looked up. Instead of seeing one of his men there, he saw the young, skinny photographer he had been bribing with drugs.

“Ah, its you... back for your next fix are you? Well I have a couple of jobs that need doing, finish them for me and then come back tomorrow,” he told him in an irritated voice as he pushed a few files towards the shaking young man.

“I...I-I’m not doing it anymore...” the man replied with a terribly shaking voice. Tatsuo looked up again and frowned in irritation. He reached into a small box on his desk and pulled out a small plastic bag containing a small amount of white powder.

“You don’t want this then?” Tatsuo asked, bored with the interaction already.

“Y-you attacked m-my sister!” The younger man cried, this time with a bit more force. Tatsuo groaned in annoyance.

“She was behind on payments, I don’t just give this stuff away.”

“She wouldn’t be addicted in the first place if it wasn’t for you!” the younger man snapped back, his anger overtaking his fear. Tatsuo began to get very irritated.

“Business is business, if I get a sell I don’t care who it goes to,” he hissed, “and I don’t have to explain myself to you, now get out before I throw you out.” He looked back at the files on his desk again, certain that the source of his irritation would soon leave......but the small click made him look up again in shock.

The younger man, now shaking not with fear but with burning anger, was pointing the gun at Tatsuo. The older man tried to open his drawer but then realised in panic that he had left the keys on the filing cabinet which was behind the other man.

“N-now...calm down, I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement...err...your sister can forget about that payment, in fact she can have it all for free...how about that?” Tatsuo was sure this offer would sway the addict but his eyes only burned more furiously.

“She’s only fifteen!” He let out a strangled scream as he finally pulled the trigger...

...

A great feeling of pride swelled in Kazuya as he looked up at the building. It had been re-plastered, had a shiny new sign and looked amazing...like it should have done.

After a few moments of looking over it, Kazuya walked inside and was greeted warmly by Souta.

“Morning Kamenashi-san,” he greeted with a small bow until Kame cocked an eyebrow, “Sorry...I mean – Kame,” he grinned sheepishly and Kazuya heard two sets of similar laughs. He turned to the left and saw Jin and Reio laughing together at Souta’s innocent mistake. The younger man pouted at his friends’ reactions.

“Don’t worry, as long as Bakanishi and Chibi Bakanishi stay the same, you will always have the last laugh,” Kazuya reassured Souta and the pair laughed at the Akanishi brothers’ expense.

Their laughter was cut off by the bell, informing them of another fire. Souta and Reio ran to the equipment room. Jin gave Kazuya a quick kiss before he was about to follow them.

“On that day...when my house was on fire...how did you know I was in there?” Kazuya called out to him. Jin turned around and watched him curiously.

“Does it matter?” he asked and Kazuya nodded, “...your neighbour was my grandma, so when I was visiting and playing in the garden, I saw you watching through your bedroom window...you looked very lonely...” Jin gave Kazuya a smile before following his team mates into the other room.

Kazuya left a little while later so he wouldn’t be in the way but instead of walking back to his apartment (which Jin now shared with him) he hailed a taxi and surprised the driver by the address he gave.

...

Once the taxi finally came to a stop, Kazuya gave the driver some more money to wait for a little while and the driver nodded. Kazuya then got out of the car and walked up the street.

Though he recognized the buildings, the street was not at all how Kazuya remembered it. From what he could tell, only a few houses were still occupied. How they were still occupied he didn’t know as the local shops had long been closed down.

Eventually he reached the house he was looking for.

It was still the same as when he had last seen it, although the front garden was dead and there was no car on the drive. The front door was still black and the wall around it was still covered in soot. No one ever bothered to replace the door or even clean it.

His mother had always wanted to move. The fire gave her the excuse she needed. She tried for weeks to sell the house but no one wanted it. Everyone knew this was a failing district, no one wanted to live here...eventually they had to just abandon the house without selling it.

They had taken most of their belongings with them but even to this day Kazuya could remember one item he had accidentally left behind.

Knowing that the door couldn’t be locked anymore because of the damage, Kazuya walked into the house, being careful not to disturb the piles of soot and dust.

He didn’t bother looking around downstairs as he didn’t want to be in the house any longer than he had to. He no longer had any emotional attachment to it. Instead he went straight upstairs to look for that special item...

He stepped into the room that used to be his. It was bare now except for piles of dust and a large wooden desk that they hadn’t taken with them. Kazuya looked around and smiled when he saw what he was looking for underneath the desk. He reached over and picked the very dusty teddy bear from the floor. He stroked it affectionately and managed to scrape some of the dust off the once bright white bear.

Clutching the bear to his chest, Kazuya made his way back downstairs and walked out of the front door.

In the walk back to the taxi Kazuya didn’t look back once. That house was his old life...

...and when he was in the taxi travelling back to his home, Kazuya couldn’t wipe the smile from his face as he pictured the one he was going back to...

...the face he loved dearly...the face that had brought an end to his nightmares...and the face he had never forgotten...

...

The End ^_^ Sorry I know the last part was very cheesy but I wanted to give Kame a sense of closure...so yeah...hope all liked it! Please comment!

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Chapter 6

2008-08-31T11:55:28Z

[Contest Entry]
Title: Smokey Paths - Chapter 4
Author: brezo1816
Rating: T / PG13 / something like that...
Genre: AU, Drama/Romance
Pairing: Akame, some RyoUchi
Summary: Five-year-old Kamenashi Kazuya was caught in a house fire when he was alone at home. Six-year-old Akanishi Jin managed to climb through a window and get the younger boy to safety...
Seventeen years later the pair meet again...but this time it might be Jin that needs saving...

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

a/n - sorry for the delay, I've had so much work to do. I'm pretty sure this is within the deadline. The epilogue will be posted in my journal because of the single post per 24 hours rule on the community so you'll have to go there to find it, hopefully it'll be up within a couple of hours and within the deadline.

Please comment! ^^

...

White light... am I dead? Kazuya wondered. Soon he could hear voices...familiar voices. He tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his head and concentrate on what the voices were saying. The first voice he managed to identify was Ryo’s...

“So...that’s his name? Tatsuo? Who is he?”

“He’s seen by the public as a businessman, but the police have strong suspicions he is a drug baron,” another voice replied. Kazuya recognized it but couldn’t name it.

“Why hasn’t he been arrested?” Ryo asked. The other man sighed.

“We’ve arrested several of his men but they won’t drag him into it and he always seems to have an alibi...”

Kazuya tried desperately to open his eyes but they felt so heavy... He paused when he heard someone coming into the room. Ryo shifted slightly as the person came to sit beside him.

“You okay? How’s your hand?” Ryo asked with sincere concern.

“Its fine now, the bone is broken in one place but it should heal in time...how’s Kame?” Uchi asked.

“The doctors said his injuries aren’t too serious but he hasn’t woken up once yet...” Ryo replied and Kazuya was frustrated that he could contradict the statement.

A couple of minutes of silence followed before Uchi spoke up again.

“Where’s Yamapi?” he asked quietly. Ryo sighed gently.

“He’s waiting outside surgery for Jin...” the shorter man answered.

Surgery? ...Jin’s in surgery?!

“How bad are Akanishi-san’s injuries?” the unnamed voice asked.

“Not as bad as we thought, thank God, but they still need to close the knife wound before he loses too much blood...at the moment its touch and go...”

Knife wound?! Blood loss?!

Kazuya could feel his heart racing and his growing panic. He tried desperately to open his eyes and when they began to slide open he felt like crying with relief. The movement didn’t go unnoticed.

“...Kame? ...KAME?!” Ryo cried out.

“Ryo, calm down,” Uchi told him but Kazuya could hear and see Uchi’s obvious relief. He turned to the right and saw the one who’s voice he couldn’t name. Yamapi’s friend Ueda Tatsuya was watching him with a small but sincere smile.

“How are you feeling, Kamenashi-san?” the slim framed man asked.

“Like I’ve been hit by a train...twice...” Kazuya smiled weakly but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He quickly turned to Ryo.

“What happened to Jin? Will he be okay?” he asked. The older man looked hesitant but answered.

“The doctors said his injuries aren’t too serious but they don’t know if he’s lost too much blood,” Ryo explained. Kazuya looked confused.

“But...Pi told me he would be okay...” Uchi and Ueda looked sympathetic.

“He had to...please understand, Kame,” Ryo replied with a pleading look, “He didn’t want you to panic, he couldn’t tell you the truth and besides, he didn’t know whether or not Jin was going to pull through...”

Kazuya wanted to be angry at Yamapi; he wanted to use the younger man as a subject to vent his frustration and fear over the situation. But he knew he couldn’t, he knew he couldn’t be that selfish...

“Uchi?” Kazuya turned to Ryo’s boyfriend.

“Could you please go and find out how Jin is doing?” Kazuya asked him. Uchi smiled gently and nodded. He gave Ryo’s hand a quick squeeze before leaving the room.

Ueda was about to say something when he glanced up and saw police officers outside of the room.

“Excuse me,” he told Ryo and Kazuya with an apologetic smile and went outside to speak to the officers. Kazuya turned to Ryo.

“I’m glad you’ve found Uchi, he’s a really great guy,” Kazuya told him with a hidden tinge of sadness. Ryo watched his expression and read him like a book.

“Yeah he is, I’m really lucky......Kame, I think Jin is gonna pull through,” he replied. Kazuya looked at Ryo with a mixture of fear and hope.

“You think so?” he asked weakly. Ryo nodded confidently.

“Despite what he’s been through, he’s still a strong guy, I don’t think he’s the type to give up easily on what he cares about......and he obviously cares a lot about you.” Kazuya’s eyes went wide and he blushed. Ryo smirked and patted his best friend on the shoulder.

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes. Kazuya was about to ask something when Uchi burst into the room, relief all over his face.

“Akanishi-san is out of surgery, the doctors were able to close the wound! He’s not in danger anymore!” Despite being in front of his friends, Kazuya didn’t fight the tears of relief that flooded his face. Ryo pulled Uchi into a tight embrace which the latter gladly accepted...until he remembered something.

“But...Yamapi wasn’t there...I asked a nurse where he was and she said she saw him heading towards the exit a couple of minutes ago...” Uchi explained curiously and Ryo’s face fell.

“Hiro...wait here with Kazu...I’ll be back...” he muttered and suddenly dashed from the room. Uchi called after him but he kept running. Uchi was about to follow when Kazuya gripped him arm.

“Don’t worry, he’s just gone to bring Yamapi back,” Kazuya smiled reassuringly and Uchi reluctantly sat back down. Though Kazuya had hidden a little worry, he was confident Ryo would stop Yamapi from doing what he knew his best friend planned to do...

...

After not finding him near the hospital entrance, Ryo headed down the main road in the direction he knew Yamapi had taken. What did surprise him was how long it took to reach him, the younger man had already covered a significant distance...

“Pi!” Ryo called out when he saw his best friend in the near distance. Yamapi didn’t stop so he called out again.

“PI!!!” Ryo yelled at the top of his lungs. Only then did the younger man stop and slowly turn round. After a few more seconds Ryo had reached him, panting for breath.

“I know...what...you’re going...to...do...” Ryo exclaimed between breaths ”And......its stupid...” he told him bluntly. Yamapi scowled.

“I have to, Ryo; I can’t let those bastards get away with this...” Yamapi growled and turned to walk again. Ryo clung to his arm.

“How will Kame feel if you do this? They’ll outnumber you, you won’t stand a chance...don’t put someone else that Kame cares about in hospital...it’ll be too much for him to take...” Ryo played his trump card. He knew Yamapi couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Kazuya, intentionally or unintentionally.

“But I can’t just sit and do nothing!”

“You have to!” Ryo cut in sharply, not tolerating any argument from his best friend, “We have to...because in the end there is nothing we can do...we have to leave it up to Ueda and the police, they’re the ones who have to deal with this...” Yamapi knew by the way he was saying this that Ryo didn’t like anymore than he did.

“So...what now?” Yamapi asked after a minute. At first, Ryo was uncertain but after a few moments he gave a determined answer.

“We on living...we support Kazuya and Jin...I know its Kazuya who is our best friend and we barely know Akanishi but, apart from his brother and Kame, he doesn’t have anyone...I think he needs some genuine friends to help him through this...” Yamapi nodded in agreement. Ryo gently placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder and steered him back towards the hospital.

...

“Jin...” Kazuya whispered as he sat next to the older man’s bed. He had been next to the bed for ten minutes but had only just spoken. It was hard to decide on what to say when he didn’t know if Jin could hear him or not.

“Jin...I...I’m sorry...I...I should have gone like you said...if I had then I could have got help and you might not have been hurt as badly...but...I couldn’t leave...I was so selfish...I didn’t want to be away from you...” Tears began to roll down Kazuya’s cheeks as his guilt spilled out, “I’m so sorry...if I had stopped to think instead of being so stubborn then I might have been able to get you out of there...because...I never wanted you to get hurt, Jin, I’d rather suffer myself than see you hurt like this......please don’t hate me when you wake up...because I love you and...if you hated me it would be the worst thing to ever happen to me...” Kazuya couldn’t say anymore as his voice was broken by sobs.

Kazuya tightly shut his eyes and dropped his head, unable to stop the sobs that escaped him...until he felt a hand gently caress his cheek. His eyes snapped opened, he looked up and his sobs ended when he saw Jin offering him a weak but beautiful smile.

“...I love you too...” the older man whispered. The simplicity of the statement but also the raw emotion behind it made Kazuya break down in tears again. Jin gently pulled the younger man closer and Kazuya sobbed into the crook of his neck, overcome with relief at seeing Jin awake.

Neither of them noticed the three pairs of eyes peering through the glass of the door, watching their interaction.

“Kawaii!” Uchi whispered. Ryo rolled his eyes and turned to Yamapi.

“See? Jin’s going to be okay now...none of us have anything left to worry about...” he told him. Yamapi nodded and smiled but couldn’t shake a tiny feeling of doubt...

.........

............................................

.........

The door clicked open and Jin peered inside. He sighed with relief when he saw that his apartment was the same as how he had left it three weeks ago. His time in the hospital had been a relaxing change but he was anxious to return to his flat and make sure everything was alright. Kazuya, of course, had insisted on accompanying him, which wasn’t a surprise for Jin as the pair had been inseparable during their three weeks of recovery in hospital.

“Is everything alright?” the said brunette asked as he followed Jin into the flat. Jin nodded.

“Looks like it, so you can go home now,” he added coldly while hiding his grin. Kazuya looked shocked for a moment and then pouted like a girl when he realised Jin was teasing him. The older man pulled Kazuya into his arms and placed a gentle kiss on his boyfriend’s lips.

After a moment he let go and went into the kitchen. Kazuya complained about the sudden movement and Jin laughed.

“You’re cute, Kazu,” he exclaimed quietly so Kazuya only just heard him. The younger man blinked.

“...what did you call me?” he asked. Jin froze as he realised his mistake.

“I said, ‘You’re cute, Kazuya’,” he quickly replied, covering the slip-up, “Why? What’s the matter?” Jin watched the younger man shake his head. He was sure he could see a hint of disappointment in Kazuya’s eyes.

“N-nothing...I just thought you’d called me something else...”

Jin had often considered talking to Kazuya about that day when his house had burned down...but he had never been able to find the right words to use...

He watched Kazuya walk into the living room and followed him. They both sat on the sofa and snuggled close together, Kazuya wrapped in Jin’s arms.

Soon they realised just how tired they were and eventually fell asleep as they were. Kazuya leaned into Jin’s neck and Jin rested his chin on the other man’s head...

...

The smell was the first thing he noticed. That rough and horrid smell that he recognized all too well. He was terrified to open his eyes...especially when he heard the cracking sound. The only thing that persuaded him to face the sight was not being able to feel Jin beside him.

When his fearful brown eyes finally opened, he was greeted by the sight that had haunted his dreams since childhood.

Fire

Fire had engulfed the front door of Jin’s flat...and the man in question was no where to be seen.

“...Jin?!” the little boy called out, clutching his white teddy close to his chest. His eyes searched desperately for some sign of the older boy but Jin was no where...

Images of his nightmares began to flash through Kazuya’s mind and it terrified him by just how close they now were to reality.

Kazuya got up from the sofa and moved towards the back of the room, as far away from the fire as he could get. He heard some strange noises on the other side of the front door, he could hear yells and see what looked like foam leaking in through the cracks in the door frames...but it couldn’t completely distract him from the blazing fire in front of him.

Suddenly a bucket of water was thrown from the kitchen. The water succeeded in dozing the flames that were closest to the sofa and entrance to the kitchen but the fire around the front door was as fierce as ever.

“Kazuya!” Jin’s voice called out as he emerged from the kitchen, coughing and clutching his arm. He came to rest by Kazuya.

“You didn’t leave...” Kazuya half whispered, half whimpered. Jin offered him a weak smile.

“Of course not, I’m staying with you...I won’t let the fire hurt you...Kazu...” He said the nickname clearly this time and Kazuya turned to face him.

The shouts behind the door were getting louder and they could clearly see the efforts to put out the fire.

Jin held Kazuya close to try and calm the younger man.

Jin, unlike his boyfriend, wasn’t panicking at all. He had worked with much larger fires than this so he knew that as long as they stayed a good distance from the fire and low to avoid the smoke, they would be fine. As soon as the people on the other side managed to get the door open the fire would be extinguished in no time.

A series of bangs against the door came before a loud crash as it fell to the ground. The one who knocked it down, however, was a shock to both men.

“Reio?!” Jin gasped, filled with shock, confusion and......pride at seeing that his younger brother was one of the men fighting the fire. He also noticed Souta there as well. Jin knew that Souta was Reio’s best friend and was therefore not surprised to see him there by Reio’s side.

“Jin! Are you and Kamenashi-san alright?” Reio called out to him as they began to put out what remained of the fire.

Jin nodded when he caught Reio’s eye. He then looked down at Kazuya, who, although he was still tense, was visibly calmer than before. Jin gave the younger man’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze and Kazuya nodded quickly to indicate he would be okay.

The pair didn’t have time to be relieved though, because as soon as the fire was out two figures rushed into the room and wrapped both the men in tight and almost suffocating hugs. Hugging Kazuya, in a rare display of dramatic affection, was Ryo and hugging Jin, much to the man’s surprise, was Uchi.

“Errm...” Jin began nervously. Uchi immediately seemed to notice exactly what he was doing and released Jin.

“I...err...sorry...” Uchi stuttered, making Ryo and Kazuya laugh. Jin patted Uchi’s shoulder and gave him an appreciative smile.

Kazuya, who was now mostly recovered from the situation, looked around and didn’t see the one he was looking for.

“Where’s Pi?” he asked Ryo. The shorter man frowned and looked over his shoulder.

“He was with us a minute ago...”

After another minute, Yamapi walked in with Ueda Tatsuya by his side. The younger of the two immediately turned to Jin.

“We’ve spoken to the police and there are a couple of things you need to know, Jin,” he began and then gestured to Ueda to continue.

“It was Tatsuo’s men that started the fire, they put burning newspaper through the letterbox...luckily a few residents noticed what they were doing and called the fire department...” At this point, Reio stepped forward.

“That’s where we come in... while you were in hospital, Souta and I managed to finish our training, there was only a small part left to do...the station is now up and running again, we have new recruits and new equipment too,” Jin smiled as he looked at his brother’s usually depressed face beaming with happiness.

“You managed all of that in three weeks?” Ryo asked in an amazed tone. Souta grinned a little sheepishly.

“Well, we have been sorting it all out for a couple of months now but the last three weeks were when everything was really happening...”

“Anyway,” Yamapi unwillingly interrupted while flashing Souta a smile to apologize, “Thanks to the residents, the police managed to identify and arrest the three henchmen who started the fire.” Jin frowned and his shoulders slumped slightly.

“But not Tatsuo? I’m never going to escape him am I?” he said in a depressed voice. Kazuya watched him with concern and didn’t notice Yamapi and Ueda glance at each other.

“Well...yes you are,” Ueda replied. Jin and Kazuya looked at him in confusion and Yamapi finished the sentence.

“Jin...Tatsuo is dead...”

...

a/n - the epilogue will be on my journal in a couple of hours so please check it out! Thank you everyone for reading, this has been my first completed akame fic so I am very happy. I won't win the contest because the other entries are amazing but it was really fun ^^

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Chapter 5

2008-07-20T18:26:43Z

“No…” Yamapi said firmly. Ryo frowned.

“Just one!” he tried to reason.

“One from you always leads to another and I, unlike you, do not want to be out cold on the floor whenI have to work tomorrow because I did not go on a date with my editor so that I can use her like a doormat, ” Yamapi replied coolly with a mock hint of venom. Ryo reluctantly put down the shot glass and prepared to sulk for the next five minutes, despite Uchi’s efforts. Kazuya laughed at his shorter friend.

“Ryo, stop pouting.”

“I am not pouting; Osaka men do not pout…” Ryo replied stubbornly. That was when both Kazuya and Yamapi sighed. Ryo always mentioned his Osaka roots when he was in a serious sulk. Kazuya gave Uchi a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, especially since Uchi was now wearing a look that suggested he had just three minutes to cure cancer, ensure world peace and end world starvation. In reality, he had three minutes to lighten Ryo’s mood and stop him from skulking off home by himself.

“Ryo-chan, don’t be sad…” Uchi said in a tuneful voice but Ryo continued to sulk. The younger man sat back, hurt evident on his face. Kazuya hid his smirk as Uchi’s bottom lip began to quiver. Ryo was blatantly trying to ignore this fact but when tears began to build in his boyfriend’s eyes Ryo’s stubborn stance crumbled.

“Hirooooo, I’m sorry! Please don’t cry!” Ryo had his arms around his boyfriend in seconds. As soon as his head was resting underneath Ryo’s chin, Uchi gave a quick wink to Kazuya, who laughed happily. Yamapi just smirked and said nothing.

They all heard the door open and looked towards the entrance. Kazuya’s face visibly brightened when he saw Jin and the older man also looked particularly happy to see Kazuya.

“Awww…” Uchi couldn’t help but comment.

“Oh, you’ve stopped crying now?” Ryo asked his boyfriend sarcastically.

Jin came towards the bar, obviously unsure of whether he should sit with them. Yamapi and Ryo cleared their throats in unison and gestured to the empty seat next to Kazuya. Both Jin and Kazuya blushed as he sat down.

“So…”

“Hiro,” Ryo interrupted his boyfriend before he could start. Uchi pouted at Ryo, causing the other three to laugh.

“Did your appointments go okay today?” Jin asked Kazuya quietly. The younger man smiled at Jin’s curiosity.

“Yes, I may have another client tomorrow if he likes the photos I’ve sent to him, she’s Ryo’s editor and needs a photographer for some shoots for a project up in Osaka.” Jin nodded with a hint of a smile that made Kazuya’s heart flutter. Yamapi couldn’t help but smirk again. Jin turned back to Kazuya.

“Does that mean that…you’ll be away for a while?” Kazuya looked at Jin and was surprised to see the hint of genuine concern in his eyes.

“Only for two weeks, then I’ll be back and it’s still a month away…and that’s assuming I get the job…”

“You will,” Jin told him confidently and Kazuya smiled warmly at the older man.

Jin shifted slightly and pulled his mobile phone from his pocket. He opened what Kazuya assumed was a text message. After a couple of seconds his face darkened slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Kazuya asked him. Jin forced a small smile and shook his head.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry…” he tried to reassure the younger man but Kazuya didn’t look convinced. A few minutes later the phone vibrated again. Jin looked at the new message and greeted it with the same expression. This time Kazuya wouldn’t let it go.

“Jin, what’s going on? Is it them again?”

Jin didn’t have the chance to answer him. A loud smash was heard as a rock came flying through the window. It hurtled towards their table. They all tried to shield themselves but a thud was heard followed by a cry of pain.

Kazuya looked up and saw Uchi, his face as white as a sheet, clutching his hand as blood ran down his wrist. Ryo immediately began tending to his boyfriend. Yamapi was already out of his seat, looking out of the window to try and get a glimpse at whoever threw the rock.

“They’re gone,” he told them with a voice full of frustration. He looked around the floor and found the rock. When he picked it up Kazuya saw it was large and had very sharp edges. There were also a few specks of blood on it.

“Uchi?” Kazuya immediately crouched by his friend’s side. Uchi said nothing and Kazuya could see his friend was only just stopping himself from crying with pain. Ryo looked concerned.

“Hiro, I need you to move your hand just for a second,” the shorter man told his boyfriend. Uchi immediately shook his head but when he looked into Ryo’s eyes his grip on his hand slowly weakened. He slowly moved his hand away and Kazuya had to bite his tongue so he wouldn’t gasp.

The wound was quite deep. When Uchi had removed his hand the blood had started flowing freely down his wrist. There were a least two small shards of glass inside his hand as well.

“Can you move it?” Ryo asked softly. Uchi’s expression showed that he was obviously trying but the hand didn’t move and Uchi began to get distressed.

“I can’t…Ryo…I can’t move it! Oh my God……the blood…there’s so much blood……the blood…Ryo please……please make the bleeding stop!” he gasped in panic, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

“Sssshhh…it’s okay, you’ll be okay,” Ryo gently told him. Kazuya was worried by Uchi’s reaction and Yamapi came to sit by his side.

“Uchi is terrified of bleeding,” he explained with a whisper. Kazuya looked at Yamapi curiously.

“Ryo didn’t tell me why……hey……where’s Akanishi?” Kazuya’s eyes widened when he realised the older man was gone. He looked around the bar. By now Kenta had come out to see Uchi and check everyone else was alright. Kazuya looked everywhere but he couldn’t see Jin. His head drooped slightly in confusion and worry and he noticed something still on the table among the pieces of glass from the window.

Frowning slightly, Kazuya picked up the phone. He knew he shouldn’t but his worry and curiosity got the better of him. He looked through Jin’s phone and found his messages. When he read the most recent text he felt the colour drain from his face. His hands shook slightly and his throat felt dry.

No longer aware of the people around him, he got up and almost sprinted out of the bar, leaving Yamapi watching him go with confusion…

…

He could feel them watching him as he walked down the street. It was late, it was dark and there was no one around. He knew better than to go out there alone but he didn’t really have a choice. He knew he had to speak to Tatsuo.

Once he had reached a certain point, Jin turned around to face the old man that had been following him for a short time.

“I won’t take them again…” he said firmly.

“Yes you will,” the old man replied, slightly agitated.

“No…I won’t, I’m not going through that again, I’m clean now and I’m staying that way,” Jin made sure he spoke with a voice that left no room for argument.

If the fury wasn’t obvious in Tatsuo’s face before then it was now.

“I’ve paid my debt to you,” Jin continued, “I don’t owe you anything anymore.”

“You’re willing to risk that boy’s safety over this?” Jin had hoped Tatsuo wouldn’t mention Kazuya and when he did the younger man’s stance visibly weakened.

“Leave Kazu out of this, it has nothing to do with him.”

“I’ll be the judge of that-” Tatsuo began but within seconds Jin was holding him by the collar of his shirt. The old man just smirked as his thugs appeared from the shadows and surrounded Jin.

“I could hurt the boy…very badly…perhaps even kill him……is that what you want?” Tatsuo smirked again when he saw what he wanted in Jin’s eyes.

Fear

“Leave Kazu alone…” Jin hissed as he reluctantly let go of the other man’s collar. Tatsuo gave him an amused glare and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. Jin subconsciously took a step back when he saw the syringe appear.

“You know what you have to do then…” Tatsuo walked towards Jin, the syringe poised in his hand.

“I…I c-can’t……” he whispered.

“Then this ‘Kazu’ boy will suffer if you don’t…” Tatsuo replied coldly. Images of Kazuya beaten and bleeding flashed through Jin’s mind as the syringe approached his arm.

He shut his eyes tightly and sweat was dripping down his face until…

“Stop it!” he heard a familiar voice cry. Jin’s eyes snapped open and he turned around to see Kazuya watching in horror, his face pale…

“What a coincidence…” Tatsuo smirked. Jin looked at him sharply and Kazuya looked confused.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Jin suddenly dashed between two of Tatsuo’s men and ran to Kazuya.

“Run!” He hissed, “Get away from here!” The men were slowly approaching them. Kazuya was about to move but then he noticed Jin was still completely still.

“Why aren’t you moving?” he asked quietly and fearfully. Jin gave him a sad look.

“You go…I can’t keep running from them forever,” it broke Kazuya’s heart to hear the defeat in Jin’s voice. He thought for a moment and reached a decision.

Jin’s eyes widened in surprise when he felt Kazuya’s hand wrapped around his.

“Kame…you can’t-”

“I’m not leaving you…” Kazuya insisted stubbornly. A cold and arrogant laugh behind them made them turn around.

Tatsuo and his men had surrounded them.

“How sweet,” the old man sneered, “But this won’t change anything…”

They all suddenly advanced on the pair. The blows came before either of them could realise what was happening and the last thing Jin could remember was losing Kazuya’s hand and everything turning black…

…

“Hiro, you have to go, you can’t leave it like this,” Ryo insisted, ignoring his boyfriend’s hatred of hospitals.

“But Ryo, it’s okay now, I can’t feel it anymore,” Uchi protested innocently.

“That’s not a good thing!”

Kenta had swept up the glass and pulled the curtains in front of the broken window. It looked almost normal at the bar.

“He’s still not back…” Yamapi muttered to himself. Ryo didn’t look at his friend but shared his concerns. Even Uchi looked worried, despite his own injury. He looked around and caught sight of something on the floor.

“Hey…isn’t that Akanishi-san’s phone?” He nodded towards the phone on the floor a few feet from them. Yamapi bent down to pick it up. He scrolled through the text messages with no guilt…until he found the most recent. He face fell and even the great Yamapi turned visibly pale.

“Pi? What is it?” Ryo asked. Yamapi passed the phone to him without a word. Ryo looked at the text on the screen.

- You love him, he loves you - here’s what I am gonna do - with a BANG BANG BANG three bullets through his head - sorry JinJin, Kazu’s dead… -

Ryo’s fists tightened. He didn’t notice Uchi snatching the phone from him and gasping in shock.

“We have to go…” Yamapi said quietly. Ryo nodded but looked at Uchi, obviously reluctant to leave him. Uchi offered his boyfriend a small smile.

“Go, I’ll be okay,” the younger boy said softly.

“But you need to go to hospital…”

“I’ll take him,” Kenta suddenly spoke up, “You guys need to help Kame.” Uchi gave Kenta a grateful smile but Ryo still looked reluctant. Uchi slowly stood up, cradling his hand gently on his other arm.

“Ryo…please go, what if Kame-chan is hurt?” Uchi pleaded with Ryo and eventually gave a quick nod. He gave Uchi a lingering kiss before racing after Yamapi who was already halfway out of the door.

Uchi and Kenta watched them go…both with worried expressions.

“I hope they’ll be alright…” Uchi whispered.

…

When the blackness lifted a little Kazuya was immediately greeted with pain…burning pain…all over his body and, just for a moment, his childhood fear returned to him. But when he managed to look around a little he remembered what happened.

Panic immediately gripped him and he tried to lift himself but only managed an inch before collapsing in agony.

“…Jin?” he croaked, desperate to hear the older man’s voice and know that he was alright. Despite the pain he managed to turn himself onto his side, though he didn’t expect to be there for long as he could feel the bruising and broken ribs.

He looked around and saw that the thugs had thrown them down a small flight of stone stairs. Kazuya’s eyes widened in horror when he noticed there was blood on some of the steps…

“Jin?!” He managed to croak a little louder. His fear intensified when there was no reply.

Somehow the pain now seemed irrelevant and Kazuya pulled himself over so he was facing the other way. What he saw made his heart break…

Jin was lying there, unconscious and beaten to a pulp, in a puddle of blood…

“…Jin?” Kazuya whimpered desperately, his voice shaking.

Eventually the pain became too much and Kazuya had to collapse onto his back again but the movement made his vision blur and his head spin. He could feel himself passing out again but before it happened he heard footsteps and voices…

“We’re never gonna find them at this rate, we should have gone the other way…”

“No, I’m sure I heard Kame say Akanishi’s apartment was in this direction…”

Kazuya almost wept with relief.

“…Ryo…Pi…” he called out as loud as he could. Half of the footsteps suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” he heard Yamapi ask.

Oh please God let them find me… Kazuya pleaded in his mind as he waited for Ryo to reply.

“I’m sure I heard something…down there…”

The footsteps coming towards him were the last thing Kazuya heard before his vision went black again…

…

“…oh my God…” Ryo breathed, his voice shaking. He had reached the top of the stairs before Yamapi and was now staring down at the most horrible sight of his life.

His best friend was lying unconscious with a bleeding head wound looking like he’d just been in a car crash. Behind and slightly to the left of him was Akanishi, unconscious in a puddle of blood.

Ryo blinked when he suddenly noticed that Yamapi had rushed past him and was checking Akanishi for a pulse.

“Anything?” Ryo asked quietly. Yamapi nodded.

“It’s weak but it’s there, we need to get them to hospital…” Ryo nodded and immediately pulled out his mobile phone to call an ambulance. Yamapi remained kneeling between Kazuya and Akanishi until his injured friend let out a small moan.

“Kame?” Yamapi was crouched over him in an instant, “Can you hear me?” Yamapi released a brief sigh of relief when Kazuya slowly opened his eyes. The injured man immediately looked alarmed.

“…Pi? ...where’s Jin? Is he alright?” he asked in a slow and raspy voice. Kazuya must have seen Yamapi’s brief worried look because he immediately tried to get up. Yamapi restrained him by putting two hands on his shoulders.

“Don’t strain yourself.”

“I’m alright Pi…its J-Jin who was hurt badly……please t-tell me…is he gonna be okay?” There was so much fear and desperation in Kazuya’s eyes and Yamapi couldn’t bring himself to tell his injured friend the truth.

“The paramedics are on their way and they’re gonna take him to hospital, I’m sure he’ll be alright…” Yamapi told him, trying to make it sound believable. Kame’s gaze softened a little with relief and Yamapi felt like a lying traitor.

He blinked and looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Yamapi’s conscience calmed a little when he saw Ryo’s look. He had heard what Yamapi had said and understood his reasons.

Ryo looked up briefly and then turned back to Yamapi.

“The paramedics are here,” he said softly and Yamapi turned to see the men coming down with stretchers. Ryo gently pulled him away and he barely registered the blur of movement as the paramedics took both the injured men away. He watched as Kazuya’s gaze was fixed on Akanishi’s stretcher and Yamapi was flooded with guilt again.

“You couldn’t have told him the truth…he would have panicked…” Ryo tried to reassure him but Yamapi’s heart had sunk…

Further than it had ever sank before…

“If Aka- …if Jin doesn’t make it……I’ll never be able to look at Kame again…”

…

Fic: Lighthouse - Chapter 1

2008-07-17T22:58:20Z

[Chapter Fic]
Title: Lighthouse - Chapter 1
Author: brezo1816
Rating: PG
Genre: AU, Angst/Tragedy, Romance
Pairings: Akame, JunDa, RyoUchi, brief mentions of others
Disclaimer: They're not mine but the plot and the banner are mine :D

Summary: [written from Junno's POV] Taguchi Junno fears his worst nightmare has come true when his boyfriend is involved in a huge car crash but is relieved to find that he will be alright. However, when Junno finds that another crash victim, Kamenashi Kazuya, seems to have no one to comfort him, he makes it his mission to find the one man who can heal Kazuya's wounded heart...

a/n - this was originally supposed to be a one-shot but the plot thickened and I couldn't stop writing...so...here it is! Hope you like it, I <3 comments!

...

It was raining pretty heavily...the night that it happened. It was all over the local TV and radio stations, the worst accident to happen in the area in years. Five people were dead and several others were injured…including him.

Kamenashi Kazuya. I had never met him before so it’s kind of strange to be such good friends with him now. At the time I knew nothing about him, he rarely spoke to anyone and no one could blame him for it…

He was the back seat passenger in the car that had been in the middle of the crash and the impact had killed his two friends in front.

As if that wasn’t enough, the poor guy woke up to find that he would never be able to use his left leg ever again. I’ll never forget the look on his face when the doctor told him what had happened. The distress and mortification was so much, I had to look away…I’d never seen so much heartbreak in my life…

My name is Taguchi Junno. I wasn’t involved in the crash but my boyfriend, Ueda Tatsuya, was injured and had to stay in hospital for a couple of weeks afterwards. He was in the same ward as Kazuya. That was how we met him…

…

I can barely remember what I was doing that afternoon. Looking back it seems like an irrelevant blur. I came out of work at around five-thirty. I remember feeling excited as I left the restaurant where I work on weeknights because Ueda was coming home after a three week business trip to Osaka. I think he was glad to be coming home because although he made friends and was enjoying himself, he had started to get annoyed with one of his associates there, known by him as the ‘stubborn dwarf’.

When I got home I found an answer-phone message from Ueda, saying that he was getting a lift with a few colleagues because the train was delayed, so he would be a little later home than expected. I didn’t mind, I guess I’m pretty easy-going like that, my friend Tegoshi says I am anyway…not that he can talk…

I should have been stubborn. I should have told him to wait for the train…all for the sake of a few minutes difference. It would have saved him from injury…

Six thirty. Half an hour before the crash, it started to rain, lightly at first, then it got really heavy…so heavy it must have been hazardous for drivers. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried at that point. Ueda was in a car…driving through this…

When it got to quarter-past-seven I started to seriously worried. He should have been back thirty minutes before. The rain was so heavy I could see a couple of tiles coming off the neighbour’s roof.

Nearly eight, still raining heavily and still no word from Ueda. I had already tried to call him three times but he never answered. I kept telling myself that he was stuck in traffic and they were listening to music, too loud to hear his phone. I barely believed that at first, the more time that went by the more I felt my faith crumble. I was so desperate I even sent a text to Tegoshi, just in case there was a slim chance Ueda couldn’t get through to me and called our friend instead.

The reply came back and that hope was dashed.

- No I haven’t heard from him since before he went to Osaka, sorry :-( What’s up? You seem worried… Tego x –

- Its nothing, I just haven’t heard from him yet, he’s probably stuck in traffic… Junno x –

- …what time was he supposed to be home? –

- 6:45…why? –

- Junno, look at the news reports… -

I remember feeling my heart freeze when I read that last text. I quickly went into the front room and turned on the TV. It was the local news and what I saw on the screen made me want to throw up.

There had been a huge crash a few miles away, involving a van, a small lorry and four cars. The emergency services could be seen pulling survivors, and those who weren’t so lucky, from the wreckage.

I wanted to scream, yell and cry all at the same time. I didn’t know what to do…it was almost certain that Ueda was involved in that crash but I couldn’t see him on the screen and I didn’t know what car he was travelling in.

I picked up my phone and tried calling him again…and again…finally after the third time someone picked up, but it wasn’t Ueda, it was a woman’s voice.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Errm…this is Junno…who are you? Where’s Ueda?!” I didn’t want to snap at her but I was desperate.

“Ueda Tatsuya has been taken to the nearest hospital…are you…Taguchi Junno?”

“…yes…”

“Ah, Ueda-san was asking for you, please make your way to the hospital as soon as possible…his injuries are not serious but he may have to stay in hospital for a while, but I’m a paramedic, the doctors will be able to give a better analysis…”

I thanked her and then quickly hung up. But then the phone seemed to slide from my fingers…I felt completely numb. The paramedic had said that Ueda’s injuries weren’t serious but I was still scared. How I made it to the car and drove to the hospital, I still have no idea…

When I got there I somehow managed to find a nurse who could take me to Ueda’s ward.

She left me at the door and I looked around. There were quite a few beds in that ward; about half of them were occupied. When my eyes reached the bed by the window I almost cried with relief. Ueda’s eyes met mine and I almost ran over to him and wrapped my arms around him.

“Junno…” he almost whimpered. I held him closer, worried that if I let go I might lose him again.

“It’s alright,” I whispered to him and he relaxed into my embrace. After a few minutes he began to explain what happened, even though I didn’t want him to, I didn’t want him to have to remember it. I found out that the driver of his car had died and the front passenger was in surgery. The passenger sat next to Ueda escaped with a few cuts and bruises and was now contacting the family of the driver.

Tears ran down Ueda’s face as he told me the story. He wasn’t particularly close to those men but it still greatly upset him.

I stayed with him for a few more hours until I had to go home. I had to pick up some stuff for him from our house and I had to call Tegoshi to let him know what had happened. I really didn’t want to leave Ueda, I knew he’d have nightmares…but I had to go and get the stuff and the matron in charge of the ward wasn’t prepared to let me stay the night because I wasn’t a relative. Even I was angered by that statement but I knew if I argued I would have not been allowed to come back the next day.

I reluctantly said goodbye to Ueda and eventually left the hospital. When I got into my car the gravity of the situation finally hit me with full force. I had nearly lost the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He had come within inches of leaving me forever. At the time I barely noticed the tears that poured down my cheeks but looking back now I know that I cried quite a bit. I can’t remember how long I was like that; sat in the car crying…it was probably at least an hour…

When I finally got home the first thing I did was call Tegoshi.

“Junno?! What happened?! Is Tat-chan alright?” The younger man practically yelled into the phone. Despite the situation I was still surprised by his volume, he was usually very quiet.

“He’s okay, Tego, he received some minor injuries and will have to stay in hospital for a while but he’s awake and he’s alright…” I reassured my friend while also reassuring myself. I could feel my hands were still shaking.

“Thank God…Massu and I were so worried…” Tegoshi replied, referring to his boyfriend of three years.

“So was I…when a paramedic picked up his cell phone I…I didn’t know what to do…I…I almost lost him Tego…” I practically whimpered into the phone.

“Ssshh, it’s okay Junno, like you said, he’s alright…he’ll be okay, you need to get some sleep now Junno, its nearly 2am…” I gasped at that last part and looked at the clock on the wall.

“Oh my gosh, Tego I’m sorry, I didn’t realise it was that late, you and Massu are usually asleep by now…” It’s true, those two do like early nights (…for sleeping…)

“Don’t worry about it, neither of us could sleep until we heard some news anyway…but you should definitely get some sleep, you must be exhausted…”

“Well, I…I’m…errm…yeah…” I couldn’t deny what he said, I was exhausted. I could hear Tegoshi laughing.

“Okay then, goodnight Junno…oh and give our love to Tat-chan, tell him we’ll come and visit him as soon as we can!” I couldn’t help but smile at Tegoshi’s caring personality. That was why he had so many friends; he was the kind of guy who would always care about you when others might not.

“Thanks Tego…and thanks for talking to me…I needed to hear a reassuring voice.”

“Hey, what are friends for? Goodnight, Junno.”

“Goodnight, Tego.” I hung up and rested the phone on the table. I climbed up the stairs and went into the bedroom I shared with Ueda. I had been sleeping in it alone for two weeks but that night just felt different. It felt…wrong.

Knowing that I would never be able to sleep in there, I picked up my night wear and went to sleep in the spare room. It was a soft bed and very comfortable…which was a good thing because what I didn’t know at the time was that the bed was going to have a frequent visitor over the next two weeks…

…

We’ve reached the hill. I can see it now, the thing we came here to see. He was right…it is magnificent. The light catches the water and makes it sparkle…I don’t know if I’ve seen anything more beautiful. When I look at the others I can see their eyes sparkle too, especially the pair standing level with us…the younger man looks so happy…like he’s been waiting his whole life to see this. And when I look at him and his companion I can feel the happy satisfaction in knowing that he isn’t disappointed…

…

I immediately went straight back to the hospital the next morning. I wanted to spend as much of the day with Ueda as I could because I knew I would have to go to work in the evening.

Ueda and I chatted for a while until I noticed he was starting to get a little sleepy again.

He lay in my arms; I was lying next to him with my upper back propped up on an extra pillow the nurses gave to me. From here I could see the whole ward. There were quite a few beds, just over half of them filled. The bed opposite Ueda was empty but the bed on the right of that contained a sleeping man who looked about my age, maybe a little younger. His left leg was heavily bandaged from his thigh down to his ankle. His arms were heavily bruised and there were other bruises and scratches all over him. He looked so innocent and I felt an overwhelming sadness for him despite the fact I didn’t know him.

“That’s Kamenashi Kazuya,” I heard Ueda whispered. He was awake again and had obviously noticed my staring.

“He was involved in the crash too, his car was further towards the centre of the crash and I overheard the nurses say that the two friends he was travelling with were killed…” Ueda explained.

I shouldn’t have…but the question came out anyway…

“Did they…say anything about his leg?” I asked as I turned to Ueda. His face was full of sadness.

“They said…it’s unlikely he’ll ever use it again…”

Fic: Away From Me - Chapter 2

2008-07-01T09:41:41Z

Name: Away From Me
Subject: KAT-TUN
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Akame (main pairing), RyoUchi, T&T and a bit of Tomapi...
Rating: err...PG? 15? Something like that...

Prologue Chapter 1

Summary: Kame and Jin are beginning to realise that their feelings for each other stretch a little further than friendship. But just how deep are these feelings? What are they prepared to do about them? And can it last now that the guiding force that lead them to stardom is the same force trying to tear them apart?

...

“Jin…I really don’t think this is a good idea…” Kazuya whispered as Jin lead him inside the small club. His wig shifted slightly and he was worried it was going to come off. He liked it though. It was a little longer, a lot darker and the tips flicked out slightly. He quite liked the idea of having it like this in the future.

“Stop worrying Kame…” Jin hissed with a grin as he pulled Kazuya past the bar, “…you know, this hair style is cool, I’m gonna use it again sometime…” Kazuya gave a small smirk. Jin’s hair had been tucked back into a wig that was a much lighter shade of brown. It was shaped to go around his face and then flick out at the bottom. He looked good, though Kazuya would never admit it out loud.

“Guys, what are we doing here? If Tat-chan finds out-“

“Oh stop worrying,” Jin told Maru as Junno and Koki caught up, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, besides, we’re disguised – no one will recognize us…especially not Junno,” he added with a suppressed chuckle. Junno pouted slightly and adjusted his long, blonde wig.

“I don’t think we’re old enough to be in here…” Koki muttered as he looked around.

“And after all that tension this afternoon…” Maru added.

“But Kame and I were supposed to go out last night and we couldn’t so we had to tonight, c’mon guys loosen up a little…” Jin insisted as he pulled Kazuya out onto the dance floor, the younger man giving an apologetic look as they went. Maru sighed, Koki pouted and Junno grinned.

Soon they were all dancing, though Koki had to find a woman to dance with as Jin wouldn’t let him near Kame.

After an hour or so of dancing and various soft drinks (Maru wouldn’t let any of them near any alcohol) they all, except Jin, agreed it was time to leave. Kazuya dragged a reluctant Jin from the dance floor and they all headed out of the club.

“We are going to be in so much trouble if we’re caught,” Koki hissed, glancing around each street corner.

“Why would we be in trouble?” Jin asked, still high from the dancing and soda. Kazuya muttered ‘baka’ under his breath again.

“Because, Bakanishi, Koki and Junno are only nineteen, Kazuya is still eighteen, none of them should be out this late, we shouldn’t be out this late…”

“But I’m twenty…” Jin moaned. He was sure he could hear the others muttering something about his mental age but he was too exhausted to complain…

The first apartment they reached was Koki’s and the rapper bid them all a quiet goodnight.

The next apartments were Maru and Junno’s as they both lived in the same building. After repeated reassurances from Jin that he would make sure Kazuya got home undetected, Maru followed Junno inside.

The remaining pair walked along for a while. Kazuya’s hands were cold so appreciated the unexpected warmth when Jin took one hand in his.

“Did you have fun tonight?” Jin asked the younger man. Kazuya nodded with a smile. Jin smiled back and they kept walking until they got to Kazuya’s door. The looks on both of their faces made it obvious that neither of them wanted to say goodnight. The silence was thick for a minute or so before Jin decided to speak.

“Last day of filming tomorrow…” he muttered.

“Are you going to the big party?” Kazuya asked, a hint of sadness in his voice. He was surprised when Jin immediately shook his head.

“I don’t want you to be by yourself,” Jin replied. Kazuya frowned for a moment but then his heart swelled when he realised what Jin meant.

“You’re too young to be at the party aren’t you? I’ll be bored if you’re not there so I won’t be going…I’d prefer to stay with you.” Jin blushed slightly when he realised what he had said and looked at his feet.

“Jin…” The older man closed his eyes at the sound of Kazuya’s voice. He barely registered the two fingers under his chin that were bringing his face up. It also took him a while to register the soft lips pressed against his. When he did his eyes shot open and he pulled back. Kazuya looked equally shocked when he realised what he had done.

“I…I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have...I-” The younger man’s apologies were cut off when Jin got over his shock and kissed him. The kiss was gentle, longing and a little…desperate…as if it was what Jin really needed the most at that moment…

Kazuya responded by pressing himself closer to Jin. When they finally broke apart Jin gave Kazuya a hopeful look.

“Kazu…wanna stay over at my house tonight?” Kazuya’s eyes widened at the suggestion. Jin frowned slightly until he realised what the question could have suggested.

“Oh! No, nothing like that!” he quickly explained, “I meant you could stay in the spare room…I wanted to eat breakfast with you, we haven’t done that since we were kids…” he added a little shyly. Kazuya smiled at the innocent suggestion. He took Jin’s hand and pulled him away from the porch.

“Let’s go!” he said happily and he and Jin ran down the dark street. When they reached a corner with bushes on one side they were looking at each other so they didn’t notice the slight rustle and click sound in the bushes.

Once they had gone past the young woman from the café emerged, clutching a camera in her hands, looking at the picture she had just taken…

…

Yamapi yawned as he walked into the agency building. He frowned slightly when he noticed it was very quiet. He kept walking through the building, heading towards the NEWS dressing room. He frowned again when he noticed that any employees he walked past were whispering to each other while crowding around a particular magazine.

He wasn’t far from the dressing room when he heard someone running towards him.

He stopped when Massu reached him looking distressed and clutching a magazine in his right hand.

“Shit Pi its bad…” he gasped between breaths. Yamapi guessed he had run all the way from the dressing room to find him but at the time that fact wasn’t relevant.

“What? What’s bad?!” Yamapi asked him urgently. Massu opened the magazine, turned to a particular page and handed it to Yamapi. When the older man saw what is was that Massu meant the colour drained from his face.

It was a two page spread, centred around a photo of a very happy looking Jin and Kazuya running down the street, hand in hand…

“Where’s Ueda?” Yamapi asked him and Massu ran towards the KAT-TUN dressing room, Yamapi on his heels…

…

“Shit…the media are gonna be all over this…” Koki muttered. Ueda bit back a retort about stating the obvious, instead choosing to stay as calm as possible. Though, with the current situation that was not particularly calm at all…even by Ueda’s standards.

Kazuya and Jin had immediately been called to Johnny’s office as soon as they entered the agency. The fact that they arrived together did not help at all.

The whole room was silent. They all knew now how serious the situation was, even Junno couldn’t say anything. Maru was sat on the couch, his face creased with worry. Junno and Koki were glancing nervously at Ueda who wore a deep frown and was leaning against the wall.

The silence was broken when the door burst open.

“Where are they?” Yamapi asked Ueda.

“Outside his office,” the latter replied quietly and then turned to his fellow members, “Sorry guys, can I talk to Yamapi alone for a while?” The other three nodded and began to leave the room. Yamapi turned to Massu.

“Go and get Kazuya and Jin, catch them before they go into his office and bring them here,” Massu looked worried by the order but left anyway. Ueda looked at Yamapi curiously.

“He’ll be angry if they don’t show up; I’m guessing you have a plan?” Ueda asked him. Yamapi nodded.

“I was thinking about it last night and I think I know what you can do…”

“What do I need?” Ueda asked a little nervously.

“You need Johnnys…” Yamapi told him confidently. Ueda looked up with confusion and Yamapi continued.

“The reason that the breaking up of Four Tops and Uchi’s suspension were allowed to happen was because at the time Johnny kept the rest of the agency in the dark so by the time they knew it was too late to protest…”

“So you think that I should get help to reason with Johnny…but I’ve never been that good at public speaking…I can’t lead them…”

“You won’t need to, I’ll help you, NEWS and the rest of KAT-TUN will help you…Kanjani8 I’m not so sure…they’ll need persuading but if they can help then that’s all of the Kansai juniors on side as well…” Yamapi suggested, his face brightening at the thought of protest, “I’m sure the other seniors will help as well, especially ARASHI, Matsumoto is quite passionate about this kind of stuff…”

“So you think he’ll lead the protests?” Ueda asked, hope beginning to fill his voice. Yamapi shook his head.

“No, there are two people who would be better and Matsumoto will agree.” Ueda watched him curiously. He had a suspicion so he slowly asked:

“And they are?” Yamapi grinned.

“The only two men in the agency who have stood up to Johnny over this issue and won…” he told Ueda whose face was slowly breaking into a smile…

“…Tackey and Tsubasa…”

...

Fic: Away From Me - Chapter 1

2008-07-01T09:27:23Z

Name: Away From Me
Subject: KAT-TUN
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Akame (main pairing), RyoUchi, T&T and a bit of Tomapi...
Rating: err...PG? 15? Something like that...

Prologue

Summary: Kame and Jin are beginning to realise that their feelings for each other stretch a little further than friendship. But just how deep are these feelings? What are they prepared to do about them? And can it last now that the guiding force that lead them to stardom is the same force trying to tear them apart?

a/n - I've decided to rename the first chapter as a prologue and make this the first chapter. This fic is going to be a lot longer than I first intended. Please comment!

...

Filming moved along very quickly, much to Jin’s delight. As soon as the director announced the lunch break he jogged over to Kame’s side, took the younger man by the arm and dragged him away from the set.

“Jin! There are people watching!” Kame hissed but it was too late. He caught sight of a young photographer looking very smug before hurrying away. Kame groaned in defeat but Jin just smirked and kept dragging him along, a little more subtly this time.

“…do you care that much?” Jin asked quietly while still looking ahead. Kame was about to answer something like ‘yes of course I do, baka’ but he hesitated when he heard Jin’s genuine concern.

When he thought about it seriously, Kame couldn’t think of a reason for caring. He liked spending time with Jin, he knew the feeling was mutual and he knew for a fact the fans liked it.

If he could, Kame knew he would spend more of his time with Jin than he did now…

“…no…” he suddenly answered. Jin looked at him with a mixture of surprise and happiness. Kame smiled and slipped his hand into Jin’s. The older man looked even more surprised but, as Kame predicted, didn’t take his hand away. Instead he gave Kame’s hand a nervous squeeze. The other smiled in reply and they continued to walk down a back street towards their destination, walking closely together so that they could hide their hands.

When they reached it Kame was incredibly reluctant to walk inside. The place looked like it hadn’t seen a bucket of water in over thirty years. There were cobwebs everywhere and the paint was flaking off the wooden window frames.

Jin grinned from ear to ear and pulled Kame inside.

When the door closed behind them Kame had to do a double take.

The smell which greeted their noses was the most warm and delicious scent he had ever encountered. It was a subtle mixture of freshly baked bread and herbs...

“Kame?” The younger man blinked and noticed Jin was watching him with a grin.

“Nice isn’t it?” he asked and Kame nodded. They sat at a small table and after a minute a pretty young waitress came out to ask for their order.

“Two ham and cheese Italian baguettes please,” Jin told her with a smile. Kame frowned slightly when he realised the other had ordered for him but didn’t dwell on it for long.

“…do you want to go out with me tonight?” Jin asked with a nervousness Kame thought was actually quite cute.

“Where did you have in mind?” It wasn’t a ‘yes’ but it was close enough and Jin’s face instantly brightened.

“There’s a club not far from here, we could go disguised, we’ll bring the others for security of course but you’ll only dance with me right? Not Koki…” The darker haired man pouted slightly on the last part and Kame smiled.

“I’ll only dance with you…are you sure we won’t be recognized?” he asked quietly. Jin nodded confidently.

They didn’t say anything else as their food was brought to them and they tucked in, hungry from all the running during filming. Kame almost gasped when he found out how right Jin had been about the place. The food was absolutely delicious. The ham was full of flavour and the cheese was slightly melted, giving it a soft and chewy texture.

Needless to say, the food was consumed very quickly. Kame glanced at his watch and saw that they needed to go so they would be back at the set on time. They stood up, thanked the waitress who smiled nervously and left the café.

The young woman’s expression darkened slightly as they left but neither had the time or attention to notice…

…

The newspaper hit the table with a soft thud. The room was silent. KAT-TUN, NEWS and members of Kanjani8 were all in the room and were now glancing nervously at the newspaper.

On the right side of the front page was a picture of Kazuya being dragged by the arm by a grinning Jin.

It was the kind of image the papers were not supposed to have…

“How did that happen?” Ueda asked quietly. Kazuya opened his mouth to speak but Jin cut him off.

“Tat-chan, it was my fault…gomen…” Jin bowed his head deeply with genuine guilt. Kazuya watched him silently. Jin sat up again and smiled nervously.

“I guess I was just too excited about hanging out with Kazu-chan…” he explained sheepishly. Jin looked at Yamapi for reassurance but was concerned when his best friend wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“…baka…” both Ryo and Kazuya muttered. Jin looked at them. Kazuya looked nervous and Ryo’s expression was dark and full of regret. Jin felt like he had just shot someone and was facing his trial.

“Maybe it’ll be okay? Its only one picture after all…” Tegoshi suggested innocently. Junno was quick to agree.

“Yeah, surely there won’t be any problem over just one photo-”

“Johnny doesn’t need an excuse,” Subaru cut in sharply and the rest of Kanjani8 agreed.

“He’s like a dictator; if he sees even the slightest hint of anything…he won’t accept any reason…” Shingo added, his voice almost as sharp.

After a few moments of silence Ryo got up and left the room.

“Ryo!” Jin called out to his other best friend but Ryo either didn’t hear or ignored him.

Yamapi watched him leave with a sad look and eventually followed, still not meeting Jin’s gaze.

The room was left in silence until Tegoshi spoke again, obviously confused.

“Why are Leader and Ryo-tan so upset? Why is this such a big deal?” he shared a look with Junno who obviously wanted the same questions answered. A few of them looked around the room. Kanjani8 refused to look at anyone; their faces were all dark and angry. This shocked the others deeply as they were not used to seeing their Kansai counterparts without grins and laughing.

The older members of NEWS seemed reluctant to say anything and most of KAT-TUN had no idea what was going on. After yet more silence Ueda stood up.

“I need to speak to Yamapi,” he muttered before leaving the room. The others watched him go with worry and confusion. The youngest of those left turned to the older members but no one spoke. No one dared…

…

Yamapi had tried to follow Ryo but his friend was inconsolable. He had walked out of the agency and Yamapi knew where he was going.

“Yamapi!” he heard Ueda call out to him and turned around. The leader of KAT-TUN jogged towards him and stopped a few feet away.

“You know what Johnny is making me do don’t you?” he asked breathlessly and Yamapi nodded solemnly, “…what do I do? I can’t bring myself to keep them apart…”

“Don’t break them up…” Yamapi said softly. Ueda looked at him with confusion.

“But, do you know what Johnny will do?”

“Of course I know!” Yamapi snapped a little louder than he had intended. Ueda stood back slightly, stunned at the usually happy Yamapi’s angry reaction.

“…of course I know……what do you think happened to Four Tops?” Yamapi explained sadly and suddenly everything made sense to Ueda.

“You and Toma? ……” he asked in barely a whisper.

“We did break up eventually…but it was too late, the group was forced to disband…” Yamapi told him, his face full of regret, “……both NEWS and Kanjani8 have suffered as well…”

“You mean…Uchi?”

“Kusano was suspended for underage drinking…but for Uchi that was just a cover-up…” the younger man explained, “Johnny found out about his relationship with Ryo and when the pair refused to break up Johnny made up the story about the drinking so that he could suspend Uchi from NEWS and Kanjani8…that’s why the others are so angry, especially Kanjani8…they were nearly disbanded when they protested but Uchi agreed with Johnny to stay away and not see them so that they could stay together…”

“And the same for NEWS?” Ueda asked and Yamapi nodded.

“Kusano’s drinking was a result of Uchi’s suspension…he and Ryo took it particularly hard…”

“Where is Ryo now?”

“He’s gone to the café he and Uchi used to go to together, it’s the closest he can get to him because of the agreement…they haven’t seen each other in months…” Yamapi slumped against the wall, pain evident in his eyes.

Ueda felt himself slowly slide to the floor and his head fell into his hands.

“…what do I do? I can’t bring myself to break them up…but if I don’t…he’ll take Kazuya away…he might even break up KAT-TUN…” Ueda sighed with frustration, desperate for a solution.

Neither of them had any words left to speak. The situation was too complicated for even the two leaders to have an answer…

…

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Chapter 4

2008-05-13T23:40:24Z

...

He stared at the bell on the wall, silently wishing for it to ring, even though he knew that if it did they’d have to send the call to another station.

Reio was bored. Months of paperwork had taken their toll. Neither he nor Souta had been able to finish their training and were therefore sent endless piles of paperwork to keep them busy.

The sound of someone clearing their throat was heard in what had formerly been a silent room. Reio turned around and saw a man who looked a few years older than him.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Akanishi Jin…” the man said. Reio stiffened at this second enquiry about his brother.

“Why are you looking for him?” he asked in a hostile tone. The man put his hands up as a gesture of harmless intention.

“My name is Yamashita Tomohisa, I’m a friend of Kamenashi Kazuya, I believe you’ve met him already?” Yamapi breathed a sigh of relief when Reio relaxed.

“I’m sorry…it’s just, I have to be careful who I talk to about Jin…” Reio replied and Yamapi nodded his understanding.

“I understand your brother is in trouble…and I have a way to help him…”

…

The gloomy flat was pretty much silent. An occasional deep breath was the only sound. A glimmer of light crept through the blinds in the bedroom and landed on a sleeping figure. When he turned his dark hair flopped over his face. He didn’t snore, he didn’t mumble, he was silent.

“Go away!” Jin groaned as the phone continued to ring. He hid his head under his pillow but it did little to mute the loud noise. After a few more seconds the ringing stopped and he almost had the chance to sigh…before it started ringing again.

“ALRIGHT!!!” he yelled and hauled himself out of bed. He reached the phone and pulled it to his ear.

“What?!” He moaned. The person on the other end let out an irritated moan.

“How long does it take you to answer the phone?!”

“Reio! What do you want?!”

“You need to come down to the station right now!” Reio snapped without anything in his tone that said he was going to accept arguments.

“Reio…I can’t…” Jin began with a heavy voice but Reio was having none of it.

“No excuses! There is someone here to see you, a friend of Kamenashi, you know…the guy who tried to defend you? Won’t you at least come to ask how he is?” It was obviously a rhetorical question because Reio hung up before Jin could answer.

After a minute of thought Jin pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt, slipped on some shoes and left his flat.

He tried to ignore the men outside, skulking in corners, watching him as he walked down the corridor. They knew he used to take drugs. They were common dealers. They sold cocaine so they could buy heroin and stole whenever they didn’t make enough profit. They had been keeping an eye on him since they found out. He was sure whether were reporting to his former dealers.

When he reached the stairs he moved down them as fast as he could, trying to ignore the smell of urine and vomit.

When he was finally greeted by fresh air he took a look around. There was no one following him this time. He pulled his collar closer to his face and made his way down the street further into town.

He was facing the other way so he didn’t notice the man with the phone…

…

The room was silent as Reio and Yamapi waited for the older Akanishi brother to arrive. Yamapi’s mind went back to the conversation he had shared with Reio…

“He won’t accept it, he’s too stubborn,” Reio told him plainly. Yamapi scoffed.

“If he doesn’t then I’m gonna have to start calling him Bakanishi, how else is he going to pay them back? At least this way he won’t get beaten into making repayments…” Yamapi argued. Reio watched him with a partly amused expression.

“He’s gonna have to take this…” Yamapi continued, “…cause I’m not leaving till he does.”

“Kamenashi-san…why does he care so much?” Reio asked quietly.

“Because that’s the kind of guy Kame is…he cares…” Yamapi answered, “He’s the best friend Ryo and I could ask for……” Reio nodded as if he understood and smiled at the older man.

“I hope he can be Jin’s friend too…”

Footsteps coming towards them woke them both up and they turned to see Akanishi Jin walking into the room.

“…you?” he exclaimed as soon as he saw Yamapi.

“Yamashita…and I’m here to give you this…” Yamapi took an envelope from inside his jacket and handed it to Jin.

Jin took the envelope, glanced inside and immediately dropped it on the table next to him.

“I don’t want Kamenashi’s charity,” he said coldly. Yamapi rolled his eyes and sighed with irritation.

“Baka…” he muttered before continuing, “One, it’s not from Kame it’s from me and two, it’s not charity it’s a loan which I expect to be repaid in full…” he explained. Jin stared at him blankly for a few moments, taking in what he had just said.

“Why would you lend me money?” he asked Yamapi quietly. Yamapi hesitated slightly before answering.

“I have my reasons…” he muttered, “I’m not setting a deadline for the repayment and I don’t charge interest……there is only one condition…start working again…here…go back to being the fire-fighter that you were before…” the last condition was said as Yamapi was walking out. He offered Reio a small salute as a goodbye and walked out of the station, leaving both Akanishi brothers staring at his back…

…

His left foot still felt a little numb as he walked down the street but he much preferred walking on his own than walking with crutches.

Kazuya stopped in front of a familiar building and paused to gather his thoughts before he went inside.

He had never intended to come here again…but it had been three weeks since Jin had last been at the bar…Kazuya had always guessed that he was working to pay off his debt to Yamapi and didn’t have the time or money to come to the bar…

But after three weeks and not a sign of him Kazuya’s curiosity got the better of him…

…and led him here.

“Kamenashi-san?” Kazuya hadn’t realised he had walked into the station until he heard Souta’s voice. He turned and saw the younger man staring at him curiously.

“Is Akanishi-san here?” Kazuya asked while looking around in disbelief.

The place was…tidy…the clothes that had been strewn everywhere were gone, the plates had been cleaned and the papers, while still on the floor, were stacked into tidy piles.

“Reio is coming; he just has to put some more papers away…”

“No...I meant Akanishi Jin…” Souta looked at him curiously. Kazuya began to doubt whether Jin had actually been here at all.

“He has,” Reio spoke out through a door, as if reading the older man’s thoughts, “He’s the one who tidied the place…but that was over two weeks ago now, we haven’t seen him since…” he finished as he walked into the room.

“He hasn’t been working?” Kazuya asked.

“No…and he doesn’t seem to be planning to either…” Reio answered. Souta remained silent, a sad look worn on his face.

“Do you have his address?” Kazuya asked. Reio nodded and went to fetch a pen and paper…

…

He tried to ignore the knocking on the door. He really tried.

Jin didn’t know what he needed to do to get the message across. He didn’t want people to call him, he didn’t want people to talk to him and he certainly didn’t want people coming to his flat.

“Go away…” he mumbled, knowing the person behind the door couldn’t hear him.

“Akanishi-san?” Jin’s eyes shot open when he heard Kamenashi’s voice. For the first time a part of him wanted to open the door…but he ignored that feeling and tried to go back to sleep. Kazuya kept calling out to him and Jin kept ignoring him…

“…Jin?” The older Akanishi didn’t know what it was…but when he heard Kazuya call out his name like that…something changed.

He got up out of bed and walked to the front door, subconsciously tidying his hair as he went.

When he opened the door he found a very relieved looking Kazuya waiting outside.

“May I come in?” the younger man asked quietly. If it was anyone else, Jin would have answered that it was nearly midnight…but for some reason, at that moment, that little fact didn’t seem important.

Jin silently walked back into the flat, leaving the door open behind him and Kazuya slowly followed, closing the door behind him. Jin sat down on the sofa and looked at Kazuya, signalling for the younger man to explain himself.

“I came to see how you were…”

“Why do you care?” Jin asked him.

“…because I do…” Kazuya answered with a childlike stubbornness. Jin almost smiled at the other man’s expression…until Kazuya asked his next question.

“Why aren’t you back working at the station?” he asked. Jin’s face immediately darkened, much like Reio’s had that same day.

Jin turned away from Kazuya but he could just heard the muttered words, “…I can’t go back there…” There was tone in his voice that told Kazuya there was more to this than Jin would say himself.

“Tell me…” he said gently as he crouched in front of Jin, “You’ll feel better if you do, trust me.”

Jin looked into his eyes and found himself wanting to confess everything, wanting to trust him…

“…I…I couldn’t save them…” he said numbly.

“Your team?” Jin was surprised that Kazuya knew but he nodded.

“An old lady…she told me that the roof was unstable…but…they were just kids……three kids…who were probably so scared……I…I just……didn’t think to say anything……it left my mind…” his voice shook as he spoke and Kazuya guessed he had never spoken about this to anyone before, “……I could have warned them…they died because I stayed silent……”

“You knew them really well, right?” Kazuya suddenly asked and Jin nodded, “If you had told them…would they have left the kids in there? Would they have stayed outside while those kids died?”

“That’s not the point…” Jin muttered.

“Yes it is!” Kazuya cried, “Their deaths weren’t your fault, Jin…I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to blame yourself-”

“I didn’t get to say goodbye!” Jin yelled, “……they were gone……before I could say goodbye…” It was easy to hear that there was a sob waiting to escape.

Kazuya didn’t realise what he was doing until he found himself with his arms around Jin. The older boy was stiff at first…but he slowly relaxed into the embrace…

Kazuya almost sighed with relief. He was finally getting through to the other boy…

They stayed like that, both of them sat on the sofa, Jin leaning into Kazuya and Kazuya holding him close as tears ran down both of their cheeks.

And for the first time in what seemed like so long…Jin knew that someone was there…someone was listening…

…someone cared…

…

“Well done…” The old man smirked when he saw the photographs. The young photographer shifted nervously, his fingers fidgeting with the zipper of his coat. His eyes were wide and there were beads of cold sweat running down his face.

The old man sighed with irritation and reached into the draw of his desk. He tossed onto the desk a small clear bag containing a small amount of white powder. The photographer snatched it as if it were food for a starving man.

“More where that came from if you keep this up,” the old man told him. The photographer nodded and scurried out of the room, clutching the small bag to his chest like a lifeline.

The old man clicked his fingers and one of his men approached him. Once he had written a note, the old man put it and the photo into an envelope, sealed it and handed it to the thug.

“You know the address,” he smirked. The muscled man nodded and headed out, leaving the old man alone, deep in thought…

…

He wasn’t sure how it had happened…but…if he was honest…he wasn’t complaining.

They were both lying on the sofa, Kazuya had his arms around Jin’s waist and the older man was holding Kazuya close. Jin wasn’t sure if that was how they had been when they fell asleep but they certainly ended up like that.

Normally Jin would have been uncomfortable but there was something about Kazuya that made him want to protect the younger man. So far it had been Kazuya protecting him, trying to get through to him, fighting for him…and yet…Jin just couldn’t shake this feeling…

He suddenly heard a metal clang and realised something had come through the letter box. He carefully untangled himself from Kazuya and gently laid the man back down, a tiny hint of a smile on his face.

He quietly walked to the front door and picked up the brown envelope from the floor. He opened it and almost didn’t catch the photo that fell out.

His eyes widened when he saw what it was – a picture taken through his living room window. He turned around and cursed in his mind when he saw he’d forgotten to draw the curtains. He looked back at the photo, which showed the two of them lying asleep together, and noted the circle drawn around Kazuya’s face in red marker pen.

Frowning, he looked back inside the envelope and took out the note.

Once a customer…always a customer…and if you don’t cooperate, he’ll suffer the consequences.

Looking forward to hearing from you

- Tatsuo Yuu

The note was crushed inside his fist, fury building inside him. He would have punched something, probably the wall, if he hadn’t heard Kazuya cry out.

He turned around instantly and frowned when he saw Kazuya’s eyes were still closed. The younger man let out a moan and shifted, his face showing clear distress. Jin was immediately by Kazuya’s side, gently shaking his shoulders.

“…fire…fire!” The younger man cried, his eyes still tight shut. Jin frowned again.

Fire?

He knew there was a connection between that and Kazuya but he couldn’t quite understand…

“…Kazu?”

When the name escaped his lips realisation hit him like a brick. Jin looked down in shock at the younger man and saw the features that he had not seen for so long...

Kazu…Kazuya…he seemed so familiar now…

“…fire!” he cried again. Jin’s eyes widened when he realised the younger man must be having a nightmare about that time, all those years ago…

“Kame? …Kame! It’s okay…there’s no fire…Kame! Wake up!” He shook Kazuya’s shoulder a little more firmly and he eventually came around.

“…Jin?” he looked up at the older man with such a vulnerable expression, “…fire…the fire…but……where?” Jin patted him on the back.

“It was just a nightmare,” in those few seconds he decided to be oblivious even though he was sure Kazuya remembered, “…do you have a fear of fire or something?” He pretended not to notice the disappointed expression that Kazuya tried to hide.

“Sort of…” he mumbled. Jin didn’t pursue the topic further. He went into the kitchen, poured out a glass of water and came back. Kazuya accepted the glass with a short ‘thank you’ and gulped it down.

Unfortunately, looking up caused him to notice the clock on the wall. He almost choked on the water he was drinking.

“Eh?!!! I’ve been here all night?!” he exclaimed, “I have clients to see today!” He put down the glass and straightened out his shirt. He faltered when he saw Jin watching him.

There was something in the older man’s eyes……worry?

“What’s wrong?” Kazuya asked and Jin stepped forward.

“I’ll walk you back to your apartment,” he said simply. He walked past Kazuya and out of the front door, leaving it open for Kazuya to follow him.

Kazuya followed him with a curious look, wanting to say something…but eventually deciding against it…

…

Despite his busy schedule Kazuya felt that they had arrived at the apartment building too soon. They had barely said anything too each other but Jin had walked close to Kazuya and the younger found his presence quite comforting…

“We’re here,” he said glumly. Jin almost smirked at the other’s tone. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned around.

“Well…I guess I’ll probably see you around…” he said quietly and began to walk away until he felt Kazuya gently grab his arm.

“Wait……” Kazuya said quietly, “…last night…I…if I made you feel uncomfortable…I didn’t mean to-”

He was cut off by the gentle pressing of Jin’s lips onto his. Without telling them to he felt his eyelids close and, slowly but surely, returned the kiss. He felt Jin slowly slide an arm around his waist and his own arms hook themselves around the back of Jin’s neck.

The older man pulled him close and Kazuya nearly melted into the embrace…until he heard an irritated cough behind them.

The pair pulled apart and Kazuya looked around to see an irritated Ryo and a very amused Uchi.

“I…err…we were…errm…just…”

“Making out in broad daylight?” Ryo interrupted his friend who had turned crimson with embarrassment. Jin looked at the shorter man closely and was almost certain he could see the hint of a smirk hidden on his face.

“Aaahh…that’s so cute…” Uchi sighed with a smile. Kazuya blushed even more.

“Well, I…errm…have to go now,” Jin muttered. Kazuya managed to look at him and the pair exchanged a glance that didn’t need words. The remaining three watched as Jin walked away from the building.

When he was far enough away from them he let his calm expression crumble into that of fear…

Tatsuo was watching him…and if he didn’t do something…he was going to get Kazu too…

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Chapter 3

2008-04-29T22:53:57Z

[Contest Entry]
Title: Smokey Paths - Chapter 3
Author: brezo1816
Rating: T / PG13 / something like that...
Genre: AU, Drama/Romance
Pairing: Akame, some RyoUchi
Summary: Five-year-old Kamenashi Kazuya was caught in a house fire when he was alone at home. Six-year-old Akanishi Jin managed to climb through a window and get the younger boy to safety...
Seventeen years later the pair meet again...but this time it might be Jin that needs saving...

a/n - because I love them, there is a little more RyoUchi in this chapter.

He could still taste the blood in his mouth as his eyes slowly opened. He had never liked the bitter taste but over the last few months he had been forced to get used to it.

Images of the night before flashed through his mind.

Those men walking in…several of them were attacking him…and then…someone intervened…someone fought for him……someone…cared about him?

Jin tried to pull himself up but his waist almost screamed in protest. When he looked around he saw that he was in his flat, more specifically he was on his sofa.

His mind raced through what he could remember…and that guy continually came up. The guy in the bar, the guy who tried to talk to him…the guy who tried to help him…

Jin looked around and his eyes rested on the table. He slowly pulled himself up and walked over to a note that had been left there.

You should go and see your brother, he’s worried about you – Kamenashi

Jin thought about the man and suddenly wondered...

Where was he? Did he get hurt?

After rubbing his eyes slightly he looked at the clock on the wall. It was the early evening.

Jin didn’t want the guilt of someone else getting hurt for him on his conscience so he painfully pulled on a jacket and grabbed his keys. Hopefully, if he hadn’t been hurt, Kamenashi would be in the usual place…

…

Jin guessed that his injuries were the reason that the doors seemed so heavy. Getting into the bar had never been this difficult before.

Once he was inside his eyes immediately went to the table in the corner. His pulse quickened slightly when he saw that only two men were. Kamenashi was no where to be seen. One of the men looked very agitated but Jin knew he had to talk to them.

When he approached them, one of them looked very surprised to see him standing, which he supposed was understandable.

“Excuse me…” The other man turned to face him so now he had to address both of them.

“Errm…where’s Kamenashi?” he asked quietly, he was nervous around them but he wasn’t completely confident either.

“How do you know Kame?” Yamapi immediately looked cautious and was obviously staring at Jin’s bruises.

“I don’t,” Jin answered simply. Ryo stood up to face him.

“We haven’t heard from Kame since we left the bar yesterday, do you know why he isn’t answering his phone?” His tone was very hostile and Jin instinctively took a step back. Not seeing any sense in lying, Jin began to explain.

“There was…a fight…last night, after you guys left-”

“WHAT?! Kame was in a fight?!” Ryo immediately looked furious with Jin. Yamapi put what he hoped was a calming hand on his friend’s shoulder. Ryo’s expression softened but only slightly. Yamapi then turned to Jin.

“Did Kame get hurt?” he asked. Jin nodded numbly and Ryo’s expression hardened again.

“Where is he now?” Yamapi continued.

“I don’t know…I…passed out, I think he took me to my house because he left a note on the table…” Jin explained. Ryo frowned with slight confusion.

“How did Kame get into your house?” he asked and Jin shrugged. Yamapi took his hand off Ryo’s shoulder and the pair exchanged a look.

“We’re going to see if he is at his apartment,” said Yamapi as the pair got up and began to walk away. As they were walking away Ryo turned around and looked at Jin with a dark glare.

“Kame has never been in a fight before…until he met you…stay away from him…” Ryo’s look held nothing but hatred towards him but when Jin looked at Yamapi the slightly taller man offered him a slightly sympathetic look.

Jin watched as the two walked out…almost wishing he could go with them…almost wishing he could make sure Kamenashi was okay…

…

He let out a long groan. His ears were ringing loud enough as it is without Ryo pounding on his front door.

“Alright, I’m coming!” Kazuya half yelled as he slowly limped towards the door, his leg still bruised and swollen from the night before.

He reached the door, unlocked it and didn’t even need to turn the handle before Ryo barged through the door and a rather amused looking Yamapi followed.

“What happened?!” Ryo immediately asked, “He said you had been in a fight…” Kazuya frowned.

“Who?”

“That guy, the one who’s always slouched over the bar-”

“He was at the bar?!” Kazuya cried, “Why wasn’t he resting?!” Yamapi watched his friend curiously while Ryo frowned again.

“Why do you care?” he asked. Kazuya’s mouth immediately snapped shut. Yamapi went into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a small blue back. He knelt down next to Kazuya and placed it on the younger man’s knee.

Kazuya hissed in pain when he felt the ice on his knee but eventually the pain softened and he looked at his friend.

“I saw you limping back into the room,” Yamapi explained with a smirk, “you can’t hide everything…”

The three of them sat in silence for a while. Yamapi continued to fuss over Kazuya’s wounds, the youngest was day dreaming again and Ryo took the opportunity to take some deep breaths and text Uchi. Yamapi groaned.

“You’re texting him again?” he moaned, “You-are-obsessed…” Ryo scowled.

“No I’m just texting him to say I can’t go over to his place tonight,” he was obviously trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. Kazuya immediately sat up.

“You had plans tonight?” he asked.

“Its fine Kame, I can cancel-”

“No!” Kazuya cried, surprising both Yamapi and Ryo by his volume which made him blush slightly.

“Sorry…but…you really like him don’t you?” he asked and eventually Ryo nodded, “So if you made plans with him then you should go…Pi will be here with me, I’ll be fine…I don’t want you to cancel your evening with him…”

“But Kame-”

“Nishikido Ryo!” Kazuya snapped with a small smile, “Don’t make me pay Yamapi to throw you out of this apartment!”

“Forget payment, I’ll do it for free…” Yamapi smirked and Ryo scowled at him. Eventually the shortest of the three turned back to Kazuya and offered him a small smile.

“Thanks Kame.” Kazuya nodded and then gestured for him to get going and not be late.

After Ryo had left Yamapi turned back to Kazuya.

“He would have fussed over you all night, ya know?” he said quietly, “You could have let him reschedule his date…” Kazuya smiled and shook his head.

“Pi, you can tell how much Ryo likes this guy just as easily as I can, I want him to go for it, this could be something really special for him.” Yamapi smiled at his friend’s kindness and brought up another topic of interest.

“So…who is this guy?” he asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. Kazuya pretended to not understand.

“What guy?”

“The guy who is usually hunched over the bar and seemed very curious as to where you were tonight?”

“He shouldn’t have been walking about…” Kazuya muttered but Yamapi heard him.

“So you do know who this guy is…” he exclaimed. Kazuya shook his head.

“Not exactly…but I’d like to……he…he seems so...lonely…” Kazuya’s voice dropped to nearly a whisper, his eyes focused on nothing in particular, “he doesn’t seem to have any emotions…when they were beating him up, his eyes were empty…he didn’t even try to fight back…”

“So you decided to step in? Against seven muscled thugs? You could have been really badly hurt Kame…” Yamapi didn’t mean to moan at Kazuya and his friend knew that. He just stared ahead, wondering where Akanishi was…were his injuries any better? Was he hurt worse than Kazuya?

“…I had to…I couldn’t let him get hurt like that…”

“…why do you care so much?” Yamapi asked quietly. He watched as Kazuya hesitated a moment before answering…

“He saved my life once…a long time ago……it was that house fire, you remember how I said another kid climbed in through a window and rescued me? …it was him…” Yamapi’s eyes widened in surprise at the revelation.

“Are you sure? How do you know it was him?”

“I immediately recognized the name so that made me curious…then I saw his eyes…the same eyes as the pair I see in my nightmares…I know its him, Pi…” When he looked at his friend’s expression Yamapi didn’t doubt him anymore…instead he pulled out his mobile phone and began to search through his contact list.

“What are you doing?” Kazuya asked sleepily, exhaustion beginning to get the better of him. Yamapi looked at him with a serious expression.

“You said those guys were drug dealers right?” he asked and Kazuya nodded, “How much money does he owe them?”

“I don’t know but Reio said its more than he has, apparently they are adding interest everyday…and every night they see him the beatings get worse and worse…” Kazuya added the last part with a shudder.

“Bastards…” Yamapi muttered under his breath before bringing the phone to his ear.

“Tat-Chan? It’s Pi, I didn’t wake you did I? …good, I need your help with something…”

…

He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been avoiding the place. The mess, the clothes, the papers on the floor, the dishes…it should have been his responsibility…but he had ran away…ran away from his duties…ran away from the juniors he was supposed to look after…ran away from the guilt…

“Jin?” When he heard Reio’s voice Jin almost smirked. He knew that Reio was years past the phase of calling him ‘Big Brother’ …

“What are you doing here?” Reio asked. Jin turned around to face him.

“Why did you tell him?” Reio didn’t need to ask who his brother was referring to.

“He wanted to hel-”

“It wasn’t your business to tell, Reio!” The older brother snapped but Reio wasn’t fazed, “You knew I didn’t want anyone to know!”

“Why?! Why are you so against letting people help you? Letting people care about you? I’m your own brother and you won’t even let me help you!” The years of frustration were evident in Reio’s voice. Jin’s shoulders seemed to slump in exhaustion.

“Because they get hurt…” he answered quietly. He turned around and walked out of the station.

“…Jin!” Reio called after him but in the end could only watch him leave…

…

Pulling his jacket collar up around his jaw did little to keep away the late evening wind. He shivered slightly underneath the thin material that wasn’t at all suited to walking to a corner shop ten minutes before closing time.

Kazuya groaned. Fifteen minutes after Yamapi had left he had discovered, unsurprisingly, that his fridge was half empty. The corner shop was only a three minute walk from his house so he would be able to buy the essentials and do some proper grocery shopping in the morning.

He crossed the road and headed down a small alleyway that served as a short cut from his house to the little shop.

A shoe scuffing against the ground stopped him in his tracks. When he looked behind him he saw one of the muscled men he had met in the bar. The man cracked his knuckles and Kazuya had to stop himself from smirking at the cartoon thug stereotype stood before him.

“Apparently you think you have the right to interfere with my business…” a familiar voice spoke coldly behind him. He turned back around and saw the older man he had seen in the bar threatening Akanishi. He stared a Kazuya with a cold and hateful glare.

“Akanishi owes me money…when I’m finished with you in the next few minutes…you can go and tell him that…” He clicked his fingers and five other heavies appeared next to him. They slowly began to approach him. They were all at least a foot taller than Kazuya and had more muscles than he could ever imagine having. When facing them in the bar he’d had an unknown feeling of courage and resolve.

Right now the only feeling that filled him was fear…

The small amount of light from a streetlamp behind him caught the surface of something. Kazuya took a small step back when he saw the knife slowly coming towards him.

“Scared?” The old man smirked when he saw Kazuya’s expression, “…you should be.”

Kazuya managed to block the first kick aimed at his stomach and also dodged the punch aimed at his face but when they started raining down on him from six opponents he was lucky to dodge the occasional one or two.

Soon he was on the floor…blood in his mouth…his body slowly going numb…the knife had reached him eventually…he could feel his blood emptying from a small slash wound on his stomach…

He wanted to pass out…to be able to leave this feeling and let them do what they wanted without him having to feel the pain…but his stubborn instinct ruled over him. He was still wide awake, dodging and blocking as many blows as he could…

“Akanishi gets this too…but much, much worse…he really suffers…” the old man cackled a few feet in front of him as he watched Kazuya being beaten. A silent fury suddenly erupted inside the younger man. Still avoiding some of the blows, he managed to pull himself up onto his hands and knees. Spurred on by those words, he lifted himself slightly and put all the strength he had left into a single punch which caught one of the thugs off guard. A sickening crack followed and the man staggered back, blood running from his swollen, and now broken, nose.

“You little bastard!” Several of the other thugs snarled and began beating Kazuya even harder. He tried to block as many of them as possible but it was getting more and more difficult. His stubborn spirit still refused to let him collapse and he managed to get onto his knees.

Suddenly…the beatings stopped. Kazuya looked up and followed the men’s gazes. He sighed with relief when he saw Yamapi standing a few yards away, standing behind a slightly shorter and slimmer man that Kazuya didn’t recognize. Standing on Yamapi’s right was Ryo, looking furious with the men and only being held back by a hand on his shoulder. Kazuya didn’t immediately recognize the hand’s owner but when he saw the kind, although currently concerned, face that Ryo had described Kazuya knew it was Uchi Hiroki.

One of the men used Kazuya’s brief distraction and kicked him hard in the chest. Kazuya immediately felt one of his ribs break and fell on his side in pain. In front of him he saw Ryo moved forward, a look of hatred in his eyes. Uchi immediately wrapped his arms around the other’s waist, silently telling him not to move. Ryo obviously wanted to do something but instead he sighed and rested a hand on Uchi’s arm.

“Ueda Tatsuya…” the old man suddenly spoke up while looking at the man standing next to Yamapi, “…this does not concern you…”

“I’m afraid it does,” Tatsuya replied. The old man’s confidence visibly faltered.

“I will get that money from Akanishi,” he insisted. Tatsuya showed a hint of a smirk.

“Yes you will,” he replied and then nodded towards Kazuya, “But unless you want to be charged with grievous bodily in court, I suggest you move away from Kamenashi-san,” he added in a voice that commanded authority but also held an obvious tone of protectiveness for the younger man he had never met before.

For a minute it looked like the old man was going to argue but eventually he turned to his men, gave a quick nod and they all back away.

Seeing that the path was clear, Uchi let go of Ryo and then dashed forward. He took off his sweater, used one arm to hold Kazuya up and the other to keep the sweater pressed on his stomach wound. Yamapi joined them on Kazuya’s other side. He pressed a handkerchief against Kazuya’s split lip, ignoring his friend’s hisses of protest.

“I still want that money, tell Akanishi that,” the old man said to Tatsuya before he and his men left the alley. Tatsuya nodded to Ryo and the shorter man immediately dashed to Kazuya’s side.

“Kame…” he whispered, unsure of what words to use, “I’m sorry…it was my fault…we should have got here sooner…”

“What do you mean?” Kazuya asked, slightly confused. Yamapi cleared his throat and gestured to Tatsuya.

“Kame, this is Tat-chan, he’s the one I called earlier…” Yamapi explained, “He’s a prosecutor in court, I told him your description of the men and he knew who they were and kept an eye on them, when he saw them monitoring you he gave me a call…then…”

“Then they tried to call me so that I could be there in case those guys made a fight of it,” Ryo finished with a sigh, “But my phone was turned off when they tried to call, so they had to come and get me instead of getting me to meet them here…that’s why we were late…I’m sorry Kame…”

“It’s okay, Ryo,” Kazuya smiled at his friend and Uchi, who also looked quite guilty, “I’m just glad you guys were here, I thought I was finished…”

“We should get you to the hospital…” Yamapi suggested. Tatsuya looked initially reluctant.

“…okay but don’t give out too many details, I can’t guarantee those guys don’t have contacts inside the hospitals,” he told them. Uchi looked shocked.

“In the hospitals?!”

“When it comes to money over morals that makes peoples choices a little easier…”

…

He stared blankly at the floor, almost as if he was counting the tiles…

The people walked past him as if he didn’t exist, like he was attached to the furniture…

That is until someone stopped and the hot, awakening smell on coffee filled his nose…

He looked up and Uchi was standing in front of him, a cup of coffee in each hand, one of which he was holding out to Yamapi. He accepted it with a smile and Uchi sat down next to him.

“Ryo’s making sure Kame doesn’t need anything before he rests for a while,” Uchi explained just as Yamapi was about to ask. He smiled at the fact that this man had been in Ryo’s life for such a short time and yet was already a good and welcomed presence.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Uchi asked.

“For helping Kame, we all appreciate it,” Yamapi explained, giving Uchi a genuine smile. The other man smiled back.

“No problem.”

After a few moments he looked over Yamapi shoulders and smiled at the person approaching. Yamapi turned around and saw Ryo approaching them.

“Kame’s asking for you,” Ryo told him quietly, “Says he has a favour to ask or something…” Yamapi nodded and after giving a quick smile to Uchi and a pat on the back to Ryo he walked down the hallway.

Ryo sat next to Uchi and put his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. Uchi snuggled close to him.

“Are you okay?” Uchi asked him.

“I will be, as soon as this mess is sorted out…” Ryo answered. Uchi wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.

“It’ll be okay…” he said quietly. Ryo nodded and hoped that those words were true…

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Chapter 2

2008-04-22T22:28:30Z

[Contest Entry]
Title: Smokey Paths - Chapter 2
Author: brezo1816
Rating: T / PG13 / something like that...
Genre: AU, Drama/Romance
Pairing: Akame, some RyoUchi
Summary: Five-year-old Kamenashi Kazuya was caught in a house fire when he was alone at home. Six-year-old Akanishi Jin managed to climb through a window and get the younger boy to safety...
Seventeen years later the pair meet again...but this time it might be Jin that needs saving...

The camera was packed away. The light fittings had been taken down and the backdrops had been covered. Kamenashi was finished for the day - an hour early, just like he had planned.

But as he turned around he was greeted by the sight he had hoped he wouldn’t see: three men rushing towards him, briefcases and files in their hands.

Just my luck…

“Sorry about this short notice Kamenashi-san,” the three men, who represented one of Kazuya’s contracts, gasped as they approached him, obviously out of breath, “We need to speak with you about the shoot next week, our Director is very anxious that the details be arranged.”

At that moment in time, Kazuya didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. The first day in months that he had managed to finish with time to spare just had to be that one day one of his most important clients needed extra time from him.

Of course, Kazuya couldn’t refuse. He was trying to climb ladders in the photography business, not jump off them.

He glanced at the clock and sighed. He would never get to the bar before Ryo and Yamapi now. His chance to talk with that Akanishi guy was gone…

…

Yamapi grinned at his friend as he checked his watch for the third time in five minutes.

“Are we really that boring?” He asked with a smirk. Ryo smirked back.

“Of course…but that’s not the reason, I’m going out tonight.”

Yamapi’s eyebrows rose and Kazuya, who had been half falling asleep and half staring at the back of Akanishi, immediately turned to face his friend.

“So, one of those girls finally got you to go on a date with them, huh?” Yamapi asked with a smug expression. Kazuya felt his eyelids drooping shut again. Ryo smirked and shook his head.

“Who said it was a girl?” he answered just as smugly. Kazuya’s eyes snapped open. Even Yamapi looked surprised at that comment.

“I didn’t know you were gay…” Kazuya gasped, sounding both shocked and curious. Ryo smirked again.

“Neither did I,” he replied and Yamapi just rolled his eyes. Kazuya, however, was fascinated.

“So, who is this guy?”

“His name is Hiroki; he’s a new writer for the magazine.”

“And what’s he like?”

“Well, I don’t really know him yet but he seems fun, he’s sort of…bubbly…has a nice smile…and a caring face…”

“That’s not your type,” Kazuya commented with a curious frown. Ryo shrugged.

“No, I guess not…” He glanced at his watch again and grabbed his coat.

“Anyway, I’m meeting him in ten minutes so I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He smiled at them and began to walk away from their table.

“Hope it goes well!” Kazuya called to him. Ryo winked at him over his shoulder.

“If it does, you’ll be the first to hear about it,” he called back before walking out of the bar. Kazuya watched him go with a happy grin. He turned around and saw that Yamapi was grabbing his coat too.

“Eh? You’re leaving?” he exclaimed. Yamapi looked genuinely guilty.

“Sorry Kame-chan, I have a board meeting early tomorrow, I need to get some sleep.” Kazuya wanted to protest but he understood.

“Okay…” he mumbled. Yamapi watched him for a moment.

“Aren’t you going home too?” he asked. Kazuya took a brief and subtle glance at the bar. Akanishi was still there.

Maybe my luck hasn’t completely left me…

“No, I’ll go and talk to Kenta for a few minutes then I’ll go, see you tomorrow,” he replied with a small smile.

Satisfied that his friend wasn’t too disappointed, Yamapi put on his coat and walked out of the bar.

Kazuya was left sitting alone. His hands were shaking slightly with nerves. He had been planning to speak to Akanishi and yet now he was nervous. The man gave Kazuya a familiar feeling but also made him feel nervous in a way he had never felt before.

He finally stood up and walked towards the bar. He stopped a few feet across from Akanishi. Kazuya wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what so he just said the first thing that came to his head:

“Is there a dog at your station?”

BAKA! What kind of a question was that?!

Akanishi slowly turned to him and Kazuya instantly recognized his face.

It can’t be…

He stared at the face in front of him…a face he hadn’t seen for nearly sixteen years but was so clear in his memory……and a face that was watching him with a hint of confusion but mainly irritation.

Kazuya blushed.

“Ah…sorry, it’s just…Kenta told me you are a fire-fighter…Akanishi-san…and I…well…I was…err…curious…because I…well…I like dogs…and some fire stations…I heard they…sometimes had dogs…maybe…that is…I’m…not sure…so I…err……” He kept on mumbling and saw Akanishi smirk before facing forward again.

“Yes, some fire stations have dogs…but ours doesn’t.” The smirk left his face and he returned to his hunched position. Kazuya tried to continue.

“Err, we? How many people work at your fire station?” As soon as Kazuya answered that question Akanishi’s face darkened.

He downed the rest of his beer with surprising speed, got up and left the bar without a word to Kazuya, who watched him go with distress.

Did I say something wrong?

Kazuya turned back to Akanishi’s empty glass. He was suddenly and surprisingly filled with regret and worry.

Kenta walked over and picked up the glass, looking at it curiously.

“You know, I think that’s the earliest he’s ever left, usually he’s here for another hour and a half at least, did something happen?” he asked Kazuya.

Kazuya didn’t answer, he just stared at the spot where Akanishi had been…wondering how the man had become the depressed and gloomy soul he was now…

…

The street was quiet outside when he finally reached the building. Kazuya walked inside through an unlocked door and looked around in shock.

Clothes were strewn everywhere, papers covered the floor and dirty dishes were piled up high.

This…this…was supposed to be the fire station where Akanishi was based…

The place was a mess.

Seeing no one around, Kazuya walked further into the main area. He traced his fingers over the dusty tables and overturned chairs. Someone behind him cleared their throat and he immediately turned around.

Standing in front of him was a young man, probably a few years younger than Kazuya.

“Can I help you?” he asked timidly.

“Ah, yes…I’m looking for…Akanishi Jin?”

The young man muttered something and left the room. Kazuya was a little surprised by his sudden exit and decided to look around the room a little more.

A cardboard box caught his attention, not because of what was in it but what was under it.

Slightly sticking out from underneath the box was a dusty looking photo. Kazuya pulled it out and held it in his hands. After he wiped off the dust he saw it was a picture of a group of four fire fighters, three standing shoulder to shoulder behind a slightly shorter man. Looking closely at the photo, Kazuya immediately recognized the shorter man as Akanishi. He was sure he’d seen the other three before as well.

Footsteps behind him made Kazuya turn around.

The young man had returned and had also brought another man who looked of similar age. Kazuya looked at the new face and suddenly glanced back at the photo. When his eyes returned to the man he knew he was right.

“I am Akanishi Reio, what are you doing here and what do you want with my brother?”

…

“Eh?! But you had dinner with him last night!” Yamapi exclaimed when Ryo gave his reason why he would not be going with them the next night.

“And lunch…and breakfast…” Kazuya pointed out innocently, only half paying attention, “you must be really keen on him, huh?” Ryo blushed slightly and Yamapi pouted.

“’Keen’ doesn’t cut it…I can’t believe you’re ditching us for the fourth time this week!”

“Stop whining…you have Kame!” Ryo moaned after checking his watch again.

“You should bring him here instead of ditching us!”

“No way! You’d tease him all the time!”

“As if I would! You’ve known him barely a week and you’re protective of him already!”

“I am not!”

“You are such a smitten kitten!”

While Yamapi continued to tease Ryo, Kazuya glanced over his shoulder. Akanishi was hunched over the bar as usual but Kazuya noticed his hand was clutching his side. Kazuya turned around slightly and looked closely at the other man’s face. He was sure he could make out the deep purple of a bruise just above his right eye.

“…I’m right aren’t I Kame? …Kame? …Kaaame-chan?” Yamapi called in a tuneful vice. Kazuya finally snapped out of his daze. He turned back to his friends who were looking at him suspiciously.

“…eh?”

“Are you okay?” Yamapi asked him gently. Kazuya quickly nodded.

“Yeah I’m fine…just a little tired…”

“You haven’t been having those nightmares again have you?” Ryo asked him with genuine concern. Kazuya shook his head and smiled at his friend’s care.

“So…tell us more about Uchi-kun,” Kazuya suggested. Both Ryo and Yamapi were aware he’d purposely changed the subject but thought it would be best to leave it at that.

Ryo, of course, was only too happy to talk about the guy he had become very fond of over the last few days…

“You should bring him next time,” Kame suggested innocently. Yamapi smirked in triumph but it didn’t last as Ryo, much to Yamapi’s irritation, actually considered Kame’s suggestion seriously.

The pair began to bicker again which gave Kazuya the opportunity to think about his early conversation with Reio…

“…what do you want with my brother?” There was a hostile but also fearful tone in Reio’s voice. Kazuya approached him, still holding the photo.

“He goes to the same bar as me,” he answered quickly, “who are these people?” he asked as he pointed to the people standing with Akanishi in the photo.

The young man with Reio immediately looked saddened.

“They are the previous crew of this station…they were killed nearly six months ago when a building they were in collapsed…they had been trying to rescue three kids when it came down…” It was obvious that Reio was trying to hide any emotion as he explained but the hint of regret was there.

“Akanishi-san was the youngest member of that crew…he was outside the building when it collapsed…” the other young man said.

Without him realising it, the photo slowly slipped from Kazuya’s fingers and landed face down on the floor.

“I’m sorry…” he said barely above a whisper. Reio’s face visibly softened.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice holding only a fraction of the hostility it held before. Kazuya wasn’t sure how to answer…

“Kamenashi,” said quietly.

“And how do you know my brother?” Reio asked.

“I don’t,” Kazuya answered honestly, earning a curious look from both younger men.

“You’d probably be best to stay away from him…” Reio told him slowly. Kazuya frowned slightly.

“Why would you say that?”

“It doesn’t matter…” Reio answered, he began to walk away, urging the other to come with him. But the other man, who seemed younger than him, hesitated…

“Kamenashi-san…” he began. Reio glared at him.

“Souta…c’mon…” Reio began to walk away again but the other man, now identified as Souta, turned back to Kazuya.

“Kamenashi-san…Akanishi-san has been on leave since the incident, he has been spending his time in bars and he has been seen with some dangerous people…”

“Souta! …” Reio turned back to Kazuya. He looked deep into the older man’s eyes, looking for some kind of reaction. All he saw was genuine care and concern.

“…they’re drug dealers…Jin took drugs a while back…I don’t know if he’s clean now but either way he hasn’t been working and didn’t have enough money to pay them…” he said in a defeated voice, “he needs help, Kamenashi-san, I have to work to keep this station open while we train to replace the old crew…I don’t know what to do about Jin, he’s older so he won’t listen to me…”

Kazuya was surprised that Reio was able to tell all of this to him, a complete stranger…

“Kamenashi-san,” Souta looked at him, “What exactly do you want with Akanishi-san?”

Kazuya thought for a moment before answering.

“I want to rescue him…”

Reio had, unsurprisingly, greeted that statement with scepticism but had nodded anyway. Souta had been very willing to help where he could.

Kazuya didn’t have any clue what he was going to do though…saying he was going to rescue a man was one thing, putting actions behind his words was a completely different matter…

“…he’s overreacting, right Kame? …Kame!” Ryo yell snapped Kazuya out of his thoughts. He turned to his friend who was looking rather irritated.

“No offence…but talking to right now…its like talking to a brick wall…” Ryo sighed, “I’d probably get more response from the floor.”

“He’s probably tired of listening to you drone on about lover boy…” Yamapi smirked and Ryo groaned.

“Shut…up!” he growled in response. Yamapi smirked again and grabbed his coat.

“Well, I’m not hanging here till they finally lock the doors, let’s go.” Ryo looked around and grabbed his coat too. When he followed his friend’s gaze Kazuya noticed that, apart from Akanishi, they were the only customers left in the bar. He grabbed his coat and stood up.

“I’m just going to use the bathroom, go ahead without me,” he told Ryo.

“We can wait if you want?”

“No its okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He watched Yamapi and Ryo go before heading to the bathroom.

Just as he was walking back through the corridor to the main bar he heard a crash.

Hiding slightly behind the doorframe, he peered into the main bar area and felt his pulse quicken.

A tall and muscled man had grabbed Kenta by the collar…but that wasn’t what worried him.

Six other men had surrounded Akanishi and were occasionally punching or kicking him. Akanishi wasn’t even attempting to defend himself.

“…whether you’re clean or not doesn’t matter to me…I want my money…” Kazuya heard a cold voice snarl. He managed to identify the speaker as a slightly shorter and older looking man standing in front of the other six.

Kazuya flinched as the older man slapped Akanishi straight across the face.

“I’m bored of this,” the man signalled to his thugs, “same again but a little heavier, maybe this time he’ll get the idea…” Kazuya watched him leave the bar and managed to catch Kenta’s eye. The barman nodded towards the top corner of the room. When Kazuya managed to glimpse at the spot he saw that the security camera had been smashed.

Cries of pain filled the room as the men began to beat Akanishi quickly and brutally.

Unable to stand anymore, Kazuya came out from his hiding place.

“Stop it!” he yelled.

He ran towards one of the men before he could turn around and kicked him hard in the back. Akanishi had enough sense left in him to duck and the man smacked his head on the brick wall. Using the element of surprise for as long as he could, Kazuya punched another in the side of the head, exposing his weak spot and knocking him unconscious.

The remaining four weren’t as easy. One of them grabbed Akanishi from behind, twisting his arms almost to breaking point and another caught Kazuya by the throat and proceeded to choke him. At this angle, Kazuya could see Akanishi and when their eyes met they came to an instant understanding.

After a silent count of three, Kazuya thrust his knee upwards and Akanishi flicked his foot up behind him. Both men collapsed to the ground, watery-eyed and holding their crotches.

Before Akanishi could focus, a swift punch to the side of the face knocked him to the floor. Kazuya turned around too late and a powerful kick to the chest sent him flying back into the bar.

Unconcerned with Akanishi or his retreating comrades, the remaining thug slowly began walking towards Kazuya. When he reached him he slowly lifted up his arm and Kazuya shut his eyes, preparing mentally for the punch he was expecting.

But before it could come he heard a crash that sounded a lot like snapping wood. He opened his eyes just in time to see the now unconscious man collapse to the floor. Behind him stood Kenta with what remained of a bar stool in his hands.

Kazuya smiled his thanks and looked beside him. Akanishi was slowly trying to pull himself up but was too unsteady. A trickle of blood ran from a small wound on his temple down to his jaw. He tried again to pull himself up and his hand slipped and he braced himself for the fall.

Kenta watched with interest as Kazuya suddenly moved forward and caught the older man in his arms.

Akanishi looked up and locked eyes with Kazuya before they slowly slid shut and he passed out…

…

[Contest Entry] Smokey Paths - Chapter 1

2008-04-18T18:35:34Z

[Contest Entry]
Title: Smokey Paths

Author: brezo1816
Rating: T / PG13 / something like that...
Genre: AU, Drama/Romance
Pairing: Akame, some RyoUchi
Summary: Five-year-old Kamenashi Kazuya was caught in a house fire when he was alone at home. Six-year-old Akanishi Jin managed to climb through a window and get the younger boy to safety...
Seventeen years later the pair meet again...but this time it might be Jin that needs saving...

a/n: I've never written a fic this long before so if it seems slow at first its because I don't want to rush it. I hope everyone likes it :)

...

Smoke…

It was all he could see…

It filled the air, as if it were death itself…

Kamenashi Kazuya could feel his lungs filling up. He coughed violently and held his handkerchief to his face in a futile attempt to breathe in something other than smoke…

His eyes stung and he couldn’t help but begin to sob at the helplessness of his situation. He knew there were fire-fighters outside; he had heard the sirens...

But the fire was by the door and it was too fierce…he couldn’t get out and they could get in…

It was an accident. He hadn’t meant to knock over the candle in the hallway…his mother usually extinguished all the candles when he was at home. She liked the candles; they gave off a fruity scent that filled the little house they shared. Kazuya liked them too…

When he knocked over the table that held the candle, he ran to his room, knowing his mother was going to tell him off for the mess. He didn’t know his mother had already gone to work…and he didn’t know that the candle was still lit…

Later he smelt something funny in his room so he went back into the landing area outside the bedrooms. He almost screamed when he saw the hallway curtains on fire…

Fire…

Kazuya hated fire…

He had hated it ever since he burnt his arm when he was four years old…

And now he was curled up in a ball, upstairs in his room…tears streaming down his face.

The fire hadn’t reached the bottom of the stairs but it completely covered the front door: his only way out. There was a back door but his mother always kept that locked when he was alone in the house.

He could hear the fire-fighters outside, trying to put the fire out. But they would be too late. Kazuya didn’t know much about fire but he knew that smoke was dangerous and you shouldn’t breathe it in…

The tears continued to stream down his face. He was so terrified he almost didn’t hear the crash downstairs.

“Hey!” A young voice called out between coughs.

Despite the danger, Kazuya was curious as to why and how someone was in the house so he crawled back out of his bedroom. He peered down the stairs and through the smoke he just see a small figure crouched next to the bottom of the stairs, shielding his face from the fire that was only a few feet away from him. The figure looked up and met Kazuya’s eyes.

“What’s your name?” He asked in an almost calm voice.

“…K-Kazu…” Kazuya nervously answered. The boy who looked a little older than him gave him a quick smile.

“My name is Jin, come with me!” He gestured for Kazuya to come down the stairs but Kazuya took one nervous look at the fire and immediately shook his head.

“Kazu, you can’t stay here its too dangerous, I’ve found a window in the kitchen, we can escape through there…”

“But…the fire…I don’t like fire…” Kazuya answered in a shaking voice, ready to cry again. The smoke was getting thicker and both Jin and Kazuya were coughing more violently. Jin looked up at the younger boy again.

“I won’t let the fire hurt you, Kazu,” Jin told him. Kazuya looked into the other boy’s eyes and found himself wanting to trust him.

“…promise?”

“Promise.”

Kazuya hesitated for a few more seconds before dashing back into his room. Jin was left looking confused until the younger boy emerged again, a white teddy clutched to his chest.

Kazuya nervously made his way down the stairs and managed to get halfway down before fear of the fire made his knees shake.

Sensing the boy’s trouble, Jin climbed a few steps and gently took Kazuya’s free hand. He then slowly led him down the stairs, making sure that he was always between Kazuya and the fire. Once clear of the fire they both crawled on their hands and knees into the kitchen to avoid the smoke.

Jin immediately grabbed a chair and put it in front of the counter that was under the window. The window in question was very small. It would be a struggle for anyone even slightly bigger than Jin to climb through it.

Once the chair was in place, Jin helped Kazuya to climb up onto the counter and watched as the boy eventually jumped down into the back garden.

Kazuya landed awkwardly and would have cried if it weren’t for the fact that Jin was still in the kitchen. From outside he could hear the older boy coughing very violently.

“…J-Jin?” he mumbled before crying out, “…Jin!” He sat there for a few seconds, eyes fixed on the window until, to his relief, Jin eventually climbed out.

The fire-fighters had heard the shout and two of them were soon climbing over the fence from the neighbour’s garden. At first he only noticed Jin.

“Are you okay, kid?” The oldest looking fire-fighter asked Jin and the boy nodded, “what were you thinking? Charging in like that, you could have been killed!” Jin glanced nervously past the man and the fire-fighters turned around to see Kazuya sitting on the grass, still clutching the now dirty looking teddy bear to his chest. The younger fire fighter approached him with a gentle but concerned expression.

“Were you in that house?” Kazuya nodded shyly to the man’s question. The other man looked baffled.

“The neighbours were sure there was no one in there…” he muttered. The younger man turned back to Kazuya.

“Was there anyone else in that house?” he asked gently. Kazuya shook his head. The man then turned to Jin and affectionately ruffled his hair.

“You went back in there to save him didn’t you?” Jin nodded but there was no smugness or pride in his expression, only relief, “…well, you’re a hero kid.”

…

The coffee was a welcomed beverage for Kazuya, who looked like he had been hit by a train…and felt like it too.

“Last time I go out with that idiot…” Kazuya mumbled, still astonished at how much Yamapi could drink before showing any signs of being drunk. Kazuya was a little different…

Twenty-two year old Kamenashi Kazuya looked in the mirror and grumbled at his shaggy appearance. He had to go to a photo shoot today and, sure, he was going to be the one taking the pictures not posing for them but he still took pride in the fact that he always looked presentable. Well…almost always.

Taking one last sip of his coffee and grabbing the huge bag containing his camera, Kazuya walked out of his apartment and took the elevator downstairs. The face he was greeting with when he reached the ground floor did not surprise him.

“If you’re here to gloat don’t bother,” Kazuya said simply as he walked past the slightly shorter man.

“Oh there’s no reason to gloat when its obvious Kamenashi Kazuya can’t take a little alcohol…”

“Says Nishikido Ryo, who passed out the last time we all went out after only a few vodka shots.” Kazuya smiled at his quick comeback, leaving the other man with a frown.

“That was strong vodka!” He insisted.

“So was the stuff I had last night!”

“Yeah right!” Ryo laughed and Kazuya scowled at him. The banter between the friends continued for three minutes until Kazuya glanced at his watch.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go, big fashion shoot today.” Ryo’s eyebrows were immediately raised.

“Makes a change from the usual wedding shoots, you’re obviously moving up…”

“Hopefully it means my work is getting noticed.” Kazuya replied with a hopeful smile which Ryo returned.

“Go you…well, I don’t want to make you late so I’ll be off now…hey! Maybe if that media contract comes through I could talk to my boss about hiring you for the photo shoots, he says he needs a fresh face!” Ryo told his friend enthusiastically.

“That would be great, thanks!” Kazuya glanced at his watch again, “Oh! I’ve really gotta go…I’ll see you guys tonight!” He waved as he ran to his car. After putting the camera bag on the passenger seat he got into the drivers seat, fastened his seat belt and manoeuvred the car out of the space reserved for him outside the apartment block.

…

“She didn’t…” Kazuya sat wide-eyed as Ryo explained an incident at his work earlier in the day. Ryo, of course, was only too happy to drag the incident out and maybe exaggerate just a little…

“She did!” He confirmed, “She demanded the pay rise and when he refused she told him where to stick his job and stormed out of the building!”

“Well, if you ask me, from what you’ve said, it’ll be good riddance, she sounds like a cow to me,” Yamapi answered plainly.

Yamashita Tomohisa, known as ‘Yamapi’ or ‘Pi’ to his friends, had a very careless attitude when it came to other people. Except his friends of course. He worked for Tokyo’s most popular gossip magazine and was therefore trained to be cool and careless but also harsh and ruthless when he needed to be.

Ryo was a writer for a culture magazine and not quite as ruthless.

But they both loved gently teasing Kazuya and his young qualities. Including the inability to consume large amounts of alcohol…

“So Kame…” Ryo turned to Kazuya with a smirk. Kazuya immediately narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t-you-dare…” he hissed. Yamapi grinned.

“Aww c’mon Kame, there’s nothing to be ashamed of…” he said in a sing song voice.

“How can you say that? You can drink everyone under the table!”

“True…” Yamapi answered with a smug smirk, while Ryo just laughed at the pair. Kazuya stuck out his bottom lip which signalled to Ryo and Yamapi that he would make no further comment and the matter was closed. They had both learned that it was usually best to leave it at that.

As his two best friends went on to argue about something to do with media, Kazuya took the time to look around the bar.

It was the same as always. A few groups of young women varying in number, here and there, would have a quick drink before hitting the night clubs. Occasionally they would try to talk to Kazuya and his friends but the only one who might show them interest was Ryo and that was only when he was in a very good mood. Yamapi was too busy to show them attention and Kazuya just wasn’t interested.

There were also the university students. Those people, not much younger than Kazuya, came in occasionally, normally in groups of about six or seven. The younger students stuck to soft drinks and the older ones usually drank nothing but beer, unless they were mainly women and then the drinks got a little more exotic. They could be loud sometimes but Kazuya didn’t mind as they usually kept to themselves and didn’t bother anybody.

Then, of course, there were the regulars. Kazuya, Yamapi and Ryo could probably be considered ‘regulars’ although they were a lot younger than the others and were frequently mistaken for university students, a fact that never failed to irritate Yamapi.

The regulars varied in shape and personality.

First there were the peaceful ones, the ones who would arrive in groups of no more than three and order a beer each, followed by a second. Sometimes they would order a third but more often than not they drank too slowly to leave time for more. After saying goodnight to whoever was behind the bar they would quietly make their way home.

The other ‘regulars’ were much louder and could sometimes get a little over excited when they’d had a bit too much to drink but, because they were well known, they were looked after and nobody really minded. The sober ones would take their friends home or the barmaids might order them a taxi.

Kazuya wasn’t really sure which stereotype he and his friends fitted into. This wasn’t the kind of bar successful people like them would usually been found in but because they had been coming here for years they didn’t have the hearts to go anywhere else.

As he continued to look around, Kazuya’s eyes rested a figure hunched over his drink, half leaning on the pillar that stood halfway down the wooden bar. The man was a regular, Kazuya had seen him there many times before but it wasn’t until tonight that Kazuya noticed he had never actually seen the man’s face.

Since his friends were still locked in a now heated debate and his curiosity was getting the better of him, Kazuya stood up and walked to the other side of the bar, a distance away from the man. Kenta, one of the bartenders that Kazuya was familiar with, approached him.

“Hi Kame, what can I get you?” he greeted with a smile. Kazuya looked up and returned the smile. He shook his head gently.

“Nothing thanks, I was just wondering…” he nodded subtly towards the man, whose face still wasn’t visible even from that angle, “…who is that?” Kenta turned to look at the man and paused for a moment before turning back to Kazuya.

“His name is Jin, Akanishi Jin…he’s a local fire-fighter.” Kazuya frowned slightly.

Jin? …why does that name sound so familiar?

“And…why is he so sad?” he asked Kenta, who shrugged slightly.

“Your guess is as good as mine, I’ve tried to talk to him…but his name and occupation was all I could get out of him,” Kenta explained, “He arrives at about seven o’clock every night, sits there for three hours, only ever ordering one beer…and then he just goes home…he only speaks to order his beer and then thank whoever serves him.” Kenta smiled at Kazuya then walked away to serve some other customers.

Kazuya continued to watch the man, who either didn’t notice or was ignoring his attention. Kazuya was tempted to try and talk with him but his friends were here and they would make a big deal of it. But Kazuya’s curiosity wouldn’t let it go. He knew the name sounded familiar but he couldn’t think why… He concentrated for a minute and, after coming to no conclusion, he made a decision.

He would come early tomorrow and, if the man was there, he would try and talk to him. Maybe then he could figure out why this Akanishi Jin seemed so familiar to him…

brezo1816 @ 2008-04-16T18:35:00

2008-04-16T17:50:57Z

Name:- By Your Side
Subject:- NEWS/KAT-TUN
Genre:- Romance
Pairing:- RyoUchi
Rating:- K+

a/n - This one-shot is connected to 'First Stop: Kame' but can be read on its own. I love Ryo/Uchi, they are my second favourite pairing after Akame so I wanted to write something for them. It's not great and similar storylines have probably been used before but here it is anyway. I hope you all like it.

As they walked down the street the night air failed to cool down their hot faces and happy hearts. The joy of having their friend back had made them all happier than they could imagine.

Except for one.

For this person the happiness of having one of his best friends back was huge…but there was still an unexplainable feeling in his heart. His friend was with them tonight but there was still someone missing, a person who was pivotal to his complete happiness.

“Ryo? You okay?” Yamapi asked as he slowed to match his friend’s pace. Ryo tried his best fake smile but it was useless against one of his closest friends.

“Go to him,” Pi said quietly and calmly while facing ahead. Ryo looked up at him in surprise. Did he know?

As if reading his thoughts Pi answered.

“Don’t try telling me you don’t know where he’ll be, I know you better than that Ryo-chan.” Pi smiled in a smug way that almost made him look like Ryo. The shorter man looked at the floor and tried to hold back the temptation to run.

Yamapi groaned in frustration…which didn’t go unheard.

“He’s not gone yet?” Ryo looked up and saw that Kame and Jin had stopped and were looking at him in surprise and obvious confusion.

“I told him he should go but he won’t listen,” Pi moaned with a pout. Jin grinned and walked back to Ryo.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight, I really appreciate it but you obviously don’t want to be here do you?” The words suggested hurt but looking into Jin’s happy eyes he knew that his friend understood.

“You could tell?” Ryo asked as he turned to Kame who had thus far remained silent. The younger man of the famous pair just smirked.

“Ryo, if even Bakanishi could tell then it’s obviously easy to see,” Kame answered. Jin pouted at his lover but Ryo knew he wouldn’t be annoyed with him for long.

He remained silent, thinking of what to do…even though he knew what he wanted to do. Would that person want to see him? Would it make them sad to see him?

“He’ll want to see you.” Ryo’s eyes went wide when he heard Yamapi’s words.

Freaking hell… he thought to himself, suspecting his friend was actually psychic…

Coming to a decision he finally nodded.

“Say bye to the others for me,” he asked Kame who immediately nodded. As his three friends watched, he began to run…

…

He was breathless by the time he reached the door. He lifted a weary and shaking hand and managed to knock on the door, though he wasn’t sure if it was loud enough. He legs were slowly giving way beneath him as he panted heavily. Realising, as he slumped to the floor, that he probably shouldn’t have run the several miles it took to get here, Ryo looked feebly at the door, hearing it begin to open just as he passed out…

…

When his eyes slowly slid open Ryo immediately wondered where the blanket had come from. Not that he was complaining as the warm item draped over him was doing to well to keep him snug and warm. It kind of reminded Ryo of his childhood…not that he would ever admit that.

He pulled himself up and looked around. Realisation hit him immediately and he remembered that he had at least reached the doorstep of this house. What had happened after that?

“You passed out.” Ryo’s eyes widened in surprise. For once, it was not Yamapi reading his thoughts. He turned around hesitantly, full of guilt and came face to face with the one he had ran so many miles to see.

Uchi smiled at him warmly, grinning slightly at the way he had found his friend. He had wanted to see Ryo, but having the shorter man passed out on his doorstep had not been what he had had in mind. But for now, it would do.

“I’m so sorry,” Ryo said sadly and Uchi smiled again.

“Don’t worry,” he assured Ryo as he went to sit beside him. He sat with a few inches between them but Ryo immediately closed the gap.

“I’m sorry I came so late in the evening…Jin came back today.”

Uchi nodded with a grin.

“How is he? Same as always?”

“Of course!” Ryo laughed and Uchi rested his head on his lover’s shoulder. Ryo responded by holding his lover closer. The gap in Ryo’s heart that had been there for the whole night was slowly starting to heal and it healed faster as Uchi snuggled closer to him.

“I’ve missed you,” Uchi said softly. Ryo smiled.

“I’ve missed you too,” he answered. He placed two fingers under Uchi’s chin and raised his head slightly. Ryo leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Uchi’s and both their eyes drifted close as they melted into their own world, just the two of them together.

When they finally separated they were still in that world.

“Won’t you get in trouble if they catch you with me?” Uchi suddenly asked, concern filling his face. Ryo’s face was a picture of stubbornness and determination.

“I don’t care…” He pulled Uchi into his arms again before adding, “No matter what happens, good or bad, easy or hard, I’m always gonna be by your side.”

Uchi didn’t see the point in arguing and the words filled him with too much happiness to answer. He just relaxed even further into Ryo’s embrace, the pair falling asleep in each other’s arms, sleeping the rest of the night together…

First Stop: Kame (one-shot)

2008-04-16T14:50:58Z

Name:- First Stop: Kame
Subject:- KAT-TUN/NEWS
Genre:- Romance
Pairing:- Akame
Rating:- K

a/n: My fist JE one-shot so I hope people like it, overall I'm not really a one-shot writer but I thought I'd try and write a few. I hope you like it :-)

The dressing room sounded strange…mainly because there was no sound. The room was completely empty except for one silent and solitary figure.

Kamenashi Kazuya sat alone, looking at his feet as if they were the most interesting pair of feet you might ever see. His face was completely blank and his heart was trying to block out the disappointment he felt.

Slowly he stood up and walked to where his bag lay, alone…just like he was.

He didn’t want to be there. He wanted to be with everyone else. But it was too late. They had gone already. He could go after them but they had left so long ago there would be no point now; he’d never find them…

They chatted loudly amongst themselves, everyone full of talk about what they would do first. They had all been waiting so long for this day and now they could barely contain their excitement.

“Hurry up Masu, you’re too slow!” Ryo whined, earning a scowl from his band mate. Yamapi and Kame shared a smile as they both hurried to get ready. The sound of the dressing room door opening drew their attention. They turned around to see the choreographer searching the room. His eyes rested on Kame.

“Kamenashi-san, the Director wants to see you about a few details for the show next week.” The statement was immediately greeted by cries of protest.

“Today of all days…” Junno moaned.

“Can’t he come and see the Director tomorrow?” Tatsuya pleaded. The choreographer firmly shook his head.

“The Director said it can’t wait.”

“But that’s not fair! Today it’s-”

“Ryo, its okay…” Kame interrupted his friend’s protest with a sad smile. He slowly turned to the others in the room.

“If I’m not back in twenty minutes you’ll have to go without me.” He told them sadly. Maru stepped forward.

“But maybe one of us can go and see him for you? You of all people can’t stay behind…”

“I’ll be okay,” Kame assured them. He turned to the choreographer and followed him out as his friends watched him leave.

When he had returned over an hour later he found what he had expected: an empty dressing room.

Kame slowly packed his things away, planning on going home and spending the evening with a pot of instant ramen. He put his trainers and towels into his bag, took a quick gulp of water before putting the bottle into his bag too and zipped it closed. After that he began putting his jacket on but not before he heard the dressing room door open. Kame didn’t turn around, expecting it to be a janitor.

“Are they still overworking you, Kazu-chan?” Kame froze at the sound of the voice and smiled softly. He finished putting on his jacket and then slowly turned around.

“You need a haircut,” the younger man answered smugly. Jin laughed and walked forward. Kame let himself be pulled into the other’s embrace and wrapped his arms tightly around Jin’s waist.

“I missed you,” he sighed happily.

“I missed you too,” Jin replied. They stayed there for a minute, happy to be in each other’s arms until Kame pulled back with a small frown.

“Where is everyone? Weren’t they there to pick you up at the airport?”

Jin nodded but said nothing so Kame continued.

“And I thought they were taking you to a restaurant to celebrate your homecoming?”

“When I saw that you weren’t there I asked them to change the plan slightly…” He smirked and looked over his shoulder. Kame followed his gaze and saw Yamapi and Ryo standing in the doorway, Pi looking quite happy and Ryo looking smug.

“That’s right,” Yamapi agreed with Jin, “First stop: Kame, next stop: KARAOKE!” The two jogged away towards the exit and Kame and Jin watched them go with smiles. Jin slowly took Kame’s hand in his.

“I get to sing the first song with you, right?” He looked at Kame with a hopeful expression. Kame just smirked.

“Baka…”

Jin pouted but still let Kame lead him out to join their friends…

[FIC] Away From Me

2007-12-10T22:09:21Z

Name: Away From Me
Subject: KAT-TUN
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Akame
Rating: err...PG? 15? Something like that...

Summary: Kame and Jin are beginning to realise that their feelings for each other stretch a little further than friendship. But just how deep are these feelings? What are they prepared to do about them? And can it last now that the guiding force that lead them to stardom is the same force trying to tear them apart?

a/n - this is my first akame fic so i apologise if its bad. If people like it then I will write more chapters.

...

As the lights went up they were all with an ecstasy that words couldn’t describe. The crowd were screaming, all eyes were on them and when the music started they didn’t need to think, their bodies just moved by themselves, slowly, sensually, in time with the beat…

Jin looked across the stage and saw the youngest member of the group. Once his eyes had found Kame, they wouldn’t leave him. Jin let out a slow, shaking sigh. The way Kame moved to the music was the most beautiful thing Jin had ever seen. His skin was so clear and seemed to glow under the bright light, his lips looked so soft and smooth…and his eyes…his eyes seemed to capture all the excitement and joy that the crowd were experiencing.

Jin thought deeply while still moving to the beat. He wanted Kame, he wanted him so bad he thought he might explode with desire but what did Kame want? He could never get a clear signal from Kame as to just how serious he was…did Kame’s feelings run deeper or were they just lust like Jin’s were. Because it is just lust, he insisted silently to himself, look at him…he’s the most beautiful creature in the world…

It was a good thing Jin knew the moves to this dance by heart…because right now the only thing on his mind was how beautiful Kame looked on that stage…

Kame felt the music move through him like a drug…a drug that doubled when he locked eyes with Jin…the sight of the older boy made Kame’s breath catch in his throat. As far as Kame was concerned, Jin Akanishi was perfection in human form, the physical representation of all of Kame’s desires. The dark brown of his eyes seemed to capture you whenever they looked your way and the way he moved made you want to pounce on him and never let go…

Kame looked away and frowned slightly. Jin’s attentions gave him conflicting thoughts. Yes he wanted the attention; he wanted to be the only person in the entire world that Jin locked eyes with. But why did he feel that way? He knew he wanted Jin…he craved his touch like a drowning man craved oxygen but did he feel more than that? Were his feelings for Jin deeper than he wanted them to be? No, it’s just lust…it’s nothing more serious that that, Kame silently decided, he’s the most beautiful man on the planet but to think I’m in love is stupid…

Jin began to sing and the sound sent waves of electricity down Kame’s spine.

When it was his turn to sing with Jin the older boy gave him a suggestive look. As if in a trance, they both moved towards each other, closer…and closer…until there was barely inches between them. Their hips swayed in time with each other, gradually getting closer…the crowd were screaming and cheering even louder than before as every movement brought the singers closer and closer together.

The rest of KAT-TUN grinned and shared knowing glances as they sang along to the pair’s actions.

As the song became faster so did their movements until they finally broke apart at the chorus to sing with the rest of the group. The crowd seemed disappointed but went back to cheering after a few seconds.

Jin sighed and mentally kicked himself. He had taken it too far and was now so hard it was difficult to conceal beneath his clothes.

Little did he know Kame was having the same problems.

They danced on, close but not as close as before, Ueda stood between them. The rhythm and pace of the song continued to fill them all with limitless energy.

Though they stole glances at each other and their eyes met on occasion, there would be no more antics. That had just been for the fans. Neither were aware that the other wanted so much more.

Jin was almost frightened by the effect that having Kame so close had had on him…but he knew that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted the younger boy pressed against him, to smell him…to touch him…to taste him…

Jin had already tried to suppress these thoughts, he’s your best friend - you can’t have him that way, he had told himself time and time again but it didn’t work. He wanted Kame so badly…

…

The concert was over too soon. The young men left the stage and headed back to the dressing room. Once inside Nakamaru began to tease the pair.

“You two certainly know how to please the crowds…” he paused before adding quietly “…and yourselves.” Kame looked at the floor and Jin grinned shyly.

“It was just for the crowd…we didn’t get anything from it…right Kame?” Kame kept his eyes on the ground but gave a quick short nod in reply.

Ueda had been sat on one of the chairs and now he looked at both of them.

“You know, you guys should be careful…just because the crowd liked it doesn’t mean Johnny will…” The room fell silent at that comment. Jin looked at Kame but the younger boy didn’t meet his gaze. He looked worried and Jin had an overwhelming urge to hug him and say it would be alright.

Jin blinked at this sudden feeling of over-protectiveness. Maru interrupted his thoughts.

“It’ll be fine…Johnny won’t mind if it makes the crowd that excited every night…” he suggested happily. He was trying to reassuring them and partly succeeded. They all changed and left the dressing room. One loud and happy coach ride full of chatter brought them back to the apartment building where they were all staying.

There were two apartments on their floor. Each had three separate bedrooms. Junno, Koki and Maru shared one apartment and Jin, Ueda and Kame shared the other. The two groups said their goodnights to each other and went into the separate apartments.

“You two should go straight to bed, you’ve got filming for Gokusen to do tomorrow.” Ueda told the two younger members. Jin grinned and mock saluted their leader.

“Yes sir!” He laughed and headed towards his room. Spotting Kame about to walk into his he quickly approached him.

“Hey Kame! We have a break together tomorrow, wanna go get some lunch? I hear there’s a new restaurant downtown, small and cheap but the food is supposed to be great!” He asked enthusiastically but Kame was hesitant.

“I don’t know…” Jin pouted and tried to look as cute as his could.

“Aww come on Kame-chan, pleeeease!” Kame smiled softly. He couldn’t resist Jin being like a child and eventually nodded. Jin’s face lit up, he let out a cheer, wished Kame goodnight and went into his room.

Kame laughed silently and went into his own room. Ueda watched the pair gravely, his mind thinking back to the words Johnny had spoken to him in a private meeting after a concert a few months before…

“I won’t tolerate it, Ueda. Those boys are supposed to be singers not playboy models, those kind of actions cannot be done on stage in front of thousands of people.” Johnny said sternly. Ueda looked stunned.

“But sir…the crowd loved it.”

“That may be so, but I cannot risk their feelings for each other come to the surface.” His face looked dark. Ueda was confused.

“Feelings?”

“Don’t be blind Ueda, those boys are madly in love with each other, they just don’t realise it…I’ve seen the footage from concerts, the deep looks they share, the lingering touches…their desire for each other is masking what they really feel, even from themselves.” Ueda thought back and saw what his boss meant…but he was still confused as to why such feelings should stay hidden.

As if sensing the young man’s thoughts, Johnny continued.

“This cannot be allowed within KAT-TUN, you boys are all friends, you cannot be anything more, any conflict could destroy the group and you are currently hold all the records, you are the most popular group in my agency and I will not let those two risk everything for some silly little romance,” he sighed, “This is just a phase for them, their feelings of love may be strong now but they will not last, eventually they will separate and they will forget each other but if they are together and then break apart it could be disastrous for the group…and so…if I discover that the two of them are in a relationship…then I will remove Kame from the group.” Ueda gasped in shock.

“But sir…surely that wouldn’t be necessary!” He pleaded. Johnny shook his head.

“There will always be a place for Kame in my agency but it does not necessarily have to be in KAT-TUN, I will find another group for him, I will even form a new group if I have to but if those two do as I fear they will then Kame’s days in KAT-TUN will be over, the name of this group will stay the same merely for merchandising purposes.”

Ueda couldn’t believe that their boss was being so cruel but he feared that if he argued then he might bring his threat forward and possibly threaten the other members too. He was the leader of KAT-TUN; he had to think of the entire group.

If what Johnny had predicted was true then maybe Ueda could do something to prevent it…

Ueda had tried his best but trying too hard would have revealed he had kept secrets from the group. At the very beginning of the group they had all promised never to keep secrets from each other. It broke Ueda’s heart to break that promise but in his defence he was the leader, they did not understand the pressure he was under, especially from Johnny. Ueda would do anything to keep the group from harm, so if he had to break a promise to do that then he had no regrets…

…