Hero

	There's a hero If you look inside your heat You don't have to be afraid Of what you are There's an answer If you reach inside your soul And the sorrow that you know Will melt away **** Yuki glanced over at Shuiichi. Despite their agreement to finally sleep in the same bed every night, he found Shuiichi had spent the last week asleep on the couch, snuggling Kimchi...or Komkwat....what was that thing's name again? No matter. He stepped quietly over to the couch, pulling up the blanket over the sleeping body. " Yuki?" " One day I'll figure out how you do that." Shuiichi wiped his eyes and turned over on his back. He snuggled Kumagoro against his chest, " I've been having trouble sleeping all week. Between restlessness and nightmares...I'm just..." " That's worry, Shuiichi." He sighed. " I just wish I knew what happened...at least where he was and if he was okay." " Uh huh," was Yuki's reply. He didn't say it, since he knew it was silly, but he was becoming jealous of all the worry over Ryuichi. He'd become rather used to Shuiichi leeching onto him. He stroked the young singers cheek. " I'm sure he's fine, Shuiichi. When I go off, you know I'm fine." " Yeah but..." " But, I don't talk to stuffed animals?" Shuiichi nodded. " Y'know, he's been my hero for a long time. Nittle Grasper was everything. Ryuichi was my god. But, after meeting him, it really hit me that, no matter how much I knew about him, I didn't know everything. He changes so fast. Normally, I never worry about him. He's much older and more experienced than I am....and..." he glanced at Kumagoro, "...and he always had..." " Kaoru?" " Kumagoro." Shuiichi corrected. " Well, then he must think you're pretty special," Yuki replied, " having given it to you." " Yuki..." " Shuiichi, he's a grown man. As childish as he acts sometimes, I'm sure he's completely alright. He probably just needs some time alone to work things out." " But, Kumagoro." Yuki sighed, " Oh, I don't know! Maybe he didn't want to expose him to whatever it is that's bothering him," he slapped a hand over his face. " My god, now I'm talking about it like it's alive." Shuiichi let out a sigh. Yuki was silent a long time before also sighing, "Come to bed, Shuiichi. Tohma has a good reputation for finding people. He'll find him. And I'm sure the moment he'd found, we'll hear something. And if you can't get anything from Tohma, I will." Shuiichi was silent a moment then nodded. " Yeah, okay." **** And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you **** " Tohma!" Tohma shot awake, sitting straight up, " HAI?!" " For Pete's sake, Tohma," Mika sighed, " you're no help to me if you do things like this." " I'm going to find him." He yawned. " Right, in your dreams...which is literally how you'll do it, since you fell asleep on the phone.....again. I swear I'll see the numbers imprinted on your cheek like tatoos if you don't take a break." She sighed, " Then our baby will be like ‘Mommy, why does Daddy have numbers on his face?'" " Mika, if it were Eiri-San, you'd want me to find him. Ryuichi has been my friend since we were little kids." " Don't you think he can take care of himself? He lived in America by himself." " But, he kept in touch, Mika. And...oh nevermind." He sighed and stood up, rubbing his cheek, " 9....8...geez, there really are numbers on my face." It was at that moment that the cell phone rang. In the privacy of his own home, Tohma became very...un-Tohma like and dove over the desk to pick up, " Hai? Ryuichi! Where are you?! We're worried out of our minds!" ~Tohma, I swear if you start talking to me like I'm five, I'm hanging up right now!~ Ryuichi warned. " Okay, okay....what happened? Where are you?" ~ I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry everyone. I just needed some time alone.~ " Are you coming back?" ~ I don't know....I gotta go.~ " Ryuichi....RyuichiRyuichi, don't hang...." *click* "...up." Mika frowned at him, " Go to bed. He's fine....now what are you doing?" " Checking the number.....Okinawa. I'm..." " Going to BED, Tohma!" Mika warned. Tohma gave her one of his "don't you dare talk to me that way!" looks. However, Mika cast the " I'll talk to you any damn way I PLEASE! I'm your wife not your employee, you spoiled, stuck-up..." look. Tohma sighed, " Yes, dear." * "Okinawa?! What's he doing there?!" Shuiichi asked. " I don't know!" Tohma spat at him. He glanced around, noticing the strange looks, " Sorry, I've not gotten a whole lot of sleep. I'm a little irritable." " Will you be going to get him?" Noriko asked. " I wish." Tohma sighed. " Why not? You fly to New York in a night but you won't go to Okinawa?" Shuiichi asked, holding Kumagoro protectively. " Pssst," Noriko chuckled, " His woman says no....and he's finally obeying. I knew he wasn't untrainable." Fujisaki also chuckled, " He cooks, cleans, brings home the bacon....and takes orders from the REAL wearer of the pants." " We're NOT talking about ME!" Tohma shot out. He groaned....he hated being cranky. It was harder to act cool. " I'll go," Shuiichi volenteered. " I've got something that belongs to him." =Why is it I get nervous when I have to rely soley on Shuiichi?= Tohma mentally whined. **** It's a long road When you face the world alone No one reaches out a hand For you to hold You can find love If you search within yourself And the emptiness you felt Will disappear **** Shuiichi glanced around. Finding one man in any place was difficult. But, he had a gift. He was able to spot Yuki Eiri in a crowd of ANY size. Surely, finding Ryuichi would be just as easy.....after all, he was famous. No luck though, not a single person was able to identify him. After long hours of searching, Shuiichi sat at a cafe table and sighed, setting Kumagoro on the table to stare back at him, " You know him better than I do. Where in the world would he go?" Kumagoro stood tall for a few seconds before plopping onto his side, one arm raising over his head. Shuiichi glanced over to see a slumped figure at the bar. He felt a strange chill and picked up the pink bunny and made way to the counter, sitting beside the slumped figure, " Konnichiwa." The figure glanced at him and pulled down his sunglasses, " Shuiichi?" " Tohma said you were in Okinawa." " You have an amazing sense, Shu-Chan," Ryuichi smiled. " You're like a bloodhound." Shuiichi was silent a moment and sat Kumagoro on the counter, " He missed you, Sakuma-San." Ryuichi smiled and began to pet Kumagoro. " I missed him too. I've been having trouble sleeping at night without him." " Then why did you give him to me." " I wanted to grow up," Ryuichi sighed. " I'm not exactly happy about it, but everyone else is involved in relationships....some having families. Not me...not Ryuichi. I may be the god on stage and on television, but no one will take me seriously. I'm 34 and I still sleep with a plushie. How could I be in a relationship like you guys have?" Shuiichi frowned, " That's...why you left? Why didn't you just say that? Everyone is worried about you...losing sleep over you." " I needed to think." He glanced up at Kumagoro and reached for him, but pulled his hands away. " Take him away. I'm too big for toys." Shuiichi grew an angry expression and forced Kumagoro into Ryuichi's arms, " TAKE HIM!" Ryuichi went wide-eyed and paused. Slowly he glanced down into his arms at Kumagoro and frowned....sniffled and fought back in vain as tears began to fall down his cheeks and drip onto the pink fabric. " Shuiichi....I don't want to be alone anymore." " You're not alone, Ryuichi," Shuiichi smiled. " You have me and Noriko, and Hiro and Fujisaki and Tohma and..." He pointed, " Kumagoro." " Iie. You are my friends....but I...I want what you have. I don't want to be alone anymore." " Come home, Ryuichi. If you don't want to be alone, running away doesn't make sense." **** And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you. **** Tohma entwined his fingers. " I hoped he'd never get like this," he said softly. Noriko frowned. " Well, he did. I just wish there was something we could do for him." " I think I may have an idea," Shuiichi spoke up. * " You want me to do what?" Yuki asked. " PLEASE?!" Shuiichi pleaded. " Everyone would be happy again." "What makes you think a stupid idea like that will work?" " I have a feeling." " That's the air deflating from your head." " YUKI!" * " Why did you drag me here?" Ryuichi sighed, holding Kumagoro close. Shuiichi smiled at him and chuckled, " Aha, Tohma threw this big party and invited everyone from NG and other close friends. How could you not come?!" Ryuichi let out a moan and sat in the corner. " Don't tell me you're going to just mope around here. A lot of people are looking forward to seeing you. They look up to you. A lot of them grew up..." " Yare yare...I'm the hero. I'm untouchable." Ryuichi sighed. " That's who I am on stage. I'm the role model..." " What's wrong with that? Just because you're famous and everyone is a fan...doesn't mean anything." Ryuichi glanced up at Shuiichi and smiled, " You told me you wanted to be a singer to be like me...imitated me in every possible way." " Yeah?" " Do you know how I got to be how I am?" " A lot of hard work and confidence?" " That....and Noriko constantly nagging and Tohma being....Tohma.And trust me, being Tohma is just so...." He felt dizzy, " I get confused just thinking about it." " You make it look so easy." " I forgot how much fun it was..." he looked Shuiichi in the eyes, " Until I met you. It became fun again and I loved to sing with you. You are awesome and you're so great...I want to be just like you." Shuiichi felt the shock. " Like me? Why?" " You've got a successful career. Yes, I have one too...but part of the fun was climbing to the top...where you've been. We are a lot alike...and very different. You see, I was just like you. But, you have something I never had. You have another kind of support....and you have someone to go home to and blind with your radiance. You have someone who loves you....someone who has become....your family. I've never had a girlfriend....or a boyfriend. No one ever took me seriously enough." " I never thought about it," Shuiichi confessed. " You were my hero...I never thought anything bad could ever happen to you. So....I'm yours?" Ryuichi nodded and snuggled Kumagoro. * " Eiri-San, I'm glad you made it. I honestly didn't think you'd come," Tohma smiled, shaking Yuki's hand. Yuki made no reply at first and looked around, seeing Shuiichi and Ryuichi in the corner. " Is something bothering you?" " Don't worry about it." Yuki replied. Tohma arched a brow. Suddenly...he wasn't feeling very comfortable anymore. " What did you do?" " I'm being too nice and seriously need therapy for agreeing to this stupid idea of Shuiichi's." Tohma chuckled. " Shuiichi? You sure I shouldn't worry, Eiri-San?" " Just keep an eye on Ryuichi." * " Shuiichi!!!!" Ryuichi squeaked as the pink-haired singer dragged him to the floor. " How do you expect to meet anyone in the corner, Sakuma-San?!" He let out a cute little groan. He luckily didn't relax as he felt something run smack into him and knock him over onto his back. Slowly, Ryuichi opened his eyes to see a figure leaning over him, " Yuki? What did you do to your hair?" " Sakuma Ryuichi? It's really you?" Ryuichi sat up and glanced at the individual kneeling in front of him with such a look he had seen many times over the years. He looked around. Yuki...was over there...with Tohma. Who was this....with him? " You're not Yuki." " I'm Tatsuha! I'm you're devoted PRIEST!" He tackled Ryuichi again. " Tatsuha!" Shuiichi shouted, " Get off him!" " You are my god! I am your loyal follower! Order and I shall obey, my Ryuichi!" Tatsuha recited. Ryuichi glanced at him and kept trying to crawl away, only to be tackled again. " HELP! CRAZY FAN IS ATTACKING ME!" He cried out. However, no one came to his aid. Instead a few laughed. " Eiri-San!" Tohma scolded, " You didn't!" " I did." The novelist smiled. " I find your hired entertainment rather dull so I brought my own." " I love you, Ryuichi! My Ryuichi!" " AAAAAACK! LET ME GO!!!!!" " NO! I've waited forever to finally get my hands on you!" " Kumagoro! SAVE YOURSELF!" He threw the pink bunny across the room, only to be caught by K, who was laughing hysterically. Ryuichi turned back over and glanced Tatsuha in the face, " Now I shall wrestle you down, you crazy stalking freak!" " WRESTLE ME!" " I own a daycare," Tohma sighed. " That's what it is. It's not a professional production company. No...no....I'm the highest paid babysitter in Japan. That's it...." Yuki noted the worry in Tohma's face and decided enough was enough. He stepped past the crowd and over to his brother, giving him a swift kick off the singer, " Enough! Get up." Tatsuha yelped and whimpered like a dog at Ryuichi's side as the singer sat up, " What was THAT?" " My brother," Yuki replied. " He's a big fan of yours." " So I figured." " He even tackles the same way you do," Shuiichi smiled. Ryuichi glanced at Tatsuha who looked rather pathetic. Funny, he looked almost EXACTLY like Yuki, cept the eye-color and hair. Funny...yes...funny. Shuiichi....he looked almost exactly like himself....cept the eyes and hair. Wow...talk about freaky Twilight Zone stuff. "Tatsuha was it?" "Ryuichi said my NAME!!!!" Another swift kick. " ITAI!" Ryuichi stared at the blak-haired Yuki Look-Alike for a long time before standing up and retrieving Kumagoro, " You set me up!" **** Lord knows Dreams are hard to follow But don't let anyone Tear them away Hold on There will be tomorrow In time You'll find the way **** Ryuichi leaned on the sturdy wall of the roof of NG Studios. He gave a sigh and hugged Kumagoro close, " Yeah, it is kinda cold up here, isn't it?" " You mad at me?" Ryuichi spun around, " Tatsuha?!" " You remember my naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame," he swooned. He cleared his throat, " I didn't mean to make you angry." " How did they bribe you?" " They didn't." " Please....Shuiichi blabbed and everyone went looking for some sucker to make me feel better." He glanced back at Tatsuha. He felt his heart leap when he saw the hurt on his face. " They really didn't, did they?" " Iie. I've always been devoted to you. You were my god, my hero, the one I always fantasized abou..." " PLEASE! Don't go into so much detail on our first meeting." Tatsuha glanced at the ground, " Shuiichi...he told my brother about what you said....and Yuki told me. And, both of them were invited to this party...and my sister too. So....they invited me to come along and meet you finally face to face. I've been wanting to do that since I was a kid. I couldn't say no to this chance." Ryuichi kept silent but his expression changed. Changed from that childish tempered face to...that face...that face that made him a god...the face that robbed Shuiichi of his voice and confidence...the face that gave it back. " Sakuma-san?" " Concider me completely off my rocker...but I believe you. You're friggin creepy." Tatsuha looked hurt again. Ryuichi turned around and smiled, " I saw a movie that was creepy a few weeks ago. I sat at home with Kumagoro...made popcorn and sat on the couch with a blanket and watched a creepy movie. When it got really creepy, I hid under the blanket. It was a lot of fun." Tatsuha glanced up at him in confusion. Ryuichi turned back to him with a warm smile, " Creepy can be a lot of fun." He chuckled. " Y'know, you look just like Yuki." " A lot of people say that." " Shuiichi....he's in love with Yuki." " I tried to seduce him once....he looks just like you." A short silence before both of them began to laugh. They slapped each other on the arms....and out of nowhere, hugged each other. " I've always loved you." " You don't even know me, Tatsuha. I'm not just the guy I am onstage." He replied into Tatsuha's shoulder. " Then let me get to know you?" He asked into the singer's shoulder. "Please?" " Obsessions are dangerous. They make other people think you're crazy." " I know. I don't care." They separated and Ryuichi smiled and offered Tatsuha his hand, " Well, I'm Sakuma Ryuichi. It's time we started off on the right foot." Tatsuha chuckled, " Going to come back in?" * " See? See? He's a fast learner," K chuckled. Noriko sighed and slapped the blond upside his head. " What was that for?!" " Leave Shuiichi and Ryuichi alone." " I'm seeing a trend," Hiro joked, approaching them with a cup of punch. The two [Hiro and K] laughed quietly, seeing Ryuichi and Tatsuha hanging out as if they'd always been close friends, talking with Yuki and Shuiichi. " Creepy," Hiro suddenly muttered. " What?" From K. " That they look like opposite sides of a mirror?" Noriko spoke up. " Yes, but no," Hiro chuckled. " Look at them...Ryuichi...Tatsuha...." K cocked his head to one side, " They are kinda...cute together, aren't they?" " Great, from a daycare to a real life soap opera...." From slightly out of sight. " Tohma's going to have a mental breakdown by the end of the night," Noriko smiled. " That ought to be interesting," From Hiro. "Yes," from K, " I'll bring the pretzels." **** And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you That a hero lies in you That a hero lies in you **** " It's hot as hell out here," K sighed, reclining back on the towel. Tohma smiled down at him from his beach chair...chaded by a large umbrella....his wife on the other side of him. " Then, go swimming." " I'll get sand in my pants again." " Do you mind?" Mika sat up and replied. " I don't need to hear about anything in your pants." Tohma chuckled and glanced at little Matsuaki, his daughter, toddling along the sand. She had just turned three this year. " Look!" She held a shell up to Tohma. " Look!" Her daddy smiled down proudly at her. She was definately the apple of his eye. Dirty blonde hair and grey eyes and his bright smile. He always showed her off proudly, sometimes to the annoyance of others, who were happy for him but needed a break. " It's pretty." " I'm a mermaid!" " Of course you are." " I'm a princess." " Of course you are. " I'm....Ryuichi!" Tohma was a little surprised and glanced back down at her....ah...she was pointing....over there....he smiled. Sure enough, over there was Ryuichi and Tatsuha walking down the beach. He had become used to the pair hanging all over each other. " Ryuichi! Ryuichi!" Tatsuha and Ryuichi glanced over at her and both smiled. Ryuichi handed Kumagoro [dressed in a sunhat and teenie swimming trunks] and ran over to the little girl in a pink bathing suit and threw her up and caught her then hugged her, " Matsuaki!" Tohma and Mika chuckled as Ryuichi tickled and blew rasberries with Matsuaki. They were all distracted by a loud splash and glanced over to the water. " Shuiichi?! Shuiichi?!" Noriko called, knee-deep in water. A beachball rolled with the waves. Yuki stepped to the water's edge, a little concerned at the fall. After a few seconds more, Shuiichi surfaced and shook the water from his head. " Sorry, tripped over a crab." Tatsuha smiled. He looked around and saw Hiro and Fujisaki and Ayaka on another blanket and waving for him to come over and snack with them. He did so and sat Kumagoro on his knee, as though it were a real child. Somehow he'd become fluent in Silent Pink Plushie Bunny Talk almost as fluent as Ryuichi...and since neither of them had children, simply humored their childish notions and continued to acknowledge Kumagoro as a living creature...but evolved from best friend to child. " Everything....going well?" Ayaka asked Tatsuha. Of course Tatsuha smiled and nodded. " They couldn't be any better. Looks like we all got what we wanted. Shuiichi has my brother, you have Nakano-San....and I have my Ryuichi." " Creepy," Hiro shook his head. They all turned hearing a scream. Matsuaki was running along the sand, falling every few steps onto her face....getting up and running from Ryuichi who purposely went slow to humor the little girl. She ran over to Tatsuha and hugged him, grabbing Kumagoro and squeezing it. " Kumagoro!" * " We should do this more often," Mika smiled. Tohma nodded. " That's not how you do it!" Noriko shouted. " Look, Woman!" K warned, " I'm in charge of the grill and don't need your advice on how to use it!" " It's a man's pride to cook outside," Yuki smiled, though his tone was very indifferent. " And a woman's place in the kitchen," From Hiro. Ayaka slapped him upside the head for his trouble. " Me see," Matsuaki whispered, peeking over K's arm. " Matsuaki, hun, not so close, you'll burn your nose off." " Want to SEE!" " You'll BURN yourself, hun." " I....want...." " Matsuaki, come over here and finish your juice," Tohma casually ordered. " Juice...I want juice..." Shuiichi sat back against Yuki's chest, between his legs, holding up a hot dog. He opened his mouth wide to take a bite...and noticed it tasted rather dry. He glanced down at the sandy blanket....the hot dog had fallen from the bun. He pouted.... " Yuuuuuki?" " NO! You're not having mine." " Where's Tatsuha and Ryuichi?" Noriko asked, putting a burger on her paper plate. The reflections of the torches casting shadows off her and the others this particular evening. " They'll come back." Mika replied, peeking over K's shoulder, " I want that one." " Will you just WAIT!" K replied. " Geez, I know where she GETS it! I want I want I want....Welcome to the Seguchi Beach Party." K's annoyance caused the present party to crack up in laughter. * Elsewhere on the beach, secluded from the hustle and bustle of the party, Ryuichi and Tatsuha [and Kumagoro] rested on a large blue blanket. Ryuichi was laying on his stomache, his head propped on his fists. His elbows on the ground. " Mmmmmm, pretty." Tatsuha sat in the opposite direction. He leaned back on his elbows. Kumagoro sat propped up between them. " Feels perfect." " Ryuichi glanced over at him, " Y'know, I honestly never believed something like this would happen." " Tohma throwing a beach party?" " Nah, I had a feeling he'd do something like that one day." " K cooking?" " Nah, he insists he knows how." " We could fit Kumagoro in that goofy outfit?" Ryuichi turned and covered Kumagoro's ears, " SHHHH! You'll hurt his feelings, Tatsuha." Like always, he humored him. He nodded, " Whoops." " I mean this...us. I've watched Yuki and Shuiichi....I really look up to Shuiichi. He wanted what I had...something he didn't have. He got it. Then, the tables turned. I wanted something he had. I guess I just got so jealous. It didn't bother me so much that Noriko was married and had a little girl. It didn't bother me that Tohma got married.....and originally it didn't bother me about Shuiichi's relationship. But, everyone was just so happy. Everyone always talked about their significant other...and I had no one to talk about. Not many people understand Kumagoro." " I understand him," Tatsuha swooned, grabbing around Ryuichi's waist. He laughed in reply and turned over, putting his arms behind his head. " I know you can." Tatsuha smiled and kissed him, running a hand up Ryuichi's side. " I'm hungry," he purred seductively. " Me too," Ryuichi pushed him back and got up, dusting the sand from him, " Let's go eat." With that, he walked towards the party. Tatsuha sighed and glanced down at Kumagoro. He could have sworn that thing was silently laughing at him, " Well, Kumagoro....I guess this was what I waited my entire life for." END "> Back