Blinded, Ch. 6/6
Title: Blinded
Chapters: 6/6
Author: konicoffee
Genre: Romance, Drama, Smut, Angst, AU, AT
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned here.
Warnings: Very basic, no-frills writing. Character death? Perhaps.
Rating: R
Pairings/Characters: Aoi/Uruha, The GazettE
Synopsis: Kouyou was going to die, simply because Yuu knew too much.
Comments: The last chapter of my first fan fiction. I truly, truly enjoyed writing this story. Thanks to everyone who has read this. To anyone who plans to read this fic, I really hope you like it.
Chapters: { One } {Two } { Three } { Four } { Five }
Yuu sat on his couch, nervously flicking his lighter at the cigarette pursed in his lips. He held the dry smoke in his mouth as he attempted to absorb the things he overheard from Kouyou and Yutaka's conversation. Kouyou was, in fact, Uruha. Yutaka, Gazette's new drummer, was the Lord of Dreams. He is responsible for Uruha's existence in this world. Uruha is allowed to exist as Kouyou Takashima. Kouyou remembers everything. But in exchange for Uruha's existence, Kouyou is not allowed to dream, to desire, or to wish. He must also keep his past and his deal with Yutaka a secret. Otherwise, Uruha, Kouyou's life force, disappears. And when that happens...
Kouyou Takashima dies.
The brunette closed his eyes, an image of Kouyou clear in his thoughts. Yuu's chest ached at how magnificent the blonde was, even when he maintained an expressionless face. When he did show emotion, he was even more beautiful. His smile was especially breathtaking. It made Yuu feel good to be alive. He never imagined that while Kouyou made him look forward to living another day, Kouyou, who had no dreams, had nothing to live for. He never imagined that this was the price Uruha had to pay to be by his side.
And Kouyou was going to die, simply because Yuu knew too much.
He was screaming words of self-hatred in his head when his cellphone throbbed in his pocket. Yuu would have thrown his phone across the room if he didn't see the caller's name on the screen. Even if the caller was the last person he wanted to talk to at that particular moment. Yuu cleared his throat, and pressed a random button.
"Hey Kouyou."
"Hi Yuu. Just thought I'd remind you that I need my effect for tomorrow's recording."
Dammit. Kouyou's guitar effects processor was right by his side. He completely forgot that the reason he went to Kouyou's apartment in the first place was to deliver that device to him. "Sorry Kouyou, I forgot. I can bring it over right now."
"Don't sweat it. I'm outside your apartment."
"You're where?"
Yuu felt a little dizzy as he quickly got on his feet. He walked towards the door and opened it to reveal a grinning Kouyou. He was grinning like everything in the world was fine, when it wasn't. Especially not for himself. "Hey."
This might be the last time I'll ever see Kouyou alive.
"Come in."
The fluorescent light droned quietly at the two guitarists on the couch. The blonde watched the soft white light lazily illuminate the drywall on the ceiling. The brunette looked at the blonde whose presence added life to his otherwise dreary living room. He watched sadly as he knew this warmth would disappear soon.
Gazette was going to have their first tour in a few weeks. They were to tour while working on an EP, so everyone braced themselves for exactly what Akira called it - a heaping shitload of back breaking work. Yuu's chest hurt the more he looked at Kouyou. This was an absolutely horrible time for Gazette to lose him.
I guess I should tell him that I know everything. There's nothing else to lose.
But Kouyou spoke first. "I've been unfair to you, haven't I?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. That certain October night has been a chip on your shoulder," the blonde replied as he flickered his eyes at Yuu. "Even though it was also my fault that it happened. I'm sorry."
With this, Yuu's heart leaped to his throat. He felt queasy as flashbacks of that entire night came to him in two seconds. He wondered why Kouyou was bringing it up now, when between the two of them, he was more keen on forgetting about the entire thing.
You clearly didn't want it to happen, but you couldn't do anything to resist it either.
He wondered if it was Yutaka's taunting that made Kouyou feel guilty. "It was my fault," the brunette said, his eyes turning to the floor. He attempted to imagine the anguish Kouyou had gone through. He attempted to imagine waking up everyday knowing that he had no dreams to work hard for and life was quite meaningless. "I was piss drunk and lonely, but you...you were a lot lonelier, Kouyou."
The blonde quietly smiled at him. Yuu's heart sank as he imagined just how revolting each smile must have tasted in Kouyou's mouth. "You," the brunette paused. "More than anyone, you deserve to be happy."
"Do I, now?" Kouyou said softly as he put out his cigarette. Before Yuu could answer, Kouyou got up and lifted the bag that had his guitar effects processor in it. "Gotta go. Work tomorrow. Oh, and Yuu?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Yuu waved at a closed door. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, keeping his heart from falling apart at the memory of Kouyou walking out of his apartment and possibly his life.
Yuu's eyes were still closed when a man appeared before him. It wasn't Kouyou.
"Yutaka."
He looked clear as day, floating in the pitch black that surrounded him. His brown hair hooded his eyes slightly. His dimples framed the lips that formed a childlike smile. His voice was sweet, almost whispering, laced with poison. "Curious, aren't we? Snooping a hobby of yours?"
"How...how did you know?"
"I wouldn't be appearing to you like this if you knew nothing."
"Why the fuck...do you torment him so much?" Yuu was surprised that he blurted out a question like that. He had grown used to avoiding issues, and he had been accustomed to keeping his mouth shut. He then realized that he was dreaming. He had some control over what he wanted to say, but very little on keeping them to himself.
"Because he lets me," The drummer retorted, his lips still in that gentle smile of his.
Rage welled up in Yuu's chest as he sent one of his clenched fists flying towards Yutaka's face. Yutaka grinned as Yuu's body stiffened mid-swing, his face showing a perplexed expression at his inability to move.
"Now, now, no need to get violent," Yutaka said as he slowly walked closer to the guitarist, who was still struggling to move. "I only came here to comfort you. You must be so guilty for eavesdropping. The little hollyhock will disappear, and it's all your fault."
Yuu found his body was slowly leaving its frozen state, but he had lost the will to give Yutaka a beating. He quietly stared at the drummer, unable to come up with anything to say.
"Relax. Kouyou Takashima isn't going to die just yet."
"What?"
"For someone with an incredible imagination, you're pretty dense," Yutaka remarked, stroking Yuu's black hair. Yuu had the strong urge to push him away, but his body had been rendered frozen again. "Think about it. My conditions were his dreams and his silence. Nothing more."
His silence. "Kouyou," Yuu breathed, realizing what Yutaka meant. "He told me nothing."
The drummer smirked for a moment, but his smile quickly returned to its sugary form. "Yes. You found out because you're a nosy little brat," Yutaka replied as his fingers moved from Yuu's hair to his cheek. "But if you ask him anything about his past or our deal, and he answers," Yutaka continued, gently holding Yuu's chin with his fingertips. "Then that will count as telling, so try not to mention anything of that sort, alright?"
Yuu turned his face to the side, attempting to escape Yutaka's gentle but seemingly dangerous clutches. "Why are you telling me this?" He hissed.
Yutaka lifted one eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "A 'thank you for telling me so my mind would be at ease' or a 'thank you for telling me so I don't really kill my friend' would suffice," The drummer replied smiling, but with a slightly insulted tone in his voice. "Besides, I dont want my precious hollyhock dying so quickly. He hasn't entertained me nearly enough."
"You BASTARD," Yuu yelled. "Why do you find delight in his suffering? What do you gain from taking his dreams away?"
Yutaka gently cupped Yuu's cheeks with his hands. "Again, boy, use your imagination. I am the Lord of Dreams, but I am a dream myself. By being a dream, powerful as I may be, what is the one thing I don't have?"
Yuu stayed silent and absentmindedly shook his head.
"Dreams of my own, Yuu," Yutaka whispered. "Unlike humans, dreams themselves do not have any desires or wishes."
Yuu felt the warmth in his body slowly leaving him as Yuu's hands grew colder on his face. "As a human being, Hollyhock would have an endless supply of dreams. I wanted to know what it felt like to desire. To want." Yutaka continued. "And I must say, having dreams is indeed wonderful."
The guitarist glared at him. Yutaka was much sicker than he thought.
"Oh, this body?" Yutaka giggled. "Yes, it's human. But I'm not Yutaka Uke the same way little Hollyhock is Kouyou Takashima. I merely took over this boy's body, but I am not his soul. Yutaka's dreams aren't mine for me to enjoy. If they were, then I probably wouldn't mind Kouyou dying so early."
"I swear you'll pay for this, you SICK FUCK," Yuu managed to say as the chill on his face slowly spread throughout his body.
Yutaka leaned closer to Yuu and whispered something in a language non-existent in the human world. But Yuu was somehow able to understand it.
"That's Lord Kai to you."
Yuu woke up to the shrill sound of his cellphone blaring on the coffee table. His head spun as he reached for his phone. He took the call, too sleepy to check who was calling him so early in the morning.
"Hello?"
"Yuu! Shit Yuu, you gotta come here. Oh God..."
"Calm down, Takanori. Where are you?" Yuu asked as he rubbed his eyes. He still felt dizzy from waking up so suddenly.
The incoherent brunette had to strain his ears to understand what an obviously panicking Takanori was saying. He put together what he managed to make out. No.
No matter how many times he pieced together the words Takanori sputtered, the message was always horrifying.
Kouyou. Sanno Hospital. Emergency. Cardiac arrest.
The doctor told Yuu (more calmly than Takanori did) the situation. Akira and Takanori dragged a stubborn, palpitating Kouyou to the hospital. It was a good thing that they did, because shortly after, Kouyou fell unconscious and went into cardiac arrest for reasons unknown. If Akira were not present to perform CPR ("because the nurses took so fucking long," as Akira put it) while they waited for the defibrillators, Kouyou would most definitely have died. They managed to save Kouyou from sudden cardiac death, but his condition is still nowhere near stable.
Takanori, Akira, and Yuu all sat outside Kouyou's room. All of them were completely still, saying nothing. Yuu looked out the window and watched the clouds slowly drift behind the next hospital building. It was supposed to be a beautiful day. While the rest of Japan probably thought that way, he and his bandmates sat there, hoping Kouyou would wake up, dreading the worst.
The silence was broken by Yutaka's footsteps as he marched towards them. Yuu stood up and walked to meet him. He wanted to drag him to a corner and ask what the fuck was going on, but he hesitated as he saw Yutaka, for the first time, without a smile on his face.
He found himself standing in front of Yutaka, just staring at him. Yuu's heart jumped as Yutaka held him in an embrace and whispered in his ear. "If you have any grand plans of saving Hollyhock, you had better carry them out now."
"Son of a bitch," Yuu hissed. "I thought you said he wasn't in any danger."
"Not from you knowing the truth. There were two conditions to keep his life, weren't there?" Yutaka whispered back.
The gears in Yuu's head moved fast, and the answer came to him promptly. "He's...fighting for a dream?"
"Most likely. And I have a very good idea of what that dream might be," the drummer replied. "There is only one dream he refuses to give me. You should know which one it is."
He knew, indeed. Kouyou. Yuu silently called Kouyou's name repeatedly. Akira approached him and wrapped his arms around him. The bassist was shaking, quietly weeping on Yuu's shoulder. Yuu watched Yutaka hug Takanori, who at that point was crying convulsively.
The nurse's voice pierced through the silence that only Takanori's sobbing had occupied. All four men turned to the nurse who came out of Kouyou's room.
"He's awake. You may see him, but only one visitor at a time, please. He's very tired."
His turn to see Kouyou came. Yuu took a deep breath and entered Kouyou's room. He had no idea how to face him. He knew that anything he says could potentially either end Kouyou's life or break Kouyou's heart.
The brunette sobbed quietly at the sight of Kouyou. He looked anything but okay. He still looked beautiful, but he looked significantly weaker than he did last night. And even though he told the nurse that he felt well enough to see visitors, he was obviously suffering, obviously in a lot of pain.
Kouyou gently stroked Yuu's tear-stained cheeks. "I have a lot of explaining to do."
Yuu took Kouyou's hand and shook his head. "I know everything. I overheard you and...Kai," the brunette choked as he held Kouyou's hand tightly. "I'm sorry, Uruha. I'm so sorry. You went through so much-"
The blonde gently placed a finger on Yuu's lips and gave him a feeble smile. "I regret nothing," he whispered.
"Hollyhock, this is painful even for me to watch."
Both men turned their attention to Yutaka, who had been standing by the door of Kouyou's hospital room. There was no trace of gentleness on his face as he slowly walked to Kouyou's bed.
Before Yuu could yell "stay the fuck away from him," before he could turn around and shove Yutaka's face to the ground, Yuu was sent flying by an invisible, unexplainable force. His back slammed into the wall across the room and he found himself unable to move. Still pinned to the wall, he glared at Yutaka, who continued walking, emotionless, still looking at Kouyou. "Stop fighting, child. Give me the dream."
Kouyou smirked at the drummer, prompting the drummer to narrow his eyes at the blonde. "You need but tell me the dream, and it's mine. Now say it!" Yutaka said sternly.
An immensely alarmed Yuu watched Kouyou wheeze softly, tightly gripping his sheets. "STOP IT, KAI!" Yuu screamed, struggling to unbind himself from Yutaka's hex.
I'm right here, but Kouyou's dying. He's dying alone. He's been alone all this time.
"Kouyou!" He yelled, watching in horror as the color from Kouyou's skin faded away slowly. Kouyou's gasping and wheezing were now more audible, his head to the side, his eyes closed shut.
Yuu thought of every moment he wondered what filled Kouyou's dreams. He was ashamed that he imagined them to be bright and wonderful. Just like his own dreams.
No. He's no longer alone.
"It's my dream too."
Kouyou's wheezing stopped, and Yuu dropped to the floor. Yutaka now looked at the brunette guitarist, for once, with an expression of sheer shock. "What did you say?"
Yuu picked himself up and walked towards Kouyou's bed. "That's right," he groaned. Kouyou is no longer alone. "From now on, every single one of Kouyou's dreams is my dream too."
Yutaka's mouth dropped open at the statement.
"You can't take them away anymore."
Yuu ignored the expressionless Yutaka as the drummer quietly walked out of the room. He instead directed his attention at Kouyou, who looked at him weakly. "And I'll share all my dreams with you, if you'll let me."
"Yuu," Kouyou gasped. Yuu held Kouyou's face in his hands and looked into the blonde's gaze. "My dream," the brunette paused. "My dream is to be with you, Kouyou. What's yours?" Yuu gently brushed his fingers on Kouyou's cheeks. From now on, we will dream together. "Don't be afraid, Kouyou. I'm here."
More tears escaped Kouyou's brown eyes. "I want to be with you too," he whispered. He held both of Yuu's hands as life slowly returned to his body.
He's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay.
Yuu looked at the man he loved with all his being. Sunlight glowed on Kouyou, blinding Yuu slightly. As if gathering the light that surrounded the blonde, Yuu held Kouyou close.
"Let's fall in love."
Yuu looked heavenwards as a cherry blossom-scented breeze howled softly in his ears. It had been more than a year since Kai ended his contract with Kouyou. He was still in Yutaka's body when he spoke to them. "I've had enough fun with you two," Yuu remembered Kai saying. "But you can still keep me amused. Live your lives to the fullest together. If you break up, I'll send you enough nightmares to last you seven lifetimes."
Yutaka hardly changed at all when Kai left his body. He was still a sweet, cheerful guy. He was still a spectacular drummer. So spectacular that he inspired everyone in the band to improve their playing. Everyone in the band worked hard to make Gazette the successful band that it had been so far. They never stopped working hard. Gazette was a dream all five of them shared.
Yutaka conveniently remembered everything about his own past, about Gazette, and their music, but absolutely nothing about Uruha or Kai. About the only thing he knew about Kai is that it was the name he used onstage. Incidentally, it was the same name he used in his previous bands.
Yuu wondered if Kai had planned all this from the very beginning. But his thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of long, warm fingers locking with his own.
He gazed at Kouyou, who had also been looking heavenwards, watching the cherry blossoms sway with the wind, shedding a few blossoms in the process. He smiled at the sight of his love against the row of cherry blossom trees in that part of Mie. He had lived his childhood walking on this road by himself. But seeing Kouyou by his side on this particular road reminded him that he was no longer alone.
We are no longer alone.
Yuu smiled once more. He was proud to have shared this special love with Kouyou. A love unblinded by gender. Unblinded by fear. Unblinded by reality itself.
Kouyou smiled back at Yuu. "Okaeri."
Taking Kouyou's hand, Yuu walked by his side on the cherry blossom-lined road in Inabe. And for the first time in his life, he felt a fulfilled, sacred peace.
The End
Chapters: 6/6
Author: konicoffee
Genre: Romance, Drama, Smut, Angst, AU, AT
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned here.
Warnings: Very basic, no-frills writing. Character death? Perhaps.
Rating: R
Pairings/Characters: Aoi/Uruha, The GazettE
Synopsis: Kouyou was going to die, simply because Yuu knew too much.
Comments: The last chapter of my first fan fiction. I truly, truly enjoyed writing this story. Thanks to everyone who has read this. To anyone who plans to read this fic, I really hope you like it.
Chapters: { One } {Two } { Three } { Four } { Five }
Yuu sat on his couch, nervously flicking his lighter at the cigarette pursed in his lips. He held the dry smoke in his mouth as he attempted to absorb the things he overheard from Kouyou and Yutaka's conversation. Kouyou was, in fact, Uruha. Yutaka, Gazette's new drummer, was the Lord of Dreams. He is responsible for Uruha's existence in this world. Uruha is allowed to exist as Kouyou Takashima. Kouyou remembers everything. But in exchange for Uruha's existence, Kouyou is not allowed to dream, to desire, or to wish. He must also keep his past and his deal with Yutaka a secret. Otherwise, Uruha, Kouyou's life force, disappears. And when that happens...
Kouyou Takashima dies.
The brunette closed his eyes, an image of Kouyou clear in his thoughts. Yuu's chest ached at how magnificent the blonde was, even when he maintained an expressionless face. When he did show emotion, he was even more beautiful. His smile was especially breathtaking. It made Yuu feel good to be alive. He never imagined that while Kouyou made him look forward to living another day, Kouyou, who had no dreams, had nothing to live for. He never imagined that this was the price Uruha had to pay to be by his side.
And Kouyou was going to die, simply because Yuu knew too much.
He was screaming words of self-hatred in his head when his cellphone throbbed in his pocket. Yuu would have thrown his phone across the room if he didn't see the caller's name on the screen. Even if the caller was the last person he wanted to talk to at that particular moment. Yuu cleared his throat, and pressed a random button.
"Hey Kouyou."
"Hi Yuu. Just thought I'd remind you that I need my effect for tomorrow's recording."
Dammit. Kouyou's guitar effects processor was right by his side. He completely forgot that the reason he went to Kouyou's apartment in the first place was to deliver that device to him. "Sorry Kouyou, I forgot. I can bring it over right now."
"Don't sweat it. I'm outside your apartment."
"You're where?"
Yuu felt a little dizzy as he quickly got on his feet. He walked towards the door and opened it to reveal a grinning Kouyou. He was grinning like everything in the world was fine, when it wasn't. Especially not for himself. "Hey."
This might be the last time I'll ever see Kouyou alive.
"Come in."
The fluorescent light droned quietly at the two guitarists on the couch. The blonde watched the soft white light lazily illuminate the drywall on the ceiling. The brunette looked at the blonde whose presence added life to his otherwise dreary living room. He watched sadly as he knew this warmth would disappear soon.
Gazette was going to have their first tour in a few weeks. They were to tour while working on an EP, so everyone braced themselves for exactly what Akira called it - a heaping shitload of back breaking work. Yuu's chest hurt the more he looked at Kouyou. This was an absolutely horrible time for Gazette to lose him.
I guess I should tell him that I know everything. There's nothing else to lose.
But Kouyou spoke first. "I've been unfair to you, haven't I?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. That certain October night has been a chip on your shoulder," the blonde replied as he flickered his eyes at Yuu. "Even though it was also my fault that it happened. I'm sorry."
With this, Yuu's heart leaped to his throat. He felt queasy as flashbacks of that entire night came to him in two seconds. He wondered why Kouyou was bringing it up now, when between the two of them, he was more keen on forgetting about the entire thing.
You clearly didn't want it to happen, but you couldn't do anything to resist it either.
He wondered if it was Yutaka's taunting that made Kouyou feel guilty. "It was my fault," the brunette said, his eyes turning to the floor. He attempted to imagine the anguish Kouyou had gone through. He attempted to imagine waking up everyday knowing that he had no dreams to work hard for and life was quite meaningless. "I was piss drunk and lonely, but you...you were a lot lonelier, Kouyou."
The blonde quietly smiled at him. Yuu's heart sank as he imagined just how revolting each smile must have tasted in Kouyou's mouth. "You," the brunette paused. "More than anyone, you deserve to be happy."
"Do I, now?" Kouyou said softly as he put out his cigarette. Before Yuu could answer, Kouyou got up and lifted the bag that had his guitar effects processor in it. "Gotta go. Work tomorrow. Oh, and Yuu?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Yuu waved at a closed door. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, keeping his heart from falling apart at the memory of Kouyou walking out of his apartment and possibly his life.
Yuu's eyes were still closed when a man appeared before him. It wasn't Kouyou.
"Yutaka."
He looked clear as day, floating in the pitch black that surrounded him. His brown hair hooded his eyes slightly. His dimples framed the lips that formed a childlike smile. His voice was sweet, almost whispering, laced with poison. "Curious, aren't we? Snooping a hobby of yours?"
"How...how did you know?"
"I wouldn't be appearing to you like this if you knew nothing."
"Why the fuck...do you torment him so much?" Yuu was surprised that he blurted out a question like that. He had grown used to avoiding issues, and he had been accustomed to keeping his mouth shut. He then realized that he was dreaming. He had some control over what he wanted to say, but very little on keeping them to himself.
"Because he lets me," The drummer retorted, his lips still in that gentle smile of his.
Rage welled up in Yuu's chest as he sent one of his clenched fists flying towards Yutaka's face. Yutaka grinned as Yuu's body stiffened mid-swing, his face showing a perplexed expression at his inability to move.
"Now, now, no need to get violent," Yutaka said as he slowly walked closer to the guitarist, who was still struggling to move. "I only came here to comfort you. You must be so guilty for eavesdropping. The little hollyhock will disappear, and it's all your fault."
Yuu found his body was slowly leaving its frozen state, but he had lost the will to give Yutaka a beating. He quietly stared at the drummer, unable to come up with anything to say.
"Relax. Kouyou Takashima isn't going to die just yet."
"What?"
"For someone with an incredible imagination, you're pretty dense," Yutaka remarked, stroking Yuu's black hair. Yuu had the strong urge to push him away, but his body had been rendered frozen again. "Think about it. My conditions were his dreams and his silence. Nothing more."
His silence. "Kouyou," Yuu breathed, realizing what Yutaka meant. "He told me nothing."
The drummer smirked for a moment, but his smile quickly returned to its sugary form. "Yes. You found out because you're a nosy little brat," Yutaka replied as his fingers moved from Yuu's hair to his cheek. "But if you ask him anything about his past or our deal, and he answers," Yutaka continued, gently holding Yuu's chin with his fingertips. "Then that will count as telling, so try not to mention anything of that sort, alright?"
Yuu turned his face to the side, attempting to escape Yutaka's gentle but seemingly dangerous clutches. "Why are you telling me this?" He hissed.
Yutaka lifted one eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "A 'thank you for telling me so my mind would be at ease' or a 'thank you for telling me so I don't really kill my friend' would suffice," The drummer replied smiling, but with a slightly insulted tone in his voice. "Besides, I dont want my precious hollyhock dying so quickly. He hasn't entertained me nearly enough."
"You BASTARD," Yuu yelled. "Why do you find delight in his suffering? What do you gain from taking his dreams away?"
Yutaka gently cupped Yuu's cheeks with his hands. "Again, boy, use your imagination. I am the Lord of Dreams, but I am a dream myself. By being a dream, powerful as I may be, what is the one thing I don't have?"
Yuu stayed silent and absentmindedly shook his head.
"Dreams of my own, Yuu," Yutaka whispered. "Unlike humans, dreams themselves do not have any desires or wishes."
Yuu felt the warmth in his body slowly leaving him as Yuu's hands grew colder on his face. "As a human being, Hollyhock would have an endless supply of dreams. I wanted to know what it felt like to desire. To want." Yutaka continued. "And I must say, having dreams is indeed wonderful."
The guitarist glared at him. Yutaka was much sicker than he thought.
"Oh, this body?" Yutaka giggled. "Yes, it's human. But I'm not Yutaka Uke the same way little Hollyhock is Kouyou Takashima. I merely took over this boy's body, but I am not his soul. Yutaka's dreams aren't mine for me to enjoy. If they were, then I probably wouldn't mind Kouyou dying so early."
"I swear you'll pay for this, you SICK FUCK," Yuu managed to say as the chill on his face slowly spread throughout his body.
Yutaka leaned closer to Yuu and whispered something in a language non-existent in the human world. But Yuu was somehow able to understand it.
"That's Lord Kai to you."
Yuu woke up to the shrill sound of his cellphone blaring on the coffee table. His head spun as he reached for his phone. He took the call, too sleepy to check who was calling him so early in the morning.
"Hello?"
"Yuu! Shit Yuu, you gotta come here. Oh God..."
"Calm down, Takanori. Where are you?" Yuu asked as he rubbed his eyes. He still felt dizzy from waking up so suddenly.
The incoherent brunette had to strain his ears to understand what an obviously panicking Takanori was saying. He put together what he managed to make out. No.
No matter how many times he pieced together the words Takanori sputtered, the message was always horrifying.
Kouyou. Sanno Hospital. Emergency. Cardiac arrest.
The doctor told Yuu (more calmly than Takanori did) the situation. Akira and Takanori dragged a stubborn, palpitating Kouyou to the hospital. It was a good thing that they did, because shortly after, Kouyou fell unconscious and went into cardiac arrest for reasons unknown. If Akira were not present to perform CPR ("because the nurses took so fucking long," as Akira put it) while they waited for the defibrillators, Kouyou would most definitely have died. They managed to save Kouyou from sudden cardiac death, but his condition is still nowhere near stable.
Takanori, Akira, and Yuu all sat outside Kouyou's room. All of them were completely still, saying nothing. Yuu looked out the window and watched the clouds slowly drift behind the next hospital building. It was supposed to be a beautiful day. While the rest of Japan probably thought that way, he and his bandmates sat there, hoping Kouyou would wake up, dreading the worst.
The silence was broken by Yutaka's footsteps as he marched towards them. Yuu stood up and walked to meet him. He wanted to drag him to a corner and ask what the fuck was going on, but he hesitated as he saw Yutaka, for the first time, without a smile on his face.
He found himself standing in front of Yutaka, just staring at him. Yuu's heart jumped as Yutaka held him in an embrace and whispered in his ear. "If you have any grand plans of saving Hollyhock, you had better carry them out now."
"Son of a bitch," Yuu hissed. "I thought you said he wasn't in any danger."
"Not from you knowing the truth. There were two conditions to keep his life, weren't there?" Yutaka whispered back.
The gears in Yuu's head moved fast, and the answer came to him promptly. "He's...fighting for a dream?"
"Most likely. And I have a very good idea of what that dream might be," the drummer replied. "There is only one dream he refuses to give me. You should know which one it is."
He knew, indeed. Kouyou. Yuu silently called Kouyou's name repeatedly. Akira approached him and wrapped his arms around him. The bassist was shaking, quietly weeping on Yuu's shoulder. Yuu watched Yutaka hug Takanori, who at that point was crying convulsively.
The nurse's voice pierced through the silence that only Takanori's sobbing had occupied. All four men turned to the nurse who came out of Kouyou's room.
"He's awake. You may see him, but only one visitor at a time, please. He's very tired."
His turn to see Kouyou came. Yuu took a deep breath and entered Kouyou's room. He had no idea how to face him. He knew that anything he says could potentially either end Kouyou's life or break Kouyou's heart.
The brunette sobbed quietly at the sight of Kouyou. He looked anything but okay. He still looked beautiful, but he looked significantly weaker than he did last night. And even though he told the nurse that he felt well enough to see visitors, he was obviously suffering, obviously in a lot of pain.
Kouyou gently stroked Yuu's tear-stained cheeks. "I have a lot of explaining to do."
Yuu took Kouyou's hand and shook his head. "I know everything. I overheard you and...Kai," the brunette choked as he held Kouyou's hand tightly. "I'm sorry, Uruha. I'm so sorry. You went through so much-"
The blonde gently placed a finger on Yuu's lips and gave him a feeble smile. "I regret nothing," he whispered.
"Hollyhock, this is painful even for me to watch."
Both men turned their attention to Yutaka, who had been standing by the door of Kouyou's hospital room. There was no trace of gentleness on his face as he slowly walked to Kouyou's bed.
Before Yuu could yell "stay the fuck away from him," before he could turn around and shove Yutaka's face to the ground, Yuu was sent flying by an invisible, unexplainable force. His back slammed into the wall across the room and he found himself unable to move. Still pinned to the wall, he glared at Yutaka, who continued walking, emotionless, still looking at Kouyou. "Stop fighting, child. Give me the dream."
Kouyou smirked at the drummer, prompting the drummer to narrow his eyes at the blonde. "You need but tell me the dream, and it's mine. Now say it!" Yutaka said sternly.
An immensely alarmed Yuu watched Kouyou wheeze softly, tightly gripping his sheets. "STOP IT, KAI!" Yuu screamed, struggling to unbind himself from Yutaka's hex.
I'm right here, but Kouyou's dying. He's dying alone. He's been alone all this time.
"Kouyou!" He yelled, watching in horror as the color from Kouyou's skin faded away slowly. Kouyou's gasping and wheezing were now more audible, his head to the side, his eyes closed shut.
Yuu thought of every moment he wondered what filled Kouyou's dreams. He was ashamed that he imagined them to be bright and wonderful. Just like his own dreams.
No. He's no longer alone.
"It's my dream too."
Kouyou's wheezing stopped, and Yuu dropped to the floor. Yutaka now looked at the brunette guitarist, for once, with an expression of sheer shock. "What did you say?"
Yuu picked himself up and walked towards Kouyou's bed. "That's right," he groaned. Kouyou is no longer alone. "From now on, every single one of Kouyou's dreams is my dream too."
Yutaka's mouth dropped open at the statement.
"You can't take them away anymore."
Yuu ignored the expressionless Yutaka as the drummer quietly walked out of the room. He instead directed his attention at Kouyou, who looked at him weakly. "And I'll share all my dreams with you, if you'll let me."
"Yuu," Kouyou gasped. Yuu held Kouyou's face in his hands and looked into the blonde's gaze. "My dream," the brunette paused. "My dream is to be with you, Kouyou. What's yours?" Yuu gently brushed his fingers on Kouyou's cheeks. From now on, we will dream together. "Don't be afraid, Kouyou. I'm here."
More tears escaped Kouyou's brown eyes. "I want to be with you too," he whispered. He held both of Yuu's hands as life slowly returned to his body.
He's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay.
Yuu looked at the man he loved with all his being. Sunlight glowed on Kouyou, blinding Yuu slightly. As if gathering the light that surrounded the blonde, Yuu held Kouyou close.
"Let's fall in love."
Yuu looked heavenwards as a cherry blossom-scented breeze howled softly in his ears. It had been more than a year since Kai ended his contract with Kouyou. He was still in Yutaka's body when he spoke to them. "I've had enough fun with you two," Yuu remembered Kai saying. "But you can still keep me amused. Live your lives to the fullest together. If you break up, I'll send you enough nightmares to last you seven lifetimes."
Yutaka hardly changed at all when Kai left his body. He was still a sweet, cheerful guy. He was still a spectacular drummer. So spectacular that he inspired everyone in the band to improve their playing. Everyone in the band worked hard to make Gazette the successful band that it had been so far. They never stopped working hard. Gazette was a dream all five of them shared.
Yutaka conveniently remembered everything about his own past, about Gazette, and their music, but absolutely nothing about Uruha or Kai. About the only thing he knew about Kai is that it was the name he used onstage. Incidentally, it was the same name he used in his previous bands.
Yuu wondered if Kai had planned all this from the very beginning. But his thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of long, warm fingers locking with his own.
He gazed at Kouyou, who had also been looking heavenwards, watching the cherry blossoms sway with the wind, shedding a few blossoms in the process. He smiled at the sight of his love against the row of cherry blossom trees in that part of Mie. He had lived his childhood walking on this road by himself. But seeing Kouyou by his side on this particular road reminded him that he was no longer alone.
We are no longer alone.
Yuu smiled once more. He was proud to have shared this special love with Kouyou. A love unblinded by gender. Unblinded by fear. Unblinded by reality itself.
Kouyou smiled back at Yuu. "Okaeri."
Taking Kouyou's hand, Yuu walked by his side on the cherry blossom-lined road in Inabe. And for the first time in his life, he felt a fulfilled, sacred peace.
The End