~* Road to Hell *~

Prologue: The Road Begins

            When Yuki and Shuichi returned from New York, everyone believed that great changes were on the horizon. No one believed this more strongly than Shuichi himself. However, within a few months it was made clear that there were no great changes to come. Yuki was still spiteful and unaffectionate. His gift of a smile in New York, appeared to be the only romantic gesture Shuichi would receive. Bad Luck was still teetering on the pillar of success. Their accomplishments performed a balancing act against their pitfalls. Their biggest pitfall coming after Touma cancelled their tour of Japan.

            It had now been a year since the couple’s return from New York. It had been just a month ago that Shuichi had made an important decision. If their lives continued this way, he and Yuki would always fight. Yuki always complained about his hyper-activity and his crappy songs. So, he set out to change. It was not just to please Yuki, he told himself. It was to make their relationship work. If he could show he was willing to change maybe it would make Yuki be willing to change as well. Maybe, then he could achieve the happily ever after that they talk about in fairy tales.

            Of course, Shuichi and Yuki were not the only ones having problems. Mika and Touma’s marriage was souring quickly. Mika wanted a child and to return to Kyoto with her husband. After the second retirement of Nittle Grasper, she had finally belived that she could have those things. Touma refused both of her requests. She argued that he could just as easily work through communication, because he made so few public appearances. Still, he refused to give an inch. She was beginning to think that Touma wanting to stay in Tokyo was due to Yuki. He had been the reason that the couple had moved their from Kyoto after their marriage, and now he seemed to be the reason they were doomed to remain there. This made Mika wonder just how far his feelings for Yuki went. She was both desperate to know the truth and afraid of it.

            In the matter of Hiro and Ayaka, it was tougher to determine how they truly felt about each other. They had begun seriously dating after Yuki and Shuichi returned from New York. Despite the fact that they had been dating a year, their relationship had not changed much at all. Hiro was becoming frustrated by just how slowly it seemed to be progressing. He also suspected that Ayaka was still in love with Yuki. He could swear to see a frown cover her beautiful features every time he mentioned that the couple was doing well. Then she would plaster on that fake smile to leave him wondering if he was imagining things. Hiro wondered if he had lost yet another love to that cold hearted novelist.

            Last, but not least, there was the lonely Ryuichi. Many people had questioned themselves about why Ryuichi carried around a pink bunny. No one however, had probably suspicioned that it was a tool to ease his loneliness. Ryuichi had only met one person who made him think of love and being together forever. Though he kept these feelings bottled up inside because this man was in love with someone else.

. . .

            Shuichi glanced furtively around the examination room. There was so much white that the fluorescents practically blinded him. He sat there on the table in a hospital gown waiting for the doctor to arrive. He was there to be tested for possible causes of his hyper activity. He was hoping that whatever caused it could be easily treated with medication. If that was not an option he would simply have to come up with some other way to subdue himself. He knew that he needed to do this, and he would do whatever it took to make it happen. Just as he was thinking those thoughts the doctor walked in to the room.

            “Well, Shindou-san, I have reviewed your form you filled out and to me it seems that there is nothing wrong with you. I would like to ask that you not persist in taking these tests, but if you really feel it is necessary, I will continue.” Shuichi sighed. Everyone had been telling him the same thing all his life. ‘You just have a lot of energy.’ ‘You are just a happy healthy boy.’ He could almost hear those sentiments repeated in his head, mocking him whenever he upset someone with his energetic behavior.

            “Yes, I want to proceed with the tests,” he replied. “I know that I may seem normal, but I’m not. I cannot seem to control my behavior at all.” The doctor pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and looked to be in deep thought. Then he gazed into Shuichi’s eyes as if trying to determine his truthfulness. Then he sighed and turned his attention to the clipboard in his hand.

            “Well, Shindou-san, I will go over the tests that we will be giving you at your next appointment, and you may ask me any questions you have over them.”

. . .

            Yuki sat at his laptop watching the cursor blink. He had not been able to write anything for the past two hours. It was all because of that damn phone call. K had called to ask why Shuichi had went to the doctor that day. I told him that Shuichi did not have a doctor’s appointment he knew of. K had gotten very quiet for a few moments then he had quickly hung up the phone. He had not even said good-bye. Not saying that fact bothered Yuki in the least. Now, he was curious as to where Shuichi was today.

            It was just a few moments later when Yuki heard the door slam. He had come to signify this sound with Shuichi’s return. He waited patiently for Shuichi to burst into the room and brightly proclaim the events of his day, but after a few moments he could see that it was not going to happen. Now, he was worried. He did not admit that to himself of course. However, he found himself standing and leaving the room to check on him. His next surprise came when he discovered that Shuichi was sitting on the couch in the living room, but the television was not on. He was actually just sitting there writing in a notebook.

            The entire evening passed in a tranquil silence. Shuichi made dinner. Afterwards Shuichi cuddled into Yuki’s arms on the couch, as much as Yuki would allow him to cuddle. Yuki ran his fingers through Shuichi’s hair gently lulling him to sleep. Late in the evening, he carried Shuichi to his bed and put him into it. Then he returned to his study to work on his novel. Shuichi had not revealed the events of his day, and Yuki could not bring himself to ask.

. . .

Touma Seguchi lay on his side of the bed in deep thought. Mika was already asleep on the other side of the King sized bed. To a certain extent he felt as if she was not even there. Then again he had spent so much of their marriage imaging that long brown hair was a short blond locks in a radiant disarray. How often he had closed his eyes and dreamed that he were thrusting into the submissive body of a gorgeous male instead of this impetuous female he married. How could he have gone this far astray? What had happened to all he had dreamed of his life? He closed his eyes and waited for blissful sleep to claim him and wisk him off to the land of dreams where he was as good as married to a beautiful blond author with amber eyes as cold as the snow.

Mika heard her husband’s deep sigh from the other side of the bed. Of course, he probably thought she was asleep and could not hear his sounds of desperation. She surveyed a quick glance around their bedroom and a mental glance towards their lives. They had been married for years and lived in a masoleum of a home, but there was nothing there to brighten it, no children or pets. There was nothing there to force them to look outside themselves. She wanted children and a life that any wife had the right to ask for. Maybe, it was what both of them needed to be happy together, a bundle of joy for them to focus all their love upon.

. . .

            Hiro Nakano was having relationship problems of his own. He stood on the balcony of his apartment with a cigarette burning between his fingers. He and Ayaka had fought again. It seemed it was all they did anymore. What had happened to the days of Karokee bars and dancing all night just to share a sweet kiss in the evening? Well, he knew what had happened, after years of flirtatious courting only slightly above the boundaries of friendship he wanted something more. He wanted Ayaka to be his wife. Was that so wrong? Sometimes he wondered what had really made her even consider dating him to begin with. Only now could he bear to ask himself that question for a long time he had just been so happy that she wanted to date him he never bothered to ask why. 

. . .

            Over the next few days Yuki watched Shuichi slowly move around the house. Well, it was actually a pretty normal speed for a person to move, but compared to Shuichi’s pace it was agonizingly slow. It had been this way ever since Shuichi had that doctor’s appointment, and try as he might to deny it, he was getting worried.

Author’s Notes: I intend for this story to be a continuation for Gravitation which means possible spoilers for the entire series. I am really swamped right now since it is finals week at my college and I have 3 fics currently going, but I promise to update at least once a month

Next Chapter:

Chapter 1: Travels of the Road