Under the warm jet of water, Hanamichi washed himself clean. He was feeling more refreshed than he has been since the time of his first dream and being with Rukawa, the redhead felt oddly satiated - like being back home where he belonged.

After drying himself with the towel Rukawa loaned from the landlord, Hanamichi put his clothes back on and stepped out to see the dark-haired man standing outside the balcony, looking out into the night. Hanamichi walked towards him and stood closely from behind.

Feeling the redhead behind him, Rukawa leaned back, letting Hanamichi hesitantly loop his arms around him. It felt odd for the redhead to do this. True, they have made love just four hours ago but that was when they were overcome with their first meeting...
And that vision...

Hanamichi bent his head to inhale his lover's scent. It smelled of the soap that they both were using, mixed with the masculine odour distinctly of Rukawa. It smelled nice. Safe. Familiar.
Of course it should, the redhead thought, chuckling inwardly. When he lifted his head back, Rukawa gave him a long lingering kiss on his lips.

After a moment, they broke apart. Hanamichi smiled the first genuine smile Rukawa has ever seen him give and it was surprisingly contagious to the conductor that his lips threatened to curve out more than what they are used to. Rukawa could not remember a time when he had felt so contented.

Hanamichi and Rukawa walked along the isle of the nearly empty department store, the brunette wheeling the grocery cart while the redhead stayed by his side as they scanned the shelves of food and drinks.

"Meeting after two thousand years calls for a celebration," the redhead proclaimed, picking up a bottle of white wine from the third shelf. The fox-eyed man nodded in agreement at Hanamichi's selection before he walked up to the shelves himself. "Let's take two," Rukawa said.

Hanamichi grinned. "Whatever. It's our party. Hey, you know how to cook?"

Rukawa shook his head. Hanamichi shrugged. "Neither do I. Oh well, I'll go look for some instant ramen or noddles or whatever they got here."

"Sure," the dark-haired man replied getting back to the shelves while Hanamichi searched for the noodles. Rukawa was already holding his bottle of choiced wine when he suddenly realised that the redhead was taking too long to come back. He let the bottle sit back on the shelf before he started walking quickly in search for the missing man. When Rukawa passed by the isle where the noodles were kept, there was no sign of the redhead. The fox-eyed man suddenly felt a sense of panic and his steps quickened.

Rukawa discreetly breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the redhead standing in front of the fruit section a few seconds later. Puting back his usual stony facade, he walked up to the redhead and arched an eyebrow when Hanamichi showed him a packet of cherries.

"Y'know, my dad bought me a bag of cherries when I was a kid and I stuffed myself till I got sick. So now everytime I see cherries I'd feel queazy. I don't now why I want to eat them now. I must be going crazy. Heck, everything is going crazy for me," the redhead in an odd voice but a smile was visible on his lips. Rukawa did not comment but managed to steer Hanamichi back to where he has left their cart earlier.

"Where were you born?" Rukawa asked rolling the cart along as they scanned for any more things that they might need in the empty apartment.

"Here, like you. Only in Shaanxi," the redhead replied, fingering a few items on the shelves as they went along.

"So was I."

Hanamichi blinked and turned to look at Rukawa in surprise. Deep blue eyes looked at him back.

The redhead went on, "My dad was with my mum and a couple of his friends and their wives touring the country side. They were on a boat when my mum gave birth to me."

Rukawa asked, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six," Hanamichi replied.

"So am I," the dark-haired man told him. There was a moment of silence before Rukawa spoke up, "Is it possible for us to have been born at the same year, same day, same time and the same place?"

"If I remember correctly Yohei once told me that I was born by the Lunar calendar, the fifth month, eighth day or something like that," told the redhead.

"If it's correct then it'll be the same for me," Rukawa said evenly.

Coincidence? the redhead wondered. Hanamichi was so engrossed with this discovery that he failed to notice that Rukawa has stopped. When he did realise that he was walking alone, the redhead turned around and walked slowly back to his fox-eyed lover.

The man was still standing in that spot looking at him curiously with his deep blue fox eyes. Hanamichi knew what Rukawa was thinking.

Fate.

Was it their fate to be together again? What about their lives they have been living before? Would it fit with their second chance of being together? Or would it change? What would Yohei say? What would his father say? Would they think him crazy to take up on a man after a few troubled dreams and visions?

"You mentioned a girlfriend," Hanamichi spoke up. Rukawa nodded.

"She loves you very much?"

Another nod.

"And you love her very much?"

"I met you two thousand years before her," Rukawa asserted at once.

Hanamichi protested, "That's not the point! If it weren't for those two thousand years we-"

"We wouldn't be here shopping together," Rukawa cut in icily, "Would we?"

Hanamichi looked at Rukawa, annoyed. "Don't make fun of me."

But then Hanamichi looked closer and he saw the set expression on the other man's face. It was at that moment that the redhead understood why Rukawa was avoiding the subject. The brunette truly cared for the woman. But Hanamichi also knew that Rukawa refused to let him go as well.

"I'm sorry," Hanamichi said softly, picking up Rukawa's hand to give it a squeeze. To his relief, the brunette returned the touch with his warm hands. Together they walked towards the cashier counter to pay for their purchase.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm really worried," Yohei told Ling Ling, "He hasn't returned to the hotel since he left on his own after we got back from the exhibition. I looked every where that I know of and there's no sign of him. Do you know of any place that he might have gone to?"

Ling Ling tapped her chin in thought. "Well, I don't know where he might have gone to. Hey! Maybe he's still with that guy he met here this afternoon."

"What guy?" Yohei asked surprised.

"Tall guy, like Hanamichi. Black hair and gorgeous blue eyes. Very attractive," Ling Ling replied, giving a one-sided smile.
"I didn't know Hanamichi's into guys."

"Of course he's not!" Yohei laughed at her.

Ling Ling arched an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"Because... because... he ... he's been on dates..." Yohei tried before he shot back, "Ok, what makes you think he likes ... this guy?"

"Oh," Ling Ling giggled, "You can clearly see sparks flying between them when they saw each other! The guy asked Hanamichi to come with him and I assure you it's not to just have a little talk. Those blue eyes stared so intensely on Hanamichi and our friend just kept on blushing! Ha! They hardly realised that I was there!"

Yohei snorted. "You were reading the signs wrong."

Ling Ling leaned forward and flicked the strands of Yohei's hair in front of his head daringly. "And when have my readings been wrong, Yohei Mito?"

Yohei opened his mouth but later shut it back with a scowl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanamichi shifted the food distractedly on his paper plate while Rukawa watched him. They were sitting on the floor in the still bare apartment and the simple banquet was spread in front of them, half eaten and slowly getting cold.

"Why aren't you eating?" Rukawa asked putting down his half empty paper cup.

Hanamichi replied in a voice so low that Rukawa hardly heard him, "Long ago after we had made love, we ate just like we are doing now."

The redhead put down his plate slowly before he turned to look outside the balcony. There was no moon and there was nothing to look at except total darkness and the reflection of themselves on the glass doors.

"I wasn't smiling or laughing. Neither were you, although you seldom do." Hanamichi smiled vaguely before his face saddened. "It was our last meal together."

"What happened?" Rukawa asked.

Hanamichi shook his head, "I don't know..."

More vague visions - and it was starting to frustrate the cool Rukawa.

"How can you not know?! What happened? Why was it our last night together? What happened to us?" the dark-haired man demanded, angry. Rukawa did not like not being in control and the ambiguity of his former life was like a vague but visible shadow tagging behind him as if wanting to remind him of something bad that he had done and he has no idea what it was.

"Shit! I told you I don't know!" Hanamichi shot back.

Rukawa sat back down seemingly calming himself. They sat a while in silence before Rukawa spoke up, "During a concert, I saw a statue of myself in the ocean. Why would anyone make a statue that resembled me so much? It was like my own corpse. And who made it?"

Hanamichi sighed, unable to find answers for those questions. Just like all other bits and pieces of visions and dreams they shared, he knew it would take time for them to understand.

After a moment of deep consideration, the redhead decided to tell Rukawa of one vision that he wish he had not seen. It disturbed him greatly and he knew it would do the same for his new lover - most probably even more. But it was Rukawa's right to know.

"I saw you being strangled by soldiers," said Hanamichi slowly.

Rukawa looked at the redhead in surprise. "Why was I strangled?" the brunette asked.

"I wish I know." The redhead sighed tiredly, getting up to walk outside the balcony.

Rukawa got up and caught Hanamichi's arm as soon as he caught up with the redhead outside the glass doors. "Was there anything else?" Rukawa asked.

"No," the Hanamichi groused, shrugging off Rukawa's hand. Rukawa was about to press the redhead for more when something caught the fox-eyed man's attention at the corner of his eyes. Turning around, Rukawa saw that just like what had happened at his pent-house, the old apartment has changed into an ancient-styled bedroom.

Suddenly Rukawa realised that Hanamichi was beside him, gaping at the impossible vision in front of their eyes. He can see it, too? thought Rukawa, stunned. The brunette opened his mouth to ask but Hanamichi was already walking towards the doors, oblivious to his stare.

How could that be? Was their bond so strong that both of them were able to see the vision? Or were the gods or some powerful being playing tricks with them for some purpose?

Nevertheless, Rukawa found himself starting to follow Hanamichi's dazed steps.

***************************************************

Yohei and Ling Ling was walking along the streets, scanning the night crowds for any tall people, in particular a redhead or a fox-eyed brunette. They went into all the various hang-outs, from pubs to bookstores but there was not sign of Hanamichi or the mysterious man.

***************************************************

Ming Mei sat quietly on the couch, staring at the empty wine glass that was used to finish three quarters of the bottle of vodka which was sitting on the table in front of her. Laying beside her on the couch was a photo of her and Rukawa after his first sold-out concert a few years ago.

The woman sighed as she lay back on the couch and shut her eyes, letting the glass fall from her lax fingers and onto the carpet. A tear can be seen as it made its way through her lashes and slowly slid down her smooth cheeks.

The morning light filtered through the uncurtained glass doors of the balcony to fall onto a couple spooned under a long leather jacket. Rukawa and Hanamichi were asleep, the brunette's arm wound around the redhead to press the redhead's back closely onto his bare chest. They have fought with themselves, each other and their dreams from the moment they knew of each other's existence and now as they lay there safe in each other's arms, another battle was waiting for them outside in the world.

Chapter Seven