Yohei paced the lounge area of the hotel lobby with a worried frown on his face. Mr. Chung, the curator of the museum, watched silently while Ling Ling plucked at the cloth of the arm chair boredly.
"Yohei, I know you are worried but please calm yourself and sit down," Mr. Chung told him.
"How can I calm down? He hasn't been back for a whole night," Yohei groused.
"I still think he's with that black-haired guy," said Ling Ling.
Yohei gave her an annoyed glare. "Ok, so if he's with this guy, he should have called me. I mean, maybe the guy's a psychopath or something."
Ling Ling sighed. "So you think we should call the police?"
Yohei opened his mouth to agree when suddenly he saw Hanamichi walk through the front door of the hotel. The brunette stomped towards his friend angrily and when he was near, he caught the redhead's arm and spun him around.
"Where have you been?!" Yohei demanded.
"Yohei? Uh... I... ," Hanamichi began to stutter, when suddenly Yohei's hand which was gripping the redhead's arm was forcefully pulled away by a stronger hand.
Yohei looked up at the stranger who released his hand roughly, in surprise. The person towered over Yohei and fixed the shorter man with a warning look from cold blue eyes.
"No, Rukawa," Hanamichi said quickly, "he's my best-friend, Yohei. The one I've been telling you about."
Hanamichi turned back to his friend. "Yohei..." he wanted to say when he suddenly saw Ling Ling and Mr. Chung quickly walking up to them.
"Hanamichi! Where have you been?" Ling Ling asked worriedly, but when she saw Rukawa beside the redhead, the young woman grinned.
Hanamichi blushed. "Urm.. yeah. This is my friend, Rukawa Kaede. He's an... old friend of mine and I went to his place to do some catching up."
"Of course," Ling Ling nodded, her grin growing wider much to Yohei's irritation.
"Hey, aren't you that Japanese conductor from Japan? Yes, I think you are!" the young woman exclaimed before turning to her former teacher, "Mr. Chung here is interested in music like yours, aren't you?"
"Huh? Uh, yes I am," said the curator. He had been staring at Rukawa with concentration and only managed to answer the question when Ling Ling nudged him with her elbow.
"Ling Ling, Yohei, Hanamichi and Mr. Rukawa. I think I had better be going now. I have something very important to do so if you will please excuse me," the older man apologized. He shook hands with all of them and when it was time to shake Rukawa's hand, he looked at the tall raven-haired man with amazement before walking away hastily.
Ling Ling blinked. "What was that about?"
"Beats me," Yohei shrugged before turning to his best-friend, "You've got some explaining to do, Hanamichi."
"Yeah, I guess I owe you that. We'll go upstairs to talk," the redhead said before turning towards Rukawa, "C'mon."
Together, they walked towards the elevators with Rukawa and Hanamichi at the front and Ling Ling walking beside Yohei. Rukawa and Hanamichi were talking in low whispers and Yohei could've sworn Hanamichi's hand kept on straying towards the other man's as if to carress or just to hold for a second.
"Told you so," whispered Ling Ling from his side. Yohei only gave her a narrowed look.
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"And what you're telling me is that both of you are reincarnations from the Qin Dynasty era?"
Hanamichi nodded silently while Yohei fixed him an incredulous look. The quartet has gone up to Yohei and Hanamichi's suite and were now silent after the redhead told them of what has happened to him and Rukawa for the past few days. Ling Ling was perched on the arm of the chair Yohei was sitting on while Rukawa sat closely to the redhead on the sofa.
Seeing that Yohei was still in the gaping mode, Ling Ling cleared her throat loudly. "It might be possible, y'know. Hanamichi and Rukawa did explain to us some things from their former lives that is very much similiar from what I have learnt and read from the past civilisation. Scary."
"Don't tell me that you are a believer of reincarnation?" Yohei asked dryly at his former university mate.
Ling Ling shrugged. "If it makes sense about what Hanamichi and Rukawa have gone through, hey, why not?" She poked at Yohei on the chest. "And as far as I can remember, you're not the narrow minded-type, Yohei."
Not when it involves my friend, Yohei frowned mentally.
Suddenly, Rukawa spoke up, "I must be going now. I need to take care of a few matters". He stood up as did the redhead who walked him to the door.
"I'll call you later," Rukawa told Hanamichi lowly and the redhead nodded. The dark-haired man was about to leave when he lifted his hand to quickly carress the redhead's cheek before turning away.
Yohei and Ling Ling was too far away to hear what Rukawa was telling Hanamichi but they did see that loving gesture by the silent man on the now-blushing redhead. Ling Ling tried to surpress a giggle while Yohei groaned, "His dad's gonna kill me."
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As Hanamichi and Yohei sat in their suite eating their meal brought up by room-service, the redhead was busy remembering the dinner that he had with the fox-eyed man, when the the grating clink of silver and plate came from the direction of his friend, snapping his mind back to the present. Yohei was roughly attacking his dinner, munching it with a scowl and the redhead was certain it was not directed at the food.
"Yohei," Hanamichi said but his friend refused to look at him.
"Yohei," Hanamichi tried again, "wanna talk about it?"
Yohei humphed, setting the silverware down on the plate with a clatter. "Talk? What is there to talk about. You're convinced that this guy's the one for you just because of a few dreams both of you had the coincidence of sharing?"
"C'mon, Yohei! I thought you always trust me?" Hanamichi pleaded.
"I don't want you to waste your life for some guy who only comes to you because of a few dreams he had. That's not a life to lead if it's based on that," Yohei snapped.
"We truly care for each other" Hanamichi replied angrily.
"Because of the past," Yohei reminded him, "And what will happen if the time comes when both of you realise that each is leading a different life at this present time? That your feelings have emerged only because of a few dreams? What will happen to your feelings then?"
Hanamichi let his head fall before turning up to meet Yohei's eyes with a gentle smile Yohei had never seen before in his brash long-time friend. "Then let me revel in those feelings until that time comes. Let me relive my dream until the end, ok, Yohei?"
Yohei stared at the redhead before his shoulders slumped in defeat. The shorter man sighed. "All right. It's your call. Just promise me one thing, though."
Hanamichi nodded, waiting for Yohei to speak again.
Hanamichi smiled broadly before he slapped his friend at the back, making Yohei lurch forward with a choke.
"You can trust the tensai, my friend," the redhead said heartily.
"Baka," the brunette groused.
Under normal circumstances, Hanamichi would have hit Yohei for that insult but instead he went back eating his dinner with his cheer back on his face.
Then Yohei's voice said gloomily, "You're dad's gonna be disappointed though. He was hoping for some grandchildren. No chance of that happening if you're gonna stick with Rukawa now."
Hanamichi nearly choked on his food before he blushed bright red at that last comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rukawa was about to unlock the door to the pent-house when it was suddenly flung open and standing there in front of him was Ming Mei with circles under her eyes, looking worn and haggard. The young woman suddenly turned around to walk into the living room without a word, and after a moment's hesitation Rukawa followed her silently from behind.
Ming Mei sat herself on the couch while Rukawa remained standing as he leaned his body on a nearby wall at the distance away from his former lover.
"The red-haired man," Ming Mei suddenly said.
Rukawa met the young woman's eyes without betraying his surprise as she continued, "The old woman said that he was waiting for you. And that I should stay away from you because you're both to be together again."
She laughed nervously. "That's some joke, huh, Kaede?"
"It's no joke," Rukawa said lowly.
Ming Mei smiled a little but her tone was dangerous, "So I assume you spent the night with him?"
"Hai."
Ming Mei lifted her head up to glare at Rukawa angrily. "That's crazy! I don't believe in this stupid supersitious thing! How can you?!"
"Be as it may," Rukawa replied, seeming to lack of any outward emotion, "I have met him and I'm not leaving him."
Ming Mei's beautiful eyes glittered in fury. "Damn you! Damn you!" she screamed, making Rukawa mentally grimace. When she started crying, hugging herself in despair, Rukawa could only watch with a feeling of guilt and remorse.
"Ming Mei..." Rukawa began but the woman suddenly jumped up from the couch and ran up to Rukawa, clutching at him as she sobbed brokenly against his chest. Rukawa pressed himself back against the wall as Ming Mei tried to hold onto him more closely, the man's body stiff and his arms laying still on his side.
Ming Mei lifted her head up to look at Rukawa through wet lashes, sadly asking, "You won't touch me anymore? Just after a night with him?"
When Rukawa did not answer, she continued to weep and he only let her hold him until she had cried all her tears dry.
Still, Rukawa's eyes did not waver from Yohei.
"I'll talk to you later."
"I take it you were with your companion here?"
"If that time comes, you know who to turn to," the brunette said.
He then bowed his head down as he said softly, "I... I'm sorry"
Chapter Eight