16-Jan-2002
See Part 1 for notes!
Title: Orbital Variations
Author: bonnejeanne (bonnejeanne@yahoo.com) and von (sablexo1@yahoo.com)
Category: shounen ai, AU, crossover
Rating: PG -13?
Pairings: um....
WARNINGS: Very probably OOC all over the place. Is this a GW fic? Well if you think of Kenny and Duan as alternate Heero and Duo, I guess...
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and Gravitation characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners. Our stuff is ours. No money being made here.
As with all our fics, while our goal is to stay as in character as possible, any discrepancies are our mistakes.
Feedback: Any and all comments welcome, be they short or long.
WARNINGS: (for parts 4+) Psychotic Taki, Too Many Blonds...
Noin heard a soft beep from her watch and took a deep breath, suppressing a reluctant sigh. "Okay, I was wrong," she said, her voice husky. "There *is* such thing as a back seat comfortable enough for adults to neck in."
K chuckled triumphantly. "You're beeping," he said, quietly.
Noin shrugged apologetically. "I should check on my crew. Technically, they're under age." She began refastening her clothing.
K smiled slowly. "Aa," he said. "The manager in me understands. The man does not," he said, leaning over and brushing Noin's hair back.
Reaching out, Noin smiled as she helped K with *his* clothing. "Well if the man can be patient, I'll see if I can avoid keeping him waiting very long... *if* he's willing to wait."
"He can wait until the end of time for the beautiful Noin," K replied, pressing his lips to hers for a brief kiss.
Noin chuckled into the kiss. "He's an extravagant talker, isn't he?" she murmured.
Waiting for K to pull into the hotel garage, Noin jumped out lightly and headed up to the room.
While waiting, the blond agent checked his own pager messages. One of his sources left an odd one - a tip that the local PD had received an anonymous call reporting an attempted attack on one of the contest performers just an hour or so earlier.
K frowned down at the pager, then retrieved his phone. He called to Hiro and Shuichi's room. His hand moved down to his gun.
Hiro's voice answered, low and quiet as if attempting not to disturb someone. "Nakano."
"Nakano! This is your manager. Is everything all right?" K asked, listening closely.
"Um... yeah it's fine, now," Hiro answered softly. "There was a little trouble, but Shuichi is all right. He's sleeping, I don't want to wake him, he's flat out exhausted."
"What kind of trouble, Nakano-san?"
"Someone faked a note from Yuki, and then tried to beat Shu-kun up. A guy from one of the other bands happened by and helped out. So it's ok," Hiro said, wanting to put off having to deal with it further until the morning.
K nodded. "Hn," he said. "Get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow, Nanako-san."
"Right," Hiro answered and hung up. That wasn't too bad, he thought.
K pulled out the gun and checked it. This kind of thing interfered with his plans for Bad Luck and that could not be allowed. Whoever it was who presumed to attack his singer would be dealt with, with extreme prejudice. The band who had assisted would be rewarded with a contract for their efforts. He would see to it. Making a mental note to check with the legal end of it, K then sat back in his seat and waited for the lovely Noin to return.
Noin came back a few minutes later, her brow furrowed and her steps quick.
"Something you need to know about," she said, leaning to talk to him through the open car door. "One of your kids was mugged - he's ok, according to mine. Kenny says it was some kind of attempt to take him out, something about someone not liking his singing." She grimaced. "I'm sure you don't need my advice but I'd keep it quiet if I were you, for the time being."
K's eyebrows rose and he nodded. "Hai and thank you," he said. "I just spoke with one of my guys. They're getting some rest now. It was your Kenny who assisted?"
Noin's expression became slightly wary. "Yes. But that isn't for public consumption, ok?"
K leaned forward, his nose nearly touching Noin's. "Ok," he said. "I had not planned on 'reporting' it to anyone."
"Fine," Noin said firmly. "My kids are... special. So... you want to take a little trip down to talk to local PD? I wouldn't mind riding shotgun. I might be able to pull some strings if yours come up short."
"Get in," K said, as a slow smile spread across his face. He liked this woman more with each passing moment. "Time for the managers to go to work."
Aizawa Taki hadn't gotten any sleep. Meeting his bandmates the evening before, he'd professed to be disappointed, but not overly dismayed by the upset in the rankings, but let himself get talked into bar-hopping to drown their sorrows. Taki wasn't one to make a mistake more than one time: he was laying in an alibi and doing it well. It didn't take a lot to be noticed in several public establishments, just a bit of rowdiness, even a scuffle or two with some idiot who offended him in some obscure manner. Making sure, he drank and caroused and eventually had to be taken back to his hotel in a cab a couple of hours before dawn. But part of him would not shut off. If... if... maybe there would be a phone call... one of the other bands had to drop out, and as number six, they were needed to step into that place... It wasn't so much that he was counting on that, it would have been too much to be expected, but still the thought...
The second round of the contest was to commence at 10am. This would be much shorter, all over in an hour, perhaps two. Though a lot of bands had probably left or were leaving, surely some of them would stick around to see who made it. He wouldn't be the only one casually checking the competition for the sake of gauging the judges to see what worked and what didn't, for next time...
With no sleep and an aching head that threatened to split with every step even after multiple doses of painkillers, Taki showered, dressed and made his way to the auditorium. Remember to be shocked about the news, he thought.
The building was nowhere near as crowded as the day before, but there were plenty of people. This crowd included some of the bands that had been cut, as he'd hoped, but also lots of media people and curious fans. This portion would be covered by the media, since the companies that had sponsored the advancing bands were all sending representatives including their top management in some cases.
That was the first thing Taki had forgotten. That Tohma Seguchi might actually be there.
In the green room, the five chosen bands enjoyed the luxury of an actual private area, even if shared with four other bands. Sweet pastries and drinks had been put out on a long table at one in, another mark of favor. Eyeing each other in a cautious, but friendly way, the five finalist bands all arrived early enough to spend plenty of time checking each other out, and talking themselves into confidence.
There seemed to be a little more warmth between two of the bands today that might have been expected by those not in the know.
Already there when Bad Luck arrived, the kids from Red Angel greeted the three in a friendly and familiar manner - Carter waved, Mei and Wufan smiled, having been informed along with Tryan of the evening's events. Kenny met Shuichi's eyes with something that could have been taken for the same cool, assessing look he'd been favored with on the previous day. Kenny was checking the red mop top over to see if he was doing all right, but he didn't feel any need to let the whole world know it.
Shuichi smiled fully and waved at Kenny. His eyes were bright and looked as though he had benefited from a good night's rest. He wore a different ensemble than he would have normally. No bare midriff today, just a sleeveless white vinyl top which covered the bruise on his stomach and a pair of matching shorts. "Hello Red Angel!" he called out, cheerfully, his attention on Kenny the whole time.
Duan looked up with a banana bread slice in his mouth and waved back. Just beyond Shuichi, he spotted Hiro Nakano and sputtered a little as he removed the bread from his mouth. Can you be any more of a dork? he thought, fighting to regain some semblance of cool back. "How am I?" he asked Kenny quickly. "Crumbs or not?"
"You're a dweeb," Kenny answered, smiling slowly. He brushed something off Duan's chin. "Ok, go make time."
Hiro set down his guitar case in the area marked for Bad Luck, which was incidentally next to Red Angel, and walked over to the six-member group. "Ohayo," he said with a slight smile. "You leave us anything eatable?"
"Lots!" Duan replied. The word sounded a little loud and too eager in his ears. "Um... the banana bread is excellent. The food is good," he said, looking up a the tall and gorgeous guitarist.
Hiro smiled, looking into Duan's wide violet eyes. He noticed a small crumb next to the corner of the boy's mouth and felt a surge of warmth that seemed a little more than was warranted. The color in Duan's full cheeks seemed a little higher than it ought to be. Trying to shake off echoes of Shuichi's taunts from the night before, he realized he was looking into the other guitarist's eyes for several moments too long.
"Yeah?" he said finally, casting around for some kind of reply. "How's the coffee? I could use a some..."
Duan felt a kind of tunnel vision thing happening as he fell into Hiro's gaze. Hearing Hiro speak, Duan took a breath, feeling a sense of calm envelope him for a moment. "Coffee's great, man. Five flavors, if you're in to it and specialty coffee on demand from the little lady in the black and gold uniform at the bar," he replied smoothly.
"C'mon, show me," Hiro said, nodding towards the table.
"Right this way," Duan said.
Kenny made a note as the two guitarists moved off together. Good, he thought.
Carter walked over to the third member of Bad Luck, Suguru Fujisaki, and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Carter," he said cheerfully. "You're very good," he finished sincerely.
Suguru was a little startled. He had not been told of the previous evening's happenings, but had sensed something was going on, which had begun winding itself into the pre-performance jitters that he always suffered through, while making sure no one could possibly detect them. 'I'm a professional,' he repeated his mantra. Looking at the cheerful blond offering his hand, he frowned slightly. This guy reminded him in the oddest way of his uncle.
Taking Carter's hand with a grip that was very brief, just enough for politeness, he bowed and introduced himself. "Fujisaki," he said.
Brief though the contact was, he suddenly felt a strange sense of relaxation from the presence of the other boy. "Suguru Fujisaki," he finished. Smiling unconsciously, he was moved to ask something. "What do you play?"
"Keys, same as you," Carter explained. "Your Noland Delta-5 is great... I wanted one but I had to settle for a Kasikawa."
Warming, Suguru tried not to sound smug. "That's a good instrument too," he said generously and began asking the blond about his samples. The two were deep in synthesizer talk in minutes.
Mei and Wufan introduced themselves to Shuichi, dragging Tryan over as well. They all moved towards the pastry table in a wave of conversation.
Hiro sipped his coffee gratefully, leaning against the table to face the braided boy. "Your hair is great," he said, voicing his admiration of the yard-plus plait.
"Thanks," Duan said. "I was thinking about cutting it sometime, but it's gotten to be like a pet or something. Your style is great. Looks fresh. Mine's kinda retro."
Hiro grinned. "No one's ever called it a style," he said. "That's a first. I don't follow the retro thing, it just looks good on you. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Duan said, downing the rest of his coffee.
"Are you guys all school friends or something?" Hiro asked. "I mean, you... and Kenny, you go back a long way, right?"
Duan nodded. "Yes," he said, thinking about the military base where they'd been born. "Kenny and I have known each other all of our lives. We grew up on the same base with Wufan. When we were about eight, we hooked up with Carter and Tryan and it's been Boy's Town ever since then. Mei came along not too long afterwards and well, the rest is history." Duan answered.
Hiro's eyes widened slightly. "That's cool," he said. Then he smiled. "You guys are going to be hard to beat... but we'll do our best."
Duan smiled. "Thanks, Hiro." he said, then shook his head. "Ok, here's another weird thing. When we heard Shuichi call your name the other day, we all looked up because one of our dads has the same name. It was automatic."
Hiro's eyebrows lifted fractionally. "I get it now." Then he added, "It's not that uncommon here, but I guess in Sanc it would be, maybe." Finishing his coffee, he tried to think of an excuse to talk to the braided guitarist for a bit longer.
In the meantime, a small group of people had entered the room, said group including the managers for Bad Luck and Red Angel, along with some people who looked like contest officials. A harried looking girl with a clip board cleared her throat.
"Excuse me, I have a small announcement," she said, her expression strained. "I'm sorry, but there's going to be a delay of one hour in the starting time. We've had some disturbing news brought to our attention and we're going to have to follow it up immediately, there's nothing we can do about it. But we will start the performances at eleven."
There was a buzz of low voiced reactions through out the room, a number of inquiries for details, but the woman simply shook her head and left, after exchanging a few more words with Noin and Mr. K.
As she left, the door was held open by someone waiting to come in. Unnoticed in the general hubbub surrounding the announcement, the tall blond stood by the door and looked around the room. Mr. K looked up and their glances seemed to bounce off one another.
Running a cloth over his guitar strings, Kenny felt an odd prickle and looked up, marking the figure by the door. He couldn't place exactly why his attention was engaged, but he trusted his senses implicitly.
Shuichi heard the announcement and was less than thrilled. He felt that the investigation had something to do with the incident the previous night and turned to find someone to talk to about it. He'd try and keep any mention of Kenny out of it as much as he could. He didn't want Kenny to get into any trouble over his own brand of bad luck.
As he looked up, he saw the blond at the door and froze. Blinking a moment, he wanted to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Suddenly, his expression changed from gloomy to shiny as he called out, "Yuki!!"
The exclamation rang like a small bell. Ah, Kenny thought.
The blond watched Shuichi approach, his expression typically cool. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as they picked out a detail - the different stage outfit. He waited to see if Shuichi would throttle down before splattering him into the wall.
Shuichi threw his arms around Yuki and hugged him tightly. "La-li-ho!" he called out, careful not to mash Yuki too much. He decided to wait until later for that, remembering that they were in a public place. He didn't want to bruise himself up further and not be able to play.
The pressure of an arm around Shuichi's waist was brief, almost unnoticeable unless you were paying attention. "It's too much to expect manners," Yuki muttered without heat. But there was something in his voice, and in his eyes, which remained slightly narrowed as they examined the redhead from this close proximity.
Shuichi jumped slightly as Yuki squeezed him, but he recovered quickly and smiled up at Yuki. "You came to see us play?!" he exclaimed. His brain was learning how to overlook the occasional jarring remark from his love.
For a second Yuki's lips thinned, noting the slight jump.
"I've seen you play," he said. "I came to find out what was going on. You think after a call like that..." Not bothering to finish, the novelist pinned Shuichi with a laser-like gaze.
Shuichi's eyes widened. Then he sighed, deeply. "Oh Yuki," he said, dreamily. "See, I knew you care. Everything is ok!" he added, with what was meant to be a reassuring wink.
The thinned lips became a frown. "I see," Yuki said, disinclined to banter with the sprite when he was attempting to be evasive. His eyes moved over Shuichi's shoulder, found Hiro, who was talking to some other boy with long braided hair. Then he swept the room and met another pair of eyes. Where his glance had bounced off K's, this look magnetized to his. Indigo eyes under an oddly streaked thatch of brown hair...
Generally, people reacted to Yuki Eiri's narrowed glance - eyes widened, startled, sometimes even flinched.
This time no. Yuki felt something odd and electric run up his spine, quickly gone. Staring back, it took a moment to register that the face behind the eyes was young - very young. Too young. It shouldn't have been that young, not with those eyes. Words he'd never say, but which nevertheless ordered themselves in the writer's mind: some eyes shine, some eyes are dull, some vacant. A few, just a few, look out of darkness. Like mine. Like these.
"I had a fight last night," Shuichi said, quietly looking down at his shoes. "Kenny helped me and it's okay," he said, looking up. Following Yuki's gaze, Shuichi found the recipient to be Kenny. Feeling a twinge of something in his stomach, he noted the look between the two and thought, they have the same eyes.
'Had a fight...'? Why would he need help? I don't care, Yuki thought automatically, but the habit was fraying. "I'll buy you breakfast," he said mildly, no less determined to find out what was going on, just changing tactics. "You and... your friends."
Shuichi chuckled. His face broke into a huge smile. "Okay," he said, delighted. "You can meet Kenny!"
Looking down into Shuichi's wide eyes, Yuki found himself watching curiously. "As you wish," he said. "Collect them and lets go."
"Hai!" Shuichi replied, then dashed over to where Kenny was.
"Hi!" he said, excitedly. "Yuki wants to take us to breakfast!"
Kenny had already placed his guitar in the case and latched it. Standing up, he simply acknowledged with a soft grunt, "Hn."
To Shuichi, the grunt from Kenny was like an effusive acceptance from anyone else. "Great!" he said, then called out to Hiro.
The auburn-haired guitar player looked up automatically.
"Bring Duan! We're going to breakfast with Yuki, right now!" Shuichi called out happily.
Hiro's eyebrows shot up. He glanced at Duan. "Free food?" he offered with an odd smile.
Duan shrugged. "I'm there," he replied.
In the end, both bands went. They took the largest table in the hotel's dining room and ordered with no noticeable delays. The various members of both bands were still in the getting to know you stage, and the talk never really paused. Used to musicians' personalities, Yuki simply watched and listened.
When Shuichi was embroiled in a discussion with some of the others on the merits of Nittle Grapser versus Lucifer, Yuki turned to Kenny who was sitting close by and characteristically quiet, except for the occasional shot of barbed deadpan humor.
"You will tell me what is going on," Yuki said.
Kenny looked back, the same cool, assessing look he'd been favoring Yuki with from the first. He glanced at Shuichi, and answered, his voice low enough to avoid catching anyone else's attention. "He has an enemy. There was an attempted mugging. The manager types are looking into it."
Yuki's light colored eyes narrowed. "In the hotel?"
Kenny's head moved in one shake of negation. "Outside." He watched the older man. "He was going to meet you."
The narrowed eyes seemed to turn golden. It was an interesting reaction and Kenny recorded and filed it. Slowly he smiled.
Pushing his chair back silently, he placed his napkin on the table. "Thanks for breakfast," he said quietly. "Sorry, but I need to go back. Maybe I'll see you later, Mr. Eiri."
Shuichi looked up a little disappointed as he heard Kenny's words. He sighed. "You have to go?" he said, with wide eyes.
Kenny nodded. "So will you in a little while. Don't forget you have to try and win the contest," he said with a slight smile. "I gotta do some stuff. See you guys in a bit," he said to the table in general, giving Duan's braid a twitch as he passed.
"Bye, Kenny," Shuichi said, looking after him.
Duan looked around the table, torn between staying and catching up to Kenny to find out what the other part of the table had been talking about. He looked over at Hiro and smiled. "I suppose I should be getting back too. We're probably gonna have a meeting or something," he said standing.
Looking over at the taciturn blond who reminded him of another pair of taciturn guys, he nodded. "Arigato, Yuki-san," he said, with a polite bow.
"Be good, Shuichi," he added with a wink, before turning to Hiro Nakano. "Good luck, Bad Luck and remember our jam session. No matter the outcome of today's contest."
Hiro stood up, nodding. He held his hand out to Duan to shake on the agreement.
Duan grasped Hiro's hand, noting its weight and feel. He heard a little voice in his head say, Dweeb. Squeezing Hiro's hand, he then turned to leave.
Hiro watched Duan leave with a consciousness of disappointment. He wasn't ready to examine what was happening, or that anything was, but something was making him feel restless, and very alive, and somehow he knew it wasn't just the contest.
Before long, the rest of Red Angel excused themselves, very politely, and Suguru went as well, so involved in a conversation with Carter and Wufan that he simply waved absently at his bandmates.
Hiro got to his feet soon after. Looking down at Shuichi, he simply said, "Fifteen minutes," and then excused himself.
Shuichi nodded. Turning to Yuki, he settled back in the seat. "I am glad to see you, Yuki," he said.
Yuki looked at the face turned to his. "You asked me about a note last night. Someone used my name to get you in trouble."
Shuichi nodded. "Hai," he confessed. "Got into an ambush. Kenny helped me out. He took me to the bar and I called you from there."
"You like him," Yuki said, his tone flat, with no inflection.
The question caught Shuichi off-guard and he blinked. "Hai," he said. "He's like you."
Yuki stared at Shuichi for a moment, but something inside him refused to be shocked by the statement. While the others had had breakfast, Yuki and Kenny had conversed with their eyes. Around the cold fury he withheld over the revelation of the attempted attack, Yuki felt something else ease fractionally. It wasn't the first time Shuichi had propelled him into a situation that nudged his feelings into question. Determined not to get used to it, he still realized he couldn't find enough of a threat in it to detach.
The restaurant was quiet as the breakfast crowd filtered out and the lunch service hadn't yet begun. The waitress left with the payment for the bill and Yuki stood up. As Shuichi bounced to his feet, he pulled the boy against him and covered his mouth with his own. Releasing him a few moments later, he growled softly. "Go... before your crazy manager comes looking for you."
Breathing a little heavier, Shuichi looked up at his love with unadulterated adoration. The kiss still lingering on his lips, he nodded. "Hai," he said breathlessly. "Bye Yuki!" he added, bounding off.
Watching the sprite disappear, Yuki sat down in the chair again and pulled out his phone, selecting a number without hesitation.
Taki was in hell. At first, things seemed to be going the way he'd intended. There was an off feel to the atmosphere around the contest, and really vague rumors about something that happened last night. The problem was, he couldn't find out *what* the story was. 'I dunno, man, I heard something happened to one of the bands...' but no matter who he talked to or what conversations he eavesdropped on, he couldn't find out *what* had happened. No details. It made him nervous. Well, more nervous, and he was already on thin wires to begin with.
He was instantly aware when the contest organizers finally showed up, looking anything but happy, accompanied by Mr. K. That might make sense. But who was that other person? The chick with the dark hair over her face... she looked like a manager. Someone supplied him with the information that she was with one of the other bands, that Red Angel group. What the hell did that mean?
Then one of the doors had opened and... *he* bounced in, along with the other two. Taki grit his teeth so tightly he felt something in a back molar crack. Shindo!! How? Why? And he looked... he looked none the worse for wear, like nothing had happened. What the hell??? The little freak should have been in the hospital... at the least...
So what the hell happened?!
The contest bands disappeared into their green room. A delay was announced. Finally managing to get close to a group of the contest officials, he overheard something about an assault, and police. Suspects in custody.
At this point, Aizawa Taki decided it was time to leave. He'd been careful. Oh so careful. If the animals he'd hired *had* been caught somehow, they couldn't betray him. They didn't know his name, and he'd altered his appearance substantially when meeting with them. He was safe... but it felt... his nerves were not just frayed, they were screaming. Suddenly being ranked sixth seemed like a very bad thing.
And then a hand had dropped on his shoulder. Jumping as if he'd been shot, Taki turned around to find himself face to face with the president of his record company, NG. Tohma Seguchi was dressed immaculately and flamboyantly as ever, his trademark hat tilted back on his blond head.
"Taki," he said, his resonant voice pleasant. "I heard you did well. So you came to cheer on your fellow NG performers... that's a real good sport!"
Taki froze. His mouth went dry and he had to scream at himself silently before he could force himself to swallow, and make some answer. He hadn't been this close to Tohma since... he'd expected to find ASK dropped from their contract that time, but to his surprise, nothing was ever said in the company. At a guess, NG did not want their internal conflicts to become fodder for the tabloids. Closing ranks in true Japanese fashion, they preferred to maintain the company face and take care of any discipline internally. It had never had to be stated that Taki and his band were on extreme good behavior...
None of which mattered so much as the fact that Tohma Seguchi... terrified him. He'd almost been glad when the president never took another personal meeting or seemed to interest himself in the slightest with them, leaving their business to his staff.
Yesterday, he'd have been cautiously happy at the greeting, if nervous for personal reasons. But it would have meant that ASK had won through their silent probation.
At this moment, however, the graceful, gloved hand on his shoulder was like being accosted by the devil, paying a smiling visit to collect his soul.
And he was trapped. Tohma seemed to stick to him like glue. He was adopted into the NG president's entourage and even taken on his arm from person to person as Tohma made his rounds of the media, the organizers, other record company people, bands... It would have been a considerable sign of favor, an act of kindness and support, something to let him know that not placing in the top five wasn't considered a black mark... but to Taki, it was a specially designed torture from hell. He perspired until his clothes were permeated, until he imagined he could smell his own fear. All the time smiling. Talking. Answering inquiries with stiff lipped wit. The headache had grown until his vision seemed to warp and twist in front of his eyes.
They were about to go to the backstage green room to greet Bad Luck, when Tohma's phone went off. Checking the caller's id, Tohma answered quickly. The blond president gave no indications of what the call was about, but Taki felt something saw across his senses as if to tell him it was another nail in his coffin. It was impossible. No one knew. No one could know. Yet, Tohma's presence was like a declaration of his guilt. Taki felt he was either going to pass out, or throw up right here in front of everyone.
The phone call was brief, the phone quickly put away, and Tohma simply turned to him and smiled again, taking his arm. "Let's go wish them luck," he said pleasantly.
TBC
Please feel free to direct feedback to the authors!
sablexo1@yahoo.com,
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com.