Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Because of You ❯ chapter 30 ( Chapter 30 )

Because of You Sequel to: This I Promise You Written by: Chocho Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it.  I do not make any money from the writing of this story. Summary: Scott is back in police custody, but Karin is out there biding her time.  Will the police be able to stop her before she carries out her plot to assassinate Shuichi? Chapter summary:  Their neighbor’s house is supposed to be empty, but if that is the case, then who is it that has been seen coming and going? Warning: Angst, drama, romance, m-preg, language, m/m sexual content Inserts: N/A A/N:  Thank you to those few who take the time to review.  I really appreciate it.  And to those who have continued to stick by me all of these years I send out a very special thank you!  Here is the next installment.  It would have been out sooner, but I was caught up in reading Kyo Kara Maoh fanfics.   ***   Chapter 30   [Eiri added, “Just remember it might not have been her.  Okay?”   Astonished, Shuichi opened his mouth, but closed it when nothing came out.  And that justified his waiting until now to say something?    Another signal sounded from the computer.  It was Maiko again.  Glad for the distraction, Shuichi read the new message.   “theres something i havent told u.”   “?”   “its bout ‘her’.”    Even without asking, Shuichi knew exactly whom it was his baby sister was referring to.  “She” was the “she-bitch”, as Maiko called her, who ruined her marriage.   “i no who she is.”   Shuichi exchanged an astonished glance with Eiri.]   ***   (That Night – Nara, Japan)   Floorboards creaked as silent footsteps crept down the twilight-strung hallway.  A door at the end of the hall protested loudly in the unnatural silence of the empty house, as it swung open.  White slipper-ed feet shuffled blindly across the black void to the only window.  The gold and black filigree curtain that had been left behind was pulled aside.  A pale, drawn face with stringy blonde hair was illuminated briefly as the rays of the full moon appeared from behind a stray cloud only to disappear seconds later by another cloud.  It looked as if a storm was rolling in.  Dark eyes hardened as they gazed angrily over the stone wall and through the hibernating branches of the trees that separated her from her target.  Fingers tightened and knuckles went white.   She would have her revenge.  One way or another.  Shindou Shuichi would be hers.   ~*~   (A Couple of Days Later)   The door to the interrogation room creaked open and a plainclothes detective stepped inside.  He stepped aside and gestured with his hand to allow their witness to enter.  “This way, please, Miss.”   A woman with dark brown hair so dark it could fool one into believing it was actually black and fashioned in a stylish pixie crept cautiously into the room.  Her features resembled that of her famous older brother so much so that they were often mistaken for twins.  Still others thought she was the elder sibling for her attitude seemed so much more mature then that of her brother.  She was not sure if she should take that as a compliment or not.    She glanced around nervously.  The room she was led to was small.  Very small.  It was a tighter fit than her bathroom and her bathroom was barely large enough to hold the bathtub.  A table a quarter the size of her small dinning table was pressed up against the wall to her left with two not so comfortable looking chairs.  In the back upper corner was a video camera aimed directly at the table.  The red light was blinking.  It was nothing like on those criminal drama shows she loved so much.  It was somewhat disappointing.   “Please, have a seat, Ms, uh…”   “Maiko.  Shindou Maiko.”  Her divorce may not have been finalized as of yet, but she would be damned if she used that bastard’s name.    Maiko lowered herself into the chair facing away from the door.   “Thank you for coming in to meet with us.  I am Detective Shigeno and this is my partner Detective Misawa,” he indicated the second man behind her.   Maiko inclined her head in greeting.   “We were told that you might have some information for us?” Misawa asked.   Maiko nodded grimly.  Unfortunately, that was all too true.   “And how did you happen to come by this information, if I may ask?” Shigeno asked taking the chair opposite her.   Lowering her head, Maiko’s grip on her purse tightened.  Her knuckles turned white.   “Shindou-san?”   Gathering herself, Maiko took a deep breath and plunged right in.    She confessed about coming home from an extended business trip early one day to find her husband’s car in the driveway.  That was unusual in and of itself because her husband was supposed to have been working overtime as he usually did during the summer.  While a little curious as to what had brought him home so early, she had also been ecstatic.  With two young children, the two of them had very little time to themselves any more, so she figured this would be a great opportunity for them to spend a little quality time together.  But when she walked into the house, she instantly knew that something was not right.  The house was too quiet.  Then she heard it.  Not wanting to believe what her ears were telling her, she silently crept towards the master bedroom and that was where she found her husband in the arms of another woman.   Maiko blocked any attempts at feeling anything as she relayed her tale to the two police officers.  She had shed too many tears and lost too many countless nights of sleep as it was.  The bastard was not worth it.  Not by far.   “I didn’t think anything more about her.”  And why would she?  That bitch had ruined her marriage to her president of the honor society high school sweetheart.  While Maiko could give her some leeway, or thought she could anyway, that two-timing bastard should have known better.  But that was the thing about most men.  They thought with their dicks and not with the heads that held the brain.  If you do not use it, then you lose it.   “That’s understandable,” Shigeno nodded sympathetically.   Maiko cleared her throat violently.  She was not going to cry.  “Until last month,” she added, “when my daughter pointed her out from a news broadcast.”  She could still feel the shock at learning that “the other woman” had not been just some clueless blond after all.   Shigeno and Misawa exchanged a knowing glance.   Misawa stepped forward and handed his partner the file he had brought with him.   Shigeno opened the file and pulled out a glossy photograph.  He pushed the picture across the table towards her.  “Is this her?”   Maiko picked up the photograph from the table and held it up in front of her.  She studied the image of the woman with the dull, unkempt blond hair that looked fried beyond repair, the unnaturally full lips that looked like two balloons that had been surgically applied to her face, the unnaturally prominent cheekbones jutting from either side of her face and the unnaturally anorexic aquiline nose in the harsh florescent lighting.  She knew immediately.  This was her.  This was that chick that she found in her husband’s arms last summer.  This was the woman who tried to take the lives of her nephews right before Christmas.  This woman was out for her brother’s blood because of something that he had had no control over.   Her breathing had quickened.  Her pulse was racing.  With shaking hands, she slid the photograph back onto the table and nodded with short jerking movements.  She was fuming in barely bridled anger.  The tears had stopped long ago.  That bastard was not worth it.   Shigeno slid forward a little.  “Shindou-san,” he said, “are you sure this was the woman you saw with your husband?”   “Ex,” Maiko corrected, “and yes.  One hundred percent.”  She could even remember seeing a black Honda parked outside the house that day too.  Of course, she had thought nothing of it at the time.  Why should she?  It was not as if they had lived in the middle of nowhere where something like that would stand out.   “Shindou-san,” Misawa spoke up breaking into her thoughts.  He walked further into the room and moved so that the woman could see him easily without having to crane her neck.  “Where is your ex-husband now?  Is there some way we can contact him?”   Maiko pursed her lips into a tight, angry line.  “I haven’t seen him since August,” she bit bitterly.  “He didn’t so much as call his children on Christmas.  Bastard,” she hissed.  She hoped he fried in Hell.  No man was worthy of being called a father if he chose his mistress over his children.  Your children were supposed to be the most important thing in your life.  Not your lover.  Not your job.  Not school.  Nothing.   Shigeno and Misawa stepped into the far corner of the itsy interrogation room and conversed quietly.  After a couple minutes, Shigeno stepped forward.  “Shindou-san, what kind of car does your ex-husband drive?” he asked the woman.   Confused by the unexpected question, Maiko blinked.  What did it matter?  “I don’t know.  When we were married, he had a silver Series 3 BMW.”   ~*~   “Are you sure, Shindou-san?” Misawa pressed half an hour later.   Lounging on a mound of pillows in the mahogany queen sized bed in the master bedroom suite, Shuichi nodded.  He smoothed the white feather down quilt over his ever-expanding belly.  “That’s what he told me.”   “Do you know if he was able to get the license plate?” Shigeno asked the singer.   Shuichi shook his head.   “Or see the driver?”   Again, Shuichi shook his head.  “All I know is what he told me, but you can ask Blade,” he said referring to his bodyguard that had accompanied his husband to the store the morning Eiri spotted the car he had suspected of following him.   “We would like to speak with Uesugi-san as well,” Misawa said.  “Is that possible?”   Shuichi shook his head.  “Eiri took Riku to the doctor’s.  They should be back in a couple of hours.”    Thankfully, Eiri had taken Kira with him to their adopted son’s appointment.  And seeing as Kane and Keitaro were both at school, Shuichi finally had a moment of peace.   He was glad that Maiko had come down for a visit.  They could definitely use the help around the house.  It was too bad that it had to be under these circumstances, though.  Because her husband was MIA, she had decided to let her children stay with their parents in Tokyo for the week instead of dragging them down here to Nara.  Even though Keitaro and Kane would have enjoyed their cousins’ company, Maiko believed that with Riku laid up as he was and Shuichi in such a “delicate condition”, this arrangement worked out better.  Besides, their mother was always complaining about how little she saw her grandchildren.   “Sanami,” Shuichi called to the woman who had stationed herself outside the master bedroom.  Much to his chagrin, but it was to Eiri’s delight– most of the time anyway- Shuichi had at least one guard with him at all times and that at all times.  It was quite annoying.   Half a second later, Sanami with her hair pulled into a tight ponytail at the back of her head stepped into the room.  “Sir?”   “Can you tell Blade that the detectives here would like to speak with him?”   “Yes, Sir.”  She bowed before turning on her heels with a snap.  Her long black tresses that were hanging down her back swished.   ~*~   “Yes, that is right.”  Blade’s deep, American accented Japanese rumbled in the front entry hall of the Uesugi-Shindou compound.  “It was a light colored BMW from the looks of it.  I could not tell what the exact color was.  It might have been either grey or silver.”   Misawa nodded.  “Did you happen to notice anything about the driver?” he asked.   Blade shook his head reluctantly.  It irked him that he had been unable to gather so little information on the car that had followed Mr. Uesugi through town the other night.  “Unfortunately not,” he confessed.  He wanted to say that it was a woman behind the wheel, but then he would be lying.  He was not one-hundred present certain.  In silhouette, Mr. Shindou could be mistaken for a woman mostly because he was normally so slight.   “Was that because the windows were tinted?” Shigeno suggested.  “Or…?”   “It was just too dark.”  He had been unable to tell whether the windows were tinted or not, but if they were dealing with that same woman who had nearly killed Mr. Uesugi and Mr. Shindou’s children last month then he would not put it passed her.  From what he knew, her Honda had had tinted windows.   “What about a license plate?”   “Only a partial.  The car kept a discreet distance away.  I did notice the plates seemed to be covered in mud and grime, though.”   The police detectives heart thumped in excitement at the startling realization.   After Blade gave them what he had been able to make out of the license plate and promised to come down to the station to give a formal statement when he could, Shigeno thanked the man for his time.    He and his partner then showed themselves out.  As they strolled across the circular drive towards their police issued cobalt blue Mitsubishi, both detectives could not stop their minds from working overtime.   What exactly did this mean?  Was it possible that Shindou Maiko-san’s ex-husband was working with Rinjin?  Was he her new accomplice?  If he was, was he a willing pawn or an unwilling one?  It could just be a coincidence that the car Uesugi-san claimed to have seen was the same car his ex-brother-in-law was reputed to drive.  The BMW Series 3 was the third most popular car in Japan right now, right after the Honda Legend and Toyota Nadia.  But still, they could not write anything off.  Not yet.   ~*~   Risking a glance, Eiri peered into his rearview mirror at his adopted son who was stretched out in the back seat sound asleep.  Eiri wove in and out of traffic as they headed back home to Nara from Riku’s doctor appointment in Osaka.  Riku’s soft snores filled the quiet confines of the Mercedes.  Besides Eiri sat Kaoru.  The female bodyguard’s charcoal eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark, reflective sunglasses and never seemed to stop moving.  Her jet-black hair was styled fashionably in a short pixie and had a bluish hue to it as the late afternoon sun glinted off it.   They had received a combination of good news/bad news at Riku’s appointment today.  The good news was that Riku’s vertebral compression fracture was healing nicely.  In fact, he was progressing along faster than the doctor’s had hoped, but unfortunately, as fast as he was healing, Doctor Amada told them that there was a good chance that Riku might not be ready come this summer to return to NYU to make up for the semester he was being forced to miss like he had hoped.  There was a good possibility that he would have to put off returning to school until the fall or even next year.  That in turn would push back Riku’s plans of going to graduate school to get his Masters.  Riku had been crushed to say the least.  Not that Eiri could blame him.  Eiri had promised the boy that he would talk to Tohma about the possibility of finding a doctor in New York so that he could return to finish his last semester.   Eiri sighed heavily.  Shuichi was not going to like the idea of letting his paralyzed son wander off back to New York even if Yoshiki was going to be there.  As Shuichi tried to get him to understand repeatedly, Riku was not a little kid anymore and it was time to let Riku grow up.   ~*~   His fingers drummed a beat against the steering wheel as he waited for the wrought iron gate to swing open.  Recognizing it instantly as one of the songs that Shuichi was considering for his upcoming solo album- the brat still had not spoken to Nakano or that Tohma clone- Eiri put an immediate halt to his wandering fingers.  He cleared his throat and pretended that none of that happened.   As he waited, his golden gaze hidden behind a new pair of shades- his old ones had been crushed by Kira who was at that stage where babies grabbed anything and everything in their reach- scanned the front yard.  He was startled at what he saw.   Finally.   Eiri peeled through the gates once they were open wide enough for him to get his precious Mercedes through without scrapping the hell out of it.  He was vaguely aware of Kaoru being thrown back in the seat at the sudden press of the G forces.  He heard a groan and a hiss of pain from the backseat as Riku was jolted awake.   He knew that Shuichi had been talking about buying a new car for Riku since Riku’s Hyundai had been pretty much totaled in that accident last month.  They had asked around at various auto body shops for quotes as to how much it would cost to fix Riku’s car and was astonished to learn that it would be cheaper to just buy a new car.  Or, it should have been, but if that sleek red sports car sitting in the middle of the drive was what Eiri thought it was, he swore to all that was holy that he would beat the crap out of his husband.   ~*~   The front door opened and a pregnant Shuichi rolled out onto the front stoop as Eiri’s black Mercedes-Benz rolled to a halt in front of the house.  Sanami and Blade were half a step behind him.   His grin faltered and then faded all together when Eiri stepped out of the car.  A black aura surrounded him.  Shuichi gulped.  Uh oh, was all that he could think.   Eiri stormed around the car and stomped towards where Shuichi sat pale faced in his wheelchair.  “What the hell is that?” Eiri demanded pointing a rigid finger at the sports car that he had nearly t-boned.   Shuichi giggled nervously.  “Uhm…”  He sweat dropped.   While they had spoken briefly about getting a new car for Riku, they had not actually spoken in detail about it.  So when he asked Tohma to go ahead and purchase one for Riku, Shuichi knew Eiri would most likely be mad at him.  Eiri did not like when Shuichi did things without his knowledge or permission.  But Shuichi had no regrets.  Riku was his son and if he wanted to buy his son a new car with his own money, then that was none of Eiri’s business.   Eiri crossed his arms over his chest waiting for an explanation.   Shuichi confidence in his actions faltered.  “Well, uhm…,” he stuttered.  With a defeated sigh, Shuichi dropped his head and played with the folds of his white kimono.  It was one of the only things that he could fit into comfortably.  “I’m sorry, Eiri,” he muttered.   Seeing that expression on his love’s face made Eiri’s heart ache.  Though he would sooner slit his own wrists than admit to such a thing.  It was Eiri’s turn to sigh heavily.  Dropping his arms, he crouched down in front of his depressed husband.  Cupping Shuichi’s trembling chin, Eiri lifted Shuichi’s head.  Golden eyes met vivid violet.  He smiled.  Or rather, the corners of his lips tilted upwards.  “What am I going to do with you?”   Shuichi blushed lightly.   Chuckling, Eiri stood up and pressed his lips against Shuichi’s forehead.   “Whose it that?” asked a voice from behind them.   As small, light weight and weak as Kaoru appeared, the barely five foot Japanese woman had somehow managed to lift Riku, who was nearing six feet and weighed a considerable amount, out of the back seat of the car and place him in his wheelchair, which was a perfect imitation of Shuichi’s.   The twenty-something year old brunette was even now wheeling himself towards the red sports car.   Eiri wheeled Shuichi down the ramp and towards their son who was checking out the mysterious car like most boys would check out a fine woman.   “Holy shit,” Riku exclaimed once he realized what it was he was looking at.  His hazel eyes went wide.  “This is-!”   “A 2008 Tesla Roadster,” Shuichi supplied.   Riku whistled.   Eiri shook his head.  He could not believe that Shuichi had spent what would be the equivalent of one-hundred-thousand US dollars on a car.  Shuichi had not even spent that much on the ’69 Ferrari he purchased for Eiri for Christmas.   “Supposedly based on the modified Lotus Elise chassis, the Tesla Roadster is a battery powered electric sports car that reaches speeds of 130mph.  Zero to sixty in four seconds.  It can travel two-hundred-and-fifty miles between charges.  It has a large spacious black two-seater interior.  The 220-volt, 70-amp charger charges the car’s battery in only three and a half hours.  Comes with a cord and 1200-volt wall plug so the car battery could be charged when you were away from home, but unfortunately, the charging time increased to 33 hours.  Manual operated.  AC.  Anti-lock brakes.  Airbags.  100,000 miles.”   Shuichi giggled lightly at the enthusiasm his son was displaying.  Eiri was the same way.   “Whose is it?  Is it Uncle Tohma’s new car?” Riku asked.  He lifted his head to glance at his parents quickly before returning his gaze back to the car.  His dark hazel eyes sparkled.   “No.”   Eiri snorted.  If Tohma ever bought a car like this, Eiri would suspect that his brother-in-law was suffering from a mid-life crisis.  His sister on the other hand, was a different story.   “Then-?”   “It’s yours,” Shuichi said.   Riku nodded.  “Cool.”   Shuichi waited for it.   Riku continued to nod.  Then what his “mama” said suddenly dawned on him.  He spun around.  A mixture of astonishment, confusion and joy was written all over his face.   His parents laughed at the expression on his face.   “What?!”  Riku turned back to the car.  He gaped.  “This…?  Mine…?”   His violet eyes sparkling, Shuichi nodded.   “But...!  How…?  I mean…”   Giggling at how Riku just could not seem to put one thought together, Shuichi wheeled himself over to his son.  “Do you like it?”   “Oh my God!  I love it, Mama!”  Riku flung himself at Shuichi.  “Thank you!  Oh my God.”   “Really?”  A sigh of relief swept through Shuichi.  He had been so afraid that he had made a mistake when he had Tohma buy this car for Riku.  Shuichi overheard Riku and Eiri talking about the Tesla Roadster one day a while back.  It had reminded Shuichi of how Eiri had reacted after seeing that antique car show commercial.   “This is so cool!”   Eiri made to follow his husband, but movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.  He turned towards their neighbor’s vacant house and frowned.  The curtain on the upper floor was swaying ever so lightly.  It could just be chalked up to the gentle breeze that was blowing, but something was telling Eiri that nobody in their right minds would be foolish enough to leave windows open at this time of year, especially if they were trying to sell their house.  Nobody was going to buy a house with water damage.   While most people would have just chalked seeing movement in a house that was supposedly empty to their imaginations or something, Eiri knew better.  Especially with Shuichi and his history.  You could never be too careful.   “Blade,” he called over his shoulder.   “Sir?”   “Contact Detective Misawa.”   “Yes, Sir.”   ~*~   Accompanied by Lieutenant Katsuragi and several uniformed officers including Shinohara Aiko from the Nara City Police department, Detectives Misawa and Shigeno slowly approached the house.   “Uesugi-san claims this house is supposed to be vacant,” Misawa told the others.   The lieutenant nodded in agreement.  “Yeah.  We contacted the owners.  They said the only person who should have access to the house is their realtor.  They themselves cleared out sometime before Christmas.  They now live in Osaka.”   “What about the realtor?” Shigeno asked.   “She’s been on maternity leave for the last couple of months.”   “Could it have been whoever took over for her?” Misawa asked.   Lieutenant Katsuragi shook his head in denial.  “He claims he was here once or twice to air the place out and whatnot, but there has been no interest in the property.  They did show the house to several interested parties when the house first went up, but there has been no movement since.”   “Hm.”  Misawa turned thoughtful.  “I think we should take a look at those people who did look at the house.”   “You think it’s her?” Shigeno asked his partner referring to Rinjin Karin.   Misawa nodded.  “It’s a possibility.”   “You think we should speak to the former owners?” Katsuragi spoke up.  “See what made them decide to pack up and move?”   “That’s not a bad idea.”   Shigeno saw where this was going.  Rinjin was after Shindou.  She proved last month that she would do whatever it took to get to her intended target.  Even if that meant forcing Shindou’s neighbors into leaving the area.  From this vantage point, who knows what destruction Rinjin could cause.   They decided to split up.  Katsuragi went around back with the uniformed officers, while Misawa, Shigeno and the rest went to the front door.  Having been given the key by the realtor, one of the uniformed officers stepped forward to unlock the door.   “Looks like the lock’s been picked,” he commented as he spied the scratches.  Having once been part of a gang when he was a teenager, he could spy a forced entry in his sleep.   “That would certainly explain how someone could come into a house that is supposed to be empty,” Shigeno said.   The tumblers shifted.  The wet behind the ears rookie pushed open the door and stepped back.    Misawa and Shigeno burst inside with their guns at the ready.  The uniformed officers followed in their wake.   Katsuragi and the others entered from the kitchen.   Methodically and being as silent as ghosts, the house was swept.  One by one, each of the rooms were cleared.  There was absolutely no sign that anybody had been here in quite some time.  There was a thick layer of dust covering everything.   “Detectives,” one of the officers called from the back of the house.  “There’s something you should see, Sirs.”   Glancing at one another speculatively, Misawa, Shigeno and Katsuragi stepped into the bedroom and gasped.   “What the fuck?”   ***TBC***   A/N:  You can go to caranddriver.com, click on “reviews” and scroll down to “2008 Tesla Roadster” to see some pictures of Riku’s new car.   Okay, so what is going on with Geneon and Kyo Kara Maoh?  This is ridiculous.  They just signed a distribution deal with Buena Vista last March (2007) and then a few months later, it falls apart and then the company and most importantly US FANS are left hanging!  WTF!  I had to watch freaking SUBTITLED versions of the last remaining episodes on freaking YouTube (I prefer to watch the dubbed versions for the most part).  And I have to wait for someone to upload subbed versions of the five OVA volumes and then do the same thing when the third season becomes available.  I think Geneon needs to get off its fat lazy ass and start negotiating with another distributor so that we can watch our anime again.  There are TONS of them out there.  I can name half a dozen off them off the top of my freaking head!  Either that or give up the rights to all of their anime to other companies so that they can be finished.    *Takes a deep breath*   Okay.  Sorry.  I had to get that off my chest.  Anyway, what did you think?