Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Fear the Rabbit ❯ Chapter 1

He looked familiar. Ryuichi could have sworn he knew that guy. If he wasn't just slightly busy jumping out of his skin when the disk jockey asked him something, like why he kept checking his cell phone, or who was he so worried about keeping tabs on, he might have been able to remember who that guy in the crowd was.

 

Ryuichi could have sworn he knew that face.

 

“So, who you callin'? Listeners wanna know.”

 

This wasn't going well. Tohma always got mad when he `acted up' during interviews. Tohma didn't get mad like ordinary people got mad, either. Well, he wasn't exactly ordinary.

 

“I'm keeping track of friends.”

 

That was one way to put it.

 

“What kind of friends? Who you got in your cell phone, there?” The disk jockey was some grease ball hipster Ryuichi usually made excuses to avoid. “Maybe one Mr. Seguchi? Tell me, Ryuichi. Do you guys get along?”

 

The guy behind the glass. He kept staring at Ryuichi. He was used to people doing that. He usually liked being the star-eel when the star-err was cute. Man… he was having a hard enough time keeping track of things.

 

“I guess so.” He turned side-to-side, redial and redail. Neither of them would answer. The headphones made him vibrate when the disk jockey laughed at his own jokes.

 

“And he's not returning your calls?” The oily guy laughed right at him.

 

Ryuichi dropped the cell phone on his lap and sighed. Then he realized where he knew that other guy, the kid who was staring at him at the other side of the sound booth.

 

He looked just like his brother. Ryuichi held up his hand and slowly waved at Tatsuha.

 

Yeah, that was his name.

 

Still, cute kid or not, this interview had totally messed things up. It would take forever to lose Mr. K and find out where those two were. And he knew they would be together- Komoguro told him so.

 

“You wanna go ahead and tell Tohma hello, over the air?”

 

Ryuichi put his lips just a millimeter away from the mic, as it hovered dangerously over his head like an impatient John. “Hey, man. Answer your phone. Or I will seriously tell Tenchi-perv, over here, what you said when I asked you who the horny bitch was, last night.”

 

Tenchi-perv. He liked that. The oil beaded around his mouth when he laughed. It reminded Ryuichi of a puffer fish. “He's not answering, is he?”

 

Ryuichi shoved the phone back into his pocket. Komoguro had razors in his eyes. He didn't like being choked under Ryuichi's belt. It made Komoguro very, very angry when he couldn't breath. So he took him out, very carefully.

 

“No.” Komoguro insisted on speaking. “The recording says leave a message.” His voice was gravely.

 

“Did you leave any? Because I didn't see you talking into your phone.”

 

“He said, `Bitch, pick up.'” Komoguro snickered.

 

Ryuichi slumped in his chair, because the truth was embarrassing.

 

“So… you promised to tell us who Tohma called a horny bitch, last night.”

 

Ryuichi saw the kid, again. Man, he looked so much like his brother. Already just as tall. But dark. He liked the way he smiled. It was the same smile his brother had, the same little leer- like he could do all the dirty things he was reading in Ryuichi's mind.

 

“Well?”

 

“Komoguro?” Ryuichi shook him. “Aw, man. I think he went into the fifth dimension or something. Now we can't hear his signals.”

 

“Signals, huh?”

 

“Yeah. I translate his binary code.”

 

“Wow.” Tenchi-perv was sneering, again.

 

“Yeah, no doubt. I hate it when he does this.”

 

“So, can you tell me what Tohma said?”

 

Ryuichi knew he shouldn't say it. It was private, and besides, he could have sworn it would make Tohma call. Komoguro should have said it. Not Ryuichi. Now he was in trouble. And it wasn't fair, because he wasn't the one doing anything wrong.

 

“He said his brother in law was one horny bitch.”

 

Tenchi-perv nearly inhaled his coffee and swallowed his cigarette. The kid, the crowd behind him, fell over laughing. Tatsuha, most of all. He pounded his fist so hard on the glass it forced Komoguro to come back to this dimension.

 

This was a mistake.

 

Ryuichi watched as Komoguro flipped like a ninja and straddled the oily puffer face. That was how Ryuichi knew the interview was over. So he caught Komoguro when he flew away from Tenchi-perv, and jumped on titanium consuls to escape into the screaming hallway.

 

“Are you nuts?” Tenchi-perv hollered, when Ryuichi fell into the other side. Dozens of hands pulled him through.

 

“I have to go!” He sounded like he was drowning in the ocean. “Komoguro says we go this way to teach me a lesson!”

 

Never bring a bunny back from the fifth dimension before he's ready to be back.