Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Fleeting Inspiration ❯ More Troubles for the Uesugi Brothers ( Chapter 33 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Anna Sartin 
Anime/Manga: Gravitation Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.01.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 615 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gravitation Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.01.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 615 | Status: Work In Progress
Fleeting Inspiration
by Anna Sartin
. . .
Chapter Thirty-three: More Troubles for the Uesugi Brothers
.
After getting rid of "Jesus" Tatsuha took his brother's SAAB Cabriolet to the store to go shopping. His feet were aching and he decided that risking Eiri's wrath was better than more walking, especially considering he'd have to lug groceries home. His brother seemed to prefer the Mercedes and Tatsuha figured it would be safer to take the car that his brother was least likely to miss. Which was lucky for him, because he thought the Cabriolet looked much cooler.
Before getting his motorcycle the teenager had had fantasies of driving the car around Japan. No responsibilities, no annoying family members and if he was feeling lonely he could impress the chicks with "his" car and take a few of them along for the ride. The main drive behind the fantasy was the freedom it represented. The simple fact was that life at his father's temple was boring as hell. He'd always looked forward to funerals and other jobs that took him away from home, and now that he'd been accepted to Tokyo University he planned to stay out of Kyoto for as long as possible. All he needed to do was get his bike back and he'd be set for the next few years. Well, after he found a place to live, that is.
He took the Cabriolet again the next day when Eiri sent him to the dry cleaner's. "Why should I walk three and a half miles just to drop off somebody else's stupid clothes?" he asked himself as he cruised down the road with a cigarette between his lips. His brother had gone house-hunting with Shuichi and had threatened to toss him out on his ass if he smelled cigarette smoke in his apartment when he got back. Tatsuha had swiped the spare keys after they'd gone and was still debating rather or not to put them back when he got home. Finally he decided against it. I'll hang on to them. He won't notice they're gone.
. . .
When Tatsuha got back from the bakery the next morning he found his brother standing outside the apartment building talking to a pair of cops. What the hell...?
Eiri caught sight of his sibling and his face contorted into an expression of pure rage. "Why the hell did you take my car without asking?!!" he shouted.
"So I wouldn't have to walk?" Tatsuha offered, wondering what the hell was going on. His brother looked like he was about to commit fratricide.
"Is this the stolen car, sir?" one of the cops asked.
Tatsuha's eyes bugged out of his head. "STOLEN???"
"Yes, this is the car," Eiri told them, before turning to his brother. "How the hell did you drive my car without the... keys..." Eiri stared at the keys in the ignition, then smacked himself in the forehead. The spare keys. He's forgotten all about the spare keys.
"I used the spare set I found in your de-"
"Give me the fucking keys!" Eiri demanded. Tatsuha quickly handed them over. "AND the key to the apartment!" Again Tatsuha obeyed, deciding that arguing with his brother at this point would be suicidal. "I called the POLICE because I thought somebody stole my car!"
Five minutes later the police were gone, annoyed at having their coffee break interrupted for nothing. Ten minutes later Tatsuha's feet were tired from running around the parking lot to avoid being beaten black and blue. Fifteen minutes later Eiri had flung all of his brother's belongings out the door and sped off, leaving a pleading Tatsuha in the dust. Sighing, the young monk went back up to the apartment and knocked on the door.
"Shindo-san? Shuichi? Let me in."
"Sorry, but Yuki said he'd kill me if I did. His medicine ran out this morning and he's kind of scary, you know? You made him late for his appointment with his psychiatrist and he REALLY needed to go!"
"You're telling me..." Tatsuha grumbled, gathering his clothes together. He then started putting up his tent. It was going to be a long day.
. . .
By the time Eiri got to the hospital he was forty minutes late for his appointment, leaving him only twenty minutes to tell the doctor the whole crazy story of The Book That Would Not Die and warped chain of events that had taken place over the past two and a half weeks. He then stared at her like a child waiting for his mother to present him with a simple, logical solution to his problem.
Instead of getting the sage advice he longed for, however, he was given a short, lame lecture about meeting the world half-way. "Are you fucking with me?!" he shouted. This woman was supposed to be one of the best in the business! He didn't pay her to dish out stupid cliches!
"You need to stop reacting every time you see Eto-san or his book. The way you react to the situation, along with your aggravation with the book's content and its author, causes you to overreact and add to your stress."
"How can I NOT overreact when I've got book stalking me???"
"Our time is up for today," she responded, handing him a copy of his usual prescriptions.
"But I just GOT here!"
"You got here twenty minutes ago, and you arrived forty minutes late. I have another patient scheduled. Next time be punctual if you want to get the most out of our sessions." And with that she ushered him out the door.
"Shall I schedule you for the same time next week?" the receptionist asked when he reentered the lobby, grumbling about how psychiatrists were all just a bunch of quacks.
"No!" Eiri snapped, before pulling himself together. No matter how pissed off he was at her at the moment he knew he desperately needed to go back. He felt like his sanity was hanging by a few thin threads with Four Gay Elves at the other end jerking at his strings. It was Friday and he hadn't seen the book since Wednesday, which meant it was bound to make an appearance sometime soon. He and Shuichi had looked at several houses together yesterday but he hadn't been able to fully concentrate with the threat of the book's return looming overhead. Every house they went into he found himself waiting for Four Gay Elves to pop out of every closet and cabinet. "When is earliest appointment available?" he asked.
"We just had a cancellation for Monday at 9:00. Would that be convenient for you, Uesugi-san?"
"Fine." He hated getting up early and he hated fighting rush hour traffic even more, but he needed somebody to help him or he was going to go completely nuts. Besides, it was better that he vent to his therapist than take his frustrations out on Shuichi. The singer was often his most convenient target when he needed a verbal punching bag, but his lover had enough problems at the moment without him adding to them. Mika was calling every day now to "check up on him" and her mothering only made things worse. Under normal circumstances he might have used her in place of Shuichi to vent but he couldn't bring himself to shout at his pregnant sister. Difficult pregnancies ran in his family, and being married to Tohma had to be enough stress for ANYBODY to deal with. He couldn't wish for his brother-in-law to hurry up and get home either, because instead of getting Mika off his back the pair would team up and annoy him together. I hate my life...
He went down to the hospital pharmacy to fill his prescriptions, only to find Mamoru Eto sitting in the waiting area. He backed up quickly before the old man spotted him. Not again! What the hell is he doing here NOW?!
He knew he needed to take the psychiatrist's advice to heart and stop reacting every time he saw Eto or his book, but the whole situation was just so... exasperating. Still, he paid a fortune for the doctor's advice so he figured he might as well follow it. He turned around and headed in the opposite direction, clutching the prescriptions she had written for him. Fuck this place and fuck HIM. I'll get them filled somewhere else.
After doing just that at a nearby drugstore, the author stopped off at the bakery down the street. He figured it was a safe bet that his brother had eaten all the shortcakes he'd sent him out to buy. I should have taken the bag away from him before I threw him out! Shortcakes always put him in a good mood and he needed a stress-reliever. Besides, Shuichi had been fretting over his lack of appetite lately, which meant he wouldn't have to listen to him nag about how many he ate this time. He bought all that the store had left and headed home.
. . .
"Uesugi-san!" a shrill voice called out to him as he parked his car in front of the apartment building. The voice belonged to a short, round woman with several stray beard hairs growing on her chin. "Can I see you in my office please?" It was the landlord's wife.
What does SHE want? Eiri wondered, getting out of his car. He'd paid his rent for the entire year back in January and he'd already reimbursed her for the window K destroyed a few months ago, so she couldn't possibly want more money. Maybe the neighbors were complaining about the noise level again. "What is it?" he asked as he followed her inside.
"I would think you'd be the last of our tenants I would need to reprimand for this, and quite frankly I'm disappointed in you. You should know better that to dump your garbage in the building!"
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
She opened the door to the office she and her husband used and pointed to the rolled-up carpet laying on the floor. "My husband found this stuffed in the utility closet on the second floor!"
"What makes you think it's mine?" Eiri asked, feeling the urge to sock his brother. He's even more troublesome than Shuichi!
"Because when he picked it up your book fell out of it!" She held up Four Gay Elves.
"And what makes you think that piece of shit is mine?" he asked, wondering if there was some way he could get out of taking the thing back.
"Because of this," she responded, pulling a slip of paper out of the book and handing it to him. It began with "Congratulations Eiri Uesugi!" and ended with "We hope you enjoy "Four Gay Elves"! He was stuck and he knew it.
Damn it!!!
. . .
"Aniki, please let me in!" Tatsuha pleaded when Eiri got out of the elevator, carrying his medicine, two bags of shortcakes and Four Gay Elves in one hand and "Jesus" on his shoulder.
"Hell no. Keeping you is more trouble than it's worth." He dropped the carpet on his brother's his tent and dug in his pocket for his keys. Tatsuha ran in ahead of him when he unlocked the door.
"Get out!" Eiri ordered, making a beeline for the living room. Tatsuha followed him.
"Please, Aniki! I'm sorry about the car! I won't take it without asking again, I-"
"Shut up and go away," Eiri interrupted, dumping his bags on the coffee table. "Living with one idiot is more than enough, I don't need to deal with two."
"Please! I didn't mean for-"
"Get out and take this damn book with you!" Eiri shouted, throwing the book at his brother. Tatsuha ducked out of the way and loud crash echoed through the apartment as the book hit the window. Both men froze. Oh shit...
"What's going on?" Shuichi asked, hobbling in from the kitchen. "I thought I heard something break..."
. . .
Tatsuha heard the door slam and lock behind him as Eiri (literally) kicked him out the door. He sighed and pulled the carpet off his wrecked tent and began putting it back together. At least Mr. Fuzzy hadn't been thrown out. He loved Ryuichi but his kitten was a pain in the ass to look after. He noticed his brother seemed to like the vicious little furball for some reason. Maybe because they're both so much alike!
When he finally got the tent reassembled he crawled inside and laid down, wishing Ryuichi was still in town. He sighed longingly. "How many days ''til my honey comes home...?"
.
~End chapter thirty-three~
by Anna Sartin
. . .
Chapter Thirty-three: More Troubles for the Uesugi Brothers
.
After getting rid of "Jesus" Tatsuha took his brother's SAAB Cabriolet to the store to go shopping. His feet were aching and he decided that risking Eiri's wrath was better than more walking, especially considering he'd have to lug groceries home. His brother seemed to prefer the Mercedes and Tatsuha figured it would be safer to take the car that his brother was least likely to miss. Which was lucky for him, because he thought the Cabriolet looked much cooler.
Before getting his motorcycle the teenager had had fantasies of driving the car around Japan. No responsibilities, no annoying family members and if he was feeling lonely he could impress the chicks with "his" car and take a few of them along for the ride. The main drive behind the fantasy was the freedom it represented. The simple fact was that life at his father's temple was boring as hell. He'd always looked forward to funerals and other jobs that took him away from home, and now that he'd been accepted to Tokyo University he planned to stay out of Kyoto for as long as possible. All he needed to do was get his bike back and he'd be set for the next few years. Well, after he found a place to live, that is.
He took the Cabriolet again the next day when Eiri sent him to the dry cleaner's. "Why should I walk three and a half miles just to drop off somebody else's stupid clothes?" he asked himself as he cruised down the road with a cigarette between his lips. His brother had gone house-hunting with Shuichi and had threatened to toss him out on his ass if he smelled cigarette smoke in his apartment when he got back. Tatsuha had swiped the spare keys after they'd gone and was still debating rather or not to put them back when he got home. Finally he decided against it. I'll hang on to them. He won't notice they're gone.
. . .
When Tatsuha got back from the bakery the next morning he found his brother standing outside the apartment building talking to a pair of cops. What the hell...?
Eiri caught sight of his sibling and his face contorted into an expression of pure rage. "Why the hell did you take my car without asking?!!" he shouted.
"So I wouldn't have to walk?" Tatsuha offered, wondering what the hell was going on. His brother looked like he was about to commit fratricide.
"Is this the stolen car, sir?" one of the cops asked.
Tatsuha's eyes bugged out of his head. "STOLEN???"
"Yes, this is the car," Eiri told them, before turning to his brother. "How the hell did you drive my car without the... keys..." Eiri stared at the keys in the ignition, then smacked himself in the forehead. The spare keys. He's forgotten all about the spare keys.
"I used the spare set I found in your de-"
"Give me the fucking keys!" Eiri demanded. Tatsuha quickly handed them over. "AND the key to the apartment!" Again Tatsuha obeyed, deciding that arguing with his brother at this point would be suicidal. "I called the POLICE because I thought somebody stole my car!"
Five minutes later the police were gone, annoyed at having their coffee break interrupted for nothing. Ten minutes later Tatsuha's feet were tired from running around the parking lot to avoid being beaten black and blue. Fifteen minutes later Eiri had flung all of his brother's belongings out the door and sped off, leaving a pleading Tatsuha in the dust. Sighing, the young monk went back up to the apartment and knocked on the door.
"Shindo-san? Shuichi? Let me in."
"Sorry, but Yuki said he'd kill me if I did. His medicine ran out this morning and he's kind of scary, you know? You made him late for his appointment with his psychiatrist and he REALLY needed to go!"
"You're telling me..." Tatsuha grumbled, gathering his clothes together. He then started putting up his tent. It was going to be a long day.
. . .
By the time Eiri got to the hospital he was forty minutes late for his appointment, leaving him only twenty minutes to tell the doctor the whole crazy story of The Book That Would Not Die and warped chain of events that had taken place over the past two and a half weeks. He then stared at her like a child waiting for his mother to present him with a simple, logical solution to his problem.
Instead of getting the sage advice he longed for, however, he was given a short, lame lecture about meeting the world half-way. "Are you fucking with me?!" he shouted. This woman was supposed to be one of the best in the business! He didn't pay her to dish out stupid cliches!
"You need to stop reacting every time you see Eto-san or his book. The way you react to the situation, along with your aggravation with the book's content and its author, causes you to overreact and add to your stress."
"How can I NOT overreact when I've got book stalking me???"
"Our time is up for today," she responded, handing him a copy of his usual prescriptions.
"But I just GOT here!"
"You got here twenty minutes ago, and you arrived forty minutes late. I have another patient scheduled. Next time be punctual if you want to get the most out of our sessions." And with that she ushered him out the door.
"Shall I schedule you for the same time next week?" the receptionist asked when he reentered the lobby, grumbling about how psychiatrists were all just a bunch of quacks.
"No!" Eiri snapped, before pulling himself together. No matter how pissed off he was at her at the moment he knew he desperately needed to go back. He felt like his sanity was hanging by a few thin threads with Four Gay Elves at the other end jerking at his strings. It was Friday and he hadn't seen the book since Wednesday, which meant it was bound to make an appearance sometime soon. He and Shuichi had looked at several houses together yesterday but he hadn't been able to fully concentrate with the threat of the book's return looming overhead. Every house they went into he found himself waiting for Four Gay Elves to pop out of every closet and cabinet. "When is earliest appointment available?" he asked.
"We just had a cancellation for Monday at 9:00. Would that be convenient for you, Uesugi-san?"
"Fine." He hated getting up early and he hated fighting rush hour traffic even more, but he needed somebody to help him or he was going to go completely nuts. Besides, it was better that he vent to his therapist than take his frustrations out on Shuichi. The singer was often his most convenient target when he needed a verbal punching bag, but his lover had enough problems at the moment without him adding to them. Mika was calling every day now to "check up on him" and her mothering only made things worse. Under normal circumstances he might have used her in place of Shuichi to vent but he couldn't bring himself to shout at his pregnant sister. Difficult pregnancies ran in his family, and being married to Tohma had to be enough stress for ANYBODY to deal with. He couldn't wish for his brother-in-law to hurry up and get home either, because instead of getting Mika off his back the pair would team up and annoy him together. I hate my life...
He went down to the hospital pharmacy to fill his prescriptions, only to find Mamoru Eto sitting in the waiting area. He backed up quickly before the old man spotted him. Not again! What the hell is he doing here NOW?!
He knew he needed to take the psychiatrist's advice to heart and stop reacting every time he saw Eto or his book, but the whole situation was just so... exasperating. Still, he paid a fortune for the doctor's advice so he figured he might as well follow it. He turned around and headed in the opposite direction, clutching the prescriptions she had written for him. Fuck this place and fuck HIM. I'll get them filled somewhere else.
After doing just that at a nearby drugstore, the author stopped off at the bakery down the street. He figured it was a safe bet that his brother had eaten all the shortcakes he'd sent him out to buy. I should have taken the bag away from him before I threw him out! Shortcakes always put him in a good mood and he needed a stress-reliever. Besides, Shuichi had been fretting over his lack of appetite lately, which meant he wouldn't have to listen to him nag about how many he ate this time. He bought all that the store had left and headed home.
. . .
"Uesugi-san!" a shrill voice called out to him as he parked his car in front of the apartment building. The voice belonged to a short, round woman with several stray beard hairs growing on her chin. "Can I see you in my office please?" It was the landlord's wife.
What does SHE want? Eiri wondered, getting out of his car. He'd paid his rent for the entire year back in January and he'd already reimbursed her for the window K destroyed a few months ago, so she couldn't possibly want more money. Maybe the neighbors were complaining about the noise level again. "What is it?" he asked as he followed her inside.
"I would think you'd be the last of our tenants I would need to reprimand for this, and quite frankly I'm disappointed in you. You should know better that to dump your garbage in the building!"
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
She opened the door to the office she and her husband used and pointed to the rolled-up carpet laying on the floor. "My husband found this stuffed in the utility closet on the second floor!"
"What makes you think it's mine?" Eiri asked, feeling the urge to sock his brother. He's even more troublesome than Shuichi!
"Because when he picked it up your book fell out of it!" She held up Four Gay Elves.
"And what makes you think that piece of shit is mine?" he asked, wondering if there was some way he could get out of taking the thing back.
"Because of this," she responded, pulling a slip of paper out of the book and handing it to him. It began with "Congratulations Eiri Uesugi!" and ended with "We hope you enjoy "Four Gay Elves"! He was stuck and he knew it.
Damn it!!!
. . .
"Aniki, please let me in!" Tatsuha pleaded when Eiri got out of the elevator, carrying his medicine, two bags of shortcakes and Four Gay Elves in one hand and "Jesus" on his shoulder.
"Hell no. Keeping you is more trouble than it's worth." He dropped the carpet on his brother's his tent and dug in his pocket for his keys. Tatsuha ran in ahead of him when he unlocked the door.
"Get out!" Eiri ordered, making a beeline for the living room. Tatsuha followed him.
"Please, Aniki! I'm sorry about the car! I won't take it without asking again, I-"
"Shut up and go away," Eiri interrupted, dumping his bags on the coffee table. "Living with one idiot is more than enough, I don't need to deal with two."
"Please! I didn't mean for-"
"Get out and take this damn book with you!" Eiri shouted, throwing the book at his brother. Tatsuha ducked out of the way and loud crash echoed through the apartment as the book hit the window. Both men froze. Oh shit...
"What's going on?" Shuichi asked, hobbling in from the kitchen. "I thought I heard something break..."
. . .
Tatsuha heard the door slam and lock behind him as Eiri (literally) kicked him out the door. He sighed and pulled the carpet off his wrecked tent and began putting it back together. At least Mr. Fuzzy hadn't been thrown out. He loved Ryuichi but his kitten was a pain in the ass to look after. He noticed his brother seemed to like the vicious little furball for some reason. Maybe because they're both so much alike!
When he finally got the tent reassembled he crawled inside and laid down, wishing Ryuichi was still in town. He sighed longingly. "How many days ''til my honey comes home...?"
.
~End chapter thirty-three~