A loud cry was heard in the distance...

Akai Hakai (Red Fate)

"Owww~!" Shuichi shouted as he cut the lemon along with his pinky.

[Trust me, it has happened to some people...]

Looking from left to right, Yuki, who was thinking a million times per hour because he thought something happened, ran into the kitchen to find Shuichi sniffing and freaking out as he sat on the kitchen tiled floor. Sighing quietly, he walked through the threshold and took Shuichi's hand to lead him to the bathroom. As Shuichi sat on the toilet bowl, Yuki scolded, "I told you not to be so hasty in cooking, but you never listen to me."

"I was only trying to copy the chef on the video!" Shuichi protested.

"The thought's there," Yuki thought, "But his brain isn't. Sigh..." As he wiped Shuichi's finger with alcohol, the blood dripped a little because it was not just a regular paper cut, but a little bit deeper. Then, Shuichi laughed.

"What's so funny?" Yuki questioned annoyingly because Shuichi had yet again hurt himself and he simply hated that.

"It looks like a red string on my finger." Shuichi smiled and asked while blinking his eyes innocently. "Doesn't it remind you of the red string of fate, Yuki?"

"That's just a myth, isn't it?" Yuki replied with a slight irritation in his voice. "Why do you believe in such things like that? I don't."

"It's not a bad thing, Yuki." Shuichi then grinned even more and looked up to Yuki who was standing over him. "I really believe we are, though."

"One move and it's all over." Yuki shook his head and kept his concentration at the finger. "Must not look. If I look now, I might-oh wow...how cute..." he thought as he looked at Shuichi after putting on the band-aid.

"Too late," he mumbled to himself as his hands were reaching towards Shuichi's face before he could protest it inside his mind. As he leaned down to kiss Shuichi warmly on the lips, he said, "I don't believe in it, Shuichi." Shuichi was a bit hurt by this. But he didn't fully understand the depth of Yuki's words were truly saying to him...

"What I meant was that no matter what, Shuichi, I'd only want to end up with you. Even if there were no string leading to you, I'd make it so," he thought as he pressed Shuichi to hold him closer. "I'd really make it so..."

--- Author's note: Short and simple and to the point, ne? ---

The Three fates sat on their throne weaving the red threads of fate when all three of them sneezed blowing her nose the maiden noticed some of the thread's were knotted maiden turned to the Crone the oldest fate and said.

"Sister,There are knots in the thread." The oldest turned to youngest nodded to her and said.

"The knots will untangle themselves and the humans will find love."She said with a smirk. The Maiden nodded and went back to work linking the red threads of fate. Knowing that the Crone was indeed the wisest of the three fates.

Shuichi smiled as he walked out of the house, stopping once more to wave at Yuki. Who stood leaning on the door frame in his boxer shorts. Shuichi was very tempted to turn back, if it wasn't for K hanging from the window with his gun pointed at him Shuichi would have.

Yuki smirked after Shuichi had left and went into the other room to shower and change into some clothes.

Shuichi met K and the other members of Bad Luck at the front of NG.

"OH-HA!!" Shuichi yelled glomping his band mates.

"Shuichi Ohayo gozaimasu!" The others replied to Shuichi before walking into the building.

As they walked into the building they ran into Sakuma Ryuichi and of course couldn't get by with out talking with him first.

"Ryuichi!!!"Shuichi yelled running at full force at his idol. Which Ryuichi did to him also.

"Shuichi!!!" They finally glomped each other which stopped everyone walking by and K decided it would be safer to have them talking while walking to the studio.

Shuichi and Ryuichi linked arms as they walked to the studio where Shuichi was recording.

"Ryuichi-san, Nani is going on?" Shuichi asked his idol.

Before Ryuichi answered Shuichi noticed a trace of sadness in his friends eyes before Ryuichi looked down.

"Nothing much Shuichi" He replied trying to smile.

Shuichi frowned at his friend and said

"Bull Ryuichi-san somethings wrong I can tell!"

Ryuichi turned green, Shuichi had guessed that he had a problem and gave up trying to hide it from his friend any longer.

"Shuichi" Ryuichi started to say.

"Hai?" Shuichi asked leaning in.

"Closer" Ryuichi said leaning in more.

Ryuichi and Shuichi leaned in and Ryuichi whispered his problem into Shuichi's ear.

Shuichi turned red a moment and then grinned at Ryuichi.

"Ryuichi-san, I think I can help you!" Shuichi yelled glomping a very red Ryuichi.

Yuki sat on the sofa drinking coffee with his younger brother when the telephone rang. Yuki raised himself from the sofa and answered the phone.

"Moshi Moshi?" Yuki said into the phone only to have his ear drums busted out.

"YUKI!!!!!" Shuichi yelled hearing his loves voice.

"Ahou, Nani??"Yuki asked Shuichi in an angry voice.

"Yuki, Gomen... I found Tatsuha-san a boyfriend!"Shuichi said waiting for Yuki to say something.

"How do you plan to do this Ahou?" Yuki asked with a faint bit of laughter in his voice.

"Remember the red string of fate Yuki?" Shuichi asked.

"Hai Ahou. How could I forget such a baka idea?"Yuki said smiling, scaring his brother on the sofa who hadn't seen him smile in years.

" Well I think the red string of fate will bring them together with my help!!" Shuichi yelled into the phone.

"Ahou" Yuki muttered into the phone before Shuichi interrupted him.

"I've set a dinner reservation for us tonight at 8:00 at that cafe down the street!! Well I've got to go! JA!" Shuichi yelled before hanging up on Yuki.

Yuki just stood there with a annoyed look on his face until his brother waved a hand in his face.

"Baka." Yuki said pulling out a smoke and tapping it on its case before putting in his mouth.

"Nani?" Tatsuha asked his brother.

"Ahou has got you a date and I'm being dragged along for the ride." Yuki said lighting the smoke and taking a puff, he blew smoke into Tatsuha's shocked face.

Shuichi hung up the phone and turned to Ryuichi who was waiting to hear the news.

"Hai, Ryuichi-san its a date!" Shuichi yelled smiling at Ryuichi who was turning blue with worry over rejection.

Ryuichi blinked his eyes and sighed in deep relief after a long while. Well, it was long to him since he had been holding his breath throughout the whole phone conversation.

"He'll go..." And then, he flashed a killer smile at no one in particular. When he finally realized what was happening, he glomped Shuichi. "Thanks!!!!" Shuichi shook his head and laughed. "It was nothing!" Inside, he was snickering to himself because if Ryuichi knew the way Tatsuha 'more than admired him' and how Ryuichi had a major crush on Tatsuha but couldn't understand why when they first met one another, then...

"But what's this about the red thread of fate? Why are you guys talking about that?" Ryuichi innocently asked a bit confused at the turn of events.

"I was just telling Yuki that when I had cut my pinky while cooking yesterday." He sighed. "He doesn't seem to believe in it." Ryuichi thought of this for a while as they walked back to the recording booth because they were finished with their break. "Red threat of fate..." In his mind, he finished, "Does Tatsuha believe in that type of thing?" He looked at Shuichi who was a bit downcast, but not enough to show his disppointment in Yuki's stance on the whole matter. Then, Ryuichi shook his head a bit and put his hands calmly into his pant pockets. "I shouldn't care about that, now shouldn't I?"

"I wonder who it is?" he eyed his brother and tugged on his sleeve. "Ne? Who is it, Ni-chan? Care to give me a hint?" Yuki gave him a death glare with an 'I didn't want to be here, so don't push your luck, kid'. Yuki kept on driving silently almost frowning in frustration. Inside, he had wanted to spend more time with Shuichi because he was recording late and so he came home at such late hours that it almost worried him. "But that ahou won't attract anymore danger than he already has," he thought to himself.

When they got there, Yuki and Tatsuha were across the street and Shuichi waved his hands. "Hao!!!!" Tatsuha waved back and gawked at Ryuichi...

"H-h-he's My DATE?!" A chibi Tatsuha inside his head exploded and other chibi Tatsuha's ran all over the place either running, jumping, or banging on the walls of his mind. With a frustrated look, Yuki saw Tatsuha run, okay, literally jump across the street in front of Ryuichi. He looked at Shuichi's eager face and Ryuichi's smile and Tatsuha's shocked expression.

"Nope, I beg to differ," he mumbled to himself as he walked towards them.

When Tatsuha leaned his head closer to Ryuichi's trying to be cool, Ryuichi became flustered and pushed Kumagorou to his face but kissed his nose. With that, Ryuichi had slipped a red string on Tatsuha's pinky finger.

"Tatsuha?" He leaned closer to Tatsuha.

They had stopped time and ignored the people around them and only paid attention to one another...

"Yes, Sakuma-san?" Blinking his eyes innocently, Ryuichi smiled brightly and tied the other end of the string to his own pinky.

"Do you believe in the red thread of fate?" Tatsuha looked at his pinky and at Ryuichi's. As soon as he did, he became light-headed and he began to spin around. "Ahahaha...hahaha..." Ryuichi frowned and was about to take off the string when Tatsuha took Ryuichi into his arms and kissed Shuichi quickly on the forehead. "Arigatou!!!" Yuki hit his forehead and glared at Shuichi with an 'It's-your-fault' look.

"Ja!" Tatsuha, who was unable to waste such an opportunity, especially since Ryuichi had chosen him, this unworthy human to be his soul mate of his own volition... ...and who could resist such a cute turn on with a string?

[Insert Author smirking at previous line.]

As Shuichi waved uncertainly at the new couple, he looked at Yuki. "I guess we don't need a double date." He wistfully smiled. "I know you didn't want to go anyway, so are you happy Yuki?" As Shuichi turned around to walk home with his head down, Yuki blushed and cleared his throat as he grabbed Shuichi's hand. "You, baka. Are you still disappointed with me over that red string thing?" With Shuichi blushing, they went walking through town. As they passed the park before going home, Yuki took something from his pant pocket and threw it at Shuichi. "Here." Shuichi opened his hand to a tangled web of red string. Clearing his throat, Yuki mumbled with his eyes looking to one side and his hand up to his mouth, "You didn't understand. What I meant was that no matter what, Shuichi, I'd only want to end up with you. Even if there were no string leading to you, I'd make it so..."

At that moment, Shuichi passed by a hanging branch (because he was so dazed) and accidently hit his hand. It started to bleed but as Yuki was going to inspect it, he caught a glimpse of someone walking towards them. In the moonlight, his pinky bled and drops of blood fell flowing towards the direction of someone in the shadows...

...that someone was Hiroshi Nagano.

-- Author's note: Evil, aren't we? Hee hee hee...

Yui Miyamoto Author Pairing Rating Subject