Samurai Souls, part 2

A Ronin Warriors Origins Story by Kajite Gray

email YoroidenGi@aol.com

Soul Bruises

Boi sat on the sidelines in the gym, watching the other students playing basketball. Half wore white and red, the others blue and white. The multitude of sneakered feet created a noisy medly of squeaks and thumps against the hardwood floor. His brother Kowasaki was out there, though half the players didn't realize it. Most of them thought he was still on the bench and it was Boi who was playing. The two were twins, with the same lanky build, the same huge brown eyes and wild black hair decorated with beads. They were identical in every way.

Except that I'm nicer, thought Boi, watching his brother elbow another boy in the ribs. There was way too much rough-housing going on out there today. He watched his twin race down the court towards the basket and scowled. He would have preferred to be out there with him. But since the twins fought more than they played, the Coach had wisely decided to seperate their playing time. They just made too many fouls on each other. Even when they were on the same team.

Probably a better this way, thought Boi, toeing the faded blue tape on the floor. But it still sucks. A whistle sounded as another body crashed to the floor. Boi grinned as he watched Kowasaki pick himself up gingerly. He shoved the boy who had fouled him, causing a minor scuffle on the court. Before things could escalate, the coach separated them and sent the offender off the court. Kowasaki spied his brother grinning at him from the bench and scowled murderously.

Looks like I'm going to have company, mused Boi. The fellas were sure playing rough today. He was a little surprised that it was Kento who plunked down next to him.

"What're YOU doing here?" he asked. "You're usually more careful than THAT." Kento shrugged broad shoulders, wiping his sweaty brow.

"Yeah, but I just ate lunch, and if I play THIS hard right after eating, I throw up. So I fouled out."

"Excellent strategy," mused Boi. Ken glanced over at him.

"I did it on purpose, you know. I hope you don't mind." Boi slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hell, not at all. Feel free." Ken chuckled, well familiar with the twins' mutual animosity. Most of it was friendly. Boi shook his beaded hair and peered down the court.

"Hmmmm - looks like your old buddy Rowen is getting his knocks too." Ken watched the blue-haired boy skid painfully across the hardwood floor. He was not too surprised to see it was Cye who had fouled him. If he didn't watch it, he'd be on the bench too. Ken frowned, glimpsing scrapes and at least one bandaged hand on Rowen. He'd have to warn Cye about pulling his punches. Boi laughed beside him.

"Wow! I can't believe it - that Mouse really let him have it!!" Ken smiled.

"Cye's no Mouse - he's a Killer Whale!" Boi poked him rudely in the stomach.

"No, that's YOU, Stay-Puf." Kento shoved him with a mock growl.

"Wise-ass." They watched the game for a few more minutes. Actually, Boi watched the game - Kento was busier watching the cheerleaders. He experienced a sudden craving for melon....

FWEEEEEE-EEET!!!

"Uh - oh. We're going to have company," commented Boi, eyeing a commotion on the court. Wrenching his gaze from the cheerleaders, Kento looked in the direction he was pointing. He groaned as Cye got pitched off the court.

"He was in my way!" protested Cye, gesturing at a dizzy Rowen who was still on the floor.

"I don't care, Mori!" snarled the Coach. "That's your fifth and you're OUTTA here!!" He jerked an authorotative thumb at the bench. Scowling darkly, Cye shuffled off the court. This was the first time he'd fouled out of a game - EVER, and he blamed Rowen. If he hadn't pissed him off so much yesterday, this wouldnt've happened. Cye was a little surprised by the approving looks the other boys gave him, and he returned a few high-fives on his way to the bench. Apparently Rowen had ticked more than a few people off; they seemed glad that Cye had taken him down a peg. He was still pissed, though. But he brightened a little to see who was already on the bench.

"Hi, you guys!" He wedged himself between them, grinning at Kento who rolled his eyes.

"Geez, Cye, you gotta foul him so hard? You're gonna kill 'im!"

Boi chuckled at Rowen's battered hide.

"He looks like he's been run down in the street! What'dja do to him, Cye?"

"I didn't do THAT," defended Cye, indicating Rowen's bandaged wrist. "That was there this morn -" He jumped as the blue-haired boy shot past them, speeding down the court. Cye blinked hard. "And I DIDN'T give him THAT!!" Rowen's left eye was swollen almost shut, an ugly purple in color. Ken gasped.

"He didn't have THAT when he left here YESTERDAY...." That meant.... His heart clenched at the thought. Rowen was wearing knee-length spandex biking shorts under his usual basketball uniform. Kento knew what that meant. It meant there were bruises under there he didn't want anyone to see. He winced, noting another deep bruise on his friend's shoulder. Cye noticed it too, the look on Kento's face alarmed him. He turned to him wide-eyed.

"Man - what happened to him? He get hit by a bus?"

"No..." said Kento grimly. "Not by a bus." His mouth was set in a straight line; his eyes were stormy. Cye gave him a questioning look, wondering what he meant. Boi already knew what Kento's expression meant, but he wasn't saying anything. Ken had sworn him to secrecy, and when you made a promise to Kento, you KEPT it.

The buzzer sounded for half-time. Ken got up off the bench, and Cye moved to follow him. Boi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't - ahh....they'll probably let you play next half. Just sit." Cye looked at him, sensing there was a deeper reason for this. Shrugging, he stayed put, figuring he'd get the answer out of Kento later. His curiosity was eating him alive, though.

Kowasaki came bounding off the court at them, grinning and sweaty. He greeted his brother cheerfully.

"Hi, Bastard!" Boi waved back.

"Hi, Schlong-Breath!" Cye rolled his eyes. What a pair! Kowasaki jerked his head at the court.

"Go on out there and see if you can lose the game for us, ok? I put us 10 points ahead, but I'm sure you can wipe out that lead, no problem." Boi gave him the finger, nevertheless grinning, and ran off to warm up for the second half. Cye shook his head at Kowasaki, who took his brother's place on the bench.

"What's WITH you two?"

"Huh?" Kowasaki blinked at him.

"Why're you fighting all the time? You're brothers, after all-"

"Butt out, Missy," snarled Kowasaki. Cye jumped and slid a little further away from him. He had forgotten again that Kowasaki had less patience for him than Boi did. Moving beyond hitting range, Cye hung around the courtline, hoping to be let back in for the second half. He didn't really want to spend the rest of the game sitting on the bench with Kowasaki. The coach spotted him lurking about, sighed, and motioned him over.

"You get it out of your system yet, Mori?" Cye looked meek.

"Yes, SIR. I'll keep my mind on the game." Coach Akira shook his head.

"Fine. Get in there - but no more funny stuff!!" Cye gave him a thumb's up and loped off to join the other boys. Akira frowned, looking at the number of players still on the sides. Everyone seemed to have Idiot-itis today. All the boys were playing it rough, even that shy Mori kid. He was having to let foulers back in, just to have enough guys to fill the court.

Stretching on the sidelines, Cye peered through the crowd of boys, trying to spot Kento. But he didn't see him. Shrugging, he finished his warmup and joined the other players.

Leaning against the bleachers, Rowen rubbed his sore wrist. Geez, it hurt.....

"Hey." He looked up to see Kento, indigo eyes watching him concernedly. Rowen looked away.

"You okay?" Rowen shrugged, though it was painful to do so.

"Yeah. I'll be allright. I just..... fell down."

"Again??"

"Yeah....." Rowen would not meet his eyes. Kento frowned.

"That's the third time in two weeks, buddy."

"I'm clumsy, you know." He turned his bruised face to the wall, staring blankly at the fractured gray tiles. Kento touched his shoulder.

"Yeah. I know." Rowen nodded. He was clumsy and fell. A lot. Banged himself up. That was what their words said. But their faces said something completely different. Kento retrieved his duffelbag from the sidelines and nodded towards the court.

"I'll go make up some excuse. You get your stuff and come meet me in the Boys' room."

"Ok," replied Rowen hollowly, not moving from the spot. Kento gave him a worried look.

"Don't forget."

After a few minutes, Rowen heaved himself painfully away from the bleachers. Slowly, he trailed after his friend. The second half was in full swing, and no one noticed him limp stiffly out of the room.

The game continued without them.

"So what was his excuse this time?" Rowen lowered his head, leaning against the bathroom sinks.

"I was five minutes late. Didn't have any money for his stinking beer either. That's why."

"Jesus Christ," murmered Kento, looking at the maze of welts and bruises crisscrossing his friend's back. His usually pale skin was blotched an ugly purple and red from the beating he'd recieved. Some of the marks were already turning black. Kento let out a low whistle.

"What'd he hit you with - a Mac Truck?"

"No," managed Rowen, flinching as Kento rubbed Tigerbalm on his back. "Just the usual."

Kento frowned. That meant just about anything else Rowen's father could lay his hands on. The belt, shoes, his fist - even furniture. Rowen looked like he'd been chewed up and spit out. Along with the bruises, he had several angry-looking scrapes and a wrist that was at least sprained, if not broken. There was a nasty cut on the back of his head too. It looked like it needed stitches, but that probably wouldn't happen. Rowen peered over his shoulder at him with his good eye.

"Y'know, if anybody walks in here, this is gonna look real bad," he intoned, eyeing Ken as he worked. Stripped to his undershorts, Rowen leaned against a ceramic sink for support. If anybody saw him like this.....

"Don't worry," said Kento, dabbing at the bruises on his legs. "No one's coming in here. I made sure."

"Huh?"

"I paid off Danny. You know - the Janitor. Give him a Gatchaman poster and he'll do just about anything. He'll keep the other students out of here long enough for me to patch you up, pal." Rowen winced as he found a tender spot on his thigh.

"Thanks....." he managed through gritted teeth. Leaning over, Kento fished the Neosporin out of his bag and began doctoring the scrapes. They looked pretty deep.

"You know," he remarked slowly,"Danny said that if I can find him a poster of Lady Jun in a bikini, it'll take care of the next five times we do this." He looked away from his friend's wounds. "I hope there AREN'T five more times, but at the rate you're going, we'd use 'em all up by the end of the month!"

"Hey!!" protested Rowen defensively. Kento sat back on his heels, looking up at him.

"Oh, I forgot. Not YOUR fault you choose to live with a maniac who likes to use you for a punching bag." Rowen stiffened angrily at this.

"It's not like I have a CHOICE," he grated.

"Sure ya do. Come live with us." Rowen shook his head.

"No chance."

"Why not?" returned Kento calmy. (though he knew very well why not - Rowen was too damned stubborn to accept charity)

"I don't wanna be a burden to you guys. I mean, I can't pay anything for-"

"No one will mind," said Ken.

"Huh. What would Mama say if I moved in full time?"

"Probably something about you finally coming to your senses," mused Kento. "C'mon, we'll make room for ya." Rowen stared straight forward grimly. He wished he wasn't facing the mirrors. Every mark his father had made on him was painfully obvious under the flourescent lighting.

"Well?"

"NO," said Rowen grimly, rubbing his scraped elbow. Ken sighed, giving up.

"Fine." They had had this conversation before, at least once a week. Rowen's answer was always the same.

"Turn around," commanded Kento. He took Rowen's bruised face in his hand and held a warm cloth to his black eye.

"OW," he complained, trying to pull away.

"Hold still," muttered Kento, holding his chin firmly. Wincing at the pain, Rowen had no choice but to hold still as Ken doctored his eye.

"Can you see out of it?" he asked with concern.

"Some. I'm only wearing one contact today, in case you were wondering."

"I was." Kento squeezed a bit of antibiotic ointment into the eye. Rowen flinched. It was COLD.

"There. That wasn't so bad." He glanced down at Rowen's wrapped hand. "Who did THIS mess?" he inquired, tugging at the crooked bandages.

"I DID," snapped Rowen. Kento sighed.

"Let me try." Rowen, knowing better than to argue, let him. He watched his friend, silently rewrapping his wrist, noticing how careful he was not to jar it. Impressed by his gentleness, he suddenly felt sorry for snapping at him. Rowen realized guiltily that he'd been taking his friend's kindness for granted. Who else would be willing to put up with his bullshit? Who else would be patient enough to keep putting him back together? Probably no one.

"Thanks," he said, causing Kento to look up at him. This was a REAL Thankyou - a rare thing from Rowen.

"Ah...." said Ken, tying off the bandages. "You don't know how to bandage worth shit anyhow."

"I mean it. Thanks.... really." Kento shrugged.

"I know. Anyway, somebody's gotta show you how to do it right if you're going to let him keep bashing you around like that." Rowen shuddered angrily.

"Kento...." He didn't look up, checking his wrapping job.

"But who am I to say anything?"

"It's not as if I ASKED for this...." Kento heard the hurt in his voice and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Easy. I'm sorry. It's not you I'm pissed at." Rowen sagged a little.

"I know," he said in a small voice. Kento gave him an imploring look.

"I'm just tired of putting my best friend back together - AGAIN." He folded his arms. "Any more bruises I should know about?"

"No."

"Liar. Get dressed." Rowen began stiffly pulling on his clothes. Kento gave it one last try.

"Are you SURE you won't at least spend the night at my place?" Rowen shook his head, pulling on his shirt carefully. He winced as the cloth connected with his sore back.

"Thanks, but I'd better not. He's sober today, so he'll notice if I'm not there." Ken watched him concernedly, noticing how slow and painful his movements were.

"You're SURE...."

"Yeah. It'll be worse if I don't go home."

"Don't get mad if I don't agree with ya," remarked Kento, helping him into his jacket. The bell rang for the next class, and both boys headed for the door.

"Good timing," commented Rowen, straightening his tie. "See ya in Math."

"See ya," replied Kento, casually waving as though nothing were wrong. He had gotten awfully good lately at pretending there was nothing wrong when there really was. Rowen waved back and headed off for his Astronomy class. Kento ran down the hall to Marine Biology, which he shared with Cye. They were lab partners. At the start of the year, Kento had picked Cye so he'd HAVE a partner. No one else had wanted to pair up with the shy new kid. To his benefit, Cye turned out to be a whiz at this sort of thing - a fact for which he was extremely grateful. Science was NOT Kento's strong suit.

He turned to his classroom and waved at Cye, who was eager and early as usual. Picking up his books, Kento turned his attention to studying fish and other friends of Cye. He said not one word about Rowen. Instead, he carried on quietly.

As if nothing had happened. Nothing at all.

Next Chapter...... Little Fish

"For those foolish enough to plagiarize from this story.... The Youja shall haunt you."--Kajite