Orphans
by Keiko no Miko

Chapter Five
Keiko

First, it was Maeko who ran away.

Then it was Yusuke. He disappeared from my sight, with Toshiro after him. I wanted to go after him, to comfort him and tell him that what those jerks had said weren’t true. Heck, Yusuke knows they weren’t true, but still…!

I turned back to Nakamura and Matsunaga and braced myself for the inevitable—getting a hit from them—but I found it hard not to defend Yusuke from what they had said about Atsuko-san. Believe me, I know how Atsuko-san lives her life drowned in alcohol, but... no, what they said about her was not true! If anything, Atsuko-san loves Yusuke very much!

And there they were, Nakamura and Matsunaga, still roaring with laughter like fools!

"How could you tell him that?!" I squealed at them. "Don’t you guys care if you’ve hurt someone’s feelings?"

They didn’t seem to hear me. "Urameshi was actually hurt at our words! You call that a delinquent? Ha-ha!!!"

Now I couldn’t contain it any longer. I felt my back hunch up. "Arrrgh…BAKA!!!"

Upon hearing the word, the two noticed me. "Who-ho-ho! Yukimura spoke up!" Matsunaga cackled.

"It’s too bad you stopped him from starting a fight," Nakamura said. "That would’ve been fun!"

"Fun? So is that it? That’s what you two were looking for and you went to the extent of saying those things about Atsuko-san just for fun? Huh?"

Nakamura stepped closer. "You really don’t understand the true meaning of fun, huh, Yukimura?"

I had a good look at the nasty grin pasted on his face. At the same time, an alarm went off inside my head.

I bared my teeth at him. "You and your…UGLY FACES!!!"

But I wasn’t frightened. All that remained in my mind was Yusuke and his face when he stared back at me, when I stopped him from punching the guys. I had seen the wounded look in his gorgeous eyes. And when I did, I had clutched him arm tighter, wondering if I should have had let him fight them. I had felt my heart plummet to the ground just when I saw him with that expression on his face.…

Yeah, so what about the kids?

I glanced around quickly. No kids, save for Maeko-chan.

I just hope she’d understand, I prayed.

In fact, I rolled up the sleeves of my uniform. "You looking for a fight? I don’t care anymore if sensei finds me doing this."

"You’re gonna do that? Hah!" Nakamura was dangerously close now. Suddenly, his rough hands grabbed my left arm and squashed it really hard.

I gave out a scream, letting my free hand fly across the air. It came in contact with Nakamura’s face. His grip suddenly loosened and he went flying, finally ramming his back at a tree trunk.

I bravely walked towards him. I had to laugh wickedly—I had distorted his face so that it looked even uglier. Yusuke, after all, wasn’t the only one who was honored enough to feel my slap.

Someone’s behind me, I suddenly realized. Matsunaga. Without a second thought, I shot my right leg backwards. My shoe hit him squarely at the guts.

I sent him flying too.

Yusuke would be sure to congratulate me for weeks after if he had seen that. And what do you know, I had involved myself in a fight! Me, Yukimura Keiko! And right then and there in the orphanage! I felt pride surge through me…

Wait a minute…

What?!

I suddenly went back to my senses. I did what?!

Gulping, I looked around for Maeko. She was right there, a big smile on her lips.

"That was absolutely grand, neechan! Way to go!"

No one else saw it but her, I thought. With my mind still messed up, I grabbed for her hand and escaped to the woods, to the direction Yusuke took.

"Look, Maeko. I want you to forget about what you saw a while ago," I stated firmly and seriously.

"But why?" she asked.

"It’s too…vulgar," I answered. "And I don’t want you to think that I always do that, because I don’t."

"I never thought it was vulgar," Maeko protested.

We had been walking around aimlessly, trying to look for Yusuke and Toshiro, but I didn’t seem to stay focused. I was thinking of the way I bashed Nakamura and Matsunaga.

Maybe I felt guilty because I had been telling Yusuke all day to stay away from fights, and I was the one who got into one. Yeah, that must be it.

"What do you mean, you don’t think it is?" I asked, still walking.

Maeko shrugged. "I thought what you did is kinda…heroic," she said. "I mean, defend niichan like that? You’re a really good friend."

I shook my head, laughing bitterly. "A good friend doesn’t defend you by bashing up all those who comes your way and hurts you," I explained. "What the friend does is to comfort you."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But I’m sure we’re here right now, looking for niichan, because you want to comfort him, right?"

Right.

"And besides, he also bashes up all those who do bad things to you, right?"

Right.

"How did you know that?" I inquired. "Did Yusuke tell you?"

"Nope." Maeko shook her head. "I just had a feeling."

Again, Maeko amazed me with another one of her feats. What else can she do? Predict my future with Tarot cards and a crystal ball?

I only hoped that if she does that, she’d tell me that my future is with him…

Yusuke…

Yusuke.

Where IS Yusuke?!

"Yusuke, where are you?!" I finally yelled, letting my frustrations escape from me. "Come on, let’s go back to the orphanage! We’ve been looking for you for—" I glanced at my watch. Almost two?! "—for almost half an hour!"

Zip.

Silence.

I began to get angry. "Yusuke!!!"

None.

"Yusuke!!!"

Still, none.

"ALL RIGHT, THIS IS IT!!! IF YOU DON’T APPEAR TO US RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW, I’M GOING TO GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR BEDROOM AND STEAL ALL YOUR COPIES OF SHOUNEN JUMP WEEKLY, INCLUDING THOSE I GAVE YOU WHEN YOU TURNED FOURTEEN LAST YEAR!!!"

I expected him to come out all of a sudden, what with that threat.

But I was wrong. All I heard was the flutter of leaves as a breeze blew.

"DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

No.

I felt myself weaken. "Oh…" I groaned, falling to my knees.

"Neechan?"

I pressed my palms to the cool grass and bowed, letting my breath out heavily. "Yusuke," I whispered to myself.

"Oh, neechan, don’t feel bad," Maeko said soothingly, sitting down on the ground in front of me. "Maybe niichan just needs a little time to cool off. Maybe he just needs to be alone."

I looked up and gave her a sad, lopsided smile. "Toshiro is with him."

Maeko seemed surprised. "Eh? He is?! That brat," she muttered.

"Maeko, it’s okay. Who knows, maybe Toshiro can hearten him up a bit. That would be a big help."

"Hmm." After some thought, it seemed, Maeko lay back on the grass and stared at the sky above her. "But you wish you can cheer him up, right?"

I kind of wished she hadn’t asked that.

"Well…yes, of course. I mean, I myself feel bad for him. When one of us feels bad, we usually sort it out between ourselves."

"You must be friends for a long time already."

"Oh, yes. I’ve known him since kindergarten…" I heard my voice trail off.

I smiled a bit at the memory. We were classmates then, and then we became seatmates. I knew from the very beginning that he wasn’t exactly what you’d call a model student, but nevertheless, we got along pretty well. We chose each other when there was a need for partners. When o-kaasan first saw him at school, she disliked him, saying that he was too rowdy and he always picked fights.

Strangely, Yusuke and I remained best friends. No, it wasn’t like I disobeyed kaasan—it seemed as if I didn’t know about her warning against Yusuke, and didn’t care what others thought of him. He occasionally annoyed me, up to now, yet something was there that kept us bonded…

He liked to be alone, but I knew that he wasn’t happy with that. I’d always catch him in the playground all by himself, looking bored. I’d pity him and invite him to play with me, and he’d grin and take my hand, and then we’d play.

One day, I was waiting for him at the swings in the playground when a few boys from the elementary school near the place came forward. I knew at once that they wanted mischief, so I backed off. But they followed and scoffed me, saying words that shouldn’t be exposed to children at my age then.

Then they threw me to the ground, and I cried.

And Yusuke came.

He might be some two years younger than they were, but he fought to his fullest. I just stood there helplessly, shaking, crying as the boys rained punches and kicks at him. They later left him, saying that he wasn’t worth fighting with.

Yusuke ended up in a very bad shape afterwards. I brought him home, for he couldn’t walk by himself. And he couldn’t do so for several days afterward. My parents called Atsuko-san, and together, they cured him.

(My parents, by the way, thanked Yusuke over and over, and never got mad at him again. They began to spoil him like he was their own son.)

Up to now, I couldn’t find any way to pay him back for what he had done for my sake, years ago. All I did then was visit him in his house each day after classes, help him catch up with schoolwork, and take care of his wounds and bruises. I stayed there so often and for very long that I slept a whole night there.

And just think, I was only six years old. About as old as Maeko.

I suddenly remembered Maeko. When I turned to her, I saw her staring at me curiously.

"You thinking about niichan?" she asked finally.

"Why…yes, I am," I replied. "I was just…thinking about my childhood with him."

"Was he a nice kid?"

I chuckled. "In a sense, no. But in reality, he is."

Maeko gave me a puzzled look.

I inhaled and looked up. "He cuts classes—at times, he doesn’t go to school the whole day. He isn’t interested in school. When he does go to classes, he spends his time there either daydreaming or sleeping."

"Really?"

"Hai." That must be bad news for someone who is very fond of Yusuke.

"And teachers always scold him?"

"Always," I confirmed. "But…I think it’s just because he isn’t satisfied with a simple life. He’s the type who wants to go out for adventure. But that doesn’t mean he starts fights—it’s more like he wills them to come to him. He’s a brawl magnet. And," I added, shaking my head, "people tend to misunderstand him."

"He’s just misunderstood, is that it?"

"Hmm…not exactly," I said. "More like…misunderstood…and misguided."

Maeko kept quiet, letting me continue.

"He lacked attention from…uh, grown-ups." I didn’t want to say anything about Atsuko-san. "And because of that, he went on exploring the world all by himself.

"But there is one important thing he knows, though, and he doesn’t ever forget. It’s about the people he cares about. He knows what he values—and he’d do everything he can to make sure that they are safe and that they are not abused by others. And he sure sticks to his values…and he values the very right things. Yusuke is like that."

I smiled, remembering the "nose candy" incident a while ago in the bus. "When he thinks he’s right, it’s hard to make him change his mind. Fortunately, the right things for him are the real right things. Do you understand?"

Maeko nodded mutely.

"And Yusuke is such a good friend. He’s always willing to listen to me even if I’m blabbing. Of course, we constantly argue, but it’s hard to think about those arguments if you just think of how good he is to me."

Yusuke.

If he only knew how special he is to me.

If I could only be the friend that someone like him deserves to have.

I wanted so much to keep him safe that he sometimes hates me for my control over him. And the truth is, I didn’t want that.

It was just that…

…All I ever wanted was to keep him safe…

…Because I care too much.

Because he…

…Because…

…Maybe I do love him…

That was when I realized that I was…um, blabbing. Thank goodness Maeko was still listening to me.

"You still on Ningenkai, neechan?"

"Oh." I managed to laugh. "Of course!"

Maeko laughed as well. "Hey, don’t you think we should go back? Maybe niichan and Toshiro decided to go back there."

The girl had a point there. "W-well…okay."

Maeko and I stood up and started to walk back to the orphanage. But I felt as if I had left something…

I gazed back at where Maeko and I had sat down.

"Neechan?"

I sighed, tucking a few strands of my brown hair behind my ear. "Come back, Yusuke," I whispered to the wind. "We need you here…"

"Is that…what…who?"

I could only utter those words when I saw them.

Kids.

Babies.

Two of them.

They were held by Miya-san and Megumi-san, there in the front yard.

"Oh, the babies? They’re Sachio and Ken, and they’re one year old."

"KYAA!!!" I screamed, running up to them. I left Maeko with a dumbstruck look on her face. "Miya-san! Megumi-san! I didn’t know you have babies in here!"

Both of them were staring at me as if I had fallen from the sky. "Uh…er, um, yes, we do have babies here," Miya-san, who had curly auburn hair that she let fall on her shoulders, told me. She motioned to the one she was holding. "This is Ken."

"Hi, Ken!" I cooed, leaning closer towards the boy. He had chubby cheeks and thick, straight brown hair. "O genki des’ ka?" I asked, as if he could understand me.

Little Ken stared at me with his blue eyes radiating with warmth only babies have. He looked so angelic and sweet and lovable and a whole lot more! My heart melted at the sight of his lips curling at the edges. Then he gave this throaty laugh.

"Would you like to hold him?"

"I’d love to!" I exclaimed, holding my arms out.

Miya-san carefully handed Ken-chan’s fragile body to me. I held Ken’s fragile body to my chest in an upright position, making sure that he is comfortable. As I did, a mixture of emotions swept through me, emotions I only feel when I touch a child.

"Ohhh," I sighed, pulling him closer. I leaned backwards so that I could look at his face. "You feel comfortable, Ken-chan?"

Ken responded with a chuckle.

I knelt down so that Maeko could touch Ken. Maeko held out her index finger, which Ken took in his pudgy hands.

I looked up at Miya-san and Megumi-san. I turned my attention to the other baby. "And that’s Sachio?" I asked.

"Yes," Megumi-san replied, sitting down on the grass beside me.

Careful not to squash Ken, I reached out to touch Sachio’s head. "Hi, Sachio! I’m your Keiko-neechan!"

Sachio turned his head to look at me.

I suddenly knew that something was wrong.

I didn’t notice Sachio-chan’s limbs until that moment—they were…too thin. And he looked pale. His hair was sparse and he didn’t laugh like how Ken did….

"You’ve noticed too, huh?" Megumi-san asked.

"I…I beg your pardon?" I asked, puzzled at the morose look on her face. I turned to Miya-san and she had the same sad look.

Miya-san took Ken from me. "I really hope I won’t upset you with this, Keiko-chan," she said, "but I think you must know."

Upset with what? I asked myself, looking at Maeko. Maeko looked downhearted as well. Know what? What am I missing here?

"Sachio," Miya-san began, swaying from side to side to put Ken to sleep, "was given to us a few months ago by his mother. She told us that Sachio won’t be a burden for us…for long."

Miya-san shook her head sadly. "We didn’t understand what she meant by ‘for long’, but we didn’t let that bother us. We took Sachio and took care of him.

"Then Yuriko-san began to notice that Sachio was becoming strangely weak and sickly. We took him to the doctor."

I held my breath, waiting to hear the inevitable. Was Sachio sick? If so, with what?

I saw actual tears forming in Miya-san’s eyes. "Sachio…he has AIDS."

I had to hold on to the grass to keep myself from falling down when I felt the world around me spin faster and faster.

It took me a while to conceive what I had just been told.

AIDS.

What did that stand for again? Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS.

A deadly disease, and no one has found a cure for them yet.

"We had been informed later on that the mother of Sachio is…" Megumi-san stopped, noticing Maeko beside me. "…You know what, Keiko."

I nodded stiffly.

"And…she knew all along that she has that disease. She…gave Sachio to us, perhaps so that she won’t see him…." Her words were left hanging.

I couldn’t move nor speak for several minutes.

Sachio…an infant, a baby, an innocent, without any misdeed…has AIDS.

Sachio was going to…

…Die…

"Keiko, I know it’s hard for you to accept that," Megumi-san said, pity filling her voice. "But…gomen nasai. I’m really sorry. It’s not Sachio’s fault."

"It isn’t anybody’s fault," Miya-san added. "Let’s just be thankful that his mother decided not to abort him or something."

I didn’t hear what she had said.

All that was retained in my mind was Sachio.

Sachio.

AIDS.

Disease.

Incurable.

Mother.

Harlot.

Not anybody’s fault.

Not anybody’s fault? I repeated in my mind. How could that be? Someone is to blame! Someone has to be responsible for…for not giving this baby a future to look forward to!

How could that be…?

My gaze went back to Sachio’s small body.

And I knew I had enough.

"Go-gomen," I mumbled, standing up. "I’m sorry, but…I couldn’t stay here any longer."

With one last look at everyone’s bewildered faces, I ran away, letting my tears fall down my cheeks.

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