8-9-3

 by Shannon

Part Three

            Die opted for ‘normal’ today and pulled on his only non-tailored pair of pants. He searched his expansive closet for a shirt that screamed ‘normal’, but all he had was an outdated band shirt; so he resigned figuring he’d be wearing a coat anyway and pulled it on. Maybe he’d go to a ‘torendii’ store and get some new street clothes.

            Hopping down the stairs in his tube socks he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Leftover boxes, bags of veggies, boiled soybeans; Die opted for some yogurt, a banana and a cup of soymilk.

            As he ate his yogurt from a stool at the kitchen counter, his father came down in his bathrobe and poured a cup of coffee, lighting a cigarette he pulled the morning paper up and sank behind it. “I ran into Eriko leaving last night in a hurry.”

            “I didn’t want to do much, I asked her not to and she got mad and took off.” Die took a spoonful of yogurt.

            “Where are you off to today?” His father asked from behind his paper.

            “I was going to just have a day to myself; you keep saying I should get out more.”

            “That’s fine; take your brother with you.”

            Die had seen that coming, his sake brother Hakuei was so insane, if he wasn’t insisting on following ‘house rules’, he was stalking ‘comfort girls’ and visiting tattoo parlors. He had an odd feeling about him that totally unnerved Die, like he wanted something more all the time. Hakuei was definitely not who he wanted to be around today. Now how to get out of it?

            “He told me last night when I left with Eriko that he had somewhere to go today.” Die tried.

            “Well he must have cancelled those plans because he stopped by while you were in the shower. Rumi told me to tell you.” Die’s father turned a page of his paper and took a sip of coffee.

            Rumi, Die’s other problem, after his mother had left for America his father had picked Rumi to torture him with. She insisted on Die calling her ‘mom’ and his father insisted he should amuse her; his father was a little more of a pressure point so Die ended up catering to the stupid whims of a girl that he would probably be in school with if he didn’t have private tutors. Die had a sudden urge to say that maybe Rumi should go hang out with Hakuei then as they were so close, but held his tongue.

            “I already planned my day without him in it, so next time he’ll have to give me earlier notice,” Die said trying to make it final.

            His father laughed and put down his paper, he took a sip of coffee and looked right at Die. “How did you get so stubborn?” He laughed. “Or better question, what’s your aversion to Hakuei?”

            “Nothing; I just wanted to be alone today, I’m not really in a mood to be around anyone.” Die looked down at his remaining food and sat still.

            “That’s fine, everyone deserves some time away; it allows them to take a step back and better appreciate what’s around them. You’ll take Koji with you.”

            Koji, Die could handle that; he was generally a good guy and was always around Die and the Kobun, security reasons of course. “Alright; I probably would have taken him anyway, he can drive after all.” Die couldn’t wait to get his license; then he could just leave and not have these little talks. “I’ll see you later then?”

            “Maybe, I’ve got some business.” His father smiled and resumed reading his paper.

            Die threw away his empty yogurt and chugged his milk, dropping his spoon and glass in the sink he grabbed his banana and walked to the door.

            Koji was playing solitaire in his hands and stood up as Die reached the door.

            “Hey man,” Die said. “You wanna hang with me today?”

            “Sure not much else to do.” Koji smiled.

            “Alright let’s hit Shibuya,” Die said slipping on his designer sneakers.

            “But it’s Saturday, you hate cosplayers.”

            “Well, maybe we can avoid them.” Die shrugged and walked out of the door to the line of cars in the front driveway.

            “Which car today Die?” Koji asked. “Maybe the Ferrari 599 GTB?”

            “I love it, but I’m feeling Martin DB8 or maybe 9?” Die scratched his head, and began peeling his banana.

            “Black or red?” Koji asked. Die grinned. “Aston Martin DB9 it is,” Koji said with a laugh.

            Kaoru awoke with a start as he felt someone lying next to him, but then the sudden memory of last night flooded him with relief. Kaoru smiled down at Shinya as the sleeping boy lay with his mouth gaping, little snores passing through the open space. Kaoru had the sudden urge to place a soft kiss on his forehead but chose instead to run a gentle hand through his hair. A small smile made an appearance on Kaoru’s lips as he did his best not to wake the sleeper while he pet him.

            Shinya thought he was dreaming but the touch passed again through his hair and his eyes fluttered open to see Kaoru smiling down at him. Shinya grabbed Kaoru and hugged him tight.

            Kaoru was surprised with his sudden embrace but returned the tight hug with a small laugh.

            “Ohayo gozaimasu,” Shinya said his voice muffled as he pressed his face into Kaoru.

            “Actually I think it is ‘Konnichiwa’ we had a good, long sleep.”

            Shinya broke his grip from Kaoru and got up to go to the bathroom.

            “Hey Shinya,” Kaoru called as he stood up and stretched his back.

            “Hai?” The boy replied.

            “You should take a shower; I’ll bring some towels for you.”

            “Um…”

            “Let me guess, you’ve never taken a shower?” Kaoru asked.

            The sound of rushing water greeted Kaoru’s ears as Shinya opened the door. “Nope, oka-san used to wash me with a cloth and a bucket of water from the park.”

            Kaoru couldn’t help his jaw dropping. “What century was your mother from?” Kaoru asked.

            “Nani?”

            “Nothing. Well I’m not going to wash you but I’ll show you how the shower works.” Kaoru stepped into the bathroom and pulled Shinya to the edge of the tub. “You turn on the water like this.” Kaoru turned the knobs. “Then when it’s warm enough for you, you pull this lever and the water will switch to the showerhead. Got it?”

            Shinya nodded. “We had one of these at home but I didn’t know water came out of it.”

            “There’s soap, and shampoo for your hair there, and I’ll bring some towels. Oh, don’t forget to pull the curtain when the shower’s on ok?”

            “Ok,” Shinya said and pulled the long shirt over his head.

            Kaoru blinked and looked away from the naked boy quickly. “You could have warned me,” Kaoru said bringing his hand to cover his eyes.

            “About what?” Shinya asked unabashed as he went to stick his hand in the water.

            “Oh nothing.” Kaoru laughed as he slid out of the room.

            Shinya turned the knobs back and forth trying to find the perfect temperature; he made it pretty hot, wanting to know what all that water would feel like. He pulled the lever and jumped into the stream closing the curtain behind him. The little boy couldn’t help but let out a happy moan at the exhilarating jets thundering against his skin, pulling all the oils out and relaxing his pores. Shinya picked up a bar of soap, not unlike what his mother would use and turned his back to the water lathering across his chest and shoulders. Shinya made lots of suds on his hand and washed behind his ears and his eyes then felt his way down to his bellybutton and scrubbed inside it with his fingertips, putting his nails to good use.

            “Here’re the towels,” Kaoru said, causing Shinya to jump.

            Shinya turned facing the water and got the soap out of his eyes and ears. “Kaoru?” Shinya called.

            “Yeah?” Kaoru asked coming back into the doorway.

            “Could you wash my back? I’m not sure I can reach all of it and I want to be clean.”

            “Yeah, I guess I can do that, can I have the soap?” Kaoru asked sticking his hand in the curtain.

            Shinya dropped the bar of soap into Kaoru’s hands then drew the curtain a little turning his back to his friend. Kaoru’s hands felt good against his back; not like oka-san’s rough and quick movements. Kaoru’s hands were firm but gentle and he was only managing to relax Shinya more. When he was finished Kaoru tapped Shinya’s shoulder and handed him the soap. Shinya smiled at him. “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome, now finish up so I can get in,” Kaoru said closing the curtain back up.

            Shinya spent as much time as he could under the water as he poured liberal amounts of shampoo into his hands and soaped up his hair. It smelled good, like the flowers and leftover fruit he’d once found in the park. Feeling the suds drip down his back as he let the water douse his head, a smile crept to his face and wouldn’t leave. Shinya heard Kaoru come back in. “I’m done,” he called. “Do you want me to leave the water on?”

            “Yeah that’s fine. You’ll have to wear your old clothes for now; we’ll get you some new one’s when we go out today ok?” Kaoru had a small savings stored away and he didn’t mind dipping into it for Shinya; the kid was really growing on him, especially since Kaoru had the sinking feeling his mother had left him for good.

            “I have other clothes at home, we could go get them,” Shinya said as he stepped out of the shower and pulled a big towel off the floor. Shinya dried his face then wrapped the towel around his shoulders clasping it in front. Shinya looked at Kaoru and saw the older boy was staring at him.

            “Shinya,” Kaoru said. “I didn’t notice just how skinny you really are; would you do me a favor and let me look at you?”

            Shinya bit his lip and let his towel drop to the floor.

            Kaoru’s brows clenched as he knelt down and turned Shinya so he could look at his back. The light of the bathroom painted a mock-up of life with “oka-san.” His shoulders were clearly defined and his spinal column protruded in what almost looked a painful fashion. There were big ugly purple bruises along his arms and legs and some fading scratch marks on his back. Kaoru ran his fingers softly against the boy and sighed. “Did your mother do this to you?”

            Shinya trembled as he began to cry. “She’s really a nice person, she just has trouble fighting the demons outside; they get to her and make her part-demon until it wears off in the morning. I have to find her Kaoru…”

            “I know,” Kaoru said putting his hand on the skinny neck and rubbing the back of the boy’s head. “We’ll do our best to find her, I promise.”

            Shinya turned in Kaoru’s arms and looked him in the eye as big tears wobbled precariously. “If we don’t find her, I can live with you can’t I? I won’t have to go home, or find a new oka-san right?”

            Kaoru put his hands on the boy’s shoulders and looked directly into his tear-filled eyes. “How ‘bout we find your mother and tell her you’re living with me from now on?” Kaoru put his hand on the soft cheek.

            “You would do that for me?”

            “Of course.” Kaoru smiled. “It’s my motto after all; help the weak and oppose the strong.” Shinya giggled and wrapped himself tightly into Kaoru’s arms. Kaoru rested his cheek against the sopping hair. “Hey Shinya, why don’t you go get dried and dressed and I’ll get my shower then we can go out ok? There are some things in town that I want you to see.”

            Shinya smiled as he looked up at Kaoru. “Can I do something Kaoru?”

            “What’s that?” Kaoru asked.

            “Can I give you a kiss? I saw some kids in the park from my window once with their mother; I always wanted to try it on oka-san, but she never let me.” Shinya wrung his hands and looked down.

            “I’ll let you, I’m not afraid of your germs.” Kaoru smiled and pulled Shinya closer.

            Shinya giggled and put a quick peck on Kaoru’s cheek; pulling away he whispered something and ran from the bathroom holding his towel.

            Kaoru laughed at the strange bout of luck he’d run into and wondered how he’d manage taking care of Shinya and himself. Closing the door to the bathroom Kaoru pulled off his clothes and got into the lukewarm shower water. Scrubbing himself with soap he thought about all the different things he could do for extra cash; deciding on asking for more hours at work he tried not to focus on the cons of this situation. Pulling his fingers through his hair as he fully soaked it Kaoru thought about the fun he was planning for Shinya today. First thing would be going to his old home to get the things he wanted to take with him. Kaoru really wanted to avoid all the places his ‘oka-san’ might be found; as much of an added stress Shinya would be, Kaoru vowed to let no one hurt him ever again.

            Kaoru thought about his own home; how his mother would beat him every night instilling ‘Christian values’. His father had died when he was very young, and his mother blamed him for it, taking out her mourning on a boy. Kaoru shook his head in the water and bit back tears. He’d managed to deal with the pain she put him through for so long; thinking it was for the best and making excuses for her at school, when the other children would point at his scars and fresh bruises laughing and pushing around the weird kid.

            Kaoru wanted to punch his memories for hitting him again and again, when would his pain go away; the shame of being treated so poorly and accepting it. He had deserved better, Shinya deserved better, and Kaoru, no matter how he had to do it, would make sure Shinya got better.

            Kyo awoke to someone’s bony finger poking him in the chest. Kyo swatted angrily and rolled over. The finger began digging itself into his back as its owner poked the same spot again and again. “Fuck off!” Kyo yelled and pulled his blanket up higher, burying his head under his pillow.

            Toshiya smirked and pushed Kyo onto his stomach. Straddling the older boy Toshiya sat soundly on Kyo’s butt and began poking his back again.

            “Lo…umf.” Kyo muffled through his pillow.

            “What was that?” Toshiya asked leaning down.

            Kyo pulled his pillow back under his head. “I said ‘lower.’” Kyo wiggled under Toshiya looking for a more relaxing position where his hips wouldn’t be driven into the floor by the added weight.

            Toshiya poked him once more then began rhythmically pounding his fists against Kyo’s stressed back. “What do you do, that makes your muscles so tight Kyo?” Toshiya asked pounding a little harder then switching over to rubbing out the knots in the muscles.

            Kyo groaned as Toshiya hit some nerves but relaxed under the special treatment. Kyo was nearly asleep again when Toshiya rolled off him and curled under his blankets next to him. “Hey, why’d you stop?” Kyo asked.

            “It’s too cold to be out of the blankets,” Toshiya said shivering against Kyo.

            “Get back to work or get away from me, before I brand you a fruit.” Kyo giggled pushing Toshiya away.

            “No, I’m cold and you’re warm.” Toshiya put on an imitation evil grin and stuck his cold feet over Kyo’s nicely toasty ones.

            Kyo’s teeth clenched and he had to fight the urge to punch Toshiya in his pretty little face.

            “Oh what’s wrong Kyo? You look like someone’s just called you cute; or slapped your ass.” Toshiya wiggled his eyebrows.

            “That’s it,” Kyo said. “I knew it, you’re after my ass.”

            “Well it would be nice to put on the mantelpiece.” Toshiya dodged the hand intended for his face and laid his torso on top of Kyo.

            “Get off fat ass!” Kyo yelled, in mock anger as he lay still and tried to go back to sleep.

            “Why didn’t you change for bed?” Toshiya asked as he pushed his cheek into the middle of Kyo’s back and began playing with the smaller boy’s shirt between delicate fingers.

            “I just fell asleep in these, too tired.” Kyo sighed and rolled so Toshiya was on his chest, and pulled one of his hands under his head. Relaxing Kyo closed his eyes as Toshiya pet his chest in small movements of his fingers.

            Toshiya bit his lip and listened to Kyo’s heart beating steadily in his chest; he copied the rhythm tapping his fingers lightly against the rise and fall of Kyo’s breathing. “Thank you Kyo.”

            “Hmm?”

            “Thank you for letting me be myself around you.” Toshiya sighed pushing further into Kyo in a makeshift hug.

            “It’s only fair; you let me be me too.” Kyo draped his arms around Toshiya.

            “Can we go out for lunch today?” Toshiya asked.

            “Sure, just as long as it’s nothing too expensive, rent and bills are coming up.”

            “Ok then.” Toshiya smiled and sat up. “Get up and showered so we can go already.” Toshiya patted Kyo’s chest and stood up leaving him alone.

            Kyo clenched all of his muscle groups in his morning stretch before he stood up and pulled his shirt off. He stumbled groggily to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Starting the water running he dropped his pants to the floor along with his briefs and looked at himself in the mirror. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he scowled at his reflection before turning and getting into the warm water.

            Toshiya stepped into the bathroom after hearing the shower curtain close and picked up Kyo’s dirties. He put the outfit he’d picked on the floor next to the tub base and silently giggled as he heard Kyo moaning in the hot water. Toshiya took a deep breath of the now steam filled air and sighed as he left the room.

            Kyo groaned in relaxation as the hot water simultaneously woke him up and massaged his muscles. He tilted his head back getting his hair wet, and watched the steam pouring over the edge of the shower. Grabbing the soap he began washing himself; he thought briefly about lingering between his legs, but decided against it figuring Toshiya would get impatient and then be a grouch for the rest of the night. He poured some of his shampoo/conditioner mix into his hand then massaged it into his head, scrubbing gently into his scalp then rinsed and turned the water off.

            Pulling the curtain open Kyo grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist; he was about to walk to his room when he noticed the outfit fairy had paid him a little visit in the form of jeans and the ‘respectable’ shirt Toshiya had insisted on buying him. Kyo smirked and dried himself a little more before pulling the shirt on; its deep red color was nice but did it have to be button-down? He left the top three buttons off and did up the rest; pulling on the fresh underwear and jeans he checked the mirror again before deciding to leave the shirt hanging, Toshiya would hate that just enough. Kyo picked up his towel and shook it through his hair, drying it as much as he could before bringing a comb through it and letting it lay.

            Toshiya raised an eyebrow at the way Kyo had chosen to wear his clothes but said nothing as he passed him to take his turn in the shower.

            Die made his way through throngs of girls that seemed to be parading themselves around, quite a few stopped to stare at his red hair wondering at who he was supposed to be. He had a small clutch of bags that contained street clothes that weren’t ostentatious yet held a certain mystique. Koji had flashed him quite a few nods of approval as they had wandered seemingly nonchalant through the stores of the 109. Most of the shops were easily avoided being specialized for girls, cosplayers and other cliques; Die had tried a few ‘torendii’ but was disappointed in the fit and overall look of things nowadays. He realized he’d been spending too much time in tailored suits and top floors with thirty to forty year old Kobun and not enough with his own cohort; he needed friends, badly.

            “You hungry?” Die asked Koji over the noise of the mall.

            “I could eat.”

            “Got anywhere in mind? I don’t want to stay in Shibuya anymore, where’s a good stop?” Die asked.

            “I know this little Italian joint, if you’re into that kind of thing.” Koji shrugged.

            “I haven’t had that in a long time, let’s go for it.”

            “People might recognize you in there,” Koji said.

            “Well then it’s a good thing I bought sunglasses and dressed down right? You packing?” Die asked turning to face Koji when they were in the elevator heading to the car.

            “Oh we’ll be fine; I just thought I’d warn you.” Koji patted the side of his suit jacket.

            Kaoru fiddled his pins further into the lock and the door popped open. “There you go.” He turned and smiled at Shinya.

            Shinya hurried inside. “OKA-SAN!” He yelled running into her room. “Are you home?” He called again.

            Kaoru walked in and stared at the dingy walls that were once white, the carpet was surprisingly clean as he kicked off his shoes and followed Shinya.

            “Kaoru?” Shinya called.

            “Yeah?”

            “All of oka-san’s things are gone.” Shinya pointed to the empty drawers of a small dresser and the bare closet with two lonely hangers.

            “That’s weird,” Kaoru said not sure how to react.

            “Do you think she took it all ‘cause she had to move on to fight more demons?” Shinya asked looking up at Kaoru.

            “That might be,” Kaoru said. “Shinya, why don’t you get your stuff and we can go ok?”

            Shinya nodded and walked to his room.

            Kaoru looked into the closet and around the room for anything that she might have left but the place was clean; he shook his head as he wandered to Shinya’s room.

            Shinya had his blanket on the ground and was putting his cards in the middle when Kaoru walked in. The room was no bigger than a broom closet and Kaoru guessed that that was probably what it was in the first place. Shinya smiled up at him then crawled to the corner of the space and lifted a floorboard. Kaoru watched as Shinya pulled a few picture books and some kanji workbooks, there was even a small stuffed panda bear that was very dingy.

            Shinya smiled again. “The kids would drop this stuff and I’d watch and wait for them to leave. I used to wish that they would drop certain things; that’s how I got him.” Shinya held up the bear.

            “It was clever of you to hide it all from your mother.”

            “She found one of the animals I saved and cut it to pieces in front of me. So I knew I had to hide him from her. I can’t really read what these are.” Shinya pointed at the workbooks. “But I like the pictures of these.” Shinya stacked all the things into the middle of the blanket, which was more like a dirty towel, and tied the edges creating a makeshift bag.

            “Are you ready to go?” Kaoru asked holding out his hand.

            Shinya stood up and looked around his walls chewing his lip. “Yup.” Shinya reached out and grabbed Kaoru’s hand; walking straight out of his house he seemed ready to commit his life here to failing memory. “Can we get something to eat Kaoru?” Shinya asked.

            “Sure, we’re not far from my work we can stop in and get a discount.” Kaoru smiled as he led the satisfied boy down the street into the next phase of his life.

*********

Third part done and many more to come ^o^

Next part: the parties convene.

S

verility@hotmail.com

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