A Shared Suspicion

Written and Illustrated by

Raxel1447

One sunny afternoon, the phone rings, it's tone sounding throughout the house. Turk runs to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Turk," Kia—Adam's mother—said over the phone.

"Hi Kia-chan. What's up?" Turk asks lightly, wonder why she called.

"I have something important to talk to you about. Is Adam home?" She asked. Turk shook his head.

"No. I just got back from taking him a lunch. Why, what's going on?"

"Good. Meet me at Izumi's Café in thirty minutes, okay?" Turk nodded.

"I'm on my way."

After hanging up, Turk grabs the keys and gets into his car and drives to the Café. Upon entering, he sees Kia sitting at a table in the far back corner and he goes to her. She looks up and smiles a little.

"Hungry?" She asks, stirring her coffee a little. Turk shook his head. "Not really."

The two sit in silence for a moment. Then, Kia sighed.

"I guess you're wondering why I asked you to come here…" Kia said. Turk nodded. "Yeah, I am." Turk said truthfully.

"Tell me: who do you think your attacker was?" Kia asked firmly.

"Kyosuke Minami." Turk answered immediately.

"…You answered pretty quickly." Kia observed. Turk nodded.

"I am sure that he was my attacker."

"What happened on your side of the attack? When they ran you into the dead-end alley?" Kia asked, eyes narrowing in thought.

Turk put his head in his hands. "I…can't remember…" Turk muttered. Kia smiled sadly.

"I did not expect you to." She said lightly. "You got hit pretty hard."

"Why are you asking me this, Kia?" Turk asked. Kia paused a little before responding.

"Because I am quite sure that he is your attacker as well."

"What do you mean?" Turk asked quickly.

"Adam and Minami have been friends ever since they were children. When I met Minami as a young boy, I thought that he would make the perfect friend for Adam. But, when they both entered the same middle school, I had a feeling that something was not right with Minami. This may just be a mother's instinct but when someone has a crush on your son, you're able to tell. Well—to me, at least—it was obvious that Minami was starting to fall in love with Adam." Kia reported. Turk nodded.

"Right, right, that makes sense…" He said thoughtfully. Kia went on.

"Now, when he and Adam went to high school, thing took a turn for the worse for Minami. His father was killed, leaving his brother, Reniji, and his mother. According to a cousin, Reniji left, leaving Kyosuke and his mother, Cheryl, behind. Make things worse, the money was taken away from them, and they almost got sent to the poorhouse. They were in worse shape than we were. Then, after freshmen year, Cheryl died of a terrible illness, and Reniji finally returned home. By this time, Reniji was a full-fledged adult, so Reniji took care of him."

"What does this have to do with Adam-kun…?" Turk asked, a little unsure.

"Just wait a moment; it'll all tie together in a second." Kia assured. Turk nodded. Kia went on.

"Now, I'm not exactly sure on how well Reniji took care of his little brother, but the teachers were having some doubts. Kyosuke became violent and shut in. No one could talk to him, let alone control him. The only person he would talk to was Adam. After awhile, it got to the point where Kyosuke was in danger of being held back a few years. Adam wanted to help Kyosuke and the next thing I know, they're sitting in Adam's room, studying. At this point, Kyosuke was in the house all the time. He would spend the night for nights at a time. It was like he had a second home."

Turk nodded. "Tell me…where is Reniji now?" Turk asked. Kia shook her head.

"I honestly have no idea. Rumor has it that he lived in Rome for a short while." Kia said. Turk nodded.

"Anyway, in all honesty, both Naruse—Adam's father and my husband—and I were both glad that Adam was his friend. Kyosuke was able to do some of the work around the house. But then I got the feeling that Kyosuke was madly in love with Adam. But for some reason, he didn't do anything. He didn't make any moves. Besides, Adam was almost always busy with his studies so he didn't have much of a chance."

"Did you try telling Adam-kun's father?"

Kia nodded her head sadly. "Yes, I did…but he wouldn't listen. So, I had no choice but to wait. Minami is bad karma for us all. And according to Raxel, he really hasn't changed a bit."

Turk nodded, understanding. Kia went on.

"Now, he's madly in love with Adam-kun. So madly, that I'm afraid that he's kinda…messed up in the head. I'm afraid that he's gonna do something drastic. Especially now that you're in the picture. Not that it's your fault, of course." Kia assured. Turk smiled a little.

"Now, I have another question for you," Kia said seriously. Turk nodded, listening.

"Are you in love with Adam?" Kia asked. Turk nodded firmly.

"Yes, I am. I realized it when I got attacked." Turk answered firmly. Kia nodded.

"Then you have to get Adam to love you, or else Kyosuke will snatch him away to God knows where. I trust you, Turk." She said, smiling a little. Turk smiled a bit and nodded.

Later, in the parking lot before they left, Kia caught up with Turk.

"One more thing…Don't tell anyone about our conversation. Especially my son." She said. Turk nodded. Kia smiled and nodded a little before getting into her car and driving away. Turk watched her leave before getting into his own car and driving away.

I knew that Minami was bad news…I have to hurry…the clock is ticking and I'm almost out of time.

The End