Okay, guys, I had to write a sequel. XD Please enjoy this! I don't own anything! D=
"I'll fix it, Gakuto." Yuushi murmured, cradling his best friend against his chest. "I'll fix everything and make it better. Promise."
--
"Please." That's all Gakuto was able to whisper to Yuushi. "Please, fix it."
"I will." Yuushi rocked back and forth slightly. It was a soothing feeling. Like a rocking horse of some sort. "I promise."
"How?" Gakuto sounded suddenly skeptical.
Yuushi just smiled a bit. "You'll see."
At that time, the rest of the team came in, blinking in surprise at their best doubles team huddled on the ground.
"What's going on?" Atobe commanded.
"Um..." Yuushi looked at Gakuto uncertainly.
"I'll tell him." The acrobat smiled a bit and looked up at his Buchou. "My father... He hits me."
Atobe blinked in surprise. Jirou's eyes widened.
"So does mine." Shishido pointed out. "When I misbehave."
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's meant to be broken
I just want you to know who I am.
"No," Gakuto stood up and unzipped the jacket, letting it slide to the floor. "I mean he hits me. Beats me."
He bit his lip as he heard the gasps fill the room. What a sight he must of been. Bruised ribs, cuts all over his chest and stomach, some scars that've healed over... He's back was still a bit shredded from being thrown through that plate glass window.
"Oh my God..." Even the usually composed Atobe was staring wide-eyed.
"So... All the injuries you've had recently...?" Shishido's voice was barely above a whisper.
"That sprained ankle was from when He threw me out a second story window." Gakuto nodded a bit. "The sprained wrist was from him throwing me against the wall... Crack ribs, bruised chest... All of it." Gakuto seemed to shrug a little.
Yuushi draped the jacket back over the small boy's shoulders, covering most of the damage.
"Alright, guys, time to leap into action." Atobe said, standing tall. "Choutarou, check out Gakuto's injuries. Fix them. Shishido, Kabaji, you two go get something to eat. I'm calling my private police force." He flipped opened his phone as he spoke.
"Wait, no!" Gakuto seemed suddenly terrified. "If I tell, if he finds out I told, he'll hurt me."
Yuushi immediately pulled Gakuto close to him.
"He'll be in jail, Gakuto." Atobe said quietly. "He won't be able to touch you."
"No! He'll get out! He'll make bail, he'll find a way!" Gakuto buried his face in Yuushi's chest. "Just... Let me try, first. Let me try to fix it all."
Atobe seemed unsure. The whole team did. But there was no way that they'd be able to call the cops without Gakuto throwing a temper tantrum.
"Alright, Gakuto." Atobe said quietly. "But at least eat something. And let Choutarou look at your wounds."
Gakuto nodded and turned around. Choutarou lead him to the bench and slid the jacket off of him.
Choutarou's hands were soft. Soft and gentle. They probed gently at Gakuto's bruised and tender ribs. His fingers glided over the acrobat's chest.
"Let me see your back." Choutarou said softly, his smile gentle and reassuring.
Gakuto turned around, giving the team a view of his scarred and scratched back.
"Alright," Choutarou said, "I'm gonna need some disinfectant, bandages, and band aids. That's just about all I can do, for now."
Yuushi had disappeared and returned with the a first aid kit.
Choutarou gently cleaned the scratches on Gakuto's back and put band aids on the more serious ones. He cleaned and bandaged Gakuto's hands.
"You can't practice until your ribs are better, alright?" Choutarou looked at him seriously.
"Of course." Gakuto muttered.
"Gakuto, do you want to stay at my house, tonight?" Yuushi asked quietly.
"Ah... No. I have to... sort things out." Gakuto stood up and looked around at all his friends. "Thanks, guys. I owe you one." And with that, Gakuto ran from the club house and toward home. He wouldn't give his father an excuse to hit him this time.
"You don't owe us anything, Gakuto." Atobe said quietly once he was gone. "We're friends."
-
Gakuto slipped through his front door and listened at the quiet house. Alright... No one was home. Yet. He did his chores, making sure everything was right before heading upstairs to work on homework. He heard the front door open as his father entered the house. Home from work. And, more then likely, not very sober.
Gakuto had just finished his homework when he heard the crash. Then the swearing.
"Gakuto! Get down here and clean up this mess!"
Gakuto sighed and slipped downstairs. Glass was shattered all over the kitchen floor. It was just a good thing the pieces weren't too big.
When he picked up the last piece, he was on his knees. He looked up when his father stopped in front of him.
"You missed a spot." He hissed, then kicked him in the jaw.
Fuck! God dammit, that hurt!
Gakuto's head snapped back. If his father had been sober, it probably would of broken his neck.
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above.
But her dreams give her wings
And she fly's to a place, where she's loved
Concrete Angel.
He was hauled to his feet and pushed against the counter. Without thinking, Gakuto placed his hands on the counter behind him, then jumped and kicked his father in the chest.
Good going, Gakuto. Way to piss off the giant.
"You little shit!" His father roared, picking up something from the counter.
Gakuto didn't see it coming really. Sure, he knew his dad was violent when drunk. But he didn't know that he life was in danger. He didn't know, that is, until he saw the knife whizzing towards him. He didn't even have time to react. It was just a good thing Daddy Dear was too drunk to even stand up straight, or else Gakuto would probably be dead. The knife just clipped him in the shoulder. The cut was deep and it hurt like hell. But it wasn't deadly.
"Fuck!" Those were the first words of pain that Gakuto let escape his lips since the first night his father hit him.
Gakuto skidded past his father, just barely dodging his father's lunge. With one hand gripping his shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding, Gakuto pulled out his cell phone (Which was still in his pocket, amazingly. He usually took it out as soon as he got home) and texted Yuushi with three simply words.
Call the cops.
Gakuto ran upstairs, trying to get to his room.
Shit, he can run fast for a drunk man.
A cry of pain echoed through the hallway as his father grabbed his injured shoulder. Gakuto managed to pull away. He ended up having the flip over his father's head to run back down the stairs.
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear but they turn out the light
A fragile should caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late
Gakuto was knocked into the table, probably bruising his side.
Yuushi, save me...
Gakuto couldn't fight off his father as he pinned him against the wall. Hands wrapped around his throat and squeezed.
The edges of his vision started fading slowly. He became light-headed. He couldn't struggle. His father was too strong.
So many things I didn't get to do... Gakuto's last thoughts ran through his head quickly. I didn't get to go to Nationals. And win. I haven't gotten to go bungy jumping or sky diving. I want to dance at a club. I want to go on vacation with the team. I'm only sixteen! I-... I haven't gotten to tell Yuushi... that I love him.
Faintly, he heart a crash. What it was, though, he didn't know. Just as he was about to slip into blackness, the pressure was released off of his neck. He took a deep breath and his vision came back fast. Too fast. So fast, that it made him dizzy. He fell to the floor, eyes closed, breathing heavily.
He looked up at saw a police officer standing over him.
"Son, are you alright?"
Gakuto's neck hurt. His neck hurt, it hurt to breath, his shoulder was screaming, and he was sleepy. Oh, so sleepy.
"Gakuto!"
Gakuto's eyes widened a bit and he struggled to stand up. The cop helped him and said something about him being checked out.
"Yuushi! Where's Yuushi!" Gakuto looked around frantically.
In the background, he heard another cop saying, "I'm sorry, son, you can't come in here right now.
Gakuto saw his father being led out in cuffs. Then, over the cop's shoulder, he saw a flash of familiar blue hair.
"Yuushi!" He pushed past all the cops that had swarmed into the house. Half of them tried to stop him, but he kept charging through until he was face to face with his best friend.
"Gakuto..." Yuushi barely breathed his name.
Gakuto tackled him into a hug, ignoring his protesting shoulder.
"Oh, my God, Gakuto, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I wasn't there." Yuushi stroked his best friend's hair gently.
"But you did. You saved my life, Yuushi." Gakuto buried his face into Yuushi chest.
"C'mon. You have to get checked out. How's your shoulder?" With a protective arm around him, Yuushi led Gakuto out of the house.
"It's fine." Gakuto replied quietly.
Standing outside, in a small tight huddle, was the rest of the team. Atobe, dressed completely in a pair of silk pajamas and a white trench coat; Shishido, wearing his tennis uniform; Choutarou, wearing a pair of flannel pajamas; Kabaji, wearing jeans and a T-shirt; Jirou, dressed in... a raver's outfit? What the hell was he doing? And then there was Hiyoshi, who was wearing a pair of plain black pajama pants and a jacket.
"Guys..." Gakuto looked around at them.
"As soon as I called the cops," Yuushi informed, "I called the team."
"We dropped everything and rushed over." Atobe informed, looking extremely worried. "Is everything alright?"
"Now it is." Gakuto replied, shaking his head. Ow... His neck hurt.
Hiyoshi pulled off his jacket and draped it over Gakuto's shoulders.
"But... Your gonna get cold and it'll get dirty..." Gakuto frowned at him.
"That doesn't matter." Hiyoshi replied quietly.
Jirou rushed up to Gakuto, his hands fluttering over him without touching him. "Oh, God, Gakuto! Can I hug you?"
"Of course." Gakuto pulled his best friend into a hug and sighed. "Jirou, what are you wearing?"
Jirou pulled away and blushed. He was wearing, specifically, a bright blue fishnet top with a black tank top over it, a pair of leather pants, and had beaded bracelets all the way up his arms. He had on a bright blue leather choker with a clip on it, like a dog collar.
"Um... Eiji Kikumaru and Fuji Syusuke from Seigaku took me to a rave." He muttered.
Gakuto stared at him, then burst out laughing. Ow, ow, ow, bruised ribs, ow, shit, fuck, ow.
"Gakuto," Yuushi pulled him in for a hug. "He's never gonna hurt you again."
Just after Yuushi spoke, his father passed him in cuffs.
"You stupid shit!" He yelled. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you! I'll slaughter you, you fucking snitch!"
Gakuto's eyes widened a bit.
Atobe, though, stepped forward, motioning for the cop to stop. "Mr. Mukahi." Atobe said coldly. "I can promise you that you'll never see the light of day again. I'll make sure of it. The Atobe company has special armed forces. Your lucky your still alive."
Gakuto's father blinked stupidly. "Atobe Keigo?"
Atobe simply smiled. "Go ahead and take him." He then turned towards Gakuto and held out a large bottle of something.
"Um..." Gakuto took it from him. "Thanks..."
Atobe chuckled. "It prevents and removes scars. Why do you think Ore-sama has a flawless face?"
Gakuto smiled. "Thanks. All of you. So much." He then turned toward Yuushi and clung to him.
"I'll never let you out of my sight again." Yuushi promised quietly.
And Gakuto wouldn't have it any other way.
The lyrics go to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls and Concrete Angel by Martina McBride. I, personally, don't think this one is as good as the first, but whatever. Hope you liked!