So, I heard Alyssa Lies on the radio today, and I got a story idea from it! For this, though, you have to imagine that Satoshi wasn't the super smart kid he was, graduating college at 13.
This does have child abuse in it, though not outright mentioned. And it's not SatoDai- it's strictly friend.
No Japanese in this either, and no Dark or Krad. This is to be viewed as AU. Songfic, Character Death.
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own DNAngel or the song Alyssa Lies
Satoshi Lies
It was a beautiful day outside- a perfect, warm, sunshiny day that had all the eight year olds of Azumano Elementary School rushing outside for recess. All the kids were scrambling to either climb or the monkey bars or get on the jungle gym. Girls were skipping rope as boys dared each other to jump off the jungle gym from the very top when the teachers weren't looking.
The only one that was included in the chaos was a young boy with blue hair and eyes, wearing a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt that seemed outrageous for the weather outside. Everybody was avoiding him. Everybody except for a small boy his age, with flaming red hair and crimson eyes.
Smiling, he extended a hand, looking up at the boy, radiating innocence.
"Hi, I'm Daisuke. Daisuke Niwa. What's your name?" The blue haired one faltered, but reached out his own hand in greeting.
"Satoshi Hiwatari." The boy, Daisuke, beamed.
"Will you be my friend Satoshi?"
And, against Satoshi's better judgment, he found himself smiling and agreeing to be Daisuke's friend, allowing himself to be drug off by the smaller boy over to the jungle gym with the other boys.
My little girl met a new friend just the other day, on the playground at school between the tires and the swings.
"Daisuke, time to go!" Daisuke's mother, Emiko, voice rang out through the playground of the school. Satoshi and Daisuke were the last ones to leave school, both waiting for parental figures to come pick them up.
Daisuke jumped off his perch on the swing next to Satoshi, making his way to his mom, only pausing to wave goodbye to Satoshi.
"See you Monday Satoshi!" He called, before climbing in the backseat of his mom's car.
"New friend?" Emiko asked, pulling out of the parking lot. Daisuke nodded mutely, staring out the window. Emiko thought nothing of her sons' silence, but she was surprised when Daisuke, who very rarely shed tears, burst out bawling in the entrance hall.
But she came home with tear-filled eyes, and she said to me "Daddy, Alyssa Lies."
"Daisuke?" Emiko knelt down, placing her hands on Daisuke's shoulders. "What's wrong sweetie?" Daisuke only hiccupped though, and wrapped his arms around Emiko's waist. Emiko sighed, and picked Daisuke up (even though he was starting to get a little big to be carried) and sat down on the couch with Daisuke on her lap.
Her father, Daisuke's grandfather, wasn't home, and Emiko was slightly thankful for that. It wasn't that Daisuke or Emiko didn't like her father, it was just that Emiko needed to handle the situation herself.
"What's wrong?" Daisuke hiccupped.
"S-Satoshi," Daisuke managed, before a fresh wave of tears made its way down his cheeks. Satoshi? That must be the name of his new friend, Emiko thought.
"What about Satoshi, Daisuke?" She cooed to her only child. "What about your friend?" Daisuke's hands came up, trying to brush away tears, but it was no use- the tears kept falling.
"Satoshi lies!" He finally managed to tell his mom, who sat and blinked.
Well I just brushed it off at first 'cause I didn't know how much my little girl had been hurt, or the things she had seen.
"W-What do you mean sweetie?" Emiko asked, not understanding. Daisuke was so upset because his new friend Satoshi had lied? But Daisuke lied all the time (albeit not that well), so what was it if his friend lied?
"He lies!" Daisuke repeated. "He lies, mom!" Emiko shook her head, still not understanding. A thought was forming in her head, a traitorous idea, but she wasn't going to voice in front of her son.
"What do you mean, Daisuke?" She questioned her son once more. "You can tell me, sweetie. What does Satoshi lie about?"
And her answer was the confirmation to the traitorous idea.
I wasn't ready when I said you can tell me, and she said,
"Satoshi has these bruises!" Daisuke babbled, tears still falling down his cheeks, but his voice steadier. "He tells the teacher that he falls or trips or something, but he doesn't!" Emiko prided herself in her ability to keep her voice steadier than her sons.
"And how do you know this?" Emiko looked down at her son, stroking his flaming tresses in an attempt to get him to calm down.
"I saw them! Up close!" Daisuke clarified, tilting his head back to look up at his mom. His tears had finally stopped, leaving stains of salty tear tracks to dry on his cheeks. "He tried to lie to me but I made him tell me!" There was a pause, and the tears started once more, but they were nowhere near as fierce as they had been.
"Satoshi lies to the classroom!" He reiterated to his mom. "He lies everyday at school! Satoshi lies to the teachers, trying to cover his bruises!
Emiko didn't say anything for a long time. She could see how much this was bothering her son. But, before she could say anything though, Daisuke was tugging on her sleeve with one last thing to say.
"Can you do something mom?" Daisuke pleaded, eyes red and raw. "Please? I don't want Satoshi to lie anymore!" Emiko sighed, and against her better nature she said something that probably wouldn't help.
"I'll see what I can do." She gave to her son. "Now go wash your face. I need to get supper started."
Daisuke nodded and raced off towards the bathroom. Emiko stood, hesitating in her walk to the kitchen to look at her sons' disappearing form, feeling tears of her own springing in her eyes.
"Alyssa lies to the classroom- Alyssa lies everyday at school! Alyssa lies to the teachers, as she tries to cover every bruise."
"Excited about the weekend?" Emiko sat on the edge of her sons' bed, watching as he wiggled around, trying to get comfortable.
"Yeah!" Daisuke answered, looking a lot happier than he had been when he had come home from school. "I wanna go play with Takeshi and the twins…" Daisuke hesitated, and Emiko looked at her son.
"What?" Emiko froze as Daisuke looked at her with sad eyes.
"Do you think Satoshi is alright?" Emiko sighed, and ran a hand through her sons' hair.
"Satoshi will be just fine," Emiko not-quite lied to her son. "I bet he's really excited to see you at school Monday." A smile crept along Daisuke's face- it wasn't his usual bright ones, but it was enough to at least put Emiko's heart at ease.
Stepping out of the room, Emiko switched off the light.
"Goodnight," She bade to her child, and started down the hall. Emiko paused though, as she thought she heard her son get out of bed. Creeping silently back down the hall, Emiko looked into her son's room.
Daisuke was kneeling by his bedside, hands clasped together and head bowed as his elbows rested on his bed. Moonlight streamed in through the window, giving her son a slightly angelic look as he opened his mouth and began to speak.
My little girl laid her head down that night to go to sleep- as I stepped out the room I heard her say a prayer so soft and sweet.
"God bless Mom and Grandpa," Daisuke's voice echoed softly throughout the room. "And please God bless Satoshi. He needs your help." Tears were glistening on her son's cheeks, even though his voice was a steady as ever.
"Satoshi lies," Emiko blinked, and was surprised to find tears running down her own face. "He needs your help. Don't let him lie anymore, please God. Help him find a way to stop lying. I don't want Satoshi to lie anymore." Daisuke left it off with that, saying a soft 'Amen', and crawled back in bed.
Emiko swiped a hand across her face, wiping tears off her cheeks before making her way back downstairs.
"God bless my mom and my dad and my new friend Alyssa. Oh I know she needs you bad because Alyssa lies to the classroom. Alyssa lies everyday at school! Alyssa lies to the teachers, as she tries to cover every bruise."
The weekend had been the worst one of Emiko's life- even more horrible than the one that Kosuke had left for travel, which had been six years ago. Emiko had sat in the living room, as Daisuke was out with friends, or sat on a park bench at the local park when Daisuke was playing, bracing herself for the question of how she thought Satoshi was.
What would Kosuke do? What would he have done if Daisuke had gone to him with this, had he been here? Would Kosuke have tried to do something other than lie to their son?
Looking at her watch, Emiko stood up, calling Daisuke over to her.
"Time for supper," Emiko gave as answer as she opened the car door for her son. They left, and the whole ride home Emiko did her best not to cry.
Daisuke didn't notice, but Emiko's father, Daiki, did.
I had the worst night of sleep in years as I tried to think of a way to calm her fears.
"Emiko," He asked that night after Daisuke had been tucked away to bed. "Is something wrong?" Daiki looked at Emiko knowingly, the same way Emiko would've looked at Daisuke if she asked him the same question. Emiko answered the same way that she knew her son would've answered.
"Nothing Dad," She told him, shaking her head. "Just thinking about something Daisuke asked me about the other day." Daiki raised an eyebrow, and Emiko sighed.
"Really Dad, it's nothing I can't handle." Emiko repeated, getting to her feet and heading to bed. The next day was Monday, the start of the school week.
Emiko brought Daisuke to school early the next day, hoping to catch a glimpse of Satoshi and his parents. She exited the car with Daisuke, who promptly ran over to Takeshi and the twins, Riku and Risa. The adults were all talking quietly, and the teachers were keeping a close eye on the eight year olds.
Emiko wondered what was going on as Takeshi's father, Mr. Saehara, came over to her.
"Your son's friends with Satoshi Hiwatari, right?" Mr. Saehara asked, and Emiko nodded, tears springing to her eyes, knowing what she was going to be told before Takeshi's father even said it.
I knew exactly what I had to do- but when we got to school on Monday I heard the news.
"I'm sorry Emiko," Mr. Saehara said, and Emiko shook her head, composing herself, wiping tears off her face.
"It's quite alright, Mr. Saehara," Emiko replied, shaking her head once more. "I… I had a bad feeling all weekend. It's just…" Takeshi's father placed a hand on Emiko's shoulder.
"We can't save them all, Emiko." He told her solemnly. "Don't beat yourself up over something that you couldn't have prevented." Emiko nodded, turning just in time to see Daisuke bouncing up to her, confusion written on his face.
"Mom, why does everybody look so sad?" Daisuke asked. "Takeshi wouldn't tell me, and Risa started crying. Riku told me to ask you, because she didn't want to tell me. What happened? Is something wrong?" Emiko looked at Mr. Saehara, who got the point and walked away, while Emiko knelt down to eye level with Daisuke.
My little girl asked me why everybody looked so sad, the lump in my throat grew bigger with every question that she asked.
"Daisuke…" Emiko sighed, feeling tears start to flow down her cheeks.
"Mom?" Daisuke's voice was scared. He had never seen mom cry before, especially not in public. "What's wrong?" Emiko took a deep breath, and gave her son a weak smile.
"Daisuke, Satoshi…" How to put this? How can she tell an eight year old that a friend of his, someone he barely knew but held close to his heart was…?
"What about Satoshi?" Daisuke asked, tears pooling in his eyes. "Is something wrong with Satoshi?" Emiko sighed and put a hand on Daisuke's shoulder.
"Satoshi won't be coming to school today, sweetie." Emiko forced her voice to be steady, even though her tears were betraying her real emotions. "Satoshi won't be coming to school for a while."
Until I felt the tears run down my face, and I told her that Alyssa wouldn't be at school today.
Daisuke paused, hesitating, before asking the question Emiko had been bracing herself for.
"Why isn't Satoshi going to be in school for a while?" Daisuke asked, tears shining in his eyes but never falling. "Did something happen to him?" Emiko took a deep breath and placed her other hand on Daisuke's free shoulder.
"Satoshi…" Emiko hesitated, trying to calm herself. She might as well tell Daisuke what happened. Emiko would let Daisuke skip school today- walk up to the teacher and let her know, that way Daisuke wouldn't have to go through school knowing what she had just found out.
"Satoshi doesn't lie in the classroom," A sad, small smile formed on Emiko's lips. "He doesn't lie anymore at school. Satoshi lies- he lies with Jesus, Daisuke." Tears formed in Daisuke's eyes, and even though he knew that it wasn't right for a boy to cry in front of people, he threw himself at his mom, crying into her shirt. He didn't want it to be true!
Satoshi was going to be fine! Mom had said so! Satoshi was going to be just fine!
Daisuke was still crying as Emiko picked him, allowing Daisuke to shift and bury his face in her shoulder as she walked calmly up to the teacher and informed him that Daisuke wasn't going to be attending school.
Emiko then walked very calmly back to her car, the knowing look the teacher gave her lingering in her sight. A good portion of the third grade class was probably going to be out today in light of what they had just found out, so no one was going to say anything.
"'Cause she doesn't lie, in the classroom- She doesn't lie anymore at school. Alyssa lies, with Jesus. Because there's nothing anyone would do!"
The car ride home was silent, a heaviness lingering between the front of the car and the back, and Emiko was at a loss of what to say to her son. And Emiko felt like she was being shot in the heart as Daisuke asked the one question she didn't want to hear.
"Mom?" Daisuke's voice was infinitesimally small, and Emiko almost missed it.
"Yeah sweetie?" Emiko asked, voice cracking slightly. "What is it?"
"Why…" Daisuke hesitated. "Why does Satoshi lie?" Emiko sighed, bringing the car to a stop, parking it on the side of the road.
"Daisuke, sweetie," Emiko struggled for something- anything! -to say to her son. "Sometimes we just lie because we don't know what else to do. Like when you lied about breaking your bedroom window." Daisuke blushed, but didn't comment on that, instead saying,
"So Satoshi lied because he didn't want to get in trouble?" Emiko nodded, starting the car back up, continuing on to the house.
Tears filled my eyes when my little girl asked me why Alyssa lies.
"Daisuke, hurry up! You don't want to keep Takeshi and the twins waiting, do you?" Emiko called from the bottom of the stairs. It was a month later, and it seemed that no matter how slowly it was being done, the hole created by Satoshi's death was slowly filling up and mending.
Daisuke bounced to the bottom of the stairs, holding a letter and a candle. It was an old one that Emiko didn't use anymore, so she was allowing her son to use it for what he, Takeshi, and the twins had planned for today while they were down at the sea side.
And, sitting at the edge of the water, she and Mr. and Mrs. Harada watched as their kids slowly waded their way out in the ocean, Daisuke holding letters, the twins holding candles, and Takeshi holding a boat of sorts, Mr. Saehara following with a lighter.
The adults watched as the kids placed the boat in the water, Takeshi holding it in place as Riku and Risa placed the candles on the boat, four of them- a white, a green, an orange and a pink -and Mr. Saehara light them. Daisuke placed the letters in the boat, and he and Takeshi gave it a push as the twins swatted water at it to help it move out to sea, onto where Satoshi would be able to read the letters that the kids had wrote.
Smiling, Emiko watched the boat disappear for a bit until a shriek met her ears and she looked to see Risa floundering in the water, Daisuke trying to help her up, with Riku looking ready to hit Takeshi before an all-out water fight started between the four.
Yeah, things were starting to finally mend.
Oh Daddy, oh daddy, tell me why, Alyssa lies.
~Owari~
Yeah... I cried when I wrote this... This was meant to be AU, and this is where it ends...
There most likely will not be a follow up, unless something inspires me. But that doesn't mean you can't ask. ;-)
Please Read and Review, and tell me what you think!
~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~