Kyoya sighed as he walked down the hallway, nose still in his book despite Tachibana's warnings of "you're going to fall and crack your head open". He just wanted to finish this chapter, but he also needed to go to dinner with his father. He'd pouted, kicked up a little fuss, resorted to puppy dog eyes, but Hota still shoved him out of his room with promises of extra desert if he did as he was told.
It wasn't that he hated his family. His father scared him a little, but he liked his mother well enough, even if he barely saw her. He loved Fuyumi. It was just more… detached. He didn't really know his parents or brothers, after all. His bodyguards were his dads, really; but they weren't the ones he had to have dinner with.
"TACHIBANA!"
The yell caught him off guard, definitely his father's voice, and he took off running, towards the bathroom. He dropped his book in the process, but didn't care as a skidded around the corner, only to be faced with a horrific sight.
His mother was splayed out on the ground, blood everywhere, his father frantically asking her to stay awake as her eyelashes fluttered. The slashes along her arms were deep, crimson still spilling despite his father's attempts to stop it. All he could do was stare. Stare at the blood, his mother's sickly pallor and greasy hair, his father's tears. He was scared but, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think how human his father looked in that moment. Sick, but true.
Tachibana came running, a shocked look on his face as he took in the scene, grabbing the walkie talkie from his belt to call Hota and Aijima and falling to his knees next to his father. He picked up a towel, trying to help him stem the bleeding, and Kyoya felt like he was more watching a drama on television than anything else.
"Kyoka… Come on Kyoka, stay with us… Stay with us…" He father murmured, shoulders shaking, and it was only then he found his voice.
"Father… T-Tachibana…" He nearly whispered, and it was then that he realised he was shaking too. The two men's heads snapped up almost comically, and their horrified glances made him squirm. It was his mother, but it was a scene he was never supposed to witness.
This wasn't her. She breezed into a room and commanded attention. She wore tight dresses and flirted with other men, and she always laughed like she heard the funniest thing in the world. She patted his head and called him her baby boy. He loved her and, without her, he only had his dear bodyguards and Fuyumi.
"Aijima, take Kyoya to his room," Tachibana instructed, still going about his work as Hota called the hospital. Aijima's hand rested on his shoulder, and the trance was broken.
"No!" He screamed, trying to run forward, but Aijima grabbed his arm. He fought against the hold, twisting and kicking out, "Mommy! Mommy, I need her! I need you, mommy! Please! Please, mommy!"
In the end, Aijima just picked him up and carried him off. Kyoya still fought, still kicked out, but he was only nine; he wasn't going to get out of Aijima's expert hold. He eventually just tired himself out, the older man placing him on the sofa and sharing a sombre silence.
"Aijima… Is mommy going to die?" He asked, small and frightened.
Aijima didn't answer.