Chapter 2

Izo gawked at the house before him. No, you couldn't even call it a house anymore. This was a mansion, maybe even a castle.

Blenheim had driven him, Thatch and Marco from school to their home.

Izo turned to Thatch. "You live here?!"

Thatch smiled sheepishly back. "Well, yeah. Me, and Pops, and Marco, Jozu, Vista, Blamenco, Rakuyo, Namur, Blenheim and Curiel."

"You have a lot of siblings."

Thatch grinned. "Yeah, and I'll only get more. Come on, I'll introduce you!" He grabbed Izo's hand and pulled him into the house.

It turned out that Jozu, Vista, Namur and Curiel were all in secondary school, in different classes. Blenheim and Blamenco had already graduated and were in college now, though they still lived at home. The brothers were all very nice to Izo, and respected the fact that he preferred not to be touched.

"Is Pops home?" Thatch asked Namur, who was doing his math homework at the table.

"Nah, he had a meeting or something. He should be home for dinner, though."

Thatch shrugged. "You can meet him some other time," he said to Izo. "You wanna play in the garden?"

"You have a garden?!"

Thatch, who had already been heading to the back door turned around. "You don't even have a garden?" He beamed. "Then I have a lot to show you." He grabbed Izo's hand again.

Outside, Izo looked around in awe once more. The garden was huge as well, and well maintained. And in the middle…

"You have a pool?!"

Thatch snickered. "Yeah. I guess I should have warned you. You wanna go swim?"

It was warm outside, so it would be a good day to swim, but Izo shuddered at the thought of taking off his clothes. "I… didn't bring swimming trunks."

"That's okay, you can just swim in your underwear. We do that all the time." Thatch already pulled his shirt over his head.

"But… then my underwear will be wet," Izo sputtered.

"You can borrow dry ones from me."

Izo opened and closed his mouth a few times. He was running out of excuses.

"He doesn't have to swim if he doesn't want to, yoi," Marco's voice sounded from behind him. He was carrying a tray with three glasses. "No means no."

Thatch sighed, but then he seemed to remember something. "But he didn't say no."

Marco looked at Izo, an eyebrow raised.

"No," Izo said firmly.

Marco smiled approvingly.

Thatch pouted for a moment and took two glassed off the tray, handing one to Izo, but then his face brightened again. "How about hide and seek?"

Izo beamed. "Yes!"

Izo was so busy playing and having fun, he hardly noticed that it was nearly dinnertime until Blamenco called him. Marco had been playing hide and seek with them, and later Rakuyo, who was in the first grade of secondary school, joined in too.

Blamenco walked up to Izo when it was his turn to seek and asked if he would be joining them for dinner.

"Yeah, you should stay for dinner!" Thatch revealed himself from behind the bushes somewhere. "And maybe you could stay here tonight. It's Friday, after all."

"I don't think my dad would like that," Izo started. "I mean, no," he hastily corrected himself when Marco gave him that look again. Izo had told his father he had to help his teacher after school, which his dad no doubt had forgotten by the time Izo came home and would be beaten again. It had been worth it, though; he hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

Thatch looked disappointed, but didn't press the matter. "Okay, see you on Monday then."

Blamenco took out the car keys. "I'll take you home then."

"Bye everyone!" Izo called, and it felt really amazing when the others said their goodbyes with just as much enthusiasm. Almost beaming, Izo turned around, but suddenly tripped over a loose rock. He managed to break his fall with his forearms, scraping them in the process. His shirt was pushed up a little.

It hurt a lot, but he had long since learned not to cry. Boys didn't cry, after all. He straightened his shirt hastily.

"Are you okay?" Blamenco helped him up and reached out to check his arms.

"I'm fine, really." Izo hit his arms behind his back and stepped away from Blamenco. "I really should get home."

"You should really clean those scrapes, yoi," Marco said. "Before they get infected."

Seeing how worried everyone was looking at him, Izo sighed. "Okay, I'll clean them." Before anyone could say anything else, he hurried inside to the bathroom. There, he rolled up the remainder of his sleeves – they were torn when he fell – and held his forearms under the tap to clean away sand and dirt. It stung, and Izo bit his lip.

"How did you get those bruises?" Thatch's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Izo turned around, but kept his arms under the tap. "I just fell."

"I don't mean the scrapes. I meant the bruises on your back. I saw them when your shirt was pushed up." Thatch's voice sounded dark, and for once, he was completely serious. "Who did that?"

Izo's eyes widened for a second, before he turned back to the tap. "Don't be stupid," he lied, "I fell down the stairs a few days ago. That's all." While he said it, Izo's eyes flicked up to the mirror in which he could see Thatch's reflection. Thatch had his arms crossed before his chest. He didn't seem convinced.

Izo closed the tap and turned around, flicking his long hair behind his shoulder. "Really, Thatch, you think I'd allow anyone to touch me?" He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

Thatch stared at him for a bit and then shrugged. "Fine. But if anyone ever touches you, I'm gonna beat 'em up!"

Izo pretended that Thatch's words didn't make him feel like crying.


Izo looked up when there was a knock on the door of the hospital room. He had been drawing, and somehow it had become a sketch of young Thatch. He really had to stop losing himself in memories.

A young woman had entered the room, followed by another, and Izo instantly recognised them. The first woman had violet hair that was held back by a red hair-ribbon, and a figure many women would kill for, with a tattoo on her left arm and across her chest. Her name was Nojiko and, a tiny fact that killed Izo, she was Thatch's current girlfriend.

The woman following her was Nami, her sister. She was a friend of Ace, and Izo had met her several times.

Nojiko froze when she saw Thatch, as if she hadn't believed the news until now, when she saw it with her own eyes. Izo knew his brothers had been calling her for the past few days to inform her what had happened to Thatch, but she had been abroad for work, and it seemed that she only had been able to return now.

Nojiko brusquely brushed her fingers through her hair, still staring at the motionless Thatch.

Izo placed his sketchbook aside and rose. He was kind of glad he had already met Nojiko before, as his current appearance was not how he wanted to make a first impression. "I'm glad you made it," he said. His voice was raspy as he had hardly talked all day.

"Who did this?" Nojiko whispered.

Izo looked from her to her sister, whose mouth was turned downwards. "Don't worry, the perpetrator has gotten what he deserved," he said grimly.

Nojiko nodded numbly.

Izo observed her for a moment. Nojiko looked conflicted. She and Thatch had not been dating that long, they had only gone on three dates, with a lot of time between them because Nojiko had to go abroad a lot, and Thatch had spent one weekend at her place. The weekend after which he had been stabbed.

"Maybe I should leave you for a bit," Izo said. He wasn't happy leaving Thatch behind, but Nojiko seemed to need time to process the situation. He left the room and let his head fall against the wall. Nojiko was a great woman, and someone Izo would love to be friends with. Yet, now that she was dating Thatch, Izo couldn't bring himself to like her. He didn't act like it, though, and he knew he was being childish. Thatch had had his heart broken one too many times to Izo's liking – because he was always the one to pick up the pieces when Thatch got his ass dumped – and he seemed to really like Nojiko. And, if he was honest, Izo thought Nojiko would be good for Thatch. She might be ten years younger than him, but she was strong and confident, and had a brown belt in karate, so she could kick Thatch's ass, something he needed quite often.

A woman like Nojiko would be good for him, and Izo should be happy for them.

The door next to him opened, and Nami came out. She looked like she came straight from work, with her pantsuit and her hair tied in a bun.

"How are you doing?" she asked a bit worriedly.

Izo turned towards her. "It's been rough on our family." He took a deep breath. "The doctors are not optimistic. How is your sister holding up?"

Nami sighed and let her hair fall loose. "She's… confused, I think. She liked– likes him, but they haven't been going out long, you know." She sighed again and let herself fall into a chair. "It's all too much with her work and now this…"

Izo sighed as well and sat down next to her. They were silent for a while, until Nami asked, "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Not the whole time," Izo said. It wasn't a lie, he had left Thatch's side for a few hours to help Ace.

Nami gave him a sceptical look.

Izo shrugged. "I'd like someone to be here when he wakes up. And I'm the only one who can make his own hours." Again, not a lie.

"And that's the reason you don't leave him for a second, not even to shower?" Nami asked. "You don't seem like someone who'd leave the house not looking his best."

"I showered, like, yesterday," Izo protested. He didn't like where this conversation was going. Nami was on to something – how, he didn't know, and he didn't want to find out either.

"I've heard a story of a man who was in a coma, and his wife sat with him every day until he was declared braindead," Nami said.

"Thatch is not braindead," Izo snapped, until he realised that wasn't the point of the story. "And I'm not his wife," he added for good measure.

"I know," she said pensively. "But you're giving up an awful lot for him, even though you'd be the first they'd call if… when he wakes up."

"Like I said, I make my own hours. I can even work here, see?" He showed her his sketchbook.

She flipped through the pages, smiling, "You guys go way back, don't you?"

Izo blushed a little when he realised that on every paper a picture of Thatch was drawn. Sometimes he was young, in others he was an adult.

"We're brothers," he said softly.

She smiled again and shook her head. "I know I shouldn't be prying, that it's none of my business. But I just want you to know… You're not alone."

"What… do you mean?" he asked.

Nami sighed and rested her head against the wall. "I'm also in love with someone I shouldn't be."

Izo froze, but let her talk without commenting.

"I've known her since secondary school, and we're best friends ever since."

"Her? Aren't you dating Ace's little brother?" Izo asked confusedly.

Nami smiled wistfully. "Well, that's mostly because it's convenient. He knows where I'm standing, though, I'm not lying to him. But seeing you've met him, you'll probably know he is not really interested in a relationship other than being friends. He's asexual and aromantic, and I'm not. Our 'arrangement' makes sure that I have a date when I need one, and he isn't hit on by other women. Plus, he doesn't like to be alone that much – and shouldn't be left alone, for that matter – so when Ace is away, he can stay with me. And it gets annoying people off our back who think the only time you can be happy is when you're in a relationship."

"So, this woman, she is your best friend?" Izo asked.

"Yeah. My straight, happily married, best friend." Nami sighed.

"I feel you, sister." There was no reason to deny it, and, in some way, it was a relief to talk to someone who was in the same boat. Izo had only told Marco once, and that was because he was still young and it had been after the first time Izo had seen Thatch pick up a girl. "My straight brother, who happens to date your sister." He let out a humourless laugh. "You won't tell her, will you?" he added worriedly. "I'm happy for them, really."

"Don't lie to me. You want to be happy for them, I believe that much. I'm the same. Her husband's a good man, and they've been friends since childhood. He's good to her. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see him out of the picture." Nami rested her head on her hand. "Or am I just a horrible human being?"

He placed a hand on her knee. "It's easy to be selfish."

She wrapped her arms around him and hid her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have brought it up at a time like this."

At that moment, the door of Thatch's room opened, and Nojiko came out, looking exhausted. "Can we go home now?" she said to Nami. "I'm still jetlagged and I'd like to go to bed."

Nami nodded and rose from her chair. Izo followed her example.

"I'll meet you at the car," Nojiko said to her sister. Nami got the hint and left them, after saying goodbye to Izo.

"You must think I'm a terrible girlfriend," Nojiko said to Izo as soon as Nami was out of earshot. "I'm in there five minutes, while you, his brother, have been guarding him for days." She sunk down in the chair Nami had previously been occupying. "I just don't know what to do. I didn't expect him to be in a coma when I got back… Well, obviously. But we just started dating and we only slept together… Never mind, you probably don't want to know that."

Izo didn't, but unfortunately he had called Thatch when Thatch was with Nojiko, and Izo had a very vivid imagination.

Nojiko sighed. "I'm just wondering how long I should stay not to feel guilty. And I guess I can forget about that now that I said that out loud."

"Give yourself a break. You've been dating like three weeks, in which you went out three times. Yes, I know Thatch likes you, but you're not obligated to hold his hand the whole time. He has his family to do that."

"Yes," she said slowly. "He has you."

"Me, and the others," Izo quickly said. He hoped she wasn't as sharp as her sister. "You have your job, and Thatch wouldn't want you to get into trouble because of him. Come," he helped her up, "go home and sleep. I'll be here, and I'll call you when he wakes up, agreed?"

"Yes," she said. "You'll be here. You're always here for him. Thank you for that." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek, before she turned around and walked away.

Izo stared in the direction in which she had disappeared long after she was already gone. Why did he get the feeling his secret was revealed to two people today?