Welcome to chapter two ^^
As stated, I'm going to try and knock out as many chapters as I can in hopes to try and get any new readers as far away from the old content as quickly as possible as it'll probably just confuse some to see new content mixed with the old stuff. So, you might see multiple chapters uploaded daily as I have a lot of free time with the holidays :DD However, there may be breaks of time in between as I often just hit a dead stop with writing. It may take a couple days, but the new chapters WILL be out soon, I promise.
Now, ONWARD.
Misaki entered the condo, noticing that the young girl in his arms seemed to be staring at everything in wonder. She seemed a bit amazed with how tall the building was and how high up they were. Though, Misaki still had yet to get her to speak to him. She had kept her mouth clamped shut tightly as he carried her home, and even now, she hadn't made a peep.
"Mi-sa-ki," The young man froze at the voice of the author. How had he forgotten about him? How had he managed to forget the biggest obstacle in his little plan? Maybe if Usagi didn't see her right away, he wouldn't freak out? "You never did let me get my refi-"
Well, that idea went out the window.
Misaki felt the little girl's hand tighten on his jacket as she saw the elder man standing near the bottom of the stairs. The man's eyes were trained on the girl, seemingly inspecting every inch of her that he could see. Misaki gulped as the author's eyes met his, fearful of what he would see there. However, he was confused when he didn't see anger or rage. Just….concern.
"Who's this?" He asked, his eyes flicking back to the girl as she buried her face into Misaki's face.
"Um….Usagi…meet…..my new friend?" He hadn't meant for it to come out as a question, however, with knowing little to nothing about the girl, he wasn't exactly sure what to call her. She still hadn't offered up her own name. He saw Usagi sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose, opening his mouth to speak. However, it was cut off as a loud growl filled the air.
Misaki smiled softly and looked down to the girl, "Hungry?" She peeked up from her hiding spot and nodded a bit sheepishly. "Alright, first, we'll get you cleaned up. After you take a bath, I'll get you some food, alright?" She nodded again, pulling her face away from Misaki's chest, though, not looking toward Usagi.
The young boy walked toward the stairs and mouthed above the girls head, 'Sorry. I'll explain.' He smiled sheepishly as his lover sighed and nodded, seemingly going to the kitchen to get some cigarettes. For once, Misaki didn't blame him, it was going to be a stressful night.
He basically vaulted up the stairs and rushed toward the bathroom, gently placing the girl on the toilet. He set the water on and waited for it to heat up before plugging it. He needed to get some towels and talk to Usagi. He turned to his new companion, who was watching the tub slowly fill, "Why don't you pick a soap you want and turn off the water when the tub is filled, okay?" He smiled as the girl nodded, hopping of her seat and walking toward the bottles of soap they had lined up on the tub. "I'll go get you some clothes while we wait for it to fill up, okay?" She nodded once again, seemingly distracted by the different soaps to pick from.
He rushed to his room, digging through his closet for anything she could wear. All of his stuff was obviously too big for her, but a shirt would be alright for now. Then a thought struck him, what about underwear? He groaned, and thumped his head on the door frame, wishing he'd stopped at least once to pick something up for her to wear.
"Realizing a flaw in your plan?" Misaki only grunted in response to his lover as he continued to thump is head. "As stupid as some of it was, overall, you did the right thing." Usagi said, taking a long drag from his cigarette.
Misaki's head shot up, looking at his lover with a bit of a bewildered look. "Huh?"
Akihiko rolled his eyes and turned to his little lover, "Do you really think I'm that heartless?" He asked, noticing Misaki looked down a bit guilty, "Leaving a little girl on the street is something even I don't think I would do. Granted, I would've realized that she'd need clothes at the very least." He added, taking another drag from his cigarette.
"No smoking with a child in the house," Misaki mumbled back, standing with a large shirt that would suffice for now. He ignored the man-child's grumbling and walked toward the linen closet, "So what are we going to do for clothes?"
"I called a friend of mine, Hiroki." Akihiko said, handing Misaki a large towel that was near the top, "He has a doctor boyfriend and I informed them of the situation. Or, at least what I could gather from what I saw." He gave Misaki a pointed look, making the boy sigh.
"I was walking home and I just….found her. In the alley, all by herself." He almost whispered to Usagi, hoping the girl wouldn't hear them. "She was huddled up in a blanket asleep, I just happened to see her when I was walking by…"
"And the bruises?"
"I'm not sure…I think she has more. I saw a more on her shoulders whenever her sweater slipped down." He sighed, shaking his head. "How can someone…just…"
Akihiko put a hand on Misaki's head, trying to calm him. "There's nothing you can do about that right now. First, let's take care of the girl and decide what to do later. Alright?" He smiled as the younger nodded, and looked toward the bathroom door, "What's her name?"
"She wouldn't say. All I could get her to tell me is that she's five." He shrugged, "I'm hoping with a little bit of time she'll start to open up just a bit, but for now..." Usagi nodded and sent Misaki toward the bathroom with a push as he heard the tub turn off. "Go clean her up for now, I'll bring a brush for her hair….and maybe some scissors."
Misaki lightly knocked on the bathroom door to keep from startling the girl was surprised to see her pushing one of Usagi's toy ducks around in the water. He smiled and walked forward, putting the towel and shirt down, "Ready to get in?" She nodded and waited patiently for Misaki to turn around as she undressed and got in. Once he was sure she was in the tub, he turned back around and froze for a second at the sight.
Bruises littered the young girls upper body from what he could see, and with her arms uncovered from the sweater, he saw a couple hand prints on her upper arms as if someone grabbed her. She didn't seem all that concerned though as she continued to lightly push the little purple duck she'd picked to play with. When Misaki didn't move, she looked up at him and tilted her head, confused. "Sorry," He smiled, blinking back tears, "I was just thinking about what to do with your hair."
As if on que, Usagi entered with a comb and scissors in hand. His eyes went to the girl and his mouth clamped shut at the sight. As Misaki took the items, he muttered softly, "I'll tell Hiroki to hurry up." He didn't wait for a reply as he swiftly walked from the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
Misaki turned back to the girl and noticed her eyes were wide with fear and she was clutching the duck tightly. "Oh, don't be afraid of him." He said softly, walking to the tub and kneeling beside it, "He's my….landlord. He's not as scary as he is ugly, I promise."
The girl giggle softly, making Misaki's face break into a large grin. "So, let's get to cleaning you up, okay?" She nodded and Misaki got to work.
A bit later…
The little girl looked a bit sad as she reached up and tugged at what was left of her hair. Misaki smiled sadly as he swept up the rest from the floor. "I'm sorry, but combing through it all would've taken hours, and would've just hurt a lot more than this."
The girl's hair had been quite a challenge, considering how long and tangled it was. Misaki had hoped some water and conditioner on her hair would loosen it a bit and make it more manageable to tame, but as he got more and more dirt out of it with shampoo, he realized that combing it would've just ended with her crying at best. Though, he was quite proud of his handiwork. He'd managed to get it mostly even, and what was left of her hair was a short but cute bob. Though, he was worried as to how he was going to manage her hair as it gained its length back. It was curly, and even damp some of the curls were beginning to show. Keeping it tamed and neat was going to be a task in itself.
Misaki tossed the hair in the trash and noticed she was looking over at the two new men in the room, making him look over as well. He was still in a bit of shock. How was it possible that Usagi's best friend was his lit teacher? Though, when he thought about it, it did make a bit of sense when he compared their personalities. He felt a shiver go up his spine at the thought of what the two could actually do together.
His thoughts were brought back to the present as he felt the girl grab the bottom of his shirt, she was looking up at him a bit unsure of the two new men. He smiled and bent down to her level, "Don't worry. I promise, they aren't going to hurt you. In fact, the tall one is going to make sure you're all okay. You've been to the doctor before, right?" She nodded, "He's a doctor, just for kids to. He's here to help." She nodded and looked over again at them again. "If anything happens, just yell out and I'll come get you, alright?" She seemed comforted by this and nodded once more, allowed Misaki to pick her up, and carry her toward the three men.
Whatever conversation they were having stopped as Nowaki noticed Misaki carrying her over. The other two looked over and Nowaki put on a huge smile, "Is my patient ready?" He asked softly, trying not to scare her. She nodded and Misaki placed her on the couch gently. "Alright, why don't you three go to the kitchen and wait while I check her out."
It was quite clearly not a suggestion.
The three rushed over to the kitchen and, out of habit, Misaki began making tea. "So, she's said literally nothing to you guys?" Hiroki asked, still a bit shocked by the situation he found himself in.
"Not a word. Though, she seems to only really respond to Misaki." Akihiko replied, anxiously drumming his fingers against the counter top. He was itching for a smoke and it was beginning to show. Misaki wasn't sure the last time he'd seen the author this fidgety, but he had a feeling it was more than just cravings.
"Well, what are you planning on doing?" Hiroki asked, his eyes sliding back over to his boyfriend as he slowly examined the girl. "You turning her toward the authorities in the morning?"
"No." Misaki suddenly blurted out. Both men looked at him, a bit surprised. "I-it's just…..She's scared, you know? I feel like if I suddenly dump her with the cops….she'd just be terrified even more. Plus…w-when I asked her about her parents she freaked out and looked like she was about to cry." He looked at Usagi and back toward his kettle, "I-I know I didn't ask Usagi, and if you don't want to handle her, I-I understand and I'll figure out something. I don't think Nii-san will m-mind having her there un-" He was abruptly cut off by being yanked back into his lover's chest. "Eh?" He looked up, confused.
"I think keeping her here is a good idea." Akihiko said, ignoring Misaki's baffled look, "At least until we get a better handle on the situation as a whole and find out the extent of her condition."
"Alright, all done." Nowaki smiled, standing up and gaining attention from the other three. "I brought some pajamas for you," Misaki took that as his cue to grab them from their place on the table. "Why don't you go change and then come back out here to eat." The girl nodded and waited for Misaki to come over to the couch and lead her to his bedroom to change. Once the two were out of ear shot, Nowaki growled and stomped over toward the kitchen. Hiroki almost took a step back from the fierce look the doctor had. "I can't believe it." He growled, running a hand through his hair.
"What's wrong with her?" Akihiko asked, slowly. He wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer.
"What isn't wrong with her? That's be easier to answer." Nowaki retorted. "Malnourishment, dehydration, low blood sugar, a fever." He shook his head, letting out a long breath. "It's obvious those bruises didn't come from some accident while playing. Someone did this, and if I ever meet the person who did." Hiroki put a calming hand on his lover's back, rubbing is softly.
"What can we do to help her?"
"For now, keep her drinking water, but slowly. Some milk possibly if she can handle it." He thought slowly, "It's hard to tell how long she's gone without food, and if she doesn't remember, it must've been quite a while. Keep her diet for the next two days, yogurt and dry cereal, but nothing sugary. Let her snack as often as she wants, but once she does start eating heavier foods, keep the meals small until you're sure she can handle it."
"Any serious damage?" Hiroki asked, keeping an eye on the stairs.
"Nothing I could see. She didn't seem to have any broken bones. Luckily." Nowaki relaxed a bit, relieved that she wasn't too badly injured. "As for her fever, it doesn't seem serious. Just keep her eating and warm and I gave her some cold medicine. If it gets any higher or if she starts vomiting, call me immediately. But I'll be back tomorrow with another change of clothes after my tonight, so I'll check on her again."
Akihiko nodded, "I appreciate you coming here on such short notice. Especially with such a busy job."
Before he could reply, Hiroki jerked his head toward the stairs and all looked over as Misaki carried the small girl toward the kitchen. "We'll get going," Hiroki interjected quickly, not wanting to overwhelm the child. He doubted she felt comfortable being ogled at by three strange men. "Let's go Nowaki."
"You're leaving?" Misaki looked a bit panicked, unsure of what to do with the girl. What could he feed her? Was anything seriously wrong? Did she need medicine?
"I gave Usami-san all the instructions you'll need, and I'll be back tomorrow morning after work." Nowaki smiled, happy to see he was leaving the girl in good hands. "For now, she just needs to eat and get some rest."
Akihiko showed the two out as Misaki placed the girl on a chair at the table and got some dinner out for her. It consisted of yogurt and cheerios, but she seemed eager to devour anything at the moment anyway. Despite how hungry she seemed, she only managed to eat half a cup of yogurt and a handful of cheerios before pushing away from the table.
"Ready to sleep?" Misaki asked, putting down his knife and wiping his hands as she nodded up at him. He smiled and picked her up, noticing that the pajamas Nowaki had brought over still seemed a bit big on her. He picked her up and smiled at Usagi as he walked up the stairs.
Akihiko lit up a cigarette, and drew a long breath from it. He stared at the wall, deep in thought. What options did they really have at this point? Misaki seemed attached to the girl already and she wasn't backing away in fear whenever he entered the room at this point. He agreed that throwing her to the state would just end in her being tossed back and forth, and he figured what she needed now was stability. Financially he could handle a little girl, money was never an issue for Akihiko and he wasn't worried about that at all. It was emotionally.
He could barely handle people, aside from Misaki, coming into his life and wasting his time. And with a little girl, Misaki's time will more than likely be monopolized, at the very least until she's completely healed. But even then, there was no guarantee she won't hog up all his time. Children were a handful.
His train of thought was broken as Misaki came back down the stairs with a huge smile across his face. He rushed over to Akihiko, obviously excited. "She spoke!" He said softly, probably trying to keep his voice down for the girl. "She spoke! I can't believe it!"
"What did she say?" He asked, raising a brow. The boy seemed barely able to contain himself, he was almost jumping in front of Akihiko.
"Her name is Masako!"
