Author's Note: Oh boy, one of my reviewers just messaged me that I update pretty slow. I apologize for the now and for the future slowness of my writing pace (hehe). Thank you so much to savagen, Aya Aiba, JunJouVampire, Sarasnk, ToxiChick13, I Stephanie I, Yaoifangirl89, yamasasha, Hiroki. no. fan., Little-fox012, TechNomaNcer28, Kumiko1997, Ebony-Knight, Shippowaffle, and jjjjj. I highly salute you guys for being patient in dropping reviews:) Thank you also for those who alerted and favorited this story.
Warning: Boy x Boy love (not platonic); with short bits of explicit content
Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica.
Summary: Now that it is not only Nowaki who knows about his lover's disappearance, how will the other people close to Hiroki react?
Chapter 4: At the Funeral
WHAT IS THIS????
Akihiko could feel his blood turning ice cold as he stared at the horrendous photograph of his.......
IT CAN'T BE......
his childhood friend.........
DEAD???
What kind of joke is this??? But this picture is from Hiroki's parents.....forwarded to me just now. Who on earth is the original sender?
The vividness of the image did nothing to soothe the author's nerves. It only served to make his already bad day into one hell of a nightmare.
"Usagi-saan, ohayou,"
No answer......
Misaki scanned the whole apartment. Usually, his lover would be home before he comes back. That's weird, usually, he informs me whenever he plans on coming home late. He wouldn't admit it but yeah, he was also worried for his lover.
It didn't take long for there in the living room, seated at the sofa was none other than his Usagi. He was just about to enter and greet his lover casually when he noticed that something's off.
Usagi didn't notice his presence and he doesn't seem to be faking it. He also noticed that his lover's face was kind of stoic and tense.....as if something terrible happened. For a second, Misaki panicked, trying to figure out if something's wrong with his lover. To his relief, it appears to be that nothing's amiss in terms of physical wellness.
"Usagi-san?"
After three seconds of receiving no reaction, Misaki went to sit beside his lover, hoping to cheer him up somehow.
Curiously, Misaki peeked at the photo that was secured in his lover's hands. Upon seeing the photo, he screamed at the top of his lungs for the image does not only contain a naked body but also torn skins and long gashes at the sides accompanied by dislocated limbs.
WHAT IS THIS???
Usagi was snapped out of his reverie. Out of instinct, he hurriedly hugged his lover, just to make sure that he is still there, living and breathing beside him. Never mind Hiroki's parents, I can't imagine what his lover is going through right now. Just the thought of it makes my head hurt. What if this happens to Misaki? I honestly don't know what to make of it if that ever happens.
"UUusagi?" Misaki was slightly blushing from the sudden outburst of affection. By now, he is already used to his older lover's explicit display of affection but nonetheless, he never gets tired of it. Not that he would admit it to anyone, not even to himself.
"Misaki, don't move......."
...............
"Misaki, starting from now on, I would not permit you to go out of the house without me accompanying you."
"HEY, NO FAIR, THIS IS GOING OVERBOARD AND WHO GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO mmmmmmpph."
The kiss was long, tender and passionate with none of them wanting to let go. Misaki felt his legs give away from the heat of the moment but that was until he heard a sobbing tone coupled with the feeling of wetness along his sleeves.
It took a moment for Misaki to realize that his older lover was crying. His first instinct was to pull away from Usagi but the latter only held him tighter. "Usagi-san, what's wrong?"
................
"Misaki, Hiroki's dead........."
In Nowaki's apartment
SLAP..........
"HOW DARE YOU!!!!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR SON????"
Mrs. Kamijou couldn't help herself but to lash at the so-called boyfriend of his one and only beloved son. Honestly speaking, she didn't really approved of their relationship since time in memorial, but god knows how hard it was for her to accept this aspect of his son's life.
Meanwhile, Nowaki was just standing there, nursing his swollen cheek with his right hand, not even the least bit shock at the sudden outburst of the lady in front of him. It is as if he is anticipating for it to happen.
"AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TELLING US THE MOMENT HE HAS GONE MISSING? DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT YOU OWN HIM FULLY JUST BECAUSE HE LIVES WITH YOU????? YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A...."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!"
Mr. Kamijou finally took center stage and decided to stand between the two before the other suffers more damage. With the way things are going, his wife will not stop until she renders the tall man unconscious. He tried calming his wife down but to no avail since the latter is still shooting heated glares at the tall man.
"I...it's okay, Mr. Kamijou......I....I understand her outburst.......and I'm sorry" As Nowaki said this, he still couldn't look straight into the eyes of his lover's parents.
"NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU APOLOGIZE TO US......OUR SON IS NEVER GOING TO COME BACK ALIVE!!!!!!"
"Hush.....hush.....remember that we are here to find a solution and not to fuel our problems more.......the last thing we need is that we are fighting against each other and not against the real enemy...."
"But hon...."
"Mrs. Kamijou," Nowaki finally found the courage to talk to the elder woman, "I'm deeply sorry for not informing you about your son's disappearance but honestly, it was never my intention to hide this from you guys. I will accept any form of punishment that you will impose upon me. Please forgive me." He then proceeded to bow down in front of her.
Mrs. Kamijou was lost for the time being. Not knowing what to feel, she walked out of the house without even bothering to wait for her husband.
"Son, I know how you feel but I cannot say that I forgive you totally. After all, we are talking about my only son here. Now if you would please excuse us...."
Nowaki simply nodded at the man's words. Right now, he does not have an energy to do anything, not even for his shift later that night at the hospital. He just wants this day to be over with so that he could sleep throughout this whole ordeal........
For he was just too tired......too tired of being alive
He doesn't see the point of working hard anymore, not when the person he was supposed to dedicate his whole life to is now gone.....GONE......
Until now, the word hasn't sink in to his consciousness.....until now, he hasn't cried yet.....until now, everything doesn't make any sense. He is like a child who has just lost his parents but still doesn't have any clue with regards to the gravity of the situation.
He just wished that the world would stop moving for a while. Give him a break to understand everything......
Specifically, to understand loneliness......he wasn't even sure if he wants to go that way.
A week later.......
Nowaki stares blankly at the wired fence that separates him from the other visitors. For there he was, watching from afar the burial of his one and only love.
Fate is just outright cruel......
For even in death, he was not allowed to go near his love......
No one wants him there for everyone thinks that it was his fault for letting Hiroki die except for Miyagi and Usagi. Both men were inside the burial grounds, mourning with the other guests and making sure to keep the more sensitive guests from breaking down.
Nowaki was just grateful that he was even allowed to watch the burial at the very least for Mrs. Kamijou gave strict orders to the guards not to let him in. It was only due to Mr. Kamijou that he was allowed to enter the vicinity.
As he watch the people entering and exiting, he felt a strong resentment coursing through his veins. How dare they just leave without finishing the ceremony! Don't they even have respect for the dead? I swear if I am the one who is in there, I would stay 'til the very end!
He banged the fence as hard as he could, without a care in the world. He was downright angry and frustrated, two emotions that he usually don't feel, finally began to manifest itself.
It was a good thing that no one heard him or else he could have been thrown out.
This was not how it is supposed to be....I should be the one who should die first...not you... never you.....
He could feel his body heating up and his head hurt like hell therefore he decided to go back inside the vicinity's foyer and hope that the pain will go away.
As he was dragging his feet towards the foyer, he accidentally bumped into another guy causing the said guy to land on his butt.
'HEY WATCH IT!!!!" The guy then immediately stood up and was about to hit Nowaki. Luckily, the other guy came to stop him before things get more complicated.
"WHAT THE....HELL NOBU?? THIS GUY attacked me first!!!"
"Whatever the reason Kazuo, remember what we are here for...do me a favor and stick to the plan for once, will you?"
"Sumimasen, I'm sorry...." And with that, Nowaki left the two men behind, currently not in the mood to get into any fights. He just wants everything to hasten up, not wanting to stop at anything for only through this way will he be able to stop feeling the incessant pain knawing into his very core.
Although sometimes, to be always in a hurry entails a lot of consequences......
Because for one,
He failed to notice that there were three men instead of two. Aside from the ones that he had left arguing, he never bothered to look at the much more obscure figure of the third person in the party. The one who looked at him with sadness, desperation, longingness and most of all, love.
Meanwhile.....
"How dare that guy bumped into me? If he only knew that I'm part of the mafia, I think that he will sink into his knees begging me not to slice him alive!!!"
There was no reply not even from Nobu for he was downright tired on arguing with his partner about the same topic the entire afternoon. Well, perhaps giving him the cold shoulder will shut him up. This is definitely not the time for such meaningless conversations, we have a much more bigger problem right here. "Hey, where do you think should we put this damsel here?"
"Hmmmph, are you even listening to me? Sheesh, just locked him up in one of the rooms and let's call this a night. I want my beauty sleep for we haven't had it since last week....especially with all the covering up we have to do during the burial preparations."
Nobu nodded. Both of them did not have any sleep since last week for they had been busy "making arrangements" and bribing the undertaker for whatever last minute changes that have to be made.
Flashback.....
"Please pass by dungeon and deliver the corpse to this address."
"Wwwhat is this suppose to mean?" Kazuo felt a chill run through his spine.
"Just make sure that that corpse would look like your protege aka Hiroki here. And with that, I leave it into your reliable hands the necessary steps to go about this. Surely you know what my intentions are."
Nobu gulped. "You mean to say that we'll claim that he is dead?"
The red king didn't say anything else but instead gave both of them an enigmatic smile.
End of Flashback.....
In short, the picture that was sent to Hiroki's parents was real but the body in the funeral was definitely not their son's body. Only the most and highly skilled undertaker could possibly do such drastic altercations that even amongst the hundreds of guests that attended and have seen the corpse, none of them realized that they were mourning for a totally different person.
In one of the compartments......Hiroki's POV Flashback
SLAP
"Oi, bitch, don't you dare scream here!!!!"
Hiroki didn't know what in the world these two are up to. Damn, that slap hurt like hell. What's this place? A cemetery?
"Hey come on bitch, let's go down, we couldn't afford to leave you in the car and give you a chance to escape won't we?"
Hiroki complied. He just wanted to finish this day off and go back to sleep inside his cell while avoiding as much physical pain as possible during his waking hours. He was too used to all the dragging and all the physical abuse being inflicted upon his body day and night to the point that he stopped screaming whenever they do something on him.
"Hey, didn't you hear me? I said stop right there," Kazuo was just about to hit him again when Nobu stopped him. "Shhhh, you don't want to cause a commotion here."
What is going on here? Why is my mom and dad here? What the....why are they all in mourning clothes? Usagi and Miyagi? What the.....
Hiroki couldn't help himself from crying. He never thought that he would miss his friends and family this much. Should he run away from these two guys? But what if the mafia finds him and kills his family? Oh kami, please help me....
As the crowd was slowly dispersing, Hiroki couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him.
For there, engraved on the tombstone, in big bold letters:
Here Lies Hiroki Kamijou: A Loving Son, Friend and Mentor
He then understood....understood what was happening to him. This can't be possible. No no this isn't happening.......
Just when he thought that the mafia can't do any more damage to him, here they are, with a new and a brilliant plot to make it seem to the whole world that he is already dead....silently telling everyone that looking for him is useless, that they already found him dead.
As they were about to leave the cemetery or to be more precise, as he was being drag out of the place.......
"HEY WATCH IT!!!!"
He appreciated the momentary lack of grip on his wrist, but that appreciation was short lived as he saw the man....
......he love
Please don't look....don't look......
......who broke his heart
I don't want him to see me like this
......who patiently loved him
Loved? That was before right? Nowaki, you don't love me anymore right?
"Sumimasen."
Although why does it hurt so much that he didn't even notice me?
And why isn't he near my tombstone? Does he hate me that much? Was he just there out of obligation?
If so then....it's better that I die......
End of Flashback
Cold
Helpless
Numb
Hopeless
........
..........
............
Desire for Death
Drip.....drip..........sound of tears hitting the cold stone pavement
Nowaki
No matter what happens, I still love you even if you don't think of me anymore
With that last thought, Hiroki fell into a deep, disturbing sleep.
To be continued....
A/N: Any comments, suggestions, violent reactions? Feel free to review and message me but I am not going to assure you that I will be able to incorporate all of the suggestions. Rest assured that I would read each and every one of them:)
Please do not attempt to submit any homophobic reviews. In my opinion, such reviews do not exist in this world.