Chapter Nine: Reason
Makoto slept the best that he had in a week that night. Part of it was definitely his exhaustion, but the presence of his friends and their comforting words also gave him a taste of peace. He was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Granted, that light was still a fair distance away, but now that he saw it, he knew which direction to go. He would move forward, towards the light—towards hope.
He was, however, the last one to wake up the next morning. The sounds of a campfire and murmured talking permeated through his thin tent walls and entered his sleepy ears. He was tempted to pull the sheets over his head and go back to sleep, but then he realized just how bright the world was in front of his closed eyelids. He began to open them slowly, blinking in the world. Haru's bed was in front of him and empty. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Rin's sleeping bag was empty as well.
They're all probably waiting for me, he thought as he slowly sat up. What would the day hold, he wondered. His family did sometimes go fishing in the river and Ren and Ran would swim with Makoto, but he doubted that would happen this year considering what happened with his siblings the previous day. That was a blessing for him; it meant he could keep his family in the dark a little longer. He still hadn't told them about his fear; when explaining why he wasn't going to Tokyo anymore, he told them he wanted to be sure of his dream and not jump into something he'd regret. That was partially the truth, though it kept out the primary reason for his decision.
Makoto put on a clean pair of shorts and a T-shirt before stepping outside. His sandals waited right outside for him to slip on, but his shoes weren't the only thing waiting. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Nagisa teased from the nearby picnic table.
"Good morning, Nagisa," Makoto said with a genuine smile. Everyone else in the party was already sitting at the picnic table—his parents and siblings included. He uttered a general good morning to them before he sat down on an open end next to Rei. Everyone at the table worked together to pass down cereal, a bowl, and a spoon for him. All the pancakes that they made over the fire were already finished by the hungry Nagisa, who didn't look the least bit regretful.
"I'm a growing boy," Nagisa had stated with his typical smile.
"It'll be hard to hike on such a full stomach, Nagisa," Makoto countered lightly.
"Tehe, actually…"
"Your friends requested permission to kidnap you for the day," Mr. Tachibana inserted. "They said they had something important to show you?"
"Huh? What is it…?" He looked around to his group of friends, and then to his own family. Clearly his friends knew what it was but his family did not. "O-okay then…" Maybe they're trying to get me away from the water? If that's the case, I should just play along…
"They said that it's back towards home, so you'll need to take the car, Makoto."
Once more, Makoto straightened in shock. "O-okay…" He had his driver's license, but he really didn't have much experience on the road. Their car was parked at the bottom of the mountain they were climbing; they drove it because it would have been way too much to ride bikes to the mountain and carry their tents, so they parked it down at the bottom and then carried their loads up in shifts. "Um…when am I being kidnapped?"
"Right now!" Rei said enthusiastically. "Put on your sneakers and let's get a move on!"
"Adventure time!" Nagisa cheered right along with him.
"Okay, okay," Makoto said with an uneasy smile. He picked up his empty plastic bowl as he walked away, putting it in a garbage bag before he went to his tent and got on his shoes. Five minutes later, they were on the road. The trip back to their hometown wouldn't take long—maybe an hour. That gave him time to ask his friends about this trip. What was in store for him? Why was it more important than spending time with his family? Did his family know anything?
Of course, he didn't get any answers. Nagisa, who had insisted on shotgun, put on music and blared it loudly enough that conversation became nearly impossible. Makoto sighed in resignation and let the rest of the time pass by in silence.
Eventually, they wound up at a small café. He stepped outside of his family's car and took in the sunlight. It was about 11:30 in the morning now—time for at least a small snack and a cup of tea.
"Makoto, give us your car keys," Rin said as soon as everyone was unloaded.
He uneasily submitted. "Now will you tell me what's going on?"
Rin nodded while meeting Makoto's eyes. "I found the people that attacked you the night of the triathlon…and one of them is waiting inside."
This has to be some kind of sick joke, right? But judging by Rin's serious expression, this was no joke. "Why?" he asked softly. Why do I have to face him?
"Because we all need to know why they attacked you," Rei inserted.
"Does that mean…none of you know yet?"
"Right," Nagisa said. "Rin was supposed to meet with one of them yesterday, but then we had to come camping and-"
"Yesterday doesn't matter," Rin interrupted. "Makoto, don't you want to know why all this happened?"
"You don't have to be scared of them," Haru added. "We're all going to be with you."
Well obviously I have to go now, Makoto thought, once more resigned. He wasn't necessarily afraid of the bullies; he was more afraid of what their reason could be. What did he do to warrant such vicious attacks? He took if a soft breath and stepped forward. The café was mostly empty save for a few tables that weren't working jobs. The lunch rush would come soon enough, and then they would really be pressured to keep a civil conversation. Rin planned it, he decided after some thought. Only Rin would think through all the consequences of having a meeting somewhere more private. And besides, he couldn't run so easily with so many people.
Enforcing his presupposition, Rin walked towards a person who was sitting alone at one of the tables. Makoto immediately recognized him. The young man who had his hood up the last time that he saw him now revealed his dark brown hair and green eyes. His figure was built, but it had a lot more bulk than his or anyone else in his group. A wrestler. That was the only way to explain his build or the way that he held himself. That also explained why this person was able to knock him out so easily.
Makoto, Haru, Rei, and Nagisa joined Rin at the rectangular table. To his surprise, the assailant, placed his arms by his sides and bowed formally. "Hello. My name is Koyama Jirou. My brother Akihiro will be coming soon, but doesn't know that we're here to see you. I apologize in advance for his behavior."
So shocked by the bow, Makoto just blinked and hummed. "Mm-mm," he murmured before he took a seat. Nagisa jumped into the seat next to him before Haru could. Rin had already seated himself on the other side of Makoto, so Haru was left on the other side of the table with Jirou and Rei.
An awkward silence fell on the table until the waitress came to take their orders. Nagisa ordered quite a few sweets, Rei a small drink, Haru a water, and Rin a soda. Makoto didn't bother with anything and neither did Jirou. As soon as the waitress was gone, Rin initiated the conversation. "Tell him what you told me," he said to Jirou.
Jirou glanced down at his hands. "My brother, Aki-niisan, and I live in the town with those islands. Last summer, we saw your swim team swimming between those three islands. That's when we started to target you…Tachibana-san. So we watched your swim matches and looked for a chance. The school year came and went and I started to forget you. Aki-niisan never forgot. As soon as he heard about Matsouka-san's relay, he came up with a plan. We would make that day awful for you."
Makoto wanted to ask the obvious question of "why," but something in his own heart stopped him. He didn't want to know why. And besides, Jirou's clasped hands began to tremble as he continued with his tale. "But…what we did there with burying you in the sand…" He shivered. "It was too far. I only wanted to scare you and make you upset—not that that's much consolation. When I saw them take you off that boat on a stretcher…I realized what I did was wrong. I'm so sorry."
"Why did you do it?" Haru asked coldly.
Jirou looked to his left and saw the crystal, clear blue eyes of the angry Haru. "It's because…Tachibana-san ruined our lives."
"Huh?" Everyone else at the table started. Even Rin didn't seem to know about this update; he was just as on edge as everyone else.
"My father had an affair with a woman eighteen years ago. He was already married to my mother. That other woman was engaged to be married and suddenly was pregnant. But she married her fiancé soon after she fell pregnant, so her husband didn't even realize that their first child wasn't his. My family wasn't so fortunate."
"Hold on," Rei interrupted. "What does this have to do with Makoto-senpai?"
Jirou glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's obvious, isn't it? The child is Tachibana. The woman is his mother. His mother had an affair with my father."
With that bombshell dropped, Makoto didn't even notice Nagisa's confused and loud "huh?!" He stared at Jirou and Jiriou stared back at him. It's not possible, he thought. Absolutely not. His parents had the best marriage that he ever saw! His mother adored her husband and thought the world of him. The same went for his father.
"You're lying," Makoto said quietly. He rose to his feet and shoved the chair out behind him, nearly hitting the waitress who was returning with their drinks and snacks. He opened his mouth to apologize for the mistake, but she dismissed it and quickly chatted with the table and distributed everything, as if unaware of the tension. The brunet took that chance to walk away. But he wasn't running, not anymore. He simply stepped out of the café and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Though he didn't believe Jirou's accusations, he could tell by the look in his attacker's eyes that Jirou sincerely believed that he was telling the truth. Well, he would settle it all with one phone call to his mother.
The phone rang for far too long. He glanced over his shoulder and looked inside the café in time to catch Haru about to open the door to join him or bring him back in. Either way, he raised his free hand and motioned for him to stop. It was obvious that he wasn't running and that he just needed a minute of privacy. Haru, understanding, turned back around and went towards the table.
"Makoto," his mother's voice said on the other side of the phone. "What's wrong? I thought your friends would be keeping you busy."
"Mom," he said quietly. "Forgive me, but there's something that I have to ask you."
"Of course, Makoto. Whatever it is-"
"Did you have an affair before you got married?" He paused, letting the question settle in the air. It was too abrupt—too sudden. His mother was caught off guard, that's all. Who wouldn't be? He asked a question that was pretty insulting to her character. "Sorry, Mom, but I really need an answer to that question. I just need to hear you say-"
"Yes," came the whisper.
This time, it was Makoto who fell silent. It was a response that he honestly never expected to hear.
"I'm so sorry, Makoto," his mother whimpered. "I did have a fling while I was engaged to your father. But how did you-?"
"Am I…someone else's child?" he trembled.
"Yes," she whispered. "How…?"
As if that's what's really important right now! For once in his life, Makoto wanted to scream. His grasp on the phone was so tight that even with his trembling, it wasn't anywhere near dropping. Jirou wasn't lying, then. Makoto's mother did the worst thing that she could have done, and she kept it a secret. "Does Dad know?"
"Yes…I told him after you were born. He's forgiven me for the mistake that I made back then…I hope that you can forgive me too."
That's just what you'd expect from me, isn't it? Forgiveness, kindness, mercy… "Not…now," he said through his teeth. He pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed the end call button. His hand blankly held the phone in front him. He half expected it to ring again; in three seconds, his mother would call him back to try and make amends. Or she would give him room to cope. He didn't have time to wait for a return call.
Suddenly, there was an arm across his chest. He was pressed back to the building by the sheer force. Earlier, he had thought that Jirou was the one who punched him and tackled him, but now he knew that wasn't true. The teenager in front of him with burning red eyes and dark brown hair was Akihiro, his true assailant. Makoto dropped his phone and stared at him.
"Seeing you here isn't a coincidence," Akihiro said lowly as he kept his forearm across the front of Makoto's chest. "Jirou called you here, didn't he? He wanted to apologize when he had no reason to. Did he tell you the truth? How you ruined our lives?"
"My mom…" he said hoarsely.
"Yeah, your mother," Akihiro growled. "She got out of this no worse for wear. When my mother found out our father cheated, our parents separated. My father became a drunkard and my mother a whore who's on her third marriage. We were happy with our grandfather until—guess what! He falls in love with you too."
"H-huh?"
"He was a fisherman in our town! Don't tell me you don't remember. He spoiled you every time you came. He never loved us the same way that he loved you. He didn't see us as his real grandchildren. He gave us a home, but so what? He never actually cared about us."
No…that's not true…Makoto went to the nearby harbor town and often saw the old fisherman. He was always so kind to him—always so generous. He surely would have been that way with his own family. But then, he thought so highly of his mother, but now she was…
"Oy! Aki-niisan!" Jirou protested as he ran towards the scene. He grabbed Akihiro by one arm as Rei ran and grabbed the other. Even then, the two of them had a hard time trying to get him away from the shocked Makoto.
"I hate you," Akihiro seethed through teary eyes and a locked jaw. He struggled against Rei and his brother, but he was pulled away as he continued to scream at him. "I hate you so much, Tachibana Makoto!"
"Makoto," Haru said, suddenly beside him. "Are you okay?"
Makoto looked over at him, lowering his gaze to his shorter best friend. Normally, he didn't think about the height difference. He admired his best friend so much that he put him on a pedestal in his mind and always imagined him being the bigger one. This time, he was frightfully aware of the height difference because he wanted Haru to be bigger than him—and Rin, and Rei, and Nagisa. Makoto just wanted to shrink into the size of a child and cry his eyes out. But who would he cry to for comfort? Not his mother. Not his father, who knew the secret but never told him.
Instead, Makoto lifted a hand and covered his eyes. He silently nodded as the tears leaked from his eyes and his sorrow made itself known. He lied to Haru—to everyone. He wasn't okay, and if life kept knocking him down like this, he doubted he ever would be again. "I'm fine," he said while his tear-stained cheeks told the real story.
"Makoto-"
"Oy, what did you say to him?" Rin growled defensively to Akihiro.
"The truth!" he snarled. "His mother's a whore. She ruined our whole family! And Tachibana lived eighteen years without even knowing what his existence did to us."
"I'm sure his mother didn't do anything!" Nagisa inserted defensively. "The Tachibanas are the closest family I've ever seen. The way his mother and father look at one another is-"
"Nagisa."
At Makoto's unreadable call, everyone looked to him. He lowered his hand and revealed reddened eyes. "Stop, please."
"Mako-chan?" Nagisa blinked. He didn't understand immediately—how could he? The news was too startling—too random. Everyone else understood: Makoto already confirmed that the story was true. Nobody knew what to do with that any more.
Makoto looked at Rin, who was standing off to the side. "I would like my car keys now," he said quietly.
Rin reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys, but he didn't hand them to Makoto. Instead, he stepped over and gave them to Haru. "Haru's driving," he said. To Haru, he said: "Take him home."
"Yeah," he nodded. He started towards the car. Makoto didn't need any prompting; he silently walked past the still-seething and swearing Akihiro and sat in the passenger's side of his car. The car door closed quietly and then he and Haru were off.
*…*…*…*…*…*
Author's Note: Drama! Angst! Plot twist! I couldn't possibly forget the event that started it all. I know this leads the story down a darker corner again, but like real life, things don't always go smoothly. Even after you decide on a new perspective, you can still be knocked down and fall back into a depression. I wanted to portray that realistically.
Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated. Peanut
