Apologies that this is probably poorly written. But after a battle with getting over the damn flu...AGAIN...it was all I could do but I feel it gets the point across. Hope you enjoy...*tear*

Get ready for one of the angstiest *yeah I don't care if it's not a word* of Sono's life. Told you it wasn't all roses.

The rumors, The lies.

The teasing, My cries.

The pain of the knife,

The end of my life.

The Hospital bed,

My throbbing head.

People all around,

But I don't hear a sound.

My family, Not one friend,

Taking the time, To mend.

The tearful Hello's, The tearful Goodbye's,

And all this started, With rumors and lies.

Rumors and Lies by Tamara Moir

Sono walked through the school halls, knowing people were staring at him weird. His hair was hanging over his eyes, hiding a black eye he sported from his dad...again.

Not only that, he was limping. And everyone could see that he was in a lot of pain. But did they help? No...no they did the thing they had done for years.

They mocked him. Made fun of him. Teased him.

He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking further down the hall and up the stairs to the school roof. Why get upset over rumors he had heard, even as a child.

'Faggot!'

'Freak!'

'Go fucking die!'

Or the most recent one that he hadn't even considered to think about.

'Whore! Slut!'

How that got started was when Naoki accidentally left a mark on his neck that morning behind the gym and he forgot to hide it in his uniform blazer. Some girl saw him touching it in his first class and it spread like wild fire around the school, hence,

'WHORE!'

It wasn't as if he hadn't heard it before. It was just...well...he thought his senior year would be stress free. He thought it would be easy to just stay out of everyone's way and that he would be left alone. Oh no. Obviously not.

Sighing, he walked into his math class, sat in his chair and layed his head in his arms, waiting for the bell to ring. He had heard people walk in, talking about random things and plans going on. He had noticed that some of them stopped when when they saw him and the mumbling began.

"God he's such a freak."

"Did you hear? I heard he gave some guy a blow job in the guys bathroom."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah."

"That's nothing. I heard he fucked some guy in the guys locker room."

"Jesus, what a man slut. And did you see the hickey on his neck? It's like...the size of a golf ball!"

The small anger fragments in Sono's brain were starting to build up in a large bomb like figure. But he kept them down. Last thing he needed was more fight records on his school record. If his father beat him now over little things. knowing that his son got into another fight at school would've nearly killed him. So all in all, the blond let those people ridiculous him. There was nothing he could do about it anyway...

I'm so confused in a world of hate,

I just want everybody to wait

Let me grow up

Let the world roll along

Just stop all the insults

From my classmates

Is this my fate?

To forever await the end?

To scream in my head

The pain I feel so deep inside

The hurt, the names, and all the lies

I'm so confused in a world of hate,

The pain I have , so very great,

I long for the end

If only people knew

all I ever needed was just a friend

But now I see the end approaching

and now I can leave this world of insults and tormenting

and go home.

-Feeling Alone by Emily *Unknown*

It was around 2 in the morning. Snowy outside, but inside, it was colder than any kind of weather.

Sono sat near his bed, a knife sitting by his leg. Next to him lay a container of pills, his medication. His anti-depressants. Sitting on his lap was a large bottle of imported vodka he stole from his fathers liquor cabinet. It was really what he needed after a horrid month.

All the hate...all the rumors...all the teasing, it became too much. His brain could only take so much. He didn't need more shit then he was already given at home. He wanted it all to just end.

He slowly grabbed the knife and looked at it. It was his mothers butcher knife, the one used for cooking. He knew he would get in trouble for ruining his moms good cooking knife. Of course, that would be he only thing she cared about. Seemed as though his family cared about more than just their youngest sons depression.

He had the whole thing figured out. He would gulp down the rest of his pills, flush them with vodka. Then he would slash his wrists with the knife. The note he had written was laying on his pillow, just waiting for someone to read it after finding his body.

He gulped and took deep breaths. This was it. No one would miss him. Not his parents, not his brother. Especially not his so called friends. Sono looked at the ring on his finger, feeling his throat constrict in pain. Maybe Naoki wouldn't miss him either. When word got out that Sono would be dead, Naoki would give the ring to Ami like he had planned.

The blond felt tears coming to his eyes, but he pushed them away. He wouldn't cry. He swore no to cry. He yanked the ring off his finger and set it on the note. Now it was time.

He put the knife down and grabbed his pills, setting the last 4 in his palm. Reaching over he grabbed the vodka, popped the pills into his mouth and gulped down the vodka like it was water. The vodka burned his throat but that was irrelevant. He waited a few more moments, feeling the vodka and pills make his head suddenly tighten in agony.

He took deep breaths and took the knife, setting it on his left wrist, pressing down. He shut his eyes, waiting for sweet oblivion.

A sudden thud on the floor made him turn and his eyes widened. Naoki was standing by his bed, eyes wide themselves with horror.

A horrible silence filled the room and Naoki's brown eyes caught the note on the pillow, along with the ring. Just as the man grabbed the note and put the ring in his pocket, he heard a soft cry and turned to look at the blond. He couldn't help but gasp in fear.

Sono had fell to the floor, convulsing with blood dripping down his mouth. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, one hand gripping his stomach, the other gripping his head.

Naoki fell to his knees and held onto his friend, cradling him with tears rolling down his face. He turned to the closed door and let out a scream.

"Hanasaki-san! Help!"

He attention was turned back to his friend, and clutched his hand. It felt cold. The blonds face was deathly pale, his eyes opening and closing rapidly. All you could really see were the whites of his eyes.

"Baby, stay with me. Stay with me! You can't die now!"

Sono's brain was shutting down. His eye sight was growing dim and he vaguely saw Naoki screaming at him. He also thought he heard the door slam open, along with his mothers scream and his fathers yelling. He wasn't sure. His hearing seemed to shut down ages ago...

It was white. Really white. Like...like a bright white that filled the room. Was he dead? He didn't know.

Sono groaned as he opened his eyes, rubbing them, trying to make his vision more clear. When his vision did become more stable, he saw something on his wrist. A closer look told him it was a hospital tag...he wasn't dead. He was in the hospital.

He sighed, resting his arm over his eyes. Fuck...he wasn't dead.

The door opened suddenly, making him jump and look. His mom walked in with an excited look on her face. She ran over and hugged him, kissing his cheek and kept going on and on about how he worried her and his father. He didn't say much...he didn't say anything, even when he heard her say something about Naoki finding him.

She left after she noticed he wouldn't talk. And he hated not talking with his mother, even after he had come out of a state of over dosed shock.

He sighed again, rubbing his neck...his brain still throbbed from all the pills and alcohol he had swallowed. His eyes ached and all he wanted to do was sleep all this hell off.

The door opened again and he groaned, ready to scream at whoever was ready to bug him again. But he couldn't. Because it happened to be Naoki who walked in. They locked eyes for a while, even while Naoki sat down next to him.

Sono gulped, not sure what to say. He opened his mouth...

"N-Naoki I-"

"Shut up...just don't...say...a word."

Sono cringed at the tone...Naoki was not happy and who could blame him. After walking in on his lovers suicide attempt, well, who wouldn't be a little steamed.

"Sono, how could you do something so fucking stupid? Do you know how worried we've all been?"

The blond said nothing. Naoki groaned.

"Answer me."

"I can't.."

"Why the hell not?"

"Naoki, what do you want me to say? That I'm sorry for attempting suicide? Well I'm not. I can't take it anymore. The rumors, the abuse, it was too much. I got tired of it. I wanted it to be over."

Naoki tilted his head, unsure of how to take this information. The blond lowered his head, his hair falling over his face. The man moved from the chair to the foot of the bed, rubbing the back of the blonds head. It was quiet between them, even when Naoki took a large intake of air. He took Sono's chin in his fingers, bringing his face to his eye level.

"Baby, why didn't you tell me you were so depressed? I could've helped you. And why didn't you tell your parents? You could've talked to them about this. You know what depression can lead to. Especially if you don't talk to anyone about this. Sono, talk to me. What's going through your head that's eating you alive? Is it school? Home? Or is it me?"

Sono shuddered, moving Naoki's hand away from his face.

"No, it's not you...it's just...it's everything. School, home, everything. My dads beating me still. People are school are calling me names, more hurtful names. They're calling me whore, faggot and slut. I was used to them calling me freak but now...now it's becoming too much. And you weren't anywhere to talk to! And why should I talk to my parents about this! They don't care! No one does!"

"Whoa whoa Sono, calm down. Relax. Look, I'm here now. And I do care. I've always cared. I love you, nothing's going to change that. You know that. And you know you can always talk to me about things you can't talk about with anyone else. I'm sorry I haven't been around these last few weeks...things have been, well, complicated."

"Complicated? How?"

Naoki blushed and looked away from him, his hands falling in his lap. Sono saw it in his eyes.

"Oh my god you told her...didn't you."

"I had to. It was eating me alive to keep this from her. Yes, I told her. I told her everything."

"...And?...H-how did she take it?"

"To be honest, better than I expected...yeah she was horribly upset at first."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that I was sorry, but I couldn't lie to her anymore. That I was in love with someone else, but I would always love her as a dear friend. She wanted to know who took my heart...I'm sorry Sono, but I told her it was you..."

He noticed Sono's eyes widen with sudden horrific shock, but he stopped him from panicking.

"But don't worry! I made sure she understood. I told her that I had feelings for you for a long time. And that I also had feelings for her, but...but you had my heart for a long time. It was kinda hard to explain for a while, but she said she understood and supported me."

Deep down, Sono doubted it was that easy. He seriously doubted that Ami understood THAT easily about a break up like that. But if Naoki said it was alright, then everything was alright. He let out a loud exhale and he smiled. It took a load off his mind that Naoki told him this.

Naoki smiled and leaned over to kiss his lips, rubbing his cheek. Sono's eyes closed and he let out a soft moan when Naoki kissed him. He wrapped his arms around the mans neck, feeling Naoki rub his back. When they broke apart, Naoki whispered,

"Feeling better?"

"I guess...I feel really dizzy, but I'll be ok...Naoki, thank you. And I'm sorry..."

Naoki smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring he found on his lovers note. He gently slipped it back onto Sono's finger, kissed his hand and said,

"I'll always be here for you. Always...I love you."

"I love you too, Naoki."

And it was the truth.

...But it all lead up to this...

Sitting sadly on my bed

Listening to the wild winds blow,

Crying bitterly behind my hair

Trying not to let it show.

Knowing that you won't be back

You left without good-bye's,

Never to mend my broken heart

Letting loose my cries.

Everyday I waited

And everyday I prayed,

Hoping God would leave you here

At least just one more day.

-Just one more day by Tanya Heasman.

Fukushima was hit by a large rain storm over the last few months. Because of all the murders going around, it seemed God was crying tears over the city. Police were investigating everywhere and anywhere they felt they had a lead, but it got them no where. Most of the bodies were found in public locations, usually the main high school.

Classes seemed shorter now because of the murders. And now that it was the end of the school day, everyone was hustling to run through the rain.

By the lockers, Sono put on his shoes and grabbed his bag, not even bothering to run through the rain. Somehow, it made him feel better. Wash away the tension he felt since his suicide attempt. And besides, graduation was in 2 months. Why should he worry now?

He stood up and reached in to place his school shoes in the locker, he heard someone walk up behind him. He figured it was Naoki coming to drive him home, which seemed unlikely since he had basketball practice.

"Hanasaki-kun?"

Sono's ears perked up and he turned, seeing a girl standing behind him. It was Mirai, Ami's best friend. All the color in Sono's face dropped to a pale white. But he had to be nice. Mirai meant him no harm.

"Hi Mirai. What's up?"

"Well, um, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

"Oh? What about?"

Mirai sighed, rubbing her arm and said,

"Is it true...that...well, Ami's been telling me that you've been sleeping with her boyfriend...is that true?"

Mirai jumped when Sono dropped his books suddenly, his face more white than usual. Without looking at her, he said,

"Are they still together?"

"Oh no. He broke up with her a few weeks ago. She said it was because he was with you. And I was just curious. Is it-"

"She's telling everyone I stole him...isn't she?"

Mirai tilted her head, her black hair in her face. She knew that Ami was upset that they broke up. She knew she was angry when Naoki said he was in love with Sono. She knew that she was eager to get him back, but no. Ami wasn't like that.

"No. Ami only told me. Sono, she won't tell anyone. She's not like that."

The blond groaned and faced her, but slid to the floor with his face in his hands. Mirai went on.

"Ami may not like you at all, but she cares about Naoki. She knows he has a good reputation at the school. Star basketball player, good grades, a scholarship over his head. She wouldn't do anything to ruin it for him...also, she knows he cares about you a lot. She wants him to be happy. And if he's happy with you, she won't do anything to hurt that."

Sono looked up at her, then sighed, running his hand through his hair. He supposed Mirai was right. Ami did care for Naoki a lot. And she did want him to be happy, even if it was with someone else...again, very unlikely. Ami was madly in love with Naoki. And because Naoki dumped her for a guy, there's no way she could be this cool with it.

Sono got up and grabbed his bag, smiling at Mirai.

"Thank you, Mirai. I guess...that makes me feel better about things."

She smiled back.

"For what it's worth, I think you two make a very cute couple."

The blond blushed and rubbed his neck, thanking her again as she walked back into the school with a set of keys. Cracking his wrists, Sono grabbed his bag and walked outside in the rain, feeling it nearly drench his body. But he didn't care. He walked along the sidewalk, listening to the cars go by and the rain pouring down on the city. He looked forward to going home, eating a hot meal, taking a hot bath and spending the evening with Naoki, sleeping in the same bed until 4 in the morning when Naoki went home. Not that anyone would know. The thought always made Sono smile to himself.

Turning the corner, the blond looked both ways and crossed the street, seeing no cars. The street seemed a little quiet, too quiet for a usual Fukushima late afternoon. It made Sono a little uneasy to walk alone.

Suddenly, Sono's vision was blocked by a hand and his mouth was covered, covering his screams as he was dragged into an alley.

He was thrown to the pavement and when he looked up, he noticed two large men staring down at him with such...hungry approval. He looked to the one on the left, who said,

"Is this him?"

"Looks like it. He's more cute than his picture makes him out to be."

Sono's eyes widened. How the hell did these two know him?

The one the left, the one with black hair, advanced towards him and before the blond could react, he was yanked up by his hair and his uniform shirt was torn into shreds. The man attacked his neck and bit down hard on his vein, making Sono scream.

Fuck this again? No, not again. He wasn't going to let this happen again. Sono roughly pushed the man off and kicked him in the stomach, feeling slightly happy that he hurt the man. It made him smile a little. But it was short lived. The other man, with ninja like speed, pulled out a handgun...and shot him in the arm.

All the feeling in Sono's arm went blind in white hot pain. He screamed and clutched the bleeding wound, falling to his knees. This was unexpected.

The man walked up and shot him again in the same arm, near the same spot and Sono let out a wild shriek, falling on his back, arching in agony. The man chuckled and put the gun away, smirking.

"Our orders were not to hurt you, but you had to go and be difficult. Makes thing hard for us..."

He started to rub himself through his jeans, noting how hard he was. The other man was just the same. They both smirked and walked over to the boy, who was trying to back away, still clutching his bleeding arm. The rain pounding harder on their bodies and Sono felt his body getting cold and weak and shaking madly.

A sudden yell from the black haired man surprised the other two as he fell to the ground, out cold. The other turned and the sight made Sono's eyes widen again, this time in joy.

Naoki was there, holding a crowbar in his hands, a dark, angry look in his eyes. His once brown eyes looked black with fury.

The other man was awestruck as Naoki beat the other mans head with the crowbar, blood splattered on the ground. When it was done, Naoki looked at the other man, who still looked rather frightened. Then he looked at Sono. The blond was shirtless, clutching his pale arm that looked drenched in blood. Naoki felt his eye twitch as he slowly turned to the other man, crowbar tight in his hand.

"You...you touched him...you hurt him...I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Growling, the other man backed up. This wasn't part of the plan he was assigned to do. He and his friend were assigned to capture the Hanasaki boy, rape and torture him, leave him in the ally and expect him to-

His though was interrupted when Naoki threw the crowbar at him, sending him running just before it hit him in the head. Naoki sighed, letting the anger subside for a moment. He turned to the blond and ran over to him, hugging him tightly, kissing his head.

"Baby, you ok?"

Sono shook his head madly, his throat dry from screaming from the two bullet wounds in his arms. He tried to tell Naoki to help, but his throat felt like it was on fire.

Nodding, Naoki pulled out his cell phone and set his hand on Sono's shoulder.

"Calm down, I'm going to call an ambulance."

Sono nodded and tried to take deep breaths as Naoki flipped open his phone.

What happened next...made Sono's heart stop midbeat. Two shots were heard and Naoki suddenly froze in place, phone falling out of his hand. One bullet connected with Naoki's hip. The other shot right into his back, where his chest was from behind. The man with the gun smiled and finally ran away, leaving the two in the rain.

Naoki looked down at the hole in his hip, then felt the bullet in his chest, thumping in his loins. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and the moment he connected to the ground, Sono screamed.

"NAOKI!"

He panicked and grabbed Naoki's phone, with his bad arm, no longer caring about its pain. He dialed 110* and waited...he heard a click, along with,

'Fukushima police station, what is your emergency?'

"Please! You have to help us! My friend was shot in the chest and...and I don't know if he's alive or not. Please!"

'Alright calm down. We'll trace your cell phone and an ambulance is on the way. Remain clam.'

Sono shut the phone and waited, staring at his friend, who looked like he was sleeping. Holding back a sob, he took Naoki in his arms and held him to his chest, rubbing his head. The rain now coming down in a storm, but all Sono was concerned for was Naoki.

The blond looked down at his lover, feeling his throat constrict.

"Naoki...Naoki baby, please wake up...Please don't leave me...I'm begging you...don't leave me alone..."

Sono couldn't help the tears pouring from his eyes, falling on the mans face. Without realizing it, Naoki's eyes slowly opened and he looked up at the sobbing blond, reaching out to touch his face. The blonds eyes opened suddenly at the feel of Naoki's hand and he gasped.

"Naoki!"

"Shhh...are you ok?"

"No. Nothing about me. Naoki, don't leave me."

"I won't leave you...I'll be ok...relax."

They didn't say anything else. Sono cradled Naoki's head to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Naoki weakly tried to reassure him, that everything was going to be ok. But Sono didn''t hear him. He could only hear his tears and his throbbing head and his thoughts running wild. His lover was just shot and was in pain. His heart was wrenched in pain.

A siren came into the distance, making Naoki weakly turn his head and see red and blue. He turned his head again and said,

"Rich Boy...the ambulance."

Sono looked up and saw the ambulance and the paramedics running towards them with a stretcher. Within seconds, they were all in the ambulance, speeding down the road to the E.R. All the way there, Sono held onto Naoki's cold hand, heartbroken at the sight of his lover and his best friend. Naoki had an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose, his eyes weakly opening and closing every few seconds. Sono kissed Naoki's hand, resting his lips on his fingers, small tears rolling down his cheeks.

Naoki's eyes weakly opened again and looked at the blond, moving his hand to rub his face, making Sono smile a little as they pulled up to the hospital.

Over an hour had passed since they took Naoki in to remove the bullets. Now, he was resting in recovery, with Sono right by his side, clutching his hand. Naoki was already awake and the doctors said the bullet was lodged in too deep...well, they actually didn't tell Sono that...they told Naoki that. But the man loved Sono too much to tell him that.

"Sono, come here."

The blond quickly got up and layed down next to Naoki, resting his head on his chest. Naoki rubbed Sono's back, whispering,

"...Sono..."

"...what?"

"Look at me."

Sono hovered over him and Naoki rubbed his cheek. He leaned up and kissed him, feeling Sono's lips open and drove his tongue deep inside. But Naoki felt his body weaken more and he broke apart quickly, saying,

"Go home."

"What? No! Naoki, I can't leave you. I won't leave you! Please don't make me leave!"

"Baby, relax. I'll be ok. I promise...I'll be ok."

Sono looked up and Naoki saw those tears.

"No baby no. No tears. It'll be ok. I promise. I love you. Do you trust me?"

Sono nodded, not bothering to look Naoki in the eyes. But nevertheless, he honored Naoki's wish. Before he left, he kissed Naoki's lips and felt relieved when Naoki kissed him back. Then, he left.

Naoki smiled when the lights went off. He layed back in his bed, staring at the ceiling and touched his locket, fondling it between his fingers. The man suddenly felt tears rolling down his cheeks, gripping the locket in his hand.

"Sono...I'm so sorry. I couldn't keep our promise...I won't be able to see you anymore..."

He layed his arm over his eyes, fist tightening and he said,

"Takeo...you touch him...I will come back...and kill you..."

His eyes shut and he let out a shaky breath...the last tears rolling down his cheeks.

The next day at school, Sono sat in his English class, staring at Naoki's empty seat. He didn't sleep at all last night, worrying about Naoki and how he was. He was looking forward to seeing him after school and everyday after.

He drew in his notebook, his eye catching the ring Naoki gave him. It seemed dimmer today. Lifeless...Sono suddenly had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like something was wrong...

A vibrating in his pocket awoke him from his thoughts. When the teacher wasn't looking, he quickly pulled it out and opened it, seeing it was a text from his brother. This stunned him for a moment, when did Oto ever text him during school? Shrugging, he opened the rext and it said,

'Sono, I have some news...are you sitting down?'

Sono chuckled. Duh, he was in class. He texted back.

"No duh, George. I'm in English. What's the news?'

He set his phone on silent and set it on his desk, listening to the teacher go on about a poem from Japans history. When Sono's phone lit up he opened it, read the message...and let out a scream, falling out of his chair. It quickly drew the attention of everyone in the classroom, including the teacher.

Sono's eyes locked with the message and the teacher said,

"Hanasaki-kun, what is it?"

The blond looked around and saw Ami, who was a little shocked to see him panic. He quickly stood and he couldn't take his eyes away from her. He seemed to forget others were in the room...he let out a small choked sob and said to everyone in the class, forgetting they were there,

"Naoki's dead."

*insert tears* I actually started crying a little while writing this chapter. And what makes it more sad is, it's not the end. Oh no, Sono's life just got much more depressing. But we'll find out how in the next chapter.

But due to family complications, the next chapter might not be up for another few weeks. I'll try to get it up ASAP. In the meantime, R&R and predictions are welcomed.