Do I really need to say that I still don't own anything? And that ff.n is still screwing with the italics? And that it's killing some of the double punctuation I put into the story for emphasis? ;p
Warnings for this chapter:
Abuse.
Chapter 12: Truth
The hospital was becoming a common scene, and Shuugo found himself returning in the afternoon. Ren, his mother, and Motoki had gone down to the police station; Shuugo didn't know why Ren had to go, but apparently, his mother had something to tell him that was important.
So, Shuugo said he would meet them at the hospital, and went down on his own. He still had trouble believing that this was happening as he walked through the doors to the reception area.
Shuugo shook his head with a slight grin. A week ago, I wouldn't have even dreamed of visiting Abe, let alone becoming friends with him. Who knew we were actually a bit alike? I wonder what I had been jealous of.
The nurse smiled at him. "You can wait…his parents just went in to see him."
"Eh?" Shuugo blinked, but shrugged and went to take a seat near a kid that looked a couple years younger, with black hair and his left arm in a sling.
"You're here to see my brother?" the boy asked curiously.
"Brother…?" Shuugo frowned, then realization hit him. "Oh…you're Abe's kid brother, huh?"
"Shun."
Shuugo leaned back in his seat. "You aren't visiting him?"
"Mom and dad wanted to talk to him, first. We just got here, actually."
"Hmm…you don't seem too worried." I guess they didn't tell him exactly why his brother is in the hospital. Then again, maybe he hates him, too. There wasn't much talk about him, only that Abe has a little brother. Huh…he seems about the same age as my brother, too.
"Why should I?" Shun pouted. "He probably got justice and fell down some stairs! The docs said that's what looked like what happened before they took mom and dad aside and whispered something to them. Serves him right!"
Shuugo was startled to hear such words. He was jealous of his brother often, and didn't have such a good relationship with the kid because of that, but the two didn't hate each other or wish ill will on each other. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Cause he pushed me down the stairs yesterday!" Shun stated.
Shuugo could only blink. Huh? Abe did…? Even taking into account what he was like in school, he was never malicious. "That doesn't sound like something he'd do."
"What do you know? You don't have to live with him, being afraid that he'll curse you! He bumped me really hard, and I fell down the stairs at the school and broke my arm! I'm lucky it was just a broken arm, but now I can't play baseball for a while."
"You're sure it was him?"
"He was behind me!"
"Weren't there other kids at school?"
"It was after school. There could have still been people cleaning, and his teacher said that some kids had detention, but we were the only ones at the stairs. I talk to him sometimes, but I don't go near him, or mom says he'll curse me. And he did, see?" Shun lifted his arm slightly that was in the sling. "My arm was broken cause he touched me!"
Shuugo was puzzled. Even to his brother, Abe wouldn't deliberately push someone down the stairs. Before I got to know him a little, I might have believed the story completely, but now…wait. "What do you mean, you'll be cursed?"
"I already told you! Mom said he's a cursed monster, and that if he touches me, I'll be cursed, too, so I should stay away from him! Not just me…she reminds him sometimes, too, that he's cursed. Even she won't touch him, so it's gotta be true!"
Shuugo was shocked. He's been…called a "curse"…before?
"I grew up hearing a lot of the words you said to me…"
Shuugo shivered, but not from the air conditioning. His own parents…no wonder why he got so angry with me. They're words he constantly heard, but couldn't do anything about them when it came from adults.
Shun looked over quizzically when Shuugo stood up. "Where are you going?"
"To ask him what happened on the stairs," Shuugo replied.
"But mom and dad are with him, now. Didn't the nurse lady tell you to wait? Even I was told to wait…"
"I don't care." Shuugo nearly ran to the door. Now I understand some of what Haruna feels. When he had Ren make that promise, and acted so protective of Abe…he knew, didn't he. If it was him that heard what Shun said…he'd do the same thing as I'm doing.
Though, knowing the guy's reputation and being near him for a morning, he would probably either hit the kid, or have stormed out to prevent himself from hitting the kid for saying those sorts of things about Takaya.
Shuugo slowed to a stop at the door, but before he could open it, parents visiting or not, he heard raised voices from within. The first was male voice, and it shocked him to the core.
"…good for nothing monster! And what were you even doing with a knife, huh? Planning on finishing the job with Shun? Or was that meant for one of us? You're disgusting! We give you food and clothing, and this is how you repay us! By running up a hospital bill?"
The next voice was female.
"Imagine our surprise when we come home and find the message on the machine saying you were in the hospital. Then, to find out why…were you trying to become a ghost to give us your curse? To haunt us?"
A pause…Shuugo guessed that the boy had responded, because the woman practically shrieked.
"Don't you dare say otherwise, you freaky child! You…all you do is cause harm to people! Coming home covered in the indications of a fight…and then pushing Shun down the stairs…don't say you didn't! You were the only one there, you lying little shit!"
Shuugo's eyes were wide. No way…I must be dreaming all of this. There's no way parents would actually say things like that to their kid.
The male voice was back.
"I should have pushed you down the other set of stairs! If you hadn't run…I'm not afraid of your damn curse, you know. You're just a no good monster! I'm tougher than monsters. We'd be better off without one like you! I've told you that over and over again, and you still had the gall to insist that you're not some sort of spawn of Satan? Ha!"
The woman was next.
"You should have died! It would have been better…Takashi is right! We would have been better off…he wouldn't let your ghost haunt us even if you tried!"
Shuugo trembled. Do I get a nurse? But…I can't just leave while they're shouting things like that. What if they try to kill him? I can't go up against adults…I'm not a fighter, but…they're saying such horrible things.
In his heart, he didn't believe that Abe had pushed Shun down the stairs. Maybe he just tripped or lost his footing, and accidentally collided with him. Shun said he felt a 'bump', not a 'push'…
He had more pressing things to worry about right now, however.
"…cursed freak who can't do anything right, tainting our house. You put Shun-chan in danger! First you run away and cause us problems, then taint Shun-chan, and now trying to place a further curse upon us? Don't you think you've caused us enough misery!"
Shuugo gritted his teeth. That woman…is actually crying?
"You little bastard, making my wife cry…!"
That did it.
Consequences be damned, Shuugo twisted the handle and all but slammed open the door. If he made noises enough for the nurses to hear, all the better.
The woman and the man were at the foot of Takaya's bed, obviously not wanting to get any closer. The woman with black hair was, indeed, in tears. The heavyset man with buzzed hair had his arms crossed and a dark look on his face.
Shuugo didn't care, however. His gaze was focused on Takaya, who was seated on the bed, staring at his hands that clenched the sheets in them. Even from this distance, Shuugo thought he saw a tremor or two from the clenched hands. It could have been written off as an angry tremble, but after hearing what he did…Shuugo knew better.
"Takaya isn't a curse!" Shuugo shouted. He had never talked back to adults before, but in this case, he would make an exception. They're not adults. They're demons for doing this to their own son.
He didn't even realize that he had used the first name of the boy that had been like his nemesis for years, and he didn't even care.
Both adults were shocked, and Takaya looked up.
At first glance, there didn't seem to be any emotion on Takaya's face…his mask, again…but when their eyes met briefly, Shuugo could see the turmoil and pain that Takaya wouldn't let show.
That just furthered Shuugo's anger. "You can't even call yourselves his 'parents', and you may be adults, but even a kid like me can see that you're wrong!"
"This doesn't concern you," the man said gruffly. "Whatever you overheard, forget it."
"How can I forget hearing something like that?" Shuugo interrupted. "You know, I once said that he plagued the classroom…but I didn't actually mean it. I was really just angry because I thought he didn't get punished for the fights he got into. But I'm just a kid! I'm allowed to make such mistakes, even if that one shouldn't have been said aloud! You're adults! You should know better! You should know how hurtful words can be! I just realized it recently…but you…"
Shuugo shook his head in disbelief. "Takaya always stands up for other kids. I only saw him in a bad light because that's what I wanted to see, because I was jealous! He saved my best friend from bullies…and he never throws the first punch. He had a chance to beat the crap out of me twice, but didn't. He doesn't go around starting anything, or getting into fights because he wants to!"
The woman looked shocked, though that was probably because there was an unknown kid shouting at them.
The man looked anything but amused. "Get out of here, kid, before I call a nurse."
"Go ahead! Call one! I'll tell them everything I heard when I was standing outside that door! Every nasty word you said to him! Takaya's my friend!" He hadn't even realized he said it until he did.
Even Takaya started a bit, though he didn't lift his head, but that was mostly because he was fighting against tears. It was a mix of the pain from his parents, and the awe that someone that had just recently seen his true self actually liked him.
"Takaya didn't push his brother down the stairs. Maybe he tripped, or someone pushed him. From what I heard, there were people on that floor that day. Teachers cleaning up, students finishing cleaning duty, and a couple in detention."
"Don't meddle in things that don't concern you," the man stated. "Your 'friend'? He's probably just using you."
Shuugo glared. "That would be impossible." Because we just became friends today, you bastard. "I'll scour the school and get information…you can bet on it that I'm going to find out what really happened yesterday on the stairwell. What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'? What happened to seeing the good in people? What happened to you being adults?"
He was on a roll, and he wouldn't even let the intimidating man interrupt him. "You just go and blame Takaya for every bad thing that happens in your life! I bet you blame him if you miss your bus, or if there's traffic on the way to work!"
By the way Takaya flinched, Shuugo figured he hit the nail on the head.
Shuugo clenched his hands into fists. "Curses don't exist in this day and age! Takaya is human! Humans don't have the ability to curse people! Instead of thinking something that even a kid wouldn't be stupid enough to think…"
Yes, he had been stupid for even thinking for a moment that Takaya had been the plague of their class, and he would admit it.
"…what about thinking that it's not his fault? Did you ever even stop to consider that maybe he was being picked on at school? That he came home looking like he had been in fights trying to stand up for himself, or his classmates, because of bullies? Just to tell you, the bullies at our school like to hit first and ask questions later. There's even this nasty group that likes to provoke Takaya and try to beat up my best friend. Have you ever even talked to Takaya? Tried to get his side of the story?"
Shuugo was angrier than he had been that day he confronted Takaya in the classroom, and he didn't care that his opponents were adults. No, not adults…these demons aren't adults.
"What sort of parents…or even adults…tells a kid, especially their kid…to go die? You people are the worst!" Shuugo concluded.
At that, the man's expression darkened.
The woman laughed nervously. "Wh-what…? Die? You must have been hearing things!"
"The hell I was!" Shuugo didn't often swear or curse, but he would make an exception this time. "The both of you said it. Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?"
The man uncrossed his arms and took a step towards Shuugo. "You're quite a meddlesome kid, you know that? What you heard doesn't leave this room."
Shuugo felt a trickle of sweat roll down his neck, but wouldn't show his fear to this gorilla of a man. "No. In fact, maybe I should tell the police."
Takaya's head snapped up, an unreadable expression on his face, though there was some panic in his expression. The panic, though, was because his father had started towards Shuugo, who wouldn't be able to defend himself against the man.
"They won't believe you." The man stepped closer.
"Sure they will. I know an adult that will back me up on it." Ren's mother has been talking to the police frequently since we found Takaya last night. I'm not stupid…it has to be about this. Haruna might have known something…they were talking in the hallway before lunch, then the two of them went right to the police station after eating. That's not coincidence.
"I think you're just bluffing."
Shuugo didn't realize how close the man had gotten until he realized he was practically in the shadow of the man's gut. His own glare had dropped slightly as fear started to trickle in, and he was suddenly aware of his instincts telling him to run the hell away.
However, he remained standing there. Partly because his legs wouldn't move, and partly because he couldn't leave Takaya alone with these people.
That left him between a rock and a hard place, and Shuugo suddenly realized that the man could easily snap his neck if he wanted and maybe even say that Takaya had done it, or just dispose of his body somewhere.
Shuugo saw the man's clenched fist, and realized that his imagination might not be as carried away as he thought. I'm screwed…
TO BE CONTINUED…
