Warning: swearing, little angst, blood, abuse, death. I think that's all.
Confrontations Part III
March 2009
"Come on, Lenalee. Hurry it up, or it'll be dark by the time we get back to your place." Allen called back to her, a little impatiently, but still smiling about it.
"But brother is going to be mad when he finds out that you and I were alone together, Allen! Maybe this isn't' a good idea..." Lenalee told him, uneasy about the situation. She didn't look like she'd been crying anymore, but she was afraid that her brother would find out about it and punish Allen, even though it wasn't his fault.
"Don't worry about it. Komui knows I'd never consider doing anything, and we were just out for a walk, right? And happened to run into each other. Nothing wrong about that." Allen said, thinking that his excuse was infallible.
"But that's what people always say when they're going to... you know..." Lenalee trailed off.
"...to randomly meet someone on a walk?" Allen finished her sentence.
Lenalee stared at him, almost thinking he was joking until she saw the innocent and somewhat confused expression on his face. "When they're going to meet someone and do... things..." Lenalee said, hoping Allen would get it.
"Like take a walk? I don't understand Lenalee, what's so embarrassing about that?" Allen asked.
Lenalee sighed. Allen really didn't understand anything. "People use that excuse so that they can go out on a date and do date things and more. That way, they have the excuse of randomly bumping into the person who brought them home, even though they were really doing completely different things." Lenalee said.
"Oooooh." Allen said, finally understanding, "but we're telling the truth, sort of. Not really, actually. In any case, we didn't actually do anything like that, or anything close to that, so we should be totally safe." Allen said, convincing himself.
"But Komui might think differently. It's all perception, you know." Lenalee stated.
"Oh. Crap. We're screwed, aren't we?" Allen realized, face paling a little at the thought of what Komui might do to him for walking Lenalee home.
"You bet we are." Lenalee said.
"Well, we're here anyways. I think I've got enough on him, at least, so that he won't kill me this time. I hope. If I'm lucky. Since we're here, we'd better go in, before Komui sends the police after you or something." Allen said.
"What do you mean, you have enough on my brother?" Lenalee asked as Allen knocked and Komui opened the door. Needless to say, her question went unanswered.
"Allen? What are you doing here? And... OH MY GOSH! LENALEE I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU! YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING FOR A WALK BUT IT'S BEEN OVER AN HOUR? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHY ARE YOU SHOWING UP WITH HIM? A BOY! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS, LENALEE? I'M YOUR BROTHER! HOW COULD YOU HURT YOUR OLDER BROTHER SO?" Komui wailed loudly before turning to Allen, "And what exactly did you do with my little sister? Eh? Don't tell me you just 'happened' to 'randomly bump into her' while you were both 'out for a walk.'" Komui accused
"Well, actually..."Allen started, smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his head.
"Brother! That is what happened! And you know Allen would never do something like that! We were talking about you having this exact reaction, and I had to explain to him why you would have to ask a question like that. He's too innocent." Lenalee explained.
"Are you serious?" Komui said, disbelieving that a teenage boy wouldn't pick up on that popular excuse and it's underlying meanings. "Wow, I'm impressed." He had calmed down considerably, now that Lenalee had explained the situation, even if it wasn't 100% true.
"A-Anyways, Komui. I was just trying to be nice and bring Lenalee home. I can't very well let a nice girl walk herself home, especially when it's almost dark. That would be disrespectful and irresponsible of me as her friend and as a gentleman. I also had something I wanted to speak to you about, which is how I bumped into her. I doubt we would have met if I wasn't already headed into your neighbourhood." Allen said, half-lying and covering up the big hole in their original lie. He had far too much experience with lie-webs like this.
"Oh, I see. In that case, I'll prepare some tea, and we can talk about whatever it is you came to see me about." Komui said, bringing Allen to the couch, "Sit. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, Komui left to make some tea, leaving the two teens on the couch.
"Um, Lenalee, this is kind of really awkward to ask, and I'm really sorry, but do you think that maybe Komui and I could have a private conversation?" Allen asked, trying to be polite about it.
"Why's that? You know you can tell me anything too, right Allen?" Lenalee asked, a little bit of hurt showing in her eyes. She had really hoped that Allen had come to trust her by now, and didn't want to think otherwise, especially after their talk earlier.
"It's... How should I say this... Kind of a guy-to-guy sort of talk. It's nothing personal, I just don't think you'd be totally comfortable hearing about it." Allen lied, smiling and acting nervously to (hopefully) convince Lenalee.
"Oh, I guess if it's something like that... But I thought you were asexual and not into that kind of thing, Allen? Or maybe it's just me not understanding much about it." Lenalee thought aloud.
Allen chuckled, happy that she'd believed his lie, and a little amused by her admitting that she didn't totally understand how his sexuality worked, "It's okay. You don't need to understand because it's not really important. I just wanted to clear some matters up with Komui, and that's all. You really don't need to worry about a thing." Allen assured her.
"Okay, well, I'll go do homework or something, I guess. Brother should be coming out with the tea soon, so enjoy your talk. I hope it's enlightening." Lenalee smiled.
"Oh, I'm sure it will be. Good luck with the homework." Allen said, smiling back as she turned to go up to her room.
Allen sat on the couch, thinking thoughts until Komui came out with the tea a few minutes later. He sat down on the couch next to Allen and served the tea, both taking a couple of sips in the moment of silence.
"So, Allen. What sort of guy-to-guy things do you want to talk about?" Komui asked, looking a little awkwarded out by the situation, but trying his best to remain neutral. He'd overheard Allen and Lenalee talking from the kitchen.
Allen nearly choked on his tea. "What?! Did you honestly think that's what I'd come to talk to you about? I'd rather learn it myself, thank you, whenever, if ever, it starts to turn my interest." Allen told Komui, hoping to clear up the awkward atmosphere.
"Thank god." Komui let out a breath, "I had absolutely no idea what I was going to say. That's a relief."
"Don't get relieved yet." Allen said with all seriousness, "We are still going to talk, and I know you definitely won't be happy about it. I wouldn't do this under most circumstances, but we really need to do this, or should I say, you really need to do this." Allen started explaining.
"What are you talking about?" Komui asked, confused, and a little tense after hearing Allen's words. He didn't like the direction that this was headed. At least he had the tea to calm his nerves a little, should it come to that.
"Well, to be very very blunt, I need you to talk to me about whatever happened that you won't tell Lenalee. I know it was really bad, and that's why you need to tell me." Allen said.
"No, I don't." Komui said coldly, "I don't have to say anything, Allen. This is quite rude of you, actually, and if this is all you wanted, then I think you should leave. I am not willing to talk about it."
"But if you were willing, then I could stay?" Allen asked, not quite ready to give up just yet. He figured he had a pretty good piece of information that would convince Komui to spill it. "This will be good for you, for one thing, so I don't know why you won't talk."
"Bullshit!" Komui interrupted, "You do the same thing!"
"Ah, but I'm not the one hiding it from my younger sister, who, from what I've been able to guess, is somehow involved in whatever you're holding in." Allen began, "I know you know that we didn't just bump into each other earlier, because before earlier today, I didn't have any reason to come bother you tonight. If not for one thing, I would have left you alone to never tell anyone, because that's what you would do, right? Hold it in forever? Well you don't know how much pain you've been causing your sister by keeping it all to yourself." Allen accused, "You don't know anything about how much she's suffering because of you. I don't know anything about the situation, but I expect you to tell me. All I know is that it has something to do with your parents. People Lenalee has a couple of good memories of, but no more because she was so young. You are hiding them from her and keeping information about her loved ones from her. I'm sure you have a good reason, and I'd love to hear it because I certainly can't think of any one reason as to why you would do something like that." A little anger was coming from Allen's voice now, unintentionally.
"You don't know anything! You admitted it! And I don't need to tell you. I do have a reason, and it is a good one, and that's all it should matter to you. I think it's time you should be go-" Komui was cut off.
"No. There is no good reason for hiding away good things from your sister. You want to make her happy? Then why do you lie to her and never speak to her about the people that she loved, or still loves now. Her parents were part of her world, as are all of her friends and people that she cares for, and you hiding them away from her is just like destroying a city, or even a country in her world, especially if those memories of her parents were so great. Holding back nice things is nothing but a torture." Allen glared at Komui, remembering his suspicions partway through the rant. The last sentence was nothing more than to provoke a reaction and finally get Komui to spill the truth. In his emotional state, Komui completely fell for it.
"And who said that what I was holding back was nice? I never said I was keeping good things from her, because, from what I can remember, there was hardly anything good about our parents at all!" Komui glared back, only realizing what he'd said afterwards, "God... I'm sorry." Komui tried to leave.
Allen grabbed Komui's wrist before he got up, "No, sit and talk. You need to let it out. No one can hold it in forever, right?" Allen said, looking up at Komui with kindness, no harshness in his voice at all.
"Hypocrite." was all Komui said, quietly, with his head and body turned away from Allen.
Allen was still holding his wrist, refusing to let go because he figured that Komui would try to run away the moment he let go, kind of like he did when marking assignments. "Not this time. I talked about Mana, remember? You know the story of my dad, now let's hear about yours, 'kay?" Allen said, smiling his nicest smile, in hopes to comfort Komui.
"But you did it willingly." Komui argued.
"I haven't broken psychology yet. I said you needed to get it out, so did I. There isn't anything different between you and I. I was just a bit less stubborn about it." Allen said, letting a little smugness into his voice with the last sentence.
"I can't believe I'm being told off about being stubborn by someone younger than me!" Komui complained, hoping to change the subject.
"That's a no-go. I know what you're doing. Now talk. Tell me what you won't tell Lenalee, or at least give me a good reason why you won't." Allen said firmly, but not unkindly.
"Why I didn't want to tell Lenalee... It is... My parents... She loves them so much and I can't hurt her good memories of the ones who gave her life, just because of me." Komui said.
"Go on." Allen prompted.
"That's... That's because..." Komui was having a very hard time saying it, "because they hated me and took every opportunity they could to kill my confidence, hurt my feelings, and beat me for never being good enough for them. They didn't want a son, only a daughter, and I was the mistake that they never wanted. They were cruel to me, but they loved Lenalee and never showed her their violent sides. I want her the be happy, so I can't tell her... I never can... It's my burden to bear, and mine alone. She doesn't have to know and she doesn't have to have her happiness destroyed, especially at my hand." Komui admitted.
"My god... I'm really sorry. I didn't know. I mean, I had suspicions, but after what Lenalee always said... I guess I couldn't really put my faith in my thoughts... I'm so sorry Komui. I really shouldn't have said all that stuff." Allen said, reaching to touch Komui's shoulder to comfort him, but got the reflexive flinch.
"It's not your fault Allen. You didn't know, and you are right. About what you said. But I wasn't completely wrong either. You can agree with me that Lenalee probably wouldn't handle news like this very well." Komui said, looking like he'd lost most of his emotions.
"I guess you're right about that. If I was you, I'd probably have done the same thing." Allen admitted. The two took a few minutes to sit in silence and sip at the tea. It seemed to be a good foresight on Komui's part, even if unintentional. It was less awkward to sit in silence and drink tea than to just sit in silence after all that.
"I suppose..." Komui started, "that I should tell you about the night they died? I... I never ever want Lenalee to hear about it, because it's the guilt that I feel all the time. It will never go away. No matter what, and I can't ever wish it to. It wouldn't go, and it would be morally wrong for me to ever wish it away. Their death was at my hands. I'm a murderer." Komui admitted gravely.
Allen sat silently, not knowing what he should do or say. He saw the older man's hand resting on the couch, so he took it in his and held it for comfort, looking up at the man to silently let him know that he was listening.
"It was a pretty bad night. I got perfect on a test, but I still wasn't top of the class. I was tied, and that just wasn't good enough for them, even though the kid I was tied with both had perfect in every subject..."
Several years ago...
"Hey Komui! How was the test?" asked Bak.
"It was just fine, really easy, I thought. How about you?" asked Komui
"Same here! I bet we tied again, just like always." said Bak
"Oh yes, Bak-chan. You bet we did. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, we're science geniuses." Komui said.
"Don't call me 'chan'! You're just as bad as Fou, sometimes, you know? Speaking of Fou, I have to run meet her, or else she'll get angry with me. Again. Anyways, see you tomorrow, Komui!" Bak called as he ran off.
Komui looked after his friend, a little jealous that he had a nice family. Fou, his sister, might bother him a bunch, and pick on him, call him names, all that stuff, but only because she really cares for him. His own family is completely different. Komui sighed, letting a little bit of fear sink in, now that he knew he'd be in trouble, once again. He made his way to the bus, trying not to think about what was to come once he got home.
"Once again, my son has failed to get first in the class." his father said, disappointingly.
"But father, I did place first. I scored perfect on the test. I just wasn't the only one." Komui tried to explain. He knew that the explanation was pointless, as he'd tried it several times over the course of high school.
"Idiot. How should either your mother or myself live when we know that our son is such a disappointment. If the test was so fucking easy that two students can score perfect, then you should have done better by getting extra credit or bonus marks or the like. Anything. But you can't even do that one simple thing. You are a failure to us. Now leave. Go study or something, somewhere away from here so that we won't have to look at your ugly mess of a face." his father stated coldly, turning his back to his son. Komui walked upstairs to his room, knowing that if he ran, the later punishment would only be worse.
As he walked up the stairs, he paused. He heard his father speaking to his mother, once again. "Dear, we need to do something about that boy. He brings nothing but failure here, and I can't accept that. He will never meet our expectations or the expectations of society. He hasn't, even since he was born. We only ever wanted a girl, but he had to be born a boy. That was his first mistake."
"Yes, I agree. I wish, too, that he was a girl. A girl is all we've wanted, a daughter, and not a son. At least we have Lenalee, now. It was hard for me to get pregnant a second time, it took many years of trying, but now we have our darling little girl. Lenalee, would you come here, pumpkin? Mommy wants to give you a hug!" called Komui's mother
"Mommy!" squealed Lenalee as her mother scooped her up and started showering her with affection.
"Lenalee, listen to me, okay? Are you a good girl?" asked her mother
"Yes I am! Lee-nee-lee is always a good girl." said Lenalee
"And what do you have to do to always stay a good girl?" asked her mother
"Listen to Mommy and Daddy! They know what's good and what's bad!" said Lenalee, very happy to be getting the answers right.
"Very good. Then listen to Mommy when I say that I don't want to you play with your big brother anymore." said her mother
"Why not?" asked Lenalee, "I love my big brother."
"Your big brother is a very bad boy. I don't want his bad to make you bad too, I want you to stay a good girl. Don't play with him anymore, okay?" his mother asked.
"That's right, Lenalee. Keep away from your brother." said her father.
Lenalee looked unsure, but nodded because her parents said so. Komui stood on the stairs, watching in shock as his parents pretty much told his sister that he was a failure, worth nothing, unwanted, and a bad influence. He had never done anything to his sister to merit this, and he never would. Big brothers protect their younger siblings, make them happy when they're said, and always do their best for them. That's the job of a big brother.
But his parents just denied him that. They told Lenalee that he should never be around her anymore because they think he's a failure. They hate him because he was born a boy, something that he had no control over, and, if they knew anything about biology, was all his father's fault. There's only one place to get a Y-chromosome. Komui was angry, at his parents, but mostly at himself. He went upstairs to his room, and fell onto his bed, crying, instead of doing homework, for once.
"I hate them. I hate them so much. They always hurt me. They tear my feelings to pieces, and even though I try not to feel anything, because they're my parents, everything they say will bring me higher than high, or lower than low. But it's always been low. They always insult me and tell me why nothing I do is never good enough. Even when I was a little kid. I know I'm a failure, a disappointment. I always have been and that will probably never change. And now, I can't even look out for my sister because they're taking her away from me too. I guess that's my own fault, for failing to meet their expectations once again." Komui muttered to himself, into his pillow to muffle the sound. He couldn't have his parents walk in on this.
"I've never done enough. An A+ average in elementary school and middle school means nothing without being the best in all the sports teams, extracurricular clubs, academic contests, even better than those in much higher grades, those who are taller, bigger, more experienced. I couldn't match them, no matter how hard I tried. Even though I hadn't hit puberty yet, that wasn't an excuse for the sports. Even though I was younger, it wasn't an excuse for the clubs and contests.. I still had to be better, to prove my worth as a son. They were always so angry, and expected me to do even better after they hit me and hurt me and made it harder to move around and do what they wanted. I kept trying and it all ended in failure.
"And then they had Lenalee. They were happy to have a girl. Right in the middle of middle school, too. I felt so guilty the moment she was born because I knew what she'd have to put up with. Verbal and emotional attacks at home and at school, maybe even some physical attacks. That's what I'd gotten and I though she'd be the same, though maybe less with the physical attacks because she was a girl. But no, they treated her so nicely. They love her and they hate me, all because I was born the wrong gender and they couldn't get pregnant again. I can't make them love me because of something out of my control. I'm happy for Lenalee, and the best way for her big brother to protect her is to never let her see what Mom and Dad do to me. She's the only person out there with a shred of love for me, and while I probably deserve everything that I get, I can't let her see what they do. It would tear her to pieces. Maybe they were right in keeping me away from her. This means that I won't be around her, therefore she's less likely to see or notice any evidence, especially as she gets older and more aware of the world and how others feel. Even if it breaks me completely, I'm happy as long as she never knows."
Komui cried into his pillow a little longer, before sitting up and beginning his homework. He had to get it finished before dinner, because after dinner, it would hurt too much to think.
Luck must have been on his side, because, despite the headache he'd given himself by crying for so long, he'd managed to finish everything perfectly in only an hour and a half, just before dinner time. Of course, once he was called downstairs, his lucky break would be over.
"Boy! Dinner!" called his mother.
"Yes Mom!" he called back. He went to the bathroom to clean himself up, then took himself downstairs for dinner, his little time to mentally prepare himself for the rest of the evening.
After eating, Lenalee was put to bed, and Komui was asked to wait on the couch. Lenalee tended to fall asleep early and quickly, which worked out very well for his parents in this situation. Once they were certain that Lenalee was asleep, the two began their work.
"You have failed us again!" A punch to the shoulder.
"You've let us down, ashamed us with your stupidity!" A kick to the thigh.
"For the last time, you have hurt our reputations. We can't kick you out, but we don't want you here any longer! We have no need for a son like you!" A very hard punch to the face.
Komui fell down, almost unconscious. "Put him at the bottom of the stairs. If he bleeds into his brain and dies, we can say it was an accident." was the last thing he heard before passing out.
When Komui came to, he heard his parents muttering something in the kitchen. He was very tired and dizzy, and he couldn't think very clearly. All he knew was that his parents had tried to kill him, and he wanted to get away, and hopefully get Lenalee out with him. He started to move up the stairs, when he heard his parents shouting again. They had noticed that he was up and had come back to finish it all, or at least, that was his best guess.
His father held a knife, and his mother had a rope.
"Maybe we can make it a suicide. Teenagers just love doing stuff like this to themselves."
They grabbed him and got the rope over his neck. Komui started struggling as soon as his air was cut off, not because he could think about the situation, but out of pure survival reflex and adrenaline. He was growing lightheaded when a small "Mommy? Daddy?" was heard from the top of the stairs. The racket had woken Lenalee up.
The parents were shocked, and his mother, standing halfway up the stairs, holding her son, turned to Lenalee and told her to go back to bed. Lenalee did as her mother instructed, not understanding any of the actions due to her age and sleepiness. Komui jerked around, fortunately just after Lenalee got back to her room and knocked his mother down the stairs. She laid there, unmoving. He could breathe again, and his father went after him with the knife. Still tangled in rope, Komui tripped and landed on top of his father, both falling to the bottom of the stairs. His father was winded and furious.
His father started after him with the knife, but in self defense, Komui knocked his father's hand in a different direction, and the knife slashed open a small wound on his father's neck. It wasn't a big wound, but it hit the artery that feeds the brain. He couldn't remember what it was called in his current frame of mind.
His father stood, shocked and in pain, and dropped the knife before falling to the floor.
"You killed us both, you little fucking bastard. I hope you get caught, because you'll be tortured, then killed so that you can burn forever in the fucking fires of hell!" his father cursed, before falling silent.
Komui's brain still hadn't caught up with him, but he knew he had to change out of his bloody clothes and get out of the house. It would be best to take Lenalee with him.
He changed into clean clothes, stuffed some of his and his sister's clothes into his backpack, then picked up his sleeping sister and left the house. He wished it was for good.
March 2009
"So I took Lenalee to Bak-chan's place. His parents were doctors and said that I had a concussion, so my memories from that time aren't terribly clear. I know as much as I do because I took what I could remember, my parents' habits, and the scene that I had to clean up and puzzled it all together. I covered up the murder a week later, after I'd recovered, by cleaning the house to look like normal, leaving no traces of blood or anything behind. I then took the car, put my parents in it, then pushed it down a large hill where it hit a tree. I made sure that, when I went to examine the loud crash along with the neighbours, that there was plenty of glass on my dad for the neck wound, and plenty of dents for the bruises my mother received by falling down the stairs. Now that I'm older, I'm sure the coroners knew that my parents had been dead much longer than a few hours, but they never said anything, as it would involve a kindergarten-age kid, and a top high school student with no previous records or any ill behaviour.
"Lenalee and I lived with Bak-chan's family until I graduated high school and got a job. I worked night shifts at a gas station almost every day during the school year and the summer, but once I graduated and realized that I couldn't yet go to University or College, I decided to get a job as a teaching assistant at Black Order High School. The teachers knew me, and even though I didn't have a degree in education, or any degree at all, they knew that I knew all of the material, and probably more, backwards and forwards. They let me help out wherever, and they pay me much better than the gas station did. I guess those night shifts were how I got used to the lack of sleep state. Using some of my parents' money and my new salary, I managed to get this house, and Lenalee and I moved out of Bak-chan's house. I would have felt awkward staying there any longer than we had, and Bak-chan was going off to University too. We left, and this is where we are now.
"So now, what do you think Allen? I didn't tell Lenalee any of this because I know it will tear her up. I don't want her to know that the parents she loved so much, and that lover her, were terrible people. I can't hurt her like that. I just can't do it." Komui finished, a few tears falling off his chin and into his lap.
Allen pulled him into a hug. "I understand Komui. And I'm very sorry that any of this happened." Allen said. The two hugged for a few minutes before Komui pulled away.
"You know, I actually feel a bit better right now. I haven't told any one before, Bak-chan's parents never asked questions, nor did he."
"I'm happy you could trust me, Komui." Allen said, truly grateful for that. He was also happy that Komui seemed to be feeling better.
"What does this have to do with trust? You practically blackmailed me." Komui tried to laugh.
Allen understood that he was joking, for once. "Good point. And you just gave me more blackmail, you idiot." Allen joked back. The two started laughing
After a minute, Allen said quietly, "I agree that you shouldn't tell Lenalee that, but maybe you could tell her something about how much they loved her, some nice memories that she might not remember? Just so that she doesn't hurt about that so much. If it doesn't hurt you to do that, I mean."
"No, you're right. It doesn't hurt to talk about them at all anymore. They've been gone for years, after all." Komui said.
"Then... um... why all the..." Allen felt awkward asking.
"These are tears of relief, Allen. Not sadness. I am a murderer, and I will always have to live with that, but I can't feel sad about it anymore." Komui said.
"But that was self-defense!" Allen pointed out. He didn't want his friend to feel guilty for something he couldn't control, again.
"Maybe it was, but murder is murder. I have two counts of first degree murder on my hands, and while blood can be cleaned from walls and floors, it can't be cleaned from your hands, not once it's been spilled." Komui said sadly. "I'm going to get some more tea."
"Okay then. If you're looking a bit better when you come back, do you want me to call Lenalee down? Right now, I wouldn't. You look a right mess, you know?" Allen said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"Maybe..." Komui thought, still not getting out of his mood.
"Or maybe I can just go up to her room, so that we can do things. We'll sit on her bed, alone, and talk, see where things go..." Allen said, a grin growing on his face.
"NO ONE TOUCHES MY SISTER LIKE THAT!" Komui shouted, his sister complex, once again, taking control over him. Allen was glad to see him back to normal, even if his 'normal' meant attacking Allen and searching for his most recent Komurin to come and destroy the boy.
"Komui! Allen would never do something like that! Stop thinking that every guy out there is going to want to do perverted things with me!" Lenalee called from upstairs. "Anyways, it sounds like your chat is done. I'm nearly done my homework, so I'll be down in ten minutes or so!"
"Sounds good Lenalee!" Allen called up, as he tried to figure out how he could destroy the Komurin so that it would stop chasing him around for the next ten minutes.
Lenalee didn't actually do ay of her homework. She didn't believe that Allen wanted a guy-to-guy talk with Komui, that just wasn't Allen's was of doing things. He'd more likely look these things up on the internet, than talk to a real person about it. She knew that whatever this conversation was going to be about, it would be important. She decided to eavesdrop.
"Well, to be very very blunt, I need you to talk to me about whatever happened that you won't tell Lenalee. I know it was really bad, and that's why you need to tell me." she heard Allen say.
Komui continued denying things for a while until Allen got him to start spilling.
"And who said that what I was holding back was nice? I never said I was keeping good things from her, because, from what I can remember, there was hardly anything good about our parents at all!" Komui said to Allen, looking like he'd regretted it immediately.
"They hated me and took every opportunity they could to kill my confidence, hurt my feelings, and beat me for never being good enough for them. They didn't want a son, only a daughter, and I was the mistake that they never wanted. They were cruel to me, but they loved Lenalee and never showed her their violent sides. I want her the be happy, so I can't tell her... I never can... It's my burden to bear, and mine alone. She doesn't have to know and she doesn't have to have her happiness destroyed, especially at my hand." was Komui's reasoning.
Lenalee put a hand over her mouth, to keep from making a sound. It shocked her to hear her brother say something like that with so much pain and sadness, and even guilt, in his voice. She heard his story and started crying silently. Were he parents really that unfair? Were they really that cruel to her brother? How could she have never noticed such a thing?
Then she heard Komui say, "Even if it breaks me completely, I'm happy as long as she never knows." That one line broke her heart.
When Allen got Komui to start acting normal again, Lenalee was relieved, so she called down to them to say she'd be there in ten minutes. She couldn't let them see that she had been crying, or else they'd know she had overheard them. She didn't blame her brother at all for anything he did, even if he blamed himself, and while she didn't like what she had learned, she felt it was still good to know. 'Knowing is better than not knowing, every time.' She couldn't remember where that quote was from.
Still, if her brother wasn't comfortable telling her, then she can't ever let him find out that she knew. She could wait until he's ready to tell her himself.
Ten minutes later, Lenalee checked the mirror to make sure that her eyes had gone back to normal. They weren't perfectly back to normal, but they just looked tired now. She could blame that on the homework. She went downstairs and killed the Komurin that was chasing Allen.
Then, she ran to Komui and gave him a big hug. "I love you brother, I always have and always will, you know that? Nothing you can ever do will change that." Lenalee told him. The story of their parents' deaths hadn't changed her opinion of him one bit. He was still he big brother, and she loved him very much. He always protected her and did his best for her. He went above and beyond doing everything a big brother should.
Komui was a little surprised by this sudden display of affection from his sister, but he just went with it. "Yeah, Lenalee. I know. I love you that much too. I'd do anything for you." he said.
In the middle of this heartwarming moment, Allen knew that his job was done. He took this as his cue to put on his shoes, take his coat, and slip silently out the door.
A/N: So, who expected a story like that? Anyways, Thanks again to anyone still reading, you guys rock! And please feel free to leave a review. =)
Till next time,
-Shippo704