Song: Wish You Hell - Like A Storm

Chapter 25 - Wish You Hell

To my dismay, Misaki did not return the strawberries that my brother had given to him nor did he throw them away. He actually ate them! It was the whole flower fiasco all over again! Did he not understand why I was so angry about it? It was even just yesterday morning! There's no way he could have forgotten already.

Even worse, Haruhiko continued to send boxes of fresh strawberries to my lover. My jealousy raged and I continued to buy him strawberry products as well. Sometimes it would be fresh strawberries; sometimes strawberry cake or pie; sometimes chocolate covered strawberries; and once even strawberry wine. My anger escalated each time that Misaki refused to throw away the stuff my brother was giving him. It quelled a little bit each time that he indulged in one of my gifts instead, but still refusing to turn down the others upset me.

I couldn't pinpoint exactly why I was so angry and jealous. Was it because I was afraid that my brother was trying to take my lover away from me? Was it because I had no idea that Misaki liked strawberries that much, yet he told Haruhiko, whom he had only known for two days, that he absolutely loved them? Was I mad at my brother or at my lover? Or was I just angry with myself?

These kinds of thoughts didn't stop swirling inside of my head no matter how hard I tried to make them go away. My biggest concern was keeping the two of them separated from each other. I didn't know what Haruhiko was planning, but I was sure that it involved telling Misaki just what had happened in my past. There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.

After a week of the strawberry war, I could tell that the boy had had enough. He was forcing himself to eat the products and he was groaning every time I gave him something. I could hear his voice in my head screaming at me to stop spending all of my money and to save it for something important like retirement.

He finally snapped, slamming his hands onto the table in front of couch, almost spilling his glass of strawberry flavored soda in the process. "That's enough already!" he screamed at me. I hardly looked up from my paper from where I sat on the opposite side of the table. "Quit buying nothing but strawberries every day! I'm the one who has to eat them! Try putting yourself in my shoes! Look!" He moved his hair away from his face. "I'm eating them every single day, so my skin is all smooth now!"

"What's wrong with that?" I groaned in annoyance. "If you don't like it, then why don't you start by turning those down first?" I pointed to a stack of boxes of strawberries that were sitting on the table. Those were all from my brother.

Misaki sighed and sat down in defeat. As if to prove that I had won, he sipped slowly on the strawberry soda. I went back to reading the paper, trying to keep my thoughts on something other than my brother.

"If you want me to turn down his gifts, then why won't you just tell me his phone number?" he grumbled with his mouth still around the straw.

He had asked me several times now for Haruhiko's number so he could call and explain that he couldn't accept the gifts. I absolutely forbid him to have that bastard's number! If he got the boy on the phone, I'm afraid he'd spill all of my secrets for real. There was also a small part of me that was terrified of Misaki leaving me for him. Although I don't know why anyone could be attracted to that weasel, I was still horrified of it happening.

I simply ignored him, as I usually did whenever he brought up that subject. He sighed and finished the soda before getting up to get ready for classes that day. Before he left, I saw him grab several boxes of strawberry products. I glanced up at him and questioned his actions with my eyes.

"I'm taking some for lunch!" he yelled. "Bye now." He quickly rushed out the door before I could say anything to him.

I knew he was lying. That was way too much stuff for one person to eat in one lunch period. He was obviously going to try to give some kids at university some of the stuff. How dare he give away my presents but not my brother's?! I bet he was even going to try giving some to that Sumi brat! My blood was boiling and I starting chain smoking to try to calm myself down.

My earlier anxieties about Misaki never telling me his true feelings bubbled to the surface. I know that he loves me and he knows that I know, so why can't he just come out and say it? He'd only be saying it to me and no one else. Was he that embarrassed by me? Was he embarrassed of himself? It was useless to think about this. I was only asking for trouble by doing that.

Still… anxieties like that gives me doubts… doubts that he doesn't really love me after all…

I tried to get my mind off of everything by working on my latest novel, a murder mystery novel with a hint of steamy romance mixed in. Luckily it worked and I managed to write several chapters before I had to leave to pick up Misaki. My worries about him not really wanting to be with me came back to mind. I know he's shy, dense just like his brother, and has zero relationship experience besides me, but how could he not understand the emotional anguish I was going through because of him?

As I drove towards the university, something in my brain clicked. Was it that I was causing him pain? Did he hate living with me? I know I'm like a child: I can't clean up after myself; I can't cook; I get jealous; I get needy… Does all of that stuff bother him too much? Would he be happier living by himself?

Would he be happier with someone who wasn't as high maintenance?

I tried to push all these things to the side. There was no way he didn't want to stay with me. It's not like I was keeping him locked away. He knows that he can leave whenever he wants and he's had plenty of chances to do so. Even when Takahiro came back Misaki still came back to me.

So, I must not be causing him too much pain, right?

These thoughts consumed me so much that I almost missed seeing my lover climbing into the backseat of a nice looking dark car. I looked behind me as I passed, making sure that's what I was really seeing. Was he trying to go somewhere with one of his friends? Then why didn't he call me and tell me?

I slowed the car to a halt and rolled down the window. "Oi, Misaki!" I called out to him, sticking my head out the window.

My heart began to sink as realization sunk in. That was too nice of a car to be at this university, let alone be one of the student's cars. The first face that popped into my mind was that of my brother's. He did tell Misaki that he was going to take him away from me. Was he kidnapping him?

My breath caught in my chest and I felt my heart stop for a second. I could only see the back of the person, but it was definitely Haruhiko. He quickly got into the driver's side of the car and sped off.

"Misaki!"

I had to act fast. Adrenaline kicked in and all of the little common sense I had flew out the window. I slammed on the accelerator and twisted the wheel to turn around, driving over the small meridian to get onto the proper side of the road. Horns blared at me in all directions, but I ignored them all and sped off.

My brother's car was nowhere in sight, even after I had drove for a little while. I was sure I would have been able to catch up at the speed I was going, but I had definitely lost them. My heart was pounding as I flipped open my cell phone and tried to call Misaki. The call went straight to voicemail without even ringing.

"Damn it!" I cried out as I threw the phone onto the passenger seat.

I knew that Haruhiko still lived in the family mansion just outside of Tokyo, but I couldn't remember how to get there anymore. After all, it had been over 10 years since I lived there and I hadn't gone back since. Surely it couldn't be that hard to find the address though. Once I had the address, I could just use the GPS to navigate me there.

I pulled off to the side of the road and grabbed my phone again. As much as I hated the guy, Isaka-san would have the address since my brother and him are such good friends. If not, I would just make him look it up for me. My blood was boiling with anger and anxiety as the phone rang.

"Akihiko? What is it?" Isaka-san growled into the phone. "I'm about to go to a meeting so make it quick.

"I need the address to my family home," I said urgently. I hoped that the panic I was feeling wasn't coming through in my voice.

"Huh? Don't you know where your own house is, you moron?!"

"Isaka-san, please this is urgent!"

He sighed deeply. "Fine, but you owe me! I'll go look it up and text it to you."

I hung up and waited. It was kind of shocking that it didn't take much to convince him to get the address for me. Maybe he could hear how distraught I was. Maybe he just wanted to get off the phone as quick as he could. Either way, I was somewhat grateful to him.

Finally, my phone pinged to signal that I had a text message. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly opened the message. I immediately plugged the address into the GPS device that was programmed in my car. As soon as the route came up, I pulled out in front of traffic and sped off, not caring about the other drivers or the rules of the road.

My heart felt like it was stuck in my throat the whole way there. No matter how fast the speedometer said I was going, it didn't feel like it was fast enough. I had to get to Misaki as soon as I could. In fact, I might already be too late. Haruhiko might have already told him everything about me already. Or maybe he's convinced him that he's better than I am and convinced him to leave me. My grip on the steering wheel tightened at these thoughts. If I squeezed it any harder I might tear the whole thing off or break all the bones in my hands.

Finally, I entered familiar territory. There were trees everywhere and hardly any houses or buildings. I kept thinking about how I would always hide in the forest by the house when I was a kid. That was how I met my friend Hiroki. Things were so much more simple back then. Why can't things still be that simple?

The Usami estate was a huge mansion with a long driveway. The outside of it hadn't changed at all since I had lived there. As I drove up to the mansion, I looked at all the fancy cars and limos and immediately recognized the same car that I saw Misaki get into. He was definitely here alright. My brother had actually kidnapped him. What a pathetic waste of space.

Furious, I parked the car at the top of the driveway and slammed the door open and shut. I walked up to the double doors of the entry way and pushed them open, not even bothering to knock. A startled and confused looking butler stood near the doorway with his jaw nearly touching the floor. I recognized him immediately as Tanaka-san, the one who left me alone. He was the only servant that I liked just because of the fact that he never bothered me.

"Master Akihiko?!" he stuttered.

There was no time to explain. I walked up to him in a hurry. "Is he here? There should be a kid here who looks like a high schooler."

"Yes, he was definitely here."

"He left already though," a sickening voice interrupted. I turned to see my brother coming down the grand staircase, looking as smug as ever. "What do you want?"

As if you don't already know…

"I saw you near the university. I can't get through to his cell phone and he's not at any of the places that I can think of. In which case, I figured he has to be here."

"Too bad for you. You just missed him."

Bullshit. Where would he have gone? He's not in walking distance of anything and he didn't get there by driving himself. He was definitely still here somewhere.

"You're up to no good, as always," I scoffed at Haruhiko.

"Making baseless accusations on your rare visit home? It seems being an author affords you a lot of free time."

I glared at him, holding back a growl that was at the base of my throat. There were so many questions I needed answered. Like why exactly did he kidnap Misaki? Was he going to tell him everything about my past? Was he trying to lure me back to the family home? Was he just trying to piss me off?

Suddenly, I felt a tug at my pants leg. I glanced down to see a golden long-haired dog tugging at my pants. It was almost identical to the dog we had when we were kids. Surely it couldn't be the same one, could it? The dog yapped as it turned to the door right behind me. It rushed up to it and just stood there barking its head off.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused that this dog would be trying to tell me something when I don't even live there.

"What could it be? He's usually so quiet," Tanaka-san replied.

Tanaka-san called for a maid and they both went outside with the dog to see what was going on. All I could think that would make a dog bark like that would be an intruder… a stranger… Misaki! I rushed out after the two servants, hoping that I'd find the boy. However, Haruhiko must have known that my logic was right and began running after us as well.

The dog rushed around the mansion, almost clear to the opposite side. As we rounded a corner, I saw a makeshift rope made out of some kind of cloth handing down. Looking up, I saw a body hanging out the window, holding onto the rope. Oh dear god…

"Misaki!" I called out to him.

My heart was racing and my chest felt so heavy that it was painful to breathe. He was so high up… so far away from the ground. And that rope made out of cloth was not going to support him for very long, especially when he starts moving around. What the hell was he thinking?! Those were the first thoughts that popped into my head.

But then… I thought of Ryuto. I could see him standing on the edge of the bridge, so far away from the water below, very similar to how Misaki was now. It was making me sick just seeing my current lover in a similar circumstance as my past lover. I was terrified of what would happen. Would he fall? I couldn't bear to watch him plummet, like I did with Ryuto.

Suddenly, he really was falling. It happened so quickly. One second he was high off the ground and the next second he was extremely close to hitting the ground. The image of Ryuto jumping off the bridge replayed in my mind. I remembered looking over the side of the bridge and watching his body fall and splash into the river below. That helpless feeling that I had back then returned, but only for a split second. There was much more I could do at this point in my life. I can save Misaki.

"MISAKI!" An inhuman scream escaped my throat as I rushed forward.

His body crashed into the bushes below. The sound of the branches snapping didn't drown out the sickening thud of his body hitting the ground below them. He let out a painful groan as he hit. Thankfully, I didn't see the impact since it was concealed by the bushes. However, this didn't make the moment any less painful.

I jumped in the bushes and kneeled down by the boy. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung slightly open. I couldn't see any blood, but that didn't mean that he wasn't injured. For a moment, I was too stunned to do anything but stare. I quickly snapped out of it and slid my arms under his body to support him, but his eyes remained shut.

"M-Misaki! Misaki! Hey, hang in there!" The panic in my voice was so prominent.

I felt him stir and his eyes slightly opened. My heart beat slowed down just a little knowing that he wasn't unconscious. It made me think that he was going to be okay. Broken bones can heal, but brain injuries are trickier.

"O-Ow… That hurt…" he said softly. "But I-I'm okay…"

I let out the breath that I had been holding. He was speaking, which was a really good sign. He didn't seem to be in any pain by me holding him up, which meant that he probably didn't break his neck or his back. Neither of his arms or his legs looked broken. I'd have to get him to a doctor as soon as possible though, just to be sure.

The feelings of panic and worry quickly subsided and were replaced with anger at my brother again. I looked up and glared at him, trying not to grit my teeth as I angrily spat, "I thought you said he left."

Looking back at the young boy laying in the grass, all I could think about was the time something very similar happened between us. He was angry that Ryuto was so close to me. He had always tried to turn my friends against me. He kept at it and tried to get Rytuo to stop hanging out with me as well. When his tricks weren't working, he lashed out at both of us. That's when I became extremely possessive over my friend. I had to show Haruhiko that he was mine no matter what.

Now, I have to do the same thing with Misaki. He is mine.

I slid my arms underneath my lover and lifted him up bridal style. He gasped and wiggled around a bit. I ignored his movements and kept a tight hold on him. My eyes stayed focused on my brother.

"No matter what you took from me, I've always kept quiet about it. But he's one thing I won't let you take. Please don't make me truly angry."

"What is this about?" Haruhiko asked after a short pause.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew Misaki wasn't going to be happy with me for this, but I had to do it. "This is what it's about!"

Slightly lifting the boy in my arms, I bent down and pressed my lips to his. He gasped and didn't kiss me back at all, but he didn't push me away either. I let my lips linger, enjoying the feeling of pissing off my brother. Finally, I felt Misaki yank away from me. I opened my eyes to see him covering his mouth. His face was burnt red and his eyes were wide, as if he was scared.

"B-Bastard!" he shouted at me. "Where do you get off doing that out of nowhere?!" He was panic stricken, but it was done now.

Hoping that would be the end of everything, I started walking away from it all. The brunette in my arms struggled and begged me to put him down, but I ignored him and carried him to the car. Tanaka-san begged me to stay so he could be seen by a doctor, but I left anyways. I would take him to a doctor myself.

There was no way I was going to stay around my brother any longer.

And I especially didn't want Misaki staying around him.