Chapter Twenty-Three: Hero

Kai's eyes went left and right, head turning to get a better look every other second or so as he drove down the road.

"Uncle Kai, is everything okay?" Makoto asked from his spot in the back. Lin sat quietly on the other side of the row, the empty space of the middle seat between them.

"The nanny from Hell broke out of prison earlier this morning, your dad too," Kai informed him, making a sharp right out of their neighborhood and onto the main road that led into a portion of the downtown area.

"The Bitch and dad are out, how?!" Makoto shouted, every nerve in his system standing at attention.

"I have an idea. That's why we need to find Gou, and I'm sorry but until they're off the streets, you two are under house-arrest unless you leave with me or uncle Max. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Makoto said, giving the driver a curt nod afterward.

He was unwilling to argue that, because for the most part he agreed with it. As annoying as it would be to be stuck inside 24/7, it was better than the possible alternatives.

Peering out the window to keep an eye out too, Lin helping, his mind was laser-focused on Gou. He did briefly chew on why his old man would dare do this. Was he somehow on another binger and going to try to take him back or do worse? But again, his mind went back to Boyland and it stayed put there, his heart racing with worry and regret. If he hadn't of kissed him, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Gou stepped out of the corner coffee shop, a venti, double-shot vanilla expresso in his right hand. This wouldn't fix things but man could he use the extra dopamine boost right now.

Passing through the bustling crowd of elderly couples and freshly started families, most coming and going in a blur, Gou took a seat on the curb of a sweets restaurant and knocked back a sip of his drink, the steam of it warming every bit of his insides. Ohhhh yeah, that was the stuff!

Sensing eyes on him, Gou glanced up through his long bangs, swift eyes panoramically scanning for the source. Before he could shrug it off as just remnants from a previous happening, he caught sight of it and everything came to a standstill.

Across the street was Monica, and she appeared to be searching for something. That, or somewhere to hide. Honestly it seemed like it could be a bit of both.

The long haired woman looked around, her eyes moving erratically. She was unkempt to some degree, her black hair in tangles and oily skin splotched with acne. She looked like she hadn't showered in days.

The normally scrawny woman was wearing what appeared to be the same clothes he'd last seen her in too. Though now they looked loose on her, meaning she'd lost weight. He knew for certain once he got a full view of her, gangly limbs and all. Yeah, she was nothing but skin and bones, and now outwardly showed the demon he knew her as.

With his stomach knotting up, the world's noises hit him, and time moved. Gou instantly felt sick, covering his mouth with his free hand. He then sprinted off, silently praying to God that she hadn't spotted him as he had her.

Running a couple of strip mall lined streets over and turning the corner toward a crowded set of bushy bushes, Gou hunched over to finally take a breather, his sweating hands cupping his quaking knees.

Suddenly, a light tan right hand harboring a wet, white cloth covered his mouth. And before he could even try to scream, his world went blank.

The unseen person then dragged him off, concealing him behind the wide brush.

Come Noon, Kai was forced to return home still one kid short, and though he didn't show it, those around could see it was killing him.

After unbuckling his seatbelt Kai turned to them and said, "Hurry inside and stay in one of, or your own, rooms. I don't care which but the doors had better stay open and you need to latch the windows. Draw the curtains in too. This is not up for debate, now move."

The two did so, stomping speedily up to the manshon inspired house and on up the stairs while Kai strode steadily behind. Neither bothered to look anywhere but straight ahead, their minds on the firmly given orders. They knew how dire the situation had become and didn't want to stress the man out any more than he already was. In short, they felt the same way he did.

Makoto instantly went to work doing all he had to and then stepped out of his room. Turning to Gou's room, he noticed the door was shut.

Hm, that's strange? I don't remember shutting it, did I though? he thought, visibly confused and second-guessing himself. He was pretty sure he didn't but in his haste of leaving, he could've.

Going against his better judgment, and Kai, he left it be. He wanted Gou to at least have one way in when he returned from his runaway rendezvous, whenever that would be. He knew him well enough to know that even when he was fuming, Gou wouldn't dare stray too far from home, let alone a block or more in an area he didn't know all that well yet. So where was he at?

Seeing Lin was done too, Makoto decided to keep her company. Though really he was the one in need of it. He needed a distraction of some kind, anything. Deep down, he prayed she'd made some amount of progress while under Kai's care and wouldn't cower away from him for the zillionth time.

Once he'd treaded and retreaded the entirety of his decently-sized property several times, Kai made his way inside.

Stepping unevenly into the lounge area and plopping ungraciously into the recliner, he found himself at a loss on what to do next, besides the obvious. His head swam in all manner of thought, that little voice (now sounding like his own and not Boris) reprimanding him for sitting idle while he should be up doing something; anything that would hopefully bring their baby boy back home. He felt ashamed of himself as a parent, like a failure all over again, heartbroken, and utterly defeated.

Makoto made sure to knock loud enough for her to hear him.

"Uh, you can, come in," she said, focusing her eyes on the skirt around the bottom half of her bed. She told herself it needed to be fixed, when really it was fine as is.

"Hey, wanted to check-in on ya," he said as he stepped through the doorway, "Are, you doing okay?"

"Yeah," Lin started, standing up and fluffing her pillows, "It was just a nightmare, I'm not the only one that has them,"

Makoto shifted on his feet, the weight going from one to the other as he tried to figure out what to do with his hands. Then he remembered Kai's biggest rules with her; no sudden movements and keep your hands visible. So, in the end, he just let them rest at his side.

"True, but not everyone screams out like that,"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," Lin said, sinking into herself more.

Frantically waving his hands from side to side in front of his face, Makoto said in one breath, "No no no no, that's not what I meant, I'm worried and Gou won't say it but he is too. We want to help you to get better, that's all,"

"I will, it'll just take time,"

"Of course it will, and that's ok, I just wanted to know how you were. If you need someone to talk to I'm all ears,"

She lowered her head, staying focused on her bedding, and her new task of trying to unwrinkle the covers, make them perfect. "Thanks, but I'm fine,"

Makoto snorted, laughing to himself. Now where had he heard that before?

Gong serious again, he asked, "Are you sure you don't want someone to talk to?"

Lin shrunk more, "No thank you,"

Shyly looking around, face flush and shifting aimlessly around the room, he asked, "Then, would you mind if I, stayed anyway? I don't, want to be alone."

Lin's frame rose steadily. He just wanted a friend? Oh, she could do that.

Within a matter of seconds, she'd wordlessly pointed to the hot pink colored beanbag chair placed a foot away from the matching bed.

When she heard the bag shift and get squished into itself, she moved to get one of the phoenix stuffed animals and hold it close while laying up against the comfy, cushy wall that was made up by the pillows and other stuffed birds.

Staring up at her smooth ceiling, Lin couldn't help but notice that this silence was surprisingly comfortable.

Maybe, Kai wasn't using them as bait to lure her into a false sense of security after all? Maybe they really were just damaged and healing kids just as she was? Despite how much she tried to trust him, old habits died hard and those nasty voices never wavered. Especially at night, her mind was still screaming, tormenting her with every what if possible and she could barely stand it.

But maybe Mr. Kai really was who he showed on the surface? Her heart believed that one-hundred percent, and it was all because of her mother and their history of friendship, but her head still needed a lot of convincing. A substantial amount of proof it seemed, and that would, unfortunately, take some more time. Longer than she would like it to anyway.

"Is Mr. Kai, really a good person?" Lin asked after some minutes of quiet, her mouth running of its own accord.

Makoto did a double-take, looking at her and blinking. Was she talking to him?

Giving her a shy smile, he answered, "Sure he is, my dude. He's got his hang-ups and baggage, like most people do, but I think he's turned it into something good,"

"You mean, taking care of people?" Lin asked, turning to face him, her mom coming to mind. She didn't realize she'd made that motion until she saw Makoto's smile widen into a toothy grin.

"Yeah. And not just people like us, but anyone who needs him,"

Makoto's smile became smaller, but she could still see the spark of happiness in his eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, he's messed up, a lot. Gou can attest to that more than I can. But in the bigger picture, he's so strong and will do anything to make someone feel safe and happy,"

Lin could see the love Makoto had for the doctor and that made her feel better about him. Someone so bad couldn't be adored that much.

"So, he's a superhero, to you, to many people?" she asked, both wanting to keep the conversation going and feeling that if she didn't say something that it would get awkward and she didn't want that.

Makoto's grin got bigger again, stretching his face.

"I guess so. He's definitely great at what he does, from what I hear his patients say anyway," he paused to clear his suddenly dry throat, then his voice softened, "But it's not just that... he's someone I admire. I wanna be like him,"

Lin smiled and said, "You wanna help people the way he does?"

Makoto nodded, "Yeah, I want to be a doctor when I grow up. Is that silly or what?"

"No, I think it's wonderful,"

"Thanks, what about you? What's your dream job?"

Lin just shrugged, giving Makoto his answer.

"Don't sweat it, you've plenty of time."

Downstairs, Kai was pacing the floor, pondering whether he should truly pressure Mr. Dickenson into letting him file a missing person's report now, instead of waiting the usual forty-eight hours. Walk or not, Gou wouldn't have been gone this long. He would've been home hours ago and talked it out with either him or Makoto. Which only left one other option, he was angry. But what happened? What, or who, triggered him into leaving the house and to be gone for so long?

Striding stiffly into the kitchen, Kai found himself frozen in mid-step, his right foot before him. This couldn't be happening, real.

There, leaning back against his kitchen counter by the refrigerator no less, was Tyson Granger, a lit cigarette dangling in between his tight lips.

Kai scowled, seeing nothing but red. What was he doing, and of all places, here?!

To Be Continued...