This is my first Kare Kano fic, and I've only watched episodes 1-6 (when
does the next DVD come out? Does anybody know?), so please forgive me if I make a
mistake or don't include a character that you like that I have yet to see (Who's Tsubaba, by
the way?).
Steel and Concrete
Sounds of city traffic from below floated in from the open window of the dingy hotel room. Souichirou sat in one corner, calmly taking in the reappearance of the man in front of him, trying not to show he was quite frightened by his current situation. His father, eyes never leaving the television, asked abruptly, "Did you take that aspirin that I gave you?"
"Yes sir," Souichirou whispered, gathering his knees to his chest. His father flipped through a couple channels before turning off the television. "Good. Last thing I need is for you to get a serious infection and die on me. Sorry for knocking you out, but I didn't realize how strong you would be, but just like your old man, huh? Now, since there's nothing on TV, let's have a father-son chat. Is there anything you want to ask me after all these years?"
Why were you so cruel? Why did you leave me? Why was I ever born? Why were you ever born? thought Souichirou, but voted against saying them out loud in fear of facing his father's wrath. "Where's Mother?"
Souichirou's father waved his hand nonchalantly as he popped open a beer. "After we had to skip town because of various financial reasons, she regretted leaving you behind and how she treated you. She complained and lamented all about it, until in a little place just past Okinawa, she put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger."
The gleam in his father's eyes told Souichirou that his mother's death occurred in a different manner, a idea that made him physically ill. His father leaned back against the bed and scratched himself, reminiscing, "It was too bad, for she was one hell of a girl. And not to mention a wildcat in the shack. But damn boy, you must have other questions than that. Like where I've been all these years? Why did I come back now and take you back? Well, first of all, I've been on the move all over, due to not paying debts as fast as I made them."
Taking a quick swig from his drink, his father continued, "As for you, I heard about you from passersby on the street. You've done well for yourself, probably to show those who thought you'd be like me wrong, right? Most likely forgot all about your real parents."
No, Souichirou answered in his mind, the feel of your hand hitting my cheek still stings to this day.
"But that's going to change, for we're going to be a family again. I was thinking of opening a small doctor's office, where nobody knows who we really are, practicing a business just like your grandfather did. Soon we'll have tons of money and a house bigger than that of my elder brother. But until then, this will have to do. Get some shut-eye, and don't try anything funny, 'cause I have eyes all around this place."
Even after his father was snoring in his sleep, Souichirou didn't budge from his spot. Finally, he curled into a fetal position, spending a restless night on the floor, a single tear escaping slowly down his face.
*****
Classes for the day had been canceled due the full-blown police investigation of Hokuei High School. No student got by without being questioned, and clues were searched for extensively. Being one of the first people to talk with an officer, Yukino remained on the sidelines, quietly observing the chaos caused by Arima's disappearance. A hand suddenly grasped her shoulder in reassurance, and she whirled around, half-expecting to see Arima, saying everything was all right. Instead she met Asaba's solemn face, his eyes noticing her own were red and filled with tears. "Hey, how are you holding up?"
"How do you think?!" Yukino snapped, but instantly atoned for her outburst. "I'm sorry Asaba, I didn't mean to yell at you."
Asaba shrugged in understanding, glancing at his feet. "It's fine. I asked a stupid question. I know you've probably heard this a million times already this morning, but tearing yourself apart like this isn't going to make him return any faster."
A cynical snort left Yukino's mouth as she muttered dejectedly, "No one gets it, do they? If I had been there like I promised, he might've still been here. I let him down! I let his family down, his friends down, you down, and even my goddamn self down! I'M THE REASON ARIMA IS NO LONGER HERE!!"
Grasping and shaking her, Asaba shouted back, "No, you're wrong, Miyazawa! It's some sicko's fault Arima's missing, not yours! You don't know if he would be here; for all we know, you might've been kidnapped too. So stop blaming yourself, okay?!"
Yukino looked at him in surprise, and began to sob on his shirt. "Thank you, Asaba..."
"No way! He really saw Arima yesterday?!" a girl a couple feet away exclaimed to another student. Yukino's head popped up at the sound of this statement, and cleaning herself up as best as she could with Asaba's handkerchief, she approached the two. "Excuse me, but did you just mention Arima?"
"Oh! Miss Miyazawa, I didn't see you there," the first girl responded loudly. "Go ahead Miyuki, finish telling Miss Miyazawa what you were telling me."
The second girl nodded and pointed to a police officer leading a boy outside. "They're taking Mamoru Himitsuno to the station to talk to him further, but he mentioned earlier that he saw someone pick up Arima after school yesterday."
"What?!" Yukino screeched, shocking the other girls by her being out of character. She composed herself quickly, and pleaded, "I apologize. Please continue."
"Well, Mamoru said he was exiting through the front doors when he heard what seemed to be Arima yelling at someone. He seemed very agitated, but as Mamoru neared where the sounds where coming from, they suddenly stopped. Mamoru didn't see Arima anywhere when he got there, but there was a man who closed the back door of a blue station wagon before climbing into the front and driving off."
Staring incredulously at the both of them, Yukino at last blurted out, "Why did Mamoru just now report it?"
"He didn't think much of it," the girl responded nonchalantly, "because the man looked just like Arima's father."
Author's Notes: Okay, I've decided this didn't occur too late in the series, explaining why there's no other 'real' characters besides Arima, Miyazawa, and Asaba. Ow, I smashed my finger, and yet I continue to forget and type with it. T.T;;
Sounds of city traffic from below floated in from the open window of the dingy hotel room. Souichirou sat in one corner, calmly taking in the reappearance of the man in front of him, trying not to show he was quite frightened by his current situation. His father, eyes never leaving the television, asked abruptly, "Did you take that aspirin that I gave you?"
"Yes sir," Souichirou whispered, gathering his knees to his chest. His father flipped through a couple channels before turning off the television. "Good. Last thing I need is for you to get a serious infection and die on me. Sorry for knocking you out, but I didn't realize how strong you would be, but just like your old man, huh? Now, since there's nothing on TV, let's have a father-son chat. Is there anything you want to ask me after all these years?"
Why were you so cruel? Why did you leave me? Why was I ever born? Why were you ever born? thought Souichirou, but voted against saying them out loud in fear of facing his father's wrath. "Where's Mother?"
Souichirou's father waved his hand nonchalantly as he popped open a beer. "After we had to skip town because of various financial reasons, she regretted leaving you behind and how she treated you. She complained and lamented all about it, until in a little place just past Okinawa, she put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger."
The gleam in his father's eyes told Souichirou that his mother's death occurred in a different manner, a idea that made him physically ill. His father leaned back against the bed and scratched himself, reminiscing, "It was too bad, for she was one hell of a girl. And not to mention a wildcat in the shack. But damn boy, you must have other questions than that. Like where I've been all these years? Why did I come back now and take you back? Well, first of all, I've been on the move all over, due to not paying debts as fast as I made them."
Taking a quick swig from his drink, his father continued, "As for you, I heard about you from passersby on the street. You've done well for yourself, probably to show those who thought you'd be like me wrong, right? Most likely forgot all about your real parents."
No, Souichirou answered in his mind, the feel of your hand hitting my cheek still stings to this day.
"But that's going to change, for we're going to be a family again. I was thinking of opening a small doctor's office, where nobody knows who we really are, practicing a business just like your grandfather did. Soon we'll have tons of money and a house bigger than that of my elder brother. But until then, this will have to do. Get some shut-eye, and don't try anything funny, 'cause I have eyes all around this place."
Even after his father was snoring in his sleep, Souichirou didn't budge from his spot. Finally, he curled into a fetal position, spending a restless night on the floor, a single tear escaping slowly down his face.
Classes for the day had been canceled due the full-blown police investigation of Hokuei High School. No student got by without being questioned, and clues were searched for extensively. Being one of the first people to talk with an officer, Yukino remained on the sidelines, quietly observing the chaos caused by Arima's disappearance. A hand suddenly grasped her shoulder in reassurance, and she whirled around, half-expecting to see Arima, saying everything was all right. Instead she met Asaba's solemn face, his eyes noticing her own were red and filled with tears. "Hey, how are you holding up?"
"How do you think?!" Yukino snapped, but instantly atoned for her outburst. "I'm sorry Asaba, I didn't mean to yell at you."
Asaba shrugged in understanding, glancing at his feet. "It's fine. I asked a stupid question. I know you've probably heard this a million times already this morning, but tearing yourself apart like this isn't going to make him return any faster."
A cynical snort left Yukino's mouth as she muttered dejectedly, "No one gets it, do they? If I had been there like I promised, he might've still been here. I let him down! I let his family down, his friends down, you down, and even my goddamn self down! I'M THE REASON ARIMA IS NO LONGER HERE!!"
Grasping and shaking her, Asaba shouted back, "No, you're wrong, Miyazawa! It's some sicko's fault Arima's missing, not yours! You don't know if he would be here; for all we know, you might've been kidnapped too. So stop blaming yourself, okay?!"
Yukino looked at him in surprise, and began to sob on his shirt. "Thank you, Asaba..."
"No way! He really saw Arima yesterday?!" a girl a couple feet away exclaimed to another student. Yukino's head popped up at the sound of this statement, and cleaning herself up as best as she could with Asaba's handkerchief, she approached the two. "Excuse me, but did you just mention Arima?"
"Oh! Miss Miyazawa, I didn't see you there," the first girl responded loudly. "Go ahead Miyuki, finish telling Miss Miyazawa what you were telling me."
The second girl nodded and pointed to a police officer leading a boy outside. "They're taking Mamoru Himitsuno to the station to talk to him further, but he mentioned earlier that he saw someone pick up Arima after school yesterday."
"What?!" Yukino screeched, shocking the other girls by her being out of character. She composed herself quickly, and pleaded, "I apologize. Please continue."
"Well, Mamoru said he was exiting through the front doors when he heard what seemed to be Arima yelling at someone. He seemed very agitated, but as Mamoru neared where the sounds where coming from, they suddenly stopped. Mamoru didn't see Arima anywhere when he got there, but there was a man who closed the back door of a blue station wagon before climbing into the front and driving off."
Staring incredulously at the both of them, Yukino at last blurted out, "Why did Mamoru just now report it?"
"He didn't think much of it," the girl responded nonchalantly, "because the man looked just like Arima's father."
Author's Notes: Okay, I've decided this didn't occur too late in the series, explaining why there's no other 'real' characters besides Arima, Miyazawa, and Asaba. Ow, I smashed my finger, and yet I continue to forget and type with it. T.T;;