: By Samsara
::Stillmatic:: Dumb Touches
When Ken returned home that night, the house was almost deathly silent. It was well before midnight, but the house was still unusually silent. The only light came from the kitchen, where his father was hovered over piles of paperwork. Seeing Ken enter, the old man put aside his glasses and motioned for Ken to take a seat. Ken poured himself a glass of milk, and sat opposite his father, fists clenched and mouth clamped shut.
"I didn't get to ask you how your meeting went the other day. Well?" Mr. Inchijouji asked. Ken sighed. Of course he would want to know about that. That's really the only thing the two ever talked about these days.
"Same as it was last time. Group Therapy rarely has lively moments, Dad," Ken replied stiffly, his milk forgotten. Silence reigned the room briefly as his father contemplated his sentence. Finally, the man sat forward in his chair, chin resting in his folded hands.
"Are you learning anything? Or getting better? If not we're going to have to send you back to sh-" Mr. Inchijouji started seriously, but Ken interrupted him.
"I'm getting better, alright!? No more bad thoughts!"
Mr. Inchijouji sat back in his chair, eyes heavy from work gazing at his son charily. He then muttered something incomprehensible and picked up his reading glasses, signifying the conversation done. As Ken passed through the doorway, Mr. Inchijouji yelled after him, "You'd better be,"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day was Monday, and that meant school. It was the time of year where the school days blurred together, and you could never seem to remember where the days started or how they ended. The school day's high point got lost in a pile of others until shoved into the back of your mind, until only were you in the pits of despair did you remember them. Another day in uniforms and desks. Daisuke seemed bouncy as usual, and was half surprised when Ken wasn't.
"So... didja see 'Matt" Daisuke drawled, latching to Ken like fly to flypaper.
"We're going out," Ken murmured softly, the rest of the school oblivious to their conversation.
"And how has that got you feeling low? Come on man, new day! Birds sing, kids laugh, free ice cream for all but nooooooooooooo....... Ken has to frown," Daisuke joked, his arms fluttering in every which way. Students turned and stared a Daisuke's antics.
"I'm not 'feeling low'," Ken answered dully, unable to hide how true his depression was in his voice. Daisuke stopped and stared at Ken. His eyes darted up and down Ken's body for a moment. Truthfully, Ken was excited about Friday's date, it was just his meeting.
"Liar. You're a horrid liar. Now, your job by the beginning of lunch is to tell me what's bothering you," Dai smiled.
"And if you don't... YOU'RE NEVER GETTING YOUR LUCKY BOXERS BACK!!"
"You're the one who has my boxers!? DAISUKE!! GIVE THEM BACK!! IF YOU'RE WEARING THEM..."
Daisuke giggled madly as he rushed off, Ken hot in pursuit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interlude: One
"So... How was your week?"
"Fine,"
"Anything unusual happen?"
"Not really,"
"::Sigh:: How was the last session?"
"Brian got busted,"
"Oh? How so?"
"He went on a date. With a boy."
"How did this make you feel? Are you angry, or disappointed?"
"Which one do you want to hear?"
" Look now..."
"Can I go now?"
"Fine. But look... I'm here to help you. This is a problem, you know that right?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yama? Where are we going?" Ken asked as the jeep pulled onto the highway. Yamato grinned as he looked at the blindfolded boy from the corner of his eye. The night had just fallen, and the streetlamps glared in violent colors at passersby. People flocked the streets of downtown, circling the center square and eyes fixated on the shadows; looking for predators. Cars swarmed through the intersections, their speed blurring the Friday Night.
"That's a secret," Yamato replied devilishly.
"Alright then. Are we almost there yet?"
"Nope,"
"How 'bout now?"
"Nope,"
"Now?"
"No,"
"Are you sure we aren't there yet?"
"Ken, you remind me of T.K on vacation," Yamato chuckled.
"Oh really? T.K's as bad as Daisuke," Ken raised an eyebrow and scooted closer to the driver. His head swiveled up to look at Yama, and even though his eyes were blindfolded, Ken felt Yama's face smile as his laughter broke the air.
"Yeah? You weren't stuck with him, Hikari, Miyako, Iori and Koushiro for two straight weeks, sleeping in R.V. camps and living off Burger King," Yamato snorted as they pulled into the parking lot. Gently, Yamato lifted Ken out of the passenger side and set him down on the pavement. He then grabbed Ken's hand and led him blindly through the parking lot. They walked in silence, finding no obstacle on the grounds, until Yamato stopped him and stood behind Ken. Slowly, he removed the blindfold and stepped back to let Ken take in the sights.
The old carnival grounds had been shut down for at least 5 years, all of the rides and booths rusted and worn, each trashed with graffiti. The merry-go-round horses had paint chipping off, and although there was trash and broken light bulbs from the carnival's glorious days, the place still looked as amazing as it had been years ago. Ken turned to Yama, smiled, and tagged Yama before running in the direction of the Ferris wheel, his date hot on his heels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mmmmmm..fff!!! GODDAMMIT!!!" Taichi screamed as the doorbell rang for the fourth time. He sat up on the bed and placed his cinnamon-haired boyfriend onto the floor. He was still tucking in his shirt as he opened the door to none other than Takeru.
"For Christ's sake, Take'! IT'S ALMOST 11 P.M.!!!" Taichi cried at the teenager on his doorstep. From inside the house, Daisuke crept out of the bedroom and snuck up behind Taichi, looping an arm around his waist. Takeru blanched at Taichi's reaction, but remained calm as he was led into the tiny apartment. Taichi was literally thrown onto the couch as Daisuke straddled him, and Takeru was left to dump himself in the chair.
"So...?" Taichi started between mouthfuls of Daisuke.
"I'm looking for Yamato. Mom wants to see him and he wasn't at home," Takeru informed them, matter-of-factly.
"He's on a date," Daisuke replied, not bothering to look at Takeru's surprised reaction. Takeru shifted forward in his seat.
"Really?! He hasn't been on one in years... who? Do you know?"
"Uh.... well, ya see Take'..." Daisuke said awkwardly, pushing away from Taichi.
"He's going out with Ken," Taichi stated.
Takeru raised an eyebrow. Daisuke raised an eyebrow at Takeru's lack of reaction. Taichi... did not raise an eyebrow.
"Oh? When will they be back?" Takeru asked, shuffling the topic away from awkwardness.
"Is that all you're going to say?!!" Daisuke cried, standing up. Takeru looked up at him, then sighed deeply.
"I'm not like that anymore. I... I don't care if he's gay.... It doesn't bother me anymore, okay?" Takeru answered quietly, his voice tight with malice. Taichi grabbed his boyfriend and pulled Daisuke back onto the couch.
"What did your Mom want with him?"
"I don't know, but she seemed stressed about it. Yamato hasn't been home for days now, and I think it's starting to scare her. Yamato's been acting weird lately. Sometimes it's like he's out of it, then other times he's either gone or going crazy over studying. He wants to get into Totsubia University, and I think he thinks that if he doesn't get in, he'll have failed us all," Takeru replied, forehead furrowed.
"I'm still worried about Ken," Daisuke looked up from his hands, " Remember last summer when totally disappeared for a few months? I haven't been able to get him to talk to me about it. Whenever we speak of it, he looks away into the distance and tells me it's not my problem. It's like whatever happened was too horrible to speak of. He's also been drilling into schoolbooks since that summer. Before, he wouldn't be so uptight about it, but now it's like when he was the... Kaiser,"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A.N./ Heyla! I just got back from another interesting summer at camp! This year we got evacuated because of a forest fire, and it was very fun. More to come, and the "Interlude" is kinda confusing, but pay attention to them and all shall be revealed soon! -Samsara
::Stillmatic:: Dumb Touches
When Ken returned home that night, the house was almost deathly silent. It was well before midnight, but the house was still unusually silent. The only light came from the kitchen, where his father was hovered over piles of paperwork. Seeing Ken enter, the old man put aside his glasses and motioned for Ken to take a seat. Ken poured himself a glass of milk, and sat opposite his father, fists clenched and mouth clamped shut.
"I didn't get to ask you how your meeting went the other day. Well?" Mr. Inchijouji asked. Ken sighed. Of course he would want to know about that. That's really the only thing the two ever talked about these days.
"Same as it was last time. Group Therapy rarely has lively moments, Dad," Ken replied stiffly, his milk forgotten. Silence reigned the room briefly as his father contemplated his sentence. Finally, the man sat forward in his chair, chin resting in his folded hands.
"Are you learning anything? Or getting better? If not we're going to have to send you back to sh-" Mr. Inchijouji started seriously, but Ken interrupted him.
"I'm getting better, alright!? No more bad thoughts!"
Mr. Inchijouji sat back in his chair, eyes heavy from work gazing at his son charily. He then muttered something incomprehensible and picked up his reading glasses, signifying the conversation done. As Ken passed through the doorway, Mr. Inchijouji yelled after him, "You'd better be,"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day was Monday, and that meant school. It was the time of year where the school days blurred together, and you could never seem to remember where the days started or how they ended. The school day's high point got lost in a pile of others until shoved into the back of your mind, until only were you in the pits of despair did you remember them. Another day in uniforms and desks. Daisuke seemed bouncy as usual, and was half surprised when Ken wasn't.
"So... didja see 'Matt" Daisuke drawled, latching to Ken like fly to flypaper.
"We're going out," Ken murmured softly, the rest of the school oblivious to their conversation.
"And how has that got you feeling low? Come on man, new day! Birds sing, kids laugh, free ice cream for all but nooooooooooooo....... Ken has to frown," Daisuke joked, his arms fluttering in every which way. Students turned and stared a Daisuke's antics.
"I'm not 'feeling low'," Ken answered dully, unable to hide how true his depression was in his voice. Daisuke stopped and stared at Ken. His eyes darted up and down Ken's body for a moment. Truthfully, Ken was excited about Friday's date, it was just his meeting.
"Liar. You're a horrid liar. Now, your job by the beginning of lunch is to tell me what's bothering you," Dai smiled.
"And if you don't... YOU'RE NEVER GETTING YOUR LUCKY BOXERS BACK!!"
"You're the one who has my boxers!? DAISUKE!! GIVE THEM BACK!! IF YOU'RE WEARING THEM..."
Daisuke giggled madly as he rushed off, Ken hot in pursuit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interlude: One
"So... How was your week?"
"Fine,"
"Anything unusual happen?"
"Not really,"
"::Sigh:: How was the last session?"
"Brian got busted,"
"Oh? How so?"
"He went on a date. With a boy."
"How did this make you feel? Are you angry, or disappointed?"
"Which one do you want to hear?"
" Look now..."
"Can I go now?"
"Fine. But look... I'm here to help you. This is a problem, you know that right?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yama? Where are we going?" Ken asked as the jeep pulled onto the highway. Yamato grinned as he looked at the blindfolded boy from the corner of his eye. The night had just fallen, and the streetlamps glared in violent colors at passersby. People flocked the streets of downtown, circling the center square and eyes fixated on the shadows; looking for predators. Cars swarmed through the intersections, their speed blurring the Friday Night.
"That's a secret," Yamato replied devilishly.
"Alright then. Are we almost there yet?"
"Nope,"
"How 'bout now?"
"Nope,"
"Now?"
"No,"
"Are you sure we aren't there yet?"
"Ken, you remind me of T.K on vacation," Yamato chuckled.
"Oh really? T.K's as bad as Daisuke," Ken raised an eyebrow and scooted closer to the driver. His head swiveled up to look at Yama, and even though his eyes were blindfolded, Ken felt Yama's face smile as his laughter broke the air.
"Yeah? You weren't stuck with him, Hikari, Miyako, Iori and Koushiro for two straight weeks, sleeping in R.V. camps and living off Burger King," Yamato snorted as they pulled into the parking lot. Gently, Yamato lifted Ken out of the passenger side and set him down on the pavement. He then grabbed Ken's hand and led him blindly through the parking lot. They walked in silence, finding no obstacle on the grounds, until Yamato stopped him and stood behind Ken. Slowly, he removed the blindfold and stepped back to let Ken take in the sights.
The old carnival grounds had been shut down for at least 5 years, all of the rides and booths rusted and worn, each trashed with graffiti. The merry-go-round horses had paint chipping off, and although there was trash and broken light bulbs from the carnival's glorious days, the place still looked as amazing as it had been years ago. Ken turned to Yama, smiled, and tagged Yama before running in the direction of the Ferris wheel, his date hot on his heels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mmmmmm..fff!!! GODDAMMIT!!!" Taichi screamed as the doorbell rang for the fourth time. He sat up on the bed and placed his cinnamon-haired boyfriend onto the floor. He was still tucking in his shirt as he opened the door to none other than Takeru.
"For Christ's sake, Take'! IT'S ALMOST 11 P.M.!!!" Taichi cried at the teenager on his doorstep. From inside the house, Daisuke crept out of the bedroom and snuck up behind Taichi, looping an arm around his waist. Takeru blanched at Taichi's reaction, but remained calm as he was led into the tiny apartment. Taichi was literally thrown onto the couch as Daisuke straddled him, and Takeru was left to dump himself in the chair.
"So...?" Taichi started between mouthfuls of Daisuke.
"I'm looking for Yamato. Mom wants to see him and he wasn't at home," Takeru informed them, matter-of-factly.
"He's on a date," Daisuke replied, not bothering to look at Takeru's surprised reaction. Takeru shifted forward in his seat.
"Really?! He hasn't been on one in years... who? Do you know?"
"Uh.... well, ya see Take'..." Daisuke said awkwardly, pushing away from Taichi.
"He's going out with Ken," Taichi stated.
Takeru raised an eyebrow. Daisuke raised an eyebrow at Takeru's lack of reaction. Taichi... did not raise an eyebrow.
"Oh? When will they be back?" Takeru asked, shuffling the topic away from awkwardness.
"Is that all you're going to say?!!" Daisuke cried, standing up. Takeru looked up at him, then sighed deeply.
"I'm not like that anymore. I... I don't care if he's gay.... It doesn't bother me anymore, okay?" Takeru answered quietly, his voice tight with malice. Taichi grabbed his boyfriend and pulled Daisuke back onto the couch.
"What did your Mom want with him?"
"I don't know, but she seemed stressed about it. Yamato hasn't been home for days now, and I think it's starting to scare her. Yamato's been acting weird lately. Sometimes it's like he's out of it, then other times he's either gone or going crazy over studying. He wants to get into Totsubia University, and I think he thinks that if he doesn't get in, he'll have failed us all," Takeru replied, forehead furrowed.
"I'm still worried about Ken," Daisuke looked up from his hands, " Remember last summer when totally disappeared for a few months? I haven't been able to get him to talk to me about it. Whenever we speak of it, he looks away into the distance and tells me it's not my problem. It's like whatever happened was too horrible to speak of. He's also been drilling into schoolbooks since that summer. Before, he wouldn't be so uptight about it, but now it's like when he was the... Kaiser,"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A.N./ Heyla! I just got back from another interesting summer at camp! This year we got evacuated because of a forest fire, and it was very fun. More to come, and the "Interlude" is kinda confusing, but pay attention to them and all shall be revealed soon! -Samsara