Some authors notes: In all of my searching, I haven't been able to find out if Tamura's surname is Tamura, or Kazuto. Perhaps someone can clear this up? I've only actually found one site that had Tamura Kazuto (his full name) listed in their character section, but I'm not sure if this was the japanese presentation of the name or not. If I find out Tamura's his last name, then I'll have to change it around. If that's the case, please ignore my ignorance! XD;;
Enough of my rambling! Please, enjoy the first chunk of Home at Last!
"Oi, Naru-chan! I'm going out for a bit...don't be late for school again." Tamura's harsh words broke through Naruhito's fuzzy dream and the boy quickly sat up. His sheets were in tangles about his legs, and the whole bed was drenched in sweat. He'd had a nightmare again, the third that week. It seemed his older brother hadn't noticed, as Naruhito expected. His brother never took much notice to him lately.
Fumbling around and finally emerging successful, Naruhito extracted himself from his vinery sheets and padded softly out into the expanse of hallway. His body shivered as his bare feet made contact with cold wooden floor beams. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the palms of his hands, he shuffled down the hall to the bathroom. As he arrived, he found the heavy oak door pulled shut, and a faint bar of light fell across the floor from the crack under the door. Splashes and running water obviously hinted at a shower, and by the horrible wailing of a familiar rock song, Naruhito guessed it was Takashi. Fairly used to being the last one in the bathroom in the mornings, he made his way slowly to the kitchen, rubbing yet again at his tired eyes while surveying the scene for some sort of breakfast. It seemed Takashi had already helped himself, and Naruhito was forced to pick at the meager leavings. But the boy was most certainly not in an eating mood anyway. Depression ate at him constantly; so much that he no longer feigned happiness as he had once come accustomed to. His once fine, almost radiant complexion had dulled, and he had even acquired dark circles around his formerly shining blue eyes from the many recent sleepless nights.
Finally giving up on food, Naruhito pulled his tired limbs up from the chair and dragged himself back through the quiet halls to the bathroom. Exhaustion tugged at his head, toward the ground below, but he leaned desperately against the wall for some sort of support. The singing from inside the room had stopped and Naruhito forced himself to wait patiently rather than cause a disturbance. He really didn't need his ritual morning fight with Takashi today. Abruptly, the door swung open and a scantily clad 14 year old sauntered out of the steam clouded bathroom.
"Yo, baka yarou! Ogenki desu ka??" Came the expected sneer, and Naruhito had to swallow his sarcasm before he completely lost himself. Cautiously, he raised his eyes to meet the brown of Takashi's and studied their depths.
"Hai," he let out simply, shooting a soft glare in his bedroom mate's direction as he passed the boy on his way into the bathroom. He was about to shut the door behind him when he felt a warm body press up against him and a puff of hot breath on his ear.
"Have a peachy day," Takashi whispered roughly, a sarcastic tone in his young voice. A hand brushed Naruhito's backside and lingered, causing the boy to shiver with uncertainty. What the hell--?
"Takashi! Nan desu ka?" Naruhito glared furiously at the hand that had been invading his space and felt his whole body go red with embarrassment. Takashi's smirk didn't fade from view until the door was slammed and the steam engulfed Naruhito's slim form. His pajamas were quickly thrown off, the locked clicked smoothly in place, and he was finally basking in the soothing feel of hot water pounding fiercely into his knotted muscles. As the comfortable warmth reverberated through his body, Naruhito pondered Takashi's disturbing behavior. Never before had the elder boy acted in such a strange way. On the contrary, some days the brash young man never acknowledged his presence.
With a sickened shudder, Naruhito scrubbed harshly at his skin, the slimy thoughts seeming to cling to his body like parasites. He couldn't shake the horrible feeling that his misery would deepen in the coming days.
************************************
"Kazuto-kun!" A shrill voice called out as Naruhito shuffled slowly out of the school house in the direction of home. Gravely, he lifted his head to acknowledge the figure approaching him. "Oi, Kazuto-kun, daijoubou desu ka?" It was Kishimoto Nagi, a girl from his homeroom. They had grown close the previous year when they had shared the same homeroom the previous year also, but she seemed to have found the world of fashion and gossip. Naruhito had assumed she had forgotten his existence.
"Aa, Nagi-chan. Daijoubou desu," he answered, averting his eyes to gaze at the sidewalk beneath him. When he vaguely became aware that he was being followed, he stopped to return her stare. Coldly, he assessed her with his silent glare. "Nani ka?" he finally asked, heaving a mental sigh. Why had she suddenly noticed his presence when he least desired annoyance?
"Etou...hontou ni daijoubou desu ka?"she asked, "You seem so out of it lately." Nagi peered up at him with mild concern showing in the clear green of her eyes. Her slender fingers absent mindedly twirled a tendril of hair that had found its way out of her loose pony.
"Dame desu ne." Naruhito replied, turning away. He began to continue his trek home, walking briskly with his head bent and dark bangs shadowing his hollow eyes.
"Demo...matte Kazuto-kun," Nagi called out, speeding up her pace to try and catch up. "Naru-chan!" Naruhito stopped abruptly when he heard her use the endearing nickname. He sharply turned toward her, a dull fire dancing in his eyes and keen annoyance in his voice.
"Naze? Why do you care all of a sudden? You stopped associating with me months ago. Do you only care when it suits your own selfish needs?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Naruhito screamed in the frightened girl's face, clutching her slim shoulders and shook them. Her innocent interrogation had sent him over the edge and all of the pent up frustration, anger and hurt cascaded from his mouth. His glare was fierce, and Nagi let out a little yelp as his fingers dug fiercely deeper into her flesh.
"G-gomen..." her voice broke, shaking with the tears that had begun running down her face. She was pale, eyes wide and dripping with grief. But the evidence that he was hurting her didn't sway his fury. "Itai, you're hurting me!" Nagi shrieked, as Naruhito's rough grip finally caused a jolt of pain to course through her. She surveyed his crazed panting and finally ripped herself away from the pressure of his hate filled "embrace".
"Well, bitch! What is it?! Spit it out!" Naruhito said cruelly in a taunting voice, his mind long since lost. Nagi didn't respond; she only looked up at him from her broken position on the ground beneath him with tragic eyes. Her lips moved as if to speak, but another shudder wracked her body and she was overcome with sobs.
"I....I..." She paused, looking at the ground as if to gather up her strength. " Anata ga, suki da." The enraged boy's eyes grew wide, and the anger was replaced suddenly with confusion. And as the weeping girl fled, all Naruhito could do was stare at her retreating form, still shaking from the whole ordeal. All of those times he had looked into her eyes, he'd never noticed the glint of adoration, or the longing hidden deep within her gaze.
"Chikusho!" the boy growled, slamming a fist into the palm of his other hand. Tears of anguish and regret slid from his clenched eyes. He wished he could run after Nagi, wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right as long as she was by his side. But he couldn't even find the courage to move, and instead fell in a slump against the outer walls of the school, underneath the tall oak shadowing his pitiful form from existence.
Enough of my rambling! Please, enjoy the first chunk of Home at Last!
"Oi, Naru-chan! I'm going out for a bit...don't be late for school again." Tamura's harsh words broke through Naruhito's fuzzy dream and the boy quickly sat up. His sheets were in tangles about his legs, and the whole bed was drenched in sweat. He'd had a nightmare again, the third that week. It seemed his older brother hadn't noticed, as Naruhito expected. His brother never took much notice to him lately.
Fumbling around and finally emerging successful, Naruhito extracted himself from his vinery sheets and padded softly out into the expanse of hallway. His body shivered as his bare feet made contact with cold wooden floor beams. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the palms of his hands, he shuffled down the hall to the bathroom. As he arrived, he found the heavy oak door pulled shut, and a faint bar of light fell across the floor from the crack under the door. Splashes and running water obviously hinted at a shower, and by the horrible wailing of a familiar rock song, Naruhito guessed it was Takashi. Fairly used to being the last one in the bathroom in the mornings, he made his way slowly to the kitchen, rubbing yet again at his tired eyes while surveying the scene for some sort of breakfast. It seemed Takashi had already helped himself, and Naruhito was forced to pick at the meager leavings. But the boy was most certainly not in an eating mood anyway. Depression ate at him constantly; so much that he no longer feigned happiness as he had once come accustomed to. His once fine, almost radiant complexion had dulled, and he had even acquired dark circles around his formerly shining blue eyes from the many recent sleepless nights.
Finally giving up on food, Naruhito pulled his tired limbs up from the chair and dragged himself back through the quiet halls to the bathroom. Exhaustion tugged at his head, toward the ground below, but he leaned desperately against the wall for some sort of support. The singing from inside the room had stopped and Naruhito forced himself to wait patiently rather than cause a disturbance. He really didn't need his ritual morning fight with Takashi today. Abruptly, the door swung open and a scantily clad 14 year old sauntered out of the steam clouded bathroom.
"Yo, baka yarou! Ogenki desu ka??" Came the expected sneer, and Naruhito had to swallow his sarcasm before he completely lost himself. Cautiously, he raised his eyes to meet the brown of Takashi's and studied their depths.
"Hai," he let out simply, shooting a soft glare in his bedroom mate's direction as he passed the boy on his way into the bathroom. He was about to shut the door behind him when he felt a warm body press up against him and a puff of hot breath on his ear.
"Have a peachy day," Takashi whispered roughly, a sarcastic tone in his young voice. A hand brushed Naruhito's backside and lingered, causing the boy to shiver with uncertainty. What the hell--?
"Takashi! Nan desu ka?" Naruhito glared furiously at the hand that had been invading his space and felt his whole body go red with embarrassment. Takashi's smirk didn't fade from view until the door was slammed and the steam engulfed Naruhito's slim form. His pajamas were quickly thrown off, the locked clicked smoothly in place, and he was finally basking in the soothing feel of hot water pounding fiercely into his knotted muscles. As the comfortable warmth reverberated through his body, Naruhito pondered Takashi's disturbing behavior. Never before had the elder boy acted in such a strange way. On the contrary, some days the brash young man never acknowledged his presence.
With a sickened shudder, Naruhito scrubbed harshly at his skin, the slimy thoughts seeming to cling to his body like parasites. He couldn't shake the horrible feeling that his misery would deepen in the coming days.
************************************
"Kazuto-kun!" A shrill voice called out as Naruhito shuffled slowly out of the school house in the direction of home. Gravely, he lifted his head to acknowledge the figure approaching him. "Oi, Kazuto-kun, daijoubou desu ka?" It was Kishimoto Nagi, a girl from his homeroom. They had grown close the previous year when they had shared the same homeroom the previous year also, but she seemed to have found the world of fashion and gossip. Naruhito had assumed she had forgotten his existence.
"Aa, Nagi-chan. Daijoubou desu," he answered, averting his eyes to gaze at the sidewalk beneath him. When he vaguely became aware that he was being followed, he stopped to return her stare. Coldly, he assessed her with his silent glare. "Nani ka?" he finally asked, heaving a mental sigh. Why had she suddenly noticed his presence when he least desired annoyance?
"Etou...hontou ni daijoubou desu ka?"she asked, "You seem so out of it lately." Nagi peered up at him with mild concern showing in the clear green of her eyes. Her slender fingers absent mindedly twirled a tendril of hair that had found its way out of her loose pony.
"Dame desu ne." Naruhito replied, turning away. He began to continue his trek home, walking briskly with his head bent and dark bangs shadowing his hollow eyes.
"Demo...matte Kazuto-kun," Nagi called out, speeding up her pace to try and catch up. "Naru-chan!" Naruhito stopped abruptly when he heard her use the endearing nickname. He sharply turned toward her, a dull fire dancing in his eyes and keen annoyance in his voice.
"Naze? Why do you care all of a sudden? You stopped associating with me months ago. Do you only care when it suits your own selfish needs?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Naruhito screamed in the frightened girl's face, clutching her slim shoulders and shook them. Her innocent interrogation had sent him over the edge and all of the pent up frustration, anger and hurt cascaded from his mouth. His glare was fierce, and Nagi let out a little yelp as his fingers dug fiercely deeper into her flesh.
"G-gomen..." her voice broke, shaking with the tears that had begun running down her face. She was pale, eyes wide and dripping with grief. But the evidence that he was hurting her didn't sway his fury. "Itai, you're hurting me!" Nagi shrieked, as Naruhito's rough grip finally caused a jolt of pain to course through her. She surveyed his crazed panting and finally ripped herself away from the pressure of his hate filled "embrace".
"Well, bitch! What is it?! Spit it out!" Naruhito said cruelly in a taunting voice, his mind long since lost. Nagi didn't respond; she only looked up at him from her broken position on the ground beneath him with tragic eyes. Her lips moved as if to speak, but another shudder wracked her body and she was overcome with sobs.
"I....I..." She paused, looking at the ground as if to gather up her strength. " Anata ga, suki da." The enraged boy's eyes grew wide, and the anger was replaced suddenly with confusion. And as the weeping girl fled, all Naruhito could do was stare at her retreating form, still shaking from the whole ordeal. All of those times he had looked into her eyes, he'd never noticed the glint of adoration, or the longing hidden deep within her gaze.
"Chikusho!" the boy growled, slamming a fist into the palm of his other hand. Tears of anguish and regret slid from his clenched eyes. He wished he could run after Nagi, wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right as long as she was by his side. But he couldn't even find the courage to move, and instead fell in a slump against the outer walls of the school, underneath the tall oak shadowing his pitiful form from existence.