chapter 7
--
"His...what?"
The man bowed gracefully, his eyes twinkling behind the round glasses. Shuichi was reminded forcibly of Crawford from Weiß. "Father. I am Cody's father. My name is Yamaguchi - I believe if you check the records, that boy is also Cody Yamaguchi."
Yuki's chest swelled as he took in a deep breath. "I see."
Shuichi cowered along the far wall. He winced as Cody's fingers dug into his flesh. He was trembling, shaking, shuddering so hard that Shuichi was afraid he was going to have a seizure.
"Cody was dumped in an adoption agency's orphanage because his mother was dead and his father was in jail," Yuki said smoothly. Shuichi could have kissed his feet for handling this. Yuki was being cool and collected - Shuichi would have been rolling around on the floor throwing a nervous temper tantrum.
"I was in jail," Yamaguchi replied, "for the murder of my wife."
Yuki's eyes narrowed.
"However, recent photographic evidence proved what I said all along - I never killed my beloved wife. It was suicide - she had gotten pregnant by another man, and, when I discovered this, I told her it was over. She was distraught, beyond dead - so she borrowed her boyfriend's gun and shot herself in the head. I found her when I returned home minutes later. The police arrived as I stooped over her, obviously upset. They took it for insanity. You can imagine how bad it looked to them...so I was jailed. I haven't seen my precious Cody since." He peered over Yuki's shoulder, his gaze landing on Shuichi, who was pressing as hard as he could against the wall on the other side. Cody was clinging to him harder than ever, his face buried in Shuichi's shoulder.
Ryuichi let out a small squeak. Hiro stepped forward.
"What are you going to do? You can't...I mean, Cody was legally adopted..."
"Of course, I want my son back. He was wrongfully taken from me, and now that I am free, out in the fresh air where I should have been these past six years."
Shuichi let out a terrified whimper. It had just hit him, and it'd hit him right between the eyes.
"This was a legal adoption," Tohma stepped forward, his voice piecing the silence. "You cannot-"
"But, I can," the man cooed, smiling sweetly still. "It's all been arranged. I am a lawyer, respectable, with a solid paycheck and a nice house. Cody would have a better childhood with me. They've seen the stories, the rumors, the pictures. I see that my son has pink hair - Pink. Hair! I will provide him with a proper education, not pathetic home taught lessons dictated by some romance novel writer."
Yuki's lip curled slightly.
"Would Cody do better at home with me and my fiancee, or with - this," he gestured around the room, a tiny little hint of a smile remaining on his face now. "The judges agree. Cody needs to get away from this fame, get his feet back on the ground, and be raised by a father - not an idol."
Shuichi's breath caught in his throat, and he felt Cody's grip tighten even further. Slowly, still clutching the boy to him, Shuichi slid to the ground, finally slumping over and trembling as a single tear fell down his cheek, sliding off his nose.
"Shu," Cody whispered, so quietly that nobody could hear him but Shuichi, "Shu...that's not true, Shu..." It was the first thing he'd said since his father came in.
"It is," Shuichi gasped in a shuddering breath, "It is true..."
"Shu...no..."
"You don't think of me as a dad," Shuichi whimpered, his voice cracking. "You never did, Cody, you never...you can't...Cody...my chickabiddy...my..."
"No..." Cody struggled to say it, fought himself, fought the burning eyes of his father...he could feel them, boring into his skull. Someone was shouting...it was Hiro, wasn't it? Yelling at his father...they were all angry...but he could hardly hear it...he was just with Shuichi, Shuichi, Shuichi...Shuichi...
He fought, the word on his lips, in his heart. He felt the tears on his face, felt the soft fabric of Shuichi's shirt against his cheek. Shuichi was sobbing, somewhere above him.
"Shu...please...I love you, Shu...I love you..." He wanted to die. He wanted to kill himself. Why couldn't he say it? Why not? Shuichi needed it...WHY?
"God, I love you too, Cody, I love you too..." Shuichi buried his face in Cody's hair, still sobbing gently. He could feel everyone's eyes on them now, but he didn't care. /They can't...I...I won't let him.../
A voice was talking. "Cody? Cody?"
"No," Cody whispered.
"Cody, it's me, your dad. Ready to pack up your stuff?"
"No," Cody said, louder. "No!"
His father smiled. "This is all very touching. However, I will return tomorrow to pick up Cody and his things. I hope I will not need to escort him out with a police officer. It was nice meeting all of you, and being shouted at by all of you too." He waved daintily, lifting his briefcase in one hand. As he was nearly out the door, Yuki stopped him.
"I don't like you," he growled under his breath. "You can't do this."
"Yes, I can," the man said coldly. "Please move, all these rock punks are making my hair fall out."
Yuki stood aside, wishing whole heatedly that it wasn't illegal to just beat somebody up and leave them, bloody and broken, in some random gutter.
He was gone. But the pain stayed in the room.
--
Everyone left. Cody and Shuichi didn't move from their spot on the floor for nearly an hour. Yuki let them. He loved Cody too, but he wasn't as deeply bonded to the boy as Shuichi was and vice versa. He'd really barely known the real Cody for a day.
He locked himself in his office.
He spent the entire day researching, printing, emailing, faxing, calling
and worrying. The case looked open and shut. They had photos of the woman
lying on her back, dead, the gun in her hand. He found a bit of an article
from when she originally died:
...shot twice in the head. Her husband, Yamaguchi Shingo, was found, bloody,
intoxicated, and distraught, hovering over her body and crying when police
arrived. The gun was registered under his name. He is receiving a life
sentence for the murder.
Their small son, Yamaguchi Cody, two, was later found locked in basement,
crying from hunger. He appeared to have been there for a few days. He will
be put up for adoption presently.
/Presently, my ass,/ Yuki thought bitterly, flipping through the papers. In the silence, he paused, and heard what he thought he had heard - whispers. Cody and Shuichi were whispering to each other, and had been for a while. Yuki frowned a little as the whispering stopped. He heard walking, then a door close gently somewhere off in the dark regions of the building. From what he could concur, they were now in his room.
He continued to study what he considered the stupidest case in the world. No fingerprint records, no nothing, the fact that she was posed to look like she'd done it the only proof standing between keeping a possible killer in jail or not.
It was a long night.
--
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Ah, birds. Birds in the morning. Birds in the...ugh...fucking morning.
Long night indeed. Yuki snapped awake, only to find his back aching from a night of sleep slumped over his desk with papers as a pillow. He growled at the way he'd drooled all over some of his notes. He sighed, sitting up and shuffling them around once more.
First, he noticed the silence. Second, he noticed the doorbell ringing. Third, he realized what was going on.
"Bullshit," he mumbled, slumping out and over to the door. Upon opening it, he was greeted with the creepy smiling face of Cody's father.
"Hello," he said cheerfully. Yuki swayed between spitting in the guy's face and slamming the door. Instead, he stared dully.
"Go away."
"I said I'd be back to get Cody today - and it's now today! Is he all ready to go home?"
"He is home," Yuki growled.
The man sighed, shook his head and handed Yuki a stack of papers. "Fool. He's my son. You're not his father. I am."
"You're right, I'm not much of a father to him. But if you take him away from Shuichi, you'll rip both their hearts out."
Another sigh. "Just as my own was so many years ago."
Yuki was doing a quick scan of the papers. He felt ready to burst from anger. Throwing them down, he brought a fist to the man's nose, stopping himself an inch before he would have punched him.
"Doesn't anyone care how Cody feels?"
"No." The man's glare was ice.
"Get your fucking ass back to jail where it belongs," Yuki snarled. "You know it. I know it. I'm looking for the proof."
"Good luck finding proof that isn't there. Now, go fetch my boy for me."
A police officer stepped up behind the man. Yuki stared at him - the two of them were easily a foot shorter than him. He could take them. He could...take...no. There was no use fighting...was there? This wasn't going to end in their favor... /I'll let him go now...I can prove this later and get him back within the week...right?/
Nodding slightly, Yuki slipped out of sight and into his room.
Empty.
It was empty. Yuki scanned the entire space, his eyes narrowing as he saw the closet. He stalked over, tearing it open. He looked inside and shook his head sadly.
"Shuichi...honestly."
Shuichi and Cody blinked up at him. Shuichi was leaning against the wall, his long legs spread out in front of him. Cody lay on his chest, the two of them clutching each other tightly. Shuichi's expression changed from scared to almost angry.
"Yuki, we're hiding here so they can't take Cody. If they can't find us, they'll give up and go home! Don't tell them where we are - please, Yuki?"
Cody nodded hopefully.
"Baka..." Yuki sighed. "Shuichi, you really are that dense...you think they won't find you in your own closet? Took me about three seconds." Shuichi's face fell at Yuki's words. Yuki crouched down, afraid he might cry at how desperate these two really were. "Please, Shuichi...I have a plan...you have to let Cody go..."
"NO!" Shuichi cried loudly. Yuki winced. At the door, Cody's father was smirking uncontrollably.
"Shuichi..."
"You're on their side!"
"Shuichi..."
"Maybe he's right," Cody whispered quietly. "I'm so afraid...I don't remember him...but I'm so afraid...afraid of him...of what he could do to you..."
Shuichi shut his eyes tightly. "Cody, no...you can't go, I told you, you can't go..."
Almost like he was hypnotized, Cody shook his head sadly, sliding off Shuichi's lap and crawling from the closet. Shuichi gasped from horror, crawling out after him. Yuki was the one who was angry now. Fools...he'd find the proof...he'd get Cody back...right? Even he was unsure...and he knew that Shuichi wouldn't be able to handle what was going to happen in a few minutes. It was inevitable. Shuichi'd raised Cody for the past few years, and during that time, he'd hardly been separated from the boy for a few hours, let alone what might now be days...weeks...months...
Shuichi wouldn't survive.
Yuki followed them out, his hatred flaring up in his chest instantly as he saw Yamaguchi's twisted, smirking face. Cody walked until he was five feet from his father. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then the ultimate, sheer force of it came crashing down on him. This was the man that he couldn't remember, yet was so afraid of that he couldn't call Shuichi dad in fear of remembering something.
He turned on his heel, bolting into Shuichi's arms. The singer cradled him gently, burying his nose in the soft hair.
"I won't let you go, Cody, I can't let you go!"
"Shu," Cody gasped, sounding as though he couldn't breathe, "Shu, please...don't...don't let him get me..."
"Time to go home, Cody!" came the merry cry from the doorway. Jesus fucking christ, Yuki hated this man.
"No," Shuichi whimpered, and the tone was obviously tinted with grief. "No...no! I need you, Cody..."
"Don't let him get me!"
"TIME TO GO HOME, SON!" The man cried a bit louder. He took a step forward, staring angrily as Yuki growled deep in his throat. Shuichi attempted to wrap himself around Cody, to shield the boy from his father. Yamaguchi ignored Yuki's growling and stepped even closer. "Cody? Come on, time to go now."
Shuichi felt his final moments slipping away. "Cody...I never got to tell you...what I was going to do, for your birthday..."
"Let's GO, Cody!" the man shouted angrily.
"Shu..." Cody whimpered.
"I was...was...g-going to..." Shuichi sniffed back his tears. "I-I...w-was...going to...to let you...let you come on stage with me, Cody...our next tour starts soon...I know it was your d-dream..."
"Oh god, Shu!" Cody whispered frantically, his voice watery. "I...you were going to...I could sing...with you, Shu?"
"Yes, Cody, yes...please...come back and sing with me still...I can't stand it...I don't want you to go, Cody - please!...NO! - NO!"
Shuichi began screaming as Cody's father reached down and lifted the boy, tearing him from Shuichi's grasp. Cody flailed like a fish that had been hooked and was suddenly in the clutches of suffocation. Yuki jumped forward, grabbing Shuichi around the waist and holding him down. Both pink haired boys fought.
"CODY!! CODY - COME BACK, CODY, PLEASE LET CODY GO - I NEED HIM!"
"SHU! No...Shu..." Cody trailed off as his father shifted him around so he could no longer see the singer. Shuichi's screams followed him to the door. "Shu..." the boy whispered. "You know what I wish I could say..."
The door slammed, and Shuichi's insane screaming intensified.
"CODY!! CODY!!! YUKI - LET GO OF ME! YOU'RE ON HIS SIDE! YOU ALWAYS HATED CODY! YOU HATE ME! YOU'RE WITH THEM - LET ME THE HELL GO!"
Yuki ignored the cries, but he had to turn his face away to hide the tears brimming in his own eyes. Shuichi finally settled, slumping in Yuki's arms and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Cody..."
--
Later that night, Yuki passed by Cody's room. The door was slightly ajar, and, upon peering inside, he saw Shuichi, lying on the small bed and clutching neko-neko. His weeping was something to shatter the coldest heart.
Yuki would never forget how it sounded.
--
Cody hugged his knees to his chest, which just caused him to sink into the couch. His heart beat a million times a minute - he could hear the clanking from the kitchen.
His father was drinking.
Lies, lies, lies. There was no finance. There was no happiness here. Cody'd be deposited on the couch, then ignored...until now. Bad memories, just flashes of pictures, spattered Cody's mind. He was about two and a half when he last saw his dad, and he couldn't remember a thing clearly. However, bits and pieces floated through his mind. And he was afraid.
There was a coughing noise, then a splattering sound. His father was now throwing up whatever he'd obviously drank too much of. Cody tried to shrink into the couch, out of sight.
The silhouette of his drunken dad appeared in the doorway from the kitchen. The round glasses were dangling off one ear. Cody shivered.
"Schtupid...schutpid kid," he mumbled, his voice slurred almost to a point beyond recognition. "You shaw - didn't you? You shaw me kill her. You were shtanding there holding you cat. Staring. You didn't even cry, you're a man, aren't you, Cody."
Cody said nothing.
"I'm'a kill you, boy." His father stood straight, making himself look incredibly large. Cody uttered a small whimper and slid off the couch, pressing himself into the wall instead. "I'm'a kill you, boy! Don't run away, I shoot your ass. Your sorry little ass. You could tell them people...that I did kill her. You could...I shwear I shoot you if you don't do what I shay!"
Cody growled, backing further into the wall. His father pressed a hand to the small boy's chest, smiling a little.
"Whossha good little boy."
"Go away," Cody said quietly, firmly, turning his head to avoid the drunken stink pouring from his father's mouth. The man chuckled, taking his free hand and running it up Cody's leg gently.
"Whossha good little boy."
Cody trembled as the hand was lifted from his leg, then slid down through his waistband. His father held him roughly, a small breath wheezing out from between his lips.
"Cody, Cody - are you a man yet, Cody?"
"Go away!" Cody said again, his voice shaking as much as he was. "I said go away!"
"Don't talk to me like that - shtupid kid! Now lay on the ground!"
"NO!" Cody screamed, hitting his dad across the face and slipping from his grasp. He heard a roar of rage and felt a rough hand grab him from behind.
"I SAID LAY ON THE GROUND!"
Cody was forced to the floor on his stomach, his hands held behind his back in a viselike grip. He gritted his teeth as he felt his legs being spread apart, felt himself being probed with harsh fingers...felt something press up against him...heard his father's groans...
In a burst of terror, Cody found strength, flipping around and kicking his father hard. As the man cried in pain, Cody stumbled up, and ran.
He ran for his life, searching for the door, for the way out. He paused to look left and right.
Then the shots rang out.
Cody's small body was thrown into the wall with the impact. He cried out as the metal ripped through his flesh.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
He stumbled, falling to his knees and letting out a strangled moan of pain. The blood soaked his shirt. He tried to stand.
Again.
The fourth shot brought the small boy crashing to the floor. Barely able to see, Cody watched the ceiling fade. Shuichi's face was in his mind. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but his arms refused to obey.
"I'm sorry...Dad..." he whispered. He hoped with all his heart that Shuichi could hear him, that Shuichi would be happy for him, proud of him...wherever he was.
Then it was dark.
His father stood over him, panting as the gun slipped from his hands.
"Shit," he mumbled. "Not again."
He grabbed the bloody, broken child, hauling him out to the car and throwing him in the back seat. Then he took off into the night.
--
"Shuichi - I've got it! I've got it, I have the proof. Shuichi - listen to me!" Yuki knelt by the couch, shaking Shuichi's shoulders gently. The singer wiped his eyes off, turning to look bleakly at Yuki.
"What did you find?"
"Look. According to this case, Cody's mother committed suicide by shooting herself in the head. Right?"
"Yes, Yuki...I already know this...please-"
"Okay. These pictures show that she was spread out on the floor, the gun in her right hand, the bullet wound in the right side of her head. Right?"
Shuichi turned away from the images. "Stop it, Yuki."
"We've got him, Shuichi." Yuki shuffled papers and pointed. "This woman...she was left handed."
Shuichi turned back, looking at the paper. "Left...handed..."
"As in her right hand would be useless for holding a gun steady to her head."
There was a pause of silence between them. Quite suddenly, Shuichi jumped up. Fear coursed through his veins.
"Yuki - that means Cody is with a killer right now!"
"We have to go get him," Yuki breathed. "I'll go start the car."
However, the two of them froze at the next sound they heard. Something had been thrown at their door. It sounded as though someone had hit the building with a sack of potatoes. After that noise, one of squealing tires.
Shuichi's heart pounded against his chest. He pushed Yuki aside, ignoring his cries of "Wait!". He opened the door slowly, then stared.
Rushing over, Yuki looked over his shoulder at what lie on their porch.
"Jesus christ..." Yuki mumbled, taking a step back. "Shuichi...don't..."
Too late. Shuichi dropped to his knees, reaching out and taking the still, silent form of Cody into his arms. The boy was covered in fresh, glistening blood. His pink hair was matted with the darkening stains, his small mouth open as if in an attempt to cry out for help.
"Cody..." Shuichi mumbled, holding the child close to his chest. "Cody, wake up. Cody, wake up. Cody, wake up. Cody, wake up."
Yuki turned away.
"Cody, wake up. Cody, wake up. Cody, wake UP! CODY! WAKE UP! CODY - CODY! NO - CODY!!"
Shuichi sucked in a gasping breath as he rocked back and forth, clutching Cody as tight as he possibly could. The tears came fast, sliding down his cheeks, mingling with the blood on Cody's face. He sobbed, then threw his head back to cry out his son's name, letting out a strangled scream at the night sky.
--
now i get to leave you all waiting
for the explanation of what actually happened. please don't leave
me evil reviews about how angsty i am until you know what i am really doing
here.
and no the next chapter isnt going
to be shuichi waking up and screaming WHAT A BAD DREAM!
yes. there is a reason yuki's father
acts just like a really nasty yuki kitazawa.
to be continued.
--
follow the arrow and click, onegai
shimasu.*
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