Nijuusei

Chapter 11: Drifting Till An Anchor Drops

By Kaen

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Yay! The new chapter! Aren't you all just so happy? I hope you are because I really tried to have the new chapter up today. Why today, you ask? Because it's the Seiryuu twins' birthday! August 26, right on! It's actually my mother's birthday today as well. When I first learned of that fact, I'm sure you could understand why I'd be more than a little… scared, yep. Oh well, please read on and review!

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So… Let's get this straight…We have a pair of old jeans, a blood-stained over shirt without any buttons, some worn-out sneakers, an open loaf of bread, and twenty bucks… What the hell is going on here!?

Hiashi groaned and flopped on his back from the cross-legged position he was in, sprawling out on the wooden floor of his bedroom. He gazed absentmindedly at the ceiling as he tried to find some sort of pattern in the items sorted on his cluttered floor. The bread was probably the stolen thing he was accused of stealing, but how did it get inside his house? And what was with the other stuff he found? Did some random guy steal some food, come to his house, strip down naked and just leave? No, that couldn't be right. If whoever it was went through the trouble of stealing in the first place, it wouldn't have been just to dump it at someone's house! He sighed, closing his eyes. Was everything on the East Coast always this illogical?

Maybe he could go out for a walk and try to sort his findings? He used to do that in California, since their house was so close to the beach. He'd just slip on his sandals and walk a couple blocks to get to the oceanside, but now it was so different. He couldn't just leave anymore because of the incident the other day that his parents now distrusted him for, but even if he could leave, where would he go? It was always cold and overcast, and there were no beaches to abandon one's sandals on and walk along the surf. There hadn't been a warm, comfortable day since Hiashi had moved to New York, and he doubted that he'd ever see one here in the overcrowded, dreary city. He sighed heavily, in his heart revisiting his favorite place on earth, and in his mind, realizing that he may never see it again for several years to come.

In a situation like this, one would expect the unfortunate boy who was whisked away to a new home across the country to be complaining about the home that he had to leave, and particularly about the friends he forced to leave. But Hiashi did neither. They had moved and his warm days and beautiful ocean were gone, but he did nothing to lament the loss of his friends. There were no friends to lament. From the time he was adopted to the time of the first episode, he had had some friends, but like most childhood friends, there were gone like the mist of the night when the sun arises. Maybe they would still be with him if it weren't for the accident, or whatever it had been. When he'd had to start going to court and spending most of his days at a children's institute, he never got to play with his friends, and barely got to see his parents for that matter.

When it was over nearly a year over, the family was held together by strands as fine as a strand of silk, silk that had once been a beautiful strong tapestry that had been reinforced with the unconditional love. It was stained, burned, and battered, but Hiashi had helped his parents pick up the severed strings from the dirty ground and they, together as a family, began the painstakingly slow process of reweaving a torn tapestry. It could never be a brilliant as it once was, though, in those carefree days where he and his mother would play on the beach all day and then come home to greet his father when he came back from work. His father's eyes would be so bright when Hiashi would jump into his arms, telling hurried stories of some magical creature or another that he and his mother had supposedly spotted at the beach. He would listen so passionately, as if he really was believing everything that his energetic child had to tell him, but now that he remembered it, his dad would look away from Hiashi for just a second and look at his mother, who would shake her head slightly as a warm smile graced her lips.

His mother and father had been with him when it first happened. That evening, they were shopping for new school things for Hiashi, since summer was coming to a close. He was going into third grade that year; it had been just that summer when he had started learning to play the piano. He was so very content banging out the strangled tones of the music, completely oblivious to the horrid sounds he was making. But his parents would watch him and listen to his "playing" as if it were the most beautiful thing that they had ever heard, as if they believed their son to be a musical prodigy. Hiashi had been begging to go back to the music store and get another book full of songs for him to play since he felt that he had mastered the first one already. He saw no point in buying new clothes, shoes, and pencils for him since they'd all get dirty, worn out, and worn down, but his parents had insisted and when they dragged him into a shoe store. They had just bought him a new pair of sneakers, which Hiashi carried out of the store proudly without bothering to put the shoebox into a bag, when he suddenly stopped and the box tumbled out of his arms. He felt like his arm had just gone to sleep and became immobile, causing him to drop his prized shoes. But when he saw the thick stream of blood trailing down his arm from his shoulder… Something sharp dug into his thigh, while his vision became hazy and eventually faded completely. There was no culprit in any of the places that Hiashi was injured, but the blood and immobile joints were unmistakable.

He blacked out completely them. The next thing h became of aware of, he was fighting to shield his eyes from the florescent lights of the ICU in the hospital. It had been nearly two days since he had fallen unconscious, but the pain was intolerable to little Hiashi as he squeezed his eyes shut, vainly trying to fight the tears, which were already streaming down his bandaged face. Not soon after had woken up, he had been bombarded by the questions of doctors and lawyers, but he couldn't understand them. It wasn't that the questions were complex, but rather, the fact that nothing would register in his mind other than the intense pain that seem to radiate from every pore of his young body. Several days passed like that and even though he often asked to see his mother or father, he was always denied. He hadn't know then, but he was being held in the custody of the state until it was proved that it was or was not a child abuse scandal; that's how he missed the nearly half a year of school in third grade.

When he was finally permitted to go home, he had almost immediately been dragged to several different child psychologists and shrinks. It was always long and tedious, telling these rude, probing people everything he knew about the strange situation not too long ago And then they were betrayed by the very man they thought they could trust. After that, it was nothing but court cases, lawsuits, and division from his parents. He was once again held in state custody for over five months as each individual court case came and went, receiving his education from a large woman who wore much make-up, but she'd had gentle voice and a kind perseverance. Come to think of it, her voice reminded him of the voice that had escorted him to the car in his dream. Was it a dream? Hiashi's eyebrows furrowed, his train of thought was lost into the haze of a dream. The voice to him had always sounded familiar from someplace that he couldn't ever recall. Was that it, or was he just imaging things again? Maybe he was getting sick, and that's why things seemed so strange and unfounded?

He sat up abruptly as a profound idea occurred to him. His foster parents had definitely been around longer than him, and must have had at least some knowledge of his original life. They wouldn't just adopt a little boy if they know nothing about why he alone in the first place, right? Pushing himself to his feet quickly, he strode across the room, yanked open the door, and nearly slammed it on the way out in his haste to find his mother or father.

"Mom! Dad! Where are you?" Hiashi called, tearing from one room to another and nearly sliding into a wall as he tried to turn sharply on a small carpet in the hallway. Using the wall as leverage, he shoved himself off of it and ran into the only other room on the level, the dining room. Hiashi had remembered his mother unpacking and arranging the china in the cabinet earlier that day, and was immensely disappointed to find no one in the room. Pausing for a moment, Hiashi took in a deep breath and called out again, "Mom! Dad! Is anyone home?" But instead of taking off immediately afterwards, he stood still and listened. 

"We're upstairs, Hiashi!" replied his mother's voice from one of the upper-level rooms. Hiashi grinned in satisfaction as he took off for the staircase, slipping again on the loose rug. But this time, he wasn't as lucky as to have time to push off the wall and slammed directly into it with a loud thud. Sliding down it seconds later, Hiashi's hand flew up to grip his forehead. 

"Ow, ow, ow!!" he wailed pitifully. He rubbed the back of his hand over the area where he'd smacked into the offensive wall , tried to ease the throbbing pain. "Ow…" groaning, he pushed himself back to his feet, squinting out from under his arm that was held protectively against his head.

"Hiashi?" a voice called from the upstairs. "Are you okay? We heard a crash.."

Hiashi glared in the vicinity of the upstairs room, but being upset with himself rather than his parents. Why hadn't he just checked upstairs first? It would have saved him some time and a collision with the wall. Sighing, he allowed his shoulder to slump and stepped cautiously through the hallway, being particularly mindful of any loose rugs or blankets on the wooden floor. Climbing the steps, he peered into each room as he passed and eventually found his parents hanging up a framed photo in the extra room upstairs that had been deemed the television room.. Hiashi watched them curiously for a second, smiling when he remembered the origin of the picture that they were hanging. It had been a really hot day when the picture was taken. He, his mother and father had been at a family reunion and for Hiashi, it was more like a family introduction. He honestly didn't know anyone there save those who had visited his house while in town, a grand total of about three relatives. What had actually bothered him the most wasn't that fact that he didn't know anyone, but the fact that everyone knew him…

Unbeknownst to him as the tender age of seven was the truth that family members do often communicate with each other and exchange photos, and his parents had apparently done a very thorough job of introducing him to the family without him ever realizing it. The man who had taken the photo had been his mother's cousin, a short balding man with strange eyebrows, but a hearty laugh and generous attitude, especially when it came to cameras. He had insisted that he get a picture of the three of them, Hiashi, his mother, and father, and the photo that his parents were hanging was the result. From the moment it was developed, it had been a favorite and Hiashi's dad even carried a smaller version of it in his wallet; to remind himself of better times, Hiashi supposed…

After the incident, though, he hadn't really seen much of anyone else in the family, and it was this thought that he was reflecting on when Hiashi's parents decided to acknowledge his presence. His eyes were gazing absently at the floor, while traces of sad emotions swam through their dark blue depths and his mouth was set in a bitter frown.

"Hiashi, what's wrong?" his mother asked, setting the hammer down on the sofa nearby. When Hiashi didn't even look up, she grew more concerned and swiftly crossed the room. When she stood in front of her son and he still didn't seem to notice her, she reached up and brushed her hand over his cheek. This caused him to blink and start a little, but surprise was replaced by relief as Hiashi grasped the hand that was stroking his face firmly in one of his own.

"I'm glad I found you!" he announced to his mother happily, giving her hand a slight squeeze before releasing it. "There's something that I'd like to talk to you about sometime, so when you could find a free moment…" he trailed off, suddenly wondering if the subject of his adoption would bring up bad memories.

"Oh, all right, Hiashi. I suppose it's time for a lunch break." She glanced at her small wristwatch. "Oh, my goodness! It's already well past four! I think it would be better to just start dinner." She smiled at her husband apologetically, regretting missing their lunch. He just nodded and turned back to the framed photo, looking at it this way and such as if he were looking for something he might have lost inside it.

"Why don't you help me downstairs?" Hiashi mother asked, turning towards the doorway. "We could talk about whatever you want to then."

Hiashi nodded in agreement and silently followed his mother to the kitchen on the lower level, being mindful once again on the carpet he slipped twice on already. As they walked downstairs, Hiashi watched his mother, or specifically her hair. It used to be a very long veil of cascading black, but she had cut it a few years back and it was now a short bob that always bounced joyfully at even the slightest movement. He had missed the long tresses when they were first cut. As strange as it was, he had enjoyed playing with his mother's long hair when he was younger, trying to braid it and twist it this way and that. She had been amazingly tolerant of his tugging and tangling, always regarding him with warm brown eyes. However, when she had had to re-enter the business world, she had traded it all for a shorter, more sophisticated hair-do that framed her round face near perfectly.

One of the things that Hiashi personally couldn't understand about his mom as why she hadn't dropped out of the business word when his father's job was once again stable and they were certain that he made more than enough money for them to live comfortably off of. Was it because she somehow realized that her husband's job wasn't as steady as needed? Or that she missed being part of business? Or maybe she just didn't want to be home so often anymore, so often around her son? Had she decided that he no longer needed her love and support? Or was she afraid that something as terrible as before would happen again and she would be held responsible? He sighed, shaking his head. All of these questions weighting his mind, day by day, but he would never day ask them. He would be afraid to dream about the awful reaction that it would cause form his parents. If it meant them being happier, he would stop breathing. That day, when it happened, it was his fault. No one ever said so, but he knew it. There was no point burdening others with his irregularities.

I'm a freak… I can't control my own body sometimes. I feel like I'm never truly alone, even if I'm the only one home! I get injuries without a cause. Do I do it to myself? Do I want to hurt myself, so I do it without even realizing it? Why must I be such a burden to the only people who care about me? Why can't I just be normal? Why must I always be so much trouble?

"Hiashi? Are you all right, honey? Hiashi!"

Someone was calling him. Blinking out of his reverie, Hiashi found himself staring dumbly into his mother's worried eyes, which appeared to be on the verge of tears. He gasped, bringing his hands up to rest on her shoulders in attempt to comfort her. She looked away quickly.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Hiashi asked, letting go of her. She inhaled deeply as she tried to resettle her nerves and then slowly lifted her chin to meet his eyes again.

"I should be asking you that. You've been acting so strange since we moved here! I'm begging to get worried! First you just completely vanish for an entire morning, come home wearing bloody clothes, then act like you don't even know me, and then you disappear again for an entire afternoon! Now you've been skulking around like you're afraid of your own shadow! Was it the shock of moving? Did something happen that day? Hiashi, what's going on?" she demanded, clenching her small hands at her sides as her eyes narrowed into slits, obviously annoyed with her only son.

Hiashi opened his mouth, trying to find the words to say something, something that would make everything all right. But when no words came, he hung his head pathetically and awkwardly lied, "I've just had a lot on my mind lately." Good! Perfect!, he applauded himself sarcastically. Since you don't know what's going on either, you'll just cover it up with something completely different  and screw everyone over even worse! There's no way I'll ever find out what I need to know now. He chanced stealing a glimpse of his mother's reaction and quickly diverted his gaze as he saw her tear-brimmed eyes. You moron, look what you've done! It's your fault, it always has been.

Hiashi bit his lip hard, trying to keep his own frustration with himself in check. How could he do such a thing! Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut?!

"What's been bothering you?" a soft voice inquired, wavering ever so slightly.

"Mother?" he questioned, being taken off-guard by her unexpected response to his behavior. She was looking at him attentively, her lips sealed tightly together in a way that seemed to silently say, "It's your turn to say something now." And Hiashi took a hint, cleared his throat, and began his explanation as quickly as he could, hoping to leave any doubts behind him.

"Lately, I've just been wondering about- Well, you know, where I came from? I know that I'm adopted, so that means that I must have had a different life before I was taken into this family, right? You and Dad wouldn't have chosen me if you knew nothing about me, and I just wanted to know about what my life was like before; who my parents were, where I used to live, if I had any siblings?"

He stopped abruptly. Where had that last question come from, "Do I have any siblings?" He knew he didn't, didn't he? His parents would have adopted them as well as to not separate the remains an already torn family, right? Right…? He could feel butterflies flutter in his stomach, his desperate heart needing the answers more than ever. The answers to who he was…

"You used to live in this very city," she said nonchalantly, but Hiashi could see the concealed emotions of pain and regret flash in the depths of her dark eyes. "You didn't have a happy life, Hiashi. I hoped you'd never ask me about it, but it was a silly hope, wasn't it? Everyone has the right to know where they came from, I guess…"

I used to live here? This was my home? Does that mean that that old house is… was my house? Is that where I spent the first years of my life? Why did I leave it, though? What happened?

"Anyway, at the time, your father and I were looking for a child to adopt, ideally one between the age of two years old to four, and when your report came in, you were three. We traveled all the way across the country just to meet this cute little boy that we had nothing mare than a photo and the age of. You didn't like us at first- did you know that? You would sulk in the corner of the room and barely even talk to us! We were going to continue searching for another child then, until we found out what happened to this poor little boy."

She paused, swallowing hard as she fought back her tears. Looking away from Hiashi the second her eyes met his, she hastily started up again. "Your birth-mother was murdered, Hiashi, by your own father. He was a drunkard, and was in that state when he did it. He committed suicide nearly directly afterward, or at least, that was what was reported. You were found asleep cuddled in the arms of you dead mother, unresponsive to anything. You were in shock, the doctors said." She looked at him with a pained look on her face as she sobbed, "My God, Hiashi, you were just a baby! You didn't deserve a life like that, no one deserves a life like that! That's why we couldn't leave you alone. We loved you before you even knew who we were!"

"Mother…" Hiashi choked out, feeling hot tears streaming down his own cheeks as well. He didn't care, though. He was too busy embracing his mother's trembling frame. "You don't have to say anything more," he told her, his way of saying "please don't say anymore if it will hurt you."

But she just shook her head, pushing herself out of his arms. Forcing a fragile smile, she weakly retorted: "You need to know. Everyone needs to know who they are, right? You're no different. You need to know- you deserve to know. Do you think me a bad mother, keeping this from you for so long?"

He was breathing heavily, forcing his mind to register his mom's question that seemed more like a plea. He looked at her tenderly and attempted a small smile of his own, something that would be to tell her that it's all right. He failed miserably, though. Who couldn't if they had just found out he did, though? It was impossible to be happy, but for the sake of the woman who had loved and raised him…

"Mama, it's fine. I'll never say anything about it again, if it makes you sad," he told her reassuringly, using the term "Mama" to show his affection and the truth that he still loved her as much as ever.  Had he been reluctant to start calling her that, though? When he thought about it… He shook off the thought, embracing her tighter as he whispered, "Thank you."

With that, he releasing his hold and walked quickly out of the room without another word. When he disappeared completely from sight, Hiashi's mother continued to stare after him blankly. Her tears still ran unconfined and unheeded down her face, leaving dark trails from where her eye-makeup had smeared. She sighed and drew in a ragged breath, trying to compose herself when a sudden thought recurred to her. Her eyes darting to the doorway again, she called, "Hiashi! Wait!"

But he was already gone, and what she had to say wasn't pleasant, so she dismissed the idea and turned away towards the cabinet to find something for dinner. Under her breath, though, she whispered, "Hiashi, you used to have a sibling, I think... A brother, but when it happened, he wasn't found; that is, if he even existed. But it was just a rumor, Hiashi. There is no one else- you're my only little boy."

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Hiashi wandered from one room to the next, distractedly and haphazardly. So, that's that my life was like? That was the secret that I'd thought about ever since I could remember? I was a burden then, too. That's how I ended up and orphan, an abandoned, pitied child. He groaned, clutching his head and shaking it violently. I can't take this right now! I need something to take my mind off this already! I'm sick of wallowing in self-pity and being forced to take care of other people before I can even think about myself! I just want to be myself, with someone who doesn't expect to be some perfect person that I can't ever be!

In his haste to rid his mind of the awful thoughts that plagues it, Hiashi hadn't noticed the precariously balancing box until it was to late. He collided into it, send both him and the box to the floor.

"Ow," Hiashi stated, rolling off his stomach to gaze at the ceiling like he had been doing earlier that day. It felt like forever since he was laying like this, staring blankly at the ceiling for the lack of better things to do. He was almost certain that he would have been happier like that, without ever knowing the god-forsaken truth about his first home. His thoughts were broken as something dug into his back, causing him to yelp as his eyes widened and he say up with record speed.

"What the he- The phone?"

A sudden, very welcome idea entered his mind and Hiashi smiled the first true smile of the day, being immeasurably relieved, a she scrambled off, looking for a phone jack, and his dirty pair of pants.

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"Like this, Yui?"  Kokuei inquired, continuing coating the skillet with more than enough cooking spray to sufficiently cover four of a larger size.

"Uh huh," she said absently, her eyes scanning the recipe book for the appropriate ingredients. She somehow didn't seem to notice the inappropriate amount of time Kokuei spent greasing the pan. "Yeah, go ahead and a preheat the skillet.  So we need…"

"Is this okay?" Kokuei asked again, turning the electric stove on full power under the metal pan.

"Yeah," she said again, not really paying attention to what her cooking-illiterate companion was doing without her knowing. And then suddenly, SWOOSH!! This did, however, get her attention and she turned to see Kokuei cowering all the way across the kitchen from the stove, where three-foot flames were sprouting form the oil-saturated skillet.

"Kokuei!" she yelled, wondering what in the hell he had done to ignite such a grease fire. Wasting no time, though, she crossed the small kitchen hastily and retrieved the fire extinguisher form underneath the sink. She was just about to tell the terrified Kokuei to come and help her when the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" he announced a little too quickly, using it as an excuse to escape the kitchen war zone as Yui glowered at his quickly retreating back. Kokuei found the phone in its cradle outside of Yui's bedroom door and he picked it up, searching for the button that would turn it on. It rang again just as Kokuei found the button and he grinned proudly as he said, "Hello?"

"Hello?"

Kokuei pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it curiously. Was there an echo? Shrugging, he tired again: "Hello?"

"Hello?"

"Um... Hi?"

"Is there an echo?" the voice questioned at the same time as Kokuei, causing them both to start slightly.

"Uh, echo?"

"Echo?"

"…"

"Is this Yui's apartment?" the voice asked, faltering slightly when he asked for Yui.

"Yui's apartment? Yeah," Kokuei answered, feeling as though he were talking into microphone that simply repeated everything he said.

"Give me that!" Yui demanded, glaring dangerously at Kokuei and holding out her hand, palm-up. Kokuei laughed nervously and handed her the phone, running to safety in another room as soon as she took the phone.

"Hello?"

"Yui! It's finally you! Who was that guy who was talking before? He was kind of strange… This is Hiashi, by the way."

"Oh, hi, Hiashi!" Yui exclaimed, glancing around the room nervously while praying that Kokuei was out of earshot. What a great first impression for them to get of each other! She sighed before saying into the phone, "So, what's up?"

"Um… Well, I was just wondering if maybe you were free tomorrow? I was hoping that we could go sightseeing around the city together?"

Yui paused, thinking about the possibility. If she could teach Kokuei about a few things not to do to kitchen appliances by then… She smiled. It would be nice to get out, especially with Hiashi. She fought the urge to giggle like a junior-high girl as she replied excitedly, "Sure! I'd love to! Ddi you have any specific plans?"

"Well, I was hoping to take a ferry to Ellis Island, and then maybe climb up, but if not, just grab some pizza for lunch or something instead? Maybe we could even see…"

Yui just smiled as she listened, already anticipating the great day she was definitely going to have tomorrow! Oh, Hiashi… she thought, hardly containing her excitement. I'm ready to go now! I can't wait for tomorrow!

Meanwhile, from the other room, Kokuei listened attentively to Yui's conversation with his "echo." It wasn't that he was eavesdropping, but rather the fact that he could have sworn he heard the name "Hiashi." It sounded so familiar… Where in the world had he heard that name before? It was recent, wasn't it? He furrowed his brow as he recalled the predicament just the other day. Wait a second…Wasn't Hiashi the name… that she had called him…?

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All right! Finally, a chapter about Hiashi! I'm actually adding this chapter so that Hiashi can be more understood as a character because I realized that I've been horribly neglected him. So, what are you in for in the next chapter? Here's a short preview: "Hiashi and Yui go out on their first date! But how will Kokuei respond to Yui's leaving? Will he be okay on his own, in Yui's apartment?"

Anyway, just so you know, the eighteenth on August was my birthday, so I'm sincerely hoping to go a bundle of late birthday presents in the form of reviews, especially review number 100! I think I'm going to try to reward the one-hundredth reviewer, so if it's you, please e-mail me and let me know! If you don't e-mail me, I'll probably bug you about it anyway, so beware. ^^ Perhaps so one could give me some good ideas about what to do? If not, that's fine, too. … I wonder if anyone ever even reads these long notes? ^.^ Ja!

-Kaen ^^