Title: Kaede Jr.
by: Aki Midori
Rating: g - pg
Pairing: SenRu
Genre: Yaoi.Romance.Humor.Drama
Warnings: I warn you...
DiScLaiMers: I disown them...
A/N:
Don't kill me.
-------------------------------------------------
Kaede Jr.
Chapter Eight: My Life For Yours
(Rukawa's POV)
Bullshit.
Why is this happening to my brother? He doesn't deserve this. Not my brother. He didn't do anything wrong. Why him? Somebody tell me. Please. Tell me, so I would stop thinking that life is unfair. He's such a great kid. He doesn't deserve this fucked up mess. He deserved the best of everything. The best that life has to offer. Not this. Never this.
I want to get those tubes out of his mangled body. I want to get him away from those beeping machines. I want to get those bandages off. I want to wipe those dried blood. I want to heal those wounds and bruises. I want to mend those broken bones. I want to mend his broken heart.
But how?
How do I do that, when I'm locked out of his room? This glass served as a thin, but cruel barricade. I could see him, but I can't touch him. I can't hold his hand. I can't talk to him. I can't tell him that everything will be okay.
Comatose.
His head was hit.
Internal bleeding.
Yes, everything will be okay. He'll open his eyes, and he'll recuperate, and we'll all go home.
His chest rises and falls in an irregular rhythm. Okaasan and Otousan are both at his bedside, just holding each other close. Okaasan was crying. Kaede's body was so pale... so lifeless. Dried up tears follow a path down his face. He's in so much pain.
Shit, he's just a little kid. How can he survive this one? How can he take that much pain? He's just seven years old! He's got so much life ahead of him. Kami-sama, don't let him die!
"Kaede."
Akira.
"Are you alright, Kaede?"
That's bullshit, Akira.
"Hey, Kaede."
"What?"
"Here."
He handed me a torn, bloodied picture. I looked closer, and saw it was me. The picture was taken from a newspaper. It has ragged edges, which means that unstable hands did the work of cutting it off. Did Kaede do that? Shit.
"That's how they found out that he's your brother," Akira explained. "They found that on his pocket when they were looking for Kaede's identification. And they found this, too."
Akira handed me a huge brown teddy bear. Mr. Teddy.
"It has 'Kaede' written on its paw. They put two and two together and figured out that the victim of the car crash was Rukawa Kaede's brother. They called your house, and told your parents. I'm only telling you this in case you're wondering how-"
What is Akira saying? Oh, Mr. Teddy's wounded, too.
"Kaede, please say something."
What do I say? I can't talk, dammit. There's this huge lump on my throat, and it's killing me. I can't breathe.
Mr. Teddy's got blood on his chest.
"Kaede, get a hold of yourself!"
What was that again?
"Kaede, you're going out of your mind!"
Mr. Teddy, why didn't you protect Kaede Jr.? Bad teddy.
Okaasan was crying. Otousan, too. I hate them! They shouldn't have let that bitch take Kaede! Look what happened. Look at my brother. They shouldn't have. They shouldn't have.
I felt something wet travel down my cheek.
A tear?
Am I crying?
No. I don't cry. I'm calm. I'm cool. I'm the Ice Prince. Ice Princes don't cry. Something must have dropped from the ceiling.
Kaede Jr....
Open your eyes.
We'll go to the theme park.
I'll buy you lots and lots of pink cotton candy.
I won't call you maggot again.
Wake up, otouto.
You can't die. You haven't even called me oniisan yet.
I felt something warm enfold me. Akira was embracing me. He led me to the chairs and sat down with me.
"Get a hold of yourself, Kaede, please."
How can I, when my brother is in the ICU fighting for his life?
"Be strong, koi."
Be strong... That's what I've been doing for the past sixteen years of my life... That's also what I did when my mother and father got the terrible news that their son was hit by a car. My mother broke down. My father tensed. I remained strong. I told them that Kaede will be okay. I told them that everything will be fine.
If I broke down, Okaachan and Otouchan would worry even more.
So I kept everything.
I kept my own sorrows. I kept my own fears. I stayed quiet... calm, like the Ice Prince that I am.
Yes, Akira... I am strong.
"Kaede, please talk to me," Akira pleaded as he kissed the top of my head. Sweet, sweet Akira. You're always there. Why are you taking care of me? I don't need that. I'm used to being alone. I'm cold. I'm indifferent. I'm a blasted *Ice Prince*. A marble statue could have more expressions than I. Yet... why do you still stay by my side?
"Say something, Kaede. You're scaring me."
"Do'ahou, Akira," I said as I snuggled deeper into his embrace. (So unlike me, eh?)
"Your brother is fighting for his life, and that's all you can say?" Akira joked.
"He'll be okay," I suddenly said. I don't know if it's true, or if I'm only hoping for it to be true. I said it with such firmness that Akira tightened his hold on me.
"Yes, Kaede, he'll be okay," he said.
Yes... He'll be okay.
Mr. Teddy was still smiling.
He'll be okay.
Please.
Let him be okay.
*****************
"When will he wake up?" I asked my parents the moment they got out of the room.
"Nobody knows, honey," Okaasan replied. She looked so weary. Her eyes were so red from crying.
"Kaede, are you mad at us?" Otousan asked.
Am I?
I wanted to be mad at you. I wanted to blame you. I wanted to say that you started this mess. I wanted to say that it's all your fault... that if you could have told me earlier, it wouldn't be this messy. I wanted to say that it's your fault, because had you not allowed that woman to take my brother, this wouldn't have happened at all. I wanted to hate you, blame you, curse you.
But I can't.
Because I know that your only fault is that you're too kind-hearted that you will let someone still spend some time with her kid even if she abandoned him years ago.
And I can't blame you because your only fault is that you loved us both too much.
"No," I replied. "I'm not mad at you."
My mother grabbed me and hugged me so tight. So did my father. At the moment, all I was feeling was the security that my parents' embrace was giving me. I felt safe. I felt that everything will be okay.
Yeah, they're childish, even stupid, to some extent. Yeah, they're too kind. They're too giving. Yeah, they're too overprotective and too loud. But they're my parents. And they love me and my brother.
Yeah, everything will be alright.
"The doctor said that talking to Kae-chan might help," Okaasan whispered in my ear. "Go ahead and wake him up."
Okaasan.
"Go ahead and talk to him, son."
'Tousan.
"Bring him back, Kaede. You always could."
Akira.
"Hai."
**********************
"Hey there, little maggot," I whispered. "I brought Mr. Teddy. He's dirty. He still has to take a bath, so I'll just place him in that chair over there, okay, imp?" I walked over to the chair at the other side of his bed. Mr. Teddy looked sad for Kaede.
I walked back to Kaede, sat down at the chair beside his bed, took his cold, tiny hand and pressed it to my warm cheek. "There'd be a new theme park near your Akira-niichan's place. We're going to visit that theme park if you open your eyes. We're going to buy lotsanlots of pink cotton candy, and I'm going to win you a playmate for Mr. Teddy, and I'll even sing with you at the karaoke place. We could sing all sorts of songs. We could sing your favorite. What was that again, otouto? You liked that song about that eensy weensy spider didn't you? I'll sing that for you."
His breath just rose and fell irregularly. He wasn't moving.
"Akira said you kept my picture on your pocket. That's so sweet of you, Kaede. Didn't know you were into that older-brother-worship thing. But anyway, it made me feel good, you know?"
He didn't answer.
"You were a bad boy. You shouldn't have left that woman's house. You shouldn't have run away. You knew that I'm going to get you out of there, so why didn't you wait? I won't let them take you away, Kaede. You didn't have to run away."
Each moment was breaking my heart. I feel stupid, really. I feel like I have this huge boulder in my chest. I can't breathe. Seeing my brother in this state kills me. His breathing was ragged. His head was bandaged. He had bruises all over. He's so small. He doesn't deserve this much pain.
"I wish I could take away all your pain, little brother," I whispered in a strangled voice. "You didn't deserve this."
Mr. Teddy frowned in his chair.
"Open your eyes, Kaede. I promise I'll be nicer. I promise I'll be better. I promise that I'll protect you from everything. I don't care if you're not my real brother. I don't care if you're just my cousin. I don't even care if you're the devil's son himself. All I know is that you're my little brother, and I'm going to take care of you for the rest of our lives.
"Open your eyes, because you still have so much ahead of you. I still have to prove to you that basketball isn't for sissies. I still have to call you more names. You still have to meet those people who will change your life. You still have to meet that special person whom you will love and who'll love you back. I still want to see you grow up. I want to see you finish your kindergarten school. I still want to see you graduate elementary. I want to see you fall in love. I want to see you graduate from highscool and I want to be there when you choose whatever path you'll take. I want see you grow up. I want to see you live.
"Kaede, do you realize that right now, I'm talking more than I've ever talked in my entire life? You have to wake up for me. You have to wake up, so you'll continue to be the little demon, and I'll continue to be the big meanie. You have to wake up so I'll stop talking this much just so you could open your eyes. You have to wake up so I could resume to being the Ice Prince.
"Don't die on us. We still have lots of things to do together. We still have to make up for those times we wasted. We'll do that bonding bullshit or whatever they call it."
I talked a lot, but he's still not waking up. I'm losing all my hopes here. He looked so frail.
As if...
As if he's going to die.
"Don't die," I whispered. "You're so young. You still have to live your life."
I've never felt so helpless in my entire life. Right here in front of me is my brother, fighting for his life in such a young age, and what do I do? All I could do is to fucking talk to him. I don't even know if he could here me! This is so damn frustrating.
"Does it hurt, otouto?" I asked. "I would take away the pain, if only I could. If only I could give my life to you, I would. How do I save you, Kaede? How do I take away the pain? Tell me, so we wouldn't have to see you suffer like that."
I ran my hand through his soft hair and pressed my face to it. I held his battered body in my arms and I suddenly remembered that night in the swings, when he stopped crying because I told him that it was breaking my heart.
"Open your eyes, Kaede," I whispered, hoping against hope that it'll work this time. "Open your eyes. You're breaking oniisan's heart."
But he never opened his eyes.
Instead, I heard a high-pitched beeping sound from the machine, invading my senses, engulfing me, swallowing me, threatening me, scaring me.
Mr. Teddy looked as if he was crying red tears. I never saw his red tears earlier.
The beeping sound continued to sound through the night. I dashed out of the room, ran along the corridors, looked for someone who could help.
Someone... onegai...
Wake me up from this nightmare...
But this is no nightmare.
Or was it?
Help.
Someone, help.
Onegai.
My otouto...
He's dying.
Onegai...
Otouto...
**********
tsu.zu.ku
**********
Wow, this is a short one.
Okay... kill me now.
But please review before you do so.
Shinri *bangs Aki's head on the concrete*: How- bog!- could- bog!- you- bog! do- bog!- this?! *Bog*
Aki-chan: *unconscious*
CheeKy *hits Aki's head with an empty drum*: I told you! No more sad fics!!! *Blag!*
Diggler: *says nothing* *opens a can of whoopass*
WM: *says nothing* *threw darts*
Eva: *pours a bucket of roaches over Aki's unconscious figure*
Jas: *pulls out a butcher knife*
Jam: *pulls out a shotgun*
Val: *pulls out an M16 A1 rifle*
Miku *to everyone*: Who else wants to harm this murderer? *holds Aki-chan up*
by: Aki Midori
Rating: g - pg
Pairing: SenRu
Genre: Yaoi.Romance.Humor.Drama
Warnings: I warn you...
DiScLaiMers: I disown them...
A/N:
Don't kill me.
-------------------------------------------------
Kaede Jr.
Chapter Eight: My Life For Yours
(Rukawa's POV)
Bullshit.
Why is this happening to my brother? He doesn't deserve this. Not my brother. He didn't do anything wrong. Why him? Somebody tell me. Please. Tell me, so I would stop thinking that life is unfair. He's such a great kid. He doesn't deserve this fucked up mess. He deserved the best of everything. The best that life has to offer. Not this. Never this.
I want to get those tubes out of his mangled body. I want to get him away from those beeping machines. I want to get those bandages off. I want to wipe those dried blood. I want to heal those wounds and bruises. I want to mend those broken bones. I want to mend his broken heart.
But how?
How do I do that, when I'm locked out of his room? This glass served as a thin, but cruel barricade. I could see him, but I can't touch him. I can't hold his hand. I can't talk to him. I can't tell him that everything will be okay.
Comatose.
His head was hit.
Internal bleeding.
Yes, everything will be okay. He'll open his eyes, and he'll recuperate, and we'll all go home.
His chest rises and falls in an irregular rhythm. Okaasan and Otousan are both at his bedside, just holding each other close. Okaasan was crying. Kaede's body was so pale... so lifeless. Dried up tears follow a path down his face. He's in so much pain.
Shit, he's just a little kid. How can he survive this one? How can he take that much pain? He's just seven years old! He's got so much life ahead of him. Kami-sama, don't let him die!
"Kaede."
Akira.
"Are you alright, Kaede?"
That's bullshit, Akira.
"Hey, Kaede."
"What?"
"Here."
He handed me a torn, bloodied picture. I looked closer, and saw it was me. The picture was taken from a newspaper. It has ragged edges, which means that unstable hands did the work of cutting it off. Did Kaede do that? Shit.
"That's how they found out that he's your brother," Akira explained. "They found that on his pocket when they were looking for Kaede's identification. And they found this, too."
Akira handed me a huge brown teddy bear. Mr. Teddy.
"It has 'Kaede' written on its paw. They put two and two together and figured out that the victim of the car crash was Rukawa Kaede's brother. They called your house, and told your parents. I'm only telling you this in case you're wondering how-"
What is Akira saying? Oh, Mr. Teddy's wounded, too.
"Kaede, please say something."
What do I say? I can't talk, dammit. There's this huge lump on my throat, and it's killing me. I can't breathe.
Mr. Teddy's got blood on his chest.
"Kaede, get a hold of yourself!"
What was that again?
"Kaede, you're going out of your mind!"
Mr. Teddy, why didn't you protect Kaede Jr.? Bad teddy.
Okaasan was crying. Otousan, too. I hate them! They shouldn't have let that bitch take Kaede! Look what happened. Look at my brother. They shouldn't have. They shouldn't have.
I felt something wet travel down my cheek.
A tear?
Am I crying?
No. I don't cry. I'm calm. I'm cool. I'm the Ice Prince. Ice Princes don't cry. Something must have dropped from the ceiling.
Kaede Jr....
Open your eyes.
We'll go to the theme park.
I'll buy you lots and lots of pink cotton candy.
I won't call you maggot again.
Wake up, otouto.
You can't die. You haven't even called me oniisan yet.
I felt something warm enfold me. Akira was embracing me. He led me to the chairs and sat down with me.
"Get a hold of yourself, Kaede, please."
How can I, when my brother is in the ICU fighting for his life?
"Be strong, koi."
Be strong... That's what I've been doing for the past sixteen years of my life... That's also what I did when my mother and father got the terrible news that their son was hit by a car. My mother broke down. My father tensed. I remained strong. I told them that Kaede will be okay. I told them that everything will be fine.
If I broke down, Okaachan and Otouchan would worry even more.
So I kept everything.
I kept my own sorrows. I kept my own fears. I stayed quiet... calm, like the Ice Prince that I am.
Yes, Akira... I am strong.
"Kaede, please talk to me," Akira pleaded as he kissed the top of my head. Sweet, sweet Akira. You're always there. Why are you taking care of me? I don't need that. I'm used to being alone. I'm cold. I'm indifferent. I'm a blasted *Ice Prince*. A marble statue could have more expressions than I. Yet... why do you still stay by my side?
"Say something, Kaede. You're scaring me."
"Do'ahou, Akira," I said as I snuggled deeper into his embrace. (So unlike me, eh?)
"Your brother is fighting for his life, and that's all you can say?" Akira joked.
"He'll be okay," I suddenly said. I don't know if it's true, or if I'm only hoping for it to be true. I said it with such firmness that Akira tightened his hold on me.
"Yes, Kaede, he'll be okay," he said.
Yes... He'll be okay.
Mr. Teddy was still smiling.
He'll be okay.
Please.
Let him be okay.
*****************
"When will he wake up?" I asked my parents the moment they got out of the room.
"Nobody knows, honey," Okaasan replied. She looked so weary. Her eyes were so red from crying.
"Kaede, are you mad at us?" Otousan asked.
Am I?
I wanted to be mad at you. I wanted to blame you. I wanted to say that you started this mess. I wanted to say that it's all your fault... that if you could have told me earlier, it wouldn't be this messy. I wanted to say that it's your fault, because had you not allowed that woman to take my brother, this wouldn't have happened at all. I wanted to hate you, blame you, curse you.
But I can't.
Because I know that your only fault is that you're too kind-hearted that you will let someone still spend some time with her kid even if she abandoned him years ago.
And I can't blame you because your only fault is that you loved us both too much.
"No," I replied. "I'm not mad at you."
My mother grabbed me and hugged me so tight. So did my father. At the moment, all I was feeling was the security that my parents' embrace was giving me. I felt safe. I felt that everything will be okay.
Yeah, they're childish, even stupid, to some extent. Yeah, they're too kind. They're too giving. Yeah, they're too overprotective and too loud. But they're my parents. And they love me and my brother.
Yeah, everything will be alright.
"The doctor said that talking to Kae-chan might help," Okaasan whispered in my ear. "Go ahead and wake him up."
Okaasan.
"Go ahead and talk to him, son."
'Tousan.
"Bring him back, Kaede. You always could."
Akira.
"Hai."
**********************
"Hey there, little maggot," I whispered. "I brought Mr. Teddy. He's dirty. He still has to take a bath, so I'll just place him in that chair over there, okay, imp?" I walked over to the chair at the other side of his bed. Mr. Teddy looked sad for Kaede.
I walked back to Kaede, sat down at the chair beside his bed, took his cold, tiny hand and pressed it to my warm cheek. "There'd be a new theme park near your Akira-niichan's place. We're going to visit that theme park if you open your eyes. We're going to buy lotsanlots of pink cotton candy, and I'm going to win you a playmate for Mr. Teddy, and I'll even sing with you at the karaoke place. We could sing all sorts of songs. We could sing your favorite. What was that again, otouto? You liked that song about that eensy weensy spider didn't you? I'll sing that for you."
His breath just rose and fell irregularly. He wasn't moving.
"Akira said you kept my picture on your pocket. That's so sweet of you, Kaede. Didn't know you were into that older-brother-worship thing. But anyway, it made me feel good, you know?"
He didn't answer.
"You were a bad boy. You shouldn't have left that woman's house. You shouldn't have run away. You knew that I'm going to get you out of there, so why didn't you wait? I won't let them take you away, Kaede. You didn't have to run away."
Each moment was breaking my heart. I feel stupid, really. I feel like I have this huge boulder in my chest. I can't breathe. Seeing my brother in this state kills me. His breathing was ragged. His head was bandaged. He had bruises all over. He's so small. He doesn't deserve this much pain.
"I wish I could take away all your pain, little brother," I whispered in a strangled voice. "You didn't deserve this."
Mr. Teddy frowned in his chair.
"Open your eyes, Kaede. I promise I'll be nicer. I promise I'll be better. I promise that I'll protect you from everything. I don't care if you're not my real brother. I don't care if you're just my cousin. I don't even care if you're the devil's son himself. All I know is that you're my little brother, and I'm going to take care of you for the rest of our lives.
"Open your eyes, because you still have so much ahead of you. I still have to prove to you that basketball isn't for sissies. I still have to call you more names. You still have to meet those people who will change your life. You still have to meet that special person whom you will love and who'll love you back. I still want to see you grow up. I want to see you finish your kindergarten school. I still want to see you graduate elementary. I want to see you fall in love. I want to see you graduate from highscool and I want to be there when you choose whatever path you'll take. I want see you grow up. I want to see you live.
"Kaede, do you realize that right now, I'm talking more than I've ever talked in my entire life? You have to wake up for me. You have to wake up, so you'll continue to be the little demon, and I'll continue to be the big meanie. You have to wake up so I'll stop talking this much just so you could open your eyes. You have to wake up so I could resume to being the Ice Prince.
"Don't die on us. We still have lots of things to do together. We still have to make up for those times we wasted. We'll do that bonding bullshit or whatever they call it."
I talked a lot, but he's still not waking up. I'm losing all my hopes here. He looked so frail.
As if...
As if he's going to die.
"Don't die," I whispered. "You're so young. You still have to live your life."
I've never felt so helpless in my entire life. Right here in front of me is my brother, fighting for his life in such a young age, and what do I do? All I could do is to fucking talk to him. I don't even know if he could here me! This is so damn frustrating.
"Does it hurt, otouto?" I asked. "I would take away the pain, if only I could. If only I could give my life to you, I would. How do I save you, Kaede? How do I take away the pain? Tell me, so we wouldn't have to see you suffer like that."
I ran my hand through his soft hair and pressed my face to it. I held his battered body in my arms and I suddenly remembered that night in the swings, when he stopped crying because I told him that it was breaking my heart.
"Open your eyes, Kaede," I whispered, hoping against hope that it'll work this time. "Open your eyes. You're breaking oniisan's heart."
But he never opened his eyes.
Instead, I heard a high-pitched beeping sound from the machine, invading my senses, engulfing me, swallowing me, threatening me, scaring me.
Mr. Teddy looked as if he was crying red tears. I never saw his red tears earlier.
The beeping sound continued to sound through the night. I dashed out of the room, ran along the corridors, looked for someone who could help.
Someone... onegai...
Wake me up from this nightmare...
But this is no nightmare.
Or was it?
Help.
Someone, help.
Onegai.
My otouto...
He's dying.
Onegai...
Otouto...
**********
tsu.zu.ku
**********
Wow, this is a short one.
Okay... kill me now.
But please review before you do so.
Shinri *bangs Aki's head on the concrete*: How- bog!- could- bog!- you- bog! do- bog!- this?! *Bog*
Aki-chan: *unconscious*
CheeKy *hits Aki's head with an empty drum*: I told you! No more sad fics!!! *Blag!*
Diggler: *says nothing* *opens a can of whoopass*
WM: *says nothing* *threw darts*
Eva: *pours a bucket of roaches over Aki's unconscious figure*
Jas: *pulls out a butcher knife*
Jam: *pulls out a shotgun*
Val: *pulls out an M16 A1 rifle*
Miku *to everyone*: Who else wants to harm this murderer? *holds Aki-chan up*