It's A Secret

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By: Ryoko

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Track 02:00:00

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"I believe we've heard what we need to for a decision, would the jury like to call anyone else back to the stand?" the judge looked over at the jury's box, seeing several people shaking their heads.

"Well," he sighed, "If there is no further questioning, there will be a two-hour recess for the jury to make their decision." He announced over whispers, ending the speech-like statement with another whack onto the wooden board to his right.

***

The second he broke through the crowd, Hatsuharu ran as fast as he could to the nearest exit out of that damned building. He kept running, not wanting to go back.

Oh god…I BLEW it! I screwed up! Oh god! Please! NO! The words repeated relentlessly in his head, echoing angrily at every nerve until he burst into tears. Miserably, he stopped and slid down the trunk of a tree, staring into space as if he'd been mortally wounded.

When his mind finally came back to reality; Yuki was in front of him, shaking the younger teenager somewhat harshly.

"C'mon Haru, snap out of it. Please, c'mon!" he pleaded.

"Yu…Yuki! Yuki!" the oushi mumbled, showing he was back from his thoughts.

"God, you had me scared. I've been shaking you for over ten minutes! What the hell happened?"

Out of nowhere, for no reason, he began laughing softly.

"What…? What's so funny? Haru?" the nezumi's eyes were unrelenting, realizing somewhat of what was happening inside the other boy's head.

"Heh…I blew it…hehe…I don't even know why I bother…it's not like I'm gonna win her over…heh…I'm so damn pathetic…hehe…I'm such…an…IDIOT." He suddenly burst into all-out maniacal laughter, mocking just how pitiful he'd been acting.

"Haru…stop it. STOP."

"I…can't…help it…I'm just…so…stupid…hehe…I can't help…but…laugh…'cause…it's…funny…"

"Knock it off!" Before Hatsuharu could lift his head, Yuki's hand came around hard onto his cheek. "Snap out of it! You are NOT pathetic. No matter WHAT you may think. You are NOT pathetic. You're not an idiot, you're not stupid, and, above all, you're not FUNNY!"

I guess I deserved THAT too…damn it…

"Please…let's go. I really think you need to get away from this place."

"No…I won't."

"Don't make me slap you AGAIN. Now come on." He sighed, reaching out a hand in front of the juunishi. "Come on. You wanna go and see Ashura, don't you?" his voice softened and became it's gentle self once more when his hand was taken. "I don't think what you're doing is wrong, and you sure as hell have been through enough. Stop blaming yourself for what ISN'T your fault. You don't deserve it."

"Do you think we're gonna get her back?" Hatsuharu's footsteps paused, letting Yuki walk just a little further before stopping as well.

His smile disappeared completely.

He didn't want to turn around.

He didn't want to tell the truth.

"N…no."

"See. It's because I screwed up…again. It's always like that. It's always because I screw up."

"No…it's not that. I just think this way…because of the way everyone looks at Ashura, and then takes her parents into account. Even if they WERE lying…they did a really good job. There's no evidence proving that Ashura WASN'T the one hurting herself…"

"But I SAW them!"

"That's…not enough. At least, it's not enough for the court. I'm not sure what to tell you, Haru. I'm really not." He looked at the ground, clenching loose fists at his sides. "Why do they even have to send her to AMERICA? Why can't they just keep her here in Japan? Do you know?"

"Because…if she was kept in Japan…the police were afraid that, if her parents WERE abusive, they would take her back. Remember what I said before…the abuse never gets better…it ALWAYS gets worse. At least in AMERICA she'd be safe."

"I see…"

***

The jury filed back into the courtroom silently, all with solemn expressions on their faces, if any expression at all.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

He didn't want to hear it.

Neither Yuki, nor Haru, did.

The oushi's heart stopped dead again…he held his breath, the whole world around him becoming nothingness. Nothing except for the man standing in the jury's box, and HIMSELF existed.

"In the case of the Minamotos vs. the Sohmas… we find the title of guardianship of Ashura Minamoto to go to her biological parents: Mr. And Mrs. Minamoto."

No! Oh god, please! NO! "Ashura!" Hatsuharu shot up from his seat again, only to be held back by Hatori, Yuki and Shigure, from the back. All three struggling to hold him back from decking the girl's parents.

Suddenly, like someone had stabbed a tranquilizer into him, Hatsuharu fell limp, sinking to his knees with a soft thud.

A small group of family members huddled around him, wondering what had just happened.

He'd fallen halfway unconscious, staring blankly at the floor, repeating Ashura's name so softly that no one could hear it.

"Haru…" Yuki whimpered, throwing his arms around the younger boy and holding him tightly against his chest. "Wake up. Stop it. Wake up…!"

The nezumi got no response whatsoever.

"NO!" Ashura's voice cried over the audience's murmurs. Yuki glanced up, seeing the child running toward them, or at least TRYING to. But the burly man, she called her father, held her back…surely bruising the child's wrist in the process.

"NO! NO!" She kept on crying, reaching out for the teenager and trying to escape fate itself. "Let me go! It hurts! Let me go! NO!" She screamed, tugging against her father's brute strength that far overpowered her own.

She grunted, pulling as hard as she could, but getting nowhere as she was dragged out of the room.

"I'M NOT GOING!" The child yelped, jumping up and biting the man's fingers, making him let go immediately.

"HARU!" Ashura called out, running back into the room and pushing herself through the small crowd to get to her goal. "DADDY!" She cried, throwing her arms around Hatsuharu the second Yuki pulled away, sobbing profusely into his shirt. "DADDY! I DON'T WANNA GO! I don't wanna…" she whimpered.

"Ashura…" the teenager look down, snapping back to reality when the girl threw herself at him.

"Don't let them take me! Daddy! Please! I wanna be with YOU!"

"Ashura…I…I can't…" his whole body was paralyzed. His arms felt like they were made of lead, and no matter HOW HARD he tried, they just wouldn't hold her small body again. "I can't…do anything…now…Ashura…" he whispered.

"That's it." Ayame growled, standing up strait and facing the judge. The older man's eyes just could pull away from everything he was seeing, long enough to say a word. "Your honor! I beg of you. Please reconsider." The man pleaded, breaking away from the group. "Please! Please, reconsider. You can see just as well as I can that these two just CANNOT be separated! The decision that the jury has made is WRONG! Please, let these two be together!"

The older man shook his head. "The decision has been made. I cannot do anything about it now."

"But you CAN! Please!"

"I cannot, and will not change my decision."

"Please. These two need each other." He turned to the jury box. "You saw just how roughly that man treats her, and just how gently this BOY treats her. Why can't these two be together? Is it so wrong to tell her parents that they are WRONG for what they're DOING to her?! You know just as well as I do that this child has been beaten. And you can clearly SEE that she's abused! Yet, you STILL INSIST on sending her back to that HELL-hole she calls HOME?! How heartless."

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