State of Mind
"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."
-Albert Camus
Part 5: So Many in Need 2
A very distinct uneasy feeling filled the air once the two older boys had left the room. Nobody of the four who were left knew what to say now that they were alone together. Ken was still sitting beside Daisuke on the bed, Takeru joining in on the other side as Hikari had urged him to. The two quiet boys had seemed to shift a little closer to one another, as if seeking some comfort in this strange new world that they had been brought into. It still seemed all so unbelievable to Ken, that anybody would want to hurt such young and innocent looking children. To have been growing up around that sort of abuse all these years must have been terrible. But then, by now, they would have come to think of it as a normal life, making it all the worse for them now that they were free.
Ken was smart, a genius in fact. In the private school that his parents had sent him to his average was far above those of his classmates'. But even considering this, he had managed to become one of the more popular kids in school. It wasn't because of his high marks, and he had never in his life considered hanging around the other popular snobs to make himself known, but most people just couldn't help feeling drawn to him. The blue haired, lithe teenager just had an aura of kindness and respect surrounding him, giving him the ability to soothe almost any anger or hurt on his behalf. Without really thinking anything of it, Ken had never really considered this a blessing. For one, he hated too much attention from the public, especially from strangers who had no business prying into his life. Being the star soccer player on his team, as well as the genius of the school, had made it hard not to be surrounded by fawning strangers, but at least some of the awe over his natural abilities had calmed down over the years. Only Yamato had kept him from hating the way he was. It was because of his comforting nature that he had been able to help the blonde so many times before. And now he was hoping that it would work the same way with these poor, misguided boys.
Right now, of course, his genius did nothing to help. Wishing that he had at least some experience with how to deal with this type of situation, Ken looked over to where Hikari was sitting in front of them on the floor. She caught his eye and sent a concerned, questioning look his way. He shrugged in reply before shifting around to face the side of Daisuke's head. They should at least get the two boys talking and try to put them at ease, "So... Daisuke... How're you feeling today?" He could have smacked himself for how unoriginal that sounded.
For some reason the lightly tanned looking skin seemed to whiten a little, "Ready... ready as always, Master..."
Startled, Ken glanced back at the brunette haired girl to see her wide eyes mirroring his own confusion and horror. Obviously that was the answer to the same question their 'Masters' had asked before starting 'business' everyday. Pushing away the slight nausea that was threatening the rise, Ken shook his head and tried to lighten his tone, "Now what did I tell you about that 'Master' business, Daisuke?"
If anything, the other boy only paled more, lowering his head further. "Gomen nasai, Ken-san," he whispered, seeming to cringe as if he expected to be smacked.
Helplessly Ken looked back at Hikari, pleading with her through his eyes to say something. She smiled lightly at the boys, 'though the rest of her body was tense with worry. "Takeru, Daisuke... You don't have to act like this around us, you know. We're not Masters, or anything like that. We're just kids, like you. We're all equals here, you have to trust us on this."
There was a few minutes of silence during which Hikari and Ken eagerly watched the other two for some sign of understanding, letting them process what she had just told them. Finally Takeru seemed to relax slightly, followed by Daisuke who seemed to be able to feel the thoughts of his friend. The blonde spoke uncertainly, his eyes nervously staring at his lap, "So... so you're not... children of... of our Masters? You're not training to... be one?"
Understanding suddenly dawned on Ken as he almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of it all. So this was why they had been acting so submissive to him and Hikari even though they were all around the same age. "No! No we're not training. Kami, no. Whatever put that idea into your heads?"
"But you're..." Takeru hesitated, taking a daring glance at the two of them before once again ducking his head.
Daisuke took over, "You're not like us. You... you talk to the Mas... the adults as if you're equal to them." He shivered a little, shifting a little away from Ken and closer to Takeru.
"Well, that's because we're allowed to! You can too... They're nothing like the people you grew up around." Hikari sighed as she noticed, like Ken, the sudden denial and confusion on their faces.
Feeling exasperated over the fact that they just couldn't seem to get it through their minds that they were out of that horrible place, Ken decided to just be straightforward with the entire thing. These boys would never start to return to reality until they understood exactly why they were here. And that obviously wasn't going to happen until someone pounded it into their heads. "Daisuke... Takeru... I want you to listen carefully and try to understand what I'm about to say. Can you do that for me?" Without hesitation they both obediently nodded their heads, and Ken just hoped that they really meant it, that it wasn't just out of habit. He slid down to sit beside Hikari so that he could look at both of their faces, "You. Are. Free. 'You understand? Free As in, there are no more Masters ruling your lives. You don't have to bow down to anybody. And you don't have to... to prostitute any longer. Okay?"
Dead silence once again. Neither boy reacted, their faces set like stone as they struggled to comprehend what they had just been told. This time the silence lasted so long that Ken was starting to worry that they had gone into shock, but finally there was some movement. Daisuke whimpered quietly, drawing up his legs against his chest and hugging them tightly. Takeru just shifted closer to him so that their shoulders were touching. Ken watched all this with a pain laded heart, wishing so badly that he could go up there to comfort them, but not daring to move 'lest he frightened them even more.
Daisuke whimpered again, sounding as though he was holding back tears, "I want 'Chi."
"Chi?" Hikari frowned, looking at Ken who just shrugged.
The question seemed to finally snap Takeru out of his own daze though, and he nodded slightly, seemingly having a bit of trouble breathing as he huddled against the red-head, "T-Taichi... Where is he?"
Ken saw that they were both starting to panic, especially as he had seen first hand what Takeru was like when scared. Both he and Hikari jumped to their feet. "It's okay, he's still here." He reassured them, gesturing for Hikari to go out and find him, "We'll get Taichi for you, just try to calm down." This certainly wasn't easy, to get them to understand what was being said. The words were simple enough, it was just that freedom wasn't something they were used to quite yet.
Hikari returned a moment later, the two older teens following close behind. Yamato instantly sought out his brother, but Ken put a hand on the older blonde's shoulder to keep him from going over to the bed. "They just want to see Taichi." He explained, trying not to flinch back from the amount of pain he saw lurking in those deep blue depths. Instead he turned his attention to the brunette who stood a few paces behind. "Go ahead Taichi, I think we upset them a bit." Taichi only blinked at him, hesitating as he turned his head to look questioningly at Yamato. Surprised, Ken only watched with interest as Yamato rolled his eyes a bit and nodded for the brunette to go ahead. "It appears that Taichi has taking a liking to you, Yamato." Ken commented as Taichi quietly walked over and crawled onto the bed with the other two. They instantly turned around and formed a small huddle in the middle of the bed, just clinging onto one another as Taichi whispered something too quiet for Ken to hear.
With an uncomfortable shrug, Yamato sighed, "Yeah. I don't know why 'though, seeing as I seemed to upset him more than help in anyway." He swallowed, running a hand nervously through his hair, "Fuck... He... Ken, he thought I was going to... to use him!"
"But you dispelled that thought, I'm assuming," Ken frowned, wondering if that's what Daisuke and Takeru had thought of him as well. Well, at least they had proved otherwise. That was a start. Suddenly he realized that Yamato hadn't answered him, finding the blonde staring blankly at the small group on the bed. "Yama?"
"Hmm?" Yamato blinked once, wrapping his arms around himself, a gesture that Ken had seen many times before.
"What're you thinking about?" It was always best to be direct with the stoic blonde when he got into this type of mood.
"Not much really..." He half shrugged, still watching the others, "Just... what are they going to do while we're at school and the parents are working?"
"Well... they'll be going to school too, obviously." Ken answered, feeling as though he was missing something here. Where else would they be?
Yamato snorted, turning to face Ken with a strange look, "Sure Ken, like they got so much schooling while they were busy fucking for money. Don't act stupid. They'd be completely lost."
Oh. Ken blinked in surprise, wondering why this thought hadn't occurred to him before. Of course they wouldn't have ever been in school, unless their so called 'Masters' thought it would be worth their time. Which it wouldn't be seeing as the skills they had needed to work weren't anything that they'd learn out of books. "Oh... I never thought of that..."
Yamato predictably rolled his eyes. "And they say you're a genius," He muttered, turning to Hikari who had only been listening in on the conversation. "Give me a book."
"A book?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow, "What kind of book?"
With an exasperated sigh, he replied sharply, "I don't care, any book." She just rolled her eyes back at him, reaching into her bookshelf before handing him a small red book of fairy tales. Yamato nodded approvingly and walked over to the other boys. All three of them looked up in surprise as he sat down on the edge. Ken and Hikari followed, standing a little to the side to see what was going on. Looking at his brother first, Yamato held out the book to him, opening it to a random page, "Read this to me, please."
For a moment Takeru only stared wide eyed at the words before hesitantly peeking up at his older brother. "I... I'm sorry... I can't..." He cringed back as Yamato reached passed him and showed the same page to Daisuke.
The red head just shook his head without even glancing at it, staring just past Yamato's shoulder instead. "I can't either, Yamato-sama."
With a blink of astonishment, Yamato asked, "Yamato-sama? Where'd you get that from?"
"Um..." Daisuke lowered his head with a small blush, "I just thought... Taichi said that..." He trailed off, not quite knowing how to explain.
"Taichi, huh?" Ken watched in amazement as Yamato actually smiled at the young boy before turning his head to Taichi. He had never seen such a tender look on that pale face and he wondered if Yamato even knew that his expression had changed so much. All because of that name. "And can you read this to me, Taichi?"
Taichi raised his eyes slowly to scan the page, looking crestfallen as he turned back to Yamato, "I can only pick out a few words. We... we were never really taught how to read, Yamato." Ken shared a surprised look with Hikari at how familiarly Taichi used Yamato's name. Especially since those boys couldn't seem to resist making them seem higher than they really were. Obviously whatever Yamato had said to the other teen had been very effective.
"Just as I thought," Yamato nodded, slamming the pages shut. He tossed it back to Hikari, but never took his eyes off of the male brunette. "But you do know some words?"
"Yeah... One of the older boys, Yukito, he taught me some basic words. I don't know how he knew how to read, though." Taichi immediately answered. All three of the boys seemed to relax a bit with the easy tone to the conversation.
Satisfied, Yamato finally turned to face Ken and Hikari. Ken saw the look in those blue eyes and knew that the blonde was planning something. And somehow everybody around him always managed to get taken in by his plans, whether or not they wanted to in the first place. "Okay then... there's no way they can just be put in regular school now, it's way too late for that. So we'll just have to tutor them ourselves." He grinned slightly at the blank faces staring back at him.
The bluenette tilted his head, wondering why Yamato's logic always seemed to work backwards compared to everyone else's. "Um... wouldn't they learn more from a real tutor? Why us?" He frowned at his friend. It wasn't that he didn't want to help these kids, but he wasn't sure how much they'd benefit when caught between Yamato's unpredictable mood swings, Hikari's excessive motherly concern, and his own moodiness over life's problems.
"No... wait... I think I see Yamato's point," Hikari nodded thoughtfully, "It would be easier for us to just teach them ourselves. They already seem to be relaxing around us, and any strangers that we left them alone with would probably just scare them even more."
"That's right. Plus it would give them something to do around the apartment while we're at school. They could take turns at our houses during the day, hopefully with some adult supervision, but that can't always be helped," Yamato added.
Finally Ken just sighed, "I guess so. They couldn't come to my place though, I don't think my parents would go for it. It would give them a chance to study and learn to trust us, I suppose." And it would give him the chance to be around Daisuke even more, he thought with a fleeting smile. That sounded most... attractive. Fuck his ex-boyfriend, Daisuke was so much cuter than Asrik could ever be.
=-=-=-=
Daisuke had been subtly listening to the conversation with great interest, his fear slowly leaking away as they completely ignored him and his friends. The red-head was still huddled up against one side of Taichi, feeling at ease as he felt the familiar warmth of his brother seep into him. He felt exhausted, more mentally than physically, over everything that had gone on in the past few days, especially in the last hour. Everything had been so strange, especially considering the actions and words of the other three teenagers in the room. He didn't understand what they meant, that he and the his two friends were free. Free from what? The Masters, they had said. But without their Masters, how would they know what to do? He'd be completely lost without them to guide him. Just thinking about it hurt his head.
With a silent sigh, he tried to push the worries out of his mind, and focused on snuggling closer to the one familiarity he had left. Takeru was on the other side of Taichi, having finally controlled his panic with the comfort of the older boy. Daisuke was just glad to have them both with him, making things almost feel normal again. Of course, that was while ignoring the quiet conversation of the three strange teens nearby. They had been going on about something called tutoring, and staying at each other's houses, and stuff like that. It made no sense to him, but that didn't matter. It wasn't supposed to make sense for him, he was just supposed to obey anything that they told him.
Finally he got tired of listening in and lay his head on his brother's shoulder, enjoying the comforting arm around him, "'Chi? What's prostitution?" He whispered very quietly, hoping the others wouldn't catch him speaking without permission. But then again, hadn't they already said that they didn't need to give permission?
Large, soothing chocolate brown eyes looked down at him, blinking with confusion, "What?"
"Prostitution... I think that's what they said." Daisuke repeated, Takeru nodding in confirmation.
"Oh..." Taichi thought for a moment, then grimaced, "I think... I think that's the name they use for... well, for what we do."
"Oh." That was another thing that these people had told him he didn't have to do anymore. But if he couldn't do that any longer... what else could he do? And for how much longer would they give them free food, free clothing and stuff like that? In his experience, people only helped others for something in return. That was just how the world worked. At least the tiny part of it that he had grown up in.
Suddenly one of the other voices penetrated through his sleepy daze, and he realized the other three were speaking to them now. All three pairs of eyes were trained on him and his two friends expectantly, and it was the blonde who spoke. "So how does that sound to you guys?"
Confused, Daisuke kept his mouth shut and hoped that Taichi knew what they were talking about. "How... how does what sound?" the older brunette finally asked quietly, his grip suddenly tightening around Daisuke's shoulders.
"Why, having us tutor you, of course," Hikari explained, her smile never leaving her face. Daisuke vaguely wondered just what she had found that was worth smiling about. He was pretty sure he had never seen anyone as happy as these three in his entire life, not including their customers of course. "With someone like Ken teaching you, you'll be genius's in no time!"
Daisuke suddenly perked up at the mention of that name. Although he didn't look at the one he had begun to admire so much, he could feel the comforting presence. Not that he wasn't completely unafraid or trusting of Ken, it was just that the blue haired boy didn't seem to be as terrifying as the rest of them. Ken replied in his usual silky voice, slightly sarcastic this time, "Thanks 'Kari, I'm sure. Of course, you are the one planning to become a teacher in the future, right? So this would be a good test of your skills."
"Yep," She cheerfully replied back, "And Yamato could teach them about life and arts and things like that."
"Hey, my marks aren't that bad when it comes to math and sciences." Daisuke almost grinned at the joking offended tone of Yamato's. The blonde was another person he could easily come to like, mainly because Taichi seemed to have such a good opinion of him. The first thing the brunette had whispered to them as he had joined the two on the bed was how great Yamato had been to him. 'Hadn't hurt him or tried anything at all. That, and the fact that Yamato seemed to know exactly how to handle everything put him in a very good respect to Daisuke.
Hikari was different though. For one thing she was a girl, and Daisuke had never had much experience with girls of any sort. There had only been a few females back where they came from in the entire building, and they were only there to cook, clean and bathe the younger boys a couple of times a week. Daisuke only saw the girls on odd occasions and never saw them as anything but meek and obedient, like the rest of the boys trapped there. This girl, however, was anything but meek. She was always talking to them, trying to start conversations that never had any point, and always seemed to be cheerful around them. He wasn't sure whether or not he really like that yet.
Then he noticed they had all went quiet and peeked up to find the three staring at them expectantly. Oh right... they had asked a question. He nudged Taichi slightly, reminding him to answer, and felt the hand on his shoulder tighten in response. "What will you be... " Taichi hesitated, and Daisuke knew why. They were never supposed to question anything the Masters told them, just obey without thinking. Severe punishment had always followed one of those mistakes. Daisuke had seen the bruises on Taichi's skin from disobedience many times, and that thought still frightened him more than anything.
But Yamato reassured him, "Go on, it's okay to ask questions."
"What... what will you be tutoring us about?" He went on quietly.
It was Ken who answered this time, "School subjects, mainly. Reading, writing and arithmetic. As well as things you need to know about what's going on in the real world." He sounded so confident, so sure about what was going to happen, that Daisuke immediately relaxed, his eyes drawn to the one who had spoken. He jumped a little, startled, when he realized that those intelligent, violet eyes were studying himself. Daisuke felt himself flush as he quickly looked back down at his fidgeting hands.
When Taichi didn't say anything else, Hikari asked, "So is that okay?"
All three boys stiffened, none of them knowing what to do. What were they saying? There wasn't any choice in the matter, was there? There never had been before. Feeling beyond confused, Daisuke pulled up his knees again, a defensive action that seemed to have become a habit whenever he became afraid of something. Taichi's hand had tightened further on his shoulder until it was almost painful. He knew that his idol hadn't any more clue than himself. Were they supposed to answer? Or was it a trick? There might not be any more Masters, as hard as that was to believe, but old habits die hard.
"What did I say?" He heard the girl whisper in amazement. He wished so bad that things hadn't become as complicated as they were now. Back at home, everything was just black and white. The Masters told them what to do and they did it. But now it was getting hard to tell what these people wanted every time they spoke.
"Well?" Yamato asked impatiently. Daisuke could tell the blonde was the kind of person who like things done right away, and liked them done right. Master material alright. "Answer the question, Taichi." He added in an exasperated tone.
Finally receiving a direct order, Taichi obediently answered with the most natural response in Daisuke's opinion, "Yes, Yamato-san."
He heard Yamato curse under his breath as the blonde stood up abruptly. Now what was wrong? "Fuck, Taichi, that doesn't even mean anything! Don't you understand yet? There's no 'right' or 'wrong' answer, just whatever you want. What do you think is best for you and your friends?"
Shocked, Daisuke looked up at the frighteningly icy eyes staring back at them. "You can't ask that!" The words were out of his mouth before he could think, but once they were there was no taking them back. Completely terrified at his disputing exclamation, Daisuke cringed back and waited for the storm to break out.
Silence filled the room as everyone stared at him, causing him to shiver at the force of their gazes. Finally Ken whispered, his voice filled with awe, "Did you just say what I thought you said?"
Slowly becoming numb with terror, Daisuke nodded only out of habit. He couldn't believe what he had just done. Now he was in for it. He was going to be locked up again, in a small dark room. All by himself. They would take him away from Taichi and Takeru! He didn't want to be locked up, he hated being alone in the dark. It was horrible the first time, but to be put back there in that damned closet would be the end for him.
"Taichi! What's wrong with him?" Yamato snapped as the other two looked on in awe at the shaking, crying boy. Daisuke couldn't stop the terrified tears that leaked down his cheeks, feeling himself quaking in the Taichi's arm. He didn't want to go back to the dark room, no... he wanted to stay with his brother!
"He's scared because... because you're going to punish him for... disagreeing with you. He's scared of being alone." Taichi's voice sounded scared itself as he could do nothing but hold onto his little brother.
"Well tell him that he's not going to be punished!" The blonde growled, "We're not like that! How many times do we have to tell you that?"
"Yamato, shut up. They still not used to being out of that place." Ken's voice reached through the deafening roar in Daisuke's ears as he waited for someone to strike out at him. Suddenly he felt the other come closer to him, "Daisuke? It's okay, we're not going to hurt you in any way. I won't let anybody hurt you, alright?"
Blinking away the tears that blurred his vision, Daisuke stared with wide eyes at the boy kneeling in front of him. He wouldn't let anybody hurt him? With a sniffle, he wiped his eyes, still hugging his knees in tight desperation. "Th-then... you w-won't put me i-in... in the d-da-dark r-room?" He shivered, curling up further at the thought of it.
"No, no Daisuke. We won't do that. We don't want to hurt any one of you." The smile on Ken's face was sad as he watched the three of them huddle together. "Now, there's nothing to be afraid of, okay? We're only here to help."
"That's right," Hikari added from where she was still standing beside the bed. "Now why did you say that to Yamato? I'm just curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Daisuke didn't know how to answer. He still felt slightly in shock, but the warm eyes across from him helped to relax him somewhat. "'Chi?" Daisuke whispered, looking up at his brother's face with imploring eyes, hoping that the older boy would come up with the answers.
Ignoring the others, Taichi shyly looked over at Yamato and cleared his throat nervously. "He's sorry, Yamato-san."
"Sorry?" Yamato looked back at them with surprise, before slowly shaking his head. He sighed and sat back down on the edge, "Well, he shouldn't be. All we want to know his why he said it. I'm not mad, just curious, like Hikari said."
"Well... it's because..." Taichi paused, searching for the appropriate way to explain. Daisuke just hoped that he didn't offend them even further with the explanation. "It's never mattered... what we think. Our Masters... they didn't like us to... to have thoughts."
"Oh... of course." Ken responded quietly, sounding depressed. "It's not like that anymore, you know..."
"Because... you're not... like our Masters...?" Takeru's quiet voice surprised them all, and Daisuke peeked around Taichi to find his best friend staring at the other blonde.
Yamato's eyes widened a bit, "That's right... Exactly."
The younger blonde nodded slightly, his cerulean blue eyes turning to meet Daisuke's own cinnamon ones. They stared at each other with wide eyes, slowly figuring out what the others had been telling them all along. Then together they looked up to Taichi who was staring between the two of them with a dumbfounded expression. Finally he asked the question that was now on all three of their minds, "So what do we do now?"
"Now you do anything you want," Hikari smiled as they turned as one to look at her.
Daisuke frowned as she said this, not quite able to let the idea of freedom become real in his mind. Once again the thought of not having someone to guide them scared him. This couldn't be right... could it? Still unsure, Daisuke turned back to his brother and sat up to whisper in his ear. Taichi blinked at him as he pulled away, then looked at Yamato uncertainly. "Um... Yamato-san..."
"Yamato. Remember? Just Yamato is fine." The blonde corrected him softly. Startled, Daisuke looked at Yamato, noticing how the older teen was staring at Taichi with a strange look in his eye. Not really sure what to make of it, Daisuke shrugged the implications away. Yamato had said that he wouldn't hurt them, so he would never take Taichi away, what a silly thought.
Taichi just nodded, "R-right... Yamato. Yamato... you mentioned... earlier, you mentioned lunch?" Daisuke's stomach growled just at the thought of food. But according to his calculations, it was between meals right now. They shouldn't be able to eat for another four or five hours.
Yamato, Ken and Hikari looked surprised over this, staring at the three with disbelief. Suddenly Ken laughed out loud, causing Daisuke to flinch back from the sound. Hikari giggled with him, and even Yamato chuckled a little. Personally, he didn't see what was so funny about this whole thing.
"Man, I had forgotten about that," Yamato answered sheepishly, grinning at them. "We were headed to the kitchen when you met us in the hallway," He explained to the other two.
"Well then, why don't we go grab something to eat. We'll talk more about this at the table," Ken suggested, standing up. He beckoned to Daisuke and his friends, "Come on then, we'll see what we can scrounge up."
With wonder filling him up, Daisuke let himself be pulled away with Taichi, and followed the others out of the room. They had all suddenly seemed so friendly. How strange that they would just agree so quickly with his suggestion, especially knowing the time. But he wasn't about to complain, that was for sure. He really was hungry.
'It's like Heaven,' Daisuke thought to himself as he happily sat down at the table between Ken and Taichi, while watching Hikari beg her mother to make them all a big lunch. 'Exactly how I'd imagine Heaven to be like. It's all just too perfect.'
=-=-=-=
It was almost dark by the time the three visitors of the Yagami household
took their leave. The sky had grown cloudy since the morning and now the
grey clouds above looked ready to burst. A strong wind had also sprung up
out of nowhere, tearing its way rudely through the three figures as they
made their way down the street. The weather amazed Takeru as he fought to
keep up with the other two boys on either side of him, he had never really
had the chance to be outside for very long before. Everything seemed so alive,
so wild and free compared to the bleak grey walls that he was so used to.
Soon enough though, he couldn't wait to make it back to the apartment, his
body shivering as another gust of chilly air swept through him.
A lot of new and enlightening ideas had been learnt that day. For one, Takeru now knew that Yamato, Ken and all the rest of the people he had met in the past couple of days had no intention of hurting him. He still didn't quite understand the reason for moving in with the Ishida's in the first place, but at least they weren't planning on using him. That had to have been one of the most incredible things Takeru had heard of in a long time. Not only did he get all kinds of free things, such as clothing and food, but he did not have to earn it like he had had to at home. It might not last that long, but he was sure going to take advantage of the time off while he had it.
He thought back on the past few hours, feeling happy as he remembered the joy of finding his two best friends in the strange house. It had been so nice to see Taichi and Daisuke again, especially after the fear and loneliness he had been feeling at the thought of never being able to be with them again. He had immediately been comforted and felt better with their support as the other teenagers in the room had tried to explain the situation to them. The hardest part of the day had been leaving them once again. The blonde had almost cried at the thought of losing them again so soon, not feeling as though he could stand it without them. But then Yamato had promised him that they would come back. He would see them again, almost everyday even. The entire view of the future had brightened considerably after that.
Takeru was snapped out of his thoughts as he stepped out of the cold air and into the warmth of the apartment building. He waited for the other two to get ahead a little in order to follow even though he had easily memorized which apartment belonged to the Ishida family. Even if he was not expected to act so submissive, he still felt nervous when doing something that went against what he had been taught.
They walked into the apartment together and Takeru made sure to take off his dirty shoes like the others were doing before following them to the living room. So far he hadn't really been paying much attention to where he was going, just letting his instincts guide him. It was much more interesting to study the details of the apartment, noticing the little things around him that gave clues as to what kind of place he was living in. Such as the small framed photo, hanging in the short hallway, that held the face of a young woman. She had a very pretty smile, shoulder length chestnut hair framing her features as she stared at the camera with a careless grace. Takeru wondered who she was, why he hadn't met her yet. It was obvious that she was important, seeing as there were very few pictures to begin with in the apartment, but so far nobody had mentioned her to him.
Masaharu Ishida was in the living room when they reached it, causing Takeru to fall back into his respectful stance out of habit. The older adults made him especially nervous now as they were the ones with the power to make him do their bidding. The elder man immediately stood up from the couch and approached Takeru, "Did you have fun at the Yagami's, Takeru?" He asked after greeting the others, placing a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. Not quite sure how to react to this, Takeru only nodded shyly. "That's good..." Takeru could feel Masaharu's eyes on him, studying him, causing him to feel uneasy. "It's still so... unreal..." The older man whispered to himself, startling Takeru from his earnest interest in his shoes. Without thinking, he glanced up, meeting the father's kind eyes. As they held each other's gazes for a few moments, Takeru tried hard to place the strong sense of familiarity he was feeling, as if he had seen those eyes before. But that fleeting sense was lost before it was even fully formed and their connected gazes broke apart.
With a small sigh, Masaharu pulled away and quietly asked, "Did you boys have dinner over there?"
"Yeah, Hikari's mother invited us to stay. Did you still want me to make something for you though?" Yamato answered, tiredly leaning against a wall. Suddenly feeling exhausted himself, Takeru let out a loud unintentional yawn. Embarrassed, he covered his mouth, but was reassured that he had done nothing wrong as the others just smiled at him.
"No, that's okay. I can see you're all probably ready for bed." Masaharu replied. "Go on then, I'm just going to watch some television before I go to bed myself."
Takeru only wondered if this was a definite dismissal for a second before Ken gently took his arm and led him to their room. Yamato trailed behind, taking over Takeru as Ken took a turn into the bathroom. Feeling at ease for the first time in quite awhile, Takeru sleepily leaned against the older boy without much thought. He felt the body tense for a moment before an arm carefully slid around his shoulders, "Don't fall asleep yet, Takeru. You need to change first," Yamato whispered as he led the younger blonde to the bed.
"Change?" Takeru mumbled, looking around in confusion. What did he need to change into? A minute later he saw the other teen hold up a large t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Oh... right. He had forgotten about that. Back at... well, what had used to be home... they had always just worn the same clothing, night and day, only switching to clean ones once in awhile. And besides that, all the clothing had been meant to show off as much bare skin as possible - very short shorts with a loose t-shirt that ended just above the belly button. He had gotten used to those, only hating it when it got cold in his room. But now he was allowed to where all kinds of other clothes. His special favorite at the moment was a large black sweatshirt with a hood that Yamato had given him which kept him so warm and comfy.
"You can sleep in the bed tonight," said Yamato once he had finished changing into the comfortable night clothes.
Surprised, Takeru looked over at the bed, knowing that it was very soft from when he had sat on it earlier. Compared to his old bed, sleeping on this would be like heaven. But... "I... I can't... It's yours and..." He didn't want to take away from this one person that had been so kind to him. That just wouldn't be right.
Yamato only waved this away and nudged the hesitant boy to the bed, "Don't worry about it, I'll kick Ken off of the sofa."
"Gee, thanks..." Ken muttered sarcastically as he entered the bedroom.
"No problem," Yamato grinned, "You love the floor anyway, just admit it."
Takeru watched worriedly as the two bickered back and forth while getting ready for bed, but soon realized that it was all in good nature. They were good friends, that much was obvious. In the end, Ken had managed to win the small debate over the sofa with the excuse that he was the guest. Yamato just grumbled something unintelligible as he crawled into the sleeping bag, once again urging Takeru to get into bed.
Uncertainly, Takeru crawled across the mattress and pushed back the covers
before relaxing under them. He sighed as he comfortably sank into the
mattress, wondering why he had never gotten the chance to do this before.
Why was the home he was used to so different from this place? Everything
seemed completely opposite, but so much better here. It was an enigma
for sure.
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(A/N) Well, that's it for this chapter, more to come... whenever I get the time and energy... *cringes at the thought of all those exams to study for* shoot... well, I'll get going on it as soon as possible anyway. Thanks for reading, and review if you enjoyed it or have any more ideas :)