Disclaimer: Don't own.
A/N: Yay! It's a false spring time! Ah, every time days like these roll around I feel like I must do something and writing seems like the perfect thing to do. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8: I hate you, I love you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
JT struggled against the two men in the van as he was hauled out of it and blindfolded. He couldn't see where he was, but he could tell from the sounds that he was at an airport, a private one he guessed, since he could feel people pass by and they didn't even ask about him.
One of the men held him tight around the waist while the other had his arm in an almost hurtful grasp. Either way he would not be escaping. They paused for a moment so the men could talk to someone. The boy observed then that he was shaking gently. Aya had warned him when he had agreed to be a part of Weiss that there was a chance he would be kidnapped and killed. Until now he hadn't felt any fear at that prospect. Now he was very afraid.
While he was thinking the men had stopped talking and were now getting ready to board the plane. Gently the man that had his arm nudged him to start walking. He tripped several times up the gangplank, each time caught by one of the two men. He could tell they were slightly annoyed with him by the low grumbles and the harshness of their grasps.
When they had successfully made it on board he was seated and buckled in. His blindfold remained on until the plane was in the air. While the jet was running down the runway and first taking off JT had whimpered. He had never been in a plane before and from what he heard it was very scary. Shaking ever so slightly he half hoped that the blindfold would remain on throughout the whole flight.
However, when they had been up for roughly five minutes one of the men laughed at him and stood in front of him.
"Lets get this off shall we?" He asked gently.
The man had a kind voice and for the few seconds when he was being un- blindfolded he found it hard to believe that this man were a kidnapper. But when he could see clearly shock graced his gentle features. Staring back at him was an old friend of his uncles, who often came into the store and helped out.
"Michael! You kidnapped me?!"
The man laughed, but didn't answer. Standing upright he turned his back to the boy then began to talk to someone that the boy couldn't see. Trying to take in everything he could the young one was immune to the world around him. When Michael left he didn't even notice. What brought him back to the world was the next voice that talked to him.
"Enjoying your first flight, JT?"
The blonde's head snapped up. Sitting straight across from him was none other than the beautiful Manx, in all her red glory. Her lips shone as she smiled at him from her seat. She apparently found the boy's perplexed and all out confused look amusing.
"Manx?! What the hell is going on?!" He wailed.
"Not to worry, JT. You'll be home in a matter of hours and your father and uncles will be more than happy to see you. Why, I haven't seen Omi this bouncy since he was a boy no older than you."
The boy simply stared at her, like she were a talking dog.
"What is it, JT?"
"Manx, don't you understand? I-I was happy...Rachel and I...we were...I..."
The red head looked at him oddly. "Rachel? Who is Rachel?"
JT jumped slightly. He hadn't meant for her name to slip out. "Rachel is...is..."
Manx smiled deviously. "Is she your girlfriend? Heh, I suppose it's about time you had your first one."
"Ah, hey! That's not the point of this discussion! I don't want to go home, I want to go back!"
"But 'back' isn't your home."
The young man stopped, briefly thinking of what was just said.
"JT, if you truly thought your place was with Rachel you would have said that you wanted to go home to Rachel, or that your home was with Rachel, or something along those lines. But you said you didn't want to go home, you wanted to be with Rachel. Back with your father and uncles is your home, and you know it. Now you just have to come to terms with it."
The woman stood then and looked down at him. Smiling sadly she tousled his hair gently and went off to talk with the men who had brought him to her. Blinking away some small tears the teen moved himself to a seat by a window and looked out at the world far below him. The cities twinkled as they flew overhead. He was lost in the sea up in the sky, where the clouds and the heavens meet, where no one could go to find you, where you could be free.
The rest of the flight was silent. Manx watched over the boy as he stared out of the window into the abyss of beauty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Omi was pacing back and forth in front of the bottom of the stairs. They had gotten a call from Manx a half an hour ago saying that they were just about to land and would be there soon. The others acted calm and collected, but on the inside they were just as excited as he was.
When the door at the top of the stairs opened they all stopped their brief activities and jumped up. The sound of high heels coming down the stairs made all of their hearts jump. When the woman materialized in front of them they all gulped and looked at her expectantly. She smiled.
"Not to worry, I believe I have what you've been looking for. Come here JT."
A new pair of steps echoed behind her, lightly and shyly. The sounds stopped just before the body could become visible. After a small pause the steps continued and seconds later JT peaked out from behind Manx.
The woman stepped out of the way to reveal the boy. He looked down with a slight blush. He knew his father and uncles would be cross with him, but he was more concerned about how to tell them that he didn't want to be there.
"Dad, Uncle Ken, Aya, Youji, I-"
Before he could get another syllable out Omi had flung himself at him and was nuzzling his soft hair gently, crying pathetically into him. The boy stumbled slightly. This was a reaction he hadn't been expecting. His father pulled back to look at him with teary eyes.
"JT, my son..."
The youth tried to say something but suddenly something new blossomed inside him. Tears were spilling down his red cheeks and he too flung himself into his father's arms.
"Daddy!" He cried loudly.
Omi cuddled the top of his child's head, all the while his own tears falling like rain. When the boy looked up to him he choked on a sob and let him go to cry into his hands. JT stood at a slight loss, but was quickly distracted as Ken came up and picked him up and hugged him tightly.
"JT! Where've you been?!"
The soccer player set him down not too gently, and he was promptly scooped up by Youji who ruffled his hair and smirked at him.
"So, heard you got a girlfriend while you were away, what's she like?"
The boy blushed brightly. What kind of question is that?! And even more importantly, how did he know?! Covering his face to hide the brightness of it he turned and froze when he saw his uncle Aya.
"A-Aya." He stammered out.
The man stared down at him. The child shrunk on sight, afraid of what this man would do to him. To his surprise a hand gently touched the top of his head. He looked up surprised.
"JT...welcome back."
He smiled up at him. "Uncle Aya, I-OW!"
The red head smacked the boy on top of the head with a magazine he had been reading. The small blonde quickly scrambled over to his father as his uncle began to yell.
"You dumb little punk! What is it with you and running away, is that your only defense?! Why don't you think of someone elses feelings besides yourself and you may realize that you ruin our lives as well as yours! Next time you plan on doing something stupid like that, THINK!"
While all the others laughed at him JT grasped his father's shirt tightly and refused to let go. When Aya tried to touch him again he ran around the taller blonde in a vain attempt to flee.
"Come here!"
When Aya finally caught him he hauled the child up onto his shoulder, kicking and screaming. He carried him up to the kitchen where he plopped him down in a table chair and flicked the lights on. Banners and streamers lined the walls, welcoming him home and a large cake was set in the middle of the table. The boy looked at it, surprised, then turned to his guardians.
"Welcome home, son." Omi smiled brightly.
Youji stood behind him and gently rubbed his shoulders as Ken started to cut the cake and Aya simply stared at him. The boy looked at the cake with hurt eyes. All of this happiness and warm welcoming wasn't going to make it easier for him to tell them all he wanted to leave them. Deciding to put it aside until after the party ended and Manx left he forced on a smile and started to chow down the piece of cake that Ken offered to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dark covered the city in a stealthy hush of black, blanketing anything that even dared move. In the shadows a small form moved quickly, making its way towards the train station.
Upon arriving at her destination Rachel unzipped her jacket and went to one of the tellers. She quietly got a ticket for the midnight express then went to wait at a small coffee stand. Ordering a small cup she recited the information she knew to herself.
"He lives in Tokyo, with his three uncles and father. They own a flower shop, the Koneko. Its right next door to a soup store. I can find him, I have to find him..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Aren't you glad to be back, JT? I know we're happy to have you back."
The teen looked to his uncle Ken. He couldn't fake it any longer. When the boy refused to smile in return they all looked at him with worry.
"What's wrong, JT?" His father asked.
He sighed, knowing it was now or never. Putting down his empty plate he looked at the four men around him and sighed again.
"Dad, Youji, Ken, Aya...you know I love you all more than anything in the world but..." He broke off, unable to say anything more.
"But what, JT?" His father prodded.
"But...but I don't want to be here!"
The sudden yell left the room in a silencing echo. The boy sat very still, watching the faces of the four elders. Aya was cold and empty and Ken and Youji were sad and disbelieving, but what got him was his father's expression. It wasn't sadness, but pure rejection and misery. He could tell that somewhere inside of the man his heart was being torn in two.
Standing abruptly the older blonde walked over to the stairs and started up. Halfway to the top Youji yelled after him, making him pause and look down at them all. Instead of the pain they all thought he had a deep scowl was eminent in his features.
"Didn't you hear him Youji, he doesn't want to be here. He doesn't want to be with us. He doesn't want to be with his father who hasn't seen him for years! He doesn't want to be with the three men that raised him his entire life!"
"Daddy!"
The man stared down at his child, then turned on his heel, hiding his face. "If he doesn't wish to stay then let him go. I won't stand in his way."
JT jumped to his feet and bolted up the stairs and ran to his old room, locking it tight. As he ran away from his uncles and past his father he screeched loudly,
"You're all heartless!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken sighed at the muted television. Youji sat beside him and Aya across from him. JT had long since locked himself in his room and Omi was busy taking the longest shower in history. He looked at the others then switched the TV off.
"Now what do we do. I think we've finally lost him for good." He mumbled.
Youji took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled. "We can't control him, he's old enough now to make his own decisions. I just hope...he doesn't crush us all with his decision."
"He shouldn't have to take us into consideration, he should live by what he knows. He should obey his conscience. That's the only true way to live. Other people should be of no consequence."
Both men turned to look at the red head.
"So, you want him to leave, Aya?" Ken asked.
Aya looked up at him with his ever piercing gaze. "I neither want or need to him to stay. Let him do what he wishes."
And with that simple statement he stood and left. Ken looked after his retreating form, than to Youji, who was at an equal loss, and slumped back down into his seat.
"Oh boy..." He mumbled. "What a day..."
~TBC
Uh oh, now there's a problem! Next, am understanding is reached and Rachel hits the scene!
A/N: Yay! It's a false spring time! Ah, every time days like these roll around I feel like I must do something and writing seems like the perfect thing to do. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8: I hate you, I love you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
JT struggled against the two men in the van as he was hauled out of it and blindfolded. He couldn't see where he was, but he could tell from the sounds that he was at an airport, a private one he guessed, since he could feel people pass by and they didn't even ask about him.
One of the men held him tight around the waist while the other had his arm in an almost hurtful grasp. Either way he would not be escaping. They paused for a moment so the men could talk to someone. The boy observed then that he was shaking gently. Aya had warned him when he had agreed to be a part of Weiss that there was a chance he would be kidnapped and killed. Until now he hadn't felt any fear at that prospect. Now he was very afraid.
While he was thinking the men had stopped talking and were now getting ready to board the plane. Gently the man that had his arm nudged him to start walking. He tripped several times up the gangplank, each time caught by one of the two men. He could tell they were slightly annoyed with him by the low grumbles and the harshness of their grasps.
When they had successfully made it on board he was seated and buckled in. His blindfold remained on until the plane was in the air. While the jet was running down the runway and first taking off JT had whimpered. He had never been in a plane before and from what he heard it was very scary. Shaking ever so slightly he half hoped that the blindfold would remain on throughout the whole flight.
However, when they had been up for roughly five minutes one of the men laughed at him and stood in front of him.
"Lets get this off shall we?" He asked gently.
The man had a kind voice and for the few seconds when he was being un- blindfolded he found it hard to believe that this man were a kidnapper. But when he could see clearly shock graced his gentle features. Staring back at him was an old friend of his uncles, who often came into the store and helped out.
"Michael! You kidnapped me?!"
The man laughed, but didn't answer. Standing upright he turned his back to the boy then began to talk to someone that the boy couldn't see. Trying to take in everything he could the young one was immune to the world around him. When Michael left he didn't even notice. What brought him back to the world was the next voice that talked to him.
"Enjoying your first flight, JT?"
The blonde's head snapped up. Sitting straight across from him was none other than the beautiful Manx, in all her red glory. Her lips shone as she smiled at him from her seat. She apparently found the boy's perplexed and all out confused look amusing.
"Manx?! What the hell is going on?!" He wailed.
"Not to worry, JT. You'll be home in a matter of hours and your father and uncles will be more than happy to see you. Why, I haven't seen Omi this bouncy since he was a boy no older than you."
The boy simply stared at her, like she were a talking dog.
"What is it, JT?"
"Manx, don't you understand? I-I was happy...Rachel and I...we were...I..."
The red head looked at him oddly. "Rachel? Who is Rachel?"
JT jumped slightly. He hadn't meant for her name to slip out. "Rachel is...is..."
Manx smiled deviously. "Is she your girlfriend? Heh, I suppose it's about time you had your first one."
"Ah, hey! That's not the point of this discussion! I don't want to go home, I want to go back!"
"But 'back' isn't your home."
The young man stopped, briefly thinking of what was just said.
"JT, if you truly thought your place was with Rachel you would have said that you wanted to go home to Rachel, or that your home was with Rachel, or something along those lines. But you said you didn't want to go home, you wanted to be with Rachel. Back with your father and uncles is your home, and you know it. Now you just have to come to terms with it."
The woman stood then and looked down at him. Smiling sadly she tousled his hair gently and went off to talk with the men who had brought him to her. Blinking away some small tears the teen moved himself to a seat by a window and looked out at the world far below him. The cities twinkled as they flew overhead. He was lost in the sea up in the sky, where the clouds and the heavens meet, where no one could go to find you, where you could be free.
The rest of the flight was silent. Manx watched over the boy as he stared out of the window into the abyss of beauty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Omi was pacing back and forth in front of the bottom of the stairs. They had gotten a call from Manx a half an hour ago saying that they were just about to land and would be there soon. The others acted calm and collected, but on the inside they were just as excited as he was.
When the door at the top of the stairs opened they all stopped their brief activities and jumped up. The sound of high heels coming down the stairs made all of their hearts jump. When the woman materialized in front of them they all gulped and looked at her expectantly. She smiled.
"Not to worry, I believe I have what you've been looking for. Come here JT."
A new pair of steps echoed behind her, lightly and shyly. The sounds stopped just before the body could become visible. After a small pause the steps continued and seconds later JT peaked out from behind Manx.
The woman stepped out of the way to reveal the boy. He looked down with a slight blush. He knew his father and uncles would be cross with him, but he was more concerned about how to tell them that he didn't want to be there.
"Dad, Uncle Ken, Aya, Youji, I-"
Before he could get another syllable out Omi had flung himself at him and was nuzzling his soft hair gently, crying pathetically into him. The boy stumbled slightly. This was a reaction he hadn't been expecting. His father pulled back to look at him with teary eyes.
"JT, my son..."
The youth tried to say something but suddenly something new blossomed inside him. Tears were spilling down his red cheeks and he too flung himself into his father's arms.
"Daddy!" He cried loudly.
Omi cuddled the top of his child's head, all the while his own tears falling like rain. When the boy looked up to him he choked on a sob and let him go to cry into his hands. JT stood at a slight loss, but was quickly distracted as Ken came up and picked him up and hugged him tightly.
"JT! Where've you been?!"
The soccer player set him down not too gently, and he was promptly scooped up by Youji who ruffled his hair and smirked at him.
"So, heard you got a girlfriend while you were away, what's she like?"
The boy blushed brightly. What kind of question is that?! And even more importantly, how did he know?! Covering his face to hide the brightness of it he turned and froze when he saw his uncle Aya.
"A-Aya." He stammered out.
The man stared down at him. The child shrunk on sight, afraid of what this man would do to him. To his surprise a hand gently touched the top of his head. He looked up surprised.
"JT...welcome back."
He smiled up at him. "Uncle Aya, I-OW!"
The red head smacked the boy on top of the head with a magazine he had been reading. The small blonde quickly scrambled over to his father as his uncle began to yell.
"You dumb little punk! What is it with you and running away, is that your only defense?! Why don't you think of someone elses feelings besides yourself and you may realize that you ruin our lives as well as yours! Next time you plan on doing something stupid like that, THINK!"
While all the others laughed at him JT grasped his father's shirt tightly and refused to let go. When Aya tried to touch him again he ran around the taller blonde in a vain attempt to flee.
"Come here!"
When Aya finally caught him he hauled the child up onto his shoulder, kicking and screaming. He carried him up to the kitchen where he plopped him down in a table chair and flicked the lights on. Banners and streamers lined the walls, welcoming him home and a large cake was set in the middle of the table. The boy looked at it, surprised, then turned to his guardians.
"Welcome home, son." Omi smiled brightly.
Youji stood behind him and gently rubbed his shoulders as Ken started to cut the cake and Aya simply stared at him. The boy looked at the cake with hurt eyes. All of this happiness and warm welcoming wasn't going to make it easier for him to tell them all he wanted to leave them. Deciding to put it aside until after the party ended and Manx left he forced on a smile and started to chow down the piece of cake that Ken offered to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dark covered the city in a stealthy hush of black, blanketing anything that even dared move. In the shadows a small form moved quickly, making its way towards the train station.
Upon arriving at her destination Rachel unzipped her jacket and went to one of the tellers. She quietly got a ticket for the midnight express then went to wait at a small coffee stand. Ordering a small cup she recited the information she knew to herself.
"He lives in Tokyo, with his three uncles and father. They own a flower shop, the Koneko. Its right next door to a soup store. I can find him, I have to find him..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Aren't you glad to be back, JT? I know we're happy to have you back."
The teen looked to his uncle Ken. He couldn't fake it any longer. When the boy refused to smile in return they all looked at him with worry.
"What's wrong, JT?" His father asked.
He sighed, knowing it was now or never. Putting down his empty plate he looked at the four men around him and sighed again.
"Dad, Youji, Ken, Aya...you know I love you all more than anything in the world but..." He broke off, unable to say anything more.
"But what, JT?" His father prodded.
"But...but I don't want to be here!"
The sudden yell left the room in a silencing echo. The boy sat very still, watching the faces of the four elders. Aya was cold and empty and Ken and Youji were sad and disbelieving, but what got him was his father's expression. It wasn't sadness, but pure rejection and misery. He could tell that somewhere inside of the man his heart was being torn in two.
Standing abruptly the older blonde walked over to the stairs and started up. Halfway to the top Youji yelled after him, making him pause and look down at them all. Instead of the pain they all thought he had a deep scowl was eminent in his features.
"Didn't you hear him Youji, he doesn't want to be here. He doesn't want to be with us. He doesn't want to be with his father who hasn't seen him for years! He doesn't want to be with the three men that raised him his entire life!"
"Daddy!"
The man stared down at his child, then turned on his heel, hiding his face. "If he doesn't wish to stay then let him go. I won't stand in his way."
JT jumped to his feet and bolted up the stairs and ran to his old room, locking it tight. As he ran away from his uncles and past his father he screeched loudly,
"You're all heartless!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken sighed at the muted television. Youji sat beside him and Aya across from him. JT had long since locked himself in his room and Omi was busy taking the longest shower in history. He looked at the others then switched the TV off.
"Now what do we do. I think we've finally lost him for good." He mumbled.
Youji took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled. "We can't control him, he's old enough now to make his own decisions. I just hope...he doesn't crush us all with his decision."
"He shouldn't have to take us into consideration, he should live by what he knows. He should obey his conscience. That's the only true way to live. Other people should be of no consequence."
Both men turned to look at the red head.
"So, you want him to leave, Aya?" Ken asked.
Aya looked up at him with his ever piercing gaze. "I neither want or need to him to stay. Let him do what he wishes."
And with that simple statement he stood and left. Ken looked after his retreating form, than to Youji, who was at an equal loss, and slumped back down into his seat.
"Oh boy..." He mumbled. "What a day..."
~TBC
Uh oh, now there's a problem! Next, am understanding is reached and Rachel hits the scene!