Good Boys Don't
- Misbehave -
By: Li'l Amethyst Angel
Summary: Weiss starts to notice Ken's off behavior since the last mission. Meanwhile, Ken has flashbacks of his painful upbringing.
Pairing: Ken x ?
Warnings: Child abuse, swearing, and angst.
Regular POV
"Ken! Ken, wake up!" Youji's voice yelled over the squeals of excited school girls. All four boys were working in the shop and this news spread fast amongst the fan-girls. Youji had been calling Ken for the last few moments. Ken's head snapped up, the sound of Youji's voice finally breaking through whatever daze he was in. Youji came over to him and placed a hand on top of Ken's and then took away the thing he was holding. Ken looked down to see the plant overflowing with water from the watering-can he had been holding. He glanced back up at Youji with a confused look on his face.
"Ken, you've been drowning that poor plant for about five minutes. I mean, I know you're usually scattered, but this is bad, even for you." Youji stated, putting the water-can away.
"He's right, Ken-kun. You have been kind of...out of it, these last few days." Omi said, worry leaking into his voice.
Aya had just finished shooing the annoying girls out of the shop and came over to them.
"Since the last mission." Aya added.
Ken looked at the others in astonishment. He hadn't realized he had been so obvious about his distress over the last mission. If Aya commented on it, he must have been pretty bad.
"Ugh, sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind." Again, Ken was surprised as he was expecting a sarcastic remark from Youji about having a mind at all, but got none. There was an uneasy silence that follows Ken's last comment.
"Well, I'm really worried about Yuki. He seemed pretty upset. I wonder if he'll be okay." Omi tried to get a conversation going again.
"Yeah, I am too. Emotionally he was a mess. I wonder if he'll be able to get over this." Youji agreed.
"I'm sure he will." Ken said in a quiet voice. The others looked at him. "I've known kids who have had it worse, who've had nobody to help them, and they made it okay. Yuki has his mother."
"So, Yuki can get by if those kids can, eh? Can you honestly say those kids turned out alright, though?" Youji asked. At that, Ken smiled sadly.
"No. They didn't turn out alright at all." With that bitter comment the room was once more engulfed in silence. For the rest of the shift Youji kept an eye on Ken, having some unsettling feelings.
Later that night, Ken is lying on his bed as he stared absently at the ceiling. The words Yuki said on the mission running through his head.
Begin Flashback
A little boy happily bounced a soccer ball on his knee. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes were sparkling with delight.
"I wanna be in the J-League someday. That would be so awesome!" The boy said to himself.
"Ken Hidaka has the ball, he goes for a goal, and-" The young Ken kicked the ball only to have it smash into the window, shattering the glass.
"Nononononononono!" Ken cried as he ran over to pick up the glass. "Daddy will be mad." He sniffed, on the verge of tears.
There was loud thumping as a large man descended the stairs. "What the hell was that?" He asked as he entered the living room to see seven-year-old picking up pieces of the broken window. The boy tensed when the angry man growled upon entering.
"You little shit! Do you know how much this is going to cost to fix? What's wrong with you?! Can't you to anything right?" He roared, causing the Ken to whimper. "Obviously not." He sneered. He stomped over to the now trembling boy and yanked him up by his hair.
"Are you trying to loose me money?" His father bellowed. The boy just shook his head, unable to find his voice. The lack of response seemed to enrage the man ever more and he struck his son hard across the face. Ken cried out, his hand tightening around the glass, adding to his pain. Ken fell to the floor, cutting his right arm on some glass that lay on the ground. Crimson drops trailed down his arms and fingers. His eyes followed the red tracks. He was jolted from his daze by a harsh kick to his stomach. His father snarled in disgust before leaving back to his room to his room to sleep off his hang-over. Ken lay crumpled on the floor, staring at the blood-coated glass. Even though he felt pain he did not let a single tear escape. He knew it was his own fault for what just happened. He broke one of the rules. He misbehaved. And good boys don't misbehave.
End Flashback
Ken sat up and reached for a picture in the top drawer. He stared unblinkingly at it. It was a picture of him and Kase when they were kids. Kase had his arm around Ken and they were both smiling widely.
"Kase..." Ken whispered to himself.
Ken remembered the first time he had met Kase. It was in the first grade. Ken was very shy back then and didn't like to be around people. Kase befriended him and never left him alone after that. The two became friends and Ken developed a deep trust in Kase. Kase was the first person Ken knew that didn't hurt him. That made Kase's betrayal hurt even more. Ken sighed and flung the picture to the table beside his bed.
Ken thought back to the first time he had gone over to Kase's house. He met Kase's mother, who was a kind and loving woman. She adored Kase and was always nice to Ken. Kase's father ran out on them when he was still a baby, but his mother was always there for him. Ken was shocked to see how differently she acted towards her son, than his mother did towards him. That was the first time Ken ever witnessed love. He never knew what it was until then.
"Ignorance is bliss." Ken mumbled to himself, lying back on his bed. Ken was happy not knowing what love was like. It hurt less when he didn't know it was something he never got. Ken recalled thinking that maybe he was bad and that's why his parents didn't love him. He decided he would try to be a good boy from that day forth and earn their love. Even if that meant following each of the rules, always.
Ken sighed. "I never could be good...They never did love me." He said with regret. Ken wanted to feel love. Just for one moment. He just wanted one person to show him love.
"I never did manage to find anyone who loves me..." Ken muttered. He had thought Kase had loved him. It turned out to be the opposite. Ken thought of the saying "you only hurt the ones you love". If that was true, maybe his parents and Kase had loved him after all...in a twisted sort of way. Ken's eyes drooped as sleep started to take him over.
"If only...I was worthy...of him...the one I love." Ken said, before drifting into the land of shadows.
To Be Continued
Author's Note: Thank to yaonne-san and carrothien for reviewing, I really appreciated it! Since you were so kind as to review I tried to get this chapter up as soon as I could. I think I may have switched tenses a few times in here. Sorry about that, just try to ignore it. I'm just so used to writing in the present tense that I keep converting back to it. I just wanted to note "good boys don't misbehave" was another one of the things Yuki mumbled during the mission. Thanks for reading and please be sure to review.