BerettaMan, sounds like a great idea to me ^_^ Even writing about it myself was giving me the creeps ^_^
To tell you the truth, the only reason it came around was because I was running out of DOA guys! *wince*
Believe me… it won't happen again ^____^ (long! Tee hee!)
Before you call me sick… I have to say that I really love this chapter. It's oddly picturesque yet paining at the same time (probably the latter only if you love Ryu, that I do, therefore it's paining) Oh well. It's good to throw in a bit of 'you' when you write. Not that I go around acting like any of the characters in this story, but… you get the idea. This is probably one of my favourite chapters that I've ever written, oddly enough.
How beautifully ironic. Hope you enjoy.
*
Hazel eyes drifted down unsteadily to a single photo frame sitting on the mantelpiece.
A smiling, beautiful woman, eyes of green as deep as emeralds, traditional Japanese kimono hugging her shapely body. Long, sleek hair, as black as midnight, trailed down to her waist.
Himself, about ten years before. Clean-shaven, shoulder length mahogany hair, one arm around his wife. Wife no longer. Physically, he himself hadn't changed much in the ten years.
Something suddenly caught his eye. A young boy. He was smiling as happily as his mother, identical emerald eyes twinkling in the sunlight. Normally dark auburn-brown hair, shining a shade of golden with the sun framed his face as his arms went around his father in an embrace frozen in time.
His father. Him.
Gripping his can of lager, he had an undeniable nostalgic thirst. He clambered heavily up the stairs, into the spare room where the photo albums were kept.
Lots of his wife, the shining jewel that she was. He had always loved to take photos of her. There she was, smiling, cooking, playing the piano, playing the flute. She had been the most beautiful flute player he had ever heard before they had had their first child. Their only child.
Her again, planting some seedlings in the garden.
He turned the page, to see picture after picture of a smiling baby boy. He could still remember the pleasure he had had when he first became a father. A young boy, splashing happily in a wading pool. Again, playing the piano with his beautiful mother clapping in awe. Again, a look of intense determination as he helped his mother cook.
What had happened to the wonderful child that they had had? He had grown, that was what. Grown, changed. And everything had changed with his wife's death.
Everything about his son reminded him painfully of what he had lost with his wife's death. Those intense emerald eyes. The soft, gentle, coaxing voice. That casual, innocent way of cocking the head to once side whilst speaking. Everything.
His eyes narrowed, hand clenching around the drink he held. Just thinking about his son caused him so much anger, so much angst. Ryu represented what he had once had, and lost. What could never be found again.
He turned the page of the photo album. A pair of emerald eyes stared back at him, a happy expression on the owner's face. He had never seen his son happy after his wife had died. Another thing that had changed. Another thing he detested about the boy.
He never really did care about his father. It was always her. I wasn't a bad father. Not until she died. Then…
Then, everything seemed to lose colour. Lose their worth. And Ryu's horrible behaviour began. Once the perfect child, now transformed into the super shitty little kid. He was twelve then. It wasn't as though he didn't have sense; he had to make things difficult for me. And so he deserved all he got.
Almost as if on cue, he heard the stair creak as his son walked up the stairs, apparently having returned from school. He slammed the photo album shut with force, turning to meet innocently surprised emerald eyes.
"What are you doing home so early? School hasn't finished yet!" The can, having undergone enough pressure from his clenching hands, crumpled under his grasp. He threw it angrily to the ground. "Answer me, you little shit!"
"I got sent home," That painfully, heart-wrenching soft voice once more.
"Speak louder, you stupid boy!" With three steps, he had stridden over to his son, grabbing him around the neck and driving his head into the wall. Ryu fell instantly to his knees, using the wall to pull himself slowly to his feet.
"I got sent home," Slightly louder, but still not enough to distinguish the tenor from her beautiful voice. Still sounding so scarily similar.
"Why did you get sent home? What have you done now?" He threw his hands up in frustration. "You stupid little faggot! What do I have to do to get it through your unnaturally thick skull?! Answer the goddamn question!"
Something worse then he could have ever imagined. A single tear, dripping down his son's cheek and falling to the floor just before a hand could hastily swipe it away.
Please, I love you, even though you make me cry. I love you, Ken… please don't do this to yourself. Be strong, for yourself and our son…
"Get what?" Emerald glanced sadly up at him. "I don't understand,"
Please don't make him cry…
"You stupid, idiotic, son of a bitch!" He roared. "Making your mother cry!"
He could nearly hear her voice, echoing in his head. Please don't make him cry. Please don't make me cry. He lunged blindly at his son.
"Mother… where?" That soft question was enough to make him stop in his tracks.
Those emerald eyes. Gazing at the floor as though raising them was a fearful task.
Maybe it was. Skin unusually pale.
"Mother…?" One word could adequately describe his
son's facial expression now, aghast. "…Where are you?"
"She isn't here! All because of you! And you didn't answer my question before,
either! Why did you get sent home, huh? Expelled? It was bound to happen. What
with you being such a worthless, ingrate, pathetic excuse for a human being…"
"Mother?"
"You dickhead! Didn't you hear what I just told you?!" Grabbing his son roughly by the shoulders, he forced the lighter teen backwards until his back hit the wall solidly. "You…" he started, emphasising the word with a punch, "Are…" again, "…a disgrace! To this family! To this whole damn world! Goddamn! When you were driving that damn bloody car, why didn't you finish the job? You could have just smashed into a tree and killed yourself then and there! But, no. You have to hang around! Do you think your mother would like that?"
"Yes," his son's voice was nothing more then a whisper. "Because she loved me. Exactly the way that you don't,"
I did. Until you grew. Became the annoying, memory stirring little shit that you are now.
"Get out of here," his voice was a soft, yet menacing hiss. "Now. Get out and don't come back here, unless you want your head beaten in,"
Those emerald eyes were swimming with emotion. No, don't cry. My love, don't cry…
"You're not her!" he slammed his fist angrily into the wall, which cracked with a flurry of plaster and dust. "She's dead now, all because of you!"
Why, why did he have to be just like her? What stupid twist of fate was that?
Like that chick… she has Raidou's temper, if nothing else…
That girl…
"On another hand…" he started, thoughts suddenly jumping to something which he had been mentally pondering, "that girl in the park. How does she know you? You been screwing her or something?"
"She's Hayate's sister," was the simple response.
"Half-sister," he corrected. "What a little slut. You could probably park a car up her-"
"What does Ayane have to do with anything? Is it her fault that she was fathered by such a lowly excuse for a human? She isn't automatically a slut or whatever you want to call her just because of her misfortune by being fathered by that… thing you call a friend," his son spat out furiously.
Hmm. Seems like I've struck a nerve.
"Stay away from her. You'll only give her trouble that she doesn't need or want," he warned.
"You can't make me," Yes, he had hit a nerve. He could count on two hands the number of times that Ryu had actually stood up to him.
"Come closer and say that again,"
A single step, but it was enough to get the point across.
"You can't make me stay away from her. I won't let you,"
"What are you going to do about it?" He grabbed his son's head roughly, forcing it up to meet his eyes. "What will you do?"
The look in those emerald pits was now hard, emotionless.
"Just you wait and see,"
*
Yeah, Ryu has a *something* for Ayane… but if he'll let us know what it is, then I'll be jumping on the roof hailing Hayate. Yeah… even I don't know, and I write this damn story.
Oh, for some reason, Ken seems to be borrowing Russian Martial Arts moves. Oh well… his choice.
Hmm, Ryu must be sick, asking for his mother who has been dead for… five years? Something like that? Oh well… it makes a nice insight scene.
Yup… so, I go now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^_^