Disclaimer: the whole song and dance. You know. Not mine… don't sue… blah blah blah
"Yamato's hiding something, Tai." Kari said flatly to me as we walked to school. He had practically swallowed his omelet whole, gulped down the orange juice I had given him and bolted, waving at me and Kari with a smile but behind that I knew he was just running from our questions.
"Oh really? What makes you say that?" I asked, feigning ignorance though I had trouble hiding the sarcasm that crept up. I picked up my pace, partly for the fact that I would be late if I walked too slowly and partly because I was hoping that if I walked fast enough, she would be concentrating too hard on keeping up with me that she couldn't ask me anything.
"Come on Tai. Even you have to see that he refuses to answer any questions. I mean, he had a fit last night. We both heard him. He didn't want to go home. I want to know what is going on and I want to know now." Kari could be as stubborn as me when she wanted to be.
"To tell you the truth, I really don't know myself." I ran a hand through my hair which was just beginning to dry. "He won't tell me anything. Hasn't said anything." I shrugged, nonchalantly. Sensing that I didn't want to discuss the subject any more, she began yammering away about something else. What, I had no idea; I wasn't even trying to listen to her.
Once inside my classroom, I sat down, opened my books and with a feigned look of interest, allowed myself to contemplate what I had discovered.
That morning, I was awakened by my alarm clock and opened my eyes to stare directly into Yama's face. He was so close to me that if I moved slightly in his direction, we would end up kissing. I shuddered at that thought. It would have been embarrassing for both him and me. I was just about to pull away from him when I realized that he looked so relaxed, so happy that I couldn't bear to wake him up. After the events of the previous afternoon, I didn't want to disrupt him or take him away from anything that caused him happiness. So I eased away from him, brushing a lock of his sun-kissed hair from his face, and gently placed his arms, which were wrapped around my waist, on the bed.
Seeing his bruises, I was horrified. A sick feeling bubbled up in my stomach and I suppressed the need to retch. He was watching me, frozen, with a look of terror that I was seeing what I was seeing. I immediately knew that the last thing he wanted was for me to see his skin. He was so urgent in telling me not to get involved, not to try and help him. But it did nothing to dissuade me. Seeing the state his body was in only made me want to help him even more. I hated seeing him like that. He deserved so much better.
Just then, the bell rang and I stood mechanically, put my books into my bag and left the room, not having any idea what my weekend assignments were. I weaved my way through the throngs of students hurrying to class with the idea that I would approach Yama and DEMAND that he tell me what the hell was going on.
"Taichi! Hurry, you'll be late!" Sora's voice cut through my thoughts and for once, I was annoyed to see her. "Come on." She grabbed my wrist and I was reminded of the way Yama had held them when I threatened to go after the people responsible for his suffering. She led me to class and, in a daze, I sat down and proceeded to learn nothing at all. In fact, I didn't listen to a thing my teachers said that whole day, only coming out of my reverie to jot down my homework and that was it. I was too caught up in thoughts about Yama and it was during fourth period where I formulated a plan: I would follow him home and see what happened there. I hadn't been to his house for a while; he stopped inviting me opting instead to go to my apartment. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why; his house was so much bigger and more interesting that my apartment but he always insisted.
At lunch, I picked at the watery mashed potatoes with strange lumps and poked at a mass of grayish-blue rubbery stuff that I thought was supposed to be meat. A rock hard brownie from the Mesozoic Era and a soda (the only edible thing on my tray) completed the school lunch. Thoroughly disgusted like I always was, I opted instead to perfect my plan, going over everything that could have gone wrong and coming up with plans B and C in case plan A fell through.
"Hey Taichi. Sora's getting pissed that you're not paying attention to her." A whining, sing-song voice jabbed at my eardrums. I looked up, gave this person eye contact and looked down again.
"Come on, Taichi! What's up with you? You've been moping around this whole day." Sora whined and I groaned. She was seriously beginning to get on my nerves.
"I'm just tired, is all. I have to go. I'll see you some other time." I picked up my tray and dumped the contents in a trash bin before I left the cafeteria. Running slightly, I managed to escape Sora's clutches and climbed the tree at the very back of the school. It was tall and the trunk was gnarled, causing the school officials to complain that it marred the school's beauty. I liked climbing it; not many people bothered with it so I was sure to be the only one and it was very peaceful with only the wind and the blossoms for company. I leaned my head against the trunk and just stayed there, watching the turquoise-blue sky through little openings in the tree's branches.
After school, I lurked in the hallways until I caught sight of Yama trudging slowly towards the door. He had the look of a man, sentenced for execution, walking towards the electric chair where he would die. I followed at a safe distance, strolling along like I didn't have a care in the world though in reality I was ready to duck behind trash cans or jump into the bushes that lined the streets. I didn't want him seeing me because if he did, he was sure to get angry and chase me away. He plodded up the stairs to the front door and his hands went to the doorknob when it was flung open and he was pulled inside by a pair of big, meaty hands. In the split second before he disappeared into the walls of his house and the door closed behind him, I caught the look on his face. It was one of pure terror.
A/N: It's getting kind of repetitive, I know. Sorry it's not longer. But that's all gonna change soon…