(Disclaimer: I do not own YST nor RW, they are owned by Sunrise. Neither do I own the characters of the original series.)
(Author's Notes: The SECOND CHAPTER is here! Yay! You know what I mean! Please still continue to RR! Sorry if there are some mistakes, just tell me, okay? PLEASE NO FLAMING, just bear with me, kei... sorry...)
SAMURAI PHANTOM REKKA: HANA JUNIOR HIGH'S INVISIBLE THIEF
Episode Four: An Unhappy Childhood
That's it. Scared at the stolen things he saw on his own bag, Kotaru looked for the possible hiding places to put all the crapped things so that no one would notice. He opened all the closets, drawers, hampers, he almost took out all his own clothes and things form those places just to find a suitable place for the lost things with his cold, clammy, shaking hands that almost cannot hold anything anymore due to nervousness. He feared that his mental disorder might come back because of this!
Why and how in the world is this happening? His heart cursed while still in a panic to set everything, How did these STOLEN things were put inside MY bag? And who the hell will do this to me?
Finally, after minutes of searching, he had found the right place for those: his secret drawer underneath his waterbed that can be locked; its space is enough for them to be placed, even the most bulky such as a basketball and a guitar. He put all of them in a messy manner, still with shaking hands and and unsure disposition. He even managed to lock it with his key hanging to his wallet.
After being raged by the mystery of the stolen things' appearance, he sighed heavily, leaning on the side of his bed.
Unconsciously he just stared at the widened ceiling adorned with a lighted mini crystal chandelier. He didn't look at the light directly that it might just damaged his already-blurred eyes. Still leaning on his bed, Kotaru looks like an emotionless ragged doll staring at nowhere, with shallow thoughts. As if on his face he doesn't worry on who put the stolen objects unnoticeably, or when or why or how did that happen.
But suddenly he went back to his old, nervous self when he heard a familiar voice going upstairs:
"Yes, please put this there. Kotaru will surely like it..."
"Of course, sir, Master Kotaru likes rice cakes, if I'm not mistaken..."
"It's been a long time since I bought him this..."
Oh, no...
He got up quickly seeing his devastated room. In panic, he started to fix everything scattered on the floor. One by one he picked up the thrown shirts and coats and overalls and he immediately put them back to their respective cabinets and closets but he doesn't have enough time to fix them thoroughly. He picked up his scattered books and notes and he put them all in his bag. He even tried to fit the bulky ones in the closets and bags already full with other stuff.
His heart beat faster when he eventually heard footsteps. Worse, those footsteps belong to a familiar person when he once again heard his familiar voice!
I must fix these quick! he thought, If he will see me like this, I'm sure he might suspect me of something... What if he will find out about the stolen objects? That will be the worse!
He went on fixing his room, and the footsteps and the voice drew nearer and nearer. The worst part is that the person was about to go to Kotaru's room to see him!
Damn it! He cursed while trying to fit some bulky things in the closet, He will not believe me! He will not believe me, I swear!
And he finally closed the last closet and leaned onto it.
And in a good timing, too, that a chubby, clean, cheerful-looking white man entered his room. When he saw Kotaru and the room, he gave a quizzical look.
"...Kotaru?" he called his attention, "Are you ok?"
Kotaru cannot think of a possible answer but he just nod without thinking.
"Are you sick?" the man asked again.
This time, Kotaru shook his head.
The chubby man then pressed his right hand against Kotaru's forehead and put the other hand on his own forehead to check his temperature. He made a checking face and seconds later, "But you don't have a fever at all... What's happening to you?"
He just went silent.
"It seems that you're starting to go back to your uneasy self today. I'm just worried that your mental disorder might come back if you're still thinking about four years ago..."
"It's not that, Uncle..." Kotaru finally replied with a soft, yet shaking voice, "It's just..."
"I'm providing you everything to please you, in order for you to forget about what hapened..." and he pat him on his shoulder, "I just don't want you to be too exhausted."
"I'm not exhausted about that, Uncle. I'm just tired today, so..."
A short pause.
The uncle then remembered about what he had just bought for his nephew. "Are you hungry, son?"
"Well..." he was about to say that he is not hungry at all, but his stomach suddenly rumbled. The uncle just chucled when he heard the ashaming sound of hunger.
"Well that's obvious!" And he invited him, "Come, now, I have something that will surely make you forget about everything."
"What's that?" puzzled.
"Rice cakes, of course, silly! Isn't that your favorite?"
Kotaru pause for a second. Then, "Y... Y-yeah... yeah, right, my favorite... Hey, i've never tasted one for almost a month now..."
"That's why I bought that for you, for I know that you've already missed it!" and the uncle let Kotaru lead him downstairs, "Hurry up, son, or it will get cold!"
"...Yeah... right... thanks, Uncle..."
Kotaru was finally convinced by his uncle to join him for dinner, and rice cakes, his favorite, will be their dessert. But despite that, still he is thinking about what happened a while ago. He worried about his secret closet undeneath his bed that someone might discover it. But the he tried to convince himself that no one will notice it for sure, and he was damn sure, but with butterflies in his stomach.
But from the window of his room, a shadowy figure appeared in a tree. The light of the waning gibbous moon masks his true form. Looking closer, a set of shiny white teeth is shown. A grin. With reason unidentified.
But just a meter away, another figure is floating in the middle of the night, blocking the moon, watching the former keeping a eye on a particular person... or a thing. Or a event that might change the life of the person involved...
But he has a pair of nasty, suspecting crystal blue eyes.
It seems that Byakkouen's words are coming true...
The following day. Everyone is out for their P.E. class. Kotaru excused for a while to get a drink. Ryo, on the other hand, is keeping an eye of him. By that time the boysare having abasketball exercise. The teacher was talking to another teacher then.
"Seems like you're watchin' him, eh?" Jumbo noticed him. "That's good! At least ya can track 'im down to see where he's goin'..."
But is it REALLY what Ryo is doing now?
Using his special ability to read people's minds, Ryo finally managed to enter into Kotaru's thoughts just meters away. And in a few seconds...
His face turned completely BLANK.
Jumbo was puzzled about his friend been dazed once again. "Huh? Ryo?" he shrugged him lightly. "Ei, Ryo!" he called him, "Hey, man, you're not jokin', ain't ya?" and he shrugged him harder, "Hey! Don't do this to me! SPEAK UP, SANADA! DO-YOU-HEAR-MEEEH?"
Ryo saw himself in the darkness, floating into nowhere. "Now... where am I?" he asked himself. Remembering his purpose of being in the middle of the dark, he began to 'search' for Kotaru's thoughts.
Seconds later, he heard a child crying.
"...Mommy... D-dad-dy... Hu-hu... Mom-my..."
More sobs.
Ryo then started to track down the origin of the poor, crying voice of a child, while at the same time sobs continuously filled the darkness. Turning desperate, he kept on looking until he noticed a sheer light from behind him. He wondered as he saw a television switched on. But what strucked him most is when he finally found the owner of the voice: it was indeed a child of rather between ages three to four crying in front of TV. He tried to console the child, whom he had guessed that it was a boy because of his navy blue sweater and white overalls and his hair. His short, but a little shaggy vandyke hair. He thought that it can be a way to find out who the boy is.
But there is no need for him to know. For it was the news on TV who revelealed his identity, an identity that made Ryo easily guessed about it that made him seriously stunned...
There is a plane crash occured near Mt. Hanmei, just reaching Hong Kong. The Air Jumbo Flight no. A7735 from Tokyo International Airport, Japan, Has 140 passengers loaded, including Nomura TV President, Koruya Nomura and his wife, Eiki. No one in the passengers survived the said crash...
And his face turned like a shocked mannequin. The wails and the sobs gradually turning louder and louder until he almost screams. And he knows who is the child of the killed parents mentioned in the news...
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Then he decided to comfort the child by himself, without thinking of better ways to calm him, but in order for him to know more of Kotaru's thoughts, he must do so. Kotaru... Ryo stepped ahead trying to reach for him.
"Hu-hu-hu-hu..."
But to his surprise, the more he wanted to comfort him by going near him, the more he is taken far away. And Kotaru's wails became louder and louder.
Kotaru...
"Mommy...! Daddy...!"
Please, stop cryin'...
"Mommy! Hu-hu-hu! Don't leave me!"
Stop cryin'...
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Stop, please...
"Don't... leave me here..."
Stop...
"I'M SCARED!"
STOP IT!
...The scenario suddenly disappeared...
Ryo was almost exhausted at what he had just seen. He even didn't noticed the teard that welled from his tiger-blue eyes...
After he wiped away the unneeded tears, another scenario took place seconds later.
He saw himself in a very beautiful garden, almost can be compared to the story of "The Secret Garden". On his right is a vast field of beautiful sunflowers that some were already almost as big as a person's head, looking to the gay sun. On his left were an array of apricot and apple trees bearing luscious fruits in their splendid color.
And in front of him is a garden dome, where a group of children were playing happily.
These children, he guessed, were aged four to seven, depending on their appearance, height and voice. The game that they're playing can be considered another factor. He smiled on the kids who seemed to take his weariness away from what he had just saw a while ago.
But then he remembered his motive when he saw one of the children there, in the center. He was surrounded by children of his age, in a big circle, laughing. Ryo must be happy to see the children playing...
But the smile turned into a frown when he noticed deeply that...
The child in the middle was crying.
And the children around him were actually teasing him! Singing in a playful catchy tune with such hurting words...
Matchstick! Matchstich!
Just one touch and he'll get sick!
And they laughed, the poor little boy went on crying more.
What's the worst, he even recognized the outfit the boy wore at that time: the same outfit he saw on another boy in front of TV. And the hair... Ryo then finally recognized the child and the surroundings. But seeing the scene once more, he turned very cross. He wanted to scold the children for being so bad at the poor, recognized boy, but then the boy ran away from the dome, away from their pranks. Thinking that it will be a good way to know him more about his problem, Ryo decided to follow him.
The little boy screamed, calling his mother, while the pranks and the laughter became louder, too.
"Mommy! Mommy!" one imitated, and they laughed.
The little boy went on running, but it might be a matter of chance, his clothes changed into a black striped sweatshirt and a pair of white pants. He even grew up a bit while running. But the pranks went louder and louder.
"That's right! Go to your mommy!" and they laughed.
Minutes later, his clothes changed once more to anavy blue turtleneck sweater and dark blue pants, wearing suspenders and thick-stemed glasses, and grew up a little older. But the pranks won't stop.
"Your pants must be wet now!" and they laughed harder.
Ryo noticed everything from the start. The little boy grew up into a teenager physically, but psychologically he still has the mind of a child. And as he grew older, the more he became recognizable, now that he is wearing the Hana uniform.
And the more he became clear to him...
He followed him till his legs are still strong to catch up. As soon as he is near to him, he held his breath ready and...
"Kotaru!"
But it seems that he didn't hear him. So he called again.
"KOTARU!"
But he didn't turn back.
The clearer Kotaru hears a voice, the faster he want to run as far as he could, far enough to be unable to reach.
"Kotaru, stop!" he begged as he followed him, "I wanna talk to ya!"
But he didn't respond.
"Listen, man!" while running, "Kotaru, why'd ya hafta run? Ya can just ignore what they're sayin' to ya! If that's the reason whyy'don't mingle so much, why don't ya just forget it?"
Nothing happened. The chase continued.
"Kotaru! I know how you feel! I'm just like ya!"
ButKotaru didn't hear anything still.
While running, Ryo then realized that he is inside Kotaru's thoughts.Oh, shoot, I forgot! I can't talk to him while I'm here! Ain't that stupid idea!
Yes, he really can't talk to Kotaru since he is in his thoughts. How is that impossible? He then remembered Byakkouen's words on the first day of his training as a Samurai Phantom:
"You have the ability to read people's hearts and thoughts. You can even enter into their thoughts, so that you could also feel what they feel, see what they see, and think what they think that time. Only that you don't have enough ability to talk to them in their thoughts. That's another category. You are only allowed to witness or listen to their inner thoughts so you can determine their problems..."
I'm really STUPID! he thought to himself, I almost forgot 'bout that!
So he decided to just follow him, not thinking where in the world they will go. As he follows him, the scene of a beautiful garden slowly began to change again into a darker place, as if Ryo went back to the darkness where he started in search of his classmate's problem.
But in his surprise, a great monstrous shadow appeared before Kotaru, with an evil laughter. Despite that the shadow appeared before him, the nerd went on running towards it!
"Kotaru, DON'T!" Ryo warned him. But once again forgotting the cat's words, he almost cursed himself for being stupid at calling him in his thoughts. The nerd still didn't stop, and the shadow grew bigger and bigger conquering the light with evil laughter.
"HAR-HAR-HAR-HAR-HAR...!"
Panicked, Ryo tried to stop Kotaru again, unmindful of the cat's words days ago.
"Kotaru, COME BACK HERE!"
But the shadow opened its mouth and, "Come here, Kotaru... they're waiting for you...'
Who are THEY?
"Kotaru! Don't listen to him!"
But Kotaru had only his eyes for the shadow as he went closer to it. Ryo still tried to chase him, but it seems to be too late. The shadow had conquered Kotaru's body... and heart...
...And disappeared before him.
"KOTARU!"
"SANADA, WATCH OUT!"
POOIIINNNKKK!
Well, almost everyone from the boys had avoided Luna's spike, except Ryo, the volleyball bounced and hitted DIRECTLY to his face! It almost knocked him down, thus his mind-reading ability had finally stopped.
Luna and the twins went to the site to get the ball... and probably to see the knocked classmate. "Oh, ma' gosh!" she gasped when she saw Ryo almost unconcious, with rolling eyes. "Sanada, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!..." while bowing several times.
Everyone looked at the poor raven boy. "Wow, man!" Chibi reacted, "Now that's what I called 'hit by Cupid's arrow'!"
"I thought it's a BALL..." Jumbo commented.
Chibi tied to talk to Ryo. "Hey, dude... y'all right?"
"Serves 'im right!" Jumbo stated.
"And WHY?"
"He's almost in ecstacy minutes ago. I thought he'll be a damn ragdoll forever, he's in a total daze, man!"
"Why?"
"Why'd ya ask me that? I'm not his doctor or somethin'!"
Suddenly Ryo spoke up faintly... "...Just shut up... and help me here..."
The two looked at each other with wonder.
But seriously, Ryo had made up his mind: he will going to talk to Kotaru PERSONALLY after P.E. Class. And he will do ANYTHING regarding his behavior.
(SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY, GUYS! Those damn papers and rehersals just keeping me from not continuing this! Since the last time I've posted the third episode... Worst, I lost my copy of this! But good thing I've found it in our library, thank God it's saved! I thought I couldn't go on with this anymore... Anyway, this is the fourth episode, so tell me if it's bad or better or whatever you thinkin of my work... Still, R&R! Comments and suggestions are welcome! By the way, thanks for those who have already read and review my previous work! Episode five up next! I'M REALLY SORRY!)