SWEET VANILLA

2

I heard Jien's booming laughter first, filling the air. The sound cheered me, and I ran -- well, hobbled -- towards him, Seiya ambling behind me. "Jien!" I called. "Jien!"

I broke into the clearing just as he turned around. He'd been in the middle of a conversation with Raiden and Tando, but the laughter faded from his strong features as he caught sight of me. "Gojyo?" He glanced at Seiya, who had his hands shoved in his pockets. "What the hell?"

Seiya shrugged. "Ask him, he wouldn't tell me shit."

I gnawed on my lower lip, shifting from foot to aching foot. "Jien…"

"Come here. Come to the side." He came to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and steered me to a log at the edge of the clearing. His friends made as if to move with him, but Jien waved them away impatiently, and they settled to talking among themselves in low worried tones with frequent looks our way.

We sat. He gently took hold of my face and turned it from side to side, inspecting the bruises. "Gojyo, gods, what the hell happened to you?"

"Mother," I sighed. "She, um, said it was my birthday today." I wiped at my eyes with my good hand. Damnit, I was not going to cry in front of the guys. "I guess this is her idea of a present."

His eyes widened, and his jaw fell in dismay. "Oh, fuck," he swore. "I can't believe I forgot. I shouldn't have left you alone in the house with her. This is my fault, gods damn it all! I'm so sorry, Gojyo."

I looked up at him. His handsome face was twisted in pain. For a moment he looked like Mother, and I felt my heart stop. "It's not your fault," I managed. "It's mine."

"Don't be an ass," he snapped. I winced at his tone, still feeling raw, and he softened. "You didn't do anything wrong, kid. You couldn't help being born."

I looked down at the dark earth below me. Some straggly grass pushed through the dirt, and I could see a small ant climbing over a small pebble. "Jien," I said without looking at him, "I think my arm's broken."

He sucked in his breath. "Shit."

"I know," I agreed. The ant blurred in my vision. "And I hurt all over."

"You look like hell." Jien hunched. "She really worked you over this time, huh."

It wasn't a question. "Yeah." My shoulders slumped.

"Give me your arm." I let him inspect it, wincing. The arm looked disgusting, all bloodied and swollen. He prodded it carefully, and when I couldn't hold my breath anymore, I made a strangled noise of pain. "Shit, Gojyo, this looks bad."

"I know."

"I'm taking you to the doctor," he decided, getting to his feet as he absently brushed the dirt from the seat of his pants. "I can't set that thing. I'll just make it worse."

I got up too, though I felt dizzy doing it. Jien noted my brief loss of balance and grabbed my good arm to settle me. "So then--"

"I'll take you to the overseer with me," he cut in. "This is a family emergency. You need me."

"Yo, Jien, is Gojyo all right?" Raiden shouted from the other side of the clearing. The concern on his fierce face surprised me.

"He will be if I've got anything to say about it," Jien growled.

"Hang tight, punk," Tando called to me as Jien and I left the clearing.

The overseer was in a trailer with the word "MANAGEMENT" written in bold kanji on the top of the door. Jien pushed the door open, his face set, and motioned me to come in after him. I shut the door behind me and looked at Jien's boss.

He was a dark-skinned human, middle-aged but well-muscled. A scar ran from his right eye to the left side of his jaw. He had a long crooked nose that looked like it'd been broken at least twice. His eyes were the color of good earth, and his lips were thin. "Jien? What the hell? You're supposed to be working." He glanced at me. "And who's the little guy?"

"Eguchi-san, this is Gojyo, my younger brother," Jien said formally. "Gojyo, this is Eguchi-san."

I nodded cautiously at him. Eguchi-san smiled, surprising me. He didn't look like the kind who smiled a lot, and it lightened the harshness of his face. "Hi, kid." I offered a small smile in return.

Jien dove right in to the issue at hand in his usual forthright style. "Eguchi-san, I need permission to take the rest of the day off."

Eguchi-san's smile disappeared. "Why?"

Jien gestured at me. "Gojyo's hurt, boss. He needs a doctor."

"What'd you do, kid, get in a fight?" Eguchi-san directed the question at me.

I looked at him, startled by his address. "Kind of," I temporized.

"Good for a boy to fight. Strengthens the body, you know." He was looking at me intensely.

I wasn't sure what to say and settled for a "Yeah." I didn't think Jien wanted me mouthing off to his boss.

Eguchi-san sighed and leaned back in his chair. "We got a lot of work to do today, Jien. Your brother's real cute, but I can't just let you run off."

"I'm not going to be running off, boss," Jien said stoutly. "I'm not joking. You know I'm not. Seiya maybe, but…" He trailed off and shrugged. "His arm's broken bad and I'm afraid to touch it. I want to take him to Dr. Niizuma."

Eguchi-san looked at me again and his lips twisted unhappily. "My son Shiji's his age. Gets into fights all the time. That's not the look of a boy who's just fought, Jien, so don't bullshit me. What really happened?"

"Please, Eguchi-san," Jien said with quiet dignity. "This is a private family emergency and I need to take care of my brother."

"Private family emergency, huh."

"Yeah."

Jien wasn't backing down, even beneath the force of Eguchi-san's shrewd look. After a long pause, Eguchi-san shook his head. "You only get one of these, Jien. Go help your brother."

"Thanks, Eguchi-san." A grin broke out on Jien's face like dawn. "I'll work hard when I'm back."

"Yeah, yeah." Eguchi-san waved him off. "Next time, though, don't bring the kid." He chuckled wryly. "With those sweet eyes, he could get away with murder."

Dr. Niizuma was a capable man, his eyes full of efficient kindness that made me feel safe. He set my arm and I managed not to scream while he did it. Then he put my arm in a cast. And then he put in a sling. I wanted to ask if that was overkill, but my arm was too busy making sure I knew it was there for me to make a wisecrack.

He took care of my face, too, putting a weird burning ointment on it. Over the deepest cuts, he put squares of gauze, making sure they'd stay with brown medical tape. I had bruises all down my right side, and he winced as he looked at them.

"Got beat up bad, huh, Gojyo?"

"Yep."

He pressed his fingers down the side of my body, and I shut my eyes and sucked in my breath as he hit more than one painful spot. Dr. Niizuma looked startled, then sat back a little, looking at me critically. "Gojyo, I think you've got at least one broken rib there."

"Really?" Well, shit.

"When did you get hurt?"

Last night flashed through my mind. I swallowed hard. "Yesterday."

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Jien, who'd watched the proceedings with a stone face. Jien did not volunteer any information. "Ah," said the doctor. I was glad he didn't comment further; he just continued his inspection. "Lots of old injuries," he murmured to himself. "You must get in lots of fights, Gojyo."

"Uh, yeah," I said, relieved that he'd given me an easy out.

The doctor looked over my head to Jien, who sat still and attentive, his earthy grubbiness out of place in the clean clinical setting. "Sha-san, these bruises go to the bone." He took out a roll of bandages and started wrapping them around my lower torso. I winced, but it wasn't as bad as getting my arm set, so I kept my mouth shut. "Don't let Gojyo do any heavy work for a while. Make sure he doesn't run anywhere, it'll aggravate his rib and jar his arm."

Jien nodded understanding. The doctor finished bandaging me and sat back down with a sigh. He glanced at Jien. "I know your mother, you know."

Surprise flickered on Jien's face before he managed to shut it down. "What of it?" he said gruffly.

The doctor looked surprised. "Nothing, Sha-san. She just didn't mention she had two sons."

I looked down at the clean tiled floor and tried not to let my sadness show on my face.

Jien shrugged. "It doesn't matter." He dug his wallet out of his jeans and snapped it open, then glanced at the doctor. "How much do I owe you?"

"You can pay me in credit, Sha-san," the doctor said graciously. "Later, whenever you're able."

Jien's square jaw set. "How much do I owe you, Dr. Niizuma?"

Dr. Niizuma named the amount. I was sure the actual fee for his services was much higher, but Jien paid him without another word.

"Bring him for check-ups every week till I give you the clear," the doctor called as Jien and I left the room.

"Sure," Jien said. He closed the door of the doctor's office and we left the small building. Sunlight poured down, and we stood together in silence for a moment, watching the villagers pass us cheerfully by.

Jien glanced down at me and broke the silence by asking, "Hey, Gojyo, you wanna get some ice cream or something?"

I felt my face light up. I loved ice cream, though I'd only had it a few times. "Sure! Can I have vanilla?"