CHAPTER NINE – I Won't Let Me Hurt You
Ren got up slowly, finding Horo's bright blue eyes cheerfully staring at him from across the room in a chair.
"Koi?" he questioned unsurely, smiling when Horo nodded and came to him, kissing him lovingly.
"Come! I made breakfast!" the Ainu stated excitedly, bouncing up with Ren's hand in his own and dragging Ren downstairs to the dining room. Ren looked around, surprised that the horror scene from yesterday was gone, not a trace of the gore, not even a blood stain on the carpet. Horo grinned knowingly.
"Impressed? I cleaned it all up myself. I know that stuff upset you." He led the Chinese to a seat where a large breakfast feast was set up. Eggs, bacon, toast, fruits, juice, milk, water, pastries and all sorts of other goodies were on the menu and Ren had to raise a brow.
"You did this all yourself?" he asked. Horo nodded quickly.
"I got up after you fell asleep. I'm not much of a sleeper these days, and I knew I had so much work to do. I did it all so I could see that priceless smile on your perfect face. You definitely didn't disappoint me on that part." He said softly. Ren blushed and Horo began to serve him, amazingly dishing out only Ren's absolute favorite breakfast treats. Horo waited for Ren to take a bite of his food and nod approvingly before he touched his own.
"Thank you, Horo." Ren whispered when he swallowed the bite. Horo looked at him curiously. "For coming back." The younger teen explained, tears forming in his eyes. The Ainu's eyes turned concerned.
"Oh, Ren, don't cry. Please don't cry." He said, biting his lip harshly. Ren blinked away the tears.
"I'm just so happy." He said and they continued with their breakfast. Afterwards, they both helped to clear the table, every now and then stopping to give or receive quick kisses. They were washing the dishes when Horo suddenly froze, his eyes widening slightly.
"Um…I gotta go to the bathroom…be right back." He muttered, putting down the plate he'd been drying and leaving. Ren continued to wash the silverware, humming some tune as he did so. A moment later Horo stalked back into the room quickly.
"Back already? Do you not know where the bathroom is?" Ren asked, pulling his hands out of the sudsy water and turning, only to stop at the expression on his lover's face. "Wh-What's wrong?" he asked fearfully. Electric blue eyes narrowed menacingly.
"You BITCH!" Horo yelled in a rage, landing a stinging slap on Ren's face, making his mind swirl. Ren looked back at him, gently cradling his cheek, his eyes watering.
"What did I do?" he asked.
"You lying little WHORE! FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING SLUT! YOU FUCKING TAO BITCH!" Horo screamed, punching Ren a few times in the gut. Ren curled up in the corner of the room, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Horo, what did I do? I don't know what I did!" he began to cry. Horo hesitated at that before turning and kicking a cupboard, causing it to smash.
"You fucking whore! Last night was all a big joke to you, wasn't it! What we did meant absolutely NOTHING to you! All those things you said…FILTHY LIES! YOU COCKY SON OF A BITCH! So you thought you'd just play around with me, did you! You thought you'd just fuck with me and keep me here for the fucking police to show up! You lying BASTARD!" he shouted at Ren as the cornered boy sobbed even harder.
"I didn't do anything, Horo, you have to believe me! I didn't know! I love you, Horo! Last night meant everything to me! Oh, god, Horo, you have to believe me! I didn't know! I didn't know!" he cried. Horo Horo once again hesitated. He began to turn around in a confused and angry circle, seemingly unable to make up his mind. His hands kept grabbing at his head as he grew more confused and angry, muttering under his breath, just barely audible.
"Leave Ren alone…he didn't do anything…the bastard betrayed us…it was all a set up, a trap…he's a trickster and a whore…no, that's not Ren…he'd never do that to me…he's a lying bastard, he'd do anything to save himself…but…all those things he said…he tricked you, you stupid bastard…but I saw it in his eyes…you saw FEAR in his eyes! He doesn't LOVE you! You don't even know what love looks like…y-you're right…he betrayed me…look at that liar, let's kill him…but…that's Ren…I can't…yes, you can! You killed many, and you can do it again…get your revenge…NO! I HATE YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE! I WILL NEVER HURT REN! NO MATTER HOW MUCH HE HURTS ME!" he shouted, tears in his eyes. Ren was staring at him with big, sad eyes, scared to death. Horo looked back into Ren's eyes for a moment, before turning away.
"Get out of here, Ren. I want you to go. Leave the country, if you have to. Just go somewhere, ANYWHERE, where I can't follow. You need to be somewhere where I can't hurt you. Go!" Ren stood and moved to his lover, touching him lightly on the arm.
"I can't leave you. I love you too much." He whispered.
"You HAVE to go, Ren. I can't keep you safe. As long as you are with me, you're in danger. And not just from the people who are after me…from me, as well…" Horo said as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"I don't care. I'll die without you." Ren replied. Horo turned to him.
"Ren." He said sternly. "If you won't go, then I will. I won't let me hurt you." Ren began to cry and he sniffled lightly, looking down so his tears couldn't be seen. Horo turned and headed for the back of the house, hesitating slightly just in time to catch Ren's whispered words.
"Don't you see, Horo…you're hurting me by leaving…because you promised." Horo froze in his place.
"Gomen nasai…" he murmured before leaving. Ren collapsed back on his knees as he sobbed; feeling like his heart was breaking into thousands of pieces. He heard people banging on the door and shouting for him to open up, but he couldn't find the strength to get up. Finally, the door cracked open and feet were heard, moving all throughout his house.
"Tao Ren?" a voice asked, and he looked up and nodded to the officer before him. "You are being placed under house arrest. We have a federal warrant to search the premises." The man informed him, showing him the warrant. Ren looked at it blindly.
"Are…you alright, sir?" the officer asked. Ren slumped closer to the floor, tears continuing to stream down his face.
"Horokeu…" he whispered.
"Sir, was there a…problem here?" the officer knelt down and used a hand to tilt his face up, inspecting the red mark from Horo's slap. Ren pulled away from the man, curling up in the corner and crying all the more.
"Where is your father?" the man asked. Ren looked up at him with scary, serious eyes.
"Dead." He whispered, looking very much like someone from a horror movie. The officer looked taken aback, stepping back slightly.
"And…Tao Jun?" he questioned.
"Dead." The reply came.
"The servants…?" the policeman asked, dreading the answer.
"Dead. All of them dead. Every last soul, dead…everyone is dead." Ren's voice got sharper with each repetition of the word, his hands going up to cover his face.
"They're all DEAD! My FATHER, my MOTHER, my SISTER, my SERVANTS, MYSELF! THEY'RE DEAD!" he screamed, clawing at his face. The officer's eyes widened and he reached for his radio. Ren stared up at him with scary eyes again, causing him to hesitate.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you. He'll kill you. He'll kill everyone. He killed them all, and he'll kill you. He even killed me." He whispered, his eyes hollow and void. The officer looked unnerved, but grabbed his radio and called for a psychological doctor anyway. Ren's eyes slipped shut.
"Too bad. You're going to die, now." He muttered, his voice sounding careless. Soon, a man came in, dressed all in white. Ren eyed him.
"Pity." He said. "That white coat will be stained red soon." The man looked dead serious and sat down in a chair he'd brought in.
"And why is that?" he asked, holding a clipboard and pen.
"He's going to kill you. He kills everyone around me. Just wait. He'll come back…and he'll kill you…just like he killed me." He answered. The doctor scribbled down some notes.
"Does it make you sad that he killed you?" he asked. Ren chuckled creepily.
"They're all dead…but I feel nothing. He killed my family. He killed my servants. He killed my girlfriend. He killed my enemy. He killed his sister. He killed himself. He killed me. He killed them all. He'll kill you all. He'll kill everyone…and everyone will be dead. Just like me. Everyone will be dead. Just like all the people he's killed already. Dead. Oh, how I wish I could be such a thing. But my death is the worst kind. It's the death where you never really die…and yet you ARE dead." He said.
"I see. Why does he kill them?" the doctor questioned.
"He calls them ants. Ants to squish. I'm his possession. He'll make me his queen. He can't stop himself. He's lost in himself…and he's dead." Ren stated.
"I'm done, here. I've a diagnosis. This boy can't be blamed for his actions. He is showing the classic signs of a double psychological breakdown. He suffers from extreme paranoia and has slight multiple personality syndrome. I'd like to take him with me to my psychological ward, if that's alright. He should be receiving treatment." The man in white told the officer, who agreed.
"Trapped inside a life which is not yours. Spirits within causing terror, fear and darkness. Evil dead. Evil dead…" Ren began to sing quietly to himself, closing his eyes.
"Voice speaks out. All will die tonight. Insanity fills your mind; you hear them calling. Evil dead. Evil dead." The two men turned to stare at him as he continued to sing the melody.
"Covered in blood, all hope is lost. Forever to rot, controlled by the powers of the evil dead, the evil dead…" Ren trailed off, tears slipping down his cheeks again.
"Poor creature. He doesn't want to do what he does." The doctor said, nodding to the officer to help him walk Ren to the back of the car he had. Ren was put into the padded white back of the van, looking around curiously until he was plunged into the darkness when the doors were slammed shut. He huddled into a corner, wishing this could all be a bad dream.