Ripples in Red Water
Chapter 4: Luminescence
Part 2
The Cause of Pain
By: Empathic Soul
Disclaimer: Gravitation is a wonderful anime. It is sadly not mine.
PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Thank you once again to those who reviewed! I really love the reviews! Hehe! Helps me and makes me inspired to write the story again!
Thank you once again! Please read and review and as Ruruouni Sesshouhen remarked: Read with you heart!
Thank you!
Heh, introducing main character number 4! Now onto the drama part, yet again please read at your own risk!
The girl smiled upon seeing Shuichi looking happy in the middle of his friends. He looked extremely relaxed and at that time, extremely happy especially when he clung to the arm of that famous novelist, Yuki Eiri, also known as Uesugi Eiri, brother-in-law of Seguchi Tohma, best friend of Sakuya Hale and their business associate.
Yes, he saw Seguchi Tohma yesterday in the building of their family. He barely even greeted the man but she knew that he was looking at her as if searching for something. She thought that Tohma probably had at least a little idea as to who Shuichi is to her. And if Tohma was to see her here, she would surely have to start explaining and she was not about to do that in front of everyone and even to Seguchi Tohma at that. If Sakuya liked him, she didn't.
Speaking of Sakuya, he informed her a week ago that Shuichi still hadn't gotten his memories back. That was difficult. 7 years was too long to wait. He felt like she would never ever remember her anymore. She still remembered that day when Shuichi was said to have survived and also went through the operation successfully. It was the happiest day of her life as she believed it to be. Shuichi survived all that, he was bought back to life, and by that she could already feel that they can have a fresh new start of having a normal life. But of course, she was just too naïve to believe that fantasy.
Seven Years Ago…
Shuichi was lying there in the hospital bed still sleeping after more than three days already. Normally the people would be distressed in knowing that they have a loved one that had all those machines stuck into his body and barely hanging to his life but Suzu and Sakuya did not mind.
Shuichi is alive
That was all that counts…
Or was it?
Suzu sat beside Shuichi now completely dressed thanks to the outfit that Sakuya bought for her. She held onto the hand of her brother fighting the urge to cry once again. She already felt the stinging of tears in her eyes and she knew that any moment now she might start crying. Simply looking at Shuichi in pain like this because of protecting her is driving her to near insanity. She just wished that he would wake up and smile at her saying that he would never leave her side.
She caressed the palm of her brother where the dextrose was not injected. She whispered soothing words softly into the vacant area as the boy slept on his hospital bed for the fourth day. Sakuya simply stood there, hands in his pockets silently willing Shuichi to finally open his eyes and join the living once again.
During the three days that Shuichi was sleeping, Sakuya and Suzu worked on the case of Shun and also made it a point to receive the reports of the crime from the station. They first started with the situation on the mother, Risa Shindou.
The body of the mother was immediately brought to the morgue after going through an autopsy. The reports said that the woman was severely and brutally tortured. She was merely tossed and turned around resulting to bruises. It seems that her head was slammed on the wall several times causing internal bleeding that probably was one of the main causes of her death aside from extensive blood loss.
A knife was used to slash the person in several parts of the body resulting to cuts and bleeding in areas of the woman's poor form. She was also punched and kicked resulting to the bruises and was also choked, which may have marked the end of her life. This was seen from the finger marks on her neck. It was reported that she was trying to say something before she completely died, and of course no one knew what it is except probably Shun himself.
Shuichi was also inspected through the records that the doctor made. Concussion, internal bleeding, spinal disorientation, a couple of broken ribs, a broken arm, a slit wrist, and most of all almost died and in current state of comatose. Anyone who read the report almost gasped at the miracle that the boy was alive. His abuses in the body were not taken lightly but they also placed it that the boy must have suffered a possible nervous breakdown if ever he remembers or may receive symptoms of a shock. The small body of the boy was too fragile to take that kind of beating. Of course Sakuya prohibited any further examination almost threatening them to having them arrested if the force to do so.
Suzu was said to be harassed but not raped—according to her reports of course. Her body bruises and mental situation was unstable. But the remarkable thing was there were only a few cuts on her body.
And lastly, Shun. The boy was taken into the police station and was placed into questioning. When asked all he replied was a shrug and the rest he totally ignored the people questioning him. But the eerie and the most disturbing thing was Shun asked if the two survived. The police have spoken about the situation of the two other siblings and the suspect merely laughed and then proceeded to his own cell.
Sakuya and Suzu did not even bother to visit the older Shindou. Memories about the event would just place Suzu in the deeper circles of hell rather than where she is now. After getting the report, the two immediately headed to the hospital where Shuichi lay, still unconscious.
And at that instant, where they stood in the hospital, the boy's eyes started to flutter open. Slowly but surely, he was waking up. The two looked at the boy with fascination and happiness while observing the pink-haired man try to make things out of his surroundings. He blinked a few times probably trying to orient himself and to tell himself that he's in a hospital and finally his gaze landed on the two beside him with smiles that are as wide as it could get. They were so happy when the boy finally woke up.
"Who are you?" Shuichi asked innocently.
It was supposed to be the happiest moment of their lives to finally see Shuichi wake up after coming form the dead. But after that being said, they could not even begin to smile. Dreams crashed. Thoughts dimmed. Lives were sent to darkness. Shuichi just stared at them with curiosity in his eyes as the people's smiles when he woke up vanished, replaced by an expression that wore shock, surprise, and most of all mortification.
"Who are you?" Shuichi repeated, this time more impatiently than he was. He had asked who these people are and they ignored him. It was not that he was rude but he was so confused at the moment that he did not even remember certain events in his life, like where he lives and when was his birthday. But one thing was sure, he knew his name, Shindou Shuichi.
Again words were caught in their throats. The person that they have waited to wake up has finally opened his eyes.
But what now?
The boy barely recognizes them, actually he does not know them at all. Judging from the looks that he's giving them, he was not kidding.
He looked more annoyed than usual…
And seems a bit more impatient too…
Frozen…
It was as if time was frozen…
Sakuya wanted to say something during that time, even a simple introduction towards the confused young lad, but he was interrupted when Suzu suddenly sped out of the room. Her tears completely breaking her mentally formed dam and came flowing down her cheeks. The tears flew and shone by the sun's rays like little glistening stars. Sakuya looked at Shuichi for a while observing her apologizing gaze.
"I'll be back Shuichi, it'll be alright." Sakuya assured. He immediately ran after Suzu.
Sakuya cannot help but pity the boy. His fingers were clutching the white hospital blanket as if it were the only thing that could provide him security and comfort. He looked shaky and guilty, and most of all confused. His eyes traveled around the people that were previously there and merely tried to place things into order.
Before Sakuya left, he placed a hand over Shuichi's head. When he came running after Suzu, he wished that she would not do something drastic.
He prayed to the gods that he would be alright. He whispered curses under his breath thinking about why his reflexes did not even make a move to stop her from running away. Now he had to find her to god knows where she ran. But it seems today is a lucky one. He found her immediately sitting by the stairs, head bent down.
Slowly and quietly, he took the seat beside her only to be surprised that she already stopped crying. Sakuya placed a hand at her back to at least remind her that he's still there beside her, willing to understand her situation. She steadily looked up, her tear stained face and red puffy eyes focused itself to Sakuya's calm ones. She smiled shakily.
"Sakuya, I have decided to do what is best for Shuichi." She muttered trying to get her much needed strength.
"Best? What are you talking about?" Sakuya asked completely oblivious to what she wanted to point out.
"Yes Sakuya….the best…" Suzu stood up and started to walk ahead knowing that Sakuya would follow her. "I want, no, I need to do this for him. This is the perfect opportunity."
"I'm getting deeper in the dark. I don't get what you're trying to say." Sakuya shook his head.
Suzu stopped when she finally was under a big Sakura tree. The cherry blossom petals fell down to them like a shower of flowers as the wind blew steadily. She sighed and then looked up to the man that stared at her with so much questioning and also a sense of defiance in her idea.
Yes, this idea…
The one idea she knew so that Shuichi would be freed from the ties of that crime…
A means to hide…
Not a means to escape…
"Clear everything up, Suzu. What are you planning?" Sakuya crossed his arms over his chest while staring down at the trembling girl in front of him.
For any spectator, they would appear like a quarrelling couple.
"Sakuya, I will set Shuichi free." Suzu looked up with firm determination. "I had it all planned. He won't have to remember us anymore. I will hide him from all this. I want him to forget. This time, I will save him."
"How?" Sakuya wondered what she was getting at.
Free?
How can they set Shuichi free?
Why?
Why try to hide him from…
The truth?
"I will send Shuichi to be taken cared of by parents…different parents. I will pay them regularly as long as they make him believe that he's their real son. I will call them right away." Suzu walked to Sakuya's side looking at the man who is now currently staring at her wide eyed.
"Then I will change the papers of his birth making him appear like their son. Even the baptismal certificates and all the other papers so that he can believe this reality that I will create for him. I will tear him apart the curse of this blasted family. At least that way, I can save him." Suzu smilied flinging her hands in emphasis of what she wants to do.
"He won't know of the previous events. He can live a different life. But of course, we would not leave him alone at all, and he's still going to carry the name Shindou. But we can change the names of the parents to Shindou as well. I already know a couple willing to do it also. They have a daughter, but they also wanted a son. At least that way…" Suzu was not able to finish her statement when Sakuya suddenly slapped her on the face.
She looked shocked for a while and then touched her burning cheek. She looked at Sakuya who was glaring at her in anger. Sakuya was furious about what she was planning. She was not only playing rough, playing god; she was also tackling her own brother and actually digging him a grave on her own. Didn't he know that she was indirectly killing the real Shindou Shuichi and mainly creating a 'substitute'?
Substitute
The word sent chills down his spine as he looked in anger towards the girl who simply looked at him in shock. He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her violently.
He was…
In short
Enraged
"HOW COULD YOU!! WHY ARE YOU PLANNING THIS!! YOU'RE JUST GOING TO RUIN HIS LIFE!!" Sakuya gritted his teeth as he looked at the girl in front of him shivering in fear at his sudden outburst.
"I want him to be fine…I want him to live a normal life…" Suzu whimpered at both the pain on her shoulders and on the burden of what she wanted to do for Shuichi—just for him to live a normal life from such a horrible past.
"Excuse me? You said you wanted him to be fine, but you're creating, no, recreating Shuichi this way. You're giving him a life that isn't his. You're making him run away and escape. Suzu, Shuichi needs to know. Shuichi does not have the habit of running away!" Sakuya explained letting go of her shoulders as she flung herself out of his grasp and out of his reach.
"NO! I don't want him to know! He'll get hurt again! Please! Please agree with me! We can always watch him and even hire a bodyguard for him…please…please Sakuya…I want Shuichi to have a normal life…" Suzu pleaded and felt like she wanted to kneel.
"Normal? Shuichi was born this way, then this is normal. What are you saying? How can you deny him of being a Shindou? How can you deny him of being the son of Shinji and Risa Shindou? You're giving your parents shame by doing this!" Sakuya shook his head dejectedly. HE never imagined that Suzu would come up of such an insidious, preposterous, and utterly bewildering idea.
"Can't you see? He'll be able to go to school without worrying about me and worrying if someone behind him is planning to kill him sooner or later. He can live a normal life, like he always wanted to have. We can always make his parents say that his hair is pink because he dyed it before. Sakuya we can do this. Please, think of Shuichi's own well-being." Suzu looked at Sakuya even though his back is turned to her.
"I AM thinking about him, that is why this idea is still preposterous. I refuse." He countered.
"Even if you're not into doing it, I will. If you won't back me up, then don't interfere." Suzu angrily replied on the speechless man and looked at him with an equal glare.
"How could you? You have no right to manipulate another person's life by replacing it with a lie! Two wrongs don't make a right Suzu!" He shouted. He wanted to knock some sense into her.
"At least a lie can cover for the truth. And it's not two wrongs, Sakuya. It's a positive and a negative. It's a truth and a lie making it neutral." Suzu contemplated and looked at the man with a smirk.
"WHAT KING OF AN EXPLANATION IS THAT? HUMAN LIFE IS NOT RELATED TO ELECTRICAL CHARGES!" Sakuya shouted and he saw people look at him with awkward glances and he felt himself blush with embarrassment.
"I will still do it." Suzu nodded to herself placing her hands on her hips. Seeing that Sakuya just sighed, she knew that she won the argument. She started to march all the way to a telephone booth to start her plans for her little brother.
Sakuya was busy contemplating on the fact that the plan sounded too…
Planned out.
Sakuya also on the other hand, wanted to intervene, but he can't. He's not a Shindou and eh could not interfere with the sister since she's the legal guardian of Shuichi. But somehow he knew…
This plan would backfire…
And usually, backfires come three-fold.
TBC
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