Ripples in Red Water

Chapter 6: Revelation and Retribution

Part 1

The Past: A forgotten Childhood

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! And please do try and read Education by Professor Tohma. It was meant to be a refresher for this story!

BE FOREWARNED: This chapter includes angst, drama, and a LOT as in a LOT of violence! Please do read this with care and understanding. Absorb it so that you would get some of the subtle hints for the plot and do so understand the characters as well. Thank you so much!

A blue haired boy came sprinting down the stairs as he heard his mother would be coming back from the hospital with a new baby brother. He was excited. As a matter of fact, everyone in the house is excited. Having as sister is great but he always wanted a baby brother.

He is wearing a red sweater on top of a white polo shirt inside. He wore a pair of blue denim shorts and a pair of snickers to match it all. He made sure he combed his hair so that they would not say anything about him being irresponsible. He IS the heir to the Shindou clan. Today, they would be happy to see him, as he is happy to see his brother.

He could not even begin to imagine how excited he is as he raced down to greet the parents that he heard laughing by the main door. Shun finally reached the door and saw his father standing there with a huge grin. Many people in the house claimed him, Shun, to be a bundle of joy ever since he was born. He was full of energy even though he's only six years old.

It was he who took up most of their father's attributes, if not all. HE had the same shade of blue hair, the skin color being a tad pale, the shape of the nose, and even the eyes. When he saw the albums of his father when he was but a mere boy, they looked like it was Shun. Some people ask if that was him only to find out that it was his father. Of course, he did not mind at all. He loves his father very much that he is almost flattered if not honored to be compared to him a lot.

And of course, their mother…

Their mother is quite a beauty. Her long pink hair that glistens in the sun and her bright chocolate eyes has been her main features. Some people even go as far as to compare her beauty as equivalent with that of Aphrodite. Well, it might have been an exaggeration but his mother is a very gorgeous woman.

But as they entered, Shun felt a tad bit ignored. But then again, he did not mind at all. He has his new brother to focus onto.

His father did not even glance at him at that moment, too engrossed with the new member of the family that they have bought in the house. The baby in the arms of his mother looked like he was sleeping. At that moment, Shun immediately loved the baby. He swore to protect him from any kind of danger as much as he could.

He tapped his father's arms but he was left ignored. But being the most understanding of them all, he simply smiled. HE tried again but this time, he was interrupted when the maid came in carrying the little girl of the house, Suzu.

The baby girl pointed her hand towards Shuichi, the new baby, and seemed to ask their parents if she could touch him. Risa Shindou immediately thought that the act was cute and let Suzu touch the baby boy even for just a few seconds. Shun simply smiled at the scene and then went to the middle of it and immediately faced his parents.

"Mom! Dad! Welcome home! Is that Shu-chan?" Shun asked excitingly as his parents lifted up the baby once more.

Shun cannot help but feel, in this kind of height, that they seemed so high up that he could not reach them. He could not even feel Shuichi because he was too far up, he…that little boy and that little girl…they were so far away.

And yet he smiled. He saw his father and mother looking down to him with a questioning look and then say the word "tadaima" in a soft voice.

"Neh, papa…mama…can I hold Shuichi?" Shun asked sweetly, even just one touch would be enough for him. He just wanted to feel the skin and touch his baby brother at least once today.

But…

"I'm sorry, but you might drop him, honey…soon. I promise." Risa smiled at him and went up the flight of stairs followed by Suzu and the maid. Although it seemed that her voice was gentle, there seems to be more hesitation than trust.

Shun was left standing there in the middle of the room looking up to his mother and sister going up the flight of stairs to the new room of Shuichi just beside his room. He did not notice his father who stayed behind eyeing him with care and with love.

Shinji Shindou observed his son in front of him, with a slightly sad face. Risa might have been a little on the edge because of the pressure of another child but she did not have to shout like that at their eldest son and claiming that he could not touch Shuichi even for just a moment. Even a simple touch would not hurt Shuichi. He's not as fragile as that and Shun is not as careless as she probably thinks he is.

Shun simply looked up trying to smile, but his smile did not seem to last long. His lips quivered and his shoulders shook ever so slightly. He forced himself not to cry.

Why?

If she did not want anyone to hurt Shu-chan, then why was Suzu-chan able to touch him?

I'm not going to hurt him…

Was I that dangerous…careless…mistrusted?

Why?

Shun's head raced with questions that he never thought would actually come out. He felt bad. He wanted to cry but he did not want to show it to anyone. His mother always told him that it was bad to cry especially for men to cry. He felt awful to say the elast.

He was suddenly interrupted from his reverie when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at the hand and quickly turned around to wipe the tears that fell down his cheeks unconsciously. As much as he wanted them to stop from falling, and as much as he wanted to obey his mother's orders, those tears just came down voluntarily and not he is facing his father.

Oh no…

How humiliating…

He might get angry towards me for being such a crybaby…

I'm such a loser…

Shun smiled towards his father and yet he was trembling. The sobs that he's been biting down his throat seem to be making him tremble in annoyance towards himself. His mother treated him like he could not be trusted. It's hurting him but he did not want them to know. They already have their hands full with the newborn and adding another problem would only result to even greater conflicts. He would rather keep them all bottled up and then he could cry in his room, where no one could see him.

But soon, he heard his father's voice break the silence.

"Shun-kun…" Shinji Shindou's deep voice echoed in the vacant room as Shun looked dup to the face of his father. He loved it when his father treated him like an older man. At least his father thinks so.

"Y-yes?" Shun wondered. Curiosity is killing the cat. He did not know if his father would be scolding him because he's being a sissy.

Shun was however surprised when his father smiled at him gently and pulled him to an embrace. Shun's eyes were as wide as saucers as he felt his father's hand gently place it on his head and kiss him on the forehead before returning to their original position.

"Shun, your mom is just tired. The hospital always gives her the creeps. Well, she might have been just cranky. I promise though that when your mom's asleep, we can sneak into Shu-chan's room and I'll let you carry him, okay?" Shinji winked and Shun felt all the weight in his shoulders ease off.

"O-tay!" Shun nodded and looked at his father who prepared to stand up. His father looked down to him with an amused look on his face.

"So? You seem dressed up, where is my little prince of the house headed?" Shinji wondered looking at his son proudly.

Papa noticed!

Shun smiled widely at his father's observant characteristic. He turned around to let his father see the full view of his clothing. He even pointed at his hair to see his father's smile turn into a grin.

"You even combed!" Shinji exclaimed faking surprise. He saw it a while ago already and he's extremely proud of his son's new accomplishments of personal hygiene.

"I wasn't going anywhere papa, I just wanted to surprise you!" Shun laughed and turned to his father to see his reaction only to find him laughing as well.

"And you are successful. I would like to see this surprise more often!" Shinji winked at him and Shun merely gave an enthusiastic smile. "So, since you're pretty dressed up, why don't this old man give this young prince a little surprise on his own?"

Shinji extended his hand only to reveal a small ticket in his palm. It was a ticket to the amusement park and Shun's eyes widened. He saw those tickets on TV and he mentioned them to his father that he wanted to go there but he did not imagine that his dad would actually buy those tickets for him.

That was…

A Surprise…

Shun grinned and embraced hi father by tackling him down to fall on the ground laughing as large arms retuned the embrace coming from Shun's petite body.

"You're very much welcome!" Shinji laughed as he raised his son up in the air and pulled him in to his arms as they left the house and went straight to the amusement park.

Shun smiled widely. He's been used to smiling ever since he could remember. Now he's ten years old and he's been assigned to watch over the house today. Their mother is out to buy some stuff with her social friends, which Shun guessed to be some clothes in some designer stores.

Their dad, on the other hand, is off to a business trip. Shun missed him dearly but his father actually told him that he'll be the man of the house while he's away. Of course, he agreed. Their dad is a very kind man; Shun knew that.

He watched as his brother and sister played in their own way in the garden. Suzu sat under the tree with her small table and her tea set. She set some of her dolls to play with her and appeared quite content with what she's doing. Shun just nodded and searched for his younger brother.

He saw him running after their new pet puppy. Shuichi actually called him "Pocky" after his favorite strawberry treat. He ran around and around laughing at the dog that he's chasing. Shuichi seems to notice that his brother is currently staring at him, so he turned his head and waved at his brother.

"Nichan!!" Shuichi waved and Shun waved back with a smile.

Shuichi continued to chase the small furry animal around the house while melodiously spreading joyful laughter. The maids even laughed and giggled as they saw the young boy running around aimlessly not even caring to stop to catch his breath. Shuichi is indeed bottomless when it came to energy.

Shun then turned his attention back to his older sister only to find her staring at him with angry eyes. Shun raised an eyebrow at the situation and looked at the people in the house to drop his staring contest with the young lady.

But when he turned back, he saw her staring back at him with an angry glare, angrier than before. Shun could not even begin to comprehend why his sister would be glaring at him like that. He did not know or did anything at all that would possibly offend her. None that he knew of course.

Suddenly, the silence between them was stopped when Shuichi suddenly fell to the ground and injured his knee. Of course, being a kid, and a loud one at that, he cried so hard over the small scratch on his knee. And Shun, being the over-protective brother that he is, he ran towards the boy and immediately looked at the injured knee only to see that Suzu already came running behind him.

"Shu-chan…" Shun muttered and looked at the wailing boy in front of him. He had to do something quick or else the house will flood any moment now.

Shun sighed and then pulled his little brother into his embrace. The small Shuichi looked shocked at the sudden contact but continued to sob. Shun sat on the grass and let Shuichi sit on his lap while he shifted slightly to accommodate the weight. He was completely oblivious of Suzu's glare behind his back.

"It's just a small scratch, Chi-chan…" Shun smiled at his pet name for his younger brother. He's the only one who calls him that. And he also knew that Shuichi loved that pet name very much.

"BUUUUUUTTTT IIIIIIIITTTTTT HUUUUUURRRRTTTTSSSS!" Shuichi shouted out loud almost braking Shun's eardrums, luckily it already developed sensitivity to loud screams.

Shun did not know what to do. The boy merely cried more. He smiled and then Shuichi suddenly stopped and looked at him with a curious look. Shun bent down and kissed the side of the infected area and looked at he boy.

"Pain, pain, go away! Never ever come again! Little Chi-chan cannot play, if the would was there to stay!" Shun sang out of tune and saw the little boy sitting on his lap laughing and then giggling as well.

"You have a bad voice nichan!" Shuichi laughed and laughed. He stopped and pointed towards Shun, while the older boy pretended to look shocked. "And you got the lyrics wrong!"

Shun smiled and then pretended to wonder while he placed a bandage around the scratch.

"What? I don't know that! How do you sing it again?" Shun pretended not to know and looked at Shuichi with a curious look.

"Nichan, it goes like this! Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day! Little Shuichi wants to play! In the meadow in the hay!" Shuichi sang with his naturally gifted voice. "That was what mom taught me!"

Shun smiled and nodded obediently. Shuichi was always blessed with that kind of memory and he was always blessed with an even more beautiful voice. He simply placed the boy down and looked at him pleased.

"Oops, my bad. But my song worked right? Does your knee still hurt?" Shun pointed and looked at the puzzled expression forming on the face of the pink-haired boy.

Shuichi saw the bandage on his knee and saw that the pain seems to be less than before. So to his calculation as a kid, it was practically nothing anymore. He looked up to his brother, eyes shining with admiration and adoration, he saw Shun look down towards him with a smile and a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Nope!" Shuichi embraced Shun's leg, the only thing that he could hug taking into consideration the height difference of the two. "Thanks Aniki!"

"You're very much welcome." Shun placed a hand over the head of his brother and ruffled it.

Shuichi savored the feelings and the moments that he always had with his brother. He loved him so much and also idolized him. He's his own personal idol and he loved him so much. He smiled towards the boy and then focused on playing once again when they heard a voice shout Shun's name.

"SHUN!" I thought I told you to take care of the children while I'm away!"

The female voice echoed in the garden as the two boys faced to see an enraged expression in the face of their mother. Shun felt Shuichi tighten his hold on his pants and he did not bother to look at his younger brother to know that Shuichi is indeed scared of their mother.

Shun faced his mother with all the courage that he could muster. The woman stomped out of the door and headed towards him dragging Shuichi out of his embrace on the leg of his brother. The boy struggled for a while, then gave a helpless look towards his brother. Shun simply smiled back at his brother and looked at the mother that he knew of. Immediately he noticed a girl clutching their mother's hands.

He looked at her with a weary smile and sighed. He's ready to face the wrath of their mother.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I can explain…" Shun tried to look at his mother's face but the little girl beside him tugged her hand and the woman looked down sweetly to listen to what she says.

Shun was surprised to see that Suzu pointed her finger towards Shun and started talking about the things that did not happen. Shun could not believe what he's hearing. He could not even believe that she's actually saying it.

"Mom, Shun just sat there and then did nothing to Shuichi! He watched him cry! He was busy calling his female classmate and look at that! He even kicked the dog away because the dog was the reason that Shu-chan fell! It's Shun's fault!" Suzu pointed accusing her own big brother of things that did not happen.

Shun felt his heart breaking into a million pieces. His sister is digging up his own grave. Shun wanted to cry again. He was about to when he suddenly say Shuichi tug his mother's skirt, whom the owner looked down to him with a smile.

"What is it Shu-chan? Is there something bothering you?" Risa looked at him and then sat down on her heels so that she could be face-to-face with the little boy.

"Mama! Shun-nichan did not do that! He was kind!" Shuichi explained and Shun felt his heart fly as his younger brother protected him from his mother. "Mama! Please do not scold nichan!"

Shun looked at Shuichi who pleadingly looked at their mother for his very own pardon. Shun is indeed very thankful for his little brother's support but the look that crossed the woman called their mother was that of pure hatred and anger. He looked at the direction of Shun and glared at the boy causing Shun to take a step back in fear of what she wanted to say.

Shuichi just kept on tugging and tugging until he was pulled away by Suzu. Shun watched in horror as the other girl dragged the boy inside to what he did not know what happened. He looked at the woman who advanced towards him and felt a hand connect to his cheek that a loud slap echoed in the vacant garden. Tears brimmed in the eyes of the woman as shock came out on the younger boy's expression.

"How dare you tell Shuichi to lie! Suzu always told the truth! And now you're making Shuichi lie? How could you?" Risa Shindou screamed on top of her voice towards the younger boy who looked at her in shock while placing a hand over his swollen cheek.

Tears brimmed in his eyes as well and started to pour down. He looked at his mother who just stood there, shaking. She suddenly stormed off and from the outside he could hear footsteps racing up to the flight of stairs that they have at their home. He then heard a door slam shut as he bent his head in regret.

Again…

I caused them pain…

Why?

What did I do?

The question repeated itself in the mind of the ten-year-old. He fell down to his knees and sat in an Indian sit position as he looked up the sky with tears falling down his face. HE let them be. The tears traced down a path falling down to the cold pavement. He felt a soft pang on his cheek as he felt that it was swollen.

He closed his eyes and looked pained. He failed to notice two soft and small hands place themselves on both his cheeks only until he opened his eyes did the vision reveal the face of his younger brother touching both his cheeks.

"Pain, pain go away…never ever come back again…Chi-chan does not want, Nichan crying and feeling sad." Shuichi sang softly with tears falling down his face as well. He was singing with his eyes closed and he did not notice that Shun stopped crying and is now looking at him.

When Shuichi opened his eyes, he saw the surprised expression in the face of his brother. He suddenly could not contain it any longer as he embraced his older brother tightly around the neck, causing Shun to lean back using one of his hands as leverage and one hand on the back of Shuichi's head.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault! You were scolded because of me!" Shuichi whimpered in his arms as Shun looked shocked. He felt Shuichi's tears fall down the crook of his neck and felt the young boy trembling and shivering in his arms. "I should have been more careful! I should have not been chasing Pocky! I should have behaved just like what you told me! Now you're in pain!'

Shun cleared his vision by wiping his tears and then pushing the child away gently then settling him on his lap watching the boy cry even more. His eyes softened as he took the hand of Shuichi and placed it on his cheek. The tiny bundle in his arms looked at him and then to his hands that which his older brother is guiding to his cheek.

"Because you sang Chi-chan, the pain is gone!" Shun smiled towards the young boy who jumped out of his arms.

"Really?" Shuichi asked reaching to touch it.

Shun tried really hard not to flinch. Even though there was an effort, the pain would not go away to the least. It was one heavy and definitely strong slap. But for the boy's sake he would have to pretend.

"Yep!" Shun muttered after letting go of a sigh knowing that Shuichi would not notice.

"O-tay!" Shuichi jumped up and down. "Hey bro! Can we play that? I want to play chess!" Shuichi pointed at the checkerboard with small pieces scattered on the grass.

"Sure, as long as we find all the pieces together though. IT seems that they are all scattered over the place!" Shun stood up and followed Shuichi as they started to fins the missing pieces of the chessboard.

"Alright! We should play a game! The one who finds the most pieces wins a ticket in the amusement park!" Shun challenged and Shuichi smirked at him. Shun almost laughed.

"You got a deal nichan! I'm winning!" Shuichi scrambled all over the place not realizing that Shun merely let him do the searching so that he could get the amusement park ticket.

Shun placed a hand over his cheek and felt a single tear stray down his porcelain skin, unblemished before but now with a bruise.

TBC

Please Read and Review! This is officially that flashback area! Now you see everything in Shun's point of view! Boring to some but very important!

Only one more chapter left for you to see the REAL plot of this story! If you can guess now, review alright?

Reiannah: hello! okay for one thing, I never mentioned Shun was some kind of an antagonist! hehe, but neither did I say that he's a protagonist. harharhar! Well you will see about the cycle repeating in a few chapters time, or rather in the next chapter! don't worry, the scenes would be explainable! hahahah! I'm really adoring your reviews! Oh and I'm not gonna say something about him not doing the act or something! that would spoil everything now wouldn't it? haha!

silver on the tree: I agree. It's just a result of a traumatizing experience taht Eiri cannot talk to anyone. He closed up to others to protect himself. And at least someone thinks Shun rocks! hahaha!

ddz008: that's alright, we all have stuff to do! and as for me, I haven't even written the next chapter yet...ooops...hehe

clari-chan: hm, partly right. haha! the part of Shun being sorry, yes of course. Suzu part read on! (waaaah! that's a hint in itself) Okay, about the three days straight. i meant to say that it has been three days. He's been continuouly watching vigil for three days with people sometimes. Of course during the first day, he was merely resting and the fever's not that bad. But the second day, the fever got worse and now on the third, it's still worse. So Shu's condition did not change since yesterday. hehe, but thanks for pointing that out.

I love athrun: hope I could write...heheh

Mistress of Anime: Ryuichi is a dear isn't he? I always adored him and believed he was more than what he seems. WEll tooooo many slips in the series anyway. About yuki being Yuki-ish, somehow, I had to return him back, or else he would be too OOC. Like Shuichi, somehow, there should be a part where I could portray him back to who he were. That's how this becomes both AU and not AU. (MAGIC!). About Shun, he scares you huh? well, one more clue: someone's gonna scare you even more in the next chapter and I hope I continue to write...

Inspiration is flying and flying...

deppfan1016: hehe, well thank you for reading my other fic. hehe, made it to be humor to lighten things up and I am going to do another one to stall! hahaha! Well for ripples, I really will explain it after this! Thank you for reading this and giving me wonderful comments. The second half of RIRW is really the main story where all twists and plots are revealed. The first half is a cover-up and a foundation! hahaha

Kanilla: I agree with Yuki and Ryuichi taking care of Shu. I get enough with Shu taking care of the two of them, or rather Yuki alone! Ryuichi should have someone!!!!!!!! Kumagoro beam!!!!!!

AHA!

Well explanations and answers to questions:

Sakuya: he's who I think Yuki and Shuichi would be if mixed. See how his expressions change and how he could be the best friend of Tohma. He has everything that Shuichi and Yuki have in common: talent, good looks (of course!), loyal friends, and even a shrouded past. Also has their differences portrayed: his shifts in attitude reflects the two different attitudes of Yuki and Shuichi. He's also very much of a writer and yet involved in music. He's like what Shuichi would be if he were serious, and what Yuki would be if he were a bit loosened up.

Ripples in Red Water: It is entitled as such because of the following:

Ripples: when one creates ripples it affects all the surrounding area. Therefore a single touch in such a fragile situation affects all the people around it. Directly or indirectly.

Red: is Shuichi and Sakuya's hair (haha!), it means passion (both to Yuki and Shuichi).

Water: clear and pure.

So: it means affecting passion of innocent people--through aggressive changes to make a still and pleasant future.

(originally, this was about blood so congratulations deppfan1016!)

Main plot? nah read ahead! hahahahah! KUMAGORO BEAM!!!!!