The Sun Scratched in the Stars
A Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS fanfic
Summary: A boy on the run from a dangerous home situation falls asleep at a dojo in the countryside. Discovered and taken in by the owners, he grows to understand what love – and loss of that love – truly means, with the help of a rambunctious, fiery-spirited boy close to his age.
Chapter 9
Kamishirakawa Residence
Kiku blinked several times, the question echoing in her mind. Out of all the answers she expected, she hadn't expected Ryoken to ask for something she didn't offer. But, then again, she had never thought Ryoken would show up at her house in the middle of a shivering, chilly night or that Ryoken, seemingly above everything, would really tell her what went on with him and Takeru. And she certainly never thought that he'd cry in front of her.
He and Takeru really were a lot alike. No wonder they butted heads so much.
No wonder that happened with the two of them.
That was no reason for Kiku to let Ryoken stay, though. Even if Takeru had started it, Ryoken, this pretty boy stranger from who-knows-where who just showed up one day, still hurt him, her best friend. So, of course she should side with Takeru, not let Ryoken stay, and force him to go back to the Homuras and own up to what he did. No need for her to get any more involved.
Yet, as much as Kiku felt that she should feel that way, she didn't. If anything, it made Kiku even more curious about Ryoken. How his mind worked, how he went through each day, why he was here in Shirakawa, why he cried when she brought up the Homuras caring about him—she could find all that if he stayed, hid, made himself at home for a while longer in her room.
She had to hold on to this chance.
"Okay, Ryoken."
Ryoken blankly stared. "'Okay,' what?"
Kiku sighed. Way too much like Takeru. "Okay, you can stay here. Did you already forget?" But Ryoken only turned red and looked away, and Kiku laughed so hard, she had to hold her stomach. Hearing heavy footsteps walk towards her door, however, Kiku immediately covered her mouth.
"Kiku, is everything alright?" a smoothly toned voice asked through the door. Papa!
"Everything is fine, Papa. I remembered a really funny joke," she replied, winking at Ryoken, who stared, clearly not catching on. Papa made an interested noise, and Kiku silently prayed he would not open the door, but there was no indication he had moved any closer. Kiku exhaled through her nose.
"You'll have to tell the joke to me some time," Papa said. "Mama wanted me to let you know she's ready to go grocery shopping when you are."
Kiku gasped. She totally forgot! She was never one to want to stay in her room for too long, but she wanted to pick Ryoken's brain, find out more about him. But if she said anything other than "On my way!" Mama and Papa would get curious, then Ryoken would get caught, then it'd be game over before it started.
She would not let that happen.
"On my way!" Kiku cheerily said, hopping to her feet. She looked at Ryoken, his face covered in confusion, and grinned. "Stay put here, okay? Make yourself comfy. But make sure no one sees you," she whispered.
Ryoken only nodded, so Kiku took that as her cue to leave. She waved goodbye, and Ryoken slowly put a hand up to do the same, but he only stared at his hand in confusion. Sighing, Kiku closed the door behind her.
As soon as Kiku left, Ryoken took out a book from his satchel, sat between the pillow and the sheets of his makeshift bed, and read, the sounds of high-pitched and low-pitched chirping providing the best background noise for his reading. But, as he read, the words became blurry, indecipherable, unfocused. Ryoken slammed the book shut, putting it back where he got it. Maybe he needed was to move around.
Ryoken got to his feet and walked slowly around Kiku's room. He closed his eyes, the faint, sweet cleaning solution smell from the floor wafting through his nose, becoming so strong he had to open his eyes again before it choked his senses. Catching his breath, he moved around again, hand to the smooth pale pink walls. Kiku's room didn't have as much natural light as the Homuras' house did, but it was still bright enough, still calming enough that Ryoken thought he was in a fantasy land full of mythical creatures.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sparkly dark blue frame, so he walked towards it. As he got closer, he saw that the frame had a picture, so he grabbed the frame to study it. In the picture were two wide-smiling children who looked like Kiku and Takeru—only much, much younger. Ryoken's eyes wandered and settled on Takeru, who was supporting Kiku on his back, smiling from ear to ear, eyes closed. Ryoken only stared—the smile was magnetizing, captivating, healing. It was a side of Takeru Ryoken hadn't seen since he first came to this sleepy town.
A side that made Ryoken's heart beat faster.
I want to see it again, came a passing thought Ryoken didn't expect. Ryoken widened his eyes, then shook his head. Absolutely silly. No way that was happening. Why did he think that anyway?! But the thought didn't go anywhere, instead digging deeper into his heart. Hastily putting the picture back on the dresser, Ryoken jumped back into his temporary bed and pulled the pillow over his head, as if that would calm his erratic heart.
A foolish thought that was.
Just when Ryoken felt he was about to be swallowed alive by these feelings, he heard something click by the door. He froze. Was Kiku's father on the other side? Was this it? Was his stay here going to be that short? He thought of making a run for it to the other side of the window before the door opened. Ryoken sighed once he saw Kiku.
"I'm back," Kiku said cheerily, her arms filled with all the sparkly accessories one could think of wearing.
"Don't scare me like that," Ryoken huffed. "I thought I was a goner."
Kiku closed the door with her foot and threw the accessories onto her bed. "Nobody can be in my room unless they see me first. So, no surprise visits, Ryoken."
"If you say so . . ." Ryoken sighed. "You don't have to go anywhere else today, do you?"
Kiku sat with her chin in her hand, deep in thought. Then she shook her head. "Nuh-uh! I was going to go for a walk with Papa. Buuuut, since we looked all over for you earlier, Papa changed his mind. I still have to eat lunch and dinner with Mama and Papa, but—"
At the mention of lunch, Ryoken's stomach roared so loud, Ryoken thought the entire house could hear. Even Kiku widened her eyes as Ryoken's face flushed, and he immediately held the source of the intrusive noise.
"I-I'm sorry," muttered Ryoken. "I'm-"
"Just a moment," Kiku interrupted. She went out the room again, and, in no time at all, she returned with two bright red packets. She gave one of them to Ryoken and opened the other, sticking her hand in and pulling out what looked like light brown seeds, tossing them in her mouth, loudly crunching them with her teeth. Ryoken stared at the red packet, twirling it in his hand.
Kiku momentarily stopped crunching and swallowed. "What's wrong?" Crinkle, crinkle. Crunch, crunch.
"What is this?" Ryoken asked.
Kiku gasped. "You mean you've never had rice crackers before?!" That response earned a huff from Ryoken, cheeks once again dusted a light red, much like the coating on the crackers she was eating.
"Of course I've had rice crackers before!" he said, louder than intended. "Just . . . not ones that look like this."
"Ehhh?" Kiku interjected as she neatly folded the now-empty rice cracker bag. "But I thought Mama Homura said you were a city boy. These are everywhere in the city, or so Jii-jii says. But it's hard to find them out here by the mountains."
Ryoken blinked. "Jii-jii?"
"Oh! Takeru's other grandpa." Kiku dusted the crumbs off her light yellow shirt. "He and Baa-baa, Takeru's other grandma, don't like being called ojii-chan and obaa-chan. Says it makes them feel like old fuddy-duddies. They live in the city out west."
Ryoken scratched his head. "Takeru has more than two grandparents?"
At that, Kiku covered her mouth, clearly trying to swallow her laughter, but it still bubbled out of her. Ryoken thought he suddenly developed a fever, but his face was that red from how embarrassing Kiku was being. The adults laughing at him were one thing, but Kiku? Ryoken sighed as footsteps approached from the other side of the door, so he halted his breathing, as if any sudden movement would give him away. Kiku did the same.
"Kiku?" a melodic voice asked. It must have been Kiku's mother. "Is everything okay in there?"
"Y-yes, Mama!" Kiku replied, a few short laughs escaping. "I thought of a super funny joke is all."
A pause. "Oh, is that all? I'm glad," came the reply. "Papa and I have to go to the Homuras' for a bit, so could you watch Benji for Mama please?"
Kiku glanced at Ryoken, who looked back at her nervously. "Of course, Mama! Have a safe trip."
"Thank you, Kiku." Ryoken could hear the smile in her voice. "We'll be back soon for lunch."
"Okay!"
Kiku pressed her ear against the door and Ryoken listened too—slowly but finally eating the crackers he was given—and enjoying them, even though they weren't hot dogs! —as the footsteps lessened further and further in sound until the sound of another door—the front door, probably—was closed shut. Kiku then stood up with her hands on her hips. "Come on, Ryoken! My baby brother is waiting."
"But—" Ryoken looked around, "—what if your parents get back and see me?"
"Come ooooon, Ryoken," Kiku huffed. "You have to trust me. I got you."
Ryoken sighed as he also stood up, his legs wobbling. With a smile, Kiku opened the door and she motioned for him to follow her. Ryoken looked ahead as they made a sharp turn in the hallway into a spacious room with a huge bright yellow rug that easily took up half the room, filled with bright colored toys spread all over Ryoken guessed were for the baby. In the middle of the rug was a contraption Ryoken hadn't seen before with something small rolling around and . . . giggling?
"Beeeenjiiii," Kiku sing-songed as she skipped gracefully between all the toys and made her way to the contraption, picking up the something small as it cooed and squealed happily. "Big Sister is here!" Ryoken slowly made his way over to them, stumbling and nearly tripping on the toy landmine threatening his path. How anyone could walk through this was beyond him. At last, he finally stood next to Kiku, breathing heavily. Kiku turned her head towards him, frowning.
"You that worn out from walking a few meters?"
Ryoken took a deep breath, standing straighter, trying to hide his exhaustion. He could feel his face getting hot again. "N-no?" he lied. Kiku only smiled as she bounced what she was holding in her arms and what she was holding shrieked, and Ryoken watched with fascination. Picking up that she was being stared at, Kiku looked at Ryoken again.
"What?" she asked.
"I . . ." Ryoken gulped, hoping his question wouldn't embarrass him again. "What is that?" He pointed to the squirming bundle.
Kiku looked at the bundle, then back at Ryoken, then back at the bundle in her arms. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she frowned. Ryoken braced himself.
"A . . . baby?" Kiku replied with as much confusion as she could muster, making Ryoken feel bad for even asking. "Is this your first time seeing one?" But Ryoken didn't reply, only inhaling and exhaling rapidly, his cheeks on fire. Kiku only laughed. "Wow, Ryoken, you really do live under a rock! And I thought Takeru was bad."
Ryoken's knowledge of the world, unfortunately, was much more limited than he had thought. All that reading, all that learning, yet none of it was helping him here in this strange place. And it was mortifying – the newest word he learned. But he remained quiet, festering in his embarrassment. Not being the smart one was a huge blow.
Kiku laughed as she walked closer to Ryoken, turning the bundle—the baby towards him. The baby stopped squirming and cooing to stare at him with big dark blue eyes. Ryoken stared at him right back, unsure of what to do, but that wasn't a problem for the small child as he shrieked in delight, flailing his arms. Ryoken stared in confusion.
"Oh? He likes you, Ryoken," Kiku said, bouncing him.
"How can you tell . . .?" he replied. Last Ryoken checked, screaming wasn't a good thing, but Kiku was unconcerned, as if it happened all the time. There was a lot about humans that Ryoken didn't know, despite being one himself.
Suddenly, the baby reached towards him, almost falling out of Kiku's arms. Kiku struggled to hold him back.
"Wo-ah, Benji!" Kiku interjected, then laughed. "He wants to be with you, Ryoken."
"But I don't know anything about holding babies!" Ryoken blurted out without thinking, Kiku laughing even more.
"Wash your hands. I can help," Kiku said, holding the baby, who was still trying to tumble out of her arms, close. Ryoken slowly nodded as he looked for a place to wash his hands. Spying a sink in what he figured was a kitchen—since there was a medium-sized fridge, he walked over, washed his hands, and made his way back to Kiku and the baby.
"Okee, here goes. Reach out your arms," Kiku said as she turned the baby towards Ryoken who slowly put his arms out. Kiku gently put the baby on top, and Ryoken automatically curled his arms, not wanting to drop him, but, wow, he was a lot heavier than Ryoken thought! Kiku giggled as she reached out and fixed Ryoken's arms and her brother so that his arms were circled around him.
"And . . . there!" Kiku announced. "That's how you hold a baby. Not so bad, right?"
Ryoken slowly nodded, masking how it was taking all his strength just to hold this one baby. How did Kiku make it look so simple? The baby, however, ignored Ryoken's struggles as he smiled and put a small hand on Ryoken's cheek. It was soft, like a freshly-washed and dried blanket, and it had Ryoken completely mesmerized. So, this was what a baby was like. So small, helpless, unaware, yet completely happy. Ryoken wondered then if he had ever been this small, if anyone had held him like this, if he had to depend on others for food, for comfort, for healing.
Even if he had been, he doubted that anyone back at Father's would tell him.
Suddenly, Benji wriggled as if he wanted to roll right out of Ryoken's arms, and Ryoken yelped in surprise as he lost his balance. Kiku swooped in and gave Benji a cushion as both she and the baby fell to the floor. Kiku could only laugh as Ryoken composed himself and walked to the two of them.
"Ar-Are you okay?" Ryoken asked. "I'm sorr-"
"None of that," Kiku interrupted as she sat up, putting Benji's head over her shoulder. "This happens a lot. Benji is a very squirmy baby."
"If you say so . . ."
Kiku smiled as she turned the baby around towards Ryoken. Upon seeing the boy, Benji squealed with a grin on his face, and Kiku sighed. "I don't get it." When Ryoken didn't respond other than by blinking, Kiku continued, "Why does Benji like you and Takeru more than me? I'm the big sister here!"
Ryoken knew Kiku meant nothing by that. He knew she didn't. But something about that statement ate at him.
"Everything was hunky-dory before you showed up. Now, you made everything worse!"
It sounded too much like that.
"I . . . It's not my fault," Ryoken said, not really to Kiku. Kiku only stared at him and blinked, Benji still squirming in her arms, and silence fell between the two of them. As if realizing, Kiku turned her head.
"Sorry, Ryoken." Kiku sighed. Putting Benji in the crib, she continued, "I guess I miss him a lot more than I thought. I can talk like him now." She flashed a smile, but Ryoken could tell by the way one of the sides twitched it was very forced. They waited around for a little bit as Kiku put a tiny blanket over her baby brother, whose eyes were drooping from tiredness. Kiku smiled for real then. "Sleep well, Benji."
Kiku walked away from the crib first as Ryoken stayed behind a few moments longer, incredibly fascinated by the small boy. He had no idea humans could be that small. Well, it made sense if the animals could start out small, like he would read in the textbooks Father put in front of him. But actually seeing a small baby in person was a whole new experience.
"Ryoken?"
Ryoken snapped out of his thoughts and jerked his head to find Kiku staring at him. Ryoken shook his head, shaking the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind, and walked with her out of the living room to her room. Kiku then took the accessories on the bed and ripped them out of their packaging, the bright- and cool-colored contents spilling all over the covers. Taking a bright red flower hair pin, she said "I wanna see something," and walked over to him and threaded it between his white and purple hair, pulling some of the bangs away from his eyes.
"And, there!" she said as she took a step back. "Aaaa, you look so pretty, Ryoken!" she clapped her hands and grinned. Ryoken pouted, thinking on whether she meant that in a good or bad way as he put his hand to where the object was. He's never had things put in his hair before, but it felt as though it wasn't there—light as a feather. Still, it felt a little embarrassing—at first, anyway.
"Pretty in . . . a bad way?" Ryoken spoke as he continued to touch the hair pin. The flower part was made of rough paper material, he could tell. But it was smooth at the same time. Father, Dr. Aso, Dr. Genome, and Dr. Taki all constantly told him hair accessories—well, any accessories like bracelets and hair ties, really—weren't for boys, but for girls. When he asked why, they only said they made boys feel less like boys, less like men. And that's not how things worked. Boys and men weren't supposed to be pretty or be called such. Men and boys were handsome. And Ryoken was definitely a boy, they told him. So Ryoken was to only like boy things, was only supposed to be handsome. Ryoken, being the obedient child, said nothing, accepting the statements as fact.
Yet, wearing the red flower pin in his hair or Kiku calling him pretty or Takeru calling him Pretty Boy—as annoying as that was, at first—didn't make him feel any less like a boy. Ryoken wondered then if something was horribly wrong with him. He was supposed to be upset, but he wasn't.
Kiku sat in a cross-legged position. "No, no, no!" she grinned. "Lots of good things are pretty, Ryoken."
"Like what?"
Kiku hummed, then continued, "You know . . . like flowers, trees, sunsets . . . things like that!"
Ryoken stared at the floor. "I. I guess you're right. But . . . boys aren't supposed to be pretty . . ." But Kiku let out a louder than expected "Huh?", jolting Ryoken to his core.
"Not true!" Kiku replied. "I was told anybody can be pretty. Maybe you have to look a bit harder to find the prettiness in some, but! Still!"
"But . . ."
Ryoken didn't have a reply for that. This was why he wanted to run. These people just kept turning everything he knew upside down, and it made no sense to him. And it scared him. Father wasn't wrong. Dr. Taki, Dr. Aso, and Dr. Genome weren't wrong. These people were wrong. They were the ones that didn't understand.
But Ryoken, decorated with a hair pin in his hair, a supposedly girly thing he shouldn't be wearing, didn't believe that for one bit.
Kiku sighed. "Were you told boys could only be handsome?"
Ryoken only nodded. Kiku only smiled as she picked out a blue flower pin—like the red one he was wearing—and threaded it in Ryoken's hair. Ryoken, like last time, let her do as she pleased.
"There!" Kiku grinned again. "An extra pin to prove who told you that wrong!"
"Kiku . . ." Ryoken gasped.
"You can keep those," she said as she bundled up the other hair accessories. "Consider them presents." Ryoken watched as she put the other accessories in the drawer and sat next to him. There was a pause as Kiku hummed, both staring out of the clear window-doors leading to the outside. The blades of grass were moving back and forth, the high-pitched sound of the wind filling the silence.
Ryoken saw Kiku turn towards him. "Hey, Ryoken."
"What?"
"Why did you come here by yourself? To this town?"
Ryoken's back stiffened. "Why do you ask?"
"People always leave this town," Kiku sighed, as she pulled her knees to her face. "For better places. New people coming here never happens. So why?"
Ryoken frowned but said nothing. What Father was doing, or what Ryoken thought he was doing, was probably something top-secret. He couldn't say that was why he traveled to the farthest town he could. It was between him and Father. No one else could get involved. But he couldn't lie to Kiku, after all she's done for him.
"I . . ." Ryoken began. "It wasn't safe where I was. If I stayed, my life would be over."
Kiku's eyes turned wistful. "Are your parents super mean?"
Ryoken sighed after a moment. "Parent."
"Huh?"
"I only have Father and the people he works with," Ryoken explained. "They're not mean. It's just . . ."
"You don't have a mama?" Kiku interrupted. "How?"
"How?" Ryoken repeated. "I. I just don't."
"But everybody has a mama!" Kiku protested. "Mamas bring us into the world. Mama says that a lot. How can you not have one?"
Ryoken hugged his knees to his chest. "Father never mentioned one. He said I was just here. And to not ask ever again. If I have—had a mother, I've never seen her."
"So you just—poof—" Kiku put her hands together and spread them apart as of stretching something "—appeared?" Kiku scratched her head. "So you are a ghost!"
That again? Ryoken sighed. "You put stuff in my hair, Kiku. You can't do that with ghosts."
"Oh." Kiku nodded. "Right. But I don't get it. You're that pretty but you don't have a mama?"
Ryoken pouted. "I don't."
I don't know where I came from, Ryoken silently added.
A pause as Kiku unfurled herself, palms flat on the floor, legs stretched out. "So, is your papa mean then? Is that why you ran away?" she finally asked.
"I just told you I didn't feel safe. It . . ." Ryoken bit his bottom lip, "But it's got nothing to do with Father," he lied. Kiku stared at him, eyes as though they were peering into the depths of Ryoken's soul, as if figuring out whether he was telling the truth. Sighing, she got on her feet. At the same time, Ryoken heard the front door close.
"You're hiding something," Kiku said outright. A chill snaked down Ryoken's back. But, unexpectedly, she closed her eyes, smiling. "I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. You can talk when you're ready." Walking to the door, she said, "Mama and Papa are back, so I'm gonna go be with them for a bit. Wait here, okay?"
Ryoken sighed in relief as she walked out the door. He threaded his fingers to comb through his hair, but his fingers got caught in the hair pins. That's right—those were there. Common sense said he should take them out, but he didn't want to. Father and his associates weren't around, so it didn't matter. Kiku was right—there were so many things in nature that humans called "pretty." Ryoken couldn't even think of a time where any of Father's associates—as Father would never use such soft-sounding words—would call anything "handsome." It was "what a beautiful sunset," "such pretty flowers," "Stardust Road was gorgeous at night."
If humans were part of nature, why couldn't boys have the same compliments?
Ryoken saw a mirror on the dresser, so he walked toward it, examining himself—hair pins, bangs pinned neatly back, and all—and smiled. As he thought, the light blue one did look better on him. But the red one looked nice too. He could deal with a little red sometimes. But blue was definitely more his color. Sliding out the red pin, he put it in the one pocket in his satchel then walked back to the mirror.
Maybe being a pretty boy who didn't know everything wasn't so bad, after all.