Authors note:
So, here we are, the final part of The Love We Share. When I started writing this as a bit of fun last June, I can honestly say that I had no plan for this story beyond whatever chapter I was writing at the time. And I certainly would never have dared to imagine that it would become a ~250K word epic. It's actually turned out to be longer than my first novel, which was only ~200K. Irrespective of that, it truly has been a joy to write.
However, as I type these words, I can't help but feel bittersweet about the fact that it is now over. While I am overjoyed at having finally crossed the finish line, it is mixed with a feeling of great sadness that I might never write these characters again. Over the course of this story I have been with Tai and Kari through so much that, rightly or wrongly, I can't help but feel a sense of ownership over the versions of them that I have portrayed and developed in that time.
At this point in time, I would like to take a chance to thank each and every one of you who has taken the not insignificant amount of time to read this story to this point. So, whether you started reading this when part one came out, joined in part-way through or are reading this long after I've walked away from my keyboard, thank you. And I would also like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has either left me a review or sent me a PM concerning this story. I have especially enjoyed the conversations I have had with some of you in relation to this story and the themes presented in it.
So, without any further delay, here is the sixth and final part of The Love We Share. And I'll see you all at the end. Enjoy.
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Part Six: Secret No Longer
Chapter One: Assault…
The week that followed the public outing of her relationship with her brother, had been the hardest of Kari Kamiya's school life thus far. The day after the event, whispers had followed her whenever she neared any of her classmates. Things like, "is she really sleeping with her brother?" and "I heard she's been fucking her brother for two years now, the dirty little slut," had been just some of the choice phrases that had reached her ears that morning. By lunchtime, she'd had several notes passed and one thrown at her in class, which said things like, "brotherfucker" and "brother fucking whore." Come lunchtime, she had actually left the school grounds and went to a coffee shop, just to get away from it for an hour. Unfortunately, after her brief respite, things only to get worse. Crossing the school grounds on her way back inside had seen several snowballs pelted at her; one of which hit her right cheek and stung like a bitch. The whispers had intensified and it quickly became apparent that the gossip had spread throughout the school like electricity through water. Back in class and she had been forced to endure several more notes being thrown at her. Resulting in her leaving the school the moment the chime to signal the end of the day rang.
That night she had spoken to Tai about it, but they both knew there was nothing either of them could do. Her boyfriend could not come to school to protect her and telling any of the teachers would result in too many awkward questions and most likely a phone call home. Ultimately, as much as it sucked, Kari could do nothing but hope things settled down. Only come the next day, it seemed that was not likely to happen. Instead of whispers, Wednesday had brought with it a barrage of people yelling insults at her wherever she went. Outside, it was snowballs. And people deliberately barged into her or tried to trip her up in the corridors. However, worst had been at lunchtime, when someone spat in her face and at the end of the day, when a wad of gum had been launched at her and caught in her hair. Yolei had managed to shepherd her away to a bathroom before anyone else had the chance to do something to her, but had been forced to cut the gum out of her hair.
Come Thursday, Davis and Yolei had taken it upon themselves to act as her bodyguards. Everywhere she went, the pair ensured they were on hand to try and block any missiles thrown at her, yell insults back at those who directed those at her and to ensure that no one got close enough to her so they could hit or spit at her again. It had been a gruelling day for all three, especially Davis, who had taken several snowballs to the head for her.
It was now Friday and the with the weekend within touching distance, Kari could not wait. It was a faint hope that things would die down by Monday, but she desperately needed the two days away from it all. Like yesterday, Davis and Yolei had been escorting her everywhere. The former had actually had a stroke of genius overnight and bought a plastic toy used to throw tennis balls for dogs. With ease, he had used it to scoop up snow and launch it at anyone who tried to pelt her with snowballs. It had sent them running, however, Kari could not help but fear that the perpetrators would copy his idea come Monday.
When the day finally drew to a close, Kari deliberately took as long as possible to pack away her things. Carefully she watched the rest of her classmates leave the room. Davis had soccer practice and Yolei an unscheduled meeting of the computer club, meaning she would be on her own to navigate a safe route to the bike racks. She waited, pretending to check her homework planner as the last few students left. When the room finally emptied, she stayed put. Even though it was Friday, people may still be lingering in the corridors, she reasoned. Her eyes drifted to the wall clock and she gave it another full five minutes before even venturing to the door. Tentatively, as though peaking over the top of a world-war-one trench, Kari looked out into the corridor; deserted. She let out a low sigh of relief and crossed the threshold. Slowly she began making her way towards her locker, eyes scanning all around in search of someone lurking in the empty classrooms. Her heart skipped a beat when she discovered one that was in use by an after school club; she didn't know which one. So worried that someone might look out a window and see her, she crouched down low until she had safely made it past. Had the situation not been so serious, she probably would have laughed, given that it reminded her of when they had snuck into their elementary school to get to the Digiport.
Turning the corner into another empty hallway, Kari's locker came into view. She let out a low breath as she walked towards it. She had been convinced that a group of people would have been gathered around it, waiting to accost her. To her left, she heard the sound of a door opening. Her gaze had not even reached the outer edge of the frame when she heard someone yell, "it's her!"
Before Kari knew what was happening, a pair of girls darted out of the bathroom, seized her by the arms and dragged her inside. Instinctively, she fought against them, but the second she crossed the threshold, more hands grabbed at her. "Let go of me!" she yelled frantically, only to have a wad of material roughly shoved into her mouth. She tried to spit it out but quickly felt the gag being tied off behind her head. Next second, she felt a sharp kick in the back of her knees, which instantly buckled. Helplessly, Kari clattered down onto the floor. For a few sharp, erratic heartbeats, she lay winded on the hard, cold tiles, before two pairs of arms pulled her up onto her knees. The sudden down-up motion made her feel slightly dizzy. Vision blurring for a moment, her head slumped as she tried to take in a breath through the cloth gag. She was vaguely aware of her hands being bound behind her back, though it did not result in her being released by the two pairs of hands. Just as she began to make out several pairs of feet, a hand slapped her across the face.
Kari felt an immediate sting in her cheek, as a voice she recognised as belonging to one of her classmates, Hitana, said, in a harsh voice, "you'd better not pass out on us, Bitch." Her eyes immediately re-focused and she raised her head to see a group of six girls gathered around her; all from her year. Their number increased to eight when counting the two that held her. The lead girl spoke again, "good, seems we've got your attention."
Kari growled into her gag as she struggled against the arms that held her, but it was more of a token show of resistance than anything else; the girls' grips remaining firm. "Wah doh yoh wahnt wif meh?" she demanded in a muffled tone, even though she already knew.
"These rumours that have been circulating about you, we don't like them. That is to say, we find the idea of you fucking your brother to be disgusting. Hence, to dispel any doubt, we thought we'd get the truth from you," Hitana said sharply. "So, Kari, no bullshit, just one simple question. Are you fucking your brother?"
Kari met the gaze of each girl in turn but found not a shred of pity. A prickling sensation began to nip at the corners of her eyes as she struggled to hold back tears. She and Tai had talked about what she should say if anyone directly asked her if they were involved with each other and they had agreed that the best option would be to deny it. Only, like with TK on Monday, she found she could not do it. Her relationship with Tai was a fundamental part of her. To denounce it would be to denounce herself. Besides, it did not matter. The actions of these girls already told her that, even if she were innocent, they would not care. None of them were interested in the truth. They just wanted to find a new victim to torment. Kari took a deep breath in through her nose. She'd not imagined this when thinking about the prejudice she might face when her relationship with her brother became public knowledge. However, whatever these girls planned to do to her, she would take on the chin. For she had no intention of denouncing Tai, just to try and save her own skin. Defiantly, she met Hitana's gaze and said as firmly as she could, "yes!"
A look of shock spread across every face at her admission of guilt. And Kari knew that not one of them had expected her to do so. She was about to lose the war, but in that brief moment, she savoured her victory. Then the insults began to fly.
"Freak!"
"Whore!"
"Degenerate!"
"Brotherfucker!"
Kari tried to tune it out. It did not matter what these girls said or did, she was in love with Tai and would endure any torment they could throw at her. She yelped when she felt a hand roughly grab her hair so that she was forced to look forward. In turn, each of the girls stepped forwards and spat in her face. I will not give them the satisfaction of tears, she thought defiantly, as she felt wad after wad of warm spit hit her skin. In unison, she then received one on each cheek from the two girls that held her.
"Has anyone got a marker pen?" she then heard Hitana ask her comrades.
The sound of rummaging followed before someone said, "here."
Through eyes blurred by spit, Kari saw one of the girls hand the pen over, before Hitana commanded, "take her blouse off."
Kari struggled furiously as two of the other girls eagerly stepped forward and grabbed the bottom of her blouse. It was a futile effort and soon they had roughly pulled it, sailor collar and all, over her head and down her arms until it bunched at her bound wrists. Hitana strode forward, the sound of the pen being uncapped ringing in Kari's ears. She felt the soft, damp tip of the marker touch the skin on her chest, just above her breasts, as the girl wrote the word, 'brotherfucker'. She received a second wave of spit, this time aimed at her chest before she was roughly shoved to the floor.
"We'll see you on Monday, Brotherfucker," Hitana laughed in a cold, high pitched tone, as Kari heard the bathroom door open. "If you're lucky, maybe we'll decide to write it on your face. That way the whole world can find out what a degenerate whore you are."
Hastily, she rolled over and saw the girls file out of the bathroom. Shit! They're leaving me like this, she thought desperately as she frantically began to struggle against her bonds. It took a minute or two for her to calm down enough to think rationally and stop. Ok, she breathed heavily through the wad of cloth that still filled her mouth. If I struggle, I'll only make things worse. With difficulty, Kari shifted herself onto her bum and sat up. Unfortunately, with her blouse bunched up around her wrists, it was difficult for her fingers to find the knot in the material that bound them; crap! She was going to have to see it in order to get free.
Kari was in the process of struggling to shift her wrists beneath her bum when she heard the sound of the door opening. Her eyes immediately snapped over to it in fear. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Or, worse, have them decide to do something else to her. However, the next thing she heard was a familiar voice yell, "oh shit!" followed quickly by, "everyone, stay out here."
Through her spit obscured vision, Kari saw a blur of lavender rush towards her. "Oh, Kari!" Yolei exclaimed as she knelt down beside her, "I'm so sorry. I knew I should have taken you with me."
Kari had no idea what her friend was talking about and did not care. She was just relieved that it had been Yolei that had found her. It did not take long for her friend to free her wrists. Wriggling out of her blouse, Kari wiped her eyes and stood up. "Thank you," she said softly as gratitude washed over her.
"Kari, I'm so sorry," Yolei said again as she pulled her into a hug.
It was in that moment, within the embrace of her best friend, that her resolve finally broke and the tears began to flow.
"It's going to be ok, Kari. It's over and I'm going to make sure nothing like this ever happens to you again."
"How," Kari whispered, as she allowed the lavender-haired girl to lead her over to the sink.
Yolei grabbed some paper towels and began the wash the spit off of her. "You'll see," she said with a dollop of pride in her voice.
She allowed the other girl to wash and dry her face and chest. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done for the permanent marker that had been used to scrawl brotherfucker on her. That would require a shower and some serious scrubbing. The skin on her chest would probably be red raw by the time she got it all off. Once she had redressed, Yolei gave her a serious look.
"Who did this?" her friend asked firmly.
"It doesn't matter," Kari whispered as she broke eye contact, "I can't report them."
"I know that. If you report them, the teachers will ask too many questions and your mom will get called in. However, that doesn't mean that we're going to let them get away with it. They just assaulted you, Kari." Yolei placed her hands on her hips, a no-nonsense expression on her face. "I want the names, now."
One look at her best friend and she caved, rattling off the names of the eight girls that had accosted her. When she finished, Kari then said, in a rather deflated tone, "if by we, you mean yourself and Davis, then please don't. The two of you have already defended me enough this week and are outnumbered four to one at best. I couldn't bear it if something was to happen to either of you because of me."
Yolei gave her a warm, knowing smile, "trust me, we're not outnumbered."
A blank expression formed on Kari's face. What on earth was her best friend talking about?
She felt the other girl take her by the hand as she said, "come and see."
Not having much say in the matter, Kari allowed herself to be dragged from the bathroom. Her eyes widened when Yolei opened the door and shooed her out. Gathered in the corridor was a group of no less than a dozen students from across the year groups; a mix of both boys and girls. "Yolei, what's going on?" she asked nervously, images of what had just happened to her flashing through her mind.
"These are a group of open-minded people who, like me, believe that love is love," Yolei said proudly.
Kari's gaze met that of each of the assembled students and she received a warm smile from all; she knew most of them.
"As of this evening, we're officially the Society for the Promotion of Equality and Tolerance or S.P.E.T. for short. We exist to fight prejudice in all its forms and offer support to anyone who needs it." Yolei gave her a wide grin. "Unofficially, you can think of us as your fan club and bodyguards. We're here to protect you and, if needs be, fight back against any close-minded bigots that might try to hurt you."
Kari had no idea what to say, such was the unbelievability of what her best friend had just said. How had Yolei managed to convince over a dozen people to not only support her but to form a club and willingly offer to protect her? She looked at her friend, mouth agape. So many questions burst through her mind that all she managed to say was snippets of each, "how did… when… why…"
"I knew you would face this kind of abuse the moment TK confirmed that you were in a relationship with Tai. So, I've been working all week to bring together people who support what you're doing." Yolei paused and lowered her gaze slightly. "I'd hoped to get the group organised before something like what just happened this evening occurred. I'm sorry, Kari. I should have gone with my gut and taken you with us when we went to see the principle to get the club ratified."
"You don't have to apologise for anything, Yolei," Kari said softly. She then turned to look at the assembled group. "I'm truly grateful for your support, but I can't ask any of you to put yourselves in danger just to try and protect me."
"You don't have to ask us, Kari," one said.
"Yeah, we're all willing to do it because we believe in your relationship with Tai," said another.
A tidal wave of agreements and kind words followed and Kari felt completely overwhelmed. Never in her wildest daydreams could she have imagined that, alongside the expected backlash from people who would think her a degenerate, she would find anyone, let alone more than a dozen individuals, who would be in support of her. It rendered her completely speechless.
From the front of the group, Yolei gave her another grin. "Sorry, Kari, but you're stuck with us. Until this blows over, members of S.P.E.T. will be with you to ensure no one tries to hurt you."
The warmth and support that Kari could feel radiating from the crowd, coupled with the overwhelming sense of gratitude, became too much for her to bear and she dissolved into a flood of tears. "Thank you," she whispered as Yolei pulled her into a hug.
"We're here for you, Kari," The lavender-haired girl said as she released her.
It was perhaps the most moving thing Kari had ever experienced when, one by one, every mender of the group stepped forwards and like Yolei, gave her a hug. It filled her with a newfound strength, which told her that, despite the obstacles and challenges they would face, she and Tai could make it. They would just have to stay the course.