Present...
Keigo didn't let his son out of his hug. So relieved was he when he realized that he was unharmed. Not having any look for his parents left who laid on the ground, still spellbound by his Kido and looked in shock on thier son, they expected to be death for more than 10 years now. In fear they thought that they died, too and met him now in the world of the death, but he was really here. Here in the Kurosaki's house.
"Oh, my gosh... Keigo... is that really you?" his mother asked with tears in her eyes.
Keigo just turned away to hid his son from thier views.
"Wow... you really don't have the best relationship to your parents?" Yupa asked.
"Well, if your parents always see a crazy shame in you, you wouldn't think pretty good of them, too?" Keigo respond.
Yupa sighned. "Oh... well I know how it is?"
Suddenly Yupa became very gloomy...
10 years ago...
The police-psychologist knocked against the door to Yupa's room.
"Go away!" he jelled mad.
"Yupa-chan! It's me, Hana! Do you remember me? We met at the police-station several times when your father showed you around. May I come in?"
"No! I won't tell you anything!"
"I don't want to ask you questions you don't want to answer. I just want to talk!"
"Pah... I know that Father called you to 'treat' me!"
"I know you are mad, Yupa. But sooner or later, others will come and ask questions. And they won't be as polite as I am now. I am not here to reproach or to blame you for something. I just want to prepare you for possible trouble in the future..."
When she heared Yupa lifting off she prepared to face him. But the face he used to look on her let her fear... Yupa had a cold and evil stare that scared her so much like never ever before. She was experienced in interrogating traumatized children, but Yupa seemed to be a whole new level...
He let her into his room. Soon after he closed the door, his parents sneaked closer to eavesdrop...
In the Soul Society meanwhile, the Kurosaki's were worried about thier own son, too...
"You know since we arrived here, Kazui is so silent!" Orihime said.
"Maybe he is worried about Yupa?" Ichigo said.
"I don't think it is about Yupa! Something is bothering him." she replied.
In the other room, Kazui was able to talk openly to Ichika. "I told him to never ever tell anybody. And I know he will keep his promise. But I have this terrible feeling..."
"What?" Ichika asked.
"I think... something terrible is going on right now..." Kazui replied.
Not far away, in the meeting room of the commission of inquiry, they talked about Yupa, too.
"Did someone already interogated that boy?" the chairman asked and pointed on a photo of Yupa, they got from the Kurosaki's.
"Not yet! He is still recovering from his injuries. But I think it is time to interrogate him. It is possible that he knows more than Kurosaki jr. told us..."
In his room, Yupa sat down on his bed. His injuries were still visible. He watched the woman looking around in his room, observing his posters of superheroes and soccer-stars.
"You are a soccer-fan? And you like superheroes, do you?" she asked. Yupa just shrugged. "What is your favorite club?"
"Does it matter?"
"I am just curious?" she replied and pointed on a poster with an superhero. "Ah... Hero-Man, that is the main character of this popular anime. Keigo Asano voices his human alter-ego. You know the actor who voices him, is playing in one of my favourite serieses, too: Crime-Lab-Tokyo!"
"Hana-san, stop talking to me like to one of your witnesses. I am fine! I am not traumatized. I am not mad. I only wait for the Soul-Society to erase everything out of the peoples memories."
"The Soul-Society? What is that?"
"That does not concern you!" Yupa said mad. Looking evilily on her. "Leave my room!"
"Yupa... you know that I am on your side! The others are not. They won't care for you when you tell them to leave your room. They will be willing to do everything to let you talk. You don't want to talk about Kazui Kurosaki, it's fine! Let's talk about you. Why did you go to that backyard-shop that day? What did you did there when you were suppossed to be in school?"
Yupa remembered, the encounter with thier classmates, the incident in the restroom, the arriving fire-brigade, the SWAT-team storming inside...
"You remember?"
"Yeah, I... I mean... we... were running away. This was never suppossed to happen! Something like this they never see comming! They never excepted..."
"Who are they? The Kurosaki's?"
"No, the Soul Society!"
"Ah, the people who do not concern me! So lets talk about them..."
As if on cue, two Shinigami appeared on the window and looked inside. Surprised Yupa looked towards his window and tried to brush them off. In surprise the woman looked towards the window, too. She didn't saw the two Shinigami who were surprised that Yupa was able to see them.
"Hey, he can see us?" one of them said surprised.
"What? Is there someone?"
"Wha... no no no... ehm... I... am... just... want to open the window." Yupa said. "I need some air!"
"Oh, of course!" she said and opened the window. When she opened it, the two Shinigami jumped in and stood now on Yupa's desk. Yupa fell on his knees and begged for mercy.
"Please, I didn't want that happen! But first replace her memories. I don't want her to hear this..." Yupa jelled.
The surprised Shinigami looked on the woman and one of them lift his memory-replacer to knock the woman out. As soon as she faded away, Yupa confessed everything to them. How he became mad on Kazui for lying to him. How Kazui became sad and decided to share his secret with him. How they spend time together after that and everything Kazui had told him about Shinigami, the Soul-Society and spirits, Hollows and all that stuff...
In shame, Kazui bowed in front of the Shinigami and apologized. Deciding to accept every punishment, even the death-sentence. But he kindly asked them to not send his soul to hell. Hearing this, his mother stormed inside to comfort her son, seeing the senseless psychologist and her son bowing to the wall.
"AGHHHH... Yupa, what did you did?"
"What?" Yupa asked and looked on the senseless woman. "Oh, I didn't did that! They did?"
"Who?"
"Nodoby!" the boy said and carefully opened a drawler to get out a toy-camera. "I just wanted to show the pictures I made together with Kazui, and that accidentaly end up in TV, to nobody..."
Kazui's innoncent smile didn't spared him from his parents scared screams...
The Shinigami took the photo's from the camera back to the Soul Society of course, only to be disappointed...
"That are not the pictures aired in TV! That means he wrongly thought that he and Kurosaki jr. are responsible for this mess." the chairman said, pointing on the pictures. "So the kids are fully innoncent."
"Yes, we told that to the boy, too. Well... after we changed his parents memories..."
"And where is the boy now?"
"Oh, he is still at home. He asked to be brought here. But we couldn't do that. We are sure he is well among his family...
The Shinigami were so wrong...
Under tears his parents watched Yupa carried into an van. The boy screamed and tried to escape, while he was spellbound on a stretcher and two employees from the psychatric-clinic took care of him...
Present...
"Oh, my gosh... Yeah... you told that your parents... well... did not take it very well..." Keigo said.
Yupa shaked his head. "I try to get on. The past is past. My parents were afraid. I understand it..."
Just a few moments later, Rukia, Renji, Isshin, Karin and Yuzu appeared out of nowhere. All in Gigai and visible for the Asanos.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Isshin asked.
"YOU!" the Asano's screamed in fear. "You didn't aged!"
"Let me guess... your parents?" Karin asked Keigo who nooded.
"Hi, mom!" Masaki said well tempered. "Cousin Kazui, Ichika and her boyfriend just told us about Kurosaki-Gate, when these old people arrived to kidnap Keigo!"
„Kurosaki-GATE?!" Karin jelled shocked.
"BOYFRIEND?!" Rukia and Renji jelled shocked, too and looked angrilly on Ichika and Yupa.
"KIDNAP?" Keigo jelled the loudest.
"No! We didn't want to kidnap him! We only wanted to see him. Your ex-girlfriend didn't let us see him." Keigo's mother cried. "I know we weren't the best parents. We know that! We tried to..."
"What did you tried? You tried to just to continue the way you always did!" Keigo ranted.
"Ehm... Keigo, may we discuss that later... First I want to know how much did they tell you?" Yuzu asked a bit scared. "Because I... ehm... would really appreciate if they don't know what I did while I was..."
"Oh... please, you don't have to be ashamed just because you did it with a North-Korean terrorist..." Keigo jr. said, scaring Yuzu...
10 years ago...
Yuzu somehow managed to hide under her new identity, but she didn't bear it anymore. When she tried to use an ATM she had to learn that all accounts of the family were blocked by the police. When she walked threw a supermarket, a woman seemed to recognize her and start to make a scene. Yuzu was always the spiritually weakest in the family. The media spread that, too. So rumors made the round, one of them telling that Yuzu might be adopted...
"That's it..." her father said when she stood in a phone-booth. She took off after hearing it ringing. It was one of thier rare possiblities to talk. "Yuzu, you are adopted!"
"What?" Yuzu jelled shocked.
"Of course not really!" her father told her. "But if someone recognizes you, tell him that you are adopted and that you were unaware! I know it's a lie... but do you prefer that the people... I don't even dare to say it out loud..."
"Yeah... I know what you mean..." Yuzu said while she watched a woman passing the phone-booth, looking curiously on her. "Tell me, what's up? Did you figure out something?"
Isshin denied. He told her that the commission did not had any clue. She told him about how she was able to rent a one-room apartment for the next few weeks. But in the middle of thier conversation... the connection suddenly became worse...
"Yuz... pls... rep... aat... I... can... ear..." her fathers voice cracked out of the microphone like from a bad adjusted radio.
"Daddy... Daddy, can you hear me? Hello?" Yuzu got afraid. She suddenly only heared a dial tone. "Hello...?"
In the Soul Society, the device Isshin used to talk to Yuzu start to smoke. A light-bulb blow up and it stopped working... he used it a little bit too long and it ran hot...
Yuzu broke out in tears. That was nood good. Her father would never just hang off. Something must have happened. In fear she left the phone-booth... only to run into the Korean tourist again, letting him drop his basket with groceries...
"Oh, my gosh... Please forgive me, I am so sorry!" she said and bend down to help the man to pick up his stuff. Than she realized that it was the man again. "You!"
"You!" he said, too. "Hello... do you feel... well?"
Yuzu lift off and used a handkerchief to clean her face. "I am sorry. It is just... nothing. Non of your business..."
The man smiled. "I... am.. on... the way to the... hotel." Yuzu had to smile. The man sound so funny when he tried to talk Japanese. After handling him his stuff, she bowed to apology again. "Do you... need help?"
"No, I am fine! Anyway, there is no way you can help me with my problems. And even if I tell you, you wouldn't understand... Oh I'm sorry... Nothing against you... Your Japanese actually sounds okay. Where are you from?"
"Oh, my name is Joon-sik! I am a... sales-representative... from Busan in the Republic of Korea. And I am here in... Japan to sell stuff..."
Yuzu didn't mention it, but they walked together for almost an half an hour, talking normally. Yuzu told him some facts about Karakura and where to find the best shops and sights. He listened carefully, knowing that some of the stuff might be helpful.
"Oh, this is hotel... where I am living!" he suddenly said, stopping in front of a building.
"Oh, okay... thank you, it was really nice to have someone to talk." Yuzu said.
"Do you want... eat?" he asked.
"Oh, thanks I just had breakfast!" she replied.
"No... tonight... going to... eat! In the... restaurant?" he asked.
"Ehm... Are you... asking me out for a date?" Yuzu asked surprised. Her respond surprised her much more... "... sounds like a lot of fun! I can show you some nice spots in town..."
And that was how Yuzu met her North-Korean-Terrorists-Boyfriend... But she didn't mind. It was the first time since that frightful day, when she felt free...
Present...
"He was a nice guy!" Yuzu told ashamed and blushed. "Nobody could even dare to believe that he was a..."
"You... you are dead, too." Keigo's mother said shocked. "You are... the woman... who commit suicide in my son's apartment?!"
"Yes, I am... And I am not proud of it!" Yuzu told. "What happened in the weeks after is not really nice."
"Oh, yeah..." Keigo respond. "I know what you mean. I wasn't a really honest person, too back then..."
10 years ago...
Keigo Asano left the hospital just two days after he woke up from his coma. Having no memory on the day he tried to end his life, or the battle that happned inside his soul between a Zanpakutou-spirit and Holeigo, who was weakened and trapped again. Keigo left the hospital by himself, took the next possible flight back to Tokyo and went to his workplace immediately after arriving...
"Nagasaki-san, please contact number 10, please... Number 10..." the always bored and bad-tempered man at the welcome desk said into his microphone before he saw Asano approaching him. "Oh... and Asano-san, you are still alive...?"
Keigo knew that the man couldn't know that that was the worst sentence he could use to welcome him now. He ignored his anger and aproached him. "Just tell me, what I missed!"
The man opened a drawler and handed Keigo a bunch of envelopes. "You got a lot of mail! More than normaly..."
Keigo took his mail. It was pretty heavy. But he knew that this mail may not be the best mail...
Keigo went to the dubbing-studios. The red-no-entry-light was on over all doors. In all studios, the people were busy. His producer left one of the studios and was happy to see him.
"Oh, Keigo... how are you? I heared about your phneumonia."
"I am fine!" Keigo lied. He was not fine. After learning that the people were still aware about the Kurosaki's and that he didn't got any message from anyone in this almost three weeks now. "I am ready to work again."
"Really? I think you should continue recover for a few days..." Keigo could hear that his producer was hiding something.
"I am fine!" Keigo replied slightly irritated.
"Okay..." his producer was a bit confused. "I go inside and look what footage we have..."
"Oh... ehm... do you know... is Akira here today?"
"Fukuota? Yeah, I think she is in Studio D! But you can't enter there, they are recording!"
"Thank you, I'll wait!" Keigo said and looked around.
He felt strange. This place felt strange. He worked here every-day but he suddenly felt like a foreigner. Keigo looked into a mirror that hang on a wall. Before he came here, he took care that he looks 'normal'. But he didn't felt normal. He was not normal. He never was... Knowing that he almost died... that all of this wouldn't be anymore... his whole life... why? Why, the hell... That whole Shinigami-shit is past, why he still waste his minds about them? Keigo woke up from his brooding when someone appeared next to him.
"Hey, Asano-san?" a man said. Keigo turned to see another voice-actor, he knew standing next to him and bowed before handing him a business card. "Take this one. You will need it?"
The man walked away. Keigo looked on the noble looking, stylish card and was surprised: Toranosuke Mota, Lawyer. He knew that name from TV. This man is a famous star-attorney, he knew. Serving only the big-deal cases...
"What is that for?" Keigo asked, but the other one already left. Instead he saw two woman passing him, staring on him like he was an alien and starting to whisper. Suddenly Keigo felt much worse.
"ASANO-SAN... The director wants to see you. Asano-san, please come to the director's office..." the voice of the other man echoed out of the speakers.
Keigo had a really bad feeling. That was the very first time, he was going to see the director of the channel-network. Something told him that it was not good... That was proven by the worried, shocked and sometimes accusing glares of the other people. And when he entered the office, he knew that something was really wrong when he met Makoto in there, too. Next to the directors personal-assistant and two men wearing police-uniforms.
"Ah... Asano... I am very happy that your phneumonia is over. Take a seat... there is something we have to talk about." the director said.
"Keigo, I am so sorry..." Makoto said guiltily.
"Makoto, what did you did...?" Keigo asked.
"Oh, Miss Hirabata-san did nothing! That is the problem!" the director said and turned the monitor of his computer to Keigo so he could see the latest article from a gossip-magazine. "Another media did!"
'Famous seiyuu involved in 'Shinigami-affair'? What is he hiding?'
Keigo became pale. An old photo of him and the group was online. Someone gave information to the press...
"Asano-san, we have some questions to you!" on of the police-officers said.
"Asano-san..." the director began and turned the monitor away again. "Since when you are working in our house?"
"I started here... around 10 years ago!" Keigo said, with fear in his voice.
"Yeah... as an assistant-janitor!" the director said and opened a file. Keigo's file! "Very soon, you got an offer to dub. And today, you are one of the most wanted voice-actors in the country. We allways recieved positive reviews about your work and many animation-studios especially ask for you and your 'very versatile' voice to dub thier work."
Keigo became red. "Oh, thank you! That's really nice..."
"But now... every other media company in this country reports that you and this 'Shinigami-whatever' attend to the same school. Some tell that you were friends. Others tell that they bullied and brutalized you. And I am confused. Because neighter Hirabata-san, nor any other journalist in this country seem to be able to figure out the truth about your relationship to Kurosaki. Hirabata already was so honest to tell me about your 'conversation' in the boxroom. But now it is time to tell the truth Asano!"
Keigo wanted to scream. He wanted to run away and he wanted to die on the spot! But he couldn't. It was over. His name was in the press now, too. He was lucky that the director seemed to be as worried as him and gave him the chance to tell his point of view, before he airs something really embarrassing on him. Keigo took a deep breath and sighned.
"There is not much to tell!" Keigo said. "I attend to the same school as him. He was one of my glassmates but have nothing in common, else."
"But you knew about him beeing a Shinigami?"
Keigo shrugged. "I knew that I will be death if I told anyone. And that's it!"
The director looked on him and just shaked his head. "You know know that you are committing a crime. You are covering a presumed murderer?"
"I do not cover anyone! You can ask me what ever you want! I do not know anything? And there is no law that prohibits to be able to see Shinigami! I have rights. And one of them is to remain silent."
"Asano-san, you're making it worse." one of the officers said. "We kindly recommend you to cooperate with us... We interrogated allready all of your former classmates. You can't hide it anymore..."
Keigo became pale again.
Please review.
I want to thank all loyal readers. The next chapter will be published in January and it will contain a little time skip. I wish everyone happy holidays, and a good and happy start into the new year.