Oh my lord you guys are still reading this? Well I must be doing something right. Anyways here's chapter 8!

Disclaimer: as per always, I own absolutely nothing.


During the week, Ryouma talked Izumi into talking to a therapist. Izumi had so much negativity he was holding inside. Ryouma believed Izumi needed to talk to a professional. It took some convincing, but Izumi agreed to talk to one. The two looked around, and after a couple days, they found one that they both liked. An appointment was made for that afternoon, the both of them going to the appointment. After forty-five minutes, the two walked out of the therapist's office. With the appointment over and the next appointment made, Ryouma and Izumi went back to the older man's apartment. Ryouma went to the kitchen to make lunch while Izumi wrote some stuff in a notebook.

"Do you think I should talk to Rei and my parents? Maybe once I figure out what I want to do if being a mangaka doesn't work." Izumi asked.

"Its your choice, but I'll support you no matter what." Ryouma replied. He came and brought Izumi a plate of lightly fried veges on rice. He sat down and began to eat.

"Yet I don't know what I want to do. My life has revolved around anime and manga. How do I break away from it?" the blonde wondered.

"Well tell me what you're good at." Izumi thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know. I guess I'm good at being a girl." Ryouma chuckled.

"That is true. Would you want to work with people?"

"Maybe. But, how could I be able to do anything with my legs? I wouldn't be able to stock shelves or stand for very long. I can't walk very fast, I can't run or be rushed." It was Ryouma's turn to think.

"Well you could work at a register and sit on a stool. You could also get a job secretary or receptionist. Those involve sitting for the most part. If you want we could see if we can get you a job at an anime store until you know what you want to do." Ryouma suggested.

"That sounds like a good plan. But, who would hire a disabled kid? Wouldn't I be considered a liability?"

"It may be difficult, finding a job, but we can still look. Now eat your food or its gonna get cold." Izumi laughed and ate the food Ryouma made. Once they finished, Izumi helped do the dished.

"What would you say to Rei and your family?" inquired the taller man. Izumi thought for a moment.

"The truth I suppose. That I'm not happy. That I hate acting. They say I'm good, but I was pressured into acting. That they backed me into a corner and they would only let me out if I acted. I never wanted to act and I hate the spotlight. I try and tell them, but they never listen. Its like they think I'm stupid, like I can't make a decision for myself. I'm not stupid. I'm in college. But I know me, I won't actually say that, if anything. I would be too chicken. Or they won't listen as usual. Rei is probably planning something for me right now."

"Before we go for a walk, we can set up your resume." Ryouma led Izumi to his office. For the next hour, the two worked on the resume. They made sure it looked professional, enticing yet being honest. Once they were done, they printed off several copies. They put the resumes in a folder, then the folder in a bag that also had some water and snacks. The two left the apartment and began their walk.

Their walk was fairly long, going many, many blocks. They dropped off a couple resumes at a couple places with help wanted signs. Once a block they took a break, as to not overwork Izumi's legs. Currently the two were in the mall, specifically in an anime store looking at DVDs. They were trying to figure out which one to get.

"Why not just get two? I get one I want and you get one you want." suggested the blonde.

"Alright." Ryouma agreed. He looked at his options. While he didn't mind watching magical girl animes, he found he preferred action, fantasy, as well as what Izumi said was mecha. Eventually Ryouma picked a mecha. The two paid for the two DVD sets and then left. They went to a few other stores before making their way back to Ryouma's. When the two got back inside, Rei was there with a stack of papers.

"There you two are. Izumi, I've some jobs lined up. There are you some magazines who want to interview you so we need to get those out of the way. You haven't been working for almost a year. Its time we get you back in the light. We need you to be making some money and getting up there in fame." Rei said, getting straight to business. Izumi frowned. He moved to sit in a chair facing his manager. Ryouma went and stood behind him, a hand on his shoulder.

"No." Izumi said quietly.

"What?" Rei asked.

"I said no. No new jobs, no interviews No more. I told you Rei, acting is not what I want to do. I hate the spotlight, I hate the fame, I hate the acting. You forced me into this, and look what happened. I got hurt. I got hurt really badly. No more. I can't do it again. I'm not gonna act. I want to do my own thing. I want to be happy with what I do. I deserve that." Izumi said.

"Well you can't be a mangaka. Your not good enough. This is just a phase. Once you get over this stupid anime thing, you'll get a real job." Rei smartly replied.

"So let me get this straight, drawing and writing are a joke to you but playing pretend and dress up in front of a camera is a real job?" interrupted the blonde.

"Well you need a real job." enforced Rei.

"What I do with my life is my choice. Not you, not mother, not father. Do you have any idea how badly you three hurt me? You three constantly belittle my dreams and the path I want to go down. You are constantly saying that I have to go into acting. That I have to follow in everyone's footsteps." Izumi began to tremble. Ryouma rubbed his hands over his smaller boyfriend's shoulders.

"But I'm not like the rest of you. I'm not meant to be in the spotlight. I'm meant to be behind the scenes. It kills me that you and my parents can't accept that. All I want is for you guys to be proud of me with what I want to do. But I can't have you controlling my life. It seems like the only thing you three care about is fame and money, not my happiness."

"What about Shougo? Do you believe him to be the same as us?" the green haired man inquired.

"No. He doesn't care what I do, but I know he still loves me." Izumi paused for a moment, taking breath before speaking again. "Rei, I believe it is time for you to go. I have said all I needed to say to you."

Rei got up and gathered his files before leaving. Like strings holding him up were cut, Izumi sagged into the chair. His trembling didn't stop, in fact it got worse. Ryouma moved to the side of the chair, and sat on the arm. He held Izumi against his side.

"How do you feel?" Ryouma asked.

"I don't know. Relieved I suppose. Maybe lighter, like a weight has been lifted. I hate speaking ill of my family like I did." he replied, while leaning into Ryouma's side.

"Baby, he needed to hear it. It wasn't good for you to hold all that in. They may be your family, but they had no right to abuse you like that. Don't you say it isn't abuse, because it is. Its emotional and possible mental. You don't deserve that and you know it." Ryouma said as he rubbed the other's shoulder and arm. Izumi's trembling got a bit worse.

"They're going to kick me out. They'll be mad I said no and kick me out."

"I doubt they will kick you out. If it makes you feel better we can go over to your place and get the most important things you have. The only thing, I don't have enough room for all your Magical Girl Lala Lulu merch. I don't wish to stress you out, but I have to be honest." Ryouma stated.

"Can I at least pack them all up into a container and go through them later? These last couple hours have been stressful. I don't think I can handle having to get rid of even a bit of my collection right now." the blonde replied. Ryouma thought for a moment before nodding. The two get back up and once again leave the apartment. They got into Ryouma's car and quickly headed to the Sena home. Izumi unlocked the door. He went to a storage room and grabbed some empty boxes. Once the two were in Izumi's room they began to pack up all of Izumi's important belongings. Ryouma got the boxes in his car and the two were gone before the others returned home.

The two got the boxes into a spare room then Ryouma ordered Izumi onto the couch. Izumi put a show to watch while his boyfriend lovingly rubbed his legs. The spent the rest of the day relaxing.

As the days went on, Izumi spent as much time as he could relaxing. He refused to answer his phone or respond to text messages. Any messages to Izumi that didn't involve job offers were deleted. Emails went unanswered. At least twice a day the blonde would pick five figurines and decided which two to sell. Most of the day was spent doing physical therapy, reading, working on his drawing skills and watching anime. One day, Ryouma put a hand on the other's shoulder.

"It's time to go to the therapist." the man reminded. Izumi nodded and the two made their way to the therapist's office. Once there, the two made their way to the room. The two spent nearly forty-five minutes in the office before the therapist brought up Izumi telling off Rei.

"So Izumi, you told me that you told off a family member. How did you feel doing it?"

"While telling him off, I never felt so confident. I finally told him how I felt and it felt so relieving. I never thought it could feel so good to let it all out. But, once it all said and done, I felt terrible. They were only trying to look out for me. They were doing what they thought was best, even though it was wrong. I can't take back what I said. Then came the fear. I was so scared they were going to kick me out of the house. I'm still scared to hear from them. I don't want them disappointed in me." The therapist wrote some things down.

"Why would they be disappointed in you?" Ryouma seemed curious as well.

"My parents have planned my entire life since the day I was born. I would be this big actor like the two of them. I would join the family in the spotlight. The problem is that is so far from what I want. When I would tell them that I didn't want to be an actor, they would never listen to me. Who I am is so far from what they wanted. Yet I let them talk me into doing that stupid wedding commercial. Though I did get to see you again." Izumi said, leaning into Ryouma.

"Then I got talked into doing that stupid show. I can't believe I let them talk me into it. Okay well I can believe it. Anyways look what happened. I fall off a cliff. I may never be able to walk normally again. I may never be able to run or jump. I was in a coma for almost two months. If that isn't a sign acting isn't for me, then I don't know what is. I'm still trying to walk properly and Rei assumes I'm ready to go back to work. Did he even bother to ask me if I was ready? No. Did anyone ask what I want? No!" Izumi exclaimed, starting to get angry.

"Their public image is more important. Their success and the success of their sons is more important than what I want. They wanted a shining star, and they have Shugo. I refuse to let that be me. I don't wanna act. I never wanted to act. How many times do I have to tell them that before they finally get it? I refuse to listen to them. I'm so tired of being ignored, of being a toy to them. If they want to relive their successful years, then they can do it themselves. Leave me out of it. If they want to relive their years of making millions and millions of dollars, I'm not gonna stop them. But I will not be a puppet. I want to live my life for me and do what makes me happy. Why can't they just accept that? How much do I have to give up before they see me?" The counsillor thought for a moment before asking,

"If it came down to it what would you choose, your family or your happiness?"

"I don't know. On one hand I deserve to be happy. On the other hand I love my family, I just don't like how they are treating me." Izumi replied.

"Do you believe they will give up on you or disown you because you want to follow your own path?"

"As much I want to believe other wise, I believe they would. I'm not sure if they would actually disown me, but I know they will give up on me. They see me as a way to relive their own rise to fame. I find it hard to believe they see me as my own person with my own dreams."

As the session wound down, Izumi began to feel tired. During the session, he had gone through so many emotions he began to feel drained. Ryouma rubbed his boyfriend's arm. When the two were dismissed, they headed to the car. On their way home Izumi fell asleep in the passenger seat. Once Ryouma had parked his car, he carried Izumi inside. On the couch, sat the blonde's older brother. Ryouma nodded at him before taking the sleeping male to bed. Once he made sure his boyfriend was comfortable and the braces off, he left the room. Quietly shutting the door, he made his way to the living room.

"Did you want a drink?" Ryouma asked politely.

"A water please." Ryouma went to the kitchen and got them both a drink. He handed Shougo his water. The dark haired man sat on the love seat across from Shougo.

"What brings you here Shougo? I thought you were out on tour in Europe for the next five months."

"Rei called. He told me what happened a while ago. He was very upset. I wanted to know what happened. It had to be pretty serious if it upset Rei. I'm sure Izumi was pretty upset too." Shougo replied.

"Izumi and I had come back for a walk. When we got back, Rei was here. He was expecting Izumi to go back to acting. He hasn't even fully recovered. Well Izumi said no. Shougo, he had enough. He never wanted this and you know that." The dark hair man said, sipping his drink.

"I do know. Rei more often then not called me to bribe him with Lala Lulu stuff to get him to do something. To be honest, I never liked doing it. I didn't know what to do. Do I support my brother? Or do I support my lover? I was hoping I was doing the right thing. As much as I don't like seeing Rei upset, I gotta say I'm proud of my little brother for finally sticking up for himself."

"But, it cause Izumi some anxiety. He fears your parents are going to kick him out of the house and disown him." Ryouma said bluntly. Shougo set his water on the coffee table and looked serious.

"This is alarming to me. I had no idea Izumi felt like this. I can't speak for mom and dad, but Izumi should know I would never abandon him. With Rei, he was wrong. As much as I love him there are times when Rei is wrong and pig headed." Shougo said. He leaned back against the couch and sighed. This new information troubled him more than he let on.

"How has he been? Izumi that is. Other than the anxiety." Shougo asked, wanting to change the topic.

"He's doing well. He's getting better at walking every day. Emotionally, he's doing well. This thing with Rei set him back a bit but he's doing well to move on. We had an appointment with the therapist today. Izumi revealed a lot. It was emotionally hard on him and he fell asleep on the way home. I don't think right now he wants to see your parents or Rei. The biggest thing is he is so tired of people making choices for him. He just wants to be well and truly happy." Ryouma answered.

"With all he has gone through, Izumi deserves to be happy. Let me tell you Ryouma, I can tell my brother is happy with you. I've never seen him as happy as he is with you. Thank you. Thank you for letting him be him. You are so good for him. I can't imagine anyone better for him than you. You have been there through everything. Most people would have left while he was still in a coma. But you stayed. You helped him with everything. I thought with how long he hasn't worked, you would have at least gone back to acting. But you haven't. You're the rock he needs." Shougo stood up and with that he left Ryouma alone to his thoughts.


So here's 8. What do you guys think?

Feel free to give ideas of what you all wanna see in this. I love hearing ideas. I'm just winging this story to be honest, but I am all up for suggestions. :)

Anyways, time to work on the next chapter.

Niris 3