CHAPTER TWO

"Yuta, wake up. I'm taking you to the doctor." Shusuke placed a hand on Yuta's shoulder. Yuta rolled up into a ball. "Go away…" Shusuke shook him lightly. "I won't do that. We have to get you checked out. Didn't you tell me something horrible happened to you yesterday?" Yuta's eyes snapped open. He had almost forgotten about yesterday. He drew the blankest in his brother's bed closer around him. "No leave me alone…" Shusuke shut his eyes and grinned wickedly. "Have it your way then." Before Yuta knew what had happened, Shusuke had tackled him off of the bed onto the floor. Both of them had nothing on. "What the F?! Get off of me! I said get off you Fing pervert!" All of the banging and shouting woke Yumiko in the next room. She threw the door open to see her brothers, rolling around in practically no clothes. Shusuke looked up at her from on top of Yuta and smiled pleasantly. "Morning sis." "Get this brother Fer off of me!" Yumiko blinked at them, speechless. "I think your nice and awake now. You can get up. Oh and sis, would you mind turning around? As you can tell, we aren't wearing anything. Ha-ha" She ran from the room, laughing hysterically.

Yuta plopped down on his own bed. Shusuke had given him that annoying smile and told him that he and Yumiko were going to take him to the hospital. But, of course, his stupid brother would take his sweet A$$ time in the bathroom. Shusuke was such a women. Yuta could hear the shower going on the other side of the wall. Yuta slid from the edge of his bed to the floor. This whole situation was so confusing. First he had figured out that he was gay last year, than he had begun dating the team manager. Yuta had been the only one who had liked Mizuki in any way, shape, or form. Then, he hurt his arm playing Mizuki, and then, instead of comforting him, Mizuki had told him that he would like and to get over it. That was when Yuta realized that Mizuki didn't really care about him had broke up with him. The, yesterday… Yuta's mouth went dry. Yesterday, his ex-boyfriend had attacked him and violated his body. And now, though they had secretly always been there, the unnatural affection he had for Shusuke had come out and shown itself.

Yuta had noticed it the first time when they were kids. Not unlike most small children, they did everything together, even bathe. By the time Yuta was four, he noticed that none of the other kids who had siblings touched each other the way he and Shusuke did. They would say mean thing about each other, not him and Shusuke. This scared him. From then on, he would not change or sleep in the same room with Shusuke. As he grew, so did this fear. By the time he was twelve, he did not even want to be in the some room with Shusuke. As soon as he started Junior High, people referred to him as "Shusuke's younger brother." This constant reminder was more than he could stand. When he met Mizuki, it was like a breath of fresh air. Yuta had feelings for him and he wasn't his brother. When he transferred to St. Rudolph, nobody brought up his brother. This way he could burry his feelings for him. Yuta had eventually begun to believe that Mizuki cared too. They went on a few dates and Yuta was the one who asked Mizuki to be his boyfriend. They went steady for a year and celebrated their one month anniversary together. Whenever they played in matched against Seigaku, Yuta's old feelings for Shusuke reemerged, making him uncomfortable. What was worse was the fact that Shusuke had not stopped returning his feelings, no mater how hidden they were. Now that it was clear that Mizuki didn't love him back, there was nobody in the way of him being with Shusuke. Yuta didn't know what he truly wanted. He did want to be with Shusuke, but Shusuke was his brother. It seemed so wrong, yet he couldn't stop it. If he was given the choice, could he give in to a love he had been fighting his whole life? The last thing he could remember was the sound of the shower stopping.

Shusuke stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. "Yuta, are you getting ready?!" there was no answer. Shusuke knew Yuta could hear him. His room was on the other side of the wall. "Yuta?!" Still nothing. Being the concerned older brother he was, Shusuke left the bathroom and knocked on Yuta's door. "Hey baby brother, are you okay in there?" Taking the silence as a no, he pushed the door open. Yuta was slumped against the edge of his bed with his eyes shut. Shusuke knelt down in front of his little brother. "Yuta?" He placed his moist hand against Yuta's flushed forehead. He was burning up. "Sis, get your car running! We're taking Yuta now!" "What?! Now?! Okay!" He heard Yumiko's slipper clad feet running to the door. Just as he had done the night before, Shusuke swung Yuta's good arm around his shoulders and practically dragged him to Yumiko's car. "What's wrong Shusuke what's going on?!" She asked as soon as they were all in the car and on the road. Shusuke sat in the back with Yuta's head leaning against his shoulder. "His temperature is off the charts and he won't wake up. Oh and Sis…" "What?! What is it now?! What?!" "I need clothes…" Despite the situation, she couldn't help giggling. "I have jeans and a jacket in the back. You can change in the van and I'll take Yuta inside. "

The doctor concluded that Yuta's fever was due to the beating he had taken and over exposure to the elements. They sat in his hospital room. Shusuke was in the chair beside the bed, staring at the ground with his narrow eyes. Yumiko sat on the arm of the chair, hugging herself. The doctor stood in front of them both. "I just have one question for you kids." Yumiko raised her head. "Go on…" "Has your brother ever engaged in sexual intercourse?" "What?!" Yumiko shot a look at Shusuke, it was almost accusing. "He couldn't have! He's just a kid he…" Shusuke spoke without lifting his head. "Sis, you know how he was just here in the morning?" "Yeah but…" "He showed up at the door covered in bruises and crying like mad. He told me that he was raped… I didn't push him. He was such a mess…" Yumiko's bottom lip trembled and a tear ran down her cheek. She threw her arms around Shusuke. It was her turn to seek his comfort.

Shusuke insisted that Yumiko went home to inform their mother and get some rest. Shusuke tugged the sleeve of his sister's jacket. It was black with the word "Princess" inscribed in pink on the chest. Her Jeans were skinny and tight on him, but he looked good in them. It was nearly 10:00 and he had been there all day. Yumiko would have as well if he hadn't intervened. He felt sick as though he were the one in the hospital and not Yuta. He was just nodding off when a rustling sound caught his attention. Yuta was gazing at him. "Hey…" Shusuke genuinely grinned. "Do you felling better?" "Yeah… I guess… I've had some time to think things over…" Shusuke knelt at the bed side. This didn't sound like Yuta at all. "What's up?" Yuta's face slid forward and he pressed his lips against Shusuke's. Shusuke didn't pull away. There was nobody there to interrupt them. When Shusuke pulled away and stood, Yuta grabbed his wrist. "Shusuke…" "Hmm?" "Lay with me… You know… Like when we were little and I would come to your room during a storm…" Shusuke smiled lovingly at him. "I've been waiting for you to show up for seven years. I had faith you would. Sure… I'll keep you company."

Yuta was out of the hospital in no time and back in school, but not St. Rudolph. He had been enlisted back into Seishun Junior High with Shusuke. There was much gossip and there were several rumors to why this was. Yuta was sensitive when they came to him through the grape vine. Once, when asked if it was true that he had been expelled from Rudolph, he had socked the student in the mouth. This cost him detention for a week. Whenever he was asked if he would go out for the tennis team, Yuta would turn red and mutter something nobody could understand. Luckily, they didn't have to wait very long for a break. Winter Vacation was coming up. The last day before the break started was short. The Fuji brothers spent their extra time on the courts. "I'm not losing to you this time!" Shusuke grinned. "I'll be proud when you win."

It was Christmas Eve. Yumiko and he mom had outdone themselves with all of the decorations. After their big Christmas dinner, Yumiko and Shusuke ran to the tree. It was tradition for all of them to open up one present on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas day. "Cummon Yuta!" His sister urged him. "Let's open presents!" "I coming … I'm coming…" Yuta Grumbled. As he made his way to the tree, the phone rang. "I'll get it." He picked it up. "Hello?" "Good evening Yuta." Yuta froze. His knuckles turned white as he clutched the phone. He tried to calm himself. All he had to do was hang up, but he couldn't move. Yuta began to hipervnolat. "Mm… You know I love that heavy breathing." "Yuta?" Shusuke noticed his brother's behavior. "Is it him?" Yuta threw the phone to the ground and ran as fast as he could to his room. "Yuta!" Shusuke raced to the phone and picked it up. The sound of Mizuki chuckling threw the phone mad Shusuke's blood boil. "What do you want with him?!" the chuckling continued. "Well hello Fuji Shusuke. I was just calling because I miss my pet on Christmas Eve. " Shusuke's temper, which was almost always stable and in check, rose to it's maximum. "How dare you! How dare you hurt him! Never come near him gain. If you do, you have me to answer to! Do you understand?!" More chuckling. "I couldn't let you have him first could I?!" "What?!" "He was going to run home to his beloved family which meant you would have the first shot with him." "I don't care why you did it! What matters is you did! Never call here again! If you do, We'll change our number!" CLANG

Yumiko stood by the tree with her mouth hanging open. She had only seen him like this a few times and each had scared her just as badly as the last. Her brother was placid at worst. If he was angry he would deliver a nasty insult while flashing one of his trademark grins. It was rare for him to blow up like this. She was a witness to every time it had happened. He always went off when it involved Yuta, the baby brother.

Shusuke ran down the hall to his brother's room. He knocked softly. "Yuta?" "GO AWAY!" Yuta's voice was choked with tears. "I'm coming in now alright?" "NO YOUR NOT!" Shusuke slowly pushed the door open. Yuta was curled up in the corner of his room, sobbing. He approached cautiously. "I took care of it." Shusuke knelt down beside him. "He isn't going to bother you ever again." Yuta wiped his streaming eyes on his sleeve. "Th-that voice! J-just h-how it w-was when… when…" Shusuke wrapped his arms around Yuta, exactly the way he had done the night Yuta had had come home from the incident. "Nothing has changed Yuta. I'll always be there to beat up the bullies for you. It's the truth whether you accept it or not."

Shusuke stood up and held Yuta's hand. "Come with me. I think you should open my present now. It'll make you feel better. I know it always used to help me." It took a while to persuade Yuta to get up and move but eventually, he did.

Their mom and sister were sitting at the kitchen table, whispering when they entered.(they were still holding hands) Shusuke shut his eyes and grinned. "Hey mom, could you get Yuta some tissues?" "I can handle it!" Yuta wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Shusuke led Yuta to the tree and sat down on the couch. Still grinning, he looked over at his mom and sister. "Are we opening presents are not? Here Yuta, from me to you." Shusuke handed him a blue package. It was a stuffed wolf plushy. Around its neck was a collar. A charm hung from it with the name "Inu-Chan" inscribed on it. "I figured it would help you deal with things. Sakura-Chan(my bunny) helps me a lot." Yuta burst into tears once more and hugged Shusuke. They knew it would be a very Merry Christmas.