Hello my few but dear readers! The new chapter is out and I would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all! Even if you don't celebrate this wonderful holiday I hope you have a good week. What better way to start Thanksgiving break than a new chapter, ENJOY! :) Please Review! Love to hear from you!
"KKEEEEENNNNTTTTAAAAAAA!"
'Oh god, I knew I forgot about something important' he thought as he jumped off the chair and headed for the door. In the hallway stood a very angry Nanami and behind her stood her sons along with a worried looking Eiji.
He was on crutches trying oh-so hard to hide, using Syuichiro as his shield, knowing his mom would try to baby him a little more than necessary.
Kenta had stepped out of the room and as soon as Nanami saw him she said too sweetly, "Kenta dear, why is my lovely Eiji on crutches. He wasn't using them this morning when I left him in perfect non-sprained-ankle shape." The smile, on her face, oh yes he knew that smile. He was soooo in trouble.
"Ah well, uh...you see...uh...I kinda left to go to the bookstore and..." Before he could go any further he was interrupted, "You left our children all alone at home!"
"Ah well, they aren't exactly children anymore dear. They are 13 and 14 so I thought it would be okay for just a minute."
Matsuo was behind his poor friend the whole time watching with a grin at the quarreling couple. To others this probably seemed like the fight of the century but to those who knew the couple knew otherwise. This was only a harmless fight between kittens and Matsuo couldn't do anything but grin at his two best friends.
"Now now Nanami-chan..." Matsuo said, "Kenta here didn't mean for any of this to happen and Eiji-kun has me as his doctor, what could go wrong?"
"Precisely! You still can't even fill out the patient files correctly and how long have you been working here?"
"Ahh...right, about that." Letting go of a giant stress filled sigh she gave up, it was no use trying to talk sense into a bunch of children and she didn't mean the actual people whom she called her children.
"Anyway I have something more important to tell you Nanami-chan." She looked over at her senior and saw him wearing a serious mask and nodding her to Ryoma's door. Beginning to walk towards the room she turned to her husband.
"Can you take the boys home and this time make sure none of them get hurt. Boys just...just be good and take care of Eiji-kun until I get home okay?" They all nodded their heads and Kenta walked closer to his wife.
Giving her a light kiss on the forehead he said, "Do your best and don't stress yourself out. I get worried about you sometimes." She smiled up at him as he gave her another soft kiss but this time on the lips and turned to leave.
"I love you" she whispered and thought he didn't hear but he turned to look at her with a loving smile.
It immediately reflected itself on her face but disappeared when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking back she saw Matsuo trying to pull her away from the happy thoughts that were occupying her mind.
"Come on, I hate tearing you away from him just to talk about sad things but I gotta fill you in on your husbands new assignment." They went back inside to watch over him with more hope and talked over the plans for when he would wake up.
Finally Kenta had made it home safely with all the boys. "Why don't you guys go out back, Eiji please don't do anything to aggravate your ankle. Kunimitsu you'll keep an eye on him right, in fact an eye on everyone?"
"Of course" came the curt reply.
"I need to do some work inside for a new case so if you need me I'll be in the study." They smiled and headed for the backyard, all except Kunimitsu that is.
"Is there something you need?" Kenta asked.
"The new case, is that what you and Matsuo-sensei were talking about in the hospital?"
"Intuitive as ever I see. Yes, your mother is in on it too actually so try to get the others to be on their best when she comes home tonight. She'll probably be exhausted."
"Yes sir"
"Oh and Kunimitsu, I know I've said this a thousand times but you can loosen up around me you know."
"...Never let your guard down father." Showing a gentle smile Kenta nodded and walked to the study to prepare himself for the new case he would be working.
Kunimitsu joined his brothers who were relaxing in the sun talking about tennis, of course, in the seemingly cramped enclosure of their backyard. They weren't poor or anything but raising 8 boys and themselves in a house for only 5 wasn't ideal.
When one did something, usually the rest followed, so it could make any of the rooms look small with all of them in it. The backyard was no exception but they never seemed to mind and if they weren't in the backyard they went to the street courts where numbers wouldn't be a problem.
They would play until the sun started to set and leave having their tennis needs met. There was never a problem with who would face who and to others it was surprising how well they got along, it was almost as if they were meant to be brothers. Each would look out for its own and they had each others backs no matter what. This doesn't mean that some of them didn't quarrel because they did, especially Takeshi and Kaoru.
When they didn't go to the street courts they stayed home and drew a makeshift tennis court in the yard, which was just big enough for it. They would watch intently and wait their turns while lounging around talking to each other about new moves and ways to counter difficult things they met. However, they found no need to use the court in the backyard as much when school came around.
The school they all have attended the last year or so, Seishun Academy, has tennis courts. The other most convenient part was they all took up the regulars spots, or at least will be in Takeshi and Kaoru's case. Takeshi and Kaoru are going to be in their second year when the year starts and the rest will all be in their third year. Saying they were looking forward to the new school year would be an understatement.
Nanami and Matsuo took a seat on the chairs beside Ryoma's bed quietly discussing the next ways to go about this. It was getting later and later but neither of the two wanted to leave, thinking if they did he might wake up.
Fortunately when they came back they noticed his heart rate was beating at a more alert pattern than his comatose state, meaning he was just sleeping and could wake up.
Although they neglected to see the tear roll down his face until now and were anticipating him to wake up any moment. Nanami knew that some overtime would do her good as well as Matsuo who was hoping to stay longer.
'I don't want mommy and daddy to get hurt. I don't want to be all alone. Why did those bad guys do that to mommy and daddy? Daddy is like a superhero and Mommy is really kind and happy all the time so how could they? That was really scary, so maybe it was just a dream.
Mommy always said that dreams feel real but can never hurt me so they can't hurt mommy and daddy either, right? Maybe if I look around they will be downstairs and I'm just sleeping.
Daddy might let me play tennis with him tonight too, he said so. Mommy even said she found a new story to tell me before bed and it had a cat just like Karupin in it. I should wake up, I wanna see mommy and daddy and Karupin too.'
'Ouch...Ouchy...oooouuuuch, why do I hurt so much' Ryoma thought as he came closer to opening his eyes. One eye finally began to open but no more than a sliver, as he was able to make out some color. 'ouch...white. I feel like I can't move but I need to wake up. Mommy and Daddy will help me feel better. I probably slept the wrong way again.'
Turning his head to the side, just an inch, Ryoma found new colors other than the bright white from before. 'Is that...Mommy...Daddy.' What Ryoma didn't realize was he said the last part out loud and the two beside him stiffened. "Momm...y..." was all he managed to get out again with a scratchy and tiny voice.
It sounded awful to the pair but Ryoma didn't seem to notice with his intense desire to see that his parents were okay. He felt someones hand take his and he sighed in content thinking his Mother and Father were beside him.
"Ryoma...Ryoma-kun can you hear me?" Nanami decided to speak to him but that was all it took. Ryoma knew the second she spoke up that the person comforting him wasn't the person he thought it was.
Sure the voice was soft and held a motherly tone but this person wasn't his mom. His eyes finally broke open from their sleep and widened into dinner plates. Trying to figure out who it was he tried his hardest to move away, but his muscles were disagreeing with him. Matsuo could tell what was about to happen, he was going to panic and might end up hurting himself more. Nanami seemed to realize as well and went to hold him down.
The arm that wasn't already being held in place by bandages grabbed the sheets on the bed. He tried sitting up but as soon as he did his eyes glazed over like he had used to much energy. Nanami firmly set her hands down on the arm that was bandage-free and chest, gently pressing him back to the bed. Matsuo went to hold his legs so he wouldn't start kicking or thrashing.
"Ryoma-kun...Ryoma-kun it's okay, it's okay." Nanami tried her best to calm him without harming his already fragile body. She knew he was frightened but how could she calm him down?
'Who is she? Who is he? Where am I? What's happening? Let go of me! It hurts so much! Where are mommy and daddy? They should be here, but where is here?' Ryoma felt warm, strong hands push him down but not the strong feeling like they wanted to hurt him. It didn't feel the same as when the bad guys...bad...guys. Ryoma's head hit the pillow and the hands hovered above where they were holding him, slightly confused to the change.
'Was...that real? Is mommy...okay? Daddy...' Ryoma's breath grew heavy and tears threatened to fall soon. Nanami saw the emotions cross and swirl in his eyes and she wished she hadn't seen the sadness his eyes contained.
She looked back at her boss to see him staring at the same spot as she was before. His frown deepened and Nanami twisted her head back to see Ryoma with tears rushing down his cheeks and mouth turned down. Nanami couldn't take it anymore, her heart was breaking at the sight and she slowly lowered herself into a hug.
She felt him stiffen but she kept her place, not budging, because she knew he needed someone now, someone who would really take care of him. She tightened the hug a little more as his sobs grew but she knew she was doing the right thing when she felt little hands grab the back of her shirt. She could feel the front of her shirt getting wet and she started whispering sweet nothings into his ear.
"Shhhh...Ryoma...Ryoma-kun, it's okay. You'll be alright, I'm here for you don't worry." The sobs turned into deep shaky breaths and he looked up at Nanami. "Who...are you. Bad guy gone?" "Yes, far, far away from here. Don't worry little one, they won't come back, not while I'm with you."
Matsuo put a gentle hand on her shoulder and she laid Ryoma down on the bed again. Ryoma shivered at the loss of body heat and the comfort Nanami showed. Not wanting to let her go so the bad guys wouldn't come back he wrapped his tiny hand around 3 of the closest fingers he could find.
Nanami felt the fingers wrap around hers and lifted the blankets on the bed over him more to make sure he was warm even without her there. " Don't worry, I'll stay right here. I won't let them get to you, you're safe with me Ryoma-kun."
Ryoma edged himself closer to her side as she slid the chair all the way to the bed, fingers still interlocked. She sat down and Ryoma's eyes began to shut again ever so slowly as Nanami held his hand on the bed. "You're safe...no one will hurt my Ryoma-kun, never again."
Wowzers, I just need some more adorable Ryoma. Hope you liked it too and continue to read the story! If you would please, PLEASE REVIEW! 3 Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!