AN: Okay…so, it's been a while since I've updated (my apologies! Just had finals, and still, I've got homework…TT). Thank you for waiting (if you have been) and please enjoy.
Thanks to…
ONIX-21: Lol, I'm glad you're so excited! I'm sorry it took so long to update. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reviewing!
Ivory Willow: I agree with you – a slow and painful death…VERY painful. Anyways, thanks for the review!
bakura666: Ah, I like that idea…a good sad. - The father…oh, the father… I don't like the father, lol. Thank you for the review!
bookworm3213: Erk! This is the soonest I could update! Lol, too much homework, it's overkill (just had finals last week…X.x). Thanks for reviewing, and I hope to update soon! (I used to update weekly, but man, Junior year of high school is like homework overload).
dragonlady222: (nods) I agree with you! Bakura must save Ryou! Hurry Bakura, Malik, and Marik! (Someone told me that Marik and Malik are pronounced the same…weird, I never knew!) Thanks for the review!
My Chemical Music Box: Ah, I'm glad you like it! Lol, I'm sorry, I'm having issues with balancing school, extracurricular activities, and music with writing fanfiction. Usually, I update weekly, but for the last five to six months…(winces). I'm trying though! Thanks for the review!
YumiFukushima: Really? Thanks so much (for the compliments and the reviews). I hope you enjoy the next chapter, though it's more about Ryou's past than anything…
MadPie: Lol, rest assured – I won't stop writing a fanfic entirely. I hate it when writers do that, though it is understandable. Anyways, thanks for the review, and here is the long-awaited chapter!
The Vampire Prince: For telling you that you reviewed? Lol, that's a pretty bad typo, couz! Anyways, I'm glad you liked the emotional stuff – worked a little more on that. Thanks for the review, and I'll call you to tell you about this update, m'kay? -
Chapter Twenty One: Silence
It was too loud.
Ryou felt like his ears were bleeding from the deafening sound of silence. However, he welcomed the pain, to distract himself from his thoughts. Through the car window, he could see people and buildings whiz by in a blur. He didn't know where he was going, or why, and he didn't care.
I… Ryou struggled to swallow, wanting to cry. No tears came, though, as his vision started to swim again.
"Welcome to our home, Ryou-chan." The dark-haired woman smiled as the man nodded, wrapping an arm around his wife. Ryou couldn't see their eyes – shadows were cast over them. "We'll be your mommy and daddy from now on." The woman kept smiling steadily, waiting. Ryou blinked. He didn't know what he was supposed to say.
I…I don't understand…
Ryou heard the words as he was walking past the study. "It's been a month, John." It was the lady. "Have patience," Ryou heard her husband murmur. "He'll come around." The lady would have none of it. She hissed, "He never smiles at me! It's driving me nuts! He's always quiet and polite, but he doesn't seem like a normal child…John, let's take him back." There was a pause. "You know we can't do that." The lady huffed, exhaling slowly. "John, I want a happy child, a child I can love…I don't want a boy like him."
What did I do wrong?
"Your name…it's Ryou, isn't it? Nice to meet you, Ryou. I'm your new mother." Ryou timidly looked up at the woman, scared of being burnt by fire again. She was giggling, a hat shading her eyes. A small girl peaked out from behind the woman, obviously shy. "Nana, go say hi to your niisan, Ryou-kun."
Why me?
Nana giggled as she ran up the porch, bursting brightly into the house. "Mama, mama!" she called, running in with a manila envelope clutched in her hands. "Look at what I got!" Ryou could vaguely hear words as he slowly entered the house, holding his own report card in his hand. When the woman came into view, she expectantly reached for his folder, and quietly tore it open. All the while, Nana chattered happily away about her marks. "Ryou-kun," the woman suddenly said, breaking Nana off completely. "This is…wonderful!" Ryou tried to back away, but the woman threw her arms around him in time. Ryou stood stock still, quite uncomfortable, but couldn't help but feel a little proud. Then, he saw Nana standing a few feet behind. Her expression was dark.
Someone please…tell me what I'm not doing…
Ryou shuddered as the cold ocean water hit his chest, soaking him to the bone and making him shiver. "Nana, come back…" he said, his teeth clattering. "We aren't allowed to be in the water." Nana looked back, shooting him a dirty look. "Goody two-shoes," he heard her say. "You know what, Ryou-kun?" Ryou blinked, hugging himself as the icy breeze bit his skin. "What?" he asked. Nana glared at him, edging sluggishly closer as she fought against the waist-high water. "You stole my mum from me," the girl said, now standing in front of him. "I hate you, Ryou-kun! I hate you!" Ryou froze as the words hit him. Nana, in her anger, used her hands to force his head under a wave. He tried to scream, but saltwater just exploded into his throat. He was going to die.
I tried to be good…I really did.
"I heard he tried to drown himself." Ryou ignored the voice as he was led into the foster home. "He nearly succeeded, too." The man led him upstairs, to a room filled with older boys. Shy, Ryou kept his eyes on the ground and quickly made his way to his bed. The boy with the voice was standing in the doorway, smirking. "What a troublemaker. He won't last long."
But…I guess…it's not enough.
"Look at me when I talk to you, freak!" Pain flared in Ryou's gut as someone punched him. He doubled over, suppressing a gasp as he collapsed onto the dirt. A hand yanked his hair up. "I told you to get down!" Tears streaked down Ryou's cheeks as he fought to breathe. "Please don't," he said, his voice trembling. There was snickering as the child was shoved and kicked to the ground. "What kind of kid has white hair? Freaks like you are nothing but trash." Ryou tried to curl into a ball as he slammed his eyes shut and closed his mouth. The blows he expected never came, and he understood why – a few seconds later, the foster parents came running.
It hurts…did you know that?
Someone grabbed his wrist as they led him to the car. "If you could just behave, you'd find yourself living with a nice family," the man said. Swallowing hard, Ryou quietly slid into the back seat. He heard those words every time they came back to get him. And every time, it was like a knife in the stomach. Ryou didn't look back as the man drove him away. He said nothing as he blankly stared at his hands on his lap. It was back to the Center, back to loneliness, back to all those smiling people who told him he was loved. Liars, all of them.
Every time they leave me behind…I feel like I'm choking to death.
The woman in the flower dress smiled at him, her eyes dreamy. "Oh, wait till I show you to Bakura-kun!"
Ryou closed his eyes.
"Why'd you bring home a mutt like him?"
…the silence. It was too loud.
-
Officer Keisuke mutely held the door open for the child, unsettled by the boy's blank stare and uncanny obedience. He could've sworn that children were supposed to talk, and they were supposed to be annoying. Already the officer began to feel hesitant. As he walked into the familiar coffee-smelling police station, his uncertainty swelled. Utaka Teishin had specifically said his children were a rebellious sort. This quiet child did not seem defiant in any way, shape, or form.
He studied the boy from the corner of his eye as the kid was seated in a chair next to his desk. Keisuke quickly plotted himself into his office chair across from the child and tried to clean away some of the mess that inhabited his workspace. As the man shook his computer mouse to bring his hunk of technology back to life, he offered the boy a lollipop from his secret stash. There was no response. Keisuke cleared his throat and timidly ran a hand through his hair, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
A few seconds passed by before Keisuke's partner walked in, having parked the police car. The younger officer quizzically looked at his senior before asking, "Sir, would you like me to call his father?"
The words shook Keisuke out of his confusion. He coughed, trying to regain his composure. "Oh, no, that's okay. I-I'll make the call, J-Jinya."
Swiveling around to the other side of his desk, Officer Shiguro quickly grabbed the phone with one hand. When he realized he didn't have Mr. Teishin's number in front of him, Keisuke turned to the child and asked if he remembered his home phone. The child didn't look up. The officer grunted as he slowly started to search through the multiple post-its on his computer screen, clearly disturbed. However, as soon as he found the number, the man quickly dialed and nervously waited for the father to pick up.
"Hello?"
"M-Mr. Teishin?" Keisuke tentatively asked.
"Yes, this is he."
Keisuke cleared his throat, trying to calm his nerves. "This is O-Officer Keisuke Shiguro, from the Tokyo police branch, calling from Kyoto…I came here in search of your sons?"
"You're in Kyoto?" Mr. Teishin sounded surprised.
"Y-yes, I felt it was b-best if I pursued the case p-personally." Keisuke struggled to clear his throat again as he continued. "I f-found one of your s-sons-"
Mr. Teishin eagerly interjected. "Bakura?"
"N-no, I believe it is the younger one." There was a silence on the other end as Keisuke tried to take a deep breath. Why was he so nervous? "I-I was calling to ask if you'd l-like to pick up the child t-today. T-there's a train t-that leaves from Tokyo to Kyoto in h-half an hour."
"Only Ryou?"
"W-we have not been able to locate y-your eldest son yet, s-sir," the policeman stuttered. "However, w-we have a good i-idea concerning his w-whereabouts."
There was a long pause on the other end. Then, slowly, Mr. Teishin said, "Yes, I will be there in half in hour, then…to pick up Ryou." There was another pause. "Officer, may I ask a favor?" Keisuke was about to consent, when the man just went on. "After I leave with Ryou, because I can't afford to stay in Kyoto – I can't risk losing my job, officer – can you leave a message for my eldest son? Tell him that Ryou is with me? That I have Ryou?"
Keisuke said he would leave a message, but the words had barely left his mouth when the man abruptly thanked him and said goodbye. The officer barely managed to mutter a goodbye before Mr. Teishin hung up.
Shiguro gave the phone a queer look as he slowly put it down. Mr. Teishin had always been so polite and well-mannered, as well as very concerned about his children. It struck him as odd that the man didn't sound relieved to find his children were all right. Well, at least one of his children. Keisuke glanced again the silent boy across from him.
At any rate, his children may not be all right, but certainly safe.
-
Utaka Teishin was in an irritable mood.
That stupid, pudgy police officer – what was his name again? – was running late. He had promised to be here, at the train station, at ten o'clock sharp with Ryou in tow. Utaka didn't see the man anywhere, and it was five past ten.
"I don't have time for this,"Teishin growled to no one in particular, his breath coming out as a soft mist in the cold night air. As he glanced at his steel wristwatch once more, the man tried to calm his frayed nerves down. Picking up Ryou was worth the time, Teishin told himself. If he had Ryou, then Bakura would follow. And he couldn't wait to get his hands on Bakura.
Light was fading fast now, and so was the last of Mr. Teishin's patience. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a police car rolled into the Kyoto Tokaido Shinkansen Station.
Utaka noted that the officer had lost some weight since their last encounter, probably due to stress. He quickly dismissed the thought and plastered a relieved smile on his face.
"Officer!" Mr. Teishin called, feigning distress. "Oh, Ryou! You've no idea how worried I've been." He knelt in front of the child and placed a hand on his shoulder, grudgingly pulling the boy into a hug. "You've grown so much, boy."
The police officer noticed a flicker of recognition in the child's eyes, the first sign of life he had witnessed in a while. "I'm glad we could help, sir," the officer proudly said.
Mr. Teishin rose to thank the man again, fervently shaking his hand. At the same time however, he never released Ryou's shoulder.
After a few minutes of worthless blabbering to flatter the cop, Mr. Teishin apologized and said that they had to catch their train. Eagerly, the policeman saw them off as Utaka immediately pulled Ryou toward the station. Teishin glanced at his watch – quarter past eleven. What a waste of time.
AN: Hope Ryou's flashbacks weren't too confusing. I felt like I had to put something about his past in, and…I guess this is the result. Don't worry though – the storyline will pick up in the next chapter. Please review!