"No…I don't want to!" Ryoma backed himself towards the corner of the small room. He knew there was no where for him to run.
"It's punishment, Ryoma."
"But I didn't do anything wrong," he shook his head and let his body slip down to the floor. "It's not my fault that this happened."
The man who stood in front of the boy, Nanjiro, began to pull at his clothes. "You know you enjoy it. You like my touch."
"I…I don't," he flinched when his father's lips touched against his neck. His weak body tried to push the older man away. "Stop it."
"You shouldn't tell your father what to do, Ryoma," he forced Ryoma to turn around as he pulled him onto his feet. Ryoma's whole being began to quiver in fear; he already knew what was coming next. "I'll make sure it hurts."
"Don't..." Ryoma let out a yelp as his father entered him. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the thrusting became painfully fast. As he stood there with his own father grabbing at him, he found himself giving up his fight. It would be easier if he just gave in.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"No…" Ryoma panted. "No―!"
"Aaaaahhhh!" Ryoma rose from his slumber in a cold sweat. Looking around in a panic, he threw the covers off of him and jumped out of the bed. He headed for the door of Fuji's room and fumbled to open it. In the hall, the Fuji family was rushing towards the room.
"Echizen," before Fuji could take a step forward, Echizen had fell into his arms.
"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma's grip grew tight around the older boy's waist. "It hurts…senpai…"
Fuji lowered his head so his chin could rest upon Ryoma's soft hair. Reaching out, he shooed his family away and allowed his arms to greet the shaking body that rested up again his. "What's the matter?"
"Where were you? He came…he came and got me because you weren't there," Ryoma gasped through his sobbing. "You weren't there to protect me!"
"You just had a nightmare, Echizen. Your father won't be able to get you here."
"Where were you? Why weren't you there for me?"
"I thought you needed some space," he let out a sigh.
"No," Ryoma bit his lower lip. "I don't have nightmares as often when you're with me…"
Fuji was shocked by how easily Ryoma was able to admit such a thing. "Echizen…I―"
"Syusuke! Ryoma-chan!" Fuji's mother called from the lower level. "Hurry down here!"
Without finishing what he had to say, Fuji let go of Ryoma and headed for the stairs. Ryoma, not wanting to be left behind, followed behind.
Down in the entrance of the house stood a young woman. Right when she saw Ryoma, she ran towards him and grabbed him in her arms.
"Ryoma, I'm so sorry," he voice whispered in his ear.
"Why are you here?" Ryoma didn't even touch the woman.
"I came to get you. I received a phone call, and I rushed back in town as fast as I could."
Ryoma quickly pulled himself out of her grip and took a few steps back. "You left me, and now you think it ok to just come back like this…"
"How was I supposed to know that your father was going to do these things to you, Ryoma?" she scanned the people around her. "Get your things; you'll be coming back to America with me."
"I don't want to!"
"Stop acting like a child and gather your things. Our plane leaves in four hours."
"I'm not going back to America. I'm not leaving this house," Ryoma continued to back up until he bumped into Fuji. "I want to stay here with Fuji-senpai and his family."
"Don't you think you've stayed here long enough? It's better for you to be with me," she placed a smile on her face.
"But―"
Fuji placed his hand over Ryoma's mouth and stared down his mother. "Weren't you the one who left Echizen with his father? Wasn't it you who told him to be strong and that things would be better without you around? If you could walk out on your son once, you should just do it again. You could have prevented this pain that has been put upon him. You left him and allowed him to be raped numerous times by his father. If there is anyone Echizen should blame other than his father, it should be you. Leaving him defenseless and alone with some perverted pedophile was the worst mistake you could make. As a parent, you've failed to be there for your son when he needed you the most. Echizen is more loved here than he probably ever was in that broken house he was once apart of."
She stood there at a lost of words until Fuji's mother yanked at her arm and dragged her towards the kitchen. "Echizen-san, excuse my son. Lets go talk over a cup of tea."
"Should I see what the cards have to say?" Yumiko lingered to the side of Fuji.
"I think it's best if you don't," Fuji turned to his sister. "Maybe you could go help Mom out in there."
"Right~!" she giggled and walked out of the room.
"Senpai―"
"Don't worry, Echizen, everything will be fine," Fuji let a smile form on his face.
"That wasn't what I was going to ask," Ryoma wobbled a little as he turned to face the taller boy. "It scared me last night when you came so close to me, but I still wanted to know what was going to happen if you continued. Why is it that even when you do weird things, I still feel the safest around you? I don't understand why I came to your house…I don't know what's going on with my body. It scares me, Fuji-senpai. I never wanted to show all these fears I have, but I don't know what I'm going to do anymore. It feels like with every step I take forward, I'm taking three more back."
"Things will get better with time…"
"I want you to stay by my side, but I don't want to continue to use you just because I can't stand on my own two feet."
"Why are you saying these things all of a sudden?"
Tears fell down Ryoma's cheeks. "Because my mom's going to take me back to America, and I won't be able to see you or anyone else ever again. She's going to take me away even though what you said was right. You love me more than anyone in my family probably ever has…"
"Echizen, maybe she'll change her mind," Fuji tried his hardest to make Ryoma feel better, but in his mind he couldn't even convince himself that Ryoma would stay with him.
"Whenever I think about her, I just remember her walking out. With that memory comes the one of me being striped naked and being violated by my dad. Even now, I can't shake the memory of when he first tore into me. The nightmare continues to play over and over in my head, and you're the only one that has been able to pull me back into reality. I can't continue to rely on you, can I? If I leave this house, if I go with my mom, I won't be able to stop the nightmares. I won't be able to control my screams or when I lash out in hate. All I'll be able to do is cry until there are no tears left. I don't want to live life like that. I want to forget about what has happened. I want to start all over again, but I know that's impossible. I can't change what has happened and that's what hurts the most. I'm just this filthy child that was raped as punishment for something I couldn't stop from happening. No one will ever want to be with someone like me. No one will ever love me because I'm no good. I can't even play tennis because my mind keeps reminding me that it was him who first put a racket in my hand. I hate feeling this way…I hate being so useless. I don't want to be just some rape-case child. I want to go back to living like I used to. Is it wrong that I want to stay here? I…I just…" Ryoma paused when two warm arms were wrapped around him. Through all his gasping and sobbing, he rested his head up against Fuji's chest. His entire body went limp as he passed out.
Fuji held onto the younger boy and placed his lips against his teal colored hair. In a faint voice, he whispered, "I'll love you."
Ryoma's mother, who had listened to the conversation, wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes. She made her way up to her son and Fuji. "Take care of him for me."
"I will…"
Without saying another word, she walked out of the house and Ryoma's life for the last time. Fuji's mother told Fuji that Ryoma would be living with them from that day on. She was going to be given full custody of Ryoma because his mother knew that he would have a better life with them than he would with her. Even though he didn't know it, Ryoma was slowly taking steps towards a better life. Fuji wouldn't allow him to continue to fall backwards. He would take Ryoma's fragile hand and walk along side him forever as long as he would allow him to do so.
NOTE: Now that I'm mentally gone…that was chapter 15. The next update will be May 5th. This wouldn't have been up about one or two hours earlier, but I decided to make a writing playlist for when I…well, write. Seriously though, this chapter made me get teary eyed. That is a first for this fic. I don't know why, but I was just in my little zone while writing Ryoma's dialogue (Amira Zone?). Oh, and I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a little different compared to my other ones. I don't know, I just feel like I've been writing oddly lately. I've actually been trying to make Ryoma completely break down (kind of like what happened back in chapter 8 but more dramatic…or something)…it just hasn't been working yet.
Between "The True Meaning of Love" and this fic, I'm going to become mentally unstable or something. I'm just trying to get better because at this rate I don't even think I would buy my own novels (Where has my confidence gone?). I'm going to try and start a new fic next week (It'll more than likely be "Gamble on Me".). Then sometime after May 16th, I will start a couple more. This fic is going to end sooner or later (I can't drag it out forever.). I need to be editing my novel, but I always put you all and my fics first. I want to be a novelist, but I can't even take the time to edit the one that I have written. I'm sorry, I'm rambling like some weird person (You all probably think I'm some weird, sadistic, pervert anyways. Why am I assuming things?).
Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope it wasn't too terrible. I will be back soon with another chapter. I'm sure we'll see each other at that point~!