Before I start this chapter, let me make one thing clear. In the last chapter, I had Danny and Samui talk about Caran's past of being a rapist before he turned his life around. Just because I don't mention Dany's discomfort about one of his new brothers-in-law's bad past, doesn't mean he is confrontable with it. He was focusing on helping Samui at the moment. I can't cover everything in one go. And since it is after Friday, you guys answered, this chapter will cover Danny's time with the other husbands.
Morning arose as Danny groans. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was and saw Kyodai. He got up and headed toward the bathroom. He washed his face and brushed his teeth. He then heard Kyodai get up and walk in.
"Morning, Ky." He said, making the Oni girl nod.
"Morning, Danny." She said, yawning.
"I'll be out of your way in a minute." He said, knowing she would use the shower.
Kyodai nodded and started to remove her nightgown.
"Um, Ky?"
She stopped as she saw Danny blushing as he looked in the mirror. She sighs before walking up to him.
"It's okay. I'll wait." She said, making him nod.
After he was done, Danny left the bathroom, not noticing Kyodai sighing.
"I was hoping you would join me, but I guess this wasn't the time." She said after she was sure he was gone.
She took off her clothes and got into the shower.
Later, breakfast,
Danny and Kyodai sat with the rest of the family and they all ate. Danny notices that Aisuru is looking at them, giving a well-known smirk that only her sisters know.
"Aisuru, knocked it off," Samui said.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"Did you forget that Danny is only 14?" Daidouji asked.
"And Kyodai would never do that on the first night," Shai said.
The oni-girl frowns, her sisters ruining her fun before it could begin.
"Spoilsports." She said, making Scott laugh to himself.
He then turned to Danny, wanting to speak to him about something.
"Hey, Lad?" He said, making Danny turn to him.
"First off, I want you to know that I'm not upset with Aisuru kissing you. And, I wanted to thank you." He said.
"For what?" Danny asked, confused.
"For helping my wife. She told me how she felt and I understood her reason. I'll be honest, I...see myself as a ladies' man a little too much." Scott said.
"A little?" Louie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Scott, you flirted with every woman back at the girl's home," Steve said.
"You were a hopeless flirt who was married to a girl who, in your words, was the best and hottest girl in the world," Caran added.
Aisuru smiles at Scott, touched by those words.
"Well, yes, I did say that." He said, trying to save face.
"Anyway, we talked and agreed to stop with the game we placed on ourselves." He said.
"But that doesn't mean I'll stop with hugs and kisses," Aisuru said, winking at Danny.
"Sister..." Her sisters said.
Danny sighed, he could only guess his life would be much different from here on out.
Later,
Danny stepped onto the dock to get some fresh air and spotted Daidouji trying to walk to one of the chairs, seasick once more. This time, Louie was helping her. Danny was quick to grab a cup of water for her and headed over.
"Hey, Dai." He said, giving her the water.
"Thanks, Danny..." She said, feeling a bit queasy.
"Maybe we should have taken a plane," Danny said.
"Even so, Daidouji will have to tough it out," Louie said before looking at Danny.
"Can we talk?" He asked.
"Sure?" Danny said, confused.
"Be right back, dear," Louie said, kissing his wife's forehead.
With that, Danny and Louie headed for a different part of the deck.
"Okay..." Louie said, taking a breath.
"Danny, I trust you after getting to know each other, but I need to say this." He said, looking at him.
"I know that Daidouji loves me and you would never do anything, but if you try anything with her, I will be mad and I will hurt you, powers or not," Louie told him, glaring at him.
"Dude, I would never do anything to her. Plus, I'm more scared of her sisters doing something to me." Danny told him.
"Really?" Louie said, surprised.
"Yeah, I can handle anything you and other guys can throw at me, but Ky and the others? After seeing them fight before we left, I get the sense that I should be more scared of their threats than yours." Danny told him.
"True," Louie said, fully knowing how dangerous Daidouji is when she's mad.
"Still, I get what you're saying. If anything, I thought Scott would threaten me after how much Ais flirts with me." Danny said.
Louie nods, getting that.
"Anyways, my point still stands." He said.
"I know. And let the guys know too, please?" Danny asked him.
"Will do." Louie nodded.
Danny turns and spots something he did know Louie could give his threats to.
"I think Dai might need a little help." He said, pointing to a group of guys trying to flirt with her.
Louie shook his head before nodding at Danny. Danny watched as Louie got the other men to back off before sighing.
"Well, at least I know the guys truly love their wives." He said.
Later,
Danny walked around the ship, trying to pass the time. He turned around the corner and ran into someone.
"Watch it, you brat."
Danny looks up to see a man glaring down at him, clearly upset with him.
"Well, sorry. It's not like I knew someone would walk around the corner." Danny said, getting up.
"What was that, you brat?" The Man said, grabbing his shirt.
'Boy, this feels familiar.' Danny thought, rolling his eyes.
"I'm saying that I had no idea you were going to walk around the corner and neither did you," Danny told him.
"You're asking for it, brat." The Man said.
'Wow, he's like an older Dash.' Danny thought, ready to slip out of his hands.
He didn't have to when Steve grabbed the pulled punch and twisted it behind the man's back, making him drop Danny.
"Picking on a kid? Try someone your own size." He said, standing next to Danny.
"Why you little..." The Man said, rushing at them.
Steve threw a single punch and the man was knocked out cold. Danny blinks, surprised.
"Um, thanks?" He said.
"Always happy to help. Be friend or family." Steve said.
"This guy is as bad as Dash," Danny said, shaking his head.
"Who's Dash?" Steve asked.
"A bully in my school, who also happens to be the biggest fan for my ghost form," Danny said, making him laugh.
"Classic," Steve said, chuckling.
Danny then faced him, wondering if he was aware of Shai's confessing to him.
"Um, Steve, about Shai..." He started.
"I know."
"What?"
"Shai was alright like this. I knew the minute she laid eyes on you. She's always been like that. I used to get upset and bothered by it, but she never did anything to betray me. She could never control her heart. It always beats for me the most, but I have seen her think about what her life could be like if she married someone else. She does tell me about it, and I decide to be supportive for her. She never did seek out those "crushes" but I can tell that she still thinks about them." Steve said.
"I think she has a lot more to say about me since we can relate about being shy towards people at times," Danny said.
"Yeah." Steve nods, knowing he couldn't blame Danny for this.
"But, Steve, you know for a fact I wouldn't do anything to her. Shai is a good friend and someone that I can call a sister. Of course, I'm not saying that Jazz is a bad sister. We are reconnecting, after all." Danny said.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
Danny thought it over before telling Steve what happened when Jazz first entered her teenage years, and how they reconnected, leaving out one important thing he wanted to wait to share.
A few hours later,
Danny sat down after walking around before he noticed Caran at a different table. Remembering what Samui told him yesterday, and recalling how uneasy he felt, he got up and walked over to him.
"Hey, Caran."
"Hmm? Oh, Danny. Sorry about that." Caran said, snapping out of his thoughts.
"So, did Samui talk to you?" Danny asked.
"About my past? I'm surprised she told you." He said, sighing.
"I might not show it at the time, but I have to admit, I'm not comfortable with the idea of a brother-in-law being a rapist," Danny told him.
"I doubt anyone would." Caran sighs.
"What Samui said was true, I didn't see women as people. Just toys. I partly blame my pa for that. Most of it was my own doing." Caran said.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked, sitting down.
"My pa claimed to love my ma, but he would rape her each night. Being a child at that time, I had no idea why. And I'm ashamed to admit that my first rape victim was my own mother." He said, feeling guilty.
"And you got away with it?!" Danny asked, shocked.
"Yes. But it still wights on my mind to this day. Out of all my victims, that one stood out the most. I did visit her from time to time, feeling that guilt grew. She never knew it was me. I wanted to tell her so many times, but I couldn't. I was scared. When I met Samui and learned who and what she was, I thought I could finally get away from it all. I knew the cops were after me, I knew Ma would discover my actions and I didn't want her hurt. So, I ran away. I ran from my past. I ran from my mother. But, I couldn't escape the guilt. Even now, I want to call her and tell her the truth. I have thought about turning myself in so many times. I was a fool and sometimes I think Samui is better off with me." He said, looking away.
"Caran..." Danny said, surprised to hear the guilt in his voice.
"The others did find out, and the first years of my married life were the hardest. Even Samui dared not to get close to me. For a time, I thought about killing myself. Thinking no one cared about me or even knew that I felt guilt about my acts. Came close to doing so as well. That's when Samui stopped me. She told me that my past didn't matter and she loved me for being who I am now. Sadly, I can still see that fear. We have gotten closer, and the guys have let up their glares and treated me like a family, but I can still see it. NO ONE trusts me." Caran told him before turning to Danny.
"And you don't trust me, either." He added.
Danny sighs. This was the first time he heard about this. Caran was right, he didn't trust him. But Danny could see that his guilt was real. Caran was trying to turn his life around and even thought about making it up for his past crimes. However, Danny could also see that he was trying. After what his father did and how he chose to become that person, Caran regrets even becoming that person.
"I don't trust you. But I do know that your guilt is real. But killing yourself wasn't going to make things better. From what I did see, you do love Samui. And you're trying your best. If you still feel like this, then go ahead and spend time in jail. Just, don't try to kill yourself." Danny told him.
"Thanks, Danny. And I'm sorry." Caran said.
Danny nods, knowing he means it. He got up and saw Samui walking up. They nod and Danny leaves Samui with a sad and crying man.
Later that night,
"So, he's going to turn himself in?" Kyodai asked, surprised.
"He mentioned it during dinner. He plans on calling his mom later and telling her everything. I said I didn't trust him after what he did, but I could see that he was trying. Everyone deserves a second chance." Danny said.
Kyodai frowns. She knew of Caran's past and she didn't trust him one bit. Though she was shocked to hear he was going to take his own life, she never fully forgave him for his actions.
"Ky, I know Samui loves him despite his past. Yes, she's in the same boat as the rest of you, and no that wasn't a pun, but she's not heartless." He said.
"No, she never was." Kyodai agreed.
"How long do you think he'll stay in?" She asked.
"With how many girls he raped, there's a good chance he'll never get out," Danny said, sighing.
Kyodai's frowns. She never wanted her sisters to live alone. She only hoped that Samui could deal with it.
"Listen, Ky? Can you give Caran a chance? He truly regrets his actions and feels guilty about them. He's not a bad person, he just grew up that way." Danny asked, trying not to sound like he hadn't forgotten everything Caran told him.
"We have been. Even before I left, Caran swore to me that he'd treat my sister right. Even after returning, he's been keeping it. He's getting it. But it might be a long time before any of us will forgive him fully." She said.
Danny nods, understanding her words. He was sure that Caran was going to spend the rest of the trip making this the best life he could have before he turned himself in. Danny understood that Caran had a lot to answer for, and it would take years for everyone to fully forgive him. As long as he did what he'd said he'd do, then he was already on the road to redeeming himself.
And ending here. So, Danny spends time with the other husbands and I cover Caran past about being a rapist. All of his new family is aware of it, and though they treat him like family, they don't fully trust him. Not even Danny. However, Caran does regret his actions and is willing to turn himself in once they get to the States. But what does that mean for his and Samui's future child? If he's turning himself in, how can they start a family? I making it so that Samui will become pregnant before he goes to jail. And he doesn't want his child to grow up like him.
And if that turns you away from this story, then you're missing the point. Caran regrets his actions, and he knows what he did was wrong. He wants to fully turn over a new leaf, but he having a hard time doing so because no one trusts him. If you still don't get that, then this story is not you. However, I'm still going to keep going. There are more chapters to write and more about the new family that I would like to cover.