Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Pain, Joy, Life ❯ Don't You Trust Me? ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

PAIN, JOY, LIFE






Chapter 6:
Don't You Trust Me?




Ryo-




"I've only got a week until Bishop Brannon comes back to close us down, permanently." Sister Jo sadly told Ryo and his granma as they sat together. Granma was on the cot she'd been using since they'd gotten here and Sister Jo was sitting next to Ryo on his cot with her head bowed in her hands. "You're more than welcome to stay until then, but you'll have to start looking for somewhere else to live." She started to cry softly. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could do more for you."

"Now, now, dear." Ryo's granma patted Sister Jo's arm gently with an understanding smile. "Don't you feel so badly. Ryo and I will be just fine."

Ryo nodded, hoping to make Sister Jo feel better, but not seeing how his granma could be so unconcerned. In one week they would be on the streets, hungry, and probably freezing unless the weather warmed up unexpectedly. Ryo sighed. He'd have to find somewhere out of the weather for his granma and another job, if he was lucky. Cleaning Seiji's dojo didn't pay enough for food, clothes, or granma's heart medicine.

It had been just yesterday morning that bishop Brannon had told Sister Jo that he was closing the Holy Shepherd Home and now the shelter was empty except for Ryo and his granma. Everyone else had already moved on to find another shelter or just somewhere to keep warm.

For the first time in over a month, Ryo wasn't on his way to school. 'I never thought I'd miss school.' Ryo thought absently as he sat next to his granma. His mind filled suddenly with the images of his friends. Cool and compassionate Seiji came first with his ever-serious face and then Xiu, as loud as his boyfriend was silent. Ryo almost laughed. Even in his mind, the two wouldn't be parted. Touma with his own problems as big as Ryo's and hot-tempered Shin came next, a strange pair who also appeared side by side in Ryo's mind.

'No!' Ryo told himself firmly. 'I won't think about them.' It didn't do to dwell on things he couldn't have; Ryo had learned long ago wanting something didn't make it happen.

While Sister Jo spoke, Ryo scratched Byakuen's head and the tiger looked up at him mournfully as if he understood the crisis his little family was facing. Byakuen put a paw up on Ryo's lap and growled, sounding like he was asking a question.

'I don't think you can help, Yaku-Chan.' Ryo thought, though grateful for his friend's presence. 'Granma's to weak to help; so I'm gonna have to do this on my own.' Ryo took a deep breath. 'I can do this.'





Later that day-





What Ryo found was more or less a disappointment.

The place barely worthy of being called a hovel. Even in Ryo's opinion, and he'd lived in some pretty bad conditions. Still, it had a roof and seemed solid enough. It was apparently deserted and close enough to the main part of the city that Ryo felt sure he'd be able to find some work. What more could he want?

Besides, it would only be for a little while and then Ryo would be able to find them a better place to stay. A spot would surely open up in one of the other shelters or maybe he would be able to find another job.

The building was actually and old gas station that looked like it hadn't been used in thirty years. The paint had been stripped by the weather over the years of neglect and everything seemed to be either rusted or falling down. Weeds were growing in through the floor, but it was stable. Plus, it was in the same neighborhood as the shelter and Ryo was thrilled that maybe...just maybe...he'd see his friends again. Even if it were just passing on the streets, Ryo would love to be able to see them again.

There had been no shelters for miles in any direction and even in the near by bigger cities all the shelters Ryo had found were full to the brink and weren't allowing anyone else in.

At the end of the day, with the sun setting, Ryo made his way back to the Holy Shepherd Home, exhausted, but pleased with his day's work. It wouldn't be very nice, but at least they'd have a place to stay. While going back to the shelter, Ryo saw Yoko and Joji hanging around on a corner and, for the first time, he didn't call out to them.

'I won't ever do that.' Ryo swore to himself. 'I'll find another way.' He watched Joji light a cigarette while Yoko laughed loudly about something. In the twilight dimness Ryo focused on Joji for a minute. Today, Joji was in jeans, but no shirt, only a black vest. As usual he bore a kind of dead expression. Joji was beautiful, just as Yoko had said, but he was so unhappy. Ryo never had the nerve to ask how either of them had ended up out here, but it must have been horrible. Yoko with her frozen smile and Joji who had closed himself off so completely.

Looking at them, Ryo had a sudden image of himself in Joji's shoes. He saw himself barely dressed and offering himself to anyone with enough money to rent his body. Letting someone touch him and...kiss him...and...and...Ryo stopped himself from reliving painful memories. There was no sense in it. He had no reason to drag up such things.

A woman passing by ran her hand down Joji's chest, appreciatively, and Joji didn't even acknowledge that he was being fondled as the woman passed on with a giggle. Joji didn't care about himself anymore, that much was painfully obvious.

'I'll never do that!' Ryo hugged himself, when a man stopped to talk business with Yoko. 'Never.'





Days later-






Ryo's next task, while his granma was still safe at the Holy Shepherd Home, was to find another job or two. It wasn't as easy as he'd hoped. Ryo went to stores, offering to do sweeping up and cleaning, but no one would even consider him. He went to office buildings and offered to run errands. He was kicked out by security. Ryo eventually ended up at a construction yard, promising to do any little job for a bit of money. They couldn't take him on because it was a liability to have a kid on the work site.

'Damn, damn, damn!' Ryo thought, trudging back to the shelter in a mood that matched the grey, overcast day. 'Well, I still have work at the dojo to depend on. That should bring enough for some food for granma. There's still the medicine to worry about, though. Not to mention where am I gonna get food for Byakuen? We've been lucky so far, but if anyone sees him hunting in the middle of a city then we're really in trouble.' Ryo rubbed his eyes, tiredly. The cleaning money would never be enough to buy meat for the tiger and hunting strays could only go on for so long before someone noticed and trouble would start. If the police tried to catch Byakuen... 'I should get rid of him.' It would be safer for Byakuen in the long run if he went back to the mountains.

Ryo needed more and there was only one way he knew of to get the money. Stealing. Granma had never known Ryo had started picking pockets when he was nine and he knew she'd be shamed if she found out, but, if it was the only way...





The shelter's sign had been taken down earlier and a large closed sigh was hung on the door of the shelter. It looked terribly depressing, but Ryo pushed open the door and went into to tell granma about his day and that he hadn't found any work.

Granma was sitting on the cot she'd been using for so long with Byakuen at her side. In her hands was the katana, the beautiful dragon katana that had been left to Ryo when his mom had died. Ryo watched for a minute while she ran her hands over the handle and the hilt, with loving care. Her bent fingers caressed the ruby eyes of the dragon and ran down the scales that decorated the hilt. Her eyes traveled up the long, slightly curved edge of the blade until she was distracted by Ryo's arrival.

She smiled at him and lowered the katana to rest on her lap. "Ryo, where have you been?"

"Looking for a j-job." Ryo replied, taking the katana away from her and wrapping it back in the red cloth he always kept it in. Lately, Ryo just couldn't be sure that she wouldn't hurt herself with the katana. "No l-luck."

She didn't seem overly upset. "A job?" She frowned slightly when he sat on the cot next to her. "Ryo, why do you want a job? You have to go to school."

'Her memory's slipping again.' Ryo bit his lip and looked away from her because it hurt to look her at her trusting eyes. This was getting worse, all of a sudden. In just the last month Ryo's granma was forgetting things and now she didn't even remember that they were in so much trouble. How would she understand when he made her leave the safety of the shelter and took her somewhere unfamiliar?

Sister Jo, dusty from cleaning out the shelter, came spoke up as she walked up to them. "Ryo?"

"Y-yes, Sister?" Ryo turned to find her looking at him with grin, something she hadn't had for many days now. Today was the last day and tomorrow Bishop Brannon would come to lock the doors on the Shelter. Ryo had so little to take with him, but he'd been busy cleaning up that nasty little gas station so granma would at least have somewhere clean to sleep.

"Come with me, dear." She said softly. "I want to have a word with you."

Ryo followed Sister Jo to her office, but she didn't offer him a seat as the office was now empty. The room that had served as an office was now packed up in cardboard boxes and empty except for a large metal desk.

Sister Jo paced for a minute, as if she wasn't sure what she wanted to say and the more she paced, the more nervous Ryo got.

"I think I'm wasting my time in saying this." Sister Jo started. "But, I really think you should consider this." She took a deep breath and turned to face Ryo directly. "Don't get mad, but I think you should go to the child welfare and apply for a foster home. I think your granma should go to a hospital where they can take care of her properly."

Ryo stared at her in open-mouthed shock. Foster home? Hospital? She...she wanted him to leave his granma with strangers and just think about himself? Ryo honestly couldn't think of anything to say.

"Now, don't look at me like that Ryo!" Sister Jo snapped, obviously nervous about this conversation. "I'm only thinking of your welfare. I know you love your granma, but you can't take care of her. You're only fifteen, Ryo, you're a child. You shouldn't have to worry about getting a job or how to pay for food. You shouldn't have to wander streets filled with criminals or have to outrun pimps and drug dealers. I want you to have a good life, Ryo, and your granma will be more comfortable in a hospital where they have people who know how to care for her."

"I care for her!" Ryo snapped, angrily. How dare she say he couldn't take care of his own family!? 'I thought she was my friend, how can she say that!?' "S-she don't want to g-go where there's no family! S-she wants to s-stay with me!" Ryo thumped his chest hard as he got ready to defend his only family if he had to. 'Granma always told me we have to keep our family together. I can't abandon her with strangers.'

Sister Jo put her hands firmly on Ryo's shoulders. "I know you love her. I see it every day, but you don't have anyway to take care of her. Ryo, she has althimezers. It's not going to get better and it'll probably get worse. It will get to the point where she probably won't remember you and she's not going to stay in one place, not even with Byakuen and you to protect her. He has to hunt and you have to sleep sometime and it's going to be that one time when no one's watching her that she'll get hurt. Your granma could wander off in the middle of the night and get herself killed. You don't want that, do you?"

Ryo glared at her with tears burning in his eyes. 'Of course I don't want her to die! But I just can't put her in a hospital. She would hate being away from family.' The fire that seemed to always be burning in Ryo flickered, burning a little brighter as his control began to slip. It made his brain and heart feel slightly warmer.

Sister Jo patted his shoulder to calm him down and Ryo felt the fire inside him dim somewhat, though it was still stronger than it had been. "Just think about it. Tomorrow, I have to leave. The church is sending me back to France and I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back. There's one other thing. Follow me."

She led Ryo to the storage room, where supplies were kept for the shelter, and let him in. Inside was a pile of everything from canned food to soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes. With all that were a couple of changes of clothes for both Ryo and his granma along with brand new sneakers. Ryo looked at them in wonder before picking them up gingerly. He'd never had new sneakers before, not even when mom had been alive.

"It's all for you." Sister Jo tried to force a smile, but wasn't doing very well. "I want you to take whatever you want or think you'll need."

Ryo put down the sneakers regretfully. "I can't." He said. "No c-charity."

"Sometimes I just want to shake some sense into you, boy!" Sister Jo snorted. "That's your granma talking, boy! You can't let your pride kill you or your granma! If you don't want to take care of yourself, think of her. She needs food and warm clothes, especially if you're going to be stubborn and not take her to a hospital."

That got Ryo's attention. Kill granma? Never! Ryo took the sneakers and Sister Jo let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be the best luck Ryo had had in months. Not only did Sister Jo let Ryo have all the food and clothes he could carry, but she gave him two mattresses. "I can't get rid of to much. Bishop Brannon's coming in the morning to do an inventory and he expects everything to be here." She glared at a wall, muttering to herself, "That no good, self centered, big headed, arrogant pig! I don't even know why we're being shut down. Sure the place is a bit run down, but it's still usable. If I had the clout, why I'd..." She shook her head to clear away the thoughts. "All this stuff is going to be thrown away or destroyed, so I don't want you feeling guilty just because you're taking it."

Ryo nodded. This treasure was sure proof of miracles.

"There's something else, Ryo." Sister Jo reached up behind her neck and took off the necklace she always wore. It was a silver chain with a tiny silver crucifix hanging off it. "I want you to have this, Ryo. My grandmother gave it to me when I was seven, the day before she died. I've always worn it since that day and I think it may keep you safe."

Ryo shook his head and backed away. "I c-can't!" How could he take something so important?

"Yes, you can." She insisted, hanging it around his neck. "If nothing else, you can sell it for food. It's pure silver, even the chain, so you'll get quite a bit of money for it. Think of it as something to protect you."

The necklace felt heavy on Ryo's neck, but he didn't know how to refuse without hurting Sister Jo's feelings.




Later-




And so the shelter closed. With no fanfare and on a rainy March morning, Bishop Brannon would arrive to lock the doors. Sister Jo stayed with her one suitcase and in her heavy coat, waiting for him to arrive, on the doorstep. Ryo wanted to wait with her and show his support for Sister Jo, but granma needed to get out of the rain or she would get even sicker than she all ready was.

"Take care of yourself, Ryo dear." Sister Jo kissed his cheek and gave him a hug before Ryo left. "Just keep in mind what I said before, about the hospital."

With his granma leaning on him for support, Ryo started down the sidewalk, leaving the shelter and Sister Jo behind. Byakuen was somewhere following them, out of sight and carrying most of Sister Jo's gifts strapped to his back along with the dragon katana. Ryo had found a rain jacket for granma in the treasure Sister Jo had given him, but none for himself so he was getting soaked to the bone and was just hoping that the rain wouldn't turn to sleet.

"Where are we going, Ryo?" His granma asked, starting to shiver in the rain. They'd been walking for only about twenty minutes, but it seemed like hours with granma leaning so heavily on Ryo as they walked at a slow shuffle.

"Not far, g-granma." Ryo tried to sound confident. "W-we gotta go just a little f-further." Ryo didn't like how everyone started staring as he began to get into the better part of the city. Why did everyone have to stare?




Seiji-




Seiji didn't stare at people. In his opinion, staring ranked right up there on the scale of rudeness with gossiping and eavesdropping.

The white tiger didn't seem to have any such qualms as it stared out at the street, though. Seiji was behind the creature and just stood there watching it. He wasn't quite sure what to do, though. It wasn't often that he came across a tiger on his way to school, especially not one that was practically in his backyard.

It had started out an almost normal day, though it was a cold, rainy morning that was dismal enough to seep into one's bones. Xiu was meeting him at school, as usual, so Seiji had made a thermos of hot tea to share with him. 'Can't let my kishi (knight) get cold.' Seiji had thought happily when he'd made the hot chocolate this morning.

Yes, Xiu was truly a knight. Didn't everyone want someone like Xiu? Someone strong who stood up for what they knew to be right without hesitation. Someone who would always there to back you up, no matter what the odds. Seiji sighed, blissfully. 'A knight in a white apron.' The image of Xiu in his restaurant apron and hair net, holding a soup ladle like a sword and the lid of a large pot for a shield brought on a laughing fit. It was so bad it made Seiji spill the hot liquid and burn his own hand and had had to bite his tongue to stop himself from swearing.

Even if it did mean daily fear and worries about what other people would say and do, Seiji was certain that Xiu was worth all the trouble. Besides, he had faced most of the school's bullies and they now knew enough to respect that they couldn't defeat him. The thought of any of them attacking Xiu was, to put it mildly, laughable. Xiu was an unstoppable bull and he had been known to jump happily into fights where it was one against six or seven and normally winning.

There were, however, always the nasty little whispers and crude notes written by cowards who didn't even dare to face him openly. Pathetic, but also worrying. Seiji didn't like having enemies when he didn't even know what their faces looked like and it was hard defending himself when his faith required him to 'harm none'. That included bulling idiots, unfortunately.

There was less happy news to think about than Seiji's love life, though. There was still no sign of Ryo since his unexpected announcement at school almost a week ago and Touma, who'd come to school with new bruises on his arms and his face all cut up, wasn't answering any questions. Seiji knew Touma knew what was going on with Ryo no matter how much he protested that he had no idea what was up with Ryo, Touma just wasn't a very good liar.

Shin was cranky, which was expected, considering the condition Touma had come to school in. Shin, after coming out of the bathroom with Touma few days ago, had worn a dark expression and now kept protectively close to Touma. No one went near Touma or dared to ask how he'd gotten hurt with Shin wearing such a bleak expression at his side. Shin was, though small and so gentle, dangerous. Seiji remembered once finding that Shin kept, in his backpack, a long narrow knife right along side his sewing kit. That had instantly added a whole new dimension to Shin's character, in Seiji's mind, but Seiji had never mentioned it to anyone. He was reasonably sure Touma knew about it, anyway.

'Even such a sweet, loving guy,' Seiji thought, picturing Shin serving tea and cupcakes at a tea party they'd had last week at his house with a cute smile on his face. 'Has a darker side. I'm very glad he's our friend.' It wasn't unusual for Seiji to think like this, us instead of I when thinking of himself and Xiu, even though he wasn't sure why he did. Occasionally, he would add Shin, Touma, and (more recently) Ryo into the mix, like he thought of them all as a collective person.

Seiji had expected this morning to be like every other morning, with the exception that they were all planning to go looking for Ryo after school. Seiji had to admit, he was getting to like Ryo and was more than a little worried about his sudden disappearance. 'All right, so I have a new friend.' Seiji wasn't used to having new friends and was still adjusting to having a forth friend. 'I just wish he'd come back so I can enjoy his company for a little while.'

The normal-ness was gone out the window when Seiji saw the white tiger peering though his hedge.

Seiji's home was on a large secluded lot, cut off from the street by a big, empty field and lined with a hedge of trees just at the street. Normally, Seiji used this empty field as a short cut to school, but just at the place where he normally got onto the sidewalk, a tiger sat watching something.

'Oh, my...' Seiji's normally calm mind balked for a moment before he started thinking again, took a deep breath, and reached down to touch his pentacle. This was weird, even for him.

A magnificent white tiger with black stripes sat between two of the larger trees and peered over the short hedge. It was a stately creature that, when sitting on his haunches, was tall enough that its head reached Seiji's shoulders. It had a strange air of dignity, despite all the...stuff that was tied to it's back, as if it were a pack animal. It turned to meet Seiji's eyes with it's own warm brown eyes for just a minute before looking back at whatever was on the street.

All thoughts of school promptly vanished.

"What do you want?" Seiji asked, mostly to himself, wondering why there was a tiger in the city. This was all so impossible, but Seiji knew he wasn't hallucinating, he was sure of it.

The tiger, naturally, didn't answer, but turned at Seiji's voice and looked at him with burning, fire blue eyes. Seiji could feel the raw power coming from the tiger and he actually gasped when he met the tiger's eyes. It was something indescribable and untouchable, the energy that burned in the eyes of the tiger, though Seiji wasn't sure the creature was a tiger, anymore. He knew very well that animals, like people, had their own power and magic, yet this was something he'd never seen before. In all of Seiji's encounters with the natural magic of this world, he'd never felt anything like what was coming from the white tiger.

The tiger only looked at Seiji for a bare second, as if it wasn't surprised to find him there, before turning back to whatever it was looking at on the street. Seiji couldn't help himself and moved up so he could look out at whatever had so interested the tiger. It meant standing stupidly close to the giant tiger, but Seiji believed he was safe. He had the protection of the elements, the most powerful forces this world had to offer, the only magic Seiji believed existed. Besides, the power coming from the tiger wasn't malevolent, it simply was.

Seiji reached out a hand to pull branches of the short trees aside so he could look out at the street.




Ryo-





"Ryo?"

Ryo turned, surprised at the voice, and found Seiji looking at him, concerned. Ryo stopped walking, making his granma look at him and then to Seiji. 'Oh, this is all I need!' Ryo thought, trying to think of some way to explain what he was doing out in the middle of the rain with his granma.

"What are you doing out in this weather, Ryo?" Seiji asked, looking at them confused and a bit worried. Seiji was dressed for school with his impeccable uniform, his bag slung easily over one shoulder, and an umbrella in the other hand. Quickly, Seiji moved, holding the umbrella over Ryo's granma's head, just as any gentleman would.

"We're going s-somewhere." Ryo answered vaguely, hoping that Seiji wouldn't ask to many other questions, but grateful for the umbrella. "T-this is my granma." Ryo nodded to his granma who smiled sweetly at Seiji.

"How nice to meet you, young man. Are you one of Ryo's friends from school?" Ryo's granma bowed slightly to Seiji, though she couldn't bow very low and had to have Ryo help her up again.

Seiji nodded, bowing very properly to her. "Yes, ma'am. Ryo and I share some classes."

Ryo's granma reached out and patted Seiji's cheek. "How nice to meet you, young man." She repeated herself. "You're one of Ryo's friends, aren't you?"

Seiji took her hand gently. "Your hand's very cold, ma'am. Would you like to come in to warm up? I make a very nice herbal tea and my family is at home. I'm sure everyone would like to meet you." Though he spoke respectfully to Ryo's granma, Seiji cast a look at Ryo out of the corner of his eyes, telling Ryo very clearly, 'Don't you DARE refuse!'







A few minutes later at the Date home Seiji's grandfather met them just inside the house when Ryo was helping his granma to put on the guest slippers Seiji's family kept at the door. "Seiji?" The older man Ryo had met only a few times before slid open the door to the front hall and paused for a minute to take in the fact that he had guests so early in the morning. "I wasn't expecting guests so early." His sharp eyes landed on Seiji with a hint of disapproval, which Seiji didn't seem to notice, then moved to Ryo.

Ryo looked away from the regal looking gentleman. Ryo had always been sort of uncomfortable around Seiji's grandfather. The man was so stiff and formal he made Seiji look like a hippie.

"H-hello, sir." Ryo forced himself to speak calmly. The older man gave him a slight bow before turning to Ryo's granma.

The change that overcame the old man was remarkable. His eyes widened dramatically and his breath caught with a gasp. At the sight of her, Seiji's grandfather actually stepped back a pace. "Akane?"

The surprise was mutual, as Ryo's granma became suddenly very aware of what was going on around and her hand tightened on Ryo's arm. "Kanto?" She said in equal disbelief.

For a long, horrible minute, the two just stared at each other in utter shock. Ryo looked at Seiji who was equally, if not more so, confused. Neither knew what to say or do as they certainly hadn't expected this kind of reaction.

It was Dr. Date who broke the awkward silence. "Ryo, dear!" She said brightly, wheeling her chair over to the door, next to her father-in-law. "It's so nice to see you today." Then she turned to Ryo's granma. "You must be Ryo's grandmother. He tells us so much about you. Won't you come in, Sanada san? We're so glad you finally decided to visit us." Though her words were light and pleasant, Ryo caught a puzzled look she sent at Seiji as Ryo and his grandmother were led into the house. She obviously knew something was wrong, but decided to hold her tongue for the moment.

That seemed to break the trance between Ryo's granma and Seiji's grandfather and the two looked away from each other, uncomfortably.





The first thing Dr. Date did was tell Ryo to go with Seiji to get some dry clothes. "But..." Ryo didn't want to leave his granma, not when something odd was going on. He knew he could trust them, but his granma just seemed a bit off right now.

"No, buts dear." Dr. Date told him in a scolding tone. "You're soaking wet and you're dripping on my carpet. Go dry off and warm up. I'll make sure you're grandmother gets a nice warm bath. You and Seiji can share it later." Then she'd leaned in close and whispered, "Don't worry. I'll call you if she needs you."

Ryo smiled gratefully at her before telling his granma to go with Dr. Date. Granma gave her hand to Dr. Date's offered hand and didn't spare a backwards glance for Ryo as she was led away. Seiji's grandfather was gone, though Ryo hadn't seen him leave, leaving Ryo alone with Seiji. Once they were alone, Seiji gestured toward down the hall where his bedroom was. "We may as well get going. My mother dislikes having her orders questioned."

"S-sorry 'bout this." Ryo muttered. Now that his granma was safely in the hands of Dr. Date, Ryo felt free to be as embarrassed as he could. He'd never expected to be found like this, let alone be invited into Seiji's house like he was someone important.

Seiji didn't answer, and Ryo hadn't really expected him to. Seiji rarely spoke except when the thought he absolutely had to.

Seiji's home was quiet, not surprising since it was quite a large house, but it was well lit and seemed very open. Ryo liked Seiji's home, for all it seemed like a whole different world to him. Born in the wilderness of mountains untouched by civilization, Ryo had grown up in a world of trees, blue sky, and animals. It was a whole world that seemed to belong to him and no one else. Their home had been a small cabin with a wood fire for heat and oil lamps were the only light they had other than sunlight. Still, it had been a happy life.

Then...everything changed. Mom died and then granma, a woman Ryo had never met before, had come to live with him in the cabin. Granma had scared Ryo, at first. She arrived in a small car, though it seemed huge because Ryo had never seen one before, and was dressed in a fine silk kimono. Her long hair was pinned up on top of her head and her eyes were sharp as daggers. She was so much more formal that Ryo's mom had been and tougher than Ryo remembered his dad being. She was firm with rules and demanding with how she expected Ryo to behave. For all that, she was fair and never once raised her hand or even her voice to Ryo. Not even when he had temper tantrums or the one time he had thrown a chair across the room just because of his bad temper. She had simply looked disappointed and walked away from him.

Yet his granma never even suggested that Ryo give up his home and move someone else that was more convenient for her. After a few rocky weeks, they grew to love each other and life settled into a somewhat comfortable routine. Then, a man had come to the cabin and had given Ryo's granma a letter that had made her very unhappy and a week later they left their home. Later, Ryo had found out that man had been a tax collector and that they'd lost their home because of some new law and they hadn't paid enough in taxes the passed few years. Though granma never failed to act like a lady, her family's fortune had been eaten away by hardship over the years and there was no way to pay.

Ryo thought bitterly about when he and his granma were forced to go to the cities to try and make a living. 'I hate cities. At least back home we were always warm and I could take care of us.' The streets were horrible, cold and dirty, Ryo hated his life and wished every minute that they could just go home; back to the cabin. Of course, the fact that he'd recently heard the cabin had been made into a mini-mart didn't help much.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Seiji asked finally when they reached his room.

"'Bout what?" Ryo asked softly, taking a good look around Seiji's room. It was...different. For some reason, the first thing Ryo noticed was a picture of Xiu on Seiji's wall. It was a goofy picture with Xiu in a cook's apron holding a large frying pan in one hand while the other hand was raised in a "V" sign for victory. In the room there was a large fish tank in the corner of the room and a glassed in terrarium with a couple of rats next to Seiji's bed. He also had a couple of birds in an ornate cage and green-eyed cat that glared at Ryo for disturbing its nap. Where there weren't animals, Seiji had potted plants decorating almost every part of his room and hanging from the ceiling.

"About why you suddenly quit school. About why you and your grandmother are wandering the city in the middle of a rainstorm. About why," Seiji continued as he searched though a closet for some dry clothes for himself and Ryo. "Touma came to school with you looking like someone had beat him half to death. How about why you're pretending nothing's wrong when I can see your ribs through your clothes? Why not tell me about why you now look like a rabbit cornered by a fox." Seiji turned slightly to fix a cool look on Ryo. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Ryo felt a flare of pride. "I-I'm not afraid of you." It was just a bit intimidating being in Seiji's room like this and he'd NEVER heard Seiji say so much at one time before. Ryo had never been in anyone's personal room before and it seemed so strange. The whole room reflected Seiji's personality and, since Ryo knew how private a person Seiji was, he couldn't help but feel a bit honored by just being allowed in here.

Seiji pulled out a pair of trousers and a plain T-shirt for Ryo. "I think these will fit. You'll need to get dry first. I forgot the towel." Seiji looked around for inspiration before simply pulling the top blanket off his bed and handing it to Ryo.

Ryo dried himself with the blanket, still feeling that he should do or say something to thank Seiji, but he couldn't think of what would be appropriate. When it came time to change his clothes, Ryo gave Seiji a hard look. "Turn around." He said firmly. He owed Seiji a lot, but not enough to strip in front of him!

Seiji gave Ryo a small half-smile, as if he was amused, but did turn around and faced the wall. "Shin's worried about you, you know." Seiji said while turned around. "You should feel lucky. Usually, when Touma's hurt Shin tends to obsess for days over him. This time, Touma's managed to deflect some of the attention onto you."

"D-din't know that." Ryo answered honestly as he felt a twinge of guilt. Why would anyone be worried about him? Sure, he liked them well enough, but why would they be worried? Shin was nice, though. He'd tried to fix Ryo's uniform, though the pants never did get tailored, as Shin had wanted to do. Shin was Ryo's first friend here and had introduced Ryo to the others.

"Oh, yes. Touma knows something about what's happening to you."

Ryo tensed, wondering if Touma had given away his secret. Actually, it wasn't much of a secret anymore. If Seiji didn't know for certain, he must surely guess about Ryo's lifestyle. It just seemed important that Ryo should know if Touma had betrayed him or not.

"He won't tell us though." Seiji finished and let Ryo breathe easy again. "It must be something important, otherwise he'd have told us all. He'd not very good at keeping secrets. I think he may have told Shin, but Shin never tells secrets."

"Y-You can turn a-around." Ryo said, finally finished with dressing. Seiji's clothes were all to big as he was not only more muscular than Ryo, but also taller. At least the clothes were clean and warm. 'I don't want to get Seiji involved. He's a very good person and he'd want to help, but granma says we must never take charity.'

"You may as well sit and relax." Seiji told Ryo, gesturing to his bed. "Your grandmother is likely to take quite a while in the bath, if my mother has anything to say about it." Seiji himself sat on the floor near the rats and tapped the glass to get their attention as he spoke to Ryo. "That's Miko and Toiki." Seiji pointed out his rats. "Xiu gave them to me when he found them in his family's kitchen."

"Why?" Ryo asked, sitting on the edge of Seiji's bed. Why would anyone want rats? As far as Ryo knew they were nasty dirty things that ate your food and tried to bite if you stepped in the wrong places. At the very best, they were food when there was really nothing else to be found.

Seiji, in the half darkness of the stormy morning, looked strangely otherworldly as he kept his attention focused on the rats who had now run up to the glass and were looking back at him. "I don't like to see things killed and Mama Faun has an odd prejudice against rats in her restaurant. Something about health inspectors, I think." Seiji slowly turned back to Ryo and for just a moment, Ryo was afraid of Seiji. There was an intense edge to Seiji that most adults didn't have and someone Seiji's age had no right to have. "Tell me what's going on, Ryo. We're all very worried about you."

"No." Ryo instantly went on the defensive. He didn't want to talk about himself. Yoko and Joji had told him over and over how dangerous it was to let someone get close to you. "You tell me a-about yourself first." He was sure that Seiji would refuse. Seiji never let anyone get close to him, either. Ryo had even heard that once Seiji had been assigned to write a paper about himself and written three pages of complete lies including that he was four hundred and twenty two years old. Seiji also said his mother was Lady Yasha, the goddess of Doom, and that he lived on one of the moons of Jupiter. Seiji was, in fact, famous for lying when it concerned his private life. It would be so easy for Seiji to lie this time, too.

"All right."

Ryo blinked. Did Seiji just agree? That meant Ryo would be honor bound to tell Seiji everything! No, wait. Seiji would probably just lie and then the agreement wouldn't hold up.

Seiji took a deep breath and turned toward his fish. "My father left us when I was eight. That's a long story in itself." Seiji paused uncomfortably before fixing Ryo with a hard stare. "I'll ask you not to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you. It's a family secret."

Ryo nodded, his curiosity spiked.

"My dad's sick. He's living at a hospital, but he's been there for years. We go to visit him, sometimes, but," Seiji hung his head, sadly. "Dad's not getting any better and the doctor's don't think he ever will. He's got a disease called Schizophrenia and it makes him almost impossible to live with. Mom said," Seiji's voice lowered into a whisper. "When I was little, he attacked her with a carving knife and sliced her spine. He's the reason why she can't walk."

Ryo didn't know what to say. How could he say anything to that?

"She still loves him, though." Seiji continued dully. "After all he's done to our family, she loves him. I don't think I'll ever understand women." Seiji looked up at Ryo with a bitter smile. "I sometimes think I had something to do with him not getting well." Seiji continued, but his voice didn't sound at all guilty. "He's a die-hard Christian, even when he's not quite in touch with the rest of the world, he keeps his faith as best as he can. But," Seiji's hand inadvertently reached up to touch the star shaped decoration on his necklace. "I felt a calling to another faith. He's very disappointed in me. He wrote to me last Christmas and, in his Christmas card, told me I was going to Hell." Seiji shrugged as if it didn't matter to him. "Perhaps I am. I don't know. I don't want to belief him, though." Seiji flashed a rare, cocky smile at Ryo. "Besides having something to do with my birth, I mean." The smile vanished as quickly as it had come and Ryo found himself wondering how often Seiji let that side of him be seen. It must be lurking just under the surface.

Ryo shook his head. "D-don't go to H-hell for that." He felt the weight of Sister Jo's crucifix around his neck, just under his shirt. "That's dumb. Only if you do b-b-bad things." Ryo knew this to be true, because not only had Sister Jo told him so, but also his mom and his granma.

Seiji smiled. "Thank you. But, you do know all the evil I do, don't you?"

Ryo wasn't quite sure why he was being thanked. "What evil?"

"I'm a witch, as you've probably heard around school. No, I don't sacrifice goats, cats, or any other small animal to Satan. I do not dance naked by the light of the full moon. I do not ride a broomstick. I do not stick pins into little dolls. I do NOT eat children." Seiji said this in a tired voice, giving the impression that he'd grown tired of saying it. "I'm also gay. I think you've noticed that, also."

Ryo nodded. It was kind of hard to miss what was going on between Seiji and Xiu.
"I-is it true?" Ryo couldn't help but ask.

"What? That I'm a witch or that Xiu and I..."

"All of it."

Seiji looked insulted, but then he seemed to remember something. "Oh! You mean my reputation as a liar." He waved that concern aside. "You're a guest in my home, Ryo. I NEVER lie in my own house. Besides, it's discourteous to lie to a guest." His expression softened. "Yes, it's all true. Now, it's your turn."

Ryo licked his lips. He couldn't back down when Seiji had been so brave to tell all about himself. Well, here it goes. "I..."

"Sei-Chan! Ryo!" Dr. Date called out loudly. "The bath's empty. It's your turn."






They were on their way to the bath when Ryo stopped very suddenly at the sound of his grandmother's lucid voice coming through one of the paper walls of Seiji's home. "I didn't want you to see me like this. My family has suffered much in the passed years."

"Your daughter?"

Seiji stopped with Ryo and frowned at the sound of his grandfather's pained voice. The two boys stepped a little closer to the paper wall that separated them from their respective grandparents.

"Dead. Almost ten years now and buried in the mountains she loved."

"What about the boy's father? Akira?"

"That idiot ran off. We haven't seen him in years." Granma's voice was filled with venom. "Good thing, too. He was almost constantly drunk after he married my darling Akari and I prefer him gone rather than ruining Ryo's life. If he'd had any kind of an influence on Ryo there's no telling how the boy would have ended up."

Ryo tried not to think about that remark. He remembered his dad, but only a little. He remembered that dad smelled bad and used to hit mom a lot. They weren't pleasant memories, but it had still hurt to wake up one morning and find that dad had left them.

"Your grandson is a good-boy and a hard worker." Seiji's grandfather said, his voice softening. "I know Seiji enjoys having him around."

Ryo's granma sighed heavily. "He's had to live through so much for a child. I wish things had been different..." Her voice trailed off and Ryo got worried, but she spoke again. "He's had so little...If only I could have done more for him."

"I have no doubt that you did your best for him, Akane."

"He deserved better, though."

Ryo felt embarrassed to have his granma talking that way. It wasn't as if his life had been all that horrible. Surely other people were worse off than he'd been.

"What about your wife? Yukino? I only met her once, but she seemed like a good woman." Ryo's granma abruptly changed the subject away from the uncomfortable matter of Ryo's childhood.

"Yukino died two years ago." Seiji's grandfather said sadly. "It's been just Seiji, my daughter-in-law, and myself since then."

"I'm sorry to hear that. My Kira died almost twelve years ago. I miss him terribly. He was such a good man. It was hard after he left this world."

Seiji's grandfather said quietly, "I wish you had told me you needed help. Even if it were only to help with money, I'd have..."

"NO!" Ryo's granma barked fiercely. "I will not have you suggesting that I needed help to take care of my family! I do not want Ryo learning to be dependent on other people for scraps and castoffs!"

Seiji's grandfather's voice hardened with frustration. "Your pride will be the death of you, Akane! There is no shame in accepting or even asking for help from an old friend. Just think about Ryo's welfare for a minute. That poor child is working very hard just to earn enough money for food and when he first come to school, Seiji told me he barely knew how to read. If you would just..."

"I will not have him relying on strangers and being forced to trust people who will only hurt him."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ryo had an...experience with a man he trusted." Her voice dropped to a guilty tone. "A man I told him to trust."

Ryo felt his heart stop. She...she wasn't going to tell, was she? Surely, his granma wouldn't tell what had happened. Ryo looked over at Seiji who was looking at Ryo curiously while he listened to the conversation in the other room.

"You've heard Ryo's stutter, I'm sure." Ryo's granma continued, unaware of Ryo's growing fear. "Well, it was caused by this incident. I will not have that happening again. Ryo will be strong enough that he won't have to trust anyone."

"Akane, that boy can't go through life not trusting anyone. It's just not healthy."

"No, Kanto." Her voice was weary now, almost defeated. "I will not ask for any help. I have never had to ask for anything in my long life and I will not start now when I'm so close to the end. When I die, Ryo will be better off, anyway."

Ryo frowned at that off hand comment his granma had made, though he was glad she hadn't told what had happened when his stutter had developed. Die?

She continued, "When I die, Ryo will go back to the wild. He will run away from the grime and the filth of the city. He hates it here and I know he only stays because he needs to get my medicine. If I know my little Ryo, he will run as quickly as he can to the nearest forest with his tiger friend. He'll be happier there and much safer." She gave a sad kind of chuckle. "If it weren't for me, he'd never have set foot in a town or come within a thousand feet of another human being. My poor Ryo."

Ryo felt a flood of guilt overcome him. She made it sound like he was waiting for her to keel over! 'It's not like that!' Ryo thought, trying to convince himself. 'I love granma, I don't want her to die. It's just...it would be nice to go home.'

"Boys!" A sharp voice hissed.

Ryo and Seiji turned to find Dr. Date looking at them with a disapproving expression. On her lap was a large, leather bound book.

"Eavesdropping is a very bad habit." Dr. Date scowled at them. "You know that, Seiji! Come with me, boys."

Seiji started to follow his mother with a rather guilty expression, but Ryo hesitated, looking back at the paper wall he and Seiji had been listening though. He really wanted to go see if his granma needed him, but Seiji took his arm. Seiji said nothing, but gave Ryo and encouraging tug in the direction his mother was heading and, after just another moment, Ryo followed.

Seiji's mom took them to the living room where she opened the large book on her lap and Ryo saw it was a book of photo's. Seiji leaned over his mom's shoulder.

"The family album? What's it for?"

Seiji's mom flipped through all the family pictures, searching for something. As she went backwards through the years Ryo saw pictures of Seiji getting younger and younger. He saw pictures of Dr. Date standing with her young son in her arms and a young, black haired man standing with her. Presumably, it was Seiji's dad and Ryo wondered briefly what happened to him.

After a little while, the color pictures faded into black and white photos with a more grainy look to them as they got older and older.

"Now...where was it? I know it was in here somewhere." Dr. Date muttered half to herself before finding the picture she was looking for. "Ah, ha! Ryo, Seiji, this is what I wanted you to see." Her finger landed on a black and white picture of two people standing outside what was the obviously the Date Dojo. A tall young man with his arm around the shoulder of a beautiful, smiling girl.

"Is..." Seiji's voice was amazed. "Is that grandfather?"

"Yes." Dr. Date answered with a slight smile. "Quite handsome, wasn't he?" Indeed, the young man was the spitting image of a Seiji, but with black hair. "Ryo, do you recognize the girl?"

Ryo almost couldn't speak. "G-g-gr-ra..."

"Yes, Ryo, that's your grandmother. She was a very pretty young lady. I didn't know when I saw her, earlier, but..." Dr. Date slipped the photo out of the plastic sheet it was held in and turned it over. On the back, written in very elegant handwriting was: Kurumi Akane and Date Kanto, 1931. "It seems pretty obvious there's only one Akane that would leave Kanto speechless. I saw this picture when I first came into this family, Seiji." She smiled at her son. "When I asked your grandfather who the girl was, because I know your grandmother's name was Yukino, he just smiled sadly and told me she was an angel who'd escaped his grasp." Dr. Date shook her head. "I don't know what happened between them, but it seems pretty obvious SOMETHING happened."

Ryo looked at the picture more closely. His granma was so beautiful, so like he remembered his mom just before she'd gotten sick. Even back then, when she looked no older than Ryo, there was a wonderful air of stately dignity. "You mean," Ryo said in a dazed voice, "M-my granma and S-seiji's grampa..."

"I'm saying," Dr. Date carefully put the picture back where she'd found it. "That it's very possible that, had things been different, you and Seiji might have been cousins or even brothers." She then pinned them with a hard look. "So, now that you know what they're talking about, I want you to leave them alone for a little while. I'm sure they both have a lot of catching up to do."

"But," Ryo wanted to tell her that his granma didn't remember things well and that she was sick. She seemed to have remembered Seiji's grampa for a while, but Ryo knew it could be any time that she'd get confused and start forgetting things again.

Dr. Date gave Ryo a sympathetic look. "It's all right, Ryo." And in that instant, he realized that she knew. "When I was helping her with her bath, I noticed your granma has trouble remembering things." She gave him a pat on the arm. "I'm sure it'll work out and Kanto won't let anything hurt her. I promise. Now," She forced her voice to be a little more cheerful. "I suggest you two boys get on with your bath. I'll have to call the school for you, mister, since you seem to be skipping today." She gave a half-hearted angry look to Seiji who just smirked back at her.

"I think I'll take Ryo to the Phoenix Rising for lunch so he can have some real food." Seiji said in an off hand comment. "That's Xiu's family restaurant." He turned to Ryo and his face took on a blissful look. "You should taste what Xiu's mama makes. It's incredible. Mmmmmm!"

"Are you insulting my cooking, young man? You think Mama Faun can cook so much better than I can?" Dr. Date scowled back at her son, slamming the family photo album closed.

"Of course not, oh great one. You who can burn water without trying. You who can ruin cold cereal and somehow make eggs turn purple while scrambling them. Why would I insult your cooking?"

Dr. Date took a swing at him with the photo album, swatting him on the butt. "Get out of here, you little brat!" She laughed happily and Ryo knew this must be a kind of game between the two of them.

Seiji did take off, grabbing Ryo's hand and pulling him with him to the baths.






Seiji-







Seiji's family bathroom was quite large, but small enough that it was still comfortable. It was sparkling clean and smelled like lavender, for some reason. It was still warm and steamy from when Ryo's granma had been using it and Seiji quickly went about refilling the tub. While they waited for it to fill, Seiji stripped off his clothes and Ryo turned around quickly.

"You don't have to be so shy." Seiji said, though he was amused at Ryo's modesty. Normally, he didn't bath with anyone outside the family, either, but he didn't see what it was anything to be embarrassed about. "I'm not at all ashamed of myself, so you certainly shouldn't be."

Seiji shook his head, but didn't force the issue. Ryo was, Seiji had to admit, very good looking, if a little skinny. 'If I didn't all ready have Xiu...' No sense in dwelling on what might have been, seeing as how there was no force in Heaven or Hell that would part Seiji from Xiu. He'd be content to have Ryo as a friend and (if he was really honest with himself) a bit of nice eye-candy.

Ryo didn't answer, but his back was still stiff as he waited for Seiji to make himself decent. 'I suppose I shouldn't keep him in suspense.' Seiji sat on the edge of the tub and put a towel across his lap. "It's safe. You can look now. I'm as decent as I'll ever be."

Ryo did slowly turn around, as if he was afraid that Seiji was lying to him. Ryo ended up sitting on the toilet right next to the bathtub and they just sat there for the longest time as neither of them was much of a talker.

That tiger kept running though Seiji's mind, begging to be asked about and Seiji was certain Ryo knew something about the tiger. Ryo didn't seem to be in a very good mood, though, and he kept glaring at his feet as if there were something terribly important on his mind. "Can I help?"

"Huh?" Ryo looked up, surprised that Seiji had spoken.

"You looked troubled. I'll help you if I can."

Ryo shook his head and went back to looking at his feet. Seiji was getting impatient with Ryo's closed off heart. Normally, he could out wait anything or anyone, but this seemed very important. "Please, Ryo. Talk to me. You know you're my friend and you can trust me."

Again, no answer.

Seiji scowled. He only had a very short while until Ryo and his granma left and he had the sneaking suspicion that this might be his only chance to reach Ryo. Well, if Ryo didn't want to talk, that left Seiji with very little choice. A wicked grin crossed Seiji's face. Lightening fast, he lashed out and grabbed Ryo's arm.

"Wh...?" Ryo didn't even have time to finish his sentence before Seiji dragged him into the bathtub clothes and all. "No!" Ryo cried just before falling face first into Seiji's lap and splashing water everywhere.

When Ryo surfaced, soaking wet, with his long dark hair hiding half of his face and coughing up water, he turning a fearsome look on Seiji. "Y-you...you!" Ryo managed to upright himself so he was sitting up, still practically on Seiji's lap. He was only dry from the knees down where his legs hung over the side of the bathtub.

"Me...me." Seiji laughed at Ryo's outraged expression and reached over to grab Ryo's still bare feet. "Come all the way in, you're all ready a bit damp." Seiji took Ryo's feet and pulled them into the tub, also.

"You're ruining your own c-c-clothes." Ryo muttered darkly, quickly moving himself off Seiji's lap.

"I don't mind." Seiji replied, blissfully ignoring Ryo's anger. "You may as well take them off, now." Ryo blushed and took the shirt off, but stopped there. He was adamant about leaving the pants on and Seiji decided that he'd better not try to push Ryo any further.

Now they sat, facing each other and Seiji knew he wanted to make Ryo relaxed enough to open up about whatever it was that was bothering him. 'It's probably that 'incident' his grandmother was talking about.' Ryo sat with his feet pulled up to his chest and deliberately not looking at Seiji.

"Give me your feet." Seiji demanded.

Ryo gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"I'm going to cut them off so you can't run away from me, my tasty little morsel, and then I'm going to let Xiu eat you." Seiji told him dryly. "Honestly, don't you trust me?"

Slowly, Ryo nodded and extended one foot guardedly.

"I just love a good massage, don't you?" Seiji asked, as he started to rub Ryo's foot. He was very good at massage, but he didn't think he'd have to go very far. "You never held up your end of our deal, Ryo." Seiji reminded him softly, still rubbing. When Ryo looked at him questioningly, Seiji said, "About yourselves. I told you all about me, now it's your turn. Tell me why you're so unhappy."




Ryo-




Ryo actually liked Seiji's massage and he liked how Seiji's voice sounded. 'He's tricky, though. I didn't think Seiji would do something like pulling me into the tub.'

Not liking to talk about himself, Ryo had been grateful when, earlier, Seiji's mom had interrupted when it was his turn to talk about himself, but it appeared that Seiji wasn't easily distracted. Ryo wondered briefly where Byakuen was, but knew his friend was well able to take care of himself and would probably be waiting for them when they came out of the Date home.

He knew he had to tell Seiji, now. He had made a promise and he had to keep it. No matter how much it hurt. Besides, maybe talking would help keep him awake as the warm water, steamy air, and Seiji's gentle hands were making him feel so drowsy.




Seiji-




Ryo said nothing for a minute and Seiji decided that perhaps it would be easier if he just started asking questions and letting Ryo answer the questions. As Ryo wasn't used to talking, maybe he just didn't know how to start. Best to start with the question that was nagging on his mind.

"So," Seiji said, pleased that Ryo seemed to be relaxing as he slumped down slightly in the tub. His foot was still in Seiji's hand, but the rest of Ryo's body looked much more relaxed. "That tiger was yours?"

"Y-yes. Yaku-chan is my best f-friend." Ryo yawned sleepily and closed his eyes for a minute. "He's waiting for us."

"Where did you get him?"

Ryo shook his head. "Didn't. He just sort of...ap-peared."

"Is your granma sick?"

Ryo closed his eyes again, slipping into the water up to his shoulders. "Yeah. B-but I gotta g-get her medicine." Ryo didn't open his eyes this time. "Don't hurt me, Seiji. D-don't...don't hurt me."

Seiji frowned at Ryo's words, even as Ryo's foot went limp in his hands. Why would Ryo be afraid that he'd be hurt? "Ryo?"

No answer.

"Ryo, are you asleep?"

Ryo started to slip further into the water and Seiji had to lean forward to prevent him from going under. Seiji laughed and propped Ryo up a little steadier, putting Ryo's arms over the edge of the tub. 'The incense must be very strong to affect Ryo so heavily.' Seiji was thinking of the blue candle that was burning on the edge of the bathroom sink that filled the room with a subtle scent. It was meant to relax, but he hadn't expected Ryo to actually fall asleep.

"Sei-chan!" Seiji sat a little straighter at his mother's raised voice. "You have a phone call!"

Once he was sure that Ryo was secure enough that he wouldn't drown if Seiji stepped into the hall, Seiji stood up. He wasn't a bit worried if anyone should see him, as modesty wasn't one of his stronger virtues.

He had no problem showing off his own, admittedly, fantastic body since no one was ever going to touch it except Xiu. 'Yes, I'm damned sexy. You can look, but you can't touch.' That was Seiji's motto. He honestly didn't mind when people ogled him, except when they seemed to think they had a chance of actually getting their hands on him.

'Ryo would be pretty nice looking once he put on a little weight.' Seiji thought, casting a look at the peacefully sleeping Ryo while he tied a towel around his waist. While he wasn't worried about people see him, he was worried about what grandfather would do if Sanada San saw him in his birthday suit. Didn't want to give Ryo's granma a heart attack, after all. Ryo looked so innocent, just resting his cheek on the porcelain tub edge, with his long eyelashes on his dark tanned skin.

Seiji shook himself of the daydream he was starting to fall into while he thought of Ryo. Whoever was on the phone was waiting. The phone was right out in the hall, outside the bathroom, so Seiji closed the bathroom door behind him before picking it up. "Hello?"

Xiu was on the other end. "Sei-Chan!" His voice was almost angry. "Where the Hell were you? I waited for you for almost twenty minutes this morning and I was late getting to school. What's up? You're never late."

Seiji knew he'd have to bring something nice to school for Xiu in the morning, maybe a plate of cookies. "I'm sorry, Koibito. Something unexpected turned up..."

"Well, something unexpected at school today, too!" Xiu shouted, this time he was most definitely angry. "Shin was arrested!"

Just as Xiu said that, Ryo screamed at the top of his lungs.





To be continued...




Lil' Demoness: How's that for a cliffhanger, folks?