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Post by Kyo Suzuki on May 21, 2011 21:33:42 GMT -5
"I was hoping to eat with you, if that's all right. I'll just go and get myself a plate." Kyo gave another nod for an answer as Danil caressed his shoulder before leaving the room. Wow....he was just brimming with originality today, wasn't he? Annoyed at his "originality," and bad sarcasm and equally bad feelings, Kyo rubbed the place between his eyes once more, as if somehow massaging the knot in his head would help to loosen it a bit. He was beginning to wonder if a trip to the Chinatown-like area downtown might do some good for him. He could ask Nic to take him to one of the massage therapists and....oh, wait. He didn't really want to see Nic. Danil and Peter were already a handful. Nic being the main player in this, Kyo didn't think he could trust himself around his good friend. In fact, it was quite lucky he hadn't run into him yet as it was, because he would have no way to explain why he was being distant. He would have nothing to say at all. When Danil returned with his own tray of food, Vaska went into a fit of hungry excitement. Kyo watched the normally funny antics with an almost subconscious mind. He was seeing what was happening before him, but not really seeing it. His mind was multi-tasking in ways he didn't even know were possible. As the cat finally admitted defeat and curled up at Kyo's feet, the Japanese boy extended a hand out to pet the animal, still gazing, lost in thought, at a rather random point on the wall. In fact, Kyo was so preoccupied by the thoughts, his gaze moving so that it was now lost somewhere in the mess of fat cat fur, that he didn't notice Danil rummaging through the papers on his desk. It was his host father's next words which finally woke him up. "Kyo?"Kyo glanced up. "What is this?" Danil was holding the paper in hand, the one he'd hidden the night before, the one that had as much information about his current problem as, he was sure, his own confused mind did. "This doesn't look like homework."An alarm started going off in Kyo's head. As Danil started going on about how he saw his own name on there, how he recognized the Japanese for it, how he presumably could read some Japanese, Kyo went into full blown panic mode. Indeed, a kind of true terror had set in. Could things really possibly get any worse? He was sure he had to have done something during his stay in America so far to warrant such a nasty karma. Apparently it wasn't good enough that he'd spent the last week or so in distress, about at his limit. Apparently the higher powers that were thought it might be better to test him further, see if he would officially break. Kyo bit his lip hard, feeling the skin break. He wasn't a liar, he'd done too much lying already thanks to the problems at hand. In one instant, his whole life had changed, he had changed. God, how he wanted to go home now. How he wished he'd never been involved, never met any of them, not Linda, not Danil, not Peter, not Nic...Heck, if he'd never come to America, never met any of them, never started working at Cafe Mocha, never invited Nic there.....Nic might never have met Linda again. Danil and Peter would never have had to deal with Kyo or his new aptness for lying. No one would have had any of the problems they did now. Kyo would be safe in Japan, spending time with the friends he already missed so much, away from a place that he had always dreamed of, but was slowly helping him realize fears he'd never known he had. He wanted to give up. Right then and there. He wanted to raise his hands and admit defeat. But instead, some kind of natural defense somewhere deep inside spoke for Kyo first. "It is...nothing. Not homework, you are right. Shukudai...." Kyo was hardly aware of what he was saying as he said it. His mind suddenly belonged to someone else. Maybe he really was going crazy.....? Kyo tossed his sheets aside and clambered out of his bed for where Danil was at the desk. He didn't give the man much of a chance to respond, snatching the paper from his hands like a desperate person before backing up towards the door. On the bed, Vaska had become just as edgy, probably not only from being disturbed, but also because he could sense the suddenly tense atmosphere in the room. The paper quivering as he held it in his own shaking hands, Kyo shook his head. "Really, it is not important.......Just a paper I put together. To keep track of...." Oh God, what if Danil had been able to read any of it? Much of it had been abbreviated for extra security, but for someone who knew at least a little Japanese, it wouldn't have been impossible to figure out. And Danil had always seemed to be a master of many trades. He'd claimed to always like Japan, so what if he had been able to read it? "....keep track of....Right now is a secret...eto....it's the surprise. I can't tell you...." Kyo squeezed his eyes shut. Why had the day even begun? Why had he even woken up? He almost wished he'd taken the hot tub opportunity Danil had offered him last night, and that wouldn't have been the happy, frolicking kind where he relaxed and allowed unwashable troubles to be washed away. Unable to take it any longer, his heart pounding so loudly and quickly that he could feel the blood rushing to his head, Kyo murmured a soft apology under his breath, one he was sure Danil probably wouldn't hear, then tore through the bedroom door with the troublesome paper in hand. His first instinct was to run for the bathroom down the hall, lock himself in and say he was sick while he tried to figure out what he could do in this mess, but as he approached the bathroom door in a kind of flurry, he changed his mind. Skidding to a stop, Kyo turned back for the way he'd come, slipping past his room once more and hurrying off for the front entrance to the house. He didn't wait to see if Danil would catch him--in fact, he had something of a fear of being chased, so he didn't want to know anyway. Pulling his sneakers on only halfway, he stuffed the paper into the pants pocket of the street clothes he was still wearing, then rushed out the door. As he headed down through the front yard for the main street, Kyo tried to calm the frightfully quick pounding in his chest. He'd never done this kind of thing. Ever. He'd always been a pretty good kid. He'd always obeyed his parents, always done well in school...Now he was a messed-up, disobedient host son in a country where he suddenly felt as foreign as visitors from Mars might on their very first visit to Earth. It actually felt painful not to have someone to tell the truth to, someone--maybe--Japanese, who he could explain to comfortably in his native language, someone who would be detached enough from the whole problem that they wouldn't get in trouble if he told them about it... Kyo didn't know how he would explain this all to Danil or Peter, even Nic, later, especially when he finally got home, but he knew he needed to be away at this moment. If he was going to have to be stuck with thoughts of what was happening to him right now, he'd prefer to contemplate them on his own in somewhere private, and his bedroom and the bathroom were not going to cut it. Especially now that Danil had found his note. No, he needed time away from the house and the people that he loved--who right now he felt strangely detached feelings from--to sort this out. And he would. He would sort it out. This had gone far enough as it was. Kyo broke off from the main path after a few minutes running along it, darting off into a nearby forest-like area. He rushed past tree after tree, not bothering to keep track of how many or which kind, felt sharp brambles cut into him through his street clothes, tripped once or twice on tree roots that had never grown deep enough into the earth, and when he was sure he was deep enough in the forest that he wouldn't be found--at least not easily--he sank down to the ground on all fours, on a bed of moss and clover. Kyo felt a swell of emotions fill him up inside, but he had no tears left to cry them out. Instead, he curled up on the ground, trying to breathe deep and even out his ragged breaths. Fishing into his pants pocket, he pulled out the paper that had betrayed him and set it on the ground next to him. Before he returned back to the home, Kyo promised himself....He would have a battle plan for this problem. And then he would put it into place. OOC Note: Technically nobody can really find out about the problem until a certain point in Nic and Kyo's plot, so no matter how the thread continues to go, that unfortunately has to remain a secret for now!!!
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Post by Angela on May 22, 2011 7:30:52 GMT -5
(OOC: Sounds great! But btw the bathroom and the front door are both in the same direction, so Kyo wouldn't have needed to run past his room to go to the front door when he was actually headed there anyway)
He wasn't sure whether to believe his words or not, but Danil doubted he would get that kind of reaction if it was for a "surprise." Danil's jaw dropped when he saw Kyo bite his lip and when he saw a trickle of blood, he took up a tissue from the nearby box on the desk. When he got up, Danil spoke his name.
"Kyo," he simply said, and as Kyo snatched the paper away, Danil repeated the name, more insistently. "Kyo!" He set his plate on the desk and stood up as Kyo went to the doorway. "Kyo, please," he said calmly, "let's just talk, all right?"
But without another word, Kyo ran off. Danil waited a moment, stunned. Then he started to calmly walk after him. By that time, he heard the front door slam. He wasn't sure if it was Peter, or if Kyo had left. Danil looked around the first floor of the house, finally deciding to look outside.
"Kyo?!" he called. This wasn't good, this was not good at all! Danil rushed around the front and back yard, running into Peter almost head on when he came to the back yard.
"What the hell?"
"Did you see Kyo?" Danil asked, panicked.
"What?" Peter asked, confused.
"Did you see Kyo?!" Danil exclaimed, louder.
"No, I didn't see him! What's going on?" Peter's tone almost matched Danil's. "What happened?"
"We've got to find him," Danil said with a sigh, and started calling his name to the four winds.
When there was no answer, Danil rushed to his car and started driving around. His heart was racing. God, anything could happen to him! He could get hit by a car, he could trip and fall somewhere, he could fall into a creek and drown... All sorts of awful, horrifying scenarios were running through his mind as he rolled down his window and began calling for his exchange son.
And then... a wave of calmness washed over him. Danil pulled over to catch his breath. He didn't understand. His exchange son, his responsibility, had run away. He was missing! Why did he stop? Moreover, how did he become so calm? He put a hand against his heart as he leaned against his seat and closed his eyes. There was only one explanation:
"Alyoshka," Danil whispered. After a few moments, he turned the key and calmly drove back home.
"Did you find him?" Peter asked, panicked. When he saw that Kyo still was not with him, he became confused. Zoloto was with him, sniffing Kyo's hat which Peter had retrieved from inside. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure if it would work. "Why did you come back?" He stared at him.
"He'll be fine," Danil said with confidence. "He will only get more upset and scared if we go after him."
"Are you kidding?! You don't know what's going through his mind! You did this in February, remember?! And you had us all worried sick!" Peter exclaimed.
"He's not alone," Danil insisted, eyeing him with insistence. "Leave him be for a while."
"What do you mean he's not al-" Peter stopped, and then he too became calm. "Oh... You- you mean-"
"Exactly," Danil said calmly. "He'll be fine."
Peter sighed with relief, but shook his head. "How did this happen?"
Danil told him about the piece of paper that started this whole thing.
"Why were you going through his stuff in the first place?" Peter demanded.
"I didn't mean to! I was just clearing off a place on the desk! It was a mess! I simply straightened everything up, that's all."
"But you looked at everything," Peter pointed out critically.
"Only to make sure that I didn't mess up the order! I kept all his papers together for each subject, then I saw something that didn't fit with any of them. I looked closer, it was all Japanese. Most of it I couldn't understand, just letters, but it was a diagram, and I noticed my name on it, in Japanese. I've been to Japan for six years straight! I know how my name appears in Japanese. Fans from there send me letters and gifts all the time! You know this. Why would he write my name in Japanese in this diagram? What do you think it means?"
"Well, he's never going to tell us now," Peter said with a sigh. He folded his arms across his chest. "So, what? We just let Zhenya's father's ghost take care of him while we sit here on our asses?"
"Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes," Danil said with a shrug.
"Swell." Peter rolled his eyes and shook his head. "In the meantime, we should discuss proper discipline for when he does come home."
"We scared him. Should I say, I scared him. He ran away out of desperation."
"This is no time to stand up for him," Peter told him. "Grounded for two weeks, no TV, no friends, no phone, no computer-"
"Look, he wouldn't have done this if I hadn't-"
"Do you want to let our kid walk all over us when he or she's a teenager? We can't let Kyo get away with this unscathed! He didn't tell you where he was going, he didn't tell me, he didn't even ask, that's not how it should be- God, I sound like Dr. Seuss." Peter rolled his eyes. "Look, my point is, you could have had a heart attack. He could have gotten hurt. He could have gotten kidnapped. Who knows? We can't let him get away with this. He has to know the seriousness of what he's done."
Danil nodded. "Yes, you're right." He sighed. "I'm sorry... We've never dealt with such a thing before..."
"First time for everything," Peter said with a shrug. "It was bound to come up sooner or later. So what do you think, two weeks?"
Danil was quiet for a moment, debating with himself. "Perhaps that isn't long enough. He could have gotten hurt, or worse, like you said. Maybe we should make it longer."
Peter nodded. "Yeah. I think a month should teach him the lesson we want him to learn."
"And what lesson is that?" Danil asked with a sad sigh as he sat on one of the porch chairs. "That he should hide every little problem he has from us from now on? That he shouldn't even write notes for himself to help with whatever is going on?"
"That he should never run away from home," Peter said firmly. "That is inexcusable and unforgivable."
Danil nodded firmly. "Yes. You're right." He sighed and massaged his temple. Peter sat next to him, and Zoloto followed him, standing expectantly in front of him.
"What are you doing with Kyo's hat?" Danil asked, having just noticed it. He chuckled.
"I was going to send Zoloto out to find him, let her sniff for him."
"She's a golden retriever, not a bloodhound," Danil said with a chuckle.
"Still, I bet she could find him." Peter shrugged.
"Perhaps... but right now, let's let Alyoshka take care of him."
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on May 24, 2011 11:08:11 GMT -5
Not even ten minutes into his stay in the forest, the winter chill began to catch up with Kyo. He realized he'd been fairly lucky so far, as it was. The spot he'd chosen on the forest floor hadn't been as covered in the usual winter morning frost as many other places. Though having already spent some time here just trying to get himself to calm down, now that he was finally beginning to relax a bit and his body temperature evening out again, the bitter air was really starting to sting. Kyo wasn't sure how long he could make do outside like this without a jacket, but he had the feeling he couldn't stay too long in the forest anyway. Someone was bound to come looking.
Yes, he knew he would have to start moving again eventually. For now he imagined he was okay, maybe even for a few hours he would be....But if Danil had called the police (and Kyo assumed there was a good chance that such a thing really had happened, considering how everything had played out back there), then there wouldn't be much time. Scent dogs were smart and fast. Kyo was sure he'd be no match for them. If he could even manage to outrun those kinds of creatures, he'd only dig himself into a deeper hole. And anyway, considering his considerable fear of being chased, he had the feeling that the dogs wouldn't even end up needing his scent if they could sense his fear.
But that was something to consider later. He'd only just left the home, and as it was, he was still recovering bit by bit from everything that had happened since he'd woken up. He needed this time to just sit alone.
Yet while Kyo sat there, thinking, trying to calm himself....it was odd. He didn't feel alone. In fact, Kyo didn't know what kind of presence was with him in the forest as he sat there, lost in his own thoughts. But whatever it was, the frightening pace at which his heart had been going, the restlessness which had been driving him mad over the course of the past week.....they seemed to dissipate with the arrival of that presence. Kyo decided it had to be the result of a sudden shock of bitter fresh air, finally being free of some of the binds which had imprisoned his mind back at home. Maybe he'd partially run away because some deep part of him had known that he really did need this free time out to think.
Though...Kyo sighed. It had become like that...he'd become a runaway brat in his host father's eyes.
Kyo glanced down at the paper in his hands. His heart had long since calmed down from the overactive beating, but it still ached. This paper.......it was meant to have been the start to the end of this big problem he'd fallen into. It was meant to have been the start of the way out of this hole, and yet it had ended up becoming the shovel which dug him deeper and deeper in. There was no way to explain to his host fathers about his reaction to the paper, there was no way he could go back without fear of punishment, or worse, being forced to tell them what was going on... And yet Kyo resented that. Even if they'd only meant the best for him, they didn't understand. They were, in many ways, making it harder.
Kyo studied the form and his notes, thinking back on something Nic's father had mentioned during Thanksgiving. The man had had no idea that the girl who'd taken his son's hearing had been the very same one sitting at the table with him that day, listening to him recount that horrible story. Even Kyo, at the time, hadn't been aware of it. He'd been too stupid to get it....
He bit his lip. The thought had actually re-summoned some of his tears.
Nic seemed to love Linda so much...But look what she had done to him. Look what she was seemingly planning to do to him...Kyo felt like his heart could snap in two at the thought. Nic was such a good person, Kyo couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt him once, let alone again and again. And in the way that she had, too....It hadn't been good enough taking his hearing? What did she want next, everything else?
Kyo fiddled with the paper for a moment, contemplating his options again. As no new ideas were making themselves present and in consideration of the fact that Danil and Peter had unintentionally helped Kyo open a whole new can of worms, the Japanese student was sure he had to take matters into his own hands now. He would just, well....he would give it his best. He would weigh all his options, their pros and cons, and then he would have to choose one and go for it.
First things first.
Kyo studied the paper's contents one more time, as he had already done many times, as if by just looking he could find some hidden meaning in his own notes. Looking was reminding him of the painful experience of just minutes before, grabbing the paper from Danil and running, but he was trying hard to force that memory aside as he focused on the biggest problem at hand. In fact, he was mad at Danil, at least even a little...Why had he been going through his things? Why had it mattered that there was a paper in Japanese...? That was his native language...was he really supposed to tell his host fathers about every little thing he did? He felt as though he had been intruded on in at least some small way, though he supposed the paper's presentation could have very well looked suspicious. It was much like a diagram of sorts, and...
Focus, focus.... Kyo closed his eyes. He needed to think about the main problem first.
Linda. Linda seemed to be all about appearances. Kyo didn't think anything about her was real, probably right down to her claw-like nails. And that probably went for her feelings about her current boyfriend too. ....In fact, he couldn't understand why the girl was with that man. They'd done the kissing thing, they'd been fooling around before him (unfortunately for him), but Kyo really hadn't gotten the vibe that Linda was happy. He held true to the belief that when he found a girlfriend one day, he'd love her, he'd know he loved her, and he'd show it. He just didn't get that feeling from Linda; it had felt more like she was going through the motions of having a boyfriend over actually having one.
And that was partly what made Kyo feel uncomfortable. Was it possible that Linda did like Nic? Thinking back on what she'd said to cover up his phone call--Kyo glanced at his notes now--the hesitation he'd sensed....Kyo didn't know how long Linda had been with Jeff, but he wondered if maybe her issue with Nic in this whole matter was simply that she was stupid. That she had a boyfriend already, had run into Nic, decided she liked him all of a sudden, and then realized she couldn't like him without getting into trouble with her current boyfriend.
Kyo hated Linda's guts, but he didn't want to see her get hurt either. Maybe she'd been stupid enough to pick a mean guy who would hurt her if he found out that she was looking at another man. That, or he would hurt Nic. And worse still, if Linda wasn't protecting Nic by insulting him, it would mean she was probably really using him to save her own hide or just hated him as much as she said. Both of those thoughts were quite terrifying.
Kyo took a deep breath. Maybe this was as simple as approaching Linda and coaxing the truth out of her. Maybe he could do it at chorus practices and see--
There was the sound or leaves rustling, and Kyo was reminded that he only had a little bit of time here in the woods before he needed to move on. It wasn't going to help alleviate the problem he'd face when he finally returned home, if he returned home tonight, but it was yet another inevitable pleasantry involved with the situation. Unfortunately he didn't have his wallet with him. Just some spare change he'd had leftover from school, a mechanical pencil, and a receipt from the convenience store. Everything else was with his jacket.
Kyo rubbed his arms, trying to caress some warmth back into his body. It would be best if he could find some place indoors, some place where he wouldn't easily be found in return.
And he decided he had one in mind.
Brushing dirt and stray pieces of foliage from his clothing, Kyo clambered back to his feet. He took a deep breath, watched his breath fog in front of him slightly from the chill in the air, then began on his way through the forest again, in the direction he was sure led to where he was determined to be headed. The presence which had been with him in the forest that time became less and less as he moved from the mossy area he'd spent the last good hour in.......but the calmness remained.
Even so, his mind so set on his goal, Kyo thought nothing of this, merely felt an unconscious sense of gratitude deep in his heart.
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Post by Angela on May 25, 2011 11:13:11 GMT -5
Danil sat with Peter on the porch for a few minutes. Peter went inside and grabbed a blanket, along with Danil's breakfast from Kyo's room and a plate for himself. He was so busy with Zoloto and now worrying about Kyo that he too had forgotten to eat.
"Well..." Danil said with a sigh, "I wonder when he will be back..."
"Soon, at least he'd better," Peter snapped.
"Peter, come on, now. You know he wouldn't have run away if I hadn't invaded his privacy," Danil said critically.
"I don't care if you walked in on him having sex! Invading his privacy isn't any reason for him to get away with running away from home!" Peter exclaimed. He slammed his fist onto a nearby porch table. Danil flinched.
"Please don't do that," Danil said quietly. "You're scaring me."
Peter sighed. "Sorry," he told him, though he didn't sound like he meant it. "The point is, I don't care what you did. He shouldn't have run away."
"You're right, he shouldn't have," Danil agreed.
"We should call the cops," Peter mused.
"Alyoshka knows where he is, he's taking care of him. There's no need to get the police involved," Danil disagreed.
"Yeah... might scare some sense into the kid though," Peter said sulkily.
"Come on, Peter, we're grounding him for a month. Let's not traumatize him further," Danil told him.
Peter sighed, finishing his crepes. "Yeah, well, when he does get home, we gotta be firm. No matter what you did, it doesn't excuse what he did."
"I know, Peter." Danil rolled his eyes.
"Fuck, I gotta get to class. I'm late!" Peter looked at his watch. It was 11:30.
"I'll see you tonight," Danil said gently, and Peter leaned over to kiss him.
"You better go inside. You'll freeze to death out here."
"I'll be all right," he assured him. "I'm not going anywhere until Kyo comes back."
Peter sighed. "Maybe I should stay too..."
"You know how Hawkins is," Danil pointed out, shaking his head. "If you miss a day, he'll give you a failing grade for your current assignments. You'd better get going."
Peter nodded. "Yeah... God, I hate college sometimes." He kissed Danil once more. "Stay warm. Don't stay out here all day."
"I won't."
After Peter left, Danil sighed, and pulled the blanket around him tighter, shivering. He began to worry about Kyo even more as snowflakes began to fall ever so slightly. Oh, Alyoshka, please take care of him... He became so worried, he couldn't even drink the remainder of his smoothie.
After two hours, Danil sighed and went inside. It was starting to get dreadfully cold, and the snow was starting to stick to the ground; though it was too thin to pose any problem. Still, Danil stood vigilantly in the doorway, watching for Kyo. Zoloto came inside with him, and looked out the door as well.
"Oh, Kyo, please come home..."
At two o'clock, Danil was supposed to leave for practice. It was imperative to go to it, so as to maintain top condition for the World Championships in a few weeks in Tokyo. He couldn't spare a single day... But he was going to have to. He would not leave this house until Kyo was safely inside it.
"Parker... I'm sorry, I can't come in this afternoon," he told his coach on his cell. "Kyo ran away... I'm staying here until he comes back. Peter had to go to class, he won't e home until six. When Kyo comes back, I don't want him to return to an empty house. I'm sure you understand." Danil waited a few moments. "Well, that's a long story. Kyo told us he was worried about some friends in Japan, and we tried to help him with this problem. One of these friends has a girlfriend who is supposedly involved in gangs and is dangerous, and the other friend knows about this and doesn't know if he shoudl tell this friend or not. That's the simplest way I can think of to explain. Anyway, we let him stay home from school because he has been so stressed because of this, plus school, and we thought he should have some time off to rest and recharge. I went in to have breakfast with him, and I cleared off his books and papers on his desk so I could sit there, and, well, I was only trying to make sure I didn't mess anything up, and I saw a paper that looked like a bunch of scribblings and letters in Japanese. I didn't understand, and I wasn't going to ask, but I noticed my name was on it in Japanese. It was there several times. When I asked him what it was all about, he grabbed the paper and ran away." He was quiet for another few moments, listening to Parker. "Yes, that's what Peter said... That's how I feel too... Aleksei Kristianovich is with him. He'll be all right, but that doesn't stop me from being worried sick out of my mind, and I do want to make sure I'm here when he comes back... Thank you, I knew you'd understand. I'll keep you posted, Parker. Thanks again."
Danil sighed, hanging up the phone and waiting once more for Kyo.
Promptly at six o'clock, the front door opened and Zoloto and Lucky barked excitedly, having recognized the crunch of the specific tires in the gravel driveway. Kyo still hadn't come home. Danil was making some tea to calm his nerves. When the door opened, he sighed and went to the foyer expectantly, hoping it was Kyo, even though he heard the car pull up.
"Is he home yet?" Peter asked immediately upon seeing his husband.
"No..." Danil replied with a sigh, embracing him. He leaned his head against him and stifled a sob. Peter put his arms lightly around him and kissed his temple.
"This is getting out of hand," Peter said. "I'm calling the police. I don't care if Aleksei Kristianovich is with him or not. He belongs at home."
"I agree," Danil replied with a nod, then cringed. "What will I say when they ask why we didn't go look for him?"
"Say that we tried, but the snow concerned us too much. We don't need them to know about a stupid ghost watching over our family."
"Aleksei Kristianovich is not stupid!" Danil exclaimed. "You know, that is the second time that you've insulted him. You've never even met him, either in death or in life! I'll thank you not to say such a thing about him again." He folded his arms across his chest.
"God, whatever!" Peter replied, his tone exasporated and loud. "But if he was as good as you say he is, he would have told us where Kyo is instead of worrying us to death!"
"Alyoshka must have a reason for not telling us," Danil said calmly. "Maybe Kyo just needs some time alone."
"Well, he'll have plenty of time alone, that's for sure. One month alone in his room. I'll padlock the door and put bars on the fucking windows if I have to."
"Now, Peter," Danil said, putting his hands on his shoulder, "let's not overreact. He has school, after all."
"Yeah, that's true." Peter let out a long sigh. "Anyway, I'm still calling the police. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course it's all right," Danil answered. "We'll call them now."
Peter walked into the living room after hanging up his coat and taking off his snowy and wet shoes. He grabbed one of the portable phones, and dialed the local police department.
"Hello, Officer? I'd like to report a runaway..."
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on May 25, 2011 14:46:43 GMT -5
Admittedly, Kyo was a little scared as he trekked through the forest alone. The sole warmth in the air came from the sun high above in the winter sky, and even that was scarce as it passed through the trees down to him. He really wished he'd thought to bring his jacket. And yet despite that, the strange calm which had come over him mere moments ago remained. Though it seemed to be waning, little by little, it was all the strength Kyo needed to go on.
Before too long, he was out of the forest and grateful to recognize the place where he'd come out. He was just off the main road, not too far from the route he normally took into downtown. It wasn't much of a sight, but it was a start. Kyo started in the direction he knew led towards downtown Pittsburgh. If he was going to find a proper place to spend the day, he would need to be in a busier area, in a place where there would be more buildings. The closer one got to the city, of course the more buildings there would be. It was too bad he couldn't take the train...He just didn't have the proper fare for it. For now, walking would have to do.
Partway through the journey, the Japanese boy's strange calm finally turned into hunger, and he made a quick stop at a nearby gas station to pick up a small sandwich and hot tea drink. He'd watched the last of his measly pocket change go with that and kindly accepted his receipt. More paper for him to write on....
And not much long after, the sandwich and the hot tea were gone too, having at the very least warmed Kyo's belly for a short while as he moved through the winter scenery. But by the time he'd left the gas station, a light snow had begun to fall, and his desperation to find a temporary shelter doubled. He'd been fairly good with coping with cold weather since a very young age--he much preferred that to hot weather, anyway--but he didn't want to test his abilities against winter snow now. Especially when he wasn't at his best, physically or mentally. No, he knew he needed to get inside.
In the end, he settled on a combined arcade and restaurant building. Kyo had passed by it many times in the past while driving through West Mifflin, but this would be his very first visit. As he stepped inside, he thought that was rather unfortunate. The place had the kind of atmosphere perfect for families, a kind of place loved ones could come together just to relax and enjoy the day. As Kyo watched kids and their families playing games together, laughing, eating fine foods from the restaurant area, he felt very alone indeed.
He sought solitude towards the back of the arcade, where he pressed himself into a fairly comfortable alcove in the wall next to some race-car machines. In fact, Kyo devoted himself to his work, to the thoughts which had been plaguing him endlessly for the past few weeks--the new ones too--but as people moved about around him, laughing, playing, totally unaware of his predicament, he found he could no longer concentrate. At least a few lonely hours passed, Kyo just sitting there in that alcove musing over things he'd already over-mused about, and then a small child toddled over in his direction, seemingly for the race car machines, his mother right behind him. But they saw Kyo there, sitting in the alcove, looking.....lost and forlorn, and the mother was suddenly leading the small child away by the hand. The look on her face suggested she thought something was up.
She would be right, then.
Though...Kyo felt his heart sink. Did he look that depressed? Anyway, he was sure this was a good sign for him to move-on. Warm though the arcade was, he wasn't able to think with all the noise and activity around him. In fact, watching everything was only making his heart sink further and further. He needed to get out of here before the woman decided he was suspicious enough to warrant security guard activity.
Approximately twenty or so minutes later, after having packed up his things and departing the arcade and restaurant like the vagabond he had become, Kyo came across another array of shops and buildings much further down the road. The smallest of them was also the most inconspicuous. A very simple little building tucked away between two bigger shops, one a pet store, the other a market. Kyo had his eye set on the little laundromat in between the other buildings. It was just busy enough that his presence ought not to draw too much attention, and yet just empty enough too that he would likely be able to focus on his work.
It was perfect. For now, anyway.
Kyo slipped inside the building into a small, warm room that smelled of bleach, laundry detergent, and age. An old-fashioned TV was blaring in one corner of the room, playing out an old sitcom to a lonely customer who'd fallen asleep on one of the chairs in the guest area. Kyo crept by the customer, seeking solitude on a bench towards the back of the laundromat which was conveniently tucked away behind a number of unused laundry machines.
Kyo sat down on the bench.
And he began to think.
As the machines around him rumbled and tumbled various visitors' laundry, Kyo became focused on his work once again. Observing his notes, he thought again about his plans to confront Linda. He was also now considering confronting Nic, as well. He knew he had to be careful about this. Nic was already going through enough as it was, and there was the possibility that the older Asian boy wouldn't understand or accept what Kyo might have to tell him. At the same time, if he did and if he, Nic, in turn confronted Linda about it, if she was upset enough, she might turn her boyfriend, Jeff, on Nic anyway.
Even so, Kyo was beginning to wonder if it was the only way. Unless he told Nic about what he'd overheard and pleaded with him to keep silent about it, at least for a little while until they could both figure out what to do. Kyo only feared that doing so, Nic would ignore him. Not because of ill intentions, but probably because he would be upset that Kyo had gotten himself intertwined in all this.
Kyo began mapping out all his options and the possible outcomes, still holding true the thought that maybe it really was as simple as telling Nic or Linda, and with the warmth of the room, the rhythmic lull of the laundry machines, the gentle hum of the TV only a few yards away, Kyo felt himself grow sleepy, his eyes fluttering closed as he continued to scrawl notes down on the receipts he'd gotten earlier.
His writing became messy notes, and the messy notes finally became scribbles. Kyo felt himself doze off at one point, only to be awoken shortly after by an overeager hippie visitor who'd just finished his last load of laundry and slammed the machine door shut. Groggy now, Kyo glanced down at the papers still in his hands and sighed. His mind felt as empty of ideas as his stomach suddenly felt of food. A glance up at an old clock on the back wall confirmed to Kyo that he'd spent, more or less, the past four hours in the laundromat. Already it had reached 5 PM. Danil and Peter would probably be worried. Scratch that, of course they would be.
And yet, he was scared to go home. He well remembered Peter's reactions to his misbehavior, even the accidental ones, even the ones that hadn't fully been his fault or had been out of his control. He also knew Danil's tendency to agree and follow through with Peter's plans, sometimes even if he'd originally seemed reluctant about them.
"Oh my goodness..." Kyo had to fight another wave of tears. He felt weak and stupid and alone and scared and misunderstood. Everything really did seem unfair. He didn't want to be that whining, childish teenage stereotype Americans had of people his age, but he finally understood where it came from. He really did feel those things, he really did feel lost. And while he had been so sure that he'd been right in his choices before, he no longer knew whether he could trust his own judgment or not. It was terrifying. Especially because at the moment, his own judgment was all he had.
Likely it wouldn't be long before he was caught anyway. If he stayed out here, as a runaway. He didn't have the money or resources on hand to stay away from home for long anyway, but even if he tried, there would certainly be a search for him. The police would look, Danil and Peter would look, probably Nic too.....If Kyo's parents caught wind, it would be the end of everything. What did this all mean for him? Kyo just didn't understand anymore. So many things were happening at once, it felt near impossible to try and piece them together. Once again he felt stirrings of anger at Danil and Peter inside. Why had they insisted he stay home? He hadn't been much for that, he hadn't even been given the chance to protest or say anything about his feelings about the matter. And Danil had been going through his stuff...yes, he shouldn't have left the paper out in the open, but he hadn't given it much thought the night before. He'd been so wiped out that he'd just sought bed for the night.
Just.......wrong. Everything was going so wrong.
Kyo wondered if it was even possible to talk to Linda now. What if somehow she got wind that he had "run away" and turned him in to police, or something, if he contacted her? She would probably try and make it a big deal too, make it sound like he'd been doing something really bad.
And....well....maybe he was now. Running away. He hadn't thought of it like that initially, just taken it for some time away to think. But now that night had settled in, now that he was cold and hungry and alone, yet too frightened to go back to his host family.....maybe he really was a runaway. What was the punishment for runaway kids who were caught in America? Kyo couldn't help thinking it, at the very least, wouldn't be as bad as the punishment his parents would give him for running in the first place.
The laundromat owner, a kindly old woman who had taken note of Kyo's appearance and left him be since his arrival in the shop, finally approached him now, the wrinkles on her elderly face forming near parallel lines as she smiled. "We'll be closing in about a half hour or so," she informed him softly. "Will you be okay on your way home in the dark, honey?"
Kyo glanced around the laundry machines and out the windows. Indeed, dusk had settled in and brought snow along with it. It was going to be a nightmare of a trip, Kyo had the strong urge to plead with the woman to let him stay here for the night, but he knew he couldn't do it. He ought to go home, first off, he ought to for sure, but also....if he stayed here, he was bound to be found eventually. It wasn't even that far from Danil and Peter's home...Maybe a matter of thirty minutes or so walking?
Kyo nodded to the woman, finally. "Thank you for letting me stay."
"You're very welcome," the woman replied, the smile still gracing her gentle face. She nodded her head in the direction of some of the old game machines in one corner of the laundromat and winked. "I turned off the games for the night. You can go pick out some snacks for free. You must be hungry, sitting there doing work all night."
"It is really okay?" Kyo's eyes got wide. More than anything, he was grateful for the offer, his aching stomach possessing the majority of the gratitude he was feeling.
She nodded. "Be careful on your way home, you hear? Don't forget your jacket!"
Kyo merely nodded. He decided to refrain from mentioning the jacket, or lackthereof. Instead, he folded away his receipts now full of mostly useless notes and the confounded paper which had begun this whole new nightmare, then gratefully helped himself to the snacks from the game area of the laundromat. Chex mix, mini pretzels, Oreos, Ritz Cheese crackers...Kyo felt very much as though he'd hit the jackpot. He almost wondered if he should ask to borrow any jackets or clothing that had been left behind, then refrained. He'd imposed enough today.
As Kyo moved for the entrance to the laundromat, one hand pressed to the glass of the door, the surface of which had become cold, frosty, even, in the evening winter weather, he turned, murmured a soundless, "Thank you," and went on his way.
He didn't know where he would go next, he supposed he should go home, face the music....but he was just so scared.
Yet despite his fears, for the fourth time in the same day, Kyo stepped outside into the cold.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on May 26, 2011 7:31:23 GMT -5
ooc: Wow...this post is uber crap because I can't concentrate, but I want to write it anyway. Maybe I'll go back and edit later. -_- (Nothing substantial, just wording/phrasing, that kind of thing.)
Nic had been relatively busy with the start of the new semester at Penn State at the end of January, and since then he had been working nonstop. But on top of that, after what had happened with his father when he'd come to visit in February, he'd had a more difficult time facing both Danil and Peter, as well as Kyo. He didn't want to burden them with his own problems, first of all, and as he knew they all had their own in addition, the unnecessary stress his father had caused on top of that was altogether shameful. He still felt as though he hadn't properly been able to apologize to everyone, and he certainly hadn't been able to get his stubborn father to do so. Not to mention, James had nearly revealed to everyone who Linda was and her old connections with Nic. Even if Linda had done what she'd done, Nic had begun to forgive her. He'd finally heard her side of the story, and begun to accept her back into his life.
Too much. It was all too much, unnecessary trouble.
While things had generally begun to settle down slowly after that incident (although Nic himself was still having a hard time forgiving his father), recently it was Kyo who had been acting strange. Even though Nic rarely had time to hang out with the younger boy anymore, at least not the way they once had, that didn't mean he hadn't noticed the obvious changes in the boy. Normally, Kyo had provided the whole home with a kind of lightness and endless optimism. But recently, Kyo had seemed just the opposite. He was quiet, almost entirely anti-social, and he seemed to do everything half-heartedly compared to how he usually was. Even weirder, he'd been spending more time in his room than in the outside world. It just wasn't like the Kyo Nic had grown to know over time. Not at all.
It seemed very clear something had been bothering the boy, and at first Nic was worried it might be what his father had said that time they'd had dinner together. But he figured it had to be something different--Kyo had seemed fine after that event, no matter how bad it had been. This had started only recently. Whatever it was, it had to be something big though, to have affected the boy this much. It was like he had become a completely different person.
As much as Nic had wanted to find out what was wrong with the boy (he'd nearly gone to Kyo's room a few times to ask, though he'd stopped himself just in time on all those occasions--a few times he'd checked up on the boy while he was sleeping, even though he knew that was more Danil and Peter's job than his), he felt sure that what Kyo wanted right now (and probably needed) was some alone-time. He felt sure that, with the way Kyo's personality was, the boy would come to someone in time if he really needed help. Maybe he was wrong to think that...but he also didn't want to pry where Kyo might not want him. Kyo was a smart kid...he would do what was right.
Today, Nic had spent the entire day working in his room, on a new report due for class, when he decided to take a break and go downstairs for another snack, even though he knew it would be dinner time soon. He'd gone down earlier for a tuna sandwich and some milk, when sunlight had been filtering throughout the house. Now, it was getting to be nighttime, and it had begun to snow again outside. Another cold night.
As he trudged down the stairs and moved through the first floor hallway, he saw movement from in the living room. Danil and Peter were in there. There was really nothing abnormal about the two of them being together, but it was the strange, worried expressions on their faces that stopped Nic in his tracks and rooted him to the spot. He watched as Peter, who was looking a little angry as well, picked up one of the house phones and spoke.
"Hello, Officer? I'd like to report a runaway..."
Nic wrinkled his brow. Had he read Peter's lips wrong? Officer? Who were they calling, the police? And...a...runaway? He looked at Danil beside Peter, equally worried. Something was definitely up, and though he wasn't sure it was his business to intrude, he felt he ought to do something to see if he could help alleviate the situation, whatever it was.
"Danil...?" he murmured quietly, pausing at the doorway before entering fully. He kept his voice down, eying Peter once more and not wanting to disturb his conversation with the officer. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, his voice tinged with concern. He felt as though he must have missed out on something very important, keeping himself locked away with his work.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on May 26, 2011 11:20:43 GMT -5
The instant he'd stepped outside of the warmth of the laundromat, Kyo had been struck by the outside chill with about the same amount of strength he imagined Peter might slap him with if and when he finally returned home. He watched his breath ghost out in front of him, wispy, before finally disappearing into the chill air. He knew he had to move quickly, no matter where he was headed.
In fact, Kyo didn't know if he would really be returning home, but he found himself heading back in the direction of Danil's place nonetheless. He wasn't the best in terms of directions, just capable enough to know routes he had taken many times before. And considering he'd only come down this way when he was with someone else, usually in a car and definitely during the daytime, he was beginning to get nervous about becoming lost. Even so, he tried to avoid any oncoming traffic. All he could think about were police cars out searching for him, and the thought of being found and picked up by them was fairly terrifying.
As he trudged through the snow, Kyo started imagining the warm coat he'd brought with him from Japan, his black, puffy one, which was now sitting fairly useless and almost tauntingly in the hallway closet in Danil's home. Kyo thought about the warmth of the garment, the fact that it held all the necessaries--his phone and his wallet....He'd been so stupid not to bring it. In fact, even if he'd wanted to assure Danil and Peter that he was okay or that he would find a way to manage on his own simply because he needed that kind of thing, he couldn't do it. He didn't have his cellphone and he didn't have money for the payphone either.
They must have been really upset with him now.
I ought to go home, Kyo thought glumly, the ache in his heart beginning to grow. He sneezed. I really ought to go home...
Kyo stayed off the main road as he tread back in the direction of his host family's house. He imagined seeing the lights of the place in the distance, beckoning him back, calling him inside to the warmth, signaling to him that Danil and Peter, and maybe even Nic, had stayed awake in wait for him. The thought was a nice one indeed, though his feelings felt mixed. He really was afraid to go home now, after what had happened. After what would happen. And he was becoming increasingly nervous with every passing minute. Was he even headed the right way? Every rock and tree formation had begun to look the same. Even the building patterns--the names almost impossible to see in the avid snow--were monotonous. Still, Kyo trudged on.
But partway through the venture, he felt the sleepy sensation he'd had in the laundromat return. And unfortunately, he knew what it meant.
As much as he wanted to curl up on the ground, which was now layered in at least a thin layer of the white flakes he rarely saw in his hometown in Tokyo, he knew it was a bad idea. All it took was for him to close his eyes for one second, give up for just a moment, and he was aware that should he do so, he would probably never open his eyes again. As much as Kyo felt that it would inevitably be an end to his own problems....it wouldn't solve anyone else's. It would only add to the mess he had put others in. And he didn't want to die anyway, he was sure. As much as he felt depressed and lost and hopeless now, he had faith somewhere deep down that a part of him still wanted to live, and live well.
He just needed to get inside somewhere. And soon. But he couldn't find Danil or Peter's house. He wasn't even sure he was heading in the right direction. Nor was he entirely sure he wanted to return, anyway. He was still so nervous.
That was when Kyo saw the park.
He didn't recall how long he had been walking for, nor did he remember passing the park earlier in the day when he'd made his way towards downtown, but it was a hard sight to miss now, even through the snow. The amusement park was closed for the winter season, naturally, but even without the place as aglow as Kyo imagined it had to be in warmer weather, monstrous black shadows in all kinds of twisted, awkward shapes rose clearly out of the darkness. Roller coasters and ferris wheels and haunted houses and all kinds of amusements....Kyo was anything but amused, but the place was large. Surely there would be somewhere in the area, some building, where he could camp out for a while. Hopefully he could rest for a bit and the snow would stop before long, then he could head back out...
Not entirely sure his mind was made up, but remembering that he was no longer sure about anything anyway, Kyo didn't waste a second. He approached the gates at a quick shuffle, oggling the large fence surrounding the entire place. His eyes spotted an area to the right of the front gate, a sign post that was just high enough up on the fence itself that would grant him a fair chance of climbing over unscathed, but Kyo knew he had to be careful. With the cold and probably icy metal of the fence itself, if he wasn't careful and slipped, he could end up impaled on the nasty spikes that topped the fence posts.
Not like he had a choice, though. Kyo moved for the nearby wall, hoisting himself up onto a smaller brick wall before grabbing tight to the top bars of the actual fence as he lifted one foot and pressed down on the signpost, testing its strength. It was holding okay for now with a little bit of weight, but Kyo knew he had to move quickly. The thing was attached to the fence with wiring; it wasn't likely to hold forever.
Taking a deep breath, his hands shaking in the cold and in his efforts, Kyo pulled himself to his full height using the signpost, then tenderly but quickly lifted one leg over the fence to the other side of the fence. He kept an eye on the nasty-looking spikes. Even as he brought one foot back down onto the signpost on the other side of the fence, he was sure he didn't want to risk himself further injury and even get nicked a little on the fence spikes.
Kyo felt shaky on his legs, standing one leg on one side of the fence and the other still awkwardly on the other side. The signpost didn't feel supportive at all--he needed to move.
Doubly urgent now, Kyo took another deep breath and lifted his left leg over the fence. He'd barely even made it over the top before he felt something give way beneath his other foot. Kyo cried out.
The next thing he knew, he was dangling from the fence top, his body swinging heavily from side to side. The signpost had indeed come out from under him, the supporting wires probably done for with his weight and the cold weather combined. Kyo could see the sign itself lying flat on the lower red brick wall he'd stepped on earlier. He himself was still holding onto the fence tops, his hands taking all of his weight as they grasped onto the freezing cold metal.
Kyo got himself to stop swinging back and forth, just grateful that he hadn't appeared to have cut himself on the fence itself, then jumped down to the ground. His legs were shaking, and his hands freezing raw. And red. He'd just nearly injured himself badly and had managed to break into a closed amusement park at the same time. "Caught red-handed" didn't even seem to begin to cover things at the moment. Still, Kyo urged himself onward.
The park was like a ghost town in this season. Chilled to the bone now, Kyo made his was through the entrance area of the place trying to imagine what it would look like on any other day, in a warmer season. A happy place. People milling about, costumed workers handing out flyers or taking photos. The rides would all be going, one after another, people screaming or cheering. It would be a very much alive place. A very happy one indeed. Funny that the first time Kyo would see it was when it was in a state not too different from his own current one: closed-off, lonely, dark, and cold.
Feeling about at the breaking point with the chill, Kyo found a public eating area and headed for the bathrooms there. The room was no warmer than outside, but he had the chance to use the bathroom, at least, and when he was done, he turned one sink's hot water taps on full blast. Though he didn't get any of the hot water he'd been hoping for--the heat was probably turned off in the park now, it made sense--he drank as much of the water as he felt he could handle. The liquid seemed to bring him back to his senses. Aside from the tea he'd had earlier in the day, he'd had nothing since and become quite thirsty.
After departing the bathrooms, Kyo had moved quickly through the park again, rubbing his arms through the thin material of his shirt as he pressed onwards. The first promising-looking building he came to was the first one he sought shelter in. The place was large, almost mansion-esque, and Kyo was fairly surprised when the doors opened right up for him. Someone had been lazy and forgotten to lock up? But he discovered quickly why.
A haunted house attraction. That's what this was. Kyo avoided walking along the track the ride's car presumably drove through when it was in working order, especially in the event that it was electrified in some way. He even avoided looking at the fantastic pieces throughout the makeshift home--eerie portraits, dangling corpses, frozen dummies of ghosts who presumably came to life when just one button was pressed and the ride started. As it was, Kyo felt like something of a ghost himself. Almost comically, he wondered to himself if any of the staff would even notice anything out of place if the ride did start up suddenly and he was still there, mixed in along with the rest of the ghosts. By this point, he was sure he looked like one.
Finally too exhausted to care anymore, Kyo settled on a corner of the haunted house which seemed furthest from the attractions' openings, the entrance and the exit, and tried to settle in. There was a makeshift sofa in this room, along with a number of ghostly corpse statues. Kyo tried to ignore the latter and decided the sofa would do just fine for now. The room was warmer than the others he'd been in, at the very least, and at least the sofa itself would mean somewhere comfortable to lie down and rest. He only wished Mr. and Mrs. Death Mannequins weren't in the room with him.
Kyo's hands shook a little as he tore a tapestry from a nearby wall. In fact, it wasn't only from the cold, but from the realization that by sneaking into the park at all, if he ended up getting caught, he really was in big trouble. He couldn't imagine the penalty for breaking and entering into a place like this, on top of being a runaway, even if everything that had happened had all been an accident. He could very well try and explain his case in his bad English, but chances were--he was sure--that he would just come across as the delinquent he'd become, and his parents would surely, if not have a very severe punishment in mind, be disappointed in him in a way he didn't even want to imagine.
Sitting there, huddled on the sofa with the tapestry wrapped tightly around him, Kyo allowed himself to weep some more. How stupid this all was...Here he was, freezing cold, dining on free snacks he'd been given earlier, probably for looking so pathetic...he was hiding from people who had been set to care for him, people he was sure did care for him, yet people he was currently afraid and ashamed to see. He felt so lost here now. For the first time in his stay in America, he truly felt like the outsider he was. And being that he came from a culture entirely different, he didn't know how to express it. On top of things, he'd begun to really feel disappointed in himself. Really disappointed. He had really ruined things for himself, hadn't he?
Kyo pulled a half-eaten pack of Ritz cheese crackers from his pocket and dug the last of the crackers out with a shaking hand. The cracker was extra salty with the taste of his own tears mixed in.
Kyo glanced up at the particularly ugly corpse looking down at him from the edge of the sofa, frowning. He raised his pack of cheese crackers as if to show the figure. "Sorry, Mr. Death. I would be the nice person and share with you, but there are no crackers left. I don't think you would like this anyway," he murmured, surprised he had any of his silly humor left at all. "You are just waiting to eat my eyes or brain or something when I go to sleep. Well..." Kyo lowered the empty cracker package to the sofa and lifted a hand to wipe his eyes. "You can have them. Just wait until I am sleeping so it doesn't hurt bad."
It took a little under another hour or so before Kyo did finally fall asleep. Wrapped in the tapestry from the makeshift haunted house's walls, at the very least protected by the thick walls of the building itself even if it wasn't heated, Kyo felt the same as he had before. But exhausted by what felt like a nightmare of a day, he collapsed into yet another unrelenting dreamland. And perhaps worst of all, despite being on his own as he had desired for a short while to think things out, he was still not entirely sure what his course of action against Linda and her boyfriend was going to be.
As the night tolled on, the lifeless, makeshift corpses around the sleeping boy remained ever standing, ever alert, as if in some way protecting him from what lay beyond the haunted house walls.
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Post by Angela on May 26, 2011 11:34:20 GMT -5
Danil looked at Nic and sighed, gesturing for him to sit down.
"Kyo ran away from home this morning," he told him, and now his eyes were starting to fill with thears. "It's all my fault... He has been so stressed the past week or so, so sad, we finally got him to tell us what was wrong, and we gave him advice. We let him stay home today because we thought it would do him some good to rest and not worry about school for a while. I brought him breakfast, and his desk was a mess. I simply gathered his papers together, making sure I didn't mess up the order by glancing at them. That's all I did, just glance at them! Then, I saw a piece of paper that looked like a diagram of some sorts, like a flow chart, with scribblings. It looked like the writing was Japanese, but I didn't understand it. It just had a bunch of initials and some things written under each one. I didn't understand any of it, and I wouldn't have said anything, until I saw my name on it, several times, in Japanese. I asked Kyo what it was, he grabbed it and ran away." He put his head in his hands. "Oh, why did I ever look at his things? Why did I even ask him about it?" Because Danil's hands were in front of his face, Nic could neither hear nor read his lips. Danil didn't think about that. Finally he looked up to Nic and shook his head. "It's all my fault. I should never have looked at his things. I didn't mean to-"
"Danil, we've been through this! It doesn't matter what you did, it doesn't give him the right to run away from home!" Peter exclaimed, turning to him for a moment with his hand over the receiver. He turned back and continued his conversation. "No, we didn't call anyone- Danil, did you call any of his friends, Zhenya, Parker, anyone? To see if they'd seen him?"
"No," Danil replied with a sigh.
"Well, we'd better do that before we get the cops involved. Start calling everyone you can think of, I'll do the same," Peter said. He turned back to the call. "We'll do that. We'll get back to you soon."
Danil nodded as Peter hung up. "They won't do anything?"
"For all we know, he could be right under our nose. We just have to start calling people," Peter said with a sigh of his own. He looked at Nic. "Hey, Nic."
Danil and Peter began calling everyone they could think of who knew Kyo. Danil knew Parker hadn't seen him; he would have told him. They called all of Kyo's friends, Zhenya, Ksenia, everyone they could think of. No one had seen or heard from the Japanese exchange student. Peter sighed and called the police again.
"Thank you," he said at last to the officer on the phone. He hung up a second time, and turned to Danil and Nic. "They're sending someone. But they can't do anything until 24 hours have passed. They won't even start looking until after that."
"For God's sake, he could freeze to death out there!" Danil exclaimed. "The weather forecast said it's going to be snowing all night with a wind chill of -8! It's supposed to be 15 degrees!"
"You-Know-Who won't let that happen," Peter said, eying him. "At least, that's what you always said." He glanced at Nic. Danil sighed. He seemed a little calmer.
"But it still doesn't keep me from worrying just the same. God, this is just like what happened in February... How could I let this happen..."
"Will you stop?!" Peter screamed. "This is not your fucking fault! Kyo shouldn't have run away! No matter what you did, it doesn't give him a reason or excuse to run away! That is the last time I'm saying this! I don't ever want to hear you blame yourself for this again!"
"All right!" Danil screamed in response. "You don't have to swear and you don't have to scream!"
Peter turned from the two, punching the air and letting out a grunt. He sat down and sighed.
"He'd better get his ass home soon, or there'll be hell to pay."
"Peter," Danil said warningly, "we don't want to make things worse for him. You know, there's nothing wrong with being strict, but being angry will only make him more afraid of you, and confidentially, I think he's pretty afraid already."
"Oh, he'd better be afraid."
"Peter, I mean it," Danil said, walking over and sitting next to him. He put his arm around him. "There's nothing wrong with making a point by grounding, or by lecturing, but screaming, and violence, that only makes things worse. Promise me, that when he does come home, you won't yell at him or hurt him."
"When the fuck have I ever hurt the kid?" Peter asked indignantly. "I never laid a hand on him."
"You just punched the air. Right now, I don't know what to expect of you," Danil said with a shrug. "We'll lecture him and ground him like civilized parents." As he spoke, he massaged Peter's shoulders and neck. Peter let out a long, deep sigh.
"Fine," he said quietly.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Jun 1, 2011 17:07:48 GMT -5
Nic knew from the sigh that Danil gave that something must have gone very, very wrong. Following the other's lead, he took a seat on the couch, looking to Danil for an explanation.
"Kyo ran away from home this morning," he told him, and now his eyes were starting to fill with tears.
Nic froze. Kyo...had run away? His eyes flickered to the windows, where he could see the snow now falling heavily. Kyo had been away since this morning, in this kind of weather? No wonder Danil was so worried!
"It's all my fault... He has been so stressed the past week or so, so sad, we finally got him to tell us what was wrong, and we gave him advice. We let him stay home today because we thought it would do him some good to rest and not worry about school for a while. I brought him breakfast, and his desk was a mess. I simply gathered his papers together, making sure I didn't mess up the order by glancing at them. That's all I did, just glance at them! Then, I saw a piece of paper that looked like a diagram of some sorts, like a flow chart, with scribblings. It looked like the writing was Japanese, but I didn't understand it. It just had a bunch of initials and some things written under each one. I didn't understand any of it, and I wouldn't have said anything, until I saw my name on it, several times, in Japanese. I asked Kyo what it was, he grabbed it and ran away."
Nic had listened to the other man's speech carefully, weighing the situation. Very clearly there had been something important on those papers, but he doubted it was anything malicious. Kyo wasn't at all the type to cause trouble--in fact, he seemed more like he'd rather avoid causing any trouble at all costs, even if he did have something of a mischievous side. So Nic knew...whatever it was that Danil saw, it had to mean a lot to Kyo--and it had to be something he wanted to hide from Danil, surely with a good enough reason. He opened his mouth to tell Danil that it really didn't seem his fault, nor Kyo's, but Peter beat him to the punch.
"Danil, we've been through this! It doesn't matter what you did, it doesn't give him the right to run away from home!" Peter exclaimed, turning to him for a moment with his hand over the receiver. He turned back and continued his conversation. "No, we didn't call anyone- Danil, did you call any of his friends, Zhenya, Parker, anyone? To see if they'd seen him?"
"No," Danil replied with a sigh.
"Well, we'd better do that before we get the cops involved. Start calling everyone you can think of, I'll do the same," Peter said. He turned back to the call. "We'll do that. We'll get back to you soon."
Nic just listened as events unfolded, remaining calm on the exterior although inwardly he was as worried about Kyo as the other two were. In some ways, this might have been his fault, rather than Danil's or Peter's or Kyo's. He'd been so wrapped up in his own work, that if Kyo had wanted someone to hang out with or needed someone to talk to, he really hadn't been there for him. At all. Some friend he was...
Danil nodded as Peter hung up. "They won't do anything?"
"For all we know, he could be right under our nose. We just have to start calling people," Peter said with a sigh of his own. He looked at Nic. "Hey, Nic."
Nic nodded in acknowledgment of Peter's greeting, though he was now becoming lost in his own world. While Danil and Peter called the various people they knew, he had excused himself to the hallway, pacing back and forth and wondering what he could do. He tried weighing the options, thinking his hardest about where Kyo might have disappeared off to. Then, realizing he'd really been of little help to anyone, he went and made some tea for the three of them, bringing it back into the living room in time to see Peter finishing up another call to the police.
"Thank you," he said at last to the officer on the phone. He hung up a second time, and turned to Danil and Nic. "They're sending someone. But they can't do anything until 24 hours have passed. They won't even start looking until after that."
"For God's sake, he could freeze to death out there!" Danil exclaimed. "The weather forecast said it's going to be snowing all night with a wind chill of -8! It's supposed to be 15 degrees!"
"You-Know-Who won't let that happen," Peter said, eying him. "At least, that's what you always said." He glanced at Nic. Danil sighed. He seemed a little calmer.
Nic knew Danil was right. The weather was just too awful to let Kyo be out there all alone. What were the police thinking? Certainly there could be a change in the rules, a special case under these circumstances? His hands actually shaking a little, he quickly set the platter with three mugs of tea down onto the nearest table. He hadn't realized until he looked up again that Danil and Peter had begun fighting.
"Will you stop?!" Peter screamed. "This is not your fucking fault! Kyo shouldn't have run away! No matter what you did, it doesn't give him a reason or excuse to run away! That is the last time I'm saying this! I don't ever want to hear you blame yourself for this again!"
"All right!" Danil screamed in response. "You don't have to swear and you don't have to scream!"
Peter turned from the two, punching the air and letting out a grunt. He sat down and sighed.
"He'd better get his ass home soon, or there'll be hell to pay."
"Peter," Danil said warningly, "we don't want to make things worse for him. You know, there's nothing wrong with being strict, but being angry will only make him more afraid of you, and confidentially, I think he's pretty afraid already."
"Oh, he'd better be afraid."
"Peter, I mean it," Danil said, walking over and sitting next to him. He put his arm around him. "There's nothing wrong with making a point by grounding, or by lecturing, but screaming, and violence, that only makes things worse. Promise me, that when he does come home, you won't yell at him or hurt him."
"When the fuck have I ever hurt the kid?" Peter asked indignantly. "I never laid a hand on him."
"You just punched the air. Right now, I don't know what to expect of you," Danil said with a shrug. "We'll lecture him and ground him like civilized parents." As he spoke, he massaged Peter's shoulders and neck. Peter let out a long, deep sigh.
"Fine," he said quietly.
Nic felt like the odd one out, like he was a stupid bystander to everything going on, like he hadn't played a big enough role in all of this to actually be allowed to witness Danil and Peter fighting. In fact, it almost scared him to see them fight. Of course they must fight, he knew that--everyone did. Fighting with your loved ones was, in a way, a symbol of your trust for them. But still, given the circumstances, he felt like he didn't belong here right now, as they tried to comfort each other. He really was just taking up space.
Looking away from the two men, Danil now massaging Peter's shoulders, Nic glanced back out the window, at the haven of snow outside. How cold it must be out there right now. And Kyo...he was just an exchange student! Nic knew very well what it was like to be thrust into a foreign land and expected to fend for oneself. How was Kyo doing now, in weather like this? His English was good, but would he really be able to find a place to stay all night? Not to mention, Danil and Peter's home was in a fairly remote location...If Kyo had gotten lost somewhere outside...
.......The possibilities were too harsh to think about right now.
But, taking one more look at Kyo's worried host parents, his own heart beating frantically now against his chest, he had an idea of what he could do, at the very least.
"Excuse me," he murmured quietly to the other two, backing out of the room to give them their space. He jogged back upstairs to his room in the attic, throwing his messenger bag open on top of the bed and thrusting various items into it. He searched the room--a flashlight, some snacks, a blanket....He eyed the room again, looking for other useful items to bring with him. His eyes fell on his cellphone.
His cellphone!
Running to the desk, he snatched it up, flipping open the cover and moving through his phonebook for Kyo's number. Once he found it, he frantically began typing.
Kyo, Where are you? Everyone is worried. Please--
It occurred to him then...Danil and Peter had probably already tried this. Maybe Kyo wasn't picking up. Or even worse, maybe Kyo didn't even have his phone with him. Well...at the very least, he could try too, right? After all, he was Kyo's friend...even if he'd been acting like the exact opposite recently. And he'd already made up his mind about what he wanted to do.
--Please write back. Go somewhere warm and safe. I'm going to look for you now.
Hitting "send", Nic attached the phone to the lapel of his collar, then reached over to snatch up his messenger bag off the bed, switching off his desk lamp and closing the door behind him as he left the room.
He made his way down the stairs two at a time, reaching the front hallway, where he went to grab his winter coat, scarf, and gloves. He pulled them on and slung the messenger bag over his shoulder, before heading back into the living room to let Danil and Peter know where he was going.
He paused before speaking, not wanting to scare the two of them out of the peaceful silence they seemed to have found themselves in as a means of comfort. "Danil...Peter?" He spoke softly, not quite meeting either man's eyes. "I'm going to go out for a while and look for him. Kyo. I just sent a text to his phone, if he has it with him. So..." he paused again, though he didn't want Danil or Peter to stop him from going this time. "I think it's better you two wait here, in case he calls the home phone. I'll be fine because I packed enough things to be prepared in this kind of weather, and you can always text my phone if you need me. Please watch out for him, maybe have some tea..." he motioned to the tea he had brought in earlier, although surely by now it was cold. "Take it easy. See you guys later." His voice was breathless then, as he quickly spun around, not quite sure of what he was doing.
For once he thought being deaf had its positives. If Danil and Peter were calling for him to stop, he couldn't hear them anyway. He moved quickly and quietly out the front door, pulling up his hood to shield his face and head against the cold and the snow.
Where should he even begin looking? He didn't know. But with his phone pressed against his chest, if Kyo texted him, if he even could text him, he would feel it. He prayed that would happen.
Following his own intuition, he ran off into the night, praying for some luck, and for God to be with them all. Especially Kyo.
ooc: I guess I've effectively written my character out for the moment, although I could bring him back in! Let's see what happens next! ^_^
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Post by Angela on Jun 2, 2011 3:35:39 GMT -5
Danil and Peter were so concerned with each other and the situation, that they didn't even notice Nic's sweet gesture of making them tea. When Peter had calmed down, Danil heard Nic excuse himself. Immediately, he felt bad.
"Nic's probably afraid, seeing us fight," he said quietly. "We should apologize..." His voice trailed off, and he eyed his husband expectantly. Surprisingly, Peter didn't object. Then again, it usually took a massage from Danil to soothe the "savage beast."
"Yeah... we probably upset him, poor kid." Peter sighed. "Danil, I'm sorry I yelled at you." He kissed his cheek.
"Emotions are high. I understand. What matters is that you are calm now." He kissed Peter's temple.
The two were quiet for a few minutes, and when Nic came down, they expected him to come back and join them. When they saw him turn to the foyer, Danil stood up, confused. In a minute, Nic returned, dressed in his outdoor winter clothing... sans a hat.
"Danil... Peter? "I'm going to go out for a while and look for him. Kyo. I just sent a text to his phone, if he has it with him. So..." he paused again, though he didn't want Danil or Peter to stop him from going this time. "I think it's better you two wait here, in case he calls the home phone. I'll be fine because I packed enough things to be prepared in this kind of weather, and you can always text my phone if you need me. Please watch out for him, maybe have some tea..." he motioned to the tea he had brought in earlier, although surely by now it was cold. "Take it easy. See you guys later."
Danil gasped and Peter stood up from his chair as well. Before they could protest, Nic left. Peter went to rush after him, knowing that he couldn't hear him if he called to him, but Danil held him back.
"Let him go," he suggested. "Maybe he'll get lucky and find him. But I think we should offer him some more things for his venture."
Danil went and retrieved his own cell, and sent a text.
Nic, come back, just for a while. Get your hat, get some warmer sweaters and pants. We'll give you some snacks and hot tea in a thermos. We don't want you to freeze to death. Keep us updated regularly on where you are. Check in every 30min and let us know where you are. We love you very much. Please come back just to get some more things, and then you can go. If you want, one of us can join you. You should have some shelter from the cold. Maybe one of us can drive with you. Nic, we're sorry we fought.
"We should tell him. Do you think?" Peter asked, putting his hand on Danil's shoulder as he hit Send.
"How do we explain that a ghost is watching over Kyo? If we just tell him about our experiences-"
"Your experiences," Peter interrupted. "I've never met Aleksei Kristianovich."
"No, but you met my mother," Danil said with a shrug. "Anyway, if we just tell him about that, he'll think we're insane... He probably thinks we're unfit to care for Kyo as it is. You know he thinks of him as a brother." Danil shrugged.
"Nadya!" Peter exclaimed at once. "He met Nadya, didn't he? We can remind him of that!"
"He honestly wouldn't believe it if we told him," Danil said with a sigh. "It's best he finds out for himself. In the meantime, let's have some tea that Nic was sweet enough to make for us."
"I'll go make some more for him to take in a thermos, like you said," Peter said with a nod. "Or better yet, maybe some hot chocolate, in case he runs into Kyo."
Danil smiled. "Kyo loves hot chocolate. I'm sure that would be good. Who knows, maybe Alyoshka will lead Nic straight to Kyo."
"Good point!" Peter agreed, sounding more optimistic. He went to the kitchen and started making the hot chocolate.
Danil sighed again, pouring some tea for himself. Peter hated tea, so he'd stick with hot chocolate or coffee.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Jun 2, 2011 17:48:22 GMT -5
Kyo was with Shotsky.
They were back in Russia, together in the room where the Russian man had first taken him, and this time he was touching Kyo in ways that the Japanese exchange student knew were wrong, knew had very little to do with skating. He was trying to fight against the man's touches, trying to tell him he didn't want that, but somehow he'd forgotten most all of his English. Everything he was saying was in Japanese, and as the Russian man stroked him, he continued to whisper in that sleazy voice of his, "It's all right, it's all right. I understand..."
But he didn't understand, he didn't, he just kept--
Kyo wasn't sure what happened next, just realized that the touch was gone, and that suddenly the room was abuzz with sound. He recognized Danil's voice and glanced up. Somehow he'd fallen to the ground, and now, looking up, he could see his host father wrestling with Shotsky, angrily yelling at him in a language Kyo guessed to be Russian. Shotsky was suddenly hissing at Danil, lashing out with a hard punch to the man's face, and Kyo--shocked--crawled forwards, reaching out to grab the nasty Russian man by his ankles.
Shotsky kicked him off easily, seemingly keen, suddenly, to ignore his presence. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper, one Kyo recognized to be the paper he'd been using to keep track of the situation with Linda. Shotsky had done some kind of magic, though. The paper was in perfect English, not the abbreviated Japanese Kyo had originally written it in.
Scared, the Japanese boy reached out again, this time in the hopes of snagging the paper before Shotsky could show it to his host father.
But it was too late.
Danil, though still hurt from Shotsky's attack, snatched the paper from the assailant's hands, studying it for a moment before turning to look at Kyo. Now the hurt seemed to be directed his way. "Kyo, what is this? What are you writing? Why do you want to hurt people?"
Kyo felt tears come to his eyes. "Iya, chigau, chigau! Sore ha--"
"It says my name here, Kyo. It says something about a plot you've created to hurt some girl named Linda. Then it says my name. It says I'll be a ..... Kyo, I won't be part of this. You can't do this..."
Kyo waved his hands frantically. That wasn't it at all! Shotsky must have translated it incorrectly, wanted to get him in trouble. In fact, the man was smiling down at him, eerily so, rubbing his fingers together...
"I told you it was a bad idea taking in a Japanese exchange student."
"Petah-san?" Kyo looked to the entrance of the room they were in. Indeed, his second host father had appeared in the room. He had a dark look on his face.
"There's something wrong with the Japanese, can't even admit to nasty sh*t they pulled in war. At least we Americans don't deny the stuff we've done in war. Nic's dad had it downpat when he warned us about this kid..."
Nic's dad had......?
"Danil, Peter!" The new voice was even eerier, so sweet that it was poisonous. Kyo recognized it instantly. "Oh my God.....not him..."
Danil got to his feet, handing the mis-translated paper he'd been holding over to Linda Bellucci. She took a moment, just a moment, to glance at it, and then the two of them were looking down at Kyo darkly, almost as though they'd come to the same conclusion that for sure they didn't like him. That now they were the ones who wanted to hurt him.
Peter was standing close by, his arms folded, his eyes narrowed. Shotsky was remaining silent, though now he'd taken to licking his lips as if he'd suddenly become incredibly hungry.
"You think you're gonna hurt me?" Linda asked the boy, snorting slightly. "You're gonna hurt me, just like you hurt everyone else you knew here? Just like you hurt Nic? He can't even hear now, you know....He can't hear because you..."
Kyo's eyes widened. "Chigauyo....chigauyo..." Oh God, his English, he couldn't remember his English!
And now they were all moving in towards him, Peter's hands balled into fists, Shotsky still licking his lips with that terrible glint in his eyes, Danil with tears streaming down his face, Linda looking very much as though on the brink of evil laughter........
And then..........................
Kyo shot awake.
He almost expected to be back in his comfortable room in Danil and Peter's house. Instead, he was greeted to the sight of a looming skeleton, many looming skeletons, in fact, and one scream later, Kyo's brain had finally caught up to him, and he'd remembered where he was and that everything that had happened in his dream, while scary, had been impossible. Everything except for the "everyone turning on him" part.
No wonder he'd had nightmares though, the boy thought, rubbing his eyes partially to wake himself up, but mainly to block out the sight of his strange skeleton companions. Look where he'd spent the night! An unpleasant, garish face leered out at him from a crooked portrait, and Kyo sighed.
The nightmare might as well have been reality. He was in the middle of one right now. In fact, Kyo wondered how long he'd slept for. All things considered, the room he was in now was still a little cold, but for the most part, it seemed uncommonly warm for a place that wasn't heated when there was something of a small blizzard going on outside. Kyo was surprised, but no doubt grateful. Even so, thinking of the cold weather that awaited him outside, he shivered, pulling the makeshift blanket tighter around him.
Now that he thought about it, assuming he'd actually slept a normal day's worth of sleep...
Goodness, Danil and Peter must have been worried sick about him. That was, if they didn't hate his guts entirely yet. And surely Nic had to be worried too....If only they could find his cellphone...Then they would hopefully understand he hadn't left them hanging intentionally. Everything had unraveled on its own, and so quickly so that Kyo had barely had time to react. He didn't want to imagine what lay in store for him if and whenever he did get home, but he also didn't want to think about what burden he might be causing his host family either. Though, now that he thought about it...
Kyo gave something of a half-salute to his skeleton friend, who remained poised, the same eerie, cackling-like look on his face as he loyally kept guard over Kyo's sofa bed. Then the Japanese student headed back for the ride entrance, keeping close to the tracks so as not to lose his way. Geez, he still felt disoriented from that nasty dream...
The boy kept his head down as he walked, busying himself with keeping watch over the path of the theme ride's tracks as he went. He preferred not to greet the morning with the sight of more undead things. And then, before long, something blindingly bright reached Kyo's vision. The glow was small, coming from just a narrow area, but with each step, it seemed to grow larger and larger. Kyo felt his eyes begin to water.
The small beam of light creeping in through the entrance doors became almost entirely blinding now--Kyo wondered if he'd officially become a vampire in his sleep--and suddenly, pushing out to open the doors before him, Kyo was outside.
The first thing he noticed was that everything was white. The rides, the ground, rooftops, windows, tables, chairs, signs, everything. And the snow hadn't stopped, either. While it had slowed by this morning, the flakes were still steadily falling. One got caught on Kyo's eyelashes, and he blinked it away, a bit awed. He felt like he'd stepped out into a winter wonderland. The chill went right through him.
"Yabai...." (Oh crap...)
So it was morning indeed. It was still snowing, and it was still freezing. Kyo was sure he wanted to try and get home today, in fact, he was sure he had to, but he knew just venturing out into the cold now, as he was, wasn't a good idea. Even in the daytime, he wasn't entirely sure he trusted his sense of direction from the park back to the home, even if the two weren't that far apart. He'd never been much in the way of directions as it was, even with maps. And more importantly, he'd become very weak. He was cold and hungry. Very hungry, and currently he had nothing on hand to even dream of eating.
That was when Kyo noticed the food shack just a short ways from the haunted house ride he'd made a temporary home. By the looks of things, it was closed and locked tight, but Kyo wondered if maybe it was possible to find some way inside, gorge himself on whatever foods might be lurking inside. Oh God, he was hungry...Kyo pressed one hand to his gurgling belly.
Well, there was nothing for it, was there? Kyo couldn't help thinking. Was he supposed to just sit and starve? That hardly seemed right.
Taking in a deep breath of the icy winter air, Kyo lifted the tapestry blanket a bit higher so that it was now around the top of his head too, like a hood. Carefully making his way down the theme ride's icy steps, he stopped short in front of a large amusement park map just outside the ride and squinted to study it in the bright light. he reached a hand up and brushed some snow and frost away.
By the looks of things, a great many of the park's food shops were in this area. And bathrooms too. Not too far off, either, Kyo recognized the symbol for "emergency," the red and white cross, and decided that it was a definite place to add to his "to-visit" list too. Maybe first off, since it was bound to have something useful to him.
The boy paid a relieved visit to the bathroom, then trudged through the snow for the infirmary he'd seen on the map. In fact, he got quite lucky. Though it was a fair walk from the haunted house and the food stalls, the infirmary itself had no locks on the doors. Maybe for in the case of there being an emergency, where locks would only become a hazard. But the inside was certainly homey-like. There was a main desk, clean now, though Kyo could imagine it overflowing with papers the way his school nurse's desk always was. And the main room of the area, the largest room, had a number of suddenly inviting looking cots, all of them with thick blankets folded neatly at the foot of the bed. There was even a TV in the room.
Smiling to himself, Kyo nabbed a few of the blankets from the beds, threw them about himself, then headed back outside. It was still freezing, of course, but the blankets kept out the worst of the chill, anyway.
Not much later, Kyo was inside one of the food shacks, though he'd had little luck with the door. Unlike with the infirmary, this one had been locked, and with no key around, Kyo had resorted to throwing himself against the thing to get inside. He didn't want to break the glass and owe the park more than he could afford.
It had taken quite a few tries, especially considering how weak he'd become, but Kyo managed it finally. The door busted open, he went flying out into the main area of the food shack, landing splayed on the floor with all his blankets, and when he had the breath to get back his feet, he quickly shut the door behind him and turned his attention to the front counter of the shop.
Kyo glanced up at the menu then, one hand holding the blankets tight around him, the other with his index finger out, scrolling past each English word as he read it aloud to himself, as if it could in some way help him better understand.
The menu sounded fairly good, and Kyo took note of the prices of everything too. He was actually starving and was sure he wouldn't have minded indulging in everything and anything there was to be eaten. Yet, not entirely sure he could pay for all that right off the bat, he instead opted for the things he wasn't sure he could refuse anyway. One was a fairly expensive but delicious-sounding package meal: three chicken strips, french fries, and a drink. Kyo had started drooling the instant he'd seen the word "chicken."
Moments later, after hopping over the counter, Kyo found the storage room where most all of the shop's supplies were kept. He didn't hesitate to open the large freezer in the back--it was likely going to be the only source of food he could get in this season. And that was just fine. Any food was better than no food.
Moments later, Kyo was squinting at the directions on one of many frozen food packages he'd taken out, mumbling to himself various numbers and words out loud before he took off the wrapping and deposited the frozen meal, plastic dish and all, into the microwave. After pressing a few buttons and listening hungrily as the machine started up and whirred, Kyo glanced in the direction of what he was sure was the cotton candy machine. It was really a shame he couldn't have been in the park during its normal hours, with his family, maybe some friends....he really could imagine what a happy place it was when everything was normal. Not that Kyo wasn't happy now. At least for the moment, he was very content with the thought of warm food in his belly.
As if sensing his hopes, the microwave beeped its finish. Kyo replaced the frozen meal with a couple of the frozen hot dogs, busied himself with the drink machine while he waited for them to cook, simultaneously calculating how much money he was going to owe the park when he finally had his wallet with him, then gathered the hot dogs and the rest of his food and refreshments into a large bag he'd found under the counter. He departed from the shack, his blanket trailing behind him on the snow-covered ground like a cape.
By the time Kyo got back to the nursing center, he almost couldn't wait to just sit down and eat. He closed the entrance door behind him hard, as if somehow it could help keep out the cold, then deposited his bag of food onto the infirmary bed. Even the smell had become tantalizing.
Not sure he could wait any longer, Kyo sat down on the bed next to the food pile, picking up the meal dish he'd gotten and chomping quickly down onto one of the chicken strips.
Oh God, it felt like heaven in his mouth. Kyo fought the urge to cry out his approval, instead downing the food like a desperate person. Even the drinks, though frozen, tasted amazing. Kyo wondered how some people could go even more than one night without food. He'd gone almost half a day without anything to eat--if one counted small vending machine snacks as a meal--and he'd begun to feel as though he might die. So much for having the build of a twig...
Kyo turned on the TV in the nursing center, eager for that small but easy comfort as he ate. Somehow, he was sure the sound alone would convince him that all would be okay, that the rest of the world hadn't disappeared around him while he'd slept and that somehow he was going to get home. Maybe the infirmary had a phone somewhere that he could use...
As the face of a pretty new reporter came onto the screen, images of the blizzard outside behind her, Kyo turned his attention to the main desk of the infirmary, his mouth stuffed with one of the hot dogs he'd "bought."
A phone. There was indeed a phone. And it wasn't a payphone. Kyo had high hopes that the phone would be able to make calls outside the park. If he was lucky, he could figure out the dialing number for outside calls, if such a thing was necessary, and then he could let his host family know he was all right, that everything would be okay.
Assuming they hadn't called the police on him, of course. And assuming that they hadn't decided to kill him themselves, for the trouble he'd caused.
Kyo suddenly felt a bit nauseous. Maybe he'd eaten too much? It wasn't impossible for someone's stomach to shrink if they'd missed food for even a day, right? He'd been so intent on filling his belly that he hadn't considered that maybe the food, however delicious, could end up doing more harm than good.
Well, at the very least, the infirmary had bathrooms, medicine, and beds, the TV and phone...It would do for now. There was no heat, but there were enough blankets on hand that Kyo was sure he could manage keeping warm for a while anyway. With that thought in mind, he took a deep breath and finished off the last of the hot dog he was eating. He set the rest of the food off to the side, on a chair he had pulled up next to the bed he was sitting and watching TV on. If he was hungry, he would finish those later, cold or not. After all, the total for the food and drinks had been well over $20. It wasn't really money he had to spend, what with being a high school student.
And Kyo thought, watching the news drift from one topic to another, the pretty reporter's face never leaving the screen, maybe he would wait a little bit before calling his host family. The corner of the TV read 8:04 AM. Maybe they were all catching up on sleep after last night. He wouldn't disturb them.
Because maybe he didn't want to call, for the moment, anyway.
Feeling suddenly uneasy, Kyo lowered himself into the infirmary bed, curling up into the blankets he'd wrapped around himself, his eyes glued to the TV. It was odd...All things considered, even though he'd slept, he was still tired. But he wondered if maybe the overwhelming sense of exhaustion came not so much from the amount of time he spent sleeping so much as the amount of time he'd recently devoted to being stressed and alone. It seemed plausible.
Well, maybe for just a little I can sleep, the Japanese boy thought to himself, closing his eyes and burying his face into the pillow of the infirmary bed.
Odd though his situation had become and as much as he didn't think he could continue living this way, Kyo felt strangely as though he had become the kind of American kids he'd seen run away in American movies, the ones who'd really strove for that sense of "freedom" so ingrained in the culture. And while that teenage sense of rebellion and liberty somehow did feel kind of good--Kyo couldn't even believe he was admitting it, considering it was a thing unheard of in his country--it was scary too.
He would call home for sure, when he woke up from this nap. Scared or not, he would call. There was just no more room for games. And if the phone didn't work, then he would have to try and find his way back on his own.
End of story.
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Post by Angela on Jun 5, 2011 0:42:44 GMT -5
Danil didn't let go of his phone, waiting anxiously for Nic's response to his text. There was a knock at the door, and Peter went to answer it.
Officer James Pruitt had been on the force for thirty years. He'd seen it all, drugs, abuse, rape, murder, suicide, family disputes, you name it. The conservative Republican had been assigned the case with his third partner, Officer Carl Ritter. That is to say, they were asked to go to the home of a teenage runaway, despite the policy not to do anything until 24 hours had passed. Pruitt resented going out in the brewing blizzard. He was about to leave for home when he got the assignment. Heck, it wasn't even an assignment, just a formality. They weren't even going to bother with paperwork until that time had passed. There was no point; kids who ran away usually ended up being found or returning on their own before that time. That was why the rule was in place to begin with. No point wasting precious manpower on something that could resolve itself.
Nice place, Pruitt thought as he pulled up with Ritter to Danil Andropov and Peter Zemeckis's home. He did not know that the famous skater lived there. He was given the name Peter Zemeckis. He sighed as he rang the doorbell. At least the porch had a roof over it.
In a few moments, Peter answered the door.
"Officer James Pruitt, Officer Carl Ritter, West Mifflin Police. Someone here reported a runaway?" Pruitt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm Peter Zemeckis. I was the one who called. Come in, please. Can we get you some coffee or something?" he asked as he let the two officers in.
Might as well enjoy the free coffee, Pruitt thought.
"Sure, thanks." The two officers stepped into the foyer. "Nice place," he continued, looking around.
"Thanks. I can take your coats if you want," Peter offered.
"That won't be necessary, thank you."
They walked into the living room, where Danil sat on the love seat.
"This is my partner, Danil Andropov. Why don't you sit down?" Peter offered. He went into the kitchen to get the coffee.
Pruitt immediately recognized the face. How could you live in West Mifflin and not see that face, all over advertisements, talk shows and local news broadcasts? Alwaya making a big fuss about his chosen lifestyle. It was clear to Pruitt that he was a publicity hound. He sat down smugly and folded his arms across his chest skeptically.
"So, what happened here?"
"Our exchange student ran away from home," Danil explained. He got up and retrieved his camera. He scammed through the photographs until he found one of Kyo. "This is him," he said, handing the camera to Pruitt. Ritter sat down on another chair. "He's sixteen. His name is Kyo Suzuki. He's from Odaiba, Japan."
"How long has he been missing?"
"He ran off about eleven this morning," Danil replied as Peter brought the coffee to them.
"I see. You've had no contact with him since then?"
"No," Danil replied.
"Uh-huh. Well, our policy is usually not to do anything until he's been missing for at least 24 hours," Pruitt said with a shrug as he sipped the coffee.
"We understand," Peter chimed in, "but don't you think you can make an exception, because of the weather or something?"
"Did he leave a note or something?" Pruitt asked, ignoring the question for the time being.
"No, nothing like that," Danil replied. "He just ran off."
"Has he been having problems at home? Problems at school?" Ritter asked.
"No," Danil replied, shaking his head. "He has been stressed over the last week... but according to him, the problem is that he is worried about friends in Japan."
"Uh-huh. He's an exchange student, you say?" Ritter asked.
"Yes, that's right," Danil replied with a nod.
"Did you check to see if he boarded a plane?" Pruitt asked.
"He ran out without his coat. His coat has his wallet in it. He couldn't have bought a plane ticket," Peter said, shaking his head.
"You seem certain about that," Pruitt commented.
"His coat is in the foyer closet. When we called his cell phone, it rang from there," Danil explained. "When Peter pulled out the coat, he found his wallet in his pocket along with his phone. So he couldn't have gone to the airport, let alone to Japan. His passport is here."
"Why is he worried about his friends in Japan?" Pruitt asked, not buying it.
"He said he is worried about a friend who has a friend who has a girlfriend who is getting involved with gangs and the first friend doesn't know what to do about this second friend. He wants to warn him, but doesn't want to risk getting in trouble by the girlfriend, or hurting the friend's feelings. That's all," Danil answered with a shrug.
"Mmhmm," Pruitt murmured. The story seemed far-fetched. "What made you suspect that something was wrong?"
"He started keeping to himself a lot," Danil explained. "Kyo would always go outside, play with the dogs and cat, friends, us, and about two weeks ago or so he stayed in his room, didn't come out much. We were concerned, but we figured he would come to us, sooner or later. Finally, last night I spoke to him and asked him to tell us what was wrong. He was hesitant, but finally he told us about his friends. We gave him some advice, and offered to let him stay home from school today. He was shaking, and he was pale. We thought that staying home would do him some good. He had a little bit of a fever this morning too," Danil added sadly.
"I see. Kids tend to take things too seriously and too literally. What advice did you give him?" Pruitt asked. He still wasn't buying it, but it couldn't hurt to explore the possibility.
"We told him to tell his friend to tell the other friend about the girl. We also suggested that he go straight to the police there, or to the girl herself, but we finally decided the best thing was for the friend to hire a detective or do some checking on his own to make sure that what he thought was true was true, before he ended up causing damage for no reason." Danil shrugged. "But what does any of this matter? You should be worried about Kyo, not some friends in Japan."
"Just covering all the bases. Now, you say he is your exchange student?" Pruitt continued.
"Yes, from Odaiba, Japan," Danil reitterated.
"When did he first arrive here?"
"August 29th," Peter replied.
"How does this program work?" Pruitt asked.
"We offered our home to the program. Kyo will be staying with us for one year," Danil answered calmly.
"Did you requet a boy?" Pruitt asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Peter asked.
"Answer the question, please."
Peter folded his arms across his chest. "No, we didn't request a boy. We didn't care what the gender of the student was. We would have been happy if a boy or a girl came to stay with us, and it didn't matter where they were from or what religion they were either." He eyed the officer suspiciously.
"There's no need to get so defensive," Pruitt said, raising an eyebrow. "Now, about this program, do you have contact information for them?"
"I'll get it, it's upstairs in our office," Danil said with a sigh. He got up and left the room to go upstairs. Peter folded his arms across his chest.
"What about his online activity? A lot of runaways go to meet people they met online," Ritter spoke up.
"Kyo really doesn't do much online," Peter said with a shrug. "He'll do things for school, he'll watch videos, listen to music, that kind of thing."
"Does he have an e-mail, instant messenger, Myspace, Facebook?" Ritter asked.
"Yeah, he does, but he only uses them to talk to people he actualy knows in person," Peter explained.
"We may need to look at your computer," Pruitt said.
Peter's jaw tightened. They only had one computer, and there was all kinds of things on it, from business to memories.
"Well, sure, but be advised, we need it for school and work. Not to mention there are countless family memories on there." He stood up and walked up to the office. Danil was just coming down the stairs with the business card of the exchange student program that Kyo was entered in.
"They want to see the computer," he told Danil.
"Oh, I see. Well, here, this is the information for the exchange student program that we're in," he said to Pruitt, holding out the card.
"Thank you," Pruitt said, taking it.
The officers followed Peter up to the office, where he showed them the family computer.
"Can you pull up the last sites that Kyo visited for the past week or so?" Pruitt asked.
"Sure," Peter said with a nod. He opened the internet browser and pulled up the History. "These sites were visited the past few weeks," he explained as Pruitt looked at the main list.
Seeing several chat rooms and social networking sites listed, Pruitt nodded.
"I see. Well, it looks like there's some sites that are of interest here. Maybe we should take this now... On the other hand, if the kid turns up before tomorrow, or before the 24 hours have passed, it would just be a waste of our time... I tell you what. We'll come back for this tomorrow if he hasn't come home by then. We'll take a look, see what we can find. Okay?"
"Fine, but I'm telling you, he didn't run off to meet with anyone." Peter rolled his eyes. He closed out the browser and Pruitt smirked at the wallpaper.
"Nice picture," he commented quietly. It was the same picture as was on the mantlepiece downstairs: Danil and Peter's wedding photo.
"Thanks," Peter said, eyeing him. "Do you have any other questions for us?"
"No, that's all for now," he answered. "Give us a call if you hear from him." He held out his business card. "And if you don't, then call us after eleven tomorrow morning, and we'll start looking for him."
Peter sighed. "Thanks, we will." He took the business card in his hand and led the officers back downstairs to the foyer. He offered them their coffee in styrofoam cups, and they went on their way.
"Well, that was pretty fucking pointless," Peter muttered as he came back to the living room. "They won't even do anything until tomorrow afternoon almost. They won't even start looking until then. Then they have the nerve to suggest that we requested a boy? What, just because we're a gay couple? Assholes."
Danil was silent for a while, listening to Peter's rant. He was sitting on the couch while Peter went about fixing some sandwiches. Finally, Danil buried his face in his hands, sobbing softly. He leaned sideways so that he was now lying halfway on the couch, and cried into the pillow. The bay window's curtains and blinds were still opened. The spacious window gave a spectacular view of the winter wilderness that had been forming almost since the time of Kyo's departure. Everything was white out there now, and the trees were starting to sway with a vicious winter wind. All Danil could think about was how cold it was out there, and how cold and hungry and lonely and scared Kyo must be...
Peter came over and knelt at his side. He put his hand on his shoulder and started to caress him.
"He'll be okay," he whispered. "You know he'll be okay. Aleksei Kristianovich won't let anything happen to him."
"Still, Kyo should be home, where it's safe, and warm," Danil said, sniffling. His voice was muffled by the pillow.
"He will be, soon," Peter reassured him. He kissed the top of his head, stroking his hair. "He'll be okay."
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Jun 9, 2011 9:23:24 GMT -5
Kyo's eyes fluttered open to the sight of a group of multi-colored, dancing dinosaurs. They were holding hands and dancing in a circle while strange yellow birds floated around them whistling tunes Kyo didn't know.
The TV.
A quick glance at the corner of the screen, past the odd image that Kyo guessed to be a children's show, albeit a fairly scary one, revealed that it was now 9 AM. He'd napped for little more than an hour, it seemed. But Kyo was sure that was good, because there was something he needed to do.
Yawning, the boy glanced back to the main office of the nursing building, his eyes immediately falling upon the telephone he'd noted earlier. As it was, he'd wasted enough time fooling around over doing anything productive--not just now, but all along with the whole mess he was in--and he knew he shouldn't wait any longer. He needed to call his host family. Maybe he was scared to, maybe he was worried about the verdict, but there just was no other option.
Kyo forced his body, still somewhat groggy and heavy, especially after having eaten so much food, from the bed, dragging his layers of warm blankets with him. Then he pattered through the room with the beds to the main office. The sunlight was still filtering in through the front doors, casting somewhat eerie shadows on the walls around the room. The chair behind the desk was unpleasantly empty, the surrounding area looking very much as though someone had only recently left it behind, though with the intention of not returning for a very long while. With the TV blaring somewhat eerie children's songs in the background, Kyo felt a strange sense of unease, as though he'd become the last person on earth. Now that he was so alone and in such a big place, which--at the very least--felt like it should have been overcrowded with people, not so silent and dead, he realized how much he really disliked that thought. The thought of being alone.
Glancing at the phone on the desk, Kyo felt his pulse pick up. Being alone was scary, but so was what was to come, he was sure. He'd never been in so much trouble in his life. But...
No other option, Kyo reminded himself, leaning over, picking up the receiver, and noting a message attached to the phone base, which stated that to make a call to somewhere outside of the park, phone users need to press 9 first.
He pressed 9, then brought his index finger around to the number which started Danil and Peter's phone number.
No other option.
Unless...
Kyo's finger hovered over the button of the first number to Danil and Peter's home phone.
He'd thought of something.
Suddenly Kyo changed direction, lifting his hand and pressing down without hesitation on another button, this one the very first number to a certain Nic Wu's cellphone number. And before he could even stop himself, Kyo was pounding the remainder of the series of numbers adamantly. He was aware the person who owned the number wouldn't be able to hear him. He was aware that maybe this call was a selfish one, that maybe he just needed to hear Nic's voice, know he was okay, get that one comfort--even if it was a painful one, given what he'd been going through recently.
If anyone would understand, even without an ability most people possessed but seemed to fail at properly using....Nic would. Nic would understand.
Kyo waited for the dial tone, his heartbeat picking up, pounding heavily against his ribcage as the phone on the other end began to ring.
And then someone picked up.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Jun 18, 2011 9:18:28 GMT -5
ooc: LOL, evidently writing myself back in! Permission to god-play Kyo slightly! ic: Nic had been out all night, searching for Kyo. Somehow, he'd known he wouldn't find the boy. Pittsburgh was a big city, and with the thick layer of snow that had begun falling, it was near impossible that he'd be able to spot Kyo without some kind of aid. It wasn't like he had the best vision. Still, even despite the warnings of how irrational he was being, that he could get severely sick himself, he'd only bundled his coat tighter around his body and continued the fruitless search. Eventually, of course, he gave up. He'd been out for hours. It was too cold and he had already lost the feeling in his fingers. But he hadn't returned home. Instead, he'd made his way to a 24-hour cafe nearby. In fact, considering how frozen he was, and the fact that he was beginning to feel a little lightheaded, the place seemed to be perfectly placed. He'd gone inside and outwardly sighed at the feeling of warmth on his face. There seemed to be only one other customer, an old man at the bar of the cafe. Nic took a seat at one of the tables instead, waiting a moment so his body could warm up a moment, before finally ordering something from the waitress who was on duty for the night. He hadn't remembered falling asleep, but evidently he'd been exhausted enough that the two cups of coffee he had ordered had done little to keep him awake. When he awoke, he found himself still seated at the table, his upper body splayed over an open menu. That's right, he finally recalled. He'd been considering ordering something else to keep himself awake, but even then his eyelids had been drooping. It had been such a long night. With that thought, memories of the night before finally seemed to hit his cloudy brain. Kyo, who had run away and might be lost. Had Danil and Peter found the boy? Had he returned home? Looking out the window, he saw sunlight filtering in. The old customer was gone, and now there were actually a few other customers, chatting quietly. Even the waitress who had been serving him was replaced by a bigger, older woman. What time was it? Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Nic unclipped his cellphone from his shirt lapel, snapping it open. 9AM. It was the next day. And on top of that, he had not received any calls from Danil or Peter. A bad sign. He knew either of his roommates would have at least let him know if everything was okay. He sighed and closed his eyes. Somehow, he hurt all over. It was a weird pain, like something that couldn't be fixed with medicine or anything like that. Did this all mean that Kyo had not been found? Missing for nearly a whole day, in that weather? Nic had been in it long enough himself. Just a few hours, and he knew how deadly it was. He ran a hand through his hair, snapping his phone closed once more and gently setting it on the table. What was he supposed to do now? Order something else to eat and sit here idly, wasting time? Go back home to find an even more anxious Danil and still-upset Peter? There was nothing he could do there but take up space, if Kyo had not returned yet. He sighed, looking out the window. Well...at least the snow had stopped. He sat pensively, looking out the window, feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, even through the glass of the window. He realized he was sweating a little, having slept all night in the warm cafe, wearing his big winter coat. He shrugged it off now, his eyes glancing unseeingly at the the open menu on the table. And that was when he noticed the shaking motion, coming from his phone. His eyes refocusing, he stared at it. His phone was vibrating. He hadn't felt it, considering it was placed on the table, but now, his heartbeat quickening, he quickly picked it up and opened it. Someone was calling. He had been prepared to see Danil's name there, or Peter's, although of course it wouldn't make any sense, considering whoever this person was, they were calling him, not texting like Danil or Peter would have. His shoulders slumped a little. Even though he rarely received them, he was sure this was probably just some telephone salesperson randomly calling his number. Nothing significant............Right? But something told Nic this was different. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody right now, let alone a telephone salesperson, but he couldn't seem to shake a sudden feeling that had taken hold of him--a feeling that if he just let the call end, rather than at least checking to see who it was...he would regret it. Maybe...maybe this could be... Clicking the "Accept Call" button, Nic took a breath, pausing before speaking. He didn't bother with formalities. Even if the person on the other end, whoever they were, said something, he wasn't going to hear it. He wouldn't pretend he could either. His voice soft, a little hoarse after the night spent in the cold, he finally began speaking. "This is Nic...If this is a prank call, you might as well save yourself the trouble. I won't be able to help you." He paused again, his throat suddenly feeling dry. "But--" he choked on his words for a moment, wondering if what he was about to say was just him being stupid. Still, he felt his heartbeat pick up. "Kyo..." he spoke the boy's name softly first, then more loudly. "Kyo...if it's you..." He sat silent for a moment, feeling stupid, talking to someone he couldn't see or hear. How could it possibly be Kyo? Kyo would never call him, he'd text, if anything, and even that was a stretch. Surely the boy would contact his host fathers first and foremost, not him, a random college student sharing the same home... He was being so irrational... He continued on anyway. "Kyo...if this is really you on the phone.........I want you to hang up in three seconds...and then call back..." He paused. What the heck was he doing? But no matter how stupid his plan seemed, he continued on with it. "Start counting now," he said quietly, then moved the phone away from his ear, now watching the screen carefully to see if the call would end. One, he counted. Two......... Three. There was a flashing on the screen as the call ended. Nic held his breath. There was no way...could this seriously be...? He waited a moment, just staring at the phone, praying, praying that he would see the same number flashing on the screen once more. A moment later, and there it was again, his phone once again vibrating as if to further highlight this new request. Nic quickly pressed the accept button, his hands now shaking. His voice now breathless. "Kyo!" he shouted, quickly lowering his voice when he saw some of the other customers look up and stare at him. He knew he must look a mess right now, but he couldn't care any less. "Kyo, if this is really you, I have an idea. If you're hurt or trapped somewhere, you have to call Danil or Peter, not me. I can't help you with that, unless you have a way to text me. Believe me, I wish I could help, but I can't." He choked on his words for a moment, finally feeling that his disability really was a huge disability. If Kyo was calling him for help, there was little he could do without the ability to hear what Kyo needed. Unless... "But, if you're okay...you can come find me. I'm not too far from Danil and Peter's home." He named the cafe he was at, then read the address for it off of the menu. It occurred to him that maybe the only reason Kyo was calling Nic was because he was afraid of how upset his host parents would be. Truly, Peter had been in something of a rage when Nic had left. And poor Danil had been an emotional wreck himself, although that seemed to be because he was blaming himself for everything that had happened. Nic could understand if Kyo was unwilling to return home, but he knew he had to try to coerce him. "I'll say it again, Kyo. If you're hurt or trapped, please call Danil and Peter. They are the ones who can help you. But if you are okay and want to come to me, I'm at the address I mentioned. I'll wait here for you, as long as it takes, if you want." He paused again, trying to figure out how to make this work. "So...if you are hurt and need to talk to someone...then, when I say so, please stay on the line. If you're okay and want to come meet me, then hang up in three seconds, like we just did. I'll stay here and wait for you, in that case..." He paused again. This plan wasn't exactly fool-proof. "Ready? ...Count starting now." Again, he watched the phone monitor. He was prepared for Kyo to stay on the line, prepared for the worst. If that happened, he would continue to tell Kyo to call Danil. And in the meantime, he would also text Danil, with the number Kyo was calling from, and letting Danil know the situation. But if otherwise... After three seconds, the call ended. Again, Nic felt short of breath. Kyo had hung up. Which meant... He's okay!Nic breathed a sigh of relief, sinking back into his chair. He knew he shouldn't let his guard down yet. Maybe the entire interaction had been faked. But somehow, he got the feeling that it was very real, that he had just been on the phone with Kyo. And now Kyo, who apparently was okay enough to do so, was coming to meet him. He sat up again, reaching for his phone once more, thinking it would be a good idea to let Danil and Peter know that Kyo was okay. But it also occurred to him, he didn't know that for sure yet. And if Kyo wanted to meet with him privately, without Danil and Peter's knowledge, like it seemed......Nic felt his heart torn this way and that. Well, the least he could do was entertain the poor boy for a little bit before they went home, and try to see what had troubled him enough to run away. He wanted to help Kyo as much as he could, considering that Kyo himself had unwittingly helped Nic in the past. Kyo really had helped him in so many ways. Calling the waitress over and ordering another cup of coffee and some bacon and toast, Nic tried to relax and prepared to wait as long as he needed to to meet with Kyo again, praying he wasn't making some stupid mistake.
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Post by Angela on Jun 19, 2011 14:57:58 GMT -5
Peter massaged Danil's back as he cried softly into the pillow on the couch. Neither of them spoke for awhile. Finally, Peter broke the silence.
"Danil?" He paused. "Did you mean what you said? About Kyo being scared of me?"
Danil had stopped crying by then, and he sat up to look at his husband. Peter looked serious, and worried.
"I'm not sure if he really is, but I wouldn't be surprised," he told him. "You overreact to things sometimes..."
Peter lowered his eyes. "Do you think I have an anger problem?" he asked. "I mean, you know how my dad was... and Rich... Being raised around all that, am I like them?"
"No," Danil replied honestly. "But you do scare me sometimes... when you yell... even if it's not at me..." He shrugged.
Peter sighed deeply and put his hand on his shoulder. "Would it be wise if I got help? Do you think I'm at that point where I should?"
"Peter, only you can decide that," Danil pointed out, shaking his head. He looked away for a moment. "Personally, though, I think it's best you get help before you reach that point..."
"Maybe I should see Mrs. Sweetwater," Peter said thoughtfully. "She seems to know what she's doing."
"You'd have to check her criteria, to see if she handles those kind of issues," Danil advised, looking back at him. "You can't just go to a therapist you met because of your husband's sexual abuse and go to them for anger problems. If she handles that kind of issue, then fine, but if she doesn't work with them, then I would advise you to find someone who does." He shrugged.
"Good point..." Peter sighed once more and pulled Danil closer to him. "This whole thing can't be doing you any good, with your PTSD..."
"I'm all right for now," Danil replied softly as he lay his head against Peter's chest. "Poor Kyo," he whispered.
"He'll be okay," Peter said gently, stroking his hair.
After another long silence, Peter spoke again. He gently put his hand under Danil's chin so he could look at him.
"I want you to know, dorogoy, that I will get help for my anger issues. Starting tomorrow, I'll look for a therapist, support groups, whatever. And I promise when Kyo comes home, I won't lose my cool with him."
Danil smiled a little and kissed his lips. "Thank you," he whispered, stroking his cheek.
The more time passed without a single word from Nic, the more worried Danil became. Peter wasn't too worried, remembering that Nic had his phone, but he was still concerned. After about a half hour, Danil got up and went to the phone.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked.
"I need Zhenya," Danil said, sniffling, as he dialed the number.
Zhenya was playing PS3 with Slava. Their favorite game was Halo. When the phone rang, Zhenya paused the game and looked at his son.
The phone is ringing, malenki, he signed. I have to answer it.
"Awww!" Slava whined.
"Allo?" Zhenya asked as he answered the phone. He waited a moment. "Danilka! Has Kyo come home yet?" He paused again, and sighed deeply. "Oh, no..." Another pause. "Of course, Danilka. I'll be right there... No, no, the weather's no problem. I'll be there as soon as I can... Of course I'll be careful, Danilka." He smiled gently. "I'll see you soon."
Zhenya hung up and went to Slava.
Uncle Danil and Uncle Peter need to see me. I'm sorry, the game will have to wait.
But Papa! Slava protested.
Kyo is missing, Zhenya signed. Uncle Danil and Peter are scared, they want to see me.
Kyo is missing? What happened?
He ran away from home, Zhenya explained.
Why? Slava signed, confused.
I don't know... But I'm sure he will be all right. In the meantime, I'm going to see your uncles.
Zhenya kissed his son's head. You can stay up an extra half hour tonight. I think it's safe to say that you won't have school tomorrow. He grinned, and Slava cheered.
Thanks, Papa!
Zhenya quickly unpaused the game and killed his character off. He turned to Slava and grinned.
I was winning anyway, now you can win, he told his son, who laughed.
Zhenya went upstairs to where his mother was, busy with the newborn twins.
"Mama, I have to go. Danilka needs me."
"Is Kyo all right?" Maria asked immediately.
"They haven't found him yet," he said with a sigh as he sat down. He took Maksim from her and began to rock him to sleep. Max was always pretty fussy before bedtime. She'd been trying for a half hour to get the six-month-old to sleep.
"That poor boy, out alone in this weather? I can't imagine how hard this must be for Danil and Peter."
"And Nic," Zhenya added with a nod. "He went out into the storm to look for him, apparently."
"Oh, no... Well, I'll pray for everyone tonight," Maria replied, crossing herself as she lay Aleksei in his crib.
"I'm sure they'll all appreciate that," Zhenya said gratefully, and crossed himself. He looked at Max. "I can't imagine what they must be going through. I can't imagine what it would be like if one of my children ran away from home."
"Well, your children have no reason to run away," Maria said with a shrug as she sat next to him. "They have a stable environment, they're treated well, they're healthy, they're not abused-"
"The same applies to Kyo," Zhenya said rolling his eyes.
"They also have a loving father, and a loving mother," Maria pointed out with a shrug. "Children need a motherly influence in their life."
"Mama, with all due respect, I never had a motherly influence in my life, and yet I stayed home," Zhenya said, eyeing her critically. "Kyo has a mother, in Japan, as well as a father. Don't try to make this about Danil and Peter being unable to raise a child properly just because they're both men."
"But you said yourself that the two were not ready for parenthood," Maria protested.
"For a different reason," Zhenya said calmly. "I said that because they are both young, and career-focused. There's literally no time or place for a child in their home at this time. And now," he added, "when you consider the fact that Danil is enduring post-traumatic stress, that only enhances the situation."
"Have you told them this?" Maria asked.
Zhenya sighed. "I don't want to cause a rift between us. If I were to say anything, they'd resent me. When they find out I'm right, they'll resent me. So it's not worth mentioning. I prefer to let them find that out on their own."
"No matter what the cost will be to the child?" Maria asked skeptically.
"Well, hopefully, they'll realize that they can't handle parenthood before any child arrives," Zhenya said with a shrug. Max was finally sleeping. Zhenya stood up and lay the boy in his crib. He kissed his head, then did the same to Aleksei. He turned to his mother, folding his arms. "A gay couple can raise a child just as well as a straight couple. Depending on the circumstances, they can even do it better."
"Better than you and Katya could? I doubt that," Maria said, shaking her head with a sigh.
"I didn't say better than us," Zhenya pointed out quietly. "But if I were a judge, settling a custody case between a straight couple who had drug and alcohol issues, and a gay couple with steady, honest jobs and a clean, safe house, I'd award custody to the gay couple."
"You've gone to that so-called 'support group' too many times," Maria said with a sigh. "Children need a mother and a father in order to grow up healthy."
"Well, then I guess I'm not 'healthy' then, because I didn't have a mother," Zhenya snapped, glaring at her. Without another word, he stormed out of the room. He went down the hall and knocked at the door of his bedroom. "Katyusha?" he called as he entered. His wife was sitting in front of her vanity mirror, plucking her eyebrows. "I have to go to Danil's."
Katya stopped and turned around to stare at him. "Is it still snowing outside?"
"Yes, pretty hard too," he told her. "But Danil needs me, I can't say no because of the weather. I promised him a few weeks ago that I would go to him whenever he needed me."
Katya nodded slowly. "All right... I'll see you later..."
Zhenya grabbed his heaviest sweater and put it on, and put on a pair of long johns under a pair of sweatpants.
"Be careful..." his wife told him fearfully.
Zhenya looked at her for a moment. It was one of the few times since her parents arrived in September that she'd actually expressed concern for her husband's safety. He leaned over and kissed her passionately.
"I will always be careful," he whispered after breaking the kiss. "I'll see you in a few hours."
Zhenya arrived at Danil's about forty-five minutes later. Peter answered the door.
"Hey," Peter said with a sigh. "Thanks for coming in this weather."
"It's no problem. Any news?" Zhenya asked, stepping inside. He brushed the snow off and put his coat in the foyer.
"Not yet, not even a word from Nic," Peter said sadly.
"How's Danil holding up?" he asked, eyeing him.
"He's not doing so good," Peter answered, averting his eyes.
"And you?" he asked.
Peter looked at him, and sighed. "Zhenya... let me ask you a question, and I want you to be as honest as possible."
"Of course," Zhenya replied, puzzled.
"Do you think I have anger issues?"
Zhenya blinked, surprised at the bluntness. He cleared his throat. "Well... I wasn't expecting that..." He looked at him and put his hands behind his back thoughtfully. "You can be hot-headed sometimes," he told him. "Would I call it a problem? I don't know... I can point out several times when you've lost your cool for some rather stupid reasons, but I can also point out times when you got angry for good reasons, and acted the way I would have... That said, you can also be a little intimidating... Why are you asking me this? Did you and Danilka have a fight?"
"Go on, Zhenya, tell me more, please," Peter insisted. "I want to know more."
Zhenya nodded slowly. "Well... anger is an understandable emotion to have at some times. But even at those times, sometimes, you do go to extremes... Danil told me often about how you would bully others in school, resulting in fights. You've calmed down considerably, but there are still some times when you act... unreasonable..." He raised an eyebrow. "You asked me to be as honest as possible, and I was." He shrugged.
Peter nodded. "I think Kyo might be scared of me. Maybe that's why he ran away, maybe that's why he has been gone so long. I got mad at Danil earlier, told him to stop blaming himself for Kyo running away. I just got off the phone with the cops, and I said Kyo had better get home soon... I punched the air, and Danil told me to calm down. That's when he told me, not in so many words, that I had a problem." Peter sighed, leaning against the wall of the foyer. "I promised I would get help..."
"Oh, I see," Zhenya said, nodding slowly. "Pete," he began, putting his arm around him as they walked through the foyer to the living room, "the fact that you realize that you have a problem with anger is a blessing. In therapy I learned that pretending it doesn't exist, denying it all, is the first step on the road to self-destruction, and with the way that Danil is now, you could bring him along with you on that road and it would lead to his own destruction as well. You've avoided that step and are now on your way to dealing with your problem, and in so doing, you will be a better person, a better husband, a better surrogate father, and a better support for Danil." He sat down.
"I'm gonna go make some hot cocoa. You want some?" Peter asked. Zhenya smiled.
"That sounds nice, thank you. Where's Danil?"
"In our room," Peter replied, gesturing to the hallway. Zhenya nodded.
"Thanks. I'm going to go see him, but I'll stay and talk with you privately some more if you like."
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Peter replied. "Oh, you want whipped cream, caramel, coffee, Irish Cream, Creme de Cocoa, Creme de Menthe, anything like that?"
"I think I will have some Irish Cream in mine, and whipped cream," Zhenya said thoughtfully, "and a little bit of espresso in it... That sounds really good right about now."
Peter grinned, and went to the kitchen. "Ask Danil if he wants some," he called.
"I will," he replied as he went to the master bedroom down the hall.
"Come in," Danil said with a slightly strained voice at Zhenya's knock on the door. Zhenya opened it and smiled gently. Danil sat up from the bed and smiled gratefully. "Thanks for coming in this weather..."
"I promised I would be there for you, whenever you needed me, day or night, whatever the weather," he said as he came into the room. "Peter wants to know if you want some hot chocolate."
Danil sighed. "No thanks... Maybe later..."
Zhenya nodded and sat down. He took a deep breath and put his arm around Danil.
"So, what's going on?"
Danil looked at Zhenya and wrapped his arms around his brother in a tight embrace. Zhenya returned the gesture and kissed his head.
"I should never have looked at his things," Danil said, sobbing.
"What exactly happened?" Zhenya asked as he pulled away. "Why did you look at Kyo's things?"
Danil told Zhenya all of the events that had transpired, from the past week to that morning.
"Why didn't you go after him?" Zhenya asked, staring at him in shock.
"I did! But... after a few minutes, I stopped. I felt your father's presence. I didn't go after him because I thought that he would come home after he talked to him," Danil explained with a shrug.
Zhenya crossed his arms and looked at him skeptically. "What?"
"I felt a sudden sense of calmness surround me, and the only time I've ever felt that is when your father was around," Danil explained.
"All the same, why didn't my father show himself and speak to you personally? Why didn't he tell you where Kyo was? Why didn't he come home yet?"
"I don't know," Danil said in despair. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was meant to go after him... That's why I called you. Zhenya, what would you do in this situation? You've been a father longer than I have... I'm not even a real father..." He bowed his head.
Zhenya took a deep breath as he did with Peter. His priority was to preserve Danil's tender feelings, and offer comfort and gentle honesty.
"To be honest, Danil, I would not have stopped looking just because Papa had come to me as he did with you." He folded his arms across his chest. "I would have kept looking until I found Kyo. If Papa actually spoke to me, that would be different, though I would prefer to make the effort to find him myself." He shrugged. "Maybe that's why Papa didn't show himself, maybe he wanted you to make an effort to find him. He's your responsibility, not my father's." Zhenya cringed after his rant, and put his hands on Danil's shoulders as tears started to stream down the young man's cheeks. "Listen, I'm not saying you're a bad father. You're not! You're just... inexperienced, and that's understandable. You do a good job caring for my children, but something tells me if one of them ran away, you wouldn't have stopped looking just because you felt my father's presence," he said critically.
"No, I wouldn't..." Danil sniffled. He sighed. "I shouldn't have stopped looking for him... I know..."
"It's all right, Danilka," Zhenya said gently, rubbing his back. "This experience was meant to prepare you for real parenthood, you said so yourself. So if your child ever runs away, God forbid, you know how you should and shouldn't react, what you should and shouldn't do. I think you need to stop blaming yourself as well. This must be about something more than a silly piece of paper. It just has to be! I want you to think carefully. What could have caused Kyo to run away? He has everything he could possibly want or need here, so why did he leave it? It's okay if you can't answer that. Hopefully, Kyo himself will answer that when you find him, and you will find him. I think you are right that Papa is with him; he wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. But just because he's with him, doesn't mean you shouldn't still be worried. It's good that you're still worried. It shows that you still feel responsible for the boy. This way, when you become a real father, you will already have that feeling with you, and it will serve you well..." He looked at his brother carefully. He didn't want to tell him his true feelings about his readiness to be a parent just yet... He wanted to see if Danil still thought he was...
"Yes, well... I think it'll be a while before Peter and I adopt a child," Danil said with a long, deep sigh.
"Oh?" Zhenya asked curiously. "Well, you can't let Kyo's actions deter you... Why are you going to wait?"
"Because neither of us are really ready... And with my post-traumatic stress, I'm certain I won't be able to handle the stress of raising a child on top of that," Danil reasoned as he wiped his cheek with the back of his hand.
Zhenya nodded. "I think that is why Papa didn't show himself to you. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't showed himself to Kyo either. He wants you to realize that you are not ready for parenthood. You and Peter have some issues to work out with yourselves, as individuals, and as a couple, before you bring a child into your lives."
"You're right..." Danil agreed, shaking his head. "I just hope that Kyo can forgive us for not looking for him... How do I explain that to him? He may be hurt, or sick by now, hungry, cold and scared... All alone out there in this blizzard..."
"I think if that were the case, Papa would certainly tell us," Zhenya calmly pointed out. "I think he may feel some of those things, but his situation isn't as dire as it seems, otherwise Papa would have let us know. All the same, like I said, it's good that you are still worried about him." He took a deep breath and clasped his hands in front of him as Peter knocked at the door.
"Hey, hot cocoa," he offered, handing Zhenya a large mug of the steaming chocolate beverage with a ton of whipped cream on top. Zhenya smiled.
"Thank you, Peter," he said, taking a sip. "Oh, that is delicious."
"Thanks... Dorogoy, you want some?"
"No thanks... My stomach can't take anything right now," Danil said sadly.
"When was the last time you ate anything?" Zhenya asked.
"He probably hasn't eaten all day, you know him," Peter said with a sigh. He went to the other side of the bed and sat down beside Danil, putting his arms around him.
"He's right... You know how I get when I'm stressed... I literally get too sick to eat..." He clutched his husband tightly, putting his face to his shoulder. Zhenya nodded and ran a hand through his hair.
"I know... but starving yourself isn't any way to deal with this either," he pointed out gently. "At least drink some broth."
Danil looked at him thoughtfully. "That sounds fine."
"I'll go-"
"You stay with him," Zhenya interrupted Peter, patting his shoulder. "I'll go make some." He kissed Danil's head. "Then, if you want, we can go look for Kyo."
Danil's objection wasn't to the nasty weather brewing outside. "But Zhenya, how will we ever find him in this blizzard?"
"We probably won't," Zhenya said calmly as he stood up from the bed, "but at least now you can say that you actually made the effort to try." He shrugged. "And who knows, we may find him. We won't know until we try. What do you say?" he asked.
Danil smiled. "Okay."
"I'll go pack some things, in case we get stranded. God forbid," Zhenya offered, "but it's best to be prepared."
"Yeah. When I was stranded with Parker, we were lucky to have those food and juice bottles in my car by chance." Danil shuddered at the memory. "We'll bring our cell phones with us."
"Of course. And I have a charger in my car. Bring blankets and extra clothes, just in case."
"I'm coming too," Peter declared.
"Someone should stay in case Kyo comes home, or Nic," Zhenya pointed out. "They shouldn't come home to an empty house."
"Good point," Peter replied sadly, lowering his eyes. "I just wish I could actually do something..."
"You did," Danil told him, looking him in the eye. "You called the police, which is what any rational human being would do." He kissed his cheek.
"You two relax for a while. I'm going to go make the broth for you, and I'll put some in a thermos for us too." He paused, looking at his mug of hot chocolate. "Peter, how much liquor did you put in this?"
"Just half a part each, I know you don't really like the liquor to overwhelm the cocoa," Peter answered. Zhenya nodded.
"That seems fine... I don't get drunk easily, so I can still enjoy this while I work." He smiled. "I'm going to gather some other things that we'll need."
So saying, Zhenya left the room. In about an hour, he returned with two mugs of hot chicken broth.
"Here," he offered. "I packed some extra blankets, two thermoses, one of broth and the other of hot chocolate, now I'd like to pack some extra clothes."
"Good idea," Peter said, taking the mug in his hands as Danil drank from his. "Thanks, by the way. You didn't have to, you know."
"I wanted to give you two a chance to be alone," Zhenya told the two of them lovingly.
"We appreciate that, Zhenya, thank you, and thank you for the broth," Danil replied.
"You're welcome."
Zhenya set to work gathering some extra heavy sweaters. He packed eight of them. This way, if they ran into Nic and Kyo, they could get warm fast. And if they ended up stranded, God forbid, they could easily stay warm without the heater. In another half hour, Danil and Zhenya were ready to leave. Peter embraced Zhenya first.
"You take care of him," he said.
"Always," Zhenya replied, kissing his cheek.
Peter embraced his husband tightly, kissing him passionately. "You be careful out there," he whispered.
"We will," he replied, caressing his face with his right hand's fingertips. "Take care of the house, and Zoloto, Lucky, and Vaska."
"I will."
"If worse comes to worse, we'll call you," Zhenya said. "If for some reason, we can't, you know that we'll be all right. We've got enough supplies to last us a week, even if we find Nic and Kyo."
"Hopefully you guys won't need them that long," Peter said sadly.
"If they come back, let us know," Danil added with a nod.
"I will..."
Without another word, Zhenya and Danil went into the steadily-falling blizzard. Both were wearing sable furs on top of their already-layered heavy clothing. They agreed to take Peter's truck. It was best-suited for this weather. Danil turned off the Kiss CD and looked at his brother as they began to drive off. Zhenya felt himself sober enough to drive.
"So what's the plan?" Danil asked.
"Well, I think we'll drive around for a while, call out Kyo's name, turn on the high beams, and then wait for a few minutes. Then we'll drive off again, and continue doing that for a while. We'll stay out as long as you want."
Danil smiled. "That sounds perfectly reasonable. Thank you for doing this for me, Zhenya."
"It's not just for you, it's for Kyo, Nic, and Peter," Zhenya told him, glancing at him lovingly before making a slow turn. Even though he felt he was sober, he wasn't about to be a speed demon in this weather.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Jul 19, 2011 14:44:16 GMT -5
It was funny. Almost as soon as Kyo was sure he should hang up the phone and give up on this charade, the call was received. The boy had nearly put the receiver down, angry at himself. Nic, he was calling Nic, the very person he'd promised himself not to get involved in this whole mess and the very person who, though he would likely understand the best out of everyone, couldn't hear him. Then the phone call was answered.
Kyo found he was suddenly holding his breath.
"This is Nic..."
In the pause that ensued, Kyo was actually surprised by how much his Chinese friend's words stung.
"If this is a prank call, you might as well save yourself the trouble. I won't be able to help you."
Kyo felt tears well up in his eyes, and he suddenly felt stupid all over again. This was like a demented game. This was a prank call in some ways, wasn't it? Calling a deaf person on the phone. And hearing Nic's voice....it hurt. It actually physically hurt him.
"But--"
Kyo shuddered. But what?
"Kyo...Kyo...if it's you...'
Kyo bit down hard on his lip now, a tear escaping from the corner of one eye and sliding quickly down his face. "I'm here...It's me..."
More silence ensued. Kyo suddenly felt as though he'd gone deaf, as though he was being given a taste of what it was like to experience the world through Nic's body. The chilling quiet of everything around him, the lack of life around him, the sound of the TV in the next room having diminished to nothing, tuned out by his brain, his thoughts had become so deep...Kyo suddenly considered what his disappearance had to feel like to someone like Nic. Someone who hadn't been involved in any of his recent problems but very well might have noticed them and just not known what to do. Or not noticed them. Nic had been so busy with school and his own hectic life that maybe there had been no chance for him to notice anything. And then Kyo suddenly had gone missing, had run away............how would it feel to get that kind of news out of the blue? Oh God, he'd been so unfair to everyone...
"Kyo...if this is really you on the phone.........I want you to hang up in three seconds...and then call back..."
The words startled the Japanese exchange student back into reality. The reality where he could hear fine, the reality where it was suddenly dawning on him, one second after another, what he needed to do.
"Start counting now."
Kyo gasped, almost as though the silence had been a knife piercing him out of the blue. Counting, counting...he had to count.
Now was two, now was one.
Kyo took a deep breath, then released the phone, almost dropping it back onto its cradle.
It almost felt scary, doing as Nic had requested and calling back, but Kyo knew he had to. And in this way, even if they weren't speaking directly, Nic would know he was all right. That was good enough, wasn't it? Nic's voice had been painful, but despite Kyo's fears, it also suddenly felt good--so good--to hear the voice of the friend who had never let him down thus far.
The friend he wouldn't let down in return.
Kyo picked up the phone once more and re-dialed his friend's number.
It rang, and one click later, Nic's voice returned.
"Kyo!"
Nic's voice had sounded so alarmed, so heartbroken, Kyo felt the tears slide ever faster down his cheeks. This was such a twisted game, all of this...
"Kyo, if this is really you, I have an idea. If you're hurt or trapped somewhere, you have to call Danil or Peter, not me. I can't help you with that, unless you have a way to text me. Believe me, I wish I could help, but I can't."
Another silence. Kyo choked back sobs, though no one was around to hear them.
"But, if you're okay...you can come find me. I'm not too far from Danil and Peter's home..."
As Nic went ahead and named the cafe he was at, a place Kyo recalled having passed during his trek earlier, he took a deep breath, struggling with himself inside on ultimately what would be best to do. Though, he already had an idea of what he wanted to do... Nic was rattling off the address of the cafe next, but the Japanese boy didn't need it. He was sure he remembered the cafe's location, and anyway, he hadn't had time to find paper and pen to record the address anyway.
"I'll say it again, Kyo. If you're hurt or trapped, please call Danil and Peter. They are the ones who can help you. But if you are okay and want to come to me, I'm at the address I mentioned. I'll wait here for you, as long as it takes, if you want."
Kyo pulled the phone receiver closer. Now he was sure of what he wanted to do. Even if, in some way, it was the very thing he'd been trying to avoid doing right from the beginning.
"Wait for me, please. Wait for me..."
He just couldn't hide it anymore.
"So...if you are hurt and need to talk to someone...then, when I say so, please stay on the line. If you're okay and want to come meet me, then hang up in three seconds, like we just did. I'll stay here and wait for you, in that case..." A pause, then, "Ready?"
Kyo already knew his answer.
" ...Count starting now."
Three......two......one.
Kyo hung up the phone and didn't waste a second. Nic's words were echoing in his head, as though the two of them were still on the phone together, Nic talking, he listening. He left behind all he'd bought or borrowed, turned off the TV in the nursing center, then hurried off the park entrance. He had no idea how he would escape, what with the signboard gone and all, but he was sure he'd find a way.
As with all else he'd had to do so far, this too was necessary.
{To Be Continued}
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Sept 16, 2011 0:49:05 GMT -5
ooc: Godplay for Nic allowed!
It had to have been an hour later that Kyo finally arrived at the cafe. He knew it by name; he hadn't been able to see Nic through the windows, as they were still masked by the snow and frost from early morning. But somehow, even seeing the lights on inside, Kyo couldn't feel any better. He knew what was waiting just beyond the windows...who was waiting. The entirety of his thoughts, as he traversed over the frozen landscape from the park and now to the cafe, had been about what was to come, pondering what he had to say to his close friend and how he would say it. In fact, part of the reason why he'd made it so far, he was sure, was because his mind had been elsewhere. He'd been so preoccupied trying to cope with one problem, that he hadn't been able to focus on the other, the freezing cold, the imminent sickness. He'd left the blankets from the nursing building in the park where they belonged; he didn't have the money to keep buying things that weren't his.
Kyo had managed to scale the fence a second time, on his way out, too, which had taken up quite a bit of his energy. The only thing he'd been grateful about after testing out the difficult chore had been the fact that he'd had to keep moving. It was the only thing that hadn't frozen him stiff on the spot. Though in the back of his mind he was more than aware what was going to happen to him after all this. At the very least, a very bad cold. Probably worse. He'd spent almost two days now running around in a near-blizzard, dressed only in street clothes. Inside, he felt sick already, but he couldn't quite place if that was to do with all his immense difficulties piled up and weighing down on him or genuine sickness. He was just grateful he hadn't collapsed yet.
And now here Kyo was, before the cafe. He had somehow made it unscathed. He was shivering to the core, no thanks to a few tumbles down snow banks he'd made along the way, after trying to run and tripping. But he was...well, he was in one piece, and that was all that mattered. Now he had to get inside. That was the next task that was beginning to feel impossible. Even the promise of a respite inside from the icy cold didn't seem enough to coax him into the cafe. But...
"Shikata ga nai...zen zen shikata ga nai..." It can't be helped, it definitely can't be helped.
Kyo felt a sense of vertigo as he approached the cafe door, like he couldn't stand straight, the weight of the world on top of him. Putting one shaking hand against the cool glass of the door, he hesitated again.
Once he pushed open the door and walked through, once he stepped inside and met with Nic, that was it. After that...there was no going back. He had to ask himself again, did he really want to go about things like this? After all he'd done to keep it from Nic, to protect his loved ones?
You don't have a choice.
Whatever part of Kyo's mind was speaking now...he knew it was right. He didn't have a choice. The problem had become such an incredible mind game in his head that he no longer could figure out what was the best course of action or how to work this out on his own. In his mind, he knew that didn't speak much about what kind of person he was; he felt like he'd come to lose all the faith in himself too. In the end, he'd been able to do nothing about it but make things worse. How could anything improve after he'd run away and added that problem to everything else? He was just scared...no, terrified. Of everything this entailed. And he couldn't find a solid answer because there didn't seem to be one and his mind was working overtime, going in the same useless circles. He was as trapped as everyone he was trying to keep at bay from the problem.
"Shikata ga nai..." It was his mantra now.
His body still quivering, Kyo took a deep breath and pushed his weight into the door. He took one step, then another, and another....and he was inside. The chill from outside swept the room, unsettling some of the customers closest to the door, though Kyo didn't notice. He seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
As the door finally came to a close behind him, the Japanese student turned, still shaking, though he wasn't sure if that was out of fear or cold or both...and then he saw him.
Nic was seated by himself at one of the cafe booths, a single coffee cup in his hands. He looked much older than his 21 years, exhausted, worried, perhaps even scared. There was something that spoke of loss and sadness in his eyes, too. A heartbreaking thing to see, knowing what a good-hearted person the man was and how much he didn't deserve any such pain. But Kyo couldn't help wondering...Had that been how Nic had looked when Linda and her boyfriend had first destroyed him? Had that distinct look of innocent hurt been in his eyes when they'd mercilessly taken from him what no human being should be able take away from another?
Oh God, he didn't want it to happen again. It just couldn't...why had he come here? Kyo somehow suddenly felt mad at Nic too. And then the tears sprang up in his eyes again. It felt like he hadn't seen Nic in years, never mind just a simple matter of days. But perhaps that really was simply because he still feared that he would be taken away from him, by Linda and her rotten boyfriend. Like somehow whatever Kyo said and did next would lead to that no matter what.
Pained by his own thoughts, by everything that he was well aware was beyond his control, Kyo finally froze where he stood, just letting the tears fall all over again.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Sept 16, 2011 14:08:28 GMT -5
ooc: Some Kyo god-play allowed!
ic:
Nic had been waiting a little less than an hour, but during that time, he'd become progressively more worried and unsure about the situation. Suddenly, he couldn't help wondering...had that really been Kyo on the phone? Maybe it all had been one big practical joke, and he was going to sit here needlessly for hours more, while the real Kyo was actually out there in the cold sick, injured, lost somewhere. If it had been a practical joke, the person on the other line likely had no idea how serious the situation really was--that, or maybe they didn't care.
Stop it, he fought with himself. Just stop it.
Even if that were the case, that it had been a practical joke, fighting with himself right now, adding extra worry on top of everything else...that wasn't what he needed right now. That certainly wasn't what anyone needed right now, especially from him. If he thought about this rationally, there really wasn't much else he could do right now anyway. Sure, he could go out and start searching in the snow again, but somehow that seemed a useless thing for him to do. He hadn't gotten much done last night doing that, hadn't come any closer to finding Kyo...what would make it any different today?
No, he thought, taking a sip of his coffee, stirring the last few slivers of bacon around his plate mindlessly. I'll wait here for as long as I have to...Because that was Kyo. It had to be. And if he really doesn't show up--maybe in a few hours--I'll text Peter or Danil and see if they've heard anything, just to be sure.
He knew, by planning out the day like this, by giving himself something to wait and hope for, something to do, he was just giving himself reasons to feel useful and hopeful. Reasons to not feel as helpless as he did right now. Just as he tried to do every day with his daily life, he would keep organized--his thoughts, plans, actions, everything. That way he would have some peace of mind to think clearly when...if things turned out for the worse.
He hadn't seen the door open, nor felt the chill that had swept through the area by the door. Maybe that was because the booth he had chosen was towards the back of the cafe. But having finally, momentarily, settled the angst in his mind somewhat, he had looked up, thinking he would order something else to drink, maybe orange juice.
And that was when he saw him. Kyo. By the door. Shivering and standing there, staring at him. For a moment, Nic could only stare back in shock, almost as if all along he had been sure the negative side of his sub-conscious was correct, that Kyo would not be coming. But no, it was him. Surely it was him, because no one else Nic had ever encountered in Pittsburgh had that foreign look, that strangely innocent but equally wise appearance that Nic had never seen before in someone else Kyo's age. The boy was dressed in simple clothes--faded jeans and what looked like a very thin sweatshirt. Definitely not clothing made to endure a winter this cold. But worst of all, worse than Kyo's shivering or the sickening pale color of his skin from being outside, were the tears pouring down his face as he stood there, staring back at Nic.
Nic felt frozen in his seat, shivers running through his own body at the sight of the boy, the stabs of pain in his heart growing even stronger and more relentless than before. Seeing Kyo, a usually cheerful, outgoing, naively optimistic kid, standing there now, looking something like a loyal and innocent puppy after it had been abandoned...The sight of it was almost horrifying. The look on Kyo's face...It reminded Nic of something he had only felt once before in his lifetime, as a child. Something he had never wanted to see reflected in the face of a friend.
Betrayal. Pain. Sorrow.
And suddenly, he realized with another shiver, another stab in the heart, though this time from a feeling of guilt...all of this might actually be his fault, this time. Kyo running away, the look on his face now...It was beginning to dawn on Nic....he hadn't been much of a friend to Kyo these past few weeks, even when it had seemed Kyo needed someone. And Nic had been too blind, too self-absorbed to even act on it, or fully notice it.
...All his fault.
...Oh God, after the past night, it was a little too much.
"Kyo!"
He jumped up, hitting the table and making the coffee cup and breakfast plate rattle, ignoring it. Grabbing his coat, he rushed to the door, everything seeming as though it were in slow-motion, the few people around him staring at his sudden outburst, as he ran towards the kid who had just entered the cafe.
The moment he reached Kyo, he pulled the boy to him, clutching him in the tightest hug he'd ever given the boy before. Everything about Kyo was cold--his clothes, his skin...even his hair, which was wet from all the snow. Nic pulled him even tighter, holding him close, trying to share some of his body heat. Despite how often he preferred to avoid making a scene in public, this time, he didn't care. "Kyo..." he murmured again, this time into the boy's hair. He closed his eyes, swinging the two of them gently in their embrace, as though this small action would comfort the other.
When he finally pulled away, he felt how soaked his own shirt had become from being pressed up against Kyo's clothing. He suddenly felt his rational side taking over. Help Kyo. Make him comfortable, make sure he was okay. That was the goal. He didn't look at Kyo's face, nor did he look at the faces of the others around him. Surely they were wondering how these two were related--brothers, perhaps, or at leastsome kind of family. He didn't care what they thought. Grabbing Kyo's still-cold hand, he gently pulled the boy to the back of the cafe, where he had been sitting.
It was unlike him, but this strange combination of relief and lingering worry was making him act like something between a cross of a fussy Mother Hen and an emotionless, task-oriented robot. He spoke softly, instructing Kyo to take off his sweatshirt, then helping the boy with it as the material stuck to his shirt underneath. Once it was off, Nic helped the boy into his jacket--it was big and thick enough, would serve much better than the blanket in warming the boy up. The blanket. He fumbled to open his backpack, then pulled the thing out, giving it to Kyo to put over his lap as he sat down in the booth.
Everything he was saying...it all seemed so mechanical...methodical. Really like he was a robot, doing the necessary motions right now, but nearly devoid of emotion. The truth was, he was so full of emotion right now, that heeding it was only clouding everything in his mind but the simplest actions that he knew needed to be taken. Thus, he was trying very hard to suppress his emotions right now. That wasn't what Kyo needed. And on top of that...he didn't know how to face Kyo, now that he was here. Seeing the way Kyo was. He was sure now, after the look on the boy's face, that a lot of what had happened was his fault, not being there for the boy when he should have been. He couldn't face him, not yet. Because he was scared, and pathetic.
"Wait a moment, please.." he mumbled, again keeping his eyes off of Kyo's.
Moving away from the table, he went up to the counter, hoping to catch the waitress' attention. He didn't have to worry, however. She had already stopped to watch the two of them, after the scene they had caused. Nic ignored that--it wasn't important right now.
"Please," he told her, "could you get some hot tea for my friend? And an order of..." he paused, thinking that perhaps, if Kyo had not eaten all day yesterday, he would need some strength. "Eggs and sausage...and some chocolate chip pancakes too. If you can."
He saw the woman nod her understanding and utter a "Coming right up." Then he turned away, back to the table where Kyo sat...to finally face the boy.
He moved slowly, getting into his seat and sighing audibly, running a hand through his hair. Doing all manner of things to put off what was his responsibility right now. Suddenly, he realized how stupid he was acting. Hadn't he been the one who had told Kyo he could come here, if he wanted to talk? And now what? Now he was just going to let them sit here in silence, awkwardly, because he was too ashamed of what he was sure he had done--or in this case not done?
You should be ashamed of yourself for your behavior now too.
"...Kyo," he finally began, taking a breath and lifting his head a little, though he still kept his eyes downcast. "...Before we talk about anything else, first, I have to say..." He paused again. "I'm sorry. If this has anything to do with me...I know I haven't been there for you recently. I was really focused on my work and getting everything done, so I haven't been making any time for you at all, or making sure everything's okay with you, or..." he paused again. "...well, there's no excuse. It's never okay to put work before friends. I'm so, so sorry."
He finally looked up at the other boy, and actually had to bite his lip to keep himself from crying. He could already feel tears threatening to form in his eyes. "Please," he said softly, trying to hold the other boy's gaze, trying to show that he actually did care. "Please don't cry, Kyo." He grabbed a clean napkin and reached out, dabbing gently at the boy's tear-streaked face.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Sept 16, 2011 21:07:27 GMT -5
As Nic’s eyes finally came Kyo’s way, meeting his gaze, Kyo felt as though all the strength had left his body. Everything seemed to go dark, the life around him sinking down into slow time. Kyo felt as though he’d barely taken another breath before Nic came out of nowhere, pulling him into a tight hug and thankfully holding him steady; Kyo was sure his legs had given out, they felt like jelly.
It was odd, being tucked away under Nic, the warmth from his body slowly but surely touching through to Kyo. He felt like he had become a small child again, one who had been lost, cold, and scared, burying his face into his parent’s chest to feel safe and protected once more. Like he had given up…But he couldn’t bring himself to let go. Even if he wanted to, he didn’t think he had the strength to.
”Kyo…” Nic was still holding him close.
When they finally broke apart, everything began to move in double-time. Kyo found himself avoiding his friend’s gaze, teary-eyed all over again, and suddenly Nic had grabbed hold of his hand and began to pull him in the direction of the seat he’d been sitting in before. Kyo was so lost in the moment and his own tangled web of thoughts and the ridiculousness of all of this, he didn’t notice the people just staring. For all he knew with his mind the way it was currently, there might very well not have been any people at all.
Once they were at Nic’s seat, the Chinese boy told him to take off his sodden sweatshirt. Kyo’s actions seemed disconnected from his mind, which was still comprehending the warmth he’d felt from Nic moments before, warmth he didn’t feel he entirely deserved, while his arms set to work trying to entangle himself from the wet, sticky garment. Nic helped him pull it off and then worked his winter jacket up and over Kyo’s arms. Kyo only realized then how badly he was shivering. Even despite the warmth inside of the café, he’d removed one article of cold, wet clothing and still had another left on--it was the imminent sensation of bitter chill that one might feel after getting drenched on a water ride during chilly fall weather. The kind of chill that sinks right through to one’s bones.
Kyo couldn’t help pulling the jacket tighter and tighter about himself, though the T-shirt he had on underneath was at the very least damp, and just as cold as the sweatshirt, and he was still feeling that too. There was one benefit of it, though. As Nic struggled to warm Kyo up and keep him safe in the very opposite way Kyo had done for himself and Nic, the Japanese boy’s mind came to focus on that one thing--getting warm, staying safe. His thoughts were suddenly more focused than they had been in a while.
Nic was speaking to him, murmuring words of encouragement, suggestions…Kyo heard them, but just barely. He accepted Nic’s blanket and drew it up from his lap, winding that tightly about himself, too. He was like a butterfly in winter, trying to warm itself in its tightly wound cocoon.
”Wait a moment, please…” Nic’s voice was soft. Kyo returned his words with a shaky nod, avoiding his gaze.
He saw Nic rush to the café counter and bit his lip again, blinking back a heat of rising tears from inside. He turned his head, still quivering, in the direction of the frost-covered windows, accidentally matching gazes with an elderly man sitting a few tables away, watching him closely. The man was looking at him wide-eyed, sad, his mouth turned down into a thin-lipped frown.
Kyo glanced away, just as Nic returned.
The Chinese boy sat down at the table again, silent, and ran a hand through his hair. There was silence, silence Kyo realized he had come to be used to, before Nic spoke again.
”Kyo…Before we talk about anything else, first, I have to say..." He paused. "I'm sorry. If this has anything to do with me...I know I haven't been there for you recently. I was really focused on my work and getting everything done, so I haven't been making any time for you at all, or making sure everything's okay with you, or..."
Another pause.
"...well, there's no excuse. It's never okay to put work before friends. I'm so, so sorry."
Kyo fought with himself again, though he knew wouldn’t be able to stop the tears. If only Nic knew how wrong he was…
"Please.“ His voice was soft. It was always soft. “Please don't cry, Kyo."
This was it. After all that they had been through.
But Kyo had made it as far as revealing himself to Nic again, since running away, so he knew now was no time to back out. He had two options: to do what he needed to and tell his close friend everything or run away again and cause further trouble. He knew which of the two he would have to pick. And as the warmth of the café settled into him, relaxing his stiff limbs some, scared as he was, he felt compelled to talk.
Nic did need to know what was happening. No matter what had transpired over the past day, week, or month, no matter what thoughts were running rampant through his head, Kyo knew there was only one thing left to do.
“Nic-san…” Kyo’s eyes were downcast to the plastic surface of the café table; he had taken to examining the retro-like print of the material. Strange, rainbow-colored zig-zags and circles criss-crossing each other and creating something of an unsettling eyesore. At least for someone like Kyo, who felt like his mind was in the same demented, disorganized state.
He still hadn’t glanced up by the time he began speaking. It dawned on him that this was the first time he’d spoken to Nic in a very long time, considering he hadn’t said anything since walking into the café, nor even on the phone with the young man.
“I know now, Nic-san. I know what happened to you.”
There was a moment of silence. Kyo snuggled deeper into the blanket and big, puffy coat Nic had given him, as if they could protect him from speaking his next words too coldly.
“I know it was Linda…..I know she did something very bad. She made her boyfriend hurt you. She and her boyfriend made you lose…lose your hearing.”
Oh God…….Kyo had to stop again. He couldn’t bear to look at Nic, but he could imagine how the other boy felt about all this. Kyo was getting to his own breaking point once more, recalling all that he had heard and pondered for such a while now. It was like he was hearing it for the first time all over again. His hands were shaking once more, but now he knew it was because of nerves…and grief, not the cold.
“I followed her after choir practice recently. She was being suspicious, and there was a man I didn’t know there, too. They went to an empty area close to the church and started to talk about me. At first I thought she was just playing games. I was angry because I didn’t like the things her and the man were saying. They were just mean people.
“Then you sent Linda the text message. And that man became very angry. He seemed suspicious, na? But Linda started to say about what she did to you as a kid. She said her boyfriend hurt you and took your hearing and that you moved away. Even though he was upset, her boyfriend thought that was so funny, he kept talking about it.
“I thought then that I hated them both. I thought then that I never wanted Linda to see you again, that I wanted to make sure she never ever can reach you again. I was……….I could not believe it. But that man….his name was Jeff. He was angry. He said that if he ever saw you near Linda again, he would hurt you. He would hurt you very badly. And I knew he was not lying…I mean, he is the tough guy, he wants to be tough so he will lie about these kind of things, right? But this man is really that tough guy. He was really serious. The way he said those things….I was so scared. I ran to church to try and think what I could do, but then Zhenya-san found me. So I had to run away again. I knew I couldn’t tell him.”
He took a deep breath, trying to even out his breathing. It seemed the tears hadn’t dried up on him yet. With all he’d shed by now, he was willing to bet he could have made a small river out of them. He wouldn’t have minded jumping into one and ridding himself of all this pain and sorrow once and for all, at this point.
“When Danyaru-san came to my room last night, he seemed very upset. Not because of me, but because his life is very difficult right now. I felt very bad. I could not make him feel better…But the selfish part of me also felt….ah, kurushii….painful? I thought deep down I wanted someone to console me too. B-but I did not want that. I did not want anyone to ask me about this problem, too. My thoughts just did not make sense.” He took another breath. “Danyaru-san found my notes about the problem. Even though they were written in Japanese, he could understand his name. He asked me about them, he wanted to know what was going on. I….I could not tell him. I became panic, and I ran away.”
Kyo shook his head. He hesitated a moment, fighting back more sobs. He was going to be honest with this one. He was going to look Nic in the eyes. He owed it to him.
“Nic-san…I think….I think she is planning again. Do this to you again. I…I am not sure, but when I heard her and her boyfriend, it sounded to me just like the first time she hurt you. But it hurts to think, because also, she seemed confused. She seemed like she did not know what to do. So she made fun of you in front of her boyfriend. But at the same time, she gave you away because of that. Maybe she also cannot think correctly, because even if she does not want to hurt you again, she did the wrong thing to say those things to Jeff. No matter what, I know she is not done yet because I know she must like you. It must be that way, because she is always coming back again and again to see you. No matter if you reject her, no matter if I get in the way. She is so determined.
“I just…..I just don’t want you to get hurt, Nic-san.” He fought another sob. “I know you are the good person, you will try to help no matter what. Because you are Linda’s opposite, you are very caring and kind. She is cold and stubborn. No matter what, I know you want to help.
“All this time, I did not tell you. That is the reason why. I was afraid you and Danyaru-san and Petah-san would become in danger. I thought….thought by myself I could try to find the answer to the problem. I could solve the problem and make everything right. But after a few days, I knew it was too much. I could not find the answer. And I could not find a way to tell you. Or anyone. I became scared and lonely. I do not…” He whimpered. “…I do not know how I kept this secret for so long. I just became liar, made up excuses, but I never did anything right in the end. In the end, I hurt everyone anyway. Because I was foolish and I was selfish.”
He closed his eyes.
“I am so sorry, Nic-san……I am so sorry I did this to all of you….”
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