“Nakago-chan......Nakago-chan.” Hikitsu’s hand was gently placed
on the sleeping boy’s shoulder as he tried to wake him. “I’m sorry Nakago
but you need to get up now. It’s Monday and I have work.” he whispered.
Nakago sat up and yawned. He opened his sleepy eyes and looked
into the single eye of lovely Hikitsu whose silver hair gracefully fell
over his eye patch.
“Why?” the boy asked softly.
“Nakago-chan, I feel like going to the rink tonight. Don’t you
want to come skate with me?”
“It’s been a long time since we have gone skating together, Hikitsu-san.”
The tall man wrapped his strong arm sweetly around Nakago’s shoulders
and sat upon his soft, cushy bed.
“It might be nice.” Nakago whispered smiling into Hikitsu’s eye.
“But what about your new boy?”
“He doesn’t have to know.”
The two embraced tenderly and walked from the cozy bedroom.
“I’ll be home early so be ready to go. And wear your trench coat.”
Jumping out of the bathroom hurriedly, Tomite met the two in
the hallway. He lightly hugged Nakago and greeted him ‘good morning’ then
roughly but lovingly kissed the mouth of his spouse. After a second or
two, Hikitsu pulled the other man’s waist in his arms and roughly kissed
back, tasting cool, minty tooth paste.
“You ready?” Tomite asked after a while when in need of air
“....Yeah. I missed you.” responded the silvery haired man.
“Silly, I wasn’t in the bathroom that long.”
“....That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“Come on. Let’s go.” Hikitsu smiled and softly kissed Tomite’s
wet lips again.
“Nakago-chan, Tamahome is still asleep, tell him I said bye would
you?”
“Sure Tomite-san. Ja ne.”
“Bye. See you soon.” called Hikitsu with a smile and a wave to
Nakago as he closed the door behind him.
The door to Tamahome’s little room was cracked and seemed to
want Nakago to enter. He carefully pushed it open and crept into the cold
darkness.
In his little bed the young boy tossed and turned in his disturbed
dreams. Nakago narrowed his eyes and stood over the boy, watching as he
suffered. Small tears trickled from Tamahome’s eyes as he sat up in bed
and threw his arms forward, as though he were trying to reach something.
Nakago gasped open mouthed as Tamahome suddenly jumped from his
bed and hung to his neck. With sobs on Nakago’s shoulder, Tamahome clung
to the boy, still fast asleep and dreaming. Nakago’s arms grew weak as
did his eyes. He enjoyed the soft, warm feeling of Tamahome’s hair against
his face and arms tightly wrapping him. He stood perfectly still and said
nothing as he could feel his shoulder grow warm and wet from tears.
Tamahome’s crying voice cracked as he muttered aloud, “.....Father....”
and fell again to his back.
Nakago looked at the teary eyes and face of the shivering, sleeping
other boy. He felt a sort of lump in his throat and the want to hold Tamahome
tightly in his arms. Nakago swallowed hard and wiped tears gently away
from Tamahome’s cheeks before he ran from the room and closed the door.
In the half an hour that passed while Tamahome slept, Nakago
dressed himself, fixed his braid, and poured bowling water into two bone
china tea cups that sat on the table. The boy laced his black combat boots
while sitting on the floor and leaning against a wall. A dark green case
with a small lock clipped to the handle sat at his side.
Tamahome dressed himself and combed his hair back into a pony
tail that he tied with the usual red ribbon. He walked from his room and
into the bathroom where he washed away the stiff feeling of dried tears
from his cheeks.
“Don’t be ashamed of me, Father......I can’t help my dreams.”
he said to his mirrored reflection before the sharp pain of hunger in his
stomach took him to the kitchen.
Tamahome sat in one of the chairs which sat aside the dinner
table and he rested his head in folded arms. Nakago, who sat not far from
him, stood up and walked towards Tamahome.
“Sleep well?” he asked slyly to the surprised boy lifting his
head.
“...Fine thanks.”
“Sure you did.” Nakago whispered to himself.
He wanted so badly to ask the boy what it was that he had been
dreaming about, besides his father, but something stopped him.
“I made you some tea, if you want it.” he said as he pushed the
steaming cup towards welcoming hands.
“....Thank you.” whispered Tamahome while looking at the other
boy and smiling. “What are you all dressed up for?”
“I’m dressed up?”
“I mean, you have a coat on your arm, your shoes on your feet
and, that green case thing in your hands.”
“Oh,.....I’m going someplace with Hikitsu later.”
“...Oh.”
Nakago glanced in Tamahome’s direction as he took a seat next
to the boy. Tamahome concentrated on his cup of tea and the number of sugar
spoonfuls that he filled it with.
Nakago could tell that something was bothering the boy. He seemed
hurt and lonely, either that or he liked a little sugar with his tea. Tamahome
seemed so small and alone to him, stirring his tea and hanging his head.
“Why should I care?” Nakago asked himself. “He’s just another
kid. He’s just some competition. He’s just so.......so damn attractive!”
“This is my gun case. I’m not moving out or anything, you won’t
ever be that lucky. I’m going to shoot something until the guys come home.”
Tamahome sipped his sweet, minty tea and raised his eyebrows
at the blond. He wondered what it was exactly that Nakago wanted to shoot.
Why? Was he violent and not very bright as well as being not very friendly?
Tamahome finished his last sip of tea and walked to the sink
to rinse his cup.
“What sort of things do you all do on the weekends, to keep from
being bored?” he asked, leaning on the sink and looking wistfully out of
the window. “Are you ever lonely here by yourself?”
“I don’t get lonely. Years of being alone allowed me to become
immune to certain emotions, such as loneliness. I usually find something
to amuse myself with, like shooting things for instance.”
The blond boy pulled from the case a fine, thick, shiny, silver
automatic pistol, which he adjusted and held. He placed his fingers around
the handle and admired himself with a weapon.
“What, exactly, are you going to shoot?”
Tamahome grew more puzzled as he began to know Nakago a little
bit better. He walked to the boy in fingerless gloves who sat upon the
table, swinging his feet.
“Anything.” Nakago responded jumping down and walking out of
the door. “You coming?”
“Oh good.” Tamahome thought to himself. “And I’m such a dumbass,
I’m going to go with him. Watch him kill something.”
“I suppose.” he answered thinking, “Why can’t I resist him? What’s
wrong with me?”
“I’m a little hungry though.”
“We can eat something later unless you just want to stay here.”
“No,...I’ll come. Unlike you, I’m not ‘immune to loneliness’.”
The two walked onto the damp grass and allowed the warm morning
sunlight to beat down on them.
Nakago walked to the far end of his back yard with Tamahome at
his side. The blond held his gun against his chin and walked towards a
small tree. The other boy wondered in the direction of a fresh honeysuckle
bush as to avoid the crazy armed blond.
“He’s insane. He’s liking it.” Tamahome thought. “Funny thing
is that, he looks real hot!.”
The blue haired boy roughly shook his head and pressed his hand
against his chest, feeling the brisk beats of his heart. “Damn! I need
to stop this! What am I doing anyway?”
From a distance the loud crow of a rooster rang through Nakago’s
ears as though to say, “I’m wild. I’m a rooster. I wake you up every morning.
I’m annoying as all hell!”
His usually evil smile swept across Nakago’s face as he followed
the crowing far into a patch of large bushes. He slowly crept to the gate
which separated his yard from that of his neighbor’s.
The crowing animal pecked around in damp soil not far from Nakago’s
position.
He held to the top of the old aluminum fence and carefully passed
the home of the dog next door. The horrible little chouou never missed
an intruder. Even if the person wasn’t intruding it would run frantically
from it’s little dog house and bark in a high pitched, annoying voice which
happened to ring through the boy’s ears at that very moment. Nakago’s boot
crunched a rotten tree branch which grabbed the attention of the ugly pinkish
thing sending it running, barking, and scaring away stupid creatures, such
as roosters.
“Damn you!! Shut up!!” scowled the boy to the barking canine.
“Shut up! God damned dog!”
With much speed, the fluffy little gray rooster ran away and
was followed by a rather frantic boy. Running a little and falling to his
knees in the dirt, Nakago threw forward his hands which clasped his automatic
and pulled the trigger.
A pile of gray fluff lay dead only a few steps in front of the
boy and a horrible barking rang loudly in his ears.
Nakago’s patience was very little and the angry boy swung his
hand of power around, pulling the trigger a second time.
The second shot rang through Tamahome’s ears as he scared away
tiny minnows in the pond with a stick.
“I wonder what he killed.” He thought aloud. “...He’s so strange.”
Tamahome’s heart skipped a beat as he jumped up from hearing
the sound of a man’s voice screaming.
From the large bushes in the very back of the yard emerged the
frantic Nakago, running with gun in hand.
“You damned adolescent son of a bitch!!” the loud voice continued
to scream horribly. “You freakin’ killed my dog!! Come back here!”
“C’mon Tama, let’s go in shall we?”
Nakago grasped Tamahome’s wrist tightly and continued to run
as fast as he possibly could until they reached the kitchen and slammed
the door. The two boys fell to the floor, catching their breath.
Nakago broke out in laughter as he gasped for air.
“Why are you laughing?” asked Tamahome slightly angry. “What
just happened?”
“Couldn’t you hear?......I shot a dog.” he smiled and continued
to laugh.
“On purpose?!”
“Well....yes and no. But I think it’s dead anyway.”
“I don’t understand what’s so funny. That guy doesn’t seem to
be nearly as happy as you are.”
Smiling and beginning to cease his laughter, Nakago looked at
Tamahome’s pretty and questioning face. He leaned on his hands and tossed
his silvery pistol into it’s case.
“You shot it twice?” Tamahome’s voice softened some.
“No. I shot that stupid rooster first.....which I forgot behind.
Damn! That could have been supper!”
“What if he comes here?”
“Then you could turn me over. Send me to jail until Hikitsu comes
home. I don’t really care and you know you want to.”
“....*sigh*.....Well, I’m glad that you killed that rooster,
anyway.”
“Tamahome!” Nakago jerked himself to a sitting position and looked
the boy clear in the eyes. “That dog was no less annoying then that rooster
so, why do you think it okay that the rooster is dead but horrible of me
that the dog is?”
“I....I don’t care what’s dead, what you shot, it’s just everything
that’s attached.”
“Oh. You’re just afraid of getting in trouble because of me.
I see.”
Tamahome folded his arms and turned his head away from Nakago.
He closed his eyes and spoke.
“No you don’t. That isn’t what was going through my mind at all.”
The blue haired boy rested against the back door as he listened
to Nakago stand up, say, “Oh well.” and walk away.
Tamahome’s thoughts were swimming in his head. He didn’t want
to get Nakago in trouble and didn’t care really if he were punished for
him. Tamahome wanted to prevent anything from happening to the other boy.
He felt something for Nakago, a sort of attachment even though he barely
knew him. Deep down inside of Tamahome, he was laughing at what his “brother”
had just done. He was a little on the proud side.