Title: Challenges
Author: kyoko_godaikun
Pairing: Maruyama Ryuhei/Nishikido Ryo
Other Characters: The rest of
Kanjani 8
Genre: Romance / Angst
Summary: Maru is in an abusive relationship. Can an unexpected friend help
him?
**************************
Maruyama Ryuhei had learned as a small child
that love was pain. His mother had showed her love by the fist, by the belt.
She loved him; she insisted that was why he had to be punished. Maru had
learned early that to love meant that there would be pain. That was why he had
always been attracted to those who would give him the discipline he knew he
deserved. He didn't like the beatings, but he knew it was necessary. His latest
lover was a member of Kanjani 8. It was someone he trusted, until that first
time when his lover found fault in him. Then like always, Maru was beaten.
Maru and Nishikido Ryo were alone in a
dressing room. Maru had just changed out of his everyday clothes and into the
clothes he would wear on TV. He could see Ryo in the mirror, his friend was
angry. He was suddenly afraid, would Ryo beat him? Maru's lover had always
insisted that Ryo was just like him.
Maru thought in a way he was. Ryo had an edginess that Maru found
attractive.
"What happened?" Ryo had asked him
that day, when for the countless time; he had seen the bruises that peppered
his body.
"I must have fallen." he lied.
"You fell on a belt?" His friend
snapped. "Your back has strap marks!"
"I told you, I fell." Maru insisted.
"Why do you let him beat you?" Ryo's
eyes narrowed. "Don’t' deny he beats you!"
"No one beats me," another lie.
"You don't deserve this." Anger
flashed in his friend's eyes.
"He loves me, that's
why he has to discipline me." Maru looked away from Ryo. "I'm not
perfect, I have to do better."
"Do you like being disciplined?"
"Of course I don't!" He looked back
up to Ryo. "Do you really think I like this? I hate it!"
"Is he really worth the bruises?"
"What do you know about this?" Maru
demanded.
"I was beaten by my father. He insisted
that he loved me. But he didn't." Ryo paused. "Just like your boy
friend beating you isn't really love."
"I don't get a choice." Maru
confessed.
"There’s always a choice." Ryo
countered. "If you ever want to leave
him, tell me. I'll help you get away."
Just then the door opened, and Yokoyama Yu
came into the room. He went to Maru; he grabbed the bass player's shoulder,
squeezing it so hard that Maru knew there would be a bruise. He leaned down and
whispered hostilely into Maru's ear. "What did I tell you about talking to
Ryo?"
"I'm not allowed." Maru repeated.
"Good boy." Yoko hissed.
Yoko dug his nails into Maru's skin. Maru had
to bit his bottom lip so he wouldn't scream. Tears stung his eyes. He didn't
want this, he wanted to get away. He looked at the mirror, Ryo was still
watching him. Maru wished that Ryo didn't have someone else, someone he cared
for. Perhaps they could be together. Maru knew he was dreaming, he knew his life was destined to be one of pain.
***********************************
Ryo had been watching Maru for a long time. He
was angered and frustrated by the bruises he saw on his friend. The day that
Maru had confessed that he was being abused was a milestone. Ryo grew closer to
Maru, all the time trying to convince him that the boy friend wasn't worth it.
It wasn't because Ryo liked him; at least
that's what he told himself. Ryo was crazy for Maru, but Ryo had been going
with Yamapi for years. Ryo realized that just as Maru was trapped, perhaps he
was too. Not with fists, he wouldn't let anyone touch him. Instead, Yamapi used
his words to hurt Ryo.
It had been two months since the Maru's
confession. His friend's abuse had grown steadily worse. Ryo wanted to make the
boy friend stop beating Maru, but he knew he couldn't. It was up to Maru to
leave. His friend told him that he was planning to tell him it was over after
the taping they were doing that day. They were on location; he thought it would
be better that way.
Ryo made sure that he had the hotel room next
door to Maru's. He would keep an eye out for him. He quickly took a shower
before he went to bed. When he got out of the shower, he could hear noises
coming from Maru's room.
"It’s over! Maru screamed. "I'm
never coming back to you!"
"It's not over until I tell you it's
over!" The unmistakable voice of Yokoyama Yu told him.
There was another sound, like someone being
thrown against the wall. Then the sound of flesh being hit,
over and over.
Maru needed help, and Ryo decided that he was
going to give it. He checked the door that separated the rooms. It was
unlocked. Maru was on the floor, with Yoko kneeling over him, hitting him again
and again.
Ryo tackled Yoko, knocking him to the floor.
Maru sat up, his nose bleeding heavily. His lip was split and one is his eyes
were swollen.
"Go to my room." Ryo ordered.
"Hai,"
Maru got to his feet and ran to Ryo's hotel room.
Yoko hit Ryo hard. Something inside Ryo
snapped, and he pounded on Yoko. He hated Yoko, for being a monster, for
abusing Maru.
When Ryo got up, he glared down at the oldest
member of Kanjani 8. "If you ever get near him again, I'll kill you!"
"You wouldn't do that," Yoko mocked.
"Want to bet?" Ryo said as he went
to his hotel room. He locked the door that separated the two rooms. Then Ryo
hit the wall. He tried to still his mind; he had to be calm for Maru. He had
lost it; he had turned into the monster that he warned Maru about.
When Ryo was calm, he turned to his friend.
Maru was sitting on the bed, a blood stained towel pressed against his nose.
"It's all right; I don't think he'll
bother you again." Ryo moved closer to him, but he backed away.
"Thanks," Maru crossed his arms
across himself protectively.
"How's the nose?" Ryo went to his
friend, who flinched. "Don’t' worry, I won't hurt you."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be afraid of
you." The bass player looked away from him.
"Love isn't fear."
"Isn't it?" Maru looked into his
eyes. "I've always been afraid of the ones I love."
"Then it really isn't love." Ryo made up his mind. "Until we can get
him totally out of your life, I think it's best if you stay with me."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am!" Ryo tried to
smile. "We have to keep you safe."
"All right," Maru agreed.
That was the beginning, though neither of them
knew it. Ryo just knew that he had to help his friend. He had to help Maru be
free from the pain of being abused.
Kanjani 8 had been given a
mission for a TV show the group would film. Even the planning sessions had been
filmed. The group met in a room large
enough for a table and the cameras. Ryo had sat beside Maru. He glared Yoko
when he sat down across from Maru.
Hina picked up the envelope
the producers had given him earlier, and then he took out a piece of paper. He
read out the instructions to the rest of the group. The group had been assigned to go camping for
five days at a Girl Scout camp. The camp would be very primitive, with everyone
sleeping in tents.
'Girls," Shota sighed
under his breath. Shota was the one member in the group that had troubles
faking liking girls. He went out as they all did, making sure they got their
faces in the press. The problem was Shota hated pretending that he wasn't with
Subaru.
"What's wrong with
girls?" Subaru whispered.
"I just don't think I
can go a whole week pretending I like girls." he muttered. "If it
were tenderfoots or Brownies I could help them. But what can I do with a bunch
of Rangers?"
"Rangers are high
school age." Maru tried to explain.
"How would you know so
much about Rangers? Have you dated them?" Yoko interrupted. "You'll
date anyone wont' you?"
Maru looked down to his
hands; he didn't want to argue with Yoko. He had gotten up the courage to leave
his former love a month before.
"Idiot!" Yoko reached over the
table and slapped Maru hard. His former lover was hitting Maru more and more in
public. The older man got away with it because they all hit each other in play.
Maru noticed the way that Ryo glared at Yoko.
"“Quit hitting Maru!”
Ryo demanded.
"I'm just playing
around." Yoko pretended innocence as he looked at the camera.
Leave Maru alone," Ryo
snapped.
"Leave it Ryo!"
Hina ordered. "We're being filmed."
"Keep your hands to
yourself." Ryo warned.
"Mirakami-kun,
why do we have to go to Girl Scout camp?" Ohkura asked. "Aren't there
other places we could go?"
"Are the girls
cute?" Subaru asked with pretend interest.
"We're going because
the agency told us we're going." Hina said firmly. "We're not to
date, we're not to flirt. It will be filmed for a TV show."
"A
race?"
Shota asked.
"Not
exactly." Hina looked at the paper. "It's for that
new show "Celebrity Challenge." If we pass the challenge four million
yen will be donated to our favorite charity. That's four million yen for each
of us."
"Four million
yen," Subaru mused.
"But none of us have
been to the camp." Yoko said.
"Maru's been to Girl
Scout camps before," Ryo told them.
"When did you go to
Girl Scout camp?" Shota asked.
"I went there with my
little sister's troop." Maru
admitted.
"Why did you go with
your sister?" Yoko teased. "Because you're really a
Girl Scout?"
The table laughed everyone
except for Ryo who looked very serious. "So you've been to this
camp?"
"Yes, I have." he
admitted.
"Good, we'll need
you." Hina decided.
*******************
The group was resting in a
dressing room. Maru was sitting on a couch. He had put his bag on the other
seat. He didn't want Yoko to sit by him. Ryo and Yoko weren't there yet; he was
off talking to Hina. Ryo had decided
that Hina needed to know about Maru's abuse, but Maru had talked to Hina
before, and he knew Ryo wouldn't be believed.
Maru was spending his time
looking at the book they would use as a guide, a translated version of the 1920
book "Scouting for Girls." All the activities during the challenge
would come from this book. Maru was
surprised how primitive the producers expected them to camp.
"Maru-Chan, can I ask
you something?" Shota asked from the other couch. Shota was one of his
best friends. He knew about the abuse, and had helped him stay away from Yoko.
"Yeah?" Maru looked up from his
book.
"How many times have
you gone camping with the Girl Scouts?"
"A few," he
admitted. "Enough to know what I'm doing."
"But why the Girl
Scouts? Isn't your little brother a Boy Scout?"
"My sister wouldn't
have a troop if there wasn't a leader, so I volunteered." Maru shrugged.
"What about you and
Ryo?" Subaru asked changing the subject.
"What about me and
Ryo?" Maru countered.
"Are you two... you
know, together?"
"We're only friends."
Maru admitted.
"Kimi thinks the two
of you are lovers." Shota said very gently. "You do know that he’s
very jealous."
"I broke up with Yoko
a month ago." Maru pointed out. "I don't really care what he
thinks."
"But you do like
Ryo?" Ohkura persisted
"Who says I like
him?" Maru tried to play innocent.
"You give him this
special look when he comes near." The drummer told him. "Come on, it's just the three of us. We
know that you really like him."
"What if I do?"
Maru admitted.
"You have to be
careful. We don't want you to be hurt again." Shota said gently.
"Ryo-Chan’s a nice guy, but he has a tendency to be a bit self centered."
The door opened and Yoko
came into the room, closely followed by Ryo. Yoko gave Maru a smug, satisfied
look. Then he walked to the couch.
"Move your
things." Yoko ordered.
"Sit somewhere else,”
Maru told him.
"I told you to move
your things!" Yoko almost screamed. He raised his hand and slapped Maru
hard across the face.
"You need to get your
ears checked." Ryo grabbed Yoko's arm, pulling him away from Maru.
"The man said he didn't want you to sit by him."
"This is because of
you, did you know that?" Yoko demanded. "He was always such a good
boy friend until he started hanging with you."
"You mean he was your
slave." The younger man spat. "I didn't have to liberate him, he
freed himself."
Ryo moved Ryo's things over
and sat down beside him. It was a tight fit, but Ryo didn’t' seem to mind.
"I'm going to pay you
back for this!" Yoko threatened, and then he went to an empty chair and
sat down.
***************
The group took a plane to
Kyoto. Ryo made sure that he sat beside Maru. He had to make sure that Maru was
safe. He had a talk with Hina about the abuse, and Yoko and insisted that Maru
had made it up to get Ryo to feel sorry for him. Yoko was a child hood friend
of Hina's so he was believed and Ryo wasn't. Instead, Hina insisted that Ryo
control himself.
After they arrived, the group
went to the passenger pick up area. There was supposed to be a van waiting for
them, but there was nothing. Instead, they had been told their ride would be
there soon.
While
they waited for their ride, Ryo quickly texted Yamapi. "It's over. I no
longer want to be with you. Sorry to break up with you this way, but I've found
someone else. Sayonara."
His phone beeped. It was a
message from Yamapi. "You’ve always been a bastard. Can't
even break up the right way. I
have someone else too, who’s better in bed then you've ever been. So I won't
miss you. Sayonara."
A few moments later, the
phone beeped again, Ryo read the message from his former lover, then deleted
it. Just then another message, one even more abusive. Then a third message. When the phone beeped for the fourth
time, Ryo hit the ignore button.
"What's going
on?" Maru whispered.
"It's just
Yamapi," Ryo sighed. "He's mad at me again."
"Perhaps you should
call him," Maru suggested.
"There's nothing I
want to say to him." Ryo admitted.
The bus finally pulled up
to the airport door. It was an old rickety bus with Girl Scouts of Japan
written on the side. Maru had told him he was going to donate his winnings to
the Girl Scouts to pay for a new bus, everyone had laughed at him. But Ryo now understood
why.
The cameras had begun to
follow them, as this was a part of the show. Ryo was all ready sick of the
cameras even though he knew they would be constantly on them for five days.
The producer’s assistant
came up to them, carrying a box. "You're to put your phones and any
electronics in this box."
"Will we get them
back?" Subaru asked. “I have this girl friend that has to get a hold of
me.”
"As soon as the
challenge is over, we will give them back to you." She promised.
Maru was the first one to
empty his pocket of his cell phone and MP3 player. One by one, the group
members gave up their electronics.
"Are you sure we
should do this?" Ryo asked. "What if there’s an emergency?"
"The crew will be
there, they will be able to contact outside help."
"Ryo...." Hina
growled.
"All
right, all right." Ryo took out his cell phone and put it in the box. He
felt free. He would be going a week without Yamapi. Knowing his former boy
friend, he would be over him by the time the trip ended.
They got on the bus. Maru
was in front of Ryo and sat down. Yoko pushed Ryo hard in the back trying to
trip him. He caught himself on the seat. He spun himself around to face Maru.
"Don't even try it
with me." Ryo whispered to him. "If you abuse me, I *will* get you
back!"
"I’m not afraid of
you." Yoko snarled.
"You should be!"
Ryo growled.
"Ryo-Chan, sit
down." Maru suggested gently.
Ryo sat down beside Maru.
He wasn't just a guard to Maru, he considered the bass player to be his friend.
He had broken up with Yamapi, so now he was free to be with Maru, but he didn't
know if Maru liked him that way. Then he felt Maru’s hand on his. He moved his
hand so that pinky was interlocked with his friend's finger. He looked up to Maru who smiled at him. Ryo
couldn’t help it, he smiled back.
*************************
Kanjani 8 weren't worried about camping. They
had done camping shows before. Ryo hadn’t expected was for everyone to be given
heavy back packs and a map with a compass.
Ryo was angry that the camera crew and staff didn't have to carry back
packs. They even had lodge they could stay in.
The group stood on a gravel street that would be
the path they would follow to the camp site.
The camera as always was filming them.
It was cold and damp. Everything at the camp
seemed to be covered in a thin layer of mud. Ryo didn't like the mud. So far, he didn't like anything about this
camp site.
He didn't
want to be camping; he wanted to be at home in Osaka with Maru. He wanted to
take Maru by the hand, to kiss him, to prove to the older man that love really
didn't have to hurt. He wanted to let his guard down around Maru. He had been
doing it more and more around his friend.
Ryo badly wanted some time off, real time off.
Not the kind where when one group was taking a week off, that he had to fly
away to his other group. To work hard when his other set of friends were
relaxing. He wanted to spend that time with Maru. It didn't have to be long,
just a few days. He didn't want to pretend around his friend.
Ryo needed a smoke. He hadn't been allowed to
bring the nicotine patches that he usually used when he was on location. So therefore,
he felt edgy.
Maru kept looking up to the sky, which was grey
and murky. He didn’t smoke, and for the first time Ryo was jealous of that
fact. Ryo wished that he had never started to smoke.
"How long do we have until it starts
raining?" Ryo whispered to him.
"Not sure, an hour
or so." The bass player
whispered back.
"We better get started." Hina told the
group. Hina was one of the few people that Ryo considered a friend. That is,
until Maru entered his heart. He had gone to Hina several times about Yoko
abusing Maru, but he hadn't been believed. Hina had been the one that had
taught Ryo that real friends believed you when you told them something. So,
even though it was painful, he no longer had Hina as a friend.
Maru was the first one that put on his back
pack. He had gone camping many times before, so he had practice. Ryo too put on
his backpack. It was different then the rucksacks they were used to. The backpack was very heavy.
"Do you think you can find our camping
spot?" Ryo asked.
"No problem." Maru said confidently.
Ryo kept his eye on Yoko. The older man strolled
behind them, pretending to go to Hina.
Then he reached out and shoved Maru hard in the back of his Back pack. The bass player lost his balance and fell to
the ground.
"You're such a klutz!" Yoko
chided.
Maru looked up to Yoko; his face was bleeding
from a scrape to the forehead. Yoko moved closer to Maru, he reached down to
grab Maru.
Ryo acted before he could think. He had to stop
Maru being hurt. Ryo pushed Yoko away
from Maru. "Leave him alone!"
"It's not my fault that he fell." Yoko
said looking into a camera. "I was
just trying to help Maruyama stand up."
"Bullshit!" Ryo thundered as he grabbed
Yoko by the shirt. ""You were trying to hurt him!"
"Ryo! Let him go!" Hina snapped. "It was
just an accident!"
"Yoko pushed Maru down on purpose. I saw
him with my own eyes." Ryo insisted.
"I'll be all right," Maru told him. He
was trying to get to his feet, but it was difficult because of the backpack.
Shota and Subaru jumped in to help him.
"Next time be more
careful." Ryo shook Yoko hard, and then let him go. He turned back to look
at Maru, who was trying to wipe the stones from the scraps on his hands and
arms were he fell. Maru's face was also scrapped.
"Come on Maru-Chan; let’s get you some
first aid." Shota led Maru away from Ryo.
Maru looked back to Ryo, who ran to his side. "It's
okay; I'll take him to get help."
Shota nodded. "I'll keep an eye on Yoko for
you."
***************
Maru was
embarrassed that he had allowed himself to be pushed down. He was the klutz of
the group, he had fallen down so many time that he had lost count. It hurt, and
it shouldn't hurt. Maru kept telling himself. He shouldn't be bleeding. He was
a man, he should be stronger.
Ryo took charge of caring for Maru; he went to
the producer’s station. It was against the rules, but Ryo was always one that
thought of others before the rules. He even ignored the cameraman who followed
them.
"Where is the camp nurses?" Ryo asked
the assistant producer.
"The agreement is to camp like they did in
1920. The camp didn't have a nurse at the time." The assistant producer
told him. "You've been given first aid kits. You can use those to help
Maruyama Kun."
Ryo went back to Maru, who was sitting on a
bench. "I'll have to give you first aid myself."
"Have you ever given first aid
before?" Maru asked.
"Of course I have," Ryo lied as he
looked up to the camera that had followed them.
Ryo reached out to Maru who flinched. The bass player was suddenly
terrified. "What's wrong?"
"You're going to punish me."
"Why would I do that?" Ryo sounded
confused.
"You're mad at me," Maru whispered.
"Not at you, never at you." Ryo tried
to reassure. "I just want to help."
Maru nodded, and Ryo took off the first aid kit
that they all had to wear. Then he began
to care for Maru's wounds. The scrapes on his arms had been deep. There were
small pebbles embedded in them. It hurt to get them out. Maru was bleeding, he
felt as if he was weak because he yelped in pain.
Ryo's hand was so gentle, unlike the personality
he usually showed everyone. His hands weren't bitter and caustic. Instead, they
loved. When Ryo touched him, Maru felt something from Ryo.
He looked around for the rest of the group.
Shota was standing away from everyone else; he was trying to watch Maru. The bass player gave him a small wave. Shota
began to walk to them.
"We'll get you bandaged up, and then we'll
get back to the group." Ryo promised.
"All right," Maru agreed.
'How's the patient doing?" Shota tried to
keep his voice light, but his eyes were worried.
"He's fine," Ryo bandaged Maru's arms.
Then Ryo applied a bandage to Maru's scrapped forehead.
"Really Maruyama kun, how are you
doing?" Shota looked into Maru's eyes.
"I'll be fine," Maru promised. "I
have a good doctor."
Ryo smiled as he finished working on Maru. Finally
the last bandage was fastened. "There, it should be all right."
"Thanks Ryo,"
Ryo looked into his eyes and smiled. "I'm
glad to be of service."
*****************************
It was Maru's turn to shine. Maru was the one
that was always the funny one. Ryo thought it was strange, when given
responsibility, Maru suddenly stopped being funny. Instead he was very serious.
The group had a ten kilometer hike, but all the
time Maru knew where he was going. For
the cameras he acted lost, but the group knew it was just an act. He would
always have the rest consult the map with him.
Then he would subtly gesture towards the direction they should go on.
Ryo walked beside Maru. He had grown closer to
Maru in the past few weeks. Ryo could still remember the day he had discovered
the reason for the bruises that peppered Maru's body. Yoko was the kind of
lover who showed his love with his fists.
Ryo tried as hard as he could to stay at Maru's
side. He wanted to make sure that Yoko kept his hands to himself. Maru needed a
defender, and Ryo appointed himself to be that defender.
They arrived at the camp spot. It was a good
spot, with shade and a water supply nearby. It wasn't too muddy.
"Can we take off our packs?" Subaru
asked.
"Yes, this will be our camp." Hina
told him.
Subaru took off his backpack then collapsed onto
the ground. Shota and Yoko soon joined him.
They were quickly followed by Hina and Ohkura.
Ryo wasn't sure they were acting this way for
the cameras. He was tired too, but he didn't want them to look bad. Besides,
Maru had taken off his backpack and had gotten to work.
Ryo took off his backpack and joined Maru.
"What are you doing?"
"We need to start pitching tents."
Maru glanced at the sky. 'We might have rain, so it's imperative that our tents
are pitched."
Ryo didn't say anything; instead he concentrated
on helping Maru. But after awhile he noticed that they were the only ones
working. He felt in a way that the rest were picking on Maru by refusing to
work.
He went to the rest of the group that was
resting. "Get up!"
"We're taking a rest," Shota told him.
"What would ten minutes hurt?"
"Maru says it's going to rain."
"What' does Maru know?" Yoko
countered. "Nothing!"
"Maru has a lot more experience in this
then you do!" Ryo felt his self control snap.
"Give us a few minutes and we'll
help." Subaru told him.
"Get the fuck up you lazy shits!" Ryo
screamed. "Maru isn't your fucking slave!"
"We'll help," Hina got to his feet. He
nudged Ohkura who also stood up. Then Hina glared at the three that stayed on
the ground. "If you don't help, you don't get to use the tents. I suggest
you help!"
***********************
The rain started almost as soon as they got the
last tent up. Maru was relived. He didn't want to be the one that was blamed
for half the group getting wet. Yoko might beat him. His former lover had been
more and more open about his abuse.
They had drawn lots for tent mates. Maru knew it
had been rigged so that Hina could stay with Ohkura and Shota with Subaru. Ryo
had chosen the ball that said that he would stay with Yoko. That meant that
Maru got a tent to himself. Maru was afraid. He knew what would happen once
everyone went to bed Yoko would join him in the tent.
He was surprised when the flap to his tent
opened and a very wet Ryo came in, carrying his pack. He set the pack in the
corner.
"What are you doing here?" Maru asked.
""I can't stay with Yoko." Ryo
told him. "I knew we drew balls, but if I have to stay with Yoko I might
strangle him."
"What did Yoko do this time?"
"He made you look bad on camera. Besides
that, he hurt you badly when he pushed you down." he whispered. "I
don't betray my friends."
That was one thing Maru really liked about Ryo;
he was very loyal to his friends. Even though Ryo was very popular among
Johnny’s, the people Ryo actually considered friends were very few. Maru had
never been called friend by Ryo before.
"You're always welcome to stay with
me." The bass player said truthfully. He took a towel out of his backpack
and handed it to Ryo.
"Thanks," Ryo took the towel and dried
himself off.
"I have something else for you," Maru
rummaged around in his bag, taking out cigarettes and a small ashtray.
"I thought you didn't like my
smoking." Ryo reminded him. "That's why I never smoke around
you."
"I'm not too crazy about it," Maru
admitted. 'But you're an addict."
"I can go outside and smoke."
"It's all right, you can smoke here."
Maru smiled at him.
Ryo
took a cigarette out. He felt in his pocket, he still had his lighter. He lit
his cigarette and took a long drag. It felt good to know that Maru understood
him. He had accepted Ryo just the way he was, not demanding he change. Ryo felt
his heart soften any more. Perhaps when they were finished camping, they might
possibly have a future together.
. *****
Shota and
Maru were in the kitchen tent, getting the things together for the campfire
activities the group had been invited to. Maru wasn't sure what Ryo was doing.
The producers needed him for a shot without Maru. So Maru worked with Shota. The guitar player
was his oldest friend in the group. He was never on his guard around Shota.
Shota
scurried around, trying to get ready, chatting almost constantly. Maru knew
that his friend had become very nervous after they had been told about spending
the day with Ranger Girl Scouts.
"What's
bothering you Yassan?" Maru asked.
"What
do we do at a campfire?" Shota asked Maru as they packed.
"We
go, we eat. Then we sing songs." Maru tried to explain. "Perhaps
we'll even play some games."
"With girls?" Shota sounded worried. "I mean this
place is crawling with high school girls. What did you call them? Rangers?"
"Well,
this is a Girl Scout camp." Maru pointed out.
"It's
just..."
"You
don't want to pretend around girls?" Maru asked gently.
"I
know we have to." Shota confessed. "It's just since Subaru and I've
gotten close, I feel like its cheating."
"We're
not dating them." Maru reminded
him. "Think of it as just filming a show."
"You
must understand, after all you and Ryo are dating."
"You
think I'm with Ryo," Maru realized.
"Don't
you worry that Ryo's bi?" Shota continued. "He like
girls."
"I'm
not worried because I'm not his." Maru pointed out.
'But you
want to be his?" Shota persisted. "He's got an open relationship with
Yamapi. They’re both free to date others."
"Ryo's
relationship with Yamapi isn't really my business." Maru tried to sound
unworried. "It's really isn't yours either."
Maru went
back to working, he felt like he was lying to Shota. Ryo had become more than just
a friend to him. They weren't lovers, not quite. He wasn't sure what the
relationship he had with Ryo. But Shota was right, Ryo had a boy friend.
"I
need to back up a bit don't I?" Maru finally
asked Shota.
"You
act like you're in love with him."
"I
do?"
"It's
better for you in the long run if you give him some space." Shota paused.
"You don't want to get hurt again."
"You're
right of course," Maru decided. "From now on I'll watch myself."
*************************
The group
hiked to the Girl Scout troop’s area. Maru had briefed the group on what to
expect. They would spend the day doing activities, then in the evening sit
around a campfire.
Ryo
walked alone behind Maru. His friend had been strangely silent since he had
packed for the campfire with Shota. He didn't look or talk to Ryo. It's was
almost as if Ryo wasn't there.
Ryo had a feeling that something wasn't quite
right. Shota and Subaru had been hovering around Maru. Perhaps they were having
problems. That was one good thing about Maru; he liked to help his friends.
So Ryo
concentrated on watching Yoko. Maru's ex lover was walking with Hina and
Ohkura. He hadn't acted up since the time he pushed down Maru, but Ryo was
afraid it was simply a matter of time.
Ryo
quickened his pace so that he was beside Maru. "Ryuhei-Chan, how long is
it until we get there?"
"Not
far," he sounded distracted.
"I think that it would be best if we paired with others."
"But..."
"He
doesn't want to talk to you." Subaru said getting between Ryo and Maru.
"I don't understand, we're friends." Ryo
said.
"You've
gotten too close to him." Subaru snapped. "What are you going to say
when you get back to Tokyo? What's Yamapi going to say when he finds out about
Maru?"
"Ryuhei
is none of Yamapi's business!" Ryo growled back.
"I
just need some time," Maru told him. "Please Ryu-chan."
"If
that's what you want." Ryo decided.
"It's
what has to be," Subaru pulled Maru away from Ryo, they walked quickly to
Shota.
******************
Soon the
group arrived at the Girl Scout troop’s camp site. Ryo knew what to expect from
the girl scouts, what happened every time he got near a group of girls. Ryo was surprised that the girl's didn't
scream when they saw them.
The girl
scouts were working on various things. Some were cooking, others working on
crafts. A couple looked up from what they were doing, but then got back to
work.
The
leader finally greeted them. Ryo stood with the group like he had hundreds of
times. He tried to keep his mind on the leader, not the person standing next to
him. Maru wanted time. He knew someone said something to him. But he couldn't
do anything about it.
They were
told they would have to break up into pairs. The camera person followed Hina
and Yoko as they went to have a separate meeting with the leader.
Subaru grabbed Maru's hand, "We'll be
together."
"Then
I'll take Ryo-Chan," Shota's eyes flashed with jealousy.
"All
right," Ryo sighed.
"You
don't mind do you?" Maru asked him gently.
"I
don't really get a choice do I?" Ryo snapped. "Suddenly you're not my
friend, and I can't figure out why."
"I'm
getting too close to you," Maru tried to explain. "I'm really falling
for you. I like you a whole lot, but you have someone else."
"Ryuhei-Chan,"
Ryo breathed. "You wanted to know why I was being texted while we waited
for the bus."
"It
doesn't matter anymore."
"It
does to me!" he insisted. "It means everything to me!"
"Ryo,
we're being filmed." Maru reminded him gently.
"I
know, I know. We're always being filmed." Ryo suddenly needed a cigarette.
He knew he had some back at the camp, but he couldn't use them. They were
really Maru's.
******************
The group
did various activities with the Girl Scouts. They learned to tie knots by
making friendship bracelets.
“Why do
we have to make bracelets?” Ryo complained. “What are they for?”
"When
you make these, you have to think of someone you like." Eri the Girl Scout
that had been assigned to help Ryo and Shota explained.
"Someone
we like? Like a girl friend?" Shota asked.
"You
could make it for a best friend. Sometimes it’s good to share things with your
friends." Eri smiled. "What
kind of string do you want?"
"I
want something that goes with orange. My best friend really likes orange."
Ryo decided.
The girl
left him to get some more thread. The
cameraman followed her.
"Did
you mean what you said to Maru?" Shota whispered when they were finally alone.
"Of
course I did,"
"What
were you going to tell him?" Shota asked.
Ryo
decided to tell Shota the truth. "Maru needs to know I broke up with
Yamapi."
"You
left Yamapi?" Shota sounded like he didn't believe him.
"When I found someone that I want to
protect with my life, I realized that my other life was a lie. I'm closer to
Ryuhei then I've ever been with Yamapi" Ryo admitted. "All
we used to do was hunt for new lovers. I'm tired of hunting. I want someone who
I know loves only me."
"You
love him," Shota realized.
"I
think I found the right stuff." Eri came back, carrying some string, the
cameraman following her.
Ryo
concentrated on making his bracelet. He glanced at the girl who was an expert
at making knots, she was helping Shota. Ryo decided that he would give the
bracelet to Maru. Perhaps, just perhaps
Maru might be his friend again.
*****
*********
Ryo looked up to the sky; it hadn't warmed up
at all. The sky was grey and miserable. It was a good weather to curl up and
read a book, but they were stuck outside doing task after task for the
challenge. He was beginning to think this entire challenge thing was stupid. Really, really stupid. The Girl scouts were a bit on the
cute side, but they were too young for Ryo. Besides for some reason they seemed
to gather around Maru, which made Ryo jealous. So jealous he wanted to go to
the girls and tell them to leave Maru alone.
Ryo was also going through nicotine withdrawal
which made his mood even worse then it usually was. He thought it was stupid
for the camp to have a rule that forbade smoking. Yes he was well aware of the
danger of fires, but couldn't they understand how it was like to really, really
need a smoke?
Ryo had a reputation of being angry all the
time, but he wasn't usually. Most of the time Ryo was
frustrated. Frustrated that half the group never believed half of what
he said, simply because of something that happened when he first joined the
agency.
Kanjani 8 were gathering leaves, it was one of
their tasks. It was one of the few times
that the cameras weren't following them. Ryo didn't like the leaf gathering. It
was stupid, really stupid. It was something that he did in grade school. But
they had to pretend that they liked it. Ryo was sick of pretending on camera
that he was excited about everything.
"What is it with you and Maru?"
Subaru brought up the thing that made Ryo the most frustrated. The group kept
poking its nose into his relationship with Maru.
"What do you mean what is it with me and
him?" Ryo repeated.
"I've noticed you've spent a lot of time
with him."
"Your
point?" Ryo couldn't keep the
hostility out of his voice.
"Maru's a nice guy. He might not
understand that all this attention is just you being friendly to him."
Subaru began.
"Is that what you think?" Ryo
interrupted harshly
"It's what we all think." Subaru's
voice dropped. "I don't want you to hurt him."
"I won't do that,"
"He really likes you," Subaru told
him. "He doesn't realize that with your open relationship with Yamapi that
he's just a lay to you. He thinks you like him the way he likes you."
Maru came back into sight. As usual, Maru was
surrounded by a group of adoring Girl Scouts. Maru smiled when he saw Ryo. For
the first time, Ryo realized it was a special smile.
"Ryo-Chan," Subaru growled. "I
mean it, stay away from him."
"You don't
understand, I like him too." Ryo snapped. 'And yes I
mean that way! So stay out of our business."
Shota walked to Subaru, he was carrying a
handful of leaves. Shota really liked the challenge of gathering leaves.
"Babu Chan, I need to talk to you,"
Shota smiled.
"You need to talk to me?" Suddenly
Subaru's mood changed.
"Did you know that Ryo-Chan’s in love
with Maru-Chan?" Shota asked his voice playful.
"He's not in love with him."
"Come on Babu, we need to have a long
talk." Shota guided Subaru away
from Ryo.
Ryo wanted punch Shota. He had told him a
secret, and the idiot had blabbed it to Subaru. Ryo knew it was only a matter
of time before his secret got out to the rest of the group including Yoko. Once
that happened, Maru would be in terrible danger.
**********************************
The group gathered around the Girl Scout
leader. Again it was time to have a challenge. Ryo stood off a bit to himself.
His friend was in a bad mood. Maru knew it had to do with the fact that his
friend was probably exhausted. He hadn't had a day off in over a month.
Shota had told Maru a secret. The guitar
player told him that Ryo was in love with Maru. That was something the Maru
couldn't believe unless he heard it from Ryo.
"The next challenge is first aid."
The Girl Scout leader told them.
"For this activity, one group of four will work together; the other
group will have three."
"I'm not working with Yoko." Ryo
said harshly.
"The groups have all ready been
decided," Hina told Ryo. "You'll be working with Ohkura, Shota and
Maru."
"Come on Ryo-Chan!" Shota said
brightly. "It will be fun."
"Sure it will." Ryo plastered on a
fake smile. There was always frustration behind his eyes.
Soon they group went to their side of the
camp. Ryo hadn't talked or looked at Maru since they were put in the team.
Instead, he chatted to Ohkura. Maru tried to fight down his jealousy. Ohkura
had once been a boy friend of Ryo's. They still considered each other good
friends. Most of Ryo's ex boyfriends considered him a friend. Maru would have
to put the jeliousy behind him, if he was
going to like someone who gave his love as freely as Ryo. Besides, Ryo wasn't
his. He was with Yamapi Maru reminded himself for the millionth time.
There was a table in their area. Shota picked
up a piece of paper and began to read to himself. Soon Ohkura joined him at the table.
That gave Maru the chance to get closer to
Ryo. "Ryo-Chan, are you angry at
me?"
"Of course not," Ryo's eyes were
frustrated. "I just need a smoke."
"I didn't agree to Subaru and Shota
separating us." he admitted.
"You didn't?"
"I wanted to stay with you." Maru
confessed. "We make a good team."
Ryo's eyes changed, they went from the cold
and frustrated look to warm, happy. "Maru-Chan, I think you need to
know...."
"All right love birds, enough of
that!" Shota teased. "The cameras are coming!"
Ryo glared at Shota. "I HATE
CAMERAS!"
***********************
The team jankined to see which one was the once that pretended to be
hurt. Since Maru won, he
got to lie on the ground while everyone else took care of him. The ever present
cameras were filming them.
"I think my leg is broken." Maru
said as he played his part.
"You need help now." Ryo insisted.
You'll have to be the one to help me."
Maru suddenly became very serious. ““Use the book. There should be something in
there."
Ryo took out the reprinted handbook. He looked
up broken leg in the first aid section.
"I'm going to put a splint on your
leg?" Ryo asked has he read the book.
"Will it hurt?"
"Yes, it will." he said honestly.
"But it needs to be done."
"All right," he nodded.
Ryo found two thick sticks. Then he wrapped
his ankle and applied the splint.
"I have to get you to help," Ryo
decided. "I'll have to carry you to help."
"Maru's too heavy to carry." Ohkura
pointed out.
"Why don't we make a stretcher?"
Shota suggested.
**********
Soon Shota and Ryo were working on the
stretcher. They were weaving cord in a frame that they had made. The frame was
long, and one side the poles stuck out a meter.
The cameras had moved onto the other team, so they worked alone.
Ohkura had been put in charge of being Maru's
minder. Pretending to care for the injured patient.
"What's bothering you?" Ohkura asked
him. "Is it Yoko again?"
"The only thing I want from Yoko is for
him to leave me alone." Maru looked at Ryo who was hard at work on his
task. "You're still close to Ryo, aren't you?"
"You think me and Ryo?" Ohkura
guessed. That was one thing that Ohkura
was good at, guessing what people were thinking.
"It doesn't matter; I'm not really with
him."
"Ryo and I were just fuck buddies. We
never had anything serious." Ohkura told him. "Nothing like what you
have with him."
"But I don't have anything with
him." Maru insisted.
"Oh yes you do." Ohkura gave him a
knowing smile. "You have to be understanding of Ryo-Chan; He's never been
in love before."
"But he's had so many lovers." Maru
pointed out.
"But love is a different thing then
simply being a lover." Ohkura reminded him.
************************
It was dark outside. The group had built a
large campfire. Kanjani 8 and the Girl Scouts sat around the campfire. Ryo was
still going through nicotine withdrawals, but knew the campfire was the last
activity of the night.
"Next is the bracelet ceremony," The
Ranger leader told them. "Everyone has to get up one by one and give the
bracelet they made to a friend, and state a reason."
When it came to Ryo, he stood up. "I made
this for my friend Maruyama-kun. The reason I'm giving it to him is because
until recently, I didn't realize how good a friend he was. Now I know that the
group wouldn't be the same without him."
Ryo handed the bracelet to Maru, who bowed
formally. "Thank you."
Ryo sat back down. He watched as Subaru gave
his bracelet to Hina, Hina gave his bracelet to Okura, Shota gave his bracelet
to Subaru, and Subaru gave his bracelet to Shota.
Yoko stood up. "I give this bracelet to
Maruyama-kun. The reasons why: He is always such a good friend."
Maru took the bracelet from Yoko, he bowed and
said thank you. Instead of doing what everyone else did, he sat down by Ryo.
Yoko gave a stupid smile, and then sat back
down.
"Maruyama Kun, it's your turn." The leader told him.
"I want to give this to Nishikido
Kun," Maru told the group. "I've gone through a lot lately in my
life. Nishikido Kun has been there as a friend. Without him, I'm not sure what
would have happened."
Maru gave the bracelet to Ryo and sat down.
The Girl Scouts began to exchange their
bracelets.
"Ryo-Chan, will you put my bracelet on
me?" Maru whispered as he held out his arm.
"Sure," Ryo tied the bracelet around
his friend’s wrist. When he was finished, he smiled a bit. "Can you tie my
bracelet?"
"Of course," Maru gave him a special
smile as he tied the bracelet around his wrist. "Now everyone will know
you're my best friend."
"Best friend, no one's ever called me
that." Ryo admitted.
"You're very special to me Ryo-chan. I
love you." Maru admitted before he turned back to the campfire.
Ryo
could feel the bracelet on his arm. It
felt good that someone would make something special for him. Then Maru moved
closer to him, so they were sitting close. He wanted to reach out, to touch
Maru, but as always they were being filmed. This time, for the first time, Ryo
realized that Maru was his.
*********
After the bracelet
ceremony, Ryo thought that the group would return to their camp. Instead, they
were told they would spend the night at the Girl Scout camp. Maru had told Ryo
he knew about an out of the way place that no one would see them. It was a little area surrounded by trees. Ryo
had passed it several times without a second glance.
"Remind me to always take you camping
with me." Ryo told Maru. "You know all the good spots."
"It's nothing," Maru said modestly.
He took something out of his pocket. "I found some more cigarettes for
you."
"Where did you find them?" Ryo asked
as he took them. "I thought Girl Scouts weren't allowed to smoke at
camp."
"I told them that the famous Nishikido
Ryo was badly in need of a cigarette. You wouldn't believe how quickly they
found some for you." Maru smiled. "Go ahead, the cameramen won't come
here."
"All right." Ryo lit a cigarette, took a long drag and let
it out. It felt so good to have a cigarette.
They chatted for a while. Ryo quickly finished
his cigarette. He shoved the rest into his pocket, for later. He knew that Maru didn't like his smoking,
and he didn't want to expose his friend to too much smoke.
"I
wanted to thank you for giving me the bracelet." Ryo told his friend.
"What will Yamapi say when he sees
it?" Maru teased gently.
"I don't care what he says." Ryo
admitted.
"You have one of those kind
of relationships, don't you?" Maru said sadly.
"Those kind of relationships?"
"I mean open," Maru corrected.
"You don't belong to each other. So both of you date
others. But in the end you always return to your real lover. The other
is just a sexual partner."
"That's not what you are to me..."
Ryo began.
"It's all right," Maru smiled sadly.
"Your friendship means a lot to me. I just read more into it then should
have been there. I thought there was a chance we could be together." Maru
looked away from him embarrassed. "Please Ryo-Chan, don't tell anyone
about this. They'll laugh at my one sided love for you."
"There's something you should know.
Something I've been trying to tell you since we came to this camp." Ryo
told him. "I broke up with Yamapi when we waited for the bus at the
airport."
"You've been with Yamapi since NEWS was
formed. That's a really long time." Maru reminded him.
"I know, but the problem is: I never loved him, I love someone else. Someone who’s everything to me." Ryo asked. "I broke up with Yamapi
because I really like you."
"You do?"
"Perhaps my one sided love for you can
meet your one sided love for me." Ryo touched Maru's chin, turning his
head towards him. Then he kissed the taller man very gently on the lips.
**************
The producers wanted to talk to Ryo alone. Maru
decided to go to the rest room. To call it a rest room would be an
overstatement. Instead, it was an outhouse.
"Ryuhei, I want to talk to you."
Yoko told Maru as soon as he left the outhouse.
"There's nothing that needs to be
said." The bass player told him.
"Why did you refuse to sit by me after I
gave you my bracelet?" Yoko asked.
"I didn't feel like sitting by
you." Maru tried to sound casual.
"Why aren't you wearing my
bracelet?" he grabbed Maru's wrist, his grip got stronger, and the bass
player yelped in pain. "You're wearing his. Why would you wear that slut's
bracelet?"
"Ryo-Chan’s not a slut!"
"Come back to me," Yoko told him as
he pulled him close. "I'll forgive you for falling for that baka."
"I don't want to be with you!" Maru
struggled against Yoko.
Yoko kissed Maru hard on the mouth. Yoko's
grip on Maru's arm relaxed just a second. It was enough to allow Maru to get
his arm free. Then he pushed Yoko as hard as he could away from him.
Yoko countered by punching Maru hard across
the face. Maru fell to the ground. Yoko took out a pocket knife, with a flick,
the blade came out.
"Leave me alone!" Maru screamed.
"Ryo put you up to this, didn't he?"
Yoko demanded. "That asshole thinks he can have my girl!"
"I'm not a girl, I'm a man."
"You're a girl if I say you're a
girl!" Yoko kicked Maru hard in the stomach. "Where's your bitch? He
can't always guard you!"
"Leave me alone," Maru gasped.
"He's just like me!" Yoko thundered
as he kicked Maru in the face. "You watched that drama he was in. He beat
his woman, the same way I beat you!"
"The drama wasn't real. It was only a
part that Ryo played." Maru breathed. "Please Kimi, leave me
alone."
"Never! You're mine! You'll always be mine!" He
slashed at Maru, cutting his cheek "If you don't do as I say, I'll kill
you."
"The man said he wanted to be left
alone." The unmistakable voice of Ryo told him.
Yoko turned to face the younger man. Ryo
didn't give him a chance; he hit him as hard as he could. Yoko fell to the
ground.
Ryo grabbed Maru's hand. "Come on; let's
go back to the camp."
**************
Ryo thought the group would return to their
own camp area after the campfire. Instead they were told they would spend the
night with the girls. The group had been given two large tents to share. Maru, Ryo, Subaru and Shota shared a tent.
Maru and Ryo were the first go into the tent.
Ryo unfastened the first aid kit that they all wore around their waist. He took
out an alcohol pad and cleaned Maru's cut cheek. Then he covered it with a
bandage.
"There, it's all taken care of."
Ryo's voice was soothing. "The cut wasn't big at all."
"I'm sorry I was so weak," Maru
apologized.
"You're not weak Ryuhei." Ryo
touched Maru's cheek. "Does it hurt?"
"Yeah, a little." he admitted.
Ryo's lips caressed the hurt cheek. "I
wish I could make it go away."
"Thank you for rescuing me."
"All part of the job." Ryo kissed
Maru gently on the lips. This was
everything Ryo always wanted. Maru put his arms around the smaller man, pulling
him close.
Ryo heard a noise behind him. He let go of
Maru and turned. Shota and Subaru came into the tent. "What are you doing here?"
"We're sharing a tent, remember?"
Shota asked.
"I hate this camp!" Ryo pulled away
from Maru. "By the time we wake up, everyone's going to know about Maru
and I aren't they?"
"No one's going to find out!" Shota
put an arm around Subaru. "Are they Babu?"
"They all ready know darling,"
Subaru told his lover. "You blabbed it to everyone, including the
girls."
The four men settled down to bed. Soon Shota was snoring.
Ryo couldn't sleep. All he could think of was
Maru lying beside him. His friend loved him. The thought made him happy inside.
He felt as if his whole world was new.
He didn't want to go to sleep. Didn't want any of this
to end.
Ryo's sleeping bag was beside Maru's. "Ryuhei, are you still awake?"
"Yeah, I am." Maru turned so that he was facing Ryo.
"I wanted you to know, I've never been in
love before." he confessed. He closed his eyes, waiting for Maru to laugh.
Instead of laughing, the older man reached
out, touching Ryo's cheek. "Thank you for giving me the honor of being
your first love."
"It feels wonderful." Ryo whispered.
"Love always feels wonderful." Maru
moved his hand so that he was holding Ryo's in his.
"Why do I suddenly feel like the virgin
who’s never been with a man before?" Ryo asked. "I've been with so
many, I've lost count."
"Perhaps it's because you didn't love
them." Maru squeezed his hand.
"I've always felt so special when I'm
around you."
"That's because you are special Ryo,
very, very special." Maru kissed
him gently.
"I'm even looking forwards to fishing
tomorrow." Ryo told him. "Fishing's always been boring, but if I'm
with you. I don't think it will."
"Will you two shut up and go to
sleep!" Subaru said loudly. "When we get back home you can spend a
week in bed if you want."
"You want?" Ryo asked Maru.
"Oh yes, I want." Maru said
seductively. Then he pulled away from Ryo. "Good night Ryo-chan."
********************
Maru got out his badge book. He was the one
that was keeping track of what the group was earning. He put a check by each of
the requirements in the flower finder badge. One more badge. The group had
earned four. They had to do six to complete the challenge.
They would fish in pairs. What they caught
would be dinner. Ryo had been the one
that picked out their tackle and poles. He had fished a lot with his
grandfather when he was a kid.
A camera crew followed them. Ryo wished they
could go away. He wanted to spend time
alone with Maru. They had shared a few kisses. He wanted to do a lot more than
just kissing in secret, but they couldn't with the cameras bothering them.
"Know any out of the way places we can
fish?" Ryo asked Maru as he brought the items to him.
"Sure,
several." Maru shrugged.
"I know of a good fishing spot, it isn't even far from the
camp."
"I never used to like fishing," Ryo
admitted. "But now I do."
"So do I," Maru looked at him and
smiled. That was when Ryo realized he wanted to spend his life at Maru's
side.
Maru's lips beckoned to Ryo, but he couldn't
do anything. The camera crew was filming them.
"We better get fishing," Maru
finally said.
"You're right, we better." he
agreed.
Ryo felt so good when he was with Maru. It
wasn't like Yamapi or any other boy friend he had ever had. He had been friends
with Maru first. He kept his real self hidden, but he realized that he could
show that real self to Maru and his friend wouldn't laugh.
****************
Ryo was smiling more. That made Maru feels
good. He loved it when Ryo smiled. He never liked the fake smiles Ryo did from
the camera, those smiles always seemed insane to Maru, but the real smiles were
something different.
The camera crew filmed Maru fishing with Ryo
for a while, and then they left. Ryo seemed to visibly relax as soon as they
were alone.
"I am so glad they’re gone." Ryo
confessed.
"I am too,"
Ryo looked at him, really looked at him. Then
he kissed Maru very gently on the lips. "I've wanted to do that all
afternoon."
They kissed again. Maru was afraid to do much
more. The camera crew might return. They
pulled away from each other. Maru took his hand. "Why don't we discuss
this more tonight?"
"Tonight?" Ryo suddenly sounded as if he was deep in
thought. Then he nodded and smiled his wonderful smile. "All
right, tonight."
Maru
realized that someone was standing behind Ryo. It was Yoko, and he looked
furious. The sun glinted off his open pocket knife. He advanced towards Maru.
Suddenly Maru could hear Hina calling for Yoko. The older man closed his knife,
and then walked away from them.
****Maru had camped a lot in his life. He had spent countless hours
at the Girl Scout camp. Usually it was to help his little sister's troop. This
time it was different, he was with his group, his friends. There was something
else; something that Maru had never thought would happen again. He had fallen
in love.
Finally, after spending the day with the Girl Scouts, the group
returned to their own camp.
Maru was preparing the fish they had caught for dinner. He
looked across the table, to the one that had helped him catch the fish. Ryo
smiled again. He loved Ryo's smile. So warm, from the heart.
"What are you thinking of?" Ryo's smile grew wider.
"How lucky I am to have you." Maru admitted. "How
wonderful you are."
"You're wonderful too." Ryo paused. "We won't
have roommates tonight."
"I know," Maru smiled back. Then he caught sight of
Yoko, watching them from several meters away.
"What is it?" Ryo looked where Maru was looking.
"Yoko's been following us around." Maru whispered.
"He's got a pocket knife."
"Don't be afraid." Ryo tried to soothe. "You have
me now. I won't let him hurt you."
'You're right, I do." Maru smiled again.
Maru knew that Ryo couldn't be with him all the time. There
would be times Ryo returned to Tokyo to work with NEWS. No matter what Ryo
wanted, he couldn't always protect Maru.
The bass player had a feeling that time he would have another
run in with Yoko. He just hoped that when it did happen, that no one else would
get hurt.
**********************
It was another night of Ryo and Maru sharing a
tent. Ryo was frustrated that all he had done with Maru the night before was
hold hands before they fell asleep.
"It's going to be cold tonight," Ryo
told Maru.
"No it's not," Maru corrected him.
"I heard it was." he glanced at the
camera, and then gestured to the two of them.
"Your right, it might be cold
again." Maru agreed. "I was freezing last night."
"If we zip our sleeping bags together, we
might be warmer." Ryo suggested.
"You're right, we might." His friend
smiled.
They set out to get ready for the night,
zipping their sleeping bags together.
They put in on the floor of the tent.
"That looks much better." Maru told
him.
They shut the tents flap, keeping the prying
eyes of the camera out. The cameras could film from the outside of the tent,
but not the inside. Both knew that they also had the microphones. Maru was the
first to turn his off. He put his in the storage bag. Soon Ryo's microphone was
turned off.
Maru slowly began to take off his clothes. Ryo
had seen Maru nude many, many times. But this time it felt different. His
friend was doing it for him.
"Are you going to keep your clothes
on?" Maru asked almost seductively.
"My
clothes." Ryo repeated.
"Let me help you." Maru helped him
off with his shirt, and then kissed him.
"We better get into our sleeping bag. We
don't want to get caught." Ryo said between kisses.
They got into the sleeping bag. Then Maru was
kissing his lips again. His hands running over Ryo's body.
"Ryuhei-Chan?" Ryo asked.
"Yeah," Maru breathed as he bit down
lightly on Ryo's neck.
"Did you bring any lube?"
"Any lube? You mean you forgot the
lube?" Maru teased as he wrapped his hand around Ryo's hardness and began
to stroke.
"Yeah, I did." Ryo groaned.
"That's okay, I brought some." Maru
let go of Ryo, he rolled over and took something out of his backpack. "The
Scout's motto is be prepared."
All Ryo could think of
was his hunger for Maru. He kissed him back hard, forcing his tongue into
Maru's mouth. His new lover caressed his tongue, as he did he pressed the lube
into Ryo's hand.
*********************
Ryo had insisted that they zip their sleeping
bags together. It made Maru feel closer
to his new lover. Maru had expected Ryo to leave as soon as they were finished
loving, instead Ryo snuggled against him. Ryo had been such a sensitive lover,
more worried about how Maru felt then himself. Maru didn’t want to ever get out
of bed.
“I’ve been wondering, why Hina doesn’t trust
you." Maru asked.
"He knows me." Ryo told him.
"I've spent most of my life being a self centered brat."
"You're not a brat." Maru insisted.
"I used to be, back when I was one of the
up and coming stars." he said. "When I first became a Johnny, I used
to make up stories. Hina’s never forgiven me for that.”
"So what made you change?"
"Your friendship, I've never had anyone
trust me unconditionally." he confessed.
"When I'm with you, I'm not afraid to show you the real Ryo."
"I like the real Ryo," Maru moved
closer to him. "I like him a lot."
Ryo moved a lock of Maru’s hair out of his
eyes, and then suddenly the younger man was kissing him. As he did, he ran his
hands across Maru's body.
"You're mine, no one else’s." Ryo
whispered between kisses.
Then
Maru put his arms around him, pulling him close. It felt so good to be held by
Ryo. Maru knew that was different, he
wouldn't betray him. For the first time in a very long time, Maru was happy.
****
Morning finally came. Ryo didn’t want to get
out of bed. He finally had Maru. Ryo had a strange feeling that the night they
shared would be the only time they would be together. He was more afraid Yoko doing something to
Maru than he had admitted.
His new lover was more sensible. Maru smiled at him as he dressed. “We have to
work today.”
“I know it’s just…” Ryo began.
“We can be together tonight,” Maru kissed Ryo
gently.
They got dressed and almost as soon they left
the tent, a production assistant ran up to Ryo, carrying a clip board.
“So this is where you went.” The assistant
told them.
“Sorry, we slept in.” Maru apologized.
"Nishikido Kun, the producer needs to
speak to you," The production assistant ordered.
Ryo looked at Maru, who smiled at him.
"It's all right."
Ryo left with the assistant. Ryo looked back
to Maru, who smiled at him. He hoped that he would finish the meeting soon, and
be back at Maru’s side.
***********
As soon as Ryo was
finished with the producer. He went back to the camp.
He looked around. Maru was gone. .
Ryo finally found Maru, who was in the tent
that doubled as the kitchen. The older man held one of his arms, it was
bleeding!
Yoko stood in front of him holding his pocket
knife.
"It's Ryo isn't it?" Yoko mocked.
"You've decided he's your prince charming.
You've slept with him! I heard you last night. You're going to die for
what you've done."
Ryo rushed into the kitchen, not before Yoko
lunged at Maru. His lover screamed inhumanely as he was stabbed in the stomach.
"Please Kimi, don't hurt Ryo-chan."
Maru said as he collapsed to the ground.
"It’s my fault, I seduced Ryo."
"He's going to die too!" Yoko
declared as he pulled the knife out of Maru.
Ryo realized he had to help. He ran to his
lover. He gave Yoko a hard shove, trying to get him away from Maru.
Maru
looked up to him. "Ryo-Chan, get away. Please, if
you love me, save yourself."
Yoko spun around stabbing Ryo with the knife.
He could feel the pain as the knife entered him. Ryo had never imagined that
being stabbed would hurt so much. He moved towards Yoko, but the pain grew too
much. Ryo sank to the ground.
Ryo realized that he had failed Maru. He
couldn't protect him. It took all his strength to crawl to Maru, protecting his
lover's body with his.
Ryo could feel the knife plunge into his back.
Then Yoko pulled the knife out and stabbed Ryo one more time.
Ryo could hear voices, one being Hina. Someone
tackled Yoko. He could hear someone screaming that Yoko had fallen on his knife
and he wasn’t breathing. Yoko’s
condition didn't matter to Ryo. The only thing that mattered to Ryo was
Maruyama Ryuhei.
"Ryo-Chan," Maru gasped.
"I'm here," Ryo realized he was
going to die. He took Maru's hand in
his.
"We're dying aren't we?" Maru asked.
"Why do you say that?" He fought the
blackness that tried to overcome him.
"My wounds have stopped hurting. You've
been hurt worse than me." Maru's voice was only a whisper.
"I love you," Ryo whispered.
"I love you too. There's a light, it's so
beautiful. Go towards it. Don't be afraid." Maru's eyes closed, and Ryo
realized that his lover had stopped breathing.
Ryo could feel hands on him, trying to take
him away from Maru. With his remaining strength he held onto Maru's hand.
He could see a light, Maru had been right, it
was beautiful. The pain from his wounds faded into nothingness. He stopped
fighting the blackness, and let it take over everything.
*****
*********************
Ryo woke; he could hear a strange noise. There
was an oxygen mask on his face. He hated oxygen masks; they always made him
feel like he was suffocating. There was something around his neck, it felt like
some kind of neck brace. Ryo was in
agony, his stab wounds felt like they had punctured his soul. He tried to move,
but his arms and legs were strapped down.
"Nishikido-kun, try and stay still."
A voice told him.
"Where am I?" Ryo opened his eyes.
"You're on a med-flight helicopter."
The paramedic explained.
He could hear the paramedics working on
someone else. Was it Maru? Had his lover survived?
"We need to call him." the second
paramedics said. “He’s obviously dead.”
"We'll wait until we get on the
ground." the first paramedic told him.
"What's going on?" Ryo finally
croaked.
"Don't worry, you'll be all right."
A third person told him.
"Maruyama-kun, did he survive?" Ryo
asked.
"He's in a different helicopter,"
the first person explained. "We can't tell you anything else."
Ryo could feel his eyes grow heavy, then he
fell back to sleep.
******************
Ryo woke. He was in a hospital room. He had
some type of bandage wrapped around his chest. His wounds still hurt. He
couldn’t remember much of what happened after the being on the helicopter. He
had vague memories of an operating room, and a mask being put on his face.
Ryo looked around the room. There were other
beds in the room. In the corner of the room was a desk that a nurse worked on
paperwork.
"What am I doing here?" Ryo gasped.
The nurse walked to him, carrying a chart.
“You’re in recovery. You had an operation to repair your wounds.”
“I was stabbed.”
"Do you remember what happened to
you?" The nurse asked.
"Yokoyama Yu stabbed me." He paused.
"I was with a friend when I was attacked. His name's Maruyama
Ryuhei."
"Maruyama Ryuhei," the person wrote
down something in a chart. “Is Maruyama Kun all right?"
"Yokoyama-kun lost a lot of blood."
The woman told him. "We weren't able to save him."
"What about Maruyama Kun?" Ryo
asked.
"He’s fine." She was lying. Ryo could tell she was.
The nurse checked Ryo and then she went back
to the desk.
Ryo hated himself. He had promised Maru he
would protect him. He had promised and he had lied. He had overheard that
someone had died. He knew it had to be Maru.
Another nurse came into the room. She checked
Ryo over, but wouldn't tell him anything. She put a television remote where he
could reach it. Then she was gone.
Ryo turned on the TV. He looked for some news.
He finally found a news channel. There was a report on the life of Yokoyama
Yu. He had been stabbed in the same
attack that had injured Ryo and Maru. Yoko was dead.
Ryo wanted to throw his remote. He didn't care
if Yoko was killed; all he could worry about was Maru. He could feel something on his arm. He had an
IV tube connected to a shunt on his left wrist, and on his right wrist was the
bracelet Maru had made for him.
****************
Ryo was soon transferred to a private room. He
didn’t like the room, with the guard outside the door. He was so weak that he
couldn’t get up and look for Maru. He knew if he could only search for Maru, he
would be able to find him.
People began to visit. Ryo was told that Hina
had been the one to get Yoko off of Ryo. He had fallen on his knife, and had
died on the way to the hospital. .
Because of what happened, Hina was suspected of murdering Yoko. He had
been arrested.
Ryo asked about Maru, and had been simply told
he was resting. Even his friends in the group insisted that Maru was
recovering. None of them gave Ryo any details. That fact made Ryo wonder if his
friends were lying to him. He slowly realized that Maru had died.
"Hello Ryo-Chan," a woman said as
she came into the room. "How are you doing?"
Ryo looked at the woman. It was someone who
Ryo had always tried to avoid. She was rude, gruff and had an acid tongue. He
didn’t know why his father insisted that Ryo was so much like her. His father
had beaten him often when he was a child to break him of his mother’s sprit.
"What are you doing here?" Ryo
sighed.
"I'm your mother.” She set a basket of
fruit on the bedside table. “The agency informed me that you were stabbed, so I
came right away."
"I see," Ryo didn't want to argue
with his mother.
"Now that you're healing, you'll be
getting back to work soon."
Nishikido San said encouragingly.
Ryo knew that his being hurt wasn’t the real
reason his mother visited. She only ever had one reason to contact him; it was
all about how much he could help his family.
"If you're worried I'll stop sending you money...."
"You have to help support the
family." Nishikido San reminded him. "The sooner you get back to
work, the sooner our family’s bills will be paid."
"If that's all
you're worried about.
I have a life insurance policy. You'll get money if I die." Ryo snapped.
"Good I'm glad." she looked him
over. "The press has been speculating about your stabbing. Some say it was
a lover's triangle or you walked into a murder suicide."
"You shouldn't read the tabloids."
Ryo reminded her.
"How else would I learn anything about my
son? You never call." She said accusingly.
"I get busy." Ryo growled. "I
am in two groups!"
"Sometimes I wish I had listened to your
father and kept you in boarding school."
She told him. "Then there wouldn't be all these rumors of you being
gay in the press."
"I've told you before, I'm
bisexual."
"So which one were you sleeping with? Yokoyama or Maruyama?" His mother demanded.
"Stay out of my business!" he
thundered.
"You are so ungrateful! I don’t know how
I had such an ugly, stupid child!" Nishikido San snapped.
"How is my hating you because you sent me
to boarding school at the age of six ungrateful?" he countered.
"We wanted the best for you!"
"Bull shit! You wanted me out of the way
and you know it!" Ryo screamed. "If you want your money, you'll get
it. But you're too late to be a real mother to me!"
"Fine, I'm leaving!" she stomped out
of the room, pushing past Shota.
Ryo closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.
He couldn’t lash out at his friend. Shota was one of the few people that told
him the truth. The rest told him lies that he knew came from the agency.
"Who was that?" Shota asked as he
came into the room.
"That was my mother." Ryo sighed.
"Now I can see were you got your
temper." Shota mused. “Boy she’s mean. She didn’t even think of how you
were just how much money you could give her!”
"Is there something you want?" Ryo
demanded.
"I just wanted to tell you that the rest
of the group has to return to Osaka."
Shota explained. "Hina's going to court in the morning, and the
agency doesn't think it's a good idea if the rest of us are in town."
"I'm sorry I can't come with you."
"You worry about getting well."
Shota told him.
"Hina and I never got along, but I do owe
him for his saving my life." Ryo admitted. "I just wish it had been
enough to save Ryuhei."
"Why do you think anything happened to
Maru?" Shota said a little too innocently.
Ryo watched as Subaru came into the room. He
looked exhausted.
"I was holding his hand when he
died." Ryo told him. "I tried to protect him, and I couldn't. He died
because of me!"
"Ryo-Chan, Maru isn't...."
"Shota, we have to go." Subaru
interrupted them.
"But Babu!" Shota protested. "Ryo needs to know the truth about
Maru."
"It’s all right, I all ready know the
truth." Ryo insisted.
"Ryo-Chan, you don't know the
truth!" Shota countered.
"I'd rather face up to the fact that I
lost him, instead of pretending until I get well." Ryo told them.
"Have a good trip back to Osaka."
*******************
Ryo thought of what Shota said. Could his
friend be alive? He knew everyone was lying to him so that he could get well.
He would have to get someone to confirm what Shota told him. That was almost
impossible, because no one would talk to him about Maru.
Jin Akanishi visited. He had given Ryo a made
up excuse about why he was in Kyoto. Jin was an old friend of Ryo's and Ryo
knew he could get Jin to tell him the truth.
"Jin, have you visited Maruyama
kun?" Ryo asked.
"No, he's not on this floor." Jin
looked even more clueless than usual.
"Where is he?"
"I'm not sure," Jin told him.
"Is Ryuhei alive?"
"I don't know," Jin confessed.
"I don't know anyone who’s talked to him."
"He's dead," Ryo realized.
"We're not supposed to talk about
Maruyama with you." Jin confessed.
"Who told you that?" Ryo snapped.
"Johnny-sama said it would affect your
recovery." Jin paused. "You and Maruyama?"
"He was very special to me." Ryo
admitted. “Can you leave? I really want to be alone.”
“Sure, see you later.” Jin told him as he
left.
Ryo realized that Maruyama was dead. He felt
his heart breaking. He tried as hard as he could to keep the tears in. But they
came anyway.
******Maruyama woke; he was in a hospital room. He could hear the
pinging of a heart monitor. He really wasn't sure how he got here, the last
thing he remembered was a bright light and Ryo holding his hand. He had other
memories, most of them like dreams. That he was wearing a mask, and he was
being operated on.
There was a brace on Maru's arm. He felt very
weak and confused.
"You're finally awake," a familiar
voice told him.
Maru looked around, his eyes centered on his
father.
"How long have I been out?" Maru
gasped.
"A week. You lost a great deal of blood in the
attack." he tried to explain. “You were in a coma.”
"Ryo-Chan...I mean Nishikido-kun. Is he
all right?" Maru asked concerned.
"From what I've been told, he's recovering.
The agency has a guard outside of his door. They are restricting his
visitors." Maruyama San looked him over. "I need to tell the nurses
you're awake."
"All right," Maru still felt very
weak.
With that, his father left the room.
Maru looked at the TV; it was on a news
channel. There was a story on about Hina. There had been new evidence about
Yoko's murder. The entire attack had been taped by one of the cameramen. The
evidence was compelling, and the prosecutors had dropped all charges against
Hina. There was a statement by the Johnny's agency that said that they were
satisfied with the results of case. Hina was still the leader of Kanjani 8 and
would return to the group soon.
Yoko was dead. A part of Maru wanted to mourn,
that part remembered the good times, before the abuse started. The tears began.
Maru was too weak to stop them.
******************
Maruyama Ryuhei was a concerned man. The man
he loved was lying injured in a bed somewhere in the same hospital he was in.
The problem was, he wasn’t well enough to visit Ryo.
Maru felt embarrassed, he had thought after he
had been stabbed that he was dying. He thought he saw a bright light, which
meant that he was going to die; instead he realized later that he had been
looking into the sun.
Maru spent his days watching TV; there was
little else he could do.
His father visited, his family was concerned
for him. Maru had requested that his
mother not visit him. Even though his
mother insisted that she changed, Maru still couldn't quite forgive her for the
abuse he suffered as a child.
"Feel up to a visitor?" A very
familiar voice asked as he came into the room. Maru looked up, it was Hina.
"Hina! How are you doing?" Maru couldn't help
but smile.
"Better, I never thought I would see the
sky again as a free man." Hina pulled the sleeve down on his arm, which
didn't quite cover a very large bandage.
"They shouldn't have charged you."
Maru said firmly. "What happened was an accident."
"I feel like the attack was my fault."
Hina admitted. "If I had believed you about Kimi, none of this would have
happened."
"You don't know that."
Just then Maru's ten year old sister Akiko
came into the hospital room. She was wearing her blue Junior Girl Scout
Uniform.
"Murakami kun!" She gasped.
"Good afternoon Akiko Chan," Hina
bowed slightly to her. Then he glanced at Maru. "I probably should
go."
"Please Murakami Kun; I have to tell you
something." Akiko said quickly.
"I just came from my troop meeting. We voted to award you the
"Precious Lifesaving Award."
"The Precious
Lifesaving Award?"
Hina echoed.
"It's the highest award a Junior Girl Scout
troop can give someone. It's very hard to get. Only five were given out in the
whole country last year." She explained.
"I don't deserve an award." Hina
said humbly. "I just did what anyone would have done if they saw their
friends being hurt."
"You saved the life of Nishikido Kun and
Ryuhei without thinking of the risk to yourself." She gestured to Hina's
bandaged arm. "You were cut too, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was." He admitted.
"But..."
"Don't argue with her," Maru warned.
"She's very persuasive."
"She's a lot like you that way." He
turned to Akiko. "Thank you so much for the honor."
"I brought some cards from my
troop." Akiko took a large envelope out of her book bag. She handed them
to Maru.
"Thank you." Maru said as he took
the package.
"We made some for Nishikido Kun
too." She told him. "Can I take them to him?"
"I'm not sure they'll let you see
him." Maru told her. "But you can try."
.
*********************
Even though the stream of visitors had
stopped, Ryo never felt alone. He wished everyone, even the hospital staff
would go away. He just needed time to think. He looked out the window.
He could hear someone talking in the hallway.
He could see a girl in about ten years old wearing a blue Junior Girl Scout
uniform. She was holding a large envelope. She was talking to the guard. Ryo
knew the girl, she was Maru's little sister Akiko. Why would Maru's sister try and visit him
after he brother died? She handed the guard the envelope and left.
The guard brought the envelope to Ryo. He
thanked the guard, who left. Ryo opened the envelope. Inside were cards that
had been made by some of the Girl Scouts in her troop. He couldn't believe that
they still wished him well, after everything that happened at their camp.
A few minutes after Akiko left, someone else
came to visit. This time the guard let him through.
"How are you doing?" Hina sounded
concerned.
"What does it look like?" Ryo
snapped. "I'm recovering from being stabbed."
"I just came by to tell you I am very
sorry I didn't believe you when you told me that Kimi abused Maru." Hina told him.
"Why didn't you believe me?"
"I knew Kimi before we joined Johnny's.
He was abused as a child." Hina tried to explain. "I couldn't believe
that after everything that happened to him, that he could be capable of abusing
someone else."
"So now you want me to forgive you."
Ryo guessed.
"That would be nice."
"I do owe you one." Ryo admitted.
"You saved my life. I just wish it had been enough to save Ryuhei."
"Maru-Chan’s fine." Hina told him.
"I just came from his room. He's well on the road to recovery."
"Please don't lie to me." Ryo's'
voice was hoarse. "I held Ryuhei's hand when he
died."
"Maru's not dead." Hina insisted.
Ryo was about to say something, when a nurse
came into the room. She checked Ryo's IV bag. By the time she was finishing
checking on Ryo, Hina had left.
**************
Jin had come for another visit. Ryo ignored
him. Instead of going away, his friend kept babbling. It was like Jin was
convinced that if he just stayed cheerful enough, that Ryo would get over his
bad mood.
Jin looked to the hallway. Ryo was able to see
Yamapi before he dunked out of sight. Great, that was all he needed, his ex boy
friend showing up to gloat.
"Yamapi wants to visit you." Jin
said helpfully.
"Can you explain to him why I can't see
him right now?" Ryo asked. "I know it's only been a few days since we
broke up. But...."
"You don't want to discuss Maruyama with
him?" Jin guessed.
"Yeah, I don’t."
"Sure I will." Jin promised.
Ryo didn't want to go back to singing, didn't
want to be a Johnny. He just wanted to go home and rest his hurting heart.
Perhaps in a few years he would feel like a normal human, but now he just felt
like hiding away from everyone.
"I need a piece of paper and a pen."
Ryo decided. "I really need to write something. There's a pad and some
paper in the bed side table."
Jin took the pad and paper out of the drawer
on the bedside table, he handed them to Ryo.
Ryo quickly wrote a resignation letter. He folded it and gave it to Jin.
"I want you to give this to
Johnny-sama." Ryo decided.
"I'm resigning from the agency."
"Why would you do something as insane as
quit Johnny's?"
"I can't pretend nothing happened. If I
go to practice, I'll think of Ryuhei. On stage, I'll look for Ryuhei, and he
won’t' be there." Ryo admitted.
"I don't understand why won't Maru be on
stage with you?' Jin said cluelessly. "I saw him
a few minutes ago. He's woken up from the coma, and he's doing quite
well."
"I know you're not supposed to tell me, but
I know he's gone." Ryo told him. "I need time to morn for him."
"You think he's dead." Jin guessed.
"He's dead, I know he is." Ryo said
firmly. "If he was still alive, he would visit me."
"Ryo, you're a baka!" Jin insisted.
"How can a man who just got out of a coma visit you?"
"Go away Jin, I want to be alone."
Ryo snapped.
Ryo looked out the window, the tears came
again. If he could just get away from the agency, perhaps just perhaps his life
could return back to normal.
**********
Maru wished he could get out of bed. It still
hurt to even turn over. He had an arm broken in the attack, a collapsed lung,
and three ribs broken by paramedics trying to revive him. He didn't even try
and think about his two stab wounds.
Maru was having visitors. He didn't really think of them as his
visitors. Several of Ryo's Tokyo friends had flown to Kyoto to visit Ryo. Maru
knew that he must have kicked them out. That would be the only reason why
Akanishi Jin decided to camp out in his room.
Jin was rattling on about his very large group of friends. Since
Maru didn't hang out with them, he was a bit on the bored side.
"How is Ryo doing?" Maru interrupted Jin.
"I am worried about him." Jin admitted. "He wants
to quit Johnny's and return home.
"Why would he do something like that?"
“He thinks that Yoko killed you. He won't believe any of us that
you’re still alive." Jin paused. "If you care for
him, even a little. Please let him see that you're still alive. He
thinks he caused your death. You need to visit Ryo."
"I'm still not allowed to get out of bed." Maru
reminded him.
Jin took a folded up piece of paper out of his
pocket. “Ryo wanted me to give this to Johnny-sama.”
“What is it?” Maru looked at the paper. It took him a bit to open it with one
hand. He quickly read it. “He’s resigning?”
“Don’t’ worry; we’ll get him to change his mind.” Jin promised.
“But for now, I think it would be best if you kept it.”
**********************
After Jin left, Yamapi came into Maru's hospital room. If Maru
had anything to say about it, he would have banned Yamapi. But he couldn't. He
would have to go through the agency, and he didn't have enough pull to get
Yampi barred from his room.
"Ryo refuses to see me. So I decided to visit you."
Yamapi sat down in the chair beside Maru's bed. "I mean, you're not
allowed out of bed. So you're not going anywhere."
"If you think I'm going to talk him into
coming back to you..."
"No, I don't think that would be a good idea." he paused. "In
the last few months we were together, Ryo and I fought a lot. It got to the
point that we really hated each other."
'"Then why visit him?"
"Because after all of this, I still think of him as my
friend. If you want to know the truth, I was jealous of you." Yampi
admitted. "I know Ryo and I had an open relationship, but when he started
getting feelings for you, I knew I had lost him."
"You still care for him." Maru realized.
"I think that a part of me will always love Ryo." Yamapi told him.
"But he has you now. I want him to be happy. If that happiness is with
you, then so be it."
*************
Maru’s doctor visited, telling him for security purposes, he was going to be
moved to another room. He wasn't sure how he was going to be moved, because he
couldn't get out of bed.
It wasn't long until two orderlies came into his room. Both orderlies wore
surgical scrubs, hats that covered their hair and white masks across their
lower face. They unlocked Maru's beds wheels.
"You're being moved Maruyama Kun," one of the orderlies told him. The
person's voice sounded very familiar to him.
"Don’t' worry, we'll take care of you." the other promised.
With that, the orderlies wheeled him into the hallway. They pushed him down a
very long hallway then around a corner. Then down yet another hallway to a
group of elevators. One pushed a button. When the doors opened, they pushed him
into the elevator.
"We're taking you to the top floor." the first orderly explained.
"Yeah, the rich people's floor," the other said.
The elevator door opened, the orderlies pushed him out.
"What room was it again?" the second orderly asked.
"Baka, its room 1018." The first orderly
chided.
They pushed Maru's bed to the new room. There was a guard there. He seemed to
be waiting for them. He opened the door and the bed was pushed in.
This room had another bed it in. The room's other occupant wasn't there. There
was a display of cards that were very much like his own display that the nurses
had packed up for him. The cards made for him by his sister's Girl Scout troop.
Maru’s bed was put the empty corner.
"We're going to close the privacy curtain. Don't want to spoil the
surprise." The first orderly told him as he pulled the curtain.
"Thank you," Maru told them, though he wondered why on earth he had
been moved.
He could hear the orderlies walk away, but not
until one said. "We did it Yamapi!"
"Shut up Jin!" Yamapi snapped. "He's not supposed to know we
were the ones that moved him!"
"It’s not my fault that the hospital said if we wanted him moved, that we
would have to do it!" Jin whined.
"Let's get out of here before Chibi-chan gets
back!" Yamapi told him.
****************
Ryo was sent for a cat scan, to check how his wounds were healing. When he got
back to his room, it had been rearranged. His bed had been shoved to the side
of the room. The other bed had a privacy curtain around it, so he couldn't see
who had invaded his space. Ryo to put it mildly was not a happy man.
"I see you have a roommate," Jin said coming into his hospital room,
Yamapi was close behind him.
"I don’t' want a roommate." Ryo snapped. “Why don’t you leave Tomo? I
told Jin I didn't want to see you!”
"You'll want to see this roommate." Yamapi ignored Ryo’s bad mood.
"No, I don't!" Ryo almost shouted. "Ryuhei's
dead! Can't you just let me mourn for him?"
"Tell you what, after we leave you can have a pity party if that’s what
you want.” Yampi promised.
“Will you go?” Ryo turned so he was looking outside. It was such a beautiful
day.
He heard something moving around the room. He ignored it. The privacy curtain
was pulled back.
"Ryo-Chan?" Jin asked playfully.
"Shut the fuck up Jin! Can't you go home or something?" Ryo
thundered.
"What are you thinking of?" Jin asked ignoring Ryo's bad mood.
"How I'm going to strangle both you and Tomo."
"Come on Ryo-Chan, you should look at your new roommate." Yamapi told
him.
"Why don't you tell the hospital that I don't want a roommate!"
'
"What's wrong with being my roommate Ryo-Chan?" a very familiar voice
asked lightly. "I've always wanted to be your roommate."
Ryo couldn't believe it. He turned to see Maru in the bed besides his. Ryo's
two friends quickly left.
"Ryuhei, you're alive." he gasped. Ryo wanted to reach out and touch
Maru. "I can't believe you’re real."
"Oh yes, I'm real." Maru smiled. "I didn't mean to put you
through so much worry."
"How did you get here?"
"I'm not sure what Yamapi and Jin told the hospital, but these two really
strange orderlies brought me here."
"Really strange orderlies?" Ryo repeated.
"The hospital told them that if they wanted me move, that they had to move
me here themselves." Maru shrugged. "So they did."
"And now you're here," Ryo couldn't help but smile. "I still
can't believe it."
"I wanted you to know that you're my hero, you saved my life."
"I don't feel like a hero." Ryo told him. "I promised to protect
you."
"Ryo-Chan, if you hadn't walked in when you did, Yoko would have killed
me!" Maru insisted.
Ryo said in almost a whisper. "Why don't you hate me?"
"Because I love you silly." Maru took a very
familiar piece of paper out from under then blanket. “Do you still want to quit
the agency?”
“Of course I don’t!” Ryo said without thinking. “I only quit because you were
dead.”
It took some effort for Ryo to get out of his bed. He went to Maru’s bed
lowering one of the bars. Then he crawled into bed beside Maru.
"I hope you don't mind, I just want to touch you." Ryo confessed.
You're always allowed to touch me." Maru told him. "But you have to
be careful. I have broken ribs."
Ryo took Maru gently into his arms and held him. Then he kissed Maru very, very
gently. When Ryo pulled away from Maru, he took his hand. He looked down to
their hands, around Maru's wrist was an orange bracelet; it was a contrast to
Ryo’s yellow bracelet.
"You're wearing the bracelet." Ryo marveled.
“You’re wearing mine,” Maru reminded him.
"I have to; it's your first gift to me."
"I've given you gifts in the past." Maru said gently.
"As friendship, but this one is special, because it's the first one you
gave me as a boy friend." Ryo tried to explain. "You're very special
to me Ryuhei-chan."
"You're special to me too. I love you." Maru kissed Ryo lightly. Ryo
could feel tears falling down his cheek. This time the tears were tears of
happiness.