Oikakeru Yume

Author’s Note: Yes, I know I said this was going to be a yaoi series, but as I said in my last note, I really want to establish my characters and my PLOT first. Be patient, my friends, and I will try not to disappoint you. For those of you chomping at the bit, stay tuned… things get hot and heavy NEXT month, I promise. But read this month, please. It’s pretty entertaining if I do say so myself.


September


As promised, the first piece of electronics to arrive the next morning was the plasma television. Taki had already designated a space for it, so all the technician had to do was hang it and hook it up. Taki was staring at it raptly when the DVD player, stereo and speakers arrived, followed by the computer system. He’d already assigned specific places for each item, so it was a quick job to get everything up and running. Hide busied himself in his study while the living room electronics were being connected; briefly banishing himself to his bedroom when Taki had the computer tech set the computer up in the study. When the technicians had finally left the house, Hide finally garnered enough courage to venture out. “C’mon, dude,” shouted Taki over the blaring television, “You’ve GOTTA check this out!”

Stepping cautiously over to the sofa Taki was bouncing excitedly on, Hide turned and gasped. Clicking the remote, Taki changed the channel from the music show he’d been watching to one that featured travel segments covering all of Japan. It felt just like they were looking out the window. “Not bad, huh?” Taki prompted.

Hide just nodded, marveling at the fact that the electronic monstrosity Taki had talked him into buying actually fit into his décor. Looking around the room, he spotted the stereo and speakers, all impressive pieces of electronics, yet all sitting rather unobtrusively. Taki had actually kept Hide’s preferences in mind as he’d picked out these items. Hide was speechless.

“Well… how’d we do? What do you think?” Taki asked, concerned.

Turning slowly to look at his friend, Hide smiled. “Amazing,” he replied, “simply amazing.”

“Wait ‘til you get a load of the computer system,” Taki chortled, giddily, leaping off the sofa to gallop up the hall, Hide in tow.

Firing the system up, Taki showed Hide how to access the Internet. “Everything you could ever want and a ton of crap you don’t, right at your fingertips,” he explained. Eyeing the vampire suspiciously, he added, “You may never have to leave this house again.”

Hide laughed, startled that the sound actually came from his own body. “No, I think I’ve had enough self-exile for one lifetime. As you so eloquently put it, I need to get out and discover that there’s more to life.” Hide paused, noticing that Taki was no longer paying any attention to him. “What are you doing?”

The younger man appeared to be sniffing his clothes. The hem of his shirt held to his nose, Taki took a deep breath. He WAS sniffing his clothes. “Okay, dude… I hear that you need to get out, but right now… I need to get to a washing machine.”

Rolling his eyes skyward, Hide sighed. He wasn’t really a social creature, never had been, but he had never known communication with a human to be this difficult. “Fine… follow me.”

Leading Taki through various rooms, they finally made it to the last room at the back of the house. Sliding the door back, Hide revealed a side-by-side washing machine and dryer.

“Cool”, exclaimed Taki, immediately stripping his shirt off and throwing it into the washer.

“What are you doing,” Hide asked, panicked.

“What does it LOOK like I’m doing, dude? That thing needed to be washed, desperately. Now, you gotta show me how to get back to that bedroom so I can get my other stuff. This house is like, totally confusing.”

Hide chuckled. “Actually, it’s an easy house to figure out. It’s U-shaped. Right now we’re in the left-hand side of the U. The entry, living room and kitchen are in the center and the bedrooms are in the right-hand side. The shoji doors on this side of the house just make it look harder than it really is.” Again he paused, because again, Taki’s attention was elsewhere. “Now what are you doing?”

Taki was headed off in the opposite direction. “What’s back here?” he asked, sliding a shoji door back to see what was on the other side.

“That’s the garden.”

Turning to peer though the door he’d just opened, Taki’s breath caught in his throat. Stepping out onto the wooden walkway, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Tucked into the space created by the shape of the house and sprawling out to the grounds beyond was a meditation garden, complete with a small waterfall emptying into a nishikigoi (koi) pond where huge red, white, blue and black fish swam back and forth lazily. Moss-covered stones beckoned, as dark green azalea bushes swayed gently in the breeze. Taking the small rock path he’d found, he discovered a water basin with a bamboo ladle perched upon its edge. Venturing further, he came upon a small bridge, extending over another pond. As he began to cross it, the water beneath him began to bubble, suddenly active with dozens of gaping mouths.

“They’re spoiled,” Hide explained, taking a package of bread crumbs from a hidden compartment in the bridge. Handing the package to Taki, they both reached inside, pulling out handfuls of the fishy treat. Holding his hand out over the railing, Hide scattered the crumbs liberally across the water. Following his lead, Taki did the same. The feeding frenzy increased as each fish tried to devour as many of the tasty morsels as they could acquire, often swimming right over one another in the process. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” Hide mused, quietly.

“Yeah,” Taki agreed, nodding. “Geez, look at the size of THAT one!” he shouted excitedly, as he spotted the extra-large red, white and black koi for the first time. “How old is HE?”

Hide smiled, “Well, the average life-span of nishikigoi is about 25 to 35 years, but Kohaku has been with me almost 100 years. He was the first nishikigoi I bought once this garden was complete and he’s been with me ever since.”

Yet another facet to the vampire that left Taki mystified. “You really throw me off, you know,” he mused, as Hide cocked his head. Turning away, he continued following the path he’d been walking. The garden went much further than he’d imagined and at the end of the path stood a small tea house.

“Amazing,” he murmured, shaking his head.

Sinking down to sit at the edge of the doorway, Taki slid over a little to give Hide room to sit next to him.

They sat together in hushed awe for a while until, unintentionally, Hide’s arm brushed against Taki’s bare shoulder. What felt like a bolt of electricity ran through both men making Hide quickly move away, embarrassed as Taki’s eyes met his. “We should get the rest of your things so that you can wash them,” he said, hurriedly. Taki nodded in mute agreement as both men stood and rushed back up the path toward the house.

Hide made sure to leave the shoji doors open as they wound their way back through the labyrinth of rooms, allowing Taki to have an unimpeded path from his room to the laundry. Then both men returned to their separate quarters.

By the time Taki made it back to the laundry room, Hide had already put his own clothes in the washing machine.

Lifting the lid of the washer Taki exclaimed, “Hey, these aren’t mine.”

“I know. I just thought that since you’re doing some washing that I would get some of mine done as well.”

“Yeah, but…” Taki groused as he pulled a pair of boxer shorts out of the machine, “I don’t want your underwear in with MY clothes.”

Delving through the load of laundry Taki unceremoniously dumped into the machine, Hide responded, “What are you talking about? Other than my shorts, I don’t even SEE underwear in here!”

Taki beamed proudly. “Don’t wear any.”

Hide shuddered. “You’re lecturing ME about a few pairs of shorts when every pair of pants you have in there doubles as underwear?”

“Yeah, well…” Taki’s brain struggled for a witty retort, but none were forthcoming.

“Just put my shorts back in there. It’s a washing machine. Everything’s going to come out of there clean anyway.”

At that second, Taki hated Hide’s logic. Dropping the pair of shorts back into the washer, he banged the lid shut and turned away, only to be faced with Hide holding out a bottle of detergent. “Actually, they WON’T come out clean… if you don’t use soap.”

Grumbling to himself, Taki took the bottle, measured out the correct amount of liquid and poured it into the machine, banging the lid shut for a second time.

Afraid that Taki would choose a completely random setting and their clothes would be ruined,
Hide decided it would be better if he set the machine himself. Once the washer was happily motoring along, he turned and said, “It should be done in about twenty-five minutes or so. I’ll put everything in the dryer when they’re done,” letting Taki off the hook. Again, Hide was afraid that Taki might set it on some previously undiscovered setting and they would wind up with doll’s clothes. It was just safer this way.

Taki walked away, still grumbling under his breath and Hide was startled when he heard Taki mutter to himself, “You cook like a fiend, your house is immaculate, you’re a little OBSESSIVE about your wash. I don’t know what kind of vampire you are, but you’d sure make someone a damn good wife.”

That thought was compounded upon later, when Taki returned to his room after several hours of vegetating in front of the television to find his clothes on his bed, folded and stacked into neat little piles.

… And his bed had been made.

… And the towels had been changed.

… And lunch was ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One afternoon, about two weeks after Taki moved in, Hide was sitting at his computer, surfing the Internet, when another strange idea struck him. Taki had gone to visit his mother that day while his father was out of town, leaving Hide to the nearly forgotten solitude of his own home. It was quiet… VERY quiet. After only fourteen days he never imagined he would miss the insane human hurricane this much.

He’d cleaned the house, worked in his garden, tried to read a book, but in the back of his mind there was a nagging feeling of dread. He was worried. What if Taki didn’t come back? What would he do? He’d already endured 115 years of loneliness… could he REALLY go back to that life again? The longer Taki was away, the more Hide’s mind drove him down paths of acute paranoia.

He was in a near panic when he heard Taki calling from the front door, “Hey, you in there? Open up. Hey, Hide!”

Hide rushed to the entry, throwing the door open with a relieved sigh.

“What’s with you?” Taki asked, noting Hide’s exasperated expression.

“Nothing,” he murmured, embarrassed by how easily he had panicked.

While Taki showered before dinner, Hide sat at his computer, idly running the search engine, when he had a thought. It made him smile. Hoping that Taki would share his enthusiasm, he reached for a piece of yuzen paper. Folding it into a small pouch, he took an item out of the top drawer of his tansu and dropped it in. Heading to the dining room, he left the pouch there and went into the kitchen to bring their dinner out of the oven.

Once he’d emerged from his room, Taki headed to the dining room as well. Whatever Hide was making smelled delicious and he couldn’t wait to dig into it. Hide was just bringing the dish in from the kitchen when Taki looked at the table and paused. There was a small envelope sitting in the middle of his dinner plate. “What’s this?” Taki asked, suspiciously.

“Open it,” was all Hide would reply.

Pulling the flap open, Taki peered inside then dumped the contents into his palm. It was a key. He looked at Hide, questioningly.

Hide shrugged. “I didn’t want you to be stuck waiting for me every time you want to come and go… so I want you to have your own key.”

Taki was speechless. This guy was entrusting him with his house, his belongings… his life. The gesture may have been a small one, but its ramifications were immense.

“Are you sure about this?”

Hide looked at him intently. “Yes, I am. You want to start looking for a job, right?”

Taki nodded.

“Well, it’ll be a lot easier to concentrate on getting a job if you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to get back into the house if you do have to come home for something and I’m not here. Besides, having your own key makes a lot more sense than having to take me everywhere you go, don’t you think?”

Taki nodded, again. Hide was right. He didn’t know what kind of job he would be qualified for, so he wasn’t sure what kind of hours he would have. A key to the house made it a lot easier than having to be certain Hide was home, and awake, every time he came home. Closing his palm around the cool piece of metal, Taki replied, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Taki was happy… Hide’s spirit soared.

Several weeks later, Taki practically flew through the front door in his excitement. “Guess what, Hide?”

Hide glanced up from his book. “Tell me.”

“I got a job!”

Hide was thrilled for him, since the search for employment had been a long and arduous one for Taki. Every day he’d spend the entire morning and afternoon out, only to come home from hunting, tired and frustrated. “I’m not qualified to do ANYTHING,” he’d lament.

“Don’t give up, Taki. I know there’s something out there for you. So do you. You just haven’t found it yet.”

“How can you be so positive, Hide?” Taki had asked him one night.

Without hesitation, he’d answered, “Finding you after a lifetime of cruelty and disappointment.”

If Hide could wait 138 years to be happy, surely he could spend another day looking for a job, Taki thought to himself. It kept him going.

“What kind of a job is it?” Hide asked, trying to get the information out of the hyper young man before Taki’s head exploded in his excitement.

“Well, there’s this company in Tokyo that’s going to start publishing a new sports magazine called Nippon Sportsman. They were looking for people to help their writers look up facts and stuff like that. So, they hired me to be one of their interns. They’re not quite ready to start publishing yet; I think they’re still trying to get their start-up finances figured out. But they said they’ll call me in another week or two to let me know when they want me to start coming in.” Looking down at himself, he slouched, moaning, “I guess I’m going to have to get a few more of these suits in the meantime.”

Hide laughed. “I don’t know why you have such a problem with the way you look. I think you look very nice and apparently so did your new employers.” Taki did look nice, almost professional. With his hair slicked back into a ponytail so the dotted white line was barely visible, the nose ring exchanged with a more discreet stud and the long sleeves of the jacket covering the tattoo, Taki looked almost like any other salaryman. Except for the devious sparkle in his eye that was purely Taki.

“It’s too early for dinner. How ‘bout we go mess with your nishikigoi for a while,” Taki suggested, knowing how much Hide loved to spend time in his garden, as evidenced by the way the vampire’s face lit up at the mere mention of it. Taki changed out of his suit as Hide waited for him in the hall. Then they walked outside, into the waning autumn sunlight.

Reaching the bridge over the pond, Hide retrieved the container of bread crumbs, not paying attention to what Taki was doing. As Hide leaned over the railing to sprinkle some crumbs in the water, he finally noticed Taki crouching by the pond’s edge. “What are you doing,” he asked, just as a handful of pond water hit him in the side of the head.

“Oh, nothing,” Taki laughed.

Hide stared at him in disbelief, his mouth hanging open as water dripped from his hair.

“What? No comment?” Taki jibed, this time sending an even bigger splash of water in Hide’s direction. This splash included some of the muck that had collected at the edge of the pond.

“Taki!” Hide shouted, finally coming out of his shock as pond scum dribbled down the side of his face. Wiping it away, Hide charged at Taki, sending the younger man reeling across the ground, laughing hysterically. Grabbing Hide’s forearms, Taki used Hide’s momentum to reverse their direction, sending both men rolling directly into the pond.

Sitting up, Taki was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Then Hide surfaced, choking and sputtering, every centimeter of him covered with mud, his hair sticking out at every conceivable angle. Taki took one look at him and thought he would DIE laughing.

Watching Taki’s hysterics, something in Hide snapped. “Oh, I don’t THINK so,” he growled, snagging Taki’s wrist and hauling him back to the center of the pond, holding him under the water and only letting him up when Taki started to struggle in earnest.

“You bastard!” Taki spat, emerging to gasp for air. Grabbing a fistful of messed up previously red hair; he dragged the vampire back down. On and on it went, the two young men wrestling in the mud, completely ruining one of Hide’s nishikigoi ponds, but laughing like hyenas while they were at it.

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough for one day,” Taki decided, standing and holding out his hand to help Hide get up. Unfortunately, Hide slipped on the muddy bank and both men fell again, sprawled against one another. Surprised teal eyes opened just centimeters away from amused dark brown ones. Scrambling to his feet, Hide rushed off, leaving Taki still laughing in the grass.

A quick shower later, Taki bounded into the living room and leapt across one of the sofas, clicking the television on to wait for Hide. Knowing the vampire, he’d be in the bathroom for a while.

He was.

Hide finally emerged from his room about an hour later, squeaky clean from his shower, but his hair still a tangled mess. It was so knotted, in fact, that he’d been unable to pull it free from its binding. Walking into the living room, he was struggling with his hairbrush when Taki turned to look at him. “I’ll do that,” Taki volunteered, surprising both men. Taking the brush from Hide’s hand he had the vampire sit on the floor in front of the sofa between his legs. It was awkward, but, oh well…

Strand by strand, Taki pulled Hide’s long titian tresses loose from their elastic band, then began running the brush over them, careful not to pull or tug when the brush got caught.

Hide closed his eyes and leaned back into Taki’s touch. The rhythm of Taki’s brushstrokes had a relaxing effect on the vampire as he sighed contentedly. Taki caught the tiny sound and grinned.

“Tell me something about you,” he asked, unexpectedly.

Hide murmured, “Like what?”

“I don’t know. Something you haven’t already told me. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?”

“A wish…”

“Or a dream. What do you dream of? DO you dream?”

Hide chuckled. “Yes, I have dreams.” He paused, thoughtfully. “My greatest dream…”

Taki listened intently. “Is?”

“Is to become human.”

The brush in his hair stopped. “Whoa. Are you serious?”

Hide turned to face Taki, VERY serious teal eyes gazing directly into his. “It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

“But there are so many great things you can do the way you are.”

“Right… like drinking blood. And having people hate you and call you a freak…” he tried to go on, but Taki stopped him.

“You’re only looking at the negative side of this. You’re stronger than most people. You’re faster than most people. And I don’t hate you or think you’re a freak.”

“You’re just one person, Taki.” Hide replied, distantly.

“Hide… yeah, you’re right, I’m just one person. But if there was one person in the world willing to accept you like me, why can’t there be more? As unique as I like to think I am… there have GOT to be more people out there that think like I do.”

Hide shook his head. “I doubt it.”

“I think I know one,” Taki thought to himself.

The vampire settled back against the sofa with a heavy sigh, assuming the subject dropped as Taki resumed running the brush over Hide’s hair, a plan formulating in his mind.

The next couple of days flew by smoothly. Taki had acclimated so well to his new living arrangements that the house seemed more his than Hide’s which suited the vampire just fine.

Then, one morning, as Hide was walking past Taki’s bedroom door, he glanced in to find Taki stuffing clothes into his backpack.

“What’s going on?” Hide asked, curiously.

“I’m going home. My Dad’s going back to America for a week so I’m going to spend some time with my Mom before I start my new job.”

“Oh, okay,” came the soft reply. “Have a nice time.”

Taki looked at him, strangely. “What are you talking about? You’re coming WITH me.”

“I am?”

“Hell, yeah! I told her all about you and she insisted I bring you with me the next time I went to see her.”

“She knows… you told your mother? About me?”

Taki grinned. “Of course I told her. Why wouldn’t I? You took me in when I had nothing. You took care of me. You’re STILL taking care of me. She was worried when she hadn’t heard from me in a while. She wanted to know where I’m living now and I told her that I’m sharing a house with my best friend.”

Hide didn’t know how to respond. Had he heard correctly? Did Taki just refer to him as his best friend?

“Anyway, we’re spending the week with her, so go pack some stuff… and make it quick ‘cause the taxi will be here any minute.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Takahashi Chieko was a slight woman with a warm smile and bright, sparkling eyes. Throughout all of the adversities she’d had to face, she had managed to stay youthful, looking more like Taki’s sister than his mother.

“Mom, this is Hide,” Taki introduced him the second they stepped out of the taxi. “Hide… my Mom,” Taki finished, as he wrapped his arms around the woman, giving her a bear hug.

Hide smiled, oddly delighted to be included in this little family gathering.

As soon as she could break free from her son’s crushing grip, Chieko rushed over to Hide. “Domo arigato gozaimasu,” she whispered, taking him in her arms. “Thank you for looking after my boy.” Tears gathered in her eyes as Hide stood transfixed to the spot. He’d never been hugged before. He’d never known a mother’s embrace. Taki’s little nudges and jabs were the only forms of actual contact he’d had recently. Until now.

Slowly, he began to relax in her arms, uncertainty melting away in the tenderness of her embrace. As she felt the tension leave his body, she tightened her hold, hugging him as though their very lives depended on it. Little by little his arms crept upward until they were surrounding her shoulders. Cautiously he allowed himself to touch her, returning her embrace. She smiled, brushing his cheek with a light kiss before stepping back.

Taki’s grin spread from ear to ear as he watched them. That’s how she was… his Mom; the miracle worker. It was the most human contact he’d ever seen Hide endure… and respond to.

The vampire was practically glowing as he glided to Taki’s side. Unable to contain himself any longer, Taki burst out laughing. That didn’t seem to bother Hide in the least, as he continued to stare into space… a self-satisfied look on his face.

Snapping his fingers in front of Hide’s eyes, Taki laughed even harder. “You okay in there?”

Glassy eyes slowly rolled in his general direction as a smile formed on Hide’s lips.

Taking his friend by the arm, Taki started leading him toward the house, saying, “We’d better get you inside, dude. You’re starting to scare the neighbors.”

It was the most entertaining week any of them had had in quite a while. Chieko was brimming with stories about Taki growing up. “Mom!” he moaned as she dredged up another old memory. “Stop already,” he pleaded as she found “just one more” photo album. Hide laughed so hard his sides had a permanent ache.

She told them stories about her childhood, growing up in Hokkaido. She told them about the writing contest she’d won when she was just a girl, digging through a closet until she found the old award ribbon, crumpled and faded but still as revered as the day she received it. She told them about her dream of becoming a writer.

And not once in all of her stories was Taki’s father mentioned, except when Hide found the wedding picture. In spite of everything, she couldn’t find it in her to destroy the picture, much less pack it away. It was a reminder of a simpler time… a better time. The smiling faces of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Hendricks beamed out from the photograph, so happy... so in love on their wedding day. She could barely remember it, but the picture took her back. Hide felt bad for dredging up such painful thoughts, but she brushed it off as though it meant nothing. The rest of Taki’s and Hide’s stay, subject was never brought up again.

She cooked them fabulous meals… tantalizing tidbits Taki remembered from his childhood. And she taught Hide how to prepare some of the dishes he wanted to learn.

During their stay, Chieko noticed that Hide kept admiring the mon or family crest that hung on a wall in the living room, stopping to look at it every time he walked through. “You like that?” she asked him one afternoon.

Hide nodded. “It’s different. I guess I’m just used to seeing them with tsuru or matsu… things like that. This is so… unique.”

Chieko smiled, walking up to the plaque and running her fingers lovingly over the ancient wood. “It belonged to my great-grandmother; though I believe it was a family heirloom long before it came into her possession.” Turning to Hide, she added, “If you think it unique now… imagine how it was received several hundred years ago.”

The young vampire stepped closer, examining the details of the hand carved mon.

“I know why it attracts you so much,” Chieko said, softly. Pointing to the central figure, she stated, “This is a komori… a bat.”

Hide’s eyes widened as her words sunk in. “How did you get…”

Chieko shook her head. “I don’t know. The history of our mon has been lost to the ages. I wish I had a tale to pass on, but, sadly, I don’t. All I have is this.” Gazing fondly at the plaque a final time, she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Hide alone to stare at the circle containing a single bat and wonder.

As the days passed, Taki noticed Hide becoming more animated than he could ever remember the vampire being. “What’s gotten into YOU?” he asked in amusement, one afternoon.

“Your Mom is amazing,” Hide gushed.

“I told you that, dude.”

That evening, after the dinner dishes had been dried and put away, she called to Taki. “I have something for you,” she said quietly.

She took a small square package out of her pocket and handed it to him. Cautiously, he opened it.

In the box was a circle of turquoise beads. Lifting them out, she slid them onto Taki’s left wrist. “They were your grandfather’s,” she told him.

Hide could see the love for her son reflected in her eyes and it warmed him almost as much as if it were directed at him.

“Your grandfather wanted me to give these to your father many years ago, but after everything that’s happened, well… he changed his mind. He told me to save them for you instead. He said to tell you that these beads have granted him every wish he’s ever prayed over them for and he hopes they will do the same for you.”

Taki touched the beads, gently, running his fingertips over their cool, smooth surfaces. Then he looked up and his eyes met Hide’s. Chieko saw the look that passed between two young men and smiled, knowing that, whether they realized it or not, she had guessed right. Pulling another small box from her pocket, she handed it to Hide. “And these are for you.”

Hide was speechless.

Taking his hand in hers, Chieko closed his fingers around the box. “Go ahead. Open it.”

With trembling fingers, he undid the simple tie, tugging the string off and lifting the lid. Inside was a cream colored circle that looked almost like the one Taki had just received. “These belonged to MY grandfather,” she explained, slipping the beads around Hide’s wrist. “He was a good man and he was blessed with a good, long life. You have many of his qualities, Hide-san and I’m sure he would be very happy in the afterlife, knowing that this will aid you in attaining whatever you dream.”

Tears streamed down the sides of his face, unexpectedly, still unused to these random acts of kindness and unsure of how to respond. “Takahashi-san…”

“Chieko,” she corrected, gently.

“Chieko-san,” he murmured. “I can’t accept this.” He started to remove the bracelet, but she stopped him, one small hand covering his.

“You can and you will. I have given Taki his and I have another for Yukishiro. These,” she said, pointing to the beads still encircling his wrist, “are for you.”

Taki’s hand on his shoulder steadied him as Hide’s mind reeled.

“I know of your dreams,” she said, sagely. “Both of you. It will take hard work and faith to attain them.” She caressed Taki’s face with the palm of one hand. “You both seem to have the hard work part well in hand, so I give you these...” she wrapped her other hand around Hide’s wrist, “to help you with the ‘faith’ part.”

“Faith…” Hide echoed. The silence that followed spoke volumes as the three were lost in their own individual thoughts.

“Okay, enough of this sentimental stuff,” Chieko finally blurted out, snatching the television remote from where Taki had left it on the corner of the table. “Movie time. Sit,” she commanded. Both young men sank to the floor, leaning back against the sofa as the television flickered to life. She disappeared into the kitchen, only to return moments later laden with snacks. The young men patted the floor between them and she smiled.

“My boys,” she sighed happily, sitting on the floor between them as Taki and Hide snuggled in on either side of her.

Seven days can seem like a long time, unless you’re having so much fun that you don’t even notice them flying by. Their week was through before any of them realized it and it was time for Taki and Hide to leave, before Alex returned.

Chieko wished them “good-bye” with tears in her eyes, a hug and kiss first for Taki, then another hug and kiss for Hide. What a difference a week can make. Hide had blossomed in Chieko’s presence, opening up to human contact and finally learning what a mother’s love was like. “You take care of yourself,” she told him, brushing a hand over his hair.

“You too,” he wished her back, hugging her tight.

“Okay you two, quit it ‘cause you’re starting to freak me out,” Taki teased, good-naturedly. “Man, if I start dreaming about the two of you in my sleep, I’m gonna have to start seeing a shrink and I’m billing you both for his time.”

Taki moved in for one last hug. “Thanks, Mom,” he whispered in her ear as she smiled.

“Take good care of each other,” she whispered back.

“You’re so lucky,” Hide murmured once they were in the taxi, on their way back home.

Taki smiled. “Yeah, I am.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The call arrived two weeks after their impromptu vacation with Taki’s mother. Taki was in the middle of his first week of work, just returning from his lunch break. It was the hospital. His mother had just been admitted in very bad condition. Since she carried a card listing him as the family member to notify, they were complying with her wishes. As he rushed out the door, his cell phone rang again. This time it was Hide. The hospital had called the house first, looking for Taki and Hide had been frantically trying to get in contact with him, but had only succeeded in getting a busy signal and Taki’s voice mail, until now.

“I’ll meet you there.” Hide promised, just as Taki climbed into a taxi.

A short drive later Taki rushed into the hospital, where they had just admitted his mother. Racing to the Emergency Room, he nearly gagged at the sight of her; eyes swollen shut, bruises and welts scattered all over her bloodied face. He reached out to touch her when a gruff voice called out, “What the hell are YOU doing here?” Whirling around, he had a hand wrapped around his father’s throat before his brain even had time to realize what he was doing, lifting the man several inches off the floor. It would be so easy for him to crush the old bastard’s windpipe and put them all out of their misery… so easy.

“Taki,” a quieter voice murmured in his ear, as a steadying hand fell upon his outstretched arm. “Let him go, Taki.”

“LOOK AT HER, HIDE,” Taki growled. “He tried to kill her.”

“That may be, Taki, but what will this solve.”

“Oh, this’ll solve a LOT of things. For one, he’ll be the hell out of our lives; forever.”

The grip on his arm tightened until he felt a throb of pain. As infuriating as it was, it was exactly what he needed to regain his composure. Relaxing his hand, he dropped his father to the cold linoleum floor, stepping over the gasping form to stand at his mother’s side again. A fragile hand lifted painfully from the bed and he took it in his own, bending down to lay a tender kiss upon it. “I’m here, Mom.”

The corners of her mouth fought to curve upward as a single tear squeezed itself free, rolling softly down one bruised cheek. “Taki,” she whispered.

“Hold on, Mom. These doctors are going to take good care of you.”

“Taki,” the small form repeated, giving her son’s hand a squeeze.

Hide was effectively blocking Taki’s father’s attempts at entering the room, so the frustrated old man gave up and just shouted through the doorway, “Get out of here now, you punk. You’re the reason she’s always winding up here, you damn troublemaker. She’s always sick worrying about you. I don’t know why. You’re nothing but a useless little prick. She gets sick worrying, then she gets these dizzy spells and falls down, and we always wind up here.”

“She falls down!?” Taki shouted, incredulously. “Look at her, you bastard. These aren’t from her falling down. They’re from her running into your freakin’ fist.” As the hospital personnel rushed to protect his mother, he brushed another kiss upon her cheek and whispered that he would come to visit her later. Then he turned to face his enraged father. Before the old man could utter another word, he snarled, “You listen to me and you listen good. I’m warning you now, old man. You touch her again and I’ll kill you. You hear me… you lay one finger on her and I swear, I’ll kill you.”

“Taki!” Hide hissed, eyes widening at the younger man’s outburst.

Ignoring his friend’s reaction, Taki turned and stalked out of the hospital, leaving staff and patients gaping mutely in his wake. “Gomen nasai,” Hide said softly, executing a formal bow and rushing to follow his friend.

“What were you thinking, Taki?” Hide asked, once they reached the relative safety of their living room. They’d walked the streets in silence for what seemed like hours as Taki brooded and fumed. Then they’d finally caught a taxi for home.

“I WASN’T, okay? I wasn’t thinking… but, she’s my MOM, Hide. He put her there, blamed ME for it and no one is going to do a damn thing about it. SHE won’t press charges, so they won’t even arrest him.”

“But Taki…”

Turning toward his room, Taki waved a hand in the air, effectively silencing Hide’s protest. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he muttered. Stepping through his doorway, he closed and locked it behind him. Moments later his quiet sobs inundated Hide’s acute hearing, tearing at his heart as he stood helplessly in the middle of his living room, trying not to intrude on his friend’s pain.

Chieko was his friend too and it infuriated him to think of her lying alone in a hospital bed, her small body battered and broken. Flashing back to his own past, he wondered at the cruelty humans were capable of inflicting upon one another. He was at a loss. The last time he had involved himself in human matters… he had BEEN one. But Taki and Chieko were a part of his life now; he had to do something.

Hide wracked his brain. There was one glaring, very simple solution, but it was ENTIRELY out of the question. It would be easy for him to follow through on Taki’s threat, but his conscience would never allow him to harm another living creature, no matter how vile and deserving that creature appeared to be. He sank into a chair, determined to come up with a viable solution. Minutes passed as the sounds from Taki’s room changed from sobs to steady breathing. “Good,” Hide sighed, relieved. “He’s asleep.”

What options did he have? How could he protect his friends? Just the idea seemed so foreign to him. Him… the one who’d shunned all contact for over 100 years… now he found himself hard pressed to protect two of them. And he would… somehow.

The next several days were strained, at best, as Hide tried to give Taki as much space as he needed. Breakfast was eaten in silence, if at all, and then the younger man would leave for his job, not returning until very late at night, usually smelling of beer and cigarettes. Finally, at the end of the third day, Hide couldn’t stand by and watch anymore. He waited for Taki to return, pacing across his living room floor like a caged lion. Finally he heard the sound of a car at the bottom of the drive and the glow of headlights broke through his glum state. The sound of a key fumbling in the lock of the front door followed as Taki came stumbling in. Hide caught him just as he was about to fall in the entryway. Taki looked up, genuinely surprised to see the other man.

“Wha…”

Hide helped him stand and take off his shoes, saying softly, “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Taki.”

The younger man shoved him away, angrily, staggering into the living room. As he grabbed the corner of a sofa to steady himself, he muttered, “It’s none of your business.”

Stepping forward to put a hand on the young man’s shoulder, Hide replied, “Of course it is, Taki. You’re my friend. And it’s killing me to watch you self-destruct like this. What happened to your mother wasn’t your fault. What’s NOT happening to your father isn’t your fault either.” As the younger man sat at the edge of one sofa arm, Hide continued, “Talk to me, Taki. Tell me what’s going on with you. Let me try to help.”

Taki snorted. “Help? Short of killing the bastard yourself, there’s nothing you can do to help.”

“That’s not true and you know it. You’re beating yourself up over this like you’re the one who caused it. But you’re not. Talk to me. Get it out of your system.”

“That’s not going to help,” insisted Taki.

“And partying your brains out every night will?” Hide countered. “What do beer and cigarettes do for you that I can’t?”

“They don’t talk back,” moaned Taki, swaying dangerously. Hide grabbed him just as he slipped off the sofa arm, stopping him from collapsing headfirst into the coffee table. Groaning, Taki tried to stand on his own again, but was only successful in sending both he and Hide tumbling backward into the sofa. They were motionless for a moment, Hide pinned against the back of the sofa by the weight of Taki’s boneless form. Then, Taki started to giggle, quietly at first, slowly building until it turned into a chuckle. Hide pushed his slightly insane friend to one side, sliding out from beneath the prone form. A limp hand snaked out and grabbed him by the back of the neck, clutching painfully. Suddenly, he felt himself being shaken like a doll in time with Taki’s now uncontrollable guffaws. Prying the fingers from his skin, Hide dropped the hand back down beside its owner as the hysterical creature opened its eyes and stared at him. “You’re crazy, you know,” it said.

Hide jerked back. “Me? I should be saying that about YOU.”

Twisting around until he was sitting up on the sofa again, Taki asked. “Why the hell did you ever want to be friends with a hopeless case like me?”

Sitting on the coffee table facing his friend, Hide replied. “I didn’t think you were a hopeless case. I still don’t. Sure, there are things out of your control, but, hey, that’s life. There are things out of EVERYONE’S control. I know the problems you’re dealing with are huge and they drive you crazy, but you can’t let them dominate your life like this. You’re stronger than that.”

Moving to the sit on the sofa, he placed a comforting arm around his friend’s back. With a tiny sigh, Taki leaned his head against Hide’s shoulder, closing his eyes and letting his body relax.

They sat like that for a while, barely breathing for fear of ruining the moment, until a small voice said, “Hide…”

“Yeah, Taki…”

“I gotta puke.”

So much for male bonding.


~End of Chapter Two~