Tokyo Boys

It's almost the end!
Please enjoy the new installment! And leave review if you feel like it, I like knowing what ppl think/feel when they read, gives me some insight outside of my own perspective.



TOKYO BOYS
Chapter 44


Daisuke felt something was wrong when he approached Yuuto’s house. The door was unlocked and slightly opened, as though it was slammed carelessly. Yuuto must have been quite agitated and upset.

Daisuke sighed as he pushed it and closed it behind him. He announced his intrusion as courtesy and removed his shoes. Even though it was daylight outside, the house was dim. He tried to turn on the switch but the light wasn’t working.

“Yuu-chan?” he asked and looked around. “Are you here?”

He stopped before the mess in the kitchen. The turned over chairs and pile of tools and shreds of papers on the floor made him even more alarmed than he already was.

“What the hell…”He stopped in his tracks when he saw the broken pictures over the stairway.

He went upstairs quickly, stopping briefly in front of the broken shooji door.

His eyes skidded over the mess in the room until they landed on Yuuto. The boy was lying face down in the mess.

“Yuu-chan!!” He rushed to his friend and dropped down to his knees. “Are you okay?” He leaned in to touch him, when he noticed the pool of vomit.

“Yuu-chan!” He started to panic and turned Yuuto onto his back, grabbing him close.

“Yuu-chan, wake up!” He shook him gently and leaned in again, trying to feel the boy’s breathing. Yuuto was rigid and his breathing seemed slow and weak.

“Yuuto!!” Daisuke tried shaking him harder. “Open your eyes, Yuuto!!”

He got up and dashed for the bathroom, thinking a douse of water may help Yuuto regain consciousness. He stopped in front of the sink and was about to fill a glass of water, when he spotted the empty vial in the sink.

“No…” he whispered feebly and grabbed the small bottle. “Yuu-chan… what have you done?”

~*~

The soft afternoon sun peeked through the clouds and washed the hospital room in a soft light.

Yuuto stirred and opened his eyes slowly. His throat was burning, his mouth dry and he generally felt terrible, but alive.

“Kaname-kun?”

He was surprised to see Moriyama-sensei sitting at his bedside when he turned his head.

Shouji smiled softly at his student. “It’s good to have you back.”

Yuuto grimaced and tried to sit up. Shouji leaned in to support him. “Easy now…”

“Sensei…”

“Shush, it’s okay, rest.” Shouji hushed him and got up. “I’ll go get the doctor…”

“Wait…” Yuuto said with a hoarse voice. “What…”

Shouji scratched his head. “If you’re wondering about Daisuke, I sent him down to the cafeteria to eat. He’s been with you since…” He sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Well, he’ll be here soon.”

Yuuto leaned back into his pillow and raised his eyes to the white wall. He only had a fuzzy memory of what had happened, but he felt a deep sense of shame.

The teacher excused himself and left the room. Yuuto turned his head to the window. He could see the margins of a tree, some shadowed, pinkish clouds crossing the yellowing blue sky. He felt a strong urge to paint and reached out his hand from under the blanket.

Like being hit with a sudden bolt of lightning, Yuuto remembered ripping apart all of his paintings and breaking his tools, including the expensive materials for his favored Japanese-style paintings.

Before he had a chance to beat himself further for what he had done, Daisuke barged into the room.

“Yuu-chan!” The lanky boy rushed to the bed and threw himself on Yuuto. “Thank God…”

Yuuto wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. He touched Daisuke’s arm gently. “You’re heavy…” he whispered.

“Ah, sorry…” Daisuke let go of him and sat on the edge of the bed. “You scared me so much, Yuu-chan. If you do it again I’ll kill you.”

Yuuto looked away, too embarrassed to meet his friend’s eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Daisuke asked and reached out to touch him. Yuuto flinched at his touch, but Daisuke didn’t withdraw his hand.

“Couldn’t have been better…” Yuuto tried to joke, his voice husky.

Daisuke smiled with tight lips. “You’ve been sleeping for nearly 24 hours… you look like shit.”

“Ah…” Yuuto sighed, still looking away. “You didn’t tell my mother… did you?” he asked faintly, trying to raise himself up.

“Sensei called her in the morning… she’s on her way.”

Yuuto fell back into his pillow and covered his eyes with his arm. “I totally ruined it…” His voice trembled. “Starting the new year this way… my year is going to be so bad… ”

“No, no, no.” Daisuke interrupted and put his hand on Yuuto’s head. “Think of it this way, today you’ve been reborn and everything that happened before doesn’t matter. From today you can start life anew.”

Yuuto opened his mouth to respond, but Moriyama-sensei showed up with the doctor and a nurse. Daisuke gave him another encouraging smile and left the room.

~*~

“How are you holding up?” Shouji asked as he stepped out into the hallway to join Daisuke.

“I’m fine.” Daisuke shrugged. “Relieved.”

“Don’t blame yourself for what happened,” Shouji said. “Yuuto had been through a lot this past year.”

“I know… but pushing myself on him was probably the last straw… I shouldn’t have done that.”

Shouji sat down next to the boy, their shoulders touching. “You know what’s going to happen next, do you?”

“Yeah…” Daisuke looked away to the hallway. “It’s going to be a new start for me too…”

He could see Yuuto’s mother coming out from the elevator, followed by her son-in-law. He got up to welcome her and lead her to the room.

~*~

Yuuto didn’t return to school at the end of the winter break. Daisuke was surrounded as usual by boys and girls, and even decided to rejoin a sports team. Still, he couldn’t help feeling empty. He was taking Yuuto for granted, and now that Yuuto was gone, the void he felt was coated with a sense of missed opportunities, for all the time he could’ve spent with his closest friend and didn’t.


When the New Year holiday ended, Daisuke officially moved in to his new apartment. Leaving his teacher’s house wasn’t as bitter as he thought it would be, and he was glad Moriyama-sensei now had the time to pick up his own life again.

Yuuto remained in the hospital for a few more days, nursed by his mother and brother-in-law, while his sister remained on the west coast with her newborn child, and could only phone in to check on her brother.

~*~

“Yuu-chan…” Daisuke was surprised to see Yuuto at his door. “What are you doing here?”

He opened the door wide, inviting the boy to enter.

“I was released in the morning,” Yuuto explained. “I had to go down to the police station to give a statement… that wasn’t fun…” He shifted his eyes.

“Come on in, I’ll make you some tea.” Daisuke offered, spreading his arm, motioning Yuuto to come inside.

“Ah, it’s okay…” Yuuto said quietly.

He raised his head to Daisuke, and forced a smile, crinkling his eyes to tiny slits. “I have to go… I… I just came to say goodbye.”

Daisuke stood still, clenching his lips.

“My mom and I… we’re going to live in Tottori with my sister,” Yuuto explained quietly. “The house is going to be sold.”

“I know,” Daisuke admitted. “Moriyama-sensei told me, after he spoke with your mother on the phone… I’m sorry I didn’t say anything…”

Yuuto shrugged. “It will be weird… not being with you at the same school.”

Daisuke stood silently in front of him. His chest felt heavy. There was no way he could keep Yuu-chan from going.

“You don’t really need me,” he said quietly. “Maybe you have doubts if you can make it on your own. But you know what? everyone does. That’s what sensei told me. I think you’re strong, Yuuto, probably stronger than me.”

Yuuto raised his eyes in surprise. “I think it’s the first time you said my name,” he noted with a little smile.

“Did I?” Daisuke crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder on the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll say it a lot more.”

Yuuto’s smile faded and he lowered his head, staring at the floor. “Tottori is so far…” he whispered.

“I think… I think it will be good for you.” Daisuke smiled tightly. “You’ll get to see new views… and the pace there is much slower than in Tokyo… I’m sure you’ll find inspiration for some great paintings.”

“Yeah… I guess…” Yuuto let out a sigh, tears pricking his eyes.

“Come back when you’re ready, okay?” Daisuke said and reached out his hand, his fingers were clasped in a fist, except for the pinky. “Let’s make a promise.”

Yuuto looked at Daisuke’s pinky and bit his lips. He just nodded and silently linked his own pinky with Daisuke’s. Once they let go, he stepped back, cleared his throat and said quietly, “Then… goodbye.”

“I’ll see you again.” Daisuke nodded, bowing slightly. “Take care, Yuuto.”

A lopsided smile spread on the younger boy’s face. “Thank you for everything.”

Just like that, he ran off, disappearing quickly from Daisuke’s sight.


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