Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth Behind Demons ❯ The Man in the Mirror ( Chapter 18 )

A.N: You guessed it right! I’d give you something nice but all I can offer is a hug. (hugs) Glad you like the story. I learned about it because my Ma is a nurse and was around it a lot. Boy reading it on an Mp- I tell ya, I don’t even own a cell phone. Hahaha. Enjoy the chapter. Fantasy.

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Chapter 18

Rei woke up early that day and combed out his hair. He knew Kai liked it down, so down it would be. It was nice to do things for people. Even if it is as simple as letting birds build a nest in your hair, when they see you pass by on the streets. The Chinese boys gut was killing him over skipping school today, especially when he was moved to advanced classes for being so smart after only half a year of being there. His uncle will flip if he starts to slip up; bad enough he's been doing little things to get on his nerves left and right, Rei has to play it smooth from now on. But today, he had to take one more little risk.

Lee is still asleep and so is the butler; another person Rei hoped didn't get in trouble because of him, first person being himself. Last night Rei snuck out on a mission to the pharmacy to get another prescription filled, this time something a little stronger to get him through more than a couple hours out of the day. Knowing that he isn't eighteen, the young boy asked his butler to pose as his uncle, so that he could sign for his medicine. Junpei was apprehensive about it at first, but Rei convinced him in the end that he really needed a refill because his last doctor told him to get the bottle filled up whenever he ran out. Only difference was he went a dose higher.

It was scary being at the pharmacy at night. It was as if everyone was looking at him. He hated being looked at, silently judged. Tyson always told him he was good looking, he believed it to a point but in the end he really didn't care what he looked like because someone was always gonna think otherwise. They got back home around midnight and Rei dashed off to bed. Sleep was impossible and he wished he had gotten a set of sleeping pills as well, but one would have to do. He already owed the man through dishes for a month, why make it two.

He bared his teeth at a knot and wondered why he didn't just cut it off. Yeah right, lose your vanity and no one will like you. He scolded himself. Adjusting his uniform so that it sat just right around him, he walks out of his bedroom as quietly as he could, sneaks downstairs into the kitchen and stops to grab a drink of orange juice. Mixed with the toothpaste from brushing it tasted terrible, but he needed something to stop his stomach from churning the way it was. For a moment he wondered if he should have eaten something before taking the pill, but wouldn't the pharmacist have said something? It seemed like their job to tell you how to take something.

The Chinese boy was starting to feel a little better by the time he started down the street. He knew he only needed something to settle him no need to worry. He just hoped the others were waiting for him at the designated spot. The Sweet Stuff bakery on that one street he couldn't seem to recall the name of, but he knew there was a McDonalds around there so onward to the golden arches.

Ten minutes later.

"Where's Rei?" Asks Ian. "I thought you said he was coming with us."

"He'll show." Tala waves off in voice. "He probably just had a hard time sneaking out past his uncle."

Bryan checked his watch. "I don't know Tal', it's pushing a half hour. I think we should go without him."

"Which direction does he live?" Spencer turned his head left then right.

Following the blond's gaze the other members of their group, minus Kai, looked this direction and that as well. Said, self excluded, Russian leaned against the bakery, eyes closed, and head down. He knew Rei would come, he promised him and Rei seemed like the type to keep his promises. Speaking of which-.....

"What are you looking at?" Asks Rei suddenly standing beside Spencer.

All four boys jumped out of their skin; Kai snickered under his breath having seen Rei come from inside. All of them, happy to see Rei, piled around the boy giving him a 'glad you showed up' pat on the shoulder. It felt nice. Rei smiled.

"Uh-oh." Says Tala. "I hope you don't plan on walking around with us dressed like a fugitive."

Rei looked down at his clothes. "Oh! No," he dismissed it with his hand. "I was gonna change. Do you think this place has a public use bathroom?"

"It should." Says Kai, unzipping Rei's book bag and slipping a wrapped item into it. "Your sweater, from before." He explained, when Rei looked over his shoulder.

"Thanks."

"Plus we can get breakfast, I'm starving." Says Ian, pulling the door open for the others to walk in before he followed after. "Do you think they've got Streusel?"

Kai and Rei walked toward the bathroom area with Tala and Bryan at their heals. All four boys entered the rest room, but the second two shoved open each stall door checking to see if it were empty before walking back to the door.

"We'll watch the door." Says Bryan casually before slipping a smile on his thin lips. "Try not to take too long in here." Rei only assumed he was talking to Kai, who made himself comfortable on the sink counter like a spectator of his nudity.

"Just go." Says the gray eyed boy. He decided not to wear his contacts today.

Tala blocked Rei's path into one of the stalls, saying. "Change out here. It's gross to take your clothes off in, a closed-in, bacteria trap."

Rei merely blinked hearing that. Shrugging in defeat, he starts removing his shirt and pants. Satisfied, Tala leaves the bathroom to guard the door with Bryan. Kai watched from his place at the sink, not sparing a glance anywhere else. Rei would have been uncomfortable, had it not been for the fact that the guy has already seen him completely naked already. He trusted Kai not to do anything to him beyond a simple kiss. And since Ozuma was allowed to kiss him, than shouldn't Kai be able to as well. Ozuma kisses Tyson all the time.

"You're really lucky."

Cocking his head, Kai asks. "Why?"

Fluffing his, yellow, shirt out so he could slip his head into it he replies. "Because you've got such good friends." Sticking his arms through the long sleeves, he brushes his hands down it, then reached into his bag to get an orange tunic to go over it like a little short sleeved jacket. "You must have known each other forever."

"Feels like it." He slips down from the counter top and crossed the room to where Rei stands to fasten his shirt for him.

"Thanks." Taking out his jeans, he slid his leg into the black tunnel, adjusting them here and there once the other leg was in. He then stepped back into his sneakers and tied them up. "How do I look?" He turned to face Kai.

"I'd lose the sun glasses, they make you look like you're on the run." Taking them off, he examines Rei's black eye. "It's just a little red, no one will think anything."

"Okay."

Placing his hand within Rei's he leads them out of the bathroom, bumping Tala and Bryan in the butt with the door. The two of them teasingly admired the Chinese boy as though they were ready to jump his bones but laughed it off while walking over to the others. Now that Rei noticed they were all dressed really nice, in a casual kind of way, rather than the leather and buckles they had worn at Kai's party. It was refreshing to fit in with them and get an approval. He had been picking this outfit and that since five o'clock this morning and finally decided on the orange.

Exiting the building, Tala slung an arm around Rei's shoulders, leaning his head on the one closest to him. Kai still had one of his hands clutched in his own, and the other boys circled them in. It was a comforting feeling. It made his heart wanna jump out of his chest so that it could receive the actual loving contact.

Today is gonna be great. Maybe I didn't have to take my medicine after all. Thinks the male with a smile.

"Aaand a French horn for Rei." Says Ian passing out the breakfast he bought. "Hope you like it; we didn't know what you'd want."

Nodding his thanks, he takes it in his free hand and took a bite. "Mmm. It's good."

"Mmhmm." Replies the short boy, sucking something from his fingers.

"We've got a lot to do today because I have debate later and I don't wanna miss it." Says Tala. "So I figure we can start with the activity that takes the longest."

"Talaaa," groans Bryan.

Rei wondered what could be so bad that would make the entire little group wanna slap their foreheads, until Tala went on to say. "We're going shoe shopping."

"Shoe shopping?!" Exclaims Rei.

"You can never have to many boots Kon. So, since we have an extra person to consider this time. Onwaaaard!" The small group walked down the busy morning street of the city to their first destination. Shoe shopping! * * *

Lee walked into the office building with urgency. He wanted to have this talk with the woman for sometime and was glad that she had been the one to execute it for him. The man at the front desk smiled at him and asked what he was there for.

"Is Miss Ito in her office now?" He looked at his watch to confirm that it was a sensible eight o'clock and everyone should be in their designated area's of work or school. His brother had left early before he could go in and see him, but he figured it was better that he was gone. He might have asked him what he was dressed so soon for and he didn't wanna lie to him. He had enough things going on with him to start losing trust in one of his only remaining family members.

"Yes she is, and I don't believe she is with anyone right now so you can go right on up."

"Thank you."

Sliding a clip board over to the teen, he smiled. "Sign in, please."

"Okay." Taking a few seconds to scribble down his name, he passed the clip board back over to the man, who looked down at it.

"Wow! You're Lee Kon?!"

"Uh huh." Lee looked like he were gonna explode if the guy didn't let him leave.

"You're like an idol around here, your brother talks very highly of you."

"That's great to know. I really should be going though."

The man went on saying that Lee was also really good looking at that, the rumors didn't lie. But the teen had no time to think about any of that. Walking to the elevator, he pressed the button for the correct floor and waited for the doors to re-open. What was she gonna say? What was he gonna do once she said it? Is there something seriously wrong with his beloved brother? Will he become irreversible like those people in those movies! Rei had said he hasn't seen that guy. So what else could this meeting be about. Stepping out of the elevator, he barreled down the hall as if he were gonna lose his nerve if he didn't leave imprints in the floor.

He could hear the woman moving around on the other side of the door, so wasting no time he knocked first before letting his self in. "Miss Ito. I'm here."

"Good. Have a seat." She said in a kind voice. "You're early, I would have thought that you'd come around the afternoon or evening."

Shaking his head, Lee sits down. "Not when it concerns, Rei." Bracing his self he looks over at the woman, sitting at her desk, and asks. "So tell me, how can I help?"

"I need you to tell me what you know about your brother and this man that's been stalking him everyday." She wet her lips in a shy way. "I know very little about it, but from what Rei says there was someone following him to school every morning. Do you have any idea of whom it might have been..." She trailed off when Lee opened his mouth to speak.

"Miss... What I'm about to tell you.... You can't throw it in my brothers face."

Miki raised her hand. "I swear. I'm here to help and I'm not sure that I can in your brothers case, because I think I may know what's wrong with him. I just want to make sure my facts are straight before I get him a specialist."

Great. Now he's gonna be tossed around again. Thinks Lee. He can't stand that his brother isn't well. No one seems to know how to help him, though, and they always seem to pass him on to someone else. Before Dr. Yang was seeing his brother, he was with a Mr. Cheng and before that a Mrs. Bakk. Now Miki was trying to get rid of him. Looking over at the woman he couldn't help but feel she really had the best intention so he let his guard down and began to tell her.

"I guess you could say that it started when my brother was just a little guy at six. I'm older than my brother by four years and at some point he and I wouldn't be going the same way to school anymore. We went to public school down the mountain, you see, and the middle school is in the opposite direction from the elementary."

The woman nodded. Reaching into her desk, she pulled out a tape recorder. "Do you mind?" She placed it on the desk. I just wanna make sure my notes are accurate."

"Not at all." He went on. "So a few weeks go by and everything is fine. I walked with him to drop him off and then I would dash off to my school. Simple. But then I kinda got a notice to give to my parents about my being tardy everyday. I had to explain to them that Rei wanted to walk with me and I didn't mind but in my family it's education on a strict note and nothing must stop you from learning. So I asked the other kids from our village to walk with Rei and they said they were fine with it because they wanted to get to know him a bit more."

"So off they went to school and at first it was fine, he came home and said all the kids were nice, he liked being in the grade he was in- all that stuff. I was happy that he made friends with everyone because usually Rei can be sort of shy until he gets going then he's a lot like me- life of the party. So when we played I would start the game, pretend I had to leave for a bit but I watched from afar to see that he was still interacting with everyone."

"How do you mean?" Asks the woman.

"Like.... We'd play Duck, duck goose- you know the game. And I noticed that every time it was Rei's turn, he would always pick me. So after my turn, I picked him and said I had to go for a minute- something like that."

She nods, scribbling something onto a note pad.

"Well, back to the guy. One afternoon he came home from school and he was really quiet. I thought maybe he just had a bad day and didn't wanna talk about, but then it was the same thing the next day and the next. I asked the other kids if anything happened at school and they said, 'No'. So I asked Rei and he said nothing was wrong." Lee paused a moment; it looked as if he were fighting tears, but after composing himself he went on. "I knew something had to be up, though, because Rei doesn't lie to me and I could tell that he was.... But I didn't push the issue. Then, one night, I heard him crying- hard to miss because we shared a bedroom, and he finally told me that somebody was watching him on his way to and from school everyday."

"The man in the black hood." Miki confirmed.

"Right." He gave a curt nod. "So I decided to walk with him again. He tensed up somewhere along the way but I didn't see anyone. I was worried that something might happen to him, so I told Mom and Dad about it and they said they'd walk him and the other kids to school." He paused again as if seeing the whole scenario playing out all over again. "It didn't do any good. Rei was still scared, so Mom hired a policeman to take him to school. The man felt him grab his hand really hard and when Rei said 'there he is!' The guy ran across the street but he didn't see anyone- this happened over and over again until eventually everyone got sick of my brother crying wolf and they took him to see a shrink."

"Because they thought he was doing it for attention?" Wondered the woman out loud.

Lee nods. "Yeah. When I walked with him, he never saw this person, but since my parents told me to stop everyone just assumed." He shrugged. "All the kids picked on him after that, I made them stop. But one day I looked out the window at all of them playing- I figured they had listened to me when I chewed their heads off about it. So... out of curiosity I went down the mountain to the city and searched for the man. I walked slowly, pretending that I was window shopping and that's when I saw him!- it was brief! But he was there," Lee confirmed. "I looked across the street and walked over to him, never taking my eyes off the guy- I was only eleven but I planned to knock his teeth out for what he was doing to Rei. Only when I got there it played out a bit differently- you see, he was still standing there only he wasn't real."

Pointing a finger to the window, he went on. "I looked across the street and noticed a plant that was outside of the store. Crossing the street, I grab it and moved it to the side. The man disappeared, putting it back there he was again; I took three steps past the plant and he was gone, but walking back over-...."

"There he was." Says Miki. She had all she needed.

"The man that had been taunting my brother was nothing more than a plant and a rounded sign reflecting in the light off a building. I got so mad; mad at the cops, mad at the kids, mad at my parents because no one took the time to figure it out for him. Imagine being six and thinking you're crazy because no one sees some nightmare man but you! I had to straighten this out, so I went to go get him and show him that the man wasn't real but when I got to the top of the mountain I heard him yelling."

Miki nodded and continued for him. "Your brother told me about that; the kids told Rei that the spooky man in the woods will come out if they see him alone but they would hide somewhere to ambush him when he showed up. Only when he did, they laughed because there was no one there- it was just some vines holding him."

"It was the worst day of my life hearing him screaming like that and I beat the shit out of those little idiots for doing that to him. I took my brother down the mountain with me that minute and showed him the man. He was scared at first but when he put one and two together he just started crying and said he was sorry for causing so much trouble. After that, things went back to normal; so much so that I decided I wanted to go to school here in Japan. We have been seeing my uncle over summers and I fell in love with the city."

"How did Rei take it?"

Lee shrugged. "Even though we did all kinds of fun stuff together he seemed bored. I don't think he takes well to all this stuff like I do. He likes the life we had."

Writing in her notebook again, she looked at him. "Did you know that you're brother has been seeing that man again?"

Shaking his head, he sighed. "He never told me. I asked but he said, not in a while. I just assumed that he meant, not since he figured out what he was."

Standing, Miki sat in a chair next to Lee, who is on the couch. "Did you and your brother keep contact when you moved here? Did he seem okay once you were gone?"

Nodding, Lee snapped his fingers. "We wrote letters to each other, every week! I still have them but they're private so-..."

"I understand."

"I can tell you one thing though.... Rei, when he wrote to me- his words seemed kind of off. Like he forgot how to make a proper sentence or something."

"Like a salad?"

"Yeah! He would say things like, 'Mom's pie is baked but it's good to eat' things like that." Shaking his head, he looked down and sighed. "....Also... there was something else weird about those letters.... he would write a word... it drabbled for three lines once."

Curious, Miki nodded for him to go on.

"It was crumble. He would be writing a line like, 'It crumble rained last night to the crumble point where I thought the house might crumble flood.... I thought he might be playing some type of game until that one letter a little after mom and dad died. He started it out as- I wanna stay in China until summer when I can-... he cut his self off and there was a large CRAAAACK!!! written down the page to cover up the rest of the white."

Miki nodded. "Lee. Did you know your brother was on medication?"

"No."

"He's been taking Lithium, he told me, since he was eight. Mild at first but his doctor prescribed a higher dose when he got older."

"....Wow.... is he still taking them?" Miki nodded. "That would explain why he's so cheerful sometimes... I actually just thought that therapy was working for him... But anti-depressants.... Wow...." He crossed his arms in thought.

"He speaks so highly of you that I'm beginning to think he felt-… let-down, when you left him in China.... So much so that he wanted you to think that he was fine when in actual he was struggling quite a bit."

"What do I do?" He asked desperately.

"First, you get any of the remaining meds he has from him. I think the best thing to do in this case is form a family trust with him and you, and your uncle. In times like this, it's better to get well through talking than taking things."

"Of course."

"Lee.... If I'm correct in my theory... Then your brother has what's called Schizoid personality disorder, it can be cured but he's going to need the both of you and a stable foundation in order to get better."

"I can do all of that...."

Smiling she rubbed the boys hand. "I know you can. I'll set up an appointment for you all."

"Thank you. And Miki?" He stands.

"Hm?"

"Thank you for everything you've done to help my brother."

The woman nodded and Lee left the office. He had to get to school and get his brother. If he can cure him than he wanted to start right away…….