Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Pain, Joy, Life ❯ Bishop Brannon ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

PAIN, JOY, LIFE

Chapter 5:
Bishop Brannon




Ryo-





It was still dark when Ryo woke and there was no light in the shelters large common room, except for one light, just over the door that was on. Ryo was still on the floor with Byakuen, where they'd fallen asleep last night and the first thing he saw when he woke was Byakuen's dark brown eyes looking at him. Ryo often thought it would be great to be able to talk with Byakuen, but he never could. Looking at Byakuen, though, Ryo could see that Byakuen was smarter than most animals. There was some secret hidden in his dark eyes. Ryo stretched and only then did he see Touma looking down at him with a very serious face.

Touma's eyes were wide open, but not quite focused on Ryo. On his cot, Touma raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "Shhh." And he gestured slightly with his head behind him, as if he didn't dare turn around.

"You can't do this!"

Ryo was shocked to hear Sister Jo's voice raised, almost yelling. Listening carefully, and sitting up slightly so he and Touma were eye level, Ryo heard an ominous sound: Bishop Brannon's voice.

Though Ryo really wanted to stay curled against the warmth of Byakuen's body, safe and protected, he knew he had to find out what was going on. Ryo pulled himself up off the floor, so he could peek over Touma's shoulder at the scene at the shelter's entrance. Touma obligingly stayed as still as possible, pretending to be asleep so the two adults wouldn't notice them.

"I'm sorry, Sister, but this is for the best in the long run." Bishop Brannon was a short man who was a little TOO dedicated to his work. He seemed to think that the word of his religion came first and foremost before anything else, even before the good of the people it served. He was dressed in fine clothes, a long, heavy trench coat and leather gloves.

Ryo's stomach churned at the sight of the man and he ducked back behind Touma, as if Touma would protect him from the Bishop. Ryo wanted nothing more than to run and hide, to get as far away as possible. Inside him, the fire burned brighter. Before, he hadn't had the power do defy Bishop Brannon. Now, though, Ryo knew he could easily get rid of the man. He could make Bishop Brannon go away. Kill him...

Ryo shook those thoughts from his head. 'I'm NOT a killer! I don't kill people, not even people like him!'

Sister Jo exclaimed. "For the best? How can you justify saying that?!"

Sister Jo rarely got upset about anything so Ryo knew this was something to be worried about. Ryo looked at Touma who looked worried, but he kept a blank face as he listened. 'Of course he's not worried,' Ryo thought, a bit bitterly. 'This isn't Touma's home. What does he have to be worried about? He's leaving in a couple of hours.'

"What's going on?" Touma whispered.

Ryo just shrugged and peeked over Touma's shoulder again to get a better look at what was going on. Sister Jo, still in her white dressing gown, stood with her hands on her hips as she argued. It made Ryo angry to think that Bishop Brannon, that twit, had decided to come by so early that he hadn't even given Sister Jo time to get dressed properly.

Sister Jo waved her arms around, indicating the shelter as she spoke. "We have people who depend on us. Some of these people come here every day and there's a family who practically lives here. One old lady and her grandson don't have anywhere else to go, you're going to force them out onto the street!"

Bishop Brannon took a deep breath and looked at her calmly. "You're taking this to hard, Sister. This shelter is used, from our records, only rarely. The people in this neighborhood seem to prefer using their time for drugs or their 'gang activities'." He said with a sneer. "The money used for this shelter would be put to better use in another city or in different cause altogether."

"Well, what about the people who DO come here?" Sister Jo demanded angrily. "There are no other shelters in the area, they have no where to go!" Like she always did when upset, Sister Jo began pacing erratically back and forth. "They need a warm, safe place to sleep at night. I have on kid who doesn't eat if I don't get him food, what's he supposed to do? Do you want him to start stealing just so he can live? What are they supposed to eat? They'll be hunting through garbage for food if you close us down!"

"Sister Josephine, you're become hysterical." Bishop Brannon said coldly. "Of course I don't want people to steal or eat garbage!" Bishop Brannon turned away from her slightly and put his hands behind his back. "You must understand, it's not just them. It's you."

"What?" Sister Jo's voice faded with shock for a moment when Bishop Brannon stepped in close and reached up to her wimple. He pulled out a single cigarette where she kept her hidden stash.

"I think you need some time back at the nunnery, Sister Josephine. This life in the real world seems to be affecting you badly, if you're giving into vice."

Sister Jo blushed furiously, but didn't deny anything. "If this is about me, sir, then send another Sister to look over the shelter. I'll leave if that's what you want, but you CAN NOT close this shelter! This place is...!"

"Crumbling." Bishop Brannon said sharply. "Decrepit. Are those the words you're looking for?" He handed her back her cigarette and went to the window that looked out to the dark street. Pulling aside one of Sister Jo's home made curtains, he revealed a large crack in the window that had been repaired with duct tape. "Look up, Sister. Your ceiling is peeling and there is no money to repair it. You've got buckets to catch the water when it rains and it leaks through your ceiling. The tiles on the floor are broken. Your walls have holes in them from where some of your more disturbed guests have started fights in here. Face reality, this building is falling apart. In a very short time it will be declared a hazard and condemned. You'll be evicted even without my order."

"What's that mean?" Touma shifted slightly, bringing his mouth closer to Ryo's ear and whispered.

"Trouble." Ryo whispered back. The last thing he wanted was for Bishop Brannon to know he was there. Their last few meetings hadn't gone very well and Ryo wasn't eager to meet the man again. Ryo didn't like the way this conversation was headed, but there was nothing he could do to help.

"Well?" Ryo looked back when Sister Jo finally spoke with her eyes narrowed. "What are they supposed to do? You're taking away the closest thing they have to a home and YOU are forcing them into lives of sin. These people will have to turn to steal or prostitution to survive. They don't have any education, most of them, and no skills to speak of. When they're here, at least I can make sure the kids are going to school!"

"Sister Josephine, this is not a home. It's a way station, a place for people to get back on their feet." Bishop Brannon shook his head. "I know you care about them, you've been here for a long time, but you must put some distance between them and yourself. You are here to serve them, not become a mother to every waif, junkie, and whore who wanders in." Bishop Brannon turned on his heel and walked out, apparently having finished his business at the shelter.

Sister Jo cursed, not to softly, under her breath, before going back to her own bed in a separate room. A moment passed before loud sobs could be heard clearly coming from behind her closed door.

Ryo was shaking and Touma looked at him confused. "Who was that guy?"

"Bishop B-Brannon." Ryo answered bitterly. "Ass hole!" Ryo pounded the cot Touma was laying on, just to vent his fury. 'What am I gonna do? Where are we gonna go?' When hitting Touma's mattress didn't help, Ryo turned lay back against Byakuen who growled sympathetically and licked his face with his sandpaper tongue.

Ryo turned to look at his granma, still peacefully asleep, and took her thin, pale hand. 'I thought this was the last stop for us. I thought we'd be safe here.' Ryo bit his lip, trying to think straight. 'I have to find us somewhere else to live. Granma is depending on me and I won't let her down.'

"Is he really going to shut the shelter down? Can he do that?" Touma asked, still lying down.

Ryo nodded. "He can do a-anything he wants." 'How can he do this to us?! What am I gonna tell granma? How can I tell her we have to go back to the streets?' Ryo looked back at Touma's concerned eyes and, for the first time, the thought crossed his mind, 'I'm gonna have to leave my friends.' And Ryo felt like his heart would break.






Shin-






"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

I woke with a start when okasan knocked loudly on my bedroom door.

"You're gonna be late if you don't get a move on!"

"Hai, okasan." I yelled back through the door with a yawn. "I'm coming." Oh, God, I'm so tired! I knew I should have come home earlier last night, but
Seiji's parties usually went on so long and last night hadn't been an exception. Shin had to smile at the memory, though. Dancing and music all night long, it had been such a blast! Seiji lit lanterns in his garden and Xiu brought his entire collection of CD's. We'd gone inside when the cold got to be to much and watched some movies and I'd made popcorn for everyone.

To top it all off, Xiu had wanted me to listen to some of the new music he'd written and how could I say no? Seiji was a great flute player, but he knew nothing about keyboard music. I don't know why Xiu thinks I'd do any better, if Touma had been there, he'd have been a better critic, I'm sure. Touma plays the drums so he at least knows a little about music. I know what I like, but that's about all. I'm pretty much tone-deaf.

Only one thing had been missing last night. Touma.

I frowned, while pulling on my clothes, but there's very little I could do about Touma's situation. Touma really loved his dad and honestly didn't want to get his dad in trouble. That idiot!

I'll get that bastard in trouble! No good, low-life! He dares to hurt MY friend!
I swear, one day I'm gonna rip his little pin head off his non-existent neck!

RIIIPP!

"Oh, damn." I looked down to find I'd torn the sleeve off my shirt and sighed. There goes another one. I really should learn not to get upset when I'm getting dressed. Seiji once asked how I got so good at sewing and I'm sure he'd be surprised if I told him that I routinely destroyed my own clothes and mum made me fix them myself.

By the time I got dressed and ready for school, mum was all ready in the kitchen reading the newspaper. Well, trying to read the newspaper. "Morning, mum." I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek as I passed her on the way to the toaster.

"Good morning, honey." Mum smiled back and turned back to the paper, her forehead creasing when she tried to understand what she was reading. "How was the party?"

"Running to late!"

Mum and I both turned at okasan's voice when she walked into the kitchen, all ready dressed for business. Okasan glided gracefully across the kitchen to mum and kissed her carefully on the cheek; so as not spoil her carefully done make-up. "Good morning to you, too, Ayane." Mum smiled back.

"Ohayo, Jenny." Okasan smiled back before giving me a little scowl of disapproval. "Shin was out well into the middle of the night, you know!"

"He usually is when he's with the boys." Mum answered, easily. "He won't get into any trouble when he's with them." Mum looked up from the paper and took a closer look at me through her thick glasses. "You do look terrible, honey. When did you get home?"

I blushed a little at being mothered so badly. "Ummm, a little after midnight, I think."

Okasan rolled her eyes. "Mucha shonen (foolhardy boy). Anata ni naru byoki (You will get sick)."

'Why does she always do that?' I wondered as I thought through what she'd just said and translated my answer before speaking. "Watashi Yoku, okasan (I well, mother)."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said, in English, "You need to practice your pronunciation, Shin-chan. Pay more attention in your Japanese class."

"Yes, er, hai, okasan." I knew she was just trying to help, but honestly it sometimes felt like I wasn't getting anywhere with learning Japanese! It was just to bloody hard!

"You'll get it, honey." Mum said, understanding his difficulty. "Ayane, what's this?" She pointed to a kanji sign she'd yet to learn and that was the end of the conversation about Shin's nightly activities.

While they talked, I went to the stove to start breakfast. It's one of my chores as mum can't make cold cereal without somehow burning it and okasan can't take the risk of getting messy before she goes to work. I risk a glance out of the corner of my eye at her. Okasan has got to be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. She's very small, even shorter than mum, but she's so refined and lady-like she seems almost to perfect to be true sometimes.

Okasan was, of course, Japanese. In fact, it was because of her that Mum and I moved to Japan in the first place. After dad had died...

I looked over at the photo of a man on the kitchen wall. Dad had been gone for so long, if it hadn't been for the picture, I wasn't sure I'd know what dad even looked like. For the longest time it had been just Mum and I. That was before mum had met okasan.

Back in England, mum had been struggling to work out a living working in a local grocery store and we'd lived in a tiny apartment, barely making ends meet. It was a hard life, but not unbearable, not unlike a lot of people. That was before okasan had walked into our lives and sort of taken us by storm. Mum was a working class girl, to skinny to be nicely thin, with a young son, so none of the guys really paid her much attention. Okasan was beautiful enough to be a world-class model with a perfect figure and smart enough that she held several degrees in business and language. She was in England on vacation and she and mum just sort of ran into each other at the supermarket.

It had been love at first sight for both of them and completely unexpected. I was more than a little surprised when mum brought the gorgeous lady home for dinner and then Ayane had moved in with us when I was ten. Talk about shock. Still, it had all worked out in the end.

I was the spitting image of mum and even I could see it. Thin and small with reddish, brown hair and big blue eyes, I knew I was a 'delicate' looking boy. God, I hate looking like this! Why couldn't I look like dad? I took another look at my dad's picture.

Dad had been a big, brawny Irish fisherman, and the photo showed him with his arms crossed over his chest on his small boat. Mum was standing next to him and he was at least a foot taller than she was, with huge, muscular arms covered in hair as red as the hair on his head and his thick beard. The man was literally packed with muscles, probably from his work, and he had a big, sunny smile along with green twinkling eyes. Don't get me wrong. I think mum's real pretty, but...it might be nice to put on a little muscle sometime.

We moved to Japan just a few months ago so okasan could continue her career as a geisha; there wasn't much call for that in England, after all. We've been living here for about six months, but it still seems like a different world. I guess I'm getting used to it, the language and customs and all. I think it's the name change that's the hardest to adjust to.

My real name isn't Mouri Shin. It's Laim Draft, but after mum and okasan...well, they didn't actually get married. I guess you could say they came to an understanding. Anyway, after okasan moved in with us in England, mum changed our last name to Mouri, okasan's family name. Then, when we moved here, I found out it was awkward for people to learn to say my real name and okasan suggested I chose a Japanese name, like a nickname. That was about when I became Mouri Shin.

"Shin chan?"

"Hai, okasan?" I turned away from my frying pan for a minute to look at her. She's all dressed up, as usual, with her fancy kimono and her face painted to within an inch of its life. Okasan works as a geisha, an entertainer, and always looks her absolute best. From what I can tell, she's sort of like a movie star in America.

"Do you mind making some rice with those eggs?"

"Nope." Okasan didn't really like scrambled eggs, so I was used to making rice for her in the morning. I set up a pot of water and turned on the other burner, waiting for it to heat up before I put the rice in. The morning went quietly, as it usually did, until I got distracted. As usual, it was Touma distracting me. "Mum?"

"Yes, honey?" Mum didn't even look up from the newspaper that seemed to be getting all of her attention.

"Can Touma sleep over tonight?"

"I suppose so, if it's all right with his dad." She answered, a bit distractedly. "We haven't seen him for a little while and he's such a nice young man to have around. A good influence on you, dear." She added with a little smirk. Mom seemed to think that Touma could keep me out of trouble and I suppose she's right. I wouldn't want Touma to be disappointed in me.

"Thanks, mum." It wasn't a solution. Touma could spend the night with us, but he wouldn't stay forever, even if he could. It's better than nothing, though. It gets him away from his dad for a night, anyway. I haven't even told mum or okasan that anything's wrong with Touma. They don't know anything and I really want to tell them, but Touma made me promise a long time ago not to. I'm absolutely certain that mum and okasan would help and could help if Touma would let me say something. I can't break my word, though. Touma would never trust me again and he needs to have someone he can rely on.

"Shin!"

I jumped when mum shouted and suddenly came barreling at me. Mum grabbed my arm and hauled my hand out of the pot of boiling water, inspecting it closely.

"What happened?" Okasan looked over mum's shoulder at my hand. I didn't even notice I'd let it slip into the boiling water. Jeeze, how could I not notice? The water was bubbling furiously and steam was rising off the pot. "Shin chan, are you hurt?"

I shook my head, no, but stared at my hand, wet up to my wrist. After being in that pot, it should have been covered in angry welts or at the very least, red. Nothing, not a single mark on my hand, but water dripping off onto the floor.

Mum took a deep breath and a little color returned to her face. "I guess I must have seen it just after your arm fell in, honey." She sounded a bit doubtful, as if she didn't quite believe it, but there was no other explanation. "You pay more attention to your cooking, or I'll start cooking again!" She threatened with a nervous laugh.

"God forbid." I told her with an equally shaky laugh. I have no idea how or why that happened. It didn't think I was so distracted that I wouldn't see or feel what was going on around me. "Um," I suddenly want to be away from here. Mum and okasan are looking at me oddly. "I should go. Touma will be waiting for me."

I gave mum and okasan each a kiss before leaving, but didn't go straight to school. I went to Touma's house first. When I'd come to Japan Touma had been my first friend and ever since then, I'd been very protective of him. It wasn't hard to see that Touma was being abused at home. What was hard to see was that Touma refused to get help of any kind.

We always met at the corner near his house and I stood there I couldn't get my mind off the water. I should have been burned, but it was like something had protected my hand. Foolish, of course, there had to be a logical reason for it. Mum must have been right, she'd gotten my hand out of there before anything had happened and I was just very lucky. I tried to turn my mind away from this and it wasn't to hard, especially after I'd been waiting for Touma for almost twenty minutes.

We always walked to school together, for almost a year we'd stayed with the same routine. That's why it was so confusing when Touma didn't come out of his apartment at seven twenty. Touma was usually very punctual when it came to school. It just wasn't like him to be late, not for anything!

'If his old man's done anything...' I fumed, just about to barge into the quiet apartment as he suspected the worst.

It was then that Touma and Ryo came walking down the sidewalk.




Ryo-





We'd gotten to school just in time, but I'd really had no choice. It had been a real battle with granma that morning. I knew what I had to do, but she wasn't at all happy about it and fought tooth and nail against my choice. I'd won in the end, though it was kind of a hollow victory. Granma was weak and barely able to walk. She couldn't stop me, not if I was really determined.

Shin, Touma, and I walked into class and I was vaguely disappointed to see that the class was full and we were the last ones to walk in. When Touma and Shin went to their seats, I went to the teacher. I could see, out of the corner of my eye, that Shin paused when he saw me heading to the teacher. Touma, thankfully, took Shin's arm and pulled him to their seats.

"Yes, Ryo?"

I turned back to the teacher and took a deep breath. "This is my last day of sc-chool."

She blinked, as if unsure of what she'd heard, and said, "What? Why?"

"I have family b-business." I looked her straight in the eyes without blinking. This was no time for doubt or indecision. "Can't stay here."

She stood slowly, drawing attention from everyone in the class, and looked at me seriously. "You can't just drop out, Ryo. Think about your future, if nothing else. If you're having trouble in your family, things can be worked out."

I really wished everyone wasn't staring and I really wish she wasn't being so nice. Not that what anyone thought mattered anymore. I only had to deal with them for another few hours and then I would probably never see any of them again. I didn't answer her question, but turned and headed to my desk next to Shin. What was she going to do? Expel me for not answering?

The room was utterly silent as I walked up the steps to take my seat and everyone's eyes were on me. Did they have to stare? When I sat, it was under Shin's disbelieving eyes. He looked so shocked and hurt. "Ryo?"

I didn't look at Shin, but turned to look out the window. It would only hurt and I don't want to hurt. I never meant to become friends with anyone, but it sort of snuck up on me. Now I'd have to hurt them when I left.





Touma-





Shin was swearing in English. I'm sure of it, but I really don't have any idea what he's saying.

"#%$@! &*%$! #*^$$^*!"

"Speak Japanese!" I demanded, not even bothering to try and get away from him while we stood in the bathroom. I don't mind if he yells at me, but I want to know what he's saying. When Shin gets worked up, he tends to slip into English.

Shin obliged, translating what he'd just said and I think I blushed since he usually doesn't use such language. "What happen?!" Shin nearly shouted during the class break. "Ryo leaving! You beat half to death! I know you know, so what going on?!" He'd barely waited to get out of the classroom to grab my arm and drag me into the bathroom and pin me up against a wall in the bathroom.

"I can't tell." I answered as calmly as I could, wincing when Shin backed off with a betrayed expression.

"Secrets?" Shin asked and I know why he's upset. Shin and I had promised, when we'd first met, that we'd never keep secrets from each other.

"I promised Ryo I wouldn't tell anyone." I wanted to explain, but it's so hard. "It's important and I really can't tell."

Shin crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, making him look absolutely adorable, and he glared at me. "Stupid!" After that he spent several minutes going though most every English swear he could think of before someone else walked in and he went silent, turning his icy glare on the newcomer who looked at Shin with his furious expression and my heavily bandaged face. He immediately turned on his heel and left without a word, apparently deciding that whatever he had to do in the bathroom wasn't important enough to risk Shin's glare.

Very wise of him, I must say.

After the stranger had left, Shin returned his glare to its proper target: me.

"So, what about you?" Shin gestured to my face and I was very conscious of how Sister Jo had bandaged me up. "Fall down stairs? Walk into a door?" He spoke sarcastically and I gave him a glare of my own. Shin knew what had happened to me, did he have to be a smart-ass about it?

"Naw." I shook my head and tried to act nonchalant about it, coming up with quick half-lie. "I almost got raped last night and I fought back. Surprisingly, a couple of prostitutes rescued me and I spent the night in a homeless shelter. Thankfully, I passed out from blood loss and they carried me to the shelter. If I'd tried to run away, I don't know where I'd have ended up. It wasn't so bad, I got a full meal for once and it was nice and warm there."

Shin lost all his anger in a heartbeat and his mouth fell open. In the heartbeat that followed, Shin launched himself at me and threw his arms around me. "Oh, Touma!" He wailed with tears in his eyes. "I didn't know! You all right? I didn't think you went through so much! Waaaaa!"

I patted his back, reassuringly. Boy, this situation had certainly turned around quickly. "Geeze, calm down. I'm fine." Shin continued to worry over how he'd yelled at me. Yeah, I felt a little guilty, but at least he wasn't yelling at me anymore. It wasn't a lie at all and this way, it got Shin's attention away from my dad.

When Shin wasn't looking, the door opened and I looked up in alarm only to see that it was Xiu. He gave us a puzzled look, but left, closing the door behind him. I knew he would be just outside, preventing anyone else from coming in until Shin and I came out. He'd want a full explanation, naturally, but he'd keep everyone out if he had to break a few heads to do it.

Shin eventually pulled away from me and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Sniffling a little, he gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry." He said. "Got your shirt wet."

"Hey, its no big problem..." Maybe I'd get lucky and Shin would forget all about my dad.

"Your dad beat you again."

Aw, shit. "Look, Shin..."

Shin waved his hand as if to dismiss whatever excuse I was going to give. "Don't lie. I can tell if you lie. Tell me truth. If you can't tell Ryo's secret, tell me yours."

I leaned my head down onto Shin's shoulder and put my arms around him, just resting there. Shin was the only guy, heck, the only person; I could feel completely comfortable with. He just made everything feel all right. With any other guy, being in such an intimate position, with out bodies pressed together and arms around each other, would be awkward at best. Not with Shin, though. Don't ask me why, we'd only known each other for a few months and he was always yelling at me, but it was a fact that I loved him more than a brother.

"I'll tell you everything, Shin. Not here, not now." The last place I wanted to share last night's adventure was in the boy's bathroom. This would wait until after school, at least.

Now all I had to worry about was what to do about Ryo.






Continued...