Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Pain, Joy, Life ❯ It Didn't Happen! ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Cousin D 
Ryo remembers what caused his stutter. This is an
unsettleing chapter. Warning for child abuse, but nothing
explicit.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.06.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 438 | Status: Work In Progress
Ryo remembers what caused his stutter. This is an
unsettleing chapter. Warning for child abuse, but nothing
explicit.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.06.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 438 | Status: Work In Progress
WARNING: I'm a very bad person. Poor Ryo. Please, if you read, tell me if I made you cry for Ryo.
Pain, Joy, Life
Chapter 8
IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!
In a well-lit room, very respectable, by all means, a middle-aged man passed a wineglass to his dining companion. His hair had long since turned grey and his face was beginning to show lines and wrinkles in an otherwise good looking face. His dining companion, though considerably younger, was no less polished in his appearance, wearing a dark blue suit with a plain white shirt. His hair was oiled and combed back, away from his handsome face.
"Thank you, your grace." The man in the blue suit said, accepting the glass of wine. "You're most kind to invite me to your home."
"Not at all." The grey haired man sat poured himself another glass of wine before sitting back comfortably in his chair. "It's the least I could do for a business associate."
"I'm afraid I should be the one taking you out to dinner, Bishop. You've done me a great favor, shutting down that shelter. With that closed, I won't have to worry about that psycho nun messing in my business or with my boys and girls."
Bishop Brannon shrugged carelessly. "Well...it had to be done, anyway. The building really was quite awful. Sooner or later I'd have had to do it, so why not now when I could get something out of it?"
The man in the blue suit laughed. "Very wise, your grace. This way, I'll be able to get my hands on that blue haired Touma, too. The next time he goes looking for a safe place to sleep, he won't have much of a choice. Yoko and Joji won't be able to help by taking him to the shelter, next time."
"Did you kill them? Seems strange. They brought you good money, didn't they?"
"Now, now, your grace." The man in the blue suit grinned. "Do you really want to know? I don't think the answer would make you happy. You really don't have to worry about them. I'll get Ryo for you, too."
"You're sure this will work?" Bishop Brannon asked. "You think he'll come to you?"
"Very sure. Ryo's been on the streets for a while and the pressure's building. I've been watching him. He can't find a job without a high school diploma and he's got the old woman to take care of. I saw him cleaning up some old gas station to live in, now that the shelter's closed." He laughed before taking a sip of his wine. "I'll give him a day or so before approaching him again."
"He might not accept. That boy's very proud, from what I hear and he's a regular little hell-cat these days."
The man in the blue suit looked out the window at a fine evening sunset, with lovely red tinted clouds stretching across the horizon. "Oh, he'll accept. I've known lots of boy's like him. Once he gets desperate enough for money, he'll come crying for help and I'll be the only one he can turn to. The government doesn't give a shit and he knows it. The shelters are all full right now and to busy to care about one kid and his grandmother. What friends does he have? Not a one who'd be willing to lend him a buck, I'll bet. He'll come, just give him a little while to realize he doesn't have any choice. As for his being a hell-cat," The man in the blue suit grinned at the bishop. "That's your problem, isn't it?"
Bishop Brannon blushed slightly, but didn't deny what the other man was insinuating. "Ryo is...precious to me."
"Precious? Ha! You mean he's a good fuck, don't you? Aren't you supposed to be honest, your grace?" He didn't even look phased at the Bishop's sour glare. "Don't you worry. I'll see to it that Ryo's first job is with you."
Bishop Brannon nodded and looked into his glass and studied the dark red liquid, so much like blood. "Yes. Thank you. I haven't had a chance to be alone with him in a long while. So long."
"This is a business deal that suits both of us, your grace. We'll both get what we want. I'll get Touma and you'll get Ryo."
Ryo-
Ryo sneezed and wondered who was talking about him. Right now he'd been confined to bed, strict instructions from Dr. Date, after the ordeal in the bathroom. He'd tried more than once to explain that it wasn't Seiji's fault that the bathroom caught on fire. Ryo told her that he must have been dreaming and kicked the candle or something, but she said it didn't matter.
"It was his responsibility to take care of the candle and he'll pay for his mistake like a man." She told him. "Now, you stay here and rest. You're grandmother's sleeping all ready and I think you should get some sleep while you're here. If you need anything, just let me know."
Ryo ventured, as he sat on the bed on the floor. "C-can I see Seiji?" He wanted to apologize, if nothing else, for getting Seiji in trouble.
"Maybe later, Ryo. Seiji needs some time to think, first."
"He's in the h-house?" Ryo's thoughts were anxiously on Shit Face and where he could be. If Seiji left the house he might not be safe and Ryo didn't know if he was strong enough to protect his friend anyway.
"Yes." Dr. Date looked a little puzzled. "Why wouldn't he be? We wouldn't kick him out of the house for just a little fire. Even Seiji's grandfather isn't that strict."
Ryo shrugged and just turned away from her. Seiji would be safe and Ryo was pretty sure Shit Face wouldn't care about Mr. Date or Dr. Date, so they'd be safe enough. He also wouldn't care about Ryo's granma, either. It was just Seiji he had to worry about. 'I'll have to leave soon, make sure Shit Faces knows I'm not here anymore so he won't hang around Seiji's house.'
Thinking of Shit Face made Ryo remember things he didn't want to remember. It made him think of Joji and what Joji did to survive, letting people touch him. 'I let HIM touch me.'
Ryo shook his head slightly, trying to rid himself of the thoughts. Joji was hurt, now, and Ryo wanted to help, but he had no idea how unless he went to Shit Face. Yoko had always told him to never go near Shit Face, though.
"Ryo?"
Ryo whipped around. He'd forgotten that Dr. Date was still in the room with him. She looked worried and wheeled herself a bit closer to him. "Are you all right?"
Ryo nodded, putting a smile on his face. There was no need to worry her.
"Well, so long as you're OK. I know it's still early in the morning, Ryo, but I want you to try to get some sleep, all right?" Dr. Date said, going back to the door of what must have been a guest bedroom. Before she closed the sliding door, Dr. Date smiled at Ryo. "I'll be right down the hall, holler if you need me."
When the door had slid closed, Ryo lay down on the thin mattress and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't want to remember or think about someone touching him. He really didn't want to remember.
Ryo's Flashback-
"Now, you remember to be a good boy, Ryo."
"Yes, granma." Ryo said, curiously looking around. "Where are we going?"
"To the local church, dear." She held his hand tightly so he wouldn't get lost in the overwhelming crowds that cluttered the streets.
Instead of resenting the idea that he needed to be protected, Ryo clung to his granma's hand. He'd never thought there would be so many people in the city! Ryo had never seen so many people in his whole life, even on the rare trips down the village had Ryo seen so many people. They were everywhere and all seemed to be rushing around for no special reason. People bumped against Ryo, knocking him into his granma's legs and didn't even stop to apologize! There was an ever-present noise, cars honking and people talking, sometimes shouting to each other. Ryo stayed very close to his granma, as she didn't seem at all frightened by all these people.
"What's a church, granma?" Ryo asked.
"A safe place. It's against my better judgment to ask for help, but just this once we'll ask the Father to give us a place to sleep for a few nights. I'll find a job soon enough and we'll be on our way."
"Father?" Ryo repeated, thinking of the faded memory of his own father. "Is daddy there?"
Granma's hand tightened on Ryo's and she replied tightly. "No, dear, not your daddy. This is a good father. He's going to help us, so you make sure you're polite to him and do whatever he asks, all right?"
If nothing else, Ryo knew that granma was always right. She was so smart and always knew what to do. "Yes, granma."
"Good boy. Ah, here we are." Ryo looked up and saw that they'd stopped outside a very large building made of stone. The doors were huge and made of wood and the windows were all colors of glass made into strange, beautiful pictures. "Let's make you look respectable." Granma ran her fingers through Ryo's hair and straightened his clothes somewhat. "Best behavior, remember. We're not in the wilderness, anymore. You've got to act civilized."
Together they walked into the large church.
Father Brannon seemed very nice and gave Ryo a lolly-pop when he took them into his office to talk. He was a very big man, or so he seemed to little eleven-year-old Ryo. He had a kind smile and patted Ryo's head with a big, gentle hand.
"We don't need to stay long," Granma was explaining, trying not to sound embarrassed. "We've fallen on hard times and I need to find a job quickly." She still held Ryo's hand possessively. "It's the boy, you see. I need somewhere safe for him while I'm out looking for a job. I've heard such good things about the church in this area and I thought..." It was very clear that it was killing her to admit she needed help.
Father Brannon laughed heartily. "No need to worry. I live in the back of the church and Ryo's more than welcome to stay with me. There's space in one of our back rooms you two can have somewhere to sleep and I've got plenty of food to share." He looked at Ryo. "We'll get to know each other quite well, won't we, Ryo?"
Ryo nodded, smiling. This whole civilization thing wasn't going to be so hard, really. Not if everyone was as nice as Father Brannon was.
It started easily enough. Granma went out the next morning looking for a job and Ryo stayed behind with Father Brannon. They talked and laughed about all kinds of things and Ryo liked the man. He liked how Father Brannon told him strange stories of things that happened long ago, like floods and giant fish swallowing people. Some guy who got nailed to a tree because he thought people should be nice to each other. Ryo helped to sweep up the church and any other little thing he could think of to help.
It was on the third day that Father Brannon started to act strange. Ryo had never really known his own dad. His only experience with people had been his mom and then his granma, so he didn't know how men acted. Ryo didn't know that it was wrong to touch people in certain ways.
"Sit with me, Ryo."
They were in Father Brannon's private parlor, a room at the back of the church where he pretty much lived. The parlor was warmly lit and the windows let lots of sunshine in. There was a big couch with a blue plaid covering and red striped pillows. A tiny, old television and a radio were the only modern things in the room, except for a very fancy looking computer. Of course, since it was the first computer Ryo had ever seen, any would have looked fancy to him.
Ryo cheerfully bounced over to the couch and sat next to Father Brannon. In the passed three days he'd developed a kind of hero worship concerning Father Brannon. The man was strong, very smart, and kind. He was almost perfect as far as Ryo was concerned.
Father Brannon put his arm around Ryo and hugged him tightly. "Do you like being here, Ryo?"
Ryo nodded, he liked the good food and he liked being warm all the time. "Sure do, sir. This is almost as good as back home, 'cept here I don't have Yaku-Chan." Ryo hadn't seen Byakuen in several days and thought that perhaps his friend had gone back to the forest to hunt again.
"Yaku-Chan?"
"Yep!" Ryo smiled. "Yaku-Chan's my best friend. He's a tiger and he taught me how to hunt and how to take care of myself."
Father Brannon's arm tightened around Ryo. "Now, Ryo. It isn't nice to lie. Our Lord God teaches us that we must never tell lies."
"I'm not lying!" Ryo protested. Granma had always told him that he must never, never tell lies. "Yaku-Chan is my best friend. You can meet him if you want. He'll come back soon."
"There are no tigers in Japan, Ryo. They live in India. Is he an imaginary friend?"
"No, sir, he's real as anything!"
Father Brannon inched himself a little closer to Ryo, keeping one arm around Ryo's shoulders. "You mustn't tell me lies, Ryo. You'll have to be punished for lies, you know." Ryo suddenly found he didn't like it when Father Brannon hugged him. That was weird. He usually liked hugs. It was just silly to feel strange just because of a hug. Granma said Father Brannon was a good person and that he'd take care of them.
"Punished?"
"Yes." Father Brannon turned and looked at Ryo, moving his face so he was uncomfortably close to Ryo. "Your granma said if you were bad, that I was to discipline you. Do you know what that means?"
"It...it means a spanking?" Ryo ventured. Granma never punished him like that, but his mom had and Ryo had fading memories of his dad spanking him. Ryo was horrified. He thought his granma trusted him and then she went and told Father Brannon that he might be bad?! "But...I'm not bad." Ryo said in a small voice. He admired Father Brannon and didn't want the man to think poorly of him.
"But you told me a lie." Father Brannon put one hand on Ryo's arm to pull him up and put the other hand on Ryo's cheek. "Lies are bad, you know that, don't you? Of course you do." By now, Ryo was standing in front of Father Brannon with the man's hands on his shoulders. "I don't want to do this, but it's for your own good. Take down your pants."
Ryo's mouth fell open. "B-but...I didn't lie."
"I don't want to hear another lie." Father Brannon said gently, shaking his head. "This is for your own good so you'll learn not to lie." Father Brannon took his hands off Ryo and folded them on his lap. "Do as I say, Ryo."
Ryo bit his lip nervously, not quite sure what he should do. His granma said to be good and that he was supposed to do what Father Brannon told him to do.
"You don't have to be shy." Father Brannon said. "There's only you and I here and the door is locked so no one will come in." Ryo didn't like the look in Father Brannon's eye, though he wasn't sure why.
"Do you want me to help you?"
Ryo shook his head. "No. I-I can do it." He had to do what Father Brannon wanted or his granma would be disappointed. Ryo unfastened his belt and started to take his pants down, all the while reminding himself, 'This isn't horrible. He's a father and father's are supposed to do this sort of thing. Father's spank kids when they're bad. I didn't mean to be bad, but if I was I guess I deserve this.'
Ryo let his pants fall down to his ankles and couldn't help the embarrassed flush that came to his face as he stood there in nothing but his boxers. For a moment, Father Brannon just stared at Ryo. Father Brannon's eyes felt hot when they looked Ryo up and down, but Ryo didn't know why. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
"Your underwear, too, Ryo."
'This is OK. He's a father and father's don't hurt kids.' Ryo pulled his boxers down, letting them fall down with his pants around his ankles. 'This is OK.' Ryo was starting to get cold and goose bumps rose on his exposed skin.
At first, Ryo tried to cover his privates with his hands, but Father Brannon reached out and took both of Ryo's wrists, pulling them away from his private place, as granma called 'down there', and gave Ryo a gentle tug towards him. "Lay down, Ryo. This will only hurt for a minute." He guided Ryo into getting on the couch and then helped Ryo to lay face down on the man's lap. His legs and face were both on the couch while only his middle part was on Father Brannon.
Ryo tried to turn around to see what Father Brannon was doing, but a soft hand touched his head and encouraged him to put his head down on the couch cushions. "Just relax."
Ryo swallowed hard and did as he was told. He knew, absolutely, that he was doing a good thing by listening to Father Brannon. His granma would be happy that he was being a good boy. But Ryo was having a hard time breathing and his heart was beating very quickly.
The first slap on his bare bottom was hard and made Ryo squeak in surprise, his whole body jerking. "Shhh." Father Brannon patted Ryo's hair softly. "That's just the start, Ryo. You deserve this for lying, remember." Another slap and Ryo scrunched his face up, biting his tongue so he wouldn't yell out. Again and again, with more force the blows came until Ryo couldn't stand the pain any more and was crying into the couch cushions with his hands clutched around one of the red striped pillows. Father Brannon showed no signs of stopping, just kept pounding away on Ryo.
Finally, it stopped. Ryo still sobbed into the couch, but Father Brannon didn't hit him again. "Poor, Ryo." Ryo felt Father Brannon's hand on his bottom again, but this time just rubbed him. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you, but you need to learn not to sin."
Ryo jerked away from Father Brannon's touch, his butt felt like it was on fire!
"It's all over." Father Brannon's other hand patted Ryo's head. "It's all over. The hurt will go away in a little while and if you're good, I won't have to do that again. Here, sit up."
Ryo felt so weak and worn out that he didn't want to move, but Father Brannon pulled him into a sitting position on his lap. Ryo leaned his cheek against Father Brannon's chest when he was sitting up; unable to resist when the Father put a hand against Ryo's head and pulled him in for a hug. "It hurts." Ryo whispered though his tears. He didn't want to sit; he just wanted to lay down on his stomach again.
"I know. That's why you must always be good for me. Always do what I tell you to do."
Ryo nodded and sniffed, trying to stop his crying. 'It's all over. I'll be good now. But, I wasn't lying about Yaku-Chan.'
Father Brannon held Ryo like this until Ryo had stopped crying, all the while rubbing his back and whispering gently to him that it would be all right so long as Ryo was a good boy from now on.
"We won't tell your granma about this, Ryo." Father Brannon said after a little while when he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped Ryo's face with it.
"Why not?" Ryo wondered, looking up with red, burning eyes. "She said she wants to know if I'm good and you said I can't lie to her."
Father Brannon kissed Ryo on the lips.
"..." Ryo just sat there with his hands at his sides and let himself be kissed.
"She'll be angry with you if you tell her that you were bad enough to get a spanking and I don't want you to get in trouble. You've all ready been punished so everything's been taken care of. We don't need her to worry about your behavior, do we?"
Ryo shook his head slowly, his eyes wide. That kiss...didn't feel right.
"Good." One of Father Brannon's hands moved down to Ryo's bare hip and gave it a squeeze. "I think you've learned your lesson, Ryo. Would you like to stay here for a while?"
Ryo looked down at the hand on his leg. "Granma said we're leaving when she finds a job." Ryo found himself desperately wishing that his granma would find a job today and they'd leave quickly.
Father Brannon ran his hand up and down Ryo's leg and Ryo got a very nasty feeling in his stomach, like he'd eaten something that had gone bad. Father Brannon's other hand began to rub circles on Ryo's back. "I think I can give your granma a job in the church, right here. I need someone to help with cleaning up and you'd both have a nice warm place to live. I can even get you both a room of your own so you won't have to share. Just think how nice it will be for your granma to be somewhere safe and warm every night."
But all Ryo could think of was how much he wanted Father Brannon to stop touching him. "Can I pull my pants up, now?"
"Not yet. You're a mess from all that crying, Ryo. Why don't you take a bath? I'll be in my office. When you're done with your bath, come and see me and you can help me make some bread for dinner tonight. Won't your granma like that?"
Ryo nodded dumbly and slid off Father Brannon's lap as gently as he could. He started to reach down to pull his pants up so he could walk without tripping, but Father Brannon's voice interrupted him. "Just take them off."
Ryo hesitated, but remembered what Father Brannon said. If Ryo was good and did what he was told, he wouldn't get any more spankings. Ryo kicked off his shoes and pulled off his pants and underpants so he was naked from the waist down. The bathroom was right in the other room and Ryo hurried away to do what he was told.
That night, at dinner, Ryo's granma still hadn't found a job. She was happy, though, to know that Ryo was in such a safe place while she was out and commented on how lovely the bread was that he'd helped to make. "Ryo?" His granma said as all three of them sat together. "Are you all right? You've been very quiet tonight."
Ryo squirmed in his seat, partly because his bottom still hurt and partly because Father Brannon had warned him against telling his granma anything, least it worry her. "I'm OK, granma. I just don't feel so good."
She instantly put a hand on his forehead. "You don't feel feverish. Is it your stomach that's hurting you?"
Ryo nodded. Ever since his spanking, Ryo had been having terrible butterflies in his tummy. It got worse every time Father Brannon looked at him, too. "Can I go to bed, granma?"
"Yes, of course, dear. Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?"
"No, thank you." Ryo answered, clearing his place at the table. "I think I just want to sleep."
The next day-
"Ryo. What did I tell you about lying?"
Ryo looked up from where he was pulling weeds from Father Brannon's garden to find Father Brannon looking slightly angry with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I didn't! I swear!" Ryo protested, his eyes growing wide. He hadn't done anything bad since yesterday when he'd gotten the spanking.
"We discussed this yesterday, Ryo." Father Brannon held out his hand to Ryo. "But I think we need to talk about how evil it is to lie, again. Come with me."
Ryo stared at the offered hand like he was being offered a snake. He didn't want another spanking.
Father Brannon sighed. "You told your granma last night that you were sick and you weren't. That was a lie and it's bad to lie."
"I didn't say I was sick." Ryo tried to defend himself. "I just said I didn't feel good. That's the truth!"
"But you let her think you were sick and she was very worried about you for no reason. That wasn't just unkind, it was an evil thing to do. You don't want to be evil, do you?"
Ryo shook his head and felt like crying again. "My bum still hurts." He muttered, hoping that Father Brannon would take pity on him and not give him another spanking.
"You must be punished." Father Brannon held out his hand insistently and Ryo reluctantly took it. "I won't give you a spanking, Ryo, but you will have to learn not to lie."
"Yes, sir."
Father Brannon led Ryo into the parlor again and locked the door again. "Stand there." Father Brannon told Ryo, pointing to the couch where Ryo had gotten his spanking yesterday. While Ryo waited, Father Brannon went to his desk and dug around for a minute before finding a ruler. He came back and sat on the couch in front of Ryo before instructing, "Hold out your hands."
The first whack came before Ryo could react and Ryo jerked his hands away, shocked. Father Brannon had whipped his hands with the ruler as quick as lightening.
"Hold out your hands, Ryo." Ryo knew he couldn't get out of this. He'd lied again and this time, Father Brannon was right. He DID let his granma think he was sick just so he could go to bed early. Ryo held out his hands.
It only took five whacks with the ruler against his knuckles to bring Ryo to tears. Five more had him sobbing almost uncontrollably. 'I tried to be good! I really tried!' His knees felt weak and just five more whacks Ryo collapsed to the floor. His hands were numb from the wrists down and they looked horribly red, Ryo didn't know how he was going to hide them from his granma.
Father Brannon put his hands under Ryo's arms and pulled him again into his lap. This time, Ryo was facing Father Brannon with his chin on Father Brannon's shoulder and straddling Father Brannon's legs. "It's all right. Just let yourself cry for a minute, Ryo." Father Brannon put Ryo's arms around his neck and stroked Ryo's back. "The pain will go away."
Ryo was shaking and shuddering while he cried. He didn't think that it would hurt THAT much! While Ryo sat there, trying to get a hold of himself, he felt something strange. Through his tears, Ryo looked down at Father Brannon's lap and saw that Father Brannon's pants were tented up, like there was something in there.
Father Brannon hugged Ryo tighter, putting a hand on Ryo's lower back to pull him in closer and Ryo's privates nudged against that 'something' in Father Brannon's pants, where his privates were. Whatever was in there made Ryo jump when it touched him and he wanted to be away from Father Brannon right away. Ryo put both hands on Father Brannon's chest and pushed himself away, getting a good look at the man's face.
Father Brannon's eyes were sort of unfocused as he looked at Ryo. "I'm doing this for your own good, Ryo. I don't want to hurt you." His voice was almost breathless. "Be a good boy and you won't be punished." He pulled Ryo in close again, one of his hands, dipping lower on Ryo's back until it was at his belt and then down onto Ryo still sore bottom. "Just be a good boy and sit still for a minute."
"W-what are you doing?" Ryo asked nervously.
Father Brannon's hand cupped around one of Ryo's buttocks and began massaging it. "I want to make sure you're not to badly hurt from yesterday. Just sit still." He held Ryo's tense body tightly, rubbing his hand all over Ryo's bottom and Ryo didn't like it. But his hands still hurt, too, and Ryo didn't want to be punished again if he didn't do what Father Brannon told him to do.
Ryo was actually scared when Father Brannon leaned his face down and put his nose at Ryo's neck. Father Brannon breathed in deeply, smelling Ryo. "You smell like earth, Ryo. You need to take another bath later."
"Yes, sir." Ryo managed to answer.
Father Brannon slipped one of his hands down, inside Ryo's pants. Ryo gasped and tried to jump away, but Father Brannon was very strong and held him tightly. "I-I-I don't like that!" Ryo shouted. He knew Father Brannon wasn't trying to hurt him, but it just didn't feel good.
"You must be a good boy, Ryo. Sit still, I want to feel you and make sure you're not hurt." There was something very scary about Father Brannon's voice.
Ryo had never been afraid of a person before. He was afraid of thunder when he was very little and afraid of creatures with big teeth when he got bigger. Ryo was afraid of heights and he was afraid of not having anything to eat and he was even afraid of the cold. He'd never had to be afraid of a person before.
Father Brannon kissed Ryo again and Ryo pulled away with a whimper. He didn't like this. He really didn't like this!
"Don't be afraid of me, Ryo. I won't hurt you if you do what you're told." Father Brannon brushed a lock of hair out of Ryo's eyes tenderly. "Don't be afraid."
Despite his words and the gentle touches, Ryo was afraid. He didn't want kisses or hugs from Father Brannon, but granma had told him to do whatever Father Brannon told him to do. Even if he disobeyed granma and tried to get away, Father Brannon would just punish him again for being bad. Worse, he might tell granma that Ryo was bad and she'd be disappointed in him again.
'I don't know what to do!' Ryo was so confused and scared. 'Someone help me!'
"You're very pretty for a little boy." Father Brannon commented, unexpectedly. He reached a hand up to touch Ryo's long eyelashes. "Very pretty." The hand that had been touching his eyelashes moved down, brushing fingertips against his cheeks and then his neck. That one hand started to undo the buttons of Ryo's shirt.
"W-wh...?" Ryo reached one aching hand up to stop Father Brannon, but a warning look from the man made Ryo drop his hand down to his sides.
"That's a good boy, Ryo. You're starting to learn." With one hand Father Brannon unbuttoned Ryo's shirt all the way until it was hanging open and Father Brannon pushed it off Ryo's shoulders and looked at Ryo appraisingly. "Very, very good."
One hour later-
Ryo hurried away from the church, his eyes burning with tears as he struggled to button up his shirt with fumbling fingers. 'It didn't happen!' It hurt to walk and Ryo felt dirty all over. 'I'm not hurt! It didn't even happen!'
Granma found him like that when she was on her way back to the church. Beside her was Byakuen, he must have run into her on his way back into the city, and the two seemed very happy. "Look who I found, Ryo, dear." Byakuen dashed away from Ryo's granma and right up to Ryo, licking his face with a rough tongue. Granma continued talking. "Wonderful news! I managed to find a job and you can help me, too. We'll work at a flower shop for a while." She stopped when she saw that Ryo hadn't moved since she'd found him. He just stood there and stared straight ahead, not even moving when Byakuen tried to get his attention. "Ryo?"
Slowly, Ryo looked at her, focusing on her worried face and then looking at Byakuen who looked confused. "Ryo?"
Ryo threw himself into her arms and started crying. She hugged him tightly, caressing his back with one hand while the other patted his hair like she used to when he was younger. "What happened, my little one? Did someone hurt you?"
Ryo's knees gave out and he slumped against her. Hurt? Yes, it had hurt so much.
"W-w-when c-can w-w-we go?" Ryo didn't want to stay here anymore. Not a minute longer! "I-I-I w-w-want to l-l-leave!" He was spitting as he stuttered, but didn't care.
"Ryo, your voice. Why are you stuttering?" Ryo's granma put a hand to his face. "Why don't you want to stay here anymore?"
Ryo shuddered against her, but didn't answer. 'I tried to be good! He promised he wouldn't hurt me!' Ryo buried his face in his granma's shoulder and that, in itself, seemed to be enough of an answer for her.
"Don't worry, Ryo. We'll leave now." Ryo's granma wasn't happy. Whether she was unhappy with him or something else, Ryo didn't know. He was just glad that they were leaving.
Byakuen nudged Ryo to get on his back. It hurt, but with his granma's help, Ryo managed to get on Byakuen. His bum hurt lots more now that it had yesterday after the spanking. Ryo told his granma, "I w-w-want to go to s-s-s-sleep, granma." He was tired and sore. Everything hurt. Ryo had learned something very valuable, though. Trusting people was bad. Very bad. "P-p-please, l-l-let me s-s-sleep." Ryo never wanted to wake up again.
Granma stood next to Byakuen and put a hand on Ryo's head. "My sweet tiger. Who hurt you?" There was steel in her voice that wasn't often heard and for a moment, Ryo wanted to tell her everything, but didn't. It was his own fault. Father Brannon had said it was Ryo's fault and he wasn't allowed to lie. If he hadn't been bad none of this would have happened.
Ryo lowered himself until his face was in Byakuen's fur and he clung to Byakuen with his curling his fingers into Byakuen's fur for comfort. 'It didn't happen! I'll just stop thinking about it and it never happened. I'll go to sleep and none of this ever happened. I'll forget it.' This was all he needed anyway, just granma and Byakuen.
He didn't need anyone else to be safe.
End of flashback
To be continued...
Pain, Joy, Life
Chapter 8
IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!
In a well-lit room, very respectable, by all means, a middle-aged man passed a wineglass to his dining companion. His hair had long since turned grey and his face was beginning to show lines and wrinkles in an otherwise good looking face. His dining companion, though considerably younger, was no less polished in his appearance, wearing a dark blue suit with a plain white shirt. His hair was oiled and combed back, away from his handsome face.
"Thank you, your grace." The man in the blue suit said, accepting the glass of wine. "You're most kind to invite me to your home."
"Not at all." The grey haired man sat poured himself another glass of wine before sitting back comfortably in his chair. "It's the least I could do for a business associate."
"I'm afraid I should be the one taking you out to dinner, Bishop. You've done me a great favor, shutting down that shelter. With that closed, I won't have to worry about that psycho nun messing in my business or with my boys and girls."
Bishop Brannon shrugged carelessly. "Well...it had to be done, anyway. The building really was quite awful. Sooner or later I'd have had to do it, so why not now when I could get something out of it?"
The man in the blue suit laughed. "Very wise, your grace. This way, I'll be able to get my hands on that blue haired Touma, too. The next time he goes looking for a safe place to sleep, he won't have much of a choice. Yoko and Joji won't be able to help by taking him to the shelter, next time."
"Did you kill them? Seems strange. They brought you good money, didn't they?"
"Now, now, your grace." The man in the blue suit grinned. "Do you really want to know? I don't think the answer would make you happy. You really don't have to worry about them. I'll get Ryo for you, too."
"You're sure this will work?" Bishop Brannon asked. "You think he'll come to you?"
"Very sure. Ryo's been on the streets for a while and the pressure's building. I've been watching him. He can't find a job without a high school diploma and he's got the old woman to take care of. I saw him cleaning up some old gas station to live in, now that the shelter's closed." He laughed before taking a sip of his wine. "I'll give him a day or so before approaching him again."
"He might not accept. That boy's very proud, from what I hear and he's a regular little hell-cat these days."
The man in the blue suit looked out the window at a fine evening sunset, with lovely red tinted clouds stretching across the horizon. "Oh, he'll accept. I've known lots of boy's like him. Once he gets desperate enough for money, he'll come crying for help and I'll be the only one he can turn to. The government doesn't give a shit and he knows it. The shelters are all full right now and to busy to care about one kid and his grandmother. What friends does he have? Not a one who'd be willing to lend him a buck, I'll bet. He'll come, just give him a little while to realize he doesn't have any choice. As for his being a hell-cat," The man in the blue suit grinned at the bishop. "That's your problem, isn't it?"
Bishop Brannon blushed slightly, but didn't deny what the other man was insinuating. "Ryo is...precious to me."
"Precious? Ha! You mean he's a good fuck, don't you? Aren't you supposed to be honest, your grace?" He didn't even look phased at the Bishop's sour glare. "Don't you worry. I'll see to it that Ryo's first job is with you."
Bishop Brannon nodded and looked into his glass and studied the dark red liquid, so much like blood. "Yes. Thank you. I haven't had a chance to be alone with him in a long while. So long."
"This is a business deal that suits both of us, your grace. We'll both get what we want. I'll get Touma and you'll get Ryo."
Ryo-
Ryo sneezed and wondered who was talking about him. Right now he'd been confined to bed, strict instructions from Dr. Date, after the ordeal in the bathroom. He'd tried more than once to explain that it wasn't Seiji's fault that the bathroom caught on fire. Ryo told her that he must have been dreaming and kicked the candle or something, but she said it didn't matter.
"It was his responsibility to take care of the candle and he'll pay for his mistake like a man." She told him. "Now, you stay here and rest. You're grandmother's sleeping all ready and I think you should get some sleep while you're here. If you need anything, just let me know."
Ryo ventured, as he sat on the bed on the floor. "C-can I see Seiji?" He wanted to apologize, if nothing else, for getting Seiji in trouble.
"Maybe later, Ryo. Seiji needs some time to think, first."
"He's in the h-house?" Ryo's thoughts were anxiously on Shit Face and where he could be. If Seiji left the house he might not be safe and Ryo didn't know if he was strong enough to protect his friend anyway.
"Yes." Dr. Date looked a little puzzled. "Why wouldn't he be? We wouldn't kick him out of the house for just a little fire. Even Seiji's grandfather isn't that strict."
Ryo shrugged and just turned away from her. Seiji would be safe and Ryo was pretty sure Shit Face wouldn't care about Mr. Date or Dr. Date, so they'd be safe enough. He also wouldn't care about Ryo's granma, either. It was just Seiji he had to worry about. 'I'll have to leave soon, make sure Shit Faces knows I'm not here anymore so he won't hang around Seiji's house.'
Thinking of Shit Face made Ryo remember things he didn't want to remember. It made him think of Joji and what Joji did to survive, letting people touch him. 'I let HIM touch me.'
Ryo shook his head slightly, trying to rid himself of the thoughts. Joji was hurt, now, and Ryo wanted to help, but he had no idea how unless he went to Shit Face. Yoko had always told him to never go near Shit Face, though.
"Ryo?"
Ryo whipped around. He'd forgotten that Dr. Date was still in the room with him. She looked worried and wheeled herself a bit closer to him. "Are you all right?"
Ryo nodded, putting a smile on his face. There was no need to worry her.
"Well, so long as you're OK. I know it's still early in the morning, Ryo, but I want you to try to get some sleep, all right?" Dr. Date said, going back to the door of what must have been a guest bedroom. Before she closed the sliding door, Dr. Date smiled at Ryo. "I'll be right down the hall, holler if you need me."
When the door had slid closed, Ryo lay down on the thin mattress and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't want to remember or think about someone touching him. He really didn't want to remember.
Ryo's Flashback-
"Now, you remember to be a good boy, Ryo."
"Yes, granma." Ryo said, curiously looking around. "Where are we going?"
"To the local church, dear." She held his hand tightly so he wouldn't get lost in the overwhelming crowds that cluttered the streets.
Instead of resenting the idea that he needed to be protected, Ryo clung to his granma's hand. He'd never thought there would be so many people in the city! Ryo had never seen so many people in his whole life, even on the rare trips down the village had Ryo seen so many people. They were everywhere and all seemed to be rushing around for no special reason. People bumped against Ryo, knocking him into his granma's legs and didn't even stop to apologize! There was an ever-present noise, cars honking and people talking, sometimes shouting to each other. Ryo stayed very close to his granma, as she didn't seem at all frightened by all these people.
"What's a church, granma?" Ryo asked.
"A safe place. It's against my better judgment to ask for help, but just this once we'll ask the Father to give us a place to sleep for a few nights. I'll find a job soon enough and we'll be on our way."
"Father?" Ryo repeated, thinking of the faded memory of his own father. "Is daddy there?"
Granma's hand tightened on Ryo's and she replied tightly. "No, dear, not your daddy. This is a good father. He's going to help us, so you make sure you're polite to him and do whatever he asks, all right?"
If nothing else, Ryo knew that granma was always right. She was so smart and always knew what to do. "Yes, granma."
"Good boy. Ah, here we are." Ryo looked up and saw that they'd stopped outside a very large building made of stone. The doors were huge and made of wood and the windows were all colors of glass made into strange, beautiful pictures. "Let's make you look respectable." Granma ran her fingers through Ryo's hair and straightened his clothes somewhat. "Best behavior, remember. We're not in the wilderness, anymore. You've got to act civilized."
Together they walked into the large church.
Father Brannon seemed very nice and gave Ryo a lolly-pop when he took them into his office to talk. He was a very big man, or so he seemed to little eleven-year-old Ryo. He had a kind smile and patted Ryo's head with a big, gentle hand.
"We don't need to stay long," Granma was explaining, trying not to sound embarrassed. "We've fallen on hard times and I need to find a job quickly." She still held Ryo's hand possessively. "It's the boy, you see. I need somewhere safe for him while I'm out looking for a job. I've heard such good things about the church in this area and I thought..." It was very clear that it was killing her to admit she needed help.
Father Brannon laughed heartily. "No need to worry. I live in the back of the church and Ryo's more than welcome to stay with me. There's space in one of our back rooms you two can have somewhere to sleep and I've got plenty of food to share." He looked at Ryo. "We'll get to know each other quite well, won't we, Ryo?"
Ryo nodded, smiling. This whole civilization thing wasn't going to be so hard, really. Not if everyone was as nice as Father Brannon was.
It started easily enough. Granma went out the next morning looking for a job and Ryo stayed behind with Father Brannon. They talked and laughed about all kinds of things and Ryo liked the man. He liked how Father Brannon told him strange stories of things that happened long ago, like floods and giant fish swallowing people. Some guy who got nailed to a tree because he thought people should be nice to each other. Ryo helped to sweep up the church and any other little thing he could think of to help.
It was on the third day that Father Brannon started to act strange. Ryo had never really known his own dad. His only experience with people had been his mom and then his granma, so he didn't know how men acted. Ryo didn't know that it was wrong to touch people in certain ways.
"Sit with me, Ryo."
They were in Father Brannon's private parlor, a room at the back of the church where he pretty much lived. The parlor was warmly lit and the windows let lots of sunshine in. There was a big couch with a blue plaid covering and red striped pillows. A tiny, old television and a radio were the only modern things in the room, except for a very fancy looking computer. Of course, since it was the first computer Ryo had ever seen, any would have looked fancy to him.
Ryo cheerfully bounced over to the couch and sat next to Father Brannon. In the passed three days he'd developed a kind of hero worship concerning Father Brannon. The man was strong, very smart, and kind. He was almost perfect as far as Ryo was concerned.
Father Brannon put his arm around Ryo and hugged him tightly. "Do you like being here, Ryo?"
Ryo nodded, he liked the good food and he liked being warm all the time. "Sure do, sir. This is almost as good as back home, 'cept here I don't have Yaku-Chan." Ryo hadn't seen Byakuen in several days and thought that perhaps his friend had gone back to the forest to hunt again.
"Yaku-Chan?"
"Yep!" Ryo smiled. "Yaku-Chan's my best friend. He's a tiger and he taught me how to hunt and how to take care of myself."
Father Brannon's arm tightened around Ryo. "Now, Ryo. It isn't nice to lie. Our Lord God teaches us that we must never tell lies."
"I'm not lying!" Ryo protested. Granma had always told him that he must never, never tell lies. "Yaku-Chan is my best friend. You can meet him if you want. He'll come back soon."
"There are no tigers in Japan, Ryo. They live in India. Is he an imaginary friend?"
"No, sir, he's real as anything!"
Father Brannon inched himself a little closer to Ryo, keeping one arm around Ryo's shoulders. "You mustn't tell me lies, Ryo. You'll have to be punished for lies, you know." Ryo suddenly found he didn't like it when Father Brannon hugged him. That was weird. He usually liked hugs. It was just silly to feel strange just because of a hug. Granma said Father Brannon was a good person and that he'd take care of them.
"Punished?"
"Yes." Father Brannon turned and looked at Ryo, moving his face so he was uncomfortably close to Ryo. "Your granma said if you were bad, that I was to discipline you. Do you know what that means?"
"It...it means a spanking?" Ryo ventured. Granma never punished him like that, but his mom had and Ryo had fading memories of his dad spanking him. Ryo was horrified. He thought his granma trusted him and then she went and told Father Brannon that he might be bad?! "But...I'm not bad." Ryo said in a small voice. He admired Father Brannon and didn't want the man to think poorly of him.
"But you told me a lie." Father Brannon put one hand on Ryo's arm to pull him up and put the other hand on Ryo's cheek. "Lies are bad, you know that, don't you? Of course you do." By now, Ryo was standing in front of Father Brannon with the man's hands on his shoulders. "I don't want to do this, but it's for your own good. Take down your pants."
Ryo's mouth fell open. "B-but...I didn't lie."
"I don't want to hear another lie." Father Brannon said gently, shaking his head. "This is for your own good so you'll learn not to lie." Father Brannon took his hands off Ryo and folded them on his lap. "Do as I say, Ryo."
Ryo bit his lip nervously, not quite sure what he should do. His granma said to be good and that he was supposed to do what Father Brannon told him to do.
"You don't have to be shy." Father Brannon said. "There's only you and I here and the door is locked so no one will come in." Ryo didn't like the look in Father Brannon's eye, though he wasn't sure why.
"Do you want me to help you?"
Ryo shook his head. "No. I-I can do it." He had to do what Father Brannon wanted or his granma would be disappointed. Ryo unfastened his belt and started to take his pants down, all the while reminding himself, 'This isn't horrible. He's a father and father's are supposed to do this sort of thing. Father's spank kids when they're bad. I didn't mean to be bad, but if I was I guess I deserve this.'
Ryo let his pants fall down to his ankles and couldn't help the embarrassed flush that came to his face as he stood there in nothing but his boxers. For a moment, Father Brannon just stared at Ryo. Father Brannon's eyes felt hot when they looked Ryo up and down, but Ryo didn't know why. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
"Your underwear, too, Ryo."
'This is OK. He's a father and father's don't hurt kids.' Ryo pulled his boxers down, letting them fall down with his pants around his ankles. 'This is OK.' Ryo was starting to get cold and goose bumps rose on his exposed skin.
At first, Ryo tried to cover his privates with his hands, but Father Brannon reached out and took both of Ryo's wrists, pulling them away from his private place, as granma called 'down there', and gave Ryo a gentle tug towards him. "Lay down, Ryo. This will only hurt for a minute." He guided Ryo into getting on the couch and then helped Ryo to lay face down on the man's lap. His legs and face were both on the couch while only his middle part was on Father Brannon.
Ryo tried to turn around to see what Father Brannon was doing, but a soft hand touched his head and encouraged him to put his head down on the couch cushions. "Just relax."
Ryo swallowed hard and did as he was told. He knew, absolutely, that he was doing a good thing by listening to Father Brannon. His granma would be happy that he was being a good boy. But Ryo was having a hard time breathing and his heart was beating very quickly.
The first slap on his bare bottom was hard and made Ryo squeak in surprise, his whole body jerking. "Shhh." Father Brannon patted Ryo's hair softly. "That's just the start, Ryo. You deserve this for lying, remember." Another slap and Ryo scrunched his face up, biting his tongue so he wouldn't yell out. Again and again, with more force the blows came until Ryo couldn't stand the pain any more and was crying into the couch cushions with his hands clutched around one of the red striped pillows. Father Brannon showed no signs of stopping, just kept pounding away on Ryo.
Finally, it stopped. Ryo still sobbed into the couch, but Father Brannon didn't hit him again. "Poor, Ryo." Ryo felt Father Brannon's hand on his bottom again, but this time just rubbed him. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you, but you need to learn not to sin."
Ryo jerked away from Father Brannon's touch, his butt felt like it was on fire!
"It's all over." Father Brannon's other hand patted Ryo's head. "It's all over. The hurt will go away in a little while and if you're good, I won't have to do that again. Here, sit up."
Ryo felt so weak and worn out that he didn't want to move, but Father Brannon pulled him into a sitting position on his lap. Ryo leaned his cheek against Father Brannon's chest when he was sitting up; unable to resist when the Father put a hand against Ryo's head and pulled him in for a hug. "It hurts." Ryo whispered though his tears. He didn't want to sit; he just wanted to lay down on his stomach again.
"I know. That's why you must always be good for me. Always do what I tell you to do."
Ryo nodded and sniffed, trying to stop his crying. 'It's all over. I'll be good now. But, I wasn't lying about Yaku-Chan.'
Father Brannon held Ryo like this until Ryo had stopped crying, all the while rubbing his back and whispering gently to him that it would be all right so long as Ryo was a good boy from now on.
"We won't tell your granma about this, Ryo." Father Brannon said after a little while when he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped Ryo's face with it.
"Why not?" Ryo wondered, looking up with red, burning eyes. "She said she wants to know if I'm good and you said I can't lie to her."
Father Brannon kissed Ryo on the lips.
"..." Ryo just sat there with his hands at his sides and let himself be kissed.
"She'll be angry with you if you tell her that you were bad enough to get a spanking and I don't want you to get in trouble. You've all ready been punished so everything's been taken care of. We don't need her to worry about your behavior, do we?"
Ryo shook his head slowly, his eyes wide. That kiss...didn't feel right.
"Good." One of Father Brannon's hands moved down to Ryo's bare hip and gave it a squeeze. "I think you've learned your lesson, Ryo. Would you like to stay here for a while?"
Ryo looked down at the hand on his leg. "Granma said we're leaving when she finds a job." Ryo found himself desperately wishing that his granma would find a job today and they'd leave quickly.
Father Brannon ran his hand up and down Ryo's leg and Ryo got a very nasty feeling in his stomach, like he'd eaten something that had gone bad. Father Brannon's other hand began to rub circles on Ryo's back. "I think I can give your granma a job in the church, right here. I need someone to help with cleaning up and you'd both have a nice warm place to live. I can even get you both a room of your own so you won't have to share. Just think how nice it will be for your granma to be somewhere safe and warm every night."
But all Ryo could think of was how much he wanted Father Brannon to stop touching him. "Can I pull my pants up, now?"
"Not yet. You're a mess from all that crying, Ryo. Why don't you take a bath? I'll be in my office. When you're done with your bath, come and see me and you can help me make some bread for dinner tonight. Won't your granma like that?"
Ryo nodded dumbly and slid off Father Brannon's lap as gently as he could. He started to reach down to pull his pants up so he could walk without tripping, but Father Brannon's voice interrupted him. "Just take them off."
Ryo hesitated, but remembered what Father Brannon said. If Ryo was good and did what he was told, he wouldn't get any more spankings. Ryo kicked off his shoes and pulled off his pants and underpants so he was naked from the waist down. The bathroom was right in the other room and Ryo hurried away to do what he was told.
That night, at dinner, Ryo's granma still hadn't found a job. She was happy, though, to know that Ryo was in such a safe place while she was out and commented on how lovely the bread was that he'd helped to make. "Ryo?" His granma said as all three of them sat together. "Are you all right? You've been very quiet tonight."
Ryo squirmed in his seat, partly because his bottom still hurt and partly because Father Brannon had warned him against telling his granma anything, least it worry her. "I'm OK, granma. I just don't feel so good."
She instantly put a hand on his forehead. "You don't feel feverish. Is it your stomach that's hurting you?"
Ryo nodded. Ever since his spanking, Ryo had been having terrible butterflies in his tummy. It got worse every time Father Brannon looked at him, too. "Can I go to bed, granma?"
"Yes, of course, dear. Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?"
"No, thank you." Ryo answered, clearing his place at the table. "I think I just want to sleep."
The next day-
"Ryo. What did I tell you about lying?"
Ryo looked up from where he was pulling weeds from Father Brannon's garden to find Father Brannon looking slightly angry with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I didn't! I swear!" Ryo protested, his eyes growing wide. He hadn't done anything bad since yesterday when he'd gotten the spanking.
"We discussed this yesterday, Ryo." Father Brannon held out his hand to Ryo. "But I think we need to talk about how evil it is to lie, again. Come with me."
Ryo stared at the offered hand like he was being offered a snake. He didn't want another spanking.
Father Brannon sighed. "You told your granma last night that you were sick and you weren't. That was a lie and it's bad to lie."
"I didn't say I was sick." Ryo tried to defend himself. "I just said I didn't feel good. That's the truth!"
"But you let her think you were sick and she was very worried about you for no reason. That wasn't just unkind, it was an evil thing to do. You don't want to be evil, do you?"
Ryo shook his head and felt like crying again. "My bum still hurts." He muttered, hoping that Father Brannon would take pity on him and not give him another spanking.
"You must be punished." Father Brannon held out his hand insistently and Ryo reluctantly took it. "I won't give you a spanking, Ryo, but you will have to learn not to lie."
"Yes, sir."
Father Brannon led Ryo into the parlor again and locked the door again. "Stand there." Father Brannon told Ryo, pointing to the couch where Ryo had gotten his spanking yesterday. While Ryo waited, Father Brannon went to his desk and dug around for a minute before finding a ruler. He came back and sat on the couch in front of Ryo before instructing, "Hold out your hands."
The first whack came before Ryo could react and Ryo jerked his hands away, shocked. Father Brannon had whipped his hands with the ruler as quick as lightening.
"Hold out your hands, Ryo." Ryo knew he couldn't get out of this. He'd lied again and this time, Father Brannon was right. He DID let his granma think he was sick just so he could go to bed early. Ryo held out his hands.
It only took five whacks with the ruler against his knuckles to bring Ryo to tears. Five more had him sobbing almost uncontrollably. 'I tried to be good! I really tried!' His knees felt weak and just five more whacks Ryo collapsed to the floor. His hands were numb from the wrists down and they looked horribly red, Ryo didn't know how he was going to hide them from his granma.
Father Brannon put his hands under Ryo's arms and pulled him again into his lap. This time, Ryo was facing Father Brannon with his chin on Father Brannon's shoulder and straddling Father Brannon's legs. "It's all right. Just let yourself cry for a minute, Ryo." Father Brannon put Ryo's arms around his neck and stroked Ryo's back. "The pain will go away."
Ryo was shaking and shuddering while he cried. He didn't think that it would hurt THAT much! While Ryo sat there, trying to get a hold of himself, he felt something strange. Through his tears, Ryo looked down at Father Brannon's lap and saw that Father Brannon's pants were tented up, like there was something in there.
Father Brannon hugged Ryo tighter, putting a hand on Ryo's lower back to pull him in closer and Ryo's privates nudged against that 'something' in Father Brannon's pants, where his privates were. Whatever was in there made Ryo jump when it touched him and he wanted to be away from Father Brannon right away. Ryo put both hands on Father Brannon's chest and pushed himself away, getting a good look at the man's face.
Father Brannon's eyes were sort of unfocused as he looked at Ryo. "I'm doing this for your own good, Ryo. I don't want to hurt you." His voice was almost breathless. "Be a good boy and you won't be punished." He pulled Ryo in close again, one of his hands, dipping lower on Ryo's back until it was at his belt and then down onto Ryo still sore bottom. "Just be a good boy and sit still for a minute."
"W-what are you doing?" Ryo asked nervously.
Father Brannon's hand cupped around one of Ryo's buttocks and began massaging it. "I want to make sure you're not to badly hurt from yesterday. Just sit still." He held Ryo's tense body tightly, rubbing his hand all over Ryo's bottom and Ryo didn't like it. But his hands still hurt, too, and Ryo didn't want to be punished again if he didn't do what Father Brannon told him to do.
Ryo was actually scared when Father Brannon leaned his face down and put his nose at Ryo's neck. Father Brannon breathed in deeply, smelling Ryo. "You smell like earth, Ryo. You need to take another bath later."
"Yes, sir." Ryo managed to answer.
Father Brannon slipped one of his hands down, inside Ryo's pants. Ryo gasped and tried to jump away, but Father Brannon was very strong and held him tightly. "I-I-I don't like that!" Ryo shouted. He knew Father Brannon wasn't trying to hurt him, but it just didn't feel good.
"You must be a good boy, Ryo. Sit still, I want to feel you and make sure you're not hurt." There was something very scary about Father Brannon's voice.
Ryo had never been afraid of a person before. He was afraid of thunder when he was very little and afraid of creatures with big teeth when he got bigger. Ryo was afraid of heights and he was afraid of not having anything to eat and he was even afraid of the cold. He'd never had to be afraid of a person before.
Father Brannon kissed Ryo again and Ryo pulled away with a whimper. He didn't like this. He really didn't like this!
"Don't be afraid of me, Ryo. I won't hurt you if you do what you're told." Father Brannon brushed a lock of hair out of Ryo's eyes tenderly. "Don't be afraid."
Despite his words and the gentle touches, Ryo was afraid. He didn't want kisses or hugs from Father Brannon, but granma had told him to do whatever Father Brannon told him to do. Even if he disobeyed granma and tried to get away, Father Brannon would just punish him again for being bad. Worse, he might tell granma that Ryo was bad and she'd be disappointed in him again.
'I don't know what to do!' Ryo was so confused and scared. 'Someone help me!'
"You're very pretty for a little boy." Father Brannon commented, unexpectedly. He reached a hand up to touch Ryo's long eyelashes. "Very pretty." The hand that had been touching his eyelashes moved down, brushing fingertips against his cheeks and then his neck. That one hand started to undo the buttons of Ryo's shirt.
"W-wh...?" Ryo reached one aching hand up to stop Father Brannon, but a warning look from the man made Ryo drop his hand down to his sides.
"That's a good boy, Ryo. You're starting to learn." With one hand Father Brannon unbuttoned Ryo's shirt all the way until it was hanging open and Father Brannon pushed it off Ryo's shoulders and looked at Ryo appraisingly. "Very, very good."
One hour later-
Ryo hurried away from the church, his eyes burning with tears as he struggled to button up his shirt with fumbling fingers. 'It didn't happen!' It hurt to walk and Ryo felt dirty all over. 'I'm not hurt! It didn't even happen!'
Granma found him like that when she was on her way back to the church. Beside her was Byakuen, he must have run into her on his way back into the city, and the two seemed very happy. "Look who I found, Ryo, dear." Byakuen dashed away from Ryo's granma and right up to Ryo, licking his face with a rough tongue. Granma continued talking. "Wonderful news! I managed to find a job and you can help me, too. We'll work at a flower shop for a while." She stopped when she saw that Ryo hadn't moved since she'd found him. He just stood there and stared straight ahead, not even moving when Byakuen tried to get his attention. "Ryo?"
Slowly, Ryo looked at her, focusing on her worried face and then looking at Byakuen who looked confused. "Ryo?"
Ryo threw himself into her arms and started crying. She hugged him tightly, caressing his back with one hand while the other patted his hair like she used to when he was younger. "What happened, my little one? Did someone hurt you?"
Ryo's knees gave out and he slumped against her. Hurt? Yes, it had hurt so much.
"W-w-when c-can w-w-we go?" Ryo didn't want to stay here anymore. Not a minute longer! "I-I-I w-w-want to l-l-leave!" He was spitting as he stuttered, but didn't care.
"Ryo, your voice. Why are you stuttering?" Ryo's granma put a hand to his face. "Why don't you want to stay here anymore?"
Ryo shuddered against her, but didn't answer. 'I tried to be good! He promised he wouldn't hurt me!' Ryo buried his face in his granma's shoulder and that, in itself, seemed to be enough of an answer for her.
"Don't worry, Ryo. We'll leave now." Ryo's granma wasn't happy. Whether she was unhappy with him or something else, Ryo didn't know. He was just glad that they were leaving.
Byakuen nudged Ryo to get on his back. It hurt, but with his granma's help, Ryo managed to get on Byakuen. His bum hurt lots more now that it had yesterday after the spanking. Ryo told his granma, "I w-w-want to go to s-s-s-sleep, granma." He was tired and sore. Everything hurt. Ryo had learned something very valuable, though. Trusting people was bad. Very bad. "P-p-please, l-l-let me s-s-sleep." Ryo never wanted to wake up again.
Granma stood next to Byakuen and put a hand on Ryo's head. "My sweet tiger. Who hurt you?" There was steel in her voice that wasn't often heard and for a moment, Ryo wanted to tell her everything, but didn't. It was his own fault. Father Brannon had said it was Ryo's fault and he wasn't allowed to lie. If he hadn't been bad none of this would have happened.
Ryo lowered himself until his face was in Byakuen's fur and he clung to Byakuen with his curling his fingers into Byakuen's fur for comfort. 'It didn't happen! I'll just stop thinking about it and it never happened. I'll go to sleep and none of this ever happened. I'll forget it.' This was all he needed anyway, just granma and Byakuen.
He didn't need anyone else to be safe.
End of flashback
To be continued...