Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Twilight Sky ❯ Conspiracy ( Chapter 13 )

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

Twilight Sky
Chapter thirteen: A conspiracy


Abraham-





Rajura thumped against a tree where Abraham had thrown him and slumped to the ground, limply.

The demon's lackey wasn't as strong as Abraham had been led to believe. As a vampire, and one of such great age, Abraham was privy to many secrets and vast knowledge most humans would never believe. He had seen the pyramids of Egypt being built by thousands of slaves over several generations. He had watched when Rome fell in it's own decay. He had even been a witness to the burning of the warrior prophetess, Joan de Arc, who spoke the words of her god, even while she was murdered in his name.

One of the most interesting things Abraham had seen many, many years ago, had been the invasion of Arago, the demon emperor. That had been long ago, when many gateways between the world of the demon and the world of the mortals stood open to any who knew how to use them. Before they had been sealed by the monk.

Rajura, the demon's lackey who called himself a warlord, was a master of illusions and mind tricks. He was skilled and cunning with matters that dealt with deceit. Abraham knew all about Rajura, he knew about Rajura's visions and about Rajura's vast power. The question, in Abraham's mind as he stalked towards his fallen opponent, was why Rajura wasn't using that power. Not once had Rajura tried to use his talent for illusions to win this fight.

Perhaps Rajura knew more than he was letting on.

"I want my Kuj." Abraham stated again as he moved closer and closer to Rajura. It was often an advantage to have a child's body during a fight, one's enemy often was taken by surprise and easy to kill. But Abraham had thought Rajura would see passed this particular ploy and fight him properly. It was rather insulting, in a way. "You think I don't know you have him? You think I don't know he's been away from me all these years because you and your master were selfishly keeping him locked away? He belongs to me and I will have him back."

Rajura was back on his feet quickly and studied Anubis emotionlessly. "I do not know any Kuj. You are mistaken." His hand clenched and Abraham felt a build up, a short spike of power before Rajura changed in a flash into heavy, dark pink armor and a helmet that made him look like some sort of spider creature. "Do not fight me, I have no quarrel with you or your kind."

"You started the quarrel when you took my grandchild from me. I let him alone for a few years to grow up and suddenly he's gone, vanished from my mind. Every now and again, he reappears on Earth and I can feel him, but he never stays long enough for me to capture him. I will have him back, demon lackey." He paused before asking, "I am curious about why you don't use your magic on me, though. From what I've seen, you are quite powerful."

Though Abraham couldn't see Rajura's face, he believed the ma-sho was frowning. "You have SEEN?"

This was immensely funny to Abraham and he burst out laughing. "Don't you know anything about vampires in all the time you've spent with my child? I am his grandsire. We share the same blood. When he reenters this world, escaping from that demon, I can see his mind. I hear his thoughts. In other words," He gave Rajura a malicious smirk. "I know everything he knows, including you." That gave Abraham a shudder he just couldn't repress. "You're all ruled by your sexual appetite, aren't you? I swear, every night all night and most days? Honestly, I don't see how my poor Kuj ever got any sleep."

"He never seemed to mind." Rajura raised his weapon, and begun to swing his nunchucks with inhuman speed. "I really don't see how what my brother does is any business of yours. I have enough to worry about without a half-dead child running around, causing mischief." He threw the nunchuck at Abraham with deadly accuracy.

'Good thing I'm all ready dead.' Abraham thought with a small chuckle. He pushed off of the ground with the slightest of efforts and flew over the nunchucks as they whistled through the air. The weapon went a short distance before they turned like a boomerang in midair. Abraham, in his own defense, didn't know that nunchucks could turn like that, so he didn't have time to dodge out of the way before they slammed into his chest and sent him hurdling backwards and into a rather large thorn bush. Enraged, Abraham leapt out of the bush and let his vampiric nature shine though. His eyes turned red as blood with anger and his fangs descended as he floated in the air just in front of Rajura. "I'll make you regret that!" Abraham snarled, glaring at Rajura.

"Try." Rajura invited with infuriating calm. He caught the nunchuck he'd thrown easily and started swinging it again. "I have more to offer, yet." A creature appeared before Abraham, something quite unearthly, a monster more than twenty feet red with a slimy red skin and a great maw that was filled with sword-like teeth. It gave a roar and bellowed, making hot steam hiss issue from its mouth.

Abraham almost smiled. The creature had no scent, it was a small detail that Rajura had probably never had to deal with, he couldn't have had to fight to many vampires. "Your mistake, Rajura. No scent mean no substance. I know your illusions are..." He got no further when the monster seized him, wrapping its hand around his whole body and squeezing. The pain wasn't illusion, it was very, very real.

"You give me to little credit." Rajura said softly. "What makes you think I need to give it a scent? My illusions are a work of art, not some little slight of hand. Mortals will die, if their minds are convinced they have died. If I put them in the middle of an illusion fire, they will think they have burned to death and they will die. Their minds convince their bodies to die. Isn't that interesting? I wonder if vampires work the same way?"

Abraham had no time to respond as the illusion monster was quickly squeezing his ribs into his heart. It wouldn't kill him, of course, not unless Rajura used something made of wood to pierce his heart or decapitated him, but it was going to hurt quite a bit to heal. A vampire's strength wasn't to be trifled with, though. With a burst of strength, Abraham flexed his arms and broke free of the monster, flying up out of its reach.

"Are you two quite finished playing?"

Both Abraham and Rajura turned to look at the voice and found the wyrm, the lizard like creature Ryo knew as Byakuen and Anubis knew as Little Foot, watching them from a halfway crouched down position on the ground. Abraham, of course, knew who this was with one scent of it. It had precisely the same scent as that wolf who'd hung around with Kuj when he was young. It didn't take a genius to figure out something had been going on beneath Abraham's nose the whole time and he hadn't even guessed. "What do you want?" He snarled at it.

Slowly, the wyrm rose with effortless grace and approached them confidently. "I want what is best for all concerned. Do we not all work for the same goal? Gen Ma-Sho, you wish for the happiness of Anubis. Vampire master, you wish for the happiness of your child and grandchild. I wish for the happiness of Ryo and Anubis. This is not a difficult plan to achieve." Its long tongue snaked out of its lipless mouth and licked one eye before retreating back into its mouth. "It is impossible, however, if you two chose to bicker and argue like children."

"You have a plan?" Abraham asked. He flew down and landed on the ground, but kept carefully away from Rajura and Rajura's ugly red monster. It would be good to get Kuj back without making him unhappy. As he'd been watching though Kuj's eyes lately, Abraham had seen how unhappy his grandchild was. He looked at Rajura angrily. "Do you propose we simply put Ryo and Kuj in a room together and let nature take its course? I'm not convinced that your master, the one you helped to enslave Kuj, would agree to this."

"That's true enough, though I didn't enslave Anubis! It was destiny that did that to all of us who wear the yoroi." Rajura spoke, keeping his eyes on the wyrm. "It is destiny that we fight in a battle against each other. I have foreseen it many times. There is a certain path that will be taken by us all and it does not look happy for Anubis or Ryo."

"Do you see all?" The wyrm asked.

"All? No, just glimpses here and there."

"Excellent." The wyrm let itself sink back down onto the ground into a comfortable crouch. "The future is not fixed, then. We will change it to suit our purposes."

Rajura was almost visibly shaken by this very idea. "The future can't be changed! I've tried time and time again, but it's not something we can interfere with. It always turns out just as I've seen in the visions."

"And have you seen the end of this war we will enter?"

"Only that you two will fight with those boys who are with Ryo. You, wyrm, will fight in a tiger's form. In the end, I have seen a terrible fate for us all and a great form of Arago rising as a giant. I have seen the white armor raising it's swords against Arago and I have seen an inferno so vast, it could swallow both worlds." Rajura slowly shook his head. "I don't dare predict how this will all turn out."

"Well, I can." Abraham spoke up, irritated by Rajura's fatalistic thinking. "You are a master of lies and deceit. The wyrm is naturally disguised and I have heard wonders of its powers. I am a master of a race of people and I'm certainly smarter than most people would give me credit for. I see no reason why we can't outwit one demon."

"True," The wyrm said. "It is not proper to blame fate or destiny for what you make of your life, Rajura. If you don't take charge of your destiny, like everyone else, how do you expect to get anywhere. I agree with Abraham, a small conspiracy seems to be in order."


A short while later-
Xiu-



So, they went home.

Really, what were they supposed to do? Hide the forest forever? Well, actually, Ryo had looked pretty pleased at that thought, but Xiu had so much to take care of. So many responsibilities. He couldn't let his family think he'd been killed like Lai. He couldn't let them go through that kind of grief without him. So he, at least, was going back.

"Can I give you a lift?" Xiu asked Ryo, knowing that Ryo still wasn't quite himself yet, just before they set out. Even though they'd waited quite a few hours, until the sun had started to rise, Ryo still didn't look well, really. He was still far paler than normal and couldn't stand without help. "I'll give you a piggy-back ride."

Ryo smiled weakly as he pushed himself away from the tree he'd been leaning against for support. "No, thanks. I've got a ride." As he said that Byakuen walked back into the clearing from wherever he'd been and trotted over to Ryo. Without hesitation, Ryo climbed onto Byakuen's back and lay down. "He never gets tired and he can run really fast." Ryo ruffled the fur on Byakuen's head playfully and Byakuen turned his massive head and licked Ryo's face fondly.

Xiu said nothing, but he would admit he still felt uneasy about the tiger. It just felt...wrong. One look from the others and Xiu knew he wasn't alone in his opinion. Still, he wasn't sure how to say this to Ryo.

"So," Ryo asked before they all set off. He looked quite comfortable on Byakuen's back. "Are you going to tell your families?" Ryo didn't really have to worry about such things, he had no family left. Xiu shook his head at that callous thought. 'How can I think such things!? It's not like he's better off that me, he probably wishes he still had people to tell!' Xiu looked around at everyone and felt his stomach sink.

Telling his family was something he hadn't considered. He looked down at himself in the orange and white yoroi, but there didn't seem to be much of a choice. "I guess so." Xiu said reluctantly, trying to think of a way to explain something he didn't even understand.

"Yes." Shin nodded sharply. "Mom's will want to know. Do not know how to tell..." He looked as awkward as Xiu felt about telling his family.

Seiji was silent, but Xiu knew Seiji would tell his grandfather. Though they might not always agree on everything, Seiji rarely kept secrets from his family and with the murder of his mother and father, Seiji wasn't going to want anything to keep him apart from his grandfather.



Ryo-



When they'd reached the edge of the city, Byakuen stopped and lowered himself enough for Ryo to get off. Knowing how unwise it was to argue with the tiger, Ryo let himself slide off once everyone had stopped to see what was holding him up.

"He tired?" Shin asked.

"No," Ryo answered. "I just think he has to go do something. Sometimes he just has to go off on his own." Ryo didn't like the feeling of weakness that had invaded his body. Still, he felt better than he had in a long time and wondered exactly what Seiji had done to make him feel so much better. He should be hurt, but there wasn't a bit of pain, just tiredness. Ryo felt like he could lay down and sleep forever. It was better than pain, however.

They all watched while Byakuen turned and walked back the way they'd just come.

"I hate to tell you this, Ryo," Touma said softly. "But I think you're tiger is kind of weird."

Ryo frowned. "What do you mean?" He looked back to where Byakuen was quickly disappearing into the distance. "He seems like a normal tiger to me."

"How many tigers have you ever met?"

"Just one. How many tigers have you met?"

Touma didn't have a good answer for that, so he kept silent.

"So, Ryo, you want that ride now?" Xiu asked with a grin.

Ryo considered it. He didn't really have all that much pride, but did he want to be seen riding piggy back around the city? It was just a tiny bit embarrassing. Still, they shouldn't waste time and Ryo was pretty sure he couldn't go very fast. He sighed. "All right."




"My Baby!" Mama Faun cried when she saw the group of boys and, in particular, Xiu approaching the house. She ran to them with speed she didn't look capable of, ran to her eldest son and swept him up in a hug. Right behind her, like a flock of ducklings, the rest of the Faun children came screaming out of the house, all of them except Lai. They ran to Xiu and clung to his arms and legs, some of them trying to climb onto his back and many of them talking all at once. "Oh, baby, we were so worried about you! Where have you been?" Mama Faun was actually in tears and Ryo felt his heart go out to her, she must have been terrified to find her home full of blood and two three corpses, one of which was her own child. Then to find that Xiu had gone missing...it must have been awful.

Even Papa Faun, despite the tension between himself and his son, looked like he was on the verge of tears, though he choked back his own and stood quietly apart from his family while he watched his family as they cried together. Xiu was the only one who wasn't crying and he just let himself be held.

Finally, when his mama let him go, Xiu looked at his papa.

"Are you all right?" Papa Faun asked huskily. He was eyeing the bright colored yoroi that Xiu was wearing, but he said nothing about it at that moment.

"Yes, papa." Xiu answered evenly. "You found Lai?"

"Yes." Papa Faun looked away, his eyes landing on his younger children all clustered around Xiu and Ryo could practically read the older man's thoughts. He'd just lost his youngest, his baby, to a murderer. He'd realized that he could have lost his whole family, all of his children, to the insane maniac. In a moment of almost painful realization, Papa Faun knew he would risk anything, suffer any pain, to keep his family safe and together. Even if it meant accepting Xiu and Seiji's love for each other.

"Papa," Xiu said, bringing his papa's attention back to him. "I think we need to talk. Seriously." His face was unusually stern and serious, showing everyone that he, not Papa Faun, would be doing the talking. "We need to get a few things clear before anything else happens."
For once, Papa Faun just nodded mutely.

Before the entire family went into their home, Xiu turned back to his friends. "Touma, I'll be at the trial, don't worry to much, all right? Sei-chan," Xiu said, turning just before he and his papa disappeared into the house. "I'll see you in a little while, all right?" From what Ryo could remember, it was the first time Xiu had used Seiji's nickname in front of his family. Then Xiu made the bold offer, "Do you want me to spend the night with you, tonight?" He made it sound so casual and easy, but Ryo knew that it must be hard on Xiu. The blatant remark left no doubts in anyone's mind about Xiu's relationship with Seiji and no one missed Papa Faun's flinch.

Seiji shook his head. "No, but thank you. I should speak with my grandfather about mom and dad." Seiji didn't look at all worried, but Ryo thought he must be. How could you not be worried? "I think my grandfather and I are going to need some time along to...adjust." Seiji looked down at his green and white yoroi. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Mama Faun stepped closer to Seiji at that moment and put a hand on his shoulder. "The police have all ready been here, Seiji. They took your mother's body to the morgue and informed your grandfather. He was with us, searching the city for you boys. I think he was going home, the last time I talked to him." With a glance at his armor, Mama Faun looked like she would burst into tears again. "I'm not sure what's going on, but if you need to talk, I'm here."

"I see. Thank you, ma'am." Seiji turned and started walking away with Touma and Shin. Before Ryo followed them, he heard Xiu say to his family,

"Come inside, everyone. I have big news. Good or bad, I'm not sure, but it is big. Something...happened to us while we were away."




Touma and Shin were greeted with just as much enthusiasm from Shin's moms. Shin's mum was in the front garden, lethargically pulling some weeds from her flower bed when she happened to look up and saw them. "Honey!" She cried out, turning to the house. "Shin's back! He's safe and Touma's with him!" She hadn't even finished yelling when she hit her feet and started running towards them. Shin's okasan was almost as fast, barreling out of the front door and hurdling down the sidewalk in her elegant kimono, looking almost comical as she awkwardly ran, and together they tackled Shin and nearly all fell together. It was another time of lots of tears and angry questions about where they'd disappeared to. Shin, unlike Xiu's silent reunion with his family, was almost in tears himself and hugged them back, babbling in English.

Shin's okasan pulled herself away from Shin, went to Touma, and put her arms around him. "Don't you ever do anything so stupid again, young man! We thought you'd tried to skip out on the trial and Shin had followed you and then we heard about what happened at the Rising Phoenix...poor little Lai." She turned to Seiji and gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry to hear about your parents, Seiji. If there's anything you need or anything we can do for you, please ask."

Seiji nodded politely, but didn't say anything in return.

"Are you hurt anywhere? Where did this armor come from?" Shin's okasan continued, now looking at Touma up and down while Shin's mum was apparently doing the same thing to Shin, but in English. After a long round of questions with few answers, Touma said,

"I think we should go inside. Shin and I have something to show you both. It's kind of important and we should get it done before the trial. I think we still have time."

So Seiji and Ryo continued on alone and in silent to find out what state grandfather Date was in.

Grandfather Date didn't meet them at the door, like the other families had, but Seiji didn't think it was at all unusual and went to take off his shoes at the front door as if nothing was different. Together, with Ryo following Seiji to keep an eye on him, they searched the house, looking for grandfather Date. When they had searched everywhere, even the dojo and Seiji's garden, there was only one place left.

"The basement." Seiji said with dread in his voice as he stared at the open basement door. Being locked in there as punishment was one of the worst things grandfather Date could do to Seiji and had helped to instill a terrible fear of the dark. Still, Seiji swallowed hard and started down the stairs. "Grandfather? Are you here?"

"Korin has found you, I see." The voice whispered out of the darkness. "What a pity."

Ryo and Seiji followed the voice and they found Seiji's grandfather sitting in the middle of the floor, only dimly lit by a single candle. "Grandfather?" Seiji sounded surprised. "How do you know?"

"It is legend. No one knows the entire legend, but the Korin yoroi has been in our family for uncountable generations. It has been sleeping, waiting for a soul who could bear it." Grandfather Date looked at Seiji sadly. "I...admit, I hoped it was not you."

"Why?" Seiji moved to stand before his grandfather and looked down at him curiously. "Why shouldn't I have it? The Korin is powerful, isn't it?"

"Yes. Powerful and deadly. Your father, Seiji, did Korin...?"

"Korin helped me kill him, yes." Seiji answered, his voice shaking slightly. "Father killed mother. He killed a little girl, and he was trying to kill Ryo." Seiji shook his head. "I couldn't let it continue."

"I understand."

"Do you? Do you understand I can't get away from my friends anymore? I can't be alone? They're lurking in the back of my mind and they're scared about what's happening to us." Seiji closed his eyes and got a sort of far away look on his face. "Xiu's sitting in his families living room. His mama is sitting on his left and one of his little brothers is sitting on his left. His papa is staring at him wide eyed and he just said he can't believe what's happening. Mama Faun looks like she's going to cry. Shin's worrying about his mum, she's fainted when she heard what's happening to us. His okasan is fanning her with a book and Touma feels like he's going to be sick." When Seiji opened his eyes again his expression hadn't changed. "What's happening to us, grandfather? I don't have any answers for them and I don't like that. It's going to happen to Ryo, too, but I don't know how I know that. How am I going to take care of Ryo if I don't even know what's going on? What do you know?"

"Not very much. I know there were legends in our family that one day the Korin would awake and take one of our blood as its own. It would grant its bearer wondrous power and throw them into a pit of terrible danger. The Korin was hidden while it slept. Many of your ancestors tried to uncover it, but it did not wish to be found, I believe."

"I never heard anything about this." Seiji accused angrily. "Why didn't anyone ever mention it? If something this big could affect me, I should have been told about it long ago."

"I had hoped you would not be chosen." Grandfather Date admitted. "So many of our family line had hoped for it, but never even glimpsed the yoroi. I saw no reason why you should be bothered by the legend, not when it was so unlikely that it would ever show itself to you. Nothing I could have said would have changed it, though. The yoroi chose you for a reason, I'm sure." He looked at Seiji with a sorrowful face and spoke in a choked voice. "I'm so sorry. I never would have wished this on you, Seiji."

Seiji turned away from his grandfather stiffly. "Touma's trial is at twelve thirty this afternoon. I'm going to be there. While I'm there, I'm going to confess to killing dad. I don't know when I'll be home."
Grandfather Date nodded. "I will be with you, Seiji."

All this time, Ryo felt like an intruder into their private conversation as he waited on the bottom of the stairs. The air was so charged with emotion that even Ryo could feel it. Normally, the two Date men were cold and as emotionless as possible, but though even they couldn't keep up that act now.



Trial-



Touma, dressed in Shin's best suit, arrived at the courthouse with Shin and his moms all following the lawyer that had been hired for him. Lining the sidewalk that led up to the courthouse doors was a gauntlet of reporters, some holding microphones and some with pads of paper and pencils, all of them shouting at Touma.

"Mr. Hashiba, is it true you let your best friend take the blame for what you did?"

"Was your friend at all influenced by his time in jail?"

"What was it that made you try to kill your father? Was it abuse? Did your father molest you?"

Touma felt his stomach lurch at that question, but, as his lawyer had told him, he kept his mouth shut and just stared at the ground while he walked.

"Your friend isn't Japanese, is he? Did he introduce you to this sort of violence?"

"The two women with you are the lesbians taking care of you, aren't they? Has that influenced you at all?"

Just when Touma thought they would never get to the courthouse where he could be safe from the questions, there was a shout from the crowd of reporters and when Touma looked up, all he saw was something creating a wave in the crowd. Men and women were being shoved this way and that, pushed rudely to the ground by some unstoppable force.

"Hey!" Xiu, again in normal clothes, finally made his way to the front of the crowd and smiled broadly at Touma. "I'll bet you thought we wouldn't get here, did you?" Right behind Xiu, riding in the wake he made, was not only Seiji and Ryo, but Xiu's mama and papa and Seiji's grandfather. "Let's get moving, eh?" Xiu threw an arm around Touma's shoulders and helped to hurry him along. While they walked, Touma saw that Ryo, Seiji, and Shin made a kind of rough circle around Touma and Shin's moms, shielding them from the reporters and not hesitating to give someone who got a little to close a push to encourage them to stay back.



Inside, Touma felt his insides knot up as the judge entered the courtroom. Everyone rose, except Touma's father who was still slumped pitifully in his wheelchair at the prosecutors table. They went through the usual legal technicalities until Touma was called to the stand and sworn in. He sat at the judge's side and saw all his friends in the front row. Seiji, understandably looked pale and tired. He was thinking howhe would soon be in Touma's shoes, but he would be facing murder charges, not just assault and attempted murder. 'How odd to know what everyone is thinking.' Touma thought in a passing thought as his lawyer got his papers together and stood up to question him. 'I know what everyone is thinking and feeling. Everyone but Ryo. At least not yet. Ryo's going to be one of us soon.'
"Mr. Hashiba, will you please tell us in your own words what happened the night your father was injured?"

Touma swallowed hard. All he had to do was tell the truth. "My dad was beating on me for something,"
"What was he beating you for?"

Touma made sure he didn't look at his dad, but kept his eyes on his friends, Shin in particular. He was connected to them, now. What would happen if he was separate from them for to long? If he had to go to prison? They would know and feel everything that happened to him. For the first time Touma didn't want to be blamed for what he'd done to his dad. He didn't want to shield his dad, even if didn't want his dad to go to jail, he didn't want to give up his whole life for his dad.

"I don't know, sir."

"You don't know? Surely, he said something. Did you have an argument about something?"

"No, sir. I came home from school and he started beating on me."

"Thank you, Touma." His lawyer went back to his desk and the prosecutor came up to Touma with a distinctly more predatory look in his face.

"Touma, you claim that your father beat you repeatedly for years, is that right?"

"Yes, ma'am." It was hard not to be intimated by this woman. She looked like a shark and smiled to widely.

"Yet, you never said anything to anyone? If it was that bad, why didn't you go to the police or a teacher at school?"

"I didn't want my dad to get in trouble."

"So you do love your father?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Did you ever try to find a way out of your situation?"

A way out? Touma thought back. "No, ma'am."

"Did you ever even think to confide in a friend who might be able to give you good advice?"

"Well," Touma said hesitantly. "Mouri Shin knew, he helped patch me up sometimes. Rei Faun Xiu and Date Seiji knew, too. Ryo found out after a while." He didn't like involving his friends in this, but his lawyer had told him he had to answer everything honestly.

"How did your friends find out?"

"Shin found out by himself. He saw me in the showers after gym class one day and chewed me out for not telling him sooner. Seiji and Xiu found out from Shin, he blabbed."

"You say Shin chewed you out. Did he yell at you?"

"A little."

"He was very angry?"

"Yeah."
"Has Shin ever gotten violent with you? Ever put his hands on you?"

Touma scowled. "What? Of course not! He'd never hurt me."

"Yet, you did admit to the police that he got into a fight with your father, is that correct?"

"Only after he saw I was being beat." Touma said defensively. "He was trying to protect me."

"You admit, he does have a history of violence. Your honor," She turned to the judge and handed him a stack of papers. "I have a history of Mouri Shin's juvenile records, in England, his place of birth, he had an extensive history of shoplifting, street brawls, and threats. Before, Touma, you said you love your father. Is there any possibility that you were influenced by your violent 'friend' to commit this crime?"

"No!"

"Several students from your school had said they heard Mouri Shin making threats against your father and encouraging you do 'do something about it'. Did he try to talk you into attacking and possibly murdering your father?"

"NO!" Touma slammed his fist down on the stand and the woman smiled again, satisfied.

"What about these other friends of yours, Touma? Rei Faun Xiu is also well known for fights and using violence to solve problems. From teachers, we've been told that he would get into as many as four or five fights every month. He ended up sending several people home, he'd hurt them so badly."

"Xiu only fights to break up fights that all ready started, you don't know the whole story. He only does it so people will leave him alone."

"And Date Seiji is well-known to your peers as a violent loner. He keeps to himself, except when he takes part in classes or kendo club where his skill is unrivaled. He was once put on report for breaking someone nose, another time for putting a boy's shoulder out of joint and then for threats with his practice sword. He is trained as a fighter in his family's dojo, is that right?"

"Seiji puts up with a lot in school, he has to take care of himself."

"I notice you keep saying that, Touma. 'He has to take care of himself?' Is it possible that you learned from them that to take care of yourself, you, too, must use violence? To get yourself away from the man who hurt you, you had to kill hi m."

Touma was sweating heavily. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell the whole world why Seiji and Xiu had to fight so much. They'd...

"Excuse me, your honor." Seiji stood up with Xiu at his side. "I think what Touma's having problems with is our relationship. He's being a very kind friend and trying to protect us, but it really isn't necessary anymore." Seiji and Xiu kissed passionately, right there in front of everyone and Touma was mildly pleased to see the shocked look on the prosecutor's face. When they parted, Seiji continued. "We're gay and occasionally rumor causes problems for us. If the prosecutor would kindly wipe all bigotry and small minded fear from the minds of all humans on Earth, I promise to stop fighting to protect myself. I don't think our sex lives have any bearing on this case."

There was a nervous twitter of laughter from the jury when Seiji smiled charmingly before sitting down.

"Agreed." The judge said gruffly. "Please, continued."

The prosecutor gathered herself quickly before resuming her questioning. "Perhaps not from them, but you have a fourth friend, don't you? Sanada Ryo? I was told by several students that Ryo is an orphan who has been living on the streets most of his life. He's associated with prostitutes, pimps, and other such people. When you met, he had been a petty thief for quite some time. Just a very short while ago, several school boys say they were with Ryo when one of Ryo's street thug friends came along and broke his hand, attacking them without reason?"
This time Ryo stood up, surprisingly. "Was that Akira? The one who tried to have his friends beat me up and then rape me?" He asked in a sweetly, innocent voice. "Are you really going to blame me for having a friend take care of me?"

"Thank you, Touma. That'll be all." She didn't seem entirely disappointed with the way the interview had gone and went back to her seat next to Touma's dad.

"Touma," The judge looked at him. "You may go back to your seat." Just when Touma rose, he heard a mutter from his dad and looked at him.

His dad was still staring at his lap, but his voice was getting louder and louder, even while the prosecutor was trying to hush him.

"Touma...my son...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it." He sniffled loudly. "I didn't mean it."

Touma felt his heart go out to his dad and he started towards him, once again, ready to forgive everything. Shin rushed out from where he'd been sitting and grabbed Touma's arm. "Keep away! He dangerous!" Shin hissed, trying to pull Touma away.

"But..." Touma looked back at his dad just in time to see the change.

"Stupid brat!" His dad grumbled, his tears instantly drying up and replaced by rage. "You got me into this mess, you and your blundering! Should have just killed me. I should have just killed you!" Like a man possessed, Touma's dad rose out of his wheelchair and stood on shaky legs, his teeth clenched together, showing just how angry he was.

Touma stopped resisting when Shin pulled him back to a safer distance It wasn't fast enough. Touma's dad charged them, only stopped when the bailiff tackled him and brought him to the ground all the while kicking and screaming obscenities at Touma. Touma let Shin pull him into a group of safe arms he only dimly recognized as Seiji, Xiu, and Ryo, all of them asking if he was all right. Touma didn't answer, but just stared at his dad, foaming at the mouth, helplessly.





"Hashiba Touma," The judge said while they all stood. "The jury has delivered its verdict. You are found innocent of attempted murder. It was clearly self-defense, as we've seen in this very courtroom. On their request, you are given into the care of Mrs. Mouri and her wife, Mrs. Mouri. Your father is to be taken to the Hizukawa hospital for the criminally insane where he will be given a full examination and evaluation to see if he can stand trial for child abuse. This court is dismissed."


To be continued...