Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction ❯ Starting Over ❯ Chapter 12
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lemony Chocolate 
Anime/Manga: Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Angst / Psychological / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.04.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 468 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Angst / Psychological / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.04.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 468 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 12
Later that day, at a little past 7 p.m., Zaha showed up and was ushered into the living room. He had left a message at home for his mother as to where he was going. Inside he found them gathered in the room waiting for him, their eyes glittering dangerously. Carrot was curled against Marron's side, fear flashing briefly in his wide eyes before he swiftly lowered them, pressing tighter against Marron.
Zaha's lip curled in disgust at the sight. Secretly he wished it was him who Carrot was curled against.
"It didn't take you very long to find another protector," he sneered, "Or are you the little fuck-toy for everybody here." He gestured at the people in the room. He jumped back upon hearing the low growl issuing from Gateau's throat as he stepped forward. Only Marron's outstretched hand stopped him.
"I assume that you're here because you wanted to know the truth," Marron said quietly, his eyes glowing with a disquieting intensity and a cold quirk to his lips.
"Yeah. I bet you're gonna give me some song and dance that poor little Carrot was being abused by his father. Well bullshit, he's been willingly fucking his father since he was 16. I ought to know, I caught them at it one time," Zaha said with a nasty laugh, which trailed off at the unreceptive looks on everyone's face.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" he asked, puzzled at their silence. "He's been fucking his own father, his flesh and blood."
Stella ignored him. "In the room to your left is a VCR, when you get in, grab the remote control and turn it on. Then come back out and we'll talk. If you don't, then get the hell out of my house," she said coldly.
Zaha narrowed his eyes before nodding angrily and stalking into the room. "I sure would love to know what the hell could be so important on this tape," he muttered sarcastically to himself.
Gateau and Eclair positioned themselves outside the room with two garbage pails. Five minutes later, Zaha stumbled out, his eyes wild and his hand over his mouth. Gateau shoved the pail at him and stepped away as he began to retch into the receptacle. After clearing his stomach he collapsed to his knees, crying. Harsh, ragged sobs issued from his throat as he looked around the silent room. Carrot was now curled in Marron's lap looking at him wretchedly with big miserable eyes. Zaha looked at his hands in horror. He wanted to cut them off for daring to touch Carrot.
I'm as filthy and perverted as Onion, he screamed to himself. "Oh god, Carrot. I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry," he kept repeating, hoping that someday Carrot would forgive him, that he could forgive himself. He had almost took him by force, twice.
"Oh god, I have to tell my mother," he thought out aloud, "She has to get away from that filthy monster. My God, he's been touching her, sharing her bed!"
"She already knows," Carrot said quietly from his perch, feeling Marron's arms tighten about him, feeling Tira hold his hand in support and Gateau grip his shoulder for courage.
"No," Zaha said after a moment of frozen disbelief, "She couldn't have known. She couldn't have known, Carrot. Why are you lying?"
"She's known since I was ten what he's been doing to me. She called me his filthy little whore and told him to be more careful with the servants as she had to get rid of a couple that had gotten to close to me. Then she told him that he needed to increase her allowance by three thousand dollars." Carrot's words filled the silence as everyone was overcome by the sheer calculated indifference of Carrot's stepmother.
Appearing in the doorway, stood Moss Glace. She saw Carrot sitting in a strange boy's lap and sneered silently to herself. Marron's lips flattened in rage as he read the cold contempt in her eyes as she looked at Carrot.
A graceful smile on her face, she walked forward, extending her hand. "Ms. Church, how very pleased I am to finally meet you. I've heard so many wonderful things about you that, when I saw Zaha's message about where he was going, I just had to come…" She faltered to a stop as she saw the cold disdain on Stella's face. Glancing swiftly around the tense room, she saw equal parts contempt, disgust and anger on everyone's faces, except for Carrot, who had no expression on his usually lively face and Zaha, who was looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.
"Mother, they know," Zaha said quietly, his eyes searching his mother face for clues, for answers, for something to explain away what Carrot had said. His mother couldn't have known.
"Know? Know what darling?" Moss said, fiddling nervously with her pearl necklace. She felt uneasy under the hostile looks directed at her.
"They know about Onion molesting Carrot," Zaha said, carefully watching her reactions. He had to know; he had to know the truth, even if it killed him!
"What?! What has Carrot been telling you?" she cried out with a fine show of anger. "I've told Onion time and again that he needs to get you help. You're always been spreading your filthy lies. This time you finally got someone to believe you." She swiftly turned to Stella. "Ms. Church, please don't believe what he's been telling you. Carrot has emotional and mental problems like his late mother. Onion's always been reluctant to get him the help he needs and...." She was interrupted by Zaha saying "They have tapes, Mother."
They watched the sly cunning flicker briefly in her eyes as she tried to think of something to say.
Zaha said with cold disgust, "Carrot was right; you did know what Onion was doing. My God, Mother! He was only a child, a baby. I would have thought that a woman of all people would have tried to protect him. Yet you, you selfish bitch, all you cared about was your social position and spending money."
Moss gasped. "How dare you talk to me like that. I am your mother! Is that what he's been filling you head with? Don't think I haven't noticed the looks you've been giving him. But he's got property of Onion Glace written all over him." She smirked knowing that she had lost the battle. By now the room was in an uproar. Marron was struggling to get up but hampered by Carrot's determination to hold him down.
She sneered contemptuously. "I see it didn't take long for the little whore to find him a new daddy. Of course this one's a little young though and-" Her words were stopped by a hard slap across her face, which left her gasping in shock and stumbling back against a chair. She held her cheek in numb amazement.
"You are the most disgusting creature I have ever seen. You are not even fit to lick the shit out of Carrot's ass. You are beneath contempt," Zaha added in a cold, hard voice, shaking with rage. Moss was stunned by the burning contempt and revulsion she saw in Zaha eyes, directed at her!
She realized what she had done and tried to hastily make it up to him. "I only did it for you," she cried in a desperate attempt to win her son back. She glared venomously at Carrot, blaming him for turning her son against her.
"As of this moment, I have no mother," Zaha announced quietly, firmly. Iron resolve showed in his face and she knew that she had lost the one person most important to her: her son.
"Mrs. Glace," Stella called out as Moss, defeated, turned to go, "A word of warning, we intend to destroy Onion and everything he holds dear. If you continue to stay with him, you'll get caught up in the crossfire."
"We will show no mercy to anyone that sides with Onion. For what he's done to my brother, I want to watch him writhe in the purest of agonies," Marron said dangerously.
"Your brother," Zaha and Moss gasped.
"Yes, my brother," Marron snapped.
"What is with you and the men in your family," Moss muttered a little to loudly, flushing at the glares she received from everyone and departed quickly.
"I sorry I didn't realize. I didn't know," Zaha said softly trying to gaze at Carrot's averted face. Stiffening, he met Marron's cold gaze. He knew that Marron would always stand between them. Marron and Zaha exchange wary nods, acknowledging that there would always be animosity between them. Marron saw the look in Zaha's eyes and knew that Zaha still wanted his niisan, but there was no way in hell was he going to let that happen. His eyes narrowed on Zaha.
Zaha bowed in temporary defeat.
"Where will you go, Mr. Torte?" Stella asked quietly, her eyes searching the pale face of the young man. She saw abject self-loathing lurking in his bruised looking eyes and recognized that he was still in shock from the way his hands trembled and his face kept twitching.
"I have a couple of friends that I can stay with for a few days," Zaha said raising his head proudly, not wanting their pity. "My father also left me enough money that I won't have to find a job for while. I think that I'll go out to the West Coast try to find someone to help me deal with all of this, and what I've done to Carrot," he continued in a low quiet voice. He stood tall, making no excuses for his behavior.
Carrot stirred, wanting to reach out to him, but was afraid. He twisted in Marron's lap, looking pleadingly up at Marron and Mama. Stella's lips tightened and Marron's jaw clenched. They exchanged glances and each sighed, not able to resist.
"If you like," she said grudgingly, "I know a couple of people out on the West Coast that are looking for help. It's a somewhat menial position, but room and board are free and you can go to whatever school you want."
"Thank you, Mrs. Church. But no thanks, I think it's time I stood on my own two feet, to be as strong of a man as Carrot is," he said, his eyes resting on Carrot who blinked and flushed, casting his eyes down in confusion. He still wasn't comfortable with people complimenting him.
Marron's arms tighten, he saw the look in Zaha's eyes.
"Take the offer, Zaha," Carrot said in a small voice, resting his head against Marron's shoulder. "Beside your mother was half right about Onion, if she hadn't let him have me, you were next in line for his bed." He didn't look at anyone. Instead, he picked at a spot on Marron's thigh.
They all froze, realizing who else Carrot had sacrifice himself for. Zaha took a deep, trembling breath before turning to Stella and accepting her offer with tears in his eyes. He refused to shed them, not wanting to cheapen what Carrot had done for him.
Marron stood up carefully and lowered Carrot to the floor before drawing him out of the room. Silently they went up the stairs to the bedroom. "I think I'll go take a shower," Carrot said quickly, running to the bathroom. He turned the shower on, shucked his clothes and stepped into the stall. He stood leaning against the wall before his shoulders began shaking with sobs as he sank to the floor of the stall. He started when he
felt warm hands on his shoulders before he relaxed and turned into Marron's embrace. He sobbed out his anger, his shame, his frustration, his helplessness, everything. Wet fists pounded on Marron's chest in rage at what had been done. He cried that he didn't want to do it; he never wanted to do it; why did it have to happen to him? Why? He screamed, sobs shuddering through him.
Marron just held him, letting him cry it all out. The too slender body gradually grew limp. Shuddering breaths shook his frame. Marron drew him carefully up to his feet and into his arms. Stepping carefully out of the tub, grabbing a towel and throwing it over Carrot, he carried the shuddering boy quickly into the bedroom and lowered him to the bed.
Feeling Carrot clutch at his neck, he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just getting another towel, I promise." Carrot slowly loosened his arms with a soft "'Kay," his breath hitching. He watched him carefully, making sure that he kept his promise to come back to him.
Marron hastily ran back to the bathroom, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He grabbed three more huge towels, raced back out to Carrot. Motioning Carrot up, he laid the two of the towels on the bed and pulled Carrot to him, wrapping him in the third towel. Briskly he rubbed his niisan's slender arms until his skin glowed a rosy color. He knew that Carrot needed this time to regain control over himself.
"She was wrong," Carrot said quietly, watching Marron, trying to make him understand. "I'm not like that."
Marron looked up and observed the bone deep misery in his niisan's eyes with a breaking heart.
"I know, luv, I know." With a weary sigh, Carrot leaned forward and rested his head against Marron's shoulder. He grunted softly when Marron began rubbing his back gently. For a few minutes they sat, each taking comfort in the other's presence, before Carrot moved away and slid off the bed. He walked like an old man. Carefully placing each foot in front of the other, he walked to the dresser and pulled out their pajama pants. Shucking the towel on the floor he pulled on his pants, tossed the other pair to Marron, and crawled into bed. Silently he waited for Marron to get in and spooned himself behind the younger boy as soon as he got into the bed.
* * * *
The days continued as everyone tried to heal Carrot's wounded spirit. The watched with barely concealed joy as gradually his smiles started coming back.
Mille frowned as he received the first reports back on Carrot, wondering what had happened to the others. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
* * *
Mille watched the two boys before him. Carrot had insisted that Marron come with him to Mille's in-house office. They sat side by side in the two chairs facing the man. Carrot fidgeted nervously. His eyes darted around the room while Marron sat calmly, only his glittering eyes belying his calm exterior. He reached over, trying to still Carrot's nervousness, and quietly ordered him to calm down. He knew that it wasn't going to work when he saw Carrot's knee start to jiggle.
Getting up, he pulled a startled Carrot to his feet and guided him over to the couch. He forced the jittery boy to sit before sitting also and pulling Carrot close. Bit by bit he felt the nervous tension in his niisan flow away.
Mille watched with secretive amusement the way that Carrot seemed to be with Marron. He acted as if time was precious to him and he had store up memories. The doctor's amusement faded as he thought of why they were in here. What they told Big Mama was up to them.
"As you know, I took a blood sample from Carrot and had a couple of tests done. I had certain suspicions about something the moment I saw the resemblance between Carrot and Onion. From all accounts, you, Marron, look amazingly like your mother while you, Carrot, look amazingly like Onion. It puzzled me as to why you were so much smaller than either Marron and Onion." Mille glanced at the puzzled faces before looking down.
He took a deep breath and then continued. "According to the blood analysis, Onion has been feeding you a cocktail of pills over the years, which have effectively stunted your growth. In addition, it appears to also be affecting your moods. This explains your rapid oscillation between different emotional states."
Marron and Carrot sat stunned on the couch. They exchanged a look of bewilderment.
"But why?" Marron almost stammered. "Why would he do that?" Carrot looked down as the reason suddenly dawned on him.
"To keep me weak and under his control. If I had grown big like him, he knew he wouldn't be able to hurt me," he murmured quietly.
"Dear God," Marron whispered, sickened by the stark cruelty of the man.
"Yes." Mille nodded his head, giving Carrot a swift appraising glance. The boy wasn't as scatterbrained as he had thought. Briskly he continued, wanting to be done with the angst-ridden mood, "These mood swings show that your body is beginning to stabilize and recover from the prolonged usage of these chemicals. I think, I hope, that, in a few years time, you'll begin to catch up with your body's intended stature." Mille smiled at the pleased, happy look on Carrot's face.
Carrot made sure that he had a happy look on his face as he twisted to look up at Marron, "You mean that I'll be bigger than Marron?" he said delightedly, a happy glow in his eyes.
"Yep," Mille said with a laugh, looking at the mock-disgusted look on Marron's face.
"Yippee!" Carrot cried jumping up from the couch and bouncing around the room. He was trying to make them believe he was ecstatically happy about the news.
Marron frowned. Something was wrong with Carrot. Marron realized that he was putting on a show for Mille, for them, and a dangerous anger was building in his eyes. Softly he asked, "Mille would you mind leaving us for a moment?" Carrot stopped acting happy. He turned to Marron with an unreadable expression in his eyes. Mille glanced between the two. Something is wrong here, he thought.
"Sure, take all the time you need." Gathering his stuff, he left the room. Quietly he closed the door behind him.
"So, my niisan, you seemed extremely pleased a few minutes ago, yet you don't seem quite so pleased now," Marron remarked quietly, pacing closer to Carrot, his eyes glittering.
Carrot stood steady, his eyes calm. He knew what Marron was getting at. "You warned me never to lie to you, but you never said anything about anyone else." Marron stopped and simply looked at Carrot.
"Do you intend to tell me the truth?" Seeing the answer in his niisan's eyes before Carrot slowly shook his head, he turned away, angry enough to want to punch something.
Feeling a soft hand gripping his arm, he turned to face Carrot, angry words trembling on his lips. They died away the moment he saw the misery lurking deep within the wide eyes gazing up at him. He sighed and opened his arms and, with a choked sob, Carrot dived in to hold him desperately.
"Will you tell me, soon?" Marron murmured into the dark shaggy head, stroking gently, enjoying the way the strands seemed to cling to his hands.
Carrot pulled back and gazed up at Marron. "Soon, I promise, soon," he said earnestly, and received a slow smile in return. He hugged Marron again and walked away.
* * *
Marron, Gateau, Tira and Chocolate were gathered in the War room. They had hit a roadblock while prying into Onion's finances and the records at CC. They had even more incentive now: Stella had a meeting with the American CIA.
Apparently a key component that the company made was defective. So defective that there was no way that it should have passed inspection and been installed on an aircraft. Ten military men had been killed during a routine flight. To find out what had happened, a detailed investigation was launched. It was found that the key component that linked the multiple functions on the plane had failed. The plane was able to get up; however, there was no way to keep the plane in the air or control the landing.
Stella had come back shaken from the interview. She promised to get to the bottom of this sabotage immediately. She had to call on all her contacts just to get the American's to back off. She had a feeling that this could be traced back to Onion Glace. She had them start digging. It seemed as if this was their first solid lead in months.
Marron cursed in frustration and slammed his hand down on the table with a loud smack. He slouched in the chair, frustrated anger clearly evident on his face as he swung back and forth in the chair. He sat at the head of the table with his computer hooked up to the huge screen on the wall. Codes and numbers filled the screen. He felt as if he was somehow failing his niisan. He felt as if he was running out of time.
The others looked at him, feeling his rage and despair. Urgency filled them now. The sense of sand falling through an hourglass was almost palpable.
Gateau looked up from slicing an apple with a sympathetic expression on his face. He knew how Marron felt as they kept hitting roadblocks and brick walls. Even with Tira and Chocolate's able-bodied assistance, it was slow going.
Stella exchanged a quick look with Éclair. They knew how frustrated Marron was becoming. It was important to them all to find the clues they needed in order to bring Onion's world crashing down on him, but to Marron it was most important. He wanted to bring Onion to his knees.
The only way to make his niisan safe was to utterly destroy Onion and all those complicit with his crimes. Making his niisan safe had become his only goal. And he was getting more and more frustrated with the brick walls they encountered. It was as if Onion was out there laughing at them, at him.
Carrot wandered in the room, eating an ice cream cone. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked, casually leaning against the door.
Marron frowned seeing him with the ice cream. "You're not supposed to have ice cream and you know it. How did you get it?" He groaned upon seeing the cheerfully unconcerned look on his niisan's face. The others began snickering behind him.
Carrot smiled easily. "Oh, I just asked Mable for some," he answered naming the head chief on their staff.
Marron eyes narrowed. "I specifically told her not to give you any dairy products. You know that they aren't good for you," he growled. Laughter erupted behind him much to his continued pique. It seemed as if no one could resist his niisan, not even for his own good.
"But, Marron, I love ice cream," Carrot whined, his eyes sparkling at the annoyed look on his brother's face and the laughter on the others'.
Good, he thought with satisfaction. He had been standing in the doorway and watching the dark, angry faces on everyone in the room. He had been wondering what everyone was doing in here for several weeks now, and hadn't been too concerned, until he started to notice the angry looks everyone was wearing whenever they left the room. It would take him at least an hour to get Marron calm once he got him upstairs to their room.
Stella glanced at the others and said, "Carrot, we've been looking into Onion's finances and we've been investigating who's selling defective components from CC, which causing untold deaths." She watched Carrot pace around the room before stopping at Marron's chair, studying the screen. "We suspect that Onion is involved," she added, blinking as Carrot threw her an unreadable glance before looking back down at Marron's computer.
Marron sighed as he got up from his chair, watching in amusement as Carrot plopped down. He stretched slowly, feeling as if he had been sitting at the computer for twelve hours instead of six.
Carrot, without removing his gaze from the computer screen, asked, "Did you save this?" He gestured to the string of codes up on the screen.
"Yeah." Marron watched Carrot in amusement at the intent way he was studying the screen. With a shrug he turned away to talk to Gateau. He saw Mille and Syrus come into the room and warned Syrus away from Carrot with a quick shake of his head. He knew how the doctor's questions were annoying his niisan. Carrot never discussed what they spoke of, but he knew by the tenseness of his body just how annoyed and angry Carrot was becoming.
They all got up and stretched before wandering over to the tray of fruit and water. "I know that the answer is sitting right in front of me," Marron said grabbing a bottle of water. Viciously he twisted the top off and took a long gulp.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Gateau said morosely, picking at a couple of grapes and eyeing Tira. So far, she hadn't responded to his numerous requests for a date, but he wasn't giving up yet. He sensed that she did like him. He just hadn't come up with enough incentive for her to go out with him. Grabbing the bottle of water from Marron, he raised it to his lips and froze upon seeing the display on the screen change rapidly.
Stella stood quietly talking to Mille when a choked cry came from Gateau caused them all whirl around. They watched him stared at the screen in horror as the months of work disappeared in a flash.
"Carrot," Gateau yelled, "What the hell are you-?" He stopped abruptly upon hearing what the oblivious boy was saying.
"…shunt," Carrot muttered, seeing the codes and strings flashing before his eyes "....pause five…four...three...two…one. Resume... left, enter file, shift down, toggle, enter codes." His eyes were focused on the screen alone.
Marron mouth dropped open in shock. "Holy shit," he said quietly, "He's gone further in a few minutes than I have been able to several in months."
They all watched silently as numbers, codes and strings of characters flashed across the screen. They hardly dared to breath.
The silence was broken by Carrot saying, "I'm in, what did you need to know?" with his fingers poised over the keyboard. Stella was the first to recover from shock.
"Bring up his finances." They watched mutely as slim, nimble fingers danced over the keyboard.
"Shit!" Gateau burst out. "It's password protecte-" His mouth closed with an audible snap as a password flashed on the screen. Carrot cut him an inscrutable glance.
"Print it out," Marron asked quietly as Onion's balance sheet scrolled across the screen. Everyone but Carrot gasped.
"Good God!" Mille burst out. "I didn't know being a CEO paid so much." Disbelief was plainly visible upon his face.
Stella studied the numbers with cold, narrowed eyes. "It doesn't. I think we have our first-" She stopped speaking as the screen changed. Freezing, she read the information contained there. Her eyes flickered to Carrot's still face. He turned to look at her-expressionless.
"Carrot," she said carefully, "What can you show us about Onion? Do you have access to everything on him?" Carrot replied with a slow nod, his eyes flickering to the cheering Eclair and Dota, before going back to Marron. He studied his expression and relaxed upon finding something only he could see.
"How do you know the passwords?" Eclair asked before anyone could stop her. She blinked at the tactless question. Instinctively she knew that she really didn't want to know the answer. Carrot simply looked at her before turning away. Gateau smacked her on the back of her head before hissing, "Think before you speak!" She didn't protest; she knew deserved it.
Carrot got up slowly from the chair and watched Syrus watching him. He knew that he had better confess now before the good doctor said anything.
"Uhm…guys? Guys," he stuttered nervously feeling their attention swing to him, "I…uhm…need to tell you something. You're not going to like it or me and I'll understand if you don't want me around." Nervously he twisted his fingers in the hem of his overlong shirt.
"Carrot," Marron said quietly, "What did I tell you before? Wherever you go, I'll be right behind you." His niisan gave him a brave, quivering smile before turning to the others.
Carrot turned to Syrus. "You've been asking a lot of questions of me about me having blackouts and losing time. I kept telling you that I've never lost a minute of time and I don't have blackouts. You were sorta on the right track, but you were still looking in a different direction." He took a deep breath seeing the puzzlement on everyone's face.
"Syrus here thinks I have multiple personalities and I've tried to tell him that I don't, but he doesn't believe me." Everyone gasped and exclaimed in relief, except for Marron and Syrus. They heard what Carrot had said before.
Carrot watched them exchange glances before saying, "While I don't have multiple personalities, I'm not exactly a Me; I'm a We."
Later that day, at a little past 7 p.m., Zaha showed up and was ushered into the living room. He had left a message at home for his mother as to where he was going. Inside he found them gathered in the room waiting for him, their eyes glittering dangerously. Carrot was curled against Marron's side, fear flashing briefly in his wide eyes before he swiftly lowered them, pressing tighter against Marron.
Zaha's lip curled in disgust at the sight. Secretly he wished it was him who Carrot was curled against.
"It didn't take you very long to find another protector," he sneered, "Or are you the little fuck-toy for everybody here." He gestured at the people in the room. He jumped back upon hearing the low growl issuing from Gateau's throat as he stepped forward. Only Marron's outstretched hand stopped him.
"I assume that you're here because you wanted to know the truth," Marron said quietly, his eyes glowing with a disquieting intensity and a cold quirk to his lips.
"Yeah. I bet you're gonna give me some song and dance that poor little Carrot was being abused by his father. Well bullshit, he's been willingly fucking his father since he was 16. I ought to know, I caught them at it one time," Zaha said with a nasty laugh, which trailed off at the unreceptive looks on everyone's face.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" he asked, puzzled at their silence. "He's been fucking his own father, his flesh and blood."
Stella ignored him. "In the room to your left is a VCR, when you get in, grab the remote control and turn it on. Then come back out and we'll talk. If you don't, then get the hell out of my house," she said coldly.
Zaha narrowed his eyes before nodding angrily and stalking into the room. "I sure would love to know what the hell could be so important on this tape," he muttered sarcastically to himself.
Gateau and Eclair positioned themselves outside the room with two garbage pails. Five minutes later, Zaha stumbled out, his eyes wild and his hand over his mouth. Gateau shoved the pail at him and stepped away as he began to retch into the receptacle. After clearing his stomach he collapsed to his knees, crying. Harsh, ragged sobs issued from his throat as he looked around the silent room. Carrot was now curled in Marron's lap looking at him wretchedly with big miserable eyes. Zaha looked at his hands in horror. He wanted to cut them off for daring to touch Carrot.
I'm as filthy and perverted as Onion, he screamed to himself. "Oh god, Carrot. I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry," he kept repeating, hoping that someday Carrot would forgive him, that he could forgive himself. He had almost took him by force, twice.
"Oh god, I have to tell my mother," he thought out aloud, "She has to get away from that filthy monster. My God, he's been touching her, sharing her bed!"
"She already knows," Carrot said quietly from his perch, feeling Marron's arms tighten about him, feeling Tira hold his hand in support and Gateau grip his shoulder for courage.
"No," Zaha said after a moment of frozen disbelief, "She couldn't have known. She couldn't have known, Carrot. Why are you lying?"
"She's known since I was ten what he's been doing to me. She called me his filthy little whore and told him to be more careful with the servants as she had to get rid of a couple that had gotten to close to me. Then she told him that he needed to increase her allowance by three thousand dollars." Carrot's words filled the silence as everyone was overcome by the sheer calculated indifference of Carrot's stepmother.
Appearing in the doorway, stood Moss Glace. She saw Carrot sitting in a strange boy's lap and sneered silently to herself. Marron's lips flattened in rage as he read the cold contempt in her eyes as she looked at Carrot.
A graceful smile on her face, she walked forward, extending her hand. "Ms. Church, how very pleased I am to finally meet you. I've heard so many wonderful things about you that, when I saw Zaha's message about where he was going, I just had to come…" She faltered to a stop as she saw the cold disdain on Stella's face. Glancing swiftly around the tense room, she saw equal parts contempt, disgust and anger on everyone's faces, except for Carrot, who had no expression on his usually lively face and Zaha, who was looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.
"Mother, they know," Zaha said quietly, his eyes searching his mother face for clues, for answers, for something to explain away what Carrot had said. His mother couldn't have known.
"Know? Know what darling?" Moss said, fiddling nervously with her pearl necklace. She felt uneasy under the hostile looks directed at her.
"They know about Onion molesting Carrot," Zaha said, carefully watching her reactions. He had to know; he had to know the truth, even if it killed him!
"What?! What has Carrot been telling you?" she cried out with a fine show of anger. "I've told Onion time and again that he needs to get you help. You're always been spreading your filthy lies. This time you finally got someone to believe you." She swiftly turned to Stella. "Ms. Church, please don't believe what he's been telling you. Carrot has emotional and mental problems like his late mother. Onion's always been reluctant to get him the help he needs and...." She was interrupted by Zaha saying "They have tapes, Mother."
They watched the sly cunning flicker briefly in her eyes as she tried to think of something to say.
Zaha said with cold disgust, "Carrot was right; you did know what Onion was doing. My God, Mother! He was only a child, a baby. I would have thought that a woman of all people would have tried to protect him. Yet you, you selfish bitch, all you cared about was your social position and spending money."
Moss gasped. "How dare you talk to me like that. I am your mother! Is that what he's been filling you head with? Don't think I haven't noticed the looks you've been giving him. But he's got property of Onion Glace written all over him." She smirked knowing that she had lost the battle. By now the room was in an uproar. Marron was struggling to get up but hampered by Carrot's determination to hold him down.
She sneered contemptuously. "I see it didn't take long for the little whore to find him a new daddy. Of course this one's a little young though and-" Her words were stopped by a hard slap across her face, which left her gasping in shock and stumbling back against a chair. She held her cheek in numb amazement.
"You are the most disgusting creature I have ever seen. You are not even fit to lick the shit out of Carrot's ass. You are beneath contempt," Zaha added in a cold, hard voice, shaking with rage. Moss was stunned by the burning contempt and revulsion she saw in Zaha eyes, directed at her!
She realized what she had done and tried to hastily make it up to him. "I only did it for you," she cried in a desperate attempt to win her son back. She glared venomously at Carrot, blaming him for turning her son against her.
"As of this moment, I have no mother," Zaha announced quietly, firmly. Iron resolve showed in his face and she knew that she had lost the one person most important to her: her son.
"Mrs. Glace," Stella called out as Moss, defeated, turned to go, "A word of warning, we intend to destroy Onion and everything he holds dear. If you continue to stay with him, you'll get caught up in the crossfire."
"We will show no mercy to anyone that sides with Onion. For what he's done to my brother, I want to watch him writhe in the purest of agonies," Marron said dangerously.
"Your brother," Zaha and Moss gasped.
"Yes, my brother," Marron snapped.
"What is with you and the men in your family," Moss muttered a little to loudly, flushing at the glares she received from everyone and departed quickly.
"I sorry I didn't realize. I didn't know," Zaha said softly trying to gaze at Carrot's averted face. Stiffening, he met Marron's cold gaze. He knew that Marron would always stand between them. Marron and Zaha exchange wary nods, acknowledging that there would always be animosity between them. Marron saw the look in Zaha's eyes and knew that Zaha still wanted his niisan, but there was no way in hell was he going to let that happen. His eyes narrowed on Zaha.
Zaha bowed in temporary defeat.
"Where will you go, Mr. Torte?" Stella asked quietly, her eyes searching the pale face of the young man. She saw abject self-loathing lurking in his bruised looking eyes and recognized that he was still in shock from the way his hands trembled and his face kept twitching.
"I have a couple of friends that I can stay with for a few days," Zaha said raising his head proudly, not wanting their pity. "My father also left me enough money that I won't have to find a job for while. I think that I'll go out to the West Coast try to find someone to help me deal with all of this, and what I've done to Carrot," he continued in a low quiet voice. He stood tall, making no excuses for his behavior.
Carrot stirred, wanting to reach out to him, but was afraid. He twisted in Marron's lap, looking pleadingly up at Marron and Mama. Stella's lips tightened and Marron's jaw clenched. They exchanged glances and each sighed, not able to resist.
"If you like," she said grudgingly, "I know a couple of people out on the West Coast that are looking for help. It's a somewhat menial position, but room and board are free and you can go to whatever school you want."
"Thank you, Mrs. Church. But no thanks, I think it's time I stood on my own two feet, to be as strong of a man as Carrot is," he said, his eyes resting on Carrot who blinked and flushed, casting his eyes down in confusion. He still wasn't comfortable with people complimenting him.
Marron's arms tighten, he saw the look in Zaha's eyes.
"Take the offer, Zaha," Carrot said in a small voice, resting his head against Marron's shoulder. "Beside your mother was half right about Onion, if she hadn't let him have me, you were next in line for his bed." He didn't look at anyone. Instead, he picked at a spot on Marron's thigh.
They all froze, realizing who else Carrot had sacrifice himself for. Zaha took a deep, trembling breath before turning to Stella and accepting her offer with tears in his eyes. He refused to shed them, not wanting to cheapen what Carrot had done for him.
Marron stood up carefully and lowered Carrot to the floor before drawing him out of the room. Silently they went up the stairs to the bedroom. "I think I'll go take a shower," Carrot said quickly, running to the bathroom. He turned the shower on, shucked his clothes and stepped into the stall. He stood leaning against the wall before his shoulders began shaking with sobs as he sank to the floor of the stall. He started when he
felt warm hands on his shoulders before he relaxed and turned into Marron's embrace. He sobbed out his anger, his shame, his frustration, his helplessness, everything. Wet fists pounded on Marron's chest in rage at what had been done. He cried that he didn't want to do it; he never wanted to do it; why did it have to happen to him? Why? He screamed, sobs shuddering through him.
Marron just held him, letting him cry it all out. The too slender body gradually grew limp. Shuddering breaths shook his frame. Marron drew him carefully up to his feet and into his arms. Stepping carefully out of the tub, grabbing a towel and throwing it over Carrot, he carried the shuddering boy quickly into the bedroom and lowered him to the bed.
Feeling Carrot clutch at his neck, he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just getting another towel, I promise." Carrot slowly loosened his arms with a soft "'Kay," his breath hitching. He watched him carefully, making sure that he kept his promise to come back to him.
Marron hastily ran back to the bathroom, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He grabbed three more huge towels, raced back out to Carrot. Motioning Carrot up, he laid the two of the towels on the bed and pulled Carrot to him, wrapping him in the third towel. Briskly he rubbed his niisan's slender arms until his skin glowed a rosy color. He knew that Carrot needed this time to regain control over himself.
"She was wrong," Carrot said quietly, watching Marron, trying to make him understand. "I'm not like that."
Marron looked up and observed the bone deep misery in his niisan's eyes with a breaking heart.
"I know, luv, I know." With a weary sigh, Carrot leaned forward and rested his head against Marron's shoulder. He grunted softly when Marron began rubbing his back gently. For a few minutes they sat, each taking comfort in the other's presence, before Carrot moved away and slid off the bed. He walked like an old man. Carefully placing each foot in front of the other, he walked to the dresser and pulled out their pajama pants. Shucking the towel on the floor he pulled on his pants, tossed the other pair to Marron, and crawled into bed. Silently he waited for Marron to get in and spooned himself behind the younger boy as soon as he got into the bed.
* * * *
The days continued as everyone tried to heal Carrot's wounded spirit. The watched with barely concealed joy as gradually his smiles started coming back.
Mille frowned as he received the first reports back on Carrot, wondering what had happened to the others. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
* * *
Mille watched the two boys before him. Carrot had insisted that Marron come with him to Mille's in-house office. They sat side by side in the two chairs facing the man. Carrot fidgeted nervously. His eyes darted around the room while Marron sat calmly, only his glittering eyes belying his calm exterior. He reached over, trying to still Carrot's nervousness, and quietly ordered him to calm down. He knew that it wasn't going to work when he saw Carrot's knee start to jiggle.
Getting up, he pulled a startled Carrot to his feet and guided him over to the couch. He forced the jittery boy to sit before sitting also and pulling Carrot close. Bit by bit he felt the nervous tension in his niisan flow away.
Mille watched with secretive amusement the way that Carrot seemed to be with Marron. He acted as if time was precious to him and he had store up memories. The doctor's amusement faded as he thought of why they were in here. What they told Big Mama was up to them.
"As you know, I took a blood sample from Carrot and had a couple of tests done. I had certain suspicions about something the moment I saw the resemblance between Carrot and Onion. From all accounts, you, Marron, look amazingly like your mother while you, Carrot, look amazingly like Onion. It puzzled me as to why you were so much smaller than either Marron and Onion." Mille glanced at the puzzled faces before looking down.
He took a deep breath and then continued. "According to the blood analysis, Onion has been feeding you a cocktail of pills over the years, which have effectively stunted your growth. In addition, it appears to also be affecting your moods. This explains your rapid oscillation between different emotional states."
Marron and Carrot sat stunned on the couch. They exchanged a look of bewilderment.
"But why?" Marron almost stammered. "Why would he do that?" Carrot looked down as the reason suddenly dawned on him.
"To keep me weak and under his control. If I had grown big like him, he knew he wouldn't be able to hurt me," he murmured quietly.
"Dear God," Marron whispered, sickened by the stark cruelty of the man.
"Yes." Mille nodded his head, giving Carrot a swift appraising glance. The boy wasn't as scatterbrained as he had thought. Briskly he continued, wanting to be done with the angst-ridden mood, "These mood swings show that your body is beginning to stabilize and recover from the prolonged usage of these chemicals. I think, I hope, that, in a few years time, you'll begin to catch up with your body's intended stature." Mille smiled at the pleased, happy look on Carrot's face.
Carrot made sure that he had a happy look on his face as he twisted to look up at Marron, "You mean that I'll be bigger than Marron?" he said delightedly, a happy glow in his eyes.
"Yep," Mille said with a laugh, looking at the mock-disgusted look on Marron's face.
"Yippee!" Carrot cried jumping up from the couch and bouncing around the room. He was trying to make them believe he was ecstatically happy about the news.
Marron frowned. Something was wrong with Carrot. Marron realized that he was putting on a show for Mille, for them, and a dangerous anger was building in his eyes. Softly he asked, "Mille would you mind leaving us for a moment?" Carrot stopped acting happy. He turned to Marron with an unreadable expression in his eyes. Mille glanced between the two. Something is wrong here, he thought.
"Sure, take all the time you need." Gathering his stuff, he left the room. Quietly he closed the door behind him.
"So, my niisan, you seemed extremely pleased a few minutes ago, yet you don't seem quite so pleased now," Marron remarked quietly, pacing closer to Carrot, his eyes glittering.
Carrot stood steady, his eyes calm. He knew what Marron was getting at. "You warned me never to lie to you, but you never said anything about anyone else." Marron stopped and simply looked at Carrot.
"Do you intend to tell me the truth?" Seeing the answer in his niisan's eyes before Carrot slowly shook his head, he turned away, angry enough to want to punch something.
Feeling a soft hand gripping his arm, he turned to face Carrot, angry words trembling on his lips. They died away the moment he saw the misery lurking deep within the wide eyes gazing up at him. He sighed and opened his arms and, with a choked sob, Carrot dived in to hold him desperately.
"Will you tell me, soon?" Marron murmured into the dark shaggy head, stroking gently, enjoying the way the strands seemed to cling to his hands.
Carrot pulled back and gazed up at Marron. "Soon, I promise, soon," he said earnestly, and received a slow smile in return. He hugged Marron again and walked away.
* * *
Marron, Gateau, Tira and Chocolate were gathered in the War room. They had hit a roadblock while prying into Onion's finances and the records at CC. They had even more incentive now: Stella had a meeting with the American CIA.
Apparently a key component that the company made was defective. So defective that there was no way that it should have passed inspection and been installed on an aircraft. Ten military men had been killed during a routine flight. To find out what had happened, a detailed investigation was launched. It was found that the key component that linked the multiple functions on the plane had failed. The plane was able to get up; however, there was no way to keep the plane in the air or control the landing.
Stella had come back shaken from the interview. She promised to get to the bottom of this sabotage immediately. She had to call on all her contacts just to get the American's to back off. She had a feeling that this could be traced back to Onion Glace. She had them start digging. It seemed as if this was their first solid lead in months.
Marron cursed in frustration and slammed his hand down on the table with a loud smack. He slouched in the chair, frustrated anger clearly evident on his face as he swung back and forth in the chair. He sat at the head of the table with his computer hooked up to the huge screen on the wall. Codes and numbers filled the screen. He felt as if he was somehow failing his niisan. He felt as if he was running out of time.
The others looked at him, feeling his rage and despair. Urgency filled them now. The sense of sand falling through an hourglass was almost palpable.
Gateau looked up from slicing an apple with a sympathetic expression on his face. He knew how Marron felt as they kept hitting roadblocks and brick walls. Even with Tira and Chocolate's able-bodied assistance, it was slow going.
Stella exchanged a quick look with Éclair. They knew how frustrated Marron was becoming. It was important to them all to find the clues they needed in order to bring Onion's world crashing down on him, but to Marron it was most important. He wanted to bring Onion to his knees.
The only way to make his niisan safe was to utterly destroy Onion and all those complicit with his crimes. Making his niisan safe had become his only goal. And he was getting more and more frustrated with the brick walls they encountered. It was as if Onion was out there laughing at them, at him.
Carrot wandered in the room, eating an ice cream cone. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked, casually leaning against the door.
Marron frowned seeing him with the ice cream. "You're not supposed to have ice cream and you know it. How did you get it?" He groaned upon seeing the cheerfully unconcerned look on his niisan's face. The others began snickering behind him.
Carrot smiled easily. "Oh, I just asked Mable for some," he answered naming the head chief on their staff.
Marron eyes narrowed. "I specifically told her not to give you any dairy products. You know that they aren't good for you," he growled. Laughter erupted behind him much to his continued pique. It seemed as if no one could resist his niisan, not even for his own good.
"But, Marron, I love ice cream," Carrot whined, his eyes sparkling at the annoyed look on his brother's face and the laughter on the others'.
Good, he thought with satisfaction. He had been standing in the doorway and watching the dark, angry faces on everyone in the room. He had been wondering what everyone was doing in here for several weeks now, and hadn't been too concerned, until he started to notice the angry looks everyone was wearing whenever they left the room. It would take him at least an hour to get Marron calm once he got him upstairs to their room.
Stella glanced at the others and said, "Carrot, we've been looking into Onion's finances and we've been investigating who's selling defective components from CC, which causing untold deaths." She watched Carrot pace around the room before stopping at Marron's chair, studying the screen. "We suspect that Onion is involved," she added, blinking as Carrot threw her an unreadable glance before looking back down at Marron's computer.
Marron sighed as he got up from his chair, watching in amusement as Carrot plopped down. He stretched slowly, feeling as if he had been sitting at the computer for twelve hours instead of six.
Carrot, without removing his gaze from the computer screen, asked, "Did you save this?" He gestured to the string of codes up on the screen.
"Yeah." Marron watched Carrot in amusement at the intent way he was studying the screen. With a shrug he turned away to talk to Gateau. He saw Mille and Syrus come into the room and warned Syrus away from Carrot with a quick shake of his head. He knew how the doctor's questions were annoying his niisan. Carrot never discussed what they spoke of, but he knew by the tenseness of his body just how annoyed and angry Carrot was becoming.
They all got up and stretched before wandering over to the tray of fruit and water. "I know that the answer is sitting right in front of me," Marron said grabbing a bottle of water. Viciously he twisted the top off and took a long gulp.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Gateau said morosely, picking at a couple of grapes and eyeing Tira. So far, she hadn't responded to his numerous requests for a date, but he wasn't giving up yet. He sensed that she did like him. He just hadn't come up with enough incentive for her to go out with him. Grabbing the bottle of water from Marron, he raised it to his lips and froze upon seeing the display on the screen change rapidly.
Stella stood quietly talking to Mille when a choked cry came from Gateau caused them all whirl around. They watched him stared at the screen in horror as the months of work disappeared in a flash.
"Carrot," Gateau yelled, "What the hell are you-?" He stopped abruptly upon hearing what the oblivious boy was saying.
"…shunt," Carrot muttered, seeing the codes and strings flashing before his eyes "....pause five…four...three...two…one. Resume... left, enter file, shift down, toggle, enter codes." His eyes were focused on the screen alone.
Marron mouth dropped open in shock. "Holy shit," he said quietly, "He's gone further in a few minutes than I have been able to several in months."
They all watched silently as numbers, codes and strings of characters flashed across the screen. They hardly dared to breath.
The silence was broken by Carrot saying, "I'm in, what did you need to know?" with his fingers poised over the keyboard. Stella was the first to recover from shock.
"Bring up his finances." They watched mutely as slim, nimble fingers danced over the keyboard.
"Shit!" Gateau burst out. "It's password protecte-" His mouth closed with an audible snap as a password flashed on the screen. Carrot cut him an inscrutable glance.
"Print it out," Marron asked quietly as Onion's balance sheet scrolled across the screen. Everyone but Carrot gasped.
"Good God!" Mille burst out. "I didn't know being a CEO paid so much." Disbelief was plainly visible upon his face.
Stella studied the numbers with cold, narrowed eyes. "It doesn't. I think we have our first-" She stopped speaking as the screen changed. Freezing, she read the information contained there. Her eyes flickered to Carrot's still face. He turned to look at her-expressionless.
"Carrot," she said carefully, "What can you show us about Onion? Do you have access to everything on him?" Carrot replied with a slow nod, his eyes flickering to the cheering Eclair and Dota, before going back to Marron. He studied his expression and relaxed upon finding something only he could see.
"How do you know the passwords?" Eclair asked before anyone could stop her. She blinked at the tactless question. Instinctively she knew that she really didn't want to know the answer. Carrot simply looked at her before turning away. Gateau smacked her on the back of her head before hissing, "Think before you speak!" She didn't protest; she knew deserved it.
Carrot got up slowly from the chair and watched Syrus watching him. He knew that he had better confess now before the good doctor said anything.
"Uhm…guys? Guys," he stuttered nervously feeling their attention swing to him, "I…uhm…need to tell you something. You're not going to like it or me and I'll understand if you don't want me around." Nervously he twisted his fingers in the hem of his overlong shirt.
"Carrot," Marron said quietly, "What did I tell you before? Wherever you go, I'll be right behind you." His niisan gave him a brave, quivering smile before turning to the others.
Carrot turned to Syrus. "You've been asking a lot of questions of me about me having blackouts and losing time. I kept telling you that I've never lost a minute of time and I don't have blackouts. You were sorta on the right track, but you were still looking in a different direction." He took a deep breath seeing the puzzlement on everyone's face.
"Syrus here thinks I have multiple personalities and I've tried to tell him that I don't, but he doesn't believe me." Everyone gasped and exclaimed in relief, except for Marron and Syrus. They heard what Carrot had said before.
Carrot watched them exchange glances before saying, "While I don't have multiple personalities, I'm not exactly a Me; I'm a We."