Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Babysitter ❯ The Regretful Image ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Weiss Kreuz nor am I profiting from this, it is for pure reading enjoyment. The wonderful Koyasu Takehito is the creator.

Omi. That blue eyed blonde just couldn’t keep his mind off of the untold future. His features made him seem innocent and unaware of adult experiences but his step told another story. He walked differently now. He held his head high, not in arrogance but in pride. He was aware of the fact that he was becoming a more presentable and responsible young gentleman. He attributed his transformation to no one else but his lover, Yohji.

When Omi woke up in the morning, his first instinct was to call Yohji. But, as soon as he picked up the receiver, he put it right back down again. He could sense his own obsessiveness. It wasn’t right to smother the older man. That sort of behavior would only drive him away. He decided to wait until the early afternoon at least. Besides, there really wasn’t much time for a long conversation. Today was the day he got his very own car.

Omi washed up and ate a small breakfast. Seeing how anxious their son was, his parents quickly got ready and huddled the other two children up as well. His mother drove them to the dealership because she had been the one to do a little research in finding what car might be right for her son. This car lot had up to date vehicles that were also affordable for their family’s budget. Unfortunately, they got lost a long the way. It seemed that ever since the accident, Omi’s mother had suffered from temporary memory loss that came and went. She hated to admit it but, it was hard for her to remember street names and land marks that she’d seen a million times. They arrived ten minutes late of schedule but, no one mentioned it.

Almost immediately, the Tsukiyono family was greeted by a salesman. Again, it was Omi’s mother who took charge while her husband stood by nearly unable to get a word in edgewise over her constant questioning and commenting. Omi wanted to pay more attention to the cars but, his priorities had switched to helping Yoko chase after Van who had escaped. Yes, that’s right escaped. He was known for being wild in public so, he was routinely watched and held onto but, somehow he had evaded his family’s awareness. When they finally caught up with him, Omi found him peering into the windows of a metallic blue sedan. “Van!” Omi exclaimed as he grabbed hold of the boy’s arm.

“I was just looking.”

Omi did a double take. Van wasn’t too far off the mark. This car didn’t look half bad. No dents or dings and the leather interior was in good condition too. But, it also looked a little too expensive so, without even looking at the price he began to turn in the other direction.

“Well, that’s a nice one Omi,” said his mother’s voice. “How much is it?”

“Oh, I dunno, I was just looking.”

“Ouch,” said Omi’s father as he looked at the price tag.
“I’m sure we can negotiate something,” said the car salesman.

“We’re gonna have to if my son wants that blue one.”

“No, it doesn’t matter,” Omi replied. “I was just curious.”

“Let’s take it for a test drive. Then, you make your decision.”

When, it was all said and done, Omi ended up with a new car that matched the color of his eyes. He drove it home by himself while his family rode in his mother’s car. The situation was that this would be Omi’s last year at home. Afterward he’d be going off to college and he would need a reliable vehicle to get him from point A to point B. Mission accomplished. The blonde handed over $700 to his parents that he’d been saving up all this time. It wasn’t much but it was a start and he was determined to be a real man by paying for his own car. Although, he didn’t mind accepting free gas money here and there. After all, he didn’t have a job and the seven hundred dollars had been his life savings. There wasn’t anymore.

After lunch, Omi’s mother came to her son’s room with envelope. She passed it to him.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Open it.”

He did so and found two, fifty dollar bills inside. “What’s this for?”

“Well, I know you’re trying to be grown up and all by giving me and your dad all that money but we know it was all you had and we don’t want you giving up everything. Not until you get a job and are able to continually bring yourself home a paycheck. Every kid needs a little spending money, even big kids like you.”

“Arigatou, Otta-san” Omi beamed. “Well, now that I’ve got my own car, I might as well use it.” Omi said, standing to his feet.

“Don’t be out too long. We’re ordering pizza for dinner tonight and I can’t guarantee you that Van and you father will save you any.”

“Noted.” The blonde flew out of the door. He was so excited to show Yohji’s his new ride. He wondered if he should phone before hand but, he really couldn’t bare to hear his lover’s voice without seeing his face. It had become torture to do so. Omi cursed himself for falling in love like this. Was this really love? It had to be.

Meanwhile, the blonde’s parents were sitting in the living quietly. Each thinking about the events that had taken place today but, in different ways. Omi’s father was thinking about the cost of insurance while his wife was stuck in the past, thinking about the day her son was born. She cradled her arms absentmindedly. “Are you cold,” asked a man’s voice. The woman looked up at him. “Why are you holding yourself like that? You got a stomach ache or somethin’?”
“No, I’m just taking a trip down memory lane. ‘Guess Omi will be gone more often now.” She got up from her seat and opened a nearby closet. She pulled on a string that let the light on stood on her tippy toes to reach the top shelves. She was carefully trying to pull a couple photo albums down when the bulb burned out and left the woman in darkness. She’d lost sight of what she’d been grasping so quickly that she ended up moving the wrong thing and it all came toppling down on over her. “Ahh!” came the tiny shriek.

“Are you okay?” her husband asked with concern. He came to his feet and found her on the floor. She was rubbing her head roughly. Her husband helped her over to the sofa. “I’ll get an ice pack.”

The lady of the house ended up in bed early. Her husband ordered dinner while she rested. She’d taken too many bumps to the head recently. In her dreams she was haunted by the first incident. She’d barely make it to the end of the hallway and then, the sequence would end, just like that. She woke up with a sweaty forehead. There was only one way to get over this. She got out of bed and went to the beginning of the hall. She made her way back down to the other end. At the final point she sighed to herself, “See, nothing to it. It was just an accident.” And a peculiar one at that. How could she have tripped like that? Even after the incident, she’d made her way down that hall several times with no harm done. She rubbed the bump on her head. She reckoned that being clobbered by those photo albums had been the cause of the reoccurring dreams. Being hit in the head brought back familiarity.

Something felt so strange. Like she was missing the point of something. Maybe, the rug in the hallway needed to be taken up completely if it was causing people to lose their balance. Curiously, she tried to recreate the incident. If she’d been coming to her son’s room and tripped...she recognized that she would have fallen forward and hit her head from the front. But, she instead had hit the back of her head. How was that possible? Oh, that was right. Omi said she’d been startled because he’d been changing clothes. But, that still didn’t add up. She’d walked in on him before but, it was no big deal. All she’d done was closed the door; problem solved. That wouldn’t have ‘caused her to back away as if she’d seen a ghost. But, this was too puzzling. And possibly not worth the effort of pursuing. The truth would just have to remain a mystery.

+++

Omi rode the elevator up to Yohji’s apartment eagerly. He fidgeted with zipper on his jacket with restless hands. At the top, the elevator doors opened up and he exited quickly, nearly running into a red haired man who was trying to enter it. “Gomen,” Omi chirped. He skipped off in the direction of Yohji’s door and knocked at it three times. It was answered by a whimsical smile that suddenly fell. “Why is it that whenever you see it’s me at the door you go from smiling to frowning all at once?”

“I just...thought you were someone else.”

“Sorry, to keep disappointing you,” Omi teased. “Why do you still look so shocked. Your cheeks have gone red and every thing.” This was the second time Omi had shown up unannounced, right after Aya had just left. “Well, are you going to invite me in or not?” Omi asked, noticing that the taller man was sort of hiding behind a the door. It was widened just enough for Omi to slip through.

Yohji closed the door again while grasping a towel around his waist. He and his red haired lover had just gotten out of the tub together when Aya had to leave suddenly. The bath was meant be a playful way to freshen up after last nights follies. Something a simple shower just didn’t fully convey. Yohji, being the creative type, said it lacked romanticism.

Omi kept a careful eye on the older man who seemed utterly bewildered. The taller boy was still recovering from the nature of how close Omi might have been to realizing that Yohji was being unfaithful to him. If the boy had only shown up just a minute earlier, he would have caught Aya kissing him goodbye in the threshold of his apartment. Noticing that lover #1 was giving him a funny look, he came over and gave the younger man a hug. “I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you too. So much. And guess what? I finally got my car! It’s downstairs, I want you to see it.”

“Okay honey, let me get dressed.” Yohji slapped on a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt before heading down to the first floor. They walked out of the apartment building and Omi jumped ahead to point out which car was his. “Wow, good choice,” Yohji applauded.

Omi was so happy and proud to know that Yohji was proud of him too. He stepped forward, wanting to be affectionate with the older man but unsure of all the rules that came with being gay and showing those types of emotions in public. Yohji could sense his thoughts. “It’s okay,” the babysitter assured him. He pulled the blonde nearer and hugged him warmly. Omi never wanted to let go. But Yohji remembered one important fact just in the nick of time. Aya may have been gone but he was also coming back and he hadn’t said when but Yohji had the feeling it might be soon. “Well, kiddo...” The older boy began with a nervous voice. “...were gonna have to wrap this up. I have to be someplace soon.”

“Oh, okay,” Omi replied. This was so abrupt and Yohji looked flustered again, the same way he looked when answering the front door earlier. “It’s cool, I can’t be late to dinner anyhow. So, I guess I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Good, see ya,” Yohji said quickly and headed back toward the building. Then, realizing how suspicious that action was he turned around and gave Omi a kiss on the cheek before heading back up tho his apartment. The blonde boy smiled and got back into his car. Today felt sensational. He got a new car, he got to see his boyfriend and now he was ready to go home for dinner.

When the blonde came home he was concerned to hear that his mother had taken ill again but his father assured him that it was nothing serious. While the three children ate together in the dining room, their father went to see if his wife was still sleeping and if she might be hungry. He quietly came into the bedroom and saw her motionless body resting. Adoringly, he came forward to gently wake her by brushing his hand against her face but jumped back after she sprang up from the bed. “Geez!” the man exclaimed while holding his hand over his heart. “You startled me. Are you okay?”

“I remember now,” she said solemnly.

“Remember what?”

The man’s wife explained her thoughts from earlier and how she couldn’t figured out what had initially made her step backward and fall the day of the accident. “I know what it was now. Omi had someone in the bed with him. A girl. I can’t remember the face but–,”

“No.”

“Yes, I remember the long hair. That part stands out to me. He did this again, after we specifically told him to stop!”

“There was no girl.”

“Yes, yes there was. Don’t you see, that’s why I was so startled. I caught them...doing it!”

“Listen to me, there was no girl.”

“Why is your tone so harsh? What’s gotten into you? Omi disobeyed us, accept it! I hope you’re not trying to protect him.”

“The only one with him was Yohji. He even came with us to the hospital.”

“Well, there was someone in Omi’s room and–,”

“And what does Yohji’s hair look like again?” the man asked rhetorically, in reference to the fact that Yohji too has long hair like a woman.

Omi’s mother sat there absolutely stunned. “No...no. I didn’t see Yohji anywhere around.”

“If anything would have made you back away so fast that you stumbled and hit your head, wouldn’t it be catching your son and some man in bed? Hmm? Fuck!” The man through a punch at the air.

“No, Omi wouldn’t...no. Oh, god.”

“That asshole’s gonna pay and for what he’s done to my son. Turned him into a fucking faggot.”

“We can help Omi. Yohji’s got him all confused but, he won’t have control over our son anymore.”

“Damn straight. I’m going after that bastard tonight!”
“Wait, wait...we need to talk to our son first.”

“Fine! Let’s go take care of this.”The woman hopped out of bed and followed her husband into the dining room. “Hey, it’s the weekend, why don’t you two kids go eat dinner in front of the television while me and your mom talk to Omi.”

“Cool,” the younger children exclaimed.

“What’s up?” Omi asked casually.

“Spit that fuckin’ food out of your mouth right now.”

“Whoa, what’s going on?”

“You tell us.”

“Mom?” Omi asked turning to face the woman. “What’s he talking about?”

“I remember it all now, Omi. We know what’s been going on between you and Yohji. You’ve been doing things with him, haven’t you?”

The boy hesitated for a moment. “I care about him.”

“Bull shit,” his father yelled. Realizing that Van and Yoko might hear, he motioned for the three of them to take the conversation through to the front porch. “So now what do you have to say for yourself? Why did you let that man do the things he’s done to you? Why didn’t you tell him that you don’t like those things?”

“Because I do like those things. And being with him made me realize that.”

“No, we didn’t raise you that way. There is no excuse for you to start thinking it’s okay to have sex with another man. That’s what perverts do. He’s a pervert for teaching you those things.”

“Who I’m attracted to has nothing to do with the way you raised me. And he’s not a pervert. He’s great. In fact...” Omi thought about his choice of words before speaking. “...he’s taught me a whole lot more than you know. He’s taught me to have pride and respect for myself and to respect other people. He’s shown me what it means to have someone care for me and not just ‘cause we’re blood related. He opened my eyes when they were closed and he showed me the way when I saw no path.”

“So you’re just gonna defend him then, huh?” Omi’s father glared harshly.

“I must. It’s part of all the integrity he’s taught me to have as well. I can’t back down from something I know is right.”

Omi’s mother turned around and went inside, slamming the door behind her. “Look what you’re doing to this family. All for him. Just stay out here awhile until I can cool off. I don’t wanna hurt you.” The man followed his wife into the house and slammed the door behind him even mightier than how his woman had done.

Omi stood there on the verge of tears. He felt like daggers were coming from the sky and they were all aimed at him. Nothing was worse than family rejection. Gloomily, he sat on the front steps, thinking about everything and nothing. The heaviness in his heart weighed down his entire body. He walked up and down the street to piece his mind back together and to gain some courage. He’d been outside for over an hour and it was getting dark, not to mention cold. Finally, he went back up to his front door and tried the knob but, it was locked. He knew using a key would aggravate the situation. The locked door was a sign that he was not yet welcomed in the house.

All the curtains were drawn so he couldn’t see inside. Omi could only wait for his parents to make the next move. The lights from inside were starting to go off in several of the rooms. Omi looked at his watch, it read 9:00 p.m. That meant it was time for his siblings to get ready for bed. It was usually Omi’s job to make sure they’d washed up and fallen asleep by 9:30. Tired of standing or sitting on the hard ground the blonde took his car keys from his pocket and decided to wait in the vehicle. But just for a little while. He’d been left outside because of the unpleasantness. If he was seen, sitting comfortably in his car, it might make his father even more angry for the fact that his punishment had been lessened.

It was passed 10:00 o’clock now and seemed as if they had completely forgotten about him. He tried the door yet, it was still locked. He was afraid to accept what he believed was happening. He’d been kicked out. Simple as that. Omi scratched the back of his head and moved slowly to his car. He got inside and drove off. He only knew one place to go. Yohji’s house.

All the way to the older boy’s apartment, Omi had been driving carelessly. The pain that he felt inside was crippling. He parked out front of the apartment building and sat for a moment to wipe his eyes and let the redness go away. After taking a few deep breaths he pushed himself out of the seat and locked up.

Seeing Yohji’s door was like seeing the gates of heaven. The older boy always seemed to have an answer for everything; always knew just what to do. Omi wiped his eyes one last time while he knocked on the door. “Just a sec,” said a voice from inside. Yohji finally opened up. “You’re back.”

“I have problem.”

“What’s that?”

“My mom started to remember seeing us in bed together and she told my dad.”

“Whoa.” Yohji’s tone was low.

“Can I come in?” Omi asked. He’d wondered why Yohji hadn’t invited him in already. Couldn’t the older man could tell that he was distressed?

“I have company.”

“Yohji, this is kind of serious. I’m not done telling you–,”

“Can’t you just come back tomorrow? I’m a little busy,” the taller boy smiled patiently.

“But, your my boyfriend! And I have a problem. I should come first.”

“Lower your voice,” Yohji said scornfully. Aya was in his apartment and he knew the redhead could probably make out bits of their conversation.

“Why? I don’t get you right now. The benefit of having a boyfriend is the fact that I should be able to come to you whenever I need to.”

Yohji was mad that Omi kept using that word. “I’m not your boyfriend,” Yohji said rather shamelessly.

Embarrassment came over the blonde boy. “Wha...But...we’ve been seeing so much of each other and...we made love.”

Yohji could see the sorrow in the blue depths of Omi’s eyes yet, he tried not to care. “Honey, I never said were boyfriends. Look, I’m sorry if you misunderstood and I don’t regret anything we did together. But, I thought you knew that we were just friends,” were Yohji’s cold words.

Omi backed away slowly and nodded is head. “Okay,” he murmured. He didn’t want to start crying in front of the older man. “See ya later.”

“Bye.” The door shut and Omi was left on the other side in despair. His home was no longer his own, he hadn’t any true friends since his relationship with Ken had dissolved and now Yohji had become a traitor as well. He was all alone.

The elevator ride down was a hard one. Omi hadn’t cried so much in a long time. The man who he had revered as his mentor and his guiding light had kicked him to the curb over...company? That didn’t even make sense. And what further confused him was that Yohji pretended as if nothing had ever really been between the two of them. Something that meant the world to Omi meant nothing to Yohji. How could that be? They’d both said that loved each other the night they were intimate in Yohji’s apartment. Perhaps Yohji was right. He’d never actually said they were boyfriends. But it was implied, wasn’t it? [Maybe, I’m just being a foolish kid again. Yohji would never treat me this way unless I’d done something to offend him. I’m such a screw up. I was too emotional and too presumptuous. Of course Yohji wasn’t my boyfriend. What would he want with someone like me. I’ll try to act more grown up tomorrow, he’ll see.]

+++

It was awfully cold out. Omi’s mother became worried. Honestly, she and her husband were both so mad earlier that they had actually intended for their son to spend the whole miserable night out on the front lawn. But, now that the anger had died down, it seemed irrational. “I’m gonna go let him back in,” sighed the mother.

“Okay,” said Omi’s father as he kept reading a sports magazine in bed.

The front door unlocked and Omi’s mother called outside, “You can come in now.” She left the door cracked open a bit and she waited. No one came in. Bundling up the front of her robe with one hand she stuck her head out of the threshold and had a look around. She saw no one. Stepping out a little further, she noticed that Omi’s car was gone. She searched down both ends of the street before running back into the house. “He’s gone,” she informed her husband.

“What? He’ll be back.”

Soon, it was well passed midnight and the eldest son of the Tsukiyono family was still not heard from. “I don’t like this.” Omi’s mother climbed out of bed for the third time to check if her son had returned home yet. By this time, the boy’s father was quite worried too.

“Okay, if anyone knows where he’d be, it’s his best friend.”

“Yeah, I have Ken’s number in a drawer someplace. I’ll call.” She picked up the phone and dialed.

“Yeah?” asked a groggy voice.

“Ken, I’m sorry if I woke you but, I need to know if you’ve seen Omi recently.”

“No. What’s this about?”

“He’s gone. I haven’t seen him in hours and now it’s so late at night. I was just hoping you’d heard from him.”

“No, Tsukiyono-san but, I’ll keep an eye out for him.”

“Arigatou, goodnight.” The woman quietly hung up the phone. Maybe one of us should go out looking for him.” Omi’s father didn’t seem to be responsive to the suggestion. “Did you hear me?”

“Isn’t it obvious where he’s gone?” the man asked slowly with a depressed tone. “All I wanted was for my son to stay away from that man but instead I’ve driven him into his arms. He’s gone to Yohji’s house.”

Omi’s mother crossed the distance between her and her husband to embrace him and he wrapped his arms around her thoughtfully. “Do, you think I should call his grandmother and ask where he lives? We could go get Omi back tonight.”
“No, I’m sure he’ll be...safe there. We’ll sort things out in the morning.”

+++

Omi found himself driving around in circles for half the night. He had no family, no friends, no home. The only thing he had of value other than his car was the hundred dollars his mother had given him back. Omi kept it locked in the glove compartment. It looked like he’d be sleeping in his car tonight. He couldn’t afford to stay in a motel, not even the cheap ones where all the hookers hang out. Mainly because he didn’t know how long he was going to be out on the streets and he needed all the money he could save. Not to mention the fact that he might get his car vandalized in one of those sleazy places.

Omi parked his car near a few office buildings and tried to get some sleep. But, his worries kept him awake. Not too far from there was the Freshwater Bridge. He took a walk down to it and looked over the edge. He spat into the rushing water below and climbed up onto the ledge.

“Hey! Hey, you! Get down from there!”

Omi nearly lost his balance when he heard a security guard calling after him. Carefully, he jumped from the ledge and booked in the other direction. He didn’t need to be admitted for attempted suicide. Especially, on account of the fact that he didn’t plan on jumping. Not that he would have minded dying right about now. He just wasn’t in the mood to take his own life. The officer lost sight of him in the darkness. Omi didn’t even know where he was going anymore and he was too afraid to head back from where he came. His car would obviously be fine in that district. The security had proven to be affective.

Somehow this area seemed familiar though the blonde still could not recognize where he was. Not until his eyes came upon the sight of warehouse after warehouse, all guarded by a weathered chain-link fence. [Of course,] Omi thought to himself. He should have realized that he was near the old industrial park when he crossed the bridge. After all, it was on the bay so that cargo ships and barges could come through. At least that’s how it worked at one time. Now, this place was mostly abandoned except for critters that managed to creep inside and other teens just like Omi who needed a place to stay. There was a hole in the fence where he crawled through and searched for an unlocked building. He found no such luck.

“Psst, pssst,” hissed a whisper.

The blonde turned around sharply. “What?” he asked upon noticing another boy his age.

“Quiet, they’ll hear you.” The other boy beckoned in his direction.

“Ah, what the hell,” Omi murmured to himself and followed. They walked a short distance before the other boy showed him which building door was open. A brick was caught in the doorway. The two went inside and Omi’s host removed the brick. It was pitch black until the boy then held up a lantern and led the way again up a flight of stairs and into a smaller room that was obviously once an office. It was still equipped with a few desks and chairs. Omi checked out the place. There was a sleeping bag on the floor and a duffle bag. “You live here?”

“Sometimes,” replied the boy as he lit a few candles and turned out the lantern. “Home sweet home.” The boy turned around to introduce himself. “My name is Nagi by the way.” He extended his had and Omi accepted it.

“I’m Omi. Thanks for taking me in.”

“Sure thing.”

“So, when you first saw me you said ‘Quiet, or they’ll hear you’ who are they?”

“A lot of other homeless people hang out around here and sometimes they come past the gates to try and break into the warehouses. But most of them are locked solid and the police come by every once in a while to make sure nothing’s going down, like a rave. Especially, at the east end where some of the buildings are still partially in operation. I was lucky enough to be able to pick the lock on this place. But, it’s hard so, I keep a brick in the door when I go out to take a leak. ‘Cause as soon as the door shuts, it locks. Which is a good thing, it keeps us safe from whoever else might be looking for a place to stay. Those homeless people are vicious.”

“Yeah, I know. I almost got jumped around here, not too long ago.”

“Well, what happened?”

“I was just walking alone and some guy saw and opportunity to chase me down but then my b– , a friend of mine came to the rescue.” Omi wanted to make sure he used the right term about Yohji from now on.

“I have another sleeping bag over here. I had a friend who used to come up with me when I got scared. I’m used to it now.”

“Well, you don’t exactly look homeless. What’s your story?”

“My mom and her boyfriend fight a lot. It’s unbearable. I ran away once and had no place else to go so I just wandered around until I had the idea to come here. I’d rather be in this place than at home some nights. But, what about you? You don’t look homeless either.”

“I got kicked out,” said Omi as he rolled out the red sleeping bag he’d been offered next to his new friends blue one. I didn’t have any place else to go either.”

“I have some food if you’re hungry.”

“Yeah, they actually through me out right in the middle of dinner.”

“Here.” Nagi handed over some beef jerky and a water bottle.

“I appreciate it.”

“I’m gonna get some shut eye.”

“Okay.” Omi felt so grateful to have found this brave little brunette boy who couldn’t be any older than sixteen but, seemed to have so much courage. He finished his mediocre supper and went to bed.