Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Beautiful Boy ❯ One-Shot

A/N: Based on the song Beautiful Boy by Celine Dion, which I don't own. Nor do I own YuGiOh. The first time I heard this song, this fic idea popped into my head. Of course, I'm the one who has to take a happy song and make it depressing. *sigh* Oh well, that's just me. There's a POV that I've never seen used, so I think this might be a new idea… Probably not, but that's ok. Also, I don't know Amane's age so I just made her two years older than Ryou. And I don't know Ryou's father's name so I made one up. So, without further delay, the story.

Beautiful Boy

~Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy
Close your eyes, have no fear,
The monster's gone, he's on the run
And your mommy's here.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy,
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.
Before you go to sleep say a little prayer,
Every day in every way it's getting better and better,
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy (Beautiful boy),
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.
Out on the ocean, sailing away
I can hardly wait to see you come of age
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient
Cause it's a long way to go, a hard row to hoe
Yes it's a long way to go, but in the meantime...
Before you cross the street take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you while you're busy making other plans...
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy(Beautiful boy),
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy (Boooooooy)
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy~

(Ryou's Mother's POV)

 

I awoke to hear quiet sniffling coming from across the hall. I got out of bed and left the room in a manner that wouldn't wake the man I regret to call my husband. I opened the door to Ryou's room and saw a lump hidden under the covers. I walked over and sat down on his bed.

“What's wrong, Ryou?” I asked, waiting for his little head to emerge from under the covers.

“It's gonna eat me,” he answered quietly, remaining under his shield.

“What's going to eat you?” I asked.

“The monsters!” he shouted, popping his head out to look at me. “They live under my bed, but they only come out at night. They disguise themselves as my toys during the daytime `cause they hate the light. Ah! Don't hang your feet over the side! They'll pull you in and eat you!”

“I won't let that happen,” I said, tucking my legs under me. “Why do the monsters want to eat you?”

“'Cause they're mean and hungry and evil!” he said, throwing his arms above his head to imitate what one of the monsters would look like.

“Well I'll tell those monsters to stop being mean and evil, and that they should eat something more nutritious than humans,” I said, trying to hold back laughter in fear of making Ryou think I didn't believe him.

“They're under there now. Go get `em, Mommy!” he said before hiding under the covers again but leaving space enough to watch me.

I got off the bed, laid down on my stomach, and said in a mock scolding voice, “Monsters! It's rude to be mean and evil, so stop. And start eating something healthier than humans or you'll get sick. Leave my son's storage space alone!”

I got up slowly and watched Ryou cautiously pull back the covers. His beautiful emerald eyes stared hopefully at me, retaining an innocence that made you melt. I sat down next to him again and wrapped my arms around his tiny body.

“They're gone now. I saw them leave,” I said reassuringly.

“But I didn't, so how did they?” he asked, looking up at me.

“They snuck out so they wouldn't scare you. You can't hear it yet, but when you're older, you can hear the monsters speaking. They told me to tell you that they were sorry and they didn't want to scare you anymore,” I said, trying to think quickly.

“Thanks. Can you stay in here anyway, just incase they come back?” Ryou asked, cuddling against me.

“Sure. Scoot over and make room for me,” I said, sliding under the covers with him.

“I love you, Mommy,” he said quietly and closed his eyes.

“I love you too, Ryou sweetie,” I said before kissing him on the forehead.

Barely five minutes had passed before he was asleep. When I was sure he was, I got out of his bed and closed his door. As soon as I walked out into the hallway, Amane peeked out of her door. It was troublesome having children only two years apart. She rubbed her eyes sleepily.

“Are there monsters under my bed, Mommy?” she asked, obviously having heard Ryou.

“No, sweetie, there aren't any. I got rid of the ones in your room when you were about Ryou's age,” I said, remembering Amane's problem with monsters just about two years ago.

“Ok, just checking,” she said sleepily and wandered back to her bed.

Finally seeing that there wouldn't be any more problems, I laid down in my own bed, enjoying the softness of the down comforter. I praised myself for being able to get both children back to sleep within a matter of 10 minutes without waking Haru. `They don't need to be woken up again due to my carelessness,' I thought, drifting off into a dream.

~*~

“Ryou said something rather interesting in class today,” my son's teacher said on the other side of the telephone.

“Oh? What did he say?” I asked.

“The class was asked to write what they would wish for if they had one wish and read it to the class. Ryou's wish was for you, his mother, to be set free. I asked him what it meant, but he wouldn't tell me. Do you have any idea what that would mean?” the teacher asked in a suspicious way.

“It probably has to do with the fact that my work takes over my life so I hardly get to see him. He thinks so much that his mind has advanced far past that of any other 1st grader. Sometimes the things he says to me are so deep in meaning that it's hard to believe he's the one saying them,” I said proudly.

“I did not question his intelligence rather than his reason,” the voice from the other line said in an accusatory tone.

“Well thank you for your concern,” I said with a forced politeness.

“Good day,” the teacher got to say before I hung up the phone quickly.

I breathed a big sigh of relief and finished putting away the last of the silverware from dinner. I knew perfectly well what Ryou had meant, and it had nothing to do with work, especially since I didn't work in the first place. As if on cue, Ryou walked into the room. He gave me a quizzical look and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, Haru stormed in furiously.

“Who was that on the phone?” Haru asked, trying to contain his anger even for a brief moment.

“It was no one,” I lied.

“Answer my question, damnit! Who called?” he yelled.

“Ryou's teacher,” I answered.

“Why?” he asked more calmly.

“She wanted to ask me what he meant when he said his wish was for me to be set free. Please Haru, don't hurt him. He's only six,” I pleaded, knowing he would get angry.

“Are you trying to send me to jail?!” Haru screamed at Ryou, who just stood there.

“Yes. That way Mommy doesn't have to deal with you anymore,” he answered.

“He doesn't mean it!” I said quickly, jumping in front of Ryou upon seeing the look in Haru's eyes.

“You brainwashed him against me, didn't you? That's why you get up in the middle of the night. You thought I was still asleep, but I was watching. You tell the both of them to hate me!” Haru glared at me.

“I'm only comforting them. Lately they both have been having plenty of nightmares,” I said, futilely trying to protect myself.

“They're probably about the bad things you've been telling them about me. Trying to hide it will only make it worse,” Haru said, getting ready to beat me as he always did.

“Ryou, go play with Amane in her room,” I said, holding back tears.

He scurried off quickly, nearly tripping as he went up the stairs. I closed my eyes and let the tears fall freely. I was just a weak rag doll, accidentally sent to save two children instead of a mighty shield. I can't escape, no matter how much I want to. But at least I can protect them… for the most part.

~*~

I dragged myself painfully towards my room. As I passed Ryou's room, I hear him speaking, so I stopped to listen. The door was slightly ajar, so I looked inside to see he was standing at his closed window, staring at the moon.

“If there's someone out there who can hear me, anyone, please listen. My mommy needs your help. You have to get rid of the monster that scares her, just like she got rid of the monsters that scared me. If you don't come soon, I might not have a mommy anymore so hurry please. Mommy says not to worry but I see her ouchies, and they don't look like the ones I get when I fall. They look a lot worse. So please save my mommy. Set her free from the monster that calls himself my daddy. Thank you,” he said quietly before walking back to his bed and settling beneath his blankets.

I hadn't realized it, but tears were flowing down my cheeks, leaving stains in their wake. I quickly wiped them away, not wanting Haru to see. `Don't worry, Ryou. Someone will hear your prayer and come save the three of us,' I thought. Sleep came easily and quickly, for the pain was like a drug as it coursed through my body.

~*~

“Go on and have fun,” I said to Ryou and Amane as they jumped out of the car.

“We will. Bye Mommy!” Ryou said cheerfully and ran towards the school building with Amane.

I watched until they had disappeared inside it and drove away. The sunglasses I wore to hide my eye hurt my damaged nose. Driving itself was painful, but I had to, since Haru had already left for work. We lived too close to the school for a bus to take them. My vision on my left side was impaired due to the swelling, causing me to almost get into an accident 3 times, even though the drive was short.

I finally stepped out of the car and approached the front door. Something in the mailbox caught my attention when I was turning the keys to unlock the door. I took out the paper and read it as I walked into the house. I stared at it confused before I realized what it was saying. I looked around, forgetting Haru wasn't there, and ran into my room, shutting the door. I dialed the number on the paper and then walked into the bathroom and burned it, putting the ashes in a crumpled paper cup and throwing the cup away.

“You have reached the domestic abuse hotline. How may I help you?” the female voice on the other side said.

Her words filled me with a wonderful feeling and numbed my pain, just like an anesthetic. I fell back onto my bed, basking in the sensation. I thought about Ryou's prayer from the night before and smiled, knowing someone, subconsciously or not, had heard him. Ryou had asked for a guardian angel for me and it was sent. Finally, I could watch my children grow up and enjoy every moment of it. `Things are going to get better, Ryou. I promise.'

~*~

“There's nothing else we can do about the situation. We've tried our hardest to find a way around the ruling, but it's just not possible,” the lawyer in front of me said, trying to stop my tears.

“They can't send him to live with that monster! Don't you have any idea what he'll do to him?!” I shouted, trying my hardest to not give up hope.

“They realize that and that's why they're giving Ryou that number. If anything at all happens, he can call at any time on any day and someone will be there to help him. You just have to trust the judge's decision. Haru does have a well paying job,” the lawyer argued, resenting the last fact.

“I've applied everywhere and even had some of the places call me already. They can't take my baby away,” I got out through my sobs.

“Unfortunately, they can. You still get to see him every other weekend, and you have rights to Amane,” the lawyer pointed out.

That statement was meant to help, but it had the exact opposite effect. My crying completely over took me and I couldn't speak anymore. A box of tissues was held out to me, but I was shaking too much to control my hands.

I was declared `mentally unstable' and `unable to drive,' so I sat in the back seat with Amane as a stranger drove us to the apartment I now called “home” in my car. One of their company's cars was following us so the man driving could switch once we arrived at our destination. The car stopped and I carried Amane inside the apartment. She had cried so much that she ended up falling asleep. The empty rooms only added to the depressing air that surrounded me. I placed her down on the mattress on the floor of the barren master bedroom and laid on it next to her, not only for her sake, but also for my own.

I had already packed my own stuff into labeled boxes for someone to pick up tomorrow. Since Haru had more than enough money to buy a new set of furniture for each room, the old furniture, except for the things in Ryou's room, would be brought here as well. Amane would go with them to pack her things. She would be able to see him with out crying. He wouldn't do anything to her while the movers were there anyway.

I looked at Amane holding her stuffed cat and wrapped my arms around her in the same manner, pulling her close to me. `I'm sorry, Ryou. I let you down. I promised things would get better, but they only got worse. Somehow I'll make it up to you. Somehow I'll get you back.'

~*~

I sat on the couch waiting. Work was over and Amane wouldn't be at the bus stop for another half hour. The change in distance from the school allowed for her to take a bus. Luckily, one of the routes ran close to our apartment complex. I suddenly heard the mail chute slam closed and the apartment mail deliverer walk to the next apartment door. I ran over to look through the envelopes and quickly found the one I was looking for. I tossed the rest of the pile on the coffee table and got in the car to drive to the bus stop to wait for Amane.

The minutes I sat in the car seemed to go by like hours. The ticking of my watch sounded louder than usual, as if it were taunting me. Finally the large yellow vehicle slowed to a stop and the doors slid open. Amane was the only one who got out. She saw my car and ran towards it. She got in and looked at me expectantly.

“It came,” I said with a big smile on my face.

She smiled back at me and I drove back to the apartment, just barely staying under the speed limit. We both ran up the flights of stairs and into the living room of our apartment, shutting the door behind us. I tore at the envelope and retrieved the letter.

“ `Mommy and Amane,

Guess what? My teacher says my handwriting is getting better. I can't wait until we start learning script! 2nd grade is a lot harder than 1st. I didn't think so in the beginning, but now we're learning our times tables. We're going to go all the way up to 5! The 1 times table is easy. It's just the number again. How is 4th grade for you, Amane? Are you having fun? Today Daddy's going to take me to the park to play catch. He says we both need the exercise. I think the monster that was inside Daddy is gone. He smiles now and says nice things about you all the time, Mommy. He says how much he misses you two a lot. He hasn't made me cry once. He almost seems like a whole new Daddy, but he still looks the same. Daddy told me to tell you that he hasn't seen anyone since you left. I don't know why `cause we see lots of people in the park and at school. Write back to me soon! I miss you so much!

Love, Ryou' ” I read his letter aloud to Amane.

“If Daddy got better, does that mean we can go back to our old house?” she asked.

“Yes, but maybe in a year or two,” I answered.

“Ok! I'll start writing our letter back now!” she said happily and ran off to her room.

I sighed and laid back on the couch. It's already been seven months since Amane and I started living in this apartment. I had grown quite attached to it in that time, but I would give it up if it meant being with Ryou again. Maybe he has changed. Maybe we can move back soon. I'll keep my job since I work during the hours that the children are at school. We can sell the extra furniture. We'll have extra money to go on more day trips. I smiled at the perfection of my plan. I decided to write a letter of my own, proposing these ideas to Haru.

~*~

Both Amane and I each had a letter to open this time. She read the one from Ryou and I read the one from Haru. Smiles came to both our faces as we both found out we'd be moving back in a few weeks. We hugged each other and I started to cry out of joy. Amane helped me get the moving boxes out of the closet. I had saved them in hopes of this day coming true.

We helped each other with our things, trying to take up as little space as possible so there would be room for the essentials to be put in once it became the exact date that we would be leaving. I took Amane into the lobby of the apartment to tell the manager that we would be leaving soon. After that, we went out to get ice cream to celebrate the good news. Nothing, not even the horribly cold wind, could take the smiles off our faces. Nothing, except the pain of electrocution as the telephone pole embedded itself into the roof of our car.

~END~

Didn't see that coming, did you? Well, I couldn't make it happy; it's just not my thing. I don't know if in the anime/manga they actually died, but I've heard it several times and it just fit so well into the story. This happens to be the longest one-chapter songfic that I've written (I think…), so I'm proud of myself for that. I'm also proud of myself for writing the part with Ryou's prayer so well that I made myself cry. Or it could just be the fact that I'm a crybaby when it comes to stories about a mother and her child. This is also the first angst fic I've written that isn't also a romance fic. Didn't think that was possible.

Just incase you were wondering (thank paniwi for helping me clear things up), Haru had won over the jury saying that Ryou's mother couldn't afford to take care of two children, even if she got a job (plus the child support would barely be enough), but he easily could. The male went with the male and the female went with the female. He also must have promised to go to anger management classes or something... Well, no matter how he did it, Haru convinced the jury to allow him rights to Ryou. So now, thanks to paniwi, I can make my fic easier to understand. Thanks again! ^_^

 

Please review. I need to know if this new type of fic is ok or not.