[Multichapter] Dreamcatcher ～瞳を閉じて君を描くよ～ (chapter 2/9)

[tsuchi8562]

Title: Dreamcatcher ～瞳を閉じて君を描くよ～
Author: tsuchi8562
Beta: andreja1989 << Thank you so much ♥
Special thanks for: syunikiss1990 for kicking my butt to continue this story when I wanted to drop it and for yuuki_saya for throwing ideas at me when I needed them.
Pairing: Fukushi x Ninomiya, Matsumiya
Genre: romance, psychological drama
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Your comments are always highly appreciated

*MASTERPOST*

Darkness was surrounding him just like a wet and cold blanket. It became almost physical, suffocating him and sticking to his skin like the tar. Kazunari could feel the characteristic smell which slowly drove him crazy. Time stopped for him as soon as the door to this room was closed behind him and even though he received meals at the exact same hour he soon lost track of it. For him the meal could reach him every fifteen minutes as well as once a week. This time his time in isolation was a tiny bit more bearable because of tiny crack in the wall giving a faint beam of sunlight during the day and few bites of fresh air.

Ninomiya caught himself on sitting near the chink, trying to see anything except this horrifying darkness but all he could stare at was a bit of cement and few blades of green grass. For the few first times he was still asking his father when he will be allowed to leave but when he didn’t receive any response, he gave up. Nino still had a tiny bit of hope that Fukushi is whether looking for him or waiting till he gets back and that ray was the only thing that kept him sane. Memories of their time spent together in Kyoto and before that trip was like safe harbor for his mind, where he could swim in without any fear. Kazunari once even thought that he heard his boyfriend’s voice through the thick door but soon he decided that was only an illusion. How come Souta could get to this house and where could he take the courage from to ask Jiro about the younger boy? That was the first time when Ninomiya thought he is really losing his senses.

“Just a bit more, please wait for me…” He was whispering to the image of his senpai which appeared to be so clear, he tried to touch inexistent beloved face. Fear grew inside him, freezing his heart and making him recite different quotes from books he remembered. It didn’t matter if that was poem, a song, some phrases from mangas or dialogues from movies. As long as he can remember them, say them and understand their meaning, he is perfectly normal, sane and he didn’t lost his mind. Soon later he started to repeat things he learned in the last classes he attended at school, no matter whether it was geography, history or English. Because of his constant mumbling, reciting and murmuring his father finally started to talk to him, even though all he said was harsh shut up already!

Then they came. Crawled in his sub-consciousness quietly and unnoticeably, growing silently inside his mind just to appear randomly after two weeks of staying in the cellar. Nightmares so real and possible that were taking his breath away and making heart beat faster from fear. The images were different, from simple like his dad beating him till the blackness around him changed to red, through Fukushi leaving him and finding new boyfriend, who appeared to be Yamada-kun finally till the walls collapsing and burying him alive.

Everything was so vivid Kazunari was afraid to fall asleep or made sure he is deadly tired so no dreams will come. To exhaust his body and mind he started to exercise. This was also a way to keep his muscles working and be able to walk normally after he will be released from his prison, whenever this may happen. Nino burned more calories he managed to absorb from that one meal a day. When he fainted and was unconscious for quite long time he decided to stop a bit with his muscle training. Ninomiya kept working on his brain though, repeating everything he learned till now. Scary dreams were appearing more often, no matter if he was very tired or not. Sometimes only pieces of awful pictures were popping in front of his eyes when he was awake and sometimes whole terrifying scenes could be remembered.

“No window…” Kazunari was whispering to himself from time to time, recalling the one and only gift he received from Souta. How much he would give to have the dreamcatcher here right now, he could use the small crack in the wall as his window and put the piece of wood there… Maybe it would chase the demons away and finally let him sleep, at least a bit?

Nightmares were more and more vivid, to this extent that Kazunari thought they can physically hurt him. Then, something weird happened... One night he was swimming in thick red liquid, his muscles slowly stopped moving and he started to drown. The claret got in his nose and mouth, getting in lungs and even if Nino knew it's only a dream he couldn't wake up. Then he felt everything disappear and he was lying on the grass in meadow, having clear sky above him. In the distance he saw a male silhouette, wearing white clothes which were stained red up to his chest. The man was standing too far away to see his face but Ninomiya felt his gaze.

When he woke up, still being in the cellar, he immediately started to think about the mysterious guy. Was it Souta who probably was still thinking about him? Maybe in some magical way he was protecting him in his dreams? Though the man he saw had a bit longer hair and was skinnier... For next few nights Kazunari slept dreamless, being able to rest properly. When the nightmares came back they always ended the same way: he was rescued by the man in white who seemed to have powers to control his sub-consciousness. Each and every time the monsters were disappearing in a blink of an eye, replaced by the same blue sky and clearance in unknown forest. The man stayed in the distance and no matter how loudly Nino called him.

Ninomiya couldn’t make himself move in the dreams no matter how hard he wanted. Every single time he tried to get up from the cool grass, he woke up covered with sweat. Soon enough he just decided to think it was indeed Souta, or more like an image of the older boy created by the part of whether his mind or heart which wanted to protect the last pieces of sanity inside him. And just when he got used to the thought he will stay in this cell forever, the door opened, blinding light hit his face and somehow too loud voice asked him to go outside.

"You can go out now." Jiro seemed to be colder than ever. He probably still didn't forgive his son for lying to him and sneaking out to that trip or maybe... Could he find out that his son is gay? Cold sweat ran down Kazunari's spine when he was climbing up the stairs slowly, feeling slight pain in his joints. He didn't say a word, just tried to keep his gaze low and not look in his eyes.

"My god, how long was he there?!" Shiori gasped and immediately made her brother sit on the chair, which was far softer than he remembered. Nino couldn't focus on anything, fighting with fear so from the conversation between his father and sister he caught only that she was away for two weeks regarding new job.

"You're monster, you know?" The girl shouted and after that loud slap cut the air. This sound woke Kazunari up as he jumped on his feet and looked at the older man with hatred engraved on his face. He wanted to yell at his father and hit him but Shiori stopped him.

"Come on, Kazu. Let me help you take a bath." She practically dragged him to the bathroom and forced him to go under shower. Nino sat there for quite a lot of time, letting the hot water wash away his sweat, dirt and hoping he will clean his thoughts too. Neither of siblings said a word. The boy allowed his sister to wash him, despite the embarrassment and fear.

"How long was I there?" Nino heard his hoarse voice, not used to talking louder than a whisper for so long.

"A month." Shiori said softly, rubbing shampoo in her brother's hair. "No use, I guess I will have to cut it short..." She took out scissors from somewhere and took care of Kazunari's hair. The boy didn't even make any sound despite the pain she was causing him by pulling his hair too hard. Just then all dams inside of him broke, allowing him to sob wholeheartedly till he almost couldn't breathe. The girl let him be. Not sure he needs or wants a hug she just moved a bit closer to let him know he can hold her if he needs but she stayed away enough to give him space. She kept cutting his hair, humming some soft song their mother was singing whenever they cried and when their father was away.

The younger boy eventually calmed down and even helped his sister to clean the bathroom after they finished. When he was wiping the floor, kneeling on the cold tiles many thoughts was running through his head, from the loneliness and coldness of his prison he just got released from till Fukushi. He didn’t want to live with his father anymore. Kazunari thought Shiori will eventually accept his true self so living with her was a lot better option that staying in this house with tyrant.

“Take me away from here, nee-chan…” Nino said quietly but the girl seemed to hear it very well.

“Kazu… You know I want to, more than anything else but… You know what happened last time… I don’t want to get a restraining order, because this won’t help you in any way. You remember what he said then, right?” Shiori sighed and sat on the floor, close to the door. Couple of years ago when Nino was punished for two days in the cellar without food she decided to take him with her. She rented only small apartment quite far away from their neighborhood and even though there was no much space, she invited her younger brother to move in with her. Kazunari of course agreed but Jiro was against it. Their father claimed that his daughter will just soften the boy and eventually Nino was supposed to stay at home. The siblings didn’t listen to him and soon youngest Ninomiya sneaked out of home, getting to Shiori’s apartment but after few hours he was dragged back home by police. Jiro said that if they try this again, he will accuse the girl of kidnapping and will make sure she will never see her brother again. Knowing him, he was able to do that or even more…

“I know sis, sorry I asked…” Kazunari smiled weakly but his eyes stayed sad. He remembered very well what happened back then and that this time it will be even worse. Though he had to ask, just to feel a bit better that he is not alone in this; that his sister wants to help him but just simply can’t.

“Enough of this sweet chirping. Food is on the table.” Their father stood in the door and looked at them with disgust in his eyes. Any kind of affection they had for each other and brotherly-sisterly love was a sign of weakness and needed to be eliminated. Shiori got up and helped her brother do the same. When they walked silently to the kitchen she held Nino’s hand tightly, ignoring the hateful gaze and quiet comments. She needs to be strong for her brother and show him that he can lean on her whenever he feels weak.

“You start school on Monday. I got needed notes and materials for you so you have two days to catch up.” Jiro said emotionlessly while chewing onigiris bite.

“Two days to learn the material from a month? Don’t you think it’s too much?” Shiori tried to defend the younger one but the older man just looked at her with hatred written in his eyes and she didn’t say anything more. Kazunari was slowly eating his dinner, not feeling any taste and trying not to cry anymore, no matter how much he wanted. The worst thing he could do right now was show his dad how weak he is.

“Can I go to my room? I want to start studying already.” Nino said quietly and as soon as he was excused he said goodbye to his sister and hid inside his room. Without thinking twice he took needed books and notes which were lying on his desk and started to read them slowly, focusing only on them. In two days he will see his boyfriend and tell him the truth. Maybe Souta will escape with him? Or at least help him find some place real far away so Jiro won’t find him. Thought of Fukushi brought a shy smile on his face and just then he recognized the handwriting in the notebook he had in his hand. The materials were prepared by his beloved senpai. Kazunari looked through every piece of paper to look for hidden message but he didn’t find anything what would like out of place or mean more. Nino’s heart beat faster and he couldn’t focus on the studying more. He went to his closet and with relief he took out the box with dreamcatcher and opened it slowly, as if he was afraid that the gift disappeared. Nino looked at the wooden circle and gently touched it with only his fingertips. He knew it was given to him by the person who really loved him and that warmed up his heart. The dreamcatcher's frame was painted black but still a small spot could be seen on the left side and the thread near there was stained with red. Kazunari knew Fukushi did this gift by himself but he had no clue he got slightly injured in the process. I will need to thank him more properly... Ninomiya thought and hid the dreamcatcher in the same place, getting back to studying. He needs to catch up and not giving Jiro any more reasons to throw him up in the cellar. Nino promised himself he will rather die than go back there.

***

Weekend passed in a blink of an eye for which Kazunari was grateful. Even if he didn't like school previously, now he was excited and quite happy he can go back there. Of course fact of seeing Souta was the major reason of his feelings but simple seeing other people his age was also a relief to him. The building seemed bigger than he remember it but he spent a month in very narrow room so it was natural. Nino wanted to look for his boyfriend immediately but because he came just few minutes before the bell he needed to go to the classes, believing he will manage to talk with Fukushi during lunch.

Something was off. Nino couldn't put a finger on it but the atmosphere in the school was heavy and dark. Something had to happen when he was away but he didn't ask, hoping Souta will explain everything to him later. After first two classes Kazunari gave up and went to the classroom where older students were. Nobody paid attention to him, even when he asked about Fukushi he received no answer. That seemed weird but he decided to give one more try but not with older students. He waited for his classmate who seemed to be the friendliest towards him and took all the courage he had to ask about what is going on.

"You don't know? Well, I knew you're sick but didn't you see TV or read papers?" The boy frowned and when Nino mumbled something incoherent, he sighed and looked around. "One student was stabbed to death."

"What?" Kazunari opened his mouth wide and shook his head to get rid of the shock.

"The one who did it claims it was an accident but who falls on a knife you are holding so bad, it pierces you so badly? You're lucky you weren't here just after it happened, it was ten times worse than it is now."

"But... Who died and who did it?" Nino's curiosity swam up. Of course it's awful somebody died but it gets a bit interesting when you are so close to it. People are weird like that. Ninomiya's classmate looked around, came two steps closer and lowered his voice to whisper.

"Yamada stabbed his rival, Fukushi. You can see this is too fishy to be simple accident. They locked Yamada up and... Ninomiya-kun, are you okay?"

Kazunari's heart stopped. His blood seem to flow normally, but his heart wasn't beating anymore. Souta is dead? His Souta is no longer here? He was murdered and Nino couldn't be with him. This has to be a mistake or maybe he is still dreaming? Maybe he is still in the dark and cold cellar, his mind torturing him with pleasant images of getting out of there but then taking away Fukushi from him? The world started to spin around and it got blurry because of tears which welled up in his eyes.

“W-when Fukushi-senpai died?” Ninomiya whispered, trying to get rid of huge bump that suddenly appeared in his throat.

“On Thursday it will be three weeks… Are you okay, you are white like a piece of paper… Maybe you should go to the nurse?” Somehow the classmate got worried all of sudden, even if he didn’t pay attention to Nino that much before.

“I… He was my friend. My good friend… And nobody told me… I had no idea… I… I’m sorry…” Kazunari dashed out of the building, trying to find a peaceful spot where he could hide for a while not seen by anyone. His heart was broken in dust. Lungs seemed not to accept any bit of air and soon he fell on his knees, not able to stand anymore. He didn’t think what other can think about his reaction at the moment, all he could feel was the pain spreading from his heart to entire body. Nino couldn’t move, sobbing and covering his mouth not to scream or make any other sound so nobody can find him. Silent voice in the back of his head reminded him he should go back to the classes and study because otherwise he will have huge troubles at home but his body refused to move. With the last pieces of strength he got up and shuffled few steps out of his hiding place and he fell, giving up to the hated darkness which wanted to embrace him again.

"Ninomiya-kun? Ninomiya-kun, can you hear me?" Woman's voice came to him from a distance, as if she was very far away from him or in another room. Kazunari winced when somebody shook him and slowly opened his eyes. Whiteness of nurse room blinded him a bit but when his eyes got used to the light he looked around, trying to remember how he got here. Reality hit him, showing peaceful but dead face of Fukushi. Nino held his breath and clenched his hands on the edge of blanket just not to cry again.

"Are you okay Ninomiya-kun?" Nurse asked softly touching his forehead to check his temperature.

"I am fine, just... I think I am still weak..." Nino whispered, feeling how dry and sore was his throat.

"In that case you can go back home. I can call your dad to pick you up and..."

"No! Please... Can you call my sister? My father has problems with walking. Shiori will take me home." Ninomiya smiled weakly and sat up, looking for his phone to give the nurse his sister's number. The nurse agreed only because the girl was living alone and seemed to be responsible. When Kazunari’s sister took him from school they decided he will go to her apartment and go back home when his classes are supposed to finish, taking the risk that the nurse will call their father. Through whole way to Shiori’s apartment neither of them said a word but when the girl noticed something is seriously wrong she just simply asked.

“Kazu, please tell me what happened… Is it because of father?”

“Yes and no… I guess it was a bit of an effort for me to get back to school so fast and… I got bad news today…”

“Bad news?”

“Yes…” Nino bit his lower lip and looked at his sister wondering how much he could tell her. Should he simply state that Fukushi was only his good friend or tell the truth? Kazunari knew that if he lies and she will try to find out more about his relation with Souta, he will lose it and probably start crying again. Then she will figure everything out, she is not stupid… No. He can’t admit he is gay, not to her, not to anyone. If Jiro finds out he will kill him. Though maybe death will be a good solution right now, without his boyfriend? Souta… Nino bit his lower lip not to cry again and took a deep breath.

“Kazu…?”

“My friend got killed at school when I was in the cellar…” The younger boy said quietly, trying to hide his emotions. The girl gasped and opened her mouth from slight shock. He didn’t know what surprised her more, the fact that a kid in her brother’s school was murdered or that he actually had a friend. When the silence prolonged and Kazunari couldn’t stand it anymore, he coughed gently and got up, walking to the window. “I was just shocked it happened…”

“B-but how he got killed? An accident?” Shiori said with shock still audible in her voice.

“He was murdered… You know, he was popular and some jealous people couldn’t stand it… I don’t know what exactly happened, but one of his classmates stabbed him.” How come he can talk about it so calmly?! “It couldn’t be an accident, right? I mean you simply can’t fall on somebody else’s knife… And Fukushi was the best person I have ever known. He was warm and caring and didn’t care what everyone else think about him… He helped me… I lo-liked him very much and now he’s gone…”

“Kazu, what… Kazu?!” Shiori touched her brother’s cheek and just then he realized he is crying again. It was just as he thought, he lost control and all sadness hit him again, this time not so strongly as before. Without any more words the girl embraced her brother and hugged him tight, letting him let everything out before he will need to go back home. After a while she gently pushed Nino away and looked at him, whipping away his tears.

“I can try to find his tomb for you if you want. We can think something out so father will let you go with me for a walk or something and I can take you there. Just please, stop crying and wash your face with cold water, so father won’t see your red eyes. Okay?” Nino’s sister smiled weakly and ruffled the latter’s hair like she always did whenever she tried to make him smile.

“Y-you think he will agree? I…” Kazunari frowned, not sure if Jiro allows for anything like that.

“I will think of something, don’t you worry. Of course it won’t be tomorrow but be patient okay? Now let’s go, I will drop you back to the school so you can take a bus from there. And please, cheer up at least a bit.”

“Thank you nee-chan…” Nino hugged his sister tightly, feeling small bit of hope filling his heart. It was obvious she loves him and that he can trust her but still not that much that he could tell his biggest secret. Maybe someday, but definitely not now.

***

Two weeks were filled with trying to focus on studying and not snap when Shiori didn’t call or even came to him. Kazunari cried at night, praying for his father not to hear him and he fell asleep just couple of hours before his alarm rang. He was overtired and felt dizzy but he kept acting as everything was okay. When his sister finally called him and said she will talk to Jiro, Nino felt huge weight fell off his shoulders. Visiting his boyfriend’s tomb was something he wanted to do the most and when this time finally came he was relieved. Their father was sceptic to the idea of his daughter taking younger kid to the museum but after around fifteen minutes of explaining and convincing he agreed, giving them not more than three hours.

“Okay, hopefully it’s not that far…” The girl said and drove off. “I got some brochures from the museum so if he asks about it, you can show it to him… Or just threw it in the trach can at home…”

“Thank you sis…” Kazunari said quietly and looked through the window on constantly changing scenery. Even though he accepted the fact Souta is not here anymore, the reality hit him again strongly. In the worst nightmares he couldn’t even imagine he will read his boyfriend’s name carved in stone and now… Probably this will be first and last time he goes to the cemetery. Nino felt something wet on his hand and just then he realized he was crying quietly.

“Kazu, are you okay? Stupid question, of course you are not okay, your friend died… But can I do anything to make you feel at least a bit better?”

“You are already doing it nee-chan… It’s really enough.” The boy smiled weakly and wiped away his tears who didn’t seem to stop flowing. Suddenly a thought hit him out of sudden. Was it possible that the person who protected him in his dreams and chased horrible pictures away was Souta? Has he become his guardian angel?

“We’re here.” Shiori’s voice cut the river of questions in his head and he slowly stepped out of the car, looking around. He heard from his classmate where Fukushi was buried but he didn’t know the exact location. “Guess we’ll need to look for it or maybe we can ask somebody?”

“Let’s look around first…” Nino said and walked between huge stones, reading each name engraved on them. The clock was ticking and he couldn’t find the right place but when he almost lost all hope he saw small, white tomb with Fukushi’s name on it. He wanted to run there but he was stopped by his sister.

“Hey, not running… Not here. Let’s go.” She didn’t need to tell him twice. Kazunari walked quite fast towards the tomb and stopped only when his feet were almost touching it. At first he felt happy just as if he just came for their date but then everything was replace with sadness and pain. Somewhere in the back of his head he still hoped this is all big fat lie just to separate them or that Souta doesn’t like him anymore but when he gently touched cold stone and felt the letters under his fingertips he was sure that this is the truth. Kazunari wanted to say something but Shiori was close by so he had to be careful on his words, as he still didn’t know can he confess openly to her.

“I miss you…” Nino whispered, took an incense and lit it feeling bitter smoke in his nostrils. He didn’t know any pray he could say right now and he couldn’t start talking to the tomb just like that, seeing Shiori was still close and could hear him. That’s why he stayed silent, staring at his late boyfriend’s name and hold back tears. Kazunari lost the track of time and he didn’t know how long they were staying there but when his sister coughed gently he knew they should be going already. The boy took a deep breath, touched the stone for the last time and turned around just to see an older and female copy of Souta. The woman was just few meters away from them, looking a bit surprised and, most of all, sad.

“Ninomiya-kun?” She asked shyly and closed the distance between them in few steps. Kazunari nodded and tensed, not able to utter any word. How come the woman knew his name? Was she aware of his relationship with her son?

“Excuse me, do you know my brother?” Shiori broke the silence and just then Nino remember she was still next to him.

“Oh, I only heard about him. Souta talked a lot about you, dear. He was so worried when you stopped coming to school… He even wanted to go to your home and ask how you are but then...” Souta’s mother’s voice broke and she had to close her eyes for a while to calm down a bit. Nino’s sister took a deep breath and mumbled some condolences at the same time pulling Kazunari towards the car. They were running out of time and if they want to go back home soon they should be leaving now.

“Ninomiya-kun… Can’t you stay a bit? I wanted to talk to you a bit…” Fukushi’s mother pleaded and as much as the boy would like to have a chat with her, he didn’t have time for that.

“I am sorry but we really have to go now.” Shiori said calmly but firmly.

“Then just let me thank you… Ninomiya-kun, thank you for being that special someone for my Souta. He was happy because of you. I don’t think I even saw him like that before… So thank you. And I hope we will be able to talk some time, I want to tell you more about him.” The woman bowed and turned around to the tomb, welcoming it almost as if it was her son. Nino bit his lower lip and tried to ignore curious look his sister gave him. When it became clear that he won’t say a thing to explain what the woman had in mind the older girl finally asked, carefully weighting her words.

“Can you explain what was it all about?” Shiori’s voice trembled a bit or maybe it was only his imagination? “That… Souta… was your f-friend?”

“Yes, he was my friend.” Kazunari said firmly. He didn’t lie, Fukushi was his good friend, his only friend. It also happened that he was somebody more than just that. His sister drove off, heading home but it was visible she fights with the urge of asking more questions.

“Kazu, but that didn’t sound like just friends… You know you can tell me everything, right? You don’t have girlfriend or any crush… Kazu, please tell me the truth are you…?”

“Yes. I am gay.” Nino stated quietly and kept looking through the window. Shiori didn’t reply anything, just gasped and started to breathe faster. For a while he was scared that she will hyperventilate but after a while she seemed to calm down at least a bit. “You won’t say anything?”

“Did you… You know, you and him… Did you together… Damn it, I can’t even say it…”

“With all due respect sis, but it is not your business. Yes, I loved him and he loved me. That’s all you should know.” How come he was so calm? He just confessed, for the first time in his life he openly said he is gay and that didn’t make him scared or even a bit happier. It was just as if he had stated that earth is round, something so obvious it doesn’t impress you in any way. Nino even felt a bit disappointed but on the other hand maybe this was better? Without him being overwhelmed and too excited he won’t need to hide his feelings in front of his father.

“Was it your first… b-boyfriend?” Shiori asked, still focused on the road. Kazunari took a deep breath and decided to let everything go, of course without too many details. His sister listened carefully, nodding few times asking some simple questions every now and then.

“So it can be fixed… It was just one time adventure to try things… No matter what don’t let father know about it, okay? He can kill you… I won’t tell him anything, so don’t worry…” The older girl was assuring him that it will be a secret and that he was just curious and now he should get a girl. Nino didn’t say a word even after they reached home, being both disappointed and mad. On the other hand he couldn’t expect anything more from his sister. Even though she tried to protect him from their father but they weren’t very close. Shiori was living separately and they met only once in a while and even then, they didn’t talk openly about their lives. Kazunari didn’t even know if she has a boyfriend…

“Kazu, I won’t tell him anything, you can be sure of that.” The girl smiled weakly and then slowly went inside the house, Nino slowly following. He didn’t even have strength or willing to say he came back. All he wanted was to go back to his room and check the dreamcatcher again, thinking of a way to hang it in his window. Jiro will notice it for sure but what Kazunari can say to convince him it’s not a weakling’s thing?

“Kazunari, come and sit here.” The head of the family said with somehow cold and scary voice. That could mean only troubles. Shiori looked at her brother and he could swear she got pale a bit but then she glued smile on her face and followed Nino to the living room.

“Good you are here as well, I probably will need some witnesses.” Jiro said as coldly as before, his eyes piercing his son’s face. This was bad, really, really bad… The youngest one sat in front of his father, not daring to look straight in his face and wondering what this could be all about. Did he find dreamcatcher? Maybe he knew they weren’t going to the museum? Will he lock him up again in the cellar? Cold sweat ran down Nino’s spine as he waited for anything that was about to happen.

“I can somehow excuse you for lying to me about your today’s trip. Only that fact. But I cannot overlook this.” The older man threw something heavy on the small table in front of him. Kazunari slowly raised his gaze and looked at pile of articles copied from the books he get in library… These books… The ones which were supposed to help him find his true self and understand who he really was. Nino took them home and hid in small niche under his bed, promising himself he will get rid of them as soon as he reads them. He must have forgot about them completely, as they were lying in front of him, a bit crumpled on the sides, probably because Jiro was very upset while reading them… How could he forgot about them?! Meanwhile his father continued with emotionless voice.

“I hoped it’s just some stupid task for school, so I went there… Yes, I limped to your school only to get to know that your friend was killed a day earlier… And that he wasn’t only your friend. I thought that the boy… Yamada-kun… who killed that… student… was jealous or hated him so much that even after his death he spread some rumors… But today… I got my last proof.”

“Father, what are you talking about?” Shiori tried to laugh. She looked at her brother and sat next to him. “You want to say Kazu is what? Gay? Come on…”

“I don’t believe you didn’t know earlier, but if you didn’t then you were scammed as well. Besides you heard yourself what that woman told him. Yes, I also followed you today. I asked Kuroki-sensei to help me, I can barely walk by myself! He took me there, to that cemetery… I heard her… Thank you for being that special someone for my Souta. He was happy because of you. You make me sick…”

“Father…” The girl tried but Jiro silenced her with one gesture. Nino was sitting quietly, shivering from fear but at the same time a bit relieved that everything got revealed. Maybe it was meant to be? But what will happen to him right now?

“I made my decision. This cannot be solved by keeping him locked in the cellar anymore. He is sick and needs help. Kuroki-sensei and I decided that it will be better if Kazunari goes to the clinic which specializes in healing such people.”

“It’s not illness!” Nino shouted and wanted to explain that he is not sick, that he is just different than most of people but he is perfectly healthy, that he was born that way but he couldn’t say anything. He was slapped in left cheek and bit his tongue so hard it bled. No matter what he does, he won’t win. Not with this man…

“Not another word! It’s already decided! You are leaving tomorrow and as soon as you step outside, you are not my son. Now go to your room and don’t you dare to step outside till tomorrow.” Jiro stated and got up, waiting for Kazunari to go upstairs. That was it… The only man who wasn’t supposed to know his secret knew it all… Everything because Nino forgot to clean his room few months ago… Why? What will happen to him right now? Without Souta or anyone close he can as well give up. Please, live… Fukushi’s voice sounded in the back of his head, trying to give him courage. Maybe this will be way to get out of this place for good? Maybe he will simply just pretend he likes girls and they will let him go? Then he will able to go whenever he wants and do whatever he likes, somewhere far, far away. Kazunari caught this ray of hope tightly and quickly packed small bag, not forgetting to smuggle the dreamcatcher. This will be the only thing which will keep him sane there, in that god forsaken place. And who knows, maybe Souta will come to him in his dreams again?