[oneshot] Home

[dreamweavernyx]

Title: Home

Author: Luna (dreamweavernyx )

Pairing: Inoobu, Taigayuta (hinted)

Genre: Friendship/Crack

Summary: They've escaped to America. But are they safe yet?

Notes: Sequel to Change. Best to read that first.

Mentions of B.I.Shadow and Johnny's Jr. as well.

Request for Gaii (koigaii ).

~


Inoo stepped off the plane, eyes slowly growing wide with wonder.

“This…is America?” he whispered, voice filled with awe.

Yabu laughed.

“Yeah.”

“They’re not speaking Japanese!”

Yabu grinned, and patted Inoo’s head cheekily.

“Japanese isn’t the only language in the world, you know,” he said, the humor ill-disguised in his voice.

Inoo kept silent. For most of his life, the Yaotome mansion had been the only world he had ever known. Now, he was learning so much, seeing so much, and to be honest, it was very overwhelming.

“Don’t worry,” said Yabu after a pause, “I used to live here, when I was in university. I’ll be your translator!”

He gave a thumbs-up pose, grinning like the sun, and Inoo found it hard to resist smiling along as well.

~

Welcome to Ohio, read the road sign that flashed past their eyes as the taxi sped down the highway.

After a long while of jostling inside the taxi with their suitcases, the taxi screeched to a stop outside a block of apartments.

“I figured we’ll feel more at home here,” Yabu said, as he hauled up the last suitcase to the sidewalk and the taxi sped away, “in the Japanese community. A friend of mine helped me get the flat for us.”

Inoo was startled, and relaxed a little as they entered the apartment block, and he recognized familiar characters carved on nameplates at every door, just like in Japan.

The lift stopped with a ding at the fifth floor, and they dragged their belongings to the apartment right next to the lift.

“Well,” said Yabu, fishing out a set of keys from his pocket, “home sweet home.”

~

The family that lived next to them had two sons. The day after they moved in, there was a quiet knock on the door, and Yabu pulled it open to see a teenager standing there.

“I’m Morimoto Ryutaro,” he said, “and this is my brother Shintaro.”

He flapped an arm to gesture at the shorter boy standing next to him.

“We live next to you.”

Yabu smiled.

“I’m Yabu Kota,” he said cheerfully, “and I’m living here with my friend, Inoo Kei. Nice to meet you!”

Ryutaro smiled back, then asked suddenly: “Do you play video games?”

Startled, Yabu blinked.

“Well…I’ve only ever played Mario, but I’m pretty good at it!”

Yabu noticed a competitive glint enter Ryutaro’s eyes.

“We should have a match sometime,” he said, grabbing Yabu’s hand in a firm handshake to seal the deal.

Shintaro rolled his eyes.

“Niichan, you’re just finding someone new to own on Mario, aren’t you?”

~

Ryutaro stared in horror at the screen.

“No. Way.”

The Wii controller dropped from Ryutaro’s hands, dangling upside-down by the strap attaching it to his wrist.

He rubbed his eyes frantically, and peered at the screen again.

YOU LOSE, was emblazoned in bright yellow letters on his half of the screen.

Yabu flashed a victory sign.

“Told you I’m good,” he said, grinning.

Ryutaro snapped back to attention, and grabbed hold of his controlled again.

“That was a fluke! I demand a rematch!”

“You’re on!”

Shintaro sighed as his brother and new neighbour began to play Mario again.

“They’re just like peas in a pod,” he sighed.

Inoo laughed.

“At least they’re having fun.”

~

A couple of days after Ryutaro noticed Yabu kicking around a soccer ball at the park near the apartment, Yabu opened his door to see a group of boys standing there, with Ryutaro standing in front.

“I saw you playing soccer by yourself the other day,” began Ryutaro without preamble.

“Please, can you be our coach?”

Yabu looked into their eyes, a desperate plea calling out to him from within, and found it hard to refuse.

The other boys were other Japanese children who lived around the area, and they all went to the same school. They were a small futsal team who played during school competitions, but had recently lost their long-time coach.

Their names were Uekusa Yuta, Chinen Yuri, Yamada Ryosuke, and Nakajima Kento.

As the days went on, Yabu had to admit that whoever their previous coach had been, he had done a great job.

And so, his first few months flew by in a flurry of futsal, laughter, and bonding.

~

Inoo, on the other hand, had also found a job, but with a completely different pace.

The moment he’d seen the poster on the door of the library asking for a new librarian, he had immediately volunteered.

It was a quiet, unassuming job, just the way Inoo liked it.

The library was near the school, and every afternoon a couple of teenagers - the same ones each day - would come in, just to lounge around and read for a couple of hours before leaving.

Curious, Inoo finally approached them one day and asked them why they came every day.

“It’s the competition period now, so we have training at the dojo every day,” said the taller boy, a skinny pale teenager. “But it starts at 4, and we don’t want to go back home then go to the dojo, because we live quite far away, so we just spend our time here.”

The taller boy was Kyomoto Taiga, the shorter one Matsumura Hokuto. Occasionally, an older boy, Yasui Kentaro - a senior of theirs at the dojo, apparently - would join the duo in the library. They were quiet and unassuming - rather like Inoo - and thus they quickly bonded over the next few weeks.

~

“Ne, sensei,” said Uekusa after practice one day, “Ryuu says your flatmate looks really girly.”

Yabu coughed into his drink, and sputtered for a bit, before regaining his composure and raising an eyebrow at Uekusa.

“He’s a guy, I assure you.”

Uekusa laughed.

“That’s okay. No matter how girly your flatmate is, he’ll probably still look more manly than my best friend.”

For some strange reason, Yabu’s competitive spirit flared up at that comment.

“Wanna bet?”

“Why not? You bring your flatmate, I’ll bring my best friend, and we’ll meet at the park tomorrow and see.”

And that was how Inoo found himself being dragged in Yabu’s wake to the park the next day, quite relieved that it was a Sunday and he didn’t have to make an excuse to his boss for skipping work.

“Sensei!”

Uekusa came running up to them, a tall and pale boy behind him.

“So you came! But…you were supposed to bring your guy flatmate. Not your girlfriend.”

The pale teenager stared at Inoo for a while, before tapping Uekusa’s shoulder lightly.

“Yuta…that’s a guy. He’s the new librarian.”

Uekusa’s face turned into one closely resembling a goldfish, as the pale teen began laughing uncontrollably.

“Yuta, you fail!”

“Shut up, Taiga!”

The sound of laughter filled the air, as Yabu began to laugh along as well, and Inoo found himself wishing that these happy days of freedom and joy could last forever.

~

A week later, Inoo noticed someone new enter the library. He was sure he’d never seen this hooded person before, but something about him gave Inoo the chills, and when his shift ended he had never been more eager to leave.

He walked back to the apartment, going along the familiar concrete sidewalk coloured in alternating spots of orange streetlamp light and black shadows.

A heavy set of bootsteps were heard behind him. Startled, Inoo shoved his hands in his pockets and increased his speed.

The footsteps quickened, too.

Inoo’s heartbeat began to race, and an emotion he hadn’t felt since arriving in America - fear - suddenly made its reappearance.

He increased his speed again.

Suddenly, the sound of bootsteps stopped abruptly, and Inoo heaved a tiny sigh of relief before continuing his walk home.

A flash of black.

And suddenly, with the swirl of a coat, a figure jumped down from the high wall next to the concrete and landed in front of him.

“Inoo Kei,” hissed a voice.

It was the hooded man from the library.

“Please, if you’ll let me pass-”

“Inoo Kei,” the voice interrupted again.

An abrupt glint of silver-grey appeared from the dark folds of the trench coat. An extremely familiar kind of glint…

Inoo dodged just in time to avoid the dagger aimed for his face.

“Who are you?”

The figure did not answer, but swept back his hood to reveal a pair of cold black eyes on a thin young face.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” he said in a quiet but deadly voice, “traitor to the Yaotome Family, Inoo Kei.”

And suddenly Inoo’s blood ran cold as he recognized the identity of his adversary.

One of the best fighters of the Yaotome Family.

Nakajima Yuto.

~

Yabu was worried.

Inoo never took this long to come back from his job.

Was something wrong?

His thoughts were interrupted by a frantic banging on his door. He opened it to see an out-of-breath Uekusa.

“Sensei! Taiga says your flatmate is in trouble!”

Yabu’s eyes widened, and he grabbed the keys and shut the door.

“Lead the way.”

~

Inoo was somewhat glad now, that Hikaru had thrown so many dangerous projectiles at him in his employment at the Yaotome residence.

Yuto frowned, and cocked yet another knife.

“You can’t keep dodging forever, you know.”

His hand moved, too quick to see, and Inoo barely dodged it in time, the sharp blade scoring a red line across his white cheek.

Yuto smirked, and expertly twirled another knife in his fingers.

Suddenly, without warning, a foot came out of nowhere and crashed into Yuto’s skull, startling the Mafioso and causing him to drop the knife.

Hokuto backflipped away from Yuto as he got up, landing in an offensive stance next to Inoo, still in his karate gi.

“Taiga-kun has gone to get backup,” he whispered, “so I’ll protect you for now.”

“He’s a professional!” hissed Inoo.

Hokuto winked.

“I’m not a karate black belt for nothing, Inoo-san.”

With that, he darted forward again, and hit Yuto as he was reaching for the fallen knife.

Inoo watched in horrified shock as Hokuto danced nimbly around the taller Yuto. Hokuto had an advantage in his size, but Yuto had been training since he was young, to fight like a professional. Hokuto alone would definitely not be able to triumph.

Just as he finished this thought, something else flew out from the shadows. Precisely aimed, it hit Yuto on the head, before dropping to the ground and rolling around.

Ryutaro reached out a foot to stop the rolling football.

“Inoo’s our friend now,” he said, “deal with him and you deal with us.”

The rest of the futsal team stood behind him, footballs at the ready.

Yuto scoffed.

“A baby football team and a greenhorn martial artist? Hardly enough to stop me.”

Hokuto kicked Yuto viciously in the stomach.

“I’m hardly a greenhorn,” he hissed.

Yuto raised an eyebrow, and dodged the next incoming kick.

“And he’s not alone,” chimed in a new voice, before a hand connected sharply with Yuto’s chest.

Taiga stood next to Hokuto, gi slightly crumpled, feet apart in an offensive stance.

Yuto scoffed, and lashed out quickly, catching Hokuto unexpectedly in the solar plexus, knocking all breath out of him and sending him flying backwards into the wall. Taiga scowled, and charged at Yuto, but a sharp crack and a hard knife handle impacted Taiga’s skinny wrist, before Yuto proceeded to deliver a spinning kick and send him flying into the wall, to land next to Hokuto.

“Inoo!”

Inoo raised his head to see Yabu, jogging towards him from behind Yuto. Yuto’s head snapped around at the call, and smirked viciously as he saw Yabu.

“So this is the scum you betrayed us for,” he hissed softly, and drew another knife, quickly and expertly.

Before he could even throw the knife, a flash of silver flew through the air, and Yuto crumpled to the ground a second later, a thin needle stuck in his neck.

“This is why,” Yasui’s voice cut through the darkness, “it pays to take acupuncture lessons.”

He stepped into the pool of orange light, a couple more needles held in his right hand, grinning triumphantly.

“The dude’s out cold now.”

Ryutaro kicked at the prone body, just to be sure.

Inoo sagged in relief.

~

Yuto would wake up a few days later, back in Japan, having been flown there by a private jet belonging to Taiga’s father. He would have a note pinned to the crate he returned in, with a neat message to the Yaotome household never to come back to America again.

A subtle death threat at the bottom had been scribbled in last-minute by Yasui.

In what looked suspiciously like blood.

~

Inoo had been expecting to be questioned by everybody, but to his immense surprise, nobody badgered him about the identity of the mysterious attacker.

“It’s your business,” laughed Hokuto when Inoo went to visit him in the hospital a couple of days later, where he was currently recovering from shock and a broken rib. “If you don’t want to tell us, we’re not going to create a huge fuss.”

Taiga nodded agreement, having barged in on the conversation a minute ago, bursting into the ward while dragging Uekusa behind. His wrist had just healed, and he had been enthusiastically bouncing around since the minute the splint had been taken off.

“We’re all friends,” he chirped, “but even so, friends can have secrets. The difference between a friend and a stranger is that friends don’t pry.”

Inoo smiled, and Yabu patted his back gently as he shook in relief.

The philosophical mood that had settled after Taiga’s deep statement abruptly vanished as the door flew open and Ryutaro and Shintaro burst in.

“Awwwwwright!” yelled Ryutaro, waving a box above his head like a maniac, “who’s up for some Monopoly?”

He stopped abruptly with his hand above his head, looking very much like a deranged chicken.

“What?” he asked, noticing everybody staring at him.

“Nothing,” laughed Uekusa, recovering from the sudden shock quickly. “Let’s play!”

“I call dibs on the horse!”

“I want the ship!”

“No fair! I wanted that!”

“GUYS! Don’t we need a banker first?”

Inoo could only sit in the cold hospital chair, and laugh to himself as he watched the ensuing chaos.

This is home, he thought to himself idly, a fond smile playing upon his lips as he leaned back against Yabu.

This is where I belong.