Log: Kenya, Kura and Masaharu
Who: Oshitari Kenya, Shiraishi Kuranosuke and Niou Masaharu (Plus Shiraishi Izanami)
What: SAVE THE PRINCESS FROM THE TOWER Stealing Kenya from home
Where: Kenya's house, then Shiraishi's
When: Monday 10th, morning
Rating: PG
Comments: Most people wouldn't have heard from Kenya since about the third and these three won't be in class today.
Kenya hated not being able to sleep. But even more, he hated the reasons why he couldn't sleep. It was cold and it was lonely, two things that he had never really been able to deal well with and had gotten used to fighting away by crawling into bed with Hiyoshi whenever he could. He was curled up in a tight ball under his covers, Gogo curled up against him, and his cheeks were damp. He had always hated crying but sometimes, he just couldn't help it. His father was up and gone from the house, now at the clinic he worked at, but Kenya was still too scared to move from his bed. It had been days since he had last set foot out of his room for anything that wasn't a meal or a toilet break or to get feed for Gogo; days since he had first tried to get out of the house only to be punished by having to watch a pair of shoes - his favourite shoes - be burned right in front of him and his cellphone confiscated when he tried to call his friends to help. All Kenya wanted was to go back to his boyfriend and his cousin and his friends. Where he wanted to be.
"He still lives in the same place, Kura?" Izanami cast a quick glance to her brother as she navigated the streets. It hadn't been hard to convince her to help. As soon as she had heard that her little brother's best friend was in trouble, it was impossible for her to say no. It just wasn't right to not help.
”Yeah”, Shiraishi said with a confident nod. It had been ages since he had visited the place, but it still looked ever so familiar. They were going to the right direction alright. “So it’s not far from here…” It had been the right idea to ask his sister for help. He didn’t know how to drive, and neither did Niou and they should get there as fast as possible and out, too. Besides, they needed to ship something else out, too.
Niou was sitting in the car, waiting for them to arrive at Kenya’s. They needed to get the guy out of there. He had made the right decision in talking to Shiraishi about it. He wouldn’t have had any chances of doing this all alone. He had no cars to borrow, nor anyone to drive them. With all this they had? Piece of cake. Hopefully. Well, if Kenya’s dad would be around and would cause trouble, they had Niou to take care of that…
Izanami gave a nod. "Not far now," she said. "Next block, I think... Now. Did you two want a hand getting Kenya-kun and his stuff out? Or do you think you'll be able to handle it on you own?"
“I think we’ll be fine. His dad’s probably at work.” At least Shiraishi hoped that was the case. “We might need help with packing things… he has a lot of belongings.”
"Alright. If you need any help, just tell me, okay? I'll wait out so we can get everything in the car quickly," Izanami smiled at her brother before looking ahead on the road. "Ah, here. This is it," She announced, the car slowing to a halt outside a two-storey house. "Such a nice place..."
“Yet such tragedy”, Shiraishi muttered and sighed. “We’ll be right back”, he said and kissed his sisters’ cheek before getting out of the van. Niou followed him and together they walked to the door and rang the bell.
The sound of the bell startled Kenya and he sat up on his bed, just listening to see if anyone else would get the door. He had no idea if his mother was still home or not, his brother either, but when he heard no movement in the house after a few seconds, he crawled out of bed and lifted Gogo into his arms. He shivered a little at the cold on his legs - he never went to bed in anything except an over sized t-shirt and a pair of boxers - as he made his way down the stairs, calling out a, "Coming," as he neared the bottom. The bottom of the staircase wasn't far from the front door, so it only took a few steps to approach it. He quickly lifted one hand to wipe at his face and make sure his cheeks were dry before he finally opened the door.
After seeing it was definitely Kenya behind the door, Shiraishi took a few steps and hugged his best friend, saying his name with a sincerely happy voice. He had been so worried about him. “We’re here to get you back home.”
Kenya's eyes widened at the sight of his friends and he couldn't help a grin. He had to remember not to wrap both his arms around Shiraishi, else he'd drop Gogo, but hugged one arm around tightly, leaning his head into his shoulder. "Shiraishi," he sniffed and tightened his hold. "I missed you."
“I missed you too.” Shiraishi did feel Gogo in the middle of the hug, so he didn’t want to be there smothering the poor thing for too long. He’d have time to hug Kenya later on. “Now let’s hurry and pack your belongings. All belongings, meaning all your shoes too… you’re not leaving them behind.”
Niou waved a little “yo” sign at Kenya and looked around to see if there were any annoying adults around. None to be seen. Just friendly faces.
After letting go of Shiraishi, Kenya switched to pull Niou into a hug as well. It really was good being able to see friendly faces again. "I don't know where mom and Shota are," he said once he finally let go of Niou. "But... Shiraishi, you know how many shoes I have..." There was just too many to transport by car.
“I know. We have a van… first we just need to get you and the shoes away and then we need to think of something else.” He had tried to think about it… but nothing had come to his mind. “We’ll surely think of something. But we don’t have time to think just yet.”
Kenya eventually just nodded, looking around almost nervously. "Guess we better hurry then," he said before leading them upstairs to his room and placing Gogo back down on the bed. He pointed to the door of a large walk in wardrobe. "Shoes are in there."
Niou glanced around in the room and looked at Kenya. “We have some boxes in the van if we need them to carry all the shoes… unless they’re already in the boxes?”
"All the summer and autumn shoes are in their individual shoe boxes," Kenya explained. "Winter and spring ones will be on their boxes."
That would mean the boxes should be put on larger boxes. At least that would make things easier. “Alright. I’ll be right back”, Niou said and hurried off.
“There’s a lot of them”, Shiraishi said as he looked into the wardrobe. “Don’t worry, we’ll get all out.”
Kenya glanced into the wardrobe as well and gave a small frown and a slow shake of his head. "No we won't," he murmured. "There's only 184 pairs in there..."
Shiraishi looked at Kenya. “What happened?”
The younger boy glanced down at his feet, chewing on his lower lip as he felt his eyes starting to tear up. "He... They're gone…"
There wasn’t really need to say anything else. Shiraishi pulled Kenya back into a hug and kissed his hair. “I’m sorry. I should have come earlier.”
Niou came back from the van, wanting to say something, but after seeing the two hug, he fell silent and nodded at Shiraishi’s gesture of ‘It’ll be alright’. He then walked to the shoes and started packing them in silence.
Kenya leaned into him and grabbed hold of his shirt tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. "H-He bur... burned them..." he managed to get out, his voice mumbled.
“… he’s a cruel man”, Shiraishi murmured and felt angry at Kenya’s father. That emotion hadn’t been there for a long time. “I’m so sorry.”
"M-My red and white pair... my favourite ones... that Yuushi got me for my birthday," Kenya just clung to him for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to cry again. When he finally calmed himself down again, he slowly let go. "Sorry," he mumbled, wiping his eyes.
Shiraishi smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Better cry than keep your emotions in”, he said and wiped Kenya’s cheek.
“And I’ve packed the shoes… uh, I’m not sure about the order, but well, I tried to put them in the way they were”, Niou called from the wardrobe. He had been quite fast… or Kenya had cried awhile.
Kenya nodded first at Shiraishi and then at Niou. "Don't worry about the order," he said, trying not to sound like he'd just been crying, though his voice still shook a little. "I can remember it."
Niou nodded and then took the first large box. “I’ll start taking these to the van. You pack anything else”, he said and started to walk down.
“Want help with that or should I help Niou?” Shiraishi asked once the tricksters was out of the door.
Glad that he at least didn't need to worry about his shoes, Kenya just gave a shrug. "I don't mind," he said, starting to go through his wardrobe. "I just need my tennis and running gear and my uniform. Anything else, I can..." He trailed off. He wasn't sure exactly how much money he had left, and he sure wasn't going to get any more money out of his father after this. After a moment, he gave a nod and pulled his uniform out of the wardrobe. "I can buy."
Shiraishi shook his head and went to get a bigger bag from the doorway, since Niou had brought that with the boxes. “At least take a few regular clothes, Kenya. I can pack those for you, in this”, he showed the bag. “And if you need anything else, you can borrow my clothes… we’re about the same size anyway.”
Meanwhile Niou waltzed around the house, looking for something. As soon as he was sure he had come to Kenya’s dad’s workroom he took out a spray and drew a little something on the wall. Actually, it wasn’t all that little. It was something that would be easily spotted and read.
Of course daddy would probably think it was by Kenya, so he was going to leave evidence that it wasn’t him. Rather Niou to get the blame pinned on. He was damn well used to it.
“He might just kill me for this, if he finds out”, Niou muttered, obviously meaning Sanada and left to fetch a new box of shoes.
Kenya didn't put up much resistance to Shiraishi's suggestion. He just wanted to get out of this place as soon as he could and be back where he actually felt safe and happy. "Alright, buchou," he said with a nod before pulling out the last of the things he needed from his wardrobe.
"I'll be right back. I need to go get Gogo's food tin from the kitchen." His father had moved it there to force Kenya out of his room more. He didn't wait for a reply, quickly walking out of the room and to the kitchen.
Niou managed to see a glimpse of Kenya when he was heading back towards the room. He wondered about it for a while, but then walked to the room to get the next box and left for outside again.
Shiraishi began packing some of Kenya’s normal clothes to the pack. Normally he was a careful packer, but right now he just wanted to put as much as he could into the bag and as fast as he could. So that they could just leave the place that gave his best friend so much grief.
Kenya only took a few minutes to return from the kitchen, returning with a tin under his arm which he managed to fit into the bag as well. "I think that's everything," he said quietly as he lifted Gogo off the bed and onto his shoulders. He'd already been told by a doctor that he really shouldn't else he'd damage his back, but he figured just this once would be okay.
“I’m finished, too”, Shiraishi said and closed the bag. Then he threw the bag over his shoulder and went to fetch a box of shoes. “Once we get these boxes down we can leave. There’s still… six after this.” If only the boxes were a bit smaller they could have carried two at once.
Luckily, help came, since Niou had dragged Shiraishi’s older sister to help. “Goes easier with more people”, Niou explained once he got into the room.
Izanami smiled. "I'm glad I can help," she said before glancing at Kenya and pulling him into a hug. "I'm glad to see you're okay." She had been worried that they would find him in an unpleasant state, injured or worse. "Let's get these boxes downstairs."
Kenya returned the hug and then gave a nod. He picked up one of the boxes and headed out to the van.
With four people the boxes were easy to deliver to the van. Shiraishi placed the last box inside the van and then sighed with relief. “All done”, he said with a miniature nod. “Now we just need to get out of here… let’s go to our house to plan the next step?”
Izanami gave a nod as she climbed into the driver's seat. "You two sit in the back with Kenya-kun, okay?" she said, looking at both Shiraishi and Niou. She had a feeling the boy was going need his friends. "Though I think we can leave planning for a little while. Give him a chance to get some rest."
Kenya climbed into the back seat, sitting in the middle with his iguana curled up in his lap. "Thanks... buchou, Niou," he murmured, glancing at them both.
Shiraishi smiled and sat next to Kenya. “Anytime”, he said.
“Yeah, don’t mention it”, Niou confirmed and smiled a bit.
Once they were all in, Izanami began to drive. It didn't take them long to get home and once they were, she glanced into the back seat. "Take him to your room, Kura," she smiled. "Enjoy some time to just relax, leave his stuff in the car and I'll make you guys something to eat, okay?"
“Alright. Thanks, neesan”, Shiraishi said and got out of the van. Once they were all out of the car he led the way to his room. It had probably changed a bit after Kenya’s last visit. It was a lot emptier and looked larger.... though the green-ish color of the room hadn’t changed. “Uh… I have a few beanbags to sit on over there, but other than that only the desk chair and my bed…”
Kenya carried Gogo in his arms, holding tight enough for comfort but not so tight that he risked injuring his pet. "Can I... sit on the bed?" Normally, he wouldn't ask and would just drop onto like it was his own, but his mind was still a bit of a mess and he had a niggling fear that the moment he got comfortable enough to feel safe, something was going to happen.
“Of course you can”, Shiraishi said as he watched Niou drop onto a beanbag. Then he looked at Kenya with a small smile. “You don’t need to ask something like that.”
"I know," Kenya murmured. He sat on the bed, making himself comfortable against the wall with Gogo set down on his lap. "I just... don't know what to do..."
“Do about what…?” Niou asked. “About the shoe delivery or the situation with your dad?”
Kenya shrugged. "About anything," he said slowly. "Like... if he comes to camp... or what to tell 'Kashi..."
Shiraishi sat on the bed next to Kenya. “Well, if he comes to camp we can somehow deal with it”, he said, not sure how, but confident that they would be able to do it together. “And I’m sure Hiyoshi-kun will help… so you should just tell him the truth. He’ll understand.”
“And if he doesn’t, it’s not worth it”, Niou murmured. Shiraishi shot a small glare at him. “What? It’s only the truth,” he insisted.
Kenya glanced up at Niou then looked down at the iguana in his lap. "He already knows my dad's an asshole," he said. "It's part of how we got together in the first place..." Between messing around and trying to distract himself from his father's harassment, it'd just sort of... happened.
“So there shouldn’t be any problems”, Niou said and grinned slightly. “Like Shira said, he’ll understand.”
Shiraishi nodded and reached his hand to pet Gogo a little. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay. Now that you’re no longer there, you’ll be fine.” Shiraishi looked up at Kenya. “And you can spend holidays here from now on. That way you can still see your mom and new years.”
"Thanks, buchou," Kenya murmured and leaned his head against his friend's for a moment, closing his eyes. Even if he was jumpy and unsure, he felt a lot better being here with his friends than back in his room. "... And what do I tell Yuushi?"
“Mmh… won’t he understand the best? He’s your family, and knows you”, Shiraishi said and leaned a bit against Kenya. “Just… tell him everything. Hiding facts won’t help anything, after all.”
“Yeah, it really doesn’t”, Niou said, sounding like he’d been there and done that.
Kenya nodded slowly in an agreement. "I've already ended up in a fight with him since he came to camp... I don't want to go through that again." He hated fights with his cousin more than anyone, because Yuushi had always been there for him while they were growing up and it had been hard enough being separated from him when he moved to Tokyo, let alone not talking to him when they were in the same school.
“That’s why you need to tell him everything. Show him you trust him, that way”, Shiraishi said and patted Kenya’s hand. “I’ll talk to him with you if you want to.”
Just then Niou’s phone rang. Niou looked at the caller and then got up. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back”, he said and left the room.
"Thanks, Shiraishi," Kenya grabbed a hold of his friend's hand and gave it a squeeze as Niou left the room. "But... I think I should do it alone..."
Shiraishi nodded a bit and leaned his forehead on his friends’. “Mmh… that might be the best idea”, he murmured and closed his eyes.
After just being like that for a while Niou returned to the room, grinning slightly. “I was able to provide the shoes transportation”, he said. “They should be here in a few hours.”
Kenya closed his eyes as well, taking a moment to just enjoy being able to feel safe and not have to worry about anything too serious. He did jump a little at Niou's sudden voice and he opened his eyes and turned his head just enough to give him a smile, but still keeping his forehead against Shiraishi's. "Thanks, Niou," he said, squeezing the hand in his slightly. "Don't know what I'd do without you... either of you."
“Don’t mention it”, Niou said with a smile as he came to sit on the bed as well.
“That’s what friends are for”, Shiraishi said and squeezed Kenya’s hand a bit.
When Niou sat beside him, Kenya turned his head to briefly rest it against his silver-haired friend's head. His free hand move from where it had been resting on top of Gogo to slip into Niou's. "Then my awesome friends won't mind a nap with me?" his tone was a little lighter, now, a little happier and smile from before stayed on his lips
“Not at all”, Shiraishi said and leaned a bit closer. Niou gave an agreeing nudge with his head and squeezed Kenya’s hand a little.
The smile widened. "I love you guys," Kenya murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Niou's forehead and then to Shiraishi's cheek. "I really do." He shifted to get more comfortable, hands still holding onto his friends'.
What: SAVE THE PRINCESS FROM THE TOWER Stealing Kenya from home
Where: Kenya's house, then Shiraishi's
When: Monday 10th, morning
Rating: PG
Comments: Most people wouldn't have heard from Kenya since about the third and these three won't be in class today.
Kenya hated not being able to sleep. But even more, he hated the reasons why he couldn't sleep. It was cold and it was lonely, two things that he had never really been able to deal well with and had gotten used to fighting away by crawling into bed with Hiyoshi whenever he could. He was curled up in a tight ball under his covers, Gogo curled up against him, and his cheeks were damp. He had always hated crying but sometimes, he just couldn't help it. His father was up and gone from the house, now at the clinic he worked at, but Kenya was still too scared to move from his bed. It had been days since he had last set foot out of his room for anything that wasn't a meal or a toilet break or to get feed for Gogo; days since he had first tried to get out of the house only to be punished by having to watch a pair of shoes - his favourite shoes - be burned right in front of him and his cellphone confiscated when he tried to call his friends to help. All Kenya wanted was to go back to his boyfriend and his cousin and his friends. Where he wanted to be.
"He still lives in the same place, Kura?" Izanami cast a quick glance to her brother as she navigated the streets. It hadn't been hard to convince her to help. As soon as she had heard that her little brother's best friend was in trouble, it was impossible for her to say no. It just wasn't right to not help.
”Yeah”, Shiraishi said with a confident nod. It had been ages since he had visited the place, but it still looked ever so familiar. They were going to the right direction alright. “So it’s not far from here…” It had been the right idea to ask his sister for help. He didn’t know how to drive, and neither did Niou and they should get there as fast as possible and out, too. Besides, they needed to ship something else out, too.
Niou was sitting in the car, waiting for them to arrive at Kenya’s. They needed to get the guy out of there. He had made the right decision in talking to Shiraishi about it. He wouldn’t have had any chances of doing this all alone. He had no cars to borrow, nor anyone to drive them. With all this they had? Piece of cake. Hopefully. Well, if Kenya’s dad would be around and would cause trouble, they had Niou to take care of that…
Izanami gave a nod. "Not far now," she said. "Next block, I think... Now. Did you two want a hand getting Kenya-kun and his stuff out? Or do you think you'll be able to handle it on you own?"
“I think we’ll be fine. His dad’s probably at work.” At least Shiraishi hoped that was the case. “We might need help with packing things… he has a lot of belongings.”
"Alright. If you need any help, just tell me, okay? I'll wait out so we can get everything in the car quickly," Izanami smiled at her brother before looking ahead on the road. "Ah, here. This is it," She announced, the car slowing to a halt outside a two-storey house. "Such a nice place..."
“Yet such tragedy”, Shiraishi muttered and sighed. “We’ll be right back”, he said and kissed his sisters’ cheek before getting out of the van. Niou followed him and together they walked to the door and rang the bell.
The sound of the bell startled Kenya and he sat up on his bed, just listening to see if anyone else would get the door. He had no idea if his mother was still home or not, his brother either, but when he heard no movement in the house after a few seconds, he crawled out of bed and lifted Gogo into his arms. He shivered a little at the cold on his legs - he never went to bed in anything except an over sized t-shirt and a pair of boxers - as he made his way down the stairs, calling out a, "Coming," as he neared the bottom. The bottom of the staircase wasn't far from the front door, so it only took a few steps to approach it. He quickly lifted one hand to wipe at his face and make sure his cheeks were dry before he finally opened the door.
After seeing it was definitely Kenya behind the door, Shiraishi took a few steps and hugged his best friend, saying his name with a sincerely happy voice. He had been so worried about him. “We’re here to get you back home.”
Kenya's eyes widened at the sight of his friends and he couldn't help a grin. He had to remember not to wrap both his arms around Shiraishi, else he'd drop Gogo, but hugged one arm around tightly, leaning his head into his shoulder. "Shiraishi," he sniffed and tightened his hold. "I missed you."
“I missed you too.” Shiraishi did feel Gogo in the middle of the hug, so he didn’t want to be there smothering the poor thing for too long. He’d have time to hug Kenya later on. “Now let’s hurry and pack your belongings. All belongings, meaning all your shoes too… you’re not leaving them behind.”
Niou waved a little “yo” sign at Kenya and looked around to see if there were any annoying adults around. None to be seen. Just friendly faces.
After letting go of Shiraishi, Kenya switched to pull Niou into a hug as well. It really was good being able to see friendly faces again. "I don't know where mom and Shota are," he said once he finally let go of Niou. "But... Shiraishi, you know how many shoes I have..." There was just too many to transport by car.
“I know. We have a van… first we just need to get you and the shoes away and then we need to think of something else.” He had tried to think about it… but nothing had come to his mind. “We’ll surely think of something. But we don’t have time to think just yet.”
Kenya eventually just nodded, looking around almost nervously. "Guess we better hurry then," he said before leading them upstairs to his room and placing Gogo back down on the bed. He pointed to the door of a large walk in wardrobe. "Shoes are in there."
Niou glanced around in the room and looked at Kenya. “We have some boxes in the van if we need them to carry all the shoes… unless they’re already in the boxes?”
"All the summer and autumn shoes are in their individual shoe boxes," Kenya explained. "Winter and spring ones will be on their boxes."
That would mean the boxes should be put on larger boxes. At least that would make things easier. “Alright. I’ll be right back”, Niou said and hurried off.
“There’s a lot of them”, Shiraishi said as he looked into the wardrobe. “Don’t worry, we’ll get all out.”
Kenya glanced into the wardrobe as well and gave a small frown and a slow shake of his head. "No we won't," he murmured. "There's only 184 pairs in there..."
Shiraishi looked at Kenya. “What happened?”
The younger boy glanced down at his feet, chewing on his lower lip as he felt his eyes starting to tear up. "He... They're gone…"
There wasn’t really need to say anything else. Shiraishi pulled Kenya back into a hug and kissed his hair. “I’m sorry. I should have come earlier.”
Niou came back from the van, wanting to say something, but after seeing the two hug, he fell silent and nodded at Shiraishi’s gesture of ‘It’ll be alright’. He then walked to the shoes and started packing them in silence.
Kenya leaned into him and grabbed hold of his shirt tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. "H-He bur... burned them..." he managed to get out, his voice mumbled.
“… he’s a cruel man”, Shiraishi murmured and felt angry at Kenya’s father. That emotion hadn’t been there for a long time. “I’m so sorry.”
"M-My red and white pair... my favourite ones... that Yuushi got me for my birthday," Kenya just clung to him for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to cry again. When he finally calmed himself down again, he slowly let go. "Sorry," he mumbled, wiping his eyes.
Shiraishi smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Better cry than keep your emotions in”, he said and wiped Kenya’s cheek.
“And I’ve packed the shoes… uh, I’m not sure about the order, but well, I tried to put them in the way they were”, Niou called from the wardrobe. He had been quite fast… or Kenya had cried awhile.
Kenya nodded first at Shiraishi and then at Niou. "Don't worry about the order," he said, trying not to sound like he'd just been crying, though his voice still shook a little. "I can remember it."
Niou nodded and then took the first large box. “I’ll start taking these to the van. You pack anything else”, he said and started to walk down.
“Want help with that or should I help Niou?” Shiraishi asked once the tricksters was out of the door.
Glad that he at least didn't need to worry about his shoes, Kenya just gave a shrug. "I don't mind," he said, starting to go through his wardrobe. "I just need my tennis and running gear and my uniform. Anything else, I can..." He trailed off. He wasn't sure exactly how much money he had left, and he sure wasn't going to get any more money out of his father after this. After a moment, he gave a nod and pulled his uniform out of the wardrobe. "I can buy."
Shiraishi shook his head and went to get a bigger bag from the doorway, since Niou had brought that with the boxes. “At least take a few regular clothes, Kenya. I can pack those for you, in this”, he showed the bag. “And if you need anything else, you can borrow my clothes… we’re about the same size anyway.”
Meanwhile Niou waltzed around the house, looking for something. As soon as he was sure he had come to Kenya’s dad’s workroom he took out a spray and drew a little something on the wall. Actually, it wasn’t all that little. It was something that would be easily spotted and read.
Of course daddy would probably think it was by Kenya, so he was going to leave evidence that it wasn’t him. Rather Niou to get the blame pinned on. He was damn well used to it.
“He might just kill me for this, if he finds out”, Niou muttered, obviously meaning Sanada and left to fetch a new box of shoes.
Kenya didn't put up much resistance to Shiraishi's suggestion. He just wanted to get out of this place as soon as he could and be back where he actually felt safe and happy. "Alright, buchou," he said with a nod before pulling out the last of the things he needed from his wardrobe.
"I'll be right back. I need to go get Gogo's food tin from the kitchen." His father had moved it there to force Kenya out of his room more. He didn't wait for a reply, quickly walking out of the room and to the kitchen.
Niou managed to see a glimpse of Kenya when he was heading back towards the room. He wondered about it for a while, but then walked to the room to get the next box and left for outside again.
Shiraishi began packing some of Kenya’s normal clothes to the pack. Normally he was a careful packer, but right now he just wanted to put as much as he could into the bag and as fast as he could. So that they could just leave the place that gave his best friend so much grief.
Kenya only took a few minutes to return from the kitchen, returning with a tin under his arm which he managed to fit into the bag as well. "I think that's everything," he said quietly as he lifted Gogo off the bed and onto his shoulders. He'd already been told by a doctor that he really shouldn't else he'd damage his back, but he figured just this once would be okay.
“I’m finished, too”, Shiraishi said and closed the bag. Then he threw the bag over his shoulder and went to fetch a box of shoes. “Once we get these boxes down we can leave. There’s still… six after this.” If only the boxes were a bit smaller they could have carried two at once.
Luckily, help came, since Niou had dragged Shiraishi’s older sister to help. “Goes easier with more people”, Niou explained once he got into the room.
Izanami smiled. "I'm glad I can help," she said before glancing at Kenya and pulling him into a hug. "I'm glad to see you're okay." She had been worried that they would find him in an unpleasant state, injured or worse. "Let's get these boxes downstairs."
Kenya returned the hug and then gave a nod. He picked up one of the boxes and headed out to the van.
With four people the boxes were easy to deliver to the van. Shiraishi placed the last box inside the van and then sighed with relief. “All done”, he said with a miniature nod. “Now we just need to get out of here… let’s go to our house to plan the next step?”
Izanami gave a nod as she climbed into the driver's seat. "You two sit in the back with Kenya-kun, okay?" she said, looking at both Shiraishi and Niou. She had a feeling the boy was going need his friends. "Though I think we can leave planning for a little while. Give him a chance to get some rest."
Kenya climbed into the back seat, sitting in the middle with his iguana curled up in his lap. "Thanks... buchou, Niou," he murmured, glancing at them both.
Shiraishi smiled and sat next to Kenya. “Anytime”, he said.
“Yeah, don’t mention it”, Niou confirmed and smiled a bit.
Once they were all in, Izanami began to drive. It didn't take them long to get home and once they were, she glanced into the back seat. "Take him to your room, Kura," she smiled. "Enjoy some time to just relax, leave his stuff in the car and I'll make you guys something to eat, okay?"
“Alright. Thanks, neesan”, Shiraishi said and got out of the van. Once they were all out of the car he led the way to his room. It had probably changed a bit after Kenya’s last visit. It was a lot emptier and looked larger.... though the green-ish color of the room hadn’t changed. “Uh… I have a few beanbags to sit on over there, but other than that only the desk chair and my bed…”
Kenya carried Gogo in his arms, holding tight enough for comfort but not so tight that he risked injuring his pet. "Can I... sit on the bed?" Normally, he wouldn't ask and would just drop onto like it was his own, but his mind was still a bit of a mess and he had a niggling fear that the moment he got comfortable enough to feel safe, something was going to happen.
“Of course you can”, Shiraishi said as he watched Niou drop onto a beanbag. Then he looked at Kenya with a small smile. “You don’t need to ask something like that.”
"I know," Kenya murmured. He sat on the bed, making himself comfortable against the wall with Gogo set down on his lap. "I just... don't know what to do..."
“Do about what…?” Niou asked. “About the shoe delivery or the situation with your dad?”
Kenya shrugged. "About anything," he said slowly. "Like... if he comes to camp... or what to tell 'Kashi..."
Shiraishi sat on the bed next to Kenya. “Well, if he comes to camp we can somehow deal with it”, he said, not sure how, but confident that they would be able to do it together. “And I’m sure Hiyoshi-kun will help… so you should just tell him the truth. He’ll understand.”
“And if he doesn’t, it’s not worth it”, Niou murmured. Shiraishi shot a small glare at him. “What? It’s only the truth,” he insisted.
Kenya glanced up at Niou then looked down at the iguana in his lap. "He already knows my dad's an asshole," he said. "It's part of how we got together in the first place..." Between messing around and trying to distract himself from his father's harassment, it'd just sort of... happened.
“So there shouldn’t be any problems”, Niou said and grinned slightly. “Like Shira said, he’ll understand.”
Shiraishi nodded and reached his hand to pet Gogo a little. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay. Now that you’re no longer there, you’ll be fine.” Shiraishi looked up at Kenya. “And you can spend holidays here from now on. That way you can still see your mom and new years.”
"Thanks, buchou," Kenya murmured and leaned his head against his friend's for a moment, closing his eyes. Even if he was jumpy and unsure, he felt a lot better being here with his friends than back in his room. "... And what do I tell Yuushi?"
“Mmh… won’t he understand the best? He’s your family, and knows you”, Shiraishi said and leaned a bit against Kenya. “Just… tell him everything. Hiding facts won’t help anything, after all.”
“Yeah, it really doesn’t”, Niou said, sounding like he’d been there and done that.
Kenya nodded slowly in an agreement. "I've already ended up in a fight with him since he came to camp... I don't want to go through that again." He hated fights with his cousin more than anyone, because Yuushi had always been there for him while they were growing up and it had been hard enough being separated from him when he moved to Tokyo, let alone not talking to him when they were in the same school.
“That’s why you need to tell him everything. Show him you trust him, that way”, Shiraishi said and patted Kenya’s hand. “I’ll talk to him with you if you want to.”
Just then Niou’s phone rang. Niou looked at the caller and then got up. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back”, he said and left the room.
"Thanks, Shiraishi," Kenya grabbed a hold of his friend's hand and gave it a squeeze as Niou left the room. "But... I think I should do it alone..."
Shiraishi nodded a bit and leaned his forehead on his friends’. “Mmh… that might be the best idea”, he murmured and closed his eyes.
After just being like that for a while Niou returned to the room, grinning slightly. “I was able to provide the shoes transportation”, he said. “They should be here in a few hours.”
Kenya closed his eyes as well, taking a moment to just enjoy being able to feel safe and not have to worry about anything too serious. He did jump a little at Niou's sudden voice and he opened his eyes and turned his head just enough to give him a smile, but still keeping his forehead against Shiraishi's. "Thanks, Niou," he said, squeezing the hand in his slightly. "Don't know what I'd do without you... either of you."
“Don’t mention it”, Niou said with a smile as he came to sit on the bed as well.
“That’s what friends are for”, Shiraishi said and squeezed Kenya’s hand a bit.
When Niou sat beside him, Kenya turned his head to briefly rest it against his silver-haired friend's head. His free hand move from where it had been resting on top of Gogo to slip into Niou's. "Then my awesome friends won't mind a nap with me?" his tone was a little lighter, now, a little happier and smile from before stayed on his lips
“Not at all”, Shiraishi said and leaned a bit closer. Niou gave an agreeing nudge with his head and squeezed Kenya’s hand a little.
The smile widened. "I love you guys," Kenya murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Niou's forehead and then to Shiraishi's cheek. "I really do." He shifted to get more comfortable, hands still holding onto his friends'.