[Fic] Don't Close Your Heart

[urufuchinen]

Title: Don’t Close Your Heart

Author: urufuchii

Pairing: Morimoto Ryutaro x Chinen Yuuri

Genre: Angst, Friendship, Family

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I borrow them from their parents

Warning: AU, self edited

Summary: Ryutaro, a junior high school student who didn’t get love from his family, got an accident from his wild motorcycling. In the place where he got hospitalized he found an unusual friend who cared about him. <-- It’s about hospital again LOL

Notes: I was inspired from the comic I read years years ago (maybe when I was in elementary school). The plot was pretty much the same; I just used different characters and dialogues :))

I’m sorry if this is a long fic, but I hope you’ll read it until the end… For eroxhime , this is my angsty ChiiTaro… :D 

It began when his mother, his loving and caring mother, met that guy. He married his mother. At first Ryutaro, the name of this boy, didn’t mind at all. His father died years ago so he didn’t want his mother to feel lonely anymore. Thay guy brought his little son with him, maybe from his previous failed marriage. The little boy was so cute. He didn’t get love from his mother so when he finally got a new mother for him, he was beyond happy. Every time he always clinged onto his new mother. Ryutaro didn’t mind it. But, as years passed, he began to feel annoyed. His new step brother didn’t give him any chance to be closed to their mother. He always acted like a spoiled kid everytime he saw their mother. And their mother, who fell in love with his step brother from the first sight, unconsciously gave that boy too much attention. Too much attention, that her own son was forgotten. She didn’t act like a mother should do to him. Her own son was totally ignored. Forgotten. His step father didn’t help either, since he love his own son too much.

Ryutaro already did his best to steal his parents’ attention from that brat, but he always failed. That brat was too strong. He took ALL from Ryutaro. So Ryutaro didn’t have anything anymore. As time passed and he began to walk through his puberty, he didn’t care anymore.

Yes, Ryutaro didn’t care about his family anymore. He was totally ignored. When his family was having fun together in their living room, he just stayed in his room, listening to his headphone and watching stars from his window. He didn’t feel sad anymore. He didn’t want to, because he knew his family didn’t care. He just… wanted to dissapear.

That day was the climax. His family was going to have a holiday to Hawaii. Minus him, of course. He wasn’t invited anyway. His mother informed him about the news, but she didn’t even ask him to come along. Well, as if he wanted to go with them anyway.

Of course he wanted to!! He wanted to spend his holiday with them!! He wanted to play with his step brother!! He wanted to feel the love which he hadn’t got these past years!! Why didn’t they care?? Why did they hate him??

He couldn’t take it anymore. When his family was preparing the luggages, he took his jacket and went outside his house. He took his beloved motorcycle which he got from his grandfather and rode off. He could hear his mother yell from inside his house about where he wanted to go. But he didn’t care. He just wanted to go far far away from that damn place.

He didn’t even know where he wanted to go. He went further and further from the city. With extremely high speed. Hours passed and he didn’t even know where he was. He just kept riding his motorcycle.

And then that thing happened. It was night so he couldn’t see properly that a big truck came in front of him. He couldn’t stop. He was too panicked. The sound of its horn crushed along with his poor body and motorcycle. He was thrown away from the sreet to the deep ravine below him. He fell and fell and fell until he couldn’t feel his pained and broken body anymore…

He woke up first with an extremely pain run through his body. He couldn’t see with his right eyes since it was bandaged.

“You’re awake?” he could hear a voice of woman besides him. “Thank God you’re finally awake…”

“W-Where am I?” Ryutaro tried to speak but it came out with a hoarse voice.

“In the hospital near the place where you got accident. You’re lucky we came to you immediately.”

“Accident?” Oh yes, he finally remembered he smashed his motorcycle with a big truck.

“You slept for almost two weeks so I’m relieved you’re awake now.”

“Two weeks?? I’ve been slept for two weeks??”

“Yes. When you’re brought here, you looked horrible. Your bones broke and your right eyes…” she pointed to his bandaged eye, “Well, you can’t see anymore with your right eyes.”

“W-Whaat?? So my right eye is blind?”

“Until you get a donor, yes it’s blind now.”

He sighed on his bed. What kind of disaster he got now, he thought.

“We haven’t called your family since you didn’t bring your ID card with you. Could you give me your family phone number so we can call them now? I’m sure they’re worried now because you’re away for two weeks.”

“I don’t have one.”

“What?”

“I don’t have a family, nurse-san. I live alone.”

-----------------------------

He spent his first two days, well, if you counted with the time he had slept then it’s two weeks and two days, alone. He couldn’t see other patients in that hospital. Everytime he walked through the corridor, all he could hear was only his steps. He tried to peek other rooms, but he found nothing.

He began to feel bored. His room had nothing even though it’s quite luxurious. Yes, the hospital was more luxurious than any other hospitals he ever saw, even though it’s not too big. He wondered how he could pay all the debts when he finally could get out. His family wouldn’t even care, he knew it.

“Nurse-san,” he called her when she brought his lunch. “How much must I pay for all of these? How long I will stay in this hospital?”

“Oh, don’t worry dear. All your treatments are free.”

“Eh?? But, how? Why? This hospital is so luxurious, all the treatments and furniture. Why mustn’t I pay?”

“Actually this hospital belongs to a very rich couple who built this hospital for their son. Their son was here too. Every patient who hospitalized here won’t need to pay, they said that. They wanted to help other people, but only a few who come here because this place is hard to get and far from the city…”

“Oh… I see… So I don’t have to pay until I recover?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Yokatta…” Ryutaro sighed in relieved.

-----------------------------

Another boring day, he thought. He recovered quickly so he could walk more properly, with a help from a ridiculous walking stick he was holding. At night he walked through the corridor again. Some people maybe would find it scary, but for Ryutaro, the quietness and slight darkness from it somehow made him feel comfortable.

He heard steps. It’s not from him. He heard more. And it’s coming to him. Slightly scared, he waited for someone to come. The steps got louder and louder until finally that person appeared in front of him.

“Hello,” that person greeted him.

Ryutaro examined that person carefully. He was a boy, seemed younger than him, wearing a pink and bunny pattern pajama. His face was very very very cute and good looking. It made him blush a little.

“H-Hi.”

“You’re new here?”

“Un…”

“What happened with your right eye?”

“I didn’t really know but maybe it was stabbed by something when I got the accident weeks ago.”

“Aww poor you…” that boy gave him his very cute puppy eyes. “Can it be healed?”

“For now it’s not. I should get a donor first…”

That boy gave him an understanding look.

“Can you tell me your name?”

“It’s Ryutaro.”

“Ryu-chan,” he beamed. Ryutaro wondered why such a kid existed in this world.

“And yours is?”

“Just call me Chii,” he beamed once again.

“Chii,” Ryutaro repeated. What a cute name…

He heard other steps coming. He’s sure it’s nurse-san’s.

“So Ryu-chan, nice to meet you! Let’s meet again tomorrow~!” Chii waved to him and then disappeared into the darkness.

“Ryutaro-kun!” nurse-san called. “What are you doing in this place?? You should have slept!!”

“I-I’m sorry…” he let her drag him back to his boring room.

---------------------------

The next night, Ryutaro planned to meet Chii again on the same place. But his nurse warned him not to walk around at night. So he just gave up. He would just apologize to Chii if he met him again another day.

Knock knock knock. His door was knocked.

“Come in,” he said.

The person opened the door.

“Ryu-chaan~!!”

“Chii!” it’s Chii, much to his surprise. “How did you know my room??”

“I stalked you~ Tehee~! No, I know everything about this hospital,” he winked.

Ryutaro was happy that Chii was coming. He hadn’t had a friend to talk to besides nurse-san so Chii made him feel at ease.

Chii was wearing a baby blue pajama right then.

“Ryu-chan, how are you feeling?”

“Much better than ever,” he wasn’t lying.

“Because of me?”

“Maybe?” they laughed together.

That night they talked about random things like what are their likes and hobbies. Ryutaro found out that Chii liked manga too, just like him.

“Say Chii, why did you hospitalize? You look very healthy.”

“I have been here since I was born. I never even get a chance to go outside this hospital.”

“Really? Why?”

“Sunlight is my enemy. It’s bad for my health. That’s why I visit you in the night. In the day I can’t even go out from my room.”

“Oh…”

“My dream is to see the ocean in the daylight with my own eyes… Until this time I only saw it from TV and book…”

“Chii,” Ryutaro looked through his eyes. “I promised that I’ll take you to the ocean, once I’ve recovered.”

“Eh? That’s impos-“

“Let’s go together, okay? We’ll go after you’ve recovered. I’ll take you with my motorcy- Oh, my motorcycle was already dead so… Let’s go with bus~!”

Chii was silenced for a moment. Ryutaro could see that his eyes were glimmering with hope and happiness.

“Un~!” finally he nodded in excitement. The beam from Chii’s face made Ryutaro promise to himself that, no matter what, he would take Chii to ocean and made the boy’s dream came true.

---------------------------

Every night Chii would come to his room. Just like that night.

“Say Chii, how long have you been in this hospital?”

“Since I was born, almost 17 years ago.”

“17?? I thought you’re younger than me!!”

“Because of my cute face?” he giggled.

“Y-Yeah… It unbelievable that I’m 2 years younger than you…”

“Hehe… But you’re very cute, Ryu-chan~!” Chii pinched his cheeks playfully. “Although I’m cuter than you~!”

“Ouch… At least I’m taller than you…”

“Mouu, Ryu-chan~!!” he pinched harder.

“That’s hurt, Chii~”

“Teehee~ Sowwy~” he batted his long eyelashes.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you’re older than me…”

“Ryu-chan, does your family visit you?”

His smile was flattened.

“…no.”

“Eh?? Whyy?”

“Because they don’t care? Well, I don’t care either.”

“Ryu-chan…” he held Ryutaro’s hand gently. “I became very sad when you said that. You see, family is the most precious thing in this world. You must treasure them…”

“Why must I treasure them if they don’t even treasure me?”

“No, I’m sure they do care. Maybe you just close your heart so they can’t give their love to you?

“……”

“My parents too. I live here since I was born. They rarely come to visit me, but I know very well that they do care. They’re just busy. I understand that… I don’t wanna close my heart, because I wanna receive their warm love to me… You too, Ryu-chan. Don’t close your heart. The one who love you the most is your own family. Let them pour their love to your heart…”

Ryutaro couldn’t reply him with words, so he just hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Chii… Thank you for reminding me… Yes, I’ve closed my heart since my parent’s marriage. Maybe that’s why I can’t feel their love…”

“I’m glad you realize that…” Chii hugged him back.

----------------------------

“Really?? I can go home in a week??”

“Yes, but because you don’t have a donor for your eye, then you’ll go home with that bandage until we get the right donor for you.”

“Uwaah yokatta~!”

“That’s good for you! You’ve showed me a great progression since you’re here! Normal people would be healed for months, but you can be healed only for a month!”

“I have a good friend in here. He always supports me to recover so maybe it’s because of him…”

“Friend? You have a friend in here?”

“Yes!”

“Ooh… An imaginary friend, huh?” nurse-san chuckled softly, and it made Ryutaro a bit confused. Who said he couldn’t get a friend in here? It didn’t mean that he’s that cold that he couldn’t get any friend!!

As he would go home in a week, Ryutaro wanted to give Chii something as a farewell present. It didn’t mean that he would never visit Chii again in the future. He had a promise with him anyway. But Ryutaro wanted Chii to always remember about him. He was pretty good in drawing real life objects, so he thought he would make a close up picture of Chii. Chii was so cute that any other people would find it hard to draw him, but Ryutaro tried his best. He tried to picture Chii’s cute face in his mind and began to draw it on the medium sized canvas he found in his drawer.

Nurse-san came again to serve his dinner. But then she found out Ryutaro’s sketch on his drawer.

“Aww so cute~!” she commented as she held the sketch.

“N-No~! It’s not so good and-“

“Who’s he? Your brother? So cute~ I want to meet him if he’s really exist…”

Eh? Did it really bad that she didn’t realize it was Chii?

Ryutaro almost wanted to just keep the sketch to himself. He’s not confident enough to give it to Chii, because even though he admitted his work was quite good, but nurse-san didn’t find it looked like Chii so…

“Ryu-chan, what’s wrong?” Chii asked while tilting his head.

“Chii, actually…” he really wanted to give it but…

“Will Ryu-chan go home already?”

“Ah- Y-Yes… I’ll go home in a week…”

“Yokatta~! Ryu-chan, I’m happy for you~!” Chii beamed happily, but if you noticed you’d find slight sadness from his eyes.

“Thank you… And… I wanna give something to you…” Ryutaro convinced himself and opened his drawer. “H-Here.”

Chii looked surprised to see his own sketch on the canvas. And he began to cry.

“C-Chii?? Yappari, it’s horrible, right?? I’m sorry!! I’m really bad at drawing! Y-You don’t have to keep that, you know…” Ryutaro started to panic.

“N-No…” Chii said between his sobs. “I’m h-happy that you made this… I’m so happy…”

“Really? But-” Chii glomped him tight, not wanting to let his best friend go.

“Thank you, Ryu-chan… I’m so lucky I meet you…”

Ryutaro sighed in relieved. He didn’t expect Chii would be that happy to receive his present.

“Don’t forget about me, okay? I’ll try to visit you once a month. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll go to the ocean together~!”

Chii nodded between his sobs in Ryutaro’s warm embrace.

----------------------------

It had been almost a week since Ryutaro gave a present to Chii. Since that time Chii never visited him anymore. Ryutaro became worried. He’s afraid something bad happened to his best friend.

The next day he would go home, but he didn’t want to, except he met Chii for the last time. Ryutaro was going to the customer service to find Chii’s room, but when he’s on the stairs he met his nurse.

“Nurse-san! Can I ask you something?”

“Not now, Ryutaro-kun. I have a patient who is in his critical condition right now,” she said as she was running to climb the stairs.

“Wait! Is he Chii??”

Nurse-san stopped her tracks. “H-How did you know Chii??”

“He came to my room every night!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ryutaro-kun. It’s even difficult to move his own body. How could he come to your room??”

“But I’m not lying!! He really came! We became best friends!”

“Sorry, Ryutaro-kun. I don’t have time to accompany you right now,” nurse-san continued to run to the upper floor.

“I come with you!!” Ryutaro ignored the nurse’s scolds and followed her. He run until he reached Chii’s room.

His room was isolated from other rooms. When Ryutaro entered the room, he saw the most luxurious room he ever saw. It’s like a hotel room with large TV, books, mangas, and other things you couldn’t imagine they’re exist in the hospital room.

“Is this… Chii’s room?”

But the nurse ignored him and continued to run to another door. He followed her to that door and… What he saw was more shocking than whatever he had seen in his life.

“C-Chii?”

He saw Chii on the bed. Bandages were all around his body and face, making him looked like a mummy.

“Chii!!” Ryutaro run to his dear best friend.

Chii’s eyes fluttered open.

“Ryu-chan…”

“What happened?? What’s with these bandages all over your body??”

“I’ve been like this… since I was born…”

“B-But… You came to m-my room healthy!! Without these bandages!!”

“Ryutaro-kun! You should go now or I’ll-“

“Nurse-san!! What happened to Chii??”

“He was born without epidermis. It makes him not be able to stand of sun ray. If it struck his body then he’d be burnt…”

Ryutaro began to cry. He couldn’t believe the fact he had heard.

“Chii was born without face… We must cover his body with these bandages to protect him…”

“You lied!! Chii has a face!! He’s the cutest boy I’ve ever seen in my life!!” Ryutaro screamed between his cries.

“Ryu-chan…” Chii called him weakly.

“Y-Yes, Chii?”

“It’s my soul that came to you… I was happy that finally I could get a best friend after wandering in this hospital for years… T-Thank you…”

“Chii… I promised to take you to the ocean, remember? I will definitely fulfill it and… and…”

“P-Please let me… to be your d-donor…”

“What?? No!! What are you talking about??”

“I’ll still be able to watch the ocean…. With my eye on you…”

“No!! You must come along with me!! We’ll run through the beach, make a sand castle, buy ice creams, and…”

“Thank… you…”

Beeeeep.

Ryutaro couldn’t believe it. His first best friend died in front of his eyes.

The doctor and nurses tried to revive him, but he couldn’t be saved anymore. Chii had died.

“Yuuri!!” A pretty woman burst into the room, along with a fine-looking man behind her.

“Miki-san, we’re sorry we ca-“

“NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!” the woman hugged Chii’s lifeless body. “Don’t leave mama alone, Yuuri!! Mama promises mama will never leave Yuuri again!! Mama will quit as an actress!! Yuuriiiiii!!!!!!”

“Yuuri…! Papa is really really sorry…!! Papa will buy you anything but pleeease don’t leave us!!!”

Ryutaro watched the heart-breaking scene in front of him with clenched fist. So they’re Chii’s parents?

“Are you Chii’s parents?”

The couple turned their heads toward the angry boy.

“You regret what you have done to Chii, huh? You just left him in this hospital but you rarely visit him…”

“I-I’m an actress and his papa is a very busy businessman… We can’t afford him attention so we built this hospital for him…”

“And you think he’s happy with that?? You think he’s happy with all the things you’ve bought for him?? All he needed was your love!! He didn’t need anything you gave to him except your attention!! But you called yourself as his parents???” Ryutaro couldn’t take it anymore. He screamed to the couple and cried miserably.

Chii’s mother cried even more. She broke down to the floor and fainted. Her husband hugged her tight, trying to calm her down. The couple had to realize that their only child had gone, without enough love from them.

---------------------------------

Chii was named Chinen Yuuri, the only son from Chinen Takashi and Aizawa Miki. The hospital was built when their parents knew he had a strange disease. Doctors said he would be born without epidermis, the outer skin of human, covering his body. Their parents knew they would not be able to take care of Chii in his condition since the mother was a famous actress and the father was a very busy businessman. So when the hospital built they gave Chii to the nurses there. To cover their guilts, they bought Chii things that any other parents couldn’t get for their children. But they forgot one thing. Chii didn’t need anything except their love. He didn’t get it from them. So Chii’s soul wandered through the hospital, looking for love. And finally he got it from Ryutaro, a boy who also didn’t get love from his family.

Ryutaro finally agreed to receive an eye donor from Chii. He took another week to recover.

“Okay, Ryutaro-kun. Open your eyes… Slowly…”

Ryutaro opened his eyes. It was blurry at first, but then the sight was getting clearer.

“How’s it?”

“It’s… fine,” he could see again with his right eye.

It had been a week since Chii’s death. His right eye had been Chii’s, but Chii was willing to give it to him.

“Ryutaro-kun, your family wants to see you,” nurse-san called from the door.

“Eh? How did that-“

“Ryutarooooo!!!!!” his mother burst into his room and glomped him.

“M-Mom… Can’t… breathe…”

“Why didn’t you tell us?? I’ve called the house many times but you didn’t pick it! I thought you just wandered around with your friends but when we came back from Hawaii and called all your friends, they said they also hadn’t heard any news from you! We’re so worried!!! Police searched for you for weeks until finally they found you here!! Oh, Ryutaro!!”

“You… care?”

“Silly!! You’re my son, for God sake! Of course I care about you!!”

Ryutaro couldn’t think anymore as his mother started blabbering again about how she was so worried about him.

After his mother finally calmed down and got outside, his step brother entered his room.

“Hey,” Ryutaro greeted him.

“You made us worried.”

“Uh… Sorry.”

“How could you say that so easily, dammit?!!!” his step brother yelled with fierce eyes.

That was the first time he saw his spoiled step brother yelled like that.

“Shintaro…?”

“We’re worried, dammit… We’re scared if something happened to you…”

“…why? I… don’t understand at all.”

“Okay. I stole mom’s attention from you. I really did that on purpose. See, my mom died when I was born so when finally dad married a wonderful woman like your mom, I was so happy. Your mom was very nice to me. And I was selfish because I didn’t want you to get the same attention as me. So… I prevented them to give their love for you. I’m the evil one here, okay? I’m… I’m sorry…”

Shintaro began to sob.

“So… when they didn’t ask me to go to Hawaii?”

“Yes, it’s because of me. I hate that your mom loves you so much. I hate it. So I didn’t let them to ask you to go to Hawaii…”

Ryutaro just stared in disbelief.

“Mom was so worried about you. She cried everyday… Dad called everybody to help us searching for you… See? They love you. Not me. I just act spoiled to get their attention…”

“Shintaro, come here.”

“Eh? What are you gonna do?”

“Just come here.”

Shintaro doubtly approached his step brother, but when he finally reached him, Ryutaro pulled him into his embrace.

“Thank you for confessing, Shintaro…” he smoothed his little brother’s hair softly. “Do you know how much I love you?”

------------------------------------

The warm wind blew softly against his skin. He could hear shouts from the seagulls above him. The blue ocean sparkled in front of him, revealing its unforgettable beauty.

“Chii… This is my promise… Can you see it now? The ocean on the daylight…”

Ryutaro could imagine his reaction if he had been with him right then.

“Huwaa~ The ocean is indeed prettier on the daylight, na~” he would have said that while holding Ryutaro’s hand. “Thank you very much, Ryu-chan~!!”

- O.WA.RI-

So long!! I’m surprised I can finish this in a day… It took me… 6 hours??? *shocked*

I think I’ve done well? Hehe… I’ve tried my best ;)

Critics and comments are really loved~