From Blue Sky - Chapter 6/15
Title: From Blue Sky
Status: 6/15
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP
Pairing: None. Main characters are Yabu, Hikaru, Yamada and Chinen.
Overall rating: PG-15 for minor character death and depictions of violence
Warnings: AU. I made Chinen 11 years old which is what the plot revolves around.
Wordcount: 4786
Summary: "He's a cute boy, isn't he?" Takaki says, his voice dangerously low as his eyes follow the young boy, probably around ten years old, walking next to his classy mother and seemingly trying to nag her into something. "I think he'd be even cuter lying at my feet with his throat sliced."
Notes: This is inspired by the Mayonaka no Shadow boy PV and a movie which I won't admit to ripping the plot from until someone calls me on it. I love the atmosphere of the PV and wanted to write something similar to it, and I've had this plot lying around for years, so I thought it was finally time. I'm planning on posting twice a week if you want to stick around~
It's raining even worse when they get out onto the platform again, after Hikaru insisted on visiting the bathroom and buying them some snacks first. Yabu folds up the collar of his jacket against the rain but drags his little herd with him out onto the platform, since there's only three minutes left until the train is leaving. He's starting to get a little worried it will be late though, considering the weather. There's no shelter on the platform, and the rain is so heavy they're already getting soaked.
"Nice weather today, ey?" Hikaru says, pulling his scarf up to cover half his face and wraps the cardigan he has as tight as he can around himself. Yabu looks at him, seeing for the first time how slim he is himself. Now doesn't feel like a good time to point that out though.
"No, I'm cold." Chinen complains, actually sounding miserable this time, and Yabu turns to him, about to offer him more clothing, but clearly Chinen already found a way to warm himself. He's pressing close to Yamada, who reluctantly lets Chinen slip in closer and under one edge of his leather jacket, most likely because Yamada's shivering himself.
Yabu feels a cold hand of parental worry clutching at his heart because seriously Chinen's shoulder has to touch those lethal guns, but the commotion of the train arriving to the platform distracts him from saying anything.
Their compartment this time is smaller and darker, the train clearly not as new as the previous one. But there are no big surprises there, it's taking them from one small town to another after all.
"I'm wet." Chinen says as he plops down heavily on the seat closest to the window, looking at the rain streaming down the glass, making the outside world blurry. "I don't like this trip anymore."
"Oh shush, take off your jacket and borrow something dry." Yamada tells him and sits down opposite, shrugging off his own jacket and making a pile of it next to him, undoing the fastenings of his gun harness and hides it under the fabric. Yabu sits down next to Chinen, setting his bag on the floor and opens it to drag out some kind of sweater Chinen can borrow.
Hikaru settles next to Yamada, unlacing his boots before pulling his legs up underneath him, burrowing down into his scarf and cardigan while quietly watching Yamada try and shake out water from his bangs, goosebumps on his bare arms.
"You cold Yama-chan?" Hikaru asks, concerned enough that Yamada looks up at him without even glaring.
Yabu's a little surprised, thinking that he can see the 'pretty' Hikaru keeps talking about a lot better now that Yamada's not scowling or looking like he wants to kill someone. Chinen's carefully twisting his arms out of his jacket, and Yabu gives him the only thicker sweater he's got left, a big black one with English words on it.
Yamada looks at Hikaru for a moment, but then turns away with a small "yeah", and Yabu can't help but feel like he just witnessed something important.
"Sorry, I don't have anything else that's warm." He says, shutting his bag again and takes off his own jacket since he starts to feel the moisture seeping in. "I only packed for a few days after all."
"I'm fine." Yamada says, but shivers visibly, and Hikaru unwraps his scarf to drape the dry side over Yamada's shoulders. "Hey, don't be ridiculous."
Yamada tries to shake it off, but Hikaru stops him with a small smile. "Either that or cuddle with me for warmth."
Once again, Yabu's surprised at Hikaru's obvious trait to take care of others as Yamada makes a face but reluctantly wraps the scarf tighter around himself as the train starts to move.
Chinen's busy pulling Yabu's sweater over his head and trying to roll up the sleeves enough for him to free his hands, and he's struggling in a way that makes Yabu's heart ache because it brings out memories he doesn't want to think about.
"I bought a deck of cards." Hikaru says, breaking Yabu out from his own head, and reaches into the white combini bag for a small packet. "Wanna play something to pass time?"
After the fourth time of losing at Go Fish, Yabu's getting pretty tired of it. He's too busy thinking about other things, like that the train slows down at certain places and shakes in the wind, that Yamada sits too close to his weapons and he keeps wondering when someone will recognize Chinen, that he never remembers who has all the sevens right now.
"I have five, I win!" Chinen cheers after having counted the neat piles before him on the small table.
Yabu frowns and looks down at his own single pile, the nines that he honestly just was lucky to get when Hikaru already had three of them. He doesn't really care too much about games, but after hearing the others being insufferable after they win, it kind of sucks to lose anyway.
"Are we done now?" Yabu asks, and Hikaru immediately points out that he just doesn't want to lose anymore, but Yabu only rolls his eyes and leaves Hikaru to teach Chinen a fairly simple patience that has something to do with laying out cards like a clock.
Yamada watches while leaning his head in his hand, probably just paying attention because there's nothing else to do. "What happens when he gets a king?"
Yabu has no idea about how the patience works, but looks at the circle of cards before Chinen on the table at Yamada's question.
"Then he just puts it in the middle and starts with a new card." Hikaru explains, then nudges Yamada with his shoulder. "Don't you know any patiences Yama-chan?"
Yamada frowns and inches away from Hikaru. "No, the only familiarity I have with cards are drinking games and poker."
Chinen looks up from the cards as soon as Yamada opens his mouth. "What are drinking games?"
Yabu and Hikaru both hurry to try and tell Chinen it's nothing he should know about and better wait and learn something else instead, and it makes Chinen look in confusion between the two of them while Yamada actually laughs. That's a first.
"I want to know!" Chinen insists, looking like he might stomp his foot if he could actually reach the floor.
"Maybe we'll tell you when we've arrived, if you behave." Yamada says, and Yabu has to give him that that was pretty clever.
Chinen pouts but promises to behave, then scowls when he loses Hikaru's patience and determinedly gathers the cards in his small hands to start over.
~*~
Hikaru watches Chinen lay out the clock patience seven times before he finally clears it, and he can't help feeling a little proud that he managed to teach the kid something.
"I did it!" Chinen squeals, making Yabu jerk and pretend that he wasn't falling asleep. Hikaru's a little concerned for him, since he still hasn't slept anything and that makes Yabu's awake session longer than 24 hours.
"Good job." Hikaru tells Chinen, who's so genuinely happy that it warms Hikaru's heart a little.
"Thanks!" Chinen smiles, and he's actually a pretty cute boy when he's not scowling or whining. "I've never done one of these before."
"Really, never?" Yabu asks, looking a little surprised. But that could just be that he's trying to keep his eyes open.
Chinen shakes his head and leaves the finished piles on the table as he leans back in the seat and seems to sink down into Yabu's large black sweater. "Nope. Mom doesn't like cards and dad..."
He trails off, and Hikaru bites his lip, the memory of the woman dying before him something he will never be able to shake. And even though he figures the others are probably right in that telling Chinen is no good, he still can't morally accept that they know his mother is dead and he doesn't.
"Your dad?" Yamada encourages, if a bit lazily, but Hikaru was certain he wasn't even listening to the conversation.
Chinen makes a face, that kind of uncertain face that kids do when they know something they don't want to talk about, while looking out the window. "I don't see him much. He's always working."
"That's pretty normal, right?" Hikaru asks, hoping to lighten the sudden tension that had settled in the atmosphere. "I didn't see my dad a lot either, not until he retired really."
“My dad will never retire.” Chinen mutters, crossing his arms over his chest protectively, and all Hikaru wants to do is pull the boy into his arms and hug him.
“Of course he will.” Yabu says gently, with something that looks like pain in his eyes. “Sometime.”
“Mm.” Is all Chinen answers, not sounding like he's listening, his focus on the little he can see from the environment through the streams of rain hitting the window.
“We're stopping.” Yamada comments slowly, and it takes Hikaru a second to get his mind out of the family issues before him and understand what he just said.
“Are we there?” He asks, and Chinen's face lights up with relief at the thought.
“No.” Yabu answers, just as slowly as Yamada, and with the looks they exchange, Hikaru can tell they're both worried about the same thing.
The train does stop, and judging from the lights outside there's a station, but it's difficult to see through the rain and dark sky outside.
It takes a minute before anything happens, and Hikaru can practically see alternative plans flash by in Yabu's mind while Yamada's slowly getting dressed.
Then there's a crackle in the speakers, followed by the conductor's apologetic voice explaining that due to the weather it's not safe enough to continue and the train will have to stop here. There will be more information whether they can continue later today or if the route will have to be cancelled, and if there are concerns please come see the conductor.
“... Shit.” Yamada comments after the message is over.
“Well, I can see their point?” Hikaru says, looking at the hammering rain and thinking about the way the whole train has shaken a bit from the wind earlier. “What do we do now?”
“Wait, I guess.” Yabu suggests with a deep sigh, leaning back in the seat like everything goes against him now. “If we don't get out of here today... I guess we'll have to think of something.”
Chinen looks between them with that vigilant expression, almost like they all suddenly betrayed him, and his voice is fragile. “I don't want to sit on this train for much longer.”
Yabu's about to tell him off, it's clear from the irritation grazing his features, but Yamada stops him before he gets a word out. “Kid's right though, we're all really tired. It's almost 4 pm after all, isn't it better we find somewhere to stay for the night and continue tomorrow?”
“He's right Yabu-chan, you should sleep.” Hikaru adds, happy for an opportunity to say it.
Yabu glares between them for a moment, but then sighs and agrees that it's probably a good idea. They hear people in the corridor loudly complaining to each other and there are bags slamming against their compartment door when people leave the train.
“We'll just slip out like everyone else.” Yabu finally settles. “Get dressed.”
~*~
The rain is pouring so much it's ridiculous. Yamada's even getting concerned for the functionality of his weapons, and they barely ran 200 metres from the platform to the waiting hall. There are a lot of upset and drenched people in there, a warm smell of moist textile filling the room to the point where it's almost suffocating. At least they're not very recognizable now, Yamada thinks grumpily, still he can't help but think Hikaru's bleach looks hilarious plastered to his forehead.
The announcement boards in the waiting hall give no more information than the conductor's voice had done on the train, and Chinen's whining so much he might actually start crying soon.
“I'm wet and cold and tired.” He tugs at Hikaru's sleeve, probably because he doesn't dare doing it to any of the other two. “I want to go home.”
Yabu looks like he's at the end of his patience, and in the few lapses in his self-control Yamada can see the ferocity he's always associated Yabu's name with. It should be a bit frightening, but honestly it's just interesting, and Yamada can't help finding some sadistic joy in Yabu losing his composure.
“We can't go home now.” Hikaru explains, seeming to have the patience of an angel as he takes Chinen's tugging hand and smiles softly before turning to Yabu. “Yabu-chan? Let's just find somewhere to stay, you're exhausted and we'll all get sick like this.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Yabu agrees, tone curt, and Hikaru clearly sees the need to step into the leader role.
“Good. Let's go this way okay? Looks central right?” He smiles and brings Chinen with him out one of the doors of the packed waiting hall.
Yamada breathes a deep sigh before following them into the rain, repeating to himself why he's doing this and what he's going to gain from bringing that whiny kid to Takaki to make it feel worth all this.
It probably takes them too long for Yabu's patience to find a pretty cheap hotel that's not completely full, because he's not the nicest when he talks to the receptionist.
“There's no room for four? What do you have then?” He purses his lips and rubs his temple.
“We have one for three?” The girl tries her best service smile, but Yabu's not affected and she seems to notice that. “If that's okay?”
“Sure, we'll take it.” Yabu agrees and impatiently waits for the keys before turning on his heel without even a thank you.
Yamada follows him, wet and cold all the way to his skin and he's not very interested in pleasantries either, but he hears Hikaru's charming, apologetic voice behind him.
“Sorry, we're all really tired. Thank you for your help.”
It seems to cheer up the girl since she assures him there's no problem at all, until Chinen whines that he's cold and Hikaru excuses them.
Yabu's ten metres ahead of Yamada, long legs and angry mood making him really fast as he ascends the stairs and turns a corner of a corridor. It's a pretty shabby hotel, Yamada assesses, half the walls dark panel and the rest a boring grey paint, an old dark red carpet on the floor and 'no smoking' signs a little worn at the edges. Yabu unlocks a door further down the corridor and disappears inside after sending a look down the corridor to make sure they all follow him.
The room isn't much better, Yamada thinks as he steps inside and stops next to Yabu. The wallpaper is a patterned green and white, bedspreads another pattern in brown and black that doesn't match, curtains some kind of white lace, lights and heater old fashioned. At least there are two beds and a couch.
“Finally, a room.” Hikaru sighs happily as he and Chinen join them, closing the door behind them all.
“Yes, finally.” Yabu sighs too, but his is more of relief. “We'll take turns to have a shower I guess, there's no other way to warm up after this.”
“Do we have dry clothes?” Hikaru asks, shrugging off his cardigan that hits the floor with an actual squelch.
“Not much.” Yabu admits. “A couple shirts I guess, suit pants, pyjamas? Go nuts.”
He drops his bag on the floor and sits down on a bed, looking them over. “Chinen-kun, want to shower first?”
Chinen nods miserably, taking off his shoes, and Yabu digs out the college shirt he borrowed on the train and his pyjamas pants for Chinen to wear.
Chinen closes the door to the small bathroom behind him, and Yabu immediately turns to fix Yamada with a stare while Hikaru seems not to notice and falls back on the other bed and rolls himself into the covers like a cocoon. Yamada raises an eyebrow, but not much Hikaru does surprises him anymore.
“We need to get food.” Yabu says when they hear the shower starting, and Yamada knows where this is going when Yabu's eyes doesn't leave him. “And I'm not leaving Chinen with Yamada, so either the two of us go or Hikaru goes.”
There's a groan from inside the cocoon and Hikaru unrolls himself, pouting. “Can't the two of you just get along?”
None of them answers, and Yamada has a feeling he's going back out into the rain.
“Fine, spend the time finding food trying to be friends.” Hikaru sighs, but burrows back down among the covers. “I'll take care of Chi, you'd both just get mad at him.”
It's probably the best decision from that aspect, Yamada reluctantly has to admit, but he's just taken off his wet jacket and he's not too hyped about putting it back on. But it's not like it's the worst thing he's ever encountered on a mission, he thinks, fingertips brushing against the scars under his T-shirt as he pulls the cold jacket back on.
~*~
Yabu eyes Yamada as they stand waiting for their take-away food. His hair is wispy from the rain outside, raindrops reflecting light on the shoulders of his leather jacket and he looks generally grumpy. Yabu doesn't feel much better, and he knows he needs to sleep tonight or he's not going to be able to make anything but bad decisions. He just feels really unsafe knowing what's under Yamada's jacket, and not knowing why they're there.
“I still don't trust you.” He says, voice casual and quiet to not draw attention from any of the few dinner guests at the small Chinese restaurant.
“I can tell.” Yamada retorts sarcastically.
“I hope so.” Yabu tells him, almost regretting starting the conversation because Yamada really is as difficult as a teenager.
“Look, there's no point in pretending we trust each other.” Yamada says, leaning forward to touch a little lantern with crystals hanging from the ceiling by the counter. “I don't expect you to, and I assume you don't expect me to trust you either.”
Yabu doesn't answer, thinking it's better to keep quiet.
“It's not like I can't tell we're the same.” Yamada continues, lowering his voice even more as he turns his attention back to Yabu. “I see what you're reaching for when you're caught off guard, for example. I also know that no ordinary person can get a stranglehold on me like that, or knows how to handle a gun. So let's just not trust each other.”
Yabu purses his lips, upset with himself when he gets this list of his slip-ups so far, but he doesn't get a chance to respond before one of the waitresses places their order on the counter in two white plastic bags and wishes them a good evening.
“Deal.” He finally says once they're outside, the rain not quite as violent now as it was earlier. It doesn't really feel better, but a little easier having it spoken out loud.
They return to the hotel room, where Hikaru's towel drying his hair on one of the beds and Chinen is spread across the other, chatting about something that could be variety TV-shows.
“You're both back in one piece, well done.” Hikaru praises as Yabu closes the door behind them and Yamada sets his bag down on the desk that is the only hard surface in the room besides the tiny bedside table.
“Shut up.” Yamada mutters, then quickly gets his jacket off and Yabu can see the goosebumps on his bare arms and the dark stains of rain seeping through even his T-shirt. Hikaru doesn't react with anything but a small smile at Yamada's words as he keeps drying his hair.
Chinen looks most interested in the food that smells like heaven even though it's probably cooled considerably from the walk in the rain.
“Shower, Yamada?” Yabu asks, because if Yamada isn't going, he definitely is, feeling chilled all the way into his bones and he's too tired to handle it, ending up feeling completely miserable.
“Yeah.” Yamada agrees, and after a long, assessing look at Yabu he unhooks the gun harness and leaves it on the desk. “Don't shoot anyone while I'm gone.”
“No worries. We might start eating though.” Hikaru says cheerfully, and Yamada rolls his eyes and disappears into the bathroom.
Yabu feels a bit like a drenched cat, and he sets his bag of food down too, then starts peeling the clinging pieces of clothing off of himself. Hikaru stands and starts investigating the contents of the white boxes with food, and Yabu notes that he's wearing one pair of Yabu's suit pants and only the towel covering his shoulders. The pants look surprisingly good on him, if a little tight and long.
“Chi, do you want fried chicken or shrimp?” Hikaru asks, and Chinen immediately picks shrimp, sitting up as he's served a white box and a pair of chopsticks. He looks cute, Yabu can't help but think, his hair still post-shower messy and those way too long sleeves rolled up around his wrists.
“Yabu-chan?” Hikaru asks while Yabu pulls a soft long sleeved shirt over his head. “What did you want?”
“Yamada wanted chicken so I'll have whichever is left.” Yabu says, and it feels so weird to take Yamada's preferences into account, he can't help but think as Hikaru chooses the other one with chicken and sits down on the bed again. Like they're a really dysfunctional family.
~*~
Yamada stares at the ceiling without really seeing it, even though shadows move across it when the rain hits the window in the moonlight. This is taking too long, too many hours that he doesn't have passing with meaningless nonsense like birthdays and favourite variety shows.
He sits up, irritated with himself for even feeling something when he looks at the occupied beds. Yabu was out cold as soon as his head hit the pillow, of course, since he hardly slept anything the night before, and they were all surprised when Chinen decided to sleep with him. He's curled up against Yabu like a puppy to its owner, and Yamada feels something like a hint of affection at the sight, which is a lot more than he's ever felt towards a victim and it's dangerous. He even feels something when he looks at Hikaru spread over the other bed, hair a mess and limbs tangled with the sheets in ways Yamada couldn't understand even if he tried.
It's dangerous to feel, and he needs to stop this right now before things get worse. He has no choice.
He stands from the couch, soundlessly moving across the room to get dressed in his own clothes. They're not dry, but they're not soaked either and it works. He keeps watching Yabu's peaceful sleeping face for any sign of reactions to the few sounds he makes, for example when he's lifting his guns from the wooden surface and refastens them, but there's nothing. It's not a clever thing not sleeping at all, Yamada knows, but at the same time he understands Yabu's reasoning.
He slips his arms into his leather jacket, and then stands at the edge of the bed, looking down at the sleeping eleven-year-old whom he's going to watch die within a few days if things go his way. It's a little bizarre thinking about it like that, because Yamada's never had any kind of personal relation to the victims before, not like this. He pictures it before him, bloodstains on those small cheeks, dark eyes open and unseeing, and it doesn't settle all well with him, almost makes him want to cringe. It's definitely time to stop this fucking family game.
He's pretty confident he can make Chinen come with him, he only needs to wake him up without waking Yabu too, which is what he's still considering how to do when he hears a sound. Something touching the wall just outside their room. He freezes, listening for it again, and above the breathings of the room's occupants he can definitely hear it again. Then there are steps. They're quiet, he wouldn't hear them if he wasn't already listening, but they definitely stop outside their door.
Silence.
Then the steps leave, followed by another pair, but Yamada's a hundred percent certain they weren't outside this door by accident. He leaves the thought of waking Chinen, instead heads for the door, heart beating loud in his ears as he leans against it to hear better. There are definitely still steps in the corridor, only further away. Then they stop, and they don't sound like they've grazed a stair. They're still on this floor. Yamada figures there's only one thing to do, and his hand automatically grips his own gun, cocking it with a small clicking sound that triggers his adrenaline to run high.
He listens for another second, before pressing on the door handle to open the door barely a few centimetres. He looks, but there's no one in the corridor, and he lets the door slide ajar properly. He glances both ways, but it's still just an empty corridor. He slips a hand into his pocket, making sure he has a key to the room in case there's nothing, and then steps out into the corridor, door sliding closed behind him and gun raised in preparation. He stands still for a moment, and if there isn't someone at the end of the corridor by the stairs he could hand his guns to Yabu willingly.
His steps are soundless as he approaches the corner, but he feels like his breathing is loud in the complete silence, until he stops just at the corner, back pressed against the wall and finger on the trigger. Then he takes a deep, quiet breath.
He whirls around the corner, reacting at the two silhouettes before him by grasping a shirt, slamming the owner of it against the wall and pressing his gun up under the man's jaw.
He recognizes the cologne and height the second before the man opens his mouth.
“Yeah, go on baby, shoot me if you dare.” Yuto's voice is deep and low, eyes shining with challenge in the dim moonlight coming in through the rain-streaked windows.
Yamada swears and gives Yuto a shove as he withdraws his gun and tries to calm his heart rate again, turning around just to find Daiki with a gun steadily aimed at him onehanded.
“What are you doing here?!” He hisses and Daiki gives a lopsided smirk before lowering the weapon.
“What's taking you so long?” Daiki counters with a raised eyebrow, voice low enough not to be heard through a door.
“It's... I...” Yamada breaks off with a frustrated sound and he feels like kicking something. “I ran into something unexpected.”
“Yeah, two more dudes.” Yuto chuckles. “Why not just get rid of them? I thought Dai-chan and I were the men of your life.”
“Takaki's getting sick of waiting.” Daiki tells him, the words with a clear warning behind them.
“I'm getting there.” Yamada growls back. “One of them... He's not someone you just get rid of. He's an Ivory. Or was. Yabu Kota.”
The name has the desired effect. Yuto's eyes widen in surprise while Daiki's narrow and his grip on the gun tightens.
“Yabu? The one who killed three of our guys some years ago?” Yuto inquires, his voice more fierce than joking now.
“Thought he was dead.” Daiki comments. “You don't leave Ivory alive.”
“Clearly he managed.” Yamada says curtly. “I'm bringing him, so I'd suggest you better practice your aim. Now you've got something to tell Takaki.”
Yuto sighs at his tone and gently brushes Yamada's hair behind his ear. “Always so snappy. We were just checking up on you babe.”
Yamada pulls away with a snarl at Yuto's cooing tone. “And I'm fine, now stop stalking me.”
“Ryosuke. You're not that hard to find.” Daiki's eyes glitter as he raises a pointed eyebrow. “You're just lucky we're the only ones who know what to look for. So far.”
~*~
Chapter 5
Chapter 7