You Found Me: a Heisei Kumi fanfic (4/19)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Takachii, Chiitaro
Rating: R/NC-17
Warnings: Consensual sex between minors, Violence, Minor Character Death
Genre: Slice of life/Coming of age
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone. The end.
Summary: This is the story of how little Chinen Yuri grew from a young, homeless boy to the leader of a faction of a growing Yakuza group; and learned a lot about life, love, who he was, and what he wanted in the process.
A/N: So this is another instalation in my Heisei Kumi AU! You do not need to have read any of the other fics in that AU to read this one, as this one introduces the world through Chinen's eyes. If you're curious about it however, I have written 6 other fics for this AU, 3 multi-chaps, and 3 oneshots. You can find them at my Lj, their titles are: My new Family, A Kumi-cho's Duty, The Kumi-cho is...me?, Gaining Your Love, The Christmas Acquisition, and Sequence of Upsets. Please take a look if you'd like! ALSO, if you have read some of my other Kumi fics, and are wondering where this one fits in the timeline, this one takes place a couple of months after The Christmas Acquisition, starting in the spring of 2006, and going on from there!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3
Days turned into weeks, and Chinen found himself going out and about during the day more and more. Takaki never really came by except in the evenings, and as the weather got warmer it was nice to be outside. He would go to parks and swing, and look at books in the nearby bookstore, and people watch. He even bought himself ice cream once, giving in to the temptation. Life had become something good; much better than it had been at home, and for the most part he was happy, if a little bored. He would be in school right now if he had stayed at his parents’ house, and he had honestly rather liked school. If nothing else it was an engaging way to spend his time.
He had been musing on that particular train of thought one evening when a group of kids-high school students judging on their uniforms-caught him in the park. It was evening, and he had just gotten off of the swing he'd been perched upon, intending to head back to the hotel, when they caught sight of him. It was a trio of boys, all of them much bigger and older than himself, and they were watching him, pointing and talking to each other in hushed voices. Chinen pretended not to notice them, leaning down to retie one of his shoes as they changed course, heading in his direction.
"Hey, baby! What's a little baby like you doing out without his mother?!" One of the boys called as they approached.
"Yeah, some big, scary kids might get you!" Another teen called, using a tone one might use with a pet or a newborn. His companions all laughed, and Chinen stood up, glaring over in their direction.
"Ah! Look at that little face! Is it a boy or a girl?" One said, as they drew closer, finally stopping once they were about fifty centimeters from Chinen. The comments were getting on his nerves a bit. He knew he was cute, and he liked his cuteness, but these boys weren't appreciating his looks. They were just being rude, trying to bully him. He contemplated how he was going to handle the situation, the three boys caging him in next to the swing set. He could run, but they might chase him, and he had small legs. Besides, that was probably what they wanted, and it wasn't really what he wanted to do. Then, one of them leaned forward, putting a hand on the top of Chinen's head, and Chinen no longer felt any indecision about what he wanted to do. They were asking for a beating.
"Leave me alone!" He shouted, grabbing the guy's arm and yanking him forward, kicking out and slamming that guy in the chest, feeling all of the air leave his lungs. He let go of the arm just to spin around as the guy fell forward, building momentum and using it to kick the high school kid in the face, knocking him down. He got on top of him; intending to kick him a few more times, but one of the other guys grabbed him by his right arm, yanking him and saying
"You little bastard!" Chinen swung his other fist at the teen's face, catching him in the mouth, and the guy let go, stumbling back. Chinen spun again, hooking his foot around and kicking the guy in the back of the knees, making him fall. As he did, the first guy had scrambled to his feet, his lip spilt where Chinen had hit him. He took off, running away and abandoning his friends. Chinen focused all of his energy on the guy now on the ground, kneeing him in the chest a few times, before just tackling him, knocking him down completely. The guy was cursing and struggling, but he wasn't very strong, and Chinen slammed a foot down on of his elbows, pinning him down, and he punched him a few times, aiming for the ribs and face, the older boy whimpering.
Chinen was breathing hard, and he sat down on his opponent's chest, looking up to find that the other guy had made his escape, the two of them alone in the park.
"Wh-what are you?" The high school kid muttered weakly, his eyes revealing a stark bewildered fear. "You...one of those Kumi boys?" Chinen didn't understand the bastard's question. What was he talking about, Kumi boys? He took a few deep breaths, slapping the guy in the face. He needed to shut up.
"You-you’re the baby." He told the teen, standing up and brushing off his pants. The guy just lay there, still conscious but not moving. "I'm taking this." Chinen announced, scooping up the guy's school bag, hitching it up over his shoulder and brushing his bangs out of his face, and he left the guy there in the park, heading home. It had been a while since he'd gotten into a fight. He had practiced gymnastics when he had lived with his parents, and after running away he had found that his skills in gymnastics could easily be applied to fighting. In the time that he had been away from home he had been in numerous fights, all of them with people older and bigger than himself, but the more he got in the less afraid he had been of fighting, and he was now rather confident in his fighting abilities. He was strong, and his opponents always underestimated him, like those high school bullies.
He hitched the bag up higher on his shoulder. It was full, and a bit heavy, it's weight strange feeling. At the time it had just felt like something he could do. The kid deserved to have his things taken; he had been condescending and rude. But Chinen also rather wanted the bag. He wanted the textbooks and notes he knew would be inside. He wanted to learn. He was tired of spending all of his free time wandering aimlessly. Yes, he enjoyed it; enjoyed the naps he could take in the middle of the day, and the freedom of being able to do whatever he wanted, but he was still only twelve. He was very smart for being twelve-he had been at the top of his class in school-but he knew that if he didn't continue his education then he'd end up dumber than the boys he had just beaten up in the park. He didn't want to become stupid.
That night he just investigated the high school guy's bag, dumping its contents out on his floor and going through all of the textbooks and any notes the guy had. He was a second year, and all of his things were more advanced than anything Chinen had ever seen, most of it confusing and difficult to comprehend. But Chinen was determined, and so the next day he took a few hours, and instead of wandering the streets or flicking through manga at the book store he picked a book and began to learn. It was hard, frustrating work. He was skipping years in between his current schooling and what these books were for. But he pushed on, and at the end of the time he had designated toward learning he felt rather proud of his accomplishments for the day, rewarding himself with a nap.
It was in this manner that Chinen passed the next few weeks, studying a few hours every day and spending his nights in bed with Takaki. The older teen always came after the sun had set, and once they'd had sex he started staying, holding Chinen as he lay on his chest or curled into his side, and often Chinen would just fall asleep, waking up in the morning to find that Takaki had gone. Chinen really liked it when Takaki would come by. He liked, more than sex, having another body next to him; the warmth and the way Takaki's big arms would feel around him a comfort. Almost like what he assumed being cared about would feel like. And he was fine with the way things were, not really all that attached to the boy himself, more attached to the warmth of another person in bed next to him, and the discovery that he really enjoyed snuggling.
It was halfway through May that this pattern was interrupted. It was a little past three in the afternoon and Chinen was sprawled out on the floor, textbooks and notebooks and pencils and things in a ring around him, the school bag flung off in a far corner. He was right in the middle of teaching himself precalculus, something really confusing involving vectors, and he honestly wasn't really getting it, when there was a knock on the door. He ignored it. It was probably the hotel staff, checking to see if he was there, or clean or something.
But then there was another knock, and another, and then the person on the other side of the door was fumbling with the knob, and Chinen was getting annoyed. He was trying to learn something that was really, really hard. But the person on the other side was persistent, and after a few moments the door swung open, and Takaki walked in. Chinen had to crane his neck in order to properly see Takaki from his place on the floor, and the older teen looked down at him in surprise, obviously not expecting Chinen to be laying down there by his feet. Chinen too hadn't been expecting Takaki. In the month and a half they had had their arrangement; he had never come by at this time of day.
They just looked at each other for a moment, Chinen wondering why Takaki was there, Takaki obviously absorbing some unexpected information, his eyes trailing over the school supplies Chinen had piled around him. Chinen sat up, dropping his pencil and crossing his legs, tilting his head back and blowing his bangs out of his eyes. Takaki wouldn't want to wait a few hours for him to finish studying, and he needed a break anyway, his head full of variables and numbers and new vocabulary words that just seemed unnecessary and were difficult to comprehend.
"What're you doing?" Takaki asked, as Chinen pulled himself to his feet.
"Just studying." Chinen told him, taking the older teens hand, Takaki already leaning down for a kiss, and as he led him to the bed Takaki asked
"Is it important?" Chinen pulled off his shirt, his hands already grasping at the hem of the older boy's, and he said
"Don't worry about it, Takaki-kun."
He thought his words had been enough to console his bedmate, Takaki not concerning himself with the books and focusing completely on Chinen, putting his body to work making Chinen feel good in ways that he had learned in their nights together Chinen liked best. But after the sex, after they had taken a minute to catch their breath, he was sitting up in the bed, one arm around Chinen's shoulders, his tan fingertips trailing little circles on his bare skin, and he said
"Do you go to school, Chinen-kun?" Chinen looked up at him. This guy really wasn't very observant.
"It's a little past four o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, and I'm here with you. Do you think I go to school?" He asked sarcastically. Takaki giggled embarrassedly, nodding.
"That's true." He paused, his fingers still moving gently across Chinen's shoulder. But then he sat up straighter, removing his arm and crossing his legs, turning a bit so that he was facing Chinen completely. "So, do you study a lot during the day, Chinen-kun?" Chinen shrugged.
"Sometimes." He paused. "I guess." Takaki nodded, falling silent again for a moment.
"What do you study?" Chinen found himself shrugging again. He crawled out of bed, pulling on some pants and grabbing some of his textbooks, handing them to Takaki instead of talking. He was completely bewildered by what was happening. Why was Takaki asking all of these questions? He watched the older teen examine his books, and Takaki looked over at him, eyes wide.
"These are really hard! You must be a genius." He declared. He looked back down at the books, flipping through them a bit. "And you can understand this stuff, Chinen-kun?"
"Um...yeah. I mean, it's not easy, but I'm getting it..." Chinen muttered, still just confused and a bit uncomfortable.
"Wow! Did you go to a really elite elementary school, or something? Or are you one of those kids that skipped grades?" Takaki asked, and Chinen didn't respond, not really sure what to say. He hadn't thought he had gone to a special school or anything. "I never would be able to understand this stuff." Takaki declared, handing him his books back, and pulling on his pants, but making no move to leave. "Is that why you left home, Chinen-kun, your parents were really strict about school?" He paused "Or was it something like they got rid of your dog or something?" He asked, and Chinen was so surprised by the inquiry that he couldn't help but ask
"Why?" Now Takaki seemed taken aback.
"What?"
"Why are you asking me all of these questions? Does it matter if I'm smart, or stupid like you? Does it matter if my parents sent me to a nice school, or were strict or not? Why do you want to know if I used to have a dog, or if my family got rid of it? I don't understand. What does it matter?" Takaki seemed surprised by the outburst, and he stared at Chinen for a moment, frowning, his eyebrows bunching up closer and closer on his forehead, and when he spoke again his words were clipped, harsh, and he seemed a bit upset.
"I was just making conversation." He said, snatching his shirt up from the edge of the bed. He took a step forward, so that they were eye to eye. "I just want to get to know you, Chinen-kun." He explained, still obviously frustrated, and he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I'll be back in three days." He declared after a moment, and with that he left, Chinen just watching him go; rooted to the spot. He hadn't been expecting the response he had gotten. He hadn't once considered that Takaki would want to know him. He had never really considered that anyone would want to know him. Even his parents and his teachers had never shown any interest in his opinions, his classmates all too busy voicing their own thoughts to listen to his own, and at some point he had just come to assume that other people would have to be forced to listen to him. They would have to be made to care about what he had to say, or wanted.
The concept of someone just wanting to know more about him was so surreal that he didn't know what to do with it, and he thought about it, about Takaki's questions and the idea that Takaki might just want to know him for no particular reason other than simply wanting to. He thought about it for the next three days, anticipating Takaki's return, really curious as to how it would go. But then the night of the third day rolled around, and Chinen sat up waiting, allowing himself to hope that perhaps tonight Takaki would still want to know him. Allowing himself to think that perhaps Takaki did care about him as a person, and not simply a tool or an object. He waited, until the early hours of the morning, his eyelids growing heavy, his body aching with a need to sleep, but Takaki never showed up.
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