November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

"So what really happened that you had to jump out of bed and out the door before even seeing if I had anything planned?" Fuji asked at lunch on Monday. Rina looked away.

"My ex did that a lot. I wouldn't expect him at all and my cousin would do the exact same thing Ryoma did. He would bring my ex upstairs, let the cat wake me up and let me notice them in my doorway. At first it was nice and surprising, but then it became creepy. I asked him to stop and he asked me why I didn't like him showing up in the morning. He refused to stop so I learned to get dressed fast and out the door before he could even realize it. I would stay out all day because he wouldn't follow me. When I came home, it was late enough that he had gone home already. We broke up three weeks later." Rina replied softly.

"So when I showed up, even though it was almost noon, I triggered those memories and that was what made you tear out of the house so fast." Fuji said. Rina nodded.

"The reason you went flying when you grabbed my shoulders was just instinct. I didn't know anyone around me so I panicked. I started to learn self-defense after the kidnapping." Fuji looked up startled.

"Kidnapping?!"

Eiji heard Fuji from across the room and came over with a confused look. "What's this about a kidnapping?"

"I was kidnapped when I was seven. They grabbed me right out of the car. I had tried biting them but they put me in a sack and threw me in a van. Cliché, I know, but it was efficient. They took me to some location and threw me in a food cupboard. I was taken out a few times and slapped around but that was about it. I was found four weeks later apparently. I didn't know it was four weeks, there was no night and day to distinguish and I had nothing to remind me how many days it had been. When they found me, though, I wouldn't leave the cupboard. Now I don't remember what I was afraid of, but Ryoma had to climb in and fall asleep next to me before I did. When the adults were sure I was asleep, they pulled me out and took me to the hospital." Rina explained. Eiji seemed to accept the story, but Fuji saw a glint in Rina's eye, giving him the idea that the tale was not everything that had happened.

"Wow, I've never known a kidnapping victim before." Eiji said with awe. Rina looked amused.

"And how does it feel, now that you do?

"Awesome!" All three laughed.

-_- FOOD!-_-

Fuji sought Ryoma out on one of the days Rina didn't watch practice. Ryoma seemed to be expecting him to come sooner, but the rookie remained silent, leaning against the lockers, waiting for Fuji to ask his questions.

"She told us." Fuji stated softly from his seat on the bench. Both had waited for the room to clear out. (Oishi left the key to lock up with Fuji).

"I know. She told me what she told you and Eiji." Ryoma said, not looking at Fuji.

"Is it truly everything that happened?" He asked.

"As far as I know, yes. But she won't talk to anyone about what happened while she was there other than she was 'slapped around'. I don't think that that is everything. However, it must be awful if she wouldn't even tell me. That's the one thing about her that I don't know. We didn't have the ability to mind-speak until age ten and that had happened three years after the fact. While I can mind-speak, I can't read her mind. The only ones who know what happened were the ones who were there. Her and her two kidnappers." Ryoma said quietly, but Fuji could hear the anger in the kid's voice.

"So you don't know if she was raped or touched?" Fuji asked sadly.

"Would you see her differently if she was?" Ryoma asked; the bitterness in his voice could not be hidden.

"Truthfully, yes. I will see her differently, but not treat her differently. If she reacted negatively in any way to anything I did, whether she was raped, molested, or not, I would back off immediately. Unless of course, whatever she was doing was hazardous to her health." Fuji said seriously.

"So you wouldn't pity her, dump her under the idea of her being used, or anything like that?" Ryoma asked, now emotionless.

"I don't pity people. Everyone who is pitied seems to hate it. I sympathize. I may not understand to the full extent that they might wish me to, but I sympathize. I would never dump anyone because they have been hurt by someone out of their control. If Rina was raped, it would make no difference in the terms of why I would have dumped her. If I broke up with Rina, and we aren't even going out yet, it would only be because of something she did to betray my trust." Fuji replied, looking straight into Ryoma's eyes.

"That's good. Now I won't have to hurt you." Ryoma said, turning back to the lockers. Fuji snickered.

"What makes you think you can hurt me?" Ryoma glared at the now standing tensai. There wasn't much of a height difference as they were both the shortest on the team, but Fuji still had a good four to five inches on Ryoma.

"I think I can handle myself pretty well against people taller than me. I get enough trouble just because I'm short." Ryoma stated with a sneer.

"Touché. I'll see you later. Got to go and plan the next way to interest her." Fuji said with a wave as he strode out the door.

Ryoma shook his head as he watched the tensai leave.

-_-FOOD!-_-

Rina knew Ryoma would come to her sooner or later because she knew that Fuji would go to Ryoma sooner or later. She had noticed that Fuji didn't believe that she was telling the truth about her kidnapping story. She wasn't, but that was beside the point. She ignored the feeling of eyes on her back as her brother watched her closely. She knew it was only a matter of time before he cornered her and tried to force her to talk about the kidnapping. She tried to lock herself up in her room to get away from her brother. Obviously, it wasn't going to work.

"You know, your attempts to get rid of me aren't working. So why are you continuing? You know I'm better than Ryon was." Ryoma said as he walked in after picking the lock.

"You remember Ryon?" Rina asked from the pillow her face was buried in. Ryoma snorted.

"Of course, how else do you think I know how to pick the locks? I remember everything now. Took a little while, but everything came back. Sometimes I wonder why I forgot in the first place." Ryoma said musingly.

"Because you and Oyaji were tennis obsessed. So why are you here?" Rina asked.

"Trying to avoid the inevitable? You know I won't tell anyone and I won't look at you differently. You are who you are and nothing will change that. I accept you the way you are. What the world has done to you has no significant effect on the way I choose to accept you. You can tell me anything that you wouldn't tell anyone else." Ryoma said trying to convince his sister that she could trust him. Rina sighed into the pillow.

"I don't want to remember. I don't want to have to tell someone. I want to get past it, but to do that I need to trust someone and you know how hard that is for me. I trust people with just enough to get by in life. I'm scared." Rina whispered. Ryoma was shell-shocked. Rina never admitted when she was scared. She wasn't a very trusting person and to tell even her own brother that she was scared was a startling concept that meant that Rina was truly at the end of her rope.

"You really like Fuji, don't you? That's the only reason you would consider telling him anything about whatever happened to you when you've known him for only three weeks. Is that really enough time to truly trust someone when you don't even trust your twin?" Ryoma exclaimed.

"I do trust you; a lot more than I would with anyone else. But there is something about Fuji that just makes me feel comfortable and trusting but I can't have him being the first person to know. I don't trust him that much. But I'm still scared to tell you." Rina said, sitting up.

"Well I can't force you to tell me or anyone else, for that matter. Just tell me when you are ready, but you can trust me and while Fuji suspects that you may not be telling the truth, he won't look at you any different than he did before he knew you were kidnapped. He's a good guy and I trust him with you. Just remember that we are here for you, you can trust us, and we accept you no matter what." Ryoma said as he started out the door.

"Thanks, onii-chan." Rina whispered.

Here is this month's update, for anyone who continues to read my stories. just noting again, there is a mass update on christmas. whichever stories are not updated on december 25th will be update january 1st. then the next actual update will be on January 28th.

Please read and review.

Lovishnesses, Lonely Rain