Lessons Learned the Hard Way Chapter 7, a moon child fanfic

So, here 'tis. Another sad chapter. I beg forgiveness. -grovel- Do enjoy anyway, please?

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Seven

After the fact, none of them could blame themselves. Or, maybe they could all blame each other. Perhaps, also, they could claim it was a freak accident, nothing more than the luck of the draw. Whatever it was, it was costly. And that was something they weren't about to let themselves forget.

"I vote for a night out."

Four sets of eyes turned sharply on Kei. Another quiet week and a half had passed without coincidence, and Kei had begun to notice signs of cabin fever in Sho. The boy moped around the apartment, only going outside to smoke in the cleaner air. His attitude was surly at best, and the only conversation to be gotten from him was clipped words, sarcastic remarks, and disdainful looks.

Rin, on the other hand, kept herself busy; she cooked and did a little cleaning, and she passed her time happily reading all of Kei's Anne Rice books. She also spent evenings sitting at the window, talking to Kei about anything and everything, filling the small apartment with her laughter at times.

"A night out?" Son asked quizzically from his spot on the couch.

"Yes, a night out," Kei repeated. "We can't very well sit here all night and do nothing. I don't know about you guys, but I could use a change of pace."

"I'd love to join you," Toshi said, dragging himself from the floor, "but I've got to work tonight. Have fun without me, and tell me everything later!"

Toshi was out the door quickly, causing everyone in the room to flinch as it slammed closed behind him. With a sigh, Kei turned his attention back to the remaining three.

"So?"

Rin smiled at him over the top of her book, winking slyly. Son nodded and shrugged, indicating his willingness to go along. Sho took longer, staring placidly at the ceiling for a few long moments before offering his own shrug and rising from the couch silently. Kei watched his young friend move out of the living room to the hallway, worry worming its way into his eyes.

"Hey," Rin said, leaning in to lay a hand gently on Kei's arm. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry so much."

Kei nodded, getting to his feet to get his jacket. Sho hadn't been the same since the incident with Shinji, nor had Shinji made any effort to reconcile with his younger brother. Jesse had stopped by a few times to let Sho know how Shinji was doing, but other than that, no word came in. Sho didn't dare go back to the shop without permission, either. Each day that passed with no word was another stabbing wound on Sho's heart.

Ten minutes later, they were all three piled in Sho's old clunker of a car with Son behind the wheel. Kei watched Sho from the corner of his eye where they were both tucked into the back seat. Rin turned sideways to talk to him.

"Hey Sho, there's this new place on the other side of town. Upscale Down. What say we start there?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Oh come on, Sho," Rin pouted. "Don't be a party-pooper this early in the game."

Kei snickered, shooting a glance at Sho, noting the smirk that tugged the corners of the boy's mouth.

"Yah Sho," Son called from the front. "You can't shit on a place you've never even seen."

"What is this?" Sho called in mock indignation. "'Gang up on Sho' night?"

"Yes it is," Kei chimed in. "It was a unanimous decision."

Rin fell against her seat, laughing. Son smiled into the rearview mirror. Sho glared at the mock seriousness that shone on Kei's face.

"Watch it, pretty boy," Sho threatened. "I know things."

Kei grinned and rolled his eyes, settling back into the seat as they rolled to a stop at a light. They passed jokes back and forth for the rest of the ride, trying to believe for a while that the world wasn't trying to turn upside down on them.

"Here we are," Son announced, pulling into the already crowded lot behind the small club.

Still laughing, Rin slid out and pulled the seat forward to let Kei out. Sho climbed out from behind Son, punching the older man lightly in the arm in passing. Rin looped her arms with Son and Kei, grinning up at the three men that surrounded her.

"I'm one lucky damn girl," she quipped, letting out a giggle.

"The luckiest in this place," Sho commented from behind the trio, reaching up to poke Rin playfully in the ribs, earning a squeal.

"And luckier than most are going to get," Son added, laughing.

Kei smiled and shook his head, gripping Rin's arm tightly as they slipped through the door into the smoky interior, immediately absorbing the loud music. Dancers amassed on the small dance floor, their bodies dangerously close to one another. The smell of sweat and alcohol permeated the air around the four as they pushed and shoved their way to an open booth at the back. Almost at once, a pretty blonde waitress appeared, smiling and taking their orders. She vanished back into the crowd quickly, leaving them to settle in.

Rin laughed over her cola, watching the dancers cavort to the live band. Son slipped an arm around her shoulders, relaxing back against the seat. Kei propped his elbows on the table around his glass of water, surveying the crowd closely while keeping an eye on Sho. The younger man sat on an outer edge of the booth, his long legs stretched out before him, his eyes roving over and over the crowd of people.

"Hey," Kei leaned over to speak into Sho's ear. "If you want to go dance, go dance."

Sho was gone instantly, winding his way into a crowd of attractive young women. His three friends were left to laugh at his behavior. It was funny how Sho could go from sulking to beaming in less than a nanosecond at times. Kei leaned back next to Rin, smiling when she slipped a hand into his.

"He needed this," she shouted, her eyes flickering in the direction Sho had vanished.

Kei nodded, turning back to the crowd. Sho appeared from time to time, smiling broadly as he panted over his drink. He was only allowed a few moments before one young woman or another was there to drag him back into the crowd. Son convinced Rin after a time to share a dance or three with him. Casting an apologetic glance at Kei, she slipped away with him.

"Damn, it's hot," Sho remarked, dropping into the booth next to Kei moments later.

"No, really?" Kei shot back playfully, jabbing his friend in the arm.

"Ouch! Hey!" Sho poked back, his smile broadening.

"So, how many of them want to take you home?"

Sho shot Kei a dark glance. "Enough of them."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Which one will you go home with?"

Sho rolled his eyes at his surrogate father figure, sticking his tongue out in a child like fashion.

"That's for me to know and you not to."

In a flash, he was gone again. Rin and Son came back and Rin talked Kei into a dance when the tempo suddenly changed and the song turned slow. At Son's urging, the Vampire allowed himself to be led out into the mix, tensing momentarily when Rin slipped her arms around his neck. Biting his lip, he laid his hands on her hips as they began to move to the music.

"Kei," Rin said, leaning her lips close to his ear, "I want to thank you. You've been so good to me, I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay it all."

Kei closed his eyes against his roiling emotions as Rin settled her head on his shoulder. His grip on her tightened, almost as if he were afraid she'd take it all back and leave him alone. And suddenly, Kei felt old; so very old, and his life seemed worthless, but for the young woman in his arms and the young man dancing a few feet away with a petite red headed girl. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and let his years flow away, trying to recall what it had been like to be their age.

All too soon, the song ended and Rin was pulling away, smiling. Gripping her hand, Kei placed a chaste kiss on her temple, brushing a few loose strands of hair aside from her cheek. Sho appeared and stole Rin for a dance, flashing a smile at Kei as the vampire turned back to the booth.

They spent the rest of the night drinking and smoking, with the exception of Rin on both parts, and generally enjoying the camaraderie that came with being a family.

It was nearing three in the morning when Toshi grew anxious. No one was answering their phones, and none of them had called since he'd left the apartment. He'd searched a few of the local clubs and bars that they frequented, but no one had seen either Kei or Sho that night. Trying Sho's phone again, Toshi climbed back onto his scooter and headed back to their apartment.

At two forty-five, Rin took the keys from Son and handed them to Kei. She managed to get a semi-drunk Son into the backseat while Kei dropped an exhausted Sho next to him. The two climbed into the front seat.

The ride home was quiet as the three younger people dozed. Kei drove slowly, relishing the silence of the night. The rest of the world slumbered on this warm night. Only a few rare souls were out wandering the streets, and most of them were drunk or homeless. Or both.

Five minutes from the apartment, Kei's sixth sense began to prickle, then burn. Rin seemed to sense something too, because she sat up, alert and fully awake.

"Kei?" she called softly.

"I know," he returned, reaching over to grip her hand momentarily. "I know."

"That's…" she began, her widening eyes traveling from Toshi's scooter in the lot to the silhouette of the young man on the landing outside their apartment. "Oh no…" she groaned, rising up to yell. "TOSHI!"

Just as he began to turn, hearing Rin's voice behind him, the world erupted in a chaotic symphony of light and sound.

Toshi parked his scooter, staring up at the darkened apartment with growing unease. His stomach churning, he climbed off the bike and started up the stairs. He'd been about to raise a hand to knock on the door when he'd heard Rin's voice. The sheer terror in her scream had startled him, his stomach lurching forward. Just as he turned, the apartment exploded behind him.

The force of the blast sent Toshi's body flying over the railing and into the open air of the parking lot below. Rin screamed again as he began to plummet. His body impacted with something hard, and he heard the crunch of shattering glass in his ears before his entire world went dark.

Shattered glass had littered the four of them in the car. Rin, who had been standing almost on the front seat of the car, had borne the brunt of it. Her face bore a line of cuts across her cheeks and brow, while her hands were wrapped in layers of gauze from the removal of glass that had become imbedded in her palms. Son and Sho had only suffered minor abrasions, while Kei, oddly enough to the doctors, didn't have a mark on him.

Now, Sho, Son, and Rin sat in the hospital waiting room. Kei had left just before the sun came up in an attempt to find somewhere to hunker down for the day. When Son asked, Sho told him that Kei was going to make police reports and handle all of the formalities.

"Excuse me, are you here with Toshi?"

The three friends looked up at an elderly man in a white coat standing in the doorway, looking in Sho's direction.

"Yes," Sho said, standing up. "We are. How is he?"

"I'm Doctor Nishida. You're down as his next of kin, so if you'll come with me."

Casting a glance at Rin and Son, Sho followed. A nurse leaving Toshi's room gave Sho a sympathetic look, hurrying away, but not before Sho glimpsed the blood covered pile of rags that might have been Toshi's clothing in her arms. Stomach churning, Sho followed the doctor into the room.

"First of all, I have to ask," the doctor stopped at the curtain drawn around the bed. "What happened?"

Sho swallowed hard before answering, his mind racing as he blinked back the tears. "We… we don't know exactly. We went out, but Toshi… he had to work. He stayed behind. I guess w-we stayed out later than we expected. When we got back to the a-apartment, Toshi was there, waiting for us. Rin… she called, called his name. He turned… then… then…"

Nishida nodded, his face impassive. "I must tell you, his injuries are expansive. His left side was burned pretty badly along the chest and shoulder, down to his hip. The impact from his fall caused some internal damage, albeit most of which was easily repaired. The blow to the back of the head did more to him than any of his other injuries. He's comatose."

With that, Doctor Nishida pulled the curtain back. Sho choked and took an involuntary step back. He suddenly couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't see. Turning on his heal, he fled the room.

"Sho?" Rin placed a warm hand on the older boy's shoulder, concern lacing her voice. "What is it?"

"Toshi's… in a coma," Sho answered, his voice low and distraught. "He's got… tubes… and wires… But that's… that's not Toshi. That's… he's too quiet." Sho turned frantic eyes on Son and Rin. "Where's Toshi? Where is he? Where's my friend?"

Sho broke down and cried.

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