You've seen Gii/Takumi. You've seen Dai/Mao. I'm knocking down the 4th wall to present you with...Dai/Takumi. Yep. Worlds collide, puppets. Can you handle it?

All fiction, any resemblance to persons living and dead, blah blah. No offense intended. Discussions of past abuse, future sexual situations, no kiddies allowed.

Lattepuff, where have you gone?

UNTOUCHABLE
Chapter 1

Takumi had been expecting the knock at his door, but jumped when it came anyway. His father slowly opened it and entered the bedroom, approaching his son slowly as everyone had to.

"Are you feeling up to it?"

You'd probably let me quit school entirely. You're so afraid I'll break. Dad, sometimes I am too.

"I think so," the fifteen-year-old got out in a half-whisper.

"You don't want to reschedule?"

Takumi smiled weakly. "Don't you want me to be a lawyer like you?"

Hayama Tetsuya looked sad, as he always did when observing his only remaining child. "You loved violin so much. I think I'd prefer to see you holding it again even over you following in my footsteps."

"I..." I can't. I can't trust the happiness it gave me. I trusted Niisan, and...

"You're trembling. Rest, I'll have Watanabe-san return another - "

"No. I'm really okay."

"Take your medicine first." Tetsuya waited for the boy to swallow a small anti-anxiety pill. "If you're still sure, I'll introduce you and see how you like him. He seems a bit serious, but kind. And he understands that you're nervous, so no need to try to hide it."

"Okay." Like I'd be able to. Like I ever will.

daimaodaimao

Watanabe Daisuke adjusted his glasses, trying not to appear nervous. The man across the desk between them was all seriousness, which Daisuke often was himself. But the 24-year-old hadn't expected to see his resume still being studied, now that he had gotten the job. Is he having second thoughts?

Tetsuya looked up. "Forgive me, Watanabe-san. I was only thinking, still, that you seem almost too good to be true."

Daisuke refused to exhale in relief. "I don't quite follow."

"Dual Bachelor degrees in education and psychology from Todai, my alma mater. Top of your class, and my old friend Professor Kaga can't speak highly enough of you."

"Hayama-san is very kind. It has always been my wish to teach kids with emotional problems. I thought the double major the swiftest way to reach that dream."

"And you don't mind having only one student?"

For the salary you're offering me? I'd teach a hundred at once! "Not at all. I have much to learn in my craft, and this task will be excellent practice for my future work."

The distinguished prosecutor leaned back in his chair, seemed to be considering something. Trying not to notice the certificates and awards on the study walls, Daisuke analyzed the handsome, black-suited man. He was troubled. Worried about the student in question, no doubt.

"Hayama-san, you've told me your son's diagnosis is haphephobia. Forgive me, but I can help Takumi-kun better if I know more."

Tetsuya nodded slowly, sadly. "I had another son once, Naoto. He died of pneumonia in a mental hospital a few years ago."

"I'm so sorry." Haphephobia. The elder brother abused the younger, then.

There was no grief in the lawyer's eyes. None for the dead, at least.

"Naoto molested and raped Takumi. I don't know when it started. I do know my wife caught them naked in Takumi's bed when he was nine. Therapy did Naoto no good, and certainly not Takumi. My son was eleven the last time I pulled Naoto off of him. I sent him away that very day, and only my wife Youko visited him."

"Your family has been through great agony, Hayama-san. I am so sorry."

"You are kind, Watanabe-san, that reassures me. I think you might be good for Takumi. Since Naoto's death, especially, he's isolated himself from everyone. Friends stopped being invited over, and finally school has become intolerable."

"You said on the phone that being in crowded classrooms was giving him panic attacks."

"Yes, which is why, as I told you, the door to this room must stay open. Takumi must not feel closed in."

And you probably don't trust me yet to be alone with the boy. Understandable. "How do you handle his panic attacks?"

Tetsuya nodded with approval at the question. "The most important thing is that he not be touched when they occur, doing so makes them worse. It's a terrible thing to see, but all we seem able to do is assure Takumi he's safe and wait for him to calm. Does that seem correct to you?"

"It does, though I assume the boy's psychiatrist would know best."

"Dr. Nobuta is good, but Takumi hasn't opened up to him yet. So far he's mainly just provided medication."

"May I ask...?"

"Naloxopene for everyday use, compramin to help ease the attacks."

That seems reasonable, Daisuke thought, and said, "Has Takumi-kun talked to anyone about what happened to him?"

"I don't think he's ready. Please don't take offense, Watanabe-san, if Takumi is closed off and distant when he's with you. He's like that with anyone but me."

"Of course not. Were I in his shoes, I'd be reluctant to trust anyone too, especially a man." Daisuke paused a moment. "Do you think he'll be able to handle a male of my age near him?"

"He'll be nervous, but I want the best educator possible for him, and who knows? You may be able to help him with more than just calculus."

I hope so, the poor child. "I on't happen to look like Naoto-san, do I?"

A short chuckle. "Thankfully, no. Naoto resembled me, just as Takumi takes after his mother."

"Does Takumi-kun get along well with his mother now?"

"Not really. He resents her. To be honest, I do too. I wonder, had we stopped Naoto earlier..."

"Try not to feel too guilty, Hayama-san," Daisuke said boldly. "All you can do is deal with the circumstances in front of you. And I promise, I will try to be a friend to Takumi-kun as well as a tutor."

Tetsuya smiled. "I'll trust you with my heart, then. Would you like to meet your student?"

"Very much."

"I'll be right back."

Daisuke found himself nervous once left alone, sipping his cooling green tea and scolding himself. The child he was being engaged to teach would be nervous enough for them both, and he was determined to prove himself in this first job out of university, to be a confidante and rock of safety for the boy who'd been so unfairly damaged. Daisuke had a little experience in therapy, having interned as both a teacher and a counselor, but this would be full-time, both as a student and patient.

Maybe I can help him. Dai-chan, this is what you've always wanted to do. Don't screw it up, or break something in this fancy house. He had noticed its organized perfection, been briefly introduced to the immaculate, distantly pleasant wife. She's trying to make the visible perfect, because the invisible is such a mess. She doesn't get along with Takumi-kun. I wonder if she sided initially with Naoto. She must feel so guilty.

The door opened, Tetsuya appeared. A very young-looking boy...

The boy...

Walked...

Daisuke blinked, nearly stumbling as he rose. The teenager was not tall, was very slender and delicate-looking. His eyes were large and liquid, a shade darker than amber, the features that of a finely-made porcelain doll. The skin was almost luminscent in its perfection, the mouth rosy and probably petal-soft. Daisuke had never in his life seen anything so beautiful, never felt such happiness something existed and such instant heartbreak.

Age aside, propriety aside, he's untouchable. God, I'm sick, I want to touch a traumatized child.

Takumi bowed, averting his eyes. He was startled, not having expected a teacher so young and handsome. "Hajimemashite, Watanabe-sensei. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Daisuke found his voice and made it steady. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Takumi-kun. I hope we can be friends."

Tetsuya hovered, observing. Daisuke looked gently but firmly at the teenager, trying to coax his downcast face up. At last, Takumi met his gaze, and coldness froze his angelic expression.

This one has a wall around his heart. Will I be able to break it? To even climb it?

"I would like that too, Sensei."

I don't blame him. He must be afraid of me beneath all that defiance. God, he's gorgeous. How could anyone hurt something so pure? He should be cherished, not made to cry. Daisuke felt an immense gratitude toward the loving father who was keeping near his son. And he wanted to the frost on that lovely face gone. Experimentally, Daisuke reached out a hand, wondering if the boy would push aside his fear and reciprocate.

He's challenging me. I can shake your hand, you don't scare me, Takumi thought. He forced his arm to extend and let Daisuke clasp it.

The skin was as baby-soft as it looked. Daisuke had intended not to push, to make it quick, but found himself briefly stroking the wrist with his fingertip.

~Naoto taking his hand. Being pulled to the bed, clothes stripped off, skin on skin. Pain in the heart and all around it.~

Daisuke let go the second he saw Takumi's eyes widen. The boy swayed on his feet, began to breathe heavily. Tetsuya studied his son, was shrugged off in fright, looked back and forth between them while Takumi wrapped his arms around himself.

"What happened?" 'What did you do,' was the unspoken question.

"Nothing...flashback..." Takumi panted.

"I'm so sorry, Takumi-kun. I shouldn't have done that."

"Not...your fault..."

"Son, maybe you need more time..."

Takumi shook his head, gulped in a few mouthfuls of air. The ice had left his eyes, but the stubbornness remained.

"Can we begin on Monday, Sensei?"

Daisuke smiled. The boy was not just stunning, he was a fighter. I'm going to help him fight...and not dare fall for him.

"Ready when you are, Takumi-kun."

To be continued.

If you're wondering where the heck this story came from, I was remembering a translation of interview I read once, where Dai-chan was saying how much he loved Takumi. Well, Dai-chan, here you go! Handle with care.