Dealing With Pain - Difficult Choices Pt. 2 by Yahiko
Dealing With Pain - Difficult Choices Pt. 2
Satoshi ran through the streets of Masara Town haphazardly. His vision blurred with tears, he stumbled and crashed into random passsersby. Some simply stood off to one side to let the boy pass. But some, however, were not as kind and forgiving.
"Hey!"
"You little brat!"
"Why, I oughtta-"
"Stop it!"
"Street rat!"
Satoshi was immune to these comments. As he stumbled like a drunken man through the winding streets of his hometown toward the safety of his house, the awful scene that he had just witnessed came flooding back to him.
Shigeru.
Makoto.
In each other's arms.
Kissing.
"No!" Satoshi yelled, putting both hands to his temples. "No! Shigeru~u!"
It was then the rain began to fall.
Satoshi was nearing his house. Just as he was about to pull open the door, his knees gave out, and he collapsed on the porch, his vision fading....
.....into inky blackness.
"Satoshi."
Huh? A female voice...Kasumi? Yui?
"Oh, Satoshi-kun, please! Wake up!"
H-Hiroki? Uhhh...my head hurts.
"How did you find him, Hiroki?"
T-Takeshi? Is that you? Why is it so cold?
"Well, I was walking past their house, and there he was, sprawled across the porch, his clothes soaked through. He was shivering when I brought him in and called you guys, but now he's unconscious."
Why am I shivering? Oh...
Satoshi's eyes started to flutter. One eye opened, then the other.
"Shimatta! He's awake!"
As his vision cleared, Satoshi recognized Hiroki, Tetsuya, and Yui.
His best friends.
"Minna..." Satoshi said softly. "Konnichiwa..." Satoshi groaned, and started to sit up in bed.
Yui pushed him back down onto the mattress. "Dame, Satoshi-kun," she said, shaking one finger at him. "You need to rest."
"Wh-what are you guys doing here?" Satoshi croaked.
"Don't you remember? I was on my way to the ice-cream shop when I saw you passed out on your front porch." Hiroki said.
"I-I don't remember..."
"You were shivering from the cold, Satoshi," Yui added softly, as she withdrew a thermometer from her bag. "Luckily Hiro-chan was there and took you in, or you would have died from the cold."
"Hiroki?"
"Yeah, Hiroki," Tetsuya said brightly, "You know, your best friend? Or one of them?" he added hastily after a reproachful glare from both Yui and Hiroki.
"I know who Hiroki is, Tetsuya!" Satoshi snapped suddenly, making them all jump.
Tetsuya held up a placating hand. "Geez, Satoshi, I'm sorry...If you're gonna be crabby, I'm outta here." Tetsuya stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in and made as if to leave.
Satoshi reached out and snagged Tetsuya's sleeve. "Gomen ne, Tetsuya-kun." He sighed. "I guess I'm just tired...and a little on edge..."
"Because of Shigeru?" Tetsuya asked innocently, and was immediately hit by a mallet.
"Owww~ww!"
"You have no tact, Tetsuya!" Yui sniffed, tossing the mallet away.
"Why'd you do that for?"
Meanwhile Satoshi was gripping handfuls of the sheets in his hands as the awful memory came back to him...
Shigeru...
Makoto...
Kissing...
Slowly, tears began to trickle down Satoshi's cheeks and land on the slik sheets that covered his legs. Yui and Tetsuya stopped their bickering long enough to notice Satoshi's tears.
Hiroki moved closer to Satoshi and put an arm around him. "Why the tears, Satoshi-kun?"
"Sh-S-Shigeru..." Was all Satoshi could say...
"Oh." Hiroki said softly, and wiped an errant tear that was snaking down Satoshi's cheek. "Guess it didn't go over too well with him, huh?" he asked.
Yui sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Satoshi's hair. "Oh, Sato-kun..." she whispered.
"So how'd it go?" Hiroki asked.
Satoshi lifted his head to look into Hiroki's eyes, and he caught his breath.
Satoshi's eyes were bloodshot, and rimmed red from crying. His hair was disheveled from running through the streets of Masara, away from Shigeru, as fast as he could.
"Satoshi..." Yui whispered.
"What happened?" Tetsuya prodded. "Come on, Sato-kun, you'll feel better if you talk about it..." he smiled.
Satoshi offered a weak grin. "Well...It's kinda hard...but okay. Will you listen?" The three nodded. "Okay, good."
"So tell us," Hiroki prodded gently. "Go on, we're listening..."
Satoshi gulped and drew his silk-clad legs to his chin. "Well, Hiroki, as you know, I went to Shi-Shigeru's with a plate of the cookies we made last night." Hiroki nodded. "Well, when I went to see Shigeru, guess who I saw with him."
"Makoto, I presume." Hiroki said, gritting his teeth. Satoshi nodded.
"When I stepped into the backyard, I saw them..." he stopped. "I...I..." Satoshi burst into loud sobs that wracked his body. Tears pooled at the corners of Yui's eyes and she pulled him into a hug.
Stroking his hair, she whispered softly, "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it..."
Satoshi shook his head. "No, it's better that I tell you guys." Composing himself, he continued with his story.
"So there I was...and guess what I saw them doing?"
"What?" Yui asked, her voice sounding like a breathy whisper, like the sound of hissing steam.
"They...they...they were..."
"They were what?" Hiroki asked.
"They were kissing."
There was an audible gasp, and then, silence, as tears trickled down Satoshi's cheeks. Still folded in Yui's embrace, Satoshi closed his eyes, and slept.
~ owari Difficult Choices Pt. 2 ~
Author's notes: Like it? Hate it? Mail me! Gomen nasai for the shortness of the chapter, but I will write the third chapter soon, which promises to be a longer one, filled with more tearsm angst, and action than legally allowed in one single fic! See ya!
