Naoko smiled, hoping to make Ko feel better about being stuck in the waiting room of some stuffy psychiatrist's office. In fact, it was the same man, oddly enough, that Naoko had gone to with Ryu.
That would at least make some things a bit easier.
The downside was that, while this particular man was usually associated with all sorts of media icons... he dealt a lot with people from SMASH's offices who needed counseling...
Which... on the one hand... might prove troublesome and yet on the other hand...
"Ko-kun?" spoke a somewhat short man from the doorway. He smiled pleasantly, waving both men into the room.
As soon as the door was closed he held out one hand to Naoko in a more western greeting. "It's good to see you again, Oumori-san. Don't worry, Yamada-san has gotten me up to speed on many things, including the need for absolute secrecy... especially from certain people."
A bit confused, Naoko's amber eyes narrowed. "I don't..."
"Just as I didn't divulge anything about your session to your boss, neither will anything be divulged according to Ko-kun. Yamada-san isn't the only one distrustful of some of you and Shou-san's superiors." the psychiatrist spoke before turning his attention to the boy.
"Hajimemashite, Ko-kun. Doctor Araki-desu. Douzo yoroshiku." the man smiled again, bowing politely before offering Ko his hand to shake. "If you'll both take a seat, we can start our session."
~ ~ ~
Ko knew he was going to the office of some psy...psych....something. Something that his Uncle wanted him to do. But he really didn't understand the whole thing because he was more interested in seeing the fish or writing music instead. Maybe it wouldn't take long? As time passed in the quiet waiting room it became really boring. "Do we have to stay here? The psy person isn't coming and I want to see the fish. Can't we just go?" He beginning to get fussy about the whole affair when someone finally showed up.
As his feet swung back and forth from the chair where he waited and he watched carefully as the short man greeted Naoko and spoke with him about Yamada-san. His lips pressed slightly because he wasn't quite comfortable with Uncle Naoko's reaction. It didn't seem like Uncle Naoko completely trusted the situation so neither did Ko. And that distrust solidified when Ko heard the man's introduction.
The boy froze for just a moment then slid off his seat. "D...doctor?....NO. I don't want to see...a doctor. We were suppose to see a...Psy person...Not a doctor." Ko started to back off as far as he could from the man and his eyes widened white with fear. His fingers shot into his bag to try to get to his emergency phone. "Don't....touch me! I want Uncle Shou right now!"
~ ~ ~
Ko's reaction startled Naoko a bit and the blond knelt down beside the boy, taking his wrists and stilling the frantic movement to try and get the phone from the bag. "It's okay, Ko-kun. A psychiatrist is a sort of doctor. They take care of people's emotions and their fears and make things better." he smiled softly, amber eyes focused solely on the boy and nothing else. "I came to him too with Uncle Ryu before... and Yamada-san trusts him and... well... your Uncle Shou and I both trust Yamada-san... so Doctor Araki is someone we can trust, Ko-kun."
Kneeling down also, getting to the boy's level, Araki nodded. "There are a lot of different doctors, Ko-kun. There are even teachers that are called doctors because of how much education, how much school, they've had. You mentioned wanting to see fish... people who study fish are called ichthyologists... and most of the really famous ichthyologists are also called doctors." he smiled before standing again and going over to a small fridge in his office. "How about something to drink, Ko-kun? A ramune maybe? Or a calpico?"
Naoko knew the man was trying to get little Ko to calm down and feel more relaxed... but the pianist doubted that was going to happen any time soon.
"Do you remember when I came back to Shou-san's, Ko-kun? When I was hurt and not right and you were afraid and worried about me?" he asked, indicating the time he'd returned to Shou's after some insane drugged and rather forced after-hours time that he hadn't realized was happening until well into the venture. He'd followed someone that resembled Hayato, wanting to confront the man as to why he'd just up and disappeared from everyone's lives... and had ended up in some weird club that even now he didn't understand how he'd gotten into. Naoko had returned to Shou's, smelling of more than just sweat and half delirious, just wanting someone to help him... and it had scared Ko. "I talked to Doctor Araki about things like that... things I can't control that happen or that I'm afraid of... bad things that have happened to me in the past... and he helps me figure out how not to be afraid... Shou-san just wants you to feel safe, Ko-kun... When we first met you... you were so frightened of everything... we were worried about you..... we just want to help you."
~ ~ ~
Ko stiffened when his wrists were stilled but he didn't remove them from the bag. However his head snapped up toward Naoko's face and those fearful eye took in his Uncle as he spoke. His lips tightened and paled as he listened then opened up just enough to speak. "You came here?" His question was followed with 3 firm but stuttered statements. "I don't like doctor doctors. I...don't trust... doctor doctors. I don't like white...doctor coats." He couldn't describe the kind of doctor that the Doctor was. He didn't know the term except he knew that the horror it brought to mind and made him want to shrink inside himself and never come out again.
"Ichth...Ichthy....fish doctors are ok." His small voice pushed forward as he scooted in close to Naoko like a leech when Dr. Araki got nearer. It was obvious that he didn't trust Doctor Anything although fish doctors didn't work on humans so that was OK. Smiling faces didn't change Ko's mood much and the offer for a drink only pressed him closer to Naoko even more. "Is it safe? It's not safe. It's never safe." he whispered in a tiny voice only Naoko could probably here. Ko's eyes kept a good idea as to where the doctor was at all times and where the door out was too. At least he was big enough to get that on his own and it didn't seem to be locked.
"I want Uncle Shou." he said louder as soon as Naoko mentioned the name again. But he paused when Naoko started talking about himself. Ko nodded slowly in response when Naoko asked him if he remembered. "You were....in bad shape. I...couldn't help."
"He...helped you?" His trustless eyes surveyed Dr. Araki and then looked back to Naoko. At least, right now, Ko talked more than when Naoko first pulled him out of his closed shell. The boy trusted Naoko and was more open with him and Shou than anyone else. "I...trust you....and Uncle Shou. So..I'm ok." Ko couldn't understand the broader future needs beyond the small family he had become a part of. He was still a kid and looked only at the now not the future except in small ways.
~ ~ ~
"Not safe?" Araki asked, confused slightly by the statement.
Naoko didn't look away from Ko as he answered that question. "He wants to know if it's drugged... that fear I can understand quite well." the blond whispered sadly, letting Ko's hands go and instead picking the boy up into his arms, letting the child cling to him as he walked over and sat down in one of the chairs. "Could you hand me a calpico, Araki-sensei?" he asked calmly.
The doctor complied and, with one hand, Naoko opened the can and took a sip himself. "See, Ko-kun? It's safe... and cold... kinda hurts my teeth." the blond laughed softly, handing the calpico to Ko, though never releasing the boy from his grip.
"You've been drugged before, Oumori-san?" Araki asked the pianist.
It would be best if Naoko talked to the doctor first... to help Ko relax... hopefully.
The blond nodded, "More times than I wish... sometimes when I wake up I can't move because of the drug or for other reasons. It isn't the best of feelings... I always end up somewhere unfamiliar after it happens... sometimes my memories are blury, other times it's like my senses are heightened to the point of painful but I'm just stuck."
"Different drugs most times then." Araki said, writing that down as he sat behind his desk.
Luckily... he hadn't been wearing the white lab coat that usually hung in his office... just so happened it was at the cleaners that day.
Naoko nodded again. "Most likely. Mmmm... something called Purple Lotus too... that doesn't make me sleepy it..."
Araki held up a hand, "I know what it does sadly enough. Were you addicted to it?"
"Hai... then Ryu flushed it all down the toilet... withdrawal was a b***h." the pianist laughed slightly, remembering how Ryu'd held him down to the bed...
But Ryu wasn't there now... was he?
"And they didn't give you more?"
Blond eyes narrowed slightly. "I had it when I was back at that place... I didn't want it but they forced it on me. I wouldn't take it voluntarily again if that's what you're asking."
Araki nodded, writing that down. "It seems your addictive personality is getting a bit better then. Anything out of sorts for you? Your medication's helping I take it?"
"I... have to take it more than prescribed..." Naoko admitted, looking away for a second. "Especially lately. Can you up the dose?"
"I can but it might cause you to fall asleep." the psychiatrist replied. "I'll write you for the same strength just half a pill more... maybe that will keep it in check." he said, writing things down again.
Absently, Naoko's free hand ran through Ko's hair. "But we aren't here about me, sensei..."
"Oh that I know... I just figured to check up on you." the older man smiled. "You're here because you and Shou-san are worried about young Ko-kun... who hates doctor doctors... do you know why that is, Oumori-san?"
But Naoko shook his head, "No idea. All I know is Yamada-san said Ko-kun had been taken from somewhere... rescued apparently. I... well I just hoped he wasn't in the same sort of place I was... you know?" the pianist said sadly, amber eyes looking to the boy in his arms. "Do you know where you were, Ko-kun? Before you came to Shou-san's house? Before you met us and became glued to my phone and the tv?" he said it in such a way as to jog the boy's memory about his first experiences at Shou's place... and to try to lighten the question a little. In a soft whisper, Naoko pressed his forehead against Ko's own. "I promise if you answer sensei's questions... everything will be better... you might feel afraid right now, Ko-kun... but it'll feel better too. You won't have to hold it all in or bury it down deep... things like that... they hurt you from the inside if you keep them locked away... then you end up like me and have to take medicine to make it all better and STILL have to talk about it." the blond reasoned, trying to get the child to open up just a bit more if possible.
~ ~ ~
Ko took the can after Naoko had drunk some of it but for a while he just watched Naoko as if to make sure that the reaction wasn't a slow one. Eventually, he took a sip and it seemed like the Calipico was ok. His shoulders relaxed just a little as he sat in Naoko's arm.
For awhile he just listened. Some of the conversation he tried to work his way through. Seemed like Naoko had...very bad experiences. Purple Lotus wasn't a word he was familiar with though. However, word drugs, Ko knew too well.
He sipped more of the drink and didn't say a single word. If he could have become anymore invisible he would have but he knew that the two men knew exactly where he was. And then came a question directed at him. One he didn't want to talk about at all. "kiken na basho." (A dangerous place) He whispered, "I don't know where." His eyes teared up a bit as Naoko's forehead pressed upon his own and his mouth sucked on to the top of the can. He didn't know where the place was that part was true. He knew it wasn't the same place just by the smell alone. Not enough...bleach. He had been shuffled around once or twice. Every time his eyes had been covered or he woke up from some drugged sleep.
~ ~ ~
"Kiken na basho..." Naoko whispered back, thinking about that for a moment. "You know, Ko-kun..." the blond's gaze never wavered from the boy. "Someone took me away one time. A very bad man took me away..." absently he adjusted the knit cap on Ko's head. "And he kept me locked away... that happened to you too... didn't it? Did..."
But Araki interrupted. "Did they hurt you, Ko-kun?" the psychiatrist asked calmly, his voice a soothing sound that matched the pianist's own soothing tone.
Amber eyes glanced to Araki but then returned to Ko. "The bad man who took me away hurt me, Ko-kun... and then another bad man took me away and hurt me and your uncle Ryu... I know what it feels like to think someone's going to come for you all the time, Ko-kun... and that fear hurts, doesn't it? The bad men who hurt me are gone now... they can't hurt me again... but I want to make the bad men who hurt you go away too... and Shou-san and Yamada-san and I can't do that unless you talk to us."
Hayato was gone... Jun was gone...
Izo still lived, but that was a monster he couldn't hope to touch.
And in truth, he hadn't really been kidnapped by the spider... he'd walked willingly into that trap himself.
Of course even Ryuukaze had kidnapped Naoko at one point... and though he'd been frightened at the time, the younger Oumori brother knew it'd been for his own good.
Course... the promises his akuma had given him in those days now sounded hallow and distant.
Where was Ryu now?
Telling him he'd die for him... he'd never leave him... and yet...
Shaking those thoughts away for now, the pianist focused back on the boy in his arms. "No one will hurt you while I'm here. No one will hurt you when you're with Yamada-san or Shou-san either, Ko-kun. We love you so much... and all we want is to protect you. But to do that... you have to talk to us about the bad men... gomen nasai..."
~ ~ ~
"Someone....did?" Ko questioned carefully as he looked at Naoko. His Uncle was a much bigger man than him so Ko couldn't fathom how someone could do something like that to an adult. However, the news wasn't completely devoid of bad things that happened in the world and Ko wasn't quite sheltered enough not to know that there were bad people. He just never thought that someone else close to him might experience something so similar.
Ko's teeth ground shut as if he didn't wan tot answer those questions. But he nodded slowly. He wouldn't describe anything because all of it was nightmarish. And he couldn't even say that what happened to Naoko was exactly the same as what happened to him. It didn't sound like he ever had someone....cutting at his....head. Ko flinched at the thought and a trembling wave shook him for a moment. Then he seemed to stop that and tucked his face into Naoko's shoulder.
"I like Uncle Shou....He's magical. He makes everything go away. I want to write music right now. I don't want to talk about bad people." His mind fluctuated as keys as his fingers moved spasmodically with notes he was seeing in his head. He just had to play music right now. That was more important.
~ ~ ~
One arm moved slowly and withdrew the ipad from Ko's bag. A few fingers tapped some on it's flat surface then a small piano app opened and he turned it to let the boy play.
"You can play but you have to talk to us about the bad men while you do, Ko-kun." Naoko said gently, knowing that maybe the boy would open up more if he was doing something to combat the fear as he spoke.
After a moment, Doctor Araki spoke up. "How did they hurt you, Ko-kun?" he asked softly, not wanting to startle the boy.
Naoko kept his arms around the child, protective of Ko even though he knew they needed this information. He moved just enough to whisper to the boy softly. "After I got away from the bed men... I didn't tell anyone what had happened... I was too scared, Ko-kun... but looking back... if I'd told somebody... they would've mad the fear go away... they would've protected me... but you're braver than I am, ne Ko-kun? You're brave like your uncle Shou though, aren't you? Would you feel better talking about it with your mask on? Would you feel better not being Ko-kun for a little while while you talked?"
This intrigued the doctor.
Not being Ko-kun?
An interesting concept, though one he wasn't surprised by. Even Naoko had told the psychiatrist before that he himself had shoved a mental mask over himself to shield his every day mind to the darkness. Of course he and the notorious Shou would've taught the boy how to do the same thing... probably physically with an actual mask at that.
A coping mechanism that might make the child open up more.
~ ~ ~
The Ipad was eagerly taken by Ko and his fingers padded along the small keys and suddenly a tune started to flow from the small speakers on the ipad. Another original tune that currently had no name but would drift from light notes to the morose heavier flats. His eyes closed as all the notes formulated into his head and on to the small keys. This eased his discomfort to feel the movement of his fingers that he couldn't rightly stop even if he had wanted.
He heard them but he didn't answer. He didn't want to talk about bad men. They asked too many questions. Why couldn't they just listen to the music and be free of it. Of course, he was brave like Uncle Shou...Right? But then he paused as his finger held a note for a beat, "Uncle Shou is braver than me. He is strong even when he's hurt. Because he doesn't want me hurt." He didn't clarify that statement but that is what he believed and more than likely was right.
"NeKo? Mm....I like being NeKo. He's like Uncle Shou. We're going to be a star like Uncle Shou too." His fingers all this time never stopped playing weaving tune after tune as they talked. Almost as if he didn't need to pay attention to let the music flow from his gifted mind.
~ ~ ~
"Hurt?" Naoko asked, amber eyes a bit filled with worry.
When was Shou hurt?
From what the blond could remember, nothing had hurt his brother except...
Did Ko know about Jun on some level? Or, hopefully, was the boy just picking up on Shou or Sai's slight behavior changes to figure out that something bothered the musician?
But right now... what mattered was Ko... not Shou...
"None of us want you hurt, Ko-kun... which is why you should talk to us... or let NeKo talk to us." Naoko continued, brushing the boy's bangs from his eyes tenderly. "I bet you're braver than NeKo though... you're braver because you're here and you got through all the bad things people did to you... You're stronger than so many people, Ko-kun... so much stronger." he smiled softly. "Ryu used to tell me that I was the strongest person he'd ever met because I was still here. I was alive and I kept pushing forward even with all the bad things that happened to me. But I think you're stronger... I think he'd say that too, you know..."
After a while, Doctor Araki decided to try changing the subject, hopefully in order to get Ko to talk to him. "What about your parents, Ko-kun? Shou-san is your uncle but what about them? Do you miss them?"
~ ~ ~
"NeKo is better at talking but I don't want to talk about that stuff." he answered with a frown as he played and looked at the keys under his fingers. "I want to see the fish." His kid like frustration had grown just a bit. They kept asking him to talk about bad people. People he wanted to forget! He hated that. He didn't want them to make him talk about these monsters. He didn't want to listen to it.
But then the Doctor hit another foul note. "They are dead." he said almost like ice. "They said that they were dead." Ko didn't clarify 'They' but it was easy to assume an answer. "They gave me to the bad men because I was a bad boy. So...Uncle Shou and Uncle Naoko are my family now. They won't give me away to bad men ever. Uncle Naoko promised. And I miss Uncle Shou right now. I want to call Uncle Shou" These words were pretty concise but they were also words he had sort of mentioned to Naoko a little in the past. However, today much clearer as if he was giving them something. If only they would leave him alone on other things.
~ ~ ~
"You have to talk about it, Ko-kun... otherwise..."
But Doctor Araki shook his head, "Let's try something else, hmm? Ko-kun, what if there's a way I can learn what I need to and you won't have to hear yourself talk about the bad men?" he asked quizzically.
Almost instantly, Naoko knew what the psychiatrist was saying... but would hypnosis really work on the boy?
"All you have to do is relax and look at something for me. Then I can ask you questions and you won't hear yourself telling me the answers... you won't even remember thinking of the answers at all. That way, you can be brave and not have to think about the monsters."
Amber eyes softened a bit and Naoko forced, gently forced, Ko to look up at him. "Do it for me? I promise I won't let anything bad happen."
~ ~ ~
"I don't know....it doesn't sound safe to me." he answered and continued to play. A new song formed on the keys from his fingertips forever imprinting into his head. The child really had enough of being asked about this stuff. He felt like he had been lied to about the days events. This was a nightmare and they were trying to dredge up things he didn't want to know.
"All I have to do is...relax?" he asked very distrusting. The Doctor sounded sort of like the bad people right now. The words were kind of similar only...he didn't have to look at something. But suddenly his face was being pulled up to look at Naoko and he stared into those soft amber eyes with his cold greys. His body stiffened as that promise was made.
"If I do this will you STOP asking me?! You both keep pushing and pushing. I don't want to talk about it! If something bad happens I don't have anyone else to blame but you...and I don't want to have to do that." he said to Naoko in almost an adult voice for the 8 year old boy. His frustration and stress however, didn't change the tune from the keys as if the music was following a different program in his head.
A part of his mind shielded itself and prepared to lock down if threatened again. He survived repeated violence....and things he would never be able to express articulately, so if he could survive in Hell, he could survive this.
~ ~ ~
Naoko blinked, his movements stilling completely as Ko yelled. Shocked, it took the blond a moment to reply. "Ha... hai... I won't ask you again and then we can go see the fish and you can play the piano in the car so we won't keep bothering you." the pianist spoke carefully.
Standing from his desk, Araki walked over to a cabinet and withdrew a small smooth onyx stone that was attached to a silver chain. "This is all you have to look at, Ko-kun. It's not scary, is it?" he asked, handing it out for the boy to touch. "I'll move it back and forth and I just want you to relax... listen to what I say... and watch the stone. Think you can do that?"
If something bad happens I don't have anyone else to blame but you... and I don't want to have to do that.Those words kept ringing in Naoko's ears. It'd be his fault if Ko somehow got scared from this... would the boy trust him again afterwards if something did happen?
The apprehension in the younger Oumori brother's heart actually hurt. What would he do if Ko hated him?
Ko was keeping him together lately... moreso than Sai and far moreso than Ryu who had seemingly just up and abandoned him...
~ ~ ~
"Alright...." Ko said with a huff and then he sat up in his chair. He stopped playing for a moment and saved the songs before pulling his ipad up close to him. He obviously didn't want to let that go.
Ko wouldn't touch the chain or the onyx. He kept his hands firmly wrapped around the Ipad and he nodded at Doctor Araki's words although it was easy to see that he was uncomfortable and very unhappy with everything going on.
"Just gt this over with." the child said with a harsh scowl.
~ ~ ~
Naoko moved Ko to where the boy was sitting fully on his lap, allowing for nothing to come between the child's line of sight and the stone.
Carefully, Doctor Araki began to move the stone back and forth in the air. "Now, Ko-kun... I just want you to listen to my voice. I want you to think of something very happy... maybe playing piano with your uncle. Visualize that happy moment and let everything about it dance through your eyes... the way the notes sound... the feel of the keys beneath your fingers... the warm bench... Don't focus on the music, just on the feelings it bring you. The warm and safe... secure feelings."
Naoko listened to the psychiatrist drone on and on but he made it a point NOT to look at the stone. He was already tired so getting hypnotized along with Ko wouldn't have helped anything.
For a good ten minutes Araki kept talking... his voice calm and soft... soothe... serene... drawing Ko deeper and deeper into a relaxing state that bordered on hypnotic.
~ ~ ~
Ko sat there and sighed then nodded. He started listening to the voice then following the cues and thinking of happy things that he'd much rather be doing. He really didn't have to focus on the music because it was always the first and foremost thing in his head. Everything revolved around music. It did relax him but inside his head even as he slipped into a more hypnotic state, the music wasn't just a feeling but a reality. As bad as Azriel's readings it took over and took Ko places where no one else could go. In this state of mind, Ko's brain was creating compositions for a full orchestra and even if he wanted to he couldn't stop it.
Even if he looked relaxed those fingers wrapped on the Ipad were not. They stuttered and padded out the sheet music for the piano like a phantom typewriter.
~ ~ ~
Araki took a mental note of Ko's fingers, but he continued speaking until the boy was clearly in a hypnotic state.
"No Ko-kun... I want you to tell me about your parents. Their names... what they looked like... What was life like at home before the bad men?" the doctor asked softly.
Naoko couldn't help but tense just a little. Figuring out who Ko really belonged to was a double edged sword. On the one hand, those people clearly couldn't protect the child... but on the other hand...
~ ~ ~
"A flat, C flat, C flat, D flat D flat, B flat, A flat, A, A, B, B, C C C C, D D, G, C C C C," said Ko in response to the question as soon as his mouth opened. And Naoko could tell that those fingers were keying the words from his lips. There might have been a slight slowing of his finger movement as his voice interacted with the outside world. It was almost as if this part of his mind was just on auto. There wasn't any conscious stop button just a continuous line of music.
As far as answering about his parents that didn't seem to happen right away but then between the musical notes came a few words. " C C C G Good....D...They D...didn't let me play on the B...black piano. B flat, B B B C D E F The E...y didn't let me see my Uncle Shou...A flat, C flat..." On and on the notes just drifted from his lips as his fingers eventually coordinated with the mouth and they moved rhythmically. The bad things were in the forefront of course because the boy had to blame someone for what his world had been like.
~ ~ ~
"Why is he doing that?" Naoko whispered to the doctor, a bit freaked out by this sudden spillage of notes.
But the psychiatrist shook his head, ignoring the blond's question for now. "When the bad men got you, Ko-kun. What was the first thing you remember they did? Do you know where you were or who else was there?"
Question after question...
'How did they hurt you?'
'Where did they hurt you?'
'What did you remember about Yamada-san saving you?'
'Do you remember any names?'
'What frightened you the most?'
Just hearing the questions made the blond pianist pale because he himself wouldn't have wanted to answer those same questions either. No wonder Ko didn't want to...
But being hypnotized... he would... right?
But the musical notes... that simply baffled Naoko.
~ ~ ~
Anytime Ko spoke it was mostly notes and the only time that he seemed to speak of other things was when there was a break in the music or a lengthened note. Naoko as a musician could easily pick up those cues as the song progressed. The song was very complex and at times it seemed like Ko was repeating verses but the Naoko would realize that these were just other instruments being brought into the composition.
"He cut open my head....They...hurt me....after giving me drinks."
"I was an accident. Yamada was looking for proof against...someone. He didn't know I was there. He fought the guard and made it look like an accident. I think he's a ninja."
"I was put in a cage."
"The Doctor."
"The Doctor."
Every sentence had to be pieced together because it was mixed up with every note in the song.
~ ~ ~
'He's just a boy, damn it!' Naoko's mind screamed, the blond tightening his hold on Ko just a bit as the boy answered the questions without so much as a second thought.
"Was anything different after they cut your head?" Araki asked curiously, "Do you know why they did it, Ko-kun?"
Amber eyes closed and for a moment, the pianist just leaned his forehead against the back of Ko's own head.
'He's just a boy... doushite? Why would someone hurt an innocent gifted child?!'
~ ~ ~
Ko's music pattern shifted as the notes took a different rhythm into an intermezzo as it shifted from one part of the composition to another. His mind patterned his answers in between the notes and never stopped to with the exception of breathes between. There wasn't any filter between music and boy as if he could steady create compositions until he fell asleep and even then his musical compositions might follow him to his dreams.
Piecing together the words brought these sentences out of the mix.
"Nothing except pain at first and I was scared but when Uncle Shou's gave me a home, I heard his piano and the notes started playing in my head and they play all the time now."
"He said I had...untapped potential but my talent was weak. I wouldn't amount to anything like that."
His words became notes again as the intermezzo flowed away and the recapitulation of the composition began. It seemed like this composition was heading into it's finale but that only meant another one would begin to form within Ko's head.
~ ~ ~
Araki's eyes narrowed slightly, "So you didn't play piano before the bad men hurt you... but after they cut your head you could?" the doctor took note of this important tidbit.
Looking up at a clock, Naoko glanced back to the doctor. "It's been an hour, sensei..." he whispered, wanting Ko to stop the creepy musical notes and just come back to him as the happy boy he always seemed to be.
It hurt...
Listening to these things... thinking about them...
Experimentation on a child?! The mere idea baffled the blond. Someone had tapped into Ko's potential... someone that Ko called the Doctor... but why?
Why?
'Come now Naoko... are you so naive? Who would profit from a prodigy?'
The pianist's inner voice... that darkness... swirled in the pit of his stomach but it was right... wasn't it?
'Who's greedy enough to destroy for profit? Who will profit if Shou uses the boy in his act?'
Realizing that, Oumori blinked, "Sensei... please..."
Araki nodded. "Ko-kun, I'm going to count down to one from three, and when I hit one... you will wake up. You won't remember what you talked about but you will wake up. Three... Two... One..."
After a few seconds, Naoko looked down at the boy in his lap. "Ko-kun? Daijoubuka?"
~ ~ ~
The boy's fingers shifted and the finale rose to the conclusion upon them. Probably the conscious mind was the only filter that the boy had from his own shocking ability. What they were talking to was reality behind the conscious self.
"I could play...before he cut me. I use to play classical music with sheets. I was taking lessons. But I don't need them now. I can play anything I hear or see. I am almost done with my first full symphony." And the scary part of that statement was that he probably was composing it while they were trying to speak to him.
As soon as the number hit One, Ko blinked and yawned. His hands stopped their insane phantom typewriting and he reached up to scratch his head. Then he looked around and looked down at himself. He sucked in a breath and seemed a bit relieved. "I'm ok." His clothes were still on and the ipad was still in his hands. "Can we go see the fish now?" he asked as he popped out of Naoko's lap and grabbed is bag. He stayed away from Doctor Araki but since he didn't seem to remember anything, he also wasn't in as foul of mood as he had been. Although he did pause for a moment and suddenly grin, "Uncle Naoko, my composition is done! I can see the whole thing in my head!"
His filter seemed back in place and there was no stuttering of notes and words, "Did I say anything weird from that?" He asked with an edge of distrust as he pointed to the chain and onyx.
~ ~ ~
Naoko couldn't help but start laughing as he stood as well and took one of Ko's hands in his own. "Well... you said a lot of your composition to be honest... most of it actually." kneeling down, the blond put his other hand on the boy's head. "You really are special... know that?" he asked happily, so very glad that the normal Ko was back.
But the darkness didn't retreat... it just fell silent... for now.
Standing again, the pianist looked back to the psychiatrist, "Arigatou gozaimasu Araki sensei. I..."
"I'll have my analysis so far picked up by Yamada-san." Araki said with a smile. "It was good to meet you, Ko-kun. I think you did very very well. In fact..." he walked around his desk then returned with a box of chocolate pocky, handing it to Naoko. "This is for you AFTER you eat some lunch of course." the psychiatrist spoke, waving them farewell as they left the office.
The younger Oumori brother put the pocky in Ko's backpack. "See... that wasn't TOO bad, was it? You just talk. That's all. AND you got Pocky and a Soda for being good." he added, helping Ko into the car. "And now... to your fish." the blond winked.
He'd have a long discussion with Shou and Yamada later... or hopefully Sai.
~ ~ ~
"I did? Really?" Ko looked confused because he didn't remember speaking a word. "Did you know that a full symphony orchestra has 100 players in it? I think I've put together everything that I'd need one for this composition." But then he pondered Naoko's words as the man took his hand, "I'm special? No...You're special!" He turned it right back around on Naoko.
Ko turned and listened to Dr. Araki's words and nodded but he still didn't completely trust the man. That would take a lot of time. Although he did watch Naoko take the box of Pocky. Maybe since the drink was ok, the Pocky would be too?
When the doctor waved, Ko sorted of waved back automatically. He wasn't sure what he thought of Dr. Araki. Maybe he was a little different than what he feared the most. Maybe...
"I don't know. I don't remember any of it. But I think I am ok. Yes, I did get soda and Pocky. YAY! Fish! I can't wait! This part is going to be fun." squealed Ko as he popped into the backseat and put on his seat belt. "We have to get the Jellyfish, hammer head and something for You-san!"
As soon as the car started and Naoko was driving, Ko turned on his IPad and diligently typed in parts of his composition that his mind couldn't stop playing over and over until he got it out of his system.
~ ~ ~
Driving carefully through the mid-morning traffic, Naoko laughed, thinking back to what Ko had said in the doctor's office. "Ko-kun... you've written an entire composition... I can only write for a few instruments... but you've written for a hundred at least! That's far FAR more special than anything I could ever do, you know." the blond spoke, amber eyes smiling as he winked at the boy through the rear0view mirror.
~ ~ ~
Ko laughed, "But you're my Uncle so that makes you really special! And you're taking me to see the fish! And we are going to have lots of fun together! So there! You're extra special." The child looked up with a big grin on his face catching that wink.
"So are you going to stay at Uncle Shou's house tonight?" Ko asked as he looked out the window watching all the people on the streets. It seemed so busy out there. "Do you think it's getting close to Uncle Shou's performance??? I don't want to miss it."
"And...Uncle Naoko, did you get your music done for the video game yet? I wanted to hear it." he asked and smiled brightly as he turned off the piano setting and actually pulled out a school game that Sai had installed into is Ipad. He was having a tougher time with some of the reading stuff but he beating the math application in less than a day. "I don't seem to be able to figure out this sentence." he said out loud as they continued to the Aquarium.
(((OOC: Combined effort by myself and Kaikoloren)))
Naoko couldn't help but start laughing. "That doesn't mean I'm special. Means I care about you and enjoy spending time with you... or maybe it just means I really like fish..." he glanced in the rear-view mirror again, winking once more as he teased the boy. "But um... hmm... I don't know, Ko-kun. I should probably go back to my place... but of course I did ask you to bring me a pancake... didn't I?" the blond sighed slightly, unable to keep from thinking about Ryu.
GOD HE WAS SO PISSED AT THAT RED-EYED DEMON!!!
He'd been staying, primarily, at Ryu's place for as long as he could remember... hardly ever going home at all.
Was home even home anymore?
Would he walk in and feel the loneliness press him from all sides?
Or should he go back to Ryu's and straighten this entire mess out?
'What's there to straighten out. Instead of staying in bed with you, he went off into the night for a midnight snack and a fling with some random b*****d... you know I could...'
Amber eyes screwed shut for a split second... luckily at a train crossing. The sound of the train hurt his ears but it also drowned out the voice inside.
Naoko wouldn't hurt anyone else!
He couldn't!
There was Ko-kun to think about now... so he just couldn't!
Even though... he very well could murder this strange man who had stolen his akuma...
Probably murder him without so much as a second thought...
Lithe hands tightened on the steering wheel for a moment before he sighed, letting the tension in his body out with that sigh, and just focused again on what Ko was saying and on driving. The train passed by and they continued on.
"Actually, Yamada-san is going to give us a video when we get home of the interview and performance. That way it won't distract you from your fish." Naoko said plainly, not wanting the boy to think he'd miss his uncle's NHK spot. "We figured to let you run around the aquarium like a neko in a sakanaya and then when you get home you can see it on the big tv. How's that sound? Who knows... Shou-san might even be home by then too and then you can watch it together."
But then the blond groaned, "God I forgot about that... guess that's what I'll be doing tonight while you're out having pancakes, me?" the pianist asked, totally having let the video game music deal slip his mind completely.
Then again... with so much going on...
Stopping at a light, Naoko glanced back, taking the ipad for a second with one hand and reading the sentence. "Tell me what about this you don't understand and I'll help you figure it out." he said, now that he knew what the sentence itself was. The light changed and he continued driving, now halfway to the aquarium.
