WEEK FIVE: Saturday (Yuzuru)

Someone was shaking me by the shoulder. "Shino-kun, you have visitors."

"Visitors?" It took a herculean amount of effort to peel one eye open. Megumi, the nurse, was standing over me with a smile.  I yawned broadly. "What time is it?"

"Eight in the morning." Once she was satisfied I was awake, she moved to Mom's bedside to check the monitors.

Who the hell would be visiting me in the hospital at eight o'clock in the freaking morning? Even Okada knew better. I stretched grumpily and swung my legs off the arm of the loveseat. It was the only semi-comfortable place to sleep in Mom's hospital room. Slightly better than the floor, anyway, but after living here for a week I was starting to get used to it. "Who is it? If my grandparents are here again..."

Megumi shook her head, injecting something into Mom's IV. Mom was still sleeping, so we were both talking in whispers. "No, it's those cute friends of yours, the boy and the girl. They came running up here the moment the public doors were open, they seem pretty anxious to see you."

Huh. I stood up, and commotion in the door window caught my eye. Sure enough, Koike was waving frantically at me, with Utsumi's face appearing right above hers in the window. I shuffled over to open the door. Koike grabbed my wrist, glancing into the room like she was trying hard to keep her voice down.

"Oh my god, get your butt out here. We have to talk now."

"You better have coffee," I grumbled as she dragged me into the hall. Utsumi silently dropped a can, still warm from the vending machines, into my hand. I saluted him. "Now that's how you greet someone in the morning."

He rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up his nose, but if he was going to reply I didn't get to hear it because Koike was shoving me down the hall toward the family lounge.

"Dang, Koike-chan, what's got you so pushy this early?"

"You and Seryou, that's what."

I stopped in my tracks, yanking her back toward me. "Seryou? What's wrong? Why didn't you say so? What is it?!"

"You said it was bad when he came to the hospital, but you didn't tell us just how bad, you jerk."

Screw the coffee, I was now plenty awake. "What are you talking about? What happened?" She tried to tug me down the hall again, but I wasn't moving. My heart had started up like an overstimulated drummer in a rock band.

"Well, here, look what was posted online last night." Koike tapped her phone screen and handed it to me.

The sound of Seryou screaming made the hair on my arms stand up. After a second, though, I realized this was a video of the night the ambulance brought him in. The camera followed him as he dashed across the E.R. driveway in torn sweats, blood dripping from the bandages on his hands. He was crying my name, and I saw myself throwing arms around him as he crashed into my chest. The red and blue ambulance lights were casting everything in weird, seizure-inducing colors.

Crap, this was so intense I found myself reliving that moment all over again. The shock as he pressed his bloodied hands to my cheeks, the frosty bite in the air, the much too fragile feeling of him in my arms. From this angle, though, I could also watch my own facial expressions, which somehow deepened the horror of it all. Seryou and I stared into each other's eyes for several distressing moments, my face transformed by panic as he lost consciousness and slumped into me.

The camera wobbled as a rush of people closed in on us, everyone shouting and trying to pull Seryou out of my grasp. I was baring teeth and snarling like a cornered tiger, clutching Seryou to my body. His blood was smeared across my face, and my eyes were rolling wildly. I looked like a mad serial killer who'd gotten caught in the middle of his business.

Man, I remembered being violently angry and scared at that moment, but I didn't remember trying to bite the hands of the people reaching for Seryou. Someone had edited my string of expletives from the audio track, replacing them with bleeps, but it didn't take much imagination to figure out what I was saying. The hospital staff managed to force my arms apart, taking Seryou away. My feet came up off the pavement and I was screaming so loud the speakers on Koike's phone couldn't handle the vibrations. My entire body thrashed, twisted, and kicked against the big guys holding me, while Seryou was loaded up on a gurney. They started wheeling him into the hospital, and the video cut off.

Koike was watching me with tears in her eyes, and even Utsumi looked miserable. "You didn't tell us it was that bad," she repeated. "Geez, Shino, that was like watching a prison movie."

"Who uploaded this?" I breathed. Who would even have been around to take a video like that, at one o'clock on Christmas morning? Unless our crazy stalkers from school were now staking us out from the hospital's bushes...?

"No one knows. But Shino, you guys have started one hell of an uproar. If you thought the Instagram account was bad, well... look at this." She took her phone back, tapped the screen a few times, then handed it to me again.

It was a photo of the Houka school gates. They were closed for break, but someone had plastered them with posters and flyers—so many that they sprawled onto the nearby wall. I zoomed in to read the messages, scrawled furiously in red and black marker.

Houka Academy is homophobic!

Expel bullies, not lovers!!

Kids aren't safe at this school!

Houka administration, protect your students!

And a couple of the most angry-looking rainbows I had ever seen, with the words Love is Love and Hate Isn't Welcome Here written under them in English.

Some of the posters just showed that cringe-worthy picture of my black eye and busted lip, right next to Tanaka's student ID photo with a red, slashed circle painted over Tanaka's face. There were also several giant prints of the picture where Seryou was kissing my cheek, surrounded by hearts. There were what looked like video stills from the clip Koike had just shown me, of me and Seryou gazing desperately into one another's eyes, of me holding his limp body like I was about to go homicidal on the whole damn universe.

"Holy shit," I said, looking up at Koike in disbelief. "What is this?"

"The video went viral last night. The Houka message boards, the Instagram account,  everyone's LINE and Twitter and Facebook accounts, it's everywhere. This morning this is what the school gates looked like. And, um..." She glanced over at Utsumi. "Show him that video you took."

Utsumi held out his phone. "This is happening outside the hospital right now."

He showed me another video clip, a crowd of teenagers gathered near the hospital doors, dressed in winter gear over their school uniforms. They were holding rainbow flags and signs that made my jaw drop even further.

Yuzuru ♥ Touji 4ever!

Release Seryou Touji, Love is Not A Mental Illness

Let Lovers Be Together

Yuzuru-kun, Touji-kun, We Support You!

The video panned across the group. There had to be at least thirty people. I recognized Tajiri and Masamune, a bunch of the kids from archery club, Akaike and a couple of our classmates, those girls Seryou had done his festival dance with, the foreign exchange student Amanda, and... I snatched the phone from Utsumi and skipped back in the video. Was that Hiro and Kanata? What were they doing here, didn't they live in Nagoya? Ah, crap, was that my little sister and her gay-manga-loving friends? The audio was hard to make out because everyone was chanting different stuff.

"Fuck," I said, a bolt of fear electrifying my guts. I pulled my phone out of my pants pocket, intending to send a text to Yuriko, and was momentarily distracted by the fact that I had forty-three unread messages.

I didn't even have accounts on the social media apps Koike was talking about. These were just messages from people who had my phone number. Kids from archery clubs in other cities, people I hadn't seen since middle school. A text from Okada assuring me he would be on the train to Yokohama as soon as his interning hours were over this afternoon. And a thread from my little sister with quite a few middle finger emojis, interspersed with crying faces, demanding to know why I hadn't told her what had happened to Seryou.

I hit the reply button and sent her a text.  What do you think you're doing right now? Why the hell was she outside picketing instead of up here with Mom?

"If Seryou's parents see this," I said frantically, looking at my friends, "they're gonna ship him off to New York for sure. We have to get the video taken down."

"I think it's too late for that, Shino," Koike said with a shake of the head. "I told you, it's everywhere. I even saw a news crew outside when we were coming up the stairs."

"Hospital security almost didn't let us in," Utsumi added. "The only reason Koike-chan and I got up here was because one of the guys recognized us from earlier this week."

"Shit," I said, running a hand through my hair and trying not to hyperventilate. My mouth had started to taste like metal, though maybe that was just the terror. "Has everyone lost their fucking minds? Do they not realize what this could mean for Seryou? What's going to happen when he sees this? What's he going to... arghh!" I slammed a fist into the wall, sending a shock of pain across my knuckles.

"Shh," Koike said, dragging me away from the wall which was fortunately unharmed by my outburst. "You want to wake your mom? Come on, let's get to the lounge if you're going to have a meltdown."

I let her lead me the rest of the way to the family lounge, but as soon as we got there I spun her around to face me. "You guys, we have to do something. I have to stop this. He survived the first time, but what if he doesn't—" I gagged on the very thought.

"Shino, calm down, man," Utsumi said with a hand on my shoulder. They were both looking at me like I was overreacting. "We kinda thought you'd see this as a good thing."

"A good thing? His parents are going to lose their shit! He's on suicide watch right now, what's going to happen when he's dumped on the other side of the world all alone? Oh, fuck, you guys, fuck, this can't happen."

"Shino..." Koike's eyes had gone the size of rice balls.

"I thought he'd died. I really thought he was dead, right there in my arms. What am I supposed to do if he... I can't just... No!" I couldn't get any more words out because I was bawling too hard.

"Okay, okay, we get it," Koike said quickly, taking my arm. "Listen, we'll think of something. He hasn't seen it yet, anyway, and he won't for at least another day."

I reined in my mania enough to wipe my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the internet is full of people with useful information. I've been trying to keep up with comments on all the different sites, and everyone sure has a lot to say. Somebody posted that a suicide watch lasts at least three days, with no access to social media or phones or television or anything while they're in there. So Seryou hasn't seen this yet, all right? We have a little time to figure this out."

I nodded, sniffled, and headed for the door.

Utsumi pulled me back. "Whoa, dude, where are you going?"

"Downstairs," I said with a hiccup. "I'm going to make them all go home."

Koike leapt in front of me with her arms spread wide. "Are you nuts? You're going down there?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to brush past her.

Utsumi's grip on my shoulder tightened with surprising strength. "That's a terrible idea. Remember the girls at school when your makeout picture went public? You want to get mobbed all over again?"

Koike nodded fiercely in agreement, and I paused.

"Besides," Utsumi added, giving me a little shake, "right now you might still be able to convince his parents you had nothing to do with that video being released. But if you go downstairs and get photographed with all those protesters, do you think his family will believe you then?"

Why did Utsumi have to be so fucking smart? "Then what do I do?"

"Think, man. We have to put our heads together." His shirt pocket started making a buzzing noise, and he pulled out his phone. A funny look crossed his face. "Uh, you guys, I'm just gonna go out in the hall and take this, okay?"

Koike and I frowned at each other in confusion as he put the phone to his ear and walked off. But I did hear him say, "Yes, Boss?" in a half-whisper as he scurried away.

Koike turned to me with her eyebrows raised. "Does Utsumi have a job?"

I was just as mystified. "I don't think so." But then, I wouldn't know, would I? Some best friend I was. I'd been so wrapped up in what was happening with my mom and Seryou, I hadn't really been paying attention to my friends' lives at all lately. "Maybe he's joined a gang."

Koike snorted. "Oh, please." She peered down the hall after him, but he'd gone so far from us he was practically all the way to the elevators, and he was pacing in a little circle. "He's not supposed to have a job, it's against school rules."

We both stood there watching as Utsumi came back toward us, his cheeks flushing brighter and brighter the closer he got to our suspicious, toe-tapping stares.

"Are you working?" Koike asked accusatorily as soon as he was within earshot. "You got a job and didn't tell us?"

Utsumi tucked his phone back into his pocket, the blush creeping all the way to his ears, but he didn't answer.

"Are you telling me Utsumi Shunji is breaking school rules?" Koike marveled, looking him up and down with a face that said she was extraordinarily impressed. Then her eyes narrowed. "But what do you even need a job for? Your parents are loaded. Ah! Are you buying porn? You are, huh?"

"I don't watch porn!" he said defensively.

He appeared so embarrassed that I experienced a sudden stroke of insight. "Oh, oh!" I exclaimed, pointing a finger at his nose and drawing up close. "Does this have something to do with that girl you like?"

Utsumi's face darkened until he was the color of an eggplant.

Koike gasped with delight. "Oh my god, what girl? Who is it? Do I know her?" Then she crossed her arms as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, why is she making you work? What kind of a brat makes her high school boyfriend risk suspension just to buy her stuff? Nope. Nope, nope, dump her immediately."

"I'm sure it's not like that," I said, seeing how uncomfortable Utsumi was getting. Teasing him was fine, but he was starting to really get upset. "Eh, man?"

Utsumi nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose again and turning his back to us under the pretense of looking through his bag for something. "You guys, I gotta go. See you later." He shouldered the bag and pressed past both of us into the hall, hurrying toward the elevators.

Koike elbowed me. "Spill it, who is this chick?"

"Hey, don't look at me, I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."

"Huh." She stared off in the direction Utsumi had disappeared, shifting from one foot to the other. "I don't like it."

"That he won't tell us? Or that he likes someone?"

"Both." Then she seemed to realize how that sounded, and cleared her throat. "I mean, I just wanna know who she is. I'm pretty sure I don't like her. Why else wouldn't he be telling us? We tell each other everything."

I snickered. "Jealous?"

"What?" Koike drew back with wide eyes. "No way! Wh—why would you say that?"

"Mm. Utsumi likes someone, I like someone. Now you're the only one who doesn't have somebody they like." Koike never did like being left out.

"Shut up." She socked me in the upper arm.

"Ow!" Why did I keep forgetting how hard she could hit?

"Shino Yuzuru-san?"

I turned to see the top of a man's head as he bowed to me. He was dressed in a navy blue, formal suit, with a high mandarin collar and very shiny shoes. As he snapped upright, I realized he looked familiar. He was an older guy, maybe in his late fifties, with his hair slicked straight back from his face like a vampire and a completely deadpan expression. Where had I seen this guy before?

"Uh, yeah? Do I know you?"

"I'm here on behalf of Takeuchi Yuki."

Koike gaped. "The Happy World Coffee guy?" She turned to me and whispered loudly, "Seryou's grandfather!"

Crap, yeah, that's where I knew him from. This was Seryou's grandfather's butler. The one who'd stood behind his chair all through that family dinner and poured his drinks and spread his napkin in his lap for him and all of that. A sinking feeling came over me. I'd been warned away from Seryou by his parents and his brother. Was I about to get berated by his grandfather too? Damn. And he was my favorite of all Seryou's relatives.

For the first time, I considered that the fun, quirky old dude I'd met in Tokyo had probably seen that photo of half-naked me on top of his half-naked grandson. And if the video of us at the hospital had gone as viral as Koike said, he'd probably seen that too. I'm sure he thought I was a crazy perv, just like the rest of them did. The thought made me sad.

"Takeuchi-sama asks you to join him for a family meeting," Butler-man said.

"Oh, hell, no," Koike said, stepping a little closer to me. "Shino knows better than to walk into that hornet's nest."

But I eyed him warily. "Grandfather's here? At the hospital?"

Butler-man inclined his head.

"What's the meeting about?"

"We expect Touji-san to be released tomorrow. The family is meeting with his doctors this morning to discuss a safety plan. Takeuchi-sama feels you should be a part of it. I have been instructed to inform you that breakfast will be served."

Koike took my arm. "Pfft. They think they can trick Shino with food?" I raised an eyebrow at her, because we both knew that was an excellent strategy. My stomach was growling at just the mention of breakfast. Koike sighed and poked me. "Don't, Shino, they're just gonna threaten you some more."

"Is Seryou going to be there?" I asked. Butler-man shook his head. Well, if Seryou wasn't there, the family couldn't claim that I'd broken my side of the deal by attending. I met Koike's eyes. "This might be the only chance I get," I said. "I have to convince his parents not to send him away. This could be a matter of life or death for him, Koike-chan."

"Shino," she protested as I withdrew from her grasp.

"Let's go," I said to the man, and started to follow him out.

"Shino-kun, are you going out?" Nurse Megumi asked as we passed the nurses station.

I paused and bowed. "For a little while. Is Mom okay?"

"She has more tests scheduled this morning, and then I think the doctors will be ready to discuss next steps with you."

Next steps sounded ominous. I licked my lips, glancing over at Butler-man who had stopped to wait for me. "Should I stay?"

"No, no, none of the tests are dangerous. Most will probably be quite boring, actually. You can check in here whenever you get back and we'll track her down so you can join her."

I had a better idea, and pulled my phone out. Yuriko had texted me back. We're fighting for you, big brother! I scoffed and typed a quick message.

I have to go somewhere for a little bit. Get up here and stay with Mom.

A few seconds later I received a thumbs-up emoji. "My sister's coming up," I said to Megumi, "so have her text me if anything happens, okay?"

Butler-man led me down to the main floor, out of the building, and across to Building C. I knew the route by heart, because I'd only taken it about five times yesterday. I'd kept telling myself I was just going to stretch my legs for a while, and inevitably ended up slinking past the lobby of the mental health ward with furtive, longing glances at those big metal doors. I didn't dare go in to ask about Seryou again, and I made sure none of my stalking coincided with visiting hours so I wouldn't accidentally run into his family. But otherwise, I couldn't prevent myself from gravitating back here over and over.

Now, with Takeuchi Yuki's butler leading the way, I walked right into the lobby. The nurse at reception buzzed us into a different door,  not the big metal ones but a smaller one around the corner from her desk. Butler-man held the door open, indicating I should enter first.

I gulped and stepped inside.

The smell of bacon and coffee was the first thing to reach my senses, and my appetite surged in response. We were in a meeting room, a neat, rectangular space with blue carpeting and an oblong table surrounded by blue-upholstered chairs. There were whiteboards at either end of the room, and a spread of food on one end of the table that included several covered hot plates, dishes of fruit and pastries, a tureen of miso soup, a pot of rice, three thermal coffee pots, and stacks of styrofoam cups, plates, and disposable tableware.

I would have zoomed directly to the food, except that the people sitting at the other end of the table arrested my attention fast enough to make the delicious smells unimportant.

Seryou's grandfather sat at the head of the table in his wheelchair, tidy and stern, his white hair neatly cropped to the sides of his head and his snowy mustache and beard groomed into perfect, wispy points. He looked kind of like a samurai in an old woodblock print. On one side of him sat Seryou's mother, father and brother, dressed in suits and ties, not a hair out of place. It made me hyper aware of the sloppy jeans and henley that I hadn't changed out of in a couple days, my uncombed hair and unbrushed teeth. Oh well. It's not like they could think any less of me than they already did.

On Grandfather's other side sat a lady doctor in a white coat, with bright scrubs underneath that were printed with lollipops. She had her hair up in a messy bun, with several curly, colored ribbons running through it. Next to her was a male doctor in a much more boring get-up, the white doctor coat and plain blue-green scrubs underneath.

Every one of them was looking at me.

I bowed, hesitantly, while Seryou's mother made a dismayed sound and dropped her chopsticks onto her plate. "What on earth? Why would you be here?"

"I invited him, Yui," Grandfather said. "Come in, boy. Help yourself to the food and have a seat."

I glanced at the spread longingly, but didn't touch it. It wasn't what I was here for. I took the chair next to the two doctors, while Seryou's parents and brother glared at me like they wished I would melt into the carpet.

"Father," Seryou's mom said, "this is a family meeting. This... person has no place here."

"I disagree." Grandfather folded his hands under his chin and pinned me with dark eyes. "He's at the center of everything that's going on with Touji. He should be here. Eiji?"

I tried to ignore the wave of guilt that rocked through me as Butler-man went to Grandfather's side. "Yes, Takeuchi-sama?"

Grandfather gestured toward me. "Will you make a plate of food for our guest? I'm sure he's hungry."

"Oh," I said, trying to wave my hands, but Seryou's mom was speaking again.

"Honestly, Father, I don't even understand why you're here. Takeshi, Natsuki and I are perfectly capable of—"

"I'm here," Grandfather interrupted, "because I had to find out from the internet that my youngest grandson was in the hospital." He gave her such a withering look that goosebumps raised on my arms. Ooh, for such a cheery old guy he sure could be scary. I half expected him to stand up, sweep a sword out of his wheelchair and decapitate her right there at the meeting table like a scene from an old movie. I didn't even want to think about what was going to happen when he turned his displeasure on me.

She flushed, and I saw Seryou's father take her hand. "It's a family matter, Father, we didn't want to bother you with it. Your health is so important, and—"

"Oh, stuff it, Takeshi. We both know that's not the reason."

A plate was set in front of me, piled high with bacon, eggs, grilled fish, rice, and salad. Then a second plate of fruit, and a jelly-filled pastry. Eiji, the butler, still had no expression whatsoever as he added a steaming cup of coffee, a small pitcher of cream, and a dish of sugar cubes before returning to Grandfather's side. I looked down at the plate, my mouth watering.

"Go ahead, young man," Grandfather said, and in spite of my best intentions I couldn't hold out. I put a piece of bacon in my mouth. It was like heaven. I followed that with a strawberry and a mouthful of rice, then gave up entirely and dumped the dish of sugar cubes into the coffee to let them melt.

If I was going to get my ass chewed, it might as well be on a full stomach.

"Now that everyone's here," Grandfather said, "Let's begin introductions. This is Doctor Taisuke Aya, Touji's psychiatric therapist."

The lady in the lollipop scrubs bowed.

"This is Doctor Oda Ryouma, Touji's orthopedic specialist."

The other doctor bowed.

"I believe you all know Seryou Yui, Seryou Takeshi, and Seryou Natsuki, Touji's immediate family. I am Takeuchi Yuki, his grandfather, and this," he nodded up at his butler, "is my companion, Shimizu Eiji. Our guest today is Shino Yuzuru."

Crap, they were looking at me again. My mouth was stuffed, so I bowed awkwardly and tried to swallow.

"Yuzuru is evidently someone quite important to Touji." Grandfather was giving me those sharp eyes again. I managed to get the bite of eggs down, choked a little, and took a sip of coffee to clear my throat. It was too hot, and burned enough that tears sprang to my eyes. Thankfully, he turned his attention elsewhere.

"Doctor Oda, I think Touji's physical injuries may be the simplest place to start. Can you give us an update?"

The man next to me bowed again. "The surgical intervention to stop the bleeding was successful. Only one tendon in the right hand needed repair, and it was minor. The sutures are holding well and the wounds are healing nicely. He is responding effectively to the pain medication, which we will begin weaning him from tomorrow at his release. I expect the stitches may be removed next weekend, and then we will see how much physical therapy will be needed."

"Can he still hold a bow?" I asked. Everyone turned to me. It was probably none of my business, but if it were me that would be the very first question on my mind. I glanced around the table. "It's just... he's in archery club, so..."

Doctor Oda blinked. "Well, I would say not for a week after the stitches come out. But then yes, I don't anticipate he'll have any problems."'

"What about the piano?" his mother asked. "He'll still be able to play?"

Seryou plays piano?

"Mm, we'll know more after physical therapy, but I'm certain he'll be fine."

She appeared relieved, and her husband patted her hand. I looked her over a little closer. Compared to the first time I'd met her in Tokyo a couple weeks ago, she seemed older than I remembered. I wasn't sure what it was, exactly. Her makeup was perfect, and so were her hair and clothes. There was just something about her face that was—oh. The swelling under her eyes. It looked just like Seryou's when he hadn't been sleeping, all puffy and sad, only the dark color had been covered by makeup.

She was really having a hard time, huh? I really wanted to dislike her, but she was Seryou's mom. And I guess she was suffering from all of this too, which meant she wasn't a completely horrible person.

Maybe.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Doctor Oda said, pushing his chair back and heading for the door. I frowned. For a doctor and all, he was kind of crusty, wasn't he?

"Doctor Taisuke?" Grandfather said, and the lollipop lady smiled around the table, pausing when her eyes landed on me.

"First off,  Yuzuru-kun, it's very nice to meet you and I'm glad you're here. Touji-kun speaks highly of you."

He talks about me? I didn't even know what to say to that. Tongue-tied, I just nodded.

"Second, I believe it's very important to discuss a plan for Touji-kun's safety once he is discharged from the hospital. He should continue to take the anxiety medication and sleeping aid he's been taking here, and I will be sending him home with prescriptions for both. His caretaker should ensure he only has access to the proper dosage of sleep aid each night. However, he can take the anxiety medication whenever he feels he needs it, until his symptoms are under control."

"What about an anti-depressant?" his dad asked, and the doctor shook her head.

"I don't believe he needs one. At least, not yet. If we can provide him with an environment where he feels trusted, loved and listened to, he may never need it. I don't think depression is a factor at this point, though to maintain the work we're doing he should continue to attend therapy sessions on a weekly basis after he's discharged."

Across from me, Natsuki shook his head. "What do you mean, depression's not a factor? Lady, my little brother tried to kill himself."

My fists knotted in my lap, until my fingernails were nearly separating the skin of my palms.

"Touji-kun is struggling with a very deep fear," Doctor Taisuke said gently. "Fear can make people do all sorts of drastic things, but it's not the same as depression."

"What fear are you speaking of, Doctor?" Grandfather asked.

"One I believe he has been wrestling with since he was very young, probably long before he could put it into words. You have a beautiful, close-knit family." She gestured down the table to Seryou's parents and brother. "Rarely do patients come to me with such positive emotional bonds with their family members, but Touji-kun is powerfully attached to each and every one of you. Normally that would be a wonderful thing, but with such strong attachment also comes a fear of rejection. He knows there are things about him that you may not be able to accept. He also realizes they are things he may not be able to change."

Her gaze swept over to me, and I felt his family glaring daggers into the center of my forehead.

"Doctor," Natsuki said in a warning tone, "your job is to help Touji get back to normal. This isn't about his fear of losing us, this is about the warped ideas that he," he pointed a finger at me, "has stuck in Touji's head."

I bristled. Here it comes. "I haven't stuck anything in him," I said angrily, making his mom wince and his dad's lips tighten with distaste. The room got uncomfortably quiet. I must have said something wrong, but damned if I knew what it was.

One of Grandfather's silver eyebrows twitched. "Doctor, I believe it's in my grandson's best interest to discuss things plainly here. Are you saying Touji is homosexual?"

"He is not!" his mom hissed. "Stop it, Father!"

"He tells me that he is," Doctor Taisuke replied evenly. "And he tells me he has said as much to you, Natsuki-san."

Seryou's parents turned their fiery stares onto Natsuki. "Is that true?" his dad asked.

Natsuki sighed. "It was the middle of the night, he'd had a nightmare, he was really upset. And yeah, he said he was gay." He shifted back to the doctor. "But he's messed up right now, okay? He's confused, because I..." He dropped his eyes to the table and trailed off.

"Because you what, honey?" his mom said urgently.

"Because I took Shino from him," Natsuki finally said. I was kind of surprised by the amount of emotion in his voice. He looked miserable. Well, it was nice to know Seryou's family weren't actually a bunch of unfeeling automatons.

Seryou's dad scoffed. "That's nonsense, Son. Touji dated that girl for what, a week? Over a year ago? Maybe he was disappointed when you started dating her afterward, but something like that doesn't turn a man gay."

"It's not just that, Dad." Natsuki kept his head down. "I was flirting with her while they were dating. She left him to come to me. And then..."

Was he actually going to tell them this? I went back and forth between watching their faces and his. They had no idea what he was about to say, but I did. Suddenly I realized why Natsuki looked so guilty, why he was so sure that Seryou's interest in me was a mistake that he was responsible for. He knew exactly how much he had hurt him.

"Touji and I, we... we were kind of... both dating her. Back and forth. For a while."

"If by dating you mean fucking," I burst out.

His head came up. I expected him to lunge over the table and pop me in the mouth for my crudity, but he just blinked. "He told you?"

Seryou's mom was exclaiming something, but I ignored her. "Yeah," I said.

"Then you understand that Touji is not gay." Natsuki leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"I don't care whether he is or not," I retorted. "And neither should you."

"Now that's interesting," Grandfather said from the head of the table, interrupting Seryou's mom's tirade. He leaned forward on his elbows and addressed me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I said impatiently, "that Seryou is perfect. He's thoughtful and beautiful and makes everybody around him feel amazing. He's so good at just... being good to other people. You guys should love him how he is, and the fact that you don't really pisses me off. You're all a bunch of hypocritical dickheads if you can't see how bad he wants to make you all happy. You treat him like he doesn't have a brain between his ears. You're jerks to him and he deserves better, and it shouldn't matter who he's attracted to because you're his family and you're supposed to fucking love him no matter what."

Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have said all that. But damn it, I was so over these people and their attitudes and their money and their fancy suits. All Seryou had ever asked for, as far as I knew, was their affection. I'd never known anyone who deserved love as much as he did, and the fact that they were withholding it from him just to be controlling assholes made me want to poke all their eyes out with my chopsticks.

The room was silent for a long time, and I sat there breathing hard and scowling. I was waiting for one of them to order me out of the room.

"Well said." Every eye turned to Grandfather.

"Father!"

"The boy is exactly right, Yui. I'm starting to think he knows Touji better than the rest of us do."

"Stop it, Father, I won't listen to this from you. If it weren't for all this damn public attention you wouldn't even be here. Just because you're... just because you also ch—choose to..."

Grandfather reached up and flapped his fingers until his butler took his hand.

"Sleep with men?" he said mildly. "Yes, I admit I'm hardly unbiased."

BACK UP THE FUCKING BUS. WHAT?!!

I stared at him in shock, my attention locked on his fingers intertwined with his butler's. What had Grandfather called the guy earlier... his companion? I'd thought it sounded weird. But did that mean the two of them were...

"Whoa," I said, my breath leaving me in a rush.

Butler-man's face remained stoic as ever. Grandfather just winked at me underneath one bushy brow.

I decided now was not the time to ask if guys as old as him could actually still have sex. Or about the age difference, since I was pretty sure Eiji was a good two decades younger. Apparently their relationship was plausible enough, though, that his daughter was infuriated.

"I may not be able to talk sense into you, Father, but you are not going to corrupt my son! He has his whole life ahead of him!"

"Indeed," Grandfather said. "And I won't see him living it the way I did."

"Mother loved you, you bastard!" she shrieked, rising out of her chair. Seryou's dad put a hand around her waist, pulling her toward him until his head was resting on her stomach in a hug. She wound her fingers into his hair like it was the only thing keeping her from crying. Huh... that was maybe one of the most intimate things I'd ever seen a couple their age do in public. It was really kind of sweet.

Grandfather nodded patiently, as if this was something he'd already had to explain a dozen times. "And I was faithful to her until the day she died. I don't regret you girls, or the life we had. I loved your mother in my own way. But after she passed, I vowed I would live out the rest of my days being true to myself." He squeezed Eiji's hand and beamed up at him. It was the first time there was any kind of softness to Eiji's stone-carved features.

"If you and Takeshi cannot allow Touji to do the same, Yui, then give him over to me."

Doctor Taisuke raised a hand. "Excuse me, Takeuchi-san, but are you suggesting Touji live with you when he's released?"

"If he would like to," Grandfather said.

Then... did that mean Seryou might move to Tokyo? That was so much better than New York. If he couldn't have his parents' support, at least he could have his grandfather's. He might not starve himself to death there, at least. Hope exploded in my chest.

Seryou's mom was shaking her head wildly. "No, no, no! Touji's ill, and you're going to feed these delusions of his until he's ruined his entire future? I won't have it, I won't."

"He's not ill," I said, pounding my fist on the table. "He's lonely, and he's scared, and he's gay. Two of those are things you can change, and all you're interested in is the one you can't."

Grandfather gave me a thumbs-up from his end of the table.

"You be quiet," she snapped at me. "You shouldn't even be here, you rotten punk, you're the one who did this to him. Why are you so determined to humiliate our family?"

Doctor Taisuke stood up, holding up her hands. "I understand what a difficult situation this is for everyone involved," she said, bowing to Seryou's parents. "But I think we can all agree that right now, Touji's continued safety is our priority. In my professional opinion, the thing he needs most right now is a sense of security. He needs to be sure he isn't going to be abandoned by everyone he loves. I'm due for a session with him now. Why don't you all take a break and come back at noon? I can let you know then if he's up for accepting visitors."

"What do you mean, if?" Seryou's dad said.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Doctor Taisuke replied firmly. "While he's here, he gets to choose." She badged herself out of a door on the far end of the room.

Seryou's mom looked like she was about to collapse, and her husband and son helped her back into her chair.

Grandfather looked up at his... er... companion. "Eiji, let's take a walk," he said, and Eiji nodded, directing the wheelchair toward the exit door behind me. As he approached, Grandfather said, "Yuzuru, will you join us?"

"I have to go check on my mom," I said with a little bow.

"Ah, yes, I heard she was here. That would be perfect, if you don't mind a couple of old farts tagging along?"

It's not like a person could say no to that, especially with the twinkling smile he was giving me. Sheesh, now I knew where Seryou got his anime-sparkle thing from. You could practically see white roses blooming dramatically around Grandfather's charming, whiskered face. "Okay."

Eiji held the door open and I led them both out into the hall, leaving Seryou's parents and brother behind.