Ryô quietly entered the tiny room that served as his bedroom and dropped onto the futon rolled up in the corner. He then carelessly rummaged through the small first aid kit he had brought with him and pulled out a compress and a bottle of alcohol. He dabbed at his face blindly before finding the cut that ran along the top of his left cheekbone. He winced at the burning sensation before swearing to himself. No doubt he was going to get a bruise. He was about to repeat the action when the door burst open, startling him. 

Ryô tensed as he recognized the woman who had entered. Medium height, jet-black hair tied back in a traditional bun... Beautiful overall, despite her bony features... and that is if you excepted the frightening hardness that oozed from her entire being and from her face in particular.

"Here you are at last! Where have you been?"

"Hori took me with him for this business about the petty dealers and..."

A steely grip lifted her chin.

"What's that again?" she growled, pointing at the mark he'd just been dealing with.

"They had knives..." he grumbled, and he'd been foolishly tricked.

"Idiot! Your face and your looks are about the only thing of value one can get out of you, so at least try to preserve them."

He chose not to comment and nodded as she released him.

"Yes, Obasan..."

My aunt... he thought... The title had ended up meaningless to him, for all it mattered... or perhaps it would have been less difficult to know that she was just a stranger.

The latter sighed loudly.

"Well, Lady Sadaki is visiting my husband, and your presence is desirable."

Ryo's stomach tightened even more. Lady Sadaki, oh no... she... He attempted to protest.

"But, Obasan... I... I'm of no use and..."

"We didn't ask for your opinion. You apparently made a good impression on that pain in the neck, so it's time to keep going!"

He couldn't help himself.

"But... she... she..."

He wrapped his arms around himself.

"I don't like her, last time she kept looking at me strangely, to… touching me and..."

He staggered from the slap that took him by surprise.

"That's exactly why you're going to do me the favor of making yourself presentable and joining us immediately. You'll bring the tea."

She turned on her heel and left, letting out an annoyed whistle.

"Consider yourself lucky, at least Sadaki isn't so unpleasant to look at."

Holding his cheek, Ryo watched her leave, wide-eyed and stunned, then he dropped to his knees. It was a nightmare, this wasn't real... he couldn't have understood correctly.

"And shake it off!" someone shouted from the distance.

Painfully, he got to his feet with a murmur.

"Yes, Obasan..." He absentmindedly checked that his cheek was no longer bleeding, then left his room as well.

The arm and torso would wait until evening...

~*~

Ryô was brutally thrown to the ground and remained there, kneeling, preferring to keep his head down for the moment... and not look at his uncle's furious face.

"Tell yourself once and for all that you will never have any privileges just because you are my wife's nephew," he thundered. "Everyone here must do what is necessary for the house."

Ryô refrained from sneering at the use of that name even as half a dozen men in black, just his closest relatives, waited stoically behind him.

"You have displeased Lady Sadaki," his uncle continued, his tone lower, but just as threatening. "Your fault falls on the clan, on me... Fortunately, she is very generous, and I expect you to make amends." Ryô shuddered as he felt the woman's hands slip under his tunic again, moving down and... he closed his eyes.

“She wanted… She wanted to rape me!” he yelled.

He didn’t know if the term was an exaggeration, but that was how he felt.

“Rape you… And what do you think you are to reject her favors?!”

This time, Ryô raised his head proudly, his eyes sparkling with anger.

“I’m not a whore!” he uttered, his voice betraying barely contained rage and indignation.

“Enough!” An order rang out, and two men approached, grabbing Ryô arms and wrenching them backward, making him bend his back even further.

His uncle then roughly lifted his chin, half crushing it in the process.

"That's enough," he continued in an icy voice. "As long as you're here, you'll do as you're told, like everyone else. And I won't tolerate the slightest deviation, understand?"

He straightened up, once again releasing Ryo, who had until then held his gaze unwaveringly. He made a sign, and Ryô's eyes widened as he saw Hori approaching, a wooden sword in hand.

His uncle's voice barely reached him, his mind still unable to convince itself of the reality of this scene.

"In the meantime, take care of him. My mercy has limits! But don't damage him too much, so he can carry out his task."

Incredulous, Ryô watched what was officially his uncle leave the room and couldn't hold back a cry of pain, the first blow taking him by surprise. Definitely, and violently convinced that this nightmare was reality, he clenched his teeth and faced the rest of the punishment in stubborn silence.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the torture ended and he was carried, semi-conscious, to his room. Left alone, he curled up on the floor. Trembling and clenching his already aching fists, he tried to swallow his sobs.

No... He had sworn, after the death of his parents, that he would never cry again. The day after tomorrow was his birthday... He was a man now... He would not cry...

Indifferent to his bruised body, to his reopened cuts staining the floor with blood, Ryô let physical and mental exhaustion bring him the relative peace of restful sleep. Two days later, Ryô was tasked with escorting Sadaki home after her visit. He then swore to himself, on the day of his sixteenth birthday, he would forget that he had ever had a heart.

~*~

"Ryo-kun! Ryô-kun, wake up!"

Yoshio gently shook the young man again, who was now sobbing in his restless sleep.

The young man finally opened his eyes, his gaze lost, without seeming to recognize him. Yoshio then squeezed his hand.

"It's okay. It's over. We're in the hospital, in France..."

Ryo slowly recovered, then finally seemed to realize and sat up quickly, withdrawing his hand.

"So... Sorry. I woke you up."

Yoshi shook his head.

"No, no, don't worry. Are you better now?"

"Yes... Yes, thank you."

Ryo looked down, embarrassed.

The doctor nodded, sensing the young man's reserve had returned.

- Try to rest a little longer and... if you need anything, know that I'm here to help you, or if you want to talk...

Ryô having timidly nodded, he returned to his own bed, not wanting to rush him. He just hoped the young man would dare to confide in him to overcome this ordeal... but it was unlikely.

How blind he had been. Since the accident, he had discovered tiny facets of the real Ryo. From the start, he had been repelled by his wild and rebellious nature. He had ignored it. Only Seishi-kun had taken the trouble to look beyond this appearance and try to reconcile this raw heart with himself and with others. And, just as Ryo was beginning to open up to the outside world again, this support was brutally and tragically taken away from him.

It was a little late to make up for his negligence, but at least now he was going to do everything he could to help the young man face this ordeal, it was also his responsibility after all and it was time to remember that.