False Advertising
Fifty-Six
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Fifty-Six
The boy ran as fast as he could, his vision blurred as
the trees raced around him. He was trapped in a sea of orange and navy, the
park turning to a devilish blue as the night was quickly taking over. The
boughs became the arms and twigs the scratching fingers as he became lost in
the maze of shadows. He was crying, tears leaking from his eyes and pulling
back across his face as he ran. His hair was a mess. He'd torn his jacket and
his pants could barely stay up after his belt was damaged. Soon, winded, he
came to a stop in a large clearing, where light filtered in though thin trees –
like the bars of a prison cell.
"Just stop it!"
he screamed to the heavens, hidden by a thick canopy of leaves. "Please!
Just stop," he whimpered, stumbling and falling to his knees. He sobbed,
curling his fingers into the dirt, his face dirty soil. "Just leave me
alone," he moaned, slowly sitting back on his butt. He took a few deep
breaths, just as the racing footfalls of Kazuya came upon him.
Panting, Hasukawa doubled over next to him, coming down
level with Shun. The boy looked away, angry and afraid.
"Shun . . . oh, Shun-chan, are you okay?" He
gasped to catch his breath, pressing his hands on Shun's shoulders. "What
was that all about? What did they mean?" Shun watched helplessly as Kazuya
stared at him, slowly pulling things together as Kisaragi's world fell apart.
"I can't do this anymore," Shun muttered,
holding his hand over the tear in his sleeve. Hasukawa furrowed his brow,
concern creeping over his face. "Suka-chan," he whispered. "It's
true. Everything they said is true."
He could feel it – a pain shooting from his gut and into
his chest. "What do you mean?" he heard Hasukawa say.
"Suka-chan, it's . . . every word is true. I'm gay –
I like boys. I like you." He
shuddered, reaching for his hand and finding it stiffly gripping his shoulder.
"Suka-chan, no . . . I love
you." He could feel him pulling away a little bit but held him steady, new
tears dripping down his face. "It hurt so much to not be able to tell you
the truth, Suka-chan . . . I never wanted it to be like this. When I heard you
say those things to me I . . . I couldn't take it. I wanted it so badly."
He let his hand go as Kazuya sank back in disbelief.
"Sh-shun-ch— Shun. . .
What are you telling me?"
Kisaragi paused before he sniffed loudly, wiping at his
dirty face with the backs of his hands. He slowly moved them down and began to
unbutton his jacket and then the blouse he wore underneath. "I'm a boy,
Suka-chan . . . I'm not the girl you fell in love with." Shun pulled apart
the layers, orange light splashing across his chest – his masculine chest.
His face red by a different providence, Shun just boldly
looked him in the eye, no matter how poorly he could see. He slowly wiped
another muddy tear from his face when Hasukawa finally reacted.
What happens next? :
[Hasukawa faints straight
away.] – Go to Chapter Fifty-Four (
[In disgust, he leaps up and .
. . ] – Go the Chapter Fifty-Nine (