CH 1.1 - Red Flags (PA)

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The Letter

To KIRISHIMA Yuto. I'll be out of prison soon.

I'll come get you back.

Will see you soon

-KIRISHIMA Ruri

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A year had passed since Yuto received that letter. He had been dating Nagisa for a year now.

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Nagisa returned home after a tiring day at school. Of course he looked forward to seeing his precious Yuto again. Although, he had some work to hand in and would return home much later than he was expected to. The older man sighed in relief as he opened the door to his house. "Tadaima,"He called out calmly, letting his voice echo throughout the house. 'As I thought, he's not home yet', He chuckled to himself after waiting for a response. He got changed and made himself some tea while a note stuck on the fridge caught his eye.

The older man smiled to himself as he pulled the note off the fridge. "That's so cute of him,". He cooed happily. He opened the fridge and took out the food that was neat wrapped in biodegradable paper. He was very grateful that Yuto had made food for him even before heading to school. His schedule had grown even more hectic and his fragile frame had grown to be even more frail. Nagisa felt bad for him but there was nothing he could do but offer support and love. After all, with Yuto's graduation getting closer and closer, he only had to push himself for the next few months before he would be liberated for the next few months. The older man heated up the food and helped himself to a hot meal that was prepared with love.

Sometimes he wished that Yuto had more confidence in himself. But he also understood that social anxiety wasn't going to go away so easily. After years of being isolated and abused, it would take a lot of courage and patience to help his precious overcome his fear of other people. Despite all that, Nagisa had already swore to himself since the moment they had begun going out together that he wouldn't ever stop treating Yuto with love and respect, even if he had already got the privilege to see him smile brightly, to see him laugh his head off like an idiot. For now, his small smile and cute shy giggles were more than enough to suffice Nagisa's own happiness. That poor boy had already gone through infantilisation after being abused. He'd used to have asked Nagisa for permission to do even the simplest things like eat or use the bathroom. He had never felt like he was in charge or superior. In his mind, he is the lowest of the low and Nagisa hoped to change that mindset.

After washing up, he sat down at his usual armchair and sighed in relief. He couldn't wait for Yuto to arrive home so that he could praise him and spoil him for the day. Nagisa had already become dependent on his partner to stay sane and to cut ties with his reliance on drinking and frankly, it's working. As he got up to get a glass of water, he heard a car being parked in front of his house. It was odd to him, because the neighbours had their own driveway and plenty of space. But after peering out of the window, he saw a familiar woman step out of the car and gaze at the house cautiously. Then she noticed Nagisa watching and shot him a sheepish grin. That was when Nagisa knew that the day had finally come.

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Yuto arrived home late in the evening. He expected Nagisa to come over to him and hug him. But when he opened the door, Nagisa shoved him into their room quickly. "Yuto, just stay put, okay? I don't want to scare you or anything but your mother's here,". The boy felt his blood go cold. 'What?!'. Yuto gulped and slipped off his schoolbag quietly. "I-Isn't she in prison?". Nagisa shook his head. "I don't know anymore. She said she wants to see you,". Yuto's face was pale, drained of colour. "N-Nagi, I don't want to see her! Please don't let me see her!"He whimpered, his head beginning to spin. The places where he used to be beaten to a pulp by her throbbed, as if it knew what was going to come. He gripped the hem of his hoodie nervously and gritted his teeth, fighting back tears.

The older man hugged him tightly and hushed him. "Of course I'm not letting you see her. Don't you worry,". Nagisa opened the door and noticed that Ruri was watching them from the sofa. "Why aren't you letting him see me?". She had her hands on her hips and looked annoyed. "Because you'll beat the shit out of him if you do,". Nagisa shut the door behind him firmly. "I just wanted to see how well he's grown,". Ruri got up to open the door but Nagisa blocked her path. "You never cared about him before this. Don't you even dare to lay a finger on him,". Ruri sighed and crossed her arms impatiently. "Don't make things difficult for me. He's my son,". Nagisa shook his head and blocked the door firmly. He was going to protect Yuto from this bloodthirsty monster no matter what it took. Ruri rolled her eyes and stood her ground.

slap!

The door behind Nagisa flung open roughly. Yuto was clearly shaking. He clearly looked stressed and when he saw Nagisa holding his cheek, groaning in pain, he fucking lost it. He screamed and lunged at her to hit her back but Nagisa held him back by wrapping an arm around his waist tightly. At this point, Yuto had burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably into Nagisa's shoulder. Nagisa tried to ignore Ruri's annoyed expression while he pat Yuto's back gently. "I'm okay..Just calm down,". The boy was having a full on mental breakdown and Nagisa knew that Yuto couldn't face his mother at all, especially in such a distressed state.

It was going to be a weekend anyway. He grabbed a couple of their clothes and shoved it into a bag. Then he picked up that bag, Yuto's schoolbag and his laptop bag. "Yuto. In the car. Now," He said firmly and handed the boy the car keys. Ruri was appalled by that gesture of his and was even more irritated that Yuto obediently followed his orders. He plucked the bags out if Nagisa's hands and Nagisa went back into the room to grab Chitose, Yuto's stuffed zebra that he had received from Nagisa; one of his presents for achieving a 5.0 GPA, the highest one in his class and the first ever recorded in Yunomitsu. He glared at Ruri as he switched off all the lights. "Please leave my house or I will be forced to call the cops,". Nagisa didn't expect her to scramble away so fast but he shrugged it off and locked the door to his house as he heard the engine of her car fading in the distance.

He decided that he would take Yuto to Misako's house for the weekend just in case Ruri decided to come back for him. Yuto was watching him from the car and sighed in relief when he got in. "We're off to Ueda's house okay? Just for the weekend; in case your crazy mother comes back to kill you,". He smiled and gently wiped his tears away, handing him the fat toy zebra that he loved so much. The boy nodded quietly and caressed the red mark on his face. "She hit you..." He whispered sadly and Nagisa grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. "Hey, I'm okay. You don't have to be so worried about me. I'm more relieved that you're unscathed,". He pecked Yuto's forehead sweetly and pushed him back so he laid down in his seat. "Have a nap. I'll wake you up when we arrive. Cuddle with Chitose,". Yuto yawned and nodded. "Please drive safely,". Nagisa chuckled and covered Yuto's eyes playfully. "That's enough now. You should have been asleep,".

Yuto slept for the whole journey to Misako's house. Nagisa had called her halfway through the journey to ask if he could stay over a bit with Yuto and that he'd explain later. Luckily, his best friend had no problem with that and welcomed them into her house. "It's late, you'd better come in and have a bite to eat,"Misako called out to Nagisa as he pulled up in her driveway. Nagisa smiled at her and woke his precious up gently. "Yuto, we're here. Pick up Chitose and your schoolbag,". The boy rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched. As he reached for his schoolbag, another figure helped open the passenger door for him.

The figure had bright pink hair that was styled like a punk, with bangs parted to the left and the right side shaved off. The figure also had a high ponytail. The figure held out their hand to Yuto, to help him out of the car. Yuto froze for a second and Misako could see what was happening. "Kira~"She laughed and pushed the figure aside. "You're scaring the poor thing,". She then yelled for Nagisa to collect his sweetheart, who was startled by Akira's kindness. "Oi! Shinji! Kira spooked your boyfriend and now he won't come out of your car!". She was laughing so hard that Akira cracked a smile. Akira squatted on the ground to be at Yuto's eye-level so they could appear much less dominant and scary. "I'm friendly. You have nothing to be afraid of. Misa's told me about your extreme social anxiety so I know that you find it hard to trust new people. That's perfectly understandable,".

This was the first time someone who wasn't Nagisa comforted him about his lack of social skills. He looked up and saw Akira's friendly face. Nagisa ran outside to help Yuto out and was stunned to see him take Akira's hand and be helped out of the car by someone who wasn't him. "That wasn't so hard. Go on, run along to your boyfriend,"Akira laughed as Misako locked Nagisa's car for him and all of them went indoors. Akira had cooked some supper for them already and Misako was curious to listen to Nagisa's reasoning for coming over. So the older man told them everything and how it went down. "Well...."Yuto mumbled loudly but he trailed off. Since he was a quiet person, he was sure to grab everyone's attention whenever he spoke up. Everyone at the table waited for him to finish his sentence. "She hit Nagi...I feel so bad.."He whimpered and Nagisa rubbed his shoulder gently before tears began to drip onto the table.

"Come on, you don't need to cry over this. I've already said I'm okay-"He began but Akira stopped him in his tracks. "Let him cry it out. He's pent up with emotions that he wants to release,". Misako just gazed at her partner in awe and nodded. "It's okay. Let Kirishima-kun express himself,". (You need to understand that Yuto is in a room with people much older than him. So he's essentially a little baby to them). Nagisa pulled Yuto into his arms and sighed as he hugged him tightly, tutting him. Akira could tell that Yuto must have been so anxious and scared for his life when Nagisa told him that his mother was there. Akira slurped up some creamy corn soup before plucking a few tissues from the tissue box and handing them to Nagisa. The man mopped up the tears affectionately and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good boy, good boy. Go wash your face okay? Then come back and finish your soup. We can cuddle later,". Yuto nodded and slowly got up, a little dizzy from bawling his eyes out. Akira saw that and tucked his arm around their shoulder. "I'll handle him. You two can continue talking,". Nagisa was stunned that Yuto was being comfortably helped along by Akira and Misako just laughed at him. "You see, Yuto-kun reminds me of Kira's little sister. Always so closed off and afraid of anything and everyone. So Kira might have a soft spot for him,". Nagisa looked like he finally understood why Akira was so fond of Yuto and nodded. "How did you and Tomo-san meet anyway?" He asked, folding his arms. Misako made an "mm" sound and sat up straight.

She cleared her throat. "Akira and I met while we were both having our holiday in Thailand. They were there for their breast size reduction surgery and I was there on holiday. They knew I was the 'one' when I seemed genuinely interested about their orientation,". Nagisa had such a confused look on his face. "Akira's non-binary you slowpoke," Misako groaned and something clicked in Nagisa's head. "Oh...I understand. Alright, I won't ask about them anymore. But do other people judge them?". Misako shook her head as she heard small footsteps approaching the dining table. "No. I only tell people about Akira if I trust them enough. Consider Yuto-kun and yourself lucky,".

Yuto sat back at the table next to Nagisa and the man could see that he had a small smile plastered on his face. "Do you feel better now?". Yuto nodded and hugged his arm tightly. "Tomo-san is an engineer. They told me all about their job. It's very interesting,". Nagisa laughed at the thought of something like that turning Yuto's mood around but he found it cute. "Good for you then. You can be whatever you want to be when you graduate. Even my little housewife,"He snickered at the last part and felt a playful blow to his arm. "Only if there's no available jobs for someone like me,".

Akira whispered something into Misako's ear and grinned. "Alright, Misa and I are going to clean up and set up the guest bedroom for you two. Just make yourselves at home in the living room,". Yuto offered to help them but Misako shook her head. "No, Yuto-kun. You're a guest here. Just go into the living room and sit with Shinji,". So he obediently went to the living room and sat on Nagisa's lap, snuggling with him. "Ah, Ueda and Tomoaki-san displayed their photo in the picture frame I gave them for Christmas,". Yuto looked up to see the photo, it was rather huge and on display. "Ueda-san and Tomo-san are married?"He asked, whispering and Nagisa chuckled. "Yes, darling. They've been happily married for five years,".

The idea that someone could actually be married to someone else happily for years absolutely boggled his mind. "Don't you worry too much about it. I know you don't want to marry me early,". Yuto stared at Nagisa shyly and looked down, a bit sorry for him. He felt like he was really selfish and Nagisa was also just trying to make him happy. "I'm sorry Nagi. If I had more confidence in myself, if I was just in a happier state, I'd happily agree. But because I'm still a student, I'd prefer to focus on my studies first,". Sometimes, Nagisa wondered how someone could be that considerate.

"You don't have to apologise for putting yourself first. I understand, you know? I'm 36, with a full-time job and it's benefits and you're still suffering through university. We have 16 years between us- heck, when I was moving to England as an exchange student, you were just born!"He smiled and caressed his head gently. He knew that Yuto was trying to keep pace with him even though he knew it was impossible. "You don't have to have a fully fledged career by the time you graduate. You don't have to keep pace with me. We have two completely different timelines and I hope that you don't stress yourself for not being on the same page of life I'm on,". Yuto nodded quietly and wrapped his arms around Nagisa's neck, in deep thought.

Eventually, Akira came to the living room to tell them that the guest bedroom was ready for them only to see that Yuto had fallen asleep on Nagisa's lap. "He must be so stressed and tired. Imagine coming home from a demanding day at school to be face to face with your abuser,". Akira sat down next to Nagisa and looked at Yuto's pale tired face. "I can understand what he went through. My parents weren't so kind to me. My only chance at life was to run away from home when I was 18. Well, here I am now,". Nagisa nodded and pat Yuto's back gently. "Where's your sister?". Akira's tongue clicked and they smiled at him. "With my older brother. He got away much more quickly than we did. She's a couple years younger than Yuto-kun but they're basically identical in terms of behaviour".

They sat up and clenched their fist. "She doesn't speak to anyone except my brother and I, hates crowds, hates being confronted by strangers, covers themselves up to hide any marks and bruises. I think you know what I mean,". Nagisa understood what she was talking about. Akira shrugged and leaned back. "I don't understand what's the point of beating kids senseless. Especially if they're good kids, you know? But then again, even if they're bad, no kid ever deserves to be beaten until they can't walk for weeks on end,". Their eyes shifted to look at Yuto's face, that was usually expressionless to mask more than a decade's worth of pain. "After all, hitting the shit out of them always makes it worse for the poor things,".

Akira could tell that Nagisa was taking in every thing they said. They wanted Nagisa to fully understand that Yuto's behaviour was absolutely not his fault, even if he already knew that. But once Misako entered the room, it was like a switch flipped. Their solemn face morphed into a wide grin. "Let's turn in for the night,".

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Hitomi showed up at the front door in the morning. When Akira opened the door, they didn't really know who she was but when she asked for her brother, that's when it clicked in their head. "Your Aniki is still dead asleep with Yuto-kun,". Hitomi nodded and asked for his whereabouts as she was sent to see them. Akira lead her to the guest room and she promptly woke her brother up. "Aniki, Yuto-kun's mother is batshit crazy. She tried to turn you into the police, saying stuff about how you starved him and abused him but I overheard that and caught her in her lie and now she's fucking mental,". Nagisa had no words but he put his glasses on and stretched his arms before looking at his sister. "She keeps trying to strangle herself and to cut herself with the officer's badge and she won't fucking sit down unless she gets to see Yuto-kun,".

Nagisa had never really heard mild-mannered Hitomi curse so much before so he recognised it as a serious matter. "I do feel bad for Yuto-kun, as he probably doesn't want to do shit about stuff that she's involved in but the officers can't have a civil conversation with her at all,". Nagisa woke Yuto up and huffed, fearing for the worst. Yuto was still half-asleep but once he caught on to what was happening, he was terrified.

Upon arriving at the police station, two other police officers escorted him to the interrogation room, where his insane mother was. Nagisa wanted to follow him inside but Hitomi held him back. "It's okay Aniki. He has police protection. He'll be fine,". When Ruri saw her son at the corner of her eyes, she dropped the officer's badge and shook herself off the people who were restraining her. "She has no weapons on her,"One of the officers said and he saw Yuto's nervous face. Ruri thrashed herself free and ran up to hug Yuto tightly, as if a year in prison had made her miss him so dearly. "Oka-san...."He whispered awkwardly and stayed frozen. Even though he wasn't being hit, the thought of her touching his body made him extremely uncomfortable.

Ruri grinned to herself and stroked his head comfortingly. Yuto had never really felt his mother's affection before and grew antsy. "Yuto-kun, this mess is all my own fault. As your mother, I want to mend things between us,". Yuto was nervous and he didn't know how to respond. Impulsively, he pushed her away, bursting out of the room running into Nagisa's arms, shaking. "Did she hit you?!"Came his angry voice but Yuto shook his head. "She..h-hugged me,". Hitomi and Nagisa were stunned at his response. "She hugged you?"Nagisa repeated and Yuto nodded. Hitomi heaved a sigh of relief and checked him for any wounds in case he was hiding it but only marks on his skin were old scars, bruises and cuts. They were all healing up. "You feel overwhelmed?" Nagisa whispered and Yuto nodded, nuzzling into his chest. The older man knew that he had never received affection from his mother before so even something so small left him unable to say anything.

Akira and Misako came running inside a little while after. "Kira told me you had to bring Yuto-kun here. They got all worried and woke me up and kept yapping to me about it," Misako groaned, her voice groggy. Nagisa smiled at them. He appreciated that they were concerned about the situation even if his best friend was still half-asleep when they arrived. Akira noticed Yuto tucked in Nagisa's arms and could hear him crying softly. "Did the crazy lady hit him?". Nagisa shook his head and scratched his head. "No...She hugged him tightly and was very affectionate with him,". Akira thought about it for a while but then frowned after much thought. They caught sight of Ruri leaving the room at last.

"You. If you've always been abusing your son and treating him like shit, you wouldn't have changed so fast. Don't suddenly act like the victim when you already know that he's so emotionally fragile,"Akira growled and Ruri shot them her best Oscar winning look of surprise. "Why would I? I already said that it's my fault. Plus, I didn't hit him, now did I?". She had such a sly grin on her face while walking away it just ruffled Akira's feathers the wrong way. "Manipulative piece of lowlife shit!"They yelled and Misako held them back before they went charging after her. Nagisa sighed and looked at Yuto in his arms. "Say, why don't we file a restraining order against your mother?". Yuto shook his head frantically. "But you're scared of her. She's still abusive". Yuto looked up at him, eyes glassy from all the tears. "I-I believe she'll change one day,".

Akira admittedly let out a loud exasperated sigh. "I don't know, Yuto-kun. I'd advise you to keep away from her for now. She's not in the right headspace mentally,". Nagisa nodded and cupped the boy's cheeks gently. "Tomo-san's right. Starting from today onwards, I'm fetching you to school again. I know you want to be independent but in such a dangerous situation, I want you to rely on me". Yuto nodded obediently and smiled shyly. "Okay, Nagi. I'll let you take care of me,". It had been a while since Yuto had let Nagisa coddle him. Since this year he would turning 20, a legal adult, he felt like he no longer needed Nagisa to pamper him like a child. Although, he did enjoy being pampered and loved by his lovely boyfriend.

When Nagisa arrived home with Yuto, he briefed him about the times he'd be picking him up and the times he'd be fetching him to school. "Okay, I'll send you to your classes at 7 in the morning since I do know you like to read and prep before class. I'll pick you up around 2pm or 4pm? Is that fine with you? Unless you have an evening lecture, then I'll wait for you outside the school compounds,". Yuto nodded quietly as he clung onto Nagisa's arm. "Yuto, please be more careful and alert. You are in such a critical situation where you could really get killed and I don't want anything like that to happen to you,". Yuto agreed and hugged him tightly. "I promise I'll be more careful,".

"If I ever was in a situation to lose you again, I would never forgive myself. You're all I have Yuto,". The boy just listened quietly and smiled to himself. Nagisa did care, even if he was a bit too overprotective sometimes. But it was his nature, he probably couldn't help it. But there are reasons why Nagisa was overprotective with his naive little boyfriend. One that almost cost him that precious little soul's life.