From Aoyagi to Tenma

Chapter Two (Toya): An Unexpected Awakening.

The birds of the early morning sang and the world slowly turned to a new day as Toya awoke to find himself under a blanket and having some memories of last night's escape plan. He didn't want to disturb anyone, so he laid there, under the blanket for a good minute recollecting his thoughts and listening. He was scared, that's what he was. Scared that any minute now he'll hear a knock on his door, and everything he did was nothing more than a dream.
He knew he had to bite the bullet of truth sooner or later, but he knew it would hurt. He grabbed the blanket, right on the elephant design that isn't on his blanket at home. He ignored it as he ripped off the blanket and studied his surroundings.
He was at the Tenma household. He could tell by the gravity defying stairs and that Saki and Tsukasa lying on the ground next to him.
He felt a warm feeling well up inside him, a feeling he always gets when he was with them, but it felt different than usual. It felt more forgiving and thankful than usual, maybe because of yesterday, they could've just left him at the front door like garbage, but they didn't. They cared about him, in a way Toya never thought of.
He grabbed the blanket to hide his tears of happiness, and quietly and quickly realized that his bag wasn't here. He checked the clock on the nearby wall, and found the time he was looking for. 5:42. He hasn't gotten enough sleep, he knew that already, but it didn't feel right. Being the only person with the couch. He always refused to sleep on the couch when they had sleepovers, and he wasn't going to start now.
He snuck up the stairs, his father was a cruel man, but he learned stealth and found some good friends, so it isn't all a waste, right? Toya stops at Saki's door, questioning if he truly cares about his father. If he should walk back home and yarn a story that hopefully goes unnoticed to be all but lies to his father.
This single door felt like life altering, no going back choice.
A choice of if blood of your own family is thicker than the bonds of friends. Toya felt his hand trembling as he reached for the door. His father was a truly wicked man. He used his power as a father to control him, and that is unforgivable. It doesn't matter what webs of lies or threats of smoke he put upon Toya, he would always listen, after all his father always said that "family is important" and "friends aren't there for you when family is" what lies he gave. Toya couldn't go back, he knew he couldn't.
This was the biggest step he's made to escape his father's grasp, so why stop now? Take another, no matter how small it feels in the grand sense of things, it every little step the counts, and once you take the first step, the next one is always easier.
The door creeped open to Tsukasa's room, to find a mysterious and heartfelt sight. His chair, that he gave to Tsukasa all those years ago, front and center in the room, like it's on display. Toya knew it didn't fit with the room, but he couldn't care less right now.
Toya smiled as he walked over to the closet, and fished out a sleeping bag, which just so happened to be his from all those years ago. He quietly walked out of the room, down the stairs, and into the living room, where he laid in the sleeping bag, and closed his eyes, his heart never feeling so warm and fuzzy before.
He slept like a baby that early morning to daytime, and he deserved it. The morning sun crept into the window and Toya awoke once more, this time with the others as well. He knew that he was finally where he wanted to be, but he knew he had to fight for it, no matter what.