The Boy With The Blank Stare

Chapter Twenty: It was your fault

"Hey Ouma..." I started, we were heading to my house and he just seemed to be doing nothing.

'What?' He signed. This is going to sound embarassing..."are we friends? Or do you consider us friends? I kind of just sprung it on without really asking if you wanted to be friends" Ouma just paused for a bit.

'I didn't think you would want to be friends with me, so this is surprising' he signed 'but bad things happens to people close to me so we can't be friends, sorry Saihara' he signed.

I could see how he would feel that way. Heh...he's actually changing more than I thought he would from our first interaction...unlike with the other's he talks with me more and I feel like I'm really starting to get to know him as a person rather than what he's been through.

He's a caring friend, and one who can't turn to others for help because either they shut him out or he shuts them out. Most of all though...he has a lot of self loathing. I wonder if I can help him get through that...

"Still...I wouldn't care...I really think we could become good friends Ouma-" I started when I got interrupted by Ouma covering his ears and seeming to be whispering something to himself.

I looked down confused "Ouma...?" I asked confused and he just seemed to be shaking when I immediately got down to his level "what's wrong? Please tell me, was it something I said?"

"T-THAT'S w-what t-they s-said..." he finally stuttered out and I froze. I then sighed "it's ok Ouma, I'm not going anywhere I promise" I told him grabbing his hands away from his ears.

He just shook his head and seemed to try breaking my grip "t-the i-idiot s-sa-said th-that to..." I shook my head.

"That had nothing to do with you though! Momota didn't get sick because of you! You shouldn't blame yourself for that!" I screamed.

Then the door opened and I paled, oh no this is not a good time for her to come out...

"Shuichi? Why are you yelling- YOU-" She screamed and I turned around to see her glaring over Ouma before gritting her teeth.

"SHUICHI WHY WOULD YOU BRING THIS B*STARD HERE? WHY WOULD YOU BRING OVER THIS MURDERER!" She screamed and I tried to calm her down.

"Aunt Jin please! He has nowhere to go! His Mother's in the hospital and-" she shoved me away as she gripped Ouma by the shoulders.

"Hey brat, how does it feel knowing you were the one who killed my daughter?! HOW DOES IT FEEL IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT! I LOST MY ONLY CHILD BECAUSE OF YOU!" She screamed and Ouma was just shaking as I tried pulling her off.

"AUNT JIN PLEASE IT WASN'T HIS FAULT!" I screamed as she continued fighting me trying to get her hands on Ouma "YOU WEREN'T THERE SHUICHI! THIS KID WAS A MENACE TO SOCIETY! IS THIS HOW YOU PAY ME BACK FOR ALL THOSE YEARS I SPENT TRYING TO TEACH YOU?! YOU KILL MY ONLY CHILD!" She screamed.

"PLEASE STOP THIS! PLEASE HE ISN'T THE ONE TO BLAME! IT WASN'T HIS FAULT CHIASA DIED! SO PLEASE I BEG YOU DON'T HURT HIM!" I screamed and then my uncle came out.

"Shuichi- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He screamed joining me in getting her off Ouma as he dragged her inside the house.

I sighed in relief as she was dragged inside screaming curse words the whole time as I looked over at Ouma.

He didn't seem to be that hurt luckily, though it seemed her nails had dug into his skin and was causing him to bleed.

'Your her cousin' he signed and I looked down "yeah...Chiasa is my cousin..." I said quietly.

'But what about the picture...I heard you guys...you said you didn't know her' he signed and I sighed.

"I lied, I wanted to know who they thought she was to get clues...wanted to see if they would tell me the story...though I didn't even figure out what happened to her till tonight" I admitted as he froze.

'You know?' He signed and I grabbed one of his shaking hands trying to get him to calm down.

"Yeah...I know...but...if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. I won't leave you alone to face it by yourself" I promised.

I then started helping him inside, my aunt was there in my uncle's hand cuffs and she just glared at me as I took Ouma to my room and got out some medical supplies.

"Your bleeding...I need to treat it...uhm...would you mind...?" I asked and he paused for a second before removing his shirt and I couldn't help but gasp.

All across his body was countless scars.

I snapped out of it before starting to treat the wounds on his shoulders before I heard a low voice say.

"I-It h-happened...f-four -y-years ago..." he started and I turned to him.

"Y-You...s-sure...it's o-ok...?" He asked, he actually thinks he needs permission to talk about his problems? I faced him confidently "tell me, everything you want to tell- tell me"