Hakusho: Parenthood

Chapter 8: P stands for Phobia

Warning: This chapter is about a child with PTSD and Aquaphobia.

April 2, 2005

Kensuke was a strange kid.

Well, everyone in this world were strange in their own ways, but Kensuke was different compared to most children his age.

He has an odd fascination for cooking: shows, recipes, restaurants, etc. Everybody assumed that he was interested in culinary arts, but little chef, apparently, was a trigger word for some inexplicable reason. Once, when he was handing Keiko spices for dinner she called him her little chef and he broke down into tears. The reason behind that was still a mystery.

He always made displeased grunts whenever it seemed like Keiko or Yusuke missed a spot after cleaning the interior of the house.

He tended to separate himself from other children, kind of like Hibiki, but unlike Kurama's kid, he never did it out of disdain for social interaction. It was more like he couldn't relate to kids his age. Hell, he tried separating himself from his own brother, Hibiki, and Ayako on several occasions before giving up after the seventh "kidnapping". Those three were surprisingly determined for their age range.

He would regard his surroundings with apprehension as if expecting the worst. Passing cars, sharp objects, fire, large animals, and demons were all observed by one paranoid child. Even sudden noises were enough to startle him. Sure, it was normal for children to be frightened by loud noises, but it was to an almost abnormal degree for Kensuke.

And the strangest thing about him was his fear of water.

When he was a newborn, he would scream every time he was placed in the baby tub. He would freak out when water was poured or sprayed on him instead. Keiko and Yusuke didn't think much of it at first, believing it to be a normal baby thing. There were babies who freaked over less after all. Then he grew older and he continued to be scared of water. The ocean. Pools. Bath water. Rain. Puddles. Water bottles. He would cry, shake, scream, and panic every time he even got a glimpse of water. Whenever they asked why, he would just blankly stare at them and not answer. The last straw was when they found out that he was lying about drinking water after Keiko witnessed him pouring out a bottle in the bathroom sink.

They had to take him to a child psychologist.

The concerned parents waited outside the psychologist's in suspense. Keiko was sitting on a chair with Yosuke on her lap, hugging him close to her person. Yusuke kept switching between sitting and standing. He grumbled and continuously glared at the door as he impatiently paced left and right, biting his thumb. Yosuke frowned at his father and glanced up at his mother. He didn't understand what was going on, but he felt that something was wrong.

"Mama, is Kenny okay?" Yosuke asked, worry tugging down his lips as he tightly clutched his Mazinger Z figure.

Keiko affectionately ran her fingers down his wild raven locks. "Don't worry, Yosuke. He's going to be fine. He just needs somebody to talk to is all."

"Oh...Why can't he talk to me? I'll listen too." Yosuke pouted. "Kenny always listens to me when I'm sad. He can trust me. I can help."

"Uh, well sweetie, this is a bit different from that. Kensuke has some complicated problems you probably won't be able to understand...it's better if he gets some professional help instead."

Finally, the psychologist walked out of the room with Kensuke close behind. Yosuke leapt off his mother's lap and scampered up to Kensuke with an exuberant smile, giving him a suffocating hug. Kensuke, resigned to his fate, laid his cheek on his brother's shoulder. Yusuke and Keiko hurried up to the psychologist with matching anxious expressions.