Little Boy

~Chapter 1:urriurring Memories~

“Let me go!” Manta cried.

“Shh...” Hao hushed as he placed a finger on the thin lips. “You will wake Opachu. And he’s a little young to understand this, ne?”

Tears ran down Manta’s face as he tried to struggle away from Hao. “Onegai. Let me go...” he whispered.

Why was Hao so interested in him? He didn’t understand it. It had been quite a fright to awake, only to find the monstrous brother of his best friend looming over him with a devious grin, and when he inquired as to why Hao looked at him so strangely the brunette replied, “I want you.”

For a kid who had a reputation among his friends for being smart, he felt incredibly stupid. Hao’s answer didn’t make any sense, and what was happening now didn’t make sense either. All he knew was that Hao had tied him down and rid him of his white pajamas.

“What are you going to do?” Manta whimpered.

“You and I are going to play ‘happy game’,” he replied cruelly, then began to kiss the small chest.

“S-Stop!” Manta whimpered, then cried out as Hao suddenly grasped his throat and squeezed it.

“I said be quiet,” Haosed,sed, then after a moment released the tiny throat and went back to kissing the small body. He smirked as Manta continued to whimper, then began to fondle the boy while sucking at the pale skin. He felt Manta begin to tremble violently, then rolled his eyes while placing a finger on his lips. “Shh... It’s okay. It’s a happy game. N sca scarey game,” he mocked.

Manta sat up, gasping desperately. After a minute, tears filled his blue eyes and he collapsed back to the soft pillow and mattress. Slowly he crawled deep under the covers so he was completely covered and curled into a fetal position, trembling and tiny whimpers escaping his throat. Even if it had been a dream, his body could still feel Hao’s touch, and he knew he wouldn’t be sleeping for the rest of the night, less the dreams homehomehow revived Hao so that he may come and touch him again.

He began to cry softly. Even now, a year later, he didn’t understand what had been done to him. After a few moments, he began panicking and quickly crawled out from under the covers and grabbed Sakura, a teddy bear that Yoh had made for him, then quietly tiptoed into the hall. When he was sure that everybody in the house was asleep, he quickly made his way out of his home and ran down the street towards Funbari Resort. About half an hour later he arrived and immediately went around to the window of Yoh’s room. He peeked in carefully, then smiled slightly seeing Yoh asleep in his futon.

Slowly and carefully Manta climbed in the window, holding on tightly to Sakura, then walked over and crawled under the blankets, curling up tightly to Yoh.

Yoh mumbled something, then opened his eyes and looked down curiously at the blonde who had joined him. “Manta-chan?” he whispered.

After a moment, Manta looked up at Yoh, then looked away sadly. “Gomen... I didn’t mean to wake you up...”

Yoh shrugged, then began cuddling him. “Manta-chan? What’s wrong?”

Manta was quiet for a bit, then began to cry softly. “Y-Yoh-chan... I had a bad dream,” he whispered. “Can I stay here? I don’t want to be alone...”

Yoh nodded in confusion. “Of course you can stay. Stay as long as you want, Manta. I don’t mind.”

Manta nuzzled his face into Yoh’s chest, continuing to whimper, then slowly fell asleep.

Yoh stroked the silky hair gently while watching Manta with a worried expression. “I wonder if that happens a lot,” he thought, then smiled slightly. It had been a month since Manta had been over past ten at night, and he treasured every second he spent holding the small body in his arms, providing security and warmth in his tiny beloved’s life. He eventually fell asleep, unawahat hat he and Manta were being watched.