Midnight Butterfly

Edited by Tech Department February 12, 2007 for database corruption related errors.

NOTE: Ok, this is short I know...I've got more written than this, but I felt that this stood on it's own better than it fit in with the rest. And besides I know some of you are probably getting restless and I thought this might tide you over while I finish the next chapter.


If you're anything like me, you expect Nishimura Kyo to have come from a broken home. Somewhere small and loud. Maybe you like to think of him as some prodigy that somehow made their way away from their shitty little neighborhood and became some sort of beautiful artist in the big city after years of scraping by on crap apartments and cup ramen. Maybe you have some other theory? Something far-fetched? Or maybe, just maybe, you think (much as I have come to accept as truth) that God simply woke up one rainy day and said "Let there be Kyo." and BAM, Kyo sprung up like a little gremlin, all set to terrorize the populace.

So then is it fair to say that you would be just as surprise as any of us to see that Kyo's parents lived in a nice big house, in a nice big clearing, in beautiful Kyoto? It wasn't such a huge house, simply a nice size and not at all what one would expect of two people that birthed such an incredibly unique creature. Of course, I had been here before, but it still surprised me. Because as much as I knew the truth about Kyo's origins...I still pictured him springing up from the dirt as God's crooked little minion.

And while we're on the subject of Kyo, as if my mind seems to wander anywhere else these days, I'll tell you that contrary to popular belief he was not, nor has he ever been, an 'angry' child. 'Disgruntled' most likely, perhaps a small bit rebellious, but not 'angry'.

As I looked up at this house, not only belonging to my friend, but --in some small but significant way-- belonging to myself as well (because I spent many days and nights cultivating good humored memories in that house) I realized that we had come so far. So much farther than I had ever expected to go.

Kyo's mother met us in the driveway, smiling sweetly and pulling a general pleasantness from him that I hadn't seen in quite some time. Oh he was usually pleasant, but it was a different kind. This was the sort of 'pleasant' that parents try their best to teach you when you're younger. ''Try" I say because this schooling most usually always falters and fails. Kids will be kids, manners aside. But Kyo was polite while still being very familiar, something that seemed very uncharacteristic of him.

This small, but intimidating woman had wasted no time in assaulting her son with a barrage of personal questions. Questions that, had they came from someone else, would most likely earn them a sharp slap across the face or a ring of black and blue around their eyes. Where have you been? Why don't you call? Why don't you have a girlfriend? Why can't you settle down? But in spite of the offense, Kyo remained calm and spoke to her in a tone that was too polite to be him.

Suddenly I realized I hadn't talked to my own mother in months. I wondered what hell I'd be in for keeping away. She inquired about the tour, spoke her mind about Kyo's less than saintly lyrical style, and chastised the both of us for being more than a few moments late.

And every answer Kyo had given she ignored en masse, writing him off with a sigh. It was clear that they didn't understand one another. And given their worlds were so wholly different, it wasn't surprising. Still, it didn't seem to hinder their relationship any.

On the subject of women, well she left that alone after the initial round of interrogation. Frankly I was relieved she had, Kyo was uncomfortable enough without her adding to it. Her voice seemed to trail off when my keitai began to ring incessantly, a midi version of Myaku starting to life. Politely excusing myself, and incidentally leaving Kyo to answer all the uncomfortable questions...I took it out and answered.

"Now where the hell did you sneak off to?" came the voice on the other side.

I laughed. "Totchi!" Kyo shot me an anxious look. "Ah, I was gonna call you later, you were dead asleep when I left."

"That's no excuse. Where are you?"

"Kyoto."

He spazzed into the phone like a fangirl. "What? What are you doing there?"

I began to tell him, but before I could say another word, she had taken my phone and, as thoughtfully as she could, cooed to Totchi in her best motherly voice.

"Toshiya, sweetheart, is that you?"

"Ah, Nishimura-san! Hai hai it's me."

She smiled. "Now I'm wondering why you didn't come along with the boys? Did you think you weren't welcome?"

I could hear Totchi sputtering from the little speaker. I never realized how loud that phone was...

"Er..well..see, Kaoru didn't really tell me they were going over there. So..."

"Well that wasn't very nice. But I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. So, you just come over now then."

"Etoo....well, I'd have to pack and catch a train but...I guess I..."

"Wonderful! I'll make more for dinner then! You like tempura, don't you? You should be here by eight. I'll make lots!"

"E-eight...what's at eight? I have to pack and..."

"That's right dear. See you then."

With a suspiciously sneaky smile she handed Kyo the phone. "He'll be here at eight." Then she hit me upside the head. "What's the matter with you, leaving him like that? You should learn to be more responsible!"

"I'm band leader...I'm responsible..." I pouted. Leader-sama is always responsible...most of the time...sometimes...whenever I remember.

Absently I could hear Kyo behind me, apologizing. "Totchi? Sorry about that..."

"Ah...yeah. What just happened?"

Kyo smiled. "I guess you're coming over."

You could almost picture Totchi nodding in confusion on the other side. "U-un. That's okay, I missed you. You guys left me..."

"Sorry. I was supposed to go alone but...Kaoru didn't want me to, after all that hospital crap."

"That makes sense. I don't think you should be so far away from us right now."

"Yeah...I guess. That's why I asked him to come along. Especially after..." Kyo looked around nervously, but finding that his mother was out of earshot he sighed.

"After what?" Toshiya asked impatiently.

"After we had sex."

Kyo cringed as he felt a hand crack against his head, his mother scowled. How the hell...where did she come from. "Don't you think it's a little inappropriate to gossip about such things to your friends! I didn't raise you to be so disrespectful!"

"Mom..." She shut him up before he had a chance really. "It's bad enough that you don't have a girlfriend but now you're tramping around with hussys?

I laughed. So I'm a hussy, huh? Isn't that nice. I scowled at Kyo as best I could and tossed him one of the bags that I had been holding onto. "Kyo...that's way disrespectful. You should listen to your mother." Ahhh, brownie points. God I had a feeling I'd need them.

Graciously, God gave the woman an urge to start dinner, and she toddled back into the house, smiling to herself and leaving us to get our things and get inside. But as soon as she was out of earshot Kyo turned to me and smiled. "Alright, let's go." Nodding, I picked up my bags and headed for the house, while he turned right back around towards the car.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked when I noticed he wasn't beside me.

He smiled. "Well, I kept my promise. I came, I saw her, now I wanna go home. I can't take this twenty question crap this whole weekend. Take me home."

I tossed my bags down and crossed my arms. "Are you nuts? We're staying. The woman's fixing you dinner for Christ's sake and now Toshiya is on his way here. The only place you're going is in that house and you'll stay there all weekend."

"No. I won't. I'm going to get in the car and you're gonna take me home."

"Kyo..." There was something in his eyes..."What's wrong?"

He looked to the side, away from me, studying trees off in the distance. "I don't know."

I decided to leave it alone. He'd tell me. If and when he figured it was the time. I had pressed him enough these past few weeks. Now, I wasn't about to make him tell me any more. I walked towards the house. I didn't look back, but I knew he decided to follow.

The house was a typical Japanese home: minimalist decoration, very traditional and yet somehow still very modern. We carried our things up stairs. I had been here before, step by step, staring at, not the pristine white carpet on the stairs, but the person in front of me. It was a long time ago, back when we first started out. I had come here on occasion, spent the night. God we had fun just being ourselves, being nobody in particular. Really...it was exhausting to be somebody.

She put us up in Kyo's old room, it wasn't how I'd remembered, she'd changed it, they'd changed it ... sometime during the years. But of course they had, he wasn't there anymore. I suppose all parents, even Kyo's had issues letting go. Now it was little more than a guest room. His posters were still up, but things were clean and ordered. Not at all how I'd remembered it.

"You don't mind sharing do you? I don't have anywhere else to put you. I really didn't expect another person." She was honest and humble, sweet.

I shook my head. "No, I don't mind. It'll be like old times, right?" Only it wouldn't.

TBC (soon)