Fanfic: Houdini (1/1)

[smokingmirror]

Title: Houdini
Author: Avarice
Rating: PG
Pairing: Terrorist (also contains Miyagi/Risako and Shinobu/OC)
Spoilers: JR s01e10
Summary: Shinobu's body may be in Australia, but his mind can't leave Japan.
Word Count: 2330
Date First Posted: 14-06-2009
Date Revised - 21-05-2011
Beta: Galux, Eike
Awards: -
Notes: I hated Shinobu the first time I saw him, but a few well-written Tero fics actually got me interested in him. I didn't feel as though I had a good grasp on his character at all, so I set myself a challenge to write him. And I decided to base it in somewhere I was at least familiar with -- Australia :D Covering that little period of time that was only ever mentioned in the manga/anime. It was meant to be a one-shot (and I don't normally write one-shots part by part) but the other two bits followed very naturally, and I like them all together. I think the name 'Houdini' came about by thinking about how he was using Australia as an escape... When the fic began to expand into part 2 and then part 3, I looked up Houdini and did some research on the tricks he would do. When I read the names, I just liked the way they worked as titles to the parts, because I think they do refer to and play some relevance to what happens.
Feedback: always welcome, as is constructive criticism.
Also Archived At: LJ 1 2 3 | FFN

Part 1: Buried Alive.

Shinobu snuggled down into the covers of the single bed. Sharing a room with the son of his host family was a new and interesting experience. It wasn't hugely unpleasant, but he missed the privacy of having his own space. Andrew's soft snores in the bed pressed against the perpendicular wall were the only sound in the room. There was a small, high window on the wall above his head. He couldn't see out of it, but it let in some ambient light from the street lamps outside.

He still couldn't get used to the weather.

Out of twelve months in the year, it was barely cold for two. The stifling humidity of Australia's summer was just beginning to fade, but it wouldn't be gone for long. Shinobu sighed restlessly and pulled his arms out to lie on top of the blankets. Somehow winter here still managed to be somewhat warm. Nothing like winters in Japan.

Right now it should've been getting warmer; the operative word being 'should'. At least, that's what his mind was telling him. In Japan it would be perfect beach weather right about now.

When he thought of the beach, he thought of Miyagi; although why those two subjects were connected, he could never quite figure out. Sunlight and crowds of people, Miyagi sitting under an umbrella and on a towel in swim trunks. He was smoking -- of course -- and maybe had a book close by--

The thoughts were nice. They were comforting and hopeless at the same time.

In his daydreams there was always someone sitting next to Miyagi, someone that the older man smiled at and touched on the shoulder. It used to always be Risako, and that train of thought would send him into a crotchety funk for hours, sometimes days.

Lately though, Shinobu's mind had begun to furnish him with images of himself next to Miyagi; being close to him, making him smile in the way that made the lines around his eyes crinkle just that little bit more.

He supposed it was completely foolish. And yet...

Last time he'd heard from his father, there'd been a brief, awkward mention of strained relations between his sister and her husband. There was some subtext there, something that the elder Takatsuki hadn't wanted to say outright.

Something about infidelity...

But that had been months ago. Maybe it wasn't an issue anymore.

He wasn't even sure who had done what. Maybe Risako had cheated on Miyagi. And maybe Miyagi had--

Shinobu's heart constricted painfully. It was bad enough the man he loved was married to his sister. The thought that he might've been unfaithful with someone else--

He halted that train of thought immediately, squeezing his eyes shut. It hurt far too much to think about.

With effort, he tried to shake himself out of it. He'd traveled to a whole other country to get away from those kinds of thoughts.

Often, he could escape them. In keeping up with all his classes in English, making new friends, interacting with his host family... Shinobu could find a myriad of ways to avoid thinking about Miyagi.

But when he was alone, they returned. He could be working in the library, waiting for a bus, or -- such as now -- lying in bed trying to fall asleep, and they would come back to haunt him.

Shinobu was nothing if not stubborn. Often, he would push the thoughts away angrily, bitterly, furious at Miyagi for not knowing what he didn't have. For being too goddamned blind to see it.

But sometimes, just sometimes, he let them take him.

Shinobu sighed and rolled over in bed to stare at a blank wall. He pulled the woolen quilt back up to his shoulders, brought his knees up to his chest, and allowed his mind to go back to a phantom beach where the sand between his toes was nearly as warm as the smile Miyagi gave him.

Part 2: The Mirror Handcuff Challenge

Shinobu drew back from Lachlan's mouth with the quietest gasp he could muster under the circumstances. He looked around quickly, but no one else in the mostly-empty movie theatre saw the two boys sitting in the back row. Turning back, he saw Lachlan's mouth split into a grin, where only straight, white teeth were visible.

Lachlan was, by all standards, a good match.

He was seventeen, like Shinobu, though he had another 6 months over the Japanese boy.

He was tall -- and Shinobu liked tall -- towering a whole head over him.

He was smart, and did excellently at school work in general, and had even taken Japanese as a subject for two years. With Shinobu's help, he was getting even better.

He had dark hair, and while that might've seemed rather ridiculous from someone who came from a land of dark-haired people, it was just something Shinobu found more aesthetically pleasing than fair.

He smoked. While it wasn't a healthy habit by any means, there was something that Shinobu felt comforted by. He often found himself demanding to wear Lachlan's private school blazer, taking time to bury his nose in the lapel when no one else was looking.

Oh yes, there were many reasons to like Lachlan.

Lachlan was fun. He smiled a lot. He always complimented Shinobu, whether it was about his latest exam result, or how well he was speaking English -- though it had taken quite a while to get the pronunciation of Lachlan's name correct (when Shinobu rushed, it still ended up sounding like 'Rocky').

He was inordinately pleased when Shinobu dropped Australian colloquialisms into his speech, and had laughed until soft drink came out of his nose when the Japanese youth one day calmly observed rainy weather and told him it was 'bloody pissing down'.

There was just something about him that projected comfort and safety, though Shinobu was never exactly sure what.

Lachlan slid across the seat closer to Shinobu, pushing the hand rest between them up and into the back of the chair, and Shinobu let him. One hand drifted to his waist, the arm skimming the length of his thigh as it went. Lachlan's other arm rested atop the seats behind Shinobu's head. They were close, but firm boundaries that each party respected were still in place.

In response to Lachlan's move, Shinobu's arms went around Lachlan's chest, drawing them together.

It was true, the Australian boy was very nearly perfect.

It was just that he wasn't big enough. Shinobu frowned as his arms encircled Lachlan's torso. He was entirely too skinny, not nearly broad enough at the shoulders or wide enough around the chest. Sometimes it felt like hugging a bag of bones.

Lachlan noticed Shinobu's expression illuminated from the screen and grew uneasy.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"What?" Shinobu asked, irritated at his annoyance, out of sorts that it was noticed. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"You sure?" Lachlan asked apprehensively.

Shinobu rolled his eyes and withdrew his arms from Lachlan's body, choosing to wrap them around his own instead. "Yes." He turned back to the screen, brows in a dangerous line. The whirring sound of the projector above their heads was suddenly very audible. He felt bad when Lachlan's hand left his waist; the look on the other boy's face made him feel worse.

"It's sticking into me," Shinobu offered instead, inclining his head towards the folded-up armrest. It had been pushed back as far as it would go, but still managed to stick out enough to be a bother -- at least, if someone were looking for an excuse for it to be.

Lachlan laughed lightly, a sound of relief. With a mollifying sigh, Shinobu tugged Lachlan's arm -- the one still around the back of his chair -- around himself. Taking the hint, Lachlan very gently pulled Shinobu towards him until the boy was flush against his chest.

Shinobu turned his attention back to the screen for as long as it took for Lachlan to forget the disturbance. When it was all but forgotten, he closed his eyes and nestled in further. The slightly acrid smell of nicotine hit Shinobu's nostrils as he buried his nose in the lapel of Lachlan's jacket, and for just a few moments more, he was happy.

Part 3: Overboard Box Escape

"Shinobu! Telephone!" a voice called from downstairs. Shinobu paused, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. It took his brain a moment to process what that meant. Friends called him on his mobile. Family used his host family's landline.

Hurriedly spitting a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink, Shinobu choked out a "Coming!" and dashed downstairs.

Andrew's mother stood in the kitchen holding out the cordless receiver to him. He flashed her a quick smile before taking the phone. Shinobu paused for a few seconds, hand over the mouthpiece.

He walked into the living room. It sounded harsh, but there was only one person he really wanted to talk to in Japan, and it was the one person who was the least likely of all to call.

Almost reluctantly, he brought the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Shinobu," a female voice addressed him.

"Yes?" It was certainly a familiar voice, but his brain didn't immediately supply him with an identity.

"It's Risako," the voice told him, the annoyance easily palpable.

Shinobu blinked. "Oh." He raised both eyebrows. "Why are you calling?"

"A fine way to talk to your sister," she responded. "Can't I just call to ask how you're doing?"

There hadn't been any precedent for that kind of concern, but somehow Shinobu managed to hold that comment in. "I guess," he mumbled.

There was a terribly awkward pause in which Shinobu chewed on a hangnail. After an agonising fourteen seconds of silence, he heard Risako sigh. "So...?"

"So what?"

"How are you doing?"

"Oh. I'm ok." Pause. "About to go out."

"And how is school?" she ignored his pointed hint, sounding almost motherly. Shinobu didn't buy one second of it.

"School's finished for the year. I'm on holidays." He flopped down on the sofa and checked his watch.

"And it's summer there, right? That must be strange."

"I guess..." He began picking at a fraying thread at the hem of his shorts. "You get used to it after a while, though."

"And are you going to be staying for much longer?"

The line of questioning was becoming suspiciously leading. Shinobu responded very carefully. "I'm not sure. I took the end of year exams and got my Higher School Certificate. I can apply to University here if I want to next month, and the entrance exams are in February in Japan. I have time to decide."

"Have you talked to father about that yet?"

Shinobu winced. "Not yet, but I would be back in Japan for New Year. I can talk to him then. I've been invited to spend Christmas with Andrew's family."

"They seem nice. You won't be imposing, will you?" Despite the intended meaning behind the words, Risako's flate tone of voice carried very little emotion.

"No. Christmas is a big family holiday here. They go to the beach and everything."

"That's nice," Risako repeated, and the conversation died once again. Sick of carrying it, Shinobu stayed silent.

In the silence, Shinobu heard Risako sigh wearily. "The reason I'm calling is that I wanted to tell you something before you got back to Japan. I was going to wait, but father said I shouldn't spring it on you. It's about Yoh and I."

Shinobu sat up straighter, fingers gripping nervously at the fabric of his shorts. Five little words sent his heart plummeting into his stomach. He didn't dare to speak, lest Risako stop.

"We've decided to get a divorce."

It was as though all the air got sucked out of the room. Shinobu's hands stopped fidgeting and started shaking.

"Why?" He croaked out.

"It's... complicated."

The news was too surprising for Shinobu to be able to answer that comment appropriately. "I-- I don't understand," he said instead.

Risako sounded strained. "I won't detail it over the phone, but it just wasn't working. Still," she tried to brighten her voice. "It's fairly amicable. And it's not as though you liked him anyway. I remember the glares you used to give him." She forced a laugh. "It always made him nervous to be around you."

Shinobu sat stock-still, staring at the wall in front of him.

Wasn't this what he'd hoped for? He'd tried to be so patient while waiting for the universe to deliver Miyagi to him, but it seemed an impossible request. And as much as it had hurt, he'd tried to stop himself asking for something so soul-destroying and obviously out of his grasp.

Now reaching the impossible was a mere ten hours away by plane.

"Shinobu, Lachlan is here!" Andrew's mother called from the other room.

"Shinobu, are you still there?" Risako asked, almost at the same time.

The idle thoughts he'd had about continuing study in Australia, about moving on, about leaving the spectre of Miyagi in Japan, all died.

"I'm coming home," he said decisively, standing.

"When?"

"As soon as I can."

Risako coughed, surprised. "I thought you were going to wait until after Christmas."

"I've changed my mind." Shinobu had already begun to mentally pack his belongings, book flights, get his things in order.

"Oh. If you need any help--"

"I can manage," he cut her off. "Look, I have to go now; my friend's arrived. I'll call dad when everything's organised, ok? Talk to you soon."

With very little sentimentality, Shinobu hung up. He stayed in the living room for a few more moments just holding the telephone receiver in his slightly shaking hands.

A familiar head popped into the entrance of the room. "Hey," Lachlan greeted amiably. "Ready to go?"

Shinobu leveled a determined gaze at his not-boyfriend.

"Yes, I am."

~finis