alice nine fanfic Cross Game

Title: Cross Game
Author: <lj user="vampire_kiki"> (Saga's side) and <lj user="chibi_bisque"> (Tora's side)
Beta: Kuni Klein
Band: Alice Nine and possibly mention of other Jrockers
Pairings: ToraxSaga (main), maybe some other later
Rating: R to NC-17 (much later)
Genre: AU, very AU; drama and probably failed attempts at being humorous.
Warning: smut, mpreg and angst
Summary: it's a request for my friend <lj user="cream4me">, who provided the basic plot. But it's the first time I tried to write about mpreg (male pregnancy) so don't be too hard on me if I messed things up, okay?
PS: the A9 boys probably look something close to this in that story!
<lj user=vampire_kiki>'s Note: it's the first time I wrote a story with no character dying/tortured, and no one will go crazy and/or abusive; not to mention you won't see vampires or other monsters popping up, it's just so unlike me; still I hope you will enjoy it.

Prologue


During a late afternoon in midsummer, Saga felt like fainting when he was on his way back home. The hot weather that had lasted for the last few weeks was climbing up to a new peak; the steamy wave of heat, which seemed as though it was radiating from the sun-bathed ground, was making the blond young man sick. Much to his misfortune, he still had about a block to walk before he could reach his destination.

Wiping off a bead of tiny sweat from his forehead, Saga's thoughts turned to the one place he was heading back to, a place he had called his own 'home' for many years, a place where, much to his fear, might soon not be welcoming him any longer.

'Home' to him was the house of his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Amano, whom had been his guardians and had raised him as if he were their own child for the past ten years. The Amano couple took Saga into their care soon after his own parents passed away in a car accident, despite the fact that they already had two children of their own to rise. His uncle and aunt had done anything parents would for him and provided him somewhere he could call 'home'. In return, Saga had treated them with gratefulness and respect, swearing to himself that he should never displease his beloved guardians.

A dull pain began to swell inside of his heart once the blond thought of the Amano couple. If they actually found out about the situation he had stupidly landed himself in, if they found out what had happened between him and…a certain someone, his guardians would surely be astonished!

And they would be so very disappointed with him.

Then the sound of cicadas from above the treetops suddenly grew from the previously faint buzzing into a dizzying noise, a countless number of cicadas' singing seemed to echo within Saga's skull at maximum volume.

The noise in his head was so bad that Saga had to slow down despite the consuming heat, his hands reached up to press against the sides of his head as he tried to force himself not to think of the Amano's, not for the time being anyway, he could not handle those thoughts when he sensed the pressure beneath his skull increasing, the sign of a new jolt of headaches.

He kept himself carefully under the shade of the trees alongside the sidewalk to avoid further direct exposure to the afternoon sunlight. And once the blond caught sight of the white features of his guardians' household from a distance, he forced himself to gather up his strength to speed up a little, hoping to go back to the indoor environment as soon as he could……

No…Saga thought to himself, his uncle and aunt did not have to know. He was still clinging to the hope of solving everything before anyone else found out about his…condition. No matter how impossible it might seem for a youngling like him, who was still a few months away from high school graduation, he was trying to handle something as serious as this without informing his guardians or any other adults, keeping such a huge secret from the peering eyes of people. Saga knew well that it wasn't likely for him to make it on his own, so now his only hope laid upon one person, the only one he thought would give him help when he needed it the most, the only one he could trust to tell his big secret.

And that person had listened to him with understanding and patience that touched Saga like nothing else, then this person had thought deep and long after hearing his pleas, and eventually promised to help him, in the limited ways he could.

If only Nao would keep his promise…….

Still deep in thoughts, Saga hardly realized he was by now in front of the gate to the Amano's household; he unlocked the gate before making his way toward the spacey, simply-designed but gorgeous building he had lived in for years.

Out of habit, he slipped through the front door as quietly as he could, much to his relief he saw no one when he went across the short corridor until he reached the bottom of the stairs, then he began to make his way to the second floor. Quickly he reached to his own bedroom and slipped into it before locking the door behind himself. He sighed in relief, though it felt strange to find his sanctuary only within this bedroom, while he constantly felt uncomfortable and disturbed whenever he was in another part of the household.

First Saga put down his bag from his shoulder, then he removed the tie and the soaked shirt of his school uniform, throwing them to the floor while picking up a towel nearby and started wiping the cooling sweat away with it. He was about to put on a clean t-shirt when someone from outside the room tried to turn the handle before knocking, catching his attention.

"Who's it? I'm changing!" he called out while putting the t shirt all the way down, hoping his answer might be enough to hold back whoever that was knocking on the door. Saga did not meant to be anti-social but right now after a tiring day in school and with his strength weakened due to the summer heat, he didn't think he was fit to be anyone's company.

"Saga, it's me."

The voice from behind the door was by no means unfamiliar, it was Nao, the older son of the Amano couple, Saga's own cousin, though he really did not expect to find someone else in the house at that hour, maybe one of the cleaning-maids, but not a family member.


The blond haired youth relaxed a little when he knew it was Nao. He opened the door at once, thinking Nao was there for a private talk between them.

But instead of stepping in like Saga had expected, Nao stood still in front of the door, with clearly no intention to walk in.

"We need you downstairs." The brunette told the younger one as simply and gently as he could; he did not want to scare his cousin or alarm him.

By now, Saga started to realize his mistake. Not only Nao was home, which was unexpected enough; but in fact there were more persons in the household, and somehow he was now summoned to join them.

Saga tried to read Nao's face, he saw only the brotherly warmth and concern in the brunette's eyes which he was familiar with. Still, beside these the latter's neutral expression told him nothing, having no other choice the younger one gave his cousin a worried look before obediently following Nao's lead, walking to the stairs. He was not happy about it, at the back of his mind Saga probably knew something was coming up, but he tried his best to ignore the veiled bad feeling.

Nao led him all the way to the dining room downstairs. Once entering Saga was shocked to see the rest of the Amano family sitting there around the long wooden dining table. The first ones he saw were his uncle and aunt, who were sitting upright next to one another at the end of the table, their faces unexpectedly serious. Sitting slightly away from them was their younger son, Tora.

The raven-haired youth's presence in here was even more of a shock due to the fact that nowadays his second cousin wasn't known to come home at such an 'early' hour.

Tora raised an eyebrow and glanced at him with veiled annoyance once he realized Saga's eyes were on him. Eventually the blond had to look away, unable to handle such a gaze from the older one after what the latter had put him through.

He could not decide whether to find a seat or to remain standing, either of them felt rather unfitting at the moment, with heavy silence hovering above them, no one was talking and the atmosphere was so tensed that you might slit the still air in the room open with a knife like cutting through a piece of butter.

When Saga was still struggling with himself to figure out what to do next, he heard the sound of the doors closing from behind. Disturbed, he turned back only to see Nao shutting the double doors that led to the hallway outside, isolating them from the rest of the household.

Saga was still trying to convince himself that everything was going to be okay, had to be; even though he just could not shake off the impression of being trapped here.

"Saga," Mr. Amano broke the suppressive silence by uttering his beloved nephew's name, his calm voice not matching the turbulence of emotions he had been feeling inside. "Please sit down."

Saga did as he was told. If possible, he was getting even more nervous; his uncle had not used that kind of formality with him for a long time.

With the corner of his eyes, he saw Nao taking a seat next to him as if for moral support. And Saga felt he was going to need any single bit of support to survive whatever would come.

A long pause with no one speaking first and Tora was looking increasingly impatient, seeming that like Saga himself, the raven-haired had no clear idea what the meeting was for.

"Saga dear," This time it was his aunt who addressed him first, the middle age lady spoke with her eyes fixed upon her nephew, her expression somewhere between doubt and sadness. "Do you have something to tell us?"

To Saga, it was when realization hit him with its full force. He looked up to the Amano couple and their grave expression only confirmed what he had just realized. They…they had already known!

And there was only one possible way for them to find out so soon; Nao must have told them!

The youth looked back helplessly at his older cousin, whose only reply was a pleading look upon his face, saying nothing. Saga's jaw tightened once he thought even Nao would not stand up for him, and he had to face the circumstance of his foolishness, right now.

But Nao had promised that he would help him through this, he had promised……so why would he do this to him?

"….No." Desperately, Saga answered with the first thought in his chaotic mind: denial. His head bent low, not able to meet either of his guardians' gazes. He had no time to overcome the shock, he didn't even have time to blame Nao of breaking his promise, right now, he could only hopefully steel himself up as best he could to face whatever blow was to come.

"Really?" Mr. Amano raised an eyebrow, in a manner that was so similar to that which his second son had just done previously. His question was uttered with a tone laced heavily with disappointment that pained Saga more than anything else did. He knew his uncle distasted liars and now unluckily, he had already become one.

The head of the Amano's family was about to say something more when he was interrupted much to everyone else's surprise.

"Just wait a second, Father!" It was Tora who straightened himself from his seat, speaking ahead of Mr. Amano, cutting the older man off with little politeness. "If you and Mother want to talk to Saga, there's none of my business. I'm out of here."

Mr. Amano stared at his own son with displease and anger written clearly across his feature, within the next second the rage seemed to be radiating rapidly from his lean body. Then before Tora could turn away and leave, the older man burst out.

"None of your business, you said? How. Dare. You!?" Mr. Amano snapped between his clenching teeth. With both his palms banging loudly against the wooden table, he stood up and roared at his son, pointing at him with an accusing finger as he continued. "You, I think you also have a little tale or two to tell to us! All your mischief, all the sneaking behind our backs! Don't you dare be thinking we aren't aware of---"

The rest who presented in the room stared at Mr. Amano in astonishment as he roared on, never before did they ever see the man unleashing such wrath toward his own children.

"Cut the crap!" Tora seemed to be the first one to recover from the shock, and he did not hesitate as he fought back. "I have nothing to do---"

"With Saga pregnant with your child, you damn well have everything to do with what we're about to discuss next!"

The effect of Mr. Amano's words was like dropping down a bomb, everyone in the room—including Tora, went absolutely silent and still after that. At that fatal moment, Saga felt another wave of nausea blooming from the bottom of his empty stomach; he pressed a palm against his mouth in order to suppress the urge. At that very moment, he wanted to faint and to be oblivious, but he had no such luck. Instead, he was very aware of the awkward silence in the room, and everyone's eyes fixing upon him, above all he felt Tora's eyes burning into him.

After a long moment, Saga did look up to meet the other man's gaze. His second cousin's face was a display of astonishment, disbelief and veiled rage—nothing that the younger blond hadn't already guessed. But what he really didn't foresee was what Tora was going to say.

The raven head took a careful step toward where Saga and his brother were sitting, his body visibly tensed. His eyes held Saga's as he struggled to find words after the great shock of his Father's revelation.

"S-So that's true?" Ignoring the rest of his family, Tora spoke directly and singularly to his younger cousin, though his voice was far from steady. "That you're…you are---"

He could not even bring himself to say it! Saga thought bitterly as he bit his lower lips due to great nervousness. Vaguely he felt Nao placing a hand upon his shoulder, stroking him in what he attempted to be a comforting manner, but it did little to help Saga strengthening himself as he faced the most difficult moment of his life.

He knew there was no escaping it, the answer that everyone was waiting for. So he nodded.

Tora gasped in response, and then he turned away from Saga to argue with his own father. Saga could hardly make out the exchange of words between father and son since his mind was in utter chaos. But in the haze of his consciousness, Tora's sharp voice still managed to cut right into his mind cruelly.

"How can I be sure it's mine? He might well be sleeping around with---"

Before he knew what himself was doing, before anyone could stop him, Saga sprang into action.

Tora's unfinished accusation was cut off by the loud sound of a hard slap across the face, delivered by an enraged Saga. And Tora's handsome face was turned to the side due to the force.

With the burning red mark at the side of his face clear for everyone to see, Tora slowly turned his head back to face his younger cousin, who was still trembling with wrath, never before Saga had proved himself to be capable of such violent act, even the blond was for a moment at a loss for words.

Still he met the cold dark pools of blackness that were his cousin's eyes bravely, not willing to be defended by that one person who had already fooled, manipulated him in the past and now humiliated him beyond his imagination.  

"It's yours." Saga hissed under his breath, his gaze stabbing daggers toward the other man. "Don't you dare insult me again, I'm done with being a fool already!"

With that he turned away, throwing open the doors and broke into a run.

To be continued…

Comments are love, mind you.