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31_days2008-02-07 04:23 pm
candy--chan.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2008-02-07 04:23 pm
[Feb. 7] [Detective Conan] Rejection
Title: Rejection
Day/Theme: Feb. 7: “Virtue is the fount whence honour springs.”
Series: Detective Conan
Character/Pairing: Yuusaku, Eri
Rating: R/M
When they had arrived at the hospital in Tokyo, Yuusaku had anticipated any number of things. He had expected that the secret could potentially be out—it was. He had expected that the injuries would be severe, given what little they had been told of the situation—they were, though he had not been prepared for the extent of the damages, both physical AND mental.
But he had not really contemplated the possibility that Shinichi would refuse to see him.
Yet that was the state of things. The first night they had arrived, he and Yukiko had gone into their son’s room. He had been unconscious, still under heavy medication to keep him from the pain and help the doctors conduct the physical examination without risking further harm or humiliation to him. They had seen him then, immediately following his ordeal.
Now Shinichi was awake and aware…and refused to see his father. Yukiko could go into the room with no problems, and she spent a fair amount of time in there, just sitting or talking with him, much as Ran did. But when Yuusaku tried to go in, Shinichi would shut down. He would turn away; he had even gone so far as to burrow under the blankets. And he stayed there until he was alone in the room again.
It was frustrating, to say the least.
But that was why he was standing outside the room now, quietly observing through the window. Ran was reading aloud to him, something she did frequently; he would curl up and listen quietly. Yukiko was listening and adjusting the curtains on the window. For the moment, at least, all was calm.
“Something’s wrong,” Kisaki Eri said—it was a statement, not a question. She had seemingly materialized beside him from nowhere, and was also watching through the window.
“…he won’t let me in,” Yuusaku sighed, deciding to confide in the lawyer. “Usually he won’t even look at me. Most other people can at least walk into the room without incident.”
“Oh, I think you know why that is,” Eri said calmly. “He might be brilliant, but he’s not an adult. He’s seventeen years old. And who is the last person a boy that age wants to show weakness to? Who is the last person he wants to screw up in front of?”
Yuusaku chuckled, though there was no true humor in the sound. “His father.”
“Exactly.” She turned away from the window and leaned back against the wall. “And here’s another thought—do you know how often he messes up on cases?” This point was a throwback to a comment Shinichi himself had made once to Ran, who had mentioned it to her mother when the young man came up in a conversation. At the time it had seemed nothing more than some offhanded exasperation, but it seemed to be worth bringing up now.
“How often?” Yuusaku sensed that he should hear the true answer, rather than offering a guess based on his own limited observations.
“According to Ran and the newspapers? Almost never,” Eri said. “When he does…it tends to be when you’re around. Which, to me, would seem to be the time he would most want to succeed.“ The lawyer was quiet for a moment. “How do you respond when you see him make a mistake like that?”
Yuusaku fell silent.
“I don’t know for sure what he’s thinking,” she went on. “But that kid’s terrified right now. Given that he’s scared of everything else, it could very well be he’s afraid of you—or how you might react to the situation. If he’s gotten it into his head that you’ll reject him, it might be that it’s easier to reject you first. Less painful. From that aspect, it also affords him a certain amount of control over the situation.”
After a moment, Yuusaku chuckled again. “Where did you pick all this up?”
“When I was starting out in law, I was on a case that involved some teenagers in trouble. I spent a great deal of time talking with them,” Eri replied. “I picked up a lot from them about how kids that age operate. Especially ones who have issues with their parents. You could spend an entire lifetime studying the psychology of teenagers and still not figure it all out. But this is all guesswork.”
She straightened. “The best advice I can offer is to be patient. I know that’s not easy—if the situation was reversed and it was Ran in there, I would be going insane. But right now…it might be that you can’t help him. So trust him to the hands of those who can. He’ll be all right, sooner or later. He’s a good kid who got stuck in something terrible…and he’s still fighting. Give it time, detective.”
Day/Theme: Feb. 7: “Virtue is the fount whence honour springs.”
Series: Detective Conan
Character/Pairing: Yuusaku, Eri
Rating: R/M
When they had arrived at the hospital in Tokyo, Yuusaku had anticipated any number of things. He had expected that the secret could potentially be out—it was. He had expected that the injuries would be severe, given what little they had been told of the situation—they were, though he had not been prepared for the extent of the damages, both physical AND mental.
But he had not really contemplated the possibility that Shinichi would refuse to see him.
Yet that was the state of things. The first night they had arrived, he and Yukiko had gone into their son’s room. He had been unconscious, still under heavy medication to keep him from the pain and help the doctors conduct the physical examination without risking further harm or humiliation to him. They had seen him then, immediately following his ordeal.
Now Shinichi was awake and aware…and refused to see his father. Yukiko could go into the room with no problems, and she spent a fair amount of time in there, just sitting or talking with him, much as Ran did. But when Yuusaku tried to go in, Shinichi would shut down. He would turn away; he had even gone so far as to burrow under the blankets. And he stayed there until he was alone in the room again.
It was frustrating, to say the least.
But that was why he was standing outside the room now, quietly observing through the window. Ran was reading aloud to him, something she did frequently; he would curl up and listen quietly. Yukiko was listening and adjusting the curtains on the window. For the moment, at least, all was calm.
“Something’s wrong,” Kisaki Eri said—it was a statement, not a question. She had seemingly materialized beside him from nowhere, and was also watching through the window.
“…he won’t let me in,” Yuusaku sighed, deciding to confide in the lawyer. “Usually he won’t even look at me. Most other people can at least walk into the room without incident.”
“Oh, I think you know why that is,” Eri said calmly. “He might be brilliant, but he’s not an adult. He’s seventeen years old. And who is the last person a boy that age wants to show weakness to? Who is the last person he wants to screw up in front of?”
Yuusaku chuckled, though there was no true humor in the sound. “His father.”
“Exactly.” She turned away from the window and leaned back against the wall. “And here’s another thought—do you know how often he messes up on cases?” This point was a throwback to a comment Shinichi himself had made once to Ran, who had mentioned it to her mother when the young man came up in a conversation. At the time it had seemed nothing more than some offhanded exasperation, but it seemed to be worth bringing up now.
“How often?” Yuusaku sensed that he should hear the true answer, rather than offering a guess based on his own limited observations.
“According to Ran and the newspapers? Almost never,” Eri said. “When he does…it tends to be when you’re around. Which, to me, would seem to be the time he would most want to succeed.“ The lawyer was quiet for a moment. “How do you respond when you see him make a mistake like that?”
Yuusaku fell silent.
“I don’t know for sure what he’s thinking,” she went on. “But that kid’s terrified right now. Given that he’s scared of everything else, it could very well be he’s afraid of you—or how you might react to the situation. If he’s gotten it into his head that you’ll reject him, it might be that it’s easier to reject you first. Less painful. From that aspect, it also affords him a certain amount of control over the situation.”
After a moment, Yuusaku chuckled again. “Where did you pick all this up?”
“When I was starting out in law, I was on a case that involved some teenagers in trouble. I spent a great deal of time talking with them,” Eri replied. “I picked up a lot from them about how kids that age operate. Especially ones who have issues with their parents. You could spend an entire lifetime studying the psychology of teenagers and still not figure it all out. But this is all guesswork.”
She straightened. “The best advice I can offer is to be patient. I know that’s not easy—if the situation was reversed and it was Ran in there, I would be going insane. But right now…it might be that you can’t help him. So trust him to the hands of those who can. He’ll be all right, sooner or later. He’s a good kid who got stuck in something terrible…and he’s still fighting. Give it time, detective.”