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Chapter 9   / Chapter 10   /   Chapter 11   /   Chapter 12

“What?!” Jun asked confused. His father had left the country earlier?! But how... why?

“Everything will be revealed on its time. I think I should say some things about Sho first…”

“Sa- toshi…” Sho tried to speak but his condition wouldn’t let him.

“Sho… At this point there’s no point of hiding things. It’s better if everyone knows the whole truth. I won’t say anything just to make them look differently at you. I just believe they should form their opinion for you after having heard the whole truth. Trust me…” Satoshi’s voice was soft but Sho was already trembling. He crawled a bit to his right and his hands tried to find Masaki’s. Masaki immediately took them inside of his. He looked like a defenseless little child that desperately looked for a shelter.

Masaki couldn’t feel at ease. He could understand from Satoshi’s words and Sho’s reaction there was something; something that made his heart beat too fast.

Satoshi took a deep breath and looked back at Jun. “Matsumoto-kun you said that Sho is not the only one who’s suffered. I won’t deny that… as I also won’t deny that you have all the rights to feel like that but nothing actually gives you the right to hit him like that. You don’t know him… I do…”

Silence was spread among them as Satoshi tried to calm himself down and start narrating. “I first met Sho when I was at second grade. He was the new kid that had come to my class. He was not speaking to anyone. He would only speak if it was for an answer to the teacher’s questions. Somehow he looked like me… you know silent, someone who preferred to stay in his own world… but as I looked at him closer I could distinguish sadness, perhaps pain in his eyes… I just felt he needed someone… a friend. I was a loner by choice while he seemed a loner perforce.

I don’t really know why but I tried to come closer to him though he wouldn’t accept me. So, I would just sit next to him, talking to him about many things… I knew he was listening, even though he wouldn’t say anything… It was perhaps the time I had spoken the most in my life… but somehow I liked it. I could sense the attention he had on me and I tried even more. Then, around three months later, little before our summer break, I heard the first reply coming out from his mouth: ‘You should paint it! Your Songoku looks really good!’” Satoshi closed his eyes as his lips formed a faint smile.

“From that moment, we would talk about games, manga… or should I be more accurate I would speak and he would listen but he would always make questions… I could see him smile and his eyes sparkle as he read something new… he seemed as if he had no idea what was going on… it wasn’t until a few years later that I found out that his father was following a specific pedagogic model to raise him up…”

“Satoshi!” Sho yelled as loud as he could in that state. He was trying desperately to make Satoshi stop from continuing his narration but with no luck.

Satoshi seemed to pay no attention to his friend’s desperate voice and continued without looking at him. “I could see bruises on his arms or his legs but I didn’t pay much attention… I had some of them myself… especially when I was riding my bike back home… but as I grew older I could tell that something was out of place. There were times, that he seemed as if he wasn’t listening to me at all… as if he was locked up entirely in his own world… what made me curious is that always new bruises would accompany this strange behavior…

One time when we were at fifth grade I followed him as he was returning home just to see his father grabbing him by the collar and dragging him into the garden while swearing. I couldn’t know what had happened. I could only hear Sho’s screams ‘Please… I won’t do it again! I promise… Don’t take me there… Please…’ I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. Sho’s voice was desperate and I was standing there… I couldn’t do anything… I felt so useless at the moment, watching my best friend be treated like that and still not being able to do anything... ” Satoshi sighed as he tried to blink away a tear that formed in his eye.

“The next morning Sho looked as if he was not a part of this universe. And although he tried to hide them I saw some really bad bruises. It was lunch time… We were eating silently when suddenly I felt him embracing me. It was his time to break. I don’t even remember how much time passed before Sho could control his sobs a bit. He told me everything. Sakurai Shun wasn’t his real father. His real father was in prison. Sho wanted to visit him, he wanted to have his name but of course something like that wouldn’t go according to Sakurai’s point of view. For Sakurai Shun, Sho was like a gift given from Heaven, or in his case, I should say from Hell.” Satoshi laughed bitterly. “It was the perfect masquerade to be able to pursuit his political career. A happy family always gives you a bonus in similar cases right?!

He wanted his son to be like a robot and Sho was way too far from that. For Sho, his true father existed and he had a name. He had no intention to become the son Shun decided to exploit for his own benefit. But that turned out to be not such a wise choice. Leaving him unfed for one or even two days if it was weekend would be the most harmless method of discipline according to Sakurai Shun. Beating him up with leather would be another one. But Sho seemed too stubborn for his likings so he had to invent something innovative; something that would definitely make him change his mind and obey.

It was then Sakurai Shun thought of the basement. You know… remaining in the dark for 48 hours can start make your mind think differently. Being told things repetitively over your father can have a great impact on a tortured mind… Once Sho told me all that, I immediately called the police but would a ten year-old boy have any chance to win against the super powerful Sakurai Shun?! I guess not…”

“Satoshi… please… stop it…” Sho was now literally glued on Masaki. “Stop it please…” his voice was trembling.

Satoshi simply continued. “You know psychological punishment can be way more effective… and I saw it with my own eyes… First semester, second year of junior high school: Sho standing at the edge of our school’s roof, ready to jump…”

Masaki gasped. He turned his head a bit, his eyes meeting Sho’s. You had so much pain inside… You have suffered so much… You… He wanted to transmit through that move all of his feelings; all the reassurance Sho might need. He could tell that Sho was a mess inside at the moment; perhaps embarrassed or guilty but for Masaki was as if every single part of Sho’s behavior those three years he knew him was now finding its explanation, and just couldn’t help it but feel the guiltiness inside him grow even bigger, making the pain in his chest equally bigger as well.

Satoshi, on the other hand, winced as he probably replayed the scene in front of him. “You can’t forget such an image… Thank goodness I convinced him to stop and come back. And all that because of that bastard…” Satoshi clenched his fists.

“There was no other way; he had to stop going against that rich bastard. ‘There are many ways to oppose to him… just don’t do it on his face… pretend that you listen to him… for your father’s sake… your father needs you… you have to remain strong… think about it…’ these were my words. It was a turning point… I guess… Sho had looked at me as if my words had some kind of deeper meaning I couldn’t have figured out. It was as if he had found hope again” Satoshi bit his lip and took a deep breath before continuing.

“It was then that he became Sakurai Sho – the Sakurai Sho you have met. His stepfather was sure all this special treatment had finally paid him off. But Sho had just found his way out of the madness. He started collecting all the possible information about his father case secretly. Day by day his only purpose in life was to find out the truth. It wasn’t until the third grade that he came across one name: Aiba Masaki; the little boy who back then had stepped into the road in front of the van his father was driving. And that was it. Aiba Masaki had officially become his target”

Masaki who was holding Sho’s hands into his squeezed them a bit, muttering an “I’m sorry…” Sho leaned his head on his shoulder, trying to suppress the sobs that were threatening to come on surface. On the other hand, it was Jun’s turn to be speechless. Nino was also in a state of shock. Whatever shines, it doesn’t mean that it’s gold… Satoshi’s words would replay in his mind over and over again, making him lower his head.

“Sho was determined to find this Aiba Masaki and make him pay and suffer in the same way. He even enrolled the same school. He formed his gang. He had become the Sakurai Sho you’re all familiar with… As long as he was bringing home good marks, Sakurai Shun wouldn’t care whether Sho was a bully or not… I guess he must have even enjoyed the fact his ‘son’ became so much like him. He knew well that the school wouldn’t make a big fuss, taking into consideration who Sakurai Shun was” Satoshi laughed bitterly.

“What Sho hated the most was Aiba’s smile. ‘How he could smile and look happy despite having a disabled mother that was his fault…’ He kept telling me that… In Sho’s mind if Aiba hadn’t jump out on the road, he wouldn’t have suffered so much in his life. Someone will say that put the blame in a small child is either ridiculous or pathetic. But from Sho’s point of view it was the truth – the one and only truth. I can’t even remember how many times I tried to convince him for the opposite. But I couldn’t blame him for that either… not since I had been on his side for so many years…Only I knew how much Sho was suffering”

“Of course I couldn’t expect him to fall in love with Aiba… that started perhaps last year, making him suffer even more because somehow he had contradictive thoughts. As if a part of him was going against the one and only plan he was hanging his sanity on. I believe that’s the reason he bullied him even more… as a way to punish that part of himself. As the months were passing by, I could sense his pain was growing bigger and bigger…”

Satoshi turned his head towards Jun. “We come to this year where Matsumoto Jun makes his appearance. Sho’s fury was indescribable. There had come someone who could snatch Aiba away from him. His decisions became rushed, irrational in a way… I had never seen him like that… and that’s why I decided to take things into my hands. I had to put an end to this madness from which no one would come out unscathed. Unfortunately I was a little late because of a… trash…called Kamenashi…” Satoshi sighed.

“But what made me even more nervous was the fact that Matsumoto Jun was paying really close attention to Sho. He was always following him.”

Masaki at the hearing of this looked at Jun who sensed it and turned his head the other way.  So… that’s why he was at the hospital the other night… because of Sho…

“He needed desperately to know everything and that’s what made be believe he would act rather soon. At first, I thought that he was using Masaki but after a chat with a friend of his I knew he actually loved him. But I couldn’t know how he would react since Sho was in love with Aiba and Aiba, from what I could tell, was equally in love with Sho… I knew that time was passing and that the limits were narrowing…” Satoshi paused for a few seconds.

His voice became even lower. “I have to tell you something at this point. Sho wasn’t the only one that made his research. I was doing it myself. There were only a few pieces missing that were missing till recently. And this is the moment where I believe that every single piece will help us form the mosaic that hides the truth behind of that famous accident that took place 10 years ago…”

Jun was now looking at Satoshi with narrowed eyes.

“Sho’s father was working in M.H. Kenkou S.A.; that would be Matsumoto Hiro Kenkou S.A., as a driver. Sho would be too blind with jealousy that the discovery about Jun’s identity as former host was enough for him. But I wasn’t. The name alone could be just a coincidence but the fact that the new student immediately had his full attention on Sho couldn’t be. So I found out from reliable sources that this Matsumoto Jun was the son of the CEO of the pharmaceutical company, Sho’s real father used to work.

Everything had just become even more complicated… I couldn’t do everything on my own. Matsumoto-kun was now close to Masaki… I needed help… that’s where Kazu starts to help me with my plan. Though it was not so easy to process with it as I needed to convince him to help him I also had inner enemies…” Satoshi slightly smirked before continue his narration.

“With Kazu’s help I found some interesting information… First of all, this warehouse was the destination of Sho’s father that evening. His job was to deliver those batches of drugs here. What he didn’t know was that he was chosen as the victim from the CEO himself. He couldn’t have found someone better… someone who knew absolutely nothing; neither about his boss’ secret projects nor that he was heading to his own death…”

Sho gasped. Jun was left dumbfounded. “What… what the hell do you mean by that? It was the yakuza’s fault… they had entrapped my father… that’s why he was forced to…”

Satoshi didn’t let him say more. “Matsumoto-kun I’m afraid you’re making a huge mistake here. Yakuza never entrapped your father…it’s more like your father was doing business with them… there was absolutely no trace of coercion… just mutual interest.”  Jun was left looking at Satoshi with his mouth half opened.

“Matsumoto Hiro is a man that loves money… that kind of money that can’t be earned differently but in an illegal way. It was not difficult to be tempted by yakuza’s proposition. They offered him millions of dollars to create some special drugs… double worse than the cocktail of Beijing… just to have an idea of what we’re talking about. Unfortunately something went wrong and this secret project had flaws; mortal flaws that would dissatisfy his partners. You know of course that if you dissatisfied them only death could await you… right?!

There were two kinds of drugs inside the van Sho’s father was driving that evening; the one was a pill. Its purpose was to infect the part of the brain that controls your decisions; in other terms, they wanted to drug people to turn them into robots that would execute their orders without questioning them… but it turned out that it made the one who would take it insane and after a few hours his heart would stop beating. The other one was a strong chemical in liquid form, destined to advance their torturing methods. Despite of that it turned out to be one that would make attack the nervous system causing total paralysis. So actually there would be absolutely no pain. Interesting huh?!” Jun was no longer looking at Satoshi. His eyes were fixed on the ground.

“Matsumoto Hiro knew that if the Yakuza found out about his failure he would be dead the next minute. No other choice was left for him but to leave the country. He had to do it fast. He knew the delivery of the drugs was scheduled for that specific date. He was aware that whoever drove there, he would be executed by them, as yakuza would never wish to leave behind traces. He had put different data on the drugs, so that his company would stay out of trouble just in case. The only thing that could lead to him was his employee. But such a thing could be easily presented as external bribing. He had already shipped the money under the names off-shore companies in different countries abroad. All that was left for him to do was to fly off the country. And he did. The moment his track was hitting Aiba’s mother, he was already in a plane flying away from everyone and everything.”

“You’re lying…” Jun whispered having his eyes closed. “You’re damn lying!!!” he moved fast and grabbed Satoshi’s shirt collar before Yokoyama could stop him. “I know my father isn’t a saint but he wouldn’t do something like that… he had no time… that’s why we were left behind… he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t leave his family… if he had everything planned from before…”

Satoshi looked him in the eyes. “I’m really sorry Matsumoto-kun but I have all the necessary information that proves what I just said. Trust me I just want to tell the truth. Sho’s father was charged not only with the car accident, but also with the drugs; you know that transport of illegal, highly dangerous drugs is a crime of great importance. He was targeted the way Matsumoto Hiro wanted it. Don’t you think that this is unfair for him? He’s already spent all these years behind the bars. He’s not the one that made you enter your hell; the one that cared only for him was your father. He’s the real culprit and he’s the one that should pay. And trust me, he will.” Jun’s grips loosened.

His mind was ready to explode. Yokoshima is not the one that exposed my father? He was doing business with those animals? He even sold his own family just to be able to get away with the money? I passed through all that because of him? His body started to tremble; some tears could be seen on the ground.

His brain was overworking. He suddenly stopped. He turned his head to Satoshi. “You said that these pills were proved failed. How can you claim something like that? I’m pretty sure the police confiscated them and the tests’ records were more likely destroyed beforehand. How could they be so sure they were that dangerous?”

Satoshi just sighed. “You’re clever enough to get that there are no records left. The police was led to that conclusion because there was an unquestionable proof behind: Aiba Yuriko-san”

Masaki couldn’t hide his surprise: “WHAT? How...? Why?” his voice cracked.

Satoshi lowered his head. “Her condition is the actual proof…”

“My mother’s condition is the result of the accident… She was hit by that van…” Masaki continued from his position. “I’m the one at fault for that… I’m the one at fault…” He dared not to look at anyone as he uttered the last words.

It was Nino’s turn to burst out giving Masaki a hard slap on his cheek. “Shut the fuck up!” his voice was showing his frustration. “Who are you to decide you are at fault? Huh? Tell me!!! You know that there were times when you passed the night in my house that you were muttering those things?! I never said anything because you were the one that avoided it and I respected that! But that’s enough! You are not at fault for your mother! You’re not at fault for Sho’s father! You’re not at fault for anyone!!! You’re like an angel Masaki and even if there was a slight bar of guilt you have overpaid it all these years… Just STOP IT!” Nino was breathing fast… he couldn’t see his friend like that… he knew him too well to be able to distinguish all that guilt and pain in his chest. 

Masaki said nothing in return. He had left Sho’s hands. He was now holding his knees that were brought close to his face and just cried. Uncontrollable sobs were leaving his mouth as Nino took him in his arms. “Just stop accusing yourself… Ma-kun…”

The others were looking at the scene but dared say nothing. What could they say? They were respectively lost in their own thoughts when they heard Satoshi’s voice once again.

“You’re not at fault Aiba-kun. The hit by the van wasn’t that severe by itself. She was hit in the lower part of the body that would actually cause some trouble when walking but nothing worse. It’s all written in her medical record from the hospital. The doctors were told by the police never to mention it to you about the drugs, since you were still underage and the culprit, at least the one till now, was already paying for his crime…”

Jun didn’t want to simply accept everything Satoshi was saying or rather couldn’t handle it. “Wait a minute Ohno-kun… you want to tell me you got a hold of Masaki’s mother’s medical records?! These are classified and no one but the doctors and the police, if requested under specific circumstances, can have access to them… You can’t expect me to believe that an underage civilian like you went to the hospital, said hello and just took them…”

Satoshi smiled. “No… I just had found something that made them be really cooperative with me… There’s no point to get into details right now… What I want you to know is that positively Aiba’s mother is in such a condition because of those drugs. As Sho’s father pushed the brake hard, due to the short distance between him and the child in front of him, he partially lost control of the vehicle having as a result its trailer’s relocation to 45° and some of the liquid ones opened as they were put into boxes without taking the necessary precaution measures, having as a result a really small part of them to fall on Aiba’s mother as she went to save her son, causing her serious problems to her nervous system. That’s why she ended up having the symptoms of quadriplegia… and not because of the actual hit…”

Masaki couldn’t believe his ears. My mother is like that because of those drugs?! My mother… Sho… Jun… everyone is like that because of…?! His heart was pounding like crazy. The tears had since long ago dried. He started breathing faster... the pain in his chest had become almost unbearable. Everything just seemed as a really bad joke.

Jun felt devastated. “Do you have any proof now?” he whispered. “I want to see it with my own eyes…”

Satoshi nodded to Yokoyama Yuu who came closer and brought an envelope. “You can read this. These are the documents your father sent to the middleman, probably located in Cuba, who was in charge of all the illegal monetary transitions. There’s also his reservation for his flight. It was booked two weeks before the day of the accident. It was all planned”

Jun took it and started reading. For several minutes no one spoke. Masaki and Sho were too deep in their own thoughts, Satoshi was looking at Jun who was reading the papers and Nino didn’t really know what to do. He knew what was going on but seeing how the others reacted was something that made him feel really bad. He just went to sit next to Satoshi since Masaki seemed to be entirely cut off this world.

After almost fifteen minutes of the most intensive silence everyone had ever experienced, if that can actually describe the heavy atmosphere that was spread in the room, Jun dropped the papers on the ground smiling bitterly. Everyone turned their head to him. He then stood up and started laughing; a strange kind of laugh, it showed sadness, desperation and hurt, mostly hurt.

“That’s how it is!!! Yes! Ladies and gentlemen! Yes! Matsumoto Hiro, my beloved father has actually be the one who made us like this! See?” He turned to Sho “You may now feel gratitude to Masaki since because of him your father wasn’t killed! And your love story turns normal… no more Shakespeare for you!!!” Sho was feeling terrible looking at Jun like that “you can be together! You also have an amazing friend like Ohno Satoshi who was always by your side and did so much just for you!”

He then turned to Masaki. “And you my beloved Masaki… you have no reason to blame yourself… you have no reason to see those nightmares… we have found who’s the one… and I officially break up with you… cherish your love with Sakurai Sho and your friendship with Ninomiya Kazunari… you know he had warned me since the first day we met… he’s clever and he really cares for you… you should be happy… ok?”

Then he turned to Satoshi. “I should have never doubt your capability to act and read people Ohno Satoshi. You truly have my respect. I’m happy you found your person… Remain like that…”

He walked a few steps ahead before turning so that he could see them all. “So, I guess I have to introduce myself once again, because there were a lot of things that, well,” Jun almost choked as he spoke “that impose it: Hello. My name is Matsumoto Jun. I’m 21 years old” Jun smiled bitterly. He cleared his throat a bit and continued. “As I was saying, I’m 21 years old, son of Matsumoto Hiro: the culprit behind a tremendous drug scandal that took place ten years ago and who victimized in a way almost everyone in this room. I enrolled to this high school to take revenge for something I shouldn’t… I ended up falling in love with someone I shouldn’t…”

Masaki, who was already feeling terrible and his breaths had turned into fast ones, tried to say something but was caught by Jun. “And now I have finally found out that my place is to always be alone…” A few tears run down his cheeks but cared not to wipe them. He took out something from his jacket’s pocket that looked metallic, black. “But I just want to say something… Even if you don’t believe me, I’m really glad I got to know each one of you…”

Masaki’s eyes bulged. He seemed to be the first to take notice of Jun’s intention as he hurried up to him, not paying attention to his own pain inside. “JUN…. NOOOOOOO!”

Everything happened in seconds.

A shot… Then screams… Then silence…





TO BE CONTINUED






A.N. Chapter 13 is up!!! Satoshi spoke the whole truth! So now we know that Sho wasn't simply someone who bullied Masaki there was a lot more behind of it ne?! The pain he hid inside was not simple... That bastard Sakurai Shun... Another thing is Jun's father... he had everything planned... he was actually under everything... Masaki's accident was an "accident" - and there I made a stupid pun :P - that actually might now help Sho's father! We'll see...
I also want to say that I have nothing to do with biology, chemistry or medicine (my field is history:P) so if something of the explanations was too much out of place sorry in advance! I just needed it for the story... you know... monogatari no tame ni! ;)
One last thing... after having read some of the comments in the last chapter I can only say this: 1) there are hints of what might have happened (I won't reveal what) 2) there's no warning of character death ne?! and 3) please don't shoot me *offers cookies to all of you*
Yeah... after this one I can now call myself officially cliffhangers' lover
I promise you the angst has almost finished. Now, more happy and fluffy and sexy moments will come in the next ones!
Sooo what do you think?!

I really hope you liked it and as always I love to read your thoughts! It means a lot to me!!! <333


*I also just came back from the theatre and I had no time to re-read the text... I'm sorry if there's something wrongly written...

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas everyone and I wish you the best for 2015 - since this is the last chapter posted in 2014!

See you next week! ^_^