Beneath the... (Chapter 23)
Title: Beneath the…
Rating: R for words.
Characters: OT5 (All Arashi members as brothers)
Genre: AU, drama, family, angst
Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine~
Summary: 2 years ago Osayama Satoshi was involved in a terrible accident that made him lost partial of his memories. Even though he survived the impact, he becomes mentally incapable and has to depend on his younger brothers to lead normal life. What he didn’t expect when waking up though was to find all his once caring brothers had turned into people who were completely different from his memory. Sho has changed into a hot-tempered workaholic, Kazunari becomes an introvert who refuses to talk with anyone, and Jun drowns himself in party, alcohol and women every single night. To make it even confusing, nobody in the house is allowed to speak about Masaki who for some unknown reasons has disappeared without a trace.
Will Satoshi find the answer he is seeking for in the end? Or something…is actually is hidden beneath the mess?
A/N: Their surname is Osayama. Un-betaed!
Chapter 23 : Beneath the root
Kazu was beyond furious. That morning he went to their school without finishing his breakfast at home, ignoring Masaki’s shout to wait for him behind. It had been a while since the last time their father spent his time with them, but he would never thought THIS how it will turn out in the end - with their father sarcastically said that he will never be accepted into the school’s baseball team looking by how weak his physical appearance is. At that moment he was an only 13 years old teenager who loved baseball with all his heart and aimed to join the school team which was well-known for its good reputation in sport. He never took it into his heart when their father teased him for his introvert personality, his lack of strength appearance unlike any other teenagers, and his ‘otaku-ness’ due to his habit for spending long hours in front of his game, but this time, that old man’s heartless joke was beyond tolerable. After all, the workaholic man never knew how hard he had trained himself just to pass the physical examination for the baseball club new members' selection three days ago. That man didn’t have any idea just how long he had practicing on his swinging and throwing until his brothers need to force him to stop or else he will overwork himself too much.
As soon as he finally entered the school area, Kazu immediately headed toward the announcement board to see if the result already came out. The realization that Masaki was still trying to follow his speed behind despite the latter’s much ‘fitter’ appearance made him smirk since it proved that his physical condition wasn’t as weak as what their father always said. That however wasn’t enough to reassure him that he will be accepted into the team just yet. It wasn't until he finally stopped in front of the announcement board to search for the selected members’ list name that the 15 years old Masaki finally can catch him up though already panting hard for his breath.
“If you can maintain with this speed from home, I’m one hundred percent sure you will pass the physical check-up without problem, Kazu.”
Kazu just ignored the third brother and continued to search everywhere on the board. Yet, once found only a short notice on it which stated that the selection's result will only be announced next Friday, his expression immediately darkened. Growing even furious by the thought that he needed to endure their father's teases until that day, Kazu then stamped away while Masaki came to follow him behind.
“Kazu, don’t take what father said into your heart. He didn’t see your effort.”
Though he appreciated that the third brother understood one thing that had been bothering him, it didn’t manage to cool his burning rage down. Instead, he just stamped faster toward the direction of his classroom.
“Kazu-”
“I’ve it enough. Father always sees me as the weak and useless one. He never takes my dream seriously. What’s wrong with having a dream to be a professional baseball player?”
He frowned when heard Masaki let out a sigh behind. Thinking that the latter was on their father’s side, he wanted to stop on his track and scold the older brother for underestimating him as well, but Masaki suddenly continued instead.
“I honestly don’t know why father think that too, Kazu. There’s nothing wrong with having a dream to become a professional baseball player for me. Isn’t it good enough to have a dream? It gives you something like a mission or a target for you to reach.”
The honesty behind the voice made him touch. Just the thought of having someone who can at least agree with his view made him really glad inside. With Satoshi’s artistic skill already caught the attention of a few famous artists, Sho’s high intellectual story spread in the entire school, and the fact that even the so-called-airhead Masaki has astonishing sense in Mathematics and Science subjects, he felt like he was the bad apple in this situation. He often thought he was being left out in their family since he didn’t have outstanding points in any field while his result in all exams was average at best. That was why his world was limited to game and his brothers only. He had it enough with their father's disappointed expression every time the older man saw the lack of improvement in his academic performance and the endless expectation to become someone just because he had ‘Osayama’ in his name. It was suffocating. Extremely painful and exhausting.
Yet, when he was introduced to baseball through the Physical Education class at his elementary school few years ago, he eventually saw the end of his misery. He finally found something that he wanted to invest his time and effort into without feeling forced. He definitely wasn’t the best or was born with a natural skill to immediately turn into a good player, but for the first time, he can say he was proud with himself. Everything that he gave on that sport wasn’t longer for the sake of satisfying others, but learning to appreciate the way he was and doing what actually made him happy.
Yet, despite all of that though, in the end, what their father still can see was only his so-called-weak physique. The flaws were beyond his passion and effort for some reasons no matter what he did. Only thinking about it alone enough to make his eyes teary though he quickly wiped it with the back of his hand, but Masaki caught it nevertheless as he patted him on the shoulder, worried.
“Kazu? Are you okay?”
The younger brother just grunted. Not satisfied with the reaction, the stubborn Masaki pestered him which Kazu responded with nothing. When the third brother’s voice was getting more and more irritating in his ear, he finally turned with intention to scold him for being such bothersome. Yet, what he saw instead was Masaki’s panic face before he felt something very hard hit the side of his head.
And everything turned to dark.
“-zu?”
The faraway-like voice made Kazu stirred from his sleep. He then felt a pair of hands suddenly reached for his side before started to move him so vigorously while shouting for his name like they were in some kind of tragedy dramas. That person even ignored the voice of another person in there to not shake him too hard or else his injury might get worsen from the previous hit. Eventually, the disturbance got into Kazu's nerves so much that he immediately groaned and pushed away whoever it is that still literally clinging onto him.
“KAZU! FINALLY YOU’RE UP! I WAS SO WORRIED!!”
The still dizzy school boy only managed a grunt when his crybaby brother already pulled him into a tight hug while saying how worried he was. No matter how hard he tried to free himself from the suffocating hold, the elder one didn’t let him until it left him to no choice but patted the other guy on back as he repeated there was nothing to worry about. Some of their teachers were right when they mentioned how complicated the relationship between the five of them were since most of the times the role between the elder and younger was reversed.
In the end, the school doctor had no choice but to drag Masaki out of the treatment room or else the latter will miss his second class of the day. Kazu on the other hand just waved back with a sigh when Masaki keep on repeating his promise from behind the door that he will come back again during class break with lunch before finally rushed away from there. For some reasons he couldn't bring himself to scold the elder brother's behavior since it was understandable for the other guy to be worried about him when the reason why he suddenly fell unconscious before was because there was an idiot from the Kendo club was practicing his movement in the corridor. He turned to Masaki exactly when he and that idiot reached the same corner at the same time, and that was when he accidentally got hit on head by the latter's wooden sword. It was a stupid story indeed, but the doctor said he at least he survived with only a bump and harmless dizziness.
Frowning by the stung he still felt on his head, Kazu then tried to touch the place where he had been bandaged. Before he could however, both he and the school doctor were startled by sudden knocks to the door from outside. As soon as he saw their respectful baseball club's coach appeared from behind the door, he panicky hid himself under the blanket to avoid from get caught. After all, if the man knew about his current condition, he was more than sure that the chance for him to be selected into the school team will down to zero.
“ -sensei, thank you for lending these.”
“No problem. Did you find all the information you needed?”
“Yeah. Your comments about their fitness were more than helping. It was from the latest physical examination, right?”
Kazu barely managed to hold his surprise gasp when the school doctor answered that all the information was from the three days ago check-up. The rest of the conversation was completely ignored by him since all what mattered at that time was what written on the examination file. Later when the coach eventually took his leave from there while the school doctor walked toward a shelf with carrying all the files, Kazu carefully peeked from under his blanket. He pretended to be sleeping for the entire time until he heard the doctor let out a heavy sigh while saying that she probably need some coffee to refresh herself. By the time he heard her close the door from outside and began to walk to wherever she ought to be, Kazu didn’t waste any more time to climb out of his bed. His heart hardly pounded in his chest as he tried to remember where exactly she kept the previous files until he realized that every name on there was arranged in Hiragana order. It didn’t take very long for him to find ‘Osayama’ among the list and reached for it to search for the particular comment that they talked about before. At that time he felt like his heart was nearly jumped out of his chest - both due to the fear if the school doctor will suddenly appear on the doorstep and if the comment that written about him wasn’t a very good one.
Then, two words caught his eyes.
Slightly underweight
The teenager felt like his heart stopped by those two simple words. He thought his whole world was about to collapse until he accidentally read the name who's the file belonged to. Realizing that it was no other than his own brother Masaki, he wanted to huff his breath due to relief, but the column about their parents and the third brother’s blood type caught his attention.
Father’s blood type: AB+
Mother’s blood type: AB+
Student’s blood type: AB+
What he just read caught him off guard. Extremely confused by the unexpected encountered, the teenager quickly looked for his file and took it out from the shelf. After all, he clearly remembered when he went through the health check-up three days ago, their father blood type was O negative in his file. There was a chance for their blood type to be different indeed since they don’t have a same mother, but why was it the information about their father was wrong?
“The doctor returned not long after that, so I didn’t have chance to read the parents’ information part. I didn’t even remember to check the comment about my health condition at that time.”
Kazu then chews his lower lip, seemingly still bothered by the 11 years ago memory. Sho and Jun on the other hand has long turned to speechless while the quiet Satoshi already slumps on the guest chair nearby. The depressing sight of seeing the eldest brother of their becomes this down - just like the moment before the accident took place two years ago clenched Kazu’s heart badly though he knew there’s no way he can take back what he told them. The truth after all can never be buried forever. It will still leak one day right at the moment he would never expect it - whether they are prepared or not like now.
“Just in case the school doctor really wrote down father’s blood type wrong, I asked our biology teacher if parents with O negative and AB positive blood type can have AB positive child. And she said it’s impossible. It will only either be B or A, just like us. Then, when I came home, I checked our hospital card just to make sure if there was any error, but the information was exactly the same as what was written on the school’s file. That was when I finally realized that Masaki doesn’t have the same father as us.”
Clearly can’t fully absorb the truth yet, Jun rubs his face due to frustration. Sho on the other hand already worriedly looks at Satoshi who hasn’t said a word yet since Kazu started his story before since he seemingly lost himself with what he should say at this moment. The second brother doesn’t know which truth hit Satoshi the hardest now - is it the fact that the mother who he knew they always long to see one day could actually do something as forgivable as that, or the fact that Masaki didn’t have a same father as them?
“…Why? Why you didn’t tell us earlier?”
Jun’s voice finally fills the ward after a long heavy silence. Already expecting such question to come from the first place, Kazu on the other hand just sigh.
“Because I really thought it won’t make any different between us. Masaki is still Masaki for me. Also…I don’t have a heart to tell him that when he and Nii-san always say they want to see their mother again. That’s just…cruel.”
Jun swallows hardly down by that, but can’t bring himself to say anything without hurting Satoshi’s feelings. Instead, he comes to sit next to the older man and gives a gentle squeeze on shoulder to show his support. They notice how Satoshi chews his trembling lower lip by that, but neither cry nor saying a word in return.
“…Isn’t that means father already knows it from earlier? It’s impossible he didn’t see Masaki’s healthcare information or hospital card.”
“I wonder about the same thing until now too. I really thought that father already know about it from earlier, but wasn’t really mind since he didn’t treat Nii-san differently from us. But that doesn't seem like the case tho...”
“It’s not weird actually. You guys probably don’t remember it, but father always leave anything related to us either to mom or his assistant. Be it about vacation, healthcare, school, or whatever. He doesn’t have time to arrange all of that.”
The sudden interruption surprise both Kazu and Jun. They however don’t give any comment about it and just watch the elder brother sighs heavily before turn to the fourth brother again.
“…How did you know that LAB’s current owner is his real father?”
The fact that Sho still avoids from mentioning Masaki’s name even at this moment stings Kazu’s feelings. Just how this man can be so lack of empathy toward someone who cares a lot about his condition? Yet, he tries not to think much about it and turns to the scenery outside instead.
“I only know about that two years ago… It was the day before he was interrogated by the directors.”
Kazu nearly jumped on the couch when someone suddenly slammed open the front door. Seeing Masaki hurriedly took off his shoes before running to their family’s office made him forgot his game as he rushed to follow the elder brother from behind. At first, he just confusedly asked when realized that the other man was looking for something in the shelf, but as soon as he noticed that the latter was actually crying and sniffing behind his messy bang, his heart immediately thundered with worries.
“Masaki? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
He however was ignored when the usually cheerful brother kept on digging for something among the hundreds of files. Soon, his heart almost dropped once noticed that the third brother took out an old hospital card that was hidden between their elementary school’s report cards. Panic, he quickly stole it from Masaki’s hand though it just made the other man to turn to him due his weird behavior.
“What’s wrong, Masaki? Are you okay? Why are you wet?” he tried to act normal even though Masaki’s red teary eyes already stared him suspiciously. When the latter told him to hand the card, he tried to change the topic. That however just made the situation even worst when the usually gentle brother slammed the office desk, hard.
“Ju-st gave me tha-t, Kazu. Please. I ne-ed to make sure of some-thing. I need t-o see i-t. Please.”
More tears flow down to Masaki’s face as he begged desperately for the card. Clearly torn by that, Kazu on the other hand remained still while gripping on the card tightly. Each time Masaki tried to snatch it from him, he quickly dodged it to make sure it stayed out of the latter’s reach until the elder brother began to cough with sobs.
“…W-Why? W-Why are yo-u do-ing thi-s? I on-ly wan-t to see it. I-I wan-t to see if mo-ther said the tru-th. If tha-t man is…my re-al fa-ther…”
Though actually surprised that Masaki will find out about the truth from the mouth of his very own mother, Kazu hid it thoroughly behind his face. Yet, the emotionless expression just crumbled Masaki more who already cried even harder.
“Y-You knew it, Ka-zu. You al-ready knew it. That’s wh-y you didn-t let me see tha-t, right? Wh-y you didn’t te-ll me? Why I ha-ve to know it thi-s way…” Kazu nearly to rush forward once witnessed Masaki nearly fell to his shaking knees. Seeing how heartbroken the older man was as he reached for the desk beside him for a support made him teary himself, but in the end he chose to stand still. Even after watching how the man in front him kept on bawling between his sobs like crying over his ill-fate, Kazu didn’t move a muscle. Not a bit. Instead, he just listened to the same thing that Masaki repeated after that, over and over again.
“W-Why sh-e did tha-t? W-Why L-AB? W-Why mu-st sh-e be with hi-m? I don-t wan-t to be hi-m…”
“I know how stupid I was for letting Masaki to cry alone like that. No wonder he thought I was disappointed with him. No wonder he thought I despised him because of his father. The truth tho...I actually didn’t know what I should do at that time. Maybe if I tried to do something instead of standing like an *sshole at that time…things won’t turn out bad between us like now. I was so stupid.”
Tears of remorse resurface on Kazu’s eyes by the thought. Now the whole truth is finally out of his chest, he feels like his shoulders are no longer burden with the weight of secret and regret. The guilt had been haunting him since the day Masaki left the house and finally today, even if it’s two years late, he let the others to know about the real story beneath Masaki’s root and wrong decision. No matter what kind of tale it is, there will be definitely two sides of it that leads to the consequences like today.
“Now, let me ask you guys. Is Masaki’s bloodline bothers you that much? Do you guys think him dirty like father thought about him?”
Satoshi is the first one to shake his head while wiping the tears that already wet his face. Jun can’t help from smiling when see the reaction as he pats the older man on head before turning to Kazu and shakes his head as well.
“What’s happening between our parents will remain that way. It wasn’t supposed to affect us from the first place. They don’t…have any idea what we’d through because of their selfishness.”
Can’t agree more with that, Kazu immediately nods. He then grins widely when the two brothers get up from their seat, ready to leave and see the third brother to clear up misunderstand that has been cementing between them since two years ago. Yet, the realization that Sho remains lost in his own world eventually makes him lose his patience. He doesn’t even care he had made the latter surprises when he hit the nearby small table to gain the attention he needs.
“Is Masaki’s bloodline that important to you? Why can you accept Jun’s situation, but not Masaki's who actually wasn’t at fault on whatever thing it is? Does he gross you that much?”
“No. I mean-” sudden knocks to the door from outside cut him from continuing. Once gives his permission to the visitor to come in, he surprises when find Takayama appears from behind it. The secretary at the same time immediately apologizes when realize that he probably had disturbed the brothers at a wrong time though they quickly say that it is totally fine. Later, as they all wait for Sho to sign some documents that secretary had brought there, Jun can’t help from turning to the staff wonderingly.
“Is Masaki busy in office now? We have something to talk with him.”
“Masaki-san is actually on his way to your home, Jun-san. He asked me to empty his schedule on these hours because he has something to do there.”
“Now you mention it, I remember he said he wants to take something from house. I wonder what it is.”
“He said he needs to pack up his things in home. I tried to arrange his schedule so that he can have more time to settle it, but he said it’s okay since he’s going to burn most of his stuff anyway.”
***
Masaki was shaken. He was never fond with their father’s sickening lifestyle on drowning in alcohol and women nearly every night, but that didn’t stop him from visiting the old man during his free time. However, the direct message that he received this morning - telling him to come and see the latter right away really terrified him. After all, he hadn’t recovered from the shocked about his real root yet after meeting his mother two days ago, and now he probably need to bear another huge blow from the latter. If the reason behind his summon to the ward was like he had expected it to be, he only can pray that their father can accept the truth with open-heart. Well, even Satoshi who was known much earlier to be born from different father was well-loved by the older man, so it’s not impossible for that to happen to him too…right?
By the time Masaki reached the hospital floor where rows of VIP wards were lining on his right and left, he can feel his heart thundered inside. His hand already trembled hard once he reached for the door of the luxury room which had turned to more like their bedridden father’s home after he was forced to stay there due to his health problem. Knowing that he had no other choice but to face the situation anyway in the end, Masaki took one deep breath to prepare himself for the worse. Then, he forced himself to smile as he stepped inside where he started babbling everything across his mind to hide his nervousness. It seemed to work at first when he saw his father just quietly watched him from his bed, but when he tried to approach the old man, his voice immediately stuck by the deadly gaze he received. His fear came with double force due to the reaction, what more when the man already told his mistress to wait outside. This was the moment when he realized about the presence of a copy of his birth certification which was lying on a small table near the bed which instantly made him froze on his place.
“Do you know why I called you here?”
The young accountant only can swallow hardly down.
“I heard there was a problem about you in the company. The board of directors contacted me and said they find out you were in contact with LAB and even emailed our confidential document to them.”
Although the young accountant wanted to object it, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything due to nervousness. He tried to calm himself down by repeatedly tell himself that it will be just fine and their father will understand his situation, but his brain refused to listen to every of it. Now, he wished he had followed his instinct to ignore those emails before. He wished he never kept their contact with him and never agreed to see his mother from the first place when in the end the only reason she did that was to tell him about the painful revelation. However, out of all those wishes, he wished he had never turned his back from Sho’s order to not let anyone else touched the document or else things will not become so complicated in their company. Just if he at least didn’t do that very one last thing, he probably can face their father and Sho with his head high unlike now.
“Why? Did you lose your voice?”
Masaki only can chew his lower lip as he continued to stare the floor beneath him. His lack of response however just made the old man erupted with amused laughter since he seemed already expecting for that reaction to come.
“Just like mother and son. Your mother married me to steal information from my company, and now YOU betrayed my son to leak more information for your ‘beloved’ mom and dad’s company. The traitor blood really ran along your bloodline. Just how amazing it is?”
The cynical tone made Masaki clenched his hands harder. Each word that escaped the old man’s mouth felt like a stab of blade into his heart, tearing and destroying him mentally to the point of shaking. No matter how much he wanted to deny their father’s words, another voice inside him already acknowledging the truth behind it judging from his irrational decision by letting the senior accountant’s to help to fix the proposal for him. It was crystal clear this must be his punishment for taking Sho’s unconditional trust on him lightly.
“No wonder why Satoshi’s father divorced her. I should get that sign earlier. How pathetic of me.”
The pain behind the voice was so obvious that it made Masaki to chew his lip harder. He couldn’t imagine it to be in their father’s shoes - trusting and loving someone with his whole heart, only to be betrayed like that for the other person’s benefit. It suffocated him just from thinking how the culprit’s blood actually ran in his body without his knowledge until now. He felt so ashamed for having that kind of people as his parents. He felt so ashamed for having their blood flowing in his vein. Heck, he even felt so ashamed for inheriting his mother’s features to the point it made the old man sick just by looking at his face. The humiliation for upsetting the person who had raised him for this entire time until that much made him tear up, but there was nothing he could do as he just listened to the brokenhearted man’s outburst.
“You know what? A long time ago, I thought I finally can rebuild my life again and gave Sho a mother that he always needed when I met your mother. I can never forget Sho’s real mother, but at least I found someone who I can move on with. Who would ever thought she’d planned everything since the very beginning. And on top of that, with the biggest enemy of my own company! I was fool for entrusted her with everything I had! That b*tch was a f*cking liar! An ungrateful piece of sh*t!”
He didn’t say a word even when the person that the latter cursed was his very own mother. He knew their father deserved to feel that way. Even he himself wished that he would never be born by that woman, but what else choice he had since there's no way a child can ever choose their own parents?
“I tried…I tried my best to give another chance to myself to build a family - a home - for Sho, Satoshi, and you, but the damaged she’d done was eating up me inside. Do you understand how I feel when that sh*tty company of them raises and even got awarded for using a plan that I worked my *ss hard for?! Even Kazu, Jun, and their mother who are not at fault at all were dragged into this mess!!! How do you expect for me to act like nothing happened anymore after that?!! Stop acting like a f*cking doll now and tell me!!!” controlled by his anger and hatred, the old man then reached for his book and thrown it at the quiet man’s head. That made Masaki immediately whimpered due to the pain though sill forced himself to remain unmoved. Bright bruise might appear on the injured area now, but that was the last thing in his mind. The first teardrop already makes it way down to his face as he gritted his teeth hard though that didn’t soften the old man’s steel-heart the slightest.
“And you, son of a b*tch, you did exactly what she’d done to me by doing that to Sho. I wish I could at least protect my son from the pain of being betrayed like that, but I’m no longer fully in charged with the company’s matters. You just wait and see what that son of mine is going to do with you tomorrow. You’re not going to escape like your mother did to me, you f*cking betrayer!”
Masaki immediately let out a gasp by that. Finally, after remaining silence for the entire time, he looked at the latter through his tears
.
“Y-You’re wrong, father. I never want to betray Sho. I-I admit…it was my fault that the company became like now… It was all because of my stupid mistake…”
“Mistake?! Just stop with your bullsh*t, rascal! Don’t ever f*cking think you can fool me like your b*tchy mother had done to me!”
“I-I really meant i-it. P-Please, believe i-in me…”
“Just stop with your sh*tty talk! I won’t believe anything that comes from liaison child! Have more shame with yourself!”
Those remarks felt like a strong slap to his face. This was the moment when he had wished that he was never born. He felt so dirty. So ashamed for causing so much pain to the man in front him, to the company, to his beloved brothers... More tears flow down to his cheeks by all those negative thought that started to occupy each part of his brain until it made him dizzy. Yet, the torture didn’t end there. Soon, the old man suddenly laughed like he had lost his mind as he pointed at him like he was having fun watching Masaki’s miserable state.
“I just understand something. Your so-called parents left you with me so they can build their legacy together using my plan. They only looked for you now because they don’t have any other heir. Means, you’re actually unneeded child! A tool to only protect their wealth and power!”
That clawed open Masaki’s already bleeding heart.
“But guess what? Now we know who your parents are and from where you got that traitor blood in your body, that means you have no place in this family anymore. I don’t care where you want to go, but you better off before I force you too.”
When he was told to leave the place, Masaki quickly shook his head as he ran to stand next to Osayama’s bed. He then knelt in front of the man, begging for the latter’s mercy between his sobs as he tried to reach for the elder one’s hand. His touch however was slapped away harshly each time that in the end it made him to drop on his four to the floor just for the sake of getting the older man’s attention.
“Fa-ther, no… I b-beg you… I-I really don’t ha-ve a-nything to d-do with LAB. I swe-ar I d-don’t. I-I belong t-to Osayama… I-I can ex-plain what happene-”
“Shut up! Just f*cking shut up already! From now on you’re no longer Osayama! You can go back to your traitor mother or f*cking find somewhere else to live! I don’t f*cking care!”
“F-Father…p-please…I-I don’t have a-anywhere to g-go…”
“I SAID I DON’T F*CKING CARE!!”
A glass of water then was splashed all over his face, halting Masaki from saying another word further. Tears poured down even heavier to his face when the older man spat more curses to him before throwing the glass he was holding to his face. The pain to his feelings however was much worse than his skin that it made his body to shake harder with sadness as he brought his begging gaze for the last time toward the angry man.
“LEAVE! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE ANYMORE! YOU’RE NO LONGER MY SON!”
“Sir?”
Masaki immediately gasps by the voice. As soon as he lifts his gaze, he sees the taxi driver in front already stares back at him weirdly. Finally realizes that they had arrived at Osayama household, he quickly wipes his tears before paying for the ride. He does’t realize that he had fallen asleep along the way and even cried over the bad memory…for the countless time.
Later, when he eventually stands in front of the empty house with keys in his hand, he can’t help from smiling by the nostalgic feeling. He still remembers how he and Sho always look forward to coming back there after a long day at office with Satoshi’s warm greeting on the doorstep, Kazu’s endless teases in the living room, and the smell of Jun’s superb cooking that came from the kitchen. Just by reminiscing it instantly brings tears to his eyes though he quickly removes it by shaking off his head. Then, after taking one deep breath to calm down, Masaki finally unlocks his way to inside. He was surprised at first when realizes there is nothing much change since the moment he left there, but remembering Satoshi’s story regarding Sho, Kazu, and Jun's changing of behavior clenches his heart sadly while he makes his way to the upstairs where his bedroom is. As soon as he is eventually inside though, he quickly grabs for his bag which unsurprisingly has been left untouched under his bed for the past two years. Nobody seems to bother to do anything inside there which makes him to smile grimly both due to happiness and sadness - happy because that means nobody will notice it even if he cleans up everything there, and sad because that means he is going to destroy the memory and his existence completely from the house for better.
Not wanting to be disturbed by the unnecessary thought, he let out a sigh before starts to pack up his stuff. All clothes and the stuff that he feels important will be put inside the bag while the rest will be put at the burning place later. Luckily everything related to the company is going very well nowadays - thanks to all Sho’s notes and advises - that it allows Takayama to empty his schedule even just for a few hours for him to settle all these stuff when nobody is at home. Otherwise, it will be really difficult to answer the other three brothers’ endless questions behind his sudden decision. They will not understand how painful it is for him to be left confused and hanging with his status as an Osayama when in fact he actually doesn’t have anything to do with the family, let it in blood or acceptance by everyone. It feels like he will keep on clinging to the past if something that proved his once presence there has not been removed yet since Satoshi told him before that they are still hoping for him to come back.
However now, he is determined. He wants to move on. And he is more than sure that the other four are doing good on that now judging from the story that Kazu told him this morning about Sho’s progress and Jun’s determination to take full responsibility of his action. Kazu himself looks more confident compare to their first meeting before that it can’t help him from feeling proud with their improvement. Right now Satoshi must be very thrilled with the obvious change of his younger brothers, and he can already imagine how happy the latter is like he always told him when they met before. And that also means there is no place left for him in their life and he is sure that very soon, after Sho is completely recovered from his sickness, he won’t be needed to be around anymore. The thought of how he is going to leave them for the second time and probably, without a chance to see each other again bring tears to his eyes. After all, he already decides to change his name and find new place to live once everything is finished at the company so he can start a new life as a new person without any past that could kill him more inside.
Too occupied with that thought and his job, Masaki fails to notice the soft footsteps which are coming closer from downstairs. He is still wiping his pouring tears when he later hears a voice suddenly comes from the doorstep behind.
“Masaki?”
Surprised, Masaki immediately gasps and stops in his movement.
***
>This chapter went above 6,000 words again. That's why I took more time to finish it ==" Sorry for the wait.
>As always, Thank You SO much for reading!
Rating: R for words.
Characters: OT5 (All Arashi members as brothers)
Genre: AU, drama, family, angst
Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine~
Summary: 2 years ago Osayama Satoshi was involved in a terrible accident that made him lost partial of his memories. Even though he survived the impact, he becomes mentally incapable and has to depend on his younger brothers to lead normal life. What he didn’t expect when waking up though was to find all his once caring brothers had turned into people who were completely different from his memory. Sho has changed into a hot-tempered workaholic, Kazunari becomes an introvert who refuses to talk with anyone, and Jun drowns himself in party, alcohol and women every single night. To make it even confusing, nobody in the house is allowed to speak about Masaki who for some unknown reasons has disappeared without a trace.
Will Satoshi find the answer he is seeking for in the end? Or something…is actually is hidden beneath the mess?
A/N: Their surname is Osayama. Un-betaed!
Chapter 23 : Beneath the root
Kazu was beyond furious. That morning he went to their school without finishing his breakfast at home, ignoring Masaki’s shout to wait for him behind. It had been a while since the last time their father spent his time with them, but he would never thought THIS how it will turn out in the end - with their father sarcastically said that he will never be accepted into the school’s baseball team looking by how weak his physical appearance is. At that moment he was an only 13 years old teenager who loved baseball with all his heart and aimed to join the school team which was well-known for its good reputation in sport. He never took it into his heart when their father teased him for his introvert personality, his lack of strength appearance unlike any other teenagers, and his ‘otaku-ness’ due to his habit for spending long hours in front of his game, but this time, that old man’s heartless joke was beyond tolerable. After all, the workaholic man never knew how hard he had trained himself just to pass the physical examination for the baseball club new members' selection three days ago. That man didn’t have any idea just how long he had practicing on his swinging and throwing until his brothers need to force him to stop or else he will overwork himself too much.
As soon as he finally entered the school area, Kazu immediately headed toward the announcement board to see if the result already came out. The realization that Masaki was still trying to follow his speed behind despite the latter’s much ‘fitter’ appearance made him smirk since it proved that his physical condition wasn’t as weak as what their father always said. That however wasn’t enough to reassure him that he will be accepted into the team just yet. It wasn't until he finally stopped in front of the announcement board to search for the selected members’ list name that the 15 years old Masaki finally can catch him up though already panting hard for his breath.
“If you can maintain with this speed from home, I’m one hundred percent sure you will pass the physical check-up without problem, Kazu.”
Kazu just ignored the third brother and continued to search everywhere on the board. Yet, once found only a short notice on it which stated that the selection's result will only be announced next Friday, his expression immediately darkened. Growing even furious by the thought that he needed to endure their father's teases until that day, Kazu then stamped away while Masaki came to follow him behind.
“Kazu, don’t take what father said into your heart. He didn’t see your effort.”
Though he appreciated that the third brother understood one thing that had been bothering him, it didn’t manage to cool his burning rage down. Instead, he just stamped faster toward the direction of his classroom.
“Kazu-”
“I’ve it enough. Father always sees me as the weak and useless one. He never takes my dream seriously. What’s wrong with having a dream to be a professional baseball player?”
He frowned when heard Masaki let out a sigh behind. Thinking that the latter was on their father’s side, he wanted to stop on his track and scold the older brother for underestimating him as well, but Masaki suddenly continued instead.
“I honestly don’t know why father think that too, Kazu. There’s nothing wrong with having a dream to become a professional baseball player for me. Isn’t it good enough to have a dream? It gives you something like a mission or a target for you to reach.”
The honesty behind the voice made him touch. Just the thought of having someone who can at least agree with his view made him really glad inside. With Satoshi’s artistic skill already caught the attention of a few famous artists, Sho’s high intellectual story spread in the entire school, and the fact that even the so-called-airhead Masaki has astonishing sense in Mathematics and Science subjects, he felt like he was the bad apple in this situation. He often thought he was being left out in their family since he didn’t have outstanding points in any field while his result in all exams was average at best. That was why his world was limited to game and his brothers only. He had it enough with their father's disappointed expression every time the older man saw the lack of improvement in his academic performance and the endless expectation to become someone just because he had ‘Osayama’ in his name. It was suffocating. Extremely painful and exhausting.
Yet, when he was introduced to baseball through the Physical Education class at his elementary school few years ago, he eventually saw the end of his misery. He finally found something that he wanted to invest his time and effort into without feeling forced. He definitely wasn’t the best or was born with a natural skill to immediately turn into a good player, but for the first time, he can say he was proud with himself. Everything that he gave on that sport wasn’t longer for the sake of satisfying others, but learning to appreciate the way he was and doing what actually made him happy.
Yet, despite all of that though, in the end, what their father still can see was only his so-called-weak physique. The flaws were beyond his passion and effort for some reasons no matter what he did. Only thinking about it alone enough to make his eyes teary though he quickly wiped it with the back of his hand, but Masaki caught it nevertheless as he patted him on the shoulder, worried.
“Kazu? Are you okay?”
The younger brother just grunted. Not satisfied with the reaction, the stubborn Masaki pestered him which Kazu responded with nothing. When the third brother’s voice was getting more and more irritating in his ear, he finally turned with intention to scold him for being such bothersome. Yet, what he saw instead was Masaki’s panic face before he felt something very hard hit the side of his head.
And everything turned to dark.
“-zu?”
The faraway-like voice made Kazu stirred from his sleep. He then felt a pair of hands suddenly reached for his side before started to move him so vigorously while shouting for his name like they were in some kind of tragedy dramas. That person even ignored the voice of another person in there to not shake him too hard or else his injury might get worsen from the previous hit. Eventually, the disturbance got into Kazu's nerves so much that he immediately groaned and pushed away whoever it is that still literally clinging onto him.
“KAZU! FINALLY YOU’RE UP! I WAS SO WORRIED!!”
The still dizzy school boy only managed a grunt when his crybaby brother already pulled him into a tight hug while saying how worried he was. No matter how hard he tried to free himself from the suffocating hold, the elder one didn’t let him until it left him to no choice but patted the other guy on back as he repeated there was nothing to worry about. Some of their teachers were right when they mentioned how complicated the relationship between the five of them were since most of the times the role between the elder and younger was reversed.
In the end, the school doctor had no choice but to drag Masaki out of the treatment room or else the latter will miss his second class of the day. Kazu on the other hand just waved back with a sigh when Masaki keep on repeating his promise from behind the door that he will come back again during class break with lunch before finally rushed away from there. For some reasons he couldn't bring himself to scold the elder brother's behavior since it was understandable for the other guy to be worried about him when the reason why he suddenly fell unconscious before was because there was an idiot from the Kendo club was practicing his movement in the corridor. He turned to Masaki exactly when he and that idiot reached the same corner at the same time, and that was when he accidentally got hit on head by the latter's wooden sword. It was a stupid story indeed, but the doctor said he at least he survived with only a bump and harmless dizziness.
Frowning by the stung he still felt on his head, Kazu then tried to touch the place where he had been bandaged. Before he could however, both he and the school doctor were startled by sudden knocks to the door from outside. As soon as he saw their respectful baseball club's coach appeared from behind the door, he panicky hid himself under the blanket to avoid from get caught. After all, if the man knew about his current condition, he was more than sure that the chance for him to be selected into the school team will down to zero.
“ -sensei, thank you for lending these.”
“No problem. Did you find all the information you needed?”
“Yeah. Your comments about their fitness were more than helping. It was from the latest physical examination, right?”
Kazu barely managed to hold his surprise gasp when the school doctor answered that all the information was from the three days ago check-up. The rest of the conversation was completely ignored by him since all what mattered at that time was what written on the examination file. Later when the coach eventually took his leave from there while the school doctor walked toward a shelf with carrying all the files, Kazu carefully peeked from under his blanket. He pretended to be sleeping for the entire time until he heard the doctor let out a heavy sigh while saying that she probably need some coffee to refresh herself. By the time he heard her close the door from outside and began to walk to wherever she ought to be, Kazu didn’t waste any more time to climb out of his bed. His heart hardly pounded in his chest as he tried to remember where exactly she kept the previous files until he realized that every name on there was arranged in Hiragana order. It didn’t take very long for him to find ‘Osayama’ among the list and reached for it to search for the particular comment that they talked about before. At that time he felt like his heart was nearly jumped out of his chest - both due to the fear if the school doctor will suddenly appear on the doorstep and if the comment that written about him wasn’t a very good one.
Then, two words caught his eyes.
Slightly underweight
The teenager felt like his heart stopped by those two simple words. He thought his whole world was about to collapse until he accidentally read the name who's the file belonged to. Realizing that it was no other than his own brother Masaki, he wanted to huff his breath due to relief, but the column about their parents and the third brother’s blood type caught his attention.
Father’s blood type: AB+
Mother’s blood type: AB+
Student’s blood type: AB+
What he just read caught him off guard. Extremely confused by the unexpected encountered, the teenager quickly looked for his file and took it out from the shelf. After all, he clearly remembered when he went through the health check-up three days ago, their father blood type was O negative in his file. There was a chance for their blood type to be different indeed since they don’t have a same mother, but why was it the information about their father was wrong?
“The doctor returned not long after that, so I didn’t have chance to read the parents’ information part. I didn’t even remember to check the comment about my health condition at that time.”
Kazu then chews his lower lip, seemingly still bothered by the 11 years ago memory. Sho and Jun on the other hand has long turned to speechless while the quiet Satoshi already slumps on the guest chair nearby. The depressing sight of seeing the eldest brother of their becomes this down - just like the moment before the accident took place two years ago clenched Kazu’s heart badly though he knew there’s no way he can take back what he told them. The truth after all can never be buried forever. It will still leak one day right at the moment he would never expect it - whether they are prepared or not like now.
“Just in case the school doctor really wrote down father’s blood type wrong, I asked our biology teacher if parents with O negative and AB positive blood type can have AB positive child. And she said it’s impossible. It will only either be B or A, just like us. Then, when I came home, I checked our hospital card just to make sure if there was any error, but the information was exactly the same as what was written on the school’s file. That was when I finally realized that Masaki doesn’t have the same father as us.”
Clearly can’t fully absorb the truth yet, Jun rubs his face due to frustration. Sho on the other hand already worriedly looks at Satoshi who hasn’t said a word yet since Kazu started his story before since he seemingly lost himself with what he should say at this moment. The second brother doesn’t know which truth hit Satoshi the hardest now - is it the fact that the mother who he knew they always long to see one day could actually do something as forgivable as that, or the fact that Masaki didn’t have a same father as them?
“…Why? Why you didn’t tell us earlier?”
Jun’s voice finally fills the ward after a long heavy silence. Already expecting such question to come from the first place, Kazu on the other hand just sigh.
“Because I really thought it won’t make any different between us. Masaki is still Masaki for me. Also…I don’t have a heart to tell him that when he and Nii-san always say they want to see their mother again. That’s just…cruel.”
Jun swallows hardly down by that, but can’t bring himself to say anything without hurting Satoshi’s feelings. Instead, he comes to sit next to the older man and gives a gentle squeeze on shoulder to show his support. They notice how Satoshi chews his trembling lower lip by that, but neither cry nor saying a word in return.
“…Isn’t that means father already knows it from earlier? It’s impossible he didn’t see Masaki’s healthcare information or hospital card.”
“I wonder about the same thing until now too. I really thought that father already know about it from earlier, but wasn’t really mind since he didn’t treat Nii-san differently from us. But that doesn't seem like the case tho...”
“It’s not weird actually. You guys probably don’t remember it, but father always leave anything related to us either to mom or his assistant. Be it about vacation, healthcare, school, or whatever. He doesn’t have time to arrange all of that.”
The sudden interruption surprise both Kazu and Jun. They however don’t give any comment about it and just watch the elder brother sighs heavily before turn to the fourth brother again.
“…How did you know that LAB’s current owner is his real father?”
The fact that Sho still avoids from mentioning Masaki’s name even at this moment stings Kazu’s feelings. Just how this man can be so lack of empathy toward someone who cares a lot about his condition? Yet, he tries not to think much about it and turns to the scenery outside instead.
“I only know about that two years ago… It was the day before he was interrogated by the directors.”
Kazu nearly jumped on the couch when someone suddenly slammed open the front door. Seeing Masaki hurriedly took off his shoes before running to their family’s office made him forgot his game as he rushed to follow the elder brother from behind. At first, he just confusedly asked when realized that the other man was looking for something in the shelf, but as soon as he noticed that the latter was actually crying and sniffing behind his messy bang, his heart immediately thundered with worries.
“Masaki? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
He however was ignored when the usually cheerful brother kept on digging for something among the hundreds of files. Soon, his heart almost dropped once noticed that the third brother took out an old hospital card that was hidden between their elementary school’s report cards. Panic, he quickly stole it from Masaki’s hand though it just made the other man to turn to him due his weird behavior.
“What’s wrong, Masaki? Are you okay? Why are you wet?” he tried to act normal even though Masaki’s red teary eyes already stared him suspiciously. When the latter told him to hand the card, he tried to change the topic. That however just made the situation even worst when the usually gentle brother slammed the office desk, hard.
“Ju-st gave me tha-t, Kazu. Please. I ne-ed to make sure of some-thing. I need t-o see i-t. Please.”
More tears flow down to Masaki’s face as he begged desperately for the card. Clearly torn by that, Kazu on the other hand remained still while gripping on the card tightly. Each time Masaki tried to snatch it from him, he quickly dodged it to make sure it stayed out of the latter’s reach until the elder brother began to cough with sobs.
“…W-Why? W-Why are yo-u do-ing thi-s? I on-ly wan-t to see it. I-I wan-t to see if mo-ther said the tru-th. If tha-t man is…my re-al fa-ther…”
Though actually surprised that Masaki will find out about the truth from the mouth of his very own mother, Kazu hid it thoroughly behind his face. Yet, the emotionless expression just crumbled Masaki more who already cried even harder.
“Y-You knew it, Ka-zu. You al-ready knew it. That’s wh-y you didn-t let me see tha-t, right? Wh-y you didn’t te-ll me? Why I ha-ve to know it thi-s way…” Kazu nearly to rush forward once witnessed Masaki nearly fell to his shaking knees. Seeing how heartbroken the older man was as he reached for the desk beside him for a support made him teary himself, but in the end he chose to stand still. Even after watching how the man in front him kept on bawling between his sobs like crying over his ill-fate, Kazu didn’t move a muscle. Not a bit. Instead, he just listened to the same thing that Masaki repeated after that, over and over again.
“W-Why sh-e did tha-t? W-Why L-AB? W-Why mu-st sh-e be with hi-m? I don-t wan-t to be hi-m…”
“I know how stupid I was for letting Masaki to cry alone like that. No wonder he thought I was disappointed with him. No wonder he thought I despised him because of his father. The truth tho...I actually didn’t know what I should do at that time. Maybe if I tried to do something instead of standing like an *sshole at that time…things won’t turn out bad between us like now. I was so stupid.”
Tears of remorse resurface on Kazu’s eyes by the thought. Now the whole truth is finally out of his chest, he feels like his shoulders are no longer burden with the weight of secret and regret. The guilt had been haunting him since the day Masaki left the house and finally today, even if it’s two years late, he let the others to know about the real story beneath Masaki’s root and wrong decision. No matter what kind of tale it is, there will be definitely two sides of it that leads to the consequences like today.
“Now, let me ask you guys. Is Masaki’s bloodline bothers you that much? Do you guys think him dirty like father thought about him?”
Satoshi is the first one to shake his head while wiping the tears that already wet his face. Jun can’t help from smiling when see the reaction as he pats the older man on head before turning to Kazu and shakes his head as well.
“What’s happening between our parents will remain that way. It wasn’t supposed to affect us from the first place. They don’t…have any idea what we’d through because of their selfishness.”
Can’t agree more with that, Kazu immediately nods. He then grins widely when the two brothers get up from their seat, ready to leave and see the third brother to clear up misunderstand that has been cementing between them since two years ago. Yet, the realization that Sho remains lost in his own world eventually makes him lose his patience. He doesn’t even care he had made the latter surprises when he hit the nearby small table to gain the attention he needs.
“Is Masaki’s bloodline that important to you? Why can you accept Jun’s situation, but not Masaki's who actually wasn’t at fault on whatever thing it is? Does he gross you that much?”
“No. I mean-” sudden knocks to the door from outside cut him from continuing. Once gives his permission to the visitor to come in, he surprises when find Takayama appears from behind it. The secretary at the same time immediately apologizes when realize that he probably had disturbed the brothers at a wrong time though they quickly say that it is totally fine. Later, as they all wait for Sho to sign some documents that secretary had brought there, Jun can’t help from turning to the staff wonderingly.
“Is Masaki busy in office now? We have something to talk with him.”
“Masaki-san is actually on his way to your home, Jun-san. He asked me to empty his schedule on these hours because he has something to do there.”
“Now you mention it, I remember he said he wants to take something from house. I wonder what it is.”
“He said he needs to pack up his things in home. I tried to arrange his schedule so that he can have more time to settle it, but he said it’s okay since he’s going to burn most of his stuff anyway.”
***
Masaki was shaken. He was never fond with their father’s sickening lifestyle on drowning in alcohol and women nearly every night, but that didn’t stop him from visiting the old man during his free time. However, the direct message that he received this morning - telling him to come and see the latter right away really terrified him. After all, he hadn’t recovered from the shocked about his real root yet after meeting his mother two days ago, and now he probably need to bear another huge blow from the latter. If the reason behind his summon to the ward was like he had expected it to be, he only can pray that their father can accept the truth with open-heart. Well, even Satoshi who was known much earlier to be born from different father was well-loved by the older man, so it’s not impossible for that to happen to him too…right?
By the time Masaki reached the hospital floor where rows of VIP wards were lining on his right and left, he can feel his heart thundered inside. His hand already trembled hard once he reached for the door of the luxury room which had turned to more like their bedridden father’s home after he was forced to stay there due to his health problem. Knowing that he had no other choice but to face the situation anyway in the end, Masaki took one deep breath to prepare himself for the worse. Then, he forced himself to smile as he stepped inside where he started babbling everything across his mind to hide his nervousness. It seemed to work at first when he saw his father just quietly watched him from his bed, but when he tried to approach the old man, his voice immediately stuck by the deadly gaze he received. His fear came with double force due to the reaction, what more when the man already told his mistress to wait outside. This was the moment when he realized about the presence of a copy of his birth certification which was lying on a small table near the bed which instantly made him froze on his place.
“Do you know why I called you here?”
The young accountant only can swallow hardly down.
“I heard there was a problem about you in the company. The board of directors contacted me and said they find out you were in contact with LAB and even emailed our confidential document to them.”
Although the young accountant wanted to object it, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything due to nervousness. He tried to calm himself down by repeatedly tell himself that it will be just fine and their father will understand his situation, but his brain refused to listen to every of it. Now, he wished he had followed his instinct to ignore those emails before. He wished he never kept their contact with him and never agreed to see his mother from the first place when in the end the only reason she did that was to tell him about the painful revelation. However, out of all those wishes, he wished he had never turned his back from Sho’s order to not let anyone else touched the document or else things will not become so complicated in their company. Just if he at least didn’t do that very one last thing, he probably can face their father and Sho with his head high unlike now.
“Why? Did you lose your voice?”
Masaki only can chew his lower lip as he continued to stare the floor beneath him. His lack of response however just made the old man erupted with amused laughter since he seemed already expecting for that reaction to come.
“Just like mother and son. Your mother married me to steal information from my company, and now YOU betrayed my son to leak more information for your ‘beloved’ mom and dad’s company. The traitor blood really ran along your bloodline. Just how amazing it is?”
The cynical tone made Masaki clenched his hands harder. Each word that escaped the old man’s mouth felt like a stab of blade into his heart, tearing and destroying him mentally to the point of shaking. No matter how much he wanted to deny their father’s words, another voice inside him already acknowledging the truth behind it judging from his irrational decision by letting the senior accountant’s to help to fix the proposal for him. It was crystal clear this must be his punishment for taking Sho’s unconditional trust on him lightly.
“No wonder why Satoshi’s father divorced her. I should get that sign earlier. How pathetic of me.”
The pain behind the voice was so obvious that it made Masaki to chew his lip harder. He couldn’t imagine it to be in their father’s shoes - trusting and loving someone with his whole heart, only to be betrayed like that for the other person’s benefit. It suffocated him just from thinking how the culprit’s blood actually ran in his body without his knowledge until now. He felt so ashamed for having that kind of people as his parents. He felt so ashamed for having their blood flowing in his vein. Heck, he even felt so ashamed for inheriting his mother’s features to the point it made the old man sick just by looking at his face. The humiliation for upsetting the person who had raised him for this entire time until that much made him tear up, but there was nothing he could do as he just listened to the brokenhearted man’s outburst.
“You know what? A long time ago, I thought I finally can rebuild my life again and gave Sho a mother that he always needed when I met your mother. I can never forget Sho’s real mother, but at least I found someone who I can move on with. Who would ever thought she’d planned everything since the very beginning. And on top of that, with the biggest enemy of my own company! I was fool for entrusted her with everything I had! That b*tch was a f*cking liar! An ungrateful piece of sh*t!”
He didn’t say a word even when the person that the latter cursed was his very own mother. He knew their father deserved to feel that way. Even he himself wished that he would never be born by that woman, but what else choice he had since there's no way a child can ever choose their own parents?
“I tried…I tried my best to give another chance to myself to build a family - a home - for Sho, Satoshi, and you, but the damaged she’d done was eating up me inside. Do you understand how I feel when that sh*tty company of them raises and even got awarded for using a plan that I worked my *ss hard for?! Even Kazu, Jun, and their mother who are not at fault at all were dragged into this mess!!! How do you expect for me to act like nothing happened anymore after that?!! Stop acting like a f*cking doll now and tell me!!!” controlled by his anger and hatred, the old man then reached for his book and thrown it at the quiet man’s head. That made Masaki immediately whimpered due to the pain though sill forced himself to remain unmoved. Bright bruise might appear on the injured area now, but that was the last thing in his mind. The first teardrop already makes it way down to his face as he gritted his teeth hard though that didn’t soften the old man’s steel-heart the slightest.
“And you, son of a b*tch, you did exactly what she’d done to me by doing that to Sho. I wish I could at least protect my son from the pain of being betrayed like that, but I’m no longer fully in charged with the company’s matters. You just wait and see what that son of mine is going to do with you tomorrow. You’re not going to escape like your mother did to me, you f*cking betrayer!”
Masaki immediately let out a gasp by that. Finally, after remaining silence for the entire time, he looked at the latter through his tears
.
“Y-You’re wrong, father. I never want to betray Sho. I-I admit…it was my fault that the company became like now… It was all because of my stupid mistake…”
“Mistake?! Just stop with your bullsh*t, rascal! Don’t ever f*cking think you can fool me like your b*tchy mother had done to me!”
“I-I really meant i-it. P-Please, believe i-in me…”
“Just stop with your sh*tty talk! I won’t believe anything that comes from liaison child! Have more shame with yourself!”
Those remarks felt like a strong slap to his face. This was the moment when he had wished that he was never born. He felt so dirty. So ashamed for causing so much pain to the man in front him, to the company, to his beloved brothers... More tears flow down to his cheeks by all those negative thought that started to occupy each part of his brain until it made him dizzy. Yet, the torture didn’t end there. Soon, the old man suddenly laughed like he had lost his mind as he pointed at him like he was having fun watching Masaki’s miserable state.
“I just understand something. Your so-called parents left you with me so they can build their legacy together using my plan. They only looked for you now because they don’t have any other heir. Means, you’re actually unneeded child! A tool to only protect their wealth and power!”
That clawed open Masaki’s already bleeding heart.
“But guess what? Now we know who your parents are and from where you got that traitor blood in your body, that means you have no place in this family anymore. I don’t care where you want to go, but you better off before I force you too.”
When he was told to leave the place, Masaki quickly shook his head as he ran to stand next to Osayama’s bed. He then knelt in front of the man, begging for the latter’s mercy between his sobs as he tried to reach for the elder one’s hand. His touch however was slapped away harshly each time that in the end it made him to drop on his four to the floor just for the sake of getting the older man’s attention.
“Fa-ther, no… I b-beg you… I-I really don’t ha-ve a-nything to d-do with LAB. I swe-ar I d-don’t. I-I belong t-to Osayama… I-I can ex-plain what happene-”
“Shut up! Just f*cking shut up already! From now on you’re no longer Osayama! You can go back to your traitor mother or f*cking find somewhere else to live! I don’t f*cking care!”
“F-Father…p-please…I-I don’t have a-anywhere to g-go…”
“I SAID I DON’T F*CKING CARE!!”
A glass of water then was splashed all over his face, halting Masaki from saying another word further. Tears poured down even heavier to his face when the older man spat more curses to him before throwing the glass he was holding to his face. The pain to his feelings however was much worse than his skin that it made his body to shake harder with sadness as he brought his begging gaze for the last time toward the angry man.
“LEAVE! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE ANYMORE! YOU’RE NO LONGER MY SON!”
“Sir?”
Masaki immediately gasps by the voice. As soon as he lifts his gaze, he sees the taxi driver in front already stares back at him weirdly. Finally realizes that they had arrived at Osayama household, he quickly wipes his tears before paying for the ride. He does’t realize that he had fallen asleep along the way and even cried over the bad memory…for the countless time.
Later, when he eventually stands in front of the empty house with keys in his hand, he can’t help from smiling by the nostalgic feeling. He still remembers how he and Sho always look forward to coming back there after a long day at office with Satoshi’s warm greeting on the doorstep, Kazu’s endless teases in the living room, and the smell of Jun’s superb cooking that came from the kitchen. Just by reminiscing it instantly brings tears to his eyes though he quickly removes it by shaking off his head. Then, after taking one deep breath to calm down, Masaki finally unlocks his way to inside. He was surprised at first when realizes there is nothing much change since the moment he left there, but remembering Satoshi’s story regarding Sho, Kazu, and Jun's changing of behavior clenches his heart sadly while he makes his way to the upstairs where his bedroom is. As soon as he is eventually inside though, he quickly grabs for his bag which unsurprisingly has been left untouched under his bed for the past two years. Nobody seems to bother to do anything inside there which makes him to smile grimly both due to happiness and sadness - happy because that means nobody will notice it even if he cleans up everything there, and sad because that means he is going to destroy the memory and his existence completely from the house for better.
Not wanting to be disturbed by the unnecessary thought, he let out a sigh before starts to pack up his stuff. All clothes and the stuff that he feels important will be put inside the bag while the rest will be put at the burning place later. Luckily everything related to the company is going very well nowadays - thanks to all Sho’s notes and advises - that it allows Takayama to empty his schedule even just for a few hours for him to settle all these stuff when nobody is at home. Otherwise, it will be really difficult to answer the other three brothers’ endless questions behind his sudden decision. They will not understand how painful it is for him to be left confused and hanging with his status as an Osayama when in fact he actually doesn’t have anything to do with the family, let it in blood or acceptance by everyone. It feels like he will keep on clinging to the past if something that proved his once presence there has not been removed yet since Satoshi told him before that they are still hoping for him to come back.
However now, he is determined. He wants to move on. And he is more than sure that the other four are doing good on that now judging from the story that Kazu told him this morning about Sho’s progress and Jun’s determination to take full responsibility of his action. Kazu himself looks more confident compare to their first meeting before that it can’t help him from feeling proud with their improvement. Right now Satoshi must be very thrilled with the obvious change of his younger brothers, and he can already imagine how happy the latter is like he always told him when they met before. And that also means there is no place left for him in their life and he is sure that very soon, after Sho is completely recovered from his sickness, he won’t be needed to be around anymore. The thought of how he is going to leave them for the second time and probably, without a chance to see each other again bring tears to his eyes. After all, he already decides to change his name and find new place to live once everything is finished at the company so he can start a new life as a new person without any past that could kill him more inside.
Too occupied with that thought and his job, Masaki fails to notice the soft footsteps which are coming closer from downstairs. He is still wiping his pouring tears when he later hears a voice suddenly comes from the doorstep behind.
“Masaki?”
Surprised, Masaki immediately gasps and stops in his movement.
***
>This chapter went above 6,000 words again. That's why I took more time to finish it ==" Sorry for the wait.
>As always, Thank You SO much for reading!