Cutie & the Beast - Part 5
"Satoshi,"
Sho knocked on the door but there was no answer. His best friend, Satoshi, had been hiding in the room for a while now. This wasn’t what Sho expected at all. After ten years of waiting, the king had finally allowed Satoshi to visit Little Kazunari. As Aiba and Jun were still in the human world, Sho was positive that the little boy still remembered Satoshi. However, when Satoshi returned, he had locked himself inside his room, not wanting to see anyone at all.
What happened? Did Little Kazunari forget him? But, Aiba and Jun hadn’t returned yet, so, it had to be something else.
As Sho was deep in his thoughts, thinking about Satoshi, he was startled when his shoulder was tapped from behind. He turned around and almost yelped to see Aiba and Jun standing in front of him.
"You guys are back!" Sho exclaimed, happy to see his friends. It had been a while. Even though they were not close, he missed them dearly. His life had been different since they left to live in the human world.
"Yes," Jun smiled. "We're back. I miss this world so much! Living in the human world was tough. I hate it,"
Sho begged to differ. Despite what Jun had said and the cheerful smile on his face, Jun didn't seem happy to be back in Kaibutsu Land. Indeed, Jun may have gone there involuntarily. But, it must have been a pleasant experience for him. If not, his eyes would not look so gloomy. Seeing that, Sho wondered if he would get a chance to go there too. He wanted to see the human world beyond what he had seen in Little Kazunari's room.
"Don't lie, Matsujun," Aiba said. He looked at Jun with sympathy. "I know you miss her,"
If looks could kill, Aiba would be dead because of Jun’s sharp stare. But, at least, the taller guy knew it was the cue for him to shut his mouth. Even though Sho was curious to know what they were talking about, it shouldn’t be his concern right now. His friends had returned! So, it meant…
“Little Kazunari…”
“Ah…” Jun was quick to respond, knowing exactly what Sho was going to ask. “That brat! We have a hard time because of him,”
Sho stayed silent, waiting for Jun to continue even though he could guess what had happened. Jun and Aiba are back. Satoshi is hiding in his room like a depressed person. So, it’s obvious what had happened.
“He insisted…”
Before Jun could explain what had happened in the human world, the door to Satoshi’s room was opened. Satoshi appeared at the door, looking different than his usual self. His friend frowned to see people in front of the room. However, it was quickly replaced by a smile when he realized who they were. Sho felt bad to see the way Satoshi smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“Matsujun… Aiba chan… you guys are back,” Satoshi went ahead and hugged those two. Aiba and Jun returned the hug but they eyed Sho curiously. Seemed like they also noticed something was wrong with Satoshi.
“Are you surprised to see us, Ohchan?” Aiba asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Satoshi released them from his embrace and then shook his head. “No, I’m not surprised. Little Kazunari doesn’t remember me anymore, right?” Both Aiba and Jun looked surprised but Satoshi ignored them as he continued. “I would love to hear about your adventure in the human world. But, I have to meet my father first to talk about the deal. I will see you after the meeting,”
Without any further explanation, Satoshi walked away from them, leaving Aiba and Jun clueless. Only Sho understood what had happened. Or at least he believed so.
"Deal?" Jun quickly asked. "What is he talking about?"
Sho sighed. Both of his friends wouldn't like what he's going to say.
"Is it true?" Instead of answering, Sho asked them a question. There’s something he had to confirm first. "Did Little Kazunari forget everything about Kaibutsu Land?"
“Tell me about the deal first,” Jun insisted.
Sho let out a sigh. It was expected that Jun would be stubborn and wanted things to be done his way.
“A few days ago, the king made a deal with Satoshi,” Sho decided to give up and let both Jun and Aiba know what had happened while they were gone. “He allowed Satoshi to go to the human world and meet Little Kazunari. If Little Kazunari still remembers him, Satoshi can be with him. But, if he forgets…”
“A few days ago?” Jun interrupted. His face went pale to hear what Sho said. Even Aiba who was usually cheerful and bright suddenly seemed worried. “When exactly?”
“Hmm…” Sho tapped his chin, trying to remember. “Three days ago,”
Aiba and Jun looked at each other with a similar expression. From their eyes, Sho could see guilt.
“So… if Nino forgets…hmm…” Jun seemed to be having a hard time trying to finish the question. Knowing exactly what he wanted to ask, Sho continued.
“He has to marry Princess Yuri,” answered Sho, earning a frown from both Aiba and Jun. The two of them didn’t know who she was because she arrived in Kaibutsu Land after they went to the human world. “It’s complicated to explain where she comes from. But, she came here with her father to help us generate energy without depending on children’s scream,”
“Did it work?” Aiba asked curiously. “How?”
Sho nodded his head. “It works," He ignored the other question because it would take some time to explain about it. "And to return the favour, the king wants Satoshi to marry the princess,"
Both Aiba and Jun widened their eyes but neither said anything about it as they tried to process the news. Jun seemed to be having more difficulty than Aiba to accept it.
"It's not your fault, Matsujun," Aiba suddenly said, looking straight at Jun with concern. "You don't know,"
But Jun was shaking his head. "No…this is my fault, Aiba chan! If only I didn't suggest that… if only we wait for a few more days…"
"We're doing it because we are worried for Nino…" Aiba assured Jun. "We don't want the king to send another monster to kill him because we fail to do our mission,"
"Yes… but…" Jun seemed miserable. Then his eyes widened as if he had just remembered something worse. "The portrait…"
"What portrait?" Sho asked curiously. But, Jun was too far gone to respond.
"The prince left a portrait for Nino," Aiba explained. Sho nodded his head, remembering that his friend had once drawn a portrait of the cute rascal he was in love with. Satoshi put the drawing on the wall of his bedroom but Sho hadn't seen it for a while. Now, he knew where the drawing was. But, he dreaded to know where this conversation was heading to.
“It was hard trying to convince Nino that Kaibutsu Land doesn’t exist because of the portrait,” Aiba resumed. “He was sure that the portrait was from Kaibutsu Kun, which was what he called the prince. So…”
Aiba looked uneasy to continue. Guilt was evident in his eyes.
“Nino.... he cannot forget the prince,” Aiba continued after taking a long deep breath. “Every day… he waited for Ohchan to come back. We made fun of him and told him he was stupid to believe in that to make him give up waiting for Ohchan… but, it’s futile… So… hmm… we... “
“We asked for help from his mother…” Jun cut in. He still looked miserable, though but better than before. “We made her lie to Nino so that he would believe that Ohno Satoshi is someone else and Kaibutsu Kun was merely his imagination… Nino was heartbroken to hear that… so... hmm… he tore the portrait… and… maybe… hmmm… do you think Ohno Kun saw that? Did he see what Nino did to the portrait? I mean… this happened three days ago… and as you said, Ohno Kun went there around the same time,”
Sho was at a loss of what to say. He had expected this would happen when Jun mentioned the portrait. It would explain why Satoshi was gloomy ever since he returned from the human world.
Sho still remembered the look on Satoshi’s face before he went to see Little Kazunari. It was the happiest Sho had ever seen him. But, it was puzzling to see him return in less than ten minutes with a completely different expression. Even though it was just a speculation, Satoshi might have arrived at the exact moment Little Kazunari was destroying the portrait. He must be sad to see his most precious treasure being torn like that. That’s why he left without saying anything to Little Kazunari.
But… perhaps, there’s a silver lining for this. After all, both Satoshi and Little Kazunari were different.
“It’s okay, Matsujun,” Sho tried to assure the other guy. “It’s not your fault. And maybe it’s for the better. Satoshi and Little Kazunari can’t be together,”
“No…” Jun shook his head. “I will fix this. No matter what it takes, I will reunite them. I will stop the wedding!”
Jun was a passionate man, Sho knew that. He would never give up once he set his mind on something. But… would Satoshi listen to them? Sho was sure that his friend would try to avoid talking about Little Kazunari so how could they tell him the truth?
But… Sho believed in Jun. He knew if anyone could help Satoshi escape from the deal, it would be Jun.
Something was wrong with Jun. Sho couldn’t shake the thoughts out of his mind as he watched Jun left with Little Kazunari. When Little Kazunari accused Jun of pretending to be their friend, Sho couldn’t help but agree. Jun had been acting weirdly so it wasn’t a baseless accusation. But, he didn’t seem to be dangerous. And Sho had a feeling that he was someone close to them even though he had no idea who he was.
“Why are you staring at the door, Sho chan?” Aiba asked, tilting his head. Indeed, Sho had been looking at the closed door after Little Kazunari and Jun left, trying to make sense of everything. But, when Aiba looked at him with his big puppy eyes, Sho could feel that he was blushing. So, he quickly averted his gaze and gave his attention to Satoshi who was unconscious on the floor.
“How is he?” Sho asked, pointing at the prince.
“I don’t know,” Aiba shrugged his shoulder. “Ne, can we undo the magic on the prince? I don’t want him to hurt Nino again,” Aiba was always the most optimistic among them. He would always find a way to get out of trouble. But, this time he didn’t look as bright as always.
“Aiba chan…” Sho reached forward, trying to comfort his friend. But, Aiba only gave him a wide smile in return.
“We will find a way, ne? We have Nino with us. He can help us,”
Sho only nodded reassuringly. How could Little Kazunari help them? He had no idea. But, he could feel that Little Kazunari was a special human. Princess Yuri was interested in him so there should be a reason, right? Even the late king was interested in the little rascal. Sho remembered that the king had summoned Jun and Aiba after they’re back to Kaibutsu Land. Jun didn’t say much about the meeting but Aiba told Sho that the king asked a lot of questions about Little Kazunari.
To be honest, something else had been bothering him when the king ordered Aiba and Jun to go to the human world. Why did he allow them to stay here for ten years? Rather than making Little Kazunari forget about Kaibutsu Land, it seemed like the king was actually asking them to look after the little rascal. But, why would he do that?
Sho also kept thinking about the deal between the king and Satoshi. It was understandable that Satoshi was disappointed to see Little Kazunari forgot him. But, the king also felt the same and that confused Sho. Why would the king feel that way when it was his decision to marry both Satoshi and Princess Yuri?
“What do you think about Matsujun?” Sho asked Aiba. It’s better to be thinking of something else right now. “Does he look different to you?”
Aiba tilted his head and tapped his chin as he thought about it. The action made him look cute so Sho had to look away once again. “He is. His action reminds me of someone,”
“Who?”
“Hmm… Matsujun reminds me of…”
But, before Aiba could answer, something else caught their attention. Blue smoke surrounded the unconscious prince and Sho immediately thought of Princess Yuri. She must be responsible for this. It must be her trick to get back at them. Sho stayed alert, readying himself for an ambush from the princess.
However, the princess didn’t appear. Instead, the smoke dissolved and both Sho and Aiba were surprised by what they saw. The prince was replaced by Jun. Eh, what was she up to this time?
“I will check on Little Kazunari,” Sho informed Aiba. If Jun was here, Little Kazunari might be in danger and it was his duty to protect the human. “Aiba chan, you stay here and make sure she didn’t do anything to Matsujun,”
Aiba nodded his head and Sho quickly left. He didn’t know which direction to go but he heard a sound from the stairs so he headed there. However, before he could go down, he was confused by the sight that greeted him and he couldn’t stop gasping. There… on the stairs… Little Kazunari was kissing… Satoshi?
Sho couldn’t believe what he had seen. Eh? How did Satoshi get there?
“No…I will fix this. No matter what it takes, I will reunite them. I will stop the wedding!”
Jun’s voice suddenly rang in his mind. And Sho finally understood what had happened even though he had no idea how Jun had done it.
A/N: I have a hard time writing this part. At first, I want to write only a little for what happened in the past and then continue writing what happened after Ohmiya kiss. But, the past was getting longer than I originally plan. So, the next part will be about the switching.
I hope this part wasn't as crappy as I thought. Let me know what u think of it okay. Really appreciate the feedback :)
I cannot promise when the next update will be but I will try to do it asap. The next update might be Ohmiya family because I want to write their date without Jun interrupting this time.
Anyway, do u have any idea for what I should write for Ohchan's birthday? I think I might write something in Ohmiya family universe if I didn't get any idea.