Akai Ito - Five
Title: Akai Ito
Characters: Sho Sakurai, Ninomiya Kazunari, Aiba Masaki, OCs
Pairings: Sho/OC, Nino/OC
Status: Ongoing
A/N: Yay. I finally finished this after being so busy at work. Hopefully, I'll get to work on the next one soon. In case it would cause confusion, every chapter of this fic starts with a flashback. Comments are much ♥ (Originally posted: March 23, 2009)
Previous Chapters: One // Two // Three // Four
Why does this always has to happen?
Hanako frowned and looked at the bleak sky and the pouring rain from the front shade of a music store. She was supposed to watch a movie with a friend, but her friend had to cancel at the last minute. On her way home, it rained, and as usual, she had forgotten to bring her umbrella.
“You never did learn didn’t you?”
She spun her head to her left and saw Sho with an amused look on his face. It seemed as if he had been running in the rain. He ruffled his wet hair and started to take off is damp jacket. Hanako noticed that his hand was no longer bandaged.
“Well, you also don’t have an umbrella,” she said, making a face at the sky. After a moment, she sighed and glanced at him. “Did you come from the hospital, Senpai? How’s your mother?”
He nodded in reply to the first question as he shook water droplets off his jacket.
“Her condition’s not improving much,” he answered monotonously. He quickly looked at her direction and saw that she seemed more dressed up than usual. “How about you?”
“I’m supposed to watch a movie with Yuri-chan,” she said as she leaned back on the wall behind her. “But she suddenly had something to do.”
“Sou ka.”
There was silence between them as they waited for the rain to pass. Only the sound of the rain and the soft music from the store behind them can be heard.
“I like this song,” he suddenly said when a new song started to play.
Hanako turned to him and saw that his eyes were closed. For probably the first time, she really saw calmness on his face which she thought never existed.
“I never thought you liked this kind of music.” She found herself smiling and also closing her eyes to concentrate on the gentle sound of the piano and the relaxing voice of the singer.
“Who wouldn’t like it?” he finally said when the song ended. He opened his eyes and saw that her eyes were still closed.
“Hmm... you’re probably right,” she said with a smile. She slowly opened her eyes again and found him looking at her. “D-doushite?”
Sho suddenly looked away.
“The rain has stopped already,” he said quickly. He wore his jacket and stepped out of the shade.
“Finally,” she said in relief. She followed him into the sidewalk and walked beside him. “Are you on your way to work?”
He nodded and placed his hands inside his pockets.
“How about you?”
She looked at the sky that started to clear up and thought for a while.
“I guess I’ll pass by the bookstore first,” she answered. She stopped by a street and turned to him. “I’ll be going here. See you around, Senpai. Take care!” With a quick wave and a smile, she turned left and started to walk down the street leading to the bookstore. She was already a few feet away from him when he suddenly called her name.
“Yoshida-san.”
She stopped and turned around with a questioning look. She thought he looked quite uneasy.
“You... you too,” he said awkwardly. “Take care.”
Before she could react, he quickly turned to the other direction and walked further away from her. Hanako could only shake her head and chuckle as she watched his retreating back.
“Ba-ka.”
***
“Do you remember everything I told you?” Natsumi asked again as she put on her shoes in the genkan. She opened the door and turned to Masaki with an irritated look.
“Yes, I remember,” he said in a rather carefree tone. “I will take care of everything here, don’t worry.”
Natsumi paused and thought of something else to remind him about. She knew how scatterbrained her cousin is.
“Ah! There’s another one,” she said before Masaki was able to say goodbye and close the door. “Don’t you even think of smoking here. Obasan had told me how hardheaded you are. It’s-”
“Bad for me, I know!” Masaki said exasperatedly. “I know all that, so you can go now.”
Natsumi took a deep breath and nodded. She was about to open her mouth to say goodbye, when the slamming of the door in the next apartment startled her. She turned and saw Nino looking crankier than usual.
“O-ha-you....” She tried to greet him, but he just gave her a passing glance.
What’s wrong with him?
She frowned for a bit and looked back to Masaki. “I’ll be back before dinner. See you.”
“Take care, Na-chan,” he grinned widely and waved goodbye. Despite being worried that the apartment might be gone once she comes back, she felt better seeing Masaki’s smile after the cold treatment from Nino.
***
“This... is really good,” Toshi said excitedly as he read what Hanako has written for a project they have at work.
“You really think so?” Hanako felt really happy to hear the compliment. She knew, after all, how high his standards were.
Toshi nodded and gave the paper back to her.
“Let’s talk more about it later,” he said leaning a bit toward her desk. “Are you free?”
Hanako almost said “yes” without thinking, but then she remembered that she had to go to Sho’s house that evening with Masaki.
“Too bad... I have plans to see a friend,” she said with an embarrassed smile.
“Is it really a friend?” The teasing tone in Toshi’s voice was quite obvious.
Hanako rolled down her eyes and laughed.
“Of course,” she said and then brought the topic back to the project. “Maybe we could just talk about it tomorrow. What do you think?”
He thought for a while and then smiled.
“Sounds good,” he answered. “You can’t cancel this time, okay?”
“O-kay.” She had her eyes back on her work, but she was still smiling.
“No canceling because of kids you have to pick up from daycare, okay?”
Hanako almost broke her pen and looked up to her coworker in shock.
“Wh-what are you talking about?” she stammered. She thought no one she knew had seen her that day with Shoichi.
He laughed heartily and it somehow took away the tension that the statement built around them.
“I’m sorry about that. I saw you on your way home that afternoon,” he explained. “So whose kid is it?”
She didn’t really like to talk about it, but she still answered the question.
“An old friend’s. Something came up so he couldn’t pick up his son from the daycare on time.”
“I see. Sorry for bringing that up as a joke,” he said with a smile. He glanced at their other co-workers who were doing something in a corner. “I’ll go there and see how they’re doing.”
He waved at her and then turned to leave. Hanako, on the other hand, couldn’t go back to work anymore. She hoped he didn’t really misunderstand.
***
“Hide there!” Hanako said, pushing Masaki aside after she rung the doorbell in Sho’s apartment.
“What am I-”
“Shhhhh!”
After a few moments, they heard footsteps coming towards the door. There was a faint click and then a very happy Shoichi opened the door.
“You’re here!” he said jumping up and down.
Hanako smiled and patted his head. She glanced at Masaki who was standing motionless by the wall to her right and then inside the apartment.
“Where’s your father?” she asked.
As soon as she said that, Sho came walking towards the door with a smile.
“You’re a little early, Sensei,” he joked. “Come inside.”
Hanako stayed where she was and smiled.
“Well, I finished early at work, and I also have a surprise.” She pointed to her right and then winked at Masaki.
“Eh?”
Sho and a curious Shoichi stretched their necks to see who was hiding outside. When they finally saw him, Masaki flashed a wide grin and made a salute.
“Yo, Sho-kun! I see you’ve changed a lot.”
“Masaki?”
Hanako nodded and suddenly pulled Masaki by the arm.
“He came to stay with us for a few weeks,” she said. “I thought you’d be happy to see another one of your old friends.”
Masaki looked at Shoichi and then at Sho. “Is this your son?”
Sho simply nodded in reply. He looked quite surprised as he invited them into his apartment. He was only able to talk again when they were finally seated in the living room.
“You still owe me money,” he suddenly said to Masaki jokingly.
“Eh?” Masaki thought for a while and then smiled sheepishly. “Ah... I suppose you’re right. Maybe I’ll just cook for you today in exchange.”
“That’s one reason I brought you here,” Hanako said as Shoichi came to seat beside her. “I learned the curry recipe from this guy, so it’d be better if he’s here.”
“That’s right,” Masaki said proudly. He stood up from the couch and looked towards the kitchen. “Should we start now?”
Sho nodded. He and Masaki went ahead to the kitchen while they talked about their present lives. Hanako was about to follow them, but Shoichi held her arm.
“Ne, do you still remember my presentation next week?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said with a gentle smile. She stood up and then held out her hand to him. “Maybe Aiba-san could join us too. He’s Na-chan’s cousin and your father’s friend.”
Shoichi thought for a while before taking her hand.
“If the curry is good he could come.”
***
“Is it good Shoichi-kun?” Masaki asked.
Hanako, Sho and Masaki all looked at Shoichi. The boy said nothing as he continued to chew slowly with a straight face. Masaki thought he was doing it on purpose.
“I-is there something-”
“Oishii.”
“Eh?”
“I said it’s delicious,” Shoichi said to Masaki with a small smile.
“Really?”
He nodded and resumed eating.
“Ah, yokatta!” Masaki said with a relieved sigh as he collapsed back onto his chair. “And here I was thinking you’ll be a picky eater.”
Hanako caught Sho’s eye and they both laughed.
“Ne, Shoichi-kun, aren’t you going to tell Aiba-san something?” she asked the boy who was sitting beside her.
Shoichi looked at Hanako and then at Masaki.
“You can come to the daycare next week,” he said with a straight face. “I will be singing.”
“Eh, really? Thank you for the invitation. I’ll try to come,” Masaki said with a wide smile. After that, Masaki took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sho. “Here. I guess you can do it on your own with that.”
“Thank you,” Sho said gratefully as he took the paper from him. He scanned the things Masaki wrote there and laughed. “It’s very precise. Thanks again.”
“Of course. What do you expect from me?” Masaki said rather conceitedly.
“Nothing at all,” Hanako said, butting in. “It’s so not you.”
“And what do you mean by that?”
There was a pause after Masaki’s exclamation and then everyone laughed. It was at that moment that the ringing of Hanako’s mobile phone pierced through the sound of their laughter.
“I think I need to answer that,” she said with an apologetic look. “Excuse me.”
She stood up and walked back to the living room where her bag and her phone are. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was Toshi calling.
“Moshi moshi?”
“I thought you wouldn’t pick up.”
He sounded like he was smiling when he said that. From the sound in his background, Hanako guessed that he must be in a restaurant or a café.
“Of course I would. It might be something about work,” Hanako said in defense. “S-so why did you call?”
“Let’s just say I suddenly had more free time than I expected tonight.” There was a pause before he continued. “It’s not work-related, but you might like to join me.”
“Eh?”
The sound of his laughter from the other end of the line brought her back to herself. She shook her head and tried to think of a reply.
“I’m sorry if it’s quite sudden,” he said after a long pause from her side. “I’ll be waiting until midnight. Just give me a call.”
Before she could even come up with something to say, he had already hung up. She stared at her phone for a while and then sighed in frustration. He must be thinking how much of a loser she was now.
“Way to go, Yoshida. You can’t even talk properly to a guy,” she mumbled to herself.
***
Through the rest of the dinner, Hanako couldn’t take her mind off the phone call she received earlier. She tried to join the conversations and laugh along with her companions, but a part of her was still thinking whether to go and see Toshi or forget that the phone call ever happened.
“Is there anything wrong, Hanako-san?” Sho suddenly asked as they were clearing the table together.
Hanako looked up to him in surprise and noticed that Masaki and Shoichi were no longer there with them.
“Shoichi-kun showed him his room,” he said, as if he could read her mind.
“I-I’m sorry... I just suddenly-”
“If you have somewhere to go to, that’s fine.” He smiled at her and took the plates she gathered. “When they come back I’d tell him that you need to go.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but she was unsure of what to say. When they were back in the living room again, Masaki and Shoichi exited the bedroom. Hanako noticed that the boy seemed to be friendlier towards Masaki. She smiled to herself, thinking that her friend could definitely get along with almost everyone.
“Ano... Shoichi-kun, Hanako-san has to go now,” Sho said as he crouched down beside his son.
“Can’t you stay a little longer?”
Once again, Shoichi gave Hanako a pitiful look. She would have given in and stayed for an hour or two, but this time she was firm on leaving. She knew in herself that she wanted to spend more time with Shoichi and Sho. After the incident in her workplace earlier that day, however, she felt like she had to distance herself from them. She was, after all, just a friend. Other than that, there was also that invitation from Toshi.
“Please?” Shoichi begged.
Hanako shook her head and crouched down beside the boy.
“I’m sorry, Shoichi-kun,” she said, trying to smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll still see each other next week.”
She felt quite helpless as the boy started to cry. She felt worse when Sho gave her an apologetic look and tried to stop the boy from crying in vain.
“Ne, Shoichi-kun,” Masaki’s jolly voice rose over the sound of his crying and the unnerving tension in the room. “Na-chan is alone at home. She might be lonely without us.”
They were surprised when the boy stopped crying at once and wiped his tears.
“Is that true?” he asked Hanako in a cracked voice.
She looked at Masaki and Sho, and then back at Shoichi.
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Shoichi-kun sniffed and held his father’s hand. “Papa, c-can we walk with them until they get outside?”
Sho nodded and stood up. They were silent at first as they walked towards the door. As soon as they got outside though, Masaki started to talk again and joke around. Hanako was somewhat relieved that she brought him along.
“Thank you for your help today,” Sho said with a smile as they stepped out of the apartment building.
“That’s nothing,” Masaki said with a wide smile. “I guess we’ll see you next week.”
“D-do your best, Shoichi-kun,” Hanako said with a small smile. “Till next week.”
After waving goodbye to them, Hanako and Masaki turned around and walked away. After they passed by several buildings, Masaki suddenly clapped Hanako’s shoulder.
“I think you have somewhere to go to, right?” he said after his friend gave him a questioning look. “I already know the way from here. I’ll see you later!”
Before she could even say something, he started to walk away. She sighed and looked at her mobile phone. There was still more than three hours before midnight.
“I almost thought you wouldn’t call,” Toshi said as soon as he answered the call.
Hanako just found herself smiling.
“So where are you right now?”
***
Masaki reached into his pocket and pulled out his last pack of cigarettes. He thought he should try to look for a part-time job the next day. He still wasn’t sure how long he would be staying in Tokyo. Even if his father would forgive him, he thought he could stay for a while for “research.”
From afar, he saw that the light in his cousin’s apartment was turned on. She would throw a fit if she ever saw him smoking, so he walked toward the side of the building to smoke. He hated how she becomes more like his mother and hers every passing year.
“Do you have a lighter?”
He was already halfway through his first cigarette when someone came into the dark corner and stood beside him. Without a word, he handed the other man his lighter. Masaki caught a glimpse of his face when he lit his cigarette.
“Ah... you are Na-chan’s neighbor, right?” he asked cheerfully. Despite Nino’s cold treatment, Masaki was still kind and friendly. He just wasn’t one to dwell on first impressions. “I guess you’ll also be my neighbor, though only for a few weeks.”
Masaki was shocked when Nino suddenly took him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him to the wall.
“How could you!”
“D-did I say anything wrong?” He tried to get free from the other man’s grasp, but Nino was so strong despite Masaki being taller.
“What kind of man are you?” Nino said angrily through clenched teeth. “She was concerned and yet you-”
“What? You must be crazy!”
With all his strength, he was able to push Nino away. He smoothed down his shirt and gave his cousin’s neighbor a look of dislike.
“I don’t know what you’re on about, but I don’t think I’ve done you anything wrong.”
Nino scoffed and smirked.
“Yeah. But what about Natsumi-san?” he asked. “Didn’t she just tell you this morning not to smoke?”
Masaki clicked his tongue and looked away.
“Don’t tell me that my cousin even asked her neighbor to spy on me. How troublesome.”
It took a few moments for his words to sink into Nino’s troubled mind.
“N-no.... It’s just-”
“Or maybe... you’re one of those stupid men who fell for her,” Masaki said with a teasing smile as he faced him. He straightened up and rubbed his left shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”
Normally, he would have been ready with a retort, but this time, Nino could only stare at him as he started to walk away. When Masaki had finally entered the building, Nino winced and hit his own head with his fists.
He thought one of his friends was right in saying that love makes people do the most stupid things.
***
“Papa?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m listening, Shoichi.”
The boy sat up from the bed and looked at his father who was busy reading a book. He frowned and then placed his hand over the book. Sho kept his temper in check. He already had a lot of things in his mind, and losing his temper over the smallest of things was more likely to happen.
“You like Hanako-neechan, right?”
He couldn’t look straight into his son’s eyes. He knew in himself that he still liked her after all these years and after all the changes that had happened in their lives. But he also knew that she doesn’t feel the same way. Other than that, he has Shoichi.
“Papa!”
His son’s exclamation snapped him out of his trance. He tried to smile and ruffled the boy’s hair.
“I already told you that I do,” he said. “Now go to sleep.”
“But-”
“You are still going to practice the song tomorrow, right?” He gently pushed his son back to a lying position. “They will be watching so you have to be prepared.”
Shoichi was still frowning, but he felt that he had no other choice but to obey. He became silent so Sho thought that he had already fallen asleep. After a while though, the boy opened his eyes and spoke again.
“You heard it, right, Papa? The phone call and what she said.”
“Shoichi.”
Sho did not look up from the book, but his son knew that he was really serious from the warning tone in his voice. Shoichi closed his eyes again and turned his back on his father. Despite his muddled thoughts, Sho was able to finish the part he was supposed to read from the book. He set it back on his desk and checked if his son was asleep. When he saw that the boy was sleeping already, he lay back on the bed and closed the lights.
***
“I have plans for later,” Hanako told Toshi with an apologetic smile. “But I’m free tomorrow.”
“Going to the daycare again?” he teased as he arranged a stack of papers on his table.
Hanako laughed. She thought he would have forgotten about it.
“Well, yeah,” she answered. “My friend’s child is going to have a performance later, and he wanted me and my friends to watch him.”
“I see. Well, let’s set it for tomorrow then.” Toshi smiled at her and then gathered his things. “I’ll go ahead. Talk to you later.”
Hanako nodded and waved goodbye. She checked her watch and smiled to herself. Just as she planned, she’d get there just on time. After making sure that everything was in order, she left her workplace and went straight to Shoichi’s daycare.
She had not seen Shoichi for a few days so she was excited to see him again. The boy sent her a mail that morning reminding her about his presentation that afternoon.
I don’t send things like this often so you better come....
Hanako found herself smiling as she was rushing down the street leading to the daycare. It had only been for a while that she had spent time with them, but they had already been special to her in a way. Maybe she could distance herself from them for a bit, but she knew in herself that she couldn’t completely cut her connection to them.
“I’m glad you came,” Sho said with a smile when they met in a small hall where the performance will take place.
The place was filled with parents and guardians of the children. Hanako looked around for her friends, but saw that they weren’t around yet.
“Um, Natsumi-san told me she’s getting off late from work today,” Sho said after seeing Hanako surveying people around the room. “And I think Masaki and Daichi-kun have part time jobs.”
“You mean none of them are coming?” Hanako asked in a low voice as they walked to their seats. She was assuming that the people seated near them were all parents. “This kind of feels awkward now.” She looked at Sho and laughed.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said with a chuckle.
The program started after a while. The children showed their talents and the things they have learned to the audience. Shoichi’s group was the third one to perform. As soon as he got to the stage, the boy scanned the crowd for Sho and Hanako. When he saw them, he smiled and gave a little wave toward their direction. Hanako couldn’t help smiling and waving back. One of the teachers started playing the piano in the corner to start the song. The soft music filled the air followed by the children’s gentle voices.
“Eh... doesn’t this song remind you of something?” Hanako said in a low voice as she leaned closer for Sho to hear.
“The music store?” he whispered back.
Hanako nodded and closed her eyes to focus on the music. Sho glanced at her and smiled. He didn’t expect her to remember that rainy day when they listened to this song together.
“Is it still your favorite?” she asked as the song was about to end. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
He nodded and looked back to his son who was beaming when the song ended and the audience applauded.
“I usually stick with the things that I like.”
“Eh? What was that?” She was not able to hear what he had said through the sound of the clapping. She looked at him and waited for an answer, but he just shook his head and smiled.