[Multichapter] The beginning (7/20)
Title: The beginning
Author: tsuchi8562
Beta: syunikiss1990 <-- Thank you so very much!
Banner: andreja1989 <-- Thank you a lot~!
Pairing: SakurAiba
Rating: R-ish? (this chapter - for some really bad story...)
Genre: AU, psychological, romance, drama
Disclaimer: All I own is plot.
*MASTERPOST*
This was some kind of insanity. Sakurai still couldn't believe what was going on and since he was at home already, he couldn't even ask his boss about anything anymore.
"I'm home..." Sho mumbled while taking off his shoes near the door. Somewhere in the background a soft welcome home could be heard but that was the last thing the editor could record at the moment. He just went to his room, sat on the floor, in his usual place and tried to recall every single word that Tanaka had said to him.
I am not firing you, Sakurai-san... It's more complicated... The top has some different plans when it comes to you and they didn't tell me anything about it, I swear... For now, take few days off. I will let you know as soon as I know something.
That was it... No details, no reasons, no nothing... The editor sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back and deciding to clear his mind from every thought. He was tired, as if the information about vacations let the sleepiness hit him with double force.
"M-master okay?" Masaki's shy voice sounder rather close and Sakurai only nodded, not able to utter a word, powerless. The teenager sat next to the older one and simply hugged him, muttering some slow song. Sho couldn't help but smile, patting the latter's head and sighing again, letting his muscles relax. Right now the only thing he should do was to relax and stop thinking about his work. When was the last time he had some time off?
"Hungry?" The teenager asked but instead of waiting for any reply he was already in the kitchen, heating up some mysterious dish he made. The older man smiled weakly and followed, sitting at the table and soon eating some simple meal. After he finished and had a small fight with the teenager about the cleaning after the lunch Sakurai smiled and went closer to the window, watching Masaki washing the dishes.
"You surely need to allow me do some house work or else I will get lazy." The editor chuckled and turned around to look at the view outside. The anxiety and stress he had because of the job disappeared, making place for calmness and peace. What can happen in the worst case? He can always change the employer. If they find out that the best selling writer in the country comes along with the editor, everybody will want to hire him with gratitude. Sakurai sighed again, this time with relief and looked down, smiling gently. His eyes got caught by somehow familiar silhouette. Or maybe it was the stupid huge sunglasses he recognized?
"Masaki... How long this man is standing down there?" The older one said, frowning, still staring at the suspicious man.
"Ah, Jun-kun?" Masaki shrugged and dried out his hands. "Jun-kun Masaki's friend. He talks with Masaki when Master is away."
"You want to say that he comes here and you let him in?!" Sho raised his voice, feeling the anger crawling up his throat fast. The younger one opened his eyes widely and gasped, moving few steps back. In the next second Masaki knelt, took off his shirt and turned his gaze down, afraid of looking in Sho's face.
"Masaki bad... Master upset. Master punish Masaki..."
"W-what...?!" Sakurai frowned and crouched next to the latter, helping him putting his T-shirt back on. "Masaki, I am sorry. I am not mad at you, it's just... I don't trust that man and I am afraid he will try to hurt you." The editor placed his fingers under the younger one's chin and pulled his face up, searching for his eyes. "How long are you talking with him?"
"Don't know..." Masaki whispered, sniffling. All Sho could do now was to leave the boy alone and show he is not mad. That's why he embraced the teenager tightly and after a longer while he excused himself. Sakurai must talk to Matsumoto and ask him as politely as his anger allows him to leave them alone. The paparazzo was smoking a cigarette and looked at the building from time to time. He didn't seem surprised when the editor came to him.
"I would be really grateful if you leave Masaki alone. If you are looking for some cheap sensation, do it someplace else. You have no idea what you can do to him and..."
"And you are aware of that?" Jun interrupted. The photographer was calm. First of all he didn't want to upset the latter even more and second - the thing he wanted to offer could bring the risk of having his face smashed.
"What?!"
"Sakurai-san, I don't want to publish any photos or lame story about you two. I know you won't believe me, but at least listen to what I have to say. Can you do at least that?" When Sho nodded, Jun continued. "I am not a paparazzo. This was just an excuse to make sure I found the right person... My name is Matsumoto Jun, but you know that already. I am a journalist from 「T」Magazine and right now I am investigating the case of Takayuki Mike. This is quite long story, so maybe I will leave that for now... I am coming here for over two weeks now. Masaki didn't trust me, at first we were just talking through the doors but then he let me in and we talked... Please, don't get me wrong, this sounds chaotic but I can't explain everything to you yet. All I can say is that I want to investigate Masaki's past..."
Sho stood with slightly opened mouth, trying to understand anything from what the latter just said. It was indeed deranged and had no sense. A guy who almost got beaten by Ohno for blackmailing him states that he is working in one of the most widely read magazines. Also, he is working on some case Sakurai doesn't know about but which connects in some mysterious way with Masaki's past... What's the meaning of this?!
"I don't understand anything from what you have just said and frankly speaking, I don't think I care. Stay away from Masaki, stay away from us. Go and never come back!" Sho wanted to walk away but Matsumoto grabbed his forearm and made him stay.
"Sakurai-san, please... I can't tell you anything yet I still need to check some facts. Please, if you don't believe me you can always check the articles about Takayuki-kun." Jun took out his card and gave it to the editor. "Please, call me when you have more time and we can talk face to face, without Masaki. He shouldn't hear what I have to say..."
"And what makes you think I want to see you again?!"
"Maybe because you will be curious why Masaki called you the gentlest master he ever had? Now excuse me..." Without waiting for any response, the journalist got in his car and drove off, leaving shocked Sho in the middle of the street. The editor stood in shock, letting the last words Matsumoto had said settle in his mind and set the roots there. Was the teenager really abused by other men? Did they touch him and forced him to incredibly disgusting things? For heaven's sake, Masaki was not older than seventeen! If the things Jun said were true, the younger one's past got scarier than Sakurai had ever thought. Does he really want to know it now?
Cold chills ran down the editor's spine and he slowly shuffled back to the apartment lost in thoughts. The teenager was sitting in the living room on the floor, crying softly and trying to become smaller than he was. When he heard Sho's steps he tensed, breathing almost unnoticeably and waiting for his punishment. When for longer while nothing happened Masaki really slowly looked up and gazed on the older one's face shyly. Finally the silence was broken by younger man's quiet voice.
"I'm sorry..." Sakurai shook his head and knelt next to the latter. He didn't know what to say anyway, both shocked by the thing he heard from Matsumoto and now by the fact that Masaki referred to himself using first person singular for the first time.
"It's okay Masaki, it's okay..." Sho finally muttered and hugged the teenager tightly, as if he wants to compensate all the latter went through in the past with that one gesture. The editor rocked their bodies gently and when Masaki showed that he is not comfortable in the position, he moved away and ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's watch some movie..."
***
After Masaki had fallen asleep the filthy images of some disgusting men touching him his Sakurai with double force. The editor didn't want to fool himself anymore, the thing that the teenager said to Jun and his behavior showed more than clearly what he was forced to do in the past. Sho wanted to know more about the Takayuki's case, hoping this will pour new light on the younger one's past. Knowing that internet is a huge source of information the older man sat with his laptop on his knees and typed the boy's name in the searching engine. Immediately hundreds of websites appeared, showing awful image of a young boy being kidnapped and used in every possible way. After he caught a bad pneumonia and had to be hospitalized, the doctors noticed bruises on his body which clearly showed what they had been doing to him and called the police. Mike was separated from the criminals and closed in a clinic. According to a nurse working in the hospital he was asking about a man who kidnapped him very often, calling him Teacher and having anxiety attacks every time they were telling the truth. After five months Takayuki-kun in mysterious way got to the roof of ten floor building and jumped, dying on the spot from massive internal bleeding. The kidnappers disappeared in thin air, never getting punished for what they had done.
This story sounded really familiar to Masaki's. Pieces of puzzles slowly clicked in his mind, showing a bigger, disturbing picture. This was the time when the truth had to be revealed in order to help the younger one, teach him a normal life... Sakurai decided to call Jun in the morning and talk about the teenager. Maybe the journalist will find Masaki's family? With a loud sigh Sho closed his computer and rubbed his face. Sleepiness crawled in, filling every part of his brain, not leaving space for anything else and the editor was grateful that it chased away all bad images he had not so long ago. He sneaked under the blankets and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
"Master?" Masaki smiled and lay back on the huge bed. He was naked, stretched on the sheets in a very inviting way. Suddenly an old man appeared out of nowhere, with disgusting smile glued to his face. He touched the teenager all over, licking every part of his body. Masaki purred like a cat under the touch, gasping when the latter hit him, pinched his skin, bit, scratched, cut...
"Master...H-help..." This time Sho knew the one the younger one was calling was him. Sakurai rushed to the bed, but no matter how fast he ran, the distance didn't change. For a while that seemed to be eternity the teenager begged for help and the editor couldn't do a thing. Finally Sakurai grabbed the old man's hair, pulled him off of Masaki and threw him out of the window. Sho sat next to the teenager and checked if he is okay, worried that he can be seriously hurt.
"Master..." Masaki smiled and cuddled to the latter. "Gentle master..."
The editor woke up, gasping for air and wet from sweat. He wasn't sure whether he screamed or talked in his sleep, but he surely had woken Masaki up. The teenager sat on the edge of the couch, worry written all over his face.
"Bad dream?"
"Yeah... I'll be fine, go back to sleep..."