When You Were Young / Karma (Chap. 7)
When You Were Young - Chapter 7
Chaptertitle: Karma
Pairing: Sakurai Sho & Aiba Masaki
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: I don't own Sakuraiba. Just the plot.
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Karma
Chapter 7
“Hurry up, Ma-kun! Since when are you so slow” A big smile crept up on Sho’s face, the older boy teasing his boyfriend who limped right next to him, unable to walk any faster. It’s been almost two days since they spent the night at Sho’s, sleeping for the first time together and Aiba still didn’t recover from the slight burning pain below his back.
“Shut up… you’re the reason for all this…” Aiba pursed his lips and threw his school bag over his shoulder “You’re lucky that it was the best night of my life… otherwise I would have already kicked you in the butt” he mumbled almost inaudible and blushed lightly.
Sho smiled apologizing at the young man beside him and placed his palm on Aiba’s shoulder, followed by a chaste kiss on his cheek “I’ll go on ahead. I have to go to the secretary's office, because of some university application things… Wait for me in front of the school, okay?”
The tall boy nodded and watched his boyfriend run towards the school building.
University… They talked about what they want to do in the future, what college they are going to apply to and what kind of job they are striving for. Aiba remembered how pleased Sho looked when he talked about studying journalism and being a well-known and successful newscaster in the future. It was kind of surreal that both of them would graduate in half a year and begin a new, more grown-up life - and somehow it scared Aiba, because he didn’t know what was going to happen… if he would be able to get a well-paid job, his own apartment and what was the most important thing for him - if his relationship with Sho would be the same as it was now.
Caught in his thoughts he walked towards the school and waited in front of the big building, sitting on a bench nearby. Already half an hour had past and Aiba started to worry about his boyfriend and what took him so long.
“It’s rare for him to not pick up his phone…” he mumbled while looking at the display of his mobile phone. When he decided to go inside the school, the young boy saw the gang who bullied him leaving the building, the head of their group missing. It fascinated Aiba how their aura was a total different one when they were not with their “leader” - they seemed to be normal school boys, laughing, punching themselves teasingly in the arms, their school bags casually hanging over their shoulders. It was amazing and sad at the same time how one person could influence a whole group of people - especially when that person had a negative influence on them.
Sighing Aiba went upstairs to the first floor of the school and headed to the secretary’s office to see if Sho was still there. Ever since he entered the building, a strange feeling was building up in his stomach; his senses told him that something was wrong.
“Sakurai-kun? He left about ten minutes ago.” The tall boy sighed again when he couldn’t find Sho in the secretary’s office and bowed in front of his head teacher before he continued his search. Worried he strolled through the corridors, biting his nails and constantly checking his mobile phone; the strange feeling turned into a light stomach ache which made him feel even more insecure about Sho’s whereabouts. His heart jumped when he suddenly heard an angry sounding grunt coming from one of the classrooms. It was that voice that Aiba would recognize anytime.
He quickly ran towards the classroom and leaned lightly against the wall next to the door, listening to the conversation between the apparently two people in the room.
“You didn’t deserve it. I was supposed to go there, I was supposed to have your spot. Don’t think too much of yourself…”
A small chuckle was suddenly audible.
“You think that’s funny?” the man continued to speak “How can someone like you get a scholarship… someone like you with your loser friend. I can’t understand why exactly you get the chance to study in England.” After he finished his sentence, Aiba could hear a loud muffled bump, like something or someone was thrown against a table or some chairs. Immediately the tall boy opened the door, only to find a panting Sho on the floor.
Sho, he thought, standing motionless in the door frame, looking at his boyfriend. The words scholarship, loser friend, England were popping up in his head, his mouth opened in shock. But all of these thoughts were blown away in an instant when he saw how Sho wiped something away from the corner of his mouth. Something red. Blood. Oh god… blood.
“Sho!” Aiba rushed to his side and kneeled down next to him, the blood of the wound was making him slightly dizzy and feeling unwell, but he just couldn’t think about it right now. All he wanted to make sure was that Sho was okay.
“You have to be kidding me, are you two like Siamese twins? Disgusting.”
Aiba’s eyes shot up from Sho’s face to the boy above them, a pair of two spiteful eyes looking down on them.
“Aren’t you scared to let your little followers run outside alone?” the younger boy snorted back and slowly stood up so that he faced his bully, only a small gap separating their faces from another.
A deep growl escaped the bigger student’s throat, annoyed by the sudden unusual provoking words of Aiba. “Did you grow a pair of balls or why-“
But the tall student didn’t let him finish his words, all he could and wanted to do in that moment was to grab the collar of his bully and push him roughly against the blackboard behind him.
“I had this for so long. I didn’t say a word, I let you and your friends do what you wanted to do, but if you lay one finger on my family, my friends or on my boyfriend… then you certainly did cross a line. Nobody hurts the ones I love.” The suddenly deep black eyes and the anger in it scared Sho a bit - he never saw that side of his boyfriend. Of course there were times when the younger boy got angry or mad, but his bad mood never lasted for too long and the bright side of his personality always took over after a few minutes again. But this time it was different - this time his gaze was pejorative, his eyes screaming the word “unforgivable”.
But not only Sho seemed to be scared of this new side of his boyfriend, Aiba’s bully trembled under the rough grip of his victim, a new helpless character showing. The knees underneath him became wobbly, the hard angry-looking expression on his face turning in an unsure intimidated one that Aiba never saw before. Slowly the bully glided down the blackboard with his back until he sat completely on the floor, the taller man still gripping on his collar.
When Aiba heard the irregular breathing coming from the boy under him, he seemed to snap out of his anger, his gaze softening again and his hands pulling away from the bully. He knew how it felt to be in a situation like that, vulnerable, alone, helpless. And he didn’t want to become one of those people who exploited situations like that.
“Why don’t you just punch me? I deserve it…” the boy mumbled and looked away, bowing his head in embarrassment.
“I won’t grant you that favor” Aiba said calm and reached out his hand, offering it to the student who was still sitting on the floor “From what I heard I think you already got hurt enough by your failed scholarship. And I think that this is the receipt for what you did all those years. Not only to me, but also to all the others that you bullied before. So take my hand now and stand up.” The smile on Aiba’s face surprised the bully - it wasn’t a malicious or evil smile… it was bright, genuine and pure. One punch in his face or in his stomach wouldn’t have been as painful as the forgiving smile of the tall boy above him.
Sho was standing next to them, still staunching the flow of blood coming from his wound and watched how Aiba’s bully took his boyfriend’s hand. If it was for Sho, he would have probably slapped him at least, but Aiba knew that the words he said would teach him an even better lesson and create an effect that would leave a permanent impression on his bully.
Too ashamed to look at Aiba and Sho, the bigger boy bowed deeply and mumbled several “I’m sorry”’s before he turned and left the classroom as fast as he could.
When the door closed and Aiba could only hear his and Sho’s breathing anymore, he felt how the tension in the room got heavier and a massive weight was building up on his heart, reality suddenly hitting him again.
“So… you got a scholarship?”
“Yeah.”
“In England?”
“…Yeah.”
England. The over ten thousand kilometer far away England.
Aiba could feel how his heart shattered into millions of little pieces, the splinters stinging through every part of his body, the pain he was feeling almost unbearable.
“But… that’s awesome, isn’t it?” he started, smiling lightly.
“You can finally achieve your dream of becoming one of the top journalists worldwide!”
Never in his entire life did Sho see such an expression - Aiba couldn’t suppress the sadness that was overcoming him, but what predominated his smile was genuine joy and happiness. He was so proud that Sho had a chance to fulfill his dream, but at the same time he was unbelievably sad that he wouldn’t be able to spend the time after high school with him.
“Ma-kun…”
“Just…” Aiba took Sho’s hand “Just please don’t forget me, okay?”
***
And with this the countdown started. Six months until their graduation and their last day of school. Approximately 180 days separated them from Sho’s departure and their last day together. And within these 4320 hours they enjoyed their first autumn and winter, celebrated Christmas and their birthdays, yes the even exchanged super-embarrassing Valentine’s Day chocolate. Within that time they had their first argument, because apparently Sho got too close to his tutoring student which made Aiba overly jealous - so they argued nonstop, fought, slammed doors, yelled at each other, apologized, kissed and reconciled in the end. Everything - whether it was a good or a bad memory - was a part of their relationship, a part of their history together and each of those memories were appreciated.
But in the back of their minds was always the ticking clock; the time limit that was set until only one day was left.
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Comment: Okay first of all. SORRY FOR THE WAITING. It's been like.. over a month since the last chapter... but you know January was.. kind of stressful. With work and lots of exams (had two today, headshot. like.. really ._.) and I was stuck with the storyline.. and with my writing. So today I finally had time for some writing again and I forced myself to continue with this series.. my guilty conscience was already eating me up... and yeah to the chapter itself.. drama chapter. It was awfully hard to write.. I don't know why, maybe because of the lack of drama in my life... (but hey I won't complain, I love my calm boring life.) Maybe the whole storyline is a bit rushed.. but.. I don't know, I am a person who wants to see progress in a story.... so ah and another thing... I will upload a new chapter tomorrow!... tomorrow! Because you all had to wait so long ^^
and btw.. did you guys hear about Sho's new drama? Kazoku game?! ah!!! let's just say I am more than just excited!