Fic Title: In a Place called Time
Rating: PG/G.
Summary: It had never felt so right before; holding out my hand for his, I replied, “Yeah, let’s go home.”
1970, December.
White fluffy clouds rolled on seamlessly in the endless sky as a barely audible crack could be heard and a faint red glitter could be seen from the edge of the forest. A child, no more than fourteen years old, numbly stood there on the ground. He shook his head slightly,as though he reproached himself for being there. A falcon chick landed so casually on the young boy’s shoulder and the latter absentmindedly stroked the head of the falcon. The bird gave a contented growl before giving him a warm squeeze on the shoulder and flew away.
He made a slight nose twitch as he looked at the stolen object in his hand. A pendant no larger than a common stone, but its colour was like the blue sky, changing whenever it catches the sunlight filtered by the tall trees of the forest. Even though the leaves were all gone, the branches were tightly tangled up above and the ground was covered in soft fluffy white substance. The boy blinked and bent over, taking a handful of the white substance before giving it a tentative lick. It was ice-cold and it numbed his tongue.
There was a flutter of movement when a boy, no older than him, stopped at the edge of the forest and stared at him. The newcomer’s hair was in a cropped cut and has a raven black colour, with a few tuffs of unruly hair sticking up at the crown of his head. He was gloriously tanned in chocolate brown and he wore a soft smile on his face. His eyes were of dark brown, a little like dark chocolate, as they met his gaze unblinkingly. The boy turned away first as the soft and slightly cracked lips split apart to form words.
“You’re here again,” It sounded more of a statement than a question.
The boy jumped when the tanned boy spoke, softly yet curiously and with a tint of amusement swimming in the pool of his eyes. Their eyes met again and the tanned boy gave a soft breathy laugh. The tanned boy stuck a hand out to him and grinned.
“Ohno Satoshi, sixteen years old. Nice to meet you.”
The boy blinked and took the hand hesitantly before giving the other boy a shy smile. “Sakurai Sho, fourteen years old. Nice to meet you too.”
Ohno looked at him curiously and asked, “Why are you always here at this time and day? It is winter and you’re only wearing a cardigan and pants; don’t you feel cold?”
Sakurai’s eyes flashed a dangerous golden colour before it melted back into its original chocolate brown. He shook his head and picked up his bag as he walked out into the sunlight. Sakurai thought to himself as he fidgeted at his spot, he doesn’t need to explain anything because if he were to, Ohno wouldn’t understand that he doesn’t know what cold, winter and ice mean. He must have felt his discomfort because Ohno immediately gripped his hand, which he hadn’t noticed, were still holding each other, tighter and pulled him from the edge of the forest. Sakurai tried to stall Ohno’s movements but it only resulted in him having a tighter grip and a faster pace. Sakurai shook his head and groaned inwardly but still allowed himself to be pulled towards a huge house at the edge of the lake.
Ohno led him through the door and ordered the butler to get some warm blankets for their guest and dragged Sakurai along until they reached a wooden white door. Ohno knocked it smartly and entered the door, pulling Sakurai with him. He waved at the old lady sitting on a wooden rocking chair by the fireplace. Leaving Sakurai’s side, Ohno approached the old lady and started speaking rapidly, in hushed tones. Sakurai knew he must be introducing him to the old lady, because she turned and waved him over afterwards. When Sakurai was near enough, she gave him a kind smile.
“Sho-kun is Satoshi’s friend, isn’t it? I’m Satoshi’s grandmother.”
Sakurai looked at her and nodded, returning her gentle smile with his own. His eyes shifted uncomfortably as the old lady continued to peer at him unblinkingly. Ohno nudged her as he felt Sakurai’s discomfort. When she finally tore her eyes away from Sakurai, she had a sad smile on her face as she commanded Ohno to bring her some tea and cakes so she could have a nice chat with them. However, once Ohno left the room, her eyes were filled with regret and fear, laced with a twinge of sadness. She beckoned Sakurai to sit beside her and she ran her hands through his hair.
“Sho-kun is from somewhere far, far away right?” She asked softly and Sakurai froze in fright. He turned to face her and was shocked to see a tear running down her wrinkled cheek. He blinked before his gentlemanly side took over and he stood up to wipe the tear off her cheek as he gazed questioningly at her.
“I… Madam, how did you know?” Sakurai stammered as he panicked silently in his head.
She gave him a sad smile and waved her hands round the room. He followed her hand as his eyes swiped across the room again. “Does any ornament look familiar to you, child?”
Sakurai gazed around the room, slowly taking in the interiors of the room. It was beautifully designed and looked a lot like his house in another Time. The rice paper lined the windows, not like the usual glass he saw on other houses, and the carpet gave off an antique feel. The tables and chairs were completely furnished in the best Chippendale wood. Each piece of furniture was intricately carved and every cushion was made of pure silk. The curtains were made of the best workmanship and everything in the house complements each other.
Sakurai frowned in concentration to find the one object when his sight landed on an ancient grandfather clock that doesn’t work. He peered at it before, with permission, he stepped towards it. There was writing within the interior of the clock, Sakurai mumbled to himself as he read the words. Sakurai gasped, clasping a hand over his mouth afterwards while everything started falling into place in his mind. Shocked, he turned to the old lady and whispered, “You’re father’s first love! That is our family’s heirloom!”
The old lady sighed in both contentment and despair. She nodded slowly and gestured for Sakurai to return to her side. And when Sakurai complied, she brushed her fingers through his hair as she took a breath before speaking.
“You have your father’s eyes and your mother’s hair colour. I guess Fate isn’t going to let us off the hook that easily, seeing how you became Satoshi’s acquaintance. She hated us, your father and I, because we defied the Time laws and also the Nature laws. We were torn apart and just before we were banished to our individual timelines, he gave me that clock and it had never moved since then.”
Sakurai sat on the couch stonily before he burrowed his face into his hands and let out a soft wail as he finally understood why his father refused to allow him to Travel. The door crashed open, with Ohno tripping in clumsily upon his entrance, and consequently, Sakurai quickly sat up straight and kept his emotions intact. He gave Ohno’s grandmother a smile to reassure her before turning to Ohno, face aglow with that same smile, helping him place the tray on the tea table. Ohno placed the tea tray and pouted at his grandmother as he wiggled onto her lap. They had tea in silence before Ohno broke the hanging tension in the room and asked Sakurai some mindless questions. As the tension of the room decreased, Sakurai found himself visibly relaxed only to feel the older Ohno looking at him. Soon, Ohno excused himself for the bathroom and only then did she spoke to Sakurai again.
“Take care of Ohno for me okay, Sho-kun, Son of the Time Travelling fraction’s General?”
Sakurai looked at her and determinately nodded, “I will, my Lady. I will.”
She laughed and patted him on the head fondly, Sakurai’s eyes widen and lean into her touch, it was exactly like his father’s. They stayed silent and when Ohno returned from the bathroom, the older Ohno happily announced that Sakurai will be staying for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakurai’s POV
It had been about three months since I’ve met my Father’s first love. I could understand why he had fallen for her as clear as my feelings for her grandson, Ohno Satoshi, is. Satoshi-kun is the sweetest boy I have met and he would always space out during conversations but that’s okay for me. He paints exceptionally well, something I can never accomplish in my life, and each drawing had a layer of subtle endearment underneath it. It was always a joy to watch how the brush, held in his fingers, seemed to dance across the paper adding colours to the plain canvas. We would always huddle at the lake, even though it was winter, because Satoshi-kun’s friend, Masaki-chan and Jun-chan told him that there is a lake monster that lives in that lake. I didn’t have the heart to break his bubble so I kept my silence.
Satoshi-kun and I were back at the lake again and this time, there was a slight fog. When we talked, white smoke would come out of our lips. We had a competition for the furthest breath that we could draw. After a while, Satoshi-kun got tired and lay on my shoulders to sleep. His black hair was soft against my shoulders as his cheeks rubbed unconsciously on my arm. I wrapped my arms around him to keep him warm as I gazed at the water surface.
I heard a loud splash before seeing a rock skipping across the water surface, causing beautiful ripples, before a second yet softer splash was heard when the rock sank into the surface. I didn’t look up and just gave a resigned sigh before calling out a name I am very familiar with.
“Nino-chan?”
Ninomiya, my best friend in my timeline, walked out from behind the trees and approached me. He sat down quietly beside me and whispered, “Come back, Sho-kun. Your time isn’t here.”
I shook my head and turned to look at him pleadingly. “I can’t go Kazu. My heart is here.”
He looked at me and sighed. “Your father’s heart is also here. But please, you must return or your father will call for the Time cops to bring you back.”
I looked at him in horror and shook my head. My Father would never do that to me.
Nino sighed and took my free hand. “Please, Sho… I need you to be beside me too.”
I withdrew my hand from him and shook my head, “I can’t, Kazu. I can’t.”
Nino sighed once more and stood up. “You’re leaving, Kazu?” I asked, earning a quiet nod from him before he pointed to Ohno. I felt him stir and understood immediately.
“Will you be back?”
Nino shrugged his shoulder and disappeared in a puff of yellow sparkles, just as Ohno was waking up on my shoulder. He gave a yawn and tugged on my shirt before mumbling, “Let’s go home.”
It had never felt so right before; holding out my hand for his, I replied, “Yeah, let’s go home.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohno’s POV
The first time I saw him standing by the trees in the forest beside the lake, I thought he was peculiar. That’s all. When I realised he was always there, silently standing there, I got curious. It was always the exact same timing, not a minute more or less. After the tenth time I’ve seen him standing there, without a friend, I gathered the courage and approached him. I could still remember the first time I heard his voice, it sounded a lot like chocolate, soft and rich. His hand felt warm in mine, despite him not wearing a lot of layers of clothes. I brought him home and it turned out, grandmother liked him a lot. It felt good to have a friend living in your house. Masaki and Jun-kun had to take an hour of train ride before they could reach here, which only left us with a good two hours to chat.
I fell for him not long after. He was gentle and sweet, charming my grandmother off her rocking chair. The butlers and maids in the mansion loved him and he would always help out whenever he could.
Of course, every day after lunch would be our alone time by the lake. I asked him why he loved the lake so much and he replied, “It reminds me of you; calm, tranquil and cool. It reminds me of my family that I’ve left behind and my friend whom I can never be good enough for.”
I looked over and saw an intense sadness in his eyes which caused my eyes to prickle and tear up. He laughed and ruffled my hair, calling me an idiot before challenging me to a race. I should have known things weren’t that simple when I heard something I should’ve not heard the next day when we were at the lake. We played as usual and soon I was getting sleepy. I lay on his shoulders and drifted to sleep. After a while I woke up and had to stop myself from opening my eyes when I heard Sho-chan speaking to someone.
“I can’t go, Kazu. My heart is here.” I heard him say and my heart rejoiced but then I heard his friend begging him to leave me. When Sho-chan rejected his friend, I felt his pain and remorse. But before I could say anything, his friend had bid him farewell and I woke up to meet Sho-chan’s chocolate brown eyes. Quietly, as if at loss for words (or perhaps there was just too much inside his head that he could not sort out what he ought to say), he held out his hand. I took it and we walked back to the mansion silently.
Ever since that day at the lake, Sho-chan had been avoiding me. Whenever I asked him to join me at the lake, he would hurriedly decline and run off to my grandmother’s library, reading the massive collection of books she owned. Whenever I peeked into the library, I didn’t see him at all. I would always bump into my grandmother whenever I left the library. What I’ve found weird was that she would always ask me to go to the lake or somewhere before walking to the library and locking the door behind her. I would always dejectedly head to the lake.
I was sitting there, by our favourite spot at the lake, when my two friends ran up to me. I greeted them and one of them, Matsumoto Jun, asked me what I was thinking of. I can never hide anything from his sharp eyes. Sighing, I told him about my grandmother and Sho-chan’s weird attitude these days. Aiba Masaki, my second friend, slung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me close.
“Oh-chan, you still have us you know?”
I nodded at him gratefully, “I know, Masa-chan. I’m fine, really.”
Jun-kun narrowed his eyes at me and Masaki smacked him on the head before hushing him to not say another word. I offered to house them for the night and they readily agreed. We stayed by the lake for a few more hours, with Masaki trying to catch the butterflies that were roaming the lakeside and Jun-kun trying to keep him from falling into the water while I just sat there, deep in thought. Dusk came and we dusted our pants before walking slowly back home only to find it in complete darkness.
I pushed the door of the library open and saw my grandmother crying by the bookshelf where I would always see Sho-chan sitting against. I ran up to her and she pulled me into a hug while repeating apologies muffled by sobs. She was sorry for letting them take Sho-chan away. I pulled away and asked her what truly happened and who took my Sho-chan away. She cried and apologised, repeating one sentence over and over again:
“It was my entire fault. The feud of the past should have never been passed on to you both. I shouldn’t even have tried to change; I shouldn’t have interfered.”
I felt air draining out of my lungs, and I nearly collapsed had it not been for Masaki who grabbed my shoulder and Jun-kun who helped my grandmother from the ground to an armchair. Before I passed out, I could almost hear Sho-chan’s broken voice whispering…
“I’m sorry, Satoshi. I’m really sorry.”
And darkness engulfed me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakurai’s POV
I thrashed desperately in the arms of the guards, shooting spells after spells at their expressionless faces. I can’t just be forced to leave like this, the haunting fear in the eyes of Ohno Megumi, my father’s first love, as she tried her best to keep me with her. My heart roared with anguish as tears streaked down her cheeks and all I could hear was her apologies of dragging us down with her past. Something shifted in my heart as I left a soft whisper of an apology for the man I loved and followed the Time guards back to where I belong; in Time.
“Let me go!” I screamed with all my might. But it was to no avail; no one could hear me as I was thrown into a waiting room as they prepared the room where I will be having my interrogation. Soon enough, another pair of guards came for me and hurled me down the corridors. I scoffed in my heart as I thought of how pathetic it was to be dragged like a criminal while holding such a high status in Time.
Nino refused to meet my eyes as I was dragged past his unmoving figure outside the interrogation room. The door was opened and I was once again unkindly threw in and landed in an undignified lump in front of my father and Nino’s father, the King of the Time Travellers, who is also my King, as I, too, am a Time Traveller. The King had a grave look on his face. My father looked at me with sadness and regret, and then the door of the room slammed shut and silence wrapped around the three of us.
I slowly got up and entered a seiza* position when Nino’s father spoke gravely.
“Sho-kun, do you know how grave the situation is?”
I nodded numbly, not trusting myself to speak, and looked up meeting his eyes. “May I ask a question, sire?”
He nodded and I hesitantly asked, “Is he fine?”
The king pursed his lips to hide the smile that is breaking through as he let out a sigh and nodded. “Aiba should be reporting back soon.”
“Aiba? Aiba Masaki?” I questioned and he nodded. A smile appeared on my lips as I let out a sigh of relief, squaring my shoulders before taking a deep breath and apologising silently to my father.
“I will accept whatever punishment you have to offer, my lord,” I said clearly and fearlessly. “I’m sorry father, but I’ll have to disappoint you one last time.”
Nino’s father shook his head sadly. He glanced briefly at my father and told him to leave the room. He looked at me with utter regret in his eyes and he ruffled my hair once.
“Nino will be so broken by my decision but I need to be fair to everyone. Otherwise, how can I be a kind yet strong king? Am I right, Sho-kun?” he said. After an echoing sigh, he continued, “Your father will be devastated but he has your sister and brother to hold on for. Nino will be able to move on right?”
I nodded and bit my lips, refraining myself from speaking out of turn. “With all respect, sire, Ninomiya-sama will be fine; he is stronger than you give him credit for. And my father is a strong man, he will be fine.”
Nino’s father sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. “You do know your punishment right? And no one gave you permission to speak formally to me; I am still your beloved uncle Ninomiya.”
I nodded with a smile, which received a pained smile back from Nino’s father, and didn’t say anymore. I chose this route and I have to pay for my actions. I was fully aware of this, since the first time I met Satoshi in the forest. The roughness of his hands caused by the tight grip on the paintbrushes, the warm breath panned on my face when he leaned towards me to brush leaves out of my hair, the crinkle in his eyes as he speaks of his friends and the way the wind would mess up the raven black hair. At least, I had good and beautiful memories with someone I love.
Taking a deep breath, I looked into the King’s eyes and said, “I’m ready for the punishment.”
My best friend’s father, my King, sighed and called for the guards as I waited in silence for the punishment. The door opened and two guards appeared beside me again; I was whisked to a dark room where the punishment began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohno’s POV
I stood at the cliff near my house, feeling exceptionally calm and tranquil. I placed a picnic mat on the lush green mat and waved my hands to my grandmother who was held carefully by Masaki and Jun-kun. The sun was just about to set and we were there to watch the sunset. I finally knew everything from the start to the end and was pleasantly shocked that Masaki himself was a Traveller too, a Traveller who could change his age as to when he liked.
I allowed myself to relax as a soft breeze passed, scattering dandelion seeds around. This does not feel like home, but this is enough for me. I looked at my companion as the setting sun cast a warm orange hue upon their faces. Grandmother ruffled my hair and held me close, mumbling “I love you” into my hair. I knew it was technically for me and I’m happy enough not to complain.
The wind tousled my hair as I whispered, “I’ll always love you… No matter where you’re from.”
Closing my eyes, as the wind howled into my ear, I could almost hear a warm reply form the one I’ll always love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2014, March.
Sakurai sat in the antique book café with a book in his hand. The girls around him squealed silently as he stretched his hand out for his cup of latté. He furrowed his eyebrows and glanced impatiently at his watch. Then he closed his book and then stretched his arms a little, before his phone rang. He stifled a yawn and answered it.
“Yes, where are you?”
“Lessons just ended. Did you skip class again, Sho-chan?” The boy in the receiving end chided and Sakurai laughed.
“I thought you knew how much knowledge I have accumulated that I can practically skip all my high school lessons and still pass every exams.” Sakurai teased and he could see him pouting at the other end.
“I’ll be reaching in 10.” And the line went dead.
Sakurai laughed to himself and picked up his book again to pass some time waiting for his lover to come. The crisp and clear twinkling of the café’s doorbell announced the arrival of a tanned and attractive customer. His hair was in a slight mess as he made his way to Sakurai’s table. He flopped himself down and a waiter came by to take his orders.
“The usual, Masaki, you don’t even need to ask.” He mumbled as the waiter gave a coarse laugh and bounced to the counter to make the drink. Sakurai put his book down and entwined their fingers together. Both pairs of brown eyes met each other and Sakurai gently rubbed his thumb over the back of the other teen’s hand.
“Otsukaresama deshita*, Satoshi.” Sakurai whispered as he brushed his lips to the other boy’s soft, tanned cheeks.
Ohno grinned back at the teen and gave their hands a gentle squeeze. “Tadaima**.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Owari desu~ The End~
Notes:
*Seiza position = one kneels down and have their legs tucked under their thighs, soles facing upwards and their hands clasped together and placed on the thighs. Sometimes, the hands will be on the floor and the person is bowed with the head touching the floor and body is pressed tightly against the thighs. In this case Sakurai is in the 1st position.
**Otsukaresama deshita = you’ve work hard
***Tadaima = I’m Back (usually for people who had just reached home. In this case, Sho is like Ohno’s home that’s why he said that.)
Author’s Notes:
Wahhh, my first ever fanfic contest entry! A huge thank you to K neechan for helping me beta this fic~ Yay~ Thank you for reading this fanfic and I hope you’ve enjoyed this fanfic!