Title: Forgive me~ Part 5
Author: lurvelygurl
Pairing: InooBu, HikaChii, *Ainosuke (you can imagine the babbly chubby chibi Yamada here)
Genre: Angst
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I only own the plot.
Warning: I make the pretty Inoo a girl in this. If you are disturbed by this fact please stop reading.
Summary: While trying to cope with his regret, Yabu is being harassed by a phone call. Keito tries to dig the truth from Yabu’s mouth.
Hait! Thank you for all the comments. I love them all ^_^ Here’s the next part.
Part 1 I
Part 2 I
Part 3 I
Part 4 It’s midnight, February 2nd 2019. The tiny body is being hooked to various wires and tubes. His eyes are shut and his head is being taped by numerous layers of white ban-aid. The breathing machine on the bedside continues to beep every second- the only sign that the boy is alive.
Yabu hold the tiny hand, gently stroking it with all his love. Ainosuke’s skin is so smooth, but appears pale. His chest rises as the machine pushes in oxygen into his lungs but later flatten again as the air wears off.
Yabu is unable to control his tears again. How he wish he could turn back time. He would hug his son and listen to his babbly talk. He would feed Ainosuke like the old times and pamper all his wishes.
But he knows that will never happen.
Yabu takes out a small green-covered story book from his bag.
“Ne Ainosuke. Papa brought you this,” Yabu shows the book to his unconscious son. “Look. It’s your friend Jack.”
The boy draws his chair closer to the bed, so that his voice can reach the sleeping boy. “Gomen ne, papa hasn’t read this to you for a long time. Papa is bad ne. Do you want me to read now?”
No answer. There are only sounds from the breathing machine.
“Really, you want to hear it?” Yabu begins to talk to himself, opening the book excitedly. “Here we go… Ready?”
“Once upon a time, there live a poor boy with his mother,” Yabu begins his story telling. He continues to read, once in a while steals a glance at his son, hoping that the boy will giggles as he always did at a certain part of the stories. But of course that didn’t happen. The small body lays stonely still.
“Give me back my harp Jack. Huarghh!!! You can’t escape. You’ll be my supper tonight!” he acts out the giant part- the part Ainosuke loves the most. He makes all the funny voice- yet again Ainosuke didn’t react. Disappointedly Yabu closes the book.
“Why don’t you laugh? Are you still angry at papa?” Yabu touches the boy’s face. “Papa was bad. Forgive me ok? Wake up Ainosuke. If you keep on sleeping you cannot play soccer. You have a match next month right? Come on… Wake up and papa will play with you. Ne Ainosuke, wake up please…”
“Please…”
Keito watches as the oldest JUMP member weep at the bedside. His cry is even louder than the machines around Ainosuke’s bed.
Keito’s heart sinks looking at the scene. He has been quietly standing at the door for a while, accompanying the poor father in front of him. It was Hikaru’s suggestion for them to take turn staying in the hospital. He is obviously suspicious at Yabu; feeling mad at him as to Hikaru Yabu is the one that caused this.
But after seeing how regretful Yabu is Keito feels pity towards him. However in life nothing can be undone. Humans have to live with the errors they made in the past, and unfortunately Yabu has to bear with his cruel mistake too.
“Yabu-kun,” Keito pats the older boy’s shoulder. “Crying won’t change anything. Shikarishte. Come on, let’s get some coffee.”
Yabu wipes his tears, forcing a smile to Keito. “Gomen, I get emotional,” he apologizes. “Let me use the washroom for a while.”
The poor father walks to the washroom nearby with his puffy face. Keito repositions Ainosuke’s blanket and pillow, making sure that the little boy won’t get too cold in this air-conditioned room. Well, with his brain minimally functioning will Ainosuke feels cold like us?
“We’ll be right back Ainosuke,” Keito kisses Ainosuke’s forehead. Suddenly Yabu’s cell phone vibrates on the chair.
Keito picks the phone, looking at the caller ID. It’s Zoey, the pen name of the dorky reporter JUMP always hate. Why is he calling Yabu-kun?
“Moshi moshi,” the familiar voice speaks as soon as Keito flips open the silver cell phone.
“Are you there Yabu-kun?” Zoey continues to talk. “Hey, you haven’t bank in the money I asked you two days ago. Do you really want me to publish the article?”
Keito gulps. Oh no! Another threat from the stupid selfish crazy reporter! But what type of article would it be?
“Listen Yabu-kun. If the money is not in my account by tomorrow afternoon you can say goodbye to your career!” a long tone comes as Zoey hang up. Keito’s heart his racing. In his mind he keeps on thinking about all the possible issues that can be use by the useless Zoey.
What is it that makes him dare to threat Yabu-kun?
“Let’s go,” Yabu smiles at the younger boy. His eyes are both red from crying.
Keito nods. He grabs his sweater and walk side by side with Yabu to the elevator.
Only Yabu-kun can answer the question!
__________________________________________________________________
“Yabu-kun, Zoey called your phone just now.”
Keito’s words make Yabu chokes on his drinks. He quickly snatches the tissue paper nearby to avoid the coffee from spilling too much on the cafeteria table.
“What’s going on?” Keito asks directly to Yabu whose face is now looking all petrified. “He’s threatening you isn’t he?”
Yabu throws a long breath. “It’s my problem Keito, I’ll deal with it. Thanks for your concern anyway. I really appreciate it,” he takes another sip from his cup.
“Just because you live in a different house doesn’t mean that you need to bear everything by yourself. Yabu-kun, we are JUMP. We shared our burdens as a team. Isn’t that the rule?” Keito takes out his I-pad. “Look! The law is clearly against threat!” he shows a page full of words to the older boy.
Yeah… I forgot that Keito is a lawyer.
“You can keep aside your high-tech I-pad Keito. I don’t need law books at the moment,” Yabu stirs the coffee for the tenth times. “Even if you help me nothing will change. Kei and Ainosuke will still be hooked to the machines.”
“Does this have anything to do with them? Is he the one who injured Ainosuke and Inoo-kun?” Keito starts to rage.
“No… it’s me. I make them sick. I abandoned them,” the regret tone coming out from his mouth. Yabu stares at the ceiling- trying hard not to cry in front of the younger boy.
“Yabu-kun…”
“Yes, you are right. He sent me a threat. Here,” Yabu gives his cell phone to Keito. There is a picture of topless Hikaru and Inoo in green bikini embracing each other at a pool side at night.
“Isn’t this the time when we have our photo-shoot session for the magazine?”
Yabu nods. “Six years ago, Kei’s first photo in her girly clothes. This was taken using personal cameras.”
“So Zoey wants to use this old picture to say that Hikaru-kun and Inoo-kun had an affair? Oh come on! We were all there at that time! Who would believe such thing?” Keito returns the cell phone. “Stupid Zoey!”
“No Keito. If it’s just that we can easily deny it. But he…”
“But what?”
“He emailed me the article he wrote for this picture sometimes last week. He wrote that Kei adopted Ainosuke because he is Hika’s son.”
“That’s totally rubbish!”
“Kei got sick shortly after that right? She suddenly asks for hiatus and left us for a long time.”
“That’s because she had to undergo surgery for her uterine fibroids and since we are all boys it was just proper to let her mother to take care of her.”
“But Zoey wrote that Kei was actually pregnant and the surgery was just a way to cover it. He put in pictures as well!”
Keito takes his I-pad again and give it to Yabu. “Show me the email.”
Yabu types out his email address, shortly opens the intended email he mentioned. “Here it is.”
The two boys read trough the paragraphs. Yabu is right, the article sounds so convincing. There are several pictures of Inoo and Hikaru being close to each other- these were all taken before Yabu and Inoo get married as far as Keito remembers. There is one picture of Inoo in pink clothes with her ‘pregnant’ belly.
“And the girl adopted Ainosuke who was only aged several months as her and Yabu’s son. How can she easily find a baby? The answer- it’s her own son! Yabu Ainosuke. No. It should be Yaotome Ainosuke! I wonder if Yabu knows that he has been cheated to care for his best friend’s seed!- Zoey, paparazzi news.”
“Rubbish!!!!” Keito punches the table upon reading the last paragraph. “This is completely silly! Is this the reason you have been treating your wife and son coldly recently?”
Yabu reluctantly nods. “I was all confused! I know this is not true but there is this slight ambiguity in me saying that this might be real. And the way Hika loves Ainosuke is just like… a father!”
“Baka!” for the first time Keito says the impolite word to Yabu.
Yabu startles. “What did you just call me?”
“Baka! That’s what you are. How can you doubt your own family?”
“You are not in my shoe!”
“Yes I’m not! But do you really think Hikaru-kun and Inoo-kun will do such thing? If Ainosuke is really Hikaru-kun’s son wouldn’t Inoo-kun had chose him over you back then? Oh my, I can’t believe how stupid you are!” Keito sighs. “Have you asked any of the two about this?”
Yabu shook his head.
“Baka!”
“But they could lie!”
“Yabu-kun, listen to me,” Keito tries to get his temper in control. “If you perceive everything as lies, then they will be lies. Honestly speaking, if I were to chose, I think I would believe a friend and wife who have loyally been with me for over fifteen years rather than a stupid article in the gossip column.”
“But the picture-”
“Have you heard of photoshop?” Keito cuts in. “Making this type of picture is a piece of cake. Even an amateur like me can do it.”
“Souka…” Yabu rest his back against the cafeteria chair. More regret is filling his heart. “I guess I should have discussed this with you long before right? I am a fool!” the boy slaps his own cheek. His unreasonable jealousy and anger has cost him his family. Oh God… what have I done?
“How much does he asked?” Keito breaks the long silence between them.
Yabu rubs the back of his neck. “1 billion.”
“HAH????" it's the younger boy's turn to choke. "All right, he is crazy! There’s no way any of us can afford that! Well, I’m not looking down at you though,” Keito clarifies.
Yabu leans forward.
“Ne Keito, What should I do?”
~to be continued~