The Little Prince Chapter 10
Title: The Little Prince
Author: Masuhisa
Pairing: Matsumiya, Sakumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya
Summary: Yamada Taro is the son of an extremely poor couple, and has to work extremely hard to feed his family. But everything changes when his parents admit that he was adopted, and his real family finally found him after 18 years.
Disclaimer: Don’t own.
[Prologue] [Chapt 1] [Chapt 2] [Chapt 3] [Chapt 4] [Chapt 5] [Chapt 6] [Chapt 7] [Chapt 8] [Chapt 9]
Chapter 10;
Footsteps echoed across the usually quite corridors, bouncing off the windows and walls, making it sound like a herd of anxious buffaloes were stampeding through the hospital.
If Kazunari weren’t the grandson of the richest man in Asia, he would probably have been stopped by a nurse or a doctor and given an hour long lecture about being quiet in the hospital.
“Sensei!” cried Kazunari, running up to the doctor who had just exited his grandfather’s ward and grabbed him by his shoulders, “Sensei, how’s my grandfather?”
“Relax, Ninomiya-kun,” said the doctor in an assuring voice, “Lord Ninomiya’s condition is stable now. But I must warn you, even though he is a strong man, he is getting old. He’s awake now if you want to see him,”
Thanking the doctor profusely, Kazunari burst into the ward, getting the attention of everybody inside.
“Leave us alone,” instructed Lord Ninomiya to Nishida and the five or six body guards. They complied.
“Ojii-chan!” cried Kazunari, running up to his grandfather’s side and hugging him around the waist.
“Kazunari…” sighed the old man, gently stroking Kazunari’s soft black hair, “I know I won’t live much longer, but now I’m able to go peacefully knowing that I’ve found you,”
“Ojii-chan, don’t say things like that,” pouted Kazunari, looking at his grandfather.
“I only wish that I can fulfil the promise I made to your parents,” mumbled the old man to himself, “how can I face them in heaven when I haven’t made sure that you’re well looked after when I’m gone…” he trailed off.
“Jun,” called Lord Ninomiya, gesturing for the group’s youngest to come closer to the bed, “I’m leaving my Kazunari in your hands, you better treat him well,”
“Yes, sir,” replied Jun out of obligation, trying not to scrunch up his face.
“Jun? Why specifically Jun?” asked Kazunari, shaking his grandfather lightly.
“I haven’t told you?” Lord Ninomiya replied, chuckling slightly, “I must really be getting old, my memory is failing me,” the old man took a deep breath, “you’re engaged to Jun,”
Kazunari’s head started spinning as he registered what his grandfather said. Him? Engaged to Jun? Why didn’t anybody tell him something as important as that to him before? His grip on the hospital blankets tightened as he bit his lips until he could taste blood.
There were so many vulgarities that he would like the use on his grandfather, but at the same time, he didn’t want to hurt his grandfather’s feelings after all he had done for him. But he didn’t want his grandfather to get away with something like engaging him to someone and not telling him about it.
In the end, Kazunari decided to flee.
Pushing away Sho and Masaki who were at the door, Kazunari dashed down the corridors, not caring where he was going and it was not like he could see where he was heading thanks to all those tears that blurred his vision. He didn’t know what to think - his only relative did something without his consent, the other four obviously knew about it and nobody told him, what was he to them? Some toy?
“Kazu!” cried a voice as another set of footsteps followed behind him.
“Go away,” Kazunari yelled back. His legs were starting to ache from all the running and he was slowing down. Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the arm and spun him around, so that Kazunari ended up lying against the crook of the older man’s neck.
“Satoshi…” whined Kazunari, gripping the older man tightly, “why did he have to do that?”
Gentle fingers stroked the back of his head in a reassuring way while a hand patted his back softly, “Lord Ninomiya just wants his company to remain within the Ninomiya family,”
“So he’s using me?!” snapped Kazunari, trying to pull away, but the strong arms that held him flat against Satoshi’s chest wouldn’t let him budge.
“Kazu, you have to try and understand,” whispered Satoshi against his ear as the pair ignored stares from a passing nurse, “the Ninomiya cooperation is only this successful now because of all your grandfather’s hard work. He wouldn’t want it to get into the hands of some stranger, would he?”
Kazunari shook his head, “but Nishida mentioned that all four of you are related in some way,”
“Our fathers hold one of the highest ranking jobs in the cooperation, we were only selected to be trained as successors because Lord Ninomiya didn’t have a heir after you were abducted,” explained Satoshi, “Lord Ninomiya wants his company to be run by someone related to him by blood, and since you weren’t here to undergo the training, one of us have to succeed after him, and you know that Lord Ninomiya already chose Jun,”
“So I have to marry Jun so that he can he part of the Ninomiya family too?”
“Yes,”
“If I agree, Jun would have to remain in the mansion forever!”cried Kazunari, “but Jun wants to leave, doesn’t he?”
Satoshi nodded against Kazunari’s back.
“Why must everything be so difficult?” pouted Kazunari, his head hurting as he tried to think of a plan that would make everyone happy.
Silence filled the air around them. Without realizing it, Kazunari was pressing himself closer to Satoshi in a desperate need for someone’s, anyone’s, support. Satoshi simply continued stroking his hair, knowing that that would be the first and last time he would have Kazunari in his arms.
“You like Jun don’t you?” asked Satoshi after a while, making the Kazunari in his arms twitch.
“No, I don’t,” replied Kazunari, his face flushing.
“Yes, you do. I can tell,”
“Satoshi, you’re not helping!”
Satoshi pushed Kazunari away gently, but still held him firmly by the shoulders, “maybe we should return to the mansion, an hour or two in the Jacuzzi might help you relax a bit,”
“Or make me drown,” laughed Kazunari bitterly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kazunari stood outside his room, staring at the one across him. After spending an hour an a half in the Jacuzzi (without drowning), he felt more calm and was ready to clear everything going on between him, Jun and his grandfather.
With his chin tilted up, Kazunari marched across the corridor to Jun’s room on the other side and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” he heard a faint reply, so taking several huge breaths, he entered.
Kazunari spotted Jun sitting on the sofa, watching the television without paying much attention to it.
“Jun…” he began. But, somehow, all the words he wanted to say became stuck in his throat. There goes all his effort on planning a perfect speech.
“Kazu?!” cried Jun when he saw the shorter man at the door. Jumping up from the sofa, Jun straightened his slightly crumpled shirt and placed a scowl on his face. Jun’s voice changing dramatically, he asked with his voice coated with irritation, “what do you want?”
“Drop the act, Jun,” said Kazunari, staring at Jun.
The features on Jun’s face soften slightly as he turned away, embarrassed that Kazunari noticed that he had been acting the whole time.
“Tell me honestly, why exactly were you trying to make me hate you?” he asked, glaring at Jun so that the taller man would feel intimidated.
Jun sighed, “the moment you showed up at the mansion, I know your grandfather was going to get us engaged, I just didn’t think that it would slip his mind to tell you. You know how I wanted to leave so badly, so I was thinking if you really didn’t like me, you could get your grandfather to cancel the wedding,”
“You haven’t told me why you wanted to leave,”
Jun’s face darkened, but he knew it was time he told Kazunari everything, “Scholarships, awards, prizes, I didn’t know if I won all those because I’m that good or because I’m related to the Ninomiya cooperation. I want to know how capable I am, how much I can achieve with my own hands,”
“You wouldn’t know how horrible it was living here,” continued Jun, “we had to study like mad and learn everything single skill there is even though it’s not related to the business. And when my sister died in a car accident, I wasn’t even told about it because it would interfere with my studies!”
Kazunari stared at the ground as he heard Jun took breaths after breathes to calm himself down after venting all his frustration.
“I understand,” said Kazunari at last. He looked up at the taller man and gave him a smile, a huge contrast to what he was feeling inside. Gingerly, Kazunari made his way of the room. Once at the door, Kazunari paused for a while, a question floating around in his head.
“Jun?” he asked, “Just wondering, what kind of job would you want to do?”
Jun bit his tongue. That was the first time somebody asked him what he wanted to do, and not force him to do something. He gave Kazunari a sheepish smile, a huge difference from the usual cold attitude he gave the latter, “Acting or perhaps modelling,”
Kazunari immediately placed a hand over his mouth, but his laugh was still audible.
“What so funny?” snapped Jun, frowning slightly.
“Nothing,” mumbled Kazunari behind his hand as he fled from the room. Once in his room, Kazunari let his hand fall to his side. A smirk crept onto his face without him realizing it as he recalled what just happened at Jun’s room.
If only he could see Jun smile like that more often.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sho heard a knock on his door as he was busy emailing a business contact regarding some matter with their deal. He had planned to ask the person to leave him alone, until some voice in his head told him that he could be Kazunari.
He called for the person to enter.
“Kazu? What are you doing here?” asked Sho, hoping he didn’t sound too excited.
“Sho-chan, I need your help,” said the younger man, playing with his fingers.
“With?”
“The whole me getting engaged to Jun thing,”
Sho sighed. Not because he couldn’t come up with a plan, but because of Kazunari’s obvious fondness of the Jun.
“Come on, Sho,” pleaded Kazunari, misinterpreting the sigh, “you’re the smart one here! Help me think of something,” he grabbed Sho’s left arm with both hands and shook it while pouting at the older man.
“Well…” Sho began, “I don’t actually have a plan…”
“Sho…” whined Kazunari, giving the latter the best puppy-dog look he could muster. With Kazunari looking at him that way, and him clinging on to his arm, Sho badly wanted to pounce of the younger man.
“Here’s a clue,” said Sho, “Lord Ninomiya chose four boys to be trained as successor, but at the end of the day he only has to pick one to succeed him,”
“Four boys…” repeated Kazunari to himself. His face lit up, knowing what Sho meant, “thanks, Sho-chan, you’re the best,” cried Kazunari flinging himself onto Sho and wanting to hug him to death for his brilliant solution.
Sho patted the younger man on the back. Kazu, if only you liked me more than Jun…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Walking down the hospital corridor for the third time, Kazunari felt extremely noble -noble for helping someone. When he got to his grandfather’s ward, Kazunari had to remind himself that it was for the sake of everyone that he’s doing this even though he didn’t want to.
He slid the door open before he could change his mind.
“Kazunari,” smiled his grandfather, delighted that his grandson decided to visit him, he had been extremely mad at him the day before.
“Ojii-chan, can I talk to you?” asked Kazunari hesitantly, seeing Nishida, the body guards, doctors and nurses all staring at him.
“Of course,” replied Lord Ninomiya, waving his hand to dismiss everybody.
When it was just him and his grandfather in the room, Kazunari walked up to the bed slowly and sat himself down on the chair beside the bed.
“Ojii-chan, I’m sorry for being mad at you yesterday,” Kazunari apologized, taking his grandfather’s hand in his.
“No, it’s okay, I knew I should have reminded Nishida to remind me to tell you,” sighed the old man, cupping his precious grandson’s cheek with his free hand, “you don’t like Jun, do you?”
Kazunari’s stomach tightened. He wanted to lie to his grandfather and say he didn’t like Jun, but knowing his grandfather, he would cancel the wedding and it would pain Kazunari to see his grandfather upset.
“Ojii-chan, I didn’t come here about that,” replied Kazunari softly, “it’s just…”
“it’s just?”
“I like Sho,”
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Note: I shant comment on anything. Up till this point, i'm still deciding if it'll be Matsumiya/Sakumiya. So the truth has finally been revealed. Oh, and i managed to combine 2 chapts into one, so there's only one chapt left (maybe a epilogeu too, maybe) Thanks for reading!