Cursed Love: Illness 2: Sacrifice (3)
Chapters (5):
Cursed
Illness 1: Asylum
Illness 2: Sacrifice
Illness 3: Monster
Redemption
Illness 2: Sacrifice
For once, the Four Suns and Kazunari were gathered in the East Tower without anyone physically going for another person’s throat. Not yet. They were all scattered sparsely; Satoshi sat in an armchair and Jun draped on the arm, Sho stood the furthest away sulkily looking out the wide window, and Masaki and Kazunari shared one couch.
“I don’t know what great idea your stupid pet suddenly had, Masaki,” Sho moodily said, “but I shouldn’t think it matters if I’m here or not.”
Before Masaki could warn him, Kazunari did. “But you will stay here and listen, because it concerns you. And you will cooperate.”
Sho turned and met Kazunari’s cool, challenging eyes. The certainty that Kazunari knew his illness caused him to reel in his hostility and he proceeded warily. He tilted his head back pompously and turned back to looking out the window without uttering a word.
On the other hand, his expression passive as always, Satoshi asked, “Why did you call me here, Nino? Masaki said you can cure us. Is that true?”
Jun broke in, “Can you trust him, Masaki? You can’t trust him just because he said so.”
Satoshi turned to his younger brother with a pout. “Don’t insult him. We can trust Nino because he’s my friend.”
Jun’s eyes widened in alarm and he placed a hand on Satoshi’s shoulder. “When did you become friends?”
“A long time ago,” Satoshi gave the vague reply.
Although Kazunari was entertained to see Jun’s patience tried by Satoshi, whom Jun seemed to worship, he had to interrupt. He said, “Masaki told me your mothers had ingrained in you the lie that my mom cursed you with your illnesses. But Masaki thinks it’s because of what your fathers did to my mom while they were here. They hurt her and so you were punished. I believe, since all of this originated with our parents, the only cure can be found at the source.”
Sho stepped away from the window clenching his hands into fists. “Don’t be stupid. Your slutty mother cursed us.”
“Sho!”
Masaki’s reprimand surprised all of them and silence ensued for a few seconds.
Sho blinked away the shock and his eyes contained its usual malice. “What does he know?” he screamed, referring to Kazunari. “He lied! Except for my illness of which he only witnessed because of my own mistake, he knows nothing!” This time, he directed the words and questions at Kazunari. “You do not even know Masaki’s illness or Satoshi’s and Jun’s! What do you care? You should be happy that whore got her revenge!”
Kazunari jumped to his feet, but Masaki was quicker. He ran to Sho and because everyone was so astonished, no one reacted. Masaki’s fist met with Sho’s face and his best friend toppled to the floor. Sho couldn’t believe what had happened. He only came back to life when he felt the blood trickling down his nose.
Masaki stared him down, his frigid glare a mirror of Sho’s. “Even if you’re my friend, I won’t tolerate you insulting Ninomiya. Ninomiya is my friend, too.”
From what Kazunari knew of Sho so far, he expected Sho to burst into fury and use violence against Masaki. He prepared to intervene, but Sho did not react as he expected. Sho remained on the floor and bowed his head, nursing his bleeding nose. He said nothing to Masaki. Instead, he seemed to be silently obedient. With the realization of a different side to the most cruel Sun, Kazunari guessed why Sho had gone into the basement in the middle of the night when Masaki had insisted. For the first time, Kazunari found one thing good about Sho; he could put himself in danger to help a friend.
Jun broke the awkward stillness by leaping to his feet. He reached down and forcibly grabbed Satoshi by the arm. “We’re leaving.” His tone was matter of fact with no room for argument.
Satoshi blinked up at him, uncomprehending. “Why?”
“Your friend is a fool. As Sho said, he doesn’t know anything. He doesn’t know about our illness. That means we aren’t obligated to listen to him.”
“B-but--” Satoshi tried to object as he was dragged out of his armchair.
“I’m not going to put you in danger!” Jun bellowed. “Are you willing to risk our lives for some silly theory?”
At those words, Satoshi’s hesitation increased and Jun was able to drag him to the door.
Kazunari turned and pleaded, “Ohno!”
Satoshi looked at Kazunari with apologetic, sorrowful eyes before they left the room. As the double doors swung on its hinges behind them, Kazunari caught a glimpse of them in the hall. They stood close together. Jun turned to hold and comfort a dejected Satoshi. While whispering soothing words to his sulking older brother Jun leaned down, his head turned, to lock their lips together. The doors snapped shut.
Kazunari turned his gaze down to his feet and trembled. He shook the blasphemous image from his mind. It must be his imagination. As he cheered himself, the brothers’ exit injected defiance into Sho as well. Sho stood, his head tilted back to stem the blood streaming down his nose, and stormed to his asylum without a final word. Kazunari and Masaki allowed him to leave. They were left alone in the circular chamber.
Kazunari released a long sigh. “It’s okay,” he told a dejected Masaki while awkwardly rubbing his scar. “I should have known they would never listen.”
“But I will.” Firm resolve in his voice, Masaki faced Kazunari. His expression mirrored his determination. “I will listen. I will try anything. How do you think we can cure this illness?”
Kazunari couldn’t help, but feel touched by his belief. He grinned at Masaki and he was pleased to see the Sun return it with a sweet grin of his own. “Then let’s try.”
* *
An hour later, they were in a sleek, black car with tinted windows driving away from Kitagawa Academy. It was the first time Kazunari had left the school grounds since moving in and he was astonished to feel a sense of freedom at stepping away from that miserable place. He eagerly looked out the window at the sights that he had once thought boring.
“I called to inform my mother,” Masaki said from beside him. “She hasn’t gone out, yet. I told them to tell her I wanted to see her and that I brought a guest. We’ll be there in half an hour. Do you think this will work?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try,” Kazunari answered. “Since your father’s gone, we can only ask your mother to pay her respects to my mom. Sincerely asking for my mom’s forgiveness might just be the key to curing your illnesses.”
Masaki leaned back against the seat with a smile. “I’m glad. The doctors I used to go to always did not believe my illness at first. They said it was impossible. But it was possible and so they said there’s no cure. So I think the only cure may also be something people would think is impossible.” He reached over and took Kazunari’s hand. Distractedly, he flipped their hands over and gently traced the lines on Kazunari’s palm with one finger. “Hey Ninomiya, I heard Satoshi call you Nino earlier. Why does Satoshi call you Nino?”
Kazunari shrugged. “It’s shorter.”
“Can I call you Nino, too?” Masaki asked nervously.
Tickled by the movement of his finger, Kazunari tried to pull his hand from the sudden grip Masaki had on him. He tried not to laugh while he unsuccessfully pulled, “Fine. If you want to.”
“Then,” Masaki continued without looking up, “Can I call you Kazunari?”
Kazunari slapped his other hand down on their hands to stop him. “If you insist. I’m not making you.”
“Then can I call you Kazu?”
“Why would you?” Irritated now by his nonexistent strength compared to Masaki’s, Kazunari made a real effort to pull his hands away. “Can you stop?”
Unconcerned with Kazunari’s determination, Masaki overlapped both Kazunari’s hands with his own and pressed their entangled hands to his chest. Kazunari was forced to slide sideways in the backseat when he did so.
Masaki still did not look up to meet his eyes. Blushing furiously, he asked, “Can I like you?”
Kazunari stopped struggling. Involuntarily, he felt heat spread across his face also. His pulse pounded in his ears and Masaki’s close proximity and bodily warmth did nothing to help him calm down. Rather, it only riled his emotions. He almost tried to pull his hands away again, but realized he could feel Masaki’s racing heart through his chest. It assured him that he wasn’t the only one nervous. He even liked the fact that he could cause the same reactions in Masaki as was happening to him.
Without waiting for an answer, Masaki asked one more question. “Can I be more than a friend?”
Kazunari couldn’t answer. How could he? He was already trying with all his might to not turn to mush, despite being quite unsuccessful at that too. The car couldn’t possibly get any smaller and the atmosphere any more stifling. He couldn’t even tell if Masaki was still blushing anymore because he had bowed his head in fear that the Sun would see his happiness.
“I-If you s-say yea, th-then close your eyes,” Masaki said. “B-but if y-you don’t want to, th-then stop me.”
He released Kazunari’s hands. He tilted Kazunari’s head back until their eyes met and they both saw the nervousness on each other’s red faces. Masaki leaned forward slowly. Kazunari closed his eyes. Their lips touched and then Masaki gave him a first kiss. Truthfully, Kazunari loved every bit of it.
* *
Kazunari dropped Masaki’s hand when they drove up the long driveway and the Aiba mansion loomed into view. He stared wide-eyed at the place Masaki called home and could just barely keep his mouth from gaping open. Not only the house, but the entire grounds was magnificent; fit for kings and queens and in Masaki’s case, princes. He glimpsed a few ponds, gardens, and smaller infrastructures beyond the row of neatly trimmed bushes lining the driveway. The whole place was a fairytale. Undeterred by Kazunari’s shock, Masaki picked up Kazunari’s hand again.
When they reached their destination at the end of the driveway, a man in a black suit rushed to open the door for them. They alighted. They climbed the front steps into the main foyer of the marvelous mansion Kazunari had sighted earlier. A row of meticulously dressed butlers made a line from the entrance to the wooden staircase in the center while the other side were lined with beautifully dressed maids. Kazunari blinked many times at everything. This was out of his depth. The whole place was marvelous, from the sparkling chandelier above his head to the very exquisite violet rug lining his way up the staircase.
Masaki tugged at his hand, still joined, and so Kazunari decided to straighten his back, throw his head back in a perfect imitation of Sho, and follow Masaki up the staircase.
One of the older butlers followed one step behind Masaki, essentially at pace with Kazunari, and said, “Young master, the Mistress is still taking tea in her room. One of the maids will serve a fresh pot for you. Will you and your honored guest be staying for dinner?”
“We won’t,” Kazunari turned and answered him promptly, cutting ahead of Masaki. He refused to dine here. He didn’t want to know how vastly different Masaki and his life was. To his irritation, the butler acted as if he did not exist and ignored his rejection.
“No, we won’t,” Masaki answered, charmed by Kazunari’s outburst. A grin tugged at his lips.
Up the steps they went and down the left along a long corridor. Out of view of the servants, Kazunari practically stumbled along with Masaki dragging him. Finally at the corner before a turn, Masaki suddenly stopped and burst out laughing. He pulled Kazunari around to face him. “What are you doing?”
“I hate this place,” Kazunari declared straightforwardly to his face. “Why couldn’t you have lived in a normal house?”
Masaki beamed at him. “This is my normal.” He moved forward again. “Now come on. My mother’s room is this way.”
“Wait.” Kazunari tugged him back. “Is your mother your standard of normal or mines?”
Masaki smiled at his question again. “I don’t know what standard you’re talking about. I’ve only experienced having one mother. I can’t tell what your normal is because mines is what I consider normal. And my mother is very, very emotional, but that’s only because she loves me a lot.”
“Idiot,” Kazunari half-heartedly cursed under his breath as Masaki propelled him along.
They reached the double doors at another end and this time Masaki announced that they had arrived. He knocked twice and said in a booming voice, “Mother, I’m coming in.” He pulled Kazunari through with him.
Mrs. Aiba sat in her lounge at a small area by a wide, lace-curtained window that looked out into the driveway. She would have already known they’d arrived. She was a pretty woman to look at, even at middle age. Her hair was dark and abundant, pulled back into a stylish bun, while her one-piece dress was of a fashionable cut. She was small and looked fragile. When she saw Masaki, her face contorted into a beautiful smile, but when her eyes rested on Kazunari, that smile dropped. She noticed his uniform.
“I didn’t know your special guest would be a friend from Kitagawa Academy,” Mrs. Aiba said in a soft, feminine voice. She gracefully reached for her teacup on the table in front of her and brought it to her lips.
Masaki did not take a seat and his strong grip on Kazunari’s hand stopped him from impolitely doing so also. They stood at her side formally. “This is someone very important to me, mother. He’s more than a friend to me. I brought him here today because he has something very important to tell you. He has the cure for my illness!”
She dropped her teacup and the contents spilled onto her skirt. A wet stain streaked across the rich cloth. She gasped.
Masaki rushed forward to help her, but she waved him back hurriedly. “No, no, no! I’m so sorry, darling. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just change.”
“But mother,” Masaki started desperately as she stood and made for another door at the side. “Aren’t you going to listen?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t believe you, darling. You’ve seen the best doctors in the world and none of them could find a cure. I love you, but I can’t believe this boy. He couldn’t possibly do anything.”
Kazunari, annoyed that he was being spoken of as if he wasn’t in the same room, took a step towards her and declared, “It just might work!”
Unlike the butler, Mrs. Aiba turned and stared at him in astonishment. Kazunari realized no one had used that tone with her before. Even Masaki was surprised at the rudeness to his mother, but he did not push Kazunari back. Instead, he went to stand beside Kazunari again and took his hand.
“Mother, it just might work. Wouldn’t you do anything to stop my illness?”
She paused in the act of pushing open the door to the adjacent room. Her reply came out as a whisper. “I would do anything for you. Anything. You know that.”
Emboldened, Masaki continued. “Then please listen to what Ninomiya has to say.”
At his statement, she swiveled around and stared at them. Her face went stark white and her lips trembled.
“Yes, he’s Ninomiya Kazunari, her son,” Masaki explained. “He believes that if you apologize to his mother, then--”
“I will not apologize! I won’t! I’ll never apologize to that disgusting woman!” She covered her ears and promptly fell to her knees. The earlier grace disappeared from her movements. “Get him out of here! Why did you bring him here!? Why!? Why!? Take him out!”
Horrified, Masaki stepped towards her.
Kazunari did the same. “Your husband was as much to blame as my mom!” he exploded.
To their dismay, Mrs. Aiba burst into body-wracking tears, clutching at her face and hair.
Masaki turned around and gripped Kazunari by the shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think she’d react this way. I thought after father’s death she’d come to the same conclusion as me, but she’s not ready yet. The car is waiting for us. Go back to school alone. We’ll try again another time.”
Mrs. Aiba was still screaming, sobbing uncontrollably. “Why would you do this to me, darling!? Why would you bring that woman’s son to torture me? Why!? Why would you bring your father’s bastard to hurt me!? He’ll take everything away! He’ll steal your inheritance just like what that woman wanted!”
Both Kazunari and Masaki froze, then in one movement they were upon her.
Kazunari pried her delicate hands from her face. “What did you say!?” he screamed.
Masaki pushed in front of him, horrification on his face. “Mother!”
His voice forced her head up. Her eyes were full of malice and seething rage. Her pupils, dilated, fixated on him. “But I did it, darling! I did it for you! Your aunts and I drove her away! We made sure she had nowhere to turn to! That foolish Sakurai tried to help her, but even he couldn’t do anything. Even the Ninomiya group became ashamed of her. I did not want to see that woman and her bastard son again. I couldn’t let him steal your inheritance, darling.” She turned her head and spat into Kazunari’s face. “Bastard! You’re not my son! Leave!”
Masaki sat back on his heels and stared at her.
Kazunari watched him and his mother. Masaki said nothing and so he finally stood and slowly walked to the double doors they had entered. He slowly walked down the corridor he and Masaki had walked along together. He slowly walked down the grand staircase, along the violet carpet, under the mocking chandelier, and out the door. He slowly walked to the car waiting in the driveway. The driver opened the door and he somehow entered. He saw nothing outside the tinted windows on his way back. He thought of only one thing: I am not that asshole’s son.
But in a tiny part of his brain, everything clicked. It made sense. Horrified, that numbing part of his brain knew everything he had realized made complete and utter sense. Another part of his heart ached for his first love and his mother who had betrayed his trust.
The car stopped outside the school gates and Kazunari climbed out. Even after it had driven off, he did not enter the gates. He stood just outside in a post-shocked state. He did not even notice the rush of men in black suits run out from the gates. Kazunari had completely stopped trying to piece anything together in the hopes that nothing more would hurt him. He did not see Jun rush out in the same hurry as the black-suited men.
Jun caught sight of him, stopped in his tracks, turned and was upon him in a moment. His fingers dug into Kazunari’s shoulder and finally forced Kazunari to the present. Only then did Kazunari realize Jun had been screaming at him.
“Did you see him!?”
Kazunari blinked several times. “Who?” he asked weakly.
“Satoshi! He’s gone! If he’s not with me, or Masaki, or Sho, or you, and if he’s not with his bodyguards or with his driver, or at the house then he’s--he’s gone!”
Kazunari pulled Jun’s grip from him. “He probably got tired of you all. He probably wanted a moment’s freedom. Give him some air.”
“No! Satoshi’s been kidnapped!” Jun screamed, taking hold of Kazunari’s arms again. His fingers dug in.
Suddenly enraged, Kazunari shrugged his hands off. He screamed back at Jun, “You’re delusional! You’re paranoid! You suffocate him! You three and his bodyguards and your parents and your grandparents! Just leave him alone for once!”
“He’s been kidnapped!” Jun screamed, not heeding anything that he’d said.
“No, he’s not!” Kazunari retaliated.
He expected Jun to respond back in kind, but instead Sho broke the screaming marathon between them.
“Jun!” He inserted himself between them and pulled them apart. “Go back inside!”
Jun turned on Sho as well. “Satoshi’s been kidnapped!”
“That’s why you can’t be in danger as well! Are you hoping you can trade places with him? Are you!?” Sho demanded, gripping Jun by the nape of his neck.
Kazunari watched in amazement as Sho’s words sank into Jun. Jun suddenly stepped back from them, returning to reasonable sanity.
“No,” he whispered. “I don’t want to be kidnapped. Thankfully it’s Satoshi. Better it’s him than me.”
Kazunari knew Satoshi loved his brother more than anything and he believed Jun felt the same way, but Jun’s current confession surprised him. All familial relationships Kazunari had once thought strong and sound became disillusions. He prepared to explode at Jun for his gross betrayal, but he opened his mouth just as Jun dropped to the ground. Sho made an unsuccessful effort to catch him.
At their feet, Jun writhed and his back arched. His mouth opened to scream, but only whimpers came out. At first, Kazunari thought Jun was just like Sho and had a similar illness. He decided to act in a hurry. They had to tie Jun up before he hurt himself. Sho stuck one arm out to stop him from acting.
“Don’t,” Sho cautioned. “You will only hurt him if you try to stop it.”
Then Kazunari realized it was not like Sho at all. To his horror, wounds and bruises etched itself into Jun’s skin. Blood dripped from his mouth. A cracking sound showed Jun’s arm twisting and breaking without the slightest reason why.
Sho crouched beside Jun and cursed. “Damn!”
Through the blood in his mouth, Jun sobbed, “Satoshi’s been kidnapped…”
“I know,” Sho whispered. “I’ll find him for you.”
“At least… he’s safe...” Jun doubled in agony and the cost of speaking became too great for him.
Five minutes later, the ambulance Sho called had him safely strapped into a stretcher. Abrasions were still forming on Jun’s skin for no apparent reason, but he had already lost consciousness.
Sho turned to head into the school with fierce eyes and a determined expression. Kazunari reached out and grabbed him by the the forearm, effectively gaining his attention.
“I’m going with you,” he coldly declared. His gaze that stared back at Sho were full of a similar cold fury.
For once, Sho did not argue and even beckoned for him to follow.
* *
“Ohno and Matsumoto share one illness. They share one body,” Kazunari guessed while Sho ushered them into a hidden room along the East Wing corridor. Aside from a long desk against the wall where a few laptops, hard-drives, screens, and technical equipment were situated, the rest of the room was sparsely furnished.
“Close, but incorrect,” Sho replied absentmindedly as he went straight to the laptop and turned one on. The rest lighted up as well. The first screen asked for a password, but at the side a clock counted down from ten. Sho quickly made do with it. “They are two bodies, but all external pain inflicted on one person is experienced and reflected in the other. Satoshi caught this illness when he was two and Jun even before he was born. The first time Uncle and Aunt Ohno realized something might have been wrong, Aunt Ohno was already six months pregnant. She almost had a miscarriage when Satoshi had a minor accident, but he did not have a single injury.”
Kazunari, standing a distance behind him, nodded. Sho was busy reviewing videos on his laptop and could not see his gesture.
“They accepted the truth,” he went on, “when Satoshi was taken hostage at five. He came back with no scratches at all, yet a toddler Jun had cuts and bruises that had magically appeared. It was obvious the illness took away the most important person to Satoshi: his baby brother. So when he was older Satoshi made the bold decision to allow Jun to live freely. He lives surrounded by bodyguards just so Jun could always be safe. Aside from us, Satoshi refused to make any friends. You’re the first and only one he’s adamant about.” Finally, Sho stopped whatever he’d been doing and turned to stare straight at Kazunari. “Can you guess why Satoshi ran out today without his bodyguards?”
Kazunari took another guess. “It’s about me.”
“Correct,” Sho said as if they were playing a quizzing game. “Jun and he argued for the first time since I could remember. They argued about Satoshi’s friendship with you.”
“What does Matsumoto have against me?” Kazunari asked. “Me being friends with Satoshi won’t hurt him. I’m not connected to anyone. I don’t have the means to do anything. I don’t covet anything that Satoshi owns.”
Sho snorted and turned back to his laptop. “Because Jun and I know the reason Kitagawa brought you here.”
Kazunari moved to his side. “What do you mean?”
“Obviously, you’re not some misunderstood genius out on the streets. Kitagawa brought you here for a reason.”
“And you mean you know why?”
Sho did not even glance at him as he asked, “Do you really want to know?”
“Obviously!”
“You’re Uncle Aiba’s illegitimate son.”
Once again, the truth crashed around Kazunari and he paused for breath. No matter how many times he heard it, he couldn’t believe it. His gut squeezed just at the thought of Masaki.
He opened his mouth and forced out breathlessly, “If you knew all along, why didn’t you tell Aiba? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Again, Sho swiveled around in his seat and fixed hard eyes on him. “I didn’t think Kitagawa would track you and your mother down. Or that he’d defy Uncle Ohno and accept you into this school. I didn’t think it was important as long as I could drive you away. But that’s all moot now because Masaki befriended you. Now you know. You’re important to Kitagawa because Uncle Aiba included you in his will. You have been given a share in the Aiba corporation and this school. You could do anything. You are a wild card in the heart of the big three, and Kitagawa expects to use that to his advantage.”
Kazunari rubbed one hand down his face. His father, the person who’d neglected him all these years, had for some reason included him in his ridiculous will. “I’m expected to believe all of this.”
“Because it’s true,” Sho said. “And what will also be true is that you will never show to claim your inheritance and Kitagawa will never have the opportunity to exert influence over you.”
Kazunari forced a bitter sounding laugh. “You don’t have a right to decide my life.”
“We have the right,” Sho assured him, matter of factly. “Because you are a threat to us. Uncle Ohno placated all the board members on Kitagawa’s side. In the meantime, I was in charge of getting rid of you and making sure you don’t go near the Aiba fortune.”
“Are you,” Kazunari started, feeling irritation get the better of him, “purposely telling me this just to make me angry? I thought you didn’t want me as your enemy? If I hate all of you and decide to take my inheritance, I can use it against you. You can’t blame me.”
“No,” Sho blatantly said. “I’m telling you all of this because I’ve always been honest with you.”
“Fine. Then if you hate me and have to drive me away, why am I still here? Why did you let me into this room?”
“The only reason I haven’t driven you away is because my father is against it. He has always tried to protect you,” Sho replied, as brutally honest as ever. “And the reason I brought you in here is because your friendship with Masaki and Satoshi has made you useful.” He pointed to one of the dozen screens on display. “I found it. Look here.”
Kazunari followed his finger to a screen out of many screens and saw a video being played. “From a security camera?”
“Sasaki doesn’t know I record a copy of everything the camera records. I’ve seen him wipe the footage, but I still have everything on tape.”
Kazunari watched as earlier that day Satoshi ran out of the school building and through the courtyard of the East Wing. If this video was the replay of Satoshi’s kidnapping, he couldn’t believe such a thing could happen on school grounds. But then he understood how when Sasaki, the very person in charge of the students’ safety, loomed into view with a cloth in his hand. In a matter of seconds, Satoshi slumped against him. From a different camera, moments later, Sasaki could be seen dragging Satoshi into a janitor’s closet. Satoshi, it seems, was still somewhere in the school.
Kazunari couldn’t process the events in the video. Everything happening felt surreal. Everything Sho had told him about inheritances and motives couldn’t possibly be true.
“I’m sure Sasaki wasn’t prepared for the lapse in Satoshi’s security, that’s why he dirtied his hands and did the job himself,” Sho commented, seemingly unaffected by what he saw.
“How can you be so calm?” Kazunari murmured, trying not to tremble as his hands balled into fists.
“Sasaki will try to use this advantage against the Ohno group, but we’re going to solve this even before Uncle Ohno steps in.”
“You’re going to send the tape to the police?” Kazunari asked.
“Incorrect. That’s not our problem,” Sho said. “I’ll let Uncle Ohno handle the tapes. Our job now is to free Satoshi for Jun’s sake. Ninomiya, this is your chance to prove that you’re not a threat to us. You’re going to Kitagawa and you’re going to get Satoshi back for us. That’s the only reason I brought you here.”
* *
Sho guaranteed that the way to get to Sasaki and save Satoshi was through Kitagawa, even though Sasaki seemed to have acted without instructions, so Kazunari approached his office for the first time since his arrival.
He had never met the Headmaster before. During his transfer, it’d always been a lawyer who spoke to him and helped him through the paperwork. Johnny Kitagawa hadn’t even welcomed him on his first day of school. Instead, Sasaki did. Despite his negligence, Kazunari had initially expected to like the Headmaster, especially since he knew Kitagawa went against the wishes of the Four Suns. Sasaki’s personality gradually destroyed his belief and eventually made him wary. Unless the Headmaster was a poor judge of a person’s character, he didn’t seem like such a good person himself.
Standing outside the Headmaster’s office, Kazunari knocked on the door three times. He waited for several minutes and when he received no response, went ahead and pushed open the unlocked door. He stepped inside. He was surprised to see that the office wasn’t empty as he expected. A man sat behind the large desk in one corner. The chair faced outside the window as was the person. Kazunari only saw bits of the back of the man’s head.
“I did not give you permission to enter,” the man said coldly and still did not turn around to greet him.
Kazunari’s first impression of the Headmaster did him no favors. Add to the fact that Sho had given a negative image of him minutes before greatly influenced his perception of his enigmatic Headmaster.
Used to Sho’s icy tones, Kazunari felt no fear against Kitagawa’s negative welcome. He stepped up to the desk until only the furniture separated them. “I have a proposal to make,” Kazunari said to his back.
Silence dragged on for a few seconds before Kitagawa responded. This time, his tone lightened considerably. “I did not expect to see you here, Ninomiya.”
“Then who did you expect?” Kazunari asked, keeping down his surprise that Kitagawa recognized him from his voice alone.
“If you came here on behalf of Sakurai,” said Kitagawa, “then I regret that my negligence have greatly misled you. I should have never allowed you to associate with the Four Suns.”
It suddenly struck Kazunari that the Headmaster, who’d been in office since before his mother had been there, also knew the story of their parents. “Of course, you’d know all about what the Suns can do,” he muttered sullenly, “and yet you did nothing to help my mom.”
“You yourself know about the power of the Ohno, Aiba, and Sakurai groups,” the Headmaster said calmly to his accusation. “You should know their influence over this academy. Even if this school belongs to my family in name, the Kitagawas have been mere puppets since the second generation of Suns.”
“You knew Aiba was my father and you knew he included me in his will. You brought me here to use me,” Kazunari tested Sho’s revelations for accuracy.
“That’s right,” the Headmaster agreed without a moment’s hesitation or consideration of his position in the scheme. “I will be truthful with you. I need your help to restore the name and power of the Kitagawas. With your help, Ninomiya, I can take control of what’s rightfully mines. We need to destroy the malicious influence the big three have over this school. Once this academy returns to my control, I will never allow something like what happened to your mother to happen again.”
His proposal momentarily stimulated Kazunari, but a single stray thought to Sasaki forced him to face reality once more. He touched on the sole reason for his visit. “Two wrongs doesn’t make a right,” he said. “Your right-hand man, Sasaki, kidnapped Ohno. If you allowed such a thing to happen, how can I believe that you’ll stop all the wrongs being committed at this school?”
Kitagawa clicked his tongue in frustration. “Even if Sasaki sits under my thumb, I cannot know about all of his doings. I know nothing about Ohno. I have not condone such a weak, cowardly act.”
You’re lying, Kazunari thought. Kitagawa wouldn’t be expecting Sho if he didn’t already know what was happening. But in the attempt to fool Kazunari, the Headmaster had all but forgotten his early slip. So Kazunari chose to keep the advantage. “Then prove that you had nothing to do with it,” he said. “If you command Sasaki to let Ohno go, I’ll think about working with you.”
“But if you can negotiate for the release of Ohno, how can I believe that you’re not already on the side of the Suns?” Kitagawa asked.
“I know what they did to my mother,” Kazunari said. “I cannot let what happened to her happen to anyone, even the Suns. I only agreed to negotiate for Ohno because your assistant’s action disgusts me.”
Another round of silent seconds passed between them before Kitagawa said, “I will demand that Sasaki release Ohno. He will be returned to the East Wing by tonight. But, I must have your word that you will consider my proposal.”
“You have my word,” Kazunari said.
“I will place your honor on your mother’s grave.”
Kazunari’s eyes flashed angrily, but he kept his tongue and stepped out of the room. Not once had KItagawa turned around to face him. He dared to mention honor when he did not even have the decency to turn around and face Kazunari like a man.
* *
Kazunari thoughtlessly returned straight to Sho after his brief confrontation with the Headmaster. Sho ignored the sullen set of his expression and interrogated him, pulling as much information as he could before making a phone call to Mr. Ohno. Then they waited, just the two of them, and sat in silence. Sho played on a personal laptop he whisked out of nowhere while Kazunari finished a worksheet for chemistry.
As hours passed and Satoshi did not show, their patience began to thin. Kazunari finished his chemistry homework and a paragraph of an essay before he gave up trying to think altogether and lazed in his seat. Sho eventually gave up as well.
They dozed on separate couches in the circular lounge of the East Tower as late evening turned into a later night. At half an hour before midnight, a knock at the door woke them. They sprang to their feet as a bodyguard stepped in with a small bundle in his arms.
“The young master,” he said.
Kazunari and Sho ran to the bundle. Satoshi lay sedately in his bodyguard’s arms.
“Is he okay?” Kazunari asked, worried.
Satoshi yawned.
“I think he’s just tired,” said the bodyguard.
Both Sho and Kazunari breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are you heading straight to the hospital?” Sho asked Satoshi. “I’ve called Uncle Ohno. They’re all waiting for you.”
Kazunari couldn’t believe what Sho was suggesting. After what Satoshi had been through, he thought the oldest Sun deserved a rest.
“I’m going,” Satoshi agreed in a murmur. “I want to see Jun.”
Kazunari knew it was time he stepped in. “It’s late,” he voiced. “You could wait until morning. Everyone’s probably left and Jun is probably sleeping.”
“No,” Satoshi replied, effectively shocking Kazunari for his stubbornness despite seeming much more docile. He rubbed his eyes and murmured while he did so, “I need to be with Jun. I need to know if he’s healing. You must know about my illness now, right? See my arm?” He stretched out a limp arm for both Sho and Kazunari to see. “No cuts. They did not even try to perform surgery on Jun. They know they can’t. No injections. No intravenous drip or blood transfusion. I know the only thing they can do without me there to put a needle in him is force medicine down his throat. So what if Jun’s in pain and I’m not even there to be with him? I need to be there, Nino. I need to be with Jun.”
Kazunari realized all over again the deep affection Satoshi and Jun had for each other and conceded. He immediately understood Sho’s urgency to retrieve Satoshi. He had thought too lightly of their illnesses and overlooked the complications that came with it. For Satoshi’s sake, he nodded his comprehension.
Sho took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Call me in the morning with updates of his condition. But no matter how worried you are about Jun, you have to get some sleep, too.”
Satoshi hummed his consent and turned to blink sleepily down at Kazunari. He reached out with his hand and Kazunari realized he wanted to hold hands. Across the short distance, their hands clasped gently.
“Will you go with me?” Satoshi asked in a small voice.
Touched by his trust, Kazunari nodded.
One of the bodyguards standing outside the room went to drive around a car to the school gate. Almost ten minutes later, the man carrying Satoshi led them outside surrounded by the rest of Satoshi’s guards. Sho watched them leave from the room, but did not follow down the hall. Preoccupied by the ominous solemn looking men guarding them from all sides, Kazunari did not even notice. The dark night sky opened above their heads as they stepped out from the school building, but no stars twinkled from the dark cavern.
They sighted the sleek black car waiting for them by the gate. The sight of the humming vehicle relieved Kazunari. He did not like the feeling of heavy-set men blocking his every path of escape. The bodyguard had just lain Satoshi into the backseat of the car and Kazunari prepared to enter behind him when the great clock in the West Tower struck twelve. Twelve deep gongs rang throughout the night. A chill swept through Kazunari’s body.
Down in the seat, Satoshi blinked up at him standing outside the car door. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry,” Kazunari told him and realized as he said so, “I can’t go.”
A ripple of discontent disturbed the blank drowsiness on Satoshi’s face. “You promised.”
Kazunari reached out for his hand this time and this time Satoshi gently clasped theirs together. “You must understand,” Kazunari said, “you and Matsumoto will not be here and Aiba might not come back tonight. Right now, Sakurai is sick. There will be no one to take care of him in the morning.”
“But Sho built a bedroom right next to his asylum so no one would have to,” Satoshi replied.
“Can’t you see how horrible that is?” Kazunari asked him. “Imagine how lonely Matsumoto would be without you. Sakurai should always have someone, even if it has to be me. He might not deserve it, but I’m not such a jerk that I’m going to leave him alone when he’s hurt.”
Satoshi pursed his lower lip, but he dropped Kazunari’s hand. “Okay. I don’t want Sho to be alone.”
“I’ll see you next time and good night,” Kazunari told him.
Satoshi gave him a sulking nod, but Kazunari did not see. He’d already turned and ran back inside towards the East Tower where a boy had locked himself into a soundproof room.
* *
During the hour long wait, Kazunari tried to think of something other than the suffering currently occurring in the very room adjacent to the bedroom he occupied. The harder he tried, the easier he remembered the terror in the dark basement and the inhuman, agonized screams of a lost mind. The very memory frightened him. He wondered why he even stayed. Satoshi was his priority as a friend and he had no obligation to Sho, just as he had said. But as he had also said, he couldn’t possibly leave Sho alone to suffer knowing what he did about his horrible illness.
When the first hour in the morning struck, he breathed a sigh of relief and realized he’d been tense the entire time. Standing up from the bed to shake his limbs, Kazunari debated about the right timing to intrude into the soundproof room and extract Sho’s body. He didn’t want to catch Sho’s last scream nor did he want to wait too long either. While he decided, the door swung open by itself and he turned to behold Sho’s hunched form in the doorway. Although he had predicted it from their second encounter, he still felt surprise that Sho had the strength to stand.
Sho blinked wearily at Kazunari, but did not have the energy to do anything else. His glazed over vision registered who Kazunari was, but he gave no indication that it mattered. He lugged himself to the bed and flung himself down, dropping like a log onto the mattress.
As Masaki had done, Kazunari quickly pulled out the first-aid and nursed his terrible wounds. Injuries that had barely healed were reopened.
“When will you start taking your medications again?” Kazunari asked while trying not flinch at every cut, bruise, and welt he saw.
Sho stirred and mumbled.
Kazunari watched him for a few seconds to make sure he didn’t move before he climbed up the bed to nurse the injuries on Sho’s other’s side.
“You’re the only Sun who’s difficult to get along with,” Kazunari told him knowing that he wouldn’t answer. “One moment you’re cold and the next your friends are the world to you. Aiba, Ohno, and Matsumoto are much easier to see through.”
Sho mumbled again.
“Sorry I can’t hear you,” Kazunari said and went on speaking as if Sho hadn’t been murmuring in his sleep. “But really, once you’re all off your pedestals, you’re nice guys. I think our Headmaster is really after your fathers and not any of you. You and I are battling our parents’ fight, not ours.”
Sho wheezed and stirred again. “Incorrect,” he managed to voice out this time.
Kazunari heard him and disagreed. “You only hate me because of what you think my mom did to your family, but that had nothing to do with me. And originally I disliked you because of what your fathers did to my mom.”
“You’re getting it wrong,” Sho said and strained his muscles to work. Using all his effort, he turned on his side and opened his previously shuttered eyes. He focused on Kazunari. “I hate you because I hate you. I hate you because you betrayed me.”
His statement baffled Kazunari.
“I didn’t even know you before I came here and there was no time to betray you. There was never any trust between us, so I couldn’t betray you in the first place. You were hostile to me from the beginning.”
“No,” Sho gasped. “In the beginning, I was your friend. But no matter what I did or my father did, you and your mother did not forgive us.”
“What do you mean?” Kazunari asked. “You were never my friend.”
Sho’s concentrated gaze on him turned into his signature icy glares. “That’s exactly what I expected from you. You and your mother chose to forget and my illness happened. I was top in my year for the very first time and your mother’s curse took away the only thing I was good at. Satoshi and Jun had their illnesses ever since they were infants. Masaki caught his illness at eight, but I thought at least I was your friend and I wouldn’t suffer. But everything that my father and I did, your mother pretended it never happened. Your mother took you and ran away.”
Gritting his teeth, Sho summoned strength. With one scarred hand, he gripped his other forearm. “I hate you because your mother destroyed my family. I hate you because you betrayed me.”
Slowly, with trembling fingers, Kazunari reached around him and traced the X-marked scar below the elbow of his other arm as well. “M-mom got fired that year…” he began. “She couldn’t find work and we didn’t have enough money to eat. A boy used to come over everyday and bring us food. He used to play with me. He was my only friend, but… I never saw how he got there or went home each day. My mom never mentioned him. I thought he was a figment of my imagination.” He couldn’t even remember the boy’s face. His mother took him and ran from their small apartment soon after. While they struggled to survive, he forgot all about his first true friend. His imagined friend.
“I carved the scar on your arm when you accidentally hurt me at the same place. We were playing soldiers. And so we swore loyalty to each other on that day,” Sho said.
Kazunari dropped his hand from his arm and shook his head vehemently. He touched Sho’s arm hoping he’d understand. “I didn’t betray you. I didn’t want to forget you, but you don’t know how I lived. I thought I dreamed everything about you because I waited and you never came again. I was only a kid.”
“Your mother forced you to suffer through poverty, even though my father would have kept you safe. She did everything she could to show how little she appreciated anything my father did.”
“Shut up!” Kazunari shouted, tired of hearing insults about his mother. “My mom was the best mother anyone could have. You don’t know her.”
Sho pushed himself upright so he could finally face Kazunari on the same level. “Your mother was a vengeful, self-possessed whore.” He reached out and braced himself using Kazunari’s arms, wincing when the raw wounds on his wrists scraped against cloth, but the pain did not stop him from sinking his fingers into Kazunari’s flesh.
“Let me go!” Kazunari pulled back without trying to hurt him, but Sho held on.
“No! You want the truth? Well then, here’s the whole, entire, complete truth,” Sho raged. “Your mother was a freshman looking for excitement when she fell in love with Uncle Aiba. She stalked and prodded him until they were so disgusted with her, they punished and bullied her and sent her to the infirmary many times over. And then she took sweet revenge; she used every ounce of the measly Ninomiya power to engage herself to the heir of the most powerful family in this country; she forced Uncle Ohno to have her. But the only one she truly wanted was Uncle Aiba so that’s what they gave her. Uncle Aiba seduced her and she scandalously broke off the engagement with Uncle Ohno to run to him, but he only used and tricked her. Uncle Aiba married Masaki’s mother. And then Masaki was born and your mother became pregnant with you and ran to my father so he could protect you and make sure you could be born.”
Cursed
Illness 1: Asylum
Illness 2: Sacrifice
Illness 3: Monster
Redemption
Illness 2: Sacrifice
For once, the Four Suns and Kazunari were gathered in the East Tower without anyone physically going for another person’s throat. Not yet. They were all scattered sparsely; Satoshi sat in an armchair and Jun draped on the arm, Sho stood the furthest away sulkily looking out the wide window, and Masaki and Kazunari shared one couch.
“I don’t know what great idea your stupid pet suddenly had, Masaki,” Sho moodily said, “but I shouldn’t think it matters if I’m here or not.”
Before Masaki could warn him, Kazunari did. “But you will stay here and listen, because it concerns you. And you will cooperate.”
Sho turned and met Kazunari’s cool, challenging eyes. The certainty that Kazunari knew his illness caused him to reel in his hostility and he proceeded warily. He tilted his head back pompously and turned back to looking out the window without uttering a word.
On the other hand, his expression passive as always, Satoshi asked, “Why did you call me here, Nino? Masaki said you can cure us. Is that true?”
Jun broke in, “Can you trust him, Masaki? You can’t trust him just because he said so.”
Satoshi turned to his younger brother with a pout. “Don’t insult him. We can trust Nino because he’s my friend.”
Jun’s eyes widened in alarm and he placed a hand on Satoshi’s shoulder. “When did you become friends?”
“A long time ago,” Satoshi gave the vague reply.
Although Kazunari was entertained to see Jun’s patience tried by Satoshi, whom Jun seemed to worship, he had to interrupt. He said, “Masaki told me your mothers had ingrained in you the lie that my mom cursed you with your illnesses. But Masaki thinks it’s because of what your fathers did to my mom while they were here. They hurt her and so you were punished. I believe, since all of this originated with our parents, the only cure can be found at the source.”
Sho stepped away from the window clenching his hands into fists. “Don’t be stupid. Your slutty mother cursed us.”
“Sho!”
Masaki’s reprimand surprised all of them and silence ensued for a few seconds.
Sho blinked away the shock and his eyes contained its usual malice. “What does he know?” he screamed, referring to Kazunari. “He lied! Except for my illness of which he only witnessed because of my own mistake, he knows nothing!” This time, he directed the words and questions at Kazunari. “You do not even know Masaki’s illness or Satoshi’s and Jun’s! What do you care? You should be happy that whore got her revenge!”
Kazunari jumped to his feet, but Masaki was quicker. He ran to Sho and because everyone was so astonished, no one reacted. Masaki’s fist met with Sho’s face and his best friend toppled to the floor. Sho couldn’t believe what had happened. He only came back to life when he felt the blood trickling down his nose.
Masaki stared him down, his frigid glare a mirror of Sho’s. “Even if you’re my friend, I won’t tolerate you insulting Ninomiya. Ninomiya is my friend, too.”
From what Kazunari knew of Sho so far, he expected Sho to burst into fury and use violence against Masaki. He prepared to intervene, but Sho did not react as he expected. Sho remained on the floor and bowed his head, nursing his bleeding nose. He said nothing to Masaki. Instead, he seemed to be silently obedient. With the realization of a different side to the most cruel Sun, Kazunari guessed why Sho had gone into the basement in the middle of the night when Masaki had insisted. For the first time, Kazunari found one thing good about Sho; he could put himself in danger to help a friend.
Jun broke the awkward stillness by leaping to his feet. He reached down and forcibly grabbed Satoshi by the arm. “We’re leaving.” His tone was matter of fact with no room for argument.
Satoshi blinked up at him, uncomprehending. “Why?”
“Your friend is a fool. As Sho said, he doesn’t know anything. He doesn’t know about our illness. That means we aren’t obligated to listen to him.”
“B-but--” Satoshi tried to object as he was dragged out of his armchair.
“I’m not going to put you in danger!” Jun bellowed. “Are you willing to risk our lives for some silly theory?”
At those words, Satoshi’s hesitation increased and Jun was able to drag him to the door.
Kazunari turned and pleaded, “Ohno!”
Satoshi looked at Kazunari with apologetic, sorrowful eyes before they left the room. As the double doors swung on its hinges behind them, Kazunari caught a glimpse of them in the hall. They stood close together. Jun turned to hold and comfort a dejected Satoshi. While whispering soothing words to his sulking older brother Jun leaned down, his head turned, to lock their lips together. The doors snapped shut.
Kazunari turned his gaze down to his feet and trembled. He shook the blasphemous image from his mind. It must be his imagination. As he cheered himself, the brothers’ exit injected defiance into Sho as well. Sho stood, his head tilted back to stem the blood streaming down his nose, and stormed to his asylum without a final word. Kazunari and Masaki allowed him to leave. They were left alone in the circular chamber.
Kazunari released a long sigh. “It’s okay,” he told a dejected Masaki while awkwardly rubbing his scar. “I should have known they would never listen.”
“But I will.” Firm resolve in his voice, Masaki faced Kazunari. His expression mirrored his determination. “I will listen. I will try anything. How do you think we can cure this illness?”
Kazunari couldn’t help, but feel touched by his belief. He grinned at Masaki and he was pleased to see the Sun return it with a sweet grin of his own. “Then let’s try.”
* *
An hour later, they were in a sleek, black car with tinted windows driving away from Kitagawa Academy. It was the first time Kazunari had left the school grounds since moving in and he was astonished to feel a sense of freedom at stepping away from that miserable place. He eagerly looked out the window at the sights that he had once thought boring.
“I called to inform my mother,” Masaki said from beside him. “She hasn’t gone out, yet. I told them to tell her I wanted to see her and that I brought a guest. We’ll be there in half an hour. Do you think this will work?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try,” Kazunari answered. “Since your father’s gone, we can only ask your mother to pay her respects to my mom. Sincerely asking for my mom’s forgiveness might just be the key to curing your illnesses.”
Masaki leaned back against the seat with a smile. “I’m glad. The doctors I used to go to always did not believe my illness at first. They said it was impossible. But it was possible and so they said there’s no cure. So I think the only cure may also be something people would think is impossible.” He reached over and took Kazunari’s hand. Distractedly, he flipped their hands over and gently traced the lines on Kazunari’s palm with one finger. “Hey Ninomiya, I heard Satoshi call you Nino earlier. Why does Satoshi call you Nino?”
Kazunari shrugged. “It’s shorter.”
“Can I call you Nino, too?” Masaki asked nervously.
Tickled by the movement of his finger, Kazunari tried to pull his hand from the sudden grip Masaki had on him. He tried not to laugh while he unsuccessfully pulled, “Fine. If you want to.”
“Then,” Masaki continued without looking up, “Can I call you Kazunari?”
Kazunari slapped his other hand down on their hands to stop him. “If you insist. I’m not making you.”
“Then can I call you Kazu?”
“Why would you?” Irritated now by his nonexistent strength compared to Masaki’s, Kazunari made a real effort to pull his hands away. “Can you stop?”
Unconcerned with Kazunari’s determination, Masaki overlapped both Kazunari’s hands with his own and pressed their entangled hands to his chest. Kazunari was forced to slide sideways in the backseat when he did so.
Masaki still did not look up to meet his eyes. Blushing furiously, he asked, “Can I like you?”
Kazunari stopped struggling. Involuntarily, he felt heat spread across his face also. His pulse pounded in his ears and Masaki’s close proximity and bodily warmth did nothing to help him calm down. Rather, it only riled his emotions. He almost tried to pull his hands away again, but realized he could feel Masaki’s racing heart through his chest. It assured him that he wasn’t the only one nervous. He even liked the fact that he could cause the same reactions in Masaki as was happening to him.
Without waiting for an answer, Masaki asked one more question. “Can I be more than a friend?”
Kazunari couldn’t answer. How could he? He was already trying with all his might to not turn to mush, despite being quite unsuccessful at that too. The car couldn’t possibly get any smaller and the atmosphere any more stifling. He couldn’t even tell if Masaki was still blushing anymore because he had bowed his head in fear that the Sun would see his happiness.
“I-If you s-say yea, th-then close your eyes,” Masaki said. “B-but if y-you don’t want to, th-then stop me.”
He released Kazunari’s hands. He tilted Kazunari’s head back until their eyes met and they both saw the nervousness on each other’s red faces. Masaki leaned forward slowly. Kazunari closed his eyes. Their lips touched and then Masaki gave him a first kiss. Truthfully, Kazunari loved every bit of it.
* *
Kazunari dropped Masaki’s hand when they drove up the long driveway and the Aiba mansion loomed into view. He stared wide-eyed at the place Masaki called home and could just barely keep his mouth from gaping open. Not only the house, but the entire grounds was magnificent; fit for kings and queens and in Masaki’s case, princes. He glimpsed a few ponds, gardens, and smaller infrastructures beyond the row of neatly trimmed bushes lining the driveway. The whole place was a fairytale. Undeterred by Kazunari’s shock, Masaki picked up Kazunari’s hand again.
When they reached their destination at the end of the driveway, a man in a black suit rushed to open the door for them. They alighted. They climbed the front steps into the main foyer of the marvelous mansion Kazunari had sighted earlier. A row of meticulously dressed butlers made a line from the entrance to the wooden staircase in the center while the other side were lined with beautifully dressed maids. Kazunari blinked many times at everything. This was out of his depth. The whole place was marvelous, from the sparkling chandelier above his head to the very exquisite violet rug lining his way up the staircase.
Masaki tugged at his hand, still joined, and so Kazunari decided to straighten his back, throw his head back in a perfect imitation of Sho, and follow Masaki up the staircase.
One of the older butlers followed one step behind Masaki, essentially at pace with Kazunari, and said, “Young master, the Mistress is still taking tea in her room. One of the maids will serve a fresh pot for you. Will you and your honored guest be staying for dinner?”
“We won’t,” Kazunari turned and answered him promptly, cutting ahead of Masaki. He refused to dine here. He didn’t want to know how vastly different Masaki and his life was. To his irritation, the butler acted as if he did not exist and ignored his rejection.
“No, we won’t,” Masaki answered, charmed by Kazunari’s outburst. A grin tugged at his lips.
Up the steps they went and down the left along a long corridor. Out of view of the servants, Kazunari practically stumbled along with Masaki dragging him. Finally at the corner before a turn, Masaki suddenly stopped and burst out laughing. He pulled Kazunari around to face him. “What are you doing?”
“I hate this place,” Kazunari declared straightforwardly to his face. “Why couldn’t you have lived in a normal house?”
Masaki beamed at him. “This is my normal.” He moved forward again. “Now come on. My mother’s room is this way.”
“Wait.” Kazunari tugged him back. “Is your mother your standard of normal or mines?”
Masaki smiled at his question again. “I don’t know what standard you’re talking about. I’ve only experienced having one mother. I can’t tell what your normal is because mines is what I consider normal. And my mother is very, very emotional, but that’s only because she loves me a lot.”
“Idiot,” Kazunari half-heartedly cursed under his breath as Masaki propelled him along.
They reached the double doors at another end and this time Masaki announced that they had arrived. He knocked twice and said in a booming voice, “Mother, I’m coming in.” He pulled Kazunari through with him.
Mrs. Aiba sat in her lounge at a small area by a wide, lace-curtained window that looked out into the driveway. She would have already known they’d arrived. She was a pretty woman to look at, even at middle age. Her hair was dark and abundant, pulled back into a stylish bun, while her one-piece dress was of a fashionable cut. She was small and looked fragile. When she saw Masaki, her face contorted into a beautiful smile, but when her eyes rested on Kazunari, that smile dropped. She noticed his uniform.
“I didn’t know your special guest would be a friend from Kitagawa Academy,” Mrs. Aiba said in a soft, feminine voice. She gracefully reached for her teacup on the table in front of her and brought it to her lips.
Masaki did not take a seat and his strong grip on Kazunari’s hand stopped him from impolitely doing so also. They stood at her side formally. “This is someone very important to me, mother. He’s more than a friend to me. I brought him here today because he has something very important to tell you. He has the cure for my illness!”
She dropped her teacup and the contents spilled onto her skirt. A wet stain streaked across the rich cloth. She gasped.
Masaki rushed forward to help her, but she waved him back hurriedly. “No, no, no! I’m so sorry, darling. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just change.”
“But mother,” Masaki started desperately as she stood and made for another door at the side. “Aren’t you going to listen?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t believe you, darling. You’ve seen the best doctors in the world and none of them could find a cure. I love you, but I can’t believe this boy. He couldn’t possibly do anything.”
Kazunari, annoyed that he was being spoken of as if he wasn’t in the same room, took a step towards her and declared, “It just might work!”
Unlike the butler, Mrs. Aiba turned and stared at him in astonishment. Kazunari realized no one had used that tone with her before. Even Masaki was surprised at the rudeness to his mother, but he did not push Kazunari back. Instead, he went to stand beside Kazunari again and took his hand.
“Mother, it just might work. Wouldn’t you do anything to stop my illness?”
She paused in the act of pushing open the door to the adjacent room. Her reply came out as a whisper. “I would do anything for you. Anything. You know that.”
Emboldened, Masaki continued. “Then please listen to what Ninomiya has to say.”
At his statement, she swiveled around and stared at them. Her face went stark white and her lips trembled.
“Yes, he’s Ninomiya Kazunari, her son,” Masaki explained. “He believes that if you apologize to his mother, then--”
“I will not apologize! I won’t! I’ll never apologize to that disgusting woman!” She covered her ears and promptly fell to her knees. The earlier grace disappeared from her movements. “Get him out of here! Why did you bring him here!? Why!? Why!? Take him out!”
Horrified, Masaki stepped towards her.
Kazunari did the same. “Your husband was as much to blame as my mom!” he exploded.
To their dismay, Mrs. Aiba burst into body-wracking tears, clutching at her face and hair.
Masaki turned around and gripped Kazunari by the shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think she’d react this way. I thought after father’s death she’d come to the same conclusion as me, but she’s not ready yet. The car is waiting for us. Go back to school alone. We’ll try again another time.”
Mrs. Aiba was still screaming, sobbing uncontrollably. “Why would you do this to me, darling!? Why would you bring that woman’s son to torture me? Why!? Why would you bring your father’s bastard to hurt me!? He’ll take everything away! He’ll steal your inheritance just like what that woman wanted!”
Both Kazunari and Masaki froze, then in one movement they were upon her.
Kazunari pried her delicate hands from her face. “What did you say!?” he screamed.
Masaki pushed in front of him, horrification on his face. “Mother!”
His voice forced her head up. Her eyes were full of malice and seething rage. Her pupils, dilated, fixated on him. “But I did it, darling! I did it for you! Your aunts and I drove her away! We made sure she had nowhere to turn to! That foolish Sakurai tried to help her, but even he couldn’t do anything. Even the Ninomiya group became ashamed of her. I did not want to see that woman and her bastard son again. I couldn’t let him steal your inheritance, darling.” She turned her head and spat into Kazunari’s face. “Bastard! You’re not my son! Leave!”
Masaki sat back on his heels and stared at her.
Kazunari watched him and his mother. Masaki said nothing and so he finally stood and slowly walked to the double doors they had entered. He slowly walked down the corridor he and Masaki had walked along together. He slowly walked down the grand staircase, along the violet carpet, under the mocking chandelier, and out the door. He slowly walked to the car waiting in the driveway. The driver opened the door and he somehow entered. He saw nothing outside the tinted windows on his way back. He thought of only one thing: I am not that asshole’s son.
But in a tiny part of his brain, everything clicked. It made sense. Horrified, that numbing part of his brain knew everything he had realized made complete and utter sense. Another part of his heart ached for his first love and his mother who had betrayed his trust.
The car stopped outside the school gates and Kazunari climbed out. Even after it had driven off, he did not enter the gates. He stood just outside in a post-shocked state. He did not even notice the rush of men in black suits run out from the gates. Kazunari had completely stopped trying to piece anything together in the hopes that nothing more would hurt him. He did not see Jun rush out in the same hurry as the black-suited men.
Jun caught sight of him, stopped in his tracks, turned and was upon him in a moment. His fingers dug into Kazunari’s shoulder and finally forced Kazunari to the present. Only then did Kazunari realize Jun had been screaming at him.
“Did you see him!?”
Kazunari blinked several times. “Who?” he asked weakly.
“Satoshi! He’s gone! If he’s not with me, or Masaki, or Sho, or you, and if he’s not with his bodyguards or with his driver, or at the house then he’s--he’s gone!”
Kazunari pulled Jun’s grip from him. “He probably got tired of you all. He probably wanted a moment’s freedom. Give him some air.”
“No! Satoshi’s been kidnapped!” Jun screamed, taking hold of Kazunari’s arms again. His fingers dug in.
Suddenly enraged, Kazunari shrugged his hands off. He screamed back at Jun, “You’re delusional! You’re paranoid! You suffocate him! You three and his bodyguards and your parents and your grandparents! Just leave him alone for once!”
“He’s been kidnapped!” Jun screamed, not heeding anything that he’d said.
“No, he’s not!” Kazunari retaliated.
He expected Jun to respond back in kind, but instead Sho broke the screaming marathon between them.
“Jun!” He inserted himself between them and pulled them apart. “Go back inside!”
Jun turned on Sho as well. “Satoshi’s been kidnapped!”
“That’s why you can’t be in danger as well! Are you hoping you can trade places with him? Are you!?” Sho demanded, gripping Jun by the nape of his neck.
Kazunari watched in amazement as Sho’s words sank into Jun. Jun suddenly stepped back from them, returning to reasonable sanity.
“No,” he whispered. “I don’t want to be kidnapped. Thankfully it’s Satoshi. Better it’s him than me.”
Kazunari knew Satoshi loved his brother more than anything and he believed Jun felt the same way, but Jun’s current confession surprised him. All familial relationships Kazunari had once thought strong and sound became disillusions. He prepared to explode at Jun for his gross betrayal, but he opened his mouth just as Jun dropped to the ground. Sho made an unsuccessful effort to catch him.
At their feet, Jun writhed and his back arched. His mouth opened to scream, but only whimpers came out. At first, Kazunari thought Jun was just like Sho and had a similar illness. He decided to act in a hurry. They had to tie Jun up before he hurt himself. Sho stuck one arm out to stop him from acting.
“Don’t,” Sho cautioned. “You will only hurt him if you try to stop it.”
Then Kazunari realized it was not like Sho at all. To his horror, wounds and bruises etched itself into Jun’s skin. Blood dripped from his mouth. A cracking sound showed Jun’s arm twisting and breaking without the slightest reason why.
Sho crouched beside Jun and cursed. “Damn!”
Through the blood in his mouth, Jun sobbed, “Satoshi’s been kidnapped…”
“I know,” Sho whispered. “I’ll find him for you.”
“At least… he’s safe...” Jun doubled in agony and the cost of speaking became too great for him.
Five minutes later, the ambulance Sho called had him safely strapped into a stretcher. Abrasions were still forming on Jun’s skin for no apparent reason, but he had already lost consciousness.
Sho turned to head into the school with fierce eyes and a determined expression. Kazunari reached out and grabbed him by the the forearm, effectively gaining his attention.
“I’m going with you,” he coldly declared. His gaze that stared back at Sho were full of a similar cold fury.
For once, Sho did not argue and even beckoned for him to follow.
* *
“Ohno and Matsumoto share one illness. They share one body,” Kazunari guessed while Sho ushered them into a hidden room along the East Wing corridor. Aside from a long desk against the wall where a few laptops, hard-drives, screens, and technical equipment were situated, the rest of the room was sparsely furnished.
“Close, but incorrect,” Sho replied absentmindedly as he went straight to the laptop and turned one on. The rest lighted up as well. The first screen asked for a password, but at the side a clock counted down from ten. Sho quickly made do with it. “They are two bodies, but all external pain inflicted on one person is experienced and reflected in the other. Satoshi caught this illness when he was two and Jun even before he was born. The first time Uncle and Aunt Ohno realized something might have been wrong, Aunt Ohno was already six months pregnant. She almost had a miscarriage when Satoshi had a minor accident, but he did not have a single injury.”
Kazunari, standing a distance behind him, nodded. Sho was busy reviewing videos on his laptop and could not see his gesture.
“They accepted the truth,” he went on, “when Satoshi was taken hostage at five. He came back with no scratches at all, yet a toddler Jun had cuts and bruises that had magically appeared. It was obvious the illness took away the most important person to Satoshi: his baby brother. So when he was older Satoshi made the bold decision to allow Jun to live freely. He lives surrounded by bodyguards just so Jun could always be safe. Aside from us, Satoshi refused to make any friends. You’re the first and only one he’s adamant about.” Finally, Sho stopped whatever he’d been doing and turned to stare straight at Kazunari. “Can you guess why Satoshi ran out today without his bodyguards?”
Kazunari took another guess. “It’s about me.”
“Correct,” Sho said as if they were playing a quizzing game. “Jun and he argued for the first time since I could remember. They argued about Satoshi’s friendship with you.”
“What does Matsumoto have against me?” Kazunari asked. “Me being friends with Satoshi won’t hurt him. I’m not connected to anyone. I don’t have the means to do anything. I don’t covet anything that Satoshi owns.”
Sho snorted and turned back to his laptop. “Because Jun and I know the reason Kitagawa brought you here.”
Kazunari moved to his side. “What do you mean?”
“Obviously, you’re not some misunderstood genius out on the streets. Kitagawa brought you here for a reason.”
“And you mean you know why?”
Sho did not even glance at him as he asked, “Do you really want to know?”
“Obviously!”
“You’re Uncle Aiba’s illegitimate son.”
Once again, the truth crashed around Kazunari and he paused for breath. No matter how many times he heard it, he couldn’t believe it. His gut squeezed just at the thought of Masaki.
He opened his mouth and forced out breathlessly, “If you knew all along, why didn’t you tell Aiba? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Again, Sho swiveled around in his seat and fixed hard eyes on him. “I didn’t think Kitagawa would track you and your mother down. Or that he’d defy Uncle Ohno and accept you into this school. I didn’t think it was important as long as I could drive you away. But that’s all moot now because Masaki befriended you. Now you know. You’re important to Kitagawa because Uncle Aiba included you in his will. You have been given a share in the Aiba corporation and this school. You could do anything. You are a wild card in the heart of the big three, and Kitagawa expects to use that to his advantage.”
Kazunari rubbed one hand down his face. His father, the person who’d neglected him all these years, had for some reason included him in his ridiculous will. “I’m expected to believe all of this.”
“Because it’s true,” Sho said. “And what will also be true is that you will never show to claim your inheritance and Kitagawa will never have the opportunity to exert influence over you.”
Kazunari forced a bitter sounding laugh. “You don’t have a right to decide my life.”
“We have the right,” Sho assured him, matter of factly. “Because you are a threat to us. Uncle Ohno placated all the board members on Kitagawa’s side. In the meantime, I was in charge of getting rid of you and making sure you don’t go near the Aiba fortune.”
“Are you,” Kazunari started, feeling irritation get the better of him, “purposely telling me this just to make me angry? I thought you didn’t want me as your enemy? If I hate all of you and decide to take my inheritance, I can use it against you. You can’t blame me.”
“No,” Sho blatantly said. “I’m telling you all of this because I’ve always been honest with you.”
“Fine. Then if you hate me and have to drive me away, why am I still here? Why did you let me into this room?”
“The only reason I haven’t driven you away is because my father is against it. He has always tried to protect you,” Sho replied, as brutally honest as ever. “And the reason I brought you in here is because your friendship with Masaki and Satoshi has made you useful.” He pointed to one of the dozen screens on display. “I found it. Look here.”
Kazunari followed his finger to a screen out of many screens and saw a video being played. “From a security camera?”
“Sasaki doesn’t know I record a copy of everything the camera records. I’ve seen him wipe the footage, but I still have everything on tape.”
Kazunari watched as earlier that day Satoshi ran out of the school building and through the courtyard of the East Wing. If this video was the replay of Satoshi’s kidnapping, he couldn’t believe such a thing could happen on school grounds. But then he understood how when Sasaki, the very person in charge of the students’ safety, loomed into view with a cloth in his hand. In a matter of seconds, Satoshi slumped against him. From a different camera, moments later, Sasaki could be seen dragging Satoshi into a janitor’s closet. Satoshi, it seems, was still somewhere in the school.
Kazunari couldn’t process the events in the video. Everything happening felt surreal. Everything Sho had told him about inheritances and motives couldn’t possibly be true.
“I’m sure Sasaki wasn’t prepared for the lapse in Satoshi’s security, that’s why he dirtied his hands and did the job himself,” Sho commented, seemingly unaffected by what he saw.
“How can you be so calm?” Kazunari murmured, trying not to tremble as his hands balled into fists.
“Sasaki will try to use this advantage against the Ohno group, but we’re going to solve this even before Uncle Ohno steps in.”
“You’re going to send the tape to the police?” Kazunari asked.
“Incorrect. That’s not our problem,” Sho said. “I’ll let Uncle Ohno handle the tapes. Our job now is to free Satoshi for Jun’s sake. Ninomiya, this is your chance to prove that you’re not a threat to us. You’re going to Kitagawa and you’re going to get Satoshi back for us. That’s the only reason I brought you here.”
* *
Sho guaranteed that the way to get to Sasaki and save Satoshi was through Kitagawa, even though Sasaki seemed to have acted without instructions, so Kazunari approached his office for the first time since his arrival.
He had never met the Headmaster before. During his transfer, it’d always been a lawyer who spoke to him and helped him through the paperwork. Johnny Kitagawa hadn’t even welcomed him on his first day of school. Instead, Sasaki did. Despite his negligence, Kazunari had initially expected to like the Headmaster, especially since he knew Kitagawa went against the wishes of the Four Suns. Sasaki’s personality gradually destroyed his belief and eventually made him wary. Unless the Headmaster was a poor judge of a person’s character, he didn’t seem like such a good person himself.
Standing outside the Headmaster’s office, Kazunari knocked on the door three times. He waited for several minutes and when he received no response, went ahead and pushed open the unlocked door. He stepped inside. He was surprised to see that the office wasn’t empty as he expected. A man sat behind the large desk in one corner. The chair faced outside the window as was the person. Kazunari only saw bits of the back of the man’s head.
“I did not give you permission to enter,” the man said coldly and still did not turn around to greet him.
Kazunari’s first impression of the Headmaster did him no favors. Add to the fact that Sho had given a negative image of him minutes before greatly influenced his perception of his enigmatic Headmaster.
Used to Sho’s icy tones, Kazunari felt no fear against Kitagawa’s negative welcome. He stepped up to the desk until only the furniture separated them. “I have a proposal to make,” Kazunari said to his back.
Silence dragged on for a few seconds before Kitagawa responded. This time, his tone lightened considerably. “I did not expect to see you here, Ninomiya.”
“Then who did you expect?” Kazunari asked, keeping down his surprise that Kitagawa recognized him from his voice alone.
“If you came here on behalf of Sakurai,” said Kitagawa, “then I regret that my negligence have greatly misled you. I should have never allowed you to associate with the Four Suns.”
It suddenly struck Kazunari that the Headmaster, who’d been in office since before his mother had been there, also knew the story of their parents. “Of course, you’d know all about what the Suns can do,” he muttered sullenly, “and yet you did nothing to help my mom.”
“You yourself know about the power of the Ohno, Aiba, and Sakurai groups,” the Headmaster said calmly to his accusation. “You should know their influence over this academy. Even if this school belongs to my family in name, the Kitagawas have been mere puppets since the second generation of Suns.”
“You knew Aiba was my father and you knew he included me in his will. You brought me here to use me,” Kazunari tested Sho’s revelations for accuracy.
“That’s right,” the Headmaster agreed without a moment’s hesitation or consideration of his position in the scheme. “I will be truthful with you. I need your help to restore the name and power of the Kitagawas. With your help, Ninomiya, I can take control of what’s rightfully mines. We need to destroy the malicious influence the big three have over this school. Once this academy returns to my control, I will never allow something like what happened to your mother to happen again.”
His proposal momentarily stimulated Kazunari, but a single stray thought to Sasaki forced him to face reality once more. He touched on the sole reason for his visit. “Two wrongs doesn’t make a right,” he said. “Your right-hand man, Sasaki, kidnapped Ohno. If you allowed such a thing to happen, how can I believe that you’ll stop all the wrongs being committed at this school?”
Kitagawa clicked his tongue in frustration. “Even if Sasaki sits under my thumb, I cannot know about all of his doings. I know nothing about Ohno. I have not condone such a weak, cowardly act.”
You’re lying, Kazunari thought. Kitagawa wouldn’t be expecting Sho if he didn’t already know what was happening. But in the attempt to fool Kazunari, the Headmaster had all but forgotten his early slip. So Kazunari chose to keep the advantage. “Then prove that you had nothing to do with it,” he said. “If you command Sasaki to let Ohno go, I’ll think about working with you.”
“But if you can negotiate for the release of Ohno, how can I believe that you’re not already on the side of the Suns?” Kitagawa asked.
“I know what they did to my mother,” Kazunari said. “I cannot let what happened to her happen to anyone, even the Suns. I only agreed to negotiate for Ohno because your assistant’s action disgusts me.”
Another round of silent seconds passed between them before Kitagawa said, “I will demand that Sasaki release Ohno. He will be returned to the East Wing by tonight. But, I must have your word that you will consider my proposal.”
“You have my word,” Kazunari said.
“I will place your honor on your mother’s grave.”
Kazunari’s eyes flashed angrily, but he kept his tongue and stepped out of the room. Not once had KItagawa turned around to face him. He dared to mention honor when he did not even have the decency to turn around and face Kazunari like a man.
* *
Kazunari thoughtlessly returned straight to Sho after his brief confrontation with the Headmaster. Sho ignored the sullen set of his expression and interrogated him, pulling as much information as he could before making a phone call to Mr. Ohno. Then they waited, just the two of them, and sat in silence. Sho played on a personal laptop he whisked out of nowhere while Kazunari finished a worksheet for chemistry.
As hours passed and Satoshi did not show, their patience began to thin. Kazunari finished his chemistry homework and a paragraph of an essay before he gave up trying to think altogether and lazed in his seat. Sho eventually gave up as well.
They dozed on separate couches in the circular lounge of the East Tower as late evening turned into a later night. At half an hour before midnight, a knock at the door woke them. They sprang to their feet as a bodyguard stepped in with a small bundle in his arms.
“The young master,” he said.
Kazunari and Sho ran to the bundle. Satoshi lay sedately in his bodyguard’s arms.
“Is he okay?” Kazunari asked, worried.
Satoshi yawned.
“I think he’s just tired,” said the bodyguard.
Both Sho and Kazunari breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are you heading straight to the hospital?” Sho asked Satoshi. “I’ve called Uncle Ohno. They’re all waiting for you.”
Kazunari couldn’t believe what Sho was suggesting. After what Satoshi had been through, he thought the oldest Sun deserved a rest.
“I’m going,” Satoshi agreed in a murmur. “I want to see Jun.”
Kazunari knew it was time he stepped in. “It’s late,” he voiced. “You could wait until morning. Everyone’s probably left and Jun is probably sleeping.”
“No,” Satoshi replied, effectively shocking Kazunari for his stubbornness despite seeming much more docile. He rubbed his eyes and murmured while he did so, “I need to be with Jun. I need to know if he’s healing. You must know about my illness now, right? See my arm?” He stretched out a limp arm for both Sho and Kazunari to see. “No cuts. They did not even try to perform surgery on Jun. They know they can’t. No injections. No intravenous drip or blood transfusion. I know the only thing they can do without me there to put a needle in him is force medicine down his throat. So what if Jun’s in pain and I’m not even there to be with him? I need to be there, Nino. I need to be with Jun.”
Kazunari realized all over again the deep affection Satoshi and Jun had for each other and conceded. He immediately understood Sho’s urgency to retrieve Satoshi. He had thought too lightly of their illnesses and overlooked the complications that came with it. For Satoshi’s sake, he nodded his comprehension.
Sho took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Call me in the morning with updates of his condition. But no matter how worried you are about Jun, you have to get some sleep, too.”
Satoshi hummed his consent and turned to blink sleepily down at Kazunari. He reached out with his hand and Kazunari realized he wanted to hold hands. Across the short distance, their hands clasped gently.
“Will you go with me?” Satoshi asked in a small voice.
Touched by his trust, Kazunari nodded.
One of the bodyguards standing outside the room went to drive around a car to the school gate. Almost ten minutes later, the man carrying Satoshi led them outside surrounded by the rest of Satoshi’s guards. Sho watched them leave from the room, but did not follow down the hall. Preoccupied by the ominous solemn looking men guarding them from all sides, Kazunari did not even notice. The dark night sky opened above their heads as they stepped out from the school building, but no stars twinkled from the dark cavern.
They sighted the sleek black car waiting for them by the gate. The sight of the humming vehicle relieved Kazunari. He did not like the feeling of heavy-set men blocking his every path of escape. The bodyguard had just lain Satoshi into the backseat of the car and Kazunari prepared to enter behind him when the great clock in the West Tower struck twelve. Twelve deep gongs rang throughout the night. A chill swept through Kazunari’s body.
Down in the seat, Satoshi blinked up at him standing outside the car door. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry,” Kazunari told him and realized as he said so, “I can’t go.”
A ripple of discontent disturbed the blank drowsiness on Satoshi’s face. “You promised.”
Kazunari reached out for his hand this time and this time Satoshi gently clasped theirs together. “You must understand,” Kazunari said, “you and Matsumoto will not be here and Aiba might not come back tonight. Right now, Sakurai is sick. There will be no one to take care of him in the morning.”
“But Sho built a bedroom right next to his asylum so no one would have to,” Satoshi replied.
“Can’t you see how horrible that is?” Kazunari asked him. “Imagine how lonely Matsumoto would be without you. Sakurai should always have someone, even if it has to be me. He might not deserve it, but I’m not such a jerk that I’m going to leave him alone when he’s hurt.”
Satoshi pursed his lower lip, but he dropped Kazunari’s hand. “Okay. I don’t want Sho to be alone.”
“I’ll see you next time and good night,” Kazunari told him.
Satoshi gave him a sulking nod, but Kazunari did not see. He’d already turned and ran back inside towards the East Tower where a boy had locked himself into a soundproof room.
* *
During the hour long wait, Kazunari tried to think of something other than the suffering currently occurring in the very room adjacent to the bedroom he occupied. The harder he tried, the easier he remembered the terror in the dark basement and the inhuman, agonized screams of a lost mind. The very memory frightened him. He wondered why he even stayed. Satoshi was his priority as a friend and he had no obligation to Sho, just as he had said. But as he had also said, he couldn’t possibly leave Sho alone to suffer knowing what he did about his horrible illness.
When the first hour in the morning struck, he breathed a sigh of relief and realized he’d been tense the entire time. Standing up from the bed to shake his limbs, Kazunari debated about the right timing to intrude into the soundproof room and extract Sho’s body. He didn’t want to catch Sho’s last scream nor did he want to wait too long either. While he decided, the door swung open by itself and he turned to behold Sho’s hunched form in the doorway. Although he had predicted it from their second encounter, he still felt surprise that Sho had the strength to stand.
Sho blinked wearily at Kazunari, but did not have the energy to do anything else. His glazed over vision registered who Kazunari was, but he gave no indication that it mattered. He lugged himself to the bed and flung himself down, dropping like a log onto the mattress.
As Masaki had done, Kazunari quickly pulled out the first-aid and nursed his terrible wounds. Injuries that had barely healed were reopened.
“When will you start taking your medications again?” Kazunari asked while trying not flinch at every cut, bruise, and welt he saw.
Sho stirred and mumbled.
Kazunari watched him for a few seconds to make sure he didn’t move before he climbed up the bed to nurse the injuries on Sho’s other’s side.
“You’re the only Sun who’s difficult to get along with,” Kazunari told him knowing that he wouldn’t answer. “One moment you’re cold and the next your friends are the world to you. Aiba, Ohno, and Matsumoto are much easier to see through.”
Sho mumbled again.
“Sorry I can’t hear you,” Kazunari said and went on speaking as if Sho hadn’t been murmuring in his sleep. “But really, once you’re all off your pedestals, you’re nice guys. I think our Headmaster is really after your fathers and not any of you. You and I are battling our parents’ fight, not ours.”
Sho wheezed and stirred again. “Incorrect,” he managed to voice out this time.
Kazunari heard him and disagreed. “You only hate me because of what you think my mom did to your family, but that had nothing to do with me. And originally I disliked you because of what your fathers did to my mom.”
“You’re getting it wrong,” Sho said and strained his muscles to work. Using all his effort, he turned on his side and opened his previously shuttered eyes. He focused on Kazunari. “I hate you because I hate you. I hate you because you betrayed me.”
His statement baffled Kazunari.
“I didn’t even know you before I came here and there was no time to betray you. There was never any trust between us, so I couldn’t betray you in the first place. You were hostile to me from the beginning.”
“No,” Sho gasped. “In the beginning, I was your friend. But no matter what I did or my father did, you and your mother did not forgive us.”
“What do you mean?” Kazunari asked. “You were never my friend.”
Sho’s concentrated gaze on him turned into his signature icy glares. “That’s exactly what I expected from you. You and your mother chose to forget and my illness happened. I was top in my year for the very first time and your mother’s curse took away the only thing I was good at. Satoshi and Jun had their illnesses ever since they were infants. Masaki caught his illness at eight, but I thought at least I was your friend and I wouldn’t suffer. But everything that my father and I did, your mother pretended it never happened. Your mother took you and ran away.”
Gritting his teeth, Sho summoned strength. With one scarred hand, he gripped his other forearm. “I hate you because your mother destroyed my family. I hate you because you betrayed me.”
Slowly, with trembling fingers, Kazunari reached around him and traced the X-marked scar below the elbow of his other arm as well. “M-mom got fired that year…” he began. “She couldn’t find work and we didn’t have enough money to eat. A boy used to come over everyday and bring us food. He used to play with me. He was my only friend, but… I never saw how he got there or went home each day. My mom never mentioned him. I thought he was a figment of my imagination.” He couldn’t even remember the boy’s face. His mother took him and ran from their small apartment soon after. While they struggled to survive, he forgot all about his first true friend. His imagined friend.
“I carved the scar on your arm when you accidentally hurt me at the same place. We were playing soldiers. And so we swore loyalty to each other on that day,” Sho said.
Kazunari dropped his hand from his arm and shook his head vehemently. He touched Sho’s arm hoping he’d understand. “I didn’t betray you. I didn’t want to forget you, but you don’t know how I lived. I thought I dreamed everything about you because I waited and you never came again. I was only a kid.”
“Your mother forced you to suffer through poverty, even though my father would have kept you safe. She did everything she could to show how little she appreciated anything my father did.”
“Shut up!” Kazunari shouted, tired of hearing insults about his mother. “My mom was the best mother anyone could have. You don’t know her.”
Sho pushed himself upright so he could finally face Kazunari on the same level. “Your mother was a vengeful, self-possessed whore.” He reached out and braced himself using Kazunari’s arms, wincing when the raw wounds on his wrists scraped against cloth, but the pain did not stop him from sinking his fingers into Kazunari’s flesh.
“Let me go!” Kazunari pulled back without trying to hurt him, but Sho held on.
“No! You want the truth? Well then, here’s the whole, entire, complete truth,” Sho raged. “Your mother was a freshman looking for excitement when she fell in love with Uncle Aiba. She stalked and prodded him until they were so disgusted with her, they punished and bullied her and sent her to the infirmary many times over. And then she took sweet revenge; she used every ounce of the measly Ninomiya power to engage herself to the heir of the most powerful family in this country; she forced Uncle Ohno to have her. But the only one she truly wanted was Uncle Aiba so that’s what they gave her. Uncle Aiba seduced her and she scandalously broke off the engagement with Uncle Ohno to run to him, but he only used and tricked her. Uncle Aiba married Masaki’s mother. And then Masaki was born and your mother became pregnant with you and ran to my father so he could protect you and make sure you could be born.”