Sukisho Fan Fiction ❯ 10 years ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

Sora jumped and spun around at the sound of footsteps behind him.

 

“It's good to see that you came, Fujimori Sunao.” Aizawa said, calmly. Sora didn't say a word, having completely frozen in his place. Fujimori was staring blankly into space, not even blinking. He stood completely still, not meeting anyone's gaze, and Sora had to look closely to be sure that his chest was rising and falling with breath.

 

Sunao reminded Sora very much of a puppet being controlled.

 

“Fujimori...” He mumbled, starting to shake. If he'd been alone with Aizawa, he would have been able to handle it... but he hadn't counted on Fujimori showing up.

 

Aizawa was still smirking, which was never a good sign.

 

“It's true Fujimori Sunao remained a specimen of this experiment. However, he stayed behind of his own will, unlike what you anticipated.” Aizawa's words made Sora quake on the inside, even as he tried to consider the many, warped definitions that Aizawa might give to 'of his own will', “If he'd been difficult, I wouldn't have minded leaving Fujimori behind- however, he contacted me as soon as he'd learned of my continued existence and asked to be kept on this project.”

 

Sora didn't look back at Aizawa- in fact, his eyes didn't leave Sunao's face, looking for any indicator that the other man in the room was lying. Sunao didn't move, as though he wasn't even aware of other people in the room.

 

“Fujimori...” Sora whispered, in a pained voice.

 

Sunao didn't respond.

 

“The reason why the experiment was still on-going was because of a lack of specimen survival. Most other specimens in the earlier stages never survived past puberty, while you two have made it far beyond that. As a result, further observation was needed to see the effects throughout adulthood, and the results we've observed from Fujimori are more than satisfactory. His acceptance of the commands he's given is more than astounding, and we have yet to hear a word of complaint, even under strenuous conditions.” Aizawa was still smiling. Sora's hands started to shake as he lifted one to touch Sunao, but it stopped halfway out of it's own volition.

 

“...uso...” Sora muttered, weakly. His hand lowered as Sunao's face remained blank, and it suddenly occurred to him exactly why this was all happening- once again, he was the one at fault.

 

“And, for the purposes of maintaining an appearance as a normal, working member of society, he was allowed to live, unsupervised, in an apartment and maintain contact with an acquaintance from school- Honjou Matsuri- whom had no knowledge of any details involving his prior experiences under observation. Because of these details, he was never suspected to be taking part in the project.” Aizawa's voice was growing even dimmer to Sora's ears.

 

Even if it was in the past, even if there had been misunderstandings, even if Fujimori had forgiven him... this all came back to that day that they'd left Sunao behind. Whatever feelings made Fujimori go back to working for Aizawa, whatever the doctor had done to his old roommate to control him so thoroughly... everything came back to the fact that he'd escaped... and Sunao had been left behind for an unspecified amount of time afterwards.

 

Sora's hand dropped back to his side.

 

“There was a flaw in our strategy, though- you two were used as a pair, so we had to find you. That's why Fujimori Sunao was given a second mission: Find Hashiba Sora.” Aizawa's toxic words broke through, and everything seemed to make sense.

 

He turned back slowly and stared at Aizawa.

 

“And, once he found you, his instructions were to act as bait and draw you back to the laboratory so we could finish our project. Something which he's done with incredible ease, if this is any indicator...”

 

Sora didn't move. He couldn't. The whole world seemed to have stopped. In his mind, he was going back over the past year, scrutinizing every detail of the time he'd spent with Fujimori this whole year. Was there ever a moment that he could have noticed and could have prevented this from happening? Could Sunao ever have said anything or done something that might have let him know- times when he was trying to drop a hint that Sora had just been too dense to notice?

 

Or... and this almost gave Sora a heart attack... or had Fujimori been willingly going along with this, just like Aizawa said? Had that longing for revenge that had caused the events ten years ago never really been quelled- even if the understanding had been made better, could Fujimori still have wanted, if nothing else, for Sora to understand, first-hand, exactly what he'd gone through?

 

Sora didn't know who to believe- Aizawa, despite being someone who he didn't trust overall, had never needed to lie, especially with truths as painful as this for him to use, and Sora didn't even know if Sunao would tell the truth if he said anything.

 

Or... if anything he'd said thus far had been true at all...

 

“That he said he was too busy was a lie. And he isn't a researcher like he told you he was- Nao-kun is hiding something.”

 

Had Matsuri known the whole time? Or had Sunao told him something different?

 

And how much of it had been because he was under orders and how much was because he wanted to hide it, truly?

 

“Maybe I'm not the Fujimori you remember, Hashiba.”

 

Sora was shaking and he didn't even notice it.

 

“After all the time and effort it took me to find you, that's all you have to say for yourself?”

 

Had even RAN been a part of this plot- or had that been just because he wanted to see Yoru again? Either way, Fujimori HAD been searching for him...

 

Was everything then...

 

“Hashiba, you are... my friend too... now...”

 

“Happy Valentine's Day, Hashiba.”

 

“Nakou-chan told me... the same thing after they pulled that Kaitou prank on us... we really have been... selfish...”

 

“...I missed you, too... Hashiba...”

 

“I was always watching... and wishing that it was me, instead of Ran... sleeping next to Hashiba...”

 

...just a lie?

 

For some odd reason, Sora understood how lonely Sunao must have felt, left alone in that laboratory.

 

“But, now that you've returned, I also made sure that Fujimori would be here- since he's no longer of any use...” Aizawa was speaking again, but Sora didn't hear him quite clearly. Sunao didn't seem to, either.

 

Thus, neither of them reacted, when Aizawa lifted a gun from his pocket.

 

“...Subject Fujimori Sunao is to be disposed of.”

 

The gun was leveled at Sunao and a shot was heard.

 

The sound of the gunshot seemed to awaken both Sunao and Sora at the same time, alerting them to a whirlwind of occurrences that happened in that moment.

 

A new voice was heard, shouting,

 

“HASHIRU!”

 

Shinichirou made a running jump and pushed Sunao to the floor.

 

Sunao screamed.

 

Sora screamed.

 

Blood pooled on the floor, seeping from a wound in Shinichirou's side and Sunao's leg.

 

A click was heard as Aizawa changed the bullets in the gun.

 

Then there was silence.

 

Aizawa glared at Sora, whom had put himself firmly in front of the gun, holding onto the barrel.

 

“Yamete kure...” His voice was hoarse, but firm. Aizawa just raised an eyebrow.

 

“You're in no position to be giving me orders.” He said, mildly, and Sora just glared back.

 

“If you try shooting at Fujimori again, I'll block it. You'll lose the results of your experiment without knowing how it turned out.” Sora whispered, fiercely. Aizawa's glare seemed to intensify, as though Sora had said something which was worth considering.

 

“And after that, I'll shoot you, too.” Sora added, with a kind of bloodlust that normally, only Yoru would have been able to even pretend. Except it wasn't Yoru. It was Sora. And he meant it.

 

Aizawa's grip on the gun released. Sora took the weapon and snapped it, breaking the barrel from the trigger at it's hinge and dropped it.

 

“I'll come with you, then. Since you want your results so badly, I'll cooperate. On the condition that nobody else is harmed.”

 

Sunao didn't know what happened after that, but those words stuck. It had been the only thing he heard clearly, and he heard it so loud and firm that it repeated in his mind, over and over.

 

“...ha... shi... ba...” Sunao only barely managed to whisper, but Sora walked away, right behind Aizawa, without even looking back.

 

“Shinichirou! Fujimori-kun!”

 

Sunao didn't even notice Nanami come running up in the other direction, screaming their names.

 

@#!%&(*%^@#$***$@!%@$&#&&(#$^

 

On the lower level, Nakou and Matsuri heard a loud noise, like a gunshot, above their heads, then screaming. Nakou told Matsuri to continue with what he was doing while she went to investigate.

 

Nakou only made it to the bottom of the stairwell as a man covered in bandages walked out, Sora following right in his shadow. He cast her a sideways glance, then continued without a word.

 

Nakou just stared after them, helplessly.

 

)($!##(*^@!@$^*@#$!^*%@@%%^^%&_

 

“Kuu-chan... okida nai de...”

 

*(*&^$$#$%&()))))^$%^&*()_@#$%^@#$%^&*

 

Sunao tossed, his memories morphing into nightmares as he slept without peace. After a moment, however, his eyes fluttered open, only to squint at the bright lights shining directly in his eyes.

 

“Nice to see you awake, Nao-kun.” Sunao opened his eyes again, to see both Matsuri and Nakou watching over him.

 

“...Matsuri-chan... Nakou-chan...”

 

“Sunao-senpai.” Sunao started, then turned his head to see the familiar faces of Ren Shiina and Kitamura Fuuta also looking on, both very relieved as he blinked.

 

“...Sh-Shiina... Kitamura-kun...” He mumbled, still in something of a daze, “...Nande...”

 

“Sei-kun was injured just yesterday. He's sleeping in the bed right behind them.” Matsuri explained, and Shiina moved out of the way enough for Sunao to see the painfully familiar blue hair.

 

...so very blue...

 

Sunao shut his eyes and turned his head away. Nakou and Matsuri both wore identical pained expressions as the former chibi-tachis excused themselves, saying they would go get drinks.

 

After a moment of silence, Sunao whispered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Hashiba', but it was so quiet that neither Nakou nor Matsuri could tell for sure.

 

Though, logically thinking, they knew it was the only thing Suano WOULD be saying.

 

“Nao-kun...” Matsuri mumbled, sorrowfully, before Nakou walked over and took a seat on the bed, for lack of a chair to sit in.

 

“...Nao-kun..” She also said, but when Sunao didn't respond, she started to talk with false cheer about how nice the weather was outside, how the sakura trees had just started to bud, and maybe they all could go for a picnic when Sunao's injuries were healed, but Sunao didn't react.

 

After another moment, Nakou sighed, then patted Sunao on the head.

 

“Nao-kun, we have something that we need to ask you.” She said, seriously. Sunao's right eye opened just a sliver so that he could look at her, before Nakou glanced up at Matsuri.

 

“Nao-kun... when the ambulances arrived, they found this in your pocket-” Matsuri held up a box and opened the lid for all of them to see a sharp knife that was still bloody- probably placed in a box so that it couldn't cut anything or anyone on accident, “It had gone through your pocket and punctured deep into your leg muscle, so that's why you're in the hospital, now...”

 

“Why did you have a knife with you, Nao-kun?” Nakou asked, giving him a stern glance. Sunao's eyes shut, in a grimace, before he turned his head again. No- wait... that would mean looking at Sei. Looking at Hashiba... Sunao looked back up at the ceiling. He felt too stiff to sit up, but started to talk, in a deadpan.

 

“...Ore...” Nakou and Matsuri listened, intently, “I was so sick of it... when I realized that Hashiba had found out... when I realized that everyone knew that I'd been lying and deceiving them... it made me realize... how tired I was of being so afraid of him... I realized... how much I wanted out... and not only for me, but so Hashiba, Oniichan, and Nanami-sensei didn't have to live in fear of him, either...” Sunao paused, to swallow, then continued to talk, staring at the light on the ceiling, as though it held all the answers to the universe.

 

“I was going to kill Aizawa...” Sunao's confession was soft, but had the correct effect. Nakou and Matsuri started, visably, staring at Sunao, maybe because they were amazed he was admitting it, or maybe it was the calm, honest voice he spoke with, but it startled them, nonetheless, “I took the knife from Matsuri-chan's apartment... and I walked towards the facility... believing that if I didn't kill him, I could at least kill myself, and then he could no longer use me, as either a test subject, or as a tool to hurt other people with...”

 

Sunao made another grimace.

 

“Demo... I didn't realize that Hashiba would have gone to confront him... or that he'd be expecting me...” Sunao's voice trembled, “As soon as I saw that Hashiba was there, and that Aizawa knew I would be coming... I didn't know what to do... soushite... ore...”

 

Matsuri and Nakou were speechless.

 

“...Nao-kun...” Matsuri mumbled, before regaining his composure. Nakou was still staring with her mouth wide open and her green eyes wide and glittering with half-formed tears. Matsuri nudged her.

 

“Maybe now would be a good time to tell him...” He suggested, waking Nakou up. She blinked for a moment, but then nodded.

 

Sunao turned to look at them, frowning.

 

“....Dou... shita?” He asked, slowly. Nakou smiled, thinly, before she spoke.

 

“...Nao-kun... this might be good news... this might be bad news... but I think it'll at least make a few things a little easier...” She started, slowly, as Sunao eased himself up, a little, stiffness leaking from his neck and shoulders as he propped himself up on his pillow, “...Demo... Matsuri-chan and Nanami-sensei told me some more of the details about what happened to you when you were younger... before the first time...”

 

Sunao flinched.

 

“...And, after that, I passed along that information to Tou-san... He was one of the major funding sources for the project- which was why, I found out, that I was referred to you by the person who referred the go-between, as a sort of contract- so, once he heard what was happening, he decided to stop sponsoring the project...”

 

Nakou paused, and Sunao felt a little bit of relief that that much had been done- it wouldn't stop Aizawa... but it would delay him for a while...

 

“...And, because of that... 'Tou-san also decided that the engagement should be broken.” Sunao blinked, once, twice, trying to figure out if he'd heard correctly.

 

After a moment, his brain picked a different topic to focus on, and he turned to Matsuri, with a slight frown.

 

“...How did you get Michiya-san to believe you?” He asked. Matsuri laughed, bashfully, and held up his camera.

 

“We had evidence. I was glad to have this around...”

 

Sunao's face went blank again and he stared away at his knees again.

 

“Sou da...” He mumbled, suddenly realizing everything that had just been said- The engagement was off. Meaning that Nakou-chan was no longer his fiancé. Meaning... as soon as they were finished talking... she was going to leave.

 

Matsuri-chan... he would probably leave, too... because Sunao had made Hashiba leave, and Nakou-chan was a better friend for him, now...

 

Shiina, Kitamura, and Sei would be gone as soon as Sei could leave the hospital... and they'd probably stay away forever, now that he'd made their 'Sora-niichan' disappear...

 

Nanami-sensei... Sunao would be amazed if Nanami-sensei even acknowledged his existence after this, much less was kind to him, MUCH LESS stay... And Oniichan would leave, too...

 

Everyone was going to leave... Sunao knew it... he JUST knew it...

 

With a held in sob, Sunao pulled the hospital sheet over his head so he didn't have to see the reminder of the Hashiba he'd made disappear as he turned onto his side, away from Nakou and Matsuri.

 

@!^&(&#!#$!&#*(#!!@#%!#^%%*

 

The doctors came in shortly, Ayano amongst them, to check on both Sei and Sunao, asking the Matsuri-duo to leave, however politely. Nakou and Matsuri stood out in the hall with the two Jack of All Trades executives, returning with drinks, and an observant Kano-kun.

 

However, considering the combination of people outside, there was little noise or talking, until Matsuri gave Nakou a long, pained look as she took a long sip from her drink.

 

“I'm sorry your parents used you like that...” He said, softly. Nakou raised her eyebrows for a moment, before she smiled and shrugged it off.

 

“I don't mind... If they hadn't tried to get me engaged to Nao-kun, I never would have met him, or made such a good friend... And I wouldn't have met or made friends with Matsuri-chan, Sora, Nanami-sensei, or Shinichirou-san...” Nakou smiled, reflectively, “There's nothing for me to regret, really...”

 

“Except that, since your wedding's off, you won't get to go shopping with your groom for a dress...” Kano-kun observed, dryly. All the adults stared at him, before snickering, Matsuri especially, as he could just imagine Nakou dragging Nao-kun into wedding boutiques and insisting that HE try on a wedding dress for himself.

 

The doctors left soon, and immediately, Nakou and Matsuri's first question was how Sunao was doing. Ayano assured them that his leg would be just fine, if he kept off it for a few days, and that Sei, whom Shiina and Kitamura were anxious about, would also be fine- merely in a lot of pain while he healed.

 

As the doctors left, Nakou turned to Matsuri and asked,

 

“What did Sora do when this happened last time?”

 

Matsuri was silent for a moment, before answering.

 

“He ran to see Shinichirou-san...”

 

Not a moment later, the door to the room slid open and Sunao hobbled out, leaning against the wall as his bad leg trembled. Nobody made any move to stop him.

 

“Yappari...” Nakou muttered.

 

@!%$#**%^(#%()#%^&)#@!@!%^

 

The light over the emergency room was on, signifying that it was in use.

 

Nanami was staring up at it, useless in his distraught state, to the point that the other doctors had ordered him to stay outside, saying that if any mistake was made, it could be fatal.

 

Nanami had never been so shaken, before. He'd been hysterical, depressed, numb, and hurt... but never something like this.

 

Part of it was because he hadn't realized that Shinichirou had only been a floor above his head as he had assisted Honjou-kun and Michiya-chan break into the facility and take incriminating photographs, documenting the horrible things that had happened to Fujimori-kun in that place, but another part of it was the idea that this had happened, yet AGAIN... Shinichirou had been injured, all over again... and he had not only failed to prevent it- he'd failed to prevent it in spite of the fact that they had both known, from the beginning, that something was astray...

 

Nanami didn't notice that Sunao was standing right behind him, staring between him and the 'In-use' sign on the operating room with a glazed over look.

 

Silently, Sunao turned and walked away.

 

@#%$#^**#@$^#$&@% *@

 

How many damn laboratories did he HAVE?

 

Sora's eyes glazed over as he watched Aizawa snap on some gloves and prepare syringes. He didn't understand why- not much could be done to make Aizawa's condition any worse... and he certainly didn't care for Sora's health nor legal regulations.

 

“...You were lying...” Sora mumbled, and Aizawa paused, one eye sliding back to glare at him, “Either that, or you were wrong...”

 

“Nani ni tsuite?” Aizawa asked, as though they were discussing the weather over tea.

 

“...Fujimori didn't call you to ask to be taken back on the project... He contacted you to make a bargain.” Sora spoke the words with a kind of venom, pleased that he'd gotten to a nerve.

 

“I have no idea what you mean...”

 

“...because... Fujimori and I have been in contact for a year now... and he probably kept insisting that he hadn't seen me since we last parted ways...”

 

Aizawa's hands froze.

 

“...Or was Fujimori insisting that Yoru was gone and wouldn't be coming back?” Sora pushed.

 

The next thing Sora heard was,

 

“Let's begin, shall we?”

 

@&&(#$!#%&*^!@%%*)&^^%$@$%

 

'Nao, you almost never WANT to talk to me... what's changed?' Ran's voice asked, sarcastically sweet. Sunao sighed, but he could just see the smile on his other self's face.

 

“...I don't know what to do...” Sunao confessed, though, to anyone outside the room, it must have sounded like he was talking to himself. Ran considered.

 

'What do you want to do?' He finally asked.

 

Sunao stared at his lap for a long moment, before he finally said something.

 

“I want to do for Hashiba what Hashiba has always done for me.” Sunao whispered.

 

Ran tilted his head, then started to chuckle.

 

Sunao raised an eyebrow, almost seeing with his own, actual eyes, Ran sitting right in front of him.

 

After Ran stopped giggling, he smiled a very familiar smile at Sunao, ruby eyes glowing, warmly.

 

It seemed very... motherly... for some reason.

 

'...Nao... when you first created a character called 'Ran'... you envisioned me to be like Nanami, didn't you?' Sunao gaped at what seemed like a non-sequitir, but he nodded, just the same, now that he thought about it.

 

'Thinking about it, Yoru always seemed to resemble Shinichirou... that was probably for a reason, too...' Ran continued, and Sunao suddenly realized why Ran was mentioning it, 'So, really, this whole time, Nao and Sora just wanted parents to care and look over them.'

 

Sunao looked down at his lap, and Ran smiled, with a chuckle.

 

'Yoru never left Sora. I can't leave Nao for the same reason. But we'll always be here, letting you two make your own decisions- just be sure you make them for yourself. And for the right reason.'

 

Sunao looked up at Ran, who was still smiling that Nanami-esque smile. After a long moment, Sunao smiled back, and Ran faded.

 

A/N: Not the last chapter- the next one TECHNICALLY IS... but we'll see...

 

I just realized, we haven't seen much of Matsuri taking pictures, have we? And the comment about Nakou taking Nao-kun shopping... it was sort of a joke based on my humor muse, a song called 'Gay Boyfriend'... because Nakou would look on the bright side in such a fashion: “Oh... Nao-kun's gay... well, at least we can share clothes this way! And we can go boy-watching together!”

 

Translations:

 

Hashiru- A command for 'Run'. There's also, I think, one that is something like 'Nigirou'... but that's not the word Shinichirou uses.

 

Okida nai de- This is the best I could spell it- these are Sunao's words to Sora “Don't leave me here.”