Title:Regret (Part 8)
Pairings:ShoxAiba, JunxOC, (surprise)
Genre:Fluff, Preschool AU, Angst, Friendship
Rating:PG
Disclaimer:I own nothing but the plot
Word Count:2557
Summary:Sho was able to help Masaki recover, but he couldn't help him with bringing his father to him.

It’s been a week since Masaki became Sho’s brother and began to show signs of recovery. As Sho had promised, he took care of him right after school before he did himself. Since then he fed him, talked to him, helped him bathe, and played with him when he felt Masaki was bored. Despite how much help he can give Masaki, he really couldn’t do much.

Every night, right before he was ready to sleep, Masaki would ask him where his father was. At first, Sho wanted to tell him he was gone and that he’ll never come back to hurt him. But he remembered Jun’s questions when they were in hospital. Since it was not his intention to hurt Masaki he told him that his father was gone for a while and asked his family to take care of him. His brother seemed to have accepted it for a while, or so he thought...

“Where... dad?” He heard Masaki ask him again later in the night. “I... miss hi-m...”

“He’s buying you souvenirs, remember?” Sho asked him in hopes that Masaki will accept it. “He’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

“But... I pro-promise... Mom...”

Sho’s never heard Masaki say that before since day one. “Promise? What did you promise her?”

“Take...c-care of... d...dad...”

Sho almost choked by his own saliva from shock. It was hard to believe that Masaki would still care about that man after what happened to him. If it were Sho, he wouldn’t be able to forgive his own father and he would hate him to bits for making his life a mess. But then again, that cruel man was Masaki’s father, and Sho was able to understand why he cared.

“Oh... We’ll see him tomorrow, ok? I promise.”

“Ok.”



“Are you mad?!” Jun almost yelled but lowered his voice halfway when Sho’s mother shot him a look. “We can’t possibly let them meet. The court already prohibited that Aiba-kun cannot meet him at all.”

“Please?” Sho begged anyways. “Just this once, and I’ll stop bothering you. Please? Pretty please?”

A crease formed in between Jun’s eyebrows as he let out a long sigh. Sho was aware that he was, yet again, asking another impossible favor from the man. But it couldn’t be helped since he had a small faith in him and that no matter how many times he denied his request, something good eventually happened.

“Fine,” Jun finally answered. “Just this once and I’ll see what strings I can pull.”

He knew the man couldn’t back down anyhow since his mother was watching them with very sharp eyes every now and then. After thanking him for a million times, he headed back to his and Masaki’s room.

“You’ll get to see you father!” Sho happily announced as he lightly bounced on Masaki’s bed. Though he wasn’t that happy about Masaki seeing that man again. Just the small fact that Masaki might smile from seeing him satisfied him enough, even though he also had to face that cruel man. Well, at least he’s behind guards so that way he won’t lay a finger on Masaki...



It took about a few days for Jun to finally reach him. He informed that they were only allowed one visit to Masaki’s father for a short limited time of an hour. Masaki didn’t seem to mind at all about seeing him for that short amount of time since he said nothing about it when Sho told him. He found it strange that Masaki didn’t seem too excited about it and he thought that he would be, but his brother just gave him a blank stare. Sho was unable to explain what Masaki must be feeling just by looking at those brown eyes.

“Must you go?” His mother asked as she fixed his shoes on for him. “Masaki-kun can go with Matsumoto-san. You don’t have to go, just stay here.”

“But I want to,” He insisted, “I don’t want Masaki to face that cruel man by himself even if Jun-san is there.”

“Then do you want me to come?”

“No. You stay here mama... it’s a man’s job after all.”

She lightly chuckled, bringing a hand over . It was so lady-like of her to do that. “Ok, my little man. You take care of Masaki-kun, ok?”

Sho grinned proudly as he stuck his chest out. “Ok. We’ll be back soon!”

After she fixed Masaki’s shoes on as well, she walked the both of them out to where Jun was waiting for them. He saw the man leaning against his white land rover and casually stood there. Sho had to admit though that the man was awfully good looking. His hair was slightly messy but it seemed to match the outfit he wore: a thin white shirt on, baggy khaki shorts, and a pair of brown flip flops. The man always gave off such a professional aura that Sho thought he was all about work.

“Ah, good morning, Elli and her kids,” Jun greeted them as soon as they reached his car.

“Good morning to you to, Matsumoto-san.”

Sho glanced at his mother, curiously wondering why she suddenly sounded so tense when she spoke to him. Just a while ago, she was in a light mood but the frown on her face now showed differently. It was as if Jun’s presence was unwelcome despite the fact that he had been visiting their home since Masaki’s was discharged.

“Hmm?” Jun hummed causing his adam’s apple to vibrate. “Still not going to call me by my first name, are you?”

She hissed. “Not in front of the kids. Sho, Masaki-kun, go inside.”

Sho was tempted to brush her hand away seeing that they were having an odd exchange with each other. His mom looked angry as if she was ready to rip Jun’s head from his shoulder, but she had this weird look on her eyes that Sho was unable to explain. On the other hand, Jun stared at her with amusement but it was obvious there was sadness in his eyes. Although Sho might not know much of their relationship, he knows that there was something going on in between them and he doesn’t know what.

“Let’s go,” Sho mumbled, grabbing Masaki’s hand into the car with him. Once they were seated though, they had to wait since the two adults outside were still talking about something. A few minutes later, she finally left and Jun came into the car without saying a word.



It should be Masaki who was supposed to be nervous instead of him. Then again, he was the one who lied and told him that his father was somewhere nice so he had no reason to be nervous. Every now and then, he would glance through the window just so he could somewhat relieve himself. However, he noticed that the more they neared Masaki’s father’s prison, he began to worry. The streets, the buildings, and the scenery they entered in a mile ago was growing less attractive by the minute. It was obvious that they weren’t heading to a nice place where Masaki’s father supposedly went to.

By the time they finally reached the prison he realized it was far worse than what they just passed by. It seems as if the building was burnt in half from the roof to about the third floor. Vines, moss, and other living plants occupied the bottom half of it. Sho wanted to back out now and was feeling less like a man. But he was too scared to say something to Jun, let alone back out now since this was only a one time chance for Masaki to ever see his father again in ten years. He kept his mouth shut instead.

When they finally arrived, Sho grabbed Masaki by the hand and pulled him besides Jun. There was no way he or Masaki was going to get lost in a creepy place like this and possibly never find the way out. As they neared the front door, Sho wished he hadn’t come and stayed home.

“Sakurai-kun? Are you ok?”

Sho looked up from behind Jun’s shorts and saw that the man gave him a worried look. “I... I’m fine...”

“I can feel you shake my shorts, Sakurai-kun. Are you.. sc--”

“I’m not!” Sho immediately denied before Jun can finish his sentence since he knew what he was going to say. “I’m just... cold...”

Jun shot him a questioning look. “Really? In the middle of this warm weather?”

“Y-yeah...”

“Do you need a jacket? I have one in my car...”

“I don’t,” Sho snapped. “Let’s just go. I’m fine.”

“Are you s--”

“Geez!” Sho grumbled as he pulled himself from Jun’s shorts and went on ahead with Masaki following closely behind him. It was obvious that Jun was making fun of him now and he wasn’t going to let that happen. When he finally reached the door, though, he wished he hadn’t went there without Jun.

The door opened right away, revealing a man dressed in an orange jumpsuit with a few guards holding him down even though he had cuffs around his wrists. The man in the orange jumpsuit thrashed his head around like a madman and snarled when one of the guards tried to get a hold of him. Sho jumped back right away when the crazy man’s eyes caught his and was relieved to see that he was being loaded into a silver bus.

“Sorry kids,” A guard with a very refined moustache apologized. “Didn’t know you two were there.”

“I- it’s ok,” He stuttered nervously. “I... it’s...”

Sho was unable to continue his sentence when the man went back inside of the building. He stood there for a good few minutes before Jun finally caught up and brought the two of them inside. Inside of the building was much different from the horrifying atmosphere outside. There were tons of guards hanging around, drinking coffees, or having a chat with another officer. He was unable to see anymore when they were suddenly ushered down the hall and through some solid grey door.

As soon as he stepped inside of the room, he saw a row of men and women whose backs were facing the three of them. They were separated into cubicles, but they all seemed to do the same thing: talking into a phone with a person dressed in orange jumpsuits. Sho found it strange that they did that when they could just talk to each other, but he noticed a second later that a glass separated them. Then again, it would be bizarre the barrier didn’t exist -- it would just give a perfect chance of escaping.

“Sakurai-kun.”

Sho moved his eyes away from the cubicles and saw that Jun and Masaki were already in one. He followed after them and stood closely behind Jun. A few minutes later, another person dressed in those jumpsuits was being pushed and shoved from the other side of the cubicle. It was when he heard Masaki besides Jun mutter out a whisper.

“Pa...pa...”

Sho grimaced at the sound of Masaki’s calling out for his father. It was a good thing for Masaki to see him, but for Sho it wasn’t.

Unlike the last time he saw the cruel man, he wasn’t wearing his dark clothes. His hair was a mess around his face and made it look like a week in jail was long enough for his hair to grow. Orange wasn’t a good color on him except black. It would totally make sense for a man like him to be the only one to wear black among his stalemates. The man muttered something from behind the glass but Sho was unable to hear it. Not that he wanted to anyways.

“Here, Aiba-kun. Speak into the phone.”

Masaki eagerly grabbed the phone Jun offered and pressed it against his ear. Since Sho was the same height as Masaki was, he was able to hear what the man was saying: Masaki’s name.

“Pa...pa... Are... ok?”

“Masaki... I... I thought I was never going to see you again... Yes, I’m ok...”

“I made... friend... he l-likes... cookies...”

“Does he? Papa’s happy.”

“I... um... Ma-ma miss you... She... She says... loves you...”

“I miss mama too, Masaki. And I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hurt you like that... I was just...”

The man paused and Sho looked at him after listening in on their conversation. This time, he was able to see the man’s face clearly. There were tears falling from the man’s face onto the table he rested his arms on. For a minute, Sho almost felt sorry for him, but he was reminded of what that man did and the reason why he was behind the glass barrier.

“I was so mad, Masaki...” The man continued, “I wish your mom was still here...”

“She is...” Masaki mumbled as he fumbled for something in his pockets. After he took whatever it was out of his pockets, Sho couldn’t help but notice a small smile form on Masaki’s lips. “She’s... here...”

Sho was only able to take a small glimpse of the thing in Masaki’s hand. It was a paper of some sort and it looked like it was a photograph of someone. Was it his mother?

“I pro-mise... to t-take care... of you... mama said... before she... left...”

“Masaki...”

It was unfortunate for Masaki since the man suddenly requested to leave. However, Masaki seemed unnerved by it all and only waved his hand when the guards took his father away. As Sho watched the man disappear behind a solid door, he wondered if he did the right thing to bring Masaki to the prison in the first place.

“Come, let’s go.”

Even though Jun was already pulling them away from the place, Sho couldn’t help but look back at the building. When they were getting further and further away from it, he made a grab for Masaki’s hand. He refused let it go that same night right before they were about to sleep. After letting out a loud yawn an hour later, he finally released Masaki’s hand when his eyelids gave up fighting to stay awake...

10 years later

Sho watched with amusement as his brother’s eyelids were threatening to close. However, the loud sound of a ruler snapping on a marble table caused him to jump up in surprise. He babbled something out rather quickly that he couldn’t understand and got in trouble because of it and for falling asleep.

“I’m sorry,” Masaki quickly apologized after five minutes of lecturing from their home tutor/friend, Ninomiya Kazunari. “I’ll try to stay awake next time.”

“Good,” Nino sneered. “Or I won’t be nice to you girls next time.”

It didn’t take long before Masaki began to nod off again with Nino chewing him off a minute later. It was definitely entertaining for Sho to watch the both of them being their usual selves, but something stopped him from wanting to laugh.

It’s been ten years since then. Since Masaki became his brother. Time hadn’t been such a good friend to him for those ten years and it was about to be over. He wished it wasn’t. There was still so much to do with Masaki and whatever awaited for them.

TBC