Title: Shout Out Towards Tomorrow (Chapter Four)
Characters: Aiba, Sho, Jun, Nino
Rating: PG
Warning(s): hehe still AU :3
Note:.
To delve more into the title, it’s just like the song “Asu ni Mukatte Hoero”. Get the lyrics here.
YEYY! It’s here! I’m working on chapter 5, another fic, and Ace’s request. Hopefully I can get something done soon. I was planning to do it this week, but my mom made that impossible -_-;
Chapter Five! CLICK!!

 ——

Aiba stared out the train window. It was dark already but he didn’t care. At least he would get to the school before it closed for the night. He sighed, resting his head against the cold glass window and closing his eyes. It was Saturday. He couldn’t believe he had actually left his house on the day he had arrived and only leaving a note filled with excuses to put his parents off. “I have homework to do… Oh-chan misses me a lot… Basketball club…” All fake. He couldn’t believe himself for it, but he just couldn’t stick around any longer.

            Thinking back on the events of the day, he figured that everything happened because it was supposed to; it was inevitable. He just wished that the inevitable could wait. The fights had started when Aiba had gotten accepted into the very expensive private school. Back then, three years ago, they thought they had enough money to pay all the way for Aiba. And they did, then. The restaurant slowed down, though, and even with Aiba sometimes bringing customers with him it wasn’t holding up just as well.

            He could hear them fight every weekend when he was with them. He knew it came natural to them by now but it still made him uncomfortable. His brother still lived with them and informed Aiba of the restaurant every week he returned. And of their parents. It had been going downhill, but he believed they would make it through. Aiba wanted to believe that too. He felt horrible for leaving his brother in that house but the kid was used to it anyway.

            As the train came to a stop Aiba’s head bounced against the window but he let it. He didn’t feel like getting up yet so he figured the next stop would be ok to get off at. But then he realized that the train was stopped at his stop. He grabbed his bag and ran off the train just before the doors closed. If he had been a second later he would’ve gotten caught in them. He sighed, thinking that if someone had been with him they would’ve laughed. He shouldered his duffel bag and started walking in the direction of the school. He figured he would have enough time to get a snack from the vending machine that was right near the park. It was on the way to the school anyway. Maybe he could play on the swings while he ate it!

            Aiba forgot about his parents, whistling a tune and thinking about what snacks he could buy. Maybe, he thought, I should get something for Oh-chan. What would he like… Aiba’s thoughts hovered around Ohno; what foods he liked, how he would react when Aiba came home early, how he’d been that day, until he reached the park. At the vending machine he paused, scrutinizing it. He saw a snack he liked, smiled, and reached into his pockets. I’ll just buy the same thing for Ohno, he rationalized. There was no money in the pocket he had his hand stuffed in so he switched to the other. “Eh?’ There was no money in that pocket, either. He slipped his bag off of his shoulder and onto the ground. He squatted down and searched through every pocket. There was still no Money. Finally, he remembered that he had used the rest of his money for the train. He sighed and stood up with his bag.

            It was then that he heard a soft ‘tap tap tap’ and the whisper of a voice counting. Tap “One,” tap “two,” tap “three.” He got curious. What was someone doing at the park so late? Not that he was one to talk, he was there too, but he wanted to know what the person was up to.

            As quietly as he could, Aiba shuffled towards the source of the sound. There was a boy there, in the grass near the swings, bouncing a ball on his knees and counting. He wore a huge grin on his face, the numbers he said rising steadily. Tap “15,” tap “16,” tap “17…” Aiba was intrigued with this boy and his actions. He knew he could never do that with a ball. Not without hitting himself or someone else in the head with it.

            Aiba dropped his bag next to a swing and sat on one. He swayed back and forth, watching the soccer boy tap the ball against his knee. The numbers kept going and going, getting higher and higher. As the numbers grew, so did the boy’s smile. Aiba felt his spine tingle, watching the boy. He was getting excited somehow, watching that smile grow.

            When the numbers reached 50, the boy bounced that ball up and caught it in his hands, smiling down at it. Aiba stood and started clapping. The boy jumped and turned, staring wide-eyed at Aiba like a deer caught in headlights. “Amazing!” he exclaimed. “Absolutely amazing! How’d you do that? I never could.”

            Aiba neared the shocked soccer player who stepped back. “Practice,” he replied haltingly.

            Aiba chuckled. “Even with practice I don’t think I could do that. I play basketball anyway. I’m Masaki. Aiba Masaki. What’re you doing here so late?”

            The other boy eyed Aiba suspiciously. “I’m Sakurai Sho,” he said, seeming to calm down with the rise of Aiba’s tension and friendliness. “And I could ask you the same thing.”

~*~

            Nino’s body hurt all over. The pain was dull and throbbing in time with his heart beat. In a second the incident came back to him, making his head throb even more painfully. The punches, kicks, the guy… and how he hadn’t fought back. What was the point of fighting if there was no chance of winning? All he wanted to do was go back to sleep and never wake up. But the curiosity about what situation he was in now overpowered his urge to sleep. Curiosity killed the cat, he thought as he attempted to open his eyes. One stuck and stung, so he gave up and opened the one that wasn’t bruised.

            An unfamiliar white ceiling met his squinting gaze. Slowly, he blinked and got used to the lighting. Carefully, he turned his neck. Relief flooded his body in a wave as he did so. That part of his body didn’t hurt like the others. Now he was looking at black hair. For a second he thought it was a dog and wondered why a dong would be lying next to his head. The he realized it was a person’s hair. Now all he had to do as figure out whose.

            With the arm he could move, and the one the head was next to, Nino patted the hair. It was unbelievably soft and his fingers unintentionally wove into the soft fibers. The head twitched and rose up off an arm, eyes blinking tiredly. Nino pulled away quickly. “..Nino?” Jun asked. “Nino, you’re awake!?” His head shot up and his eyes burst open to stare at Nino’s face.

            “Oh… Matsu…Jun,” Nino mumbled, licking his lips. His mouth failed to speak all the words he wanted. It was too dry and tired.

            “Matsujun?” Jun chuckled. “Is that my new nickname?” He smiled down at Nino who stared up pleadingly. “I better get the doctors…”

            Nino grabbed Jun’s hand as he stood up. “W-wait,” he said, swallowing tightly. “How’d I get here and how long?”

            Jun sat back down. “I found you,” he said, frowning down at Nino worriedly. “And I called the ambulance. We’ve been here for about…” He looked towards a wall where Nino figured a clock hung. “…two hours,” he finished. He seemed to consider something and then spoke some more. “Your parents stopped by about an hour ago… The doctors said that you could be released tomorrow morning since there is no ultimate damage. Your arm’s broken. So’s your nose and you have a black eye. But you should be fine. Your parents said they’ll see you at home.”

            Nino frowned. Sadly, that was what he expected of his parents. “Why are you still here?” Nino asked Jun, unable to mask the concern in his voice. “You should be home. Aren’t your parents going to worry?”

            “No no. Don’t be worried about me. Worry about yourself. Everything on my side is ok. The nurse even said I can sleep here! How neat is that?” Jun smiled. “Speaking of nurses, I better go get yours…” He stood up. “Will you let me go get them now?” He looked pointedly at Nino.

            “Sure, go.” It felt nice to have a friend.