Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke and it's characters belong to their rightful owner, Tadatoshi Fujimaki. I only own the fan fictions and oc characters.
Author's Note: Wow, I needed a lot of time to think about this chapter. I seriously had to think A LOT to decide things about nori's parents, and let's not forget his grandfather. I was actually going to upload a chapter last weekend, but I ended up re-writing the whole chapter since I changed my mind about it. But let's forget about that now, chapter 26 is finally here! This chapter and the next one will focus on Nori's family, I feel like I got way too dramatic while writing this chapter though. I just hope that you guys like it.
Enjoy Reading!
English is not my first language, so excuse me if there were any mistakes!
Chapter 26
Onodera Nori's P.O.V.
"I love you, I really love you... Seijuuro."
I'm really glad that I was finally able to convey my feelings to him. It feels as though a heavy weight has been lifted off of my chest. I never knew that liking someone and telling them how you feel about them, would feel this good. I've never felt this way before. I wonder if Akashi feels the same way too?
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the sound of a door bell ring.
Who could it be?
Maybe Akashi forgot something here?
I found myself inwardly grinning at the thought of seeing Akashi for a little while longer. Since I was still standing by the doorway, I turned around and opened the door with a smile on my face.
Eh?
My smile slowly turned into a frown when I realized that the one standing in front of me was none other than-
"Grandfather..." I lowered my head when he stared at me without saying anything at all. "W-Welcome back," I stuttered. He walked in and passed by me quietly. My eyes followed his movements as he took off his shoes and hung up his coat on the peg by the door.
I'm nervous because he's being too quiet. Even if he's in a bad mood, he usually always greets me back no matter what. I have a bad feeling about this.
"Oh, Shin-chan! You're back already?! Weren't you supposed to come back tomorrow?" Grandfather ignored her and walked into the living room. But before that; he glanced back at me and spoke, "Follow me." I looked at granny who looked back at me with a worried frown on her face. That said, I followed grandfather into the living room.
What's going on? Now I'm really getting worried. Did I do something that could have angered him? Oh no, what if he found out about me joining the student council committee?
Grandfather sat down on the couch and cleared his throat before speaking. "I saw something that bothered me quite a lot before coming into the house just now," he started. I immediately tried to think of what he was referring to but nothing came to my mind. "And I've been meaning to ask you," I gulped while I waited for him to continue. "What business did Akashi Seijuuro have in this house?" My eyes widened with surprise the second I realized that grandfather had probably seen me standing with Akashi earlier, and it scared me as I tried to remember if we did something that could have revealed our relationship.
No, there was nothing. Right? Akashi only patted my head, that's all. But I still have to explain why Akashi was here. What do I tell him? I can't think properly at all. Even worse, I have to sound convincing otherwise grandfather will definitely find out that I'm not telling the truth. He was always able to tell whenever I lied to him, so I have to be careful.
Come on Nori, what sort of reason would be good enough to convince grandfather?
Oh, I know! Maybe I could say that we're working on a science project together? Yeah, that actually sounds convincing enough. Okay, now all I have to do is take a deep breath and speak calmly so that he wouldn't notice.
"Akashi was-" Before I could finish my line, I was interrupted by granny who came out of nowhere.
"Oh no you don't! I will never allow it. I won't let you or anyone else ruin Nori-chan's happiness! He's been doing everything you ask him to do with no complaints whatsoever, but this will be the one thing that I will not allow you to interfere with." Grandfather raised an eyebrow and questioned her, "Nori's happiness?"
She nodded her head and continued, "My Nori-chan is free to love whomever he wants! And just so you know, Nori-chan and Seijuuro-chan are completely in love with each other. So you either support them happily or stay out of their way! Do I make myself clear, Tanaka Shin?!" Grandfather and I looked at her with widened eyes. And in the next second, my face had started to turn pale when I realized what granny had blurted out.
No.
No.
No.
What did she just do?
Is she insane?! Grandfather will-
My thoughts were interrupted when grandfather suddenly stood up and looked at me with cold eyes then slowly turned his gaze towards granny, "What did you just say?" He asked in a threatening voice startling the both of us. "Nori's happiness? Love? Nori and Akashi Seijuuro are in love with each other? Are you out of your damned mind?! Do you even understand what sort of nonsense you're speaking?!" I lowered my head to avoid his cold gaze while he continued yelling, "Leaving aside the fact that they're both guys, do you really think that someone with a high status like Akashi Seijuuro would bother with someone like Nori? Someone that his family would define as a lowly commoner?" I felt my heart sink as he spoke.
No, you're wrong.
"Either support them or stay out of their way, you say? Do you have any idea who that boy's father is? Or what he could do to Nori if he finds out about this?! That man is the worst of a kind, he's despicable and would do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and you dare to tell me not to interfere?!" I flinched when he suddenly gripped my wrist hard. "Never speak to that boy again. Make sure you stay away from him, understood?"
No.
I pursed my lips and slowly shook my head. "...No," I muttered quietly.
I don't understand.
What's going on? Why is he speaking as if he knows Akashi's father so well? Why does he look so angry? And why is granny being quiet now of all times? I don't care what grandfather says, I won't do anything he tells me to.
Aka- no, Seijuuro isn't like that. He treats me nicely, touches me gently, and although he barely smiles, he smiled at me more than once now. Moreover, he saved me from Inagawa and took care of me several times. I know he can be a bit harsh sometimes, but it doesn't change the fact that he's been nice to me all this time. Right? There's no way I can stop seeing Akashi, because I can't even imagine spending a day without talking to him. And I was finally able to tell him that I love him.
I don't care what grandfather does to me, I won't listen to him this time!
"Are you disobeying me, Nori?!" I shut my eyes when grandfather tightened his grip on my hand. "Seijuuro isn't like that! He's really nice to me, he really likes me! I won't stop talking to him for no reason, it's not fair. You're not being fair at all!" Grandfather looked at me with widened eyes but snapped out of it in no time, "Not fair? What's not fair? Who's not being fair? I'm protecting you from people like him. If you keep this on, the one who will get hurt in the end is you! Stop seeing him or-" I curled my hands into fists at that and interrupted him right away. "No! No, no, no, no! I don't care what you do to me anymore, I won't stop seeing Seijuu-" I was interrupted when grandfather suddenly slapped my face forcefully causing the silent granny to suddenly gasp loudly. "SHIN!" She yelled.
I bit my lips and slowly placed my hand on my now swollen cheek. Grandfather turned around and spoke, "Go to your room now." Without wasting a second, I wiped the tears that were threatening to fall and quickly ran up to my room.
As soon as I reached my room, I threw my body on to bed and cried for hours until I fell asleep.
Ngh.
I hissed the second I opened my eyes. They were burning a little since I cried quite a lot before falling asleep. I lazily sat up and looked at the window. "It's still dark outside," I muttered under my breath. I looked at the time and sighed.
It's still 10:45pm? Why did I wake up now? I don't feel sleepy anymore.
I feel thirsty, I'll go get some water from the kitchen and watch TV. Granny and grandfather should be asleep by now, so its fine. Maybe I should make some hot chocolate too, it always makes me relax.
With that in mind, I left the room and quietly headed downstairs.
Huh? Someone's in the kitchen. I hope it's just granny.
I made my way there and hid near the kitchen's entrance to check who it was. A second later, I heard a loud sigh come out from granny. "Have you finally calmed down Shin?" She asked while placing warm tea on the table. Grandfather cleared his throat before answering her, "I've been calm the whole time." Granny rolled her eyes and huffed, "Calm, he says. You slapped my Nori-chan! How dare you lay a hand on him?!" I furrowed my brows when I saw grandfather frown, "You know well that I didn't mean to do that. I was just surprised when he suddenly yelled back at me like that, it wasn't my intention to slap him."
That's true. This was the first time that I ever yell back at him. So grandfather slapping me is a first as well. Still, he didn't have to hit me that hard. It's swollen like crazy you know!
"I know it wasn't your intention, but still..." Grandfather shook his head. "How can you act this way? How can you act like Nori's Relationship with Akashi is normal?! Do you know what sort of things he would have to go through if people find out that he's in a relationship with another man? Did you think about how the world would look at him and treat him if they know about this? I don't care if he ends up hating me for this, at least I know that I'm protecting him; protecting his future!"
Huh?
"Then, what about Nori-chan's happiness? Do you think that if you do this, Nori-chan will be happy? Did you think about his feelings for a second? I know you care about Nori's future, and I know well that you want to protect him. I felt the same way too at first, but seeing the way Nori-chan looks at Seijuuro-chan, and seeing how much Seijuuro-chan adores Nori-chan, made me want to cheer them on. That boy promised me to take good care of our Nori, and he seemed very trustworthy when he said it. Don't you think that they deserve a chance?"
Granny...
I felt amazed at how speechless grandfather was. Granny placed her hand on top of his and smiled, "Remember how my parents were so against our relationship? You were one heck of a troublesome guy back then." Grandfather looked away and seemed to be slightly nervous for some reason, "Getting in to fights, skipping school, staying out late every night with your crazy friends, and let's not forget that time when you got suspended for 3 weeks for hitting Honda-sensei!" Grandfather furrowed his brows and looked at granny, "But he was looking at you in a creepy way, that pervert deserved it!"
W-What?!
Granny snickered and nodded, "I know, I know! But in the end, we got my parents to accept our relationship. It took us so much time to convince them and even though we went through hard times because of that, we still never gave up. So don't do the same thing that my parents did, let's not give those two a hard time. Okay? They have the right to be happy too, is that so wrong?" Grandfather hesitated before shaking his head.
I'm really speechless at the moment. I heard about grandfather being a delinquent back when he was young, but this was the first time that I know these things about him and granny. I didn't know that they went through a lot to be together. But more than that, I was surprised at how grandfather was acting right now. He's so different from the way he usually is with me. It's most probably granny's doing, she's amazing.
"So then you promise to discuss things with Nori-chan calmly tomorrow?" He shook his head again, "I still don't feel good about this. That boy's father is non other than Akashi Keiichi! What if he finds out about this? Do you really think that he'll happily cheer them on?"
So I was right, grandfather knows Seijuuro's father.
"I know how much you dislike that man, but do you really think that Seijuuro-chan will let his father hurt Nori-chan? I'm sure he can take care of it, so stop worrying already!" Grandfather huffed at that and replied, "Fine! Do whatever you want you stubborn old woman!" She chuckled, "Look who's talking." Grandfather rolled his eyes at her and lightly chuckled.
I really want to know why grandfather hates Seijuuro's father this much, but I can keep that for later. Im just so glad right now, does this mean that grandfather accepts my relationship with Seijuuro?
I quietly sighed in relief and smiled.
I'll go back to my room for now. I can talk to grandfather first thing in the morning and apologize to him. I can't wait for tomorrow, I'm so excited!
I was about to head upstairs but stopped when granny's next sentence caught my attention. "So? What did the doctors say? Is there any progress yet?" I narrowed my eyes at her words.
Doctors? Progress?
Grandfather sighed and nodded, "It's not much, but there's progress alright. In fact..." Grandfather paused before he continued, "There's a very high chance that he might wake up very soon, that's what the doctor said." Granny's eyes widened like crazy at this, she placed her hands over her mouth as tears began to trickle from the corners of her eyes.
He?
Who are they talking about?
And why is granny crying?
Grandfather held granny's hand and smiled, "I told you to believe in him, Kimiko. He's a strong-willed man." Granny sniffed and nodded her head, "Hey Shin-chan, we'll finally be able to see him again. Shiro is coming back to us." Grandfather slowly nodded his head.
Eh?!
Did she just say-
"Nori-chan will finally be able to see his father."
My eyes widened immensely while I tried to comprehend what I just heard.
Shiro.
Father.
I could suddenly feel the air around me thicken as my heart began to beat hard in my chest. And before I knew it, I was breathing hard and heavy catching the attention of my grandparents who came rushing to me in no time.
"Nori-chan!" Granny grabbed me from my wrist and carefully led me to the couch. She started to rub my back and was telling grandfather to get me water. He hurried to the kitchen while granny continued to rub my back repeatedly and told me to breath slowly.
I can't believe it.
I watched as grandfather hurried back to me while holding a glass of water and held it in front of me. "Nori, have this medicine and some water. It'll calm you down." I grit my teeth and clenched my fist.
How could they?
"Nori-chan, please drink it. You'll feel better in no time." I pursed my lips and slapped grandfather's hand away causing the glass of water to fall off and break. Both of them looked at me with surprise.
My father was alive this whole time, but they never told me?
"N-Nori-chan, what's wrong?" She stuttered.
"...to me," I muttered quietly. Granny nervously spoke again, "Nori?" I looked at them with a frown and yelled, "How could you do this to me? How could you hide him from me all this time?! Why would you lie to me and tell me that my father is dead when he's alive?!"
Granny covered her face with her shaking hands while she began to cry. "Nori, it's not what you think. We just-" I stood up and interrupted grandfather. "It's not what I think? Do you really want to know what I think right now?" Grandfather waited for me to continue, "Everything you told me was a lie. Protect me? Protect my future? Do you even have the right to say something like that?" I grit my teeth really hard. "Nori-chan, stop."
Ignoring her helpless plea, I glared at grandfather and continued, "You always force me to study and disregard the things that I really want to do in life, you never let me go to trips with my friends, you never let me go out and have fun with my friends like normal people do, and even after I work so hard and get a high score... you never bothered to smile at me once and tell me that I did a great job." Grandfather looked at me with widened eyes and said nothing at all.
"You said that the one who will get hurt in the end is me, right?" He avoided my gaze and stayed quiet. "For your information, the only one who kept hurting me all this time was you! You're the worst, I hate you." Without looking at him, I stood up and started walking towards the doorway. "N-Nori-chan? Where are you going?" I took a deep breath before speaking, "Where is it?" Granny nervously made her way to me with a frown on her face, "Eh?" I looked back at her and spoke again, "The hospital that my father is staying at, where is it?"
After a few minutes of silence, grandfather walked towards the peg by the door and pulled out a paper from his coat. "Takeda Hospital, here's the address and room number," he muttered while giving me the paper. As soon as I took it from him, I turned around and was about to leave the house but stopped when grandfather suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Visiting hours are from 7am until 4pm, you can leave the house tomorrow morning." Granny nodded her head and desperately begged, "It's getting really late, please leave in the morning Nori-chan."
Fine, I'll leave in the morning.
I pulled my wrist away from grandfather's grip and hurried back to my room.
It's been hours since I lied down on bed but sleep wasn't coming to me at all. All I could do was gaze at the ceiling and think about what happened earlier.
It feels like a dream.
My Father is alive.
I looked at the paper that grandfather gave me, and then looked back at the photo that was in my other hand; the only photo I had of mother and father.
I just can't understand why they had to lie to me about this.
I was interrupted from my thoughts when I heard a light knock on the door. "Nori-chan?" When I didn't answer, granny nervously opened the door and entered the room wearing a frown on her face. I watched her as she slowly made her way to me and sat on the side of the bed while clasping her shaking hands together.
"I know you're upset, you have the right to be upset. And I know that it was wrong to hide something like this from you. But before you decided to judge and direct your hatred towards your grandfather, would you please listen to his story? I'll tell you everything about your parents, about the accident, and about your grandfather. So listen well and decide what you want to do after that."
As I quietly listened to the story, I had a lot of different emotions pile up in my heart.
And by the time the story had reached its end, I felt regretful. Without understanding anything about him, without understanding the burden that grandfather shouldered all this time, I threw harsh words at him.
For 12 years, even though it wasn't his fault, grandfather has been blaming himself for my parents' accident.
"So please, don't blame your grandfather. He holds you dear to his heart more than you think. After all, you're Akane's son. The son of his beloved daughter."
Grandfather...
Wow, I'm sorry if you guys were weirded out by the dramatic event in this chapter. But everyone wanted to know what happened with Nori-chan's parents, right?! Well, you'll definitely find out more about them in the next chapter. And we can finally know why grandpa was being a stingy old guy all the time.
But most of all, aren't you happy that at least one of Nori's parents is alive? I am! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'll update soon so lets look forward to our Nori-chan's parents' past, ne? For now, please let me know what you think of this chapter in the review section! Ja ne~
PS. Now we know the whole family's names!
Grandfather: Tanaka Shin
Grandmother: Nomura Kimiko
Father: Onodera Shiro
Mother: Tanaka Akane