Disclaimer: I do not own POT

Chapter 35: Safe

Akihiko was playing amongst the rest of the children but he was distracted… he had never been away from his mother at nights and he remembers that his mother's scream at night some times when she sleeps so he was worried of leaving his mother and he felt scared being away from his mother for the night. Without really noticing, Akihiko kept his body near to the door of the class and that was when one of the class bullies came towards Akihiko.

"Akihiko where is your daddy huh?"

Akihiko looked up from playing with another girl beside him, he furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the way the boy was talking to him. He was really annoyed about that tone that boy used in front of him and his friend but it seems like the boy liked that expression as he continued to tease

"You don't have a daddy, you just don't want to tell us."

He started to laugh and his companions too began to laugh as though what the boy said was true and the girl started to look a little displeased as she said

"Don't be a meanie!"

The boy seemed smacked by her words and it only served to make him angrier as he then raised his voice higher

"If he is telling the truth where is his daddy then?"

Akihiko felt as though the boy was poking his sore spot but he knew his father will come down to see him someday but he didn't want to act out as he merely sat there staring at the boy. It was just at that moment that the teacher's voice floated down the hallway.

"Oh! Is there something wrong?"

"I am here to pick up Akihiko."

That voice! Akihiko perked up as he didn't hesitate as he quickly stood up and rushed out of the classroom, running as fast as his little feet could carry him. There he was… Tezuka stood in the entrance holding his mother's hand waiting for him to come out. Akihiko was a child and therefore excitedly he rushed up to Tezuka with his arms wide

"Papa!"

The teacher looked shocked when Akihiko called out to Mr. Tezuka Kunimitsu, the young entrepreneur extraordinaire. At first when the man stepped in, the teacher thought she was dreaming and quickly wondered why he was here. It was only when Akihiko came out running towards the man did she realize that the man's hands were linked with another hand. She followed that hand to see Akihiko's mother pressing her head on the man's back. She looked a little pale and shaky…

"Careful Akihiko, you don't want to fall over do you?"

Tezuka knelt down to be on Akihiko's level as he felt the small arms wrap itself tightly around his neck and pressed his tiny head onto Tezuka. His action reminded him so much of Sakuno just now and perhaps he was also a little affected by something else. Tezuka wrapped his free arm around Akihiko just as he heard a few other kids talking

"See! Akihiko didn't tell a lie."

A little girl chimed but the boy quickly made a noise and stubbornly answered

"His father still never comes often!"

"Just say sorry!"

The girl and the boy seemed to be about to get into an argument but Akihiko released Tezuka and turned to look at the girl and the boy before rushing back to them. Tezuka turned to the rather flustered teacher

"We will be taking Akihiko back home today."

"O…Of course…"

Tezuka saw that Akihiko quickly diffused the situation between the two kids and he felt internally proud of Akihiko. It seems that Akihiko was quite attentive to the people around him and that it made him quick to work on it… it is amazing given his age.

"Akihiko! Grab your bag, your parents are taking you home."

Akihiko turned to his teacher and he nodded before rushing back into the classroom. The teacher felt awkward waiting with them and it seems that Sakuno was quiet, the only thing she did was hold onto Tezuka as though it was her lifeline right now the teacher wondered if it had been a while since they had seen each other? Considering how popular and important a man like him was. Before she realized it, she found herself staring at the couple only to be shaken awake by Akihiko's voice

"I am ready!"

He rushed over and Sakuno finally removed her hand from Tezuka's as she wrapped her arms tightly around Akihiko and his bag. Tezuka seemed to have completely ignored the teacher's presence as he leaned down to where Sakuno and Akihiko was hugging. His hand placed on Sakuno's shoulder and his face close to her head as he whispered

"Come along, let's go."

Sakuno at that point slowly relaxed her arms and pressed her forehead onto Akihiko's for a short moment before her own hand searched for Tezuka's hand just as Akihiko with his beaming face raised his arms towards Tezuka with joy. Tezuka wondered if his heart would melt or something, it felt so warm in his heart and there was a strong urge to protect the two of them. His hand quickly wrapped itself around Sakuno's and he picked up Akihiko with his free arm. He was lucky that he was strong enough to carry Akihiko in one arm and he led Sakuno out of the child care leaving the teacher watching speechless.

It didn't occur to her how similar Akihiko looked to Tezuka, she concluded that perhaps they were all married and that he had been keeping them here or was she his mistress? Anyway, she could only watch enviously as the man stepped back into a taxi with his wife/mistress and his child in tow.

The moment they got back into the Taxi, Akihiko went to sit on Sakuno's lap so that Sakuno could wrap her arms around him protectively, just as he looked happily at Tezuka who was watching the two of them with that soft look in his eyes.

"So we going to see tiger RAWR?"

Tezuka patted Akihiko's hair answering his questions

"Perhaps not today… tomorrow maybe."

"Papa staying in our house tonight right?"

"N…"

Tezuka didn't know if he wanted to say no or not because he felt uneasy leaving the two of them home alone with Sakuno in such a state and she was sick to boot. Maybe he will stand guard outside? Or he might have to call Tomoka and Ann's movie premier short. The only answer he could give Akihiko was a vague one

"Just for a short while."

Akihiko didn't really know what that answer was but he figured it was a yes and he continued to beam in delight. Akihiko knows his mother was worried or afraid of something but for some reason, Akihiko could not contain his happiness to see his parents together for a change, he continued to talk to Tezuka about his day as Sakuno listened quietly with her arms around Akihiko.

Sakuno knew that Tezuka was right to be bringing Akihiko home to her arms, because with the two of them close by, Sakuno's heart eased into a steady pace and her fear and shock was slowly becoming non-existent. She knew Tezuka would not let anything happen to them while he was nearby and therefore she was safe when he was near. She realized that the strength she could draw from him from the phone was not as strong as she felt when she was near him. Perhaps this time when she was near him she didn't feel scared because she had been familiar with him through the phone and to be completely honest, Tezuka was probably closer to her than Fuji's regular check ups. Tezuka called every three days without fail and she talked to him more than Fuji about things.

Sakuno realized that the taxi came to a standstill, she heard Tezuka pay the man as he opened the door and stepped out. Akihiko was next to scramble out of the door while Sakuno was last to come out, but she kept her head down, keeping her promise to Tezuka because it was for her own sake. Her eyes instead of the gravel road or the taxi, she saw his hand. She took it gratefully knowing that she just needed skin contact to be sure he was around since she can't look at him. Sakuno also knew that Akihiko was once more being carried by Tezuka, she could hear his voice above her as he continued to chatter to Tezuka. Sakuno had never seen Akihiko so happy or so attached to someone other than herself, Tomoka and Ann… so it probably made Tezuka special. First male that he was so attached to and even more that Tezuka was his father figure….

As they walked slowly towards the door, Sakuno thought to herself that she would like to see this sight. She wanted to see Tezuka holding Akihiko, even though he told her not to look and she knew that she could break out into sweat and shake… her internal voice kept repeating

Tezuka is different… he is not his cousin…Tezuka is different… he will never be his cousin…

It was to psych herself, to make her determined to look up. Slowly, inches of the road became less and less visible as the walls and the bottoms of the poles were more in her sights, she kept lifting her head slowly and quietly she peeked at Akihiko first given that she knew where he was. Akihiko her baby boy was happily chatting, his eyes were bright and his smile so bright. Sakuno slowly shifted her gaze and moved further out to see the two of them. Her heart picked up the pace a little as she looked at the same sharp features that were what she once thought was uniquely Tezuka. His eyes were always sharp, hidden behind those glasses, it was always warm… That gentle look on his face, the same one she had a chance of seeing from time to time. He had grown up again… Sakuno found herself thinking as she took in the sight of Tezuka as a whole. He was much taller now than he was in the past, his body seemed to have toned nicely and his facial features matured even more in a handsome way. Sakuno quickly adverted her eyes from Tezuka's face but she had to admit the sight of the two of them together made her chest swell a little… heartwarming… Tezuka fitted himself so easily into the role of Akihiko's father figure it scared her a little of how natural he looked as that figure in Akihiko's life.

"Ryuuzaki, I might need your keys."

His voice gentle yet it carried it's own stern tone, she quickly opened the door with the keys. She wondered if her fever was finally causing havoc as she felt herself grow a little dizzy and had been moving in uneasy steps.

"Ryuuzaki."

His warm hands held her in place as he had already placed Akihiko down, she through a slight dizzy sight saw Akihiko run up the stairs to the bedroom just as Tezuka guided her slowly up the stairs, his hands never leaving her, determined to keep her steady.

"You better take off the jacket."

Sakuno obeyed as she slipped off her coat and Tezuka simply guided her into bed and just as he helped her into bed, his hand suddenly slipped itself over her eyes as she laid down her head looking up. Tezuka had been so careful not to be seen by her… he was so kind… that is who Tezuka is… Sakuno's fear had subsided enough for her to remember Tezuka and his feelings.

"Tezuka-san…"

Her heart thumped as her hand grabbed his own that was pulling away from her eyes, he remained silent allowing her to say

"Thank you…I knew… somehow… that you will save me…from…the past… and from the present."

Tezuka's hand shook a little under Sakuno's own hand, she knew the past clung to him like a nightmare. She realized that she wasn't the only one trapped in a similar nightmare.

"Please stop blaming yourself Tezuka-san…I…I don't want you to live your life in regret."

Tezuka felt those kind words wash over him again. Sakuno knew what she was saying, after all… she mentioned for the past. She knew he was paying for the past he allowed happen, and she knew every time he did so, he was trying to make up for the regrets. He gently guided the hand on his own back over her eyes as he said

"I am going to grab some medicine for you…Get some rest. Akihiko? Can you be a big boy for me and keep your mother company?"

Akihiko nodded at Tezuka with confidence as he clambored onto the bed and sat beside his mother. Just as Tezuka exited the room did he hear her say

"I saw you Tezuka… I wasn't afraid…"

Those words stopped time for Tezuka…

What did Ryuuzaki just say?

TBC