Ratings: PG13
Warnings: Violence, Swearing
Genre: Angst, Romance, High School, Drama, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, living (or passed) human beings or fictional characters. These events never happened, according to history or as the original author intended them. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to offend. For entertainment purposes only. Thanks.
Also, the original characters developed in this story are that of the author's creation. They are not to be copied without written permission.
Chapter 5 - The Light To Your Darkness:
Thursday – October 13th - Afternoon
The streets were crowded, giving off a feeling of claustrophobia mixed with paranoia. Adult faces turned to face them with horrified expressions, some heavy with concern. Hands reached out for him several times, but Akashi kept his head down and just kept running, pushing them away whenever they got too near. He didn't know these people. He didn't know these streets. He didn't know this city. He felt like a rabbit running through a foreign town: small and insignificant. It was a mistake coming to Akita. It was a mistake to care about Murasakibara.
Muscle memory kept him going. While his head throbbed with confusion, his body reacted as he was trained to: legs moving forwards, fingers long and straight, oxygen coming in short even breaths. Just like the beep test at school, his line-touches during practice, and crossing the distant of the court during his basketball games, Akashi sprinted past everyone, past everything, searching for what he could call home in this place, what was familiar and safe.
Everything seemed like a blur until the little white door with the golden numbers 1404 was out of his way and he was back inside the cream-coloured room that housed him for two days, up at the top of the hotel. A sensation of relief washed over him as he locked the door and leaned his back against it. He could feel the sweat in his hairline and shuddered as it trickled down the back of his neck. He felt homesick; there was nothing more he wanted right now than to be in his own home, sharing some warm brandy with his father. But most of all, Akashi missed his mother.
He slumped down beside the door and let the feeling of mourning take over his mind. He missed her soft hands holding his face, and her smile. He missed her telling him it would all be alright, and the scent of sweetness he would inhale whenever she held him close to her so she could rub his back. He never found that scent anywhere. Years after her passing he was convinced that he wouldn't be able to remember the scent clearly enough to determine if he found the right one. It dawned on him, as he sat there yearning for the past to rewrite itself, that his mother had been gone for nine years. And of course she wasn't going to come back.
As hard as it was to accept, the only caring figure he had in his life had left him a long time ago. He felt his mouth sour with the taste of betrayal. She probably never wanted to leave him, but she did. And Akashi felt that in some ways, she had cheated him out of his future years: she wouldn't be around to see him graduate high school, to get his career, or to bring the same joy she brought to him to his future children. He thought one day of the faceless red-haired children he hoped he would have and forced himself off the floor. He had one parent left, and he would just have to make do with him, even if he was a stubborn, insensitive, calculating stone most of the time.
He grabbed the hotel phone and dialed a number he had memorized since childhood. It surprised him that his father answer on the second ring, but by chance he answered the out-of-area number believing it was someone calling for business.
"Hey, dad, it's me." Akashi answered his father's business greeting.
"Are you coming home yet?"
Akashi wrapped and unwrapped the phone cord around his finger. He hadn't expected this question, but then what had he expected? A question that asked about him, maybe a "how are you"? His father hadn't seen him in three days and all he had to ask was 'are you coming home yet?'
Akashi sucked the sob out of his throat and forced his voice to stay steady. He opened his mouth and mimed a stutter before finally replying.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be home tonight."
"Good. That's what I want to hear from my son."
And there it was. That small stab of pride in his father's voice that made the whole phone call worthwhile. Akashi hated to admit it but that small measure of pride made his heart feel lighter and his head dizzy. A feeling of numbness coursed through his body, followed by warmth, and he smiled despite his self-disgust. Those two words that confirmed him to be his father's child were the closest form of affection he would get from his parents in the moment, and over many years he had grown so used to that he simply began accepting it.
"I'll see you soon." he choked out, and disconnected before his father could say more false truths that he would be inclined to believe.
He stood up and brushed the hair back from his face. The Oshi board was sitting on the table, the delicate pieces lying atop, begging for a game. Akashi thought to swipe it off the table and pack it away, but he decided he would shower first. He sighed and headed to the bathroom: it was time to leave Akita - and Murasakibara - behind.
Murasakibara felt his face grow hot as people crowded the sidewalk in hopes to see what was going on. Three police cruisers had cut off access for the public to get close, but as he sat with his feet on his skateboard, perched on the curb of the street with his long hair in his face, he felt as if the world was spinning sideways and everyone was blaming him for it. An officer had taken Himuro further down the street and was asking him questions. No one had bothered asking him any. He was order to sit there and wait, and was being watched by two officers having a conversation about what they had pieced together so far. They caught him glancing at them and the female officer scowled. The male followed her gaze and chuckled.
"They're just teenage boys." he heard him say. "They'll get into scraps like this all the time. We all did."
The female rolled her eye and said something too low to hear. Murasakibara yearned to pull his headphones up and switch his music on, but with his hands bound behind his back in handcuffs it was impossible for him to even move his arms slightly to the right or left. He couldn't stand to hear any more be said but he wasn't able to block it all out, and in this moment Murasakibara felt the lowest he had ever felt. He wondered how he ever let himself fall so out of control of his own life. He tapped his foot to the music he could remember in his head and mouthed the lyrics, not wanting to sing them in case any officers overheard and overreacted. He supposed to anyone looking in on him, attempting to drown out the world with a song he was listening to by memory, he would look insane.
A fourth officer who had been asking witnesses what had happened came over and tapped him on the shoulder. Murasakibara jolted out of his focus on music and looked up. He didn't say anything, but his violet eyes reflected his fear clearly.
"You're not going to be in any lasting trouble." The officer smiled down at him. "But I am going to drive you home and talk to your parents."
"Can my older brother be there too? Please?"
The officer smiled. "Is he home?"
Murasakibara flipped his hand over to check his watch as a reflex but with his hands behind his back, it didn't matter. "I hope so." he murmured, his voice low and full of remorse.
The officer smiled and waved at the other speaking with Himuro. The female officer waved back at him as she got into one of the police cruisers and left the scene. Murasakibara struggled to pick up his skateboard since the officer still hadn't removed the cuffs, and whether it was out of pity or understanding the officer took the skateboard from Murasakibara and held him by the arm, helping him stand up with his hands still bound.
Murasakibara was tired of all the arguing and had sunken into a depression almost an hour ago over the realization that Akashi would most likely be too terrified to be with him now. And Akashi had said he moved on already; it was probably a futile effort from the beginning. If anything, this entire ordeal with Himuro would have only served to reinforce Akashi's reasons to move on, perhaps even make him happier to be with someone else. Murasakibara felt tears well up in his eyes. He looked towards the sky and blinked the back. If there was anything in his life he would control right now, it was the fact that the police weren't going to see him cry.
It surprised him that the officer beside him was only four inches shorter than him, walking casually beside him at six foot six. The officer unlocked the back door and Murasakibara blushed as he crawled in. The officer helped him by placing a hand on the back of his head so that he wouldn't hurt himself curling up to get into the back of the car, and afterwards placed his skateboard in the car on the floor under his feet; it went against regulations since it could be used for violence, but the officer pitied Murasakibara and since it was his first offence and he was truly remorseful, he didn't want to traumatize him. He got in front and started the car, then paused for a moment to stare at Atsushi in the rearview mirror as he pulled his seatbelt on.
"So, you're what? Sixteen?"
"Yep." Mukkun nodded, his feet finding his board and balancing on it. Just having his feet on the board made him feel grounded and reassured.
"And you're two-hundred centimeters? That's what, six...you've got to be around seven feet."
"Over. Two-hundred and eight."
"You realize how dangerous that can be, to be getting into fights with smaller boys, right?"
"I know." Murasakibara was sure the officer heard him, even though the words were barely a whisper through his shame.
The car was pulling away from the curb and Murasakibara caught sight of Himuro pointing at them. He seemed stressed and Murasakibara attempted to read his lips to decipher what he was saying; from his actions and what he appeared to be saying, Himuro seemed intent to know if they were arresting Atsushi.
It pained Murasakibara that his teammate was being tormented by the fact that he might have gotten his crush arrested, but he didn't want to pity him right now. Akashi had moved on and a weak voice at the back of his mind asked himself why hadn't he as he looked at Himuro, which he didn't want to feel. One of the last things he wanted to do was give up on Akashi, but the very last thing he wanted to do was give up on Akashi only to settle for Himuro. He would never want to give in to the rumour that had made Akashi hate him.
"You need to exercise more caution, son."
The officer's words drew him back into the present and brought him out of the direction his thoughts were taking him. The city was moving by outside the window, but Murasakibara didn't want to see the world through bars. He turned to look at the floor instead.
"Look, Atsushi is it?"
Murasakibara just nodded, knowing that officer was checking on him in the rearview mirror.
"I know what it's like, to be the bigger kid. I know it's difficult, you see the world differently, you have to constantly think of yourself fitting into it. Now, I don't know what exactly you two boys were fighting about, and I get the feeling that it's more intimate than both of you care to admit, but it seems you know each other and care about each other. You play basketball at the same school, that's what he said."
"Yeah."
"My colleague is going to be meeting us at your house. He's just driving...uh, what's his name?"
"Himuro."
"Yeah, he's just driving Himuro home."
"Does Himuro know that I'm...I'm...alright?" Murasakibara couldn't bring himself to say the word aloud.
The officer chuckled.
"Yeah. My partner will fill him in before he drops him off."
A silence fell in the car and Murasakibara heard the radio crackle. The officer picked it up and answered back, his words too fast and the codes meaningless to Murasakibara. After he put down the radio, he looked at the depressed boy in the back of his cruiser and spoke his name to get his attention.
"Don't let it get to you. We do this a lot in our jobs, son. Teenagers fighting isn't that uncommon. This isn't the end of the world. Just be careful and keep your hands to yourself in the future. I know it's tough, being a good person and having that kind of adrenaline; sometimes sports just don't cut it for an outlet. But you don't have to let it get to a point where you feel so trapped that violence is your only answer. And if you want to make the most of it, you can do something like I did, join the police force or the military or something. Use your size for something good."
Murasakibara felt a bitter smile form on his lips. The thought had caught him by surprise and he smiled up at the officer, wondering if he looked as manic as Akashi had been when he versed him in his one-on-one. Careers wasn't something he was focused on at the moment, but it was a welcome distraction from his broken heart and his soured social life. He recalled Aomine had spoken about policing as his dream career during their career days at Teiko, something about inspiring kids and protecting the peace. He wondered if he would like to do the same? Would he be able to help others in his position, or in need, or would he be more like his oldest brother and become hostile every time he encountered a man like the kind that ended his oldest sister's life?
The cruiser stopped in front of his family home and Atsushi felt his face grow hot as he was helped out of the car since he was still handcuffed, although the officer had been kind enough to help him out. The curtains had moved in the living room window and the officer had taken his skateboard from him so Atsushi didn't have to fumble with holding it as he walked up the short walk.
The officer escorted him to the door with a hold on his arm and his skateboard in the other. He didn't need to knock; the door was already opened and his parents had stepped out. He father looked angry and his mother look sad. She opened the door behind her and poked her head into the house before closing it behind her again.
The officer jerked on his bicep and he flexed in response, a reflex reaction to being squeezed suddenly. The officer hid a smirk and Murasakibara bit his tongue to keep from cursing at the pinch.
"Sorry to bring your son home in this condition, dad, mom." He nodded at both of them.
The door opened behind them and a taller figure stepped out. Atushi held back a snicker as Fuji stepped out and came to stand beside his father, feeling the officer's surprise to his brother's size by the change in grip on his arm.
"You must be his older brother. Wow, you're a big boy!"
"His eldest, yeah. Fuji." He stuck his hand out and the officer accepted, shaking for minute even though a slight bow would have been acceptable as well. Atsushi picked up on this detail and figured it was more physical, something his brother seemed to enjoy to be around people.
"I'm officer Jirou, I responded to an incident Atsushi was involved in about an hour, two hours ago."
"What happened?" Fuji pressed, crossing his arms across his chest and remaining behind their father.
"Your brother here had a bit of a temper downtown. Apparently he got in a disagreement with one of his teammates from his school basketball team and they had a bit of a fight."
"I see."
Atsushi blushed as he listened wordlessly to the conversation.
All eyes turned to the street as another car pulled up and the first officer Atsushi had dealt with, the one that had handcuffed him, strode out. He adjusted his belt as he walked over, extending a hand and waving when he entered the gate. He was shorter than the officer that drove Atsushi back home, but in comparison to the general population he was still a tall man, clearly being at least six feet.
"Sorry, I'm a little late. I'm officer Takeshi, I was just dropping the other boy home."
Fuji nodded, glancing at Atsushi and understanding who the other boy was.
"So is there going to be any convictions or charges or anything?" He asked, cutting to the important part. "I mean, it's two high school boys in a bit of fight. It's unfortunate but it happens, right?" He shrugged, trying to play it off as just a one-off, coming of age related event.
Atsushi squirmed and officer Jirou steadied him with a jerk of his arm. Fuji didn't seem to be helping him much right now. He felt that bringing up the question so directly would result in the officers' feeling the need to press charges against him.
The officer Takeshi began to answer. "Luckily, the- uh, other boy is not laying any charges, though I did strongly urged him to because of the amount of force used against him. Also, it was in a public area, not a school ground, so it would be considered an act of aggression in public rather than at school. Eyewitnesses stated that there was a third boy present that had ran away before we arrived there, and that the conversation between this boy and Atsushi was interrupted by...the uh, boy assaulted. Your son and his classmate started to argue and things escalated. At one point – and this is the excessive force I mentioned - Atsushi started to strangle him, lifting him off his feet and holding him by the throat against the wall of a butcher shop. At this point the third boy fled. Atsushi's classmate denies that he was strangled or that another boy was there, so I'm not sure what the exact story is, but I'm inclined to believe that his classmate is simply covering up some kind of schoolyard trouble."
"I see." Fuji repeated.
"It could be because...I'm sorry, I know it's confusing but I cannot tell you his name because he's a minor. It's up to Atsushi if he wants to tell you who he fought with, but we believe Atsushi's classmate is trying to protect your son, himself, or his team, or any matter of other friends from school. Keep in mind this isn't entirely Atsushi's fault. Your son – and brother – does seem to be rather disappointed in himself with the way he behaved today. I had a little chat with him in the car on the way here and he is genuinely sorry for what has happened." Officer Jirou added.
Atsushi's parents nodded, following along with what the officers were telling them. The entire conversation seemed to be coming to a close, with mutual understanding on all ends for what had happened and what was to be expected going into the future.
"And there is also the issue of the dead bird." Officer Takeshi stated, a smirk on his face.
Atsushi blushed. Officer Jirou suppressed a laugh. Fuji snorted as he tried to disguise his amusement.
"Bird?!" his mother cut in, for the first time in the conversation. Her voice was high in pitch as she expressed her shock.
"What about a dead bird?" his father pressed, his tone serious and full of disappointment already, waving a hand for his wife to be silent so they could continue on.
"There were crows flocked all over the sidewalk where they were standing and your son hit one when he was fighting with the other boy." Officer Takeshi explained, "The bird was struck to the concrete with such a heavy force, it snapped its neck – its head turned one-eighty degrees – and it died."
Fuji let out a laugh, holding one hand up to cover his mouth and the other palm outwards to excuse himself. When he had himself under control again, he looked at Atsushi and chuckled.
"You...killed a bird?"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Atsushi protested.
His words sent Fuji into another round of laughter that had even the police officers smiling.
"Normally we would have a fine for the destruction of nature, but considering the circumstances I think we're just going to let that slide this once. And he does seem deeply troubled over it." Officer Jirou explained, "However, if it happens again then we have no choice but to press charges on behalf of the state. We really aren't allowed to do that, but I'm ruling to make an exception given that your son had no intention to hurt any birds."
Officer Takeshi busied himself with removing the handcuffs and Atsushi rubbed his wrists. They were red from being bound for so long and he stretched his fingers to get some circulation back in them. Officer Jirou handed him his skateboard and he smiled in appreciation at him.
"I think that's all we have to say. We're just going to keep it to a warning today, and he's very, very lucky at that. Just make sure he learned to keep his temper in check and that he stays out of trouble in the future."
The two officers bowed to his family and his family in return, and then Officer Jirou shook his hand before they left. His parents ushered him into the house afterwards, sending the rest of their kids to eat their dinner in the living room. The four of them - his parents, Fuji, and himself - had dinner separately to discuss with him what his punishments would be. Atsushi kept his head down the whole meal, an errant thought that he could at least try to phone Akashi afterwards and apologize to him about what happened, maybe even having a chance to explain what happened, distracting him from what this parents were discussing.
"So it's settled then." His mother caught his attention. "You are to do all of your siblings chores for two weeks to make up for your behavior."
Murasakibara groaned; that would mean he would have to do four people's worth of chores. Fuji kicked him under the table.
"We can increase it to four week, if you're not happy about it. It's either that, or we can take away your skateboard and iPod." his father suggested, then grumbled, "They're the bad influences anyways."
"I'll do the chores!" Atsushi cried out. He put his head in his hands and forced the tears to go away. He could hear chairs scraping back on the floor and plates being lifted up. Fuji was grinning at him when he picked his head up again.
"Sorry." He shrugged his large shoulders. "It's the best deal I could cut for you. They really wanted to throw the book at you so I had to do my best to work it down to chores and short sentence."
They were alone now, their parents had gone to do the dishes in the kitchen and speak to each other about their youngest son's troublesome behaviour in private.
Atsushi nodded. "Thank you! Honestly, Fuji, I don't know how you did this on your own!" He murmured, his voice rough with emotions.
Fuji didn't reply. He simply moved the conversation on. "Himuro was the one you hurt, wasn't he? And Akashi was the third boy?"
Atsushi nodded and then looked around. "Where's the phone? I should call him."
"Akashi?" He brother asked, clarifying who Atsushi was talking about. "He already left."
Atsushi turned back to face his brother.
"I tried to call him just before you came home. I thought you were still with him. You weren't answering your phone."
"I was...cuffed."
"Yeah, I know. Well, now I know."
"What about Aka-chin? Did he answer?"
"Yeah. He answered and thought that you had come home upset. He answered with 'whatever he's saying, I'm really sorry.'"
Atsushi smiled. "Did he say anything else?"
"He said he was on the train and that he had to go. He didn't know where you are and he hoped that you weren't getting into trouble. That's all."
Atsushi stared at his brother in despair. "He can't have just left."
"Atsushi-"
"No. I don't believe it."
Atsushi grabbed his board and headed to the hallway.
"Where are you going?" his brother hissed at him in a whisper.
"I'm going to see him. He couldn't have left just like that."
Fuji grabbed Atsushi by the arms and pinned them to his side. The skateboard clattered to the floor and both brothers held their breath and looked to the kitchen for a moment, hoping their parents wouldn't enter to check on what the loud sound was.
"Atsushi! Have you lost your mind?! You're going to get into more trouble just leaving after all this!" Fuji hissed at him in a whisper, trying to speak some sense to his youngest brother.
"I have to see Ak-"
"I heard the train in the background, 'Sushi. He lost reception going through the tunnel. He's gone."
Atsushi glared at his brother and the tears that were threatening to fall all day finally broke through the barrier he had fought to put up. He pulled out of Fuji's grasp and ran upstairs to his room.
Friday - October 14th
The night was endless. Nori stayed on the sofa because he couldn't stand Atsushi's constant crying. His eyes felt swollen and he wanted badly to hit something again. His palms tingled and he sat on top of them so that he wouldn't give in to temptation. The sun slowly crept past his curtains and stained the ceiling yellow. His thought ran in circles in his mind, each idea never ending before another one started. Even with his eyes closed, his head spun. He couldn't drown his thoughts out with music, he couldn't stop his mind from reeling.
He must've have fallen asleep at one point because his alarm began to play and he reached out a numb arm to slap it off. His hand hit the noise off and then bumped on the table top, flopping lifelessly and tingling with sleep. It took him a moment to figure out where exactly he was and recall what had happened. He pried his eyes open and stared up at the ceiling. His eyes felt dry and each time he blinked it felt like sandpaper was rubbing against his eyeballs. His lower lip quivered as his eyes squinted in agony. Akashi was gone. He went back to Kyoto. Atsushi had lost his second chance with him.
His body felt numb, heavy and weighted. He tried to lift himself from his bed, but the darkness of the room felt oppressive and he sunk back down without a fight. He felt as though he was made out of lead or cast in cement, heavy and rigid.
Footsteps outside the door forced him to get up and brush his hair in his face. He searched around for his school uniform and shuffled into it, mechanically putting one foot at a time through the right leg holes. His reflection showed him a very scruffy looking version of a Yosen student, but at least he was in uniform, ready to go to school. Now all he had to do was keep his emotions together enough to keep from completely falling apart. He had to keep himself together, at least just long enough to numb him out the anger and keep him from doing something violent again.
He picked up his bag and made his way downstairs. Skipping breakfast, he left his board behind and began walking to school, leaving unusually early to make it to class on time. It took him close to an hour, but he made it without taking his eyes off the pavement.
The rest of the day went by in a blur: roll call, classes, reading, worksheets, reading, questions, answers, assignments. It was the same as any other day, except he wasn't putting his head down on the desk and tuning out the world to his music anymore, he didn't have the heart to hear the familiar lyrics or tunes he had come to fill the void in his heart over Akashi. There was no eyeliner under his eyes, but the bruises from not sleeping made up for that. The small bubble of space that he had around him at all times seemed to double either out of sympathy or fear. No doubt word must've gotten around the student body that he was brought home by the police. Even if Himuro didn't tell anyone, someone must've have seen the incident, or seen the cruisers going around.
"Well, fuck it." he murmured under his breath. He shut his locker, hoping it would shut the world out, and shuffled on to the next class.
It wasn't until he had screamed at his math professor, walked out of English class, and dented his locker by punching the door that he had begun to realize that simply masking the pain wouldn't help him. Old scars might blend in with the old skin, but new scars take a longer time to hide. What happens when you reopen old scars? How long does that take to heal? Would they heal as blendable as they did the first time or would they become uglier the more the original wound was revisited?
He put his head down and left school early, starting to walk home with his bag slung over his shoulder and his hair hanging down in his face. A sharp realization of déjà-vu hit him, stopping him in his tracks. He looked up, making sure he was still in the familiar streets of Akita, before turning his face upwards so that the falling rain would clear the tears from his face.
It was almost four years ago that he walked home from basketball practice just the same: head down, hair in his face, bag slung over his shoulder, and tears down his cheeks. He could still hear the ringing in his ears of the other kids' laughter. He could still feel their hands pushing against him. And then there was Akashi. He had always been nice to him, and he never once called him a freak for his size. He took him as he was and showed him the talent that he possessed. And just as he walked home from Teiko middle school on that day very similar to today, another day came to mind. Another time he walked home shrouded in misery. The day that Akashi and him had called it quits. He frowned as he found the irony in the entire situation: himself walking home from school without his heart, by the same boy, for the second time.
Vomit filled his mouth and he spat on the ground. Akashi had left him before because he couldn't handle the imbalance of their relationship. It wasn't fulfilling to him to have the scales constantly tipped in one direction or the others. Now that he had had the chance to get him back, to balance their relationship, he had lost his opportunity. Akashi had left. Gone. Because someone else had attempted to weigh in on their relationship.
He looked down at the pavement and the anger that had filled him throughout his new weeks at Yosen came back to him in a rush. He looked at his hand, empty and shaking, and wished reverently that he had his board with him. The wind rush through his hair would help him think clearly. He started walking, with his chest out and his head held high. The light breeze his fast pace made helped clear his mind and he didn't bother to look down into the faces of those that were staring at his face in mild shock. He realized he must've looked really sick, with pale skin and sunken eyes and tears dried to his cheeks. Yet none of that mattered. Because he had lost his second chance with Akashi. But it wouldn't be his last.
He extended the shoulder strap on his bag and slung it over one shoulder. He had to get home before any of his siblings. For once, he didn't ride his skateboard to school today, and that was unusual enough for them to start asking questions. Of course he would just have to lie and state that he wanted to keep a low profile, stay out of the radar of the authorities, learn to breath and take the world in at a more natural pace. But it might not be enough. He was running now, running home so he could have a chance to be in his bedroom alone for a few moments, without Nori or Fuji or his parents pausing to check in on him. A few moments is all he would need. What he planned on doing would hurt his family greatly, but he wouldn't just stand aside and let them be another obstacle in his way to mending things with Akashi.
Akashi words ran through his head, the most recent blending into the past: "We both moved on, right? You don't need to pretend or try to spare my feelings. Whatever he's saying, I'm really sorry. I hope he's not in trouble. I don't think this is working out, Atsushi. You know how much I care – I wouldn't be here if I didn't! Why didn't you tell me that wasn't the case? I can't handle being kept in the dark! What part of me is wrong for you?"
The words carved out pieces of his heart and he ran faster to outrun the pain. He was pushing people out of his way now, grabbing their shoulders and forcing them out of his path, but he didn't care. He wasn't there to see them fall or hear their words, he was in another place entirely. He jumped the fence to his yard and had the door unlocked in record time. Taking the stairs two at a time, he barged into his room, letting the door slam into the wall behind it, and pulled his old duffle bag out from under the bed. Filled with old clothing, it fit under his bed snugly as an ideal place for seasonal storage, but once packed it would sit hidden under the bed, disguised as his usual storage, and wait...
He paused for a moment. Tomorrow was Saturday. He didn't have school. He frowned, this was a rift in his plan he didn't overlooked entirely. He had no idea how he was supposed to sneak out of his house on a Saturday. He didn't have a solid excuse to leave the house, especially since he was being so closely watched after killing that stupid crow by accident. And if he did leave the house, it would be too risky: he could run into Himuro – who could cause another scene – or his parents would notice his absence long before he had a chance to even make it to Tokyo. He needed the full day of school as his excuse to at least be far enough away that they wouldn't be able to realize he wasn't coming home until it was too late. He had no choice: he would have to wait until Monday before he could put his plan into action. And all he could do until then was to hope that Akashi wouldn't become too overwhelmed, too scared of him. Monday morning would come soon enough, and that's when he would take the duffle bag with him to 'go to school.'
He wasted no time in thinking or deliberating, he knew what he wanted and where to find it. And he knew that now would be the only time he had alone in his room to make sure the bag was ready to go, even if he had to wait two days before he retrieved it. The first thing he did was unzip the duffle bag, pull out all its contents, and place them on his bed. Then he began to fill the duffle bag with all the things he would need. As he pulled open a bureau drawer, he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and lodged it between his shoulder and his ear. Turning around and stuffing the items from his mental list into the bag, he smirked as he heard the familiar greeting. He had a good feeling about this plan because it was everything Akashi had wanted: risky, mysterious, spontaneous, romantic, passionate, and dangerous.
He continued packing, trying to keep himself distracted and motivated, but also alert to his family potentially arriving home, especially Nori. He didn't stop to consider the punishment he would receive if he were to be caught. And there was only one person who could help him now.
"Hola Murasakicchi! You finally called me back!"
Murasakibara couldn't help the grin crossing his face. Hearing that greeting made the world suddenly seem like a much brighter place.