fic for inaudible_d (1/2)

[nino-mod.livejournal.com]

For: inaudible_d
From: akhikaru

Title: Redefining family
Pairing/Focus: Yama parents + Kaze trio kids
Rating: PG
Warning: Mentions of secondary characters' death.
Summary: The last time he saw papa and mama, they were sleeping on the carpet after the red-haired man played with them. Now he was far away, in a land of people who spoke a funny language and looked so different from him. Would he be able to find his family again?
Notes: This is for inaudible_d! I liked many of your prompts, so it was hard to choose one. In the end, I went for Yama parents + Kaze trio kids. I hope you enjoy reading it! ♥ Split it in two parts, because LJ is mean like that...


“Kazunari, come here.”

The little boy trembled when that fat tall blonde woman walked inside the room he shared with eight other boys. She was scary, that’s what he thought since the first time he was brought to that house one week before. At least she wasn’t as bad as the red-haired man that had held him captive during god-knows-how-many days inside a little dark room which smelled like rotten vegetables and mold, but that didn’t make her any less intimidating in his eyes.

“Kazunari, come on.”

He shrieked as the fat woman dragged him by his arm to the first floor of the house. She didn’t understand a word of what he said. Of course, nobody did. The people living there spoke a strange language, one that Kazunari hadn’t heard in his entire life. They also looked so different from him: long limbs, light hair, blue or green eyes… Kazunari was short, his eyes were brown and slanted, and his hair was jet black. He felt that he didn’t belong there. He just wanted to go back to his papa and mama, to play with his friends at the daycare and see his favorite sensei again.

“Stay here for a moment, I’ll be right back,” the scary blonde woman said and made him sit in a small chair by the window. She left some crayons and sheets of paper for him on a table, patting his head softly before leaving. Sometimes she wasn’t that scary in Kazunari’s opinion, maybe it was just her voice.

Kazunari took a crayon and started drawing. He drew a yellow house with red ceiling –his house. The last time he had been there was the day the red-haired man visited them. He was playing in his room when he heard his mama screaming. By the time he reached the first floor, his mama had gone silent. She was sleeping on the carpet while his papa wrestled with the red-haired man, just like he did sometimes with his friends. At the end the man won and his papa went to sleep too.

Why they decided to take a nap in the middle of the living room instead of their room was a complete mystery to his young mind. They must have been tired of playing so much, Kazunari reasoned, as the red-haired man just covered them with a blanket. The red-haired man called him afterwards, saying his papa gave them permission to go for an ice cream. Kazunari hesitated to follow him since his papa had said once that he shouldn’t go out with strangers, but then everything went black and the next time he opened his eyes he was already in the dark and smelly little room.

“His name is Kazunari Ninomiya. The police rescued him last week from the basement of an abandoned house in a town near San Diego. He was kidnapped in Japan three months ago, his parents can’t be found and he doesn’t have any other relatives in Japan.”

“Oh God…”

“The police reported he was probably a victim of child trafficking, although they didn’t give us much information. Since there’s no one in Japan who could take custody of him, Child Protection Services put him under our care.”

“How old is he?”

“Five, according to the report we received from the Japanese government. As he doesn’t understand English, we haven’t been able to ask him anything else.”

“Can we see him?”

“Sure, follow me.”

There were two men in the room with the blonde woman, Kazunari noted. Their voices sounded funny when they talked and their accent was strange, as if speaking in that language wasn’t as natural as it was for everyone he had encountered until then. It was a relief to know someone else had trouble with it aside from him, he giggled on the inside. Maybe those men were more like him and less like the blonde woman, he concluded.

“Kazunari, come here. There are some friends who want to meet you,” the woman said with a smile. Strange, Kazunari thought narrowing his eyes, for she hardly ever smiled. She gestured that he should come closer, and so he did.
He was surprised the moment he walked inside the room and found two Japanese-looking men staring right back at him. They had dark hair, dark eyes and slightly slanted eyes, just like him. His lips curved automatically in a smile at the sight.

“My name is Sho, nice to meet you,” the taller one said and bowed at him afterwards. “And he is Satoshi.”

“Nice to meet you,” the second man flashed him a smile.

“I’m… I’m Kazunari…” he mumbled.

“Do you want to play outside with us? We’ll go for an ice cream together,” Sho offered.

Kazunari’s body tensed up at the mention of ice cream. The last time an adult had offered him to go for an ice cream he was separated from his family. “I don’t know…” he replied. “Mama and papa say I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”

“You can trust us,” Sho assured him. “We won’t hurt you, I promise.”

His eyes wandered from one man to the other. They didn’t seem to be scary people, and somehow he felt that mama and papa wouldn’t get mad at him if he followed them. Sho stretched out a hand towards him.

“So?” the man asked, the smile never leaving his face.

“Hai,” Kazunari replied and put his small hand in Sho’s big one.

It was warm, like his mama’s.

-----------------

“Good morning. Is Mrs. Blake here?”

Two strange men showed up at the house the following week. Kazunari could hear their voices from the living room. He was playing there by himself, since one of the other boys shouted “if you hang out with that boy, you’ll get Asian cooties!” and the rest ran away from that room. It had been two days and they still avoided him. The fat blonde woman scolded them every time someone yelled “Asian cooties, Asian cooties!” when they saw him, but it didn’t stop them from doing it again. The woman just shook her head and patted his cheek saying “don’t pay attention to them, they’re just playing,” whatever that meant.

“She’s in the living room. Please follow me.”

A minute later the fat blonde woman’s assistant showed up. She was rather short and slim. Her hair was long and dark, and her skin wasn’t as pale as the rest of the house’s inhabitants. Her accent was different to her boss’s; she also spoke in a different language when she hung out with the cook and the gardener, who had a similar appearance to hers. They called him “niño bonito” while pinching his cheeks sometimes, and gave him candies or spicy snacks.

“Mrs. Blake, these men are here to see you,” she said, moving aside to let their guests come in. She excused herself and rushed to the door when the bell rang again a few minutes later.

Kazunari examined the men quietly, hiding behind his drawing pad –the blonde woman’s assistant gave him one saying “¡que dibujos tan lindos, mi amor!” before leaving. Those men looked Japanese! It was pleasant to see people similar to him again. Satoshi and Sho had promised to come back, but so far they hadn’t showed up. Maybe these two men would play with him, or at least talk to him. He hadn’t uttered a word ever since Satoshi and Sho left after all.

“Gentlemen, how can I help you?”

“We are here about the Ninomiya case,” the taller man said. “We’ve been informed that the boy was put under your care.”

“That’s right,” the woman nodded. “As a matter of fact, he’s sitting over there.”

Suddenly the three adults turned to look at him. He startled and tried to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping on their conversation, not that it was of any use since he didn’t understand a word.

“Is there any possibility we can talk to him about the case?” the shorter man said this time.

“I don’t see any problem, but his prospective adoptive parents are supposed to drop by and visit him this afternoon.”

“Ah, is that so?  Then we should wait for their arrival. The information we bring should be of interest for them as well.”

The shorter man walked towards him and sat on a chair next to his. “What are you drawing?” he asked with a smile.

“It’s… it’s a sakura tree…” Kazunari mumbled. “Last time, mama said we’re going to see the sakura trees.”

The man’s expression became weird afterwards. Kazunari, who didn’t understand very well the concept of pity, didn’t know how to interpret it. “I see,” the man said, smiling once again. “And who is that under the tree?”

“That’s mama!” Kazunari grinned. “She’s wearing her favorite dress, the yellow one.”

“And is that man your dad? Why is he frowning?”

“Ah, it’s just that papa always frowns. Mama says it’s because he’s getting old,” Kazunari laughed.

“And where are you?”

“I’m here,” Kazunari pointed to a tiny figure hiding behind a tree. “We’re playing hide and seek!”

“Oh…” the man hummed. “Did you do that a lot with your parents?”

“Hmm, not too much… Papa is always busy with his work,” he sighed. “But when he’s home he always takes me and mama outside to play. We like having picnics in the park! And, and… we went to a festival once, with fireworks and everything! Mama made me wear a yukata, and it felt weird. But papa bought me a hamburger that day, so it was okay! I like hamburgers a lot…”

Without noticing, he continued rambling about his parents. It felt good to talk about them, even if he hadn’t seen them in ages. He went on to tell the man about the last trip he had with his parents on New Year. They had gone to his late grandma’s hometown. It was cold, but his papa helped him build a snowman and then they played until it was too cold to stay outside. He started feeling it then, the loneliness.

“What’s wrong?” the man asked, looking concerned.

“I want to see them, mama and papa,” Kazunari bit his quivering lip. “Do you think I can go to see them soon?”

The man opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately. He hugged Kazunari and tousled his hair before standing up. It seemed someone else had arrived.

“Mrs. Blake, Mr. Ohno and his husband are here,” the assistant announced.

Right after that Sho and Satoshi came in with their hands linked. “Hello, Kazu!” Satoshi went straight to greet him while Sho talked with the two strange men. “How have you been, buddy?”

“Fine,” Kazunari said.

“I’m sorry we’re late, but Sho had to work today in the morning,” Satoshi said with an apologetic smile.

“Where does he work?”

“Sho is a lawyer,” Satoshi said. “He was in a trial, you see.”

“What’s a trial?” Kazunari tilted his head.

“A trial is… hmm, how should I put it?” Satoshi furrowed his eyebrows with a serious expression. “It’s, umm… Ah, I know!” his face lit up, it appeared he had found the right words. “When someone does something bad, they have to be punished for it, right? Well, a lawyer’s job is to prove whether they did it or not. They go to a room and show the proof to a judge and the jury, who are the people in charge of deciding if they are innocent or guilty.”

“So his job is helping catch bad people, like superheroes do?” he asked, his eyes shining with admiration.

“I guess you could say something like that,” Satoshi chuckled. “To the people he defends, he must be like a hero.”

“Whoa…” Kazunari smiled even wider, looking at Sho in awe. He was an incredible person then! “And what is your work?”

“I’m an artist,” Satoshi said. “I make paintings and sculptures, so I spend a lot of time at home doing that, although sometimes I do it outside.”

“Eh…” Kazunari nodded. That sounded like a cool job too, though not as cool as catching bad people.

“You like drawing?” Satoshi took Kazunari’s drawing pad in his hands and examined the contents with a surprised face. “You have talent! These are very good!”

“Thanks…” Kazunari giggled, his cheeks going a bit pink.

“Satoshi, Kazu, come over here,” they were interrupted by Sho, who had just come out of the fat blonde woman’s office.

Kazunari didn’t know what to make out of the situation. Satoshi was frowning at Sho, who shuffled on his feet nervously and avoided making eye contact.

“What happened?”

“It’s about his parents…” was what Sho said. Satoshi gasped before returning to Kazunari’s side.

“Let’s go,” the man took his hand and guided him inside the office. Aside from the woman and her assistant, there were the other two men he saw earlier too.

“We’ll be waiting outside, if you prefer,” the woman said. She and her assistant left the room after the two men replied with a nod.

“Kazunari-kun, please take a seat,” the taller man instructed him.

The boy looked at Satoshi who nodded at him and stood behind his chair when he sat. Sho had taken the other chair at Kazunari’s left. The man took Kazunari’s hand and squeezed it, mouthing “it’s alright” to him, yet he couldn’t believe it for some reason. His instinct told him that something was wrong, that those two men couldn’t possibly have good news for him. A part of him wished to trust Sho though. He only nodded and stared at the man standing at the other side of the desk.

“My name is Nagase. I work for the Interpol, and I was the man in charge of the operative where Kazunari was rescued,” he said.

“I-Interpol…!” Sho covered his mouth with a hand. “W-What… Why would the Interpol be involved?”

“The man who kidnapped Kazunari was part of an international criminal organization dedicated to child trafficking. They’re involved in child pornography and prostitution principally, although recently they’ve expanded to drug trafficking and serving as hit men for other criminal groups.”

Sho and Satoshi exchanged a concerned glance. It was more serious than they expected.

“Detective Kokubun is the one in charge of the investigation in Japan,” Nagase said, giving the floor to his companion who took over the conversation from that point on.

“During the three months I’ve been on this case, we’ve found proof that Kazunari’s father, Ninomiya Taro, was involved with a yakuza group,” he said, making Sho and Satoshi go pale. “He was a gambling addict, and it appears he had gotten a mortgage to use the money on his gambling addiction. When they were about to lose the house, he got a loan from a yakuza boss to pay the debt to the bank, yet he was unable to pay back…”

“And then…”

“They hired a hit man to collect the money, or… take care of him.”

Silence stretched in the room during a couple of minutes. Kazunari looked at everyone, not fully understanding what the men talked about. He tugged at Satoshi’s sleeve. “What are they saying? Did something happen to my papa?” he asked. The man just stared at him without speaking. “Detective-san, is my papa okay?”

Out of all the questions Detective Kokubun had to reply during his years as a member of the police, that was the hardest one. He let out a deep sigh before crouching on the floor in front of the boy so that their eyes were at the same level. “Kazunari-kun, I’m afraid he’s not. Same goes for your mother.”

Tears were already filling the boy’s eyes. “B-But will I see them again?” he said, clutching the man’s arm. “Will I go back home to them?”

The moment Kokubun shook and lowered his head, muttering an almost inaudible “I’m sorry” would be burned in Kazunari’s memory for the rest of his life. His heart clenched while the tears streamed down his cheeks. He couldn’t go back home. He wouldn’t see mama and papa again. No, that couldn’t be, he thought. Mama promised to see the sakura trees with him, didn’t she? Papa said they’d go to watch the baseball game afterwards, didn’t he?

“Kazu…”

He sobbed out loud, his vision going blurry due to the tears in his eyes. He felt two arms picked him up and embraced him. “It’s going to be alright,” he heard Satoshi whisper the words in his ear. Kazunari just buried his face in the man’s chest, seeking refuge there. He wished it was just a bad dream, that he’d wake up and mama would be there making breakfast, that papa would be sipping his coffee with a smile and his newspaper in one hand. But even he knew that it wouldn’t happen.

“What else do you know?” Sho asked, his voice sounding a bit hoarse. Kazunari lifted his head to look at the detective, who had resumed his position behind the desk by then.

“The hit man sent to do the job was half-American. He’s known by the alias ‘Red-haired Devil’ and operates mainly in the San Diego area. He happened to be in Japan hunting for new children when the yakuza boss contacted him.”

A photo of the red-haired man lied on top of the desk. Kazunari recognized those eyes and shivered. He could still remember the way he was treated during his captivity, the harsh words and occasional kicks or punches. He started crying again.

“Take him outside, Satoshi.”

Sho’s statement didn’t leave room for arguing, so the shorter man just nodded and left. The detective only continued when he heard the front door of the house closing.

“Finding Kazunari when he dropped by was a coincidence. He was supposed to find only the father, but both his wife and son were at home during that time.”

“Apparently he thought killing such a ‘cute little boy’ would be a waste, which is why he brought Kazunari with him after getting rid of the parents. We found their dismembered bodies in a trash bin,” Nagase said. “The forensics reported there were no signs of sexual abuse when they examined Kazunari, but according to an insider’s testimony the boy was kept in that dark room ever since he arrived to the United States.”

“And that man… has he been captured?” Sho said.

“Yes, he has, along with other twenty men and women.”

“Were there any other children inside that house?”

“No, just him,” Nagase replied.

“What about his family? Haven’t you found any relatives yet?”

“We have not,” Kokubun informed. “Mrs. Blake has told us that you are considering the possibility of adopting him, is that true?”

“We are, and we will once the Japanese government gives us the green light to proceed. I understand there are some legal arrangements that need to be done before, is that correct?”

“You’re right,” Kokubun nodded. “It might take a couple of months until the paperwork is done.”

“We will wait until then,” Sho declared and stood up. “Thank you, detectives.”

After bowing at the men he stormed off the house. The only thought on his mind in that moment was Kazunari. They had to protect the boy no matter what.

-----------------

Tears, tears and more tears… Where did all those tears come from? Stop it, he said to himself without any result. He had made fun of a friend once because he cried too easily, yet in that moment he was doing the same. Stop, this will make me look bad if the guys find out, he repeated in his mind.

A hand rubbed his back the entire time while two arms continued hugging him. It helped him relax eventually, concentrating on the hand on his back instead of the horrible news he got. “Are you better now?”

“I… I am…” he lied. He had stopped crying, but he still remembered why he was crying in the first place. Mama and papa were gone forever, all thanks to that evil red-haired man. He would never be better again, he thought bitterly, not with mama and papa gone.

“I see…” Satoshi hummed, and Kazunari had the impression the man knew that he wasn’t saying the truth. He didn’t say anything about it and continued rubbing Kazunari’s back.

Kazunari closed his eyes, images of the day he was abducted flashing in his mind. Unlike that day, he was able to see things how they really were. No, they weren’t playing. And no, they weren’t sleeping. Why hadn’t he understood it in that moment? He felt a bit guilty. Maybe he could have done something to help, maybe he could have run away instead of freezing there and falling in the man’s trap, maybe he should have stayed upstairs…

His head hurt with so much thinking. Possibilities were endless in his infantile mind, yet none of them would give him his parents back. He gripped Satoshi’s shirt tighter out of frustration.

“Will he go to a trial?”

“Eh?”

“That red-haired man… will he go to a trial?” Kazunari looked up to the man with his tear-stained cheeks. “You said that’s what happens when someone does a bad thing. W-Will the judge and the jury say he is guilty? Will he be punished?”

“He will,” Satoshi nodded in response. “Nagase-san and Kokubun-san will make sure he does. He won’t hurt people anymore.”

“You promise me?”

“I promise,” Satoshi wiped a tear from the boy’s cheek.

Kazunari let the man hold him for some other minutes. It made him feel better. He spoke up then, sounding like he was about to cry again. “I’m alone…” he mumbled. “I don’t have anyone…”

There was no one waiting for him in Japan, he knew it very well. His grandma had passed away one year before and she was the only relative he had. Mama and papa never mentioned having brothers or sisters, not even cousins. With his only family members gone, it was just him against the world.

“Don’t say that.”

A simple sentence… Yes, so simple, so easy to say too probably, but so hard to understand for Kazunari. Why couldn’t he say it? Who else did he have anyways? He doubted that the fat blonde woman or anyone else in that house cared about him. There wasn’t even decent communication between them, just vague instructions through signs or exaggerated gesticulation and awkward smiles.

“You have us now.”

His eyes widened. ‘Us’… did that mean Sho and Satoshi cared about him? The man continued smiling at him, ruffling his hair affectionately. Was it true?

“We will always be with you.”

Sho arrived to the park as they were talking. He slumped on the grass, trying to regain his breath after running so much. Once his breathing was normal again he scooted closer to them, reclining his head on Satoshi’s shoulder. “I’m… tired…”

“Then why did you run?” Satoshi laughed and pinched the other man’s cheek. Sho just pouted and turned his head to face Kazunari. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” the boy replied. This time the words didn’t taste like a lie in his mouth as much as before.

“It’s good to hear,” Sho said. “Satoshi, where did you leave the bag?”

“It’s right behind you.”

The bag was big, really big, and red. Kazunari was sure he could easily fit inside it. Why would Sho be carrying such a big bag? Was it full of toys? He hoped there were at least a few ones inside, since he didn’t have any and hearing people chanting “Asian cooties, Asian cooties” every time he approached the shelves where they kept the toys was too annoying. It was a –slight– disappointment when the contents were scattered in front of them. There was some food –he didn’t complain about that part–, and a couple of boxes. “What’s this?” he pointed at the biggest one.

The two men looked at each other and then turned to see him with mysterious smiles. “Why don’t you open it?” they said. Kazunari narrowed his eyes in suspicion, wondering what could be inside the box. Would it explode when he opened it? Would a clown or some other puppet spring out of it? Because that would be so cool, he thought giddily, although adults probably wouldn’t do that.

“Go ahead,” Satoshi patted his shoulder.

Kazunari lifted the lid cautiously, internally giggling at the concentrated face of the two men, especially Satoshi’s. He was tempted to tease them, but his curiosity won over him and he finally opened the box. His eyes went wide. Was that…? Was it really…?

“You don’t know which date is today?”

Tears, tears and more tears… hadn’t he shed enough in a day? His cheeks got wet once again, although this time he felt warm and happy on the inside. He jumped towards them and let the men hug him.

“Happy birthday Kazu,” they said.

A birthday that started with him finding out about his parents’ death didn’t sound good at all. By the end of the day, however, he didn’t feel so bad. All it took was a pair of young men who turned out to be surprisingly skilled at making people forget sad things. Perhaps it was the cake and the game console he got as a present, perhaps it was playing tag around the park and seeing Sho fall on his face, or it was the portrait of him that Satoshi drew.

“Good night,” Sho hugged him tight and kissed his forehead before walking away holding hands with Satoshi.

As he watched them he realized it was all those things, and also one more thing.

“They’re nice, right?” the fat blonde woman muttered as she stood next to him in the porch. “I know they’ll take good care of you, you’ll see. You’ll never be alone anymore, son.”

He didn’t grasp the meaning of what she said but still nodded in response. Something told him that woman had understood it too.

-----------------

“Kazunari, come downstairs right now!”

The little boy jolted up instantly after hearing the fat blonde woman calling his name. He was still unable to speak a word of that mysterious language which Sho and Satoshi called ‘English’, but after living in that house for nearly three months he had already figured out that those exact words –‘come’ and ‘right now’– meant that he should leave whatever he was doing because he was needed elsewhere. Whenever he had failed to do so, the woman appeared at the door with a not-so-friendly expression to fetch him.

The clatter of his steps on the wooden floor could be heard from the front door, where the woman was already getting a bit impatient. “Hurry up! Mr. Ohno is waiting!”

“Ohno…” he widened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face as he rushed downstairs, nearly stumbling over his own feet because of the speed. Once he jumped the last two steps of the double winder staircase –the fat blonde woman would scold him later for that, he was sure–, he darted towards the figure standing right beside her, stopping only when a strong pair of arms lifted him. Kazunari inhaled the man’s scent, snuggling against that warm chest which always reminded him so much of his –deceased, it was still hard to accept it– mama.

“Good morning, Kazu.”

“Morning, Sho-jiisan!” was the boy’s cheerful reply. He looked around, noticing the man’s companion was nowhere to be seen. “Eh? Where is Satoshi-jiisan? He isn’t coming?”

“He stayed at home organizing everything. We’re going to Balboa Park today! It’s in San Diego. That’s the city where Satoshi and I live,” Sho explained, noticing the confusion in his young interlocutor’s face. “It’s not far from here, don’t worry. We’ll be back before it’s your sleep time, as always.”

Kazunari pouted. The curfew indicated that he was to come back home before 9 pm tops, since bed time was actually at 8 pm. He wondered why the blonde lady was so lenient whenever an adult came to visit the children. The previous night, for example, the boy who slept in the top bunk of his bed arrived thirty minutes after the stipulated hour. He thought that he would get told off, but the lady seemed pleased instead. She hugged the boy with teary eyes and said things in a merry tone. Kazunari had seen her act like that before, the children who got that treatment usually left the house in the span of less than a week after it happened though.

“Is there anything wrong?” Sho brushed a strand of Kazunari’s hair from his forehead. The boy looked a bit sulky.

“I want to stay more time with you,” Kazunari mumbled as Sho adjusted the seatbelt for him. Sho’s car was parked right in front of the house, so it didn’t take long for them to reach it. “Nobody speaks Japanese here, so they never want to play with me. And they always ignore me when we gather in the dining room to eat. I feel lonely…”

Kazunari didn’t intend to look so pitiful in front of the man, but in that moment he did. Sho clenched his fists, feeling impotent upon hearing such a revelation. It was in that certain moment that he vowed to himself it would be the last time he’d come to the orphanage as a mere visitor, making a mental note to go and check the status of their petition the next day. “Don’t worry,” he patted the boy’s head, “I’ll make sure next time you will stay with us much longer.”

Thirty minutes later they arrived to Balboa Park. Kazunari stood in the same spot for a minute, his eyes surveying the area with deep curiosity. How long had it been since the last time he was in the middle of a large city? How long since he heard the noise of heavy traffic and the bustling of people walking down a crowded street? It felt as though it were the first time, even if he used to live in one of the most populated areas of Tokyo. Soon he started getting dizzy out of the excitement, mixed with a sudden rush of fear that eventually overpowered him.

“What’s wrong?” Sho crouched down in front of him, worried by the boy’s change of disposition. Kazunari didn’t say a word; he just gripped Sho’s hand tighter, afraid that the man would disappear the moment he let go. “I’m here. I won’t leave you, Kazu,” Sho said, effectively dissipating all bad feelings with just a few words.

Satoshi was waiting for them near the zoo’s entrance, just like he told Sho in the text he sent some minutes earlier. The short man waved at them as soon as he recognized their faces at a distance. Kazunari smiled widely and waved back.

“Good morning, Kazu,” Satoshi ruffled his hair. The man chuckled when Kazunari pouted and tried to comb his hair again with his stubby fingers. “How are you today?”

“I’m fine!” Kazunari replied. “We’re going to the zoo?”

“Yeah, we will,” the man nodded. “And… we’ll have a picnic afterwards!” he added, patting a huge picnic basket he was carrying.

Kazunari’s face lit up, his light brown eyes sparkling at the prospect of spending the entire day with his two… what were they exactly? Could he call them friends, even if they were adults? They actually felt more like family, as if they were his parents. He shook his head, thinking it wasn’t possible. To have a couple of parents, it’d be necessary a mom and a dad. Neither Satoshi nor Sho was a mom, so they couldn’t possibly be parents. At least that was what his six-year-old logic indicated. Uncles, that’s what they were, right?

While he pondered over that matter in silence, he noticed Sho didn’t look so excited about the zoo in that moment. The man was frowning and looking around them, the concern showing in his face.

“Satoshi, where are the boys?” he finally said. Boys… which boys? Kazunari wondered. He wasn’t aware that they’d have more company. Perhaps Satoshi and Sho were friends with other boys like him, he thought.

“Ah, they’re over there,” Satoshi motioned towards two boys who were running around the area not far from where they stood. “Jun, Masaki, come here!”

Hearing their names, the two boys stopped in their tracks and rushed towards them. The first one was wearing a green t-shirt and khaki shorts. His high-pitched laughter could be heard from a far. The second boy was shorter than him and wore a similar outfit, save for the color of his shirt which was purple. He was frowning and his cheeks were red and puffed, meaning he was very upset at the moment.

“Give it back!” the shorter boy demanded from the other one, who was hiding behind Ohno. “Masaki, give it back!”

“Nuh-uh!” the taller one, Masaki, stuck out his tongue at him and ran to hide behind Sho.

“But it’s mine! Papa said it’s mine!” the shorter boy –his name had to be Jun, that was how Satoshi called him– stomped his feet furiously. He didn’t look just angry anymore, he was on the verge of tears. “Give it back!” Kazunari’s guess was proven right since in that moment the boy rubbed his eyes and started sobbing.

“Masaki…” Sho said in a stern tone.

“Fine, I’ll give it back…” the boy sighed and produced a small teddy bear from his pocket. Jun snatched it away from his hands right away, still glaring at him with his teary eyes and red face. Sho patted Masaki’s back, urging him to do something else. “I’m sorry, Jun-pon,” he mumbled, although Kazunari didn’t believe he was completely apologetic. This Masaki was interesting, he decided.

“Alright, now that you both are here, it’s time for a proper introduction,” Satoshi said. He put a hand on each boy’s shoulders. “These boys are Jun and Masaki, our sons.”

“Nice to meet you!” the two brothers bowed at Kazunari, grinning at him as if they hadn’t fought just a minute before.

“Nice to meet you,” Kazunari started with a wavering voice, “I’m K-Kazu…”

“Papa has told us a lot about you!” Jun said. “I told him that he should bring you to play with us, but he said he had to ask for permission.”

“I see…” Kazunari nodded. “Umm… but… where is your mama?”

“We don’t have a mama,” Jun stated without hesitation.

“Why?”

“That’s because we have two papas.”

“Eh? A family can have two papas?” Kazunari widened his eyes. It had never occurred to him that a family could exist without a mama.

“Of course it can!” Masaki spoke up this time. “There are families with a mama and papa, families with two papas, and families with two mamas!”

The idea was completely new for him. Back in his hometown all families were exactly the same: a mama and a papa. And now, out of the blue, this boy affirmed there were other two possible combinations!

“You… you don’t like families with two papas?”

Kazunari snapped out of his pensive state to look at Sho. Was it nervousness he detected in the young man’s countenance? Was it… fear? It was obvious who the other papa of the family was –now he also understood why Sho and Satoshi held hands, since couples often held hands–; with that additional knowledge, the idea of having two papas didn’t sound that bad. Not if Sho, who was so warm and caring and reminded him so much of his mama, was the other papa. Jun and Masaki sure were lucky for having them.

“I like this one,” Kazunari smiled at him.

A wide smile spread in Sho’s face. “I’m glad you do,” he said, his voice almost cracking. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Shall we go inside now?”

The two parents guided the boys towards the entrance. Masaki pulled Kazunari by his hand shouting “LET’S GO TO SEE THE PANDAS!” and started running. Jun followed them giggling, still clutching his precious teddy bear.

“I told you it’d go well,” Satoshi took Sho’s hand and stroked it with his thumb.

“Yes, you were right. I was worrying too much,” Sho admitted with a laugh.

“Let’s follow them before they get lost,” Satoshi suggested.

“Sure,” Sho nodded, squeezing his husband’s hand.


Part 2