Until the day I'm forgiven...

Short Story: Atop where it all started

Atop where it all started

Ikeda stood silently as the cold wind passed by him in a daze, he clutched his phone in his hand. 'Gakuho Asano', he was going to call him, but it had been three years since he last saw his teacher. His son, Gakushu would see him time from time, luckily his school was near to Ikeda's school distinct. Close enough for the little strawberry blonde to take a train unsupervised. His little face would always cheer him up.

Gakushu could so easily pick up on his emotions despite being so young, when Ikeda wanted to cry then Gakushu wanted to share his pudding with him. Or cry with him since their emotions can be in sync at times, while trying to feed him pudding.

The phone rang, and rang, and rang. Just as Ikeda was about to give up, his call was picked up.

"Ikeda! Long time no hear!" Gakuho answered pleasantly surprised.

Ikeda smiled. "Long time no hear, Mr Asano!" Ikeda wanted to cry, hearing his former teacher's excited voice, but he kept back his emotion down his throat. He really thought of him to be a father figure in his life.

"I heard you're doing so well."

Gakuho's preparatory school was doing extraordinary well, as expected from Gakuho Asano. After three years of Ikeda's into junior high, his school became famous with parents entrust their children to him after learning about his reputation for results.

"I'm doing all right, this is a surprised!" Gakuho exclaimed. "What's the occasion?"

Ikeda quickly lied. "On- nothing! I just wanted to hear how you were?" That wasn't what he wanted to talk about, and yet he couldn't bring himself to burden his teacher.

Gakuho laughed on the other side. "I'm very well, thank-you. I hope you aren't causing any trouble!" The man lightly jested and yet, it tore into Ikeda's heart. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry as well, but he does neither, he only gave him an empty smile even though Gakuho can't see it. In some ways, he was happy that he didn't see him face-to-face, for his teacher to see what he has become.

"Of course not!" Ikeda defensively shouted. "I have become the compassionate student you always wanted to be."

His teacher lightly chuckled, Ikeda told himself to keep smiling. "You sound busy, so I will call you later. Buy my lunch sometime, okay, Mr Investment?" And Ikeda ended the call before Gakuho had a chance to reply back to him. Gakuho couldn't see him and he was happy this way, that way he couldn't see the tears that rained down from his pinkish eyes.

But he wanted Gakuho to see him like this as well, that he wasn't happy, that he was crying every single night, the bruises on his body because his bullies.

"Why.... I told myself if I hear his voice, that I would stop..." Ikeda said to himself, looking down at his phone with a grim smile. He couldn't stop himself from crying. He couldn't be bothered to wipe his tears anymore. "Then why...? Why won't I stop?" He collapsed on his knees, as if all strength has left him and his phone scattered away from his fingers.

"Why won't I stop?" He wanted to scream, and despite it all, he also wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Without thinking, he stood up and with no hesitation. Gakuho was doing fine, therefore Gakushu was doing fine, then they would be fine without him. Everything will be fine, and it's time for him to be fine as well.

No more pain, no more bruises, no more tears, no more cries, no more bullying, no more of the times that his money be stolen. Just nothing, but the dark void underneath that will end everything.

Ikeda stood on top of the railings, balancing himself steady. After a deep breath, he leaned back, letting gravity to do its bidding. As he fell, he thought back in his life; the times when he happily played basketball, of Gakuho and his classes. Of his two once closest friends before they all went their separate ways, Nakai and Mori.