THE FORGOTTEN SPRING

CHAPTER 17

"THE FORGOTTEN SPRING"

by: Darkflamemaster

HARU'S POV

As I walked into the classroom, I glanced around. Kai wasn’t here. His desk was empty, and somehow, it felt wrong. It wasn’t just his absence. It was the way the room felt so... normal. Like nothing happened yesterday.

But his friends didn’t look normal. I dropped my bag on my chair and sat down, pretending not to notice them talking.

“Ne, JC, is Kai okay? Atashi no sei da,” (This is my fault) Hana-chan said, her voice soft, almost trembling.

“His mom called earlier. She said Kai won’t be attending class today,” Sai-kun replied, his tone calm but... off. Like he was holding something back.

“Seeing him like that yesterday makes me feel guilty... like the first time I saw him like that,” Rei-kun said, not doing his usual morning routine.

Wait. The first time?

“That’s not your fault,” Sai-kun said, trying to comfort Rei-kun. “You didn’t mean to touch him that time, did you? You didn’t know. That’s in the past now. Kai even talks to you now.”

Touch him? What did he mean? My mind immediately jumped to conclusions. Did Rei-kun do something to Kai? My chest tightened, and my thoughts spiraled. What kind of touch? Did he... kiss him? No, that can’t be it. Kai hates gays. If he did something like that, they wouldn’t be friends now.

I couldn’t keep quiet. Turning my head to the back, I asked, “Sai-kun, what do you mean? Is this not the first time Kai had a panic attack at school?”

“Ah, Aihara-kun, ohayou,” Hana-chan greeted, a weak smile on her face.

“Yeah,” Rei-kun started hesitantly, fiddling with the hem of Sai-kun's uniform. “When we were in our second year, we were playing PE. I stumbled and landed on Kai...” He paused, his voice shaking slightly. “...then he started acting weird. Cyrus ran over to us. I didn’t know what was happening back then.”

“That time, Kerk accidentally placed his hand on Kai’s stomach,” Sai-kun added, his voice steady but laced with tension. “When Kai saw that, the same thing happened.”

“I apologized a lot, but he just ignored me. It was bad for a while. But now... we’re friends,” Rei-kun said, his voice softer.

I wanted to ask more. I want to ask why Kai reacted like that, what really happened to him—but the teacher walked in, cutting our conversation short.

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The moment the bell rang, I didn’t waste a second. I grabbed Sai-kun before he could leave for the cafeteria. His confused expression didn’t faze me. I had questions, and I needed answers now.

“Ne, Aihara-kun... where are we going? Onaka ga suita,” he complained, his voice whiny. (I’m hungry.)

I ignored him and led him up to the rooftop. It was quiet, with no one else around. Just us. The perfect place for what I wanted to know.

"Why are we—" he started, but I cut him off, my real self slipping through, sharp and demanding.

“You know Kai’s past, don’t you? Tell me,” I said, my voice low but firm, leaving no room for argument. I wasn’t in the mood to play dumb or pretend to be nice. I needed to know.

“Ehh?? What? I-I don’t know?” Sai-kun stammered, his eyes darting away from mine. He was lying, his reaction gave it away. He knew something.

“Okay, fine,” I said, leaning in closer, my voice dropping even lower. “Then you wouldn’t care if I told Kai about your little secret, would you?”

That got his attention. His eyes widened, and I saw the panic in them. Good. I continued, just a little bit more.

“Kai doesn’t know, does he? I know he hates people like us. I’m fine with him hating me, but what about you? You’re friends, aren’t you? Do you want me to tell him that you have a boyfriend and it’s Re—”

“Fine, fine! Shut up, okay?” Sai-kun hissed, covering my mouth with his hand. He sighed heavily, glancing around nervously, as if expecting someone to overhear us. What an i***t. We were alone.

“So, are you going to tell me?” I said, brushing his hand away.

“Let’s sit first. I’m starving, and honestly, you’re so annoying when you’re like this,” he muttered, as he sat down on the bench.

I rolled my eyes and handed him a piece of bread that I'm supposed to give to Kai from my bag. “Here, eat this. Consider it as a payment.”

He sighed again, looking like he regretted every choice that led him to this moment. After taking a bite, he finally spoke. “Alright, but promise me you won’t tell Kai that I told you.”

I nodded quickly. “Fine, whatever. Just start talking.”

He hesitated for a moment before starting. “When I was about seven, my mom and I moved to Japan because of some family issues—”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I interrupted, annoyed.

“Just listen! It’s important. Or do you want me to stop?” he shot back .

“Fine, continue,” I said, crossing my arms.

“So yeah, You know that apartment next to their house? We moved into that apartment. My mom and I only stayed there for a short time, but during that time, we had a neighbor. He was a high school student. I don’t remember his name, but Kai and I used to play with him sometimes. There was another kid too, though he didn’t come to the park often. When he did, he’d sometimes have bruises, but that’s not important right now.”

I frowned, trying to piece things together. Another kid? That sounded familiar. Then it hit me. “Wait… Sai-kun, were you that chubby kid? The one who didn’t speak Japanese?”

He looked startled. “Huh? What are you talking about? How do you know that?”

“Don’t you remember me?” I asked, my heart pounding. I hated bringing up my past, but this felt important. If he is that kid then....Aside from Kai he was also my friend at the time. “I’m that kid. The one with long hair who always wore girls’ clothes.”

His eyes widened in shock before a grin spread across his face. “Matte… HARUKA-CHAN? (Wait...HARUKA-CHAN?) No, Haru-chan! You’re that Haru?”

I nodded, feeling a mix of embarrassment and irritation as he burst out laughing. “Pfft… Hahaha! So that’s why you’ve been following Kai around! This is hilarious!” he said between laughs.

“Why are you laughing?” I snapped, glaring at him. He doesn't seem surprised to meet me again.

“Remember when Kai confessed to you, thinking you were a girl? And when you told him you were actually a boy, he started crying? He keeps calling you Haruka even though your real name is Haru. You two even made some sort of promise back then!” he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

I froze. “Promise? So you remember that promise?”

“Yeah, how could I not, it's too funny. Kai prepared a bunch of flowers that night to give to you. He was going to ask you to marry him! He said he doesn't care if you're a boy. Pfft... hahaha, it was so cute and stupid at the same time!”

My chest tightened. Kai did all that? He didn’t forget me after all. So why didn’t he come that day? “What happened to him?” I asked quietly.

Sai-kun's laughter faded, and his expression turned serious. “That day… I was sick. I don’t remember much, but when I woke up, I was in the hospital. My mom told me we were moving out immediately. I never got to say goodbye to Kai.”

“What a waste of time,” I muttered, standing up, but he grabbed my hands.

“Wait. There’s more,” he said, his voice soft. “Three years ago, I ran into Kai’s mom again. She invited me to eat, and during the meal, she started crying. She apologized over and over, saying it was her fault I ended up in the hospital and that she regretted what happened to both me and Kai.”

“What did she mean by that?” I asked, sitting back down.

“She said that back then, I tried to save Kai from something. I don’t remember much, but I do remember going next door to that high schooler’s place. I saw something… something bad. I tried to help Kai, but I was too weak. I hit my head on the wall and blacked out. After that I suddenly remember what happened that day.”

My stomach churned. “What did you see?”

(FLASHBACK ON WHAT HAPPENED BACK THEN)

“Mom, who’s at the door? Si Kai po ba yun?” (is it Kai?) I asked when I heard her footsteps coming back into my room. My voice sounded weird and tired, and I didn’t like it. My head was so hot it felt like it was on fire. Is this what it feels like to die? Am I going to die? I don’t want to. I still want to play with Kai and Haru.

“Yes, it’s Kai,” Mom said as she placed her cool hand on my forehead to check my temperature. “I think he’s going to show you something, so get well soon. I saw him holding a robot.”

“A ROBOT?!” My eyes widened, and I tried to sit up, but everything spun around me.

“Hey, don’t get up!” Mom scolded me gently, pushing me back down. “You need to rest and get better first. If you’re not careful, Kai might catch your cold too.”

“But I want to see the robot!” I whined, pouting. We had been planning to surprise Haru today, but now I was stuck in bed, and it felt like everything was ruined.

“Mag pahinga ka dyan,” (Stay in bed!) Mom said firmly before leaving the room to go cook. I sighed and stared at the ceiling.

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My head still hurts, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Kai’s robot. He probably went to R**’s apartment. He always gave me a bad feeling. But Kai would be there, and I wanted to see him and the robot so bad.

I sat up slowly, trying not to make any noise. Everything was spinning, but I didn’t care. Mom wouldn’t notice me right? She was too busy cooking.

When I got to R**’s apartment, the door was slightly open. I could hear something inside—voices, maybe? I pushed the door open a little more and peeked inside his room. That’s when I heard it. Kai was screaming.

Kai was tied up, crying, and his eyes were wide with fear. My chest hurt, and I felt sick. Why was Kai tied up? Why was he crying?

“Kai?” I whispered, but he must have seen me because our eyes met. He looked at me with such a sad, scared face, and then he whispered, “Help me.”

My legs started shaking, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t just stand there. He is my first friend here. I don't really like R**. I stepped into the room and shouted as loud as I could, even though my head hurt. “W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO KAI?!” My voice came out shaky, but I didn’t care. “Why are you putting your thing in his mouth?! LET HIM GO!”

R** turned to me, his face angry and scary. “DAMARE! DETEKE!” (SHUT UP! GET OUT!) he yelled as he lunged toward me.

Before I could even move, he shoved me hard. My head hit the wall, and everything went blurry. My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor. My head hurts even worse now, like it was going to explode.

Kai’s face was the last thing I saw before my vision faded completely. He was crying, looking at me with those scared eyes.

“I’m sorry, Kai...” I whispered, my voice weak and trembling. “I can’t...help you...”

Then everything went black.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

“I don’t think I’m the one who should tell you,” Cyrus said, his voice low, almost hesitant. “If you really want to know, ask Kai yourself.”

That answer frustrated me, but I stayed quiet, hoping he might say more. And he did. Cyrus paused, turning back to look at me. His expression softened, but his eyes were heavy with something?

“Oh, but let me tell you this,” he began, his tone quieter, like he didn’t even want to say the words out loud. “It was way worse when he was a kid. His mom said she always caught Kai in the middle of the night, trying to clean himself in the bathroom.”

Cyrus continued, “His mom would always hug him to calm him down, but Kai... he was always expressionless. Completely blank. His mother didn’t know what else to do.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I intended. I didn’t want to sound pushy, but I needed to understand. Why wouldn’t anyone tell me what happened to Kai? What was everyone hiding?

Cyrus shook his head, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Stop with the questions,” he said firmly, his voice carrying an edge of frustration. “I won’t answer any of them now. And you’d better keep your promise. Don’t you dare tell Kai.”

I frowned, gripping the edge of my shirt tightly. “Fine,” I muttered. “Just go.”

Cyrus looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead, he turned and walked away. His footsteps echoed down the stairs, leaving me alone on the rooftop.

“I don’t get it, Kai,” I whispered in the open air. “What happened to you?”

As much as I wanted to know the answers, I knew I couldn’t force it. Kai was already starting to trust me, even if just a little. The last thing I wanted was to ruin that by pushing him too hard.

I leaned back, closing my eyes for a moment. If Cyrus wouldn’t tell me, then I’d wait. I’d wait until Kai was ready to tell me himself.

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(PRESENT)

Kai let out a shaky laugh, the sound brittle and broken, as if he was trying to lighten the mood. But it didn’t work, it only made my chest ache more. I could feel his pain, and it was tearing me apart. I tried to keep my own emotions in check. I wanted to be strong for him, to show him he could depend on me. But the more I listened, the more fragile I felt.

“She saved me,” Kai whispered, his voice trembling as his tears soaked into my shirt. He clung to me like I was his lifeline. “But I hate that I needed to be saved. I hate how weak I was.”

His words stabbed at my heart. What was he saying? He was just a kid back then. What could a child possibly do? No matter how much you want to fight, resist, or change the situation, your small self just isn’t capable of it. He couldn’t have done anything differently. None of us could.

Unlike him, no one ever came to save me. I wished for it countless times, but it never happened. Someone tried to save you. That wasn’t something to hate, it was something to be thankful for. You shouldn’t feel ashamed of being saved.

“It’s okay,” I said softly, pulling him closer into my arms. “You were just a kid back then, right? You’re not weak. It’s just that… there are things we can’t do as kids.” My voice wavered slightly, but I pushed through, tightening my hold on him. “Just cry it out. I’m here now.”

He sobbed harder, and I felt his body trembling against mine. Watching him like this made me want to cry, too, but I couldn’t. Being able to cry like this and letting it all out takes strength. I wish I had that strength. I wish I could cry for what happened to me. I wish I could share my pain the way Kai was sharing his.

I rested my head on his shoulder, letting the silence between us settle. Somehow, being this close to him, feeling his warmth made my own emotions feel too heavy to hold back.

“So this is why you didn’t show up that day…” I muttered under my breath, the realization sinking in. The pieces were falling into place now.

Kai stiffened slightly, his sobs quieting as he pulled back just enough to look at me. His eyes were red and swollen, his expression full of confusion. “Hey… I’m really curious about that. Do I really know you?” he asked, his voice hoarse but laced with genuine curiosity.

My heart skipped a beat. Did he hear what I said? What should I say? My mind raced, trying to find the right words. Should I tell him the truth? Should I tell him who I am? Not yet. I didn’t know if this was the right moment or if I even had the courage to tell him everything.