krystalkatzficz | D-wing part 36 (Reply)

“I’m gonna miss you” Nino admitted hugging his cellmate tightly in his arms trying to convince himself that his voice wasn’t trembling with tears that were threatening to be shed. Masaki hugged him back just as tightly openly crying as he spluttered;

“This isn’t goodbye, Nino-chan, you will be getting out soon and I will be there to meet you!” Nino gave a nod not really convinced. Satoshi’s team of lawyers were trying to figure out his case and they felt that they had a strong one but there was his confession to deal with and the way he had been presented in the press as a cold and callous murderer. Masaki on the other hand was now being almost heralded as a hero who had only acted out of defence for himself and others. Several other members of the youth groups in Masaki’s area had come forward to tell what they had suffered at the hands of the two men and although it had been painful for Masaki it had helped him to heal. He would probably always need therapy but he didn’t need to be in prison and the judge and jury had seen that.

“You can be assured that Nino will not be in here much longer, I will have him out before Christmas even if I have to break him out” Satoshi announced in a pleasantly calm tone and Sho, who had been standing to one side with Masaki’s release papers rolled his eyes and groaned saying;

“Prisoner 24601 please refrain from talking about prison breaks, I am the prison warden”

“And you are the best we have ever had, Warden Sakurai, but I intend to spend my first Christmas with my lover on the beaches of Hawaii not having stale chicken here in prison” Satoshi wrapped his arm around Nino’s waist and although he still felt a twinge of guilt Nino had to admit that the beaches of Hawaii sounded rather pleasant though it would only be a temporary thing. If he was getting out of here then he was going to do something worthwhile with his life, he had already started looking into becoming a reform school aide. It would be difficult given his own criminal background but Sho had promised to help him anyway he could. “Perhaps you two shall be joining us, if you both decide that you have had enough of dodging the issue, as soon as you hand over those papers Masaki is a free man...”

“I...I’m aware of that thank-you” Sho growled twin spots of colour appearing in his cheeks while Masaki’s entire face went scarlet. He had thankfully stopped crying now though and Sho moved forward to hand over the papers saying formally “Aiba Masaki, prisoner 30178, it is my duty as warden of this prison to announce that of this day you are a free man. You are to live life to the best of your ability and remember the lessons that you learnt here. Life will not be easy for you beyond these walls but you have served your sentence with dignity and the outcome of the trial that took place exactly one week ago declared that you are fit to be released. These papers are proof that your life is once again your own...” Sho handed over the papers and gave a polite bow as he did so sparking another round of crying from Masaki who took them and held them to his chest tightly.

“Tha-Thank-you...For...For everything Sh...Guard...Warden Sakurai, I’m happy I met you”

“Me too, Masaki, I hope we will meet again under different circumstances...”

“Soon” Masaki squeaked and Nino almost rolled his eyes and pushed the two men together. He knew that there was still a lot of people that would frown on them but it was almost physically painful to watch them like this.

“Soon...Masaki...I...Was...Thinking perhaps next week? I have my day off on Wednesday and I...We could perhaps meet up...” Sho struggled to get the words out but thankfully Masaki seemed to gather some courage from somewhere as he looked down at the papers in his arms and the clothes he was wearing. He had gotten out of his prison scrubs earlier that morning and was wearing the clothes he had been brought by his lawyers. It was a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket but it was a symbol of so much more. It meant that he was officially a free man. He passed the papers over to Nino and then moved forwards as quickly as he dared, his face still scarlet as he pressed a kiss to the corner of Sho’s mouth. The kiss was almost childlike and lasted for only a second but it was enough to make Satoshi whoop with joy.

“Finally!”

“I swear I will lock you in the solitary cell” Sho growled and Nino gave a smile hugging Masaki again as the doors of the prison opened on cue. Masaki jumped at the sound and then let out a nervous laugh before taking his papers and saying another emotional goodbye.

“I will see you soon, okay? I mean I will come visit...”

“Masaki, I don’t want to see you in this prison again...Okay? The next time you see me I will be walking out to meet you” Nino whispered his heart breaking. He didn’t know how long that would be and he knew that he was going to miss his first real friend and he was worried about him and what he was going to be doing now. Satoshi had told him not to worry but he couldn’t help himself. Masaki was the sweetest and kindest person he had ever known but he wasn’t the brightest and there was a very real chance that he didn’t know how to survive in the outside world. Masaki’s parents and brother had been informed of the trial and of his release but none of them had sent even a letter back and the last Nino had heard his father had just given a muttered ‘No comment’ when cornered by the press.

“Okay, Nino-chan, but I will write you every day”

“You do that” Nino smiled hugging him just a little too tightly before letting him go and taking a step back. Satoshi was waiting for him ad his arm came to rest around his waist holding him tightly as Masaki and Sho walked through the metal gates and then down the beige path. Tears burned in his eyes as he lay his head against Satoshi’s shoulder.

“He’ll be okay, Jun is waiting for him outside, he will be taken care of I promise” Satoshi said lightly nibbling at his ear and Nino gave a nod, glad of that promise. He had known that Satoshi would take care of it but he needed to hear it for himself. Masaki stopped at the door and turned back to wave at him and Nino blew him a kiss before closing his eyes hoping that sooner rather than later he would be following his friend out.

TBC

A/N: I hope that this is okay >.< Sorry for the long delay >.<