Prison School: No More Prison

Chapter 25: Old Man

Kiyoshi's POV:

01:00 PM

…

Silence filled the room. In front of me, the chairman, who had recently been imprisoned, was looking 'menacingly' at none other than my own father.

I know I may not be the most intelligent person in the world, but I could tell these two had spoken to each other in the past.

I gulped… No one was talking.

And the worst of it was…

That the goddamned poster of Copacabana had a hottie on it and it was distracting me!

I must look like an idiot in front of these two…

"...!"

W-Wait… No…

The two of them are also looking at the poster?!

These dirty geezers are worse than me…

"Hey… Can any of you two break the ice please?" The little motivation gained by the perversion of these two made me talk first.

"A-Ah, sorry, Kiyoshi, I guess I got lost in thought"

Like hell you did! I'm telling mom!

"Heh, to think I would meet you in this same office again, isn't it- - -funny?!" The chairman slowly walked towards him.

They looked each other in the eye, only inches apart from one another.

"Ah, you dirty old man!" My father was the first one to move, he quickly moved and… hugged him?

"Haha! It seems like you missed- - -me!"

"I missed that dirty mind of yours and that weird speaking too!"

"...Eh?"

"Ah, Kiyoshi… I guess you were too young to remember… Remember about my old job?"

01:20 PM

"You worked here?!?!" 

My shock was… Immeasurable. I mean, that checks out how I managed to get into this prestigious high school without many troubles, especially for my grades… But… To think he worked here before… That only makes more questions pop up in my head.

"Well… To be fair, it wasn't for long, but I have good memories of being in this school I guess…" My father smiled as the cup of tea I served him laid in front of him. "I'm lucky to see you've been taking care of my son! Especially for how problematic he can be…"

I can't argue with that…

Luckily it seems like I'm the first one my father has spoken to… If I'm lucky, that will remain that way…

"How is your wife doing, Fujino- - -san?"

"Funny you ask me, she's been doing like always, at first she tried to act tough about Kiyoshi leaving but since that day, she's been feeling a little lonelier"

Yeah, I guess that now that I'm not her punching bag she must be feeling a little bit sad, old witch… I guess things don't change, I'm just another woman's sack now, right?

"But, I have to admit, the house got quieter since you left, Kiyoshi" 

A weird smile formed on my dad's face, one with melancholy hiding in plain sight…

I-Is this the same father I lived with my entire life? It feels weird to see him like this…

"D-Dad… I didn't know you two missed me…"

"Yeah well… I wouldn't call it 'missing you', you know how much trouble you caused per day? Murphy's law is onto you, kid"

Aaaaaand there he goes.

"I hate you"

"Well… I guess there's something else you want to talk about- - -right?"

My speech was interrupted by the chairman.

"As perceptive as always, huh?" My father looked at him with a smile. "Yeah… I have many questions about your doings as a chairman… Especially about allowing boys to join Hachimitsu… Again"

"A-Again?"

Both of them looked at me, with surprise on their faces. It took them a second to figure out I'm not as old as them, then my father spoke.

"Sorry Kiyoshi… I believe you don't know about Hachimitsu's full story, right?" He looked at me with a serious face. "There's nothing to hide… Right, Kurihara-san?"

"No… I believe we shouldn't hide our past, Fujino- - -san!"

The two of them looked at me with determination in their faces.

I gulped… A strange feeling ran through my back as their faces got firmer.

"Well… This may be a surprise for you but… In the past, around the 70's… Hachimitsu opened up for boys to enroll in"

"... Huh?"

"As you heard… Thanks to the old chairman of this academy, to be specific, five boys per year managed to become students, managing to graduate as Hachimitsu students"

What?

So… Other boys had already studied here? We aren't the first ones?... That could explain some stuff but… 

"Not only that, but that's the reason why many things in Hachimitsu are the way they- - -are!" The chairman joined my father's explanation. "Now you understand why the USC was founded at- - -all"

"Y-You're telling me the USC was founded to maintain boys and girls relationship at bay… at school?!"

"Mhmm…" The two of them nodded…

I felt weirdly surprised. It's not anything I should really care about but… I guess… On the bigger picture, it's something important to me.

"That's why…" My father turned away. "After some years, accidents and… Other stuff… Boys were banned once again from school… Until now"

"Hmm… So that's what you wanted to- - -ask!"

"Indeed, Kurihara-san…" My father sipped his tea. "Why? Why now? Did you forget about everything that happened before? Did something… Truly change?"

"..." The chairman just stared at him, a neutral face at its best interpretation. "You saw it yourself… After all, there's no longer any need for a pri- - -son!"

"..."

The room became quiet. My dad and the chairman stared at each other.

A faint smile appeared on my father's face as he sighed.

"I guess you're right… Things can change after all, right?" He smiled as he looked back at me. "Even people can do, right, Kiyoshi?"

A weird feeling passed through me… Not a bad one, just weird…

"Y-Yeah…"

"Well, I guess we'll have time to talk later, right? I have to go look for my wife, she must be trying to kill me after this…" He stood up and extended his hand towards the chairman. "I'll see you later, old friend"

"Hah… There's something I've been meaning to ask you before you- - -go!" The chairman smiled 

"Hmm? What is it?"

For a second, a funny thought came to my mind, could you imagine if the chairman actually asked that question? Haha…

Ha…

…

"I asked this to Kiyoshi-kun too, naturally…"

Oh no…

"boobs or asses… What do you- - -prefer?!"

And without a single hint of shame, he asked the same question he asked me in prison and in this office. To my surprise, my father didn't seem surprised at all by it.

"Hmm… What a question… But the answer is simple…" He raised his hand to the chest. "A true man… A true Fujino would always answer with 'Ass'!"

Please… Don't mix our lineage with your likings, asshole.

Still, I'm a bit surprised by the answer… I thought all of us liked boobs, at least I do a lot but… Who knows…

End of Kiyoshi's POV.

01:30 PM

Back at the cafe, as Chiyo and Hana waited for Kiyoshi's mom to finish eating, Kate stopped working for a second to go check on Mitsuko.

"So… H-How's your job, Mitsuko-san?" Kate moved over to her friend's small stand. She was still drawing some of her spicy manga as her face became more and more tired.

"Kate-san…. It's going *yawn*... Great! I sold a lot of them and got a lot of positive feedback about them!"

"T-That sounds amazing! B-But maybe you should use this time in between to… Sleep?"

"Impossible! I have to keep working, my *yawn* new fans need me!"

"Hey, you better be awake during the play, you're going to be crucial for it to work" Hana joined the conversation. "I don't get how so many girls can find attractive two men being together… One of them is already terrible enough for me…"

"Come on, Hana-san, don't be like that! It's actually… R-Really good" Mitsuko got a bit red after saying so.

Kate grabbed one of the many books Mitsuko had written and drawn.

To her surprise, the content of it contained familiar faces.

"M-Mitsuko! W-What's the meaning of this?"

Hana and Mitsuko looked at the book, and while Hana's face quickly turned red, Mitsuko remained unfazed by Kate's question.

"Uhm… One of my books?"

"Y-Yeah, I know! But w-why are Joe-kun and Kiyoshi-kun on it?!"

"H-Hey, why the fuck did you draw these two?! C-Couldn't you use any of your three kingdom characters or whatever?" Hana continued.

"W-Well… As I didn't feel like drawing Gakuto… I thought about any other of the boys, and well… Andre-kun is the boyfriend of Risa-chan and Shingo-kun is Anzu's uhm… 'friend', you know? So I had to use Kiyoshi-kun! Joe said he wouldn't have any issue with it!"

"I-In any case isn't this still… A bit too much…?" Kate said that, but she couldn't keep her eyes out of the book.

"Y-Yeah… I-I'm not sure- W-Wah?!" Hana tried to say something, but a certain image made her stop. "u-uroboros…" She whispered.

"W-Well… I guess I could buy one of them, just for a friend!" 

"Y-Yeah! You have to help your local businesses, ya'know?" 

"T-Thanks!"

01:40 PM

"And well… That's it…"

"..." Hana and Chiyo remained silent. Ms. Fujino, who told them about the story of Hachimitsu, remained strangely quiet.

"Phwaa… I'm full…" Ms. Fujino, who was eating enough food for three people, sat in front of Chiyo. "Now… I have to find those two dummies before they do something stupid…"

"S-So… T-That's it? Are you really not hiding anything else?" Hana asked.

"Nope" A blunt answer came from her mouth.

"I-I didn't know that… I can't believe my father hid that from me…"

"Hmm…" Kiyoshi's mom looked a bit angry at that statement, but remained calmed.

"S-Still, It's not that I don't trust you, miss, but… I feel like you're hiding something" 

"I-I'm not, Midorikawa-san, please don't make me repeat myself…"

"S-Sorry then…"

Silence grew as she left the money on the table next to the girls, with a few extra bills on it. 

"Chiyo-chan, thanks for making this old woman have some fun, it was really nice meeting you!" She grabbed her hands. "I hope my son doesn't cause any more troubles to you"

"Please, the honour is mine!" Chiyo said a bit blushed.

Hana remained silent as she watched these two interact, a weird feeling burning inside of her.

"A-Ah, that's right, maybe we should go look for Kiyoshi, Chiyo-chan, you still haven't given him his suit right?"

"Oh, you're right, why don't we all go then?"

"Suit?" Kiyoshi's mom was surprised at that.

"That's right, we're having a theatrical play today, didn't Kiyoshi tell you anything about it?"

"... A-A… A WHAT?!"

01: 55 PM

Kiyoshi and his dad walked together through the school hallways, not really talking, but maintaining a faint conversation.

"So… A teacher huh?"

"... Yup…"

"... Why? I never saw you as someone who liked to teach"

"Well… I liked the idea of helping people grow up and learn new things so…"

"And how did you end up as a lawyer after that?!"

"I focused on my studies, not on girls, like you"

"W-What the hell does that mean?!" Kiyoshi angrily screamed at him. "You're acting like you ain't a pervert too!"

"Too?"

"A-Ah… N-Nevermind…"

"You two…"

In front of them, a familiar angry woman stood, arms crossed with her fists strongly clenched.

"M-Mom! I-I'm glad to see you…"

"D-Dear! Y-You're here…"

"Don't act stupid, I'm going to kill you two right here" Her face didn't change at all, almost showing her words were no bluff.

Behind her, two girls appeared.

"Hey… You left for almost an hour, dumbass"

"Hey, Kiyoshi-kun!"

"E-Eh?! C-Chiyo-chan?! H-Hana-san?!"

'S-Shit… Why are they here? I-If they talk to either of them… I'm going to end up in a messy situation' Kiyoshi thought to himself.

"I'm sorry my love, I was-" Before Kiyoshi's dad had a chance to apologize, a fist impacted on the middle of his face. 

"Shut up! Next time don't leave me alone like that, got it?!"

Kiyoshi's dad backed off a few steps, blood running through his face from his nose. Even so, he didn't seem that affected by it, almost unfazed by the hit.

"S-Sorry, dear, I was just… Really hungry…"

"Shut up! J-Just wait for me next time, okay?"

"Yes, my love"

Kiyoshi's mom blushed a bit, but her red face disappeared after turning towards his son.

"And you…"

"Y-Yes?"

"Why did you hide the main event of the festival from us?"

"E-Eh, what do you m-" Another fist blew into Kiyoshi, this time, the poor boy flew back towards the wall.

"Don't act stupid! You know what I'm talking about"

'Heh… He's gotten used to it, I guess this school doesn't change…' Kiyoshi's dad thought to himself.

"S-Sorry, I didn't want to make you come see something as boring a-"

"Don't lie! I know you wanted to hide it from us because you were embarrassed of you parents coming to see you! Coward!"

Hana and Chiyo just watched, both of them were having a good time watching this interaction.

"Dear, leave him be, we have to go anyway, right?"

"Agh… Still, I didn't have time to see the rest of the clubs" She sighed. "That and well… My son acting"

"See, you have to let him for a bit, he's already worried enough about it, right, Kiyoshi?"

"U-Uhm… Y-Yeah, dad's right…"

Both parents got closer to his son. Kiyoshi's mom got closer first…

"... Well… You better take care of that cute girl you like, you understand?"

"E-Eh, w-what?"

"I'm going to leave you some extra money this month, you better take her to a good date or something…"

"... I will mom, I'll do my best"

"... Humm" She smiled. "That's more like it"

After that, Mr. Fujino was the one to talk to him.

"You better make that girl happy, she really likes you, you know?"

"E-Eh? What do you mean?"

"Even if she's from the school council… You better take care of her"

"Y-You mean… Hana?"

"Who else? You have my blessing kid… Just remember to use protection alright? I hid some in your pocket, hehe" He whispered.

"D-Dad!!!"

"Goodbye, Chiyo-chan, thanks for making me company"

"Bye miss, I hope I see you later!"

"You will!"

"Hana-san, please take care of that idiot son of mine…"

"... I can't promise anything"

"Heh, that's enough for me, good luck with that"

02:10 PM

As the two of them walked towards the exit, they spoke to each other

"Well… It seems like this school was a good choice after all, right?" Ms Fujino said.

"Yes… It hasn't changed somehow, even the council's seem to accept boys now…"

"And to think he would have made friends… It's a bit sad we didn't have time to meet them…"

"We'll meet them at the next parent's meeting or somewhere like that, right? Don't worry about it, dear"

"Yeah… I'm just… surprised my boy is growing so fast without me…"

"... He does right? Even falling in love with such a cute girl…"

"You noticed?" She smiled. "I really like her"

"Me too! I hope the two of them end up together, I'd love to have her as my daughter-in-law"

"To think she likes sumo just like me!"

"Sumo? I thought it was Karate"

"Agh… You men forget everything, right?"

"Heh… She's part of the USC too… Who could have guessed…"

"Really? I thought she wasn't"

"Hmm… In any case… I know Kiyoshi will end up with her, you know?"

"Pff… I just hope he doesn't mess it up somehow…"

"You can do it… Hana-san…"

"I trust in you… Chiyo-chan…"

"..."

"..."

"... Eh?" Both of them said at the same time.

Hana's POV:

02:15 PM

"Well, I guess I should get going then…"

"Already, Hana-san?"

"Yeah, I have to get ready for my demonstration first… You'll come watch it?"

"O-Of course!"

"...Hmm…"

"Good luck, Hana-san!" Chiyo kindly smiled at me, but for some reason, she seemed a bit exhausted.

"T-Thanks… Please make sure this dummy doesn't mess up our costumes"

"Yep!"

"A-And Kiyoshi… I'll see you on the stage…"

"U-Uhm… Yeah…"

As I waved at them without looking, I walked towards the karate club where I would meet the rest of my clubmates…

This demonstration wasn't anything big… I'm already used to being surrounded by crowds and showing off my skills… But…

I-I'm nervous about… that…

Something about me still can't believe I'm going to ki-... to do that with him… In public…

…

I-If I do this… In front of Chiyo… Would this mean I… I would be betraying her?

W-Why did he accept to do this so easily?! I thought he did like her after all…

…

Or maybe I'm just thinking things too much and this is just… An act…

…

Like most of it… 

Since the first time at the jailor's room… When he first kissed me… It was all an act…

At the sports festival… Was it just so I would stop complaining and join the battle after all?

…

Why do I feel so… Sad?

…

Suddenly, a small flashback went through my head…

'Take me out to eat some ice cream…'

Is what I asked for, right?

…

If that doesn't work out…I'll give up then…

… 

I-I don't even know what I'm thinking right now… I can't stop thinking about what his father said… About him kissing me and… About the two of us… eating an ice cream together…

…

"I just wanna have a good summer trip… With all the people I love…" I whispered, slowly becoming delusional.

… And for that… I have to make this happen.

I'm sorry Chiyo-chan… I'm sorry Hana from the future…

For that to happen… For me to achieve this goal of mine…

I'll kiss Kiyoshi! 

To be continued…

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