First Errand

A/N: So this takes place pre-canon before Ikeda died and it all went to hell. 

***

Gakushuu was a smart and brilliant child and was practically already fully speaking, reading, and writing at two years old and 8 months old.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Gakuhou asked his small son while the toddler fastened the sign on his back which had 'First Errand' written in big bold letters, and then his emergency phone number on the back just in case.

The little boy was standing with him in the hallway of their home, wearing an orange high vis vest underneath the sign, along with a yellow flag which read 'Stop'.

"Uh, huh." His son nodded and fastened the small blue satchel around his chest. "Got money for dinner."

Gakuhou nodded seriously. "Which is?"

His son's face turned very serious and he itched to reach for his camera in his pocket; Mori always loved seeing his little son's baby pictures and Ikeda always commented how cute Gakushuu was. "Yes!" he replied firmly and then held up his stubby little fingers. "Sweet curry and beef."

His smile grew prouder, patting him on the head. "That's right." Then, he pulled out a 1,000 yen bill. "Make sure you get the right kind or you won't have enough money."

Gakushuu nodded and took the money, carefully folding it in half. "Uh, huh." He put the money in the blue satchel. "Won't forget."

Gakuhou nodded and stood up, moving towards the front door. "Remember if any strangers try to scare you, you need to...?"

"Scream and run away," his son replied matter of fact, before toddling to the door. "Stranger d-danger."

His son was so smart!

Gakuhou almost shed a tear, standing next to the door. "That's right—oh, wait, let me take a picture." He held up his digital camera. "Say First Errand."

His son raised his flag high. "First Errand!"

He snapped a dozen photos in a few seconds before putting the camera in his pocket again. "Perfect." He nearly gushed again, opening the door. It was a warm spring day outside so the sun was shining bright. "And remember to look both ways before you cross the road and make sure you hold up the flag."

His son nodded, walking down the steps of their home. "Okay!" He didn't even look back, marching ahead like a boy on a mission.

Gakuhou almost sobbed at how grown up his baby boy was!

His son opened the gate and then closed it behind him. He followed to the edge of the gate to make sure the boy went in the right direction to the store; it wasn't far, less than ten minutes.

He still felt apprehensive when the little boy disappeared around the corner, out of sight.

Gakuhou's chest tightened, trying to put the worry to one side; lots of children did small errands like this, it taught responsibility, and Gakushuu was smarter than all the kids in his peer group...

He frowned, walking back into the house, which seemed far too quiet without the small child running around.

His son would be fine. It was a safe journey and the road the boy would be on wasn't busy.

He decided to make use of the quiet and sit in the kitchen to have some tea; that would make the time fly by while he waited for Gakushuu to return, so he sat down at the table in the kitchen and waited.

The clock on the wall ticked away second by second as he tapped his finger on the teacup.

Gakushuu would be a quarter of the way to the store now, so long as nothing out of the ordinary happened like a road closure because of an accident or crash... like a car skidding off the road and hitting his son in broad daylight—