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Since he could remember, everyday was pretty much the same. Suo Hayato had to wake up at the exact same time everyday, not a minute late. He had a strict routine to follow, had to be up early to meditate, eat breakfast, have his lessons and then train martial arts. He had been doing this for 4 years, ever since he was taken in by his master when he was 5.
Hayato doesn’t remember much of his life before he was 5. He had been told a major accident happened that his parents died in, but wasn’t sure exactly what happened in that accident. This was the same event that caused him to lose one of his eyes and his memories as well.
Since he got taken in, this life with his master and his martial brothers became normal for him. He was homeschooled, his brothers all way older than him, and he wasn’t allowed out much, so he had never really interacted with other kids his age.
There were lots of rules he had to follow, such as, if even a strand of his hair was out of place, that would be improper, and he would be punished. If he were to not live up to standards during training, he would be punished.
If he doesn’t do well, he would be forced to eat only natto for his meals. Natto soon became the one food he really despised. If he had to choose between starving himself and being forced to eat natto, he would choose to starve. However, it’s not like he had a choice to argue with his master, so he would have to eat it and secretly throw up later.
Hayato was also never allowed to joke around, never allowed to laugh too loudly, never allowed to have toys and play around.
At the time, this all didn’t seem very strange to Hayato. He doesn’t know what is normal or not. This was his life for years, and he didn’t think that anything would change anytime soon.
That was until the arrival of this one boy. The boy with fluffy brown hair, and freckles on his face. The boy whose smile might be even brighter than the sun. The boy who had bought joy into his life.
It was just another day when it happened. Hayato woke up in his room at the same time he does every other day. Hayato had his own room, so he was confused when he woke up to why there was another futon by the other side of his room.
He decided to ignore it then and continued with his morning routine. Everything went perfectly as always. He meditated, showered and showed up to have breakfast just in time. But before he was about to eat, his master announced something.
“An old friend of mine is coming to visit today for some important matters and will be staying for 3 days. He has a son that’s coming along with him, Hayato. He can stay in your room these days.”
Hayato didn’t know how to feel about that. He doesn’t really know how to interact with people his age. He had many questions, just what kind of person would this boy be? Would they even get along?
Hayato nodded, and continued to eat his breakfast, keeping his questions to himself.
Those two arrived at noon. Hayato had just finished training with his martial brothers when the car pulled into the driveway. His brothers all went to prepare tea and snacks, while Hayato accompanied his master to the door to welcome them.
What Hayato saw was something he had never imagined. While the two were still outside and were walking up to their door, there were lots of things he noticed. The first thing he noticed is that the boy was a lot shorter than him. The second thing he noticed was that the boy never stops talking and runs around a lot. Also, if Hayato had to be honest, his first impression of him wasn’t the greatest. He found him to be immature at times.
The boy was tugging at his dad’s sleeves nonstop, asking a variety of questions about things they have around the house.
“Dad, what kind of flowers are those?”
“They have a garden? With a pond?? So cool!”
“Why do they have those mats on the floor?”
“This house looks so big, how do you not get lost?”
Hayato couldn’t help but wince a little, if he were to ever speak to his master in this type of way, he would be physically punished so fast. Of course, since the boy was not a disciple of his master, the same rules wouldn’t apply to him, and no one even scolded him for anything.
When they got to the door, Hayato politely bowed to welcome them. When he looked back, he and the other boy made eye contact.
The boy's dad also saw Hayato,
“Ahh, this is Hayato, right? It’s been so long I’ve seen you and you got yourself another student, how nice! How old is he?”
“He’s 9 this year, been training with me for 4 years now.”
“9! That’s good, my son Akihiko is 10, similar ages, they can be friends!”
Hayato stared at Akihiko the entire time and Akihiko gave him a smile and a thumbs up, as to suggest they be friends. Hayato also felt his lips curl up into a smile.
Just then, one of his brothers came back to inform them that tea and snacks were ready. That's when his master said to him, “Hayato, take Akihiko and show him around the house and the way to your room. “
Hayato nodded as he gestured for Akihiko to follow him. He decided to show Akihiko where their room was going to be first. While he wasn’t planning on making conversation, Akihiko had different plans.
“Your name is Hayato, right? It’s a very nice name!”
“Thank you.”
“ There’s a show I watch and this character I like that has the same name as you.”
Hayato didn’t know how to respond to that, he was never allowed to watch any shows so he just kept quiet.
As they arrived at the room, Hayato opened the door and motioned for Akihiko to go in first.
“Here’s the room you're staying in, that futon to the right is yours.”
Akihiko seemed delighted as his eyes darted around the room, “We’re staying in the same room?? This is gonna be so fun!!”
“...A sleepover? ” Hayato didn’t even think about it that way.
“Mhm, and we can talk a whole ton.”
Hayato then showed Akihiko the other rooms of the house, the bathroom, the kitchen, dining area, and training area. During the whole guide, Akihiko had not stopped chatting once. Hayato really wonders how Akihiko still had topics to talk about, but he can’t lie about the fact he likes listening to him talk. He was very unused to it, none of his brothers and masters were particularly talkative people. That’s also what made Akihiko so fascinating to Hayato, he’s never met someone like this until now, and he can’t say he hates it.
As he was done with the interiors of the place, he took Akihiko outside the house. Akihiko seemed very interested with the garden outside earlier, and indeed, Akihiko looked thrilled to go outside.
The two walked through the garden as Hayato introduced and explained every plant and flower in the garden, and Akihiko actually stayed silent and listened.
Once Hayato was done, Akihiko started clapping in amazement.
“You’re so knowledgeable on this!! Where did you learn all of this? My school doesn't teach any of this stuff.”
“..Ah, I’m homeschooled, my master taught me all this.”
“Homeschooling?? You’re the first person I met that was homeschooled.”
Hayato was very curious and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s school like? What do you do?”
“Uhh to be honest, I don’t like it much. We have classes such as social studies, math, Japanese, art, physical education and stuff like that! My favorite is Japanese, and I hate math! Like a lot.”
A lot of this stuff was being taught to Hayato as well, but deep inside he has always wanted to experience learning these subjects with classmates and friends. He can’t help but feel a little lonely at home.
“Sounds fun to me, “ Hayato replied.
Akihiko turned silent for a couple of seconds, fiddling with his sleeves. He then asked,
“Can I tell you a secret?”
Hayato nodded. He’s never been asked to be entrusted with a secret before either.
“It’s really not the classes that I hate. A lot of my classmates are really mean. They say I talk too much nonsense and they even beat me sometimes. I don’t really like it there.”
What Akihiko told him left Hayato speechless. Akihiko’s eyes had a touch of sadness to it, something that had made Hayato’s heart ache a little.
Hayato replies, “Those people… are fools. Choosing to hurt someone even though you've done nothing wrong...it's plain wrong. Also, what you’re saying is not nonsense, so talk as much as you’d like…I’ll listen.”
Akihiko was also caught off guard by what Hayato just said, probably Akihiko wasn’t expecting any sympathy from Hayato. Once he processed what Hayato had said, his bright smile once again reappeared on his face, and he jumped at Hayato, wrapping his arms around him.
“Hayato-san, I thought you were a very cold person when I first saw you, but you’re actually really nice! And fun to talk to too! I’ve decided we are friends from this moment on!” Akihiko exclaimed.
Hayato also could not be happier hearing Akihiko refer to him as a friend and described as “fun to talk to”, and he hugged Akihiko back and smiled, “ Happy to be your friend, Akihiko-kun.”
After that, the two continued on their walk as Hayato finished showing Akihiko the garden, as well as their pond and fishes. What started off with just Akihiko talking and Hayato listening, turned into both of them having a conversation back and forth. It was very easy to talk to Akihiko, not awkward at all.
By the time they were finished, it was dinner time already. At the dinner table, Hayato was again silent. Table manners made it so he wasn’t supposed to talk while they ate, but Akihiko didn’t know the rules, so he talked anyway. Hayato knew better, and knew if he had replied to Akihiko, he would be punished once their guests had left, so he continued staying silent. He felt bad for ignoring Akihiko’s comments but what else could he have done?
As the two retreated to their room for the night, Hayato apologized, “Sorry I didn’t reply to you earlier, I’m not allowed to talk while eating.”
Akihiko nodded, and didn’t seem upset, “ Yea, I soon realized that. That’s a weird rule. I don’t do it at home.”
“It’s… weird?”
“Most families don’t do that.”
“Oh.”
After they chatted for another half an hour, Hayato excused himself since he had some exercises that he usually does before he sleeps. Akihiko had watched him with fascination, and took out a journal from who knows where, and started writing something down, while watching Hayato.
Akihiko wrote for a long time and that made Hayato curious. He still forced himself to finish his routine before he walked over to where Akihiko was sitting.
“What are you writing?”
Akihiko looked up at him and closed his notebook, “Uh- this? I keep notes on every single guy I think is cool, and I wrote down everything you told me from earlier today!”
Hayato was amazed, “ I’m… cool…”
“Mhm! Come here! Lemme show some of the other guys I’ve taken notes on!”
Akihiko flipped open his notebook to show him some of the other people written in it, and he went in depth into every single one of them. Hayato was having so much fun he hadn’t even realized how much time had passed. Soon, it was time for bed. Hayato really hadn’t wanted to cut off Nirei who was so happily talking, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice, since he had to be up early in the morning..
“Akihiko-kun, Sorry for cutting you off, I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow, okay? I have to sleep now.”
Akihiko looked alarmed, “Ehhh? It’s this late already? Sorry I talked for so long….”
Hayato smiled as he got up from where he was sitting and walked over to his own side of the room, “Like I said, I like listening to you talk, so it’s fine.”
The look on Akihiko’s face was absolutely priceless as Hayato said it, it was a look of genuine ecstasy.
Akihiko laughed as he replied, “ Okkayyy then! Good night, Hayato-san!”
“Good night, Akihiko-kun”
For the first time in years, Hayato went to sleep with a smile on his face.
Once again, Hayato woke up as usual, early in the morning to meditate. He glanced to the other side of the room to make sure Akihiko being there wasn’t something he made up in his dreams, because that would’ve been devastating. Thankfully, Akihiko was still there, sleeping soundly.
Hayato got up from his bed, trying to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake the other up.
By the time Akihiko had woken up, Hayato had already done his meditation, went to greet his masters and brothers, and completed his entire morning routine. When Hayato walked back into the room, he saw Akihiko sit up on his futon, still looking sleepy.
“...Eeh..what..time is it..?”
“Good morning, Akihiko-kun, it’s currently 7 AM.”
“Oh.. You’re up early.”
“I have been up since 5.”
“WHAT FOR ??”
Since his master was still busy, Hayato was tasked with training on his own. This wasn’t the first time that his master was busy, but it was the first time a friend had asked to come and watch him train.
“You really want to come..? It’s not really exciting to watch..”
“I’m going to be bored alone in the room anyways, Can I pleaseee come!!?”
Hayato really didn’t have the heart to tell him no, “...Fine.”
Once he arrived at the hall where he trained, he pointed to the side where Akihiko could sit and still get a good view. He started with warmups and slowly transitioned into defense moves. He was planning on working on moves he still needed more practice on, but he wasn’t sure what came over him at the moment, he really wanted to try and impress Akihiko. Thus, he chose to work on techniques he had already mastered, moves that he could do over and over even with his eyes closed, moves that he doesn't need more practice in. When he looked over to Akihiko, he did indeed look super impressed, and Hayato was delighted.
After 45 mins, he stopped to take a break and got some water to drink, and that’s when Akihiko had asked him, “...Hayato-san.. This might be sudden but would you mind teaching me to fight? You’re so good at fighting, and I just thought if I knew a move or two, I could fight back my bullies…I’m sick of being able to do nothing all the time..”
As much as Hayato wanted to say yes, he knew Akihiko was only going to stay here for one more day, and he couldn’t possibly teach much. But the earnest look of Akihiko’s eyes also made it impossible to reject him.
“Uhhh .. Maybe I can teach you one trick, but only one. Also, I’m not a teacher and have never taught anyone before, fine with you?”
Akihiko was overjoyed and bowed when he heard that Hayato had agreed to teach him something,” Totally!! Thank you!!”
As soon as Hayato was done with his break, he started with Akihiko’s lessons, not wanting to waste any time. It would be a little hard to guide someone like Akihiko, since Akihiko had no experience in fighting whatsoever.
The move that Hayato had decided to teach Akihiko was the beetle throw. That was one of the first moves he learned from his master when he first started his lessons as well, but it took him a few days to master it. They only had one and half a day left, and he wanted to make the most of it.
Akihiko was really clumsy at first, trying dozens of times but still to no avail. Hayato was already starting to feel a bit down, thinking that his own teaching methods weren't working. Gazing back at Akihiko, he was surprised by the look of determination in the other boy’s face, giving no sign that he wanted to give up anytime soon. Hayato quickly readjusts his own thoughts and continues with their lessons.
By evening, Akihiko had practically mastered the technique, and though it still needed more work, it was very impressive that he even reached that point in just one day.
Both Akihiko and Hayato were sprawled out on the floor, exhausted, but both have one of the biggest smiles on their faces.
Nirei giggled as he wiped some sweat from his forehead, “I think this was the most fun I’ve had in a while!”
Hayato couldn’t help but laugh as well, “ Same. You did great! ”
What Akihiko didn’t know was that this wasn’t just the most fun he’s had in a while, but likely his whole life.
“Well, I think you’re a great teacher! I wish we could do this more in the future.”
Hayato’s smile quickly went away knowing that they wouldn't be able to, Akihiko would be leaving, and Hayato’s life would go back to how it was before.
Even if it’s only been a few days, Akihiko has changed his life in more ways than he could ever imagine.
Once the two got up from the floor, and went back to their room, Hayato saw Akihiko walk to where his own backpack was stored, and rummaged through it, taking something out and hid it behind his back.
Akihiko then walked over to him and gestured for Hayato’s hands, “Hayato-san, take out your hands, I wanna give you something!”
Hayato gave him his hands with no hesitation, simply curious about what he was going to get. The next second, a little pack of gummy candy was placed on his hands.
Akihiko explained, “ I really like candy and I bring a few packs with me everywhere. Thank you for training with me, I don’t have much to give you so I’m giving you this!”
Hayato was truly thankful for the gift, but he doesn't think he’s ever had gummies in his life before, since his master forbade him from having any. It was bad for your body, as his master told him. He didn’t know how he should tell Akihiko that.
“I don’t know…” Hayato whispered.
“What’s wrong, you don’t like them?”
“I’ve never had any so I don’t know..”
“You haven’t !? Why ??”
“Well- my master-”
“Oh. “
Akihiko took the gummies back from Hayato’s hand and for some reason, he felt a pang of disappointment. He shouldn’t be, but he was.
The next moment, Akihiko opened the pack of gummies and passed one back to Hayato.
“...?”
“Well- I still think candy is one of those things you should try at least once, just one!”
Hayato still had a look of doubt on his face and Akihiko leaned closer to him and whispered, “ I won’t tell anyone, not even your master, so no one has to know!”
Akihiko then took one gummy and popped it into his mouth, chewing happily,
Hayato smiled at that and nodded, and decided to do the same. Akihiko was right, no one but them had to know about this. He also brought the gummy to his mouth and ate it.
Instant sweetness, and chewy as well, nothing like Hayato has ever eaten before. Akihiko watched as Hayato chewed, with excitement on his face. It shouldn’t be this exciting watching Hayato eat, but Akihiko made it look fun.
“How do you like it??” Akihiko asked, eyes wide.
“I can see why you like this stuff, it’s good.”
Akihiko was delighted by his answer and shoved the rest of the pack into his hands, “Nice!! Then you keep this, I still have more in my bag.”
Hayato tucked the rest into his pocket, saving them for another time.
By the next morning, Hayato had barely wanted to wake up. He wished the night would last forever, so Akihiko wouldn’t have to leave. After the two had breakfast together, Hayato was supposed to go training, but Akihiko had wanted to go out to the garden again. Hayato wanted to spend more time with him so he decided, for the first time, he’ll skip his training to hang out with Akihiko.
His masters and brothers shouldn’t notice since they weren’t home at the moment, so the two boys spent the entire morning out in the garden chatting, and walking around.
Akihiko seemed to truly love flowers, and told Hayato one day he’s going to have his own garden where he’ll plant flowers and vegetables.
“And one day, I’ll come visit you and you can guide me around your garden.” Hayato said.
“When I’m a lot older though, I’m not old enough to have my own garden right now.”
“ And I’ll wait.”
It was then, when he suddenly heard a stern voice from behind him, “Hayato.”
The voice was so clearly full of disapproval, and even though the person was standing behind him, Hayato instantly knew who it was. His master wasn’t supposed to be home for another hour? So how? Hayato had not accounted for the fact that his master might come back this early.
“I believed you shouldn’t be out here at this time, what about your practice? Did I allow you to come here??”
Hayato knew he should turn around, but he couldn’t get his feet to move. Unexpectedly, Akihiko stepped in front of him and spoke out for him instead, “It was my fault, I wanted to come out here and dragged him with me, so please, don’t get mad at Hayato-san.”
Hayato was stunned and so was his master, but before his master could say anything, Akihiko’s dad also stepped in for him, “Oh come on now, it’s fine if the boy misses one day, it’s not the end of the world, right?”
He heard his master sigh from behind, dropping the topic. Hayato could not have been more grateful, he was truly terrified of the punishment he could have gotten.Akihiko’s dad came close to Akihiko and Hayato, putting a hand from their shoulders, and said to Akihiko, “We’re leaving in an hour, go pack your things, make sure to not leave anything behind, alright?”
Akihiko nodded and reached for Hayato’s arms and dragged him with him.
In their room, Akihiko was obviously upset, to the point where he started to cry, Hayato truly didn’t know how to comfort him.
“W-What’s wrong, Akihiko..”
Akihiko replied while sobbing, walking over to give Hayato a hug, “...I..I’m going to miss you so much…I don’t know when I’ll see you again… and that makes me so upset..”
Hearing that made Hayato tear up a little too, though he didn’t cry. All he could do was pat Akihiko on the shoulder as he reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to see you again one day, and when that time comes, I’ll be your friend and your teacher again, alright? “
Hayato himself was not even sure that he’ll see Akihiko again, but once he made that promise, he’ll make sure he does anything to fulfill it.
Akihiko smiled, his face still red from tears , “Y-You promise..? ”
“I promise. “
With that, Akihiko had stopped crying and went back to putting away his stuff .
Neither of the two were old enough to have their own cell-phones to keep in contact, and writing letters to each other was very inconvenient, they didn’t have that many options to work with.
“Akihiko-kun, where do you live?”
“I live in this town called Makochi, I don’t know how far it is away from here or my address either, but that’s where I live!”
“Makochi, alright.” He made sure to remember that name down.
-
-
It was time for Akihiko to leave. As Akihiko walked away, Hayato couldn’t keep his eyes off him, watching his retreating back. Unfortunately, Hayato could tell that his master didn’t like Akihiko that much, and deemed Akihiko a bad influence on Hayato. Meaning, they probably won’t be back anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Hayato soon went back to his old routine once more, a routine where he rarely smiled, where days passed as he ate the same old food, and got the same punishments, but one thing has changed since then.
A new goal in his mind, a promise that one day, he’ll see the boy with fluffy brown hair and freckles again. Not a day passed since he didn’t think about Akihiko at least once, and he probably won’t ever forget about him. He had promised him they’ll meet again after all. He just hoped surely, Akihiko wouldn’t forget about him. He wasn’t sure if he’s had this big of an impact on Akihiko's life for Akihiko to remember him, especially years from now.
7 years later.
15 years old. Hayato was old enough to attend high school. When Hayato was old enough to get his own cell phone, he did research on every high school in Makochi. One school especially caught his eye. This high school is called Furin High School.
It wasn’t a normal high school, it’s a school where the students come together and protect the town of Makochi from harm.
After doing enough research, he felt like this is something that Akihiko would truly enjoy, since Akihiko had liked training to fight. He was right, once he dug a little bit deeper into the roster of students for the upcoming semester, he saw his name. Hayato was truly delighted that he tracked Akihiko down. All that was left was to convince his master to let him go there.
It was an easier task than he expected.
During all these years, Hayato had trained nonstop, mastering every single technique his master taught him, and soon, his master was out of things to teach him.
After doing intensive research on the school, the backgrounds and some of the “core members”, he had presented all this information to his master, anything he thought might be interesting, he tried using to his convenience to try and convince him. The thing that ultimately got his master’s attention is when Hayato brought up the leader of Bofurin, and he asked Hayato if he thought he would be good enough to take the top spot. His master had always been very interested in power and being at the top anyways, it wasn’t surprising to him.
Hayato nodded, even though he had no interest whatsoever in taking that position. When he did research and found out about the current top, Umemiya Hajime, he found out Umemiya was the one who united most of the students of Furin High. He could also tell Umemiya was very loved and respected by all the students, and Hayato knew he didn’t have that much power to be like Umemiya.
But this was his only chance to see that boy again. He knew lying to his master could one day bring terrible results, but he can deal with that when the time comes.
So with that, his master allowed him to go to Furin with one objective in mind, to become the top. Hayato had completely different plans.
Makochi was an hour away from where he lived so he moved there a few days before school started. He was only living there temporarily, and wasn’t sure how long it would take for his master to find out he was lying about going for the top spot, and come for him. Thinking about that made him anxious, but he’ll try to get as much done as he can before that happens.
He was truly happy to find out he was in the same class as Akihiko, it makes seeing him a lot easier. As he waited in the classroom, doubtful thoughts once again filled his mind. What if his surprise was unwanted? What if he came all the way here, and Akihiko didn’t want anything to do with him? He told himself that it couldn’t possibly happen but people also change. It’s been so many years.
His thoughts were interrupted as the door slammed opened, and standing at the door were two boys. One with hair that was half black and half white, and eyes that were also two different shades of color. Truly unique, since it didn’t seem like the hair color was dyed and no color contacts were worn. He also looked like he was two seconds away from fighting someone.
His eyes then landed on the boy next to him, his eyes widened. This guy had blond hair, but there is no way Hayato could ever forget this face. Beautiful brown eyes and cute freckles. It was clearly Akihiko.
Akihiko was facing the other guy, seemingly like he was trying to calm the other down, “ S-Sakura-san, please, you don’t have to glare!! !”
Sakura scowled, unhappy.
As Hayato was standing there by the window, every single thing he ever wanted to say to Akihiko once they met again was thrown out the window, and he didn’t know how he should approach.
Good thing he didn’t have to decide that because when Akihiko’s attention was back to the class, he saw Akihiko’s eyes scan the room, and lastly, land on him. Hayato could see the moment recognition seeped into his eyes.
The next second, Akihiko was across the room and in front of him, as he jumped into his embrace. Hayato would have fallen over but thankfully his back was to the window which helped him steady himself, as he returned the hug.
Hayato laughed, “ Hey there.”
Akihiko was still in disbelief, and with tears glistening in his eyes, as he replied, “it’s… actually you. Oh my gosh, Hayato..”
“Was my name not on the roster? You didn’t know?”
Akihiko pouted, “I didn’t know your last name so I wasn’t sure if it was actually you.. And you don’t live in this town, I thought it might’ve been someone else.. but it is you..I’m so happy…”
At the moment, It was like nothing else had mattered in the moment, and the two were in their own world.
“I did promise I’ll see you again one day right? Akihiko-kun, I missed you, a lot.”
The smile Akihiko gave him made everything he did more than worth it, it was such a radiant smile, and he felt Akihiko tighten his hug.
Hayato himself still couldn't believe it, that one person he had met years ago, just for three days had become his entire life, and he’s currently holding this person in his arms right now.
Back then they only had 3 days, but now, they have plenty of time to spend together, and Hayato still has so much he wants to say to him, and so much he wanted to do together.
And this time, he’ll do his best to not lose him ever again.
End.