Hiro’s Hidden Triumphs PT.4: Delinquency and Friendship

"Big Bro, you're going to be late again!"

"I know that, I'll hurry it up. I just can't help but want to spend all my time with you."

Luna pouted as she watched me get ready. "I can't help but wonder if you act like this around other girls too…"

"The heck is this coming from?" I slung my backpack on before turning to her. "Besides, I would only treat you like this. Not even Eris gets this treatment, despite her many complaints."

"No, I think Big Bro would be the type to easily charm women somehow." I patted her head, rolling my eyes.

"Please, if that were true I would've noticed by now. Oh, and I'll try to get home at a reasonable time today, promise."

Luna pouted again, looking up at me. "You know my curse schedule better than I do."

I laughed and waved her goodbye before heading out the door. I ran to the backyard before calling my trusty ride Raijin.

As we were soaring through the air, I yawned loudly, wiping away at my eyes. Ugh, it's only getting worse. I need to find a way to deal with this sooner rather than later.

We landed, and I stroked Raijin's beak before a thought crossed my mind.

"Actually, why haven't I thought of this before? Next time for sure buddy, promise." Raijin, tilted his head, and I chuckled to myself. "You'll see soon enough. Don't get too surprised though." I waved him off, and he flew off, shrinking in size before he roamed the woods to find something to eat.

I went downstairs, heading to my class only to run into Lachesis by herself. She tensed up as I approached her, scowling at me.

"Do you really have to act like that? I'm not here to fight, just to say hello."

She sighed, relaxing a bit before crossing her arms across her chest. "Sorry, I don't mean to. I just have to get used to it with you I guess."

"Well, so long as you don't actually hate me, we're good. By the way, why aren't you with your boyfriend?"

Her face turned bright red before she punched me in the arm. "Shut up doofus, why do you even care about that?"

"What can I say, I've always wanted to see the childhood friend win in these types of situations."

"The heck are you talking about now?" She muttered, looking down towards the floor before widening her eyes.

"Is the floor that interesting?" I asked, peering into her face.

"Why the hell do you have blood all over your shoes?"

… Oh shit.

I looked down towards my shoes, remembering everything that happened yesterday. "Oh yeah, I wouldn't worry about that too much. Nothing too important, just had to defend myself."

"Your shoes are almost a completely different color due to the blood. How much defending did you have to do?"

"In my defense there were a lot of them to handle. I should get these cleaned soon, otherwise my parents might worry I'm back to fighting on the streets again."

I watched her slowly back away, tensing up as her eyes grew cold. "You used to fight? So much that your shoes get covered in blood?"

Ah, I might've fucked up. "I don't anymore, promise. I'm a changed man after all."

"You literally just contradicted yourself."

Yep, fucked up.

"Before you jump to any conclusions-!"

"Oh, there you are! Wait, Lachesis is with you as well?"

And with horrible timing as usual, Depra appeared from around the corner along with Anna. Lachesis quickly hid behind Depra, glaring at me.

"Uh, yeah, I was trying to clear up a misunderstanding is all."

"What is there to misunderstand? Depra, look at his feet and you'll understand!"

Depra looked down before looking back up at me. "Uh, why aren't you wearing shoes Hiro?"

"Oh, you know, sometimes a man wants to feel the ground with nothing but his socks," I said, and Lachesis blinked as she looked down towards my feet. Meanwhile, in the back, Anna looked confused as she held up my bloody tennis shoes, tilting her head as she looked at me.

"Hide them," I mouthed, and she nodded, walking away.

"Hmm, I guess you have a point. Sometimes I go outside in just my socks and pajamas, although if that happens Lachesis tries to find me," Depra said. "Anyway, let's hurry on to class already."

"But, Depra, he-!" Depra smiled at Lachesis, causing her to blush slightly.

"I'll see you at lunch, alright?"

Depra started to walk away, and I walked up to Lachesis, patting her on the back. "Um, you really were misunderstanding me there. Anyway, let's just forget this conversation ever happened."

She shivered as she flinched away, her cold blue eyes piercing into me like daggers. "You're actually dangerous, aren't you? I don't know what you want with Depra, but I'm going to stop you no matter what."

Seriously, what type of misunderstanding did she concoct? "Uh, no, seriously, I can explain-!"

She stormed off before I could finish, and I sighed, looking down at my feet. "Guess I'm going shoeless today then."

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"Uh, Lachesis, is there any reason why you're so close to me?"

It was now lunchtime, and Lachesis was on the opposite side of the table along with Depra, whom she was clutching tightly as she glared at me.

"Master, what did Master do?"

"It seems I caused a misunderstanding, and Lachesis won't listen to anything I say anymore," I muttered, tossing a fry into my mouth. "What did you do with my shoes?"

"Anna put them into her backpack. Nothing is in there anyway, since Anna understands most of the concepts taught here."

Anna was also eating some fries, dipping them into ketchup (It was chicken nuggets and fries. Luna made them from the frozen bags you see in the grocery store. Still phenomenal though) as she looked at Lachesis, who seemed both on guard and pleased that she's able to stick to Depra so closely.

"Lachesis, Master is not a bad person," Anna stated, and she shook her head.

"You must be his accomplice then. And here I thought you were actually a good person."

Seriously!? This is starting to get out of hand now. "Lachesis, if you just let me explain fully-"

"Even if you did, that wouldn't change the fact that you fought so much that your shoes are caked in dried blood! Plus, you don't even look harmed, so no way in hell am I going to let someone that dangerous be around Depra. For all I know, you could…" She stopped herself, biting her lip until it started to bleed. "Anyway, you already failed to make your case, so give it up already, you're not having him."

"No wait, seriously, what's going on here? I'm extremely lost right now."

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Damn, I'm too tired for this shit. "Don't worry about it too much Depra. Lachesis is just being overprotective. Honestly, I'm not going to do anything, I just wanna be able to chill and hang out with my friends and not have to think about everything else life is throwing at me. Is that seriously too much to ask?"

"I don't buy it," Lachesis said, and I threw my hands up in the air.

"Whatever then, I can't be bothered anymore." I stuffed my face, losing myself in Luna's delicious cooking.

"Master, is the stress too much? Master can always ask for a vacation."

"No, it's not that, I enjoy helping you out."

"If not that, then Anna is confused. What else could Master be stressing about?"

"That is for you readers to find out in the coming chapters," I said, burping loudly before yawning, having finished my food. "I'm outta here, I'll see you in class."

I packed up my lunchbox and started to walk away, waving them goodbye.

I got halfway to the roof before I heard a voice yelling at me from behind.

"Hey, what's up with you?" It was Depra, and I stopped, leaning against the window.

"Nothing, I just don't want to deal with a person who refuses to listen to my explanation. It's just damn annoying." It kinda reminds me of the past now that I'm thinking about it…

"Do you two really not get along?"

I scratched my head, watching him get all mopey. "It's more of a conflict of interest. I'm interested in having fun and living my best life, while Lachesis is hellbent on protecting you. Nothing wrong with that, but she can get blinded by a lot of things because of that."

Depra nodded, also leaning against the window, facing me. "I agree, it can be exhausting at times."

"But, it's not as if I don't get it. I know how she feels more than she realizes," I muttered, looking at the clouds passing by.

"Does this mean you two can't get along?" Depra asked, and I frowned. "Maybe if you two had an honest talk or something, maybe then it would…"

"I dunno, she never really liked me from the start. Always glaring and being fussy at me, it's kinda hard making up with a person when you don't even know the reason why they dislike you."

"I, I see. But maybe if I asked and found out for you, then maybe you'll be able to do something. I, I just want my two best friends to get along."

I blinked, looked down at Depra, and blinked again. "Hold up, did you just call me your best friend?"

"Eh? Oh, guess I did. I, I mean, if you don't wanna be my best friend, that's alright too, but I just thought we already were and…"

A best friend? When was the last time I had one of those? I guess start of middle school. I doubt he would wanna see me again though, especially after all that.

I wrapped my arm around him, bringing him close. "Nah, I'm okay with it, you just surprised me with that. Oh, maybe with this I'll fight Lachesis over best friend status and take you away from her. That'll teach her that us men always come before women!"

I started to laugh, walking away with him. "And as my best friend, you deserve to know about one of my super secret spots. You're the first person I'm willingly telling this too, so keep it a secret yeah?"

"A secret spot? We have those in this school?"

I nodded, grinning to myself. "Of course, there are quite a few locations that people rarely go to in this school, and this is one of them!"

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I watched Depra leave the cafeteria and sighed, clutching the hem of my shirt. Damnit, why the hell do those two get along so well? They barely know each other, yet they get along like they've known each other since birth!

"Is Lachesis going to follow them?" I looked up at Anna, who had just finished her lunch.

"Of course I am! He's a damn menace, if you saw his shoes you would understand! They were caked with blood, and he brushed it off like it was an everyday occurrence!"

"Master has a reasonable explanation," Anna said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe he does, but I can't be sure. Ugh, if only I could see with him then maybe I would know! You as well, I can't see a damn thing!"

She tilted her head. "But Lachesis is not blind?"

I sighed, ruffling up my hair. "Don't worry about it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to catch up to those two!"

I finished up my chocolate milk before throwing my plate away, rushing out the cafeteria.

I frowned, trying hard to see where Depra ran off too. I rounded the corner where Depra went, following his path before my head flashed with pain.

"Damnit, he already found him?" I shook my head, looking around my whereabouts. Judging from the path, Hiro didn't decide to go back to class, it was too early for that. I'm on the third floor now, meaning maybe…

"It's worth a shot!" I rushed through the hallways, heading towards one of the many possibilities Depra and Hiro could've gone.

"Oh, maybe with this I'll fight Lachesis over best friend status and take you away from her." I stopped at a corner, hearing Hiro's voice. What was that about taking me away from Depra?

"And as my best friend, you deserve to know about one of my super secret spots." Wait, best friend!? The hell happened in the brief time they were gone!?

I was about to rush out there before I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. "Please wait a moment."

I glared at Anna, whose normally emotionless face was tainted with brief annoyance. "Listen to what Master and Depra are saying, affirmative?"

I hesitated before relaxing, peaking my head to see the two walking away.

"I've never been up there, is it really that nice?"

"Of course it is, promise! The sunset from up there is pretty amazing I'll have you know. Plus you get a view of the entire campus, and the best part is, there's more than one rooftop in this place, so you get all the angles!"

"You seem really into this. I didn't know you had a thing for rooftops."

"Of course not, who the hell is into rooftops!? No, what I'm into are beautiful spots that can look picturesque at any point and enact some scenes of anime youth in them!"

"I uh, don't really get what you mean by that, but I can tell you're pretty passionate about it."

I watched Hiro nod, beaming at Depra. "Well it's where I would go and think about all those scenes I would enact. Of course, I didn't have any friends, so I just imagined them with my two sisters and people I made up."

"But I thought you were the type to have a bunch of friends," Depra said, and Hiro chuckled.

"You have way too much faith in me, you know that? Did I really seem like the type to have friends before I met you? I bet you have more friends than me."

"Ah, you have a point there." Depra looked down, frowning. "But you weren't lonely or anything?"

"Nah, I had my sisters to keep me company, so I was all good."

I watched them round the corner, their voices fading away before I looked back at Anna.

"Master was lonely, before Master met Anna," Anna said. "Master would never create friendships just to use people. That is just the type of person Master is."

"He probably doesn't have friends because he's a dangerous delinquent," I muttered, looking down at the ground, twirling my hair around my finger.

"Is it really so hard for Lachesis to trust?" Anna murmured, and I froze, looking back up at her.

"Of course I can't trust him, I can't see a damn thing with him!"

"But, is that not normal? People do not have the same gifts as you, and they are able to trust people just fine." Anna's mouth curled upwards, and although her much of her expression didn't change, she exuded a soft sadness.

"Anna trusts Master just fine. After all, Anna knows what it is like to be alone. Hopefully Lachesis will too." Anna patted my shoulder, walking away towards where Hiro went, leaving me alone in the hallway.

"Trust, huh?" I leaned against the wall, slowly sinking as I twirled my hair. "She does have a point."

I looked up out the window and sighed. "I know he isn't a bad person, but I can't help but not trust him. It's not even his fault."

I looked back down towards my hand, clenching it tightly. "But if those two really do trust him, then I'll just place my faith in them instead."

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I yawned, looking over at the sports teams starting practice in the humidity. I didn't wanna be them, although I technically have it worse with a post-apocalyptic wasteland I have to fight in.

I walked into the old school building, making my way into the clubroom to find I wasn't the first one inside again. Leaning against the table was none other than Lachesis, who looked me up and down, noting I still wasn't wearing any shoes.

"I might owe you an apology," Lachesis muttered, twirling her hair around her finger. "It's not your fault that you look untrustworthy, have blood caked shoes, and otherwise accidently incriminate yourself."

This girl can't be serious right now. "Yeah, all those things clearly aren't my fault, although I would argue that me looking untrustworthy is your own personal bias."

She nodded, biting her lip slightly. "Yes, I realized this when I decided to think about it. And since those two seem to trust you so much, I decided to place my faith in them for the time being."

"So uh, does this mean you'll let me explain?"

"It means that I'll hear you out until the end at least. I'll decide after if I can trust you."

I sighed, collapsing into my seat. "Ugh, thank God for that. Before I start, anything you specifically wanna know?"

"Yeah, why you have blood caked shoes."

Damn, how exactly should I explain that? Just tell her straight up? Nah, no way in hell would she believe me. Hmm, I guess we can try this.

"I can't tell you that."

Her eyes widened before she glared at me, sitting down in the chair to my right. "And why not?"

"It's way too complicated, I'm tired, and you wouldn't believe me."

Well, at least she shut up now. I pulled out my phone and went to the site I went to watch anime, untangling my earbuds from my pocket.

"Okay, what can you tell me then?"

"That no one died, and I've been helping Anna out with something. The blood thing is because there a boatload of people I had to fight. That isn't just from one person, I'm not that brutal when I fight."

She became lost in thought before starting to eye my necklace. "Can you take that off for me?"

"Hell no, the last time that happened I almost became a slave," I said, confusing her even more.

"What do you get yourself into afterschool?"

"Hanging out with my adorable sis obviously, what else? Besides, it's not like I ask for trouble to come find me; I chalk that up to bad luck."

"You're really not making it easy for me, you know that?" Lachesis rubbed her eyes as she continued to twirl her hair, going at it faster now.

"Think of it as payback," I said, flicking her on the nose, finally causing her to stop twirling her hair.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Lachesis said wincing as she held her nose.

"It was just paint. I wanted to mess with you a bit, but you lost it before I could fully explain. I decided to tease you a little bit now because it was amusing."

I watched her face grow red as she shot up from her seat. "You're lying! If you're really telling the truth, than what about all that stuff about leading a gang when you were younger!?"

"You believed that? You seriously think a 12-13 year old could lead a gang? I'm sorry, but this isn't an anime where the protagonist is secretly a badass, harboring a dark secret." Although I did run a gang back around that age, but no way in hell am I telling her that.

"Gh! Well, I mean, it isn't completely impossible!"

What the, the hell is she so adamant about? "You talk like you've experienced this firsthand or something."

She started to twirl her hair again. "What type of conclusion is that? Besides, Anna also said you fought as well."

Wait, could she seriously have been a part of some gang or group? Nah, there's no way in hell. But if that twirling is any indication, then… "Anna was a part of the joke too, duh."

"That would mean you set this up before you two even came to school! You expect me to believe that!?"

"Oh, nah, we just know each other so well that she knew what I was doing. She's actually quite the joker you know, despite her looks."

"Hey idiot, why are you arguing so loud I could hear you outside?"

I looked behind me to see Pinkie and Hera enter the room. "I haven't yelled anything, it's Lachesis who's hysterical."

"I refuse to believe this! You mean to say that everything she said was a joke too!?"

Huh? "The hell are you talking about? What who said?"

"Did Master make up with Lachesis yet?" Anna walked in after Pinkie and Hera, and I shook my head.

"I told her it was paint, but she didn't believe me. But back to my question, who said what about me?"

Lachesis glared at me before glancing at Anna. "She vouched for you is what happened. I'd rather not say what though."

"Okay, what is even going on right now. Knowing Hiro, he probably fucked up somehow. So apologize already," Pinkie said.

"I didn't do anything, she's being hysterical because she doesn't understand basic trust. This girl has some serious trust issues, I swear."

Lachesis gritted her teeth before yelling out. "UGH! That's it, you'll just be a dangerous murderous delinquent in my eyes forever damnit! Screw you and your stupid mind games! I'm not letting you anywhere near Depra!"

I sighed, putting my head onto the table. "Whatever you say. I'm going to sleep now. But Depra's life is his own, it's not like you can force him to stop being friends with me. If you do that, you'll probably lose him for good."

I plugged in my earphones, starting up a random song. Maybe today will be nap day?

And Thus, ended Hiro's Fourth Hidden Tribulation.