Chapter 5: A Few Hours, Together.

Days passed. A month passed. Then two.

Every day, Hiro woke up, went to school, then went home. Rinse and repeat, over and over again.

The finals for their classes had already passed, and it went by like a breeze.

The days were becoming stale, and the end of the school year was becoming scarily near.

For the first few weeks after the incident, Jun tried to apologize to Hiro, in which Hiro responded half-heartedly.

He wasn't so mad at Jun, rather than Shuuki. Shuuki was really getting on his nerves.

Every time he saw him at school, or at home, Hiro would respond with the shortest answer he could, then avoided him for the rest of the day.

Even though the brothers lived with each other, for those months they were complete strangers.

Shuuki actually tried asking Hiro what's wrong a few times, in which he replied with "nothing", then Shuuki would leave.

Of course, Shuuki didn't believe it, but Hiro wasn't going to outright tell his brother he hated him, nor was Shuuki going to pry.

It was already somewhat like this before, but not so much to this extent.

A long time ago, when Shuuki and Yumi were adopted by the Hiroto family, Hiro absolutely loved Shuuki.

Yumi was only a baby during that time, but Shuuki was the same-age brother Hiro never had.

Hiro had his amazing brother Kobu, but he was always busy with high school or college or things Hiro didn't understand at that time, and eventually Kobu moved out.

So when Shuuki came, they were the absolute best of friends. They would always play video games with each other, play hide and seek with neighborhood friends, help each other with homework-- anyone would think that they were inseparable.

The neighborhood and school knew them and often mentioned them as "the brothers".

They spent every minute of every day with each other, never growing tired of the fun arguments or the challenging bosses they would defeat together.

But that all changed, as do all things. It was inevitable.

As they aged, Hiro only saw the gap between them grow larger and larger, until it was astronomical.

Even though Hiro was a good student, Shuuki was a genius, and always topped him. Even though Hiro practiced martial arts and became a great fighter, Shuuki awakened his portal magic, which could trump anything Hiro could ever do. Even though Hiro was sociable and open to everyone, Shuuki always hogged the spotlight-- without even trying.

As their parents saw Shuuki become the perfect child, there Hiro was... the average child.

Hiro knew his parents loved him, but their expectations rose and rose as Shuuki became better and better-- so much so that Hiro felt that no matter what he did, he couldn't ever make his parents proud.

Hiro felt bitterness arise within him, a jealousy that couldn't be satisfied unless Hiro overtook Shuuki... in something.

That's why Hiro worked so hard. That's why Hiro tries to fake happiness and make friends and get good grades and train hard-- to beat Shuuki. To make his parents proud. To satisfy.

But he was never able to.

Over time, Hiro grew more and more distant from Shuuki without even realizing it.

Shuuki would try to reach out to him, but Hiro would push him away every time. Talking to Shuuki began to disgust him. Shuuki was the enemy in Hiro's eyes.

Not a rival, but an enemy. Because he was undefeated. He could not be beaten. Being rivals suggests they had equal ground, which obviously wasn't the case. He was at the colossal disadvantage. And that was what disgusted him.

Without really understanding it, those were his inner feelings, so deeply rooted within him not even the strongest of tools could try to weed it out.

Only he could do it himself.

But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

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[Kaori: Hiro?]

In the cafeteria, Hiro was sitting at his usual table with Kaori, Hatori, and a few others.

Hiro stared at his steaming ramen, as it brought back bad memories.

[Kaori: Hiro?]

Jun and Shuuki and his huge group of friends were at their usual table as well, right in the middle of the cafeteria.

Shuuki and Jun and them were talking, laughing, eating together. Hiro wondered what it would be like if that could be him, sitting in Shuuki's seat, surrounded by friends, talking to the person he liked without a care in the world.

[Kaori: Hiro?]

[Hiro: Hmm?]

Hiro was broken out of his trance.

Kaori paused from eating the rice and sausages in her bento box to check on Hiro. Hatori was right next to her, taking a bite of his gray sandwich, looking at Hiro as well.

[Kaori: You okay? You've been spacing out a lot more lately.]

[Hiro: Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff.]

Kaori looked like she was about to say something, then stopped herself.

Hatori took another bite of his gray sandwich. With his mouth full, he spoke on behalf of Kaori.

[Hatori: Hey Hiro, is something wrong?]

Hiro felt a pang in his heart, but responded the same way.

[Hiro: Nothing. Nothing is.]

Hiro twirled his plastic fork in the ramen, and took a bite of it.

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ringgggg--

School ended, the same as every week day.

As students were filing out of the classroom and Hiro was packing his things to leave, Kaori walked up to him with a warm smile.

[Kaori: Hiro, come with me today.]

Hiro finished packing up and swung his backpack over his shoulder.

[Hiro: Come with you? Where?]

[Kaori: Don't worry about it, it's a surprise.]

[Hiro: A surprise... huh.]

Hiro didn't have anything against surprises, he just didn't feel like he had the energy to go somewhere, especially right after school.

[Kaori: C'mon Hiro, just trust me, you'll enjoy it.]

Something was fishy about this. However, Hiro didn't have anything better to do that afternoon.

[Hiro: Hmm, sure...]

[Kaori: Okay, great! Now follow me--!]

Kaori grabbed Hiro's wrist and began running.

[Hiro: Whaa--?]

Hiro had little choice but to run with her.

Kaori ran through the hallways full of students, out of the school, down the sidewalks. She pushed past the students and pulled Hiro along with her.

[Hiro: Kaori--! Wait--!]

Hiro wondered if something was wrong with Kaori. Kaori was usually very timid around crowds and people she didn't know, only acting her usual self around her friends. Plus, she was usually extremely considerate and polite. This was so unlike her.

Kaori didn't stop or let go until they reached the intersection to his house. She finally stopped by the alleyway to catch her breath, and Hiro did as well.

Now that they were stopped, Hiro could investigate what this was about.

[Hiro: What was all that for?]

Panting, Kaori wiped the sweat from her forehead and grinned.

[Kaori: Oh, you know-- just that we can't waste time and every second of our lives count and we we'll only live once and all that jazz~]

Hiro couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that statement. Not wasting time was something Hiro used to ramble on about constantly-- and sometimes he still did.

"Can't waste any time! We will never live a single day twice! Every second of every minute is precious, and cannot go to waste!", was what he used to say.

He would say it to be cool, but in reality, it was just a sorry excuse to be impatient.

However, Kaori was saying it in this sense to make him laugh, he supposed. Maybe to make him remember the old times. If that was the case, it was sweet, but that still didn't excuse her from dragging him all the way here without an explanation.

[Hiro: Sure, sure~ but why did you have to bring me along with you?]

Kaori looked Hiro straight in the eye and pointed at him.

[Kaori: You can't be wasting any time either! You're the one who taught me that. You used to be the most outgoing person I know that isn't too obnoxious. C'mon Hiro! I can't stand watching you mope around school like a zombie-- that's not you! We're only going to be in junior high for only so much longer-- we have to make the most out of it. So shut up and relax a bit, blockhead.]

Hiro was stunned. Hiro couldn't argue with that.

Hiro thought he was hiding his sadness pretty well, but apparently Kaori could see through it. These last few months had been rough-- Jun didn't even speak to him anymore, and every second of conversation with Shuuki hurt his heart.

Kaori noticed this, and reached out to him.

Hiro silently thanked Kami-sama for being blessed with such a good friend. Hiro couldn't thank Kaori without feeling too much on the inside, so he mustered all he could at that moment to prevent himself from shedding a tear.

[Hiro: Okay.]

[Kaori: Now that that's settled, cheer up! C'mon, let's go.]

Kaori gestured then walked ahead of Hiro, which still was very uncharacteristic of her. She usually would be alongside or behind him and other people, never in front. Did she deem this to be so important that she should take charge?

Hiro followed her.

This was great and all, but Hiro still didn't know where they were going.

Kaori turned right, towards the park. They passed the park, a plaza of grocery stores, and a gas station.

Where were they going?

At an entrance to an alley that Hiro was unfamiliar with, Kaori stopped walking.

[Kaori: I'm about to show you one of my favorite places ever. You ready?]

Hiro looked down the alley. The alley curved so you couldn't see what was on the other side of it.

Hiro put his trust in Kaori. This was not some trap.

[Hiro: Yeah. Let's go.]

Kaori grabbed Hiro's hand, and walked down the alley with him.

Brick and cement paved the path and the walls, curving around. Kaori and Hiro were reaching the end of it, and the sight seemed to fill Hiro with calmness and peace.

Hiro couldn't call it marvelous or grand-- if anything, it was humble, modest, and quite ordinary.

Around the corner of the alleyway was a tiny square of no more than three or four small shops, hidden away from everything else.

What were they doing here, in such an obscure location?

The shops looked surprisingly modern, glass windows for walls and well tended plants grown in pots and sections of mulch. The lighting hitting the small plaza was surprisingly good; and it was a very clean place overall.

The shops were quiet and soft-spoken, which somehow added to their appeal.

The jingle of bells.

Suddenly, the refreshing smell of coffee flooded his nose.

[Voice: Miss! Glad to see you here again! And you brought a boy with you!]

An old man with a kind smile waved and held the door open for them. He wore a butler's outfit with a purple striped tie.

[Kaori: Masahiko-san!]

Kaori smiled and waved back.

Kaori led Hiro into the cafe, and they had cups of coffee and some pastries.

Kaori treated Hiro to the food, even though he said he would pay himself.

In the cafe, Kaori started light-hearted conversation.

Hiro joined in but was still recessive, all of his worries wouldn't just go away with a cup of coffee and a few smiles.

Even after Kaori's convincing speech to him, he still wasn't exactly sure what they were supposed to do.

Was she trying to cheer him up? Was it really that obvious that he wasn't being himself?

If Kaori was trying to cheer him up, it was definitely working.

Even though Kaori was being unusually more upbeat and outgoing, it didn't feel forced and it really did cheer up Hiro.

Seeing one of his friends look so happy made him happy as well. Not to mention, Hiro was really enjoying the atmosphere and the fun talks.

Kaori and Hiro were getting into heated debates like whether coffee was better hot or iced, they were talking about the little things like what they liked and stuff they didn't like, and they also talked about the bigger things like what they wanted to do in high school, or college, or when they grew up to be adults.

In the moment, Hiro forgot about everything that plagued him, and he was back to his old self, opening up and making corny jokes in public. Despite the other people in the cafe, Kaori laughed at his jokes and didn't try to stop him.

Despite his dispiritedness, Kaori reached out and brought him out of it.

After the cafe, Hiro and Kaori checked out the few other establishments there-- a pet store, an art store, and an American grill.

Hiro and Kaori went to each store. Hiro savored every moment. It was such a breath of fresh air he didn't know he needed. He could feel his stresses being lifted off of him.

At the pet store, they checked out the weird looking fish, the cool reptiles, the colorful birds, and somehow, they even got a pass to pet the cats and dogs they had in the back.

Hiro was never really a cat person, but apparently Kaori was. Kaori stayed by the cat side, and Hiro stayed by the dog side. After a nice session of petting and snuggling with the fluffy animals, they had another friendly but intense debate on whether cats or dogs were better.

After going to the art store, Hiro and Kaori decided they should go to the American grill, even though they just had coffee and pastries. Hiro's stomach could afford to have a second lunch.

And after the American grill, Hiro and Kaori moved to the outside benches to rest from eating.

They were so stuffed they felt as if they couldn't move. They laughed at how terrible it was-- oh no, they were going to gain weight!

Time moved so fast... The minutes Hiro thought he was going to spend with Kaori had turned into hours.

It was ironic, Hiro had thought there was no way Kaori could cheer him up with just some food and fun conversations, but he was wrong. That's exactly what happened.

Hiro and Kaori stayed on that bench for who knows how long, looking up at the clouds, talking about random things that didn't really matter, making it all the more valuable.

Hiro thought he understood what Kaori was trying to do aside from cheering him up-- Kaori wanted him to know that he had friends out there to help him, that he wasn't all alone. Kaori wanted him to know that everything mattered, even the things that didn't.

It was kinda funny, Hiro used to preach about that stuff all the time, but didn't really mean it. Now that another person was showing it to him, he finally got it.

Hiro understood why Kaori liked this place so much. It was so peaceful.

He wanted to stay there forever, talking to Kaori, staring up at the beautiful, cloud-filled sky.

However, like everything, it had to end sometime.

Sitting on the stone bench, Kaori turned to Hiro.

[Kaori: Ready to go?]

Hiro rubbed his still full stomach.

[Hiro: Yeah, but it'll be a bit hard after adding fifty pounds though.]

Kaori giggled.

[Kaori: Same here.]

Kaori led Hiro out of the alleyway the same way they came, down the curved sketchy alleyway, past the gas station, past the plaza of grocery stores, and past the park.

The sun was beginning to go down, and contrary to their day after school, they walked quietly, just admiring the town and enjoying the time being spent together.

Kaori and Hiro reached the intersection, and that was where they had to part.

Kaori's house was to the left past the school, while Hiro's was to the right.

Hiro gave Kaori proper thanks before they said their goodbyes to each other.

[Kaori: Anytime.]

Kaori said anytime with a shining smile.

However, as Kaori waved and Hiro waved back, a figure with red hair emerged from the alleyway next to her, and grabbed her by the arms.

It was so sudden, so out of the blue, that Hiro was frozen in place for a few seconds.

The figure looked right into Hiro's eyes, right before jerking Kaori into the alleyway, out of Hiro's sight.

The figure's eyes were filled with indignation and scorn; his nose was scrunched up from the intense look on his face. He seemed to emanate an angry and irritated aura, his face in a permanent scowl. However, this one time, he smirked at his chance for revenge.

It was the red-haired son of a bitch he beat from a few months ago, Kazuto.