He Did Not

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

*Beep! Be-*

*Clank!*

Yoichi's hand brought down to the alarm clock and stopped the noise. It is more commonly known as the first sound that disturbs your peaceful sleep and the most despised sound amongst all teenagers.

In the case of Yoichi, it was a mundane but necessary equipment to wake in time.

That is all.

He stood up casually and went in front of the mirror. He stretched both his cheeks by pinching them away.

Then he lightly slapped himself.

"Ah. Aah.....Aaah.....*Coughs* Aaaaaaa....."

He fixed his tone and volume. Until he was satisfied with the exact voice he wanted, he kept adjusting. It went on for about 2 minutes then he was set.

The next thing was his expression. From his bored look to an energetic expression, he was successful.

"Yosh!"

His gear finally started gaining momentum and he commenced his morning routine just like how everyone else does. It also included waking up Keiko.

However, was this step essential? Does Keiko not have an alarm clock?

The answer is no.

In Keiko's room, she does not have any sort of gadget that would help her wake up. The main reason is that she hates that noise.

Typical but she devotedly hates it.

In other words, she relies on her brother to wake her up without the use of any alarm clock noise of the sort.

Their uncle was the same as Yoichi. He is unbothered by the alarm noise since he has heard it for so many years.

He woke up a bit later than Yoichi. But the last person to get out of their bed was definitely Keiko.

Yoichi was the early riser to prepare breakfast and food for lunch. He also cooks food for his uncle who goes to work.

Yoichi has established his function as a mother in this small family. Not like he was coerced into it or did not like it.

But he saw that it was an important role to fill in so that their daily lives would pass smoothly. He would have let Keiko do it but her cooking worried him so he said no to her.

"Good morning Yoichi."

"Good morning, Oji-san. Breakfast is ready."

"You are quick as always."

The uncle sat on the chair and started to satiate his hunger.

"Keiko?"

"I just woke her up. She should be here in just a few minutes."

Yoichi was cleaning some of the utensils used to cook food. When he would come home after school, he would then clean all of them. For now, he only washed the kitchen tools needed for dinner.

"Is she doing well?"

"Yes."

"What about you?"

"Good."

"...If you have any problem then don't hesitate, Yoichi."

"I definitely will, Oji-san."

"Haha...Are you studying well?"

"You could say that."

The uncle would ask normal questions every day. Occasionally, he would also want to hear some events that happened in school.

He was always interested in their affairs and wanted to know everything about their life.

Yoichi liked the company of his uncle. Although he would sometimes probe into their personal matter, they did not mind it.

Because he was now Keiko's and Yoichi's parents.

"Be sure to look over Keiko, Yoichi."

"She is all grown up now, Oji-san. She can take care on her own. After all, she is strong."

"I know, but still, keep an eye out for her."

"Okay, Oji-san."

"Though I said that, but you are already doing it for a long time, isn't it." Uncle thinky smiled at Yoichi.

"....."

Yoichi paused for a moment before answering with an enthusiastic response.

"O-Oji-san, you are flattering me too much! Eat before the food gets too cold."

"Yes yes. No need to get so hyper just because I praised you."

"Haha... "

Just behind the wall leading to the living room, a pair of ears were eavesdropping between the uncle and nephew's conversation.

Keiko crossed her arm weakly and her head automatically tilted downward. She embraced herself more tightly and gritted her teeth with anger.

"Looking over me.....for.....a long time.....?"

She stopped clenching her teeth and put one hand on her head. She had a slight headache contemplating the topic they discussed.

It was unbelievable to hear.

She whispered to herself furiously because she wanted to somehow keep her seeping anger from going amok.

"Like hell he did...!"

She steadied her composure, corrected her breathing and shut down all the negative thoughts she was having. She took some time to achieve the stability she needed.

Reverting to the Keiko that is 'strong', as Yoichi stated, she resolved herself and stepped out of hiding.

"Ah Keiko, took you long enough." Uncle noticed her presence.

"Sorry I slipped in the shower."

"Are you okay!?"

Uncle almost got out of his chair but Keiko stopped him right away. She did not want him to get so stressed out because of a lie so he reassured him that everything was fine and she was not hurt.

"Hahaha!! What an idiot!" Yoichi on the other, mockingly laughed at her. Keiko pouted and threatened him.

"I am going to hit you so hard!"

"Wow! Help me, Oji-san!! This ogre is going to kill me!"

"You are really dead."

Keiko chased after Yoichi and ran around the table their uncle was sitting on.

"Oi you two, be careful!"

Despite his warning, the siblings ignored him. One was running for his life and the other was intently going to have blood on her hands.

*Sigh*

Amidst these 2 lively teenagers, this uncle was having an enjoyable ambience. Without those 2, it could have been a dull atmosphere that he would live in.

Additionally, with the food in front of him, it would have been replaced with an unhealthy breakfast comprising of only an instant noodle.

But no, it was all going well because of those 2.

He meaningfully smiled at the food and then at the two siblings. The fun they were having made their uncle wish that this would stay the same forever.

'Looks like they are recovering well.'

With that in mind, he took a bite out of a bread he had in his hand.

.....

The gathering was getting bigger as each day passed by. There was a new addition to the group.

The usual group consisting of Asahi, Keiko, Yoichi, Kirika and Ren has grown. Their table was now expanded to become a big rectangular table.

In all, there are 6 tables combined. Who might be the 6th one you might wonder?

Well, it was none other than Suzuki Akai. The bullying victim. Now he was not a victim, he became their friend.

"Suzuki-kun, my name is Morita Yoichi. Nice to meet you.

"And mine is Sugiyama Ren. Nice to meet you too."

It was the first he saw those 2 boys so he was nervous again. He stutteringly made his greeting.

"S-Suzuki A-Akai. It i-is nice to m-meet you too."

He was not good with crowds, similar to Ren but he took it to the next level. He was sitting next to Asahi and Ren.

"No need to be so afraid of us. We are also your friend." Yoichi calmed Suzuki down

"I-I am just.....nervous."

"Haha. I can understand that feeling."

Kirika butted in and was doubtful towards Yoichi.

"You? Do you understand him? Do you actually feel nervous when you first meet someone? I find that hard to believe."

"Eh? Why?"

Ren supported Kirika's claim.

"That's right. The way he talked to us the first time was someone who does not know the term 'nervous'."

"Oh is that so? I thought I was nervous."

"What are you saying? You are not making any sense."

Asahi lightly chuckled and started to recite the story when he first met Yoichi.

His first encounter with Yoichi was a bit after Keiko and Asahi started dating. She introduced him to her Yoichi.

The first impression he had of Yoichi was a reserved, quiet and smart vibe around him.

However, it all crashed down when he started chatting. Asahi got swept by his talks and often found him funny. Perhaps, that day, Asahi stopped being so judging about someone's character by their appearance.

Their table was getting chatty while they also involved Suzuki from time to time.

He participated in those conversations. Slowly but surely he integrated into their group. They all helped him build some confidence to speak.

They all were happy with his behaviour and Suzuki too was feeling mutual with the others.

"By the way, Suzuki-kun. Didn't you bring your food?"

All the others had something to eat but Suzuki was there with nothing on his table. Kirika inquired about it and thought that he forgot to bring his food.

"A-Ah, that...well....."

"Hmm?"

The others were waiting for his answer when abruptly the door opened. Normally, they would ignore such a casual thing but there was someone that they could not look the other way.

Kirika, Keiko and Asahi glared at that certain someone.

It was the bully that targeted Suzuki.

"What is he doing here?"

Kirika was fuming at the sight of that guy. She glanced at Suzuki however, she noticed that something was unusual. Suzuki was not trembling and looked normally as he does.

The others too observed this peculiarity. Gradually the whole class looked upon this situation.

Kirika reverted her sight to the bully.

He had a bandage over his head, circling over his forehead. There were some others in his hand and inconspicuous ones that were hidden behind his pants.

His usual 2 lackeys that always follows behind him were nowhere to be seen. He had a discontent expression as he approached Suzuki.

Kirika and Asahi stood up and glared at the bully. The bully was unfazed by their hostility.

He continued approaching Suzuki. He stopped before him and put something on his desk.

"Here is your Yakisoba bread."

".....Thank you."

"Tsk!"

The bully aimed his sight at Suzuki's confused friends before exiting the class.

The whole class had their mouth agape.

"What was that?"

"Are my eyes alright? I feel like I saw something unbelievable."

"Did that delinquent just buy food for Suzuki-kun?"

The student's murmur shrouded the class and the centre of it all was Suzuki. His friends could not believe what they saw.

"Suzuki-kun, care to explain what was that?"

Keiko questioned Suzuki on behalf of the others.

Suzuki awkwardly scratched his cheek.

"Y-Yes."

Then, he narrated the whole situation that led to this strange occurrence.

From getting beaten again to getting saved by a mysterious person.

"'Go be a bread shuttle and understand his pain. That is the least you can do.' That is what he said."

"Oh, how cool!!"

Yoichi clapped at the end of Suzuki's story. Unimpressed with his behaviour, Kirika investigated that person's identity.

"Don't you know who it was?"

"At first, I thought it was Sato-kun but he was a bit smaller. Apart from that, his voice was muffled by the masks so I could not tell who it was."

"Is that so? It seems like we have to thank him."

"The mysterious saviour. It has a nice ring to it." Yoichi was off in his world.

"You...Can't you take this a bit seriously?" Ren was fed up with his attitude.

Well, in the end, Suzuki was saved from the bullies' clutches. Additionally, he even got punished by that 'mysterious saviour'.

Kirika wondered if she could meet up with that someone. If she can find out who it was then, she would express his gratitude to the justice delivered.