author's note: i'm one of Those authors but i got the idea for this fic from this picture: 37. media . tumblr (dot com / ) tumblr_lyu1291BXH1qlywlko1_500 . jpg (remove spaces and add the dot com, it won't let me post the actual link)

Souda is 8 years old when the "for sale" sign comes down from the tiny lawn of the house next to his. He peeks from his window, but he can't see anything that would tell him about who's going to be moving in. The house had been empty for ages; no one wanted to move in beside a noisy mechanic shop, even with a house in between them.

The two homes are so close to each other he can practically reach out and touch the other from his bedroom window. He remembers the words he once overheard his parents saying: "There's hardly room to breathe in this neighbourhood!" Souda sucks his breath in, just to make sure he still can; his face goes red from holding it in.

A knock on his door makes him jump and he lets out his breath in a whoosh of air.

"Kazuichi, are you doing your homework?" his mother says through the door.

He nods, before realising she can't see him, and calls out, "Yeeees!"

"That's my boy. Oh, I heard a family is moving in next door next week; they have a little boy, too. It would be nice to make a friend, wouldn't it?"

Souda agrees with her, but inside, he doesn't have much hope. Instead, he just wishes that the new kid won't make fun of him like all the others.

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, okay? Try to get your math questions done," she says, and Souda can hear her walk away.

He peeks out the window one more time, pulls papers out of his backpack, and sighs.

Wonder what he'll be like..

Question 1 stares back at him, offering no answer.

Sitting on their front steps, eating an ice cream cone, Souda casually watches the parade of boxes and furniture going into the house next door. He's seen the couple a bunch of times – two ordinary people, nothing interesting about them – but he hasn't spotted their son yet. He doesn't want to be caught staring.

He's about to give up and go back inside when his mum walks over from the neighbouring lawn.

"Oh, there you are! I was just over at the Hinata's – you should go say hi too," she says, ruffling his hair. "I think Haji-chan's out now."

Haji-chan? Souda wonders if the new neighbours have a dog. Being lightly pushed by his mother, he wanders into their yard. He looks around, but instead of a dog, he sees a young boy standing beside a somewhat short woman. Souda can't help but feel triumphant; small and weak-looking, the new kid doesn't seem like someone who could bully him.

"Would you like some coffee?" Souda hears his mum ask the couple. The adults go over to his house, leaving him and their son alone outside.

"So.. you're Haji-chan?" Souda asks, breaking the silence.

His words make the boy look at him for the first time, and Souda is surprised by the frustration in his face. He reconsiders his bully theory.

"That's just a dumb nickname my mom calls me," he says. "I'm Hajime Hinata.. but everyone just calls me Hinata."

"Oh.." Souda says. He's a little concerned that he upset Hinata, but continues on. "Oh, right! I'm Kazuichi Souda! You can call me by my first name if ya want."

"So... Souda," Hinata says. "How long have you lived here?"

Souda droops when he hears his last name.

"Since always. The shop used'ta be my grampa's, and then my dad took it over. It'll prob'ly be my shop someday."

Hinata nods and says, "That's pretty cool." Even though it's not much praise, Souda is overjoyed, and hope flares in him that he might actually make a friend. He can feel the back of his neck heating up, tears in his eyes; it's practically the first time he's talked with someone who hasn't been bullying him.

"Do.. d'ya wanna watch my dad take a bike apart?" He asks excitedly, not able to keep from stammering.

Hinata looks at the boy next to him, a few inches taller than him but trembling slightly, dark eyes nervous behind black frames. He doesn't quite know what to think of his new neighbour, but he appreciates how quickly Souda is to warm up.

"Okay," he says simply.

Souda busts out a huge grin, clearly showing that he thought Hinata would decline.

"Sometimes my dad lets me join 'im, I'm really good with a wrench, see? So, so maybe this time you can help too!" Souda says.

"..I think I'll just watch, but thanks," Hinata says.

The two walk off, passing Souda's house; he runs up to the door to yell where they're going, and saunters awkwardly back, still grinning.

"Oh, my mum said ta tell ya that your mum said, 'Make sure Haji-chan is home for dinner'," Souda rambles as they walk toward the shop.

Hinata punches him in the arm.

"I said not to call me that!"

But they're both laughing, and Souda hopes he can start to call Hinata his friend soon.