a few cultural notes:
- sometimes when Japanese people are close to a woman (in this case) who isn't related to them, they call her 'Obaa-san', which is a sort of equivalent to 'Auntie/Granny' (which one depends on her age). it's a playful but respectful way to show closeness
- 'umaibo' is a traditional/older puffed corn snack, sort of like a giant cheeto. they're pretty good
- Milky candy, also known as Peko Milky, is a very popular classic sweet
It's almost the end of the school year, and the 4th Grade classroom is sweating through the final minutes of class. Souda can't help but glance up constantly, staring wistfully out the window across the room and then swivelling his head to check the time, just like every other kid in there. He's itching to get outside; he and Hinata had agreed that morning to go on an adventure after school. Unable to resist the allure of summer, they had planned to go bug hunting and swimming and hiking, talking about it the whole walk to school and only stopping to say goodbye outside of their classrooms. Souda had spent all day lost in thought, waiting for the final bell to ring.
Gathering up his books as quickly as he can, he hurries into the hallway, keeping an eye out for his friend. Still daydreaming, Souda doesn't notice the foot stuck out in front of him until he slams into the floor. His glasses fly off his face.
"Weirdo-kun, what are you doing on the floor?" A sneering voice calls from above.
"It's dirty, just like the shop his dad runs. I bet he feels at home!" A second voice jeers. Laughter fills the hallway, ringing in his ears and beating down on him; he finds himself blinded again by his tears this time.
His lip is stinging and he's sure he's bleeding somewhere, but he can't move in the crowded hallway without being stepped on – which his tormentors are doing purposely. A heavy foot rolls over his fingers as he feels around for his glasses and he cries out.
"What is this?" Souda's breath catches when he hears a familiar voice cut through the rabble. No one answers its question.
"Whatever, I can guess," the voice says, and the next thing Souda hears is a solid smack as a blur flies by. There's a mix of shouts and whimpering followed by multiple pairs of feet running away. The noise in the hallway settles down until Souda can only hear his own shaky breath.
The blur kneels down in front of him.
"Your glasses got kinda banged up, but they'll still work, right?" Hands roughly put frames back onto his face and, though the glass is cracked and the arms bent, Souda can see again. He smiles weakly at the blur, who he can now tell for sure is Hinata.
They don't say anything as they gather up the scattered papers and pencils, but Souda knows that their adventure is cancelled for the day. He sniffles, wiping his nose on the back of the hand, and finds blood. Hinata wordlessly hands over a tissue and Souda shoves it up his nostril. Holding his glasses to his face with one hand and his pencil case with the other – Hinata taking the burden of his books – they quietly leave the school.
Souda doesn't know what to say. He wants to thank Hinata for rescuing him, but he's embarrassed that Hinata saw; in the two years since he had moved there, Souda had been able to hide the fact that he gets beat up on a weekly basis, not to mention the constant verbal attacks. His legs start shaking while they walk slowly back to their homes and tears well up in his eyes again.
What if he won't wanna be friends with me after this? Souda thinks.
A hand thumps on his back, startling him.
"Wanna get ice cream? I got some money left from my allowance," Hinata says. "Maybe it'll be good for your lip."
Souda reaches up to feel his lip and remembers that it hurt when he fell; it is puffy and tender, and the thought of eating something cold is the best thing he can think of. He nods, and they go into the sweet shop near their homes.
A bell tinkles their entrance and the old lady behind the counter beams.
"Kazu! Haji-chan! It's been a while since you were here last. A whole two days, wasn't it?"
"Hi, Auntie," they say back.
They smile politely at her, but start elbowing each other and snickering at the nicknames when she turns around. Souda's known her all his life, and had gone to the traditional sweet shop almost every day since he was old enough to walk; when Hinata had moved in, he automatically introduced him. It's not unusual for them to spend afternoons hanging out at the shop, telling her about school and the machine shop. They almost always leave with free candy for their walk home, Auntie sending them off with a smile and refrain of "It's always so nice of you boys to come by."
Today, though, her smile hardens around the corners when she spots the bruising marks on Souda's face and the blood-soaked tissue.
"Kazu, dear, what happened?" Her voice is full of concern, and she bustles around behind the counter, rummaging in the drawers. She hands over a few small bandages to Hinata.
"...Fell," Souda mumbles. He winces a little when Hinata puts a bandage over a cut on his cheek. He can feel her gaze lingering on him and he ducks his head, hoping she'll stop asking questions. It's not the first time he's shown up with scrapes, and they both know why.
He breathes a sigh of relief when she doesn't say anything more on the subject. Instead, she turns the radio on, says, "Help yourselves, okay?", and disappears into the back. The two look at each other and shrug, and Hinata grabs popsicles out of the freezer for them. They sit on the floor listening to the music; it's an oldies station, playing a song that neither of them know, but Souda bobs his head along to the beat anyway. The chill of the popsicle soothes his lip, and a weight lifts off his shoulders when he sees Hinata smiling at him.
It's not much of an adventure, but it's a good day in Souda's books.
They leave the shop an hour later, with Auntie insisting they take umaibo and Milky candies with them, giving a long, concerned look to Souda. He smiles lightly and waves.
It's a little darker out, the sky a fiery red, and the cicadas' shrill sounds surround them. Hinata hums what sounds like the song they were listening to earlier. It calms Souda to hear his friend's voice, and he finally says what he's been wanting to say for hours.
"Thanks, y'know," he says. "For, well, everything."
"It's what friends do," Hinata says, pulling open his bag of Milky candy. He offers it to Souda, who's staring at him. "What?"
Souda blinks and goes red.
"Nothin', don't worry 'bout it," he says, and reaches into the bag. The candy melts slowly in his mouth, caramel and sweet, and he sucks on it for the rest of the way home.
He manages to talk his parents into getting him contacts instead of fixing his busted glasses for the billionth time. After hmm-ing and haw-ing and discussing costs, his mother turns to him and asks, "What colour do you want? Regular clear ones?"
"Pink," Souda says firmly.
More hmm-ing and haw-ing.
He shows up to school a few days later, blinking his now-pink eyes in the morning sun. There's a spare pair of glasses tucked into his bag, but he likes the feeling of nothing sitting on his face; nothing that can be knocked off. He flashes a grin when he sees Hinata. His lip isn't swollen anymore, but the cut is still visible.
Brown eyes scan his face, and Souda nearly vibrates with excitement.
"Cool," is all Hinata says. It's enough for Souda, who laughs happily. "Kind of a waste though, isn't it? Since it's the last day of school, and all."
"Ah well, at least I don't gotta wear those dorky frames anymore," Souda replies. They turn into the hallway and wave goodbye, going into different rooms.
"How about that adventure?" Souda calls out at the last second, and Hinata grins in response. They both watch the clock for the rest of the day.
Souda stares at his breakfast. He tries to eat, but his dad's yelling doesn't leave him with much of an appetite.
"Up all night yappin' out your windows! Don't you two hang out enough during the day? Ya probably kept half the neighbourhood up with your conversations, you should be in bed anyway at that hour. What on earth could be so important that you have to yell about it at three in the morning?"
"We weren't bein' that loud!" Souda says back. "'Sides, it's summer vacation! It's not like I got anywhere I need t'be in the morning, what does it matter if I stay up talking?"
"It matters because you live under our roof, so you follow our rules! And I say ten year olds –"
"I'm eleven now –"
"Fine, eleven year olds should be asleep by midnight. And if ya ain't got anything to do, why don'tcha help out at the shop more then?"
Souda rolls his eyes and goes back to fiddling with his toast; clearly, his argument fell on deaf ears. Not waiting for a reply, his dad stomps out of the room. His mother speaks up.
"You know, sweetie, he means well. He just doesn't want you to waste your vacation sleeping all day because you were up all night, that's all. Maybe you and Haji-chan –"
"He doesn't like being called that," Souda interrupts.
She throws her hands up in the air, sighing, and follows her husband. Souda takes a bite of his now-cold toast and puts it back down. His stomach grumbles, but he ignores it; instead, he slips out the back door and walks over to Hinata's. He knocks on the door, rocking back and forth.
Hinata answers, a cup of orange juice in his hand. He doesn't say anything, just steps back to let Souda in, and closes the door after him.
"Who's there?" a voice calls out, footsteps coming to greet them. Hinata's mother appears around the corner. "Oh! Kazuichi, it's early for you. Have you eaten yet?"
"Nah, I haven't actually," he says, the tension leaving his body in the welcoming atmosphere.
"Well, if you're hungry, Hiro's in the kitchen making eggs and sausages for everyone. Come in, come in."
She beckons him with her hands. The trio walks back in to the kitchen, Hinata sitting down at the table first, patting the seat beside him. His dad turns around from the stove when he hears the chairs scraping on the floor.
"Ah! You again. I wondered why Saori and Hajime were taking so long," he says warmly. "Eat up!"
He tips two fried eggs and a pile of breakfast sausages onto Souda's plate. Souda's stomach rumbles appreciatively. He digs in, realising how hungry he had been.
"If you want more, just let me know," Hiro says. Souda gives a muffled thanks, mouth full of food. Beside him, Hinata chuckles and picks at his toast and juice. The kitchen is full of the noise of the crackling frying pan, eating, and idle morning chatter; in the midst of it, Souda feels at complete ease.
"By the way, boys, a little birdie told me that you two were up pretty late last night," Hinata's mum says. Souda stops chewing, his mind racing back to his own kitchen table earlier. His ears heat up and go red, and he loses his appetite again, bracing himself for raised voices.
"Don't be too hard on them, Saori," Hinata's dad chimes in. "They're just boys." He fills her plate up again.
"I just think there's a better way for them to talk when they need to," she says. She gets up from the table, grabbing a sausage on her way out. Hinata and Souda exchange glances. Neither can tell where this is going.
A few minutes later, she comes back carrying a box, which she plops onto the table.
"Tada!"
Proud of herself, she smiles at the boys. They smile back uncertainly. She's about to open the lid when the doorbell rings. Going off to open the door, she calls out a few seconds later, "Kazu, it's for you!"
He gets up from the table, leaving half of his breakfast behind, sharing a confused look with Hinata. The minute he gets into the hall, a voice starts up.
"There you are! Your mum and I had no idea where ya went, ya just left the house without sayin' anything! C'mon, I need your help in the shop today, we just got a couple bikers in with motor problems. I'll show ya how t'use the hydraulic jack today."
Souda stands there, wanting with every fibre of his being to run back into the kitchen, to that warm and happy place, but he doesn't want to disappoint the man in front of him. He just nods slightly, says thank you to Hinata's mother, and goes right out the door. His dad claps him on the back with a rumbled, "Atta boy."
The motorcycles keep him occupied all day. True to his word, his dad teaches him the proper way to use the hydraulic jack, and Souda has fun tinkering with it when it's not in use. He forgets about the morning and what was in the mystery box of Saori's. Covered in oil and aching, he claps when his dad declares the bikes fixed. He has dinner with his parents, and, exhausted, drags himself into the bath to clean up before going to bed early.
Souda's buttoning up his pajama top when he hears a tapping noise coming from somewhere in his room. He searches high and low, unable to find a source, when he notices it's louder by the window.
Opening the window to look outside, a paper cup flies in and almost hits him in the face. He picks it up, baffled, and sees a string attached to it leading outside. Catching on quickly, he grins.
Hinata is standing at his open window, an identical paper cup in his hand, an identical smile on his face. He holds the cup up to his mouth, and Souda listens.
"While you were working, so was I," his voice comes through, echoing and slightly muffled, but Souda can hear what he's saying without loud speaking. "That box was full of craft stuff. She's so weird, she just expected me to know what to make."
Souda laughs. They chat back and forth, Souda ignoring the drooping of his eyelids, trying not to yawn into his cup. In the early hours of the morning, unable to fight it any longer, he falls asleep against the wall, cup still in hand.
"Hello? Soudaaa. You there?" Hinata says quietly. When no one answers, he snorts and climbs into bed, leaving the cup dangling from his window.
There'll always be tomorrow night.
author's note: so just to clarify, i decided on names for hinata's parents, since they'll probably be a pretty big part of the story. hinata's mum's name is Saori, which has a few meanings depending on the kanji, but usually means 'beautiful fabric' and something to do with flowers. hinata's dad's name is Hiro using the kanji 寛, which means 'generous, tolerant'. {note: i am not japanese, don't take my word as law, this is just what i researched}