But the pain never came. He was wondering why he felt no pain but he didn't dare open his eyes. What jolted him out of his fear-stricken state and caused his eyes to open up was the shrilly shout of one of the kids and the sounds of shoes running. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the back of the kids running away from the spot he was in now. He saw the bat lying discarded a few feet away from him. He let his eyes roam for a while.
And then he saw him.
A guy, probably in high school, sitting at his left side, clutching his left arm, eyes scrunched, apparently in pain. It took just a short while for the kid to put two and two together. The guy must've probably taken the blow for him. He stood up and knelt beside the older guy and grabbed his arm, intent on asking if he was alright. The teen jolted at the touch and opened his eyes to look at him.
And to the kid, time stopped for the second time that afternoon as his eyes collided with eyes the color of the sea, eyes that were blue like his, only lighter and somewhat seemed… a happier shade of blue than his.
--
Contrary to what the teen thought, the blow was not as hard and painful as he expected it to be. After all, it was a kid who hit him, but that didn't eliminate the fact that it still hurt. Kid or not kid, baseball bats, when meant to hit people, still hurt. He grabbed his left arm, which was apparently not a good move and he felt the pain surge up and made his eyes scrunch up. Thankfully, the blow was only 'muscle deep' and no bones seem to be broken. He was about to stand up when he felt a light hand grab his right arm. He jolted and opened his eyes to see who it was only to be greeted by blue eyes and an unexplainably gorgeous face of a…kid??
The teen rubbed his eyes to clear out whatever fog that caused him to think that the kid he saved was gorgeous. He took a second look at the kid, who was still staring at him, apparently in trance too, and saw that the kid was indeed a looker.
Wait, scratch that. Kids are not described as 'looker'. Those words are only reserved for paedophiles and a healthy, handsome teen like him need not turn to kids for affection. So he simple settled himself in saying that the kid was cute. Yes, cute. After all, that was what kids were supposed to be, kids. Teens like him shouldn't be seeing kids like this one in any other light but as cute. He was supposed to be the kind oniichan and not an admirer. The age gap was just too great and the kid was too young.
Apparently he was the only one thinking along the lines of being brothers for what the kid said to him made him choke on air.
'Go out with me.'
The teen's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he looked at the kid. What the hell did the kid just said?
'I said go out me.'
Ok, so he has apparently blurted out his shock to the kid. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. The kid was probably shocked by the events. He sighed and rested his hand on the shoulder of the kid.
'Uh, kid, I think you were just shooked up with all the events just now. Go home and-' He was about to tell the kid to go home and rest when the kid spoke.
'Kaede.'
'Huh?'
'My name is Kaede.'
The teen sighed and looked at the kid-Kaede, and sighed.
'Okay, Kaede, I think you're just tired and-' And again he was cut when the kid spoke up.
'I'm not tired.'
'Okay, so what did you just say?' The teen asked again, hoping that he just misheard the kid.
'I said go out with me'
He sighed. He stared at the kid in the eyes for whatever point it might get across. The kid only stared back at him with a glint of defiance shining in those blue orbs. Apparently, the kid was stubborn.
'Are you serious?' he asked the kid. The kid only shot him a glare that seems to say 'Duh'.
'How old are you?'
'Eight.'
Eight. This wasn't the first time someone younger than him asked him out but the kid just broke all records set by his previous admirers. And he is a boy to top it all off. This kid was setting a record in the teen's life that would probably never be broken.
He sighed and looked at the kid. The kid was still staring at him, his face a sign of seriousness and his eyes shone with determination. He didn't knew what it was but his heart softened at the sight and for the first time in long time, he broke out into a genuine smile and not the usual grin he gave others. He wanted to turn down the kid, but he didn't want to break his heart either.
The teen sighed then smiled at the kid.
'You know, you're not really bad looking kid. But well, you're still a kid.'
The kid, well, Kaede, apparently knew what he was going to say so he replied 'I'm not a kid.'
'Yes you are, you still have a loooong way to go', the teen said as he practically dragged the 'o' in long to emphasize his point. 'I mean, I'm just two years away from graduating the teen's department and you, well, you haven't even reached puberty yet.' The teen smiled at the kid.
'So, does that mean you won't go out with me?' the kid mumbled, head down. The teen barely heard it so he lifted the kid's face to ask him to repeat what he said but was shocked to see tears forming in the kid's eyes. The teen racked his head for something to say to soothe the boy.
'Oi, Kaede, don't cry. I didn't mean that I won't go out with you.'
The kid immediately perked up at the statement.
'So you'll go out with me now?' the kid said, his tone still dead-serious but this time laden with joy.
The teen sweatdropped.
'Well, I didn't mean that I'll go out with you right 'now' as in now, with you, well being underaged.'
The kid looked at him curiously, not really getting what the teen wanted to say. 'What do you mean? If not now then when?'
'Kaede!!'
Both of them looked at the approaching lady. Kaede immediately recognized the lady as his nanny.
The teen then turned to Kaede and ruffled the boy's hair. 'I think your nanny's come to get you, kid.' He grinned at the kid who immediately blushed. As to why he blushed, he didn't know whether it was because of the nanny statement or the grin that the teen sent him.
'I'm not saying that I won't go out with you, or that I'll go out with you now but-' the teen was cut off when the nanny suddenly appeared and grabbed Kaede's hand.
'Come on Kaede, hurry up. I've been looking for you everywhere. Your mom's waiting for us in the car.'
'Demo, niichan is-'
'Go on, Kaede, be a good kid and go with your nanny.'
'Demo when will you-'
The teen immediately placed his hand over the kid's mouth before he mentions anything bout going out.
'Ah, hehehe.', the teen turned to the nanny, 'Mind if I talk to him for a while? It'll be quick, I promise. '
The nanny merely nodded so the teen carried the kid a few yards away from the nanny.
'I said, I'll go out with you but not now.'
'Then when?' The kid asked impatiently.
The teen merely smirked and ruffled the kid's hair. 'Maybe in ten years, 'kay?'
The kid was apparently appalled at the idea and was about to protest when he was carried by the teen back to his nanny. He was about to say something when he heard someone shouting 'Akira.' Then he saw the teen turn his head and smiled at a woman. Could this niichan be 'Akira'?
'Well then, Kaede, I think we should be going our separate ways. We've already took up much of each others time, ne?'
The kid was about to protest when his nanny carried him and bid goodbye to the teen. He protested but his nanny wouldn't put him down. After walking a few yards, he realized he didn't even know his niichan's name so he shouted 'Niichan, what's your name!!'
The teen, who was now waving his hand at them merely smiled and mouthed 'A-ki-ra' at him.
'Akira', the kid said the name and smiled.
--
The teen was left rooted at the spot, waving at the retreating figures of the kid and his nanny. He wondered when he'll see the kid again when the kid called him, 'Akira!'
He stopped waving and stared at the kid. Then, for the first time since they met, the kid smiled at him and said
'See you in ten years!'
The teen smiled at the kid's antics. 'Saa, I'll be waiting then' he said, not particularly sure to whom he said that whether to the kid or to himself. But then again, he thought, does it even matter?
He was roused from his thoughts when he heard his name being called out. His date was already there.
'Akira, gomen ne? I was caught up at school. Did you wait long?' the girl said and smiled at him.
He merely grinned and said no. The girl then attached herself to him and said, 'Well then let's go?'
He merely nodded at the girl whom he barely remembers now and let himself be carried away to some cafe. His thoughts weren't exactly on the girl but rather at the interesting kid he met a while back.
He smiled to himself and thought, 'Ten years is not much of a time to wait right?'. Suddenly, he was looking forward to knowing what will happen ten years from now.
--
Well that's it for the prologue. Anyone with the urge to beta it for the sake of it being readable, just tell me and I'll send it to you. XD. The story just suddenly popped out of my head while studying for my Econ finals a while ago and I just couldn't concentrate so I decided to write it out and study later. XD Just a random fic to resuscitate the 'dying' SD