My Little Friends
Summary : It's all about what happened when Yuuri Shibuya was in elementary school.
Disclaimers : KKM isn't mine.
Chapter 2
.-.-.
Perhaps some people thought that moving to a new environment wasn't an easy task. But Yuuri had been very excited when his family just moved to their currently residence now, Apple Town. As carefree as a child could be, he had thought nothing but the eagerness of making new friends.
There were about twenty students in his class. Yuuri knew them by names already. However, he had made close friends with some of them.
Hatori Eguchi was Yuuri's second friend (after Conrad). He's a small and spirited boy. Just like Conrad, Hatori had bright eyes; they were full of boyish laughter and spirit. He liked to mobile a lot, causing his dark brown lock always in tousled fashion. Once he had said to Yuuri that he had tan complexion due to playing out door activities a lot, whether it rained or even in the brightest of sunny day.
A chubby and bigger boy always clung by Hatori's side, that was Shigeru Yamada. Shigeru always brought a red leather ball with him wherever he went. Just like Hatori, Shigeru loved football. He played the sport every break time. His complexion was fairer than Hatori, though.
When Yuuri had just met both boys, he was confused by their statement.
"Do you go to school with Azuma?" Yuuri asked Shigeru. Shigeru had told Yuuri that he had an older brother in fifth grade. His name was Azuma Yamada. Yuuri thought that perhaps they went to school together.
"No," Shigeru answered calmly. "I go to school with brother."
"Huh?" Yuuri blinked in confusion. "But you said that you go with him."
"I mean, " Shigeru adjusted his crossed legs," I go with Tori-chan."
Hatori, who was crouching observing a jumping grasshopper, grinned in response.
"Yes," Hatori nodded without taking his eyes off of the grasshopper, "I wait for Shii-chan."
"We're brothers."
Yuuri simply stared at them. They couldn't be twins, Yuuri thought. He had seen pairs of twins, but two boys before him didn't share any similarities in terms of appearance.
"They're cousins," Ginny Lennox, a round faced girl explained when Yuuri asked her. "Hatori's mother is the younger sister of Shigeru's father."
Yuuri tried to comprehend Ginny's explanation. He frowned a bit, eyes rolled to the left side, then to right.
"I get it," he laughed finally. "But they always say they're brothers."
Ginny nodded. Her red ponytail swayed back and fro. "They can't be separated," Ginny assured Yuuri. "They are always together."
Ginny was included in Yuuri's list of "one of beautiful grown ups and kids he had ever met". She tied her long red hair in a high ponytail. Her hazel eyes were clear and round. She always seemed in high spirit.
Yuuri liked her, in a way a kid liked his friends. She was friendly and smart. She often helped Yuuri and her other friends when they had problems in learning the lessons.
It had almost been two weeks passed since Yuuri moved to the school. He noticed several things that captivated his mind. So far, he was fascinated by his friends. Some of them were Hatori and Shigeru.
Yuuri liked to be friends with Hatori. He didn't get angry easily over inconvenient occasions. He willingly helped his friends too. Talking about him always made Yuri wonder about the relatives' bonding between Hatori and his cousin.
Hatori and Shigeru were two things in a package. Where there was Hatori, there was also the gray haired kid. But Yuuri thought that it was Shigeru who tailed his yellow eyed cousin. The bond's between the cousins seemed unbreakable.
The chubby Shigeru was nice too. He often shared his cookies with Yuuri, Hatori, and any kids who asked for them. But unlike his cousin, he got angry easily, especially if his classmates teased him with one of the girl in the class.
"There's an old man has 27 oranges. He gives 14 of them to his neighbor. Not long after that, the old man is given 16 oranges by his son. How many oranges now does he have?"
Yuuri frowned deeply. Math wasn't his favorite subject, but it didn't mean he didn't like it either. He liked subtraction, multiplication and all that stuff, but he got confused when it came to stories. Why didn't the teacher just write the numbers? It would be easier to solve.
"Are you done, Yuuri?" Lizzie Adam asked. The braided hair girl's desk was right behind Yuuri's.
"Not yet," Yuuri's little face looked desperate, "I'm confused. The question is difficult."
"Hmph," Wolfram snorted. "It's easy. I wonder how you could pass the first grade if you can't even answer this simple question."
It seemed that after the incident in which Yuuri had mistaken the blond for a girl, Wolfram put the raven boy in his black list. Wolfram took the juice Yuuri had bought him, but the kid didn't accept Yuuri's apology.
"It's not enough for forgiveness actually, but since you insist, I'll take it," Wolfram had said in a haughty manner before he took the juice away. Without saying anything else, he simply sipped it and walked away.
Yuuri had tried to be nice to Wolfram, but mostly the green eyed kid ignored him. Such a difficult friend, Yuuri thought.
Yuuri was a bit angry by Wolfram's remark.
"If it's easy for you, is your answer correct?" Yuuri retorted heatedly.
"Of course," the blond said haughtily.
"Yuuri, Wolfram won the math champion last year," Lizzie whispered. "He's the best among us."
"Oh. . ." Yuuri had thought that Wolfram was only good for his annoying manner. He seemed outraged every time Yuuri met the smaller kid. Never occurred in his mind that the fiery tempered blond would be that bright.
"Fine, let me help you," Wolfram slipped from his desk to face Yuuri.
Yuuri was surprised. He didn't expect Wolfram to help him. Actually he was going to ask Hatori's help.
"Suppose you have twenty three marbles," Wolfram scratched Yuuri's blank paper, writing numbers. "If you give me seventeen, how many marbles left?"
"Why should I give them to you?" Yuuri innocently asked. "Besides, I don't have any marbles."
Wolfram rolled his green orbs. "I said suppose you have them. Get it?" he said fiercely.
"Aha," Yuuri's goofy smile plastered. "Okay, I get it."
"Sure you must," Wolfram remarked sternly.
"Okay, I'll try," Yuuri tried hard to concentrate. "If I have twenty three marbles, then I give seventeen to you," Yuuri counted, "there will be six left in me."
"Correct!" For the first time since Yuuri encountered Wolfram, the beautiful kid smiled. Yuuri's eyes widened at the stunning sight.
"See, it's easy," the smiling kid exclaimed in satisfaction. "Okay, let's continue. So, there are six marbles you've got. If Shigeru gives you ten marbles, how many will you get all?"
"Six plus ten equals to. . .sixteen."
"Aha, you made it," Wolfram's smile widened to his ears.
Yuuri sighed in relief. Wolfram might be the fieriest kid he'd ever met, but the fiery kid was great in explaining the lesson. Moreover, Yuuri said inwardly, it would be nicer if Wolfram smiled more often. It suited the beautiful faced kid.
"Thank you, Wolfram," Yuuri thanked him sincerely. "I understand now."
Suddenly a sob was heard. It came from a kid near Yuuri's desk. Yuuri was very surprised knowing the sob uttered from Shigeru. What happened to the usually grinned boy, Yuuri wondered.
"What happen? Is he hurt?" Yuuri asked in wonder.
"Nothing to worry," Wolfram swayed his hand indifferently. "It happens all the time."
"What do you mean?"
"Shigeru always cries whenever Hatori is done with his task, while Shigeru hasn't," Wolfram explained.
"How come?" Yuuri's said in disbelief. He knew that Shigeru always tailed Hatori everywhere, but he thought that crying over unfinished task was just too much.
"Shigeru cries too," Wolfram added disapprovingly, "if Hatori gets better marks than him."
Yuuri stared at the gray haired boy in more disbelief. This was the first time he met a very dependent kid desperately clung towards another kid.
Shigeru was several months older than his cousin, Yuuri noted, but it's Hatori who acted in more mature way.
Yuuri watched in amazement how Hatori patted Shigeru's back comfortingly.
"It's okay, Shii-chan," Hatori consoled the bigger boy. "Just stop crying, okay. Let me help you doing it."
Shigeru was still crying, though the sobs gradually reduced. "Look, it's not difficult. You can do it, Shii-chan," the smaller boy tried to cheer him up.
Finally Shigeru nodded and stopped crying. He sniffed loudly before going back to his book. Hatori stood beside him, explaining the question.
"Hatori is kind," he muttered to himself.
"Close your mouth, Yuuri," Wolfram nudged Yuuri's side.
Yuuri admired Hatori's maturity. Perhaps, Yuuri thought, Hatori is the most mature kid in class.
Yuuri was all eager to find out more about his friends.
.-.-.
TBC