Hello, my awesome readers, thank you for all your wonderful reviews! I really cannot say in words how much they mean to me ;) sorry for leaving you for sooooo long but as I said in my other story, I have a really big exam coming up soon and the next time I can update is probably in October…I'm really sorry! Please bear with it for now…I did a longer chapter to make up for that!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inazuma Eleven.
Chapter 2
Kiyama Hiroto
"Look who I brought home as well," Hitomiko said with a smile as she placed her hands on the shoulders of a small boy. The small boy looked the exact opposite of Nagumo, with light-gray hair pointed towards the left, slightly tanner skin and a pair of calm, teal coloured eyes. He seemed to have an icy atmosphere shrouding him, making me unsure of whether he would be as lively and joyous as the other children at Sun Garden.
Something about him was setting my nerves on edge and I gripped Midorikawa's hand a little tighter without knowing as Hitomiko and the other boy walked forward.
Why am I even so scared? He's just another kid in need of a home! I scolded myself, forcing myself to relax a little.
"Hiroto, Nagumo, this is Suzuno Fuusuke. He's going to join this family from today onwards," Hitomiko introduced the boy. (Yagami had gone to her room)
Suzuno looked rather uncomfortable as he said, "Well, nice to meet you..."
Nagumo eyed Suzuno curiously. "Where are you from?"
"Well...I...um..." Suzuno fidgeted with his shirt.
"Nagumo, could you please bring Suzuno to your room? You're finally getting a roommate! " Hitomiko deicded to intervene.
"Sure!" Nagumo then skipped away happily with Suzuno right behind him.
I turned my attention back to Midorikawa, who was staring at Hitomiko with those big, black eyes of his. I nudged him gently, causing him to jump and knock into the table behind him, causing a big, fat book to fall off the table and hit him in the head. He let out a wail as he fell to the floor, his hand slipping free off mine.
Hitomiko laughed as Midorikawa rubbed his head, pouting slightly.
"You should be more careful," she advised gently as she easily lifted Midorikawa and placed him on his feet. "What's your name?"
Instead of answering, Midorikawa suddenly got very nervous. He bit his lip, wringing his hands together and shifting his weight from one foot to another.
Hitomiko seemed concerned by Midorikawa's attitude. "Is something wrong?" she asked softly.
Midorikawa seemed taken aback by the question and he looked desperately towards me for help. I wasn't sure why Midorikawa would need my help for such a simple question, but anyway, he was a friend. And friends help each other, don't they?
"His name is Midorikawa Ryuuji," I stated.
Hitomiko smiled at Midorikawa. "Welll then, you can share a room with Hiroto. But I would like to speak to you after dinner, okay?"
Midorikawa gave the slightest of nods, still biting his lip. Then, as Hitomiko walked off to tend to the other kids' needs, I half dragged, half led Midorikawa to my room. Or, from today onwards, our room.
I opened the door and walked in, pulling Midorikawa inside the room as well. I plopped down on my bed as Midorikawa turn in a slow circle, absorbing every little detail of the room.
"Do you like it? You'll be living here for quite a long while now..."
"I don't like it," Midorikawa declared.
I could immediately feel my heart drop to my stomach like a stone. He didn't like it? I thought we could've been friends...
Then, Midorikawa laughed. "I love it!"
I literally jumped up in joy. "That's great!" I exclaimed in glee, jumping in a circle around Midorikawa. Midorikawa joined me in my jumping and we somehow tripped over each other's feet, tumbling to the ground with a burst of laughter.
After we had both calmed down, I turned to Midorikawa. "Now it is time to get you some new clothes!"
~~
"That smells delicious..."Midorikawa's voice sounded small in the vastness of the living room.
"Hitomiko nee-san is cooking dinner for us," I replied.
We were seated on the couch in the living room with Nagumo and Suzuno, impatiently waiting for dinner.
"All by herself?" Suzuno asked with a shocked expression on his face. "You guys don't help her?"
Nagumo crossed his arms indignantly. "It's not that we don't want to, she doesn't want us to help her!"
"Hitomiko nee-san only allows Saginuma-san and Izuno-san to help her since both of them are much older and bigger than the rest of us," I explained in a gentler tone, seeing that Nagumo's sudden outburst had scared Suzuno and Midorikawa.
"And now, both of them aren't back from school yet," Nagumo finished, looking slightly apologetic.
"O-oh...but if I told her I have cooking experience, would she allow me to help?" Suzuno asked timidly.
"Well, it depends," Nagumo answered. "But she only allows those older than 8 to go near the stove."
"Oh," Suzuno murmured with a dejected look on his face.
"How old are you two?" I asked curiously. "Nagumo and I are five."
"I'll be five in three months!" Midorikawa announced proudly.
That means his birthday is in December...that's more than half a year younger than me...one more month and he would be a whole year younger than me, I thought.
"I just turned five a couple of days ago..."Suzuno mumbled hesitantly, "on Saturday."
"Really?!" Nagumo gasped.
Suzuno nodded.
"HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!" Nagumo exclaimed, jumping up and shaking Suzuno's hand vigorously.
Midorikawa and I exchanged a mischievous glance before we leapt on Nagumo and Suzuno, wishing Suzuno happy birthday. The four of us play wrestled on the couch for a while, laughing and shouting, and I took note that there was a huge grin on Suzuno's face and a bright smile on Midorikawa's.
We stopped when Hitomiko announced dinner was ready.
"Come on, Suzuno, Midorikawa, come taste Hitomiko nee-san's cooking skills!" Nagumo and I chorused in unison.
"Now, children, there will be major construction works going on one side of this orphanage," Hitomiko nee-san told everyone after dinner. "It will affect all the rooms on the left side of the hallway."
There were gasps around the table and everyone exchanged astonished glances.
"Then how are we gonna sleep?" Segata complained.
"All of you have to share rooms. Four to a room," Hitomiko replied calmly.
Immediately, there was chaos.
"But one room can't fit four of us!"
"We won't be able to breathe!"
"How can we move about?"
"How long is the construction?"
"Quiet!" Hitomiko ordered and an immediate silence fell upon the room. "Yagami, the room is big enough to fit four of you. Kui, don't worry, you still can breathe. Saginuma, you can move about. Nagumo, the construction will take about five years."
Everyone's eyes stretched even wider (if that was even possible), though no one dared to object. A heavy silence fell upon the room, everyone exchanging wide-eyed glances.
Goryuu* broke the silence by asking, "So you want us to live in some cramped up conditions for five years?"
It was then that I realised Hitomiko's face was strained, as if though she found it hard to tell us this news.
"It's not that we want you to. At least, I don't want you to. However, otou-san needs you to live in such conditions for a while."
At the mention of otou-san, some of the kids' brows furrowed and whispering broke out in little pockets here and there. Otou-san hadn't visited lately, although he had promised to the last time he was at Sun Garden.
"Is this bad?" Midorikawa's voice sounded from behind me.
"Very bad," Nagumo muttered before I could reply. "Just as Goryuu* has said, they expect us to live in such crammy conditions for five whole years?"
"I don't really mind…" Suzuno intercepted quietly.
"I think it would be fine," I murmured. "I mean, the more the merrier, right?"
Midorikawa and Suzuno gave a tiny nod, but Nagumo just rolled his eyes. "Quit being such an optimist, Hiroto," he grumbled.
"Quit being such a pessimist, Haruya," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Hey! When did I-"
"Silence!" Hitomiko's voice cut through all conversation. "It's all been planned and that's that. From tonight, all occupants of the rooms on the left of this orphanage will move into the opposite rooms."
"Tonight?!" Nagumo exclaimed. "Oh come on! They could at least have given us some more time in our old rooms…"
"And what purpose would that serve, Nagumo?" Hitomiko had appeared right behind Nagumo.
"N-nothing at all!"
"Good, now go pack your things."
Nagumo and Suzuno had brought all their belongings into Midorikawa's and my room. Midorikawa and I had decided to be fair, thus we had dumped our mattresses onto the floor and, with the help of some older kids at the orphanage, turned the beds over to become tables. Nagumo and Suzuno added their mattresses and blankets to the pile, before all four of us plopped onto the floor, sitting in a circle.
"So, we'll be living like this for five years hm? Seems fine to me," Suzuno murmured, leaning back on his hands.
Nagumo rolled his eyes again. "Oh come on, another optimist?"
"Well you're the only pessimist here, Haruya, so you should learn to change," Suzuno snickered.
"When did I ever allow anyone here to call me Haruya?!" Nagumo wailed.
"Never," I answered simply, sniggering slightly.
"Well," Midorikawa interrupted, also laughing slightly. "We might as well deal with it now. Anyway, who knows? This might just be the start of an adventure!"
*Goryuu- he is the goalkeeper for Gemini Storm.
End. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
