School is a bitch and it's 5 in the morning because i was up doing assignments. Enjoy :P
"Saturday? It's a backup day since we should finish up tomorrow." Mika sighed as he looked at his phone again. "Is something the matter?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if I can have Saturday off after 3," Mika said as he looked up at her, "My classmates are on the soccer team and it's the finals on Saturday. I was kind of hoping to go but since it's work, I'll tell them that I'm busy."
"We can make that work," his manager said as she looked through his schedule again. "If anything comes up in these two days, I'll tell them to schedule everything in the morning."
"Are you sure this is okay?" Mika said as he stared at the message he had typed out to Kishimoto. He was going to hit send on the message but he wanted to word it properly. Mika didn't sound like he wasn't interested and looking for an excuse to decline, especially since he was going to be away from school for two days for this photoshoot. But if he could get a day-off on Saturday, he did want to support the soccer team because everyone worked so hard to make it to the semi-finals.
"Yes, but you might have to work harder these two days so we don't need to use up any time on Saturday."
"Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it. You're still young. You should enjoy life while you can," she said and Mika smiled.
"I'll do my best."
~ Look at Me and Smile ~
"Why are you still at home?" Mika paused and turned around.
"Good morning, Mother, Father. It's a surprise to see you two here as well," Mika said but his parents did not waver. "I have a day off today. I thought I would-"
"Shouldn't you be studying?"
"I have been, but-"
"You only scored a 94 on your last test. Is that school you're attending impeding your grades? Perhaps I'll talk to them to switch you to a better school. We can afford a private school."
"That's not the issue," Mika said softly.
"Then are you not working hard enough?" His father asked. Silence followed the question and his phone rang before Mika could come up with an appropriate response. He looked at the caller ID before answering the call. "What is it? The records? I sent you the files two days ago so that you will have them printed out for today's meeting."
He walked out of the room but Mika could still hear his voice echoing in the quiet house.
"Mika, know that your father and I only want to the best for you."
"I understand."
"Won't you go back upstairs and study? Your father and I will be leaving for a meeting soon. The house will be quiet enough for you to study."
"Actually… it was my manager that suggested that I leave the house today."
"Shiha did?"
"Yes," Mika said firmly. He wasn't lying entirely, she did tell him to enjoy life.
"Very well. I trust her judgement. I hope you make yourself useful today. There's a lot of studying you can do in a day. With your work schedule, I hope that it doesn't affect your grades."
"Yes Mother, I'm leaving now," Mika said and she nodded.
He walked away and passed his father with his head down in the hallway. Unlike his mother, his father would not listen to reason. Since he got permission from his mother, Mika rather not listen to his father talk about his studies anymore today. He was busy with his work as always.
~ Look at Me and Smile ~
Mika didn't necessarily hide his identity whenever he's out in public. He always wore a hat and sunglasses outside of school, but he's open to letting fans stop him in the streets for pictures.
Although he asked for privacy when he was eating or occupied with a task at the moment.
If he was just walking around or taking a short rest, then he's alright with it. Most of his fans knew this and was respectful of it.
This only came to be when there was an uproar when Mika's enrollment in school was announced. These were simple rules that he asked them to follow when he was out in public. It also made going out by himself more manageable since he wasn't trying to hide away.
But it wasn't like he left the house much before.
Mika had to get used to the fact that some of his fans following him around and shopping or eating at the same places that he does. He considered that stalking for a while, but they never follow him for long distances like outside the mall or get onto the same train as him for that reason. However, the paparazzi did that the first few months since he attended school. But it was mostly calm now.
Sometimes he thought about how it would be like if no one knew who he was. Just being a regular person walking through the streets and carrying on with their life.
A lot of his classmates very vocally stated that they rather live the life Mika had, but he wondered if they would want their regular life back when they know how chaotic and isolating it can be at times. Fame can bring someone attention and money, but it shouldn't be everything a person wants and it isn't.
Mika found himself at the theatre after wandering in the mall for a bit. He had the whole morning to himself before he left to go to the arena where the match was held.
He was never the type to watch a movie. He appeared in a few TV shows and movies as background character or minor appearance as his main job was a model. It was kind of fun, but he didn't think he would have a career development in that direction.
After all, Mika was best at smiling at an audience, not so much acting.
He was never very into superheroes, mostly since he didn't have a lot of time to spend on hobbies. But Mika did enjoy it for what it was. There were some people who were verbally upset at the movie and complained as they left the theater, but Mika liked it. It had special effects and the acting was great. The sounds were a little loud at times, but an overall good experience.
Mika wandered around the food court and restaurants at the mall, but none were too appealing. He decided to go to a restaurant near the arena since he grabbed breakfast from a café earlier.
He was stopped a few times on his way to the station, but no one kept him for too long. Just photos and a few autographs.
On the train, Mika talked to a mother and her 3 years old son. No one tried to approach him when he was talking to them. But after the two got off at their station, Mika had a small growing crowd around him.
Luckily even with all the commotion, he didn't miss his stop. He went to find the arena before looking around for a restaurant nearby.
Mika found a small restaurant that looked aged and decided to go inside. It was a small family restaurant that sold ramen. There wasn't anyone else aside from him and the chef so they talked for a bit before his daughter came into the restaurant to help.
They took a few pictures before Mika's meal was served.
The chef learned that Mika was a teen model after his daughter excitedly asked him a few questions. But he also lightly scolded his daughter for bothering Mika during his meal.
Mika was a little jealous that the father and daughter got along so well. They had a few arguments here and there, mostly about their new advertisement poster. They even asked Mika for his opinion since he was a neutral third party. But even without his input, the two resolved their issue but creating a completely new one with ideas from the both of them.
Mika did agree it was the best solution.
He ended up spending more time at the restaurant than he expected so he quickly paid and left for the arena. He was stopped a couple of more times but he didn't have the heart to decline because it was partly his fault that he was going to be running late.
He managed to make it into the arena before the match started, but most of the seats we filled.
"Hey there!" Mika turned his head to see a group of girls waving at him. One of them even stood up from her seat to walk over to him. "If you're looking for a seat, we have room here."
Mika was thinking of an excuse to decline her, but he didn't really have a reason. Although he was hoping to find someone from his class, or anyone he knew. But he would feel bad for lying if he couldn't find anyone.
"He's actually with me." Mika turned around to see the girl that was with Yuu the other day.
"Akane, it's great to see you again," Mika greeted and noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just kinda hot in here," Akane said as she fanned herself with her hand and laughed nervously. She then gestured to the front row, a bit further away, "We're sitting over here. We thought you weren't coming today. The match is going to start soon!"
"Sorry, I got caught up in something," Mika said as they walked off. Once they were some distance away, he whispered to Akane, "Thank you for saving me."
"No problem. Mikaela- I mean Shindo-san."
"It's okay, you can call me Mikaela. You're a friend of Yuu-chan, right?"
"Yuu-chan? Do you call him that?" Akane asked and Mika nodded, "Oh that's pure gold. I can't wait to see his face when I call him that."
"He doesn't really like it when I call him that," Mika said as they walked down the stairs.
"I should introduce myself properly. Akane Hyakuya," she said as she turned around and gestured at her two companions, "and these are my friends, Mami Sakurai and Chiyako Hatsu."
I found love in writing Akane's character. Expect more of her in future stories! ;D
