Author's Note: I took yet another character from Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. This time it's the main character, Yuuki (Kasey in the English version).
It was yet another cold Saturday in the streets of Tokyo. Like usual, I walked around without any purpose. The temperature was starting to warm up due to spring drawing close. It's only a matter of time before I became a junior in North High.
As I walked around for a while, I noticed someone was following me. A male of my height, brown medium hair. His face covered with his fedora, his rather built body defended by the thick clothes he wore. I turned to a rather lonely street, without anyone around me. This is my chance to find out his identity.
I turned to a corner somewhat quickly, and ran around the complex to confront the stalker. I saw him peeking out of the corner without awareness of his behind. I took him by surprise, kicking his knee from behind and slammed him to a wall, holding him in a chokehold.
"Who are you, and why are you following me?" I said through gritted teeth.
He struggled for a while, before throwing his leg horizontally towards my head. Seeing the movement, I dodged the attack by ducking down and jumping back, keeping my distance from him.
The stalker stood there, preparing to attack. Eventually, he ran up to me with his hands ready for attacking. I put up my defensive stance and getting ready for the attack. He readied his right fist for a straight punch, this should be easy.
As I was ready to deflect, he spun around and threw a backhand with his left arm, which almost hit me. I once again reflexively ducked to dodge the attack, then stood up whilst grabbing his left arm. With a swift motion, I kicked his leg to disturb his balance and threw his body to the hard asphalt, earning a grunt from him. I didn't let go of his arm, just in case he wanted to attack me again.
"Spit it out! Who are you?"
The man chuckled whilst holding back the pain. "You're getting better, Hiromi…"
I was surprised, caught off guard. That voice…
"Yuuki?" I asked with disbelief.
He laughed lightly, a laugh that reminded me of three years ago. "Yeah, long time no see, partner."
I let go of him, letting him stood up. He dusted his coat, then removed his hat. No doubt about it, he's an old friend. That smiling face, that brown messy hair and eyes. Huh, I remembered that he was taller than me in junior high, now he's the same height as me.
"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you went to Osaka?" Confusion ran through me as I observed the man.
Yuuki chuckled lightly, "Yeah, that was three years ago, was it?" He looked at me for a while, "Man, you haven't change at all."
"Yeah, things went like an infinite loop, though your skills are better since we last met. Why the hell are you following me, anyway?" I asked the man.
"I wanted to give you a surprise, but that sharp instinct of yours got in my way!"
Tanaka Yuuki. I never thought I would see him again. I remembered the first time we met…
I was in junior high then, and my father was killed in action when a suicide bomber came to his base in Afghanistan. I was alone, my friends discovered my father's identity and left me. I was lonely, and was labeled as a freak in school. One day, the kids from school decided to gang up on me, which got my anger boiled.
"There he is, the freak!" There were many of them, and I'm not sure if I could take them all out, but I was skilled by then, father had taught me various martial arts from around the world.
As I struggled defending from the gang attacking me with various weapons, a helping hand arrived. A man from the same school as me took out a kid from behind and knocked him unconscious.
"It pissed me off seeing a fight that's unfair. All of you against the two of us! Bring it on!" He shouted with rage at the top of his lungs.
And so, we fought against the gang together. I noted he wasn't using any technique, just a street brawler that relies on his strength. But it's his fighting spirit that supported him, his rage, his wrath, his anger.
We took them all out eventually. With a tired body, my helper shouted to the kids once again, "You're all men! Do you think all of you against this one guy would be fair? Think again!"
After those words, we walked together to our respective homes.
"You alright?" He asked me with a hint of worry.
"Yeah." I stated, "I don't need your help."
He scoffed, smiling at the setting sun. "You're the son of the mercenary, right? I've heard of you."
"What? You're gonna beat me up like those other kids?" I glared at the man.
"Whoa, don't jump to conclusions here, I just wanted to say sorry for your loss." He said with a tone of sorrow.
"I don't need your sympathy."
He stared at me, raising both of his eyebrows. "Okay, tough guy…"
That was quite memorable. It was then that the next day, he started talking to me, befriending me and defending me against the bullies. But in the end, I was the one who had to treat his injuries.
At I was seated in the classroom of 8-2, the teacher announced that Yuuki had to transfer to another school due to his father's job in Osaka. I was left alone again after that day, making the bullies came after me once more. Of course, I had no problem wasting them all. But it felt pretty different to fight alone.
The thing I liked about the guy was he isn't a loudmouth. Never was the haughty man, even though he was one of the smartest students in school. He's quite strange, often skipping class, but got the best grades when the tests came. I guess he really is intelligent.
"You're still working at Chihaya's café?" He asked me as we walked towards Castanet Café.
"Yeah, still the same as three years ago, though."
He laughed lightly, throwing his head back. "Can't wait to see the guy."
We arrived at our destination in a matter of minutes, entering the building with the robotic voice of the cashier greeting us.
"This place hasn't change at all." Yuuki stated as he took a seat with me.
"What'll you have, Hiromi?" asked Chihaya, walking out of the kitchen, completely oblivious of the existence of my companion.
"I guess you could say the owner hasn't, too." Yuuki jerked a thumb at the chef.
Chihaya recognized the voice, he jolted his head to Yuuki, looking at him in complete surprise. "Yuuki! What the hell are you doing here?"
"Surprised?" Yuuki said with a smirk.
"Hell yeah I am! You came out of nowhere!" Chihaya laughed lightly, "Man, it's been too long. Where the hell have you been?"
The owner of the café took a seat to chat with an old friend. He was too happy to see Yuuki.
"I was in Osaka for almost three years before my father was called back here again. So I had to transfer to yet another school." Yuuki explained.
"Where are you transferring to?" I asked, a bit curious.
"North High."
"What? That's my school!"
"Really?" He asked me with disbelief. "What a coincidence!"
"Ha, two friends reunited. I guess you boys will be kicking ass at school again." Chihaya stated.
"Nah, not this time. I don't have any problems with bullies right now." I stated.
"I remembered you two coming to my place all beat up, though Yuuki was the one who often got injured." Chihaya reminisced his past.
"Yeah, I remember that." Yuuki took a sip of his coffee. "I'm able to hold my own now, though. Two years of martial arts practice." He stated, holding up two fingers.
"Good, I won't need to back you up, then." I said to him.
"Don't worry though, I won't start a fight if there's no bastards to be beaten up."
That's another thing I liked about Yuuki. He's a man of justice, only bring up violence to a person who deserved it. Even though he's a bit of a delinquent, he's actually a caring person. I remembered one day a male student cheated on his girlfriend. Knowing this, Yuuki waited at the streets near the cheater's home and confronted the guy. Yuuki demanded the cheater to apologize to his girlfriend, which he refused to do. Of course, if a scare is not enough, a fist to the face is next. Yuuki left a mark on the cheater's face, making him unable to attend school the next day. The day after, the cheater apologized formally to his girlfriend, and stated that he won't cheat anymore. I guess Yuuki's fists could fix someone's head quite easily.
"No, the school's pretty much peaceful. You won't need to fight anymore, Yuuki." I assured him. One thing to note, he actually detest violence, even though he thought that it was the most effective way to teach a persistent person a lesson.
"Is that so? Well, I guess I can finally live a peaceful life, then!" He cheered happily.
I'm sure you can. The school's a safe haven for everyone that wanted to live a carefree life. He might have a hard time in junior high, but he'll be alright from now on.
I'm sure of it.
