"Young Master, we need to get going. Your next class will start fifteen minutes from now." Kurosaki warned him upon getting on the car. As he had stated, his next class for his so-called business management course this summer will start soon and yet he hadn't left the arena even after the audience left and after the janitors have finished cleaning the area.
"What have you been up to, Young Master?" the bodyguard, and in one special way had served as the heir's confidant, interrogated, feeling that there's something behind his younger friend's quiet mood yet perplexed actions while inside the spacious limousine.
He didn't reply, but rather he looked outside the window, his mind cloudy, and he knew that this mood is in great contrast to the clear and sunny weather outside.
"It won't bite if you'll tell me." the Manganji's official driver for almost forever kidded, and that broke the thin layer of ice between the two as the handsome heir began to speak.
"Kurosaki..." he began with doubt in his voice, "What will you do if you need to confirm something that you've been observing for a long time?"
There was silence, but Kurosaki's light-hearted chuckle broke it. Boy, this old man surely acts like a child sometimes. "Of course, I'll move to a closer spot and observe more. What kind of a question is that? It's as if you're not the topnotcher in your Math exams yesterday..."
"Oh come on, Kurosaki." The heir named Takeshi scowled about, "It's just luck, I tell you. Just plain luck." Now, who said that this guy's got a lot of high airs on him?
"But I'm proud of you for that achievement, Young Master..." the driver grinned without looking back, for the reason that Takeshi's already looking at him through the mirror. For Takeshi, Kurosaki wasn't just a confidant to him, but he's more like a fatherly figure already. He was there when he needed some advice and when he experiences life's greatest gifts and disasters to him. At least, Kurosaki was there right on the driver's seat for him, unlike his own father who is always there on his seat... back on their main branch in Tokyo. And when he gets there, all he talks about is pure business... money, finance, office... nothing else. He presumes that he's lucky he got one trusty driver who knows him more than his father does --- more than his father ever tried and did.
"But, is that what you will really do?" Takeshi inquired again, still looking outside though the harsh light of the sun's almost blinding his eyes.
"It varies with the situation...," the driver replied even before the master finished his statement. Instantly, the windows were slightly covered.
"Direct sunlight's bad for the eyes, Young Master." Once again, the fiftysomething guy beamed, and this time Takeshi smiled back, feeling protected on the guy's presence.
"For example," he began talking again, slightly clearing his voice, "If you're eyeing on a single sparrow, then it's okay if you'll make noise, though not that much of course. But watch out if you're eyeing on an eagle especially the one with either eggs or babies. They're too sensitive and they might rip your eyes off if you barge in too much."
He paused, letting the young mind absorb the wisdom he imparted. If there's a thing Takeshi was really drawn to Kurosaki, it surely is this witty man's way of teaching. It's more like listening to a story varying from an anecdote to a tragedy. He remembered he swore to himself that he'll be like him when he grows old and when he already has children and grandchildren... back when he was a kid of seven.
"You get that, young man?" After that moment of silence, he asked.
"Hai, onii-san. Arigato." He replied sincerely, the type of sincerity that's rare for someone named Takeshi Manganji to show.
"Onii-san? I am too old to be called your brother. Maybe you're just shy to call me ojii-san. It's okay; I'm fifty-two anyway." The wrinkles on the sides of his eyes appeared when he smiled. "You sound like a child, Young Master."
He sighed before proceeding, "I remember your childhood. You were too deprived to climb even a single tree, the thing which I've done almost every day of my life as a young lad... given the chance, I could have taught y ---"
"PLEASE STOP THE CAR, ONII-SAN!"
He heard the Young Master's panicked voice so he instantly stepped on the brake, which is unlucky for him because he knew that the guy hadn't listened to him all along on his reminiscing.
"Doko ikuze da yo?" He shouted as soon as he heard the car's door snap open and the Young master hurriedly making his way out.
"... I must go 'bird-watching'!" Takeshi exclaimed as he ran away from the halted car. He sensed the urgency in the guy's voice and he understood it very well, so he hit the gas and ran almost in pace with the master's running. He opened the window and shouted, "Don't tire yourself too much, my boy! Should I go and report you skipping classes to your father?"
Takeshi, a bit exhaused already, shouted back, "You know the same old deal, Kurosaki!. And I won't tire myself... I promise!"
The driver closed the window already, yet his eyes were too sharp to still see the young master say, "Thanks a lot!" Yes, he has a talent in lip-reading.
With his eyes back on the road, he muttered, "No problem..." He pulled out a picture of a boy in his teenage years, a boy who looks a lot like Takeshi except for the fairer complexion and chestnut-brown hair, from his pocket and whispered, "You're welcome, Eiji. He really is like you."
And the limo sped away.
"MARINO!"
The lad with the said named didn't look back to the one shouting, to the lad in red shirt and black elephant pants.
"KOUYA!" The voice grew louder in compliance to the owner's will.
The lad in blue jacket turned around and saw his rival chasing him.
"I need you to explain things to me." The young heir still ran. The guy labeled Kouya sensed another irritating confrontation about his behavior coming up, so he ran faster on purpose of not being interrogated anymore. Takeshi, seeing this, ran... pushing himself beyond his limits.
"I DON'T CARE! I AM SO SICK OF BEING ASKED!".
"I won't be asking you if I don't see something wrong..."
"WHY DO YOU GUYS ALWAYS BUTT IN MY STUFF ANYWAY?!"
"Because we care..."
"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"
Kouya ran faster, and so did Takeshi. People had their curious stares on these two who seemed to be making so much havoc and scene on the substreets two kilometers away from Kirei Stadium.
"YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND ME. WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?"
"I UNDERSTAND YOU AND I AM HERE TO HELP YOU OUT."
"You're not my big brother anyway!"
This statement left Takeshi stunned, thus he stopped from running. The second World Cup champion continued, and in Takeshi's view, he seemed to be disappearing in the horizon where the sun and land meet.
"You are my rival. You'll NEVER become a big brother to me! You're not Yuhya!"
There he went, comparing him to his late brother. He can't stand being behind someone else's shadow anymore, so with clenched fists and last ounce of strength, he shouted back,
"I know I can't be your big brother, but at least I can be your friend!"
With that said, Kouya stopped running and turned back, but all he saw was a young man who fainted right down on the road and a crowd flanking on him.
Brown pools opened weakly and it focused on an elderly man's smiling face.
"Ku... Kurosaki-nii-san?"
"I thought you told me you won't tire yourself too much? It might get worse... you know..." His always jolly voice saddened as he handed the heir a small oval white pill and a glass of water.
"I did?" His tanned hands smoothened out his untamed and tossed hair as he answered back.
"Yes, you did... but you know what, Takeshi-sama?"
"Huh?" he displayed his rare innocent expression for his onii-san to see.
"You have watched the bird well."
"I... I did? But I fainted, right? H--- how come?"
The child-like witty old man smiled and answered,
"I watched the wild eagle for you. I even took a closer look of its hatching egg."
"Watch it, moron!"
A short-tempered guy bellowed at the Second World Cup champion whose mind is out of his own body. He didn't seem to mind the annoyed fellow as he casually walked through shelves and shelves of books, ignoring everything that's going on around him and also recalling what happened earlier...
'Listen, kid." The fiftysomething man called his attention after setting the young Manganji flat on the limo seat. "Will you let another of your friends faint like that because of you and your hard-headedness?"
"He's not my friend. He's my rival..." came Kouya's stiff reply.
"Rival... two to three years yes. But guess what? He talks to me often about a friend whom he's so concerned about, yet he just can't find a way on how to approach that someone."
Kouya stopped and looked at that arrogant Manganji no lying peacefully there.
"... hmm, do you have any idea as to who it is, may I ask?" the man asked again in a gentle manner, the gentleness Kouya can't be angry or annoyed at.
Silence.
"Um... mister..."
"Call me Kurosaki." the man smiled, thus erasing Kouya's fears.
"Mister Kurosaki, what's wrong with Takeshi? Why did he collapse out there?" They both grew silent and all they heard was the heir's shallow and slow breathing. The old man stooped down then finally replied,
"Young man, just remember that all --- all of us --- has his and her own problems and weaknesses. Omae wa minna wakarimashita... hitori janai yo."
The next thing he knew when he drifted back to sanity is that he had already purchased a book. It's a pocketbook about three inches thick with a sketch of a yellow balloon at the cover. A Love to Share is the title and the author's name was a mystery. He shrugged, placed the mysterious book back on his paper bag and walked away from the bookstore.
But all he didn't know was there were two sharp eyes eyeing him warily, gathering enough inspiration for his next publication.