4- STRIKE ONE

the first chronological strike in the breakdown of Yamamoto Takeshi

Yuzuki and Takeshi are known to the neighbors as The Inseparables.

One is never seen without the other and where one goes the other is sure to be trailing not far behind.

Which is why it comes as such a shock when weeks pass by and the boy comes home cheerfully through the front doors of the restaurant- tracking mud all over the entrance and greeting the uncle from the Meat Shop all by his lonesome. No secondary pair of footsteps come sprinting around the corner, desperately trying to catch the boy who obviously made a break for it before she got him with a loose water bottle.

The clock strikes three and Yamamoto Takeshi arrives alone once again.

"I'm home!" The boy cries cheerily, teeth sparkling and cheeks red from the sprint home. The sight makes the older customers swoon. Takeshi has always been an adorable toddler. Tack on his penchant to shy away from strangers but chatter endlessly whilst in the presence of his family- it was a wonder how no one in their small town tried to kidnap him yet.

"Takeshi!" His dad would bellow, quickly wiping his hands to embrace his only son. It's a sight that's becoming much of a routine to his three o'clock customers. The smiles that envelope their faces after the child lets out a round of giggles and escapes out of his father's kisses tells him that they don't mind at all.

Time stops as the boy skirts around his father's legs, greeting a hearty hello to the kitchen and waiting staff before loudly retelling his day at school for all to hear.

"Today we went to the zoo!" The boy was telling the man who owned the old antique shop a ways away from the Shopping District. Arms outstretched far above his head and loudly reenacting every event that transpired on Namimori Elementary's annual trip to the petting zoo.

Takeshi was a shy child by heart, the sight of his son opening up to strangers in such a vivid and outspoken way made Tsuyoshi's heart skip several beats.

He'd never been as close to his son as he would've liked.

Before his wife passed, Takeshi was never afraid to speak his mind. He was more curious than his small body could handle and was able to talk a mile a minute; more times than not the family would panic thinking they lost the toddler only to find him calling after a street vendor's puppy. Tsuyoshi couldn't even begin to count how many years Takeshi has taken from him during his toddler days alone.

In those days, his curiosity powered him through his shyness. The stark difference between the child the entire district loved to the quiet boy who played with the meat shop vendor's nephew was enough of a tell on how comfortable Takeshi was around them to open up in that way.

Then his wife passed away and that boy retreated.

Yuzuki becomes his next pillar. Always sticking to her like glue on paper.

Only talking like he used to whenever she gave him her full undivided attention. Only going to her whenever something popped up. Always running back in and out of her legs whenever they ventured off to new places.

Takeshi had never been close enough to his father for that. He was never the first or even second choice for his boy.

At best, he'd be the one that scared the monsters away. Or the one that was thrown to the monsters.

He was the one that made sure he was tucked in soundly as he laid in his sister's bed thinking no one would find out that he'd snuck out of his bed again at 3 am.

He thought he preferred it that way.

It wasn't until Yuzuki became an official trainee did things change.

He was terrified.

Takeshi had changed ever since Yuzuki left. After a soft explanation that trainees weren't allowed any form of communication until the holidays because of their busy schedules and that any visits outside of emergencies were strongly discouraged by her manager, he wasn't sure how the young boy would react.

As a father, he thought those commands were insane. As the father of the duo soon to be formerly known as the Inseparables, his heart shattered.

At first, the boy was silent. Emotions flashed through the boy's eyes, a small sound between a scream and a sob escaped out of him before a calm washed over his features. He only had to look up at and nod for the message to come across from brother to sister.

Takeshi might've not said a word but Yuzuki had burst into tears and held onto him for dear life.

And then she was gone.

And then it was just the two of them.

"How is he holding up?" One of his regulars asked, eyes trained on the young boy still chatting away to Strange Old Kawahira.

Tsuyoshi only smiled with tired eyes.

He's lonely beyond belief, he wanted to answer back, but instead he recounted that first night after Yuzuki left.

Small feet padding down the hallways, a quiet voice calling out to his sister before stopping right outside her door. A sob filling the air before the patter of feet went off again. Echoeing down into his ears and fading behind a closed door.

The hall light turned off.

Tsuyoshi didn't sleep a wink as his son desperately tried to stifle his sobs in the quiet of his empty room.

"He's doing ok," was what came out after the boy paused in his story about the rabbits, turning to his father as if sensing his gaze and letting loose a wide smile. Waving his hands back and forth in every display of happiness that made his chest bubble.

And he was. Doing ok.

But that still didn't mean that enough was enough and that he didn't venture off into his son's room that night to lay along side him. His arm tucking his son into his larger body and staring at the starlit ceiling Yuzuki had installed before she left.

That didn't mean that Takeshi didn't still pad through the hallways calling out for a sister who would no longer be there to chase away his nightmares.

It didn't mean his son was ok with coming home alone whilst everyone else got picked up by their older siblings or parents.

It just meant that he didn't complain.

That kind of loneliness - the kind that Tsuyoshi couldn't help with- didn't make any of it ok.

So when he laid awake in bed that night and listened to his son pad down the hall, he was shocked to hear the added steps. The absence of the pause. The slight struggle before his bedroom door was preyed open and his son standing there lit by the hallway light, stuffed animal and blanket in hand.

"Dad." was all Takeshi needed to say before finding himself back into his father's arms.