Chapter 3: Budo - Promise

I can say with confidence that I am happy with my life.

I have many friends, a great little sister, great grades…

But something has always been missing from my life.

It's her.

I have lived next door to her for years, ever since I moved to this town ten years ago.

Truth is… I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for her.

I know that this will be my last year here in this town, my last chance to tell her how I feel before I leave for University…

I need to tell Ayano Aishi how I have always felt about her.

April 10th, 2017 - Monday - Sunny weather- Cherry Blossom blooming season ends in two days

With a smile, I pulled the covers off myself as my alarm clock told me to wake up. It's five o clock, my favorite time of day! The darkness still set outside would soon turn to the warm glow of the morning as the sun made its way into the sky to usher in the new day.

I love to do my early morning exercises and watching the sun rise. It makes me feel so wonderful inside, being a part of the morning in this way, to actually see the morning progress from the quiet night to the bright beginning.

I did some quick stretches before dropping to the floor and doing my daily routine of pushups, crunches… Same old same old.

I think two hundred reps of each isn't enough for me anymore. I really need to up the ante. I glanced at the clock as I stood from the floor, seeing how only thirty minutes had passed. I had attempted to text my best friend, Taro, if he wanted to go and jog around town before school. He never answered. It's okay, he'll answer next time! I sighed, I was getting through my work outs too quickly! Working out and getting stronger is supposed to be savored! Enjoyed…

I sighed and quickly made my way to the bathroom, taking my toiletries with me, bumping into my sister, who was just now pulling herself from her room. I quickly swooped her up before she fell, making sure my dear, sweet, fragile sister wouldn't get hurt.

"Wah! Budo!" Hanako sputtered, the sleep from her eyes gone now, replaced with a wide eyed look.

"Are you alright, Hana?" I questioned as I straightened her up, I couldn't bear the thought if something happened to her…

She sputtered a bit before laughing, "it's fine, onii-chan! I'm okay!" She then accidentally bumped into the wall, causing the scroll that was on display to come crashing down. We both tried to pick it up and set it right before-

"What happened up here!?" Yelled the voice of my dad from downstairs. He then came into view as he poked his head from downstairs and up the stairway, dressed in his favorite pink frilly apron.

"Nothing, father!" I called out, having successfully put it back up on the wall, smoothing it out so father wouldn't worry… Or worse…. Mother would worry.

Father gave me a look as he saw that my hands were still pressed against the scroll, which I then tried to pass off as me appreciating the scroll. I then made my hands start to rub the face of the scroll, "I am rubbing the scroll in appreciation for its beauty." Hanako then starting rubbing her hands on it too, making dad pause.

He shrugged, "it's okay, I do the same thing every morning."

He then left to go back to the kitchen, making Hanako and I stop. We both breathed a sigh of relief as we both went to brush our teeth then separate and dress for school. I don't actually know how to feel about my baby sister finally making it to high school. I'm just so used to seeing her with her primary school tag on her clothes or her middle school uniform. I'm used to picking her up from school and carrying her back home on my shoulders.

But now she is growing up.

I'm so proud of her!

Once I dressed in the school's uniform, I attempted to tie my tie…

It didn't work out.

For some reason it always came out wrong. I once actually had it backwards and didn't notice it until after school. I sighed and quickly picked my school bag up from the foot of my bed, (I packed it last night) and quickly made my way downstairs, glad to see it wasn't six yet.

Hanako hadn't come down yet, so I deposited my bag next to my chair, watching how dad was cooking breakfast. Mom wasn't the best cook in the world, especially since no matter what she did (like emptying our entire spice rack) the food she made always came out completely tasteless. Even worse, it never filled anyone. It just somehow made us all hungrier than before.

Which is why dad cooks all the time.

Dad quickly cropped the ingredients and threw them into the pan, throwing the cover on the pan and letting it simmer. As he turned to me, I realized how anyone who didn't know would probably think we were siblings, or at worse twins. I clearly inherited my dad's looks, with his wild hair, facial structure and such. He wore a simple outfit of a white t-shirt that strained against his well-built form with form fitting jeans. He hadn't shaved in a while and had the beginnings of a beard on his chin. "There you are, Budo! Are you ready to perform our katas?" He asked me, huge grin on his face as his bright light grey eyes sparkled with excitement.

My dad was the only person I knew who was even more gung-ho about martial arts than I ever could.

"We need to wait for Hanako! We cannot possibly perform our katas without her! She is a student of the Seinaru Hikari Martial Arts School! We cannot possibly let our art die!" I argued, passionate in my family's art style that has been passed down for thousands of years.

Father paled, "Augh! You're right! I can't start without Hanako here with us!" He quickly ran to the stairs, bellowing up them "Hana! Hurry! The sun is coming up and we can't start without you!"

My father never did ever think his decisions through though…

"Faitaro!"

I gulped at the same time as father did when the voice of my mother boomed from their room on the second floor. The door was slammed open, "Faitaro if you dare yell in this house like that again I will personally make you regret marrying me!"

"Sorry Komaki, my dearest sweet honey pie!" My father laughed good naturedly, as he slowly backed away from the stairs. "Won't happen again! You take your time getting ready for the day!" He chuckled nervously as Hanako finally made her way downstairs.

"Good." Mother said in her usual sweet tone.

"Morning, daddy!" Hanako chirped, fixing her red bow in the front of her uniform.

Father shook himself, smiling at Hanako. "Good morning, dearest daughter! Come! We must go and perform our katas in the newly made morning!" He pounded a fist against his chest, a fire appearing in his eyes. "The beautiful morning sun shall power us, like in olden times to fight against the darkness that emanates from every corner of this world. As we, the defenders of the souls of this earth, are tasked with this honorable duty!"

"Dad, this is just our everyday exercises." Hanako deadpanned.

"…even so!" Father had paused, then quickly smiled at Hanako, ruffling her hair as she protested about him ruining her pigtails. "Come! We must greet the morning!"

Soon, all three of us were standing on the back porch, watching how the dark sky was soon becoming a pleasant hue as the sun started its slow crawl up the sky. With a bellow, we began our katas, the sun rising filling my body with an invigoration I had never gotten tired of.

The three of us moved together as one, letting the sun wash over us as we felt the world beneath us move just ever so slightly.

Nothing could ruin the connection we felt when we perform before the sunrise.

"Faitaro! Come in here this instant! Breakfast is on FIRE!"

And just like that the connection is gone.

Father didn't even look alarmed, he just turned towards mother, who was wearing her favorite black suit. "Oh? Breakfast is on fire?"

"Yes, Faitaro! Breakfast is on fire." Mom spoke harshly as she tapped a foot against the porch with her arms crossed over her chest.

Dad blinked then laughed, "well isn't that just a bummer."

"Don't laugh! Put it out!"

To be honest, this isn't the first time my dad set something on fire because he forgot he was doing something important. Like cooking. Hanako and I are used to commotions like this, sometimes even worse things occur in the morning in this house.

Soon, with the fire out, we were all enjoying a new breakfast of fried eggs and toast. Mom was glaring at dad, the former disappointed that the house almost burned down again and the latter not sure why his wife was angry at him again.

The clock chimed once the time said that it was six, making Hanako and I quickly stand up. "Oh! That's right! It's time for our daily jog!" I shoveled in the rest of my food and quickly deposited the dishes into the sink, quickly grabbing my school bag.

"Hey!" Mom said as I ran past, "Don't forget that today is school! I don't want to hear that you and your sister are late!"

I nodded, jogging in place to warm up as I waited for Hanako to finish her plate. "Don't worry! I will not be late, mom!" I beamed at her. Mom doesn't really care about our martial arts lifestyle, but she respects that this is a part of us.

Hanako ran past and grabbed her bag, mom waving us off giving us both a smile that reached her dark grey eyes, framed by her shoulder length black hair.

We both quickly put on our running shoes in the entrance hall, before emerging from home. With how the air felt, I quickly took off my school blazer and tied it around my waist. With a quick stretch while I waited for Hanako to go back inside to get her phone, I couldn't help but to glance at the neighbor's house.

The Aishi family.

Ayano…

I took a deep breath, thinking about the girl who lived next door to me for about ten years now. This year is my final year of high school, the last year I have before leaving for university. The last year I have to finally…

I clenched my hands, my resolve burning deep inside of me as I came to the conclusion I needed to.

I need to finally confess my feelings for Ayano Aishi, before the end of the year!

If only I could… I could… I sighed as I let my hands unclench, anxiety flowing through me. What if I couldn't talk to her? I couldn't ever talk to her before, as I was a very shy child, my shyness keeping me from ever saying anything to her.

But this year, my final chance, I will take it!

With a deep breath, I started to jog forward, trying to think about how to finally approach the girl I have always watched, the girl who made me overcome my shyness, the girl who haunts my mind, the girl who unknowingly holds my heart.

I bumped into someone and before I could say anything coherent, I saw before my eyes, Aishi on the ground before me.

She is here, right in front of me.

This is my chance!

With a friendly smile, I offered my hand to her and spoke with a confidence I knew I didn't have inside me. "Sorry, I never saw you there, my training calls for me to jog around town at least once or twice a day, I wanted to get an early start!" I laughed, picking up my own discarded bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "Hope you forgive me! My name is Masuta, Budo Masuta! I'm a third year at Akademi High school and leader of the Martial Arts club!"

This is going so well! I just need to stay calm, stay in control. This is my real chance to finally spend time with Aishi! I gave her bag back, and soon she stood before me, not saying anything. My confident persona slowly starting to slip away. If I don't say anything or she doesn't… I don't think I could stand to be next to her!

Why does she have to be so beautiful!?

"Onii-chan! You left me behind! You know I like to jog with you every morning!" Hanako spoke to me as she jogged up to me, wrapping her arms around one of my own. This is perfect! I can introduce her to my amazing little sister! We can jog around town together! "Onii-chan? We'll never be able to jog if you keep standing here! Before she-"

"Masuta! You're keeping me waiting! Ugh, you should be grateful I actually wait around for you, since you look like you could get lost without my help." She sighed, "you've always been so useless, since we were kids!"

Oh! It's Najimi! I waved to her, isn't this a pleasant surprise! I can introduce my closest friend and family to Aishi! Maybe we can all be friends! Though, Najimi can be a little rough sometimes. But she has a good heart. She just needs time, which is what I found out after being her friend for so long.

Which reminds me! I'm training her! She asked me to train her when we were little and every time I am around her, I continue with the training regime! I laughed as I was about to introduce them to Aishi when I noticed I was being dragged away by Hanako and Najimi, the two were having a friendly little quarrel.

And now I noticed that Aishi is nowhere nearby anymore, we weren't even on the same street anymore!

My one chance to finally talk to her! It's gone!

I took a deep breath, no no. I need to stay confident, I go to the same school as her. I will see her again. I just… Need to stay strong and confident.

As my other friend Asu Rito ran up to us, I greeted her as Hanako, Rito and I started our jog around town, Najimi huffing and doing the same while complaining loudly.

I can do this. I have my sister and my friends by my side.

What could possibly go wrong?

AN: And so… Chapter 3 is done. I don't like how short these chapters are… But I need to get back into this slowly. So small frequent updates sound good… Might as well respond to reviews here…

Lickthecloth: Will do.

SakuraPinkSky415: Meta humor is best humor.

Guest1: I intend to do my best to integrate the rivals as best I can. Osana, Hanako and Asu are already in the running and I have some cool things planned for a couple other ones. The other girls need some… convincing to start their love for Budo-senpai.

Info-chan: I think you're coming up next chapter.

Guest2: I updated.

Anyway… Thank for following, Breaking the Cycle. Please leave a review, as I do not have very good confidence and think the worst all the time. It's very tiring.