3: Walking home
Leaning against the school gate, Misaki gripped the strap of his backpack in a hard grip. Biting his lip, he kept his line of sight on the tree across the street to not look at his schoolmates. The earlier commentary still resonated in his mind, running on repeat. His mood dropped enough where even his teacher noticed. He gave her a fake smile, giving her a false excuse on feeling tired. Somehow, she believed him and went on to teach the class.
Digging his left shoe onto the ground, he created a small hole. He imagined his mother scolding him for dirtying his shoes.
Screaming children brought him out of his thoughts as he turned and saw some of his classmates run to their mothers. One of the main kids who teased him, smirked at his direction as he hugged his mother. Almost as if he showed off his mother to him. The woman was pretty, but Misaki found his mom way prettier. He found that he didn't need to parade his mother around to prove a point. Since he kept his mouth shut, they assumed she wasn't beautiful and teased him. Just dumb words that Misaki knew he could handle, but he tried his best not to react.
Misaki looked away and tightened his grip on his backpack. His knuckles almost turned white from the pressure. He didn't understand why they targeted him, all he ever tried to do was try to befriend them. He sort of became friends with them, until one day they turned their back on him and began their teasing.
He should've followed his father's advice and defended himself from the beginning. His father gave him different scenarios in preschool and laid out different solutions. He thought he might handle himself on his own without an adult, but blanked out during the moment. Maybe, his older brother knew how to handle these boys.
He heard someone yell. "Hey Misaki!"
Misaki lifted up his head, a smile formed on his face as he spotted Hiroki walking toward him. Hiroki had one hand in his pocket, backpack hoisted over his shoulder. His brother even smiled at him. One of those rare smiles that family got the chance to see. The young boy's mood lifted with the presence of his brother that he ran to his side.
"Hiro nii-san!" Misaki exclaimed in glee. He grabbed Hiroki's pocketed hand and interacted their fingers. "You're here! I thought you wouldn't be home until after dark."
Before Hiroki called Misaki's name, he noticed the sad mood his brother exuded. He planned on asking Misaki about his day, maybe to get any information out of him. Although, from the sneaking glances coming from some of the other boys, he somewhat suspected the overall problem. Ruffling Misaki's hair, he sighed at the giggle coming from his brother.
For now, he'd let him hold his hand as usual and say nothing until later.
"I didn't have any school activities and wanted to come pick you up." Hiroki told him. "Ready to go?"
Misaki exclaimed. "Yeah! Can we go and eat ice cream today instead? Is that okay?"
Hiroki nodded his head. "Sure, I don't mind. It's hot today and mother won't get mad over an ice pop."
The other children stared at the older boy, thinking he looked cool in their eyes. The remaining mothers smiled at the brothers, noticing their obvious closeness and how comfortable they behaved around one another.
Misaki's bullies went away in a huff, they couldn't do any teasing now that Hiroki came around. In a way, they feared Misaki said something to his parents and made a meeting with the principal. In their private school, the principal had a zero tolerance policy. Plenty of children were kicked out over a three strike rule. They risked getting in trouble over messing with Misaki Kamijou, but the urge to push him around grasped a hold of them.
Besides, Misaki wouldn't rat them out to any adults. Misaki never said anything to defend himself or fought back.
They met Hiroki's eyes and shivered when they saw his no nonsense glare. An all knowing look was in his eyes as he walked away with Misaki. Ignorant of his brother's glare, he babbled about his art project.
One child said. "I think we should lay off of Kamijou for a while."