A/N

Hi guys! Before anything else I would just like to address the crucial change made in the Prologue. I changed the start date of the story from December 20, 2003 to December 20, 2006. I know the dates may not seem that much important for the Prologue but it will bear a huge significance for the entire story. If you have any ideas don't hesitate to PM it to me. I am always open for suggestions and constructive criticisms. Anyways, reviews are most definitely appreciated.

P.S. I was going to re-read this again but got too excited to share, so if you guys find any grammatical errors then please tell me, otherwise just ignore it. LOL

The Unexpected Hero

April 10, 2013

(The Present)

His ginger hair caught a tendril of the sun's rays streaming from the windows in the hallway; thereby making his hair glow like an orange halo. He brought his fingers to tug at the stiff collar of his uniform, scratching the skin where the rough material grazes it. His other hand clutched at his backpack tightly as he made his way to the end of the corridor. His heart was pounding in his ears and his palms were clammy. Wiping his hands against his shorts he looks ahead where a door to his right stands, 1-A was etched into a silver nameplate hanging on top of the entrance. The clamor from behind the door can be heard even from a distance and he internally shrank at the thought of introducing himself in front of strangers. His small frame momentarily tensed as he prepared himself to meet his new classmates.

"This is it, young man. Are you ready?" He felt a hand on his shoulder as the teacher stood beside him.

She was standing on his left side offering him a bright smile. In the haze of his racing heart and sweaty palms he was barely able to nod at her. After giving his shoulder a slight squeeze she pulled her hand away grabbing the doorknob. She turned it clockwise before swinging the door open. The chaos that welcomed him was enough to overwhelm the boy. Students of his same age were scattered around the room talking loudly with each other. Some can be found near the windows as they chattered noisily, their hands flailing to the side as they regale themselves with stories about food and summer outings. A fit of laughter came from a bunch of boys near the shelves housing an array of books. Pieces of crumpled paper flew into the air as two rambunctious kids ran around playing catch. Desks where nowhere near organized as they lay skewed not forming straight rows but a zigzag pattern. The chairs were arranged in circles among groups of students who shared notes from the previous day. His eyes raked the entirety of the area taking in the disorder of things with silence. The teacher marched in front of the classroom stopping beside a large desk. She raised her hands in the air only to slam her palms on the surface of the desk. The action sent a booming sound that reverberated in the room gaining the attention of everyone. All of their heads turned to her.

"Pipe down, kids! Class is about to start," she barked at them. All students began to move accordingly as the sound of chairs being dragged against the floor echoed inside the room. She clapped her hands together and glanced behind her shoulder to look at him. He was still standing outside the room, his foot barely reaching the door frame. "Now before I start with the lecture I want to introduce someone," she raised her hand to his direction, her palm facing upwards as she beckons him to enter.

He took hesitant steps forward. His head was slightly bent down as he stares at his own two feet. He was wringing his wrist in front of shirt as the students throw him inquisitive looks behind their desks.

The teacher rested her hands on either side of his shoulders, "We have a transfer student today. Unfortunately he wasn't able to join us on the first day of class due to some family emergency." Her eyes flitted down to meet his, urging him to do the rest of the talking.

"Hi," he began shyly as he lifted his head to meet the rest of the class. "My name is Y-Yuuta Koizumi. I lived in New York before coming here in Japan with my mom," he stopped to lick his dry lips before continuing, "I'm not really used to talking to people and I'm not really good at making new friends, so… I hope that I can get along with all of you here," he finishes as he hastily bowed his head. He rocked his heels back and forth trying to get comfortable under the scrutiny of his classmates. His heart was beating madly in his chest as he took deep breaths to calm himself. He badly wants to sit down and end his misery but apparently the teacher had other plans.

"Do you guys have any questions for Koizumi-kun?"

Several students raised their hands eagerly and he cringes at the thought of being the center of attention.

"Akiyama-san," she nodded to a girl sitting in the front row.

She tilted her head to the side, her bangs dropping from her clip as it slightly obscured her eyes. "You're Japanese right?"

"Yes," he nods as he answered.

"So you know how to speak Japanese and English?" she inquired excitedly.

"Y-yeah."

"That's so cool!" her eyes were wide as she exclaimed.

He felt his cheeks warming as a blush adorned his face. "Do you have any—"

"I'm next! I'm next" yelled the boy sitting behind her. The girl who was interrupted turned on her seat and scowled at the boy.

"Hayashi-kun" the teacher gave him a reprimanding look.

"Sorry sensei," he looks at her sheepishly but returns his attention to him almost immediately. "Anyway, why'd you go here in Japan?"

"My grandmother was very sick so my mom and I went here to take care of her. We are living with her in my mom's old house together with my grandfather."

"Oooh. So what does your mother do for work?" he added.

"S-she's a fashion stylist and a makeup artist," he answered nervously.

"Woooow," all the girls in the class chimed in.

"So your mom is like the one who makes all those American models pretty. That is so amazing," chirped the girl sitting next to Hayashi.

He blushed again at the compliment as the corners of his lips turned upwards —a telltale sign of a big smile coming its way. He was proud of his mom. Even from a young age he knew that his mom was very talented. With her long auburn hair, clear brown eyes and cheery personality she has charmed her way into people's hearts easily. And this weren't the only admirable qualities that her mom possessed. She was brave, strong and above all selfless. Unconsciously, his hand darted behind his back as he held a rectangular pouch hanging on the zipper of his backpack. His mom gave it to him this morning before going to school. It was a charm that was supposed to give him confidence and luck on his first day. Knowing that he was shy around people, his mom pulled an all-nighter just to finish sewing the baby blue charm that now hangs on the left pocket of his backpack. He touches it lightly and sighed as he felt himself begin to relax.

"So where's your dad?"

The question caught him off guard and his smile instantly fades away. All his life he didn't have a father. At first he didn't mind, as far as he knows it was just him and his mom. That was it, plain and simple. He loves his mom and she loves him too. For him that was enough, for him this was what a normal family was like. However, as he grew up he began to notice that his family was never normal. Whenever they have piano recitals or swimming meets his friends were always accompanied by two parents; a father and a mother. One day he asked his mom about this, but she refused to talk about it and ended up crying all day. He felt guilty for making her mom sad that he never dared to ask about his father again for fear of upsetting her. However, this has never stopped him from thinking about him, so when his classmate asked where his dad is he couldn't help but mirror his classmate's perplexed expression.

I don't know.

There was a pregnant pause in the room before he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What can he say? He knows nothing about this man. He stood there with his mouth closing and opening like a fish out of the water when his teacher cleared her throat −taking pity at his inability to speak. She cut short the awkward introduction and assigns him a seat.

She craned her neck across the room −her eyes wandering from one head to another. She quirks an eyebrow as her gaze fell in the furthest row of seats. "Ah, perfect," she announced. "You can sit next to Aoyama-kun," pointing at the seat near the windows at the back. "Aoyama-kun?"

A lanky boy with red rimmed glasses raised his head from his textbook. "Yes sensei."

"I'll be giving you the task of familiarizing Koizumi-kun with our school. Is that alright with you?"

He answered with a nod and quickly buried his head in his textbook.

"Go on then," she gently nudged him forward to his new seat as she to walk towards the blackboard. She took a chalk from her desk and began to write today's lesson.

"Hey," he said to his new seatmate while shrugging off his backpack.

"Hey," returned the boy as he lifted his eyes to meet his.

"I'm Yuuta Koizumi," he raises a hand to him.

The boy with the glasses stared at the raised hand before returning the gesture, "Kenta Aoyama."

"Aoyama-kun seems too long, do you mind if I call you Kenta instead?" he asked timidly before taking the seat next to him.

He looks back intently before giving him a small smile. "Sure, I don't mind. I know that in America they call people by their first name so you can call me whatever you like."

He beamed at this, "Thanks, you can call me Yuuta too if you like."

"Okay," he agreed as he flips his textbook to the next page.

The rest of the day went fairly well. Yuuta found out that the things they were studying were pretty much the same back in New York −the only difference was that all were in Japanese. Kenta was a very good company. He wasn't talkative or cheery like most of their classmates but he was very polite and eager to answer his questions. They were now heading to the lockers to prepare for their gym class when he noticed three boys sauntering towards them.

An arm tugged at Kenta brusquely. "Sup' four eyes?" Kenta's body went rigid as his eyes widened with panic. "Haven't seen you in a while," the tallest of them said as he smirked. His two friends chuckled beside him, eyeing Kenta from head to foot. "I see you made a little friend," his eyes were examining Yuuta, an amuse expression was plastered on his round face.

Kenta didn't answer. Instead he looks at the ground. The top of his upper lip was sweating as his hands trembled slightly.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything there for me?" his other hand points to his bag.

Kenta shook his head frantically, which made his smirk turn into a sneer. "Listen here snot face, I've been really patient with you lately," he tightened his arm around Kenta's neck bringing him closer to his torso. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. What do you say?"

Fear was painted on Kenta's face as his eyes flitted to Yuuta momentarily before returning to the ground. "No," he managed to whisper.

"That's good. Now give me the money," he ordered.

Kenta's hand darted inside his bag to retrieve a wallet. If his trembling wasn't obvious before then it definitely is now. His hands were shaking as he leafed through his money pulling out three dollars.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked incredulously as he grabbed the wallet harshly. "You know as well as I do that three dollars isn't enough for me and my pals," he nodded towards the two boys who crowded them.

The initial dread that Yuuta felt from seeing them turned into anger as he watched these boys threaten Kenta. His fist tightened on the strap of his backpack. Even if he just met Kenta mere hours ago he really liked the boy. They weren't exactly friends but he felt this strong need to protect him from these bullies.

"S-stop that!" All eyes were on him now and it took everything he had to fight his instinct to run. "Return his wallet now," he demanded.

The tall boy raised a brow, "What?"

"You heard me," his voice was steady despite his raging heart. Yuuta was not at all strong and he definitely was not as tall as these guys, but he was a loyal person with a strong sense of justice. He knew that he can't beat them all in a fight but he couldn't bear standing by the side as they rob Kenta.

The tall boy lets go of Kenta and stepped in front of him. He shoved Yuuta in the chest, "You have some nerve to talk back shorty. Do you even know who I am?"

"Yes. I know exactly who you are. You're a coward who likes to take money from kids and hides behind his friend's skirts," he spat back.

The two boys who came with him gasped and the tall boy's face reddened like a tomato. "You little punk!" He raised his fist in the air and aimed for his face.

Yuuta closed his eyes as he braced himself for the blow that was to come, but nothing came. Curious from the reprieve he cracked an eye open. The boy's knuckles were mere inches away from his nose and his eyes blinked rapidly.

"Ever heard of the saying to pick on somebody your own size?"

It was then that he saw the reason why the fist didn't connect with his face. Behind the outstretched arm was a hand holding the boy's wrist. His eyes traced the arm of the man who had a vice like grip on the boy. His gaze rose a little further and he saw a mop of wavy ginger hair falling on the man's forehead. The man was almost as tall as the bully –towering the boy by a few inches only. He was particularly short for an adult, but his height never diminished his strength and authority. He released the boy's wrist as he turns his head at his two companions, freezing them with his steely gaze. "If you have this much energy to throw a punch, then use it in sports, not in bullying your juniors," his tone was with edge.

The three boys bowed their heads in shame. "I'm letting this go now, but if I catch you doing this again I'll report you guys to the principal's office. You understand?"

They all nodded in unison as if their life depended on it.

"Now go," he waved of his hand to dismiss them and they skittered towards the main building. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head disapprovingly. "Kids these days. Just because they're tall they think they can scare people away," he said to no one in particular.

He brought his other hand to his ginger hair as he swiped at his bangs, "Are you guys alright?"

Kenta nodded, Yuuta on the other hand could only stare at the man in front of him.

He glanced at the two boys, his eyes softening as he placed his hand on Yuuta's head. "You were very brave standing up for your friend like that," he said as he tousled his hair.

Yuuta's chest with swelled with pride from the show of affection. He didn't know this man but he felt strangely happy with this approval.

"Thank you sir," Yuuta smiled reverently.

"Call me Katsu-sensei," he beamed as he lifted his hand from his messed up hair. "Now, I'm guessing you guys are heading for gym class?"

"Yes," they both replied.

"What do you know, I'm heading there too," he said as he threw his arms at the back of his head. "Why don't we all go there together?"

Yuuta and Kenta exchanged looks before breaking into toothy smiles as they followed the man who was now their hero.