In the morning Akio would be resting in his bedroom, awoken by the slight chill in the air. He slowly rose from his bed while he yawned and rubbed his eyes, his face was groggy and his vision was still adjusting. He took a look at the digital clock on the dresser next to his bed, seeing the time display 8:46 AM. He was supposed to be at school by 7:50 AM, meaning that he was going to be tardy. He quickly got out of bed and looked out the window, the sun was a bit higher than it'd normally be when he'd get out of bed.
"Crap...!" He rushed to the bathroom and brushed his teeth as quickly as he could, then threw on his uniform after grabbing his bag on the way out. He cut past the living room and through the kitchen while his mother was watching TV, "Bye Mom!" he said rushing out the door.
"Where are you going?" Noa said, though Akio was already out the door. It wouldn't be long at all for him to realize that it was a lot colder than he had expected, and that his feet were buried in a foot of snow. He looked outside to see most of the neighborhood covered in a white blanket of snow, all the neighborhood kids throwing snowballs and making things out of it. Noa approached the doorway while he still stood in surprise, "If you're going to want to go out you should dress properly!"
"I thought I was late..."Akio said.
"Come on inside." Noa motioned for him to follow her back in. He stepped into the living room, directing his attention at the TV as the news broadcast continued.
"Currently the unexpected cold front has blanketed many parts of Tokyo in a thick layer of snow. Due to the spontaneous weather conditions, the following school districts have canceled classes for the time being."
"Huh... So, I'm not late...?"
"On a regular school day? Absolutely! But I would've taken the time to wake you up anyway."
Akio let out a sigh of relief, "That's a relief, the last thing I'd want today is another visit to the principal's office."
"Why not go out and see what the neighbors are up to? I think most everyone is outside right about now."
"Alright, I'll be right back!" Akio ran back up stairs and into his bedroom to change his clothes, removing his school uniform in favor of better layered clothing. He had on an undershirt before slipping on a long sleeved wool shirt, then putting on a hooded jacket along with gloves. He brought down a pair of boots to the front door, stepping into them just as he was about to leave.
"Take care!" His mother said, sitting on the couch with a hot cup of tea.
"I will, see you later Mom!" Akio responded. He stepped outside and felt the cold air hit him once more, his boots crunching under his feet with each step he took while the hot air from his breath was made visible by the cold temperature around him. Thick clouds covered the sky blocking out the sun, looking as white as the snow on the ground. The further he went into the neighborhood the more he saw the children having fun, making crude snow sculptures and drawing in the snow. As he'd go by some of them would smile and wave at him, sometimes calling out his name prompting him to wave back. He would even find himself joining in on the fun, helping some of the younger children in the neighborhood make a snowman using rocks and a bucket. Once complete the kids would clap and cheer, Akio simply happy to be of service. He continued down the path and decided to go pay a visit to Taira, making his way over to the Kobayashi family residence. Upon arrival he'd knock on the door and wait for someone to answer, standing quietly while carefully observing the decorations around the front door. A couple seconds later a woman would answer the door.
"Oh! Why hello Akio! Are you here to see Taira?" She asked.
"Yeah, is he here?"
"Oh I'm sorry! He just left a few minutes ago! He shouldn't be too far away, so you should be able to catch up to him!"
"Right, thanks Mrs. Kobayashi!"
"Take care Akio!" She waved at him as he left.
Further down the road there would be a large gathering of kids all contributing to one single project, catching the curiosity of Akio and making him investigate. Upon closer inspection, he'd see them building up walls made of snow, high enough to obscure the vision of anyone who'd want to look at whatever was going on inside. The structure itself appeared to be some kind of snow fort, alluring Akio to engage with the others working on it.
"You guys making a snow fort?" Akio asked one of them pointing up at the walls.
"Yep! Been working on it before the sun came up!" One of them said.
"Did you all up to do it or...?" Akio asked.
He turned around to fully face Akio, pointing his thumb at himself. "Originally I started making it on my own, but then one by one as people were waking up they decided to chip in. I'm Koichi by the way." He held out his hand.
Akio took his hand, shaking it. "Huh, great job then Koichi! This thing looks pretty sick!"
Another boy would round one of the corners of the walls, meeting eyes with Akio. "I thought I heard your voice!"
"Taira! There you are!" Akio went over and fist bumped Taira, "I was wondering where you went, crazy weather right?"
"Yeah, can't believe they actually cut classes today. It is a nice break from having to study all the time. You here to help out with our whole operation here?"
"You bet!"
"So you know this guy, Kobayashi?" Koichi asked.
"Know him? We've been friends since we were kids."
"Small world! Happy to have you both on the team!" Koichi gave them both a thumbs up.
Both Taira and Akio would continue to make their contributions to the snow fort, getting as much snow as possible and building up the walls. While the snow around Fort would shrink more and more, many would take the opportunity to clear out the front walkways to the neighborhood houses for extra snow. On the inside of the fort would be lawn chairs and folding tables, taking advantage of the space to play games on their handheld devices. There would even be windows made in the fort, allowing one to see what goes on inside and outside of the walls. They attempted to make some kind of roofing, however the snow would simply collapse under it's own weight. As time went on Akio realized he had not eaten breakfast that morning as his stomach growled, noontime was also already fast approaching too.
"I'm getting hungry so I think I might get something to eat, I'll be back though!" Akio said.
"See ya later Shinohara!"
"Take care!"
Akio opened up the door to his home, taking off his boots and gloves as he entered the kitchen. He didn't realize how cold it was outside in comparison to how warm it was inside, nonetheless he made himself familiar with the contents of the pantry. He took out a box of crackers, pouring them into a bowl to eat them all at the counter top.
"Back already?" Noa, walking into the kitchen.
"Just for a minute, I got kinda hungry is all." Akio responded.
"That's right! You didn't eat today! Why didn't you tell me? I could've made you something!"
"It's fine mom! I just need something quick is all, I need to get back to the others outside. They got this big fort made of snow and it's insanely cool, Taira and I helped out and stuff."
"That sounds amazing! Me and my friends would always do that back in Hokkaido when I was a kid, we got a lot of snow so it almost felt like a tradition."
"You probably got a whole lot more snow in Hokkaido, it kinda makes me wish I lived there to make big snow forts whenever I could."
"I wouldn't mind living close to home honestly, we wouldn't have to travel so far just to meet with Mom and Dad all the time... It isn't that big of a deal though, It's perfectly fine where we live now!"
"Yeah, don't think I'd be able to say goodbye to guys that live around here just yet."
"I'm happy to see you've got a whole group of friends at your side, you're not that reserved little kid anymore huh? Before I know it you'll be bringing a girl home too I bet!"
"Mooom!"
Noa chuckled, "I'm kidding I'm kidding! That last part was just a joke!" Just then, there'd be a knock at the door.
"I'll get it." Akio got out of his seat and walked toward the door, he opened it to see a winded looking Taira."Yo, what's up?"
"Akio, some highschoolers showed up to the fort and kicked everyone out of it."
"What!? You mean they just took it?"
"Yeah, they're just squatting on it now and there isn't anything we can do. I just came by just to let you know."
"Those jerks think they can just push us around? I'm not letting them just take our hard work away from us." Akio put his gloves and boots back on, "I'm heading back out Mom!" He said before quickly leaving. Taira followed him as he made his way back to the fort.
"Wait—You're gonna do something about it?"
"Course I am! You think I'm just gonna sit down and let some dillweeds take our fort?"
"Akio these aren't just some random guys, I seriously wouldn't try starting anything with them..."
"You might be afraid of them, but I'm not." They soon arrived back at the fort, the location is barren of the kids originally there. There would be a few people there, they all looked a bit older than the kids that were there originally. They then heard what seemed to have been Koichi, who was still there arguing with the highschoolers.
"I spent all day working on this thing, don't you guys have anything better to do than squat on other people's hard work!?" Koichi said.
"Hey kid, don't worry, your hard work is being thoroughly appreciated. And you can appreciate us appreciating it from over there." The highschooler pointed out toward the distance. "Now if you'll please vacate the premises then I won't be forced to punt you there myself."
"Maybe if you were here to help out I'd be a bit more lenient, but you're just taking it away from all the others who worked so hard on it!"
"You got a thick skull, you know that, my words seem to bounce right off it." The highschooler grabbed Koichi by his jacket. "Maybe if I said it up close and personal like this you'll understand. You better split now before I split your skull kid, got it?" Right as he would say that, a snow ball would hit him square in the face, Koichi running off as the highschooler was confused. "Alright, who the hell threw that!? Who's got a death wish eh!?"
"I did it, better leave that guy alone and get out of here." Akio said, Taira quickly dodged into some nearby bushes to not draw attention to himself.
"Who are you supposed to be? Some kind of hall monitor or something? Better get out of here before you get hurt."
"You don't scare me, how about you and your cronies get out of here before things get ugly."
Akio's bold comments would cause the other highschoolers to turn their heads, "Ohoho! This kid's got a mouth on him! I'll give you ten seconds to scurry out of here before I show you what ugly feels like."
"You don't have to, just now I've learned what it looks like."
The highschooler quickly threw a sucker punch square in Akio's face, knocking him to the ground beneath him. Taira winced as he watched him take a hit like that, "Akio..."
"Maybe if you kept your mouth shut I wouldn't have had to give you a lick, you're gonna be the one looking ugly when you get a look at yourself in the mirror kid!" Akio would lay on the ground, twitching for a bit while Taira and Koichi helplessly watched. "What's wrong kid? Don't tell me you were just talkin' out of your ass?! I was expecting you to scrap!"
Akio then quickly turned, throwing another snowball at his face before getting up and punching the highschooler in the face. The sudden blow surprised all the onlookers as Akio tried to throw another punch, the highschooler dodging before shoving Akio off of him. The highschooler then kicked Akio in the abdomen, Akio taking a step back but gritting his teeth through the pain. He lunged at the highschooler; tackling him to the ground before delivering more punches toward his face. This advantage would be short lived as one of the other highschoolers kicked Akio off, he squared up to join the fight as well but the other would stop him.
"I don't need your help to fight some tyke, step off." He went in seemingly to throw another punch at Akio, stopping when Akio looked as if he was about to block. His feint succeeded, allowing him to land another hit onto Akio. And then another, and then another, and then another. "C'mon kid, fight back! Fight back!"
"He's really giving it to Shinohara..." Koichi said to Taira.
"I'm not sure if I should step in or not..." Taira said.
"If you do, the others might join in too..."
"We should probably call someone then..."
"You know what those guys do to snitches right?! You sure?!"
"I don't know how much longer I can watch Akio's beatdown, someone's gotta stop this."
Akio stumbled back, trying to keep his fists up as the fight was taking a toll on him. He tried to throw more punches but the highschooler would only hold his head back, causing him to miss each one. He then delivered a knee to Akio's gut, and pushed him onto the ground by his head once he was stunned by the attack. Akio tried to get up, but he'd be kicked back down.
"This is starting to get boring, you kids are all bark. Your bites are even worse, I don't know which one I hate more. I'll give you another chance to go back home crying to mommy, even you know you can't take much more of this, so make this easier for the both of us."
"...I'll stop when you all finally leave..." Akio said.
"Bad answer." Right before the highschooler threw the punch, a girl would shout at them from the distance.
"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" It was Satomi, walking up to them in her winter jacket.
"Who's the girl?" One of the highschoolers asked.
"Beats me." The other responded.
"Let go of that boy right now." Satomi said. The highschooler humored her, letting Akio go by tossing him onto the ground.
"Heh, listen little lady, I'm sorry if this was your boyfriend that I was beating on then-" Satomi promptly slapped him on the face, hard enough to leave a red mark on his cheek. "Tch, why you-!"
"If you so much as touch me ONCE, my father will give you and your families hell. That's to say if that boy's parents don't either."
"The hell are you talking about? You think I'm supposed to be scared or something?"
"Did he not tell you his name? That's Akio Shinohara, AKA the son of THE Mr. Shinohara. Do you have absolutely ANY idea of how much trouble you just put yourselves into!?"
"Ooooh, you were just beating on Shinohara's kid...!" One of the highschoolers said.
"Yeah!? And you kicked him like a football! You're in trouble, too dumbass! Listen, don't tell anyone about this and we'll get outta here, promise okay!?" The other said worriedly.
Satomi pointed away, "Start running then." Having all of them quickly pace off into the distance. Once they were gone, Satomi then turned to Akio. "And you! What's wrong with you!? Getting into fights like that you can't win, you need to be in good condition for class! You know you can't pilot if he broke any of your bones."
Akio hissed slightly, holding onto his abdomen. "Sorry, jeez."
Satomi pulled him up, wiping the snow off of him, "Go home now and make sure you're okay. Don't exhaust yourself and definitely don't do anything stupid like that again. Hear me!?"
"Yeah yeah whatever." Akio said, turning around to walk back home.
"Before you go Shinohara, I just wanna thank you for standing up to them like that! That was awesome!" Koichi said, running up to Akio.
"No problem... Although now I kind of regret it... Still, I'm glad I could help at least..."
Taira gave Akio a pat on the back, "Go home and get some rest man, you earned it."