Chapter Text
Makoto Tachibana’s hat suddenly flew from his head. He hadn’t felt the sudden gust of wind at all, and it seemed to only affect his hat. He sighed and jumped after it. He couldn’t seem to get it.
He knew that he had to retrieve his hat at all costs. His school was very strict on their code of dress and his family could not afford a new uniform.
Makoto found himself running through the stretch of meadow that was behind his home. The greenery went on for infinity and beyond it seemed. Makoto didn’t want to run across yards upon miles of meadow to get his hat. He wanted to go home, do his chores, and go to bed. It had not been the best day for him.
He at first almost didn’t go to school, as there was a fight among the few teachers there. One had proclaimed that they might as well quit their jobs since they were being underpaid. The others had insisted that education must go on, even if they ended up working for a penny a lesson.
He slipped on his way out of class and got some mud on his pants. He knew that the stain was going to be hard to get out, as the Tachibana household was experiencing some problems with the electricity. His parents were surely paying the bills on time, yet the power flickered on and off anyways. Makoto knew that he would have to scrub the stain out by hand.
And now his hat was taken by the wind, and he was hopelessly chasing after it. He honestly just wanted to go to sleep.
A hand came out of nowhere. Makoto didn’t see anyone else in the meadow. Perhaps he was just too focused on his hat. He needed to learn to be more aware of his surroundings then. He blamed his absentmindedness on his bad day.
A boy slowly lowered his hand and handed the hat over. “Careful,” he said. “It’s really windy today.” The boy had on a uniform also, but not a hat or a collar. Makoto assumed that the boy was older than him. He was taller too. His hair was shaggy and his eyes drooped like his own. Maybe he could make a friend out of this boy. If he was nice that is.
Makoto smiled as he replaced his hat atop his head. “Thanks, I thought I was going to lose it.” The boy shrugged. He had a relaxed look on his face. Makoto wondered how the boy was so calm. Everyone – young or old – was worried about the sudden drop of the economy. Even Makoto felt uneasy whenever he entered his home. He always eyed the light bulbs, wondering if they would go out and never turn back on again.
“You’re my neighbor?” The boy asked.
“Um, neighbor? You’re the new people that moved in? Uh, the Yamazaki’s right? My parents told me that you’d be around my age, but you’re older.”
The boy shrugged again. Another gust of wind came and Makoto clamped his hands over his hat. The boy’s hair only became messier.
“Not that much older,” the boy murmured. “Maybe like a year or two.” Makoto nodded. “So, you’re Makoto then?”
“Yeah, I’m Makoto.” He outstretched his hand toward the boy. “Nice to meet you! What’s your name? I kind of forgot, sorry.”
The boy eyed his hand for a moment before he took it. “Sousuke,” he answered. Even though he was young, he had a strong grip. Makoto’s hand throbbed slightly after the handshake.
“I think you guys are coming over for dinner. Do you want to walk home with me?” Sousuke lifted his shoulders to shrug and then let them drop.
“Of course I’m walking with you. We’re going to the same place.”
“Oh.” Makoto’s smile wilted before he picked it back up again. “Yeah, that was kind of stupid to ask. Let’s go then.”
Makoto attempted to spark a conversation with Sousuke on the walk back but he felt as if he was shot down each time. Sousuke didn’t seem particularly angry. Makoto actually couldn’t read any kind of emotion from him. The new boy was a blank slate, there didn’t seem to be anything to him. Perhaps he was hiding something then. Makoto noticed that people with secrets hid them in different ways, whether it was by lying or just not showing any hint of a secret at all.
When they arrived at Makoto’s house the Yamazaki’s were already there. There was a woman that mirrored Sousuke’s facial expression, a man with a wide grin and a straw hat, and a little girl with a pink doll. The adults were talking with Makoto’s parents and the girl was tweaking with the hair of her doll.
Makoto’s mother flashed him a smile after he closed the door. “Makoto, welcome home. I see you brought Sousuke with you.” Makoto smiled also.
“The wind blew my hat off and Sousuke helped get it for me.” Sousuke’s parents only glanced at their son before they turned back to the Tachibana’s. “Is dinner ready?” Makoto asked.
His father nodded. “Can you help me pull out some extra chairs?” Makoto nodded and Sousuke followed alongside him.
Makoto grabbed a chair and set it at the table. There was conveniently enough space to seat everyone.
Makoto was seated in between Sousuke and his sister. The girl was oddly quiet, and she had messy hair also. Makoto tapped her shoulder lightly, as not to startle her. She quickly peered up at him. Her eyes were the same shade as Sousuke’s.
“Y-Yes?” She stuttered. Makoto saw that the both of her front teeth were missing. There was a slight lisp to her voice.
“Hi.” Makoto presented his warmest smile. “What’s your name?”
“Nanami,” she murmured. She clutched her doll closer to her chest. One of her buttons of her dress was missing.
“I’m Makoto.” He outstretched his hand to her. “Nice to meet you Nanami.” She shook his hand quickly. It was sticky and some red substance rubbed onto Makoto’s hand. He rubbed it on his pants. He now had another stain to scrub out after dinner.
“Nice t-to meet you t-too.” The corner of her mouth perked up but it dropped soon after. Makoto wondered if she was unhappy or holding a secret also.
“Nami,” Sousuke called out. “Something wrong?” She shook her head. “You sure?” She shook her head again.
Makoto’s attention was diverted from Nanami to the table as his mother set the food out. Bread, corn, green beans, and chicken were placed hot and steaming on the table. As much as his mouth was watering, Makoto passed the foodstuffs to Sousuke and his sister first.
“Thanks.” Sousuke said. Makoto almost didn’t catch it.
The main conversation of the meal was between the adults. Makoto decided that Sousuke and Nanami needed some quiet to sort out their thoughts.
“Makoto, I made cake for desert.” Makoto’s mother said. “Guess what flavor.”
“Chocolate?” Makoto excitedly asked. His mother uncovered the cake from the middle of the table instead of verbally answering. It was indeed chocolate.
Makoto was always presented the honor of having the first slice, but he gave it to Sousuke and his sister.
“Stop being so nice,” Sousuke muttered after his piece was given.
“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Makoto was taught to be nice to the house guests they had. He figured that digging into the food first would be incredibly rude.
Sousuke took the knife from him, cut a large portion of the cake, and dropped it on Makoto’s plate. “There.” He said. He stuck a new fork through it.
“Sousuke, that was unnecessary.” Sousuke’s father said. There was still a smile on his face and his hat had tilted back some. Makoto thought that a person was supposed to take a hat off when they went underneath any kind of roof. “Makoto can’t eat that much. Right boy?”
Makoto nodded. “It is a bit much.”
“Put some back Sousuke.” Sousuke slowly cut off half of the cake and returned it to its tray. “Good.” His father then turned away from them.
Sousuke polished off his cake rather quickly then. Makoto glanced between Sousuke and Nanami as he finished his own cake. Something had shifted in the atmosphere.
“Let’s go outside.” Sousuke said when he finished. Makoto glanced at his parents for approval before he went out.
Sousuke took a corn cob out of his pocket and began to chew on it as they walked through the meadow. Stray crickets chirped and Makoto feared stepping on one. A new fog covered the sky, shielding the moon and most of the stars. The wind had grown stronger and Makoto could feel it tangling his hair.
Sousuke handed the cob to Makoto. Half of it was eaten and strings were everywhere, but Makoto took it anyways and gladly ate the other side.
The wind grew even stronger.