強い

A little birdy told him. Rather.. He overheard it. Eavesdropping wasn’t something he made a habit of but an exception had been made and with the new found information he’d set off on a new mission. With whatever money he had, Mondo took it to the store and.. Well, he spent it obviously. Not all of it but he spent enough to get a stuffed bunny and a balloon. One of those shiny ones that says Happy Birthday, you know.. The longer he held the items after he bought them though…

The more stupid he thought this whole thing was. 

He’d thought about just trashing the stuff and going home but before he could do that.. 

"Oof—"

He’d turned a corner and.. Chihiro. There he was and he’d bumped right into the other with the gifts in hand. 

"Er… Shit. Fuck."

Looking at the items in his hands and then back at the other once more, Mondo ended up shoving the stuffed rabbit and the balloon’s string into Chihiro’s hands.

                With a quick turn of the corner he bumps into an exceptionally taller person- Ah! He recognizes the other almost immediately. The brunet was about to be scared out of his wits, but he murmurs a quick, “I’m sorry-..” Before pausing, noticing the items in his grasps. Oh…?

                With some force, the items plop right into Chihiro’s hands, and arms. The brunet looks down at them, a bit confused for a moment, but at Mondo’s birthday wish all he could do was smile- of course!

He scrambles on over to Chihiro and looking absolutely flustered. Did he pass out!? Tenma quickly knelt next to Chihiro and checking over the other’s head. While the shoot wasn’t TOO bad, he hoped considering he wasn’t exactly a striker, he was worried for Chihiro’s well being from the ball as well.

"Are you all right?" Well no duh genius, she didn’t seem fine, Tenma scolded mentally at himself.

Without another warning, Tenma silently picked Chihiro up bridal style, despite the fact Tenma’s arms were a bit weak, he would deal with it.

                Before he can attempt to do anything, he’s swept off the ground which makes the brunet widen his own eyes in surprise. This snaps him out of the daze, but he’s only greeted with the same throbbing that’s attacking the side of his head right now. Dang, it really, really hurt… How hard can just one kid kick a ball anyway…?! He must have really impressive strength, honestly.

                “I… I’m sorry…” He murmurs a small apology, “It's not entirely your fault… I barely even know what happened just now… This is bad.” A small sigh leaves his lips, and winces in the boy’s arms when he feels the same throbbing yet again.

The only thing he could be proud of was playing soccer, which was exactly what Tenma was doing out in the nearest park. The boy ran around the park dribbling, a sensation that Tenma was familiar with as he dribbled the ball past several of obstacles in the park until the boy noticed two tree next to each other, enough for the size of a goal.

Maybe…

"All right!—" Running at the two trees, the boy prepared to make a shoot, and kicked the ball. He had enough speed and enough kick power to try to make at least one shoot right? 

"Nn—"

Sadly though it wasn’t enough to control the ball’s path as the ball ricocheted off the tree, flying right at the nearest lamp post, and bouncing off a park bench. Okay maybe that was a litttle bit too much speed. His thoughts were cut off seeing the ball fly right into someone and panic ran though his mind. Oh crud oh crud oh crud. Out of reflex, Tenma quickly yelled to that person,

"WATCH OUT!!"

                Well, for once, that peace is short lived when a loud call emits from some direction- watch out? For what? The brunet immediately reacts with only turning towards the voice, and he’s only greeted with a ball hurdling towards him at incredible speed.

                With a quick knock to his head, there is an impact at the side of the brunet’s head. He lets out a cry, and then he falls over. He could’ve sworn his vision went black for a moment too, and is now left dazed on the ground.

"I’m going to be late!" the teenager yelled as he quickly leaped up from his bed. This was bad. He couldn’t afford to be late to school on this day of all days. Scrambling, he started making his way around his room, trying to throw an outfit together in the small amount of time he had.

Once that ordeal was finished, TK entered the kitchen to add bread into the toaster in hopes of not alerting his mother. For the passed few weeks she had been reminding him to focus more on his studies instead of mythology since midterms were upon him, but he had brushed them off. Now it was coming back to bite him as he had spent the previous night studying into the late hours which had only caused him to over sleep. He continued to rush around the house to complete the rest of his rituals before racing back into the kitchen, passed his mother in order to grab the toast as it appeared.

                Just to be sure his busied mind didn’t leave anything; he decides to open up his school bag to check the contents. Most important items such as school supplies, and trusty laptop were stored just like usual, which allows Chihiro to let out a small sigh of relief. It’d be a shame if he had to go back to the house to pick up something him left- embarrassing!

                He lifts his head to only be greeted with another boy crashing into him. At the force of the other causes Chihiro to be pushed back onto the ground dropping his bag in the midst, uttering a small cry out of surprise.

The only reason Chiaki wakes up is due to the fact of her literally rolling out the bed and landing on the floor in a tangle of her covers. It takes a good minute or two for the female to focus and remove herself from the mess, though she doesn’t bother fixing her messy appearance. She’s home now, so it doesn’t matter all that much. Her alarm clock (oh how she hated that thing) tells her that she slept a good three or four hours, and now would probably be up all night, like the one before. It also shows that she missed dinner, but she could fix that later.

After letting out a large yawn, the teen removes her 3DS from off its charger, flicking it on while she exits her room. It only takes seconds before she’s totally oblivious to her surroundings, so it’s a good thing that her destination is a little ways down the hall. She announces her presence at the door with two quick knocks and waiting a couple of seconds before entering.

Upon doing so, her head doesn’t lift from the game as she walks across the room, allowing her legs to hit the edge of the bed before flopping down on it and momentarily pausing her game to speak to the other occupant of the room.

                At the question, the brunet taps the side of his cheek thoughtfully, “...Well, I’m not that tired yet...” Dinner time had passed, so according to his own mental clock, he’ll only be up for several hours until his eyes get heavy.

                “Hmm... Hmmmm... A few hours maybe..?” He blinks, “Ehh… Did you pull an all-nighter last night? I wish I can do that…” The brunet usually prefers his sleep; he needs all the sleep he can get anyway! Especially when it comes to focusing on writing the most complicated programs- can’t afford to slip up due to weariness. Well, except for the times where he really got caught up in things…

Today had started like any other. In line, he barely noticed the person who stood in line before him. Partially because they were shorter than he was and partially because his attention was on the menu.. He didn’t exactly have extra money to buy anything other than his usual but he was a little hungry… Without thinking, he’d taken a step closer thinking it was just about his turn to order only to stop again and peer at the options once more..

And then it happened.

The not so sweet, burning feeling of hot cocoa. Reacting in a brash manner didn’t happen right away but he did clench his teeth before he realized that someone had actually spilled something on him. 

"Ow— Fuck..!" 

Turning his attention to the cocoa spilled on his clothing first, hands hovering over the area before he’d offered a look that was beyond furious to he’d whoever had dared to spill shit on him to begin with. In a normal situation he might have been fucking furious and might have even made a stupid scene, his expression changed almost instantly upon seeing who the offender was. Hesitation was most obvious while he opened and closed his mouth looking for something… Anything to say in response… In the end, he’d just backed off and gritted his teeth as he looked away. 

He could never place as to why but this person made him feel almost.. Uneasy. Guilty..? Maybe but that wouldn’t make any sense. Either way, he just couldn’t talk to this one.

"… It’s fine. Shit.”

                Chihiro attempts to say one more apology, but his bottom lip begins to tremble. This guy definitely seems mad, and now he fears something worse might happen. There’s a pause, and then he blinks, observing the other’s expression seems to change almost instantly.

                He gives an inwardly sigh, and his shoulders begin to relax just a tad bit; presuming that no more yelling won’t take place.

                “Really..? Are you sure?” He finally manages a reply to him, “But… Really, I’m really sorry! Honestly…!” He still feels awfully bad for ruining his shirt. Is the other really alright that Chihiro managed to stain the shirt?

Attempting laughs even if forced, Aoba assured the other that things were fine as he painfully took himself to the napkin dispenser and tried to dab at the — wait no, he couldn’t do that it would look weird. Now he was irrevocably embarrassed. It looked completely like he had… …no, he couldn’t even think it. With reddened cheeks, the blue haired man was at a loss on what to do with this unfortunate situation. For now, he thought, maybe he should let the kid’s worry down by a few bars.

"Nah, it’s fine. I mean it’s not really but don’t sweat it." 

Pausing, he kind of had to remove his puffy jacket and quick fix the noticeable stain. He tied it around his waist to hide most of it with his sleeves. And people thought his jacket was ridiculous but it came in handy in a pinch! Aoba sighed still, and tried to defuse the situation with a more genuine yet otherwise faint smile. 

                Sudden relief when the stranger reassures him with an okay, but then… Sarcasm? Maybe? Passive aggression? Either way, he can't pin point it, the brunet tenses up, and lowers his eyes to avoid giving the other eye contact.

                “I’m… Sorry, for making you mad…” His voice was low, the courage to give the other a satisfactory apology is draining. He looks down at the spill, and then lifts his head slowly after. His gaze turns to the side, “It’s my fault… I…” his sentence fades mid-way, and he pauses for a moment. At the mention of making it up to the other, Chihiro hesitates for split second, he bites his bottom lip, but then nods. He can fix this…! Besides, like he mentioned earlier, it was his fault, he can’t just point fingers.

                “… Of course! It's the most I can do..." he can't do much else anyway, especially concerning where else the drink was spilled, "but I need to clean this. I’d feel bad if I left a mess here for others to step on, or clean up themselves.” He kneels down to retrieve the fallen cup. He scurries off quickly to throw it away, and get a handful of napkins to place over the spill to soak up the hot chocolate.

That’s all it was, wasn’t it? 

Sogiita Gunha, a highschool student here in this wonderful city, had taken a break from his daily heroic acts. It was to be a reward for himself for helping that old lay cross the street, for helping that man lift his groceries and for helping that little girl get her doll back from the local neighborhood bully. He lectured the bully with a moving speech, so much so that by the time he had finished, the bully was nowhere to be found.

He assumed he took his words to heart when in reality, the bully just left him since he couldn’t stand Gunha doing dramatic speeches.

Still, he filled his heroic quota for the morning(skipping class yet again), and since he felt like having a snack, the wayward young man opted for some donuts from a nearby cafe. Upon entering however, Gunha is met with the unfortunate circumstance of having hot coffee spilled all over him.

Naturally, he reacted in pain.

"Ack!! Hot! Hot! Hot! My loins are on fire!! My torso, scalded!!" The esper jumped up and down on the spot, creating a rather embarrassing scene as he attempted to blow onto his pants. The stain on his white clothes were utterly noticeable.

After a good minute or two of hopping and skipping on the spot, Gunha turned to the one at fault, and gave him a stern look.

"You! You should be more careful next time!" he says, boisterous and loud. He approached the shorter person, arms crossed and looking real serious and intimidating. "You should really watch where you’re going, citizen," The next bit should be predictable. He’d complain about his ruined shirt and being scalded by hot coffee. It would be the natural response, right? Well…

"Look at all that wasted coffee! That’s not good at all! And this spillage could hurt a person if they slipped on it! Disastrous! I must mop it all up to avoid such an accident. You wait right there! We’ll get you a new coffee." Then, he turned on the nearest employee.

                This reaction is very much so a rambunctious and loud one! If Chihiro presumes that it’s drawing attention to the pair, with suddenly begins to embarrass him. He didn’t want to draw attention towards himself, so that everyone can see the mess that just occurred. Well, the noise begins to calm down anyway, what a relief..!

                However, Chihiro feels himself starting to falter, becoming rather intimidated by the other; especially with being towered over by him, and being referred to in such a stern manner.

                “I’m—“ The brunet opens his mouth to reply, but he is interrupted. He falls silent for the time being, and observes Gunha as he comments on the spill.

                Wait? No! This won’t due. Chihiro feels guilty enough, and with that he speaks up, “I can’t, though.” He starts off slow, trying to not be as intimidated as he was, “It’s my fault for this spill, there must be a way I can help…” He frowns, and lowers his gaze to the floor.

ミニキャラならすぐ描けるかなと思ったら意外と時間食ってしまった…

もう6日ですが…あけましておめでとうございます！