Dreams Upon A Silver Pine Branch

Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter

Hinotori Metropolitan Area, Silver Pine circa 2612

"You are not really deaf, are you? Let's see how you do without that ugly thing on your head. What's it called again? Sound processor?"

A teenager boy with hair as golden as a field of wheat was taunting another boy with hair as dark as a starless sky, whose eyes darted wildly, looking for an escape route.

"Aiden, leave my cousin alone!" a girl with a long ponytail shouted, her fist raised in the air and her eyes shone with flaming wrath. "Or you'll be sorry!" she continued shouting.

"Defending your boyfriend, aren't you, Akira?" Aiden said mockingly. "Oh, wait, that would be incest!" he laughed. Akira didn't say anything back but she raised another first in the air and glared at him. Aiden didn't flinch. In fact, his laughter grew louder.

"Look, I just want to go home. Let me pass through or I'll miss the bus. Please!" the dark-haired boy finally spoke up. "And don't be mean to Akira. What is your problem with us, anyway? Pick on somebody else your own size."

"My problem with you guys is that you steal my spotlight!" Aiden thundered. "Before you transferred here, I was popular and had admirers left and right. But now..." he smiled mirthlessly. "But now everyone is head over heels with the Kinoyas."

"You're still popular, Aiden. I don't get what you're talking about." The Kinoya boy scratched the back of his head. "Don't the girls from the hockey team always flock to you like sheep to their shepherd? You have more fans than Akira and I do."

"Fans? Ha!" Aiden scoffed. "The girls don't really like me. They are just a bunch of lonely girls who want attention. I give them what they want by pleasing them in bed."

"Uh, that's too much information." Akira gagged. "Whatever. Leave us alone, will you?"

"How do you do that? Being everyone's favorite without promising any hanky panky, I mean." Aiden asked. "Is that because you Kinoyas are rich as fuck?"

"It's because Kenta is the nicest guy around, nothing to do with our family's wealth!" Akira put down her fists and put her hands on her hips. "Maybe you should be nice like him if you want to gain loyal admirers back the honest way."

Aiden frowned. Without warning, he pushed Kenta to the ground and snatched one of the boy's sound processors, giggling as he ran away with it.

"Thief!" Akira yelled and started sprinting, with Kenta limping behind. "Come back!"

"Can't catch me!" Aiden stuck his tongue out. "You run like old tortoises, Kinoyas."

The three teenagers kept on running after each other until they left their school grounds far behind and reached a playground nearby. There was a family of what appeared to be tourists--a mother, a father, a teenage son, and two toddlers who couldn't be any older than maybe five or six years old. They watched open-mouthed as Aiden and the Kinoya cousins zoomed past them into the sandbox and Akira fell butt first onto the sand. The tourist family's eldest son rushed to her side and helped her up.

"T-Thanks." Akira muttered and dusted her skirt. "I'm fine, really." She looked up to see who the kind helper was and gasped in awe at his long, curly, midnight hair.

"Your friend there is getting bullied, isn't he?" the long-haired boy pointed at Aiden and Kenta, who were wrestling next to a set of swings. "Should I intervene?"

"Stay out of this." Akira pulled him down. "You don't want to make the situation worse."

"You sure?" He raised an eyebrow. "Looks like your friend is losing the fight."

Akira turned her head to the source of the commotion and shrieked as she witnessed Kenta groaning in pain and clutching his stomach while Aiden smirked triumphantly despite being held by two adults and being stared at by two meddling toddlers.

"You hurt him!" Akira roared and slapped Aiden. "You've gone too far!"

"What would you do, report me to the principal?" Aiden snorted. "You know she is all talk and no walk. All that campaign about making sure the school is a safe place for her students? Yeah, she is bluffing. Stop being delusional. She's not gonna be your savior."

"My wife and I can report you to the police for unruly conduct in a public space and for harassing an innocent student." The man who held Aiden down said. "Give him his sound processor back or I'll make sure I'm calling the police for real."

"Yes, sir." Aiden hung his head down and threw Kenta's sound processor toward Akira. He then ran off in the other direction, seemingly taking the man's threat seriously.

"Let's get you checked." The man's wife crouched down to observe Kenta. "Oh, good, you don't seem to be bleeding. No broken bones either. Can you stand up?"

Kenta nodded quietly and tried to get up with shaky legs.

"Do you need anything, dude?" The tourist boy handed him a bottle of water. "Here, drink. You'll feel better." He smiled as he watched Kenta guzzle the water. "That asshole who punched you in the belly, what's his deal?" he huffed. "He's a coward, isn't he?"

"He's jealous of us because, according to him, we're getting too famous at school." Akira answered since Kenta was still too stunned to speak. "My cousin and I, we are transfer students. We didn't expect to be the talk of the town but it happened."

"I see. It's a case of an alpha male having a fragile ego, then!"

"Precisely." Akira chuckled. "So, what brought you to this playground, stranger?"

"My family and I are vacationing. It's winter break right now in dreary Black Elm. We thought it's gonna be fun spending the holiday on a summery planet like yours. Hey, I should ask for you guys' names. I'm Johannes." He shook Akira's hand. "Or Johan."

"Johan is a beautiful name." Kenta chimed in. "And are those your siblings?" He smiled at the little kids by Johan's side. "Hello, I'm Kenta. I live not too far from here."

"I'm Nardhia," said the little girl. "This is my twin brother. Nardho, say hi!"

"H-Hi." Nardho stuttered. "I-I like your uniform. It looks like a sailor's shirt."

"Aww, he's giving you a compliment!" Akira pat Kenta's shoulder. "Nice kiddo, he is."

"He's really into sailors." Johan giggled and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "Anyway, my family and I gotta get going. I have a feeling we'll see you guys again, though."

"Bye, bye!" Nardhia waved her hand as Johan whisked her and Nardho away.

"Wait up!" Akira chased after them. "What do you mean we will meet again?"

"My siblings love visiting this playground." Johan explained. "If you guys also frequent this playground afterschool or something, we can be friends."

"Friends?" Kenta mumbled under his breath. "It would be cool to have friends." He said almost inaudibly but Akira heard him and flashed a smile, which he returned.

"Welcome to Silver Pine, Johan!" Akira said. "We're officially your first Pinean friends, then. Enjoy your stay and let us know if your family needs tour guides."

"Will do!" Johan chortled. "It's gonna be fantastic, having local guides."

"You bet." Akira nodded. "Later, alligators."

As Johan and his family climbed onto their car and drove away, Kenta stood speechless as his face turned slightly red. Akira seemed amused and let out a soft laughter.

"What?" Kenta turned away to hide his blush.

"Somebody is smitten!"

"Mind your own business."

"Johan and Kenta on a tree, K-I-S--"

"Shut up!"