Untold Part 1: The Strength Within

Chapter 2: New Release

Iteijyu and Mabaru are on their way to Tsubaki street: a bustling area with many stores, entertainment, and convenient restaurants near their apartment. They are in a quiet neighborhood with small shops and leaves shivering down from the trees. Mabaru puts both his hands inside his beige shorts, wearing sandals and a teal tank top topped with a white long-sleeve shirt as he listens to music. Iteijyu wears the same outfit from yesterday: a black tank-top, gray joggers, and running shoes. A small ping went off Iteijyu's phone when he sees a message from a friend. His friend is a brown jackal breed sporting on sleepwear as he takes a selfie waiting in a long line.

"Damn. Poor Kazu."

"What happened?"

"He's at the game store. There's a long line there and it's gonna take a while."

"Aw man."

"I spoke too soon, didn't I?"

"It's fine. We can relax for the meantime."

"What do you want to do?"

Mabaru looks around. He spots a small playground and points at it. "Ah look! There's a small park over there! Come on!" He runs after.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Mabaru sits on an empty swing and pushes himself. He shifts his head to see Iteijyu next to him.

"It's nice. Isn't it?" Iteijyu compliments as he sits on the swing.

"Reminds me of when we used to talk. We were both quiet and awkward. Mainly me." Mabaru softly laughs. He drags his seat from behind and lets the swing propel him back and forth.

"I still think you're cool."

"Thanks. I always feel happy doing this. All we did was kept on swinging for the whole time back then."

"We were so afraid of how to talk to each other. After what happened, I didn't want to say anything."

"At the very least, I didn't have to worry about my parents pitying me."

"Oh come on. They still care about you."

"I know. I feel bad they have to watch over me. Especially my dad. He's always happy everytime I come back home from school. I feel like it's too much. They were always with me when I was young. I didn't quite fit in with the other kids. I guess you're right." Mabaru looks away from him. He reflects how much he is different to everyone back then. He is still bent down from his past memories, affirming his supposed 'growth.' The support from his parents was all he had without a friend group, and Iteijyu. Growing out of the pain became the catalyst of what he is now.

Iteijyu didn't want to leave him silent. "They still love you. Does your mom and dad call you back?"

"Not much. Instead, we have a group chat. My dad's busy with his biology job and my mom works at a small bakery. We just talk about how we're doing and send pictures of food."

"Aww. That's nice."

"Even after what they did, I appreciate them. They don't give up on me. Just like you Iteijyu. The training I'm doing. And now, this. After everything I've gone through, you're still here. Why?" Mabaru sinks his face again. He knows the growth comes from his past. He doesn't know if what he's doing is part of his improvement. No matter what, it grew on him, manifesting a disappointing callback to his past self. It feels like an escape to him. He's not facing his fears directly.

Iteijyu stays quiet, processing what Mabaru said. He remembers the first time they met at school. "I. I don't know. I just want to be your friend. That's all."