Harumi woke up with an extra pep in her step this morning. Her son Hayato was coming home after his six month trip to Mexico.
She woke up early to make all his favorite foods for him to indulge in once he arrived. Satoshi even got up to help his mom make food for his beloved big brother.
Both mother and son waited patiently in the living room, waiting for that doorbell to ring. When it didn't ring, she got a little worried but put it off as him being late due to traffic since the airport can be pretty hectic.
That's when she heard that all too familiar shout of surprise from her neighbor Fuyumi.
"WHAT?! WHO ARE YOU?! LET GO!"
Harumi stepped out of her apartment and looked around the hallway. Across the hall, she could see her idiot son groveling on his knees, furiously apologizing to a blushing Fuyumi.
"HAYATO!!!" Harumi screamed at her stupid son. She can clearly see what went wrong. He got the wrong house and hugged the poor girl, terrifying her.
"Big bro is in trouble." Satoshi giggled from behind his moms legs.
Harumi chastised him. "You shut up." She then glared at her older son, who instantly became terrified. "And you. Get up, apologize, and come inside before I drag your stupid ass over here."
There was her idiot son, looking all the same before he left with his brown spiky hair, those big brown eyes, and that headband he always wears.
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"Yes, mother!" Terrified, Hayato apologized to Fuyumi, grabbed his luggage, and ran quickly to his room.
Harumi smiled sweetly at Fuyumi, who was also slightly terrified, quickly getting over her fear from getting hugged by a strange person. "Please excuse my idiot son, I swear he's a good boy when he doesn't have his head up his ass. Good day, Fuyumi-chan." Her and Satoshi walked back inside, closing the door behind them, leaving Fuyumi confused at the family affairs.
It was almost comical if not for the fear she felt from the angry mother.
Her strange morning aside, Fuyumi had to get ready for work.
While she was getting ready to do that, next door, Harumi and her two sons began enjoying a wondrous breakfast. Her eldest son was as boisterous and loud at the table as ever.
It seems that her youngest son was picking up some of the mannerisms Hayato had as well. Eating sloppily and drinking like a madman just like he did. It seems that Satoshi had been picking up a lot of things from his older brother, and while she loved the close bond they shared. She sure as hell does not want him to become a mini version of Hayato.
Hayato is a kind and courteous young man, but he often gets himself into trouble with that distorted sense of justice of his. This is partially why she even allowed him to go overseas for the past six months so that he would stop getting in trouble here in Japan and maybe mellow out in a new country. She loves her son, but he's too much sometimes.
And seeing him now makes her realize that he does have a different aura about him. He looks more confident and more mature.
"Something wrong, mom?" Hayato asked with a mouthful after noticing she was staring at him.
"Something will be if you keep talking with your mouth full." Hayato quickly swallowed and drank the water from his glass to wash it down.
"Sorry, mom. Force of habit, haha." Hayato scratched the back of his head, a little ashamed his rude tendencies kept popping up. He's trying to be more respectful.
"You look the same sweetheart yet at the same time different. Traveling was good for you, wasn't it Hayato?" His mother asked. It seemed like an obvious question with an obvious answer, but deep down, there was more meaning to it.
Hayato really had grown in the six months away from home. It was such a unique and life changing experience for the better. He learned a lot about life, but he also learned much more about himself.
"It was an amazing experience."
Hayato retold his adventures across the world all through breakfast to his mother and Satoshi.
He even brought gifts from his journey.
It took some time for him to adjust back home, but things went smoothly for the first couple of days. And at some point, that one incident from when he arrived surfaced back up in his mind.
Harumi was watching TV with Satoshi in the living room when her eldest son strolled in.
"Hey Ma, who was that girl next door."
And then Harumi went on to explain the girl next door.
Full name Fuyumi Todoroki, a sweet young girl who moved in next door about a month ago.
"That's Fuyumi. Why? Wanna ask her out?" Harumi smugly stared at her son. For years, she wondered why he hadn't he gotten a girlfriend yet."
"Ah no! I'm just curious because that apartment had been vacant for months. And it's also cus I the reason i always remembered where we lived was because the next door house had the for rent sign." He struggled memorizing the number, but that rent sing on the empty apartment next door always helped him know where he lived. The number on their door had been faded, and it was hard to read. And to remember, their mother came up with a way by counting how many doors it was from the elevator to their apartment. It's seven doors. But he forgot. The sign helped him.
"You're so dumb. How are you still unable to remember the number of doors?" Harumi asked. Hell, her other youngest has no issue with it.
"It's been six months, I forgot. Anyways, earlier Satoshi called her big sis. She comes here often?" It did put him at ease to know that he had someone to hang out with in his absence. Satoshi clearly took a liking to that girl.
"She lives alone, so every so often, she eats dinner with us. She also offers to babysit him on her days off when I work. They really like each other."
"I'm glad he has someone, I always thought how lonely he must have felt without his big brother. But it's good to hear he's had fun." He smiled. Yes, maybe things will be better now.
"Ok." Hayato grunted as he stood up. "I'm gonna go see my friends. It's been a while since I've seen them. I'll be home around 8, later!" Hayato got up and left the apartment.
Harumi sighed, smiling as she saw her son retreat. His first day back, and he's already out the door again. Her son is restless. "That boy, he never changes."
