KOF School

A Steal

Yashiro stared at the shiny red sneaker that his mother handed to him in surprise.
"Try this on, see if it fits," Yashira nonchalantly said before moving on to look at something else.
Without much to do, Yashiro sat down on a plush bench to try on the shoe on his left foot, then laid it flat on the ground to feel it. It was one of the most comfortable shoes he had ever tried.
Yashiro took it off and put his regular shoe on before walking around the shop to look for his mother, carrying the shiny new shoe in his hand. He eventually spotted her, looking at yet another large red men's shoe. She seemed to have been expecting him and turned to him.
"The shoe fits?" Yashira asked.
"Uh... yeah," Yashiro nodded, handing the shoe back to her. "It's really nice... how much is this again?"
"Twenty," Yashira said. "Thousand."
Yashiro's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Twenty thousand? For this shoe?!"
"Well, not just that shoe, they'll give you the pair as well," Yashira said. "How was it? Was it the right size?"
Yashiro was at a loss. "I guess it was."
"Was it comfortable?"
"It felt really soft on the inside... almost like stepping onto a pillow," Yashiro said. "But it's too expensive, I don't think I want it."
Yashira looked at him for a moment, then took the shoe that he handed to her before handing him another one. "Try this."
It was a slightly darker shade of red, with black details. Yashiro sighed and sat down on the cushioned bench beside him to try it out. It may have had a slightly better design, but he still liked the other shoe that Yashira had given him better than this. Without a word, Yashiro took it off and handed it back to his mother.
"I don't really want any more shoes, Mom," Yashiro said. "Besides, I don't need something this expensive."
"Is this better than the last?" Yashira asked.
Yashiro sighed. "Not really. That was a little more comfortable." He looked around the shop slightly and remembered that his mother had chosen a few pairs of shoes for herself, he didn't see how many but he had seen her handing some to the salesclerk that kept following them around. "I'll be outside."
With that, Yashiro left the shop and waited outside. He couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, like he had finally escaped a blizzard.
"Let's go," Yashiro turned around at his mother's voice. "You wanna go anywhere else?"
Yashiro just shrugged.
"Let's go to Beauty and Bath Works," Yashira cheerfully said. "I really like the set your father got me. I wanna get another lotion."
"It's on the lower ground floor," Yashiro said.
"Ah, let's go over," Yashira eagerly said. She handed him one of the bags she was holding. "Okay, this one's yours. Try it on later, it's the one you like."
Yashiro looked at her in surprise. "You... you actually bought those shoes?"
Yashira nodded amiably. "Yeah? Why not? You liked it didn't you." She stepped a little closer. "Tell me if you don't, we can just exchange it for something else, the shop is just here."
Yashiro quickly shook his head. "Mom, please. That's not what I meant. I didn't need shoes this expensive."
"You deserve them," Yashira simply said, a slight smile on her face. "Besides, can't I treat my son sometimes?"
Yashiro just sighed and followed her as she made a beeline for the nearest lift lobby.

The father and son said next to nothing as they walked alongside each other. That made the situation much less peaceful.
"So, how do you think Uncle's date went last night?" Iori struck a conversation. "Uncle says it went good, but what do you think?"
"I think it did," Masaomi shrugged. "He just doesn't wanna tell us because..." he snorted. "Because of all the weirdness we caused."
Iori smirked. "We did do a good job fooling around him."
"We did," Masaomi chuckled, curling his hands into his pockets. "Darn... the weather's freezing. You think the drinks will remain hot on the way back?"
"If the snow doesn't subside, I don't know," Iori said, wrapping his arms around himself. "Gosh... we might turn into icicles at this rate!"
"I think we should take a taxi on our way back..." Masaomi suggested. "What do you think? The drinks would be safe too."
Iori nodded. "Good idea. How far more is the shop?"
"Iori, we haven't even come to Yoyogi Park yet," Masaomi pointed out.
Iori let out a big puff of air that materialised into a white cloud. "What?!"
"Maybe we should just take a PickYou now..." Masaomi sighed, taking his phone out. "We can't get taxis here since this isn't the main road..."
"Dad, I don't think cars come here," Iori looked around. "This is practically a footpath."
"Shoot, you're right," Masaomi groaned. "Let's go back, then."
Iori shook his head. "No, it's fine. Just book a PickYou. We can meet up after passing through this lane."
"Good idea," Masaomi agreed.
The two of them stood aside to book a ride, with Iori helping out since Masaomi still didn't get the hang of using the app correctly.
"Hands up!" The redheads immediately stilled at the voice.
A masked man stepped out from apparently out of nowhere, holding a knife.
"Get back," Masaomi whispered pushing Iori behind him.
"Phone!" The knife-wielder shouted, pointing the knife at Masaomi who still held his phone. "Hand it over."
Masaomi hesitated, but dropped the device into the snow when Iori let out an exclamation behind him. He quickly turned around to look at his son and gasped when he saw Iori being held at knifepoint by another masked attacker, a friend of the other thug no doubt.
"Please, let my son go," Masaomi pleaded. "What do you want from us?"
"Give me you wallet," Masaomi heard from the man behind him.
With shaking hands, Masaomi reached for his wallet. "Let my son go first."
"Throw the wallet over there first," The thug motioned towards the side, tightening his grip around Iori. The younger Yagami let out a pained groan, gripping onto the thug's arm that was wrapped around him.
Masaomi threw his wallet just as said and turned back to the thug. "Let my son go."
To Masaomi's surprise, the thug merely shoved Iori aside, who fell with a grunt. Masaomi ran to him, not caring with what those thugs might do to his phone or wallet.
"Iori! Iori, are you alright?" Masaomi exclaimed, placing a hand on his shoulder as he checked to see if he was alright.
Iori seemed fine, but was panting, his breath clouding in front of him like smoke as he faced the ground. Masaomi could feel his heart thumping hard just by touching his shoulder. Then again, it wasn't as if he was tranquil himself. It may have even been his own pulse he was feeling.
Masaomi felt relieved when Iori got onto his feet, refusing his help, and shakily stood up.
"Iori, you alright?" Masaomi asked, sparing a disgusted glance at the attackers who flew at his belongings.
Iori didn't respond and just stood, a hand on his face as he hunched over. Masaomi didn't know why, but there was something strange about him...