The Hidden Past || Wind Breaker

Chapter 1: Starting afresh

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~Flashback~

??? POV:

      As I entered the town, I first noticed how different this place was. Sure, the previous town I resided in was nice, somewhat peaceful, but this, it totally gives off a different vibe. One look at the townspeople and I could tell how peaceful and safe it really was. It seems like those guys from Furin High do a pretty good job in keeping the town safe.

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~Present Time~

      It was still early in the morning, the clouds frolicking around in the sky making the weather a bit cloudy, which makes it a perfect day for a walk. It's almost been a month since I've been staying here. Might as well take my time and familiarize myself since I just mostly stayed inside my room.

      As I was walking around, I noticed that a few men were surrounding around a girl just a few meters up ahead of me. I squinted my eyes at them, now suddenly getting irritated by what was happening in front of me. I pondered on what I should do but I decided to let it pass and let someone else handle it. I've been laying low and have been doing a good job at it, I don't want to create a scene for myself.

      As I passed by them, ignoring the commotion, I suddenly heard what the man had said to the girl and it made me stop. Them surrounding the girl already made me irritated but what they had said sealed the deal for me. I was gonna step in but a boy with black and white hair stepped in before me. In just a few minutes, the men were now lying on the floor.

      I observed the two-toned hair boy and noticed that he was wearing a uniform. Patterned lines sewn on the collar and wrists, and a singular white line on the left sleeve, right around the upper arm. Just after noticing his outfit, he suddenly stood up which made me notice his eyes. Not only his hair are two-tone but his eyes as well. The right being a dark-grayish blue color while his left eyes are a beautiful shade of gold.

"With his appearance like that, he looks like a cat."

      After talking to the guy he beat up, he then noticed me standing just a few meters away. Not that close to them, but not too far as well. It was quiet. We held eye-contact for a while, not until I broke it by closing my eyes and started to speak.

      "Well, since you finished them off, I'll be going my way then. Thanks for saving me the trouble of handling them myself." I said as I turned around and started walking again. Continuing my journey of exploring the town.

~Time skip~

It was already lunch. I already explored quite a few places in the town, especially in the main street. Trying to look for a place to eat, I stumbled upon a cafe.

Cafe Pothos. It said.

I looked at the chalk board near the door and decided to eat here instead of trying to look for other option. Hey, you can't blame me, I'm getting hungry. As the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers. As I walked inside, I noticed the place gave a lovely atmosphere. The interior design was simple and yet it gives off warmth. There was no such thing as "extravagant" furniture. A few paintings here and there and a some chalk drawings on the right side of the counter. The use of plants also made the place beautiful. The color choice was also excellent. The shades of brown and green really gives off a relaxing and homey vibes and it was really pleasing to the eyes. It was perfect.

A voice of a girl suddenly made me snap out of my thoughts.

"Welcome to Cafe Pothos!" She said smiling while looking at me. "Oh! You're the girl from earlier right?" She questioned.

"Earlier?" I thought. I observed her features and found the eyes and hair familiar. She was wearing earrings and had a tiny mole near her left eye. Suddenly, I remembered the little incident that happened just a few hours ago.

"Oh. You were the girl that was being surrounded earlier." I said as I had now finally remembered where I have seen her. I went closer to the counter and took a seat.

"Yup! That was me. I was gonna talk you but you suddenly left after saying something to Sakura." She said while giggling a little.

"Sakura?" I questioned. Not knowing any 'Sakura' in this town. Or rather, not knowing anyone from this town. Welp, I guess except for the auntie that was letting me stay at her place.

"Oh my bad, sorry. He was the guy who helped me. The one with two-toned hair color. His name is Sakura." She said. "Ah! My apologies, I haven't even introduced myself. Tachibana Kotoha. Nice to meet you." She said while extending her hand out to me. Well, I guess that was my cue to introduce myself as well.

"Hirokawa Mari. Nice to meet you as well, Tachibana-san." I said, extending my hand out for the handshake.

"Ah-ha... 'Tachibana-san' is a bit too.. uhm.. formal. Just call me Kotoha. Besides, I'm not even that old." Tachiba- I mean.. Kotoha said while looking at me.

"Really now.. You look very mature. Might I ask how old you are? Kotoha-san." I said, saying her name but not dropping out the '-san'. It still feels a bit awkward by just calling her given name. After all, I just met the girl.

"Me? I'm sixteen." She answered while smiling.

Kotoha's POV:

As I was cleaning the dishes, the bell chime suddenly rang, indicating that someone just came in. I looked up to greet the customer but stopped as I noticed who the person was. She stopped just right in front of the door and kept looking around the place. Well, more of like examining.

"That's the girl from earlier." I thought as I looked at her. I was gonna continue and observe her but remembered that she was inside as a customer. And so, I put on a smile and welcomed her.

"Welcome to Cafe Pothos." I said while smiling at her. "You're the girl from earlier right?" I asked her. Though I already recognized her, a little confirmation won't hurt, though it would seem like she was confused for a minute.

She walked towards the counter and we had a little chat. I now found out the name of the mystery girl that was present earlier. Hirokawa Mari. That's a name that I haven't heard of. Maybe she came from out of town, just like a certain two-tone boy. We exchanged pleasantries and I did told her to just call me by name, but she still didn't dropped the formality. It was fine by me. 

"Really now.. You look very mature. Might I ask how old you are? Kotoha-san." She said, calling me by my name but still with the '-san'.

"I'm sixteen. How about you Mari?" I asked, still washing a few dishes.

"Oh me? I just turned 17 a few months ago." Oh? She's older than me..

She asked me a recommendation, and I told her 'Omurice' since that was what most of my customers wanted to eat.