The Promised Revenge [Manjiro Sano]

36

May 26th 1998

Your dad left for the States again, but this time, he asked you if you wanted to go back for good with him.

You loved the idea, it felt right for you whenever your family was around, and you didn't care where you'd be if you were together. However, your mother and brother refused, saying that they had planned it all out, that they had created a life for themselves in this specific place, and that he was in the wrong by insisting on moving away from where you all "belonged".

As he said goodbyes, he assured you that his plans were to be gone for just a little while, but only to tie up some loose ends. In contrast to the last time you all separated, when it was you who traveled away, this time he was the one leaving, but without carrying any significant baggage as you did then.

And your mother was less emotional this time, not crying or even allowing him to kiss her on the head. You tried hard to convince yourself that it wasn't for the heated argument they had the night before that was loud enough that your brother asked if he could sleep in your bed.

You didn't mind living here forever anyway, you loved this place as well, you made a friend, a real one, and you were sure he felt as glad to have you as you did.

Even though Yuki was not from Tokyo, he still visited you regularly, dropping by every weekend to hang out with you and your brother.

The boy's personality slowly improved as time passed, and he no longer brought up his mother as much. It still slipped out sometimes, but it was merely out of habit.

He even informed you that he had made it to the school soccer team and had discovered that he was actually quite good after watching others play for so long, which aided his social life also, and he was able to befriend many people on the squad.

You were happy for him. He was making progress thanks to you. Why wouldn't you feel proud?

As for you, it was still the same. You still found yourself feeling like the outcast of your class, not famous enough to be of your entire school.

And you remained unbothered by it. Nothing happened to you with that social status, nobody even approached you, so you had no reason to hate it.

Today was especially hot, and you rushed to get inside the school building after your gym class, already feeling the sweat dripping down your forehead from when you searched everywhere in the locker room for your bag.

"What are you gonna do now? Cry, you little punk?!"

Walking past the rear of the building, something caught your ears, a familiar voice that made you almost gag with the sound of it.

You knew who that ugly snort belonged to, and it made you roll your eyes just with the picture of his face popping in your head.

Even though the sounds of whimpers were faint, you still heard them, accompanied by the laughter of Ichiro and his friends, and you felt compelled to help, regardless of whether you knew the person or not.

But the fact that you had already hit this person twice made going there a risky move, and you didn't want to face your mother's scolding for five hours and get your ass whooped for two.

So, instead of trying to interfere yourself, you decided to walk back to your class and tell the first teacher you encountered what was going on.

"What's the matter? Too weak to fight for yourself?"

"We'll see how you feel after this!"