Another Chance | Lawlight

Chapter 7

Day 6

Sayu was surprised when her brother dragged her out of the house early in the morning. Their mother was still asleep, and Light had left a note on the kitchen table stating they had gone to get groceries. However, instead of heading directly to the nearby shops, Light had headed into town. After their mother's blowup two days ago, a part of her believed that they would keep their heads down until she cooled off if that was ever going to happen. Sayu might hate the woman, but she's stuck living in that house until she's old enough to legally move out for college.

"Where are we going?" Sayu said. Her brother had been suspiciously quiet, messaging someone on his phone, but he'd shut his phone whenever she tried to look. Sayu had given up after the first five failed attempts.

"You'll see," Light said, being as cryptic as ever. Sayu rolled her eyes. Light returned to his phone as they navigated the streets of Tokyo before stopping in front of the Jinji Tennis Court. Sayu frowned; Light hadn't been here in years after their parents made him stop playing Tennis in competitions and focus on his studies. Since then, Light hasn't mentioned anything relating to tennis. Sayu herself had always been crap at the game, always moving too slow to hit the ball back or hitting it directly into the net. Light had tried to teach her but eventually gave up when Sayu stopped trying to learn the game.

"Tennis? Why are we here?" Sayu said, looking over to her brother, whose cheeks had turned red.

"I've been meeting with someone, a new friend, and whilst I know you don't enjoy playing Tennis, he suggested you come along to get away from our mother," Light said. A new friend, huh? "Stop that train of thought right now; he's just a friend."

"Of course," Sayu said. She wasn't letting this go anytime soon. Light stared at her before relenting; he opened the door and walked inside. Sayu followed after, excited to meet Light's 'friend'. Light headed into the changing rooms whilst Sayu waited outside, her eyes watching everyone who went past, wondering which one was this new friend Light spoke about. Her brother's friends were lacking; he talked with people at school but never hung out with anyone; she knew it was mainly because they used him for his intelligence. Sayu had 'friends' with whom she was happy to hang out; however, she wasn't close to anyone in particular and would rely on them should she need help; they'd let her down many times before. Sayu just didn't have the same interests as them outside TV shows, and some of the conversations they had Sayu wasn't interested in, especially when they... no, Sayu's not thinking about that.

Light came out of the changing room, wearing a white long-sleeved top and black shorts. Sayu knew that her brother tried to act strong after his attack, but there were parts of her brother that had changed, and she knew he was trying to hide. Light would never wear long-sleeved tops during Tennis, but after the attack, Light would always wear something with sleeves to cover his scars. She understood why, but it didn't hurt Sayu any less seeing her brother trying to soldier on like nothing had happened when she knew he was still hurt inside. Light was strong, but he was also stubborn.

Sayu followed her brother onto the Tennis courts. The other courts were empty except for the furthest one, where a single person stood waiting - this must be Light's friend. They walked over, Sayu behind her brother, her eyes staring directly at the man. He wasn't what Sayu expected when Light said they were meeting his friend. Sayu's previous belief was Light had a sugar daddy. A part of her believed that they were going to meet a 40+-year-old man who had a beer belly and balding head, but instead, the man had a full head of messy black hair and black eyes; he was slim, pale and young, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt and trainers. He was the complete opposite of what she'd been expecting. Was this man her brother's type?