A Hero I Look Up To

One Year Reunion

A few weeks have passed and Tobio's cold has been cured thaks to the medicine! Tobio walked to school as always, because his parents had went to work early. Of course, middle school is closer than elementary school—a ten minute walk, so Tobio was able to get to school early. Loid waited for Tobio near the entrance, focused on his phone. As Tobio walked up to Loid, he tapped his shoulder. Loid lifted his gaze from his phone and saw Tobio with a serious look on his face.

"Loid... do you think I could try to track down Chris?" Tobio asked with a stern voice.

"Track him... down!?" Loid was taken aback by that suggestion by Tobio. "Hold up, you mean you want to stalk him?"

"No, I want to talk to him!" Tobio exclaimed, leaning forward towards Loid. "My parents made me delete and block his number!"

Loid froze and had no words to say. Blocking and deleting Chris' contact information was the most terrifying thing to hear—much worse than cutting contact with a former friend in his opinion. While he stared at Tobio, he quickly pressed the side of his phone to turn it off and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Your parents did what now?" Loid asked.

"They told me... to block and delete his number..." Tobio lowered his gaze with a dejected look. "They said if I didn't do it, they would do it for me..."

"So they just... forced you to do it?"

"I was worried that they'll take my phone away from me, I had no choice!" Tobio took a step back, cradling his arms. "How was I supposed to react after they planned to punish me if I didn't do it?"

Loid took a deep breath and sighed. He grabbed Tobio's clothes on the shoulder and pulled him furiously, shaking Tobio aggressively with anger painted all over his face.

"You can't just sit there and do nothing, Tobio! Why are going to accept your fate right now?!" Loid shouted, then pushed him back as Tobio caught his fall. "Do you think you can survive without confronting your parents?"

"Loid I can't...!" Tobio tried to argue back. "They won't even listen to a word I say!"

Loid shut his eyes and clenched a fist, causing it to shake. The Tobio he knew would always come up with a solution to make things work like a flash. He took a step forwards and leaned towards Tobio, touching his shoulder. Tobio lifted his gaze to see Loid with pupils dilated. He wanted to take a step back to avoid the situation, but couldn't. His legs were shaking and he couldn't move his body.

"Tobio, if you can't do it, you have to convince them! If you can't convince them, then run away from them! Get out of the house to find a new home to live in!"

Run away...?

Running away from a place he always lived in... would be too much. Tobio was only in seventh grade—a child still learning new things. Tobio's breath shuddered. Running away from home would be scary and dangerous, or the worst case scenario: he might get kidnapped.

"Loid... you don't understand... at all." Tobio's voice quivered. "I-I.... can't... I can't just... run out of the house...! You know how dangerous this is!"

This left the two in complete silence. There's nothing Tobio could do than just live with his parents—well that's what he thought. However, despite the dangers, Loid thinks there's more to that than it meets the eye.

"I know it's stupid... but I think it's possible.." Loid gave Tobio a pat on the shoulder. "I don't about me and this whole ordeal about running away, but I think it's best to ask Mia, since she's been with you longer than I have been."

"But what if—"

"This is your one and only chance to ask what to do if you can't see Chris and we may have different views on it." Loid glared at Tobio. "I'm sure she'll be able to help you, even if you can't run away now. Do. Not. Mess. This. Up."