New Kid | Soukoku

20

It's been a few days and it's the last day of the school break. Dazai teased Chuuya a lot about the drunk incident and the ginger was very embarrassed about it. He refused to believe it even ever happened.

The two boys already packed their things and have been passing time doing random things. Dazai was in the living room watching some suicide documentary, and Chuuya, was in his mother's room getting his soft, ginger hair braided.

"Hey, ma," Chuuya spoke up, a bit shy to say what he was about to say.

"Yes, darling?" Kouyou replied in a sweet tone, focused on making her son's hair pretty.

"Um..." Chuuya prepared himself for cringe.

"...I really like Dazai. And, I wanna marry him when I'm older."

Kouyou's hands stopped. Chuuya awkwardly turned his head to her for the slightest sign of approval, and he was met with a smile.

"That's sweet, honey. I hope you do marry him," Kouyou said in admiring tone before starting to braid the teenager's hair again.

Chuuya's face turned a bit red. He didn't reply. He just waited a few more minutes until his mother finally finished doing his hair. She tilted her son's head towards the mirror.

Chuuya's pretty ginger hair was in a thick braid, very soft and silky looking. It had butterfly hairclips on it. He smiled at his reflection. "It's so pretty. Thank you, ma."

Kouyou wanted to frown for a second, but she just smiled instead. "Chuuya, this is the last day I'll get to spend time with you in a long time... I wanted to apologize for neglecting you when you were little, I really haven't been a great mother to you—"

"Woah, woah, woah," Chuuya stopped her. "You never neglected me. You just babied me. Just like that dumbass mackerel sitting in the living room. That's all. You were never a bad mom."

Kouyou's gaze softened, and it looked like her eyes were about to drip with tears. "Do you really think so? I haven't been a bad mother towards you?"

Chuuya chuckled, looking down at the ground. "You haven't been the best mom. You definitely haven't been there for me when I needed it, but, to be fair, I was always a shitty, burdening and troublemaking son too—"

"What?" Kouyou gasped. "Burdening? You were never once a burden to me. I thought you would've let your past with those stupid bullies from your elementary school go by now."

"I did let the past go, ma," Chuuya rolled his eyes. "But even I know I was too much to handle. Now I know. I'm more matured now."

In just a second, tears fell down Kouyou's cheeks.

Silence.

Chuuya did NOT know how to comfort crying people.

"Uh, ma... Hey, stop crying- I mean, why are you crying?" Chuuya awkwardly asked, putting his hand on his mother's shoulder as a sorry attempt at comforting her.

"My baby has grown so much!" Kouyou sobbed, bringing Chuuya into her arms and squeezing him to death. "I thought you would've never become mature enough to admit you were wrong!"

Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

Kouyou didn't respond. She just kept crying, hugging Chuuya tightly. It was her last day with him for a while anyway. And that's when the shirtless brunette with bandages all over his body, yes, he had gotten a bit comfortable in Kouyou's house, had come into the room.

"Hey guys, I think it's time to leave-" Dazai stopped when he saw Kouyou crying while hugging Chuuya. He quickly shut the hell up, silently backing up. "Oops. Must've came in during an important moment..."