The Voice of You and Me

6

      Since that day, it's been two years that you started hanging out with Yata and Saruhiko. The boys were now in their third year of middle school and were practicing for the entrance exams. Currently, you were with them at Yata's house hiding from the summer heat as they studied. Actually, more like tutoring.

"Mom! Mom! Hey, Mom!" Yata's younger brother shouted as you laid flat on the floor staring at the ceiling. You turned your head sideways to see the small boy staring at a beetle.

"Mom, Hercules won't move! Hey, Moooom!" he cried once more. Saruhiko gave him a glance.

"That's not a Hercules beetle." he commented. The boy gave him a shocked face.

"Eh?! That's a Hercules beetle! Dad said it's a Hercules beetle! It's Hercules!" he argued obviously thinking he was right. Saruhiko pulled out his phone and started typing.

"A Hercules beetle is this one." he said as he showed him a picture. The boy looked shocked at the new knowledge then stood up while yelling at his mom. Saruhiko gave a slightly annoyed face as he stood up.

".... I'll go buy something to drink. Wanna come?" he asked while standing over you. Before you could answer, he was suddenly shoved forward which caused him to land on top of you. The air in your lungs instantly left you as his weight crushed you. It wasn't that he was heavy, but the force of his fall added to the pain.

"Bam!" a small voice said. You turned your head slowly with a look of pain to see Yata's little sister laughing.

"Damn brat....." Saruhiko muttered as he got up. The child only laughed then walked away and slammed her head into the wall saying, "bam!"

"You okay?" Saruhiko asked while giving you a hand. You nodded then gratefully took it and stood up. It was then that something snapped in Yata.

"Ahhhh! So noisy! Minoru! Megumi! Can you two shut up for a minute?!" he screamed feeling tired of the different shouting.

"Misaki! You're the loudest one!" his mother shouted from the kitchen. Then the three of you were kicked out.

"Geez, why did we have to leave. We're trying to prepare for our entrance exams. Kids should play outside anyway." Yata complained while trying to keep himself cool with a fan.

"That was one minute. Fan." Saruhiko responded with an outstretched hand. Yata was a bit surprised, but held it out to him anyway.

"Ah, already? Here." he said as the taller male took the small object. You lifted your arm and wiped your forehead feeling the small build up of sweat clear off. It was pretty hot outside.

"Ah, an ice cream vending machine. Let's buy some." Saruhiko said suddenly once the three of you turned a corner. You looked in the same direction to indeed see the machine.

"You really love ice cream, huh? You'll spoil your stomach, y'know?" Yata commented as some of the instincts he gained from his mother kicked in.

"I decided until summer ends I'll live on ice cream and carbonic acid."

"You won't be able to live like that. Eat some other stuff, too."

"Well, if I don't live any longer than this that's also okay."

"No, no, you need to live." Yata complained in response. "If you die as a student right before his exams you won't ever have gotten to enjoy life."

"One minute passed. Here." Saruhiko said then passed the fan to you. You quickly thanked him and started using the device to cool yourself down.

"Ah-ha, entrance exams, huh. 's kinda fast. Saruhiko, for you it's fine because you can go to any school you want, but I won't be able to go to a decent school anyway. You're lucky, (y/n), that you don't have to worry about this stuff." the red haired male said. You gave him a teasing smile as if you knew he was right then passed him the fan as your minute was up.

"Misaki, you have a lot of energy so if you start cramming just before you might still make it." Saruhiko commented trying to lift his spirits. Yata gave an annoyed look.

"I told you not to call me by my name outdoors, Saruhiko." he whined. The said male only responded with a confused face before continuing from earlier.

"Isn't it okay if you just don't go to a school, what they teac there is pointless anyway. (y/n) turned out fine and she's never been to school. One minute." he said then grabbed the fan for his time. You felt shocked by his cold implying words as you gave him a glare. Then he lightly smacked you with the fan on the head.

"I was just joking." he said in a softer tone than the one he was using earlier.

"Ah, yeah. You're right, kinda. I thought about moving out after graduating from middle school. Minoru is already in elementary school, Megumi is quickly growing up. With five people in that house it's just way too crowded. So I thought if I want to live somewhere then in Shizume City. And also,........." Yata paused there and faced the two of you with excitement.

"Can't we rent a room together? Let's make it our secret headquarters!" Yata declared. You felt flustered by his request and you noticed Saruhiko was speechless for a moment.

"You're asking us because you can't pay the rent alone right?" Saruhiko asked. He nervously laughed at that.

"You figured it out right away, huh? I'll work part-time so of course I'll pay half of it without fail. I'll also take care of cooking and cleaning. You won't have to do anything at all." Yata declared as if to seal a deal. Saruhiko was quiet as he took in this new information.

"Saruhiko. You don't go to your house for who knows how many days in a month and instead spend the nights in an internet cafe. You only go home wen there's nobody else, and if there's somebody you don't go. You don't need a home like that." Yata said with a different emotion he held in his voice before. You were surprised and looked at Saruhiko to see he was shocked too. Then a smile grew.

".....I want at least a cooler and a bathroom included." he said causing Yata to smile as well.

"I want a place with a rooftop. We'd make it into a heliport and organize sorties with fighter jets." he said with obvious excitement. You listened quietly as the two discussed random things such as rocketships and cosmic rays while the three of you made the journey to a library with ac and food. It was late into the hours that you found yourself lost in their conversations that you completely forgot about the empty house you would have to return to or having the slight chance that he would be there waiting. 'Oh well', you thought while waving goodbye and walking down the street.

'As long as I can see them then I can face anything he throws at me.'