Astrophile

010

At the dojo, you greeted everyone, as per usual, however the only thing out of ordinary was you greeting Manjirō and him replying, "Good Afternoon, Manjirō-kun!" A kind smile on your lips as he looked down the minute he heard your voice. A blush adorned his cheeks as he only glanced up and muttered, "Y-Yeah, hey..."

You gave him a soft closed eyed grin as you walked away to put your away your bag of clothes, leaving Manjirō and Baji. The latter boy seemed shocked at his friend's behaviour as he was used to Manjirō giving you the cold shoulder. Seeing the boy all shy and fidgety made the ravenette's head spin with questions.

"Since when did you become all buddy-buddy with [Male Name]?!" Baji questioned as he turned to Mikey in surprise, "None of your goddamn business!!!" The boy yelled at his friend, his blush darkening. This made Baji grin smugly, "Eh?! You're not gonna tell me, Mikey-kun~" The ravenette sang teasingly.

"I said zip it, Edward!!!" Mikey jumped at him, making the ravenette cackle at his figure, "Bwahaha!! So you're finally ready to apologise to him!!" The bleached blond glared at the boy, making him double over in laughter. He didn't stop laughing until a third voice entered the conversation, "Oh, mind telling me what's happening here?"

Shinichirō walked over to the two boy as he placed a hand on Manjirō's head, "Baji's pissing me off!!" He yelled, pointing at the grinning boy, "Eh, Keisuke-kun? You're teasing Manjirō?! That's a first!!" The older boy exclaimed in surprise.

"He's finally stopped being a bully to [Male Name], I'm just asking why the sudden change of heart?!" The fanged boy innocently asked Shinichirō, making Manjirō scream in the background, "I never bullied him!!"

Both of them turned to him with a disgusted expression, making the boy waver at his remark, "Well, as long as Manjirō is learning from his mistake, does it really matter?!" Shinichirō asked, somewhat proud.

Last night, Manjirō came to his room and told him the entire ordeal. Of course, Shinichirō complemented him for accepting his mistake and for swallowing his pride for the right thing, but he also advised that he should properly apologise to you in front of everyone, since you at the very least, deserved a proper apology after all that Manjirō did.

So here they were, after you came back, Shinichirō held his shoulder as Manjirō stared at you, "I-I'm sorry, [Male Name]!!" He yelled, bowing properly to emphasise his apology.

Your eyes widened as you raised your hands to stop him, but Shinichirō told you let him finish, "I've been a horrible person to you, simply out of jealousy.... and I really wanna be your friend!!" He was extremely embarrassed to say this but he knew that what he did was very wrong.

Bullying someone was never okay. The bully doesn't even know the amount of misery they cause to the victim. And Manjirō did just that, and he finally realised his mistake. Shinichirō couldn't be more proud of him as he smiled at his brother.

"I already told you, that I've forgiven you... Just promise me one thing, that you'll never do it again!!" You exclaimed, wanting Manjirō to know that you truly did forgive him. His eyes widened at your words as he nodded almost immediately, a wide grin on his lips.

During the entire day, Manjirō didn't bother you at all. If anything, he seemed a bit clingy to you, holding onto your hand and not letting go, even when Emma hissed at him for holding 'her [Male Name]-kun's hand' whatever she meant by that.

Although, Manjirō still didn't let go....

You enjoyed today's day and you really didn't want to ruin it by going home, so you decided to play at the nearby park, hoping to encounter Mitsuya or Kazutora.

The park was mostly empty, as you walked towards the swing set and sat down. Your feet lightly grazed the ground as you pushed your body to slowly swing back and forth.

Your breathing hitched when you caught sight of Yuki, who seemed a bit nervous upon seeing you, "Yuki, what's wrong?" You asked, careful with your tone.

The female looked nervous as she tried to dart her eyes, looking anywhere but your face, "Yuki, are you okay?!" She was starting to worry you as you got up from the swing set and stood in front of her. She shook her head but you knew her like the back of your hand.

"Hey, come on... Is everything okay?? Are your parents okay?!" You questioned, not sure what might have made her act like this. She seemed a bit hesitant, but you wish you had never heard her say those next words.

"[Male Name], I don't want to be your friend anymore..."