Astrophile

012

Shinichirō was careful with his bike, not wanting you to fall off, so he kept the speed slow. He managed to reach the meeting spot in about 10 minutes, even with the heavy rain.

There, his close friends stood, all of them having already taken shelter under the dry roof of the abandoned building. Takeomi was the first one to notice him as Keizo continued to talk to Wakasa. The tall vice-president waved at him, alerting the other two.

Shinichirō parked his bike in a dry spot before picking up your tiny body, as gently as he could and carried you over. He shielded your body from the freezing rain, using his body as a cover.

The three males took notice of your tiny body, giving questioning glances to Shinichirō as he ran over with you in his arms. When he finally reached them, as quietly as he could, he placed you on the side, trying to find something to warm you up, "Shinichirō, who's that?!" Takeomi spoke up.

The other two nodded as well, making their leader heave a sigh, "Remember the kid that I was telling you about a few days ago?" He questioned, specifically asking Takeomi, "Yeah?"

"This is him..." Shinichirō whispered, keeping his voice low as to not wake you up. Wakasa and Keizo looked confused as they started, "Hey, is that an inside joke?! Cause we don't remember you telling us about any sort of kid..." The duo stated, making their leader turn to them.

"I suppose I should tell you.... He's a kid who trains at my Grandpa's dojo....." He stated, briefly before continuing, "I enjoyed talking to him since unlike Manjirō, he's a quiet, obedient kid, also he's adorable...." He tried laughing but his next words formed a lump in his throat, "Only recently I found out that he's living with an abusive mother, it was when I saw him drag himself across the street all bloody....."

He stopped himself from speaking at the horrified faces of his friends, but decided to continue to complete his story, "I told him that we could report her or something, but he says that she's affiliated with the police so she might get me arrested...." The male clenched his teeth out of frustration.

Wakasa walked forwards, "He's right.... it'll be problematic if you ended up getting arrested.... " He spoke in a calm and collected voice, a complete contrast to the rage Shinichirō felt, "That's nothing compared to what [Male Name] has to go through, each fucking day!!" He yelled.

To his surprise, his loud volume resulted in you jolting awake, making everyone turn to you, "S-Shinichirō-niisan..." You softly whispered, fear evident in voice as you caught sight of three unknown faces.

"O-Oh, [Male Name].... did I wake you up?!" He asked, almost rushing to your side in worry. It would have been a funny sight to see Shinichirō fawn over a child, had the situation not been so serious.

However, you kept on staring at his friends in fear, making the older male turn his head in the same direction, "Oh, don't worry about them!! They're my friends, they won't hurt you!!" He explained with a kind smile as Takeomi tried to smile too, hoping to ease your nerves.

"Really?!" You asked, a bit surprised that Shinichirō would bring you to meet his friends. You were expecting him to drop you at your house and leave, not bring you along with him. But you weren't complaining, since you weren't sure if you could face your mother right now.

He nodded with a closed eyed smile, making you let out a soft sigh. You slightly raised your head to look at the three boys, staring at you curiously, "[Male Name]-kun, right?! I'm Takeomi, Akashi Takeomi!! But you can call me Takeomi-niisan, if that's what you want..." He smiled at you, making you grip onto Shinichirō's sleeve.

"I think I'm good, Akashi-san...." You stated, making him flinch in embarrassment. The other's stifled their laughter at his predicament, with Shinichirō pulling you closer to himself.

Takeomi gave you a tight smile and started sulking in the corner. The others laughed at his actions and you too, cracked a small smile. Shinichirō and the others took notice of it, glad that you were somewhat comfortable. It wasn't until their leader's eyes widened as he turned to you, "[Male Name]..... if I ask you something, will you answer honestly?!"

You seemed a bit spooked by his words, nodding hesitantly, "What happened today?! What did she do to you?!" Images of Yuki ending her friendship with you flooded your brain as you looked down.

Everyone looked towards you, expecting your answer, "She threatened my friend, Yuki today, and because of that....... Yuki was forced to end her friendship with me....." Your voice cracked when you explained, making everyone worry for you, "I just don't understand why she wants to take everything from me.... Yuki was my only friend, but.... " You stopped yourself from saying anything further, knowing that revealing anything else would just endanger them all.

Shinichirō grit his teeth and clenched his fists, making you place a hand over them, "It's fine.... I'm really glad that you care about me so much, but I need to get going before my mother comes home..." Suddenly, Wakasa walked over, "You don't need to do that.... "

You looked surprised at his claim, but he just shot you a lazy smile, "I'm Imaushi Wakasa, and that's Arashi Keizo, you can call him Benkai... As I was saying, you don't have to go back, at least not today....." He explained, even making Shinichirō confused, "What do you mean, Wakasa?!"

"He can stay with you or with us, if you have a problem... We'll call your mother and tell her that Shinichirō's grandpa made you stay over.... She won't complain against him, would she?!" The young leader's eyes shined at his words, "Wakasa, you genius!!" He yelled as the said boy smirked, happy to have helped you, even if it was for just a day.

You fiddled with your fingers, "I'm not so sure...." You started as everyone looked at you surprised, "What?! Why not?!" Keizo spoke up, not wanting to put a child as young as you, in any sort of danger.

"I... I don't want to drag you all into this mess.... " Their breathing hitched at your words as they caught sight of small tears formed in your eyes, "You've already provided me with a place to share my worries, but I'm afraid that any further help will only drag you all into my problems.... Knowing my mother, she won't hesitate to hurt you guys!!" You looked up at them with teary eyes, making them flinch in grief.

"We'll be fine, kid.... We're gang members , for the love of God, I think we can deal with a controlling old hag!!" Keizo explained as he pat your head and they all gave the signal to Shinichirō to call your mother.

He got up and pulled his phone out of his wet pockets, wiping the slightly wet screen and dialled the number. It took some rings, but ultimately your mother picked up. Shinichirō did his best to convince your mother and talked to her for about 10 minutes, reassuring her that it was indeed his grandfather's wish to let you stay over.

After the call ended, he stayed quiet for a bit, making you all anxious. You even gripped Wakasa's sleeve in fear of your mother, as he placed a hand on your back to calm you down.

Suddenly, he jumped in the air, "HELL YEAH!!! TAKE THAT!!" He yelled, making all you let out a sigh in relief. Shinichirō then turned to you guys and walked over, "I still need to ask my grandfather, if he can stay over... If he ends up saying no, we need a backup plan.... "

He turned to his friends for this, "Now, who's gonna take him?"