The Story Of Us (Todobaku)

Neighbors

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Katsuki barged through the front door, kicked his shoes off, and stomped into the kitchen where his parents were. Eijiro and Denki trailed behind him, keeping their distance due to how aggressively Katsuki swung his arms as he walked.

Masaru, sitting at the table, hid behind the newspaper he was reading.

"I guess he saw Shouto out there."

"Yeah I did!" Katsuki scowled at his mother, who was preparing a salad at the counter. "Mom, why didn't you tell me the Todorokis were moving into Old Man Torino's house?"

Mitsuki gave him a small smile. "Because I knew you'd react this way."

Katsuki cupped the sides of his face and groaned. "I want to move."

"Nope," Mitsuki said. "Not happening."

"Please?" he whined.

Masaru set his newspaper down. "Come on honey, it's not so bad. Besides, I thought you and Shouto were getting along these days."

"They are," Eijiro said.

"We all play together at school," Denki added.

Katsuki, the veins in his temples on the verge of bursting, turned around and glared at his two best friends. "Not helping."

The boys shrugged at each other before Denki made a comment about helping Shouto unpack his belongings. With that, they excused themselves and exited the house the way they came in.

Mitsuki set her salad aside so she could give her son her full attention. "Come on, Katsuki. Is it really the end of the world that a classmate of yours is moving next door?"

"It's not any classmate," he countered. "It's Shouto. He's always following me around school and never leaves me alone. He's like obsessed with me."

"He probably looks up to you," Masaru said.

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Duh. I'm taller than him."

Both of his parents chuckled at that one, which only irritated Katsuki more. They weren't taking this seriously.

"Listen," Mitsuki said, "if you're going to throw a tantrum over it, go ahead. But you better fix that attitude by tonight. We're having Shouto and his family over for dinner as a way to welcome them to the neighborhood."

"WHAT?"

This. This was exactly the reason why Katsuki flipped out when he discovered the identity of his new neighbor. Shouto was like an annoying mosquito whose life purpose was to bother Katsuki as much as possible.

Truthfully, he was relieved when Shouto said he was no longer allowed to hang out with Katsuki and his friends on the weekends. It was exhausting to visit Takoba Beach so often, seeing as it was strictly for Shouto's benefit and no one else's. Katsuki never revealed his secret about posing as Touya's ghost, and he never intended to. It was swept under the rug, and he figured once enough time passed, Shouto would forget all about it.

But now that they were neighbors, Katsuki wouldn't even have to wait for the weekend to see Shouto outside of school. The two boys even shared a driveway! In the mornings before school, the afternoons after school, Katsuki was bound to see Shouto at all times of the day.

And if their parents were insistent on doing these neighborly gatherings like this welcome dinner more often...well, Katsuki didn't want to think about that.

"My word is final," Mitsuki said. "The Todorokis are coming later tonight and you will be on your best behavior."

"Dad," Katsuki whined.