The Tale of a Century \\ SoraMafu

>> Nineteen <<

They weren't together.

Mafu found out not so long before school began that Amatsuki and he would not be in the same class. For now, Mafu walked the hallway, looking for the label above a sliding door that was supposed to read "2-C."

When he finally found it, the teacher, a handsome man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, told him to wait outside. He introduces himself as "Hayashi-sensei." Mafu stood outside for a few minutes before he was called in.

Mafu slid open the door and stepped in. The room was full of students; All of the seats were occupied except for one by a red haired boy. That was probably Mafu's seat.

"Hayashi-sensei" asked Mafu to introduced himself.

"Hello, everyone," he started. "My name is Mafumafu, and...." Mafu hesitated. ".... and I look forward to working with you," he finally said, then bowed and walked toward  the open desk. He didn't want to give too much information about himself. Even so, there wasn't a lot to give.

Mafu set his bag down on the floor next to the desk, and sat down in the seat. The red haired boy gave him a smile before returning his attention to the board.

The first half of his first day of school went okay. Mafu was able to follow the lectures a little, but as he expected, they were still difficult for him. Although Soraru teaching him at home during the last few days of winter break helped, it was going to take longer than that to catch up.

When the lunch bell rang, everyone immediately put down their pencils and reached for their bentos. Soraru had made one for Mafu before he left for high school.

The door to the classroom slid open just as Mafu had unwrapped his bento. Amatsuki poked his head through the door, and his eyes lit up. "So, this is you're classroom," he said. "It took me long enough to find you. Turns out, you're in the same class as Sakata."

"Sakata?" Mafu asked.

Amatsuki walked over and sat down at an empty desk in front of Mafu. The occupant probably went to the cafeteria. "Yes, Sakata," Amatsuki answered.

"That would be me," a voice spoke. It took Mafu a while to realize it came from the boy next to him. The red haired boy -- or now, Sakata.

"Nice to meet you," Sakata greeted. "I'm Sakata. Are you a friend of Amatsuki's?"

His voice was a little lower than Amatsuki's, but also smooth. Before Mafu could answer, Amatsuki had put his hands on Mafu's shoulders.

"That's right. I forgot to mention Sakata that day," Amatsuki mused.

"That's fine," Sakata answered.

"You seem to be more flexible than Ama-chan," Mafu said.

"Whaat? Mafu-kun what do you mean??" Amatsuki threw himself onto Mafu.

"I don't know what's going on," Sakata laughed. "But I can go with that."

"Anyway," Amatsuki said, "this is Soraru's little brother, Mafumafu."

Sakata's eyes widened, "Little brother?"

"Foster brother," Amatsuki corrected himself.

The three kept talking with each other while eating their own bentos. Apparently, Sakata was closest with Urata, who was a year below them. He promised to introduce Mafu to him sooner or later. Amatsuki looked up at the clock on the wall and sprang up. "I gotta go," he said. "And also, one more thing. Sakata also goes by 'Aho no Sakata.'"

"You're the only one who calls me that," Sakata called as Amatsuki left the room.