The Ludicrous Escapade

Mistakenly Rejuvenated

You shoved the keys back into your pocket while Iggy let out a low growl upon noticing an unfamiliar presence within your home. You turned the door knob and pushed. That's when you noticed the hallway lights were on. You heard an assortment of jumbled voices that sounded as though they were coming from your TV in the living room. The smell of butter seemed to waft through the air.

You put a finger to your lips, signaling for Iggy to keep quiet as you snuck into your own house. You shut the door behind you and clicked the lock into place. You peered around the corner to see your previous assessment was right. Someone was sitting on your couch watching from your TV.

Tiptoeing behind them, you covered their eyes. "Guess who?"

They let out a scream and their bowl of popcorn flew into the air, spilling its contents all over the floor and couch. The Pompadoured individual quickly turned around to face you, a hand on their chest to slow their beating heart. "W-What the-? (Y/N)?! When did you-?" He gave a nervous laugh, "W-Welcome back! Is that a dog?"

"I just got here a minute ago. And yes, this is Iggy. He's going to be staying with me now." Iggy let out a loud affirmative bark and he claimed one of your living room chairs. You walked to the other side of the couch to grab the remote and turn off the TV for the moment. "How's your Grandma doing?"

He let out a long sigh as he took a piece of popcorn off the couch and shoved it in his mouth, "She's settling into the new house nicely, but I guess I'll have to head over soon. Especially now that you're back home. How did your trip go?"

You swept some loose popcorn back into the empty bowl and took a seat on the couch next to him. "It was... fine." Your eyes scanned over his face, noticing a few fresh cuts and bruises, "Jun'ya, did you get into another fight?"

He adverted his gaze, "No." You stared at him until he caved, "Okay, fine. Yes, I did. It was just the other night. They started it, though."

"Did you win?"

He scoffed, "Of course I did. I couldn't have the last fight of my last Winter Break here end in a failure. The snow was really bad that night, too. People've been saying it's the worst storm we've had in a long time. On my way back over here a car got stuck in the snow. They had a sick child in the front and they were headed towards the hospital. Luckily I was able to help them, but I hate to think of what could've happened had I not been there."

You gently rubbed his back, "But you were there, so don't worry about. You should go take a shower and clean yourself up. You can stay another night if you'd like."

He nodded and stood up, "Okay, yeah. I will." He started to walk away but turned around a second later, "Oh, before I forget. Some guy has been walking past your house since you left for your trip. Well, I'm sure it's nothing. They might've just moved into the area or maybe I just didn't notice them before or something. But just in case, you should be careful." Then he disappeared down the hall.

Jun'ya Eto. He's been your neighbor since he was born. His mother died during his birth so he had been living in Morioh with his Grandma his entire life. You didn't even know of him until he accidentally broke one of your windows with a baseball a year or two ago. Despite behaving more rebelliously than the average child, he was a very nice kid. You started getting to know him better from the many times he frequented your house to offer payment for breaking your window, of which you always declined. His Grandma has been getting ready to move out of Morioh before you had left for the whole fifty day adventure.

You had offered to let him stay in your house while you were away. That way he could at least finish up the rest of his semester at his school in Morioh. He had crashed at your place a few times in the past, when the injuries from his fights were worse than usual. He didn't like letting his grandma know about the trouble he tended to get himself into. You heard the sound of the shower being turned on.