I found you (Reader X Kou Mabuchi)

Chapter 8

'Mom, I'm home!' I closed the door and slipped my shoes off my cold feet, then turned to line them against Mom's. I paused when I saw a pair of shiny black derby shoes.

Hm, whose are those?

'Mom? Are you here?' I yelled.

'I'm in the kitchen!', her soft voice answered. I ran to the kitchen and quietly opened the door, attempting
to scare her.

'Boo!' I playfully jumped onto her back.

'Oh my lord!', her arm rested on her chest as she breathed loudly. 'Are you trying to kill me?!' She lightly slapped me multiple times. I loved it when mom was enlivened, it made me so warm-hearted.

'Ok stop it, stop it!', I giggled and grabbed a snack from the cabinet. Lifting myself up onto the counter, I remembered the shoes at the door. 'Mom, whose shoes are at the door, they're like huge black derby shoes.' I swayed my legs back and forth and cheerfully ate my almonds, waiting for an answer but she stayed silent whilst she prepared tea. 'Mom?'

She placed three cups on the counter and slightly turned her head towards me. 'Ah yes, someone came to visit...' her voice trailed off.

'Oh, who?', I stood up and went to stand next to her.

'Oh, um-', she paused as the door creaked as it opened.

The whole room went silent. My surroundings blurred out only leaving its black outlines. My body suddenly became weak, causing the almonds to drop from my hand and make a tapping sound like heavy rain on a Spring's morning. I stared at the tall figure, that wore a plain black suit with a white polo and a black tie. I slightly clenched my fists.
'What is he doing here.', I didn't look away from him, and waited for my mom to respond.

'Y/n please don't be like this..' she reached for my hand but I moved it away from her.

'Y/n, I just came by to see you and your mother.', his voice angered me.

I slowly walked towards him. 'Oh, after 10 years, huh, you finally want to come to see us, oh poor old man, miss you family don't you?' I glared at him, desperately holding in my tears.

'Y/n don't speak to your father like that!', my mom yelled as her voice trembled.

'Father?! This stranger is not my father. A man who abandons his family, who was struggling, is no father.'

'Please Y/n stop this.' she grabbed my sleeve but I pulled back, yet again. I turned towards her and looked her in the eye.

'Mom.. You can't be serious right now.Look at him he's brainwashing you into thinking he cares about us! Look at his expensive clothes! He's gone out and bought all of this, and left us penniless!', a hand from behind touched my shoulder. 'Don't touch me!', I screamed.

I grabbed my bag and furiously walked to the front door.

My mom chased after me uncontrollably crying, with my dad behind her, 'W-where are you going?'

'Anywhere away from here.', I slipped my shoes on and left, slamming the door shut.

The persistent, pouring rain soaked me as I ran as far from the house as I could. It was turning dark outside, but the only light was the sun setting. A bitter wind brushed against my exposed skin sending a shiver up my spine. I sat down at the nearest bench and covered my head with my blazer.

I'll call Akari-chan.

I took my phone out of my bag and tried to turn it on, but it was dead. Instantly, I broke into tears.

Why does everything bad have to happen to me? Have I done something wrong? Is this my punishment?

I trembled as the cold was too much to handle. I lowered my head and sat silently, wiping my tears.
Unexpectedly, the tapping of rain on my back stopped, so I looked in front of me.

Eh? But it's still raining in front of me..?

Confused, I looked up and saw a navy blue umbrella protecting me from the rain. I then turned to see who was holding the umbrella and to my surprise, it was him. Mabuchi-Kun.

He was wearing a black fur hooded jacket and a beige knitted scarf. His face looked emotionless, yet there was a tint of concern. I abruptly wiped the last of my tears and tried to cover my face with my blazer.

Sitting down beside me, he began to speak. 'What are you doing here at this time where is raining and about to be dark?'

'No reason. I was just taking a walk and got tired...' My face looked away from him, still covered by my blazer.

'That's not smart is it? You can't be that unintelligent. Tell me the truth. And look at me when you do, I want to see your face.' He reached out to me and moved my blazer away from my face, revealing my overwhelmed face. He froze, then moved his hand away from my face. 'You were crying, weren't you?'

I quietly sniffled and slightly nodded my head. ' I just had an argument with my mom because my dad came back..'

He went silent. Reaching out to me, he handed me a tissue. I grabbed it and wiped my face. Out of the blue, he took his scarf off and wrapped it around my neck, also taking his jacket off and placing on my back.

'Wear it, it's cold.'

'W-what about you?', I instantly looked at him.

'I'll be fine. Wear it.'

I slipped my arm through the sleeves and felt a wash of warm all over me. 'Thank you.' We both sat in silence, until he spoke.

'You know, when my mom died, I was really angry. I would cause so much trouble at school and at home. I thought to myself that I would never be happy again. But then, I met a girl, she was so shy and extremely dumb, but she was considerate and kind and I really looked up to her. She made me so happy. I then thought that I was finally radiant again, because of her, and maybe the way to soothe your pain and anger is to find the little light in your life that is enough to make you feel joy.' He looked up to the sky and then at me.

'That girl was you.', he looked directly into my eyes with a sweet, pure smile.

I looked at him in shock.

'M-me?'