14 Jan 2009 in Japan (Kyoto)
Hmm!
Shasa shakes him and grabs his blanket, shouting, "Haruto, wake up! You're already late!" Haruto was in his half-sleep, whispering, "Just five minutes, just five minutes, sis…" Shasa became furious and slapped him. Haruto woke up instantly and put his hand to his cheek.
"O nēchan… ouch! Why did you wake me up so early?"
Shasa pointed her finger at the clock, "Look at the time, you fool… it's past 8 o'clock and you just woke up now! What about your school?"
He checked the time and realized he was going to be late, and that his sensei would give him another punishment. He grabbed his brush and cloth, and ran towards the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and took a shower quickly. Dressed up, he went straight to the kitchen where he found his lunchbox packed on the table along with a plate of food prepared for him. He started eating while Shasa arrived and sat in front of him.
"Haruto… you should stop working after school. I know you're working hard for the children, but you should focus on your studies." Haruto hesitated for a moment. "There are still more than 40 days until my exam. I will stop just a week before the exam. And you know I'm the smartest in my whole class. Don't worry about me." She grabbed his hand, "Look at me, you don't need to carry all the burden… your big sis handles everything. Once you enter a good college and graduate, you'll get a nice job. Then you can provide a better, happy future for the children." He nodded his head. "You think big, big sister!" He grabbed the lunchbox and with a smile said, "Big sister, you should start looking for a partner, otherwise you'll die lonely." After saying those words, he ran away, while Shasa yelled at him, "You little bast***!"
He ran towards school, crossing the bridge and then the roads, and arrived at school. He climbed the stairs with silent, slow, and steady footsteps like an assassin. He reached his classroom door and peeked inside through the door window, where the sensei was giving his lecture. Unfortunately, the sensei spotted him as soon as he entered the class through the back door, walking crouched. The sensei grabbed his ear and started yelling at him. He ignored everything like it was his daily routine. Even the sensei stopped after a few seconds, realizing it was never going to affect him, and told him to go sit at his seat, mentioning that he was wasting time.
He sat down and stretched his body. Takumi, who was Haruto's best friend, sitting next to him, whispered,
"Hey Haruto… you're late again… I guess you overworked yesterday…"
"Shh! Hey buddy… sometimes you should hang out with us. I know your situation, but don't push yourself…"
The sensei came behind Takumi while he was whispering, put his hand on Takumi's shoulder, and said, "Oh my! I never thought my students would understand me, but you proved me wrong. As a reward, I will hang out with you. It will make our bond stronger… (evil smile) Now you should stop whispering and also come to my office after this class, okay?"
Takumi replied, "Yes, sir." He was terrified by that evil smile.
Time passed, and the lunch bell rang. Haruto put the lunchbox on the table. Takumi attached his table to Haruto's, and also Ayana joined them. Ayana was also a close friend of Takumi and Haruto. A classmate started laughing at them, saying, "The trio eating food together… I doubt they are playing 'home' in school." The whole class started to laugh. Ayana became furious and replied, "Better than a fatty who eats from others' lunchboxes." The classmate became frustrated and went out of the class. The class remained silent; everyone knew what happened when someone tangled with the trio. Ayana came from a noble family, and Takumi's father was the CEO of a large MNC.
They started eating.
"Ayana, starts conversation. "did you hear the news that people are disappearing? In the last few weeks, more than 200 cases have been registered. The police are investigating but haven't found any clues."
Takumi replied in a funny way, "So that means they vanished into thin air or some alien ship abducted them, ha ha ha…"
Ayana pinched him, "You shouldn't say this… whatever… Haruto, did you read the new manga called THE WORLD AFTER THE APOCALYPSE? It's breaking records — within 2 weeks, they sold over 2 million copies. People started loving the manga. The concept of new monsters, a new world, a new power system — it became my favorite."
Takumi grabbed a book from his bag and showed it to them. Ayana was shocked and whispered, "You idiot, manga is not allowed in school. If you get caught, you know what happens to you. The axe is already hanging above your neck."
Takumi lowered his voice, "I know, but I got this manga for Haruto. He loves manga, so I thought you should try this. It's not like your typical fantasy world. It follows the rules of our world. In this, you don't only find dragons or vampires, there are new creatures introduced. That's not all — the protagonist's struggles feel like your own. I bet you'll become addicted to it."
After hearing those words, Haruto became curious and took the manga. The class bell rang and the class continued.
The last bell rang; it was time to leave school. Takumi and Ayana invited Haruto to hang out, but he rejected and went straight to the shop where he worked as a staff member — sometimes managing orders, sometimes doing other chores.
He arrived at the shop and greeted the owner, but the owner did not respond. He was spaced out. Haruto clapped in front of him. Kaito, the shop owner, snapped out of it.
"Oh, I didn't realize you arrived. I think I was lost in my thoughts. Forget it. How's your day? Are you ready?"
"I'm always ready, ayy ayy captain." Haruto showed his energy with his words and began his work.
Time passed… at 7:30 p.m., when Haruto normally took a break, Kaito called him.
"Haruto, you should go back home now."
Haruto stumbled, hearing many thoughts come into his mind simultaneously, also fearing losing his job.
Kaito, with a long face, said, "It's been more than 4 years since you joined my shop. Even when you were little, we faced many problems together." He smiled. "I remember when you first came looking for the job — a shy little boy who was unaware of the world. I took you in because I didn't want a child to face the reality. Reality is cruel, but what can we do but fall in love with this world? That's how beautiful it is."
Haruto didn't understand what was happening. With a confused mind, he asked, "Did I do something wrong or is there any problem economically, physically, or… or…?"
Kaito laughed, "Ha ha ha! Stop, stop… I knew I can't hide from you. Listen, boy… we are moving to Tokyo. My brother-in-law started a hotel in Tokyo and he needs my skill, so you know…"
Hearing this, Haruto's face lost its glow like a bird fallen to earth. With a shattered voice, "You too are going far… ahhh… leaving us…"
Kaito became emotional, "Hey kid, I'm not going far. When I get time, I promise I will visit. Also, you know my little devil likes you so much like a brother. I don't dare to make her cry… hmmm… I heard your sister is going to middle school next year, same as my little devil, my daughter. Here, it's a gift."
He gave him a box. When Haruto opened it, he found money — bills. He started to count, and after a point, he realized it was a large amount.
"Uncle, I cannot accept this kind of money. I think it's more than my half-year salary. Sorry, but I cannot take this kind of money that I have not earned."
Kaito smiled, "I know, you are honest and hardworking. It's the fruit of your karma. Use this for your siblings — provide them with good food, gifts, toys, books, whatever they like because it's a gift from their uncle. Also, buy school uniforms and accessories for your sister. She is going to school next year. And… if I find out that you put it into a savings account, you know what will happen…" Talking about accounts, "How much money have you accumulated in past years?"
Haruto accepted the money and whispered, "Around half a million yen, including interest."
Hearing those words, Kaito was shocked and thought about himself, who spent money like water for his child and regretted not saving as much as possible. With a verbal expression of surprise, he said, "I am hopeless. I still remember when you were struggling to handle money. I went to the bank with you, opened your bank account with me as guardian, and taught you about banking. if this goes on, you might become a finance master. Let's end here. You should go home, it's getting late, and be careful. You know there are a lot of people missing."
"Byee…"
Haruto bowed his head, picked up his bag, and started walking towards the orphanage that he called home. He reached the front of the orphanage and opened the door. Children ran towards him; some held his hands, and some stuck to him. These were none other than his siblings — some abandoned, some lost their parents. Haruto was the eldest among them, and Shasa was the head of this orphanage, which she inherited from her late father.
Miyo shouted, "You all stop this! You know brother just came from his work and needs to rest. Now, all of you go to the hall. Food is ready. We should thank God that brother came early, so we can eat food together."
Haruto patted her head and whispered,
"It's not good to yell at your siblings; they learn by watching elders. So next time, remember this. After all, you are the second eldest in us."
Miyu guided the children to the hall. Haruto went to take a shower and created a plan to give a surprise tomorrow while taking the shower.
After everyone sat together enjoying food, chatting, pulling each other's legs, and talking about what happened during the day, Haruto listened to everything but remained silent. He enjoyed every single moment because it had been so long since he had sat together with his family. Every day he overworked and missed the timing; for him, normal days and weekends were the same. He was happy.
After food, everyone gathered and Haruto told them stories until they fell asleep. He placed them properly and went to his bedroom. He started studying for a while. Then he remembered the manga given by Takumi. He grabbed the book, switched off the main light and switched ON the lamp, and started reading. He immersed himself into the fantasy world, losing track of time. After finishing, he realized more than one hour had passed, but he was happy because he still had 3 hours left for his regular sleeping time.
Lastly, he wrote in his diary as usual every night and went to sleep.