V

· — friends stay,

fools go.

"What the hell, Yume?" Yume was the one who was panicking the most, more than Ryobe. He drowned himself in the bath water and held his breath underwater.

This was the moment he knew he fucked up.

"Oi Yume! Areh? Where are you?" Ryobe barged into the bathroom, worried for Yume because he wasn't responding. He was worried if someone had drugged him or kidnapped him from the bathroom, even though that's not quite possible.

Ryobe was the Tsundere friend who was also over-protective of Kiyoshi and Yume. He was more protective of Yume. He adored Yume so much that he pretended to despise him.

Yeah, we understand the love type...

Ryobe looked at the bathtub and saw some bubbles popping on the surface, and he could see a dark, blurred figure underneath. Ryobe sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, he dipped his arms and pulled out Yume, who was smiling sheepishly.

Yume was quite light, so it was no problem for a strong boy like Ryobe to carry him to his bedroom and get him to wear some clothes to cover his naked ass.

"You know, you're not a kid, Takahashi. Not anymore, at least. You should respond whenever someone calls you. I don't care whether you respond to others or not. Next time, I want a response whenever I call you, or your ass will get whooped the next second I don't hear from you." Ryobe warned the tiny figure who hadn't put on any clothes yet. Kiyoshi sifted through the scene unfolding while he kept his call from his mum on hold from the door across Yume's room.

"Hai, Otou-San." Yume nodded, sticking his tongue out when he looked up at the boy. Ryobe couldn't help but smile at the childishness of his friend. Kiyoshi cackled in the background.

"Get dressed; dinner's ready. Sora Oba-San is waiting in the dining room for us." Ryobe announced before leaving the room, leaving Kiyoshi and Yume behind. They shared a glance at each other before getting back to what they were doing.

Yume left the room for his bedroom and quickly changed his clothes. He wore a pastel purple oversized hoodie with grey sweatpants. He walked down the stairs to the dining room, where he was welcomed with the beautiful aroma of food. He drooled just at the smell.

"Oba-San! What did you cook?" Yume asked excitedly as he back hugged his aunt, resting his head on her shoulder, making the woman chuckle.

"Well, I made braised beef stew with some veggies and miso soup with tofu! You'll get some rice too." She gleamed.

Yume clapped his hands like a kid, causing his aunt to chuckle and ruffle his damp hair.

"Wahh! That sounds... and smells... delish! Can't wait!"

"Oba-San! Do you need some help? I'm done talking with Oka-San." Kiyoshi called out as he entered the dining room. Sora smiled.

"Ah, is your Oka-San fine? Where is she now? Also, I don't need any help. Thank you for asking, sweetie." Sora smiled.

"Yes, Oka-San is all A-okay. She is now in Malaysia. She said she might be meeting Ryobe's parents soon there." Kiyoshi said, and at that time, Ryobe also entered the room.

"Dad called me and he said that he and mom were meeting your mom, Kiyo."

"Yes, I was also saying that."

"Oh! That's great then. I hope your parents are safe." Yume said with a small smile, feeling the absence of his parents.

Kiyoshi's mom and Ryobe's parents are free spirits. They are always traveling abroad. They don't get the chance to meet their children as they seem to have little to no time. They just call them Kiyoshi and Ryobe during the weekends. That's one reason Kiyoshi and Ryobe are always with Yume.

They don't have any siblings. Their parents didn't have time for one. But Kiyoshi and Ryobe never felt the absence of a sibling, as they had Yume as their sibling. They grew up together since preschool.

Yume, Kiyoshi, and Ryobe got their admissions to preschool at around the same time. Kiyoshi is the oldest by one year, being nineteen years old. Ryobe is the second oldest by being just a few months younger than Kiyoshi, and Yume is the youngest, being eighteen years old.

Yume was being bullied, and Ryobe saw it. He, like the Tsundere kid he is, went ahead to beat the shit out of Yume's bullies. Ryobe was alone when the bullies arrived, and he couldn't stand them for too long. He was about to get defeated in their little war for justice when Kiyoshi interfered.

Kiyoshi is more witty and intelligent than Yume and Ryobe. So to stop the fight, he simply made a pact with the bullies, saying that they would have a separate territory in the relatively big room. They took crayons and drew a somewhat straight line in between the rooms and stood in their respective places.

If they pass Kiyoshi's part, they will get bullied by the other kids. The other kids seemed to like the idea and joined in with Kiyoshi's group, and seemingly, Kiyoshi's group became bigger than just four kids. They would get bullied by over nine more kids. That kind of scared the bullies.

Imagine bullies getting bullied. No, that can't happen. It's a matter of pride and ego.

So, they accepted the pact, but Kiyoshi had different plans. He wanted to teach those bullies a lesson. Yume was rather fascinated by the older boy, though they were only five to six years old. Kiyoshi asked Yume and Ryobe to help with his witty little plan, which they accepted wholeheartedly.

Kiyoshi sneaked into their enemy's territory and brought in a toy from there. One of his enemies' favourite toys, to be exact, and threw it into his territory with Yume and Ryobe closely watching from afar. They were the Knights of Kiyoshi's kingdom, after all.

One of the bullies unconsciously entered Kiyoshi's territory, and Ryobe and Yume happened to attack them, but halted when Kiyoshi told them to. Slowly, all the kids in Kiyoshi's territory gathered, and that scared the bullies.

"You know you don't have the right to stand here." Kiyoshi said with a tint of sass in his childish voice. The leader of the bullies gulped down a dried lump in his throat.

"We c-can explain. Can you not bully us?"

"Do you listen to us when we say that?" Yume called out from behind. Kiyoshi felt a sudden surge of pride in his child, like a proud father. (The author grimaces, kids these days)

"..."

"You should be punished." Kiyoshi announced. Everyone gasped dramatically. It was like a movie scene where a king executes his enemies.

"Onee-Chan! It's those boys who bully us!" Ryobe's voice could be heard from the entrance of the room. Their caregiver was with Ryobe.

"Is it true, you four?" she asked in a somewhat strict voice. They remain silent.

"Your room shall be changed in this instance. Follow me." She announced, and the four bullies followed her like ducklings following their mother duck. Everyone was rejoicing. The reign of their bullies was finally gone, and they cheered for Kiyoshi.

After all the rejoicing was done, Kiyoshi approached Yume and Ryobe, who were standing in the corner.

"So, what's up, best friends? Wanna play later at my place? I have cars and toys to play with. Yume's eyes glisten at the sound of toys, so he nods vigorously while Ryobe was reluctant.

"We are not your best friends, Kiyoshi." Ryobe said lowly.

"Oh yes, you are! Don't worry, I'll protect you two." Kiyoshi beamed, doing the little Shinzo-wo-Sasageyo gesture. (Tho it wayyyy earlier when this happened. People didn't know about Shingeki No Kyojin anime but maybe knew about the manga)

"Me too! Me too! I want to protect Kiyo too." Yume beamed. This was the first time someone called him Kiyo or gave him a nickname other than his mum's calling him sweet names.

"Alright! I'll see you at the park. My house is near the park. I'll pick you up from there," Kiyoshi said. Ryobe gives in, thinking why would Yume alone have fun with Kiyoshi?

Well, that's how their friendship started and later turned into brotherhood.

"Yes, they are safe, Obasan. Don't worry. Ryobe smiled. Then they sat down for dinner.

"Okay boys, tell me about your day. How did your first day of school go? Did you make new friends?" Sora asked as he served the boys their bowls of rice.

"Ah yes! I made new friends in my class. The boys seemed cool, except for three of those jerks." Ryobe said.

"Hey, no bad words on the dining table!" Kiyoshi exclaimed which made Ryobe apologize lowly.

"Why are those particularly three boys jerks?" Sora asked curiously, trying to stifle her giggles.

"Well, they tried to bully Yume." Kiyoshi said, taking a bite of his food.

"Oh no! Are you okay, Yume-Kun? " Sora asked, concerned. Sora cared for Yume more than anything.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Obasan." Yume smiled, and the smile was genuine. Not a fake one.

"I'll be okay when I have brothers like Kiyo and Ryo. Don't worry." Sora sighs in relief as Yume assures her.

"So, did you make any friends, Yume?" Sora asked as she gave seconds to Ryobe.

"He was my senior by a year. His name is Akihiko Kira, and he is so kind! Do you know? He has two coloured eyes! One eye is blue and the other one is green. His eyes were so unique. And he was so tall and his hands were so big compared to mine. He has this beautiful deep voice too! He mostly stays in the library. I met him there. And an—" Ryobe called the boy down from all the rambling.

"Okay, we get it. He is really cool. Give your pretty mouth a little rest." Ryobe said as he pushed a sliced meat piece with rice into Yume's mouth, making the youngster unable to talk because of the load of food.

"How-ta he-R?" Yume said, with his mouth full.

"We don't understand what you're saying, bro. Finish your food. That's nasty." Kiyoshi faked a disgusted face, causing the people around the table to laugh out loud. Sora loved the house filled with laughter and the boys being so lively. She smiled as she saw the boys' goofing around like little kids. She chuckled softly.

While~

Kira and Makino sat at the dining table without their parents. all by themselves. They don't hate it as they are used to it, but they still yearn for it.

"Maki, I'm sleepy." Kira said as he yawned and stretched his stiff limbs after finishing to eat.

"How the hell can you still be sleepy after having a whole ass mug of black coffee?"

"It's the fatigue, dumbfuck." Kira said, annoyed. Makino laughed at the nickname. He doesn't get to hear Kira curse much unless he is sleepy or really, really pissed.

"Yeah, sure. Go to sleep. I'll clean up." Makino said as he gathered the cutlery and dishes to wash up and clean the dining space before his mum comes, while Kira goes upstairs to their bedroom. He is a good son after all.

Makino was washing the dishes when he heard the front door swiftly open in the dark corridor space. He heard a pair of feet walk into the living space.

He turned off the sink's water supply and grabbed the nearest knife he could find. He kept it as he casually walked to the living room and turned on the lights, seeing no one, but he knew someone was present in that very room.

They were hiding.

And Makino knew it.