Feelings? - Hiroshi's Humanity Arc

Hiroshi woke up after a short sleep and rubbed his eyes. He walked into his bathroom, where Tomokazu was brushing his teeth.

“Uh, occupied?” Tomokazu stated in a sarcastic voice.

“It’s my house, dumbass. You can’t occupy a part of my house,” Hiroshi retorted in a passive aggressive manner.

“How does that even make sense?!”

“It doesn’t…just…get out of my way!” Hiroshi pushed past Tomokazu, reaching for his toothbrush. He couldn’t believe that training had already been going on for a month, which also meant that Tomokazu had been living in his house for the same amount of time. Despite the fact that he wasn’t very fond of Tomokazu, he still appreciated the company.

“Where’s Kage?” Hiroshi asked Tomokazu, who rolled his eyes as he spit out his toothpaste into the sink.

“Where do you think? Preparing his training for the day as usual. That guy never stops. He’s either sleeping or training.”

“Wait, isn’t today our free day?” Hiroshi realized.

“Yes, it is. I think the girls want to go shopping in Lodestown. I can get us all there in a couple of minutes if you ride on me,” Tomokazu told Hiroshi, who became shocked when Hiroshi burst out in laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“Ride you? No thanks, I don’t swing that way,” Hiroshi smirked.

“Ew! Since when could you tell jokes and have fun? Has Wisteria given you a sense of humor?”

Hiroshi blushed at the mention of her name. The past month was made all the worthwhile with Wisteria. She always told fun jokes and made the training actually bearable. Training could include hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, and a run up a mountain. And they were the easiest examples. Wisteria made it seem like training was easy.

“No, I just haven’t shown you it until now,” he gave a small smile. “I’ll see you downstairs, Tomo.” Tomokazu shook his head, and left the bathroom. Despite not being fond of Hiroshi, he did enjoy the time he had with him.

Hiroshi brushed his teeth and washed his face. He looked at his face in the mirror. Ever since the fight in Lodestown, his confidence had been completely destroyed. He hardly ever talked to anyone, including Bibi and Tomokazu.

Except for Wisteria.

Hiroshi sighed and got out of the bathroom. He was expecting to see Tomokazu by the door, but Kage was waiting by the bottom of the stairs instead. Hiroshi walked down to greet his mentor.

“Kage? Tomo said you were out training?”

“I was. I just wanted to check in with you first,” Kage replied, a serious look in his face.

“Oh, why? You think that the one-hour plank, ten-hour sword technique training and two-hour run too much for us? Maybe you do have a heart,” Hiroshi smiled smugly. Even though he hardly interacted with Kage, he still respected him.

“No, in fact, that was tame compared to the stuff you will be able to achieve,” Kage said, amused by Hiroshi’s jaw dropping to the floor. “Actually, I’m here to talk to you about Wisteria.”

“Oh? What about her? Is she ok?” Hiroshi asked, his face growing quickly in concern.

“Yes, she is, but…do you like her?”

Hiroshi’s heart sank.

“Well shit,” he thought to himself. He knew he couldn’t hide it well, but he didn’t know it was that obvious.

“That silence tells me all I need to know,” Kage smiled. “Why don’t you go for it? You guys always hang around one another, and it might do very well for morale.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because the last girlfriend I had died because I wasn’t there. At the most crucial moment, I was too weak. I watched her die. I got brutally beaten by the Gods. I can’t protect Wisteria. I can afford that…” Hiroshi tried to continue but Kage cut him off.

“Stop making excuses, Hiroshi. If she does die, which won’t happen, you will still blame yourself. You have nothing to lose,” Kage said honestly. “And besides, Wisteria might even be stronger than you, in terms of control and precision.” He wanted the best for his student, and knew that he could get the best out of him when he was more motivated. Wisteria could do just that.

“No…just…give me time.”

“I understand. It’s your day off today, isn’t it? Go buy her something nice. Trust me.”

Trust…

“Fine, but if this backfires, I will hate you forever,” Hiroshi said coldly, pushing past Kage slightly to get past him. "And for the record? I am also murderer. How could she love a man whose so heartless?"

He walked out the door and signaled to Tomokazu that he was ready. Kage smiled. He knew deep down that Hiroshi did care, and that he had a bigger heart than he realised.

His soul was a different story, however.

After a few minutes, Tomokazu had dropped everyone off at the front of the capital. Hiroshi shivered. He hated being back here. The smells. The people. The atmosphere. It all reminded him of that day. He took deep breaths, trying not to have a panic attack.

A strong hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Oshi…it’s ok. Nothing will happen here. The Gods think your dead, so they won’t be looking for you here,” Wisteria smiled, which allowed Hiroshi time to calm down.

Peace…

He walked with the other three into the center, where all the marts were. There were shops also but seemed very small and were all family run. It was a lot different to Hiroshi’s old world. This capital seemed like very old English in terms of architecture, which Hiroshi liked.

“Alright guys! Me and Wisteria have a couple of ideas about where we want to go, so is it ok if we girlies go off and you two go do your own thing?” Bibi asked, fluttering her eyes at the two boys.

“Yeah sure, whatever,” Tomokazu said, crossing his arms. Bibi squealed in excitement cutely and grabbed Wisteria’s hand and ran off into the crowd. Hiroshi began sweating from his brow to his foot.

What the hell would Wisteria want as a present?!