Chapter 26:

Past: Regretful Decision

Master Of Rejections But Beginner At Love


As the sky began to turn cloudy and gray, the first raindrops started to fall.

"Haaa... haaa..."

Kazuma, who was out of breath, continued to run.

After he received the message from his mother, he began to sprint to his home without hesitation.

Despite the bad weather and the fact that he could not hang out with Shinya, Hirata and Shiho, he thought that today would be a great day. Spending time with his parents was always his dearest wish but the problem was that they had rarely time to put their work aside. Therefore, Kazuma was beaming with happiness as while he was running in the rain which got progressively stronger.

"I'm home!" he shouted with excitement as he opened the front door of his home.

"Welcome back, my dear." a lovely and elegant voice greeted him.

The person standing before him was his mother. She had black hair, which was tied in a ponytail, and cyan blue eyes.

"Do you want to sit in the living room? Your father is awaiting you." she said.

"S-sure." he stuttered.

His happy smile vanished. Instead, he became nervous.

He knew from the beginning that something was amiss. Usually, his mother would greet him with a kind and welcoming smile. But this time, her smile was not reaching her eyes.

Both mother and child went to the living room.

"Oh, welcome back, Kazuma!" this time a deep and husky voice welcomed Kazuma.

It was his father who just went out of the kitchen. He had short black hair and a stubbly beard. Furthermore, he had slight dark circles under his brown eyes. In his hand, he held a newspaper article.

And just like his mother, his smile also did not reach his eyes.

"Uhm, Kazuma? Do you have a moment? We want to talk about you about something." his father announced and signalized with his eyes to the eating table.

Kazuma only nodded his head nervously in response.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Sitting opposed his parents, Kazuma got fidgety from nervousness. The whole room was silent and only the clock could be heard.

"Uhm, so what did you want to talk about?" Kazuma asked nervously.

His father put the newspaper article on the table and pointed at a certain picture.

"That's you, right?" he asked.

"Hm?"

Kazuma took a closer look at the article and photo.

Then, his eye widened in shock.

[Another day, another brawl. 'The Owls' are more dangerous than expected?]

The headline of the article was not the thing which shocked him to the core. It was the picture attached to the article.

It showed the scene of multiple delinquents escaping from the police after another fight with a gang. However, in the background Kazuma was visible as he looked back to the police.

Kazuma did not know what to say as he held the newspaper.

"Your mother and I initially thought that you only played some small pranks with your friends but we didn't expect that you were truly a member of an infamous gang." his father said, looking sternly at his son.

"I-I'm sorry..." Kazuma could only apologize as he looked downwards.

"Dear, we know that we have neglected you for far too long and it really hurts us to do so... So before you get involved in their affairs even deeper, please, cut your connections to them. We promise you that we'll come home more often!" his mom embraced his hands in hers while she looked at him firmly.

Normally Kazuma would be more than happy to her those words, however, he was conflicted.

"Promise? So you do have realized that how lonely I was all the time. But you've realized it too late." Kazuma said as he slowly freed his hands from his mother's.

"K-Kazuma?"

His parents were slightly surprised.

"Of course, I'm happy that you want to come home more often. But why are you saying it now? This seems to convenient... Not for me but for you." Kazuma continued.

His eyes became sharper.

"What do you mean?" his father asked.

"After all these years, you want to try to put your work aside for me? And coincidentally, you suggest it when you've found out that I'm a member of a gang? Could it be that you want to bribe me into leaving my friends behind? I may love you two but I love my close friends just as much."

"But-" his mother tried to argue.

"And even if I want to leave, it wouldn't be easy." he added as he stood up.

"Please understand that we just want to protect you, Kazuma. We are from the police! We can help you!" his mother suggested hectically.

Kazuma ignored her and prepared to leave the room.

"Wait!" his father raised his voice.

"Sorry, I think you got it all wrong. You think that I'm just some random member who gets threatened if I want to leave. But that's not the case. I'm responsible."

"Responsible?" his mother asked confused.

"My friends aren't dangerous nor are they vulgar. That's because I'm responsible for them. I am their leader."

Slam.

Slamming the door, he left his shaken parents behind and went outside.

It was raining heavily outside but Kazuma did not care as he ran aimlessly.

He ran and ran until he finally stopped.

Now, he was at the playground where he met Shinya for the first time.

Due to the rain, it was deserted.

Creak.

Kazuma sat down at a swing.

He needed to calm down after the talk with his parents.

"What the hell am I doing?" he mumbled.

Kazuma knew that his logic was flawed. There was no way that his parents would try to bribe him. They were genuinely worried about his well-being.

However, it was impossible for him to leave his friends, especially Shinya, Shiho and Hirata. They were his second family and he loved them.

He could not make a decision. It was also out of question to try to find an alternative solution like trying to stay as the leader of 'The Owls' and also spending time with his parents.

Besides from the fact that they were police officers, his parents would never allow it. They would not stop worrying about him. Furthermore, no parent would be happy to hear that their child was a delinquent.

"What should I do..."

Kazuma moved from his spot and began to walk around in his neighborhood.

"Hm?"

As he walked, Kazuma saw a bunch of delinquents hiding from the rain under an old candy shop.

At first, they looked threatening and intimidating but they changed their attitude as soon as they saw Kazuma.

Their faces turned nervous and scared as they slightly bowed their heads.

"Yo-"

"We're sorry!"

They apologized for no reason and ran away.

"..."

Kazuma was confused for a second and also took shelter under the shop.

"Who were they?"

"Oh, well, whatever."

He talked to himself.

"!"

Then, he suddenly flinched.

"Haha... Hahahaha!" he laughed like a maniac.

"How could I forget?" he stated after he calmed down a bit.

Kazuma took out his phone and sent a message.

[Guys, let's meet up at the usual place now. Emergency.]

After that, he went back to the playground.

30 minutes passed until three people with umbrellas arrived.

"What happened?" Shiho asked.

"Yeah, it's gotta be a good reason!" Hirata, who had bruises in his face, stated.

Shinya, who did not say a word, was also injured like Hirata.

Even though Kazuma would like to ask the two what happened to them, he did not.

"I quit." Kazuma said with a melancholic smile.

Everyone's jaw dropped in shock.

"What did you say?!" Hirata asked aggressively and grabbed Kazuma's collar.

"H-Hirata, calm down!" Shiho tried to meddle.

Realizing what he was doing, he immediately let go.

"S-sorry..."

"No problem."

"Now let me explain..."

Kazuma began to retell his conversation with his parents.

"... And that's why I decided to quit." Kazuma finished.

"I see... Well, I'm happy for you, Kazu-kun!" Shiho said with a forced smile to hide her sadness.

"Yeah, I agree with her b-but still... You are our leader, Kazuma!"

Hirata was shaken by the news.

"Hirata, do you still remember why I planned to start our own gang?"

"..." Hirata looked confused at Kazuma's face.

"Ultimately, it was to fend off any hostile delinquents, who try to disturb us while we hang out. And to achieve that, we needed to earn respect." Kazuma explained.

"And now we succeeded..." Shiho finished with a thoughtful expression.

"Yes." Kazuma confirmed.

Splash.

Hirata fell on his knees.

"B-but-"

"Enough, Hirata." Shinya cut him off.

Shinya patted Hirata's shoulder to console him.

"Kazuma. We understand and are happy for you. Don't worry about us." Shinya said with a faint smile.

"Now let's go, Hirata."

Shinya turned his back to Kazuma and left the place with Hirata, who was still shaken and feeling down.

"Let's hang out again when you have time, Kazu-kun!" Shiho suggested with a wide smile before she also left.

"Yeah." he smiled back.

Now, Kazuma was alone again. His smile faded away after Shiho was not seen anymore. He felt uncomfortable.

"Shinya, what are you planning..." he muttered.

Kazuma knew Shinya well. Therefore, he could also differentiate all of his smiles.

He noticed that Shinya's previous smile hid something vile.

But at that point of time, he could not deduce what Shinya was plotting.