Falling Petals!

A sunbeam shines into the room as a boy sleeps in his bed peacefully. The sleepy teenager slowly wakes up, rubbing his eyes as he awakens. "Three... Two.. One..." He whispers to himself. Alarms ring throughout for the quaint village. Matsukawa, village of the cherry blossoms. Famous for it's Cherry Blossom Festival held once per year. and it's resident prankster... 

"Huh. Thought that'd be louder.." The sound of footsteps approaches the door before it flies open. Two figures stand in the light of the open door, female and male. The female figure steps forward as a woman with an updo and a light pink long dress on steps forward. "Toshiko Kimura, how many times have we told you to STOP waking up the whole village?!" She yells. Toshiko sits up from his bed, half-asleep. "It was REALLY funny though." He retorts. "You....!"

The male figure goes behind her, a man with messy little spikes in his hair and a jacket reminiscent of a cherry blossom kimono walks over and rubs her shoulder. "There, there. Our son is just a little mischievous.. You knew that already, Ayumi! There's no fixing that boy!" He exclaims. She sighs in relief. "What would I do without you Isamu.." The pair lovingly stare at each other as Toshiko looks on uncaringly. 

"...Can I go back to sleep now?" He asks. "After that prank, you already know the answer." Isamu responds. "Aw man. Totally worth it though!" He chuckles to himself. "Have fun with tourist duty!" Ayumi exclaims. "Nevermind, I would like to formally apologize for my actions. I didn't know my actions would have consequences, so I would like to now apologize my dear mother and father."

"Hmm... What a sincere apology!" Ayumi proclaims. Minutes later, Toshiko dances around in a large Tanuki suit with a pink ribbon straw hat.

"Come to Matsukawa, hear our cheer,

A village of wonders, have no fear!

Cherry blossoms bloom in a sea of pink,

Nature's beauty is what you'll drink!" He cheers. "God, please get me out of here." Toshiko prays underneath the suit. From afar, Ayumi and Isamu watch Toshiko dance around in the costume. "Wow! He's gotten so good at that!" Ayumi exclaims. "Yeah well, he's always been the best at it. It went from a punishment to a part-time job at this point.." Isamu retorts. "...I'm really gonna miss it." Ayumi says. Day turns into Evening as Toshiko finally takes off the head of the Tanuki costume. "Jeez, I'm so tired of having to do this! I barely get paid! At least the food is good though!" He says to himself. 

Two children run up to him, excited to see their friend. "Toshi! Toshi!" The two kids shout. "Ah, Kota? You brought Hana with you too! What's up guys, I thought you had to clean up Hanami shrine?" Toshiko questions. "Actually, we're taking over tourist duty! Your mom and dad said they had something for you!" Kota exclaims. "....Okay, there's a few things in that sentence that has me concerned. How are you gonna fit in this costume, I don't think either of you are that tall..." Toshiko retorts, removing the costume as he speaks. "Hehe~ that's where you're wrong! Kota, formation!" Hana shouts. "Right! Let's do this!" Kota responds. He puts on the body of the costume. 

"I make the body!" Hana climbs on top of Kota's head and places the head of the costume on. "And I make the head!" She shouts. "And together we make... The Takahashi Siblings!" They shout in unison, doing an action pose with a massive explosion behind them. Toshiko looks at them with disbelief. "Well, good luck with that!" He says, happily walking home. He appreciates the scenery as he makes his way home. "I can't imagine life without this place! Just pure freedom and the wind in my hair! This.. will always be my home."

As Toshiko arrives home, he opens the door. His mother and father look at him nervously. "Hey, what happened? Someone die or something?" He ponders. His mother looks up, teary-eyed and smiling. "You're going to Tokyo!" She exclaims. "...I'm sorry, I think I hurt my ears from dealing with tourists all day. It sounded like you said "You're going to Tokyo!" Pretty crazy, right?" He responds. "No, we're serious! You got accepted into a new high school in Tokyo!" Isamu proclaims, handing Toshiko a letter. "To whom this letter may concern, We can proudly say that starting April 1st, Toshiko Kimura will now be enrolled in Hakuryu Academy. We look forward to meeting him there." He reads. "This.. must of cost a fortune.. Hakuryu is like, WAY outta my league!"

Ayumi gives him a soft smile. "I know you'll thrive there though. It cost a lot.." she says. "Oh yeah, an arm and a leg." Isamu interrupts. "BUT. We wanted to give you life outside of Matsukawa, you know? I want you to experience big city life! It wouldn't be fair if you just stayed in Matsukawa forever!" She continues.

"I know we should've asked you but.. this is a big opportunity! April 1st might be two days from now but.. if you aren't happy then.." Isamu says. "No, no! It's alright! I think... I'll give it a shot! No matter what comes my way I'll give it my all!" He shouts. "That's my son! You got a long day tomorrow, get some rest." Ayumi suggests. Without another word, Toshiko goes to his room and hits his bed. "My final day here.. a once in a lifetime chance.." he whispers. The thoughts of a not-so-distant future lulls him to sleep. In the early hours of the morning, as the sun slowly comes up from the horizon, bedsheets fly up and obscure the figure before they dash off and leave the door wide open. 

Ayumi and Isamu leave their bedroom to find Toshiko sitting at the kitchen, a spread of the Usual Ichigo-Asa breakfast he makes waiting for them. "You woke up so early! Did you really do all this for us?" Ayumi exclaims happily. "Yup! Just wanted to give you guys something special before I go, you know?" He responds. "I won't say no to that, I love strawberries!" Isamu says, taking a bite of the strawberry bread. "When did you get so good...." Tears running down his face. "It's the pride of Matsukawa! Why wouldn't I be good at it!" Ayumi puts her finger to her head. "Um, actually that's the cherry blossom festival!" She retorts. "Okay fine, but this is the pride of our family!"

Isamu clears his throat, stopping the familial conversation there. "It's a pretty long drive to Tokyo so... actually your uncle is already here. We're gonna miss you Toshiko." He says. Ayumi gives him a big hug. "You've brought a lot of light into our lives. We're happy to give up everything for you, so go out there and do your best okay?" She adds. He embraces her back. "Of course, wouldn't be me if I didn't try my best right?" Toshiko replies. They let go. "Okay, gotta get going!" He takes his suitcase full of stuff and sprints out the door. They wave him goodbye, happy but teary-eyed. "Come back safe!" Ayumi shouts. The entire village come out of their homes waving him goodbye. "Let those stuffy rich people know about our Matsukawa pride!"

"We'll miss you Toshi! Visit us soon!" Kota exclaims.

"Crush it out there! Teach em' how we do it!"

The entire village cheer him on. The village elder, an old man with wearing a headband with the Kanji for Blossom in the middle, leaves his home to join in the cheering. When he opens the door, all he sees is red. The old man runs into a curtain and stumbles over, taking the large red curtain covering the front of his house down. The front of the house is graffitied, the words "See you soon!" Followed by a little drawing of Toshiko sticking his tongue to the side with a peace sign. 

Toshiko begins sprinting to the car. "WAKING UP SO EARLY HAS NEVER BEEN SO WORTH IT!" He shouts, while running. The elder looks up, steaming mad. "You little BRAT!" He yells. The villagers start throwing pebbles at Toshiko as he's pelted. "Ow! Ow! Hey- at least you have something to remember me by- OW!" Toshiko exclaims, as the pelting continues. He jumps into the car. "Hey uncle!"

"...What did you do now." He responds. Toshiko closes the car door. "Uh, nothing! In a hypothetical situation where I did do something, DRIVE!" His uncle snickers before speeding off. Toshiko smiles as the villagers watch him leave. "Good riddance!" The elder shouts, before smiling softly to himself. "...It'll be boring without him." The villagers all laugh together as Ayumi and Isamu look on happily. Toshiko slumps down in his seat in the car, sighing heavily. 

"Okay.. I can do this. It's just like I tell Kota and Hana, You can be scared, and that's okay. I don't know how my future is gonna play out, but that's for me to find out! I'm gonna take this head on and with no regrets!" He says mentally, readjusting himself. "Hey, you alright back there? It's like you got absorbed in your own mind!" His uncle jokes. "Oh, don't worry about that! No worries, all resolve baby! That's the Kimura way!" Toshiko exclaims. "Well-said, hahaha!"

The car speeds along, starting a journey to something no one could ever expect.

Chapter 1 - The End.

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Uh, Hey! There's so much I could really say but uh, first off I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! This story sort of just appeared in my head one day and I fleshed it out quite a bit.. whatever really happens I'm okay with LMAO it's good to have a test of skill! Writing your heart out is really fulfilling I'd say! Oh, before I forget, here's the recipe to Toshiko's famous (not really) Strawberry breakfast!

Ingredients:

Fresh strawberries

Sliced bread (white or whole wheat)

Cream cheese or mascarpone cheese

Honey or strawberry jam

Optional toppings: mint leaves, powdered sugar, or whipped cream

Instructions:

Wash the strawberries thoroughly and pat them dry with a paper towel. Remove the stems and slice them into thin pieces.

Take two slices of bread and spread a layer of cream cheese or mascarpone cheese on one side of each slice.

Arrange the strawberry slices on one slice of bread, covering the cream cheese/mascarpone layer. Drizzle honey or spread strawberry jam over the strawberries for added sweetness.

Place the other slice of bread on top, creating a sandwich with the strawberries in the middle.

Optionally, you can cut the sandwich into desired shapes like triangles or squares using a knife.

If desired, garnish the Ichigo-Asa breakfast with additional strawberry slices, mint leaves, a dusting of powdered sugar, or a bit of whipped cream.

Serve the Ichigo-Asa breakfast sandwich with tea or orange juice whatever your preference is!

And there's his additional yogurt parfait, which is optional!

Ingredients:

Plain yogurt

Fresh strawberries

Granola

Honey or maple syrup (optional)

Cherry blossom petals (optional, for garnish)

Step 1: Prepare the strawberries

Wash the strawberries thoroughly under running water.

Remove the stems and cut them into slices or small pieces, as desired.

Step 2: Layer your ingredients

Take a glass or a parfait dish and start layering the ingredients.

Begin with a layer of plain yogurt at the bottom of the glass.

Add a layer of sliced strawberries on top of the yogurt.

Sprinkle a layer of granola over the strawberries.

Repeat the layers until the glass is filled or until you have used up all the ingredients.

Step 3: Sweeten (optional!)

If desired, drizzle a small amount of honey or maple syrup over the layers to add sweetness. Adjust the amount you use to your taste preference!

Step 4: Garnish it!

For an extra touch, you can sprinkle a few cherry blossom petals on the top layer of the parfait for a bit of a decorative effect!

Step 5: Serve

Once the parfait is layered and garnished, it is ready to be served.

Enjoy the Matsukawa special served at every breakfast.

And there you have it! Alright, onwards to new horizons!