That Morning

 

It took five seconds for Haruo to realize how early it was.

And how he hadn’t slept--for the third night.

Haruo stretched slowly, taking his sweet time, ‘I won’t be that late, unless Yuki is.’

He stood up from his window sill and ran through his morning routine -- brushing teeth, changing clothes, not looking like crap, food food food.

“Good morning, Haruo.” his mother called when he walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning, mother.” he said, quickly grabbing his bag and a piece of toast before waving goodbye.

 

Haruo soon arrived at the crossroads where he always met up with Yuki.

As usual, the area was vacant.

‘He’s not here...’ Haruo sighed, ‘We’re both going to be late...’

His stomach growled, as if to remind him of the now-cold bread in his hand. Haruo chided himself about his forgetfulness and murmured a half-hearted “thank you for the food” before biting into his toast.

Haruo stood beneath the flowering magnolia, slowly chewing his toast, lost in thought.

 

‘Something bad is going to happen today...’

 

He leaned against the tree, his eyes following a leaf caught by the wind.

 

‘We haven’t heard from Ryusuke for years, but that traveler-’

 

The obnoxiously loud footsteps of his ever-late friend ended his thoughts.

“Haruo! Haruo!!” Yuki shouted, waving frantically, a piece of toast miraculously never losing its place between his teeth.

Haruo stood, “Good morning to you too.”

“Yeah.” Yuki grinned, “What’s with your hair? It’s all poofy and stuff.”

Haruo frowned, suddenly self-conscious, “I don’t know, why?”

“Do you expect girls to like you with that hair?” Yuki laughed, but panicked when his bread fell, “Ah! My toast!!”

Haruo started towards the school, “No, but who says I want romance?”

Yuki stumbled after him, “Who wouldn't?”

Haruo quickened his pace, “Me.”

“Come on Haruo~” Yuki dragged out every syllable, “Stop being so blah~”

Haruo broke into a run, “I’m fine being ‘blah’ if I won’t be late!”

 

They barely made it to their classroom before the bell rang.

 

“Atsushi, Kashiro, you managed to get here on time today, but just barely. Next time you might not be so lucky, so make sure you’re on time, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Haruo answered automatically.

“Yes yes, we hear you teacher.” Yuki said.

“Good,” the teacher, ignorant of Yuki’s sarcasm, stepped to the front of the class and began his lecture.

 

As the day passed, Haruo couldn’t keep his mind from wandering.

 

During his last class, Haruo often found his attention drifting outside. A few times he even caught himself nodding off.

‘Haruo Atsushi,’ he thought to himself sternly, ‘I thought you said you’d do a better job of actually sleeping!’

But it didn’t matter how much he pretended to be intrigued by the rock cycle, his gaze always returned outside as his mind wandered away from school.

‘What will happen today? Mother said something about a surprise, and that we’ll have a huge celebration, and that they’ll cook all my favorite dishes...’

He sighed, looking out the window.

‘What will happen when I get home, I wonder?’

“Atsushi! Are you paying attention?”

Haruo jumped, ‘N-no sir...’

A sigh from the teacher, “Just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you can slack off, understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

He turned to the chalkboard, “I’ll let you off this time-”

“Wait, it’s your birthday?” Yuki asked excitedly, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARUO!!”

The teacher spun around, glaring at the offender, “Kashiro! That was not an excuse to talk!”

“Right right, I’m soooo sorry, Mr. Teacher-sama.”

As Yuki and the teacher went at it, Haruo once again stared out the window.

‘I wonder if the traveler will be there…’

 

Once school was dismissed, Haruo gathered up his things.

“Hey hey birthday boy~” Yuki sang.

“Hello Yuki,” Haruo closed his schoolbag, “I need to go home today, sorry.”

“Aw… that’s too bad,” Yuki turned to leave, waving, “see you tomorrow then!”

 

As soon as Haruo got home, he saw tables and chairs in the backyard.

“Are we setting up for the celebration, father?”

His father looked up, “Ah, Haruo, yes we are. Care to help?”

He set his books on the ground, “Sure.”

Father and son worked to move furniture outside, making small talk along the way.

“Didn’t Ryusuke also get a celebration when he turned 16?”

“Yes,” his father said, “He did.”

“And afterwards didn’t he-”

“Happy birthday, Haruo!” his mother called, carrying a platter of food.

“Thank you.” Haruo cleared space on one of the tables for the dish.

“Arigatou gozaimasu, Kami-sama, for allowing my son reach sixteen years of age.” She said, looking to the skies while holding her symbol of piety.

“Y-yes,” his father murmured, not as passionate as his wife, “thank you.”

 

The guests--relatives and family friends--began to arrive a few minutes later.

 

Haruo went back inside with his father to help move more chairs. When he returned outside he spotted two familiar friends with his mother.

 

“With all due respect Atsushi-san, Ryusuke hasn’t even-”

“That will not change my mind.”

“Atsushi-san! Your son is still-!”

“That won’t impact my decision!”

 

Haruo, unaware of the conflict, pushed the chairs to the side and shouted, “Furato! Mai!”

The two hid their concerned expressions behind smiles.

“Hey Haruo!”

He ran towards them, grinning madly.

“Long time no see, Haru-kun~” Mai said, hugging the younger boy tightly.

“N-no kidding...” Haruo blushed at the close contact.

“How’ve you been doing?” Furato asked, ruffling his hair.

“Well,” he smiled, “and you two?”

“Great!” Mai said, “Oh, that reminds me, happy birthday Haruo!”

“Right! Happy birthday!”

“Thank you~”

 

The three laid in the grass and continued talking for a while--until an uninvited guest walked by.

 

Haruo’s eyes widened, ‘It’s the traveler!’

He sat up, “E-excuse me, I need to go... find someone.”

Furato and Mai nodded, “Okay.”

Haruo stood and made his way towards the traveler, narrowing his eyes.

 

‘What’s he doing here anyway?’

 

As if he knew he was being followed, the traveler mingled with the crowd of guests.

Haruo grit his teeth, ‘Can’t hide that easily.’

Haruo wandered amongst his relatives, looking for the mysterious stranger. Some stopped to congratulate him on getting older before returning to their conversations, but most didn’t notice his presence. All of them served to distract him from his target.

 

Giving up, Haruo sat on a bench beneath a maple tree, watching the party instead of participating. He felt more comfortable that way.

Whether it had to do with the stranger or not, Haruo still felt like something was off.

 

‘Something bad is going to happen today.’

 

“Haruo?”

He felt overwhelming dread upon hearing his mother, but he tried to shake it off.

He turned his head towards her, “Yes, mother?”

His father was standing behind his mother, looking somewhat nervous, maybe even anxious.

“You know the surprise we’ve been talking about?” he asked.

Haruo nodded.

“Well, your mother and I have been speaking,” his gaze dropped, “and…”

For some reason, Haruo felt like this “surprise” wasn’t going to be a good thing.

‘Stop it Haruo, why would your parents give you something bad?’

“W-what is it?” He stuttered.

His mother rolled her eyes at her husband’s inability to deliver a simple phrase. She stepped forward with a confident smile.

“You need to leave the village.”