Hideaki Route Update pt.1: Chivalry Isn't Ded

I didn’t get to see much of Hideaki after that night. It’s not a huge surprise, we both had finals coming up, and I still had a job that sucked up several hours a week.

Thankfully though, that shit is over, and now I’m looking at a summer break I get to spend the majority of with Hideaki… and Shizune.

It was her plan really, can’t complain that much.

She contacted me about a month before break, wanted to know if I would be her roommate, and I agreed almost immediately. Of course, what I didn’t expect was play-acting that she and I were a young couple for the landlord of a section of low-income apartments.

The shit I get myself into.

It went well though, and the landlord liked us. He’s a pretty cool older guy, late fifties, has this big beard on his face. Not as big as Jigoro’s, but its definitely close. We’ve finally finished moving in, all of our stuff is unpacked, and Shizune (I think) has finally found where she wants our cheap furniture to go.

You would think it’d be time for some rest and relaxation right?

NOPE.

Now comes the cleaning.

The apartment isn’t really “dirty”, Shizune just wants everything spotless for tonight. She’s got me vacuuming the floors, Hideaki cleaning the bathroom, and she’s currently dusting/wiping down every single surface she can reach. I got the easy job I think, not many ways to screw up vacuuming, though I’m not excited for tonight.

Jigoro is coming to eat.

Can’t say I hate the guy, he’s a bit nicer to me than before, and the gay jokes have pretty much dried up. I think it’s just that he’s loud as a motherfucker, and a conversation with him leaves my ears ringing.

[You’ve been cleaning that same spot for five minutes Hisao, hurry up and finish.]

Shizune snaps me out of my reverie, smacking me with a feather duster before returning to her cleaning. I return to mine also, grumbling under my breath as I slide the vacuum over the floor. A few seconds later I see Hideaki wander in from the bathroom, he’s wearing nothing but a tank top and short shorts, feet bare, and dragging a bucket that REEKS of bleach in his hands.

“Finally… Done…” he murmurs, setting the bucket in the kitchen before flopping down onto our couch.

He’s “technically” staying with us, though Shizune has set up several rules about this.

We have two bedrooms, one mine, one hers and Hideaki is permitted to stay in my room as long as no “funny business” happens. Along with that rule, she also has made it clear that while he can eat dinner and such with us, any extra food is bought by him, for himself.

I agreed with the rules, with the full knowledge that we’re still going to fool around when Shizune isn’t home, or asleep.

Tired of rubbing the same section of floor, I tap Shizune on the shoulder to get her opinion on the state of my cleaning.

[Passable.] she signs, giving a curt nod.

I’m just about to sit next to Hideaki when his phone rings, the anime music being a dead giveaway.
“Yes? Dad wha-… No that’s… Dad… Wrong station dad… No I’m not say-… No you CAN naviga- Dad… DAD!... Just get on the train to the right station, we’ll wait for you there… Okay… Love you,”

I chuckle at Hideaki, and he sticks his tongue out in response before getting his sister’s attention.

[Dad got off at the wrong station, we’re gonna go meet him at the right one.]

[What? How could he be so dumb?]

[I don’t know, he blames the useless conductors and shoddy technology, and was about to walk here before he called.]

Shizune rolls her eyes, waving us away and returning to her cleaning. We’re just about to grab our shoes and leave when the front door bursts open, and a mighty “WAHAHA” rings through the apartment.

“Afternoon Hii-chan~!” she bellows, pulling me into a hug before doing the same to Hideaki.

Oh yeah, I forgot she was coming too.

Misha’s been around a lot as well, she and Shizune kept up contact after Yamaku, and have been nigh-inseparable since break started. She’s dropped the pink hair, tossed the drills, and now has this brown pixy cut. Still has that Bush/Cheney shirt for some damn reason.

“Where are you two lovebirds going~” she playfully questions giving me a wink.

“We’re going to get Dad, he got off at the wrong stop,” Hideaki says, slipping his feet into his sandals.

Misha’s laughter is uproarious and even Shizune turns to look at her. Taking this as a cue to exit, I quickly put my shoes on and usher Hideaki out the door.

The cool breeze is the first thing I notice as we make our way to the street, the wind tousling my hair into my face. Hideaki notices this, giggling as he reaches up to fix my bangs before pulling my face to his. The kiss is quick, and it leaves this little bit of warmth in my stomach as we lock hands.

We talk a bit as we walk, mainly about school, and he tells me about how happy he is that he gets to go to college soon. He’s picked the same one as me, but he hasn’t the faintest clue what he wants to major in. I am a bit thankful he’s going to the same place as me, I always worry he’ll get ostracized for his choice of clothing, but being near means I can at least TRY to ward away the dickheads.

As we start to approach the station our chat turns from school to Jigoro himself, and I’m pleased to find out that he’s been nicer to Hideaki lately. Apparently he even made a visit to Hideaki’s high school after the locker-room incident, and the boys responsible were suspended for a week afterwards.

Huh, never thought he’d have such kindness in him.

We enter the station, surprised that it’s relatively empty for a Saturday, and we sit down on a bench to wait. We chit-chat a bit more as we wait, talking about what exactly Shizune has planned for dinner tonight since she’s cooking.

I won’t like, she’s the best fucking cook I’ve met.

Hideaki hopes she’s making chicken, praising a barbeque dish she made for his birthday that “broke his taste buds with its deliciousness”. Personally I hope she’ll make dumplings, but I already know she’s making a beef dish that Jigoro loves. Apparently it was in her mother’s cookbook that she found a long time ago, and this’ll be her first time making it. She also bought a bit of chicken and fish just in case the dish goes south.

“Hey are you thirsty?” Hideaki asks, breaking off the conversation.

I nod, handing him a couple coins for the vending machines behind us. He gives me a quick peck on the cheek before skipping away, humming something to himself. I can hear the distant plinking of the coins in the machine, and my grumbling stomach reminds me of its emptiness when a gruff voice catches my attention.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing here by yourself?”

I turn my head around to see three men, standing around Hideaki. I catch a nervous glance from him, and I get up from the bench.

Time to be a white knight.

Smoothing my shirt out, I casually stroll up to them, calling to Hideaki and waving.

“Huh? You’re a guy?” the leader asks, giving him a once over before recoiling.

Hideaki shrugs, trying to move past them and get to me when the leader pushes him back toward the vending machine. He lets this chuckle out when Hideaki glares at him.

“Look at this little faggot guys,” he laughs, “Buying drinks for his boyfriend,”

The man tries to take one of the cans in Hideaki’s hands, to his credit though, Hideaki moves fast enough that he can’t grab them. I’m about to say something when I hear the slap, and Hideaki falls to the ground. The man taking the drinks and tossing one to his buddy before opening the other up.

Oh hell no, you must be joking.

I feel my heart start to beat faster as I tap him on the shoulder, fist making a beeline for his face when he turns. I connect with the can, not my intended target, but it sends carbonated fizz into his nose and he sputters for a second. I start to reel back for a second punch when my head suddenly snaps to the right.

Oh right, there’s three of them.

They start laughing as they bounce me between them, pushing me around and intermittently hitting me. My heart starts to beat faster and faster with each second, and the edges of my vision start to turn red.

This isn’t good at all.

I tumble to the ground as my vision starts to blur, and I can barely feel the kicks from the men as they laugh at me.

I’m going numb, my vision starts to fade out, and I can hear someone yelling my name…

No, not like this…

I try to force my heart into stopping, and it works enough that my vision begins clearing enough to see that I’m not being kicked to death anymore.

“What?!? Now that the fights fair you cowards run! PANSIES!”

Oh God Jigoro I never thought I’d be happy to see your stupid Hawaiian shirt.

It takes me a fair few minutes to calm down, Hideaki blubbering over me doesn’t help, and eventually I gather enough strength to stand. Leaning onto a column, I look up at Jigoro, and realize that (for a second) he actually looks concerned. Of course, this goes away quickly and he huffs at me before turning away.

“See? This is why I wanted to walk, never know what scum you run into nowadays in these dingy holes,”

Once I’m able to fully walk, I walk over to Jigoro and extend a hand to him. He takes it, doing his best to crush my hand as we shake.

“Thank you, I would’ve died had you not arrived,”

“Humf, I wasn’t going to help for a second, but I saw you punch that one asshole drinking. You might be a tenth of a man after all,”

We stand there for a second, this awkward silence permeating the station as we realize this is the most civil we’ve ever been, and that Jigoro has just given me a compliment. Hideaki hugs me from the side, and Jigoro gives another gruff “humf” before striding off toward the exit.

“Let’s get this show on the road, I’m hungry,” he brusquely states, pace quickening.