Piercing The Clouds Part 2
"What should we do?" Keima asked after some time.
Kiyoshi shrugged after pondering. There really was nowhere he wanted to go today.
". . . It has to be soccer," Keima said with a rare hint of embarrassment, unfit for his outgoing personality.
Kiyoshi agreed. Nothing would be better to play soccer on the day they finally made up.
Keima grinned happily. "I'll get the ball from my house."
"Sure." He then added a moment later, "How's Hachi-dan?"
"He's fine. Playful as always."
Kiyoshi nodded. He was mildly excited to see Keima's dog. It was big and shiny, golden fur covering his whole body. He was battery that never ran out of power.
Suddenly, Keima started sprinting, turning around as he shone a challenging grin at him. "A race! Loser buys ice cream!"
Kiyoshi's eyes widen, the familiar words crepping a grin on his face as his heart rumbled like a machine before dashing after him.
They passed familiar shops, entered the residential district, and went up the streets, Keima's grey jacket always in sight. After a few sharp turns and jumps to avoid innocent pedestrians, their paths diverged when they took different routes.
Kiyoshi leaned on a wall as he gasped for air like a fish out of the water, sweat dripping to the ground. His muscles screamed from the lengthy sprint; he had pushed himself too far. But his mind had cleared up. His heart beat on his ears and he let out a weak, amused chuckle.
"I. . . really haven't. . . trained at all." Back then, this distance was nothing. If Keima, who probably still played soccer, proposed a race, then he shouldn't have stopped.
"I. . . lost." Kiyoshi gave the verdict. He took another breath and pushed himself forward with tired steps, eventually reaching a duplex with a nameplate labeled 'Kirishima'.
"Took you long, where did you go?" Keima asked at the entrance. Kiyoshi flinched at the strength of Keima's inquisitive words his natural voice carried.
Ah, it was these little things that made him uncomfortable. His brain was starting to remember the shame. A hand seemed to wrap around his heart and squeeze it hard. Kiyoshi looked down, his bangs hiding his face. "S-Sorry, I got tired."
"I got the ball. Hachi-dan is over there." Kiyoshi lifted his head to see Keima point to the left, soccer ball under the other arm. He nodded, striding to the side of the house while evading Keima's curious gaze.
When he turned the corner, a golden furball assaulted him, loud whimpers booming in his ears. Kiyoshi laughed and pet the dog, bending on his knees to eye-level and continue his petting strike.
Keima chuckled beside him. "He remembers you."
A happy sound escaped from Kiyoshi's lips as Hachi-dan licked his face. "You are so cute, Hachi-dan!" He rubbed the dog's neck with closed eyes.
Hachi-dan's positive energy seeped into him, and Kiyoshi grinned with joy. The skies in his heart cleared completely, not a cloud in sight, and he pulled the dog in a tight embrace.
"I missed you," his voice cracked.
"Hey, hey, more than me?" Keima asked slightly sing-song. At some point, he had taken a spot on the small porch.
"Of course I missed you too, Keima." His lips trembled as tears flooded his eyes. "I missed you a lot."
"Me too," Keima admitted boldly, gentle eyes filled with happiness and longing. "Yoshii."
Kiyoshi blushed at the unexpected mention of his nickname. "Uhn." He looked down. "Ke-i."
He felt a bump on his arm, finding Hachi-dan offering a toy for him to throw.
"Aw, I really want to play with you, Hachi-dan, but I'm going to play soccer with Keima." Kiyoshi scratched behind the doggy's fluffy ear. His heart ached at Hachi-dan's expectant expression. It had been so long since they last meet. But he already promised Keima.
Keima teased, "Kiyoshi's mine for today, too bad~"
Kiyoshi's blush deepened and his stomach warmed up. Petting the dog, he tried to hide the evidence of his embarrassment from the cause.
Keima got up and stretched. "Right, I'm going to change. There's something I want to show you in the field. You can wait in the living room if you want, Mom's there." He left with a challenging grin, leaving Kiyoshi confused.
"What could it be, Hachidan?" he asked the dog without expecting an answer. The dog stared back at him, pink tongue drooling on his knee, perhaps waiting for the ball to be thrown.
Kiyoshi sighed lightly and took the toy. "Okay, just for a bit." He bounced the ball a few meters down the porch.
Hachidan caught it as soon as it lifted on the air and strode back with confident steps.
"That's great!" He ruffled the dog's head and threw the ball a few times, each caught swiftly.
At the fourth throw, Kiyoshi's tone lowered to an apology when he received the toy back. "I have to go say hi to Keima's mom. But I'll try to come again." He stood up and gave one last longing look at Hachidan, doubling to the main entrance. But he stopped, walked back, hugged the dog, and kissed its cheek.
"Thank you."
"Hello. . ." Kiyoshi greeted quietly, closing the door with a dry click. He lined up his shoes on one side. There was Keima's shoes from today and a pair that seem to belong to a female's. Keima was an only child, so they had to be his mother's.
He peeked inside the joint living room and kitchen, a standard model, the bright room filling him with a sense of awe.
Really, the contrast between their houses reflected their environments. Kiyoshi's was cold and unwelcoming while Keima's was bright and cozy; he still preferred the latter's.
Hachi-san gazed at him from behind the glass on the other side, paws on the porch. Kiyoshi waved.
"Ah! Kiyoshi-kun, hello." A woman greeted him with a smile.
"Ah-sorry for interrupting." He bowed quickly.
"Keima told me you were coming inside. Take a seat, I'll make some tea."
Kiyoshi waved dismissively, accepting a chair at the dining table. "It's okay, I'll be leaving when he comes down." He added, "Thank you."
"Tell me if you need something," she said, her friendly tone unwavering. She resumed drying the dishes and placing them in the cupboard.
Kiyoshi relaxed at the sign of the end of the conversation. He liked her, she was nice and kind, but he couldn't hold a conversation for long. He could see where Keima got his amiable demeanor.
"How is school? You are in Teikoku, right?"
Kiyoshi tensed and scrambled for a decent answer. "I-I-It's demanding, a lot." He chuckled awkwardly.
The woman turned around, drying cloth in hand. "Sayuri-san told me you quit soccer, what will you do now?" At the mention of his mother's name, Kiyoshi's mood plummed, dark clouds hovering over him again. He heard a small gasp, and the woman softened her smile. "You always loved soccer. I found it hard to believe. But I see you haven't given up."
Kiyoshi nodded. "I haven't given up," he answered politely.
"That's good. Keima looked really excited to play with you. Believing everything Sayuri says is a bad habit of mine, good luck, Kiyoshi-kun."
"Thank you." He was truly grateful for her care and concern. She knew the state of his family and somehow became friendly with her mother. She had also seen him in his worst days, helping him from the sidelines with small gestures of affection that had gone unappreciated until now. After all, a futon couldn't have appeared out of nowhere, his mother wouldn't have given him permission to stay the night outside, and a meal wouldn't have been prepared for him on its own after a warm bath. He leaned his chin on his open palm, covering his trembling lips. It was impossible she saw him as a replacement for her son, so he wanted to believe, no matter how similar their personalities had been back then. Adults weren't that selfless with a child of another.