A Chance To Rewrite It All - Chapter 12- Lost

Shohei had a meeting with one of his old friends and someone whom he would need to advertise his firm.

The board of directors have decided to advertise the company in the newspapers, and for that, Shohei was meeting the editor-in-chief today.

En route to the cafe, Shohei was met by a massive traffic jam.

‘Tch, this is annoying…’ Shohei looked at his watch and found that only fifteen minutes were left before the meeting and considering the other party’s nature, not reaching on time would leave a bad impression.

‘Not good…’ Shoehi knew a short route to his destination, but no cars could go there, so he paid the cab’s bill and got out of the car.

Buttoning the blazer, he began walking hastily down the path that led to the cafe where the other party was waiting.

His short feet were about to bring him to the cafe when suddenly a few strangers stood before him, blocking his way.

Shohei frowned, “Move!” He tried moving from between the two boys in front, however, they didn’t even budge.

Looking up, Shohei raised his brows upon finding a familiar blond brat standing there.

“You? Himiko’s brat?” Shohei was aware of Ryuuske’s identity, given she had a picture of him on her working desk.

Soon, the middle-aged man’s eyes went towards the baseball bat in Ryuuske’s hold, making Shohei scowl, “You here to beat me or something? Now that your thot of a mom-khak!”

Ryuuske moved on instinct. He wanted to hear what crap the bastard could spit before hitting him, but once he heard him talking about his mother, Ryuuske lost his cool and jabbed the handle of the bat in the man’s flappy belly.

Shohei staggered back, his stomach hurting and a single tear droplet appearing at the corner of his eye as he threatened, “Y-You…you dare-bhaa!!”

Another loud groan escaped his throat as Ryuuske, this time, kicked the man in the gut, making him fall on his butt.

Saito stepped forward and kicked the man on his chin, making his head hit the ground with an audible thud.

Takumi also didn’t hold back and after planting his foot firmly on the pig’s ankle, he raised the baseball bat and bashed it on Shohei’s belly once again.

“Aghhhh! You….!!!” He howled in pain. Eyes blurry because of tears.

The last one also didn’t hesitate from stomping on Shohei’s hand, and possibly causing a minor fracture in his finger.

The man flailed and called for help but before anyone could have responded to those calls, Ryuuske stepped forward and said, “This is for tormenting my mother all this time!”

With a full swing, he hit Shohei’s leg with enough force to break the bat from the middle and cause Shohei’s breath to stick in his throat as bile welled up at the impact, and his eyes nearly popped out in pain.

Ryuuske threw away the bat and after sharing a glance with his friends, he said, “Let’s-”

“Hey, wait!” Suddenly, someone called from behind, and Ryuuske turned frozen.

He looked at the man advancing from behind through the convex mirror stationed at the corner of the street.

Those thick-framed glasses…that moustache…that voice, Ryuuske couldn’t be mistaken. It was Yuna’s father.

Without another thought, Ryuuske leapt forward and, along with his friends, ran away. If her father had seen Ryuuske beating up someone like this, surely his reputation would have been tarnished. And there was a high chance for him to reject Ryuuske being his daughter’s lover, even without meeting Ryuuske.

No, that wasn’t acceptable. That’s why running away was the best option.

…However, little Ryuuske expected that not only him but the man as well, saw his face through the mirror.

******

After running away, they reached a decently far place, and the four could be seen currently huffing to catch their breath.

Takumi went ahead and bought soda for everyone as they rested on a nearby bench.

Ryuuske couldn’t believe that he would see Yuna’s dad out of all the people there. It was so unfortunate that the last person Ryuuske wanted to beat so badly nearly became a reason for Ryuuske to lose the critical chance to impress his lover’s parents.

“Hey, Takumi…there was no camera around right?” Ryuuske asked, even though he himself surveyed the area earlier.

“Don’t worry, mate; I live in that neighborhood and know that they have no security at all. Last month, there was a robbery, and the culprit has yet to be caught.” Takumi assured him.

Saito added, “You are worrying for nothing, Ryuu. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve given someone a thrashing. Just chill out.”

Hiroshi wordlessly nodded as he finished his drink and even asked if someone wanted to share theirs.

After separating from the three, Ryuuske directly went to a salon to get himself prepared for the meeting.

Even if Yuna’s father has witnessed a glimpse of his, Ryuuske’s changed appearance would surely assure him that it wasn’t him who thrashed Shohei.

Getting his dye removed and hair trimmed, Ryuuske asked for piercing removal and some thorough makeover. He had enough with him to spend a few thousand on himself.

After that, he went to get some decent clothes for himself and his mother.

It took him a few hours, and by four, he was back home. The meeting with Yuna’s family was scheduled for five-thirty, so he wasn’t in a rush.

…however, the way he was shaking even while buttoning his shirt, made it seem like he might arrive late.

Suddenly a pair of dainty arms appeared in the field of his vision as Himiko appeared before her son and helped him tie his buttons.

“You are unusually nervous…don’t tell me that despite having so many girlfriends in the past, you are meeting a girl’s parents for the first time.”

Ryuuske heaved a sigh, “Mom, those were not the ones in whom I saw my future. But Yuna is different. I don’t want to get separated from her.”

Himiko raised her brows hearing such a sincere tone from her son.

Seriously, how many changes he had shown in these two days made her believe that she was still on one of those buses, having this beautiful dream.

“Mom…can I ask you something?” Hearing his nervous voice, she wanted to giggle, however, she held it in and asked,

“Yes? What is it?”

“…if I somehow did something which I don’t regret doing but from someone else’s perspective it may seem wrong…in that situation should I just remain silent on the matter?”

“And let a third party tell them about it? No, that would be disastrous.” Ryuuske couldn’t agree more.

Himiko rested her hands on his shoulders before suggesting, “Rather, why don’t you try making the other one see things from your perspective? Then they might understand why you did that?”

Ryuuske hesitantly asked, “And what if they still don’t understand me?”

“Then you can at least have the assurance that you tried and aren’t starting a relationship on the basis of a lie and secrecy.”

Ryuuske remained silent for a moment before he suddenly hugged the older one and thanked her.

Her eyes turned round in surprise…she couldn’t tell how long it had been since she hugged her child…and this…this felt warm.

Tears threatened to spill but she held them in to not make her son worried. They soon parted and Ryuuske spoke with a smile,

“Thanks, Mom…without you, I would’ve been lost.”

“Mm. I know.”

**********

A/N:- My fingers feel light as feathers while writing these interactions. Can’t get enough of wholesomeness.