10 10 - New Dawn

It was early morning, the sun just peeking over the horizon.

Kaede was compelled to open her eyes, but not by the gentle morning light. It was the sound of grunts that roused her.

"54... 55... 56...!" a voice grunted nearby.

Confused, Kaede turned her head and saw her son on the floor doing pushups.

"Hiroki...?" she murmured softly. Meanwhile, Yuuto was completely absorbed in his workout.

'Three hours... This is the final set... Come on... just four more reps...!'

He was shirtless, having already removed his IV, his body glistening with sweat as steam rose from him with each determined push.

"Hiroki?" She called, confused.

Yuuto abruptly halted his workout.

'Damn it. Did I wake her up? Now she's going to hassle me back to the hospital bed...' He thought as he glanced her way.

"Oh, good morning, m—" He began, but he couldn't finish his sentence as Kaede rushed over and embraced him tightly, her ponytail resting on his shoulder.

"W-wait, I'm sweaty and—"

"I'm so glad... I'm so glad you woke up... I was so worried...!" She whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clung to the still-steaming Yuuto.

'What is this...? She's the type of woman to abandon her son for a moment of pleasure... She isn't the type to cry like this... I know it!' He thought, his eyes widening in confusion as she held him even tighter.

'Stop it... Why are you hugging him like this? You'll throw him out as soon as you find some new fling, won't you? Stop this pretense. It's disgusting!' He thought, his teeth clenched in frustration.

"Thank God... Thank God you're okay...!" she murmured.

Yuuto looked down, uncertain what to make of it as Kaede knelt, still holding him tightly on the floor.

'Well, I suppose she's only like this because she hasn't found someone new yet. With Veiny Turd gone, Hiroki's time with her just got a little longer. Either way, it doesn't really affect me if she leaves or kicks me out of the house. She's not MY mother, after all... For now, I guess I'll play along.'

He thought, reluctantly embracing her back.

'Just for now...'

The day progressed as usual. Doctors came in to examine Yuuto, and after a stern reprimand for exercising instead of resting, he cooperated with every test. Surprisingly, all results indicated his body was even more robust than before. Soon after, Yuuto and Kaede left the hospital.

"Hiroki," Kaede said as she navigated the car, with Yuuto sitting beside her in the passenger seat on their way home.

"Yeah?" Yuuto responded, gazing forward.

"Your earring...! Where is it?" she asked, glancing briefly at him while driving.

"Oh. It was getting in the way, so I tossed it," he replied nonchalantly, resting his elbow by the window and continuing to look ahead.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise.

"In the way...?"

"It started to feel uncomfortable, so I took it out and threw it away. Why?" he asked, still not turning to face her.

'Was it a keepsake, maybe? She seems taken aback...' Yuuto pondered.

"No reason... It was just uncomfortable, you say?" she repeated, her voice tinged with confusion as she glanced at him again.

"Yeah," he confirmed, his eyes fixed on the road.

Kaede then met his gaze, noticing a calmness and steadiness she hadn't seen before.

'He seems... more mature, somehow.'

She quickly turned her attention back to driving.

"I see. Good to hear," she said, smiling slightly.

"Good to hear?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it, sweetie," she replied cheerfully.

Several more minutes passed in silence. Neither Hiroki nor Kaede spoke.

'...He's usually more talkative than this,' she thought.

"Hiroki. Do you want to tell mommy what happened?" she asked gently.

"No," Yuuto replied casually.

Kaede flinched at Yuuto's abrupt and terse response, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel momentarily.

"Right... I see. We'll talk about it later, then," she responded softly.

'...He could still be in shock. That's understandable. I'm used to seeing that boy get hurt, but never like what I saw three days ago.' She bit her lip, the memory of Hiroki covered in blood on the hospital bed three days ago vividly resurfacing in her mind.

"Hiroki," she called again.

"What now?"

'She's annoying,' Yuuto thought irritably.

"Next time people come looking for a fight like that... Please... just run. You don't have to prove anything, not to me or anyone else. Just don't get hurt... Okay?" she pleaded softly.

"....Okay," Yuuto replied.

'Okay? Just that? He'd usually argue about needing to replace my husband and be our protector... and I'd have to calm him down... He's more shocked than I realized. I should treat him to a warm meal today.' She set her mind.

They made it home.

'Oh, good. Maybe whatever happened at school was a good thing. I actually found out where this kid lives.' He thought as he followed Kaede into the house.

SOMEWHERE... NEW ENEMIES EMERGE...

??? (Speaker 1): "That big idiot just went ahead and got caught..."

??? (Speaker 2): "What can you do about it? He was just a hotheaded high-schooler."

??? (Speaker 3): "Well, because of that hotheaded high-schooler, the drug's existence was exposed. Cops found it on him. Now what!?"

??? (Speaker 1): "Now what? We continue as usual. We'll deal with the police once we need to. Besides... In a few months, even the police force won't be able to refuse working with us."

??? (Speaker 2): "There's that, true."

??? (Speaker 3): "We just have to get big enough... It also isn't the only school in existence."

??? (Speaker 1): "Alright. I'll take your word for it. Just make sure your next guy doesn't mess it up due to a power trip."

??? (Speaker 2): "Hahaha, I'll try my best. After all... Once someone uses it on someone... They just can't help but get into that power trip. Hehehe..."

...AND POSSIBLE NEW ALLIES...

??? (Curious Observer): "sigh, you're watching that wimp's video again?"

??? (Amused Watcher): "Can't help but doing it. It's so good. Look how he's holding the baseball bat, aiming it towards that giant. Does he think it's an anime or something? What a riot~..."

??? (Curious Observer): "I'll admit, he has some tiny potential... But nothing to gawk at. I could take him and his baseball bat with one arm."

??? (Amused Watcher): "One arm? You're selling yourself short."

??? (Curious Observer): "I meant, one arm while I'm holding back. Full strength, all I need is a finger."

??? (Amused Watcher): "Full strength... Now who's going all anime about it?"

??? (Curious Observer): "Chsche, you bastard!!"

??? (Amused Watcher): "Still.... I like him. I wanna meet him!"

??? (Curious Observer): "Haaah... You'll just end up disappointed, like with the last one, I tell you. He's just another show-off who got lucky."

??? (Amused Watcher): "Hmm... Maybe. But showing off in an interesting way like that. My mind is set. I wanna meet him so bad! Also, Akito said he liked him too!"

??? (Curious Observer): "Whatever. I gave up trying to talk you or that lazy-ass bastard off things a while ago. I'mma go eat."