Chapter 10: Hide-n-seek

MC POV:

Tenku Plateau is a big meadow located on the city's outskirts, and it's also a popular tourist spot due to its calming nature and beautiful views.

Thanks to it being located not that far from Raku's house, it's also a place we frequently use to play whenever we come to visit him.

Well, if not for the people constantly following Raku, we wouldn't be able to go around the city so freely. After all, we are still a bunch of five-year-olds.

Today was one of such days.

The giant stones spread around the Tenku Plateau make it a perfect place to play tag and hide-n-seek, as some create labyrinthine structures while others are more spread out. That, accompanied by far more scarce trees and shrubbery, makes it hard to get bored of that place, even for me.

As a child, I loved constructing 'bases' and 'forts'. I did it inside the house, in my backyard, or close to the forest. Sadly, by the time I could do something decent, I was too old to play like that, but now I can do it again.

Time to make the best hideout in history!!!

I was brought back from my reverie by the quickly approaching presence. Rito did his best to move fast yet quietly, but even if I was blind and deaf, detecting him would be easy.

Not wanting to waste his efforts completely, I started moving towards Saruyama while leaving some hints behind.

Despite my protests, he still keeps calling me boss as if we were a part of a gang or something similar. What makes it even worse is that he made all the other kids think it's a cool idea, and they can annoy me as a bonus.

There is some fault on my side as well since I am openly taking charge whenever we are in a group and even protecting them from being bullied by older children, but that doesn't mean I want them to call me that.

This is just one of many acts of revenge waiting for you!

"Got you!" Rito exclaimed, jumping on an unsuspecting Saruyama.

"How?! I hid so well this time!!" he exclaimed.

"That's a secret! You are the first one, hahaha!" he laughed, aware that it was my doing.

He was a bit envious of me since, from his perspective, I do nothing but sleep all day, and yet I am faster and more intelligent, but due to his innate kindness, it did not develop further.

I also tried my best to be a good brother once he became two years old and we could interact, so while he was envious, he held quite a bit of respect for me.

After selling Saruyana, I returned to my previous location and waited until Rito managed to find everyone else.

"One person left!" Rito shouted, making sure I will be able to hear him.

Since it would be boring if only the seeker could win, or if the game lasted hours because he couldn't find anyone, we decided on some additional rules. First, the game would always last 20 minutes at most. If someone could stay hidden until then, it would be their win. Second, if only one person is left, the seeker has to announce it and find them within 5 minutes or until time runs out.

After waiting precisely five minutes, I left my hiding spot and went towards the gathering place.

There I found Rito, Saruyama, Raku, Shu, Kosaki, Yui already waiting for me.

"I won again," I announced with a smug.

"You cheated! I am sure you did!" Saruyama exclaimed in protest.

"Prove it, and I will gladly take the loss," I said, shrugging my shoulders and causing him to grit his teeth.

Sometimes, other kids would tag along, but these six made up the group I interacted with the most as of late. It was a rather curious group, as all of them were different.

Rito is cheerful and kind, but he isn't the brightest tool in the shed. He is quite athletic for his age, giving him an edge in sports and games, but when it came to everything else, he is clumsy, to say the least. He has golden brown eyes and orange-brown spiky hair, which makes him stand out quite a bit.

Saruyama is very playful. He uses every occasion to joke around. He isn't a genius, but calling him dumb would be wrong. To put it simply, other than his black spiky hair, which mostly pointed to the back, he is a normal boy.

Raku, similarly to Rito, is a very kind kid. He is usually full of energy, but when he deals with new kids, he can be very awkward. It isn't surprising since, until recently, only Shu Maiko wanted to play with him, unaffected by Raku's relation to Yakuza.

Talking about Shu. That boy is far more mature than he ought to be. He acts like an idiot and jokes around like Saruyama, but he is far smarter than him. As far as I can tell, he goes with a happy-go-lucky cover just to hide how smart he truly is. He has short to medium, messy, dirty blonde hair and wears circular glasses. He has golden brown eyes like Rito and slightly tanned skin, similar to Raku's.

As for the girls, Kosaki Onodera is a very recent addition, and she is already developing a crash on Raku, not one-sidedly. She can be described as a bit timid, kind and innocent. She has shoulder-length dark-brown hair with one long strand of hair kept combed neatly to the left side of her face and chocolate brown eyes.

The last person, Yui Kanakura is the daughter of a Chinese mafia boss, one of Raku's father's friends, that came here for vacation. She is the oldest among us, at least physically, as she is two years older than Raku and one year older than me. She is an optimist and, similar to Shu, acts easygoing despite being remarkably intelligent. She has medium-length, silky dark hair with a pinkish-violet tinge and several braids. Her eyes are the same color as her hair, and she wears a flowered crown. If I wasn't around, I am sure she would take charge of the group as the 'onee-san'.

"So? Are we continuing, or should we call it a day?" I asked.

"I have enough for today. It's not fun since you always win!" Saruyama replied.

"Sorry, but I have to go as well. Saruyama and I already promised to play soccer with others." Rito said with an apologetic and awkward smile while slightly scratching the side of his face.

"Don't worry. We know how much you love to play soccer." Raku commented, trying to show he doesn't need to apologize.

"You don't have the right to complain anyway, Raku. I still remember how you completely forgot about us because of a cooking show." I said, giving him a teasing smile.

"Jeez! That was only once! When are you going to forget it?!" Raku exclaimed in embarrassment, eliciting a laugh from everyone.

"Never. You know how good my memory is." I said while slightly puffing out my chest.

"Yeah, yeah. We all know how much of a cheat you are..." Saruyama grumbled and left together with Rito.

"I also have to go. See you tomorrow Raku, everyone..." Kosaki Onodera said sheepishly and run off with a slightly red face.

"I have enough for today as well, see ya!" said Shu shortly after Kosaki left, leaving me, Raku, and Yui.

Raku looked at me and proposed, "Do you want to come to my house? We can play some games on my console."

"Sure, it's been a while," I replied.

"Time for a race! The last person there eats a chili pepper!!" he exclaimed and started running us as he could.

Not minding his antics, I looked at Yui with a wry smile and asked, "Do you want me to carry you?"

Despite being a year younger than Rito, and nearly two years younger than me, Raku already started to show that some of his more impressive feats in the anime weren't just a matter of anime logic but his physical strength.

I am faster, but he is the only kid that can somehow keep up with Rito, whose running speed saved him many times in the original series. The three of us are the nightmare of anyone being IT while playing tag.

"Sure, I want to see his face once he realizes he will have to eat the chili pepper himself," she said and giggled.

"Ok," I said and scooped her up in a princess carry, eliciting a surprised yelp.

"I thought you would carry me on your back..." she muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"That's your fault. Hold on tight, I have no safety belts." I replied with a slight shrug and took off like a rocket, soon overtaking Raku and leaving him far behind.