Chapter 11: Three troublemakers.
Mother Hagiwara had only left food for Hagiwara Kenji, but she didn't expect him to bring two children back, so she simply made a quick and easy fried rice dish that would fill him up.
Morofushi Sora'aki had eaten before going to bed, but even if he ate another meal, he wouldn't feel full or anything, so he didn't care.
However, after the meal, Mother Hagiwara noticed Matsuda Jinpei's wounds. The most obvious ones were on his face and legs, while the rest were shallow, barely noticeable abrasions—just scrapes that didn't bleed.
But the pain was still there. Even though Matsuda Jinpei tried to be brave and said he was fine, Hagiwara Kenji still puffed out his cheeks and helped Matsuda Jinpei with the treatment, though he was a little unhappy.
Mother Hagiwara originally wanted to help, but seeing the little boy's nervous expression as soon as he saw her, and remembering the recent discussions among the neighbors, she ultimately did not show a strong attitude. She simply found the first-aid kit and handed it to Hagiwara Kenji, thus making her stance clear.
Matsuda Jinpei breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn't quite sure how to talk to other people's parents.
After all, when many people avoid him, they will mutter something like, "My parents won't let me play with him."
This made Matsuda Jinpei have a very low opinion of parents. Even though he knew that Hagiwara Kenji's parents were probably not those kinds of people... he was still worried that he would be rejected.
"...Hiss!" Matsuda Jinpei gasped. "You used too much force!"
"...They went too far," Hagiwara Kenji said unhappily. "It's already been confirmed that it was a misunderstanding, isn't it?"
Many people don't even know the specifics; they just heard about a "murderer" and so they naturally directed their malice at an innocent child.
Matsuda Jinpei hadn't felt much pain at first, but after being cleaned and treated with medicine, the pain surged back: "Be gentle! Don't take your anger out on me!"
"I was clearly protesting for Jinpei-chan's sake!"
"Forget it then, I'd rather not have this!" Matsuda Jinpei snatched the cotton swab from Hagiwara Kenji's hand: "I'll do it myself!"
Morofushi Sora'aki watched this scene with his face propped up on his hand, then jumped off the sofa on the other side, picked up a new bandage, and squatted down in front of Matsuda Jinpei's calves.
Then, Morofushi Sora'aki performed the movements with such practiced ease that it was as if he had rehearsed them countless times in his mind, and finally tied a cute bow on his head.
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Hagiwara Kenji: "...Pfft!"
Under the surprised gazes of the two, Morofushi Sora'aki immediately discerned the functions of the different medications in the first-aid kit and asked, "Do you want some anti-inflammatory medicine?"
"...It's just a minor injury, there's no need for that." Matsuda Jinpei looked away, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
He could complain a little when Hagiwara Kenji applied the medicine, but seeing Morofushi Sora'aki calmly treating him, he felt... somewhat afraid to resist.
He couldn't explain why, but he always felt that if he refused, something terrible would happen.
Matsuda Jinpei decided to trust his intuition, unaware that Morofushi Sora'aki had witnessed his older brother treating his friend's wounds many times and deeply understood his brother's line, "Violence can be used when appropriate."
After everything was mostly taken care of, Mother Hagiwara gently reminded them that they could go to sleep.
Hagiwara Kenji's room was quite large for a child, but it didn't feel so spacious when there were three of them.
"My bed doesn't seem to be big enough for three people?" Hagiwara Kenji raised his hand and asked, "Who wants to sleep with Kenji-chan tonight!"
However, neither Matsuda Jinpei nor Morofushi Sora'aki reacted. Before Hagiwara Kenji could say another word, his mother betrayed him by knocking on the door and coming in with two rolls of bedding.
So, it turned out that two people were sleeping on the floor, while only Hagiwara Kenji was in the bed.
Hagiwara Kenji was immediately unhappy when he saw the two blankets stuck together at the edges because of the limited space in the room.
After Mother Hagiwara left, he immediately climbed out of bed and squeezed between the two of them in his loose pajamas, saying, "Don't leave me alone on the bed!"
"...Aren't you childish?" To avoid his wound, Matsuda Jinpei was pushed aside. He sat up and said, "If you're not going to sleep in the bed, then I'll sleep here instead."
Hagiwara Kenji snorted, "Sora'aki-chan, did you see that? Jinpei-chan is shy!"
Matsuda Jinpei: "Who's shy!"
"I'm shy." Morofushi Sora'aki repeated calmly.
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei didn't want to talk to those two little rascals anymore. He turned his back to them, feeling annoyed, and covered himself with the blanket.
Hagiwara Kenji squeezed between the two of them, then looked at the bright light on the ceiling and suddenly said, "Who's going to turn off the light?"
Matsuda Jinpei pretended not to hear, while Morofushi Sora'aki tilted his head, his expression unchanged.
Hagiwara Kenji understood. He puffed out his cheeks, carefully avoiding stepping on anyone, and returned to his original position after turning off the light.
Then he discovered that, squeezed between two people, the ultimate problem was that he didn't have enough blankets to cover himself, and the back of his head felt inexplicably cold.
Hagiwara Kenji gently nudged Matsuda Jinpei, who was closest to the bed: "Jinpei-chan, could you get the pillows and blankets off the bed for me—"
Matsuda Jinpei ignored him.
Hagiwara Kenji pushed him again, and after repeating this several times, the blanket and pillow landed directly on his head: "Shut up!"
Even after being treated like that, Hagiwara Kenji still managed a foolish smile in Matsuda Jinpei's eyes: "Thank you!"
Then a brief silence fell over the room.
About two minutes passed, or maybe less, and Hagiwara Kenji looked at the ceiling of his room, which he had been staring at for years: "Are you two asleep?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Hagiwara Kenji muttered, "I can't sleep."
"I'm a little excited because it's the first time I've invited friends over to stay at my house."
Matsuda Jinpei and Morofushi Sora'aki remained silent.
"So, I remembered that my mom said before that the microwave was broken and she was planning to take it to be repaired..."
Matsuda Jinpei abruptly threw off the covers: "Then let's go!"
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
"I'm starting to doubt your reasons for being friends with me, Jinpei-chan." Hagiwara Kenji murmured.
"...puff."
"..."
"..."
"Jinpei-chan?"
"It wasn't me."
"Sora'aki-chan...?"
"..."
"So that was the guy laughing just now?" Matsuda Jinpei exclaimed in shock. "You can laugh too?!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
"It's too late to pretend to be asleep now!" Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei each grabbed Morofushi Sora'aki's arm. "Anyway, I hereby declare the Mischievous Trio officially formed!"
"No, who said they were causing trouble! They were clearly the repair team!"
"...I've never learned how to repair things," said Morofushi Sora'aki, who was pretending to be asleep.
"It's okay, I can do it!" Matsuda Jinpei's eyes sparkled. "I've taken apart my microwave countless times!"
So, is your microwave working okay?
"It's not scrapped yet," Matsuda Jinpei said seriously.
"Isn't that terrifying!"
"You're already on the pirate ship anyway!"
"Oh dear, is it too late for me to refuse now?"
As the two were talking, they belatedly realized that the person they were holding had disappeared. Morofushi Sora'aki stood at the doorway, his blue eyes gleaming coldly in the moonlight reflected from the window.
Aren't you leaving?
"...So you're the one who's most interested!"
"You really can't tell from appearance."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the living room, the three of them sneaked into the living room, unplugged the microwave, and quietly carried it back to Hagiwara Kenji's room.
They threw all the blankets off the floor onto the bed to make room for the microwave.
Matsuda Jinpei has a real talent for disassembly, and Hagiwara Kenji, whose family owns a car repair shop, has also learned some knowledge from a young age.
On the contrary, Morofushi Sora'aki, who claimed to have never studied it, was able to name every single part.
"...Didn't you say you hadn't learned it?"
"I've read it in a book."
"No normal person would remember something like this!!"
"But Sora'aki-chan is really talented!" Hagiwara Kenji's eyes sparkled. "The three of us have another shared interest now!"
"Next time I'll sneak you guys to my family's auto repair shop!"
"It's a date!"
Three exceptionally talented children easily disassembled the microwave oven, and then, when they tried to put it back together, they discovered five or six extra small screws.
Hagiwara Kenji: "...Uh."
Matsuda Jinpei: "Hmm..."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "There are extras."
Hagiwara Kenji blinked: "...There shouldn't be any major problems, right?"
Matsuda Jinpei hesitated and said, "Anyway, it's almost all installed, and it looks fine... just a few screws are missing!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "It's almost dawn."
The group exchanged glances and immediately put the microwave oven back in its original position.
As for the fact that Mother Hagiwara found out about it afterward, and that Hagiwara Kenji was beaten by his angry mother, there's no need to go into that.
"...So why the sudden recollection of childhood?" Hagiwara Kenji, now a middle school student, has matured quite a bit. He looked at Matsuda Jinpei, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, and teased, "But Jinpei-chan was the one who got criticized more often later on, wasn't he?"
Matsuda Jinpei snorted coldly: "How many times have I taken the blame for you?"
"Haha, who told you not to talk back, Jinpei-chan~" Hagiwara Kenji's eyes crinkled into a smile: "But it's precisely because Mom treats you like her own child that she can criticize you without restraint~"
"...So Auntie doesn't like me?" Morofushi Sora'aki asked, sitting on the horizontal bar and looking at the rather dangerous situation.
"...Ah, someone's showing off here!"
"Tsk, thinking about it, you're the only one who's never been scolded!"
"How could I not like you! My mom adores you! Every day when she's lecturing me, her line is always 'You should learn from Sora'aki!'" Hagiwara Kenji said with a frown, "Someone else's kid!"
"You're such a smooth talker! Sora'aki-chan, you—!"
Morofushi Sora'aki blinked innocently, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible boastfulness: "So Auntie likes me very much."
"Ugh, you're so annoying! I'm going to punch you!"
"How could I have thought you were such a good boy back then! You're even more troublesome than Hagi!"
"Huh? It's time for Sora'aki-chan to complain! Why did you suddenly call on me? I'm so innocent!"
Morofushi Sora'aki jumped off the horizontal bar, stuck out his tongue at the two men with a blank expression, and said, "Oops."