"And then you use this method to get the answer...." Sanada, a glasses wearing boy explained as he sat beside Fuutarou, guiding him on how to solve a math question during recess.
"Hm..." Fuutarou narrowed his eyes in concentration. He then slid the paper over to Sanada for a while. "It's this the answer?"
The boy nodded. "Yup! You got it. You're getting pretty good at this, Fuutarou. Keep it up dude!" He patted the blonde boy's shoulder with a smile. Fuutarou scratched his head and laughed a little.
"Thanks man. I know I still have a long way to go if I'm ever going to catch up with you and Takebayashi." Sanada could only smile. His energetic and goofy friend had gone through a change recently, now having a studious side to him.
He still remembered how surprised he was a few days ago when Fuutarou suddenly messaged him, requesting him to explain the solution to certain math problems. It was a surprise for sure and honestly, he was a little weirded out, but this change was not unwelcomed.
"Though I'm sorry for disturbing your recess time. Usually by now you would be hanging out with your other friends, not sitting here with me." Sanada waved him off.
"Nah, don't worry about that. I really don't talk to them that much to be honest. They just let me sit with them. I'd much rather prefer this than listening to topics that I can't relate to."
"Hey, Sanada. Is this how you solve it? I've already solved it but I just want your opinion." Both of the children looked at their classmate, Kazushi Yamagishi, approaching them. Fuutarou saw that the question Yamagishi was solving looked a lot more complicated than his question.
"You used the right method, so the answer should be correct." Sanada nodded, looking up at Yamagishi. "We haven't talked for a while, are you a professional hacker now?" Sanada asked suddenly, a switch of topic that confused Fuutarou. Yamagishi laughed and shook his head.
"Nah, I just started learning that stuff remember? I can't even get the basics right." He replied before looking at Fuutarou who figured Yamagishi must be learning programming. "Yo, Fuutarou. You decided to start studying too?"
"Uh... yeah." Fuutarou nodded. Yamagishi grinned. "You're in good hands, trust me. Sanada here's a pro. Same with Takebayashi. You'll be a pro yourself in no time." Sanada chuckled a little, adjusting his glass a little.
"It's your efforts in studying that caused you to improve, Yamagishi. I was merely a small guidance."
"Ahh don't give me that humble crap. If it wasn't for you and Takebayashi I would've been toast for the midterms a few months ago." Yamagishi the waved at them.
"See ya soon, gotta meet with the computer teacher."
"Oh? What for?" Sanada asked curiously.
"Just wanted to ask if I could switch clubs and stuff."
"I see. Good luck with that."
"Yeah! Bye. Keep it up Fuutarou, you can do this." The brown haired boy waved as he walked away. Sanada looked at Fuutarou who was trying his best to solve the answer sheet.
"Hey, not bad. You're already solving it yourself."
"Yeah, I find that if I do more of these questions I find it easier to solve them."
"Ah, a practical learner... I see..." Sanada muttered to himself as Fuutarou looked at him in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Means you're a hands-on approach type of guy. You're good at applying concepts yourself, noticably after a detailed explanation. That's kinda powerful not gonna lie."
"Huh..." Fuutarou learned more about himself that day.
"By the way, is Yamagishi a past student of yours or something?"
"You can say that I guess. He's the same like you. Very practical guy. Currently he has a passion for computers. I'm feel kind of happy, seeing him learn more about himself and stuff, finding what he wants and enjoys in life." Fuutarou stayed silent. This talk made him think about something.
What did he want for himself?
...
Fuutarou walked home from school, hands in his pockets. It's already been a week since he started his studying arc, and the talk with Sanada a few hours ago got him thinking about his future. In an age where he probably should be playing around, the thought of it weirded him out a little.
"Haa... What's up with me lately. One small talk from dad and now I did a complete 180 degree change." He heard loud drilling noises from his left and looked at the shop. It was a motorbike shop. He recognized this shop, having walked past it all the time when he walked to and back from school.
Fuutarou stared at the various motorbikes. From Yamahas to the black CB250T displayed at the front. A flame of curiosity was started within him as he boldly took a step in the store.
Inside, he saw a man with black unkempt short hair working on a bike. The man had dull eyes and was smoking a cigarette. Fuutarou noticed the person's hands was extremely dirty, most probably from the motor oil and fixing the various parts of the motorbike.
"Hmm?" The man looked at Fuutarou and raised an eyebrow. "You're Isanari's kid aren't you?" Fuutarou widened his eyes, taken aback by the fact that he was recognized by the man.
"H-how did you know?"
"Oh, me and him go way back. Plus I see you walk by my place every day. Name's Sano Shinichiro by the way." The man explained, eyes and hands still working on the vehicle while his mind was elsewhere, an ability mechanics get after achieving a certain level of skill in their craft.
"So what brings you here kid? You wanna get your bike fixed? Sorry kid, I don't fix those toy motorbikes." He joked.
Fuutarou huffed at his joke. "I just wanted to come in and look around." He muttered.
"Purchase a bike while you're at it," He joked before pointing at the CB250T on display. "But not that one though, that one's not for sale." He added. Fuutarou hummed, leaning against a bike as Shinichiro continued working.
"Hm...." He watched silently as Shinichiro worked. He observed as some customers came and went, some requesting Shinichiro to fix their bikes while some paid and left with their already fixed ones.
"Hey Shinichiro..."
"What's up?"
"Can I work here?" Shinichiro froze, looking at Fuutarou.
" What?" Fuutarou gritted his teeth and crossed his arms.
" I said—"
"No I heard you the first time. It's just so absurd having it come out of your mouth though." The black haired man commented before asking. "Why? You should be doing homework and playing games."
"I don't know, I guess I just got interested watching you work I guess... And besides..." Fuutarou scratched his neck. "If you know my dad, then you probably know our family's situation. I just wanna lighten his burden..."
"I see..." Shinichiro muttered. 'Still paying that debt to the Yakuza huh, Isanari? Dumb bastard should've asked me snd the whole gamg to help cover the cost. But noooo, he insists he can handle it by himself. The leader of Second Gen Black Dragon, my previous right hand man and best friend.... now reduced to this.... You're too hard on yourself man...' He shook his head.
"Haih...." Shinichiro sighed, looking at Fuutarou once again, the boy never breaking his gaze on the adult the whole time.
"You sure you want this line of work, kid? It's tough, it's dirty, and you'll smell like oil."
"Better that than doing nothing." Fuutarou replied determinedly. "I'll even help you clean the toilet, I'm sort of a pro cleaner myself." Shinichiro raised an eyebrow at the boy's confidence.
"Confident are we? I'll have you know people who worked here all left in a week, complaining about all sorts of crap."
"Well I'm not those people, I'm Uesugi Fuutarou." Shinichiro snorted. 'Like father like son.' He smiled and shook his head.
"Alright then. If you say so. I'll be showing you the ropes and start you off with an entry level salary of ¥175000(1100 USD) per month. If you stay and prove your worth, I'll bump it up to around ¥250,000(1600 USD)." Child labor was illegal, but Shinichiro has friends in high places, and he had the power to back it up, so it shouldn't be a problem.
"But you're going to have to somehow convince your dad to let you work here, and have him teach you how to fill in a job application." Fuutarou nodded at him.
"Don't worry, I'll handle him...."
To be continued.....
(Salary isn't a lot I know, but c'mon what'd you expect working as a mechanic?)