Chapter 114 Preparation I
Sunday, November 11, 2021
With the permission of manager Makoto, Hiro, Tatsuki and Naoto, the three of them left the hostel at around 11 o'clock in the morning to meet the guys mentioned by Tatsuki and Naoto.
However they didn't mention the real reason to the coach, instead they had lied to the coach that they'd be visiting the shopping mall to buy some new clothes.
And since Hiro was still new to the city, Naoto and Tatsuki were barely accompanying him.
Although their reason was partly truth and partly lie.
Casually dressed in dark green coloured hoodie and blue jeans, Hiro was walking along with Tatsuki who was dressed in dark blue coloured plain sweatshirt and beige coloured casual pants.
Naoto who was dressed in white shirt layered with cream coloured cardigan and navy blue casual pants was leading the way.
"Hurry up guys!! Manager Makoto has strictly warned us to be back by 3 in the afternoon." Spoke Naoto while leading the way.
After walking for a while, they took a cab to get to the shopping mall.
And after about 15 minutes of cab drive, they arrived infront of the shopping mall which they were visiting that day.
While Naoto and Tatsuki were managing the cab fare, Hiro was standing infront of the luxurious shopping mall made up of bricks, concrete and glasses.
Fountains, flowers, coloured lights, LED billboards, the shopping mall was luxuriously decorated.
Many people dressed in different kind of fancy dresses were entering and exiting the shopping mall.
Some were carrying a lot of shopping bags in their hands while some were simply there to enjoy their time.
"Why are you acting like it's your first time visiting a shopping mall?" While slightly nudging Hiro behind his back, Tatsuki questioned.
"Well it's actually my first time visiting such a grand shopping mall." Murmured Hiro shyly.
Since he rarely visited shopping malls and the ones at his hometown weren't as luxurious as the one he was at that moment, Hiro couldn't help himself from staring at the majestic shopping mall infront of his eyes.
"Then this brother of yours will show you around the shopping mall today." Proudly stating such, Tatsuki gave Hiro a gentle push behind his back.
"But before we go, let me put on my mask. I'm afraid if I head inside bare faced, my fans will recognise me." Tatsuki mumbled with a sense of pride and took out a black coloured mask from his pocket.
Since Tatsuki had already debuted for the senior team, he was quite concerned about his image. Although not many of them even remembered his face since he only played 10 minutes, he was still proud about his achievements.
"As if anybody would even know you." Naoto mumbled meekly in a sarcastic way.
While putting on his mask, Tatsuki mumbled, "Did you say something?"
"Cover your eyes too. What if they recognise you just by looking at your eyes?" Naoto replied sarcastically.
Tatsuki took Naoto's words seriously and didn't get the sarcasm behind his words.
"Ahh!! I forgot to bring my shades." Mumbled Tatsuki while touching his pockets.
"Leave him be. Let's head inside."
After that the three of them headed inside the shopping mall.
And as they made their way inside, Tatsuki mumbled, "Just don't be intimidated by Imai. Although he looks kinda intimidating, he's really easygoing person."
Hiro only slightly nodded his head without replying anything.
**** ****
Inside a coffee shop, a fair-skinned guy with well defined facial features was sipping coffee while sitting at a table in the corner, all alone.
Although his facial features were well defined, he had accumulated quite a bit of scars all over his face. His knuckles were bruised and a layer of dead skin had covered his knuckles.
Walking inside the coffee shop, Tatsuki yelled loudly while waving his hands at the black haired scar faced guy, "Oii Imai!!"
Hearing his loud voice, the Batista's of the coffee shop along with several other people present in the coffee shop all turned their attention towards them.
Giving them cold stares while staring at them with their bulging eyes, they all looked pissed by Tatsuki's loud voice.
"Shh!! Shh!!" Naoto tried to silence Tatsuki . "Keep your mouth shut, you idiot."
At the same time Hiro who was tagging along with them, lowered his head and apologized to the people present in the coffee shop for disturbing them.
Tatsuki's behaviour embarrassed them quite a bit.
And after apologising to the people present in the coffee shop, the three of them quickly made their way towards the black haired guy with scars all over his face.
"You never change do you?" Chuckled Imai the black haired guy.
'So he's like this even in school.' Thought Hiro after hearing Imai's words.
'The scars in his face and his cold eyes does make him look kinda intimidating. But he's got a warm smile.' Thought Hiro while looking at the face of Imai who was conversing cheerfully with Tatsuki and Naoto with a smile on his face.
"And who's this friend here?" Questioned Imai while looking at Hiro.
"Ahh sorry!! I forgot to introduce you to him." Tatsuki apologized.
"This guys right here is our new teammate, Takahashi Hiro." Tatsuki introduced Hiro.
"Hello Hiro. I'm Ikuo Imai, friend of Seko. And I'm also friends with Naoto." Imai introduced himself while lowering his head politely.
"Nice to meet you senior Imai." Greeted Hiro while lowering his head.
"Senior??" Imai blurted out dumbfoundedly after hearing Hiro call him senior.
"Ohh right!! I forgot to mention that he's only twelve years old. Hahaha." Tatsuki chuckled.
"What twelve year old??" Imai intoned with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
"Yup!! That was the kind of reaction I was expecting." Naoto mumbled casually as if he was expecting that kind of reaction from Imai.
Ordering few cups of coffee, Hiro then explained Imai about his plans. Although he didn't mention his real purpose for making him do such things, Hiro thoroughly elaborated his plan to Imai.
"Since my friends brother is asking me for help, I won't decline it. However if it were someone else I would have already walked away. But consider yourself lucky." Imai agreed to his request.
And after talking for a while, the four of them exited the coffee shop.
"I need to head to restroom guys. I'll be back." Saying such Imai separated from them.
Although Hiro mentioned everything about his plan to Imai, he still hadn't disclosed everything because of the presence of Naoto and Tatsuki.
But just as Imai separated from them, he found a perfect opportunity to disclose his whole plan to him.
And hence, he made an excuse to talk to Imai all alone, "I also need to use the restroom."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Replied Naoto in a concerned manner.
Since Hiro was still new to the shopping mall, they feared that Hiro might not be able to find the restroom on his own.
"Ahh no!! I'll just follow Imai." Saying such, Hiro declined their offer.
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