(Ishida Shiki's POV)

The middle schooler started tearing up and his face became red. I just knew this was going to be a bad idea. Then again, it is partly my fault for letting things go and following along. I was a grown-ass man for crying out loud. This was practically bullying on my part.

Suddenly, the kid jumped up from his seat and bolted out of the arcade room covering his face.

"Oh shit. Is he crying?" Someone asked.

"I think he is. Maybe we pushed it too far."

You think?

I stood up from my seat and looked over at Shinji who was walking toward us with a bag of snacks. Seeing the kid run out and us crowded together, he asked with confusion, "What's going on?"

"Uh...Ishida here beat that kid at Pac-Man. He ran out crying after that," someone behind me explained.

"So you guys bullied him?" asked Shinji furrowing his eyebrows.

"What? No! It was just a bit of teasing..." The same guy behind me spoke but he trailed off at the end knowing his argument didn't make things better.

Eventually, I spoke up, "I'll go find the kid and apologize. We shouldn't have done that."

"It was just a game, sheesh," someone mumbled. However, I shot that guy a glare and he shriveled up and looked down.

It doesn't matter if it was just a game. We were the ones in the wrong here.

"Yeah, you do that Ishida-kun," Shinji said. Eyeing the others, he leaned closer to me and whispered, "Though, I doubt you're the type to bully some kid out of nowhere."

Oh?

Glancing at Shinji, I raised an eyebrow but decided not to question his words. He seems quite good and reading people. Shrugging, I picked up my bag that was thrown on the ground and jogged outside, without saying another word.

****

Rounding a corner, I could hear some sniffling.

As I walked closer, I saw the middle-school kid sitting on the pavement with his legs gathered up in front of him and his face buried in his arms. I could see his shoulders shaking. 

Releasing a soft sigh, I stepped closer to the boy and knelt down, tapping his shoulder. When he looked up, I saw his reddened eyes and an endless stream of tears falling down his cheeks. As he realized who I was, his eyebrows furrowed together and his expression transformed from a weeping one into an angry one. 

"What do you want?" he growled at me. "Come to make fun of me? Tease me for losing?"

Understandably he was pissed. And probably very embarrassed for having been seen in his current state. 

 Instead of answering straight away, I sat down next to him and placed my bag next to me before clasping my hands together. 

"I came to apologize to you," I said. Glancing at him, I continued to say, "My classmates and I shouldn't have provoked you like that. I won't apologize for beating you since there's nothing wrong with that but it was wrong of me to play against you in that atmosphere."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the boy's eyes widening clearly not expecting me to say that. He sniffed again but otherwise kept silent. 

I placed my palms behind me and leaned back, looking up at the sky. 

"High schoolers are mean, aren't they?" I said. "A nasty lot we are."

I heard a snort from beside me and my lips twitched. 

"I can't say middle schoolers are any better but in high school, you sometimes see the worst of people - and the best. It's a time when many of us are starting to find ourselves leading us to make a lot of mistakes."

Although I couldn't see the boy's expression, I knew he was listening to me. 

"Today was one of those days where we made a mistake - where I made a mistake. So, I hope that you can forgive me," I said softly. "In return...I'll buy you an ice cream."

"Pfft! Are you serious?" 

Letting my eyes fall down, I saw the boy's expression a little better. He snickered and wiped away the remaining tears in his eyes. As he looked at me, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"Honestly? You don't," I replied with a smirk. "But, it's up to you whether or not you choose to believe me."

"Hmph," the boy huffed. He bit his bottom lip and scrunched up his face turning his face into an amusing image. After his silent contemplation, he looked at me and said, "Well, before I trust anything you say, I should at least know your name."

Snorting, I replied, "You're right about that. My name's Ishida Shiki."

"I'm Yamamoto Koji."

"Then, Yamamoto-kun, I take it that you'll forgive me now?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Because I'm a generous person, I will forgive you," said Yamamoto. "Now where's my ice cream?"

"Pfft!"

I chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair before standing up. Picking up my bag, I gestured to the street across the road, "There's a convenience store just there."

Yamamoto nodded his head like a pecking chicken and followed me across the road toward the store. We entered the door and headed straight for the freezer where we picked the ice cream we wanted. I paid for them at the counter and then the two of us walked down the street, eating our dessert. 

"Is it good?" I asked. 

"Mhm," Yamamoto nodded. 

It was a rather sunny afternoon so the ice creams were melting more quickly than usual. Gazing down at the boy next to me, I noticed his mouth was covered in ice cream which was slowly dripping down the side of his arm. 

"You've got ice cream all over yourself kid," I pointed out. 

Yamamoto only shrugged in response, totally unbothered by the fact. However, I couldn't stand the sight of it and stopped walking to pull out a tissue from my bag. Bending down, I held the kid's face and wiped it clean before wiping the ice cream from his arm. 

"You're like a mom," I heard him say. 

Rolling my eyes, I muttered, "Whatever. You just looked dirty with that ice cream everywhere on you."

"Hey!"

****

When our ice creams were finished, we discarded the rubbish in the nearest bin and I looked at the time on my watch. 

It was 5 PM. 

Glancing at Yamamoto, I said, "It's getting pretty late. You better head on home otherwise your parents will worry."

Hearing my words, the boy froze in his steps and looked down. I quickly noticed his sunken expression and something in my gut told me I may have stepped on a landmine. 

"M-My parents won't care..." I heard him mumble quietly. In somewhat of a desolate tone, he said, "They...They're never home anyway."

Ah, I knew it—definitely a landmine. 

Closing my eyes, I sighed and contemplated my options. The adult in me couldn't turn away from this despite how much I wanted to go home and sleep. 

After briefly thinking about it, I finally said, "Then...shall we hang out a little longer? If you want, I can help you improve your skills at the arcade. And when we're done, I can walk you home."

Suddenly, the boy's expression lit up like a Christmas tree. 

Turning to me, he clenched his fists and said, "You really mean that?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" I chuckled ruffling his hair again. He blushed from embarrassment and looked down. 

"T-Then, let's do that."