It wasn't merely 'a bit', as Haruki had described it. He practically draped his entire weight onto Ginger's shoulders, seemingly deriving amusement from teasing the poor kid.

"I knew you were small, but I never realized you were this tiny," Haru remarked teasingly as they finally reached the last block near his house, turning their usual ten-minute trip into a more than twenty-minute ordeal due to his temporary leg injury. Haruki showed no shame in complaining, even as passers-by cast curious glances their way.

Haruki relished the opportunity to playfully taunt Ginger, discovering that the kid stood more than half a head shorter than him.

"Are we really in the same grade? It's hard to believe," Haruki playfully questioned.

"I'm older than you," Ginger asserted.

"No way," Haru retorted, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"I'm fourteen."

Haruki's jaw dropped. "That's impossible!"

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Yeah, right. Stop messing around. You can't be older than me," Haruki countered.

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"Welcome to teenagerhood."

"Hey, I turned thirteen last year, brat. I'll be fourteen in two months," Haru stated.

"Congrats," Ginger replied casually. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Stop fooling around already. A shrimp like you? No way you're-hiss..."

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't watching my step again," Ginger insincerely responded.

Just now, he'd purposely made a misstep, causing the person he was supporting to stumble as well, exacerbating Haruki's leg pain. It was evident that he had reached his limit with Fukuda's nonsense.

Haruki couldn't help but shed invisible tears, thinking; This kid has such an artificial soul. Won't even consider my injury...

"Earlier, you mentioned your house being unattended," Ginger suddenly spoke up. "Does that mean you live alone?"

"For now, yeah. Planning to rob me?" Haru glanced at him sideways.

Ginger rolled his eyes. "As if I have nothing better to do."

Haruki chuckled, then explained further, "My parents went on a trip for work. I'll be alone until they come back."

"You know, casually sharing that kind of information with strangers can get you into trouble," Ginger pointed out.

"Still strangers, even though we've been through thick and thin together?" Haru feigned disappointment. "I'm hurt."

"What 'thick and thin'? You just saved a stranger from falling. And I'm only escorting you because you got injured in my place, so it's just payback. I don't want to owe you."

"Harsh."

"So is life."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Haru quickly apologized, not wanting to anger him again. After a moment, he finally suggested, "So, want to be friends?"

Ginger almost faltered in his step, but thankfully Haruki didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Why?”

Haruki arched a brow, “What do you mean ‘why’? Do I gotta have a reason?”

“Yes.”

“... Dude.”

"I didn't even share a shred of personal information with you. It's been all about you," Ginger avoided making eye contact with Haru. He muttered the last sentence quietly, "I didn't even tell you my name."

But Haruki chuckled, "You agreed to let me call you 'Ginger'."

"I never agreed to that."

"Well, in my mind, it's already settled. Plus, you did show me your initials before, remember?" Haru reminded.

Ginger had actually forgotten about that. Still, he retorted, "How do you know those were my real initials?"

"Since they're what you showed me, I'll hold on to them," Haruki replied, unfazed. "And just to be clear, I still think your given name starts with a 'K'."

Ginger remained silent, continuing to support Haruki's walk while lost in his own thoughts. About ten steps later, he felt Haruki's limping body come to a sudden stop, causing him to halt as well.

"We're here," Haruki announced, standing in front of a short white gate.

Beyond the gate stood a deep grey two-story house with beautiful arched windows and a neatly maintained evergreen yard enclosed by a white wooden fence. From where Ginger stood, he noticed a few vibrant potted plants adorning the front porch and a charming stone path leading from the gate to the house's entrance.

Overall, the Fukuda residence exuded a cozy charm.

"It's bigger than I imagined," the tree-boy commented.

Somehow Haruki already had a bad premonition of Ginger's original expectations, but asked anyway. "And what was it you imagined?"

"You don't want to know," Ginger assured him.

Haru sighed. "Well, it's good that you can see it with your own eyes now."

"You'll be fine from here on your own, right?" Ginger asked with a bit of reluctance.

Haruki noticed this and complained, "Why do you have to look so annoyed while asking about my well-being?"

"I didn't really want to ask," the kid replied honestly.

He's so cold. Still, Haru didn't mind and inquired instead, "Are you in a hurry?"

"I did leave my book at the park, after all," Ginger explained, though in truth, he hadn't thought Haruki would feel comfortable letting a stranger into his home.

Haruki understood and released his arm from Ginger's shoulder, leaning on the chest-high white gate for support. "Then I won't keep you. It's only a few steps to the front porch, so I'll be fine."

Unable to see beneath Haruki's jeans, Ginger couldn't gauge the severity of his sprained ankle or if it had swollen. They both assumed it was a minor injury and didn't bother checking.

But the boy couldn't help but worry, despite that assumption.

"Hey," Haru's voice caught Ginger's attention again, "If I don't make it to the park tomorrow, it'll probably be because my ankle won't let me leave the house."

Ginger almost rolled his eyes. "And why did you feel the need to tell me this?"

Haru sighed, "Geez, can't I at least tell a buddy? You make it sound like I..." He trailed off suddenly, realizing something. Ginger had never agreed to be his friend in the first place, so it made sense why he remained distant. Haruki attempted to ease the awkwardness with a joke, but the words died in his mouth. He could only scratch his temple and say, "S-See you around."

"Sure," the ginger-haired kid turned to leave but paused mid-step to add, "Don't push yourself too hard. Remember, your current condition isn't very promising."

"Yeah, thanks," Haru mumbled before being left alone. Once he was certain Ginger was out of earshot, he let out a low, embarrassed groan.

Mom, dad, Ayame... I think I just ruined my first real chance of making a friend by appearing too desperate. There's really no hope for me, so please don't expect much in the near future.

~~~~~~