.·°¯°·.¸.->Leather Bracelets<-.¸.·°¯°·.

1

That night, when Ni-ki walked out of the train station, he had never felt more alone.

Seeing his best friend receive the highest level of love that anyone could possess made the boy think of the life he had left behind in Japan

The love he had left behind in Japan.

-

"Hanaaa?" The younger boy yelled from outside her house. It was the summer of  2018, school was out for the weekend and kids were enjoying their well deserved break.

"In here! The doors open." Ni-ki's neighbour, Hana called back.

Ni-ki walked inside, immedietly feeling relief from the hot and humid air outside, all thanks to the fan that was blasting cool air through the house.

The 13 year old was looking for his best friend, who refused to come outside and explore.

"Hana, you promised you'd come to the forest with me." Ni-ki yelled as he approached Hana's room

Ni-ki had finally received a short holiday from his dance company. The aspiring idol worked hard to be closer to achieving his dreams every single day. He genuinely enjoyed dancing, Niki was quite passionate about the form of art.

But that didn't mean he didn't want a break. He desperately wanted to spend time with his friends. With Hana. Hana would usually be stuck inside, studying during the weekdays while Ni-ki would be sleeping in class. Ni-ki would be practicing at the company after school and on weekends when Hana would be relaxing at home.

The two hardly got to spend time together, which was why Niki was so excited right now.

"It's just one day, but it'll be fun!" He told himself, after finding out that the duo's schedules would be clear on the same day.

Niki walked into his best friends room and flopped onto the bed.

"Watcha doing?" He asked, attempting to peer at the sketch Hana had been working on.

"Nothing." The younger girl replied, scrunching up her work and throwing it in the bin. "You ready to go?"

Ni-ki enthusiastically nod his head. "Been ready since day one."

The two walked out of the house after filling their backpacks to the brim with assortments of snacks and water. Stay hydrated!

"Where's this forest anyways?" Hana asked, already tired from walking.

"It's like five minutes away."

"That's close?"

"Five minutes away from the convenience store."

Hana slapped Ni-ki's hand. "The convenience stores 20 minutes awayyy" she complained.

Ni-ki chuckled at his best friends reaction

"I needed to lure you out of your house some way." He justified his actions

They walked close to eachother, discussing various topics from school work to the newest shows.

"Hana?" An old man called out from behind

The two turned around and smiled brightly.

"Mr Shota!" The children ran to the beloved old man.

"Ni-ki, how did you lure Hana out this time?" The old man chuckled as he ushered the children into his small resteraunt.

"I didn't, Mr Shota, she came willingly this time!" Ni-ki revealed.

Mr Shota raised his eyebrows. The man had known the children since they were kids, he was practically their second father.

"Hana came out on her own? That's surprising."

Hana groaned. "No it's not, I do go outside. Sometimes."

Mr Shota chuckled at Hanas words. The girl  lived with her grandmother, who struggled to provide for the two due to her old age. He knew that Hana would always study in her free time, on order to secure good grades and a good job in the future, so that she could repay her grandmother in some form.

"Grandma won't have to worry about anything in the future once I start providing for her." Hana would always tell Mr Shota.

"Where are you off to today kids?" The man questioned, handing them steamed buns.

"The forest! Taki told me that someone put up a swing made from a tire there." Ni-ki exclaimed, taking a big bite out of his bun.

Mr Shota looked at the children lovingly, as he was reminded of his late wife and the life they could have had.

Mr Shota always imagined that if he had kids, they would be just like Ni-ki and Hana. His thought only lead to him loving and caring for Niki and Hana like he would to his own.

"Well, I don't want to keep you stuck here with an old man like me for too long, off you go."

"Mr Shotaaa." Hana scolded the older man. "Don't say that, we love hanging out with you."

Mr Shota smiled lovingly at the children and accompanied them out of the resteraunt.

"Ni-ki! Hana! Make sure you come around for dinner one day!" The man farewelled the kids.

-

"I expected more." Hana said plainly, looking at the singular swing.

Ni-ki's mouth was left agape. He had so desperately wanted to impress Hana on their day off, only to be met with a disappointed scene.

"It's actually so cool! The swings huge and the trees look so pretty when they sway. And there's a small river too, you can dip your feet there!" Taki had overhyped the scenery. "Hana will love it, I'm sure."

The swings probably looked huge because  Taki small. And there's barely a river, it's almost dried up. I'm gonna kill Taki. Niki gritt his teeth.

He turned to Hana and displayed a bright smile.

"Wanna go on the swing first?"

"No thanks. It looks like that tree will snap any second now."

She was right. The two ended up sitting on the 'river bank' and conversing.

"Do you believe in soulmates?" Hana had asked.

"Yeah, you're my soulmate." Niki replied, leaving Hana flustered. For some reason, Hana had found herself reacting this way whenever Ni-ki got too close to her or did said something too out of pocket. Like this.

"W-whatever. I'm being serious, do you believe in them?"

Niki thought for a moment before nodding his head. "I'm being for real too. You're my soulmate." Hana was gasping for air at this point. "I mean, soulmates don't have to be romantic, right?"

Oh. yeah. We're just friends.

Ni-ki saw the dejected response and felt the need to say something more. "I'd like to marry my best friend in the future. My soulmate should be my best friend after all." He was slightly hinting at the fact that he likes Hana.

But Hana wouldn't know that. She was just an innocent 13 year old that would brush off Ni-kis words.

Hana got up and dusted the dirt off her pants. "I'm hungry. Do you wanna go to Mr Shota's resteraunt? I think he has ice-cream too."

Ni-ki looked up at the girl and nodded his head.