The Golden Pear [YA - Featured]

♫~Notes 115~♫

Involuntarily, he curled his fingers. He couldn't come up with a counter-argument.

"That's a lie! And you know it!" Kenta shouted, stepping forward.

This wasn't a situation Rigaku could see him speaking his mind. Kenta always seemed to be timid and soft-spoken, yet now his eyes burned.

Mori wasn't impressed, given he considered himself to be the best student worth of being called King.

"What did you say, midget?" His voice sent shivers down his small frame, Kenta lowered his head.

While Rigaku couldn't say much for himself, letting Mori toast the boy, who had proven himself to be a trustworthy person, would leave a sour taste in Rigaku's mouth. Parting his lips, Kenta had beaten him to it.

"You heard me, jerk!" With the vigor of a small dog, the smaller boy leaped, snatching the storybook back. "Who gave you permission to read this?"

Veins popped behind Mori's eyes. "You little..." He bit his lip as people gathered, and he didn't want to tarnish his reputation. "I'm merely worried Rigaku-san would stray the wrong path."

The oldest Kamini lifted his eyebrow, relaying his unspoken question.

"He is too precious to waste his tremendous talent writing silly books for brats. He is meant for greatness! For breakthroughs in science and medicine! All of this is only chaining him down!"

Rigaku blinked as those words echoed inside him, bringing him rather unpleasant memories. The sparks of light blinded him, so he took down his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

'What was that—' His eyes shot open after he placed his glasses back.

He was no longer in school.

Mori and Kenta were gone.

All the stares and voices dimmed into nothingness.

'Where am I?'

Looking around, he found this place very familiar and warming him from inside.

'Is this father's library?'

The red and soft armchairs sat around a round table, with shelves of endless adventures waiting for him to discover. Tall windows let in enough sunlight, and curtains made sure it never hurt one's eyes.

A soft giggle interrupted the serene atmosphere. Rigaku looked that way, and inside an armchair, he had seen a curled up boy with glasses.

A slight smile curved his lips as he was watching his younger self reading a fairy tale. The book cover held the signs of bruises and time, its colors faded, yet this book never stopped fascinating him.

'I wonder why I stopped reading—'

A bang of the door interrupted them both. The book had fallen on the carpet with a thud.

"Here you are, Rigaku-kun," a voice laced the room with ice. The man in the door entered his sharp features giving everybody shivers.

"Mr. Sattori-san, what are—"

A slap landed on the boy's face that he collapsed.

The old Rigaku looked at the man, clenching his fists.

"What am I doing here?" his voice resonated. "Making sure you won't slack!"

"But today's lessons of the summer school had ended," the young Rigaku argued, and another slap landed on his other cheek.

"It's not over!" The man adjusted his necktie. "Your honorable father had left you and your brothers in my care, and I'm making sure you shall excel in all studies."

Taking a few paces back and forth, he continued, "You are supposed to shine like a lighthouse to guide lost souls! Inspire them to work harder! Harder until they drop! Only then the best of the best can succeed!"

The young Rigaku found his glasses. A crack spread from one corner.

"But I completed all of my homework—"

The man kicked him this time.

"That's not enough!"

Ohayo gozaimasu - Good morning