"…Yes mother…Yes, I know…Okay, I'll do all that…Love you too…See you in twenty minutes, bye" Bodhi said into his phone.
The third years had bid him farewell and that they would see him tomorrow at practice if not during the school day itself, but just as he was about to ride on home, the storm known as hurricane Sayaka crashed down upon young Bodhi's shoulders. Something the third years had stayed behind to witness, the yelling coming from the other side of the speaker was loud enough and promised pain in many different ways, most of which would put you in the path of child protective services.
Thankfully one of his seniors came to his rescue, Iwaizumi had taken the phone from him and smoothed things over with his mother, telling her that they had dragged him after practice to a hangout with the team and that he shouldn't be too punished seeing as how Bodhi had foot the bill for the third years.
Sayaka while not entirely pleased with how things had turned out, she forgave her Bodhi-bear for giving her a heart attack for not letting her know where he was and that Iwa-chan seemed to be a reliable senior. That comment earned a light blush from the third year, something that Oikawa joked about and was promptly smacked upside the head by Iwaizumi.
"See ya, Hamada!" Iwaizumi said, turning down a path towards the bus stop. The others follow him, leaving Bodhi to his devices.
"Later blokes!" Bodhi yelled back, putting his helmet on and starting up his Suzuki bike.
The ride home found Bodhi stewing in his own thoughts. His first day at Aoba Johsai Academy had – all things considered – been a good day. He met some people he might truly call friends one day, Kunimi and Kindaichi seemed like good enough blokes to get along with. His seniors looked to be the reliable sort that would both help and push him to new heights both on and off the court, Iwaizumi coming to his aid and saving him from his mother's wrath proved that. His coaches both seemed to be good, but he knew too little about them to formulate any strong opinions on them, but with how he admired the gumption to throw practically everything they knew out the door, all in an attempt to bring victory to Seijo, was something Bodhi could get behind.
Oh! He nearly forgot about the first person he met! Hana was truly a kind soul, although he kind of forced it upon her to help him. Maybe he should do something for her? As a kind gesture-
"WACTH IT KID!" somebody yelled as Bodhi nearly ran over some dude with dyed blonde hair unloading a truck of inventory for the shop he was in front of.
"MY BAD MATE!" Bodhi yelled as he sped on past the second person he met with a dye job now. He really shouldn't let his mind wander this much when he rides, safety and all that.
"Damn kid! AH, SHIT THE EGGS!" was all Bodhi heard as he sped off with nary a thought, enjoying the wind in his face as he rode home.
~Break~
As Bodhi turned the last corner onto his street, he could see his mother standing in the front yard of their home talking to some woman. Once he made it to the house's driveway, he cut the engine and took off his helmet, failing to notice the other person talking to his mother.
"Hey, Mum! Sorry, again I-" Bodhi began before all words left his mind, having laid his eyes upon the most beautiful girl, nay woman he had ever seen. Her Raven black hair danced gently in the wind, causing her to reach up and brush some hair out of her face, but in the process of doing so, it dragged his attention to her beauty mark resting to the left of her chin, it only enhances the natural beauty before him.
Having been caught in a spell, Bodhi shook himself free of the allure and focused once more but was lost just as quickly, becoming entranced by her gray colour eyes, framed by glasses with a pink nose bridge that only seemed to magnify them.
The girl on the other hand seemed to recognize the boy instantly, memories of the two playing together at the local park surfacing once again. The way his blonde hair still effortlessly swooped to the right and just seemed to float there, and those blue eyes, those damn blue eyes that held such mischief in them but also had a gentleness to them, they were quite frankly her only weakness.
Both stared at each other, the two near them all but forgotten. One remembers who the other was, and said person, thought this was a chance meeting, like ones you see in movies.
He had found his soulmate, or maybe in this case, rediscovered it as his mother re-introduced them
"Ah! Bodhi-bear, you remember Mrs. Shimizu, right? And her daughter Kiyoko?" Sayaka said, a memory bubbling to the surface in Bodhi's mind, one which showed a raven-haired girl holding out her pinkie and saying something to him. The words were alluding to him, but the face became clearer as she spoke.
It was Kiyoko, or as he had called her –
"Kiyo?"
"Bo?"
They both said at the same time, their parents only smirked at their actions towards one another, as both turned a shade of red commonly compared to a Tomato.
Clearly, they still cared for each other, perhaps in a different way now. Time will tell.
Giggling like school children at their children's expense, both Sayaka and Haruna Shimizu decided to continue their talk inside the Hamada household, leaving their children to their own devices.
Silence reigned over the pair, neither knowing how to talk to one another. After all, it had been six years since they last talked. To both of their eyes, a new person was standing before them.
"So, uh…How've you been Kiy- I-I mean Shimizu?" Bodhi stuttered out, remembering his mess up earlier in the day with Nakano and using her first name, so to be safe he decided to fall back on formalities, but some part of him didn't like doing so.
Hearing him of all people stick to formalities was a strange thing for Kiyoko to hear, and a little part of her wanted him to call her 'Kiyo' again. After all, he had been the only one to ever call her that nickname.
Unaware that they were feeling the same thing, the feeling of something just not sitting right with how the conversation started, left them both reeling. But neither commented on it, since they were, in a way, complete strangers now.
Six years is a long time.
Long enough for those once close to become strangers.
"I'm good Hamada-kun, are you just visiting? It'd be your summer vacation as well, right?" Kiyoko asked.
Bodhi at hearing his last name faltered for a moment, not used to her of all people not calling him Bo. She had been the first to do so and it always felt special whenever she did, sure other people called him Bo, but it was never the same. That little extra she always put into saying it, tasted like the sweetest red bean bun.
Nervously scratching his neck Bodhi replied, "Not quite, I'm moving back here actually. Dad was a stupid cu- ass, yeah…Stupid ass…he cheated on my Mum."
Kiyoko was shocked at hearing this. Whenever she came around and played with Hamada his parents always seemed like the picture-perfect family unlike her own, which saw him abandon her mother when she was pregnant with her. She saw the Hamada's as something to strive for family-wise, hearing what his father did shattered that image in her head.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I-" Kiyoko began before she was interrupted by her mother, coming out of the Hamada household.
"Kiyoko dear! We need to get home! I've got ice cream that will melt if we don't get a move on!"
Having been cut off, Kiyoko just shook her head at her mother's slight- no, major airheadedness, if her head wasn't attached to her body, she was sure her mother would lose it.
"Okay Mother, maybe I'll see you later Hamada-kun?" she asked, a flicker of hope sparked in her soul, that maybe they could be frien-, best of friends again.
Bodhi smiled wide at hearing that and replied in earnest. "I'd like that Shimizu."
The same flicker appeared in Bodhi as well.
Maybe they could be what they once were.
Maybe something more? One of them may have wanted that once upon a time. Time changes a lot of things after all.
"Hurry Kiyoko!" Haruna yelled, passing by the gate, and waving for her to follow her.
"Coming Mom! Goodbye, Hamada-kun," Kiyoko said, turning away before the faintest of blushes appeared on her face, letting her past feelings be known.
"Yeah, G 'night Shimizu," Bodhi said watching her leave with her mother and once they were past the corner and out of sight, Bodhi collapsed backwards onto the porch. Exhaling a breath, he didn't know he was holding.
She's even more beautiful, Bodhi thought.
"Bodhi-bear! Don't think I forgot what you did!" His mother said in a sing-song voice from somewhere in the house. "I think the floor would look lovely with a fresh mopping!"
Her face in his mind was quickly replaced with that of the devil, which took the form of his mother. He wasn't out of the doghouse yet. Fearing for further punishment in the form of chores, Bodhi hustled back into the house, yelling his reply.
"…Coming Mum!"
The Hamada household would have clean enough floors that even the pope would eat off of them.