The announcer calls out “Well it’s been said in the past that this team has never won anything. Yet, they look like a happy group down there now. Folks, there’s a new bunch on the block. You can hear the crowd counting down 5,4,3,2,1 They have won the Stanley Cup! The crowd is cheering, and it’s all thanks to that man carrying the trophy. Yes sir this man will change the game forever.” The picture pulls away as it was just a video playing on a laptop. There you see sitting in front of the screen was the guy who would not only become an inspiration in my life but my best friend as well. His name was Asahi Sato. It became a ritual for him to re-watch that game while he taped his hockey stick as he idolized the one known as “ The Great One” believing one day he would become the next best hockey player in the world.

"It's time to get work," Ashai said. He quickly tosses the tape to the side as he gets up and closes his laptop. He then grabs his bag and makes his way out of his room as he leaves his home. As he ran towards his destination, joining the team at the place they all practiced at the place called “The Peak”. Although at this time even though I knew about him, he had no clue who I was. In fact, the only reason why I even knew him is that he had to pass by our store every day. What? You didn’t notice me? That’s alright let me rewind a little bit. Right about, there! You see the comic book floating in the air. Well, behind that was me, Ito Kouki, the new kid in town. Let me give you a recap of my life story. You see, my mom and I used to live in Tokyo; she worked hard as a housekeeper. Even though we didn't live in the best of situations, she always ensured that I always had everything I needed. I'd never ask for anything more than she could provide, as I would feel embarrassed. Yet, it wasn't like I needed anything anyway. As a kid, I kept to myself as I would get bullied a lot for the way I'd look. I was small, and unlike my mom, whose hair was black, mine was spiked and blonde with a black streak going down the middle of my head. The kids used to tease me a lot. At first, I didn’t mind, but it wasn’t till they started drawing my face with the body of a famous rat that everyone would just point and laugh at me. As a kid, I always wondered why I had blonde hair I mean no one else in my family did. My mom would always tell me I got that from my dad, yet I never knew him. I never really asked my mom about it, because for some reason I just felt like she was uncomfortable talking about it. Whoever he was though I’m sure he would’ve been disappointed to have a son like me. My grades were average, I was never good at any sports, and I could never make any friends, I… well you get the picture. After graduating from Junior high, my grandparents told my mom and me to move in with them. You see, my grandparents own a small bakery shop where they sell delicious sweet bread that I can honestly say melts in your mouth. Since my grandparents are getting old, they asked my mother to run the shop as they wanted to be close to us. To be honest, I thought it would be great to be around more family since all my life my mom and I were all we had. Anyways though, a month into the summer when I first started living here, I had noticed Asahi before, as I would be sitting outside the bread shop reading one of my comics, I would always see him running with his bag in one hand and a hockey stick in the other. Still, at the time, I didn't know what that thing he had was. 

 One day I didn't know what came inside of me. As he passed by, I just decided to follow him. I mean, this guy who was minding his business doing his usual thing was being stalked by some random kid who didn't even know him. We finally got to a point where Asahi went into the woods. I was hesitant to keep on going, as I'd never been to the woods before, yet I stupidly persisted forward, not realizing the danger I could have put myself in. I kept my distance still as I didn't want him to notice me, yet it would seem we would arrive at the destination sooner than I thought. As we kept walking more into the forest, I realized Ashai's figure was gone. I started to speed up as I didn't want to lose him but quickly stopped as I began to hear more voices up ahead. I quietly tip-toed trying to keep hidden, as I peeked behind a tree trying to see all the commotion. There I caught the first glimpse at what was known as “The Peak.” I had never seen a place like this. It was like walking into another realm. I mean everything around us was dry, yet in that one spot, it was nothing but ice. I realized quickly that this place was special, for no one would even come this deep into the woods. It was like their own place to hang out. 

Though I was confused at first about what they were doing, obviously it was a game they were playing, yet I had never seen it before. Baseball, basketball, and volleyball were relevant, but this was something new! I gazed in amazement as I watched them skate across the flat ice. Each of them had a stick just like Ashai and would pass the ball around on the floor, playing keep away from each other. Yet again, it was Asahi who amazed me as he swiftly slid around, keeping the ball close to him as they would all try to take it from him, but yet none of them could come close. I didn't want to get caught, so I left early and raced back home and started to come up with the idea that maybe if I got one of those sticks, I could finally have a chance at making friends, and my fear of being alone on the first day of school wouldn’t have to happen. 

Instead of going directly to my mom, I went straight to my grandparents to show them a picture of what a hockey stick looked like. I knew it was a selfish move to have my grandparents buy me the stick, but since I was their only grandson I don't know. I felt like I could use my perks once in a while. I made them promise to keep a secret, knowing my mom would never approve. A week I waited, but it was finally here. It was like my birthday had come early, that I didn't even wait to bring it inside. I quickly ripped that box apart and pulled the stick out, and trust me; it was not what I expected. It wasn't cool like the others. It was a black plastic one with a flimsy blue grip. My grandparents were so happy to see me with it as they asked to take pictures with me holding it. I kept the stick in my hands and posed for them as they were so filled with joy. I might have smiled, but deep down, I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable. Alright, that’s enough recap let's get back to the story, and Play!

Being shy, I ended up procrastinating the rest of the month cutting it so close, and I mean literally a day before school that I knew this was my only shot at making friends. I finally got the courage and quickly grabbed my stick that I hid from my mom and told her I'd be back as I ran out of my house. As I ran through the town, I began to get excited because this was the day I thought things would change… well they did, sort of. As I arrived at the destination, I hid behind some trees gripping my hockey stick contemplating how to introduce myself. “ Hi, how you doing, no that won't work, hey fellas can I hit the ball, no that sounds worse”. As I continued talking to myself I end up hearing a loud voice.

"Akira! What the heck was that?!" I was frightened as I held my stick close to my chest trying not the breathe or make a sound. I slowly poked my head to look and see who was yelling. When I saw him he had buzzed cut with scars on his face, he was average size but he was built like he had been in a couple of fights before. "I was wide open, and yet you decide to hog the glory for yourself," he said.  Yet, the guy he was yelling at didn’t seem afraid at all, in fact, he looked more annoyed as he turned his head away from him and said.

"You were? Hmph, didn't see you."

"What! You little!" the guy with scars said. He tries to attack him, yet another person holds him back, trying to calm him down. I begin to get nervous rethinking doing this, deciding maybe this wasn't worth it. After all, I mean, I've been alone before, three more years won't hurt “hehe” as I begin to nervously chuckle. Trying to make my exit out of there. I slowly get up from the floor, but in the process of trying to sneak away, I step on a piece of bark that makes a loud noise. All the voices go quiet, my heart stops and I silently panic as I could feel the sweat dripping down my forehead. I tried to move, but it was like I lost control of my body. Suddenly all I hear is skates slowly sliding over in my direction. Again I tried to move, but it was too late all I could feel was the presence of someone standing behind me. I slowly turned around and saw none other than the guy with the scars standing there.

My body turned into a ghost as I could feel the anger of this guy looking down at me ready to destroy me. I begin to stutter “Um Um Um… hello.” as I smiled and waved.

Next thing I know he’s grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me out behind the tree. “Look, guys, we got ourselves, intruder,” he says.

Trying to de-escalate the situation I quickly said “No, no I only wanted .”  Yet it got worse when they found my stick. “Guys, look at this” they all begin to laugh at the plastic hockey stick. “ Tell me this a joke, I mean this can’t possibly be a hockey stick? I mean look at the grip it’s plastic as well” as they continue to laugh.

“Quiet!” Suddenly everyone goes silent and looks in the direction the voice came from; standing there was none other than Ashai, the guy that not only I but everyone else here respected. He begins to look at me as the guy with the scars on his face continues to hold me by the shirt. “ So you a hockey player?” Asahi asked. I was so nervous to reply I didn't know what to say. Yet again before I can even speak I was interrupted. The guy with the scars beats me to the punch and says “Of course, he's a hockey player; I mean, he brought a stick.” He then lets go of my shirt and lays the ball in front of me. He then looks at his buddy to hand me my stick and skates over to the other end. “Pass it to me,” he says. As the other guy hands me my stick. I felt the pressure come on to me once again as I looked around and saw everyone staring at me. What made it even worse was the fact Ashai's presence made me even more nervous. “Well, pass it to him,” Asahi said with his arms crossed, waiting to see what happens. I begin to think in my head just hit the ball, that's all you got to do. You've seen these guys do it multiple times, just hit it. I close my eyes and the next thing I know, I lift the stick in the air and swing as hard as I could towards the ball, and what happened next even I couldn't be more shocked at the outcome. Everyone was quiet, I’d finally open my eyes to see what happened and the first thing I noticed is the guy with scars just staring at me with a look of shock. Realizing though he didn’t have the ball I look down and all see is that thing still in front of me. I missed it… I missed the whole dang ball. Everyone began to laugh, as I was shocked and had to admit that this was a new low for me. I couldn't even look in Ashai's direction because I didn't want to take the chance knowing that he was laughing at me as well. I tried to run and make my way out, but with no skates on all I did was slip and make a big fool out of myself. I finally got off the ice, but all I could hear was the guy with the scars on his face say out loud “He couldn't even hit the puck,” and I ran even quicker, ashamed of even showing my face. 

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I made it back home in time to eat with my family. As we sat around the Kotatsu, enjoying our dinner, the shame I felt earlier still hadn't gone away. “Ito,” a voice calls out

I looked up, ”huh?” I said and my mother sat there worried.

“You've hardly touched your food. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, sorry I said I've just had a lot on my mind.”

“Nervous about your first day of school at your new school?” She says.

“I guess,” I said.

My grandma decides to chime in  “Don't worry, the children there are so kind and lovely.”

My grandfather added, “Yeah if I know anything, I'm sure you'll make friends in no time,” putting his hand on my shoulder and winking at me. Of course, I knew what he was referring to, but how could I tell them that the gift they gave me just made things worse. It would break their hearts. So I smiled and nodded, agreeing with him.

“Well, whatever friends he makes, I hope they are what you say they are; I don't need my boy hanging with no delinquents,” my mom said. After dinner, I went straight to bed, alone with my thoughts. The image of all of them staring, waiting to see me hit the ball kept replaying and replaying in my head. All I could hope for was that I wouldn't run into them at school tomorrow as I yawned and slowly began to fall asleep. 

The next morning I woke up and heard my mom call out my name, “ito get up already your breakfast is going to get cold.” I laid there in bed wishing it was still night, but sure enough, I could see the light peeking through my curtains. I quickly got dressed in my uniform and looked at myself in the mirror. I sighed as I looked like a shrimp in this thing. My confidence went straight out the window. I went downstairs as my grandparents were eating breakfast, wishing me good morning as I walked towards the table. “Wow, you look so good in your new uniform,” my grandmother said in an energetic tone. I thanked her as I sat down and began to eat. My mother was so excited that she started taking pictures of me.

“You've grown up to be so handsome,” she added on as my mom commented as well

“Oh, my baby boy is growing up so fast,” starting to tear up. As accepting as I was to all the comments, I was at that age where it was embarrassing hearing this from your family, but I smiled and thanked them. As I finished up my breakfast, I got my bag and started to make my way out the door.

“Well, I'll see you all later,” as I waved bye to my family. “Good luck out there, Kid,” my grandfather said “I will,” I said. As I walked to school, I began to admire the new area I was living in. Even though I moved here just a month ago. I never really left my home unless it was to see what those guys were doing in the woods. It's completely different from what life was in Tokyo. Life there, you would see lights, lots of cars, noise, and lots of businesses you'd be able to visit. Here it was different, it was like living in a different era as it kept its traditional touch by preserving their beautiful old town. 

When I finally arrived, I saw all the students making their way into the school, I could already tell most of them already knew each other. I sighed as I was overwhelmed, I mean I know I told myself I’d be alright. Yet the thought of spending my next three years at the school alone again, I don’t know it just hurt. As I walked towards the entrance. I went to the board, trying to look for my name to see what class I would be in, but it was pretty tough as I wasn't that tall, so I had to manage my way through to the front of the crowd. “Excuse me, excuse me, pardon me” I was getting pushed all around as everyone was bumping into each other. “Excuse me, sorry I just need to” one person ended up bumping me from behind that I fell bumping into another person in front of me“Hey watch it!” I begin to wave my hands apologizing to them. “Yeah, you better be.” As I sighed in relief that they didn’t hurt me I realized I made it to the front. Looking closely for my name I saw I was in class 1-C. After checking what class I was in, I went straight to my locker to change my shoes. I kept my head low, not trying to make eye contact with anyone. Just trying to make it to the school entrance ceremonies as normal as can be. As I arrived at the ceremony, I sat there still, not looking at anyone, as I kept to myself. I wasn't paying attention at all to what was going on just waiting for this thing to fly by; it wasn’t hard to not pay attention since all I was still thinking about was yesterday's mistakes, worrying that I might run into them. Yet, I still haven't seen any of them, which was pretty good. Suddenly, the guys and girls next to me began to get excited. “Wow look at her,” one of the guys said.“She's so beautiful.” The other girl says. Without even realizing it, instead of keeping my head down like I said I would. I looked up and saw what everyone was making a fuss about. Again even I had to admit I was stunned because there on that stage stood the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. The student council president Rin Sakurai.

Stop the story! You see her; she was my first ever crush. I mean she was gorgeous, her eyes were blue and she had dark plum hair in pigtails held with thin white ribbons. Even though she was in the student council she was always made sure to exercise daily. Her voice was soft, but don't be fooled; she was strict when she needed to be, but overall a sweet girl. Who would've known I'd become great friends with a girl like that, but that's too far along in the story, so I'll save that for later. Alright, Play! As she began to speak she wished us all a happy year; and told us to think of this place as our second home. Obviously, I thought that was crap, but hey what I could say, I fell for her charm. As the ceremony ended I got up for my seat and began to walk back to my class, all I could think about at that moment was how beautiful the president was. As I walked down the hallway I had nothing but a goofy look on my face, I didn’t realize how stupid I looked. Everyone was looking and whispering, but at that moment I did- “Oof!” I had woken up from daydreaming coming back to reality realizing that I had fallen on my back looking around trying to figure out what had just happened. Trying to regain my composure, a hand reaches out towards me. "Hey, sorry man I didn't see you there," said the person.

I waved and said, "no, no, it's my fault," as I grabbed his hand for assistance standing back up, but at the moment, without realizing it. I looked up and saw who was helping me. My face froze as I couldn’t believe who it was. "Huh? Hey, it‘s you!” as he pointed at me “I recognize that hair from anywhere” the person speaking was none other than Asahi. I didn't know what to do or say, I mean on the outside I looked normal as can be, but inside I felt my body freaking out! It had to be him out of all the people to bump into it was him. To be honest, I would’ve preferred the dude with scars. “Hey listen man about yesterday I wanted to see if you’d” but without even letting him finish what he was about to say. I Quickly reacted, I let go of his hand and dashed right by him. "What was that all about?" the guy next to him says. “I don’t know,” Asahi said. A voice then calls behind him, "Hey Asahi!" Asahi turns around and smiles. 

I ran and ran, realizing that I was already far away from him. Yet, I kept going and drawing more attention to myself as everyone stared at me, but I didn't care. I wanted to get as far away as possible from him. As I kept running I saw the corner coming up and quickly shifted gears, but I should have known this would’ve happened. I turned the corner, and end up bumping into another person. Why? I asked myself why did I keep running. I begin to think it would be another of those guys, but I was wrong. This time… it was a girl. She was slim yet strong built. She had short red hair covering one side of her face and green eyes. She was beautiful as well, but the moment she spoke I knew I was done for. "Hey, what's your problem?!" she said. I panicked. I've never talked to a girl in my life, but what made it worse is that I realized I had just dropped all her books, and her friends were even giving me looks whispering behind her. "Well?!" she said. "Um um," I didn't know what to say. So I did the only thing I could do… I got the heck out of there! "Hey! Come back here!!" she said. "I'm sorry!" I yelled back in embarrassment. 

I had finally made it to my desk sitting there in shame as I had just made a big fool out of myself not once but twice, and the school day had not even started. I decided to pick out a spot close to the window in the middle of the class so that I would be away from others'. To play it safe as well, I put my book up in front of my face so that no one would look at me. Meanwhile, as I was hiding my face in shame the usual thing was going on. Being in my own little world though I didn't realize the teacher started to do roll call. She called out my name trying to get my attention. “Mr. Kouki. Mr. Kouki, Mr. Kouki!” It wasn't till I finally heard her the third time that I quickly stood up and hit my knee on the bottom of the desk. “OW!” I said grabbing my knee. Everyone laughed as the teacher said, "We're not going to have to do this every time, are we, Mr. Kouki?" "No, ma'am," as I shook my head and sat back down. As everyone laughed and made comments, I started to get this strange feeling. It was like an unusual presence staring at me with complete anger. I looked behind me, but it wasn't there. I looked on the side of me, but nothing there either. I looked towards the front and honestly, I couldn't believe it. It was that girl I had bumped into earlier. Again I was stunned as my jaw dropped in fear of what she was going to do to me. Just my luck I thought, I mean what are the chances of this even happening? As I began to feel self-pity for myself with tears coming down my face. I quickly turned away, but I could feel her anger still coming towards me. As the day went on, I minded my own business. I quickly left the classroom when lunch started and found a quiet area to eat by myself. I would have stayed there, but I had a feeling she would have hurt me if I did. So I sat there alone behind a tree, eating the lunch my mom had prepared for me. While eating, I noticed a piece of paper inside the bag she packed. It was a note that said, “hope you have a great day, sweetie; I can't wait to hear about the fantastic day you had.” I sighed. If she could only see the mess I'm creating for myself. After I finished, I went back to class as the bell rang. I was trying to finish off the day as normal as possible, but boy oh boy, normal isn’t a word I’m allowed to use, as things just kept happening. As the bell rang, I realized that the girl had left as soon as class was over. “Whew,” maybe she got over it; either way that's a load off my chest” as I laid back in my chair, relieved. Suddenly,  a voice called out my name from the doorway. Me being oblivious though didn’t realize it as In my own little world of peace and mind. "Excuse me, but is there Ito Kouki in this class?" the person said. Everyone pointed in my direction but again being in my own little world I didn’t see him walking towards me and eventually standing in front of my desk. “Excuse me, but are Ito Kouki?” Next thing I know I see this dude standing in front of me. Okay, Stop the story! You see this guy here is the complete opposite of who I am. He was tall and handsome; I already didn't like him. He had unkempt long red hair and green eyes, and I could already tell he was popular and all the girls liked him. I kept my guard up because I'd had trouble with his type before, but I sat there and listened to what he had to say. Alright, play! “I'm sorry to bother you but my name is Haruto Nakamura; I know this might be weird, but would you mind coming to hang out with me?".  I sat there with a confused look on my face. I thought to myself, everything today was non-stop embarrassment for me, but now this guy wants to hang out with me. I made no sudden movement.  The room was also quiet as they couldn’t believe what was happening either. I take a deep breath and say the one thing that comes to mind "Hhhhuuuuuuhhhhh?!?!”