The next day, Tezuka Koku was bewildered as he received a 10,000 yen allowance from his mother.
“Koku, this is your allowance for the week from mom.”
“Kunimitsu said he would take you to buy a tennis racket and some daily necessities today, so mom is giving you a bit more.”
“Keep the extra money for yourself, Koku. If it’s not enough, come back and mom will give you more…”
Ayana Tezuka had thought it over all night and finally decided to give her younger son a bit more money for the first time. She felt that since it was Koku’s first time going to school and he was naturally gentle, it was only right to give him a bit more allowance.
But 10,000 yen should be enough, right? Or should she give a bit more?
With this thought, Ayana Tezuka opened her wallet again, ready to give her younger son another bill.
However, standing beside her, Tezuka Kunimitsu deliberately interrupted her action, “Alright, Koku, we should get going.”
To be honest, when Tezuka Kunimitsu saw that his mother gave his brother a 10,000 yen allowance, he was already speechless. He really thought that the amount suggested by his grandfather and father yesterday was already outrageous, but he didn’t expect the final surprise to come from his own mother.
10,000 yen???
What was mom thinking! Even if he said he was taking Koku to buy equipment, it wasn’t necessary to give him so much money to carry around!
If the bad students at school found out Koku had so much money, wouldn’t Koku be in danger?
Thinking of this, Tezuka Kunimitsu couldn’t help but sigh, and then he noticed his mother opening her wallet again, so he quickly spoke up, ready to take Koku to school.
Without even looking, he knew that his mother must have thought 10,000 yen was too little and wanted to give Koku more money.
“Ah… is it that time already?” Glancing at the clock on the wall, Ayana Tezuka realized it was indeed getting late, so she had to put down her wallet and urged her two sons to hurry to school.
“Then you two hurry to school!”
“Kunimitsu, take good care of your brother!”
Tezuka Kunimitsu: “Ah!”
At the same time, Tezuka Koku obediently waved his hand and said goodbye to Ayana Tezuka, “Goodbye, mom!”
After the two left the house, Tezuka Kunimitsu seriously told his brother, “Koku, you must keep the allowance mom gave you safe and not take it out casually, understand?”
“Uh-huh,” seeing his brother’s serious expression, Tezuka Koku nodded unconsciously, “Koku understands, Koku will only take it out when needed!”
“Uh-huh, if someone at school asks you for money, you must come to me immediately, understand?”
“Uh-huh, Koku will listen.”
“And also, …”
Along the way, Tezuka Kunimitsu kept instructing Koku on various things to be careful about at school, and Tezuka Koku listened very attentively. However, even though he remembered everything his brother said, he still didn’t quite understand why his brother was telling him to do these things.
“Brother, why would someone at school ask Koku for money? Don’t they have money themselves?”
Faced with Tezuka Koku’s question, Tezuka Kunimitsu was momentarily speechless.
Thinking about how his brother had never been exposed to the darker side of people and always believed everyone in the world was good, Tezuka Kunimitsu was a bit reluctant to shatter his brother’s beautiful perception of the world. But he couldn’t not say anything, because if Koku couldn’t recognize people and got bullied, it would still be him who felt heartache.
But how should he explain the existence of bad students at school to Koku? What explanation would Koku accept better?
“They do have money.”
Just as Tezuka Kunimitsu was struggling, Fuji Shuusuke spoke up. He happened to hear Koku’s question as the two walked over, so he took the initiative to explain, “But they think their money isn’t enough, so they want to take other people’s money.”
Although he didn’t know why Tezuka Kunimitsu suddenly mentioned bad students at school to Koku, Fuji Shuusuke also felt it was necessary to inform Koku about the dangers of bad students.
“But taking money is wrong!” Tezuka Koku frowned.
“Exactly, that’s why Koku should stay away from them, understand?” Fuji Shuusuke warned Koku, “Otherwise, they might come to take Koku’s money.”
“They can’t take Koku’s money…” Koku’s money was for buying things!
“Koku will stay away from them.” He promised, nodding earnestly, not realizing how cute he looked in Tezuka Kunimitsu and Fuji Shuusuke’s eyes as he reflexively tightened his grip on his backpack strap and widened his eyes.
“Tezuka, why not bring Koku to the tennis club today?”
“Isn’t today the recruitment day?”
“They’re all newcomers, so it wouldn’t be against the rules for your brother to join.” Fuji Shuusuke suggested.
“No need, Koku plans to join the tennis club too.”
“He already filled out the application form for the tennis club yesterday.”
Knowing that Fuji Shuusuke was worried he might be too rigid to let Koku into the tennis court, Tezuka Kunimitsu rarely explained, “Yesterday was the first day of school, and it was my first time bringing Koku to school, so I didn’t think it through, but it won’t happen again.”
Alright, as long as Tezuka knows how to be flexible. Fuji Shuusuke didn’t want to see Koku being pitifully stopped at the tennis club entrance later.
But Koku wants to join the tennis club? Can his body handle it?
Fuji Shuusuke was a bit skeptical because he was very familiar with Tezuka Koku’s situation due to his close relationship with Tezuka Kunimitsu. Without asking, he knew that Tezuka Koku basically didn’t exercise regularly.
But the daily training in the tennis club was quite intense, could Koku handle it?
“Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Noticing the concern in Fuji’s eyes, Tezuka Kunimitsu whispered, “I won’t let Koku work too hard, and it’s good for him to join the tennis club to exercise.”
“Uh-huh, as long as you know what you’re doing.” Hearing Tezuka Kunimitsu say this, Fuji Shuusuke was relieved.
Tezuka hadn’t shown his brotherly side in front of him for so long that he almost forgot how much Tezuka cared about Koku. Yes, with him around, how could Koku have any problems?
He should worry more about the new members joining the tennis club this year. With Koku around, Tezuka would definitely be stricter with the new members! Feeling sorry for the new members for three seconds!
And when they arrived at the tennis club, Tezuka Koku was pleasantly surprised to find his friend Echizen Ryoma at the entrance.
“Ryoma! What are you doing here?”
“I came to find you!” Echizen Ryoma habitually adjusted his cap and nodded to the two seniors behind Koku as a greeting. “Isn’t the tennis club recruitment starting in the afternoon? I’ll show you around the school!”
“But…” Fuji Older Brother already showed me around yesterday.
Hearing Echizen Ryoma’s words, Tezuka Koku hesitated. He wanted to go to the tennis court with his brother to watch them train, but Ryoma hadn’t joined the tennis club yet, so he definitely couldn’t enter the tennis court, and Koku didn’t want Ryoma to leave alone.
“But what?” Not hearing what Koku said, Echizen Ryoma asked again.
“Nothing, let’s go explore the school!” Tezuka Koku thought carefully. He wasn’t officially a member of the tennis club yet. Although he had filled out the application form, it hadn’t been submitted to the class president, and his brother hadn’t agreed, so he was still an outsider and shouldn’t go to the tennis club like yesterday.
Koku thought, he should be considerate and not ignore the tennis club’s rules just because his brother was the club captain. That wouldn’t be good! It would also put his brother in a difficult position!
So Koku decided to be an understanding good kid, and he let go of Tezuka Kunimitsu’s hand, saying to him, “Brother, I’m not a member of the tennis club yet, so I won’t go in. I’ll come back in the afternoon during the club recruitment.”
“Ryoma and I won’t disturb you and the tennis club’s training.”
After saying this, Koku took the initiative to pull Echizen Ryoma, planning to leave the tennis court.
What he didn’t notice was that when he let go of his brother’s hand and grabbed Echizen Ryoma’s arm, a trace of dissatisfaction flashed in Tezuka Kunimitsu’s eyes, but he quickly returned to his usual cool demeanor, looking no different.
However, Fuji Shuusuke noticed the change in Tezuka Kunimitsu’s emotions, and after Tezuka Koku and Echizen Ryoma left, he smiled and asked, “What, not used to seeing another kid take your brother away, Tezuka?”
“……”
Tezuka Kunimitsu didn’t want to talk, but Fuji Shuusuke didn’t intend to let him off.
“This is the first time Tezuka’s brother has so decisively chosen someone else, right? It’s normal for you to feel uneasy!”
“After all, seeing the brother you’ve watched grow up being taken away, it’s normal to feel sad.”
“Fuji,” Tezuka Kunimitsu directly interrupted him, then continued expressionlessly, “Run twenty laps around the field!”
“Eh? Tezuka is angry?”
“Thirty laps!”
“Alright, alright, I won’t say anymore.” Fuji Shuusuke pleaded with Tezuka Kunimitsu, “I was just joking, Tezuka, don’t take it seriously!”
Then he walked into the tennis court with a smile, looking very carefree, as if he didn’t care at all about the thirty-lap punishment Tezuka mentioned.
Behind him, Tezuka Kunimitsu shook his head helplessly.