Ding.
"Who is it.." Hayato asked from behind the door, voice muffled.
"It's Takashi, let's go play," Takashi shouted from outside, full of energy.
Hayato's hand froze on the doorknob. He cleared his throat, pitched his voice high and sweet, and put on his best "mom" impression. "Ah… Hayato isn't home right now. I'll tell him you visited when he comes back."
"Ah, okay then, bye aunty," Takashi replied cheerfully. He turned to Tatsuya. "Looks like he's out."
Tatsuya looked at him with pure pity, one eyebrow raised.
"What?" Takashi asked, blinking.
Behind the door, Hayato smirked, feeling pretty clever. Then the bell rang again.
[Is he still standing outside?]
"Who's it?" Hayato asked in the same fake-mom voice.
This time a sharp male voice answered. "Good afternoon ma'am, we have a delivery for you."
[Oh… but I don't remember mom talking about any delivery. Looks like Tatsuya is with him too. Did they really think they could fool me like this?] Hayato grinned wide, already proud of himself.
"We haven't ordered anything. Maybe you got the wrong address," Hayato said, voice soft and polite.
"Ah, it's for your son Hayato ma'am," the man continued. "He won the lucky customer contest at the convenience store. The reward is a box full of ice cream."
The second the word "ice cream" hit his ears, Hayato's eyes lit up like Christmas lights. He yanked the door open and stepped outside. "I'm Hayato! Where's the ice cream?"
But there was no delivery guy.
Just Takashi standing right in front waving and smiling like an idiot.
Hayato slowly turned his head to the side.
Tatsuya stood there holding a baseball bat high above his head.
"Ah fuck," Hayato said, the realization hitting him like a truck.
"Idiot," Tatsuya said flatly as he swung the bat down.
Bonk.
Hayato dropped to the ground with a loud thud, a big bump already swelling on top of his head.
Hayato's mom appeared at the door, wiping her hands on a dish towel after hearing the noise.
"Can we take Hayato to catch bugs with us?" Takashi asked brightly.
"Ah, it already looks like you are," Hayato's mom said with a small amused smile. "Anyway, take care kids." She waved them goodbye.
Tatsuya grabbed Hayato by the ankles and started dragging him across the ground.
Takashi skipped along beside them, bug net in one hand and collection box in the other.
They headed off into the distance toward the mountain.
At the mountain the sun was blazing.
Hayato squinted up at it, sweat sliding down his face. His skin glistened, cheeks a little flushed.
Takashi stared at him, brushed his own hair back, and said in complete seriousness, "Damn, you look like you enjoy summer. Seeing how your face is sparkling in sweat, you probably get a lot of girls, don't you?"
Hayato's eye twitched. He walked straight up, grabbed Takashi by the collar, and started slapping him left and right. "Enjoy my ass, it's hot you asshole!"
Tatsuya scanned the trees for beetles while the other two were busy.
"Hey, stop playing around. I found one. Let's catch it," Tatsuya called, pointing at a tree.
They brushed themselves off and walked over.
The three of them stood there staring at the beetle like it was a bomb.
"So, who's catching it?" Hayato asked, looking between them.
Tatsuya shrugged.
"I don't know. I thought one of you might know it," Takashi said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Tatsuya grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him. "You brought us all the way here without knowing how to catch a bug, you fucking bastard!"
Hayato sighed. "Looks like I have to use the secret technique."
Tatsuya stopped shaking Takashi and looked over. "What is it?"
Hayato stepped forward. "Just watch and learn."
Out of nowhere his clothes suddenly changed into a sharp black-and-red suit, his hair slicked back like a mafia. He reached into his inner pocket, pulled out a handgun, racked the slide with a loud click, and pointed it straight at the beetle.
"Get in, bitch," he said in a deep, hard voice.
The beetle trembled, wings buzzing in panic, then flew straight into the box Takashi was holding.
Takashi looked back and forth between Hayato and the beetle, mouth open in surprise.
Tatsuya pulled out the baseball bat again and smacked Hayato on the head. "That's not how you do it, you bastard."
Hayato's suit vanished and his normal clothes returned. He sat on the ground rubbing the new bump. "Oh come on, it worked."
"Yeah it really worked," Takashi said, nodding seriously with his hand on his chin.
"Stop supporting that guy," Tatsuya snapped, face twitching with anger. "Catch them normally."
Tatsuya snatched the net from Takashi and walked ahead. Hayato and Takashi followed, scanning every tree.
"Shhh… there's one over here," Tatsuya whispered. They huddled close. Tatsuya slowly raised the net, crept forward… and swung.
Miss.
The beetle flew away. The three of them stood there in complete silence, only the sound of leaves rustling can be heard.
Hayato put a hand on Tatsuya's shoulder. "It's okay."
Tatsuya turned his head away without a word.
They kept searching. They found the same beetle again, but Takashi stepped on a dry branch.
Snap.
The beetle flew off.
Time passed.
The box still had only that one scared beetle.
The boys stood there staring at it, eyes dry and tired.
Hayato tapped Tatsuya's arm and pointed at another tree. Tatsuya sighed. "It would be a waste if we go back with only one." He looked at both of them and gave a small nod.
A giant shadow suddenly fell over the beetle.
It slowly turned around and saw three kids in black-and-red suits, hair slicked back, guns pointed straight at it, all muttering "get in" under their breath.
By the time they made it back to the neighborhood it was already late evening. They stopped at the convenience store to grab something cold.
Takashi set the bug box on the counter with the two very nervous beetles inside. They pulled ice creams from the freezer when they heard a small crash.
A girl around their age stood there, arms full of snacks, a few items scattered on the floor.
Takashi handed his ice cream to Tatsuya and rushed over.
"Thank you," the girl said softly.
"It's okay," Takashi replied, picking everything up and handing it back. "So, hi…"
"No…" she answered, even softer, then turned and walked away.
"Ah, okay," Takashi said, watching her go.
Hayato and Tatsuya walked up and handed him back his ice cream.
"Nice shot, buddy," Hayato said, licking his ice cream.
"Hey come on, I can get girls if I wanted to," Takashi protested.
"Yeah, in your dreams," Tatsuya said.
They walked home together, swinging the bug box between them.