A Second Chance (Akira x Ryo)

Chapter 3: Preparation

Ryo woke up on a cold surface. He rose to see that all too familiar sea of red. His hands felt sticky. He looked down to see blood. All too much blood. It ran down his fingers, forming a trail on the ground. He followed it, almost knowing where it lead. And as he suspected, the stream lead to a pool of blood surrounding the corpse of Akira; Sliced in half by no other than Ryo himself.

"Akira! Wake up!"

Ryo shook him, but he knew that Akira's eyes were closed forever. Angels consumed the world with a heavenly, blinding light.

"Akira!!!"

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Ryo gasped, throwing the covers of the bed off of him. He relaxed, realizing it was only another nightmare. Him and his bed was covered with a cold sweat.

"Just one more week," he thought. "Akira will be here soon."

His dad opened the door, and flicked on the lights.

"Ryo? Are you alright? I heard you screaming in your sleep."

Ryo hopped out of his bed, and began to tidy it up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream. What time is it?"

"It's already 11 am. You sure slept in today!"

"11 am??"

Ryo abandoned making the bed and dashed out of his room.

"Ryo?" His dad called after him.

"I've got work to do!"

He fumbled with the front door,
stopping only to close it, and ran down the street in search for any cans. Everyday for the past couple of weeks, Ryo had been collecting cans that had been tossed on the street in order to recycle them, and get a bit of money. It was the only way he could really get some spare change, as his parents didn't give allowance.

With this money, he was going to buy something for Akira once they become friends. What he was going to buy, he didn't know. Maybe he'd just give Akira the money and he could buy it himself. Either way, he was late today. He'd have to make up the lost time by going out after dinner.

"Hello?"

Ryo heard a girl's voice behind him as he collected a can and put it into his bag. He turned around.

"Who are you?"

She smiled and handed him a can. "I'm Miki Makimura. I found this on the ground. Wanna be friends?"

Ryo slowly took the can from her hand. "Sure. I'm Ryo Asuka. We're neighbors."

He spotted another can, and walked away to pick it up.

Miki trailed behind him. "What are you getting all these cans for?"

"I'm gonna turn them in for money, and buy someone a gift."

"Who?"

"A kid named Akira; he should be moving here sometime next week."

"What kind of gift?"

"I don't know yet."

They continued walking in silence as Ryo picked up cans; occasionally Miki finding one and proudly dropping it in the bag.

"Ryo, do you know Akira well?"

Ryo flinched. "N-no. I haven't met him."

"Then why get him a gift?"

"As a welcoming present."

Miki tilted her head. "Then why haven't you gotten one for me?"

Ryo widened his eyes. How straightforward! "U-um. Because..." he tapped his chin, thinking. Kids were quite gullible, this should be easy. "...because if I did that then other kids might think we're dating. And then we'd have to kiss!! Isn't that gross?"

"So are you saying you wanna kiss Akira?"

Ryo blushed. Would she ever stop? She wasn't wrong but... "Maybe I will once I get to know him. Quit bugging me, little girl."

"We're the same age, silly!"

"Isn't it about time for dinner?"

"It's not even 1 yet!"

"Lunch?"

"I ate before I left."

Ryo sighed. There was no getting rid of her. "Alright, how about this? We can both collect cans and say the gift is from both of us."

Miki seemed pleased. "As long as I don't have to kiss him. Deal?" She said, holding out her hand.

"Deal." He approved, shaking her hand. "Now help me find some more cans."

She giggled and ran off. "I see one!!!"

Maybe Ryo wouldn't have to search for cans after dinner.

And maybe this Miki that Ryo had despised for so long wasn't too bad after all.

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"4000 yen???" (This is about 36 US dollars)

"Yeah. Me and Miki went out everyday to find cans on the road. Her little brother did tag along one day though, which kinda slowed us down."

Ryo's dad grinned with pride. "Ryo, you seem pretty mature for an 8 year old. I'm glad you're making friends with Miki. Hey Marie, can you pass the salt?"

His mom passed the salt and shared an equally as proud smile that reached both ends of her face. It almost reminded him of Akira. "No doubt. What are you going to do with all that money? You are splitting it with Miki, right?"

Ryo gulped. He didn't know why he felt so nervous. "Actually, the moneys not for me or Miki." He blushed. "When Akira moves in, we're gonna buy him a welcome gift. It was originally just gonna be me, but Miki found me, and one thing lead to another, so she started to help, and, well.. um.."

"Ryo, you're rambling again!" Teased his mom.

"Ah!"

Both his parents began chuckling at Ryo's reaction. "You do tend to ramble when you're nervous. Don't worry, I'm sure Akira will love it."

"Yeah, whatever." He mumbled, pushing away from the table and getting up. "Thanks for the food, I'm going to bed."

"Heyyyy!" His dad called after him. "You have to help clean up! Rude child!" Both his mom and dad burst into laughter.

Ryo just stumbled through the hallway, running to his room. As he finally shut the door behind him, he slid down to the ground.

His heart was beating like mad, and he just couldn't stop blushing. "Get yourself together, stupid Ryo." He whispered to himself. "8 year olds don't even know what romance is yet."

I guess my heart remained the same, as well as my mind, He thought. It's true. I really do love him.