A Budding Rose

Ken's birthday (Act ll)

~"Ken, are you alright?"

"Yea--augh." He clutched his left eye and leaned on the building next to him for support. Hide grabbed him by the shoulder, and dragged him in a small alleyway between the book store and an antique store. Ken put all his weight in the wall behind him, still concealing his eye.

~ "Ken, What--"

"Go away!"

Hide gritted his teeth.

~"You are not doing this again! After all this time without my best friend, I'm not going to let you push me away again." Hide struck Ken's arm away from his face. 

An all too familiar mixture of black and red acquainted him. Something red cascaded down his cheeks-- masquerading as tears.

Ken looked at Hide like he was trying to find the answer his friends wanted-- because he didn't care enough to search for the truth within himself. But all he could find in his eyes was... fear.

A small whimper escaped Ken's throat as he covered his eye once more. "I-I'm Sorry."

~ "It's not something I haven't seen before." He joked, trying to lighten the forever darkening mood. But Ken remained still, silent. "I'm worried about you."

"I ruined everything." He stared at the concrete between Hide's feet. "You... have done nothing but be their for me, and I just--"

~ "Ken, you have done more then you give yourself credit for. You have accomplished more then any man in Tokyo could ever wish to achieve. So what, you made a few mistakes, that just means your human. We forgive you, I forgive--"

"Well, what if I can't forgive myself?" He waited for an answer but none came. "The memories keep coming back. I ate you Hide!" The tears came faster now, but he made no attempt to hide them. "And now you can't even talk without that translator. I ruined your life."

Hide laughed.

~"I can still talk. I wouldn't say that you ruined my life."

"But because of me you never finished college, and--"

~ "Without you Tokyo would be destroyed. Plus I live a bomb ass life-- spreading the word of the United Front and shit. I'd say this is way better then anything we ever learned in a classroom."

Ken forced out a laugh. "How do you do that?"

~"What?"

"Make everything seem like it will work out in the end."

~ "I am a man of many talents."

Ken groaned as his black and red eyes faded to its familiar grey.

~ "Their is one more place I want to take you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two made their way to the park they played on as kids. The park was empty. Probably because it was noon on a school a school day, and it was just barely above freezing.

They sat on the dome in the center of the park, and watched as snow began to fall.

"I haven't been here in years."

~ "It has been a while hasn't it?" The truth was he had been to this exact spot only days before with a ... certain someone. But it Ken can get married without him, he can wait to go on a few more dates before he gives a formal introduction.

They looked at what was left of their city. The dragon carcass still littered the grounds, and twisted around buildings. Half the buildings they could see were in pieces.

"I really made a mess of things, didn't I?"

~"We," Hide corrected, punching Ken in the shoulder. Ken offered a soft smile.

"Riku (A/N his therapist) told me to 'open up' more." The words seemed to pain him. "But I... just feel like i'm repeating the same things over and over again. I just feel so..."

~ "Pathetic?" Hide offered. 

He nodded.

~"I don't know if I ever told you what's bothering me." Ken looked at him. "But I'm afraid too. Afraid for the future of Tokyo. Afraid you won't let yourself get better. I'm afraid because we're in such a fragile state. Things look hopeful, but they can be messed up because the ground building phase is what matters the most. You know what I'm saying Ken."

"You're saying what everyone else has been saying."

~ "You can hear something a thousand times, but if you're not internalizing it it's like you never heard it at all. It takes a lot of practice not to be fucked up. Trust me, I know. I mean It's not like we're fictional characters in a story-- things repeat themselves"

"Don't break the fourth wall, Hide."

~ "Right, Sorry." He scratched the back of his neck. "I hope I helped."

"You always do. Thanks for a great birthday, Hide."

~ "Oh I'm not done yet. I've been waiting five years to have my first drink with you. Tonight we're getting hammered!"

"Oh God."

[A/N: Thanks for reading. I will not post for a while because I'll be starting school, and I want to take more time to write the rest of this story with more detail. 

It will probably only be a week. 

Thanks.

Bye]