Best Friends

Chapter 3

After that handshake, it certainly appeared that Neon and Kira became fast friends after a few days.

Whenever they wanted to talk, they both met up at the area they both liked. You know the area they like by now.

And no, neither of them ever fell into the pond if you were curious.

On one particular day, Kira was sitting on the high tree branch of that particular tree that got her close to the leaves on top of the tree. After waiting for a few more minutes, Kira finally heard Neon's voice come from below her.

"Hey, Kira!" Neon said, looking up at Kira, waving at her. Smiling, Kira got herself onto her feet while keeping her balance on the tree branch. She was about to go down the tree until she saw a group of kids surrounding Neon.

Not wanting anything to happen to Neon, Kira tried to move, but slipped on the branch, falling to the ground as she felt a strange sensation in her ankle.

That fall once again landed her right in the middle of Neon and the group of that bullies. That fall, however, was strong enough to scare those kids away. Neon watched the bullies run away as dirt clouded around her and Kira.

"Ow..." Kira muttered, trying to touch her ankle but failing. Neon ran over to Kira, knelt down, and tried to touch Kira's ankle, only to see Kira recoil in pain.

Kira tried to stand up, but since she was having trouble standing, Neon helped her up using her arm by sliding it underneath Kira's armpits. When that succeeded, she let Kira go but stood by her side.

Taking another look at Kira's ankle, Neon saw it had been swelling up and a large bruise was appearing around her ankle. Accompanied with how she was having trouble standing, Neon knew Kira had sprained her ankle.

"You've sprained your ankle!" Neon said with worry, figuring she should take Kira home but unsure of how to do that.

Kira wanted to walk it off-yes, literally-but Neon insisted on taking Kira home. That was just what happened.

Once there, Himeko opened the door, saw Kira, and immediately let the two of them in.

"What happened?" Himeko asked Neon as she took Kira in her arms and laid her on the couch. Neon walked up to the couch and pointed to Kira's ankle.

Neon was about to answer Himeko, but she didn't need to.

"Oh...she's sprained her ankle."

Neon raised a brow.

"She?"

Kira's boyish looks and personality made Neon think that her friend was a boy. Her parents had talked about Kira, but never disclosed if Kira was a boy or girl. They just referred to Kira as, well, Kira. The same was also said about the kids in school. A lot of the kids in school called Kira a boy and she never corrected them, which added to Neon's mistake of thinking Kira was a boy.

Himeko looked at Neon in confusion, but then realized what Neon meant. She smiled and turned back to Kira.

"Yeah. I'm a girl, Neon." Kira said, sitting up on the couch and looking at her friend.

"Oh....I'm sorry. I thought you were a guy. Kids in school have called you a boy before and you never corrected them."

"It mostly depended on the situation, but I really didn't care if people thought I was a boy or not. I've been called a boy so much that I don't care anymore." Kira said as she shrugged.

Neon just nodded, not knowing what else to say to that.

Himeko inspected Kira's ankle and ran her fingers over it, then lightly pressed her index and middle finger over it.

"Ow!" Kira exclaimed, jerking her ankle away from her Mom's fingertips. Himeko got up, exited the room, and came back with a bag of ice. She handed it to Kira.

"Here."

Kira took the bag of ice and laid it over her ankle.

"When will it go away, miss Himeko?" Neon asked, looking up at the tall woman.

"I'd say about a week. Maybe more. We'll just see what happens." Himeko replied as she looked down at Neon.

With a nod of her head, Neon looked back at Kira and sat down next to her.

"So, Kira....you're not gonna try to walk on that ankle, are you?" Neon asked.

Kira gave Neon an unamused look.

"It'll get worse if I try to walk on it, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I won't do that." Kira said, looking back at Neon.

"I'm gonna go home now. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Neon asked Kira.

"Yeah. Unless I have to rest up tomorrow, that is." Kira said.

With a nod, Neon stood up from Kira's couch and began to exit the house, but not before turning back to Kira.

"See you later, Kira." Neon said as she bowed.

"You too, Neon!" Kira said as she grinned and waved at her friend.

With a small smile, Neon turned around and exited the house.
************
As Neon ate dinner with her Mother and Father that night, her parents asked her how school was going. Neon would give them usual answers; things like fine, good, or that she's made a new friend.

"How's Kira?" Taichi asked Neon.

"She's fine. She sprained her ankle today." Neon replied, taking a bite of food on her plate.

"Really? Ouch."

"Yeah. She should be fine in a week or so."

Taichi looked at Mei.

"I thought Kira was a boy for a while."

"I did too when I saw her as a baby." Mei said with a smile.

"You thought Kira was a boy as a BABY?!" Taichi asked his wife, beginning to laugh now.

"So did I until Kira confirmed to me that she was a girl today." Neon spoke up, which made her parents roar with laughter.

Neon continued to look on at her parents, smiling a little, but ultimately not understanding what was so funny. She excused herself from the table and went to her room.

Once in there, Neon began writing a letter for Kira. It wasn't a get well soon letter, but a friendship letter.

When she finished her letter, Neon stashed it away in a drawer of hers as she looked at the books and manga on her bookshelf, but she wasn't sure if Kira liked any of them. She never asked Kira what kinds of books she liked reading or if she even read books.

Deciding to ask the question some other day, Neon took a look at the clock hanging up above the wall over her desk. 9:30 PM. She decided to go to sleep for the night.

After all, a kid as young as Neon should be going to bed at a reasonable time, right?

End chapter