A Second Chance (Akira x Ryo)

Chapter 4: Hello, Again

[First Person; Ryo's POV]

I looked around me. It's that dream again. I already know what's going to happen. I'm covered with blood. I'm crying. Akira's dead.

And I'm still scared to death.

I quickly make my way over to Akira. I want this to end already. And there he is; sliced in half, still bleeding that same, precious blood that's covered my hands.

"Please come back to me..."

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I sit up straight, breathing heavily as I clutch my covers. I'm covered in sweat again. It's not getting better. If anything, it's getting worse.

But that doesn't matter. I won't think about those dreams today. Because today is the day Akira's moving here!

I push open my bedroom door and the sweet smell of breakfast fills my nose. Pancakes. My mom always makes them the best.

"Morning." I mumble, rubbing my eyes. "Pancakes?"

"Yup, the perfect breakfast for a Saturday morning in the summer. Dad's still asleep; he had a long day of work yesterday."

"What? But it's already 10!"

This scene always gives me comfort. No matter how bad my dreams of Akira get, it's perfect; the sight of my mom over the stove with her apron neatly tied, her hair in a messy bun. No make up, no effort in her clothes. Pajama mom.

"Akira's coming today, isn't he, Ryo?"

"Yeah, do you mind if I help unpack? I want to get to know Akira." I say, my face reddening a little. You're 8, stupid Ryo. Don't get all flustered.

"Of course, just don't take any boxes you can't carry. Me and dad are coming to help too, so just come with us." The pancakes sizzled on the pan. "Ryo, you really are a good kid, you know that? I'm so proud of you."

My heart skips a beat. Not the Akira kind, a different kind. The kind you get when someone you respect says something good about you.

But that feeling quickly fades. Nobody should feel proud of me. I literally brought on the extinction of the human race. "Thank you, mom. That means a lot."

She chuckes. "Don't let it get to your head, now. You're too young to be cocky."

"Right."

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

Breakfast was finished; dad ended up waking up in just enough time to eat with us all. Now, we're basically just waiting for Akira and his family to arrive. There's nothing else planned for today.

I'm just about to dose off when my mom shouts.

"Oh! Oh! Guys, they're here!"

I bolt up, and run straight out the door. Wait, I should remain calm. Akira doesn't even know me.

My parents follow me out, laughing at my actions. "Well, someone's excited! My dad joked. "Let's go introduce ourselves."

We walked over to the car as the parents get out. My mom instantly runs to hug the woman. Akira's mom. Akira. My heart flutters as he struggles to open the door and stumbles out of the car.

His mom laughs. "Careful there, Akira!"

He just nods and attempts to run over to her. I see the disaster before before it happens. He trips, and I run.

And he falls.

Right into my arms.

If we weren't 8, it'd seem like something straight out of a romance novel.

"Hi." I say, smirking down at him. He's really cute like this. His lip in a pout and tears dusting his eyes from fear of falling. His cheeks, still chubby with youth. His brown eyes, widened from me catching him. His beautiful, brown eyes.

I set him up straight and gave him an award winning smile. "My name's Ryo Asuka. Let's be friends."

He bit his lip, then rushed into my arms again, burrowing his face in my chest. Oh my god, he's full on sobbing.

"I'm sorry!! I tripped, and you had to catch me, and oh!" He pulled his head away. "Now look, I've gotten your shirt all wet, I'm so sorry, Ryo! Forgive me! Ohh you must hate me now.."

I pull him into another hug. "Akira. It's okay. You've done nothing wrong. I don't hate you." He seems to calm down with my hug, and I remain hugging him until his breathing regulates. And to be honest, I don't want to let go.

Our parents stand around in shock at the scene that just played in front of them.

"I- wow. Sorry about Akira, he's a bit of a crybaby. But your Ryo.. wow." Akira's dad stumbles over to where his mom and my parents are standing.

My mom doesn't reply for a while. "...I think that they're going to be good friends. Best friends, even."

Then, almost as if nothing happened, we all help the Fudo family unpack their boxes into their house- which is right across from ours. Not next door, like Miki, but it's pretty good.

I swear, it's gonna take forever for us to grow up. And he's gonna keep torturing my heart until we do.

A/N: Heyo! So I'm not sure whether I'm gonna do a time skip to where they're all teens, or keep them as children for a bit. I've still gotta introduce some characters, so I might keep them as kids for a bit. Idk yet.