An immense sense of nostalgia and grief woke Akihiro from his dreams. He lingered on his drowsiness and momentary daze as his freshly opened eyes got used to the soft morning light. Finally getting sore from the way he lied on his side, the beefy young man rolled onto his back and was surprised.

"Eh?"

The hazy remnants of his dreams finally disappeared, completely forgotten by his surprise.

"Huh?"

He questioned himself again. Habit dictated that he shouldn't have been lying on bed like he did right now. The way his body reacted to phantom sensations further sent his mind into a confused state. He just woke up. And then another part of him decides that it wasn't supposed to be like that, that lying flat on his back shouldn't have been comfortable. Akihiro scrunched his brows together, unable to come up with anything tangible.

A knock on the door scared him out of his thoughts though. "Bro, time to get up!" shouted his little brother.

Akihiro then hurriedly left his bed, out of his initial disorientation, and into the active state of mind. 'I must see him. This is real. Real.' His mind raced as his hands fumbled over the knob. He pulled the door open and it flew in a mighty swing and crashed into the wall with a loud thud.

There in the hallway appeared his little brother, flummoxed. "What, we're not late for school yet," Masahiro smirked. Obviously, it was a rare occassion to see his older brother losing track of time. And panicked at that. Slowly the older brother digested the information, relieved. Big, brawny arms then tried to capture scrawny Masahiro into a lock. "Hey, stop it!" shouted Masahiro as he dodged a big hand that was aiming to ruffle his hair. "Alright already. Mom's waiting downstairs." The younger boy proceeded to head to the first floor of the house, leaving Akihiro to his thoughts.


"We're off!"

The Altland siblings were casually walking down the street when Masahiro spotted a group of students his age who were waiting by the intersection. They noticed hulking Akihiro and waved; one of them had a specific message for him.

"Hey," said the black haired boy with piercing green eyes. He had a diagonal scar across his left cheek, the remains of a violin string breaking out on him. "Lafter headed out early today. She had club activities." He then readjusted the violin case that was slung on his shoulder as returned to the others.

Akihiro lingered for the second time in the day. 'He's alive,' whispered his mind. Either he had another persona he had recently discovered or he experienced a different reality, the musclebound lad couldn't decide. His body was overcome with great deja vu. His blank-eyed and mildly surprised stare caught everyone's attention, how silent and far-off he was. Although they knew Akihiro to be a silent and pensive guy, they couldn't help but stare at him with worried eyes.

One of the blond boys waved his left hand in front of Akihiro's face, trying to get any reaction. "Hey, are you okay?" Yet there was still a blank expression on the older boy. "I think he's still asleep."

"I think he needs a kick in the face," answered the boy with green eyes as he quickly typed a message on his phone, meant to be sent to his older sister. His harsh suggestion prompted the lone blond girl in the group to oppose the mean idea.

"Aston! That's not nice!"

"He might actually be correct, Fuuka," seconded Fuuka's twin brother Takaki.

"Who will volunteer to kick him in the face?" asked Delma while they all had mischievous grins on their faces.

Masahiro laughed, "Me. It's my job as his brother." Together the five younger kids chortled. They do not plan on actually doing it but if Akihiro was functioning properly, the idea of getting kicked in the face should create a reaction. Any reaction would do. Otherwise they will call the adults and help fix Akihiro.

'What the hell... Delma has his left hand. Aston is alive... and Lafter...' Akihiro shook his head. Little by little the cheery faces and snickering wormed their way to his numb senses. It brought him back, effectively triggering his deep scowl. "Do you want me to hit all of you?" His deep voice threatened the kids yet they only laughed. "Thanks, Aston."

"It's nothing, man," earning the younger boy a slap on the shoulder.

"Don't come up with something stupid again."

They arrived in school ten minutes before the bell rang, and unscathed at that. Akihiro, especially, what with his intermittent episodes of wide-eyed unconsciousness.

"Bro," called Masahiro, trying to regain his brother's sanity. "I don't know what you guys did yesterday night that you ended up all high. But try to keep it together in class, 'kay?"

The older brother was surprised that such an idea was in his brother's head. "What, no way!" All they did was eat at Atra's family diner and chat, nothing dark nor criminal at all. Akihiro was not impressed. "You're watching too much tv."

"Yeah and you're too far out in space." Masahiro then waved goodbye as he went to catch up with the others.

"In space, huh?"


"I'm sorry." Akihiro unconsciously blurted out. He does not have the memories to explain the pain in his heart but it's there, squeezing his chest tight. And seeing the blond girl in childish pigtails made it worse.

Lafter looked warily at him. "Wow. Aston was right. Did the heat get in your head and fried your muscle brain?" Well, it was noon and the sun was shining brightly in the sky. It was almost summer and the temperature was slowly rising through the days. That, or Akihiro has lost all of his brain cells to power lifting is what Lafter presumed. She giggled. "Really, what's gotten into you? Are you okay?" She then placed her things on the adjacent seat and peered at the boy's worried and confused features.

The lad shook his head, still with no idea what has gotten into him. "I don't know. It's just... happened."

The young blond girl crossed her arms over her ample chest and heaved a sigh. "Hm. It is nice to get an apology for your goof ups though. I forgive you." Then she flashed a toothy grin and gave Akihiro a bear hug. Him returning the gesture surprised Lafter, "Whoa!" They remained in one another's embrace, unaware of the awkward glances of the other students on them.

"Hey, get a room, you two!"

"Ah shut it!" Still in Akihiro's buffed arms, Lafter stuck her tongue out like a child at their unintended audience. When she returned to him, she had other thoughts. "On second thought, I can't forgive you yet. I want some ice cream after school!"

"You'll get fat." His deadpan response caused his girlfriend to tear away from him and painfully slap him in the arm.

"Yeah, right, bear man! Don't forget my ice cream later!" Then with a wink, Lafter left Akihiro to his own business.


I'm still salty about IBO!