And there's one fear that Max has that almost every single one of us can relate to.


Chapter 9: Thunderstorm Scare

A couple of minutes pass by since Akashi left and Max felt like he was all alone again and he felt completely sad and he felt like Akashi was everything to him and without him, he feels like he was back to where he began and he closed his eyes for a few minutes to have some time to himself while he still thinks about Akashi.

He was unaware that someone else is also worried for Akashi and Saori looked at Max feeling so worried for him and she couldn't blame him for that...but she's more worried about Max than her brother because all she wanted to do is just cheer him up and make sure he's not alone. Miyo walked by and sees Saori standing there, looking concerned about Max and she could understand why, but they need to respect Max's time alone and they walked out of the room.

Several hours went by and it was lightning and thundering and it just woke Max up and as soon as he kept hearing the thunder rumbling, he grew completely frightened and just covered his head with his pillow so he wouldn't hear the thunder and he just whimpered through it all and was completely shaken over the stormy sound.

The loud sounds of the rain certainly intensified Max's fear more as the thunder and lightning increased more and that just made him feel more scared than ever and he just tried his very hardest to not hear it but it got so louder that the pillow didn't help prevent it. As Max slowly got his head out of there, he tried his best to go to sleep...but it was proven impossible.

Then, the flash of the lightning and louder rumblings of the thunder just kept the cub on fearful edge and just screamed louder like a banshee and just hid underneath the bed, hoping it'll just go away.

The sound of Max screaming definitely caught Miyo's attention as she quickly ran towards Max's room and when she got there, there was no one there...and it left her thinking where Max was and she searched all around the room to find him and she heard some whimpering sounds coming from somewhere and she went underneath the bed and finds a very timid tiger cub trembling and it was a very heartbreaking sight to witness.

"Oh...Maxie." Miyo whispered.

Max slowly looked up and saw Miyo's eyes staring at him and he didn't have anything to say because he was still too scared and she offered to help him and Max slowly reaches out her hand and picks her up and she can tell from the look in the cub's face that he's afraid.

As the lightning flashes again, Max covered his face close to Miyo's stomach and he said, "Make it stop."

Miyo calmed him down by stroking his head softly and she said, "You wanna sleep with me tonight?"

A couple of minutes later, Max was in Miyo's room and the thunderstorm keeps going on and Max was too scared and just hid in a corner, covering his entire face with his knees and Miyo softly comes towards him and she has never seen Max this scared before and she said, "It's only a storm, Max."

"I miss Akashi!" Max exclaimed, before breaking down sobbing.

Miyo comes over to him and hugged him tightly as Max was crying and she gently shushes him and said, "I know you do."

"He always makes me feel safe." Max sobbed.

"I'm here too. He told me that I can look out for you when he's out of town and if I know Akashi, he'll come back to you in a millisecond." Miyo said.

Max lets out a few sniffles and he looked at Miyo in the eye and asked, "He will?"

"Of course he will. Until then, you're safe with me." Miyo said.

That made him feel a little better and both felines went to the bed and Max said, "I'm sorry I made you worried about me."

"You have nothing to worry about, Max. Just relax and try to think good thoughts." Miyo answered.

Max nodded his head and closed his eyes for a second and Miyo looks at him and sees that he's asleep already and it was the cutest thing to see and in that instant, she changed out of her clothes and puts on a nightgown and she laid down on her side of the bed, closer to Max and she kissed him on the forehead and said, "Good night, Max."

Max was asleep and though he's still scared of thunderstorms, it was comforting to know that Miyo was there next to him and he slept well that stormy night...but he still misses Akashi.


It kinda makes you want to hug Max and tell him it's okay. Do you guys have that feeling? Stay tuned for more!