Chapter 1: Remembering The Day
It was love at first sight. He didn't know if it was the way his beautiful blue eyes sparkled when they gazed at each other, or how shy he was around others, or how warm and kind he could be when he opened up to another; but whatever it was-Akise loved it. Akise and Yukiteru's parents had been friends since high school, so naturally, Yukiteru and Akise grew up knowing each other too. Akise wasn't aware of these feelings he had towards his best friend until the day he turned eight years old. The day they went to the zoo.
"Mom! Mom! That hat! I want that hat!"
Yukiteru's mom looked at the brown hat that sat on one of the shelves at the souvenir shop booth.
"That hat? Why that one? It's so dull and plain-wouldn't you rather have something flashier?"
Yukiteru began fumbling with his fingers as he stared at the ground.
"Well, I don't really like standing out….."
Just then a silver haired boy stepped up behind the brunette placing a hand on his shoulder. Yukiteru turned his head to look up at him.
"Akise-kun?"
"I think that hat rather suits Yukiteru, don't you Ms. Amano?"
Yukiteru's mom glanced from Yukiteru then back at the hat, placing a hand on her chin.
"Hmmmm, now that I think about it, it sorta does. Hold on a sec Yukki."
Yukiteru's mom turned to the man at the register and asked for the hat. After paying, she turned back to the boys, handing Yukiteru the item.
"There ya go!"
Yukiteru smiled as he put the hat on. It was a little big for him, seeing that it slid over his eyes, but he would grow into it. Akise laughed as the brunette uncovered his face.
"It really does look good on you Yukiteru."
Yukiteru gave a bright smile. Akise was like an older brother to him, he was always glad to receive his approval.
"Thank you, Akise-kun!"
"YUKITERU! AKISE!"
The two boys turned to see brown haired girl running towards them.
"It looks like you were able to come after all Wakabi-san."
"Yeah! The doctor said that I really would need glasses- so after this, me and my dad are going to go pick some up!"
The three kids talked until their parents gestured for them to move on.
"We're going to go see the tigers next!"
The kids cheered in reply and followed along behind their parents. Soon, they arrived at the tiger exhibit, where the tigers were sitting around, just doing what tigers do. Yukiteru pressed his hands to the glass as he awed at the huge felines. Wakabe took pictures with her dad's cell phone, and Akise began giving commentary on what he knew about tigers.
"The tiger is the largest wild cat in the world. It weighs up to 720 pounds and measures to about 6 feet long. Tiger usually hunt alone, as they are able to bring down deer by themselves. They are natural predators."
Yukiteru and Wakabe listened to Akise while staring wide eyed at the tigers.
"Wow, I wouldn't want one of them to get a hold of me!"
Wakabe laughed as Yukiteru scooted closer to Akise, until he was close enough to tug on his jacket. Akise looked down at the smaller boy, who had a look of fear on his face.
"Is there something wrong Yukiteru-kun?"
"I uh, I was just wondering if tiger would attack a human…."
Akise pondered for a moment trying to think of a way to answer the brunette without scaring him.
"Tigers do attack humans, but that's only if they find you as a threat. They're very territorial. But you don't have to worry about them, they won' get out of their exhibits."
"I see…."
Yukiteru looked back to tigers as his mom called to them.
"You guys, come look at these ones!"
Wakabe rushed over to see what was going on. Akise was about to follow when he noticed Yukiteru wasn't following.
"Yukiteru, you're mom called for us."
"Umm, you can go Akise; I just wanna watch the tigers a little while longer. I'll be over there soon though."
Akise was about to oppose to Yukiteru's decision, but decided against it.
"We'll be right over here….Be careful."
"Okay."
And with that Akise left to join the rest of the group. Yukiteru watched the felines closely. One looked as if it was having a conversation with another, one was asleep, and another was cleaning itself.
They do things more openly than humans do, but really, they're just like us.
Just then one tiger sprang up and pounced on another. Yukiteru gasped as the two rolled and fought with each other. He couldn't tell if they were playing or if they were for real.
I wanna get a closer look.
Yukiteru propped himself up on the railing as her leaned over it to see further in.
-Creeeeeeeeeeeeeee-
Yukiteru was so amused by the tigers' performance that he didn't notice the wind blow the hat off his head, until he saw it fall right in front of his face.
"Wha-? My hat!"
Yukiteru leaned out until half his body was over the railing.
-CRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEE-
The railing then bent forward, allowing Yukiteru to reach out far enough to catch his hat, but also enough to almost slip into the exhibit with the tigers. He grabbed onto one of the bars so he would fall, his breathing now erratic.
That was too close. I almost fell in! Maybe I can get back up without falling in the rest of the way.
Yukiteru tried to move, which turned out to be one of the worst decisions in his life.
-CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- -CRACK!-
The railing bent all the way down then broke, leaving Yukiteru to free fall into the ground.
He could feel the tears leaking out of his eyes as a throbbing pain shot through his skull. Yukiteru used what little strength he had left to sit up and open his eyes. His forehead was bleeding heavily and his leg was bruised. But that wasn't the worst of it. It seemed that he had now caught the attention of all the tigers in the exhibit, and they were now padding towards him fangs bared and growling. Tigers really were territorial. Yukiteru couldn't stop the tears that came with the fear and dread rising in his stomach.
I'm going to die! These tigers are going to rip me to shreds!
Yukiteru was the type of boy who was quiet- he didn't like being the center of attention. But now, he could care less if everyone noticed him, as he screamed to the top of his lungs.
"MOM!"
Wakabe heard the cry of terror as she tugged on Yukiteru's mom's shirt.
"Ms. Amano! Yukiteru sounds like he's in trouble!"
Rea turned around, and after seeing that her son apparently wasn't with them, she began to panic.
"Yukki? YUKITERU!"
Akise was the first to notice the broken railing around the tiger exhibit, panic also beginning to rise in his chest.
He didn't…
Akise ran to the edge of the broken railing and peered down into the clearing.
"Yukiteru!"
Yukiteru felt a speck of hope as he heard the familiar voice call his name. He looked up to meet the crimson eyes that stared back at him.
"Akise-kun!"
"Stay right there don't move! We're getting help right now!"
Yukiteru only nodded in reply, he didn't think there was anywhere to move to anyway. Akise informed Yukiteru's mother that he had fallen into the tiger exhibit, which led the woman to rush away to find an employee who could unlock the exhibit door and get her son out. Wakabe and Akise then returned to the edge of the exhibit.
"Yukiteru, don't worry! Your mom went to go get an official!"
"Yukiteru, are you alright?"
Yukiteru pressed himself closer against the wall.
"I will be, AS SOON AS SOMEBODY RETAINS THESE TIGERS."
Yukiteru was trying to think of something, anything that would keep him from freaking out at the moment. Just then he spotted his hat about two feet away from him. One of the tigers seemed to have noticed the material, as it stopped to sniff it, and then pick it up in its mouth. Yukiteru acted immediately. He lunged forward, snatching the hat from the animal's teeth.
"YOU CAN'T EAT THAT! IT'S MINE!"
Yukiteru immediately regretted his actions, seeing that he only made the tigers angrier. The brunette laughed nervously as he took his place back against the wall. Akise watched as the tigers closed in on his friend.
Where are those employees? At this rate, Yukiteru will….
No. He wasn't going to let that happen. Not now. Not ever. Akise swung his legs over the edge jumping down into the tiger exhibit.
"AKISE ARU, ARE YOU NUTS?!"
Akise landed perfectly on his feet, right in front of Yukiteru. This sort of startled the tigers, causing them to jump back, but the effect didn't last for long. Akise stood his ground, ready to do whatever necessary to protect his best friend from any harm. Yukiteru watched as the tigers drew in closer.
"Akise-kun! You shouldn't have come down here! They'll get you too!"
Akise only smiled at the smaller boy's outburst.
"Better me than you."
Yukiteru couldn't believe what he was hearing. Akise was about to be killed by a mob of blood thirsty tigers and he couldn't do a thing about it. He was about to begin crying again when a click came from the metal door beside them. Just then about four zoo employees came rushing in. Three of them began scaring off the tigers as the fourth one walked over to Akise and Yukiteru.
"You two boys alright?"
They only nodded as the employee continued talking.
"Well if both of you are okay, then we can get up out of here."
The man glanced at Yukiteru's leg, noticing the dark mark on it.
"Hey kid, you think that you can stand on your own?"
"Um, I-I can try."
Yukiteru began lifting himself up, only for his injured leg to give out, causing him to fall back onto the ground.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can."
The man only smiled as he reached out to Yukiteru.
"That's alright. Here let me help you."
The man was about to lift the brunette up, only to be beat to it by his white haired friend.
"It's okay Mr. I can take it from here."
Akise adjusted Yukiteru in his arms before walking through the door and out of the exhibit.
It had been a long day. Yukiteru's injuries weren't that bad, so he didn't end up having to go to the hospital. Though that didn't stop the income of furious lectures from his family.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"Those tigers could've killed you!"
"And all for a hat!"
Yukiteru only smiled slightly; apologizing to everyone he had caused trouble. At one point, they ended up at the park. Wakabe's dad sat and conversated with Akise's parents, while Yukiteru's mom bought everyone ice-cream. Akise agreed to help Yukiteru get around for the day. They sat to the side on bench watching all the kids run around on the swings and slides just having fun. Akise scooted closer to Yukiteru until their shoulders met. Yukiteru shuddered slightly at the contact. Akise tried to hide the amusement of being able to get such reactions from his friend.
"You know, you really had me worried."
Yukiteru frowned as he stared at the ground, feeling guilty.
"I know, I'm really sorry."
Akise smiled as he put a hand around the smaller boy's shoulder, pulling him close.
"It's okay, you're safe now and that's all that matters."
The two were silent for a moment before Yukiteru spoke up again.
"Y-you know, I was really worried about you too."
Akise looked at the smaller boy, a hint of question in his shining red eyes.
"I mean, when you came to my rescue, I seriously thought that they were going to tear us both apart. But I was more worried about you. If you were to die, you'd miss out on so much. I don't feel like I have a lot going for me, so it wouldn't matter much if I die-"
"Yes it would."
Yukiteru was startled by Akise's sudden statement.
"It would too matter if you died. You shouldn't think for one second that it wouldn't."
Yukiteru stared at the albino before lowering his head. He was crying again. But they weren't tears of fear or depression-but happiness. He hadn't known that Akise cared so much about him.
"Thank you Akise-kun."
Akise felt something go off in his chest as the brunette gave him his most sincere smile. He could feel the heat rising from his chest and into his cheeks. He hadn't felt this way before, and he didn't know how to stop it. Though he didn't think he wanted to. He didn't know if it was the way his beautiful blue eyes sparkled when they gazed at each other, or how shy he was around others, or how warm and kind he could be when he opened up to another; but whatever it was-Akise loved it. And he wanted more of it. The taller boy closed his eyes as moved closer to the brunette. Yukiteru knew exactly what was going on, but made no effort to stop it. The two were less than an inch away from each other when a voice sounded behind them.
"AM I INTERRUPTING ANYTHING?"
The two instantly broke apart, and distanced themselves from each other, trying to make it seem like nothing was going on.
"Of course not Wakabe-san. I was just checking to make sure that Yukiteru wasn't getting a fever."
"Yeah! We weren't doing anything!"
Wakabe only squinted her eyes at her two companions before uttering a low 'Whatever' and walking off.
That day turned out to be one of Akise's favorites.
"Akise! Akki! Oni-Chan!"
Akise was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of an annoyed pink haired girl.
"Akise, class is over! If we don't hurry up we won't be home in time for mom and dad to sign our permission slips for the field trip!"
Akise glanced down at his desk; there was indeed a form on his desk with the title '9th Grade Field Trip' written across it. Akise stood from his desk and began packing all his things into his bag.
"Yukki and Wakabe-san are waiting for us at the entrance."
Akise looked out of the classroom window, smiling as he caught sight of his two friends waiting for them at the gates. He threw his bag over his shoulder and extended a hand to Yuno.
"Well, let's not keep them waiting."
Again, credit to Ryokistar ^_^ the next chapters will start from me :3 Sorry if I accidentally ruin the story...that would suck but I assure you! I'll try my best!