And believe it or not...Max isn't the only one who shares some deep scars from his past.

Chapter 21: Same Scars

Mere hours have passed by and after Taiga and Tigress were gone, Akashi felt it was best to share something with Max that he's been hiding for a long time and one that he's still haunted by every single day of his life and he made his way upstairs and into his room and saw him sleeping. The very sight of the cub sleeping made Akashi show a little softer side of him and they're very muck alike when it comes to who suffered the most. After hearing Max's story, Akashi could relate so easily towards him and it's like he's seeing himself in the tiger cub a little more.

He comes in there and sits on the side of the bed and just looks at Max's closed eyes and he places his paw on his shoulder and that made Max slowly wake up and sees Akashi there and he lets out a big yawn as he stretched his paws and said, "Hi, Akashi."

"Hey, Max. You okay?" asked Akashi.

Max nodded his head and he replied, "Yeah. I'm okay."

The cub sat up as he next to Akashi and both of them only stared at each other for a few moments until Akashi broke the silence and said, "That was really brave of you...to tell your story like you did. It takes courage."

"Courage? What's that?" asked Max.

"It's where you do something that you're scared of doing and you end up doing it because it's the right thing to do. It just shows how strong you really are and I completely admire you for that." Akashi added.

"Thank you...I think." Max replied.

Akashi nodded his head at this and he thought of Max's scars all over his body and it made it easier for him to relate and he said, "You're not the only one that carries a lot of scars."

"I'm not?" asked Max, a little confused.

"No. Believe it or not...I have the same scars you have and I still carry them with me." Akashi answered.

With that, Max sat on the other side of the bed next to Akashi, in which the young wolf stands up in front of him, lifted his shirt up and showed Max all the scars he has all over him and that stunned Max to see how many scars he has all over and he was just silent throughout and Akashi removed his shirt and Max said, "Did they hurt?"

"A lot. The reason why I showed you all of those scars is that I suffered endless torture with my stepfather and for all the fights that I've been through before. When I was a little younger, I've been a thief and streetfighter and I thought that it was all survival...until my stepfather took it too far. Because I never wanted anything to do with him, he gave me all of those scars." Akashi replied.

"What did you do?" asked Max.

"My stepfather was the reason why I suffered so much. So...I fought back and he's gone." Akashi added.

"Is he still...?" asked Max.

"No. He's not alive anymore. I could never forgive him for what he put me through." Akashi stated, clenching his fist.

Max grew a little worried about seeing Akashi angry and he nuzzled him very quickly, causing Akashi to soften up and in return, Akashi patted him and hugged him tightly with tears streaming down his eyes and Akashi said, "Max...I don't want you to suffer the same way I suffered and end up having more of those scars like I have. I want you to be happy, loved, safe and protected and I will do my best to make sure you have a great life...one that you'll always be happy."

"You promise?" asked Max.

With a hint of conviction and misty eyes, Akashi whispered, "I promise."

A growing bond between a wolf and a tiger has surfaced. Stay tuned for more!