HIS PRIDE ⇀ Manjiro Sano

Part 8

"He got arrested... Draken, he was so ready to just leave. He didn't want to stay for Pah. It was like he didn't care." Mikey spoke causing Akira to cock his head back and raise an eyebrow.

"Hmm." Akira hummed, listening to the story. Mikey looked over at the boy, his head still drooping down causing his hair to cover his face. He started at Akira who was seemingly thinking.

Mikey studied the boys face, how his nose was swollen and how he had a scar right below his left eye. He noticed how bright his blue eyes were, his hair almost covering them.

"Alright... come on." Akira mumbled, seething as he stood on his feet, holding a hand lightly on his wound.

"Woah, hey. What're you doing?!" Mikey asked, worrying about the boy who shrugged him off.

"I wanna go on a walk." Akira simply put, limping from the room as he took a few labored breaths. Mikey sighed, getting up to follow him.

"You're sure that's the best idea?" Mikey asked, walking in front of him to open the front door. Akira lightly chuckles as he weakly patted the boy's head.

"Of course it's not. But I got you to protect me right?" Akira asked, smiling as he walked from the house, holding his side.

The two walked down the sidewalk of the neighborhood, talking about random things before they turned a corner, finding a small park. Akira sighed as he sat down on the bench, looking over the many kids playing on the playground.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Akira looked over at the boy.

"Hey, shorty?" Akira asked, studying the blonde's face. Mikey looked over at him, a smile on his face as he hummed his response.

"Your dream? You think it's possible?" Akira asked causing Mikey to raise his eyebrows as confusion flashed in his eyes. Why was the boy asking him this now?

"Yeah, I do. I've still got a long way to go, but I do believe in it." Mikey spoke causing Akira to smile at the boy, slightly tilting his head back as he looked to the sky.

"I believe in it too. It sounds beautiful." Akira whispered, watching as the clouds flew overhead.

"Why do you ask?" Mikey asked, moving slightly closer to the boy who shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"I guess... almost dying kinda changed my perspective on a lot of things. Makes ya think." Akira mumbled, nodding to himself as he spoke.  Mikey let a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in our as he heard the words.

"There's uh, there's a spot for you in it, if you'll take it," Mikey spoke, moving closer to the boy once again. Akira looked down, noticing the boy had been closer than before.

"A spot in what?" Akira mumbled, feeling his cheeks slightly light up with heat.

"In my dream- in my future, ya know? As long as you don't go get stabbed again." Mikey spoke causing Akira to chuckle as he shook his head.

"How about you protect me from getting stabbed, make it even. How's that sound, Ash?"Akira spoke, a small smirk on his face as he labeled Mikey with a new nickname based off of his eye color. He felt it move closer to Mikey, almost as if they were magnetized.

"Sounds like a deal to me, Azure," Mikey whispered, giving the boy his own new nickname based on his eye color. Akira's eyes danced with both excitement and nervousness as he felt Mikey's breath on his face.

"Mikey?" Akira whispered, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"Aki?" Mikey spoke back, not backing down from his position.

"Would you treat me any differently if I-"

"Yo! Mikey! There you are!" A voice yelled from down the street, the blonde boy shooting up from the bench while looking towards the voice, seeing Mitsuya riding his bike towards them.

"Oh, Hey Akira. How's the side?" Mitsuya asked, turning the bike off at the sight of the flustered black-haired boy.

"Oh uh, it's fine. I've had worse." Akira replied cussing Mikey to raise an eyebrow at the boy. Worse? What was worse?

"You told me to pick you up at Kota's house but you weren't there so I just drove around... you still wanna go check on Takemichi?" Mitsuya asked, leaning back on the bike as he chewed a piece of gum. Mikey looked back to Akira who was standing up from the bench, slightly struggling. Akira noticed the stare as he stood up, locking eyes with Mikey.

"Oh, go ahead, Ash. I'll make it back to Ko's. I'm probably staying there for the next few days. Don't worry though, I'll be fine. Tell Takemimi that he better get his ass better. There's only room in this friend group for one cripple." Akira joked causing Mikey to sigh, nodding.

The blonde boy made his way to Akira, carefully wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. Mitsuya watched in astonishment at the action, he hadn't seen Mikey hug anyone in years, ever since the incident at the bike shop.

"Be safe, Azure," Mikey mumbled into the taller boy's chest causing him to chuckle as he wrapped his arms around the boy's back.

"Please, I'm a god damned cat." Akira joked, patting the boys back before breaking the hug, much to Mikey's dismay. He gave the two a small salute, walking back towards Kota's house.