Second Chance

Chapter Eight

"Hey, um, Ren?"

Haruki nervously played with his hands and stared at the floor.

"What?"

"Uh, is that bike yours?"

"Yep." Hana could hear the smile in his voice. "I got it used. It was really beat up and broken, but about six months' worth of hard work fixed it up, and now it's perfectly safe. I ride it..." his happiness seemed to vanish, and his voice lowered. "Well, not anymore."

"H-have you ever, I don't know, h-hit someone with it?"

"How did you know?" Ren whipped around to stare at Haruki, But his eyes were fixated on the ground. "Wait, why are you crying?"

Haruki was never sure what to think about Ren, and this newfound fact wasn't helping matters. Ren was the person that had killed Hana. It was his fault.

Upon hearing this, Haruki's eyes welled up. He couldn't stop himself from grieving for his past life. He lifted up a sleeve to wipe his face.

"What happened? Are you okay? Did I say something?" Ren dashed over and tilted Haruki's face up towards his, forgetting to be afraid in his worry.

"I...I..." Haruki felt another wave of tears coming. "It was you. It was your fault. You killed me."

"I...killed you?" Ren was bewildered. "That's impossible. You're right here. I've never killed..." He let go of Haruki's face and looked away. "Did you have some sort of connection to the girl I killed?"

Slowly, Haruki nodded. "I-I was reincarnated because I wasn't supposed to die."

"Reincarnated?! That's not possible." Ren stepped away from Haruki, almost as if he were some sort of monster. "Prove it."

"I...I don't know how." He buried his face in his hands. However, this movement shifted the position of his sleeve, revealing the bracelet given to him by the fates. It slowly unraveled and traveled around Haruki's body, temporarily revealing Hana.

"N-no way..." Ren's jaw dropped as the bracelet wove itself back around Haruki's wrist. "I...I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry."

He started to cry along with Haruki, in regret for what he had done. "I killed you. I ruined your life. It's all my fault."

Haruki suddenly felt a pang deep inside his heart, and wrapped his arms around Ren's chest. "No, it's okay. I...I'm happy. You didn't ruin anything. If...if it weren't me you would've died. If this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have been able to meet you."

Ren reached up and hugged Haruki back. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Haruki could feel tears landing on his shoulder.

"You don't have to apologize anymore. Just...don't be afraid anymore, okay?"

Ren simply nodded and squeezed Haruki a little bit tighter. Haruki squeezed back. He felt Ren's breath on the back of his neck, as well as his fast-beating heart. They stayed like this for some time, until Ren let go and stared at Haruki's face.

"I can finally look you in the eye." He smiled.

"I'm glad." Haruki smiled too.

They leaned their heads closer, so close that their breath mingled. Haruki parted his lips.

"I-I should go make dinner." Ren pushed Haruki away, blushed, and went back to the freezer.

Haruki looked away. What were we about to do? He reddened at the thought. What would've happened if we continued? Well... Haruki looked down between his legs. Maybe it's better that we stopped.

"So... let's go eat." Ren bustled Haruki out of the garage and back into the kitchen. "Microwave meals are fine, right? I'm...not really in the mood to cook."

"Uh, yeah, it's fine." Haruki sat awkwardly at the table while Ren microwaved their food. After a couple minutes of cringe-worthy floor-staring, the food was ready.

"Sooo..." started Haruki. "Why'd you invite me over?"

"Uh, well..." Ren scratched the back of his neck. "Well it's not good if the class idol Shizuka asked a guy out... 'Cause people could get jealous and she might stop noticing other boys..." he trailed off.

"So you have a crush and you want Shizuka to notice you?"

"What?! Of course not..."

"Then why'd  you say 'mission successful' when she said that she'd go to karaoke with us?"

"Well because I..." Ren looked away and stuffed a bite of food in his mouth. "I wanted her to notice me." He muttered.

Haruki smiled. "Alright. Are you free next Friday?"

"Yeah."

"We can meet up with Shizuka for karaoke then. I'll help you with your quest for love."

"It's not like that!" Ren blushed a little. "But thanks anyway."

They finished the rest of their meal in silence. But as they turned in for bed, Haruki couldn't shake a feeling that he had. Why don't I want to help Ren capture Shizuka's attention?