Broken Dreams Blossom into Beautiful Songs

15

"Hey, Akito... Aren't you going to eat..?" An asked softly. Akito blinked his eyes. "Of course I am, I'm paying for it idiot." Akito retorted. An giggled. "Alright, alright... Just asking." An sighed. Akito turned his head down. He wanted to eat, but... His hands... They were turning purple at this point. It hurt to even lay them against the chair. He awkwardly held them up, avoiding contact. Why would the person he loved do this to him..? It just didn't seem fair.

Toya glanced over at him. 'Finally decided to pay attention to me, huh?' Akito thought before shaking his head. What was he thinking... Why did that thought even cross his mind. He wanted Toya to spend his time with Kohane... He wanted this. "Akito..." Toya's eyes softened. Akito furrowed his brow. "What's wrong..?" Akito asked. "Your hands..." Toya uttered, he seemed like he felt guilty. "Huh, what do you mean? There's nothing wrong with them..." Akito said hiding them under the table.

"What's going-" Kohane was cut off by the sight of Akito's hands as Toya pulled them up by holding my arms. He made sure not to hurt Akito. Akito could tell Toya was being as gentle as he could, his fingers barely touching his skin. An and Kohane verbally gasped. "Shin- Akito-kun! Your hands..." Kohane said concerned. "That looks awful... Did you get into a fight or something..?" An sighed, worried. Toya shook his head. Akito felt bad as Toya took the burden of the guilt.

"H-Hey Toya this isn't from her... It's just-" Akito was cut off by Toya's eyes. They looked at him. Not his crush. Not An. Not Kohane. They looked straight at Akito. Akito slightly blushed. "Your hands weren't like this before then..." Toya sad, his hands shaking. Could he be... Angry..? Akito's eyes widened. "Who's this she..?" An implored. "It's nothing... I..." Akito tried to find some sort of excuse. Toya shook his head. "She's someone who shouldn't matter at this point..." Toya said coldly.

"So that's why you weren't eating..." Kohane said sadly. Toya grabbed Akito's coffee and held it up to his mouth. An slightly gasped. Kohane blinked in innocent confusion. "In that case... Let me be your hands. This is my fault, after all." Toya said softly. Akito slightly blushed. "Your fault..? How could it-" Akito was cut off by his phone ringing. At the worst time... It was laying on the table. An flipped it over for him. It was Ena. "Shit." Akito cursed as he realized he had to answer it.

Toya frowned as he put Akito's coffee back down on the table. Akito sighed as he shakily reached his hand out for his phone. "Can't you just call her back?" Kohane asked softly. "Unfortunately, I can't..." Akito winced as he wrapped his hands around his phone. It hurt. It hurt really bad. He stood up and took his phone with him. "I'll be right back." He said sternly as he walked away. He felt as if his hands could fall off before they eventually numbed to the pain, he just had to keep them in the same position.

Akito knew he had to take this. He knew better than to ignore Ena's phone calls. She wouldn't let him forget it.

Toya's Perspective:

Toya felt pained. He hated to see Akito's hands like that. He knew how important Akito's health was to him and the lengths Akito went to to keep his appearances. Not only that, but Akito couldn't play his instruments or continue to write his song... The thought made Toya so upset... The fact that Ryoko was the one who did that to him as well... It made him angry. Akito had really fallen for her, Toya wasn't sure how, but... How he wished he could hold Akito's phone for him.

He'd cover his ears and close his eyes if he had to, he just didn't want to see Akito suffer like that. But, Toya knew that Akito probably wouldn't want that. It still feels weird to have an import phone call like that with someone in front of you. Well, Toya assumed it must've been important. "Hey, what's going on? Who's this girl you guys were talking about?" Kohane asked softly. "Was it his sister..?" An asked concerned. Toya battered his eyes in confusion.

"Why would you think that..?" Toya asked softly. An looked over at Akito to make sure he was still far away. "Well... Akito used to come to the cafe with bloody cuts and scratches all over him. I once overheard him tell my dad "It's just my sister again"..." An whispered only loud enough for Toya and Kohane to hear. Toya's eyes widened. "W-Wasn't it his sister that just called him..?" Kohane asked worriedly. An nodded slowly. Toya struggled to compose himself, feeling his heart break.

He hated to think that Akito could be going through something like that... He sighed, he'd have to ask about it later. "While I may not know much about his sister... I can say that the bruises on his hands aren't from her..." Toya said looking to the side. "Then who..? Most girls wouldn't dream of hurting a handsome guy like Akito." An replied. Kohane slightly shook her head. "I don't think he wants to share that with us..." Kohane stood up and leaned over to put her arm on Toya's shoulder.

"I'm sure everything is going to be okay." Kohane smiled, putting on a brave face. Toya smiled in return, feeling appreciative of her efforts to calm him down. "I suppose you're right, thank you, Kohane." Toya replied softly. He still felt incredibly concerned for Akito, but there was nothing he could say right now. Toya learned from his many years in his messed up household to hold his tongue. He'd do the same here as not to worry Akito's and... His friends.

Akito's Perspective:

"Akito, I can't do this anymore..." Akito heard familiar words through the other side of the phone. He was numb to it at this point. Both the pain of his hands and of his sister's cries. "Dad wants to go on a stupid fucking trip to an amusement park... It was dumb but we fought over it... It's like why would I want to go anywhere as a family if we don't even get along!?" Ena yelled through the phone. Akito sighed. "So, I take it we're still going on that trip then..?" Akito found his eyes darting to Toya.

He narrowed his eyes as he saw Toya smile, being so far away he couldn't verify the validity of it, so he just assumed that it was a genuine smile. He sure seemed to be having a good time talking to Kohane, with her putting her hands on his shoulder and everything. They're practically kissing, he thought as Ena continued, "Of course we fucking are, it doesn't matter what I think about it anyway." Akito felt his hand shaking. "Well... I can't really talk about this right now I'm-" Akito was cut off.

"What the fuck do you mean you can't!?" Ena yelled. Akito felt like he could drop his phone at any second. "What? Are your pathetic little friends more important then your fucking sister!?" Ena huffed. "No that's not..." Akito frowned. "Glad to know you don't give a shit. I hope you die you heartless bastard!" Ena cursed before hanging up. Nothing Akito seemed to do was good enough. He let his hand rest, dropping his phone on the floor. The screen slightly cracked, but he didn't care anymore.

And when he looked up, it didn't help that he could see Toya looking so goddamn happy. This is just what Akito wanted. He should be happy, things are going according to his plan. Akito saw the screen of his phone light up as Ena called again, likely to apologize. He didn't have the strength to pick his phone up and stared at it blankly on the ground. "Is everything okay..?" He heard a familiar voice ask. It was Ken, An's father. "It's just my sister, again." Akito muttered.