From a Nobody To Gaining A Gift (1)

Forty-eight hours before the incident, Itsuki was enjoying lunch on the rooftop of the school when Akira joined him.

" I knew I'd find you here. " He beamed as he stood before him. " Do you mind if I sit next to you? " He asked for consent and in response, Itsuki uttered, " You're already here, so you might as well do however you please, don't you think? "

Delighted, he uttered, " Thanks, then I'll be taking you up on that offer. " Akira sat next to Itsuki to enjoy lunch with him.

Noticing how his lunch wasn't as polished as his, he asked, " Why are you only having bread and juice for lunch? Aren't you hungry? "

In response to the question, Akira uttered awkwardly, " I was in a rush, so I didn't have time to prepare anything. Don't worry though, this is plenty for me to eat. " He uttered additionally.

Feeling uncomfortable to be having a polished lunch compared to his newfound friend, Itsuki handed him his lunchbox and uttered, " Have mine instead! My dad made it and it's delicious. "

Feeling guilty for taking his lunch from him, Itsuki, who sensed his emotions quickly, uttered, " I've eaten plenty already, so you don't have to worry, Shirano. You may have the rest. "

Beaming, he uttered as a result, " Thanks, Ando. I'll return the lunch box to you once I'm done. "

" Alright, take your time. "

Walking out of the rooftop, Akira glistened at Itsuki's lunchbox as he enjoyed the food inside. " This is so good. I wish my father was as loving as Ando's. " He mumbled, sadly.

Hours later, as school concluded, Akira caught up to Itsuki as he was heading home.

" Ando, wait! "

Hearing a familiar voice far away, Itsuki stopped and waited as instructed. Momentarily later, Akira caught up with him as he stopped before him. " About your lunchbox, I couldn't—--------- "

Before he could conclude his statement, Itsuki quickly said, " You can keep it and return it to me tomorrow. What do you say? "

" Yes, I'll do that. " He beamed. " See you tomorrow, Ando! " He waved at him as he walked away.

As he was walking away, Itsuki took off his classes for an instant and through Akira's back, he saw a glimpse of something, but due to it being too blurry, he couldn't quite tell what it was and simply mumbled, " What was that? "

Getting home within an hour later, his father asked, " How was school, Son? "

In response to his father's question, he beamed, " I made a friend at school today. "

" Really! "

" Yes, I made a friend at school. " He confirmed before his father who asked, " You're not pulling my leg, are you? "

" No, I'm not. " He nodded. " His name is Akira Shirano, and about him, I'd like to ask a favor if it's alright. "

—

The following morning, on the rooftop during lunch time, Akira joined Itsuki for lunch. As he sat beside him, he took out the lunchbox from yesterday and handed it to him. " Thanks again for yesterday, Ando. "

" You're welcome, Shirano! " He beamed as he took back his lunchbox from Akira.

Taking out the bread from his school bag, Itsuki stared at him and he said, " About this, I—------"

" No need to feel so awkward, I understand. " Itsuki interrupted him before adding, " You must have been in a hurry again and mustn't have had time to make you a bento, right? "

Nodding straight away, Itsuki continued, " I figured this would happen and came prepared, so don't worry about a thing, Shirano. "

?

Returning yesterday's lunch box inside his school bag, Itsuki took out two lunchboxes and handed one to Akira and uttered, " This one's for you. Take it! "

" For me? "

Feeling the hesitation in him, Itsuki uttered, " My father made this bento box for you in thanks for yesterday. "

Confused even more, Akira inferred, " About yesterday? What exactly have I done to deserve a bento box? "

Grinning slightly, Itsuki uttered sternly, " For being my friend, Shirano. And for that, my father is eternally grateful to you. "

In retaliation, Akira said, " But I didn't do it to be compensated in return. I asked to be friends with you, because that's what I wanted from the bottom of my heart. "

" My father and I are well aware of that, but he wanted to make you this bento box and I couldn't refuse him, so will you accept it, Shirano? "

Still hesitant, Itsuki uttered, " If you won't accept this much, then how could we be friends, Shirano? "

At the sound of those words, Akira took the lunch box from Itsuki and beamed, " Thanks for the bento box, Ando. Also thank your father for me when you see him. "

" I'll make sure to transmit your feelings to him when I see him later. " Itsuki uttered in response.

Enjoying their lunch boxes, break time went by in a flash and half an hour later as Itsuki stood to leave, he uttered toward Akira, " I guess I'll see you again tomorrow, Shirano. "

Beaming, he answered, " Yeah, see you tomorrow, Ando. "

Rewinding to the present, Itsuki mumbled, " Things were going so well, so how did you get yourself in such trouble? "

" First, I should call for an ambulance. He's lost too much blood and if I don't act now, he might die. "

Calling for an ambulance, Itsuki waited by Akira's side for the ambulance to arrive.

In the meantime, he tried to reanimate his friend but nothing was working. Half an hour later, as the ambulance arrived, Itsuki asked to go with him.

" Who are you to him? "

Gazing at him slightly, he responded, " I'm his friend. May I please go with him? "

" Yes, you may. You may get inside the ambulance as we're about to leave "

" Yes, thank you. "

Itsuki got inside the ambulance with Akira. They soon took off to the hospital.

Inside the ambulance, Itsuki mumbled, " Whoever did this to you is going to pay the price. "

Half an hour later, at the hospital, Akira was being tended to by the doctors. Itsuki, who was waiting outside without news from his friend, got a call from his father.

" Yes, Dad. "

Inquiring about his whereabouts, Itsuki told him everything that happened and how he's currently at the hospital with Akira.

" Sorry for worrying you, Dad. Once I've made sure he's alright, I'll come home. "

" Alright. Take care, Son. "

By the time the call was hung up, the doctor came out to inform Itsuki about Akira's condition.

" How is he? "

Inquiring about his friend's condition from the head doctor, the latter uttered, hopeful, " He was brought in time. If not, there could have been serious complications. He's now out of danger and is currently asleep. "

" Is it alright if I stay in the room with him, just for a while. " He asked the doctor's opinion and he nodded for approval.

As the doctor walked out of the ward, Itsuki walked inside. Gazing at his friend from a distance, he mumbled, " Who could have done this to you and for what purpose? "

Sitting on the chair next to him, Itsuki recalled what he saw forty-eight hours earlier as he was gazing at Akira's back.

Suddenly taking off his glasses, Itsuki stared at Akira who was sound asleep and out of nowhere, his eyes beamed lightly, letting him see something he couldn't quite decipher.

Seeing images, unlike last time, they were clearer and easy to see. Within five minutes, he saw lots of things and when those five minutes had passed, his eyes slowly turned back to normal.

Unable to understand what just happened, he mumbled, " What did I just see? "

Staring at the sleepless Akira, he mumbled further, " Could it be that what I saw has something to do with what you endured? "

Feeling moving hands, Akira slowly opened his eyes. " How are you feeling now, Shirano? Do you feel pain anywhere? "

Fully opening his eyes, Akira was surprised to see Itsuki next to him. " Ando, what are you doing here? "

Staring around him, Itsuki uttered, " You're at the hospital, Shirano. "

Telling him how he found him and later called an ambulance, Itsuki asked straightforwardly, " I found you lying in a pool of blood. Tell me what happened, Shirano! How did you get yourself in that situation? "

—

" It's nothing, Ando. " He avoided his gaze. I tripped and fell on my way home. Thanks for calling an ambulance for me. I'll make sure to repay you for this as soon as I'm out of here, I promise. "

" No, that's not what I—----------- "

Itsuki didn't have time to finish as someone imposing walked inside the ward.

Trembling a little, Akira uttered, " My brother is here, Ando. You may leave now and thanks again for everything. " He grinned slightly.

" I'll come visit again tomorrow. " He uttered before walking out of the ward.

As soon as the ward shut itself, Itsuki heard the words, " You failed again. Can't you do anything right? Who's going to pay for all the loss? "

" Sorry, brother. I didn't mean to lose all the merchandise. I'll pay for the loss incurred, so don't worry! "

—

Leaving quietly, Itsuki internally thought, " He was his brother, wasn't he? Why was he talking to him like that? "

Within an hour and a half, Itsuki reached home. Seeing him arrive, his father asked him about his friend's health to which he retorted, " He's doing fairly well now, thanks. "

Noticing his son's expression, his father asked, " Is there something else worrying you, Son? "

Recalling the incident at the hospital, Itsuki emphasized to his father, " Before I left, Shirano's brother arrived and as I walked out of the ward and was about to leave, I heard some mean remarks from him. He was being very mean to Shirano and I haven't been able to forget about it since. "

Listening to his explanation, the father uttered, " They must have had a misunderstanding about something. I'm sure in no time they will patch things up. "

While his father was seriously thinking that, Itsuki internally thought, " I'm not so sure about that, Dad. Things seemed more serious than they originally thought. "

Right after dinner, as Itsuki was in his room, he couldn't stop thinking about the vision he had about Akira.

" I wonder what that vision was earlier. Why was Shirano in them and why was he—-----? "

Recalling the pool of blood, Itsuki mumbled, " According to what I saw, a week from now, something is going to happen to Shirano again. To be certain of this vision and what it indicates, I need to be there. "

Itsuki soon fell asleep after that. The following day, as Itsuki went to visit his friend at the hospital on his way back from school, he was delighted to see that Akira was doing far better than before.

" Thanks for coming by again, Ando. "

" Is your brother not stopping by today? "

As soon as the question came out, Akira uttered, " No, he won't be coming. He had more important things to carry out. He's a busy man. "

Recalling the subtle conversation he heard yesterday, Itsuki wanted to ask Akira about it, but after seeing the sad face his friend was making, he decided otherwise.

" Don't be so gloomy! " He uttered to cheer him up. " When you're out of the hospital, let's have lunch together again on the rooftop. "

" Yes, let's do that. "

Beaming for the first time in two days, Itsuki was happy as he left, promising to keep visiting him on his way from school.

Itsuki kept on with that promise until Akira was discharged from the hospital two days later.

With only three days left until the events, Itsuki saw through the vision, he was enjoying himself like before as he tried to find out more about the vision he had.

" Ando, is everything alright? " He asked, concerned. " You keep staring at me. "

In response, he answered, " I was worried after what happened to you the other day. I still can't forget about it. "

Touched, he grinned slightly. " Thanks for worrying about me like this, Ando, but I'm fine now. Next time, I'll be more careful not to trip again, I promise. "

Staring at him, he asked sternly, " Are you certain you tripped that day, Shirano? Was it not something else instead? "

—

Hearing the bell ring just at that time, Akira smartly evaded the question. " Lunchtime is over. Let's head back, Ando! "

As Akira left the rooftop, Itsuki mumbled silently, " I know by the way you evaded the question that you're lying to me, but why? Why won't you confide in me? "

Three days later, Itsuki walked out of the house like usual, only this time, he didn't head to school as scheduled.

Heading to the meeting place he saw in the vision a week ago, Itsuki reached the place by train within two hours.

" Here's the place I saw in the vision at the hospital. " He mumbled. " Now, let's find out the veracity of this vision I saw and what it means. "

Itsuki watched as his vision unfolded before his eyes. Seeing someone in a ninja costume jumping through buildings, the man in the costume mumbled, " I have to deliver these at the right address without delay. This time, I must not make a mistake. "

As he kept observing, he quickly saw the ninja man fall from one of the highest buildings, hurting his arm in the process.

In pain, the man saw his assailants and mumbled, " It's you guys again. What do you want from me this time? "

Snickering, one of them said in mockery, " You know what we want, stop playing dumb this minute and hand over the merchandise! "

In pain, he mumbled, " What—------- What if I refuse, what will you do to me? "

Smirking, the assailant emphasized, " Are you seriously asking this? Was the lesson we gave last time not enough for you? Are you asking for more? "

—

Treading back on his feet, the man mumbled, " Last time, you got me by surprise, but this time I'll be more careful and won't let what happened last time repeat itself. "

" And how are you planning to do that? "

" I'm glad you asked. " He grinned faintly. " I'm going to stop you, of course. No matter what happens here today, I won't let you acquire the merchandise. "

Smirking, they uttered, " We'll see about that, ninja boy! "

From where Itsuki was standing, he mumbled, " I see it now. The vision I saw was the depiction of the future. Does that mean I can see the future? "