Gateway To My Future

In the coffee shop, the old man in charge watches Rin as she goes about her work, she fidgets around the place in response to his worries, he approaches her with caring eyes,

 -Rin dear, why not take the rest of the day off

Rin tries to retaliate but he holds her hands firmly and gives her a reassuring smile as she gives in, she changes out of her work uniform as she prepares to leave when she glances back at the old man she looks as though she is growling but he responds with a smile and cheeky laughter leaving her embarrassed as she storms of with a pout.

As she steps out of the shop she hears Makoto's screams,

 -IS THERE A COFFEE SHOP AROUND HERE

She comes over to him confused but once she sees Luca on his shoulder she rushes to him,

 -Hey, what happened to you Luca, are you okay?

Makoto stops screaming and looks at her confused as to who she may be but Luca despite his weakened state, grabs onto her outstretched hand as his heart rate stabilizes and he closest his eyes to rest due to exhaustion.

As he sleeps he has dreams of his high school life, he watches on as people go about their lives as if he didn't exist. A world where he and Alice never got together, where she walks by him in the hall, a world without sound, without colour, just pure emptiness. He questions himself, where did he go wrong, did she ever love him, why did he allow himself to be the butt of the joke time and time again, why did he never be honest with himself or stay true to himself. In the face of family he cowered, in the face of friends he cowered. Time and time again he ran and ran and ran until now he's reached a dead end, he can't run anymore and the path behind him has been erased. He just stares into the emptiness as time flows by in his mind and his age fluctuates as he thinks through the ages all the times he disappointed himself.

He regresses to a child once more as all he can do is wish he had changed from the very beginning, if he was braver maybe he'd be loved, if he didn't run maybe he wouldn't be made fun off. But a voice echoes within his mind, a memory once lost in the void presented itself, in a park back when he was a child in Japan before he moved, a young Luca no older than an elementary student was bullied by a group of kids over his strange hair colour,

 -Where'd you come from weirdo?

 -Haha you should just cut it all off, maybe then you wouldn't look that stupid

 -I only see girls with colourful hair like that but look at you, why's it black and gold so girly?

Little Luca remained curled up in a ball as he cried hoping to be saved when one of the three bullies gets a bag thrown at them followed by a young girl in middle school with green and black hair appears,

 -You three are loud, get out of here before I flatten the rest of you

The three bullies run away scared a friend of the green haired one appears panting,

 -Rinnn, you need to slow down next time, I can't keep up with you like this

Rin pouts as she gets lectured,

 -But Miyabi they were bullying this kid over here

Miyabi shrieks as she sees Luca covered in bruises, they both help him up as he struggles to look them in the eye. Miyabi and Rin help to clean up his injuries as he utters a soft but quiet thank you. Luca gets up as he prepares to walk home but Rin stops him,

 -Hey, want me to walk ya home, I could protect you in case one of those suckers keep hanging around, what do ya say, or maybe you could chill here with us for a bit and tell us what's wrong?

Luca grips his backpack tightly as he walks towards her with his head down and nods

The three of them stay at the park longer spending quality time together as Luca lets out loud laughter which leaves Miyabi and Rin surprised. Luca notices and immediately looks away embarrassed as Miyabi and Rin smile and laugh finding him cute. Time flies and Luca tells them about his bullies,

 -They always make fun of my hair, they say it's not normal, some even say I dyed it to cool. BUT I DIDN'T I SWEAR, please believe me. But it's also my fault though, I never speak up or say anything, I'm scared what if people hate me and I never get any friends, I don't like being alone.

Miyabi attempts to speak but Rin replies ahead of her,

 -Would they be friends though if you have to fake who you are, real friends will stick with you through everything, so you never have to fake it ya hear.

Rin's voice grows softer as she continues,

 -Plus you know, I think your hair is pretty cool, it's almost like mine

Light shines in his eyes as he looks at her on the swings, Rin's voice becomes more energetic,

 -So you can always reach out your hand okay and I'll grab it so you're never alone okay Luca

The memory fades as Luca gets up and looks at the dead end in his mind as her words echo in his mind, the scared child looks forward at the impossible path once more as he wipes away the tears, the child grows into a teenager as he raises his hand and as the current adult self he reaches out his hand as it passes through the wall in front of him as a familiar face appears on the other side with a smile.

He wakes in a familiar park as Rin's face hovers over his, he raises his hand and places it on her cheek as she smiles warmly and welcomes him back,

 -good morning mister, you've been asleep for a while.

He doesn't respond yet, but his fingers trace her cheek as he lightly pinches her nose and says,

 -You were so loud back then

Flustered Rin can't help but punch him in the stomach,

 -CAN IT, oops I'm sorry

Luca lets out a loud laugh as Rin joins in, for a while Luca tells Rin what he's been through and she hugs him tightly burying his face in her chest, after that the two of them take a moment to relax in silence relishing their presence as night falls and the moon shines above them. Rin slowly falls asleep as she rests her head on his shoulder,

 -Where's your place, let me walk you home

 -Don't start acting like some tough guy mister, walking me home pfft

She pinches his side before whispering softly,

 -Give me like 5 minutes

Time flies by and he walks her back to her place, at the door they stop to talk,

 -I'm sorry for not recognizing you before Rin, I really am

Rin flicks his forehead,

 -Would you relax, you apologize too much, plus it's been so many years now plus you moved away didn't you it's all good.

 -Alright I'll stop, oh and by the way how's Miyabi?

Light fades from Rin's eyes as she forces a fake smile,

 -She's aright just been busy with work these days, she works an office job so busy busy

 -Oh fair enough, it'd be nice to see her but wouldn't want to disturb her. Anyway well umm guess I'll head off now, try to rest up I know you're tired

Luca all flustered, can barely look her in the face as Rin smiles and ruffles his hair,

 -You may be bigger than me now but you're still cute, goodnight Luca and get home safe

 -I well umm, goodnight and sweet dreams Rin

Luca leaves for home as Rin closes the door she stands there as she grips her right arm as screams echo in her mind, fear and regret fill her body as she stares at the floor.

 -Miyabi…

Luca arrives at his apartment where he knocks on the door to Makoto's place, after a second knock Makoto opens the door,

 -Oh welcome back, how you feeling Luca?

Luca attempts to answer but is cut off with a voice coming from Makoto's room,

 -Who's there, is that Luca your new friend, LUCA HEY, HEY LUCA OVER HERE

Luca stands at the door confused as Makoto replies,

 -COURSE HE CAN HEAR YOU SILLY, ESPECIALY WHEN YOU SHOUTING

 -HUH I'M SHOUTING, TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR YA PSYCHO

Makoto walks into the room as Luca stands at the door awkwardly staring at the two screaming

 -SAYS THE PSYCHO DATING THE PSYCHO

 -OF COURSE I'M DATING YOU, I LOVE YOU DUMMY

 -AND I LOVE YOU TOO SILLY BUT YOU'RE STILL A PSYCHO…wait Luca my bad dude come in

Luca walks into the room thinking to himself he wants to run, but Makoto grabs his shoulders and points him to the girl he's on a video call with,

 -Luca meet my girlfriend Misha, just like you she came over here for a bit, but she went back to America after high school

 -Nice to meet you Luca, Makoto has been telling me about you for a while now.

Luca smiles at the warm environment,

 -it's nice to meet you too, Makoto has been really helpful

Makoto nods at his praise,

 -Why of course, now tell me bud, who's the girl that took you away today

Makoto and Misha look at Luca with eager eyes awaiting his response, Luca just turns around flustered,

 -She's just a good friend from the past, she's always saved me though, I want to save her too someday

Makoto and Misha exchange knowing glances and smirks, Makoto lets out a laugh soon after

 -Well I'm just glad you're okay now, you gave me a scare earlier for real, in the future though aside from her, you can rely on me too dude or if you play games or something just come over and we can chill for a bit got it

Makoto goes for a fist bump with a large smile on his face and Luca meets him halfway. With that Luca goes home and goes to bed concluding his eventful day, the following day Luca meets Makoto outside as they go with each other to class from that day on.