The rain falls no matter what we do. I watched the city settle down as the day ended and the sky became gray. My can of beer was empty as I sat in the industrial district. People were walking under their colorful umbrellas and school girls in their sailor uniforms giggled nearby. As everyone passed me by, I felt their hot glances piercing through my skin. “Don’t look at that boy dear.” A woman would whisper to her child. She probably thought I was on drugs or something. Not like I would care. People judge me freely, especially my teachers at school. Kids in my class would wonder why I even went to school. They saw me just as one of the delinquents who runs around the city doing bad things. Teachers believed in me, but only barely. When it came to my grades, I was always ranked in the top ten.
Being born with these sharp eyes and a scary face didn’t make me feel any better. It just added to my juvenile delinquent image. When I turned to the entrance of the shop I was sitting next to, the shop lady was sweeping. “Shouldn’t you be going home? You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here.” she said. “I know, I’m heading home now.” I said with a smile, but really, there wasn’t a home for me to return to. Ever since my mom died, my dad hasn’t really been the best at taking care of me. The city streets were empty and street lamps were the only source of light.
Calmly, I continued to walk through the rain. I heard footsteps behind me and I noticed a girl in a school uniform. She was small with long black hair and big eyes. It’s not like I cared much about her, she was just another girl out of thousands. But… this part of town is a bit dangerous at night. I turned around again and the girl was gone. A scream rose into the air and I started to run back. “Leave me alone!” A voice said. When I reached a dark ally way, I saw two figures and the white uniform backed up to the wall. “Hey girl, why don’t you hang out with us tonight?” One of the figures said. “I really need to get home. Please just leave me alone.” The girl said. I don’t know why, but my feet seemed to just move forward on their own. This girl didn’t really matter to me, and yet I still kept moving. “Hey, leave the girl alone.” I said. The figures turned to me and glared. “Better back off kid. This is our girl.” One of them said. They were sketchy looking guys with baggy pockets. Most likely, they were carrying drugs or guns. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. Just leave the girl alone, and you won’t go home with bruised faces.” I said. This set them off as their flaming eyes filled with rage.
“Wrong move kid.” One of the guys said reaching into his pocket. His hand reappeared holding a switch blade. Why did I get myself into this type of situation? I don’t know, but when I saw the girl’s eyes when she was backed up against the wall, something inside me seemed to ignite. The guys started to get closer to me, and my heart just seemed to start pumping. In a matter of seconds, I seemed to be moving to a beat. My mind felt separated from my body, and I felt so powerful. To try and cut me, one of the guys tried to strike me in the arm with the knife. Just as he was in my reach, I ducked to the ground and landed a strong kick to his gut. His eyes widened with pain as he collapsed to his knees.
“Why you-” the other man shouted as he charged for me.
He tried to throw punches at me, but I was faster. I managed to block his punches but suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my side. They had finally landed a punch on me. Throwing me onto the ground the guys had the upper hand. Continuously beating me until I coughed up blood. “STOP THIS! DON’T HURT HIM!” the girl shouted in the background. Wincing from all the pain, I turned to her. She looked scared, helpless, but there was something else. I saw…was it hope? Those eyes she stared at me with seemed to be speaking to me even though I could only hear the punches from the men beating me. “Don’t give up!” she shouted. At that moment, I realized that I was her only hope of being saved from these men.
“You had enough yet punk?” The men asked. When they tried to hit me one last time, their fists landed into my hand. My grip tightened around theirs as I slowly stood up. “I’m sorry sir, may I have some more?” I grinned. Then with the last of my strength, I grabbed their heads and banged them together. For a moment, their eyes seemed to roll back into the back of their heads and they collapsed.
My body felt sore, and I could barely even see properly. I turned to the girl and smiled. “You alright?” I asked. She nodded and began to walk out of the alley. “You going to be alright walking home?” I asked as she passed by. When the girl reached the end of the alley, she turned to me. “Thank you, I’ll be fine from here.” she said as she waved good-bye. For the first time in a long time, my heart felt warm. I had actually done something I could be proud of. Before the guys had woken up, I made a run for it.
The next day wasn’t anything special. My classmates gave me cold glares during class and the teachers seemed scared of me like always. Life went on as it normally did, not like there was anywhere I was going any time soon. Again, the sky became clouded and gray as rain began to fall. People scrambled to get under cover or open up their umbrellas. I just watched as other peoples lives passed me by. Closing my eyes for a second, I thought about the girl. She didn’t seem to be afraid of me and she didn’t care about who I was. Her eyes saw me for who I truly was on the inside.
When I opened my eyes again, I looked up to see a hand. Someone was reaching out to me…but who could it be? Looking up to see who’s hand it was, I saw a smile that filled me with warmth. “Do you have no where to go?” The person asked. That smile belonged to the only person who made my life meaningful. It was the girl I had saved the night before. “No… I don’t have a home to return to.” I answered. She looked at me with gentle eyes. “If you have no where to go, come with me.” She said. Her smile, her hair, her eyes. I don’t know what was so special about them, but I could tell she cared about me. I looked at her for a moment, but I took her hand.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“My name is Yuki.” she replied.
“My name is Hiro.” I said.
Again, she smiled at me. “Hiro, thank you for saving me.” she said.
I felt my heart fill with warmth. When I looked at the sky, the clouds began to clear. The rain finally stopped falling.