OtaKu -is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, games, and manga. -wiki

OtAku!            

Ch1

“No one is ever going to love you!”

The words repeated in his mind. Cruel words, they were said so long ago, but they always managed to pop up in the most random of times, whispering, taunting, hurting….

“No one will EVER love you….”

Hiroshi sat up from his cold cement bed. He pulled his glasses off and rubbed his face hard. Listening to the rainfall he sat in silence underneath the bridge—his home. All around this blanket was scattered barrowed Manga, some ripped and torn, and others served as a pillow for his head. The bridge was covered by lots of weeds and trees so even if anyone looked over the railing they never would know he was down there.

“Well, I don’t need love,” he mumbled to himself, and it was true, it was useless to him. He reached for his new game system, it was the oldest on the market, it was amazing little gadget that used very little energy (mainly batteries, not electricity luckily) It took Hiroshi months to save up cans and bottles, and some setbacks on clothes and food…but it was all worth it in the end.

Once the rain stops, Hiroshi thought, he was going to wash his clothes…..it’s been a while since he did that and they where starting to smell like mold. He played madly on the one game he owned, on expert level. Then…..it was faint but he could hear the sounds of a wild dog barking. He wasn’t much of a dog person…the barks became louder, to a point where Hiroshi looked up from his game system, annoyed.

He scanned the trees, listening intently to the barking, and then…shrieks of terror. His first instinct was to ignore the world as he always does and continue to his game, but something inside was curious about the screams, maybe someone was in need of his help?

On the side of the bridge there was a children’s park, it was empty the majority of the time. From what he had seen, no children had swung on the swings, played in the sand box or climbed down the monkey bars. That was a good thing for him because the less people, the safer it was for him and his home.

The shrieks became loud whimpers, pleading for help. That was the queue for Hiroshi, someone was really in need of help. On impulse he ran out from under the bridge and through the dense tees and bushes, he moved so fast the branches wiped out scraping his clothes and cheek. Even with the rain blinding him Hiroshi followed the barks and the crying as best as he could…

He stopped in the park, breathing heavily; he closed his eyes and listened. There! The noise was further down the road. He ran across the street and turned the corner. The sky was gray and cloudy, ready to pour down more rain. Not a soul was around.

On the far corner of the street, he could see it clearly now, a little girl was being mauled by a wild black dog. She was panicking, moving her arms wildly but it only made the beast chomp down on the flesh of her arm harder. She locked eye contact with Hiroshi, mouthing the words ‘help me’ her eyes where glazed with pure terror.

What am I going to do?

On instinct Hiroshi ran to the girl and kicked the dog square in the ribs, hoping it would let the girl go. It didn’t, but another punch to the head made it loosen its grip over her.

Sweat and rain pored down the girls face and she was terribly pale. She wouldn’t last long if this kept up Hiroshi knew. Worried for the girl more then ever now, he picked up a stick that was laying close by. I’m sorry… Hiroshi whispered, and pushed the sharp stick deep into the wild animal’s side.

Shrieking in pain the mutt let the girl go. One shake of the head and the dog ran in the opposite direction, away from everyone. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, the girl’s blood or his own, Hiroshi wasn’t sure.

Putting his full attention on the girl, Hiroshi just realized she looked oddly familiar. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had no time to dwell because she was injured, badly by looking at the blood poor out of the bite marks on the left arm. He bent down next to her.

“Are you alright?” he asked the girl as gently as he could. She shook her head and lifted the wounded arm to show Hiroshi. She was so small, could be in middle school, probably. Regardless of the weather she wore a long sleeveless sunflower dress that was now dirty from the dog attack. She was the opposite of him in every way, he was a big guy with shoulder length black hair that hid his glasses, big hands, and huge feet. He wasn’t the best looking guy, he knew, but he didn’t care much about appearances.

“Can you move?”

She shook her head again.

Can u speak? Hiroshi thought again to himself. Without thinking, although he never really thinks too much about things, he picked up the girl in his arms. He had lifted bags of groceries way heaver then her, she felt weightless to him. It had to have been his imagination because her child like face turned a bright shade of pink, but when he looked again her face was turned so he couldn’t be sure. My imagination…

“What’s your name?” Hiroshi asked walking in a random direction, he had no idea where his legs where taking him. He couldn’t image what anyone would think if they saw a big guy like him carrying a small girl who was bleeding….

The girl tilted her head up; she had a sort of innocence like a baby kitten, her large almond eyes stared back at him with a sparkle of curiosity, the wound seemed forgotten to her. One hand reached into her shirt, the other held on to Hiroshi’s neck, and pulled out a necklace with the words Akira on a tiny grain of rice.

“Akira?” Hiroshi had to lean in close to read the small letters written on the rice. She smiled up at him, grinning meekly, and nodded ‘yes’

Then it hit him. Akira…she did seem familiar because he knows her! Well not personally, but she goes to his school. Hiroshi laughed to himself; he had mistaken the girl as a middleschooler, which was kind of sad because she sits right behind him in his homeroom class.

Akira. She was a loner at school, probably the reason he didn’t notice her. The girls have constantly tried to talk to her in class, bring her out of the shell but so far no one was able to do that. She would just sit there and stare at the wall, ignoring everyone but the teachers completely.

Akira began kicking her legs, ruffling up her dress and wiggling her hips, like a three year old who wanted to be put down. Applying with her wishes, Hiroshi put the girl on her feet and stared down at her, he still wanted to take care of that wound on her arm. Did she even feel anything?

She stood on her toes and pointed to a lovely two-story house that was three feet away. “You live here?”  Hiroshi asked breathlessly, he was amazed at its beauty, the woodwork, and the unique color of the walls. She walked up the steps, turned back once, gave a big smile, and ran into the house.

Hiroshi stood for a moment, feeling a bit out of place and left out because she left so suddenly with out saying goodbye or even a thank you. The day felt so random to him, he chuckled, pushed the glasses up with his forefinger and said under his breath, “What the hell?” before retreating back to his own home, underneath the bridge, a last place of solitude.

Music.

The sweet sound of music was playing down the street at the laundry mat. The melody was so beautiful, and yet at the same time it was so very sad, the violins told a story of its own, of forgotten dreams, regret, and a love lost to an unforgiving world.
  
End of chapter one

A/N- This isn’t going to be long, 10 or so chapters but out of everything I have ever written I based a lot of this on my own personal experiences. There is more to come in chapter two so I hope to see you there! And please, if you see any mistakes in grammar, spelling or have questions, or even just want to chat, email or post a reply.

Much love,
Umi-chan