Chapter 1: The Bridge

It was a dark, misty night in the city of Argentha. The sky was pitch black. No stars. No wind. The moon was staring down on all the barren streets beneath it, lightlessly. There was no one out and about in the middle of the night other than a few guards alongside the boardering walls to the city.

At least, that's what was thought to be true. If we took a closer look at this caliginous city, we would find a river running through a small part of it. The river was calm and quiet. No waves, no visible motion in the slightest.

Along that river, on the outskirts of the city, there was a run-down, old stone bridge that stood proud above the river. The layout of the surrounding area was similar to that of a canoe, as it had a path either side of the river underneath the bridge as well as alongside the entire river.

All of a sudden a dim light appeared beneath that bridge. It was a faint oragne colour, and smoke was being emitted from the source. It was a fire. A campfire to be exact. And stood beside it, was a young man who was trying to warm up his hands.

"Ahh why is it so cold today?" The man said as he was desperately trying to warm up his hands from both blowing into them and the campfire he lit. He was a slim man, with an average height of 175cm. His clothing was a fancy, tailored suit that was grey in colour. His hands were slim, yet well kept. Hardly any scars, cuts or bruises. They almost looked... feminine.

"You always loved sitting under here at night. I don't know how we did it in this cold without a fire. We were silly weren't we?" The man said whilst looking up towards the sky. His tone was sad and soft, whilst a single tear started forming in his emerald green eye. It slid down his soft, pale cheek, more following shortly behind. His eyes now bloodshot and eyelids puffy.

A few hours had passed. The man was found lying on the hard, concrete floor of the pavement underneath the tunnel, curled up as much as physically possible. Sound asleep. The fire was no longer lit, however the sky was. It was the next day morning, and a bright one at that.

A little ways away from the bridge, one could hear footsteps drawing nearer. They were regulated at a fast pace, as if the source was running. As the footsteps got closer, slight panting could be herd from the source. A young man, looked to be in he early twenties, was out on his regular morning jog, taking his regular route. The young man was sweating repulsively, and was ridiculously out of breath. Stopping at the bridge, he crouched down on he knees, attempting to catch his breath.

Running his fingers through his spikey, crimson hair, the young man took a deep breath in, then out. Seeing another man curled up like a baby underneath the bridge, a malicious yet cheeky smile came upon his face. His crimson red eyes staring right at the other young man.

"AAAKIIHITOOO-KUN!!!" The young man with red hair shouted whilst being crouched down next to Akihito's face. That was the other young man's name. Akihito.

Akihito instantly awoke from his slumber. He was petrified of the sudden shout from the man with crimson hair. It made him instantly sit up straight from shock, which also caused the two to bumps heads pretty hard. "Owwwww! That hurt!" Both of them said simultaneaously in a painful tone.

Rubbing his head through his greesy, messy, coal-like hair, Akihito opened his eyes and looked at the man whom he just headbutted. "Max-kun? What- what are you doing here?" Akihito's expressions were seen as completely natural. He was sinscerely confused, but his emerald green eyes suggested he was curious as they sparkled at the sight of a familiar face.

Max sat up straight as well, after being knocked to the ground from the headbutt. He rubbed where their heads had clash with a painful expression on his face, his right still closed as it was directly under the point of contact. As his left eye was still open, he used it to look towards Akihito when Akihito's question was asked.

"What do you mean? I always take this path on my morning jog. I should be the one asking you that question!" Max replied in a snarky tone.

Akihito glared at Max once again, this time looking him up and down in an innocent mannor. He saw the types of clothing Max was wear. It was a dark grey tracksuit. The regular tracksuit shorts and short sleeved top and a water bottle in his one hand.

"You still keep that up? Wow I'm envious." Akihito said in a slightly sad monotoned voice. He was trying to avoid the question Max asked him through changing the topic. Unfortunately for Akihito, Max knew this trick well enough to not get fooled by it. They had known each other for many years afterall.

And because of that, Max did not push Akihito into answering the question. He knew there had to be some reason for Akihito's being here and didn't want to intrude on any touchy topics. Especially that one. Instead he stood up, and held his hand out for Akihito to use to stand up as well.