Lele

Akira lived together with his parents who were both strict and overprotective. He was sure that they would never allow him to have a pet.

Asahi, on the other hand, lived together with his grandmother who was a kind lady with a big heart. Feeding abandoned street dogs and cats was already her hobby so with Lele being in her care, both Asahi and Akira could rest assured that the little puppy would grow up in a happy family and would receive lots of love.

"But you have to come by every day," Asahi spoke with a smile as he glanced at the boy.

"Eh?"

"I'll take it home but we are going to raise it together, okay?" Asahi beamed as he explained, "You'll also need to come and feed it."

Akira was silent for a few seconds before he eventually chuckled as he nodded his head, "Okay! I'll make sure that I visit her every day!"

Asahi looked to be satisfied with this response as he nodded his head with a smile.

The two boys took the puppy and ran all the way back home. Their yellow helmets protected them from the raining ash and with the help of his jacket, Asahi protected the puppy from it as well.

As expected, when Akira reached home, he was scolded by his mother for taking so long. She had been worried sick for him and it was only natural that along with relief, she was also angry at the boy for making her worry this much.

It was raining ash outside so of course, as the boy's mother, she would be worried for him.

Whenever the woman scolded him like this, Akira would usually apologize straightaway and hold his head down to listen to her, however, this time, the boy actually had a smile on his face as he heard her shouting at him.

"Why are you laughing? Is this funny to you?" His mother shouted angrily as she scolded the boy and Akira pouted as he immediately shook his head.

"It's not funny," The boy muttered softly.

"Then why are you laughing? Do you know how worried I was for you?!"

Akira nodded his head before immediately shaking it as he looked up at the woman with big bright eyes that looked to be completely innocent.

His mother sighed as she rubbed her forehead and calmed down a bit, "Don't look at me like that."

Akira put on a thin smile as he saw this reaction.

His mother was strict and she would always scold him but once she had calmed down, she would start feeling guilty about scolding him.

"Mom, we found a puppy by the old park," Akira beamed as he informed.

His mother's eyebrows creased together as she heard this and she immediately questioned anxiously, "Why did you go to the old park?"

Akira pouted his lips as he shook his head and refused to give an answer to the question.

"Hasn't mommy told you not to go there?! You should come straight home after school! Why do you keep making me worry over you?!" The woman got angry once again.

Akira knew he was in the wrong so there was nothing the boy could say to defend himself and hence, he simply stood there listening to the woman.

His mother opened her mouth to say something more, but they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

Akira's whole face seemed to have brightened up as soon as he heard the doorbell and the boy immediately ran towards the front door.

This village was not densely populated and there were hardly any guests coming over so when Akira heard the doorbell, he was instantly able to guess who it was.

The boy enthusiastically opened the door and was greeted with the face of the puppy that he and Asahi had helped.

"Lele!~" Akira beamed as he immediately took the puppy and brushed her soft fur with his little fingers.

Asahi chuckled as he saw this but didn't bother saying anything.

Akira's mother also came out to greet the unexpected guests.

Thankfully enough, Asahi was not here alone. The boy had brought his grandmother along with him.

The old woman smiled as she saw Akira's mother and she was the first one to speak up, "I'm here to make my grandson apologize."

Asahi immediately nodded his head as he agreed with the old woman and bowed his head to apologize to Akira's mother, "I heard Lele crying so I took Akira with me. I'm sorry."

Akira's mother was left speechless as she saw this and from her facial expressions alone, it could not be seen what was going on inside her head.

"My boy caused you to worry," The grandmother chuckled as she added, patting Asahi's head in the process.

"Eh?" Akira's mother glanced down at the boy and the puppy that was being held by Akira before she nodded her head. Although she was still angry, she didn't dare show that anger towards the old woman who was clearly innocent.

"It's okay," Akira's mother sighed as she responded, "They are kids so it's natural for them to do things like this."

Asahi's grandmother chuckled as she heard this and nodded her head, "That's right. They are kids. They should be able to live freely."

Asahi looked at Akira and winked, making Akira chuckle under his breath.

It seemed that Asahi had already guessed that Akira would get scolded and perhaps that was the reason why the boy had come here with his grandmother.

At the end of the day, because the two had paid a visit and apologized to Akira's mother, the woman could no longer get mad at Akira and the boy was safe from further nagging.

Akira was always the impulsive one who would never consider the consequences of his action while Asahi was the complete opposite.

Ever since they were young, Asahi had always been the responsible one who thought more about things and their after-effects.

Asahi's grandmother smiled as she looked down at Akira and patted his head affectionately as she crouched down to his level and spoke, "You two are such good boys."

Akira and Asahi smiled brightly as they heard this and the two looked to be proud of themselves as they nodded their heads in unison.

The grandmother chuckled as she added, "That's why you should not make your mother worry, Okay Akira?"

Akira puckered his lips into a pout as he nodded his head in understanding.

After saying this much, the old woman said some things to Akira's mother before leaving with her grandson and the newly saved puppy.

As soon as the two had left, Akira's mother suspiciously looked down at Akira as she questioned, "Did you two plan this beforehand?"

Akira innocently shook his head as he denied it.

"..." The woman didn't look to have believed the boy but she didn't look like she wanted to argue with such a small child either so she left it at that.

Since the boy was back home, safe and sound, it was all alright.