The End of Akira
Chapter 30: The Story of Sou

One day at the rooftop..

"About Sunday, do you have an event tomorrow?" Ask Sou.

"Well week? I don't know Sou yet, what's wrong?"

"Hmm. I want to ask you out on a date" she smiled. "Yesterday we couldn't do it because of your Papa's wedding, so I hope Sunday will"

"I have to ask Papa and Big Brother's permission first, but I will work on it" Akira smiled.

"Yes, please yes" Sou said with a smile.

"Hm," Akira nodded his head in understanding. "It's Sou's" Akira said again giving one of his lunch boxes to Sou.

"thank you. Sorry I always bother you"

"Sou didn't bother me," said Akira smiling. "Good meal"

"Good meal"

****

A few days later..

"Look, Pa, can Akira go out tomorrow?" Ask Akira on the sidelines of his dinner.

"Where is Akira going?" Ask Papa.

"That's.. Sou invites Akira to go together" said Akira, bowing his gaze.

"Sou who is Akira's lover? Who came to the wedding yesterday with Akira?" Ask Rina.

"True Ma'am," said Akira smiling.

"Ehh. Nice to have a lover. I want to too" Alya smiled.

"Learn first the right, your value is still a lot of red" said Rina again.

"I understand Ma'am," said Alya understood.

"If you are okay" said Yuki smiling.

"True, we don't have a show together tomorrow anyway, do we?" Ask Shinji.

"Hm, that's right" replied Papa smiling. "Go, Papa let Akira go"

"Thank you" said Akira smiling. "If Mother and Brother Nao how?" Ask Akira doubtfully.

"Sister allow, have fun tomorrow" Naoya smiled.

"If you've got Papa's permission, you can't ban him. Go away" said Rina smiling.

"Even though you didn't ask my permission, but I also allowed you" Alya smiled.

"Thank you everyone, Alya thank you too" Akira smiled.

****

Akira: "I'm allowed Sou"

Sou: "Really? Thank goodness.."

Sou: "It's bad that Akira can't come tomorrow"

Akira: "What's going on tomorrow? Where are we going tomorrow?"

Sou: "Secret"

Akira: "My feelings are not good now:("

Sou: "If I tell you now, you won't be nervous"

Sou: "Next not special"

Akira: "True as well:)"

Sou: "Ah right, you are beautiful when wearing that peach dress, Akira"

"Dress peach?" Akira was confused.

Akira: "Do you want me to wear that dress tomorrow?"

Sou: "Hm, you are very suitable to use the dress. Akira is very beautiful to wear a dress but I think the peach dress is the most suitable"

Akira: "Well, I'll wear it tomorrow"

Sou: "Thank you. I'll pick up at 8 as usual"

Akira: "Good Sou"

Sou: "See you tomorrow, and the pretty one"

Akira: "Hmm if told like this, my feelings get worse Sou:("

Sou: "You'll be a little nervous but you'll be happy too"

Sou: "Maybe?"

Akira: "Sou really scares me even more"

Sou: "Although it's scary, I'll always be with you so you don't have to worry"

Sou: "Now go to sleep, it's been very night"

Sou: "Good night, good dream huh. See you tomorrow"

Akira: "Well, good night, too, Sou. Sweet dream"

Akira: "Bye bye"

"Where will you take Akira? Sou scares me and is curious at the same time" Akira grumbled. 

Next morning..

Tok.dok..

"Akira, Sou is already waiting below" Yuki said from outside the room.

Akira then opened the door of his room.

"Yes, thank you" said Akira smiling.

"Gee.. Akira is indeed very beautiful" praised Yuki smiling.

"Thank you, sister" said Akira timidly.

"Come on, don't make Sou wait any longer, pity him" Yuki said then walking ahead of Akira.

"Yes Brother."

Akira and yuki then walk down the stairs.

"Sister's sister is the best" said Shinji amazed.

"It's pretty" said Rina smiling.

"Thank you, Mom" said Akira smiling.

Akira managed to make everyone here amazed, including Sou who stared in admiration Akira without blinking.

"Sou?" Ask Papa who managed to make Sou realize again.

"Ah, i-iya Uncle, what's up?" Said Sou nervously.

"Hhhhh, no no. Akira, you have to take responsibility. Your lover is not breathing and blinking at you" Papa explained laughing.

"Eh? Did ya? Sou, are you okay?" Akira said worriedly.

"I'm sorry" said Sou smiling awkwardly.

"Don't suddenly faint on a date later, Sou" Shinji laughed.

"No Brother, Sou is fine will not faint" Sou said confidently. "Well, Uncle, Aunt, All of you, Sou wants to take Akira out for a while" Sou said.

"Hm go. Don't make Akira hurt and remember the limits" Papa smiled.

"Good Pa" said Akira smiling.

"Good Uncle" said Sou who was also smiling.

"Let Brother take you forward" Yuki smiled.

"We say goodbye, excuse me" said Sou.

"About going Pa, Mom, Brother, Alya. Bye-bye"

"Bye-bye. Be careful" said Shinji smiling.

"Be careful Akira, don't come home too late" said Rina.

"Good Mom"

"Young time is fun" said Rina again.

"Sou, if Akira gets scuffed just a little, I won't forgive you" Yuki said.

"Sou understood, Brother, Akira will return safely without the slightest scuff" Sou smiled. "We're going, brother"

"Hm, be careful. Have fun" said Yuki waving her hand.

"Bye-bye" said Akira smiling.

"Bye-bye."

On the way Akira seemed excited as ever. They look like lovers in general who walk while holding hands.

"So where are we going?" Ask Akira curiously.

"To my house" said Sou smiling.

"Eh? Sou's house?"

"Hm, my house"

Akira stopped his steps. "Don't.."

"really. Mom and Dad want to see you" Sou smiled.

"Wait for Sou, I want to change clothes first" Akira said.

"No need for Akira, you're already very beautiful. No need to change clothes" Sou said holding Akira's hand.

"But clothes like this?"

"Something wrong with your clothes? I asked for it, didn't I? So it doesn't matter, my mother and father won't scold you either" Sou said confidently.

"But"

"True" murmured Akira lowered his head.

"Yosh, let's meet my parents" Sou smiled.

"Sou is so evil.if Sou says it first, I will probably prepare it well" Akira muttered.

"If I tell you first, then you won't feel what I felt when I first met your Papa" Sou said.

"Ah right, so this is how Sou felt when he first met my Papa"

"That's fine. Very nervous, right?" Asked Sou smiling.

"I'm sorry for making you like this" said Akira, who made Sou laugh.

"Don't be afraid, I'm with you. My parents didn't bite me" he explained, tightening his grip on Akira.

"Hm, I know"

"Although Akira knows, but still Akira's heart is in danger now. What if Sou's parents don't like Akira and tell us to break up? What if Akira is interrogated? It feels like just wanting to go back home" murmured akira inwardly.

In front of Sou's house..

"Wait for Sou, my heart is really critical right now" Akira said tightly grasping Sou's hand.

"If it's like that it's going to be very dangerous Akira" Sou smiled. "It's okay, I'm with you" she said, also clasping Akira's hand.

Akira then took a deep breath and exhaled it. 

"I understand"

"We're in?" Sou asked looked at Akira

"Hm" Akira nodded his head.

This was not the first time Akira had entered Sou's house after she and Yuki had earlier escorted Sou home as her legs sprained. But this is the first time Akira enters Sou's house when his parents are at home and the first time Akira also meets Sou's parents.

"I'm home" said Sou entering the house.

"Excuse me," said Akira entering the house.

"You have arrived, welcome" greeted a woman believed to be Ms. Sou.

"Good morning Auntie, sorry Akira interfered" said Akira, bowing his body.

"What did you say? Come on in" she smiled.

"Excuse me, thank you" Akira said again.

Akira is then taken to the living room where a man believed to be Father Sou is sitting there.

"Well, Akira has come" said Sou's mother smiling.

"Good morning Uncle," said Akira.

"about what? You guys turned out pretty fast. Welcome, please sit down" he said.

"Thank you Uncle, sorry Akira interfered" Akira smiled.

"No, no. We invited you so there's no need to apologize" he smiled.

"Good Uncle" said Akira smiling.

Sou who was sitting beside Akira just smiled happily.

"But Akira is really pretty huh" said Sou's mother smiling.

"Thank you Bi," said Akira lowering his head.

"She's embarrassed" Sou smiled.

"really? Sorry, I didn't mean it that way" she said with a smile.

"T-no, don't apologize Bi, Akira is fine" explained Akira in a panic that made everyone smile.

"Ah, right. Sorry we couldn't attend your Papa's wedding. We couldn't leave our jobs yesterday" explained Father Sou.

"It's okay Uncle, Akira understands" Akira smiled.

"Sou told me a lot about you, said you're an athlete is that right?" Ask Ms. Sou again.

"If it's called an athlete it's too much Auntie. Akira only participated in the junior championship" explained Akira smiling.

"Isn't that great too? Your parents must be proud, Akira" said Sou's father smiling. Akira then smiled.

Crane.kring.kring.. The voice of Sou's phone rang.

"Ah sorry, Hiro called me" explained Hiro showing the phone screen.

"Thank you, who knows how important it is" Mother Sou said.

"I'll stay for a while" Sou smiled at Akira.

"No Sou, don't leave me alone!" Akira muttered inwardly looking at Sou. "Yes." Yeah."

Sou then leaves Akira with his parents.

After Sou left, Sou's father approached Akira and sat down with Akira and Sou's mother. They both hold Akira's hand.

"Eh? What's the matter?"

"Thank you very much Akira" said Ms. Sou. "Thank you for giving him back as before" he said.

"Auntie, what's wrong Bi? I'm sorry, but Akira doesn't understand" Akira said confusedly.

"We are very grateful to you Akira, thank you very much" he said again looking at Akira.

"Right, we are very grateful to you" Sou's father agreed.

"But what is Uncle for? Akira didn't do anything" said Akira in a slight panic.

Sou's father then released his hand on Akira.

"We are indeed very selfish parents" Sou's father opened the conversation. "As parents, we want our son, Sou has a bright future. We want Sou to be a successful person in the future but indirectly we have locked him in a cage" he explained.

"Since little Sou we've always demanded him to always get an A. Uncle feels that B value is a disgrace so Uncle always punishes Sou if he does not get an A. After school he had to study, we told him to always study and not give time for Sou to play. Sou also never refused and always obeyed us. Of course it's paying off. He always got first place, his grades were always the highest in school. But we only realized our mistake when Sou entered elementary school" explained Father Sou.

"Right," said Ms. Sou confirming. "Every time we came to his school to receive a rap or just see him, we just realized that Sou always sat on his bench and focused on learning. Auntie thinks that's normal. He became a good, obedient boy. He never did anything strange at school. But more and more, we saw Sou who was always alone, not together with other friends. Even when it comes to travel, he always walks alone. Aunty thought she was having a fight with the other children but it turned out that she had sealed herself off from the outside world" Bibi explained with teary eyes.

"Sou.." - Akira listened to all the stories of Sou's parents.

"Auntie also begins to realize that Sou is never seen smiling again. I can't even remember the last time I saw her smile. He became quiet even he rarely spoke to us. He only spoke as necessary. Even though we gave her a gift, her favorite toy, even meeting her grandmother she didn't smile. To say hello to someone, he doesn't smile. Aunty thought Sou was like this because she was in her time of rebellion but until she was Junior High, Sou really never looked smiling again"

"We realized that we had already picked up Sou's smile, we had already snatched away her precious childhood. Of course we also consulted with the teacher and even the doctor so that he would not close himself, so that he would be friends with others but it was in vain. Sou had completely fortified himself from the outside world. He didn't want to go outside, he didn't have any friends, all he did was study and study. We are proud because he is a genius child with always satisfactory academic values but on the other hand we are also very sad, we really feel guilty for him" explained Father Sou chimed.

"One day Sou suddenly said he wanted to play basketball. He asked for permission to take part in basketball at school. Of course we are very happy, we think that at last Sou will open himself, he has found his own desire and will smile again like before so we allow him. We said that Sou can do whatever he wants, as long as his academic grades remain good because we don't want his future to be bleak" Sou's father explained. "At least he has the knowledge to make his future opportunities."

"Right, we allowed him to play basketball in the hope that Sou could come back the way he used to, smiling and laughing for the simple thing. We hope he has many friends and can be happy, but everything we do remains in vain. After he got into basketball and his depth, we still never saw him smile. We've even given up on Sou, we feel like we have no hope of making Sou smile again. We really gave up" Mother Sou said with tears.

"Auntie.." said Akira with teary eyes. Akira then clasped Mom Sou's hand.

"But at that moment, when we gave up seeing our son who lost his smile, he miraculously smiled. Aunty still clearly remembered how Sou smiled back then" she said again looking at Akira.

"When Bibi accidentally went into her room, Bibi saw Sou holding a photo. When Bibi asked about the photo, she said "look Mom, isn't she a pretty girl?" Smilingly. A very sweet smile that has been lost for a long time. He then told her about the girl while unceasingly smiling. It was also the first time Sou spoke much after a long time had passed. She said that the girl was named Souma Akira and she said that she liked Akira" explained Bibi who surprised Akira.

Akira reflexively closed his mouth using both of his hands to his surprise.

"Right, it's you Akira" explained Father Sou smiling. "Throughout that day, Sou looks a lot of smiles even if only looking at your photos, staring at the phone screen, or when he daydreams. He was so excited that if we asked him about you, he really looked happy" Father Sou explained.

"Auntie will also never forget how happy she is when we allow you to be in a relationship" Mother Sou smiled.

"Therefore we are very grateful to you, Akira. We are very, very grateful" said Sou's father, clasping Akira's hand with a smile.

"Thank you for returning our most precious treasure, thank you very much" said Ms. Sou who also held Akira's hand.

"That's.. Akira's.."

"Uncle know, Uncle has no right to say it, but please take care of our son Sou, please keep his smile" Sou's father said again.

"We beg Akira, because you are the one who can make Sou happy" said Ms. Sou chimed in.

"about-"

"What are you guys doing?" Tanya Sou suddenly came.

"We are just grateful that Akira has returned our most precious treasure" Sou's father smiled.

Mother Sou silently wiped away her tears. "That's right, thank you very much Akira" said Sou's mother again smiling. "Can you help Auntie cook for lunch?" Ask.

"Of course, Bi" said Akira smiling.

"Then, come on" he said pulling Akira away from there.

"What treasure do you mean?" Sou asked confusedly.

"You don't need to know" Sou's father smiled.

In kitchen...

"Please keep this a secret from Sou huh?" Pinta Ibu Sou's.

"Ah, good Bi. But it's.. Akira doesn't think Akira is the only source of Sou's happiness. Akira can't promise to always protect her smile but Akira will try to protect her" she smiled.

"Hm, we believe in you" said Sou's mother who also smiled. "Now let's cook"

"Iya Bi" said Akira smiling.

A while later...

"Gee.. Aunty did not think Akira was very good at cooking" said Ms. Sou amazed.

"Thank you very much Bi, but Akira is still very novice, nothing compared to Auntie" Akira smiled.

"Don't go down like that" Mother Sou said again with a smile. "Look, most of Akira is cooking. Aunty just added it" he explained.

"Thank you so much Bi" Akira smiled.

"Please call Sou and his father, we'll eat together" he said with a smile.

"Good Bi" said Akira then went after Sou and his father.

"Wah looks really good" said Sou's father approaching the dining table.

"True, it smells really good" Sou smiled.

"Of course, it's Mother and Akira's" Mother Sou explained proudly. 

"Thank you Akira" said Sou's father smiling.

"Just like Uncle"

"Hurry to sit down and eat before it gets cold" Mother Sou said again.

"Good meal" said Father and Mother Sou and Sou together.

"Good meal" Akira smiled. They enjoyed their lunch together.