Chapter Text
The museum was even grander than imagined. It was located in a green area in the center of the city, with an architectural style that blended classical and modern, and white stone walls that sparkled in the sunlight. At the entrance was a huge sculpture of two teenagers sitting side by side, one holding a brush, the other holding a book, smiling and looking into the distance.
Akito stood in front of the sculpture, feeling a strange palpitation. That boy with the brush, although his face was blurry, his posture and temperament made him feel a strong sense of familiarity. And that boy with the book, that boy with blue hair and silver eyes, made Akito‘s heart beat violently.
He entered the museum. The hall was spacious and bright, with a huge mural painted on the dome, depicting a magical forest. Sunlight poured through the glass windows in the dome, forming mottled light and shadows on the ground.
Akito followed the tour route and saw the works of Shinonome Akito and Aoyagi Touya, those manuscripts and paintings. Each work made him feel a strange resonance, as if those strokes and words contained something he couldn‘t understand but was deeply familiar with.
He came to the central hall. There hung a huge portrait, illuminated by soft lights. The boy in the painting sat in front of the window, the moonlight falling on his blue hair, his silver eyes carrying a gentle and sad expression.
Akito stopped walking. He felt that time had stopped. The sounds around him disappeared, the light dimmed, and the entire world was left with only him and that painting. The eyes of the person in the painting looked at him, as if speaking some words across time and space. Akito felt the birthmark on his chest burning, and an intense pain spread from the position of his heart, making him almost unable to breathe.
He stretched out his hand, wanting to touch the painting, but his fingers stopped a few centimeters away from the painting. He didn‘t dare, he was afraid, he was worried that all of this was just an illusion, that once he touched it, it would disappear. But the painting changed, the eyes of the person in the painting blinked once, not an illusion of light and shadow, but a real blink. Then, the corners of the person‘s mouth in the painting lifted slightly, revealing a smile.
Akito‘s eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing. Light emanated from the painting, soft and warm, like moonlight, or like dawn. The light grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire hall, making everything around it become blurry and distant.
Then a figure stepped out of the painting. Blue hair, silver eyes, a white tuxedo, a gentle, sad smile. He stood in front of Akito, looking at him, his eyes shining with tears and laughter.
“Akito,” he said, his voice soft as a sigh, “you‘ve finally come.”
Akito opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Tears welled up in his eyes, the pain in his heart intertwined with something deeper, making him almost unsteady on his feet.
“I...” he finally managed to say, his voice hoarse and trembling, “I know you...”
“Yes,” Touya said with a smile. She reached out and gently touched the birthmark on Akito‘s chest. “You‘ve been looking for me. And I’ve been waiting for you, too.”
Akito took Touya‘s hand. That hand was warm and real, not an illusion in a painting, but a living person. He felt a strange electric current coming from the point of contact, flowing through his entire body, making him feel both painful and satisfied, as if some part that had been missing for a long time had finally returned to its place.
“Touya...” Akito said softly, the name flowing naturally from his mouth, as if he had already called it countless times.
“Welcome back,” Touya said, tears falling from his eyes as well. “My greatest painter.”
They embraced each other. The surrounding light gradually dissipated, the museum returned to normal, and the tourists continued to visit, as if nothing had happened. But in this corner, in this moment favored by fate, the two souls finally crossed the barriers of time and space and met again.