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His birthdays have always been mild events. They’ve featured the usual cake, celebration, and presents that were expected. Joe’s taste didn’t diverge much from the normal in his early years, tiny hands taking ahold of any toy he was given and joyfully swinging it around and making noise. It’s so simple when he thinks back on it; it’s the vision of nostalgia he’s been thinking about recently in the end.
Life without so many worries, without all the pain that’s come to him recently and swiftly.
Joe can’t discount all the positive times, however.
The shift into middle school brought the wild head of hair he toted to a clean cut, shaven down so he could join the school’s sports teams without being told to fix his appearance. All of his efforts in maintaining his hair might’ve been lost, but throwing himself into athletics brought about friends. Thankfully, they thought of him as a chill guy with a bright attitude and a soft enough competitive spirit that winning was a goal, but never one he got aggressive over.
( He still thinks about those boys even now. Some were missing a single tooth, yet the sunniness in their smiles brought about the urge to share his own further. )
No ill will was thrown in his direction when he left the team in the midst of his second year, opting to follow his own path instead. They jokingly refer to him as a stray puppy, one with plenty of loyalty but still managing to walk his own way no matter what anyone may say. Joe beams with pride at the comparison, letting out an all-too enthusiastic ‘awoo!!’ at his friends when he passes them by in the hallways.
( His hair begins to grow out again and he puts it into a ponytail. There’s criticism from his father following his decision to quit and there’s a fight, but Joe refuses to back down. He’s his own person in the end; he’ll show it as much as he can right until graduation and beyond! )
When high school comes around and the trees are in full bloom, Joe finds himself alone for the first time in a while.
A sudden shift in his life, what with packing up and leaving his hometown to live alone with his mother in an entirely new space. The paper with all his friend’s phone numbers is crumpled on his desk at home and his fingers have an excessively tight grip within the right pocket of his pants. The uniform is stuffy, he doesn’t feel like he can breathe and, for a brief moment, Joe considers skipping the opening ceremony for the freshman and taking off to hang out behind the school.
Yet, knowing that would be a grand misstep on his first day, Joe swallows his anxiety and enters the auditorium. The entrance ceremony is a blur and he only snaps to attention when he hears his own name called, mindlessly continuing through the motions of the rest with a hint of lag when following the students around him. It’s not without a sense of embarrassment that he comes back to himself as everyone proceeds to leave that Joe pulls himself completely from his trance and heads out along with the rest of his class.
He pays attention to what the teacher says and settles into his seat, taking the small stack of textbooks he’s handed and settling one on his desk. Turning around to present one of the last few to the person behind him, he pauses. The girl’s eyes are rather piercing and her hair is a blaze of orange, styled in a way that’s somehow more formal yet equally complicated as his own. She meets his eyes and raises an eyebrow, holding one hand and tilting her head towards it to signal that he might want to hand over one of the books. Joe swallows and complies, offering an apology and whipping back around to face the front so hard he nearly throws himself from his seat.
Her name’s Sara Chidouin, apparently. The ‘samurai woman’ according to a few people he hears in passing when the day comes to a close. A feeling swells in his chest, one that he hasn’t felt in such capacity for months now: overwhelming determination.
The next day, Joe waits. He stands near the gate, shifting his feet to keep a comfortable stance and rolling up his sleeves every now and then much to the slight annoyance of the teacher also watching the students flood in as they arrive. He spots her soon enough and finds himself at her side within seconds, mouth open to greet her.
“ You’re Chidouin, right? I thought, y’know, since we’re classmates and sit right by each other and all… I thought we could be friends! Or, if that’s not your scene at the start of the year, at least we could introduce ourselves? ”
Sara only looks at him as they walk before a light smile breaks over his face. She shifts the position of her bag before opening her mouth to speak to him for the first time since they met face-to-face. “ Can you tell me your name too? It’s a rude to say mine before saying who you are first. ”
Joe blinks and flushes, hand moving to rub the back of his neck. Well, damn, this is sure embarrassing! Gathering his nerves together, he gives a nod as they arrive to their lockers and move to switch their shoes. “ Jou Tazuna, though you can call me Joe if you’d like! ”
She contemplates for a moment, giving a nod. “ It’s nice to meet you, Tazuna. You already know my name, but… I’m Sara Chidouin. Were you really waiting at the gate solely to talk to me, though? I’m a little impressed you’d do that after only just meeting me… ”
This girl really knows how to hit him where he’ll blush the hardest, huh? Joe covers his face with both hands, running them down his face and letting out a soft groan much to Sara’s amusement. “ I wasn’t sure how to talk to you otherwise! I figured it’d be a lot weirder if I asked to eat lunch with you the second day we met, so--! ”
“ It’s fine, Tazuna. I’m teasing you, ” Sara answers, stopping him from rambling any further. A sheepish expression falls over his face as he hoists his bag up, a light pout on his lips. His next comment is stopped when another girl comes up to them, greeting Sara instantly before looking towards him.
There’s hardly any secrecy in the way she gently pulls Sara away to whisper in her ear, shooting Joe glances before Sara answers. Meanwhile, he watches with a slight tilt to his head and shuffles his feet while waiting for them to properly address him again. Finally, when they do, it’s the new mystery girl that beams towards him.
“ It’s nice to meet you, Joe! I’m Ryoko Hirose, our local samurai woman’s best friend. I hope we can get along too! ” she says and, within seconds, Joe feels his own brain short-circuit. She’s… cute. She’s adorable!!! Putting his ability to speak together again, he returns the greeting with his own polite one before the bell rings and Ryoko’s forced to depart.
Sara and Joe look to each other before heading off towards their own classroom, other late students hot on their heels. Landing in their seats right before the teacher walks in, they breathe a collective sigh of relief and give each other knowing smiles before their attention returns to the front.
The days continue in a similar manner all throughout the first year, two months spent in a strange limbo where Joe calls her Sara before being given the stark reminder that she hasn’t called him by his first name once since they met. Still, it doesn’t stop him from trying to goad her into speaking it.
( She doesn’t, much to his disappointment, but Joe keeps his impatience in check and waits. )
When the occasion comes around, it’s pure bliss. The dog keychain that’s a combined gift from Sara and Ryoko now rests soundly in the chest pocket of his shirt is a welcome companion onto the ensemble, one finger petting its head as if it were a real pet. His gratitude towards the winter uniform comes to him when he realizes upon wearing it again that now the dog will stick out much more against the blue than it ever did the tan of the dress shirt.
( Despite the warning to not get it taken away, Joe’s focus is solely on how cute it is and how happy he is to finally have Sara calling him by his first name. The rest of the year is bound to go without a hitch now, what with how his luck is dishing out the good moments. )
Second year breezes in with the cherry blossoms, sprinkling the duo’s vision with pink and making the date all that much better. Joe gently holds Ryoko’s hand as they head back in the direction of the school, chattering about future plans and what they could do next time they go out alone. The mood is perfect and, when they diverge onto different paths, Joe can’t help but feel entirely at peace despite a looming sense of dread that’s clawing the back of his blazer.
( It’s fine , he tells himself, it’s not like one stalker will stop me from keeping Sara safe now! )
The rest of the day falls into a blur, from the act of violence that knocks him out and wakes him up in restraints, how the people he meets have names and faces he remembers enough to keep track of throughout the game, how one of their members falls--
How he finds a card with a skull within the cupboard of the bar, words coming rapidfire from his mouth, how he sees Sara’s distressed face when his name is spoken with such gleeful malice that he feels nauseous--
How, finally, he feels a shooting pain throughout several parts of his body and the world slowly drifts to black with the final sounds being that of Sara’s rapidfire buttonmashing.
“ Joe. ”
A voice snaps him from his daydreaming, boy turning to face the source. Long black hair catches his vision before the object in Kai’s hand does, attention focusing onto brightly lit candles and a dog lovingly created using chocolate icing.
( He could cry, really. )
The rest of those stuck in this afterlife are around him in a semi-circle, some wearing bright smiles while others offer smaller ones.
Nao’s the one that comes forward, handing off a hand-made card with his name and a drawing of himself on the front. The inside is littered with messages from everyone here, wishing him the happy 17th he thought he would never get to see in those first moments of awakening here.
Tears wet the corners of his eyes and he sniffles, holding the card to his chest as everyone surrounds him. A group hug is given and, despite all of the emotions choking his lungs, he breaks into a fit of joyous laughter to rival the crying the rest of him wants to give into.
“ Thank you…! Thank you so much, everyone…! ”