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He’s walking to his plane to Brazil when he sees them. They flicker in and out of existence, but Hinata sees them. When he lays his eyes on them a dam opens in his mind, and everything falls back into place.
Time stops and folds around him and suddenly he’s back in high school, tucked away somewhere quiet while the rest of their friends run around at the fair. The memory of a kiss, quick and featherlight; they were both nervous and excited. Playing with golden curls with his fingers, rare glimpses of a smile on someone’s lips.
Who are you? Why are you so dear to me?
Hinata is still running. Everything is a blur around him, his eyes are only on the specter barely there just meters away from him--if he runs fast enough he can catch them and hold on to them and never let go.
The specter catches him in its arms, and his memories explode in his mind like confetti.
“Tsukki,” he breathes. The name sits heavy on his tongue. It’s so familiar, how could he have forgotten it? He must have uttered that name a thousand, thousand times.
He feels a hand run through his hair, so soft and gentle it feels like a breeze.
“Have a safe flight.” The voice he hears is like an echo, a ghost of a sound bouncing away uttered long ago. “You should know that I-- ”
The moment ends abruptly and the specter is gone. There’s an airport official scolding him for walking out on the tarmac and almost missing his flight. Hinata apologizes profusely and gets on the plane.
He bursts into tears the moment they take off, and he can’t fathom why he’s crying. When he calms down he watches the sunset from his window, waiting for the slow rise of the moon. He keeps repeating the word in his mind.
Tsukki, tsukki, tsukki.
He feels empty watching the night sky open up--how could he not? What was the sun without the moon?
Hinata hears that echo of a voice again, so faint he had to strain his ears to hear it.
“You should know that I love you,”
For the second time that day he bursts into tears. He looks out the window and sends a quiet prayer to the sky above him.
Please, bring him back to me.
No star twinkles at him in response, no clouds part to give him a sign. The moon hung high in the sky above him, higher than he could ever possibly reach, indifferent to his prayers.