Chapter Text
“I always wanted my sister to smile. Due to her sickness, my sister couldn't go to school often. The only thing on my mind was what I could do to make her smile… but I was only a child… I didn't know what I could do…”
…
Echoes of hurried footsteps rang throughout the hospital halls. The door abruptly slid to the side, slamming onto the edge of the wall. Loud panting followed by gasping for air. The older brother of the Tenma siblings, Tsukasa, huffed out the other’s name. “Saki...!”
Sound asleep, snoozing without a care in the world. That’s what Saki had looked like from an outsider’s perspective, but everyone knew exactly why she was laying down in the hospital bed. Her condition turned worse when he thought she was recovering. She recently got discharged. That’s why it gave the impression that she was. Everything was happening so fast, the little blonde couldn't even have time to process all of it.
With trembling legs, he brought himself standing close to Saki’s bed, before grabbing a chair to sit on. Tsukasa couldn’t even look at her without a pained expression -- It’s extremely disheartening to see her in a state such as this. Someone who you love so deeply and would give the world to… so much so that the world around him started to blur. Saki’s delicate expression, he couldn’t see it at all, even if he wanted to now.
“What went wrong…? Why?” Was all he could muster with his fluttering voice. The only thing accompanying him was the soft rain, gently hitting against the clouded window.
—————
...It was just a memory. A hazy one. In contrast to the dim grey sky of that day, the view beyond the rippling curtains was the rising sun. The rays slowly seeping on top of a boy, sleeping. His short blond hair, slowly fading into a peachy color at the end being reflected by the radiant glint. His eyelids slowly opened, the pair of sunset eyes gazing around the room and locking onto his calendar.
“Tsukasa? It’s time to wake up, breakfast is ready!” As if right on cue, she was beckoning him to get dressed for school. “Nn… I’m coming down soon!” A bit half-asleep, yes, but there was no reason to refuse a mother's cooking. They were always wonderful to start the day.
Just as Tsukasa’s hand got a hold of his smartphone next to his bed to scroll through a little bit, a very peculiar thing showed up. An extra song in his usual playlist which he did not recall adding in.
“Huh? [Untitled]? What’s this song?” A soft press of the play button, followed by a harsh blinding flash of light escaped from the screen, rivaling that of the sun outside. To which, he let out a small screech as a reflex. “Wah?!” Small neon triangle particles flew and swirled around the boy. The white from the screen filled up the room and soon he was enveloped inside as well.
…
Making sure it wasn’t as bright as before, Tsukasa opened his eyes. Wide. He was no longer in his room.
It was… an amusement park of some sort.
Well, the keyword being “was”.
Roller coasters, Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds… the attractions themselves were demolished into giant chunks of iron frames and casting. It was a rather vibrant space, albeit the hues themselves being a bit dimmed and faded out. Neon lights flickering now and then, the only source of light brightening up the whole place. Not even the sky, as it was greyed out.
A ruined wonderland.
“H-hello? Is anyone here?” Tsukasa spoke out to the unknown space, with silence following after. This must be a dream… right?
He started wandering around just a little bit further into the foreign space. To which he had reached a point where everything was pitch black, except for one single thing, standing tall in the center.
A lone theatre stage with a small figure on top, like they had been waiting for him this whole time. Tsukasa approached and was about to open his mouth full of questions when-
“Welcome to the Sekai, Tsukasa-kun.” An artificial sounding voice. Twin tails slightly wavered by the wind. Pointy twitchy cat ears. Monochrome and patchy dress with a cattail. It was a sight to look at. More so, that gave him more questions than answers.
He blinks. “Sekai? W-wait, who are you? Why do you know my name?” Is she an actual cat?
“I am Miku. I’ve been waiting for a long time,” She faced away from him, her hollow gaze with Tsukasa getting broken. “This Sekai, from yo- no, everyone's memories, making this once magical land.”
Miku gave no chance of letting the boy react. “I am here… to help you find true feelings.”
It was a lot to take in, Tsukasa had no idea where to even start. “Waiting? Who’s everyone? What do you mean by true feelings? I-”
That was when he felt that sensation again, being flung and transported out of the strange place. He still wasn't done yet…!
“...Come by sometime. I’ll be here, waiting.” That was all he heard before everything faded back into white.
…
Tsukasa found himself back in his room again, slumped against his desk. “...Huh? Did I pass out…?” Maybe he was exhausted… for no reason? His train of thought didn't last long. His mother had called out to him a second time, noticing he’s not down in the living room yet. “Coming!”
For Tsukasa, it was easy to forget something he hadn’t given much thought to and never remembered about the weird dream again.