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The streets around the bakery are far busier than Mika expected.
After obtaining the bag of croissants he came here for, he notices a crowd has begun to grow outside— he’ll have no choice but to walk through it to get back to his hotel. In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have made this trip so close to lunch time, but he wanted to do something nice for Shu while he was out.
He was supposed to stay behind and rest, but waiting alone in their hotel room was far too boring for Mika. He also figured he should check out Nagoya while he still has the free time to do so. They’re only scheduled to be here for two days, and half of that time will be spent either performing or preparing to perform before they’re off to make the next date for their tour.
As he walks back outside and into the crowd, Mika reflexively pushes up the sunglasses that he borrowed from Shu. Ideally, he’d like to walk around in public without being recognized, but his amber and lapis eyes tend to make blending in a lot more difficult. Thankfully, the gap between Valkyrie’s costumes and the street clothing he tends to wear usually helps him fly under the radar. He pulls up the hood of his sweatshirt, the front of which is decorated with the design of a pink, melting lollipop within the ribcage of a skeleton’s torso.
Under the warm sunlight, Mika quickly maneuvers his way down the busy street, thankful that the crowd of people seems to be getting smaller and smaller as they pile into cafes, shops, and the like. It makes him feel less anxious about possibly being recognized, and it also means he’ll sooner be in his cool hotel room. He lets out a yearning sigh at the thought.
His moment of promised reprieve doesn’t last long, however, as he suddenly sees someone on a bicycle about to speed right into him.
At the last second, Mika lunges out of the way, successfully dodging the bicyclist, but unfortunately, he doesn’t see another person directly in his path until he’s already in front of them. They bump into each other, sending the two off their balance and onto the ground, seeing stars. It happens so quickly that Mika doesn’t realize what he’s done until he's already fallen, still clutching the bag of croissants.
S’much fer a peaceful walk back, he thinks.
Rubbing away the sting of pain in the side he landed on, Mika sits up and looks around. In front of him, he notices another boy with long, black hair and yellow highlights sitting on the ground— this must be who he ran into. He quickly shuffles to his feet.
"N-Nngah! 'M really sorry!! I didn't see ya!"
The stranger’s dark, layered clothing, dark makeup, and the shiny, silver jewelry donning his ears remind Mika of visual kei fashion. He's not surprised to find someone here dressed that way, considering the style did originate in the very city he's in. What he is surprised to see, however, is a small, stuffed pig with a similar alternative fashion next to the boy; it seems slightly torn, some stuffing sticking out, possibly as a result of Mika running into him.
The boy looks up, gasping in surprise, and Mika picks up the stuffed animal, holding his hand out to help him. He takes his hand and stands with Mika’s assistance. "A-Ah, I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going, either!!"
Mika gets a better look at him, realizing the boy is much older than expected for someone carrying around a stuffed animal. He actually seems close to Mika's age, although Mika does carry around stuffed animals himself, so he can't really say anything about that. For a reason he can't quite place, however, he thinks the guy might even be familiar. Mika does have an interest in visual kei fashion, so it could just simply be due to his hairstyle and clothing being familiar.
Mika holds out the pig to him, shaking the thought. "Nnnah...I-I think I might've torn yer friend 'ere when I ran into ya. I’m very sorry!"
The boy grabs his stuffed pig from Mika, expression falling as he gets a good look at the tear. "Oh no...Amanda..."
He looks at the pig with such sad eyes that Mika is reminded of the kids he used to watch over in his hometown. They would often get attached to their stuffed animals, even crying when they were torn, which is what got Mika into stitching up plushies to begin with. His heart suddenly feels heavy with guilt for ruining the pig, since it must be really important to the boy; he even gave it a name, after all.
"If...it's okay with ya, I could fix it? I know how ta stitch up plushies really well, an' I feel really bad for tearin' yer, uh...'A-Amanda'?"
He looks at Mika with a surprised face. "Y-You can fix her? Usually, I ask one of my friends to sew her when she gets torn, but he's probably too busy, anyway. Ah, wait…! I couldn't ask you to do that..."
"S'okay, I'd be happy ta! It's the least I could do after runnin' into ya."
“A-Are you sure?” The boy squeezes his torn plush pig. “I don’t want to waste your time...!”
“Nah, yer not wastin’ m’time! Actually, I should be the one apologizin’ fer wastin’ yers!” Mika glances down the street, pointing to a tall building. "Uh, 'm actually stayin' in that hotel right now, so I could bring my sewin' kit down into the lobby and sew her up, if ya want!"
"If it's really okay...I would appreciate it, a lot!"
"'Course it is!” Mika offers him a gentle smile and starts walking down the road, waving for him to follow. “Come with me!”
They walk away from the crowd of people, much smaller now with most of the people having dispersed, and Mika mulls over how he should go about fixing Amanda as they make their way towards the hotel. He glances at her in the boy’s arms. It would probably be better if he could get a closer look at the tear...
"S'it okay if...I look at her?" Mika says, holding his hand out.
"Um..." The black and yellow haired boy’s eyes widen in surprise, clutching the pig tighter before he relaxes and hesitantly hands her to Mika. "S-Sure..."
He gently takes Amanda and examines her. It’s difficult to fight the smile his mouth curls into upon seeing her curly, heart shaped tail and little jester hat up close. The mismatched black, red, and yellow patterns scattered all over her design also intrigue Mika and remind him of some of his own plushies back at home. Thankfully, the tear is in alignment with some of the previous stitching, so it will be easy to repair without it being too noticeable.
Now feeling better prepared, he hands her back to the boy. “She’s cute. Where did ya find her?”
“Ah, she was a gift from my grandma.” The boy hugs Amanda close and smiles softly, as if reminiscing. “She made her for me when I was little…”
“That’s real nice of her. Amanda must be really important t’ya then, huh?”
“She is. It’s a little embarrassing, but...I’m not sure what I’d do without her.”
Mika nods in understanding. “I got some plushies I feel the same way about. Yanno, there’s lots’a people that can’t part with their plushies when they get older, so it’s not really weird ta be so attached to them!”
“I guess you’re right…”
The boy's face lights up a little more as the two cross the street, walking into the parking lot of the hotel. When they walk up to the entrance, Mika opens the door for him and glances around the lobby. To the right, he spots a seating area with a few chairs, tables, and couches.
"Lemme go up an' grab my sewin' kit an' I'll meet ya over there, 'kay?"
“Okay…!”
The two temporarily part ways as Mika catches a ride up to his floor on the elevator. Although he’s alone, he finds himself anxiously shifting from foot to foot as he watches the floor numbers rise and rise much too slowly. Once he hears the little chime and shuffle of the doors opening, he takes off down the hall.
As he unlocks the door to his room, he rips off his hood and takes off his sunglasses, finding the room still unoccupied— Shu doesn’t appear to be back from dropping off their costumes yet. He mindlessly drops off the glasses and bag of croissants on the table so he can tear his suitcase open. After shuffling some clothes around, he finds his sewing kit. Not wanting to keep the boy waiting, he quickly grabs said kit and runs out the door, ensuring that it’s locked before rushing back to the elevator.
Mika reenters the lobby, catching sight of the boy sitting on one of the couches across the way. He approaches him, sitting on the couch opposite to him and setting the small box of sewing supplies on the table between them.
"Sorry fer makin' ya wait!"
“You’re oka— ah…!” The boy looks up from where he was examining Amanda’s tear and gasps, cutting himself off.
When Mika goes to reach for Amanda, he notices the look of pure shock on the boy’s face and stops.
“Y-You’re…”
Mika blankly stares at him, confused at his sudden shell shocked demeanor. It takes him a moment to realize the boy is staring right at his mismatched eyes, and Mika freezes as his stomach suddenly sinks.
He forgot to grab his sunglasses again before running out of his hotel room.
“You’re...K-Kagehira-san from Valkyrie?” The boy stutters, clutching the plush pig.
“O-Oh, so ya recognize me…” Mika awkwardly smiles and scratches his head. “Yer a fan of Valkyrie, then?”
“Y-Yes, I-I…it’s n-nice to— um…” He pauses, loudly clearing his throat, and continues speaking in a deeper voice, punctuating his words with dramatic gestures. “It seems…the mysterious twists of fate have led me to be in the presence of one resplendent leader of the arts. With much reverence for thou bringer of dawn to this world of darkness, I must commend your fine virtuosity for bringing much rapture to this troubled knight of revolution and the masses alike.”
Mika’s mouth gapes open, taken aback by his studden flowery and poetic use of language. “Huh, that’s real nice of ya t’say...I think.”
There’s something familiar about his eccentric way of speaking, and it reminds Mika of how a performer may speak to a crowd. He may have even seen a vocalist from a particular band he likes speak this way at concerts.
“Wait a minute…” Mika squints at him.
He recalls a tall boy with a similar deep and striking voice greeting the crowd from the time he went to see this one band live. Underneath the purple and pink lights, penetrating the darkness of the livehouse, Mika feels like he remembers seeing golden blonde streaks in the vocalist’s hair. Surely, he must remember the introduction he gave to the audience…?
Ai...somethin’. Aimoto...? He tries to think. No, Aimono!
“Aimono Jyushi!” Mika snaps his fingers. “That’s yer name, right? Yer the vocalist of ArgoξOrchestra! Man, I thought ya looked familiar.”
Jyushi’s face lights up in a mix of shock and excitement. “Y-You know ArgoξOrchestra?!”
“Yeah! My friend took me to a livehouse a few months ago, and y’all were in the lineup. Ya have a really cool sound!”
“Thank you!! I’ll be sure to tell my bandmates you said that.” Jyushi grins and nervously pulls at his long hair. “I never thought I’d get to hear that from one of my favorite artists…”
“Hehe…” Mika bashfully smiles. “I’ve always had an interest in visual kei, but I’ve never thought ‘bout if the bands I listen to would’ve heard of Valkyrie.”
“I know some people that like visual kei that also like Valkyrie! Your costumes and makeup are always very intricate and striking, and they even contribute to your albums’ themes, which is very similar to visual kei band culture!”
“Huh, I guess so.” Mika giggles. “I’m not sure how Shu would feel ‘bout Valkyrie bein’ classified as visual kei, though.”
Wait...Shu, he remembers. Glancing down at the stuffed pig on the table, he remembers he was supposed to be fixing her before Shu comes back to the room.
“Ah, sorry! I was supposed ta be fixin’ yer friend, here.” Mika places her in his lap and begins to thread one of his needles to sew the tear. “It’ll only take a sec!”
Meticulously, Mika closes the rip in Amanda with a few movements of his needle. The stitch is seamless, leaving the repair nearly unnoticeable as he expected. He ensures that it won’t reopen before cutting the thread and handing her to Jyushi.
“There, she’s good as new!”
Jyushi happily takes her in his hands. “Thank you so much for fixing her!”
“S’no problem; I did mess ‘er up in the first place, after all.”
Mika closes his sewing kit as Jyushi shyly takes out his phone, taking a step towards him.
“Um, is it okay if I get a picture with you before I leave?”
“Of course!”
Holding up his phone, Jyushi snaps a quick selfie with Mika, the two flashing smiles and peace signs at the camera.
“I’ll see you at the Valkyrie live tomorrow!”
“I hope t’see ya! It was nice meetin’ ya!”
“You too!” Jyushi clutches Amanda in his arms and makes his way to the front doors of the hotel. “Enjoy your stay in Nagoya!”
With his sewing kit in hand, Mika heads back up to his hotel room, smiling to himself over the pleasant encounter with Jyushi. He’d been out for much longer than he intended today, and although it turned out to be much more fun than he thought, he still sighs with some relief at being free to return to his room as he unlocks the door with his keycard.
Upon opening said door, he’s greeted by the sight of Shu examining the mess Mika made in his rush to fix the plush pig— apparently, he’d been gone too long to beat Shu back to the room.
“I was wondering where you’d gone off to,” Shu says, upon noticing his entrance. “I thought I told you to rest here.” He approaches Mika, putting his hand on his forehead. “You look tired, and you’re warm. What have I told you about wandering around in the heat with too many layers?”
“Shuuu, ‘m okay! I just went fer a lil walk ‘cause I felt antsy.” Mika leans into his touch and nods towards the table in the room. “I also got ya croissants while I went out!”
Shu’s face softens, and he runs his fingers through Mika’s hair, partly to fix it and partly to pet him. “I was wondering where those came from; that’s very thoughtful of you.” He glances down at the kit in Mika’s hands. “What were you doing out with this?”
“Oh! I accidently ran into someone while I was walkin’ outta the bakery,” Mika sheepishly says. “I tore somethin’ of theirs, so I offered ta fix it! We also sorta...recognized each other?”
Shu quirks an eyebrow. “You know someone in Nagoya?”
“Uh, not exactly? Here, lemme put all this away, and I’ll tell ya what happened!”
Mika sets down to hastily reorganize his luggage he previously tore through, as Shu picks up the forgotten bag of croissants.
“Do change into something more comfortable, too. You need to rest after that little adventure of yours.”
“I’ll be okay, Shu,” he says, pulling out another set of clothes, anyway. “Ya worry too much!”
“I want to make sure you’re not overworking yourself,” Shu quietly says, sitting on their hotel bed.
Mika glances at him, promptly changing his clothes, before jumping onto the bed, practically flinging himself into his partner’s arms.
“Mika!”
He presses his forehead to Shu’s as they both sway, and Shu’s expression softens again. Picking a croissant out of the bag, he hands it to Mika.
“Alright, who’s this person you recognized?”
“Okay so…”
Mika begins to explain the eventful last hour of his life, while they share the pastries that led to all of it happening, wondering in the back of his mind if he’ll be able to find Jyushi in the crowd during their concert tomorrow.