Chapter Text
Akito sat on a tree stump with his knees brought up to his chest, his arms circled around his legs. His face expressed annoyance as he glared angrily at everything around him, huffing as he rocked back and forth.
He was currently — as much as he didn’t want to say it — completely lost. All around him were tall trees that all looked pretty much the same; no direction showed any signs of the forest thinning out. There was no path on the ground, either. Maybe he should have looked for one when he walked in. But it was too late now, and he had no idea what to do.
As for the reason he had gone to the forest in the first place… Akito suddenly sighed. Their family had gone out to the countryside summer residence that they visited every year. That area was quite desolate; the nearest city was probably a half an hour drive away. Instead of paved roads and cityscapes, there was an endless expanse of wheat and the never-ending sounds of cicadas.
This year, Akito felt particularly irritable when he was around his family. It wasn’t quite their fault, really. He was mostly frustrated with himself. After deciding to quit soccer, he suddenly found himself at a loss as to what he should do. He was unwilling to start a random hobby, because he didn’t know how much time and effort he’d spend doing it until one day he’d decide to quit. If (more like when) he quit, he’d once again feel frustrated over the amount of wasted energy he put into that hobby. And so…
Sighing again, Akito looked up at the patches of sky that peeked out through the gaps of the leaves above him. He suddenly recalled his sister yelling after him not to go too far, and how he had completely ignored her words. She’d probably make fun of him when he went back huh… he rolled his eyes at the thought of that.
His thoughts ground to a halt when he heard the sound of someone singing in the distance. Akito listened for a little while before getting off of the tree stump and deciding to look for that person by following their voice. Though he didn’t really know where he was going, he at least believed that his hearing was good enough for him to figure out which direction it came from. It wasn’t long before he spotted a figure in the distance — a person was singing in the middle of a clearing. Their back was to him, so Akito couldn’t make out much except for the fact that they were wearing simple, blue-grey robes, and their hair was a strange two-toned dark and light blue.
He was unsure if going up to them was a good idea; he had barely thought about the dangers of approaching a stranger before he followed the voice. Lost in thought, he shifted his weight, suddenly snapping a branch under his foot. His eyes widened in surprise, and he saw the person standing in the clearing turn toward him.
What was even more surprising was that the person was wearing a kitsune mask. What a weird person… Akito thought to himself as the other tilted their head.
“A human child?” The older boy’s voice sounded. From his voice, he sounded to be a teenager or young adult, perhaps just a few years older than him.
“I’m not a child!” Akito, who was twelve years old, pouted.
The other laughed softly, making Akito blush with embarrassment. “To me, all humans are children.”
“All humans?” Akito caught on this time, frowning. “Are you not one yourself?”
“I’m…” The other trailed off before sighing. “Something that lives in this forest. Though, I have not seen you before. Are you, by any chance, lost?”
“I-” Akito opened his mouth to retort before realizing that the person in front of him was probably his best chance at finding someone to lead him out. He slid his gaze off to the side, mumbling, “... yeah.”
He could tell that the other person — or not person, whatever he was — was smiling under that mask. But before he could say anymore, the other beckoned him forward. “Not many people come here,” he said as Akito slowly followed behind. “And most that do get lost.”
“Do you usually guide them out?” He asked curiously.
“Not usually… I tend to avoid people.”
“Why…?” Akito realized that the other’s voice changed slightly, although he couldn’t place a name to the emotion that colored his tone.
“That’s because if a human touches me, I’ll disappear.”
“Disappear?”
“Mm.”
“I see…” Akito murmured, tilting his head as he thought about it. “Then… if you’re not human, what are you?”
“Some kind of yokai… I guess,” the other sounded unsure as well. “I don’t believe that there are any others like me out there. It would be a shame if there were.”
Akito fell silent at that, the two of them walking to the sound of cicadas humming. He could tell that the other didn’t quite want to continue talking, so he dropped the topic. He turned over some thoughts in his mind as they walked, making sure to keep a small distance so that he wouldn’t accidentally bump into him if anything happened.
It didn’t take too long before they approached a shrine gate, a few stone steps leading down to a dusty trail beyond it. “Oh, so there really is a path,” Akito muttered. How did I miss that?
“It’s quite hard to find if you don’t know where it is, as it’s usually obscured by the tall grass,” the other said. “That’s why not a lot of people come here. You should be able to reach the nearby village if you follow this path.”
“Thanks,” Akito nodded as he quickly descended the stairs before turning around. The person had already turned to go, but stopped as he called out, “Wait!”
“What is it?” His robes swayed gently in the wind as he turned around.
“You’ll be here tomorrow, right?”
“Tomorrow? You plan on coming back?”
“Of course,” Akito crossed his arms. “I’m not staying shut in with that sister of mine all day. Besides, I like being outside.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. His sister generally stayed in her own room though; it was just being stuck inside the house and not having anything to do that made him feel annoyed just by thinking about it.
“I see,” the other nodded. “Yes. I live here, so I will be here every day.”
“Okay, I’ll definitely come back tomorrow — oh yeah, I still haven’t asked. What’s your name?”
The other seemed stunned at the question, but after a few beats, he spoke. “Toya.”
“Toya, huh? I’m Sh- ah, whatever. Just call me Akito.”
Feeling that there was no need to be formal, Akito directly told Toya his first name.
“Akito…” Toya echoed.
“Mhm,” Akito gave him a smile. “Then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Toya!”
Akito waved and turned to go, running along the path before disappearing into the yellowed grass. Behind him, the grass swayed before stilling, as if he had never been there in the first place.
Toya watched the boy go, then said his name softly. “Akito… huh.”
How long had it been since he told someone his name? A smile tugged at his lips under the mask before he turned around and headed back into the forest.
-
Akito practically ran all the way home, panting slightly as he tread upon the dusty path. The sun was already starting to set, and he didn’t want to get home too late. He saw the figure of a person in the distance, recognizing it to be Ena from the short hair.
When she turned to see him, a relief flashed in her expression before she furrowed her brows, crossing her arms. “Where have you been, you idiot?” She questioned. “It’s already dinnertime!”
“I just went out,” Akito rolled his eyes, walking past her and heading back to their home.
“You got lost, didn’t you?” Ena grinned smugly, following a few steps behind him.
“Shut up!” Akito tilted his head back, too lazy to turn around to say it to her face.
Ena laughed softly, and her tone softened considerably. “Well, as long as you’re back, it’s fine.”
For the rest of the night, Akito was slightly absent-minded. He wanted to go back to the forest so he could get away from his family and spend some more time with Toya. The other was quite interesting to Akito. From what he understood, Toya generally stayed away from humans, but was willing to help them if they came to him. Perhaps that was why he said it would be a shame if there were others like him; if they too wanted to interact and help other humans, it would be extremely risky for them to get too close to them.
That means he doesn’t have much exposure to our type of life, right…? Akito thought to himself as he lay on his mattress, staring up at the wooden ceiling above him. Then maybe I can bring him some stuff that he’ll like.
Akito already began to unconsciously plan what he would do during his visits; perhaps it was because he had suddenly found someone who seemed like they could be his friend, Akito was actually quite excited. He turned around in his bed, accidentally making a loud noise as he shifted his blankets, earning a “be quiet!” from Ena who was on the other side of the room.
The next day, he stuffed a few snacks into a plastic bag before heading out. By this time, it was already afternoon, so he only brought some dry snacks and water. He held the bag with one hand as he retraced his steps from the day before, taking a short while before finally finding the path that was hidden from sight.
“Why don’t people just cut away the grass so that people can find it?” Akito grumbled as he walked along the trail, stopping every so often to drink some water.
When he finally spotted the shrine rising into view, he was unable to see the figure of the person from yesterday. He let out a sigh as he sat down on the stairs, shutting his eyes and taking a moment to relax in the shade. When he opened them and was about to call for Toya, he suddenly saw the other step out from behind the shrine gate.
“You actually came,” Toya said, his voice betraying surprise.
“I said I would, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but…”
“Well, I’m here, so there’s no point thinking if I wasn’t going to,” Akito swiftly cut him off, pushing himself up. “Here, I brought some stuff for you.”
“What is it?” Toya looked over, but he didn’t move any closer.
“Snacks. You can eat, right?”
Toya nodded in agreement.
“Great,” Akito reached into his bag and tossed him a packet of rice crackers. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had something like this before, so I brought you some.”
“Thank you…” Toya said softly, and Akito could swear that he could tell Toya’s eyes were sparkling under that mask.
“By the way, do you stay here because you don’t want to go down?” Akito asked as he walked up the stairs, leaning against the other pillar of the gate.
Toya shook his head, taking a moment to tear open the plastic packaging. “I can’t leave, even if I wanted to.”
“That must suck,” Akito looked up at the sky. “I couldn’t imagine staying in the forest forever.”
“It’s not too bad,” Toya shifted his mask slightly so that he could take a bite out of the snack. “There are some others I talk to sometimes.”
“I see…”
After a moment of silence, Toya suddenly spoke up. “Would you like me to show you around a little bit? There are some places I’d like for you to see…”
“Sure,” Akito agreed easily. “It’s not like I have anything to do, anyway.”
He saw the edges of Toya’s lips curl upward from under his skewed mask. It wasn’t quite a smile, but Akito counted it as a win. Toya seemed like a very serious person who didn’t laugh or smile often. And so, Akito made a mental note on his list of things he wanted to make Toya do.
(That was, for Toya to smile, perhaps without his mask — for him to smile genuinely, without restraint. Akito thought that he would look nice smiling like that.)
“How long have you lived here?” Akito asked as they started to walk deeper into the forest.
Toya thought about it for a moment. “I’m not sure…” He ended up saying. “It’s been too many for me to count. Probably a few hundred…?”
“A few hundred?!” Akito took a step back out of shock. “But- but like-” You don’t even look like a proper adult!
“I still count as one of the youngest ones,” Toya paused to turn back toward him. Akito quickly regained his footing and moved to follow him.
“Does a few hundred years count as young?” Akito questioned, a disbelieving look on his face. “Why aren’t there any younger spirits?”
“There are a few,” Toya corrected him. “But because this shrine has become secluded and not many come to pray, there are also not a lot of new yokai that come.”
“That makes sense…” Akito nodded. “Oh, here’s another snack.”
The two of them walked for a little while longer before Akito heard the sound of flowing water. Toya led him to a small river that cut through the forest, the water sparkling clear.
“I like to sit here and sing sometimes,” Toya said as he sat down on a relatively clean spot near the river bank, folding his legs. “Some others like to visit as well.”
“Why do you like singing?” Akito asked before realizing that for their entire walk, all he had done was question Toya. “Oh- but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I’ve asked a lot of questions.”
“I don’t mind,” Toya looked out to the other side of the river. “Most spirits do not sing, so it is natural that you find it strange. I sing because… it makes me feel less lonely. When I sing, it reminds me of who I am.”
Akito didn’t quite understand, but before he could ask, Toya turned toward him. “Akito-kun, do you sing?”
“What’s with the formality? Just call me Akito.” Akito grimaced before shaking his head. “I don’t really listen to music. I used to spend all my free time playing soccer, so I wouldn’t have the time to, anyway.”
“Used to?” Toya tilted his head.
Akito cast his gaze onto the ground. “Yeah. I quit at the end of this year, though. It was a sport that I really liked to play, but then I realized that the effort I was putting into it wasn’t enough, and I didn’t have the heart to completely dedicate myself to it. So I quit.”
“I’m sure you were putting in a lot of effort…”
“It wasn’t enough,” Akito shook his head. “And besides, I’ve already quit, so that’s that.”
“I see…” Toya let out a soft breath. “Then, Akito, why don’t you tell me about how that sport works someday? I’d like to learn about it.”
“Yeah, I could do that,” Akito smiled. “I’ll bring a sketchbook or something someday and I can show you. In exchange, you can teach me some songs or something… I don’t know how well I can sing, but that’s something you like, right?”
“If you want me to teach you some songs, I could try…” Toya trailed off. “I don’t think I’ve ever taught anyone before; I don’t think I’d be a good teacher.”
“That’s fine,” Akito waved it off. “If nothing else, you can just sing some songs you like or something. I can just listen.”
Toya hummed in agreement, and the two of them continued to converse and eat the snacks Akito brought until the sun shifted lower in the sky. Not wanting to return home too late, Akito made sure to have Toya bring him back before the sun set. Just like the day before, they parted ways at the shrine gate.
“I’ll be back tomorrow!” Akito said, grinning at him before heading back.
He nodded in response, standing by the gate until Akito vanished from sight. Then, he unclenched his hand, looking at the plastic wrapper he had secretly kept.
-
Akito started visiting daily, always showing up at the gate at around the same time. Toya would usually be waiting for him by the gate, and Toya would lead him around the forest as they talked about anything and everything.
His parents and sister had once asked him where he was going every day, but there was no way that Akito could tell them that he was visiting a kitsune mask-wearing yokai every day in the forest, so he often brushed them off before rushing out of the house.
“Okay, I brought paper and a pencil today,” Akito said as he settled down under some shade.
Toya looked over from the side, a small distance away.
“So,” Akito started sketching on the paper as he explained to Toya how soccer worked. “The field is a rectangle like this, and there’s a half line in the middle to split each team’s area. For professional teams, there’s eleven people on each team, and they usually have a 1-4-3-3 formation like this…”
As he watched Akito explain, Toya smiled slightly. From the first day he had gotten lost in the forest, Akito had never seemed as happy as he did now. The human was quite young, but Toya felt that he was never truly happy — at least, he never expressed it like the other children he had seen before. When he had seen those children before, he felt a strong sense of longing to have something like that; he wanted to grow up with people his age and play around like them too.
But because of his circumstances, he did not age like a normal human would, nor was he able to have such a lively childhood. He had thought that Akito had a strangely mature mindset for a child, so seeing the childlike sparkle in his eyes when talking about soccer made him feel a little happy.
Akito turned toward him after finishing his explanation, an expectant look in his eyes. “Any questions?”
The paper had been filled with lines; dots marking the players and lines with arrows pointing in all directions for different plays. At first glance, Toya would have found it totally incomprehensible.
He shook his head. “I understand why you would like this kind of game. Although you said you quit, maybe it isn’t a bad idea to play casually too; you seem to still like it a lot.”
“Hmm,” Akito leaned back on his hands. “Maybe. But I don’t want to put pressure on casual players, you know? Like if I’m going to play, I want to play to win. I don’t want to force people who are just having fun to do something like that. Though… I’ll think about it.”
After a second of silence, Akito tore the paper out of his sketchbook. “Here,” he held it out for Toya to grab. “You can keep it.”
“Thanks,” Toya reached for the paper.
But before he could properly hold onto it, Akito let go, and the paper started drifting downward. Akito made a noise of surprise and was about to reach for it when something dashed past his hand and took the paper with it.
“What the-” Akito watched a little tanuki scurry past him, climbing up a tree with lightning speed and turning toward him.
“You were going to touch him, weren’t you!” The tanuki shouted.
“Ha? What are you talking about?”
“I saw what you were about to do!”
“I was just giving him the paper?” Annoyance bled into Akito’s tone. He knew what touching Toya would do to the other; what reason did he have to do that?
“It’s okay,” Toya spoke toward the tanuki, the yokai immediately quieting down. “He’s my friend.”
“Hmph!” The tanuki waved its tail. “Fine! But, human boy, if you dare touch Toya-kun, know that I will make you suffer! Wahaha!”
With that, the tanuki let go of the paper and scurried off, Akito watching it disappear with a disapproving look. “At least bring the paper back down,” he sighed.
“Sorry about her,” Toya apologized in place of the tanuki. “She’s quite brash sometimes.”
“I’ll say.”
Toya looked at the paper that was stuck between two branches, then back at Akito. “Um… Akito, can you get the paper…?”
“Do you not know how to climb trees?” Akito teased.
“I do in theory, but… I’m afraid of heights.”
“What is there to be afraid of?” Akito raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like- ah, whatever. Give me a second, I’ll go get it.”
He easily made his way up, as the tree had quite a few foot and handholds. “What a rude tanuki,” he muttered to himself before grabbing onto the paper and calling to Toya, “I got it.”
“Remember to be careful on your way down.”
Akito turned to see Toya watching him, probably worried for his safety.
“I’ll be fine, just-”
Right as he said that, his foot slipped from the bark of the tree. Since he had the paper in one hand and was holding onto a branch with the other, and the branch was not strong enough to bear his entire weight, he ended up falling as the branch snapped.
“Akito!” Toya’s voice was frantic as Akito saw him move forward with his arms outstretched.
Akito’s eyes widened. “Don’t-”
At the last second, it seemed that Toya realized too, and he withdrew his arms. Akito ended up crashing into a patch of underbrush. “Damn, that hurt…” he groaned as he lay there for a bit, the pain coursing through his entire body.
“Ah… Akito, are you okay?” Toya’s face appeared in view.
“Do I look-” Akito snapped before he caught himself and sighed. “I’m not injured badly anywhere.”
He slowly pushed himself up, dusting off his clothes and smoothing out his hair. “You better tell that tanuki friend of yours to not do something like that again.”
“I’m sorry; she is usually very outgoing. I’ll talk to her later.”
“No need to apologize,” Akito winced as he stretched his body before starting to head down the path that he could recognize by now. “It’s not your fault. Let’s go, I’ve gotta get back before the sun sets.”
Toya quietly followed along, sending him to the gate as he normally did. As they neared the entrance, Akito suddenly spoke. “By the way, don’t ever do something as stupid as that again.”
“Huh?” Toya blinked in surprise.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Akito turned around, his brows furrowed. Toya could tell that he was angry from the expression in his eyes. “It’s fine if I get hurt. But don’t ever, ever touch me. I don’t want to see you disappear in front of my eyes.”
“I…” Toya was at a loss for words for a moment. “Mm.”
At that, Akito relaxed, a flash of relief crossing his face. “Here, I’ll put the paper on top of the lantern.”
After saying that, Akito placed the paper down, turning to go without another word.
“Akito!” Toya called out when Akito reached the start of the wheat field.
“Hm?” Akito stopped where he was to look back at Toya.
“Are you… still coming tomorrow?”
Akito huffed, a smile tugging at his lips. “What are you talking about? Of course I am.”
Then, he started making his way back to the village, waving without turning around. Toya moved to take the paper that Akito had put onto the stone lantern, sighing quietly.
“Was that human really your friend?” The tanuki from earlier had come back, calling from the lantern on the other side of the gate.
“Yes.” Toya neatly folded the paper and tucked it into his robe. “So please don’t do something like that again.”
“Sorry! I won't do it again! But… Toya-kun, that’s your first human friend, right? I’m happy for you!” The tanuki waved her tail before suddenly changing forms.
Toya nodded, humming in agreement. “He is. Thank you, Emu-san.”
“Ehehe! Then I won’t bother him anymore! You seem a lot happier when you’re with him, Toya-kun! I haven’t seen you so happy in a long time!”
“Really?” Toya mulled over it for a second. “Maybe so.”
After all, at some point, he had begun to anticipate the other’s arrival every day.
-
“Hey, Toya- woah!” Akito turned to speak to the other when something jumped down from the sky, causing him to stumble backward.
“Toya! I heard that you’ve been hanging out with a human recently-” A loud voice boomed, Akito refocusing his vision to see who it was.
The voice belonged to a person… well, a person that was donned in traditional robes and had black wings stretching out from his back. His hair was blonde that faded into peach at the tips, and he had a mask that rested on the side of his head. Akito could tell from the vest that the yokai that had just landed was a tengu.
The tengu stopped when he realized Akito was there, and his eyes narrowed. He put a hand on Toya’s shoulder, taking a defensive step forward. “Is it you?”
“Well, yeah. I’m a human, and I’ve been hanging out with Toya lately,” Akito said flatly, unsure whether the tengu was going to attack him like that tanuki did the other day.
Toya gently pushed the tengu’s hand off of his shoulder. “Tsukasa-san, it’s alright. He knows about my condition.”
Tsukasa grumbled something under his breath but stepped back, although his gaze on Akito was still judgemental. A second later, another yokai stepped out from behind the trees.
“Oya? I thought it was strange for Tsukasa-kun to suddenly dive out of the sky. What’s this, a human child? Oh, you must be the one Emu-kun talked about.”
“Emu…?” Akito asked in confusion, looking at the yokai that had appeared.
He was dressed in traditional robes just like the others, but had a pair of fox ears upon his asymmetrical purple hair. Akito could see the kitsune’s tails swinging behind him, the tips of his tail a bright cyan blue that matched the streaks in his hair. Suddenly, Akito felt a little out of place with his t-shirt and shorts.
“Ah, I assume she hasn’t introduced herself to you,” the kitsune said. “I believe she snatched your paper the other day.”
Akito nodded slowly, although he was still a little overwhelmed to see two yokai appear out of thin air.
“Akito,” Toya said, gesturing toward the two beside him. “This is Tsukasa-san and Rui-san. They’re the ones that saved me.”
“Saved you?”
“Mm. I was originally human too, but I was abandoned in this forest when I was an infant. I would have died if not for them.”
“In exchange for letting him live, the mountain god placed a curse on him,” Rui added on. “I would like to request that you refrain from touching him.”
“I know, I know,” Akito said dismissively. “I’m not stupid enough to do that.”
“Toya is very precious to us!” Tsukasa spoke, beaming with a smile that could only be called prideful. “He is very kind, so don’t treat him badly, okay? If you do, then we will make sure that you regret it! Then, I shall take my leave! Remember what you said, human boy! Hahaha!”
With that, Tsukasa took off and disappeared into the sky, Akito watching him with a disgruntled look. “He really is like that tanuki…” He muttered as he shook his head.
“Toya-kun.” Rui called to the other boy, the fox-like smile that he had on earlier fading into a more serious expression. “Be careful.”
“I will, Rui-san. Thank you.”
After casting another look at Akito, Rui too walked back into the forest, his form becoming shrouded in shadow not even a second after he left. Akito let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, feeling that most of his energy had been drained from that encounter. Those yokai seemed quite strange… though, he was a little jealous that they could casually touch Toya like that.
“Those are your friends?” Akito asked, disbelief in his tone.
“Yes. They are very precious friends of mine; they have been helping me since I can remember.”
What a miracle… Akito thought to himself. Despite hanging around with a bunch of weirdos, he seems relatively normal…
“Akito? Is everything alright?”
“Yeah…” Akito laughed slightly. “I’m just glad the one I first met was you, that’s all.”
Toya looked at him for a moment, falling silent. No… he thought as Akito started complaining about his sister. I should be the one that’s glad.
As he was born a human, he was already different from the other yokai from the beginning. Growing up surrounded by yokai, he was able to learn a lot about their culture, although he felt that he never really fit in. After all, he couldn’t fly or shapeshift like many of the others could. He was just an ordinary human with a curse placed on him.
For a long time, he had wished that he could talk with, or maybe even become friends with, a human. At first, it seemed like a viable option. People visited the shrine all the time to offer prayers, and Toya would watch from the side. He didn’t want to interrupt them while they were praying, and he had to make sure that he didn’t scare them and accidentally get touched. Over time, those numbers dwindled, and Toya hadn’t even made any attempts to get closer to them.
One day, Tsukasa had told him about groups of people that sometimes gathered to sing. Tsukasa often went to the human realm — as he, like almost all of the other yokai, were not restricted to the forest — and would tell Toya stories about them when he came back. There was once a time when he told Toya about a girl that looked quite similar to him, though her hair faded to pink instead of the peach that he had.
“I saw in her in… what do they call it, a hospital? Those places that humans go to when they get sick or injured. She looked quite sad, though! I don’t know why, but I really wanted to cheer her up!” Tsukasa had said, and Toya smiled at that.
Tsukasa was a very empathetic person and often tried to make Toya happy, which was a big reason why he told Toya so many stories. The time he told Toya about the people that sang, he told him, “Why don’t you try singing?”
“Singing?” Toya didn’t quite understand the concept. After all, he did not know much about anything except the ideas that the others had taught him.
“Hm, let’s see. You know how Rui sometimes plays the flute? The sound it makes… it’s called a melody. You see, it’s not like when someone’s speaking, right? It’s more fluid and moving. Though I can teach you how to sing, I believe you will be able to surpass me.”
“How is that possible?” Toya shook his head. “Tsukasa-san is much more capable than I am.”
“Ah, but you know, you were originally human. The way humans sing is different from the way we sing. It’s quite hard to explain, but Toya, this is something that you can do that we can’t. I know that you’ve been distressed about how you’re different from us, but there’s no need to fit in. You just need to be who you are.”
“I…” Toya murmured. “I’ll try it, then… thank you, Tsukasa-san.”
“No need for thanks!” Tsukasa grinned. “Come, let’s go find Rui.”
…
“... -ya. Toya. Hey,” Akito waved his hand in front of Toya’s face. “Have you been spacing out? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“You can tell?” Toya’s voice carried surprise.
“Well, yeah. We’ve been hanging out for a while now. Even if you’re always wearing that mask, I can still feel it. So, spit it out.”
“No.”
“Wh- Toya?!”
Toya smiled. Akito really had changed his life a lot; he felt that in this life, meeting Akito was his greatest blessing.
… There was no way he was going to tell him that. After all, Akito was still just a child. He probably wouldn’t understand the meaning behind Toya’s words. Though, he could offer his heart to him now and… perhaps one day, he’d give it back.
However, Akito was a normal human and he wasn’t. They were fated to part forever someday. But for now… Toya shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking those kinds of thoughts while Akito was here.
“Not saying.”
“Why, were you thinking something bad about me?”
“No, it was nothing bad.”
“Then just say it!”
“No.”
“Why, you-!”
Akito’s eyes widened. “You just laughed at me, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t.” Toya was able to keep his voice steady, but wasn’t able to hide the slight movements of his shoulders.
“Hmph, I see how it is!” Akito said in mock anger as he turned away, walking toward the shrine gate.
“Wait, Akito!” Toya followed after him.
“What? The only thing I want to hear from you is what you were thinking about.”
“It’s really not that important…”
“Well it obviously is if you’re not telling me!”
Toya froze for a second, his voice becoming significantly softer. “I…”
Akito sighed, hearing his change in tone, and he stopped and turned around. “Ahh, if you really don’t want to say it, it’s fine. I was just curious. By the way, Toya. I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Tomorrow… I’m going back to the city. I told you how we only come here for the summer right? School is starting soon, so we have to go back so Ena and I can get ready…”
“Oh…” Toya felt his voice get caught in his throat.
“But, we’ll be back next summer, so wait for me, okay?” Akito smiled. “I’ll definitely bring you stuff from the city.”
“Okay,” Toya nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
“Don’t wait here the whole year,” Akito scoffed.
He turned to head down the stairs that lead to the trail.
“Akito!” Toya called out, not waiting for him to turn around before continuing. “Thank you… thank you for coming this summer.”
Akito shook his head. “I should be the one thanking you. I’ll see you next year, okay? I’ll be mad if I can’t find you. Bye, then! Take care of yourself, Toya!”
Soon after, Akito’s figure faded into the wheat, leaving Toya by himself again. One year… he thought to himself. It wasn’t that much, in theory. He had lived for countless years; one more was nothing to him.
He cast one more look in the direction that Akito left before he returned to the forest.
I’ll be waiting here for your return. So… come back, okay?