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"What even is the purpose of this?"
Chuuya huffed, pulling on his yukata's sleeves. "And why the fuck are we wearing... These?" he added.
Piano Man hummed beside him, locking his hands behind himself as the group made their way up the hill. "It's important to set the mood," he said, "We can't possibly make wishes with our usual mafia attire! It'd be nonsense, and gross."
"Plus," Lippmann joined, appearing on Chuuya's other side. "These are pretty, aren't they?"
Chuuya looked indifferent, narrowing his eyes at the two taller men who were a little too enthusiastic about this whole thing. "No they aren't."
"But you accepted wearing it!"
"I didn't accept, you forced me to!" he fighted.
A sigh could be heard from the back. "I want to go home." Iceman said, earning a smack on the head from Albatross. "Stop complaining! Consider this a break from work."
"I still think there are other ways to spend a break."
"We settled on this with the majority, so you don't have the right to complain." Piano Man said, raising a finger in the air.
"You manipulated Doc into voting for it!" Chuuya exclaimed, furrowing his eyebrows.
Piano Man let out a fake gasp. "How dare you accuse me with something horrible like that? Doc chose for himself with his own free will! Right, Doc?" He took the said man's head under his arm, ruffling his hair.
Doc sighed, his expression tired. "You're a gaslighter, Piano Man."
Chuuya threw his hands in the air. "That's what I'm saying!"
"You all, stop coming at me for it! It was a great idea, plus, we didn't have anything better!" Piano Man whined. "You could stay at home and drink yourself to coma, if that was what you wanted!"
"He's right!" Albatross jumped into the conversation, putting an arm over Chuuya's shoulders. "It's been a while since we hung out like this. It'll be fun!"
Chuuya sighed. "We didn't have to wear these..."
"Oh no, we had to." Lippmann said knowingly. "Look at Iceman. Can you see how happy he is to wear a yukata for the first time in his life?"
Chuuya turned around to look at Iceman. The man had a cigarette between his lips, life sucked from his eyes, and he looked absolutely done with it all.
The boy couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Yeah, he's a little... Too enthusiastic."
When he got smacked on the head, he groaned. "That's what I'm sayin'!" Albatross said, jumping a step further from Chuuya to prevent him from counter attacking.
"I never made lanterns before..." Doc muttered thoughtfully. "Does it require much work?"
"Not really," Lippmann answered, "We'll just paint them and release them into the sky while making wishes. I made one or two of them before."
"Wishes, my ass." Chuuya mumbled. "Why are we doing such a meaningless thing?"
"Oh, but it is meaningful!" Piano Man started, "It's not that anyone believes lanterns have an affect on getting your wish granted, but it symbolizes our hopes. Doing this together makes the whole thing even more meaningful."
"What kind of wishes can people like us even have?" Chuuya asked, though it was more of a rhetorical one. "It still doesn't mean anything."
"Hmm... You don't want anything, Chuuya?" Albatross asked.
"Not really. Even if I did, it wouldn't become real, anyways."
"Now, that is just an unhealthy mindset!" Lippmann said. "If you live without any hopes, you can't get anywhere in life."
"Not like I have anywhere to get." Chuuya huffed. He really didn't understand the others' enthusiasm about this. It was not like they had much place left to hope for something in their heart, did they?
He got smacked on the head again. "Ah— Albatross, I swear to god, if you do that one more time—"
"It wasn't me this time!" Albatross said, defending himself.
Turning around, Chuuya saw Iceman behind him, a hand up in the air. He raised an eyebrow.
"You're forcing yourself into thinking your life is over, when you're only sixteen." he said with a stoic voice. "You have a long way to go, so stop speaking nonsense that old people should say instead. Now we'll go and you're gonna wish for something, I'm sure you have something you want, I don't care if you want to tell us or not. Or I'll smack your head."
Chuuya listened to him, wide eyed and stunned. Piano Man smiled with satisfaction beside him, patting Iceman's shoulder. "Now you told him the truth, that's our Iceman."
"Whatever."
Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't say anything else as they reached the place Lippmann had prepared. It was a plain, green area, enveloped with trees. A shack stood in the middle of it with a few wooden tables and chairs around.
"We're here!" Piano Man opened his arms, turning around on his heels.
"We'll go get the lanterns and paints with Doc!" Albatross said, taking the latter's arm and rushing them into the shack. Lippmann and Iceman settled down on chairs as Piano Man kept dancing around.
"It's been so long since I touched grass, woah." Lippmann said, leaning down and roaming his hands over the grass.
Iceman extinguished his cigarette on the table. "Whatever."
"Woah!" Piano Man let out a yelp as his foot slipped, falling on his back. He groaned.
Rolling his eyes, Chuuya walked towards him. "Come on, stop messing around. You're supposed to be my senior." he said, extending his hand to Piano Man on the ground. Piano Man took the hand and stood up, but instead of letting him go, he started to spin Chuuya around.
"Hey— Let me go!"
Lippmann laughed from his seat. "Oh, he captured Chuuya!"
"Come on, dance!" Piano Man said, still spinning around and tapping his shoes on the ground.
"What the fuck are we dancing for— God!" His head spinned as he tried to get his hand out of Piano Man's hold.
"Doc, look! They're dancing without us!" said Albatross, who just came out of the shack with Doc following behind. "Count me in!" he shouted, throwing the paints in his hands to Doc before running towards Piano Man and Chuuya.
"What did I... Do to... Deserve this..." Chuuya spoke, trying to pull his mind together which was spinning with him.
When Albatross took his other hand, he stopped for a moment, thinking it was over. "Fucking finally—"
But then they got under his shoulders, lifted him up and started to jump, dance, swing—
Chuuya was gonna throw up.
Piano Man's heels swayed in all the wrong directions because of spinning around for so long, and eventually, he fell, bringing the two along with him to the ground with a yelp.
Doc looked at them from above, an eyebrow raised. "The point of that was...?"
"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!" Chuuya shouted, jumping to stand but swinging on his feet thanks to his world spinning.
"Careful, careful." Lippmann said, coming to him for support and helping him walk and sit on a chair.
"YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING CRAZY!" Chuuya yelled towards the two guys who were still laying on the ground.
Albatross laughed. "God, I feel alive!" he said.
Chuuya slammed his head to the table. "I can't do this anymore..."
Doc drew circles on his back as Iceman huffed with exasperation.
"Now, let's start painting!" Lippmann said. Piano Man raised a finger from where he laid. "Give me a minute." he said.
Once the lanterns and paints were settled on the table, everyone was around it, complete. They all started painting their lanterns, but Chuuya couldn't think of anything as he tapped his fingers on the table.
He looked around at the others, eyes landing on Doc's lantern who was sitting beside him.
"What is it?" Chuuya asked as Doc kept moving his brush on it.
"A skull!" he said, rather enthusiastic.
Chuuya blinked. "Uh... Okay." He decided not to ask any further. Turning to the other side, he looked at Lippmann's lantern.
"This is?"
"My face!" Lippmann said. "I drew myself."
Chuuya whined. "Isn't there anyone who's painting something normal...?"
Lippmann gasped fakely. "You think my face isn't something normal to paint on a lantern?"
"No!" Chuuya turned around, looking at Iceman's lantern which was halfly black by now. "Iceman, what is it?"
"I didn't know what to do so I'm just painting all of it in black."
Huffing, Chuuya leaned his face on his head. "You couldn't find, huh...?"
"Dude, this is fantasic!" Albatross exclaimed. "I'm painting everything I love on it! My motorcycle, my sunglasses, my motorcycle, my coat, my... Did I mention my motorcycle?"
"You did." Chuuya answered, annoyed. "Two times."
Looking over to Piano Man, Chuuya saw his absolutely focused expression with his tongue hanging from between his lips and his eyes shining with a dangerous glint. He decided not asking would be for the better.
"Is there something you're particularly fond of?" Lippmann asked. "Maybe an animal or something?"
"Hmm..." Chuuya thought, furrowing his eyebrows. Animal, huh...?
He started moving his brush on the lantern.
After a while, Iceman exclaimed he was done, getting followed by others one by one.
"Last strokes..." Chuuya murmured as he was the only one left, doing his last touches on the lantern. "Done!"
"Oh!" Doc started, peeking from the side to take a look at Chuuya's artwork. "A dog!"
Chuuya averted his eyes. "Yeah."
"You like puppies?" Albatross asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe."
"Hmm..." Piano Man started. "That gives us a hint for your next birthday, I guess."
"What?" Chuuya's head perked up. "No, I didn't— I don't—"
Lippmann ruffled his hair. "All right! Time to release our lanterns!"
Embarrassed, Chuuya smacked his head into the wooden table once again, and it cracked.
"Woah— Careful there!"
With that, they got up, carrying the lanterns in their hands - which made a little paint smear on their hands since it hadn't dried yet.
Iceman pulled out a lighter from his pocket, using it to light Doc's lantern. Then Lippmann's, then Piano Man's, then Albatross', then Chuuya's, and then finally his own.
"Thanks." Chuuya murmured, looking down at the little flame.
"Whatever." Iceman answered. He deserved his name, really.
"Now, everyone!" Piano Man started, lantern in his hands. "We're gonna release them together after counting down from ten, all right? Don't forget to make a wish!" He said the last part while making direct eye contact with Chuuya, raising an eyebrow at him.
Chuuya huffed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." he said.
"Good!" he answered with a shit eating grin. "Then I'm counting. Ten!"
Chuuya looked down, thinking something to wish for.
"Nine!"
He didn't want anything new in his life - anything that was possible, that is.
"Eight!"
He played with the grass below his foot. Maybe he should wish to... Keep something?"
"Seven!"
His head shot up, eyes shining with a new spark as his lips fell agape.
He knew what he wanted from life.
He knew what made him... Happy.
"Six!"
"Found something to wish for?"
Chuuya turned to his side, eyes distant as he stared at Iceman. "Yes." he whispered. "I... Know what I want."
"Five!"
A hint of a smile played at Iceman's lips. "That's good to hear." he said, turning back to his own lantern.
Chuuya took a deep breath.
"Four!"
"Hurry, Piano Man! Chuuya is holding his breath!" Lippmann exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh, my bad— Three, two, one—"
"Too fast!"
"—zero! Release!"
Six lanterns were released at the same moment, though Doc's started a moment later.
Chuuya closed his eyes, his body stiff, his hands locked together.
He made a wish, even if he knew it wasn't going to be granted.
Because when did anyone had heard his wishes?
But he so desperately hoped his voice could reach whoever there was, through the lantern or not, that is.
He hoped.
Just this once.
Chuuya didn't believe in any gods nor in any deities that would hear his wishes, but for this once, he wished from the stars and skies above, begging them to hear his silent desire.
Please, let us stay together until the very end.
Because they were his friends, they were his family, they were his own.
Chuuya wished nothing more than to stay with them.
He wouldn't trade them for the country, nor the world. It may burn to hell, he didn't care.
He just wanted his people by his side, as long as possible.
He didn't believe anyone would hear his wishes, and even if they did, he didn't believe they would grant it. Because if there was a god, it seemed to hate Chuuya for some reason.
Maybe there was one, and he was mad at it. Mad at it for not being fair to him.
But Chuuya clung to the possibility, he clung to the deities that he didn't believe existed, he clung to the sky, the stars, the lanterns.
When his eyes fluttered open once again, he saw five people staring at him with soft expressions. He moved his gaze to the sky, looking at the six lanterns that were starting to look more and more like stars with every passing second.
"So?" Albatross said, flexing his arms behind his head. "How is it?"
Chuuya's face broke into a smile, no matter how hard he tried to prevent it.
"I'll decide after seeing my wish gets granted or not."
Piano Man huffed. "Reasonable enough."
Chuuya folded his arms. "I don't believe it, but if it gets accepted somehow, I'll wish with you guys again, right here."
"Let's hope we can see those days." Iceman said, pulling a cigarette from his pack.
That was Chuuya's first wish.
First and last one, a wish that was refused so brutally, a hope that didn't reach anyone out there.
They didn't see those days, and Chuuya didn't make any other wishes after that.