Chapter Text
Miyoko Tanishi sat in the front of her parasitology class, copiously taking notes. Ever since she was a child, she has been obsessed with parasites and the strange diseases they caused. There was no real reason for it that she could think of, but her parents were happy their daughter had found her niche and were very supportive of her goal to study it in university. Now, she was close to graduating, and was gunning for a research position at the university. She was very close with the professor who was offering the position, but needed to maintain her current grades to even have a shot at the position. The lecturer was talking about a very interesting topic, a certain parasite that caused a “homesickness” of sorts: when people leave a specific place they have lived all their life with the parasite, it can activate and cause them to go insane. Miyoko was dutifully following along and put a note in the back of her head that she should do some more research on it afterwards. As the professor finished up the lecture, she carefully put her pen in its case and her notebook in her backpack. Then, she stretched her hands up to the ceiling and gazed out the window. Normally, it was a very pretty view of the courtyard nearby, but today, she was startled by a blinding light she saw coming from the persimmon tree in the center.
“Is that a flashlight shining right at me?” Miyoko thought. After looking at the situation a little more closely, she realized it was a camera. Behind it was a muscular young man in a black tank-top and cargo pants. She saw the camera flash as he clicked the shutter again. “Is he taking pictures of ME?” Miyoko quickly grabbed her backpack and blitzed out of the room. She stormed across the courtyard over to this mysterious man.
“You know it is illegal to take pictures of people without their consent, right? Right?” Miyoko got up in the man’s face. He flustered and started stuttering.
“So..So…sorry! I was just taking pictures of the persimmon tree, and I happened to notice your vibrant blonde hair up in the classroom. I didn’t mean any harm by it, I swear! I just find pictures to be so beautiful because they can help us look into each other’s souls.”
“Souls, ehh? And what were you able to discern about my soul just from the picture?”
“I could see a person who has been working hard towards their goals all their life. You seemed so steadfast and resolute, I would not want to be a force in your way. Even if you kept on rolling 1s on the die of life, you would continue to strive forward to change that.” Up until this point, Miyoko had gone from mad to slightly aggravated to amused. She was about to walk away from the conversation and just let it be, but when this man said that last sentence, something about it gave her absolute chills.
“Say… what’s your name?” Miyoko asked.
“Jirou Tomitake,” he replied. “You can call me Jirou, if you would like.” She stuck out her hand.
“I’m Miyoko Tanishi. It’s nice to meet you. But maybe next time you can let me know you are taking a picture of me.” Jirou laughed a little uncomfortably and nodded in the affirmative.
“Maybe I’ll see you around again, Jirou,” Miyoko said. As he was saying this, the grandfather clock nearby struck 12. Miyoko realized she would be late for her next class at this point, something she couldn’t afford. She quickly told Jirou she had to go and sprinted off to her next class.
***
When Miyoko made it back to her dorm that day, she reflected on her meeting with Jirou. She had always been relatively stoic, and had never really expressed any interest in men, although she knew that many were into her. Miyoko had always remained as friendly as possible with everyone, but she didn’t really have any friends. Outside of class, the only people she talked to were her professors and her parents. Miyoko couldn’t understand why some goofy photographer who looked like he never had talked to a woman before had such an effect on her. “Well, no use reflecting on it too much,” she thought to herself. Miyoko set down her backpack and walked over and grabbed the landline. She quickly phoned her parents (her daily after class ritual) and talked to them for five to ten minutes. Afterwards, she carefully placed the phone back into its cradle, and sat down at her desk. Her room did not have much decorations in general. The desk was neatly organized with research journals and her own microscope she had managed to siphon off from the science lab. Besides that, there were no wall decorations whatsoever, and the nightstand next to her bed only had a lamp and books on it. It appeared to be a very barebones college dorm, except for one aspect. The bed was covered in at least 10 different stuffed animals. An elephant, a teddy bear, an octopus, etc. The plethora of colors radiating from the bed permeated the room and gave it the feeling of home for Miyoko. She had always liked cute things, but especially stuffed animals. That was something she just couldn’t get enough of. She knew her parents were going to be getting her another stuffed animal for graduation, and she was ecstatic to add to her collection. Miyoko stared longingly at the collection, and then turned around and opened her textbook to do some assigned reading. Miyoko ended up reading the first page of the chapter and realized that she didn’t comprehend anything she read. The only thing she was thinking about the whole time was Jirou. “ARGH,” she cried out as she slammed the book shut. “WHY AM I STILL THINKING ABOUT HIM?” Having never felt a feeling like this before, Miyoko didn’t know how to respond. “I need to go on a walk to clear my head, “she thought.
***
Miyoko walked around the campus, something that she had not done in a while. It was a Friday night, and there were a lot of people up and about. Most were heading to parties, but she did see some people with ice cream or heading to the library. One thing Miyoko noticed, however, was that out of all the people she saw, none of them were alone. Except her. This had never bothered her before. Miyoko couldn’t remember the last time she had hung out with someone socially. Wait, she could at least remember the last time she tried. It was a long, long time ago. Her parents were about to go to the mall without her, and she was headed to her friend’s house. But when she was on the way, she was stopped by a mysterious woman who asked her if she wanted to live or not. Being the young girl she was, she obviously replied, “I want to live!” and then ended up going to the mall with her parents. When there, she had finally gotten the last flag she had wanted, completing her collection. She thought about what the woman had asked a lot more in the coming days. “Do I want to live?” “Do I want to live?” These thoughts gradually expanded, and eventually Miyoko started thinking, “What if my parents had gone to the mall without me and died on the train that day.” The second Miyoko thought this, she felt a sharp pain in her head and envisioned an absolutely horrible future, one so horrible she vowed she would never leave her parent’s side. And up until college, she hadn’t done that. Of course, this meant that there were no relationships, no friends to be had. But Miyoko didn’t mind. At first, she only cared about being with her parents, but when she got to middle school, she started taking a biology class. There she learned about parasites for the first time. While everyone else in the class was grossed out and a couple girls had to use the bathroom, Miyoko’s eyes had a sparkle in them that would only burn brighter in the future. Since then, she knew that all she wanted was to study parasites. It even started to overtake her love for her parents, although she still was very open with them. Now, as Miyoko sat on the steps to a random lecture hall, she stared out into the blackness of the campus. For the first time, the loneliness of her adult life felt crushing. And she thought again about what that mysterious lady from way back had said. “Do I want to live?” Miyoko was definitely living in the fact that she was alive and breathing. She was living in the fact that she was pursuing her passion. She was living in the fact that she had a great relationship with her parents. But was she truly living, or simply just keeping up a facade…
***
Miyoko was in parasitology class yet again when she saw that flint. This time, she kept her composure, and when class was over, confidently strutted up to Jirou.
“Jirou,” she said with a stone face. “What are you doing this Saturday?”
“Uh…uh…nothing, I think?” he barely managed to stutter back. Miyoko smiled.
“Good. I live in Dorm X. I expect you to pick me up at 7 sharp for dinner.” And she walked away leaving a stunned Jirou by the persimmon tree.