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It was the tender April afternoon—the sun hung lazily in the sky. The golden rays spilled over the Earth, coating the city in a warm, luminous blanket. Peaceful, right? Not when Dan Kouzo's around.
“OH YEAH!” He screeched, his feet apart in such a stance you'd think he's trying to go Super Saiyan. Standing 60 feet away from him across the field, Wynton stood unamused, as he watched Dan wallow in victory. Of course, he wasn't upset. He was no sore loser. Dan was just annoying. Harmless, but annoying. As always.
With a quick swipe of his right hand, Wynton caught Trox as he flew back to him in ball form. “Good game to you too, Dan!” He shouted, rolling his eyes.
Perched near the benches, Lia was in front of her camera, just ending the recording. “That's a wrap!” She announced. “I wanna see what effects will enhance Trox’s crystal rock riser,” She said, fiddling to take the camera off the tripod. “It'll look super cool. Don't you think so?” She turned behind to Ajit and Shun, who were sitting on the bench behind her.
“Ehh,” Ajit shrugged. “Maybe? I don't know much about video editing. I couldn't tell ya,” he answered truthfully. Lia sighed. “Right. Shun, what do you think?” she looked in the blond’s direction.
He didn't respond. His teal eyes held an empty gaze at the grass. He sat with his head resting up on his left hand, his elbow on his left knee.
Lia noticed his spaciness. She raised an eyebrow and sat down next to him.
“Shun?” She put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her. “Are you okay?”
Shun briefly made eye contact, barely shrugging before staring back into the ground. Lia frowned. “Hey, you know you can talk to me, right?” She nudged further.
Shun pursed his lips, clenching his hand into a fist. “I know,” he barely whispered, voice trembling. Lia set her camera down on the bench, completely facing him now.
“Do you wanna..” She leaned over, trying to see his eyes. “..talk about it?”
He seemed to make himself smaller in response to her question, like trying to hide from it as if it was an attack rather than a simple question. He inhaled deeply and blew out a shaky breath through his nose, unclenching the hand he rested his head on and covered his eyes with it instead. Some of his hair was messily picked up by his hands, and in its absence on the side of his face, she saw how flushed he began to grow.
“I don't know, Lia,” He responded, trying his best to keep his voice from cracking. His effort to keep his words from wavering made her heart break a little. “I don't know.”
Lia chewed the insides of her cheek, not knowing what to say. Her eyes flickered to Dan, who was still yelling like a 5-year-old with a sugar rush. Wynton's voice overlapped with his as he held his own conversation with Ajit.
“Do you wanna go somewhere else?” She carefully questioned, refocusing on the blond. She knew the chaos often bothered him, that could have been why he seemed disturbed. But she had never seen him get so upset like this.
Still not looking at her, he nodded quickly. Lia put a hand on his. “I'm coming with you,” she stated firmly, rather than proposing it as a question. She stood up, still holding his hand, as he subsequently rose as well. The two stepped down from the benches, Shun still trying to cover his face. As they began to approach the gate, Ajit noticed them and made a questioning face at Lia. Is he okay? He mouthed to her. Lia shrugged, looking worried. She turned her attention back to Shun, putting her arm around his shoulders.
They made their way to the gate in almost silence—Shun's abnormal breathing was louder than their own footsteps.
Lia stopped at the exit and stood in front of him. “Shun,” She put his hands on his shoulders. “Please, talk to me.”
Hesitantly, he finally put his hand down and looked at her. His face was dry, but his eyes were glossy. He put his hands over her own and brought them down between them both.
“Five years,” was all he said before backing up against the gate. Lia furrowed her eyebrows, concerned and confused. “Five years?” She repeated. Shun's lips became a thin line. He looked away from her and into the setting sun.
“Today makes it five years,” he said. Lia went to his side, leaning her back against the fence. She continued to wonder what he meant.
Then it finally clicked to her.
“Oh, Shun,” she her voice softened. When she reached for his shoulder again, he trembled. He ran his hand through his hair, chunks of silky blonde hair sticking up in between his clenched fingers. “I don't know how I survived five whole years without her,” He spoke, his voice hoarse.
“I don't believe it, Lia,” he turned to the girl, tears spilling and running down his red cheeks. “I don't want to believe it,” he sniffled.
Lia's heart was heavy as lead in her chest. She had never seen him like this before and she never wanted to again. No one deserved to suffer in such a way, and especially not him. Not Shun.
When she hesitantly reached her arms toward him, he practically flew to her, clinging onto her as if he was hypoxic and half to death and she was the oxygen tank. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed, for Lia herself was all too familiar with this feeling.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, burning tears soaking through Lia's blouse. His knees grew weaker and weaker until he went limp on her. They both sunk into the grass, still never letting go of the other.
When he was finally still, she spoke up. “It's not fair,” she said. “It never is. It never was.”
“And it never will be,” He murmured, his arms now loose around her. He rested his forehead on her shoulder. “She was an angel. She was kind. She was loving. She didn't deserve it, Lia,” Shun went on, clenching a fist. “Of all the people on Earth, that disease took her,” He slammed his fist on his thigh, frustration cracking through his words.
Lia nodded. “My… my father went the same way,” She quietly admitted. “I lost him nearly 7 years ago.”
“Sorry about your dad,” Shun said. “Thanks,” Lia said, a sad smile on her lips, even though he couldn't see her. She pulled away from him, putting her hands on his shoulders again.
“You wanna know what he told me, Shun?” She asked. Shun nodded once, waiting for her to continue. Lia cast her gaze to the sky, which now was a hue of purple between the blue tinted clouds and reddish-pink sky.
She retracted her hands and laid on her back. “Look,” she pointed to the sky. Shun tilted his head, laying down beside her regardless.
“When I used to sit by his bedside as a girl, he'd say the same thing every time I cried about losing him,” She recounted.
“Alza tus ojos hacia las montañas y búscame más allá del cielo.”
“What does that mean?” Shun questioned, eyes fixed on the clouds. Lia smiled a bittersweet smile. “Lift your eyes up to the mountains and look for me beyond the sky,” she translated, tears forming in her own eyes.
“I see him in the darkest part of the sunset. That beautiful blue color just before dusk is over.”
Lia turned to Shun, grass tickling her cheek.
"Can you see her?”
Shun squinted, his eyes fixated on a particular cloud. It was a soft baby pink cumulus cloud. It stood out among the dispersed stratus clouds. It wasn't like the others. But that's what made it so beautiful. It stood out.
Shun half-smiled, a tear rolling down into the grass.
“Yeah. I see her.”