Chapter Text
Sayaka held her hands over her chest as she found her courage, "Kyousuke!" he turned, looking at her as the wind tossed their hair, "I like you! Will you be my boyfriend?" she shut her eyes her face bright red as she awaited his reply, waiting to see if her love was requited or if he would-
"I'm sorry, I don't really see you that way." she opened her eyes, glancing at him in surprise, he looked serious as he looked at her, scratching the back of his neck as he avoided her gaze. She could see it clearly, he meant it and she could only swallow down her cry as she nodded, "Ok, uh well I'm gonna go then! Bye!" she turned on her heel and bolted from the scene, turning on multiple roads she knew he didn't take, passing multiple murals before she returned home, shutting the door behind herself and taking off her shoes and tossing them blindly as she walked inside. "You're back early, didn't you say you were going to meet with that boy you like?" her mother asked and she had it all hit her all at once, the flood gates breaking as she ran and hugged her mother's back and started to break into sobs.
She sighed, able to figure it out soon enough, "Oh honey." she sighed softly as he pet her daughter's smooth hair, she could understand easily the pained heart of a girl having been rejected by the one that she longed for. The two moved and sat on the couch in the living room, the dishes in the sink were abandoned as Sayaka cried into her mother's chest, the elder woman petting and rubbing soothing circles into her back as she held her daughter close. A long moment passed before Sayaka found it in herself to speak, "I...I thought that he..." her mother hummed as she held her close, she sniffled and wiped at her face as she spoke, "I don't want to see him again! I don't want to stay where so much reminds me of him!" she cried as she looked at her, her mother sighed as she looked at her, "It will pass, there is no need to run away to do just that-"
"But I don't want to see anything like that! I don't want to see anything that could remind me of him!" she shook her head before her eyes caught on some pictures on the wall, she remembered in that moment of someone that she could head off to, her godfather lived in Juosmuo and how things could be if she... "What if I go stay at Alex's?! Until all this hurt goes away?!" she looked at her mother with a teary look as she pointed at his picture, her mother looked at her before she asked bluntly, "Do you even remember him that well? Last you saw him you were 5." Sayaka blinked as she looked at his picture again, in truth, she only remembered where he lived and his name, she couldn't say if he was married or had children of his own, or even if he still wore the same glasses as he did in the pictures where she was a kid.
"Well...if you trust him to be my godfather than I trust him to stay with him?" she batted her lashes as she looked at her, she sighed heavily as she looked at her, "I will speak with your father about it and send a letter to him to see if he even has the space." she blinked as she stared at her, she knew that it was reasonable to go and ask if he was willing to take her, but the comment on limited space made her wonder if he had kids of his own since the last time that she met him, she glanced at the pictures again as she lost sight of where her mother went, in the pictures he was a guy that had gone off well with her parents when they were younger but didn't live close by anymore, she did recall him babysitting her on a few occasions but the memories were very blurry.
It was 2 weeks before she got an answer to her request, her parents having the confirmation from the man himself that he could take her in for the time and she gladly took the chance to go and pack her things.
When standing in the Juosmuo train station, it hit her just how far from home she really was, Sayaka gulped a breath as she made her way out of the train station pulling her suitcase behind her as she avoided others within the train station that she passed them by, her focus going to the city as she exited the train station through the heavy doors that she had seen before and pushed them open, the sun shining in her eyes as she looked over the red bricked buildings and the laid stone paths, her eyes shining with the sunlight as she caught sight of the people around her as they walked around, busy and excited as they were happy to go on about their day. She almost pulled out her note of where the apartment was and where she would be staying, when she heard a call.
"Sayaka! Over here!" she turned and saw the man in the flesh, tired, not much taller, and his hair frazzled and frizzy, his glasses fogged from his breath and body warmth from some kind exercise, his clothes wrinkled and a bit ruffled with odd brown and black stains on his sleeves and hands, he looked to be in his work clothes and like he had just left work and ran to meet her there. Sayaka quickly made her way over, "You came to meet me here?" he chuckled lightly as he looked at her, "I thought to leave early to make sure I could go to all stops at the right times," he sighed as he pulled out a tiny pocket watch from his pocket, looking at it before he took his glasses off and wiped them clean with his shirt's tail. She blinked as she looked at him, "All stops?" he nodded, an awkward smile on his face, "I fear that can't give you all my focus, there are younger kids in the household, I need to worry for them too!" he smiled as he started walking, she blinked before she started following after him.
"You have kids?" she asked, she immediately felt a little dumb for asking but he nodded, "Yeah! 3! One boy two girls, my boy knows the way home from school however I don't think I can trust him to walk alone just yet." he smiled as he awkwardly scratched his arms a slight shade redder than one might notice, like a slight rash, "He's just 7, a first grader, so I can't help worry still." he chuckled lightly, avoiding eye contact in a noticeably awkward manner, she nodded absently, "And the girls?" he hummed as he brushed his shirt straight. "Well they most certainly can't go home on their own, they're 4 and 1!" he laughed lightly and Sayaka nodded, it felt quite odd for her to go from being an only child with no younger kids around to a place with 3.
She placed her attention on things around her and the brand new city, so much plainer than Banga, brick buildings with red roofs, narrow strets and wider ones in equal number, many people passing by in a lively fashion, going from place to place with no stop to their momentum. At a building covered in climbing ivy on the bricks with a wooden fence around it, a sign at the front saying "Busy bees kindergarten" some kids were outside waiting impatiently for their parents or trying to find a way over or under the fence to have their own fun adventures without adults getting in the way. Alex opened the fence and made it inside, quickly closing it behind himself before he could accidentally unleash several kids into the world to possible danger and nonsense. Sayaka waited outside as she watched kids running around, in and out of the kindergarten, she glanced over the street and wondered if she might be in the future asked to bring the kids home as well, she thought quickly to memorize all her surroundings and remember where it was just in case she was asked to do such a thing. If she was going to be staying for a long time she might as well make sure to be a good guest and handle things around the house like chores and-!
"Mari, Elvie, this is Sayaka, she's your cousin." she snapped her head around seeing Alex back outside, both girls in tow, one at his legs and the other in his arm, both had his scruffy looking brown hair but neater in a way, properly brushed and tied, Mari having a short braid and Elvie a small tail in her hair, both were dress in plain clothes, a shirt and pants with shoes, both in bright childish colors, yellow and blue with brown shorts with dirty knees, Elvie was too small to have too strong of an opinion on her, waving at her, Mari looked up at her curiously, "Hello." she said before she looked up at her father, "Are we going to get Paulius now?" he nodded a smile on his face as he looked at her, "Yeah! And once we settle Sayaka in her room we can go to the park." she nodded and smiled before she started to pull at his arm to get him to walk faster.
The group made their way quickly to the larger school, 3 stories of white brick and a golden yellow roof, the bell rung loudly as the kids made their way out onto the yard and out. Alex looked out, making a visor with his hand as he looked out for his own kid, in the sea of them it was hard to tell until the boy made it close to them. "I can go home on my own dad!" he whined as he looked at him, before his attention was taken by the strange girl, he blinked as he looked at her, Alex chuckled. "She's Sayaka, I mentioned her to you before." he nodded before he started to walk with them on the way home. Sayaka could see that he was the same as the other kids, scruffy brown hair and green eyes like their father, only Paulius stood a lot taller than his younger sisters, standing at half his father's height with a leather backpack on his back and his knees and calves slightly bruised and scraped from some games.
"How long will you be staying?" he asked as he looked at Sayaka, she blinked before she scratched her chin, "Well I don't know, I might stay the summer or a few months? As long as I'm welcome." he nodded, looking at her with great suspicion before he looked away from her with a huff, she felt oddly judged by the way that the boy acted, Alex sighed, appearing slightly embarrassed as he looked at him. "Hey, we agreed we'd be nice didn't we?" Paulius looked at him and huffed, puffing up his cheeks as he looked at the man. "You said that she'd be with us a little while." he said with an annoyed tone. His father sighed, "Well I think that you should remember that means that the time period is less than a year but greater than a day." the boy only huffed as he crossed his arms.
Mari looked at him before she giggled, "Jealous?" she teased as she looked at him, he immediately grew red and glared at her, "Shut up!" he shouted and immediately went to chase her, her running as she laughed, Alex sighed as he looked at the two before he yelled. "Stay out of the way of carts!" he took a breath before he added, "I don't need kids pancaked by horses!" Sayaka snorted as she looked after the kids as they yelled back, "We will!" Elvie rested her head on Alex's shoulder as they walked down the street and made their way to the apartment building, several stories and the bricks red with yellowed grout around them. Sayaka climbed the steps with her suitcase, Alex made it up and placed Elvie at the top to stand next to Sayaka before he ran after his elder two.
Sayaka looked at the little girl before she crouched down to her level, "Hi." she smiled as she looked at her, she blinked at her before she grabbed at her bangs, she squeaked and cried as the girl pulled her hair, "Hey! Hey please let go!" she cried as she held her hand and tried to free her hair from the toddler's iron clad grip, Alex made his way back to them and immediately dropped down, freeing her hair from the toddler's hold, "Elvie no no." he sighed as he looked at Sayaka apologetically, "I'm sorry, she is getting into a stage of pulling on other's hair." he shook his head as he looked at her and then to Paulius, "Can you carry her while I help Sayaka bring her things upstairs?" he nodded and accepted the toddler easily, pulling out his key and opening the doors.
"You can let yourself and Mari in." Alex added, "No need to wait for us." he nodded and kept the door open for the two before he started to bolt up the stairs, "Race you there!" he yelled down, his father immediately yelling after the older two as they rushed up the stairs, "Down run up the stairs with Elvie! Her bones are a lot softer than yours!" he sighed as he picked up Sayaka's bag and started to walk up the steps, her carrying the other end to make it lighter on the small man. He looked at her with an awkward apologetic look, "I have no idea where they got all this energy from, certainly not me." she snorted as she suggested.
"Maybe from their mother?" he shook his head, "I am single, they might get it from the donor's side for all I care." he sighed out as he made it up to the 3rd floor, where the kids left the door open and were already up to their own business, the idea of going to the park abandoned as they made their way to other activities. Alex placed the bag down and lead the way inside. The walls were a soft wooden tiling, a carpet in the living room, a table with 4 chairs in the kitchen where the counter stood covered in stains on the metal by the sink. Many toys were scattered on the floor, wooden and plush, 3 bookshelves standing tall full of books and trinkets, the walls covered in art, some more professional looking and some being those of the kids work. The walls a baby yellow and the furniture deep blue or dark wood. Sayaka was lead to her room, which contained a carpet, a bedframe in the corner, a desk and a bookshelf, nicely cleaned and organized before she had arrived, she went inside with her bag and out of the door's view was a dresser, empty and ready for her to use. "Thank you for having me." she said over her shoulder.
He nodded and smiled, "I've been in your place once before, just, a tad different." he shrugged before he looked at her again, "Dinner is in 3 hours, I'm going to tidy up before I get started, you fine with curry?" she nodded, "Yeah sounds good to me!" she smiled before she shut her door, ready to settle into her new home, placing clothes into the dresser before she looked out the window, across from her being a second apartment building, her eyes caught on a girl with flaming ruby hair eating an apple, they met gazes, staring at each other for a moment before Sayaka looked away from embarrassment. Unable to hold her gaze any longer.
When she looked back, the girl gave her a wave, one that Sayaka returned.