Chapter Text
Children used to be loud and noisy. Chaotically energetic. One day, they lose their spark.
The noise seems to be overwhelming. Too overwhelming, and you clutch your head, kneeling down at the festival.
The scent of barbeque stung your nose; the smoke and ash burned your eyes. The sparklers went off every second, and fireworks shot into the sky. You didn’t want to stare at the ugly, bright flowers that painted the sky, before fading into dust.
Out of nowhere, a hand clutched yours, leading you through the festival. You didn’t scream or react to the stranger. In fact, you wanted him to guide you through and away from the noise, the movements, the people.
He seemed to be the same age as you. Or younger, with blonde-beige, wavy hair, wearing an orange-patterned kimono.
“K… Ka—” You hitched a breath, eyes widening. The boy swiveled around, arms in the air.
“Here! I thought you wanted to be away from the noise, so—”
Tears slipped down your cheeks, blurring your vision.
You were foolish enough to believe that it was him.
You used the back of your hand to wipe away the tears, but it was an endless spill. Your throat felt unpleasant, as if it nudged you to shatter the silence. There, a guttural wail pierced through the night. Your heart thrashed against your chest like a roaring drum. Head throbbing against the incessant noise, you gripped your hair to ease the tumult.
Seconds ticked, then minutes. The birds still chirped in the park, and the tender breezes kissed against your bare skin. Your tears staining your face had begun to dry up, and your heartbeat steadied. Finally, you locked eyes with the stranger who brought you to the park. A place away from the festival's bright lights and cacophony.
Your lips parted open, wanting to ask for his name. Though, it seemed that he knew what you were going to ask because he shook his head at you.
“Uh-uh. My name’s not important right now! Are you alright?” His tone filled with worry when he gazed at you, frowning when you nodded your head.
“Riiiiight...” The boy blew out a sigh of relief, his right hand over his chest. “Oh well, if you say so. My name’s Choji Tomiyama. You can call me Choji-Choji!” Your face twitched as you refrained from smiling.
“Right… Choji-san—”
“Just Choji-kun will be fine, you know that, right?”
“Okay.” You bit back a groan. “Choji-s—” He raised an eyebrow. “Never mind.”
“Oh well. Let me know if you ever want to talk! I’ll always be around town here on this side of the tracks of Shishitoren turf. Nice to meet you, uh…” He squinted at you, examining you from top to bottom. “Hm! I forgot to ask for your name! Whoops.”
“It’s… y/n. Y/n y/ln. Nice… to meet you.” You gulped down the cold air that blew your way, goosebumps tingling your arms.
This isn’t him. Breathe.
“Breathe.” You didn’t even realize you uttered the words aloud until they left your mouth.
He winked at you as he made a finger gun with both hands, pointing right at you.
“Yeah, that’s what you need to do!” His eyes brightened. “Ah, though, speaking of which, why were you crying?”
Why were you?
♤
It hadn’t even been a full week of school when you decided to study with your friend, Ayaka. Oftentimes, you would study to meet your school expectations or distract your mind. Today, it was the former.
You flipped through your notebook, scanning the organized and color-coded bullet points. You scribbled down unfamiliar concepts on a sticky note before looking them up. This became a repeated process for minutes as you reviewed a section from your notes. When you felt that you neared the middle segment of notes, you looked up at the library ceiling. A yawn escaped your mouth as you stretched out your arms, eyes trained on the ceiling lights.
What time is it?
You bolted upwards, scrambling to turn on your black-screened laptop. The cursor hit the bottom right corner of the screen. 14:28. You pursed your lips together, folding your arms. You leaned back against the wooden chair, wondering where she was. Ayaka is always on time, so what was the delay today?
You clicked your tongue. Scattered pieces of post-its found their way to the notebook, and the laptop made it into your tote bag. Something felt off, as you scooted your chair out, running out of the library with the tote bag on your shoulder.
You hurried off onto the main street of Makochi. In the distance, you found a familiar figure dipping her head to several boys. Ayaka bowed to the boys who wore a black uniform with a green cuff. You widened your eyes, stopping dead in your tracks. The Furin High School uniform.
As you quickened your pace towards Ayaka, your heart began to thump against your chest.
“Ayaka-chan..?” She waved at the pink-haired boy, turning to face you.
“Oh! Y/n-san, I didn’t know you were here. I… These boys from Bofurin helped me out. Sorry, I wasn’t able to make it to the library today…” She closed her eyes and sighed.
“That’s not important!” You clutched her shoulders and rocked her back and forth. “Are you alright?” You reached for her hands and arms, checking if she had any scratches or bruises.
“I’m fine, y/n-san! Don’t worry about me. That guy—” She swiveled around to point at the pink-haired boy. “saved me. Thank goodness he was there. His name... Kiryu, if my memory serves me right.”
“I see.” You blew out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear, then. Was it only he who… took down these people?” You gaped at the collapsed bodies on the ground, blood and saliva splattering the ground.
“Oh, goodness no! His classmates also helped me out. From… Class 1-1. That’s what I heard from one of the boys…” Ayaka shrugged. “They’re all first-year students at Furin High School.”
“Ah.” You let go of Ayaka, swinging your arms to your sides. Guess he isn’t here.
“Why? Are you interested in talking to any of the boys?” she asked bluntly.
You yelled, “N-not like that!” Following a playful slap on her shoulder, you added: “I know a few people from Bofurin, that’s why. I was wondering if they were here.”
“Uh-uh.” Ayaka snorted. “Just go ask the boys if they know the people you know. It’s not that big of a—”
“It is.” You frowned, folding your arms together. “If he knows I've gone searching for him, he's going to…” You trailed off, your tone more gentle and softer. Run away again. And you didn’t want him to escape your grasp again, when you knew that he was so close to you.
“Going to?” Ayaka pressed for more details, a grin forming on her face. “Going to what?”
“Going to jump me!” You shot your hands up in the air before letting them come back down. “I hate him.” She looked at you, confused by your switch in demeanor, but didn’t nag you for more details.
♤
“Ah, Ayaka-chan?” Your face was slightly pale, and the dark eye circles plagued you. You hadn't slept well for days following the encounter with the Furin High School boys. There seemed to be a question nagging you, awaiting an answer in desperation.
The teacher turned towards the board, scribbling the dates for upcoming quizzes. You leaned towards Ayaka, murmuring to her: “Do you know anyone by the name of…”
“Of?” Ayaka raised her eyebrows, looking at you, and then at the teacher.
You put your index finger near your lips, shaking your head. Noticing the teacher tapping her foot against the floor, you mouthed the words: “I’ll tell you later.”
When the teacher had their back towards the students, you whispered his name to Ayaka.
She looked up at the ceiling, tapping her fingers against the desk. She pulled out an index card and scribbled some words before passing it to you.
Sounds familiar. I don’t think I know him personally, but I’ll let you know if I see him around.
A small smile formed on your face as you wrote a quick thanks on the index card and passed it back to her.
When the bell rang for lunchtime, students dashed out of class to reunite with their friends. Inattentive to your classmates’ movements, you set your metal lunchbox on the table. You opened the lid of the box, excited to try out the onigiri you prepared early in the morning. The whiff of soy sauce and salted salmon made you want to dig into lunch.
“Y/n-san, do you want some peaches?” Ayaka nudged your shoulders as you bit into your onigiri.
You turned your head towards her, nodding to her question.
“Yes, please. I’d love some.” Ayaka handed you a slice of peach as you set down your onigiri in the lunchbox. You examined the fruit for several seconds before taking a bite. “Hm, it’s not peach season yet, though?” Ayaka nodded but shrugged.
Somehow, your initial thought was: “It’s sweet.” You made a small face, your nose scrunched, and your eyebrows creased together.
Ayaka giggled and shook her head at you. She tapped her lips twice before commenting on your remark.
“Of course, silly, peaches are sweet. Have you never had one before?”
“—Peaches are sweet! Have you never had one before?”
You paused—those words seemed too familiar, as if they had come out of your mouth before.
You smiled at the distant memory of the past, then asked if you could indulge yourself in another slice. Ayaka nodded, scooting her lunchbox closer to you.
“Ah, no. I just… haven’t had any in a while.”