[Brainstorm] Story Outlines # 2
More to add to the wastebasket.
Deep Pool
Summary: One shot. One day was all they needed. Inui & Yanagi.
Genre: Friendship/Romance
A/N: Inspired by NitroChiral's BL game, "Sweet Pool." The title is a reference to that game. Also inspired by PurinRin's "Hakase" and "Kyouju". This will be, perhaps, my final contribution to this heart-mauling pairing.
NOTES: Subtleties. Eccentricity.
Notes: 封CP文。 曖昧。友情之上，爱情之下。
[BGM: Owl City - "Saltwater Room"]
[BGM: Dixie Flatline - "Just Be Friends" (music box version)]
...
(Yanagi POV)
It was easy to predict what the other wanted to say based on the situation, the setting. But, it was much harder to leave his ability to predict as the mere foundation of their relationship, to just leave it knowing that he could come back to it any time, and to just engage in mindless small talk with the other.
Inui: "I added a new ingredient to my juice."
Yana: "Will it make it taste better?"
Mindless small talk that did not make sense to anyone else. Really, it did not matter.
...
THe cellphone he placed against his ear might as well be a sea conch he picked up at the seashore. His companion's voice on the other end sounded like the ocean deapths containing all its mysteries.
"Let's go swimming, Renji."
He thought the invitation to be an odd one. For the cool wind already foretold of summer's end and autumn's imminent arrival. If the other really wanted to invite him out, why did he not do so during mid-summer? Why did he wait this long? Or had waiting till summer's end his own little, eccentric preference?
"Aa." He agreed. After four years, 2 months, and fifteen days, they are finally having another friendly outing.
...
The "swimming" Sadaharu referred to took place at an outdoor community pool near where Sadaharu lived. It required Renji to take the subway from his residence in Kanagawa prefecture to Tokyo city, where Sadaharu lived.
The railway ride took thirty-seven minutes from the initial stop to the final stop.
Along the way, as he gazed at the miniature buildings and automobiles running along inch-wide narrow roads, he made mental calculations of how long it would take for him to reach to Sadaharu if he did not choose to take the railway. Though, the railway had been the most efficient mode of transport in every aspect.
Nevertheless, he still wanted to know, for subconsciously he had already made comparisons between the distance the distance of the two destinations and the distance between teh two of them. The for years, two months, and 15 days.
He wondered if these years they have spent shortening the distance between them been a railway ride of a travel on foot, one step at a time, for a long time.
Renji got off the railway when everyone got off---at the final stop, in Tokyo station.
Sadaharu stood on the platform, a few feet away from the automatic double doors he exited from. THe other stood like the two dimensional people printed on poster advertisement---frozen, inanimate.
Renji approached him. He watched the other open his mouth, his lips parting, beginning to form words.
He beat him to it.
"'There is an eighty-nine percent chance you were going to get off through those doors' was what you were going to say."
"There is a ninety-five percent chance you wanted to start a greeting with 'It has been a while, Sadaharu.'"
IT was true. The lst time they had seen each other at the Nationals Tournament, two months and twenty-two days ago.
Now, he stood one foot and two inches away from the other. He found it ironic there were so many gaps and spaces and distances between them. Physically.
Though their conversation now totally disregarded that physical distance.
Sadaharu adjusted the dark sports bag he slung over one shoulder then and turned. He walked beside his companion knowing the other was leading them to the appointed destination.
...
They walked for the next hour or so.
They walked through the busy, nonstop crowds of the sleepless city. They passes shop after shop after shop, each attracting customers with its unique appeal and something different to offer. They shuffled passed the passersby's heated conversations.
Renji had no appeal for such crowds. Tokyo was a big city. Yet, the size of the population made it seem like it had been a mere little city. Finding a peaceful and spacious little corner in the city would be hard. And he needed to retreat to such a corner, even once in a while.
After a while, Renji began questioning Sadaharu's intention. Such mode of travel completely contradicted the railway express he took. They both knew taking the bus would have been more time efficient.
-Inui: Sink into the pool close your eyes. When the water plugs up your ears, everything around you is quiet. It kind of feels like you're the only one left in the world.
-Yana: (looks at him) "..."
-Inui: (deep in thought) (sudden breaks into smile) (takes the other hand and drags him beneath the pool)
-Yana: (looks at Inui) (Inui looks at him)
-air bubbles escape from the smile between his lips
-instead of feeling like he was the only left in the world when he submerges into the pool by himself, it feels as if he shared his own little world with another.
-They were two people in their own little world.
-That was, until they had to resurface for air. Resurface from the pool, exitting their little world. Coming back to this one, full of people, full of responsibilities, full of obstacles.
-Yana: (feels like they were the only people left in the world)
-surprisingly, he found that he did not mind if such a thing was to happen somewhere in the future.
-A world with just the two of them.
-Then, neither one of them will be strange to anyone.
...
-After swim, Inui + Yana wash up in pool showers
-InuiYana: (go to bookstore) He rubbed his eyes a couple of times to get the burning after-sensation of the chorine-treated water out of his eyes.
He got into Murakami Haruki's books recently.
It was all due to one passage he came across when he flipped through one of the author's books.
"Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who's in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It's like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven't seen in a long time. It's only a natural feeling."
Yanagi Renji always believed that for every law, the opposite was just as true. Because people claimed that opposite attract, he also believed that people who shared similarities are attracted to each other due to their commonalities.
He believed in the commonalities between them. He believed them drew the two of them together.
That was why, even after 4 years, 2 months and 15 days, they were still able to call each other by their given names. That was why, he agreed on this outing without hesitation.
-Yana: (walks by atrological book on display before they left) (Gemini) (twins)
-caught his eyes, and he couldn't tear his gaze away
-bought the book; first time bought book on whim, because of the cover
-doesn't know when he will share another day like this with Inui, but the book will act as a souvenir that he visited this world. The world that two of them shared.
...
The cicada's drone was especially loud that night. All he heard was the dull hum. like a computer attempting to run a program when a compact disk was inserted. Only when the cicada stopped for a momentary pause did he realize that there was such a sound as silence. Then, the cicadas started humming again outside the window.
Summer quickly neared its end. Even the cicadas knew. That was why they sounded especially loud now. They wanted to leave an impression for them. Make them remember this time, this day for it would be another nine months before summer swung by again. It might be another nine months until they have an outing like this again.
-Yana: (looks around Inui's room and sees the shelf full of notebooks, containing all the data the other has taken on other players. He noticed how notebooks on his data take up a big chunk of space on the shelf.
He could almost see it. The first page containing the most basic of his information: his birthday, his blood type, his hobbies, his tennis techniques... And his preferred type.
Yes, his preferred type. Someone calculative and analytical.
Somewhere in his mind's notebook, he searches Sadaharu's data as well. He runs through his birthday, his blood type, his hobbies, his tennis techniques...And his preferred type.
The other's preferred type. Someone mature and calm.
He stopped before his mind drew the final connection. He would not allow the conclusion to form, to be taken advantage of by gravity and to come crashing down upon him in its impressive weight.
He directed the focus of his mind to somewhere else instead. He thought about Murakami's book that he read today.
One part of the book referred to Plato's (i)Symposium. The quote flooded through his mind. He could almost see the sized 8 Calibri text on the certain page of the book.
"In ancient times people weren't just male or female, but one of three types: male/male, male/female, or female/female. In other words, each person was made out of the components of two people. Everyone was happy with this arrangement and never really gave it much though. But then, God took a knife and cut everybody in half, right down the middle. So after that the world was divided just into male and female, the upshot being that people spend their time running around trying to locate their missing other half."
Even after all these years, he still could not fully call himself a true singles player.
Then he started wondering. If people truly find their other halves in their lifetime. Yet, if God isn't there to separate them, then there are always other circumstances. Even if people find their other halves, they may still be separated in the end.
-Yana: (sleeps over at Inui's house)
-both: (sleep on the floor)
-Yana: (noticed how Inui doesn't sleep in bed) (doesn't say anything)
-Rather than saying that he knows the reason to why the other was abandoning the bed to sleep on the floor with him, his silence is more of a consent. That he wanted the other to sleep with him, so he chose not to question him, so he does not seem like he is rejecting his action.
-Yana: (gets the feeling that they've went back in time because there were many times they slept over each other's houses like this in the past)
...
(Yanagi POV)
Morning.
-Yana: (wakes up early because of his biological clock)
-sits up
-Inui: (stirs awake too)
-Yana: (looks down) Good morning.
-Inui: Aa. Good morning.
-Yana: (stands up, to change and wash up)
-By 7:30 sharp, he was a the front door in his clothes ready to head for the subway station
-Yana: (cellphones vibrates, as if hurrying him up) (stares at text message and smiles almost grudgingly(check word))
A text message from Seiichi.
-looks at Inui: "I have to go, Sadaharu."
-Inui: (nods) "See you." Not "see you soon" or "see you later." But just "see you."
-Yana: (The both of them did not know when they would see each other again. When they could go back to that world that belonged only to the two of them.)
-So he said to him too, "See you." Hopefully.
................................
Packaged
Summary: Yukimura & Sanada x Yanagi.
A/N: Inspired by Murakami Haruki's "UFO in Kushiro."
Notes: Symbolism. Surrealism. Cheesiness. Lurking pairings. Yanagi POV.
(blurred line between reality and memory)
(use excerpt from Mitch Albom's "Five People You Meet in Heaven"---one about Margret and dance with memory)
-Yana: (moved away to apartment) (living by self)
(goes to college nearby) (all his friends were scattered across the country)
It is the weekend today.
He wakes up to practice calligraphy. It has been a while since the last time he picked up a calligraphy brush. (uses brush set Sana gave him)
He struggled to put something on paper. He struggled until a hand lifted his own, and a deep, firm voice against his ear.
(i) "Like this, Renji. A stroke across. One stroke down. Another across..."
-Yana: (feels warmth against his back. Comfortable warmth.)
-finishes morning calligraphy practice
-Yana: (waters plant)
(imagines Yuki speaking to him beside him)
-after lunch, Yana sits on couch reading book. Mitch Albom's "Five People in Heaven."
-reads up to Margret's "dance with memory."
-(thought) He danced all this morning. (#)
-afternoon: his door bell rings.
-The postman offers him two packages when he opens the door. He signs for them, and receives them in his palms.
-packages: (Address unknown. But he recognizes the senders' names.
Yukimura Seiichi. Sanada Genichirou.)
-weighed like nothing. As if the packages are filled with air.
-Yana: (goes inside, open packages with care)
-finds something like an origami box in both packages he opens.
-could of sworn he feels the boxes pulse with life. Like heartbeats.
-That night, he takes the boxes he receives during the day to bed.
-He grasped one box each in a hand. They pulsed still.
(i) lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
-Before his subconsciousness drifted off to sleep, a slender hands grasped his right hand. And a calloused, rough hand grasped for his left hand.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. He could not tell the beats apart.
END NOTES:
(#) Meaning that Yanagi danced with his memories that morning (his memories of his two companions).
I tried writing an Akaya fic in celebration of his birthday. I really tried. It didn't work out. Sigh.
Each item Yanagi receives evokes a memory of the person who gave him the certain item. The items are keys to his memories, which allows him to contact the people he was closest to.
................................
Cicada of All Seasons
~四季の蝉~
Summary: Let their relationship be a cicada that endures all seasons. -Akaya x Yanagi- (lurking Sana, Yuki x Yana)
NOTE: Please watch "Fuyu no Semi" before reading this fic. This fic makes a lot of references to that anime.
Settings: Akaya and Yanagi are already in a relationship.
I know Yanagi developed "Cicada" in the anime. Here, he only develops it in high school.
High school setting:
-Akaya: 17 (H2)
-Yanagi: 18 (H3)
BIRTH
(general. Details come during each chapter later: how Akaya practiced really hard. How Yanagi secretly kept track of Akaya's progress)
-Akaya: confessed to Yana during junior high before Yana graduated
-Yana: smiles and pets Aka's head: "Thank you, Akaya. But, not yet."
-Aka: "What do I have to do then?"
-Yana: "You have to be stronger. You have to learn to be strong without hurting others."
-next year
-Aka: (high school 1st year, orientation) "I like you, Yanagi-senpai. Will you stay with me? I can win my opponents without hurting them now."
-Yana: (HS2) smiles and pats Aka's shoulder: "Thank you, Akaya. But, not yet."
-AKa: "What do I have to do then?"
-Yana: "Play me and win."
-Aka: fails the first year
-summer before Aka's second year: Aka calls Yana to play (same height as Yana)
-Aka: "don't go easy on me, Senpai."
-Yana: "Of course not."
-score: 3-3
-Yana: "Good. Let me see your full strength." (opens eyes)
-Aka: wins, Yana: happy
-Aka: "I like you Yanagi-senpai. Will you stay with me?"
They say, the third time is the charm.
This time, Yanagi answered, "Aa."
AUTUMN (Akaya POV)
-Aka: still remembered how much work he did during the last year of junior high
-worked hard so that he could fulfill his promise to Yanagi-senpai
-since he was the captain of the tennis team, he worked himself extra hard
-it seemed that he became a different person compared to the previous year--he no longer went to club activities late, he no longer skipped practices, and when there were away games, he left home early just to make sure he would arrive at the destination at the proper time
-he dunked two bottles of milk everyday, no matter how much he hated its taste and the sour after taste that lingered on his tongue
-he had to be Yanagi-senpai's height. He had surpass Yanagi-senpai's height.
-when he got home each day, he would just fall asleep immediately. Sometimes he would be too tired to dream. Sometimes, he dreamed of his beloved senpai, and those dreams would fuel him each day.
-he continued on, until he led Rikkai to the nationals once more. This time, his school overcame Seishun. They were number one again.
-Then, came high school. He was reunited with his former teammates from junior high. He was reunited with Yanagi
-Aka: confessed to Yana again, got rejected, knew he did not work hard enough
-it took all of him to be powerful and harmless during junior high. It was like forgetting tennis and relearning in a different way again.
-worked hard again, besides the workout menus Yana gave him, he did some training by himself.
-even so, he did not think he was overworking. The object of his goal was there before him. He did not have to think of him. He did not have to dream of him.
-even though Yana rejected his proposal for a relationship, he still spent time with him
-Yana: helped him with school work, explained his training menus to him
-In the end, Akaya still did not join the tennis team. For, none of his teammates from junior high joined the club.
-Perhaps, they, like Yanagi-senpai, were all busy applying to colleges and studying for exams.
-But Akaya liked sports, since it got his mind off of a lot of things when his body was in motion. So he joined the school track team instead.
-because of his tennis history, Aka knew he would be a fast short-distance runner
-but that was not a challenge for him, and he liked challenges
-in the end, he chose to run long distance
...
-Humans, after all, were not completely self-sacrificing, generous animals.
-Aka: meets with Yana regarding track training + English help; two walk home sometimes
-feels like their relationship was like before, senpai and kouhai relationship, no change
-one day, Aka asks: "If I pass my English exams this week, will you agree to go to the autumn festival with me."
-Yana: "IF you pass your exam."
-Aka: "All right. It's a date, then."
...
-Aka: studying for English exam, listening to music
-Yana: "Does that help you focus?"
-Aka: (sees how Yana is calm, unreactive) (nods) "Yeah... Do you want to listen?" (offers earphones)
-Yana: (decides to give it a try) (takes earpiece) "Saltwater Room" is playing.
-Aka: "It's my favorite song currently." (Because it contained the message he wanted Yana to get)
-Aka: (studies really hard w/ Yana's help) (passes)
-Aka: (meets with Yana) "All right, it's a date. Like you promised."
-Yana: "...Seventy-one... Is that not one point passing?"
-Aka: "Passing is still passing..." (snatches paper back) "Don't forget your promise."
-Yana: (smiles) "Aa."
...
-Aka + Yana: go to autumn festival
-Aka + Yana: dressed in yukata
-Aka: (not comfortable with such a dress) (but wanted to match Yana's appearance)
-(looks over to Yana: calm and casual about dress)
-(wonders how Yana can appear to be so graceful and perfectly formal)
-Aka: (looks around to get mind off of awkwardness)
-sees stand where kids are making pottery
-thinks of Yana's hobby of tea ceremony: thinks to make Yana a tea bowl for his tea ceremonial use
-lafter Aka + Yana go watch fireworks
-fireworks finished, a breeze of autumn came to extinguish the fire in the sky
-Yana: (shivers from the cold)
-Aka: (notices) (puts arm around Yana) "Are you cold, Yanagi-senpai?"
-Yana: "It is perhaps someone who is born on a summer day like me is not used to such a change of season."
-Aka: (smiles) "Then, let me warm you up."
-Yana: (observes) "You seem to have a higher body temperature than the average."
-Aka: "Heh heh."
WINTER (Yanagi POV)
-Yana goes to library with Sana + Yuki (to review colleges, study for entrance exams, etc)
-most of the times when Aka asks Yana out, Yana will not reject
-Yana: remembers the first time Aka confessed to him
-he secretly liked his kouhai, but he would not engage in any kind of activity that he was not sure of
-so he tested the other's sincerity through circumstances: wanted the other to be able to play tennis without hurting others
-wanted the other to play tennis and win him
-he was not playing "hard to get" as his classmates accused girls of doing during the chase
-he was simply putting a good influence on his kouhai; he wanted the other to be stronger, he wanted the other to succeed over him
-finally, the summer before his senior year in high school, Akaya fulfilled his promises to him
-from the observations he had made of the other, he knew the other worked hard to please him; he agreed on the other's purposal for a relationship
-as he met the other's eyes at eye level now, he cannot help but be awed at how much the other has grown
-Yana is absent a few times during their study sessions: Sana starts suspecting things
-before that, Yuki noticed Yana and Aka's relationship and warns Yana
-"Ne, if you go on like this, Genichirou will not be happy."
-"But of course, that is not to say, that I'm happy either...but as long as you're happy..."
-Yana: lunch break, goes to see Aka in rooftop: wants to tell Aka that they need to see each other less, b/c needs to concentrate on school work
-Aka: "Why, Yanagi-senpai? Are you not studying enough?"
-Yana: "I have an important promise to fulfill, Akaya. There is no studying enough."
-Aka: agrees, but steals kiss from Yana
-Yana: (sighs) "Akaya..."
-Aka: "Okay, okay. I'll be going now. Don't miss me too much, Yanagi-senpai." (leaves)
-Yana: (turns to look out to the school land) (can't believe it has been three years of high school already) (can't believe that the teammate from yesterday, became his lover of today)
-(hears footsteps behind him) (turns around thinking it's Aka)
-Sana: (stern voice) "Renji. We need to talk."
-Yana: (fought the urge to sigh again) (knows Sana probably saw his interaction with Aka)
-Sana: (lectures him on how he should stay focused on getting into college, not screw around to ruin his reputation and chances)
-end: (turns to walk away)
-"The three of us made a promise. We will enter the same college. We will stay together."
-Yana: "I did not forget."
-Sana: "I hope you didn't. Behave yourself now."
...
-winter.
-Yana, Sana, Yuki: still make their way to library
-Yana: spotted (while looking fo study material on the shelf) a book on the "New Arrivals" section
-"Winter Cicada" = cover was plain, the characters were in black calligraphy
-he remembered hearing about such a book b/c girls in class were talking about it
-it was only one book. It would not hurt.
-later finds out that it was actually a homo-story
-if it had been before, he would have been disturbed
-but now, he was involved in a similar relationship, so he was not prejudice
...
-b/c Yana studying, he has less time to spend with Aka
-Yana: feels like their relationship was diminishing
-one early morning, Yana wakes up to meditate in tea room
-last night, he just finished "winter Cicada"
-decides, he will put all the sadness he felt for the story into the making of his tea today
-makes matcha in tea bowl Aka made
-after drinking tea, sees that bowl cracked
-Was his sadness too great, too destructive for the bowl? Or perhaps, the cracking bowl was a sign, telling him something. Perhaps it symbolized their fragile relationship
-And he wondered, if there was a point to possessing something so fragile in the first place when it was so vulnerable to destruction.
...
-winter break
-Yana: "Let's go watch the snow in the north."
-Yana + Aka: rode train for hours, just to go watch the snow
-Yana: thought he was being crazy,
-one night, Aka sleeps over Yana's house
-Aka given Yana's yukata, and Aka shows off how nicely he fits into it
-Yana: realizes just how much Aka has grown.
-irony: compares Aka to a cicada shedding its outer shell; Aka has left behind his outer shell of a child
-Yana would hate himself if he was to become the winter that would bring end to Aka's life as an adult
-Aka: (embraces Yana from behind) "Let's stay together Renji-senpai."
-Yana: wordless, grasps Aka's hands
-'Sorry, Akaya. I don't think life is quite that simple.'
-smiles secretly to himself in irony
-Aka and Yana go to movies next day
-Yana: recognized movie when seeing poster Aka pointed to
-Aka: (smiled confidently) "I heard people say how good it was." (rubs nose) "Plus, it looks like something you would be interested in."
-Yana: (nodded) "I read the book."
-Aka: "Maybe I'll read it too after watching the movie."
-after movie: Yana + Aka walking
-it starts snowing
-Aka: "It's snowing, Yanagi-senpai!"
-Yana: (smiles) "Aa."
-two just walks and enjoys the scenery
-Yana: realizes that winter is drawing near; smiles turns to serious frown
-Aka: (starts getting excited again) (looks around) "Wow, I can't believe it's winter already." (smiles at Yanagi) "And soon, it will be Christmas."
-Aka: (turns to him) "Senpai... Can I make a Christmas present request?"
-Yana: "Sorry. I am not Santa Claus."
-Aka: "But even Santa Claus won't be able to make this wish come true." (he drew near him) "You are the only one who can grant me this wish."
-Yana: (raises an eyebrow)
-Aka: (looks into his eyes) "Will you allow me to light a fire inside you as Kusaka had done for Akitsuki?"
-Yana: (stuck speechless) (knows Aka, unlike the boys his age, did not mean it in a perverted manner)
-Yana: (looks away to the distance) "There is something I want to ask you, Akaya."
-Aka: "Yes, Yanagi-senpai."
-Yana: "Akaya... Do you think there are cicadas that can endure all the seasonal changes?"
-Aka: "Uh... I don't think so..." (the other sounded unsure) (perhaps he had caught him off guard with such an irrelative question)
-Yana: (nods) "Similarly, do you think there are romantic relationships that can endure time?"
-Aka: "...Yanagi-senpai...?" (he could hear the anxious edge in the other's voice. the other received his intentions)
-Yana: "There are only two ways that love can remain eternal. That is, if two who love each other die before their love ends. Or, they end their relationship before their love ends."
-turns to Akaya, who was wide-eyed in shock
-Yana: (opens eyes and looks mirthlessly at the other) "Akaya. Love can only be preserved through regret."
SPRING (Aka's POV)
-winter came, brought the snow and a lonely Christmas.
-Aka went back to school
-the weather warmed up, the snows were melted and the bare branches became knotty as the premonition of a new season.
-Aka: glad that he chose to do long distance
-when he ran, all he could think of was running
-he discarded all else from his mind
-when he thought about what Yanagi-senpai had told him, he only pushed those thoughts away and ran faster
-there were times when he was not running though, and his mind wandered back to Yanagi-senpai, back to the past two years that he had worked hard chasing after the other.
-and he feels as if he is going through some sort of regression. All those beneficial habits that he built up with the other's influence, working beyond what is recommended to him on the training menu, leaving his house early to ensure an early arrival to his competitions, seemed to have slipped away.
-Aka: thinks it to be ironic how Yana is such a great influence on him
...
-It was funny how distance and yearn leads one to revisit places of the past, hoping to find that last few traces of that person in his memory.
-In the past, when the other helped him with his homework and studying, they came to this library.
-Now that his English exam was close, he was here again.
But this time, he was here. Alone.
-Aka: tried sitting down to study, but wanted to fall asleep within 5 minutes
-ran his hands through his already messy hair in frustration
-decides to walk around a little then come back to study
-Aka: walks around library, feet automatically taking him to places where he thinks Yana would would probably go: the college magazines section, the Japanese history section, the literature section
-at literature section, sees book on "Popular" section
-"Winter Cicada"; remembers movie that they saw together
-reached for book; brings back to seat to read
-strangely, just sat and read; since he was a slow reader, he stopped a quarter way through when he realized he was hungry and it was already way past his dinner hour
-in the end, he checked out book, because he remembered telling the other he would look into it when they saw the movie
-Aka: thought, he was truly pathetic
...
-
SUMMER
-Yana: watches sunset and ponders how things are changing
-The person he used to always think of in the past, the person who he thought he could not live without was sinking deeper and deeper in his memories. They no longer floated like a leaf upon the water surface.
At some point of his life, they were bound to resurface. But that was only for a short fleeting moment. His mind knew which memories it wants to forget, and which ones it wants to treasure. Sadaharu was someone of his past. His mind knew it was futile thinking of him.
And when he did not think about him, the need to be beside the other was not so strong either.
After all, there really was not anyone who one could not live without. He did not know if time had been the flow to wash away his urgency, or if he really did not love Sadaharu enough to pursue him.
-Yana: thinks same with Aka
-when he graduates, perhaps he would be forgotten, maybe he will merely become a piece of sunken memory for the other
-Yana: graduates high school
-Aka: "Wait for me, Renji-senpai. One more year, and I will go to where you are."
Deep Pool
Summary: One shot. One day was all they needed. Inui & Yanagi.
Genre: Friendship/Romance
A/N: Inspired by NitroChiral's BL game, "Sweet Pool." The title is a reference to that game. Also inspired by PurinRin's "Hakase" and "Kyouju". This will be, perhaps, my final contribution to this heart-mauling pairing.
NOTES: Subtleties. Eccentricity.
Notes: 封CP文。 曖昧。友情之上，爱情之下。
[BGM: Owl City - "Saltwater Room"]
[BGM: Dixie Flatline - "Just Be Friends" (music box version)]
...
(Yanagi POV)
It was easy to predict what the other wanted to say based on the situation, the setting. But, it was much harder to leave his ability to predict as the mere foundation of their relationship, to just leave it knowing that he could come back to it any time, and to just engage in mindless small talk with the other.
Inui: "I added a new ingredient to my juice."
Yana: "Will it make it taste better?"
Mindless small talk that did not make sense to anyone else. Really, it did not matter.
...
THe cellphone he placed against his ear might as well be a sea conch he picked up at the seashore. His companion's voice on the other end sounded like the ocean deapths containing all its mysteries.
"Let's go swimming, Renji."
He thought the invitation to be an odd one. For the cool wind already foretold of summer's end and autumn's imminent arrival. If the other really wanted to invite him out, why did he not do so during mid-summer? Why did he wait this long? Or had waiting till summer's end his own little, eccentric preference?
"Aa." He agreed. After four years, 2 months, and fifteen days, they are finally having another friendly outing.
...
The "swimming" Sadaharu referred to took place at an outdoor community pool near where Sadaharu lived. It required Renji to take the subway from his residence in Kanagawa prefecture to Tokyo city, where Sadaharu lived.
The railway ride took thirty-seven minutes from the initial stop to the final stop.
Along the way, as he gazed at the miniature buildings and automobiles running along inch-wide narrow roads, he made mental calculations of how long it would take for him to reach to Sadaharu if he did not choose to take the railway. Though, the railway had been the most efficient mode of transport in every aspect.
Nevertheless, he still wanted to know, for subconsciously he had already made comparisons between the distance the distance of the two destinations and the distance between teh two of them. The for years, two months, and 15 days.
He wondered if these years they have spent shortening the distance between them been a railway ride of a travel on foot, one step at a time, for a long time.
Renji got off the railway when everyone got off---at the final stop, in Tokyo station.
Sadaharu stood on the platform, a few feet away from the automatic double doors he exited from. THe other stood like the two dimensional people printed on poster advertisement---frozen, inanimate.
Renji approached him. He watched the other open his mouth, his lips parting, beginning to form words.
He beat him to it.
"'There is an eighty-nine percent chance you were going to get off through those doors' was what you were going to say."
"There is a ninety-five percent chance you wanted to start a greeting with 'It has been a while, Sadaharu.'"
IT was true. The lst time they had seen each other at the Nationals Tournament, two months and twenty-two days ago.
Now, he stood one foot and two inches away from the other. He found it ironic there were so many gaps and spaces and distances between them. Physically.
Though their conversation now totally disregarded that physical distance.
Sadaharu adjusted the dark sports bag he slung over one shoulder then and turned. He walked beside his companion knowing the other was leading them to the appointed destination.
...
They walked for the next hour or so.
They walked through the busy, nonstop crowds of the sleepless city. They passes shop after shop after shop, each attracting customers with its unique appeal and something different to offer. They shuffled passed the passersby's heated conversations.
Renji had no appeal for such crowds. Tokyo was a big city. Yet, the size of the population made it seem like it had been a mere little city. Finding a peaceful and spacious little corner in the city would be hard. And he needed to retreat to such a corner, even once in a while.
After a while, Renji began questioning Sadaharu's intention. Such mode of travel completely contradicted the railway express he took. They both knew taking the bus would have been more time efficient.
-Inui: Sink into the pool close your eyes. When the water plugs up your ears, everything around you is quiet. It kind of feels like you're the only one left in the world.
-Yana: (looks at him) "..."
-Inui: (deep in thought) (sudden breaks into smile) (takes the other hand and drags him beneath the pool)
-Yana: (looks at Inui) (Inui looks at him)
-air bubbles escape from the smile between his lips
-instead of feeling like he was the only left in the world when he submerges into the pool by himself, it feels as if he shared his own little world with another.
-They were two people in their own little world.
-That was, until they had to resurface for air. Resurface from the pool, exitting their little world. Coming back to this one, full of people, full of responsibilities, full of obstacles.
-Yana: (feels like they were the only people left in the world)
-surprisingly, he found that he did not mind if such a thing was to happen somewhere in the future.
-A world with just the two of them.
-Then, neither one of them will be strange to anyone.
...
-After swim, Inui + Yana wash up in pool showers
-InuiYana: (go to bookstore) He rubbed his eyes a couple of times to get the burning after-sensation of the chorine-treated water out of his eyes.
He got into Murakami Haruki's books recently.
It was all due to one passage he came across when he flipped through one of the author's books.
"Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who's in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It's like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven't seen in a long time. It's only a natural feeling."
Yanagi Renji always believed that for every law, the opposite was just as true. Because people claimed that opposite attract, he also believed that people who shared similarities are attracted to each other due to their commonalities.
He believed in the commonalities between them. He believed them drew the two of them together.
That was why, even after 4 years, 2 months and 15 days, they were still able to call each other by their given names. That was why, he agreed on this outing without hesitation.
-Yana: (walks by atrological book on display before they left) (Gemini) (twins)
-caught his eyes, and he couldn't tear his gaze away
-bought the book; first time bought book on whim, because of the cover
-doesn't know when he will share another day like this with Inui, but the book will act as a souvenir that he visited this world. The world that two of them shared.
...
The cicada's drone was especially loud that night. All he heard was the dull hum. like a computer attempting to run a program when a compact disk was inserted. Only when the cicada stopped for a momentary pause did he realize that there was such a sound as silence. Then, the cicadas started humming again outside the window.
Summer quickly neared its end. Even the cicadas knew. That was why they sounded especially loud now. They wanted to leave an impression for them. Make them remember this time, this day for it would be another nine months before summer swung by again. It might be another nine months until they have an outing like this again.
-Yana: (looks around Inui's room and sees the shelf full of notebooks, containing all the data the other has taken on other players. He noticed how notebooks on his data take up a big chunk of space on the shelf.
He could almost see it. The first page containing the most basic of his information: his birthday, his blood type, his hobbies, his tennis techniques... And his preferred type.
Yes, his preferred type. Someone calculative and analytical.
Somewhere in his mind's notebook, he searches Sadaharu's data as well. He runs through his birthday, his blood type, his hobbies, his tennis techniques...And his preferred type.
The other's preferred type. Someone mature and calm.
He stopped before his mind drew the final connection. He would not allow the conclusion to form, to be taken advantage of by gravity and to come crashing down upon him in its impressive weight.
He directed the focus of his mind to somewhere else instead. He thought about Murakami's book that he read today.
One part of the book referred to Plato's (i)Symposium. The quote flooded through his mind. He could almost see the sized 8 Calibri text on the certain page of the book.
"In ancient times people weren't just male or female, but one of three types: male/male, male/female, or female/female. In other words, each person was made out of the components of two people. Everyone was happy with this arrangement and never really gave it much though. But then, God took a knife and cut everybody in half, right down the middle. So after that the world was divided just into male and female, the upshot being that people spend their time running around trying to locate their missing other half."
Even after all these years, he still could not fully call himself a true singles player.
Then he started wondering. If people truly find their other halves in their lifetime. Yet, if God isn't there to separate them, then there are always other circumstances. Even if people find their other halves, they may still be separated in the end.
-Yana: (sleeps over at Inui's house)
-both: (sleep on the floor)
-Yana: (noticed how Inui doesn't sleep in bed) (doesn't say anything)
-Rather than saying that he knows the reason to why the other was abandoning the bed to sleep on the floor with him, his silence is more of a consent. That he wanted the other to sleep with him, so he chose not to question him, so he does not seem like he is rejecting his action.
-Yana: (gets the feeling that they've went back in time because there were many times they slept over each other's houses like this in the past)
...
(Yanagi POV)
Morning.
-Yana: (wakes up early because of his biological clock)
-sits up
-Inui: (stirs awake too)
-Yana: (looks down) Good morning.
-Inui: Aa. Good morning.
-Yana: (stands up, to change and wash up)
-By 7:30 sharp, he was a the front door in his clothes ready to head for the subway station
-Yana: (cellphones vibrates, as if hurrying him up) (stares at text message and smiles almost grudgingly(check word))
A text message from Seiichi.
-looks at Inui: "I have to go, Sadaharu."
-Inui: (nods) "See you." Not "see you soon" or "see you later." But just "see you."
-Yana: (The both of them did not know when they would see each other again. When they could go back to that world that belonged only to the two of them.)
-So he said to him too, "See you." Hopefully.
................................
Packaged
Summary: Yukimura & Sanada x Yanagi.
A/N: Inspired by Murakami Haruki's "UFO in Kushiro."
Notes: Symbolism. Surrealism. Cheesiness. Lurking pairings. Yanagi POV.
(blurred line between reality and memory)
(use excerpt from Mitch Albom's "Five People You Meet in Heaven"---one about Margret and dance with memory)
-Yana: (moved away to apartment) (living by self)
(goes to college nearby) (all his friends were scattered across the country)
It is the weekend today.
He wakes up to practice calligraphy. It has been a while since the last time he picked up a calligraphy brush. (uses brush set Sana gave him)
He struggled to put something on paper. He struggled until a hand lifted his own, and a deep, firm voice against his ear.
(i) "Like this, Renji. A stroke across. One stroke down. Another across..."
-Yana: (feels warmth against his back. Comfortable warmth.)
-finishes morning calligraphy practice
-Yana: (waters plant)
(imagines Yuki speaking to him beside him)
-after lunch, Yana sits on couch reading book. Mitch Albom's "Five People in Heaven."
-reads up to Margret's "dance with memory."
-(thought) He danced all this morning. (#)
-afternoon: his door bell rings.
-The postman offers him two packages when he opens the door. He signs for them, and receives them in his palms.
-packages: (Address unknown. But he recognizes the senders' names.
Yukimura Seiichi. Sanada Genichirou.)
-weighed like nothing. As if the packages are filled with air.
-Yana: (goes inside, open packages with care)
-finds something like an origami box in both packages he opens.
-could of sworn he feels the boxes pulse with life. Like heartbeats.
-That night, he takes the boxes he receives during the day to bed.
-He grasped one box each in a hand. They pulsed still.
(i) lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
-Before his subconsciousness drifted off to sleep, a slender hands grasped his right hand. And a calloused, rough hand grasped for his left hand.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. He could not tell the beats apart.
END NOTES:
(#) Meaning that Yanagi danced with his memories that morning (his memories of his two companions).
I tried writing an Akaya fic in celebration of his birthday. I really tried. It didn't work out. Sigh.
Each item Yanagi receives evokes a memory of the person who gave him the certain item. The items are keys to his memories, which allows him to contact the people he was closest to.
................................
Cicada of All Seasons
~四季の蝉~
Summary: Let their relationship be a cicada that endures all seasons. -Akaya x Yanagi- (lurking Sana, Yuki x Yana)
NOTE: Please watch "Fuyu no Semi" before reading this fic. This fic makes a lot of references to that anime.
Settings: Akaya and Yanagi are already in a relationship.
I know Yanagi developed "Cicada" in the anime. Here, he only develops it in high school.
High school setting:
-Akaya: 17 (H2)
-Yanagi: 18 (H3)
BIRTH
(general. Details come during each chapter later: how Akaya practiced really hard. How Yanagi secretly kept track of Akaya's progress)
-Akaya: confessed to Yana during junior high before Yana graduated
-Yana: smiles and pets Aka's head: "Thank you, Akaya. But, not yet."
-Aka: "What do I have to do then?"
-Yana: "You have to be stronger. You have to learn to be strong without hurting others."
-next year
-Aka: (high school 1st year, orientation) "I like you, Yanagi-senpai. Will you stay with me? I can win my opponents without hurting them now."
-Yana: (HS2) smiles and pats Aka's shoulder: "Thank you, Akaya. But, not yet."
-AKa: "What do I have to do then?"
-Yana: "Play me and win."
-Aka: fails the first year
-summer before Aka's second year: Aka calls Yana to play (same height as Yana)
-Aka: "don't go easy on me, Senpai."
-Yana: "Of course not."
-score: 3-3
-Yana: "Good. Let me see your full strength." (opens eyes)
-Aka: wins, Yana: happy
-Aka: "I like you Yanagi-senpai. Will you stay with me?"
They say, the third time is the charm.
This time, Yanagi answered, "Aa."
AUTUMN (Akaya POV)
-Aka: still remembered how much work he did during the last year of junior high
-worked hard so that he could fulfill his promise to Yanagi-senpai
-since he was the captain of the tennis team, he worked himself extra hard
-it seemed that he became a different person compared to the previous year--he no longer went to club activities late, he no longer skipped practices, and when there were away games, he left home early just to make sure he would arrive at the destination at the proper time
-he dunked two bottles of milk everyday, no matter how much he hated its taste and the sour after taste that lingered on his tongue
-he had to be Yanagi-senpai's height. He had surpass Yanagi-senpai's height.
-when he got home each day, he would just fall asleep immediately. Sometimes he would be too tired to dream. Sometimes, he dreamed of his beloved senpai, and those dreams would fuel him each day.
-he continued on, until he led Rikkai to the nationals once more. This time, his school overcame Seishun. They were number one again.
-Then, came high school. He was reunited with his former teammates from junior high. He was reunited with Yanagi
-Aka: confessed to Yana again, got rejected, knew he did not work hard enough
-it took all of him to be powerful and harmless during junior high. It was like forgetting tennis and relearning in a different way again.
-worked hard again, besides the workout menus Yana gave him, he did some training by himself.
-even so, he did not think he was overworking. The object of his goal was there before him. He did not have to think of him. He did not have to dream of him.
-even though Yana rejected his proposal for a relationship, he still spent time with him
-Yana: helped him with school work, explained his training menus to him
-In the end, Akaya still did not join the tennis team. For, none of his teammates from junior high joined the club.
-Perhaps, they, like Yanagi-senpai, were all busy applying to colleges and studying for exams.
-But Akaya liked sports, since it got his mind off of a lot of things when his body was in motion. So he joined the school track team instead.
-because of his tennis history, Aka knew he would be a fast short-distance runner
-but that was not a challenge for him, and he liked challenges
-in the end, he chose to run long distance
...
-Humans, after all, were not completely self-sacrificing, generous animals.
-Aka: meets with Yana regarding track training + English help; two walk home sometimes
-feels like their relationship was like before, senpai and kouhai relationship, no change
-one day, Aka asks: "If I pass my English exams this week, will you agree to go to the autumn festival with me."
-Yana: "IF you pass your exam."
-Aka: "All right. It's a date, then."
...
-Aka: studying for English exam, listening to music
-Yana: "Does that help you focus?"
-Aka: (sees how Yana is calm, unreactive) (nods) "Yeah... Do you want to listen?" (offers earphones)
-Yana: (decides to give it a try) (takes earpiece) "Saltwater Room" is playing.
-Aka: "It's my favorite song currently." (Because it contained the message he wanted Yana to get)
-Aka: (studies really hard w/ Yana's help) (passes)
-Aka: (meets with Yana) "All right, it's a date. Like you promised."
-Yana: "...Seventy-one... Is that not one point passing?"
-Aka: "Passing is still passing..." (snatches paper back) "Don't forget your promise."
-Yana: (smiles) "Aa."
...
-Aka + Yana: go to autumn festival
-Aka + Yana: dressed in yukata
-Aka: (not comfortable with such a dress) (but wanted to match Yana's appearance)
-(looks over to Yana: calm and casual about dress)
-(wonders how Yana can appear to be so graceful and perfectly formal)
-Aka: (looks around to get mind off of awkwardness)
-sees stand where kids are making pottery
-thinks of Yana's hobby of tea ceremony: thinks to make Yana a tea bowl for his tea ceremonial use
-lafter Aka + Yana go watch fireworks
-fireworks finished, a breeze of autumn came to extinguish the fire in the sky
-Yana: (shivers from the cold)
-Aka: (notices) (puts arm around Yana) "Are you cold, Yanagi-senpai?"
-Yana: "It is perhaps someone who is born on a summer day like me is not used to such a change of season."
-Aka: (smiles) "Then, let me warm you up."
-Yana: (observes) "You seem to have a higher body temperature than the average."
-Aka: "Heh heh."
WINTER (Yanagi POV)
-Yana goes to library with Sana + Yuki (to review colleges, study for entrance exams, etc)
-most of the times when Aka asks Yana out, Yana will not reject
-Yana: remembers the first time Aka confessed to him
-he secretly liked his kouhai, but he would not engage in any kind of activity that he was not sure of
-so he tested the other's sincerity through circumstances: wanted the other to be able to play tennis without hurting others
-wanted the other to play tennis and win him
-he was not playing "hard to get" as his classmates accused girls of doing during the chase
-he was simply putting a good influence on his kouhai; he wanted the other to be stronger, he wanted the other to succeed over him
-finally, the summer before his senior year in high school, Akaya fulfilled his promises to him
-from the observations he had made of the other, he knew the other worked hard to please him; he agreed on the other's purposal for a relationship
-as he met the other's eyes at eye level now, he cannot help but be awed at how much the other has grown
-Yana is absent a few times during their study sessions: Sana starts suspecting things
-before that, Yuki noticed Yana and Aka's relationship and warns Yana
-"Ne, if you go on like this, Genichirou will not be happy."
-"But of course, that is not to say, that I'm happy either...but as long as you're happy..."
-Yana: lunch break, goes to see Aka in rooftop: wants to tell Aka that they need to see each other less, b/c needs to concentrate on school work
-Aka: "Why, Yanagi-senpai? Are you not studying enough?"
-Yana: "I have an important promise to fulfill, Akaya. There is no studying enough."
-Aka: agrees, but steals kiss from Yana
-Yana: (sighs) "Akaya..."
-Aka: "Okay, okay. I'll be going now. Don't miss me too much, Yanagi-senpai." (leaves)
-Yana: (turns to look out to the school land) (can't believe it has been three years of high school already) (can't believe that the teammate from yesterday, became his lover of today)
-(hears footsteps behind him) (turns around thinking it's Aka)
-Sana: (stern voice) "Renji. We need to talk."
-Yana: (fought the urge to sigh again) (knows Sana probably saw his interaction with Aka)
-Sana: (lectures him on how he should stay focused on getting into college, not screw around to ruin his reputation and chances)
-end: (turns to walk away)
-"The three of us made a promise. We will enter the same college. We will stay together."
-Yana: "I did not forget."
-Sana: "I hope you didn't. Behave yourself now."
...
-winter.
-Yana, Sana, Yuki: still make their way to library
-Yana: spotted (while looking fo study material on the shelf) a book on the "New Arrivals" section
-"Winter Cicada" = cover was plain, the characters were in black calligraphy
-he remembered hearing about such a book b/c girls in class were talking about it
-it was only one book. It would not hurt.
-later finds out that it was actually a homo-story
-if it had been before, he would have been disturbed
-but now, he was involved in a similar relationship, so he was not prejudice
...
-b/c Yana studying, he has less time to spend with Aka
-Yana: feels like their relationship was diminishing
-one early morning, Yana wakes up to meditate in tea room
-last night, he just finished "winter Cicada"
-decides, he will put all the sadness he felt for the story into the making of his tea today
-makes matcha in tea bowl Aka made
-after drinking tea, sees that bowl cracked
-Was his sadness too great, too destructive for the bowl? Or perhaps, the cracking bowl was a sign, telling him something. Perhaps it symbolized their fragile relationship
-And he wondered, if there was a point to possessing something so fragile in the first place when it was so vulnerable to destruction.
...
-winter break
-Yana: "Let's go watch the snow in the north."
-Yana + Aka: rode train for hours, just to go watch the snow
-Yana: thought he was being crazy,
-one night, Aka sleeps over Yana's house
-Aka given Yana's yukata, and Aka shows off how nicely he fits into it
-Yana: realizes just how much Aka has grown.
-irony: compares Aka to a cicada shedding its outer shell; Aka has left behind his outer shell of a child
-Yana would hate himself if he was to become the winter that would bring end to Aka's life as an adult
-Aka: (embraces Yana from behind) "Let's stay together Renji-senpai."
-Yana: wordless, grasps Aka's hands
-'Sorry, Akaya. I don't think life is quite that simple.'
-smiles secretly to himself in irony
-Aka and Yana go to movies next day
-Yana: recognized movie when seeing poster Aka pointed to
-Aka: (smiled confidently) "I heard people say how good it was." (rubs nose) "Plus, it looks like something you would be interested in."
-Yana: (nodded) "I read the book."
-Aka: "Maybe I'll read it too after watching the movie."
-after movie: Yana + Aka walking
-it starts snowing
-Aka: "It's snowing, Yanagi-senpai!"
-Yana: (smiles) "Aa."
-two just walks and enjoys the scenery
-Yana: realizes that winter is drawing near; smiles turns to serious frown
-Aka: (starts getting excited again) (looks around) "Wow, I can't believe it's winter already." (smiles at Yanagi) "And soon, it will be Christmas."
-Aka: (turns to him) "Senpai... Can I make a Christmas present request?"
-Yana: "Sorry. I am not Santa Claus."
-Aka: "But even Santa Claus won't be able to make this wish come true." (he drew near him) "You are the only one who can grant me this wish."
-Yana: (raises an eyebrow)
-Aka: (looks into his eyes) "Will you allow me to light a fire inside you as Kusaka had done for Akitsuki?"
-Yana: (stuck speechless) (knows Aka, unlike the boys his age, did not mean it in a perverted manner)
-Yana: (looks away to the distance) "There is something I want to ask you, Akaya."
-Aka: "Yes, Yanagi-senpai."
-Yana: "Akaya... Do you think there are cicadas that can endure all the seasonal changes?"
-Aka: "Uh... I don't think so..." (the other sounded unsure) (perhaps he had caught him off guard with such an irrelative question)
-Yana: (nods) "Similarly, do you think there are romantic relationships that can endure time?"
-Aka: "...Yanagi-senpai...?" (he could hear the anxious edge in the other's voice. the other received his intentions)
-Yana: "There are only two ways that love can remain eternal. That is, if two who love each other die before their love ends. Or, they end their relationship before their love ends."
-turns to Akaya, who was wide-eyed in shock
-Yana: (opens eyes and looks mirthlessly at the other) "Akaya. Love can only be preserved through regret."
SPRING (Aka's POV)
-winter came, brought the snow and a lonely Christmas.
-Aka went back to school
-the weather warmed up, the snows were melted and the bare branches became knotty as the premonition of a new season.
-Aka: glad that he chose to do long distance
-when he ran, all he could think of was running
-he discarded all else from his mind
-when he thought about what Yanagi-senpai had told him, he only pushed those thoughts away and ran faster
-there were times when he was not running though, and his mind wandered back to Yanagi-senpai, back to the past two years that he had worked hard chasing after the other.
-and he feels as if he is going through some sort of regression. All those beneficial habits that he built up with the other's influence, working beyond what is recommended to him on the training menu, leaving his house early to ensure an early arrival to his competitions, seemed to have slipped away.
-Aka: thinks it to be ironic how Yana is such a great influence on him
...
-It was funny how distance and yearn leads one to revisit places of the past, hoping to find that last few traces of that person in his memory.
-In the past, when the other helped him with his homework and studying, they came to this library.
-Now that his English exam was close, he was here again.
But this time, he was here. Alone.
-Aka: tried sitting down to study, but wanted to fall asleep within 5 minutes
-ran his hands through his already messy hair in frustration
-decides to walk around a little then come back to study
-Aka: walks around library, feet automatically taking him to places where he thinks Yana would would probably go: the college magazines section, the Japanese history section, the literature section
-at literature section, sees book on "Popular" section
-"Winter Cicada"; remembers movie that they saw together
-reached for book; brings back to seat to read
-strangely, just sat and read; since he was a slow reader, he stopped a quarter way through when he realized he was hungry and it was already way past his dinner hour
-in the end, he checked out book, because he remembered telling the other he would look into it when they saw the movie
-Aka: thought, he was truly pathetic
...
-
SUMMER
-Yana: watches sunset and ponders how things are changing
-The person he used to always think of in the past, the person who he thought he could not live without was sinking deeper and deeper in his memories. They no longer floated like a leaf upon the water surface.
At some point of his life, they were bound to resurface. But that was only for a short fleeting moment. His mind knew which memories it wants to forget, and which ones it wants to treasure. Sadaharu was someone of his past. His mind knew it was futile thinking of him.
And when he did not think about him, the need to be beside the other was not so strong either.
After all, there really was not anyone who one could not live without. He did not know if time had been the flow to wash away his urgency, or if he really did not love Sadaharu enough to pursue him.
-Yana: thinks same with Aka
-when he graduates, perhaps he would be forgotten, maybe he will merely become a piece of sunken memory for the other
-Yana: graduates high school
-Aka: "Wait for me, Renji-senpai. One more year, and I will go to where you are."