[Mekakuni] fic: Memories of the Future ch.17
Memories of the Future
A Namiki-centric fic for 30_kisses.
Disclaimer: Mekakushi no Kuni belongs to Tsukuba Sakura. I'm making no profit from writing this piece of fanwork.
archive: lj | ffnet
word count: ~2100
-----chapter 17: #13 excessive chain-----
The summer heat soon bled into the crispness of autumn. Everywhere Masahiro looked, piles and piles of fallen leaves and barren trees greeted his sight. The colorful piles of leaves excited Marota greatly during their walks. Masahiro always had a hard time stopping the puppy from jumping into the piles and sending the leaves flying everywhere.
Getting back to classes after summer was difficult too. The low hum of the AC did nothing to help focus Masahiro's attention. As his professor lectured about identifying the bottleneck in yet another process, Masahiro rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window. He missed his summer outings with Kaichou and the others when he had been able to spend entire days in their presence. He had thought that going to the closest college would be close enough, but it wasn't the same as being in the same school. He even organized his schedule so that he would have a gap between his second and third courses that would let him walk back to his old high school to have lunch with the others. He would never admit it to the other boy, but no one cooked like Arou. Masahiro never prepared his own lunch. He almost never frequented the university dining halls either. The atmosphere just wasn't right.
The professor went on to describe their upcoming group project, leaving them time before the end of the class to find a group and hack out the details. Instead of sticking around like most were doing, Masahiro straightened his papers and tucked them away in his bag, getting ready to leave as quickly as possible.
"Namiki-kun, do you have a group yet?" asked one of his classmates before Masahiro could make his escape.
"No," replied Masahiro as he got up. He hadn't even thought to look for a group. All he had been thinking about was joining his friends for lunch. If he didn't hurry, he would miss their lunchtime.
"Would you like to join our group?" his classmate asked helpfully.
"Sounds great," he said right away. "Here's my phone number. Call me when you've decided on something. Bye."
"Namiki-kun, you can't just leave like that!" exclaimed his offended classmate at Masahiro's abrupt departure.
-----
As Masahiro neared his old high school, he felt as if he had stepped into a different world. The students here were no different from his current classmates--they were all getting back to the school routine--but whereas his university felt confining and pale, his old school was vibrant and lively. He walked towards their usual spot, expecting to see Kanade and Arou with their extravagant lunch, without a care about how out of synch they were with the rest of the school. He imagined Kaichou there too, nibbling on her food absentmindedly as she worked through her paperwork. He hadn't been able to completely stop her from worrying about her duties even during lunch time, but at least he had gotten her to come outdoors once in a while to enjoy the autumn breeze. Doing paperwork on the grass was much healthier than staying indoors the entire time.
Instead of the scene he was expecting, only Kanade was present. The tablecloth and food were already set. Arou had outdone himself once again with his ten course meal. Masahiro supposed he was later than usual despite his hurry to get here. He had tried to coax a stray, black kitten out from underneath a car on his way here, but that hadn't worked out. All he had gotten were scratches on his forearm and a hissing kitten that continued to lash out whenever Masahiro dared to take a step closer to it. Masahiro blamed Marota. Marota's threatening scent must still be lingering on him.
"Where's our famous cook?" Masahiro asked jokingly as he plopped down next to Kanade and swiped a piece of bread. As he chewed, he glanced around. "I hope the class president has stopped by. She's not starving herself again, is she?" he asked.
Kanade smiled. "Don't worry! I've been keeping an eye on her."
Masahiro had no doubt that Kanade was doing her best to bring Kaichou into their little circle. The friendship between the two wasn't as strong as the one between Kanade and Eri, but ever since their summer outing, he'd seen the two girls share wide grins and open laughter, their interaction with each other much more casual than before.
"So where is Arou anyway?" asked Masahiro again, remembering that he had been curious about the dark-haired boy before his mind had wandered off.
Kanade quickly took a bite of her food and chewed for a good minute before swallowing.
"Oh, ah, he's busy today!" she said finally, her eyes peering up at him and darting away quickly.
Kanade was the worst liar ever. Her expressive eyes and her hesitant voice immediately gave her away. Something was up, but it couldn't be anything too serious or else Kanade would not have been able to smile so freely at him when she had greeted him. If Kanade and Arou were having a fight, Kanade wouldn't be sitting here calmly with food that Arou had prepared. Of course, with those two, even if they were having a fight, Arou would probably still be trying to feed Kanade. Normal reasoning with them didn't work.
"Okay, what's going on?" asked Masahiro. If Arou had done anything to hurt Kanade, even it if were just negligence, Masahiro was in his right to be pissed.
"What?" squeaked Kanade. "What makes you think that? Nothing's going on!"
Masahiro reached out, his hand almost caressing Kanade's face. He wanted to find out.
Kanade's eyes widened as she ducked away. "I-it's a secret!"
He paused and let his hand drop. "A secret?"
Kanade smiled shyly, "You'll find out."
He sighed in relief and leaned backwards, relieved at Kanade's shy smile. He could handle secrets. He was used to secrets. He had immediately thought the worst. "A secret, huh? Is it something I should look forward to?"
Kanade nodded excitedly before her eyes landed on the scratches on his arm.
"Namiki-san! What happened to your arm?" she exclaimed, immediately digging through her pockets for a band-aid. "You should clean it so it doesn't get infected."
He let her fuss over him, taking her change of subject in stride. It was strange being here with only Kanade. He felt relaxed and peaceful, as if there were nothing urgent he had to do. She was leaning very closely to him as she gently turned his arm over, close enough that he could smell the scent of her apple shampoo. He murmured his thanks, snorting at the cute little band-aid decorated with the drawing of a triumphant firefighter under a rainbow that she applied to his arm.
He didn't tease Kanade about kissing his wound better--it was no fun to tease her like that when Arou wasn't around. Instead, he filled his plate and took a bite of the savory Italian dish that Arou had prepared for today.
"This is delicious," he marveled in awe. The sauce was to die for. No matter how many times he tried Arou's cooking, he still found it hard to believe just how tasty his cooking was. Kanade had found quite a guy. She certainly would never go hungry, unlike whoever ended up with him. Masahiro only had dog food in his refrigerator after all.
He was content eating lunch with just Kanade, but his eyes still wandered. He supposed he wasn't used to Arou's absence. Those two were never far apart whenever Masahiro was present.
"Um, Namiki-san,' ventured Kanade, pulling Masahiro back from his thoughts.
"Yeah?" he answered just as his cellphone vibrated. He quickly glanced at it. His hastily formed group wanted to meet tomorrow right after class during the time he usually came here. The message went on about grabbing lunch together.
"Ah, is something wrong?" asked Kanade.
Masahiro shrugged. "My group wants to meet tomorrow at this time," he said.
"Oh," replied Kanade, disappoint coloring her words. "I guess it's not good to leave your group hanging."
Sighing, Masahiro quickly sent a text back to his classmate, telling him that he'd be there.
-----
The next day, Masahiro ordered from the university dining halls for the first time. His group members had debated about going off campus to a nearby restaurant, but in the end, they all agreed that a quick meal would be best. Masahiro crossed his arms as he waited, the loud and crowded dining halls a sharp contrast with the peaceful atmosphere of the lunch he had the day before.
When his order came, Masahiro carried his plastic tray over to the table his group members were waiting at. They talked about the project as they ate. Masahiro's oyakodon didn't taste too bad for mere dining hall fare. Still, this was one of the most boring lunches Masahiro had ever had. He used to think lunches with Ootake were boring--meeting with older men wasn't his idea of fun--but at least those lunches held the thrill of stocks and reading the future.
There was a disconnect between Masahiro and his classmates, one that Masahiro didn't quite know how or want to bridge.
"I wonder who she's looking for?" asked one of his group members, his head nodding towards the entrance.
Out of the corner of his eye, Masahiro saw a vibrant splash of color against the dull, gray walls. He hastily sat up straighter, his head turning to capture that vibrancy.
His eyes trailed over to the tall girl who bowed politely to someone who was pointing his way. She turned towards him, a large smile gracing her face when she spotted him.
There at the door was none other than Kaichou.
Masahiro blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but she didn't disappear or start blending in with everyone else. She only become clearer and stood out even more.
He got up and met her halfway, ignoring the excited chatter of his group members. Kaichou extended a small box out to him. He was immediately reminded of the time she had shown up at Kanade's door with a similar box.
"What's this?" he asked, too surprised to even question her sudden appearance at his university.
"Dessert," she replied. "I brought it here since you just had to be absent today of all days."
He took the box slowly, his heart beating in anticipation. Had she really...? He thought that no one had remembered. It wouldn't have been a big deal.
Lifting the flaps of the box revealed a small, lopsided white cake with the words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" scrawled over the top.
Kaichou blushed as he laid eyes on the small cake. "I spent all day learning from Arou. I'm afraid it still doesn't look all that great, but I can guarantee the taste," she said earnestly.
Masahiro covered his eyes as he laughed, his shoulders shaking with the laughter that coursed through his body.
She flushed at his laughter, her indignant look only making him laugh harder.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to suppress the giddiness he felt. "Well, I'm not really. I'm happy. Elated actually. Thank you. Thank you so much."
He beamed even has she crossed her arms.
He grabbed a fork. His first taste of Kaichou's handmade cake melted in his mouth. He licked the cream from his lips.
"It's delicious," he murmured, the silly grin never once leaving his face.
Kaichou ducked her head. "I'm glad you think so," she replied.
"Wait," said Masahiro as a thought came over him. "Are you skipping school?" he asked incredulously. The thought was absurd, this was Kaichou after all, but here she was at his university when his old school had a strict policy that restricted students from leaving school grounds even during lunch.
Kaichou laughed at his comical expression. "No, I got permission. Who do you think I am? I'm the student council president!" When his expression only grew more incredulous at the thought that she'd misuse her authority like that, she only grinned in response. "Oh silly you. I do have official business here other than giving you your cake. Granted, I wouldn't have chosen to come in the middle of the day if it weren't because of you."
"It's nice seeing you mingle with your classmates," she continued. "You don't do that often enough. You shouldn't always be coming over..."
Before he could protest, she continued. "Sometimes you need to let us come to you too."
"Oh," he replied, his protest dying before he even voiced it.
Kaichou left soon after, she had to get back to school after all, but she made sure to ask him what his schedule was like later in the day. Arou and Kanade had something planned, she said, but that was all she could reveal. Masahiro's dreary and boring day and just changed completely.
When he made his way back to his group members, he surrendered himself to his classmates' curiosity (which came in the form of an onslaught of questions) and their protests (which mainly consisted of "Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?").
All in all, his birthday was turning out to be a blast.
-----
to be continued
next chapter: invincible; unrivaled
A Namiki-centric fic for 30_kisses.
Disclaimer: Mekakushi no Kuni belongs to Tsukuba Sakura. I'm making no profit from writing this piece of fanwork.
archive: lj | ffnet
word count: ~2100
-----chapter 17: #13 excessive chain-----
The summer heat soon bled into the crispness of autumn. Everywhere Masahiro looked, piles and piles of fallen leaves and barren trees greeted his sight. The colorful piles of leaves excited Marota greatly during their walks. Masahiro always had a hard time stopping the puppy from jumping into the piles and sending the leaves flying everywhere.
Getting back to classes after summer was difficult too. The low hum of the AC did nothing to help focus Masahiro's attention. As his professor lectured about identifying the bottleneck in yet another process, Masahiro rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window. He missed his summer outings with Kaichou and the others when he had been able to spend entire days in their presence. He had thought that going to the closest college would be close enough, but it wasn't the same as being in the same school. He even organized his schedule so that he would have a gap between his second and third courses that would let him walk back to his old high school to have lunch with the others. He would never admit it to the other boy, but no one cooked like Arou. Masahiro never prepared his own lunch. He almost never frequented the university dining halls either. The atmosphere just wasn't right.
The professor went on to describe their upcoming group project, leaving them time before the end of the class to find a group and hack out the details. Instead of sticking around like most were doing, Masahiro straightened his papers and tucked them away in his bag, getting ready to leave as quickly as possible.
"Namiki-kun, do you have a group yet?" asked one of his classmates before Masahiro could make his escape.
"No," replied Masahiro as he got up. He hadn't even thought to look for a group. All he had been thinking about was joining his friends for lunch. If he didn't hurry, he would miss their lunchtime.
"Would you like to join our group?" his classmate asked helpfully.
"Sounds great," he said right away. "Here's my phone number. Call me when you've decided on something. Bye."
"Namiki-kun, you can't just leave like that!" exclaimed his offended classmate at Masahiro's abrupt departure.
-----
As Masahiro neared his old high school, he felt as if he had stepped into a different world. The students here were no different from his current classmates--they were all getting back to the school routine--but whereas his university felt confining and pale, his old school was vibrant and lively. He walked towards their usual spot, expecting to see Kanade and Arou with their extravagant lunch, without a care about how out of synch they were with the rest of the school. He imagined Kaichou there too, nibbling on her food absentmindedly as she worked through her paperwork. He hadn't been able to completely stop her from worrying about her duties even during lunch time, but at least he had gotten her to come outdoors once in a while to enjoy the autumn breeze. Doing paperwork on the grass was much healthier than staying indoors the entire time.
Instead of the scene he was expecting, only Kanade was present. The tablecloth and food were already set. Arou had outdone himself once again with his ten course meal. Masahiro supposed he was later than usual despite his hurry to get here. He had tried to coax a stray, black kitten out from underneath a car on his way here, but that hadn't worked out. All he had gotten were scratches on his forearm and a hissing kitten that continued to lash out whenever Masahiro dared to take a step closer to it. Masahiro blamed Marota. Marota's threatening scent must still be lingering on him.
"Where's our famous cook?" Masahiro asked jokingly as he plopped down next to Kanade and swiped a piece of bread. As he chewed, he glanced around. "I hope the class president has stopped by. She's not starving herself again, is she?" he asked.
Kanade smiled. "Don't worry! I've been keeping an eye on her."
Masahiro had no doubt that Kanade was doing her best to bring Kaichou into their little circle. The friendship between the two wasn't as strong as the one between Kanade and Eri, but ever since their summer outing, he'd seen the two girls share wide grins and open laughter, their interaction with each other much more casual than before.
"So where is Arou anyway?" asked Masahiro again, remembering that he had been curious about the dark-haired boy before his mind had wandered off.
Kanade quickly took a bite of her food and chewed for a good minute before swallowing.
"Oh, ah, he's busy today!" she said finally, her eyes peering up at him and darting away quickly.
Kanade was the worst liar ever. Her expressive eyes and her hesitant voice immediately gave her away. Something was up, but it couldn't be anything too serious or else Kanade would not have been able to smile so freely at him when she had greeted him. If Kanade and Arou were having a fight, Kanade wouldn't be sitting here calmly with food that Arou had prepared. Of course, with those two, even if they were having a fight, Arou would probably still be trying to feed Kanade. Normal reasoning with them didn't work.
"Okay, what's going on?" asked Masahiro. If Arou had done anything to hurt Kanade, even it if were just negligence, Masahiro was in his right to be pissed.
"What?" squeaked Kanade. "What makes you think that? Nothing's going on!"
Masahiro reached out, his hand almost caressing Kanade's face. He wanted to find out.
Kanade's eyes widened as she ducked away. "I-it's a secret!"
He paused and let his hand drop. "A secret?"
Kanade smiled shyly, "You'll find out."
He sighed in relief and leaned backwards, relieved at Kanade's shy smile. He could handle secrets. He was used to secrets. He had immediately thought the worst. "A secret, huh? Is it something I should look forward to?"
Kanade nodded excitedly before her eyes landed on the scratches on his arm.
"Namiki-san! What happened to your arm?" she exclaimed, immediately digging through her pockets for a band-aid. "You should clean it so it doesn't get infected."
He let her fuss over him, taking her change of subject in stride. It was strange being here with only Kanade. He felt relaxed and peaceful, as if there were nothing urgent he had to do. She was leaning very closely to him as she gently turned his arm over, close enough that he could smell the scent of her apple shampoo. He murmured his thanks, snorting at the cute little band-aid decorated with the drawing of a triumphant firefighter under a rainbow that she applied to his arm.
He didn't tease Kanade about kissing his wound better--it was no fun to tease her like that when Arou wasn't around. Instead, he filled his plate and took a bite of the savory Italian dish that Arou had prepared for today.
"This is delicious," he marveled in awe. The sauce was to die for. No matter how many times he tried Arou's cooking, he still found it hard to believe just how tasty his cooking was. Kanade had found quite a guy. She certainly would never go hungry, unlike whoever ended up with him. Masahiro only had dog food in his refrigerator after all.
He was content eating lunch with just Kanade, but his eyes still wandered. He supposed he wasn't used to Arou's absence. Those two were never far apart whenever Masahiro was present.
"Um, Namiki-san,' ventured Kanade, pulling Masahiro back from his thoughts.
"Yeah?" he answered just as his cellphone vibrated. He quickly glanced at it. His hastily formed group wanted to meet tomorrow right after class during the time he usually came here. The message went on about grabbing lunch together.
"Ah, is something wrong?" asked Kanade.
Masahiro shrugged. "My group wants to meet tomorrow at this time," he said.
"Oh," replied Kanade, disappoint coloring her words. "I guess it's not good to leave your group hanging."
Sighing, Masahiro quickly sent a text back to his classmate, telling him that he'd be there.
-----
The next day, Masahiro ordered from the university dining halls for the first time. His group members had debated about going off campus to a nearby restaurant, but in the end, they all agreed that a quick meal would be best. Masahiro crossed his arms as he waited, the loud and crowded dining halls a sharp contrast with the peaceful atmosphere of the lunch he had the day before.
When his order came, Masahiro carried his plastic tray over to the table his group members were waiting at. They talked about the project as they ate. Masahiro's oyakodon didn't taste too bad for mere dining hall fare. Still, this was one of the most boring lunches Masahiro had ever had. He used to think lunches with Ootake were boring--meeting with older men wasn't his idea of fun--but at least those lunches held the thrill of stocks and reading the future.
There was a disconnect between Masahiro and his classmates, one that Masahiro didn't quite know how or want to bridge.
"I wonder who she's looking for?" asked one of his group members, his head nodding towards the entrance.
Out of the corner of his eye, Masahiro saw a vibrant splash of color against the dull, gray walls. He hastily sat up straighter, his head turning to capture that vibrancy.
His eyes trailed over to the tall girl who bowed politely to someone who was pointing his way. She turned towards him, a large smile gracing her face when she spotted him.
There at the door was none other than Kaichou.
Masahiro blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but she didn't disappear or start blending in with everyone else. She only become clearer and stood out even more.
He got up and met her halfway, ignoring the excited chatter of his group members. Kaichou extended a small box out to him. He was immediately reminded of the time she had shown up at Kanade's door with a similar box.
"What's this?" he asked, too surprised to even question her sudden appearance at his university.
"Dessert," she replied. "I brought it here since you just had to be absent today of all days."
He took the box slowly, his heart beating in anticipation. Had she really...? He thought that no one had remembered. It wouldn't have been a big deal.
Lifting the flaps of the box revealed a small, lopsided white cake with the words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" scrawled over the top.
Kaichou blushed as he laid eyes on the small cake. "I spent all day learning from Arou. I'm afraid it still doesn't look all that great, but I can guarantee the taste," she said earnestly.
Masahiro covered his eyes as he laughed, his shoulders shaking with the laughter that coursed through his body.
She flushed at his laughter, her indignant look only making him laugh harder.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to suppress the giddiness he felt. "Well, I'm not really. I'm happy. Elated actually. Thank you. Thank you so much."
He beamed even has she crossed her arms.
He grabbed a fork. His first taste of Kaichou's handmade cake melted in his mouth. He licked the cream from his lips.
"It's delicious," he murmured, the silly grin never once leaving his face.
Kaichou ducked her head. "I'm glad you think so," she replied.
"Wait," said Masahiro as a thought came over him. "Are you skipping school?" he asked incredulously. The thought was absurd, this was Kaichou after all, but here she was at his university when his old school had a strict policy that restricted students from leaving school grounds even during lunch.
Kaichou laughed at his comical expression. "No, I got permission. Who do you think I am? I'm the student council president!" When his expression only grew more incredulous at the thought that she'd misuse her authority like that, she only grinned in response. "Oh silly you. I do have official business here other than giving you your cake. Granted, I wouldn't have chosen to come in the middle of the day if it weren't because of you."
"It's nice seeing you mingle with your classmates," she continued. "You don't do that often enough. You shouldn't always be coming over..."
Before he could protest, she continued. "Sometimes you need to let us come to you too."
"Oh," he replied, his protest dying before he even voiced it.
Kaichou left soon after, she had to get back to school after all, but she made sure to ask him what his schedule was like later in the day. Arou and Kanade had something planned, she said, but that was all she could reveal. Masahiro's dreary and boring day and just changed completely.
When he made his way back to his group members, he surrendered himself to his classmates' curiosity (which came in the form of an onslaught of questions) and their protests (which mainly consisted of "Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?").
All in all, his birthday was turning out to be a blast.
-----
to be continued
next chapter: invincible; unrivaled