Author Notes: This is my first story that isn't in script format. I usually post my fanfic on a different site, but I've decided to change writing style and start writing more detailed stories. I'm a beginner, so I'm still experimenting. This is an odd mix, I know, with the drama/romance Sola and the psychological horror Higurashi, plus the addition of an OC as the main character, but I bet it is a refreshing change from the usual crossovers you've seen on this site. Most importantly, I need to see reviews so I know what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right. Enjoy!
My name is the sky…well, it's actually Sora Ishizuki…but I like my name. Especially the night time sky…it is the most beautiful thing in the world. The shining stars and it's beautiful, bright moon. As I took my small digital camera out of my dirty jacket pocket, I often wondered if I would be lying in this park every night for the rest of my life.
I was born outside the cities. In a small village that had a cave. It was famous because there is a legend that a Yaka used to live in it. My ancestors apparently sacrificed human beings to keep the Yaka happy. Utter garbage. You can't toss human lives away so easily, for a thing that probably doesn't exist. But, even if yakas existed, I would probably help them. They would know. Apparently they can't go out in the sunlight. If that was true, then they might appreciate the night-time sky like I do. I wonder why I feel so happy when I do look up at the stars. My name does mean "sky" after all.
As the moon slowly faded away, I looked at myself. It's been 2 months, my mind said. Two months since I ran away from that horrible village. I have no memory of how and why I decided that I had to run away. I've been by myself for so long…walking through the Japanese countryside. Now I'm in some town. All I know about it is that my cousins live here. They are the only family I have left. Was it really worth it? Yes! Of course it was! My family…why did my parents have to die? Suddenly, I heard a noise. It was the sound of a can dropping from a vending machine. I stood up. There was no-one there. As I walked toward it, I looked at my clothes. A red with white trim shirt, covered with my dirty brown jacket. My ragged blue jeans had seen better days. Same for my sport shoes. No matter! I'm going to get myself a drink!
Damn it! I'm short by 10 yen! Not only that, but the can that should have been there was gone! Hmm…how about if I…kick it? No one's here. The worse that will happen is that the machine completely breaks down, and whenever someone puts money in it, you have to kick it to get it working. Alright Sora…time to show this machine a lesson…or two…or three…AH!
I kicked the machine 3 times with full force. A can came down! Yay! I picked it up, opened the can, and drank it in one gulp. Then came the awful truth. It was tomato juice.
"Ugh…my stomach…"
My stomach felt weird. I didn't even look at the flavour. Tomato Juice! This is what vampires eat when they have a lack of blood! I walked back down to the small hill on the park, and sat down slowly. Eventually…I fell asleep…zzz…
Starlight
Chapter 1: Sora & His Sacrifices
Karma. It was supposed to hit me back threefold, but it seemed to hit a strange girl instead, as I was going to find out soon enough…
3:45am…
The sound of clicking woke me up. That and…a cold shivering in my body…oh god.
My eyes opened. I'm lying in the river! How the hell did that happen!? I splashed around, trying to find myself some hard ground. Thankfully, I was only in knee deep water. As I stood up, I crouched down again. A guy my age was standing on the hill, getting his camera ready! Did he push me down here! No…impossible. No one would do such a thing.
The guy was so distracted with his camera; he mustn't have noticed my splashing in the river. He had brown hair with eyes to match. His clothes…were similar to mine, except different colors. His jeans were not ragged and torn, unlike my jeans. He was wearing a white shirt over his yellow singlet.
As he kept watch at the sky, I sneaked back to higher ground. I eventually sat down in the gazebo near the vending machine. It looked like he was going to take pictures of the sunrise. I also took out my camera. It wouldn't turn on though. The river…sigh
As the next few minutes passed, I noticed a girl walking toward the vending machine. My mind went numb. She was…wow, what can I say. Beautiful. Everything about her was perfection…from her long, purple-black hair to the little maroon hat she was wearing. And she was looking at the boy with the camera.
She then focused on the vending machine. I took a breath, stood up, started walking and did the one thing I wanted to do in ages. Talk to someone my own age.
"Hey there…I think you should be careful of that machine." The girl turned around as I approached her.
"Why is that?" she replied back with a smile. Not a bad first impression. "I think it swallows your money without giving you the can."
She took out some spare change, and put the change in the machine. I looked at the boy with the camera. I whispered to the girl. "Do you know that guy? He seems strange."
She sighed sadly and waited for the can to drop down. "I know him from my past…hey, why were you in the river?"
I started to feel nervous. This was a weird situation. "I have no idea. Did you get your can yet?"
At those words, she checked the machine. The can wasn't in the slot.
"We have a problem…I know how to fix it…"
Suddenly, she kicked at the machine. Startled, I looked at the boy. He wasn't looking, but I didn't want him to notice me. As the girl kept kicking at the vending machine, I hid behind the machine.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Kicking always works!"
"Whatever, hurry up, the boy is coming."
I fell silent after she kicked the machine again. The boy walked toward her, and they started talking. I was still hiding behind the machine. I heard another bump from the machine, and the sound of the can dropping was heard.
"Damn…why am I doing this?"
Suddenly, as I was stuck in my thoughts, the girl grabbed my hand, and started running. I was dragged away from the park, as the boy was holding the can by himself. It was a can of tomato juice!
…
My Life is about to get complicated. No surprise…my life is already complicated.
I'm running through the town, with a strange girl in front of me. 5 minutes ago, we met each other at the park, and we ran away from a strange boy our age. He was taking pictures of the sky. As we ran past the convenience store, the sun was starting to rise.
"HEY! Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe!"
"What? Oh jeez…"
I spotted a church a couple minutes later, and we hid there while the sun was rising. I wanted to see the sunrise, but the girl closed all the windows. It was futile anyway. Even if I was outside, people from the town would spot me and report me to the police for disturbing the peace.
2 hours later…
This is the first time I've been in a church for while. And it sucks. For the last two hours, I've attempted to sleep in this silent place. Even the carpet feels weird. And the girl…she's been sitting next to me the whole time.
"Umm…why are we here? Don't you have school? And what's your name?"
She took a deep breath, and replied back with a smile.
"My name is Matsuri Shihou. Umm…why are we here again? You said we should come here. And as for school…hehe…man, you're a funny one, yaka. What's your name?"
"Matsuri Shihou…what a nice name…and you don't like school…wow…and you think I'm a Yaka…hahahaha…ha…what?"
As a finished my awkward laugh, she flicked my nose.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, I'm just a little tired. Forget what I said about yaka. I meant baka."
"Idiot!? Hey, that's mean. And stop laughing!"
Matsuri Shihou. My first friend in 2 months. We spent the day in the church, talking about our lives. I introduced myself as Sora Ishizuki. I tried to explain about my bad past in the village, and how I ran away to find my cousin Mana, but things were very fuzzy in my head. Perhaps I wanted to start a new life in this town. Matsuri meanwhile told me that she was exploring too. Especially through the night.
"You say that you don't explore the town during the day. Does that mean you like the nighttime sky too?"
"Well…you could say that."
Wow! This is perfect! Someone like me! Soul mate, girlfriend, best friend…whatever my feelings for her are, I'm just happy to find someone to talk to.
But as the nights go on, I might regret that…
6:30pm.
The sun was gone. The sound of crickets could be heard as Matsuri opened the windows of the church. And now were going on some sort of date. Well, going to the convenience store isn't really a date…more like a chore that's been turned into a fun activity. As I opened the door, the moonlight shined on me. What a great night this is going to be.
"Sora…you look dazed." Oops. My mind wandered off again. "I'm ok Matsuri. Let's go get something to eat."
…
"Hey, there you are."
"Shut up. Being in a cardboard box all day isn't fun."
"I know. That's why I'm tracking down the yaka, so you can turn back into a human. Don't worry Mayuko; you will be human again in no time."
"Yeah, it's only been…so long…that I lost count."
"Well…judging by the goatee I have, it's been a while."
Mayuko breathed a sigh of disappointment as Takeshi made that statement. It's been so long…since he made that promise. He won't go back with it. And after all this time…he thinks he finally found Matsuri Shihou.
"Well Mayuko, stay in the box while I find the yaka," Takeshi warns his tiny companion as he prepares to leave.
"Right…and if you do find and kill the yaka, and I do turn human again, make sure you get some decent clothes for me to wear."
7pm.
"Umm…excuse me sir, but do you have any cans of tomato juice?"
Tomato juice! Yuck. It must be an acquired taste or something. I'm with Matsuri in the convenience store. We already got ourselves some rice balls and I got myself a can of lemonade, but Matsuri wanted…something else. Jeez…
"Sorry Miss, but we don't sell that type of can anymore."
"Aww…well, if by any chance you start selling them again, I'll be here to buy them!?
"Of course! Thank you, come again."
So we left the store, Matsuri a bit disappointed. It's strange. The signs are all there. She doesn't go out in the daylight. Plus she loves Tomato Juice; the closest thing to blood.
"Hey Sora, can I ask you something?"
The timing of Matsuri's question better be a damn coincidence. Vampires don't exist. It's not like she's asking for my blood. "Of course…what is it?"
"Are you going to drink that can of lemonade?" Matsuri asked playfully.
Vampires. What was I thinking? I would have been ambushed by now and had my neck sucked dry. If she is not a vampire, then she is probably a different kind of supernatural being. As I handed the can to Matsuri, I suddenly heard a deep voice from behind.
"Stop right there yaka."
Matsuri and I slowly turned around, silently cursing to myself. A strange man with a goatee was holding a sword. Oh, and judging from his looks alone, I think I recognize the guy.
"This is it…I finally tracked you both down. Sora Ishizuki, on the run from his village. And Matsuri Shiho. A yaka."
Sora Ishizuki and Matsuri Shihou were on their way to the park when suddenly, an older man told them to stop moving. Sora knows this man.
"Takeshi, is that you? Oh thank goodness. I make it to Kanamigawa in one piece, and you ruin things, barely a single day after I arrived. And with that sword too."
"You know this sword Sora? If you don't step away from the yaka next to you, then I will use it on you too."
Suddenly, Matsuri started running. Takeshi ran after her, throwing weird lamps at her. Sora just stands speechless as the two of them run off into the dark night.
"After all this time…I've doubted the existence of a yaka. And I've been hanging out with one the whole time."
I walked back to the church, munching on the rice balls. Since I'm by myself again, I might as well think things through. Matsuri is a yaka. It makes sense. I have a decent sense of deduction, and the clues are all there. Is she the fabled yaka that was living in the cave hundreds of years ago? My grandfather told me stories about it. He was only 9 at the time. His grandfather was one of the only men in the village that didn't believe in the "woe of the Night" monster, and he said that sacrificing a human every year was blasphemy. But, eventually, my great ancestor fell for the stupid lie.
My great, great grandfather. He was named Sora as well.
My family was hated throughout the village. Everyone still believed in the yaka. These days, my family and I didn't. And even if we did believe in the existence of a yaka, giving a human away to it is stupid. Pointless sacrificing.
…
As Sora approached the church door, he decided to sit on the ground and stare at the stars.
"The last human to be sacrificed…was a girl named Aono Morimiya…and her brother Yorito was with her when they died. I hope those two are alright up in heaven. Maybe heaven has a night-time sky too…"
…
For the next few days, Sora kept a strict pattern. He slept in the church throughout the day, hoping Matsuri would come back. And at night, he searched the town, trying to find her. He also looked for his cousin Mana, but with no success. And now he had no money. What's a guy like Sora to do!?
"Time to get a job! Surely Mana will eventually bump into me!"
And with that, he left the church with a smile, humming to himself as he ventured to the store.
"I won't forget…I want to forget…"
As he hummed a little tune to himself, he walks into an alley, and eventually to a wrecked train station.
"Huh? What have I found?"
Suddenly, a flash of light blinds his eyes. His vision is muddled…but he notices two figures running past him.
"Matsuri! Takeshi! Where are you? Someone help me!"
…
Meanwhile; Matsuri and Takeshi stop moving. They stare at Sora, who is lying on the ground, yelling at them both.
"Is this guy your accomplice?"
"No…just leave him out of this."
Sora slowly stands up and regains his vision.
"Matsuri! There you are! I know the truth. I understand your—"
Takeshi stops Sora's little speech by slashing his sword at Sora's left shoulder.
"Sora!" Matsuri tries to run to Sora's side, but Takeshi darts in front of her and blocks her path. "Even if he is not your friend, I was ordered to murder him."
"That's…a lie! I thought you were my friend!?" Sora yells out, struggling to see while holding his shoulder.
"You stay out of this." Takeshi knocks him back with the bunt of his sword. Sora hits the ground and blacks out.
"Alright…you dealt with him. Just leave him alone and go for me."
"That's what I plan to do."
Matsuri runs toward Sora, placing her hand on his shoulder for a moment. She then starts running again, and Takeshi slowly follows. Sora is left on the ground. He opens his eyes for a moment…glancing at his wound for a single second.
"My shoulder…"
Sora gives up and closes his eyes once again. As Takeshi and Matsuri run toward the church, Sora Ishizuki is left unconscious, under the night-time sky.