The brick wall image on the cover belongs to wuestenbrand on deviantart.
The songs 'little things' and 'truly madly deeply' belong to One Direction. I'm not a directioner. But I do think these songs fit the occasion.
The song 'here comes the sun' belongs to the Beatles.
When you're expected to be a hero by those around you, but never treated like one, the thoughts of rebellion come creeping in day by day, unnoticed and unhindered. You tend to be quieter and a lot less regular. They ask you what's wrong and you always say nothing. But those thoughts are what's keeping you quiet, swimming around in your brain and threatening to boil over, until you know you have to do something or you'll lose everything you care about.
You definitely helped to save the world, you think as you look out on a rebuilt city; but nobody knows that had you not played your part, there may very well be no world left to save. They don't appreciate the little things, you think, as you stare at the building across the way and wonder when they'll finally come to terms with you.
Maybe this isn't where you were meant to be. Home is where the heart is. And your heart is not here.
Anywhere he looked the sidewalks seemed unnaturally smooth...cities that Nemesis had not touched remained flawless and happy, kids bumping over the roads on their scooters and skateboards, while he was just a regular person with a duffel bag who may have looked vaguely familiar. Did he live next door?
No, he wanted to yell, I was a regular member on team Gan Gan Galaxy. No, I work for the WBBA. No, I was there for the defeat of Nemesis. The whole time I WAS RIGHT THERE. I don't live next door.
But he never did. He'd always been the quiet one and it didn't seem like that was about to change.
Every day there was a guy at the corner of the block with an acoustic guitar. Just an ordinary guy, a busker. Navy veteran pins were attached to his collar and he didn't seem to have anywhere to go; he was there when Tsubasa went to sleep at night, and still there when he woke up in the morning, singing American pop songs softly as he strummed on the guitar. People would throw coins into the hat at his feet, and nobody seemed to bother him. On rainy days he sat at the bus stop. Nowhere to go.
He had everything he needed, but he had been a hero once too. Tsubasa wondered if they had something in common. Maybe he just needed to settle down and find his happy place for awhile, too.
He never could find his happy place.
This city was too crowded and happy to settle down in. There was always SOMETHING. Gingka bouncing off the walls in his apartment or Ryo calling him in to do some absurd job, like vacuum the water fountain. And not getting paid a red cent extra for any of it. He'd not signed up for this.
Outside, the sounds of a guitar floated through his window, weaving with the scent of cherry blossoms and fresh bread from across the street. It was warm today; the busker would not be sitting on a bus bench now.
You can't go to bed
Without a cup of tea
And maybe that's the reason
That you talk in your sleep
And all those conversations
Are the secrets that I keep
Though it makes no sense to me...
He had a nice voice, the navy man. Tsubasa didn't know where he got all those new songs. He was singing them to the wrong tune but it didn't seem to matter to anybody.
I wont let these little things
Slip out of my mouth
but if it's true
It's you
It's you
They add up to
I'm in love with you
He clipped his hair at the bottom and stepped out the door into the hallway of the little apartment building, the bamboo mat outside the door slippery beneath his feet. He didn't feel like wearing shoes, and he took the stairs.
As he stepped out into the open fall air, the melody drifted over him.
You'll never love yourself
Half as much as I love you
You'll never treat yourself right darling
But I want you to
If I let you know
That I'm here for you
Maybe you'll love yourself like I love you
Oh...
He stepped down the sidewalk. In the summer this concrete would be hot enough to burn your feet if you stayed on it too long, but today it radiated a comforting warmth. Not hot or cold.
The busker slipped into a new song at random, leaving the last chorus of the melody unfinished. He was doing that thing again, where he mashed one song in with another, into a haunting, two-tone melody that didn't quite fit together but made you think all the same.
Truly, madly, deeply I am
Foolishly, completely falling
And somehow you kicked all my walls in
So baby say you'll always keep me
Truly, madly, crazy, deeply in love with you
In love with you,
"Oh, hey there, son." The busker looked up at him. "Where you off to so late this morning?...Wish I could freeze this moment in a frame...uh..." he set down the guitar, having forgotten the words.
"Nevermind. Like I said, where you think you're going?"
"Uh...to school."
"I think if you was on your way to school you'd be there already. School started 3 hours ago. Besides, you ain't wearin' any shoes.
Little darlin, it's been a long cold lonely winter...
nananana
Little darlin', it feels like years since it's been clear...
Have a seat, son, this sidewalk's gotcher name on it."
Tsubasa settled down beside him and watched his fingers play over the strings for awhile.
"Here comes the sun, nahnahnahnah. Here comes the sun...Whoa boy, you sure got a frowny face there, don't you. It's all right..."
"No. Not really."
"Well I think you do. And I can assure you Paul McCartney would say the same thing, son. Little darlin', I feel the ice is slowly melting..."
"Would he now."
"Yes. Little darlin', it feels like years since it's been here...What's bothering you, son?"
"Nothing." Tsubasa messed awkwardly with a loose string on the bottom of his shirt.
"OH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH. Well it seems I can't sing anymore, I have a sore throat. What's yer problem, son? You can tell me. I seen enough desolation to be able to handle yours. Might have some advice for ya."
"Honestly, I'm fine."
"So howdya come to be cross-legged with no shoes, on the sidewalk next to an old homeless geezer who's seen his share of wars, twistin' up your shirt like anybody's business?" The man set down his guitar and stared straight at him.
"I have nothing else to do."
"Kid your age? Nothing else to DO? If you're that serious about ditchin' school you'da been out fishin' under tha bridge over thar, or listenin' ta yer fancy gadgets up in yer room, or messaging someone all the way in Australia with some fancy doohickey."
"I should go now." Tsubasa started to stand but the old man stopped him.
"You tryin' ta tell me you got nobody to talk to. Lemme take a crack at guessin' yer problem, son. Nobody appreciates you."
He sat back down, defeated. "How did you know?"
"I knows heartache when I sees it. And I say, I sees it right here, son. I been in yer shoes. And I travelled the earth. And I got outta it. And man, son, man - " He chuckled softly. "Just cuz' I got no home to go to don't mean I don't know what's goin' on in this here world. Nobody else may remembers it, but I remembers. You was on the world championships, wasn't you. And they didn't pay you a hair to do it, did they. Nosiree. You got no recognition. You wasn't in the final match, so you wasn't remembered. You was havin' some real hard problems with some emotions and scarin' people, so that's all they remembers. I got it right, or I got it right?"
"You got it right."
"Lemme tell you there's gonna be days when you feel like screamin', and there's gonna be days when ya want ta yell, but don't you do it. Or this here world you saved gonna come down around you, son. And you gonna regret it more'n you could ever guess. There's gonna be days when you wanna scream but don't do it. Better ta be far away on another planet even, than hurt the ones what cares about ya. You remember that. Run away if ya have to and never come back. But sometimes it's better ta run then to take things the wrong way. I knows it, and son, I learned my lesson, and I learned it good. Now you git. Git ta school or wherever a hero like you's sposed ta be this late in the mornin'. Go on, git."
The man flapped his hands at Tsubasa. "I don't wanna see you sittin' on this sidewalk again until yer days' done and you done what yer sposed to. Git and don't come back till you done what you need to. And you'll always be welcome here. Come back and see old Les sometime."
Tsubasa nodded his thanks and stood up, walking back down the street to the apartment barefoot, feeling better equipped to face the day now.