I saw the Project Diva video for the song That One Second Slow Motion, by Hatsune Miku, and I needed to write something. -Rin
Slow Motion
Eiji's alarm clock hadn't gone off. His sister had woken him an hour later, asking why he hadn't already left. He scrambled to get ready, throwing on slightly wrinkled clothes and mismatched socks. Forgetting to do anything to his hair in his rush, he ran to the kitchen. Stuffing a slice of toast in his mouth and a few more in his pockets, he left.
Eiji hadn't had time to tie his new shoes, so he tried to avoid the puddles from yesterday's rain. He didn't want the laces getting all muddy. When he reached the top of a hill, he could see the bus stop. The bus wasn't there, but Eiji didn't know if that meant he'd missed it or it just hadn't come yet. He couldn't stop running to think about it, or he really would miss it.
He looked down to jump over another puddle, and slammed into something. A pair of arms caught him before he could fall. Not something, then, someone. Eiji looked up at the stranger, who helped steady him before letting go. Eiji still had a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth, but this boy didn't notice.
"I'm sorry, I should've been looking where I was going. Are you alright?" Eiji nodded, and the boy continued. "I'm sorry to leave so quickly, but I'm in a hurry."
He turned to go, and for reasons that, even to this day, Eiji can't explain, he grabbed the back of the boy's shirt to stop him. He turned when he felt Eiji pulling on him.
"Yes?" Eiji let go quickly and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I'm sorry, it's nothing." Ahead he saw the bus pull away from the stop. It had come while he wasn't paying attention. The boy he'd run into followed his gaze and saw the bus.
"Did I make you miss your bus? I'm so sorry! Now you'll be late, the next bus won't come for twenty minutes." Internally, Eiji cheered.
"It's fine. I probably would've been late anyway." He grinned. "But since you're blaming yourself, you have to wait for the next bus with me. I'm Kikumaru Eiji."
"Oishi Shuichiro."