The Base.
Over time, it had begun to feel like home. And the people that had once brought him there, the "Mekakushi" Dan, had become to be like family. At least, that's how it was for a time being, during that summer they found each other and for a while afterwords. It was them who brought him out of his cave and showed him the outside world in a new way, blooming with friends, adventures, and at the heart of it all, a secret place for all of them to collect and share each other's company. Oddly enough, that was all they needed. When they were together, the world seemed more bearable, and loneliness became a distant memory.
It was a much welcomed change of pace for the boy; the one who donned a red jersey that day and became member #7.
So what changed?
For the most part, nothing. On August 15th, they'd won their happy ending, and their reward was their futures. Just not one together. The days of their friendship remained for a time, but at some point, they faded from each other.
It's wasn't anything they hadn't predicted. That's why they worked to fight what had brought them together in the first place. They all wanted their own lives, own jobs, own adulthoods. That's why the Queen was able to set them free. Now their destinies had been reached, and the supposed "Red string of fate" that brought them together was no longer in place. From there, they could only cling to each other for so long before each of them were set off on their own.
So why was he back here now?
Apartment 107...the old Base.
He strode across the dusty floors like a ghost. While all the furniture had been moved out and the place was ready to be sold to a new owner, it didn't seem anyone had stayed there since they left. Still, the apartment was unmistakable. The minute he'd stepped inside, he knew this was where he'd spent those years of his teenage life. Like he could ever forget.
He didn't know what drew him back. There was obviously nothing here for him now. The Base was empty, both in furnishings and in residents. So why had he returned? Memories? Nostalgia? Longing?
All three, most likely.
The boy looked to the hardwood floors. There were four dark squares on the ground from where the couch once sat.
#1...He'd heard she'd became a chef somewhere...
He wandered by one of the old rooms with a window in it, imagining the sight of the bed that once sat below it.
#2, #4...Married, moved to a rural area outside the city...
He walked to the foot of the staircase at the end of the hall, looking into the second bedroom just next to it.
#3...Still in the city somewhere. Keeps to his two siblings.
Finally, he reached the top of the stairs. Like the bottom floor, the second story was completely empty. All that remained was the walls, still painted the same color.
#5...His dearest sister...almost more famous than ever...
#8...He should be in his senior year of high school by now...
He still could imagine every one of the Dan's possessions, exactly in the spot they'd left it in when they were there. He visualized them the best he could. It almost brought him right back to August 15th, and he could almost feel the heat of that summer.
#6, #9...Dating, and apparently living in a different apartment somewhere
He looked over to where #4's bookshelf used to be. This was where he'd first remembered, wasn't it? The day they were saved by his "Power"...
#0 . . .
His eyes gleamed a bright red and everything that was once his visualized in front of him. He could almost make out their faces.
The kids that he once knew...
His friends...
Where did this leave him?
He thought back to every day he had the privilege of spending with them, and a tear rolled down his face. Why, why did those days have to end?
He'd loved every second of it.
Everything that'd happened, it was for a reason, wasn't it? Was it for the best that they left each other?
That must be so. This is the future everyone had wanted.
Did that mean he wasn't allowed to miss them?
He covered his eyes to try and get these images out of his head, wiping his small tears while he was at it.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the empty room again. Loneliness hung from it heavily. He took a deep breath and started back down the stairs, trying not to look around too much. He only stole quick glimpses of the kitchen and the living room again before he walked back out the door, throwing the door closed hard behind him.
There was nothing to be gained for him by coming back. So why had he?
Memories of their days together continued in his mind as he walked off. Perhaps everything had happened for a reason, but he could still miss them, couldn't he?