Disclaimer: I do not own Kagerou Project!
Rating: T because it is a rad letter.
Pairings: Hibiya/Kagerou, in a way...
So. I felt like writing KagePro fanfic because when I want to procrastinate important AP US History homework I write dumb things.
Brown eyes shifted left and right. Not in a fast, frequent way, because that would look far too conspicuous. And Hibiya Amamiya was nothing inconspicuous, no matter how hard he tried. Just wanting to fit in and live never worked out for him. Had it did, he would have been on his way to Hiyori's house, and not to the base of the Mekakushi Dan.
They were so strange, all of those older kids at the base. From stoic Kido, to which Hibiya admired for being so tolerant of the others (despite showing rather hostile anger from time to time, but he would have done no better); to kind and busy Seto, who had treated him like a little brother, and not just some sad kid. Kano was a different story; it irked the brunet how the blond was always changing, never staying the same. Shy and timid Mary, whose brilliant smile was usually backstage to a frightful demeanor, was almost more of a shadow, than anything.
Momo was someone slightly more important to him than the others. Emphasis on slightly. He still thinks that she's immature, and that she looks like a cow. But in earlier self-wallowing Hibiya exhibited, she was there for him. So she wasn't entirely useless, he guessed.
Ene was hardly someone he associated with. The thought of a sentient virus confused him, anyways. (That, and she's usually stuck to her 'Master' like glue.)
Shintaro was a bit easier to handle than most, at the very least. He wasn't loud or random, and would let Hibiya enjoy a good sulk when he needed it. And with his life being the way it was, sometimes he did need it.
Konoha was also slightly more important than the others. Seeing him and hanging out with him casually was something he had grown used to, in the days where Hiyori was alive. While more of an oblivious nuisance than anything, Hibiya did actually appreciate his being, despite any scoldings or tirades that might have proved otherwise.
The Mekakushi Dan-in a way-was his second home. An incidental home, a dysfunctional home, but a place he felt welcomed in nonetheless. With fun adventures, childish antics, and half-important fully unnecessary missions now and then, it distracted him in the days that he lived; making him almost ignorant to what horrors had masked him in the past.
The Heat Haze.
He still remembered him, that mocking haze. Red and shadowy, yet brightly sentient at the same time; he was a ghostly figure that had stolen Hibiya's appearance, and smiled at him with such an infuriating matter that it drove Hibiya insane. On that certain day in August, Hibiya didn't realize how much hate he could feel for a spirit, let alone another being. While it was paramount that he escaped the haze of never-ending demise, it was devastating to know that he could only do so upon the deaths of Hiyori.
That's what really bothered him. Why her, and why not him? What sort of cruel game was fate playing? Even if those events transpired so long ago, Hibiya felt them anew everyday.
The young boy rounded the street corner, coming to a stop at the intersection. A red light was the only thing stopping him from crossing the street. Initially, the first days after Hiyori was good and dead for the last time, Hibiya had a relapse of emotional turmoil anytime he came to a street crossing like this. It was unbearable, and he feared he'd never get over the simple things in life that were ruined over the ten years of the hazed loop. But it just goes to show that time moves on, whether or not you're left behind. Over the days, it was easier to stomach street crossings and parks, and by now the brunet was fully used to them.
The light signaled green, and the brunet stepped across the painted white lines; lines that were faded from mother nature and thousands upon thousands of cars driving over them.
Can't believe how hot it is, he thought. Didn't years of the same summer heat become immune to him? But each ray of sun that touched him made him squirm and sweat. He couldn't wait to go into what was the air conditioned building of the Mekakushi Dan.
Hibiya kept striding, and with great impatience, forced his eyes to move onto something else than the glaring sidewalk or the heavy heat waves. His eyes searched the area over, and was glued to some site on the boy's right side. A nostalgic sensation ran through him.
It's because it was that same playground-the one from his youth-never changes. Every time he stared at it, he would see a kid or two, playing on the swings and slides and what have you. Laughter and playful noises would chorus, and the sounds of running and jumping and climbing rang in such a cacophonous way, like a discord symphony. Hibiya might have done something like that, back in the day; but more recently, he's found little time to revel in such small pleasures again.
The instant that Hibiya moved his gaze was followed spontaneously by a moment of complete and utter surprise. The sluggish, angry pre-teen slouch Hibiya had stopped completely, and his mouth was slightly agape.
There was one person there in that playground, but that person was collapsed like a pile of laundry on the concrete. An ominous red light flashed, a light that couldn't possibly have been the sun in any way. Once the strange light disappeared, Hibiya staggered forward; disbelief shown clearly in his eyes. It couldn't be. It can't be. But it was.
Kagerou.
Kagerou; the heat haze, the bane of his existence, was merely a few feet away. But something about him was different. No longer did Hibiya feel awesome power emerge from his presence, no longer did unbearable heat seem to radiate from his very being. While Kagerou was still red as blood, it seemed...more natural, not so ethereal as he was once previously.
He almost looked entirely human.
Upon closer inspection, Hibiya could make out little blood splatters, and trails of the fluid running down the side of his face. Had he been struck? Had he even a physical body to be struck with? Is it really safe for me to be doing this? Shouldn't I leave now?
Questions soon ceased to a halt, as Kagerou's eyes opened. Hibiya's breath hitched, and he stepped back, wanting to run but couldn't for some reason. Was it fear, that held him there? Or power? Is it possible that Kagerou held some spell over him, some supernatural control?
Red eyes belonging to the heat haze slowly blinked, and glanced painstakingly at Hibiya. He was waiting for it, that dastardly smitten smile, that smug smirk of sadism. Yet it was not received.
Instead of a smile, there was a frown, and a furrow of dark brows, as if Kagerou was trying to remember something, but couldn't. He sat up, legs crossed, and he rubbed at the side of a throbbing head with unnecessary slowness. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he uttered out words that only shocked Hibiya more.
"...who are you?"