Twelve Shots of Shuuya

By: Aviantei

A Kagerou Project Anthology

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Trinity Limit 10/12]

09. Memento

"Oh, there you are Haruka-senpai! Did Onee-chan get a hold of you for your present?"

For a party with so few people attending, they had somehow managed to fill up Haruka's living room, and the amount of noise was impressive. Shuuya gave credit to the shooting game tournament Ene had set up on the TV. Haruka had taken up a spot to the side to observe for the round, while Ene and Shintaro seemed to be trying for the thousandth time to settle some old grudge match from years ago.

"Yes, she did," Haruka answered, looking on in amusement, his hands twitching on the table. Shuuya dropped down into an empty fold-out chair across from Haruka, popping a handful of party mix into his mouth. "I want to thank all of you. It was nice of you guys to get me a new art kit. Those markers aren't cheap."

Shuuya shrugged, fumbling with the tab of his pop can. "You deserved something nice," he said, narrowly avoiding spraying cola onto his shirt. Momo must have been getting a bit giddy when she had passed it over; he would have to make sure Tsubomi kept an eye on her. "I mean, we got something for Ene, too." Good thing they had talked Ayano out of going for Ene's newest desired computer upgrade—that would have really gone and blown their budget.

"I'm sure she appreciates it." Haruka smiled. Sure enough, the high-end screen displayed every ounce of splattering gun gore perfectly. The cluster around the TV cheered loudly, and Shuuya just barely caught a glimpse of Tsubomi before she disappeared, looking queasy. "They're both so good already. I can't believe they opened it just an hour ago."

"That's gamer freaks for ya. Those two are on a whole other level." Shuuya chose to focus on his paper plate, following the swirls of yellow on white. "Not your scene?" he asked.

Haruka blinked, shaking his head as he turned away from the game. "Oh, no, I like games like that plenty." Shuuya raised an eyebrow; maybe Haruka wasn't as mild mannered as he thought? "Takane and I actually play games together a lot. I think she's trying to make up from her loss at the culture festival all those years ago."

Ayano had taken Shintaro the festival all those years ago, hadn't she? Avoiding the thought, Shuuya offered up his snack plate. "You want some?" Haruka nodded, immediately grabbing a handful to munch on, crumbs flecking onto his cheeks. Shuuya blinked, leaning to the side of the table. Haruka's eyes followed him, but he continued chewing. "Sorry. I just didn't realize you still had those."

Haruka raised his fingertips to his cheek, brushing over the circles there, almost connecting the dots. Though the color had changed from pink to black, they were still the only remnant of his previous body. "Oh, these?" Haruka asked, sounding every bit like he had forgotten they were there. He chuckled, nearly causing Shuuya to drop his cheese puff. "I guess I could get rid of them, but I never really thought to."

"Just 'cause?"

"Kano-san, are you ready to graduate?"

This time a pretzel escaped Shuuya's fingers, clattering back into the plate of mix. "Huh?"

Haruka smiled, setting his hands on the table. "This is my and Takane, and Kisaragi's graduation, but next year it will yours and Ayano's." Saying it out loud like that made the whole thing seem much more concrete. "And a couple of years after that, Hibiya and Hiyori will, too. Eventually we'll all move on and separate. That's just how things are."

"That's…not a really encouraging thought."

"Ah, you didn't let me finish," Haruka scolded, tapping his finger on the table. "I was just trying to say that when we start moving forward, it might be easy to forget what brought us all together." He tilted his head, showing off the spots beneath his eye. "But it'll be okay, because I'm proof that it all happened."

"Proof that it all happened, huh?" Shuuya exhaled, brushing cheese dust from his fingers to his pants. "I guess we kind of need something like that, huh? Just in case."

Haruka nodded. "Exactly. No one has to worry, because I'm here." He stood, stretching out his arms. "Hm, I think I'm gonna get something to drink. Would you like me to get you anything, Kano-san?"

[NOTES] Bleh, something about this one doesn't feel right. (Whine, grumble)

Thanks to Chronic Guardian for the review, as well as the chat the other evening! With how scrambled I am, you're an amazing rock to rely on. Seriously, thanks.

Anyway, sorry if I'm out of it. I had a stressful class, I managed to pass the stressful class, and I'm still kinda in shock from it. Anyway, the prompts here were "Graduation" (rather obvious, I think) and "Scars" (which sorta counts if you consider Haruka's little cheek marks, though only if you squint). I coulda made scars a lot more angstier from Shuuya's perspective, though. Maybe that's why this one seems so incomplete...

But grumbling won't fix anything. It's time to keep moving forward! Next week is "For the ones who couldn't make it" and "Gardening"! These fit perfectly into the piece I wanted to write for this week anyway, so excellent! Also, you may have noticed that I'm out of official Mekakushi Dan members, but there are two one-shots left! Who oh who will I use for the last two prompts of summer...? Tune in next week to find out!

[POST] 080616