Here is chapter 7! It's still difficult to believe this fandom still has quite the number of admirers still. I am really happy it does. Eighteen years on a hiatus really does something to us, huh? I hope any of you reading are enjoying the story thus far. Thank you and enjoy!
Seven: Hideaway
"I told you we could've waited to get the last box," Kamui nagged as he sat beside Fuuma and massaged his sore arm.
"It's okay," Fuuma assured. "They don't hurt that much."
The thick muscles contracted involuntarily when Kamui reached their tendon. From feeling his build, he knew that all the first place trophies he saw in Fuuma's room were proof of his potential. The shear strength from the older boy added more comfort to him within his new home. "You're really strong."
"Hm?" Fuuma asked at his mutter.
"I had to ask for help getting that last box up to my apartment, but you carried it and the other one on your own."
Fuuma grunted with a smile at his remark. "I guess basketball's keeping me in good shape."
"I wish I was like you," Kamui pondered, stopping his hands which now gently clasped the muscled arm. "Strong, I mean."
"You are strong, Kamui," Fuuma said. "You moved here to Tokyo on your own right after your mother died. And me..." Fuuma hesitated, turning his head away from the younger boy.
"You what?" Kamui tried shifting more so he could face him. "You what, Fuuma?"
"I recently started thinking about ways I could die."
Kamui felt the rush of a cavity filling his chest. Although Fuuma was always stern and well composed, the low arch in his brows and distant look in his dark eyes revealed the truth in what he said. "No," Kamui stated, and stood on his knees so he was at a similar level to Fuuma and brought him into his arms. "You don't have to think about that anymore," Kamui whispered, slowly swaying Fuuma as he brushed his hands along his thick feathery hair.
Fuuma turned his head back so his face was nestled in Kamui's chest. He inhaled lightly, smelling his sweet scent. He reach an arm further as he held Kamui back so his hand pressed against the skin of his paler arm. Soft, supple, and warm. Every part of him wanted both the memory and reality Kamui in it. Knowing that peace was now not only within reach but within his hold. "Never again," he said.
"Common!" Fuuma beckoned to Kamui as they went about the shopping center and turned the corner. Fuuma insisted they go out somewhere to take their minds off of the sudden sorrow that fell upon them earlier. Kamui instantly complied when he saw the light back in Fuuma's eyes at where he suggested they go.
The arcade was right next to a restaurant, so the two of them could grab something to eat when they had their fill of entertainment. Fuuma had also suggested they see a movie at the theater down the street afterwards and get desert somewhere before heading home. It was a strange feeling for Kamui to be spending such a day with a friend. He was still docile and kept mostly to himself even at his former high school and only went out with a group of his classmates on a few occasions, to which he was never invited again. Although the experience was new, he still welcomed it, knowing it was with Fuuma.
"You've gone to the arcade here before?" Kamui asked once they were through the doors. A vast array of the machines lined about the room shone brightly with operating screens. Roughly half of them were occupied so finding one for the two to play on was not too difficult.
"Quite a few times with Kotori," Fuuma answered. The memory itself came to him fondly, where it didn't hurt to recall one of her. He could still picture the image of her eyes sparkling when he won a match and her feet bouncing off the ground when he won her a prize from the claw machine.
"I've never really been in one before," Kamui muttered and looked around to be sure no one noticed his anxiousness.
"Don't worry it's fun," Fuuma consoled. "Here, try this one." He motioned to the machine that he had placed two coins in. It was a Street Fighter game and Kamui managed some of the basic controls fairly well for a first time player. He was only able to do simple moves and nearly won with a few more hits to the opponent but sighed once his screen illuminated with a LOSE icon.
"Wasn't really the best at these," Kamui attempted a laugh.
"You almost had it," Fuuma offered.
"Yeah," Kamui surprised him with a laugh. "It was kind of fun."
Fuuma had taken over the machine and in a much shorter amount of time the screen illuminated with a WIN icon and followed by a short applause from Kamui.
"Shouldn't be surprised," he smiled. "You seem to be good at a lot of things."
"Don't be so amazed just yet," Fuuma interjected. "Let's see if we can find something we can play each other at."
After a few minutes of looking around the arcade the two boys stumbled across a game with two sets of four arrows on a platform. It was a foot choreography game and from the Fuuma stopping at the game Kamui's pulse began to rise.
"Fuuma," he stuttered a bit. "I can't dance."
"Don't worry, Kamui," Fuuma laughed. "You don't need to know how to dance for this one. You just follow the arrows it tells you to stomp on and that's it."
"O-Okay," Kamui said, and stepped onto the platform with Fuuma.
Fuuma inserted a a few coins into the game and the smile on his face shone with the light from the screen. Kamui's nerves slowly died when he saw how elated Fuuma was at being in a place meant for kids their age. It struck Kamui then that Fuuma must have been in a similar state as him when he had gone through his own stage of depression. Not wanting to do the things that made him happy or finding joy in the proceeding days to come. Kamui quickly turned to the screen once the automated voice queued them to prepare for the choreography.
The first few sets were met with many mistakes made from Kamui but gradually picked up in the latter half of the game. When the screen showed the final results between them, Kamui was shocked to see that he beat Fuuma by nearly one hundred points. Fuuma gave him a satisfied smile at his own defeat.
"And you said you couldn't dance," Fuuma shook his head.
"I still can't," Kamui added. "And I'm sure you let win on that one."
"I've played this one several times before," Fuuma argued with a laugh. "If you let me go another round with you I can prove it."
Just as Kamui was about to respond a husky voice spoke up from behind the two. "Why don't you let me take a shot at it with you!"
The two boys quickly turned to see another boy with spikey brown hair that puffed through the back strap of his cap he wore backwards.
"If I win, you let me treat the two of you to dinner. You win, dinner's on you. And just so you know, I've got a couple of friends waiting for me around here, so be prepared to treat two more mouths."
"And just who are you?" Fuuma asked with a subtle irritation to his voice.
"Oh, me?" The boy asked, with his index finger pointed to his wide grin. "The name's Sorata Arisugawa. I'm new here in town and I'm looking to make some new friends."
"Huhh," sighed the boy in the cap. "I should have switched the bet around. Now I'm the one paying for dinner!"
Kamui let out a short laugh in the booth he sat with Fuuma in. "Now I know for sure after seeing that that you were going easy on me," he nudged Fuuma who kept a firm look on Sorata. "Uhh, so Sorata, that's your name right? What's your story?" He attempted feeling the tension rising from Fuuma's gaze.
"Huh? Yeah! On first name basis already?" Sorata laughed. "But, I've recently moved away from home a while. I grew up on a shrine and was destined to become a monk. Everything seemed like it was going according to plan but one day my instructor tells me that my duties as a monk would no longer be needed. It took me by surprise since it was all I ever knew. I'm sorry if it sounds a little complicated. I was just told that my whole life would be dedicated to being a monk. And now... I can live the life of a normal man," he attempted a laugh but Kamui could feel a sense of pain behind the other boy's words.
"The same kind of goes for us as well," the eldest of the three other boys said. It seemed more appropriate to address him as a man since his features were the most mature out of all of them. "Subaru and I were also raised on a shrine and our lives were to be dedicated to eradicating evil things from our sacred lands and maintaining it. And one day our own instructor fully dismissed us from our duties to the shrine. We were confused at first since that life was all we ever knew."
"Wow," Kamui whispered. "I-I'm sorry, what was your name again, sir?" He asked with a forced smile.
"Please, I'm still in my adolescence as you are," The eldest boy chuckled at Kamui's formality. A tightness welled in Fuuma's chest at the sense of familiarity the older boy had to Kamui. "My name is Seishiro Sakurazuka."
"Yes, our circumstances were the same," Subaru interjected. His eyes were fixed on Kamui in the same way Fuuma's were on Seishiro.
"And that's how we became friends!" Sorata cheered with a full smile and closed eyes towards Kamui and Fuuma. "We've been rooming together for the past couple of months now. We've all got nice jobs now but our rent is starting to add up. With all the time we've been putting into work we really wanted to see how Tokyo was up close and maybe make some new friends. We've never had a social life like this before so I apologize if we seem a bit out of the ordinary." He scratched his crown at his words.
"It's no bother at all," Kamui offered kindly. "Fuuma and I are childhood friends and we actually just reunited yesterday." When Kamui looked back to Fuuma he has relieved to see that Fuuma's eyes met his and that his stern look was gone. "There's not much I can remember about my past and being here when I was a kid. But I've been open to learning more about it. I know I may not be in the same situation as the three of you but I can understand about being somewhere new for the first time. I've been living on my own now since mother died." Kamui's eyes drifted down.
"He's living with me now," Fuuma stated firmly before Kamui's sorrow could settle. "My father and sister died shortly after the new year started. I've been living alone in our house for the past few months now. I met Kamui at our high school yesterday and... well, we found each other again and we're kind of all we have left now."
"Jeez," Sorata sniffled, wiping a finger over his left eye. "I'm sorry to hear about that you guys. It's a nice thing that you've got each other now! Don't you think so guys?" Sorata turned to Subaru and Seishiro. "I mean you two kind of have a similar history huh?"
"Yes," Seishiro answered. "Subaru and I grew up together on our shrine. His sister died just last year and it was difficult to settle back in with her no longer there. He wanted to move away and uncle only agreed to let him if I left with him."
"Father still believes I can't take care of myself," Subaru crossed his arms with a sad expression, veering his eyes to the window of the restaurant.
"It's not that," Seishiro tried to console. It's that uncle doesn't want you to be alone. Seishiro thought to the distant boy.
"Oh, wait!" Kamui added. "You all said that you grew up on a shrine, right? Fuuma and I did too! Well, Fuuma mostly, but from he told me yesterday I was always around playing with him and his sister Kotori."
"Huh," Sorata smiled warmly. "It seems like fate is working wonders for us now. It has to be! I kind of get the feeling we were destined to meet after everything we've shared. What do you think?"
All boys at the table could feel a shift in the small space they all occupied. Even Fuuma in his hesitant and cautious state since meeting the lively boy in the baseball cap could feel a sense of warmth and comfort fill his heart. Kamui was more than anything he could ask back for in the wake of his loss but three more potential friends who understood the kind of loss he suffered was something new all together. It was almost too much for Fuuma to maintain his composure.
Before Fuuma could respond to Sorata's words, a set of fully served plates of food were set before them causing an audible growl from empty stomachs.
"Haha, guess we'll have to pick up the nice destined moment after we finish eating. What do you say?" Asked Sorata through a mouthful of his sandwich.
I apologize for the very late update! Most of this chapter was just sitting in my document manager collecting dust and I barely finished it now. I feel that this could be a great place to end this story but there is still a bit more I can conclude on if I find anything else that was left unsettled. What do you think? Should I continue with the story or leave things as they are?
Hope you enjoyed!