Twelve Shots of Shuuya
By: Aviantei
A Kagerou Project Anthology
[Twelve Shots of Summer: Trinity Limit 7/12]
06. Rest
Yup. No service.
Deeming his cellphone useless for the time being, Shuuya powered it down and tucked the technology into his pocket. Not that he really needed his phone at the moment considering most of his friends were on the same vacation as him, but it would have been nice to check in with a few of his classmates. Since there wasn't much to do about it, Shuuya collapsed onto the nearby bench, trying his best to remember how to breathe.
The view was certainly worth it: occasional puffs of clouds hung over the other hills and mountains, completely covered in trees, a breaks of what were probably other trails. Slumping down, Shuuya attempted to fan himself with his hand, barely stirring the air. "Whose idea was it to go hiking in the heat again?"
Something cold hit the back of his neck, and Shuuya jumped, finding Ene dangling a water bottle in his face. He accepted it with murmured thanks. "You should probably go pay your respects at the shrine," Ene criticized before glancing at the bench. "Or at least stop hogging all the good resting spots."
Shuuya scooted aside, leaving room for Ene to sit down, where she promptly downed half of her own bottle of water. Shuuya took a sip, returning proper feeling to his throat. "I'm surprised you still have the energy to make comments like that," he teased, earning himself a glare. For a sickly girl with pigtails, Ene still had ways of scaring the crap out of people.
"And I'm surprised Ayano-chan hasn't tamed that mouth of yours yet." Shuuya shrugged with a smile. "Whatever. I nearly died climbing up here. It's been two years and I'm still getting used to having a normal body again."
"Well, you've definitely gotten a lot of strength back." Shuuya had seen Ene back when she was just Takane, and the fact that she could even get this far up a mountain and still be standing was a miracle in itself. "All those physical therapy sessions are paying off, then?"
"I guess," Ene grumbled. It seemed this much effort was what it took to unleash the reins on the cheerful personality she had developed. Now if only she could be more honest with the rest of her feelings. "Haruka's the one that doesn't even looked phased. You never would have guessed that he was bedridden before." That was true enough. He and Ayano had energetically lead the group, hardly even stumbling.
"Monsters, really," Shuuya joked.
"You said it."
Shuuya closed his eyes, enjoying a passing breeze. The leaves rustled. Being so far out and disconnected from even the faintest traces of home and urbanization, the sound seemed crisper, more pure. Even if it was a pain to get here, the change in atmosphere was still nice.
"It's kinda weird," Ene said, and Shuuya looked to her, seeing spots from the fresh burst of sunlight. "Even when I'm not connected into the 'net at all, I can usually still hear it—kinda like static. But here, it's complete silence. I don't think I've ever found someplace like this before."
"The woes of being a cyber girl, huh?" Ene rolled her eyes, but didn't send back a rejoinder. "It is really that weird, though?" Shuuya asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "I think that after everything, you deserve a little bit of peace and quiet, huh? Maybe you should try and get out on mountains more often."
Ene snorted, whacking his arm with her now empty water bottle. "There has got to be an easier way to do this," she grumbled, sinking further into the bench. Shuuya half expected Ene to equip her headphones and sneak in a nap, but she just sat there, seemingly content with her newfound silence. Not wanting to disturb her, Shuuya slipped off the bench, his legs somehow not feeling like they were about to collapse.
Now able to focus on something other than finding a place to rest, Shuuya looked over the temple, trying to find the main shrine. While most of the buildings were white and pale wood, but occasional accents of blue were worked into walls and window frames. After a few minutes of wandering, he found the shrine, completely void of the others; they must have finished already.
Digging through his pockets as he approached, Shuuya found some spare coins. He dropped them into the well, rang the bell, and clasped his hands together in prayer.
Let there always be places like this.
[NOTES] Gah, a short one. And late at that. All apologies. My move has taken up much more time than I expected, and I'm still trying to get everything back in one piece.
Thanks to Heinah for your follow! Sorry if this entry came later than you expected, but we should be back on track now!
Anyway, this week was an interesting combination of prompts and character. We had "Holy," which went into the shrine aspect, "Til the End of Time," which I struggled to include but realized it worked out well for the prayer at the end. Combining these aspects with Ene was difficult, since we're working with post canon where she doesn't have as much of a need to be in her "cyber girl" personality and can instead be more of herself... It was tricky, but I came up with something at least!
Next week is [Escape], [The Distance Between], the optional Catharsis, Shintaro, and autumn. Hm, I think this one should somehow manage to work out nicely...Please look forward to an on-time post!
[POST] 071816
