06. we will become strangers

-x-

Music represented people's souls, or so Bansai claimed.

If that were the case, Takasugi reflected, it would explain the discord between the world he now perceived and the world he'd once known. Even as "Chome Chome" assaulted his ear drums, he could hear the melody of his own song, cacophonic and out of tune with its original harmonic. He turned away from the loud stage and the rabid crowd at the school festival, replaying the words that Bansai had said to him the other day on their way to school.

The one from Yato Industrial High is a strange one, I daresay. Most of the time, his song is silence, but on occasion, it would be simultaneous echoes of different tunes. I could hear yours among them, Shinsuke.

At that time, he hadn't asked the musician what the other tunes were, but when he walked past the redhead's sister and father in front of the Class 3Z booth, he paused. Zura, filled with vigor, was telling them something while his eccentric guardian chimed in with a placard every now and then. After watching them for a moment, Takasugi looked away and dismissed the thought that there could've been a time when he, too, would've been laughing together with them and Shoyo-sensei.

As he weaved through the crowd, breathing in the smell of fried food, he let his gaze roam from one smiling face to another, unable to comprehend the enthusiasm and excitement behind each facade. The world seemed foreign and detached in that instant, as if he'd stepped onto an alien landscape and didn't know what anything was, let alone where he had to go or what he had to do. He was brushing against shoulders of strangers who could've helped but didn't, outsiders who could've cared but didn't. There was no need for distinction, he suddenly realized, between those who were involved and those who weren't.

It's all their fault.

He jerked to a stop and blinked when someone held yakitori up to his face.

"It's good," Kamui said, his cheeks bulging and the corners of his mouth smudged with grease and sauce.

Takasugi stared at the redhead, his thoughts in a scramble and then blank. The blue eyes were smiling – and piercing.

"It's good," Kamui repeated.

"I don't – " Takasugi started but stopped, and glanced at the grilled, skewered chicken in Kamui's hand. Memories from the past festivals flooded back, and he reached for the yakitori, as hesitant and conflicted as he'd been the first time he'd accepted a dish of dango from Shoyo-sensei. Studying the yakitori in his hand, he said with a small smile, "All a person needs... is good food and a good book, isn't it?"

Kamui's smile was enigmatic. "Was that what I said?"

Fixing his gaze on Kamui, Takasugi replied carefully, "It was what your mother said."

"Was it? I don't remember," Kamui murmured as he popped the last piece of chicken into his mouth and glanced at the surrounding stalls, the subtle strain in his smile reflecting a hint of loneliness. His gaze landed on something, and he grinned, turning back to Takasugi. "Wanna make a bet?"

"A bet?" Takasugi echoed, furrowing his brows when Kamui turned on his heel and started pushing his way through the crowd. He followed, chewing his yakitori, and cast the redhead a puzzled look when they arrived at the booth that Matako was manning.

"Shinsuke-sama!" Matako jumped up from her chair and beamed. "Are you – do you want to try out the shooting game?" she asked and held out an air pistol, crying out in protest when Kamui took it from her.

"How about it?" Kamui said to Takasugi. "If I hit it, you'll buy me food. And if I miss..." He tilted his head as he considered his options for a moment before he declared, "Abuto will buy me food."

"A non-zero sum game," Takasugi remarked dryly, mildly irked that it was a win-win situation for Kamui and lose-lose for him, albeit one more so than the other.

"You think?" said Kamui. Ignoring Matako's glare and puffed cheeks, he aimed the pistol at different targets, as if he couldn't decide whether he wanted to hit the bear or the tiger. He continued, "It seems pretty balanced to me, unless – " he lowered the pistol " – well, I guess we win or lose together."

"It's not much of a bet."

Kamui smiled in response and placed the pistol on the table. "What do you suggest then?"

Letting out a light scoff, Takasugi looked at Matako and asked, "Do you have a coin?"

"Uh," Matako said, blinking, and patted her skirt before she reached under the table and pulled out a small metal box, the coins inside clanking. She looked up and hesitated. "Are you sure about this, Shinsuke-sama?"

"If I win," Takasugi said, meeting Kamui's eyes, "call off our fight."

Dark amusement filled Kamui's expression, and the redhead added, "If I win, let go of what you've been chasing after."

Takasugi chuckled, knowing that it wouldn't be any fun if the stakes weren't high. It was sort of morbid curiosity to leave something to chance, but mostly, it was an excuse. You were a loser only if you took it seriously. He glanced expectantly at Matako, who sighed and tossed a coin into the air.

"Heads," Takasugi called.

Catching the coin, Matako shot a glance at both of them before she lifted her hand and revealed the face-up side.

"Ahh, I lost," Kamui said, smiling. "That's too bad. Oh well, I'm hungry. I'm gonna go get food. See ya."

"Is he ever not hungry?" Matako muttered. "Oh, Shinsuke-sama!" she called out before Takasugi could go after the redhead and pulled out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve. "This is probably just a prank, but someone wanted me to give this to you."

Narrowing his eye, Takasugi glanced between the note in Matako's hand and the redhead who'd stopped in front of a takoyaki booth, and asked, "Who gave you that?"

"I don't know, but it seemed like he was delivering this message for someone he didn't know either. Uh, this is probably a prank. I can throw it away if you want, Shinsuke-sama."

Takasugi snatched the piece of paper from Matako and flipped it open, frowning when there was only a name printed on the note.

Kada.

"I-I can go after this person if you want me to, Shinsuke-sama," Matako said quickly.

"There's no need," Takasugi said, tossing the note onto the table, and picked up his pace when he spotted Kamui leaving the takoyaki booth with a large box and disappearing into the crowd.