When Atsushi became aware of her presence on the beach, Chika tried to surprise him. The first thing that Atsushi did to counter this was turn around and look at her with a huge grin.
"Hey, Chika!" he said. Then he went back to stoically looking out at the ocean. Apparently mad that her little trick backfired, Chika stood next to Atsushi and took another look at him.
"Atsu, what's wrong?" Chika said. "You don't look as happy as you usually do."
"Just a bad dream, nothing important," Truth is he didn't have the heart to tell her about his dream. It was all too real to just be a dream. All he had of his father was a photo of the man and a very young Atsu. Atsu had no idea what happened to him, and Atsu never knew his mother, didn't even know what she looked like. The only thing that could cheer him up was Chika. Her long blond hair, silver eyes and cheery disposition were enough to melt away anyone's sadness. Today her outfit consisted of a denim skirt, a white and blue striped tank top, and her usual bird necklace. That was a gift from Daichi seven years ago. A similar gift, depicting a lion sat on Atsu's wrist. The rest of Atsu's attire was yesterday's clothes, baggy cotton pants, a hooded vest, a red sleeveless shirt, and a belt. His hair was messy red and his eyes were sky blue. Despite his looks, he wasn't the most popular person in school. That role went to Daichi.
Speak of the devil. Daichi came up to them looking rather happy. He was wearing a pair of jeans that looked a little long on him, a cotton shirt and that shark ring he always wore. His black hair flowed wildly as he rushed to Atsu and Chika and his green eyes beamed with joy. "Hey guys!" then he noticed Atsu. "Is something wrong? You don't look so hot."
"Just a headache," Atsu said. He didn't even want to talk about it with his best friend. That was when you knew it was something bad.
"In that case, look what I found." Daichi pulled out three star shaped charms, made of seashells and small pieces of metal. "Their called 'Wayfinders,' in other worlds, it's said that if you and your friends carry charms shaped like it, you'll never be alone." He tossed a red one to Chika and a violet one to Atsu, leaving the white one for himself.
"Wow… Thanks Daichi!" Atsu said feeling a lot better. He always felt better with his friend's gifts.