Butterfly Child

by sourpatchsofie

Seirin had their big match against Kirisaki Daiichi where Kiyoshi Teppei injures his knee. Teppei's sister, Chouko, now has to learn to deal with the sight of her knight fallen off his white horse and with the guilt that she can't do anything to stop Hanamiya from injuring even more players. Or can she? I try and post New Chapters on Thursdays.

3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I don't remember much else from my first day of high school. The only thing that preoccupied my mind that day was my brother. I wish I could go back and redo that day again, but I suppose that was what the second day was for.

My second morning was drastically different from the day before. My brother's knee was really bad so he slept right through the morning. I sat alone at the kitchen table, eating cereal, staring blackly ahead. When I was done I washed the bowl and headed out of the house, quietly and mindlessly.

When I got to school I went directly to my class and sat in my desk. There was no one in the room, leaving my alone with my thoughts. The monster that hurt my brother is under the same roof as me. These words suffocated my mind until I was forced to get up and get some air. I wandered around the school aimlessly until I stumbled upon the library.

Walking into that library on that second day reminded me of why I was so determined to get into that school. It was huge, it was old, it was rich, and boy did I love that place. From the endless rows of bookshelves that made you dizzy to look at for too long, to the smell of dust that would trigger a sneezing fit if inhaled for too long, to the way the dim lighting casted an eerie shadow on everything it touched. This was my sanctuary.

I didn't notice at the time, but I know that the smile on my face had to be huge as I stood in the entrance in amazement. After what seemed like hours of just taking in my surroundings, I took my first step inside. The silence of the library engulfed me and all thoughts of my brother dissipated.

~x~

Thinking back to this moment, I now realize that he had to have been there that day. While I was falling in love for the first time, he was experiencing an old love that renewed itself every time he opened a new book.

I must have seen him, grazed my eyes over his long black hair. But even if I had known what that man had looked like, if we had been close childhood friends, I never would have been able recognized him. The peaceful look in his eyes as they concentrated at the words in a book was something that changed him from the monster that every one knew him as, to the little boy who just craved adventure.

If only you could have owned that sense of peace instead of relying on the thoughts of another to bring it to you, I think you would have been much happier. Don't you think so too, Makoto?