Run Away With Me | Haiji x Kakeru

part one

Kakeru was about two kilometers into his run. He was using this time to clear his mind from everything that had happened during the day, the good and bad. To him, there never seemed to be too much of either. Everything seemed to be entirely in the middle, never having a day that stood out from the rest. Most people would find this boring; however, Kakeru found comfort in this. He enjoyed the predictability of knowing what would happen day to day.

He observed his surroundings as he ran. He took mental note of his heavy, yet steady breathing. The sweat that dripped from his forehead and where it was trailing to. How his footsteps fell into a steady rhythm with his pace. He also took note of memorable landmarks that he had recognized from past runs.

He approached the local hospital in this area, making sure to count that there were still three separate bushes out front with pink flowers scattered amongst them. He shifted his eyes to find that the streetlight on the corner just before the hospital was still flickering as it always did. He then moved his gaze to take note of the wooden bench that always sat empty just outside the entrance of the hospital. However, this time it was not empty. There sat a young man, looking to be around the same age as Kakeru; maybe a little older. He had messy, dark brown hair and wide eyes. He had been sitting on the bench, slouched over as he rested his elbows upon his legs.

Kakeru kept his eyes on him for a moment, feeling slight discomfort from the fact that something small in his routine had been thrown off. As the man heard Kakeru approach, he moved his gaze from the ground to meet Kakeru's. Kakeru kept the eye contact only long enough to see the man's eyes brighten up a bit from their previous gloomy look he had. At this, Kakeru looked away keeping his eyes forward as he ran past.

The man stood up as Kakeru passed him, calling out to him, "Hey! Do you like running?"

Kakeru looked back slightly before turning his head forward again. What a stupid question, Kakeru thought to himself before he continued on. Despite that thought, Kakeru could not help but let that question eat at his mind for the remainder of his run. Did he like running? He was not so sure. He had never taken the time to ask himself that question. His answer seemed to jump back and forth from yes to no for multiple reasons up until he reached his apartment. 

As he approached his apartment, he tried to shake the uneasiness he had felt from the man who sat upon the bench in front of the hospital. He had to try even harder to shake the thoughts that were provoked from the question that he had called out to Kakeru. 

Once inside, he walked over to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water, taking a sip before leaning over the sink. He tried to rid himself from overanalyzing the question. The odds are that it was just a harmless, lighthearted question that held no weight. However, Kakeru could not help but to read into it. 

There were too many elements that came into question when you consider running. He had liked the way that running had helped clear his mind. Sometimes, he liked the feeling of being virtually weightless when he picked up real speed. He even liked some aspects of competing when he used to do that. But with every good part came bad. Such as, running can leave you exhausted and in unbelievable pain. Competing even had far more cons than pros in Kakeru's experience. It's not like he had ever ran for fun, he did not find running fun. It was just a simple part of his routine, something that just must be done everyday like school work, eating, or even breathing.