Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Fourth String

"Chishiya-kun!"

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Chishiya looked over his shoulder to see who called out to him. Hurrying down the hallway was another medical student. What was her name again? Chiyoko? Hiroko?

"Is your shift over now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm just heading out."

"Do you uh...do you want to join us? We're going out for drinks as a group."

"No thank you," Chishiya smiled. "I'm going to the ballet tonight. The head of department gave me a ticket."

"Oh...well, see you tomorrow then."

"See you, Hiroko."

"It's Honoka..."

He was not a fan of the ballet, not that he was a fan of anything really. Though, he preferred the ballet to going out with his fellow medical students.

As much as he tried to change his approach to life after the disaster, he could not help but retain certain parts of his personality. He cared a lot more for the patients now, trying to sympathise with them and the suffering family. However, he could not bring himself to socialise with the other medical students.

They started at the same time, and theoretically, they were all on the same level. Though Chishiya could not help but look down on them sometimes. They were simply not as smart as he was. A handful of them seemed to think that it was glamorous to become a doctor. Another handful was only in the profession because their parents were doctors or were pushing them to be. And they seemed more occupied with going out for drinks than anything else.

Reaching home, Chishiya walked into the apartment and sighed softly at the mess that Niragi had left behind. There were clothes, books, and whatnots scattered all over the living room. There were dirty dishes piling up in the sink, empty containers all over the counter, and half-eaten food littered here and there.

"You're home."

"If you can even call this home," Chishiya mumbled, navigating his way through the mess.

"Do you want to order dinner?"

"I'm going to the ballet."

"Ballet? The fuck? You're a prick, but you don't seem like the pretentious type."

"I'm not pretentious. You just have no class."

Walking into his room, Chishiya could hear Niragi grumbling as he was changing. He used to think it was pretentious of people to go and watch a ballet performance too. It seemed like one of those activities that people went to just so they could pretend they were classy. But Chishiya was trying to change himself. He should not pass judgement before trying something.

He changed into a simple white button-up and a pair of jeans before heading out, leaving Niragi a note to clean up the apartment before he got home.

When he got to the auditorium, however, Chishiya was regretting his decision a little. Everyone else seemed to be there with familiars or partners, and he was the only solo person. Still, he was already there. It was not like he needed someone else in order to enjoy the performance.

Finding his row, he walked down to the middle, looking at the seat numbers as he went.

There were two other people in the same row, though they did not look like a couple. The man was rambling on while the woman looked disinterested. He did notice that the man kept touching her even though the woman was brushing him off each time. She was definitely uncomfortable with him.

"Excuse me, I think you're in my seat."

Without thinking, Chishiya opened his mouth.

He had no idea what overcame him. He just knew he had to help her.

The woman looked up at him and seemed to understand with just a look, getting up and moving the next seat over. As he sat down, Chishiya showed his ticket to the man blatantly. He was letting him know that he knew what he was doing, that he took this seat on purpose.

Before anything else could happen, however, another man came rushing to the woman and offered her a private viewing balcony. The manager apologised for not realising that she was here, perhaps she was a regular at the ballet? When he asked for her and her friend to follow him, she grabbed Chishiya's hand.

At first, he thought it was a mistake.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Chishiya Shuntarou."

"Come on, Shuntarou."

No one ever called him by his name before. Not even his parents. Then again, they were never around to communicate. He did not mind, however. He quite liked it, in fact, despite only just meeting her.

She was a fascinating one, this woman.

This was their first meeting, and Chishiya was just a man who kindly helped her when she was in an uncomfortable situation, but she seemed relaxed around him. So much so that she was downing an entire bottle of wine and getting drunk. Was she not worried that he might have ulterior motives?

Then again, Chishiya felt relaxed and comfortable around her too.

It felt cliché to even think so, but it was as if they had met somewhere. Not just so, but it seemed like they had a relationship much deeper.

All this time since the meteorite disaster, Chishiya came to the realisation that he had been wasting his life away being bitter. But he also felt like there was a part of him missing since the day he woke up in the hospital. Something important that he could not remember.

Yet, when he was with her, he felt complete.

She was a stranger, someone he barely knew for fifteen minutes. How could it be that she could fill that void of his when he did not even know what was missing?

When the show finally started, Chishiya snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the performance instead. Before coming to the show, he only came in with the intention of trying something new before judging. Now that he was sitting next to the woman, he felt like perhaps ballet was something he enjoyed.

--

"Would you like a ride home?" Kurenai asked, walking out of the auditorium with Chishiya after the performance. Morita Ichiro had completely escaped her mind, and she managed to have an enjoyable night thanks to Chishiya. Giving him a ride home was the least she could do.

"No thank you, I can get home by myself just fine," Chishiya said, politely declining.

"Chishiya Shuntarou, was it?"

She took a step closer to him, looking into his eyes with a smile. With her heels on, she was just about on eye level with him.

That feeling of something missing she had been feeling for the past two years had dissipated somehow. Sitting next to him, watching the ballet with him, and standing right here in front of him. Was he the something missing she had been looking for?

"I hope I get to see you again, Shuntarou," she whispered, poking his chest with her index finger. She traced her finger down his abdomen, stopping just above his jeans. "You're my type after all."

Planting a kiss on his cheek, she turned on her heels and walked off, getting into a car that had been waiting for her.

Chishiya grinned a little, watching her leave.

He hoped that he would get to see her again too.