red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter lxxxiii: underneath the maple tree

the dark impulses that mikey has grown used to for so long was awfully silent since the battle of the three deities, and he couldn't help but feel a little lost without them. all this time, he's been relying on his impulses to go where they need him to be and to act in a way that he believes was for the best because he was told. without it, he didn't know what to do.

he couldn't decipher what was right from wrong, and he was scared at the thought of not knowing.

mikey seeks for an answer.

yet, babu led the way for him this time.

he sat on his parked motorbike, second-guessing himself as he looked at the wooden bridge over the familiar clear river.

why was he there?

how did he get there?

he didn't know.

tired, he dismounted his bike and tucked his hands in his pockets. the hem of his flannel flowed with his blonde locks as he made his way over the bridge, welcomed by the rejuvenating summer wind.

"thirty golden leaves and one maple leaf at the end of the ginko pathway." he muttered, watching the soles of his shoes crumpling the dried leaves as he passed the row of tall trees. the leaves are yet to turn gold at this time of the year, but the maple tree should be different. it only loses leaves during the fall season, after all.

mikey raises his head after reaching the last lane of ginko trees, hollow eyes locked on a figure reaching up to one of the hanging leaves of the maple tree. her back was turned, and her short dyed hair was directed by the winds as she desperately got on her tiptoes to reach for the leaf.

doki

doki

for some reason, his heart felt at ease. he found himself chuckling at the innocent sight, amused that she's too short to even reach the lowest leaf from the tree.

"same as ever, huh?" he thought.

how long has it been since he last saw her?

no matter how many times he strayed away, he always felt as if he never got enough of the sight of her.

"aha!"

her eyes literally sparkled when she finally got the leaf, eyeing it with a sense of achievement radiating off her body. her other hand was clenched in excitement as she turned to his direction, but she was yet to recognize his presence.

"you're so pretty." she gawks.

with a smile, she looks up from the leaf.

finally, their eyes met.

whoosh!

the wind intensifies as they both stood frozen, only a few meters away from each other as mikey stayed at the base of the small hill.

"you're here." her voice revealed that she was both relieved and happy that he came. mikey could tell that she was anxiously waiting for him.

"must be why she started picking leaves." he could remember her little habits, especially the ones she do whenever she feels nervous. she had to do something to calm both her body and mind.