P-AWNS

Chapter 02 - Kiyotaka Lived in Ueno Zoo

"You crave the pleasurable jolt of the grand final outcome. You flee from the hand erasing the million days to arrive. Your misunderstandings, your fears, your ego steals the inevitable path of discovery. I'm saddened by this loathsome loss."

— Extract from blog "meetyardmurder" recovered via the Wayback Machine

Kiyotaka was strolling towards the dormitory—in the same path he saw a few other students—when his happy mood turned sombre. Was he approaching making friends the right way, or if he was being too hasty, did he appear too unfriendly—no, no, it was too early to worry about that. I'll message... maybe after lunch time? Or maybe dinner is better?

He stared at the packed bag of food swinging in one hand (he saw a magenta-haired student doing that and chose to copy), as if staring at it would give an answer to his dilemmas. He waited. 10 seconds, 25 seconds, 60 seconds. Then Kiyotaka nodded to himself.

"I should do more and think less maybe," he mumbled. Following the spirit of that maybe-decision, he switched to taking a detour. Normally at this time he would be working on algebraic topology, but with his change in circumstances he still needed to rearrange his schedule. So he diverted from his original straight path towards Borges Quarter.

The glossy green leaves of towering sweet gum trees brought Kiyotaka under cool shade, as he entered Pelin Avenue but then an unfamiliar voice stole his attention. His entire body swivelled for the voice spoke his name.

"Hello, Kiyotaka—we meet again."

A fellow student, with violet hair cascading down like a calm waterfall, was approaching him. With his footsteps falling silent, a graveyard stillness came around. The shape of the face and the eyes, not dead, were familiar to him. His memory, Kiyotaka knew, couldn't be fooled so simply.

"Shirou," he whispered. A memory surfaced in reverse like a shipwrecked boat.

"I know that I said to meet again in future but I can't say I expected to see your distinguishable presence in a school for writers." Shirou's eyes crinkled, emotions that were so different he could feel it on his skin. His fingers moved through dark violet hair over his scalp. "This day is full of surprises."

"It is a few years early for this," Kiyotaka said. Truthfully he was once of the mind that they would never be even under the same roof. Though that belief changed, he still felt they would remain apart.

He didn't expect this number of surprises in mere six hours. Was this the true flow of time foreign to the monotony of his life? The reality that unfolds when you expose yourself to a much wider arena?

Shirou chuckled for some reason. "I would have expected you somewhere like, maybe JAXA," said Shirou. "Or even... Well, nevermind. Some parts are certain to change."

"I didn't expect your ambitions to include world famous writing. Then again," said Kiyotaka, "you always had a part that hid revelations."

"You flatter me. World famous really?" Shirou shook his head with an amused smile. "So I have a little question. Very important though." His voice dropped into a whisper. So returned an immutable memory: a flesh mask bleached out of all shapes, all colours, all feelings. "The outside world feels better, right?"

But before Kiyotaka could answer, Shirou raised his hand. The clock that turned back tinged to present. "Don't need an answer here, y'know? And it's probably too early for you to conclude."

That felt odd, thought Kiyotaka. He would inquire another time however.

"There are certainly a lot of things," he replied. The aromas that stuck to him, the stenches he yearned to burn, the textures his skin jumped to absorb. "But different things have a different metric of uses."