River of Stars

Chapter 7 - Threads of Commitment

A/N: Double update today, if you didn't read chapter 6, go check it out before this one!

In a small town in Japan, a young boy and a girl are in front of a shrine, the boy has fallen to the ground, and the girl is crouching, trying to help him. The wind blows strong, the rain falls, the thunder roars in the evening.

The boy is Nishikata, and though he was wounded with many bruises, and Takagi was worriedly asking if he was okay and checking on him, he could do nothing but stare silently at the scattered golden links of a broken necklace. Takagi's birthday present, in which he had put all his thoughts and feelings, which he was planning to use to confess to her at that very moment, was now destroyed, broken to pieces.

Nishikata's vision became cloudy, he felt a heat in his face and a sting in his eyes. The tears started to leave him and mix with the water from the rain, Takagi looked at where Nishikata's gaze was directed to. She approached the golden heart locket and took it in her hands, letting out a gasp of surprise when she recognized the accessory from the store she had been to with Takagawa. She looked sideways and saw a small piece of paper, drenched by the rain.

Just as Takagi held the picture, Nishikata's daze was broken, and he was struck with regret, fear and shame. He couldn't stand in front of Takagi like that, he looked pathetic, his confession was ruined and Takagi's birthday as well. How could he even face her? Just as Takagi took the piece of paper, Nishikata stood up in a jump and ran away.

Takagi, surprised by his flight, called out to him "Nishikata!", but she got no answer, and so she too sprinted out of the shrine as fast as she could, running through the rain and against the cold wind.

Nishikata reached his house quickly, and upon entering it, he went straight into his room on the upper floor, paying no mind to his mother's calls and questions. He shut himself in and sat in front of the door, his head bent over his knees.

He soon heard his mother knocking on the door and telling him to get out, but she was interrupted by a distant noise. Nishikata heard the faint sound of weary feet, they thumped ever louder through the stairs until they reached the second floor, where there was a pause, and he heard Takagi's weak voice "I-I'm truly sorry for this, Ms. N-Nishikata, p-please pardon my intrusion" she sounded like she was about to cry. He heard his mother say something, and then the sound of feet approaching his door, there was a weak knock on it.

"Nishikata... P-Please, open the door... I want to talk..." he did not answer "... Why did you run away like that? If it's about my birthday present, I-I'm not mad about it, Nishikata, I promise," still no answer "...Why won't you t-talk to me?" her voice cracked, and he could feel that she put all her weight on the door behind him.

At that moment, he heard his mother's voice, she seemed to be talking to Takagi, but he couldn't tell what was being said, and soon silence fell on his room. The adrenaline from before left his body, and now he felt cold from the water on his skin, his bruises burned and he could barely lift his legs.

Some minutes had passed until he heard a sound from outside his room again, it was his mother's voice, and she sounded stern "Get out of this room and go to the bathroom right now" she said "Your friend already left"

The mention of Takagi made him twitch. 'She already left? Maybe she was upset after all...' Nishikata's lack of response was interpreted by his mom as a defiance and she spoke again, more severely and menacingly "Nishikata Katsuro, you are drenched and bruised, you are going to take a bath right now, open this door immediately!"

Not wanting to defy his mother in that situation, as reason was returning to his mind, Nishikata left his room with his face cast down and headed to the bathroom without saying a word.