Windborne wanderers / kazuscara

3

well, today was interesting.

borrowed literature from a classmate, didn't get in trouble with any school faculty, even managed to socialise a bit...

then landed in a rather peculiar situation...

——
30 minutes ago
——

"kuni, it's you again."

"kaedehara...?"

the both of them stopped dead in their tracks when they saw each other. still in their uniforms, their bags still on, and in some random place in inazuma city.

"the world is a small place, huh?" kazuha tried to break the ice.

"it really isn't."

"..."

why did he have to speak in such an awkward manner?

"anyway... where are you headed?"

"dunno. i'm just walking around to get my mind off... things."

"...i see."

"you?"

"walking around for the sake of it, i guess..."

the two ran out of conversation topics real quick. ambiverts they were, yet both were still on the introverted side.

kunikuzushi's snarky comments didn't help the situation much.

"...kuni, would you like to walk together?"

he hesitated at the suggestion. nobody has ever taken initiative to approach him before, not after 'that'.

"...sure, but it won't be my fault if something happens to you."

"what kind of a threat is that?" kazuha laughed, pulling just a little bit on the other's heartstrings.

——

"making people laugh, huh..."

——

the two had quite the adventure. they wandered around the grand narukami shrine and got their fortunes read, despite not having any form of special occasion in mind. (by the way, kazuha got rising fortune, while kunikuzushi got great fortune. maybe that's why they came out of their adventure alive?)

after circling the area a bit and watching kazuha pet stray cats, they went to araumi, to which neither of them had ever explored the area in depth.

so they did.

and oh boy was it dangerous. the amount of near-death moments the two experienced was more than any of them have had exams in their life.

but, it was still fun. they both liked rather dangerous adventures, though one more than the other.

they stumbled upon a rather beat-up looking well, just to find a whole other dimension in it. cool, but there's only so many hours in a day.

they both decided that they'd explore that well further when the next holiday comes up.

——

"8pm... i should head home." kazuha says, a hint of sadness lingering in his voice.

"okay. see you."

"yeah, bye!"

"...oh, and by they way—"

"?"

"—today was fun."

——

they exchanged phone numbers too.

——

kunikuzushi walked back, taking his time.

he spent that time reflecting on his day.

that was the most fun he's had in years, but he didn't want to admit it. he felt giddy at the fact that he actually managed to make a friend.

all the puzzle solving, them having to mash their brains together to come up with an even remotely feasible solution, running away from insects that were colourful beyond imagination, taking in the ethereal sunset while chatting away on a cliff... the corner of his lips curved up in a really subtle manner as he recalled the events.

all were fleeting moments of pure joy the boy hasn't experienced in quite a while.

but he didn't let it get to his head.

one cannot be too naive.

reality sucks.