Windborne wanderers / kazuscara

12

they were both now comfortably seated on the floor next to the door.

kunikuzushi was still catching his breath in between sobs and hiccups, and kazuha was just gazing at him softly.

"...if you don't mind, you can tell me what's going on..."

"...i'm good..."

ain't nobody catching him dead confessing right now...

"...if you want me to tell you why i was crying yesterday, i... i think i can."

kazuha nodded gently, signalling for kunikuzushi to start. however, he didn't cry while recalling his childhood this time. perhaps it's because he's so numb to the pain after crying so much.

"ah, so that's how it is." kazuha sighed softly, almost sympathetically.

wait, that line sounded like...

like he could relate?

"kazuha... what was your childhood like?"

"huh? mine?"

kunikuzushi stared at him expectantly. his eyes were puffy and red.

kazuha chuckled a little at the sight of the attempted puppy dog eyes, and kunikuzushi's heart might've skipped a beat.

"gosh, where do i start..."

----

my family used to work under the shogun as an extended bureaucratic branch. i was born with a golden spoon in my mouth. but apparently, i was born into the wrong generation because, well, the kaedehara family collapsed when i was a child.

i started 'wanderering'. honestly, that word was just a means for me to feel better about myself for being homeless. i escaped the survelliance of my then foster home due to the environment being way too toxic for my liking.

i had the genius idea to go on the sea. genius it was...

i almost died. but then, a crew came sailing by and saw my little makeshift raft and my unconscious body on the verge of slipping off.

i got fished onto the boat.

the person who saved my reckless 6 year old self was named beidou. she took me in soon after, and she gave me a place to stay in in lieu of a ship. i was assigned a caretaker, but she eventually left when i was 13. i was old enough to fend for myself.

let's just say i jumped from rather eccentric caregivers to another.

——

kazuha refused to elaborate any further.

"...i see..." kunikuzushi let out a small defeated sigh before averting his gaze away from kazuha.

the whole time, he felt his heart aching and his stomach empty. it could be because of kazuha's story, or it could be the jarringly stinging feeling of love.

well, that's unfortunately what an unrequited love feels like. a one-sided crush. yet, he can't stop.

overwhelmed with the array of unknown emotions, kunikuzushi launched himself towards kazuha and squeezed him tight. this hug did not feel comforting, no. it was more like a sign of cluelessness; a sign of unwarranted desperation. the hug was suffocating, but neither of them were willing to let go.

although kazuha was the more outgoing one of the two, he hasn't experienced this form of intimacy, ever. it was new. he wasn't craving for more, but he wasn't objecting the sensation either.

this painful, delicate, yet expressive silence shared between them were the only thing they could hear at the moment.

something was to be wanted, but neither knew what.