Threads of Fate: The Secret of the Cursed Mask

The Boy Who Was Pulled Through Time

Tokyo, Japan. 1997.

It was late in the afternoon, the sky a gentle orange as the sun was beginning to set over the horizon. Riding aboard a public bus were a pair of junior high students, both boys wearing a uniform consisting of brown dress pants, a white short-sleeved dress shirt with their school's emblem over the left breast, and a blue necktie along with brown school backpacks. One of the boys had short, straight black hair and brown eyes while the other had short, fluffy brown hair and bluish-grey eyes, both of them taking standing room on the bus as all the seats were taken.

"What?" The brown-haired boy questioned in surprise. "You've got to be kidding! Are you sure they're going steady?"

The boy's sudden outburst drew the attention of the other passengers on the bus.

"Come on, you don't have to go and flip out over it!" The black-haired boy berated his friend, keeping his voice down so as not to draw more attention. "Boy, you sure are clued out when it comes to noticing stuff like that. One look at them and it's so obvious."

"You really think so?" The brown-haired boy asked, looking at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, like another obvious couple." The black-haired boy remarked.

"What?!" The brown-haired boy shouted in surprise again, his eyes widened with a noticeable blush across his face. "Tadakatsu and Momo-chan, too?!"

Once again the other passengers looked toward the two boys as a result of the outburst.

"Chill out! Would you quit making a scene about it, you big doofus?" The black-haired boy angrily berated his friend, his face slightly red from embarrassment.

"It's just that... they're still only in Junior High." The brown-haired boy pointed out.

"Get real, would ya? They're practically in High School already." The black-haired boy stated. "It's hardly unusual. There are a lot of guys who already have girlfriends." The black-haired boy then used his fingers from his free hand to count as he listed off the names of their other friends who had managed to hook up. "Like Sakai... and there's Akira... and Shian... oh, and Takuya!"

"Even Takuya?" The brown-haired boy asked, his eyes widened in surprise.

"What, you didn't know?" The black-haired boy questioned as though surprised his friend wasn't aware.

"No..." The brown-haired boy answered, a dejected look on his face as he looked away from his friend. "It's news to me..." The brown-haired boy then let out a heavy sigh. "Man, what a shocker this has been. And here I thought I was Takuya's good friend."

"Hm, I guess he didn't want to make you feel bad." The black-haired boy figured as he held his chin between his thumb and index finger as though in thought.

"What are you saying?" The brown-haired boy asked, looking back to his friend in confusion.

"You know..." The black-haired boy paused, turning his attention back to his friend before a teasing smirk crossed his lips. "You don't have a girl yet."

That remark would cause the brown-haired boy's body to stiffen before he turned his gaze to the floor, a very noticeable blush crossing his face.

The black-haired boy would laugh in amusement at his friend's embarrassment. "You sure blush easily, Kururugi. Heh heh."

"Next stop: Kururugi Shrine... Kururugi Shrine... Please ring the bell if you want to get off." The bus's automated alert would go off a few minutes later, grabbing the attention of the two schoolboys.