A Thousand Cranes

First Crane

Fold a crane whenever you think of them, then release them into a stream so the Gods may receive your sincerity. It is a belief Keigo learned from his grandmother. He first heard this when he visited his grandparents at Fukuoka during the Tanabata festival. He secretly hangs a tanzaku on the bamboo, wishing to be noticed by the person he likes.

"I see you're already at that age," His grandmother's voice startles him, making him turn around quickly.

Hayami, his grandmother, smiles at him affectionately. She walks toward the tanzaku with her hands behind her, "this person must be wonderful."

Her voice has a fondness despite not knowing who the person might be. Keigo shyly rubs his nape, his lips curling into a smile as he thinks of him. "They are."

A blush creeps into Keigo's cheeks as he answers. He peeks at his grandmother's expression and smiles when he sees his grandmother giggling at his answer.

"Oh, my sweet grandson seems so in love," she says, pinching Keigo's cheeks.

"Please don't say that. Hearing it is giving me goosebumps," Keigo shudders.

Hayami smiles and motions for Keigo to bend so that she can whisper in his ears, "Do you want to know a secret?"

The question piques Keigo's interest. He leans closer, whispering, "Of course I do."

"You should write down your feelings and fold them into paper cranes," Keigo furrows his brows. He stands straight and stares at his grandmother, "That doesn't sound like a secret."

"Well, I wasn't done." Hayami walks to the kitchen, and Keigo trails behind her. She tells him to sit at the dining table and prepares some snacks for them before continuing with her secret.

"You see, that's how I got your grandfather to fall in love with me," A reminiscent smile appears on Hayami's face.

Meanwhile, Keigo's eyes grew wide. He shows her a teasing smile as he leans closer to her.

"So, do you have plans on telling me more about it?" Hawks asks, his lips pulled into the brightest smile he could muster.

Hayami laughs and tells Keigo how she did it.

Keigo writes his feelings on a kami the next day before folding it into a crane and running to the closest stream. He sets his paper crane free and clasps his hands together, praying to God as the water takes the crane away.

Since that day, Keigo religiously sent out paper cranes at the stream until summer break ended. Although he didn't want to set his hopes up, he can't help but look forward to good things as he enters their campus. He stops in front of their classroom, half nervous and excited.

"Do you have plans of entering or not?" Rumi's voice startles Keigo, making him quickly turn to his side.

"How long have you been standing there? You should've said something if you wanted to go in first," Keigo whines and opens the door, heading straight to his assigned seat.

Rumi rolls her eyes and blows a gum bubble before answering Keigo's question. "Well, you looked like you were contemplating something serious. I didn't want to disturb you. So, tell me, what were you thinking about? You even looked constipated."

She turns her whole body toward Keigo, obviously interested in Keigo's thoughts, "Did something happen during summer break?"

Keigo shakes his head, "it's nothing. I just didn't want to come back. That's all."

Rumi raises a brow at him, unconvinced by his answer, "That answer sounds uncharacteristic coming from you."

As much as Keigo loves Rumi, he sometimes hates how well she knows her.