𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐓 | 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙟𝙤 𝙭 𝙛𝙚𝙢! 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 | 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄

.⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

SHIBUYA, TOKYO 2006

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

'i will love you till kingdom come'

HAIBARA YU  knows a lot of things—in fact, he prides himself on it.

as a first-year high school student, he's keenly aware of the trivial stuff that others might overlook. he can tell when the vending machine changes its selection, switching from hot drinks to cold ones as the seasons shift. and he's the first to notice when the latest trend sweeps through the hallways, whether it's the newest flip phone or the coolest fashion accessory.

this ability to pick up on details has been a consistent trait throughout his life. from his early days in elementary school, he could spot the subtle changes in the classroom decorations, the slight shift in the teacher's tone when something important was about to be announced.

living on campus at tokyo tech as a first-year student has only sharpened his observational skills. he's become attuned to everyone's rising signs and the little habits they have. he can tell who's an early riser and who prefers to sleep in, just by the way they shuffle through the dormitory halls in the morning.

and when it comes to personal details, haibara has them all locked away in his mind. he knows everyone's blood type and zodiac sign to a t. he can rattle off their favorite foods, their go-to karaoke songs, and even the colors they prefer to wear.

he also believes that his ability to read people goes beyond surface-level knowledge.

he can make sense of their actions, their words, their hidden emotions.

it's like he has a sixth sense when it comes to understanding others—but he's not introspective, don't get him wrong, these things come to him naturally—if you were to ask him to analyze something else, it'd probably be bad.

he knows he's pretty simple, that much he knows about himself.

this simplicity is perhaps why the sight of "the strongest sorcerer in the world" with "japan's sweetheart" strikes him as something out of a fairytale—perfect, almost too perfect.

you, in person, were a revelation, far removed from the glossy sheen of magazine spreads. in the flesh, you were softer, more real, a living testament to the fact that true beauty isn't captured in still frames.

you were like a different species, one that seemed to exist in a higher realm, yet here you were, within his orbit. the strongest guy capturing the prettiest girl—it's a narrative as old as time, yet it's not the stuff of his daydreams.

he didn't necessarily like you; he was simply trying to wrap his head around the fact that someone like you was sharing the same space as him.

but haibara knows a lot of things, and he's the first to notice when something is off.

it was in the way you didn't seem to radiate with the same intensity, a subtle dimming of your inner light that most would miss. but not haibara.

haibara notices things. he notices the way his senpais act, the shifts in their energy.

talking to you felt cold and distant, as if you were there, but not really. your smile didn't seem to hold any warmth, your conversations were like skimming stones across a pond, touching the surface but never plunging into the depths. your eyes, once so bright, now seemed vacant. you were still beautiful, but something within you had shifted, dulled.