[COTE Oneshots] Ayanokouji x Ryuuen

Did I Find You?

Summary: Kiyotaka dreamed but he never does, but he found someone in the end, didn't he?

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He doesn’t dream like most do. Rather, memories play in his head like a movie theater.

But last night wasn’t like that.

Kiyotaka is puzzled and yet, he welcomes the change. He thinks it’s better than being reminded even when he’s asleep.

Still, he dreamed of a place not seen anywhere in Japan. Was it somewhere else? Even the language was different, he had friends and was even laughing with them.

Today, in the gymnasium, he sat in the corner thinking about it while the background noise of his classmates and another class rang freely. Dreams never meant anything to him, either it was his memories or it was hope for the future. But this… this was… different. In more ways than one.

He could remember it so clearly, even more when his eyes found two long bamboo sticks just placed like a decoration. He knew what it was for– and for once, he felt the need to take them and… what else could he do?

With a light grip, he easily took one into his hands. It really wasn’t that heavy, even someone who wasn’t very fit could likely carry it.

Kiyotaka never realized how smooth it felt in his hands, but how could he? He never held one before and… there wasn’t even one in the dream. He had imagined it was there, but he was aware it really wasn’t.

It helped with keeping his position, didn’t it?

He made sure the sticks were parallel to each other, with enough space for him to weave in and out with his feet.

That’s right… he knew this– every inch of this moment screamed familiarity and yet he knew it wasn’t.

But his body knew like it had been done over and over, the way he took two careful steps like he was checking the stability of the wooden bridge and the way he hopped over to the other side. It was practiced– natural, like it had been… innate within.

There was a thrill to this dance, there were supposed to be a pair or two holding each end of the bamboo sticks and tapping them to the floor twice then to its other half. It depended if there was another pair of bamboo sticks. And… another pair were to lightly skip over to the other side and back, like they were tempting fate not to get their feet caught in that one second.

He remembered it was supposed to be an imitation of something, was it a bird? It reminded him of one, from the light steps to a hop and the way he was–

He… wasn’t a boy in that dream, was he? Kiyotaka remembered he was wearing a dress, or was it a long skirt? Details weren’t clear, he knew he left the party in the dream, it was too much for him so he went to the little store across from it. He had a childhood friend from there, didn’t he?

No, not one, he had a couple. He thinks he had two or three toddler friends too, they must have grown up by the time the party happened.

What else was he missing?

“Need a hand, darling?”

He blinked, slowing to a stop when his vision registered a hand extending towards him. The voice was very familiar– the tone only being directed at him recently for reasons he isn’t sure. “I… didn’t know you knew this dance?”

“Coincidences, or perhaps… fate?” Kakeru only smirked, looking at him with a strange emotion in his eyes. He only ever looks at him like that, but why is it so?

And why does something in him feel things each time that happens? Kiyotaka isn’t sure, his own feelings are hard to identify but he can’t deny this one is more pleasant than the others.