I'll Never Leave Your Side

Prologue

The first day of summer vacation for high school students across Okinawa began as everyone had anticipated: under clear skies, with a humid breeze and scorching heat. It was the perfect launch for youthful adventures. For some of these children, those adventures would blossom into fleeting love, while for others, it would stay limited to pure friendship. Trips to the beach were a popular choice made by young lads too, with many of them eagerly planning to catch glimpses of the glamorous breasts and shapely butts of teenage girls and mature women as they flaunted their bodies clad in skin-tight bikinis.

It seemed like a flawless start to summer... until midday, when the weather took a drastic turn. Gray clouds rolled in rapidly, swallowing the blue color that reigned just hours earlier.

Before long, rain poured down on Okinawa, shattering the plans of countless youngsters. The downpour obliged everyone, adults and the elderly alike, to retreat indoors, robbing them of their leisure or disrupting their workday. Amid the dreary weather, a solitary figure stood before a gravestone in Okinawa's national cemetery. It was a boy, around 16 or 17 years old.

Only his chest and shoulders moved as he breathed, his messy blond hair clinging to his forehead, obscuring his silver eyes. His gaze was fixed on the name inscribed on the stone: Suzuki Manami.

That name had drawn strangers to this somber place four months ago, their faces dotted with grief and sorrow, sentiments deeply ingrained in their hearts.

As he stared at the monument that served as a reminder for the life that was lost, tears welled in his eyes, cascading down his cheeks and mingling with the rain. These tears were not for Manami, but rather for the resentment, hatred, helplessness, and above all, blame that consumed him.

Why did guilt claw at the young man's core? Because he believed he had entangled those he loved in this tragedy.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him, interrupting his thoughts. Perhaps it was a cemetery employee surveying the area that came to check why there was a teenager standing there right in the middle of a storm? A part of him hoped that was the case, but he knew it was a futile endeavor to hale his courage and reassure himself.

Then, something landed on his shoulder. Despite the rising terror within him, he glanced over it and froze. An eerily pale hand rested there. The boy's panic intensified as he recognized its owner. The hand tightened its grip, offering a false sense of consolation.

Before he knew it, the hand slid down to his abdomen, sensually caressing the defined muscles beneath his shirt, prompting a weak gasp from him. A cold body pressed against his back, wrapping an arm around his waist, rendering him immobile.

Soft lips brushed against his earlobe, lightly parting to whisper;

"Your life belongs exclusively to me. We will be together for eons until the universe is devoid of stars... Shou."

Those words in conjuction with the suprising icy breath sent a quiver through his body.

"...So there's really no escape, is there?"

He knew it to be true, yet admitting it was another matter entirely.

Lifting his gaze to the cloudy sky, Shou sighed in resignation. How did it all come to this?

The answer to that haunting question lay a few months back...

xxxxx

Author's Note: This is an old idea of mine that was buried in my computer. Don't know at all when I'll post the next chapter but I will continue this story, that's for sure.

On another note, the cover is temporary, I'll ask for the artist that does illustrations for my other stories to draw a cover for this one.

Well, I hope this was intriguing enough or at least entertaining to everyone.

Till the next time!