Summer's End

Chapter One

HIbiya stared at his desk blankly, not paying attention to class and definitely not taking notes about whatever he was supposed to be learning. The paper in front of him was blank, save for two strange words, "Amamiya Hibiya." They were scribbled and hard to read. His pencil lay next to the paper, the tip sharp and unused.

All he really cared about was when the bell would ring. He didn't want to be in this boring classroom... Anywhere but here! As he stared at his blank sheet of paper, he noticed that it started to shift into something else. Everything around him had changed.

"Where am I?" he tried to speak but when he looked down he could not see my body. Instead he saw hundreds of people shouting and waving glow sticks in the air. When he followed the people's gaze he saw a stage with a single, very orange figure on it.

"Momo!" the boy shouted. Everyone in the classroom turned to look at him. He made eye contact with a few kids and put his head down, embarrassed.

The bell rang and Hibiya jumped up and nearly ran out of the classroom. He heard his teacher call out his name but ignored it and kept running until he was in the yard outside of the building. He walked until he was far enough away from the other kids and sat down under a giant green tree. A sigh of relief escaped his body and he looked up at the sky sadly.

"Come on, you dolt!" a sharp voice barked out. Hibiya's gaze met Hiyori's and he hopped up to join her. They always walked home together, and after the incident they always walked the long way to avoid crossing all of the major roads. This made their walk to and from school much longer, but it was better than the alternative.

The two kids were practically inseparable after the summer. They clung to each other everywhere they went, and they suffered through their school days since they were in separate classes. Hibiya had finally given up on his crush, which resulted in a close friendship since he now felt open to Hiyori and she was no longer creeped out by him.

"How was your day?" Hibiya asked as the two began the long walk home.

"Average," the girl replied, "I made it through the day without crying this time, so that was new I guess. How about you?"

"It happened again today, it's been happening more and more. I wish I could control it. Kido said she would help me learn how to use it right, but I won't see her until next summer," Hibiya paused, "I saw Momo this time. She was having a concert."

Hiyori watched Hibiya while he spoke. To be honest she was a little envious of him; she missed their friends in the Mekakushi Dan, too. She knew he couldn't talk to them, but at least Hibiya got to see them with his weird eye power.

As Hibiya finished talking he turned to Hiyori and saw that she had tears in her eyes, and when the two made eye contact her tears streamed down her face.

"A-Ah!" Hibiya's eyes turned red as he and Hiyori stared at each other, and his vision revealed the path to a nearby park bench. "Let's go sit down and rest."

He grabbed Hiyori's hand gently and guided her to the bench which was in a small park just off of the sidewalk they were walking on. They sat down close to each other and Hiyori wiped her tears. Hibiya didn't know what the limit was since they were officially "just friends" and he didn't want to seem weird, so he just sat next to her and waited for her to calm down.

"Th-thanks," Hiyori stuttered between tears. "I-I'm s-so sorry. I don't even know why I'm still sad. It's all over, I should be happy again, I-"

Hibiya cut her off, "Hiyori-chan! It's okay! I promise. You're allowed to be sad! We've been through a lot. It's my fault! You could have been the one to escape the Daze. I left you there all alone!" Now he was the one crying while Hiyori looked on.

The two kids just sat there for a few minutes, sniffling in silence before they both stood up and began walking again. They walked quietly and sadly for a few minutes, each thinking to themselves about what was and what could have been.

"I'm sorry," they said in unison, their voices tangled together. They were bound by fate, a horrible fate, and completely inseparable. Their souls were tied together and could not be torn apart.

A few more minutes of silence. A cat crossed in front of them, and they both jumped back, afraid. A few more minutes of silence. A truck drove a little too close to the side of the road, a little too fast, and they both jumped back, afraid. A few more minutes of silence. They were nearly home.

"Will you come to my house again today?" Hibiya asked. They were neighbors but still preferred to be together than a few hundred feet apart. "I'd love to change it up and visit your house sometimes, but you know my father. He's so strict he won't let me do anything. He's nicer when you're around, though. He doesn't want outsiders to see how cruel he is to me."

Hiyori nodded her head, surprised he had even asked. She almost always went to Hibiya's house after school. She spent a lot of her time there, since her parents didn't really care about her whereabouts. She would even spend the night if it weren't for Hibiya's father forbidding it.

As they approached Hibiya's house they walked in silence, yet again. There were no words fit to be spoken in this moment. The perfect conversation was complete, uninterrupted silence.

Hibiya took off his shoes at the threshold, and Hiyori copied him. "We're home!" Hibiya called out to his father and got no response. Hiyori followed him as he tip-toed to his room. They sat down on the floor and Hiyori got out her school books.

"You need to study, right?" she broke the silence. "Your probably didn't learn much in class today if you were watching Momo's concert."