platonic empathy • atsukyo fanfic •

v. the agape within them

  🐯🌸AGAPE🌸🐯      

Nakajima Atsushi woke up in his room. His line of sight was towards his apartment's ceiling and to his left; his window leading outside was warm enough for him to know the sun was up that time.

'What date it is? What time it is? Just what did happened before I slept...?' All those thoughts entered his mind almost simultaneously but his private thoughts were interrupted.

It was strangely noisy that day but he was not entirely sure whether that noise was the reason why he woke up or maybe from a dream that he will never retrieve from the deepest memory bank of his brain and maybe he was not still woken up because a girl in a red kimono suddenly appeared in his right leading to the kitchen.

That made him seat up and tossed his blanket away in which Atsushi felt a jolt of pain shot in his head, he instantly touched his head. A bandage was wrapped around his head, as he felt the wrapping around his hand, a total bad news for him.

The girl was none other than Kyouka Izumi, the girl which he...did he saved her or was it her who saved him? Indeed, dreams were not the only subjected for instant erased but also memories when one does not feel okay, you will eventually forget about it.

Kyouka was grateful enough for Nakajima Atsushi.

It was not because he was kind but because he knew. It was not merely sympathizing and looking into that person with pity but he was able to experience the same feeling of being neglected. Not in a same level but Kyouka was sure; Atsushi experienced more pain than her.

More anxiety than her.

More pain.

More tears.

More negligence.

She felt the warm of family and he was not able to.

It was her turn to return the kindness in which Kyouka will return more than that but what was worrying her more than anything was the fact that she was troubling Nakajima Atsushi if she were to live there.

It was not her idea and swear, she will instantly commit seppuku if that was the case but Kunikida-san insisted. If Kyouka remembered correctly, he was kind of pissed off and wanted Nakajima Atsushi to take responsibility of what his idiotic mind had decided.

For them, being able to be given another chance to do it for a second chance, a reset, it was a gift. When life simply wanted to miss with you, then you are in the good side of the karma.

Atsushi finally noticed Kyoka was in the same room as his, he didn't know how he will act normally towards her. Their eyes met not only for a second but seconds had passed and it was not intense with desires or anything but eyes hungry for an explanation, confirmation and most of all affirmation. Not long enough Atsushi was the first one to look away, he was beginning to falter in his pre-determined resolve.

The air seemed to thicken, no one dared to speak up and both, inexperienced having someone alone with them and more than that, opposite gender, just how will they act towards each other? Indeed they had gone through so much and exchanged such profound words, will that make them more closer to each other?

They were merely strangers to each other, not more than an acquaintance even but within them, reaching someone's deepest core was something of an honor.

It was respect, not admiration or even an affection.

Atsushi, though feeling light-hearted and wobbly from his unmoving days since his bedridden isolation had slowly kneeled and let his upper torso touched his thighs, doing a dogeza. It was the only thing he could do in the moment. Dogeza seemed inappropriate for a gratitude but deep apology, he felt tremendously the need to just console and empathize with her. Kyoka Izumi, a figure that had made him moved and had made him believe in thousands of possibilities of the future that only believes in.