fall for me | iwaoi (angel! au) ; part 1

five.

A young boy sat at the edge of a rocky ledge. Below him was a deep river gorge, and he watched the clear teal water crash gently on the rocks below. This was the only place the boy could truly find tranquility and beauty. The boy lived in a very poor rural village somewhere in Japan (he never got told, and he never asked), where his only friends were the stray kittens that wandered aimlessly around the village, and his mother. To be honest, he was always a little unsure of whether or not his mother counted as his friend. She was kind to him, worked hard everyday and always placed his needs before her own. But can parents be friends? The boy wasn't too sure about that.

The rural village was dirty and unkempt, and the boy never spoke to his neighbors or any of the neighborhood children. For some reason, they all kept away from his hut. His mother never told him the reason, though he already knew. Food, clean water and clothes were always scarce, though the young boy would argue that conditions had already improved a lot since he and his mother had moved into the small village when he was no more than three years old.

The boy picked at the various scars, scabs and fresh cuts he had on his legs, which he had gotten from tripping over rocks and stones. He didn't mind though. He was used to it now, and if anything, a little proud about his 'battle scars'.

Above all, he was lonely. Although talking to stray kittens and his own mother were already more than he could ask for, he had never spoken to a child of his own age. He grudgingly admitted to himself that sometimes he watched the other kids in his village frolic about with noise and joy, and he was extremely envious of them. The kid pouted, stood up promptly, and made his way back to the village. It would almost be noon after all, and the Spring heat became almost unbearable in the afternoon. As the boy walked briskly back towards the village, he noticed a shorter boy standing at the entrance to the village. The shorter boy looked lost, frantically looking around himself in what seemed to be confusion. Curiously, the boy from the village ran up to the other, startling the lost kid.

"Hi!" chirped the village boy, smiling. "Are you lost?"

"Err...I was just wandering around by myself. It seems that I've lost my family," The other boy said. "Though, it's not like they would care."

The boy from the village raised an eyebrow but didn't ask anything.

"Do you want to play with me?"

The shorter boy's face light up. "Can I? I'm in no hurry to return to my parents after all..."

Gleeful at the prospect of making his first friend, the village boy grabbed the other boy's hand in excitement, tugging him quickly back the direction he came from.

"By the way, what's your name?" The other boy asked, and the village boy turned around.

"You can call me Torū!"

"I'm Iwaizumi...Iwaizumi Hajime."

"Let's give each other nicknames then! You can be Iwa-chan!"

"Iwa-chan?! What kind of nickname is that?"

Over the next few days, Oikawa and Iwaizumi saw each other more than they saw anyone else. Each day, Iwaizumi would visit Oikawa's village and the two would find something new to do next to the gorge. Oikawa never told his mother though. He was sure she'd disapprove of him talking to outsiders. Although he knew that talking to Iwaizumi who had been a complete and utter stranger until a few days ago was potentially dangerous as he had never talked to outsiders, he couldn't bring himself to feel the least bit wary around such a charming and interesting boy. Iwaizumi brought stories from all across Japan, and Oikawa couldn't help but to be at least a little bit intrigued. His mother never spoke to him about her past, though Oikawa knew enough already.

Shaking his thoughts away, Oikawa gazed up at the night sky, which seemed more bright than dark. Stars gleamed brightly against plethoras of purples and blues, and a light breeze ruffled the young boy's hair. In that moment, Oikawa almost wished that time would stop. He wanted nothing more than to sit next to Iwaizumi on the soft emerald-green grass and watch the entire world bow to the stars.

"Do you know?" Iwaizumi said suddenly, and Oikawa turned his head to face him, "They say that humans die twice in their lives. Once, when their lover leaves them, and twice, when they stop breathing."

Oikawa turned away, biting his lip. "Does that mean I'll die once when Iwa-chan stops visiting me?"

"What?" Iwaizumi spluttered, turning to look at Oikawa with a flabbergasted expression, "We aren't exactly..."

The shorter boy stopped when he noticed the (adorably cute) pout on Oikawa's face, and he sighed.

"Well I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon, Torū. Don't be sad."

Iwaizumi patted Oikawa on the head for the first time, mildly amused at how the latter's face lit up in joy.

"Will Iwa-chan stay with me forever?"

"Yeah...yeah. I will."

Oikawa ran in the pouring rain. His heart thumped loudly in his ears, and tears stung his eyes to the point where everything was a blur. He was really sick of everything. He just wanted it all to end. Oikawa ran to the rocks near the gorge. His wanted to sit there and scream. He wanted to scream until his lungs burned and until his voice was hoarse.

Oikawa saw the familiar ledge in sight, and sprinted towards as fast as legs could carry him. Too caught up in his rage and despair, the young boy slipped on a rock, and failed to catch his balance. Oikawa slid off the ledge, plunging into the swirling currents of the river below the gorge. He didn't know how to swim, and to make things worse, the currents were strong and water crashed violently onto the rocks around him. Struggling in the water, Oikawa slowly felt himself being dragged under, and he inhaled a large gulp of air before the river swallowed him completely.

He opened his eyes underwater, struggling to stay alive. His lungs burned, and he was starting to splutter. He felt so very tired.

"Hajime...I can't leave Hajime..."

As he felt himself slowly lose control over his body, Oikawa felt his eyes start to close slowly, and just before they closed completely, a bright white light flooded his eyelids.

Iwaizumi sat at the glass dining table, twirling an empty wine glass around in one hand while he examined the necklace that 'Oikawa' had given him.

"How peculiar." Iwaizumi murmured, lifting it up closer to his face to inspect.

Iwaizumi's heart almost stopped when he realized what the mysterious man had etched into the ring.

'16.03.08'