Silence | Book 1

3-9: Lost

「Hayate, don't go so fast! We'll lose mom and dad.」While his older brother dragged him along by the wrist, Hibiki looked back at his mother and father. His father was talking absentmindedly to his mother, as she nodded along with a content smile, happy to listen even if she wasn't interested. They hadn't yet noticed how far ahead the two of them had run.

「Come on Hibiki, don't you want to go see the streamers and put your wish up?」Hayate held up his strip of paper, folded in half so nobody could see. Hibiki looked down at his own paper in his hand, and nodded a little. As he did he was tugged along again. His brother always knew what he wanted, even when he didn't. Because they wanted the same; it just came sooner to Hayate. But that made sense right? Since he'd been the first.

They ran up the hill together, past the people that had come to look at the festivities. To anyone they'd be indiscernible if it hadn't been for their different clothes; otherwise completely identical to one another. But it had never mattered that they had been born as two, since where Hayate went, Hibiki would go - Hayate was just the first that went.

Atop the hill, they could see all the way down the streets. Hundreds of brightly coloured orbs had been hung up in rows, their paper trails drifting slowly as the summer breeze and people walking past stirred them. They looked like rainbow coloured squid or cheerful spirits - depending on whether you asked Hayate or Hibiki.

「Can you see the streamer we made at school? It's the blue one!」Hayate asked, pointing in the distance.

「No?」Hibiki said - as there were at least twenty blue ones he could be looking at.

「I think it's that one.」Hayate nodded decidedly, absolutely sure of himself. Hibiki agreed.

「Do you want to go put up your wish?」Hayate asked, smiling brightly, but Hibiki looked back down the street.

「It's so far though. What about mom and dad? They'll get worried.」

「If we don't hurry, everyone else will have put up their wish. Then Orihime and Hikoboshi won't see!」Hayate pouted, clutching the strip of paper in his hands. When told that his wish maybe wouldn't come true, Hibiki frowned a little.

「Alright, but we'll stick together.」

「Promise!」Hayate grinned widely, and held up his pinky while crossing his heart. Although Hibiki locked pinkies with Hayate, he gave a curious look as he saw them make a cross.

「Where is that from?」

「I saw it in an American movie」Hayate grinned even wider. 「So it means like, a double promise now.」Hibiki's eyes lit up at the explanation, and he smiled back while also crossing their chest.

On their way down the hill, Hibiki's attention was drawn to a man in a side street. He was talking to someone via a small mobile flip-phone. He wasn't sure why he did it, but Hibiki gave a little wave and smile. The man turned around surprised and smiled back, answering with a short wave - but as he did so the other side of his neck showed. The dark tattoo of a snake peeked out above the collar of their dress shirt. Hibiki had only a moment to be shocked, remembering the many warnings about criminal, tattooed yakuza, before he had already been dragged further by an unassuming Hayate listing off all the delicious things he wanted to eat for dinner.

Hayate held Hibiki's hand tightly as they weaved through the legs of all the people gathered at the bamboo. When they reached the stalks, many wishes had already been pinned up on them. Hayate scrunched his face a little as he tried to read the handwriting on one.