hate ♡ shin soukoku

a meeting by chance

atsushi was 15 when he met akutagawa.

it was one day in october, when atsushi had decided to drift off from his usual walk. school was shut at the time, their one week break had just begun three days ago. of course, atsushi had decided not to mope around in his house for the entire holiday, and decided it would be a good idea to take to daily walks in order to remain healthy. his adoptive parents paid no mind to it, glad their son was responsible.

usually, he would walk the perimeter of a park near his house, and then sit down by the lake inside it, observing all the tiny fish and occasionally ducks and geese who paid him visits. after a while, he would walk one final lap of the park and head home. another notable thing about atsushi, however, was how remarkably quickly he became bored. it had only been three days, yet he muttered under his breath a promise to break his own legs if he had to walk the perimeter of that damn park one more time.

he was halfway through his walk on wednesday evening, and the sun had just started its descent into the east. he noticed a small, hidden path. thanking this opportunity for new surroundings, he immediately sprinted through the passage. the passage itself was quite short, only a few minutes before atsushi emerged on the other side. there were pebbles embedded into the grass and mud at this feet, and an arc of small trees sheltered him from the early moonlight. ducking slightly to avoid a stray branch, atsushi poked his head through to the other side and allowed himself to process the new environment.

it seemed to be a private residence of sorts, but there were no houses in sight. the grass was vividly green and healthy, glistening in evidence of the rain that had delayed atsushi’s walk, and the small trees circled a large area. it couldn’t have been too large, but it was large enough to remind atsushi of the front of those mansions he would often see in the american movies his parents so adored. in the centre of the yard-looking area, there was a fountain and a path of tightly packed pebbles surrounding it and leading away from it both towards atsushi and away from him. his eyes were sparkling in curiosity and amusement and he was suddenly extremely grateful he broke his ordinary routine and found this place.

he approached the fountain slowly, making sure to spare glances to every tiny detail, trying to memorize the beauty of the area. every detail down to every little petal on every daisy and every tulip memorised. he couldn’t contain a grin for much longer.

when he reached the fountain, he rested his hands on the circular stone edge, holding up his weight by leaning on his arms as he peered into the water. the water was clear, almost transparent, and he could see probably hundreds of small 5 yen coins covering the bottom. it was peacefully silent. he inspected the stone edge and, upon confirming it was wide enough, pulled his body up with his arms and sat cross-legged. he looked like he was in a trance, his eyes following the water wherever it flowed.

he sat there, in peace, for what felt like hours.
his peace didn’t last for much longer, however, as a cough brought him back to reality. it was a deep, throaty and rough cough which seemed to come from in front. though slightly startled, atsushi lifted his head to peer beyond the fountain. he hadn’t even noticed the shift from evening to twilight, and the orange glow surrounding him added an even more mystical feel to everything. he saw two silhouettes, one noticeably taller than the other. the taller silhouette had ragged edges to their hair and seemed to be wearing a large coat of some sort, while the shorter had longer hair which fell on one shoulder and wore a hat.

atsushi, for a reason he still to this day can’t pinpoint, panicked and hid his body behind the edge of the fountain, hopping out of his position. what if this really was someone’s house? he would be trespassing, then. he would cause his parents trouble if the two people found him and reported him. so, he hid as if his life depended on it.