𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍. ʜᴀɴᴀꜱʜɪʀᴏ

1 7 : パーフェクトブルー

Perfect Blue

—

In the end, Nene didn't really succeed on catching the rare phenomenon because they ended up bickering again. They were too busy, they failed to notice the nimbus-covered sky and the smell of petrichor disappearing into something else. Something much more jaw-dropping and pleasing to the eyes.

"It's the sea!" Nene squealed as she pushed the windows up, meeting the salty smell of the said large mass of water. She felt so excited as she looked down and gasped, noticing something. "Hanako, you should look at the rails!"

The dark-haired obeyed and looked, a smile making its way to his lips, "Cool, right?"

The rails of the train were submerged into the water. The sea that she was talking about was vast, and pretty, and it stretched towards the horizon. If you would look clearly around them, it wasn't really too deep at all — more like it was shallow. And because of it shallowness, lots of colorful fishes and corals near them were visible as they passed by.

"This is heaven," Nene sighs dreamily as she clasps her hands together, grinning. "Just staring at this makes my heart feel light and fine!"

"Indeed." He laughs as he agrees.

The waters were calm and it amazed them how clear the water was as it was able to reflect the whole sky on its surface like it was a large mirror. It was all blue — and it really did remind her of heaven because of its aesthetic.

"I can see my reflection on the water," she giggles as she points. "This is the best setting I've ever seen yet."

"Doesn't it just make you want to swish your finger onto the water?" Hanako grins as they rested their elbows on the sill, having fun as the fresh air continued to make their fringes fly. "If something like this existed in the real world, I would never want to get off the train. Wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," Nene nods eagerly. "I feel like I can look at this forever."

The both of them stayed silent for a long time — although their silence at that time wasn't really awkward. More like, a comfortable silence where they just sat down and stared at the beauty of the world in front of them. It was worth looking for, after all.

Her lips slowly curled into a smile, "You know, this makes me feel good. I wonder what kind of person we will meet this time around?"

"Hopefully someone nice," Hanako says as he purses his lips. "I don't feel like dealing with mean and cold people."

"Really?" Nene raises an eyebrow at him as she glances and asks. "How come? Have you ever met someone who has treated you badly before?"

"I wouldn't say badly though. Just a bit cold," he sighs heavily, "Well, as you know, my social skills are really like that of a trash and I don't know how to make other people stop crying. But," he looks at her and grins. "Since you're here now, maybe it's fine if I rely on you with that kind of case?"

She beams at him, her eyes gleaming, "O-Of course! Leave it to me!" Somehow, it felt really good that he can trust her with something like that. It made her giddy, just thinking about how he treats her like a friend too. She puts her hands on her hips as she huffs. "J-Just so you know, I'm not really that good either, but I guess I can still manage something like that."

He chuckles and nods, "Anyway, regarding about your idea of us being crusaders, I'm not yet so sure about that."

"Yeah?" She gives him a lopsided smile, "W-Well, I know that it's really kind of a random idea, but somehow, there's something in me that says that we should try," her eyes wanders towards the calm sea again, spotting various fishes near the rails. "I think it's wonderful; trying to help other people when they need a good push from the back. Well, sometimes, that is just the only thing that we need to get ourselves back up again."

Hanako stared at her for awhile as she giggled, being distracted by the cute creatures underneath the sea. Her words hit somewhere in him, but he wasn't sure where — but it indeed hit him hard, he just didn't know specifically where it was.

The boy searched through his mind; maybe the reason was it was because he needed that kind of attention before — someone who would listen to his worries and comfort him whenever he has anxiety attacks. Someone who would help him get on his feet back again.

If he had had that kind of someone before, maybe he wouldn't have given up like this.

He was skeptical about her idea, but after hearing her words, somehow, it made him want to change his mind. That even if it didn't happen to him, it didn't mean that he would also want it to not happen to others. Sometimes, people just need encouraging words to fight again.

Maybe it will work.

Or maybe it won't.

But the most important thing about that part is that they tried.

"Sure," he mumbled. "I'll try to be a crusader, even just for once."

"Really?" Nene looks at him with a grin. "That makes me really happy."

"It's just once though," he crosses his arms as he grins back at her. "I'll just decide if I would, the next time around."

"I'll make sure you'd still want to for the other times," his heart skipped a beat when she said that. "Let's do our best."

Hanako couldn't help but look away; she said that as if she was so sure and fine with the way they are now, although it was delaying her from reaching her own dream. Like she was fine staying there with someone like him.

But he soon shook it away, reminding himself that it's just her, being her. A somehow happy-go-lucky girl that goes with the flow.

She may even be the one who might hear the bell this time at this setting.

Hanako pats her head, "Yeah. Let's do our best."

He shouldn't get too close to her; after all, she might just disappear and he will be alone again.