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"Like those tiny seeds scattered into the wind, I'm sure that Rin too can take her place in this world without the need to create her own inside of it."
Foreword
Before we begin, I would just like to say a few things to lay out the groundwork for this story. I was partially inspired by Sisterhood , though this will probably not be as well developed or as well written, as I don't have much experience with fanfiction. I think I also need help with formatting, where to put lines of dialogue, etc. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
I haven't really read any fan fiction based on Rin's story either, so I would like to try and take a crack at it and see how I do. I did feel that the original story wrapped things up nicely, but I don't think that a continuation would hurt, of course. I'd also like to point out that I borrow some elements of Sisterhood as well for this story, the changing perspective mostly, as I thought it was really interesting and made for a dynamic narrative that I haven't really seen in other fanfics. If I could reach out to the author I would like to ask if I could use the music application they made for use on this story later down the line hopefully.
This continues about four days after the events of Rin's good ending. Music suggestions will be spoiler tagged like this. You can supplement whatever music you'd like, but I know many enjoy the original KS OST, so there's that. Some of this story contains NSFW material. I'll try and update it regularly though I'm not going to rush myself. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Index
Chapter 1: As Above (Rin)
Chapter 2: Show & Tell (Hisao)
Chapter 3: Stretching (Emi)
Chapter 4: Cloud Walking (Rin)
Chapter 5: Things Only You Know (Hisao) (Coming Soon)
Chapter 1: As Above (Rin)
No Music
Love. An alien word. Extraterrestrial. Not like a little green man. Like flying so far away that you forget where the Earth is. Its like looking into a mirror and seeing someone else. Its a concept that is difficult for me to process. I can't even comprehend it, honestly. When I think about him, my skin and eyes feel like they're going to burst open in an explosion of feelings and passion. Everything all at once, tearing me apart at the seams. In what way I need to express those feelings, to relieve the pressure, is a mystery to me still, a mystery that I'm trying to grasp. Grasping for hay in a needle stack. I try to collect my thoughts.
Painting helped. I think. To relieve the pressure. It was the only thing I knew how to do, and to some extent, that's still true. Like how some people just know how to ride a bike, or swim, or sing. But it hurt, taking a round cookie cutter piece of my flesh every time I picked up a brush. Maybe I am getting better at expression and I can't recognize it. I'm unsure.
Round...
Oranges...
He likes oranges, I think. I remember when he peeled them for me in Sae's atelier. I like oranges too. I can't peel them on my own yet. I don't want to learn, either. I'm remembering those nights we spent together. The cigarettes'. The rain obscuring the window. A domino of memories.
The sun is making my hair warm. I turn towards the window. A bird is perched on a thin branch. It's small and round like it ate too much birdseed in one go. The light brown feathers it grooms create an earthy hue. Mesmerizing. For now only the bird and I exist, separated by a pane of glass and a chasm.
"Tezuka."
The bird begins to groom it's feathers. Why did we humans never grow wings? We can build our own wings, but its not the same as growing them. Why are we rooted to the ground, stuck here to contemplate why we never grew wings?
A loud clap snaps me awake.
School Days
"Miss Tezuka," she barks. "Are you paying attention?"
My head turns towards her and I nod. I blink a few times, closing my eyes tightly. I'm unsure of what she expects of me. She emphasized the word 'attention'. Do I owe her an attention? I don't remember borrowing any attentions. She goes back to standing in front of the chalkboard.
I glance one more time at the bird outside of the window. It flies away, rattling the leaves as the wind carries it. My eyes return to the classroom.
Mrs. Ito is an older woman, with greying hair and a habit of shouting. Maybe she's partially deaf. I don't see a hearing aid, so not likely. Her forehead is large, and her nose looks misshapen in a few places.
The sparkly jewelry she wears sometimes reflects the sun from the window. She wears a business suit, complete with those dark leggings that office workers like to wear.
"So, as I was saying..."
She trails off, the information continuing to go in one ear and out of the other, a stream of nonsense that I'm too distracted to listen to. I stare down at the desk in front of me. It looks like it's been through a war. It's about what you'd expect. Carvings from past students who wanted to leave a memory.
'R+A, Nana wuz here, school suckz,' it all blends together into a motif that feels like a time pod to another era. I try to imagine myself back there, at the moment someone would leave their mark on this desk.
I shut my eyes tight.
"Pssstt..."
A barely audible sprinkle. Sounds like someone poked a hole in a garden hose. I perk my head up slightly, but still focus on the desk, trying to ignore the sound.
"Hey..."
I look to my left, where the noise came from. My eyes meet hers. I've seen her around but I don't know her name. I know that she's in Hisao's class, but never exchanged greetings or even looked in her direction like people who talk usually do. I also never paid any mind that she chose to sit next to me of all people. Strange.
Her skin is more tan than I thought it was. Her long brown hair is draped across the back of the chair. I think about what it would be like if my hair was that long. On second thought, I'd rather not imagine that. What a nightmare. Her speech is a barely audible whisper.
"You're in this class too?"
Of course I am. Why would I be here otherwise? Her head snaps to the teacher, who seems to have noticed and is staring daggers at us. Impressive hearing. Creepy. I wonder what else she can hear.
The brown haired girl sits up straight, smiling cheekily. I continue to zone out, still thinking about the motif. My mind begins to wander again.
Summer...
I hate the word summer. But it also makes me feel warm. I feel myself burning up every time it pops into my skull. Maybe it's my hair. I need a hat. A big, round sun hat. I've never been good with hats though.
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
I can hear someone furiously writing something down, scratching lead into paper.
Is this what summer is about? Sitting in a class, oblivious to the lessons that the teacher is regurgitating? A sporty girl buzzing in your ear?
There's a quick but soft poke in my side. I turn to her again. She's holding a piece of notepaper below her waist that looks like it's been through a washing machine twelve times.
Something is written on it. It's difficult to read, but somehow I manage to make out the chicken scratches that she scrawled onto the abused sheet.
'Meet me after class'
Everyday Fantasy
The rest of the summer class goes by quietly. Mrs. Ito scolds a guy in a goofy looking scarf. I think I recognize him. Maybe not. The other ten students (I counted) file out. An atmosphere of laziness and apathy fills the halls. A sleepy feeling takes me over as well. I stand up and stretch, yawning. I'm the last one out of the classroom, naturally.
Once I exit into the hall, I spot her leaning on the opposite wall.
She smiles at me, putting her hand on her hip. I notice the bandaged stump where her other hand is supposed to be. I've seen it before, but never this close. A little boring. I expected something more exciting. A third hand maybe. I wonder if she's hiding anything in there. Drugs maybe.
She continues to grin at me, an awkward silence falling as the other students fade into the background. She pipes up, her smile still spreading from the corners of her mouth. Too friendly. Is she trying to squeeze me?
"Hey, how's it goin'? I'm Miki Miura."
A surprise. What does she want with me? I don't think I look that approachable. Formulating my thoughts. A very long blink.
"Rin. It's better recently. Do you want something?" I ask.
Miki makes a face. I can't tell what emotion it's meant to convey. It looks like she tasted something too sweet. Did I say something wrong?
"No, I don't want anything. You seem like an interesting person so I thought I'd try to chat. Wanna grab lunch?"
Hisao wanted to talk to me after class. Attempting to put my feelings into words, I take a deep breath and blink slowly.
"Tomorrow. I have a...thing today."
"A thing?"
"A thing. An end of the world as we know it thing. Super important."
Miki raises an eyebrow before chuckling awkwardly.
"A-Alright! Lunch it is. See you tomorrow after class then." She smiles again and waves her stump as she strides down the hall.
I'm left alone with my thoughts as the chatter of the students slowly fades away.
My slow walk through the school leaves me pondering about not just today, but the days ahead as well. I place my hope in the fact that it won't be like this all the time, but doubt plants its roots in me. I'm anchored to the ground.
Halfway down the stairs, I shake my head briskly, trying to evict the butterflies. They've been there for a while. I think I invited them in. They always make me nervous. Something about their fluttering puts me on edge. Especially today. Their rent is overdue.
Trudging through the empty campus, I notice something I haven't before. The summer breeze carries a tune around the school. Perhaps so many people talking was enough to mask it, but now that I listen, I enjoy it.
Maybe that's the special thing about summer. Music has never appealed to me. Too much noise makes me lose what little focus I have.
I look at the sky as I walk, not paying attention to where I'm walking. The sun is high. The clouds are sparse, but those that remain are wispy and dreamlike like someone dragged a brush across the sky and smeared them until they faded into the background of the painting. Painting. Maybe I should try again. Maybe not.
Never could I imagine a stranger few weeks. Its all a blur by now, but thinking about everything that happened, I wouldn't change anything. No one can change the past. At least I don't think so. Perhaps they can, and they've hidden the secret.
I continue to think about this conundrum.
No Music
I make my way to the boys' dorm, the color of the walls an earthy shade of brown, just like the bird I spotted in class today. A coincidence? Most likely.
There are still a few students here, some of them packing their things, others lounging around. There's even a group of boys watching T.V.
I wonder if they're stuck here for summer school too.
I come up to Hisao's door. A feeling wells up in the pit of my stomach. I shift around on my feet. Is this what it means when people say they have a frog in their throat?
I kick the door lightly.
Tap tap.
There's brief shuffling inside. Why is my stomach turning in knots? It hasn't been that long since we've seen each other.
"One second!"
Hisao's muffled yell reaches me. My lungs deflate. I was holding my breath. Patiently waiting. I study the cracks in the wood of the door. They form a unique pattern. It looks aged. He should get a new door.
The hinges squeak open, I step back slightly. Hisao stands there, messy brown hair and all.
Raindrops & Puddles
"Oh, Rin, come in."
The corners of his lips form into a smile. I feel myself smile too. He steps back to let me inside.
"So, how was class?"
He says as the closes the door. There's a familiar tone to his speech. It's strange. Different from other people, I feel like. I can never pin down exactly what about it is different though. More research is required.
I think about his question. I didn't really listen at all. There was Miki too. A few seconds pass and I'm left wandering in my sea of thoughts. A vertical sea. A horizontal sea doesn't sound deep and dark enough. It needs to have weird fish living in it.
"Fine." Is that all I can say? Could be worse I guess.
I take in my surroundings. Plain. The first time I came here, I expected some kind of cheesy motivational poster. A candle perhaps. Maybe something more interesting, like a birdcage or a water bed.
It smells like a library in here. Not a bad smell. Murky, like a swamp. I've never been to a swamp, but that's what I imagine it smells like.
I sit on his bed. The sheets are perfectly made, unsurprisingly. It's familiar. Most of the rooms have the same bed. But this one feels warmer somehow. I like it.
He's wearing a sweater vest and pants I would expect a school teacher or a clerk to wear. An interesting look, I guess. I don't judge.
Plop.
He sits next to me. I can feel the heat rising in my face already. Hisao has been busy for the last four days. This is the first time we've been this close since that day the rain fogged up his window. Somehow, I missed this feeling.
A silence fills the air. I can hear his breathing. Can he hear mine? I have to say something. Anything.
"There was this bird. I think it was watching me."
Nice job, Rin. Thank you, Rin. You're welcome, Rin.
He gives me an awkward smile and a light chuckle.
"Has Sato been helping you out in the morning? Sorry we haven't been able to talk much these last few days. I've got a lot on my plate."
I slowly nod.
"So, what did you learn in class?" He asks.
I wasn't expecting that question, so I sit in silence, looking down at my toes, wiggling them. He sighs. Did I make him mad?
Hisao stands up and looms over me. He looks quite imposing like this, like a tree about to fall over. Is it about the bird? Words begin to flow freely in my brain. A tidal wave, crashing at the shores of my mind. My stomach turns again.
Before my thoughts have enough time to escape from my mouth, he leans down and our lips meet.
For just a moment the heat of our bodies becomes one. It feels like our own piece of nirvana. It's a brief kiss, and we part, the feeling still lingering on my mouth.
"I'll help you study tomorrow, alright?"
I nod. Hisao sits at his desk chair a few feet away. He's hunched over, his posture more serious than the situation we find ourselves in. Like he just got a call from a dead person.
"Did you get a call from a dead person?" I ask.
No Music
"Rin?"
His tone is serious now, I think. Our eyes meet, blush still painting the canvas of my face.
"What?"
"I said I would stay for the summer to help you study, right?"
I nod. He's making it seem like it's going to be something serious. What could he say now that would call for something like this? Maybe the end of the world. Or it's about his heart thing. I forget what it's called. I should ask him about it again.
Breathing deeply, he says the words I didn't know I was dreading.
"My mom is coming to visit."
