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The sun is now gone over Tatsumi port island, replaced in a thick blanket of darkness and etched shadows across the concrete. Even still, the city continues on with the last flickers of its dazzling burning light.
Ryoji’s musings only take moments to stop when the wind billows at his scarf, the cold a little nibble at his cheeks. Naganaki shrine is quiet, peaceful with nobody around. And yet Ryoji can find so much movement regardless. The way the leaves rustle, the water overflowing and falling, the chiming of the bells and the tipping of the see-saw. All of it he can hear, all of it he can feel.
School today was incredible, Ryoji was abuzz with things to do and see and people to gather around. The girls who all wanted to talk with him, the way his teeth bit down onto his apple pan, all the little things he learned in class. Even now so late, that feeling persists and keeps him feeling content. Ryoji is so lucky to be alive.
So now he just needs to head home.
Problem is, Ryoji um, he doesn’t exactly know how. He sits on a nearby bench checking his phone and his parents' contacts aren’t there. No matter how many times he tries, no number exists. Huh, they must have forgotten to tell him they were changing it then. Yeah, that makes sense. Or maybe he forgot to add them when getting this phone.
But then, wouldn’t it just be easier to walk home? Most couples at school do it all the time. They know the way by heart, talking the whole time with sweet smiles and little laughs. Another part of life Ryoji memorizes into his mind. So why can’t he just do that?
In fact, funnily enough, every time Ryoji isn’t at school, he can’t remember where he was. He leaves through the front gates and then he blinks and the morning has arrived. Tugging at his scarf, once more Ryoji tries to think. He can at least try to remember his own address, but with his feeble attempts nothing comes up. In a sense, if he were to somehow go up to each house and apartment in the city, none of them would feel quite right.
And even worse is that it feels even more that Ryoji can’t be a good son and remember such simple details. His parents travel an awful lot overseas, but because they wanted him to have some stability they sent him here. The Mochizuki’s are good people so why-
His parents. What were their names again?
Odd combinations of confusion and frustration bile within Ryoji- maybe he ought to head to the nurses office tomorrow and figure out what’s wrong with him.
Beneath the broken crescent moon, it’s as if it’s judging him for this empty space in his head. School is the only thing Ryoji has in a sense of the word. Probably because he can’t recall anything else. In a way, it’s terrifying.
Maybe he should just sleep here tonight, take a quick nap and wake up with his thoughts a bit clearer. So he begins to drift, Ryoji let’s the cold begin to absorb him whole, let him dis-
“Mochizuki-kun?”
A voice breaks Ryoji away from the distance and there stands Arisato. Silver music player and headphones, crisp uniform, he could blend within any background and still Ryoji could find him surrounded by whatever environment.
Behind the blue haired teen is a young child, probably ten wearing an elementary uniform over a bright orange hoodie. Curiously he watches Ryoji, fixing his posture in the process.
“Ah Arisato san! Nice to see you on such a nice night.” Ryoji greets, trying to brush off whatever he was feeling before. “And you, um your-”
“Ken Amada,” the boy suddenly blurts. “You're Ryoji Mochizuki right? Some of my friends told me about you.”
Shy as he is, Amada’s words bring a contented smile to his face. “It’s very nice to meet you Amada kun. Now that I remember, Arisato san’s talked a bit about you too.”
“Really!? What did he say, did- oh um,” he coughs, stopping himself short. “Sorry. Still, it's also nice to meet you, Mochizuki kun.”
After a beat, Amada continues talking. “Arisato san and I are heading to the strip mall near our dorms. We just wanted to take a quick look at the shrine. What about you, what're you doing here?”
Thinking as quickly as possible, Ryoji tries to make a good enough excuse. “Just wanted to get some fresh air. No real plans for me if I’m being honest” he chuckles, trying to make a bit of light for the situation. He thinks he’s not doing too bad but the atmosphere begs to differ.
Neither Amada nor Arisato seem to be judging him, but their expressions change slightly. Amada moreso, but then Arisato asks something first. “Wanna come with us?”
It takes a second to register the question, but Ryoji nods happily. “Of course! Seeing more of Iwatodai doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Oh, but is that alright with you Amada? I wouldn’t want to interrupt your plans.”
“Not at all Mochizuki kun.” With that, Ryoji grabs his school bag and follows Arisato down the steps of the shrine- even though the small bouquet of flowers makes his skin prickle, he moves forward with far more energy than before. “Anyone else coming along with us?”
“Just Aigis san and Koromaru.” Amada answers. A small part of Ryoji is a bit ashamed that the blonde girl’s name makes him just a bit nervous. Even now he doesn’t know what exactly it was that he did to annoy her so much, sure his attempts and being friendly were off kilter his first day but still. It’s as if she hates him for existing at times. “I know Aigis san, but who might Koromaru be?”
“Oh, he’s a dog staying with us at the dorms. His owner, the shrine priest passed away awhile ago, but we still make sure he can visit as much as he wants.”
The words suddenly bring to mind a vivid image of a dog soaked in red with black rot within his teeth. And for some reason, Ryoji can smell the thick scent of blood and water within the air. He pushes the concept aside.
Arisato’s been texting someone during this conversation, though finally pocketing his phone and staring ahead. He tends to do that a lot. “He’s a good dog. Amada gets along with him the most.”
“Hey, everybody gets along with Koromaru. That’s what makes him so special.”
The three of them are nearly there, the autumn wind crisp and calming in every way. And then for some reason, Arisato gets just a little closer to Ryoji when Amada moves a bit further away.
Voice low and deep, his statement is unexpected.
“Aigis is really protective of the people she cares about. I think you have that in common with her. So just don’t say what you know she isn’t okay with.”
Then he puts his headphones on and it’s as if he didn’t say anything in the first place. To many that strangeness would make people stray further away from this blue haired boy. To Ryoji, it’s nothing less than comforting.
Once they arrive, the mall is still bustling with light despite how dark it is. Even with most of the shops closed, there’s still so much to do and see. The first thing Ryoji finds however is a grey shiba inu suddenly bounding to Amada. The next is a girl wearing an interesting headband following from behind.
“Good to see you three,” Aigis greets although she simply stares directly at Ryoji. “Arisato san informed me of you joining us Mochizuki kun.”
Her eyes are bright, and usually Ryoji would delightfully compliment them. But he can tell that’ll probably annoy her more than she’s already annoyed at him right now. To his surprise however, she seems to breathe out slightly as her expression shifts.
“If you are only here as invited by Arisato san, then I will try not to disassemble whatever intentions you have. And, I apologize if I have come off as rude to you.” She stumbles somewhat on that last part, the way people make mistakes when talking too quickly.
“No problem Aigis san. If I do anything weird, just tell me.” His words reassure her as she nods. She trusts them to be true.
Koromaru barks excitedly, most likely requesting that everyone move to whatever it is they are here for. “Follow me” Arisato mutters and so they do just that.
It’s only a short walk away from the main strip mall to a little empty plot of city and rough sand beneath their shoes. Seems to be a construction area although not yet finished- Ryoji can’t help but ponder what this area might be one day. But there is already something here, a little stand isolated from the rest of the other shops. It feels almost out of place.
But it’s quite nice regardless, shiny lights attached to poles shine over plastic chairs and tables. The fire of the stand is cooking something absolutely delicious too. Man, Ryoji’s already hungry and he doesn’t even know what it is! There’s also two women as well, one behind the stand and other at one of the tables.
The woman cooking has short cut bobbed hair and a pale orange apron over her outfit- her shiny necklaces seem to have ruby and emerald in them. As for the other woman, she’s just as elegant with her white turtleneck and ankle long maroon skirt. Her glasses seem to shine with a sense of wisdom and mischief along with her grin. Both women must have a lot of history, at least just from Ryoji’s singular glance at them.
“Ah, Arisato san. Pleasure for you and your allies to arrive on such a fair night” the apron woman greets. “You know these two?” Amada inquires, prompting a small introduction from Arisato.
“This is Fukuzawa san. She’s a fortune teller I talk to sometimes. And this is Iwasaki san. She owns Mayoido antiques at Paulownia mall.”
“Say, who might you be as well?” Iwasaki asks, directing her gaze to Ryoji. “I don’t remember you being one of Arisato’s friends.”
“Oh, um this is Mochizuki kun,” Amada blurts, now suddenly holding Koromaru in his arms with little effort. “He transferred I think a week ago. I think.”
Ryoji can feel Amada’s kindness and simply nods in agreement. Aigis then chimes in next. “Say, if I may inquire, why have you set up a food stall in such a deserted area of the city? I do not believe sales would be successful in these circumstances.”
Fukuzawa sighs. “It’s tradition for the two of us to sell yakitori skewers at the summer festival, however this year fate proclaimed us to other obligations. Iwasaki now insists we do this now or else lose the chance.”
“Hmph, you make it sound as if the cards didn’t speak highly of such a choice. And besides, I assume we have five customers now don’t we?” Iwasaki jests.
“Choose what you want, I already paid. Just find somewhere to sit, I’ll go and get it.” Arisato then directs. His voice is pretty curt, although not necessarily mean.
Everyone orders something different while Ryoji decides to pick on random- then the four of them settle by the nearby seating area. Aigis shares one table with him while Amada and Koromaru have their own.
“It’s actually really nice of Arisato san to invite me here,” Amada says, chin on his arms. “ I didn’t go to the summer festival back in July but I think this makes up for it.”
“There is always next year Amada kun. If you would like I can accompany you as well” Aigis answers. Her hands are perfectly placed on her lap. “Do you like festivals, Mochizuki kun?”
Her question catches him off guard, but he picks himself up best he can. “Haven’t been to one sadly. A bunch of girls say their fun though- I wouldn’t mind going. I do know you can win prizes, like this pigeon mask?”
“Are you talking about Feather Argus? The only time a pigeon shows up in-” Amada stops talking immediately, seemingly out of embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble. The kids in my class like Featherman and I just repeat what they say sometimes.”
Amada scratches at Koromaru’s head, looking away nervously. “What's Featherman?” Ryoji asks curiously, he’s never heard of what he assumes is a TV program. “Is it a story? I wouldn’t mind hearing more about it.”
Something slowly lights in Amada’s eyes, small but shining nonetheless. “Well Phoenix Ranger Featherman R is about the six feathermen, but in the last iteration of the show it was only five. Swallow is the most recent addition and most people think he’s just a copycat of Hawk but actually he’s supposed to be a narrative parallel."
It’s a lot all at once, to the point Amada needs a moment to catch his breath. “But plot wise there's been a lot of different arcs centred around the Featherman stopping evil and villainy. The sports arc might be my favorite though. It’s about Swallow playing soccer but being nervous about not being good enough.”
“That sounds quite intriguing Amada kun,” Aigis chimes, seemingly having been sucked into what her friend has been saying. Koromaru has also moved over to her, resting his head so she can pet him as well. “Why would this Feather Swallow be insecure about his ability to perform athletically?”
“He didn’t feel like he belonged on his team, that he was only going to hold them back. But with their support he managed to help them win second place. It was really cool.”
“That sounds wonderful! Maybe I should watch this show too. Anything else I should know?” Ryoji beams to the shock of Amada. But as he turns to Aigis and then to Koromaru’s similarly intrigued faces, he tries to at least talk just a bit more. “Okay then, just a few more things.”
It’s a sudden whirlwind of Ryoji asking questions and Amada answering at lightning speed. The information varies between the best moments of the show, designing and creation of episodes, and theories on certain characters.
“And then it explodes into paper confetti!” Amada answers Aigis's own question on this show. He seems far more at ease now then when Ryoji meets him. He’s glad about that.
“Wasn’t that in episode four?” Arisato suddenly inquires, returning with everyone's orders. Amada nods, calming down a little bit. “Oh no Arisato, you're talking about the colosseum of nightmares. Mochizuki kun, don’t watch that one without at least the background information of season one episode thirteen alright?”
Ryoji nods, now knowledgeable on numerous pieces of Featherman trivia. He is nothing less than happy to know all of it and to possibly know more. But for now it’s time to eat.
Despite just being yakitori and bottled water, there's variety in each of their choices. Amada’s skewer is simple with chicken and carrots while Aigis’s also has green onions. Koromaru is given a plastic plate of meat cubes while Ryoji’s own skewer has just about everything- he also finds a fondness for the circular and crescent shapes of his onions and shiitake mushrooms. Kind of like the moon above them all.
But it’s the taste that melts in Ryoji’s mouth with his first bite. The charred texture of the meat alongside the seasoning warms his cheeks in seconds with the cold November air disappearing effortlessly.
He’d heard barbeque food was good but actually experiencing the taste in his mouth is a whole different story. It's as if he’s been sparked to life.
“This is amazing Fukuzawa! You could sell this year round honestly” he exclaims, not even caring about the possibility of burning his tongue off.
“Your thoughts are appreciated Mochizuki kun,” Fukuzawa thanks, chewing on her own personal skewer. “Sadly fate requires my assistance far more often throughout each month and day. And without Iwasaki the venture isn’t as fulfilling.”
The antique lady snickers slightly, leaning against her friend casually. “What a companion you are Fukuzawa, heh heh.” She twirls her skewer in her hands before her face somewhat sombers. “I had considered in the past doing this full time alongside selling my little trinkets but, with the apathy syndrome cases rising-”
She pauses and bites down on her food. “My little antique store is enough for me.”
The air suddenly feels quite tense, Ryoji noticing especially how Aigis stiffens completely. Every now and then there’s people just standing around here in Port island. They don’t respond or move, sometimes the news talks about them jumping off buildings and into train tracks.
Every time Ryoji can just know it happened, can feel it before anybody can know it occurred. A corpse shaded in grey paints his eyes so clearly. Ryoji wonders if his parents know about what’s been going on- and if he should tell them. If he can tell them.
Despite the concern he has over such thoughts, he lifts his head and smiles anyway. “It’s never too late. And besides, working yourself too much isn’t any good.”
And to Ryoji’s surprise Arisato nods softly, his voice a bit of a low hush. “Pace yourself. I’ve got vending machine drinks you can sell instead."
Fukuazawa laughs, genuine and understanding. “You may be right. Too much work these days seems to only bring misfortune- that’s always what I find in any case.”
Iwasaki seems to find a small amount of comfort in such words as well, enough to slide back into her Cheshire personality. “How about we just focus on tonight? Does anyone else want a few more skewers? Tonight, you five are our distinguished guests!”
Iwasaki raises her water bottle high beneath the shining moon as everyone continues eating and talking. It’s all so incredibly wonderful, Ryoji in the center of this moment. He only keeps talking with his new friends, enjoys the savoury flavor of his food, and breathes in and out like a real person.
And Arisato sits next to him. He doesn’t say much throughout the night, occupied in his music and his own hunched posture. But he doesn’t feel vacant either.
He leans against Ryoji at some point, another connection the boy finds in the world he is occupying.
Eventually all of the food and drink is finished, the small group of them having somehow cleared out the two women’s entire stock. “I must say, this is certainly a most fortunate night,” Fukuzawa commends. “Perhaps now it may be time for you all to return home.”
Right, Ryoji has to go home. A place that feels like it doesn’t quite exist. But he needs to go somewhere.
“Hey, how about I walk with you guys?” he asks, another attempt at trying not to think of the unanswerable question in front of him. At the very least they're looking at him.
Clearly beneath the moon and the slowly ticking clock, Ryoji at least feels comforted by the presence of his friends. Maybe it’ll be okay even if he doesn’t have a house, maybe it’ll be fine, he just needs to-
What?
Suddenly Ryoji is standing at the station. No school bag in hand, he brushes at his bangs trying to recall the sudden shift he undertook minutes ago. Was it minutes ago? He can’t tell.
But he’s alone, waiting for whatever train could possibly return him home. Heh, maybe it will just take him back to school. That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
Despite just how nice moments ago were, the blank space between now and then threatens to send Ryoji spiraling. He left so quickly, why did he leave so quickly? Who chose to bring him here to the concrete platform beneath his feet?
And why can’t he just have the memory of it?
Footsteps. Slow and steady Ryoji turns to find who is making those sounds. And he just finds Arisato.
“Hey. Finally found you,” he mumbles a bit out of breath. “You were in a daze and you sort of just left. Do you remember that?”
Embarrassed, Ryoji can’t help but shake his head no. He wants to say something, salvage whatever situation that is occurring to him, make it less confusing and painful to the blooming headache overcoming him. But Arisato speaks again.
“Don’t worry about it. Here” he hands a small styrofoam box to Ryoji and inside is four skewers.
“Aigis wanted to give some of the extras to you. But you left too quickly. She also wanted me to tell you, she appreciated you being here.”
Arisato scratches at the back of his head, looking away from Ryoji slightly. No matter how far away he might be, unlike him Arisato seemingly stays.
“Amada also wanted to let you know if you come by the shrine he can tell you more about Featherman. And Iwasaki says she’s got stuff you might like.”
Ryoji stands still, waiting for anything else to listen too. The train suddenly interrupts the conversation as it begins to move steadily closer and closer.
“I, um, woah,” Ryoji sheepishly replies. He can’t help but be overwhelmed. All this existance, all this information, it grows and stores itself within him. It’s so mundane and yet so grand, that even when he’s not there Ryoji is missed. The concept sends shivers and fire ablaze within him, that you could find this sort of thing here everyday.
And Arisato, the one connecting Ryoji to it all. The one who made all of these feelings exist. So slowly he smiles and easily steps forward.
“Thank you Minato. You're really kind for coming all this way for me.”
The two of them stare for a moment before the train emerges from the darkness to take Ryoji somewhere else. He steps back into it, still looking into Minato’s eyes. Cold and grey and so wonderfully beautiful.
When Ryoji finally figures out where his parents are, he wants to tell them all about tonight. He’ll tell them about the brand new friends he’s made, the experiences he got to try, all the information slowly building in his mind.
He won’t forget any of this. No matter what happens, Ryoji will remember.
At the very least, he has to try.