𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙍𝙔 𝙉𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 〉c. matsuno

two

summer time breezes we always made out to be some sort of nostalgic memory that only felt fully understandable as age came . although , at the ripe age of 12 , this probably wasn ' t as much the case yet . in the end , the only purpose it served was providing the bit of coolness to take away from the daytime heat of tokyo .

to [ name ] , the sole purpose of summer was a sign that eating popsicles and instant noodles while flipping through the the tv channels would be permitted . summertime went by slowly , but if all that only meant more time in between the transition from elementary to middle school . perhaps the universe ' s way of granting a gift for having successfully passed their entrance exams . the convenience store across the road was somewhat close to their residence , just across the stress and past the miniature playground .

for a moment , the memory of the strange blonde haired boy and his cat seemed to flash through briefly , triggering that sense of deja vu . with that came an internalized though of how he must be doing , whether he still remembered them , and so much more . was that feeling what adults referred to as nostalgia ? if so , then it felt quite lonely . and perhaps it was this nostalgia that seemed to resurface upon approaching that same play structure , seeing a blonde boy resting against it with his eyes just barely open .

as his lids slowly opened up , a brief flashback from 5 years ago seemed to play through their minds , triggered just by making eye contact with a pair of green eyes , ones that seemed to shine just like emeralds , despite the still darkness . puberty had definitely begun slowly sculpting the 7 year old boy from back then , as his eyes now were less huge and seemed to fit his face better . additionally his cheeks were less puffed upwards from previous years , although that may have just been due to the fact that he was no longer crying . small acne scars dotted his face , along with mini bruises that were messily covered with bandaids . not only that , but a small trickle of crimson liquid ran down his nose .

" what are you staring at ? " his voice now sounding much less high pitched and with a hint of something else . intimidation ?

rather than responding , [ name ] reached into one of the pockets of the jacket to pull out a small pack of tissues , extending it out towards the boy . " at least take care of yourself first before you try and pick another fight . "

a mere scoff seemed to resonate from his diaphragm before yanking a couple tissues from the opened up pack . " whatever . I don ' t need the lecture . "

" if you insist . " was all [ name ] replied with before promptly taking a seat next to the nose bleeding boy . however , this only seemed to surprise him due to what seemed to be a complete stranger now making themselves comfortable . an expression of pure surprise and confusion pained his facial features .

" what ? " an eyebrow was slowly raised as [ name ] crossed their legs over one another , " it might have been a while since we last saw each other , chifuyu , but we ' re not strangers . "

their response only startled the boy even more as he suddenly shot up into a higher shearing position , leaning over towards the other individual . " how — how did you know my name ? "

" huh ? " an irritated expression formed on the other ' s face as they turn to look at the blonde boy , " do you seriously not remember me ? gosh , maybe I should have kept kuro for myself . maybe then your memory of me would be clearer . "

the speed at which the cogs within the 12 year old ' s brain were turned suddenly sped up as he jumped to his feet to start down at the other individual . " you ! " he called out , " but that was , like , years ago . how can you remember that ? ! "

" you don ' t ? " a pouting expression began to form on their face , as a sudden guilt crept up on chifuyu , not feeling ashamed to admit the truth .

" well , not completely . and his name ' s peke ! " he suddenly called out , upset with [ name ] ' s attempt to rename his own cat . the audacity .

" peke , kuro , same thing , " they said dismissively , " anyways , when do I get to play with him again ? " once again their eyes seemed to light up , perhaps the fourth time chifuyu had been able to witness it .

" it ' s not a thing ! peke is a , uh , a living animal with a personality ! " chifuyu stubbornly argued . " plus , he doesn ' t like strangers . "

" but I ' m not a stranger ! I ' ve know him from years ago ! " they persisted .

" yeah , like 5 years ago . peke ' s more selective now . " he said , crossing his arms .

the news of this seemed to caused a small frown on their face , the bit of twinkling sparkle in their eyes dying out . all that was left was the awkward silence of the summer breeze rustling through the tree branches and leaves .

" how long can you stay ? "

" huh ? " chifuyu breaking the silence resulted in a surprised reaction from [ name ] , who had believed their conversation was over now .

" peke doesn ' t like leaving the house , but he should be fine inside . but my mom works home late and I still have to get dinner ready — "

" an hour . " the sudden answer that interrupted chifuyu ' s explanation resulted in him turning to face them . " my curfew ends at 9 . so I can stay an hour . "

at this answer did , a grin on the boy ' s face slowly begin to form as he turned and motioned for them to follow along . " an hour it is . " he agreed , resulting in a huge grin from the other , along with that same bright eyed expression , as they followed along with a cheerful , " mhm ! " and humming .

the opening song of sailor moon . that was the tune to which [ name ] had been humming during the walk . there were no forward lyrics , perhaps even the beat wasn ' t correct , but accompanied with the sound of dead leaves crunching at their feet and the stiff pavement , a new memory slowly found it ' s way into chifuyu ' s mind , along with that oft gag one snowy night , and a grinning figure clad in oversized clothing .

" a clear sky , " [ name ] ' s abrupt voice that broke through the sounds of them humming caused chifuyu to look up as well , " that means good luck . "

the deep blue sky slowly came to light past the fluorescent street lamps , as stars painted the endless canvas . some were larger than others , some possibly too small to see . but all of them twinkled brightly and individually , just like that of the light within [ name ] ' s eyes , back then , and even now .

and the moon ? it looked beautiful out tonight .