On the foggy roads, a female student was waiting for the first person to walk past her as she could ask her fortune for them.
She took a glance to see someone with his hands on his hips walking towards the road she stood. She quickly covered her face with a notebook and stuttered, asking him. "Um, uh. Excuse me."
"Hm?" The man hummed and stopped walking as he asked the girl. "Why, young lady... Are you hiding your face with a notebook?"
"Well... um... I'm sorry to bother you. But could you tell me my fortune?" She asked.
"What? Your fortune?"
"Yes... I know it's rude coming from a stranger, but..."
The man laughed, cutting her off. "Haha. So this is that crossroads fortune, is it? I've been hearing a lot of students around here have been into that lately. But I'm not sure if I'm the right person to tell your fortune."
"It's all right. It has to be the first person who comes by. And everyone says the fortunes are better when the fog's thick." The girl replied, and the man then asked her what she wanted to know.
"So then... what did you want to ask about?"
"Yes... um. My love life..." The girl said.
The man placed his hand on his chin as he thought in his head. "I see. Your love life, is it? All right, I'll give it a go. Hmm... from what I can see, romance will bloom for you! Try taking the lead."
"Okay. Thank you very much!" The girl said before she walked away and disappeared into the fog.
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Ryuusuke watched the foggy town through the train's window. The woman beside him was his mother, Mrs. Fukada.
"The fog's getting thicker. Almost at Nazumi station. Your father should be there to pick us up." She then took a look at the fog as she commented about it. "Looks like the foggy weather in this town hasn't changed in the eight years we've been gone. I hope the movers don't get into an accident."
She then noticed her son was absent-minded with a blank face. "What's wrong, Ryuusuke? You seem a little down. Do you miss our old home? We used to live here when you were small, you know. You might end up running into your friends from kindergarten."
"You're right, mom. And I don't really miss the old place." He answered as he was still watching the view until his mother mentioned someone familiar.
"You still remember (Y/N), your old friend you always slept over at her house, right?"
Ryuusuke nodded without replying as he was thinking to himself with a small smile.
"I hope for you to see her again. She may stay in the same school. You both will meet again after all ten years."
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"𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐝'𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧..."
Ryuusuke and Mrs. Fukada arrived at the train station, they met with Mr. Fukada who was waving at them.
"Hey! Over here!"
"Were you waiting long, honey?" Mrs. Fukada said with a smile.
"No, I just got here." He replied.
"And what about the movers?"
"They just finished bringing everything in. On my way here, I got asked to do a crossroads fortune."
"Crossroads fortune?" She repeated.
"You know, that fortune-telling thing they've been doing around here for ages. You stand at an intersection and get a good or bad fortune from the first person who comes along. It's a strange, ancient Japanese folkway. You don't see it in other places anymore. But it's been really popular here lately with the kids."
He then noticed Ryuusuke standing quietly with sweat dripping on his cheeks, so he asked him with concern. "Ryuusuke? What's wrong? C'mon, hurry up."
Ryuusuke didn't say anything but he then followed his parents into the car, driving back to their old house.
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~At school~
"I want to introduce a new classmate. This is Ryuusuke Fukada. He actually used to live in Nazumi years ago, so some of you might already know him." The teacher said as Ryuusuke stood beside him.
The bell rang as it was break time. The girls began to gossip about how good he looked while the boys approached him.
"He's pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah. Lucky we got him in our class."
"Remember me? We used to play swords all the time in kindergarten." The boy said, pointing to himself. Ryuusuke rubbed his head as he couldn't remember him. "Not really... Sorry." Ryuusuke replied before he heard a girl's voice called out. "Hey! Remember me?"
He turned to see a girl with her brown hair tied into a ponytail with bangs covering her forehead. "We went to the same kindergarten. I totally remember you, Ryuusuke."
He remembered her immediately as he smiled widely and pointed at her. "Oh! Midori, is that you?"
"Yup! So you do remember me!" Midori said with a smile.
Suddenly, the door slid open, and the two turned to see the girl with (H/L) (H/C) hair and (E/C) eyes enter the classroom. "What's going on in here?" You asked, seeming confused about what was going on.
"(Y/N), Guess who this is!" Midori called as she gestured to Ryuusuke with her finger.
You stayed silent for a minute before you gasped with happiness, the same with Ryuusuke.
"Ryuusuke?!"
"(Y/N)?!"
You went to hug him and he hugged you back, Midori chuckled as she watched you both reunite again.
"It's been so long! I thought I never get to see you again!" You said as you broke the hug.
"Me too!" He replied as you and he laughed happily together.
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~Timeskip~
"𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐭. 𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐘/𝐍) (𝐋/𝐍) 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧. (𝐘/𝐍)'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."
You three walked back home with Suzue Tanaka, Midori's friend.
"Ryuusuke, this is our best friend, Suzue Tanaka. She's in class B." Midori introduced her to him as you were listening to them talking.
"Nice to meet you." Suzue greeted.
"Same here." He replied.
"You're all the girls in my class can talk about, Ryuusuke. They're all, 'This hot guy transferred to our school'. But they've given up on winning you over since you have Midori and (Y/N)."
"Whoa! Suzue! What are you talking about? We're not..." Midori stuttered before you cut her off with a playful smile.
"But you're the most popular girl in school, Midori. Every boy will bow for your love."
"(Y/N)!" Midori lightly slapped your arm, you chuckled playfully before you quickly apologized for teasing her.
"(Y/N)'s right. Midori's really popular, you know, Ryuusuke. Inspiring love in all the boys. And inspiring them to do crossroads fortunes, hm? Who knows how many of them are standing at intersections, asking about their future with Midori. Right, Midori?"
"Stop it. Ryusuke's going to believe you! After all, you're the one they're asking about, Suzue." Midori said as you hummed with a nod, agreeing with her. "And anyway, it's not like those fortunes are ever right. It's a waste of time. So stupid."
"Oh my... That's not true! Hayakawa from class A was in love with an eighth-grader. So she went for the fortune-telling and got told to take the lead. So she did, and now she and the guy are head over heels for each other."
"But... how much power is there really in the words of someone who happens to pass by?" Midori said, you then suddenly joined the conversation.
"And what if you meet with the person who gives you a bad fortune? That would be worse."
Your comment made the girls agree. "There's always a risk with fortune-telling. And the personality of that first person to come along... That's also part of your fortune."
"I guess so." You and Midori said as Suzue turned to Ryuusuke.
"What do you think, Ryuusuke? You know about crossroads fortune-" You and Suzue noticed his face as she said his name. "Ryuusuke?"
"You shouldn't do that crossroads fortune thing..."
After he said, he quickly walked ahead of you while Midori and Suzue were confused about him. "What's wrong with him?"
You watched him walk away as you knew why he acted like that.
Suddenly, your phone rang loudly, startling you three. You apologized to them before you picked up to see it was from your mother.
"Mom, hello? What is it?"
"I'm sorry, my dear! I forgot my purse back at the store, can you get it for me when you come back?" Your mother said with her voice slightly panicky.
"Yes, Mom. But which store?"
She told you the location which was slightly far from your house and needed to pass the crossroad for a shortcut.
"I'm sorry, guys. But I have to do something for my mom. I have to go now, see you later tomorrow." You shouted with your hand waving to Midori and Suzue. You sprinted to the store without turning back to them.
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~Ryuusuke's House~
Ryuusuke looked at the fog through his window before he closed the curtain.
"Foggy again today." He went to sit down on the chair as he kept thinking. "The fortune seekers are gonna be standing at the intersections again tonight. Probably all asking the same thing: 'Will I find love?' Aaah... I get chills just thinking about it."
He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes to relax.
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~Meanwhile~
A short brown-haired girl with freckles on her cheeks was waiting for someone to answer her fortune.
She took a peek to see someone was coming with loud footsteps.
"Someone's coming."
As that person approached closer, she shielded her face with a school bag and asked the person. "Uh, um. I'm sorry to bother you. But could you tell my fortune? I mean... about my love life..."
She lowered her bag to take a look at the person, or so I thought.
The man has pale skin, jet black hair, wearing all black, red lips, and pierced ears but his orbs were milky white.
"Will I... find love?"
The man was silenced for a moment before he replied with a cold voice.
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡... 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚."
He then walked away, leaving the girl speechless while holding her bag.
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You sighed deeply as you looked at your mother's purse in your hand. "How could she forget something important like this? Luckily, there isn't anyone who has stolen it yet." You mumbled under your breath.
You walked through the alleyway and you noticed that there was so foggy today.
You turned sharply without realizing a passerby coming in your direction, you got bumped into someone and lost balance on your feet.
You staggered with your hands in the air as you closed your eyes, preparing for the pain but the person you bumped wrapped their arm around your waist, preventing you from hitting the ground.
You felt the coldness of it, making you chilled to the bone, you stood up again as you bowed to thank them.
"Sorry to bump on you, mister. And thank you for catching me. I would have fallen if it wasn't for you."
You opened your eyes to look at his feet before slowly looking up to meet his face.
You were surprised by his looks and his eyes, he was quite handsome for you but you felt the danger from this man.
"𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙." The man said, looking down at you.
You nodded slightly before you bent down to get the purse as he asked you a question.
"𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙚?"
"No. I was returning to my house." You gripped the purse as you felt his eyes burn into yours. You also felt familiar with this man somehow like you had met him before. "I'm sorry. Have we met before?"
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚?"
"Who are you?" You asked him a very ridiculous question, you quickly turned away with a pink tint on your cheeks.
"What am I thinking?! So stupid! Why do you ask like that?!"
The man smirked with his lips up slightly.
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙄 𝙖𝙢?"
He turned your face by cupping your right cheek with his hand and bent his face down to your height. You were still surprised by the coldness of his hand like there wasn't any warmth in it. "What?" You mumbled as you frowned in confusion.
"𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡~"
He twirled the strand of your hair as you became flustered about his action.
"𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙚."
He then slowly let go of his hand on your cheek and walked past you. You couldn't move any muscle until the fog disappeared around the area.
You blinked two times before you turned around to see none.
"Who's that guy?"
You touched the place he laid his hand on, it was so cold like ice. You rubbed your eyes as if you thought it was just an illusion or delusion. But the feel of his hand made you certain that it was real.
"He seems like the dangerous guy. What should I do?"