Tonight in Tokyo was slightly muggy, and Asukayama Park in the Kita Ward was filled with people seeking the cool night air.
A girl with warm chestnut-colored hair walked alone down a nearly deserted street. The faint light of the streetlamp stretched her shadow out long in step with her pace.
Perhaps due to the weather, the girl's expression looked utterly gloomy. Though she still wore her school uniform, she lacked entirely the lively, charming air of a student.
This was none other than Nagasaki Soyo.
Nagasaki Soyo carried a small shoulder bag, walking as she pondered the news she had learned from Anon at the LiveHouse "RING".
...If Sakiko is at Haneoka, why didn't she tell me?
...Sakiko, you don't want to see me?
As she walked, a figure suddenly stopped dead in the path ahead. Sensing something, Nagasaki Soyo halted her thoughts. She looked up, and when she saw who it was, the small bag slipped unthinkingly from her shoulder.
"Sakiko?"
"Soyo..."
Sakiko Toyokawa tugged at her skirt, looking somewhat distressed.
Paying no mind to Sakiko's nervous gestures, Nagasaki Soyo rushed forward to stand right in front of her. She grabbed Sakiko's hands, her expression intensely emotional.
"Sakiko, where on earth did you go? Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"Hey, Sakiko..."
"It has nothing to do with you."
"But! Everyone in crychic is..."
"crychic is already over!" Triggered by some keyword, Sakiko Toyokawa's face twisted into a terrifying look as she snapped harshly.
"Enough! Stop clinging to me!" Sakiko ruthlessly flung away the hands Soyo was gripping so tightly.
"Sakiko... I..." Soyo's voice trembled, yet she could not manage a single complete sentence.
Sakiko Toyokawa glanced sideways at the desolate Soyo, hardened her heart, and walked away. As she passed Soyo, she deliberately kept her distance, practically wearing the word "disgust" on her face.
"Don't come looking for me anymore. You have your own things to attend to, don't you? Nagasaki... Soyo-san."
The streetlamp was dim, its weak illumination catching only a girl standing soul-searched and devastated in her tracks, and a figure gradually retreating into the distance.
This farce ended with Sakiko's departure.
Hey...
Why give up the things you love? Is that the kind of life you hoped for?
Sakiko?
...
...
The muggy night pressed down like a heavy nail jammed straight into her heart, leaving her flustered and chaotic.
I do not know how much time passed, but Nagasaki Soyo was still squatting alone beneath the streetlamp, her lips continuously murmuring a single name...
...Sakiko
...Sakiko
...Sakiko
...Sakiko
Saki...
"Soyo-san?" A familiar voice came like a gentle breeze, scattering the muggy heat that had clogged the girl's heart.
It turned out that Bai Xian had just finished a phone call and planned to take a walk in the park. He never expected to find a familiar figure hiding so desolately beneath a streetlamp.
"Soyo-san? Are you alright?" Calling out the girl's name once more, the curled-up figure finally stirred.
Nagasaki Soyo covered her eyes with one hand, looking through the gaps in her fingers at Bai Xian's worried face for a very, very long time.
Suddenly, memories of Sakiko Toyokawa's harsh words flashed through her mind, and Soyo pulled her mouth into an ugly, pained smile.
...Hey, at least I still have you.
Bai Xian... big brother...
Seeing the girl's rather disheveled state, Bai Xian pulled a pale yellow handkerchief from his jacket pocket, intending to help Soyo wipe her face. But just halfway through reaching out, he hesitated and instead handed it over for the girl to do it herself.
"Um, wipe up."
"Thank you..." Taking the handkerchief, Nagasaki Soyo first wiped her eyes, and then, while pretending to wipe her face, inadvertently caught the scent lingering on the fabric.
Pure, elegant, with a hint of dendrobium orchid—it was the scent of Bai Xian...
Unable to resist taking a few more breaths of it, Soyo felt her gloomy mood instantly swept away.
"It's so late, why is Soyo-san all by herself out here?"
Seeing the girl's emotions gradually stabilize, Bai Xian asked the question he had been curious about all along.
"It's nothing. I just thought of some unhappy things." Without explaining the reason, Nagasaki Soyo put on her gentle, warm smile once more, as if nothing had happened at all.
The girl's smile made one's heart ache. Without pressing further, Bai Xian chose to drop the inquiry.
After all, even if he asked, he wouldn't get an answer, would he?
Looking at her like this...
Hesitating for a moment, Bai Xian lost his appetite for a walk. So he extended an invitation:
"Then, shall we head back? Together?"
The two lived in the same apartment building, and their flats were even on the same floor. Such an invitation was entirely reasonable.
"Yeah, Bro... Bai Xian-jun." With no reason to refuse, Soyo readily agreed.
...Bro?
Bai Xian caught that half-spoken fragment from Nagasaki Soyo, feeling slightly concerned.
...Perhaps she misspoke?
Now was not the time to overthink it; Bai Xian decided his priority was getting the girl in front of him home safely!
...
The two walked side by side along the roadside. The street, with barely a soul passing by, appeared remarkably tranquil beneath the night sky.
Bai Xian rather enjoyed this atmosphere. After all, he had come out at this hour specifically to clear his head; he never expected to "rescue" a heartbroken girl along the way.
Paying no mind to the meditating girl beside him, Bai Xian muttered to himself, "The night view around here isn't actually very nice. There are no bustling skyscrapers or streets full of neon lights. But the night breeze is cool, making one feel at ease and at peace."
Nagasaki Soyo snapped back to her senses, staring blankly at Bai Xian with his eyes closed as he took a deep breath, her gaze flickering.
At peace...
...Just being able to see you makes me feel entirely at ease and at peace...
A gentle breeze stirred the boy's silver-white hair, the pale strands shining like a starry sky beneath the moonlight.
Nagasaki Soyo squeezed the handkerchief Bai Xian had just handed her, which she had casually tucked into her pocket, her heart beating wildly.
She couldn't help recalling that poem:
...After the drums beat, we call the heart dancing in the dark the moon, and this moon is made mostly of you.
A moment later, Nagasaki Soyo reined in her expression. To mask her inner thoughts, she teased playfully, "Then what kind of nocturnal creature is Bai Xian-jun? An owl?"
"Hahahaha, if you want to think of it that way, I suppose so~"
"Then can I call you White Cat-jun?"
"I suppose you could, but aren't owls not cats?"
"Oh, how petty. A man who obsesses over such trivial details won't be liked by any girls, you know?"
"None of your business!" Bai Xian pouted indignantly, pulling a long, exaggerated face.
"Pfft, hahahahaha..." Seeing the childish boy's funny face, Nagasaki Soyo laughed from the bottom of her heart.
Seeing the girl's sweet smile, Bai Xian nodded with a sense of accomplishment, even though he hadn't really done anything.
Well, I still worked hard, myself.
...Hehe, she's not sad anymore.
...
The two walked for a long time until they finally returned to Awalu Tower, the duplex apartment building where they both lived.
Stepping into the elevator, the two stood in relative silence.
Ding—
They reached their target floor. The elevator doors opened, and the two prepared to head to their respective homes.
As the moment of parting drew near, Nagasaki Soyo stepped out of the elevator, turned to face the boy, and mustered her courage.
"White Cat-jun, please wait a moment."
"What... is it?" Taken aback by the sudden call, Bai Xian stopped his forward steps and asked with some confusion.
"Don't... forget me..."
Before Bai Xian could react, he was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace by the girl. Without a single word, after just a brief moment, Soyo fled as if running for her life.
Leaving Bai Xian standing dazed in place.
...Huh?
...What on earth, seriously...
Unable to puzzle out the girl's meaning, Bai Xian shook his head, found his door number, unlocked it, and went inside.
Wait, did I forget something?
(Handkerchief: I'll stick with you in the next life too.)
——————————
(Today's match: Long-term vegetarian wins!)
Red Sun Fun Fact: Soyo (そよ) means "gentle breeze blowing" in Japanese.
...
The wind is soft, the moon is clear, calming the restlessness with the sound of fireflies. So desolate and frail, much like the grievance of an old friend.