Crowbar (Alternate First Meeting)
Hi guys! This here short story is my first participation in Adrigami Week! I was planning on posting it yesterday, seeing as it’s following the “Alternate First Meeting” prompt, but the time got away from me. Idk if it’s still eligible for the official reblog or not, but I still had a blast writing it all the same. Enjoy! (Contains very mild profanity)
Her lip was bleeding. For whatever reason, Kagami chose to focus on this minute aspect out of all the other injuries she’d sustained. She dabbed it with a paper towel.
Kagami couldn’t recall how she’d gotten like this. There was so much she couldn’t recall, and the staggering immensity of all her forgotten experiences had weighed down on her for so long that when she found herself in a bathroom without a clue as to how she’d gotten there, she was able to handle the newfound situation better than someone who hadn’t been through what she had.
The only thing that confused Kagami was that her clothes were in perfect condition, despite her face being bloody and streaked with dirt. In fact, they looked as though they’d just been sewn by a master tailor.
She brushed the puzzlement aside - she couldn’t linger here in this mysterious bathroom. Lingering got you killed.
The door opened easily at her touch, and Kagami examined the bedroom that it led into. The walls were painted in an eye-catching shade of purple, but the bed itself was small and plain. Kagami also noticed that there was no furniture other than a small nightstand and that the window was broken. It framed the outside world in jagged glass.
This aforementioned outside world was cloudy and bleak. Based on how damp the street appeared, Kagami concluded it must’ve rained recently. The buildings matched the clouds in their shade of gray, with windows just as broken as the one Kagami was using as an observation point. No street signs were visible. No vehicles, no animals, no people. Not even wind.
Kagami couldn’t care less about the lack of other individuals; her attention was pinpointed on the crowbar leaning casually against the building opposite. Without a second’s hesitation, she kicked away the rest of the glass and crawled expertly out of the window.
She didn’t know how she knew there’d be a fire escape, but resolved not to ponder on it, because every second she didn’t have the crowbar was a second where it could fall into the possession of someone else. Crowbars were tools; tools were extremely helpful.
By the time Kagami had raced down the stairs leading to the ground, she could notice how old and rusty the crowbar was. In retrospect, it probably wouldn’t be much use against some of the more contemporary weapons others owned, but in times like these, Kagami would take anything she could get.
In no time, she had dashed across the street and grasped the crowbar in her right hand. Flakes of deceased metal fell to the ground like rotten snow as she twirled it experimentally. Even if it fell apart in combat, it was nevertheless pretty maneuverable.
Kagami turned around instead, searching for the voice’s master. She found the man in question stepping out the adjacent alleyway. His face was hidden under an old halloween mask, but Kagami could see he was wearing a green rain jacket and pointing a pistol in her direction.
Was it a pistol? Further examination led Kagami to realize it was no such thing; it was a water gun, and she almost pitied the hopeless idiot who brandished it at her.
“I said drop it!” the man shouted, though not very loudly.
“You know that’s not a real gun, right?” Kagami asked nonchalantly, deciding to break the truth to him.
The man lowered the toy firearm and hung his head. “Damn it.”
“Wait, you already knew?” said Kagami in disbelief. “Why on Earth would you use a water gun instead of, I don’t know, an actual one?”
“I’m a pacifist,” admitted the man, sounding guilty. “I’m a believer of nonviolence.”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but nonviolence fell out of fashion a while back,” said Kagami, not knowing where she’d heard it from.
“Well, I always favored the old styles over the new,” the man said. “You hungry? I’ve got some food.”
Kagami’s mouth fell open in spite of herself. Who did this airhead think he was? You didn’t just go around offering people food. But before she’d even responded, he started walking over to her, removing his mask in the process.
Based off his recent actions, Kagami was expecting him to look innocent and tame, and she was not disappointed. However, she hadn’t foreseen blond hair and green eyes. She hadn’t expected him to look this... well, attractive.
“I’m Adrien, by the way,” he said, plopping his butt on the pavement and taking off his previously concealed backpack. “What’s your name?”
“I’m not about to tell you my name!” Kagami cried exasperatedly. “I know nothing about you!”
Adrien, who’d previously been busy unpacking, looked up at Kagami closely for the first time. His eyes widened after locking with hers and he dropped the box of Ritz crackers he’d been taking out.
After a few uncomfortable seconds, Kagami demanded, “What?”
Adrien flinched violently and faced the ground, blushing. “Nothing.”
“Why were you staring at me for so long?” persisted Kagami.
“N-No reason!” Adrien stammered embarrassedly.
“Then why were you doing it?”
Kagami decided not to push the topic and begrudgingly sat down; she hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now.
“So...” began Adrien slowly, seeming to regain some of his previous placidity. “I never did learn your name.”
“We’re not there yet,” Kagami grumbled, snatching a plastic-wrapped sandwich out of his hands.
“Well, what are you doing ‘round these parts?” Adrien asked curiously, putting his chin in his hands.
“None of your business,” snapped Kagami, losing some of her intimidation skills to a mouthful of grilled cheese.
“Awful,” Kagami replied, even though it was delicious.
Adrien laughed hard. “You’re funny!”
“What’s your problem?” asked Kagami sternly. “You know nothing about me, I could’ve killed you without hesitation as soon as you came over here!”
“And yet you didn’t!” Adrien pointed out cheerfully.
Kagami took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. “Adrien, wasn’t it?”
Adrien nodded and smiled, seeming delighted that she’d remembered his name.
“Adrien, I don’t know what miracle allowed you to survive for this long, but in our society’s current state, you might not be around much longer. I suggest you drop this puppy dog attitude and learn to fend for yourself.”
“Why learn to fend for myself when we can fend for each other?” asked Adrien earnestly.
The sincereness of this question, contrasting with the playfulness Adrien had exhibited, caught Kagami off guard for a moment, though she soon regained her bearings.
“Adrien, no offense, but you’d be dead weight,” she stated. “Even if I wanted to stick around with you, my memory kinda wipes itself clean every six hours or so, only holding on to the most treasured information - my name, my personality, how to speak, how to read and write, knowing what stuff is, and the like.”
“No way!” exclaimed Adrien, before Kagami could continue. “I have the same thing! That’s why I started a diary!”
He zipped open his backpack again and retrieved a worn leather-bound book. Adrien opened it and showed Kagami its messily written contents.
“I originally didn’t remember how to write,” he explained, flipping through some pages to get to the beginning, “but I was able to relearn! It took like a year, though.”
Kagami peered at the even messier scrawl of a younger Adrien. She was shocked to see his name spelled incorrectly with crayon.
“How long’ve you been on your own?” she asked uncertainly.
“About twenty years, I think,” Adrien answered dismissively. “I can’t know for certain, I didn’t relearn how to understand a calendar until someone took me in when I was... fourteen, maybe?”
“Someone took you in?” inquired Kagami.
Suddenly, Adrien’s face began filled with sorrow and loneliness. “Yeah... yeah, I don’t like thinking about that.”
Noticing how sympathetically Kagami was gazing at him, Adrien quickly plastered his old smile back on. “That doesn’t really matter. Now I’ve got you!”
Kagami hesitated. One of the instincts her memory’d held onto was avoiding people, but Adrien seemed different. He in the same situation she was in, and he’d shown her kindness. Besides, it’d be nice to have a companion, and Adrien’s diary probably contained scores of valuable information to help the duo survive.
Even if not for all those reasons, there was something else, though Kagami wasn’t sure what it was yet. For whatever reason, Adrien made her feel relaxed, happy even. She didn’t know why, but he did.
“Okay, Adrien,” she said resignedly. “You can stick with me.”
Adrien’s face lit up with gratitude, and before she knew it, Kagami found herself buried in a hug. It was warm and comforting.
“Thank you so much!” Adrien said happily.
“No problem, Adrien,” sighed Kagami, already having her doubts.
Adrien released her and scooped up his backpack. They both stood up.
“Where are we headed?” he asked.
“West,” responded Kagami mechanically. “It won’t make too much of a difference, but we need all the sunlight we can get.”
The two started to walk. After trekking for about a minute, Adrien spoke again.
“You never did tell me what your name is.”
Kagami smiled softly and rolled her eyes. “It’s Kagami.”
“Kagami,” repeated Adrien thoughtfully. “I like that name.”
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