“Hm... Maybe... No, he doesn’t like that at all...”
One winter day found Tasuku perusing the shelves of a nearby toy store for gift ideas. The orphanage Tasuku had become acquainted with had little money to spare for gifts for the children, and yet so many of the kids had come to Tasuku asking them if they were on Santa’s naughty or nice list.
Tasuku remembered when he had believed in Santa. His parents had taught him to be good for the sake of being good, but like any child, he couldn’t deny that he had wanted a reward for his exemplary behaviour as well.
But more than that... How long had it been since he had stopped believing? After his parents had died, probably, when he wished to Santa every night for his parents to come back to him and wondered why they hadn’t appeared under the cheap, plastic tree he had purchased with what little money he had. The sadness and loneliness from realizing that wish could never be granted...
Tasuku wouldn’t wish that kind of sadness on any child.
“Oh...!”
A wide array of stuffed animals caught his eye on the bottom shelf, and he knelt down to inspect them.
“Hmm... Yeah, this could work... He mentioned he really wanted one of these...”
He shuffled to the left, looking for a particular stuffed animal...until his head collided into someone else’s.
“Ow...! Oh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was--”
Following their little disagreement and the subsequent close call, Kazuma found himself hanging out at Aichi’s house a lot more. Today was one of those times; Chrono had insisted that Kazuma come over today, and Kazuma begrudgingly gave in.
He lounged on the couch as Chrono cooked up a storm, raising his eyebrows at the recent...changes that had taken place recently.
“So, uh... I saw a hole in the lawn. Y’know, through the boarded up windows. What exactly happened here?”
After getting in touch with Kazuma, the other had come and scooped up Taiyou from Sector oo3 and escorted him down to Aichi’s mansion, confirming that a certain someone he was anxious to see had still been here.
Was he still in the same room down in the basement with Tasuku?
The very second Kazuma opened the doors to the mansion, Taiyou burst through and ran past the others, at least giving a wave to Shion, Misaki, and the others, then barreled downstairs until he was face to face with the closed door.
Recognizing the fact he was a little too excited, he straightened himself up and took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. "Okay.”
“...” But he just couldn’t keep his composure. Taiyou opened the door and rain straight for Chrono, little arms latching around his senior’s waist with the brightest smile.
“I was so worried you wouldn’t be here anymore! I’m back, Chrono-san!”
It had been almost two weeks since Tasuku woke up in Spirale. His arrival mirrored that of many others: a rude awakening by the giant pit in the middle of the city, and the subsequent ferrying away by an insistent cab driver in a dilapidated taxi that Tasuku feared would break down in the middle of the highway. The first week had been spent searching for a way out, but that availed nothing. Even though Tasuku had distinct memories of trying to venture out of the city limits, he would always wake up in bed with no recollection of how he got there. Having exhausted his options for the time being, Tasuku simply set about to scoping out Spirale’s layout.
A single glance from a high vantage point told Tasuku all he needed to know. The city--perhaps the entire island--had been the zone of a disaster. The landscape was something that Tasuku was all too familiar with... Just looking out at the rubble, the skeletons of buildings that once reached into the sky, the upturned trees and cracks in the cement made Tasuku feel sick to his stomach and brought back the memories that he had locked away in the deepest recesses of his mind. He descended to the ground shortly after, with Jack at his side, and elected not to fly again unless it was absolutely necessary.
And then, the dreams began.
They were very vague dreams at first; formless visions that manifested as white fog, and voices echoing around that he couldn’t make out. He saw the fog every night and woke up feeling confused--and most of all, empty. Jack, always observing his Buddy worriedly (especially after the certain events that had come to pass in their home world), eventually questioned Tasuku about his fitful sleep, but Tasuku could only smile sheepishly in response.
“To be honest, I don’t even know what’s wrong. I’ve just been having weird dreams lately, and I always wake up feeling like I’m missing something...”
“But that’s kind of weird, isn’t it? I mean, you would think I would remember something so important, right? I’m probably just overthinking it is all.”
In spite of Tasuku’s dismissal, Jack continued to scrutinize the boy’s face for any sign of distress.
“Are you still feeling effects from your time as the Purgatory Knight?”
But Tasuku shook his head, trying to swallow the guilt at the sound of that title.
“No, I have a feeling that it has nothing to do with anything related to the dark core. This is completely different... That’s the only thing I’m sure of.”
But with no leads to follow, the two could only let the topic die as they figured out their next course of action...
“Tasuku-kun, do you mind bringing these supplies to the shelters in the park today? We need to get them to the children there.”
“Got it. Leave it to me. I think we should be able to take them all in one trip.”
“Are you sure? They’re pretty heavy...”
“Don’t worry, I’m stronger than I look. I’ve got Jack to help me too if things go awry.” He nodded his head in Jack’s direction; the Armordragon had managed to take on a human form so as to avoid arousing suspicion in an area where Buddy monsters didn’t seem to be commonplace.
“You’re as reliable as ever, Tasuku-kun. Thanks for your help. Oh, there’s another volunteer there today. Didn’t get his name, though, he just kind of up and started helping out with the kids... He’s pretty good with them, though. He’s a red-haired kid... Probably a little older than you, and he’s got this weird swirl on his head. You think you could work with him? It might be faster that way.”
Red swirly head? “Sure thing, I’ll talk to him if he’s still there.”
With that, Tasuku hefted the boxes into his arms and began walking. Once they were out of sight, Jack reverted back into his mini dragon form and simply floated beside him, watching the teetering stack of supplies as they carefully made their way through the damaged streets.
“Watch the cracks over there, Tasuku. The ground is pretty uneven here.”
“Thanks, Jack. The park shouldn’t be that much further...huh?”
A shock of red stood out among the greens, browns, and grays of the ruined park. Red-hair, with a funny swirl... This must’ve been the boy that the other volunteer was talking about. But as Tasuku drew closer, the other boy’s appearance became more pronounced, and Tasuku realized that his heart was pounding.
Why does he feel so...
“Tasuku?”
It was only after Jack called him that Tasuku realized he had stopped walking. And the other boy was looking his way now. Tasuku quickly forced the strange feeling aside and briskly walked over with the boxes.
“Excuse me... You’re helping with the rations today, right? I just came from the shelter in the city for a supply run. There should be enough for all of the kids here.”
He placed the boxes down onto the ground, then looked up to meet the other boy’s bright green eyes.
It was a nice Saturday morning. The warm sunlight leaked through the curtains, casting small beams on the blanket that Tasuku was curled up under. His pillows were so soft and inviting, and the bed was so warm, and against his better judgement, Tasuku just wanted to sleep the rest of the day away. In his sleepy stupor, he didn’t notice that he was the sole occupant on the bed, nor was he yet aware of the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen and into the room...
“......”
So the dozy Tasuku continued to drift in and out of sleep on this perfectly normal Saturday morning.
An intense aura permeated through the store festively decorated with red and pink. The source was a heavily contemplative Tasuku, who stood before a colourful display and stared fiercely at the boxes of chocolate on sale.
“Hm... That box has less dark chocolate in it... But it also has the chocolates with strawberry filling... He loves strawberry...”
“Which would he like more...”
He continued murmuring to himself, unaware that his boyfriend had coincidentally entered the same store and had made a beeline towards him...
“You know, when I was at home, I never thought things like ‘it’d be nice to be able to relax a little’...”
Tasuku and Chrono were spending a quiet evening together on New Year’s Eve as the streets were filled with raucous celebration. Gracious enough to receive a holiday for the last few days of 2017, the two were indulging in one another’s company, as well as the food that Chrono had just cooked for them.
“But ever since meeting you, I feel like I’ve begun thinking that a lot more. Maybe it’s because you’re always here waiting for me.”
"It’s a little worrying! Does it mean I’ve become lazier?”
