How I met Konzen Douji, you ask? It’s not really a complicated story. The first time I saw him was my first year in the academy. The first day, the first ceremony led by the Tentei. I stood by him in the line, basked in the beaming grouch coming off the scowl on his face. Ah, it was unforgettable. I’d draw it if I had to ability to, just to show you.
But that wasn’t why I’d been drawn, no. While after the lengthy speech had ended, he stood still, both elbows remaining on his palms the duration after the cue to give the old fart a hand had gone. As my fingers danced in both my pockets, I watched Konzen Douji silently defy the Jade Emperor. Well against the grain, well against the gawks and taunts of the professors that watched us not applaud.
Ah, did I mention we were at the first row? My bad~
I never forgot him. He wasn’t hard to notice in Heaven’s crowd. Graceful, always poised. Prim and proper. You could say he stood out. Everyone knew the god with the golden hair and beautiful face.
A nephew of the Goddess of Mercy? You could say he was the popular kid. A Princely Young Man of the sorts. Oh-so famous for exploding temper and a sharp tongue, he spoke his mind. What he wanted. What he never wanted. And then, he gets away with it. Not because he was the nephew but because he was Konzen Douji. A true palace brat. Nobody likes a palace brat.
You could say he was my favorite.
There wasn’t anyone in this congregation of faceless faces who’d held onto my fleeting attention as much as Konzen Douji did.
You could say I wanted him to be my friend.
We’ve crossed paths so many times, the number’s beyond my fingers and toes combined. Each time, I flashed a smile hoping to entice. Garner any kind of reaction at all. But the number itself didn’t matter, you know. Because the number of times he’d return those smiles back to me was zero. Hah!
Ah, he was interesting that way.
The day I met Konzen Douji wasn’t an important story. ‘Guess the better one would’ve been the story of how Konzen Douji met me. Around these hours, I’d usually find him striding the Academy halls never not stone-faced. I watched him approach from the other end of corridor, sour per usual. And per usual, possibly expecting a smile from me.
I felt it. He was ready to shrug off my smile as a part of this daily dancing. A routine that I have been dying to break one day. I thought: Perhaps today would be that day.
And so, I walked on. Didn’t even steal a glance. Just straight up passed the man by like he wasn’t there. Did that do it?