KazeTsuyo Week - Day 4
@kazetsuyo2020
Day 4: Water
Ship: Kakeru x Haiji
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Wordcount: 709
"Water.
Without water, there wouldn't be rain. Without rain, would there be life?"
It's pouring again, the sky screaming and venting its frustration. Projecting its woes onto the earth itself, a loud thundery storm, lighting striking the ground repeatedly. Somewhere around the Earth, a child screams, frightened by the very forces of nature. Countless adults sigh and complain.
The walls of Chikusei-so seem to shake like a leaf as unrelenting winds battered the creaky building harshly. A boy lifts his head to watch the crying of the sky, soft music playing in the background drowned out by the thunder echoing. He jolts once again, seeming to feel the tremors of lighting run through the whole building, knocking over a photo frame at the corner of his desk. The edges of his mouth pulls upwards, casting a fond gaze upon the photo as he reminisces about the past. Storms tended to calm him down.
"Hakone Ekiden." Whispering quietly, he holds the photo up towards the light, watching the light reflect off the cool metal frame. The room lights up and the boy is blinded for a moment. He braces himself, the pitter-patter of rain disrupted by yet another booming of thunder. Placing the photo frame on the desk gingerly, he picks up his pen.
His head was empty, writing whatever he wanted, letting the smooth navy-blue ink flow onto the page.
A loud crash... he blinks, placing his pen down. He thinks to himself, must've imagined that. Then, he hears a shout of surprise, judging by the voice, one of the twins. Flicking off his lamp, he gets up and heads out.
Joutarou is standing by the door, pointing at a figure. This figure looks very familiar. The boy steps forward and practically rips off the hood. Greeting with a bright smile, the figure turns to shut the door tightly behind them.
"Ha? Haiji-san?" Joutarou says and his younger brother sticks his head out from inside the kitchen, "Oh~"
The boy ushers Haiji in, giving him a change of clothes. Haiji smiles gratefully, taking them and heading to the bathroom.
"Kakeru?" A voice asks tentatively, the boy turns to face the source of the voice. "Shindou-san, do you need something?" Shindou looks briefly at where Haiji had been before, "I just woke up from a nap. Was that Haiji?" He nods and Shindou's eyes go as wide as saucers, "I have to tell Musa. Thanks."
The boy is just left standing in the hallway, the storm outside as intense as ever. He sighs and heads to his room. As he steps towards his desk, he notices that his pen had rolled onto the floor.
"Ink has water, doesn't it?" He tilts his head before turning around, "Haiji, that was fast." Haiji is all smiles as usual, ulterior motive hidden behind a mask, "Thinking?"
The boy pauses to look at him, bending down to pick up the pen afterwards, "Maybe." "You're writing again." Haiji traces his handwritten words gently, the boy smiles softly at him. Haiji purses his lips, eyes scanning over the page, eyes softening, "You're Kurahara Kakeru. You don't need to be who your parents want you to be as long as you're a good person."
"Tell them that. See if they believe you." The boy offers a lopsided smile, putting the pen into his pencil case. Then he blinks once more, processing Haiji's words, "What's with the water thing anyway?"
Mysterious smiles as usual.
"It's raining, there's water, isn't there? Ink has water. There's water in us too."
The boy chuckles, grabbing Haiji's hand, leading him out of the room, "Alright, whatever you say."
Even though he can't stop his parents from pushing their expectations in him, even though he can't stop himself from feeling stressed and suppressed, he feels lighter somehow.
They get to dinner and midway, Haiji places his chopsticks down and gives a wide grin, "Water is an essence of life, isn't it?"
"To which everyone didn't quite understand.
But, the boy... no, Kakeru smiled, he would interpret it in his own way.
He was Kurahara Kakeru.
His thoughts and actions mattered.
He wasn't lost any longer.
He found his meaning to run.
He found his partner for life.
He couldn't help it, he smiled."
