Untamed Heart ✨

Chapter 20 - Hanabi Festival

I hang onto the bannister firmly connected to the set of white-painted stairs. "Almost there" I huff to myself, hopping up the last few steps, a steel door blocking the connection between me and the night's fresh air. I stride over to it, gently turning the handle to see if it will open. It'd be quite a dilemma if it didn't. Upon turning the cold handle, the door clicks and slowly swings open, revealing a surprisingly large rooftop space. I step out from where I just was, scanning around to see groups of people waiting, some speaking to each other about various things, some on their phones, some even playing with a small yet fluffy Japanese Spitz. I walk on further, taking in the atmosphere of being so high up, the moon shining down on everything around me. I wonder if Tatsuo is already here. I didn't see him at first, but I wasn't really focused on looking for him. I check the time on my phone, my clothes blowing with the sudden gust of wind, small children wailing and giggling as they chase each other around. "Nice up here isn't it?" a voice says, my head instinctively turning to the right to see who's speaking. I don't know this person. They're relatively tall, medium-length hair tied up as well. I notice they're also relatively close to me, which I'm not a huge fan of at all. "Y- Yeah" I mumble, turning away to signal I'm uncomfortable, and don't want to give him the attention. They step a little closer, looking down at me confused. "You can speak up a little you know, I don't bite" they calls to me over the wind and the array of shouting. "I'd rather not speak to people I don't know..." I mutter, trying my hardest to show as little interest as possible. There's a short pause before they start speaking again. "Hm why don't we get to know each other then?" they ask, placing a large hand on my shuddering arm. I jump out of my skin, turning to him for the first time since we made contact, struggling to pull away. "P- Please stop" I say loudly clenching my hand into a fist behind my back. I hope someone close will hear if I speak loudly, and see the situation I'm in. Tatsuo better hurry up. "Cmon don't be like that I just wanna have some fun" they utter once more, their lips awfully close to my ear. I tremble at the words, convulsing almost. With no regard for making a scene, I take my fist and swing at him, landing the hardest blow I can against their stomach. They wince upon the punch connecting, coughing and retching as if I've winded them. I quickly step back and look around. Nobody has really seemed to notice the situation. I realise there's no real place for me to run either... I turn back to them, noticing they've gathered themselves finally, staring over at me with dagger eyes. "You're dead" they mouth to me, waving a fist out in front of them. However my attention is drawn elsewhere momentarily. What's that sound I can here? Seems like a sort of whistle? It's the same constant thing, as if someone is calling a dog. It's probably one of the people from over behind me calling their pet back. Although the whistling doesn't stop, seemingly growing closer and closer. I notice the aggressor has stopped talking to me, as if he hears it too. Not that I was listening to him. "Did your owner not teach you to respond?" a familiar deep voice questions from the direction of the now-ceased whistles. The man grunts, turning to whoever spoke. I shift round as well, immediately backing off incase he tries to grab me back. Boy am I glad to see my boyfriend however...
"You lost little guy?" Tatsuo asks, toying with them. I notice they're seemingly frustrated by being interrupted. "Who are you?" they call, Tatsuo not stopping as he continues swaggering. "I'm this lovely individual's boyfriend, and if I'm being honest I don't appreciate you touching them like that" he says, causing their expression to change into a sort of half guilty half scared expression. Tatsuo strolls up so they're both right in front of each other, his smug look taunting the creep. Adamantly defeated, they snarl and walk off as the sudden sound of fireworks rings through the air. I jump a little, turning my head to see an array of violet and orange illuminating the night sky. "You okay?" Tatsuo asks, his attention drawn to the pretty colours ahead of us. "Yeah now that you're here" I say to him, pulling his arm so he's closer to me. He replies with a dismal sort of sound, turning to me and smiling. "It's nice isn't it?" he says, pointing to the display. Bangs and crackles scream across at everyone, the blend of colours lighting up the faces of the spectators watching. "Yeah although it's loud" I shout to him, covering my ears with my own hands. He sighs, placing his hands over mine to block out the noise, kissing my forehead gently. I giggle, both of us turning to observe the reds, then the yellows, then the blues beginning to fulminate in front of the stars. "So why do people put this show on?" I ask Tatsuo above the surrounding noise. "It's called Hanabi Festival, it's an annual and traditional thing people here do as a way of 'warding off evil spirits' originally" he states, shifting his hands off of mine. "Oh cool" I murmur, the sound of distant music catching my attention. I scan around to see if there's anyone I recognise. Maybe some of my friends are here. "Everyone looks happy" Tatsuo whispers to me, drawing me close again so I can hear him properly. I nod my head, noticing the wide smiles attached to all the individuals celebrating up here. "It's a nice view as you said" I call to him, burying my head into his chest. He gently walks me along until we're at the edge of the building, a sturdy railing beam stopping any clumsy children from accidentally tripping and plummeting. "So what's this you're wearing?" I ask him, pulling on the collar of what seems to be some sort of black uniform. "Oh it's just an old uniform" he answers, confirming my thoughts and suspicions. It's something close to me, so I thought I'd wear it for an event like this, if that's alright... I nod multiple times. "Of course", pulling away for a moment to run my hand over the red-coloured Japanese symbols embroidered onto the arms and back. The striking pink lights flash across my face, a sudden thought flourishing in my mind. A memory. It's like that time in a TV series where a certain character is trying to remember their past. This uniform is familiar. Where do I feel like I've seen this before...?

June 29th (Past)
I slug my way down the path and across the road, entering the forest across from the school. This forest leads me across town to where my home is, a shortcut behind the park. It's usually pretty quiet here, not a lot or life if any at all. I've imagined coming here lots of times with any S/O to make out or hang out, which I'm not proud of I must admit. Maybe I'll ask him one time... However it's just my kind of place, away from everyone else. Although today is different. Aside from the chirping birds and thrashing trees, another sound catches my attention. A person? I hate seeing people here. A lot of the time it's just a random walking their dog or going for a run, but there's always the dreaded thought at the back of my mind that some weird man, woman or thing could be waiting for me. I slow my movement down for a moment, just in case the person I heard is really close. A loud splutter echoes across the area, causing my body to immediately swivel around in the direction it came from. "H- Hello?" I call out, carefully tiptoeing past a line of trees to witness the unexpected. A man lays on the floor hunched over, coughing up a red liquid that can only be blood. Another man stands over him, watching his suffering rather than helping him out. I get a short glimpse of the man's black and red uniform, symbols running down the arms that I do not recognise. I take a step closer, a twig cracking underneath my steady feet. My eyes widen as I quickly duck down out of instinct, still peeking over as the looming man swiftly glances over in my direction. He doesn't seem to have noticed me, but I'm sure as hell not glad to have noticed him. His menacing impaired eyes blankly gazing past where I am, as if he's seen a wild animal or something. He feels his face for a moment before turning away and back to what he was previously doing, what seems to be a large scar grasping my attention. "What a weirdo" I state to myself, carefully continuing my walk home...