The Night We Met (KamiShin)

I Lived

He arrived at around six in the afternoon. As he stepped off the train, he was instantly met with a beautiful, green panorama. Trees clustered themselves all around the town, and the sky was a mystical mixture of of lovely purples and heavenly oranges. It was like living in an oil painting. Denki's jaw almost dropped as he took in the scenery.
A light breeze kissed his skin, and a leaf lightly tapped his cheek. He caught it, smiling and releasing it back to the wild. He was now like that, free and careless. Just another element of nature living without a worry.
His phone had no service. He frowned. He wished he could take a picture of him in front of the beautiful place and share it with all his friends. But he was a different person now. He had no time for little distractions. Not when he had the bewitching scene right in front of his golden orbs.
He grabbed a tourist flyer from the station. The city didn't have much, but he decided that exploring a little wouldn't cause any harm.
It smelled fresh— new. Not like the musty old smell of the city. No, this was the scent of rebirth. He'd never been so close to fauna. He walked along the side of the road, staring at everything with awe and a glimmer in his eyes. This was the scent of rebirth. He was a reptile, molting his old skin and morphing into someone completely new. Someone who he could love. He could feel an incipient wonder building up as he began to skip through the small roads.
He laughed, extending his arms up to touch the heavens. He twirled around, trying to convince himself that this is what happiness felt like. It seemed perfect. He had everything. He was alright. He was still alive. He would survive, even if he was not by Hitoshi or his parents' side. That was enough to keep him satisfied.
He strayed into the town, where he saw small, wooden houses with traditional decoration. Black oak planks made up every little house, adorned with glamorous, silk curtains. Clothes hung on line to dry, and the smell of fresh food. He could almost picture what it would be like to live in a place like this. He closed his eyes, imagining what living there with Hitoshi would be like. Just the two of them, alone.
No.
He opened his eyes and turned. To his left, a huge lake, where some fishing boats were stationed along the shoreline. A large mountain housed the body of water, like a mother protecting her child. He could see a beauteous cliff holding on to the tip of the mountain.
Walking towards the lake, he could see the crystal-clear water, with movement within it. Life; everything was full of it. He threw his backpack on the ground, rapidly taking his shoes and socks off. He pulled up his pants a bit, then began to lightly jog towards the water.
The cold liquid stung. So much that it even burned. Rocks at the bottom dig themselves into the soft soles of his feet. But he wasn't in pain. In fact, he was absolutely filled with bliss. What he was doing— it really was forbidden. His parents would never even let him get close to the ocean!
He smiled widely, splashing some of the water on his face. The refreshing liquid sunk into his pores, cooling them down as an early October wind brushed his side.
He walked out of the water, ground sticking to his bare feet. He sat on the earth, watching the sun melt into the horizon like the wax of a candle withering away. He shut off his phone, promising himself to never look at it again.
He felt funny. It was all so peaceful, yet for some reason, his insides felt like a detonating rocket; full of potential energy about to be released. His hands were trembling. They were pale— as pale as the white of the moon.
He wondered what his parents were doing. Surely they'd noticed he'd left. They were probably hysterical, calling the police and ordering a search party, he thought. But then again, no. Perhaps they hadn't even come home from work yet. Perhaps they didn't even consider his absence.
"Tch. Whatever," Denki mumbled to himself.
He needn't worry anymore. He was free. His steel cage had been unlocked, and the small yellow bird had gotten out to live his life as a divine phoenix. He could walk on flames now after discovering this apparent immortality. And the thought he wanted to hear began to come and go.
What if he wasn't actually sick?
Perhaps it had all been an illusion, an inconsistency of his already laid out destiny. Maybe, just maybe, everything he'd known had been a lie. Of course, it was just a speculation. But he was open to it.
The stars replaced the vigorous sun, and lights began going out all over the town. Denki left the lake once his feet had dried enough to go back in his shoes, ditching his socks completely and shoving them in his backpack.
He walked up to the forest, where a road intersected the whole path. It was completely vacant. No cars or trucks anywhere in sight. It was unusual.
A large bridge connecting two cliffs stood before him. Below, a small ravine with a lustrous river. The distance from the bridge to the water wasn't grand. Only eight or nine meters. Surely the river was deep enough to catch him if he were to fall. The water was tranquile, no currents in view.
It was so tempting.
He studied it a bit more, before finally deciding to exploit his liberty. Nobody could tell him what not to do. Nothing was holding him back. The shackles he'd once wore had long been broken. He wanted to fly.
Smirking, he took off his backpack, along with his blazer and shoes before climbing onto the bridge's railing. The platform was narrow, but a large bar gave him hand support as he stood tall. He stared awestruck at everything before him. The wind was cold, and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He undid his tie with one hand, tossing it behind him at his pile of belongings.
His gut flipped. Suddenly the drop had become much more defined. He felt scared again. He felt a thousand eyes watching his every move, judging him from the depths of the forest. The creatures of the night waited for his demise, as his courage began to weaken. But he wanted to so bad!
If I survive this, it means I'll never be sick again! The thought, shaking on the bet in his mind.
He almost didn't hear the desperate running as his foot curved over the edge. He leant foreword, preparing himself to land on his stomach. His coiled fingers began to separate themselves from the bar as he dipped his head into the abyss.
"STOP!"
A harsh force jolted his body back, pulling him the opposite direction of the edge. He fell over the railing, landing on somebody. He and the person tumbled to the ground. Denki turned his head around angrily, ready to slap the living hell out of whoever had ruined his fun when suddenly...
"H-Hitoshi?!"
The indigo-haired male was panting loudly, clearly out of breath. His face was tired and frustrated, with veins protruding from his forehead.
"I- ah— am so— huff— pissed," Hitoshi growled.
Denki climbed off, staring at Hitoshi in absolute bewilderment.
"What are you doing here?" Denki asked, sounding more annoyed than anything.
"I could ask you the same- ah– thing," Hitoshi heaved. He evened out his breathing before standing up, furious as he crossed his arms.
"What the hell were you doing? Did you come all this way to— what— kill yourself?" Hitoshi yelled.
Denki got up. He shook his head angrily.
"No, you idiot! I wanted to swim!" Denki replied.
Hitoshi laughed sarcastically.
"Oh, so I'm the idiot? How dare you, Kaminari? How dare you look me in the face and mock me like that?" Hitoshi spat, pointing at Denki's chest and flicking it.
"I'm telling the truth, idiot!" Denki retorted with a tone to his voice. He slapped Hitoshi's hand.
"Uh-Huh. You wanted a swim— in your damn clothes, when it's freezing, into a river with big, sharp rocks. Yeah. Totally," Hitoshi rolled his eyes.
"Shut up and answer my question. Why are you here?"
"Answer me. Why are you here, Denki?"
Denki looked down angrily.
"It's none of your business. You have nothing to do with this," Denki said.
Hitoshi didn't have a reply. Because Denki was absolutely right. He had nothing to do with this. Hitoshi was the one who decided to track Denki down on his own account.
The blond slumped down against the barrier of the bridge, sighing deeply as he sat. Hitoshi hadn't ever seen such a sad express like the one Denki stared at empty space with. The shorter hugged his knees to his chest, resting his chin on top of them.
"I wasn't going to kill myself. You might not believe me, but I just wanted to have fun. I didn't think about everything you said because I was in the heat of the moment. I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise," Denki mumbled sadly.
Hitoshi sat down beside him. He looked at the blond, who closed his eyes disappointedly.
"I chased you all the way here because I was worried," Hitoshi sighed. "I had a bad feeling, and I was right. You would've died. That fall is too high, and the river is shallow. There are sharp rocks at the bottom and the angle in which you planned to dive would've met you with your end."
Denki's heart sunk. So the bet would've never been won. It was as if the truck of real life had hit him at two hundred kilometers per hour. Hearing the truth hurt.
"Why do you even care? You stopped talking to me after... you know..." Denki muttered.
Hitoshi opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Why did you kiss me? Why don't you ever answer my texts?" Denki asked, heartbreak in his voice.
"I don't know. Why don't you ever talk to me about anything? I know something's up, Denki. You're going through something, I just can't seem to figure you out."
Denki shook his head.
"You're the one who doesn't say anything. Why should I?"
Hitoshi sighed. He turned his body, facing Denki. He grabbed the shorter's hand and squeezed it between his own, like a sandwich.
"Well... how about we... talk?"
Denki nodded, biting his lip nervously and refusing to look up and Hitoshi. His frown grew as he began to feel a weird, emotional kind of pain erupting from his stomach.
"I don't know how to approach you. I don't know any interesting responses to texts so I'd just rather not answer. I kissed you because I'm in love with you."
Denki almost choked on dry spit.
The world suddenly stopped, sending it spinning the other way around due to the inertia of the sudden halt. Time became inconsistent, and every second became longer than a century. His organs screamed inside his body as a loud ringing filled his ears. His legs began to melt into the ground, and his torso contorted into angled amalgamations of flesh and bone. At least, that's what it felt like.
He blinked up at Hitoshi, having just heard the impossible. He wanted to faint— to actually jump off the bridge from..... happiness?
His body morphed back to its original shape, as flowers began to bloom from his skin. His cheeks turned red as that same heat travelled to his stomach and filled it with fluttering insects. A soft, sickeningly sweet taste lingered on his tongue.
"You... what?"
"From the moment I saw you— I... I'm really attracted to you. In every way possible. Y-You're like, gorgeous. You're fun and nice to be around. I love your company, and your voice... and I like the way you smell, and how you're always so fun and energetic. You're very interesting— a-and let's not get started on your physical aspects!" Hitoshi said, beginning to stutter as he got carried away with his confession.
"Your hair is beautiful and soft, your eyes are so pretty and mesmerizing. Your lips are so cute, and you always smell good," He continued. "I get it if you don't like me back. I'm not the most good-looking guy out there. I'm pretty average— just another lonely dweller— but you... you're a masterpiece."
Denki's eyes widened. It was something he'd never expected to hear. In his whole life. Did Hitoshi really think all that? He surely was exaggerating, right? Still, he couldn't help but smile. A small giggle escaped his lips, and he covered his mouth sweetly.
"Oh Hitoshi... I really don't know what to say," he smiled.
"You don't have to say anything. Just saying it out loud makes me feel much better," Hitoshi said.
Denki grabbed the taller's hand and cuddled his cheek against it.
"See, Toshi? My face is really hot," Denki said, grinning widely. "I totally didn't expect that..."
Hitoshi could feel something wet against his fingers. He watched the blond behind to weep softly, giggling as he did. He sniffled, wiping the escaping snot from his nose.
"Please t-tell me I'm n-not dreaming," Denki sniffled.
"Of course you're not, look!" Hitoshi pulled Denki's hand, kissing his knuckles. "Do you feel that?"
The blond nodded as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
"You're alive. You're breathing. You're feeling. It's more than real," Hitoshi said.
Denki nodded.
"Okay?"
"Y-Yeah," the blond sniffled.
"Come here," Hitoshi said invitingly.
Denki collapsed into his arms happily, inhaling the remainders of Hitoshi's cologne. He smelled of ground coffee and some sort of wood-like scent Denki couldn't identify.
Hitoshi places his hands on the small of the shorter's back and kissed his forehead. Maybe chasing after him hadn't been such a bad idea. His phone began to vibrate, but he shut it off, deactivating it completely.