The Boy by the Shore (Olikase Vocaloid AU)

Chapter 1: Red

The first thing about him that struck me as odd was his bright red hair. As soon as I had jumped off of my older brother's cargo ship, the first thing that caught my eye was that boy's hair as I clutched at the railing to stop myself from toppling over from vertigo. With the breeze blowing it about and the sunlight filtering through it, his hair looked like a flame on the beach.

I squinted my eyes, trying to make out his face beneath his top hat. Who even wears top hats anymore? I found myself thinking, as I stood on my toes to get a better view of him around the bay. After tagging along with my older brother on his cargo boat, what I really wanted was to get a fresh shower and away from the salty clutches of the ocean breeze, but my curiosity locked me in place.

He was hunched over, idly fiddling with the sand. For a few seconds he'd draw in it, then he'd find some dry sand and let it sift through his fingers, or throw a clump of the damp sand into the ocean. Despite his simple and childish actions, he looked at least my age or slightly older. Even though it was a warm evening, he had an off-white coat and wore boots even in the sand.

"Oliver, help me out, wouldja?" my brother Yohio called out to me.

"Yup, coming! Sorry!" I yelled back and hurried towards him, vertigo forgotten.

When I finally arrived at the scene, I was still out of breath when he spoke. "Typically, the stevedores would unload the cargo, but I just got notified that I'm getting promoted! Our next departure is in two days, so we need all of the crew members to help out this time," he said.

"That's okay! And congrats on the promotion. Where are you working next?"

"I'm going to be a cruise ship captain!" he sang, beaming.

"That's awesome! So we get to travel to all the best resorts in Japan now?"

"Pretty much. We're going to the Yaeyama archipelago first."

"Yes!" I pumped my fist in the air. I'd always wanted to travel there. It was reasonably distant from where we lived right now, in Oma, the northernmost city in Honshu. "That's pretty far though, how long is it?"

"Twenty days. Not much different from our usual voyages, so it shouldn't be too out of the ordinary," he replied, excitement edging into his voice.

"That's long for a cruise though."

"Kind of," he replied. "Let's finish unloading, then you can get packed up."

I grinned back at him and hurried up onto the deck to help the stevedores.

~~~

By the time Yohio sent me back to our small apartment, it was already past midnight. The sky that was painted with the yellows, reds, and violets of the sunset was now nearly pitch black. The light from the city even washed out the stars that I had grown used to seeing on our voyages.

I hurriedly trudged into my room and flopped onto my yellow futon with a sigh. I wasn't used to unloading cargo myself, and at such a fast pace at that...

Slowly, my eyes wandered to the window. I found myself trying to spot that boy's flame-red hair through the dark. Obviously it wasn't as visible as it had been in the light of the sunset, but even still, I could slightly make out the silhouette of his body against the white ocean froth.

I got up from the futon and quietly went over to the window. I squinted at him, trying to get a better view while ignoring my reflection. He was still sitting there, hunched over, fiddling with the sand. My gaze only faltered when I peered too close and my nose bumped the window.

What am I doing, stalking a boy at the beach from my apartment window in the middle of the night? What kind of creep does that? I thought, pulling away from the windowsill. Maybe he'd be there tomorrow and I could meet him for real. Until then, I decided, I would get some rest.

After hurriedly going through my nightly routine, I sank down into the plush blankets and switched off the pale lamp on my nightstand.

"Goodnight, Luna," I whispered, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

A/N:

I hope you liked the first chapter! I know it was super short but I promise the next ones will be a lot longer.

So tell me... who do you think Luna is? I want to know your thoughts!

~Stargazer