Work Text:
You never pegged him as the adventurer type. He always seemed like someone who would rather stay in his comfort zone. He is Shibuya born and raised, after all. You are confident, almost, that there’s nothing the world can offer that he can’t have in Shibuya.
But then, you didn’t really know him that well in the first place. It would be a lie to say you did.
You don’t remember why you started fighting. Just that you did.
You remember the lack of anger though. The weary eyes. The tired smile.
His voice still rings in the empty room. It’s not like my art matters here, he whispers. Not yet, at least.
You bristle, shaking off the anger seeping into your veins. After all, you are much more mature than that.
Every little thing matters, Neku.
Every. Little. Thing.
On his last day, there is a trembling excitement beating in his heart. He is ready to run, to carve his mark in a world that's more than just Shibuya.
There is no goodbye.
It is an afterthought, but you wonder if this means he’ll return.
When he leaves, you are left to pick up the pieces. On your more selfish days, you deem him as a failed project.
But Sanae knows better.
He's a free spirit in the making, he says. Shibuya was just the catalyst.
You breathe in the city he loves, the city you love. The cacophonous mess of creativity and life. This is the boy’s catalyst; the fate you so willingly chained yourself to. The regret you feel is fleeting and weak, and you want nothing more than to keep the miserable anger that falls straight through your hands. You have never wished to feel any more childish than now.
How envious, you reply, half-hearted and wistful.
There is fondness and pride in your voice. If Sanae ever observed it, he chooses to say nothing.
The world moves on, and he along with it.
You know he’s looking for something - something like heaven. But Shibuya is alive and free; this place needs no heaven.
You wonder what he is looking for.
He never looked back.
You remember, because you counted every step and memorized every single detail of that day. Every. Little. Thing.
He may never come back.
Even so, you continue to wait, anticipating the day he'll show you his bright new world. Shibuya is his home, after all.
When the city hums itself to sleep, you listen for him.