[Closed] we were both young when I first saw you

[sharkmaid]

Who: Rin Matsuoka (sharkmaid) and Sousuke Yamazaki (takenwithhim)
What: God and shinki finally meet face to face.
When: Afternoon of April 26th
Where: Rin's temple
Warnings: None... except a lot of feels. and Taylor Swift lyrics because I was told to do it


He didn't sleep much last night. Not really. Not when his head was swimming with thoughts, when his hands were clammy and legs wouldn't sit still. Not when everything around him was so far from what he knew and from what he called home. Ordinarily, sure, Rin was all about change. He lived it, breathed it, faced it head-on without fear. But back then, he knew what he was getting himself into. He could plan for it, work hard for it... Not be dropped into it and expected to understand from the start. Needless to say, the day was rough, the night even rougher, and when he finally managed a wink of sleep, all he could hope for was that he would wake up from some crazy dream.

A dream where he was god. With powers and responsibilities that stretched so far beyond his imagination... A dream where his most cherished friends never even knew he existed.

Sometime in the afternoon just as the sun settled high above his head, Rin left his room and found himself right before the castle gates. They stayed open all night and he saw no need to shut them now, and as he stood facing the wide pathway before him, he paid no mind to who or what would happen to pass in the road behind. This... was supposedly all his. All this space and grandeur, a true place for royalty, for a god. But... he couldn't be that. He wasn't that. He was just Rin.

The branches of the large cherry blossom trees shivered and shook in response to Rin's inner turmoil, but still, the petals held on, falling but never disappearing or leaving a single patch bare. He wanted to have hope that this would pass, that holding onto what remained between himself, Makoto, and Nagisa would keep all of them safe as they always were.

But maybe that too was a dream.

Comments

[takenwithhim]

… ead. Calling. Someone… something. … dead. Calling. Something was calling. I’m… Darkness sliced through the center and he opened his eyes. And shut them again. Light! It took a few moments, attempting to open his eyes a little bit more each time as the light filtered in. Until he was able to see clearly. Some… place? Sousuke pressed one hand to the ground and pushed. His body moved easily, sitting up in a slow motion until he was propped, able to look around. That voice… He recognized that voice in his head… calling to him. His own voice.

I’m dead.

Nothing else. There was nothing else. The world around him kept moving, but he recognized none of it. Who were these people? Why were they looking at him? What was this place? Questions that stayed inside as he climbed to his feet. Whispers, a hushed brush to his side, someone’s voice behind him. Sousuke ignored them. As best he could anyhow. Something else distracted him: a door. Without looking behind him, he made for it. Conscious of the people looking at him as he moved, conscious of their eyes as he gripped the door’s handle and shoved it open. He stumbled forward, but was outside… at least he was outside.

Dead. No other thoughts. No memories. Only a cursory glance in his mind revealed a name. Sousuke Yamazaki. His name. That at least he knew. But the rest was strangely empty, like his chest was filled with a frozen air that wanted to fall and rise all at once. It weighed on his shoulders, and yet he felt no reason to care. He walked, wandered, but without aim. Structures that seemed both out of place and oddly at home lined the grounds as he moved. Their grand designs mingled with smaller buildings, roads, shrines, one place after another until his head swam and he longed to see something, anything, else.

Something wet brushed along the bottom of his feet and he glanced down as he quickly jerked to the side. Water… Trickling over the firm pavement. Only then did he even realize his clothing. Or lack thereof. Just a pair of tight pants (were they pants?) clung to his hips and legs, their dark coloration cut through with white and gray triangular shapes that resembled shark fins. He reached down and pulled at one side, peeling the material back from his pelvis. Then released it; it snapped back against his skin like it belonged there. Shivering, he wrapped his arms around his torso, rubbing once or twice at his shoulders. He wasn’t cold…

Follow the water. There was nothing better to do. Something about it… called. Not his voice this time. Not a voice. Only a feeling. So he followed. Streets wound, buildings passed, the concrete remained as firm as always, further and further until his heels ached and his calves asked him what in the world he was doing right now, walking around like this.

Pink…?

Something pink drifted past his eyes and he looked up. Stopped. There were trees. Several of them. Laden with pink petals that floated through the air. This… this was a garden? No, some kind of grove. A grove of sakura trees. Sousuke lifted his gaze towards the boughs spreading above him. Unaware he’d walked through gilded gates who knew how many steps ago. So many… His fingers twitched and he reached upward, brushing through the gentle breeze. Until one of those petals sighed down into the palm of his hand, coming to rest against his skin. Sousuke curled his fingers halfway, blocking the petal from leaving his hand.

So… it’s over.