"The cold wind slices through the cold streets of Shinjuku's night like a forgotten blade, hungry for a victim. A teenager lumbers, staggering raw flesh, clothes shredded, blood crusting him like a second, bruised skin. Each step leaves a footprint in frozen mud.
Clapps…clapps…clapps.
Footsteps echo, mocking. They're the heartbeat of a city that doesn't care. Sadori freezes, his gaze yanked upward. The moon hangs like a surgeon's scalpel, and millions of indifferent stars gloat in the black, spectators to his unraveling.
'Strange,'
he whispers, his voice a splinter. His fist clenched so tight the nails bite crescents into his palms. He tastes iron his own, the night's, the rejection's and buries the ache so it won't consume him. He limps home, a ghost in his own darkness.
Morning bleeds in, a reluctant light. Sadori and his little sister, in crisp school uniforms a mockery of hope walk to the bus. Timi is hummingbird, oblivious.
'Oni-san, there's a guy who smiled at me yesterday at school and his name is bobb! Isn't that cute?' timi said getting into her older brother nerves. Sadori's jaw clenched like a vise. 'timi, shut up. I'm trying to think.' He scrambles for a better excuse anything to dam the flood inside, and she falls silent, confused.
Her grin digs like a tiny, inadvertent shovel into his exposed nerves ' Uh! someone sounds jealous. Is it because you got rejected… like, oh! yes if remember correctly forty times?' Sadori halts. The asphalt spins. The night's cuts gopen, rivers of salt in every wound. Flashbacks pounce, teeth bared expression changes,
A girl turns around, in a uniform, voice in a polite knife slicing precision 'Sadori-san, I love him. The guy on the basketball team.' Ray Aki..
A red thread in his chest snaps, and the fends fracture. He feels the pieces scatter. as he felt broken inside, still he won't back down like dat. still clinging onto hope, he went to his next target.
sasai next. Both stood in an open place, the air was so soft and warm. so he ask his heart out, only to get it's pieces with the edge of the sword. Sasai bluches her face turned reds. recalling the guy named makes her shaking,
All my life there's this guy, who always hold a special place in my heart-- she didn't finished when she's noticed she was standing alone all by herself.
Sadori-san...!" Sadori-san....!"
sasaki.. didn't hesitate telling sadori she already in a relationship, sadori still clinging to hope vanished without a trace,
Ukiya next. They step into a cold shadows where hope goes to die. He asks, his voice a threadbare prayer. hoping to get his answer.
"Do you… maybe…"
She blushes into a name, her face alight with someone else's glory 'Yutsuki Kazama. He saved us all. My heart beats for him.'
Sadori vanishes. He isn't there. Only a hollow echoes. The laughing pack corners him in circles, their joy a gasoline-soaked torch, blowing trumphent and flutes, while others rolling on the floor laughing hard. clenshing there stomach,
what a memorable day at high School..." one if the gang members said, still couldn't believe some luke hajime could still not get a girlfriend, something must be really wrong somewhere.
congratulations hajime-san to you and your records if rejection, I don't think anyone in this planet would be able to break that's, another member said laughing hard.
'World record, forty rejections! Wow, Hajime. You're a legend in humiliation.' one of the the gang member said laughing hard.
Sadori begins walking his way home with his hands in his pocket , Rain falls like shards, but he's numb. Icicles form in his veins. He turns, looking at the packs, eyes brimming with sorrows, the weight of unshed tears calcifying his throat. The mockers' laughter sours, but it's too late he's already ash. One of them cracks, tone awkward. they're felt pity for him.
' how sad..!" We're sorry, hajime-san… come back! we didn't mean…'
timi breaks the heavy trune 'So, you we're saying again, oni-san?'
Sadori forces a smile, a paper-mache mask, 'Forget it. I have a girlfriend now.' he said still trying to cover up his pains. but timi is not dumb, she can still tell when her big brother is sad, or not.
The lie trembles. The bus screeches, a mechanical monster indifferent to his insides. They climb in. The silence inside swallows them whole, and Sadori folds into a seat, a crusted thing pretending to breathe. hiding his face with a newspaper. his attention was caught by a news article saying, about how civilians have been missing around the City, he saw the exhibition of a soaring stunning female artist,,, holding up a microphone in her hand, singing in a motion that's leave men breathless,, which grabbed his attention including mind and body."
lord!... she's so beautiful..!"
hearing her big brother statement," timi took the news paper from him, and looked for herself and gasped and at thesame time excited,,,,, oni-san!... this is Sakura-chan,,, all the songs in my phone and albums belong to her," is she coming to Japan" timi asked couldn't contained her joy."
according to the articles,, yeah she's indeed coming to Japan,,,, sadori answer looking outside the window of the bus gazing at the blurness of the winds,,, thou he's not a fan of the artist neither ,,,, he doesn't have mush tastes when it's comes to music,, unlike his kid sister timi on the other hand couldn't wait to see the artist in Japan,,, she has watched so many videos and live stream of the Artist on TV, she decided to get herself the tickets for her concerts before they company hosting it's,,, ran out of tickets.
where are they're hosting the concert in Japan,,, oni-san" timi asked looking at him not wanting to miss any info of the Artist." sadori not looking at her, his hairs dance along the winds,
"kenzai arena" he said,,,,, (kenzai arena) which features state of the art system in Japan,, cutting-edge visuals, and a unique sword shaped stage design in Japan.