Just as the people around him finally decided to ask if he was okay, Kai hurriedly grabbed his bike and pushed his way through the crowd. He wasn't thinking about what he was doing, and he should've done it. The girl he had seen was on the opposite sidewalk, and to get to her he had to cross the road. And so he did, even though there was no crosswalk.
By the time he realized what he was doing, he already had a car practically on top of him. He rushed, without even thinking of going back and praying not to be run over. His heart skipped a few times as the cars drove by.
Reaching the other side, he stopped to catch his breath while reevaluating his life. His breathing was ragged. His heart was beating like a train and the bike he was holding felt as heavy as if it were made of lead.
In front of him stood the figure of a young woman who seemed to have stepped out of a dream. Although people were staring at him because of the scene he had just made, she wasn't. She had her gaze lost in the sky, completely oblivious to what was happening around her. And that just made her stand out more.
She was considerably pretty. Her hair, an ash-colored shade that lightened towards the ends, fell in an almost perfect gradient. She wore formal attire with a relaxed touch, and a scarf casually wrapped around her neck. In her right hand, she held a mobile phone.
When Kai caught his breath, he didn't stop to think twice. Too worried about the sky, he simply talked to the girl.
"Hey... y-you're watching that too, aren't you? Don't tell me I'm crazy, please..." he said, almost losing his breath every two words.
There was no response, even after waiting a bit.
'Is she ignoring me? Of course she's doing it… Why would she answer any random crazy person?' Kai's mind began to spiral.
Several people walked past them, dodging them, as they were in the middle of the street facing each other. She, lost in the sky; he, tangled in his thoughts. There was someone who couldn't avoid them and briefly collided with Kai—who, despite his spectacular and prominent physique, lost his balance.
He took an unsteady step forward and almost fell on top of the girl, but managed to recover just in time.
Expecting something more abrupt, he had raised his arms, and his hands ended up on her shoulders, giving her a slight jolt.
'Crap, what the hell am I doing? That man pushed me, it's not my fault.'
Quickly, and rather awkwardly, Kai took a step back from her. The girl, as if emerging from a trance, slowly and cautiously lowered her head. There was a strange expression in her eyes, as if she could barely remember where she was. Seeing him in front of her, her gaze became more alert; she studied him from head to toe before speaking.
"Do I know you?"
Kai took a moment to react, taken aback by the question. Moments later, his whole body tensed.
"M-my name is Kai… I go to Askool High School. I'm 17 years old and a senior, um… What else…?"
A soft, melodious laugh interrupted him, freeing him from continuing to awkwardly introduce himself.
"You didn't have to make it weird. Plus, we're in the same high school."
"You sure? I'd remember seeing you around…"
Somehow, Kai felt he was lying when he said that—after all, most of the time he didn't even remember his own classmates, and when he walked through the corridors he didn't pay attention to anything. He was practically staring at the floor while walking.
But at the same time, he was pretty sure that he was being honest. That girl had something about her, even though Kai didn't know what. And besides, her hair was quite striking. To top it all off, she was quite attractive.
Upon hearing this, the girl clutched her scarf. She seemed about to speak, but an aged yet sweet voice interrupted her. Only then did Kai realize that he had been able to hear her since he approached her.
"Honey?" Kai flinched at the word for some reason—too intimate, maybe, or just unexpected. The voice continued. "Are you okay? What's going on there? Are you talking to someone?"
The girl seemed surprised for a moment, as if she had forgotten everything prior to the rift in the sky, which was still there.
"Ah, yeah, granny. Everything alright. I bumped into a friend on my way. Call you later. Love you."
"Okay, honey. Let me know how it goes. Good luck with your interview, I love you too," replied the voice.
The call ended, but Kai was still chewing on what he had just heard.
'Friend? What friend?' He looked around.
Didn't they just meet? Well, in some way it was the only thing she could've said to her grandma.
Thinking about it, she couldn't say that either. Kai was the only one who introduced himself, even though he preferred to forget that…
Suddenly, the girl spoke again, startling Kai. He drew himself up unconsciously.
"Well… What did you want?"
Kai opened his mouth to speak but he didn't have time to say anything.
"Oh, right! I didn't introduce myself. I'm Kanon, I'm a senior too."
'Kanon…'
Kai forgot what exactly he was about to tell her in the beginning, but he still remembered the key point.
"Okay, um... I don't want to sound crazy... How to say this...? Do you see anything... strange in the sky?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
Kanon studied him with her eyes again before pointing with her thumb at the giant fissure.
"Are you referring to that huge, cross-shaped rift that divides the sky?"
Kai nodded slowly.
"Thank goodness! I didn't want to say anything. I thought I was losing it, that I was going crazy…"
Kai found himself relating to her. Meanwhile, Kanon continued talking:
"It's awesome, right? Do you think something like in a light novel will happen and monsters will appear or something? Or maybe an event that gives us superpowers. I mean, that is clearly not normal. It's pretty exciting!"
She talked quite a bit and gestured a lot while doing so. Quite the opposite of Kai, who mostly communicated in monosyllables when speaking to a stranger—if he didn't opt for a simple gesture—and barely moved when he spoke.
"Maybe." he replied, a little overwhelmed.
Kai wished it were something like that, simply for the thrill of experiencing a fantastic event. But, to be honest, he'd probably be one of the first to die if a monster appeared, or he'd get the most useless power if they started developing them.
Then he looked around again and talked with Kanon.
"Why do you think we're the only ones who see it…? I mean, look at those people passing by. Why would they be so calm with that crack in the sky?"
Something was off… Kai was forming complete sentences while talking to a stranger.
"I don't know… Maybe there are a few of us chosen ones! Can you imagine? That would be incredible." She said, eyes sparkling.
After saying that, she studied Kai again. He looked away without knowing why, but he didn't dare to ask. Then a spark of recognition flashed in her blue-gray eyes, which lit up completely as something dawned on her. Then she gestured with both hands.
"Now I remember! You're the boy from this morning." She frowned. "You seemed pretty relaxed for someone running that late."
Kai shuddered, suddenly he felt a bit awkward.
'So it was her… Turns out she did see me.'
"I'm quite used to unpunctuality…"
"Do you always run late, Kai?" Kanon asked, tilting her head.
"Always, no exceptions, it doesn't matter what my destination is. I seem to be cursed. Even no…"
Kai realized that he had forgotten about his hangout and how much of a hurry he was in.
'Now how am I supposed to get away from her?'
He gazed upwards, but there was nothing but clouds and some groups of birds flying in formation.
"At what point…?" He muttered to himself, frowning.
Kanon raised her head and frowned as well.
Practically out of nowhere, Kai remembered something, the key to leaving.
"Hey… Who were you talking to earlier? Was it your grandma?"
He'd already planted the seed — she'd seemed in a hurry on that call. She would remember and be the one to leave.
"Oh, yes, we were on a call when that happened. She called to wish me luck, I have an int…"
In a moment, Kanon shuddered as if she'd forgotten and pulled out her phone so hastily she almost dropped it. As she glanced at the time, a shadow crossed her face. Then she started to get away past Kai, she turned with one hand raised, as if to wave goodbye. She looked like she was about to run in any moment.
"So sorry, I completely forgot it. I'm in a rush. We'll talk later."
Before saying goodbye, Kai thought aloud without realizing it:
"How are we supposed to talk later? I don't have your contact…"
He tensed instantly when he realized he'd said it out loud. Kanon looked at him, puzzled for a moment, then smiled, amused.
"Was that your way of asking for my number?"
'How on earth did she hear that!? I didn't even talk that loud, It was practically a murmur. Someone please kill me!'
Kai deeply regretted having the ability to speak and didn't respond, just looked in another direction. Kanon approached again, phone in hand.
"If you insist, I have no choice, do I? Come on, give me your phone."
He didn't remember insisting, but he couldn't refuse.
Without a word, Kai handed it to her, his gaze shifting from the ground to a building, then to a car, and back to the ground, anything but at her. A moment later, she returned the phone and turned away again.
"Is the interview too far from here?"
She seemed surprised by the question—almost as much as Kai himself.
"It's a couple of blocks away, but I'll be super late."
"Um… I don't know if this is weird, but…" Kai's brain short-circuited mid-sentence 'Wait, what am I—' But he couldn't stop. "Do you want me to give you a ride? I have a bike."
There it was, his downfall. Who on earth had made him say that?
Kai pointed to his bike, leaning against a tree a couple of steps away. Kanon jumped slightly and looked at the bike, then at Kai, and then back at the bike again.
"I don't know, isn't this moving a bit fast?" Then she added mockingly. "What if you were a serial killer on a bike? Or a kidnapper?"
Kai sighed.
"Do I really give that impression?"
"You're right, you don't seem dangerous, not really. You look more like a potential victim."
Kai was annoyed for a moment, but quickly calmed down, accepting reality. Kanon laughed softly.
Kanon hesitated, glancing between Kai and the bike. She bit her lip.
"You know what? I'm already late enough that..." She trailed off, studying him one more time. Then she seemed to make up her mind. "Alright. I might as well risk it. But I don't want to be a bother. Are you sure that's on your way?" She pointed behind her back
Kai frowned.
'Shit… it's practically in the opposite direction. Whatever.'
"Yeah, perfect. Whenever you're ready."
Kanon stared at the bike for a long moment, then at Kai, as if reconsidering the whole thing. She took a breath.
"Okay. But if you turn out to be a serial killer, I'm haunting you."
She climbed on behind him, hands hovering awkwardly before settling on his shoulders. Then, out of nowhere, she spoke in an exaggeratedly haughty tone:
"And what is the meaning of this, chauffeur? How is it that you already know the location of my very important meeting, yet here we linger?"
'What is she talking about now?'
Kai turned his head to retort, opened his mouth, but closed it before he could. Then he sighed and turned back around, adopting a subservient tone:
"My sincerest apologies, milady. If you are ready, we shall depart at once."
Kanon smiled, satisfied that he was playing along. In a condescending tone, she replied:
"Go on, then, and hurry. If I'm late, you can start seeking new employment."
"As you wish, milady."
With that last line, Kai pulled his hair tie out of his pocket, tied his hair back, and began to pedal, pulling onto the road. He merged between the cars, following the flow of traffic.
It was taking more out of him than usual, but he pedaled at a good pace. Both were in a hurry. He could come up with some excuse for his friends, but Kanon… her grandma had mentioned an interview. He couldn't let her be late.
She'd occasionally point the way for Kai, but other than that, the ride went by in silence. Kanon looked around, as if seeing it all from the perspective of a bike gave her a new vision of the city. Buildings flashed by, cars zoomed past them, and people walked or rushed toward their own destinations. And beneath it all, the asphalt blurred before her eyes, like a river flowing under her feet.
Kai, for his part, was lost in his thoughts. He almost ran a red light and nearly clipped a side mirror, but he reacted just in time.
'Why am I doing this, again? ... Focus. Just pedal. Think later.'
But it wasn't that simple. As he pedaled, he began coming up with excuses for his friends. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind. There was also the fact that he was carrying a complete stranger on his bike, taking her God knows where.
And the silence, which had seemed comfortable at first, was now starting to feel quite awkward. Should he say something? Ask a question? Keep quiet?
Kanon, meanwhile, continued observing her surroundings, her head tilted to one side. Suddenly, she leaned in closer to him and, after a light tap, asked:
"Do you usually carry many girls on your bike, or is today just a special day?"
Kai swallowed hard.
"About as often as I see the sky breaking apart."
Kanon smiled and turned her focus back to the scenery.
"Good to know."
Kai almost turned around to ask what she meant by that, but considering the speed he was going, he decided to prioritize his safety. A block later, Kanon pointed ahead into the distance.
"It's right there."
She moistened her lips and added with a playful air:
"Hurry up and I might give you a raise."
When they were close enough, he slowed down gradually, and they both stepped off onto the opposite sidewalk.
A massive wall encircled the entire complex, and like a flashy buckle, an ostentatiously decorated gate presided over the entrance. Under an ornate sign, Kai could only make out the word "University" as a nearby business advertisement blocked his view.
Kanon hopped off the bike and smoothed out her clothes with visible urgency, starting to run her fingers through her hair as well.
"Phew. I made it. And on time, it seems. I might even consider giving my chauffeur a promotion..."
Kai flashed a faint smile, but his thoughts were racing at a hundred miles an hour. Memories of the shattered sky, the encounter with Kanon, crafting a believable excuse, the constant vibration of his phone reminding him he was late…
He pulled the phone out of his pocket and silenced it so it wouldn't vibrate, then turned it off—but not before noticing the notification of four missed calls.
'Woah. A death omen.'
Kai sighed, still holding his phone, when he heard Kanon ask him in a somewhat anxious tone:
"How do I look?"
"W-what?"
"I'm asking you, how do I look?"
'What do I say? I don't want to screw this up. What if she takes it the wrong way?'
Kai took a breath.
"Pret—" Kai caught himself, cleared his throat, and shifted to a flat tone, trying to sound neutral. "Uh… yeah. You look… pretty presentable."
To reinforce his answer, he gave a somewhat awkward thumbs-up, as if he didn't quite know what to do with his hand.
Kanon looked at him strangely for a moment, but then she laughed.
"Thanks, I guess. Wish me luck!"
She gave a thumbs-up too before turning around.
"Good luck, Kanon"
Kai watched her for a moment as she walked away. Just before she disappeared through the gate, she glanced back—not at him, exactly. More like she was checking if he was still there. Then she was gone.
He looked down at his phone, dark and silent.
'I'm going to need that luck too. Should I tell my mom what kind of wood I want for my coffin?'