[fic] crimson rain
**Purple text - past
**Black text - present
The aroma of baked blueberry muffin woke her up. With her favorite plushie tugged under her little arm, Kazuya jumped off from her bed.
“Mommy, o-ha-yo!” A peck on her mother’s smooth cheek.
“Do you like blueberry muffin, Kazu darling?” She asked softly; while her hands were busy handling the plates.
“Un!” Her big eyes followed her mother’s every movement with full attention.
Then, her mother started to tell story about how she met ‘Daddy’ in her college’s canteen. How they fought for the last piece of blueberry muffin. Apparently, they both loved blueberry muffin so much.
“And that’s why you’re here now honey; because of the silly muffin.” She chuckled, but Kazuya couldn’t really comprehend on what she was trying to say. At last, she pretended to laugh, too.
Kazuya sniggered at the thought of her parent’s cute way of meeting. How ironic, that the same old man that she knows now isn’t the man that she always thought of.
He doesn’t even like muffins in the first place.
It is amazing that after all this time; Kazuya could still remember every bit of memories with her mother, even though she passed away a long time ago.
However, it scares her to think that she had already forgotten about her mother’s smell, her favorite clothes, even her beautiful face. Kazuya is holding onto the last piece of memories with her; the only thing that she owned; their time together.
She remembered the moments they went shopping together, played on the park, and then headed home to have a hot bath.
Kazuya could recollect all of their good times; but she could never recall on the day her mother had been brutally murdered. Psychologist said that she has selective memory; in which she tries to conceal her sadness; resulting in the brain erasing all of the miserable events.
Her phone rang again.
“Yes?”
“Where are you, Kazu? I don’t see you.” He appeared to sound breathless; like he just ran a few miles just before he called.
“……..Who are you?”
Silence crept in.
“..Jin. Akanishi Jin. Are you okay, Kazuya?”
“Kazu! Look what I found!” He opened up his joined-in palms to reveal something.
“A baby frog!” She giggled happily.
“No, silly. It’s a tadpole!”
“But when it gets older, it will become a frog! That’s why we should call it a baby frog!” She pouted while explaining it to him.
He scratched his head a few times. “Um..well, ok then. It’s a baby frog!”
“Kawaii ne?”
He smiled at her. “Not as kawaii as you, Kazu!”
“Kazu..”
She remembered him. The one with a smile as bright as the sun. Besides her mother, he’s her good time.
“Kazu…ya?”
She just stood there, silently. Smiling at the running thoughts of him; then her mother. The colorful playhouse, her Barbie doll, his baseball gloves, her mother’s pink apron…
“Kazu!”
She opened up her eyes, revealing a man with his sweaty white tee; his breathing labored.
“You okay? I was right here few minutes ago, calling for you. It seems like you’ve drift off to some fairyland.”
She wants to stay in that warm place; of laughter and happiness. Not in the cruel world of realism, where all the people ignore her; walk pass her without slightest attention.
Kazuya wants the protection and care of those people that she loves.
Could he offer those things to her?
Jin immediately froze when Kazuya hugged him all of a sudden. When she started to cry on his shoulder; he slowly patted the young woman.
There’s something so vulnerable about this girl; he wants to protect her with all his might.
“As long as I’m here, you don’t have to worry.” Jin whispered.
***
A/N : Not much of a progress in this chapter since Kazuya's reminiscing about her past memories. But I promise something big will be happening in part 3 ^^