Acceptance.
That was Kanji’s primary desire in his life, to be accepted; for who he was, for what he enjoyed and was allured to. He couldn’t quite comprehend why people refused to do so. It was such an effortless task. Accepting a person with all their flaws and all their quirks, it wasn’t complicated, especially with minor flaws and quirks. So, why did everyone reject the idea of accepting Kanji ? Was he a bad person ? Not really. Yes, he tended to ditch school, but to assist his mother in the shop. Was he foul-mouthed ? Yes, but who wasn’t ? He was a teenager. He truly wasn’t a bad person, so, what gave people the right to treat him as such ? What gave them the right to shun him for who he was and what he liked ? Adults tended to repeat the mantra ‘be yourself,’ yet, when Kanji stuck to those words, he was treated poorly. Where was the fairness in all that ?
The incident occurred after class let out for the day, Kanji had been heading towards the exit when someone seized his jacket and yanked him backwards before roughly shoving him against a locker. His breath had caught in his throat in surprise, stormy hues wide. He stammered to demand what the kid wanted when he felt them snatch the knitted cat he had created during lunch and snickered. After a scuffle between the two and direct jabs at his sexuality, Kanji clocked the kid in the face, yanking his plush animal before taking off. Letting his feet carry him at a running pace wherever they so please, the high-schooler eventually found himself in an abandoned park. Slowing to a half-jog, Kanji glanced around before tucking himself away in the playground, sitting at the bottom end of the tube slide. He didn’t bother hiding himself, no one ever came here, so he stayed out in the open. He did, however, pull his knees to his chest, dabbing into the dark recesses of his mind. Even after battling his shadow and defeating it, he was still haunted by it. Why was this still occurring ? Why was he still suffering ? Why hasn’t his peace came yet ?
Night descended, but Kanji still refused to go home. He spent the entire day wandering the park or curling up somewhere to weep. He knew he should go back, or at least let his Ma have knowledge in where he was, but he had always done this. He despised facing his problems, so he would run. Literally. It was the Kanji Tatsumi way. Granted, ignoring his problems is what led to him battling his own Shadow, but regardless, he just didn’t know what to do.
Naoto had tried phoning several times.
Each time, the voicemail answered.
Desperate, with no clue of Kanji’s whereabouts, she ran throught the familiar streets of Inaba, now silent, barely illuminated by the neon lights of some establishment. Her heart pounding in her chest as she felt her lungs aching for the effort.
She still looked around the school, the river and Junes before she felt her legs failing and a dizzy feeling in her head.
She didn’t want to stop. There were still some places she had to check…
But her body refused to walk.
She sat on the swing of a near playground and desperatedly concentrated on recovering her breath, a trembling hand grasping her chest.
“If I where Kanji-kun…” she thought, listening to her heavy breathing “where would I go…?”
Returning back to the playground, his gaze caught on the figure on the swings, heart leaping in his throat out of panic. Shit. When did they arrive? He assumed he would remain alone, but it appeared someone else decided to spend time here as well. He captured his bottom lip between snow-kissed teeth, squinting in the dark as he slowly approached. Upon recognizing the form of the ‘stranger’, relief burned through his veins and he took that as encouragement to approach entirely.
❛ Naoto, whataya doin’ here ? ❜ He asked the Detective Prince, stopping just short of her, hands stuffing themselves in his pockets. A breeze fluttered by, causing the jacket on his shoulders to flap behind him like a cape.