The Silence of the Moon

"Kuro, go back home."

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Her words rang repeatedly in his head. For the past hour, he had been sitting in her apartment, trying to figure out why she told him so. It was not that she spoke in riddles, but he did not expect it coming.

Ever since he lost his memories during the final fight with a big gang he couldn't bother to remember, he tried his best to regain at least some of his memories. Alas, it had been more than a month and still, none of his memories came back to him.

He sighed as he keaned back in the couch and stared up at the ceiling. All his friends told him that he was the closest one to her, their leader, his childhood friend, Shinrin.

So when he asked her if he could follow her for her next mission, she told him to go home, and she did not say anything afterwards; instead she continued to do her paperwork. It was frustrating and confusing and to be honest, it hurt him.

He closed his eyes and made up his mind. He would confront her no matter what.

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"Kuro! What-" Shinrin exclaimed as Kuro pushed her against a tree. They were currently in a forest near the base. Shinrin was on her way home when she was dragged by Kuro to the forest, which led to their current predicament.

Shinrin narrowed her eyes to him. "Any explanation?"

She was awarded with his silence and her expression turned serious. "What's up?"

What to do so my voice reaches you?
Gently linking our fingers
Just by that
I know that I'm not alone

"Why?" Kuro finally voiced. "Why did you tell me to leave?" He lowered his gaze to the ground and tightened his grip on her shoulders.

Shinrin sighed. "Is that why you seem so uptight?" When she did not get any answer, she continued. "Kuro, you're still not fully healed."

"I doubt that's the reason." He spat and lifted his gaze to her, glaring daggers. "Yes, I know I lost my memories. From what I was told, I am your best friend! I've known you the longest. We were inseparable." He paused and his voice became quieter. "And when you told me to leave, I was hurt." He softened his gaze and lowered both his hands.

The sound of the night breeze brushing against the leaves were the only sound that accompanied their silence.

Now I just want to depend on the tranquillity
Share the warmth with you
And fall into a slumber

"Is it because I'm weak now, that I can't remember how to fight? That I would just get in the way?" He spoke softly. "Is that why?"

Shinrin stared up at him, eyebrows furrowed. She knew Kuro was emotionally fragile at the moment, so she took her time to choose her words carefully.

"Kuro," she started, "it's not like what you think." She took a deep breath and continued, "have you ever stop just for a second and think, that this whole thing hurts me as much as you? I dragged you into this dangerous game and look at what happened."

"You lost your memories of this nightmare, the one that got you hurt in the first place. Why can't you just be glad and move on? You were in this too deep and when you finally have the chance to be free, why do you still insist on still becoming a part of this?"

"Because," Kuro leaned his head to her shoulders and closed his eyes. "Because..."

Hey, at times you forget
That there is light on the other side of the night
Only the moon is gazing
At the whereabouts of us, who lost our wings

"That time, when you finally woke up after three days of being unconscious, I was really relieved that you're fine, until we found out that you had amnesia. Knowing that it was all my fault, I couldn't risk another chance by bringing you for another mission."

"You couldn't risk another chance of losing me again." Kuro lifted his head and stared into her eyes. Shinrin rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue. "Idiot."

"Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" Kuro asked, his brown eyes blinked in curiosity.

"Idiot. Even if I say that, we would probably still be having this discussion anyway. You're always that type of guy that doesn't believe a straight-forward answer." Shinrin muttered, annoyance etched onto her face as she recalled some of their memories together before he lost his memories.

Kuro let out a small chuckle when he saw her expression. Somehow, he felt familiar, like how they used to interact before the whole thing happened.

Isn't it strange? Your voice from the side feels nostalgic
I feel like I've always known you
From the other side of time

He plopped down next to her and leaned against the tree. Shinrin followed suit and they both stared up at the dark sky.

"This feels normal. Do we used to do this?" Kuro questioned.

"When we were kids. You wouldn't stop bragging when you won the race to the hills. Then we would just lie down and watch the sky, clouds, stars." Shinrin smiled wistfully.

It was silence between them before Kuro started talking. "I wish my memories would come back soon. I feel empty."

"Some memories deserve to be forgotten." Shinrin closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze.

"I don't care. It's not like the memories would change my opinions or anything. I'm still the same old Kuro deep down inside." He stretched his legs and relaxed his body. He was content.

Somewhere in my still unknown memories
Under the same moon
We were huddling close together

"People change their opinions once they heard something about it, even rumours." Shinrin replied.

Kuro smiled. "That time, when we passed that village on our way home, the villagers were talking about me. They would say how gifted and special I was, to have sensitive hearing. They even called me the 'Child of Angel.'

"Then they started whispering to each other. They said that by being associated, friends, with you, I was nothing more but a 'fallen angel chained by the nature demon.'" He said with quoted gestures.

"In the end, I'm still here with you, aren't I?" He finished with a lop-sided grin.

"Nature demon, huh?" Shinrin mumbled.

"The Seishitsu clan is a clan of monsters. Wrecking havoc and causing destruction just for the sake of their entertainment. And the bastard child becomes the victim of everything; their words, their accusations.

"People only assume that the bastard children are the demons because they were born with elemental spirits, just like how I was born with Aizu. To the clan, I'm a reject; and to the society, I'm a demon." She mused. "The rejected demon who lost her wings with nowhere else to go."

Hey, you teach me in silence
That by being your side gives me comfort
The tune of the moon pours
Into your tender back that has lost its wings

"This night is certainly a memorable night to me. I remembered bits of my memories, and we finally had a real talk." Kuro beamed. "And our only witness is-"

"The silence of the moon." They said simultaneously. Kuro turned, wide-eyed, to his childhood friend.

"You also say that every time we had a long talk during the night." Shinrin smirked. "Congrats. You unconsciously recalled one of your lame phrases."

"It's not lame!" Kuro huffed. "It's genius!"

Shinrin let out a small laugh that gradually turned into a full laughter. When she calmed down, she patted his shoulders at his puzzled and annoyed expression. "That's how you always are. You're on your way on getting your memories back."

Kuro grinned and looked up at the bright moon above him. He vowed to himself that he would get all his memories back, and he would do anything to make that sound of laughter come from the nature demon herself again.

After all, he's the fallen angel chained to the nature demon, and they had all the time and place in the world.

Hey, to the other side of the night
Until it turns into light
Certainly I can go on without letting go of my hands
Only the moon is gazing
At the slumber of us, who lost our wings

Untitled: One

Out at the back of an alley downtown in the middle of the night, punches and kicks were thrown everywhere.

"Eat this!" A guy yelled out and delivered a punch to the person in front of him. The person turned around just in time and received the blow. She staggered backwards before she got into a defensive form.

The guy charged towards her and she evaded all the attacks. She did a backflip and started attacking. She caught his arm and spun around, then elbowed him in the stomach. He fell on his knees and she twisted his arm; not before kicking him to the ground.

She smirked and turned to face the guy, "Thanks for the workout."

She looked at her surroundings and noticed that almost all the rivals had fallen down or beaten up. "Hey, Lance!" She called out to the guy who was engaged in a fight.

Lance gave one final kick before he turned to her. "What up, Al?"

The girl, Al, or Alli, replied, "What's the time now?"

"Almost two," Lance answered after checking his watch. Alli let out a curse and thanked him before dashing from the scene.

"What's the matter? Afraid your brother will find out and scold you?" He yelled out loud and laughed. Alli threw him a glare before she left.

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'This is bad! This is bad!' Alli chanted in her head as the view of her house came closer. She ran faster and went to the backyard when she finally reached her house. She carefully unlocked the backdoor and closed it quietly before tiptoeing to the stairs.

"Well, hello there, Miss West. A lovely night, isn't it?" A deep voice echoed in the empty kitchen.

'Shit.' Alli took a deep breath and turned around slowly. "Mister West." She replied.

"You're out late. Again." The person stated and tossed her a can of soda.

"Well, thank you for telling me, Captain Obvious." Alli mocked and popped open the can. "You didn't rat me out to mom, did you, Pat?" She asked in a hopeful voice.

The moonlight illuminated the kitchen and Alli could see the outline of Patrick, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed on his chest.

Patrick chuckled. "You owe me. But if mom or dad asks about your wound, I'm not saving your ass."

Alli let out a relieved sigh and took a sip of the soda.

One

“Ken.”

“What?”

“You know, you used to be a shrimp.”

Without replying, Ken ruffled Eri’s hair. Pouting, Eri raked her strayed hair with her fingers as she recalled an incident three years ago.

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“Ken, come here a sec!” Eri called out to her classmate who was staring out of the window.

He dragged his feet with him and leaned against her table, still staring blankly at the sky. “What?”

Eri leaned all the way back on her chair, “They are just teasing you about your height. You might grow taller in a year or two!” She grinned with satisfaction when she saw a frown on his face and unconsciously followed his gaze out of the window.

“I’m leav-“

“Hey! I’m just kidding! I called you here for another reason.” Eri managed to stop him when he was about to turn and leave. Ken was now facing her and staring at her with the same frown.

“What?” he muttered again, impatiently.

“Show me your hands.”

“Why should I?”

Eri stretched out both hands and waved it in front of him, “Just wondering whose hands are bigger.”

“You are random.”

“No I’m not, I’m just curious!” Eri’s smile grew wider.

Ken did not answer her but he pulled out his right hand from his pocket, trying to catch Eri’s hand. Eri was still waving her hands playfully and suddenly Ken just grabbed her left hand. Her eyes widened a little from the small shock he gave. A pleasant shock that made her body froze. Her right hand was hanging in the air.

She then felt his hands releasing his grip and sliding through her fingers. That made her stared at him wide-eyed, only to find him staring intently on her hands as he tried to align his hands with hers. As his fingertips rested against her fingertips, his frown grew deeper. She frowned with him as well.

“My fingers are shorter.”

Ken turned his head a little and their eyes met. Only then, Eri realized what she was doing and quickly averted her eyes to their hands as a she tried her best to fight the blush that started to creep on her cheeks.

“Cool! Eh? But my thumb is shorter than yours!” Eri pouted a little. She tried to adjust her hands to check.

“Oy! That’s not right!” Ken grabbed her wrist and lifted it a little so that he can see properly if the bases of their palms are aligned together. He was too preoccupied with comparing the length of their fingers and failed to notice Eri’s cheeks turning pink with her head slightly lowered, partly trying to hide her blush.

“Hey! My thumb is longer than yours! My little finger too!” Eri peaked through her fringe and saw Ken grinned for the first time for that whole morning. Eri fought the urge to smile back in return, cursing silently about the infectious grin he had.

“Oy, there’s nothing to be sad about right?” Ken lowered his head to stare directly at her face, hands still resting gently on hers. With that, Eri straightened up her head and pulled her hands away from him. Ken followed her suit and tucked his hands back into the pockets.

“… and sorry for my sweaty palms.” Ken stared blankly at his shoes.

It made Eri felt a little conscious and felt her own hands getting sweaty too. “Mine was a little sweaty too…”

She mumbled mostly to herself and secretly blamed herself for being nervous around him so suddenly.

“Anyway, did you know?”

“What?”

“Length of fingers are related to height, shorty!” Eri stuck her tongue out.

“What!” Ken shouted what seemed to be his favourite word. “But my thumb and little finger are longer!”

“It’s only two out of five!”

“You-… What’s your height?”

“154cm.”

“I’m 156!”

“But you’re a guy.”

“Ugh…” Ken went back to his seat and lied down on his table, burying his face in his arms, sulking.

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Eri bit her lip and stared at Ken. She was only at his shoulders’ height – slightly shorter even. An idea struck Eri and she placed her right palm flat on the top of his head.

Shocked, Ken took a step away from her, “What are you doing?”

With her right hand still hovering in the air, she positioned another palm horizontally just slightly above her eyebrows as she grinned broadly, “Your growth spurt.”

“…”