Prologue

They said cities were only dead structures made of glass and stone, deserts of asphalt and concrete, polluted by foul air and plagued by the noise of a thousand cars and voices. It wasn't just my parents thinking like that, but even my friends who were still living there, in the paradise they failed to see.

It had been little more than seven months since I had left them behind, more than enough time to forget them and get used to this new life of mine, but I felt as lost as on my first day here.

My new classmates were friendly and open-hearted, almost all of them, but that changed little about us coming from different worlds. There was barely anything for me to talk about aside from school, homework and maybe the weather. Me being rather silent by nature didn't exactly help either.

Having lived almost the entirety of my life in the city, seventeen years, I naturally didn't know much about the lives my new classmates led. I had never grown vegetables, nor did I raise any animals.

It felt as if all of them had been raised on farms and never felt like finding a hobby more fulfilling than helping their parent's work. Sure, I would have helped my parents too, if they had chosen a job that had allowed me to, but there should be something else in their lives, too!

This town had nothing you could waste time at, no cinema, no karaoke, no arcade, no nothing. The little library our school had felt like the sole place that wasn't entirely boring, that was when you liked reading romances, fairytales or dramas written by some famous authors. Naturally, it had neither mangas nor light novels, making it yet another swamp of boredom.

The girls here were almost as bad as their hometown. Sure, they were cute, you could give them that, but they were awkward to be with.

Just a single honest compliment was enough to make them shy away, and there was their backward mindset, too. I was totally open for being lovey-dovey and all that came with it, but they seemed to have a hidden rule of not even kissing before a ring was put on their fingers.

I have had it with those weirdos. Today, I would take another step out of the hellish boredom this town tried to kill me with. Even if there wasn't a single one among my new classmates that knew how to party or have fun, I would be fine! I had Mira, she was enough!

Once again, I pulled my phone out of my bag and checked the message she had written to me the day before. It was only four lines of text, but they had easily made me the happiest man alive.

 

『Hello Riku!』 Her message read. 『Are you still awake? Don't forget about tomorrow! Hina told me the test will be especially hard this time! Don't worry, we get you through somehow!

\(´･(00)･｀)/』

 

"This girl can make even pigs look cute!"

 

If I was to look in a mirror right now, I would probably find myself smiling like an idiot. Of course I didn't really care about what others think. Today, nothing would be able to ruin my mood!

 

"Learning group ♪~ learning group ♬♪~" I heard myself sing in glee. "Lear~ ning~ grouuup! ♩♬♪~"

 

Just as I had finished my rather weird song, I discovered a white-haired granny on the other side of the road. A wide smile was showing on her wrinkled face. I felt a burning heat conquering my own.

 

"What?! Can a man not be happy?"

 

«She is even laughing now!? That old hag! Go feed some pigeons or something! Is there nothing on television?»

 

I couldn't help but avoid my gaze and walk away, pretending that I had never seen her. My once bright mood had dampened quite a bit.



«Whatever,» I tried to cheer myself up, «I don't care! I will be alone with her! No parents, no classmates and not a single one of her silly friends! Nobody! If she hasn't suddenly decided to adopt a cat, it will be us alone! The whole day!»



Even with my poor grades, it wouldn't take the whole day to catch up on the stuff covered by the tests, but I was sure I would somehow find a way to prolong the precious time I had with her, even if it meant making me appear more stupid than I really was. If it led to us growing closer, I wouldn't mind being called stupid!

A new, bright smile grew on my lips. I stopped at a wall and put the smartphone back into my bag before once again inspecting its other contents.



«English book? Check. Math? Check. Textbooks? Should be fine. Pens? Dozens.»



Giving me an inner thumbs up, I put aside all school-related items to reveal much more important treasures.  «Deodorant? Check. Condoms? There is nothing wrong about being prepared!»



I shoved my stuff back into my bag, hiding it behind about six-hundred pages of printed boredom. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have given a flying fuck about any of those books. Good grades meant nothing when you were stuck living between farms and chicken dens.

As I continued walking, my gaze fell on a big, dark red gate marking the entrance to a shrine of some sort. It looked rather shabby, with bits of paint falling off here and there.



«There was a shrine at this place?»



I had never really cared about shrines. To me, they were little more than places you could meet your friends at. Today, however, I felt lucky enough to waste a minute on it.

Those girls in my class would probably pray for world peace or a good harvest for their family's farms, but I wasn't like them. I would pray for happiness! Happiness and luck in love!

Half walking, half jumping, I made my way up the slight slope leading towards the shrine. It didn't take me more than a minute to reach the top of the hill, as it didn't seem to be much higher than any of the houses standing on the opposite side of the road. Maybe that was why I had overseen it for all those months - not that it mattered now.



"Praying for luck~ luck~ in~ love! ♬"



A cold shiver went over my skin as I realized that I had let myself go again. I slowly turned around, searching for any grannies that might have overheard me, but not a single human soul was to be found. I was in luck.



«No grannies? No grannies. Good.»



After reassuring me like this, I turned around and slowly stepped closer to the shrine, giving me enough time to examine it. There wasn't much more to it than a shabby building and a small one at that.

Everywhere I looked, I found weathered wood, with once bright and noble looking colors now falling off in large bits. Even the dark grey tiles on the roof, which shouldn't show any obvious traces of time at all, were cracking here and there.



«Doesn't look like anybody took care of it in ages...»



If I had to name one single item here that wasn't close to falling apart, it would be the large wooden box used for offerings, which looked almost freshly painted with a dark brown color. It was easy to see where their priorities laid.



«Well. Let's give those baldies some money. Maybe they will replace this doghouse with a real shrine once they have enough of it? Will I be able to see her in a Kimono?»  Seeing her dressed up like that would certainly be worth a few coins, though the little money I had on me wouldn't make much of a difference when it came to rebuilding a shrine.



«Whatever. It's not like there is anything else I can use it for in this town...»



I sat down on a brittle bench I found nearby and searched my bag for my purse. Nothing.



«Where is it? I could have sworn it was in here somewhere. Damnit!»



Knowing myself, I had probably forgotten it at home, not that it really mattered. Mira was a caring girl, she had probably prepared some cookies or cake to go along with the tea she would surely brew for us. There was no need to go to the convenience store to stock up on stuff. This lousy town hadn't got one in the first place.

After having fully searched my bag, I found myself left with little choice. There was no money in it, not even a single coin, nothing that would be able to bring the monks a step nearer to rebuilding the shrine.



«I can't just leave like this after coming here. If not for those monks, let's just leave something for the god residing here instead!»



Leaving an offering for the god instead seemed like a good idea, but I had no idea what item to choose. I had nothing on me and it didn't look like there were any flowers or beautiful stones nearby. Leaving behind something found only a few steps away from the offering box wouldn't please any god in the first place.



«Anything that would be a token of love...»



I couldn't just toss away the school stuff, but what about the things I had prepared for my date with Mira? One word: Never. No chance in hell! Just no!



"Wait a second. I could use those ..."



There was little choice. If it was for my luck in love in the first place, the condoms I now held in my hand were better than coins at any given day.

Somewhat relieved, I tore open the package I had bought half a year ago, back then when I still was naive enough to think things would be proceeding faster. After all this time, we hadn't even held hands for longer than mere seconds!



«What have I been thinking back then, going as far as buying flavored ones even!? Why would she just jump into the bed with me? I would be the happiest man alive if I could just kiss her!»



I didn't have to think twice. Picking all six of the condoms at once, I tossed them into the offering box and watched half a fruit salad's worth of flavor dancing on the bars protecting the offerings from theft. When they found their way through the gaps and fell onto the few coins the villages had left behind, a series of dull sounds reached my ear.



«Pretty unsatisfying ...»



A little disappointed, I reached for the thick rope connected to a large, rusty bell that was hanging a few hand-widths under the leaky roof.



«Will it even ring in that state?»



On the spur of the moment, I decided to give it a strong tug to at least get a faint sound out of the weathered metal. Using both of my hands, I pulled on the rope. Even though I did it not only once or twice, but three times, only pathetic, almost inaudible peals reached my ears. I pulled again, even stronger than before.



«This stupid good for nothing!»



The bell gave in immediately. It came falling from the ceiling and crashed onto the cracked stone pavement I was standing on. One last time, the bell rang, loud and clear, only to be destroyed forever in the process. Shards of rusty iron where flung in all directions, some of which cut deep scratches into my legs, ignoring the pants I had worn.



«ARRGH! DAMN IT! THIS FUCKING- IT HURTS! Why would anybody-»



A deafening rumble cut of my cursing. I looked up, only to find the roof of the shabby shrine crumbling under its own weight. Wood, stone and pottery all came falling down onto me, threatening to bury me alive.



«Are you fucking kidding me?»



I jumped backwards, trying to avoid the shattered tiles from hitting me, but a random stone blocked my path of escape. I fell onto my butt, shocked to the point I couldn't breathe, and watched the roof come crashing down towards me.



«Holy shit ...»



A large, wooden rafter suddenly came falling down, as if for a grand finale. It impaled the ground two steps in front of me, right where the other debris had hit, and stood still a second before slowly beginning to tip over.

I just sat there petrified, unable to even react to the heavy wooden piece that seemed to grow larger and ever larger. When it finally came down it missed my head, my chest and my stomach, only to embed itself deep into my nether regions.

«My life is over,» were my last thoughts before darkness embraced me.

 

⊱————-　Extra　————-⊰

 

Riku: Did you really destroy my nuts just now?

???: I just watched them go *splash!*

Riku: Spl.. splash?

???: Here, the video. I could watch it for hours! (◕▿◕ )

Riku: You really filmed it!?

???: I even added sound effects!

Riku: You ******* *****!!