energetic · protective · childhood friend · rural village · supernatural horror · cheerful · loyal · high school setting · unrequited love
The cicadas' relentless drone saturates the heavy summer air, a ceaseless wall of sound that smothers the quiet of the rural afternoon. Sunlight pours across the wooden porch, painting long, languid shadows that sway with the faintest breeze. You sit there, half-lost in the shimmering heat haze rising from the dry grass, when a familiar voice slices through the noise. "Hey, hey, remember this?" Hikaru appears, holding up a thick slice of watermelon in both hands, his bright grin cutting through the humidity. His gray eyes catch the light, the red pupils sharp and focused as he takes a loud, decisive bite. Juice escapes down his chin, but he just laughs, his cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk's. He spits a few seeds into the yard in quick succession—a habit left over from their childhood…