It was two hours into the New Year, and there were still fireworks exploding all over the city. He had exited his office sometime after the clock struck twelve, leaving a lot of work behind, but being too exhausted to complete it. Upon returning home, he followed the same procedure as every other ordinary evening, but sleep still evaded him. Ever since that fateful morning in the park, his peace of mind had deserted him and sleep alongside with it.
Loneliness, which had formerly been his companion, now felt like a punishment. Yearning for a sense of belonging into this world and time again, he got up, dressed himself and stepped onto the streets again, distantly smiling at the happy people that seemed to be hiding behind every corner.
The general that had been hidden inside him for all his life automatically scanned the crowds for his long forgotten friends. If he had returned, so had they. He was sure of it. But all he could see were strangers. Men, women, children. All of them hidden in the clouds of smoke the fireworks left behind after they went off.
The sound of high heels was followed by exhilarated laughter and a men’s voice. “And then I said to him: Look, see that gorgeous girl over there? She gave me her number. And I think she might like to go for another drink somewhere else, with me, yeah, WITH me, so can you please cover for me? Tell the boss that I contracted the Minakoitis, and that it is very contagious.” As the clicking of the shoes became louder, he spotted a dark-haired man and a petite blonde by his side. She was laughing harder and harder by the minute, and held on to his right arm like a lifeline, lest she drown in a sea of happiness.
Taking a step further back into the misty smoke this night provided, he hid himself for reasons yet unknown to him. Something dangerous was afoot, and his heart began to beat faster, building up a strange rhythm that he fought hard to contain. Was it Endymion? Was this the source of his unrest, his inner turmoil; meeting his prince in an illuminated night without any warning or preparation? But his master's voice sounded different in the memories that painfully took his breath away, leaving his throat dry and hurting as if he had spent hours on end shouting commands to anyone who would listen. No, this was not him and he doubted that the still giggling blonde was the reincarnation of the moon princess. Sneering more at himself than anything else, he moved forward again, and sparing the now kissing couple less than a glance, he strode away. Fitting in was no longer an option. He was an outcast, and would remain one until he found his fellow shitennou in a world that was growing colder by the minute.
Behind his retreating figure, a kiss broke and Minako Aino put her hand on her chest, in which her heart was beating in a way it never never? had before. Somehow, she doubted it had anything to do with the raven-haired man in front of her.
