Chapter 25: Chapter 25 - The Distance Between Us

It was a summer night with an unusual stillness in the air.

Kuro Kurogane slowly paced the sidewalk beneath the illuminated streetlights. Akari and Aoi trailed just behind him after having returned from a late trip to a 24-hour grocery store.

It was a commonplace experience.

Or at least it used to be commonplace.

Things were different now.

The distance between the three of them had felt different.Not a physical distance.An emotional distance.

Kuro had finally begun to clearly see that emotional distance.

Akari who usually walked next to him was tonight, walking much more quietly than normal while hummed to herself while holding a small plastic shopping bag against her chest.

Sitting beside him.Aoi sat in his usual place beside Kuro in a calm, quiet manner.

Their familiar setting should have given Kuro comfort.

Instead,Kuro’s heart was continuing to be unusually active.

An annoyance.

"Man. It sure is hot tonight," Kuro said nervously.

Akari looked up immediately. "Kuro-kun."

"What?"

"You’ve already said that for the last three times."

"Have I?"

"Yes," said Aoi in his monotone way.

"Your present behavior would indicate that you’re probably very nervous," said Aoi.

"I’m not nervous," said Kuro.

Silence.Akari and Aoi both continued staring at Kuro.

Kuro sighed. "Guys, quit acting like you’re trying to observe me like a group of scientists."

Akari chuckled a little.

"There’s the Kuro-kun we used to know so well."

And somehow, that phrase made Kuro’s chest feel a little tight.

Because Kuro wondered if Akari and Aoi still see him as they used to.

Or did Kuro’s lack of faith in himself make him see himself differently?

The quiet streets of their neighbourhood flowed on ahead of them with the warmth of vending machines and streetlights.

The world seemed to almost stand still and move slower at night.Things felt softer and in a way more honest.

Suddenly, Akari moved just a little closer to Kuro.

Not enough to actually touch him, but close enough for Kuro to notice right away.

"Kuro-kun?"

"What?"

"Do you remember when we were kids walking home together?"

"Sort of."

"Liar."

Akari smiled at him.

"You used to walk in the middle so that I didn’t have to be right next to a dog."

Kuro blinked at her, and then out of nowhere Kuro could picture small Akari crouching beside him while he would have to fight off a dog.

And Aoi was always beside them with a bag of snacks.

And the three of them walking home together in the middle of a sunset years before.

"...I remember when you cried," Kuro said.

Akari gasped.

"You promised not to remember that!"

"You cried because a chihuahua barked at you."

"It looked aggressive!"

Aoi nodded his head as calmly as he could and said, "...It was only about three kilograms."

"STOP HELPING MAINTAIN HIS LIE!"

Tears of joy came to Kuro’s eyes, and he could not stop himself from laughing out loud.

The air filled with a familiar warm and homey feeling once again—just as before.

However, now, when Akari smiled at Kuro it felt more like his heart was on fire. Plus, Aoi’s quiet gaze towards Kuro now made him acutely aware of her presence.

The chemistry between Kuro and Aoi was no longer just a game but rather something real something special.

Kuro and Aoi stopped by a small river as they made their way home from the park. The night air blew through the trees and glimmering lights of the city reflected off the dark water.

Akari leaned over the railing with her arms crossed.

"Things sure have changed since we became family."

Kuro did not say anything.

"Yeah," Aoi stated as she gazed into the river.

"But not completely," added Kuro.

As they all stared quietly into the water, Akari suddenly chuckled softly.

"You know..."

"What?" Kuro asked, turning to look at her.

"When we first became family again, I thought maybe everything would be the same from then on," she said softly.

Kuro looked back at her while Akari smiled.

"But they aren’t."

No laughing. Don’t be crazy loud. Just be sincere and honest and straight up.

Aoi came to stand a little closer.

"I was terrified at first."

Kuro instantly remembered his old journal.

All the years of bottled-up feelings.

"Sometimes I thought if things changed too much, you would disappear from my life."

Kuro felt an alarming force hit him at that moment.

Kuro finally realized he was not being held onto with obsessive obsession, but that these two people were afraid.

They were afraid of being forgotten or left behind or separated again.Like last time.

Then for some reason Kuro’s heart ached.

Akari turned her head to glance over at him.

"But lately..."

She smiled very lightly at him.

"I am okay with change now."

Kuro’s throat felt very dry.

"Why?"

Akari laughed softly.

"Because now you are changing too."

Silence.Kuro became somewhat frozen.Aoi nodded slowly.

"You are smiling more often."

Akari added, "You are spending more time with other people."

"You don’t take off running from us right after we see each other."Kuro felt awkward and turned away from them.

"You two are noticing too much."

"Of course we do," Akari said in a whisper.

The answer they gave to him just came to them.It was automatic.

It was simple to see.And possibly for them always would have been.

The wind was gentle around them once more.

Kuro took a closer look at the girls who stood next to him longer than anyone else.

He saw Akari and her bright energy. He saw Aoi and her soft love.

The two girls had been there with him longer than anyone else.

Inside him suddenly a terrifying thoughts became crystal clear.

He didn’t want these things to go away.

These walks. These talks. These chaotic, everlasting days.

Them.

This thought burrowed deeply within him.

Warm. True. Unmistakable.

Akari stretched out her arms and legs.

"Okay! Enough of this emotional bull before I vomit from embarrassment!" she said.

"Wow, that’s a rare moment of self-awareness," Kuro mumbled.

"How rude."

Aoi was quietly looking at Kuro and Akari with a small smile.

Then, the three of them continued walking back home under the soothing darkness of the night.

Closer together than they had been before.

The space between them had gone from feeling awkward to feeling relaxed.

The silence was peaceful.

And without even thinking about it Kuro’s hand was the first to move.

An unconscious act.Natural.

His fingers reached out beside him and found someone else’s hand.

Warm softness hit him on the inside of his palm.

Kuro blinked.

Akari didn’t move.Just as Aoi came to a stop, so too did he cease to move.Nothing was said.

Slowly Kuro bent down to look to see what he was reaching for first.

It wasn’t by accident.

They hadn’t grabbed him.

He grabbed.His heart rate skyrocketed.

Akari turned red.Aoi’s face went from calm to soft.

This is the first time Kuro did not let go of anything.

The soft summer wind moved between Kuro and Akari as there was finally no distance left between either person’s heart.