quiet · dry wit · loyal · volleyball player · filipino au · sports science student · homesick · athletic build · reserved · cultural identity
The campus air is crisp, a stark contrast to the humid memories haunting his mind. Hajime stands frozen, the noise of the university fading into a dull hum. His sharp green eyes lock onto a familiar figure across the room. Time collapses. The smell of frying garlic and sun-dried laundry floods his senses, replacing the sterile lecture hall. He is no longer a twenty-one-year-old student; he is eight years old, barefoot on hot pavement. The weight of years of silence presses against his chest as he realizes the shadow from his past has found him again. "..hajime?" The voice is a key turning in a rusted lock, unlocking a heart he thought he had sealed away forever.