Katsumi made his way up to the shrine with a conflict raging within him, he felt guilty that he was free from the past and he couldn't understand why that was the case. The sun was setting and the birds chirping began to dull down, once he made it to the gate he saw Satoshi perked up against the red pole. "Why the long face kiddo?" He asked, again raising his hand in greetings.
Satoshi observed the boy and noticed the small carrier bag of belongings he had in his hand and his weary expression, he looked exhausted and Satoshi could tell it wasn't from the long hike up the cliff. He wore a long frown. Pity filled Satoshi for a moment but he quickly shrugged it off, that wasn't what Katsumi needed right now.
"It's nothing but uhm..", he paused looking away from him, "I've got no home to go back to now". He smiled holding back the tears as he attempted to at least make a joke of the situation. Satoshi watched him fight back the urge to break down. He stepped away from the post and towards the boy, the height difference would be almost intimidating for anyone, but Katsumi's eyes never met his as he clutched the bag.
"Hey, listen… If you want you can see this as your home, you're always welcome here." Satoshi placed his hand on the back of his neck, he really wasn't good at all of this consoling stuff be he tried when it was necessary.
The boy looked up at him, his eyes glassy and red from the crying, yet no tears flowed down his face but he was thankful. He didn't know the man long but he could tell he was kind although he knew he was quick to trust over small gestures like that something told him that was honesty. The man placed a hand on his shoulder, he knew that struck home with him and he was grateful. "Go in, forget packing tonight" Satoshi said kindly, "Go get some rest it's been a long day for ya", that childish optimism was back and it made Katsumi smile.
"Thank you so much", he whispered as he hurried past the teacher.
With that Satoshi sat down on the top step, looking down at the forest below, it seemed to glow in the sunset. He let out a sigh, looking back at the boy. "It's not going to be a forgiving path for that kid is it?" He asked himself quietly. No one was around to hear him as all the students were out on a supper break before finishing the day so the shrine grounds remained silent and only the swaying of trees and the howl of the wind accompanied him.
Back in the room Katsumi tossed aside the small bag of clothes and leapt into bed, he closed his eyes, he had to forget everything but he knew he couldn't. His mother's rage, the hatred, the loneliness, the bullies, the fall, everything plagued his mind. He buried his head into the cushion and his exhaustion eventually got the better of him.
The next day, Katsumi set about packing his things which was simply just the case of grabbing some coat hangers and hanging his clothes into the wardrobe. Luckily they were clean but they still wreaked of dirt and smoke, "it'll probably air off" he murmured, it was just the least of his concerns right now. His train of thought, however, was quickly interrupted by a loud knock at the door. It startled him so much he accidently threw a coat hanger up into the air sending it flying onto the bed.
He quickly made his way to the door and opened it, to be greeted by Maya and a young girl and what appeared to a be.. Is that a monkey? Katsumi was taken aback by the girls strange pet which appeared to be sat cheerfully on her shoulder. It was weird, it was as if it was an orange wisp, it had all of the features of a monkey but every now and again parts of it would trail off like fire and it was semi-transparent, he could see the door on the other side through it.
Katsumi rubbed his eyes, double checking if what he was seeing was right. The girl stood there, smiling she expected some crazy reaction, "Good morning Katsumi" Maya broke the confused boy out of fixated stares. "This is Akari" She said pointing to the girl. The girl was also rather strange in appearance upon actually looking at her instead of the ghost monkey that was sat on her shoulder. She was dressed as if she was ready to fight, he scarlet hair was tied up into a pony tail and the usual white piece of uniform which came in the form of a short cape that only covered her shoulders. Bandages were wrapped around her hands and wrists and for some reason she wore no shoes, instead her feet were partially covered by long orange trousers and a white vest top covered the rest.
The girl bowed "Hello", she said softly, which definitely caught Katsumi off guard, she didn't sound as fearsome as she dressed. "I'll be showing you around the grounds and hopefully introducing you to some people and teachers on our way through", she was oddly professional about this and wore a welcoming smile.
"Oh, yeah sorry I completely forgot Maya mentioned that", he looked down flustered noticing his own clothes for a moment. His hadn't got changed yesterday. Katsumi blushed at the sudden realisation. "J- Just give me a second, I'm so sorry", he said apologising once more.
He closed the door and the two Akari looked at Maya a little confused, "he's an interesting boy" Maya responded, she didn't need to know what she was going to say as it was blatantly obvious.
"Just how much does this kid know?" Akari asked suspiciously. "He looked at Sunny as if he was a ghost", she laughed.
"He doesn't know anything about anything, I was hoping you'd fill him in with some details on your little tour", Maya smirked, knowing that this was just extra work for the girl to do. In which she sighed in response.
On the other side of the door Katsumi was running through his wardrobe looking for his hoodie and at least another pair of trousers to his surprise he found both and slipped into them in a matter of minutes he opened the door wearing a dark blue hoodie, some black jeans and some black and white high tops. These were the only clothes that didn't wreak of booze.
"I'll leave you two to it after that go to the canteen to get some food, you haven't eaten since yesterday Katsumi". She ordered, she walked down the corridor and disappeared like usual leaving Katsumi, Akari and a monkey to explore.
Akari and Katsumi looked at each other awkwardly until Akari spoke up and cleared her throat, "This is Sun, he's a soul summon, but I guess it'd make more sense if I called him a familiar" she said while gesturing Katsumi to follow her. "I thought I'd mention it, you looked terrified", she joked.
"Ye-yeah I think Satoshi mentioned that, to be honest I should learn not to be surprised" He stuttered joining her. The two conversed as they ventured down the halls and into rooms. Laughing and joking as they walked, Katsumi was awkward but she noticed that he opened up rather quickly.
After a tour through the different classrooms the two headed outside where a selection of students where gathered with a teacher stood in the centre, it was none other than Satoshi, he was clearly a common sight around the shrine. He stood staring at his palms, his pale hands enveloped in a yellow aura and it was like the light around him had conjured itself into a small animal…