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[Location: the Condemned Village, during the evening. A quivering Yun walks into the village. Yun soon sees a small campfire...and he also sees an unfamiliar boy (Akira) napping on a pile of leaves. Yun dashes over to the strange boy]
Yun: Um, excuse me, shuaige...
[Akira makes a quiet cat-like trill as he opens an eye]
Akira:...Oh, hey. Another person.
Yun: Indeed! It is such a relief to see that I'm not alone!
[Yun bows deeply]
Yun: It's really nice to--
Akira: What are you doing?
[Yun stands up straight]
Yun:...Huh? What...what do you mean? I'm trying to be polite...
Akira:...Well, could you...not do that? It...it feels kind of...awkward. I mean, do I look like an old man to you?
Yun:...No?
Akira: Exactly. And, uh...I've met people who...don't match their actions with words, you know?
Yun: Oh. I...I see.
Akira: Yeah.
[Silence fills the air for a few moments]
Yun: (I wonder if it would be okay to lie down next to him? That leaf pile looks so comfortable...and his bare chest is so visible...I wonder if his muscular body is warm? That mountain was so cold...)
[Akira quickly sits up]
Akira: You've been spending time on a cold mountain?!
[Akira quickly takes off his jacket]
Akira: Get over here, then!
[A bewildered Yun walks over to Akira and lies down next to him. Akira covers Yun with the jacket. Akira then lies down next to Yun and hugs him. Yun finds himself breathing faster]
Akira:...Is this better?
Yun: [wheezily] Yeah.
Akira: Good, that's good.
Yun:...How did you know that I was...on a cold mountain? I didn't...say anything...
Akira: I can read minds.
Yun:...Wait...you have powers?
Akira: Yeah. I can do a lot of things. I can move things with my mind. I can teleport. I can create fire and ice. And I can create terrifying illusions.
Yun:...Wo kao...you must have meditated a lot...
[Akira's flat expression quickly changes to a bewildered one. After a few seconds, his expression quickly goes back to being flat]
Akira: Um...no. I just...got these powers when I hit puberty.
Yun:...Wow...your life must be really virtuous...
[Akira makes an odd noise that sounds like a scoff and a gasp]
Akira: I'm...a delinquent. My life is not virtuous at all.
Yun:...Hmm.
[Yun just finds himself staring at the sky for a while]
Yun: (Oh, grandma...will you be okay all by yourself? I'm not there to look after you, and you're too sick to work...will you die before I make it back home? Will you work yourself to death, just like Mother and Father...? Will you hate me for not being there to help you? Will everybody hate me?)
[Yun starts crying, but then he starts blinking rapidly]
Yun: (No, you can't be crying! You'll embarass this person! And...and I have to be brave! I can't be showing weakness at a time like this!)
[Akira scoffs]
Akira: What dumbass told you to be brave like that? That's the stupidest advice I've ever heard.
Yun: Um...some of the people in my village?
Akira: Well, those people are fucking stupid.
Yun: That's not a nice thing to say...
Akira: I'm just saying that hiding your feelings won't help you feel better. It'll just make you feel worse. Everything will hurt, you'll lash out at people, you'll get sick more often, and, well, you're just going to feel like shit.
Yun: [tearing up]...Oh.
Akira:...I lost my parents, too.
Yun: Huh...?
Akira: I saw my dad die in front of me when I was younger. And as for my mom...well, we didn't really know what happened to her. She could have fled because she fought against social corruption too hard. She could have seen something that she wasn't meant to see. Or maybe nothing bad happened to her. Maybe she's just...always busy with trying to help innocent people.
Yun: Ah...
Akira: Or...or maybe I was just...too energetic and...and burdensome to deal with...
[Yun sniffles]
Yun: Oh, please don't say that...
[Akira just responds with a quiet growl]
Yun: I'm sure your mother is a nice woman. You're a nice person, after all.
[Akira blushes and quietly gasps. He quickly clears his throat]
Akira: Well...I'm...I'm sure your parents were pretty cool, too.
[Yun sniffles again]
Yun: Thank you. They had to work a lot, but whenever they were home, they gave me a lot of affection. Apparently, I was a very affectionate baby. I snuggled up to my family, and I cried whenever they had to let go of me. When my parents weren't home...well, my grandma said that I behaved just like a rabbit in public. You know, crawling and tiptoeing around. Touching everything. Observing my surroundings. Running away from strangers and loud noises.
Akira: Did your grandma hold you during that time?
Yun: As much as she could, yes! She had to do a lot of housework, so she couldn't hold me for many hours...but after her work was done, she spent the rest of the day holding me.
[Akira chuckles softly]
Yun:...And then one day, I...I got the news that my...my parents...died at their places of work. They both just...collapsed. And died.
Akira:...Oh.
Yun: My...my grandma had to work even harder. Eventually...her energy started to run out, and she...she got too tired to do any work. And...and then she got sick. And then...we were running out of money. And then...and then I had to work for a big scary man who would beat me up if I didn't do what he said.
Akira: That guy deserves to be bitch slapped back to the prehistoric era.
Yun: Oh...my master already...beat him up.
Akira: Okay, good.
Yun: [speaking in a broken voice]...My master is dead, too.
Akira:...Oh.
Yun: Why...why does everybody I love die or get sick? Did I do something really terrible in a past life...? What...what do I need to do to atone?
[More tears come from Yun's eyes]
Yun: I...I don't want to be alone! I hate being alone! I just...I just want to be held! I want to enjoy festivals in peace! I want to eat things that aren't bread or rice! [covering his eyes] I...I just...I just want some stability in my life, is that so much to ask...?
[Akira gently strokes and pats Yun's shoulder. Akira then gives Yun a quick squeeze. Akira reaches into one of his jacket pockets and pulls out a small box]
Akira: Hey, let's sit up for a second.
[Akira sits up, and Yun quickly does the same. Akira opens the box and pulls two small sticks from the box]
Akira:...It's pocky. Chocolate, to be specific. Here, take one.
[Yun very slowly takes one of the pocky sticks and puts it in his mouth. He hums happily when the stick touches his tongue]
Akira: Good, isn't it? Be sure to savour it.
[Yun just finds himself eating the whole stick. Akira nonchalantly gives him another one. Yun puts the stick in his mouth, and this time, he lets it stay in his mouth. Yun sees that Akira is also holding a stick in his mouth]
Akira: Hey, look at you. You're a cool delinquent now. Uh, wait...I meant you're a sweet delinquent. I...I mean...you're too damn cute to be a delinquent...
[Yun gives Akira a bashful grin. Akira clears his throat]
Akira:...So what festivals did you like the most?
Yun:...Oh. Um...the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of them. We get to eat mooncakes and make lanterns. I...like any festival that has lanterns. The Yulanpen Festival is...is one of them. Oh, I...I also like the Chongyang Festival. It's...it's nice to climb mountains and look at all the chrysanthemums. I'm not too fond of the festivals where we burn joss paper, though. It always seems to make me...and my family...cough a lot.
Akira: So you like the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yulanpen Festival, and the Chongyang Festival, huh?
[Yun finds himself leaning against Akira. Akira finds himself smiling, but he quickly drops the smile]
Yun: Yes.
Akira: They all sound pretty neat. Funny, though, how my country has two festivals that are very similar to what you celebrate.
[Yun finds himself hugging Akira's arm. Akira smiles as he looks away from Yun. Akira quickly finishes off his own pocky stick and tries to stop himself from smiling]
Yun: What are they?
Akira: The moon viewing festival and Chrysanthemum Festival. I don't really remember much about them aside from the food. The moon viewing festival has really good noodles and burgers. The Chrysanthemum Festival has chestnut rice...which I'm not too fond of.
Yun: Urgh, rice. I'd prefer eating coconut bars, crystal cakes, steamed milk pudding, or ginger milk.
Akira: Ah, a sweet tooth. So you have good taste, as well. I like dairy, too. Other guys make fun of me for drinking milk, but...I don't really care. I have psychic powers. I can show them images of the apocalypse if they decide to fuck with me.
[Yun finishes eating his pocky stick. He then yawns]
Yun: [muttering to himself] I've met quite the da xiongdi today...
Akira:...What did you just call me?
Yun: Uh...a badass...
Akira: Oh. Well, glad to see that you think so.
Yun: Uh, wait, I was actually calling you...
[Yun hums as he starts swaying slightly]
Yun: Oh, my brain is starting to...
Akira:...Hmm?
[Yun just finds himself listlessly staring at the campfire. Akira gently shakes Yun's shoulder, which causes Yun to make a noise of confusion]
Akira: Don't worry, it's still me.
Yun: Oh, shuaige...can we lie down together?
Akira: Of course.
[Akira and Yun lie back down on the pile of leaves. This time, Akira and Yun snuggle up to each other]
Yun: (I knew it, he is really warm...what a lovely da xiongdi I've met! Tough yet warm-hearted...yup, he's a big bro for sure!)
[Akira makes an odd noise]
Yun:...Hey, shuaige, are you alright?
Akira:...I'll...I'll tell you later.
Yun: Ah, okay...
Akira: And what's that word you keep using to describe me?
Yun: What, shuaige? Well, I don't know your name, so I'm just calling you "handsome" for now.
Akira:...Oh. Uh...just call me Akira. That's my name, after all.
Yun: What a handsome gentleman you are, mister Akira...
Akira: Yeah, okay, that's enough.
[Yun falls asleep. Almost immediately after he does, Akira gives Yun a tight squeeze. Akira then starts crying]
Akira: [softly] Thank you...
End