[ If he hadn't spoken, she might not have realized it was him.
As it was, she'd almost made a habit of seeking Tetsuo out in odd places. There wasn't anything odd about hearing him in the park; it was a cool spring day, she'd almost expect it. But the person that voice belonged to . . .
He wasn't wearing his trademark red and orange ensemble. His normal accessories were constants—his scarf, the hat she'd left on his head a month and a half past—but those were gone too, or forgotten, leaving far too much of his skin bare. Skin that had leeched all the tints from his hair, leaving it shining white, dying his hands and face and neck (and probably all of him) a soft blue. And normally none of that would be enough to throw her, not nearly enough to make her question anything, but there was something . . .
There was something in the air around him. Some feeling, some note, some . . . something. Something was off. Very off, very . . . wrong?
Very right?
She walks closer. The wrist that reaches for that leaf is bare, and something colder than the air shivers down her spine. ]
Park
As it was, she'd almost made a habit of seeking Tetsuo out in odd places. There wasn't anything odd about hearing him in the park; it was a cool spring day, she'd almost expect it. But the person that voice belonged to . . .
He wasn't wearing his trademark red and orange ensemble. His normal accessories were constants—his scarf, the hat she'd left on his head a month and a half past—but those were gone too, or forgotten, leaving far too much of his skin bare. Skin that had leeched all the tints from his hair, leaving it shining white, dying his hands and face and neck (and probably all of him) a soft blue. And normally none of that would be enough to throw her, not nearly enough to make her question anything, but there was something . . .
There was something in the air around him. Some feeling, some note, some . . . something. Something was off. Very off, very . . . wrong?
Very right?
She walks closer. The wrist that reaches for that leaf is bare, and something colder than the air shivers down her spine. ]
Tetsuo-kun . . . ?
[ Curious, and unsure. Is that you? ]