Chapter 7 Of Sour Droplets!

Chapter 7 of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 7 - Uniting Consequences]

An waved bye to Kanade who was standing by the door of her house. The birds continued to chirp over head, flying under the clouds that dotted the sky as the sun shined down on An. It was a beautiful day despite it being August 28, marking her official fourth, and last day away from home.

Kanade and An exchanged phone numbers, a testimony to the bond they had made over the meager three days they had. Instead of giving Kanade An’s original phone number, she gave her her dad’s, since her phone was broken and she also needed a way to get ahold of her father to tell her she was ok.

So after An was done listing off the numbers of her dads phone number, Kanade sent him a message to which he instantly responded, glad that he knew where An was. They explained everything that happened (except the emotional parts) and An’s dad offered to come get her, but after An tried to stand and found that she could, she knew she wanted to make the journey home herself.

So after she headed into the kitchen and refused Kanade’s offer for breakfast, they said their goodbyes and An headed out the door. However Kanade still waved goodbye with her trademark gentle smile on her face, making An’s heart swell with warmth. They both had connected on a deeper level despite the awkward way they had met, and An knew that Kanade now held a spot close to her heart. 

So as An walked home, she wondered how she could show her appreciation to her new friend. Should she buy her a gift? No… Kanade likely wouldn’t accept it, and feel bad that An spent money on her. Should she pick some flowers for her? No.. it didn’t seem like Kanade would have time to take care of them. 

And so An’s back and forth in her brain continued, her feet taking her home as her brain continued to debate on ideas. Before she knew it though, she was in front of her dads cafe, and pushing the door open. The bell attached to the door rang as she stepped into the air conditioned atmosphere of the building. The place was empty except for the four people at the counter and of course, her dad, behind the counter.

However it was easy to tell who everyone was at that counter. For the girl near the door had a shade of sandy blonde hair that An had practically memorized, and it was easy to tell who the other were from their short orange hair and the split light and dark blue hair. Kohane, Akito, and Toya were all here, waiting for her.

Despite how worried they all must be, An couldn’t help but smile, their concern touching her heart. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how her disappearance had impacted all of them, especially since she had stayed out of touch with them for four days. Yet they still came to her dads cafe and waited for her return, clearly anxious in the silence that echoed around the room. 

An felt like she had to apologize, but before the word could come out of her mouth Kohane was the first to turn her head, her light brown eyes looking at An wide with concern.

“An-Chan!” She yelled, causing everyone else to look her way.

Akito’s face clearly possessed several wrinkles that had imprinted on his skin from all the worrying he had done, but Toya just smiled gently, his gray eyes shining under the fluorescent lights.

“Welcome back Shirashi.” He greeted, his sharp eyes conveying a sense of warmth.

“Oi oi Shirashi where were you? You made us worry.” Akito said, his tsundere demeanor showing through. Though An had to hold in a laugh when she saw Toya elbow him, causing Akito’s face to melt into a smile. “-Urk! But we’re glad you’re here An.”

An’s lips turned upwards into a grin. Just as quickly as the silence had settled, her partners had broke it, which was quite characteristic for them. They never were ones to be quiet, but the relief on their faces said enough for them.

“An…! I’m so glad you’re safe.” Looking upwards, An could see her dad frozen in place and staring at her while he held a glass and cloth in hand.

Instantly a smile of relief and despair broke out across An’s face. She may not have Nagi anymore, but she had her dad. And god had she missed him.

Instantly An put one foot in front of the other, rushing forward. One of the things she loved about her dad was the warmth he provided, the bond they shared. And she had certainly missed that.

But as she ran behind the counter and wrapped her arms around him I’m a tight hug, she let out a contented sigh. As her dad wrapped her arms around she let herself smile, the corners of her lips curling upwards as she let herself be embraced by that familiar warmth again. For now she was home, in the place closest to her heart.

Chapter 4 of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 4 - Mirror-Image]

As An listened to the song, it seemed to grip her very heart. 

The gentle piano was accompanied by a sweet music box, and the guitar that Kanade added seemed to play a sentiment that shook her very soul. There was no lyrics added yet, but it was already a touching song, even if An didn’t really listen to this type of music. It was so impactful that of felt like she was right next to Kanade, listening to the song right there.

Soon though, Kanade clicked on her mouse again, pausing the song. She turned to look at An, her eyes full of concern.

“Are you alright An?”

With that question An snapped out of her trance and realized that, without paying attention, tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. And every time she blinked to get rid of them, two more teardrops would appear in their place. Was she… crying? Why?

An knew that if she said anything, there was no doubt she’d break down in tears. So she did one thing.

“Aunt Nagi…!” She wailed, not entirely sure why. She began sobbing, using what meager energy she had left to squeeze tears out of her eyes. 

Kanade’s eyes widen in surprise but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked over and silently put her hand on An’s back. She wasn’t trying to get An to shush, or interrupt her crying. It was her way of showing An that she was here, even though she was crying in front of someone she had just met today.

It took a while for the sorrow that eclipsed An’s body to leave, but when it did she allowed herself to slump onto the bed, her eyes red. Kanade just stayed silent until she smiled softly, the corners or her lips perking upwards.

“I think I know what to add to my song now.” Kanade said, breaking the silence and snapping An out of her trance that her misery put her in. Yet the sentence only served to confuse her, causing her eyebrows to furrow.

“You.. you do?” An asked, the emotional thorn in her mind reminding her of Nagi seemingly a little duller now. “But I.. I.. I didn’t even help you.”

 Kanade just continued to smile with a tinge of sadness in her eyes, and An’s heart broke. For her to act so mature like this… like she knew what to do… she must’ve been through this kind of pain a lot.

Kanade shook her head, clearly disagreeing. “You actually helped me a lot An. It was through you that I was able to feel your pain, and reach deep in the depths to make my melody.”

Feel my pain? An silently repeated to herself, pondering the meaning. But meanwhile, Kanade continued.

“I can tell you’ve got a lot of pain on your shoulders, and if I can ever ease the ache you’re free to come over.” Kanade promised, her words bearing a silent weight to them. “But right now you should rest. With the state your fragile body is in you could be vulnerable to getting a cold. We can talk more when you wake up.”

As if flipping a switch that sentence made An realize how tired she was. She had cried and talked until her eyelids felt unimaginabley heavy. 

So as a yawn battled its way up her throat she just nodded to Kanade, who smiled in response and sat in her chair by the computer. It was clear Kanade was going to compose more music as An slept, and she wondered if she’d ever hear a song such as emotion-stirring as that one again. 

Speaking of “that one”, did that song even have a name…?

An wanted to ask, but the murky fog that held her brain captive was making her unbelievably sleepy. So she made a mental note to ask, before laying down and closing her eyes as her head rested on the pillow. And it wasn’t long before sleep took her, painting her vision an abyss-black.

My first PJSK fanfic! Sour Droplets!

This is my 1st fanfic of Pjsk, which means it’s also my first time writing about VBS! This event story is supposed to happen after the Kohane focus story, “On Your Feet”. If you haven’t read a bit before that, there may be some spoilers for previous events, or things won’t make sense.

As events do, I’ll be making my own Pjsk cards and event titles! Note that the fanfic and event are called something completely different so I can distinguish between the two (the event is called Melody of Infinite Horizons.) But in fact, this event has a song too! It’s a j-pop song called Lemon by Kenshi Yonezu, and I would definitely recommend giving it a listen.

And with all that stuff said, I hope you enjoy the story!

Ps: Orange is the closest thing I could get to yellow. 😭

[Chapter 1 - Time Takes its Course]

An stood there, eyes wide as she was frozen in place. She clutched her shirt tightly and her eyes welled up with tears. 

Laying in front of her was Aunt Nagis grave, a mound of unmarked dirt. The city had been so determined to not let An know about Nagis death that they didn’t do the bare courtesy of marking her grave. However everyone had know about Nagis death. Everyone, except An.

The single lily An had brought slipped out of her hand, falling on to the ground.

And with that, came the tears.

Sitting in front of the grave, An let her tears roll down her face as she let out a wail of despair. Aunt Nagi was gone - never to come back. 

As the grass poked at her legs, An’s vision became blurry. She knew she’d never forget Nagi, but it was still hard to live life without her. To go through her day to day routines without her aunt there to guide her.

Sometimes An still thought about her too. Her gentle smile, her flowing hair…

As if on cue, memories of her and Nagi began flashing through her head. For Nagi had been there during An’s lowest lows and her highest highs. The thought that she wouldn’t be there for her and by her side anymore…

All of a sudden An’s heart started to race, and she felt immense pressure everywhere on her skin, alike to the sensation of walls closing in. She felt lightheaded and began to hyperventilate as she gripped at her chest. An couldn’t take it anymore, she knew she had to get out of here.

So with her blurry vision, she began to run away from the grave, leaving the lily at the base of it. The grief was to suffocating to stay there, so An ran. She ran even though she didn’t know where she was going, she just needed to escape. But there would be no running from the desperation that clawed at her heart. The pure, raw feeling that demanded to be unleashed.

The night didn’t help An’s vision, instead helping the colors in her vision blend smoothly, as if they were melting into each other. She ran and ran and ran and ran and ran until she couldn’t even tell what was around her. She’s topped and put her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Sure, she practiced staying in shape with Kohane and the others, but the training she had done couldn’t hold a candle to running around aimlessly.

A feeling of hopelessness gripped An again and she knew she had to keep running. Not only to get away from this place, but to head home. If she wasn’t home soon, her father would likely worry. I mean, she couldn’t have been running for less than a hour, but under the blanket of stars telling time was like trying to do open heart surgery with a hammer - impossible. Nevertheless, she  had to get home, and maybe calm down with a cup of hot tea after her arrival.

So An stood up and began to spur her legs forward, intending to run home even though she was still suffering from the remnants of her panic attack. But no matter how screwed her vision was, An could see the ground getting rapidly closer to her face. And the pure, pitch black color of darkness as it enveloped her vision, snuffing out the light of the moonlight above her.

Chapter 9 of Sour Droplets! [LAST CHAPTER]

[Chapter 9 - Delicate Strings] POV SWITCH - Kanade Yosikai

Getting an invitation to an event to a concert was not what Kanade had expected. But she had been composing a lot of songs in her house, and maybe the song she was stuck on when she met An took up more space in her head than she thought.

Speaking of An, Kanade and her still kept in touch. At least, kept in touch enough for her to know that after a lot of texting Kanade from her dads phone, An got a brand new phone. She said the case was dark blue with yellow stars on the bottom, a representation of her hair. She also mentioned that it wasn’t her who bought the phone, but her dad, which made Kanade smile in response.

After a while a month had passed, marking a milestone in Kanade and An’s friendship. And then it became another month. Well, a third of the month.

It was the end of the third week of September while Kanade was sitting in her desk chair, composing notes as usual. She had her left hand on her keyboard, and her right hand holding a pencil. It was usual for her to play notes one at the time and then write whatever composure sounded good to her. But right when Kanade started to focus, her pocket shifted, indicating that her phone vibrated.

Kanade blinked, wondering if she should ignore it or not. But she just sighed and pulled out her phone, the case pressing against her palm. She could always come script more of her music later if she had to step away for a second, and she wasn’t really that focused anyway.

As she powered the screen on, a faint smile broke onto Kanade’s lip. It was an invitation from An to one of her concerts for three day from now. As the phone screen continued to glow, she used her fingers to type out a message to her.

“I’ll be there, I promise.”

After sending the message Kanade exited the app and dutifully marked the date in her calendar before stuffing her phone back into her pocket. She was lucky that that day ended up being free for her, and she knew that she had to attend. After all A was her friend, so she’d be there to support her no matter what.

It didn’t take long for the date to roll around and Kanade’s phone to alert her of the incoming event. So when the starting time got closer and closer, she put her favorite sweatshirt on, her comfiest sneakers, and headed out the door. 

The initial light was blinding as the wind whipped her hair around, but eventually her eyes adjusted to the brightness, revealing the crisp blue sky and puffy white clouds. Kanade inhaled, savoring the fresh pure air. She had already visited her dad a bit earlier in the week, so she hadn’t been out in a while. But to be honest, Kanade enjoyed the nice change of pace very rarely. So with the fabric of her sweatshirt clinging to her skin, she made her way to the event, the cool air coating the inside of her nostrils.

When Kanade arrived, she made her way to the front of the large crowd. Of course she never had watched the event RAD WEEKEND hosted ,(even though she planned to since An was interested in it), but even so she was surprised that a group of people this big didn’t overshadow RAD WEEKEND already. Still, meeting their goal or not, this meant that their popularity was growing, causing them to get even closer to the result of hosting the biggest street event in history.

All of a sudden though, the lights dimmed and the crowd shushed. The spotlights turned on, illuminating An in the fluorescents.

“~~🎶!” An’s voiced blared through the mic, rocking the stadium. “How good would it have been if it were a dream?

Another spotlight illuminated a second figure behind her, highlighting her sand blonde pigtails. “I still dream about you, like going home to get something you forgot.”

Kanade knew that that person was someone named Kohane. An had introduced all of her partners to Kanade over the phone, so as the spotlight illuminated another person with blue hair, she easily identified them as Toya. By the order of the spotlights turning on that easily meant that Akito would be next, but Toya wasn’t going to let himself be out-shined by the last person that hadn’t been revealed yet.

“Dust off old memories, that there is happiness that will never return.” His fiery grey eyes conveyed a sense of determination, but Kanade was smiling the whole time. They were singing the song that she decided to give them. The one An helped out with when they first met.

“Finally you told me, the dark past that I hid without being able to talk about it.” Akito’s passion-infused voice rang around the stadium and the crowd went wild, cheering. 

Yet even though Kanade was silent, she could feel a warmth in her heart. She had helped An through a tough moment, and helped save her with a song. With composing songs for Mafuyuu, making things to touch people’s hearts seemed kind of hopeless at some points. But she had helped lessen the weight on someone’s shoulders, getting them to stand on their own two legs. She hoped that they learned they weren’t alone in this world, even in their darkest moments. And as for Kanade? Maybe the world really was full of hope.

[END]

Chapter 5 of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 5 - Unamed Melody X]

An wasn’t sure if she could classify her dream as a “dream”, or an unpleasant nightmare. She was awake enough to remember part of it, and even though it wasn’t Kanade’s song, her was still as emotion-stirring as the heart-gripping melody that made her cry. For An had dreamt of being hugged by Nagi in her sleep, something she really missed her doing.

And when An woke up she felt more rested than before, but her heart was throbbing with pain that seemed to be vying for her attention. However she ignored it, instead pulling out her phone to text her dad that she was alright, while the faint clicking of a mouse could be heard in the background. 

Yet as she glanced at the screen in her hand, she could see that it was riddled with cracks, making her inwardly curse at herself. It had probably gotten damaged when she fell, meaning that not only could she not text anyone, but that her dad would have to buy her a new phone. She felt her frustration boil inside of her. Why did she have to continue causing trouble for other people? 

An exhaled a deep breath out of her nose, her anger feeling like it was gripping her heart. 

However, this attracted Kanade’s attention, which was evident when she turned her head to look at An.

“Oh you’re awake again? How do you feel?” Kanade asked, the ends of her hair resting in the seat of her chair.

“Mmgh.. how long have I slept?” An asked, putting her phone away and rubbing her eyes.

“Well its August 27 2024…” Kanade started, her hands in her lap now.

“…!” An sucked in a breath. 

She had visited Aunt Nagis grave on the 25th before passing out, which likely means when she woke up again that it was the 26th. Then, she fell asleep again and woke up on the 27th, which meant she had been away from home for three days!

An opened her mouth, about to apologize and head home when her stomach spoke for her, letting out a growl that demanded sustenance. 

“I apologize An. I was so concerned about how you felt I didn’t get an opportunity to grab something for you to eat.” Kanade apologized, her gaze softening. “I don’t have much, but would you like to eat some minute ramen? I apologize I don’t have something else to offer you, but that’s all I have.”

An didn’t have ramen a lot, but the idea of eating something warm was too tempting to resist, even though she’d been sleeping on a warm bed for all this time.

“Yes please…” Was all An could manage and Kanade just grabbed one of her many unopened cups of ramen around the room and left, closing the door behind her as she went to heat up the ramen.

As bad as An felt for making Kanade do all of this, her heart warmed at the girls kindness. She knew that after this, she was definitely indebted to Kanade now, especially since An had cried infront of her. She new she had been a bother it Kanade, but she couldn’t help but find a part of her wanting to be friends with the introverted girl. She didn’t just want to leave someone who had done this much for her behind and forget about her, she wanted to keep in touch and somehow repay Kanade with the same generosity she showed her.

It didn’t take long for Kanade to come back in with the ramen, containing a shiny silver fork. She handed it to An who accepted it with a grateful smile before she sat down at her desk chair again, continuing to work on her song.

An was surprised that Kanade hadn’t asked about her mental breakdown, or why she seemed so mopey. But at the same time she was glad that Kanade hadn’t pushed it, as that would likely only have made things worse. Still, a part of An felt compelled to tell her. Even though she was basically a complete stranger An met barely three days ago. 

An wrapped her hands around the cup and stared into the murky water as it warmed her hands. Finally, after a moment, she had gained enough courage and broke the silence.

“Hey Kanade… can I tell you something?”

“Hm?”

And that was all it took for An to start confessing. She was surprised that a part of her had stirred her onwards to this moment. After all she had Kohane and everyone to support her right? So why did she feel so… so… so hopeless and alone?

But Kanade listened to her story quietly, managing eye contact with An the whole time to show that she was listening. 

“I think I understand the pain you’re going through.” Kanade said after An finished, surprising her.

Chapter Two of Sour Droplets!

[Chapter 2 - A Helpful Friend?]

When An woke up, she wasn’t laying sprawled out on the cold hard sidewalk like she thought she would be. Instead, she was laying on top of a blanket that was covering the mattress under her. Her head was delicately placed on a pillow near the back of the bed, and the room she was in was immersed in darkness. 

However two sounds continually rang through the room. The click of a mouse and the clack-clack of a keyboard.  

An craned her kneck upwards to look towards the sound, her eyes straining through the darkness. There, in front of her, was a girl with blueish-white hair that went a bit past of her waist, seemingly composing a song at her computer.

The bright screen reflected in her blue eyes, and her fringe was tucked to both sides, save for a long section in the middle. However a few seconds after An caught a glimpse of the anonymous girl, she turned to face An, her blue eyes softening.

“Ah, you’re awake.” She said, her soft and sweet voice flowing together like honey. “How are you feeling?”

The girls voice was full of concern, but An couldn’t help but feel embarrassed that a completely stranger had found her in one of her most vulnerable moments, even if she was unconscious.

“Yeah I’m fine.” An rushed, wanting to leave as soon as possible. “Sorry for troubling you, I’ll just-.” An stood up off the bed and found herself crumpling to the ground in pain, causing the girl to quickly jump out of her seat and rush over, helping An into the bed again.

“Are you alright?” The girl asked again, the worry evident in her eyes. “When I found you, you looked like you were in a lot of pain, so you should probably take it easy.” The girl stood up after An was back to laying on the sheets. “I’m going to go grab you a glass of water, I’ll be back in a second.”

An just watched her go, unable to move herself as she hugged her legs to her chest and buried her face in her knees. Now that she was awake thanks to her fall to the floor, she could roughly feel the pain she was in. Of course she was still feeling sleepy and a bit disoriented from waking up in a new place after passing out, so that was likely numbing some of the pain as a result. 

Speaking of passing out, how long did she really sleep? The curtains in the room were closed, ensuring that no light would get in, which An was thankful for. She felt like she wanted to cry as her throat became scratchy and raw with tears pricking at her eyes. After all, she was in so much mental pain, why’d she have to suffer phyiscal pain too? She was a good person, it wasn’t fair!

And she hated being a burden to others. Having people pick up her slack like the anonymous girl that was taking care of her just wasnt something she wanted others to do. She wanted to get good on her own, and it wasn’t fair to make others deal with her excess.

She hugged her legs closer to her, her heart aching.

It was a marvel that the girl had heard An move at all. After all, An had only moved her head slightly and somehow the girl had heard her, which took An by surprise. To have your ears be that sensitive to sound… An just couldn’t fathom it. And the girl seemed to gracefully move throughout her room like she memorized the layout, which likely meant she spent most of her time in her room.

The thought alone made An shiver. She couldn’t imagine sitting in her room alone for that along in the dark, much less the strain on her eyes. At this point An couldn’t tell if she was amazed by the girls situation, or if she was scared of her stay-in-her-room talents.

Soon though, the girl re-appeared, a glass of cold water in her hands. An couldn’t lie, the cup looked enticing. After all, she had sweated most of the fluid out of her body by sweating on her aimless run, and it was clear her body was demanding to be replenished.

“Here, take this.” The girl handed An the clear glass of water which she accepted greatfully. “You lost a lot of fluid while you were asleep, and I wasn’t able to replenish any of it. So I thought I’d hydrate you while you’re awake.”

An just nodded, wanting to ask so many questions. Where was she? How long had she slept? But all she could manage from her parched chapped lips and dry scratchy throat was…

“What’s your name?”

The girl smiled as An drank the cold water, the liquid sliding down her grateful throat.

“I’m Kanade.”