What Do You See In The Stars

Surely nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen on a bakery trip, right? It was so convenient, plus he’d suddenly gotten a craving for something sweet. Or maybe that was just Hikaru’s convincing…

It wasn’t necessarily strange for him to recognize someone. Heck, it wasn’t even strange for him to recognize Subaru, who admittedly he should have been in better communication with. But no. The moment Tsukasa heard the other boy speak, any automatic greeting that was about to come out of him stopped.

What?

“….What?” Wow, they were in agreement for once. It took a second glance for him to realize that yes, something was different. “Subaru..? Did something.. happen?” Needless to say the confusion was plastered on his face.

Subaru held his mouth shut tight, his eyes betraying his nervousness.

What was he supposed to say here? ‘Oh yeah, something happened. It’s called puberty.’ That’s crazy talk! Well, not exactly, at this point, time travel is less a fantasy and more a reality, but still!

How do you explain this to a person, who at this point in time, has been in low contact with you? Well, the right thing to do, would be tell the truth... Curse his stupid heart and it’s morality.

“Welcome to MaHa Ichiban!” A chorus of voices greeted Subaru upon entering the small restaurant. It wasn’t too busy inside, which a few lone customers sitting in the booths, and another few at the bar. 

The closest staff member was a short, hooded boy, equipped with the shop’s apron. He was in the middle of cleaning a table, and he took that task at heart.

He soon lifted his gaze up to the newcomer. The kid seemed to be about his age, but he wasn’t from Dingo’s school - which wasn’t too surprising in itself. His fashion sense was quite remarkable too, but Dingo didn’t linger on it too long.

“Have a seat, sir! I’ll be right there to take your order!”

“You got it.” Subaru responds to the worker. He grabs a seat in the back, away from most other people. Of course, socializing is an option, but people in the past can be... Iffy to understand. Of course, that’s only because of evolving language and attitudes. There’s no guarantee that words and tones can travel between the two easily. It’s a process, one that does confuse Subaru. 

Regardless, even ordering from a restaurant should be easy. Subaru took a hold of the menu, looking it over. Really a lot of curry. He’s not super hungry, but also not super full. Just a standard plate should be fine. He set the menu down, waiting for the worker to move over to him.

While she normally doesn’t like socializing, she didn’t mind helping someone. Not matter how sudden it is. Thankfully for both of them, Izel actually knew where to go, since she was heading there herself.

She gave a nod, before pointing towards the direction she was head. Walking forward before remembering she never really answer him where she’s taking him, “…there’s a library on the next block….avoid the second floor’s bathroom.”

“Ah, thanks!” Subaru gives a quick bow, a smile on his face. He quickly jogged up to walk alongside her, placing his hands in his pockets. Despite the girl’s more quiet nature, Subaru kept up his his (now) normal cheerfulness. Though, there was the matter of introduction.

“So uh, my name is Subaru Hoshikawa, but please, just call me Subaru. Mind if I ask for your name?”

Curry. That was the only thing on Subaru’s mind right now. Sure, he could be focusing on exploring more of the past, but man, he could really go for some curry right now. So, putting his hands in his pockets, he moved through the streets of the city, before coming to a stop outside of a curry place. Seems luck is on his side. He heads inside, a smile on his face.

The world of the far past is always a fun time to explore. Seeing old technologies run before they would rust away and cease functioning. Lingo used then that wasn’t used in Subaru’s time, and how he can use it to mess around with his friends. It’s great... If he didn’t get lost so often. Finding a (hopefully local) girl nearby, he started waving before walking up to her.

Diving so close to your own past is a bit tricky for a time traveler. The chance of running into yourself, or people you knew, it raises exponentially.

But, on the other hand, there was this bakery around Kodama a couple years that closed down recently in Subaru’s present, and the boy was craving some of their cosmic cookies. So, he figured a quick little jaunt there and back would be fine. It was doomed from the start. Because as soon as the teen left the bakery, bag of cookies in hand, he ran into a familiar face.