Ash

Sakurai Kano stared out the window, bored of the class. He wanted to go outside and do something. The sky was clear, and clouds moved at a slow pace. It was peaceful.

He turned his head to the side, next to him was his seatmate. Hara Mayumi. Her eyes were closed as her head rested on her palm. She breathed softly, her long eyelashes glimmering in the light. Her short hair pulled into a ponytail, was coming undone from her hair tie. To him, she looked beautiful.

Kano turned his head back to the window, and soon enough, the class was over. Mayumi woke up startled from the sudden noise as lunch break started. “Oh, it’s lunch already,” she says.

“You fell asleep on purpose.” He chuckles.

She turns to him with a smile, “Yeah. You got my back, don’t you?” She nudges him with her elbow. He smiles and nods his head, “Of course I do.”

She laughs, “Thanks, Kano. I’ll see you after lunch,” she gets up and walks over to her friends on the other side of the room for lunch. He watches her with a smile.

He peered at the window again and saw something fall. The sky went bright, and then there was a massive blast.

~

Mayumi opened her eyes. Pain stung her head. She stumbled as she got up slowly, grabbing onto a desk for balance. She blinked a couple times and held a hand to her head.

“Mayumi!” A muffled voice calls out to her.

She turns slowly. She could barely hear anything. Standing up from the ground was a familiar boy in her class. His uniform jacket was ripped open, and his hair tossed around. He had ash and red marks staining his clothes and face.

“Hello?” She squints at him, trying to place his face and voice.

Her vision was still blurry. She couldn’t see clearly.

“It’s Kano! Can you see me?”

She rubs her eyes and then nods her head. He walks over to her and presses a cloth against her head, “What happened?”

“The world in flames.” He says.

She gasps, “Flames??”

“Hold still! You have a cut!” He scolds her.

“Ow!”

He sighs, “What did I just say?”

She stays silent, letting him tend to her wound. She stared at the boy as he worked silently. She observed him, his focused dark eyes and black hair. The image of him slowly started to get clear. He pulled out a bandaid, pushing her hair back before applying it.

She asks him urgently, “What do you mean the world is in flames? What happened?”

“I only saw what happened out the window. Something fell from the sky, and it shook the city. There was an explosion near our building.”

“Is everyone okay!!?” She pulls her head away and looks around. The classroom was in destruction. Desks and chairs were scattered everywhere, and the glass from the windows was broken. The smell of smoke and ash was spreading. She saw that Kano helped patch up the others resting on the ground. Then she turned and ran out of the room.

“Hey! Wait!” Kano calls out. She ignores him and runs to the bathroom. Where her friend went just before the disaster. She ran into the girl’s restroom and saw the windows also shattered, water still running from the sinks. Some of the stall doors were knocked down. She gasps, spotting her friend on the ground. Mayumi runs over to her, holding her up in her arms.

“Suki!!” She presses two fingers to her neck. Mayumi’s heart broke as she felt no pulse. She cradled her friend in her arms and cried. How could this happen?

“Mayumi!” Kano runs in with worry. He freezes as he spots her, cradling a girl in her arms as she sobs. Kano walks over and kneels down. He also feels for a pulse on her neck, then down to her wrist.

“Suki is still alive.” He says. Mayumi lifts her head, “What??”

“The pulse is faint. I think Suki is just unconscious.” He checks for any other wounds.

“How do you know!” Mayumi sniffles.

He presses a hand to the girl’s chest and then her head, “I’ve had to play doctor for a while.”

“Kano?” She looks at him.

“Yes, Mayumi?”

“Why is this happening?”

“I don’t know…come on, let’s bring Suki to a safer place.” He lifts the unconscious girl from her arms, and she follows him back into the classroom. More students and teachers were gathering. Everyone was injured and scared.

“Kano! Mayumi! How are you?” Their homeroom teachers check on them.

Mayumi ignores her, running to the window. She stuck her head out, staring at the disaster of the city. Smoke and fire were everywhere, the sound of screaming and sirens rang loud. There was no sense of peace anywhere.

“Hara Mayumi! Get away from the window!” The teacher scolds her.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hana! I need to see something!” Mayumi apologizes quickly before running out of the room. She checked her uniform pockets, her phone was nowhere to be found. Her bag could’ve been under all the debris. She ran down the stairs, passing all the injured people until she reached the shoe lockers. She quickly changed her shoes before running out the door.

“Mayumi! Where are you going!” Kano calls out.

“My family!” She yells.

He walks forward and grabs onto her wrist, “Mayumi. Please, calm down. We don’t know what’s out there.”

She hesitates as she stares into his concerned eyes. She wanted to go out there so badly, she just wanted to know they were okay. But the look in his eyes told her a different story. He was right. By the time she could’ve survived out there, they could all be gone.

She tears up again and squeezes her eyes shut, “Why did this have to happen?” She mumbles to herself.

Kano reaches his hand out. She takes it, and he gently holds her hand. “I don’t know. But I’m here for you.”

She opens her eyes, looking at him with tears. She runs into his arms and sobs. He holds her onto tightly and never let go.