Chapter Text
The lighter. That damn lighter.
Tatsuya fidgeted with it constantly. He didn’t actually smoke and hated using it. Hated seeing the flames flicker out… Even so, the lighter stuck with him. Often held tightly like a life preserver in times of stress or uncertainty.
Very few people questioned why Tatsuya had the lighter. And fewer people questioned it’s origin. To be honest, Tatsuya didn’t know the answer either. He thinks that he probably found it lying around somewhere as a kid. Probably thought it was pretty and kept it as a keepsake. Which it had quickly turned into.
The pristine silver lighter was engraved with the phrase ‘The most precious things cannot be seen.’ A romantic sentiment that seemed to contradict Tatsuya’s hardened loner personality and his aloof reputation.
His favorite theory of the lighters origins, out of the many that he had cycled through the years, was that the lighter was custom made as a gift. From one lover to another. Then accidentally left somewhere only for a lonely child like him to come across it.
Sometimes he wondered if the original owner missed it… if it had long since been replaced and had disappeared from their memory. Perhaps the lovers had split and it was just a painful reminder of happier times. Perhaps the lighter was meant for Tatsuya to find. Perhaps it was just a strange coincidence. Or perhaps he just put too much thought into a silly trashed lighter.
Tatsuya sighed and placed the lighter back into pocket. The guidance counselor wanted to speak with him and he didn’t want to keep putting off the conversation longer.