The last of the busses drove past the main gate of ERA, leaving gashes in the deep snow as they were driving through. Brown could still see Saki, Pearl, and Kay waving at him.
They were sent home for Christmas. Adding salt to injury, they could also bring a friend with them so the least amount of people would stay alone on this dump of an academy. Of course, Brown couldn’t join them because he legally doesn’t exist. Damn bureaucrats.
They were smiling at him with that half-smile filled with underlying, uncomfortable guilt. Pity. Poor old Brown, all on his own on Christmas. No matter how much he reassured them that he’ll be fine during their bittersweet farewells, they didn’t lay off.
He hated that. He’s a grown man, dammit, he can handle two weeks on his own. Even better, he could use some quiet time from the people around him. His friends were noisy and busy, always had something going on and he always found himself getting dragged to yet another misadventure. If it was Saki rambling about his current anime-related obsession, Clyde’s borderline illegal antics, or trying to help Leaf come out of his shell. Finally, he had time to clear his head and think about…
today.
Today is the day. The one-year anniversary of Brown waking up in the snow outside of a government facility with no memories of his past, discovering he has a superpower, (the ”super” part is debatable, he learned rather quickly,) and being unwittingly enrolled in the same facility filled with people like him. Most students celebrate this milestone. Brown dreaded it.
One year down. A few more, and he’ll graduate from ERA.
Graduate with no family, nowhere to go, no recollection of who he is, and no way to go back- if there is any. He doesn’t belong here. The moment he’s done with his grace period in ERA they’ll kick him out the gate and he’ll stand alone back where they first found him. Covered in snow, alone, and having no idea what to do with himself.
This is precisely why he hated being alone. They were the perfect distraction. He didn’t have to think about how fucked he is if he was too busy trying to stay alive cleaning one of Ernst’s messes or occasionally obligating Skyber’s demands.
Brown watched the snowfall on the tire tracks, filling the hole they gashed into the perfect winter white snow of the Montana mountain range. He would appreciate its beauty if he didn’t feel like garbage. His mind began to race as silence enveloped him. “This sucks,” Brown said to no one. He needed to do something, keep his mind occupied. Think about anything else_._
That’s how Brown found himself rolling a ball of snow half his size and what felt like twice his weight. Rolling it towards the window of his room so he could have easy access to any accessories he might need. He didn’t feel like running back and forth in the snow.
The base of the snowman sat proudly a good distance away from the window, far enough so he wouldn’t feel the empty gaze of its soon-to-be button eyes watching him sleep. Soon came the torso, a smaller ball of snow he could easily lock on the base and shape it with no effort. Having the power of super-glue with the snap of a finger didn’t sound too impressive. Hell, he didn’t even need to snap his fingers. A bit of flair makes the power feel less lame, he would argue. Fortunately to the naysayers, nobody said anything regarding the finger snaps. Yet.
At least he could build killer snowmen.
The head was the easiest part, roll up some snow from the ground, pick it up, lock it on the torso and pat it to perfection. And now for the fun part.
After a few minutes of gathering, the snowman had three pebble buttons, two thick sticks for arms, a pebble-built smile, two button eyes, courtesy of a ruined coat, and Ernst’s old cap. Brown removed his scarf and hung it around his creation. He took a few steps back and stood with his hands on his hips, running his gaze up and down the snowman. No nose.
The boy held his arm and looked at his watch. Too late to pick a carrot from the cafeteria, and “building an absolutely killer snowman” isn’t something he wants to use as an excuse for breaking into the kitchen. What to do, what to do…
Ah! An idea sprouted into his mind. Brown walked up to the window and awkwardly rolled inside, kicking in way too much snow with him. He walked up to Saki’s bed and stood in front of a shelf filled to the brim with colorful figurines. Some characters he recognized, some he didn’t.
“Let’s see here… bald guy, Oh, Reigen, nice. Clown guy, shirtless guy… Aha! Perfect.”
Finally, his snowman was complete. Noriaki Kakyoin nose and everything. His hair was red, it was as close to a carrot as he could’ve got.
Brown took out his phone with a grin and snapped a picture. Oh, he couldn’t wait to show this to Saki, he would laugh his ass off. Or get mad, more likely.
Furious even. These things are expensive, aren’t they?
Why did he do that?
…
…
Brown looked back up to his creation as his mischievous grin faded.
He walked back until his back met the wall of the building, and sled down to sit on the snow. He sat with his knees raised, his arms cushioning his chin.
He looked up at the snowman and felt its hollow glare digging into his soul. Even the snowman knew this was pathetic. Brown groaned at it.
Why did he just spend an hour building a Kakyoin-nosed abomination?
Couldn’t he just enjoy two weeks for himself, doing whatever nonsense he could come up with without thinking about the future and how fucked he is?
Why did he spend all this time filling his mind with filler and useless thoughts about anything and nothing at the same time?
A sudden tap on his shoulder made him jolt from his spiraling thoughts. He looked to his side and found none other than the stardust crusader he used for a nose sitting beside him on the snow, fully sized and not made of plastic, holding his shoulder and gently smiling at him.
Brown looked in shock for a moment, until he shook his head and scoffed, a smirk on his face. “I thought you flew to Germany.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Brown-kun.” Said the stand user, his voice matching the one Brown remembered from the anime. It was really impressive, enough to scare him a little.
“Quit it man, you’re freaking me out. Are you gonna pull out Hierophant Skyber next? Scale Splash me?”
“Hah, I wanted to! Though Skyber’s not in the mood, she’s spending Christmas at Carrie’s. It got her in a sour mood since she has to put on a disguise again.”
Brown squinted his eyes, “Again? Ugh, never mind- I don’t want to know. What are you still doing here?”
“I’m in no rush,” Kakoiyn shrugged. “I don’t need to go to the airport and I can leave whenever I want to. Wings, y’know? I use them sometimes. Besides, I wanted to say goodbye.”
“…” Brown gave a half-smile. “That’s really sweet of you and all, but I can’t take you seriously like this.”
Kakoiyn giggled, and in a burst of light, the jo-bro was gone, and Nova sat where he did. “I thought it was funny.”
“It was.”
“But you’re not laughing?” Nova tilted their head at the boy.
Brown’s chin sunk deeper into the sleeves of his coat. “I’m not worried about being alone here for two weeks, if that’s what you’re worried about me worrying… about.”
“Then what is it?” Nova said, gently enveloped the boy in their shimmering wing. Their feathers were soft and ethereal, speckles of what Brown could only describe as star dust flew from them into the winter wind - they showered him with a mesmerizing aura of an aurora borealis. It was pure bliss. Very intentional on their part, he noted.
Brown sighed. “I don’t like thinking about the future. I know it’s not a thing for you since you and your stand are immortal and what not, it’s just,” He leaned back against the wall, the feathery wings cushioning the cold bricks. “Sometimes I forget I’m not from this world. And shit like this reminds me that the moment I’m done with ERA, I’m all on my own.”
Brown paused for a moment, looking at Nova’s empty, wide eyes. This should be creepy, but he found it oddly comforting. “…it scares me, Alright? I have no idea what to do with myself. Maybe that’s why I keep getting myself dragged into everyone’s bullshit.”
Nova patted his shoulder, closing their eyes and nodding understandingly. “Thank you for opening up to me, Brown. I know it’s not easy.”
Brown furrowed his face back down into his coat. “Don’t patronise me, Nova.”
“I’m being serious. You know, I once met someone who had a similar problem-“
“Do I get a prize if I guess who it is?”
Nova turned to Brown and cupped his cheeks, staring straight into his eyes. “Stop trying to avoid your problems, Brown.”
“Right, right, already got this far- sorry. Go on.” He blurred out, as much as his mushed cheeks allowed him to.
“As I was saying… a lot of people at some point in their life worry about the future and feel directionless. Including those who legally exist and even immortals.”
“I knew it,” Brown spouted only for Nova to gently bop his nose to shut him up.
“The future is scary, because it’s uncertain. So many things can happen- good, bad, your life can change in an instant and you usually don’t see it coming. We’re scared of what we don’t know. Of what might or might not happen. But the most important thing to remember when you feel like this is that you don’t have to deal with it alone.”
“Easy for you to say. Everyone will go back home when they’re done here, or wherever they were before they came here. I don’t have that. No one’s waiting for me out there.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, you know? My name isn’t “No one”.” Nova chuckled, wrapping their arm around Brown’s shoulders. “You’re just like me and Skybs! Popped outta nowhere, no idea where who or why- but it didn’t matter in the end. It was hard, but we found our own place in the world. And maybe we can help you find yours. Go around places, look how to break reality in half and send you back home!” They beamed.
Brown was stunned, staring at Nova like deer in headlights. In five minutes, Nova made his biggest concern sound like it was nothing. “… You’d really do that? Take me in your.. demi-god caravan until I get home?”
“And we’d be happy to! Of course, if you want to join us, that is. No dragging you around on this one.” Nova gave him a wide grin and two thumbs up.
Brown fell back on the wall. He stared blankly at the night sky, processing what Nova just dumped on him. “I… don’t even know what to say. Thanks? Well yeah, “thanks”, of course- Man, I can’t believe Skyber agreed to this!”
“Hah, well she didn’t.”
Brown sprang from the floor in an instant, as if sheer dread burnt his back away from the wall. Nova held his shoulder with a nervous laugh.
“Yet! She hasn’t yet! I came up with this plan just now! I’m sure she’ll be on board, she did promise to help you get back home after all!” Nova hurriedly blubbered.
Brown looked down at Nova with an annoyed frown, and sank back down to sit on the floor. He crossed his arms.
“Ehah, sorry… Though we should probably wait a bit until after she’s back from Carrie’s. I don’t think she’ll be in a cooperative mood after that. Good thing there’s still a whole while till graduation!”
“…yeah. That is good.” Brown said, finally a smile on his face after all this time. Nova soon departed with one last hug, now it was Brown and the snowman again. He looked at the snow sculpture, its button eyes dumbfoundedly staring into the distance with the figure poking out beneath them.
Saki definitely needs to see this.