Chapter Text
Account of the Events in Tokyo, by Akaashi Keiji. Transcribed by Kozume Kenma.
{Note:- Initial verbatim transcription. Considerable editing required before addition to official record ~Suga}
I don’t know where to start, really. [Akaashi leans forward, dropping his head into his hands.]
…Wait. I hear a pen. Are you writing this down already? {Note by Kenma (-NK?- -KN?-): Here I interrupted/paused the record-taking to explain my method for transcribing. I explained that as there is no electricity to spare for video or audio recordings, or to reliably play them back later on, a lot of the tone and mood might be lost from these records without the inclusion of notes regarding tone of voice/mannerisms.}
[Akaashi sighs, and shakes his head.] I think you’re letting this job go to your head a little. Still, I suppose I can understand your point. Just make sure you read it back to me word for word before showing anyone else, okay? {-Kenma’s- Transcriber’s note: This agreement was perfectly acceptable, and with the preliminary arrangements completed, I asked that we resume the record.}
Well, I suppose if I’m going to start anywhere, it might as well be the 29th [-Transcriber’s Note- T.N.: August]. We had training until around six in the evening, after which everyone went home. I…[Akaashi shakes his head, clenching his fists] I don’t remember what I said to everyone as we parted. It was probably the usual—something like I’d see them the next day. [He laughs bitterly.]
Oh, am I talking too fast? Let me know if you need to catch up. {T.N.: At this point we paused to agree on how Akaashi would know to wait for me to catch up when I fell behind. Note: It would be worth a planning session before conducting many more of these interviews, so I don’t have as many interruptions partway through.}
Okay, you ready again? Anyway. Bokuto-san walked with me longer than the rest of the team as we live… [Akaashi sighs, and clears his throat] lived in the same street. He mentioned something about being tired enough to sleep for a week. It was a hot and humid evening—and frankly, he’d overdone it in training again and we had a practice match coming up—so I suggested that might be wise. I had planned to go to sleep relatively early myself, but I had chores to do before that, and by the time I was finished it was somewhere around…maybe eight? I wasn’t feeling tired enough to sleep any more, so I decided to watch some TV. [Akaashi grits his teeth.] The best part? It wasn’t even anything worthwhile. I was just killing time.
It was around nine, maybe a little later, that I saw the first green flash. I thought it was someone screwing around outside to be honest, and I tried to ignore it. But it kept going, so I pulled back the curtains and took a good look out of my window.
[He sits back, his face wistful, and smiles slightly.] I have to say, it was one of the most incredible things I ever saw. I know you looked at the photos… Did you get to see a video of it? {T.N.: I confirmed that I did.} Yeah? Well, I saw a couple online at the time, and even they really didn’t do it justice. The whole sky was lit up like…well, it wasn’t like anything else. That’s the point I’m making. The whole sky, littered with flashes and sparks. It was as though the stars had turned green and were falling to earth.
[He exhales sharply, half laughing.] I guess that’s probably a little too poetic. But it was amazing, I can’t deny it. I grabbed a few seconds of footage on my phone. Took some photos and linked them in the team chat. Of course, by that point, everyone else who was awake was more or less doing the same thing, so it was somewhat redundant I guess. [Akaashi shrugs.] I went and stood outside my front door with my parents to watch after a while, but in all honesty it seemed like the only obvious thing to do at the time. There were people stood around everywhere. Drivers pulled over and got out of their cars to stare at it all. It was incredible.
[He shakes his head.] Admittedly, it was pretty unnerving too, but when I checked online I saw something about it being a meteor shower. There were a few articles about it popping up here and there, saying scientists reckoned it was comet debris. In all honesty, I didn’t read much more than the headlines. I watched for about an hour or so, and then went to bed, thinking I could finish looking at all the science behind it in the morning. The last thing I saw—
[Akaashi falters, covering his mouth with his hand before sliding his head down so that his hand covers his eyes instead. He takes a deep breath.] The last thing I ever saw was…it was my bedroom—flashing green from…from the damn comet debris. [His voice cracks as he speaks and he turns away. Shaking his head he stands up abruptly.]
Look, I can’t do this right now…I—God... [He tilts his head towards me.] Yeah you can stop now, okay? We’ll do it some other time. [Pause.] Fuck, just STOP! Go get Bokuto-san. I’m out.
{T.N.:I stopped the record at this point to fetch Bokuto. I’ll continue his account at a later date, when Akaashi feels up to it.}