Bokuto Koutarou |3| Bokuaka

The silence of the early morning had always been comforting, but that night the exhaustion weighed heavier than usual. Akaashi shuffled along the cold pavement of the parking lot, longing to get to his apartment after another grueling night shift at the 24/7 store. It was right next to a trash can that a glint of plastic caught his eye. Bending over, he found an old owl-shaped Tamagotchi. It was untouched, strangely clean for where it lay.

Upon arriving at his solitary home, he slumped onto the sofa. Out of sheer curiosity, he pressed the central button. The pixelated screen immediately lit up with an unusual brightness, displaying a small creature brimming with energy, leaping about. Akaashi couldn't have known it, but this device was no mere toy. Within its circuits beat the trapped spirit of Bokuto, a magical being who stared intently at him from the other side of the glass. Bokuto could feel the warm touch of Akaashi's fingers and see, with absolute clarity, the human's tired yet strangely comforting expression. From his digital prison, Bokuto began to flap his pixelated wings enthusiastically, fascinated by his new master.

Akaashi, oblivious to the magic and the intense gaze that scrutinized him from the pixels, offered a slight, gentle smile. He decided to play along with the nostalgia. He rested his elbows on his knees and remained thoughtful as the screen blinked insistently, displaying a cursor that awaited a response.

The Tamagotchi wants to know your name:
Enter nickname/name:

He felt extremely childish doing that at four in the morning, but the blinking cursor seemed to demand an identity from him to begin that little nighttime journey.