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He wasn’t sure when exactly did it start, but Takemichi—he was aware. Recently, there had been tons of gaps in his memory… Maybe all the hits he got during Kiyomasa’s club injured his brain, but either way, since… Since, well, who knew when, always, without fail, moments after phasing away to darkness, Takemichi would always wake up to his hand holding Tachibana’s younger brother’s hand, later on proceeding to freak out because why on earth did his entire body HURT—?!
So yes, Takemichi was really confused. The first time it happened, he was at Tachibana’s place—the little park in front of her house. Naoto blinked slowly at Takemichi’s expression, because Takemichi had no idea how he ended up here, in the middle of the night and beaten black and blue. He also had no idea why he was shaking some elementary school student’s hand, the two of them alone at this quiet, isolated park.
Drawing away from the younger kid, Takemichi did what he was, regretfully, best at.
He ran.
In hindsight, he should’ve made sure that the kid reached home safely beforehand. Takemichi didn’t know he was Tachibana’s sibling at the time.
The second time it happened, Takemichi was just about to brawl against one of Kiyomasa’s goonies. He had braced himself, heart racing and sweat pouring (this was a huge mistake, he didn’t want to be here at all , but Takuya—Akkun—), until suddenly, he woke up to fireworks sparking through the skies.
And holding Tachibana’s younger brother’s hand again. They were staring awkwardly at each other.
This is disorienting, he thought, and then his girlfriend’s voice reached his ears.
“Isn’t it so beautiful, Hanagaki?”
Takemichi, slowly, raised his head. He stared at Tachibana, at her cheerful smile oh so full of joy, and then proceeded to freak out and ran the hell out of there, swiping his hand away from Naoto’s .
Feet nearly tripping down the stairs, Takemichi ran with the wind and escaped the premises.
So—so here was the thing. How in the world did he end up at Tachibana’s place?! What happened with Kiyomasa’s group?!! Did he hit his head too hard and started hallucinating?!!! The teen stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled his phone out. Flipping it open, his eyes was met with his home screen photo of his friends and him, the fun times, and then—
Oh gosh. So many days passed.
Takemichi swallowed dryly.
What in the world.
He eventually found the courage to ask his mom. Takemichi was wary, you see. He didn’t know when he’d pass out, or if he had gotten some sort of… He didn’t know, concussion, and needed to go to the doctor asap. He didn’t know, but he had to ask. It kind of hurt, but he ended up distancing himself from Tachibana—despite her approach and wave of her hand—because, well—he had to make sure.
Or maybe, he was just scared. Takemichi, despite his bravado with his friends—he… He knew. He was a coward. He was always scared.
So nibbling on dinner, chopsticks shaky in worn down hands, Takemichi asked.
His mom was rather flippant about it. From the way she raised her eyebrow at “hey, have I been… Acting strangely, recently?”, it seemed that his whole memory-gap-incidents had yet to occur in front of his parents. Whether that was a good thing or not… Takemichi wasn’t sure.
He had the courage to ask, but he wasn’t brave enough to dig deeper into it.
With that in mind… It was probably how he ended up getting pulled along by this blonde haired girl, the two of them at the karaoke bar. Relatively confused and kind of want to just, he didn’t know, blow off some steam (and voice cracking at each song), but then—something he didn’t expect happened (he should’ve known) and, the girl, she was taking off her clothes, thin arms pushing him down—
Takemichi woke up again, feeling nauseous and holding onto Naoto’s hand. Naoto was staring at him with a weirded out look on his face, and after three beats, Takemichi turned and ran for it.
Luckily for himself, Akkun was riding around with his bicycle. They bumped into each other and Akkun offered him a ride, and the two went down the neighborhood streets.
Takemichi probably looked really unhinged, because Akkun asked how he was feeling. Giving him a wordless hum, Akkun accepted the hum. What a good friend.
Cycling some more, his bottom began to hurt sitting on the bike’s rear rack. Akkun began chatting about Makoto, Yamagishi, Takuya… All of their silly adventures.
It comforted him, in a way. Takemichi smiled smally. He let himself be soaked in this stories, and—
And then he was in front of Naoto, again, in the middle of shaking his hand. It was daytime, bruises and wounds on his body aching —a sharp pain stabbed through his left hand. Bandages… Oh, Tachibana. She was there, too, a small, confused look in her eyes. She was wearing a necklace Takemichi had never seen her wear before. A... Four leaf clover.
Naoto also looked a bit confused. Takemichi—a bit tired from running all the time, laughed weakly. He let his hand drop.
“Ah… S-see you guys later?”
He wasn’t sure if that was the appropriate response to whatever “he” had done earlier, during whatever time frame his brain decided to check-out. Checking the date, even more time had passed since the last he remembered. Already August… Seriously?
Although… For some reason.
Tachibana smiled, pink dusting her cheeks.
“Are you busy?”
Takemichi blinked. Awkwardly, his mind reminded him of that blonde hair girl, that embarrassing and horrible moment. All the comfort from Akkun’s stories vanished in that instant. Takemichi had completely forgotten about that time, that stupid mistake (didn’t even know what happened towards the end, when the girl was—)
“Uh—um, no—”
She grinned.
At the sight of her smile, Takemichi’s mind paused. His chest tightened, and—guilt, maybe, had tumbled in.
Tachibana was so kind.
He didn’t deserve her.
“Why don’t you come in? Tons of stuff happened… I bet you hadn’t done your homework!”
The teen stared ahead. Very gently, Tachibana grabbed his other hand—the one that wasn’t hurt—and once again, gently, pulling him along. Naoto, the kid, made a face, and Takemichi, who slowly regained his composure…
… Tons of stuff, huh.
He let himself be pulled along, and being at a girl’s room for the first time, his face turned inevitably red. Tachibana chuckled— staring, again? Apparently, he had been calling Tachibana “Hina” for some time, now.
Takemichi had no memory of that. Throat dry, he downed some tea and decided to call Tachibana “Hina” as well.
It… It should be okay. At least, he hoped so.
Returning home, Takemichi wanted to scream. Mom had said that she wasn’t home at the time so she didn’t know what had happened, but all of Takemichi’s precious possessions—their broken pieces lined up sadly by the wall—were utterly destroyed.
Takemichi let go of a broken sob, holding the pieces of his precious Hayate. If he prayed hard enough, maybe this would all be just a bad dream and his priceless mementos, all of them, would still be whole again.
But no, they weren’t.
And apparently, everyone thought it was a great idea to not tell him that, for some reason, Mikey and Draken of the infamous Tokyo Manji Gang considered Takemichi a buddy of their’s. That—apparently, he had saved Draken’s life or something, or—he didn’t know. Something about the third of August and a festival gone wrong.
Like. Like what . What in the world. Akkun, who he later called, was not making any sense. No one was making any sense. Akkun sounded like he was worried that Takemichi got hit in the head again, because Takemichi, to him, was not making any sense as well.
He was still agitated by the fact his skateboard, bicycle, golden bat, game boys and all his over beloved gifts and trophies, were broken beyond repair. Legendary Mikey and Draken’s presences did not soothe that pain at all.
“Let’s go to the bath house together, Takemitchy~!” Mikey, the Invincible Mikey, Sano Manjiro, slung himself over Takemichi’s shoulders. Takemichi immediately went rigid at the older teen’s approach, mind racing and what the hell?! Mikey seemed to notice, however, his head tilting to the side. Eyes of void pondered and stared into Takemichi’s soul. Draken went ahead and led them to the nearby bath house.
Sitting in the bath, Takemichi let the hot water soak his still-healing wounds. They were more and less okay, now, the stab (he had no idea how he got that) on his left hand scabbed over. His wounds stung, but the water… Baths were always nice, so Takemichi… He sighed. Yeah. He’d like… Yeah. Calm down. It was okay.
Mikey submerged into the water, and Takemichi wanted to sigh again. His mind was completely clear, the hot bath keeping himself awake. Usually one would get sleepy in such a nice environment, but Takemichi wasn’t tired at all. That was until suddenly, once again, he woke up to his hand holding Naoto’s.
He was standing in front of the Tachibana Household’s door.
… An awkward beat passed by. This time, Hina… She wasn’t here.
Takemichi and Naoto’s eyes were in contact. Naoto, nervously, stood there, and Takemichi...
“... Again?” He couldn’t help but say out loud.
“Again,” Naoto seemed to be on the same wavelength, however, which really brought up Takemichi’s mood. The kid understood .
Looking up, blue gray eyes noted how it was… Probably morning. Or noon. He was pretty sure it was nighttime back when he was still at the bath house, and on that note—his body was hurting again, bruises under his hoodie… Takemichi trailed to a pause.
… The weather… Was a lot colder.
Digging his hand into his pocket again, he quickly pulled out his phone and flipped it open.
He stared at the screen.
Novem...ber.
That was…
Takemichi squeezed his eyes shut.
A shuddering intake of a breath later, Takemichi said with a dry laugh. Said dry laugh was accompanied with watering eyes. His eyes hurt from apparently crying a bunch.
“Should I go check with a doctor?”
Naoto, pausing for a contemplative second, shrugged. The kid seemed smart, so he probably had been running several theories through that little head of his.
“Your call.”
During these short instances Takemichi stayed conscious before inevitably waking up to shaking Naoto’s hand again, Takemichi and Naoto became close. Hina seemed pretty happy about it, and—
Oh, and apparently, he had became the First Division Captain of the Tokyo Manji G—
Takemichi choked on nothing, beated his bruised chest with an equally bruised fist, and gaped at the uniform in his closet.
HUH?!
“So, what’s our next plan to get you to the top?” The guy, who’s name Takemichi later learned, Matsuno Chifuyu, asked nonchalantly. Apparently, he was Takemichi’s “Vice Captain.”
Takemichi stared at him with big bug eyes. A few beats later, Chifuyu shot him back with a raised eyebrow and concerned gaze.
This was… Getting more and more absurd.
I should really get used to this, haha. Yeah. Totally.
Later on, Takemichi invited Akkun, Takuya, everyone from their old Mizo gang, into the Toman. Since he was now First Division Captain, this whole situation still extremely surreal, familiar faces would help—he came to this conclusion, after all. If Takemichi couldn’t control these black-outs, he at least wanted some control back in his life. Some sort of sign of consistency… Yeah. Control. The team, like the goofy photo of his home screen, cheerfully accepted his invitation. Takemichi smiled and wiped away some tears.
Sitting on his bed back at home, Takemichi grabbed for his guitar, strumming it for a bit before putting it away. He pieced together some puzzles, that 2,500 piece one for some reason… Dented, and… He began to ponder. One thing the teen noticed, aside from the burning wounds and battered body, was the fact that his eyes… Everytime he woke up to his hand holding Naoto’s, his eyes would be tired, kinda puffy. Had a bunch of good cries.
He didn’t remember what happened. Couldn’t. Takemichi’s gaze landed on the scar that stabbed through his left hand. Pulling up his shirt, he stared at the scars that riddled poor skin.
New bonds were created that he had no idea how they came to be. Mikey and Draken would occasionally drop by, their presences slowly becoming… Less intimidating, but there would always be this weird look in Mikey’s eyes. His eyes were scary, Takemichi thought.
But… Well.
Takemichi was dumb and not quite brave, so in the end, he never asked about his “black-outs.” Naoto’s understanding company was good enough.
So going on a date with Hina, the two went to a bowling rink. Takemichi was really into bowling these days, so smiling to himself, he gripped the ball with steady hands. They played their rounds, a sense of euphoria rising—Hina was so adorable. He wanted to impress her. She... Stuck by him, after all. He felt giddy. Maybe it was okay to be with her.
Another strike. Takemichi put on his game face.
Alright, now, he drew back his arm and twisted his leg. One more —
He, once again, woke up to his hand holding Naoto’s.
It was much colder. Probably December (he checked the phone, it was already past New Years, 2006 and all). Naoto was wearing a thick jacket, the two of them standing at the park in front of the Tachibana Household’s apartment.
His body, once again, felt wrecked. Worse than usual, however. Takemichi could feel how each muscle would creak, this numbing pain underneath his skin. Like he got rammed by trucks ten times over.
“... Hey, again,” Takemichi greeted with a smile.
Naoto, who probably had a conversation with the him-during-the-black-out, nodded nervously. There was a certain look behind the kid’s eyes… Maybe it finally clicked, whatever he had theorized.
“... Yeah.”
Takemichi wanted to ask. He wanted to know, if people noticed he… Wasn’t him.
But then…
He supposed. He was just scared. Tired, even.
Takemichi didn’t want to face it, so for now, he would keep these feelings to himself. He didn’t deserve Hina at all. He didn’t want to worry her, too.
A boyfriend who was all wrong in the head, how was that?
Rubbing his eyes, Takemichi laughed lightly and let go of Naoto’s hand. The previously nervous look morphed into one of worry, and Naoto, the direct kid he was, approached the older teen.
“Are you okay?”
Takemichi bit the inside of his cheek.
“... To be honest…” He didn’t want to burden Naoto. “Nah, I’m fine.
“Say hello to Hina for me!” And like the coward he was, he turned on his feet and ran.
His First Division became bigger. A lot bigger. There was this Inupi guy who joined the ranks, something about the Black Dragons, and stuttering a bit, Takemichi had no idea what to do. He also got this really cool bike—a lot different from his old, broken Hayate, and all he could do was stare at it. Chifuyu, who stood by, noticed his confusion.
But to Takemichi’s surprise, Chifuyu… He… Takemichi wasn’t sure, but Chifuyu only grinned and patted his back.
“It’s your Babu, Takemitchy! Forgot how to start it? Here, I’ll teach you—”
Engine started, Takemichi’s jaw dropped. It was beautiful. Utterly beautiful.
Chifuyu, his Vice Captain and now partner, guided him with the bike patiently. They rode around, the wheels running, and Chifuyu, whether he intended or not, slowly filled Takemichi in the gaps of his memories.
“The incident with the Black Dragons… Still can’t imagine it. Hakkai, the Second Division Vice Captain, and his sister, Yuzuha, are finally free, and we managed to kick Kisaki out. Kisaki’s really slimy, glad he’s out. He tricked us, y’know. He’d been tricking Mikey, been behind the incident with Baji… Been behind what could have happened with Draken.”
Takemichi didn’t dare to ask for more details, but Chifuyu, the good friend he was, talked about it either way. He talked about the festival that went wrong, how Draken nearly died (and how Takemichi got that scar on his left hand), and the time where Baji, the former First Division Captain, ended his own life to finish Bloody Halloween.
Chifuyu’s voice turned quiet, talking about Baji. Chifuyu… He used to be Baji’s follower. Partner.
“But you never gave up,” Chifuyu explained. “Even when Taiju punched you again and again… You never gave up. You talked about loneliness, and snapped Hakkai out of his grief. You’re amazing, y’know?”
…
By Chifuyu’s side, Takemichi… He felt as if able to confess everything.
But like with Naoto, he didn’t want to… Burden him, he supposed.
Chifuyu seemed to notice that as well.
“Hey, partner,” Chifuyu said with a grin. “Wanna go get some good food? Let’s go invite Akkun and the others, too! Oh hey, maybe you could ask Hina out for a date~”
Holding back tears, Takemichi nodded. Chifuyu later told him about the story behind this new Babu, that this was a memento of Sano Shinichiro, Mikey’s late brother, and Mikey and Draken’s gift. Mikey’s bike’s twin. It seemed to fill the void that was his destroyed beloved possessions. Takemichi took care of the bike everyday. Chifuyu also told him the story behind his uniforms—one that was Mikey’s and the other, both made by Mitsuya.
Even though Takemichi had no memory of anything Chifuyu talked about, Chifuyu… He was a great friend.
Takemichi was glad to have him as a friend.
It was raining, that night. Takemichi happily did his homework.
And then he woke up.
As expected, he was holding Naoto’s hand again.
They were at the park. Hair undone, bleached yellow bangs fell before his eyes. He wondered how much time had passed this time. His hands—they were all scarred over. At the knuckles.
Blinking slowly, Hina… She was also here. This was the park, and… Oh, Chifuyu. He was here as well.
Takemichi blinked again. This was… Awkward. What should he say—
Hina smiled. Chifuyu smiled as well. Hina… She was holding something in her hand. He wasn’t sure what exactly—
“Hey, pal,” Chifuyu teased, “when ya gonna let go of the kid’s hand?”
Quickly dropping his hand, Takemichi’s ears turned red quickly. Bashfully, he sucked in a small breath and tried to act composed. He was normal. This was okay. Hina and Chifuyu would totally know that nothing was amiss—
Hina, smile still so sweet, tapped his shoulder. Takemichi blinked, ears still red—
“Let’s go on a date, Takemichi!”
His entire face was red, now. Chifuyu teased him some more as Naoto made, as usual, a face.
Apparently, Toman disbanded. A lot of things changed, and Takemichi… He observed. Inupi was still around, but Koko… He wasn’t. Draken sometimes came by, but Takemichi quickly noticed the absence that was Mikey.
He didn’t think much about it. No one acted like it was weird, after all, so he played along. For the next few months, Takemichi pretended to be the “him” that was not “him.”
It was a record. He hadn’t had a memory gap for who knew how long.
Wiping down his Babu, Takemichi felt this sense of giddiness under his skin. He smiled a little, making sure the bike was in good shape, and wiping away the gathering sweat, he stretched his arms back and let out a sigh.
This was new. This was very new.
Blue gray eyes lowering, Takemichi looked down to the little four leaf clover hanging around his neck. A gift that Hina gave him that he had no recollection of her giving. Holding onto the small thing, the middle school third year sat down and lay his back on the ground. He stared up to the skies.
No longer keeping his hair in the former faux hawk style, Takemichi let the bleached curls run free. It was nice, being able to stay sane again.
… It was… Nice.
Until it wasn’t.
Takemichi could see the small, displaced gap of Hina’s gaze, the two of them walking down the town’s streets together. They were chatting, talking about the day. Toman no more, Takemichi spent more of his time by Hina’s side. Occasionally, Takemichi, shyly, would glance to meet her eyes. Hina’s eyes were beautiful, the curls of her hair brushing against gentle wind. They were dating, hands linked, but...
Hanagaki Takemichi, who was only fourteen, could tell. Hina… She was looking ahead for someone else.
Hina still treated him like usual, though. They dated, went to the bowling rink together with the Shiba siblings, studied together, all the usual stuff. Takemichi managed to pass his exams thanks to Hina.
But it was obvious. Painfully so.
Enjoying some crepes together, Takemichi… He tried to ignore it, the displaced gap in her gaze that starred far ahead—to a future, or something.
One day, he asked something that should have never been asked.
“How's Emma been doing? You and Emma got close, right? I hadn’t seen Mikey for a while, I wonder how they’re doing.”
By the time he noticed that Hina stopped walking, Takemichi realized he had screwed up.
Hina was staring at him. Arms hanging limp, she—she stood there, unmoving.
Her breath had paused, just for a short interval. Then—and then the tears began to well. Takemichi felt his heart stop.
Oh no, he thought. He made her cry—
“H-Hina?!”
“O-oh, I’m sorry—” Hina shouldn’t need to apologize, Takemichi was freaking out— “I’m… I’m sorry.”
Small hands covering her face, Hina sobbed, trails of tears leading down her arms. Takemichi, nauseous again, flailed his arms around her. His throat is tight. He didn’t know how to help her.
They found a place to sit at. The passing bystanders whispered a bit before letting them be.
Eventually, Hina calmed down. She hiccuped, but a small smile returned to her face. The smile didn’t reach her eyes though, and that was when Takemichi, once again, realized.
“... You see...” Hina gently began. Fingers woven together, the girl continued. Bravely.
“Emma... Passed away.”
...
“Huh?”
Hina’s lips began to wobble again. She quickly wiped away the tears that were gathering.
“Emma passed away, she got into an accident.”
“... Oh.”
Hina’s smile collapsed. Takemichi awkwardly hugged her, the girl wailing into his shoulder. Takemichi’s hug slowly turned less awkward, but his throat was still all lodged up and he couldn’t think clearly. Emma died. He didn’t even… Did he go to her funeral? What about Mikey? What about Draken?
At that moment, Takemichi realized.
See, he wasn’t the “Takemichi” Hina loved, or grew to love more. He wasn’t the “Takemichi” who went through so much with her, and he… He wasn’t the “Takemitchy” who...
Toman...
...
He should’ve known. The idiotic kid he was, too stupid to realize.
They visited the Sano Grave. Takemichi wondered where Mikey was at. Hands pressed together flat, the two greeted Emma. Maybe Sano Shinichiro was watching as well. Takemichi wouldn’t know.
Third year in middle school almost over, he finally got brave enough to ask. Maybe he was just tired, though. Too tired to keep holding onto this pitiful pride.
“Chifuyu,” Takemichi started. They were tending to the Babu.
He recalled the time he asked his mom, but thinking about it, his question… It wasn’t worded all that great. His mom was probably stuck between “so, is being a delinquent you acting weird or is that just the normal you?” Even so, Takemichi used the same question, or at least a similar version to it. He was dumb, after all. Didn't know how to ask it better.
“A year ago. Were there times where you noticed I’ve been acting… Differently?”
Chifuyu understood what he was talking about. Chifuyu’s the one who filled him in the gaps of his memories, after all, so Takemichi… He had a feeling. Chifuyu would know.
There was a moment of silence. His partner was thinking, but the silence wasn’t long enough for Takemichi to take back the question.
But one thing, for sure… Chifuyu must have been thinking about this for some time now. About telling Takemichi, “this” Takemichi, whatever Chifuyu knew.
They shared some yakisoba. Chifuyu began the story.
“... Time... Leaping?”
Chifuyu nodded.
“The only ones who know… Hina and me, Draken and Mikey, too. And then, Naoto, your trigger, probably has an inkling. It’s been a while since you last leaped, so… I think it’s finally reached. The future where Hina lives.”
Takemichi felt Chifuyu glance at him carefully. It was a curious gaze, one that was more concerned and worried.
How would Takemichi take in all of that, perhaps he was thinking.
Or if this was the right choice. To tell “this” Takemichi the truth.
“... I see,” Takemichi smiled. “Thanks, for telling me.”
Chifuyu pursed his lips.
“Takemitchy—”
“Ahh,” stretching his arms, Takemichi stood up and grabbed his water. “Wanna go ride around town? The weather’s great!”
His former Vice Captain lowered his hand. Chifuyu nodded, a small, drawn-back smile made.
“... Yeah. Sure thing, partner.”
Partner, the thing they became due to Chifuyu’s connection with his future self. A time-leaping guy who went back and forth twelve years, all to save Hina who died again and again, to save Akkun and Draken and everyone from their awful fates.
What a hero. Takemichi rubbed the scar on his left hand.
What a… Hero.
“You got in!!” Hina cheered as Takemichi smiled sheepishly. They were about to graduate from middle school, and Toman became a past memory. Takemichi got into the high school of his choice thanks to Hina. She had tutorted him plenty, and now without the gang nights, Takemichi could spend his time more on these books and puzzles.
Pah was released. The old Toman members threw a party, but Mikey was nowhere to be seen. Takemichi actually had no clue who Pah was, but a party later, they chatted some more and became, maybe, like friends. Peh-yan and him also got along—this unlikely friendship Takemichi formed. Peh sometimes talked about things Takemichi had a hard time following, but luckily, Chifuyu was there to, once again, fill in the gaps. He did so in such a nonchalant way… How skilled.
Hina probably knew that Takemichi was informed about the whole time leaping thing, now. Takemichi smiled, and she probably knew… That Takemichi had known. The fact that they were pulling up these happy faces, to keep Takemichi happy. To keep him not worried.
Because the future him had saved them. A future that, after thinking for a bit, Takemichi of the now ...
Would never be able to reach.
Hanagaki Takemichi recalled the time he first met Hina. Tachibana Hinata, someone super kind and sweet. Classmates were teasing him that Tachibana from Class Two liked him, and that other guys were willing to throw hands with him because she was so popular. At the roof, Tachibana confessed. Takemichi’s face turned red and accepted her confession.
He had no idea what Hina saw in him. Right now, he was just… Confused.
There were details Chifuyu didn’t tell him, of course. That was a given because there was probably too much to talk about. But with the distant look in Hina’s eyes, the way she would put her hand on the matching four leaf clover on her neck—
“You gave this to me,” Hina explained. She smiled brightly. “After the incident with the festival, August Third. The Takemichi twelve years later… You wanted to apologize.”
“... I see,” he played with the clover at his neck. “I see.”
He wasn’t sure if it occurred with them, his friends (they bonded for a year in a row, they could count each other as friends, right?), but Takemichi thought about it a lot. He was a coward, also a bit dumb, so he never bothered to approach them about it in the first place.
But still.
High school uniform obtained, the now first year high schooler hung it on the walls. The teen pressed his forehead against the wall, and inevitably, the thoughts began to tumble in once more.
Didn’t know who to confide this to. Should he even bother?
His Toman friends were all smiles (aside from Angry, of course). They hung out occasionally, everyone busy with their own dreams. Everyone was happy, or as happy they could be. They worked hard, probably in honor of their hero. Naoto was studying hard. Even though supposedly, his sister was saved, he still kept studying. Not going to risk a mistake, huh. How brave.
Of course, only Hina, Chifuyu, and Draken actually knew. The others… They weren’t exactly taken aback, when Takemichi couldn’t recall the fun memories that were being reminisced about. Everyone only had this strange collective conclusion that Takemitchy got hit in the head with one too many punches. Takemitchy, to them, was humble and didn’t claim his heroics. Other times they blamed it on the one percent alcohol, and with that, everyone laughed. How joyful.
Takemichi closed his eyes. Left in his pajamas, he threw himself down, back pressed against the mattress. Pulled the covers on, he kept his breathing steady.
But it was hard. For the entire night, he couldn’t sleep.
Apparently, eventually, he found out. He connected the dots, from what Chifuyu told him how Takemichi of the future kept leaping through time, trying to save Hina. Akkun. Everyone.
Future Takemichi probably proposed to Hina. There was a ring in her hand, at the park so long ago.
So there was that. Two years. Two years had passed since he last blacked out. Two years, he bonded with them longer than they had with his future self.
But still.
He…
He wasn’t the one who helped them. Wasn’t the “Crybaby Hero” who… Stood by them.
Eyes closed, Takemichi wasn’t sure how late it was in the night. Maybe it was already morning, because slowly, he could make out the sound of the birds’ chirping. He kept his eyes closed. He breathed steadily. It was 2008, June. He could hear his mom’s footsteps stomping down the hall.
Takemichi could feel the tears well up. Overused tear glands ached. He felt his chest constrict, his blanket half off the bed. His arms laid awkwardly around him, but he just couldn’t move. He stayed still.
...
He felt lonely. Extremely alone.
Takemichi remembered what Chifuyu told him, two years ago. The story of Christmas... How “Takemitchy” talked about loneliness and got Hakkai out of his grief. Takemitchy was bloody and bruised, but the Babu was heard. Mikey’s Babu. Mikey saved the day, he kicked Taiju down. Draken right there with them, too, defeated all the Black Dragons… Mikey’s brother’s dead legacy. Even though Mitsuya got hit in the head, he survived. He could’ve died in another future, everyone could’ve, but now… They’re alive.
Fighting on isn’t painful.
What hurts more than anything is loneliness.
Hah.
Haha.
He… Was not the Crybaby Hero.
He was Takemichi. Hanagaki Takemichi, age sixteen and almost seventeen.
Hanagaki Takemichi, who, in a decade’s time, would inevitably disappear.
Hanagaki Takemichi… Who had no point in trying to achieve anything. Accomplish anything.
Because two Takemichis could not exist at the same time.
Stay alive, he convinced himself. Hina waited so long.
They all suffered so much. The Crybaby Hero who you don’t know, too. He deserves this. His happy ending. You can’t cry about it. He suffered too much. You could see it all on your body. All of your friends are waiting for him.
Stay alive, stay healthy, and protect the bonds that his future worked so hard to keep. So that Hina and Takemitchy could reunite, could finally get married.
Their happy ending.
Takemichi wasn’t the Crybaby Hero. He wasn’t.
He was just…
I’m sure you’ll succeed! Hina’s voice cheered in his mind.
It was something that she had told him, way before the whole time leaping thing began. His dream… Something he was quickly forgetting.
I’m sure you’ll succeed .
Tears rolled down from the corners of open eyes.
“How long are you going to stay asleep?!” His mom’s voice called. “You’re going to be late!!”
Hanagaki Takemichi stared up to the familiar ceiling. His heart thumped quickly, breathing heavy, and it was akin to waking up from a horrible, horrible nightmare.
His heart thumped some more. Takemichi gasped for air.
“Huh?” The twenty seven year old asked out loud.