Chapter Text
It was the start of the school year. Watari hadn't even finished entering the school again and she already wanted to leave, but it wasn't like she'd be better off somewhere else, But it's okay, at least she could see her friends and she had an excuse not to be at home.
She was walking towards her classroom with a lot of thoughts in her head, none of them staying for more than 2 seconds. How did people have the energy to talk so early? It wasn't that Nishino didn't have friends, she loved them, it was just that she couldn't bring herself to talk so early in the morning.
Nishino arrived at the classroom, looked around for a split second, then chose the seat in the back, arranged her things in their place, and sat down, half asleep. On her defense, she had spent the previous night packing her siblings' backpacks. Maybe on the back they won't see if she sleeps.
Nishino's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another girl, Tamba Ruiko. "Nishi! I missed you so much!" the other girl said as she hugged her friend. "Hi, Rui! I missed you too."
Nishino was grateful that Tamba still had plenty of time. Rui was a good girl; she deserved it. Watari Nishino could see how much time a person had left to live, but it usually didn't matter. People typically lived long lives that even Nishino wouldn't live to see. Other times, a minority of those lives would end with someone dying young, so Nishino usually made sure not to get attached to them. Maybe it sounds bad, but it saved our girl Watari many nights of crying, so perhaps it was for the better.
"It's so cool that we're in the same class, right!" Ruiko said enthusiastically. "Yup, it's good then. I don't need to make new friends, not that I need any because we're like the same soul in different bodies!" Watari replied. The two are very close; they started being friends in their first year of high school.
"Are we going to sit together?" Nishino asked. She knew that Ruiko didn't like to sit in the back because she had bad eyesight, but maybe she would agree? She didn't want to have to talk to herself all the time. "You know I can't see though! I'm going to sit in the middle row so we're not so far apart. That way I think we can pass notes to each other!"
"Fineee, but if we don't talk because nobody wants to hand us the notes then its you fault," Nishino sighed, she really didn't want to be beside someone she probably woould be bored to talk to "Im sure Toshi would hand us the notes! Maybe Ken too." Well yeah but only if they do sit on that rows though and also Ken is always studying. Nishino thought "Well maybe? But what If they don't sit i the rows between us?" "I'll convince them with my charms!"
She Didn't.
Tamba didn't Convinve Toshi and Ken so now they were stucked in different places of the classroom and Nishino probably was going to be stucked with someone she didn't liked by her side. Wow, good.
Even worse, no one had ever sat next to her, and now she was alone. That's worse than sitting with someone boring! why do we have extra seats this school year? Now I have someone boring in front of me and no one next to me, and I'm going to have to wait until lunch every day to talk to Tamba.
Nishino was waiting for the teacher to arrive and for class to begin. Maybe she should sleep a little while she waited, she thought, before being interrupted by the sound of the teacher's footsteps approaching, along with a person around her age, which explained why they had extra seats!
The teacher sat down and began to speak in an authoritarian tone. "Hello, you all know me. I taught you last year, but there's someone you don't know. Please introduce yourself." The person from before began to speak. If Nishino was honest, she was very pretty. "Hm, hello, my name is Okazaki Hanano-" And at that moment, the mark appeared above her head -62 days remaining- and everything Nishino had been thinking was interrupted.
She was going to die. In two months, the girl who would sit next to her would die, and she wouldn't be able to do anything. The person continued speaking, but nothing she said reached Nishino's ears; it all sounded like distant murmurs. Nothing was happening. Watari Nishino would do what she always did: she would simply be distant and put up a barrier between herself and the person, and then nothing would happen.
The girl, Okazaki, took the seat next to Nishino; after all, it was the only free seat anyway. "Good to meet you," the person said. "Same," Nishino replied, and so the class continued. Neither of them spoke during this time. Well, that would be easier for Nishino anyway. The following classes were boring: Algebra, Geography, Psychology, History, and Geometry—the most boring and awful subjects, one after the other. But at least it was recess.
The students pushed the classroom tables together and ate together. Tamba and Watari usually ate just the two of them because Ken and Toshi didn't like sitting with them much. Anyway, Tamba and Watari had already spread their tablecloths and were eating. Tamba was eating her diet-appropriate food, and Watari was having the bento that she had prepared in the morning just rice balls and seaweed, nothing special.
Tamba glanced out of the corner of her eye at Okazaki, who was eating alone. Her food still looked like shit, but that wasn't important. "Should we invite her? I feel bad seeing her alone." She said, "So we're pitying her?" "It's not just that! She also seems interesting. She said she liked making masks for her presentation, that's interesting!" Tamba replied defensively, "Do you want me to go get her, or are you going?" Nishino said, "You're going!" "Fine."
Well, it seemed the plan to ignore her wasn't going to work out very well anyway; it was still a long time, and she could still change the outcome. Nishino approached the other person and began, "Do you want to sit with us?" Okazaki seemed to hesitate a bit before replying, "Yes, that's fine," and moving her table to join the other two.
The two girls and Okazaki began to eat, especially Nishino and Tamba. The latter occasionally asked Okazaki questions, which she answered without hesitation. Okazaki did seem interesting, though. Perhaps Nishino would try to talk to her more; maybe that way she could change fate? She'd never tried before, anyway.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-61 days left-
The next day, Nishino had taken Okazaki and Tamba, who had been there before, to the student council members' room (Nishino being proudly the vice president). "Okay, so today we're going to introduce Okazaki to the staff room!" Tamba and Nishino showed Okazaki around. "So, you want to be our secretary?" Nishino said as she sat down at the table in the room. "Can I be the hall monitor?" she replied. Tamba thought for a moment before being interrupted by Watari. "Yes, yes you can." "Hey! I don't get a word in this?!" Tamba said while Okazaki stayed in the background watching. "No cuz I'm the Headmaster!" "Fine! Hmph!"
Eventually, the three of them ended up sitting around a table this time, Okazaki trying to take the lead in the conversation. "So if there's no secretary, what is Tamba?" The two girls thought for a few seconds before the blonde replied enthusiastically, "I'm the planner!" "And how does that work?" Okazaki asked. "It means I come up with ideas." Tamba responded, "Hmm, and what do you do with the ideas...?" There was an awkward silence between the two.
At the same time, Nishino was thinking about how she would manage to save Okazaki. She had never tried to save anyone from death, but there was nothing that said it wasn't possible. After all, the two were supposed to be friends, so it would be wrong not to try. Besides, Okazaki was a good person!
"Are you alright, Nishino?" Tamba pulled Watari from her deep thought. "Yup, I just got distracted." Okazaki looked at Watari before saying, "And what do you do as headmaster?" She said, "Obviously, I keep an eye on the students and give motivational talks!" Okazaki was taken aback by that response and replied, "I'm pretty sure headmasters don't usually give motivational talks?" To this, Nishino responded, "Well, I'm not your usual headmaster, I'm THE headmaster!"
After a while, the conversation started to wander off in all sorts of directions. We never talked about Okazaki as such; I guess she doesn't like to talk about herself much? Anyway, we ended up talking about things like animals, our hobbies, or things we like, things like that.
At the end of the meeting, Watari accompanied Tamba and Okazaki to collect their things and they accompanied each other all the way home. First, they dropped Tamba off at her house, and then Okazaki and Watari were left alone together.
"What else do you like to do?" Okazaki asked as he continued to accompany Nishino. "I also like to dance," she replied. "What kind of dancing?" she continued. "Fire dancing. You should come see me someday." She'll die before she sees you dance. A thought flashed through Nishino's mind. "Isn't that dangerous?" Okazaki asked. "Not really. I've been practicing since I was 14, so I'm good with fire. Fire is my bitch!" "Oh?"
"Okay, enough about me. Let's get back to you. What do you like besides making masks?" Okazaki thought for a few seconds about that question. "Well, I like art in general. I also like fashion in a way. Like masks, I think it's a way to express yourself; it's also a form of art." Watari replied, "So you really like creative things?" "Yes, you could say that."
In a few minutes, Nishino arrived home and said goodbye to Okazaki. Okazaki continued walking towards her apartment; she wasn't one for being accompanied.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-56 days left-
Nishino wasn't a fan of PE; she found it boring and thought anything else was better. But compared to her, Ruiko seemed to love the subject—very enthusiastic and serious about it. Perhaps that's why Nishino hated the subject so much, because of her friend's seriousness about it.
"Okay, everyone, be quiet," the teacher said, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "I need teams of three." Nishino and Ruiko glanced at each other before looking for Okazaki among the students. It seemed the three of them had managed to stick together a little during those days.
The teacher then proceeded to explain the activity: two teams of three would pull on a rope as hard as they could. The winner would then face the next winning team. That would have been easy enough if Nishino, Ruiko, and Hanano hadn't been talking instead of paying attention to the explanation.
"Hey! Tamba, Watari, Okazaki!" The teacher called out, "I see you're having a good time, aren't you? Running laps around the court, all three of you." Ruiko insisted it was a mistake and they wouldn't do it for about 30 seconds before being scolded again and threatened with detention.
"Which of us three started talking first?!" Tamba said as she ran around the court, the fastest and most coordinated of the three. I should add Nishino and Okazaki were further behind her. "...Probably you," Okazaki said, catching her breath between words. "Yeah, probably you, Rui!" Watari added as they both continued running, Ruiko already several meters ahead of the duo.
At one point, Watari and Okazaki started walking instead of running, which caused groans from both Ruiko and the teacher. "Come on! I can't be the one who's ahead of the three of us. I need someone to talk to too!" Ruiko spoke as she overtook the two of them multiple times.
---
At the end of class, Hanano and Nishino were exhausted. Well, Ruiko was too, but she hid it better. Besides, she actually did her laps well. Nishino was already finishing her water while her friends started talking. "Huh, how do you do it, Tamba?" Hanano asked. "Pure discipline! Uh huh!" the latter replied.
For the last two minutes of class, the three of them were catching their breath and drinking water, especially Okazaki and Watari. Okazaki even "borrowed" Tamba's water. "H-Hey! That's mine!" Tamba exclaimed while the other was already emptying the bottle. "You weren't even drinking. Can I have some?" she said while handing the water back to Tamba. "Well, since you already finished it anyway."
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-50 days left-
Today, Nishino, Tamba, and Okazaki sat together in Technology class. Honestly, none of the three were really interested in it, but it was the only subject where they could sit together anyway. Watari was sitting between the other two.
"How do you do that?" Tamba asked, looking at the brown-haired girl. "Hm...?" Okazaki replied, continuing with what she was doing. "That! How do you do it? I can't do it right." Okazaki then proceeded to help Tamba. The sound of the keys and the mouse seemed to pull Watari from her thoughts. Lately, she'd been getting distracted; maybe it was because Okazaki's counter kept decreasing every day.
"Hey, Nishi, look!" her friend said, pointing at the computer screen, which displayed decoded barcodes. "I got it!" Watari heard Okazaki laughing in a low voice. If you asked Watari, it was a little creepy. "Hm, I'd say I did it, but I don't know..." She added, "Shush!" Tamba silenced the other person.
The argument continued. Nishino chuckled softly at how it was unfolding; it was quite funny, to be honest. Watching her friends argue like that was amusing.
"Hey, be quiet." Another voice, Sasaki Hitomi, the student council president, interrupted in a rather annoyed tone. She did seemed somewhat angry though. "We're in class. When it's break, you can talk and laugh all you want. Pay attention and work." "Yes, ma'am," Tamba excused herself and remained silent for approximately three minutes before speaking again, now whispering.
"So, what do we think of Toshi and Ken?" Okazaki paused for a moment to process the words, looking confused. "What about Toshi and Hasegawa?" Watari interrupted to answer the question, leaning back more to talk to the other two more comfortably.
"Oh, right, you're new. Okay, in short, Toshi and Ken like each other—it's pretty obvious if you ask me—but the point is, they've liked each other since their first year of high school, but they've never confessed. So, what do we think about that?" Okazaki stared at Watari before looking disappointed. "You really don't know? I really thought they were dating—" "Right!" Ruiko interrupted, grabbing Okazaki's hands and resting her forehead against them. "Finally, someone gets it. Don't they seem like a couple already? It's obvious!"
"Sorry, got a little too exited on that. But they do look like they are dating though!" She continued, in her defense they did seemed like a couple, maybe because of how they acted or just because of the implications they gived eachother. It is fairly obvious they like eachother.
Though right now, Nishino didn't seemed very interested in the idea, she had been rather occupied on saving Okazaki from dying for the past days or so- Before she was pretty interested on all that drama, but when you are trying to save someone from dead you need to know your priorities.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-45 days left-
It was Saturday night, late enough to be almost dawn, nothing but the sound of the wind and falling leaves. That night, Watari Nishino lay in bed, thinking about one person in particular: Okazaki Hanano. It didn't matter that Nishino was trying to change Okazaki's death count; every day the counter kept going down, just as Nishino had predicted. But that was the problem: Okazaki Hanano had to live, and Nishino would be the one to make it happen. She would be the one to save Okazaki from death.
Nishino had been trying not to think about it too much. After all, she could ensure the other person's life by being there at the precise moment of their death and saving them. That had to be the reason why the counter hadn't changed yet. Nishino convinced herself, trying to calm down. She didn't know if it was possible to save someone from death because, well, her 'powers' weren't very specific. Everything was possible, and that left the door open for many things, for better or for worse.
The thought of not being able to save anyone, even knowing when they would die, made Nishino's stomach churn. Imagine being the only person who knew and not being able to do anything to fix it, or worse, being the cause of it. Being the cause of the person you were trying to save was something Nishino couldn't imagine living with.
Perhaps that's why Nishino was so determined to save at least one person, because with that, she could prove to herself that she wasn't just... It serves to care for others, if not to save them, as it's not an obligation, but something she does for herself—and now that Nishino thinks about it, it's somewhat selfish, saving someone for your own ego, but she's really doing something good, and besides, she truly cares about Okazaki, Nishino repeated to herself.
Nishino breathed. That wasn't true. She wasn't selfish; she truly cared about Okazaki, and that was the only thing Nishino was sure of. If she was able to save Okazaki, she would not only prove that she does things not because someone orders her to, but because she wants to, and that she truly thinks about other people. Nishino rearranged her thoughts; that way, they wouldn't sound so bad.
Watari took a breath and got out of bed. Even though it was the weekend, she had to try to get up early; she had people to take care of in this house. Watari began making her bed while still thinking about the possibilities of her actions. "I'm sure I'll manage," she repeated to herself. When Watari finished making and tidying up, she got into bed and tried to sleep. Those thoughts still lingered in her mind, even in sleep, leaving a small tinge of insecurity in the back of her head.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-40 days left-
"Can you remind me why we're in the library?" Tamba's voice pierced through the quiet library. "Quiet." Okazaki calmly replied, her steps slow and deliberate. You'd never know she was behind you because of that. "We came here because I was sent to show you around and study," Watari said, answering Tamba's question. "Huh?!" Tamba paused before whispering, "I don't need to be sent to study." "You kinda do," Watari continued, Okazaki nodding at that response.
"Hm, and why am I here then?" Okazaki asked, still a step or two behind the other two. "Because I was sent to show you around the library, and also because I want the three of us to study together like those anime characters, you know?" Tamba clapped silently.
"So you're dragging us into playing at being in an anime? Wow, but I honestly prefer being in a villain anime, not a big fan of slice-of-life," Okazaki replied as Tamba was already sitting at the table and Watari took the books out of her backpack, placing them on the table with a loud thud. Watari distributed the books among each of her friends. "Well, since I like those anime better, we'll have to study now. Later we can go somewhere else."
Tamba didn't study, well, she tried for the first 30 minutes until she got bored and started playing dumb for the rest of the meeting. She always passes all her subjects, so it was fine, and her favorite was gymnastics, either way, not that it really mattered.
Hanano drew foxes in Watari's notebooks the whole session, and she was also humming most of the time, very old songs. Neither did Tamba. Watari didn't know any of them, though one sounded really similar to "Megitsune" from Babymetal, but Watari seriously doubted it was that song.
Watari didn't study much either. I mean, she already knew all the answers; she was vice president for a reason! Because she was very intelligent—and because her classmates loved her! Anyway, she at least studied for a few minutes before starting to draw stars on Tamba's arms with a colored pencil.
"Well, we're done studying, we can go now!" Watari said, stretching her arms and arching her back against the chair as she did so. "We didn't really study though," Okazaki muttered under her breath, barely audible, but Tamba was already gathering her things, ready to leave and heading out of the library. "Hey, wait, Rui!" Watari said before hurrying to follow her, with Okazaki joining them.
The three left the library talking amongst themselves, especially Watari and Tamba, with Okazaki occasionally adding a comment. She had been gaining confidence very quickly, which wasn't very common for her.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-32 days left-
Nishino sat on one of the benches outside an ice cream shop. The wind caressed her face; the day wasn't particularly cool, but it was warm enough to feel pleasant against her skin. Nishino was waiting for someone else, Okazaki. Initially, the plan was for her, Tamba, and Hanano to go, but Tamba had gotten sick and couldn't go out or attend school for a few days. This was one of the few times Nishino could spare some time instead of being at the club, with her siblings, or just doing her duties in general, so she didn't want to miss the opportunity. Besides, it was a good chance to get to know Hanano better.
Nishino waited for a few more minutes. She had never accused Hanano of being late; it seemed more like she simply wouldn't come if she didn't want to.
"Hi, Nishi," Hanano said, startling Nishino and making her jump. "God, Hanano, you scared me there! Hello!" She said as she waved her hand despite them being quite close.
"Do you want to go inside and order?" Okazaki nodded slowly, following Nishino. They were both inside. The line was long but not very long, just enough to take a few minutes. The atmosphere inside the store was more humid than outside—well, more like you could feel the heat from the people and the freezers on your skin. It wasn't too bad, but if you were there for too long, it would be uncomfortable.
Nishino stopped to get a closer look at Okazaki. She hadn't seen her properly the first time, but she seemed to be wearing something more refined, neat. She didn't think Okazaki would wear something like that: a blouse with ruffles, a vest, and simple white pants, not flared, though—kind of like the pants you'd wear in a suit or something. Oh, and boots—so cute. Okazaki looked very elegant and put together in that—If Nishino had to admit, Okazaki did looked very good
"Oh, the line's moving now," Okazaki said, moving forward. "What are you going to order?" Okazaki asked, looking through the thin glass that covered the ice cream flavors, "Hm, I don't know, what are you going to order?" Nishino asked while waiting for the other person's answer. "Hm, I don't know, maybe vanilla? Or maybe lemon. I don't like flavors that are too strong or sweet."
"Then if you order vanilla, I'll order chocolate, and if you order lemon, I'll choose, hmmm, Mango. I really like Mango!"
The two continued talking while waiting their turn in line, occasionally moving forward alongside the people in front of them. They didn't talk much at that moment, just about school stuff; they were still waiting for the ice cream so they could talk properly.
The line moved relatively quickly. They were ready, or rather, they arrived at the counter in about eight minutes? Ten, no more than ten minutes, though. Okazaki thought for a few seconds before choosing lemon. Watari, subsequently, ended up choosing mango. After that, Watari insisted on paying, and Okazaki pretty much accepted, rather enthusiastically, or well, enthusiastically, in her own way.
They both then headed outside. At the table where Nishino had been sitting before ordering, she had put her phone there for a reason; it was to reserve a spot. The view from that place was very pretty, almost charming, so Nishino could spend hours contemplating that kind of views.
They both sat down in the chairs. Watari took the seat with the view, and Okazaki took the one opposite. Before starting to eat her ice cream, Okazaki had to remove her face mask. Now that Nishino thought about it, she'd never seen Okazaki's full face before, not even at school.
"Why do you wear the face mask, Hanano?" Nishino asked, taking a bite of ice cream. "Because I like it. I usually wear a full-on mask, but the school doesn't allow it, and because we came to eat. Someday I'll show you some of them; we have time." Oh, time. That's exactly what we're missing.
"I would love to see some of them!" Nishino quickly continued with the talk.
The two continued like this throughout the afternoon, often with Nishino doing most of the talking while Okazaki nodded or added something. It was nice to have someone to listen. Nishino had never had anyone to listen before. I mean, don't get her wrong. Tamba was great! It's just that most of the time she never listened to anything, but Okazaki was nice. She was rather strange, but in a good way, you know? A little ominous, but very pleasant to talk to.
Despite, Watari would really enjoy her time with her wisely.
She may not last a lot.
The two said their goodbyes. The outing didn't last long, maybe an hour or two. It was pretty nice hanging out with Hanano; she was easy to talk to and very calm. Watari offered to walk together, or more specifically, to walk to Okazaki's house together. Okazaki declined. "No, I'm fine, Nishino, even though I don't think my apartment is very close here. Anyway, it would take quite a while," she excused herself.
Nishino accepted and went home. Nishino always wondered why Okazaki never wanted anyone to walk her home. Maybe she came from an abusive family, and that's why she was going to die? No, it didn't seem that way. Besides, I feel like we would know. Nishino's thoughts on her way home were ephemiral nothing seemed to stick with her mind.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀˚˖𓍢ִ
-30 days left-
Tamba was still sick; in fact, she wouldn't be able to return to school until next week. So Watari and Okazaki had been hanging out a lot more lately, even walking home together, although without Tamba it felt a little empty.
"Hmm, do you know when Tamba will be able to come back?" Hanano asked, following the usual path to Nishino's house. It was routine; normally they would walk first to drop Tamba off, but now that she wasn't there, Nishino was going first. Hanano already knew the address by heart, a bit concerning for someone you've only known for a month.
"I think next week, on Monday. She got really sick. She told me she couldn't go to gymnastics practice," Watari answered the question, her shoulder sore from carrying her backpack, her pace slower than usual.
"You think she's getting scolded for that?" Okazaki continued, and Watari nodded affirmatively. "Sadly, her parents don't like it when she skips practice." Occasionally, the conversation shifted to Okazaki. Nishino wanted to know more about her, you know? To get an idea of how she could die and how to save her
"So, um, what did you do after we went out yesterday?" That's perfect, maybe that way Nishino would know if Okazaki really has family problems or not, and that rules out many possibilities.
"Mostly just hanging out with my roommates though. I've never told you about them. They're interesting. I'm sure you'd like one or two of them." Oh, so she didn't live with her parents. That explains nothing, and Nishino probably has a lot more questions to ask now. "You don't live with your parents?!" Nishino exclaimed. It is quite uncommon seeing young people living without parents. "No, I live in an apartment with various roommates." The conversation continued like this; Nishino asked questions and Okazaki answered. It was very strange not knowing more about Okazaki, like her history or things like that. If Nishino had noticed anything, it was that she was very secretive, to put it that way.
Okazaki and Nishino had arrived at the latter's house. Okazaki walked her to the front door and said goodbye. "Bye Nishi," she said as she turned her back to leave. "Bye Hanano!" Watari returned, Looking at how her friend walked out the street, possibly to her apartment. although Watari's mind was somewhere completely different.
On how her score had been only decreasing on the past 32 days.
On how the person she wanted to save had every passing day less time to live.
On how tomorrow her friend will have 29 days to live.
On how the count that should have been up by now has been only doing the opposite.
On how nothing she does seems to affect the outcome.
On how the seconds, minutes and hours that pass are being counted down from her friend life.
On how she can't say anything.
On how everything seems to be failing.
Is she even able to change the destiny of Okazaki Hanano?