Chapter Text
"Auntie Makoto!"
"Kuni! Do you want to go out for ice cream?"
"Makoto... You know you can't have any."
"It's alright Ei, I'll only get some for Kuni!"
"It's your fault she's dead!"
"M-mama-"
"SHUT UP!"
A dream. It was a dream. Scara rubs his eyes as he gets out of bed. The time is already seven thirty, he'll be late for school at this rate. He goes about his morning routine before he checks his phone.
sandy: Good morning.
sandy: you awake?
sandy: did you oversleep?
sandy: scara? U ok? If you don't respond I'm coming over.
...
She's been messaging him every five minutes from seven. She does this every day for some reason.
scara: overslept.
sandy: ugh, seriously? Here I thought you died in your sleep
scara: don't be so dramatic. I'm off to school.
sandy: fine bye. Don't skip breakfast
scara: too late
Scara could care less about eating. He pockets his phone and quietly steps out of his room to go downstairs. The last thing he wants is to run into his mother now. He manages to make it outside without being caught and the driver, Niwa, is waiting for him. He gets in the car and the drive is quiet. Niwa doesn't talk much and he makes no effort to start a conversation. He manages to make it to school in time. The only reason he has to wake up so early is because of how far his school is. He lives in Inazuma city while the Akedimiya is in Sumeru City.
He attends his classes but he doesn't pay attention in the least. It doesn't matter if he's failing, it's not like Ei cares. Just as he's zoning out in class Nahida 's disappointed face comes to mind and he decides to pay attention. Nahida is his aunt of sorts, but she's more like a second mother to him. When he was younger, she tried to adopt him but was unable to due to Raiden Ei's influence in Inazuma. But it's all right, he doesn't have to suffer under Ei for much longer.
He doesn't have any friends in school, he prefers not to make any friends. He'll just end up hurting them. The only real friends he has are Sandrone and Childe who are always way too worried for him. Even though their constant nagging along with Nahida is kind of annoying, it makes him feel strangely warm inside. When school is over, Nahida picks him up. She's a teacher at his school so she usually drives him home. Sometimes, he stays over at her place. He walks over to the parking lot to see Nahida 's little green car. She's already waiting for him inside.
"How was school today?" She asks with that childish voice of her's.
"Same as always."
Nahida tells him all about her day and he listens in silence. He likes listening to Nahida talk, it's calming in a way. Before long, they arrive outside the hospital and Nahida parks her car.
"Do you want me to come with you..?" She looks worried, like always.
"Nah, I'll be fine."
"Okay, I'll be sitting right outside if you need me!"
Nahida smiles at him warmly and he briefly wonders how his mother would look if she smiled like that. He shakes the thought out of his head and goes inside. His aunt Makoto was very sick when he was younger, so he's familiar with the hospital. Also because he himself frequents the place as of late.
Doctor Baizhu greets him warmly. Scara has been coming to doctor Baizhu for a while now, although he never does get treatment. Treatment requires parental consent and Ei... refuses to say anything on that matter. Scara has long ago resigned his fate. He doesn't have any chance of survival. He goes through with the scans and tests Baizhu does, only because he needs the painkillers. Baizhu 's face looks grim as he looks through the reports.
"So, how long do I have left doc?"
Baizhu frowns but honestly responds
"It's gotten worse, at this rate, you'll only have a year left at most."
Scara frowns. Only a year means... He might not even make it to eighteen.
"That's...less than I thought."
Baizhu looks at him, but he knows the boy has all but given up hope. He prescribes painkillers of a higher dosage them normal to Scara. Scara walks out feeling a little numb. He hands over the prescription to nurse Qiqi at the pharmacy and takes his medicine before going back to Nahida who is sitting in the waiting room. Seeing the empty look on his face she just leads him back to the car.
Three years ago, Scaramouche was diagnosed with brain cancer. His mother, Raiden Ei, who had all but neglected him refused to get him treated and even worse, she blamed him. Back then, he might've had a hope of survival, but now even Baizhu can't save him. He thought he would at least make it to adulthood but at this rate, his upcoming sixteenth birthday might be his last. He sighs and leans back in the seat of the car, feeling a headache coming along. Nahida glances at him.
"So...what did the doctor say?"
He focuses on her voice and tries to respond.
"Said I've got...a year."
He glances at Nahida and sees her face full of worry and fear. He only hopes she can be happy after he's gone. Sandrone and Childe too, they've done nothing but care for him since they found out. The rest of the drive is spent in silence, it doesn't really help his headache but he can put up with it for Nahida. He assumes they're going to her house. A warm meal does sound nice. Ei never cooks for him. Before long they arrive at Nahida 's house and Scara stumbles our of the car. Nahida rushes to his side but he insists he's fine.
They go inside and Nahida starts chattering about random things as he settles down on the couch. He can hear the tension in her voice but he's just glad she's talking right now. Before he knows it, he's dozed off on Nahida's couch. As soon as she's done making the rice and curry she was preparing, she walks over to Scaramouche to see him fast asleep. She sets down the dishes on the table and sits next to Scara. Seeing him so peacefully asleep almost makes her burst out into tears. She can't ever imagine losing him. She considers letting him sleep but she knows how much he loves eating a warm home cooked meal. He was looking forward to it.
She gently nudges his shoulder to get his attention.
"Scara! Food's ready, wake up!"
He groggily rubs his eyes and turns to see her smiling face. He looks a little disoriented and opens and closes his mouth a couple times.
"When did I fall asleep...?"
"Tee-hee! A while ago! Come on now, let's eat."
The two of them go and sit down at Nahida's small table and eat the food. It's bland, really, but there's not much he can eat without feeling nauseous. Besides, he's thankful just to be eating a warm meal. He was so absorbed in eating that he didn't even realise Nahida was calling him.
"Scara!"
"Hm?"
He jolts up, realising she's been calling him and his reaction makes her giggle a little.
"I was just asking if you wanna spend the night here!"
"Oh...you know I can't."
"But if you want to-"
"Nahida. Ei won't allow it. Better not to make her angry."
Nahida nods and he feels a little bad for shutting her down like that, but he'd rather not incur Ei's wrath. After they're done eating, he helps Nahida clean the dishes despite her protests and she drops him home.
"Scara...you can always stay with me. I'll deal with all the legalities you just worry about yourself!"
She has offered him this many times before but he doesn't want her to go through all the trouble. After all, he's going to die in a year, what's the point of going through all that trouble for him?
"It's fine, Nahida, really. Bye."
She waves good bye and he goes inside, hoping he can quickly go to his room before his mother sees him. But it seems he's out of luck today as his mother is sitting right in the living room, waiting for him. She's calmly sipping her tea, as if she didn't practically leave him to die. When she sees him enter, she puts down her cup and turns to face him. He feels an involuntary chill run down his spine. Not out of fear; but pure loathing.
"You're late."
"I was with Nahida."
He can feel his headache coming along. He wants to take his painkillers but he can't. Not in front of her.
"You...are always with Nahida these days."
"Not just these days. I'm always with her."
She glares at him but he holds his ground. He wants to go sleep really bad right now, but he has to deal with his mother's bullshit first.
"Don't give me that attitude!"
She looks really angry. He just wants to end this.
"Sorry."
He doesn't mind apologising to her if it means he can leave faster. Unfortunately, it has the opposite effect. She stands up and walks over to him, holding his collar. He doesnt know how much longer he can hold out.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
She slaps him hard accross the face, fuming with anger.
"Watch your tongue! Now go to your room!"
He puts his head down and staggers away. He was already feeling dizzy, she only made it worse. He barely climbs up the stairs, not wanting to argue with her for any longer. He falls to his knees as soon as he reaches his room. His head is spinning and he feels horribly dizzy. He takes one of his pain killers and swallows it dry. His bag is left forgotten to his side as he curls up on himself.
He feels numb from the meds. It still hurts, just less. These seem to be stronger than before. He slowly stands up and moves to his bed to lie down. He doesn't have the energy to do much else. His cheek stings and he's pretty sure it left a mark. He can deal with that in the morning. He pulls out his phone to see Sandrone and Childe have messaged him.
sandy: how did the doctors appointment go?
child: u ok? It's like, ten pm
scara: fine
sandy:...so what did he say?
Scara hesitates for a moment. Should he tell them?
scara: he said it got worse
He sees the three dots coming and going. He can imagine the looks on their faces. He doesn't want to make them suffer on his behalf.
scara: but it's still fine, not too bad
He doesn't want to lie to them, but he'd rather they be happy.
child: you scared me there!
sandy: how are u feeling now?
scara: fine, tired
sandy: Kay then, go sleep.
scara: gn
child: see you guys on sunday!
It's fine. He's fine.