Live Like We're Dying
A/N: Hey there! This story came to me some time ago and I recently decided to begin it, as this is my first big thing of Fanfiction (the third written piece of fiction for Fanfiction) I really hope this does well and you enjoy it, if not, please let me know where I can improve!
Chapter 1: If Your life flashed before you!
"Yu! YU! ARE YOU OKAY!?"
Blurry figures enshroud his vision, he can't see… but he can at the same time? Everything's so very blurry, it hurt his eyes, he wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't, his eyes wouldn't shut… how utterly bizarre.
"YU, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
That voice again, so loud, so annoying, all he wanted was to close his eyes and go to sleep, he was unusually tired, so very tired right now. He's close his eyes, take a quick nap, he'd find out whose voice it was when he woke up.
"NO, DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES HONEY, JUST STAY WITH ME, DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES!"
Just a quick nap.
"His internal organs have suffered terrible damage I'm afraid, we'll do what we can but…"
"Please Yu, come back to us! We can't lose you like this, y-your dad is on his way right now".
"Son! You just take it easy, take your time to heal, we'll be right here when you wake up, just make sure to get back to us".
"I'm afraid I have some bad news Mrs and Mr Narukmi…"
White flashing lights, everywhere, nothing but white lights, it hurt his eyes, well he assumed it hurt his eyes, he couldn't feel anything.
Where was he?
"We did everything we could, however it seems that the accident right some severe internal organ damage, the actual extent of the damage is unknown to us at this moment… but I'll be frank… I'm not so optimistic".
He felt numb… no that's wrong, feeling numb meant there was something to feel in the first place, wherever he was right now, made him completely weightless.
"It seems that our guest has arrived at an impasse, caused entirely by something out of his control, oh how the hand of fate likes to change the cards at the table as they wish".
That voice, he felt like he heard that voice before, and yet at the same time, he felt like he had not, how was this possible?
"He's lost the ability to use his right arm, and the rest of his right side of his body has all of the nerves destroyed, he'll be able to walk, but it'll take some time before he'll be able to walk like he used to".
That sounded… bad? He assumed so at least, he wasn't sure how to feel to be honest.
"However, even though it seems like fate has deigned to make it even more difficult for you, your destiny cannot be altered."
Destiny? Fate? He didn't understand, he felt that he should, but he couldn't.
"I'm afraid that isn't everything, I'd recommended for you two to sit down, this piece of news might be hard to swallow".
Ohh… that sounded important, also bad, but he didn't care, he was too absorbed by the bright lights, and the strange voice in his head.
"Please be aware, even though fate may have increased your hardships, it is no reason to give in, perhaps this hardship will strengthen you in the future? Who knows… so go now, we will meet again."
"Due to the extremely excessive damage to your son's internal organs, I'm afraid to say that he is living on borrowed time."
He could hear crying, disparate crying, utter despair, that's what he felt from the man and the woman he assumed to be his parents.
"We estimate he has maybe a year and half right to live".
Oh my…
"Go now, and show Fate what a Fool can do!"
His eyes opened in shock, as he lurched forward, his eyes scanning his surroundings in panic, greyish walls, comfy leather seat, large window showing the beautiful countryside of Japan sliding by. He calmed down, he was on a train, the train to Inaba, where his uncle lived, realising where he was, he wiped his brow with his left hand, taking note of the abundance of sweat that had piled up, why did his mind wander back to then of all places? Whose voice was that? What did fate and Fools have to do with him. He glanced down to his right arm, it hung loosely by his side, limp as a noodle, as useless as the day the accident happened, a scowl crossed his face at the thought, before he sighed. Staring at his right leg, he brought his finger down and poked it as hard as he could.
Nothing, he could feel absolutely nothing.
Just like before.
He retracted his finger, chuckling darkly, what did he think would happen? That his right side would feel again? That his right arm would move again?
A fool's dream.
That brought a chuckle from him.
"We are now arriving at Yasoinaba, anyone who wishes to depart, please gather your luggage and patiently wait".
That's my cue I guess.
Standing up, he shakes his right leg to properly adjust himself to walking on it again, after sitting down for long period of time. It took him a while for his body to adjust to not feeling his right leg walk, but he had managed to relearn how to walk, and had even started to run again.
It was a process, he'd admit that, it was a long and arduous process.
And chances are, he wouldn't even live to see the fruits of his labour.
A self-deprecating smirk marked his face.
He grabbed the handle of the rolling bag, and pulled it towards the departing door, it'd be at least a minute before the train came to a complete stop. Releasing his handle, he retrieved his phone from his coat pocket, the lock-screen read.
360
A frown found its way on his face as he unlocked his phone and re-read the message from his parents.
Hey! Son! So, glad you decided to visit your uncle, it's been years upon years since he's seen you, and because of the… incident, we all agreed it best if you spend time with all of your relatives and experience what life would be like in the country, the doctors said it'd be good for you… we hope you have fun there son, we love you so much, you know that!
He closed his phone in anger. "All agreed" indeed, they had practically forced him into moving to his uncles for the year.
"Please step back from the doors, we have arrived at Yasoinaba, we hope you decide to ride with us again someday".
After the announcement, the doors opened and he took his first step into his new life for the year.
And what was most likely his last year.
{Line-break}
"Hey! There you are!"
His head swivelled to the voice, taking note of the two approaching figures, one an adult male, the other an adolescent girl. He inwardly grimaced, trust his parents not to tell him his uncle had a kid, oh what fun conversations he would have with her about his condition. The moment the pair drew closer to him, the man glanced at his useless right arm and grimaced, before quickly schooling his features, whilst the girl simply openly stared at his dangling arm.
"Hey there! I'm Ryotaro Dojima, I'm basically your mothers younger brother, and that about sums it up!"
… Why the roundabout explanation?
"Man, it's be years since I've seen you, the last time I did, I changed your diapers hahah!"
He almost openly sighed in annoyance.
His eyes caught the young child staring at his face, but it was more like she was staring into his soul, from the way her innocently inquisitiveness eyes stared at him. It was unnerving to say the least. His uncle must have noticed where he was looking and patted the girl on the head.
"This little angel is Nanako, Nanako say hello to your cousin".
The girl named Nanako poked her head from behind her dad's leg and mumbled a shy hello. Dojima laughed at this.
"What's wrong? Don't be shy! Sorry about this, you know how young kids are eh?"
He almost laughed at the embarrassed slap Nanako gave her father, but he did smile.
"Anyway, my cars over there, ya ready to go Yu?"
Yu nodded as he went to grab his bags handle before Dojima rushed to help.
"Here, let me get that".
"I've got it, trust me".
"I insist, let me, you must be tired."
He glared at his uncle.
"I said I got this uncle, please let me do this!" Dojima paused at the glare and the words, before glancing at his right side and back to his car. He sighed in acceptance.
"Okay, bring it over to the car and we'll pack it up, but we gotta head to the gas-station first, I forgot to fill up my car earlier".
Yu simply nodded as he followed behind.
{Line-break}
"Well, remember we're always looking to hire more students".
The gas attendant outstretched his right hand and Yu simply puts his left one out and doesn't offer an explanation, as the gas-man put his left hand out to shake, they shook and Yu turned back to the car, suddenly feeling utterly drained. He panicked, not now, not here. He leaned onto his uncle's car to stable himself as he felt his world turn upside down. His eyes closed in pain, this was a really bad episode apparently, he hadn't had one this bad since he just got of hospital a few months ago.
"Are you okay? You look ill."
Nanako's concerned voice broke through his mental panic, all he could do was cough out his uncle's name, immediately she ran to grab her father.
As she did this Yu simply tried to calm his breathing as the pain rose in his chest, his injuries were acting up for some reason, but why? He hadn't done anything strenuous today, it shouldn't be anywhere near this bad. Suddenly he felt a large hand on his back.
"Hey, hey! Stay with me, where's your meds!?"
Yu couldn't speak, he could only point towards his shoulder bag.
Dojima wasted no time scrounging through it, quickly finding a small pill bottle, he opened the lid and dropped a couple onto his palm, he rushed back to his nephew.
"Here you are!"
Yu managed to swallow the pills, hoping that they worked quickly, he waited a moment, and then another, his heart rate slowed and his breathing returned to acceptable levels. He turned his head to his uncle, taking note of the obvious worry and fear for his nephew, he also noticed the abject terror on Nanako's face, he'd have to talk to her about his issue sooner than later apparently.
"Hey, are you okay?"
He wanted to say no, he was not okay and that'd he'd probably never be okay, he had a year to live for god's sake, how could he be okay!?
But he didn't, he held it back, he held it all back, like always, he simply nodded and got into the car, muttering a quick thanks to his uncle as he did so.
He just wanted to sleep.
{Line-break}
The ride to Dojima's ws wonderfully awkward, Nanako stared at him, her innocent eyes filled with terror, Dojima as quiet as a mouse.
This year was going to be just lovely it seemed.
When they arrived there, he asked where his room was and went straight to bed, the pills might have helped but he needed rest to fully recover, and his head was beginning to kill him, hopefully this was a one off from taking two pills, as he didn't want to add headaches to his already extremely long list of problems.
The second his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.
{Line-break}
"Can you seek the truth of this world? Can you save it? Or will you ultimately fail? Just like your health?"
{Line-break}
Tired eyes open, a tired body awakens, he leans up, scratching his chin, as he began to get of his bed, he collapsed to the ground as he found his numb right leg still limp on the bed, he growled loudly as he pushed himself to his feet, his eyes narrowing angrily as he sees his limp arm dangle uselessly.
It all sucked.
Finding his new school uniform, he manages to manoeuvre his limp arm through its sleeve, his slides his school jacket over his white-t-shirt, he didn't even bother trying to button up his jacket and simply let it hang open, the school could bitch and moan all they wanted, he wasn't going to spend half-an-hour trying to button a jacket and ultimately fail. Walking to the door to his room, he glances at his arm and without warning, swings his right arm into the wall, nothing once again.
And with that he opened the door and headed downstairs to begin his first day
359
He carefully moved down the stairs, keeping his numb leg in his mind as he descended, he did not want a repeat of that particular incident.
It took him days before he attempted to conquer stairs again after that.
"Good morning! I made breakfast!"
Nanako's high-pitched voice struck him as he reached the ground-floor, his brows rose at the sight of the girl who couldn't be older than ten, dishing up a plate of toast at the kitchen counter. He made his way towards it and offered a small thank-full smile to her. Sitting himself down at the counter, he grasped the toast with his usable hand and began eating. The toast was burnt and far too crunchy, with almost next to no butter on it, in all honesty, it was a pitiful attempt at toast. But it was a kind gesture.
And sometimes that was all that mattered.
"My schools on the way to yours, so we can walk together on the way there okay?" her voice was quiet and unsure of itself, not wanting to overstep her boundaries with the almost stranger before her.
"Sounds like a plan Nanako." He almost stalled at the sound of his own voice, it sounded very tired, even more tired than he thought it'd be. For a second, he thought about rescinding accepting her offer, but the small happy smile that made its way onto Nanako's face stopped him, he would always be a sucker for overly cute people.
He finished his toast, thanking Nanako he went to wash up the dish, but Nanako had taken the plate before he could. He didn't know if it was because she thought he was incapable or simply that she was far too kind for her own good. Grabbing his coat, he attempted to slide his useless arm into the sleeve, so far it was a fruitless effort filled with annoyed muttering.
"Here… let me help please…"
Such a quiet voice, he almost missed it entirely, but from where Nanako stood on-top of a chair she held her arms out to help. He wanted to say no, he wanted to simply power through his failings and prove he didn't need help, he didn't need help.
He didn't need anyone's god-damned pity.
However, his younger cousin's eyes held no pity, only the urge to help.
It seemed it was the latter option.
He stood before the young girl and put his back to her, as she held up his right coat sleeve, he held his limp arm at the sleeve entrance and slid it through, trial overcome.
"Thanks, Nanako…" The thanks were genuine and heartfelt.
He waited for Nanako to put on her small puffy coat, it was pink and overly cute. A running theme for the young girl it seemed.
{Line-break}
The walk to the schools was just as he envisioned, awkward filled with a certain curious girl taking quick glances at his dangling limp noodle of an arm. He inwardly sighed, might as well get this over with as soon as possible.
"You can ask Nanako, it's fine, I'm sure you're wondering…"
A small eep! Escaped his companions mouth as she faced away from him at being caught. This lasted for a few seconds, before her head turned back to his arm, courage bubbling up in her eyes.
"Wh-what happened?"
"I got involved in an accident… I woke up in hospital a few weeks later with my right arm unusable, and the rest of my right side of my body completely numb…" He didn't forget to mention his ticking clock, it'd be far too harsh to tell such a young child that her older cousin was living on borrowed time, he was unsure if explaining his body's issues could be considered decent in the first place. Nanak didn't respond at first, in fact she didn't respond for at least a few minutes, most likely running through what she learnt in her mind over and over, he did notice a small sad frown mar her face, and he felt somewhat bad about telling her. Nothing he could do now though as they continued onwards.
The silence continued for what seemed like forever and he wanted nothing more than it to end. When it almost became too much and he was about to open his mouth, she spoke.
"Do-does it hurt?" Such a quiet voice, some people could find it annoying, but he just found it endearing of her.
"Not anymore no… it never did, the moment I woke up, I felt nothing in my right side, ever since then I've taken extra care of my left side…"
"Bu-but what about what happened yesterday? You w-were in pain?"
This girl was too smart for her age.
"That's sadly a side-effect of what happened, I get these… episodes I guess? Where my injuries resurface and… well let's just say I feel not great during them." He couldn't tell her his internal organs were practically smashed beyond repair, it wouldn't be right. Nanako nodded silently as they moved onwards.
{Line-break}
They reached a water-front, and Nanako stopped.
"My schools that direction, yours is down the water-front… see you after school?" The way she framed the statement sounded more like a question in all honesty.
"That's fine, do you want me to pick you up when you finish?" The question spurted from his mouth before he knew what happened, why was he offering such a thing? Why did he care?
Nanako stalled for a moment, her eyes betraying her mind working at full-pelt. Finally, she smiled, shaking her head.
"No, it's fine, thanks for asking though!" and with that she went off.
That girl is more of an adult then he was.
He shook his head and headed towards the school building he could see peeking over the horizon.
"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"
He barely had a second to turn before he felt himself fly through the air, something had pushed into him from behind, thankfully they hit his numb side, so he had time to assess the fact that he was currently flying, wait, he wasn't flying, as the floor coming up to him informed him of his coming impact, thinking quickly he manoeuvred his body to land squarely on his right side, his body shifted when he hit the ground and slid a few inches across the gravel. He laid there for a moment.
What a fantastic first day!
"Whoa dude! Are you okay!?" The voice was male, concerned… he was also an asshole on a bike apparently.
He picked himself up, dusted his right arm off, as well as his right leg, making sure nothing was broken before he stormed onwards, completely ignoring the person who just knocked him down.
"Whoa, hey man! Wait up, are you okay?"
Just ignore him Yu, don't even acknowledge him, let your rage filter out, don't look at him.
Do NOT knock his ass onto the ground.
He simply rushed onwards, he needed to get away.
{Line-break}
He managed to leave the person who knocked him down behind and ended up at the school's front gates.
He needed to assess his right sides damage, even though he couldn't feel any damage, it didn't mean he hadn't be hurt. But he needed to get to his first ever class, he couldn't be late, could he?
He looked at the time on his phone, his eyes catching the number.
359
He shrugged his shoulder, to hell with being on-time for his first day, besides it's not like it mattered in the long run.
{Line-break}
After checking over his body in the bathroom, he found that his entire right side was covered in bruises, he prodded his body's side, he felt that nothing was broken and his leg still worked the same as before, but he'd have to apply some ointment to it when he got home, he couldn't risk leaving a serious injury untreated, even if he couldn't feel it. He checked the time, he was almost twenty minutes late, joy. He found his way to his classroom and sighed, he glanced at his arm, it was weak, unusable, frail compared to his good arm, it was obvious at a glance he couldn't use it, he'd just have to hope he didn't enter to a sea of pity, he'd really hate that. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the handle and slid it open, he was ready.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE PUNK? SHOWING UP THIS LATE!"
And then there's this asshole.
{Line-break}
"Hello, my name is Yu Narukami, it's nice to meet you all" His introduction was quick and succinct.
"NOW, LISTEN HERE BRAT, YOU BETTER NOT LET ME CATCH THIS LATE AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME? SCUM LIKE YIU DO NOT GET SECOND CHANCES AT LIFE, DO YOU HEAR ME MAGGOT?"
Oh, this guy… this fu**ing guy was a comedian now.
He clenched his good fist, he needed this to stop right the hell now, otherwise he'd do something he'd regret.
"OH, sir, can he sit next to me!?"
A girl with blond bowl-shaped hair put her hand in the air, and offered his escape from this situation. The teacher sighed in annoyance, and waved his hand towards the girl dismissively. He moved passed his moron of a teacher, keeping his eyes away from looking at everyone's curious, and sympathetic eyes. He slid into his seat, and held his limp arm onto his desk, it was such a pity he was right-handed before the incident, his writing was barely legible to him.
"Psh… he's a real piece of work ain't he?" the girl who 'saved' him whispered to him. He only nodded, that was certainly one way to describe his new teacher, although he'd figure a piece of shit to be more apt for describing his buck-toothed excuse of a teacher.
"We call him king Moron, but geez! Being on his list on your first day, and being late at that, what were you thinking?" the question was a good one, but a good question didn't necessarily mean it was worth answering.
"I'm Chie Satonaka, it's good to meet ya!"
He nodded in response.
"Yu Narukami, like I said before…" and he left it at that, totally not noticing her glances at his arm.
School was going to be a trial and a half it seemed.
{Line-break}
"AND THAT'S THE END OF TODAYS LESSON, GET OUTTA HERE".
Thank-god.
He stood up, stretching his usable arm, heaved his satchel over his shoulder and was about to head out.
"Attention all students, there has been an incident, we politely request that everyone make their way home as quickly as possible!"
The intercom turned off, he wondered what that could've been about, shaking his head he reached the door.
"Hey! Narukami-san! Do you wanna walk home with us?"
Us? He turned his head to see that Chie girl and another black-haired girl with long hair next to her.
One raised brow later and she introduced her friend.
"Oh, this is Yukiko Amagi, her family runs a famous inn here in Inaba!"
He nods, he didn't particularly care, but he nodded all the same. The introduced Yukiko bowed her head at him.
"I'm Yukiko Amagi, I'm sorry for what King Moron said to you". She seemed nice enough at least, maybe overly polite, but it could be worse he supposed. He nodded at her, he should probably accept their offer, even if it was just to get a bit more of this town mapped out… he just hopped he could keep up with their walking speed, maybe he could ask them to slow down? No, that'd be showing weakness and with a quick glance at his arm told him that he already showed enough weakness. He'd grin and bear, not the grinning part though.
"Hey, don't be so polite all the time, makes it look like I got no proper upbringing!" Chie exclaimed, her face a flushed with embarrassment. These two were just two peas in a pod, weren't they? He was about to accept their offer when a fellow classmate sidled up to Chie, his face filled with fear as he held a DVD case towards her.
"This film was really good Satonaka-san, the fight scenes were top-notch! I'm really sorry for what happened, I'll be sure to pay you back when I get my next pay check!" He recognised that voice, it was the same as the idiot who knocked him down earlier today, he was tempted to let him know that he was still annoyed at his accident when Chie opened the DVD case and cried out in anger. Without explanation, she shot her leg out and kick him square in the nuts.
"AWww, total…knock-out…" As he crumpled to the ground.
He smiled openly, his revenge was answered now.
"Total moron, c'mon Yukiko and Narukami-san, let's leave this idiot alone!" and she stormed out of the room, her friend following behind, he stalled for a moment and looked down at the writhing kid on the ground. Would it be wrong to spit on him? Yeah it would sadly. But that didn't mean he had to help him, stepping over him, he followed the girls, a spring to his step.
{Line-break}
"Hey Yukiko-chan, do you want to go on a date with me?"
Where did he come from?
A rather disturbing looking teen slid from around a corner and stepped in-front of Yukiko, his eyes filled with obvious lust. Yukiko, for her part, didn't outright slap the lust out of his face, but instead shied away, uncomfortable with the lecherous perv. Instead Chie scared him away with a threatening look.
"To hell with you! You're not worth the effort!" he shouted as he scurried away.
"I guess someone else failed the Amagi challenge eh?" The boy from before turned up, a smirk on his face, a smirk which he would lose soon enough Yu thought as he pointedly ignored the kid and continued onnwards, the two girls following him.
"Oi, what the? Um… see ya tomorrow then!? I'll just grab my bike… WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY BIKE?"
He smirked, it felt good to get petty revenge now and again.
{Line-break}
"So, do you think Yukiko is pretty?"
Not really.
"She is."
Yukiko blushed, and Chie gasped at the straight-forward answer.
Lying was too easy sometimes.
{Line-break}
OH! A dead body?
"Whoa! Did we hear that right? Hung from a tv antenna, that's terrifying…"
Indeed. He scanned the scene on the other-side of the police barricade, it seemed like every officer in this small town had come out for this crime, however he more annoyed/disturbed at all the random civilians simply pointing and gaping at the scene before them. Although he supposed that he was doing the exact same thing right now. Done looking around, he turned to leave, someone was murdered? What a shame… everyone dies at some point, no skin of my back.
"Hey! What are you kids doing here!?" That was a familiar voice and he turned back to the crime to find his Uncle storming towards them, a frown on his weathered face. Great…
"We-We were just walking home!" Chie answered nervously, unsure of what to do with the intensive stare Dojima was giving the group of teens. Yukiko nodded as well to corroborate her friends story. Dojima's eyes scanned the two girls before landing on him.
"That damn school, we told them to not let anyone come down this way!"
"Has there really been a murder!?" Chie couldn't help it apparently, her morbid curiosity overriding her previous nervousness, Dojima glared for a moment before sighing.
"All I'm going to say is that this is an important police investigation, and that you should all hurry home. Especially you Yu."
Why'd he single him out? Did he think he was unable to take care of himself?
"Huh? Do you two know each-other?" Chie was more attentive then she initially seemed he supposed.
"Oh right. Well I'm his uncle, he's staying with me for the year, so I guess… Please take care of my nephew."
His eyes narrowed dangerously, he didn't think he was capable at all! He didn't want to be here anymore, he waved at his uncle and turned away, not caring in the slightest if the two girls followed him, he needed to get away from his uncle before he said something.
He was capable… He was.
More capable then the sad sap who died anyway.
{Line-break}
After they left the atmosphere felt awkward, whether it was because of him or the crime-scene before he didn't know nor care in the slightest.
"Well that was pretty creepy, right? Inaba's such a small town that someone being killed is a huge thing." Chie's voice held a tinge of fear and he wondered why she was bringing it up if she was worried about it? You didn't have to talk about things that scared you.
He felt like a hypocrite by believing that, he wasn't sure why.
The group arrived at an inter-section and Chie and Yukiko stopped. He turned to them, his arm swaying slightly in the wind.
"Well this is our stop, we have to head that way."
He nodded, but he suddenly felt ashamed of himself, he just spent the entire walk being silent and unapproachable, even though these two may have only asked to walk with him for gossip, they still walked with him; the new kid in small town.
"Listen, I'm sorry for being so weird, was just thinking about some things, thank-you for walking with me Satonaka-san, Amagi-san." He even bowed his head slightly, going above and beyond in his point of view, to his slight amusement, both girls blushed In embarrassment, Chie even waving her arms in-front of her.
"There's no need to say sorry! I-It was fine, couldn't just let the new guy get lost eh?"
Just take the apology.
"Okay then… if you're sure, thanks again for the company, I'll see you both tomorrow?" His question was answered with two quick nods as the girls turned away and began their trek home, waving at him, to which he responded accordingly. Once they left his sight, he almost fell to the ground in an exhausted mess, sweat pouring down his forehead, looking around, he found a nearby bench and sat himself down, taking deep breaths to alleviate his exhaustion, looking down at his numb leg, he hadn't walked that far that quickly since before the accident, he wasn't used to it, his leg wasn't used to it, he could barely keep up with Chie and Yukiko, but he couldn't, he couldn't ask them to slow down.
He was sick of pitying eyes.
All he needed right now was a few moments to himself, he'd be okay soon.
Well, he wouldn't be really, he thought darkly.
He took this moment to look around, he was on the main shopping street in Inaba it seemed, there was a small shrine nearby, a few closed shops, an off-license, some food places, one of them a rather nice-looking noodle bar, and a textiles shop.
A textile shop? What even was that!?
"You alright there?"
A deep voice broke him from his musings to see a rather intimidating blond-haired teen in the same school uniform as himself, the teen was giving him a concerned look, he was taken aback for a second, he'd never assume a kid like this would show actual concern, they seemed like a rough and tumble sort of person. But the worried eyes betrayed his thuggish style.
"I'm fine, thanks, just getting my breath, not as healthy as I used to be."
The blond teen shot a look at his limp arm before returning to his eyes.
"I can see."
Wasn't a subtle teen, was he?
The punkish looking teen looked around awkwardly, obviously not expecting to even get a response from the disabled teen. For Yu's part, he just continued to stare, the punk seemed nice enough and he could honestly do with some conversation right now.
"What's your name?"
"What's it too ya!?"
Ouch, bit harsh eh?
"You came to make sure I was okay, I wanted to thank the persona who checked on me, so I need to know your name." his answer may have been overly logical and long-winding, but that was simply him in a nutshell.
A windbag.
The punk almost looked embarrassed at his response, perhaps feeling sorry for his initial abrasiveness.
"Names Kanji Tatsumi…"
Cool name. He almost laughed at Kanji's quiet answer, he seemed so surprised that someone was willing to pay him a compliment, it was kind of sad if true.
"Well then Tatsumi-san, thank you for making sure I was okay!" His thanks were honest and heartfelt. Kanji smiled at him, and straightened his back as if an awkward weight was upon his shoulders.
"No-problem… wh-what's yer name?"
He was so embarrassed it was almost too much.
"I'm Yu Narukami, Tatsumi-san."
"Kanji."
"What?"
"Call me Kanji, Tatsumi-san makes me feel old."
He smiled slightly.
"Very-well Kanji, call me Yu then, it's only fair after all right?"
Kanji nodded, agreeing. His eyes then looked at the space on the bench next to me, he was not good at subtlety at all apparently. He decided to throw the poor punkish teen a bone.
"Hey, I'm rather new around here, do you mind perhaps pointing out some cool things about Inaba?"
Kanji smiled and nodded as he plopped himself down next to Yu, take care not to accidentally sit on his limp arm.
"So, this is basically the main shopping area, it's a bit shit, but it's home. Over there is…"
{Line-break}
He and Kanji talked for a while, Kanji explain what each shop was, even telling him his family owned the textile shop, he found out Kanji was a year junior to himself at the school, and Kanji awkwardly tried to avoid asking about his condition, but Yu just mentioned that his arm was useless, forgoing his other conditions, only his arm was obvious with its issues, nobody had to realise his entire right was knackered. After a while Yu decided he had to get home, he thanked Kanji again and mentioned they should hang out again sometime, to which Kanji; blushing with embarrassment agreed with. After that they said their goodbyes. And Yu headed home, his energy regained, and a new friend? He assumed?
{Line-break}
He opened the door to Dojima's house to see only Nanako kneeling at the table near the TV, her eyes finding him.
"Welcome home."
He looked around, it seemed like Dojima was still investigating the crime scene.
"Dad's at work, he won't be home till late again."
Again? This sort of thing was common?
He walked forward, his numb leg banging into the kitchen counter, Nanako jumped at the sound and shot a worried look at him, for his part his face didn't even blink at the bang, the numb leg giving him no pain, as he simply sat at the table as well, letting a sigh of relief leave his body. He expected his first day of school to be tiering, but he was outright exhausted.
"How was your first day?" Nanako's shy voice broke him from his thoughts.
"It was okay I guess. Met some interesting people."
"Were they nice?"
"Some of them were."
"A-are they your friends?"
He smiled on the inside, she was like a caring mother, trying to make sure her son had a good first, it was adorable to see as Nanako waited with baited breath for his answers.
"I suppose one of them is, this nice boy named Kanji, he helped me check out the shopping district, he goes to the same school and is a first-year."
"So, you're his senpai?"
"I suppose I am. Anyway, enough of me, how was your day Nanako? Did you have fun?"
Nanako's face scrunched up in irritation.
"I'll have you know, our teacher taught us some of our times-tables, there wasn't time for fun!"
He chuckled good-naturedly, he should've assumed Nanako was more mature kids her age, probably thinking he thought of her as some simple child.
"Oh really? Which ones?"
Nanako's eyes took on a thoughtful look, her finger pressed against her chin, she was going to be battering suitors away with a stick when she was older, she was too cute for her own good.
"Umm… she taught us our 2, 3,4 and fives tables, but I learnt my six times tables!" She beamed at her bragging, her smile practically lighting up her entire face.
"That's amazing Nanako! Can you tell me them?"
She nodded enthusiastically and began her six times tables, she stalled at a few of them, but managed to finish them all correctly, after, she looked towards him, seemingly waiting for his admiration. He would've clapped for her, but, well… he ended up giving her a beaming thumb up. Suddenly the TV blared and an advert's annoyingly catchy theme bombarded the small living room.
"Every-days great at your Junes!"
Junes? That massive superstore chain? Was one here in Inaba?
"…At your Junes!"
Nanako sang along with the song, her face as happy as he had seen since he had met the diminutive girl. As she sung, he realised that he hadn't eaten anything but the toast Nanako had made. And since Dojima looked like he was going to be late, it seemed it was up to him. Rising, he headed to the kitchen fridge. Opening it, he was appalled at the state of it, it was practically empty, all it contained was some eggs, butter, milk and some out-of-date chicken which he instantly binned. It seemed a shopping trip was in order. He checked some of the cupboards, he frowned at the massive amount of instant heat noodles, and microwavable dishes, it seemed Dojima was an awful cook and Nanako was far too young to use an oven.
"What're you doing?"
He froze for a second before recognising Nanako's voice, he turned to see her at the counter, sat down on one of the seats, her eyes staring inquisitively at him.
"Since Dojima isn't here, I thought I could cook us all some food, but it seems that's there isn't a lot of options. We'll have to go shopping soon."
Nanako's eyes lit up.
"Ca-Can we go Junes!?"
So, there was one in Inaba, that couldn't be good for local businesses. He was also taken aback by the outright excitement Nanako showed at the prospect of going Junes.
"We'll have to ask your dad, but I don't see why not, I need someone to push the cart after all." He gave a mischievous smirk at his younger cousin as she practically exploded with happiness, smacking her hands against the counter, sporadically singing the Junes song.
He was sure that wouldn't get annoying. He was sure…
He was full of shit.
"Now, what do you think about Ramen for tea?"
"Ramen? Really? You can cook?"
He wasn't sure that question was because of his disability or because he was a guy, either way, she was too young and innocent to get annoyed at.
"I can indeed Nanako, cooking is one of my favourite things to do!"
"That's so cool! And you think you can make Ramen?"
"I should be able to, the eggs are in date, we can use the instant-noodles and I saw some ingredients for the broth in one of the cupboards."
"Wait… we?"
He turned towards her, and smiled, something he hadn't done in a while before he came to Inaba, and he had only been here for just over 24 hours at this point.
Maybe this place would be good for him after all?
"Of-course we! A chef must have a sous-chef after all!" he waved her over, amused as she skipped over, singing out sous-chef again and again. She paused when she reached him.
"What's a sous-chef?"
"My second-in-command! A very important job!"
He didn't think it was possible, but her eyes grew even wider, her cuteness evolving to a whole new level, it was almost too much.
"Now, wash your hands and roll up your sleeves, my sous-chef needs to be ready!"
She nodded happily as she rushed to the sink, just managing to reach the tap and washed her hands, he mused at this, looking around he found one of the counter stools and placed it next to him, she would be able to stand on there and help him. She returned, sleeves rolled, smile present, he patted the stool and helped her climb it, one on it, she began pointing out where everything was in the kitchen, taking her job-title very seriously, thus amusing him greatly. He was amazed at her, just yesterday she was the shyest person he had ever met, but only 24 hours later and she was practically bouncing around the house, she acted like she had never done something like this before.
He stalled, was that the case? From what his mum told him, Dojima's wife died a few years ago, Nanako could probably barely remember her, and Dojima must be out a lot if what she said was true. He felt sorry for this young girl, here he was annoyed at coming here, barely being able to wait to go home, feeling sorry for himself… and he never realised that maybe Nanako was suffering too, huh. He glanced at his phone which he placed at the counter.
359
He didn't have time to mope about, he was going to make the best of his time here. And as he watched Nanako rip open a few packets of instant noodles and placed this in a large bowl, her tongue poking from her mouth in concentration. Laughing he filled the kettle full of water and turned it to boil. Maybe he'd enjoy it here after all and as he watched Nanako's excited eyes as he placed the eggs into a pan of boiling water, he made a small pledge to himself. He was going to enjoy his time, after all…
You have to live like we're dying.
Chapter end
Don't know if this will get any traffic, it's a bit of weird Persona 4 story premise after-all, but I felt I needed to write this, I wanna present the story of Persona 4 through the same main character with a huge change to his life. I wanted to write an emotional and yet hopeful story and hopefully this first chapter shows enough of both! Please let me know what you all think, I really hope you enjoyed it! Even if you thought it had issues, please let me know your criticisms, as this is my first big story I'm writing, I want to know if I'm off to a decent start and if not, what I can do to do better.
I thank-you for reading, have a good day.
And remember to live like you're dying!