12/24 Thursday Lunchtime
...?
You received a text message.
Minako glanced down at her cell phone. It was a text message from Yukari.
"Hey, are you free today? I'm going to ask Fuuka too, but do you wanna have a girls-only party? I'm texting you because Junpei would definitely jump in on the idea. Make sure to keep it a secret from him!"
The girl sighed and texted back a quick reply, ''Sorry Yukari, I'm busy tonight so I can't come…be sure to wish Fuuka a Merry Christmas for me, though okay? Merry Christmas!"
She was about to tuck the phone back in her pocket when it buzzed yet again.
It was Ken this time:
"I'm sorry to bother you all of a sudden. You know today's Christmas, right? If you don't have any plans, would you please spend the afternoon with me?"
"Sorry Ken, I've already arranged some plans for today. I'm sorry. Have a merry Christmas, though, okay? Be sure to have fun for me!"
Minako walked up to the roof. Good, it was empty. She sat down on one of the cold stone benches and sighed. "I really ought to water these flowers more, huh..?"
She took a swig of her water bottle and pulled a bento box out onto her lap. Minako had gotten up early and made everyone lunch this morning since she knew that she'd be declining any plans people proposed to her. She just…wasn't in the mood. She'd already long resolved what she was going to do with her decision—since Ryoji told them everything at the beginning of the month. Everyone had recently been coming up to her and talking to her about what they think should be done…but in the end, she could turn a blind eye to their wishes and do what she wanted to, couldn't she?
Minako raised her fork to her mouth, but it was no use, she wasn't hungry. She moved the bento box off of her lap and looked up at the slowly graying sky. She picked out a cloud in the middle of the messy sky, it was rare pure white against the darkening clouds. Minako reached out her hand to it. Maybe, just maybe if they could beat Nyx…maybe everything would be all right…Maybe she could go and greet him with a smile. Maybe she could go on smiling with everybody.
But if we can't…Minako dropped her arm. She'd been down this road already many times this month. Yes, she'd made her decision already, but her faith was wavering. She was weak. Because in the end, she was alone. No one could do anything, but her. No one could do anything about the future except her. Alone.
Minako clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms.
"You look best when you laugh.
...
So don't cry, got it...?"
She flinched at her own memory and felt tears gather. She hadn't had that memory for a while. After October 4th…she'd just tried to block it all out. He just—
RIIIINNGGG! RIIIINNNNGGGG! Her phone suddenly came to life, vibrating in her pocket and releasing the shrill noise. She hastily wiped her eyes and dug into her pocket.
"A text…?"
"Are you free tonight? I'll come get you after school." It was Akihiko.
She stared at the text message for what seemed like hours, re-reading those words over and over again. She sighed, welcoming these new tears that were slowly forming for a different reason now.
She let out a bubble of laughter and shook her head. "Jeez, Akihiko-senpai*, you really have the best timing, don't you?"
She laid her fingertips to the phone's keyboard and typed, "I'm sorry Akihiko, but I'd already made plans. Maybe Junpei or Ken'd be free. Have a guy's night, you know? But merry Christmas! Maybe I'll catch you at the dorm later tonight when I get back!" She snickered, thinking of what Junpei's reaction would be if Akihiko ever asked him to go out and have a "guy's night."
Minako wiped away a tear that'd managed to escape. Then sighing she glanced at the time on her phone and jumped. "Gah—lunch break is over in a minute!"
She hastily shoved her phone back in her pocket and snatched up her bento box, and sprinted out to the roof door. She shoved open the door and burst through the door before rethinking and clinging to the door frame and jerking herself back. She looked back at the dying flowers, thinking. Then, quick as anything, she ran back, unscrewed the cap of her water bottle, and poured its remains among the drooping buds.
"I'm surprised you guys are holding up in this cold," she smiled. "Ganbatte*! Faito*!"
And then she sprinted for real this time, slamming the door behind her and nearly flying down the stairs and the hallway to her classroom, classroom 2-F. Red in the face, she all but rattled the sliding door off of its hinges and was greeted back by the late bell ringing a second after she stepped into the classroom. Her faced flushed even brighter as all eyes turned on her and meekly shuffled over to her desk.
Junpei let out a loud laugh, "Nice going Minako!" stretching out her name. Junpei high-fived the girl as she walked past his desk and Minako made note of Yukari's hastily hid a smile.
Minako flashed a grin at the two.
"You're lucky Ms. Toriumi is running a little late today, Minako." Yukari told the girl after she'd plopped into her seat.
"Hai*, hai, as long as I made it on time," she brushed her off, well-knowing that she enjoyed her flashy entrance just as well as Junpei had.
She took out her uneaten lunch and dropped it down on Junpei's desk. "Hey Junpei, you want my lunch? I wasn't too hungry today."
His eyes widened, "Eh? You serious Minako? You already made me lunch this morning…"
Minako laughed at him, watching his eyes flick back and forth from her bento and herself. "It's fine, it's fine, go ahead! But hurry up before Ms. Toriumi gets here, okay?"
Junpei broke out a grin, "Minako, you're an angel!" he exclaimed before popping the top off and digging in.
The class, left to it's own devices for a few moments, chattered on until Ms. Toriumi walked in two minutes later, saying that she had to tie up some loose ends so that she wouldn't have to stay late working on Christmas Eve .
For the next couple of minutes different classmates poked fun at Ms. Toriumi, guessing at what kind of plans she could have in store for the evening with the hidden agenda of delaying the class' beginning minute by precious minute.
"Eh, do you think that it could be a date..?"
"Ooh, maybe she has a boyfriend~"
"Yeah, Ms. Toriumi, you headin' out somewhere tonight?"
To the class' greatest disappointment Ms. Toriumi eventually gathered the class to what some could consider to be order, with Ms. Toriumi teaching and half the class paying rapt attention, the other half chattering excitedly in low whispers.
Class flew by quickly, with not much seriousness other than Mr. Ekoda reprimanding the class and commenting on how Ms. Toriumi doesn't keep a tight enough reign on them...again.
Once class was over Minako quickly packed up her things, shoving her books and pencils in her bag. She turned back over to Junpei. "Hey Junpei, are you going directly home today?"
"Yup, all alone on Christmas Eve…it's a sad existence I've got here isn't it?" he pouted before flashing me one of his signature grins. "Why what's up?"
"Can you bring my bento box back to the dorm? I'm going to be out for a while." She fashioned her best puppy-dog look and gazed up at him.
"Eh, fine, fine. What, are you gonna go hang out with your secret boyfriend for the night?" he chuckled and swiped the bento box into his bag.
"Oh, you never know..."
"Eh—? Minako—"
The girl laughed at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Don't worry, about me."
Junpei let out a deep sigh. "And to think that I thought for just a moment my little Minako was growing up…"
Minako hit Junpei lightly on the arm and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Hey—" Junpei started, but when he met Minako's eyes his statement fell short.
"Junpei…" the classroom was nearly empty now, only a few stragglers around and no one paying attention to the usually goofy two. If they were, they'd take note of how Minako hadn't carried out her hit, but had instead gently grabbed Junpei's arm instead, eyes downcast.
"Minako, what's wrong?"
"Um, well…" the girl sucked in a long breath. "It is Christmas. And…well…" Minako closed her eyes for a moment, brows furrowed. "I better not see you at the train station, okay?!"
Both Minako and Junpei were surprised at how loud she let out that last statement. Only then did the one or two others in the room spare the pair a glance before carrying on with their own lives, not giving the outburst even a small theory or two.
Junpei looked away for a moment and Minako saw a wave of hurt flash by his face. Maybe one that he thought he'd concealed.
"Hey…Minako…"
"I haven't heard a confirmation yet Junpei."
Junpei looked back to his best friend and let out a small smile. "Yeah, I won't."
Minako smiled a little and her grip on Junpei's sleeve slackened, but she didn't let go. "Good."
"And Minako…you've got to promise me that you won't go to the back alley or hole up in his room or something tonight. You've got to have some fun, okay? Get out, do something."
Minako froze and let go of Junpei, staggering back a step.
She let out a shaky laugh. "You really can see right through me sometimes, can't you Junpei?"
She kept her head down, but she saw his arm come up to put his hand up, maybe to console her or to embrace her.
"Minako…" he began.
She shook her head. "No...I'm fine. You won't have to worry about me, okay? I've had some time to recover. I'm strong as an ox."
The girl looked up to meet his concerned eyes with a pieced together smile. She hoped that it was good enough to fool him.
"But if you need anything, just call or text me, okay? E-even if it's just to talk. You know that I'm here."
He smiled. "Of course I do."
He reached over and messed up her hair. "H-hey! Wait! Don't you know how long it takes me to do that in the morning?"
She whined, but they both knew that she didn't mind. She was glad even, for the closeness on this day of all days.
"Of course I know, Minako, I have to wait up on you every morning so you can do your hair and then sprint with you right after so we don't miss the train. Baka*." He grabbed his bag and started to walk out of the now abandoned classroom.
Minako looked out at him, chuckling as she grabbed her own bag and ran after him, "Baka? Me? Junpei Iori, do I have to remind you of the person who's scored the number 1 rank on all of her exams since she transferred here?!"
"That's only because you study like a madwoman and shut yourself in for a month or so before we get a test." He teased her as she waved goodbye to Rio, her volleyball team captain and her crush, Kenji.
"Che. Don't get too sad because I leave you alone for a couple of days…besides, it's only like a week."
Junpei let out an exasperated sigh and blew my comment off when Hidetoshi came up to us. "Hey Minako, are you heading out now?"
The girl smiled at the disciplinary committee rep. They'd grown close over the school year. "Yeah, Junpei and I were on our way out."
His eyes flicked over to Junpei. "Ah, is that so. Well, I just thought I'd wish you a Merry Christmas. I don't know if your dorm is going to be doing it, but mine always stays up until midnight so we can wish each other a Merry Christmas. So, I thought I'd take the liberty to, erm, tell you now. So, well, Merry Christmas Minako."
Minako suppressed a giggle. Despite his intimidating and serious character Hidetoshi really could be so awkward sometimes. "Thanks Hidetoshi! I hope you have a Merry Christmas too. Have fun at your dorm tonight, okay?"
"Ah, yes, why of course." He coughed and looked away for a moment.
Minako froze. "Oh, um, H-hidetoshi, would you like a cough drop or something? I think that I have some in my bag."
"No! No, I'm fine Minako, don't worry about it. Just a little dust I guess."
The girl calmed herself. "Oh, well, okay. I'm guessing you're going to see Keisuke later, too, right?"
"Yes, in fact, I was going to go meet up with him after chatting with you. Would you like me to wish him a Merry Christmas from you?"
Minako let out a small laugh. "If he even remembers me, you're welcome to. We've only really talked when Junpei and I headed over to the photography club once, and when I talked to you two during our trip."
Junpei looked up at the mention of his name, "Huh? Oh, yeah, Keisuke. Give him a word from me too."
Hidetoshi glanced at Junpei again and then back to Minako. "Well, I'm sure he does remember you. I'll tell him that the two of you wished him well." He smiled at the girl. "Well, I'm off. Merry Christmas, Minako."
"See you Hidetoshi!"
"Ah—yeah. See you Hide…" Junpei started with a goodbye, but Hidetoshi was already out of earshot.
Minako watched him walk away before she and Junpei continued on. She let out a little laugh. "Pfft. Junpei, do you even know Hidetoshi?"
"Huh? Oh, well…er…Well he was on everyone's case a while ago about that bathroom smoker, you know? But other than that no." Junpei shrugged it off. "But what about you, man? 'Would you like a cough drop or something?'" He laughed at the girl.
Minako tightened her grip on her school bag. She was probably the only one who had really noticed that about him anyway. "What?" she cast a confused look over to Junpei.
"Minako, he was embarrassed, not sick." He laughed again.
"Embarrassed?"
"Yup. Embarrassed. E-M-B-A-R-R-A-S-S-E-D."
"Yeah, dummy, I got that. But why?" She tipped her head back and stared at the small cracks she could find in the ceiling tiles as they walked.
"And you're calling me the dummy."
"Eh? Junpei, what aren't I getting?" she looked over at him, utterly bewildered.
Junpei sighed dramatically and laid eyes of pity upon the girl. "I feel so bad for the poor sap…to get stuck in that situation with a girl like you of all people."
"Chotto matte*, Junepi!" she complained, begging him to further explain himself.
"It's fine, it's fine…besides, we're already here." Junpei left her for a moment to switch out his shoes. She followed suit and then walked back over to him.
"Bigfoot," she teased him.
"Oi, my feet are perfectly normal sized, thank you very much. Yours however…"
She swatted at him and Junpei dodged the hit. "All that training in Tartarus really comes in handy, eh?" he asked her.
"Ah, shut up."
"Hai, hai."
The pair walked to the front gate and stood there awkwardly for a moment.
"So…no train stations?" Minako looked up at her best friend expectantly.
"Yeah. Unless someone drags me there, I'm not gonna wander over there." He looked away for a moment. "And…I know that you're going to end up doing something about him, and even if I tell you not to, you're just gonna lie and do it anyway…but can you just at least try and enjoy yourself today? No sulking around or holing yourself up in his room, okay?"
Minako let out a shaky breath. "I-I'll try."
She turned to go, but then stopped and looked back to Junpei. "Oh, um. I don't know if you're going to be mad at me or anything but I looked at Chidori's sketchbook the other day."
Junpei's eyes widened. "How'd you even—"
"Never doubt a girl's determination, Junpei," Minako joked for a second, before becoming serious again. "They were really good. Her drawings, I mean. I really liked them. If you don't mind, I'd like to see them again sometime."
Junpei smiled at the girl, but she could trace some sadness there. "Yeah. Maybe if you make me some more bentos I'll consider it…"
"I get it, I get it. I'll make them for you for the next two months or so, so show me some more, okay?"
Junpei was surprised at the girl again, so carelessly talking about the future, of anything past the next month. "Y-yeah. I'll think about it."
Minako nodded excitedly, "Yokatta*." She hadn't lied, she really loved the drawings she'd found in Chidori's sketchbook.
"Oh, and before you go, I know you're going to kill me for this, but I think you're going to want to have this today."
Minako watched Junpei as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather watch. Minako grabbed it in his open palm. "Junpei! How did you even—why would you touch—"
Minako struggled to find the right words and clutched the watch to her chest.
Junpei sighed at her reaction. "I know that Aragaki-senpai gave this to you, Minako. And, well, I didn't really expect you to return to the dorm until tonight, if you want me to be totally honest. But I think that you should still have it."
"I hid this away in my desk. How'd you even find this Junpei? There was a lock on the drawer and everything!"
"I found the key underneath your little flower pot. Didn't really take much snooping you know. I know you too well." He smiled. "But, I guess what I want to tell you is don't be afraid to cry, okay? Or maybe it'd be better to say that it's okay to cry…" Junpei looked down at Minako. "Sometimes you take this whole leader role waaaay too seriously Minako. You don't have to be so strong all of the time."
Minako tightened her grip on the watch. "Same to you, okay Junpei?"
"What? Men don't cry, Minako." He was teasing her again.
"They just sweat from their eyes, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, they just sweat from their—WAIT. Minako!"
Minako snickered and skipped back a few steps. "You better avoid the train station like the plague, you hear me Junpei?!"
He smiled at her and then replied back to her, "Yeah, and if I even hear a rumor about some Gekkoukan High kid wandering around the Tatsumi Port Island back alley tonight I'm gonna come after you, okay?!"
"Hai, hai!" Minako twirled around, but only allowed her happiness to linger for a moment before carefully sliding on the leather watch.
Minako wandered into Paulownia Mall, not in the mood for anything in particular, just stopping in Chagall Café to buy some ground coffee. Maybe she'd cook something with it later.
Stepping out from the low lights and cool demeanor of the café, she was nearly blinded by all of the lights that had been hung up. She stood outside of the café, in a trance for a moment. It was beautiful how, even though it was only for one night, the mall itself seemed to transform into someplace else.
Minako shook her head. She was being silly and she knew it, but she couldn't but help admire how easily the mall seemed to change faces like that. Even if it was only going to be for a short while…
Minako left the mall and found herself standing outside of the cold couple's bookstore: "Bookworms: Used Bookstore."
The girl pulled up her scarf up past her mouth in a feeble attempt to battle against the chill that had settled over the strip mall. Maybe she'd be able to talk to Bunkichi and Mitsuko for a while. It'd help get her mind off of things. When she approached the door, however, she was met by a sign hung up on the glass door:
"Sorry, but we're closed for the holidays. We'll be back through December twenty-sixth to December thirtieth and then will be gone again through December thirty-first to January second. Please come back while we're here!"
Minako couldn't help but feel her spirits sink. That's right, she reasoned. Couples always go out together on Christmas Eve. After all, love is love no matter how old you are. The old couple had even told her that they only ran the bookstore as a hobby—so why did she expect them to be open on such a day like today when they could spend it together instead?
She dug her phone out of her pocket, her cell phone strap snagging on her mitten. She sighed at the memory. Just another person that wasn't here. Bebe was millions of miles away.
But he's a million miles away, trying to convince his uncle to allow him to come back.
She shook her head at the unwelcome voice in her head and tucked her phone back into her pocket. There was no use trying to call someone, to try and get some solace. She wouldn't even know what to say on the slim chance that they did pick up.
Minako turned from the bookstore and left the strip mall, fiddling with the watch more and more as her nervousness built.
It would seem that there wasn't anything there for her after all.
The girl ended up walking all the way to the shrine. She crossed over to the playground and took a seat onto one of the swings, gently swaying her feet back and forth, her sighs even more so emphasized by the visible puffs she could see surrounding her.
"Akinari and Maiko aren't here anymore, huh…" she mused.
Who else wasn't here?
Saori, President Tanaka, Old Monk Mutatsu, Aigis, and even Ryoji was gone…
She was alone.
And that scared her.
She fiddled with her watch even more, clasping and unclasping it again and again.
Being there, it reminded her of him, of Shinjiro. Of when he gave her the watch.
She closed her eyes, wincing as the memory came back to life:
"…I want you to have this. I was hesitating about if I should give it to you or not."
Shinjiro handed Minako a sleek leather watch. His eyes seemed to soften when hers lit up at the unexpected gift.
He smiled shyly. "I thought it'd look good on you…"
Minako looked up at him. "Why a watch, though?"
He sighed and brought a hand up to his head, pulling his beanie down a bit. "Because, it…it keeps track of time. This is all I could think of."
Minako didn't realize how much she'd needed to keep track of time until it'd all been swept from underneath her. Until the midnight of October 4th.
"I'm leaving the rest to you." Shinjiro looked at her kindly.
Minako nodded seriously at Shinjiro, after he'd confided so much in her.
A gust of wind came by, picking up the girl's skirt a little.
Shinjiro looked at the girl in concern. "The wind's starting to pick up…I kinda want to stay here a little longer if we can, but…aren't you cold?"
Minako hastily shook her head.
Shinjiro looked at the girl in disbelief and gave her a knowing smile. "Hey, you're gonna catch something. C'mere…"
Shinjiro hugged the girl close to his body, hoping that she would get at least some warmth.
Minako's cheeks flared up and she raised a shy hand to hold onto the back of his jacket. Even though he was just being kind she could help but wish...
Minako clutched her head. She'd thought that she'd tucked away all of the memories deep enough so that they wouldn't be able to reach her anymore.
Apparently she'd failed.
"Shinjiro…" she whispered. She couldn't handle all of this. The day before Shinjiro had been shot they'd been strolling around the block, not really doing anything in particular, when he'd suddenly taken up her hand.
She remembered their matching blush so vividly, how she whispered his name and he'd just tugged his beanie down lower on his head and tugged on her hand so that they'd keep on going.
But most of all from that night she remembered that after they settled down on a bench next to one another, Minako's head leaning on his shoulder, she'd had asked Shinjiro for a favor. He'd replied with a, "Jeez, another one?" teasing her. But she'd became nervous, wondering if she did ask him for too much. He'd assured her that even if it was an impossible task he'd enjoy every second of whatever she wanted to ask of him. She remembered blushing and asking Shinjiro that on Christmas Eve he'd take her out on a date like couples normally do. Asking him if he'd take her out on Valentine's Day or if they could go shrine visiting together for the first shrine visit of the New Year.
She remembered thinking that Shinjiro would make fun of her for asking for a favor so far in the future, but he didn't. Instead he'd just turned and kissed the side of her head whispering, "Of course."
…
Her head hurt. She just wanted to run away from all of this. Fuuka would always tell her that she believed that Shinjiro would wake up right after everything was done and over with, after everything was resolved. But then again, back then when Fuuka first told her that, they thought that everything would be done after we defeated the last shadow.
She let out a bitter laugh. It was a coarse unfriendly sound. She hated it. She wanted to laugh the laugh that he loved.
She clenched her fists into tight balls. She needed to do something, anything, to drive this madness out of her.
She thought for a long time before she remembered something that Mutatsu had said to her once before she left.
"Stress won't go away unless you take care of its source. ...You can forget about it, but it'll always come back."
The source…
She looked down at her leather watch and sucked in a long breath before rising from the creaking swing.
"'Stress won't go away unless you take care of its source,' huh…" Minako mused, before she drew her jacket closer to her and staggered over to the fortune box, nearly tripping on a loose stone she'd managed find.
The girl left some money and plucked out a fortune. She closed her eyes and let out a silent prayer before unfurling the paper.
"Great Luck." It read. The fortune even contained a light braided good-luck charm with a bell hanging off of it. She stared at the charm for a short moment. She couldn't quite decipher whether or not this was a stroke of cruel irony or a sign for the go ahead on her plan.
She pulled out her phone and strung the charm along with the one she'd made back with Bebe in the Home Ec. Room.
The girl looked up at the evening sky. It was only 5 o'clock and yet the sky was bathed in a beautiful sunset. "Hey, kami-sama*," Minako had never believed in any religion, but she figured at this point, what'd she have to loose? "Even if this was just meant to be some kind of joke or big ironic statement, let's just pretend that it's a good sign, okay?"
And then she sprinted over to Tatsumi Memorial Hospital.
She finally made it, chest heaving, half an hour later. She stood outside of the hospital, watching the front doors as people milled about the hospital.
"Everyone wants to visit their loved ones on Christmas Eve, huh?" she wondered, before taking a step toward the hospital.
She walked past the front desk, camouflaging herself with the hoards of other visitors, and rode the elevator up to the 10th floor. She snaked through the hallway he was in, deliberately standing behind other people so that the nurses wouldn't notice her. Then, when all of the nurses in the hallway were gone, she went over.
The girl placed her hand on the door handle, not sparing the "No Visitors Allowed" sign a glance. The handle was cold and stiff as though it didn't get much use.
"Please…be unlocked…" she closed her eyes for a moment and whispered before pulling down the handle and pushing the door open.
Click.
The girl blinked in amazement. The door was open. Quickly, she went inside of the room and closed it behind her.
Minako was shaking now. Turning around, she could see the foot of his bed, and could make out where his feet laid. She pressed her back onto the heavy cold door to steady herself. Then, with a wheeled chair in tow, she crossed the room and drew the curtain.
Shinjiro was like he was back on September 5th when he was first admitted. He'd lost some weight and muscle, but for the most part, he was the same.
Minako froze in place for a moment, taking in the sight of him—his sleeping face and all of the tubes and machines attached to him, all at once.
She could remember the first time that they'd met and how she felt about him when he'd joined SEES. She hadn't thought much more about him other than he'd be reliable partner to have in the group. She could never have imagined that he could mean so much to her. Sure she'd made him part of her main party—after all, he was a great fighter. And they talked, and they'd go out to eat, and they'd cook together…
The girl looked down at her shoes, fighting the lump that was forming in her throat. Then, eyebrows furrowed she wheeled over her chair and sat next to him.
"Geez, you haven't had a haircut for a while, huh?" she said, fingering his soft brown locks. "They're at least an inch or so longer than you like." The girl let out a small painful laugh. Realizing this, she took her hand away from his hair and held his hand.
"You've missed a lot, you know? You always teased that Akihiko would be the one to sleep through an apocalypse, but here we are…" Minako could feel tears building up now and her grip tightened.
"That ain't my point, numbskull. I'm saying you gotta keep an eye out for her. Honestly..."
"You aren't confident? ...You really are trying hard."
"Should we get going? They'll worry if you're out too late..."
"You know, you...Shouldn't you be doing something else? You shouldn't be with me like this...Don't you... have more fun things to do?"
"Might as well stop by somewhere, since we're already out...You want some ice cream from the convenience store? My treat."
"You're... a pain. You keep messing things up for me...I keep thinking that my life is the way it's supposed to be, but...Sheesh...Your face keeps popping up in my head..."
"You don't have to forgive me...But forgive everything else...
...You'll understand later. It should be like this for a little longer...I just want it to be... normal..."
"I thought I'd be fine if I never saw this again...But I never imagined that you of all people would bring it to me."
"...Huh?...D-Don't tease me like that!"
"This is your fault, you know. I'm all confused. You're all I can think about, day and night. Dammit, this isn't how
it's supposed to be..."
Minako could feel the tears roll down her cheeks as the memories poured in one by one. She even began to vocalize them all to him, as though she was afraid that if she didn't he'd forget them all.
She stopped and looked up though, at the last one. She was in a flurry of panic after he wouldn't wake up. She'd holed herself up in her room and done research on comas, how long the last and the side-effects…the side-effects…
She had read that even if he did wake up, there was no guarantee that he'd be the same. He could've forgotten how to walk, how to talk, any part of his life. Or he could wake up and think that it was still October 4th during the Dark Hour and he'd just been shot, nothing missing but time. Or he could never wake up at all.
Tears freely sliding down her face she recalled a memory of Shinjiro that she could never get out of her head. Heck, she'd remembered it earlier today. It was when he was talking about what would happen, she had later realized. That night she'd let a little confused with all that he was talking about, but right after…it had all dawned on her.
"You look best when you laugh.
...
So don't cry, got it...?"
Minako let out a smile. "Does it count if I'm smiling while I cry, Shinjiro?" she asked him. "I'm trying, I swear, to not cry…b-but…" another sob erupted from her throat, but her smile didn't waver.
"I miss you."
"Your smile, you blushing, your embrace, your kindness…please, just say something. Even just a cough like you used to all the time." But of course he didn't.
Minako buried her head into the bed.
"Please, please, wake up soon Shinjiro. Please. I want to walk over to the convenience store and get ice cream with you again, I want to talk and laugh again with you. Please…"
She laid there crying for a long time that night, and when her tears ran out, she just sat next to him and held Shinjiro's hand.
"I'm sorry I cried in front of you Shinjiro. I guess I'm just not a very strong person." Her thumb stroked the back of his hand. She let out a small chuckle, "I forgot how big your hand is compared to mine..."
She looked away from him for a moment and allowed her gaze to drift. Shakily, she let go of his hand and picked up her bag. Unzipping it, she took out an large envelope and a wrapped present. "Man you're lucky Shinjiro. I went all out on your present this year." Minako put the two articles on his bedside table and then put her bag back on the floor.
"You owe me, okay? A Christmas Eve date and a first shrine visit of the New Year." She laid her head back on the bed, not to cry, this time, but out of comfort. She could stare up at his face this way. He looked so peaceful…
"Making memories is important.
People can go on as long as they have good things to look back on...
They'll be able to go on without being led astray..."
"I'll remember them Shinjiro. Don't worry. I'll get stronger, for you…" Looking up at Shinjiro's face, Minako could feel her eyelids fluttering and then in a moment, she fell asleep.
"HIROKO!" a nurse came running over to the woman.
The taller woman sighed. They were both young nurses employed at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. "Ai..? What do you want? Can't you see I'm swamped with all of these visitors coming in for Christmas Eve? God, I don't even wanna think about what New Year's Eve is gonna be like." The blonde shook her head dismissively.
The shorter brunette grabbed her arm. "There's someone in Aragaki's room!"
Hiroko's eyes widened. "That Aragaki kid's room? I thought there weren't any visitors allowed? Is anything going on in there?"
Ai shuffle back and forth, "Erm, well, I didn't really say anything to her, but I mean, she wasn't really doing anything. Just sitting there and stuff…"
Hiroko rolled her eyes and grabbed the shorter girl's arm. "C'mon, c'mon, let's go see what the matter is."
The two crossed over from the nurse's station and cracked open the door.
"Ya see her?" Ai whispered to the other nurse.
"Yeah, but…" Hiroko's eyes softened.
The curtain usually concealing Aragaki was pushed to the side, revealing him and all of the machines he was hooked up to. A girl was sitting in a chair normally left in the corner with her head down on his bed. On Aragaki's bedside table there was a present and a bulging envelope, looking like it was about to explode.
Ai peeked under Hiroko's arm. "Is she asleep?"
"Y-yeah, I think so…hey, Ai, whaddaya say we never noticed that she snuck in here."
"EH?" Ai looked up at her normally no nonsense friend. "You…wanna…ignore it?"
Hiroko nodded. "Yeah, it'll be our Christmas present to Aragaki. Let him have a couple of hours with his precious girlfriend. Besides, she won't mess with all of the wires and such."
Ai was thoroughly confused at this point. "Okay…who ever knew that the evil queen possessed any pity…" she joked and walked away from the door. "C'mon Hiroko, if we stand here any longer we'll attract attention!"
"Ah, hai!" the blonde nurse jumped at Ai's order and gently pulled the door back in place.
When the pair went back to the nurse's station, though, Hiroko couldn't focus on the forms she was filling out. "Hey, Ai…"
"Yeah..?" the other nurse asked absentmindedly.
"H-how long has Aragaki been in there. I can't even remember anymore."
Ai thought for a minute. "Huh. Neither can I. Lemme look up his file." The nurse whipped out the computer mouse and started to click through the all of the different files. "..it looks like a group of kids dragged him in at midnight on October 4th. Critical condition. He took two shots to the chest."
"…"
Hiroko pondered this new information. "That's what, two months and twenty days today?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, I guess ol' Aragaki was due for a visitor anyhow. Especially by his girlfriend." She let out a laugh.
"Yeah, they looked really lovey-dovey, didn't they?" Ai mused.
"Not many people can fall asleep on those hospital cots like that. Besides, she was holding his hand and smiling too."
"Eh? Honto*, honto?" Ai's eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. "Ah, to be young and in love…wait. Hiroko. You never had a boyfriend when you were in high school, did you?"
"…shuddup."
"Nani*? What about college?"
"…"
"No way!" Ai was having a riot now. "To think that even Aragaki over there has the one up on you—" she cut herself off with another fit of laughter.
"Shuddup and stop talking 'bout Aragaki, Ai! Just leave that girl and I alone," Hiroko huffed.
"Fine, fine. When Aragaki wakes up, I'm going to have a riot teasing him about it, though!" Ai laughed.
"You're having a riot now."
"You bet!"
And they laughed together, talking in circles, about gossip and chatter. About this and that. About anything but Aragaki and the mystery girl. Anything but the knowledge that not everyone wakes up.
Meanwhile, in Shinjiro's room at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital...
A girl, dressed in a Gekkoukan High School uniform, continued to dream of memories she was sure she'd make, and never letting go of the hand that she'd make them with.
Words with an *:
Senpai – honorific meaning upperclassmen
Ganbatte – do/try your best, go for it
Faito – fight on, do/try your best
Hai – yeah, yes, okay
Baka – idiot
Chotto matte – wait a a second/moment
Yokatta – I'm glad, what a relief, thank god (said in relief)
Kami-sama – god
Honto – really
Nani – what
So, um, yeah, this story really was written just because I really wanted there to be a Shinjiro Christmas Eve Date option in the game, but I hope you guys will bear with all of that angsty-ness above. Maybe I should've tried to tone it down...? (-_-;) Ah well, what's done is done. This is my first fanfic, so please, go easy on me.
Thank you so much for reading my fanfic here! This is my first fanfic, so I hope you all enjoy. ShinjiroXMinako is my OTP after... but anyway, thanks for reading and please review! It'd really help and I'm grateful for any kind of input!
Also, I'm not really sure if I'm going to be continuing this as a multi-chapter story or if I'm just going to leave it as a one-shot. I suppose I'll just leave it as "in progress" for now. If you have an opinion, or want for more, please, just request and I'll try and think something up!
Thanks again! (I swear I'm done this time guys) and I hope that you liked it!