Live Like You Were Dying
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE PERSONA CHARACTERS! If I did…SHINJIRO WOULD'VE NEVER DIED!
Akihiko sighed as he looked at the now dusty hat that rested on a nail on his wall. The sometimes smiling face of Shinjiro still burned in his head as he twiddled his thumbs as he always did after that brunette died. A soft rap at the door made him look up from his sitting position on his bed. "Yes?"
Ken opened the door softly, and entered, gripping the bottom of his shirt tightly. "S-Senpai…?" he looked up, tears in his eyes.
"Amada? What's wrong?" Akihiko wondered why Ken was crying at this time of night. A nightmare maybe? He was an elementary student after all.
"I…I had a dream Senpai…about Aragaki-senpai…" Ken hiccupped, and Akihiko stood up as he heard Ken mention Shinjiro's name."H-He told me something in the dream…And I don't know whether to think if it was just my mind playing tricks on me…or really him contacting me…" he looked up to stare at his senpai with confused eyes.
"What did he say, Ken?" Akihiko asked, using Ken's first name to try and comfort the young sobbing boy.
"H-He said to live like I was dying…" Ken answered, watching as Akihiko's eyes went wide.
"Shinji…you still care about Ken…" Akihiko whispered, smiling widely as he looked at the hat. He could almost see his friend smiling, the hat shadowing his eyes as he hunched over and nodded.
"Senpai…?" Ken gently poked Akihiko's arm.
Akihiko blinked and smiled, looking back at him. "That was Shinji all right…He wanted to tell you one last thing, and let me tell you something Ken, he said the same thing to me a few days before he died."
"R-Really?" Ken blinked, his eyes starting to dry of the tears that threatened to fall.
The older teen nodded in response and motioned for Ken to follow him to his bed. Ken climbed on top of it and watched as Akihiko followed suit and sat beside him. "You see, Shinji was always living like he was going to die the next day. He lived each day to the fullest, and enjoyed every minute of it. He may of seemed like he hated his life, but he told me himself he loved it." Akihiko looked back to see that Ken was listening intently. "He told me of the stuff he had done once we left the orphanage and went our separate ways…" the silver haired teen paused to remember, with the shock of Shinji's death, his memory was a little blank.
"What were they Senpai?" Ken piped up, looking up expectantly.
Akihiko looked down and smiled, seeing how much Ken reminded him of his late sister. "Well, after he left SEES the first time, he told me that he traveled a bit, but stopped that as he realized how expensive it was," he chuckled and stared at the hat as he continued. "He worked a bit, earned some money and came back to Iwatodai. We met up again and went to many places together. That's when he told me of his adventures outside of the city." Akihiko looked at Ken who had rested his head against his arm and had closed his eyes.
"Please continue Senpai…" Ken mumbled sleepily.
Akihiko smiled and patted Ken's head softly. "Shinji said he tried skydiving and bull-riding, but there was too much wind in skydiving and too much testosterone in bull-riding," he couldn't help but laugh again. Suddenly, a light flashed before him, and Shinjiro stood there, winged and without his hat, smirking.
"Talking about me, are you Aki?" Shinjiro said, walking and sitting on the bed, creating no weight. "Don't forget about cooking classes."
Akihiko only stared at Shinjiro in disbelief as he continued. "A-And he took cooking classes…to cook for himself because he lived alone…"
"What happened to his parents?" Ken asked from his sleepy state.
"They…died," Akihiko looked down slightly. "That's why he was in the orphanage."
"I never would've met you if I wasn't an orphan Aki." Shinjiro smiled at his friend and lay down on the bed, creating no movement, but Akihiko felt a tiny gush of wind. "Continue Aki…"
"Shinji and I visited each other also from time to time during that time, but not as much…It was around that time when I was pestering him to come back, but he wouldn't," a scoff from the angel-brunette. "Then one day…he told me something interesting…" Shinjiro sat back up to stare at Akihiko.
"What did he say Senpai?" Ken asked, his eyes now slightly open and looking up at Akihiko.
"He told me he saw something fly across the sky. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it wasn't a plane. He told me it might've been a bird or something. He said it was pure white, and glowing, but doves and swans don't make their homes around Iwatodai. And last time I checked, birds don't glow…" Akihiko glanced to his side and saw Shinjiro smiling widely.
"Tell him Aki…" he heard Shinji whisper.
"So…what was it Senpai?" Ken asked, looking up interestingly.
"I asked him this. 'What if it was an angel?' You know what he said back?" Akihiko looked at Ken with a smile.
Ken shook his head and returned the look expectantly.
Shinjiro smiled and spoke along with Akihiko.
"He told me, 'I don't need another angel…I already have you Aki.'" Akihiko choked out the words and let out a shuddering sigh. "'And that's enough for me…'" Akihiko finished, staring at the hat.
Ken noticed Akihiko looking at the hat and got up, walking over and taking it off of its nail. "Aragaki-senpai was a really good man…Did you love him Senpai?"
Akihiko blinked at the sudden question and noticed that his own eyes were beginning to fill with tears. He saw Shinjiro looking at him. "Y-Yes…I did love him…Wait, that's wrong…I did love him, and I always will." He looked back and saw Shinjiro's eyes widen in surprise.
Ken smiled. "That's good Senpai. I think that what Aragaki-senpai told me…was supposed to be for both you and me." He twirled the hat and put it on his own head, realizing how small his head was compared to the hat. It covered his head completely.
"Yeah…Ever since Shinji died, I have been living like tomorrow is my last day to live…" Akihiko sighed softly and looked at Shinjiro, who was still looking at him in disbelief.
"I'm going to start doing that too Senpai!" Ken exclaimed happily, smiling excitedly. "I promise you, and I promise Aragaki-senpai that, right here, right now." Ken smiled and put the hat back on the nail as he exited the room, bowing goodnight to his senpai. Akihiko smiled and then turned back to Shinjiro.
"Shinji…" Akihiko walked toward the bed, where the winged-Shinjiro was.
Shinjiro stood up and still stood taller than Akihiko. "You can stop staring you idiot. It's really me. And I'm not a ghost, I'm an angel, you can hug me you know," he was answered by Akihiko hugging him tightly and shaking slightly in his arms.
"It really is you…" Akihiko mumbled in Shinjiro's overcoat.
Shinjiro smirked and chuckled. "Of course it is stupid. Now I can't stay long…" he looked up and sighed. "I'm on a time limit."
Akihiko looked up at him sadly. "R-Really? Would you at least spend the night with me?" he shot him Shinjiro-winning puppy eyes.
Shinjiro rolled his eyes and sighed, smiling. "Alright, you big baby. Now come on. Get in bed," he watched Akihiko get under the covers and made room for the angel-boy. Shinjiro went in after him and wrapped his arms around the smaller-built teen, pulling him close. He kissed his head and looked down at him. "Aki…" he said softly.
Akihiko looked up and blinked. "Yes Shinji?" he responded, and gasped as his lips were soon gently covered by Shinjiro's. They were feather soft and almost felt like they weren't even there. He closed his eyes and returned it, pressing against Shinjiro's mouth to try and feel more of him. Shinjiro only breathed heavily into Akihiko's mouth before hesitating, then pulling away.
"You know what Aki?" Shinjiro asked, slightly breathless.
"W-What?" Akihiko answered, looking up at Shinjiro.
"I have always loved you too," the brunette leaned down one last time and pecked Akihiko's mouth before snuggling with him. "Goodnight Aki…"
Akihiko struggled to keep his eyes open, but it almost seemed that as soon as Shinjiro said those words, his eyelids became like lead and he fell into a deep sleep in Shinjiro's arms.
The next morning…he woke up alone. He wondered if what happened after Ken left was just a dream, but that flew out the window as he saw Shinjiro's overcoat and a pure white, glowing feather resting on his bed. He smiled. "I'll live like I'm dying Shinji…so that I can enjoy life as much as you did and so I can join you in heaven…"
A/N: WOW. Corny ending is corny. XD I kind of like this, except for a few parts where I lost inspiration and kind of jumped to random places and rushed. I'm sure you can pick those up. Sorry 'bout that. I just wanted to write tonight and heard this song.