Warning: AU. OOC.
"Worth a Thousand Words"
By: KLaNickole
Chapter One: Kuroko Tetsuya
Friends.
I guess I never really had one. For me, having friends is like a miracle... and I've always wanted one. Maybe someone whom I can call "best friend" and we'll playfully punch each other while saying jokes. Maybe someone who will play catch with me or tag. Maybe someone whom I can tell my secrets to. Maybe, someone who can take notes for me whenever I'm sick. Or maybe, someone whom I can play video games with.
How about you, what's your friend like? Do you really trust each other? Do you look out for each other? Do you fight? Do you make up? Do you go to the karaoke and sing your hearts out? Do you go to the arcade? Do you shop together? Do you help one another?
Have you asked yourself this question? "What would happen if she/he is destined to die at the age of twenty-five?" Well, normally, you wouldn't ask yourself that. But if your friend's life is in danger, what would you do?
Try to picture it. Your friend resting on a hospital bed, crying, smiling and said, "I'll be fine. Don't worry." And the next thing you knew, she/he was dead. There you are, spending your next days in a beige dull-looking room, attending the funeral. There you are, staring at the body that you once called "best friend." There you are, watching him/her get buried. Time passes by but whenever you see his/her house, memories will appear right before your eyes and before you know it, you're already crying. Or when you see some of your pictures together, and you stare at it for a long time, knowing that your best friend will never come back. How about the moment where you enter your classroom and look over at your best friend's desk, noticing that flowers are placed above it.
Tragic, isn't it? That's one of the reasons why I don't want to be friendly with other people. And imagining my friend cry, I just couldn't handle the thought of it. And from that day on, I decided that I'll become an outcast.
"Tetsuya, we're going to Tokyo tomorrow." My dad said using his usual bored tone. He flipped the newspaper's page and puffed out smoke from his cigarette, "Say goodbye to your friends or whatever. Here, some money. Treat them to karaoke or something."
I nodded and took the money from his hands. Well, not like I have any friends at the moment. I sighed. How great life is when your father is so cold to you. Note the sarcasm. I think it's only natural though. Since my mother died at the age of thirty and I was probably seven years old back then. Eight years have passed and I'm already experiencing some minor problems with my heart. Eight years have passed since my father began drinking alcohol. Burying his miseries on them and what-not. Mother's death left an emotional scar on my father.
On the day of the funeral, all of us were wearing black. The weather sided with us too. It was dark and rainy- fitting for a funeral, don't you think? At first, I don't understand what was happening. They buried my mother's body in the ground, and all of them started crying. Except for my father- he just plastered a stoic expression and held my hand tightly,
"Dad? Why is mom getting buried?" I asked back then with a confused expression. I kept on tugging his clothes, and he held my hand tighter, "Why? Mom still needs to go to work, right?" I innocently asked again that triggered my father's emotion,
"Shut up!" He shouted and gritted his teeth. Slowly, he let go of my hand and walked away. I reached for him, called him, but he never looked back. All of my relatives started saying the same thing over and over again; "Poor kid, going to die like how his mother did." I was still a child then; clueless and gullible. But as each day went by, I realized what really happened. My mother died because of a heart attack. And that I'm going to die like how my mother did.
Before I leave the house, I picked up my dirty backpack and filled it with my all-time favorite books, "I'm leaving now." I said and twisted the door knob. Knowing that I don't have anyone to hang out with, my feet stopped right in front of a small bookstore. My fingers slide through the shelf, feeling the book's textures. And yes, I'm a bookworm if you're wondering. My finger stopped and opened an old-looking book. My eyes glanced at the front cover and saw the title written with poor ink. "Worth a Thousand Words" is what it said. As I flip the book's pages, one sentence catches my attention,
"And in the end, we're still humans. Drunk on the idea that love, only love, will heal us." I muttered as I closed its contents, "Love... huh?"
I turned and went to the cashier. Just by reading that sentence, my guts told me to buy it despite how it looks, "Excuse me..." I said to the one who's guarding the cashier.
"Uwa!" She jumped in her seat and stared at me wide-eyed, "Since when have you been there?" You're probably wondering why she reacted like that. If you could describe me in words, I guess one of them will be "low presence." And because of this, it's really easy to avoid people.
"Ah, I've been standing here the whole time." I answered and handed her the book. She asked for 900 yen, "Isn't that cheap?" I ask, giving her a confusing look,
"Well, it's an old book and some parts are already damaged. So just take it." This time, she was the one who answered my question. I nodded in response, bowed to her direction and left.
Before leaving my hometown, I figured that I need to visit my mother. It's been a year since I haven't visited her grave. There's a reason behind it, though. My body gets easily tired and because of school, I ended up on a hospital bed for a year. Pathetic, right?
I wanted to walk all the way to the cemetery, but I figured that it's just a waste of time and energy. And since I don't have the strength to endure the blazing hot sun, I'll be taking the bus instead. So while waiting for the bus, I decided to take a seat first on the waiting shed. I opened the book that I just bought earlier and started reading. Well, something caught my attention, making me glance at it for a while. But I highly doubt it interests you.
It was the sky. I've always loved the azure sky. It reminds me of my mother. The azure sky was beautiful and stunning; peaceful and mysterious.
My vision of the sky got blocked because of a balloon. A balloon that looks like a bear, - a weird one at that, "Mom! My balloon..." A kid who seems to be at the age of five said, sniffing and holding back his tears,
"I'll buy you a new one." His mother said and smiled at him.
"But I only wanted that one!" The boy complained, puffing his cheeks. That child stopped walking and he let go of his mother's hand, "Go get it for me!" He demanded,
"Ken, please don't make this any hard for me..." She said and reached for him. Her hand carefully slips unto his, but the child slaps it away,
"I can walk by myself."
The mother didn't comment any further. My eyes glanced at the weird looking balloon and a blank memory flashed right into my mind; Fireworks, festival, kimono. I shrugged; maybe it was a part of a movie or something.
The bus arrived and the doors opened. The driver greeted every one of its passenger who are entering... except for me, "Good afternoon." I muttered silently and looked at the passengers. As usual, there's an old couple sitting on the front. A man who's sleeping his butt off, a girl and a boy around my age, displaying public affection. A lady who's pregnant- I always see these kinds of people when riding the bus.
I sat on the farthest row and stared at the window. I let my mind drift, daydreaming about various stuff. Once, I imagined that I was able to play basketball. I was watching the NBA playoffs back then. I admired how the players trust each other, sending the ball back and forth. And when the fourth quarter is finished, they'll fist bump each other and say, "Good work!"
"We'll be arriving at Mt. Zion Cemetery. For the passengers who are going to leave, please do not leave unnecessary things behind." The driver said through the speakers. I glanced at the window a second and saw my reflection. My teal blue-ish hair and eyes were inherited from my mother. Now thinking about it, that's maybe a reason why my father hates me... right?
The bus stopped moving and opened its door, indicating that this is the stop. I stood up and noticed that another man was sharing a said destination with me. I stepped out of the bus and inhaled, letting the warm summer breeze get me.
"Welcome to Mt. Zion Memorial Park."
The cemetery was clean and nice- Well, nice in a good way. The place was designed like a park, really, with its grass and tall trees surrounding the place.
For starters, I didn't know where my mother was buried though. But my feet began moving on its own, as if it already knows the way itself. I stopped in a nostalgic place and brought out my handkerchief to remove the dust on the grave, "Hey, mom." I greeted her as I wiped the dirt off, "It's me, Kuroko. Your son."
"I'm sorry for not visiting you lately... I brought my favorite books today. Want me to read it for you?" I asked as if she was standing right in front of me. I might be nuts, huh? Talking to the dead. I chuckled silently and opened my backpack, "I'll start with this book." I stated and showed the front cover,
The front cover of the book showed a little girl wearing a crown while levitating. It seems eerie and dark since the color is black and white but its plot line is unique and intriguing. "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." I started off and flipped the next page. I'm a sucker for creepy horror, time travel, action, and fantasy stories. Given the consequences that I don't have to tire my body, books are always my friends. Even if I can't experience things with my own body, just by reading, I can already imagine what's happening.
I finished reading the book, closed it, and let out a sigh, "Did you like it, mom?" I asked her, "I really loved this book! Hmmm... School? School's fine. We have this special activity that parents have to participate in but I ended up guarding the toll because you and dad weren't there." I muttered and laughed sarcastically,
"Oh. If you're wondering about what's happening at home, dad is still the same." I stated and clasped my hands together, "A different kind of 'same' though. Everything changed since you died..."
"Mom, why did you have to leave us? Dad is suffering because of it." I clenched my fists and looked down, "I miss you, so much. Even if you're always lying on the hospital bed back then, I'd like to see your smile again." Vivid memories flashed into my mind,
"Mom, I want to feel what a mother's love is like. I want you to cook for me. I want you to take care of me when I'm sick. I want you to..." My voice cracked. Tears started to trickle down my cheeks, falling silently onto my lap. "It hurts so much."
"Mom, I want you to go to my birthdays and surprise me. I want you to go to my graduation party and say, "That's my boy!" But why? Why did you leave? Why did you die?" I mentally groaned and let myself feel like crap for once. Scratch that- I feel like crap every day.
"It seems like heaven needs an angel, huh mom?" I muttered and smiled, but the tears still remained, "Why did He take you away? Why did God..." I started to fight the urge to cry louder, but my whole body was shaking, "Knowing that I'll never hear your voice again..." I uttered, holding back the tears. I bit my lip to refrain from sobbing, "Those seven years of childhood, I wish I cherished the moments between us. I wish I didn't push you when you're kissing me in the cheek. I wish I spent more time with you back then. I wish you didn't die."
I closed my eyes and felt drowsy. Lying in the green grass and letting the wind touch your skin sure is comfortable. And slowly, I fell asleep because of it.
"Tetsuya..." A woman's voice ringed my ears. I opened my eyes and saw her. A woman who's in her 30's, having the same hair color and eyes as me. My heart pounds louder as I feel her touch my cheek, "You're all grown now. Take care of your dad, okay?" It took me a few seconds to process what was going on.
"Mom?" I asked nonchalantly. She giggled and played with my hair. My whole body relaxed when I heard her laugh. It was gentle and soft; like an angel.
"Goodbye, Tetsuya." She started walking away, disappearing in the air of nothingness,
"No! Don't leave me, please!" I shouted and tried to get up. But my body felt numb. She stopped in her tracks, looked back at me and said, "I love you, Tetsuya."
"Mom!" I shouted and jumped, heavily breathing from the dream I just had. My eyes looked around, it was dark already. I was panting and sweating at the same time. I scratched my head, "What's with that? I can't even tell if that's a dream or a nightmare!" I groaned and sighed,
"I'm going home, mom." I said and patted the grave. As I was getting farther and farther, I waved a goodbye, "I'll be back again!" I shouted. I sighed mentally, knowing that I was going to Tokyo tomorrow and to be completely honest- I don't want to move. But I need to since diagnoses are better there.
Oh well, Tokyo here I come! Or not.
(A/N: So, what do you think? Each chapter will be a different POV, neh? :D This is my first KnB fanfic so far. AkaKuro shipper here! Mehehehe *insert evil laugh*
Please do leave a review. Flames and criticisms are accepted.)