Title: In This Life
Tagline: Could love to prove to be stronger than death?
Genre: romance/drama/ character death/rebirth/yaoi
Warning: Please be aware this story is based on a character death and that character being reborn as a different individual.
This means the relationship at the heart of this story will be Hiroki x Nowaki, but Hiroki's soul will be reborn in an original character.
This story will have Nowaki x OC relationship going forward.
Disclaimer:
All characters and rights of the Junjou Romantica manga and anime series belong to Shungiku Nakamura and her publishers Blu. This fanfiction has the intention of earning any royalties or money. It is for the sole purpose of free enjoyment for the Junjou Romantica.
All chapter titles are suggestive music titles that influenced my inspiration for the direction of this story and are the property of the artists who took the time to write and record them. Please find the In This Life playlist available on Spotify.
Part 1: If Tomorrow Never Comes (Ronan Keating)
May you live a thousand years, and I, a thousand less one day;
So that I might never know the world without you.
~ Hungarian Proverb ~
Kamijou Hiroki had a secret fetish.
He loved to watch his lover sleep. He felt his cheeks flush with the familiar warmth of a blush. Feeling the mixture of longing, guilt, and desire, as he stole this moment to indulge his fetish. His dark-haired lover slumbered peacefully, unaware of Hiroki's gaze. Dark brown eyes lovingly studied the half-naked body beneath the covers, appreciating every detail the fine muscular form and beautiful, kind face his younger lover possessed.
The only imperfections to this god-like form were the dark rings of exhaustion circling under his lover's closed eyes. Nowaki had been working the night shift at the hospital for the last week; he collapsed into bed minutes before Hiroki had to get up to prepare for the day ahead. At these times, they had barely had a chance to speak or let alone spent time together.
Save for the brief morning embrace that his lover insisted on having before resigning himself to the world of dreams. Where, no doubt, he was dreaming of romantic nonsense, Hiroki thought to himself. A small smile twitched at his lips, inwardly not that he would ever admit it aloud, Hiroki cherished that sentimental nonsense. The romantic nonsense was a healing, reassuring balm that reached deep into his bruised heart. He knew as long as his young lover continued to spurt out lovey-dovey stereotypes, Nowaki was devoted to him.
Picking up his satchel from the bedroom floor, Hiroki softly unclipped the front and peered inside for a moment, before reaching in to remove the wrapped package. He half-smiled as he quietly placed the gift on the bedside table. A note, carefully folded in half, accompanied the box, bearing an important message for his lover.
Today was the day: Kusama Nowaki's life was going to change.
Hiroki would freely admit he had kept this relationship a secret for far too long. He paused for a moment glancing at the present. A few people knew in their social circle. He had failed to inform the most important people in his life though. His family. Nowaki had been begging for the last year to be introduced formally to the Kamijou clan. The truth was Hiroki had been terrified to do it. It was only the recent development with his father that had spurred him into making a change to the status quo. His father, Kamijou Hiroaki, the current head of the Kamijou family had been seriously ill for some months. Hiroki knew soon there would be questions asked about the further omiai sessions. He did not want to put Nowaki through that again.
This Valentine's Day, there would more than just chocolate surprises waiting.
This valentine day's his present for his lover would be an introduction to his parents.
Potentially, this gift could go disastrously wrong, but Hiroko knew this was the only thing Nowaki wanted. The meticulous planning had gone into this weekend. There had been favours pulled in to enable him to pull off this secret weekend.
He had actively prayed at a temple on the walk home for a month that all would go to plan.
Hiroki wanted nothing more than his family to accept Nowaki.
He could only hope his family would prove to be as accepting as he believed.
Bending down, Hiroki brushed a few tousled locks of hair out of his lover's face. He was so immensely proud of his lover, Nowaki having achieved so much in the last eight years. Though it had not been the most comfortable road, Hiroki would not change a step of their journey; there had been highs and plenty of lows. Frankly that America fiasco still made him angry. But after eight years, he was coming to realise that finding even fleeting happiness in this world was a challenge. He might not have demonstrated the depths of his feelings on a regular basis due to his pride, but Nowkai knew when gestures came how special they were. Nowaki knew how much he was cherished and loved despite the constant abuse he tolerated from his Hiro-san, who was not the most natural person to love.
Straightening, he stared at his lover once more before leaving for work. The ruffled, sleeping form of his lover was almost too tempting to leave. Hiroki knew that later there would be plenty of time to enjoy reacquainting himself with his lover. He smiled to himself when excited his lover could be quite inventive, something to look forward to after the surprise tonight. Thank god, he had booked a hotel for his parents.
Their Valentine's Day reunion tonight had great promises of pleasure.
Nowaki was always extremely passionate surprised.
If only he had known what lay ahead, he would have made sure to kiss his lover goodbye. He would have whispered to Nowaki those most important words that he would later regret not having said enough.
He would never have gone to work if he had known another tomorrow for them would never come.
At a quarter to six, Hiroki locked up his classroom, irritated at the number of hormones haunting the halls of the university. It has been an incredibly long, long day. Every class he taught had been full of lovey-dovey idiot students, chocolates and love notes circling the rooms. The lack of intelligent answers in his class had tested his patience beyond its limits. Chalk bouncing off heads had failed to deter the daydreamers from their romantic notions. Worse still, the 'love-bug' had enraptured his colleagues, too!
Giggles coming from under the door from the office he shared with Miyagi told him to keep walking. Trying to go into the office was pointless, the reason being that Miyagi was probably in the middle of being molested by his younger lover, Shinobu. Plus, there was a whole can of worms of the kid being the dean's son. No, it was just best he stay out of it. Miyagi would be there tomorrow to lecture. Hiroki hesitated for a moment, as a message's arrival jiggled in his pocket. Fishing out his phone, he flipped open the cover greeted by two critical messages; one confirmation message that all the pieces of his plan were in place and one of excitement from his lover.
A passing female student received the shock of her life as the 'Demon' looked delirious happy for a moment as he read Nowaki's message. The creepy look caused her to stumble and drop her books. A flood of apologies escaped the student as she rushed off down the corridor after hastily gathering her stuff. Hiroki looked up in time to hear incomprehensible mumbles and flash of yellow vanish down the corridor. With a shake of his head, he returned to his phone to read his other message. Satisfied by the message's contents, he swung his bag over his shoulder and continued on his way with a spring in his step.
He had an important date.
What Kamijou Hiroki did not know was that fate had an important date for him to keep.
As he strolled down the street in a hurry to meet his lover, a countdown clock had started to accelerate. As he reached the front gate of the University, the wheels of fate were in full motion. When the spit spot tell-tale signs of rain fell from the sky, Hiroki was on for a head-on collision when he chose not to go back for his umbrella.
Pulling up his coat collar, he cursed himself for a moment. Glancing at his watch, he opted to risk the weather than going back for it. Time was against him. There were only forty minutes before he was due to meet with Nowaki at the rendezvous point he had mentioned in his note. He would have to rush to arrive at the train station with their tickets to meet his lover before they traveled as he planned to his hometown.
Distracted by his eagerness to see his lover, Hiroki failed to grasp several chances to avert the fate that galloped towards him. He moved on autopilot as his thoughts toward to his lover. Words weren't necessary to show how much he missed Nowaki during the long hours his lover worked nights. Their brief embraces and desperate kisses conveyed the ache they both felt. Hiroki found himself walking faster lost in thought of Nowaki.
As the skies opened in earnest, Hiroki bolted through the park, dashing through the torrents of rain. Irked at the weather, he missed the rumbling that echoed across the sky. Emerging close to the shopping center, he weaved in between the shoppers. Happy couples are wandering under umbrellas, sharing romantic evenings together.
He stopped at the traffic lights. Standing eagerly to wait for them to change. A woman drew up beside him, holding a small gift bag. A flash of lime green caught the corner of Hiroki's eye. The lady holding the brightly coloured bag smiled at him as he quirked an eyebrow at the extreme patterns on the bag. She groaned briefly, only to blush as people turned to look at her due to a strange noise. She nervously rubbed her slightly rounded stomach with a smile.
Her phone rang, breaking their shared gaze.
She excitedly answered greeting her mother.
Family.
The thought stuck in his mind.
He wondered how Nowaki would react.
Far off in the distance, the din of Sirens screaming lost in the falling rain.
Lost in thought, he began to cross the road as the lights changed signaling go to the pedestrian traffic. Half aware of the world's goings-on around Hiroki, he missed the confused features of the crowd as the echoing din approached as he stepped into the road. The pregnant woman followed after him thinking it was safe to cross the street. Her mother's chattering was distracting her from seeing the hesitation from other pedestrians that had heard the wailing warning of the approaching emergency vehicles.
In that moment, unseen to the rest of world, two strands of fate converged…
It was too late when people shouted out a warning in alarm.
The carillon convoy of vehicles raced towards them blinded by the downpour.
The reflection of flashing lights in the shop windows caught his attention.
The squeals of tires started Hiroki from his thoughts.
He glanced in the direction of the anarchy that approached.
The blood in his veins froze as the speeding car skidded on the wet road surface…
Behind him, a caterwauling collection of screams and gasp arose from the crowd.
Spinning on his heel, Hiroki reacted on impulse…
…. In a blur of action, two figures disappeared from view...
…A dull thud of impact tolled across the night…
… Caterwauling collection of screams and screeches rang out…
… The smashing of glass and crunching of metal rang out...
In a skip of a heartbeat, several destinies changed forever.
Pain shot through every fiber of his being as he hit the ground.
Every ounce of breath as knocked from his lungs.
Everything was dark and still for a moment.
His conscious was woozy when he realised he might have blacked out for a moment.
Lying in the gathering surface weather on the tarmac of the road, he took a quick mental stock of the pain. Opening his eyes, he noticed one of his legs felt numb. Hiroki attempted to push himself up only to feel a wave of agony tear through him. His arm collapsed under him with a sickening crunch. Fresh waves of torturous pain coursed through him causing him to grit his teeth together to stop himself from crying out. Testing his other arm, he managed to push up on his other uninjured elbow to try to survey the damage. He looked up to see the pregnant woman breathing rapidly in front of him. He was about to ask her if she was hurt when he noticed her face.
A look of stark horror written on her face.
Blinking, he wondered what was wrong.
Words froze on his lips, as he understood why.
The rippling puddle before him was red… red with blood.
He was about to look down at his leg, but he forced himself to look away.
He needed to remain calm.
Adrenalin would only increase his heart rate and pump blood faster.
The rain started coming down harder, he noticed. Suddenly his lips felt dry despite the rain; brushing his tongue over his dry lips, he gathered himself to speak. Only to grunt, as a spasm of pain wracked through his chest. He could only draw short pants of breath. His chest felt tight, and each breath came with horrifying pain. In the disquietude of his senses reeling from the crucifying agony of his injuries and lacerations, Hiroki felt tremors of terror seize his heart.
Hiroki looked up in fear to the pregnant woman who crawled towards him.
She spoke him, but her words became lost in the commotion.
Several people rushed forward from the crowd at the side of the road.
The pregnant woman reached him and began shrugging off her coat. She draped the damp fabric around his shoulders as his body shook with the effort of fighting the pain off and staying upright. A shadowy group figures gathered close to him. Distorted sounds fell as a vague vaporous voiced as he struggled with consciousness. A police officer appeared at his side as he slumped forward.
The world was a blurred shadow as he sank down. Panic was edging into his heart with the spreading numbness he could feel encroaching on his body. What was wrong with him? He had to be going into shock, a small logical part of his brain decided. Small female hands caught his head before it hit the road's surface. A voice of authority barked orders overhead. Cautious hands repositioned his body gently.
He convulsed in the throes of the pain of the movement.
He suddenly felt exhausted.
All he wanted to do was sleep.
He wanted to fall asleep holding his Nowaki.
Nowaki would take all the pain away.
"Please hold on," a soft feminine voice urged.
A sweet scent of tangy fruit blossoms mixed with rich chocolate assailed his senses jerking him back to the world. Warmth encompassed his chilled form, silver foil blankets and coats cloaked him from the rain. Blurry colours of the flashing lights stretched over him like dancing waves. The pain became a fuzzy tingle like the sensation of pins and needles in his body. He felt lightheaded, edged with numbness and dizzy as if inebriated from drinking strong alcohol. The cold seeping through his skin from lying on the wet tarmac became a distant annoyance. A calmness settled in his mind, as the noisy world surrounding him drifted away.
"Come on buddy, hold on in there."
For the second time, a voice pulled his awareness back.
Blinking furiously, he tried to focus on the woman's face above him.
"Keep him talking," he heard the police officer tell her.
The woman nodded back shifting closer to him.
She stroked her fingers through his hair, smiling gently down at him. Tears are clinging to thick, long eyelashes. Staring up into her mahogany eyes, he saw the reflection of the terror truth as her eyes were unable to lie.
Tears leaked from the side of his own eyes at the realisation that hit him.
"You saved our lives," she croaked as tears fell thick and fast. "You're a hero."
"Or… an… idiot." He gasped.
His body convulsed again suddenly; he was beyond feeling the pain.
"Easy," the woman said, stroking his hair again. "My name is Midori Keiko. What's my hero's name?"
"Kami-jou Hir-oki." He gasped.
"A hero by name and deed."
Hero…
Hiro…
Hiro-san… he thought…
Nowaki! The image of his lover caused his heart to twinge. He cried out his heart's pain as the happy vision of his dark-haired lover swam past his mind's eye. Lifting a blood-caked hand, Hiroki grasped the fingers stroking his hair. The grasp was weak, but he managed to attract the attention of the lady above him.
"Will… you do something… for me?"
Leaning close to hear his hoarse gasps, she watched his brown eyes, sorrowful and pained, fixed upon her chocolate orbs.
"Tell…tell him… I love…"
As she bent down, Midori Keiko sobbed as she listened to the last words that Kamijou Hiroki would ever utter in this lifetime. She knew as his eyes turned glassy, his eyes saw someone else in her place.
He softly whispered three words. 'Wait… for…me…"
When Kamijou Hiroki died, his last and only thought was Nowaki…
(To Be Continue...)