"...u… this isn't you!"
Voices…
"I don't want to believe that you would ever want to do something like this…!"
Unfamiliar voices…
At least… That's what I think.
20XX
4/9
Sunday
Afternoon
"Masa, you've slept long enough!" A distant voice called out. "It's time to get up!"
The white-haired boy's eyes shot open the moment he had heard his name. He hadn't realized it, but the collar of the shirt he had worn to sleep was soaked in sweat.
Masa stared up at the ceiling of the room for a minute before sitting up and looking around. He glanced at all the boxes and bins that were scattered around the room and scratched the back of his head as if he were confused.
"... Oh, right!" The boy snapped his fingers. "This is my new room, duh!"
Masa chuckled as if he were somewhat embarrassed by his late realization. He noticed that the lamp that was sitting on top of the box right next to his bed had fallen over during the night. Luckily, nothing had shattered so all Masa had to do was pick it back up and place it on the box correctly.
"Kid, if you don't get down here in the next five minutes, I'm going to come up there and throw you out of the god damn window." Masa heard his Uncle's slightly muffled voice from behind the door.
"Okay, I'll be down in a bit!" Masa responded.
The boy got out of his bed and stretched while letting out a loud yawn. He noticed that there was a window that was being blocked by a few boxes. Masa went over and moved the boxes out of the way until he was able to unlock and open the dusty window.
The boy coughed a bit from the dust as he stuck his head out of the window. It was bright and sunny out and the atmosphere felt very light and welcoming; at least that's what Masa had thought. The white-haired boy could feel that this district would be relatively quiet, as well as welcoming.
"Hello, Nishizawa District. Even though it's only for a year, I hope we get along well." The boy acted as if the whole neighborhood was a living person and introduced himself. "Welp, it's time to seize the day!"
Masa pulled his head back in and closed the window. The boy then opened the door to his room and started making his way downstairs. As he was heading towards the stairs, he stopped walking and turned his attention to a closed door. This door had led to the room that Masa and his uncle were focusing on moving boxes into the night before.
Masa stepped towards the door, but he didn't open it. The boy put his ear up against the door and listened out for any sounds on the other side. Masa could hear slight shuffling, followed by heavy breathing. The boy had decided that he had heard enough and backed away from the door. He took one last look at it before going down the stairs.
As the boy walked down the stairs, the first thing he saw was a woman sitting at a table with a glass mug sitting in front of her. She appeared to be reading a newspaper and hadn't noticed him come down the stairs.
"Good morning, Aunt Yui." Masa greeted the woman.
"Hm?" The woman tore her attention off of her newspaper and looked at the boy. The moment she saw him, her stern expression turned into a smile. "Ah, Masa. You must've been pretty tired from that trip last night, considering that it's the middle of the afternoon."
"Huh?" Masa scratched the back of his head and dug his hands into both of his pockets in an attempt to pull something out, however, he soon realized both of his pockets were empty. "I must've left my phone inside the truck… Oh well."
"You know, most people would make a big deal out of misplacing their phone somewhere." Yui took a sip of the tea that was inside her mug. "Then again, you've always been so carefree. I shouldn't be surprised that you aren't making a big deal out of this."
Masa looked around and noticed that there were a lot more boxes in the room then there was the last time he was in there. He also noticed that his Uncle was nowhere to be seen.
"Kazuto is outside talking with something from the real estate agency, in case you were wondering," Yui told Masa as she put down her newspaper and tea and stood up. "He's going to be out there for a while, so you should go wash up while you still have the chance."
"Sure thing, lieutenant!" The white-haired boy saluted to Yui before going back upstairs. The only thing the woman did was sigh and shook her head.
Once Masa had finished up in the bathroom, he changed out of the clothes he wore to sleep and into something more casual. His outfit was simple, he wore a collared brown sweater with a pair of jeans and a black wristband.
Once Masa had changed his clothing, he went back downstairs and saw that along with his aunt, his uncle was now in the room. Kazuto was looking through a box but stopped when he saw his nephew come down the stairs.
"Looks like you're finally ready to get your day started… Even though it's almost 4:00." Kazuto closed the box he was looking through. "You're going to have to do something about that sleeping schedule of yours, it's not healthy."
"I didn't know you cared so much about health, Uncle Kazuto." Masa seemed genuinely surprised. "Are you sure you don't want to become a doctor instead of a real estate agent?"
"Considering that this man smokes whenever he gets the opportunity to, I don't think that would be the right profession for him." Yui butted in.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I tell a kid to do something about his sleeping habits, and I'm already being burned at the stake." Kazuto sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, I'll be waiting outside in the car. I don't want to deal with traffic, so you'd better hurry up."
"...Wait…" Masa looked over at his Aunt, and then back at his Uncle and pointed to himself. "Are you talking to me?"
"No, I'm talking to the damn shut-in who lives on the second floor." Kazuto has sounded a bit more agitated than usual. "Of course I'm talking to you, did you forget that we have to meet with the principal at the school you're going to be attending?"
Masa furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly. Unbeknownst to the boy, his uncle was starting to get more and more frustrated, however, his aunt could see it just fine.
"Sweetheart, just go wait in the car. Masa will be out in a couple of minutes." Yui said to her husband. "I just need to speak with him regarding… you know who."
Kazuto shook his head without question or hesitation. He made his way to the door and stepped out of the house.
As soon as he left, a sudden look of realization had grown onto Masa's face. "Oh, that's right! I remember now!" Masa snapped his fingers and then looked around. "Wait, did Uncle Kaz leave without me?"
"No, he's just waiting for you in his car." Yui approached Masa. "Before you go, I just wanted to give you a update regarding her."
Although no names were said, Masa immediately knew who Yui was talking to. Yui took a deep breath. It was clear that her smile from earlier had vanished and she had returned to her former expression.
"... Although it wasn't for long, she's finally starting to talk to other people again." Masa's eyes widened upon hearing this. "For the short time we were in that car together, she was actually responding to some of the questions being asked to her. Sure, they were simple questions such as, "How are you" or "Are you hungry", but the fact that she's speaking to people aside from her psychiatrist is really something."
"Were you able to-"
"No."
Masa couldn't even finish his asking his question before Yui had interrupted him, although, it seemed as if she already knew what he was going to ask.
"Unfortunately, she's still wrapping herself in that blanket of hers." Yui crossed her arms. "I was kind of hoping that we'd be able to get at least a glimpse of her considering that we just moved, but… nothing."
"Oh…" Masa frowned and sighed. "I guess we'll just have to wait for another update from her psychiatrist then…"
"Hey, cheer up." Yui ruffled Masa's already messy hair. "She's talking, that's the biggest update we've gotten in the past year or so. Just give it some time, okay Masa?"
… Okay!" Masa's frown had been replaced with a smile.
"There we go, there's that smile I've been waiting to see again." Yui's smile had returned from before. "But that's all I've got to say, so you should get going. I think Kazuto might've calmed down too."
"Why did Uncle Kazuto have to calm down in the first place?" Masa asked.
"I've been married to that man for 7 years, and even I can't give you a proper answer to why he was the way he was." Yui sighed. "I guess it's one of his random unexplained moods."
Masa and Yui walked out of the house to see two vehicles, one of which was the truck Masa and his uncle were driving in the night before, while the other one was a gray sedan that Kazuto was sitting.
"We're going to run late, so hurry and get your ass in the car," Kazuto shouted out to his nephew as he and his aunt appeared in the doorway. "Yui, could you send me the grocery list? After the meeting, we'll stop by the grocery store."
"I don't really trust you when it comes to grocery shopping… Hell, I don't even think you trust yourself." Yui had a bit of a smug look on her face. "Remember what happened at that dinner party we held on culture day?"
"When we bought the produce, they seemed perfectly fine!" Kazuto shouted. "And it isn't my fault that half of the food we bought had already expired!"
"Sure, whatever you say, Mr. I didn't see the clearly visible expiration date." At this point, Yui was practically mocking her husband. "I'll send you the list as soon as I can."
"Thank you, that's all I asked." Kazuto looked to his left and hasn't even realized that Masa had gotten into the car. The boy had a bit of a goofy smile on his face and he was looking at his uncle. "What? Is there something on me?"
"No… Not all, Mr. I didn't see the clearly visible-"
"Shut the Hell up, kid. Remember whose driving this vehicle." The man growled at his nephew who went quiet but still retained the goofy smile on his face. "Anyway, we're off."
Yui waved the two as they drove off. The woman continued to wave until they were out of sight. Once they were completely gone from her sight, she took something out of her pocket and stared at it. As she did, her smile was slowly turning into a frown as the minutes passed by.
"I thought you loved each other…"
Chapter Started on: August 7, 2018
Chapter Finished on: August 9, 2018
To Kagaminelover657: Thank you so much! I'm glad that this story piqued your interest. At first, I was unsure if making a story that derived off of P5's Good Ending/False God Ending would be such a good idea, but seeing that I'm not the only one makes me glad! Even though I don't have much spare time on me, I'll be sure to check out your story whenever I can. It looks promising!
