Uesugi Fuutaro was staring at the ceiling. A boring, lifeless ceiling.
Understandable, truly. It was freezing outside, literally. So much so that one foot out the door felt like the jaws of a towering beast had sunk its teeth into your calf. Surprisingly, this wasn't out of the ordinary during this time of year. Snow piled up on roofs and cars, curbs and sidewalks, grass, and walls. It looked pretty, but not something you would want to play out in. Much too frigid for that. The boy once threw a cup of water out and swore it froze mid drop.
So, like any ol' nine-year-old, he lay under the comfortable kotatsu sitting in the living room of their small apartment. The blonde-child contemplated living there for the rest of his life, and he would've said yes if his stingy parents didn't stop him. Ah, speaking of which…
Where was his dad? Fuutaro found a note saying his father would be going out on the table when he woke up earlier, but it was now 2 pm in the afternoon! Luckily, there were still some leftovers from last night, enough to cover both breakfast and lunch. He secretly hoped his dad would bring something home to eat for dinner.
Fuutaro left the cozy grasp of the kotatsu and jumped over to their window. He was wrapped in another blanket to keep him warm, but it was at least 10 degrees colder without the roof of the table. It was cool to see wisps of cold air whenever he exhaled through his mouth, however, so he did that for a bit. Once he got bored, he gazed out the window.
It wasn't an overstatement to say white blanketed everything. Mailboxes, cars, roofs, roads, heck, even the people outside had piles of snow weighing their heads. Fuutaro saw the remains of murdered snowmen and a group of older kids dancing around the snow corpse. Weird. Real weird. What did poor frosty the snowman do to those children? But other than that, it was still a boring view.
Gray held the earth in a tight hug. Clouds, sky, color, all dulled down to a boring monochrome grey. Nothing was happening. No cars rolling down the road, no Christmas music blaring out a neighbor's speakers, no good cartoons on TV, nothing. The dancing children had already left to do something else. What a boring winter break.
Sleep called out to him, but Fuutaro lost his phone. He tried to call back, but it just never picked up. No matter what he did, he couldn't fall asleep. Blankets stacked on blankets, no blankets, few blankets, one blanket, nada. He attempted to switch up his sleeping position. In the end, he looked like an idiot who fell from a ten-story building after jumping around like a chicken that believed it could fly. Needless to say, that didn't work out either.
And it continued like that. He eventually concluded it just wasn't going to happen, so he resumed staring back at the ceiling, waiting for time to crawl by.
Sometime later, ten minutes or maybe even hours, his dad opened the front door. The way the cold punched his face immediately broke him out of his mindless daze and turned his attention towards the snow-sprinkled man in the doorway.
No hi, or hello, his father just shut the door from a rushing snow-bellowing-blizzard, walked over to the kitchen table, and took a seat. Melting ice tracked his footsteps. Despite the abundance of layers and scarves, the man was still shivering. His gait was unsteady, uncertain, shaky, unsure. Not once had he looked at the boy.
"Dad? Where's Raiha?" His younger sister. His dad had taken Fuutaro's sister before he left, it was explained in the note. But, here he was, without the little girl.
"...Your sister...is uh, she's uh, with-uh-in your gramps' place…" Isanari still hadn't looked at his son. No, instead, the man's face was buried within his pale shaking hands. His breaths were uneven. Was this all because of the weather outside? It is cold, but is that cold?
"Oh. Ok. When's she comin' back?" The boy asked innocently.
"Raiha-er-will be back in a bit. Ok?" The tone was unsteady. Fuutaro acknowledged that and it worried him.
"Are you ok? Don't cry. Mom's gonna be sad if she sees you cry. She's supposed to come back today." Fuutaro's mom had been on a business trip to help fuel her dream of opening up a bakery. Her son loved her bread. Everyone who shoved the culinary masterpieces of carbohydrates in their mouths immediately fell in love with the food. Sometimes, she would joke about that being the reason his dad fell in love with her.
A whimper escaped his father's mouth. This unnerved the blonde child even further. His dad was strong, someone who wouldn't cry even if someone took a bat to his head. He would beat up all the bad guys and laugh while doing so. He never cried. He didn't ask for help unless Fuutaro's mom forced him to, and he never whimpered. Something wasn't right, and Fuutaro was certain the drop-in atmosphere wasn't only due to the door that was left open moments ago.
"Uh...your mom...Fuutaro...cmere…" a murmur escaped his lips. Even then, the eight-year-old could decipher the cracks. He ran over to his father and hugged him as tight as he could. His father felt like a brick-wall. Cold and made of stone.
Fuutaro's eyes shifted. Isanari's hands weren't covering his face anymore. He wished it did. Bullets of salty tears shot down his face, snot hung from his runny nose. His entire face was both pale and red. It kind of looked like his dad was wearing clown make-up, but the child knew better. Something happened, right?
"What happened?" Fuutaro wasn't sure why his chest tightened or his breathing stopped. It kind of hurt, but he just assumed that was normal. Maybe he was sharing his father's pain, and if he was doing that, it was ok. He didn't like to see his dad cry.
"Your mom...she's…" He couldnt hold it in any longer... He never wanted to show this side to his son. He never wanted to break the character of an invincible superhero. He never wanted to put his children through this... Alas, Uesugi Isanari was just a human, and every human has its breaking point. No matter how hard the man tried to pick up the falling pieces, it eventually became overwhelming and crashed down on him. "Dead." The dam broke.
Uesugi Fuutaro's world stopped right then and there. He the words his father had spoken, but it didn't quite register. Everything became a blur. He didn't notice the tears blurring his vision or the screams coming out of his mouth. He wasn't aware of how he called his father a liar and a meanie. If he did, he would have stopped himself. But, the child was confined to his mind.
Any second now. Any second. Any second and his beautiful caring mother would walk through the door. The trail of her footsteps would have melted any snow within their vicinity, his mother's very presence would warm up the apartment. She alone would clear the sky. Fuutaro just talked to her yesterday, so there was no way she could have been...there was no way.
That second never came. His senses were drowned out with unbridled dullness. There was a tungsten filled weight somewhere in his chest dragging him down. The sleeves of his red sweater were wet.
"Why are you crying?"
That voice belonged to a kid. Similar in age. He had messy brown hair and larger-than-life glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He reminded Fuutaro of the stereotypical nerd in movies.
"Huh?" Fuutaro was crying? Oh, he was. The child felt the warm and salty teardrops slide down his scarlet-shaded face. Why was he crying again? Maybe he fell down and hurt himself. "I'm n-not crying, I-i just fell down and bit my tongue. The rain m-must've fell on my face." His sniffles betrayed the child.
"Rain? But it's the middle of spring. It's sunny." The other kid explained with a frown. He wondered why his friend was acting so odd. "Hurry up, you're going to miss your own birthday party." He helped Fuutaro up.
"Ah, thanks Sanada!" Sanada? Yeah, Sanada. That was his name. It rolled off his tongue so naturally. It had to be his name. Fuutaro couldn't believe he had forgotten it was his birthday party. He just turned ten! And He forgot? That was unbelievable even for him. He must have been really out of it to forget something so important.
The two hopped on over to a table line with food, drinks, and a bright vanilla ice cream cake. It was a gift from the boy's and Sanada's friend, Takebayashi. Her parents were rich and when she heard Fuutaro wasn't going to celebrate his birthday, the raven-haired girl begged her parents to throw a small party at the park. They ended up agreeing to it, they just couldn't say no to their daughter.
And for that, Fuutaro greatly appreciated Takebayashi. Once news broke out, the first thing he did was give her the strongest bear hug he could muster before pulling Sanada into the crushing embrace. He wouldn't admit to it, but maybe a tear or two fell from his eyes that day.
But, the slightly older girl didn't fail to notice the absence of her two best friends. Once they appeared back by the table, she scolded them. Hard. She forced the two to bow in apology. How could the birthday boy ditch his own party? So rude!
Of course, things went back to normal real quick. They put it behind themselves and joined the rest of the twenty or so kids on the playground. Funnily enough, Fuutaro declared war against Sanada. He led a faction of ten children while his friend also led a squad of ten. Using bridle sticks and some plastic sand tools, the two sides clashed in a battle that would last the entire day. Many lost their 'lives', many more were injured. Kids lay on the battlefield completely exhausted from their encounters. Ketchup-stained shirts showed the courage of the fallen.
There could only be one winner. And in the end, Fuutaro's faction won out. In a gloryful twist, the blonde-spiked boy grabbed a plastic green shovel from the hand of a dying child and struck Sanada from the back. A fatal injury. The kid went down like a lumber log and a thud was heard all the way across the park.
Adults laughed as they spectated the battle, but soon darkness loomed overhead and the day was ending. A middle-aged man with balding black hair took a final headcount of all the children present. Everything was going swimmingly until he reached the end. The man did not call out for Takebayashi or Sanada. Fuutaro didn't know why their names weren't called, but he wanted to ensure their safety. He asked about their whereabouts.
"Oh, Takebayashi-Kun and Sanada-Kun will not be attending classes anymore. They moved over the weekend." Huh? But, they were just together. Playing on the playground, they couldn't have moved. His teacher was lying.
"Fuutaro, sit down!" a kid behind him whispered. He looked back at the student then to himself. When did he get up from his desk? He hadn't even noticed.
"Oh." He sat down as prompted. But...he missed his friends. Yeah, he had some other friends in the class, but they weren't Takebayashi or Sanada. Those two didn't even give him a heads-up or a goodbye. His heart felt like it would give up. Something was physically crushing it. That's the only explanation he could give himself, so he excused himself from class and sprinted over to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror.
The pain was still there, but he didn't see anything wrong in the mirror. He decided to go to the school nurse. Maybe she will give him some medicine to ease the pain.
The child exited the bathroom door and was greeted to the sight of his father and mother on the living room couch. His mom was holding something in her arms. Something wrapped in blankets and towels. He instinctively knew that was his younger sibling. He was finally an older brother!
Fuutaro ran over but was abruptly stopped by his father, who chuckled. "Slow down kid, you might hurt your baby sister. Mom's still a little sick, so don't cause too many problems, alright?"
"Ah! Ok!" He was eager to see his sister. Fuutaro looked expectantly at his mother, who gave him the green light and allowed him to come closer to see his sister. She was adorable. He couldn't believe that the baby in his mother's hands was his sister. His younger sister. Oh my god!
"Her name is Raiha. She's named after your great-grandma." His mother had a soft and radiant smile. Her wandering eyes were gentle. Loving. The eyes of someone who loved their family deeply. The black-haired woman gave off an aura of complete comfort. Her son could feel the warmth she emanated.
Fuutaro poked his sister's cheeks, much to the surprise of both parents. "Wah! So soft!" His parents laughed at the younger boy's antics. He continued to do that until his mom had to stop him, as the baby was getting irritated with the gentle jabs of her older brother.
The boy spun around to ask his dad about a question that popped into his brain.
"Are we gonna get Ice cream?" The blonde asked. They were just outside his school. He held his elementary school graduate certificate rolled up in his hands and he waved it around with pride. "Raiha's gonna come too!"
"Ya know it!" The adult ruffled the boy's yellow locks. His other hand gripped his daughter's. The girl had been learning how to walk, so an amble over to the ice cream shop would be a good exercise for her. "What flavor do ya want? Rocky Road again?"
"Haha, Of course! That's the best flavor!" The boy grinned triumphantly. No other flavor even came close!
The three continued their walk down the hot sidewalk. Soon, Raiha got tired and Isanari resorted to carrying her in his arms. The father didn't mind it though, if anything, he kind of preferred it. Children grew up so fast, and pretty soon, she would be too heavy to be carried. It was kind of sad in a way.
Suddenly, a redheaded girl, about his age, darted in their direction, ignoring the people walking along ahead of them. She dashed and weaved before finally reaching Fuutaro, and when she did, she didn't stop. Instead, the girl grabbed his arm and dragged him from the rest of his family, who didn't notice the altercation.
He shook her off and they both stopped on the busy street of Kyoto. The boy noticed that she was wearing a snow-white dress, completely bouncing 99% of all light that touched it.
"Who the hell're you?" His eyes were sharp but his tone was sharper. A spec of dust had lodged itself in his so he rubbed it.
"You wanna dye your hair black? Don't like the blonde hair you inherited from your ol' pops?" Isanari chuckled. They were in their kitchen. Oh yeah, he remembered this. Fuutaro had wanted to change his look. He was tired of baseless assumptions about being a moronic delinquent. He started studying more and even started getting good grades. Yet, the yellow hair haunted him. It didn't matter how well he did, he would always be seen as the problematic kid who bleached his hair. That wasn't true though. He never bleacched his hair.
"Mm."
"Alright. I'll give you some more time to think about it, and if you decide you don't want to by the start of school, we wont. Good?"
"Yeah. by the way, are the preparations completed?"
"Preparations are completed! Aye Aye!" Yotsuba's voice rang through the phone. Fuutaro put the device in his pocket and ran with Ichika to the park. The eldest Nakano was unable to see the fireworks at the festival, so he planned a makeshift afterparty of sorts, with the help of Yotsuba, for them.
They arrived and saw the other four, sparklers dazzling in hand, and announced their arrival.
"We're here."
"Huh? You're late though! Mid-terms are about to start!" Itsuki rushed through the school gate and pulled him inside.
Itsuki tossed the boy into his seat and the exams started.
Once all was well and done, Fuutaro looked up to the nightsky. The moon was looming overhead, but the rays were blocked by the towering trees of a forest.
"Yotsuba, I hate you." He muttered. The girl to his side didn't seem to notice and Fuutaro knew that. He wasn't dumb. He knew what happening.
He got up from the tree trunk and walked away from the Nakano. Fuutaro knew what was happening. In the back of his mind, he always did. In less than an hour, he would fall off this cliff and plummet towards the ground. So he kept walking, away from the cliff face.
The dark clouds overhead shifted and broke, disintegrating along with the dark. The sky followed suit. Then the trees and the ground. Soon, the only thing within his world was white. A pocket dimension of sorts.
The young man stood still and looked around the scape. Nothing remained. No rock, no tree, no dirt, no sky, no air. It was barren, empty, and mind-numbingly white. Just white.
A chair appeared out of nowhere right next to him. He knew it wasn't there before, but that didn't matter. Nothing did in this reality. Could one even call this a reality?
He took his seat and waited. Fuutaro knew that soon enough, he would be trapped in a one-way tunnel. Unsurprisingly, he was right. Rock formations sprung out of the white ground and enclose him in a narrow corridor. The light was at the far end in front of him.
It was a generic overplayed cliche. Well, there was only one way out of this.
He had to walk.
But he didn't.
His body was stiff, heavy, a boulder on the seat. He couldn't move. He didn't want to.
So he didn't.
0000000
a/n
A shorter and chapter, kind of rushed, I know. Idk, i vaguely recall a similar idea from a youtube video going over this black mirroresqe show I saw like two years back and I wanted to write it. Btw, if it wasnt clear, Yotsuba was in the hospital for 3 and a half whole days before waking up for some reason, and next chapter should resume where it left off on chapter 2.