Nonexistent.
Chapter Three
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Takashi Yuki had never been very strong willed. And if he was and ever was able to tell a person 'no', then perhaps he wouldn't be helping some weird boy he barely knew look for someone who didn't exist. Where was the logic in that? It was a complete waste of time, but when Sora had told him all about this nonexistent student, this Fujimori Sunao, Yuki hadn't been able to tell him 'no'.

During dinner, when he had left Sora and Matsuri, he had spoken with a group of boys who invited him over to their table. Although Yuki hadn't asked, that would be wrong, those boys told him all about Sora. About how he fell from a fourth story window over a year ago and hadn't been quite right in the head ever since. Oh, he was nice enough, they told him, it was just that he sometimes went into strange episodes.

But like how you're not supposed to wake a sleep walker, Yuki couldn't bring himself to tell Sora that the reason his nonexistent friend wasn't known by anyone else and was around was because...well, he didn't exist.

Yuki was playing along half because he wasn't sure what to say to such a person who seemed so sure in their make believe, half because he didn't want Sora to hit him.

Sora had explained everthing to him. About him and his nonexistent friend being kidnapped as children and being lab rats. About how the math professor and school nurse had rescued the two children, only that this 'Fujimori Sunao' didn't excape and spent years and years alone in that horrible place. How the make believe friend had enrolled in school, was even Sora's roommate, and decieved everyone, because he had wanted revenge for Sora letting him go and leaving him behind all those years prior.

The story got even better.

When Sunao had gotten his payback, he then learned that Sora hadn't let him go on purpose and that everything was the fault of the evil lab director person. When the make believe boy had figured out his mistake, he thought his world was over, but Sora came as his knight in shining armor and rescued him. And to give the story a bit more of a romantic turn, as they were running away, Sunao had tripped, as he had when they were children, trying to excape. But Sora, strong as he was, broke free of the evil lab director person's spell and didn't let go of Sunao's hand.

Touching.

He really thought he should have told Sora that his story would make a great novel, a perfect love story. Full of kidnapped children, mad scientists, and love. Although he wanted to tell Sora that the whole thing was just made up in his mind, Yuki couldn't bring himself to do it. It had to be because of that hopeful look in the older boy's eyes. That Yuki would be able to clear this whole mess up.

Yuki had studied very little pychology and wasn't sure if playing along was the right thing to do in Sora's case. He knew he should have gone straight to Mitsuri or to the school nurse, but he couldn't and agreed to help. One day, he prayed, he would recieve a back bone.

"So...um...Tuesday night, you went to bed. Wednesday morning Fujimori-san is no where to be found." Yuki had took an empty notebook and was now using it to write all of the facts down into it. Were facts that came from make believe really facts at all? "And nobody besides yourself can even remember him, correct?"

"That's right!" Sora nodded, wondering why he didn't think to write everything down. Perhaps when written, it would be easier to see a solution in words than it did just thinking. "I wondered why no one would remember Fujimori, but the only thing I can think of is drugs."

Yuki looked up from his notebook. "Drugs? What sort of drug can erase someone from memory? And if so, then why didn't it work on you?"

Sora shrugged. The two had changed into their sleepwear long ago, Sora in his boxers and a black tank, Yuki in yellow pajamas.

"Perhaps...that evil mad scientist guy..." Yuki had forgotten his name. "Perhaps he had friends? Scientist friends? And...I don't know..."

They decided to go to sleep for the night, to sleep on it. Yuki was plan tired out from just trying to pretend that he believed the older boy's crazy story. When the lights had been turned out and Yuki was nearly asleep, he heard a voice from across the room.

"Sunao...where are you?"

Although Yuki was firm in his belief that all of it was made up, he had to admit that the tone of those words almost broke his heart.

>

The next morning, Sora didn't speak of his nonexistent friend. All through his morning classes, Yuki wondered if Sora had come to his senses, and was glad. After all, who wants a crazy roommate? But when Sora came to him after all of the day's classes, he knew that it hadn't blown over yet.

"Takashi-san, do you know much about computers?"

And that's how Yuki found himself sitting in front of a computer in the computer lab, hacking into the school's personal database.

'I'm going to end up in jail...' He thought to himself. 'But it's either that or be murdered by this mental case...'

Sora was sure that there was something that could be found through the computer on Sunao. But he had never been too good with computers, which is why he found his new roommate to be even more of a help. The younger boy seemed to know his way around the internet pretty well. So well, in fact, that even though Yuki didn't like the idea of hacking into the school's database, Sora had a feeling that this was not the first time he had done such a thing.

The time past while Yuki continued to click away at the keyboard, Sora leaned back in his chair in boredom. But when Yuki finally said "I'm in.", Sora flung forward, grinning like mad, and rubbed the younger boy's head. Yuki ran his fingers through his hair to fix the mess Sora had made.

"What did you find?" Sora questioned, looking at the screen. All he saw were a bunch of names and numbers, he didn't understand what it meant. Where those student ID numbers?

Yuki scrolled down the screen. "This is the master list of students who have ever set foot in this school, starting from ten years ago."

"Bingo! And?"

The dark haired boy continued to scroll down. At one point, he typed a few charactors in, but he didn't speak. Sora noticed that there had sure been a lot of students in their school.

Nearly ten minutes later, Yuki closed the internet screen. Sora, who had been leaning back in his chair, looked back up.

"So?" He questioned.

Yuki turned towards him, looking down at his hands. He looked up at Sora, who's face looked so hopeful that he had found something--anything!--that Yuki's couldn't bare to look at him.

"There hasn't been a single person in this school named Fujimori Sunao." Yuki said softly.

Sora's face fell, but his hope wasn't no where near giving up. "Can you hack into the orphanage?"

Yuki looked back up at him, his eyebrows knit together. "...orphanage?"

Oh, the older boy's story had started when Sora and the make believe Sunao had been small children in an orphanage. While in the school's database, Yuki had glanced into Sora's file. It did say his guardian was an uncle.

So...Yuki found himself hacking into the system of said orphanage.

'Dear Lord...please keep me from going to jail or worse.'

It was starting to get late in the evening, they hadn't even gone to dinner. But Sora remained by Yuki's side, praying that the younger would find something at all about Sunao.

But Yuki was starting to get sleepy, his eyes hurting from being at the computer for such a long time. When he finally got into what he wanted, he checked everything and turned to Sora, a bit too tired to care about his feelings anymore, although still watching himself, due to the fact that crazy people could get out of a murder charge.

"Fujimori-san is not in the orphanage's database." He said. "And all it says about you is that you were taken from the orphanage at the age of eight by your uncle, who is now your legal guardian. It says your brother's adoption was private and that those files are not computerized."

Sora stared at Yuki for a very, very long time. Long enough for Yuki to start to sweat slightly, worrying that Sora was about to attack him. Like a lion's prey, Yuki tried to remain very, very still, but was shaking slightly. Sora was going to hurt him for not telling him that Sunao's name was in the computer.

But Sora's answer surprised Yuki.

"...brother?" Sora swallowed hard, wondering if he had heard his roommate right. He didn't have a brother...right? "I have...?"

Yuki then understood. Sora didn't know that he had a brother, but there it was, written on the internet page in black characters.

Yuki explained. "I found it in the part where it says that you came to the orphanage." He moved the mouse around and then typed a bit in, searching for what he had been looking at moments ago. "Here we go. Your parents were in a car accident. ' Sora, two years. Baby Boy, one day.' And it says 'Older brother left with nanny on day of accident. Brought in by nanny and officer'."

"And? What...what else?" Sora was finding himself feeling rather light headed. Not only was Sunao not in the orphanage computer, but there was word of a brother he had never known of. And now he knew just how his parents had died, he had never known before.

Yuki shook his head. "Apparently, your parents died on the way to the hospital. The baby was delievered and survived...I think anyway, that's why it just says Baby Boy. It says that many couples came forward wanting to claim the baby, your brother. He was adopted out very soon after."

Sora leaned forward, looking at the words that meant 'brother'. "Anything that says where he would be now, his name?"

"I said before, it says that all his adoption was private and that those files are not computerized." Yuki said. "I can't see something that isn't on the computer."

A brother. A baby brother. Well, he wouldn't be a baby, he would be just two years younger than he was. For a moment, Sora thought of Sei, the boy from the elementary school that looked so much like him, but that boy would be much too young.

But maybe he only had a baby brother in this dream world?

After all, Sunao's name was no where. At all. And Sora knew that Sunao had been in that orphanage with him, that they had been as close as real brothers.

This was really starting to be a headache.

Yuki yawned, barely having enough time to cover his mouth with his hand. Sora glanced up at him, coming out of his thoughts. It was late, much to late to not already be in the dorm. It wasn't encouraged for students to be out so late, although most teachers would slid if told they were out so late because they were studying for the upcoming exams.

"Ready for bed, Takashi-san?" Sora questioned, standing and stretching his legs. They had been there for so long, missed dinner and all, but he really was more tired than hungry.

Yuki shut down the computer and left the computer lab with Sora, heading towards the dorms. It was dark now, Sora was looking up at the bright stars as they walked, wondering where Sunao was at that moment. Glancing over at the taller boy, Yuki remembered what he had heard Sora whisper the night before, in bed.

'Sunao...where are you?'

Yuki stopped walking, just the memory of those heart breaking words hitting him. Sora, not paying attention, kept walking several more steps until he finally noticed that he had left the other behind. He stopped and turned.

"Takashi-san?" Sora questioned, walking back to the other boy.

The dark haired boy was looking down at his feet. Sora, his new roommate, was completely insane. He believed nonexistent person, an imaginary friend, existed. He had looked at him with such bright hope that Yuki could figure everything out. Hope that only a small child should have.

Why?

Why did he have to be so hopeful? It would have be a lot easier on Yuki to tell Sora that he was crazy and didn't want to help search for this 'Fujimori Sunao' anymore if the older boy just wasn't so damn hopeful.

"Do you not feel well?" Yuki looked up at Sora, his blue eyes watering. Why did he have to be so hopeful? "You're crying...what wrong?"

"I...I..."

They were in the middle of the sidewalk, but Sora sat pulling Yuki down to sit beside him. "Alright now, tell me what's wrong. It's not good to keep everything all bottled up, you know."

He spoke as if he was speaking to a good friend, even if he had only known Yuki for much less than a week. The fact that Sora was being so nice made his tears start to fall.

Yuki cried, rubbing his eyes with his fists. Sora 'shhh'ed him and conforted him like any good friend would for another. That only made things even worse, because Yuki was feeling horrible for thinking so much that Sora was insane and that Fujimori-san didn't exist, yet helped him search as if he did believe.

"I...I lied...to you...!"

Sora was taken back a bit. He thought that perhaps his roommate, never being away from home before, was homesick. Or that maybe someone had teased him. What could he had lied about? He used his fingertips to brush away the tears from Yuki's face and let him continue.

"Because...I figured you had just made Fujimori-san up in your head...but I didn't want to tell you that, so I was helping you anyway..." Yuki covered his face with his hands. "But you keep looking so hopeful and...and...I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Now Sora understood. Yuki was upset because he had just been playing along.

"So...all this time you've helped look for Fujimori..." Sora said slowly. "You've just been humoring me?"

Yuki nodded, moving his hands away from his eyes. He wasn't sure he knew what the tone Sora was using meant. When the older boy suddenly moved, Yuki flinched.

Sora dropped his hand on the younger boy's head, messing with his hair. "That's okay. You don't have to believe me if you can't. But...do you think you could at least keep humoring me for a little while longer?"

The dark haired boy stared with his wet eyes. He couldn't believe it, none of it, what Sora was saying.

"How can you...believe so strong in someone that everyone else knows doesn't exist?" He questioned.

Sora thought for a moment. "I'm never going to let go of his hand again, even if this is all made up in my mind. And it could be just in my mind, I guess. But I think that I'm going to keep holding onto Sunao, no matter what."

>
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I spent most of this chapter explaining Yuki's thoughts and feelings. He is going to be one of the main characters of the story, alongside Sora. He's a bit of a wimp, or so it seems like from him crying in this chapter. So, Sora's got a kid brother now. I noticed the anime didn't explain Sora and Sunao's past very well, he says at one point that he has no parents, but it never gives you an explaination on why or when or how.

I'm still wondering which direction to take this story. There's three different ways I can move the plot and I'm not sure yet which way it's going to go.

PS: at the end of my last chapter, I was ranting about hating something. I didn't notice that that thing I dislike didn't show up in the words. I wonder if it'll show up this time? If not...what, is it a bad thing I'm not allowed to say, the name of this site? I dunno...
edit: bwa, it didn't show up this time either. And I can't even put it in with the edit/preview feature. That's silly...

In chapter 4: Mitsuri worries a bit more about Sora's mental health and finally tells an adult. Now, how can Sora search for Sunao if he's in a hospital?