A/N: Perspective change! To be honest, I've been looking forward to posting this chapter. Not just because Naoi's POV is something I have a lot of fun with, but because... well, you'll see. I've read my fic over and over again, and I still enjoy this scene.
Also, I've only mentioned Naoi's dad a few times, but it turns out Megumi as a name is very rarely unisex. I've been calling him that for two years, so it's a difficult change, but I'm going to switch it to Kimito. (Unless Megumi as a male name isn't that big a deal? Let me know.)
Rival Argentica: Thanks for the review! You'll find that magic and fate are pretty big themes in this story. Honestly, the "like he never existed" line was one of my greatest motivators. I live for angst, so I'll admit that the "defective test" thing has crossed my mind a thousand times. Rumple has an eye for symbols and products of true love (including babies), and other unique love magic. False love? Not usually. But he does know when things might come in handy. Especially if it's of benefit to him. That's why he's such a useful character, bless him. (Also, the catch? The catch is - Yuri Nakamura, who do you think you're fooling? You think MOVING is going to keep the effects of this potion from biting you in the butt? The catch is - Operation Battlefront Reunion!)
Disclaimer: All characters in this chapter belong to Jun Maeda.
[Chapter 05]: Crossing Paths
Six months had passed since Iwasawa's concert brought back old memories, and Ayato Naoi still didn't really know what to do with them. They were actually kind of a hassle, having an extra lifetime and an afterlife in his mind.
On the positive side, they were helping him re-learn hypnotism. That would go on the "pros" side, to be sure.
On the other hand, they'd cost him his marriage. And he was finally coming to grips with the fact that, deep down, he'd begrudgingly put that with the "cons."
He'd hidden the pictures that Ryou and Sunohara had "accidentally" left behind in a box, and he'd stored it in the hall closet, but the damage had already been done.
There was no point in admitting to himself that her absence unsettled him. When he'd mustered enough courage to call her, twice she'd ignored him, so he found out pretty early on where she stood in their post-divorce relationship. Then, back in late December, when he made the attempt to find out where Ryou lived and dared to go see Yuri for himself, Ryou had sealed the final nail in the coffin for him.
Yuri had moved. Not only that, but she'd instructed Ryou not to tell him where she'd gone.
And that was that.
Not one to willingly linger over pissed off, estranged ex-wives, he'd thrown himself into work and learning hypnotism. Now, he was finally getting somewhere with the latter.
Closing the last book on hypnotism, Ayato pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up, peering out the study room window. His boss had once again given him a few days off to "take a goddamn break, son," and he wanted to continue to use his time wisely. All he needed to do was test it out on someone in a way that wasn't too unethical—or at least in a sneaky way that wouldn't land him in jail. Using it at work would likely get him fired, and besides, he didn't want to have to wait until Monday. Since it was a warm April afternoon, he might as well try his chances at the park.
Except…
Ayato frowned to himself, rapping his fingers restlessly against the windowpane.
If he went that way, he'd pass the walking bridge. And that would just bring up some entirely unnecessary and unwanted memories. He'd been avoiding it for months; last time he'd crossed that bridge, it had only brought him trouble.
Best to skip out on the park, then.
Pulling on a light jacket—as sunny as it had been lately, April could still surprise him—Ayato fetched his shoes at the front door, passed his car on the driveway, and started heading towards town. A little walk never hurt anyone. Besides, he'd have an excuse to use his hypnotism if someone dared to step on his heel.
Downtown Mizuzaka was filled with more hustle and bustle this month, and Ayato attributed that to the fact that it was finally spring. Winters in this city had always been rough, but it seemed the one they'd just escaped last month had been longer, sadder, and more exhausting to everyone, not just him.
Today, children were scrambling all over the place, and it was like Mizuzaka had come out of hibernation. Ayato had to step aside as Mrs. Yonomori burst out of the Yonomori bakery in tears while her husband chased after her with bread in his mouth. Just another day of hijinks from the old married couple, though he wasn't sure why anyone would want to chase after a crying woman like that.
Shaking his head, Ayato passed the bakery and continued down the sidewalk for a few minutes. The coffee shop didn't interest him; it might have tea but he knew for a fact that the tea he brewed at home tasted far superior. The bookstore, jewelry store, butcher's shop, sandwich shop, and museum would be too quiet, perhaps too noticeable to stop by and pick out a victim for his hypnotism. Maybe the arcade?
Or he could try the grocery store up ahead. It was right next to the arts and crafts store, and he needed to pick up a few things at both places anyway. He'd been toying with the idea of starting up pottery again.
Ayato was crossing the street and making his way up the next block, his destination in sight, when he noticed two guys exiting the arts and crafts store. One he couldn't identify too well from the huge dango plush dolls obstructing his upper body. The other he recognized by the baby face underneath his dark hair—and the whiny grunts of effort as he lifted two heavy bags on his arms.
By the abrupt halt to his grunts and the way his mouth turned upwards into a smirk of scornful distaste, he recognized him too.
"Well look who it is!" Sunohara hollered, though it was unnecessary as the distance between them was shrinking. "Hey, Okazaki, check it out. This is the idiot I was telling you about."
"I can't look at anything right now," Okazaki said impatiently, though he stopped in his tracks when Sunohara did. The only thing Ayato could see of him was his temple throbbing. Sunohara lazily batted the top green dango out of Okazaki's hands and let it plop to the ground, giving Ayato a full view of Okazaki's face as it twisted into an even more irritated grimace. "Hey! You'll get it dirty!"
Ayato sighed, already tired of this exchange, and made a point of blatantly checking his wristwatch. "And here I'd hoped I'd seen the last of you." He felt an old urge in the back of his mind. "Are we going to have a problem?"
"No problem. We're just passing through!" Sunohara said in a false cheerful tone, making Ayato narrow his eyes in distrust. He shook one of the bags on his arms. "We were just buying gifts for my girlfriend and Okazaki's wife. You know, 'cause we don't throw away what we have with the women we love."
Okazaki turned his head to give Sunohara a flabbergasted look. "You're in love with Ryou?"
Sunohara glared at him. "That's right. It's been six months, don't act so surprised!"
"I thought I made it perfectly clear," Ayato said, loudly interrupting their time-wasting conversation, "that I don't love Yuri. And our divorce is none of your business, or his."
This earned him a perplexed, almost angry stare from Okazaki, who set the rest of his dangos on the ground before approaching Ayato with a frown. He nonchalantly swatted away the finger Ayato was pointing in his face. "Wait a minute. Sunohara told me you two were married for three years. He and Ryou said that one night you two were trying to have a kid, and the next night you were in the process of a divorce."
When Ayato opened his mouth to cut him off, Okazaki only spoke louder.
"And I thought that alone was weird, but now you're telling me you don't even love her," he said, crossing his arms. "How can you say that about someone you stayed with for three years? Someone you were going to start a family with?"
"To think she skipped out on a concert with Ryou just to stay home and be with you," Sunohara scoffed. In spite of it all, he managed a grin. "I mean, I benefited from it in the end, but I can't imagine for her it was worth it."
This was exactly what he didn't need right now. He'd spent months telling the voice in the back of his head to shut up about her; he didn't have that kind of time for these two clowns. They didn't know what they were talking about. Nobody did.
The guys at work had taken ages to stop pulling that sympathetic crap. And they thought he couldn't hear the obnoxious "ever since Naoi's wife left him" comments still muttered in the breakroom. Couldn't this town give it a rest already? He just wanted to stop thinking about it!
Okazaki was still giving him that deadpan, scrutinizing look. As if he were some sort of psychologist, with a specialty in snark and feigned apathy. Somehow it was even more infuriating than any jab from Sunohara.
"Were you just stringing her along?" Okazaki demanded, raising his voice. "Because it doesn't make any sense. If you didn't love her at all, you wouldn't have stayed with her for three years. Unless you just wanted a kid. But even then you divorced her out of the blue right when you were trying."
"And don't say it's because you found out one of you was infertile!" Sunohara chimed in. "Because I already asked her about that."
Ayato clenched his jaw tightly. If these imbeciles didn't stop trying to make sense of all this, when even at times admittedly he couldn't, he would have two prime candidates for the brunt of his wrath.
His hands, balled into fists, trembled at his sides. He could feel his fingernails digging painfully into his palms. "It's complicated—"
"Don't give me that!" Okazaki looked even more furious, as if he had any right to be. "I've been through 'complicated!' And you know what I did? I stayed with Nagisa through it all! I never regretted a single moment of it!"
A painful concoction of anger and indignation festered inside Ayato. Whatever this Okazaki scum went through, it was different! It was completely and utterly different! He couldn't even pretend to understand. Why the hell was he still letting these idiots talk? Why was he even listening?
"And you know what that got me?" Okazaki said. "A wife and kid in the end. But you have no one. You're alone because you chickened out. Because you're trying to protect yourself by saying you don't love her." At this, he stepped back and shrugged. "And maybe you don't! Because if you loved her, you wouldn't have hurt her like you did."
Ayato wanted to spit out that the divorce was mutual, but instead he held his tongue behind gritted teeth. There was no need to defend himself to this idiot. But still, who the hell decided to make a human embodiment of the annoying voice in his head? If Okazaki didn't shut his mouth soon, he was going to drive his fist through it.
The scum didn't shut his mouth.
"You know, I met your ex-wife a few months back," Okazaki continued. "And despite the state she was in, I think she's better off without you."
"Yeah, maybe you did her a favor," said Sunohara with a snicker, shifting the weight of one of his bags on a different part of his arm.
Ayato narrowed his eyes into slits, mentally calculating how fast he'd have to move to use that bag to suffocate him.
"You don't deserve a woman like her." Okazaki gave an unbearably condescending shake of his head, then met Ayato's eyes with a pitying glare. "If you turned into this much of a coward, it's no wonder she left town just to get away from you—"
Something inside Ayato's brain popped. With a snarl, he lunged forward and grabbed fistfuls of Okazaki's shirt, pulling the man closer to him. He felt the old familiar heat behind his eyes as the fury inside him allowed him to concentrate on nothing but Okazaki's stunned blue ones. He could see fear and a red glow reflected in them, and satisfaction briefly warmed him before rage took over again.
"Look into my eyes. You're a dango," he hissed, clutching the fabric of his victim's shirt even more tightly. Okazaki stood frozen, fearful but obedient. Just the way he liked them. "Roll back home to your big dango family, you overgrown dumpling—"
"Geez, you haven't changed a bit!"
Ayato released Okazaki from his grip, allowing the man to subsequently wither to the ground and start rolling away ("Okazaki! Not into the street!" Sunohara yelled fearfully in the background), and spun around in surprise.
"You!" he said, too shocked to say anything else.
"Me!" Hinata echoed, grinning. Resting his hand on Ayato's shoulder, he turned back around and yelled, "Hey, Otonashi! Kanade! Guess who I found hypnotizing some poor sap." Then, to himself, he added, "You know, it's funnier when it's not me."
Further down the sidewalk, Otonashi and Kanade picked up the pace as they spotted the other two waiting for them. Kanade looked a lot less frail in this life, with brighter eyes and a healthier bounce in her step. Beside her, his hand linked with hers, Otonashi looked the same—if not a little taller and happier. Somehow, Ayato knew those two would find each other again no matter what. He was just a bit irked that Hinata had been the one to find Otonashi next. But he would not dwell on such petty things!
"Otonashi!" he greeted with a smile, and then a nod to Kanade. "Tachibana. Long time no see."
"Kanade's an Otonashi now too," Otonashi said proudly as they came up to join the other two, and displayed Kanade's ring finger as proof as she hummed her confirmation. "Really great to see you again, Naoi. Did I hear you still have your hypnosis powers?"
"I relearned them." Smirking, he gestured behind him to the tumbling human dango in the distance. "Clearly they're still in working order."
"Good," said Hinata, rubbing the back of his head as he watched Okazaki roll away with Sunohara chasing after him. "Because odds are, we might kind of need them."
Ayato squinted at his old hypnosis punching bag. That was the second time Hinata said something in support of his powers. And now he could see that Otonashi and Kanade were staring at him expectantly as well.
"…What for?"
After about half an hour, sitting with three-fifths of the graduation group at his kitchen table, Ayato received his answer.
"Hinata, Yuzuru, and I all got our memories back from seeing the concert somehow," Kanade said as Hinata refilled her tea. Ayato nodded; he'd already confirmed seeing the concert himself. "And it may have done the same for a few others. But we can't be sure everyone managed to see it and hear the song. So, for those who haven't…"
"…you would like me to assist you in jogging their memories." Ayato rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If my hypnotic abilities are up to par, I would love to help you and Otonashi with this operation."
Hinata frowned. "I'm part of this too, you know."
"Sure you are," Ayato said, sipping his tea.
Of course, although he preferred not to say it out loud, he was pleased to see Hinata again, along with Otonashi and Kanade. And Otonashi had already assured him that they were happy to find him as well; the fact that he could indeed offer help via hypnotism was just an added bonus.
Their idea to bring the Battlefront back together was fairly clever. He would unquestioningly make time out of his schedule for that. In all honesty it was a relief just to have the three of them there now; he'd become reacquainted with solitude over the past six months and was glad to see it go. Even picking on Hinata gave him a brief, heartening sensation of nostalgic joy.
Just as it occurred to him that the spot between Hinata and Kanade was empty, Otonashi's cheery voice came from behind him.
"Hey, Naoi? Just wondering, do you have any Key coffee-?"
Ayato whipped around in his seat and gave him such a look that Otonashi froze on the spot, paused his search through the pantry, and quickly held up both his hands as if to signal his surrender.
"Oh, okay, sorry," he said, surprised. "Tea's great."
Visible embarrassment burned Ayato's cheeks. "Um. Sorry, Otonashi. I just… don't drink coffee, so…"
"So why didn't you just tell him that, instead of staring at him like he'd shot you?" a smirking Hinata asked, to which his host shrugged weakly.
What in the world was that? Ayato mentally chided himself for his odd behavior. It was just that nobody had needed Key coffee in this house in a long time. Much less asked for it. He'd forgotten how much of a Key coffee fanatic Otonashi had been in the Afterlife—he only associated that brand with one person.
Otonashi didn't make a big deal of it, though, and sat down next to Hinata to accept a refill of tea. Kanade, however, was just getting up from her seat.
"Where's the bathroom?" she asked softly, a peculiar look in her eye.
Ayato gestured over his shoulder. "Down the hall, first door on your left."
Nodding, Kanade padded briskly out of the kitchen. Otonashi looked amused, and Ayato suspected it was for the same reason as him. That woman had the bladder of a squirrel.
But presently he rethought the directions he gave her. Was it the first door or the second?
Well, no matter. She'd find her way.
"Anyways, now that we've crossed you off the list," Otonashi said, clearing his throat, and he and Hinata nodded at each other before continuing, "the three of us already agreed on who we want to find next."
Ayato considered his words thoughtfully as he lifted his mug to his lips. "Yeah? And who would that be?"
"Yurippe."
Hot tea flooded down the wrong pipe, as Hinata had chosen the exact wrong time to take Ayato by surprise. He choked rather unattractively and started coughing, earning him a few whacks on the back from Hinata. As he attempted to compose himself, both his companions gave him yet another bewildered look.
"Who else?" Otonashi laughed once he'd exchanged his furrowed eyebrows for a fond smile. "Kanade had the bright idea that if we found you next, the four of us could show up and surprise Yuri together. You know, like we did when she woke up in the Guild and in the infirmary."
Ayato stared morosely into his drink. It was highly unlikely that his presence would be a pleasant surprise to her this time around.
"Geez, Naoi!" Hinata jeered, elbowing him roughly in the side and startling him out of his thoughts. "I didn't realize you hated her that much."
"I don't hate her!" Ayato snapped, glaring at him.
"Then what's the big deal?" Otonashi was staring him down now. There was humor in his tone and a warm smile on his face, but Ayato could tell he'd puzzled him with his reaction.
After a moment's silence, Ayato sighed. "Do you even have any idea where she is?"
"We were hoping you knew," Hinata said, crossing his arms and leaning back. "When we went looking for you, we found out you guys both grew up in Akuma, only half an hour away from my hometown. We ran into your dad first, by the way." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Pleasant guy. Turns out you're the lesser of two evils. I asked him if he knew Yurippe and he called her a whore."
Ayato clenched his fists under the table. "I hope you knocked him out with his own vase."
"I wish we'd thought of that," Otonashi admitted. He stood up and brought his mug over to the sink, then shook his head. "The Nakamuras were out of town on business, so we tried to ask him where Yuri was, but after the 'whore' remark, he just refused to talk about her."
No surprise there. If there was one person Kimito Naoi despised more than his own son, it was his son's girlfriend (later turned daughter-in-law and then ex-daughter-in-law, but he didn't know that). He hated anyone who defied him, especially a woman who "didn't know her own place." And his son leaving town with his girlfriend to live together out of wedlock had to have been particularly scandalous to the Naoi name. Ayato scoffed to himself.
Stubborn, disgusting, awful excuse for a human being. He'd treated Ayato's mother like dirt too. What kind of man could be that cold to a woman who'd promised to be at his side forever? Although he had trouble respecting anyone who didn't want to leave a husband like Kimito Naoi. She should have followed him to Mizuzaka…
"Wait." Ayato jerked his head around to look at Otonashi. "How did you know to look for me here?"
"Your dad told us."
Ayato stood up abruptly, knocking his knee into the table and sloshing his drink. Ignoring the pain in his kneecap, he turned to Otonashi with wild eyes. "That bastard knows where I am?!"
"Just the city!" Otonashi reassured him quickly, putting both hands on his shoulders.
Ayato settled, but clenched his fists and jaw while trying to regulate his breathing. If Kimito tracked him down, he'd be right back where he started. Hell, he was lucky he'd lasted this long. Yuri could have easily claimed the house and told him he could move back in with that abusive bastard for all she cared.
But she didn't. And that still baffled him.
Hinata and Otonashi were peering at him hopefully, silently asking him a question he couldn't answer without telling them everything. But if they were so dead-set on finding Yuri, then it was unavoidable. It wasn't like this was something he could keep pushing behind him, not after the Battlefront had come back into his life.
He released a slow, exhausted breath.
"There's something you should know," Ayato said, gripping the kitchen counter with one hand for support. "Yuri and I… things are a bit tense between us—"
Out in the hall, something bulky fumbled and crashed to the floor.
Ayato stopped in mid-explanation and glanced sharply towards the hallway, while Hinata jumped to his feet. Ayato was the first to hurry out the door, followed quickly by Otonashi and Hinata.
The second door on the left was ajar with the light on, so obviously Kanade had found and used the restroom. But currently she was standing in front of the first door—the door to the hall closet.
At her feet was an open box, its contents spilling out onto the carpet. And Kanade was just staring down at it, unblinking.
"What are you—" Ayato started to say, but then he recognized the innards.
A gold wedding band.
An emerald-and-amethyst-encrusted engagement ring.
And photo after photo with Yuri Nakamura's face emblazoned on it. Some alone, some with her posing comfortably next to him. One in particular stood out among the others as if blatantly mocking him. The one he knew everyone in the room was currently staring at.
The one with Yuri in a slender, simple white wedding dress, wrapped in the arms of one tuxedo-clad Ayato Naoi.
Kanade knelt down next to the pile, picked up the frame gingerly, and continued to stare at it in silent wonder. Looming over her, Hinata and Otonashi gazed down at it too, before exchanging wordless glances.
"So…" said Hinata, eyeing Ayato after a long pause, "you have seen her, then."
Preview:
"Hey, I divorced her!"
"You've gotta at least let me kick his ass a little."
"Some of us still want to find her!"
"Do you miss her?"
"She's a tough nut to crack."
"You leave me with no other option."
"Wait! You can't go there!"
[Chapter 06]: The Truth Comes Out.
