Snow hailed from the cloudy white skies and landed on the wooden rooftop of the funeral house that was crowded with people. Men and women from parts of the city had come here to pay their respects to the recently-passed and respected police officer, Ikezawa Yuuki, and his skilled engineer for a wife, Ikezawa Miharu, in the cemetery of Mitakihara. To a young Tateyama, who sat in the corner of all this, these people were just faceless individuals in front of him, muttering to each other in the silence of the prayer that hummed in the air as the cremation of his parents begun.
"You heard about what happened? They say the Captain's kid got kidnapped for ransom. But when they tried to rescue him, only the kid made it out alive."
"The damn kid ruined our rescue plan. If it weren't for him, the Captain and his wife would have-"
"Quiet, he'll hear you."
"I know. But still..."
It didn't matter, Tateyama could still pick up even their faint whispers with his sharp hearing. Under the thick amount of clothing he wore, Tateyama couldn't feel anything but aches and pangs of guilt. He huddled his short legs against his body for warmth as he wore a thick, white winter coat, a long, purple scarf and a bloodied sash that was wrapped around his injured left eye. His unharmed right eye stared blankly at the creaking wooden floor and his mouth was kept shut throughout the entire cremation.
The sight and sounds of the crackling fire that burned away the bodies of his parents would be remembered for years to come.
After the funeral was over, most of the people that came had either gone home for dinner or out for a party in some hostess bar. Tateyama sat near the empty doorway, hugging himself as the white snow fell on his similarly-colored hair. He pressed his hand against his beating heart, listening to its steady beating and talked in a hushed tone, "It wasn't my fault... was it?"
The accident that happened days ago was stuck in his head, along with the sound of gunfire, the sharp pain in his eye and the feeling of his heart beating faster than it should have been. Tateyama took out a small, egg-shaped gadget from his breast pocket; it was ornate, antique and was one of his mother's earliest creations. It was now also one of her last gifts to him. Pressing a button on it made it split open horizontally down the middle as a soft melody, slow and steady, just like how his heart was now, played and brought a calming sensation to him. Tateyama shut his eye to rest. The boy was tired, exhausted, and silent. He had no one to talk to since most that came just ignored or gossiped about him. He just wanted to be at peace.
The sound of boots treading on thick snowfall in front of him made the young boy open his eye to see a woman in her early 20s, covered in thick clothing while holding an umbrella, standing in front of him. Her breath was visible in the snow and the young boy gave her a cold glare before he huddled a way from her, feeling insecure around a stranger's presence. The woman wasn't at all offended by his actions and just smiled at him.
"You're Yuuki's son, right? My name is Ikezawa Tsukuyo, your new caretaker," she warmly introduced herself and extended a welcoming hand, "I heard of my brother and his wife's passing, so I came here after your relatives decided that I take care of you."
The sudden kindness felt strange and alien to the boy. The only such treatment he ever received were from his parents. His relatives never liked him due to his reserved and quiet attitude, and most kids just talked behind his back. The only friend he had ever made was that Hakamichi boy that lived near his house, "You're... Dad's sister?"
"Yes!" she clapped her hands excitedly, "Come on, you'll catch a cold if you stay out here for too long. I have a house nearby, so you'll be staying with me from now on."
She placed a hand on his shoulder and brought him to his feet to guide him out of the snowy graveyard, a bright smile on her face while Tateyama hid his frown behind his long scarf that was wrapped around his neck. He didn't feel comfortable being treated like this so suddenly, so he distanced himself a bit from the woman and crossed his arms. That smile of hers was different from all the other people. It didn't feel genuine, yet, it wasn't fake. It was as if it was something to mask any negative emotions she had felt just so that others wouldn't worry.
"Ouch!" Tsukuyo suddenly exclaimed.
Tateyama glanced over to the street and saw a few kids running away from his view. They were the usual bullies and it seems they had thrown a thick rock at him, only to hit the woman beside him in the forehead by accident. She was bleeding, so Tateyama offered her a napkin from his pocket to wipe away the leaking blood.
"I-I'm all right!' she chuckled and checked on Tateyama instead, crouching down and running her hand through his hair, "It didn't hit you, did it?"
Her ignorance of her wound disturbed the young boy. Perhaps she was used to this? Whatever was the answer, being treated like this by a stranger again felt uncomfortable, "I'm fine," Tateyama turned away and continued to walk out of the graveyard. Clutching the sash that covered half of his face, Tateyama looked up at the snow falling around him and watched his warm breath swirl through the cold air, "I... I've been through worse."
In the boys' restroom, Tateyama stood in front of the wide, misty mirror with the bangs of his hair and his sleeves pulled up to allow the water from the tap to wash away all the sweat and mental humiliation that had gathered from the test. The cold feeling of the water reminded him of that day when he first met Tsukuyo, the day when he last saw his parents, and felt his skin go pale from the thought. Turning off the tap, water dripped from his face as Tateyama thought could not distract himself from the mistake the he had made during the test. That mistake had ruined his chance of entering the team and also added to the frustration and failures he felt build up inside of him.
Tateyama had panicked there during the test. Even after so many years of learning how to keep his calm, keep his emotions masked and on a leash, he had still made that mistake of panicking during a crucial moment. It was the very same mistake that had caused the death of his parents, and that mistake would always be remembered due to the physical reminder left on one side of his face and his malfunctioning, beating heart.
After Tateyama had dropped Hideki at the gate, the two wanted some alone time for themselves to allow the event sink to in their minds. Tateyama had spent a lengthy amount of time here now and still, the feeling of being struck in the face and his heart accelerating dangerously after he had failed, still felt fresh as if it was only seconds ago. Looking at his sunken reflection in the mirror, Tateyama grimaced at the sight of the physical reminder of his parents' death and who caused them, as it was marked on his face in the form of an oval-shaped scar.
His facial scar covered most of the upper left side of his face, starting from his brow and down to his cheek. His left eye was clouded and lacked any sort of iris. Weathered by age and blackened by element, the sight of his scars and what it reminded Tateyama off began to accelerate his heart from his rising anger as his knuckles turned white. So, to calm himself down, Tateyama took out his ornate gadget from his pocket and placed it on the counter. He clicked on it and the soft melody that subsequently played rang throughout the room as Tateyama took out his medicine and reluctantly gulped down a pill.
Slamming down the canister of pills on the counter, Tateyama quietly glared at the medicine that he needed to take everyday ever since he was a young boy. This malfunctioning heart of his was what caused the accident in the first place and this need to take chemicals everyday had made him feel handicapped ever since. A heart disease that ended up causing the death of his parents, a scar on his face he had received during the time of their death, and all Tateyama could do was gulp down a pill everyday to see if at least one of these would go away. It was pathetic.
Over time, the melody of the device started to calm Tateyama down to an acceptable and cool-headed level that could hide his anger. Taking a deep breath, Tateyama dried his face with a towel and pulled his bangs down again to hide the left side of his face. Rolling down his sleeves, he put the ornate gadget and his pills back in his pocket, and then exited the restroom to head back to class. The stares from passing by students were shrugged off as hard as he could as Tateyama kept his view stuck to the floor he walked on.
In just a few minutes, the next class taught by Teacher Kuragawa was about to start. Mamoru sat in his seat, repeatedly tapping the tip of his ball-point pen on his book as Takuya sat on the chair beside him, keeping his eyes on the door for the raven-haired girl they had sent to go cheer up their friend. Homura had yet to return and Mamoru started to wonder if her talk with Hideki was still going on. Beside him, Takuya looked like he was thinking the same, as their friends' welfare always came as top priority over everything else. They couldn't bear seeing Hideki like that just now, as it was almost painful to watch.
In the head of the Freelancer's leader, Mamoru continued to think about Homura, along with everything else that had occurred over the past few days. Mamoru had noticed that in such little time, Homura had grown significantly close to his circle of those he called his 'brothers', as she herself became evidently more confident with herself. Takuya had told him about his little talk with Homura last night and Mamoru was even beginning to feel that he was starting to trust - or even - like the girl. Him asking her for a favor earlier made it evident, and it brought a shy smile to his face, as he barely asked for favors, much less, from someone other than his friends.
Though, he still worried about the well-being of Hideki and Tateyama. Where were they now? Was Homura successful in getting Hideki to open up himself? Did he end up just causing more problems in the end? Questions like these flooded his mind the longer Homura was not around, and when she finally came walking back into the class with a bright smile and a new-found spring in her step, these questions were seemingly washed away.
"How did it go?" Mamoru asked, bringing his hands in front of him and pressing the tips if his fingers against each other.
His fingers fidgeting, Takuya added, "He's still not mad or anything... right?" his tone showed that he was still worried despite the pleasant and vibrant smile Homura had. Hideki's shouting just now must have badly hurt him.
Homura sat in the empty-for-now chair in front of them and assured the two boys of the dilemma, "Hideki is fine. I talked to him and calmed him down. I even managed to remove some doubts he had inside of him," Homura giggled, seeing Takuya's panic and worry defuse in front of her like a balloon as Mamoru's lips curved into a small, relieved smile behind his tented hands.
"Thank you, Akemi," Mamoru sincerely said, bowing his head slightly, "You have my gratitude. For helping Hideki, I assume I now owe you a debt that I must repay you one way or another?"
A flustered Homura waved off his offer, saying, "I-It's fine. I wanted to help in the first place. Also... Hideki asked me for a favor: he wanted me to go talk to Ikezawa as well. Where is Ikezawa?" Homura looked around as the two shook their heads, the white-haired boy having not returned in a while.
"Talking to Tateyama will be... different," Mamoru pointed out, his lips pursed and his eyes moving down to his table, "If you're gonna talk to him, that will not be an easy task. He's very reserved, as you can tell. Even he is reluctant to talk about his problems with us at times."
Homura nodded, knowing that fully-well when Takuya cut in to provide some optimism, "She could at least try, right? I mean, she got Hideki to talk. If she managed to do that, I'm sure that she can do it," his bright smile got a somewhat-agreeing nod from Mamoru as Homura gigged.
As if on cue, Tateyama suddenly came into the classroom with his hands deep in his pockets and his eye staring off into somewhere. As he wandered back to his seat, Mamoru nudged Takuya in the arm and ordered him to say something to him to try and check on him.
Takuya then stood up and raised a hand to say hello, "Hey Tateyama, after school, wanna go-?"
"Pass," Tateyama declined without even looking and walked pass him, nonchalantly sitting back on his chair and slumping on the table to rest. The three knew he was going to be a lot more harder to approach and Mamoru was going to give another order when Teacher Kuragawa came into the class as well. The students stood up to greet the P.E teacher in usual unison and Mamoru looked back to see that Tateyama still lied down on his table, sleeping. Kuragawa noticed this, too, but ignored him and went on with his business.
"Alright, back to your seats," he ordered and took out a clipboard with a pen, "I expect all of you to pass your monthly test later in the obstacle course. So, show me what you got and don't pussy out on me this time. The test will start in 10 minutes," Kuragawa looked over to his star-pupil Homura and scanned her face, noticing her skin slightly more pale than usual.
"Is something wrong, Teacher?" Homura asked.
Kuragawa scratched his chin, thinking before answering, "You look to be a bit sick. I suggest you to head to the Nurse's Office for a check-up before taking the test later. I don't want anybody collapsing on the field on my watch. And for the rest of you-" he turned to the other students and bellowed out his next words, "Switch to your P.E uniform and get down in 10 minutes! All of you!"
The students hurried and got off their seats to head downstairs in groups, Kuragawa's shouting sending them running out of class in a near-panic. As Takuya and Homura waited for Mamoru outside the transparent classroom, the green-haired boy looked back again at Tateyama and saw him picking up his laptop bag before heading out. Tateyama walked pass the two, no greetings or anything, and headed down an empty hallway. As Mamoru stood still and thought for a moment, an idea came to mind. Knowing that since Tateyama wasn't allowed to take anything that involved physical activities and that Homura had to go to the nurse's office, he quickly met with the two outside and spoke to Homura.
"I have another request to ask of you, Akemi."
Homura blinked, "What is it?"
"After you head to the Nurse's Office, I want you to try and talk to Tateyama. Now, it doesn't matter if you don't know what to start with for a conversation. I just want you to at least talk to him," he gestured her to the hallway leading to the spiral stairs, "He may be a quiet one, but he does show a softer side from time to time; I suggest you check the cafeteria after you're done with the nurse."
She accepted this favor without hesitation and smiled, "I'll do my best," Homura spun around on her heel and headed off in the same direction Tateyama had headed off to. As soon as she was out of sight, Takuya looked over to Mamoru who had a smug grin on his face.
"Mamoru, can I ask you something?"
"Hmmm? Of course," Mamoru nodded as they walked down the hallway to the track field. His smug grin withered when he saw Takuya smiling cheekily at him, "What is it?"
"I've noticed something. You've been doing a lot of stuff to get Homura close to us without us even noticing, haven't you?" Takuya's playful accusation got a flustered reply from Mamoru, as Takuya chuckled, "I knew it. I've been your friend for years, Mamoru, so I know when you're trying to do something like that. Tateyama isn't the only one with sharp eyes, you know? But come on, let's get downstairs before Teacher Kuragawa gets impatient!" grabbing Mamoru by the hand, Takuya then dragged off as they rushed downstairs, a smile coming his friend as they ran.
In the small car's backseat, Hideki's injured elbow knelt on the windowsill while he eyed everything that passed by, from the flying birds, to the walking pedestrians and the cars driving beside the,. A disturbing silence was felt in the cramped space of the car, as it was how it usually was between him and his father: two people that barely interacted with each other, much less see each other eye-to-eye on the same emotional level, in the same time and space. If Hideki bothered to remember, it had been a while since something like this had ever occurred. He never had been in his father's car for a while.
It was only when the car halted at a red light, when Shin Hakamichi spoke up, "I already told you to stop thinking of entering the competition, didn't I?" his son, sitting behind him, shuffled uncomfortably in his sitting position, though his injuries did not allow him to do so very easily. Shin gave a tired sigh and stared at his soon through the rear-view mirror, "You're not going to say anything to me, are you?" he attempted a derisive snort, "Not even one short quip?"
Hideki looked out of the window again, sinking into his seat and quietly rubbing his bandaged arms.
The traffic light turned green and the car continued on its way to the neighboring district they lived in, reaching the entrance of the neighborhood in just a few minutes as Shin continued, "I already said that these competitions were dangerous, Hideki. It's not something any kid can simply enter. Look at you: those wounds of yours are going to take days or even weeks to heal. I hope you've reconsidered your decision to join this time."
The blue-haired boy scoffed, sitting up straight without his usual smirk, "'Reconsidered', huh...? We barely talk like this, so here's what I've got to say, Dad," he stared hard at his father's back as he drove and spoke with a confrontational edge in his voice, "Why are you really against me joining the team? Are you really thinking that I should just become like you, someone who just lets people walk over him just to keep my job?" his question made Shin flinch, and he was going to reply but Hideki pressed on, "If you're so against it, why were you so supportive of Mom when she joined the tournaments? Wasn't it because of that she kept on entering the tournaments and winning 1st place, that we managed to even live in this city?"
Shin scowled, "... I was only there because I loved her," he tried to sound stern, but Hideki didn't believe his tone, "Your mother, even if she was brave and good fighter, it was only a matter of time before she-" he suddenly stopped mid-sentence and changed the topic, "I just want you to lead a normal life, Hideki, that's all I ever wanted from you. I just wanted you to pick a life that won't involved any fighting. And I'm sure that's what Hairi would have wanted, too."
"Bullshit. You were there for her the entire time in her career," Hideki barked, "If you were like that to mom, I don't get why you can't treat me the same way."
Hideki crossed his arms and Shin's hands on the steering wheel firmly tightened. In these rare occasions, it always headed this way, no matter what, one thing lead to another, one small sentence lead to an argument. Not talking was a better idea than talking at all, but these two just couldn't help it, it was how they were as father and son.
Suddenly, Shin stopped the car outside their house as Shin saw his boss' car parked in their garage. He remembered from this morning that he still had to deal with all the fines and damages for his other car which had been damaged, forcing him to use the smaller one he was currently using. Not wanting to go any further, Shin sighed and looked at Hideki over his shoulder, "Look, we'll talk about this later. Go in through the back door. I have to talk with my boss."
Hideki grabbed his school bag and struggled to get out of the car due to his injuries. Shin was going to help him to the door, but Hideki instead walked without any help by his own choice. With a tight grip, Shin closed the door and looked as Hideki limped to the back of the house. He momentarily shut off the car engine and buried his face in his open palms, muttering, "Hairi... just what am I supposed to do...?" He took out a small locket from his jacket, opening up to reveal a small picture of himself, his wife and a young Hideki standing between them, "I... I need to talk to him."
Through the large windows of the empty cafeteria, Tateyama could see the sun slowly setting down to the horizon. The skies was cloudy as usual and the time for school to end was soon. Waiting for the ringing of the school chimes to echo through the building, Tateyama was sitting at one of the long rectangular tables with his laptop, gadgets and electronic tools surrounding him. They kept him occupied while he played the antique gadget again to hear its pleasant melody in the air, the boy attempting to create a sort temporary haven where he could be at peace.
But even when surrounded by his personal belongings, Tateyama's mind still wasn't thinking straight. His mind still plagued by the same thoughts that haunted him in the restroom just now, Tateyam felt his hands numb as he dropped the electronic tools in his hands, letting them fall off the table and onto the floor. His laptop stayed wide open next to him, but he had no intentions of using it. Tateyama just wanted a peace of mind, something that would just make his problems go away.
Tired and exhausted of everything, Tateyama pushed the everything on the table aside and rested his head on the table with his arms around him. He shut his eyes tight, trying to filter out the sounds of everything in the room and just listen to the music coming from his mother's last invention and gift to him.
As he focused on the song coming from the invention and only on it, Tateyama felt his body ease up considerably. His body felt light and in just a few moments, Tateyama had fallen into a small slumber. The very moment Tateyama had come to this empty room, he had just thrown away the expression he used to hide his feelings and for once just released them.
As Tateyama slept, he could see memories of his parents echoing and flashing before his vision in tandem with the music that flowed into his ears. Remembering what it was like to see with both eyes, remembering what it was like to have a heart that didn't carry a possibility of going out of control, Tateyama felt the edges of his mouth curving into a sad smile. Suddenly, he could hear another sound coming into earshot. It sounded like faint footsteps that he could not hear due to the music that was playing.
"Ikezawa...?"
Tateyama's eyes snapped open and woke up to see Homura standing in front of him. He quickly pocketed his mother's gift after turning it off and put back that passive expression of his back on to mask his emotions. It didn't seem to convince Homura and Tateyama wondered why until he brought a hand to his cheek and felt something wet against his fingertips. He had been unknowingly crying in his sleep and Tateyama could not remember when was the last time he had done so since his parents' death.
He wiped the corner of his eye and retreated his hands to his lap, "Weren't you at the Nurse's office?" he didn't bother faking that blunt tone. He knew Homura would have just seen through it.
Homura slowly nodded, hands hanging at her sides, "She said I was fine. Only slight paleness, so it was nothing serious," her eyes then looked at Tateyama as he could feel her worried gaze scanning him. Ironic, it was almost like the same one he gave her when they first met, only with different intentions behind it, "But you, Ikezawa... Hideki... Hideki told me to speak to you..."
Tateyana sat up straight and averted from looking into Homura's eyes. Her determined gaze gave him the feeling that she wasn't going anywhere until he spoke about what was bothering him, but he still persisted, "I have nothing on my mind. I'm fine," he insisted, "It's nothing important. You should head downstairs before Teacher Kuragawa starts worrying about you."
Defying his words, Homura went around the table and sat next to him. She noticed one of Tateyama's electronic tools on the floor and picked it up to place it back on the table. Tateyama watched as Homura took a good look at it before placing it near his laptop, quietly stating, "Your friends and I think otherwise."
Tateyama gave a side glance to her, then looked away when she saw those worried eyes. Grimacing, he gripped his mother's gift in his pocket and Homura could see that mask of his beginning to crack, "What do you want...?" Tateyama sounded as if he was pleading for her to leave, but at the same time, as if he wanted her to stay. His tone was a mixture of different emotions.
"To talk," Homura simply answered, folding her hands on her laps and gazing out of the windows to stare at the beautiful view of the city outside, "We all know that you're feeling down after what happened earlier. Hideki told me that. Tezuka and Takuya know that as well. They're your friends... and so am I. So we wanted to make sure you were all right because we care."
Tateyama scowled, "I don't want to-"
"You said it yourself, didn't you? Back then, after you saved me from those girls, you saw me when I was beginning to feel doubtful of myself and gave me that advice. That it was best to speak to someone about your problems instead of keeping it to yourself," Homura saw Tateyama flinch slightly from her words. She then lifted a hand from her side to place it over Tateyama's cold, shivering hand, "Please. Tell me what's bothering you. I don't want you to bottle it all up and not tell anyone. You're only going to end up hurting yourself..."
Tateyama could feel her words slowly getting to him. Using his own words against him made him feel all the more apparent as Homura's hand felt warm while it softly brushed softly against his. Knowing that he couldn't hide it anymore, Tateyama's lips quivered, his shoulders slumped and he glanced aside once again to look into Homura's eyes as felt something trail down his cheek. Ignoring the tear that had fallen, Tateyama didn't say anything, and he didn't need to. One look into that eye of his told Homura almost everything. She could see all the regrets in his eye as clearly as if he was speaking his thoughts and emotions out-loud.
Wordlessly, Tateyama took out his mother's invention from his pocket and presented it to Homura, light bouncing off its wooden surface as it sat in his open palm, "This... was my mother's. When I was young, my parents brought me to tournaments so that I could watch them. I've watched them ever since I was young. My parents didn't mind at all."
"I know. Hideki told me that just now," Homura smiled, brushing a finger on the small invention, "I can tell that you two became easy friends."
Nodding, Tateyama handed her the small invention for a better look and continued, "My mother was an engineer. She made this, while my father was a police officer. One day... I was heading to the yearly tournament by myself. My parents were too busy to send me at that time. I didn't mind... But then, a group of men took me and threatened my parents for money in exchange for my life. They told them to come alone-" Tateyama's voice began to shake, as he felt a lump in his throat, "I was scared... I felt helpless... and I didn't know what to do at that time... I..."
Pursing his lips, Tateyama didn't want to tell her everything. Remembering this memory alone made him feel a sharp pain igniting in his left eye as his heartbeat started to increase. But, he went on, another tear trailing down his cheek as he felt Homura wipe it away with a soft finger, "My parents... they died because of me. Because I made a mistake, I ended up getting them killed before help came," Tateyama clenched his chest tightly, "And now... I'm reminded of that day every time I wake up. I'm reminded everyday that nothing bad would've have happened if not for the stupid disease my heart carries..."
Homura stared at him with disbelief. Hearing this, she didn't know what to say, other than ask, "Your... heart...?"
Tateyama nodded, clutching at his chest once again, "My heart... it has a condition. Whenever my heart-rate gets too fast, it'll start beating faster that it should. I take a pill every time, so these don't happen. But... if it does... I can get a heart attack," his words were grim and Tateyama avoided looking at Homura so he wouldn't see that look of horror dawning on her face, "This is why I don't go for P.E or anything like that; it could kill me. It's the only reason why I was never let into the competition, no matter how much I train myself to keep my heart steady."
"So that's why-" Homura then remembered the cylinder of medicine that Tateyama always carried around, along that data of heart conditions in his laptop from yesterday and how he was never involved in any intense sport. Staring at her open hands, Homura frowned, feeling utterly helpless as she couldn't do anything that would solve this kind of problem, "... Was there anything else... that happened?" she looked back up at Tateyama and Homura had a feeling he already knew what she meant, "Your face... There's something else, is there? Besides your heart."
Slowly, Tateyama nodded and closed his eyes. His hands shaking, Homura retracted her hand back to her side as Tateyama pulled back the long bangs of his hair that covered up the left side of his face. Subsequently, Homura covered her gaping mouth with both hands and her eyes widened, as the yellow sunlight streaming through the windows shined on the oval-shaped scar on Tateyama's face. She could not tell what had caused the scar, as it looked like more than just simple burn marks. His left eye lacking any iris, Tateyama said nothing as she examined him. She was the only one besides Hideki, Takuya and Mamoru that had gotten a good look at this scar.
Covering it up again, Homura remained silent and Tateyama brought his legs to his chest, burying his face in them, "This scar was given to me during the accident. Before help could arrive, the men did this to me. It's like they wanted to me to remember the mistake I had made. Remind me who got them killed," whispering those words, Tateyama could feel his heart beginning to beat faster in his chest.
Homura tried to get closer to him, raising a hand to reach out to him, "It wasn't..."
Suddenly, Tateyama slammed a hand on the table and Homura recoiled in fear, the electronic tools on the table falling to the floor as Tateyama stared back at Homura with tears pouring down his cheeks, "Because of this... It's because of this I killed my own parents! It was my fault! And I'll always remember these mistakes because of this damn scar and my messed-up heart! I couldn't think straight and I... I didn't even know what to do!" his heart beating even faster, Tateyama's words echoed through the empty cafeteria, "Ever since that day, I swore I'd never make another mistake. But I did again. During the test against Takehito, I panicked, and now I... I...-"
Suddenly, Tateyama's cries were cut off as he felt Homura's arms gently wrap around his neck.
Pulling him into a warm embrace, Tateyama's eyes widened with shock. Having not realized that his heart was already accelerating at a dangerous pace, cold sweat poured down his face as his tears abruptly stopped. Her hand slowly stroked the back of his head and Tateyama could not find the proper words to say to Homura as what followed was the sound of his mother's invention. Tateyama looked and saw that it sat on the table, playing its melody as Homura had activated it. The nostalgic tune ringing in his ears, the tears flowed once more and Tateyama buried his face in Homura's shoulder as he cried.
"Everything is going to be fine, Tateyama," she soothed him, whispering into his ear, "It wasn't your fault that your parents died. It wasn't your heart's weakness. They never were nor will be. Your scars are not something to be ashamed of, either. You can't blame yourself for who you are or something that wasn't your fault."
"... How... How is it not my fault...? How can I just accept that...?"
"Mistakes are meant to be learned from, not haunted by," Homura stated, her tone gentle and sage-like, "Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has their moment of failure; small and large. Your mistakes are only what make you human... And no matter what mistakes you make, don't you think that you're just one step closer to succeeding?" slowly pulling away, Homura gave him a warm smile and looked pass his shoulder to see the setting sun in the horizon, "Even if I don't have my memories, I think it's safe to say that I've committed lots of mistakes myself. But... the best I can do is learn from them and move on. Thinking about them always wouldn't help me one bit. It never has and never will."
Tateyama gazed back at her with teary eyes. His heart began to slow down and as time went by, Tateyama slowly realized the truth in her words. Looking back down on the table, Tateyama picked up the pieces of his gadgets that he had slammed his fists on. Wiping his teary eyes, he began to piece them back together and repair them from the damage he had caused.
He didn't need to say anything now. Homura could see that the doubt in him was now gone. With a smile, Homura stood up to walk out of the cafeteria, feeling like she had succeeded. No more words were needed to be said between them, except for a few.
"... Thank you... Homura..."
Looking at Tateyama over her shoulder, Homura chuckled to herself and left the room, "No. Thank you, Tateyama. You were the one that told me to open up to others... If it wasn't for you... I don't think any of this could have happened."