Akihiko's P.O.V.
Despite being early morning the sky was still dark and the sun showed no sign of appearing through the thick gray clouds blanketing the sky. The air was cold and still, heavy, almost suffocating as I stood in front of a small grave. I find it funny how fitting this scene was for today, I knelt down and placed a colorful bouquet down before bowing my head.
"It has been awhile Miki." I whispered., it'd been a long time since I've visited my sister's grave, I had forgotten how heavy the visits weighed my heart. Today though, it made my already heavy heart heavier, weighing down on my chest. "Sorry it took me so long, how have you been?" I asked clearing off dead leaves and twigs as I spoke. "I hope you're happy wherever you are. But I'm sure you are, you were almost always happy. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't save you that day." These words that so often passed my lips when I though of the sweet little sister I lost in a fire because I was too weak to save her. I swore to myself I would never be that weak again, but I failed.
Now, because of my weakness, because I wasn't strong enough I'm going to lose her. "You would have really liked her." I said with a smile. "She would have adored you too." My smile disappeared and my heart became heavier. My mind flashed back to everything that had happened in the past three years, the good the bad, and her, the girl that it all evolved around.
Her smile, her laughter, how she walked and talked. Everything about her filled me head. The way she hugged me, her gentle touches, even the time I woke up on the floor of Tartarus to her fearful face when I wouldn't wake up. The weight of my heart settled in my stomach as I remembered the last times I saw her awake.
2 years ago:
It was the final battle against Nyx, we were basically getting out asses handed to us, it seemed like no matter what attack we used against her it did no damage. We kept close to Minako's plan but she seemed to always have to change it because it wouldn't work. She constantly switched healers, Yukari, Mitsuru, Ken, me, and then her. But that was at the beginning, as the fight grew longer the more quiet she became, while I thought she was becoming fatigued I realized she was starting to doubt herself. When she got hit she never flinched but when Nyx hit us she would cringe. Soon Nyx started taunting us and Minako fought back on that end as well. No matter how tired we got Minako kept pushing though, and because of her so did we. And in the end we won, how we won is still foggy as is with the rest of the night and the following day apart from some bits and pieces that remained clear. After Nyx was defeated a strange whisper filled the air, none of us could hear the words, not even Aigis, except, it seemed as if Minako did, and understood what was said. Her face fell and the color mostly drained from her face and she stumbled before catching herself. She looked over at me and smiled, it was strained but it was still a smile. That night, right before I fell asleep, I heard a light knock before the door opened, Minako stood there in a white nightgown, her brown hair falling to her shoulders, her eyes were dimmed with exhaustion but she was still beautiful. She gave me shaky smile before closing the door, her following words surprised me more than anything else she had ever said to me.
"I'm scared." she had whispered looking down at the floor. I was shocked, sure she had said the same thing before after fighting the first full moon shadow. But for some reason this fear seemed so much more different than the fear she must have felt that time. I held out my hand to her and she flung herself into me, wrapping her arms tightly against my back. That was the first time I ever saw her cry, even when Shinjiro went into a coma she didn't cry, at least not in front of us. That night, the first night in a long time that I slept next to someone, for the first time in a long time, I felt at peace. Then a few days later Shinjiro woke up and was released from the hospital. The dorm threw a huge party, everyone was so happy, we defeated Nyx and Shinjiro woke up. The thought of another tragedy hitting us never crossed our minds. But the thought of another tragedy hitting so close to our hearts didn't even exist until the day Mitsuru, Shinjiro, and I graduated. We held another celebration, this time right after the ceremony, we were going to head up to the roof where Minako and Aigis were waiting for us, as we opened the door we saw Aigis holding Minako to her, tears sliding down her face.
Present:
Now, after two years, when we thought she was finally going to get better, she got worst. She started out being in a coma, unresponsive to the world, no matter what the doctors did she remained that way for the first eight months, but halfway through September she appeared to be getting better. She would open her eyes for a little bit but then she went back into a coma without an warning. And now at the beginning of the third year her fate is now finalized, today Minako will die, after two years, her fight has now become meaningless. I knew she was living off that machine, but deep down I wanted to believe she was trying to live on her own as well.
"I don't know what to do Miki." I spoke out loud. "I want to be there, I have to be there, for her. But I don't know if I can, I don't know if I'm strong enough." I clutched my head as I spoke to Miki, thunder echoed not far off. I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear that someone had walked up to me.
"I thought you'd be here Aki." Shinjiro's voice came behind me, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Shinjiro..." I said looking at him as knelt down beside me.
"It's been awhile," he started, staring at the grave. "Since we've been here together."
"Where is Ken?" I asked, he shot me a look replied non-the-less.
"He's staying home today." he replied. "He wants to be there with Minako and I don't have the heart to tell him no. Plus I doubt he'd make it through a full day anyway."
"Especially since he knows the time." I said without looking at Shinjiro. "He'll just become distraught. Ken was really close to her."
"He views her as a woman who became a mother figure after he lost his real mom." Shinjiro remarked.
"Ken confessed to her once." I said with a small laugh.
"Haha, he told me about that." he chuckled. "But then he said his feelings changed after awhile, she started to remind him more of his mother and in the end Minako took that place as a friend and mother figure. We all loved her Aki." he continued, playing with a leaf. "She filled in a piece of our hearts that had become empty. She became a best friend, a mother figure, a sister...a lover. She become something to all of us." I remained silent and stared off into space. Minako did fill the emptiness in everyone's heart, she became a mother figure to replace the emptiness Ken felt after losing his mother, she became the little sister Shinjiro lost to a fire, she became a best friend to Fuuka who never had one before. She listened to Yukari when no one else would and Minako trusted in Junpei despite his personality, she believed in him when no one else really did. She became the sister and friend Mitsuru never had, who stuck by her when Mitsuru had lost all faith in herself. Even Koromaru took a liking to her immediately, she did everything his previous owner did with him and more. After awhile Aigis became more human after spending so much time with Minako. To me...to me she started out as a girl who was given the short straw of life. She lost her parents and was forced into a war that she had no idea coincided with that accident so long ago that evolved around her. To me, she was a small girl, almost a child, with a small frame and large brown eyes that always remained empty no matter what was shown on her face. I saw her as a hyper person that was always tired, a smart girl who wasn't sure what she knew, a strong girl who was so fragile. Minako was constantly walking the tightrope, she would teeter off the edge and straighten back up only to teeter off the other edge. It was a balancing act she had to constantly relearn.
The first time I met her I could tell she was hiding behind an array of personas, each one her, yet at the same time, someone else. When she agreed to join I could tell it was because she felt she had no other choice. She was terrified and I didn't blame her, she found out about the shadows in the worst way possible. Yet she still managed to pull through, making it seem as if she had everything under control. I'm not sure when I started seeing her as woman instead of a child. When I met up with her outside of the school gate and asked if she wanted to hang out sometime it was only because I was worried that with her being the new and having to balance shadow fighting and school work all at once it might take its toll on her and then we wouldn't be able to work as efficiently as we should. At least that's what I told myself.. The first time we hanged out together after school was interesting, but I didn't really learn anything about her apart from the fact that she had a really tiny stomach and she was a fast runner. But she never really talked much about herself. Over time I grew closer to her and closer, when I heard that she might be dating Junpei something inside of me changed, a sense of dread almost. I hadn't meant to confront her about it but it slipped out, and when she denied it a relief so great went though me it terrified me. And I couldn't understand where it had come from, but from then on my feelings started changing and I kept seeing her less and less like Miki and more like a strong woman leading a group of fighters who could die at any time. And then slowly I fell in love with her more and more, giving away to the false illusion that I was strong enough to save her from the same fate that had taken Miki away from me.
A bell rang off in the distance and Shinjiro stood up looking in the direction where the echo could be heard. I stood up as well as he turned back and looked at me his face growing sad. "It's time." he whispered softly. "We need to go." And what should have taken only half an hour felt like minutes by the time we entered the tram to head back to the hospital. We were silent on the way back, we both felt the same dread and none of us had the strength to fight it off. It might have been easier on both of us if we at least attempted to make more conversation but without either knowing what to say we kept to ourselves in silence. As the tram started coming to a stop I found myself praying that some kind of miracle would happen, that we wouldn't have to do this today, that something would delay us. My prayers went unanswered as the tram stopped and the doors opened. Shinjiro stepped out first and I followed him, the walk to the hospital took an even shorter amount of time and before I knew it that familiar smell of latex filled my head. Fuuka was the first to great us, her eyes red and her shoulders shook with unheard sobs. Shinjiro pulled her into a one armed hug and she shook a little, resisting the urge to cry.
"Mitsuru is on her way and Junpei and Yukari are already here." Fuuka said. "Ken is in the waiting room playing with Koro-chan."
"What about Aigis?" I asked. Aigis would be devastated if we did this without her, she blamed herself for what happened and said she had to be here till the end. I felt bad for Aigis, no one but herself blamed her for what happened, but then again we were all like that, we didn't blame anyone else for what happened to Minako, but we all held the blame in ourselves.
"I'm here." Aigis' emotionless voice came from behind us, I turned and saw Aigis standing behind us, her eyes matching her voice, but her stance made her appear lost and dazed. Junpei and Yukari walked in as well, Yukari still had tears rolling down her face and Junpei looked pale and exhausted, like he used to after every full moon fight, though I'm any one of us would rather take on another one of those shadows then face what had to be done today.
"I'm going to go get Ken." Shinjiro said quietly, pulling away from Fuuka and walking over to the waiting room.
After Shinjiro left Fuuka turned to look at me and gave a small, almost forced smile . "How are you holding up Akihiko?"
I smiled and gave her a hug, Fuuka always worried about others, even though she was having just as hard of a time. "Don't worry about me, I'll be ok." It wasn't really a lie but ut wasn't entirely honest either. "Let's just get through today." Fuuka nodded and a couple tears slipped down her face. Shinjiro came out holding onto one of Ken's hands, Ken's other hand was holding firmly onto Koromaru's leash. Ken looked empty and lifeless while Koromaru had his ears down and his tail had lost its usual wag. Ken looked up at me, a pained look on his face, the look of a past memory showing itself in his head like a movie out on repeat. Not long ago he was here for his mother, now he was here for a girl he used to crush on then grew to respect.
The soft clip of heels started behind us and we turned, Mitsuru approached her face mirroring the expression we all had, one that became familiar to us in the past three years, the face of grief and emotionally excruciating pain. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, not even Mitsuru knew what to say in this circumstance. She looked down before looking back up. "It's your call Akihiko, we do this when you say." I flinched and looked away, when it came to Minako I called the shots, and while I was grateful for that, the thought that her life would end when I chose seemed much harder than anything I've done before, harder than fighting Nyx, harder than facing myself.
Shinjiro reached out and squeezed my shoulder and I nodded. "Let's get this done." I said forcing my voice to stay steady and calm. And though my voice didn't waiver my mind was, I wasn't ready to let go of Minako, I would never be ready to let go of her. We slowly made our way to the room Minako had been staying in for the past two years, and for once I could actually sense the death people felt whenever they walked into a hospital, people would always tell me that they were afraid to go into hospitals because it always had that feel to it, the feeling of Death walking the halls, taking those that were to old and weak to live on. I always dismissed it as a stupid image their brain had come up with, but now I understood what they meant, the feeling that of people dying and knowledge that you were right. I felt myself inhale deeply as I approached her door and turned the doorknob without hesitation, they expected me to do this, to remain strong, that's what Minako expected and no matter how much it hurt I would live up to her expectations even if I wouldn't for anyone else.
The doctor and nurse were already in there, both wearing somber expressions, they had done this thing before, they told us that, but despite that...they still wore the expression of sorrow. The doctor had said this was the best thing for Minako, for us as well, Minako was brain dead and nothing could bring her back. We had to let go. We had to...but it would be hardest thing for us to do. I walked up to Minako's bed and looked down her face, she still looked beautiful, her skin had become paler but still remained flawless, her brown hair had grown out and came down below her shoulder blades, it would be longer but Mitsuru would cut it to just below the shoulder blades, Minako had always wanted long hair but felt it was too much of a bother to keep while she was fighting shadows. Too bad she would never get the chance to see herself with long hair, she would have liked it.
"Whenever you guys are ready." the doctor said gently moving over to the other side of Minako. "Mr. Sawada, do you still wish to be the one to pull the plug?" I looked up at him, his eyes didn't show impatience, he probably prepared himself for a long wait, but seeing as how he had been Minako's doctor for the past 2 years he realized quickly how much she meant to us and since he was a doctor he had no choice but to go at our own pace.
"Yes." I replied, when we made the decision to stop life support everyone agreed that I should be the one to pull the plug, Yukari and Fuuka both broke down too much and knew when the time came they would never be able too and Ken was too young to have to deal with something like this. Aigis was still getting over the guilt from believing this was her fault and Mitsuru and Shinjiro both agreed since I was the closest to her I should be the one to do it. I had been hoping it would be someone else, and I could have easily just asked the doctor to do it, but I knew I would regret that decision for the rest of my life so I agreed to do it and the court allowed it since she had no family to do it instead.
"Then when you are ready." he replied again. "There is no rush, we'll be outside. Let us know when you're done." the nurse gave us a small smile and together they left the room. I looked back down at Minako, it was hard to believe that she wasn't asleep, January-August in the first year Minako just remained in a coma, unmoving, unaware but that changed one day in September, she woke up but she didn't know any of us where there, when we asked the doctors what was wrong they said that she had entered the state known as the vegetative state, she was awake from the coma but she was not aware of what was going on around her, we hoped this was a sign of her getting better but after the first month of staying that state she was changed to being in a persistent vegetative state and stayed that way till the following January. Then, up until June she entered the Akinetic Mutism, she would whisper simple words and her eyes would focus though on the ceiling, no one knew what she was talking about but we saw it as a plus and were happy that she was making improvements, but despite her whispers she refused to move, it wasn't that she couldn't move she just simple wouldn't and she remained that way for six months. That July she went back into a coma, the doctors couldn't understand why, they had never seen something like this before and didn't know how to react to it. They did more tests and in the end had no answers to their questions and once again darkness overcame us. We didn't think Minako would get worse than a coma, but she did and the shock came as a heavy blow to all of us. January 3rd Minako went brain dead in the early hours of the morning. At 3 in the morning my phone went off, a call from the hospital that changed everything I had forced myself to focus on. Everything...I put my hand in my pocket where a small box was being kept...everything was over before it could even begin.
"Aki?" Shinjiro said and snapped back into reality, I hadn't realized it but sometime during my thoughts silent tears had managed to betray my calm exterior. "Aki we don't have to do this..."
"No." I said my voice cracking, I couldn't hide that anymore, with the tears there was no point, I couldn't be as strong as the group wanted or as strong as Minako wanted me to be. "If I can't do it today then I won't be able to, I...if keeping her on life support is going to make her suffer then..." I trailed off, I couldn't say anymore. I hated myself for being weak when I tried so desperately to become strong. But in the end I really didn't care anymore, in the end I would only join her, my time would eventually come and I will be able to see her again. That was the only thing that allowed me to wake up this morning, that thought alone. I looked again at Minako's face before leaning down and gently brushing my lips against hers.
"I love you Minako." I whispered so only she could hear me. "More than anything else, I love you." Then I reached out and turned off the life support machine, silence filled the room except for the beeping of Minako's heart which kept becoming slower and slower before the beeping stopped followed by the sound of the flat line. February 2th, 2:30 in the afternoon Minako died. I stared at her face before my vision became blurred by tears and my knees gave out and collapsed on the ground burying my face in my arms against the bed. Koromaru let out soft whimpers, Ken let out a small cry and fell down holding onto Koromaru. Shinjiro whispered soothing words in a cracked voice to Fuuka while Junpei tried his best to keep his voice together while he comforted the other 3 girls who both leaned on each other for support. Through the blur I could see the doctor and nurse come in and unhook Minako from the machine and IVs, she wasn't going to need either anymore, neither said a word and left as quick as they could. No one moved or spoke for the next few minutes, I had almost forgotten that others where even there until I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly and looked behind me, Shinjiro stood there his eyes swarming with tears as well.
"Come on." he said gently. "Let's go, we need to get everything ready for the funeral, there's nothing else we can do here." Shinjiro pulled me up and I looked at Minako one last time before I turned around to leave this room. I didn't get far when I heard a small voice call my name.
"Aki..." Ken said and I turned to look at him, he was staring at Minako and hadn't moved from his position on the floor holding Koromaru.
"Ken come on." I said gently walking over to him. "Lets go."
"Her hand." he whispered still staring. "It moved." I flinched and hugged him.
"It didn't move Ken." I said holding him tightly. "I'm sorry Ken, you shouldn't have had to come. She's gone, she's not coming back."
"No her hand moved." he insisted clutching onto my arm.
"Ken." Fuuka said moving to his other side. "It happens, the chemicals will affect the nerves which can make the arms move. It wasn't Minako."
"It was." he whispered lowering his head. "She's not dead, she can't die, after all this, she can't..." Ken broke down unable to say anymore. Fuuka moved him out of my arms and helped him stand up whispering to him as she moved to the door, I watched them as they stood in front of the door and I took two steps forward before looking back. I felt my heart stop and I stared at Minko.
"Aki?" Shinjiro said stepping towards me. "What is it?" I didn't reply and watched Minako, please, please don't let that have been my imagination, please god let it have been real. And after a few more agonizing seconds it happened again, her eyes opened and blinked. I walked over in uncertain steps, everyone silent behind me with wide eyes. As I got closer to her she blinked a couple times and I lurched forward and grabbed her hand causing her to jump and look at me. I smiled, she was warm again, warmer than before.
"Aki?" she whispered staring up at me as I leaned over her. She hesitantly raised up her arms and wrapped them around my neck and pulled herself up against me. My eyes widened momentarily before I adjusted my position so that one knee was placed on the bed while my other leg was on the floor supporting us. I wrapped my arms around the middle of her back and held her tight against me as she cried.
Yu's P.O.V.
I jerked awake my heart pounding and my body covered in sweat. My breath came out in quick pants and my hands shook as I brought them up to my arms. My entire body was tense with fear and my eyes kept flickering around the train compartment. I was completely alone besides the since of dread I felt from the shadows.
"It was only a dream." I told myself over and over again, like it was chant of sorts. "Just a dream." But despite telling myself this I felt myself doubting that, it was too real, no matter how you looked at, dreams, not even nightmares, were supposed to feel that real. I could feel the hands of the shadows as they tried to drown me and intense terror I felt as the jaws the large shadow closed around me. I jumped startled as a voice rang out overhead.
"Now approaching Yasoinaba." the voice came from the speaker. "Now approaching Yasoinaba." I gave a shaky laugh and stood up breathing in deeply to calm my body, I'd have a lot of explaining to do if Uncle saw me like this, especially if it was just from a stupid nightmare. I knew it was stupid but it managed to calm me down enough to stop shaking. I wiped the sweat from my face and grabbed my bag from the overhead compartment and waiting for the train to come to a complete stop. As the doors opened I walked outside shivering at the cold February air. I clenched and unclenched my hands as I walked out of the train station almost bumping into Uncle in front of his car.
"Hey." he said looking at me up and down before meeting my eyes, I looked away and he sighed before taking my bag. "Might as well sit up front Nanako is asleep in the back.." he said tossing my bag in the trunk. I nodded and got in looking back at Nanako with a small smile, she was holding on tightly to the small bear I bought her before I left to go back to the city two years ago. I hadn't really expected her to hold onto and figured it'd just sit in her room, but it made me happy to see her holding onto it.
"She loves that bear." Uncle said climbing into the driver's seat. "She hasn't let go of the thing since you left, said it was gift from her big brother and she was going to carry it till he came back." he looked over and smiled at me. "She's been looking forward to this day since she found out you were coming."
"I've been looking forward to seeing her again." I said turning around to stare out the window. And it was true, I had been so looking forward to seeing Nanako and Uncle again, plus all my friends I had to leave behind, while it's true I talked to them a lot over the phone I still missed hanging out with them and talking face to face with them.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Uncle asked after a few minutes. I looked over at him.
"There isn't much to talk about." I said, and it was true I didn't know what to say so I didn't. "Though I am sorry to impose like this."
"Don't be your family." Uncle said with a quick glance. "And no matter what happened between my sister and your father you'll always be welcomed here." I shrugged and laid my against the cold window. "Sadly these things happen and are becoming common, but they still love you and you'll always have a home, that I will make sure of." I nodded but still didn't say anything. Over the summer my parents decided to get a divorce, it came as a shock to a lot of us especially me, despite living with them I didn't even know they were having problems. After they announced the divorce plans they started fighting, I would normally leave when they did but it started happening so often I began dreading coming home. One night I remember my mom asking my dad what they were going to do with me, neither of them had any answers, that same night I called Uncle and asked him if I could come stay with him. He agreed without hesitation and even said it'd be better for me if I did, what I didn't know was that after I hung up with he called my mom and yelled at her but didn't tell her I was coming over. That was about a week ago, during that time I bought a train ticket and Uncle enrolled me into my final year at Yasogami High School, I was thrilled to be able to go back to the same school I went to before and plus all of my friends were still going there.
My heart dropped when I thought about my friends, they had no idea I was coming back tonight, actually they had no idea I was coming back at all. Every time I would talk to them I had no idea how to bring it up and so I ended up putting off telling them continuously. They would defiantly be surprised when I text them and tell them that I'm in Inaba. I thought for a moment, I would have to tell them tomorrow, since tomorrow was Sunday, February 3rd the following day I started back at school. They would be pissed if that's when they found out, actually they'll probably still be mad at me.
"Yu?" Uncle asked breaking me out of my thoughts. "Did you hear me?"
"What?" I said looking at him slightly dazed. "No, sorry I was thinking about school."
"I said you're friends promised to come over to play with Nanako tomorrow." he repeated looking at me. "Did you not tell them you were coming back? I told Nanako not to say anything to them since they didn't seem to know."
"Oh." I said looking back out the window. "No I haven't told them I was coming back yet. It never seemed like a good time."
"When is there a bad time to tell you're friends you were coming back?" he said shaking his head and looking back at the empty road. "You don't have to tell them why." he said quietly. "They're your friends, they'll understand if you don't want to tell them why you came back, they'll be happy just because you did. Even if it is halfway through your final year of high school."
"I know but it would have felt wrong if I didn't tell them." I muttered. "How do you tell someone your parents decided they suddenly hate each other and neither one wants you?"
"Well I supposed you can start by saying that." he said with a small laugh. "They won't expect much in the way of a straight answer. They've known you for too long." I smiled, that was true, Chie was always making fun of me saying I was more naive then Yukiko sometimes. Though Yosuke said there was no way that was possible. I let out a sigh I really missed my friends, since moving back to the city I've had a hard time adjusting which was unusual for me since I learned at a young age to adjust to new environments fast.
"Maybe tomorrow I'll explain." I leaning my head against the window again and ignoring the similar coldness of the water from my dream. "I was going to text them in the morning anyways to let them know I was back. Knowing them if I texted them tonight they'd all come rushing over tonight. Especially Kanji."
"No doubt in my mind." Uncle laughed. "But he's a good kid, it shows that us adults are quick to judge by appearance huh?"
"Everyone does that." I said closing my eyes. "Even us teenagers, and sometimes that's more dangerous than adults prejudging."
"That's true." Uncle said before going quiet again for a couple more minutes. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you want to talk about? When you came out of the train station you seemed awfully pale and even now you still are. You aren't coming down sick are you?"
"No I'm just tired that's all." I replied with a yawn that seemed to help convince him. He wouldn't understand the point behind my nightmare anyways and he didn't need to worry needlessly he was already doing so much for me as it is.
"Well you can still take some cold medicine when we get home." Uncle said and I felt happy when he said that, it did say it would always be my home as well but to hear him say it as we were on our way they made me even more happy. "Then you can go straight to bed and wash up in the morning."
For the first time in months I felt relieved, and almost happy. I felt like I was on familiar ground again. In the one year I was here I did more in my life than had in the rest of my years, I came to miss the excitement when I went back to the city, I really missed the open area and the clean air, hell I missed the fact that there really wasn't much to do out here. The quiet became so familiar the noise of the city left me with headaches for weeks after I returned. Or maybe I just missed the friends I made here, when I went back the people I had called my friends seemed like familiar strangers rather than actual friends and I realized how little I had in common with them.
The car fell silent again and I smiled, I was going home and even if it was selfish of me, I didn't want to leave back to the city again, I'd rather live with Uncle and Nanako than with parents that hardly were ever there by no fault of their own. But even if it wasn't their fault it still felt bad that I found out more about my parents from Uncle than I did from them themselves. I glanced over at Uncle before looking back out the window. For now, I would ignore the fear from my nightmare, and the dread of what was going to happen in the future. For now I was going to be happy and relieved and just act normal like I did before, sure there were going to be some differences and it was going to be awkward at first but it'd disappear just like it did 3 years ago when I first came here.
"Thanks Uncle." I said before falling asleep.
Some hours later:
I woke up to the harsh bright sunlight of the sun, I blinked rapidly as I sat up, it took me awhile before I realized I was in one of the rooms in Uncle's house, actually by the looks of it I was in the same room I had stayed in before. It also took me awhile to realize I didn't remember even coming up to the room...or putting my pajamas on. I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window trying to remember what it was that woke me up, then I heard it again, downstairs I could hear laughter and I flinched before pulling out my phone and looking at the time, it was 1:30 in the afternoon, so much for telling my friends I was here before theygot here. I stood up and stretched my bones cracking slightly, I walked over to the mirror and did a once over, I was wearing the usual gray sweats and white shit that I wore to bed and it took a couple times to get my hair to lay flat enough that I didn't look completely ridiculous. I let out a sigh before I quietly opened my bedroom door and tiptoed down the stairs, I knew Nanako, Chie, Yukiko, Rise, Yosuke, and Kanji wouldn't hear and I was easy able to pick out their voices so I knew none of them were near the stairs, the only voice I couldn't hear was Naoto, and that could mean one of two things; one she wasn't here, 2 she was hear being her quiet self, and since Kanji was here I'm pretty sure she was too.
"Nanako you've been getting so tall!" I overheard Chie say.
"Haha really?" Nanako laughed pleased with complement. "I want to be as tall as big brother soon."
"I don't think anyone but Kanji can beat him at that." Yosuke said with a sigh and I could imagine him shrugging like he always did. "Heck I'm still shorter than him."
"Only by a little Yosuke." Yukiko laughed being the only to find some kind of humor in what was said.
"Seriously Yukiko?" Chie said with a small giggle.
"Speaking of senpai," Kanji said speaking up again. "Have we decided when we're going?"
"Going?" Nanako asked sounding confused, I stiffened, going where?
"I was thinking next week when we have that break for inspection*." Chie replied. "We won't be in school and we'll have most of the week to spend with Yu."
"That's a great idea." Yosuke said. "And it's not like I'll be doing my homework anyways so I'm good for it."
"Yosuke I don't think you should admit that." Rise said with a giggle. "But I'm ok with then too."
"Sound good to me." Kanji said.
"Me too!" Yukiko said with a laugh. "I miss Yu, get it "you". Hehe." Everyone let out a sigh even me.
"Sounds fine." Naoto said and I perked up my hears, she was normally a soft talked but even for her she didn't sound like she was anywhere near the stairs.
"Hehe." Nanako giggled.
"What's so funny Nanako?" Yosuke asked.
"Yeah Nana-chan?" Teddie said suddenly startling me. He was so quiet before that I didn't even know he was here.
"I forgot my bear." Nanako so and I could hear her run across the room towards the stairs where I was still hiding. I took another deep breath, something that seemed to become a favorite thing to do, and looked down at her as she came up to the stair. I smiled down at her as she looked up at me with a little confusion before she broke out into a wide grin. I scooped her up and stepped into the living room.
"Looks you're not going to have to go far to see me." I said giving them a small smile.
"S-senpai!" Kanji stuttered looking shocked to see me.
"SENSEI*!" Teddie shouted loudly jumping up and down clapping his hands.
"Narukami-kun." Yukiko said looking at me from her spot on the floor beside Chie.
"Hey partner." Yosuke said walking up to me and draping an arm over my shoulder. "We didn't know you were coming back."
"Yeah sorry it was...well it's been busy I haven't had time to tell anyone apart from Uncle." I said with a shrug.
"Senpai* it's good to see you again." Naoto said quietly, I looked over and she gave me a suspicious look but didn't say anything. I smiled at her.
"Still wearing the male uniform." I said laughing. Please don't look at me like I'm a suspect of something.
"I find it more comfortable than the female's uniform." she smiled. "Not much has changed with us since you left that you don't know about anyways."
"When did you get back Yu?" Chie asked standing up.
"Late last night." I replied sitting Nanako down who then hugged my waist. "I was going to text you guys this morning but I woke up late and you were already here."
"That's ok senpai." Kanji said leaning against the wall behind Naoto. "It's a nice surprise. But, why did you come...ouch." Naoto elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a look that made him fall silent instantly. Everyone glanced at me and I swallowed nervously and look down at Nanako who was still clinging to my waist, she was staring up at me with her head tilted, she didn't know what was going on and I didn't really want her to get involved in this kind of family situation.
"Weren't you getting you bear?" I asked her kneeling down.
"No I was actually going to see if you were awake yet." she replied but nodded her head in understanding. "I have homework to do so I'm gonna go work in my room, if you need anything just call for me."
"I will." I laughed patting her head gently. She smiled and ran to her room closing the door behind her.
"What's going on partner?" Yosuke asked concern lacing his voice.
"Nothing." I said simply. This didn't concern them so I wasn't going to make a big deal about it. For now I was just going to tell them what they had to know, but I knew if Nanako was in here as I spoke she would worry more than she had too, she thought I was here just to finish the school year here and that my parents were really busy again. "My parents are really busy at the moment and Uncle and I both agreed that it would be best if I stayed here to finish my last year of high school."
"Then it's nothing serious?" Chie asked walking up to me.
I paused for a moment before replying. "No, it's nothing important at all." None of them appeared to really buy what I said except for Teddie, Kanji, and Yukiko. "Everything is fine." I insisted.
"Haha of course it is." Yosuke said slapping me on the back. "There isn't anything you can't handle."
"Exactly." I nodded in agreement.
"Yu I don't think you were supposed to actually agree with that." Chie replied shaking her head. Everyone started laughing and I smiled. This was normal, this was what I had become used to. Living in the country was more natural than living in the city. Being with my friends here in the country came more natural than being with the people who claimed to be my friends in the city.
"It'll be good to have you back at school senpai." Rise said beside Yukiko. "Things have been so boring here since you left."
Boring, maybe that's a good thing. We got too used to defeating shadows, I'm starting to wonder if that was a good thing. Suddenly my mind flashed back to the nightmare that I had on the train on my way here, I had one when I came to Inaba the first time, my nightmare then had been filled with a girl hanging upside down dead, and not too long afterward a girl was found dead hanging upside down from an antenna. I sat down on the floor in front of Yukiko and Rise as everyone else sat down as well, Yosuke sat down next to me followed by Chie. Kanji and Naoto both sat down to my right.
"I have to ask you something Teddie." I said slowly. Teddie looked at me and nodded his face slowly becoming serious.
"What is it sensei?" Teddie asked looking at me.
"Is there anything strange going inside of the other world?" I asked him clutching my hands. "Inside of the TV?"
"Shadows?" he asked tilting his head. I nodded and he shook his head. "No, I haven't sensed anything out of ordinary. That world is normal right now."
"Normal?" Yosuke said raising an eyebrow. "Since when is anything in that world normal?"
"It's not like this world is normal either Yosuke." Teddie retorted.
"Yeah you've got a point there." Yosuke replied with a shrug. "Anyways, partner why were you asking about that world?"
"I was just wondering that's all." I replied without meeting his eyes. If something was going on with the shadows then Teddie would know immediately right? So it was just a dream after all, I have nothing to worry about. But then why do I still feel so uneasy. "Just thought I'd ask since the last time I came here I ended up fighting shadows everyday as an after school activity."
"None of us has been back over there since you left." Yukiko said softly. "So if the shadows have been acting up we wouldn't have any idea, Teddie might since he's kind of a shadow himself, but he might not." I didn't think about that, since Teddie's been living in this world he may be losing his ability to sense shadows not that he is no longer directly connected to that world.
"Ehh oh well." I said with a laugh. "It wasn't important I was just asking."
"Well something's bothering you senpai." Kanji said folding his arms. "Why not just spit it out."
"It's really not important Kanji." I said looking at him. I shouldn't have brought it up they're never going to let it drop. "I really was just wondering."
"You know something about that world don't you?" Rise asked. "I can tell, Kanzeon* tells me something has been bothering you and it involves the shadows."
Damn it. "Really I..." I was interrupted when the phone started ringing, I looked back and stared at before Chie spoke up.
"You're not going to get that?" Chie asked politely.
"Yeah." I said standing up and walking over to the phone. I took a deep breath, I wonder if taking to many deep breaths could kill you, I picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Yu?!" a female voice said hysterically over the phone.
My heart plummeted and the world tilted upward at the sound of the voice on the other line and my voice shook as I answered. "Mom?"
"When someone cries so hard that it hurts their throat it is out of frustration or knowing that no matter what you can do or attempt to do can't
change the situation. When you feel like you need to cry, when you just want to get it out, relieve some of the pressure inside-that is true
pain. Because no matter how hard you try or how bad you want to, you can't. Then, if you're lucky, one small tear may escape
from those eyes that water constantly. That one tear, that tiny, salty, droplet of moisture that is a means of escape.
Althoughit's just a small tear, it is the heaviest thing in the world.
And it doesn't do a damn thing to fix anything."
~Chase Brooks~
Me:Alright the first chapter of Dark Waters is finally done and up!I know it's been a long time since I've updated and I'm sorry about that. I make no promises on when I will update again but hopefully it won't take as long as this one did. I'm making a schedule that I will be going off of so that should help keep me up to date. I'm entering my second semester of college so I won't know when I'll be able to actually work on my stories till after the first week when I will get a schedule down. Also another note I will also be posting this story up on Wattpad so you'll also be able to read it there though it'll be updated the same day or following day as it will be here on fanfiction.
Me: Now about this story I have a few things to explain, one; this story will be hosting the characters from Persona 1, 2, 3, and 4. That means both parts of Persona 2, but they may not be exactly like they are in the game since I have to make a lot of changes to get them all to fit together. Some characters that are dead won't be and some that should be dead and aren't might become that way lol jk, but maybe. I have a lot planned for this story so now it'll be finding the time to do so. There might be a few things that don't make sense at the moment and I'm sorry about that but just bear with me and it will be explained shortly. So please review and let me know what you think about the story, no hate messages even if you think I deserve them, if you feel the strong need to complain to me about something please do it via private message rather than waist the space on a review. Thank you!
*senpai: a term of respect for an older friend
*sensei: used to call a teacher or professor; in this case it means master
*Kanzeon: the Japanese name given to the Chinese goddess of mercy and compassion, Guan Yin. This is Himiko's ultimate form.