A/N: Welcome to act two of this story, I hope you`ll enjoy it.
For the survivors of Heavenly Host, things went downhill in a matter of minutes. No one except them could remember the friends who died there and acted as if they never existed. Gonta had it the worst out of all of them. As Ryutaro put it, "his body was there, but his mind wasn`t". He almost never answered questions he was asked, when he did reply he only said "yes" or "no". Him being in this state made the others worry, as no one could figure out how to snap him out of it.
Nana and Ryutaro had visited Gonta`s apartment to check on him. Three weeks had now passed and his condition had not changed.
"Hey Gonta-kun" Nana said cheerfully. Gonta didn`t reply only making a grunting noice. Nana then turned towards Ryutaro, "His eyes are blank, almost like he`s dead" she whispered.
"That`s it" Ryutaro said as he went over to Gonta. Much to Nana`s surprise he grabbed Gonta`s collar. "Don`t just stand there. I don`t care if you lost your own brother, it`s not easy for any of us either. Take some responsibility for once, stop relying on others!" he said angrily. After he said that, he punched Gonta in the face.
"Gonta-kun! What`s the deal with you Ryutaro?" Nana asked.
"I`ve had as much as I can take Nana" Ryutaro replied, "All he has done since he got back is just stand there and watch us work our asses of for nothing. Even with what he has gone through, there isn`t any reason for this. He needs to-".
"Learn to be more like Honda?" someone asked. Nana and Ryutaro turned towards Gonta.
"Did…did you just speak?" Ryutaro asked, now more confused than angry.
"I did, thanks to your punch" Gonta replied. "Look, before you yell more at me, I have a question for you" he said.
"What`s that?" Ryutaro asked.
"What do you like doing?" Gonta asked. Ryutaro`s expression softened at the question.
"Nothing in particular, why do you ask?" he replied.
"Your dad would know" Gonta said. Ryutaro then shock his head and left the apartment. However the door wouldn`t open.
"What the, why won`t it open?" he asked irritated.
"Because I say so" someone replied. The three young teens turned in the direction of the voice. It was a boy around Yoshiki`s age with short white hair and grey eyes. He wore a white shirt covered by a red jacket, black pants and black shoes. He also had a gun in his hand which he was pointing at them.
"Takashi?" Gonta asked, recognizing the young man.
"That`s right. I still have a bone to pick with your brother" Takashi replied.
"Wait, you remember him, but no one else does?" Ryutaro asked.
"Oh they don`t, right they don`t. Thanks to a charm I got from Aiko Niwa my memory is unaltered" Takashi replied. "I wanted to get back at Honda, but getting back at his brother is the next best thing" he stated. Suddenly Gonta started wobbling.
"Gonta-kun, what`s wrong?" Nana asked.
"I-I feel dizzy" Gonta replied, something then clicked inside Ryutaro`s head.
Oh shit that`s right, he hasn`t eaten anything for three weeks Ryutaro thought. He then began to take a step towards Gonta.
"Make one step and you`re dead" Takashi said and pointed the gun Ryutaro, who stopped in his tracks. Gonta then collapsed and fell to the ground.
"Looks like he`s making things easier for me" Takashi said as he walked over to the unconscious Gonta. He then smirked as he pointed the gun at the unconscious boy, "Revenge has never been this sweet" Takashi said. Before he could pull the trigger of the gun however, he was knocked out from behind. It was Yoshiki who did it.
"Come on, let`s get Gonta to the hospital" he said.
"Right" Nana and Ryutaro said in unison.
The hospital, 15 minutes later:
Nana, Ryutaro and Yoshiki had brought Gonta to the nearest hospital. The other survivors, Naomi, Satoshi, Yuka, Ayumi and Seiko, had heard about this and had gotten there to.
"So, that was Takashi" Yoshiki said.
"You`ve heard of him?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah" Yoshiki replied, "Honda has told me about him once. I don`t know all the details, but they didn`t get along well. I can tell you that" he stated. Nana looked down at the floor.
"You`re worried about Gonta aren`t you?" Seiko asked her. Nana nodded, "Don`t worry, he`ll be fine" Seiko assured.
"That`s not what worries me" Nana said. Seiko looked back at her confused.
"Then what?" Ayumi asked.
"It`s that he now needs to find a way to sustain himself" Ryutaro said, replying for his girlfriend. I need to say sorry to him for all I said, but not now. He needs time to clear his mind first, besides I can`t bring myself to apologize now he thought.
"Right, that`s gonna be a problem" Satoshi said, "Can you give him any tips Yoshiki?" he asked his blonde haired friend.
"I might be able to give him some tips, but he should learn most of this stuff himself" Yoshiki replied, "After all, it`s him who has to manage himself" he added.
"Wait, you live by yourself to?" Ayumi asked.
"Well…yes I do" Yoshiki replied.
Meanwhile in room 287, Gonta was still unconscious in the bed. The doctor and a nurse were sitting there, waiting for him to regain consciousness.
"Do you think he will be alright doctor?" the nurse asked.
"I`m sure he`ll be fine" the doctor replied. Gonta then started to stir and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and slowly sat up. The nurse walked up to the bed and stopped beside it.
"I see you`re awake now" she said, she then took the chocolate lying on the table next to the bed and held it out towards Gonta. "Here, eat this. You need to replenish your blood with sugar" she said.
"Thanks" Gonta said as he took the chocolate and took a bite of it.
"Should I call for your friends?" the nurse asked.
"That would be great thanks" Gonta replied. The nurse nodded and exited the room. The doctor then rose up from his chair.
"You can leave this hospital in a few hours, just make sure you eat plenty of food" he said and left the room.
Easier said than done in my case Gonta thought. A few minutes later, the other survivours had arrived and told Gonta what he had missed. "Three weeks, man that`s a lot to take in" he said. He then glansed over at Ryutaro, who gave him a quick nod.
"Do you think you`ll be able to handle it?" Nana asked.
"Maybe, I`m not sure" Gonta replied simply.
"If you all wouldn`t mind, I need to talk to Gonta alone" Ryutaro said.
"If you must" Satoshi said and waved for the others to follow him, leaving the two friends alone in the room.
"Was I really only in that state for three weeks straight?" Gonta asked.
"Afraid so" Ryutaro said, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Why didn`t you tell me about Takashi?" he asked instead.
"Because I didn`t want you to be involved" Gonta replied. "You had enough to deal with as was. Please just try to avoid him, if not for your sake, then for Nana`s sake" he stated. Ryutaro gave him a small smile.
"Thanks, I`m glad you`re so considerate" Ryutaro said, "By the way, a new employee has taken your brother`s place" he added.
"Right, I guess I`ll see you later" Gonta said.
"You know it, see you later. Be safe and good luck" Ryutaro said and left the room. "You can all go back inside now" he said. As the others did that, he mentally kicked himself for not apologizing.
At Gonta`s apartment, few hours later:
Gonta was sitting at the table in the living room with his head his hands. This was all too much for him to take in. I should have listened to Ryutaro, I`m hopeless he thought. Not only did he have to catch up with school, he also had to worry about Takashi, finding a job and helping his friends, all alone. The door to his apartment opened and Ryutaro entered.
"Hey" Ryutaro said, he got a sigh in response, which caused him to tilt his head. "You okay over there?" he asked as he went over to the table.
"I just don`t know what to do anymore" Gonta replied. "You were right, I never should have relied so much on Honda. Now I can`t do anything but feel sorry for myself" he said. Ryutaro just stood there, watching his friend. "I couldn`t help Honda in the past, now I can`t help the friends I`ve made" Gonta said. Ryutaro put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey don`t beat yourself up about it" he said. "You were so young back then and no one could possibly have known any of this would happen. Besides you have done so much for us already, you need to take care of yourself now" he added. He then pulled out an iPhone 4 from his pocket, "Thanks for the present by the way" he said.
"No problem" Gonta said, he then got up from his chair. "You have a point, and I have an idea of the first thing I can do" he said. He made a clicking noise with his tongue and Befall, the peacock, came over to him. He then went over to the door and opened it, letting Befall exit the apartment and fly away. Gonta then closed the door and turned towards Ryutaro, who sighed.
"Listen I…I`m sorry for yelling at you earlier" Ryutaro said. "It`s just…I kinda forgot that it was your brother you lost" he said.
"It`s okay, sometimes it`s better to just vent out your emotions" Gonta said.
Ryutaro smiled, "You know, while I may have said that you`re too forgiving before, but I think it helps you more than it hurts you" he stated. Suddenly, Honda`s phone began ringing. "Who`s phone is that?" Ryutaro asked, not recognizing the ring tone.
"That`s Honda`s phone" Gonta replied, he went back to the table and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.
"Hey Gonta, it`s me Seiko" Seiko answered on the other line.
"How did you know I had Honda`s phone?" Gonta asked.
"I found out a few days ago" Seiko replied, causing Gonta to facepalm. "Anyway I have to ask you something" she stated.
"What is it?" Gonta asked.
"Well, I was wondering if you could watch my siblings for a little bit. Naomi and I are gonna go shopping and my dad won`t be home until late at night" Seiko explained. Gonta scratched his chin in thought.
"Sure I`ll do it" Gonta said.
"GREAT, meat me at the park in ten minutes `kay? See you later" Seiko said as she hung up before Gonta could say anymore.
She sure is cheerful Gonta thought. "Well guess I better get ready" he said.
"Good luck" Ryutaro said, Gonta nodded and Ryutaro left.
"Well, this should be interesting" Gonta said to himself.
A/N: There`s been a change in plans, meaning that this arc will be a little longer than planed.
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