June 11th, 2002
Hotaru has changed a lot within the past few months.
The red strings of fate she has been forced to see everyday, she ignores them altogether; before, it was just the people, which was really no different than before her newfound sight. Unfortunately, for some time, she'd think about it, how she didn't have one; she tossed and turned at night, sometimes, trying to figure out why she was destined to be alone. Now, she doesn't think about the why or the how; she has chosen not to dwell on it anymore. Or, at least, that's what she makes herself believe; in truth, it still upsets her.
The classmate she indirectly killed, she still doesn't regret a damn thing. Toko was a means to an end; her best chance of getting rid of her horrid father. She deserved the blackmail, of course; she went into the studying sessions with ill intentions. It was karma that led to her downfall. Truthfully, she hadn't expected the teen to get sexually assaulted and murdered in an alleyway but that's not on her; she didn't tell those boys to do it. Therefore, she shouldn't feel guilty about it.
…Right?
…Yeah, she doesn't feel remorse or anything about what happened.
Nothing at all…
The disappearance of her father, she's still ecstatic about. However, since he left (to evade the police, thanks to her outing him as a con artist), she's been learning to properly defend herself, just in case. She knows he'll come back, someday; she just doesn't know if he'll be vengeful, murderous. …Okay, so, she doesn't know if he'll be murderous; vengeance is a given, considering "getting even" seems to run in the entire family. The point of the matter is she's been learning to protect herself because of that possibility.
She's been messing around with any blunt or sharp object she lays her hands on, learning how to properly use them and where to aim to deal some major damage. She's been taking self defense classes; a weapon won't always be available in emergencies. And she's been practicing parkour; who knows if she'd have to run or not, and vanish like a ninja, just like her asshole of a father.
A baseball bat knocks against the head of a mannequin, sending it soaring across the backyard. Scattered across the ground are many others but not all from mannequins; some are bits and pieces of what was once a statue. Standing there amongst the debris is Hotaru, swinging her weapon in circles with glee. She's gotten better; before, she could barely leave a dent in the damned things.
Tossing the bat aside, she stretches, then suddenly takes off in a sprint around an obstacle course she's made. Before, she couldn't finish it in under ten minutes; now, she can do it in three. All it took was dedication (and a lot of exercising, oof). As she runs and jumps, and flips, she smiles widely; she's having the time of her life. This has been the bestest decision she's ever made; she's stronger and faster now. She can protect herself and her mother from any danger that comes their way.
"I'd like to see that sperm donor try something now," she mutters, finishing the course and finally taking a break from all the exercise she's been doing throughout the morning and afternoon.
Drunken laughter erupts from inside the household, causing her to groan and roll her eyes. She doesn't know why she expected her mother to mourn with many nights of crying; instead, she's "mourning" by getting drunk off her ass and having sex with a bunch of random men she meets, all who are barely adults.
Shaking her head, she bypasses the backdoor and walks around her home. The only day she's allowed to avoid school and her mother is spending it getting laid instead of attempting to bond with her or something.
Whatever; I'll find something to do in the meantime, she thinks.
Seconds later, she supposes she'll just spend the rest of the afternoon roaming around town; far better than waiting around for her mother to finish with her new fuck buddy.
Hajime hasn't changed very much since the year prior; at fourteen and a half years old, his life continues to be incredibly average and ordinary.
His loner-like mannerisms remain; the silence of his bedroom, and the loudness of the Yagami household, is still better than socializing with everyone else, outside of school. The only other exception is his adoptive grandmother; he's been spending more time with her as of late, as she's growing more frail.
He does most of the housework, he gets the groceries when they are needed, and he assists her in walking when she gets too tired, which has become more often than not. He knows, deep down, that she doesn't have many more years left; four or five tops. He often lies in bed at night, just thinking about it; he hopes he'll be ready when the time comes, when he'll be left completely alone.
His focus on school remains as it always was; he studies and does his homework. However, he has gained a hobby, sort of; tutoring. No longer needing it himself, he helps others with subjects that deeply confuse them. It gets a bit awkward sometimes, especially when he tutors girls his age; they flirt too much and it makes him uncomfortable, but he doesn't wanna be rude, so he continues helping them, enduring the negative emotions they cause.
His slightly defensive nature towards his stuttering hardly remains; he just ignores comments and teasing by this point.
He remains indecisive and scatterbrained, and it was still entirely Light's fault. And speaking of him, he's slowly becoming worse and worse of a friend, a major know-it-all asshole. If he'd been raised differently, Hajime would've ditched him, truly. But he can see the good in others, as little of it there tends to be. Light was his first friend; he won't abandon him just because he's gotten a lot…meaner.
Such remains the life of Hajime. Not so lonely anymore, but not quite that happy; an average human's lifestyle.
An old traditional household sits near, but not directly on, a street corner, just a block away from a church. The roofs (two, in total) are slate-silver, the wooden walls (coated with many windows; ten, at the most) made of a bright oak; the building stands two floors tall. A small garden lies in the back, well-kempt. A wooden veranda, leading to a sliding door, sits at the front and back of the home. Inside, the household is sectioned off by additional sliding doors. Each room lacks in much furniture; low tables, floor chairs, futon beds, traditional paintings and artifacts, and the necessary appliances for food making and bathing.
The door of Grandmother Miu's bedroom slides open, revealing Hajime. He slowly enters, carrying a tray; the meal is something light and simple, miso soup with a side of shiitake mushrooms and a cup of green tea. "I've made your favorite again, Grandmother Miu," he softly states.
From where she lies, atop her futon bed, she lets out a tired sigh, though she smiles to show her appreciation. "Always with the honorifics," she lightly teases. "Grandmother will do just fine, my boy."
Hajime turns red in the face. "R-Right." He clears his throat. "My apologies, Grandmother." He approaches, careful not to drop or spill anything from the tray. He kneels and briefly sits the tray on the floor beside him. Then, he reaches forward and assists her in sitting up. Afterwards, he grabs the tray again and gently places it on her lap. He keeps his hands on either side of it, to keep it steady for her. "I only mean to be respectful."
She gives him a gentle smile. "I know." She picks up an eating utensil. "I just wished to remind you that you don't always have to be; inside our home, the honorifics can be placed aside." She begins to slowly eat her soup.
"You don't need to remind me," he says, politely. "I know I don't need to use your title; I just want to."
She hums. "I know, my boy." She pauses her eating briefly to cough into her palm. She glances at him, seeing his panic and worry. "Now, don't write your dear grandmother off just yet; I still have some fight left in me."
Hajime chuckles weakly, feeling water in his eyes; he's definitely gonna cry. If not now, then later. "I-I know," he stutters. His hands tremble a bit. He watches her eat for a moment before continuing. "...You're as tough as nails, like you've always told me." Briefly, he's quiet. "…We're running low on groceries again." He bites his lip, nervous. "Will… Will you be okay without me…? Do I need to get you anything while I'm there? To…help?"
"I'll be just fine," she answers softly. "I have everything I need right here."
"Okay," he whispers, nodding shortly.
Half an hour later, Hajime walks out of their household, heading further into town for their much needed food supply.
The streets are swarming; people are making their ways down the roads and sidewalks, heading to their homes, workplaces, etc. Such is life in Japan.
On a less busy (but still quite so) street, Hotaru walks, a hood tucked over her head despite the mild heatwave. She's grinning; a nice walk around town has been exactly what she needed to rid herself of that irritation, however temporary it'll last.
She's been roaming for a while, maybe thirty minutes or so. Not once has she looked up, always staring down at her feet; it's the only way she can actively avoid seeing someone's string of fate.
She walks past a convenience store. Briefly glancing around, and recognizing which area of town she's currently in, immediately, she backtracks and enters it. She doesn't roam; she heads directly to the portion of the store where chocolate related food items are. She grabs a random brand's dark chocolate bar before moving towards the cold beverages location, where she then grabs a soda.
She impatiently taps her foot while waiting in a short line; the person in front of her is taking a little too long to pay for their shit. Before her patience runs any thinner, the person gets their things paid for, finally, and they leave. Avoiding eye contact, Hotaru hands over the items she wants and then collects them after paying and receiving her receipt. She heads for the door.
Outside, walking along the sidewalk and heading towards the location of the convenience store, is Hajime. Within his grasp is a brown bag of groceries; he hadn't gotten much, just a few instant noodles of the spicy sort and some of his favorite tea, since he didn't have a lot of money on his person when he left the house. He has a pout on his face, disappointed in himself for being so scatterbrained; he'd been so certain that he had enough but clearly, he'd been so distracted by his worry that he hadn't actually checked to be sure. He's gonna have to make a second trip because of it, much to his annoyance.
Just as he's walking past the convenience store, just as its door is opening, his cell-phone buzzes in his pocket. Immediately, he pauses and looks down, fumbling to get it. At this precise moment, Hotaru exits the convenience store, tearing open the wrapper on her candybar, soda briefly under her arm; she keeps her head and eyes down towards the ground as she sidesteps past Hajime without glancing at him.
Hajime stares at the message on the screen of his cell-phone; Light wants him to come over. He sends a short text back, politely declining, before putting away his phone; he wants to watch over his grandmother instead. He continues walking.
Heading in the opposite direction, Hotaru gleefully munches on her little snack.