"Guh..!" Blood spluttered out of her mouth as the renowned #3 lost the electricity around her form, flung backward, and crashed into the ground, blood pooling beneath her from the thin diagonal crevice extending from her upper right chest to her lower left chest.
Her upper half had almost been sliced off, but that was still an ultimately fatal wound. Academy City couldn't force her to breathe after having her lungs cut in half. External life support would save her, but how long would it take for that to arrive?
Her heart and lungs had effectively stopped functioning so it would only take a matter of minutes before her brain would cease its work from the lack of everything.
She would die before arriving at a hospital. And even if against all odds Academy City managed to keep her alive or turned her into a cyborg, would she even be able to function with most of her brain's cells already dying?
That was her fate.
With her limbs sprawled about and limp, she coughed out blood again, her once brown eyes taking on a gray colour, slowly losing life.
Some small arcs of electricity twitched from her body but that too disappeared.
It was truly the end.
Only a matter of time remained before her time of death was announced.
Horrified, Akaru Kirishima turned his head towards the voice flowing into his ears so innocently it was almost as if the shiver that went from the tips of his hair and to his toes didn't even exist.
"K…i…Ki…i…h…a?" Azumi coughed and suddenly the weird sputterings was gone. "Why-why did you just do that…!? No no, that's not important right now! Just- just stay there and don't move! Since the Railgun is thankfully dead and her power is mine, I can make a deal with Academy City so that you get-"
The rosy-haired boy fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"?!"
The consequences of his actions had caught up to him and he had a front-row seat to it all. Fate was laughing at him. God turned a blind-eye on him. This future was prophecized to him and he still couldn't stop it. The world didn't freeze up so he could reject whatever was before him.
He had no possibilities left to reject them.
And now, his nightmare had became a reality.
A white dart was embedded deep inside Azumi's head like a nail.
"Ah…" Dazed, he creaked his head to the side.
There, behind Azumi's collapsed form, was Shirai Kuroko. Her breaths were ragged and her eyes were unusually distant. He'd known her before. She usually informed him regarding when Shokuhou decided to ditch school for the nth time or when Shokuhou wasn't coming back to her dorm after curfew so they could search for her.
He regarded her as a friend.
He'd also knew she had feelings for the girl who was currently dying behind him.
But.
(That doesn't excuse anything.)
Ignoring the throbbing and burning sensation in his right arm, Kirishima stood up and faced that girl. He clenched his hand which caused more blood to spill, but even so, he gritted his teeth harder than before.
If he had to this, then he had to use all the strength he had.
Roaring with fury, he sprinted towards her with his right fist reared back.
"SHIRAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-SAAAANNN!"
He couldn't hold back the tears beginning to well up in the corner of his eyes.
Shirai Kuroko's brown eyes moved to his approaching visage, primarily his fist. She didn't move nor teleport. She just stood there. It was like she wasn't even acknowledging him. It was like he wasn't even there.
He gritted his teeth further. "DON'T YOU DARE FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT YOU MURDERERRR!"
But.
She did teleport a few inches away from him.
Even though she had moved to dodge, he didn't swing his fist only to hit air.
He saw that instantaneous movement coming before it even happened.
His fist—dripping with blood—collided with her unmoving head with so much intensity that she flew.
But that action costed him greatly.
"ARGHHH!" The upper half of his right hand had torn itself off from the impact and flew in the air.
Multiple gasps reached him and a boy's familiar voice yelled at him to stop, but his eyes simply refused to leave the soaring girl before him.
An intense heat concentrated in his right arm, but that too seemed distant.
There was only one thing he had left in this cruel word.
His left hand.
And he clenched it.
Tightly.
With tears in his eyes, he reached Shirai Kuroko mid-air and punched her in the face, blood spluttering from her mouth. "Urgh!"
He whimpered, the tears welling up in his eyes more and more.
He might've broken a few bones in his fist.
A heat he could no longer ignore lit his nerves on fire.
But even so.
He socked her face again with that same great strength. "Urgh!"
Shirai Kuroko's mouth struggled to open so she used her eyes to tell him to stop, but he couldn't see past his tears. His vision was blurry, and a sob of both sadness and despair escaped his mouth.
And even if he saw that face, he wouldn't stop, and instead, he would continue beating her up until both his hands were gone.
He socked her jaw and blood sputtered onto the bank's window.
"…..st…..o…sto..."
That wasn't Shirai's voice.
And of course, nor was it Kirishima's.
Neither him nor Shirai acknowledged that distant voice, or maybe they didn't even hear it. Hadi was running towards him with blood pouring from his head, but those steps felt slow to the speed of his world crumbling.
It wasn't the boy's voice either, nor was it the distant Anti-Skill.
A broken scream tore through him as he continued pounding on her face like a wild animal.
Her nose broke.
"st..op…sto…p"
Her jaw broke.
"S…TOP…ST…OP!"
Her eyes empty.
"STOPPPPPPPPPP!"
Between The Lines 2
Fresh blood was launched in the air but stopped. Fallen leaves was held up by the air itself. A cleaning robot stopped in front of a discarded can, but never moving closer. The wheels of an Anti-Skill truck stopped, but the speedometer did not reach 0 km/h.
There was no evening breeze in this world cursed without time.
And yet.
A single boy sat amidst the timeless world like a sore thumb.
The boy's mouth that was opened wide, was now closed shut, defying reality.
Or was he the source of reality itself?
Nevertheless, that single boy was the only light inside this frozen world. That single fact couldn't be denied.
That boy, who was bestowed an unknown power by the universe, now had to make a decision. A decision which many others chose without a single thought. But that special boy didn't have that liberty.
That is the sort of world this is.
And…
And…
And…
This is the story of a certain boy who, despite possessing the ability to see the future, ultimately wishes to stay in the past.
Part 3: A Fork In The Road [That_I_Don't_Want_To_Choose.]
"Haha! You freak!"
Height.
It generally referred to how tall something was. Nowadays, we, humans, loved reaching higher and higher until there was nothing else to reach, like the space elevator for example.
But that was a misconception. It only applied to objects, and he definitely wasn't one.
He was only a first year elementary school student.
Yes, with a height of 143 cm (4'7) and he wasn't even lanky or fat.
The situation was kind of funny, well, from an outside perspective.
It looked like your average 11-year-old kid was being bullied by little boys armed with esper powered rocks. Whether they realized it or not, the reason why they were using their powers might just be because he was so much bigger than them.
A difference of about 30 cm (12 inches).
And worst of all, he only knew one of those kids while others were just strangers to him. It was a classmate of his, so short and obnoxious. He was leading two kids on a war against him just because he won the genetic lottery.
Or maybe, in this situation, he had lost that game of pure chance.
(I thought tall people was supposed to get preferential treatment!)
He lamented with tears in his eyes, defending himself from the barrage of rocks using his hands. A heat pooled around his hands, chest, and legs, but he didn't run away or drop to his butt. The first time he did that, they got mad at him and started actually beating him up with their legs and hands.
He was confused and felt like crying. He knew being a weakling wasn't an option here, but beating them up would definitely get himself blamed for so he couldn't do that too.
He didn't know what to do…
No one around them would know he was actually 7 years old because they made thorough work of the things only an elementary school kid would wear; a randoseru, and a yellow-capped hat.
"Ahaha!- E-eh? Wh-who are you!?"
"Stay away from Nii-chan!"
"Wh-wh-wh-whahhhhhhh!" "Wahhhhhh!" "Wahhhhhh!"
"Eh..?" (Nii-chan? But… I don't have a little sister…?) He took a peak from his enclosure and saw… her, a girl with an ahoge.
Long hair flew in the wind, unbounded by chains. Sunlight was reflected back at him from just staring at the hair and he blinked. The girl turned towards him with her hands on her back and smiled, approaching him in slow steps.
Blue eyes like the sea stared into him with an intensity he had never felt before, but it quickly disappeared as soon as she was in arms' reach.
He was speechless.
The girl was around his age, but her beauty was unmatched even to the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She wasn't wearing ordinary clothes and instead wore a sort of short, oversized black shirt made out of a plastic-like material that reached over her knee. Her hair was long and reached down her half-naked thighs.
He felt a weird flutter in his chest.
Her figure was petite and she had a perfect face with gentle, soft, rounded chin. She was about 18 cm (7 inches) shorter than him, but that was normal for a girl around his age.
(Did…did my heart just skip a beat!? Am I gonna die!? No, wait, is this what the senpais called it?
(Love?)
"…i…llo…ello…ahem.."
Wait, was she saying something-?
"HELLO!?"
It was like cold water against his face.
"ah-SORRY!"
"Wait-no, don't bow! I'm not gonna bite you, I promise! I only came here to help you, Nii-chan!"
"Oh, okay," He brought his head up. "But why call me Nii-chan? I am sure I don't have a little sister…"
The girl stared at him, and stared at him, and stared at him again before shaking her head and responding, "Why? Because you are Nii-chan. But enough about that, let me see your bruises."
"Huh?" Without waiting, the girl brought his hand forward and immediately started poking at his bruises. "Ow! Ow! Oww! Wh-what are you doing!?"
"This is bad. If you don't get treatment right away, this will probably cause an infection. But you have me and I have you so I will help you, Nii-chan!" The girl brought her hand inside her shirt pocket and pulled out a syringe. He didn't realize it when the girl poked his hand, but the girl had a spot on her right hand covered by a band-aid.
And the girl brought her tiny fingers over to it and pulled.
"Huh!? A-are you alright!?"
"Y-yeah, I am fine!" There were clear droplets in her eyes. "You need to trust me more!" She threw the band-aid away and brought the syringe up. She seemed to be aiming the tip where the band-aid once laid and a little to the the edge of it even though there was a whole healthy arm to choose from.
But her tiny hand kept shaking.
"Uhh…want me to do it? You are trying to take your blood right?" he asked without thinking.
The girl stared at him with a flat look for a moment before suddenly lighting up and responding, "Nii-chan, You are so reliable! Here, do your thing!"
Did he already get friend-zoned before even doing anything?
Instead of falling to his knees, he shook off that gloomy thought and took the syringe.
And then he realized his grave mistake.
(Wait, my hands are big…! Her hands are a much better fit to do this!)
"Uhhhh…"
"What are you waiting for, Nii-chan? Do it! It's that spot right there!"
With tears in his eyes, he grabbed the girl's hand and brought the syringe to it. His hand was shaking. He couldn't do it. This meticulous task wasn't fit for someone like him.
But if he didn't do it, then what was he then? Was he that much of a coward? He didn't run from the bullies because of cowardice; he did it because he was strong. He was capable of fending for himself, but he wasn't able to take that step because of this exact reason.
He was scared of taking risks.
But this girl needed him. This cute little girl wanted his help because she deemed him reliable. This girl put her trust in him and all he could do was break that trust!?
No.
That wasn't an option.
(I have to do it…!)
The result?
The syringe pierced far from the spot.
(Ah…)
"Ahh!" The girl moaned in pain and brought her hand close, the needle falling to the ground. A small amount of blood seeped out of the wound, and the girl just stared at it with a face he couldn't quite make out, but her teary eyes were definitely opened wide with shock.
"I-I am sorry!-" He tried to bow but-
"No!" The girl pushed his body upward and held him in place with both her hands. "You-you did nothing wrong, you hear me!" she yelled with tears in her eyes. "It's just a small mistake so it will heal soon enough so don't beat yourself up! Everyone makes mistakes and mistakes make you stronger! So get stronger! You don't have to feel like you owe me anything because it's my mistake that brought us here!"
The girl stopped, but her blue eyes seemed to widen further as she realized something and she smiled, her emotions suddenly swinging. "Not that it's a mistake to trust you, Nii-chan!"
"B-but-"
"Here!" A dark red flat substance seemed to float from her shirt pocket and seperated itself into many tiny orbs.
Confused, he watched as the many red orbs seemed to launch towards the many bruises on his body. "Ah!?" It felt like water but rougher than usual and it doesn't hurt. After a second, the substance suddenly retreated from his bruises…?
(It's gone!? My bruises are gone..!)
He stared at the miracle angel disguised as a human in shock. "W-what happened to them!?"
Then, the girl smiled and went on to explain.
"My power, Blood Manipulation, can force the blood in your body to work overtime in healing wounds, ignoring the compatibility issues normally seen during blood transfusions. Basically, my blood internally communicates with your blood cells and commands them to send extra reinforcements while my external blood works in closing the wound. Unfortunately, this function of my ability doesn't work on myself for some reason, so I can only heal others. But this is weird…"
The girl placed her tiny fingers on her chin while deep in thought. "It healed faster than usual…" She then stared at him what that same intense look and spoke.
Her voice came out like a passing wind but he still caught it.
"But that might be because Nii-chan doesn't have an AIM to hinder it…"
"H-huh?"
"Wait, you heard that!?" All the control she had disappeared with the sound of shattering glass. Clear droplets stained her panicked eyes and her small hands were clenched cutely. "Wait! Wait! Please forget about what I've said! Pleaseeee! Nii-chan!"
But he was interrupted before he could respond.
"Shiroki!"
The shout came from behind the girl.
The girl, in response to that shout, went completely rigid, her ahoge becoming crestfallen. Her muscles locked in of itself and her eyes went wider in alarm, silently asking for his help.
No, she wasn't asking for his help. The question was already verbalized a moment ago, and his response to that was an affirmative nod. (Why does she want to keep it a secret that much?)
That seemed to make the girl, Shiroki, relax, releasing a sigh of relief. She turned around and waved at the woman who had called her, shouting, "Mom! A second please!"
The girl's mom was wearing those outfits every single scientist in his school wore, and her hair seemed…very black, so much so that he couldn't see a strand of it as they blended in so seemlessly.
The woman looked young, hair in a ponytail, smooth skin, and even a nice face to go along with it, but her dark blue eyes had deep eye bags under them so she looked a bit gloomy. Upon the girl's shout, she stared at her for a moment, lips pulled into a thin line before nodding, her eyes closing and her eye bags disappearing entirely.
The woman didn't even give him a glance.
"Mom can really get strict sometimes, but no worries!" The girl turned to him, smiling, the ahoge atop her head straightening up. "Nii-chan, I hope we'll meet again someday. I am sure you have many unanswered questions, but there's only time for goodbyes now. But the most important thing right now is that I took care of all the bullies!" The girl then beckoned him forward, and whispered in his ear, "I gave you a gift! It's something that will allow us to meet again so please remember me 'kay, Nii-chan?"
She pulled her face back and turned her back to Nii-chan, beginning her walk back to Mom while pulling out two band-aids and slapping them on her right arm.
But there was something Nii-chan needed know before she left.
"Wh-what's your name!? My name is-"
"My name?" The girl cut him off. "It's Shiroki Azumi for you, Nii-chan! Even if you forget about me, I will still call you Nii-chan even without or after knowing your name! Hahaha!"
She truly turned her back on him this time. There was nothing left to accomplish so she unfolded Mom's closed hand and took it, beginning their track back to that place.
Yes, there was nothing left for her to do besides letting fate run its course.
If only she knew fate didn't like them then.
. . .
It's been 4 years, and they haven't even met each other again. He did see her, though, but he wasn't able take that last step because he wasn't strong enough yet. She told him to get stronger, but all that did was giving up on the hope of ever meeting her again. Needless to say, he hadn't seen her in 3 years.
(She couldn't have forgotten me, right...?) he thought, hanging his head as he began his track to the school gates. It was time to go to a club so his destination was
the gym.
"Argh!"
Suddenly, a force knocked him off his feet, causing him to fall onto the dirt below. He opened his eyes and saw a small ball rolling by. (A stray shot?)
Then, a voice that belonged to an angel came down from above.
It was...angry?
"Urgh, Hadi! Look at what you've done! Now, apologize!"
He immediately turned his head towards the miracle that was unfolding. (No way! It's…her…?)
His expression fell and his eyes shook.
What he saw was definitely and 100% her, but no beautiful blue eyes stared back at him. Black ovals stared into his navy blue orbs, and his world shattered. His heart beat drummed in his ears, and his vision seemed to stretch and blur.
(Wha...t? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What?)
"H-hey, hey, you-"
As soon as those words left his mouth, a headache violently split his skull and it hurts. The pain was unbearable that he felt his vision dimming. It felt like someone was sawing his hand in half.
But…
But…
(SHUT ITTT!)
"You remember me right, Azumi-chan!?"
He needed to hear it. Those words were important, it meant everything for him. He couldn't- he couldn't let anything bother him now..!
The girl stared at him, and stared at him, and stared at him again before responding,
"Who-
"Nii-chan."
A hand that should've been given to him 3 years ago was in front of his fallen form.
Long red hair flew in the wind, unbounded by chains.
Blue eyes like the sea stared into him.
The hand belonged to "Shiroki Azumi".
But just like everything he had done up until now, it was long overdue.
He didn't take it.
He thought fixing his mistakes would bring him hope, but all it did was bring him back to square one.
"What are you waiting for, Nii-chan?"
(Me? I am waiting for you to be gone, not to be back.)
Tears fell from his eyes and dripped down his cheeks. He just wanted her to leave him alone.
Why did she have to haunt him now of all times?
(Your gift sucks.)
A sniff followed by a teardrop falling to the ground caught his attention. (That isn't mine-)
A weight fell down on him and he gasped, feeling something wrap around his body. (What!? There's nothing that's moving…here…?)
(Oh.)
It was a tearful embrace from the one he had abandoned.
"I AM SORRY, OKAY?! I AM SORRY FOR FORGETTING YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU REMEMBERED ME! I AM SORRY FOR LEAVING YOU AND FOR HIDING MYSELF IN YOUR HEAD! I SHOULD'VE NEVER TOLD YOU TO CONFRONT ME LIKE THAT A YEAR AGO! AND…I AM SORRY FOR MAKING YOU DO THIS!"
But this time, he didn't accept it half-heartedly- he outright denied her apology.
"NO! YOU DON'T HAVE TO FEEL SORRY! IT'S ME THAT DID THAT NOT YOU! IT"S NOT YOUR FAULT THAT YOU WERE GONE SO DON'T TAKE ON THE BURDEN YOURSELF BY CLAIMING YOU'RE AZUMI! DON'T ACT LIKE YOU ARE THE ONE THAT CAN SEE THE FUTURE! AND DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR SAVING ME ALRIGHT?!"
Tears fell onto their soaked clothes, but what was once a face of sadness and guilt on "Shiroki Azumi" was replaced by a slim smile.
Unfortunately, Kirishima couldn't quite see that grateful smile as he was facing the other way.
Nor did "Shiroki Azumi" truly wanted him to.
"Sorry, Nii-chan!" she sobbed, hugging him tighter.
"No! I am sorry!"
"No! I am!"
"NO! I AM!"
"NO…
"AM…
Like those words, the tears never stopped falling so freely from their hearts and were heard with the same care that each would give to the other.
The perfect replica of the world was frozen in time.
But a boy and a girl walked side-by-side down the silent streets of District 6 with small smiles upturning their lips. Their eyes were puffy and red likely from crying, but that didn't seem to hinder them from checking out the place.
The boy stood at 172 cm tall, while the girl measured 143 cm in height. They looked the average brother and sister duo found anywhere around here.
The ahoge girl reached for the hand besides her discreetly, only to be instantly rejected. The boy was conflicted and a bit mad on holding hands with the girl, but after some words from the red-haired girl who now sported a teasing smirk, the boy reluctantly held her dainty hand, albeit with a somber expression.
The girl, upon seeing this, frowned and immediately swished her head around the giant amusement park of a district. It didn't take long for her eyes to light up.
"Nii-chan! Look, a giant rollercoaster! Let's go there right now!"
"W-wait, don't pull me so suddenly! I almost fell from how small you are!"
They reached the place and immediately met a problem.
"Wait, you are trying to ride it? I thought we were just checking it out since we can't interact with anything right now."
"Oh, Nii-chan, of course we are going to ride it!" A smirk split her her face as she brought her hand up. "Watch this!" and snapped.
The world was sent in reverse.
The sky, the moon, the people, the rollercoaster, the Ferris wheel, the trees, the weather, the clock hands; anything and everything fought the rule of time and backtracked.
Countless people from all throughout history that stepped into this exact spot passed through his body as if it was only wind.
"Wh-what's going on!?"
"It's as I said Nii-chan, we are going to ride it!"
(Can this girl really be trusted!?)
However, this wasn't the time for th-
"Of course, I am! I am as reliable as you, Nii-chan!"
"Eh?" (Did she just read me?)
The reversal of causality halted.
But what was in front of him wasn't a line of coaster carts.
It was rubble.
A lot of it.
Around him at a full 360 degrees, spreading out into the horizon that was full of crumbling houses and cracked streets.
"Oh, we went into post-war Tokyo!"
"WHATTT!?"
"Now, now, call down, Nii-chan. This is my first time in here too so there are bound to be mistakes!" The girl looked around, eyes lighting up with excitement at the apocalypse around them. All the while, he felt his trust in this girl lessening even further.
The girl, as if reading his thoughts, smiled nervously like a child caught red-handed. "This is really interesting… but we are getting a little side-tracked here. Sooo…this should do it!"
Snap!
Like a bullet travelling through air, time shot forward, the scenery blurring until it reached its climax.
"Annnddddd…we are here!"
The rollercoaster reappeared before the duo, but there was something amiss. Construction workers stayed on the sightlines watching the amusement ride with sharp eyes, clearly testing the coaster train, the tracks and its various systems for any signs of defects, malfunctions, or irregularities.
She grabbed Nii-chan's hands before he could notice them and pulled.
But…
"Ah?" She tried pulling again, but it was as if she had accidentally grabbed onto a brick. This time, she put her whole strength into it and pulled-
A ginormous hand to her shoulder broke her out of her thoughts. That built boy weighted 66kg (145.5 pounds) while she was literally half that amount. Her dainty hands just weren't strong enough.
She slowly turned around and looked up. She was facing the boy that had actually grown up since they met.
That boy, who looked like he belonged to a high school due to his broad shoulder and height, shook his head and pointed to the side.
She knew what Nii-chan was pointing at without taking her eyes off of the boy.
"Nii…nii-chan?"
No response.
He merely stared at her with disapproving eyes, and ran a hand through his hair. That boy sighed, and that was enough for her to know that it was over.
Nii-chan was actually Nii-chan now.
Her efforts had succeded but at what cost?
Intricate crystals glided across the sky, swirling beautifully in the cold air, bathed in snowfall. It was an especially rare, heavy snowfall, with snow piling on the rooftops and streets filled with adults and sometimes students, shoveling the snow away.
Yes, it was early morning with the sun barely risen yet. As suggested by the moving white meatballs, time had also resumed its normal pace.
Academy City was a city filled with sprawling buildings and that sometimes meant there would be barely any spot empty enough for building snowmen and especially for a snow fight since all of those spots would be filled with the 2.3 million students living in the city.
That was why they had picked this early morning time.
They were situated in a snow-covered park. And to his utter disbelief, the ahoge girl had balled up a snowball in her tiny hands. He thought that interacting with the world was impossible, but this girl had done it so effortlessly it almost seemed he had hallucinated when he tried to push the other him away.
"To interact with this world is very simple, you just have to believe in yourself."
That was what the girl had said, but he was having a really hard time-
A snowball crashed into his face, the unbelievable feeling of cold, crunchy snow enveloping his vision. As soon as his vision cleared, he saw "Shiroki Azumi" laughing at him and his misfortunes.
(…I should've expected this little devil to do that.)
And he was in the middle of concentrating…
In a fit of rage, he extended his hand towards the pile of snow and did a swinging motion.
A wave of snow flew in the air.
(I did it! I..did….it..?)
As if crushed by some unknown force, it shot back to the ground a centimeter before reaching Azumi.
"Ah."
"Nii-chan, that's cheating!"
A snowball threatened to hit his face again, but he dodged and ran behind a tree. He exhaled cold humid air and crouched down, trying to make balls of snow. The footsteps that imprinted itself into the snow with each step, every clearing of snow he made with his hands, and the cold breathes proved that, yes, he could interact with the world.
But for some reason, each time he grabbed a snowball and brought it up, it phased through his hands and rejoined its buddies.
(Why..?) He helplessly brought another one up and it phased through his hands. (I am doing everything right so why isn't it sticking to my hands!?)
"Nii-chan," The girl appeared in front of him like a mirage, holding something small. "Look at this."
Snow fell from the boundless sky and landed onto her snow-covered palms. She wasn't holding a snowball, but instead, it was as if the flat land on her tiny palms belonged to a small, snow village in a book.
She looked so engrossed in it…
And—
A story about a certain boy began.
A tiny snowman rose from the snow in an unknown land.
The snowman was alone, so he wanted someone to accompany him, preferably a friend.
The little snowman was beaten up, left to rot, and was kidnapped, but his determination remained the same.
Until...he was introduced to the concept of a family. The snowman's goal changed from there.
The snowman went on a search for a family where he could belong, but it was to no avail. No one wanted him, and everyone seemed indifferent to his wish.
But everywhere the snowman looked, he could see grown-up snowmen and snowwomen on the phone with their children.
There was even a child and a mother in front of him.
They were almost mocking him with invisible words.
"They aren't even related…!" the snowman shouted with rage inside his confinement.
But alas, the snowman couldn't do anything about it. He would be called a hypocrite if he did.
Days, weeks, months and years passed by with no change at all.
He had no one to call family or even a friend.
The determination the snowman once had was now a shadow of its former self.
Until…
"H-hel…p!"
One eventful day changed everything.
It started off like any ordinary day—tiny snowmen and snowwomen were sent to the experimentation room where they would either end up mysteriously disappearing, or given praises and candies by the grown-up snowmen.
The tiny snowman wasn't so dissimilar to his routine; however, he had quite a special standing in the facility due to his unique ability, which ultimately earned him special treatment.
Like the child of a certain mother.
Who didn't deserve them.
But that weird-looking child wasn't where he was supposed to be. The mother was confused so she sought out to search for him.
The snowman's routine was halted for the time being, but the scientists told him he should stay where he was, so he wandered the facility.
He didn't remember much of what exactly happened—
It happened so, so suddenly.
There the child was, bleeding on the ground. The tear marks on the wall looked like it belonged to a cat, and a blood stain with the rough shape of the child was around it.
The child's sharp nails had torn off his nail bed.
It looked like he had been trying to escape.
The child cried for help and the tiny snowman…
—But he did know one thing for certain.
He never called out to the researchers.
Instead, the tiny snowman walked to the edge of her palms and disappeared.
That helpless child died that day.
And she took the reins.
…Which disappeared soon after.
She closed her palms, the snow disappearing like dust.
Then, the world seemed to flip and he found himself facing the girl's straightened back with her hands interlocked behind her.
(What did I just watch her do?! Is she- is she trying to help me or is she trying to make me feel worse!?)
"...What are you trying to say?"
He couldn't gauge her reaction. It was undeniably a story about her that took place before she had forgotten everything. He couldn't tell if she felt saddened, or she carried no burden at all.
Perhaps she just felt the need to tell someone about it, but she couldn't find it in herself to do it with complete honesty so she did it her own way.
But…
(If she still does feel guilty, then…I am sorry to hear that.)
Needless to say, he was powerless. He only had the power to change the future—not the past.
"Oh, Nii-chan," The girl paused, turning around and looking up at his face.
There was no change from her usual carefree expression, except for the fact that her ahoge had wilted slightly.
Then, she continued.
"You care about me, and you would never leave me alone. You would even kill to save me, even if I wasn't in the right. Hadi, Shokuhou, or even Uiharu, you would kill them if they stood your way. And that's a problem. Those situations all have one similarity that is easy tooverlook; you didn't have a choice. Say,"
The girl stepped back, and stepped back again, wait…
"Wait if a truck threatened to run me over?"
"WAIT!"
A truck sped down the street. The massive truck didn't stop and continued its course straight to her small, fragile body.
She was backing away from his outstretched hand with a smile whilst her foot had stepped onto the road.
All logic left his eyes and he ran to save someone.
Again.
But the moment he realized he couldn't truly reach "Shiroki Azumi", he had fallen to his knees and his head hung lifelessly to watch the cruel white ground.
He couldn't bring strength to his head.
He already knew the outcome to begin with, just like all the "futures" he had witnessed. There was no use in looking at it. He didn't want to add another nightmare to his list.
(Why am I like this?)
His ears rang like an incessant bell, drowning away all noise. His eyeballs seemed to hurt as if it didn't fit in their sockets. He let his eyes close, covered his ears, and a blackness welcomed him.
But he still couldn't escape.
The world wanted him to live, but all he wanted was happiness. There was no point in living without it.
He wanted to live a normal happy life.
He just wanted to live a normal happy life.
Life without happiness wasn't life.
But now, he was given a choice between giving away that or… or…..
(Ah.)
The realization sent his head aswirl.
(That's right.)
It was merely an illusion.
(I don't have a choice.)
He couldn't live in this world forever. His brain would fry, or the world would simply move on without him laying eyes on it.
Future Regret- no, "Shiroki Azumi" was keeping him imprisoned until he made a choice.
To save Azumi or to "save" himself.
But choosing one now wouldn't save anybody. He doubted he would have even the strength to move if he went back to the real world now.
Could he strike Shirai, the one that killed Azumi, before she could even do anything and stop her from teleporting those darts?
Maybe.
But that would make him an accomplice, wouldn't it?
And then he would be thrown into an institute for troublesome children without even catching Azumi another glance.
Maybe he would be released in a few months and get to see Azumi again.
But what was it with the "deal"?
Was Azumi going to sell himself to the Academy City administrative board in return for him being free of the charges?
He couldn't allow that.
The last time Azumi was under the city's thumb, he had became almost unrecognizable after just a few years.
But this time, Azumi had the Railgun's power and his hidden original power.
Fuck a few years, it would take a day before all hope was lost.
(Azumi could even die..!-)
Snap!
A voice managed to puncture itself into the deafening void like shattering glass.
"Nii-chan, I am still here, you know."
"Huh?" He opened his eyes and-
Blood.
There were blood everywhere.
The blood dyed the snow red and continued dripping from her body like a broken faucet-
He blinked.
"What's wrong Nii-chan? Seen a ghost?"
(Huh?) Blue eyes were looking at him with its usual light. There wasn't even a scratch on her body and her black clothes were fine.
Of course, he should've realized it then. In this fake world, nothing would actually hurt her, and "Shiroki Azumi" knew exactly that.
(Maybe I am just a little more traumatized than I thought…)
Nevertheless, there wasn't much time left to just stay rooted on the spot. He stood up worldlessly and went towards a random different direction, leaving "Shiroki Azumi" behind. Seeing a Tokiwadai student with a hot chocolate, he stole and drank it, soothing his parched throat.
Yes.
He made his decision, now it was time to do what she promised to do.
"Shiroki Azumi" watched as Akaru Kirishima retreated deeper into the snow-covered concrete jungle, occasionally stealing food along the way.
There wasn't much for her do to now.
He had already figured that his indeciseveness was getting in the way. (Some small, small and I mean small logical part of him just didn't want such an ending, you know?)
The power of love really did beat everything, after all.
She should feel satisfied, but she felt strangely empty, like something was missing.
Yes, like the fact there was something that kept bothering her. She ran a hand through the back of her head, sliding across long red hair and brought it back.
"Huh? Guess I missed this." A familiar stain of red was on her hand and it disappeared as soon as she wanted it to.
Or at least that was supposed to occur.
It was still there: the blood. The deep red substance painted her harmless hands with red like she, this innocent young girl, had killed someone. The blood was hers, undoubtedly so. She wasn't made out of skin and bones but the last vestiges of her "gift".
Kirishima had swallowed a drug, recently, that was supposed to assist in esper development, but the keyword here was "assist". He didn't have an AIM to begin with.
Her AIM field was the gift. It was just a gift that was supposed to point to where he was whenever she wanted to. Now, she was right here, in his head, all the time, doomed to watch the world from Kirishima's eyes.
She was supposed to reunite with him.
The clock was ticking.
In this frozen world devoid of time, the alarm was going to ring, and Kirishima was going to leave soon.
It was so, so ironic.
(It's good, right? To let him go…?)
Walking on snow felt really nice. Before entering this world, she had never personally experienced such a thing as a winter before but it had always intrigued her since she learned about it. The snow accumulating beyond the window managed to lift her low spirits all the time.
"…"
(I am not in that prison anymore…so why do I feel like I am?)
She bit her tongue and continued following Nii-chan, letting the world past around her. She knew was supposed to take the lead right now, but she felt really demotivated to even speak. Kirishima didn't seem to have any qualms with it so she guessed it was fine.
"Oh, the shop's closed at this time." he acknowledged, looking down and up at the dining establishment's shutter-locked entrance. Then, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly as he realized something was missing.
The dainty hand clasping on the hem of her shirt loosened and she prepared herself mentally to face the world once again.
"Hey, uh… oh yeah, what do I call you now?"
She breathed in and out.
"You can call me anything!" she giggled, the sound foreign to her ears-
She breathed in and out. "But as long as it isn't him, though. And I forgot how to manipulate time so I am so, so sorry…"
"You forgot? Okay then… I am not really good at names so can I just call you "girl"? Wait, that's a bit rud-"
"No, no! It's fine! I shouldn't have told you to pick one!"
She gripped the hem of her shirt and tried her best to console herself. (A name?) Looking up, she watched as Kirishima tried to snap his fingers and did it on his first try. (Why didn't you call me your Imouto then…?)
"Hey, what's…wrong?" he acquired, his eyebrows slanted. "Do you not want to grab a bite..?"
"O-oh, right!" she waved her hands dismissively. "Just deep in thought…"
(…No.) she shook her head, entering the restaurant. (I can't get too greedy when all I have done is bring him more harm than good.)
(I just want him to be happy.)
She watched, replied and helped. And among other things, they had fun.
"Nii-chan, stop eating so many burgers. I know you like them ever since you first tried it out, and there's no such thing as a full belly in this world, but… WATCHING YOU EAT THEM FOR HOURS MEANS I HAVE TO SLOWLY EAT THEM Y'KNOW!? I THINK THIS IS THE 30TH BURGER THAT I ATE AND I DON'T WANT TO END UP LIKE A BALLOON TOO!"
"Im am s-sorbry!" he shouted with a mouth full of burgers.
. . .
"Nii-chan…what are you searching for?"
"Uh, um…uhh… the toilet?"
"You keep going to each and every booth that's occupied and your face just morphs into disappointment each time. And then you have the gall to look at me and make the same face…"
"What-what are you doing?!"
"If you really want to find two people fucking in this net cafe...then," The black cloth covering her body had been loosened and was now slowly falling to the ground. "WHY DON'T WE DEMONSTRATE IT FIRST!?"
"WHATTT!? YOU DIDN'T WEAR ANYTHING BELOW!?" Then his eyes paused, eyebrows slowly curving up. The slow realization on his face as he stared so intensively upon it made her want to laugh but she the knowing smirk stayed in place. She didn't want to ruin this reveal after all. "WAIT WHY DO YOU HAVE A- A THAT! NO GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"IT'S YOUR FAULT I AM LIKE THIS SO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT!" Then she whispered, "Not that I mind it though..."
"AHHHHHH! I AM SORRY!"
"THAT'S RIGHT NII-CHAN SO GET BACK HERE!"
"NO WHY SHOULD I!? YOU ARE GOING TO CORRUPT MY BRAIN! WAIT- GET AWAY FROM THAT BOY!"
She celebrated her first new year.
"So, how does your Kimono feel?"
"It fits…" She twisted her limbs around, occasionally doing a spin. But unfortunately for her, she fell to her butt due to her inexperience with sandals. Like, who would wear something that literally hugged onto your toe gaps so uncomfortably? "Just fine!" she giggled.
"That's…" He pressed his temples, feeling like a migraine was coming up. "Alright, let's just go."
"Hey, wait! You still haven't helped me up!"
"Oh, right." Without really thinking on it, he turned around and…
"Nii-chan, why did you pan your head my way? I already stood up." she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It went without saying that they arrived at the Academy City's District 12 skycraper that most people in the city went to, him included, faster than expected.
They weren't religious by any means, and were just going by cultural traditions rather than religious practice. The place was crowded and he had to guide the girl by the hand so she wouldn't get lost because he knew she would, probably as a joke, then not so when she actually got lost.
(It would be faster if we just phase through them but she just wants to get that genuine feeling of actually going to one.)
Soon, they rang the bell and prayed to whatever was above them. But whoever it was, was definitely a big jerk.
(I hope Nii-chan dies.)
(I hope she dies.)
Hope their wishes were granted…
She shared her experiences, got mad, and...wait, what was she doing here again?
"Nii-chan, you're hopeless. Since I can watch anything that happens from your eyes, it's honestly like watching an anime 24/7 and it's scary. I always see "myself" and honestly screamed a few times which is probably the reason you get those headaches in the past."
"Whmmg-" She shoved a burger inside his mouth before he could speak further. The boy's face instantly paled and half of his airways was cut off. Seeing the boy beginning to suffocate, she giggled and took pity on him by pulling it out.
"But moving on," She took her 156th sip of the endless boba drink courtesy of Nii-chan's world controlling powers…that she lost. Releasing a satisfied sigh, her mouth moved on its own. "Remember that time when you left the basketball club to join Shiroki in the baseball club? That's exactly why you're so hopeless! Even Shiroki wanted you to stay in that club but you were just so, so oblivious to his confusion that I honestly felt bad for him! I mean, in the 6 years that I am here, 90% of them were just his confused smile on the big screen! And you had the gall to fucking mistake that as him being happy! And now you made him self-conscious about it!- Hah...hah.."
Finding herself panting, she placed a hand to her chest and breathed in and out, her imaginary heart steadying its beat. Nii-chan—no, right now he was Kirishima, he looked outright mortified at her sudden burst of anger. She had no excuses as to why she had acted with such emotion.
All she knew was that Kirishima was a big, big idiot, driven by purely selfish wants. And just like everything he did towards Shiroki, he didn't realize it.
"...And now you made him self-conscious about it. If you really love him, then please, just don't make the same mistake again. Not that you'll be able to."
They witnessed… something.
"Do you want to talk about it…?" she asked, her voice in a tremble.
"…"
(What the hell was that?) He swiped away the cold sweat on his forehead almost mechanically. (Like seriously, what the hell did we just see?)
Worried, he looked to his left and saw that she was in a considerably worse state than him; her sea-like blue eyes were now just tiny pinpricks and her hand covered her mouth. (She didn't do that, so…what the fuck was that?)
"…What year is it?" After some time, he opened his mouth and asked the grand question.
"…I-I don't know."
"…"
Students in kimonos and yukatas exited out of the skycraper and walked past them as if nothing happened. The students looked up and their eyes comically widened, immediately leaving the area in a hurry.
He remembered something and also looked up.
Floating gently across the darkening sky was a familiar, white oval object. (A blimp… let's see what the date is right now…)
And he immediately regretted it.
"We-we are…" He couldn't shake off the tremble in his voice. He thought that the world they were in was a world familiar to them.
But he couldn't be more wrong.
"A year into the future."
And she said goodbye.
She was in the middle of taking a long sip of her syrup soda when she suddenly forgot to breathe. Her eyes flicked to the straw; its clear silhouette was visible, but her intake seamlessly paused.
"I think that's enough."
Her throat was still shut, and the world felt like it was slowly slipping away. Her gasps took a sudden pause when Kirishima turned towards her. His eyes were different—almost lifeless, yet endlessly pulsating.
Her hands fell limply to her side, the drink smashing against the snow-layered sidewalk and staining her hands.
This was it.
She had no choice but to watch him go.
If she had the power, maybe she could've stopped him from choosing anything and then they would be stuck in this limbo forever. Again, was he taking her feelings into account?
She was cursed with a conscience even after experiencing death.
She had to accept it. She had to smile, even if it was the last thing he saw of her. She had to say goodbye and leave him with something to remember, even if it lasted for only a few minutes. She had to…she had to…
…Ah?
She didn't know what possessed her to grab onto Kirishima's hands in a teleport and cried her eyes out.
She wasn't a selfish girl in the slightest. She loved making others smile and preferred that less fortunate people experience it too. Simply put, it was fair that way. Sharing her happiness with others and spreading it was like a dream to her. Kirishima deserved happiness, even if he was an idiot, and she didn't want to be a burden to him.
Unfortunately, she did become a burden to him in the end. Even before this, she had brought him false hopes and an unfulfilled promise lingering in his head.
She didn't want to repeat that.
But before she knew it, tears and words sprang out of her—her honest, unfiltered feelings leaking through the cracks in her heart.
"YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE AND IF YOU ARE GONE, THEN WAS EVERYTHING I DID BACK THEN POINTLESS?! JUST WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!? P-PLEASE!?"
It took only a moment for the words to fully register in her head.
The desperation, the hopelessness, the despair—those emotions mixed together to form the most selfish of all selfish requests.
But in the end, she was simply being honest with herself. She wanted Nii-chan to stay. She wanted that future. Regrets didn't arise, nor did she deny her feelings. Only tears continued to fall.
The world didn't revolve around the sun 6 times just for her to leave everything behind.
It simply wasn't fair that way.
His response came shortly after and disappeared just as fast.
"Sorry," the boy said, patting her head with a sullen voice. "But I still have to go."
The weight holding onto her disappeared causing her to lose balance and fell into a heap of tears on the soft, white carpet.
He was gone.
And so was her one and only anchor.
She didn't blame Kirishima for acting that way. He had always acted in his own interests without taking into account the feeling of others and making his own assumptions of how the other party would feel. He was so, so selfless that it ultimately ended up being selfish.
She didn't blame him.
So why did she feel mad about it?
She thought back to the past, to the time when she had tried to help Nii-chan. He had tried to basically close off Shiroki from the outside world just because Shiroki didn't seem to take interest in anyone around him except Hadi and him.
Maybe it was that "reasonable logic" that she had supported such an idea then.
But what was the "reasonable logic" here?
Was she really a bundle of AIM diffusion fields without a life? Was she really an intengible being completely useless to the outside world? Was Shiroki Azumi and her that different?
(Or am I really just a stupid talking thingy?)
She couldn't tell. And that just frustrated her further. (I helped you, laughed with you, smiled with you, and…and you repay me with denial?)
In a fit of rage, she clenched her dainty hands into fists and punched the wet snow, roaring until her cries drowned out the sound.
(Why?)
Around her, the world blurred in a blizzard until she was left all alone.
(Why did you leave me behind when I've finally you!?)
He only needed a bigger shock factor, so this was the best outcome. Yes, this was ultimately what he chose then.
He screamed-
A splat sounded behind his fallen form, filling him with an indescribable amount of relief. It had worked. He had changed the future again.
But, he wasn't finished yet. Seeing how much pain he could endure before he ultimately collapsed was another challenge he needed to overcome.
(One thing left to do…)
Fortunately for him, his will had returned and so was his strength to keep enduring everything and anything until it was, truly, over.
(I need to get up…) He grimaced, almost falling back as the muscles in his hand relax. He willed himself to fight the burn pain and slowly but surely moved his lax limbs.
He got up and high, a deep breath requiring much more strength than usual left his mouth. (No matter what, I have to do this.) He repeated to himself, colour returning to the world with a blink and he moved before he could think.
A thick, almost poignant silence blanketed the area upon his rise, no one dared to move and thoughts filtered through their heads in a snail's pace. Unsurprisingly, both confusion and horror were the leading emotion twisting their faces.
Only when he reached Azumi did he finally gaze upon it. The emotions that marred his face did not betray his expectations, but the hurt, the regret, the confusion, and the petrification still managed to wound him.
Silent, slow tears slid down the boy's paling cheeks and he kneeled down, wiping it away with gentle fingers. The small boy still couldn't move after the Railgun's lightning strike, and he could tell from his spasming muscles that it took great strength just to hang his head up.
The rosy-haired boy was trying to say something but it only came out in odd sputters. It seemed like his Regeneration couldn't even fully right his vocal cords yet, or maybe it was being interrupted by the overabundance of electricity unlike in that vision.
The words Azumi tried to say was definitely important, but he cupped the boy's cheeks, stopping him and supporting his head. And suddenly, his hands stopped their constant shaking. The hands were too big on Azumi's small face, but he knew how he could do it without covering too much of him.
And Akaru Kirishima finally opened his mouth.
"I…"
He started off with an apology.
"I'm sorry."
There were many things he regretted doing, some were years old and others were new, but his apology wasn't about those. He didn't specify it for a reason. If he was truly being honest with himself, his apology—which was also his first ever regret—was that he ever believed that girl from his memories was going to come back.
Reality wasn't generous enough to suddenly turn into a romcom.
Maybe if he had to ability to turn back the past instead of the future, everything would've probably been fine.
But alas, here he was soothing his bleeding heart.
Though, he didn't treat Azumi well in the first place. He was overly overprotective to the point that he failed to take into account the simplest things. That girl made him realize that, and if she didn't, well…maybe he would've said something along the lines of "I love you" or something like that instead.
Maybe, just maybe, he could finally finish everything he ever wanted to accomplish in this nightmare.
And did it without fail.
"Azumi, listen to me closel- cough cough" He coughed out blood, his body inching forward little by little from the force of it. His legs were barely holding on and he couldn't afford to hold his weight much longer.
His time was running out.
It was almost a miracle he could even move an inch of his body in the first place.
(Ah, miracles… you helped Hokaze-san survive right? I know I don't deserve it, but please, just…help me this once…)
The blood marred Azumi's face, and it was the most out of place thing he had ever seen. It didn't fit his small, doll-like face at all.
That little bit of extra redness just ruined it.
And suddenly, as if something finally registered in his head, the rosy-haired boy's eyes flooded with panic and his mouth instinctively opened with great ferocity. "G..i..ve…perm…i-"
The next letters came out in untelligable sputters, electricity still bouncing off his body.
It was so random that he didn't know what Azumi wanted to say.
The boy was slowly inching closer to him whether out of an imbalance or something else—he didn't know.
But.
(I don't want him to feel my body going cold...)
He willed himself to pull away and slowly stood up, heaving with every movement. Black spots dotted his vision and his hearing seemed to muffle. The blood circulating his body was slowing down and he was becoming paler with every .1 second.
And his lungs paused for that single moment…
"Hey, Azumi, live a normal, happy life for me, okay…then…you can tell me all about it in the future."
"…"
His blood-stained shirt ruffled in the wind. Kirishima stood on his feet even after getting his heart impaled by a knife. He had passed out standing while everything around him continued on.
Meanwhile-
(Ineedtogetclosertohim!Whywouldhegetintheway!?No!Ineedtogetcloser!Useyourhandsandcrawl!Whathappenedtothatpromise!?Whydidyoutothis!?Stopbackingaway!Istabbedthroughhim!He'sdying!Closer!Idon'tcareifthatblackmistcamebacksoRegenerationwork!HowamIgonnaliveahappynormallifewithoutyouaround!?Justneedonetinybite!Why!?Thefuture?Ican'tforeseethefuture!Youcan!Stopsmiling!FASTER!-)
(Hey, uh, Azumi? There's no one there so why did you turn around?)
A voice fell from above.
(Huh?) Upon hearing that…familiar but hard to put voice, he swung his head back up to find…
Kirishima, still standing there, looking up at the sky with that stupid smile on his face. None of his facial muscles had gone stiff, suggesting a lack of movement… (That wasn't his voice? Wait, it sounded too young to be him…)
(Huh? I could've sworn someone called my name then… Wait, how did you know my given name!?)
(My-my exact voice!?) There was- something around Kirishima's head, almost like a piece of disconnected film tape loaded inside a projector from the 90s. But it was so familiar too.
(Hey, Azumi…)
(Kiri-Kirishima?) Then a cold realization hit him.
With a crazed look in his eyes, he kept scraping his nails across concrete and pushed himself forward. (NONONO! THAT'S HIS AIM!)
That boy's AIM that had been hidden since the beginning had revealed itself and was now being relayed to him. (That could only mean one thing-!)
(Huh? You still haven't answered my question, you know… Wha- why are you crying!?)
(NONONO!)
(I'm sorry!) he whimpered, wiping away his tears. (…I don't know the reason, but I just feel this sudden urge to just tell you that I…
The boy gave a hopeful smile despite the tears dripping down his cheeks and gazed straight at him with glistening navy-blue eyes. A first of many smiles and certainly not the last.
Azumi froze, his eyes filling with trepidation. Whatever he was doing before had been momentarily forgotten as he shot his head up. It was almost like he could sense what Kirishima was going to say and it was the most important, crucial thing-
(Love you, that's all…)
A/N:
This was one hell of a chapter to write... Sorry that it took too long to just complete this but here it is! Did you like it? Did you cry? Or do you feel like punching something? Hope I conveyed the scenes perfectly because, just like this fanfic, this is my first time ever writing a genuine story.
Next chapter will come...when I feel like it again! It's not my fault though!
Anyway, peace out!
Up Next:
Epilogue: The Day Ends.
I wonder who will be the protagonist after this?