Chapter 29
The days blurred past Yukari.
The sun rose in the morning, and sank in the evening, though Yukari found herself missing most of the time in between. Nurses arrived and departed like clockwork, with prescriptions neatly wrapped in clear plastic on sleek metal trays. Doctors swept in with clipboards and firm looks, going through treatment options with Rin. Hamuko visited every day, which always made Yukari smile.
Meanwhile, Junpei occasionally texted her something stupid (like [Sup neighbor :P] or [Hey, guess i finally got committed, just like you thought I should!]), which usually made her snort.
Junpei was discharged after just a few days in the hospital. After that, he usually showed up with Hamuko (though not quite as often). But Yukari's only true constant companion was her mother, who initially holed up in a corner of her room, sleeping (when time allowed) with her knees against her chest and looking like an awkwardly perched bird. She'd requested a bed from the staff, who managed to find one from a storage closet. Unfortunately for Rin, the bed looked (and smelled) like it had been in a closet for years. Which it probably had, honestly.
Yukari was wholly unsurprised to find herself quickly transferred to a new room with two normal beds. That was her mom's handiwork alright.
The only other things that broke up Yukari's day were infrequent trips to testing machines of various sorts. Something called a "Nerve Conduction Velocity" test was done to more specifically verify what nerve damage Yukari had sustained, while a multitude of other tests were done on the rest of her body. Though it was sometimes easy for Yukari to forget about her other, non-arm-related injuries… she was indeed damaged beyond her now-useless right arm.
Other than the tests, the memories Yukari had from her time in the hospital were only snapshots...
The second day after her diagnosis, Yukari woke up slowly in the hospital.
Although not as confusing and painful as her initial awakening, Yukari still had to play catch-up with her memory before she remembered where she was, and how she got there. She quietly groaned as she sat up, before her senses started to return… and she realized she wasn't alone in the room.
"...alright? Any new developments?"
"Health-wise, they think she'll be mostly fine, except for her… you know."
"...Yeah. Of course. Do you know if there's any chance it can be… fixed?"
"Well… they're still trying to figure it out. I can't say I fully understand it all myself yet, but if I don't figure it out soon, I'll hunt down Shoji-san and wring an answer out of him."
A light chuckle warmed the air (though it was almost too quiet to hear), and Yukari's groggy mind finally put two and two together, recognizing Hamuko's chuckle and her mother's snark.
Yukari opened her eyes, daylight blurring through her unfocused lenses before her two companions came into focus. Rin was dressed in similar clothes to what she'd worn for the past several days, forgoing any fanciful clothing in favor of black yoga pants and a pink Kyoto University sweatshirt, her hair tied back in a quick ponytail. Hamuko, meanwhile, was in her usual school attire… though, it was more rumpled than normal (and that was saying something), while her auburn hair seemed messier than usual, too.
Oh, and Minato was here.
…
Wait, Minato was here?
Yukari did a slow double take and confirmed that yes, Arisato Minato was indeed here. He looked exactly as he always did, blue hair swept over his right eye, hands in pockets, slouching in the corner of the room like he was going for the world's worst back posture (and was currently in at least the top 10). He let his sister do all the talking with Rin, while he simply observed, probably absorbing information.
In short, he was acting like he always did... until he noticed Yukari's eyes open.
He rapidly (or, as rapidly as Minato did anything outside of combat) moved over to Yukari's bed. As he approached, a strange smell tickled Yukari's nose – one she couldn't quite place, though it seemed to be coming from Minato. But all other thoughts flew away when, without a word, he withdrew one hand from his pocket and pulled out a bag of gummy bears, dropping them right into Yukari's lap.
Yukari stared at the candy for a moment, before slowly looking up into Minato's face. She got the impression that he was looking at her… expectantly? He was still as expressive as a brick wall, but after Yukari had talked with him during that fight, she found that she wanted to look for the micro-expressions that he must be exuding.
She decided not to dwell on his expression too much - sweets of any kind were always appreciated. She lightly took the bag with one hand. "Thanks, Minato-kun. Is this a replacement for the hospital food?"
Minato hummed a negative as he returned his hand to his pocket. "No. The food here's good. This is a medical supplement."
"Oh yeah? A m… me..." Yukari yawned in the middle of speaking, before she sneezed. "Gah, sorry. A medical supplement for what?"
"For a lack of gummy bears."
She blinked, before a chuckle escaped her. "Heh, makes sense. I'll be sure to take them as prescribed."
"Mm. You'd better."
At that remark, Yukari remembered to search his face again. Maybe he was... pleased with her reaction? That'd make sense.
...Well, okay, honestly, Yukari was absolutely shooting in the dark here. She may be trying to understand Minato better now, but she had a long way to go before she had a PhD in Minatology like Hamuko.
(Minatology. God. Yukari had definitely been reading too many of Junpei's texts.)
By that point, Hamuko and Rin had both finished their conversation and walked over to the bed, Hamuko next to Minato, and Rin on the opposite side of them both.
"Mina, I don't think you should do that." Hamuko's face was oddly stern as she walked beside her brother, glancing down at the candy like it was a dangerous temptation - a horrific combination of high fructose corn syrup and bears. "We should make sure to stick to the diets set by the doctors."
Rin just shook her head. "It's fine, Hamuko-chan - a girl's gotta have some candy to stay sane." Rin paused, and threw Minato a sly look. "Though, honestly, if you're going to sneak us some snacks, couldn't you at least grab some chocolates?"
"I did."
"Hm?" Rin quirked an eyebrow. "Where are they, then?"
Minato patted his stomach once. "They were delicious."
A laugh bubbled out of Rin, and Yukari was struck (just a bit) by how similar it was to her own. It had… been a while since Yukari heard her mom laugh.
"Well then, you greedy kid," Rin said, still grinning, "Next time you come, you'd best bring chocolates and other snacks."
Minato solemnly inclined his head. "I won't make such a grave mistake twice."
Rin chuckled again. And although Hamuko didn't speak, the uneasy look on her face did enough talking for her - though once she noticed Yukari looking at her, she wiped it away with a neutral expression.
...Hamuko with a neutral expression. That was… concerning, to say the least. But Hamuko began talking with Rin again before Yukari could think any longer about it.
The conversation continued from there, quiet and casual. Yukari slowly drifted away from it, the easygoing nature of the chatter and the (somewhat ironic) tiredness from being stuck in bed all day taking her away.
It was only in the midst of her half-sleepy state that she finally placed the odd smell coming from Minato and the bag of gummy bears he had brought (though she was unable to parse out why he would be smelling of it):
Dog food.
On the fifth day, Yukari took a walk.
She trudged through hospital halls soaked by the mid-afternoon sun, her faded, cream-colored hospital gown sagging around her and her plastered arm. As always, Hamuko joined her after school was over. Hamuko looked as she usually did since the incident, her school uniform even more unkempt than usual, trying to act casual as she walked besides Yukari.
But any casual impression Hamuko was going for instantly shattered when she saw anything that had a chance of tripping Yukari. Including some things that really didn't, like a piece of lint. One of which she saw on the ground ahead of them, and dashed forward to pick up.
"Thank god you're here, Hamu-tan! That lint was a danger to society!"
Today was also a Junpei day. He was still a little paler than Yukari was used to, but his voice was as chipper and loud as ever, and thus Hamuko's actions were not only noticed, but commentated. Hamuko ignored Junpei as she walked to the trash and dropped the lint in, before walking back over to her friends and moving back to the exact same spot she had been before - on the opposite side of Yukari from Junpei, the two flanking her like an honor guard. Or like a set of chaperones.
With that incident out of the way, and undoubtedly many more to come, the trio continued. Yukari sighed.
"This feels demeaning, somehow," she muttered.
Junpei chuckled, hands behind his head as he strolled. "Bet it's 'cuz you're very self-conscious about that fancy dress you're wearing."
Yukari looked down at her loose, one-size-definitely-doesn't-fit-all hospital gown, drooping around her like a sad bedsheet. Maybe he had a point - the outfit didn't help. Not that she would admit that to him, though. "Actually," she instead replied, throwing Junpei a small, teasing smirk, "I'm pretty sure it's about the company I'm keeping."
Junpei gasped in horror. "Yuka-tan, don't talk about Hamu-tan like that!"
Yukari rolled her eyes, before glancing over to Hamuko. Yukari kept expecting some kind of reply or commentary from the normally talkative girl, but none came. And upon closer inspection from Yukari's narrowing eyes, Hamuko's entire body language was… taut. Taut and alert, but not cheery as Hamuko usually was.
In short, Hamuko looked more like Minato than she ever had before. And no offense meant to him (genuinely), but Hamuko should not ever look like that.
Yukari flicked her gaze back to Junpei. He was also staring past Yukari at Hamuko, the playful smile fading from his face. Noticing Yukari's look, he glanced at her, then shrugged.
It's been a rough time for everyone.
Yukari nodded in agreement before glancing forward.
They continued walking in silence for another few minutes, passing through a fire door (Hamuko shot forward to open it for Yukari) and continuing down the hall. The hospital wasn't packed, but it certainly wasn't empty. Most people on this floor appeared to have a broken-bone-related injury, but also appeared in good spirits, chattering to their own friends and family. Yukari snuck a glance into one particularly loud room, where someone was being teased about something or other. Smiles and laughter overflowed into the hall, so much that Yukari had to smile a bit herself.
This all distracted her from the approaching presence of a familiar doctor.
"Junpei, I'm pretty sure I discharged you a while ago. Just couldn't stay away from this lovely place, could ya?"
Shoji's voice couldn't be ignored. Yukari's head whipped around while Junpei (also distracted by the loud room) looked up in surprise at the doctor, striding towards them with wide steps and a wry smile. Junpei shrugged and laughed.
"Well, y' know. I just love bland white walls."
Shoji snorted. "Sure, kid," he said, stopping ahead of the trio. He glanced at Yukari. "These two giving you trouble?"
Yukari wasn't sure how to act in front of the old doctor. She hadn't seen him since he'd told her the diagnosis, and that entire ordeal had been such a shock that she'd acted… uh, slightly out of character.
I can't believe I gave Shoji of all people a hug. Shoji. I really need to… uh, not do that again. Like, ever.
She had to restrain herself from wincing at the recollection. Instead, Yukari glanced between her two companions. "These two? They're always trouble."
"Not surprised." Shoji's pager beeped in his pocket, and he slipped it into his hand to take a peek. "Not again, Aisha…" he groaned. "I've gotta take this. Don't do anything stupid, punks."
And with that, he swished off past them. Junpei turned to watch, hand scratching the back of his head.
"Not gonna lie, I've got a healthy load of respect for that man after seein' him in action the other day," Junpei said after Shoji was safely out of earshot. "He's got confidence out the wazoo, and a voice like a megaphone."
Yukari hummed and nodded. "Not exactly my choice of words, but yeah. He really saved our lives."
As soon as the words left Yukari's mouth, Hamuko tripped.
Not just a minor stumble, either. Hamuko actually fell over, one foot skidding out from under her with a screech as she fell face-first, barely catching herself by slapping both her hands onto the clean vinyl floor.
Alarmed, Junpei took a step towards Hamuko. "Woah! Hamu-tan, you oka-"
"Fine! I-I'm fine."
Yukari and Junpei stopped short at the terse words, freezing in place.
Hamuko stared straight down at the ground, chest slightly heaving. "Sorry. Wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She pushed herself off the ground, her movements leaden and unnatural. Once standing, she didn't meet Yukari's worried look or Junpei's baffled stare.
"I just remembered an assignment I have to do." She paused, staring at the wall, before swallowing. "I'll catch you guys later."
Without another word, Hamuko fled. She tried to make it look normal, but to Yukari, Hamuko might as well have sprinted away, her legs carrying her as fast as possible without disturbing things (and/or attracting the ire of Suzuki, the hawk-nosed Alpha-nurse who patrolled the halls).
The remaining duo stared in the direction she left. After several seconds, Junpei broke the silence.
"Guessin' she didn't actually have an assignment, right? Cuz I'd need to do it too, if so."
Yukari snorted, even under these circumstances. "No, I doubt there was actually an assignment." She paused. "But I think our assignment needs to be helping Hamuko-chan out."
"...Yeah." Junpei said, after a moment reaching up to grip his hat in thought. "Agreed."
The eighth night saw Yukari waking up in pitch darkness, sweaty and shivering.
She reached up with her hand, swiping away the hair plastered to her forehead. She couldn't read the clock, but she was fairly confident it was a ghastly hour (figuratively speaking, of course - it wasn't the Dark Hour). The sounds of traffic echoing from outside were muffled against the closed window, but even the dampened noises of night were quieter than normal.
The city was sleeping. Yukari doubted that she would follow suit anytime soon.
After catching her breath and letting some of the remaining sweat trickle off her, she glanced around the room, taking in the muted tones and colors, as well as her mom.
Rin was in the corner of the room, sleeping on her bed, her hair messily tied into a sloppy bun. Next to her was a full-length mirror, propped up against one side of the wall. By the foot of the mirror was an itsy-bitsy white trash can, with several tissues shoved inside containing the remnants of Rin's earlier makeup. Glancing back to her mom, Yukari could just barely make out the ear plugs her mom had bought from the convenience shop downstairs, to drown out the miscellaneous noises of the hospital. Yukari so far had been fine with the noises, but who knows - maybe she'd be getting a fancy new pair for herself soon.
Yukari watched her mom's shallow breaths and the rise and fall of the sheets covering her. She was... happy...? that her mom was here, despite all the crap they'd done and said to each other over the past several years, but… she still had her doubts.
I'm just hoping that she'll hang around for at least a week. Fingers crossed.
Her face twisted.
...I'm not even sure if that was sarcastic.
Yukari sighed, and raised her right arm to her chin… or, she tried to. Shockingly, nothing happened when she did. She wanted to smack herself in the head.
Right. Obviously, can't do that anymore.
She looked down at her right arm. Literally nothing but a counterweight, at this point. God. What an absolute mess.
Her eyes remained fixed on her arm.
...In what kind of universe was this allowed to happen, anyways? It felt like she was being punished for… something. But what, at this point? She'd been trying to move beyond all of the awful things that she'd done in the past. She was trying to not be so mean to Junpei. She'd just protected him and Hamuko from the Emperor. She'd been trying to be more open to Minato, and she and Minato had actually connected a bit during the past fight. Hell, she'd been considering eating a bit more too, after listening to enough nagging from Hamuko.
Wasn't she being a better person?
Yukari swallowed, as more memories rushed past her in a flurry: things she'd said to Junpei, things she'd said to others. Off-handed comments, mean names. Barbed words and thorny rumors, all wrapping around her mind like a dirty weed and refusing to let go.
…Was it not enough?
Her teeth began grinding together and her vision blurred, tears pricking at her eyes while her lower lip began to tremble. She made a tight, white-knuckled fist with her left hand, her toes curling at the end of her bed, all the while staring at her right arm.
Unclenching her remaining fist, Yukari reached behind her head and grabbed one of her pillows, swinging it around and smashing it into her face.
Then, praying no one could hear, she screamed.
.
.
.
AN:
About six years since the last update. Exactly ten years since it all began.
Holy cow. We're back y'all!
I can't even begin to tell you how much has happened in my life since the last update, but suffice it to say it's been a ride and a half. And that's before accounting for the global pandemic that we all went through, my god. Before anything else, I want to say that I hope y'all are doing well - or at the very least, are hanging in there. Whatever you've got going on, I believe in you!
Now, on to shout outs! Shout outs to:
Keita Aru, The Drakolisk, FoxC, Falloutdragon, Cookiesndip, Madeza, JLDragneelStorm, SimplyClean, IchijoSamaYT, Lectorrandom01, SPAWNOFDARKNESS, Kars0090, Ryuuto23, fanficWatcher314, MelloReyes, Lord Killen King, Lolobugga1, Plainview15, Acedefiant, Chaoticclueless, A[dash]Nonni[dash]Moose, DetectivePhantom, S3asp0ng3, Carlwu2012, PraiseTheSun69, Ace980, SharpFlat, ATrashySignature, RayFist02, Zrox100, bekantan merah, Ombre 77, JK12345, Lord of Admirals 412, Nitiam15, Jdclay, Asterun, Corrocogt, Starfru1ts, RenaRenaRena, Kitzune1001, ZenousDin, ShadowMurlock, Absolute Garbage2, AsBsCs, Sensitivity19, Wewynln1994, Arka Kizuna, Smoogy21, Atemthepharaoh7, Dantettt, Joae12, Gamerman246, Kenjithehan, Santiagml, Commandergenerals, Asdfjkllkjfdsaasdf, Keaye, Cybergreenwolf, TheVixci, Lacuna148, Deux[dash]X[dash]Machina, 2004, Chriscolossus, Gilakuga, Psiborg, Ae24ae45, Berix, KayEmWhy, Cabreado, PhantomTheReaper, Nezumi003, Llevac21, Lukerio13, Frezia, Keita Nararu, 0dyssey, Gerokai951, Epifanio Therion, Jesus Emo, Vylon[dash]Phoenix, SilverFlyte, 1Korwin1, Noahpocalypse1, xFoursure, Guadalupe Rosas, PieKnight, TheSaintAssassin, XWFY, DrSnakesUchiha, Darkshadeclone, ShadeOfValor115, A Monkey From Saturn, Sokenstudios, Nsbz, Noxs317, Rosalix Archangel, AnsemTSOD, Pulchra Rosa, Mae Bleu, Pandalord20, Fufulah, Dumplingsaremyjam, Lunaludus Scribex, ShinyKyu, Ryu Flemming, KRX350, The Cipher III, MinionofThanatos, Nico2411, Superior Gamer, BlueBollocks, Blargg888, Indexboy13, kanonR, Potatoman098, Araragi[dash]san, and Shad0wMeister1 for favoriting;
Keita Aru, The Drakolisk, FoxC, Scaler91, Falloutdragon, Madeza, JLDragneelStorm, IchijoSamaYT, Lectorrandom01, SPAWNOFDARKNESS, RewindAgain, Ryuuto23, Keysanddaydreaming, fanficWatcher314, Lord Killen King, 0lcra, Chaoticclueless, A[dash]Nonni[dash]Moose, Gourd, Hollowquin666, Carlwu2012, Dwightstuff94, Dionsharer49, Ace980, Takeruuu, SharpFlat, ATrashySignature, Unit 219, Ph3onixtears, RayFist02, Zrox100, Potato-Sama69, JK12345, Nitiam15, Jdclay, Corrocogt, Starfru1ts, RenaRenaRena, Kitzune1001, ZenousDin, ShadowMurlock, Absolute Garbage2, AsBsCs, Wewynln1994, Arka Kizuna, Smoogy21, Atemthepharaoh7, lewis2(period)lb, Dantettt, Jhinzo, and Miden Latrais for following;
Ect0Gh0st, DarkRai99, MagatsuIza, sayumi[dash]konoto, TheBraveGallade, PickledCucumbers, KageFuego4, ShinyKyu, Guest, noahpocalypse1, Berix, papapapuffy, GhostRyder, Ace980, 0lcra, and Frezia for reviewing;
And my wonderful friend and beta, Disasternoj, for editing!
Now, housekeeping! (How thrilling!)
First off, those who've been reading for a while know that I've had some issues in the past with getting the last few chapters of a season out. So, I want to confirm: every chapter of Lateral season 3 is completely done and ready to be published. I'll be providing weekly updates (except when specified because I'll be away from my computer or something) until season 3 is finished.
And how many chapters long is season 3? You'll just have to find out! :)
Second off: There's been a shift with fanfiction platforms since the last time I updated (or at least, it feels that way to me!). Specifically, I know a lot of people are on AO3 nowadays. Despite this, I will still be providing weekly updates for season 3 (and any future seasons) here on FF. However, I do also want to start using AO3. So, here's the plan: after Season 3 is done, I'll be posting the whole story chapter-by-chapter on a weekly basis on AO3. Then, for future seasons of Lateral, I'll be cross-posting updates simultaneously on AO3 and FF dot net. The AO3 version will be slightly updated (on AO3, for instance, the first line of the story will be "the blue-haired boy couldn't breathe", not "breath" :P) but overall the story will be the same - no major updates to the story itself will be made. Overall, I'll probably be using AO3 for any future projects I work on, but I'll keep updating Lateral on FF regardless.
Lastly, and most importantly: thank you all so, so much for your patience. The last six years have been full of highs and lows and major life changes from every which way for me, but through it all, I'm astounded and so grateful that you all continue to wait for my next update, even after so long since the last one. It's so heartwarming (if not a little mind-bending at times) to see so much positivity, and I'm really thankful that you all continue to be the best audience I could hope for. Truly, thank you so much for being so kind, so patient, and so understanding of me and my long writing time.
Now, I feel confident that I've forgotten to mention SOMETHING here, but hey - if so, we've got [redacted] more weeks of updates and author's notes to fix that. :)
And so. For the first time in so damn long: thank you all so much for reading, and I'll see you in the next update!
[Next chapter drops on Tuesday May 7th, 2024!]