Vita Nova Chapter 1
Darkness
That was the first thing Takemichi saw once he opened his eyes. It was kind of weird, if he was being honest, seeing nothing but the dark around himself.
There really was nothing but a vast extent of inky black.
But, the weirdest thing in this situation wasn’t actually because he found himself in a sort of abyss, it’s actually his reaction to his situation. Or to be truthful, it was his lack of reaction.
Yes, despite being alone in the dark, Takemichi felt at peace, safe, as if nothing could hurt him as long as he stayed in this ocean of nothingness. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. The last time was…it was even before his first time leap. Back when he lived with his beloved grandmother.
It’s kind of nostalgic to be honest. Also sad. It has been such a long time since he even thought of his grandmother. Even in his last time leap he spared none of his thoughts to her…wait…something was wrong with that thought…how come he couldn’t remember anything to do with his grandmother in his last time leap? His grandmother was there, right?
Ņ̸̟̗̟̭͙̱̟̪̼̩͓̪̼̿ơ̸̡̡͓͔͍̙̟̜͍̝̬̫̩̄̓̈́̈́̓͠,̸̛̞̥̖̬̯͙̜̙̞̗͕̝͉͚̽̄͂̈̂̀̑̓̑̀ͅ ̴̛̛̞̦̦̏̓͗͆͒́̈́̓͂̃͝ś̴̰͆̇̐́͒̍̑͊̎̇͝͝h̴̻̺̭̱̍͗̀̏̉͋͠ȩ̷͔̼̞͚͔͓̿̑͒̀ ̶̗̼͗̒̊̈́̓͗̌͐̾̕͝w̴̢̛̜̲͍͖̹̘̻͒̎̆̿̃̅̌̈̕͝â̵̩̺̱̆̀͑͊͌̊̅̀̉̀̆̋͠s̴̨̛̜͓̝͆͊n̸̢͙̝̥̙̭̞̟͑͂͑̎ͅ’̸̢͈͚͕̗̯̼͈̦̖̞̫̈t̷̢̝̩̭̟͌̏̅͛͂̎
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She was, right?
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.̴̡͈̫̺̘͔̘̗̽̈́̒̄̋.̵̼̩̹̙̲̲̜̜̥̬̲̅̈́͛̄̿͘͝ͅ.̷̛͚̽͐͛͌͋̂̔̎̕t̶̙̭̪̺̹̑̀̎́̓̐̓̃̅̉͜ä̸̛̛͖͉͚̺̞͎͈̤̞̫͈̖̝̹́̑̌̈̓̆͑̓̄̚͘̕ͅ.̶͍̜̌̏̀.̴̨͚̩̠̞͙̩̄͝ͅ.̵̢̪͉̫̻͓̤͎͈̹͖̬͛͗̓̐̃͊̃͒̕͘.̵̧̥̺͓͍̖͈̟̦̤͖̳̲͘c̷͍̻̯̞̝̜̀̄̉́͋̚͠ḩ̵̧̛̝̟͈̙͙̭̮͈̇͂͠i̵̡̛̗̱͉̯̹̝̼̩͈̜ ̴̬̪̭͍̓͒
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Something…something is not right
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T̸̤̼͔͓̭̲̓a̴̰̜͕̯̬̘̟̅̾̓̄̈́̌́͋̋̒̉̉̄̕̚k̴̩̬̯̚ę̶͈͙̭̼̘̦̤̮̯͙̰̝̤̋̅͜͠m̶̥̹͇̦̑͊͌̊i̸̳̖̤̲͑̊̅͂̏̇̒̚̕͝ḉ̵͎̫̪͙̹̥̥͍̹̤̼̬͆̐͆̅̋̑̓̽́͗̕h̶̠̟̝͍͑̒̓̃͆i̷̧̨̹̲̹̖͎̯̹͍̞̫̲̗͊̈́̏͌̓̆̓͜
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Why can’t he remember if his grandma was there or not?
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Ẁ̷͇͚̯̣̠̈́̓́A̷͚̤̜̣͔̘̩̺̬̖̙͓̍̿͌͆̀̉̒̃͆̃̑͘̕̚K̵͔͒͐͐̋͊͒E̴̛̬͙̗̖̹̞̹̦͒̑̅̒̌̆͒̚̚͜͝͝͠ ̸̮̥̬̭͕̻̼̻͓͙̭̲͗̐̽̈̂͜U̸͙͙̤̠̱͊́̋̔̾̾̂͛̑̍̊͝͝͠͝ͅP̶̧̞͚̺̙̳̮̞͓͙̫̯̬̦̈́͛̐̓̃́́́̀́̕̚!̷̰̫͙̟̌͐̉͌̕͠!̸̡̎̀̈́̓̀̈͋̊͝͝͠!̵̢͙̦̯̦̦̮͗̔!̵̠̲̮͎̥͂̑!̶̟͓̦̜̠͈̪̞̺͎̺͉̳̞̄͜!̵̢̗̺̊̿̀̈́̈́̍͒̚!̴̨̨̧̡̜̞͈̦̩̗̌͗̒̒͐!̴̢̝͚̑̓̑̍̉
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***
Hanagaki. It’s a well-known name in some parts of Japan’ social elite circle.
The Hanagaki were a family that has made its fortune since the Kamakura period (1185 – 1333).
But even though the family was well known, respected and also considered as a family blessed by the gods themselves, that did not stop misfortunes to befall them.
In recent histories, it all started with the untimely demise of the, then, family head: Hanagaki Takehiro. He left behind a son and a wife. That son grew up, married and had one child himself. They were the picture of a perfect family, that was until tragedy struck them. The man died in an accident when his child was only 6 years old.
The wife, overwhelmed with grief and sorrow, soon focused on nothing else than her work, which led to her neglecting her own child. The grandmother, getting news of this, decided to take said child into her own care. Thus became the new life of a lonely grandmother and her grandchild.
In short, the prosperous Hanagaki family, which in the past had many members, was now reduced to two (or three if you want to include the mother who abandoned her child) members: Hanagaki Marie (née Beauregard) and Hanagaki Takemichi.
Hanagaki Marie was a French woman with beautiful sky blue eyes and long, wavy, scarlet hair. She was in her fifties, and was now the matriarch of the family having taken the reins once again after the death of her son.
Hanagaki Takemichi was Marie’s only grandchild and an angel in mortal flesh. With his soft hair the color of a raven’s feathers and his enchanting deep blue eyes that shone with an inner light, he could charm anyone with just a smile and a tilt of his head.
At 8 years old, young Takemichi was known to be highly intelligent and said to be a musical prodigy. At his young age he was capable of playing or recreating any song he heard only once on a piano or a violin.
Two years had passed well I think yall already know because of the paragraph above since Takemichi’s dad: Hanagaki Takefusa died, and just as much time also passed since his mother: Hanagaki Reiko (nee Toudou) left him behind. And while the loss was still felt by the young child, the presence of his grandma and the household staff was enough to dull the loneliness.
However, something happened that changed, once again, the lives of the family.
On a bright Sunday afternoon, the young master of the Hanagaki family suddenly collapsed. Fortunately, Takemichi regained consciousness after a little time but since then he changed. His eyes that always shined brightly were now dull. He stopped smiling. He stopped talking. He looked like a doll whose strings were cut. Doctors have been called to get answers about what caused everything, but alas no such luck.
Marie was particularly distressed over her angel’s state. Seeing him like that was heart wrenching. At least he still ate and drank water so there was no big worry toward his physical state. His mental state however…nothing can be done about it, for now… “This is all my fault, Takemichi. I’m sorry for leaving you behind before…I promise, mamie promise that this time, this time she will stay by your side not just spiritually but also physically.”
***
Takemichi didn’t know how much time had passed since he first opened his eyes and realized that he was alive. How was he still alive, he has no clue, but here he was, alive and breathing.
He didn’t really want to be alive, to be honest. He was tired. He just wanted to sleep. To not wake up anymore. To not exist. That’s why even though he was alive he just stayed in his head all day. He seriously did not even know where he was but wherever he was the people around him were taking care of him so there was that I wish they didn't though.
How long was it since he first opened his eyes here again? He didn’t know.
He was tired…so, so tired he just wanted to sle--- “This is all my fault, Takemichi. I’m sorry for leaving you behind before…I promise, mamie promise that this time, this time she will stay by your side not just spiritually but also physically.” Who? Who said that? “Mamie is here my sweet angel” Someone was talking to him? Well it’s not like people here ignored me but “I’m here with you” but how can I hear them
“I will always be with you, so please…” I know that voice “Please, come back to me” that’s
“…mamie…?”
***
Hanagaki Marie didn’t know why it all came to this. She couldn’t, for the love of all that is holy, tell anyone why things have come to this. One minute she was playing with her grandson the next he collapsed. She was going mad with worry, she--
“…mamie…?”
“Takemichi!? My baby! You-- you…” Marie trailed off with a sob as she couldn’t believe her eyes, her precious baby was talking! His eyes looked alive.