Back to the Future (1/?)
After apologizing to Kiyomasa, Mizo Middle Five was absorbed into the lower levels of the Tokyo Manji Gang, to act as their lapdogs.
‘This is where it all started….those hellish days of being their slaves. All of us ended up suffering under them. Mostly the rest of the gang.’ Takemichi helped Akkun up, wishing he had warned the others earlier. Maybe none of this would have happened. Then again, all of this was only a memory. ‘This is why I ran away the moment I graduated middle school. I lived on my own and started working.’
Groans of pain could be heard from everyone as they shuffled onto their feet.
‘Nothing ever went right. I’d just apologize. Again and again and again. Just like that, my whole life was spent apologizing to people.’
Takemichi felt his legs give out as he collapsed to the ground. He pressed his fists against the coarse sand, wishing he could do something more than this.
‘This sucks. My life's ending and I’m reliving the worst part of it.’
“Damn it….” Takemichi raised his head, glaring up at the sky. “I get it, God! You wanna say that my life was utter shit!”
Everyone stared, shocked at the sudden outburst. Takemichi ignored them, scrubbing away the tears that had formed.
“I- I’m sorry.” He defaulted to an apology. “I should’ve known about Masaru…”
“....We'll talk about that later. Right now, we all need to get back home.” Makoto helped Takemichi up, before slinging Takuya’s arm over his shoulder to support him.
‘Like I thought…they haven't forgiven me.’
“Fuck…you better not tell anyone that I cried…” Yamagishi picked up the broken pieces of his spectacles, squinting to see clearly.
As they made their way to the train station, Takemichi let his mind wander. It was better than mulling over the events that occurred a few hours ago.
‘Hinata and Naoto….they died because of the Tokyo Manji Gang.’
“Should we eat something before going home?”
“Can't, mouth’s busted…”
‘....what did they look like?’
Takemichi froze in place, realizing that he couldn't remember their appearance.
“Takemichi?”
“....I'm sorry. I have to go.” Without waiting for a response, he ran off into the night, in what he hoped was the direction of the Tachibana’s condo.
Somehow, he found the apartment complex. He skimmed through the letter boxes, trying to figure which one they lived in.
Making his way up the stairs, he finally found it. After a moment of hesitation, he rang the doorbell, hearing it echo slightly behind the door.
“Yes?” The voice-box shook slightly. “Wait, Takemichi-kun?”
“Oh…yes.” He mumbled. ‘I remember her voice….’
Hinata opened the door, a worried expression etched on her face. For her, the late night visits (and visible bruises) were a regular occurrence, but to a Takemichi that was twelve years older than his appearance indicated, it was an odd sense of nostalgic déjà-vu.
“Were you fighting again?” She took his face into her hands, examining it carefully. “Jeez, you need to be more careful! Have you disinfected it yet? Do you need bandages?”
“Tachibana….Hinata….”
Takemichi's lower lip wobbled painfully as a fresh wave of tears took over him.
‘Hina….Hina, I’m so sorry….’
“H-huh? I…I don't know…I don't know w-why I’m crying right now, I'm sorry…” Before he could pull away to aggressively scrub at his eyes, Hinata offered him a handkerchief.
“...Come in, I’ll get the medical kit.” She tugged at his hand, dragging him into the house.
Takemichi managed to disinfect and bandage most of his wounds with Hinata’s help and supplies.
‘I remember now…she was always so caring and strong. I often wished I could be like her.’ Takemichi listened as Hinata made idle chatter. ‘She’d scold me for getting hurt, but I know it was only because she was worried for my health.’
‘Was there anyone else who cared for me like this?’
“Feeling better?”
“Y-yeah, a little bit….”
“Man, it's late….Naoto hasn't come home yet. I wonder what he’s up to?”
“Naoto’s not home? That's new.” ‘He’s a stickler for the rules, so it's surprising he’s staying out late…then again, he's probably reached his rebellious phase by now.’
“Either way, what happened? These bruises are new.”
“Nothing, I just got into a stupid fight again….”
“You’re avoiding the question. Something definitely happened for you to come here crying!” Hinata lightly poked his shoulder, trying to pry the information out of Takemichi.
‘Wow, way to hit it where it hurts, Hina….’
“You ought to rely on me sometimes, Takemichi-kun. That's what friends are for, right?”
‘....do I really deserve to?’
After a while, Hinata gave up, instead offering to walk with him to school the next day.
‘I need to find a place to clear my mind, or else I’ll probably just start crying again.’
Letting his feet decide the way, Takemichi found himself back at the playground where Mizo Middle Five had been beaten up a few hours back. That did nothing to improve his mood.
He proceeded to sit down heavily on the swing. If he wasn't broke and didn't look like a kid, he’d give in to the urge to buy a bottle of cheap alcohol and take a swig of it like he was in some dramatic wild west movie.
The momentary respite and tranquility Takemichi had ‘painstakingly’ obtained was shattered by a group of wannabe delinquents who were trying to rob a kid.
At first, Takemichi didn't have the strength to pay attention. However, as the noise they made reached intolerable levels, his focus was forcibly moved to the assembled group of people.
“Jump, already!” As the kid obeyed, what little money he had rattled around in his pockets, only adding to the noise.
“See, you did have more!”
The noise.
It was becoming too much.
‘These idiots….can’t they see that someone's wallowing in self-pity?’
“Give it up!”
‘Shut. The. F*ck. Up.’
Before Takemichi’s rationality, common sense and fear factor could stop him, he had punched the nearest delinquent in the face, resulting in a one-hit-knock-out.
Everyone gaped at him in shock. If Takemichi could see himself, he too would be doing the same. That is, once he reeled his temper back under control.
“You all don't know when to shut up, huh?! All you ever do is b*tch around like some broken record!” He grabbed a nearby glass bottle and shattered it in one swift motion.
For some reason, he felt like he was talking to himself, rather than to the delinquent on the floor.
“I’m super pissed right now,” He waved the jagged end of the bottle towards the rest of the robbers, causing them to rear back. “Get lost, before I send you to h*ll.”
“Sorry to bother you!” With those surprisingly polite parting words, the delinquents dropped the kid’s money, grabbed their unconscious friend and bolted away.
Takemichi sighed heavily, tossing the broken bottle away from the kid.
“Uh...is that you, Takemichi-kun?”
“Eh?”
‘This voice…don't tell me…!’
“W-well, it's dark, so I’m not sure…”
“Wait- Naoto?!”
“So it is you!” The younger boy stepped into the dim glow of the street-lights, now identified as Tachibana Naoto. “What are you doing here so late? Why do you have bruises all over you?! What was that about KILLING PEOPLE?! And don't just leave the bottle like that!”
Due to Takemichi’s drained state, it took him a while to understand Naoto.
“...Oh, right, my bad,” he mumbled, deciding to tackle the easiest point once it registered in his head. Naoto had a plastic bag which they used to cover the sharp edges of the bottle. After that was done, the two of them headed back to the swings.
Naoto stared at him for a while. “What are you doing here?” He repeated.
“I could ask you the same question, ya know.”
“I literally live here?”
“Wasn’t aware you lived in a playground.”
“You know the apartment’s nearby.”
“So how come you aren't there?”
“I got cornered by those guys. They wouldn't leave till I gave all my money.”
Takemichi sighed, brushing his hair back from his eyes. “....With guys like that, you need to stand your ground. Once they realize you aren't a pushover, they'll mostly leave you alone. Be prepared to take a punch or two. Don't back down, though - punks like that are usually cowards, so they’ll run off soon.”
Naoto looked up from the little notebook he was scribbling into. “....Anything else?”
“You don't need to take notes, ya know.”
“I want to.” He pouted slightly as he turned to a fresh page.
“Uh, okay. Don't get into unnecessary fights, though. Pick your battles carefully. If you feel that you're in a really dangerous situation, do whatever you need to do to get out. There's a fine line between stubbornness and stupidity.” Takemichi wracked his brains for anything else.
‘Guts and determination. Two things I don't have. Would things be different if I actually thought things through as a teenager?’
“What happened to you? You look like you got run over by a truck.” Despite the aloof expression on Naoto’s face, Takemichi knew that he was genuinely worried.
‘Well, not a truck, but a train.’
“Got into a fight. A prime example of why you need to pick your battles wisely.”
“I understand. I’ll be careful.”
“So, Naoto, how have you and Hinata been?”
“Uh, okay, I guess….”
“...Naoto, you and Hinata…should take care of each other.”
“Huh?”
“I care a lot about both of you, okay? So much that if anything happened to the two of you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.”
‘It took me twelve years to realize that. I'm sorry, Naoto, I'm so sorry. But if this, all this is real….’
“...Takemichi-kun…?”
“Hehe, you probably don't know what I’m talking about…” Takemichi looked up to the sky, where the moon was obscured by clouds. “In the future, twelve years from now…I’m going to be run over by a train.”
“What?!” Naoto’s shriek echoed slightly, and Takemichi was sure that he could break glass if he tried.
“Yeah. July 4th, 2017.” He got up from the swing, swallowing the slight lump in his throat. “I woke up this morning with the memories of my past, but I thought it was just a flashback. What do you call such an occurrence?”
“Uhh…..Time travel?”
“Yeah, that! Somehow, I must have traveled into the past after my death. Either that, or I’m just having a long, weird dream.” Takemichi pursed his lips together before continuing. “But…I think God was benevolent enough to let me see you and Hina one last time.”
“What do you mean?” Naoto didn't like where this was going.
“Naoto…In the future, you and Hina are dead.”
Naoto inhaled sharply. If Takemichi looked closely, he’d see tears pooling up in the boy’s eyes.
'I'm sorry, Naoto. But you ought to know about this. I’d tell Hina too, but I don't know if she’d believe me. If this really is the past….I want to change things.”
“12 years from today, July 4th 2017, all three of us will die.”
“N-no….” A sob escaped him. Takemichi carefully rubbed his back as Naoto clung onto him.
“I’m sorry, Naoto. I couldn't save either of you. I only heard about your deaths on the news, so I'm not sure about all of the details. But you two were murdered.”
“Murdered?! B-but why? Who’d..who’d do something like that?!”
“A truck crashed into the Shopping District that day. Both of you died because of it.” Takemichi paused slightly, wondering if he should really tell everything. “...Look into the Tokyo Manji Gang, but be careful. And when the time comes, look after yourself and Hina.”
“I-I…okay! I will!” Naoto sniffled slightly, scrubbing at his eyes.
“Good. I'm counting on you, Naoto. I-I'm sorry that I’m putting all this pressure on you at such an early age, but it’ll be worth it if you survive….Please…” Takemichi held Naoto tightly, ignoring the snot and tears on his clothes. “...don't die again….I-I can't…”
“...I-I won’t, I promise….”
The two of them stood like that for a while, trying to regain some resemblance of composure.
“...W-what do we do?” Naoto peered up at him, hoping Takemichi had a plan.
Unfortunately, in this case, age came alone, without wisdom.
“I don't know. All I want is for you and Hina to stay alive. How that happens is up to you.”
‘If I suggested something, it might make things worse. It's not like I know what happened to them during those twelve years apart.’
“...Okay.” It seemed that Naoto had calmed down enough to make a decision. He stretched his hand out to Takemichi. “I’ll do my best.”
“That's the spirit.”
Takemichi shook Naoto's hand.
And then promptly passed out.