Until my Final Breath (Shikimori's not just a Cutie fanfic)

Prologue

Oh... I remember now...

Few days ago, when I was studying and preparing for school, suddenly I started coughing violently. My chest was hurt so bad, I felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife. However, the worse came, as I was coughing, I was terrified to see blood on my hand. The next thing I can only remember is my parents noticed what was wrong with me, and they called the ambulance as my view slowly blacked out. When I woke up, I was in this hospital room, waiting for something worse to come for me.

Seems like my bad luck has won again, huh...

The door of my hospital room opens, brings me back to reality. As the doctor walks in, I can see my parents follow behind, with sorrow on their faces. Mom and dad then sit on the side of the bed, with my dad starts rubbing my back to comfort me, while my mom looks at me with her usual caring eyes. I look up at the doctor, who is holding something that I assume it is my diagnosis.

"Izumi Yuu-san?" He asked.

"... Yes?" I replied, awaiting the worst to come.

"Izumi-san, after some diagnostic tests, including X-ray taking and CT scanning, this is your diagnosis as the result from them." The doctor said, as he handed the diagnosis to me, carefully encased in a paper document. "At the moment, we cannot determine what level it is, but I recommend that you and your family should be mentally prepared for what to come."

"... I understand, doctor."

"Your treatment schedule will be arranged soon. For now, please take the meds we have listed and follow our instructions." The doctor said. My family then says thank to him as he takes his leave.

I hold the document on my hands, still shaking violently from the cold, freezing air, and perhaps also because of my fear. I am really scared, scared of what is about to come, fear of anything bad that can possibly appear on the diagnosis, something that can heavily affect my future. I take a glance at my parents, who have already known the result, with my mom trying to hold back her tears, while my dad is having his unusual gloomy look on his face.

However, I've been through so many terrible things to get to this point. I've been through every difficulty possible, every injury I've got, every terrible outcome. I know in times like this, I've been taught by them, my friends, to push on and be brave. Therefore, with all of my courage, I take the diagnosis from the document and read what appears on it.

And so, I feel like I have been mentally collapsed. Before I know it, I start tearing up in my parents' arms, with droplets of tears falling down the diagnosis paper.

'What would be the worst luck I could possibly get?'

~0O0~

"Y-Yuu-kun, i-if you need help with anything, feel free to call us, okay?"

"... I know, mom. Thank you..." I answered my mom, who was calling from downstairs, before walking into my room.

Usually, home is my safest place to go, where my parents always await me, where I get all the protection possible. They don't say 'home sweet home' for nothing.

But now, why does this place seem so... colorless? I should be happy when I return home, but why am I still having this heavy feeling in my chest? At this point, I just want to shout out 'I'm home!' as loud as possible, shake out all of the burdens I've been piling up inside. However, I feel that something is stuck in my throat, something disgusting and annoying, stopping me from saying any word. Walking to my room, I feel like I'm having leaden hanging on my feet, with each and every heavy step I'm taking.

Finally arrived at my room, I sit down on my bed, trying to pull myself together, especially after everything that happened in the hospital. I try to tell myself that everything is okay, it's just simply a disease, which has been medically treated before. It's nothing so bad compared to what I've been through...

However, then I look at the pile of medicine in my hand, with different kinds of tablets and capsules, and that has pulled me back into reality. Following the doctor's instructions, I take some of the meds, put them in my mouth, and take a sip of water to swallow them easier.

How strange... I thought those medicines were supposed to be bitter and hard to swallow... So what is this dry, garbage-like taste in my mouth...?

Sitting alone in my bedroom, with darkness surrounding my view, I can hear my parents discussing my condition downstairs. Although it's not very clear, I know my mom is trying to hold her emotion, based on her small but vocal weeping sounds, with my dad trying to calm her down, just like back in the hospital. I need to find something to brighten up my mood, so I take out my phone, which I barely use because of the poor internet connection in the hospital.

When I turn on my lock screen, appears on it are the notifications from the messaging app, particularly from our group chat. Hachimitsu-san might have shared something with the group, perhaps any meme she had found on the internet, which could explain why Nekozaki-san replied with a laughing emoji.

However, what catches my attention more are the notifications from Inuzuka-san and especially, from Shikimoro-san herself. Because of my diagnostic tests, my parents might have asked my school for me to be absent for a few days. I scroll down the notifications, carefully not to tap on them, because I don't feel like I want to read the messages in the app and get signaled as 'read'.

From: Inuzuka-san

'Hey bro, is anything fine? Lemme know when you're going back to school ok? Shikimori was scary without you around, so I'm very terrified rn LOL'

From: Shikimori-san

'Are you okay? Text 2 me when you're going to school ok? I'll be waiting.'

Before I know it, tears begin to form in the corner of my eyes again. Take a look at the diagnosis again, flopping at the corner of my bed, the feeling of collapsing back in the hospital has come back to me again, mixed with the feeling of guilt for not being able to reply to their messages, for not keeping in touch with them. Right now, I just want to go to sleep, and forget anything that happened today.

I cover myself with my blanket, curl into a ball and weep silently, desperately hoping that I can get to sleep as fast as possible. I just want to go to sleep, I don't want to recall what happened today. I wish that everything, my condition, right now is just a dream...

I, Izumi Yuu, have been diagnosed with lung cancer...

End of Prologue

~0O0~

Hey, it's me, Mr. Author here, or Fonku, or some might have known me as TheNameIsKaze, other might have known me as "the one who has never continued his fics for 3 years".

After 3 years of hiatus, studying for my graduation test, suffering with GPA, settling in my university, I'm glad to say that I've finally come back with a new fanfic.

This manga, Shikimori-san Is not just a Cutie, has a special place in me. It's been so long since I've invested my time into reading a daily-school-life manga. Since this couple is special, I've been wanting to write a fanfic that dedicated to them. So yeah, here we are.

Before you guys leave any review, I'll let this out first out of the batch: I have a bad habit of leaving things under hiatus for so long. You could see that in the fics I've written before. So just don't expect me to update this frequently, because I also have a university life, in which deadlines keep piling up every single day. But if I have free time, I'll be updating this fanfic when I can.

With all being said, feel free to leave any review, and see you in the next chapter!