This was... somehow nostalgic. For Takemichi, he was here with everyone two months ago, but for them, it's been over twelve years. He looked around at everyone present—even though he's been seeing them around more often, it really hit him tonight that they're all grown up with their own lives.
"Let's open it already."
"Woah!" Chifuyu was the first to grab his item, "Talk about nostalgia!" He had put inside an aeroplane magazine, "I used to dream of being a pilot back then..."
"Heh!" Hakkai teased, amused at how childish Chifuyu was. "Just like a kid's dream!"
"Eh?! You go on then! Why not show us your amazing dream?"
"Hah! You're in for a surprise... I forgot mine actually..." When Hakkai received his letter, he was shocked and kind of ashamed of himself actually. Apparently he wanted to become an astronaut.
"You have some balls to have written that, since you've got nothing to show for it." Hakkai bursted out red after Mitsuya made fun of him, "Well how about you, Taka-chan?! Let's see your dark past! C'mon!"
Mitsuya then lifted up a dirty looking plush toy, "This. Since I was poor, I was never able to get toys for Mana and Luna. This is the first stuffed animal I made for them myself." He then opened up his letter, "'To me in the future... Don't forget your motivation...' Wow, I don't remember writing this at all."
"Baji-san, what are you holding?" Chifuyu pointed star the multiple coloured items in his hands.
"They're shrine charms. I got them from [name]-chan on Christmas the year before we did this capsule." He stuffed them into his pocket and opened up his letter, "'To Baji Keisuke in the future. What are you doing now? Is Chifuyu still following you around? What about mom? Is she still crying at the fact that you're so stupid?' What the heck was I on when I wrote this? '...Have you confessed your feelings to [name]-chan yet? If not, you're a coward. Hopefully she isn't with someone else. If she is, I'll kill you.'"
"Woah!" Takemichi covered his mouth, "Teenage Baji-kun was really blunt!"
"Shut up, Takemichi."
Nahoya and Souya opened theirs—Nahoya's childhood dream was to become popular and Souya's was to look after his brother. The latter couldn't help but laugh at what he wrote. And with Pah-chin and Peh-yan... they were busy crying with one another.
Takemichi then approached Draken who was sitting on the shrine's engawa, "What did you put in, Draken-kun?"
"This." Draken revealed the same photo that was in the twins restaurant—the Toman crew. "'To the future Ryūjugi Ken... How are you doing? Are you still into bikes? Did you get married? Do you have kids? Do you still follow Mikey? I've come to a crossroad in my life. Toman have split up. I won't object to the head's decision. I said that in front of everyone. I really regret it. Toman is all I have. I'm sure everyone feels the same. I've been so anxious. I've cried, but I'm sure Mikey suffered more. So I'm writing all my regrets here... Even if I lose the feelings I held as a kid... always... Emma will always be with you.'" This was supposed to be a trip down memory lane, not crying lane. Takemichi's heart was about to burst.
"So." Draken put his letter away, "Shall we have a look at Mikey and [last name]'s?"
Takemichi made his way over to the box and grabbed the folder—which was yours—and the small letter addressed from Mikey. "I guess... let's open [last name]-san's first since she put a big one in." He handed over Mikey's letter for Chifuyu to hold onto for a moment while he carefully opened the folder.
"Oh! There's a bunch of photos in here." Takemichi handed them out to the gang, "Woah... so many memories."
"This was when we first met her, remember Baji?" Chifuyu nudged his friend, "It was right here! After I lost my wallet!"
"Yeah... There are photos of just me and her at my house with the cats on my windowsill. When did she take so many pictures with my mom?"
"Smiley, this was the radio calisthenics... When did she take sneaky pictures of us?"
"This was when [last name] and I went to stalk Draken at the arcade. Woah... we look so young."
"It's [last name]-chan with Mana and Luna... Were they cooking something? Oh! I do remember that time when I came home from club, dinner was served and cooked. Must've been then."
"It's just... photos of Emma." Draken flicked through his portion, "And [last name] too. When did she have the time to do all of this?"
"Looking at these photos make me feel left out." Takemichi groaned, in his hands were just pictures of you and Hina. Whether it be at the park or at a café. "There's some of her and Mikey-kun too... And who's this other boy? He looks older... and she looks younger too. Her brother?!"
"Oh, you mean Kazuya-kun?" Baji looked over his shoulder, "Yeah, that's him. [name]-chan used to show me pictures of him all the time when I would come over."
"This is really cool though! She put in so many!" Hakkai—despite not being in many photos—was in awe. "So, what else is in that folder?"
"Hold on." Takemichi put the photos in hand back into the slip and reached out to grab what was left inside. "...There isn't just one letter? There's... like nine? No, ten letters." He put the folder down on the shrine next to Draken and examined them closely, "They're addressed... to each of us, except... Hakkai, Pah-chin-kun and Peh-yan-kun." At that fact, Takemichi almost had a heart attack.
No way. These were... these were the letters that you wrote before your suicide. No wonder Naoto said he didn't receive one in this time line. It's because you had put them in the time capsule! But that just means that you had been planning for your death over a year before your actual suicide. Takemichi's heart raced faster – he was afraid, or rather nervous. He wasn't sure what he was feeling.
"Are you gonna hand them out or something?" He shook his head from those thoughts and gave the letters out. He kept the letters addressed to Mikey, Naoto and Hina.
So, you didn't write one to your future self... huh?
Seems like everyone else was invested in what they got. Takemichi ripped his open and read it.
Dear Hanagaki Takemichi,
So, you're reading this twelve years in the future, huh? That's kinda cool. You'll be able to reminisce on the days you spent as a child. How are you now though, Takemichi? Are you and Hina still together? Perhaps you're married?
If so, congratulations! I knew that you two would have a long-lasting relationship! You guys had the most purest love ever, I'm really happy for the two of you. And if I'm being honest... I actually saw you propose to her at the park from my veranda. It was pretty amusing.
Anyway, I'm guessing you want to know what I'm thinking now, as a fourteen-year-old. I'm kind of feeling satisfied, in a way. I know what's in store for me in the next year and I hope to live life to the fullest until then.
Will I ever regret my decision? Perhaps, but I won't know.
I want to tell you know how glad I was to have you as a friend though, Takemichi. You never gave up and you stood up for what was right. I always admired your perseverance from a far.
You've been a huge impact on my life, in more ways than I could ever count. You made me really happy when you told me that you wanted to save me. I've kind of always wanted to hear those words from someone. Thanks for being that 'someone' to me.
Well, one thing I probably will regret will be not saying goodbye to you. I'm not sure if you'll remember back to eleven years ago, but I most likely didn't say a final goodbye. I didn't want you guys to suspect anything after all.
I also want to thank you for being there for Hina when it really mattered. Please take care of her, while I'm gone. She's probably the closest friend I had. I care about her a lot.
I'm sure you're wondering why I did this though, right? It kind of goes all the way back to my brother. You know that he died... but you don't know the entire story. I won't tell you directly what that is, but just know that's why I did what I did. I will probably never recover nor forgive myself for that.
Despite having so many supporting friends and family, you just can't help just still fall into despair. You can't stop it. I'm sorry for taking the selfish route, Takemichi. Please forgive me.
I loved my brother; he was my hero. Having him not be beside me hurt my heart in many ways. Day by day, I was drowning in a sorrow that no one could save me from. I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry for leaving you, and everyone else.
Please take care of yourself, and thanks for letting me a part of your life.
And I know the chances are very unlikely, but if we ever have another chance at life... I guess... please save me. My heart tells me that I want to stay with you guys until we're all old and wrinkly, but the devil in my head tells me to hurry up with life.
Just, in another life, please save me from myself. You're the only one who can trust to do that.
Sincerely,
[last name] [name].
"[last name]-san...!!" Takemichi legs wobbled after reading that. You were asking him to save him! But he didn't know how! How useless was he going to make himself be for the hundredth time? As he was trying to calm himself down, he also noticed the lack of noise or speaking from the others.
When he wiped his eyes, he saw that they were all crying too. Baji had gone ahead and walked a few meters away from the group, Chifuyu was sitting on the floor covering his face, Mitsuya's letter was on the ground, Nahoya was facing the other way so nobody could see him, Souya seemed to give up reading and... Draken, he was... lost in his own thoughts.
Takemichi wondered if your letters to them were similar. When he put the paper in his pocket, he then realised something. You had addressed Mikey too! He took it upon himself to read what you wrote.
Dear Sano Manjirō,
You know, Mikey, I've never actually called you by your real name before. Do you hate that name? I wonder why you decided to change it to 'Mikey.' Well, to be fair, Mikey does sound a lot cooler. If you had to choose a name for me, what would it be?
Anyway, so, how are you, future Mikey? Are you doing well? I wonder what you look like now? Are you still slim like you are now? Maybe you're a bit more muscly? Oh! Do you still have your blond hair? I think I remember you saying that you wanted to dye it black.
I really hope this is Mikey reading this.
Takemichi gulped.
I know you too well, Mikey. I know you're probably not the one reading this. Perhaps it's Draken? ...Or Takemichi. Well, hello to you who's reading it. But if it's actually Mikey who's reading this, I guess I don't know you well enough then!
The reason I mention that is because I remember our conversation very clearly. It's been twelve years, so I'm not sure if you remember. But you said that if I died, you'd come and follow me. Which I obviously yelled at you for.
If this is Mikey reading this, then I'm glad you chose to live life without me. If it's not Mikey, then... he's either dead or doing his own thing independently.
The one thing I really wanted you to do was to find your love in the world. I wanted you to live, whether it be with me or not. I care about you a lot, Mikey. I would hate to see you in the afterlife with me.
I just... didn't want you to be like me.
I'm following my brother's footsteps and I didn't want you doing the same. I wanted to at least save you before I left the world. You tell me how that turned out.
I know you always tried your best to take care of me in these past two years. To our sleepovers, to our shrine visits together, you always made time for me. Thank you, it meant a lot that I had someone to count on.
Thanks for being in my life, Mikey. You really are such a treasure. I would love to see you again if I had the chance. Please, Mikey, if you're reading this, love life and yourself.
Just know that I didn't commit suicide because of you. Never blame yourself for that. But, it might be too late to tell you that now. I'm sorry for leaving you, Mikey.
Sincerely,
[last name] [name].
Takemichi felt bittersweet at this. So you knew that Mikey most likely took the same route as you. You just wanted Mikey to be happy; that's what hit Takemichi home the hardest.
"You guys." Draken cleared his throat before having everyone join back as a group, "...I know it's probably hard for us to read and absorb this. But, let's... let's remind ourselves that she's watching down on us, with Emma and Mikey. There will be regrets of course, but I know that she wouldn't want us to mope around. It's been eleven years after all."
Takemichi had always admired Draken to be able to keep calm in situations like this. "Um... I guess... I'll read Mikey-kun's letter now." He looked around to get everyone's approval before taking in a deep breath. "'To the future me, Sano Manjirō. In twelve years, I wonder what will I be doing? I can't even tell. But I know for sure Mitsuya will become a fashion designer. he's gonna have a fancy office and make stylish clothes! That I can tell. And since Hakkai likes Mitsuya a lot, he's gonna work in a similar industry too! He'll spend his time in Mitsuya's workplace. Pah-chin is definitely gonna inherit his dad's real estate agency. Mad respect! Peh-yan is gonna follow Pah-chin around. Of course, without Pah there's no Peh!
"As for Smiley... Yeah, he's gonna go off and do some crazy shit! Well, he's gonna be fine so long as Angry is with him. And there's only one choice for Ken-chin. He's totally gonna own a bike shop! I know him better than anyone so I can tell. And Baji, he's gonna do something with animals. Knowing Chifuyu, he's gonna work with Baji! Hope Baji doesn't hurt the animals when he gets hungry! Takemicchi, if you and Hina don't end up happy together, I'll kill you!
"Disbanding Toman isn't only for your future, Takemicchi, but also for others. Toman isn't the right place for you to obtain the important experiences that'll help you grow into an adult. So everyone, please get on that journey of finding your values. Personally for me, I think I've found what matters to me the most in this entire universe.
"[name]cchan, I didn't forget about you. I hope we're married right now, with... five kids! We'll have our own family bakery that sells dorayaki and only dorayaki. We'll be a happy family and grow old together. And to everyone else, back off! She's mine! Hopefully, we're standing together in twelve years time.
"But if something comes up and we don't happen to be there just let it be known, everyone – no matter how far we are from each other, we will always be connected.' Mikey-kun... really thought of everyone and everything."
"That damn Mikey." Baji scratched his head, "Who is he to say that [name]-chan is his?"
"At least we all know that he's looking down on us with [last name]. And that we're all connected together. That won't ever change."
Takemichi was glad that he came here tonight; it gave him a few clues, made him cry a bit, but his heart was warm. There was just one last thing left to do—find the trigger.
———
"...I feel embarrassed, Hina."
"We're about to get married in three days! No need to feel embarrassed. But, I definitely would be if my apartment looked like this." Takemichi had his lips closed tight as he watched his fiancée clean up his apartment for him. He just had to be a loser, didn't he?
"Ew... Why don't you throw the these trash bags out, Takemichi-kun? I'll keep cleaning." The boy saluted, albeit a depressing salute, and carried the billion bags out the door. While he was gone, Hina continued her way of cleaning, trying to get every single spot clean. "He's lucky I love him." She got on her knees and began to rid the kotatsu table of the many wrappers and crumbs that decorated the top. "I wonder if he's going to make me clean the apartment when we move in together. If he does I'm going to have to give him a Hina smack!"
Apart from the rubbish on the table, there were a few unopened envelopes too. Being curious, she lifted them up and tried to see where they were from. They didn't look like bills. "...Mine and Naoto's name are on them." Hina took off her gloves and sat herself down. "I'll open it then." She then took in the information that was written on the paper. Why did Takemichi have something like this? Where did he get it from?
She would have to ask those questions later though... she could feel herself crying from the words her old friend had written for her.
"I'm back! ...Huh?" Takemichi was taken aback by the sudden quietness of the household. "Hina? Is everything alright? Hina!" He took off his shoes and ran into the main room, only to catch his fiancée with tears and snot running down her face. His eyes drifted from her eyes down towards what she was holding. Takemichi was meant to give Hina her letter, but since their wedding was coming up, he didn't want to make her feel sad before the event.
"Takemichi-kun... This is... [name]-chan's... She..."
"I know." He took a seat beside her, "I'm sorry, I was supposed to give this to you, but... you found it on your own. Um, remember the time capsule thing? [last name]-san actually put letters in it, like this one. I got one as well."
"I... didn't realise she was suffering so much. I thought that if I just made her happy for that year, everything would be fine. But just reading this... it makes me feel so useless!"
"...Me too, Hina. Me too." Takemichi but his bottom lip.
"I wanted to save her since the accident... but...I know there was no going back in time. Takemichi-kun, I want to apologise to her."
"...Hina." Takemichi held out his hand to her, "I know I told you that I can no longer time leap, but let's try it again. We both want to save her so badly, that it's hurting our hearts. So, with your new drive, let's see if it'll work!"
Hina nodded, she would do anything just to give you one last hug. If this was something that could help her do that, then so be it! "Okay." She took Takemichi's hand and waited. She then felt some kind of power surge go through her for a moment.
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