takemichi will still be travelling 12 years into the past, not 10 years.
Takemichi felt as if he had gotten winded. He fell onto the ground face first and tried to catch his breath. "Oi! Takemicchi, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"H-Huh?!" Where exactly was he? Did the time leaping actually work?!
"You literally just fell over when you were just standing. What the heck?"
"Chi... Chifuyu? Where... Where are we?"
"We're at the shrine. With the others." Chifuyu stepped to the side and pointed towards the other boys, "We may be disbanded as Toman, but that doesn't mean we're not friends. Er– Why are you crying?"
"I just... I just... I can't believe it worked." Takemichi was incredibly frazzled; one moment he was with Hina then next he was on the floor. "Wait– That means... our wedding... I won't get to marry her!!"
"Oh, you're future Takemicchi!" Chifuyu ended up sitting down, "Why didn't you say so? Why are you back here though? I thought everything was fixed?"
"No... There was one person I didn't manage to save. [last name]-san still ends up dying, so I came back to change that."
"So we didn't end up changing her future. But," He placed his hand on Takemichi's shoulder, "I'm glad to have you back, partner."
"Chifuyu!"
"Why is Takemicchi crying like a little baby?" Mikey and Draken approached after noticing some peculiar movements with the two boys.
"Mikey-kun, Draken-kun. It's nice to see you again."
"Future Takemicchi?" Draken questioned, that was the only reasonable explanation for his strange behaviour. "Is that why you fell on your face two seconds ago? You time leaped again?"
"Yeah." The two joined the boys in the discussion about the future. "...and so, in less than a year, [last name]-san will commit suicide... with Mikey-kun following shortly after. I was able to come back by shaking hands with Hina this time, not Naoto."
"Mikey, why are you so stupid? You do realise [last name] isn't the only one in your life, right?"
"Don't start lecturing me, Ken-chin. She's my anchor." Mikey then stretched out his arms and gazed up into the sky. That was the near future, according to Takemichi. It was so soon too. "...Man, future me must've been a pain."
"Um, so I want to create a plan."
"I'll help!"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Chifuyu." Takemichi pushed his friends face away. "A plan to help [last name] see the beauty of this world one last time. To show her that there will be a better tomorrow."
"What are you guys congregating about without us?" Mitsuya, along with Hakkai, the twins, and Baji joined the group. "What's this about [last name]-chan?"
"The time I come back to finally hang out with you guys," Baji plopped himself next to Chifuyu, "you're talking shit about [name]-chan to my face. You better have a good reason for that."
"No, Baji-kun!" Takemichi tried to reason with the black-haired boy before he rampaged, "We're not talking smack about her. Um–" He looked at Chifuyu, wondering whether or not it would be a good thing to reveal his powers in front of everyone here. He then glanced over to Draken and Mikey, they were waiting for Takemichi to continue to speak.
"Takemicchi, just tell them. I'm sure that they'll be more on board to help if you tell them about it. We need all the help we can get, right?"
"Yeah, thanks, Chifuyu." He took in a deep breath before revealing the truth about his powers, everything down to the finest detail. The boys listened with concentrated ears and an intense expression, not wanting to get lost in the explanation. Takemichi thought it was a bit too soon to tell everyone, but he knew he could trust them.
"You're lying."
"No, I'm not Baji-kun."
"She– She can't die. Not now, not ever. What the fuck to you mean 'committed suicide'? That's not a funny joke."
"What I'm saying is not a joke, Baji-kun. Future you even told me that you'd be reluctant to believe this truth, but when I say that I want your help in preventing that future from happening, I truly mean it. Everyone, please lend me your strength and words. I have a plan in mind."
"Baji, stop throwing a temper tantrum." Mikey was tempted to throw a rock at his head, but refrained from doing so. "Just listen to Takemicchi. You want her to live, right?"
"Well, no shit I want her to live. But this is so random... you could've at least given us a warning. What the shit man?"
"Sorry, Baji-kun, but at this point, there's no time that we can waste."
。。。
Hina was surprised to say the least. Her boyfriend was currently on his knees with his forehead pressed onto the concrete floor in front of her house. "Um, Takemichi-kun?"
"I'm sorry for bailing out on our wedding! I'm a loser and I hope you can find it within your heart to forgive me!"
"...You're... future Takemichi-kun?" Hina urged the boy to stand up and talk to her normally. She stepped outside the apartment to give them some privacy from her family. "You're back! But I thought–"
"Hina, you're my trigger this time around."
"Huh?"
"The time leap trigger. I shake your hand in order to time leap." The girl moved her head to face Takemichi.
"Did you come back around midday today?" He nodded, "I thought I felt some sort of spark, but I just thought I was going crazy. So, what made me the trigger this time? What's happened in the future?" For the second time today, he had explained the story. "...I see. So, my drive and your drive caused you to come back. Wait, does this mean we can't hold hands anymore?"
"Yeah..." Takemichi was going to cry. He didn't think of that.
"But I guess it's a small price to pay! We have to concentrate on saving [name]-chan, right?"
"Takemichi-kun, nee-san!" The door behind them suddenly swung backwards to reveal a teary-eyed Naoto. "Please... let me in on this too! I want to do whatever I can as well. You're not her only friends!"
"Naoto... I don't–"
"It's okay, Hina." Takemichi stepped aside to make room for the younger boy. "I'm sure Naoto will be a big help. I'll tell you guys what I'm planning, so..."
———
2018, JUNE 19
The 26-year-old Takemichi had just arrived home from Musashi Shrine after the whole time capsule thing. He ended up taking home your entire folder since... well, no one else asked for it. He also took home the photos too; which he didn't know why. He should've just let the others keep them.
Takemichi knew that this was probably one of the best futures so far, but he had so many regrets. He threw the folder onto the kotatsu table causing all the rubbish on it to fly off. The string holding the folder closed also happened to tear which made all the contents fall onto the floor.
But Takemichi was too distracted in his own worries to think about cleaning up right now. "Think, think... You know she loved her brother, but is there another reason? [last name] mentioned that I didn't know what really happened, but what does that mean? The information that Naoto gave wasn't really helpful, so there must be something."
He fell into his knees and flat on his face on the tatami mats. "What'll happen if I can't find a way to time leap? I think I'd go crazy thinking I wasn't able to save her even though I told her to her face I would. She even mentioned in her letter... that she wanted to be saved. Damn it! Damn it all!"
The male got up on all fours and slammed his fist into the table, "...I want to go back! I just need one last chance." As he was trying so desperately to think oft something, just coincidentally, a photo of yourself and your brother had fallen in front of him. "Huh?"
He picked up the picture and examined at it closely; it looked normal, just like any other picture. Just out of habit, Takemichi flipped it around to see if there was something on it. "...What's this?" In your handwriting, you had written:
'(1) Takemichi, I'm not sure what I'm trying to do by telling you this, but if I'm being honest—the only person I will trust with this information is you.'
It had gotten cut off there, but the number in the bracket gave him a clue – you wrote more than one. But there were at least one hundred pictures he had to go through. Oh well, if you trusted him with this, then he'd have to do everything he could.
"Erm... I probably shouldn't of thrown the folder. Where should I start?" He picked up each photo one by one and put them into a pile, ones with writing and one without. So far, the latter was piling up. "...Oh! Finally. At least I found one... What's the picture? Musashi Shrine? Wasn't the first one a picture of her at the shrine? Maybe they're all shrine pictures!"
Takemichi knew what he had to be looking for. Photos that were taken at the shrine. "Okay, there's a few and they all have writing. Good job, me! Now time to order them."
The second, was just yourself posing in front of the shinto bell.
'(2) You know the whole story with the Hisuibi and the Black Dragons, right? Do I have to remind you? Long story short, they clashed and my brother died.'
Takemichi remembered taking this photo with you—he was trying to do some sort of pose he saw on the internet that had his arms and legs twisted together. Your hands were out towards him. You had pushed him over after the picture was taken.
'(3) But what I told you wasn't what actually what happened. Sure he was shot by them, but he didn't die because of that.'
Chifuyu was laying on the ground face first with snacks scattered around him. You were squatting beside him poking him with a stick.
'(4) You know why I wouldn't describe myself as a good person? It's because I was the one who killed him.'
This was was of you and Emma doing some martial art move. Emma seemed to be more happier than you were, but Takemichi was able to spot the smile on your face.
'(5) He was shot three times—I was the one who shot the third.'
You and Mikey were sitting under the torii gates. Mikey had put up a peace sign with his hands, his left was in front of him, and his right was behind your head to make bunny ears for you. You didn't look too impressed.
'(6) I was ultimately responsible for his death. And I will never forgive myself for that.'
Baji was holding your hand and had it lifted up in the sky. You were looking over at Baji with a confused expression while he was over the moon.
'(7) You're probably asking why? It's because he said that I'd be a target if he survived. I was given no time to even think about it properly.'
This photo didn't have anyone in it – it was just the entrance to the shrine.
'(8) He kept pleading, Takemichi. He really did. You think I could just refuse when he was dying in my arms? I still don't know what I was thinking then.
You and Mitsuya were sitting on the grass area with some fabrics; looked like he was teaching you some sewing.
'(9) He gave me his gun, and told me to aim at his head. It took me a while to even hold onto the gun, but in the end, I shot his abdomen.'
Smiley was the main focal point of the picture. His face was so close to the lens the shrine was barely in view. He seemed to be a bit mad that his picture was taken.
'(10) Kazuya never blamed me for it though. With his last strength, he wiped off my fingerprints and told me:'
Yourself and Draken were squatting down in the middle of the path doing some sort of gang signs. You seemed to be struggling.
'(11) I'm sorry for making you do this. I'll always love you, [name].'
Takemichi ended up skipping through all the photos just to read the messages.
'(12) My gut feeling says that you have something up your sleeve. Perhaps a hidden power? My mind says I don't want to be here, but my heart says I want to be with you guys.'
'(13) The only reason why I know you're reading this, Takemichi, is because you're the only one who would be gutsy enough to take the folder home.'
'(14) Past me is counting on you, future Takemichi!'
The shrine... was an incredibly important place for you, huh? Everything went to shit there. But at least he found out about what really conspired! He'd have more leads to go off on. Also... was he that bad at hiding his powers?
And so, Takemichi spent the next two and a half months thinking about plans, in which he hoped to enact them when he would find his way to time leap again. "Just wait for us, [last name]-san!"
word count—2235