Today's fanart is byyyyy @LoveableDear!! Istg y'all are too damn talented!! I adore the cute little braid that [Name] has!! Really cute and her eyes!! Omg, look at them! Anyways, here we go! Also, to those who got the University reference in this chapter, marry me pls.
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Today was the day you'd be getting discharged. As excited as you would have been, worry still plagued your mind when you thought about the horrid vision you had gotten a few days prior.
However, seeing the smiles on your brother and father's faces, you couldn't help but push your worries aside for the day. Today was supposed to be a good day, you shouldn't let your misery ruin it.
With you still having some trouble standing up, the doctor advised your father to have at least one person with you, be it your father or brother.
With a firm nod, the older man slid in the driving seat and buckled up. Your brother was sitting in the passenger seat, simply because he was an asshole who thought it'd be funny to play shot-gun with someone having a stab wound.
But you decided to ignore his annoying antics and turned your head to look outside the window. There wasn't exactly any silence in the car since your father was nice enough to play some radio, but the awkward atmosphere was still there.
What do people even talk about with their parents? What about siblings?
Well, you found it quite easy to talk with Shinichirō, but that was because you spent most of your time with him. With someone who you've barely spent anytime with, and with so much catching up to do, you didn't know what to say without starting an entire conversation about how shitty your life has been.
But you stopped thinking about that when [Brother Name] had the heart to strike up the conversation, "Say, egghead?" He called out and you almost huffed in annoyance.
He would not let that nickname go.
He recalled vividly when you were only 5 months old, and he had placed a tray of eggs beside you while trying to scavenge for some ham that was stored in the their fridge. Little you ended up picking one of the eggs and cracking it all over your head, and then proceeding to cry because the sharp end of the egg shell ended up hurting you.
Ever since that day, that nickname was stuck with you, at least by [Brother Name].
"Will you ever drop that God awful nickname?!" You huffed and he chortled in his seat, "Hell no! Not in a million years!!" He affirmed and your father cracked a small smile at your playful banter.
"-anyways! What I wanted to tell you, was that my University's gonna have a festival in a few days! Wanna come with me? There's gonna be lots'a stalls, you can even call over those crazy friends of yours!"
Your eyes widened in surprise, "Wait, you actually go to a university?" You really didn't believe Ran and Rindou when they told you about it, but now that you're hearing it really does surprise you.
"Huh?! Of course I am! You think I'm too stupid to get in one?!" He huffed and your father continued to drive silently, opting to enjoy the sibling banter he wished he could have seen sooner.
"Hey, your words, not mine..." You trailed off, giggling silenting at the fuming expression your older brother was making, "You know what, I'm not even gonna let you guys enter!!" He huffed once more before turning his head forward.
"Wait, what university do you even go to, by the way?" You asked and he huffed dramatically, not answering you. You rolled your eyes playfully and leaned over into the narrow separation of the front seats and the back seats, "Dad, can you tell what university this idiot goes to?"
A grin made way to his lips as he bobbed his head, "Yup! It's-" Poor man got cut off by [Brother Name] obnoxiously beginning.
"Since I'm a kind older brother, I'll tell you!! I am attending the University of Tokyo! Todai, for short!" He declared proudly and you teased him by flinching away in disgust.
"Oh, so you're like those creeps who are unhealthly obsessed with their universities and consider its history more vital than oxygen? Man, didn't think my brother would grow up to be such a loser..." Before your brother could screech at your mockery, your father pushed the brakes and stopped in front of a familiar house.
The house that you used to live in until your parents got divorced. Suddenly, your mood became grim, mind flashing every memory you had of this place.
None of them were that good. They all consisted of your memories of you locked up in the attic, crying yourself to sleep with no one there with you.
You unconsciously clentched your fist, knuckles beginning to turn white at your grip. It didn't go unnoticed by [Brother Name] as he opened his door and got off. You also got out of the car and stood in front of it, staring ahead at it's architecture.
Suddenly, a hand was placed on top of your head and your hair was ruffled. You looked over to see your brother peering at you with an uncharacteristically soft smile, "Wanna go in? Or do you wanna walk around the area a bit?" He suggested, knowing that you probably weren't ready for this.
But you shook your head with a kind smile. You've dealt with much worse and a little bit of melancholy won't be able to do much to you. With a gentle smile, you walked forward and up the stairs of the house. Your father and brother were right behind you, letting you have the liberty of exploring the place yourself.
You walked over and slid the door open, revealing the entrance of the house. At the beginning was the small area where the shoe compartment and a small cabinet were placed. You took your shoes off at the entrance. Just ahead of it, was a small hallway that led into an open space.
At the left of the open space was the living room, just like how you recalled. And at the right, the kitchen. Up further into another hallway that was connected to the open space, was the door to the backyard.
And at the side of that hallway, were the stairs. You could recall the numerous times you had cried loudly just because you were too scared to jump down the last step.
With a monotonous look taking over your face, you began to walk up the stairs. The minute you reached the top of the stairs, you were hit by a wave of nostalgia. It was almost as if you saw your younger self running behind [Brother Name], falling several time and crying loudly.
How weird it all was... Your younger self could never have guessed what she grew up to be...
With a deep sigh, you walked in the direction of a path that was led purely by muscle memory. Standing outside a door, you peered at the wooden sliding door, not turning to look when you felt your brother and father standing beside you.
They both placed a hand on your shoulder and you wondered why? You weren't scared or anything, it was just a lot to recall and you wanted to remember each and every place before you entered it.
With slight confusion evident on your face, you turned your face forward and held onto the built in handle of the sliding door.
With a sigh, you slid it open, to reveal a newly cleaned room.
Your old room.
It still had your old bed and your unhealthy amount of stuffed animals. But the childish stuff that you had like toys and your hiragana and katakana posters that you used for learning were gone.
You guessed that this was what both [Brother Name] and your father were up to for the past two weeks.
With a small, nostalgic smile, you began to walk in and inspect the room, while your brother and father stood at the doorway peering at you with a sad smile.
"Oh, you still kept this?" You said, holding onto a box that held a record player and a single vinyl disc. The disc was a gift from your uncle, and a frown was quick to form as you recalled the previous memories of what happened at the hospital.
You never knew why he had that record because you remember thinking that the song was very bad. Maybe your uncle was into that stuff? Who knows...
It's tune was quite off from what you can remember. You were kind of curious as to what that song sounded like, now that you're grown up and all but your father had just checked the clock and called out, "[Name], sweetie, it's time for dinner..."
He smiled and you tilted your head before pushing the box back beside your bed. You'll just listen to it after dinner. With a subtle nod, you followed after them and walked back into the kitchen where [Brother Name] was on the call, ordering food.
"Oi, egghead!! Quick, what'cha wanna eat?" He immediately turned to you and in a state of panic you blurted the first thing that came to your head, "[Favorite Food]!!" Both son and father chuckled that even after such a long time, you still adored your favorite.
After ordering, you decided to let your brother and father talk on their own and walk around the house yourself.
The first place you picked, was the second floor that held your room. After checking your room, you walked over and saw your brother and father's rooms but opted not to check them. Instead, you made way to the second set of stairs in the house, the stairs that led to the attic.
With pursed lips, you walked up the staircase, feeling the wooden railing on the stairs. You opened the door to the attic, revealing a dark place filled with stuff that you don't think anyone would use.
Stuff like old trunks of clothes, messy closets, giant cupboards. You were walking around when you saw a small box on which it was written with a black marker, in clear kanji.
'Osamu'
With a frown, you wondered if it would be wrong if you snooped around your uncle's stuff but then again, it was technically your father's now. And the awful memories you had gotten as a vision ended up doubling your resolve.
Ginergly, you unfolded the flaps of the cardboard box to reveal some old clothes, a bunch of documents and a small box that had the symbol of an Egyptian eye carved in it.
It took a while for your memory to jog but you recalled it as the Eye Of Horus. According to Egyptian mythology, it represented healing and protection.
Maybe your uncle had a knack for ancient Egypt?
You carefully opened the box to reveal a small pendant which had the symbol of the Egyptian God, Osiris, carved into the stone of the pendant. You squinted your eyes, the story of Osiris, and the Eye of Horus was just at the tip of your tongue, yet you still couldn't grasp it.
You narrowed your eyes, deep in thought that you didn't even notice your bother entering the attic, "Boo." A strangled scream almost left your lips, making you drop the stone box back into the cardboard box. At your jump, [Brother Name] hollered in laughter.
"Oh, my God!! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" You sneered at your brother, making him laugh harder.
You got up in anger and angled your leg to his stomach. With one kick, he curled up in a fetus like position while crying in pain, "Ah!! Why'd you do that?!" He cried out but you rolled you eyes before picking up the stuff and placing them back into the box.
"Why are you even here?" You asked and fixed the stuff in their spot, when your brother got up and smiled, "Food's ready! Come down, sis!" He cheered and you smiled to yourself, noting how his personality did a complete 180° when food was mentioned.
You nodded and placed the box in it's place, before going back with [Brother Name]. Just as you neared the door, your eyes widened in horror. You finally recalled the mythology.
And it finally clicked in you, like a small piece of the puzzle fitting snuggly into its spot.
'The man who uncle Osamu was talking to... his eye was missing...' You thought in horror as the truth dawned upon you.
That man, who looked just like you, had offered his eye in exchange for the ability to go back in time...
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Explanation:
Alright, so let's start with the Egyptian mythology! According to egyptian mythology, the god Horus fought with his rival, Set, and during that fight Set had pulled out/destroyed Horus's eye. Horus ended up healing his eye and gave it to his father, Osiris, for sustainance in the afterlife. The Eye of Horus symbolises protection and healing.
In here, the eye of Horus symbolises a sacrifice made by the man whose vision [Name] had seen. He gave up his eye to take the ability to change the future. The reason why [Name] recalled this particular memory upon seeing the Eye Of Horus is because she found a symbol of the Egyptian god, Osiris in Osamu's stuff. It made her recall someone who looked like Osamu crouching in front of the man with one eye.
The symbolism of Osiris in here, is that he is considered the god of afterlife and resurrection. I hinted in previous chapters on how [Name]'s ability works. Well, let me explain!
Unlike Takemichi, [Name] can go back in time, only by killing herself. Which is why she had originally hung herself in the first future and let herself get shot in the second future. It's like a rebirth cycle, in which her past memories are at first blocked and she only has a few visions to help her change the future. But if the future gets messed up, like someone who was not supposed to die, dies, then all the past memories and timelines come rushing in her head and she can barely think straight. At that moment, she wants nothing more to just put herself out of her misery. So Osiris represent her rebirth after every timeline.