Shinichiro's Past
In the original timeline, there was nothing but despair and loneliness for Shinichiro Sano. It wasn't supposed to be that way. Things were good yet why did life have to bestow him an unfair dealing? All because of a stupid toy airplane?
His little brother, Manjiro Sano (Mikey) was hospitalized. In critical condition. He was in a vegetative state where the cerebrum was not functioning at all. He has lost all awareness.
Shinichiro knew he had to put on a brave face for his family. So he'll go on pretending everything is alright and that Manjiro will get better. It was only a farce that he knew.
Four years had passed and nothing has changed. His little brother who was supposed to be in middle school and enjoying his life was unresponsive and now in a wheelchair. Not a whisper was heard from him nor the blink of an eye. It was like talkative to a robot doll and hoping for a response back.
Back then Shinichiro knew, there was no such thing as Toman in the original timeline. Manjiro had never met Draken, Takemichi, (Y/n) or the others. The only friends he ever had was Haruchiyo Akashi and Keisuke Baji.
Haruchiyo was in juvie for using a katana to slash all his friends who were talking crap about the small blonde. He had no regrets. They didn't understand the struggle, the pain, the despair he, Baji or Shinichiro were feeling. Thankfully, he was released.
Shinichiro continued to put on a friendly face. It didn't matter if Manjiro was almost skeleton-like and anemic. It didn't matter if his little sister; Emma, ran away and that his grandpa died. It didn't matter if he gave up his dreams. He continued to smile in hopes to hide all the feelings he buried deep inside that were begging to be let out. He had to be strong, he needed to be.
But it was all a waste.
On July 20th, Manjiro Sano passed away.
Shinichiro yelled out as he continued to punch the concrete wall repeatedly without a care of his bruising fists and the blood dripping down. It felt like the world was crashing down on him, like the ocean was swallowing him up that his chest felt heavy and in pain. Tears streamed down his face. He failed. He failed as an older brother and in doing so, he also lost his family too. He was alone.
His best friend Wakasa was there to comfort him. He obviously wasn't the best with words as the two-toned male thought drinking away his problems and sleeping with women would be the right solution.
However, Shinichiro was glad he did come, because he heard something that peaked his interest. A group of men were making a ruckus in Wakasa's club and their banter caught his attention.
"And that old man had a weird ass face too!" One them laughed cockily. "He said 'I can go back in time' or some crazy shit!" The man continued to laugh it up.
Go back in time? Time leaper?
"Oi." Shinichiro approached them with a dead look, "That story, tell me more about it." He demanded.
When those men didn't agree and simply waved them off, he taught them a lesson. He wasn't joking. In between two buildings, an alleyway to be precise, he beat them all up. No mercy.
When the leader finally acquiesced, he was led to an underneath tunnel where the time leaper was. It was old homeless man, all haggard in appearance and looking crazy from the outside.
"Hey, are you listening to me?" Shinichiro asked him.
The old man laughed crazily, "Hehehe, I won't hand over this power to anyone. It wasn't easy for me to get it in the first place!"
"I want to save my brother." Shinichiro began reluctantly, looking down solemnly.
The old man faced him, "I can give you this power to you if you want it, but would you do that for these powers?"
Shinichiro was confused, furrowing his brows, "Do that?" What was it he needed to do?
The old man walked away while laughing, "Hehe, how foolish." He grinned manically,'"I wanted these powers so much I got it by killing the person in front of me."
It was like a flip switched in Shinichiro as he mindlessly picked up the metal pipe and rushed at the old man with only one thought in mind. To get those powers. He raised it in the air and in an instant, he smashed it against the old man's head.
Shinichiro's eyes were white as he breathed heavily.
The old man chuckled weakly, "Just like me, you chose to kill."
Shinichiro gritted his teeth and he raised the metal pipe and repeatedly slammed it on the old man's head, "Shut up!!!" He screamed in anger. His chest heaved up and down as he dropped the metal lead pipe, getting to his knees.
"Go back! Come on, go back already!!" He clenched his fists tight, tears welling in his eyes, "Is this for real? I'm not going back to the past. Even after killing someone for it."
Shinichiro curled into a small ball, sobbing as he felt his heart about to explode. Would he die from a broken heart. Why? Why did this happen to him?!
The next day, he mindlessly walked around till he came to a stop. His mind was reeling with endless dark thoughts. What was the use of living when it was just him alone? What was the point when he had no one. He couldn't even save his own brother nor stop his sister from running away. He was tired. His body was aching. He just wanted to end this endless pain.
Before he knew it, he stood on top a ledge that led to the stream, his eyes lifeless as he stared at the raging waters that moved so strong against the current. He was about to jump when he heard someone scream his name and slowly moved his eyes, "....Haruchiyo...this muddy stream, I'll die for sure."
"What nonsense are you talking!? Get down from there!!" The pinkette screamed at him, his face shown in panic as tears welled in his eyes.
"...Today is the day of Manjiro's accident. I want to go back to that day." Shinichiro's eyes were white and unseeing and he didn't hesitate to jump, closing his eyes as his body made contact with water.
"Shinichiro!!!" Haruchiyo screamed, outstretching his hand.
....finally I can be at ease.....
Shinichiro felt lightning course through his body and he snapped his eyes open, only to see Manjiro heading for him with a wide grin on his face and his toy airplane held in the left hand, "Get out of the way!!!"
He got hit in the face by Manjiro's feet as he slumped against the couch in a daze. He slowly sat up. Aren't I supposed to be dead after jumping into that river?
"Everything alright over there?" A voice called out to him.
Shinichiro snapped his head to the right and widened his eyes upon seeing Takeomi, looking behind the man, he spotted the calendar. It was July 30th, 1997. His breath hitched when a small figure appeared in front of him.
"You usually would have avoided that." Manjiro pouted.
Shinichiro's eyes watered. He was back in the past. He can change things now. He can save his brother. He can see his family again!
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"Neh, big bro..." Mikey shyly glanced at his older brother, who was fixing his street hawk at his bike shop.
Shinichiro hummed in curiosity, "Hm? What is it, Manjiro?" He glanced at his brother, feeling happy he got to see his younger brother all healthy and walking on his own two feet. It was a miracle.
The small blonde's cheeks turned pink as he shuffled on the stool, watching intently at his big bro, "...I met this girl a while ago." He didn't want to explicitly say who it was.
Now that caught Shinichiro's attention, a teasing look on his face, "Oho~a girl? Is my little Manjiro having a crush?" He chuckled at the small pout the blonde gave him. "Gomenasai, let's hear about this mysterious girl that caught my little brother's attention."
Mikey huffed, crossing his arms, before a soft look crossed his features, "She's beautiful, aniki." He breathed out, an adoring look on his face, "I don't know what it is but there's something about her that's just luring me to her. She's different and I like it. A lot."
Shinichiro observed the love-struck gaze his little brother had and chuckled, rubbing his head gently, "She must be something, huh?" Mikey nodded enthusiastically.
"She's amazing and she looks like a foreigner only way prettier and cooler!" The small blonde swayed on the stool, side-to-side, a grin on his face, "She even bought me dorayaki and taiyaki!!"
Mikey pouted suddenly, huffing in annoyance, "although I get this weird feeling in my chest whenever she's with Baji or someone else." He admitted, "Am I sick?"
The older sano chuckled, "No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you." He would let his brother figure out his own feelings in time.
Mikey grinned as he continued to ramble on and on about this girl without even saying the name.
Shinichiro hummed as he listened to his little brother. He never expected to meet the girl himself, unknowingly. When he stepped in a convenience store with his best buddies, he was only looking for something to drink and his eyes caught sight of the (h/c)-ette too young for her age working at the register while flipping through a magazine.
As he walked to the counter with his friends, he couldn't help but observe her. She looked about the same age as Mikey and he couldn't help but wonder if this was the girl his little brother was talking about. Nah, it can't be. It would be too much of a coincidence. He shook his head in denial as he gave her a smile and sparked up a conversation.
"Hi there." He greeted the (h/c)-ette, who looked at him puzzled along with his friends, "Aren't you supposed to play with other kids your age? You shouldn't be working." He pointed out with a gentle smile.
The (h/c)-ette gave him a weird look, handing the bag to Wakasa, "Erm...are you okay, Shin? You're acting as if we're strangers." She chuckled, propping herself back onto the stool.
Benkei scratched the back of his head, eyeing his former leader, "(Y/n) is right, Shin. We've been here many times and suddenly you're acting as if you don't know her? Did someone beat you up or what? She visited your house two weeks ago!"
Shinichiro froze, eyeing the girl for a moment. He didn't recognize her but the more he gazed at her he could sense an aura of familiarity around her. He didn't understand. He knows her? He cleared his throat, playing it cool, "Y-yeah! I know that! I was just kidding around, hehehe....!" He rubbed the back of his head nervously.
(Y/n) eyed him suspiciously before shrugging her shoulders and thinking he just had a bad day, "If you say so, Shin." She rose her brow at him, watching as the group of four left the store.
As Wakasa walked beside Shinichiro, he glanced at his former leader, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "You're acting a bit stranger than usual today."
Shinichiro blinked multiple times, facing his white fluffy haired friend, "How so?" He kept a neutral face.
"With (Y/n). You never play around like that before, for a moment it did look like you forgot about her." Wakasa murmured, sighing as he thought it was probably his head messing with him and causing him to overthink things.
Shinichiro hummed, looking down in thought as he continued walking. He thought back to the convenience store and couldn't help but feel nostalgia as if he's been there before, but that's impossible since he would remember walking into the store more than one time.
It all came crashing down at him like a whirling tornado as he slept. He had an odd dream of memories he couldn't remember and in them were images of (Y/n) and him interacting more than once and them hanging out at his bike shop, etc.
"Gah!!!" He was startled awake, causing him to abruptly sit up and pant heavily, sweat coating his features. He clutched the front part of his hair and gritted his teeth. He did know her! His other self did! Now it all makes sense!!
Ever since his rediscovery of his memories, curtesy of his dreams, he now understands why his 'other self' likes to keep (Y/n) close and from what it looks like, treasure her. She was intriguing. He was curious to see how this will all play out.
A/n: so sorry for the short chapter but I didn't want to
Keep you guys waiting! I hope you enjoyed it!!