3rd pov
As soon as the viewing was over, Takemichi quickly run out of the theatre and into the hallway. He doesn't care that he leave in a rude manner. All he want to do was to be alone with his own thoughts.
He walked past the Mitsuya sisters. He walked passed the other tenants of this house. He quickly wear his winter clothes and run away as fast as a cheetah.
Leaving the door as fast as he could, he refused to stop running until he reach a familiar place. A playground to catch his breath and sorrow in silence. A place for him to let out the tears that he held back. An overdue mental breakdown, they say.
Funny that he was called a crybaby, yet he chooses to bottle his feelings up on matters like this. He doesn't care that it makes him sound like a hypocrite. He just want to be left his grieving self alone on the slide, alone for his tired eyes to rest.
By the time that he heard footsteps, he doesn't remember how much time has passed since coming here. He thought that it was the past Naoto, who he believed lived without knowing his fate.
There's no point in shaking his hands anymore. Takemichi and his girlfriend's brother just saw themselves dying in front of their eyes. Yet, he was more upset that his friend died over his own being.
It hurts him more after remembering the many times the present Naoto encouraged him.
"Hey...Naoto..." he asked him. "Do you remember when we first met?"
He recollects aloud about the first time he time-leaped after Hina's death. Since then, he and Naoto tried everything they can to save Hina on numerous occasions, only to be met with little success. Even thought the current Naoto is alive, seeing that current future struck his heart in many shades of hopelessness.
The hopeless idea of getting the future he wanted. A future where everyone that he cared about was alive and well. No gangsters. No violence. No unhappy endings. Just a future where everyone can live in peace without death getting in the way.
Why does the world hate him this much? Why did he have to suffer through everything to end up with a similar outcome? The more that he sees his friend's dead body, the more numb that he felt over this.
"I know! I'l just change the past again." he declared with a tired tone. "Then I can save Naoto, and Hina too."
"Awesome. Yeah, that's it." he tries to assured himself. "Then once I save everyone, I'll return to the future..."
"And I'll fail again..."
Right, he was chasing the idea of the future he truly desired. A future where everyone that he cared about was alive and well. No gangsters. No violence. No unhappy endings. Just a future where everyone can live in peace without death getting in the way.
Why does the world hate him this much? Why did he have to suffer through everything to end up with a similar outcome? The more that he sees his friend's dead body, the more numb that he felt over this.
"Forget it." he spoked with eyes that looked dead inside.
"Guess I'm better off dead..."
All of a sudden, he felt something laying on his back.
"I love you."
That voice. Was that...
"Hina?"
"Yup."
"You...heard all of that?" he asked her.
"Yup, 'cause it looks like you mistook me for Naoto." she told him while lying her head on his back.
'Oh shit...!' he covered his mouth in shock. He just talked about...all of that future stuff in front of her. How is he gonna cover it up?
"What's your real age?" she asked him.
"Uh...26?"
"I didn't hear anything. Well, anything that I have not heard." she spoked calmly.
"What do you mean, Hina?"
"Takemichi, can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure, what is it?" he wondered.
"Would you believe me if I can say that I'm aware of the future?"
Takemichi was confused. Hina-chan knows about the future?
"Well, more like I'm aware of my own death." she added. "Is that...weird?"
Takemichi doesn't know how to answer her. He was too deep into his own numbness to figure that out. But in all fairness, isn't time-leaping weird too?
"Maybe?" he told him. That's the only thing he could think of. "When did that happen?"
"The day before Christmas Eve."
"Oh." he responded. Gosh, that wasn't the brightest day, he remembered.
Hina then explains everything that she knows. From learning the future from Allon to knowing Takemichi's breakup prior to its occurrence, it was safe to say that Takemichi was shocked to say the least. Just how much does she know from Allon alone?
No, not just that. How the hell did it not affects the timeline? Maybe she didn't tell them in the end?
...
Suffice to say, they both have a lot of things to talk about.
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Allon just wants a goddamn rest.
That's what he thought of when he sat near Shinichiro's grave out of loneliness, especially after the events that transpired.
Alas, the manga had come to an end that left him with a bittersweet taste. But he wasn't feeling happy, he was just...conflicted with the story as a whole.
Mikey's mental health caused by a curse? Didn't he gained dark impulses after his brother's death? It was depressing that Mikey could never have a happy fate by all this.
But speaking of the story, he was shocked that Shin was the other time leaper instead of Hanma. All of that mystery surrounding the latter, and yet it was left unexplained in the end. Such a waste of character potential, he groaned in frustration.
Not just that, but he was saddened that Shin suffered through a depressing timeline. One that involved Mikey dying from a permanent injury, and his brother that went batshit crazy from sinking deep into the grieving phase. Too deep in fact that he killed a timeleaper without hesitation.
How long will this mission last? It hurts seeing the people that you saved, with your bain only registering what could've been. An example of which is whenever he sees South or Baji, getting reminded of their canon deaths. Same with the other characters, but replace it with glimpses of their canon-divergence deaths insteads.
What started off as a typical delinquent story that he discovered online turns into an emotional rollercoaster that got him too invested in this series. Even after the bittersweet ending, he finds it hard to move on from a series like this. Let alone moving on during this mission.
The characters, the action, the themes, the emotions. All of these things are what got him invested heavily into this story, so invested to the point where he reaches the fanfic stage of the fandom. He also contributes this story to the aspriation of fighting techniques, that's a bonus.
Like Takemichi, he doesn't know how long can he last before succumbing to the pressure. But unlike Takemichi, he knows when his mission will last. Not that Takemichi don't have that, but the crybaby's mission was one that would hurt him emotionally than whatever mission Allon have.
In fact, he also wished that he can stay in this world forever. To hangout with fictional people over the harsh reality that is his world. Too bad that he would have no choice but to return to his world upon doing so.
Wait, what was he thinking about again? Since when did he constantly switch between different topics? Should that be a sign of stress?
As he sits by the sight of Shin's funeral, the wind starts blowing his face away. The breezy air made the cold environment more lively. The flicker of his hair gave him an idea.
Only one month left till the big event arrives. And there's so much to do that leads to the big day. The day when several things will happen that'd define the place.
So maybe, he should hold on to this goal until his downfall comes. Or if it doesn't happen, keep it in his heart forever until the bottle breaks.
Yeah, that's one way to go. Unhealthy, but that's an option.
Gosh, just what happened during the journey that got him to become this depressing? The personality shift of it all.
The answer is...Well, it's not like he has one.
Sigh, at least there won't be much chaos happening anymore.
And then, he heard the singing of a siren.
Startled, he look around to find the source of the voice. Alas, they weren't anybody here at all.
He should probably go back to his house. The more that he laze around here, the weirder the night becomes. So he got his shit together and walk back home to face the consequences of his actions. No point in avoiding it anyways, best to get things over with.
Unbeknownst to him, someone was indeed around in the area. Someone who let out that mysterious siren as he walked away from the graveyard.
"Hm...That boy seems interesting." spoked the person. "The fact that he can hear my siren tells me he ain't no ordinary boy."
...
"How am I gonna follow him?"
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"So what you're saying is that both you and Naoto learned about the future through Allon?" asked Takemichi. "Am I correct, Hina-chan?"
"Yep."
"And you believed he did that because it might prevent your death?"
She nodded in response.
Clearly, it didn't. Her fate remains the same, depressingly so.
"The fact that you are here means that it didn't work out." she deduced. Did her future self forgot about this info or did she embraced her fate? She isn't sure about the asnwer herself, so she decided to asks him a question.
"Takemichi from the future, have you proposed to me yet?"
Needless to say, he was caught offguard by the sudden question.
"N-No....Not yet." he stuttered with a blush, which increased into a sudden rush of panick. "But I...uh I've thought a lot about getting married."
What the hell was he saying!? Why did he blurt that out so casually?
"Hm...And propose?"
"Yeah. That too." he admitted.
That was all that she needed to hear.
"Well, at least I can die happy."
Her response was enough for Takemichi's eyes to tear up again. With his motivation that was merited from his love to Hina, he vows not to give up now.
"It's morning, huh?" Hina spoked as they sat on the tip of the slide. She then took out her flip-phone to see a message from South. Thank god that he was free to take her place for the viewing.
Except, this message was shocking that Takemichi have to see this.
"Takemichi-kun, you gotta see this." she said before handling him the phone. He took it and read it to his surprise.
"...So our world is viewed as fictional by the masses?" he asked in silence. What kind of fourth-wall break is this!?
"Seems like it." she responded. Finding out that their entire world is viewed as an anime and a manga by the masses was a complicated feeling. One that got a large fanbase, nonetheless.
"Does that mean that our time here was also planned?" he asked her.
Hina then texted that same question to South, who responded by showing a manga panel of Chapter 135. Despite its blurry texture, it was enough evidence to support her question.
"Kinda?" she said, unsure of what to say.
Taking out the fact that she discussed about her awareness of her fate, it sounds like her talk with Takemichi was meant to happened. Her finding out that Takemichi was a time-leaper was meant to happened. And her bringing up the question about marriage was also meant to happened.
Come to think of it, her learning about her future death through Allon was the only thing that was not. Should she question the afromentioned guy's motives, on someone who appeared out of nowhere?
"Um...Hina-chan? You're okay?" asked Takemichi, concerned.
"...Y-Yeah. I'm fine." she responded, assuring him that she's fine.
As much as she wants to sit here all day, she can't stay here for long.
"Well, we can talk later. Better go home before Mom and Dad wake up!" she yawned while standing up.
"Hina...Um...About today...The future thing..."
"Don't worry, I didn't hear anything." she smiled before waving goodbye at him.
As she left the playground, Takemichi silently thanked her for comforting her in a time like this. With his motivation renewed, Takemichi deduced that his enmny is Izana and Kisaki. This time, he'll hunt them down for good.
Whether Kisaki can timeleaps or not is an afterthought. For now, the best course of action is to cast Tenjiku aside to focus on a question that lingered his mind. Why would Mikey trust Kurokawa Izana that much?
But first things first, he'd like to have a talk with Allon. Afterall,...
...
He has a lot of explaining to do...
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(credit to @macotoiuonna on Twitter)
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Author-kun here.
To be honest, I am running out of motivation for this story. Not that I ran out of ideas, that's the opposite of that. But with two fanfics, a Youtube channel, and this fanfic becoming a writer's mess, I don't know how long I'll write till I cancelled this.
So I would like to ask, should I discontinued this story?
Till then, see you in the next chapter!
...Or not, I guess.
-Author-kun
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𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕:
'LIMBO'
Song by Keshi
Lyric Video by Dan Music