Note: Let's just try and ignore Shinkai in the pic above lol
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He stared at the phone. 'Mum' it read. Tired he looked at the clock. It was only 9pm.
What the hell? Why do I feel so tired?
He wanted to wake his girlfriend up but when he saw how sound asleep she was, cuddled in his embrace, he couldn't do it. He looked away.
The phone didn't stop ringing. With a click he pressed it away away however he couldn't see well. The light blinded him. Suddenly he heard:
"Hello? Thank goodness. I was worried you wouldn't pick up."
As to not disturb his girlfriend he cautiously and slowly got up from the bed and wandered towards the door. Just when he wanted to walk out of the room, he stopped in motion, his hand on the doorknob.
"You know it's time. You've been selfish enough. Come back home, okay? We let you go to uni only for those 5 months because you promised to come back after that. It's time. Or else who knows what's going to happ-"
Arakita dropped the phone. His eyes slowly wandered to the supposedly asleep form of his girlfriend, however instead of seeing her lay on the bed, he stared at the silhouette of her looking back at him with wide eyes. Something glistened in her eyes. As if in a trance she shook her head.
Are you telling me that it's not what it looks like?
Utter silence.
"Hello? Hello? What are you doing? (F/N)???? Answer me! Don't be anymore selfish! Stop being reckless! (F/N)? (F/N)?"
It seemed like her mother's voice triggered something in her. Suddenly she jumped from the bed and sprinted towards the phone lying on the ground. The only light that was illuminating the room.
Just before she could grab it, he quickly picked it up. He wanted to know what that was all about and put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?" he asked.
For a moment her mother didn't say anything.
"W-Who is it? Who are you and where is my daughter?"
Before he could answer, she screamed:
"NOO," knocked the phone out of his hands and kicked it under the bed.
"What the fuck?
She didn't look at him.
"Oi answer me!" he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around.
It was too dark to see her face, he couldn't make out any reaction. In addition the only light source was kicked away like a football.
"What did she mean? What does it mean that you have t-"
"Leave," she whispered.
Her quiet voice met his raging one but it was the coldness in hers that made him shut up abruptly.
"Hah? What do you mean I should lea-"
"Leave."
There it was again. Her voice was different from usual. He didn't understand why she was saying that. He didn't understand what was going on.
"Leave," she said louder.
"What do you mean? Come on explain yours-"
He stopped immediately again when her eyes met his. Something inside him was tugging on the strings in his heart.
"I told you to fucking leave didn't I?"
"What are y-"
"Fuck off before I beat you out."
5 minutes later he stood in front of the dorm and looked up to her window.
WHAT THE FUCK?
He kicked whatever dared to come in his way. After minutes of raging he realised it wasn't helpful at all and the best would be to go home and cool his head. He had to give her time to explain everything.
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"Hello? Mum?"
"Thank goodness. I thought you were kidnapped, who was that loud fellow?"
"...He's no one."
"I see. Did you like uni?"
You laid back on your bed, your arm covered your eyes.
"Yes, I did."
"I see....I'm sorry. I really am."
"It's my fault for forgetting the promise, I guess."
"So remember it now?"
"Not really. I just figured when you called. I totally forgot about everything since uni's interesting. It was stressing and annoying at times too but mum...." you had to change the arm covering your eyes. Your sleeve was too wet and it felt uncomfortable.
"Mum..y-you know? I just...I just had so...so much fun...I had so much fun," your voice was shaking and so did your fingers. The tears didn't stop.
"I'm so sorry sweetie," your mother whispered.
You must've sounded so heartbreaking at the moment.
"but you know it's time to go home."
"I guess, I guess. It's just...It's just I met so many people I treasure so much. I was able to do so much. I was able..." by now you couldn't speak at all anymore.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault if only I hadn't..."
"No, it's ok. It won't matter anymore anyways."
You regained your calm again.
After you reassured your mother you'd be coming back you hung up.
You totally forgot. You forgot it since the first day you attended uni. How could you forget something that important? You made a promise with your mother that you'd come back after 5 months attending uni, before it was going to be half a year.
Although you didn't know why you made that promise, judging by the tone of your mother it was something serious. Never once in those 5 months did you think that it was going to end like this.
How could you be this stupid?
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The next day, it was Monday again. It was time to tell uni that you wouldn't be attending anymore. Before you entered the office, you looked around the campus. It was so abrupt, it was almost ridiculous. Taking a deep breath, you entered and were sat in the waiting room. 10 minutes later another student walked out and you were called in.
Once inside the room you talked about voluntary de-registration.
"Ah yes. That's right. You brought us, on the first day of uni, an absent of leave for about a month, sometime between February and March. That's how I got it right?" she looked through the folder of documents.
Huh? I did?
You were confused.
Why can't I remember?
However, you thought that you were too busy worrying and being nervous about your first day to remember such a trivial thing. Well ok, it wasn't trivial though.
"I-I see. That's right," you tried to pretend you were knowing what she was talking about.
"Hmm," she said while reading through some of the documents, apparently about you, you figured.
"The conditions you are in are awful. What a shame. You've got excellent grades and such a bright future ahead of you. But your disease is a huge throwback," she adjusted her glasses.
What? What conditions? What disease? She must have the wrong person right? How come I don't know anything about this?
"Thank you for your concern," you smiled at her although inside your head, your mind furiously tried to pitch all the pieces together.
"Well there's nothing that can be done. You'll be leaving now in the middle of the second term and be back at the start of the third term right? You have more than enough time to recover, there'll be the holidays too. So you have almost more than 2 months."
I-I will be back? I haven't heard of this but this is great news. So, I'll be back and everything is continuing normally?
You smiled.
"Yes, that's right. I hope I'll be fit by then," you decided to play along.
"Ok great. So you hurry back home, we'll enroll you out of your uni courses and see how we'll determine your marks and if you need to enroll again in those courses for the third term or maybe next year. Or if you have to simply take a reassessment. The board of uni will decide that. But in your case it's going to have a positive outcome."
"T-Thank you so much. I appreciate it," you left the office.
Wow that gave me so many new insight and info. If I'm home I need to talk to mum.
It was lunch by now and you passed the cafeteria. You stood still for a moment. It'd be the last time you were here but you were going to come back. No need to make a dramatic goodbye scene with everyone.
However, you do need to apologise to Arakita. How you treated him yesterday evening was awful. You longed to see him but you didn't want to explain him anything that you yourself didn't understand.
You decided to text him about your absence, same with Kinjou and Sara. They would tell everyone else. You know that was a cruel thing to do in a relationship. You should be honest to Arakita but at the moment you needed to figure out everything for yourself and Arakita's personality would be really annoying.
With a last turn you walked away from university.
It was alright you were going to be back.
Definitely.