That Blonde Guy

Chapter 24

TOKYO, 2018

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Everything was a blur the moment he opened his eyes.

Takemichi Hanagaki pulled himself up, his arms shaking as he blink his eyes to clear his vision. His head was spinning. His body felt weak. He noticed a transparent tube connected on the back of his hand and he pulled it out, letting out a groan. The calendar on the table said that it's already the 21st of June. He closed his eyes and heave a sigh, cursing himself inside his head.

The door suddenly opened and a guy in a suit walked in. Takemichi immediately sat straight at the guy's presence, ignoring a pang of pain that suddenly hit his head.

The guy just stared at him. "You're back."

He took a deep breath. "Naoto--"

The guy immediately came to him, pulled his collar, and punched him straight on the face. Takemichi fell on the floor, holding his bleeding nose. The angry Naoto came and punched him for the second time. He pulled him up again by the collar of his shirt and screamed at his face. "It's been two weeks! It's been two fucking weeks! Why would you--"

"I--I'm sorry."

Naoto's fist was shaking. His eyes were tearing up. He stared at Tekmichi's face as he grit his teeth, but then he sighed and dropped him. He loosened his tie in a frustrated manner, putting a hand on his forehead.

Takemichi just sat there, couldn't do anything but wipe the blood on his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. He couldn't meet Naoto's eyes. He knew he was at fault.

Naoto sat on his chair, finally calming himself down. He sighed. "You missed the funeral."

Takemichi's throat tightened. He felt his eyes heating up as everything that happened the past weeks came back to his mind. "I didn't wanna bury her again."

"Is that why you ran away to the past and didn't come back for two weeks?"

"Everything was better in 2006."

Naoto scoffed. "You forcefully shook my hand so you could go back to 2006 and see my sister alive while I'm all alone here in this fucked-up timeline grieving over her corpse?!"

Takemichi put his palms on either side of his head and closed his eyes. He did ran away. He did forcefully shook Naoto's hand the day Hina died in the hospital to run away to the past where everything was way better. He knew it was selfish, but could he blame himself?

Naoto sighed, looking at him. "Your body's been unconscious for two weeks, you should rest." He stood up, walking to the door. "I'm going back to the office. There's food in the fridge. Let's talk later."

When Naoto left, Takemichi threw his head back and heaved a long, exasperated sigh. Being unconscious for two weeks, his present body now indeed felt so weak. He forced himself up, thinking of getting some water but his eyes drifted to the cork board above Naoto's table, and so he paused. The pictures pinned on it made him stop. He stared at the printed faces until the corner of his eyes trembled, and that's when tears started pouring down.

After all of the intervention that he did to the past by leaping through time, Takemichi thought the future has finally become the future that he dreamt for everyone. He thought everything has finally gone right. He thought he finally saved Hina, he thought he finally saved Mikey--but he was wrong.

It was all going fine until that fateful day came and in a blink of an eye, everything has been shattered.

Again.