Toman's Little Sister

61 | Back to the Past

In the middle of the night, when the city was asleep and the streets were quiet, you liked to walk under the moonlit sky. There, you would find things that no one would notice in the day.

There were glow in the dark stars stuck on a trash can in an alleyway you often passed to get to school.

A cat would always sneak into a bakery through a small open window and come back out with a piece of bread.

The fourth street light on the left flickered every time one of the stores would turn off its lights.

There was a man about to jump off a bridge.

Wait...

"Excuse me!" You grabbed his arm and he nearly pulled you down with him. He looked up at you and your eyes widened. "H-Hanma?"

"Ah... little Strategist. Didn't think I'd be seeing you here."

"What the hell are you doing?!"

He chuckled. "Going for a swim."

"You don't jump off a bridge when you do that, dammit!" You pressed your feet against the railing and pulled him over and back onto the bridge. "God, you're heavy."

You stared at him. It's been about two years since you've seen him. Obviously, you didn't expect your next meeting with him to be on a bridge, clinging onto his arm Shouko and Shoya style. "Damn, just missing the fireworks..."

"Huh?"

Oh yeah, that came out in 2016. "It's nothing."

Hanma certainly wasn't a sight for sore eyes at the moment. Dark eye bags, messy hair, skinnier than he used to be (even though you didn't even know that was possible), and... well, he was missing that edge he always used to have.

You poked his forehead so that he'd actually make eye contact with you. "What are you doing out here? It's, like, 11:30. I didn't think you were the type for midnight walks."

He chuckled. "I didn't think you were either."

You clicked your tongue and stood up. "Come on." He looked up and saw your outstretched hand. "What are you talking about?"

"I just said 'come on.' What else could that mean?"

He did take your hand. And you held it, tightly.

"Mom, I'm back!"

"Welcome ba—" She paused, looking Hanma up and down, and dropped her books. "Goodness, what happened to... uh..."

"Hanma."

"Hanma? You look dreadful!"

You tried to hide a giggle but Hanma laughed instead. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Draken didn't call you a zombie for nothing." You motioned for him to follow you and you led him to the kitchen. "Sit."

What's happened to him after all this time? He used to be such a pain in the ass and now... NOW HE'S MAKING ME FEEL BAD FOR HIM!!

"Here." You leaned on the table as you slid a cup of instant ramen in front of him. "It's the only thing we have at the moment."

"Y/N, be sure to take your—"

"There's a guest here, mom!" You sighed and took out a glass, filled it with water, and put it in front of Hanma. "Give me a moment."

You walked to the washroom and pulled out your meds like you normally did.

"Mom, where's the—" When you turned around, but you ended up...

"Inui's house...?" You stared at the photos along the wall. Inui, Akane, and their parents. "This isn't my house..."