Marx's Short Stories

Twisted Second Chance

Unabara Mitsuki couldn't hold back his tears, no matter how hard he tried. And he really did, he did try, but the longer he looked down at the grave-- her grave-- his heart hurt, and more tears rolled down his cheeks. A second chance. That's all he wanted, a second chance, another try to redo things, and maybe this time he could fix it, and he could still be with his beloved Amaiko. One more chance, was it too much to ask for? He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, turning away. He couldn't put himself through this for any longer. It'd already been an hour. He started to walk again, gazing up at the sky. 'She would have loved this sky.' The pretty blue color of the sky reminded him of her hair, almost the same color, but not quite as beautiful. At least, he didn't think so. Nothing could match her, not in his eyes, not ever. Unabara sighed again, reaching for the door of his car, but suddenly he stopped. A small fox was sitting down in front of the door. No, not a normal fox. 'A yokai.' "..." Yokai meant misfortune. And maybe this was why Ama was gone. The fox stared at him, and he stared back, neither gaze ever breaking. 'Second chance.' It resonated in his mind, again and again. 'Second chance, second chance.' "I want a second chance."

He didn't expect to find himself back at Tokyo High School. "Unabara, I said come on! I wanted you to meet someone!" 'Tim?' He blinked. This was unreal. Was this it? Was this his second chance? A second chance...To be with Ama, to have a family, just as they had always wanted? Of course! But this meant...This meant... "I'm coming." He gave the other a half smile, following after him into the crowded hallway. 'I have to start all over.' But that wasn't so bad, was it? He'd get to fall in love with her, all over again, go through all those joyous moments, all over again. No, that wasn't bad, it was perfect. All the wonderful times they'd spent together, and it could be repeated. And so, he followed after his old friend, with a slightly new bounce in his step. Tim led him into another classroom, grinning. "Hey, Amaiko, c'mere!" Unabara looked up at that-- And there she was again, not very tall, with long blue hair, beautiful eyes, glasses pushed up to the bridge of her nose. "Ama, this is my friend, Unabara Mitsuki. He's the programmer, kinda like you!" Tim grinned, and her eyes seemed to light up a little more. "Oh..I'm Amaiko Prince. It's nice to meet you, Unabara." "Likewise." He smiled, and held his hand out; she took it, shaking it slightly, her fingers brushing lightly over his knuckles. "So, you guys are are going to compete." "What?" Ama looked surprised, and Unabara feigned it as well, though he knew exactly what this was. "Compete? In what?" "Video games." Tim hit his palm with his fist. "You guys are next up. For the console over there." He pointed, and Ama laughed, softly. "Geez, Tim, way to set us up." Unabara laughed as well, shaking his head. "It's just like you." "Yea, I know. You guys are up!!" Tim shoved the two forward, and each of them grabbed a controller.

And just like before, Unabara won; but nonetheless, he once again became close friends with Amaiko Prince.

Unabara laughed softly. He remembered this, the old field out behind the school, near the lake. He pushed his glasses up, glancing over to Ama with a soft smile. "Your siblings sound nice." "They are, for the most part; yours, too." Ama smiled back-- He'd always loved her smile, always, always-- and looked up at the darkened sky again. They were silent, for a moment; nothing said, nothing passed between them. 'Now or never.' "A...Amaiko." "Hmm?" She didn't look away from the stars, and Unabara felt his throat catch. It was almost as hard as it had been the first time. "Unabara?" Now she looked at him, a look of slight puzzlement on her face. Unabara took a slight breath. "I love you." Another pause, Ama's eyes widened-- And then she looked away, at the ground, at the soft grass surrounding them. 'She never did that.' "Oh, Unabara..." 'She never said that.' "I'm sorry." He felt his heart stop, for a moment, disbelieving. 'That wasn't supposed to happen!' "I've just....I've known Tim for such a long time, and I...we're so close..." Ama looked up at him again, almost pitying, and Unabara felt his heart shatter. "Unabara, I--" "You don't have to explain." 'But....' That small smile crept across his face again, slightly, but this time it was fake, plastered on to cover the pain, the sadness. "I understand." 'I don't understand.' "After all, we've only known each other for about...well, not long." 'Seven months.' Ama cast him a look of slight concern. "Unabara...I....You're very nice, and I....I don't want..." "Ama, it's alright." His hands were shaking, and he stuffed them in his pockets. "I'm not angry. I understand, I do, it's alright." 'But it's not.' She smiled at him again, but this time, it broke his heart. "Alright. Thank you for understanding, Unabara." 'But I don't. I don't understand.' "Of course." 'I thought you loved me.' He glanced at his watch. "Blast, it's getting late. Ama, we should probably get back." "A...Alright." She nodded, and he stood, holding a hand out. She took it, and Unabara's smile wavered, just slightly, and he was thankful at least that it was too dark for her to see. He pulled her up, and let go of her hand again. "Do you..?" "Oh...Oh, no, it's alright." She smiled slightly. "My house is just around the corner, and you look tired. You should probably get home." "Right." He smiled again-- it hurt to smile, it was agony-- and he gave a slight bow. "I'll see you another time, Ama." "You too, Unabara." Ama gave him another slight smile, though it looked slightly worried, and she waved, heading off the other way. Unabara turned as well, but he didn't go home.

Instead, he went to the cemetery.

He walked through the gravestones, all the flowers scattered on the ground, until he came to another spot at the far end.
It was empty; just a bare patch of grass...
And a fox, sitting on the spot, staring up at him.

Unabara slid to the ground, covering his eyes with his hands, and his shoulders started to shake.

'That wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to get married. We were supposed to have children, to live out our lives together. We were supposed to be happy.'

And Unabara Mitsuki sobbed, wishing he'd never gotten a second chance at all.