𝙏𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙜 || 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙭 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Chapter I

September 11, 1998

     "Mikey...?"
     "You're...you're the takemitchy?"

•••

     The blonde haired boy laid in his bed,  as the moon shone high in the midnight sky. The light cascaded through his open window, giving the  room an eerie glow. The sound of crickets was drowned by the gentle breeze, carrying the gentle lull of sleep although the boy could not seem to succumb to the will of the wind. His thoughts were constant, replaying memories that had and hadn't occurred. A stream of visions, vivid and faded, an unwanted juxtaposition as he gazed at the richly stained wood ceiling. He tossed and turned, anything to grasp the now unfamiliar feeling of comfort. Obsidian hued eyes squeezed shut to force himself into a slumber to etherize the abhorred thoughts.

     "Wake up! Takemichi!" An older version of the boy cried, holding the hands of a friend he'd grown to know over the past couple years. His shins dug into the rough concrete, painfully so yet he had yet to notice with his sole focus being the bloody and bruised form in his lap. Plunged through the middle of his friend was a katana, in the same position that he had put it in. "I was just trying to keep this from happening...the only reason I've been pushing you away...is so this wouldn't happen, okay?"
     His voice was ragged, tears streamed down his face as he realized what he had done. A crowd of people looked on, all in similar attire and beaten states. Some looked on with the same tears as the blonde, and some stood confused. "If you die... then everything is meaningless, right?"
     His question was met with silence. The world seemed to still as his words rang out. The wind held its breath, the birds lost their voices, the city seemed so far in this moment. It was deafening.
     "Hey...?"
     "I beg you..."
     "Wake up for me!" The boy screamed out to the world, all his anger and negativity let out with a final heave.
     "Mikey...he's..." a feminine voice whispered with a hitch.

     The young boy shuddered, blinking away any tears. He sat up from his splayed position and opted to go get some water to calm himself down. With a big sigh, the blonde slid open his door and his feet padded down the stairs to the sink. However, a lean figure stood in the dark, leaning their back against the counter. The young boy furrowed his brows and called out, flicking the lights on with his index finger.
     "Shinichiro?"
     "Mikey? What're you doin' up at this hour?" The black haired man arched his brow, holding a glass of water in his hand. Mikey shrugged and opened the cupboard.
     "Same thing you are," the shorter of the two filled up a glass with water before proceeding to chug it down.
     "Getting a glass of water or sorting your thoughts? 'Cuz I'm doing both," Shinichiro chuckled a little and glanced at his younger brother who paused and stared blankly at the wall behind the sink.
     "Have you ever...," the boy struggled to find the words, his throat felt unbearably dry despite the previous drink,  "...have you ever lost something important to you?"
     "Hah?... What could possibly be going on that my elementary school age brother is philosophizing at 1 a.m.?" Mikey only glanced at his older sibling and sighed. He turned on his heel to go back to bed before Shinichiro spoke up, "but to answer your question, yes. Yes, I have."
     Mikey stopped in his tracks, "...how did you move on?"
     "I guess I realized that life doesn't stop for anyone, no matter how much you want to curl up and hide. I'm not entirely sure what you're goin' through right now but I always remind myself that I can't control everything,'' the man gazed up at the ceiling before looking at his brother with a cheeky grin, "Plus, you always got me on your side, bud."
     "But what if you were the reason it was lost? What if it was entirely in your control..?" The blonde curled his hands into fists, and refused to glance back. He gritted his teeth trying to hold in his tears, "...what...would you do if you had a second chance..?"
     Shinichiro frowned, off put by his younger brother's demeanor. His brows furrowed and he hummed, "well in that case, I guess I would do things differently, y'know hold onto that important thing and all...wait...are you having girl problems?"
     "Yeah sure whatever, I'm going back to bed," Mikey scoffed and grumbled his way back to his room. He closed the door and laid back in bed, seemingly hopeless at escaping his thoughts.
     Girl problems? Yeah right... wait...
     Something clicked in his mind throughout the discord.
    
     What about Y/N?