"How I wish we could live a life without mistakes, where every action is known in advance. But what is done is done. I only hope we find the strength to walk the painful path of forgiveness—towards others, the situation, and ourselves."
Hina's Funeral Service
Takemichi stood at the back of the hall. He just came back from the past and still, he ended up somewhere he didn't want to. He made his way in front and paid respect. He was silently thinking of what went wrong. He was able to prevent the death of Draken who is the moral compass of Mikey. Naoto, Hina's younger brother broke into tears. Takemichi went to his side and tried to console the man even if he was also breaking inside.
"I thought everything went well", he grunted. They both went outside.
Someone from the crowd stood as well, she made her way in front. She was wearing sunglasses because she bawled all night and the previous nights for the great loss. "Hina, you still kept that necklace he gave you and held for so long. Did you wait for a decade for him to come running back to your side? It seems that he's a little late", tears streamed down her cheeks once more. Another person stood behind her. "Azumi, I want to remind you that she died in a car accident. Even if you were there, there was no assurance you could have saved her", the person patted on her shoulder.
___________________________________________________________________________
After Class-Library
Azumi was curious why the students were all cowering in the hall. She peeked inside and saw Baji wearing his eyeglasses and his hair held in a ponytail. "Oh, another tutor is here", Oikawa waved at her with his eye twitching. "Everyone enters the library. We shouldn't waste any time since exams are already around the corner", the raven's head clapped her hand and sat in front of Baji. "Oh. You're Matsuno's girlfriend. I heard you're intelligent. Then, help me pass my literature class and also with math. I am failing in history...", he enumerated all the subjects. "Let's start with what you're most confused about. You're not the only student here so you have to learn to wait when asking questions", Azumi made her rule clear.
After some time, they all felt like their brain were all cooked. "I'm handing out chocolate. They're from the cooking club. You have to make sure to thank them once you see them around", Oikawa distributed the sweets. He stopped at Baji's table and watched as they were still continuing the tutorial. The guy had been held back for one year and he doesn't want his mother crying again for the same reason. He's the exact opposite of her. The girl is an early bloomer and she's a year early for her grade level. "Azumi, it's already time", Oikawa held onto the lady's shoulder. "You can go ahead", the lady nodded.
Soon, the room was emptied with only Baji and Azumi writing kanji. "Matsuno's girlfriend", Baji called. "My name is Hanami Azumi and I am not-", she stopped when the lad covered her mouth. "There's something I want to tell you because Matsuno seems to trust you", he removed his hand covering the girl's mouth and just saw her respond in a nod. For some reason, he found himself confessing a sin that he committed with Kazetora. She could feel how heavy it must have been for the young lad to cause the demise of someone he looked up to. It also ended with his treasured friend ending up in the juvie. There was guilt for not being strong enough to stop Kazetora. There was regret for agreeing with such a ridiculous plan. There was anger boiling inside with the fact that there was no way to snatch the dead back to life. There was shame in having to be treated by Mikey as if he wasn't a part of the tragedy.
Azumi leaned her arm on the table and placed her hand on her temple hiding her eyes. "How I wish we could live a life without mistake-to know whatever our actions will cause. What is done had been done. I only hope that we can have the strength to continue to thread the painful path of forgiveness to others, the situation, and to ourselves", the lady felt dry in her throat. "And that one day, even if we look back on the sin we committed, we'd still be able to find peace in our hearts and say we found redemption", she raised her head and saw Baji just looking at her. "Did that bore you? We're done. Same time tomorrow", Azumi fixed the book and walked towards the door. "We're the same, aren't we? You're also drowning in guilt, shame, regret, and anger", the lad stood and removed his ponytail. The lady didn't respond and continued to leave the library.
After exam days,
Fast Food Restaurant
"I'm stuffed!", Chifuyu stretched his limbs and leaned on the couch. "You barely passed your subjects. I don't know why you're celebrating", Azumi looked at his papers and slammed them on the table. "They're not barely passing, just average", he looked at the ceiling. These past few days, he couldn't get a grip on what was happening in Baji's mind. "There will be a meeting in the shrine later. Mikey said we'll be welcoming a member. We're growing as a gang", the thought of it felt dreadful for him. It was fun having to brawl with people on your side but this particular night made him feel anxious. "I heard that Baji also passed. Good for him", Azumi nodded and felt a little proud being her tutor.
"Azumi. Don't tell me you feel hot for Baji-san", Chifuyu sat straight and looked directly at the girl's face but she only showed disgust. "And I thought I could ace the history class", Hakkai entered with a smaller lad beside him. "Hakkai! Taka-san", the blonde called them out of habit. The two arrived in front of their table. The taller lad hid behind Mitsuya. He doesn't talk to girls that much aside from his sister. He would sometimes appear cold and interested or shy. He went to react with the latter.
Taka-san. That's his name? Takahiro, Takato, Takami, Takashi?
She just pretended not to care and drank from her cola. "Hanami is also here", Mitsuya called her name and she coughed. The girl wondered how he knew about her name. "This is Shiba Hakkai. He's my vice-captain", the lad introduced.
The sister of his vice-captain is flashy.
Azumi recalled what Chifuyu said at the mochi house. "The place is packed. I think everyone is relaxing from their exams", Mitsuya looked around. "You can sit with us", the blonde invited. The girl was mentally shouting for her friend to shut up. "Are you sure? We don't want to interrupt something", Hakkai looked at his fellow vice-captain. "She's the one who is bothering us now", Chifuyu pouted seeing how Azumi was releasing a dark aura. "Then, I'll be sitting next to you, Hanami. Hakkai is a little shy around girls", the lilac head waited for the girl's approval. She nodded and anticipated her head blowing out of embarrassment. "I want some ice cream. You said you'll treat me if I passed all my subjects", the blonde wanted to save the girl's face since her tinted cheeks gave it all off. "Are you a kid? Why would you be rewarded for passing all your grades?", Hakkai was startled by how easy it was for her to just order such a pretty lady around. Azumi stood and did as Chifuyu said. The lady went to the comfort room before ordering and saw how flustered her face was. Did Chifuyu save her from giving it all out?
Impossible. He's not that sensitive enough.
Chapter end.
YOU ARE READING
Existence Precedes Essence
Fanfiction"The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself." ― Albert Camus "Azumi, what is that sin you are referring to?", Chifuyu toned down. "Just merely existing. Because I happened, people had faced so many m...
