Seven Weeks: A Seven Days Fanfiction

WEEK THREE: Friday (Yuzuru)

When I left my room in the morning, bleary eyed and foggy headed, my mom was in the front hall putting her shoes on. She was dressed for work, with her purse on one shoulder.

"Mom?"

"Oh, good morning."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Much." She sounded a bit winded, but the color was back in her cheeks and she gave me a bright smile. "Are you excited about your trip this weekend? I'm going to come see you shoot tomorrow if I can get the afternoon off."

"Maybe I shouldn't go," I said, rubbing my eyes so they'd focus better. "What if you get sick again?"

"Oh, honey, don't miss out on this opportunity. I know what archery means to you, and you've had so little time for it this year with your studies. Go. Enjoy yourself. I'll be fine."

"But, Mom, your breathing still doesn't sound good."

"It's nothing." She wheezed as she said it, though, and I scowled. "How about this, if it doesn't get better by the weekend I'll go to the hospital and get checked out, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise. I have to get to work now, honey." She came over and gave me a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. "Travel safely. Text me when you get to Tokyo, okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

"I love you, Son. See you tomorrow." She left the apartment, and I stood in the hall and sighed. She said I should go, and she was probably right, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe it was just exhaustion, though. After homework and everything else I'd only slept a couple hours last night. My head was swimming.

At least it was my last day of morning detention.

I got my stuff together, including my overnight bag for the trip. I said goodbye to Yuriko and headed for the station. On the train I was so tired that I didn't bother pulling the manga out, even though I really wanted to know what was going to happen. I wasn't able to focus right now, and since it finally seemed like I'd found a decent story I wanted to be able to absorb it with a clear head.

My feet were on auto pilot.  Though my brain hadn't registered arrival at the stop I needed, I stepped off the train and wandered toward the exit anyway. Somewhere in the back of my head I could hear Seryou's voice calling my name. Heh. Apparently when I was dead tired my mind liked to conjure illusions of my boyfriend to comfort me.

Something pulled at my shoulder. I stopped and looked down, confused. There was a hand grasping the arm of my uniform jacket—a pale, long-fingered hand with delicate, perfectly oval fingernails. What a pretty hand. Why is it touching me?

"Yuzuru-san." A second hand, with equally elegant fingers, was holding a can of coffee in front of my nose. Seryou's face came into focus slowly, like a camera lens that needed adjustment. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Seryou?" I blinked very slowly. "You have nice hands."

"What?"

"They're super pretty." I watched those long fingers pop the top of the coffee can open, mesmerized by how gracefully they moved, like they weren't actually touching the can at all. The lip of the can was pressed to my mouth.

"Drink this, come on."

I gulped obediently. The warm, sweet liquid flowed over the back of my tongue and slid down my throat, and my head started to feel a little clearer. I took the can myself and tipped my head back, finishing it off. Another one appeared, like magic, and I drank that one too. When it was empty I swiped the back of my hand across my mouth and realized that Seryou really was beside me, and he had led us into the train station bathroom.