"I choose Option C..." You softly say.
"Option C... so you choose to return to Tokyo ten years from now?"
"Yes... I want to see what would be different if I came back later."
"As you wish... I will send you ten years into the future..." The Creator says. "Good luck Y/N."
You wake up, gasping for air. You feel grimy and sweaty. You sigh and lie back down, rubbing your head again.
After taking a shower and getting dressed, you make your way to the kitchen. Your cat is lying on its back and sleeping. You furrow your eyebrows as you stare at him. You walk into the kitchen and slowly start making yourself a sandwich.
"Good morning, sweetheart." A voice says from behind you. You turn your head to see Yuki's father walking into the kitchen, smiling. You smile back at him. Memories fill your mind, making you feel very familiar with your surroundings. After you graduated from high school, you decided to move in with your father, who is living in Osaka. You finished college here and became a Mangaka. You've been working on one story called 'If I could...' that's been getting attention. A romance story... never did you think you would become a writer for a romance, but you pretty much love your job... especially when your assistant is one of your childhood friends.
"Hi." You softly say.
"Aren't you running late to work?" He asks. Your eyes widen when you check the time.
"Shit- you're right..." You quickly rush into the living room and put your shoes on.
"Wait- are you going to Hikari's wedding?" You pause and look back at your dad.
"Right... I forgot... When was it?" You ask, shoving more of the sandwich in your mouth and tying your shoes.
"This Saturday... Remember, we're supposed to drive to Tokyo tonight." He answers. You nod and quickly rush out the door.
"Shit... that's right... okay. I love you... Gotta go... Byeeee!" You say as you walk outside and down the stairs.
Once you make it out of the complex, you quickly continue until you make it to the subway. You adjust your clothing and fix your hair. You get on the train once it arrives and stand to the side while constantly checking the time on your phone.
You quickly make it to your job and into the back. You grab your keys and open the office door. You open your computer and begin checking your emails. You bite your nails as you scroll through your emails. You sigh as you continue to check the time.
knock knock
"Yuki." A voice says from outside your office.
"Mmm?"
A guy walks into the room and leans forward on your desk, smiling at you. You slowly look up to see Eli smiling at you.
"What's up, Eli?" You ask.
"Nothing other than being super excited for volume four of 'If I could...'" Eli bubbles. You sigh and lean forward in your chair.
"Yeah?"
"Mhm... you seem out of it... you okay?" He asks
"Just kinda bummed..." You sigh.
"Bummed about what?" Eli asks.
"I almost forgot Hikari's wedding... and it's the day after tomorrow."
"Eeesh... where's that gonna take place at?"
"Tokyo." You answer.
"Tokyo? Shit... there's a lot of shit happening there."
"What do you mean?" You ask, slowly looking up at him.
"Some dangerous gang activity..."
"Mmm... Isn't that normal?"
"No- like some Yakuza level..."
"Again... isn't that normal?" You ask again. Eli sighs and nods.
"I guess you're right..."
"Besides... I'm not going to be there long- just for a little bit..." You softly say, as you reply to an email.
"True... well- when you come back... I wanted you to come with Ayaka and me to this festival next week..."
"Mmm... I don't know- I don't like feeling like a third wheel." You sigh.
"Eh? But Ayaka was the one who asked... besides, we are taking Ena with us."
"Mmm... I'll think about it."
"Just think? That's it?"
"Mhm..."
"Ah- I need more than that... give me more hope."
"Mmmm..."
"Yuuuukiiii..." Eli pouts. You smile at him and sigh.
"I'll try to come."
"Hm- thats better but not best."
"Wah wah... go get me coffee." You tease.
"Meanie." He stomps away.
The day comes to an end, and you quickly rush back home. You rush into your room and begin stuffing things into your suitcase, hoping to finish before your dad gets home. After you finish packing you take a deep breath, sighing as you relax your body. You pick up your suitcase and carry it out into the living room.
"Oh, you're ready? Good. I was just about to ask you."
"Yeah. I'm ready." You carry your suitcase out to the car and get in. Your dad gets into the driver's seat and starts the car, driving it out of the parking garage. You stare out the window as he drives down the road.
"The drive is going to be almost seven hours... you sure you'll be okay driving back home?" You ask.
"Don't worry... I was invited too, remember?"
"Oh- yeah... I forgot."
"You okay noodle? You've been out of it for the past few weeks."
"Yeah... I have just been stressed out about the deadline... I'm worried people won't like the next volume of my story." You sigh.
"I'm sure it will be great."
"Yeah..."
"But you should get checked by a doctor... I mean- you barely sleep, and you sometimes scream in your sleep..."
"Huh?"
"There have been times you sleptwalk too... those things scare me- I've been worried about you... you should really see a doctor Yuki..."
"Yeah... I will when we come back home."
"Alright." Your dad nods. You nod and stare out the window. You slowly close your eyes and drift off into sleep.
"Yuki..."
You open your eyes and realize you're in your old room above the bakery. The room is dark, but there's a light shining through the door of your room. You slowly sit up and furrow your eyebrows a bit.
"Yuki..."
"Hello? Is someone there?" You ask.
"Please... Yuki... help me..."
You slide open the door to see Mikey crying on the floor. You furrow your eyebrows a bit, feeling confused.
"Mikey?"
"Yuki... please... I'm scared..."
"Mi-"
"YUKI!" Mikey grabs you by the wrist and slams you down onto the ground. He crawls on top of you. He's covered in blood."YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD COME BACK! YOU PROMISED ME! WHY DID YOU LIE?! WHY DID YOU LIE!?!!" He shouts.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to- I just... I got so caught up... A year turned into two and then three and then when I wanted to come back I- I felt too scared to... because I came later than I promised... I- I'M SORRY!" You cry.
"NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE NOT SORRY!" He shouts. Then he begins to cry. "Because of you... I killed them."
"Huh?"
"I KILLED THEM... I KILLED THEM BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"KILLED WHO?"
"Why didn't you stop me...? Why didn't you stop me!?"
"KILLED WHO!?"
"..."
The lights go out, and you feel the pressure of Mikey being on top of you disappear. You slowly push yourself up, scared of the darkness. Then the lights turn on, shining a bright red, and you're surrounded by bloodied versions of your friends. Chifuyu, Hakkai, Izana, Emma, Draken, Hinata, Baji... and Mikey are standing in front of you, covered in blood.
"Mikey... I'm sorry."
"Liar..."
"Mikey..."
"LIAR!" Mikey shouts.
"LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR!" Everyone chants.
"NOO PLEASE! NO! I'M SORRY!"
"I'M SORRY!" You shout, sitting up fast. The guy beside you flinches. You flinch back when you don't recognize who he is.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry... Hikari said to carry you in... she didn't want you sitting in the car sleeping." The guy replies.
"Huh? Hikari? Where's my dad?" You say, looking around you.
"He went inside an hour ago."
"Huh? How long have I been asleep?" You ask.
"Mmm... I don't know... your dad said you've been asleep a while. Here come- you gotta be cold." He helps you get out of the car. You walk into the house. He walks in behind you, closing the door behind him.
"YUKI!" Hikari jumps up and hugs you. You hug her back. The guy walks past you two and into the kitchen where your dad is. You furrow your eyebrows and slowly look at Hikari.
"Who's that?" You ask.
"Who?" She questions.
"The tall guy."
"Really? You don't know who he is?"
"Mm-mm"
"That's my fiance..." She smirks.
"Fiance? He looks old." You reply.
"He's not that old."
"Hi Yuki... My name is Takeomi Akashi."
"Takeomi Akashi..." You respond. He nods.
"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
"You have?"
"I've told him a lot about you... especially the times I would babysit you when you were little." She laughs.
"Mmm."
"You hungry? Here... I'll make you a plate of food." He says as he walks into the kitchen. You nod as you watch him make a plate of food.
You sit on your futon as your dad sleeps on the one beside you. You sigh and look towards the window.
"Can't sleep?" Your dad softly says.
"No- I can't..." You quietly reply.
"You should go take a walk then..." He says, his eyes still closed. You pull out your phone and check the time. It's almost midnight. You sigh and put your phone into your pocket.
"Yeah... that might be a good idea." You nod. You slowly stand up and walk out of the room, walking down the hall towards the front door.
"Yuki." You freeze when you hear your name. You slowly turn your head towards the voice. Takeomi, Hikari's fiancé, is sitting on a chair in the room beside you.
"Yeah?"
"Where are you going?"
"I was going to take a walk."
"That's not a good idea."
"Huh? What makes you say that?" You ask.
"Just go back to sleep."
"... Why can't I just go for a walk?"
"It's best you just go to sleep."
"Why?"
"Trust me."
"... whatever." You grab onto the doorknob, opening the door fast and quickly walking out of the house. Takeomi rushes out of the house and grabs you by the wrist.
"Hey, let go of me."
"Look- I'm not going to play this bullshit with you. When you're here, you stay with us... and then when you go back home to Osaka, you can do whatever walking you wanna do... but you aren't doing that shit here... got it?"
"Why? You know I used to live here... I know my way around."
"I don't give a shit. You haven't been here in years..."
"Okay?"
"Look... it's not safe to go out."
"Because of some Yakuza? I'm not afraid of any sort of gang... Now let go of me. I'm not a fucking kid... I can handle myself."
"You won't be able to handle this shit, Yuki."
"Yes I can."
"Do you know how well known you are amongst these 'yakuza'?"
"Huh?"
"Even though ten years have passed, you look the same..."
"What?" You look at him, confused.
"Look- I didn't want to tell you this when you came... I didn't plan on doing so- but you're only here for the wedding, and that's it... this means no getting in touch with oldd friends or wandering off somewhere..."
"Why?"
"It's not safe for you to do so... go back inside..."
"..." You glare at him, slowly looking down at the hand that is gripping tightly onto your wrist. Your eyes widen when you notice the rising sun hanafuda symbol on his left wrist. He pulls his hand away and motions for you to go back inside. You take a deep breath and walk back inside. He walks up to the door and nods.
"Thank you."
"..."
"Get some sleep." He says, closing the door behind you. You stare at the door and look towards the hallway.
"Why was he being so weird?" You question. You stare back at the front door and then towards the hallway again. "Tch... Whatever..." You quickly walk down the hallway and out the back door. You quietly walk towards the gate, climbing over it and dropping into the alley. You brush yourself off and quickly make your way out of the alley. You continue to walk down the sidewalk, pulling your hood over your head.
You walk a bit, stopping outside the bakery. It's still a bakery, but from what your grandmother has said that she wanted to give the bakery to Izana since he was running the business alone for a while... so when your grandmother passed, Izana owned the building. You stand outside the building, preparing to knock, when you feel a tap on your shoulder. You quickly look behind you to see Izana. He looks older.
"I-Izana."
"Yuki? What're you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see the bakery."
"Oh..." Izana looks around and then sighs.
"Well... come in." He motions for you to go inside. You nod and walk in. Izana closes the door and locks it. "You know... you shouldn't be outside alone like this..."
"Huh?" You slowly turn towards Izana, who's staring down at you. Your eyes widen a bit. Your eyes pan towards a black car that pulls up in front of the bakery. "Izana?"
"I'm sorry..."
TO BE CONTINUED JANUARY 4TH AT 2 PM CT!