You sit down at a table in a room at the back of the shop. Hinata sits beside you, tapping at her phone. The door opens, and Inui walks in. Draken walks in behind him. Your heart quickens as you feel extreme anxiety washing over you.
Draken places a can of soda in front of you and one in front of Hinata. He takes a deep breath and sits down across from you both.
"Thank you, but I'm okay... I actually have to be somewhere in a bit... so I only came to stop by... and bring Yuki along, of course." She bubbles.
"Oh, okay. Take the soda with you." Draken motions.
"No, I'm okay. Thank you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah... I'm on a diet." She smiles. She looks at you, a soft look on her face. "We might not see each other again before you go back to Osaka... but hopefully you can come back and visit sometime?" She bubbles.
"Yeah... I'll try." You nod.
"Please do." She smiles. "Bye bye." She waves and walks out of the room. Inui stands up from a chair and walks towards the door.
"I'll walk her out..." Inui says before closing the door behind him. You sit quietly across from Draken. You stare down at the table, feeling your heart pound in your chest.
"How's life been?" He asks. You slowly look up at him. He looks a lot older. His hair is black too. He has aged well. You think to yourself.
"Its been okay." You softly reply, opening the can of soda.
"Anything new with you? I mean, I'm sure there is... it's been ten years since we last spoke." He implies.
"Not too much. I live with my father in Osaka... and I became a Mangaka... that's about it."
"A Mangaka?" Draken's eyebrows raise. "What Manga are you writing?" He asks. You sigh, leaning forward a bit. You shake your head and sip from the soda.'
"It's embarrassing honestly..."
"I'm sure it's not."
"It's a romance..."
"Ah? Really? You don't strike me as the type to write a romance."
"I wrote it when I was in college... it was a light novel at first... and meant nothing... but it got the attention from a company, and they asked me if I was interested in making it a Mangaka... so I agreed."
"Are you illustrating it too or?"
"No... someone else."
"I see..." He nods. "Anything else that's new with you?" He asks. You shake your head.
"Other than that, no... I mean, my Aunt is getting married tomorrow... that's why I'm here."
"Your Aunt? Thats nice."
"Yeah." You nod. "What about you? Anything new?"
"Well, my shop is running very well, and I'm making a decent amount, so I'm pretty well off... but that's about it."
"I'm surprised you aren't married." You softly say.
"Ha! I'm not the type to mess around with females... so I don't think it's that surprising."
"I see..." You stare down at the soda, reading the words on it.
"How long are you staying in Tokyo?" He asks.
"I'm supposed to leave after the wedding, apparently." You reply. Draken nods. You both sit quietly. Your heart is racing. You can feel it pounding in your chest.
"I'm surprised to see you again." He adds. You look up at him. "I thought you would never come back." He sighs, turning the front of the soda to face him. "I don't like talking to Izana, but I even went to him and asked him if you were ever coming back, but he gave me an open-ended question to my answer."
"What do you mean by that?" You ask.
"He answered me by saying, 'What do you think she considers more as her home, the place she was born or the place she grew up?'" He sighs and shakes his head. "I asked him why he asked a question like that, but he answered saying that you'd choose the place that would feel like home... so the real answer was, if you saw Tokyo as your home... you would have come back." Draken says in a soft tone. Your eyes relax as you look down at the table.
"I'm horrible... aren't I?" You ask.
"Why do you say that?"
"I left saying I would come back the next year... but then I came back ten years later." You sigh.
"I had figured you wouldn't come back... I believed you'd find happiness in a place that brings you peace." You shake your head at his words.
"I met my father not long after moving there... he lived in Osaka... I never knew about him... and wanted to spend time with him... that time turned into years... and I forgot to come back." You say in a sad tone.
"I understand."
"Do you?" You question.
"Your mother passed away when you were younger, and so did your grandfather... I'm sure seeing your father got rid of some of that sadness."
You rest your head on the table, sighing a bit. Your hair falls, covering your face.
"I promised to come back though... it feels rather selfish to be honest."
"Yuki." Draken reaches out and moves your hair from your face. "I'm just happy you remember me." He says in a soft tone. You slowly look up at him, your eyes relaxing.
"But everyone else... what about them...?" You softly say.
"What about them?"
"They don't know where I am... and they're probably thinking I forgot them." You softly say. Draken stares at you a bit before sighing and pulling out his phone.
"Remember that time capsule we made ten years ago?" He asks.
"Yeah." You nod.
"Baji mentioned it a couple of weeks ago... saying he wanted to open it even though you and Mikey are no longer around... we still haven't opened it... and are planning on opening it later today. You can come with me to see them again."
"I don't know... the dinner is tonight." You sigh.
"Do you know when it starts?" Draken asks.
"It starts at seven."
"... yeah, that sucks. You wouldn't have time. We were planning on doing it at six." He sighs.
"Actually... that'll give me an hour... I can do that." You say.
"You sure?" He asks. You nod. He smiles and nods, too. "Alright..." You smile at his smile, feeling better that he's not upset with you, but then your smile disappears.
"What do you mean by me and Mikey are no longer around? I know I haven't been... but Mikey? What happened with him?" You ask. Draken's eyes widen, then narrow. He slowly shakes his head.
"He's traveling overseas... doing some sort of business thing or whatever... I don't know- we don't really talk much anymore."
"Oh... well, I hope he's doing well at least." You nod.
"Yeah. I'm... sure." He slowly says. He shakes his head and drinks from his soda again.
"You mentioned me not being married, but I'm surprised you aren't married yet." He smiles.
"No... I haven't been talking to anyone in that way honestly-"
"Not interested in anyone?" He asks
"Nope." You shake your head.
"Interesting."
"Interesting?" You question. He smiles and shakes his head again.
Hours pass, and Draken is grabbing his stuff, preparing to leave. You follow behind him.
"You're leaving?" Inui asks.
"Yeah, call me if you need anything. Let's go." He motions for you to follow. You and Draken walk and talk as you head towards the place you both are supposed to meet. He tells you a crazy story about how a man tried to scam him. You laugh, thinking it was funny.
Once you both arrive, you walk up the steps. Your heart starts to race, anxious about seeing everyone again. You walk up the stairs a tad bit slower, causing Draken to look back at you.
"You okay?" He asks. You look up at him and slowly nod. He reaches the top of the stairs.
"Yo Draken." A familiar voice says. You stop walking when you hear it.
"What's up, Baji." Draken replies, grabbing Baji's hand and hugging him, patting his back.
"Its been a bit."
"Yeah, well, I've been busy." Draken replies. Baji sighs and nods.
"Well... Vet school has been rough." He sighs.
"I bet." Draken laughs. He slowly looks in the direction of the stairs.
"Everyone is here, so are you ready to dig up the capsule?" Baji smiles.
"Mm... not everyone." Draken says, still looking at them. He walks towards them, motioning you to come. You slowly walk up the steps, your legs feeling heavy.
"Who else came?" Baji asks.
"Someone else came?" Mitsuya says in the distance. You stop feeling your heart beating faster.
"Who is it?" Chifuyu asks. Draken motions for you to come.
"Is it Mikey? You think he came back from overseas to see us?" Pah-chin asks.
"Probably." Peh-yan replies. Baji furrows his eyebrows and narrows his eyes. He clenches his fist, preparing to walk towards the steps, but he stops when he sees your face.
"Yuki?" He says with wide eyes. You stand beside Draken, struggling to make eye contact with anyone.
"Hi..." you softly say.
Everyone stares at you with wide eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW, JANUARY 26TH!
(TEMP NOTE: Hey, I'm sorry there have been so many delays. I've been sick and didn't really mean for the inconsistency. Auto uploads suck on this platform and never upload when I schedule it... I didn't know this since I hadn't checked on here while I was resting, and because of this, there were no new chapters. I will have to do it manually, so when waiting for a new chapter, know it will be posted at a random time on that day. Thank you for your patience. I really appreciate it. For the inconvenience, I will post two extra chapters tomorrow.)