Save You | M. Sano

3

13 years had gone by. Today was possibly the worst day of your life. Today was the day you decided to leave Toman for good. Everything had gotten so bad. You hardly remembered what it used to be like. Everything now was so corrupt and awful. Walking down to a convenience store, you noticed someone in a window. It was the ex boyfriend of your best friend. Takemichi. You had met them when they first started dating, and overtime you just stopped talking to him. Just seeing him made your eyes glisten. Hinata was gone. She had recently passed away, you had no idea how or why. You brought it up to Mikey, but he was extremely dismissive about it.

You gained the courage to walk inside. "Hey, Takemichi. It's been a while." You waved at him awkwardly through the glass of the convenience store he worked at. He walked towards the door and opened it. "Oh Hi L/N, I was just about to head home, wanna come with?" You nodded. "Sure." He quickly grabbed his belongings and clocked out. The two of you walked down the street. Clearing your throat, you began the conversation. "Hanagaki, you've heard, haven't you? About.. Tachibana."

He stopped walking. His head hung low, his demeanor seemed to change in an instant. "Yeah... But..Why are you really here? Don't you have a gang to manage or something?You only ever talked to me when Hina wasn't with you. Unless-
"I'm not a part of it anymore. I don't associate with them anymore. My boyfriend's a huge piece of shit. Since he's the leader, I can't really do anything but leave. I never see him, either." Long story short, Mikey threatened to kill you when you argued with him about Hina. That was the first and only time you saw him ever again in a while. It had been years since the two of you had actually loved eachother. "Who knew things would turn out this way?"

You both began to walk down the stairs of the subway station stiffly. "I know. The two most important people in my life are gone. I miss the person my boyfriend was. I... I'm afraid of him now." Hanagaki's eyes were locked onto the ground."Our situations are similar. I lost Hina... And I miss her..." Silence filled the subway station. People were bustling, it was a crowded area. "If that's the case, then how come you didn't care about her until now?" You weren't paying attention until you realized you weren't with Takemichi anymore. You glanced around. Did he get swept by the crowd? You went into a full blown panic, shoving anyone who was in your way. You reached the tracks, and saw him laying there. "Hanagaki!" You grabbed his hand, but the next thing you knew, you were in a haze. Everything around you and gone from a crowded transportation area to what seemed like your house back in the mid 2000s. Am I dead or something...

"So, you're okay with Mikey coming over? Cya!" Was that Emma? You looked around slightly confused. "Wait!" W shriek left your lips. "Uhhh... Emma is that you?" What the hell is happening... "Yeah...?" Your jaw practically dropped to the floor. There's no way. You began to roam your house, panicking. "Oh! Well I have to go. Bye!" You hung up immediately. There were so many questions you had it was insane. Emma was dead, how come you were on the phone with her? "If she's alive does that mean....-" You grabbed your phone again, about to call Hina, but then you cringed. "Ew, a flip phone? This feels too real for my life to be flashing before my eyes." You walked away from the kitchen counter. "Wait, where the hell is Takemichi?" You grabbed your phone again and called him.

"Hello?" You quickly made your way to the front door, opening it. "Hanagaki, it's me. Where are you?" You heard a bunch of static in the back but tried ignoring it."Is your life flashing before your eyes too or is it just me?" You ran outside and stormed off. "No it's not just you, weren't we just in the subway station?" You stood at your porch, your eyes glanced over at each road. "Yeah, we were. Should we meet up? We need to talk about this more." You paused for a moment before agreeing. "Let's meet at the park near Hina's apartment complex." He was fine with the location you chose. "I'm going to visit her right now, so just wait for me."

"Okay, sounds good see ya." You hung up. The park's a few blocks away, this should work. You began to walk down the street, but when you took a right, you were absolutely horrified. "Hi, N/N~! I was just heading to your house, but I guess we bumped into each other. Didn't Emma tell you I was coming over, though?" It was Mikey. The person you didn't want to see at all was standing right infront of you. His sweet innocent smile, plastered on his face. A feeling of resent was followed up by the feeling your heart sinking. It was really him. Your lips pursed for a moment.

Crying was all you felt like doing in this moment. "It really is you..." You hugged him tightly, your vision slowly getting clouded. "Manijro, I'm so happy to see you." He was visibly confused, but was also willing to help. "Did something happen? What's with the formalities, too? You never call me Manjiro, you always call me Mikey." He patted your back out of comfort. Quite frankly, he was always the aloof type. This was awkward for him, to say the least. Usually the two of you would be goofing around instead of talking to each other seriously. That was when you were kids though, now it was just constant arguing in the present.

"I'm so sorry." You stopped hugging him and wiped your face. It was now flushed due to the battle you were fighting between your tears. He was still skeptical of something going wrong. "It's okay. Everything better be okay, though. The reason I came was because I wanted to ask you if you could make me more Dorayaki?" You laughed, nodding. "You practically live in my house, so why don't I show you how to make them?" He leaned in, inches from your face. "Oh, really? That'd be great!" His smile was always so comforting to you. That's one of the main reasons why you left the gang. You never saw that smile ever again.

"Here are the keys. I have an errand to run so you can just stay at my house for a while. Are you fine with that, Mikey?" He nodded as he took the keys. "Cya later, N/N!" You waved back at him. You walked for a couple of blocks until you reached the park. Hanagaki was sitting on a swing, next to a little boy you quickly recognized as Hinata's younger brother, Naoto Tachibana. Isn't he dead too?

"Hey, Takemichi! Why do you look so banged up?" He looked up at you as you approached him. "Long story.. Anyways, Naoto, protect your sister. On July 4th, 2017, your sister will die. I'm relying on you, alright?" Hanagaki extended his hand out to Naoto. "I understand.." They shook hands and when they did, Takemichi acted entirely different. "Hi, Naoto, it was nice seeing you. How about we shake on our reunion?" You shook his hand and then the next thing you knew, you were in a bed next to Takemichi.

"Hanagaki, what the fuck just happened?!" He shrugged, clearly also clueless of the whole ordeal. "Are you two awake?" Where are we? You rubbed your head a little. "I'm sorry.. but where are we?" The police officer responded saying, "The station medical office. You fell onto the tracks of the station trying to save your friend. Thankfully, you're both unscathed." He was a tall, slim good looking guy. But, he also looked familiar. You tilted your head, examining those features of his.