Lifeline

CHAPTER 2

2017

Takemichi watched the TV screen intently as the news would spoute information. Carelessly eating a bag of chips, the next segment came on.
"The dispute with the city's Tokyo Manji Gang continues to intensify, and has finally incurred civilian casualties." the news person spoke.
"Seriously? No way." Takemichi muttered.
The news channel continued with, "There were several victims. Two of them have died. The first was Naoto Tachibana, aged twenty-five."
Naoto Tachibana. That name sounded familiar. But he couldn't remember from where. It was the news person's next words that made him freeze up.
"The second was Hinata Tachibana, aged twenty-six."
Takemichi froze. Hinata, the girl he dated back in middle school, the only girlfriend he ever had, has died. He didn't have time to process his thoughts before someone started banging on his door complaining that his TV's too loud. He quickly apologized and shut the door to get ready for work.
~~~
'I didn't think that my life would turn out like this.' Takemichi thought as he stood near the train tracks. "A crappy apartment with thin walls. A boss six years younger who treats me like an idiot. I've only had one girlfriend in my entire life, and that was back in middle school. And I'm a complete and total virgin." He placed a hand on his forehead with dread. "Where did I go wrong?"
Suddenly, a hand pushed against his back causing him to fall forward and land on the train tracks. Hearing a horn blare in his ears and people screaming, his eyes came face to face with a train about to hit him. The last thing he thought about was not his family and friends. It was the girl he once loved.
~~~
Honestly, he didn't know how his life could get any worse. The next thing he knew was that he found himself in 2005. To say he was confused was an understatement of the century. He met all of his childhood friends again and even reunited with Hinata. Right now, he sat on a swing set thinking about what has happened.
"That can't be all of it! Don't you freakin' lie to me! Start jumping." a loud voice cut through the air.
Takemichi looked up to see a group of guys his age harassing a little kid.
"You still got some in your pocket," one of them said as they all watched the boy jump up and down, "cough it up."
'Shut up already. I'm trying to be sentimental over here.' Takemichi thought.
"Quit messing around!" another one of them demanded.
"Hey," said Takemichi as he walked up to one of them and punched him, "shut the fuck up!!" He walked over to a trash bin and picked up a glass bottle and smashed it. "You've been goin' on and on this whole time. And I'm real pissed off right now." He pointed the smashed bottle at the boys. "Leave, or you're dead."
Terrified, the boys left in a hurry. Takemichi looked over at the young boy who was still standing there frightened. "Go home, kid." He threw the smashed bottle on the ground.
"Uh, thank you." The kid said.
Takemichi turned around and sighed. "Listen, when you're dealing with punks like them, you gotta have guts." He raised a finger. "Get ready to be punched! But don't wuss out. Be prepared to fight back. If they're not totally serious about it, that should scare them off."
"O-okay," the kid stammered.
"Hey, what's your name?" Takemichi asked.
"Naoto," he replied. "Naoto Tachibana."
Takemichi froze up. "What?! You're Hinata's little brother?"
"Yeah, she's my sister."
"Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?! I'm Takemichi Hanagaki!"
"Oh, are you a friend of hers?"
He didn't answer that.
The two of them sat on the swings looking at the sky.
"So, you like your big sis?" Takemichi questioned.
"What? I hate her. No one likes their big sister." Naoto answered quickly. He turned his head away from the older boy. "Well, except for someone I know."
Takemichi didn't hear that last part. "I see. Yeah, I guess so. He swung the swing back and forth slowly as he looked up towards the moon. "Take good care of your sister. I really like your sister. I was so into her it drove me crazy. I remembered that today." He let a gentle smile form on his face.
Naoto on the other was utterly confused by what he was saying.
"I'm not making much sense, am I?" Takemichi laughed to himself. His smile quickly faded. "I know this is out of nowhere, but on this day in 2017, I fell onto the train tracks at the local train station."
Naoto listened intently.
"Just when I thought I was gonna die, I woke up here as a middle-schooler, twelve years ago from today. What's that called again?"
"A time leap?!!" Naoto said.
"Yeah, that's it." Takemichi answered. "This is probably just a long dream, but I'm sure God's just letting me see Tachibana one more time."
"What do you mean?" asked Naoto confused.
"Twelve years from now, on July 1st, your big sister will die. When that happens, you'll die with her." Takemichi revealed.
Naoto was shocked to hear this.
"July 1st, 2017! Remember that day, Naoto. And take care of your sister."
"Naoto!! Where have you been?!"
The two boys look to see a young girl running towards them.
"A-Akira!!" Naoto exclaimed as the girl crashed into him and hugged him tight.
Takemichi watched this interaction with a nervous smile. The girl had a relieved look on her face while Naoto's face turned red.
"You don't have to run, Akira. It's not like he's gonna disappear." another voice sounded.
Takemichi looked over to see a girl around his age walking towards him. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy braid and she wore a plain t-shirt and cotton shorts.
"You didn't have to come with us, Tessa." Akira snapped as she let go of Naoto.
"What kind of older sister would I be if I let my little sister and her best friend walk alone?" Tessa retorted.
"Older sister," muttered Takemichi.
Tessa heard him talking and turned to him. "Yep, Akira here is my little sis. She may not look it, but she is."
Takemichi looked at the two. Akira had slightly darker skin than her, but Tessa had slight hints of golden tone to hers. That made the two look somewhat similar.
"Anyways, I'm Tessa Nishikawa."
Takemichi's eyes widened. He felt that her name sounded familiar but once she said her last name, it clicked. Tessa Nishikawa was a classmate of his as well as a close friend of Hinata's. He never talked to her, but he knew her to be a nice person. The two kids walked a few feet away leaving the two teens alone.
"So, you're in love with Hinata?" Tessa asked him.
He felt his face heat up and scramble around for an answered.
Tessa chuckled and held her hands up in surrender. "It's okay. I'm not going to judge." She leaned forward with a threatening glare. "However, if you hurt her, I'll kill you."
"Noted," he answered with fear.
She chuckled. "You're pretty alright, Takemichi." She looked over at Akira and Naoto motioning them to leave. She looked back over her shoulder and threw up a peace sign. "I'll see you around."
Takemichi waved as he saw Tessa and Akira leave towards the edge of the park. Come to think of it, he wondered what happened to Tessa in the future.  He shook his head and walked back over to the swings where Naoto was. He held out his hand to him and said, "I'm counting on you."
Naoto looked up at him as he remembered what Takemichi said. "Okay. Got it."
The two shook hands and Takemichi felt a jolt before his world went dark.
~~~
Takemichi's eyes shot open.
"You're awake!!"
Takemichi looked to see a man in front of him. "Where..."
"You're in the station's medical office. You fell on the train tracks." The staff member explained to him
Takemichi quickly looked over at the calendar to see that the date was July 4, 2017. He wasn't in 2005 anymore. 'Was it all just a dream?' He looked down at his hands and saw that he was totally fine. "I don't have a single scratch on me!"
"May I have a word with him in private?" another man said alerting Takemichi of his presence.
"Go ahead." the other man replied. "This was the man who saved your life."
"Huh," said Takemichi.
"I'm Naoto Tachibana." the man said
"Huh," exclaimed Takemichi. But he thought Naoto was dead.
"On July 4th, 2005, you changed my destiny." Naoto explained.
"Huh?! Was that real?"
"You performed a time leap. So I survived and saved you, Takemichi. Because you did a time leap, you changed the future."
Takemichi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everything he saw, everyhting that happened, was true. He wasn't making it up in his head? He actually leaped through time.
"I see he's awake."
Takemichi looked up towards the other voice which sounded more feminine. Standing behind Naoto was a woman that felt familiar to him. Her dark hair and tan skin resonated through his head as he tried to figure out who it was.
"Who are you," he finally asked.
"Akira Nishikawa," she said.
Takemichi froze. Akira? As in the younger sister of Tessa? Now that he heard her name,  the more he looked at the woman, the more he started to see the same little girl that showed up at the park that night.
Naoto quickly brought back the conversation. "Takemichi, twelve years ago, you told me to look out for my sister. I told Akira what you told me and we kept it a secret between us. I studied hard and became a detective to protect my sister. While Akira here became a detective for-"
Akira looked at him cautiously.
"for other reasons," he finished with a cough.
"A detective. So then, where is Tachibana?"
The two detective's remained silent. Akira gave Naoto a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry, Takemichi. She died. I've exhausted every option I can think of. But even so..."   He looked up to Takemichi with seriousness. "Work with us!! You can save her!! I know you can."
Takemichi tried to think of everything that he said, but one thing stuck.
"I can save Hinata?"