Tangent | Soukoku; AU [✔]

76 ➳ epilogue

we once met a girl in her teens during our day out with the people in the apartment. we went to what was called harbor view park in yokohama; it was scenic and beautiful. in that very park, there was this girl, in her very own world, just sitting on the ground. she had some different colored paints scattered on top of a cloth, paintbrushes, and a cup filled with dirty water. i wasn't particularly interested in this person, but landlord fitzgerald was impressed.

"young girl, what amazing painting you have there," fitzgerald exclaimed in awe as he refers to the current canvas the girl was working on. the others got curious after this, thus surrounding this girl on the ground. "do you sell your works?"

"yes, i do." ah, i didn't expect that kind of tone from such a girl. she was slender, had silky black hair with bangs covering her eyes. i had this impression that was some sweet teenage japanese woman, but i guess not.

"then i would like to borrow your artistic expertise, young girl!" the landlord continues to talk with the girl. fitzgerald explains further about this specific artwork that he'd like, to which the girl listens closely as she continues to paint her current masterpiece.

apparently the reason why this girl lived with a bunch of foreigners is because in the end, the landlord liked the piece that he commissioned from her. despite that, of course, fitzgerald wasn't going to let her live in the apartment for free. like us, his old tenants, we pay him fees, in exchange of working for different areas that he has in his business empire.

this girl ended up as my roommate in the apartment, but guess what? she never paid her share in the apartment fee. her reason being that art wasn't a consistent source of income for her, and that she has to at least man her own store. i forgave her for that until she finally had her own art store, but even until then she hasn't paid.

as much as i wanted to protest, the girl respects my boundaries and practically everyone else's in the apartment. she lives in her own little bubble, plays game and draws all day. she'd even listen to be ramble about the religious preachings that i have, but who knows if she's really listening.

despite this, this japanese woman was kind. later on, this girl is apparently supposed to be heiress to a large corporation in kyoto, but ran away from the societal pressures set upon her. she was hayakawa xyren, the only daughter of the hayakawa engineers, known for their modern improvements in that part of japan.

soon, it made national news that one of the hayakawas had died due to some incurable disease. xyren didn't react much to it verbally, but i can feel a hint of worry in her aura. surprisingly, after knowing this information, xyren approached me to open up about this.

me, out of all people, was the least interested in her. we were just complete opposite and we really do not speak to each other much. and yet here she was, opening her heart to me.

"my grandmother died of that same disease, i wonder if i inherited it too,"

i didn't know what to say to that. i just sat across her in our humble dining table in the room and didn't utter a single word.

"what advice can you give me as a priest or pastor, mr. hawthorne?" xyren continued. "and so let's say i have this incurable disease living with me now, what do i do now?"

"i think you should just continue living while you still can," i advised after a significant amount of silence. "keep doing what you like doing. keep swiping your brush on the canvas. keep clicking those buttons you like pressing."

"i actually kinda want to be a pro player, you think that's possible if i go out there right now?"

i don't know what she meant by that, but i just replied to her "maybe."

"well, i'll try getting out more frequently, then."

the rest was history from thereon. her impulsive plan of just getting out there brought her to her 'pro-player' dreams simply by just finding a random flier in the city. nevertheless, i support her endeavors initially thinking that this dream of hers will finally get her paying the rent, as well living her best life while she still can.

it saddens me that her last moments on earth would be that soon, and in the end, while xyren got to live in some of her dreams and achievements in life... she still never paid rent.

once her funeral was over, returning to our apartment room feels so empty all over again. margaret used to be my roommate here before she passed away as well. i have to admit, xyren did give color again to what was dull in this room. however, it was yet again dull and mundane.

it's just me again, and my words with the Lord.

i did say that i wasn't particularly interested in this person, but it doesn't mean that i didn't care.

i sat on my bed and looked at xyren's bed across mine. it was neatly made, but some of her stuff were lying on the bed. it was her bag and a notebook. i'm not a fan of snooping in her business, but i decided to scan her notebook to see its contents. i opened the cover only to have something fall off. it was a small opened envelope. 

i picked up the envelope and to my surprise, it was addressed to me.

'hello, mr. hawthorne.

we won the tournament, which means all players get a share of the prize money. it was large enough that i can finally pay all that rent fee that you covered for me for the past 2 years. and enough for myself too. how cool.

the money can be claimed at the bank through the cheque i slid on page 22 of my green notebook. thank you really. i hope this atones me of my sins of not paying rent.

xyren'

for the second time in my life since margaret's death, once again i've shed my tears for a woman that's close in my life.

to hayakawa xyren. may the Lord grant you your eternal peace. thank you for being part of our lives.

- nathaniel hawthorne's eulogy

- END -

☀☀☀

a/n:

aaaaaaand finally, after 5 years, this fic is finally done!

if there are any inconsistencies, please do note that there was a 5-year gap between chapter 29 and 30, to which the last time this was updated prior to chapter 30 was 2018. i came back to finish what i've started so i can finally put this fanfic to rest. with that, i can move on to newer works that i've been planning since.

as i've probably mentioned before, this fic was intentionally set to be very AU, with chuuya and dazai being mostly vessels of similar people i know irl.

with that, this fic is now a wrap and i'll be seeing y'all on more serious fics! thank you so much for reading until the end! despite it's meme-ness, hopefully you enjoyed reading the product of my random impulses of my 2017 self (when this fic first existed lol)

see you all again soonヾ(•ω•')o

//risuscitate; 17032023, 19.35