𝙰𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙰

Chapter 2

"Are you ready to tell me now?"

"..."

"Y/N... Please. I want to help you."

Y/N fiddled with his fingers as he sat hunched over the table. He hadn't looked up at the woman since she walked in. She reached out and placed her hand on top of his in a motherly kind of way. "Please...?"

He remained quiet. She sighed and reached for her bag. "The director gave this to me. Maybe...you remember it."

She placed the item on the table, e/c eyes looking over at it. His eyes widened and he slowly began to inch back. The woman became bewildered, seeing a look of terror on Y/N's face.

"Happy birthday, Naomi. I know you like to write, so...I got you this--"

"Oh, my god! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best Y/N! I couldn't have asked for a better friend!"

~

"Have you written anything yet?"

"No. I haven't had any ideas yet. But, I will use it!"

~

"Y-Y/N..."

"Azuma? What's wrong?"

"I-It's N-Naomi. She's--"

~

"No! My baby! Not my baby girl!!! My baby...! Oh....~!"

"M-Mom, it's okay. It's g-gonna be okay."

"My little girl...~!"

Y/N lowered his head, tugging at his h/c hair as all those painful memories kept flooding back to him. He shouted, feeling all those bottled up emotions come flooding out. "Y/N!"

The woman ran over to his side of the table. "Y/N, look at me! Look at me! It's okay! It's the past! Okay?"

He tried to stand up, pushing her a little to the side. The foldable metal chair fell back with a clang. Y/N continued to back up until he made contact with the wall. He slowly sank to the floor, curling himself into a little ball. He remembered...the very sight...of his dead friend as they wheeled her into the ambulance. The woman walked over to him and enveloped him into a hug, trying to find a form of calming him down. She lowered his hands, which he lessened their grip on his hair. She ran her own through his hair, caressing his scalp.

"It's gonna be okay, Y/N... I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have done that..."

Soon enough, Y/N grew limp in her arms. She sighed softly and did her best to lift him off the ground onto his bed. She tucked him, making sure the blanket covered him. Her eyes were swimming with concern, worry, and fear. She gathered her stuff and was about to leave, giving Y/N one last glance before doing so.

"How did it go?"

She shook her head. "Director... I feel...pain. Seeing him like that just now, I-- I-If my kids ever-- My god..."

"I understand... L/N is a complicated case indeed. He's in deep pain."

She reached into her bag and carefully pulled out the notebook. "Do you know...how much this means to him?'

The director sighed. "I don't know much... But, from what his family had told me...it was a personal item that belonged to his...unfortunately, passed, friend..."

"I see... It explains why he reacted the way he did..."

She was trying to give it back to him, but he shook his head. "I realize that the sight of this notebook brings up painful memories, but...if he is to move on...he has to accept what was happened. And it all starts with this notebook... I'll be leaving it in your hands, Dr. Yamazaki."