Eli turns at the end of the hallway. You walk a little faster to catch up. He walks into the art room and approaches a boy with black hair and red highlights, painting on a canvas. Eli sits behind the guy and rests his head on the table. You assume the guy painting is Ren.
"I see your face is all beaten up again..." Ren says, not taking his eyes off his painting.
"Mmm..." Eli groans, pulling his hoodie down to fully cover his face. You stand by the door, listening in.
"You know... It's probably best to tell someone about what they are doing to you." Ren suggests while pouring more paint onto his palette.
"Go to who exactly?" Eli asks, lifting his head a bit to look at Ren.
"The police..." Ren mumbles.
"What's the police going to do? Even if I did go to them, it would only give them a bigger reason to beat me up." Eli sighs, shoving his face into his arm.
"Hi Yuki..." Ren says, dabbing his paintbrush in water. "It's been a long time since you came to the art room..." He smiles and begins painting again. Eli lifts his head and looks towards the doorway. You slowly walk into the art room. Eli squints his eyes at you and then sighs.
"Why did you follow me in here?" Eli asks.
"Who is Toman? And why are they beating you up?" You ask, fidgeting with your hoodie sleeve. Ren slowly looks at you and then at Eli.
"A gang..." Eli replies.
"Okay... and why are they beating you up?" Eli doesn't respond to your question. Ren chuckles and continues painting.
"Do you have a bad memory?" Ren asks you. You shrug. "A couple of months ago, Eli accidentally knocked over a Toman member's bike... The bike had scratches on it, and so they demanded two hundred thousand yen."
Holy shit... that's a lot of money... You thought.
"Yeah... and I can't even afford it, so they have been asking for money little by little." Eli sighs. You slowly nod, staring at the painting Ren is making. He's drawing trees and mountains. For the way he looks, his paintings look so relaxing.
"So, they beat you up each time they ask for money?" You ask. Ren smiles and looks you in the eyes.
"Yeah... because he keeps running away or hiding." You look at Eli, who's avoiding eye contact with you. "Your grandfather has taught you how to fight... right?" You nod. "You should take Eli to go meet your grandfather..." Ren suggests.
"You're saying that too?" Eli sighs.
"Eli... what's wrong with going to her grandfather's place and learning a little bit?"
"..." Eli rests his head in his arms. Ren sighs and goes back to painting. You don't know why Eli is avoiding help, but it's concerning.
"Eli..." You say, walking closer to him. He looks up at you. "Give it a try... at least..." You say. Eli's eyes are dim, and he looks down. "I can join you in your training if you don't want to be alone..." Eli's eyes lit up when you said that... which honestly surprised you.
"Really?" He asks. You nod and smile. He slightly smiles and nods his head. Ren chuckles. "Why are you laughing..." Eli asks, side-eyeing Ren.
"Oh... No reason..." Ren replies. Ren looks at you and smiles, and then looks towards the doorway and sighs. You lift an eyebrow and look towards the doorway to see Aimi and Hana standing by the door.
"SOOOOO- YOU ARE GOING NOW?!?" Hana mocks Eli. Eli ignores her and puts his head back down.
"It really took talking to Ren for you to go..." Aimi says, giggling a bit. Eli doesn't respond. Aimi sighs and looks at you. "I guess that means no karaoke tonight..." Aimi pouts and then smiles, patting your head. You look at Eli and then back at Aimi.
"Next time." You say, smiling awkwardly.
I didn't even know I had plans...
After school, you wait outside for Eli. Even though you don't know what's exactly going on. You are starting to recall some things about Yuki and her past life. Images of Yuki's mom slowly start appearing in your mind, and faint memories of her are coming to light. You aren't Yuki and haven't lived Yuki's life, but for some reason you are starting to remember the memories that belong to her... almost as if you lived through them.
"Yuki." A voice calls out. You look up to see Eli smiling at you. He walks up to you and rests his hand on your shoulder. "How far does your grandfather live from here?" You stare at him as more memories appear in your mind. You furrow your eyebrows and look off into the distance.
"Not far..." You say, pointing in the direction you're planning to walk. You turn and start walking. Eli quickly follows behind you, trying to keep up with your pace so that he's walking beside you.
"Say... Yuki... Do you still go to practice with your grandfather like you used to?" Eli asks. You look towards Eli.
"Why do you ask?" You question.
"Well, lately you have been going straight home. That or you're cramped in the corner in the school library studying." Eli says. You stare down at your shoes, taking in his words.
"What's wrong with that?" You quietly ask. Eli sighs and scratches the back of his head.
"Well, I used to remember how you would always go to your grandparent's after school. We would all go and watch you train with him. Then your grandma would give us some tasty sweets, and we would goof around while studying." Eli chuckles. You space out a bit. Memories rush through your mind.
Ah, I see... Yuki really did lose her mother... and it was not too long ago. After she passed away, Yuki stopped visiting her grandfather after school and would often hole herself up in the library... but for some reason everything after that seems sorta... fuzzy. You thought to yourself.
"After my mother passed away, I lost interest in visiting my grandpa." You slowly say.
"Why though?" He asks.
That's a good question... the only thing I seem to recall when he asked that is... to save her. Save who? Yuki's mother? That sounds about right...
"Uh... it was to save her..." Eli looks at you. You notice him looking, but you choose to avoid eye contact with him.
"Save who? Your mother...? I never asked, but how did she pass away?" He asks. That question makes your body shiver. Sudden sadness floods your mind. Then the answer appeared, like a box that has been unlocked after putting the right piece in.
"She died from brain damage." You quietly say. Memories of Yuki's mother start flooding your mind. Her mother's funeral day, the news about her mother's death, and being told of what caused her death. You see how devastated Yuki's grandparents were. "She was beaten badly by her boyfriend. She had called my grandfather before she passed out. By the time the ambulance got to her, she was already brain dead. They said something about swelling in the brain and a crack in her skull..." You softly add.
"Is that why you stopped practicing, because you could no longer save her?" The thought of that made your heart hurt. Your eyes start to fill up with tears, and your throat starts to hurt. Eli notices, and his eyes widen. "I'm sorry... I should have never said that... Actually, I should have never asked you any of this... that was-"
"AYO... ELI!" A group of guys walks up to the two of you. They surround you two as if they were trying to pick a fight. You furrow your eyebrows, and you clench your fists, looking at each one of them.
"Who is that?" You ask quietly, leaning towards Eli. Eli sighs as this one guy walks forward, stopping less than a foot away from Eli.
Are those the Toman guys... You thought to yourself.
"Kensuke..." Eli responds sluggishly.
"Who?" You look at Eli, feeling confused.
"Is that your girl...?" Kensuke asks, smiling at you.
"No... she's just a friend." Eli listlessly responds.
"Oh really... Nice to meet you..." Kensuke smirks as he holds his hand out. You look down at his hand, hesitant to shake it. "I'm Kensuke Mori... Eli's cousin." You look at Eli and then back at Kensuke. The guys behind him smile at you. You still didn't want to shake his hand.
"What do you want, Kensuke?" Eli asks.
"Are you going to Aunt Anya's for dinner tonight?" Eli slowly shakes his head. "Why not?" Kensuke asks.
"Because... I'm just not going..." Eli grabs your hand and pulls you away.
"WOW! REALLY? JUST GOING TO LEAVE LIKE THAT? EH? SO STUBBORN AND CARELESS... NO WONDER YOUR MOTHER LEFT YOU." Kensuke laughs, mocking Eli.
Eli stops walking and squeezes your hand. Then he turns around to face Kensuke.
"Why the hell-" Eli starts, but Kensuke cuts him off.
"HAHA... DID SOMEONE BEAT YOU UP?" Kensuke snickers, pointing at Eli's face. Eli grits his teeth and sighs.
"I have to go, Kensuke... tell Aunt Anya I won't be there for dinner." Eli huffs while pulling you away. After silently walking a bit, you look at Eli in concern.
"What did he mean by your mother left? When did that happen?" Eli doesn't respond to you. You quietly nod to yourself, realizing that must have been a sensitive topic.
Not long later, you approach Yuki's grandparents house.
"It's been a while since I've visited here." Eli says. "6 months now... right?" Eli looks at you, waiting for you to respond. You slowly nod and approach the front door. You grab the metal doorknocker and slam it down a few times. Then you back away and wait for Yuki's grandfather to answer.
5 minutes have passed, and you have knocked on the door a decent number of times, but no one has come to the door.
"No one's home... You can stop knocking on the door." Eli sighs. You stay quiet and grab the doorknocker again, slamming it down a few times. Eli groans and stands up from sitting on the stairs.
"Here, hold my phone. I'll knock on it harder... " Eli says, handing you his phone. You look at his phone and notice he was playing Snake. You flip close his phone and put it in your hoodie pocket. Eli grabs the metal knocker and looks at you before slamming it. "See... Yuki... you have to slam it harder... that way even a deaf person could feel the vibrations." Eli states. He looks back towards the door and lifts the metal door knocker, preparing to slam it down really hard, but before he can slam it, someone opens the door. It's a woman. She looks familiar...
"Yuki... It's you..." The woman says. Then it clicks. It's Yuki's mother's little sister, Hikari... Hikari is not much older than Yuki. Being the youngest sibling amongst Yuki's mother's siblings.
"Hi Hikari... do you know where grandpa is?" You ask. Hikari's eyes saddened when you asked that. She looks behind her and then back at you, giving you a sheepish smile.
"He's sitting on his chair in the living room. Do you want to come in?" You nod and walk in behind her. Eli follows behind you. Hikari leads you into the living room, where Yuki's grandpa is, leaning back in his chair, staring off into the distance. "Papa... Yuki came to see you." Hikari says. He slowly turns his head to look at you. His eyes look sad.
"Hi... my sweet little mochi." He smiles. You smile back. Hikari turns to Eli and whispers to him to give you and Yuki's grandpa some space.
"Hi grandpa..." You quietly say. Oddly, you feel tense being here talking to him, though no memories are giving you any hints as to why.
"I thought you were never going to come back. I felt like you hated me... after you yelled at me..." His voice sounded sad. You look down at the ground, questioning why Yuki yelled at him, but you feel no hatred towards him.
"I would never hate you." You quietly say. Yuki's grandpa slowly looks up at you.
"I should have come to visit you. I was being so stubborn... When your grandmother told me you were in the hospital after you tried taking your life... I had thought about your mother and cried. I didn't want to lose you. I felt like it was all my fault. I yelled at you, and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, my little mochi... I should have been better." He sniffles.
Yuki tried to kill herself? You stare down at your hands, feeling weird. Confused. How come there are no memories of this? You slowly look up at him and softly smile.
"It's okay... I'm not mad at you." You softly reply. Yuki's grandfather stands up from the chair and hugs you. You let him.
You stayed at Yuki's grandparents for a few hours before finally leaving. You and Eli ride the bus together since it's raining outside.
"I'm sorry, Eli... for not asking my grandpa to teach you some martial arts." You quietly say to Eli. Eli smiles and looks at you.
"It's okay... You spending time with your grandfather was the better option... He really needed it... and so did you." He sighs and looks out the window. "I wish I knew you were suffering, Yuki...I could have helped." He says, giving you a sincere look.
"Yeah... but those guys... what if you get attacked again? I wish I had said something instead of reminiscing..."
"Yuki... It's okay... I really do appreciate you trying to help." He smiles, making you smile.
The bus announces your stop, and you and Eli get up. Once you get off the bus, the two of you split ways. He walks through the park, and you head in the direction of the bakery. You stop at the door of the bakery, staring inside.
The bakery Yuki's grandmother owns... and where Yuki lives above. You notice Yuki's grandmother is sweeping around the tables and preparing to close shop. You walk in, preparing to go upstairs and get ready for bed.
"I heard you visited your grandfather..." She says to you, smiling. She places the broom down and begins wiping down the tables with a rag.
"Yeah..." You say, slowly walking to the back of the bakery.
"Thank you... Yuki... It meant a lot to him... and to me." You stop walking and look back at Yuki's grandmother and smile. "I love you..." She says. She walks up to you and hugs you tightly. You let her. Suddenly you feel a vibration in your pocket. You back away from Yuki's grandmother, pulling away from her hug. You pull the phone from your pocket. It's Eli's phone.
"Didn't your phone break? You got a new one?" Yuki's grandmother questions.
"This isn't my phone..." You reply, flipping the phone open.
"Hello? Eli... I know you said you wouldn't come to Aunt Anya's, but it's an emergency..." The person on the other end says. It sounds like a woman... though you can't tell. Her voice sounds rather young and soft.
"Sorry... Eli left his phone..." You respond.
"Oh... Well, when you see him, can you tell him to hurry and come home... It's about his dad." You nod and say okay. The phone call ends, and you put the phone back into your pocket.
"Grand-ma... do you have an umbrella I can borrow?" You ask. She nods and points towards the back of the bakery. You walk to the back, and you grab the umbrella by the staircase. You quickly walk to exit the bakery.
"When you get back, there's a bento box I left for you in the fridge in the back. If you heat it, you can have it for dinner." Yuki's grandma says. You nod and smile as you leave the bakery. You open the umbrella and head in the direction Eli went, hoping he didn't go too far.
You choose to take a shortcut through the park like he did to catch up to him faster, but as you walk into the park, you see Eli kneeling on the ground, coughing up blood. He's surrounded by guys. They must have beaten him up... which can only mean one thing...
"Toman..." You whisper.