Hamasaki POV.
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"HEY, DON'T!!!" I yelled out frantically, sprinting towards the boy in the wheelchair.
He was right in the middle of the train tracks. I could also hear the train running above ground, through the residential neighborhood.
It was getting closer.
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I'm not going to let him kill himself. I won't, not again.
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LET ME MAKE THIS...PLEASE... I begged to myself.
To anyone who would listen.
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Why is he trying to kill himself? Why are so many people in my life attempting it?
It doesn't matter; I won't let him do it!
"NO!!" I yelled out. "MOVE!"
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It was getting closer. Shit. Come on...I can make it.
*chic*chic**chic*
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The click of the rails and the street separation bar lowered, stopping all cars from entering before the train comes.
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It was right on him. I was so close!!
Please!!!
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PLEASE!!!
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And then...
I barely made it.
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I grabbed his collar and yanked him with all of my might; his chair tipped backwards with him still in it.
I tipped over onto him as we both fell back.
*UGF* We let out, as I toppled backwards together.
*SWOOOOOSH*
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Wooosh...
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The train passed up quickly and sped off as if nothing ever happened.
"HEY, you idiot what were you doing?!?! Are you TRYING to get yourself killed?!" I yelled at him. I almost had the urge to start shaking his jacket and his chest, but I didn't want to hurt him.
He was quiet, I think he was scared.
His hat fell on the top of his face as he fell back, so I couldn't see his face well.
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Is he...crying...?
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So-
I took the hat off of him.
...
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ah....
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I-Izumi...?
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No way...
...eh...?
"what... what happened to you?" I managed, my voice cracking. "are...are you okay...?"
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Was he trying to...kill himself again?
"I-I can't believe... you-" My words faltered. My hands hovered over his casts for a moment.
He...was missing...an eye.
Both of his legs were broken.
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"You're... you're... hurt... so badly..."
W-Why is he like this...?
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He just stared at me for a moment.
Then-
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A tear rolled down his face.
"T-Thank you, I was so scared...I thought I really was gonna dieee."
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"Eh...?
"Huh...?" He said back to me.
...
Wait...he wasn't trying to kill himself then?
"What the hell were you doing in the middle of the track then!" I asked him sternly. "I-It's not safe!"
"My wheelchair got stuck on the railing!!" he shot back. "I wasn't trying anything!"
Then, quieter: "C-Can you... get off me...?"
I froze.
...Oh.
I was still on top of him.
...
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"EHH?!" I yelped and sprang to my feet. "I-I wasn't trying to be on top of you!!"
God-could I be any more humiliating?
"A-Anyway-come on," I muttered, helping lift him back into his chair.
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"...Uh... sorry," he mumbled, looking away. "I didn't mean... to cause trouble."
"Trouble...? Izumi...that's what you mean...? Trouble...?!"
"You almost DIED," I snapped. "You think that's trouble? That's-That's-!!" My voice cracked. "I thought you were trying to-"
He stiffened.
"...Eh...? You... know who I am...?"
...
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"Huh...? What do you mean? I'm-" I said, before looking at him in his eyes.
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He was dead serious.
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Everything inside me stopped.
A cold numbness washed through me.
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"...Um... I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I... can't remember a lot. I lost... a lot of my memories."
My heart dropped. "W-what...?"
"I don't remember anyone." he said. "Just my mom... and my sister. That's it."
"You... you don't remember anything?" I whispered.
He shook his head.
...
No way.
Tears nearly stung my eyes.
I-I've done something awful, haven't I?
...
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I-Is that why he stopped coming to school...?
He couldn't?
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My voice came out small, and breaking apart.
"W-What... happened to you...?"
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"W-Why were you even outside alone right now? You should be in the hopsital!!" I said.
He even lost an eye...both his legs are broken.
Where is his family at...?
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"I... I just... wanted to see the city," he muttered. "M-Maybe I could have remembered something I was thinking."
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"Something?!" I said, voice rising. "Izumi... you're in a wheelchair! You're hurt so badly! You can't just... wander around!"
"I... I didn't know the tracks..." he said softly. "...I just wanted to see."
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He was never this talkative.
He...really did forget everything. We never even talked before he...
I can tell...it's like he's a new person.
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I don't...want to scare him...I still haven't haven't apologized for ignoring him while he was bullied.
Seeing him this nice, just makes me feel more guilty...
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"Okay...well I'm glad you're okay. I'm Hamasaki Ito." I said out to him. "I'm your classmate."
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"I'm sure you already know...but I'm Takahashi Izumi, it's nice to meet you Hamasaki-san." He replied back, a slight smile on his face.
"Um... I'm sorry to be a burden and everything...but can you...show me around?" He said.
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"Everything scared me a little much...and my strength isn't returning. I don't...have enough to push back to my house."
Oh...
"Um...yeah sure okay." I replied back.
It's not like I had anything else to do, and I'd like to get to know Izumi more.
I feel guilty though, he doesn't even know that...I was someone who ignored him.
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"You sure...?" He replied back to me. "I-I don't mean to be a burden..." He said softly.
"No, it's okay. I was just gonna ditch school anyways. This is a much better option." I replied.
I mean it's true, I was gonna ditch school to go to the arcade but this happened, I owe Izumi as well. This is the least I can do.
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"Can you pass me my hat off the floor...?" He said to me.
"Yeah." I replied. "Here you go."
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"Thanks, I...would rather not anyone recognize me." He said. "I'm glad it was someone kind like you who did at least on accident though..."
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If only he knew I wasn't as kind as I let on to be...
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"Y-Yeah. Let's go, I'll show you around my favorite spots!." I said to him, taking the charge with his wheelchair.
He didn't know, but I held immense guilt in my chest.
Why...did I do that to him...?
Was I...one of the reasons for him looking like this?
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I wish I didn't ignore him, or his needs then. I won't make that mistake again.
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Izumi POV.
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So...she knew the real Izumi...?
I wonder what she thought about the actual me.
When she pulled me out of the way, she held nothing back as she yelled at me, tears in her eyes as she laid on top of me.
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The moment that hat was removed from my face, she looked at me with such...guilt in her eyes.
I don't know why...I thought she was some stranger.
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"Trouble...? Izumi...that's what you mean...? Trouble...?!" She said to me out of the blue.
I froze for a moment.
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Wait...does this person...know...
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"You...know who I am?" I asked, kind of scared.
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I heard her go. "Eh...?"
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She was genuinely confused.
Then why...did she look so guilty when she saw my face...?
Was this someone who was a bully...?
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No...she was too kind for that...
She saved my life, I almost died moments earlier. I still had tears of fear and shock running down my cheek.
I'm just...confused.
...
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She walked me around for a bit, but I just wanted to make sure that I got home before Mom and Nee-chan did. I'd be in so much trouble.
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"Thank you...for today Hamasaki-san."
"Just Hamasaki is fine." She replied to me.
She was a blonde haired, well fashioned up gyaru, or rather a yankee. She didn't really wear a lot of makeup like gyarus normally do.
She was also quite tall and intimidating, but I could tell that she had a big heart.
Something was weighing on it.
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"You can just call me Izumi then, I don't like going by Takahashi anyways."
"ah...okay then." She replied, wheeling me towards my house. "Um...are you...coming back to school soon?"
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"I-I don't know. I don't really know much of anything to be honest. Mom won't let me hear about anything what happened, and my sister is really protective as well."
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"They won't let me go back to school at least until I'm fixed...so I'm not sure." I replied to her.
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"You...really don't remember anything...?" She asked me again. Her eyes looked frail for a moment.
"N-No, I'm sorry. I know...I made a stupid mistake...trying to...well." I replied.
"M-Maybe it's a good idea that I don't go to school for now, I don't want bad reactions to happen, before I can...remember anything at least."
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Then she said something unexpected.
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"I-If you want, I could bring you the assignments from school!" She quickly blurted out. "I-If only you want me to."
Her cheeks were getting red; she looked embarrassed asking this.
I don't know why...it was a kind gesture. It was something out of genuien concern.
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"Yeah, that sounds gre-" I replied before.
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"HEY!"
"Who is this girl, and WHY does she have hands on you outside?" Nee-chan said from behind me, startling both me and Hamasaki.
"Um...well...." I tried replying.
"I'm his classmate, Hamasa-"
"Shut up, I don't want you bullying Izumi or something, if that's what you were doing, I'll report you!" Fuuka said back to Hamasaki.
"N-No Nee-chan she wasn't! I swear! She's...my classmate..." I yelled out, softly.
"Eh? A classmate...?" She replied again.
"Y-Yeah, I snuck out...and got lost." I said looking up at my sister in her worried eyes. "She...um...helped me get around and bring me home and stuff." I said, leaving out the part where I was almost pulverized by a train.
"T-There's a reason that I didn't want you to go outside Izumi!" She said back to me.
"Um...Izumi..." Hamasaki whispered.
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"T-Thanks for today. Y-You should listen to your sister." She replied, her voice a little shaky.
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"No, I'm sorry for flipping out on you." Nee-chan replied back to her. "Mooom can you come gett Izumi?" She yelled out.
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"Um, I'd love for you to bring me my assignments for me Hamasaki, just...please don't tell anyone or anything..." I had to say to her, desperate to keep secret my memories being lost.
I feel like I'd make an easy target for my bullies now that I'm like this, I don't want them harming me again.
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"I promise I will! Have a good night...uh...Izumi..." She said back, her voice was shaky for a second.
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Hamasaki POV.
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"How much do you know...?" Izumi's sister immediately asked me as he left.
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"Um...I'm sorry. I figured out everything." I replied back to her, there was something scary in her eyes. She made me feel on edge.
"So, you know how he lost his memory then."
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Yeah.
I do.
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"I-I was one of the one's in class who testified against that girl who bullied him, Katori." I replied. "She...and her group did this. S-She's a monster."
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"And I didn't want him outside, because what if he ran into them again!" She replied back to me with anger in her voice. "Please! Bring him home next time this happens, or if it happens again! You have a responsibility to do that now!"
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Eh...?
Why...?
"You're the only one who knows that this is Izumi now, don't give me that questioning look." She replied to me, before I could even say it.
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I guess she's right.
"And...why did you call him Izumi? I thought he didn't have any friends close enough to call him by his first name?" She asked me.
"Well, he was the one who said that this was the most comfortable, using that name I mean. Izumi was most comfortable to him..." I said back to her.
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"Well, thank you for watching out for him. I can tell you're a good girl." She said, her eyes growing kinder by the second.
I guess she really cares about her brother.
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"Do you...maybe want to stay for dinner? It's refreshing seeing Izumi with a friend again." She asked me.
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"No...I couldn't impede like that; I need to get home myself...but does Izumi have a... phone number I can text? Just about the assignments that I need to bring him?"
"Oh, that's a smart idea! He got a new phone recently! And I was thinking of a way to get the assignments to him without bringing unknown classmates to the house to see him in this state."
"My name is Fuuka Takahashi by the way! It's nice to meet you!"
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Some time passed, I think his sister was just trying to size me up. We parted ways after she gave me his phone number, and I promised to bring him his assignments tomorrow.
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Guilt.
I felt guilt.
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The whole walk home I felt disgusting.
Like I wanted to puke.
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I...ignored him when he was being bullied. Even lightly teasing him at times...just to fit into the crowd...just to not be bullied myself.
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Now...his sister is introducing herself to me, and I have his phone number...
I feel...so utterly guilty.
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He looked so happy talking with me...I mean, he was so kind too. All he did was tell me how grateful he was that I helped him when I did.
We didn't really talk about anything the old Izumi knew about, or memories we may or may not have shared, so we made small talk when I was walking him around.
Yet...
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I understood why he wasn't coming to class now...
He would be the talking point of the whole school, it only makes sense that he tries to heal himself before coming to class.
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And...when I heard Katori's name come out of his sister's mouth, I could tell how much disgust she held for her.
I don't know...if she would hold that much disgust for me...if she knew.
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I'm sorry.
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All I can do now...is try and make up for it all.
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But...Izumi was...really too kind for his own good...
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He needs someone to look out for him...