[mekakuni] fic: Memories of the Future ch.13
I'm always pushing the deadline for 30_kisses. I wasted too much time over the weekend fixing my scene dividers for my old fics over at FFnet. I'm fine with using horizontal lines for scene dividers from now on for that site...but seriously, did they have to remove the existing dashes and whatnot from old fics? It's a disaster. Some of my fics aren't readable at all without scene dividers. I went through some and gave up on the rest. It's too much to fix. I was going to start reading someone's fic, but since their scene dividers disappeared too, I was turned off from reading right away since the jumbled text is a lot harder to get through. *sigh* I could've spent my time doing more productive stuff than fixing formatting problems.
Memories of the Future
A Namiki-centric fic for 30_kisses.
Disclaimer: Mekakushi no Kuni belongs to Tsukuba Sakura. I'm making no profit from writing this piece of fanwork.
archive: lj | ffnet
word count: ~2110
-----chapter 13: #12 in a good mood-----
Alone in his apartment, Masahiro threw himself on his bed and stared at the empty ceiling above him. His mind was still stuck on the events of that evening. He had finally said it. He covered his eyes with his arm, too tired to move under his blankets.
"Umph!" exclaimed the blond when Marota landed on his stomach, stepping on him with his tiny but powerful feet. Masahiro twitched before picking the puppy up and holding him high in the air.
Clear blue eyes stared back at him, his lucky audience. Masahiro had so much on his mind.
"She was skeptical," murmured Masahiro, "but she let me explain. She thought I was joking at first. You know how she is."
The puppy panted happily and licked Masahiro's face as if in agreement. Masahiro's lips twitched upwards as he tried to move out of the way before more doggy slobber covered him.
He couldn't help but remember how Kaichou had fled from the classroom. What had been on her mind? He had caught a glimpse of her conversation with her brother that was to happen in the evening, but even that didn't tell him much. He was optimistic about what he had seen though. Kaichou had only been indignant in the vision. She had not been angry or frightened or...disgusted, which was better than a good start. But how much of her reaction was because she couldn't fully grasp what his powers meant yet?
Masahiro let his arms drop, his fingers still intertwined in Marota's soft fur.
The sun was bright. A wide expanse of sea and sparkling sand surrounded him. In front of him, obscured by a large, colorful umbrella, a figure lounged on the beach. All he saw were long, pale legs. His eyes trailed upwards, the pale skin teasingly leading up and up until the umbrella blocked his view and his imagination ran wild.
The back of a puppy appeared in front of him.
Marota.
Marota bounced across the sand, barking happily as he pounced on whomever was underneath that umbrella.
Soft laughter reached his ears. He found himself unsurprised when Kaichou's voice came from under that umbrella.
"Hey there, little guy. Where's your owner?"
Masahiro glanced down at himself. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, slacks, and...socks, definitely not appropriate for spending time at the beach. Still, he stepped forward, heading towards Marota and Kaichou. Now was as good a time as any other to make his presence known.
However, before he managed to open his mouth to greet Kaichou, he saw...himself. There he was, making his way over from the stands. He was holding two glasses of fruit punch, complete with little umbrellas decorating the drinks. This other him was dressed appropriately for the beach, swimming trunks and all.
The other him handed one of the drinks over to Kaichou, their hands barely touching. Even though Masahiro still stood a distance away from them, he was able to see the wide smile that graced Kaichou's face.
It was a natural and easy smile.
With a jolt, Masahiro pulled his hand away from Marota. The puppy yipped at the sudden tug.
Masahiro blinked, his eyes darting around his empty room before focusing on Marota in front of him. He had just seen Marota's future, hadn't he? For a moment, he thought he had fallen asleep and was caught in a dream about Kaichou, but it hadn't been a dream. It was the future. He had just slipped into a vision of the future without even realizing it.
With his near perfect control of his power, Masahiro normally only saw the future when he wanted to. He had to concentrate hard to see the future. Visions never crept up on him and surprised him like that, unlike Kanade's experience with her power. Visions never just happened without prompting. Was this how Kanade felt whenever her power took a hold of her? The vision had come so suddenly that it had been hard to separate the vision from his own imagination.
What was happening to his power? Had he unknowingly wanted to see what the future held? His power hadn't surprised him like this since he first discovered he had such an ability. Masahiro hoped that it had just been a fluke, like how he found the future hard to see when he wasn't feeling well.
He absentmindedly scratched Marota behind the ears.
The glimpse of the future had surprised him, but he was glad to have seen Kaichou's smile. She still smiled naturally at him even with the knowledge of his power.
Things were going to be all right.
-----
Ugh. Heavy. Something was squashing him to death.
Masahiro sat up with a jolt, launching Marota off his chest. He picked Marota up. The puppy was still sound asleep.
"You again..." sighed Masahiro. He tossed the puppy back onto the bed and got up to stretch, his muscles sore from the position he had slept in. The room was relatively dark with the closed curtains, so he padded over to the curtains to pull them open, letting bright sunlight flood the room.
He shaded his eyes against the bright sunlight, marveling at the clear blue sky. It was bright and early, and the flowers were kissed by morning dew. He had a feeling that it was going to be a beautiful day.
The smell of pancakes drifted to his nose.
His stomach rumbled at the thought of warm pancakes for breakfast.
...wait, pancakes?
Someone was in his kitchen!
Masahiro didn't even bother changing out of his pajamas before he ran out of his room to the kitchen. His mind must have still been half asleep, or else he would have remembered that he had entrusted his keys to one other person. Besides, intruders were unlikely to be sticking around making pancakes for him.
Half panting, Masahiro righted himself at the doorway to the kitchen. "Oh, it's just you," he managed.
Over his suit, the man wore the only apron that Masahiro owned--a simple, green-checkered apron. With his hair slicked back, his cigarette lit, and his glasses fogging up, Ootake Yusuke looked entirely out of place in Masahiro's kitchen. However, he flipped the frying pan up quite expertly to turn the pancakes over.
"I must be the only one you greet so enthusiastically, Masahiro," commented Ootake.
"What are you doing here?" asked Masahiro, entirely ignoring Ootake's comment.
"You haven't forgotten that you're going to give me a reading today, have you?" asked the older man. He set out two plates and divided the pancakes between them. After he washed the frying pan, he got out Marota's dog bowl and the turtle's feed. Although Ootake looked entirely out of place in the kitchen, he looked entirely at home doing Masahiro's daily chores.
Masahiro shook his head as sat down at the table. "No, but I was going to meet you later today at the restaurant, like always."
The older man snubbed his cigarette out. "Well, I wanted to catch you before your classes in case you rescheduled like yesterday."
The blond dug into his pancakes. "I was at my old high school for their school festival. I told you in advance that I wouldn't be able to make it yesterday."
"I know you're busy with college and staying in touch with your friends," said Ootake. "That's why I decided to catch you bright and early."
Masahiro snorted. "Yeah, so early that I hadn't even woken up yet."
At that point, Marota bounced in, barking happily. He launched himself at Ootake, almost knocking over the older man's plate. Masahiro smirked and continued polishing off his pancakes. Even though Ootake was here early to annoy him, at least he had thought to make pancakes. They were really good.
When Masahiro opened his refrigerator to put away the extra cans of dog food that Ootake had brought out, Masahiro was greeted by the sight of lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, and other food. That Ootake had once again stocked his refrigerator! No doubt the older man was still appalled at the fact that dog food cans dominated Masahiro's refrigerator. Despite his sarcastic banter with Ootake, Masahiro truly appreciated Ootake's concern.
He was in a cheerful mood when he finally sat down to read Ootake's future. He closed his eyes as he grasped the older man's hand, concentrating hard on seeing the future.
There sat Ootake, newspaper propped up like always. Masahiro stepped closer to take a look at the numbers for the stock market that day. He noted the ones Ootake took particular interest in. After he committed them to memory, he glanced at the date to make sure this was indeed tomorrow's newspaper. It usually always was since Masahiro's power only foretold the immediate future...
July 16th.
Masahiro snatched his hand away from Ootake, breaking himself out of the vision.
"What's wrong? It didn't work?" asked Ootake. "I thought you might have a good reading today since you seemed to be in a good mood."
The boy blinked. "Me? In a good mood?"
Ootake tapped the corner of his mouth. "You were smiling the entire time. You normally frown during these readings."
"...oh." Again, Masahiro hadn't noticed. Ootake was right though. He had been in a good mood when he went into the memory of the future. He usually thought of reading Ootake's future as a necessary chore, but this time he hadn't minded. Was that why he had seen so much farther than usual?
"So, did you manage to see anything?" asked the older man.
"I did..."
"But? Sounds like you have a but coming on."
Masahiro rolled his eyes. "I did see the numbers. Here, I'll write them down." He grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down all the numbers he remembered. He handed the piece of paper to Ootake.
"What's wrong then?" asked Ootake, glancing at the numbers. They looked about right, though some of the numbers were much lower than his predictions.
The boy laughed once. "I don't know how accurate these numbers will be. They're the stock prices...for more than a month from now."
"What?" exclaimed Ootake as he sat up sharply in his chair.
Masahiro frowned. "Who knows what will happen from now until then? Those stock prices aren't guaranteed."
"No, no, that's not what was on my mind," said Ootake. "Masahiro, have you ever seen a month into the future before this?"
The blond sat back in his chair. Ootake had caught on to his worry right off the bat. Ootake knew him better than he thought. "No...I haven't. This is a first," said Masahiro quietly. He waved his hand in the air. "It's nothing to worry about though. Here, let me try again."
Despite Ootake's worries about the boy, he extended his hand and let Masahiro read his future again. This time, Masahiro was able to see the stock prices for the next day without any problems.
Perhaps it had only been another fluke.
-----
When Ootake was putting on his shoes to leave, he noticed a photograph laying haphazardly on the tall table in the hallway. He picked the photograph up and was greeted by the sight of a tall blond girl carrying a huge stack of papers. She was not at all looking at where she was going. The uniform she wore was from Masahiro's high school.
"Hm, what's this?" asked Ootake amusedly. "A photograph of your girlfriend?"
Masahiro scowled as he snatched the photograph away from Ootake. "You jump to conclusions too quickly. She's a good friend." His expression softened as he gazed at Kaichou. She really needed to lighten her responsibilities.
"Was she why you were spending time at your old school yesterday?" continued Ootake relentlessly.
That, Masahiro couldn't deny. The thought of having finally told Kaichou about his power still elated him. He had no need to hide anymore.
"I told her about my power," blurted Masahiro. "I think she's going to be all right with it," rushed Masahiro. He blanched right afterwards. That hadn't been what he was going to say to Ootake! What had possessed him?
Ootake, if he was shocked by Masahiro's words, showed no inkling of his surprise. He chuckled and ruffled Masahiro's hair.
"You're doing fine," he murmured. "I hope to meet her soon!"
Masahiro scowled as he tried to smooth back his hair. When Ootake finally left, Masahiro made his way back to his room. This time, he made sure to stick the photograph in his wallet instead of leaving it lying around.
-----
to be continued
Next chapter: news; letter
Memories of the Future
A Namiki-centric fic for 30_kisses.
Disclaimer: Mekakushi no Kuni belongs to Tsukuba Sakura. I'm making no profit from writing this piece of fanwork.
archive: lj | ffnet
word count: ~2110
-----chapter 13: #12 in a good mood-----
Alone in his apartment, Masahiro threw himself on his bed and stared at the empty ceiling above him. His mind was still stuck on the events of that evening. He had finally said it. He covered his eyes with his arm, too tired to move under his blankets.
"Umph!" exclaimed the blond when Marota landed on his stomach, stepping on him with his tiny but powerful feet. Masahiro twitched before picking the puppy up and holding him high in the air.
Clear blue eyes stared back at him, his lucky audience. Masahiro had so much on his mind.
"She was skeptical," murmured Masahiro, "but she let me explain. She thought I was joking at first. You know how she is."
The puppy panted happily and licked Masahiro's face as if in agreement. Masahiro's lips twitched upwards as he tried to move out of the way before more doggy slobber covered him.
He couldn't help but remember how Kaichou had fled from the classroom. What had been on her mind? He had caught a glimpse of her conversation with her brother that was to happen in the evening, but even that didn't tell him much. He was optimistic about what he had seen though. Kaichou had only been indignant in the vision. She had not been angry or frightened or...disgusted, which was better than a good start. But how much of her reaction was because she couldn't fully grasp what his powers meant yet?
Masahiro let his arms drop, his fingers still intertwined in Marota's soft fur.
The sun was bright. A wide expanse of sea and sparkling sand surrounded him. In front of him, obscured by a large, colorful umbrella, a figure lounged on the beach. All he saw were long, pale legs. His eyes trailed upwards, the pale skin teasingly leading up and up until the umbrella blocked his view and his imagination ran wild.
The back of a puppy appeared in front of him.
Marota.
Marota bounced across the sand, barking happily as he pounced on whomever was underneath that umbrella.
Soft laughter reached his ears. He found himself unsurprised when Kaichou's voice came from under that umbrella.
"Hey there, little guy. Where's your owner?"
Masahiro glanced down at himself. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, slacks, and...socks, definitely not appropriate for spending time at the beach. Still, he stepped forward, heading towards Marota and Kaichou. Now was as good a time as any other to make his presence known.
However, before he managed to open his mouth to greet Kaichou, he saw...himself. There he was, making his way over from the stands. He was holding two glasses of fruit punch, complete with little umbrellas decorating the drinks. This other him was dressed appropriately for the beach, swimming trunks and all.
The other him handed one of the drinks over to Kaichou, their hands barely touching. Even though Masahiro still stood a distance away from them, he was able to see the wide smile that graced Kaichou's face.
It was a natural and easy smile.
With a jolt, Masahiro pulled his hand away from Marota. The puppy yipped at the sudden tug.
Masahiro blinked, his eyes darting around his empty room before focusing on Marota in front of him. He had just seen Marota's future, hadn't he? For a moment, he thought he had fallen asleep and was caught in a dream about Kaichou, but it hadn't been a dream. It was the future. He had just slipped into a vision of the future without even realizing it.
With his near perfect control of his power, Masahiro normally only saw the future when he wanted to. He had to concentrate hard to see the future. Visions never crept up on him and surprised him like that, unlike Kanade's experience with her power. Visions never just happened without prompting. Was this how Kanade felt whenever her power took a hold of her? The vision had come so suddenly that it had been hard to separate the vision from his own imagination.
What was happening to his power? Had he unknowingly wanted to see what the future held? His power hadn't surprised him like this since he first discovered he had such an ability. Masahiro hoped that it had just been a fluke, like how he found the future hard to see when he wasn't feeling well.
He absentmindedly scratched Marota behind the ears.
The glimpse of the future had surprised him, but he was glad to have seen Kaichou's smile. She still smiled naturally at him even with the knowledge of his power.
Things were going to be all right.
-----
Ugh. Heavy. Something was squashing him to death.
Masahiro sat up with a jolt, launching Marota off his chest. He picked Marota up. The puppy was still sound asleep.
"You again..." sighed Masahiro. He tossed the puppy back onto the bed and got up to stretch, his muscles sore from the position he had slept in. The room was relatively dark with the closed curtains, so he padded over to the curtains to pull them open, letting bright sunlight flood the room.
He shaded his eyes against the bright sunlight, marveling at the clear blue sky. It was bright and early, and the flowers were kissed by morning dew. He had a feeling that it was going to be a beautiful day.
The smell of pancakes drifted to his nose.
His stomach rumbled at the thought of warm pancakes for breakfast.
...wait, pancakes?
Someone was in his kitchen!
Masahiro didn't even bother changing out of his pajamas before he ran out of his room to the kitchen. His mind must have still been half asleep, or else he would have remembered that he had entrusted his keys to one other person. Besides, intruders were unlikely to be sticking around making pancakes for him.
Half panting, Masahiro righted himself at the doorway to the kitchen. "Oh, it's just you," he managed.
Over his suit, the man wore the only apron that Masahiro owned--a simple, green-checkered apron. With his hair slicked back, his cigarette lit, and his glasses fogging up, Ootake Yusuke looked entirely out of place in Masahiro's kitchen. However, he flipped the frying pan up quite expertly to turn the pancakes over.
"I must be the only one you greet so enthusiastically, Masahiro," commented Ootake.
"What are you doing here?" asked Masahiro, entirely ignoring Ootake's comment.
"You haven't forgotten that you're going to give me a reading today, have you?" asked the older man. He set out two plates and divided the pancakes between them. After he washed the frying pan, he got out Marota's dog bowl and the turtle's feed. Although Ootake looked entirely out of place in the kitchen, he looked entirely at home doing Masahiro's daily chores.
Masahiro shook his head as sat down at the table. "No, but I was going to meet you later today at the restaurant, like always."
The older man snubbed his cigarette out. "Well, I wanted to catch you before your classes in case you rescheduled like yesterday."
The blond dug into his pancakes. "I was at my old high school for their school festival. I told you in advance that I wouldn't be able to make it yesterday."
"I know you're busy with college and staying in touch with your friends," said Ootake. "That's why I decided to catch you bright and early."
Masahiro snorted. "Yeah, so early that I hadn't even woken up yet."
At that point, Marota bounced in, barking happily. He launched himself at Ootake, almost knocking over the older man's plate. Masahiro smirked and continued polishing off his pancakes. Even though Ootake was here early to annoy him, at least he had thought to make pancakes. They were really good.
When Masahiro opened his refrigerator to put away the extra cans of dog food that Ootake had brought out, Masahiro was greeted by the sight of lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, and other food. That Ootake had once again stocked his refrigerator! No doubt the older man was still appalled at the fact that dog food cans dominated Masahiro's refrigerator. Despite his sarcastic banter with Ootake, Masahiro truly appreciated Ootake's concern.
He was in a cheerful mood when he finally sat down to read Ootake's future. He closed his eyes as he grasped the older man's hand, concentrating hard on seeing the future.
There sat Ootake, newspaper propped up like always. Masahiro stepped closer to take a look at the numbers for the stock market that day. He noted the ones Ootake took particular interest in. After he committed them to memory, he glanced at the date to make sure this was indeed tomorrow's newspaper. It usually always was since Masahiro's power only foretold the immediate future...
July 16th.
Masahiro snatched his hand away from Ootake, breaking himself out of the vision.
"What's wrong? It didn't work?" asked Ootake. "I thought you might have a good reading today since you seemed to be in a good mood."
The boy blinked. "Me? In a good mood?"
Ootake tapped the corner of his mouth. "You were smiling the entire time. You normally frown during these readings."
"...oh." Again, Masahiro hadn't noticed. Ootake was right though. He had been in a good mood when he went into the memory of the future. He usually thought of reading Ootake's future as a necessary chore, but this time he hadn't minded. Was that why he had seen so much farther than usual?
"So, did you manage to see anything?" asked the older man.
"I did..."
"But? Sounds like you have a but coming on."
Masahiro rolled his eyes. "I did see the numbers. Here, I'll write them down." He grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down all the numbers he remembered. He handed the piece of paper to Ootake.
"What's wrong then?" asked Ootake, glancing at the numbers. They looked about right, though some of the numbers were much lower than his predictions.
The boy laughed once. "I don't know how accurate these numbers will be. They're the stock prices...for more than a month from now."
"What?" exclaimed Ootake as he sat up sharply in his chair.
Masahiro frowned. "Who knows what will happen from now until then? Those stock prices aren't guaranteed."
"No, no, that's not what was on my mind," said Ootake. "Masahiro, have you ever seen a month into the future before this?"
The blond sat back in his chair. Ootake had caught on to his worry right off the bat. Ootake knew him better than he thought. "No...I haven't. This is a first," said Masahiro quietly. He waved his hand in the air. "It's nothing to worry about though. Here, let me try again."
Despite Ootake's worries about the boy, he extended his hand and let Masahiro read his future again. This time, Masahiro was able to see the stock prices for the next day without any problems.
Perhaps it had only been another fluke.
-----
When Ootake was putting on his shoes to leave, he noticed a photograph laying haphazardly on the tall table in the hallway. He picked the photograph up and was greeted by the sight of a tall blond girl carrying a huge stack of papers. She was not at all looking at where she was going. The uniform she wore was from Masahiro's high school.
"Hm, what's this?" asked Ootake amusedly. "A photograph of your girlfriend?"
Masahiro scowled as he snatched the photograph away from Ootake. "You jump to conclusions too quickly. She's a good friend." His expression softened as he gazed at Kaichou. She really needed to lighten her responsibilities.
"Was she why you were spending time at your old school yesterday?" continued Ootake relentlessly.
That, Masahiro couldn't deny. The thought of having finally told Kaichou about his power still elated him. He had no need to hide anymore.
"I told her about my power," blurted Masahiro. "I think she's going to be all right with it," rushed Masahiro. He blanched right afterwards. That hadn't been what he was going to say to Ootake! What had possessed him?
Ootake, if he was shocked by Masahiro's words, showed no inkling of his surprise. He chuckled and ruffled Masahiro's hair.
"You're doing fine," he murmured. "I hope to meet her soon!"
Masahiro scowled as he tried to smooth back his hair. When Ootake finally left, Masahiro made his way back to his room. This time, he made sure to stick the photograph in his wallet instead of leaving it lying around.
-----
to be continued
Next chapter: news; letter