思い出 ||Memories|| One.
Title: 思い出 ||Memories||
Chapter: One
Genre: Romance, Angst
Main Pairing: Reita x Ruki
Rating: PG-13
Warning: None for now
Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, just the idea of the story
Summary: A young Takanori is left heart-broken and alone until he mets a cold-hearted stranger who helps him many times. While the two bond together and seem to fall in love, Takanori continuously forgets things and gets lost in his own neighborhood and is finally diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The two work hard to overcome the disease and stay together as they hope for a miracle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Chapter One.| Chapter Two.|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One.
THE SKIES CONTINUED to cry unforgiving tears that created flooded street gutters and puddles across sidewalks and boomed loud cries of thunder as if it too were in pain. It had been hours he waited alone, hours waiting and hoping for that change he was promised, hours wasted as his heart was crushed. The train station continued on moving, trains coming and going and people continued on with their lives, not noticing the small lone figure who continued to wait on a bench, passing him by to continue with their daily commutes and travels, some sitting beside him until their train pulled in, leaving his side without as much as a glance in his direction before boarding.
The morning sun had risen high into the midday sky and had fallen deep over the mountaintops in the east, taking the warmth with it. The lights at the station had come on hours ago, the number of people who came and went dissipated as it grew later, and later, and later, until there was no one. No trains. No hope.
“Sir, the stations closing up, if you want you can sleep in the lobby tonight, but the docks are closing,” a sweet and calm female voice broke the silence as a small hand rested on his shoulder, “Sir, shall I fetch you a blanket?”
Dry eyes slowly blinked and a stiff neck turned towards the female, their eyes locking before his closed and he turned away. The small man faced forward and grabbed his jacket and held it to his stomach and grabbed his bag as he quickly stood and held the bag over his shoulder. His head dropped as he walked around the bench and into the lobby, ignoring the female asking what he was doing and where he was going, and if he were to answer, he would honestly have no answer. He didn’t know. The train ticket he held in his hand under the jacket crinkled as he squeezed it before dropping it, letting it blow away in the cool night breeze along with his dream and his hope.
The rain continued to pour, unstopping and unforgiving, soaking everything and anything in its path. Wind blew harshly; taking up anything light enough that the rain hadn’t soaked down yet, pushing it up into the air only to be forced back to the ground by the pounding rain. The small man from the train station, now wearing the jacket with his hands shoved in the pockets, head down, and bag strap barely holding onto a thin shoulder, walked quickly through the streets blindly. Almost all stores were closed now, the time was unknown but probably guessed into the wee hours of the morning, and he just kept walking in a familiar city, looking for a 24 hour Quick-E Mart to stop in, even for a few minutes.
His desperate search came to a halt as soon as he turned the corner and blue lights blinded him. Takanori didn’t need to think twice before almost running up the stairs and opening the door, a loud gasp left his lips as he was hit with warm air. Russet eyes looked around and saw no one aside from the young woman sitting at the register reading a magazine and chewing loudly on bubble gum.
His shoes squeaked loudly and sounded over the soft music playing in the background as he headed towards the coffee section in the far back corner of the store. Plush lips trembled from the cold chills that rocked his body every few seconds, his shivering was never ending, but he sighed in relief as the welcoming smell of hot coffee greeted his nostrils although he had no intention on getting a cup of coffee.
The blonde took his hands from his pockets and held them in front of his lips, ignoring the dinging of the door’s bell, blowing on them as he rubbed them together and just a few minutes later a warm cup of hot chocolate filled them. The small man eagerly sipped at the warm drink and as he lowered the cup, his eyes met those of another man who was also at the coffee stand, just on the opposite side of himself. Fawn eyes intently watched the younger and smaller soaked body before russet eyes looked down and the smaller headed towards the counter to pay for his drink.
The young woman at the register paused her reading and set the magazine aside as she eyed the small man, judging him as she keyed in the small drink. The total was given and Takanori turned his bag onto his hip and fished quickly for his wallet and handed her a few bills, “Keep the change,” he mumbled under his breath before walking out of the store.
Sore legs hopped down the stairs as eyes peered from under wet bangs and a pleasant sight caught his attention, a bus across the street had just stopped for its first trip of the day. Takanori quickly ran across the street and boarded the bus and looked to the bus driver who looked tired. Again, he turned his bag to his hip and fished for his wallet, once, twice, and a third time before giving an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, I just had it…” a weak voice stated as he turned the bag more and searched deeper, coming up empty handed once more, “I’m sorry… I think I left it…” and without a second thought he backed off the bus and ran back across the street, glad the rain was easing up for the first time since yesterday afternoon. Small feet stomped up the steps and cold fingers grabbed the handle and he yelped slightly when the door pushed open and he almost ran face-first into a chest.
Nervous eyes looked up and met calm, yet amused fawn and a small frown appeared on plush lips as he saw the smirk on the others. The man stayed in the door way and held a drink with his half-gloved fingers in front of the smaller man’s face and seemed to refuse to move until Takanori took the drink into both his own smaller hands. The two men’s gaze held strong until russet eyes closed as the smaller drank the offered drink and then continued just as strong as he finished the drink. The elder man looked pleased as Takanori handed the cup back and pushed his way past the fawn-eyed man into the Quick-E Mart and a soft chuckled escaped his lips as he noticed the small cup was empty.
“You must’ve been in a hurry,” the woman said smirking as she held the leather wallet between her middle and index finger, not once looking up from her magazine.
“Sorry…” he muttered as he grabbed his wallet and just before he turned around a hand was on his shoulder and then pointed to the cup of hot chocolate he left behind, “Thanks…” And without another word he was back outside and took a drink as he looked across the street, frowning instantly when there was no bus waiting at the bus stop.
Dinner was quiet and an awkward tension filled the air in the lightly hued home as a family of four sat around a table, each sitting respectively on their own pillow, eating the meal the mother of the family had cooked. A man whose face was full of stress wrinkles and thick hair that held no signs of a receding hair line frowned as he ate out of his bowl with his wooden chopsticks, eyes narrowed and watching his son across the table who sat quietly next to his elder sister who earnestly continued to try and start a conversation between her family.
Even when she did, she avoided the subject of the morning earlier of this night, not wanting to stir up unwanted trouble. It was enough of a shock to see the small man standing at the front door, drenched in freezing rainwater with pale skin and bluish lips. She had much of a fright when she noticed who the young man was and quickly rushed him inside without a second thought and pulled him to the bathroom, ignoring her mother’s questions of who was at the door. He was supposed to be gone, long gone, far out of Kyoto, and away to Sendai where he had bought three days worth of travel train tickets to, and not alone, he was not supposed to be alone. This had confused Takanori’s sweet sister whose questions were only trying to know what happened and why his plans had suddenly changed, and every question was met with dull eyes and no reply.
It was only a few minutes of their mother knocking on the bathroom door until their father came down and picked the lock. The anger on his face at the time was evident, but there was also relief until he spun around and slammed the door shut. Ever since that event earlier in the day, no one really talked to anyone in the small family.
Takanori continued to keep his eyes focused on his meal, ignoring the burning glare of his father and the loving glances of his mother. He had nothing to say. All his plans were ruined the previous day. His hopes of leaving were gone, his dreams of living with the one he loves- now loved- were gone, and his future away and in a new place was gone. Everything he had planned, behind his parent’s back, were ruined and he had nowhere else to go but back home, and even here he felt unwelcome, just as he had the week leading up to yesterday after he had finally announced his departure.
After a small bite of his chicken, the small blonde set his hand down beside his plate and let the chopsticks roll from his grasp. His body temperature flared up and before he knew it, he was on his feet running to the bathroom, his mother and sister in tow. He emptied his stomach violently, tears rolled down his cheeks as he finished and leaned against the bathtub and just cried. He cried as his sister moved from her frozen spot beside their mother at the door, cried as she slowly sat down beside her, and cried on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. His sobs grew louder and more pain filled as he cried his heart out, crying for everything he had lost in one day. He had tried to be strong, not once did he cry on his walk away from the train station, not once did he cry in the rain after the Quick-E Mart, and not once did he cry as he walked up the familiar path to his front steps, but yet, here he was now, crying in his sister’s comforting hold, clinging to her like a child would their mother.
It was heartbreaking for both his mother and elder sister to see him so distraught and not knowing what happened or how to help. Eventually the tears stopped and all that was left were swollen red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Both women excused themselves and shut the door behind them allowing Takanori some time to himself.
The tired teen leaned his hands on the counter and looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was dry and oily from the rainwater that he had yet to wash away and his face, in his eyes, was ugly. His cheeks and eyes were red and swollen, and his eyes held the pain of remembering, remembering what he wished he could forget.
It was half an hour later, after he had washed his face and brushed his teeth, did he retire to his room. The blonde was shocked when he turned the light on and saw his father sitting on his clean bed with his arms crossed, waiting for him to come in. “Takanori, I don’t know where to start,” the elder man said softly, raising a hand to rub at his eyes.
The teen said nothing and only looked down as he quietly shut his door and allowed his sock covered feet to lead him to the empty desk chair. He sat down with a deep breath leaving his plush lips and let his head hang. Normally he would know what to expect when his father had talks with him; however, he had no idea of what was going to happen.
“Last week you told us you were leaving, emptied you bank account, dropped out of school, and told us you were leaving with some guy we haven’t met. Takanori, I am- I was disappointed in you. We treated you so well, we did everything for you. You dyed your hair blonde, we said nothing. You stopped your advanced classes and switched to art, we did nothing. And then you told us you were gay, and even in your fear, we did not kick you out and disown you. But then you just tell us you’re leaving; it hurt your mother and myself Takanori. What wrong did we do to you?” His father asked quietly, his voice growing more desperate as he searched for answers and sighed when his son remained silent. “You didn’t tell us when you were leaving, yesterday morning your mother walked into your room and everything was clean- your clothes were gone, but you didn’t leave a note? You couldn’t tell us were you were going? You couldn’t even let us meet this man you would drop your family for? Takanori, please understand me from my perspective. We love you, and you treat us like garbage! What more do you want from your mother and me? Just tell me now! I’m tired of this guessing ga-
“Forgiveness…” the blonde answered before he stood up and moved in front of his father. It was a few seconds of silence before Takanori lowered himself into a bow on the floor, allowing his nose to brush against the tatami mat, “Please Father… Forgive me for all I have done… Allow me one more chance to prove to you I am worth the Matsumoto name, I promise I will not tarnish it anymore than I have already done so… Forgive me…”
One week had turned into two, and Takanori found himself sitting in the passenger seat of his father’s car. Things had changed in the Matsumoto house that night he came home, mostly the fact that Takanori had come down with a cold from being in the rain for hours on end made his bond with his mother and sister stronger as they helped him fight the cold and as he helped them around the house. Takanori had spoken on and off with his father about starting school up again, to which his father agreed, and that was how he found himself in the new Nissan Altima, the newest edition to his father’s large car collection. The radio remained off as his father concentrated on the road and russet eyes looked at the scenery in which a few weeks ago, he had almost hoped to never see again.
When the car strayed from the path to the school Takanori was to enroll in, his head perked up from its resting place on the young man’s palm, and his eyes searched the area. The car continued down an odd road that grew smaller the further away from the highway they drove until it turned into a gravel road that lead to a large warehouse. The elder man stopped the car in front of the warehouse’s main door and put the car in park before looking to his son, “Would you like to come in?”
A shake of the head was his answer and Mr. Matsumoto shrugged his shoulders before leaving the car. The man looked odd as he walked into the warehouse dressed in an expensive business suit while everyone else was in dirty jeans and ripped shirts. The sounds of drills and machines echoed in the large warehouse and Mr. Matsumoto smiled as he fixed his suit jacket when an equally elder man walked up to him. “Mr. Matsumoto, I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
“You know I like to pop in now and again to check on my future baby,” the man grinned shaking a hand offered to him. “Now, how is she?”
The elder car mechanic smiled as he patted the slightly shorter man’s back, “Kenji, you know she is in great hands… I have my newest boy working on her right now- and before you say anything, I’ve done a background check on this lad and he came up clean. The only thing I could find on him was amazing reviews on his mechanic skills and boy does he work fast. You are the first customer’s car he’s worked on, but you know I would never put your car in the hands of someone I don’t trust.”
“And I trust your judgment,” Kenji replied as they walked further into the warehouse, carefully stepping to not trip on any wires or step in any oil puddles not yet cleaned up. Almost thirty different cares were being worked on at once, some on the ground with their hoods raised, engines missing, some in the painting section with high powered fans constantly blowing the toxic fumes away, some were in the air on the lifts with bodies working underneath. The two men came to a stop in front of a Porsche Boxster S and Kenji smiled at his car as he walked up to it eyeing the custom interior coloring and patterns, although the red cloth didn’t differ much from the original color, just a change in fabric. “What a beauty…”
“Thank you,” a new voice spooked the elder Matsumoto and he looked up to where a blonde man stood at the hood, wiping his sweaty forehead with his wrist since his hands were hidden in thick leather gloves. “She’s been tough to work on with all these new technical engine parts, but she’s coming out wonderfully. The interior was a bitch to change out and place in properly- pardon my language, but I think she’s a work of art in the making…”
“You talk as if you’ve worked longer than you’ve lived…” Kenji replied watching the young man as his torso disappeared behind the hood of the car and the sound of a wrench could be heard.
“I grew up working on cars, much simpler than these newer ones, but nothing I can’t handle,” he snorted tossing a bolt behind him before standing back up and shutting the hood. “Alright, that should do it,” the fawn eyed man smiled and Kenji watched him as he moved to the drivers door and got it. The key was already in the ignition and only waited for someone to turn it to make the car come to life, and that was just what the mechanic did and a loud roar tore through the working noise and echoed off the walls, earning a few cheers and hollers from fellow mechanics. The young man pressed on the gas a few more times, watching the RPM and other gauges on the dashboard before turning the car off and getting out. “I’m off to lunch, I’ll change the tires when I get back.” He said to the elder mechanic who was conversing with another employee.
Kenji watched the mohawked man walk off and turned to his friend, “Who is that?”
“Suzuki Akira, 25 years old and has the ego of Julius Caesar, but he is a great mechanic.”
Takanori was playing on his iPhone, thumbing through music when a figure caught his eye outside of the car. A man in baggy cargo pants, leather boots, and a wife beater was walking out of the warehouse and towards the car, pulling out a cigarette and placing it between thin lips. Russet eyes narrowed as he looked at the facial features of the man and fawn eyes briefly glanced towards his direction, but did not seem to notice the small figure in the car, and he continued walking past. Takanori turned in his seat, watching the retreating figure with interest because he recognized that man. It was the man from two weeks before, the one from the store who had given him his drink… Come to think of it, Takanori frowned; maybe he didn’t truly offer it. Maybe he was holding it and was about to move Takanori to the side, and the younger blonde had taken it the wrong way. A blush crept its way onto the teen’s cheeks and a hand covered his mouth, should he apologize to a man who might not even remember him?
The small man was stirred from his thoughts when the driver’s door opened and his father got into the car, “Sorry about that Takanori, had some business to attend to. Alright, let’s get you to that art school…”
His classes weren’t as interesting as he wished they were, in fact, they were probably the most boring classes about art he had ever taken. Sure when he was in High School art history seemed interesting, but now that he was in a pure art school and actually had to take an art history class, Takanori just wanted to sleep while his professor lectured on and on about famous English Renaissance artists. There was no limit to how many rats asses he didn’t give for this class, and he made sure his professor knew how little he thought of this class. Takanori wanted to draw and learn how to think of things differently when he drew and painted, not learn about some dead artists who have no impact on his life today.
The small blonde groaned as he paused himself at the corner of a street using one leg to hold him up while his other foot remained on the pedal to his blue bike. Another thing, if he had a list to complain from about his school, was that it was almost on the other side of Kyoto and he had no car. The teen had to get up almost two hours before school just so he could get there on time, and that was an over-estimation of the ride, not including how long it took him to get ready, and there was only one thing he was thankful and it is the fact that his earliest class is at noon, so he couldn’t complain too much about the long commute. Takanori had no idea what he would’ve done had the class been at an earlier time such as 8 in the morning since his latest class is at 6pm; he would have no time to himself or to eat or to sleep.
That being said, a soft smile crept onto the small man’s face as his almond eyes looked both ways across the street just as the orange ‘don’t walk’ sign changed into a white ‘walk’ before kicking off the sidewalk and started pedaling on his way. He felt a cold chill go up and down his spine and the blonde almost thought that his heart stopped when he heard a loud horn of a car. The time he heard the car’s horn and the time it hit him wasn’t the biggest time frame in the world; however, as soon as he heard the horn he tried jumping off his bike and all that did was allow his bike to hit the car’s hood before his own body flipped onto the hood and smashed on the windshield.
His brown leather side backpack flew up and off his shoulder as his sketchbook and textbook dropped somewhere on the street and through the ringing in his ears, Takanori heard gasps and soft screams of shocked and surprised people who had seen the whole incident. The car’s tires screeching sent a loud pain to his head, or maybe it was from when the back of his head hit the windshield of the car. His body rolled off the hood of the car once it came to a full stop and expected to hit the hard pavement of the road, but he was pleasantly surprised when his face landed on a shoulder, although not the softest thing in the world, it was better than pavement. A cough and a large gasp for air caused him to try and pull away from the body that caught him but said body had a different idea and held him close as a rough hand pushed his bangs away from his eyes and forehead.
The car door opened and slammed shut which caused Takanori’s sore eyes to open, although he had thought they were open, and russet eyes met fawn eyes that were scanning over his face until something dripped into his eye causing him to shut it quickly and hiss in pain. “Kid! Kid! Are you okay!?” he heard a man ask with a worried and frantic tone.
All he could do to reply was groan because he hurt and the fawn-eyed man was pushing on his forehead with something soft. “Open your eyes…” a soft voice said and the teen did just that and noticed the fawn-eyed man was holding a, now, bloody cloth.
Sore and thin eyes slowly widened into doe-like as the two stared at each other. Takanori blinked slowly and looked around, watching all the stunned people who were staring at the scene and some were on the phone with more than likely the emergency number. Russet eyes quickly snapped back to the fawn-eyed man as the teen pulled away, this time the strong arms opened and allowed him his freedom, and moaned as his back hit the fender of the car. A small hand went to his head and he hissed in pain again when he let his head drop but two warm and rough hands caught the sides of his face and pulled his head back up.
The driver of the car was on the phone, talking to an operator and answering questions about the accident and Takanori looked around once more, “What happened…” his voice was strained and he cleared his throat and looked right into the fawn eyes that never left the small man’s face.
“You got hit by a car,” fawn eyes narrowed as the older man studied Takanori, “You hit your head on the windshield…”
A soft ‘oh’ left plush lips as Takanori’s eyes glanced away and then to his right where his bike lay broken and bent in the street. Said eyes widened and filled with memory as he rushed to stand up and wobbled when his head grew light. The fawn-eyed man caught the teen that held his head and steadied him, “I have class! I’m going to be late!” Takanori exclaimed, almost acting as if he didn't care about the accident.
A chuckle to his left caused the teen to snap his head and stare at the fawn-eyed man, “You’re seriously more worried about class then you are about getting hit?”
Realization dawned on the smaller and he looked down slowly, “Oh… Right…” Russet eyes slowly looked to his right and focused on the navy blue car that had hit him. A soft frown grew on his face as he looked at the cracked windshield and the dent on the hood where his small body had hit.
The small man ignored everything as the fawn-eyed man walked him over to a bench on the side of the street Takanori had just come from. A soft push on small shoulders forced the young being to sit on the wooden bench and then another body sat beside his own. Takanori watched as the fawn-eyed man pulled out an old flip-phone and dialed a number. The mohawked blonde beside Takanori shifted in his place and ended up resting one arm on his leg as he leaned forward, “Yeah boss, it’s me. No-no… Yeah I’ll finish it by Friday, that's promised. No- I’m calling… Yes, yes… Yes- wait what? Okay, okay! I’m calling cause I’m not sure if I’m coming in to work- let me finish! Yes something like that… No, some kid on a bike got hit by a car… Yeah he’s alive. Yes he seems fine- No I’m not going to leave him. I’ll call you back…” the phone was flipped shut and the fawn eyed man looked to his right at the teen who was slight slouched over with his hands in his lap looking down, “I’m Akira by the way.”
The small blonde nodded in acknowledgement and kept his eyes glued to the ground. Akira sighed and leaned forward with his hands on his knees as he looked up at Takanori, somewhat blocking the small man’s view of the ground that caused said man to slightly jump in shock. “Oh- s-sorry…” Takanori apologized and looked up as Akira sat upright, “I’m Takanori… Thank you for everything you’ve done,” the small blonde said softly and gave a slight bow of his head before meeting fawn colored eyes, “And you are?”
Akira’s head twitched to the side in slight confusion and his dry lips were quickly rewetted by a tongue that slyly returned to the owner’s mouth, “Akira…” he elder repeated leaning on his left elbow that rested on his knee as his right hand sat on his thigh, hadn’t he just told the kid his name? Maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought.
It wasn’t even thirty minutes later until Takanori’s parents arrived at the scene only to find their son sitting on the edge of an ambulance being examined, and next to the small blonde was a taller blonde talking to the police with his arms crossed across his black tank-top covered chest, giving a statement of what happened. A strange woman walked up to Takanori as the paramedic tilted his head up and pushed softly on his chin and she held up his sketchbook and textbook. The paramedic paused his examination when Takanori looked down and thanked the woman taking the items into his hands.
Akira’s fawn eyes looked over to the small man beside him and nudged his shoulder, “You in art school? That what you didn’t wanna miss so badly?” A soft nod was his reply and the elder looked away, yet another conversation attempted and failed. The elder blonde wanted to try and get the kid to talk but the younger wouldn’t reply much to anything no matter what kind of questions he asked, although if he had to say so, he got more of a reaction from the kid than the paramedics did.
Kenji made his way up to his son and grabbed the boy’s chin and turned his head from side to side before releasing a deep sigh and dropping his hands before pulling the young man into his arms in a deep embrace. The elder Matsumoto pulled away but kept his hands on his son’s shoulders as his mother stood behind her husband with a hand covering her mouth as tears streaked down her cheeks, “When we got that call we thought the worst… Takanori, don’t you ever frighten us like that again. Ever. We just got you back…”
The small blonde nodded and looked down as his father spoke to the paramedic and russet eyes quickly looked up at Akira stood up to leave. “It was nice meeting you kid,” Akira said before walking off.
With an unknown reason to Takanori, the small man got up and pushed pashed his parents and followed the fawn eyed man and paused instantly after he grabbed the man’s upper arm causing said man to stop and look behind him only to discover the small frozen blonde. Akira raised a fine eyebrow and turned fully to face Takanori who dropped his arm to his side as his head hung, bangs hiding his eyes, “What’s up?”
Russet eyes shyly looked up and met bored but calculating fawn, “Thank you…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Chapter One.| Chapter Two.|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N:
This is a new story for me. Kinda personal, kinda inspired by a movie, but still a wonderful idea I am glad I started. This is also my new journal, some of you may or may not have known my old journal (12thgrave), but I am starting new with everything. I cannot promise quick updates but I do hope that this story will come to me fast and write beautifully. This chapter itself was 5,353 words and 9 pages with point-10 Times font, so I am very proud of myself.
Memories might start out slow (I am not sure yet) but do know the whole story connects and there will be suttle things I wish for you to keep your eye out for. :) Comments are loved, just so I know someone is reading this, even just a smiley face with no words will do for me.
As always...
.alexaTaylor.