[FANFIC] [NnO] 100 Days (026 - 030)
Fandom: Nabari no Ou
Title: 100 Days
Author: nyanja14 (aka: Miss Fish, the_myrah)
Summary: CANDLE, SMALL TALK, SUNLIGHT, SUSHI, ANNIVERSARY
Word Count: 1333
Rating: Teen, to be safe.
Warnings: character death, abuse, general angst, and boys having crushes on other boys
026: CANDLE
The apartment lights flickered a moment, then went out. The computer also shut down with a harsh snap.
"Agh, dammit!" Yukimi banged his palm on the desk, then rolled back in his chair. "That better have auto-saved!"
Yoite watched as Yukimi prowled across the living room, stepping deftly over the piles of junk scattered about, until he reached the kitchen.
"I know I have candles in here somewhere..." Yoite listened to Yukimi's clattering as he fanned out his fingers in front of his face. He could barely find the outlines of his hand; all he could see was a smudge, a sort of haze, where he thought his body ended. In the dark, the boundaries separating Yoite from everything else blurred and dissipated until he wasn't even sure if he was still there.
To Yoite, darkness was not quite comforting but it was close.
"Ha! Found one." Yukimi emerged from the kitchen and strode over to where Yoite was sitting. He shoved a stack of magazines and mail out of the way with one foot, then seated himself beside Yoite. Yoite heard a shuffle of papers, and then a click.
The flame flared a moment before settling into a soft glow. Yukimi set the candle down between them, then propped a notebook up against his knees and started writing furiously. "The editor is going to slaughter me if this isn't done by tomorrow," he muttered around the pen cap he had clench between his teeth. "Don't ever become a writer; the pay sucks and the deadlines suck even more."
"Wasn't planning on it."
Yoite watched Yukimi for a bit, then looked to the candle slowly dripping wax on the floor. He knew that if he was any good with words he could get some sort of symbol out of it-- something about candles melting themselves shorter and shorter until they finally burnt out-- but instead he just stared into the light until the dark was no more.
027: SMALL TALK
Yoite was resting on a bench when the dog came bounding up to him. It pressed it's dark nose into Yoite's left knee and he let it, not sure what else to do.
"Taro! You leave him alone!" A woman, slightly out of breath appeared and snatched the dog's leash off the ground. "I'm sorry," she panted, dipping her head in a quick bow. "He got away from me."
Yoite didn't reply immediately. He had never been good at handling strangers. "It's fine," he said finally. He looked to the dog, sitting docilely with its mouth hanging open in a lazy grin. "I don't mind."
The lady sighed and collapsed onto the bench. "I need to catch my breath." She waved a hand at the dog. "You can pet him if you want. Taro doesn't bite."
Yoite didn't want to pet the dog. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't figure out how to do so without coming off as rude. The dog was sniffing his shoes with great interest and Yoite leaned away carefully.
"Really, it's okay!" The woman directed a bright smile at him, cheeks a little less flushed. "Taro's nice, just kind of enthusiastic. Or do you not like dogs?"
Yoite didn't know a lot about dogs really, The only other dog he'd seen up close before was the large, fluffy one he'd met at Raikou's surface job. Luckily, he was saved from having to comment by Miharu's appearance.
"I got coffee," he announced, sitting between Yoite and the woman. He handed a cup over to Yoite and sipped from his. "And I got directions to the bus station."
"Where are you boys headed?"
Miharu smiled and starting telling some lie about an uncle that lived in Kyoto. Yoite reached down to scratch the dog's ears, glad that at least one of them could handle small talk.
028: SUNLIGHT
They were leaning against a tree in the park because the bus would not come for another two hours. Miharu had said that they might as well be comfortable while they waited so they wound up tucked under the shade of the tree, the weak year-end sun filtering through the leafless holes of the branches, with their legs stretched out in front of them and eyelids heavy from a long day of traveling. Just waiting. Logically, Yoite knew that every moment he spent keeping still was a moment wasted; he could feel his ki trickling away, drop after drop like water dripping from a faucet.
But sitting here like this with a weak sunbeam settled against his temple and Miharu just inches away didn't seem like a waste at all.
Another leaf slipped from the tree and landed on Miharu's arm. He brushed it off idly. "This is nice."
Yoite didn't really know what this was or what it meant, but it was nice. So he nodded, too sleepy to think of anything to say.
"We should take a nap." Miharu slumped down the tree's trunk a little further, then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I can set an alarm. The ringtone Yukimi-san put on is really annoying, so it should definitely wake us up."
Yoite nodded again, head tilting to one side to rest on his shoulder. He closed his eyes as Miharu pressed some buttons, the phone responding with soft chirps Yoite could barely hear. "We can just stay here a while," he murmured, setting the phone aside and scooting over a bit to lean lightly against Yoite. Yoite let him, thinking that it would be nice to stay here a very long time--if only they could.
029: SUSHI
It was a slow process. He first noticed when he started to chew a sushi roll Kazuho had brought over and realized it didn't taste quite right. He knew it wasn't the sushi-- Kazuho's sushi was always very good and her husband's was even better.
Yoite chewed it slowly before swallowing. It tasted... he didn't know. Like rice maybe, but nothing else.
Yukimi was watching the television, so Yoite stole a piece with extra wasabi off his plate. He ate the sushi, one hand clenched in a fist at his side. He could taste the wasabi, but it didn't make his face pinch like wasabi usually did.
His hearing had been first. That started going out about a month ago. And now, his taste.
Yoite pushed his unfinished plate aside. He should be excited about this. He was disappearing, just like Hattori had promised. But instead...
"You're done? Already?"
Yoite looked up at Yukimi standing over him, empty beer can in one hand and dirty plate in the other.
"Yeah."
"You sure?" Yukimi leaned over to grab Yoite's plate, stacking it atop his. "You're not getting sick again are you?"
"I'm not." He drew his knees up to his chin, arms wrapped around his legs. He felt tired, but he always felt tired now. Yukimi looked skeptical, but he didn't push it--just disappeared into the kitchen. Yoite could hear him running the water in the sink, the dishes clacking together. He listened to everything, because he didn't know how much longer he could.
030: ANNIVERSARY
He isn't sure, but Yoite thinks that today it has been exactly two years since that night. So when he is changing clothes in the bathroom that morning, he stops to stretch his neck out in front of the mirror and touch his throat. He keeps his eyes on the scar, just the scar, and traces it from one end to the other. It's been a long time since he last looked at it, a long time since he used a mirror at all, but it looks lighter. It definitely isn't the same red rip he saw when he first removed the bandages at the hospital.
He isn't sure what he thinks about this so he closes his eyes, leans away from the sink, and puts on his sweater and then his coat.
If his wish comes true, then this might be the last time he sees the scar.
~~FANFICTION MASTERLIST~~
Title: 100 Days
Author: nyanja14 (aka: Miss Fish, the_myrah)
Summary: CANDLE, SMALL TALK, SUNLIGHT, SUSHI, ANNIVERSARY
Word Count: 1333
Rating: Teen, to be safe.
Warnings: character death, abuse, general angst, and boys having crushes on other boys
026: CANDLE
The apartment lights flickered a moment, then went out. The computer also shut down with a harsh snap.
"Agh, dammit!" Yukimi banged his palm on the desk, then rolled back in his chair. "That better have auto-saved!"
Yoite watched as Yukimi prowled across the living room, stepping deftly over the piles of junk scattered about, until he reached the kitchen.
"I know I have candles in here somewhere..." Yoite listened to Yukimi's clattering as he fanned out his fingers in front of his face. He could barely find the outlines of his hand; all he could see was a smudge, a sort of haze, where he thought his body ended. In the dark, the boundaries separating Yoite from everything else blurred and dissipated until he wasn't even sure if he was still there.
To Yoite, darkness was not quite comforting but it was close.
"Ha! Found one." Yukimi emerged from the kitchen and strode over to where Yoite was sitting. He shoved a stack of magazines and mail out of the way with one foot, then seated himself beside Yoite. Yoite heard a shuffle of papers, and then a click.
The flame flared a moment before settling into a soft glow. Yukimi set the candle down between them, then propped a notebook up against his knees and started writing furiously. "The editor is going to slaughter me if this isn't done by tomorrow," he muttered around the pen cap he had clench between his teeth. "Don't ever become a writer; the pay sucks and the deadlines suck even more."
"Wasn't planning on it."
Yoite watched Yukimi for a bit, then looked to the candle slowly dripping wax on the floor. He knew that if he was any good with words he could get some sort of symbol out of it-- something about candles melting themselves shorter and shorter until they finally burnt out-- but instead he just stared into the light until the dark was no more.
027: SMALL TALK
Yoite was resting on a bench when the dog came bounding up to him. It pressed it's dark nose into Yoite's left knee and he let it, not sure what else to do.
"Taro! You leave him alone!" A woman, slightly out of breath appeared and snatched the dog's leash off the ground. "I'm sorry," she panted, dipping her head in a quick bow. "He got away from me."
Yoite didn't reply immediately. He had never been good at handling strangers. "It's fine," he said finally. He looked to the dog, sitting docilely with its mouth hanging open in a lazy grin. "I don't mind."
The lady sighed and collapsed onto the bench. "I need to catch my breath." She waved a hand at the dog. "You can pet him if you want. Taro doesn't bite."
Yoite didn't want to pet the dog. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't figure out how to do so without coming off as rude. The dog was sniffing his shoes with great interest and Yoite leaned away carefully.
"Really, it's okay!" The woman directed a bright smile at him, cheeks a little less flushed. "Taro's nice, just kind of enthusiastic. Or do you not like dogs?"
Yoite didn't know a lot about dogs really, The only other dog he'd seen up close before was the large, fluffy one he'd met at Raikou's surface job. Luckily, he was saved from having to comment by Miharu's appearance.
"I got coffee," he announced, sitting between Yoite and the woman. He handed a cup over to Yoite and sipped from his. "And I got directions to the bus station."
"Where are you boys headed?"
Miharu smiled and starting telling some lie about an uncle that lived in Kyoto. Yoite reached down to scratch the dog's ears, glad that at least one of them could handle small talk.
028: SUNLIGHT
They were leaning against a tree in the park because the bus would not come for another two hours. Miharu had said that they might as well be comfortable while they waited so they wound up tucked under the shade of the tree, the weak year-end sun filtering through the leafless holes of the branches, with their legs stretched out in front of them and eyelids heavy from a long day of traveling. Just waiting. Logically, Yoite knew that every moment he spent keeping still was a moment wasted; he could feel his ki trickling away, drop after drop like water dripping from a faucet.
But sitting here like this with a weak sunbeam settled against his temple and Miharu just inches away didn't seem like a waste at all.
Another leaf slipped from the tree and landed on Miharu's arm. He brushed it off idly. "This is nice."
Yoite didn't really know what this was or what it meant, but it was nice. So he nodded, too sleepy to think of anything to say.
"We should take a nap." Miharu slumped down the tree's trunk a little further, then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I can set an alarm. The ringtone Yukimi-san put on is really annoying, so it should definitely wake us up."
Yoite nodded again, head tilting to one side to rest on his shoulder. He closed his eyes as Miharu pressed some buttons, the phone responding with soft chirps Yoite could barely hear. "We can just stay here a while," he murmured, setting the phone aside and scooting over a bit to lean lightly against Yoite. Yoite let him, thinking that it would be nice to stay here a very long time--if only they could.
029: SUSHI
It was a slow process. He first noticed when he started to chew a sushi roll Kazuho had brought over and realized it didn't taste quite right. He knew it wasn't the sushi-- Kazuho's sushi was always very good and her husband's was even better.
Yoite chewed it slowly before swallowing. It tasted... he didn't know. Like rice maybe, but nothing else.
Yukimi was watching the television, so Yoite stole a piece with extra wasabi off his plate. He ate the sushi, one hand clenched in a fist at his side. He could taste the wasabi, but it didn't make his face pinch like wasabi usually did.
His hearing had been first. That started going out about a month ago. And now, his taste.
Yoite pushed his unfinished plate aside. He should be excited about this. He was disappearing, just like Hattori had promised. But instead...
"You're done? Already?"
Yoite looked up at Yukimi standing over him, empty beer can in one hand and dirty plate in the other.
"Yeah."
"You sure?" Yukimi leaned over to grab Yoite's plate, stacking it atop his. "You're not getting sick again are you?"
"I'm not." He drew his knees up to his chin, arms wrapped around his legs. He felt tired, but he always felt tired now. Yukimi looked skeptical, but he didn't push it--just disappeared into the kitchen. Yoite could hear him running the water in the sink, the dishes clacking together. He listened to everything, because he didn't know how much longer he could.
030: ANNIVERSARY
He isn't sure, but Yoite thinks that today it has been exactly two years since that night. So when he is changing clothes in the bathroom that morning, he stops to stretch his neck out in front of the mirror and touch his throat. He keeps his eyes on the scar, just the scar, and traces it from one end to the other. It's been a long time since he last looked at it, a long time since he used a mirror at all, but it looks lighter. It definitely isn't the same red rip he saw when he first removed the bandages at the hospital.
He isn't sure what he thinks about this so he closes his eyes, leans away from the sink, and puts on his sweater and then his coat.
If his wish comes true, then this might be the last time he sees the scar.
~~FANFICTION MASTERLIST~~