[NwP] Twenty Minutes
Dec. 21st, 2007 01:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesTitle: Twenty Minutes
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
walkwithheroes
Fandom: Nobuta wo Produce
Claim: Kusano Akira and Kotani 'Nobuta' Nobuko
Prompt: Blue Set: 02.Sake Of Love
Type: Fanfic
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,526
Warnings/Spoilers: No spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Nobuta wo Produce or the characters of Akira and Nobuta.
Summary: The guilt of being late, haunts Akira.
He's late and he knows it. It can't be helped though. And, if anyone will understand, it's Nobuta. So, he runs and runs. Turning a corner, he finds himself in that old familiar park.
It's winter again and a fresh blanket of snow covers the playground, the swings. . . everything. It's a winter wonderland, and Akira makes a mental note to drag Nobuta to the park later.
*
Akira's never been to Nobuta's apartment, and he's more than a little scared of running into her mother or stepfather. If they asked, who would he say he is: their daughter's friend. . . who would have like to date her a year ago? Somehow, Akira's sure that wouldn't fly with the adults.
Deciding to ignore the idea of parents, Akira hops and skips the last few feet to Nobuta's apartment building.
He makes it half way up the stairs to the apartment, before noticing Nobuta's familiar scarf laying on the ground. With a shake of his head, Akira smiles fondly before picking it up. She must have dropped it earlier in the day, he thinks.
He hops of the remaining steps, and stops short upon seeing an unusual sight. Nobuta is. . . she's laying on her side, on the cold ground. It looks like she . . .
“Nobuta,” Akira tries to keep his voice light. “did you fall down?”
Swallowing hard, Akira moves closer to Nobuta. She's not. . .
“N-Nobuta?”
Before his brain tells him what's happening, Akira is beside Nobuta, turning her limp body over.
“Nobuta?”
Her face is covered with snow, but somehow Nobuta looks peaceful, not at all scared or alone. When he leans against her face, there is no breath, despite the fact that she looks as if she is sleeping peacefully.
He shakes her gently, tears begin to form in his warm eyes, as he chokes out: “Wake up. Just breathe, Nobuta. Please. Pretty Nobuta! Just take one tiny breath.” His hands move to her cold face, and he finds himself desperately touching her; desperately trying to give her warmth.
Akira isn't sure how much time has passed, but after what could be minutes or hours, he finally reaches into his pocket for his cellphone.
When the voice on the other end asks what the emergency is, all Akira can think to say is:
“A pretty girl is dead.”
*
It was her heart.
It just gave out.
According to the doctor's report, the problem had been there for years, but no one had ever noticed it. Or if they did, they didn't see it as a threat. So, Nobuta had gone on for seventeen years completely unaware that there was a ticking time bomb in her chest.
Akira played it over and over again in his head. She must have been heading back to her apartment after a long day at her part-time job. The scarf would have fallen off, or perhaps she had even taken it off when her heart had started acting up. Heading toward her door, Nobuta would have been trying to call someone for help. Why hadn't she tried her cellphone?
No, why hadn't Akira been there earlier? Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes. . . an extra minute could have saved her life. He could have called for help or carried her on his back to the nearest hospital.
Her last words to him: “I'll see you soon.” rang through his mind for the entire week after Nobuta's sudden death. She had been excited to see him; she had been waiting for him.
And he. . . he had been. . . late.
“I would have given her my heart.” He tells Shuji in a whisper one late night months after Nobuta's become nothing more than ash.
Protectively, Shuji puts an arm around Akira's thin (he's gotten oh so thin these last few months) shoulder. “I know. I know. She knew too.”
*
They are sitting on the ground that old park, each trying to make crowns and jewelery out of things that shouldn't be made into crowns and jewelery.
“Sorry, that I couldn't make it that day.” Nobuta tells him with a sad look in her eyes.
“Sorry, that I was late.” Akira whispers, more to himself than to her. “I would have given my heart to you.” Nobuta nods sharply, understandingly. “I. . . it's a good heart.”
“I know. You loved me with it.”
“Love.” Akira corrects sharply. “I love you.”
When he turns to look at her, Akira sees a Nobuta whose hair is out of her face. He hadn't noticed before, but now that he thinks about she is also no longer stuttering. Her school uniform seems to be fitted perfectly to her body and she. . . she's smiling at him. It's a real smile, slightly sad and regretful, but a smile none the less.
“Nobuta. . .”
She stays smiling at him, a strange and magic wisdom in her eyes. “It's all right.” She sounds frank, like she has all the knowledge in the universe. “Nobuta Power.”
Akira's lips tug up into a goofy grin. He touches the tip of Nobuta's nose with his index finger and lets out a small, “Beep.” With a laugh, Akira finds himself suddenly feeling comfortable and at home. He glances down at his half formed crown. “I used to make these, but I've forgotten how.”
She nods slowly, before glancing down at her own creation. “I think they're nice. Your crown is nice.”
“Liar.” Akira can't help but chuckle low under his breath. “Nobuta shouldn't lie.” He pouts playfully. “Hey Nobuta, your scarf. . . ”
“I was holding it.” she answers simply. “It must have blown away in the wind.”
Akira is silent for a long moment, before: “H-how long were you alone?”
She doesn't look at him, but Akira's sure Nobuta wants to cry. “Twenty minutes.” She doesn't speak for a long time. “I'm sorry. . . for leaving you and Shuji.”
“Shuji's all right.”
Nobuta looks at him through the corner of her right eye. “You're not.” Nobuta passes for a moment before going on, “AKIRA. . . I'm. . .”
It's his turn to nod knowingly. “A beautiful person has died. Nobuta's dead.” He turns to look at her fully, but she doesn't seem interested in looking him in the eye. “You're dead. Akira understands that, but he can't live with it. Nobuta should be alive.”
She looks over to him at that moment, a sad sort of smile playing over her lips. An even sadder smile is in her eyes. “Nobuta would have. . .” tears are forming in her eyes, but she tries to hold them back. “I wish I could have stayed.”
Silently, Akira leans over and wraps Nobuta into a side hug. He briefly finds himself wishing that he had hugged her – really hugged her – when she had been alive. When Akira feels tears on his shirt, he simply hugs Nobuta tighter.
*
Akira awakes with tears falling from his eyes and the smell of grass in his nose. Nobuta is gone, but of course she was never really there to begin with. Nobuta is dead, even though Akira dreams of her often.
“I'll see you soon.
“A pretty girl is dead.”
“I would have given her my heart.”
“I wish I could have stayed.”
*
He places the milk and bottle carefully on the table. This was not the way he had planned on it ending. But, many things had not gone as he had planned over the last two and a half years.
Feeling numb, Akira opens the bottle and pours the sleeping pills into his mouth; he washes the pills down with the milk. As his eyes grow heavy, Akira prays his plan works.
*
Shuji sits alone on a swing, in that old familiar park. A letter from Akira in his hands. He has not read it in the seven months that Akira has been dead, but now. . . now Shuji thinks it's time to let both Nobuta and Akira go.
He opens the letter carefully, only to find a note instead of a letter. Still, Shuji smiles because even Akira's suicide note seems hastily done.
”Shuji-kun,
I'm sorry. But, I can't stay. I was late, so Nobuta had to die alone. She must have been laying there – alone – for a very long time. She was on her own for a very long time, and I can't let her be alone for the next fifty or sixty years.
A beautiful person is dead. And, she didn't deserve to die.
I'm sorry for leaving you alone. But, I couldn't leave her alone, not again.
Stay strong. Kon-kon! Nobuta Power!
We'll be waiting.
Love,
Akira!”
For no reason, and for every possible reason, Shuji begins to cry.
Akira and Nobuta are gone, so somehow he'll have to carry on – alone.
With a soft scoff and a hardly there grin, Shuji whispers: “Nobuta Power.” Carefully, he folds the letter and sticks it deep into his pocket. Akira and Nobuta are gone, but Shuji thinks he'll hang onto the note for a while longer. Shuji wraps Nobuta's old scarf closer to his neck, as he stands and walks out of the park one last time.
Is it awfully OOC? I feel like it is a bit, but than Akira is very passionate and gulit can make people do horrible things.
Author:
walkwithheroesFandom: Nobuta wo Produce
Claim: Kusano Akira and Kotani 'Nobuta' Nobuko
Prompt: Blue Set: 02.Sake Of Love
Type: Fanfic
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,526
Warnings/Spoilers: No spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Nobuta wo Produce or the characters of Akira and Nobuta.
Summary: The guilt of being late, haunts Akira.
He's late and he knows it. It can't be helped though. And, if anyone will understand, it's Nobuta. So, he runs and runs. Turning a corner, he finds himself in that old familiar park.
It's winter again and a fresh blanket of snow covers the playground, the swings. . . everything. It's a winter wonderland, and Akira makes a mental note to drag Nobuta to the park later.
*
Akira's never been to Nobuta's apartment, and he's more than a little scared of running into her mother or stepfather. If they asked, who would he say he is: their daughter's friend. . . who would have like to date her a year ago? Somehow, Akira's sure that wouldn't fly with the adults.
Deciding to ignore the idea of parents, Akira hops and skips the last few feet to Nobuta's apartment building.
He makes it half way up the stairs to the apartment, before noticing Nobuta's familiar scarf laying on the ground. With a shake of his head, Akira smiles fondly before picking it up. She must have dropped it earlier in the day, he thinks.
He hops of the remaining steps, and stops short upon seeing an unusual sight. Nobuta is. . . she's laying on her side, on the cold ground. It looks like she . . .
“Nobuta,” Akira tries to keep his voice light. “did you fall down?”
Swallowing hard, Akira moves closer to Nobuta. She's not. . .
“N-Nobuta?”
Before his brain tells him what's happening, Akira is beside Nobuta, turning her limp body over.
“Nobuta?”
Her face is covered with snow, but somehow Nobuta looks peaceful, not at all scared or alone. When he leans against her face, there is no breath, despite the fact that she looks as if she is sleeping peacefully.
He shakes her gently, tears begin to form in his warm eyes, as he chokes out: “Wake up. Just breathe, Nobuta. Please. Pretty Nobuta! Just take one tiny breath.” His hands move to her cold face, and he finds himself desperately touching her; desperately trying to give her warmth.
Akira isn't sure how much time has passed, but after what could be minutes or hours, he finally reaches into his pocket for his cellphone.
When the voice on the other end asks what the emergency is, all Akira can think to say is:
“A pretty girl is dead.”
*
It was her heart.
It just gave out.
According to the doctor's report, the problem had been there for years, but no one had ever noticed it. Or if they did, they didn't see it as a threat. So, Nobuta had gone on for seventeen years completely unaware that there was a ticking time bomb in her chest.
Akira played it over and over again in his head. She must have been heading back to her apartment after a long day at her part-time job. The scarf would have fallen off, or perhaps she had even taken it off when her heart had started acting up. Heading toward her door, Nobuta would have been trying to call someone for help. Why hadn't she tried her cellphone?
No, why hadn't Akira been there earlier? Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes. . . an extra minute could have saved her life. He could have called for help or carried her on his back to the nearest hospital.
Her last words to him: “I'll see you soon.” rang through his mind for the entire week after Nobuta's sudden death. She had been excited to see him; she had been waiting for him.
And he. . . he had been. . . late.
“I would have given her my heart.” He tells Shuji in a whisper one late night months after Nobuta's become nothing more than ash.
Protectively, Shuji puts an arm around Akira's thin (he's gotten oh so thin these last few months) shoulder. “I know. I know. She knew too.”
*
They are sitting on the ground that old park, each trying to make crowns and jewelery out of things that shouldn't be made into crowns and jewelery.
“Sorry, that I couldn't make it that day.” Nobuta tells him with a sad look in her eyes.
“Sorry, that I was late.” Akira whispers, more to himself than to her. “I would have given my heart to you.” Nobuta nods sharply, understandingly. “I. . . it's a good heart.”
“I know. You loved me with it.”
“Love.” Akira corrects sharply. “I love you.”
When he turns to look at her, Akira sees a Nobuta whose hair is out of her face. He hadn't noticed before, but now that he thinks about she is also no longer stuttering. Her school uniform seems to be fitted perfectly to her body and she. . . she's smiling at him. It's a real smile, slightly sad and regretful, but a smile none the less.
“Nobuta. . .”
She stays smiling at him, a strange and magic wisdom in her eyes. “It's all right.” She sounds frank, like she has all the knowledge in the universe. “Nobuta Power.”
Akira's lips tug up into a goofy grin. He touches the tip of Nobuta's nose with his index finger and lets out a small, “Beep.” With a laugh, Akira finds himself suddenly feeling comfortable and at home. He glances down at his half formed crown. “I used to make these, but I've forgotten how.”
She nods slowly, before glancing down at her own creation. “I think they're nice. Your crown is nice.”
“Liar.” Akira can't help but chuckle low under his breath. “Nobuta shouldn't lie.” He pouts playfully. “Hey Nobuta, your scarf. . . ”
“I was holding it.” she answers simply. “It must have blown away in the wind.”
Akira is silent for a long moment, before: “H-how long were you alone?”
She doesn't look at him, but Akira's sure Nobuta wants to cry. “Twenty minutes.” She doesn't speak for a long time. “I'm sorry. . . for leaving you and Shuji.”
“Shuji's all right.”
Nobuta looks at him through the corner of her right eye. “You're not.” Nobuta passes for a moment before going on, “AKIRA. . . I'm. . .”
It's his turn to nod knowingly. “A beautiful person has died. Nobuta's dead.” He turns to look at her fully, but she doesn't seem interested in looking him in the eye. “You're dead. Akira understands that, but he can't live with it. Nobuta should be alive.”
She looks over to him at that moment, a sad sort of smile playing over her lips. An even sadder smile is in her eyes. “Nobuta would have. . .” tears are forming in her eyes, but she tries to hold them back. “I wish I could have stayed.”
Silently, Akira leans over and wraps Nobuta into a side hug. He briefly finds himself wishing that he had hugged her – really hugged her – when she had been alive. When Akira feels tears on his shirt, he simply hugs Nobuta tighter.
*
Akira awakes with tears falling from his eyes and the smell of grass in his nose. Nobuta is gone, but of course she was never really there to begin with. Nobuta is dead, even though Akira dreams of her often.
“I'll see you soon.
“A pretty girl is dead.”
“I would have given her my heart.”
“I wish I could have stayed.”
*
He places the milk and bottle carefully on the table. This was not the way he had planned on it ending. But, many things had not gone as he had planned over the last two and a half years.
Feeling numb, Akira opens the bottle and pours the sleeping pills into his mouth; he washes the pills down with the milk. As his eyes grow heavy, Akira prays his plan works.
*
Shuji sits alone on a swing, in that old familiar park. A letter from Akira in his hands. He has not read it in the seven months that Akira has been dead, but now. . . now Shuji thinks it's time to let both Nobuta and Akira go.
He opens the letter carefully, only to find a note instead of a letter. Still, Shuji smiles because even Akira's suicide note seems hastily done.
”Shuji-kun,
I'm sorry. But, I can't stay. I was late, so Nobuta had to die alone. She must have been laying there – alone – for a very long time. She was on her own for a very long time, and I can't let her be alone for the next fifty or sixty years.
A beautiful person is dead. And, she didn't deserve to die.
I'm sorry for leaving you alone. But, I couldn't leave her alone, not again.
Stay strong. Kon-kon! Nobuta Power!
We'll be waiting.
Love,
Akira!”
For no reason, and for every possible reason, Shuji begins to cry.
Akira and Nobuta are gone, so somehow he'll have to carry on – alone.
With a soft scoff and a hardly there grin, Shuji whispers: “Nobuta Power.” Carefully, he folds the letter and sticks it deep into his pocket. Akira and Nobuta are gone, but Shuji thinks he'll hang onto the note for a while longer. Shuji wraps Nobuta's old scarf closer to his neck, as he stands and walks out of the park one last time.
Is it awfully OOC? I feel like it is a bit, but than Akira is very passionate and gulit can make people do horrible things.
