[Fanfiction] Ware no Sunadokei

Ware no Sunadokei
Sunadokei 2: Broken Piece of the Hourglass

“We still have time, Tesshi,” Masuda Takahisa said as he moved to part ways with Tegoshi Yuya. They had spent the whole day together hanging out like they always do and it seemed that Tegoshi never ran out of things he wanted to do or energy in which to do them. Massu, however, was tired and he wanted to go home.

Massu waved and promised to call him as soon as he came home. However, things took a sudden turn, instead of going the short way home he went out of his way to take the scenic route; one that would take him by the overpass where he could see the bright neon lights of home. It was nights like these that make him think about things. How he appreciated having friends and how excited he was about his life. NEWS was at the top of the charts, he was having the time of his life and he was on top of the world. Nothing could ever go wrong. He looked at the time and shook his head. If he took the shorter route he could have been home by now. He looked at his cell phone and found a message and laughed.

“Yo, Dork. I’m going to bed. Call me in the morning. Don’t know where you are, or what happened. But you have a lot of explaining to do.”

Massu shook his head and dialed his friend’s number to leave him a message. “Gomen. I couldn’t call, something came up. I’ll explain tomorrow morning.“

He walked alone on this cold night, and it seemed that nothing could go wrong. Except, of course, him missing his friend’s call, though a tugging feeling kept on bugging him. Should he have taken the shorter route home? Maybe he was just being paranoid. The moon was lit bright and he waited for the sign to change to walk before he crossed the street. Beside him another young man was crossing the street, clad in a black hoodie, jeans and a sneakers – just like him. It was only a split second when suddenly a car came careening down the road. He took the boy in his arms and tried to save him. It was too late.

His body went numb with searing pain. He looked at the cell phone in his hand. Screams of bystanders were heard as he almost unconsciously dialed his friend’s number.

“Tesshi… I’ll see you later… I don’t want to lose time, not yet…”

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If only one could turn back the time, then Masuda Takahisa would have surely done so The boy watched as people around him panicked, trying all sorts of things to bring the other boy back to life. He was in the emergency room, his head pounding in pain. He tried to keep awake, fearing the worst lest he should pass out. He still had a lot of dreams and plans for his life. Why now? What was going to happen to him? The last sound he heard before passing out completely was the high pitched flat line sound of an EKG machine.

When he came to, he woke up in a hospital bed, fully clothed and he yawned. The other boy was still on the other side of the curtain. Thank goodness he’s alive. He heard the familiar beeping of the EKG machine and went over to peek at the boy. He seemed to be alive, albeit unconscious. He smiled and silently wished the boy luck before seeing if he could be released from the hospital.

There was no one in sight, so he looked at the time. YABAI! He was going to be late. He ran out of the hospital and out into the streets. It was unusual, but even if the streets were packed, no one stopped him for an autograph or a picture

When he got there, he was glad to see that Tegoshi was already there. The boy looked like a wreck. He entered the room, Nishikido Ryo rushing behind him and running to the boy.

“He’s not coming…” Ryo had said.

“Who was not coming?” Masuda had asked Ryo but he got ignored. “What the hell is going on?”

Tegoshi ignored him as he left the room. Ok, what the hell was his problem? He followed them outside. Tegoshi seemed to be crying, yet he could not do anything since he was being ignored. Apparently, he seemed invisible to them today. Hmph. Whatever. He was getting tired anyway, he made his way home and found the house unlocked and his mother wasn’t anywhere at home. This was strange,he thought and went up to his room and went to sleep. What was wrong with everyone anyway?

The next few days, Massu felt not only ignored but snubbed. Somehow, Tegoshi was not coming to work, he lost his cell phone when the accident happened and he, for the life of him, cannot remember his best friend’s number. He knew he could dial it with his eyes closed before, but now, for some odd reason he could not remember even the first digit to it. Was it 5 or 9? Hmm…He needed to get a new cell phone very soon, maybe one of those cool ones that could take good videos.

He was standing just near the bridge where the accident happened when someone tapped him. It was a boy about his age, with striking black hair, fair features and bright eyes. “Yo!”

“Yo!” Massu said, relieved to finally have human contact. “What’s your name?”

“It’s not important,” the boy said. “What about you? What are you doing here?”

Ok, that was rude, this boy had some nerve. “I’m just thinking about things.”

“Thinking kills brain cells,” The boy said looking out at the city. “I think too much myself. You know, it’s weird. It seems that no matter where I go in the city I always end up here. It’s like I am stuck here for some odd reason and I can’t escape. I’m struggling hard, but I’m about to give up.”

“Why? Don’t give up! Life is too short for you to give up!” Massu encouraged the boy. He looked like someone who was smart and had a bright future and if there was one thing Massu hated the most, it was quitters. He wasn’t about to deal with one right now, he had too much on his mind.

“Exactly, life is too short. That’s why I am giving up. You should leave this place so you don’t get sucked in. You have too much to do still, and time is of the essence. By the way, Thanks.”

“For what? What are you talking about?”

“You’ll see…” The boy started saying cryptically. “Do me a favor?”

“Ok… what?” This was getting really creepy.

“Can you tell her I’ll always be here?” he pointed to his heart.

“Who?” Massu was getting pissed with this boy. This kid was weird. First of all, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about and second, he did not know the her the boy was talking about. He looked away for a moment before turning back to yell at the boy about it. When he turned back the boy was gone. That kid must have been a ninja.

Massu was getting tired and he started back. It seemed that no matter where he turned, he ended up going to the hospital. Exhaustion was setting in his body and so he let his body take over. He re-entered the room the boy was in and saw that the other bed was empty and laid his head down to rest. Soon, he was fast asleep.

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He blinked his eyes open and it was daylight. How long did he sleep? He didn’t even know. He looked around at the hospital that was empty again. Weird, he thought and swore that if he was sick, he would not go to this hospital ever. There was no nurse at the station and he was glad the boy was doing fine.

What he felt was weird, though, was that he was never hungry. When was the last time he ate anyway? What day was it? Why was no one around? Is the boy ok? Is he ok? He sighed as he walked along the streets of Tokyo. It was busy but no one seems to mind him. Then, he a few schoolgirls huddled over crying in front of a television in a store window. What was going on?

He went to the television and gasped as he saw the date on the corner. It was his birthday. Has it been that long since he slumbered? What was going on with him? He watched as Music Station came on, and he almost could not believe what he saw and heard. NEWS was onstage on Music Station, a banner saying “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MASSU!” was hung behind them with a huge picture taken of him from his last photoshoot. They were all wearing black and they all looked sad.

The host began the segment and he was almost angry to see them do a Music Station without him. When was the last time he went to work anyway? Why wasn’t he informed? Why didn’t anyone wake him up? He was alright! He was healthy! What was going on? He watched in silence as they started the interview.

“Tegoshi-kun, how are you holding up without your best friend Masuda-kun? It has been a month since you last appeared on television. Are you doing fine?” Dou Mariko, the female host of Music Station, asked as she smiled at the younger boy sitting beside her.

“I’m doing alright,” Tegoshi Yuya said softly. It seemed that he hadn’t been sleeping at all and his eyes were almost red and puffy from crying. “Everyday is a struggle to smile, because I cannot smile without him. However, he would be sad to know I am crying right now. Even in tough situations Massu was always smiling, so we all try to smile for him. If he was here, he would probably hit me on the head and say, ‘don’t be such a crab!’ or something funny like that. It is his birthday right now and so I want to give him my best smile for his birthday.” Tears came to his eyes as he said the last part and Ryo put a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

“That’s right,” Tamori, the older host of Music Station, said. “It is Masuda-kun’s birthday today. Is there anything you wish for him on his birthday? Or is there anything you wish you could have done or said to him?”

Ryo sighed and spoke. “I was always wary of being close to Massu. I wish I could have gotten to know him more and hung out with him more. He was such a good guy – he’s really the mood maker of NEWS. We can’t do anything right now that doesn’t remind us of Massu. We think every time we are in the backstage, that Massu would always start the pep talk and cheers and we think of him in the locker room too. Massu was always everywhere at once.”

“I can’t even eat fried chicken without thinking about Massu.” Yamashita Tomohisa tried to lighten the mood with his comment but he knew he was going to fail miserably. But it was true; fried chicken was one of Massu’s favorite foods and he could not even look at it without remembering how many times he heard “WAII! WAII!” as lunch was served in the studio. The mood onstage was very heavy. They missed the presence of the baby face of NEWS badly. “We miss him badly. We really do.”

“It seemed that we wished that we had spent a little more time with him,” Koyama Keiichiro started to say. It was difficult for him because he remembered all the times that he and Massu had spent together. He pointed to the wrist band that he wore. “We bought these together, when we went to one concert and hung out together, “ he said and held up his arm to show the camera. “Massu had exactly the same one. He said to me. ‘Keii-chan, let’s wear this together!’ At the time, I thought, this guy is very clingy! He acts like a girlfriend! But Massu, aside from being really friendly, treasures everything about friendship.“ He smiled a little and shook his head. “I do miss the Massu calls, where he would be whining that he was bored and wanted to play.”

Shige was quiet in the end of the bench but he finally spoke. “Massu is like the sunlight of NEWS. We got a lot of our energy, smiles and laughter from him. His smile was infectious; no one could resist smiling back to him whenever he smiled at them. I think everyone could see that. What I miss most about him is probably the way he always encouraged us to do better. He’s always like ‘ganbatte guys!’ and he’s always enthusiastic. He took the words enthusiasm to a different level and he always gave us our energy – just like the sun does to every living being on earth. Massu was our brightest star and we will never forget that. There is a quote that says: good friends are like stars, you don’t always see them, but you know that they’re always there. Massu will always be here with us. He’s our star.”

“I totally agree with Shige,” Yamashita Tomohisa said. “I heard once that ‘a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.’ To me, Massu is like that. He always remembered things that we seem to take for granted and always reminded you how important you are to him. I wish that I could have spent a little more time with him and told him how important he is to me. Massu, wherever you are, I miss you, mabudachi.”

“That’s a lot to say for Masuda and if he were here, I bet he would be crying. You have a special medley prepared for his birthday, right?” Mariko smiled as she dabbed at the corner of her eyes.

“This is true,” Ryo said. “We compiled all of the songs that Massu loved to perform and will sing it for him.” He looked at Tegoshi and smiled. “And, Tegoshi will sing a special version of Sunadokei for him.”

“Well, I think you guys will make him very happy.” Tamori smiled at them. “Let’s get you guys on stand by!” he said as he introduced the next guest.

Masuda was now in tears; they talked about him like he was dead, when here he was, on the streets watching them on TV. Maybe they had a surprise for him later. His eyes finally focused on the television again as Music Station started back up. They finally introduced NEWS special performance and he watched it intently.

There was a video montage of his pictures and performances on the screen behind NEWS as they started the medley. It was weird because they left his singing parts for the video to sing as they sang with him. It was as if they were performing with him, even though he wasn’t there. Why wasn’t he there anyway!? They started with Yume no Kaze dake, Ai ga Umarete, followed by Sayaendou. They were on the dot that he loved performing these songs. Tomohisa sang Tegoshi’s part of Miso Soup with a video of him. Ryo sang Cherish with his montage as well. Shige had harmonized with him in Hoshi wo Mezashite and Koyama was singing with him as he sang Chocolate. It was an awesome performance, and he knew that they put their heart into it.

He had started crying during the whole performance and he didn’t care if anyone saw him. His friends had just given him the best present ever and he loved them for it. He should thank them for it later. The familiar strains of Sunadokei started to play, and he smiled. Tegoshi was singing it and it should be good. However, this version was somehow different. It was played by a four string quartet and the montage behind changed from NEWS to a more intimate look at him and Tegoshi’s friendship. The way Tegoshi sang it touched his heartstrings and tugged on it for all it’s worth. He was now crying in earnest as his friend sang the song that they both had loved singing.

Sunadokei was an important song for them. Not only was it a TegoMass song, and their harmonies were perfect in it, the meaning of it was one that he treasured. He had told Tegoshi once that if he died, this song was probably the one that they will sing at his funeral. But he wasn’t dead yet, there was still a lot of time before they would sing that song like that. However, Tegoshi’s expression was one of pure sadness and regret. It was a sad song, but the way he sang it broke even the coldest of hearts. What’s wrong, Yuya-kun?

Finally, the song ended and it was now focused on the video montage. The end of the song sent a chill through his spine as he watched the final frame.

Massu could not believe his eyes. What the hell? He was dead? The videos that followed confirmed this, just before they showed Tegoshi’s crying face on TV. Newsclips of his supposed death, the accident and his funeral were shown. Then he looked around him. He was in the middle of a crowd yet no one noticed him. The fangirls were crying yet no one cared. It seemed that no one even bumped him or jostled him in the crowd. He tried to tell the people he was there, but no one heard him. Could it be true? If he was dead, was he just looking over that boy in the hospital?

He ran to the hospital and skidded to a stop when he came to the room where he’d come from. He never really looked around at the boy’s side of the room because it was always dark. However this time, he braved it. He walked around the curtain, and stared at the familiar frame. A lone frame of a woman sat by him, the boy’s mother.

He sat on the bed and noticed a silver thread that connected him to the body. Wait. He looked closer at the thread; it was very thin, and it seemed to be deteriorating as he moved further, so he took a step in the boy’s direction. The EKG beeped and he looked. If he could save this boy’s life he would. He reached out to touch the boy’s hand and he felt a warm sensation from it. Suddenly, everything was bathed in light as he stumbled back onto the bed. He shielded his eyes from it and finally had to close them eyes. And then there was nothing
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It was probably Massu’s wish for him to check on the boy. Tegoshi Yuya carefully held the flowers in his hand as he searched for Ward 41B. This was the room where the boy Massu risked his life for lay in a deep sleep. Nishikido Ryo and the rest of NEWS were with him. They didn’t have to come, but they all insisted. They did not want Tegoshi to be alone right now. Not on Massu’s birthday, at the very least.

They came to the room and were surprised at how dark it was. They went to the corner bed where the boy lay, the doctor was there, checking up on the boy and nodding at the mother. The conversation was hopeful. Apparently, the boy had shown that he was on his way to a full recovery.

“Shitsurei shimasu,” Yamashita Tomohisa said as they entered the room.

“Ah, it’s Masuda-sama’s friends,” the woman said smiling. “Shouta will be glad to know he was visited by his friends.”

“Ah, yeah, Massu would have wanted us to visit him,” Ryo said smiling at the old lady. “How is he?”

“He’s doing much better,” the woman said. “They said that the wounds on his face had healed and soon, they could remove the bandages.”

“That’s good,” Koyama nodded as he looked over the boy. The boy was just as tall as Massu, with the same build. He lay there, sleeping, with almost half his face covered in bandages.

Tegoshi handed the lady the flowers silently. Shouta was the reason Massu was not here today to celebrate his birthday. He felt a little pang of anger and pushed it away. Massu would not want that. Massu would have wanted Tegoshi to make sure everything was ok with Shouta. Yet at this moment, he could not do it entirely. It hurt so bad to know that this boy had lived and Massu did not survive.

They stayed there a moment making idle conversation with the woman. It was awkward, of course, and there were long pauses of silence. It was in one of these silences that a voice was heard groaning in pain.

“Owwww… my freaking head,” the boy on the bed said softly through his bandages.

“He’s awake!” Shige said eyes wide. He was alert enough to push the nurse call button by the bedside.

Massu? Tegoshi thought he heard Massu’s voice. He turned around and looked at the boy. Wait that was Shouta. His mind was playing tricks on him again.

Soon the nurses and the doctor rushed back in. They stood back and watched as the doctor checked the boy. Shouta seemed to be now fully conscious and it was almost as if he was back from the dead. The mother was beside herself in joy and relief as she kept on thanking the doctors.

“God, I’m hungry,” the boy said as he slowly opened his eyes and focused on the boys standing in the corner. “Tegoshi, is that you?”

Tegoshi Yuya spun around and ran to the bedside. It could not be. “Shouta, how did you know it was me?”

“Who’s Shouta, baka?” Masuda Takahisa was now awake; the bandages on his face muffled his voice.

The doctor’s eyes widened. “You are not Murakami Shouta?”

“No,” Masuda said looking at the doctor. Who was this Shouta anyway? Maybe that was the name of the kid he saved. “My name is Masuda Takahisa.”

“NO!” The mother’s eyes widened as she sank to the floor in disbelief. “You’re supposed to be dead! Shouta was supposed to be alive!” She sat there sobbing for a while before she looked up pleadingly at the doctor.

The doctor did not hesitate and started taking off the bandage that were wrapped around the lower part of the boy’s face. It was soon revealed that it was indeed Masuda Takahisa underneath the bandages. The members of NEWS stared incredulously. They had just buried this guy right? They even made a montage for him. Had they wished hard enough for him to come back to life that he was now here?

Tegoshi stared at his best friend and wept in silent tears of relief. He touched the face that he thought he would never see again, and shook his head. “You were right, Massu. You didn’t lie. We do still have time.”

“I told you,” Massu said weakly. “I always keep my promises,” he said as he smiled at his best friend. He was ecstatic to be alive and even more ecstatic to see that his friends were there when he woke up. He felt that he was given back the time, that the hourglass of his life was now turned again as he was given a new life.

“Happy birthday, Massu!” Tegoshi said as he finally gave in, tears were now streaming down his face as he threw himself on the boy to hold him. “I thought I lost you.”

“You never lost me,” Massu smiled softly. “I am like a star, right, Shige?” He said as he looked meaningfully at the boy.

“How did you---?” Shige blinked but was silenced by the stare that Massu gave him.

“It doesn’t matter how I knew,” he said in a very tired voice. “I’m back guys and this time I will make the time count. Each grain of my hourglass will have meaning and worth … and I want to share it with you.” He looked around at them with love. He looked at the woman and met her eyes. It was finally clear then, who the weird boy at the bridge was and he smiled as he spoke.

“Shouta, was the boy I saved right? Well, he said that he will always be in your heart,” he said.

The woman sobbed quietly and stood up, taking the flowers with her as she took Massu’s hands and squeezed them in gratitude. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem,” Massu said as he watched the woman leave.

“You should rest, Masuda-kun,” the doctor said as he smiled. “We are really sorry for the mix- up. We finally pinpointed where we got it wrong. Lab samples were labeled wrong and we are working to rectify this situation. We will create a public apology for this. We are really sorry.” He bowed low before leaving the room. He had work to do.

Nishikido Ryo shook his head; everything was going over his head at the moment. At one moment, his friend was dead, now he was alive again, because of a case of mistaken identity. “The doctor’s right, we should let him rest.” He started ushering the boys out.

Massu nodded to Ryo gratefully but then he took Tegoshi’s hand. “I want you to stay.”

“Of course,” Tegoshi smiled as he watched the others leave and sat down on the chair next to the bed. “After all, we have a lot of catching up to do.”

Massu was tired now and his eyes kept on closing slowly. ”We still have time, Tesshi…” he said as he let himself drift off to sleep.

This time, Tegoshi believed him. It was not over yet; the hourglass had been turned over. “I know.” He smiled as he lay a kind hand on top of Massu’s own hand and laid his head on the bed to watch over his friend for the night. It felt right, now that the bond between them was stronger. Their friendship was one of a kind. It was the kind that transcended death and time.