Junepais Shadow II

Junepai awoke in some place all too familiar, a place that afflicted him with several contradicting emotions. It was bright inside the room he stood in; the TV was loud, but there were two voices much more prominent than that. He stood before an open window, two all white curtains fluttering around him, the floor beneath his feet shiny wood. To his side, there was a small desk, comic books and manga of varying sizes slot atop it, an open notebook with notes scribbled into it just before them. At the center of the room was a black race-car bed, its blankets and sheets pulled down, pillows scattered across the floor. And sitting at the edge of the bed, action figure in hand, was himself, the version of himself from so many years ago. His hair was red, but much shorter than it is now, his body small, and his frame even smaller than that.

He spared a glance at his closed door, crawling toward the TV and pressing down on the up button until it was at max volume. Despite the TV’s booming, the shouts persisted.

They stopped a few moments later, booming footsteps rapidly approaching the door and swinging it open. On the other side stood his father, fitted into an all-gray two-piece. His brows were furrowed, and the wrinkles on his forehead were extremely prevalent. He was a plain-looking man with average-looking skin. He was of average height, with well-combed and swooped hair that was of average length for a man. He wore tiny square glasses around his face, and there was always a glint in them that hid his eyes away from anyone around him. He approached the TV and turned down its volume before sighing, then he turned to his son.

“I’m sorry you had to hear all of that, Junepai. I have to get to work now. I’ll see you soon.” He headed back for the door without another word, but stopped suddenly.

“I-” He struggled to speak, then shook his head, “be a better man than me, son. When you find a woman you like, make sure that she’s someone actually willing to stand behind you.” He left the door open and was gone not much later.

The sounds of sobbing could be heard from outside his room. They were muffled, half-sobs, as if the person crying were trying their hardest not to.

The younger Junepai stood, toy still in hand, and left the room.

Older Junepai took a bit longer to gaze around his room, awestruck, then he scurried behind his younger self. The hallway was thin but long, four closed doors placed throughout, pictures of a happy family framed on either side. He stopped just before his younger self, the two of them staring silently at the crying woman before them. She was leaning over a counter with her back to them.

“M-mom? Why are you crying?” He asked.

She sniffled a bit, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her teal cardigan, and turned around to face them, though her eyes only met those of his younger counterpart.

She was beautiful, every aspect of her. Her hair was long and red, similar to Junepais's, except hers was a deeper shade. Her eyes were big and the same color as her hair, with skin so clear it glistened.

She wrapped her arms around herself and forced a smile.

“I thought you were watching TV, Junepai. Aren’t they playing your favorite show? You should hurry back before you miss it.”

The two stood in silence, the little boy gazing up at his mother with teary eyes of his own.

“What’s wrong, Junepai?” She rushed over to him. He slammed himself into her stomach, arms wrapped around her lower back, causing her to almost stumble over. She was taken aback for a moment, then she placed a calm hand on top of his head, combing through it with her fingers.

I remember this. Junepai thought.

“There’s no reason to cry, you wanna know why?”

He looked up at her with expectation.

“Because I have you, and you have me.” Her tears were gone. She got down to her knees so that they were eye to eye, “What’s that thing that fire man says?” She took the toy from his hand and began to play with it herself.

“As long as there’s fire in my heart, I will never yield.”

“It’s: so long as there’s fire blazing in my heart, I shall never yield!” Junepai corrected with an exaggerated tone.

“Yeah.” She smiled, “You’re my fire, Junepai, and I’m yours, always remember that, ok?”

“Ok, mom.” He smiled, then hugged her again; this time, the two of them did fall over.

Junepai, the older one, felt something streaming down both sides of his face.

Am I crying? He thought, pinching beneath his eyes with two fingers.

“It’s painful to see.” A distorted voice echoed to him, a figure much more familiar walking through the laughing pair on the floor and parting them into dust.

It was him, except his body was home to a rising smoke-like aura, his eyes dark and dead.

“W-who?”

“I’m you.” He quickly answered, gazing around the house with a half smile.

“Yes, I remember this quite well, but when I look back at it, I only feel sorrow.” The other spoke, ending his observation and settling his eyes on Junepai.

“I know why this place fills me with so much sorrow. But do you know why?” He took a step forward, “and I mean the truth, not whatever lie you clouded your brain with.” His tone sounded much more aggressive.

“What do you mean?” He responded, confused.

“What happened that night, that memory you have, we both know that it isn’t real.”

“What are you trying to say?” He shouted.

“Do you really need me to spell it out?” He observed Junepai's pained expression, “The fact that I exist means that somewhere inside you, you know the truth.”

“They both died that night.” He answered with sorrow.

“That isn’t true.”

“It is true!” Junepai slouched down into a crouched position, hands held over his ears, tears streaming down his face.

“You can cover your ears, but I know that you can still hear me.” His voice echoed to him perfectly unmuffled.

“She survived the car crash.” It spoke, their surroundings began to shift and darken, the sound of something loud began to blare, and through the darkness that encapsulated them, there was a powerful blue light shining from a singular source.

Junepai stood, and the other was gone. The younger him was back and lying on the couch, a half-drunk coffee sitting on the table before him.

A sudden knock on the front door startled them both. Junepai groggily sat up from where he lay and approached the front door, gently swinging it open. A group of men in well-tailored suits filed in, making way for a woman in a similar suit. She got onto one knee and told him, “We need you to come with us, it’s about your parents.”

The young Junepai looked skeptical, but then she pulled something from her pocket, instantly doing away any distrust he had. It was a red action figure of a man engulfed in flame.

“Your mother had this, she said to give it to you and that you would listen to us,”

The boy took the action figure and stuffed it into his pocket, following behind the men as they left the apartment, closing the door behind them and leaving Junepai in the darkness.

“That’s not what happened.” He muttered, “They told me she died, that’s not what happened!” His own voice echoed back to him several times before stopping.

“But it did happen, Junepai.”

The shadows around him began to contort, his surroundings shifting once more, except this time things were brighter.

The sound of beeping could be heard; a woman in scrubs stood above a woman resting in bed, whilst several figures in all black attire surrounded her.

The doctor took a step back and flashed them a look, “She should be fine, but we can’t have people in here for too long.” She hugged a clipboard to her chest and left the room moments later.

“Where is my son?” The woman weakly spoke, the men parting themselves and making way for Junepai as he rushed toward the hospital bed.

“Mom! Mom! What happened to you? Where’s dad?” He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widened at the sight before him.

Her left arm had been put into a sling, and a bandage covered the entire right side of her face.

“Don’t be afraid, come here.” She tapped the side of her bed.

Junepai hesitantly climbed up.

“Be careful, your mom's in a lot of pain, honey.”

Tears began to well in his eyes.

“Don’t cry, sweety.” She ran her free hand through his hair, “Don’t cry.”

“Where’s dad?” His voice began to break down.

“He’s also hurt really bad, but you won’t be able to see him for a very long time, ok?” He nodded in response.

“And your mom, she won’t be able to take care of you for a really long time. Those men behind you have agreed to take care of you until I get better.”

Junepai looked back at them for a quick moment before looking back at her, tears now flowing through both his eyes.

“No, mom! I don’t want to leave you! What if something happens to you again?” He planted his face on her shoulder and began to sob.

“Sweety, that hurts.” She groaned, “It’ll be ok, the nice doctor said that I should make a full recovery in no more than a year. Remember what I always told you, Junepai, you’re my fire, and your fire is me. If you ever feel sad or alone, just remember that. So long as you have that fire in your heart, I’ll always be with you.” She forced him to look into her eyes, planting a kiss on his forehead, her eyes flickering to the men behind Junepai. They approached him, gently scooping him up from her bed.

“Wait! Wait! Mom! I don’t wanna go yet! Mom!” He fought the man's strong grip, but it was to no avail. He stretched his hand outward for her, the door of her room closing shut with a loud thud.

“You cried for weeks after that.” The distorted voice returned, the other now standing at his side with tears of his own streaming down his face.

“And we never saw her again, even though she said she would get better soon.”

“This isn’t what happened.” Junepai shook his head in denial, “This isn’t what happened! I refuse to believe this is what happened!”

“Open your eyes!” The others' voice boomed with fury, “She left us in the hands of K-Corp because she no longer wanted us. She hated us, she hated dad, that’s why they used to argue. She took the first opportunity she got and signed our lives away. Wherever she is, she’s living a much better life without us.”

Junepai collapsed, muttering weakly, “It isn’t true. It isn’t true. It isn’t true.”

The other got onto its knees, “No one has ever loved us. The other youths at K-Corp shunned us, and even Yuya hates us. The only reason he’s stayed by our side so far is because of the money. Do you really think he would care about us otherwise?”

“Yuya? Yuya is my friend.”

“We don’t have any friends, Junepai, we never did. That’s why-” His gaze was averted by something beyond what he could see, gentle rumbling taking over their reality.

“It seems that you’re about to wake up. This won’t be the last time we talk.”

Junepai awoke with a loud gasp, his eyes staring upward at the black and white void, a powerful soreness overwhelming his body. He could feel tears on his cheeks, two figures peering down at him.

“He’s awake.” Yuya sounded relieved.

The other one was Himeno; she stood above him with her arms crossed.

“I didn’t think he’d come to so soon.”

He stared up at them blankly.

“Junepai? You alright?”

There were a few moments of awkward silence before suddenly, he sat up.

“Is this real?” He held his hands to his face, feeling the cold sting on his cheeks.

“What?” Himeno pulled Yuya away, leaning closer to him.

“His mind was taken over by the shadow beast.” She quickly stated.

“Really?”

She nodded, “I’ve heard of cases similar to this, when their minds are taken over, they begin to lash out until their bodies can no longer withstand it.”

“He’s going to be ok, right?” Yuya asked.

Himeno hesitated, her eyes full of sorrow, “To be truthful, anyone who’s had their mind altered by the shadow beast never makes a full recovery.”

His heart dropped in his chest, looking over at Junepai as he sat with his hands still on his face.

“Although in all of those cases, none of the people were a part of K-Corp. They were typically your average person, so there’s a chance he could recover, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” She pulled away from Yuya, eyes settling back onto Junepai.

“We need to move and regroup with the others; those Mana-feeders should all be dead by now.” She spoke with crossed arms.

“Right, I forgot about that.” He stood slowly, wobbling from side to side before finally regaining his balance.

“Watch out!” He suddenly shouted, eyes catching onto a figure approaching through the fog.

Himeno eyed the figure, stepping forward. “Shindo?” She called out.

“Sorry, Himeno, I know you said not to, but…” His voice trailed, his body parting through the fog, sword held down at his side.

“What did you do?” She stood between the three.

“What had to be done.” He stopped, pointing his sword forward with a dead look in his eye.

“Now, step to the side so I can finish the job.”