Untitled
Chapter Nine
After that, Minato and I pretended that nothing had happened, well- as much as you could while one of you was confined to a wheelchair and constantly in pain.
We were sitting in his living room, an awkward silence floating over us. I didn't blame him: I wouldn't want to talk to a dying girl either. Deciding that enough was enough, Minato cleared his throat.
"I'm taking you out. We can't just sit here doing nothing. I'm going to take you to my favourite place in the entire village!" He stated firmly, standing to grasp the handles of my wheelchair.
I didn't bother to argue with him: I was tired too. Tired of the pain and suffering, but also of the awkward silences and gazes I got wherever I went (or was taken: I wasn't strong enough to wheel the chair by myself anymore). If Minato was going to help me feel normal again, who was I to stop him?
After a few moments of struggle, trying to force the unwieldy frame of my chair out of the front door, we began the journey to the mystery location. It was nice to be outside again, feeling the warm sun and faint breeze playing across my face. I had to savour this moment while I could: I knew by now that I clearly didn't have very long left.
A small smile rose across my lips when I looked up and saw how peaceful Minato looked, to be out and about, and not confined to the stifling front room in his small house.
This is nice... The voice spoke to me again, but I was no longer scared. It was almost comforting to me now, to know that there was something there... albeit it was me losing my mind, but still! Too bad it won't last.
I had to smile wider at that. Yes, it wouldn't last, but I was content with that. I had finally experienced love, and acceptance despite my strange circumstances, and I truly was ready to die this time around. It seemed like a cruel twist of fate, being granted the chance to live again, only to have your life snatched away from you, but I took comfort in the fact that it wasn't my fault this time. Call me selfish, but I was glad that there would now be people who would miss me: it meant that I had finally left a positive imprint on someone.
During my musings, we must have reached our destination, as Minato had stopped wheeling me.
"We're here!" He said, sounding extremely out of breath. I knew why the instant I looked out across the village: he had brought me all the way to the top of the Hokage Monument, on the cliff that overlooked the entire village. It was a beautiful view, causing my breath to catch in my throat.
"Thank you, Minato." I said, trying to express my gratitude at being brought to such a lovely place. "It's beautiful." He turned beet red at this, scratching the back of his neck.
"It's the least I could do, Chiaki-chan! I wanted you to see something nice before... well.. you know..." He stopped himself, clearly regretting even saying anything.
"It's okay, Minato. I'm ready for this. Please don't worry about me!"
He looked angry at the suggestion of this, as if I was telling him just to forget about me or something, but he schooled his features back into a neutral expression, smiling slightly. It didn't reach his eyes though.
We stayed there for the next few hours, ignoring any duties that we might have had, gazing into the horizon and watching the orange globe of the sun fade into darkness. I must have fallen asleep while he was wheeling me back again, because before I knew it I was back in my bed in his house, drifting in the realms of sleep.
We were sitting in his living room, an awkward silence floating over us. I didn't blame him: I wouldn't want to talk to a dying girl either. Deciding that enough was enough, Minato cleared his throat.
"I'm taking you out. We can't just sit here doing nothing. I'm going to take you to my favourite place in the entire village!" He stated firmly, standing to grasp the handles of my wheelchair.
I didn't bother to argue with him: I was tired too. Tired of the pain and suffering, but also of the awkward silences and gazes I got wherever I went (or was taken: I wasn't strong enough to wheel the chair by myself anymore). If Minato was going to help me feel normal again, who was I to stop him?
After a few moments of struggle, trying to force the unwieldy frame of my chair out of the front door, we began the journey to the mystery location. It was nice to be outside again, feeling the warm sun and faint breeze playing across my face. I had to savour this moment while I could: I knew by now that I clearly didn't have very long left.
A small smile rose across my lips when I looked up and saw how peaceful Minato looked, to be out and about, and not confined to the stifling front room in his small house.
This is nice... The voice spoke to me again, but I was no longer scared. It was almost comforting to me now, to know that there was something there... albeit it was me losing my mind, but still! Too bad it won't last.
I had to smile wider at that. Yes, it wouldn't last, but I was content with that. I had finally experienced love, and acceptance despite my strange circumstances, and I truly was ready to die this time around. It seemed like a cruel twist of fate, being granted the chance to live again, only to have your life snatched away from you, but I took comfort in the fact that it wasn't my fault this time. Call me selfish, but I was glad that there would now be people who would miss me: it meant that I had finally left a positive imprint on someone.
During my musings, we must have reached our destination, as Minato had stopped wheeling me.
"We're here!" He said, sounding extremely out of breath. I knew why the instant I looked out across the village: he had brought me all the way to the top of the Hokage Monument, on the cliff that overlooked the entire village. It was a beautiful view, causing my breath to catch in my throat.
"Thank you, Minato." I said, trying to express my gratitude at being brought to such a lovely place. "It's beautiful." He turned beet red at this, scratching the back of his neck.
"It's the least I could do, Chiaki-chan! I wanted you to see something nice before... well.. you know..." He stopped himself, clearly regretting even saying anything.
"It's okay, Minato. I'm ready for this. Please don't worry about me!"
He looked angry at the suggestion of this, as if I was telling him just to forget about me or something, but he schooled his features back into a neutral expression, smiling slightly. It didn't reach his eyes though.
We stayed there for the next few hours, ignoring any duties that we might have had, gazing into the horizon and watching the orange globe of the sun fade into darkness. I must have fallen asleep while he was wheeling me back again, because before I knew it I was back in my bed in his house, drifting in the realms of sleep.