Tanabata Day 4: Eternal/Mortality

A/N TANABATA WEEK YOOOO I LOVE THE FANFIC OVERLOAD

Not that I'm that productive I'm only doing one oneshot the other days I'm doing is all artwork qwq

But anyway my irl friend gave this post-canon idea of Nene having to move on and she decides to become an author of a best-selling book series *cough cough* TBHK *cough* And I finally finished it, so please enjoy!

     The sound of the school bell as it clanged loud and slow, rang through the echoing halls as the students began filing out of their last classroom of the day. The sound of the students bounced all the way to the old school building, even up to the third floor. Looking into the female bathroom, there, a faint, heavily translucent figure sat on the windowsill. Pink rabbit-like figures were also there, holding cards with their ears, just as the figure was.

     Said figure was none other than the seventh of the Seven Wonders of the school, Hanako-san of the Toilet. And he had not changed, not even after more than half a century. Same glimmering golden eyes, same choppy dark hair, same seal on his cheek.

     The sunlight filtered through the window, making him even more transparent than he already was, as a ghost. Hanako put down the cards and stared out of the window, to the sunny, bright day that was left for all the living to enjoy.

     Left for her to enjoy.

     Hanako wondered what she was doing now. He didn't have much way of knowing aside from the minimal contact he had with Kou, being an exorcist dealing with school apparitions.

     But Kou couldn't come daily because he had also graduated from Kamome Academy, attending his own college classes.

     Just like his former assistant, Yashiro Nene.

     To Hanako, after the two of them left and moved on, time held no more meaning, just as before. Days? Weeks? Months? Heck, even years seemed the same to his mundane, monotonous, and meaningless existence. The only meaning in his entire span of an afterlife was those couple of years when he had them here.

     When he had her.

     The last he'd heard about her was that she had begun drafting a book, but Kou refused to tell him what it was about, according to his senpai's wishes. She was in college too, probably working really hard, after all, she was determined to be a stunning college student.

     She had many plans for her life, which Hanako prayed she'd be able to do. They'd gone through so much to get her another 90 years of her life. Without having to sacrifice Aoi, or anyone else for that matter. He hoped that it had all been worth it.

     Well to him, anything for Nene was worth it, after all.

     Hanako conjectured the rest of his afterlife he'd be thinking about her.

     He sighed, staring outside the glass window once more.

     "O.M.GGGGGGGGGG!!!" A high-pitch squeal shattered the ghost's ear drums, making him jolt in surprise.

     Ugh.

     Those girls.

     Lately, they'd begun using his bathroom as an occasional after school hangout place, and it annoyed him to death (a second death?). Always gossiping, squealing, fangirling over something. He never cared what about, why would a couple dumb schoolgirls' interest interest him anyway? If he could interact with them, he would – a hundred percent– have spooked them out of this place for good. He shooed off the Mokke and put away the hanafuda cards, drifting behind the third stall to wait till the girls' meeting cessated, hoping it wouldn't take a thousand hours. It'd be interesting if one of them actually came in here to try out the rumor of Hanako-san of the Toilet, considering that no one else ever came into this room otherwise.

     "Have you read it yet??" the same young lady questioned her companions, eagerly bouncing atop her toes.

     "Of course not, I just ordered it, it'd be a miracle if it arrived today," another replied.

     Read what?

     Hanako found himself eavesdropping on their talk, unthinkingly. It wasn't as if there was much else interesting to do.

     "I'm not going to give spoilers, but it is such a cute ending!" the first girl gushed, but her tone was excitable.

     "I KNOW RIGHT!" another voice piped up. "Okay but like when they finally reunited, Hanako-kun's reaction was so cute!"

     "Hanako-kun is such a tsundere, took him long enough to...you know~" the first derided.

     So that happened.

     The boy in reference nearly toppled head-first out of the stall in shock from hearing his name come from total strangers. That too, not Hanako-san, but Hanako-kun, the name only one person ever called him.

     "Haaa-naaa-ko-kun!!"

     Her mellifluous voice echoed in his ears as he recalled a memory of Nene a few years back. It sent a throb of agony through his wistful form. Pain, an ache a dead body could feel, cascading all the way to the non-existent nerves in his feet. An inexplicable phenomenon.

     "Oh, to heck with it! Let me have your phone! I want to buy the new book too!" A new voice exclaimed.

     "Hang on, let me just sign out real quick..."

     That did it, Hanako's curiosity killed his sensible side, and he let himself waft over the shoulders of the girl who was holding the phone. Poking over her puffy sleeves, his eyes surveyed the screen –an ordering page for a book– as they had been confabulating about. There were many, many things that caught his interest, but there were two words that allured his golden eyes.

     More From This Author:

     八尋寧々 (Yashiro Nene)

     So...the book these students had been talking about was none other than the book Nene had been working on last year?!

     No. That was wrong.

     As the ghost boy studied the screen more, he noticed that this was not a stand alone book, it was one of a whole series. And the name was even more jolting to him.

     "地縛少年花子くん" (Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun)

     Or also, "Toilet Bound Hanako-kun"

     It only then dawned upon him: Nene had been writing a book series! And not just any book series, it was a documentary of all their experiences together, but to the world, of course, it all seemed like a fantastical tale. Which was probably perfect for her, because she just had to write everything that had already happened in a story-worthy way, rather than thinking up a whole scenario to play out through words. At least she was meeting some of her goals since she left Kamome, and that made Hanako feel slight cheer.

     "Alright, here," Hanako barely remembered that the girl in front of him was a living, moving being, and he barely ducked out of her incoming hand, which shoved her device towards her friend.

     "Thanks," she responded, quickly signing into her own account.

     "Oh, by the way, there's also a special note at the end of the newest book. It's a letter from Yashiro-sensei herself!" the owner of the phone mentioned quickly, lifting a hand up to her cheek. "Isn't that cool?"

     "Whoa, really? I can't wait to read that, for sure," the girl currently holding the phone answered, still typing.

     Hanako's curiosity was overflowing, at this point. He was deathly curious as to what she had to say about the whole series, which was actually what she thought about them. Somehow, it seemed that the universe's luck had tipped in his favor today.

     "Oh, actually, I took a picture of that page at home!"

     The apparition prayed she wouldn't just leave it at that. Luckily, she snatched the phone and opened her photos, showing the group. They huddled and crowded around it, attempting to read the words amidst all the pushing and nudging going on. Obviously none of that affected Hanako, as he was able to exist in between –through– them, and he was able to get a clear view of the text as the girl displayed it for them. But before he could get a good look at it, she flipped it around, clearing her throat.

     "This is what it says..."

~~~*~~~

     It was a cloudless, clear, starry night, and through the dark neighborhood, one apartment light was on in the dark cluster of windows. Within the window, a girl with cream hair tied in two messy buns, with loose tresses hanging off each bun, lay on the pink bed, fiddling with a skull topper-pen in her hands. Her dull ruby eyes fluttered on the bridge between awake and asleep, fatigue evident in the warm tones of her irises. She let out a low moan and slid off the mattress, spilling onto her knees on the wooden floor. 

     "I don't have any ideaaassss," the girl whined, to pretty much the air around her. Obviously she gained no response, as it should normally be, talking to thin air and all. Yashiro Nene had been told by her publisher that as a thanks for being able to publish as many books to the public as she had, she should write a small note to her readers as a surprise. But she was clueless as to what to write; 'Oh hey guys thanks for reading this story that totally didn't happen in real life!'???

     Key word: Happened.

     Clutching her pen in a death grip, she hurled it into her window, causing it to make a loud "CLINK" sound. Tears filled her eyes as she got to her feet, clenching her fists and tightening them till they paled white. Strangled noises left her throat as her brain scrolled through all the memories she'd had at Kamome Academy.

     "...Why..."

     The girl dropped to her hands and knees, tears dripping from her eyes onto her carpet floor. She missed them. She missed him. And it hurt so much. She could never hug, caress, touch, comfort, or love him again. Never. She couldn't even see him; it was so unfair! Maybe she had another 85 years to live, but what was her life without the person who was her life? The carpet molded to her choking grip into her fists, as she silently asked the universe why he was ripped away from her hold so harshly. She laughed bitterly to herself, attempting to mask her pain through forced happiness.

     Sitting up straight, Nene stared out the window into the darkened city, with lights penetrating the otherwise black atomsphere. Her eyes traveled up, landing on the bright, rocky moon, in a crescent phase that night.

     "Hanako-kun..."

     His name left her lips before she could even think about it.

     Honestly, Nene couldn't even look into the night sky without instantly being reminded of the boy who'd loved the moon so much, he wanted to fly to it. The ache in her heart throbbed as she remembered him, and the fact she couldn't see him again, with her life span no longer being less than a year. Kou was leisurely, but even he couldn't see Hanako as much as he'd like to.

     Nene supposed that was the reason she'd begun writing in the first place. She didn't want to forget him, she didn't want him to stay unknown forever.

     She didn't want him to sink back into desolateness.

     She didn't want him to give up hoping again.

     She didn't want him to struggle with the dark memories he could no longer share with anyone.

     She didn't want Hanako to go right back to how he was before she met him.

     But how could she do anything if she could no longer interact with him?

     So Nene began writing everything from start to finish, from the very first day she met him. She included every thought she had, every action she had done, every detail she could remember and then disguised all the real-life people into fictional ones. Aside from Hanako, that is. Then she wrapped it up into a single book. And another, and another, and yet more. When she finally got Book 1 published...

     It was a major hit.

     Suddenly Nene was a bestselling author, and people were demanding a sequel. And it's exactly what she hoped would happen. Nene wanted people to know about her friend, even if they only thought of him as fiction.

     Maybe she couldn't make people love and remember Yugi Amane, but she could make others love Hanako-kun, through story.

     Her phone's ringtone dragged her thoughts back to her current time, and she picked up the baby pink case as the screen lit up with the caller: Kou.

     "Senpai!" his sunny, cheery voice rang through the device. For someone awake at 11 PM, he sounded awfully energetic. Same old Kou. But it was contagious, and a soft smile formed on Nene's lips.

     "Kou-kun," she replied easily. "It's awfully late, what's up?" she asked. Judging by his tone, it seemed that nothing was wrong.

     "Oh nothing, just checking in! And are you okay with a video call?"

     "Video? Uh, yeah..." Nene hastily rushed to a mirror on her dresser, pushing away loose strands of hair and rubbing off the sleepiness evident on her face. Her phone buzzed, and she accepted the video request. Kou's vivid, orangey-blond hair lit up the screen, and she was instantly met with his wide, fanged grin.

     "I knew it!" he exclaimed, startling her.

     "Huh?"

     "You have been overworking again!" he explained, frowning. "Are your publishers pushing you too hard? If they are I swear-"

     "No, no! It's really not like that..." Nene quickly defended. "It's mostly me pushing myself. I really wanna finish this author's note for the next book release as soon as possible," Nene sighed, her eyelids drooping. She stifled a yawn and her face tensed up.

     "Senpai...you really need to take a break. That's why I called–I knew you'd work yourself to the max." Kou noticed her eyes widen, and he panicked a bit, "I-I-It's not a b-bad thing though!" he scrambled to repair the impact of his words. "But maybe not great for right now?" His sky-colored eyes were flooded with uncertainty. Nene frowned and walked to her bed, flopping onto it. She held her phone above her face, her long cream hair splayed in every direction atop the blankets.

     "I...guess..." she finally replied, looking away. "It's just, Kou-kun, what's the best way to explain Hanako-kun to the public, without sounding insane?"

     "Eh-" the boy was taken off guard. Pretty hard question to answer, honestly. "I...I...I...I'm not...sure?" he answered hesitantly. He blinked his eyes, thinking. "Well, Senpai, tell them you're honoring a friend? An anonymous friend, after all, that is what you're doing, right?"

     "Oh, yeah, you're right! Yes! THAT'S IT!" Nene bounced up excitedly, her video shaking wildly. "Thank you Kou-kun!! And I am honoring you too, you know!"

     "Me? Bu-"

     "I need to get writing now! Thank you so much, and go sleep it's late, you really shouldn't have stayed up for me," Nene rambled a mile a minute, any trace of tiredness vanishing.

     "It's no problem, but you should sl-"

     "Okaythanksagainloveyoulotssweetdreamsbye!"

     The last thing Nene glimpsed before smashing the bright red end button was Kou basically resembling a bright red strawberry with strawberry-blond hair and a traffic-safety earring. She giggled at how adorable he looked, before setting down her phone and seating herself at her desk. Nene picked up her pen once again, but this time, actually began writing. The blue ink began to stain the paper as Nene formed it into her thoughts:

     Dear readers,

     First, I would like to thank each and every one of you for staying by this series long enough to be reading this right now. As terribly cliche as this is, I wouldn't be here writing this if you haven't given me all your support. It makes me so, so happy to know that the story I have the honor of telling interests you. But I really shouldn't – and I will not – take all the credit.

     You see, it's not really my story. It's the story of a dear friend to me.

     I wanted to share his memory with everyone else, even if he's not with me anymore. He inspired everything this series is. He inspired me. He had dreams, he had feelings, he had friends, even if he barely showed it. He made me laugh, smile, cry, rage, and do crazy things. And he made me feel so, so, so special. As if I was the world to him...

     And he is very much so to me, even now.

     Also, by reading and sharing these books, you all are helping me to keep his story and memory alive, and I can never thank you enough for that. Please continue to do so, and I will forever be in your debt.

     I don't think he'll ever read this, but I'm saying anyway:

     I miss you so much, I miss you everyday, and I'll always, always remember you.

     Because I still love you, Hanako-kun.

     And I will always love you...

     My Hanako-kun.

〜 Love,

Yashiro

(Your Favorite Daikon)

A/N I apologize if my crappy writing conjured some sad feelings bc I hate that Hananene is doomed before it started hahaha

Peace out!❤️