Chapter Text
A 15 year-old Hero was waiting outside of her front door, worried. She had been practicing on her piano the whole day—any good boyfriend would be worried. In his hand was a batch of cookies, freshly-baked, just for her. Usually, he’d make them for all of them to share, but today he felt like he had to give these to her. Just her.
He knocked on the door.
He silently hoped that their mother opened it, she’d totally let him in, or maybe Sunny—he was presumably taking a break (he only heard the piano), anything but their dad. Their father wasn’t exactly the fondest of him… Hero tried to get on his good side, but in the end, he figured out it was just better to keep his distance.
He began to pace slightly, his shoe dragging against the wood of their porch. Eventually, their mother opened it, the woman looking at him in surprise. “Henry?” She looked around for the other kids—an hyper boy, a sassy girl, a shy boy—nothing. Just the eldest son of the house-next-door. He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he began to speak. “Hi, Mrs. Suzuki,” he greeted, his grip on the cookies tightening just slightly. “Mind if I come in?”
Sunny and Ma Mrs. Suzuki’s eyes softened, and she smiled back as she stepped aside to let him in. “Of course, Henry. Do make yourself comfortable.” She replied, and Hero silently thanked her as he walked into the house. He waved to their dad as he saw him (had to be polite), and he started up the stairs to greet Sunny. He was sitting on his bed, worn out, eyes tired as he cracked his knuckles.
”Hey, Sunny.” He called out, giving the younger boy a brotherly smile. Once he saw Sunny wave back, he went back down the stairs to go straight to the piano room. She was in there. He took a deep breath, and opened the door—not enough to disturb her, but enough to see her back.
There she was, in all of her glory, velvety black hair cascading down her back, fingers gliding against the keys gracefully. He leaned against the doorway, watching for a few long moments. He did this a lot, just standing there and admiring her.
As he caught himself, he cleared his throat and walked closer, stopping at her side. She played for a while longer before her fingers finally stopped, and she looked up at him—her smile a little tireder than usual, her fingers stretching weakly before she put them onto the bench below her.
”Hey, Hero!” She attempted to say cheerfully, a smile gracing her face as she scooted over, patting the spot next to her, as if she was saying ’Sit here.’ Hero complied, sitting next to her as she instinctively leaned onto him. “The recital is tomorrow…” She began to speak. “Sunny’s been really stressed over it lately. I have a feeling that he doesn’t actually wanna do this.”
As she spoke, Hero took a cookie from the bag and waited for her to finish speaking. Once she was done, he placed a cookie in her mouth.
”…Well, you know Sunny. You can’t pressure him too much… Although, he might just be stressed because the recital is tomorrow. Important stuff like that might just stress him out,” He replied, putting his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He needed the contact, needed her close. “Y’know, I’m surprised you even stopped playing for me.”
She would reply, but she was busy chewing the cookie. It melted in her mouth, warm, comforting… Hero knew she needed a break.
”I should be practicing right now.” She huffed as she swallowed the cookie. “I just feel like I haven’t perfected it yet, Hero…” She began to stress, sitting up as she clasped her hands together. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but… I don’t think I’ve perfected it yet.”
He finally glanced over, finally took a look at her face.
…No, that wasn’t right.
She seemed too perfect, too much. Where was the clip in her hair, the eighth note that always held her bangs back? Where was the light flush to her cheeks, the little mole underneath her eyes? Her lips looked pale, she had no earrings, her hair was straighter than usual. She seemed thinner, she felt… different.
His eyes widened as he finally remembered. “Mari—“
”Hero? What’s wrong?” She glanced at him as he tensed up, turning her to face him, his hands moving to grip her shoulders.
”Mari, please!” He suddenly begged, the cookies falling onto the floor as he pulled her into a hug. Suddenly, he was back to his current self—he felt the heaviness in his chest come back, the warmth slowly fading away. “Don’t leave… You— You could’ve talked to me!” He said hysterically, pulling her closer, sobbing into her shoulder.
”Oh, Hero…” Mari patted his back reassuringly, her eyes closing as she felt his tears seep into her shirt. “You’ll be okay without me.”
“Nothing will be okay without you, Mari! Why did you have to do it? We were there, always there for you to talk to us! Don’t go, please don’t go!”
She pulled away to cup his cheeks. “Hero.”
”M… Mari… Mari, please… D… don’t leave me again…”
”I have to go soon, Hero.”
He held on tighter, refusing to let her out of his grip. “Don’t… leave me alone. I feel so alone without you… Everyone misses you, so, so much.”
She smiled at him. “…Please wake up, Hero. You need to wake up.”