The clock on the wall ticked audibly in the silence.
Takabi rested his head on the pillow, eyes locked on the ceiling and hands folded over his stomach. Stubble facial hair grew along his jawline and over his upper lip. His eyes held tired bags from countless sleepless nights. The muscles in his arms ached greatly, and the clothes he was wearing were loosely thrown on.
An orange T-shirt, left sleeve ripped off. Dark jeans and dirty silver colored sneakers. He stopped caring so much about his appearance around a year ago. Clothing didn't matter to him now unless it was for work, and that was due to the uniform and how he had to smile at his boss and coworkers.
It was three in the afternoon. The sun was still faintly fresh in the sky, visible through the skylight in the ceiling that exposed the bright blue blanket above. A woman was sitting to Takabi's right, blonde hair tied up in a bun and glasses sliding off the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were locked on a clipboard in her lap, and she chewed on the cap of her pen, smearing her lip gloss faintly.
"One more time," She said to him in a monotone voice.
He exhaled quietly. He'd been here for the past few hours, and had been coming here for two years straight. As routine as it was, he was still annoyed at having to repeat a watered down version of things that happened to him on Dreulara. Going any more into detail would expose him and the others, or worse. A mental institution wasn't exactly on a list of places Takabi wanted to go to.
"My name is Takabi Yamishito. I am twenty-one years old."
"Name the date," The woman said.
"It is currently," He paused to glance at the clock then resumed speaking, "Three o' Four on May 3rd, 2019."
"State my name."
"Ashley Clark."
"State Occupation."
"I am currently employed in the Electronics industry. I repair run down computers and sell them once they're fixed."
"State my Occupation."
He bit his lip. A deep breath, eyes shut tightly. The word hung in his throat, a title he hated hearing as he told himself he'd never come to one.
It's routine, He thought.
Impatient, Ashley crossed her legs. He wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not, but from the corner of his eye, he could tell she was exposing her underwear. Nevertheless, he spoke as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Therapist."
Uncapping her pen, Ashley scribbled something down on her clipboard. "What brings you to me today?"
"I've been… Dealing with the death of loved ones poorly. I can't sleep, I barely eat. Whenever I do sleep, I have nightmares and wake up."
"Tell me about these nightmares."
"I see fire," He said quickly. "Lava and Magma. I can hear the screams of a little girl, and feel her blood on my face and hands. Each time, I dream that I could save her if something was different."
"That's not just it, is it Mr. Yamishito." Ashley spoke softly, breaking her robotic nature that was casual during these sessions. With him, she took a specific liking. As awful as it sounded to her, she was always fascinated by the things he spoke. It would always be with passion and truth.
"No," He replied. "My father. My uncle and Mother. I lost all three within the same week. I cried for ages for them, wishing I could turn back time and bring them back to me."
"Don't we all," She agreed. "Do you believe their deaths are the cause of your state now?"
Takabi was hesitant to say yes or no. In all honesty, he wasn't so sure himself. Garuga, Porrelth and Syrreth. Their deaths had a massive impact on the Mystics as a whole, but for him it sat in his heart like a stone. He always felt guilty about not doing more, about not pushing himself and dying in the process; Though that's not what they would have wanted to begin with.
His life meant everything to them. He knew that now.
Knowing that, here he was two years later in a therapist's office in New WaterSlum. It wasn't exactly how he pictured himself but it was better than being dead.
"I don't know," He finally said. "I guess both yes and no."
An alarm erupt in the tense quiet. Ashley looked at her phone, writing something onto the clipboard before standing and lowering her skirt. "That will be all for today. Thank you for coming."
Takabi, in surprise, nodded and stood up.
"Same time next week?"
"Yeah," He replied, walking towards the door to leave them room. Ashley glanced over his body, biting her lip at how developed he was.
It's inhumane to be that hot, She thought.
Stepping down the hall into the main lobby, he approached the main desk and looked at the man on the phone. Greasy, with circle glasses and a ponytail. He handed Takabi his phone, which he promptly took and checked his messages. One from Kairas, One from Nana.
Kai: How you holding up, Man? Therapy can be rough but you've made it through a couple years of it, right? Coming by tonight. See you then.
He looked over Nana's text next.
Nana: Hey, Honey. Hope therapy was okay today. Lunch will be ready when you get home.
He smiled at the two messages. The smile was weak, but genuine. Stuffing his hand in his pocket, he quickly called Nana, stepping out of the building into the warm air and bright sunlight.
His mind flashed around to the time that had passed since they touched back down on Earth, then to a year ago when he bought a home for him and Nana. He progressed in life, but couldn't move past Dreulara.
Nana picked up after the third ring. Her voice was tired and a bit muffled on her side as she just woke up. "Takabi… Hey, how'd it go?"
"Fine," He said. "Same as usual." He rounded a silver Honda Accord, opening the door and sitting in the driver's side. "Uh, I think you might've been right though. She might be trying to seduce me."
Nana huffed loudly. "I knew we couldn't trust her! Who does something like that with their patients anyway?"
"Someone desperate for sure. I'm on my way back now though. I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay. I love you."
Smiling, he started the car and said, "I love you too."