“I lie here in peace

Knowing I took not for grant

What life gave to me.”

The gravestone is marked with the words and the coffin is ready to be placed in its grave. Relatives stand around it: some crying, some holding the tears in and some stiff from shock. A woman stands next to the man depositing the coffin, bawling her eyes out. Nature seems to agree that a cloudy sky with a drizzle would fit the scene well.

Isamu looks on from the crowd, fearful that his tears aren’t appearing. “After death, it’s just a corpse,” says a stranger-a stranger Isamu can’t identify- beside him, “it has no name from now on.”

He fights to sound his thoughts, “Yes, it does! YES, IT DOES! That’s… that’s my…” The words don’t come out.

He wipes off the rain on his face and even though his gut is wrenching, he feels no trigger for tears.

“What the heck’s wrong with me?”

…………………………………………………………………………………

Isamu wakes up with a jolt. Pulling his head up from the book it was resting on, he looks around. He finds the seats in front of him and to his side empty. The sound of the clubs outside can be heard. Stretching his upper body, Isamu stands up. “Haven’t had a dream like that in a while….”

“Fell asleep in class again, did we? You’ve been like this for a week now, you know.” He hears Mareo behind him.

“Did any teachers notice? Did someone tell on me? Did I get into trouble because of it? What did I miss? There wasn’t anything I had to submit, right?”

“Slow down. Slow down. Are you still asleep? Stop barraging me with these right after waking up!”

With his eyes half-open, Isamu stuffs the book into his backpack and pulls it onto his right shoulder.

“Why’d you go silent all of a sudden?” Mareo walks past him. Hearing a bang, he turns around to see Isamu bent over with his head on the desk. “Oy! Are you okay? Oy, Isamu! Man, get a hold of yourself.”

As he pulls Isamu off the desk, he groans, “I don’t want to search anymore! Please, just make it stop. The headache is getting worse. God, please take me up now. I won’t be able to do anything down here anyway.”

“Dude, how long have you been sleep deprived for?”

Isamu grabs Mareo’s collars with both hands “ No more! I’m going to give up on becoming famous, man! I’ve looked. There isn’t anything for me to leave a legacy behind in.”

Mareo pulls his hands off. Sitting him down, he slaps Isamu. “Get it together! Go wash your face. After nagging about it for two years and driving me mad along with yourself, you’re giving up now?”

With his head resting on his arm, Isamu continues, mumbling, facing away from Mareo, “Damn you, Newton, Maxwell. Curse you, Einstein. To heck with you, Planck. Damn all you physicists! Leave something for little ol’ me to get my name on!”

Sighing, Mareo again pulls Isamu off the seat. “Yup. That’s it. You’re going home. Now! You’re lucky it’s a Friday.” He pushes Isamu from the back. “Stop and I’ll punch you in the kidneys. Keep walking.” He lets out a sigh. “He’s going to be one of those people who cry about their misfortunes when they get drunk!”

They get out to a quite empty hallway with a few students chatting here and there in small cliques. As they walk through the tiled hallway, Isamu mumbles, “Mareo, you’re a good guy! Take care of yourself... and her. Make your dreams come true. Live a long life. Just find me a place where I won’t be found for a week. I’ll die of dehydration in three days but just to make sure, leave me there for a week. ”

“Are you drunk? How are you shifting from being a dying old man and being suicidal so easily?  Here, we’re at the washroom.” Mareo pushes Isamu onto the sinks. “Now wash your face and wake up. You’ve been acting drunk for a long time now.”

………………………………………………………………………………………

“Sleep debt is scary,” Isamu says, pulling the straps of his bag.

“I feel sorry for Einstein and the folks,” Mareo says, walking beside him, facing the orange-tinted evening sky. “Hey, did you buy the new issue of Jump? Can’t wait for the new chapters!”

“Yeah. But that’s why you’re coming over? You materialist bastard!” Isamu punches his arm lightly.

“So?” Mareo turns towards Isamu, “ Have you met that girl again? After all those theories for two weeks, you just stopped talking about it the day after you met her.”

“Well, a promise is a promise,” Isamu says under his breath.

“Huh?”

“A-anyway, I just thought that maybe the silhouette was caused by some unknown phenomenon, or maybe I could get to discover something unexplained.”

“So, paranormal theories?”

“No! Stop it with that!” Isamu sighs before continuing, “I thought nature was finally kind enough to show me something that the Newtons and Einsteins before me didn’t notice or see.”

“You’re pretty stuck up about getting famous, aren’t you?”

“Not famous, man! It’s to be remembered. Neither like the usual three-generation cycle with children and grandchildren, nor some temporary fame. To be remembered hundreds of years down the line like-”

“I know. We’ve gone through this multiple times already. Well, it’s the same with me too, but you’re taking this too seriously. To lose sleep over this is a bit too juvenile, don’t you think?”

Isamu scratches his head.“ Juvenile? Well, yeah. This was actually due to the frustration of it not being what I’d hoped. I thought frantically searching for so long paid off, I wouldn’t mind trying for years to properly theorize it but…”

“But what, idiot-san?”
“A girl’s voice? This feels like it has happened before. It can’t happen again, right?” Isamu looks over his shoulder to see Akira close behind.

“How did you hear that?”

“You two are talking pretty loudly if I can hear from here, you know,” Akira says as she walks up next to him.

“So, you’re the stalker now?” “More importantly, where did she come from?”

“Not very funny Matsumoto-kun. Besides, you don’t look too good. Oh well, I’ll head home now. It's getting late.” She says as she heads into the path to their left, "Get some sleep. Those are somebags!".

“No explanation? There was absolutely no reason for her to be there!”

Mareo, silent all this while, says, “ So, she’s the one, huh?”

“Why are you saying like you’re a father meeting his son’s fiancé for the first time?” Isamu says frowning before yawning.

“Quite the yawn! I’m gonna make sure you sleep today.”

“You’re not my mom, dad or my girlfriend! Just read the issue like you always do and don’t disturb.”

Mareo says after a chuckle, “Yeah. But what was all that about giving up? Are you really going to stop trying?”

“What? No! A promise is a promise. How will I face Shouko Sensei?”

“Take me with you next time you visit her grave.”

“Sure,” Isamu says as they arrive at the door to Isamu’s house. “Her influence hasn’t worn off in three years... Maybe I’ll be in this cycle of searching for my chance all my life.”

---------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note:

~ The 'Jump' Mareo refers to here is the weekly magazine 'Weekly Shounen Jump' the company Shueisha. It has played host to series' such as Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, etc.