#dead yn

Genre: Angst (TW: no comfort/fluff, reader's possible death) Romantic [In which Karube makes a mistake with a horrid consequence]

["Would we be better off by now If I'd have let my walls come down?"]

You know how people say that most high school sweethearts don't last, and will never work out?

Karube and Y/N were a different story. They'd been together since their third year of high school (grade 9 in my country) and have remained strong ever since. If there was a misunderstanding they talked it out rather than start a nonsense fight against each other. They graduated together and lived together in an apartment. Y/N became a journalist for the news and Karube was a bartender.

The both had barely enough to get by but they did just fine, supporting each other in any way they could. Because of that, Y/N worked over time and sometimes didn't even come home. She couldn't always have time for Karube but she tried her best to squeeze him into her schedules.

Then Emi.

Ever since Karube's boss brought his girlfriend along, things..changed. The both would sneak glances at each other during their shifts and would flirt time to time. At first Karube's guilty conscience told him to stop, but due to giving into Emi over and over again he couldn't stop himself. Casual dates after their shift at a nearby coffee shop turned into him going to her place, turned into them kissing, and now the two had a secret relationship.

Ever since he had gotten with Emi, Y/N noticed how he didn't have time for their dates, or how he mostly just stood her up and didn't text her to tell her that he wasn't coming for their date at all. She figured it was her fault for not spending time with him, so she decided to apologize. Y/N had cooked him his favorite dish and put it in a bento, visiting him at his workplace.

Only to be hit with a first class view of him and Emi kissing by the bar counter.

No, it wouldn't have hurt Y/N, but the way he kissed Emi was different. When Karube kissed Y/N, it was always just a quick peck and a murmured 'i love you'; yet here he was holding Emi's waist firmly pulling her into his chest as he murmured praises into her lips. "Dai" Y/N called out, and he pulled away from Emi.

"Oh, you're here" he said nonchalantly pointing at the bento "Is that for me-"

"Seriously? I catch you cheating on me and all you can say is 'oh, you're here'? What the heck Dai!" Y/N interrupted, snapping at him.

"So it's my fault? Really now?! If you failed to notice, my dear Y/N, you're always at work! We barely have time for each other, it's not my fault that I found someone that will actually be here for me no matter what!" He yelled back, pissed.

"I do everything in my ability to spend time with you. I take effort into leaving between my shifts just to be with you Dai! Last time I checked you didn't even have the initiative to visit me at work! You just work at this damn bar, surely you could've come to see me right?" Y/N countered as her hands were displayed in fists, then Karube dropped the final blow.

"You know, our old classmates were right. We'd never work out. I tried my best to love you after we graduated you know? I discovered how different we are from each other. We weren't meant to last, Y/N. Let's break up, you can pack your things and move out tomorrow."

And he let her go, just like that. 10 years of their relationship gone in a flash.

Y/N moved out the same day because she couldn't bare the sight of him and his new trophy, Emi. To cope, she drowned herself in her job, barely resting. She needed to get her mind off Karube, he wasn't worth her energy.

<><><><><>

"I'm sorry Miss L/N, but based on my observation you have Stage 3 lung cancer. I'm afraid there is no cure, and the life expectancy is maybe 4-5 years more."

Y/N clearly blamed herself for this, it was her fault for overworking. She thanked the doctor as she headed out. She wanted to enjoy the life she had left, so she unburdened herself from her work. She resigned the very next day, and with the money she saved she decided to travel the world. Now was her time to empty her bucket list.

<><><><><>

It had been a few years and Y/N was down to her last few months left. The last country she wanted to visit was France, she had tons of sketches of the places she'd been to, and now she was sketching Paris into her memory.

"Y/N?"

She glanced away from sketching the Eiffel Tower to see Karube staring at her in shock. "It's really you? Wow..you look different. I didn't expect to meet you here, small world huh?" He smiled at her softly, but Y/N didn't return it. "I didn't think I'd see you here either. Why isn't Emi with you?" She tried to ake clear with the tone of her voice that she didn't want to have this conversation with him, but he hadn't caught on. "Ah, we broke up. Turns out she was dating the owner of the club and I was just her affair. She broke it off around 3 months after you left." He explained, sitting on the bench beside her. "About well you know, I'm sorry I kicked you out. Turns out I was just infatuated-"

"Infatuated? Getting caught kissing a different girl by your own girlfriend and not even apologizing for it isn't infatuation, Karube. It's betrayal and a ton of trust lost." She replied coldly. Karube was taken aback at how she spoke his name with venom laced in her words, how she looked at him with hatred in her eyes.

"Look I know i destroyed that trust but please, at least let's not have a grudge on one another."

"I don't want to talk to you Karube-" she got up to leave only to double over in pain, coughing. Karube got up confused but went pale to see blood in her palm.

"Y/- Y/N!" he caught her as her knees buckled below herself, rushing her to the hospital.

<><><><><>

"I'm sorry sir, but she didn't make it. It was her time to be taken by her sickness."

"Sickness?"

"You didn't know sir? She had lung cancer."

Karube froze on the spot unmoving even after the doctor left him. He burst into her room hoping it was a foolish prank to get him back, only to see her laying still and peaceful, the life drained off her face. Tears slowly slid off Karube's cheeks as he cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek as he pulled her into a heart wrenching hug, apologizing to her over and over again.

Because of him and his stupid infatuation, rather than him spending time with her he was out with another girl. He realized Y/N's efforts of visiting him even during her shifts, and how he didn't visit her even once. He realized that she was supportive to him and how she was always there when he needed comfort, unlike Emi who never listened to him or comforted him. Emi only went to him when she had problems, while Y/N always made sure to check up on him.

If it wasn't for him getting attached to Emi, he would still be with Y/N. Because of his selfishness, rather than being in bed cuddling her, here he was holding her fragile lifeless figure in his arms.

So now, whenever he spots young high school couples holding hands or being affectionate in public, Karube Daikichi is now among the people that say high school sweethearts never last.