Takao was dreaming.
It was like something taken straight out from a scientific article on a magazine, lucid dream – a dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. Most of the time (which he was pretty sure also applied to a whole lot of people), he could barely even remember the dream which he had last night the morning when he finally woke up. This time though, it was different. The scenery before him was as realistic and vivid as it could be.
Takao was standing in the middle of the recreation area on what looked like a prison complex. The vast blue sky stretching endlessly above him contrasted sharply with the row of high fences adorned with barbed wire on top a bit far to his left. The immediate grounds were deserted, save from a pair of men chatting happily while the other prisoners (underlings? lackeys? Whatever those are…) retreated safely to the background. They were sitting on the corner bench, with the blond haired man leaning perhaps a bit too closely to the green haired one. From his position, he could see a long stream of smoke coming from the direction of the green man (henceforth named, Stranger A). "…smoke? I am oh so tired…please give me a stick of that high quality healing leaf of yours," Stranger B or the blond man said.
"Alright already! Wait a second! …here." Stranger B then bounced some more time against Stranger A's back who then placed a new stick of cigarette between his companion's lips. He then leaned in to transfer the flame…where the hell was the match he used to lit up his own, again? Takao tried to bite down on his comment. The tips of the cigarettes touched and the two men proceeded to match the timing of their collective breaths. Some time passed, and the fire on Stranger B's cigarette was successfully lit. He seemed to be very pleased at the result, being a minor and (more or less) an athlete of some sort, Takao could never tell, but it truly seemed to be an item of high quality.
…which then begged a question of how Stranger A had even managed to acquire them on the first place. Wasn't this place supposed to be a prison ground? Lost in his brief musing about the origin of the cigarettes among many other things, Takao nearly missed the instance when Stranger B gave a quick wink to Stranger A and delivered the sentence, "Thank you, Bernardo. Love ya." Those cigarettes must be really good to warrant such comment…or maybe he was just that desperate for a smoke. He really should stop scrutinizing every little detail (a nasty habit he picked up along the way during his association with a certain ace-sama). To that Stranger A (now Bernardo) then replied, "If this is what my Honey wishes, then it is my pleasure."
Those guys are lovers, aren't they? Takao considered himself to be a liberated man, but the thought of witnessing such thing live (at least in his dream) was a bit…disconcerting, to put it mildly. Or maybe they were just joking? It really was that convincing to not be true, though. Unfortunately, before Takao could manage to recover from his shock, the pair then decided to move their little "game" up to a notch. Bernardo stretched out his hand to tickle Stranger B's ear who then half-whispered, "It has been quite a while, don't you think? …hey, you think it is OK if we … just do it right here, right now?"
"There is nothing I would welcome more, Honey," Bernardo replied with a grin. He then placed his hand on Stranger B's shoulder – being careful to avoid the burning cigarettes – and leaned over as he pushed him down the bench. It was then when Takao noticed the sound of footsteps pitter-pattering into the distance which was followed by a string of colorful curses.
No doubt that somebody out there had suffered a trauma too great to handle…the poor soul. Also, is it just me being silly, or do their voices sounded suspiciously like mine and Shin-chan?
…this is one hell of a weird dream.
After the incident, the dream continued on. From bits of conversations and other actions, Takao found out that Bernardo and Stranger B (later Giancarlo Bourbon del Monte, a very long and complicated name) had known each other for many years. During their first meeting, they were asked by their boss to work together and since that time, they have been friends and call each other "darling" and "honey" in jest…much to the innocent bystanders' horrors. Gian and Bernardo were a part of the mafia organization named CR:5 who operated in the city of Daivan, a port city dominated by Italian immigrants in America. Due to some circumstances, they (along with other mafia captains) were thrown into the correctional facility and were currently planning their escape.
Apparently, thanks to his ridiculously lucky nature, Gian was dubbed as the "lucky dog" and was promised the position of the mafia boss, should he manage to successfully free his fellow captains from the prison…talk about lucky bastards. This is completely beyond the lucky items and Oha-Asa's league. Not to mention, it was also a bit unsettling to hear his own voice coming from another person's mouth, and the same could also be said to Midorima's. He felt like he was watching a movie, with the characters that were familiar yet alien at the same time. Takao would admit (although a bit begrudgingly) some uncanny similarities between himself and Gian, but for Midorima the resident tsundere of the Shuutoku High as the playful Bernardo? No, not at all.
Takao then spent the rest of the long dream with an existence just like a ghost, following the pair's every movements. Not that he had any choice regarding the matter, he was unable to move or engage freely with the other people present. Countless of times, he had tried to will himself awake to no avail, his body was way too tired and his eyelids was heavy with sleep. It laid on top of him like a thick blanket and said to back of his mind, "Shut up and watch."
He breezed through the whirlwind that was known as "the great escape" plan, the ensuing car chase with the warden's car (a sleek Alfa Romeo) and the hilarious episode when the group had tried to have a peek at a lady bathing on the creek…only to find out that she was actually a he. By that moment, Takao had abandoned any reservations and laughed as if his life was depending on it. After all the fuss to determine the peeping order…what a real letdown! The days after that incident then passed away in a haze. The foul mouthed captain was caught by the chief's wife…which prompted the group to pull a fast one on the entire village population. No matter how much he thought about it, he still couldn't believe the transparent lie told by Bernardo to cover the other captain's mistake. Seriously, a group of traveling performers which oh-so-conveniently dressed in stripes just in the time of a major prison breakout? It seemed that every highly improbable scenario (on par with a meteor falling on the opposing team's bench, if he could say so for himself) kept happening to the group. Some way or another, they had managed to leave the village with their life (and secret identity) more or less intact, and started their journey to Daivan. Along the way, they made a stop at the neighboring city to do some stocking up (read: steal tons of money from a local shop and use them to buy clothes and…weapons). Amidst the wary eyes from the whole city peering through their closed windows, the group then literally left with the bang of a gun that Gian had shot up high into the sky. A bright red sports car, the endless sound of a machine gun, and five guys clad in prison clothes…flashy as always.
In the mafia organization, Bernardo's job was to look after the transaction of money and act as the communication line between all the members. The boss was still missing when they arrived…with a leak of classified information to the rival gang as an extra if the current situation was not bad enough. Again thanks to Gian's luck, a financial crisis of epic proportion was successfully avoided and Bernardo took him out to celebrate at the local bar. The pair then met a woman named Natasha (revealed as Bernardo's ex) and David (a suspicious guy from the rival gang). At this point, Bernardo became drunk and all hell broke loose…namely the start of talks about raising kids with Gian and an undeniably intimate engagement between the two. Not again…official or not, those guys are definitely lovers! Trapped with no means of escape in the dramatic life and times of a pair of gay mafias, Takao then proceeded to cover his ears as well as he could and made a thorough study of the cracks and slight discoloration of the alley's brick wall. Thinking about basketball, or his pile of unfinished homework also helped. Definitely not Shin-chan.
To make long story short, Bernardo went to talk with David about the continuation of the truce between the two organizations and left Gian a message, "If I am not back by now…I must have been captured or killed." He wanted Gian to take the money that they had acquired and ran away, but Gian of course chose to go and save him. Well, they are lovers after all. With the help of one of kid informers, he found Bernardo (and his missing boss) at a supposedly abandoned building. The next day, Bernardo left to meet with the gang boss in Chicago…please don't get captured this time. Everyone was there including David and a representatives of the Chicago and the GD gang (the aforementioned American rival). In a moment brilliance, Bernardo turned up late and showed a record of a conversation where David was bragging about his encounter with his ex and started to blabber about his plans to kill the current boss and became one himself. Was the technology ever this sophisticated in the 1920s? Nevertheless, he was thoroughly screwed. Big time.
That was the brief summary of the events that occurred, and somehow, Takao could feel that the end of his long dream was near. Introduction, development, turn, and conclusion. Their days passed with cheeks stuffed full of turns. Days without a conclusion where they ran freely through every direction of the human emotions. Finally after all was said done (which involved David being dragged away by a group of tough-looking guys with their weapons drawn), Bernardo then left to go to see Natasha. Just like a movie, Gian chased after him and found Bernardo waiting under the pouring rain with a bouquet of red roses. A pouring rain, a guy carrying a bouquet of roses, and a dimly lit old drinking establishment…Takao could swear that he heard a melancholic tune by the violin at this point. It turned out that Bernardo felt guilty about using Natasha and was afraid of seeing her. Looking a bit reluctant, Gian encouraged him to see her and so Bernardo went…is it always this easy to encourage people or was he just doing it with the wrong guy? Gian looked into the distance and seemed to regret his decisions when Bernardo returned shortly since Natasha refused to see him after the incident. A brief exchange which mostly consisted of Gian trying to cheer Bernardo up occurred and the two of them then started drinking and walking down the street…in the pouring rain. Suddenly, Takao tought, the genre of the movie changed in an instant. Again.
They made their way through the town. By this time, the moon was already high upon the sky and Takao could see the stars that dotted it clearly – like precious stones. He wondered, if Gian looked like that in front of Bernardo's eyes and vice versa. To be so deeply in love, everyone want to experience it at least once. Sometimes they talked, just about trivial stuff like how the beer tasted great and about the memories they made together. Bernardo laughed often at the anecdotes and so did Gian, a pair of idiots who got caught in the rain and didn't even care. Along the way, the night passed into day and they reached the sea while dawn broke out. There was an iron bridge nearby and – either due to the sheer feelings of euphoria or intoxication (Takao could never tell) – they climbed all the way up to the top. Even though he seemed to be really afraid of the height, Bernardo started walking on the edge of the other side of the railing and Gian naturally followed. The pair then started laughing like maniacs about how scary and absurd the situation was. Amidst the roaring laughter, Bernardo made a sudden halt, straightened his back, and shouted out that he loved Gian and said that he was his proof of existence for the entire waking world to hear. He loved him, and fortunately the guy loved him too. That was all it was…nothing to hide – and nothing to be ashamed of. After a brief moment of stunned silence, Gian laughed and shouted that he would become a mafia boss – just for his sake. Seemingly out of nowhere, a gust of wind came and they fell from the other side of the railing to the pavement and started laughing again.
…and it hit him.
He was standing in a pitch black room and the scene from before was put into a standstill on a giant screen. He could also hear the faint buzzing sound of the projector and see the trajectory of lights coming from its direction behind. It really was a movie. In front of him stood a person whose face was obscured by the darkness, and said, "Do you remember now?"
"I…."
Takao woke up in his own room with cold sweats hanging all over his body. From his position, he could make up his mother sitting by his side with a worried look plastered upon her face. Blinking several times, he then surveyed the entire space – small bags of medicines, an icepack, a crumpled handkerchief, and a thermometer placed around his immediate surroundings. "You are finally awake," his mother calmly said.
"…yes," he recalled going down with a cold and high fever after his admittedly not-so-stellar idea of bracing the rain home. Upon arrival, he took a long soak in the bath, ate his dinner, and promptly went to bed after taking several pills. He never would have thought that his condition could be this bad. "You are asleep for almost 18 hours…do you want to eat anything? Your fever seemed to have gone down," his mother then put her hand on top of his forehead. He wanted to reply, but the words then stuck and died on his throat. Was I really asleep for that long? Man, I am hungry! Chicken soup sounds nice~ Sorry to make mom felt so worried. Anything. Instead, a steady stream of tears fell down on his cheek. He could not think of any particular reasons for being sad, so are these happy tears? Is he happy right now?
Bernardo and Gian.
Him and Shin-chan.
The kind of feeling that he wanted to forget, but couldn't… what did they call it? He felt a bit sad, but also incredibly happy at the same time. Like he had acquired something precious from the past. His mother's puzzled face and incessant urging to go to the hospital was the last thing he noticed before he closed his eyes again.
Just for a little while.
I want to see you.
The present in front of me was already in the colors of memories.