A/N: Ayye Chapter 4 is up! From now on, things will finally start to blossom yass! :3 PLZ ENJOY ;3
The autumn sky was over us. So beautiful… Yet that day, the autumn sky's colors were duller than ever. I knew that I was ready. I didn't want to accept this as a farewell between us. I knew that deep down…I didn't want him to do it. The child from my past memory, was all grown up now. An astonoshing young man, with an aura of protection and bravery. But still, I couldn't see his face…Even now…! It was that time of the year, where the leaves were raining down from the hundreads of trees. How can such beauty and grief be together in the same world…?
The child cupped my cheek and asked me for the 1000th time if he could do what the «she» had told him to do so many times after we… No, my mind won't let me remember our sin. I nodded, tearing up because I knew that this was farewell. «I don't want to leave you…!» I whimpered out and stretched out my arms, trying to hold him just one more time.
He didn't want me to. He drifted away from me, apologizing so many times. Not because he couldn't embrace me… It was because he didn't want this, just as much as I didn't want that. Just because of..her, all this seemed like a sin. But, for god's sake, it wasn't a sin! I just…I just…
All I wanted was to stay with the child!
He put his two middle fingers between my eyes and whispered, his voice filled with sorrow:
«I'm sorry…»
These tears were different from the last time I woke up. I could barely see because of them and the new ones. Where am I? This bed isn't the same I've slept in these past few days. Looking up at the ceiling, I noticed some fairly expensive-looking lamps, lighting up the room I was in. Is this a…hospital? Oh, right! He was going to…take me here.
«Hey…you awake?» a warm voice asked beside me. I turned my face to the direction the voice was coming from. «Yoshiki…,» I whispered out. «Thank god you are… You scared the crap out of me back there!» he said as if he scolded me. I wiped my cheeks and said in a tired tone: «Sorry… I just…I…!»
Remembering my dream, my eyes got filled with hot tears.
«Ayumi… You got a memory back…» Yoshiki muttered. I nodded and said: «It was so painful… I can't believe I went through something like that!» «Was it that bad?» he asked, searching for something in his pocket. «Yeah… I lost someone very close to my heart…» I said.
«Oh…I know how that feels…,» Yoshiki said and sighed. «Huh…? You've lost someone too, Yoshiki?» I asked, surprised. He doesn't seem like that kind of person that would consider anyone precious, to be honest. «Yeah. I guess that's partly why I was very down last week and a few days before,» he explained. Oh… So that's what Morishige and Satoshi meant when they said that he'd been through hell.
«It is definitely the worst feeling in the world…» I said, earning a nod from him. Suddenly, his face lit up. I assumed that he found what he was looking for in his pocket, so he pulled out his hand from it and handed me a tissue.
«You look awful with tears in your eyes,» he said. «Geez, saying that again…» I mumbled, wiping away my tears for good with it. «That reminds me… Did you find a sacrifice?» I asked. Yoshiki shook his head, dissapointed. «Why not? You could have just left for a while, couldn't you?» I said. He covered his mouth with his hand and muttered unclearly: «I thought that…getting you some help was more important. Besides, I'll just tell Sachiko. I'm sure she'll understand.»
«I-Is that so…» I said, flustered about what he said. «Mhm. She's only a tad weaker than usual. She could go a month without sacrifices and still not get weakened to the point where she'll die. But it would be better if I get her a sacrifice now,» he said. I nodded understandingly and sat up in the bed.
«Should we leave? I feel way better, so we can go back to the estate if you want,» I suggested. «Alright, but only if you don't feel dizzy,» he said, offering his hand to me. I took it and unsteadily got up on my feet. «Thanks… Did you call the others?» I asked. While walking to the exit, he replied: «Yeah, they told me that they would make dinner for us, so don't worry about that. For our sake, please don't overwork yourself today and rest. Can you promise me that?»
I couldn't say no with the look he was giving me, so I had to nod, even though I really wanted to work today. «Thank you…» he said in relief and slightly pushed my bangs back. He's being so kind to me right now… It's almost like the ice in his body had started to thaw, bit by bit.
…
«Oh my god, are you okay?! Did you seriously faint!?» Satoshi asked panicked when he and Morishige met us by the door. «Yeah, sorry for worrying you too. I'm completely fine now, though!» I said cheerfully to reassure them. «Thank heaven. I was worried that you had fallen into a coma or something,» Morishige said and chuckled. I laughed with him and said: «I'm alright though, all thanks to Yoshiki. He carried me to the hospital all by himself.»
«Ah…Don't mention it…» Yoshiki mumbled embarrased behind me. Morishige gave him a weird look that I couldn't really translate. «Really? Good for you, Ayumi. Anyways, if you're hungry, dinner's ready!» Satoshi said and went ahead to the kitchen. «Coming!» I said and followed him, lured by the deicious smell of hamburger steaks.
...
The hamburger steak was delicious and we all enjoyed our small meal time together. Even Yoshiki, who disliked chit-chat during meals talked about various things, which clearly surprised all three of us. But when we finished eating…my dizzyness returned. Obviously, Yoshiki noticed that, so he wanted me to rest for a while in my room, so I did. I was hoping that no more painful memories would come back, but…
…
You know those times where you feel so small because you don't have much confidence? Right now…Not only did I feel small. I was small. The warmth that my mother and father had given me for the first short years in my life, faded away too soon for some reason. Why didn't they want me anymore…? Why did they leave me here? I was just a little girl, and when my parents weren't with me anymore, most kids would naturally cry. They would cry out for them, hoping that they would pick you up anytime soon. Because…mommy and daddy will always come back for me, right?
But I didn't cry. I loved my parents, of course. That's why I didn't cry. I knew that they would come back for me. I knew that they loved me too, so they would pick me up afterwards, right? They will always come back! Won't they…
No…
They didn't come back…
They just left me there…
They wouldn't care if I became a victim of a murder.
I understand that now…
«God, just stop already!»
I screamed out in despair, waking up from the dream. «No! It can't be!» I yelled out. «Ayumi! What's going on?!» I heard Yoshiki yell from outside my room. Before I could call out to him, he had already opened the door with eyes widened in fear.
«Ayumi!» he yelled again and grabbed me by my shoulders. «Are you alright? What happened?» «I…I…I need some air…» I whimpered out. «Alright… I know a nice place,» he said kindly and took my hand to lead me to the rooftop.
…
It was pitch black outside, so I assumed it was really late. It wasn't cold, but the amazingly refreshing air spread harmony throughout my body. I turned to Yoshiki, who's eyes were shining really brightly when lit up by the moon. «Did I wake you up…?» I asked. He shook his head. I gulped and went a bit closer to him while mumbling: «I finally know the answer to something I've been wondering about…»
«What?» he asked. I hid my face in my hands and said: «Just like you, Yoshiki…I'm an orphan.» He didn't say anything, just pulling me closer to him. I would've pushed him away, but… There was something about his warmth that made me want to have us stay like this.
«My parents abonded me somewhere, so I have no family to return to… That's all I know, plus…» I couldn't hold back my tears, so I just went with the flow, like I've done so many times. I looked into Yoshiki's eyes as I finished the sentence:
«…I also know that I will never see them again…!»
«Ayumi…I'm sorry…» Yoshiki said and stretched out his arm to stroke my hair. His touch made me feel…less lonely than I've felt lately. The way I feel about him…it's complicated. I shouldn't feel this way when I've only known him for a few days. However, I don't…care.
«You're crying again,» Yoshiki said, grabbing my chin and forcing me to face him. I hastily wiped them away and mumbled: «Mm…You're gonna say that I look awful again, aren't you…» Yoshiki wrapped his arms behind my back, pulled me closer and whispered:
«You're beautiful.»
H-Huh? Beautiful…?! «…Are you making fun of me?» I asked, a bit scared when he started to pull me closer. He didn't say anything. He just smiled and gently narrowed his eyes at me. «I always thought you looked beautiful…since I first saw you by that porch,» he whispered lovingly while stroking my hair. Y-Yoshiki…
Just as he said that, he brought my face closer to his and put his lips on top of mine.
A-Ah…! What is he doing…?! I didn't move one inch as Yoshiki pulled me even closer as he kissed me. It feels so…wonderful. Why do I feel so happy…? I barely got any time to think before he let go of me. It was a short, light, but an incredibly sweet kiss.
«I'm sorry…» he muttered, eyes filled with regret. I couldn't say anything, almost as if he also had stolen my breath. «Ayumi…I shouldn't have done that. I promised Sachiko that I would contain myself this time…!» What…? I was just going to ask him what he meant by that, but before I knew it, he had vanished.
«Yoshiki…» I called out in a low voice.
I felt such nostalgia just now…
W-Why did Yoshiki do that…?
A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed this…fangirl-satisfying chapter XD! PLZ REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE SORY SO FAR! UNTIL NEXT TIME ;3