Play 2: The Great Getaway
I searched almost the entire house for clues--any clues--that could help me return back in time. But there were none.
I didn't hope that my theory was true--my brain was screaming that it was all lies--but with evidence that I was now in the 1800s, I couldn't brush away my crazy yet possible guess away.
Another mystery was the wound that I made on my finger. How could it disappear within a few seconds, when I felt that sharp prick and saw that blood trickling out? By logic and science, it shouldn't have heal that fast, but at least in a few days.
And by the way, where the hell did Yukimura Koudou and Chizuru gone to? Well, it was reasonable for that Yukimura father to be missing, since according to the diary he was currently in Kyoto. But Chizuru?
"17 February 1855. I made extra care to burn the older entries, in fear that the others would found out who we actually are. Also, Chizuru has been asking me about her injuries healing at a fast rate. To protect her, I told her not to tell anyone about this." I stopped just as the writing finished. "This must be the old man's diary...But healing at a fast rate?" I unsheathed my sword again, this time studying it closely. There was a drop of my blood at the tip, and I cleaned it. "A little too short for a sword, though..." I frowned before doing something I regretted.
I slashed my wrist with the short sword. Hard.
Astonished with the sharp pain, I dropped the sword, letting out a surpressed growl as I kneeled on the floor carelessly. The glass that I broke just now drove their sharp edges into my knees, which made everything worst.
"Ngh..!" I stifled my screams of pain as I didn't want anyone bursting into the scene to witness my healing, if it were true. I stood up with much difficulty and shuffled painfully to the nearest chair before settling down.
Shutting my eyes, I grabbed my left arm, trying to block out the pain. It got worst, and I was crying before I knew it. For what it seemed like hours, the deep cut in my wrist disappeared, leaving no trace of injury and blood. I checked my knees, and realised that they were healed too.
"Seems like that old man knows something. Maybe he'll know how to return to one's time too..." I trailed off, frowning seriously as I paced up and down, purposely avoiding the glass on the floor. "Kyoto huh..." I was already moving even before I knew it. Grabbing the stacks of papers that might prove helpful to me, I found a cloth in which I wrapped them all up. I tied them tightly together before heading out of the house.
"Maybe I should find that Dr. Matsu-whatever guy," I murmured to myself. "If I'm not wrong...I'm supposed to be Yukimura Chizuru, but if I use her name and someone knows her, it'll mean trouble." I stopped at the riverbank and glanced at my reflection under the moonlight. A girl with ordinary brown eyes and hair stared back and I sighed. "I don't look anything like that girl in the portrait."
Halfway through the night, I got bored and started rehearsing for my play. I actually enjoyed the process of switching from Romeo to other characters, especially Juilet.
"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" I asked in a low voice, looking down as if in disappointment.
"What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?" I said in a curious voice.
A few days passed, with the days I did most of my sleeping and eating and the nights journeying and rehearsing. I finally managed to reach Kyoto in one piece, probably because I was dressed like a man and the fact that I was saying aloud the lines of a play no one seemed to understand. Most people eyed me as if I was crazy when I came along mumbling lines from Romeo and Juilet.
It was evening in Kyoto, however, but I was too happy with my progress to rehearse. "Excuse me. Do you know of a man called Matsumoto?"
"If I'm not wrong, he's out of Kyoto." The passer-by continued walking, and I sighed. Of course life wouldn't be so smooth sailing.
To vent my frustration and anxiety, I rehearsed again, but this time with louder and fiercer emotions and feelings. Everyone passing by me cowered away, afraid that I might hurt them. Soon night fell, and I was still loitering around the area, mumbling my lines.
"Hey, kid."
I stopped right in my tracks, my heart thumping. I had the feeling that something bad was going to happen to me if I turned. I pretended not to hear the voice, whistling as loudly as possible as I continued to walk. I heard the footsteps coming closer, and I quickened mine.
"Hey, kid, stop or I'll have your head!"
With that, I stopped walking abruptly, before turning around, smiling. Time to act like a boot-licker.
"Yes, what can I help you?" I smiled, clasping my hands together. Three men were eyeing me from head to toe, as if examining me. One of them lit up as soon as he saw my sword.
"Pretty nice blade you got there, kid..."
"I know. If you're willing, I could sell you this for a reasonable price..." I gave them my best salesman smile. No way in hell I'll do that though--I still had no idea what's the deal with this sword.
"Huh? What crap are you talking about? We want your blade with no conditions." Another one of them looked at me as if I were an insect. I held back the temptation to sock him in the face, but the next thing coming out of my mouth could also held the same damage to the man.
"Huh? What did you just say?" The guy's face turned red, and he drew his sword.
"I...I said that..." I did some quick thinking before pointing at an imaginary object in the air. "What--What is that?"
As soon as the three guys had their heads turned, I swiftly bolted into one of those suspicious-looking alleys.
"Hey! Get back here, you little bastard!" One of them yelled behind me. I didn't stop running, and as I turned at a junction and almost fell, I noticed a hiding spot.
"May not be perfect, but at least it'll hide me..." I went beneath a row of bamboo poles and stopped moving. For a while, there wasn't any sounds or noises. I thought I could make my escape when I heard a scream echoing through the night sky.
"Argh!"
"Who are you? Damn it..."
I froze on my fours and tried to peep out without exposing my hiding place. For some reason, my hands were shaking uncontrollably, but they didn't give way.
"W-What is this!? Why won't you die!? Damn it! We gotta get out of--"
His voice was interrupted by the sound of blades colliding into each other. One of the men was backing away, coming into my view--and so was a guy covered in blood. His light blue coat--reminding me of the colour of the sky--was dripping in red liquid. He raised his sword, and the man was disarmed in a flash.
"Ahahahaha...Nyehahaha..."
I watched, not being able to move as the guy in blue coat brought his blade down--to the man's chest. A splatter of blood made its way onto my face, and I rubbed them away dazedly.
Need to escape...
I need to run!
My legs began to move, but clumsily they knocked against the bamboo poles, leaving me unprotected from both the view and reach of the lunatic. He made one last slash at the dead guy before turning to me. His white hair seemed to reflect light from the moon in a sinister way.
"You...You..." I couldn't speak any further as the man smiled maniacally. His crimson red eyes told me somehow that he was beyond saving--he was deep in the darkness of insanity. The only thing he cared for was killing and blood.
Without wanting to, I started hyperventilating as I tried to crawl backwards. I hit the wall as the man came closer and I had the feeling that if I didn't get my limbs working, I wouldn't live to see the tomorrow.
The man pointed his sword at me, and I caught the smell of blood. My throat closed although I felt like vomitting out the lunch I had that afternoon. I couldn't hide the fear shown on my face, and this man triumphed on that. For a moment I thought of nothing but death and regrets. I thought I was going to die, that my life was ending right there and then.
Using up the little strength I had left, I closed my eyes, shielding my face. If I were to die, I didn't want to see or feel it. Bracing myself for the painful impact, I mumbled lines from Hamlet to distract myself.
Out of nowhere, I heard a sudden loud swish as a sword sliced through the night air. A loud clang sounded as it dropped on the ground, followed by a dull thud and groan. Soon, there were several slashing sounds that were echoing through the night. After a while, there was silence. I then assumed that everyone, even the lunatic, was dead.
Slowly, I opened my eyes to find half of myself drenched in blood. The sickening coppery smell filled my nostrils, and I held myself back from puking. I tried to held back my tears, remembering that I had possibly just witnessed a mass murder.
"Ah...what a pity..." A voice spoke, and for a moment I felt relieved that there was someone other than those dead bodies. Then I realised that the voice sounded happy. As if happy to kill. He could be the one doing this mass murder thing.
"Eh...?" I choked, wanting to look up, but my eyes refused to tear themselves away from the dripping blood on my hands.
"And here I was, planning to take care of them all on my own...Couldn't you have picked another day to work so fast, Saito-kun?"
I heard the guy named Saito sheathing his sword, letting out a sigh through his nose. "I only did my job. Unlike you, I take no pleasure in battle."
"Battle...?" My mind was working very slowly, and once again fear began chewing at the edges of my heart. My mind prompted me to run, to escape from this situation, but my limbs weren't working.
"That's not a very nice thing to say..." The man chuckled as if Saito just told a joke.
"You don't even deny it." Saito sighed again, and my hair stood on end. I knew this feeling very well--he was staring at me.
"Maybe, but if you'd just sat back and let them kill this kid you could have saved us some trouble."
"Kill...?" I felt my throat closing up again. Are they going to kill me? I can't die. I have to return to the place I belong--
"Eh? Did you say something?" Out of the corner of my eye, one of them squatted in front of me, and I looked up, apparently able to move. I made eye contact with him, and almost cringed away in fear. His green eyes were cold, as if he didn't care what happened to me.
"N..Nothing..." I managed to speak as my vision blurred. "Please...don't kill me..." I tried to grip something for support, but my hands found nothing, and for the second time, I fainted into the uncomfortable darkness.