Akushi

Chapter 5

By the time Rena and I arrived at the train station, my fever had dropped. However, I was still feeling a bit light headed, and my body still ached. It was five o' clock in the morning, which was far from a perfect time for a guy like me to get out of bed. The sky was still dark, the moon briefly lighting up our way.

I kept a big backpack on, filled with my clothes and things like soap to bathe myself in. Mom was the one who started to pack my bag, practically thinking that I wasn't capable of doing it myself. I had caught her in my room doing so, and demanded she leave my room instantly so I could pack my bag alone. It would be another reason for Rena to say I was a mamma's boy if she would have found out about it. Luckily, Mom and Dad were asleep by the time Rena had arrived at my house.

I made sure that I had everything I needed. If I were still living in the city and going to cram schools, Mom would have packed all my books to study on during the trip. Yes, I studied a lot even on my vacations.

I sat silently on the bench at the train station as my mind wandered, and I haven't noticed until moments later that Rena was staring at me.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Are you?"

I wasn't 100 percent here, and my body wasn't fully recovered. However, I was extremely excited to be here with Rena, waiting for our transportation to get here. Her dad left a day before us because he needed to help out with some things with the relatives. So, it was just Rena and me.

I smiled bravely, despite the sweat dripping on my forehead. Even if my fever went down, I was still feeling a bit warm, but that was probably the evening heat hitting me. "You bet," he said. "I'm fine, I promise."

Rena must have found my response cute, because she placed her hands on her cheeks and began to squirm around in her seat. I wasn't sure what I did, but it got my friend into cute mode. "Hauuu."

I groaned tiredly and stretched my arms up above me. "I didn't even know the train came this early."

Rena giggled. "Is Keiichi-Kun tired?"

I yawned. "Of course I'm tired!" Despite that, I was actually enjoying myself. The night was peaceful, and I felt relaxed, especially being with one of my best friends. I was looking forward to this trip just as much as Rena was.

I tried not to think about Rena's odd behavior before I got sick. Her asking if I was going to bale on didn't seem like her at all. What was she so worried about?

No, I musn't think about it. I was here with her, and that's all that mattered. And there was no way I was going to turn back now.

"Keiichi-Kun, you can rest your head on my shoulder," she said so suddenly.

That thought made me apprehensive. I never rested my head on a girl's shoulder before. In fact, I almost declined until I saw the look of hope on my friend's face. She obviously wanted me to do it.

"We still have twenty more minutes,," she said softly.

If she was insisting, I didn't hesitate. As he rested my head on her shoulders, my eyes suddenly felt heavy, and I shut them.

For a while, I didn't hear Rena speak. I could only hear her soft breathing, which some how soothed me. The silence lasted for a while.

"Keiichi-Kun is so cute sleeping," Rena said softly. She obviously didn't want to wake me, even if I wasn't asleep fully.

I didn't say a word, and continued to enjoy this moment of me sleeping didn't take too long before I felt an odd vibe. I knew I was asleep, or at least partly asleep. I was well aware of my surroundings. I could hear the crickets and feel the morning breeze. Then that weird sensation that splashed all over me made me realize what it was coming from.

It was Rena. My very sweet, caring friend gave off a somewhat dark aura. It wasn't like she was doing anything wrong. I couldn't hear her speak. I couldn't hear any sound except for her breathing. Her breathing felt harsh as my head still rested on her shoulder.

I couldn't see Rena's face, but I felt her presence, which made me uneasy. What is wrong? I wanted to ask her, but I couldn't find myself to fully wake up.

After a which, which felt like hours, I could hear the sound of the train pulling up, and that's when I knew it was time to open my eyes and alert myself.

I lifted my head up from Rena's shoulder, then peeked ahead, where the light of the train shined so bright I could barely see what was around me.

"Ready, Keiichi-Kun?" Rena asked, sounding just as cheerful as ever, even with the slight hint of sleepiness. Did she fall asleep as well? If she did, I hadn't noticed. My head is still fuzzy from my fever, so it was hard to focus.

However, I was well enough to know where I was and where I was going. Rena and I both stood from the bench, grabbed our bags, and headed for the train that awaited for us to load up.

We were both quiet the whole walk over, and even for a few moments after sitting down and the train taking off. There were just a few other people on the train. There was a bearded middle-aged man reading a book with an unknown title. I didn't have any interested in peeking at the front cover of the thick book. There was a young woman falling asleep, and then another young man, who was reading a comic book.

"We could sleep," Rena said quietly, "but I am too excited." She smiled excitedly as her energy returned. It made me feel warm to see Rena happy and excited. I don't like it when she's sad or depressed.

I thought about what happened in the mountains during our test of finding Mion's stone. The look on Rena's face was out of character for her, and her behavior was a mystery. I wanted to ask her what that was about, but bringing up negative thoughts would only bring her spirit down.

"It's a bit far," I said. "You guys are always making me wake up too early." I attempted to make it a joke, but Rena seemed to take it far to deep by the saddened expression on her face. I feel like I have been hurting her feelings a lot lately, and I don't know why. It bothers me.

"It's okay, Keiichi-Kun," she said as she suddenly forced a smile, "you are tired." Not only was she right about that, but I could tell that she was tired as well. I wasn't sure if it was because she had a lot of energy on a daily bases and it drained or, or if she was tiring herself by whatever it was that was bothering her.

I was almost certain that a trip was supposed to be fun, not depressing. I wanted to ask Rena why she had been acting so strange lately, but at the same time I did not want to know. That was because it was summer vacation and we were supposed to be having fun. Rena, whatever is making you so sad, please don't let it ruin your summer.

To make sure that she was on board with my hidden suggestion, I placed my hand on her head to comfort her, and forced a laugh. "I'm staying awake," I said. "We can sleep when we get there, right?"

Rena's face was glowing, and I was sure that I lifted her spirits. "Yes! hauauu, this is gonna be so much fun!"

The rest of the train ride, Rena told me some fun stories of herself as a child visiting her uncle, and then we both added the what-ifs when Mion came to mind. She would make everything so much fun, being the club leader.

However, Rena probably knew this town better than Mhion did, so it would be her attempting to lead the fun activities. Satoko would cackle and come up with horrible ways to prank me, although it would be for her own pleasure. Rika-Chan would lift the spirits for everyone with her extreme cuteness.

Rena and I went quiet, suddenly feeling sad that the rest of the group could not come with us. Although, I was especially excited about this trip. Rena was going to be there, and that was enough for me to keep the smile on my face.

"I will show you everything today," Rena broke the silence. It was enough to keep me awake for the rest of the trip.

Even when we got there, I was still awake enough to notice that the sun was finally rising, and three adults met us at the train station. One of them was clearly Rena's father, who was hugging the girl tightly as if they hadn't seen each other in years, followed by a woman, who was her Aunt Rin.

The other unfamiliar man nodded at me with a warm smile. "I'm Mr. Tatsuya, the head townsman," he said to me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope you enjoy Takayama."

I was able to open up to them right away. Rena was giggling loudly and singing to herself because she was more than excited to be in Takayama, with me especially. I was glad that she was in a good mood, but all I wanted was to to bed.

However, it felt like I was never going to get there since the head townsman was giving a brief tour as we made our way down to the house. I was too tired to even get a glimpse of what the town looked like, but it was quiet and it smelled like fresh air.

After an eterinity, we stopped at a small house, but the townsman continued to rant about how wonderful the visit would be. It reminded me of the times I would visit relatives as a kid and I wanted to go home, but the adults wouldn't stop talking.

"Would you like that, Maebara?"

"What?" I woke up from my distant, faint thoughts and glanced at the townsman, whom had a warm smile. I hadn't realized he was talking to me.

"Would you like a tour of the town?"

Before I could answer, Rena beat me to it. "Oh, I already planned to walk Keiichi-Kun around. It's gonna be fun, it will!" She laughed happily and clapped her hands.

I couldn't help but feel warm, but I still wanted to get to bed as soon as possible. Finally, Rena, her father, and her Aunt Rin walked me into the small house. I hadn't realized until we made it to the bedroom where I would sleep.

"This is your room, Keiichi-Kun," Rena said before I leaped onto the bed and snuggled into the pillow. It was as soft as a marshmallow and it felt like I was in heaven.

"It feels so good to be in a bed again." It may have sounded silly, but because of how ill I was yesterday, and how I lacked sleep, it was almost as if I could never leave the bed.

Rena laughed. "Keiichi-Kun, you really are tired, arn't you? I'm gonna go to bed too."

I wasn't able to hear the rest due to me drifting off into one of the best sleeps of my life. I hadn't planned on how long I would sleep and when I would wake up, but I hoped that nobody would wake me for ages.