Chapter 3: In a Room
I suppose I truely believed everything he had said. What he told me about the Gatekeepers, and the invaders, and what they did, and what the Gatekeepers did, and all that... It was too much for me to take, but I took it still. And now I'm sitting here, unsure of what I should do. Though there is only one thing left- one thing that that small voice tells me to do. Since last night, it had been mumbling to me, and now it's practically screaming in my ear.
I wonder what I am doing here, in this horribly dark place. I stretch out my arms, but I can't see my hands at all. The dark entity has enveloped my entire self, and my surroundings. There is nothing around me, and nothing in me. I only live here because I am alive. There is hardly any purpose, or objective, or whatever. I'm just nowhere.
A thin line of white light appears in what seems to be the horizon. If there is a horizontal, then where is the vertical? I always wondered about it. No, actuallly, I just started wondering about it. Tokiya, you've really become very weird. Something strange is happening, but is that surprising? The white light seems to broaden, and it seeps into the darkness that I am engulfed in. Soon, it fills the entire space, and everything around me is white. I'm still just nowehere.
I re-open my eyes, and realise I'm lying in my bed. Was it a dream? Probably, though I know it wasn't. I sit up slowly, and look arounnd. Everything in my room is in a mess, and I know the other person in the room is going to kill me for messing up. Hell, he's just as messed up as me. Not his life, though. I walk over to his bed, across the tiny room, and see that he's still asleep. I never bothered to get to know Ukiya, but now, as I think about him, he's been my roommate for a few years now.
Ukiya...just one year younger than me, he reminded me of Hanabishi the minute I saw him. He claimed to be looking for a room to stay in, and was wondering if I would mind him staying with me. I was puzzled at first, since I had never put up any slip of paper that showed that I was in need of someone to satisfy my loneliness. But I agreed. And it was probably because of his character. He was cheerful, loud, and always outspoken. So much like Hanabishi.
What's with me... I sound like a damn gay.
Whatever, he's been living in this small apartment ever since. I only know the basic facts about him- he had been transferred over to this area, perhaps because of work, and thus had to leave his home. He has a younger sister who occasionally comes to visit him, and the younger sister is...well, cute but noisy. I don't know much about younger sisters anyway. Other than that, there is nothing else I know about him, not now at least. I don't even know what's his job, if he does work in the first place. But...I'm always thinking, what the hell, it doesn't concern me.
Nothing concerns me.
Ukiya mutters something, and it's inaudible, but it tells me he's about to wake up. Quickly, I withdraw from his bedside, and get dressed. Soon, as expected, he gets up and lazily says, "Ohayo...." As usual, I don't bother replying, and he's used to it as well. I watch him from the mirror, and I see him fall off his bed. He's always that clumsy once he gets up, and he's always struggling to stand up...
Shut up, Tokiya.
Something catches my eye- there are various cuts on his arms and his neck as well. I wonder if he had been involved in a simple street fight, and he notices me looking at the wounds. He conceals them quickly, and tries to cover up.
"Ah, those? Nothin' much. Just some fierce cat. Ja, I'll go off first 'kay?! Sayounara!"
I am left staring after him, at the closed door. A fierce cat. What a lie. If it had been many fierce cats, perhaps I would've believed him. But wait, that would've been ridiculous as well. Ukiya was well known to be tough and a good fighter as well. Surely he would not have easily succumbed to a bunch of cats. If it had been a street fight, I would've accepted that. But...that would've also been stupid. Why would someone like Ukiya get in a fight...or why would he be so pathetic at fighting, that he'd get so injured? Then I realised.
I would've never believed any answer Ukiya told me.
And why? Saa...
Anyhow, I run after Ukiya, and stop him. He's surprised, and expresses his confusion.
"Whoa, okay...so whaddya want?"
"...not a cat...not..."
"Huh? Mikagami, you okay? What cat?"
"It..it wasn't a cat! You lied! It wasn't a cat! You weren't hurt by a cat! Or a fight, or anything!!"
"....Mikagami, what are you talking about? Why are you getting so worked up?"
And why?
Why am I so worked up? It is the frustration. The confusion and sudden attack of truths; coming from all directions, and the...
I collapse, my head in pain. Ukiya holds me, and as I look up, I see that fear in his eyes. It is the first time I have seen such fear in him. Ever. Soon, I find myself in that magically dark place again, and this time there is no light. I'm just lying somewhere, there, with my eyes closed, and my breaths are loud and resonant.
There is another sound though, a sound that moves with cresecendo. It is getting nearer and nearer...I can feel it...a voice...a male's voice...calling out...Mikagami! Mikagami! Daijoubu ka?! Shikkari shirou yo! Get a hold of yourself! Mikagami! ...and it fades away slowly. What have I been thrown into? Ever since I met Reiji Kageyama, everything has become abnormal. Suddenly, I just feel like going home, home...a real home...the one which I had lived in with One-chan...the one filled with warmth and smiles. I want to see the people I am familiar with- Hokage, the Ensui...Sensei...everyone...
I miss everything.
The black scampers away, as if scared by something. My thoughts? My will? My determination? I don't know. I never will, but at least I have a clear motive now. As I open my eyes again, I see Ukiya, still lying in his bed, snoring. That's what it was. He didn't snore when I saw him at that time. At that time...it wasn't Ukiya. Everything that had happened was...nothing but an illusion. Or what was simply dismissed as a dream. I don't bother waking him up; I just change into my casual wear, and head for the streets.
I am going to find Reiji Kageyama. And I am going to find a purpose in life.
-end of ch3-
I suppose I truely believed everything he had said. What he told me about the Gatekeepers, and the invaders, and what they did, and what the Gatekeepers did, and all that... It was too much for me to take, but I took it still. And now I'm sitting here, unsure of what I should do. Though there is only one thing left- one thing that that small voice tells me to do. Since last night, it had been mumbling to me, and now it's practically screaming in my ear.
I wonder what I am doing here, in this horribly dark place. I stretch out my arms, but I can't see my hands at all. The dark entity has enveloped my entire self, and my surroundings. There is nothing around me, and nothing in me. I only live here because I am alive. There is hardly any purpose, or objective, or whatever. I'm just nowhere.
A thin line of white light appears in what seems to be the horizon. If there is a horizontal, then where is the vertical? I always wondered about it. No, actuallly, I just started wondering about it. Tokiya, you've really become very weird. Something strange is happening, but is that surprising? The white light seems to broaden, and it seeps into the darkness that I am engulfed in. Soon, it fills the entire space, and everything around me is white. I'm still just nowehere.
I re-open my eyes, and realise I'm lying in my bed. Was it a dream? Probably, though I know it wasn't. I sit up slowly, and look arounnd. Everything in my room is in a mess, and I know the other person in the room is going to kill me for messing up. Hell, he's just as messed up as me. Not his life, though. I walk over to his bed, across the tiny room, and see that he's still asleep. I never bothered to get to know Ukiya, but now, as I think about him, he's been my roommate for a few years now.
Ukiya...just one year younger than me, he reminded me of Hanabishi the minute I saw him. He claimed to be looking for a room to stay in, and was wondering if I would mind him staying with me. I was puzzled at first, since I had never put up any slip of paper that showed that I was in need of someone to satisfy my loneliness. But I agreed. And it was probably because of his character. He was cheerful, loud, and always outspoken. So much like Hanabishi.
What's with me... I sound like a damn gay.
Whatever, he's been living in this small apartment ever since. I only know the basic facts about him- he had been transferred over to this area, perhaps because of work, and thus had to leave his home. He has a younger sister who occasionally comes to visit him, and the younger sister is...well, cute but noisy. I don't know much about younger sisters anyway. Other than that, there is nothing else I know about him, not now at least. I don't even know what's his job, if he does work in the first place. But...I'm always thinking, what the hell, it doesn't concern me.
Nothing concerns me.
Ukiya mutters something, and it's inaudible, but it tells me he's about to wake up. Quickly, I withdraw from his bedside, and get dressed. Soon, as expected, he gets up and lazily says, "Ohayo...." As usual, I don't bother replying, and he's used to it as well. I watch him from the mirror, and I see him fall off his bed. He's always that clumsy once he gets up, and he's always struggling to stand up...
Shut up, Tokiya.
Something catches my eye- there are various cuts on his arms and his neck as well. I wonder if he had been involved in a simple street fight, and he notices me looking at the wounds. He conceals them quickly, and tries to cover up.
"Ah, those? Nothin' much. Just some fierce cat. Ja, I'll go off first 'kay?! Sayounara!"
I am left staring after him, at the closed door. A fierce cat. What a lie. If it had been many fierce cats, perhaps I would've believed him. But wait, that would've been ridiculous as well. Ukiya was well known to be tough and a good fighter as well. Surely he would not have easily succumbed to a bunch of cats. If it had been a street fight, I would've accepted that. But...that would've also been stupid. Why would someone like Ukiya get in a fight...or why would he be so pathetic at fighting, that he'd get so injured? Then I realised.
I would've never believed any answer Ukiya told me.
And why? Saa...
Anyhow, I run after Ukiya, and stop him. He's surprised, and expresses his confusion.
"Whoa, okay...so whaddya want?"
"...not a cat...not..."
"Huh? Mikagami, you okay? What cat?"
"It..it wasn't a cat! You lied! It wasn't a cat! You weren't hurt by a cat! Or a fight, or anything!!"
"....Mikagami, what are you talking about? Why are you getting so worked up?"
And why?
Why am I so worked up? It is the frustration. The confusion and sudden attack of truths; coming from all directions, and the...
I collapse, my head in pain. Ukiya holds me, and as I look up, I see that fear in his eyes. It is the first time I have seen such fear in him. Ever. Soon, I find myself in that magically dark place again, and this time there is no light. I'm just lying somewhere, there, with my eyes closed, and my breaths are loud and resonant.
There is another sound though, a sound that moves with cresecendo. It is getting nearer and nearer...I can feel it...a voice...a male's voice...calling out...Mikagami! Mikagami! Daijoubu ka?! Shikkari shirou yo! Get a hold of yourself! Mikagami! ...and it fades away slowly. What have I been thrown into? Ever since I met Reiji Kageyama, everything has become abnormal. Suddenly, I just feel like going home, home...a real home...the one which I had lived in with One-chan...the one filled with warmth and smiles. I want to see the people I am familiar with- Hokage, the Ensui...Sensei...everyone...
I miss everything.
The black scampers away, as if scared by something. My thoughts? My will? My determination? I don't know. I never will, but at least I have a clear motive now. As I open my eyes again, I see Ukiya, still lying in his bed, snoring. That's what it was. He didn't snore when I saw him at that time. At that time...it wasn't Ukiya. Everything that had happened was...nothing but an illusion. Or what was simply dismissed as a dream. I don't bother waking him up; I just change into my casual wear, and head for the streets.
I am going to find Reiji Kageyama. And I am going to find a purpose in life.
-end of ch3-