THE SPIRIT 4
He woke up and his eyes were tearing again. He was not startled awake and it was still in the middle of the night. A glance at the wall clock told him that it was three in the morning. He stared at the ceiling, wondering. What's with the dreams? It was actually scaring him now. Three times in a row, he's had dreams of the same people. He wondered if it had a meaning or maybe it was just some random thought at the back of his head. He was no dream-expert after all.
"This is crazy." He grumbled and sat up. He headed for the bathroom attached to his room and gargled, before splashing water on his face. He kept his head down under the running tap, his hand turning the tap off while the other reached blindly for the towel. Once it was in his hand, he dried his face and hair marveling at the freshness he felt. Somehow, he forgot his fears and his dreams. He stood up and looked at the mirror, nearly jumping out of his skin.
He saw a girl - the one in his dream - looking straight at him, tears in her eyes.
"Oh god!" He gasped, doubling back and covering his eyes that now burned. He stumbled his way to his bed and hid under the covers, shielding his head with his arms and blanket. He felt fear gnaw at his gut once more, and from that extreme fear, he felt, for the first time, the urge to cry - and for the first time, he wished that there were someone there to hold him.
*
The doctor had allowed him and Sakuragi to take a stroll in the hospital gardens after their therapy. Mitsui had to wait for Sakuragi to finish - a good half an hour - before they had lunch then took their little walk. It was a breezy spring afternoon, cherry blossoms drifting in the air, giving the surrounding area a sweet smell. They circled the park, talking about basketball and all their successes.
"I remember the first time I did a dunk." Sakuragi said and grinned sheepishly. "I smacked my head on the board."
"Yeah?" Mitsui laughed. "I knew that. But I never knew that a day would come when you would actually admit it out loud. Especially to me." Sakuragi shrugged.
"Well, I can't say that you're the best friend I have in the whole world or anything like that. It never even crossed my mind. I mean, when I first saw you, the gangster-Mitsui I mean, I said to myself, 'Oh man! This guy needs a haircut! But what a hairdo! How does he keep it so smooth?'" Mitsui burst out laughing. He laughed out so loud that his sides began to ache. "I also said to myself, 'But I'll be damn! He is missing teeth! Ha! If his teeth were full and if I were a girl, I'd be head over heals for this guy.'" Mitsui stopped laughing suddenly and looked at Sakuragi as if he were a SARS victim. "But I'm not a girl." Sakuragi placed a hand on Mitsui's head and ruffled the silky long locks. "But I do wonder how your hair stays so straight and smooth. Mine is all wavy and curly, which is why I like to keep a shaved head now."
"What's with you and hair anyway?" Mitsui said, and playfully smacked him up the head. "It's just hair. Keratin! Nothing more."
"Hair makes one look good. Hey! If I grow my hair, do you think Haruko would like me more?" He asked, a goofy grin on his face.
"No, I just think she'd think that you were a psychopath with red hair. Get yours hands off my head!" He knocked his hand off and sighed. "Keep the short hair, idiot. It suits you more. You look like an orangutan with longer hair. At least this hairdo gives you a clean face." Mitsui looked at the ground. "Thought it's never clean because of all the colorful bruises decorating it." He added, grumbling under his breath.
"I heard that!" Sakuragi snapped.
"So? What do you want me to do? Get up and dance?" Mitsui asked sarcastically.
"What's that got to do with what we were talking about?" Sakuragi frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"It's called sarcasm, ahou!" Mitsui retorted, clearly annoyed.
"No. I think it's called brain-damage." Sakuragi shrugged getting up. Before Mitsui could even reply to what he just said, he immediately spoke, cutting the sentence that was suppose to come flying out of the ex- gangster's lips. "I'm thirsty. I want a soda, but I'm not allowed. I know you are, but because I can't have a soda, you can't either. You want orange juice?"
Mitsui rolled his eyes at the peanut-sized brain of his friend. He waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah. Orange is fine."
"Don't move a muscle. Stay where you are. I'll be back in a jiffy." Sakuragi walked towards the canteen located in one side of the garden. The hospital had three. Two indoors and one outdoors.
"Don't break anything on your way." Mitsui called out and Sakuragi merely gave him the bad-finger. Mitsui smirked, the elders who witnessed the redhead covering their mouths with their hankies, fans or hands at the shameful gesture.
He raised his head to the sky and stared at the few flocks of birds flying above him. It indeed was a lovely day. He inhaled the sweet and clean air before closing his in bliss. Getting out from an excessively disinfected room made him feel like a young child allowed to go out and play. It was a wonderful feeling to be out - to see more colors other than white and sky blue. Really, the hospital should consider sanity. Not just body-health. Sanity. Sanity!
He looked in front of him and found a nurse pushing an old lady in a wheelchair. He frowned though. The nurse's clothes were like the ones the nurses were wearing in his dreams. And the old lady was not wearing the standard hospital blue and white-stripped gown - she was wearing a sky blue long kimono. He blinked, thinking that it may be a vision or just some stupid projection from his mind, but the vision remained there. The nurse kept on pushing the old lady, heading down the pathway. He looked at the opposite side and found another nurse pushing an old man in a wheelchair. Only this time, the man was in blue and white stripped pajamas and the nurse in the usual short white uniform and the white hat.
"What the -" He grumbled, slightly straightening his sitting position from the bench he was on. He watched the two intently, eyes switching from one pair to the other. The one in modern clothes seemed unaware of the duo in front of them. Just as they were about to collide, he got up to his feet to stop them.
The nurse pushing the old man walked straight through the nurse pushing the old lady and continued towards the hospital building.
"What in heaven's name?" He gasped, stumbling back. The 'ghostly' duo stopped and both heads turned to look at him. He felt a scream bubbling in his throat and his lips and limbs trembled.
Their eyes were empty.
"You can see us!"
Their voices were a mere wail, long and chilling.
His eyes burned and he stumbled back, head swirling. The pain scattered throughout his body. He cried out in pain, his vision beginning to be blotched with black spots. Slowly, he felt everything go numb. He slumped forward, alerting everyone around him
Sakuragi saw Mitsui staring at the nurse pushing the old man and frowned, holding two packets of juice. But when Mitsui began to cry out in pain, Sakuragi dropped the beverages he was holding and quickly rushed towards him. He knelt by his fainted friend and shook him. "Oi! Mitchy! Mitchy!" Doctors and nurses immediately came out and rushed him in to the hospital. "What's wrong with him?" Sakuragi demanded, but he got no answer.
So instead, he waited in his room for Mitsui to come around.
*
Mitsui woke up with a splitting headache. He automatically headed for the bathroom and gagged, but did not vomit. His guts were doing summersaults and he was seeing doubles of everything. He splashed cold water on his face and dried it with a towel. Once his face was dried, he was about to hang the towel on its proper place when he frowned.
Since when did the hospital give him blue towels? It was always the plain boring white ones.
He shrugged and placed the towel back in its hanger. He headed out of the bathroom and towards his bed when he gaped. "Again?" He found the twins talking, Kiritani showing Kai pictures - the one on the bed. Kei was staring at her with fire in her eyes, arms crossed across her chest. "What's with these two? Ah!" He snapped his fingers. "I know! It's probably because this Kiritani guy is giving Kai more attention than Kei! The oldest story in the book. Jealousy!" He shook his had, a smile of amusement on his features.
"When will I see big-brother?" Kai asked.
"I have no idea. He's been dead busy." Kei answered with a shrug. "Bear with it. Doctor said you could get out tomorrow."
"But -" Kai protested.
"Stop whining already. Just do what Kiritani-san says and everything is going to be fine. We can find out why you can see things."
"Yes, Kei." Kai said, nodding and proceeded to give Kiritani answers to his questions. It was still the same old psychological-test-crap.
Mitsui stared at Kai, wondering why a girl like her never stood up for herself. Just then a knock sounded from the door and it opened. In stepped a six-foot tall man, with dark mop of black hair and had a pair of glasses perched on his sharp nose. He was dressed in black slacks and a white polo shirt, a dark green waistcoat with the logo of Kannagawa University stitched on it.
"An-kun!" Kai said with glee, a smile gracing her features.
"Ah! Good afternoon, Anzai-kun!" Kiritani greeted.
Mitsui stared at the figure wide eyes. Before he could get a proper glimpse of the face, his eyes burned. He shut them tight and when he opened them he saw something totally different. He was in water, and he could see monitors glowing and thick pipes and electrical wiring. It was dark too and the water was cold. He was in some sort of glass tube - a big one. He banged his fists on the wall, searching for a place to surface. He was beginning to feel suffocated.
Not taking it any longer, he gave out a loud yell, water filling his entire body.
*
Mitsui sat up with a loud gasp, inhaling deeply. He panted, and quickly his hands touched his body. He stared at himself, looking at his limbs and chest and heaved a sigh of relief. He was on his bed again, an IV fluid connected to his wrist. He buried his face in his hands and continued breathing heavily, eventually it slowed down.
"A dream. Just a stupid dream." He told himself and looked up to check the time. It was four in the morning.
He pushed the slightly damp covers away from him and got on his shaky feet, making his way to the bathroom. He stripped his damp clothes off and stepped under the shower, turning the cold tap on.
He can see us!
Why can he see us?
Is he not like the other people?
But he's alive.
Why can he see us?
If I wave, will he wave back?
Mitsui covered his ears. He could hear voices - voices from the walls. He could no longer stand it. First he was seeing things, then he's getting weird dreams. But hearing voices? That's it! He doubted his own sanity. Just how much of his head was damaged when that darn blue car hit him anyway? Was the doctor right? Was it only his eyes that suffered a major damage? He fell in to a coma didn't he? Wasn't that caused by a major damage?
Or was he going crazy?
"I'm not crazy!" He whispered to himself, his arms shakily wrapping themselves around his lean frame. He fell on his knees, slumping forward, the cold sprinkle of the shower hitting his smooth back. "I'm not crazy."
Why is he sad?
Is he talking to himself?
Is he crazy?
Is he all right?
Is he crazy?
Why is he crying?
"Stop it." He mumbled, shutting his eyes tight. "Go away. Go away."
A knock on the bathroom door sounded and slowly it opened. A head cautiously popped in, and peeked inside. The door was then pushed wide open, hurried footsteps rushing towards the shower stall. "Oi!" It was a frantic whisper. "Mitchy! Oi!"
Mitsui opened his eyes. "I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy!" He said in a panicked whisper.
"Snap out of it!"
He turned to look at the source of the voice and he stared at his friend blankly. "Sakuragi."
*
"Here." Sakuragi handed him a cup of warm tea.
Mitsui was sitting on the single couch, dressed in a white robe. He had a blanket around him. He refused to lie on the bed, so Sakuragi fixed the soiled sheets and sat on it, watching the former-MVP take slow sips from his tea. Sakuragi had snuck out of his room and made his way to Mitsui's for he got no feedback after he fainted in the gardens. Being the curious tike that he was, he took the risk and left his room in the middle of the night. At first, he found the room empty, so he thought that Mitsui might have gone to the cafeteria for a snack. But when he heard the shower, he was most confused.
"Why are you here?" Mitsui asked finally. He looked up from his cup of tea.
"Well, for starters, I came to check on you. I never really knew what happened in the garden - why you fainted and all and I didn't get the chance to ask. Therapy is tiring you see?" Mitsui nodded. "Are you all right? Why were you -" Mitsui dropped his cup on the floor. "Geez! Mitchy! What's with you? You're shaking worst than a wet ferret." Sakuragi took several tissue papers from the tissue box on Mitsui's side table and wiped the spilled tea.
"Sorry for the trouble." Mitsui mumbled, tightening the hold on his blanket around him.
"Never mind the darn tea. What's with you?" Sakuragi asked, tossing the plastic cup in to the trash bin. He sat opposite Mitsui and studied the shooting guard's features. "You know, I've never seen you like this. A bit off? Know what I mean? Why? Is there something troubling you or what?"
Mitsui looked at him and his lips parted to speak, but he looked away. "I don't know." He whispered.
"You see?" Sakuragi said, throwing his hands in the air. "That's so not like you. Really Mitchy. Whatever it is, you better sort it out. It's wearing you down. How do you expect yourself to get well when you won't tell others what's wrong with you? If not to me, then tell Dr. Hajime."
"No!" Mitsui said suddenly. Sakuragi jumped slightly. "I - I - I can't! I can't tell him! He'll - he'll -" Mitsui tightened his hold on his blanket, snuggling deeper in to the couch. He looked like a lost boy, cowering from something big and scary. "He - He won't believe me."
"Why won't he believe you?" Sakuragi asked.
"Because -" Mitsui looked away again.
"Hey, let me tell you something." Sakuragi said. "It's kinda' funny, you see. When I first came here to this hospital - as in after I woke up from fainting and all, my back was killing me. Know what I mean? And I needed the loo bad. So I got up from bed, painful and shit, and headed for the bathroom. I did my business and washed my hands and face. This is going to sound totally freaky but I could have sworn someone was behind me. If you ask me, this hospital gives me the creeps. I mean, if it weren't for my back, I would have left already." Sakuragi waited for Mitsui's reaction. "That's just me. I mean, I didn't tell anyone about it until now. You won't go around telling people right?"
"No." Mitsui said, shaking his head.
"You believe me?" Sakuragi asked, eyes widening a bit.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because, I can hear and see things." Mitsui replied, looking straight in to Sakuragi's eyes.
He's talking to him!
He's telling him about us!
What will the red one say?
Do you think he'll be okay?
I think he's a coward!
No, I think he's just scared!
Why? Because he can hear and see us?
Maybe?
But that means he's special.
Not in his case.
Why is he so sad?
Why is he so afraid?
Mitsui winced, tightening his blanket around him and covering his ears. He could hear them again. Whoever they are. Whatever they are. He just wished they would leave him alone. "What do you see? What do you hear?" Sakuragi asked, turning the lights up a little bit. I can't believe he fell for that little act. Mitchy, believing in ghosts? That does not go hand in hand. But he's so serious! I think I actually believe him. This hospital gives me the creeps too, anyway - Sakuragi's thoughts were racing.
Mitsui told him.
Everything.
TBC
He woke up and his eyes were tearing again. He was not startled awake and it was still in the middle of the night. A glance at the wall clock told him that it was three in the morning. He stared at the ceiling, wondering. What's with the dreams? It was actually scaring him now. Three times in a row, he's had dreams of the same people. He wondered if it had a meaning or maybe it was just some random thought at the back of his head. He was no dream-expert after all.
"This is crazy." He grumbled and sat up. He headed for the bathroom attached to his room and gargled, before splashing water on his face. He kept his head down under the running tap, his hand turning the tap off while the other reached blindly for the towel. Once it was in his hand, he dried his face and hair marveling at the freshness he felt. Somehow, he forgot his fears and his dreams. He stood up and looked at the mirror, nearly jumping out of his skin.
He saw a girl - the one in his dream - looking straight at him, tears in her eyes.
"Oh god!" He gasped, doubling back and covering his eyes that now burned. He stumbled his way to his bed and hid under the covers, shielding his head with his arms and blanket. He felt fear gnaw at his gut once more, and from that extreme fear, he felt, for the first time, the urge to cry - and for the first time, he wished that there were someone there to hold him.
*
The doctor had allowed him and Sakuragi to take a stroll in the hospital gardens after their therapy. Mitsui had to wait for Sakuragi to finish - a good half an hour - before they had lunch then took their little walk. It was a breezy spring afternoon, cherry blossoms drifting in the air, giving the surrounding area a sweet smell. They circled the park, talking about basketball and all their successes.
"I remember the first time I did a dunk." Sakuragi said and grinned sheepishly. "I smacked my head on the board."
"Yeah?" Mitsui laughed. "I knew that. But I never knew that a day would come when you would actually admit it out loud. Especially to me." Sakuragi shrugged.
"Well, I can't say that you're the best friend I have in the whole world or anything like that. It never even crossed my mind. I mean, when I first saw you, the gangster-Mitsui I mean, I said to myself, 'Oh man! This guy needs a haircut! But what a hairdo! How does he keep it so smooth?'" Mitsui burst out laughing. He laughed out so loud that his sides began to ache. "I also said to myself, 'But I'll be damn! He is missing teeth! Ha! If his teeth were full and if I were a girl, I'd be head over heals for this guy.'" Mitsui stopped laughing suddenly and looked at Sakuragi as if he were a SARS victim. "But I'm not a girl." Sakuragi placed a hand on Mitsui's head and ruffled the silky long locks. "But I do wonder how your hair stays so straight and smooth. Mine is all wavy and curly, which is why I like to keep a shaved head now."
"What's with you and hair anyway?" Mitsui said, and playfully smacked him up the head. "It's just hair. Keratin! Nothing more."
"Hair makes one look good. Hey! If I grow my hair, do you think Haruko would like me more?" He asked, a goofy grin on his face.
"No, I just think she'd think that you were a psychopath with red hair. Get yours hands off my head!" He knocked his hand off and sighed. "Keep the short hair, idiot. It suits you more. You look like an orangutan with longer hair. At least this hairdo gives you a clean face." Mitsui looked at the ground. "Thought it's never clean because of all the colorful bruises decorating it." He added, grumbling under his breath.
"I heard that!" Sakuragi snapped.
"So? What do you want me to do? Get up and dance?" Mitsui asked sarcastically.
"What's that got to do with what we were talking about?" Sakuragi frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"It's called sarcasm, ahou!" Mitsui retorted, clearly annoyed.
"No. I think it's called brain-damage." Sakuragi shrugged getting up. Before Mitsui could even reply to what he just said, he immediately spoke, cutting the sentence that was suppose to come flying out of the ex- gangster's lips. "I'm thirsty. I want a soda, but I'm not allowed. I know you are, but because I can't have a soda, you can't either. You want orange juice?"
Mitsui rolled his eyes at the peanut-sized brain of his friend. He waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah. Orange is fine."
"Don't move a muscle. Stay where you are. I'll be back in a jiffy." Sakuragi walked towards the canteen located in one side of the garden. The hospital had three. Two indoors and one outdoors.
"Don't break anything on your way." Mitsui called out and Sakuragi merely gave him the bad-finger. Mitsui smirked, the elders who witnessed the redhead covering their mouths with their hankies, fans or hands at the shameful gesture.
He raised his head to the sky and stared at the few flocks of birds flying above him. It indeed was a lovely day. He inhaled the sweet and clean air before closing his in bliss. Getting out from an excessively disinfected room made him feel like a young child allowed to go out and play. It was a wonderful feeling to be out - to see more colors other than white and sky blue. Really, the hospital should consider sanity. Not just body-health. Sanity. Sanity!
He looked in front of him and found a nurse pushing an old lady in a wheelchair. He frowned though. The nurse's clothes were like the ones the nurses were wearing in his dreams. And the old lady was not wearing the standard hospital blue and white-stripped gown - she was wearing a sky blue long kimono. He blinked, thinking that it may be a vision or just some stupid projection from his mind, but the vision remained there. The nurse kept on pushing the old lady, heading down the pathway. He looked at the opposite side and found another nurse pushing an old man in a wheelchair. Only this time, the man was in blue and white stripped pajamas and the nurse in the usual short white uniform and the white hat.
"What the -" He grumbled, slightly straightening his sitting position from the bench he was on. He watched the two intently, eyes switching from one pair to the other. The one in modern clothes seemed unaware of the duo in front of them. Just as they were about to collide, he got up to his feet to stop them.
The nurse pushing the old man walked straight through the nurse pushing the old lady and continued towards the hospital building.
"What in heaven's name?" He gasped, stumbling back. The 'ghostly' duo stopped and both heads turned to look at him. He felt a scream bubbling in his throat and his lips and limbs trembled.
Their eyes were empty.
"You can see us!"
Their voices were a mere wail, long and chilling.
His eyes burned and he stumbled back, head swirling. The pain scattered throughout his body. He cried out in pain, his vision beginning to be blotched with black spots. Slowly, he felt everything go numb. He slumped forward, alerting everyone around him
Sakuragi saw Mitsui staring at the nurse pushing the old man and frowned, holding two packets of juice. But when Mitsui began to cry out in pain, Sakuragi dropped the beverages he was holding and quickly rushed towards him. He knelt by his fainted friend and shook him. "Oi! Mitchy! Mitchy!" Doctors and nurses immediately came out and rushed him in to the hospital. "What's wrong with him?" Sakuragi demanded, but he got no answer.
So instead, he waited in his room for Mitsui to come around.
*
Mitsui woke up with a splitting headache. He automatically headed for the bathroom and gagged, but did not vomit. His guts were doing summersaults and he was seeing doubles of everything. He splashed cold water on his face and dried it with a towel. Once his face was dried, he was about to hang the towel on its proper place when he frowned.
Since when did the hospital give him blue towels? It was always the plain boring white ones.
He shrugged and placed the towel back in its hanger. He headed out of the bathroom and towards his bed when he gaped. "Again?" He found the twins talking, Kiritani showing Kai pictures - the one on the bed. Kei was staring at her with fire in her eyes, arms crossed across her chest. "What's with these two? Ah!" He snapped his fingers. "I know! It's probably because this Kiritani guy is giving Kai more attention than Kei! The oldest story in the book. Jealousy!" He shook his had, a smile of amusement on his features.
"When will I see big-brother?" Kai asked.
"I have no idea. He's been dead busy." Kei answered with a shrug. "Bear with it. Doctor said you could get out tomorrow."
"But -" Kai protested.
"Stop whining already. Just do what Kiritani-san says and everything is going to be fine. We can find out why you can see things."
"Yes, Kei." Kai said, nodding and proceeded to give Kiritani answers to his questions. It was still the same old psychological-test-crap.
Mitsui stared at Kai, wondering why a girl like her never stood up for herself. Just then a knock sounded from the door and it opened. In stepped a six-foot tall man, with dark mop of black hair and had a pair of glasses perched on his sharp nose. He was dressed in black slacks and a white polo shirt, a dark green waistcoat with the logo of Kannagawa University stitched on it.
"An-kun!" Kai said with glee, a smile gracing her features.
"Ah! Good afternoon, Anzai-kun!" Kiritani greeted.
Mitsui stared at the figure wide eyes. Before he could get a proper glimpse of the face, his eyes burned. He shut them tight and when he opened them he saw something totally different. He was in water, and he could see monitors glowing and thick pipes and electrical wiring. It was dark too and the water was cold. He was in some sort of glass tube - a big one. He banged his fists on the wall, searching for a place to surface. He was beginning to feel suffocated.
Not taking it any longer, he gave out a loud yell, water filling his entire body.
*
Mitsui sat up with a loud gasp, inhaling deeply. He panted, and quickly his hands touched his body. He stared at himself, looking at his limbs and chest and heaved a sigh of relief. He was on his bed again, an IV fluid connected to his wrist. He buried his face in his hands and continued breathing heavily, eventually it slowed down.
"A dream. Just a stupid dream." He told himself and looked up to check the time. It was four in the morning.
He pushed the slightly damp covers away from him and got on his shaky feet, making his way to the bathroom. He stripped his damp clothes off and stepped under the shower, turning the cold tap on.
He can see us!
Why can he see us?
Is he not like the other people?
But he's alive.
Why can he see us?
If I wave, will he wave back?
Mitsui covered his ears. He could hear voices - voices from the walls. He could no longer stand it. First he was seeing things, then he's getting weird dreams. But hearing voices? That's it! He doubted his own sanity. Just how much of his head was damaged when that darn blue car hit him anyway? Was the doctor right? Was it only his eyes that suffered a major damage? He fell in to a coma didn't he? Wasn't that caused by a major damage?
Or was he going crazy?
"I'm not crazy!" He whispered to himself, his arms shakily wrapping themselves around his lean frame. He fell on his knees, slumping forward, the cold sprinkle of the shower hitting his smooth back. "I'm not crazy."
Why is he sad?
Is he talking to himself?
Is he crazy?
Is he all right?
Is he crazy?
Why is he crying?
"Stop it." He mumbled, shutting his eyes tight. "Go away. Go away."
A knock on the bathroom door sounded and slowly it opened. A head cautiously popped in, and peeked inside. The door was then pushed wide open, hurried footsteps rushing towards the shower stall. "Oi!" It was a frantic whisper. "Mitchy! Oi!"
Mitsui opened his eyes. "I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy!" He said in a panicked whisper.
"Snap out of it!"
He turned to look at the source of the voice and he stared at his friend blankly. "Sakuragi."
*
"Here." Sakuragi handed him a cup of warm tea.
Mitsui was sitting on the single couch, dressed in a white robe. He had a blanket around him. He refused to lie on the bed, so Sakuragi fixed the soiled sheets and sat on it, watching the former-MVP take slow sips from his tea. Sakuragi had snuck out of his room and made his way to Mitsui's for he got no feedback after he fainted in the gardens. Being the curious tike that he was, he took the risk and left his room in the middle of the night. At first, he found the room empty, so he thought that Mitsui might have gone to the cafeteria for a snack. But when he heard the shower, he was most confused.
"Why are you here?" Mitsui asked finally. He looked up from his cup of tea.
"Well, for starters, I came to check on you. I never really knew what happened in the garden - why you fainted and all and I didn't get the chance to ask. Therapy is tiring you see?" Mitsui nodded. "Are you all right? Why were you -" Mitsui dropped his cup on the floor. "Geez! Mitchy! What's with you? You're shaking worst than a wet ferret." Sakuragi took several tissue papers from the tissue box on Mitsui's side table and wiped the spilled tea.
"Sorry for the trouble." Mitsui mumbled, tightening the hold on his blanket around him.
"Never mind the darn tea. What's with you?" Sakuragi asked, tossing the plastic cup in to the trash bin. He sat opposite Mitsui and studied the shooting guard's features. "You know, I've never seen you like this. A bit off? Know what I mean? Why? Is there something troubling you or what?"
Mitsui looked at him and his lips parted to speak, but he looked away. "I don't know." He whispered.
"You see?" Sakuragi said, throwing his hands in the air. "That's so not like you. Really Mitchy. Whatever it is, you better sort it out. It's wearing you down. How do you expect yourself to get well when you won't tell others what's wrong with you? If not to me, then tell Dr. Hajime."
"No!" Mitsui said suddenly. Sakuragi jumped slightly. "I - I - I can't! I can't tell him! He'll - he'll -" Mitsui tightened his hold on his blanket, snuggling deeper in to the couch. He looked like a lost boy, cowering from something big and scary. "He - He won't believe me."
"Why won't he believe you?" Sakuragi asked.
"Because -" Mitsui looked away again.
"Hey, let me tell you something." Sakuragi said. "It's kinda' funny, you see. When I first came here to this hospital - as in after I woke up from fainting and all, my back was killing me. Know what I mean? And I needed the loo bad. So I got up from bed, painful and shit, and headed for the bathroom. I did my business and washed my hands and face. This is going to sound totally freaky but I could have sworn someone was behind me. If you ask me, this hospital gives me the creeps. I mean, if it weren't for my back, I would have left already." Sakuragi waited for Mitsui's reaction. "That's just me. I mean, I didn't tell anyone about it until now. You won't go around telling people right?"
"No." Mitsui said, shaking his head.
"You believe me?" Sakuragi asked, eyes widening a bit.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because, I can hear and see things." Mitsui replied, looking straight in to Sakuragi's eyes.
He's talking to him!
He's telling him about us!
What will the red one say?
Do you think he'll be okay?
I think he's a coward!
No, I think he's just scared!
Why? Because he can hear and see us?
Maybe?
But that means he's special.
Not in his case.
Why is he so sad?
Why is he so afraid?
Mitsui winced, tightening his blanket around him and covering his ears. He could hear them again. Whoever they are. Whatever they are. He just wished they would leave him alone. "What do you see? What do you hear?" Sakuragi asked, turning the lights up a little bit. I can't believe he fell for that little act. Mitchy, believing in ghosts? That does not go hand in hand. But he's so serious! I think I actually believe him. This hospital gives me the creeps too, anyway - Sakuragi's thoughts were racing.
Mitsui told him.
Everything.
TBC