Kokoro no Hitan
With Hatori's guidance, it was amazing how swiftly Kagura recovered. The hollowness in her cheeks was gone within a week, and soon all traces of weakness were gone as well.
I ended up spending a lot more time with her, and having a lot of fun too. She was a great person to be around, and when she smiled, it felt like a great heaviness was lifted from my heart.
Ever so slowly my urges to see Yuki went away, and were replaced with the desire to be around Kagura.
It wasn't until one night, when we were both staring at the night sky, that I realized what had happened.
"Nee, Haru, isn't the moon beautiful?"
The way the light of the stars and moon that night reflected off her hair and in her eyes made me blush. I had never realized before just how pretty she was. She then turned to look at me and I quicky turned to look at the moon.
"Hai, it is beautiful," But not as beautiful as you.
When we parted that night, Kagura had no idea about my feelings, and I was ready to bang my head against the wall when I discovered them.
I'm so stupid! I can't believe this is happening! H-how...Why? I banged my fist against the wall. Images of Kagura ran through my mind. I lowered my head to rest next to my fist. I can't believe this...And here all I was trying to do was help heal her wounds, and I end up... I banged my head against the wall. Stupid...
I vowed to myself that night that I would tell her the next day. But when the next day came, I was too late.
***
She had seemed so much better. She had filled back out, the light seemed to have brought back into her eyes, and she was always smiling. And I remembered too late that that was how Kagura had always acted before she broke down, and that she had probably gone back to hiding her emotions again. I didn't realize how blind I was until I was too late.
It had been a beautiful day. One of those perfect ones caught between the transition from spring into summer, where it's just the right temperature, and there's just enough sunlight to warm you, and the light, cool breeze makes everything pleasant. I was smiling as I approached her. She was laying under a tree in the courtyard.
"Nee, Haru, isn't the sun beautiful?" She was looking up at the sky through the breaks in the leaves of the canopy of the tree.
"Hai, it's gorgeous." I looked up. The sky was a brilliant blue, and there was just enough clouds to spend a day laying on a hill and laughing about what animals or people they looked like.
"I wonder what it's like...up there...In the sky...In the heavens...It looks...so...peaceful." She looked up at the sky with longing, then sighed and closed her eyes.
I looked at her, what I had come to say on the tip of my tounge, ready to burst out of me. "Nee, Kagura?..." There was no response. "Kagura?" I took a step forward, she didn't look like she was breathing. "K-Ka..gura?" A chill went down my spine. Uso... I walked quickly over to her and knelt by her side.
"Nee, Kagura? Open your eyes, this isn't funny....Kagura?" I leaned over and put my ear above her mouth. She wasn't breathing. Noo... I felt for her pulse. It was gone.
"Noo...Uso...Uso! Kagura! KAGURA!!" I was leaning over her now, one of my hands by her shoulder opposite me, the other by her side closest me. "KAGURA! NO! It can't be! KAGURAAAA!!"
Tears were streaming down my face. I couldn't stop screaming. I didn't know what to do. She was gone. It was too late. I was too late. Everything was too late.
-Hatsuharu Sohma
~~~
With Hatori's guidance, it was amazing how swiftly Kagura recovered. The hollowness in her cheeks was gone within a week, and soon all traces of weakness were gone as well.
I ended up spending a lot more time with her, and having a lot of fun too. She was a great person to be around, and when she smiled, it felt like a great heaviness was lifted from my heart.
Ever so slowly my urges to see Yuki went away, and were replaced with the desire to be around Kagura.
It wasn't until one night, when we were both staring at the night sky, that I realized what had happened.
"Nee, Haru, isn't the moon beautiful?"
The way the light of the stars and moon that night reflected off her hair and in her eyes made me blush. I had never realized before just how pretty she was. She then turned to look at me and I quicky turned to look at the moon.
"Hai, it is beautiful," But not as beautiful as you.
When we parted that night, Kagura had no idea about my feelings, and I was ready to bang my head against the wall when I discovered them.
I'm so stupid! I can't believe this is happening! H-how...Why? I banged my fist against the wall. Images of Kagura ran through my mind. I lowered my head to rest next to my fist. I can't believe this...And here all I was trying to do was help heal her wounds, and I end up... I banged my head against the wall. Stupid...
I vowed to myself that night that I would tell her the next day. But when the next day came, I was too late.
***
She had seemed so much better. She had filled back out, the light seemed to have brought back into her eyes, and she was always smiling. And I remembered too late that that was how Kagura had always acted before she broke down, and that she had probably gone back to hiding her emotions again. I didn't realize how blind I was until I was too late.
It had been a beautiful day. One of those perfect ones caught between the transition from spring into summer, where it's just the right temperature, and there's just enough sunlight to warm you, and the light, cool breeze makes everything pleasant. I was smiling as I approached her. She was laying under a tree in the courtyard.
"Nee, Haru, isn't the sun beautiful?" She was looking up at the sky through the breaks in the leaves of the canopy of the tree.
"Hai, it's gorgeous." I looked up. The sky was a brilliant blue, and there was just enough clouds to spend a day laying on a hill and laughing about what animals or people they looked like.
"I wonder what it's like...up there...In the sky...In the heavens...It looks...so...peaceful." She looked up at the sky with longing, then sighed and closed her eyes.
I looked at her, what I had come to say on the tip of my tounge, ready to burst out of me. "Nee, Kagura?..." There was no response. "Kagura?" I took a step forward, she didn't look like she was breathing. "K-Ka..gura?" A chill went down my spine. Uso... I walked quickly over to her and knelt by her side.
"Nee, Kagura? Open your eyes, this isn't funny....Kagura?" I leaned over and put my ear above her mouth. She wasn't breathing. Noo... I felt for her pulse. It was gone.
"Noo...Uso...Uso! Kagura! KAGURA!!" I was leaning over her now, one of my hands by her shoulder opposite me, the other by her side closest me. "KAGURA! NO! It can't be! KAGURAAAA!!"
Tears were streaming down my face. I couldn't stop screaming. I didn't know what to do. She was gone. It was too late. I was too late. Everything was too late.
-Hatsuharu Sohma
~~~