Chapter 4: Footsteps Echoing in the Darkness
Darkness, all around her, so inconceivably obscure that nothing could be seen. Nothing was palpable around her body, not even the ground itself. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to retain any heat that she could from the cold, desolate void around her.
Then, in the far distance away from her, she spotted a vision; it was a small person. Sensing warmth and happiness radiating out from it, practically spilling with joy, she desperately attempted to reach it.
After forcing the nothingness to push her towards the source of light, she looked at the small being.
"Chiyo-chan…?"The face looked up, and it completely resembled her young love, except for one aspect; her eyes. Sakaki drew away and trembled. 'Those eyes, oh those eyes! They're emotionless and cold… such emptiness!' she imagined.
"Sakaki…"her friend breathed, causing the tall girl to hesitantly turn around. A choked sob escaped her lips as she stared at the dead body that was once Chiyo-chan. It held out its hand and with melancholy look it sighed.
"Why did you let me die? Don't you love me?" Sakaki was at a loss for words. She couldn't bear to see her friend in so much pain and the tears continued to fall out like shining rivulets. "Chiyo-chan! I did love you, and I still do!" She turned her back.
She let herself float away, no longer attracted to the dying warmth behind her. She sighed, "What has become of this sad soul?" she whispered to no one in particular. Suddenly, the ground beneath her became solid, and she fell hard onto the burning pavement. "What's this?!" She looked around but only horror and remorse entrenched her grieving heart.
It was the same massacred scene where she had found Chiyo's body, both in dream and in reality. Hot waves of pain and sorrow shot through her body, it coursed through her blood causing fresh feelings to burn her insides.
The sky turned a dark crimson red, and little drops began to fall from the sky; sanguine colored drops. It was as if the dismal clouds began shedding tears of repentance, even feeling the hurt that the pained girl was experiencing.
She huddled on the ground, waiting for the searing hot ground to annihilate her existence.
"I don't want anything else, I just want you…" The ruby red droplets plunged to the ground, splattering in sick wet sprays of exploding liquid. They splashed harder and harder on Sakaki's body, making her feel heavy with regret. "If only I had said something sooner…"
A loud cackle shot through the air, piercing through the gloomy clouds, slicing through her head and penetrating her brain.
Footsteps echoed down the street making the ground reverberate with loud sounds. The raindrops pitter-patter was intensified as the cry of dissonance resonated throughout the whole area. She clutched her head in a feeble attempt to block out the footsteps and that hideous laughter that seemed to follow her.
It sounded so familiar, yet it hurt her ears, and she tried to push it away from her thoughts. Body convulsing, she screamed and cried out for them to stop and leave her alone. The offensive sounds, in unison with the horrifying laugh and footsteps, seemed to go together like a giant chorus of a thousand deaths.
Huddling to the ground, the unbearable din came to a climax as she just wished that it could go away.
"Why won't you leave me alone? All I really want is to be with Chiyo-chan!" The repulsive laugh came back louder than ever, except a voice followed it; a familiar one.
"You can't have her, and she can certainly never have you. Not if I have anything to say about it," continued the voice, "and I will see to it that you will be mine and only mine! Chiyo-chan can never have you! NEVER!"
"Ah!" Sakaki's eyes snapped open, and she realized that she was still inside of Chiyo-chan's hospital room, except now there were guests in it. Osaka walked up to her and kneeled down.
"Hi. When we came, you were already sleeping here in that chair. I don't know how you can do it, you must be like, a sloth or something because those things sleep a lot, even while in weird positions. Yep, uh huh, a sloth."
Sakaki looked at her weirdly, 'A sloth huh?' she thought. Yomi walked up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright? When we arrived, you were sweating and you kept tossing and turning. You were clenching Chiyo-chan's hand like there was no tomorrow, and you were making little noises. What happened?"
Sakaki looked at her hand intertwined with Chiyo's and pulled away, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She looked at everyone and let out a sigh, "I had a nightmare… it was as if I was reliving yesterday, that fateful day. It was horrible…"
Kaorin bounced next to her, smiling far too widely despite the whole situation, "You're okay though! That's a very good thing!" Sakaki looked at her almost disapprovingly and then turned her head ever so slightly to look at the body that was breathing deeply in a coma.
Noticing that special gaze she was giving, that wasn't directed at her, Kaorin struck up another conversation, "Well, uh, what are you going to do today?" Sakaki hesitated a while, then she turned back around to face her, not returning the look in her eyes.
"I think I'm going to stay here with Chiyo-chan for a little while longer, then I think I'll go home." Everyone looked grimly at their critically injured friend and each got lost in their own little thoughts. Yomi noticed the distance in Sakaki's eyes, and could almost feel the sorrow that she was giving off.
She tugged at Tomo's bandaged arm and led her out the door. "C'mon, let's get going. I think we should leave them alone for awhile." She whispered.
Her usually clueless friend looked at with confusion, then finally understood what she was trying to get at. She nodded and grinned. "I wonder what their future will be like." Yomi sighed and muttered under her breath, "Hopefully better than mine will be with you…" Tomo looked at her.
"Did you say something Yomi-chaaaan?" Her friend turned to glare at her with a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks. "I SAID NOTHING OF THE SORT THANK YOU!" obviously embarrassed, she walked down the hallway hastily with Tomo barely able to keep up with her.
Kagura watched the pair exit and smirked, "I wonder what they're always so happy about. They must've been a married couple in their past life or something, they sure argue like one." Sakaki snorted and everyone looked at her questioningly.
She coughed and continued to look at Chiyo-chan's recuperating form, "Hey, where's Kurosawa-sensei and Yukari-sensei?"
Osaka didn't look at her, but she answered nonetheless, "They said they had something to do together. I don't know what it was, but I don't think that they knew Chiyo-chan was in the hospital. I think I just said a close friend of mine was visiting here and I was inviting them to come over…"
Kagura slapped her forehead and let a sigh of exasperation, "Why didn't you just say that b Chiyo-chan /b was in the hospital, and she was not just a visitor, but a patient, b in a coma /b ?"
Sakaki kept looking at Chiyo's serene body and couldn't help herself. Glittery drops made a moist trail down the sides of her cheeks as she tried to contain it, but hopelessly failing at it. She forcefully set her head on the bed next to her possibly dying friend and slammed her fist into the cushiony soft bed, angry and frustrated at herself.
"Ah! Oh Chiyo-chan! I could have done something!" The tears started to stream down her face as all of her anguish came pouring out too. It was as if all of her pent up feelings began to seep out and leak onto the outside. Kaorin attempted to comfort her by putting her hand on her grieving friend's back, but she only felt her body tense up and she recoiled.
Osaka studied her sad friend and whispered into Kagura's ear, and they began to quietly creep out of the room. As they silently ushered out, Kagura breathed something back to Osaka and she nodded her head.
Kaorin remained inside of the room though, and she continued to stare intently at Sakaki, her piercing gaze hidden from her friend. She disapproved at how closely her object of affection was touching Chiyo's still hand.
'Perhaps that course of action was not a very wise one…' she thought, 'Curses, did I just make their bond even stronger?' she silently kicked herself mentally. She couldn't take it, just standing there in the sidelines, watching her unrequited love continue to stroke and caress the girl's hand.
Stuck in a deadbeat mode, Kaorin attempted to pull Sakaki out of it, for now might be her only chance to strike. Chiyo-chan was not awake to say anything, so her thoughts could not be swayed at all. Maybe now could be her only time to do something. With vile thoughts in her mind, she leaned against the wall.
"Hey Sakaki… can you come over here for a moment?" it took a while, but her reluctant friend finally stood up, and she slowly trudged over to her position. She looked at her with dark eyes and talked in a flat tone.
"What is it." She asked. Her short-haired friend gulped audibly, but continued to talk anyways. "Well, I… wanted to talk to you about some things. They are kind of personal though, so if you don't mind me asking, I would be honored if you gave back some answers."
Sakaki looked at her, as if she were considering something, and then she nodded in acceptance and said that she could ask away.
"Well, I was just wondering, who is it that you like right now? I mean… you haven't really said anything or talking about boys. At all for that matter. You can tell me…"
She had a surprised look on her face; she wasn't ready for that kind of question. "I uh, what? Erm… well, there isn't any guy that I like right now." Kaorin made a side glance and glared at the wall, 'No guy, of course, but Chiyo-chan isn't a guy, and it's very obvious you numb nut.' She thought.
Sakaki looked down at her with an almost displeased look, "Why did you ask that? And here of all places too! This isn't really the time and place to be talking about this sort of stuff." Kaorin shook her head.
"Oh I beg to differ. I need to talk to you about something, right now! Do you like anybody?! Honestly now, is there someone out there that you're with? And do you like him?"
Sakaki was beginning to get irritated at her rash and sudden behavior. She usually didn't like to raise her voice, but right now, she wasn't in the mood to mess around and play mind games, "No, I told you already! There isn't any guy out there that I like!"
Kaorin flushed with anger, "Well, do you like me?!" Sakaki stared at her, immensely ticked off at her forcefulness. Why would she talk like this all of a sudden? She absolutely had no real reason to.
"No I don't!" Kaorin's face burned read with fury, "Well, why not!?" Sakaki stood there flabbergasted. "Wh-what?" Her shorter friend clenched her teeth. "Don't you get it?"
She suddenly stood on her toes and forcefully pressed her lips to Sakaki's in a crushing kiss. Her taller friend squirmed at the suddenness and she pushed her away.
"What are you doing?! I had already told you that I don't like you! I don't like you!" Kaorin fumed and had to spit her fury out.
"Oh, but you like Chiyo-chan?" That hit it. The nerve that was deep inside of Sakaki's body was struck, it was struck with a ten-pound mallet, and it snapped. Nobody talks like that to her, especially when it involves her love life, even if the statement was true.
"GET OUT! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT CHIYO-CHAN, OR ME, IN THAT SORT OF WAY!"
Kaorin was partly startled at Sakaki's reaction, and she knew that she had just about killed her chance, but now, none of that really mattered. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her out of blind rage, and no consideration for the rest of the patients and people who were in the hospital.
At least she struck a nerve, and she knew what it was, or moreover, who it was. She laughed and that familiar unpleasant tingle was left lingering in her tainted voice.
"Oh Sakaki, if I can't have you no one will."
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It was nighttime already at the hospital as visitors began to leave one by one. Sakaki sat there in the spare chair that was resting beside the bed and she observed her friend. For a long time, uncountable to her, she continued cursing obscenities like she never did before. "Chiyo-chan, it was all about you, and I had to do something."
She stared at her still form and chuckled at herself, "To think, I must be going insane. I've been talking to you for hours now, not even caring if I get a response. Hm… but when you awake, amnesia is it? You will not recall anything of me… and if you did happen to love me before, you won't even remember it. Truly a nearly hopeless predicament you have left me in…"
She chortled, despite the grim looking future and she interlaced her fingers with that of her best friend, "I'll just have to somehow get you to love me all over again. If you did love me then, it could happen now… that would be a special day… but for now."
She stood up, making the rolling chair fall back behind her just a little bit before coming to a slow stop as it hit the next bed. Sakaki looked around at the distasteful room, with all of its plain white walls and its horrible stench of death and illness.
"For now, I'll just have to go home though, I still have my job and animals to attend to."
She stooped down and placed a small kiss on Chiyo's cheek. She watched as her friend's body moved ever so slightly, and hope started to bubble to the surface, only to be crushed when nothing more happened. She sighed and felt a tear tug at the corner of her eye.
"Oh Chiyo-chan…"
With that, she tore herself away from her friend, and left the empty tired building, and walked to her white little car. She turned the ignition and heard the engine hum to life, which seemed to be very contrary to how she felt right now. Driving home in a daze, she almost didn't catch the red light.
Stopping suddenly, she heard a chorus of honks behind her, and she slumped down into her seat to hide her embarrassment from everybody, even though they couldn't see her.
'That was close…' she thought. She drowsily walked up to her apartment complex, and after finally reaching her floor, she spotted the faint glow of the reflection off the number 176.
Sluggishly sticking the key into the lock, Sakaki turned the knob and walked inside of her small but cozy abode. Maya was sitting on the counter sleeping, with his furry head resting on his paws with his chest rising and falling with his breathing. Closing the door behind her silently, she slipped off her shoes and walked straight to her futon, feeling heavy and worn out.
Sakaki pulled the covers slightly above her midriff and laid there, staring at the lonely ceiling once again. Moonlight flickered through the window and it dimly illuminated the small apartment, but it failed to illuminate her empty heart. Shadows danced on the ceiling as the leaves from the swaying trees moved in the wind of the night.
She sat there with one arm draped over her forehead, concentrating deeply on the main events that seemed to take place in such a short span of time. Thinking of her nearly dying friend caused her to weep tears of longing and distress. Tossing back and forth, she attempted to analyze the situation.
"Was this my doing? Could I have prevented it at all? Oh if only I had seen it earlier, then perhaps it could have worked out." Her glimmering eyes looked scanned the plain white ceiling as if it held the answer to all of her troubles. She growled in aggravation as she tried time and again to find a reasonable solution to it all.
Eventually, after failing miserably at her self-analysis and reasoning, she decided to call it quits for the night. After all, she had work the next day. Sleep was soon setting in as she gave one last thought on things.
'Things will work out if I keep hope and faith in it all. Faith… faith is what I need to get Chiyo-chan back.'
Irate footsteps pounded against the floor as she kept running from them. Those angry steps were not her own, but they continued to grow louder by the second as she tried to escape them. She stumbled and hit the ground hard, fearing that the steps would catch up to her.
"Leave me alone, please! What is it that you want?!" her frantic eyes darted back and forth as she tried to make out anything in the bloody red atmosphere. It seemed like plumes of reddish black clouds were mixing around all about her and nothing made sense.
No voice answered back, but the footsteps continued to grow louder. Her hands flew up to her ears in an effort to block out the head pounding noise, but to no avail; the harder she tried, the more deafening and thunderous the sounds became.
The shining red mist exploded into light, and then suddenly, darkness. Darkness, all around her, swallowing her whole and then not releasing her. She wrapped her arms around her body and noticed that things were suddenly freezing cold. Her body began shaking and quivering as she felt her blood run cold, her insides freezing up until nothing warm was coursing through her body.
She huddled up in a ball, suddenly overcome with shame and guilt. When she thought that nothing good could ever happen, she heard a small little voice; a familiar one that made her heart ache.
"Chiyo…chan…?"Sakaki slowly lifted her head and she choked back a scream and instead made a whimper sound.
Her best friend's dead body was floating in front of her, that very same image that was haunting her mind and her dreams for so long a time. Sakaki scrambled backwards and rose to her feet shakily.
"No! No! You didn't die! You're still with us! With me…! I didn't kill you!" she said pleadingly, trying to make the ghostly specter go away. The image continued to plague her thoughts and visions, and it wouldn't leave her alone. Then, Chiyo-chan began to speak in an emotionless tone.
"You may not have killed me physically, but in my heart, down to my very own sad soul, you did not acknowledge what was there. You left me hurting, and it pained me so much for us to be so close, but you continued to be so oblivious to the truth. Stop running away from it."
Sakaki looked at her in disbelief, "What? I'm not… denying anything! I was never running in the first place… I just took… a while to realize something that I never thought was there. You must believe me! I should have known… but I…"
She trailed off and the wraithlike Chiyo-chan looked at her, "But you didn't know. It might be too late for us… one cannot tell at this point. All you can do is wait, and if fate lets it be, then so go along with it. Right now, I am gone."
Sakaki dropped to her feet in defeat as she watched her friend evanesce until no trace of the specter was left except for that uninviting, dark, cold abyss that was her feelings.
Sakaki's eyes opened quickly and she felt dizzy despite the fact that she was laying on the ground. She was breathing heavily, and she was covered in almost a thin layer of sweat. After getting herself back under control and regaining at least some composure, she sat up.
Shaking her head in order to clear her thoughts, she couldn't get that image of Chiyo-chan out of her head. 'Death and solitude was in that dream, no, nightmare, and it keeps on haunting me…why won't it stop?'
She was so busy thinking about the horrible nightmare that she noticed her alarm was going off, with its annoying buzzing sound. Maya opened his eyes and stretched out his legs and paws, slowly yawning and coming back to consciousness. Early sunlight was just barely peering over the horizon as the first signs of light grazed the hilltops and escaped into the apartment through the windows.
The light was almost glittering as it reflected off a picture frame that Sakaki had on the shelf over in front of her. She knew that picture by heart, and she could tell what it was, no matter how far away she was. It was a picture of her, Chiyo-chan, Yomi, Tomo, Osaka, and Kaorin. Maya was perched on Sakaki's shoulder as Sakaki had her arm draped comfortably around Chiyo's shoulders.
Tomo was clinging onto Yomi's arm and she was flashing a peace sign as her blushing friend's face contorted into a look of irritation, but that was just a guise to hide what she was feeling inside. Osaka was running around in the background just kind of waddling off like a penguin somewhere.
'We were getting ready to leave for Chiyo-chan's summer home… I remember it like it was yesterday…' her nightmare forgotten, she continued studying the picture until she noticed something; something strange. Kaorin was standing in the background as well, but she was staring intently at Sakaki and Chiyo-chan, and it was as if her glare was vicious and malevolent.
Sakaki gasped, and flashbacks from her dream flooded back to her like something had struck her. 'Kaorin…'
The second alarm went off signaling that she should get up and get ready for work faster. 'Running out of time? I hope not…' she thought as she went over to the multiple cupboards to fish out a can of tuna for Maya who was now fully awake and purring. After finding her desired item, and opening the metallic lid, she set it down for her little friend to eat.
"Bye Maya, I have to go to work now… be a good boy while I'm gone now, okay?" her little cat looked up and meowed back in response.
She grabbed her white coat and walked outside into the cold weather. After locking the door and turning around, she noticed that it was very serene at this hour. Glancing down at her wristwatch, she noted that it was just about 5:45am, and that she was needed at the veterinarian's office in about fifteen minutes.
With a brisk pace, she walked to her car and started it up. She backed out of the apartment area and then started driving towards her destination.
The nightmare was still bothering her. 'Why doesn't it just go away… and that thing that was in it. Those footsteps. What does it all mean? I can't make out anything from the whole mess.'
Arriving at her destination, she decided to shake off the dream and set her mind on her job that she needed to be thinking about. She walked inside and heard the bell above the door tingle, and Mr. Hiyemoto was there to greet her. He put his hand out and bowed slightly.
"How are you doing Sakaki? From what I heard from your friend, you got in quite the mess in these past days." He gestured at the bandages that still covered her healing wounds. She nodded at him and bowed in respect.
"I am doing fine Hiyemoto-sensei, there is nothing terribly wrong with me…" She kept her head down, but when she looked up, her mentor noticed a change in her eyes and her overall body aura. He came close and put a hand on her shoulder for reassurance.
"What is wrong? I sense something different about you. What happened?" she looked at him and nodded.
"You do indeed know much about me, more than I would have thought in the past ten months. My friend is hospitalized, and it is most likely the very same person that you talked to on the phone." Mr. Hiyemoto looked at her and sighed.
"Ah… that is an unfortunate event, I am sorry." His pupil nodded and bowed. "If it is okay, I will start working now. Please excuse me." With that, she walked over to the front desk and started to organize papers and files. The man sighed again and only hoped that she would get better.
Sakaki watched as the day dragged by, continuously staring at the round, crooked, little black clock that was hanging in the corner, counting the minutes, and then the hours. No major case came in yet, at least, none that the doctor needed any actual assistance with. She sat at the desk and continued to check over the files in the computer, over and over again she checked them until she realized that someone was at the counter.
"Hello and welcome. How may I help you?" there was a rather tall suave man who had somewhat stylishly messy hair that fell just over his eyes and it tapered off to a slick ponytail. He had expensive sunglasses on, even though they were indoors, and he wore a black suit with a black tie. He was holding a small Chihuahua in his arms, though he seemed to be kind of aloof and distant.
"Are you Sakaki, the veterinarian assistant?" he said with a calmly smooth voice. She nodded. He smiled and showed two rows of perfectly aligned pearly white teeth. "Ah, would you please take care of my pet? I believe it is sick, and I would like you to work on the thing."
Sakaki eyed him suspiciously; she did not trust him. The way he smiled and the way he held his dog, even the way he addressed his pet. First off, he called the dog an it instead of a gender, or what would have been better yet, the pet's own name. Another thing that bothered her, he held his dog so roughly, not even caring if he was gentle with the poor dog.
She hesitantly got up from her seat and escorted him to one of the pet examination rooms. He dumped the dog onto the silvery cold table and leaned against the wall as if he were in some kind of impressive pose. He had a conceited smirk on his face as if he was full of himself as his eyes raked Sakaki's body.
She picked a clipboard off the wall rack and she began to scan it while asking the normal questions. "So, what is it that you noticed wrong about your dog?" He grinned a twisted smile.
"Well, he has been coughing a bit, though I think I might have caught something from him, think you can inspect me too?" he guffawed obnoxiously loud, obviously thinking his retort was hilarious, while Sakaki could only gag at his self-righteous attitude.
"No, what's wrong with your dog?" she was beginning to get irritated at his annoying behavior, and she was terse with her words. He walked up and got behind her, wrapping his arms around her, his hot air breathing down her neck causing her to squirm at the uncomfortable position.
"Nothing's wrong with my mangy mutt, but there is something wrong with me. I heard that you're a very nice looking girl so I came down here to check you out and I see more than what I bargained for. How about we forget the dog and do something together tonight?"
Sakaki managed to push him backwards, slamming his body hard against the wall, and she ran to the dog.
"You're not doing anything. Now get out of my sight and I never want you coming back to this place, ever!" she grabbed hold of his shivering Chihuahua and held it close, trying to comfort the neglected dog.
The man walked closer and closer, unaware that Sakaki held athletic abilities and almost abnormal strength. She scowled at his stupid undaunted attempt at trying to make a move on her, and she lashed out by running at him full speed and smashing him with her shoulder.
The force of the impact sent him flying through the air and he hit the wall with a tremendous thud. The noise must have caught the attention of Mr. Hiyemoto because he came running in the room to see what the ruckus was all about, only to see Sakaki standing there, holding a small dog, and a man, crumpled on the floor by the wall.
Sakaki noticed her boss and bowed, all the while explained the messed up situation that had occurred. He nodded and understood, and then he alerted the authorities to come and pick up this scumbag. He looked at her as the cops eventually came, and then he looked at the little helpless dog.
He walked over to the computer and began putting it up for adoption, and if anyone wanted a caring little puppy Chihuahua, then the little dog was up for any willing family. He put his hand on Sakaki's shoulder again, showing his concern for what happened to her.
"Are you sure you're alright? He didn't do anything bad to you?" she shook her head and bowed. "He did not get to me. I'm alright thank you." The cell phone that was hooked onto her belt began buzzing. She looked at him and tilted her head in the slightest of bows and looked at her phone.
Her eyes widened at the message and her face lit up like a shining beacon in the darkest night. "Hiyemoto-sensei! They say that my friend is starting to pull out of the coma state! She might wake up soon, so they alerted me. May I please take one more day off?" He looked at her smiling face and shook his head. "Nope, I'm sorry, I can't let you go. You have already taken enough days off, and I'm afraid I can't let you go."
She looked at him, her face still and unchanging, her heart crushed into a thousand pieces. He looked away and his body started shaking. Sakaki looked at him in puzzlement.
"Hiyemoto-sensei, what's wrong?!" He turned his head and he had the widest grin on his face and he once again put his comforting hand on her shoulder. "I was just joking, you may go. I know that once you get your doctorate's degree, then I will be able to leave this veterinarian office in your care, and you will take care of all the animals, even if they did happen to be taken cared of by a horrible sleazy man. Go now, go to your friend."
Sakaki looked at him and smiled with tears emerging from her eyes. "Oh thank you Hiyemoto-sensei! I shall make these days up during my other days off."
He nodded and shooed her off. "Go now, or you might miss her." She looked at him and smiled. She bowed once before leaving the office out of respect, and he watched her leave. The bell's ring began to fade as he watched his most trusted and skilled assistant take off, happier than she ever had been in the past few weeks.
"I wonder about her and her friend sometimes…" he chuckled to himself and walked to the back office to drink his cup of coffee.
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'I can't believe it! Chiyo-chan might wake up! Her condition is stabilizing… which means, she must be getting a lot better and much more healthier! Oh my little Chiyo-chan, you will be alright once I get there.'
She stepped on the gas pedal just a little bit harder, pushing the car to fifty miles per hour. The plainly colored hospital with the red cross came into view as she pulled up into the visitor's parking lot. After putting on the car brakes, she hopped out of the vehicle in a rush, nearly getting her hair stuck in the door when she closed it.
Running to the elevator, the nurses and doctors told her to slow down, but she didn't care. She laughed and ran into the elevator, nearly running into someone on crutches. She dodged him, but just barely, and she bowed to show her sincere apologies for nearly hitting him.
As soon as he hobbled away muttering, "You rowdy teens," she slammed on the button to go up to that special floor. The little round light blinked on and the doors opened up. She ran out, but this time, her agile adeptness could not save her. She ran into an unsuspecting person, and both people fell down.
"I'm so terribly sorry I-" she looked at whom she ran into, and it was none other than Kaorin. She looked at her and her eyes narrowed, obviously not forgetting what had happened the other day. They both looked at each other and nodded, simply acknowledging that they were sorry, and walked towards Chiyo-chan's room in silence.
Finally arriving at room 176, Sakaki opened the door and walked inside. A wave of sterile hospital equipment and, strangely enough, flowers, hit her as soon as she took a few steps inside.
Everyone was standing off to the side with either flowers in their hands, or looking at the bouquet that they had brought and put in a vase besides Chiyo-chan's bed. Sakaki walked closer and noticed, with much happy glee and utter bliss, that the person hooked up to the IV was no more, and there was only a young girl sitting on the bed with a bandage around her head.
The girl turned her head to face them, though she didn't have a smile on her face, just a normal look, perhaps even one of confusion. Sakaki decided that she would wait for the others to present their flowers, and that she would be the last one to meet her. She wanted time alone to talk to her and be with her.
She walked back to the door and stepped outside. After hearing the minute click from the door, she leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes and took this opportunity to quietly listen to what was happening around her.
She heard the clatter of equipment down the hall to her right as the sound echoed throughout the long hallway, bouncing back and forth between walls. Tomo's gasp was heard inside of the room, and that probably didn't mean a good sign. Sakaki sighed.
'She won't have any memories of us, or anyone for that matter. How will I be able to talk to her about things? What if I happen to say something, or do something that offends her in any way? What if I'm completely wrong and misinterpreted everything that she was doing…? What if… no, stop these, 'what if' questions, they're just being plain annoying, and they're destroying your sanity. Just be yourself.'
She nodded, and waited. After some period of time, the door began to squeak open as the girls somberly came walking out, even Tomo didn't have her usual look of joy on her face. The girls silently walked to the elevator, save Yomi. She stood next to Sakaki and started talking to her, though she didn't make eye contact the whole time.
"She… the doctor was right. She doesn't remember anything, she doesn't remember any of us. Her memory is pretty much shot, and things don't look good. The doctor told us earlier, that if she were to regain her memory, we have to start doing things that can trigger an old reminiscence of some sort," Yomi sighed and her shoulders slumped, "maybe she'll remember you."
She looked up and looked her straight in the eye, "You were very important to her, more special than any of us. She once told me something in confidence, so I can't say it, but what I can tell you is that you were… held very dear to her. Go in and see her now."
Sakaki nodded and walked inside. The room was dark, and that caused the stranger to look at her wristwatch. '9:33pm? Hmm, I worked longer than I imagined…' she walked closer to her friend who was staring outside of the window at the moon. It cast shadows in the room, giving off the effect like there were spirits in hiding. Shaped in a crescent, the moon looked prettier than ever, but the stranger eventually made it to the bed despite looking at all of the beautiful scenery.
She sat down on the semi-soft bed and felt the blankets shift as Chiyo-chan moved a little bit to face this new stranger. "You… look familiar for some reason. Were those other girls your friends?" she asked.
The long-haired stranger nodded and spoke with a soft voice as if she were afraid to speak any louder in fear of hurting her hearing, "They were my friends, they are our friends. You're our friend. You're Chiyo-chan."
A pleasantly harmonious laugh filled the silent air, breaking whatever tension was there, and it eased both girls. As the euphonious laugh died down, she couldn't help but giggle one more time, "Hehe, silly, of course I know my name. I know everything except for what I want to know. I… wait… you…you are no stranger… you are…" Her hand went up and clutched her head as she tried to concentrate.
She was going through her brain to find the answer when a strong but gentle touch warmed her shoulder. The stranger was putting her hand on her shoulder, comforting her like a long lost friend would. The stranger sighed, "Do you not recognize me…?" Sadly, the girl gradually shook her head. Shimmering drops of water slid down the cheek of the long haired stranger, "I'm… Sakaki, and before you lost your memory I was…" your possible lover? She thought, "…your closest friend."
Chiyo-chan nodded and drew this stranger, this friend Sakaki, into an embrace. "I thank you for coming to see me. I… I hope to regain my memory soon, and I am very glad that you were with me today." They held in this position for a little while longer before Sakaki drew back.
'I don't feel like I should be hugging her, not like when I feel so strongly this way, it could hurt her…' she looked at her small friend looking up into her eyes as if she were glimpsing into her core. Sakaki looked away, unable to look at her searching eyes, because they were lacking in the spark that she used to see.
'They… she doesn't have that look in her eyes any longer. It was that same look that showed her… possible love for me, but now, it's gone. Perhaps it was never there to begin with…' she thought, '…but even still, I think… no, I know that I love her. Almost losing her once in reality nearly killed me, and losing her so many times in my dream nearly tore away my spirit…'
With her love untold, and her insides crushed to microscopic pieces, the only thing she could do was wait. Wait until fate and destiny played its hand in their future, and gave her back her memory.
'I must do what Yomi does with Tomo,' she sighed, holding tears at the same time, 'I must love her, but I can't say it or it may hurt us both. Our friendship is more important than my selfish wishes… and this is the way it must be.' She thought.
No matter what she was thinking though, it only hurt her, so all she could do was try and save her tears from Chiyo-chan. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling very icy cold. Her small friend brought her in for another embrace, but it didn't have that one little spark that should have been there. Sakaki closed her eyes tightly.
'I'm saving my tears from you on the outside, but without your love, I'm crying on the inside…Chiyo-chan…'
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Unbeknownst to Sakaki and Chiyo-chan, the whole time they were in that tranquil, serene room, a person was watching them; someone who was upset at what they were witnessing.
Slowly melting away into the shadows the phantom-like person stealthily lurked, always watching, always hearing.
Back in her own dark home, she harbored a terrible plan, a venomous plan, one that would, and could only be manifested by one such as her. She sat at her desk in the inviting darkness and opened a drawer.
Pulling out a sharp piece of glinting metal with a handle, she twirled it around on it's tip on the desktop and watched as it carved its way through the wood as she twisted it.
Reaching back inside of the desk and pulling out this time a square, flat object, she placed the glossy object on the abused desk's flat surface. It was a picture, a photograph, one that contained two subjects in it. One, was the object of desire, one that was almost obtainable, whether it was by sheer force, or seduction.
'Most likely she's not going to be mine without a battle or a fight, but in the end, I will prevail and I will get her…'
The second subject in the picture was a small little girl with two distinctive pigtails on the sides of her head, laughing away, totally unaware of the devious plan that was being schemed. Laughing that hideous laugh, she ran the blade down the middle, cutting the picture into two clean sides.
Deftly twirling the blade on her hand, she gazed at the right side of the picture, looking at the perfect features of her beloved.
"Oh Sakaki, you know she is not for you. I am perfect, just right, you must know and see that by now. I have always been there for you, we are perfect together, unlike…" She glanced to the left side of the split photograph.
Her face contorted into a snarling look and she hissed through her clenched jaw. "…Unlike this ungrateful little girl who has never known you before! She just comes up a few more grades than she should, and suddenly, she is the object of your undivided attention. Well guess what my love…"
An atrocious laugh ripped through the sky and through the darkness causing the crows and other lowlife to scatter in the wake of the voice.
"Your undivided attention soon will be divided, and it will be all mine, whether I must force you or force your girlfriend to oblige!"
Her arm rose up to the sky with the glinting sinister dagger in its hand, and the point plunged down and it struck the innocent face of the subject in the picture, tearing it to shreds.
She howled a low ghastly laugh.
"Oh you will be mine."
The roar of the footsteps were heard in the distance.