NOCTURNE
Chapter XVII (17): Drunkard
"So… your name is Sari?"
"Yes. I'm terribly sorry for startling you earlier…"
"It's alright. I'm used to things like that happening to me anyway."
It's been several minutes since Akira was "attacked" by some unknown creature. That "creature" happened to be a beautiful young woman named Sari, who mistook Akira to be her lover. Sari has very long silver hair that reaches to her feet and wonderful black eyes that look surreal. She has very gentle, white skin and a body so fragile that if Akira so much as hugged her hard enough, he might break her frail body's bones. She wears a kimono made of pure silk (white in color). Around her waist is a red sash that stands out like her long, silver hair. The moon in the sky seems to make her body glow as if she were a fairy. Sari doesn't reveal much about herself to Akira, for she is always bringing up the subject of her lover, who left her to fight in a war.
Several minutes later, Akira parts from Sari, who waves good-bye to him as he enters the backdoors of the mansion, heading back up to his room on the second floor… only to run into another figure halfway up the stairway.
"Hey, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
Up the stairs is a man wearing a brown, crumpled business suit and wrinkled tie. The same guy Akira met earlier today.
"Hey… It's you… Kusayama, right?"
"You got it!"
"Why have you been looking for me?"
"Did you forget already? Our party in my room!"
"Oh yeah…"
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"Hang on a second… Dark, go back to my room. You know where that is?"
Dark shakes his tail.
"Good. Go on. I'll only be gone for a bit."
Dark does as he's told and rushes past Kusayama quickly, growling. Kusayama doesn't seem to notice, though. Kusayama then leads the way to his room. His room is located down the same hallway as Misao's (the redheaded woman Akira met before going outside), except his is at the very end, while Misao's is the first door on the hall.
The two men enter the room. The smell of brandy and sweat hits Akira's scenes, making him rather giddy. Kusayama, on the other hand, looks like he's totally used to the smell, for he breathes it in deeply, making Akira sick. Kusayama shuts the door behind Akira, and then he runs off towards his bed, going back and forth between his bed and a small desk.
"What are you doing?"
"Shut up and take a seat over there."
Kusayama points to a small table next to the door. There are two conveniently placed seats next to the table. Both chairs are rather small, but Akira takes a seat anyway.
After about a minute or so, Kusayama walks proudly to Akira, holding a small brown bag with a drink inside. Kusayama pulls out the beverage to reveal brandy, an alcohol. He places the large bottle of brandy on the middle of the table and pulls out two small "fancy" glasses from the brown bag and places them on the table, one next to his seat and one next to Akira's seat.
"Well, we're all set!"
"So… This is your little celebration? Drinking?"
"You got it!"
Kusayama pops off the cork on the brandy and pours the yellow liquid in both glasses, filling them to the brim. He then takes a seat, still holding the bottle in his hand.
"You'd better enjoy this, it almost cost me an arm and a leg to find this one bottle!"
"I'm sure."
"Don't tell me you don't drink!"
"Sorry, but I do not. I've never drunk anything other than water and natural juices, and I don't plan on drinking anything that will mess up my system."
"Bah, oh well. I'll just have your drink if you don't mind!"
Without waiting for Akira's response, Kusayama leans forward and snatches Akira's glass, drinking every drop. After he finishes Akira's, he then drinks his own, only this time he drinks about a quarter of it.
"So, Mr. Akira, how did you get here?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest. The caretaker found me, so she says."
"Ah… She's a strange woman… Did you know this place is full of women?"
"I've kind of figured that out…"
"This place is like a harem!"
Kusayama laughs out loud and drinks more of his beverage. His face is starting to turn red and his voice shaky.
"I was the only male here until you came along! Damn you!"
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't intend to end up here in the first place…"
"I'm just joking. It's been a while since I've had a buddy like you come along."
Kusayama drinks the rest of his beer and fills his glass up again. His face is more red than ever and it is clear that he is now officially drunk.
"Do you know what I specialize in, Mr. Akira?"
"Not really…"
'You look like a drunk to me,' Akira mumbles to himself.
"I am a computer programmer of a large company in Tokyo! I'm one of the most capable men in the whole company."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. One night, when I was drinking in Shinjuku, I got so drunk that I went to the roadside to vomit. I must have passed out. When I woke up, I was here."
"That's strange… This place is surrounded by forest."
"I know. The mistress says she found me out there… She also said something else… Dammit! What did she say?"
Kusayama now seems to be under the control of the brandy, for he starts to speak to himself.
"I remember… I was such a guy for the women… All of them wanted me. Ha ha ha! It was great!"
"I'm sure it was."
"Then there was this one chic… Now SHE was a real hottie… I found her one day at a bar. We both drank and drank and drank until neither of us could stand up straight. Then we went to my place and had a great time!"
"Mmhmm…"
"Do you think you'll ever get some?"
"…"
"If you don't get drunk and screw around and have a little fun, how else do you think you'll get all the women? Look at me! I'm a chic-magnet!"
Kusayama laughs so hard he falls out of his chair. Seconds later, he passes out, and the bottle of brandy he was holding is spilt all over the floor, soaking into the blue carpet.
"I'd better get the maid… Wherever she might be at…"
Akira stands from his chair and leaves Kusayama's room, keeping the door open.
As he rushes down the stairs, Akira remembers seeing the maid in the dining room. 'Hopefully she's still in here, even at this time,' Akira says in his mind. Akira opens the dining room doors quickly and looks around, adjusting to the dark. He notices the hallway at the end of the room.
"Maybe she's in the same hall as the caretaker?"
Akira goes into the hallway and checks the first door at the beginning of the hall. Locked. He checks the second by knocking on it. He hears noise from inside. The door opens very slightly and he sees fearful eyes looking at him. 'Bingo.'
"You are the maid, correct? Miwako?"
"Y… Yes…"
Miwako seems to be crying, for Akira can see her wiping her eyes persistently.
"Are you okay? You look sad."
"I'm fine… Really… What's the matter?"
"Ah… Kusayama, the guy upstairs, we had a drinking party, and he passed out, and there's a huge mess on the floor…"
"Okay, I'll be up there in just a minute."
The maid leaves the door and there is the fumbling of books and other objects in her room. She then opens the door all the way and she is holding a mop and a bucket with water. The water has soap and a small green sponge.
"Wow, you've got this stuff all prepared, don't you?"
The maid seems to blush.
"I'll help you out here."
"Thank you…"
Akira takes the mop and bucket of water. Miwako then rushes upstairs to Kusayama's room, Akira tailing behind.
About half an hour later, the mess is cleaned in Kusayama's room and the passed out Kusayama is placed on his bed to rest. After she finishes cleaning the carpet, the maid bows and leaves quickly, carrying the half-full bucket of water, sponge, and mop back to her room. Akira is left standing outside Kusayama's closed room confused.
"I wonder why she looks as if she's escaping from me? Maybe it's just my imagination…"
Outside, a storm has just started to brew. The wind howls and rain spatters against Akira's window. Thunder rumbles menacingly and lightning flashes in the distance. The storm pushes onward in the night, keeping Akira awake. Akira is lying on his bed, while Dark stands on the table next to the window, staring outside. Since Dark is nocturnal, he's not bothered at all by the storm, but he does seem to jump when the thunder crashes like cymbals. Surprisingly, it is only about eleven o' clock by the looks of the night and by how "awake" Dark is. You see, the groggier Dark looks at night, the closer it is to eight o' clock, for Dark always wakes up at eight at night. However, if he seems fully active, it is eleven-thirty at night, for he's always the most active at eleven-thirty. When it is one o' clock in the morning, Dark starts to show signs of drowsiness. By six o' clock in the morning, he is almost totally asleep, and by seven, he is totally crashed out. Akira has "used" Dark as his watch for years now.
"Good thing you're here, Dark. You're my special watch in these types of situations when I don't have the time on me."
Akira chuckles to himself and Dark stares at Akira confused. Thunder booms outside again, turning Dark's attention to the storm once more. For some strange reason, Akira seems to hear the sound of a woman screaming being carried by the hurricane-force winds. That is the reason he is still awake.
"Rather odd, ain't it Dark? How the wind sounds like it's screaming… It's chilling…"
Dark seems to somewhat understand what Akira says and listens. After a bit, he starts to tremble and jumps off the table, huddling next to Akira for comfort.
"You hear it, too? Then it's not my imagination…"
Akira continues to listen to the wind as it continues on in the night, screaming as if asking for forgiveness.
NOCTURNE
"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." –Romans 8:6
