As we crept up the stairs, we heard a small crackling noise come from the opposite corridor. Kiyoshi nodded towards it and we both tiptoed towards the source of the noise. As we turned into the musty corridor (that Kiyoshi hadn't bothered to clean) we spotted a lumpy shadow pushing itself up from the floor. I felt Kiyoshi gently push me farther behind him; he proceeded closer to the mass of blackness. The shadow had pulled itself to its feet: from what I could see, it was quite thin and of medium height. The shadow stiffened in alertness and slowly relaxed as Kiyoshi neared.
"Kiyoshi!" The shadow called, running to Kiyoshi and flinging itself on him. I heard Kiyoshi whispering to the shadow in a friendly tone in some sort of alien language.
"Hey, Komori. Come here, I want you to meet someone!" Kiyoshi beckoned to me. I tentatively scuttled to Kiyoshi, who had his hand on the shoulder of some girl. She had shockingly red hair and what I could see of her skin was bedecked with herds of freckles. Her smile was friendly and warm, but she sent chills up my spine.
"Ic dryd wghk atymn!" she said taking my hand and shaking it. My expression of incomprehension must have confused her; she let go of my hand, thinking that she had insulted me in some way. She turned to Kiyoshi for an answer.
"Jukt bist, xasd brey English." Kiyoshi explained to her. Her eyes widened as she finally understood. She turned to me and bowed apologetically.
"Hey, let's go back downstairs and talk there." He told me, then turned to the girl and (I assume) told her the same thing. Kiyoshi turned and motioned for us to follow behind him.
When we had finished our silent journey down the stairs, we each took seats in Kiyoshi's room. I sat in an old cedar chair at a desk, which appeared to be on the brink of collapsing. The girl sat on the floor near Kiyoshi's bed, where Kiyoshi sat. A twinge of jealousy hit me suddenly, and I felt utter hatred for the girl. It was obvious that she and Kiyoshi had history together; I just wondered what sort of history it was.
"I believe that introductions are in order. Komori, this is Sorrel. She was one of my best friends growing up…As you can see, she can't speak your language." Kiyoshi explained.
"Ah." I gave Sorrel a short wave. Sorrel smiled back at me and twirled her red hair. She waved to get Kiyoshi's attention; her face was suddenly serious.
"Ity jyk lipv mithgy redtyp zawt, pergh munv jut esd Ronin. Resu, yukt trabagh par Ronin, es morto ghut Ronin!…Lujghe nos tykp eft nut…despre" she said to him quietly. Kiyoshi seemed thoroughly troubled by whatever she had told him. I had been able to pick up the fact that she was talking about Resu and Ronin, so I knew that the news would probably affect me.
"Komori," Kiyoshi said urgently, "Sorrel traveled all the way here to tell me that Ronin has murdered Resu. She doesn't know what he'll do next, but if he's willing to kill his own minion, he has to be pretty desperate."
He…killed--?
"I guess that means we're going to have to be a lot more careful, then…" I said blankly.
"Yeah." Kiyoshi sighed. The fatigue in his voice was tangible; I wished that there was something that I could do.
"Ik bist eftur moi, guyt regt uy polgiey. Ik srae crag Lophia." Sorrel said standing up suddenly. Kiyoshi stood and started gibbering away at her. I just sat in my chair the whole time, feeling like a complete loser because I had no idea what they were saying. After about five minutes of incessant gibberish, it seemed Kiyoshi had given in to whatever it was that Sorrel had said.
He escorted her to the door. She sadly waved to him as she walked through the door, slowly whispering, "Unt kolp nos gai."
Kiyoshi waved back and repeated, "Unt kolp nos gai, Sorrel."
As suddenly as she had been there, Sorrel had faded into the air like a wisp of cloud. Kiyoshi stared at where she had been for a second, and slowly closed the door. His face wore an expression of utter sadness as he took a seat back at his bed, his head in his hands. I rose and went to sit beside him on the bed, and put my arms around his shoulders comfortingly. He sighed and grabbed my waist, pulling me towards him.
"She had to go back home…It's so strange, I haven't ever felt homesick before, but--." Kiyoshi tried to reason with himself.
"Trust me, I understand how you feel. Millions of miles away from home, never sure when you're going back…or if you even want to go back." I said quietly. Kiyoshi pulled me closer to where my head rested in the crook of his neck.
"Komori?" he whispered. I looked up.
"Hm?"
"I love you. I love you so much." Kiyoshi murmured as he pecked a kiss on the top of my head. I smiled slightly, taking in everything: His smell, his warmth, his voice. Everything was absolutely perfect; he didn't have a single flaw.
"I love you too, Kiyoshi." I whispered into his ear. His hands shifted at my waist, going…lower? I felt a red flush sweep over my face.
Kiyoshi's senses seemed to return to him as he checked the ancient grandfather clock that sat at the opposite corner of the room. He released me from his grasp and motioned to the clock. Disappointment flooded over me. I wanted to sit there with him for forever and never have to go back home.
"We'd better get you back home; that oblivious spell I put on Ryou won't last much longer." He explained, helping me up and leading me outside.
When we alighted back on my balcony the sun had already begun to set.
"I had a great time, Kiyoshi." I smiled, still shaken from the flight back home. Kiyoshi fingered a loose strand of my hair that had blown into the cold wind.
"I'm glad." He grinned back as he ushered me into my room.
"Oh, Komori?" Kiyoshi called as I was walking through the doors.
"Yes?"
"Be extra careful from now on. Don't trust anyone too much. Oh, and it's safe for you to go to school tomorrow, although no one will have any recollection of the event, I already made sure of that." He informed me, then jumped off the balcony, flying away at the speed of light.
I have a feeling that everything is going to change from now on.
