Noriko-chan looks down at her wristwatch and sighs to herself. "Everyone knew that rehearsal started at three. Why isn't everyone here at three!?"
"Maybe they had other plans they couldn't reschedule,"
"Or they're skipping. Wish I could do that,"
"They'll be here any minute, don't worry! It's not that big of a deal anyway. It's only five after three,"
Noriko-chan didn't listen to all of the comments of her cast and crew, but continued to pace back and forth on the stage in the auditorium. It was Monday after school, and the first rehearsal where we, the cast, were to recite our lines in practice. We had four days or so to look them over, and Noriko-chan believes that should have been enough time. My character didn't say much, and for that I was glad. Small, simple lines after large speeches by townspeople. Plus, Pokemon servants!
Sae-chan stood next to me, hands full of bags which contained the costumes she had altered. I tried to peek into them out of the corner of my eye. I was slightly worried about what mine would be like. Sunday afternoon, after Sae-chan and I had lunch at her house, she took my measurements. She wouldn't tell me what the costume was like, no matter how much I begged and pleaded.
"Nuh uh!" Sae-chan croons as she pulls the bags farther away from my view.
"Hidoi…," I grumble.
She just sticks out her tongue playfully.
Noriko-chan clears her throat. "Ah, well, we'll start without them. Everyone has read through their part, correct?"
Everyone answers in their own way.
Noriko-chan nods her head a few times. "Okay! The plan is this: We shall work on lines as much as we can before the end of semester break. We pick things back up when we return the second week of January and our performance is in the last week of March."
That seemed like such a long time. It will seem longer to all the people who were roped into this like I was. Oh well, life goes on.
Noriko-chan started things out with talking to the townspeople. They were the ones who'd be talking the most, after all. This gave the main yet minor characters, such as myself, time to relax. I plop myself down in one of the chairs and take out Hanneko's poke' ball. It'll make such an adorable 'servant'. As far as I knew, all I had to do in this play was sit on a stump in the 'forest' and let the Pokemon canter, float, or swim around me. My biggest section with lines is when Toushi, the main villager, comes to have a little chat.
"Where's the person playing Toushi?" Noriko-chan asks over all the heads. "Where's Satoshi-kun?"
I look around myself as much as I could without moving my head, trying not to be obvious. It was true that he wasn't here.
Noriko-chan comes up to me. "You did give him that copy of the script, didn't you, Kasumi-chan?"
"Yes I did," I reply. "I gave it to him right after you spoke with me that day."
"And did he say he'd play the part?"
I shrug slightly. "He said it was being considered."
Noriko-chan bites her bottom lip. "But he was so perfect for it! I mean, I've only spoken to him a few times and was his lab partner once, but he just had this 'Je ne sais pas'."
I could feel my eye start to twitch. Noriko-chan was taking this a little out of proportion, if you ask me. "Muri shinai de."
It took a while to convince Noriko-chan to continue in rehearsal. We read through most of the first half, sitting down in the seats. Noriko-chan sat on a stool in front of us, nose buried in her own copy of the script, shouting at anybody who didn't say the line like she wanted. It would have been worse if we gave her a whistle, or a megaphone.
It was rounding on five-fifteen and I was getting drowsy. On top of that, a headache was starting to pound in my right temple. The crew as allowed to leave at about four, but Sae-chan said she'd wait for me. She was sitting off to the side with her costumes, finishing some stitches on what looked like the outfit of the head townsman. Governor, if you will.
I lean my head back and yawn toward the ceiling. Tsukareta!
At five-thirty, Noriko-chan released us, with a disappointed look on her face. She wanted to get through the whole play in that one rehearsal. I didn't know what she expected us to do. I certainly couldn't recite all my lines by heart yet, and I was one of the characters with few lines as it was.
Before I could go out the door, Noriko-chan grabs my arm. "If you bump into Satoshi-kun later on, please ask him about the role again."
"Sure," I almost yawn once more.
"Well," Sae-chan says, coming up beside me, "I finished all of my patching now."
"That's good. Can I see mine yet?"
"I'm not done with yours, actually," Sae-chan replies. "I have to finish the sleeves and the embroidering on the sash. You're supposed to be a maiden, remember, so your dress has to be like that of a maiden."
"Nanra," I sigh.
"Do you have something on your mind, Kasumi-chan?" Sae-chan asks.
"Not much," I reply wholeheartedly. "Just Satoshi-kun."
"I could have guessed that."
"It just bugs me how he goes into hiding at certain times," I say. "It's not like he's a werewolf who needs to disappear when the moon is full."
"He likes his privacy," Sae-chan nods. "Acts like a hermit at times."
"Shogunai daro…,"
Sae-chan giggles. "Maybe you should visit him again?"
"Every time I do, it ends up the same way," I say. "I try to talk to him, and he gets this snotty attitude. I try to reason with him, and he counters with 'what do you expect me to do about it?'. I begin to leave, only to have him try and get me to stay."
"Such an odd relationship," Sae-chan mutters.
"Mendoi,"
"Shows how much you care for each other," Sae-chan murmurs.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, come on, Kasumi-chan," Sae-chan rolls her eyes. "Don't give me that. I'm not sure how, but it's like you and Satoshi-kun are bonded by something else other than you knowing his secret."
"I'm not so sure about that,"
"You have deeper feelings for him and you know it," Sae-chan says. "You just haven't admitted it aloud. You should hear yourself talk about him sometime. This irritated, yet dreamy tone."
"Sae-chan," I say deeply.
"What? I'm only telling the truth. A-RU-GA-MA-MA."
She sure was rubbing it in. "I know, I know."
Sae-chan skips ahead a little bit, singing to herself. "Kasumi-chan to Satoshi-kun, ki ni suwaru koto."
"I get it, Sae-chan," I try to get her to stop.
"Saisan kisu shite, kisu suru."
"Sae-chan tte ba…"
"Saisho ni--"
"Sae-chan! Okay, I admit it loud and clear," I say. "You knew it anyways, so why are you bugging me about it now?"
"Oh, I don't know," Sae-chan shrugs to herself. "I think it's cute. Sort of a forbidden love, but adorable none the less."
"Forbidden?"
"Either that, or quirky fate," Sae-chan says.
"Drop it, already," I sigh.
"Say, does he act different around you than he does around everybody else?" Sae-chan says.
I felt myself blush lightly. "I suppose it depends."
"I want to see,"
I lift an eyebrow. "We're not a film at the local theater."
"Aw, come on!"
"Sae-chan, there's something called privacy, you know," I retort.
"I know! Noriko-chan wanted you to go ask him about his role as Toushi. I'll just come along for moral support," Sae-chan gives a thumbs-up.
"Come if you must, but it's not like you'll see anything special. It's just a graveyard," I say.
"I know, but let's go anyway."
Sae-chan and I continue walking down the street towards Yousei Cemetery. I was totally baffled why Sae-chan was taking such a sudden interest in my and Satoshi-kun's affairs. It's as if she's trying to push us along; start the fire; sign the contract. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is he! There is no need to rush. Yet she seems to think that the world will end by next Friday and everything that was meant to be in this lifetime must happen now.
We reach the cemetery in a matter of minutes and push open its tall, iron gate. This place was the back of my hand, but Sae-chan hovered close at my side. Looking side to side, she seemed to be very uneasy. She stopped half way up the stone path and gazed at me with a bemused stare.
"What is it?" I ask.
She forces a laugh. "I forgot how much cemetery's give me the creeps."
"It's okay, the only ghost here is Satoshi-kun's Gousu," I reply.
"I'm really not afraid of the ghosts," Sae-chan says and I could see her eying the blood-stained stone. "How could this be a home for the living?"
"If you're talking about Satoshi-kun, he sleeps in the shrine," I point to the small building ahead.
"Kasumi-chan, you sound like you don't find that peculiar," Sae-chan says.
I think for a second. "No, not really. I figure if I grew up here, I'd think of it as a home too."
I head to the shrine and make my way up the steps. Sae-chan followed, but slowly. I thought of this as a casual house call. She probably thought of this as knocking on Hell's front door. The shrine in a cemetery was supposed to house the lost souls of the dead, after all. I rap my knuckles on the door twice and just wait as if I were a door-to-door saleswoman with a box of 'Bishonendan Higashi'.
The door slid open a crack.
"It's Kasumi," I say.
The door glides through the frame the rest of the way, revealing Satoshi, who looked rather fatigued at the moment. He sets his eyes on Sae-chan, obviously not expecting another visitor.
"This will only be a minute," I reassure.
"Okay…Go," Satoshi says, as if timing down from sixty seconds.
"Have you thought about playing Toushi? The first official rehearsal was today, and Noriko-chan really wants to know if you'll play the role or if she has to get someone else," I say.
"I read through it," Satoshi replies. "It doesn't seem too bad. Lacks a stable plot, however."
I shrug. "It's no Haruki Matsukami novel."
"What part are you playing?" He asks.
"Mori no Otome," I mumble, slightly shy about it.
Satoshi doesn't reply, but turns to Sae-chan. "And you?"
"I manage the costumes," Sae-chan smiles, but voice shakes slightly.
Satoshi sighs. "You can tell Noriko-san that I'll do it."
"Great," I say. "Well, thanks. See you at school tomorrow."
"Ja," Satoshi closes the shrine door.
"That wasn't so bad," Sae-chan laughs nervously.
"I don't see why you're so tense, Sae-chan."
"I'm not sure," Sae-chan replies as we head towards the gate again. "I guess I'm just a superstitious person."
I laugh along. "Maybe."
Suddenly, I felt dizzy. I had to stop walking, or I'd collapse. Putting a hand on my head to steady myself things started to melt away. I felt extremely cold and weak. My head didn't hurt this time, but my heart felt the same way it did when Hanako appeared last.
"Kasumi-chan?" I could hear Sae-chan's voice call, but my vision was putrefying and her body wasn't forming.
Abruptly, everything was black and I was falling. I felt like a limp rag doll, dropped by its clumsy owner. I knew nothing, I felt nothing. Then, as quick as the crack of a whip, I stopped and was snagged upward like a puppet on strings. My body was moved by a stronger force, it seemed. I was floating to and fro, like a zombie in a black cloud. What was happening? Why couldn't I see? Why couldn't I sense anything?
Then…everything stopped.
"Aaaahhhhhhhhh!!"
"Nige te…hayaku…"
*****
My body is a boulder at the bottom of some abandoned canyon. Crushed, chipped, and as heavy as the earth itself. Immobile and inanimate, never meant for anything, undeserving of life. Out of the blue, a light begins to shine and I feel warm. Life was slowly coming back to my limbs and breath entered my lungs willingly. My eyelids unglued themselves with difficulty and I steadily open my eyes.
Everything was still blurry. Sharpness came gradually and I was staring at a dark ceiling covered in dancing shadows. Sitting up leisurely, I discover that I am in a foreign futon. I finger the dark blue cover delicately, tracing the stitching.
"Watashi wa doko ni imasuka?" I hear my voice barely whisper.
"Not far from where you were," was my answer.
I look around and see Satoshi approaching me with a tray. He sets it next to the futon and sits down himself. It took a while for everything to click in my brain. Wah! I was in his bed! I quickly gather the seats in my hands and throw them off me. I had to get out of there. How embarrassing, I must have passed out from being so dizzy.
I try to stand, but my legs had no strength. I only fall back down on my behind. I want to cry. I want to cry so bad.
Satoshi gently takes the covers and replaces them over my lap. "You need to rest a while, so stay still."
I hide my face in my hands. "Honto ni gomenasai."
"Remove your hands," Satoshi demands. "Drink this."
I part my fingers to see him holding out a tea mug. "What is it?"
"You think I'd poison you or something?" Satoshi asks.
"No," I shake my head and take the cup from him. I smell it first, then drink. "Kimyou na fuumi."
"It's my own recipe," Satoshi says. "There's no blood in it, don't worry."
He read my mind again. I suddenly remember something.
"Where's Sae-chan?"
Satoshi fixes his eyes on me. "She went home. Gave her quite a fright."
"What happened? I passed out, right?"
"That would be the logical conclusion," Satoshi replies. "However, that's wasn't the case."
"I don't understand," I say after taking another sip of the concoction in my cup.
"I assume you don't remember a thing, is that right?" He asks.
I nod my head.
Satoshi sighs. "A minute or two after I closed the door, I heard Sae-san call your name at least five or six times. I came out again to see you look as if you snapped completely. Sae-san was close to tears. You turned around to look at me and your eyes rolled around in their sockets. Even I was getting a bit terrified."
I was still moving? Was that all when I couldn't see? I thought I was just unconscious.
"I knew what was happening, so I had to stop it. The problem was, I didn't know how," Satoshi continued. "Before I could get to you, you leapt after Sae-san, and tackled her. You went straight for the neck. I was lucky to get you off before you did anything to her."
My body was frozen in shock. "I did that? Sae-chan…is she alright?"
"Physically, she's fine," Satoshi replies. "Maybe a bruise from being tackled, but that's it. Emotionally, I'm not so sure. However, even if you did get to biting her, it wouldn't have worked."
Satoshi leans forward and opens my mouth with his forefinger.
"Your fangs haven't even began to develop."
"Kiba?"
"Of course," Satoshi says. "How else do you think vampires get blood? If we had normal human teeth, we wouldn't be able to puncture the skin very easily at all."
"I tried to hurt Sae-chan?" I ask myself.
Tears started to well up in my eyes.
"I'm becoming a monster," I sob.
"Gomen," Satoshi says quietly.
I look over at Satoshi. His eyes were at the floor, and his shoulders were shaking slightly. He slowly leans forward, wraps his arms around my back and pulls me into a tight embrace. I accidentally drop the cup, spilling the mixture inside all over the floor. Satoshi didn't seem to care. A eccentric warmth began to flood into my chest and shivers ran up and down my spine. I had never felt like this before, not even when he had kissed me. It was on the brink of being indescribable.
"Gomen," Satoshi says again. "Sore wa watashi no ketten."
"Satoshi-kun, it's not--"
"It is! You did this for me, and now you're suffering," Satoshi tightens his hold on me.
All I could do was melt in his grip.
"Watashi wo yurushi," Satoshi mumbles.
I couldn't find my voice. This atmosphere was too peaceful. I was engulfed in his scent; that smooth and relaxing sandalwood. Once I regained feeling of my arms, I circled them around his back as well. I just wanted to sit there in the silence forever. When I blacked out, I knew of nothing. But because of it, all I know of now is Satoshi.
-----------------
Japanese Romanji Translations
----------------
Hidoi - Cruel/Mean
Muri shinai de - Take it easy/ Don't kill yourself
Tsukareta - [I'm] Worn out/ Fatigued
Nanra - Whatever
Shogunai daro - (similar to) Oh, what's the use… (it's a phrase indicating something is hopeless)
Mendoi - Troublesome
Arugamama - The truth
Kasumi-chan to Satoshi-kun ki ni suwaru koto - Kasumi-chan and Satoshi-kun sitting in a tree
Saisan kisu shite, kisu suru - Kissing again and again (closest I could get to actual the English rhyme)
Tte ba - emphasizes what was said earlier.. In this case: "I get it."
Saisho ni - First,
Bishonendan Higashi - Girl Scout Cookies (^_^…I don't believe they're really in Japan, but oh well)
Nige te - Escape/Run away
Hayaku - Quickly/Fast
Watashi wa doko ni imasuka - Where am I?
Honto ni gomenasai - I'm really sorry
Kimyou na fuumi - Strange flavor
Kiba - Fang (s)
Gomen - Sorry
Sore wa watashi no ketten - It is my fault
Watashi wo yurushi - Forgive me