Chapter 11
Tsuyoshi climbed off his horse and walked toward the stopped carriage. Looking up,he saw Akito on the carriage's roof,looking toward the next town. Preparing himself,Tsuyoshi opened the carriage door. Standing inside,the man they had come to rob held a gun pointed right at Tsuyoshi. With a scared look across his face,the man pulled the trigger.
With the sound of the gunshots echoing in his head,Tsuyoshi jolted awake. Looking around,he found himself still in the medical building,lying on the soft bed. Outside the window,the town was dark and misty.
Sitting in a chair next to the bed,with her head resting on Tsuyoshi's good arm,was Aya. Soft murmurs escaped from her as she slept. His left arm tingled as it began to go numb from the pressure of Aya's head. Tsuyoshi quietly laughed as he felt Aya drool on his arm. Tsuyoshi slowly pulled his arm out from under Aya.
"Hey." Tsuyoshi whispered,nudging Aya awake. "Hey, Aya."
Aya stirred from her sleep,looking up at Tsuyoshi.
"What is it?" Aya asked in a tired voice. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Tsuyoshi said. "It's late Aya. Shouldn't you have gone home?"
"N-no." Aya said,beginning to wake up a bit more. "I said I would stay with you all night."
"All night?" Tsuyoshi asked. "Well,if you insist. But that chair doesn't look very comfortable to sleep on."
"But their isn't anything else." Aya said.
"Here." Tsuyoshi said. Using his left arm,he pushed himself over on the bed,making room for Aya. "Lay here with me."
"A-are you sure,Tsuyoshi?" Aya asked, a slight blush appearing on her face Tsuyoshi couldn't see in the dark.
"No problem at all." Tsuyoshi replied. "Now come on. You seem tired."
"Alright." Aya climbed into the bed with Tsuyoshi. Getting comfortable under the covers,Aya couldn't seem to get to sleep again. Her face burned and her heart doubled in speed as she laid next to Tsuyoshi.
Tsuyoshi,meanwhile, was almost in the same situation as Aya. His heart pounded away rapidly lying on the bed. Aya's head rested on Tsuyoshi's chest,rising up and down with each breath he took. And with every intake of breath,he could smell Aya's scent. Naturally beautiful,just like her. Eventually,the two of them fell back asleep,holding each other closely.
/
Akito awoke from his sleep,looking up at the ceiling. A crack ran from the window to the top right corner. He sat up and looked around. He had never been awake so early here,so the nearly darkened room looked new to him.
He got up off the bed and walked to the window. He pulled back the curtains and looked out. The clock tower read 6:18. The normal sunny town he had grown used to was gray and a bit foggy. Looking up,he saw the sky darkened with clouds.
'Hope it doesn't rain.' Akito thought. He then got himself dressed and walked outside. Despite the hour,their were plenty of people walking around outside. Unlike the previous days,they weren't going about their daily lives. Instead,the people were working to put together the town festival for that night.
Akito walked down the street and slipped into an alley. Then he continued up the next street to the medical building. He went inside and walked up to Tsuyoshi's room. Knocking on the door, Akito waited for an answer. When he didn't get one,he knocked again. No answer. Akito opened the door a crack and peered inside.
Tsuyoshi was still asleep,and Aya was still with him. But,it seems that Aya had crawled into Tsuyoshi's bed sometime during the night. Probably Tsuyoshi's idea.
Akito closed the door and walked back outside. Not really sure what to do,he just decided to walk around. Despite the town being small,Akito hadn't seen all of it yet. So it wasn't a surprise when we reached an area of town unfamiliar to him. It looked to be the last row of buildings to the town's west side. Everything beyond was endless desert.
Scanning the area,Akito spotted something that seemed to stand out. The ground at his feet was a dusty light brown color,with a few bits of green sprouting here and there. Then the green seemed to grow more abundant off to Akito's left.
He followed the every growing amount of green grass,until he reached a surprising sight. A river,slightly wider then any he had ever seen before,ran from the north to the south. Brilliant green foliage grew on either bank and continued a little off. The water,clear as crystal,flowed past him at a seemingly perfect speed. Small fish,half the size of his little finger,swam quickly in the flowing water.
Overall,a truly beautiful scene. As Akito stood watching,he suddenly found himself thinking of who he would share this natural beauty with. Only one person came to mind. A person he didn't expect,yet wouldn't leave his mind. Only one. Sana.
/
Beautiful music played. Couples danced with grace across the large room. Sana sat in the corner,watching the festive display. Looking around,she found Aya,dressed in a blue-gray gown,dancing with Tsuyoshi,who wore a handsome black tuxedo. Sighing,Sana wished that she was dancing as well. But everyone there had a partner. She was the odd one out.
Depressed,she looked down at her feet. A shadow then approached her. Looking up,she saw a man in a tuxedo standing over her. His face was hidden in shadow. His right hand extended out to her. "Would you care to dance?" he asked.
Sana nodded. She reached out her hand and took a hold of his. The faceless man led her out to the dance floor. Couples moved aside to let them pass. Looking down at her feet again,Sana found herself wearing a stunning green gown. A slight blush formed on her face as the two of them stood amongst the dancers.
The man led, and they began to dance. Step by step,they were perfectly in tune with each other. So beautiful they looked together.
Sana's heart raced as she danced. She leaned her head against her partner's chest. Strangely, she felt relaxed and comfortable with the faceless man. She felt like she could spent the rest of her life with this man,and never be sad again. She was in love.
"Are you enjoying the dance?" the man asked.
"Yes." Sana answered. She looked back up at him,and gasped.
His face,which had been covered completely by shadows just moments ago,had been revealed for all to see. His hair was a dirty blond color. His eyes yellowish-brown. His mouth expressionless. Sana was looking up at Akito.
/
Sana opened her eyes. Blinking thrice,she realized it was a dream. Sitting up, Sana looked around her room,as if she was expecting it to be different. Seeing no change,she attempted to brush hair out of her eyes with her right hand. Looking at it,Sana found that she had laid on it all night,resulting in her arm being completely numb.
Sighing,she used her left arm to brush away the hair. Her numb arm began to regain feeling as she got out of bed. She walked to her dresser and picked out today's outfit. Sana tried to get dressed,but she found it difficult to remove her clothes with her arm being numb. Having no other choice,she sat down on her bed and waited for her feeling to return.
As she waited,she found herself think about her dream. It seemed weird to her. Dancing couples,faceless people,and her date had turned into...
Akito!
"Why?" Sana said aloud. Why Akito? What did it mean,if it meant anything at all. In her dream,she had admitted to herself then she loved the faceless man. Then the faceless man turned into Akito. It just doesn't make any sense. What did it mean?
Her arm having regained feeling,Sana stood back up and continued getting dressed. She had put on a light blue blouse and a gray colored skirt that came down to below her knees. Sana walked to her vanity mirror to brush her hair. Looking at her reflection, she saw her face red with blush.
Shaking her head,she brushed her hair and walked into her living room. Reaching the front door,she grabbed the knob,pulled it open and stepped out into the daylight.