Chapter 13
As the sun began to set,Aya walked down the street toward the clinic. She could hear the townspeople making their way toward the festival area the next street over. She felt a little disappointed for missing it,but the thought of being with Tsuyoshi far outweighed her bitter feeling. The wind picked up just a bit as she opened the clinic door,blowing her long brown hair around wildly.
When Aya walked inside,she saw two nurses walking in and out of the few patients' rooms. Aya was glad that someone stayed here to watch over the sick and injured. She went over to Tsuyoshi's door and opened it. Peeking inside,she saw Tsuyoshi sitting up on his bed,reading a book.
Tsuyoshi looked up at Aya,who was standing in the doorway. "Hey,Aya." he greeted her. He closed the book and set it down on the bed side table. "I'm glad you're back."
Aya stepped inside,closing the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and sat on the chair. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Pretty good." Tsuyoshi answered. "Better. How did the setup go?"
"It was great." Aya said. "I ran into Sana there and we worked together the entire time."
"Sounds nice." Tsuyoshi said.
"It was." Aya agreed. "At noon,the two of us went to lunch. We ran into Akito. I convinced him to help with the setup."
"You convinced him?" Tsuyoshi asked,disbelieving. "Really?"
"Yes,really." Aya said. "I can be really convincing when I want to be."
"I don't believe you." Tsuyoshi said smiling. He leaned close to her and said "Convince me."
Aya's face turned pink,and Tsuyoshi started to laugh. Aya laughed too. Only together five minutes,and already they were enjoying each others company. Aya couldn't explain it,but she felt so comfortable around Tsuyoshi. Even more so after the two of them shared a kiss a few days ago. That kiss had been an accident. They went at each other like animals. Aya was embarrassed just remembering.
She felt like she should talk to Tsuyoshi about that kiss. But now was a bad time,with him being hurt and all.
Aya stopped thinking about it and went back to listening to what Tsuyoshi was saying. What she heard was "-issing,"
"Kissing!" Aya suddenly yelled.
"What?" Tsuyoshi said. "What do you mean?"
"D-didn't you just say 'kissing'?" Aya asked.
"N-no." Tsuyoshi said. "I was saying, 'I feel bad that you're missing the festival.' Weren't you listening?"
"Sorry." Aya said. "No,I wasn't."
"Were you thinking about kissing?" Tsuyoshi teased.
"N-no!" Aya said,her face turning red. "Not really...yes." Aya admitted.
"What?" Tsuyoshi asked. "Y-you were?"
"Yeah." Aya said,feeling embarrassed. "I was remembering our kiss from a couple days ago."
Tsuyoshi's face began to burn as the blush formed. "You were?"
"Mm-h'm." Aya nodded her head. "You know,it was just so sudden. And we haven't talked much about it since."
Aya looked up at Tsuyoshi. He was watching her,listening intently. Her blush increased a bit. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have brought this up with your shoulder hurting and all!"
"Aya,Aya." Tsuyoshi said. "It's alright. I've been thinking about it for a while,myself."
"You have?" Aya asked,scooting her chair closer to the bed,closer to him.
"Yes." Tsuyoshi said. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for just,what's the right word? 'Attacking?' you."
"You don't have to apologize,Tsuyoshi. I didn't mind at all. I kinda liked it." Aya couldn't help but smirk a tiny bit as she spoke the last sentence.
"You did?" Tsuyoshi asked.
"Yeah." Aya said,inching her chair closer and closer. Soon,the chair had nowhere left to go,so she started to lean toward Tsuyoshi. "In fact,I wouldn't mind another one."
"You wouldn't?" Tsuyoshi whispered,starting to lean his head toward hers.
"Not at all." Aya whispered. Their faces inches apart,their lips barely touching...
When a knock appeared at the door. A nurse walked in with a tray full of Tsuyoshi's dinner. Aya was standing up,clear on the other side of the room,her blush passing red and turning violet. The nurse gave Tsuyoshi the tray and left.
/
Knock,knock,knock.
Sana jerked awake at the loud sound of her front door being pounded on. She put her hands to her face,which felt warm,almost hot. She took deep breathes,trying to understand what was going on. It happened again. She dreamed of Akito...again!
She calmed down and stood out of bed. She jumped a little when the door got pounded on again. She walked out of her room and toward the front door. Wrenching it open,she cursed. "What the hell!"
"Whoa. It's awake." A voice said. "And It curses." Looking up,Sana saw Akito standing on her porch. He was wearing a clean black shirt and an opened black jacket. His dark blue pants looked pressed,and his shoes appeared polished.
"Akito?" Sana asked. "What are you doing here?"
"It's 6:15." Akito answered. "You're late."
It took just a moment for Sana's brain to realize what Akito meant. "Oh right! Damn! I overslept."
"I can see that." Akito pointed out her messy bed head.
"Give me a few minutes,Akito. To get ready. Please?" Sana asked.
Akito was silent. Then he answered. "Sure."
"Thank you." Sana said and closed the door.
While Akito waited on the porch,Sana race-walked to her room. She opened her drawer and began searching for something to wear. She couldn't seem to find anything she liked. She had worn all theses clothes before,but for some reason,none of them seemed right for that day. Frustrated, she instead picked out a long,pleated,cobalt blue skirt that reached her knees. Looking in her drawer again,she searched for a shirt that would look good with her skirt.
Then she remembered the blouse. She looked in her drawer and found it. The little devil was hiding. She took off the shirt she had on and put on the white blouse. She still marveled over the soft material as she buttoned it up. Sitting down in front of her mirror,she grabbed her hairbrush and worked the knots out of her bed head. Finally satisfied,she grabbed a light jacket and returned to the front door.
Akito was leaning against the wall to the right of the door. When it opened,he looked over and felt his heart skip a beat. Sana was wearing a breathtaking combination of clothes. And the way she had fixed her hair had made her look stunning. Snapping back to reality,Akito shook his head slightly.
"Let's get going,shall we?" Sana asked.
"Yeah."Akito said. "Fine."
Sana and Akito walked side by side down the street toward the festival. Instead of going down any alleyways,the couple decided to walk around the buildings to reach their destination. Akito looked over at Sana and noticed the blouse she was wearing. It was white,buttoned, and looked soft to the touch.
"Nice blouse." Akito mumbled.
Hearing him, Sana smiled. "Thank you, Akito. I got it yesterday. It's really soft. W-want to feel it?" she asked,stumbling a little at the beginning of the question for some reason.
"Sure." Akito answered. He put his right hand on her left shoulder and began to rub,feeling the fabric. "Yeah. Really soft." Akito said as he dropped his arm.
Sana and Akito reached the street with the festival,and Sana almost took off running. She grabbed Akito's hand and attempted to drag him along. "Come on,Akito." she said. "It's going to be fun." Watching her try to pull him,Akito smirked and started walking toward the festival. He agreed with Sana that tonight might just be fun.
/
The clock tower read 6:33. The entire town was dark accept the festival area. Music played and people cheered and laughed. The entire town was present. Almost the entire town. At the next street down, two people,a town local and an out-of-towner,were sitting together in the clinic.
Aya was sitting in the chair again,only she had moved it so that it wasn't close to the bed. She had been keeping her distance since the nurse interrupted their almost passionate kiss. Aya normally didn't get mad at people,but her dislike of that nurse grew slightly today. She would be over it by tomorrow. If only that nurse had waited another ten,maybe twenty minutes. Who serves dinner at 5:50 anyway?
'What if that nurse wants Tsuyoshi for herself?' Aya wondered,her paranoid thoughts beginning to take over. 'That's why she interrupted. Serving dinner was just an excuse!'
'Calm yourself,Aya.' her rational self said to her. 'Tsuyoshi only has eyes for you. Besides,it was just food.'
'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' replied Aya's paranoid mind.
"Aya?" Tsuyoshi called to her,his voice sounding caring. "Are you alright? You're quiet."
"Huh?" Aya said,snapping out of her inside argument. "Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."
"You sure?" Tsuyoshi asked.
"I'm sure." 'See? He cares for you. He doesn't even know that nurse's name.' Aya's rational voice said.
'Even if she posed a threat,you could always smack her around.' said Aya's jealous voice said.
Then,Aya felt two hands touch her shoulders. Jumping at the sudden contact,she jerk around to see who was there. Tsuyoshi,who had gotten out of bed and walked over to her,was standing behind her,concern and pain written on his face.
"Aya,are you upset?"
"Tsuyoshi!" Aya exclaimed,standing up. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be out of bed."
"I know." Tsuyoshi said,breathing heavily. "But I'm worried about you."
"Worry about me while laying down." Aya said, herding him back to the bed.
After Aya got Tsuyoshi back on the bed,she sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm sorry Tsuyoshi. I came here to keep you company,but all I've done is sit in the corner."
"Don't be sorry,Aya." Tsuyoshi said. "Are you upset over the little interruption earlier?"
Aya nodded her head slightly. "Yeah."
"That's kinda funny, y'know?" Tsuyoshi said.
"How is that funny?" Aya asked,turning to look at him.
"It's funny that you would worry about something so small." Tsuyoshi said.
"But," Aya started. "That was a very special moment. It was going to be rememberable. You can't recreate a moment like that."
"Well," Tsuyoshi said. "It just means that next time will be even more rememberable."
"What do you mean, 'next time'?" Aya asked.
"I mean right now." Tsuyoshi answered. He reached up grabbed her head with his good hand. Tsuyoshi pulled her head toward his. Their lips met,sparks flew and fireworks lit up the dark hospital room.