"The sleeper's awakening"
"RIN!" I pounded my hand on the closed door, screaming her name wishing so badly for it to reach her. I wanted to know if she was okay. I wanted to know if she was safe. But deep down I knew it was useless. I was cut off from her.
"Riki calm down!" Kyousuke put his hand on my shoulder, "Rin will be fine. She's stronger than you think. Soujiro won't hurt her."
"Why would he…?" I looked at him mystified.
"You really haven't noticed? Soujiro is intentionally hurting you. The baseball incident wasn't an accident like he claimed. Rin confirmed it. We've been trying to keep you two separated, which is the real reason I wanted you to just be a judge," Kyousuke's tone had turned dark.
I didn't want to believe it. I had done nothing to Soujiro to make him want to hurt me. It didn't add up. Kana had trusted him, and so did I. If Soujiro had a good reason for hurting me…Then I'd be fine with it. But why was I the only one who trusted him?
I could feel the tears welling up inside of me. I couldn't bear knowing Rin was probably in danger. I whispered her name again, wishing so dearly for her to come around some corner or for the door to open up.
"Come on. Let's find another way around. I think I saw another path a little ways back," Kyousuke pulled by wrist.
I numbly followed. I now understood how Rin had felt when Kyousuke had sent her to that "sister" school in that world. So alone. I wanted her around. I needed her around to be at ease. Not even Kyousuke could keep my mind off of her. My heart was racing from the thought of her being alone and scared.
One second I was just numbly following Kyousuke, unable to even speak. But then, I was on my back staring at the ceiling.
"Snap out of it!" Kyousuke yelled at me, "Rin would hate to see you like this! If you worry about her that much, then help me find a way to her."
Kyousuke had punched me and knocked me down. He had snapped me out of my lifeless state again. I seemed to always be indebted to him. He was always there to help me out. I thought I had become stronger, but now I realize that I was just as weak as I was before the accident. To make matters worse, I realized that I could have another narcolepsy attack at any moment.
"Sorry…I guess I lost sight of what is really important to me," I felt ashamed for having abandoned hope.
"Not only that. This isn't the Riki I know and love," Kyousuke helped me back onto my feet, "So leader, where to?"
"You said there should be a path around here. So let's find that and see where it leads," I glanced around for a hidden path, or even for a path.
It didn't take long for Kyousuke to find a path. Once we began to follow it, it opened up to a large cave. In it, was a stone table. The table had markings on it that made it into a game board. Curious, I looked closer at it. Then I noticed the pieces off to the side.
"Chess," Kyousuke said, "It looks interesting. Let's read what the instructions say…At these words take heed, play the game and lead. Be clever, or be stuck forever."
"So we have to play chess?" I asked.
"No I do. You go on ahead. I assume that once I start the game, a door will open. Go ahead without me and take the instructions. Find Rin and get out of here. I'll be fine and I'll meet you either at the beach or at the school," Kyousuke handed me the paper and sat in the chair in front of the table, "Rin doesn't need me to look out for her. I'm not the one best suited for it; rather it's you who she needs."
"But Kyousuke…!"
"But nothing. I'm a pro when it comes to mind games," Kyousuke smiled, "Get going."
I gave a small nod and hurried from the room when the door opened. I looked back at Kyousuke, and sighed. I saw that he was confident, so I decided to be confident in myself. Kyousuke was counting on me to look out for his little sister. I wondered how he'd go about getting through the tasks ahead. Ultimately I decided to just follow every instruction to the best of my ability.
When I reached the next challenge, I read the instructions to myself. Reach blindly into hope, and plummet down the slope. It rhymed again. I didn't enjoy the rhyme, but I knew it was important. It was a key feature to this mystery. But I didn't understand it. I found a small hole that looked like a hand could fit into it. I was hesitant, but I knew I had to take a chance. I reached into the hole.
The ground began to tremble. And then the stone on the wall began to fall and reveal another path. It was slanted like a slope. I decided to slowly slide down it. When I reached the bottom, I came to a large room. I looked around for another test, and found nothing but a door. I read the instructions, but it only told me to continue into the next room.
I went into the next room and found a maze. The instructions said: Travel in the maze, if caught in a haze then stay for days. I had to follow the maze right? I just had to solve the maze and get through without being caught in a haze. Haze? That wasn't clear enough. I wondered if it meant that a fog would start chasing me.
I trekked through the maze now. I didn't look back, and kept my right hand pressed against the wall. If I did that then I would most likely solve it faster. As I stumbled through the maze, my mind flickered back to Rin. She had Soujiro. I had Kyousuke, and then I had lost him. I was the one alone. So why was I still worrying about her?
I felt an ominous chill. I glanced back and I noticed something like a dark fog slowly creeping up on me. I started to dash now. I didn't want to be caught in it. But I ran into a dead end. I closed my eyes and punched the wall. I had taken my hand off the wall and taken a wrong turn. And now I would be caught in the haze.
I turned and walked into the haze. I had to backtrack. But everything became blended. I lost my way. This is what it meant to be stuck for days. I wasn't going to be able to get out anytime soon. And then that's when the freaky part started.
"You failed me Riki," It was Kyousuke's voice.
"Riki why did you leave me alone?!" Rin's voice came next.
"Why did you forget me?" Kana's voice came after that.
It continued, going through each of my friends. It began to hurt my head, and my heart. I fell to my knees and felt myself slipping into a self-pity state again. Why was this happening to me? What was going to happen to me? Will I ever see Rin again?
"Whenever you feel down, just use a bit of happy magic…" Komari's voice whispered in my ear, "It goes like this. Just say 'all right' in a happy tone."
I smiled. Komari was right. This wasn't the time for me to feel down. I'd seen Rin do the happy magic a few times. So now it was my turn. I stood up and tried it out. My troubles seemed to fade away. I wasn't going to give up.
I reached out my hand and felt a handle. Then, I jiggled the handle until I saw a break of light. I followed it and found myself outside again. I glanced around and saw a second door. Two paths. Maybe Rin was on her way out right now. Maybe we'd be reunited again soon.
I went over to the second door and opened it. I looked around the dark room without entering it. I could hear something like rushing water. I decided to take a risk and entered the room, but kept the door open with my foot.
"Rin!" I called out and waited for a response.