(Where's the Walkthrough?)
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There will only be one ending.TheNexus97 wrote:Are you going to write a single good ending or you will also write the neutral ending and the bad ending?
There can be only one.Eurobeatjester wrote:There will only be one ending.TheNexus97 wrote:Are you going to write a single good ending or you will also write the neutral ending and the bad ending?
First update of the new year! I'm glad I got this one done as it had to take a back burner to get my Secret Santa story finished. Shameless plug: Check it out! My story was called "Two Turtledoves" and you can find it here on the forums along with a bunch of other amazing short stories all of us wrote for each other.
Smaller chapter this time, but an important one!
Happy 2018, everyone!
Act 3: Ignition
Scene 8: I've Got A Jar Of Dirt
“Deep breath in, and hold.”
I fill my lungs and brace myself for the cold shock of the stethoscope, but at least Nurse has the decency to warm it up first by vigorously rubbing it against his sleeve. He then places the end of it right against my scar and listens intently for a few seconds.
“Again please,” he says, moving the instrument a few centimeters to the right. We repeat this process a few more times before he stands up and writes something quickly on his clipboard.
“All things considered, I'd say that looks good for now. You can put your shirt back on.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, reaching for the edge of the exam table where I deposited my undershirt.
“So, how has the last week or so been?” he asks, sitting down in his chair across from me while I start to redress.
“Pretty good actually,” I answer him after pulling the shirt back over my head.
“Do anything interesting?”
“Not really.”
“Oh? Because I was wondering how you ended up with that peeling skin on a few areas of your shoulders.”
“Ah, yeah,” I stammer, nervously scratching the back of my head. “I guess I did forget to mention that.”
“Well, I can't imagine it was anything bad. Ended up having some fun over the long weekend before exams started, did we?” Nurse asks offhandedly, setting aside the clipboard and smiling, eager to hear whatever has been going on.
“We ended up going to the beach,” I say, starting to button up my uniform shirt.
“That does sound like fun. How did you handle it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, unless I'm mistaken, it's quite a bit farther than the city to the beach,” he winks. “That's quite a round trip to make in one day. You must have left insanely early and left equally as late.”
“Kind of,” I explain. “We planned to make it back on the last bus, but got held up. We ended up having to spend the night down there.”
“That's not good,” Nurse frowns, picking up the clipboard again. “Did you have your overnight bottle with you?”
I nod.
“Good! I'm glad to hear it. I figured nothing went wrong, given that it's been almost a week, but it's always nice to get some affirmation.”
I briefly go over the events on our trip. I tell about how we ended up getting stuck in traffic, and spent just a bit too long while browsing around after dinner, and deciding to get a hotel room to leave early in the morning.
What I don't tell him though, is what exactly ended up happening that night. It's still really hard for me to think about how I feel about it myself.
Being with Saki still doesn't seem real; in a lot of ways, I'm surprised how little has changed. I had thought that reaching one of several large milestones in my life might have had more an effect, but then again, I guess it's hard to figure out how to react to things like that ahead of time.
We ended up checking out early the next morning, and it didn't take long to get back to Yamaku at all, at least compared to how long it took us to get to the beach in the first place. Saki spent the entire trip back resting her head on my shoulder, dozing off a few times.
It wasn't the first time she had done something like that, but this time was...different. More meaningful. More heartfelt. Feeling her relaxing against me, her warm body pressing into my side with every gentle bump was more fulfilling than any time she had done it before.
“So at this point, I need to make a statement, and I promise the quicker I get through it, the less embarrassment it's going to cause. It's up to you whether you take my advice to heart, so to speak,” Nurse says, placing his hands on his thighs and pinning me with an extremely serious look that makes my face flush slightly.
Although I was trying to be vague, I really doubt I failed to give him enough details to read between the lines of my story. I have a gut feeling I already know what the subject of his statement is going to be, and it's really not something I want to get into.
“I'm not just going to come out and 'assume' you're sexually active,” he begins, complete with air quotes, “but I'm going to say this anyway so it's in your mind when and if that changes."
“You're kidding,” I stammer out, my face turning redder. “If you're trying to give me some sort of 'birds and bees' speech-”
“Look, I'm not trying to imply anything here. All I'm saying is if you happen to get in that situation, you have to treat it like any other strenuous activity. I know in the heat of the moment it can be difficult to slow down and do your standard mental checks, but that's a time when it's very important to do so. So far I've been impressed with how you've handled yourself with therapy and getting into shape with your swimming, so I'm not too worried about you. I'm going to finish this little speech by saying that if you ever need 'protection,' simply come here to this office and I or my staff will give it to you, no questions asked.”
I sit there dumbfounded, with no idea how to respond. Eventually my brain comes up with something.
“You sound like you've given that speech before.”
“Many times,” Nurse says, back to his old smile. “Don't worry, it's not my business to pry, as long as there are no issues. That's what I'm supposed to say as a health professional and in my official capacity as the head of the medical staff here at Yamaku.”
I swallow. “Are there any, um...rules?...against that sort of thing?”
“Nothing official, besides the 'no overnight' rule. What students do here on their own time is none of my business, as long as they're being safe. Oh, and at least making some sort of effort at discretion. Nobody's walked in on anyone else in a storage closet, to my knowledge.”
“I'm surprised you're this open about it...”
“I have to be. Not much room for secrets in this line of work. I know what medications you take,” he winks. “Besides the cliché of saying that you can be honest with me about anything that comes up, I'm perfectly happy with never bringing this up again if you are.”
“Th...thank you,” I say, giving a shaky sigh.
“No problem. Best of luck finishing the next week of exams!”
With a weight seeming to lift off of everyone's collective shoulders, the final bell rings. Normally everyone would be lining up to get out the door, but today a sense of exhaustion permeates the classroom.
Today marked the end of the first week of exams, and it felt particularly agonizing. It's not like we've been taking an exam every day, and next week will be no different, but it's obvious this is going to dominate the forefront of our lives until the end of July. It doesn't matter what's going on; everything else gets put on hold during exams.
Even relationships.
Saki and I have seen each other exactly three times this last week, and that was for lunch on several days. The other days, I spent my lunch period in the library desperately trying to cram a few more lines of knowledge into my brain in the hopes that any little bit would help my chances at getting a better grade.
We had talked about this before the exams started, and both agreed that it was just a way of life until the end of the exam period. We even mutually accepted that we wouldn't be going to the pool in the morning so we could get the extra sleep. Getting together in the evenings wasn't really an option.
Until today. Last time we sat together at lunch, we promised we were going to do something together after the last exam of the week was over and take at least an evening to ourselves to refresh and relax before the last week started.
With how exhausted I am, I doubt we'll be able to do much more than watch a movie on Saki's laptop. I don't mind though, if it means we get to spend some time together.
Finally, I make my way out the door and make a turn to step further down the hall, towards Saki's classroom. I see her by the entrance, having a few words with Chisato, Mitsuru, and Noriko.
“Oh hi, Hisao!” Chisato says when she notices me walking up. I give a nod to the the three of them.
“How did you fare on your exams today?” Mitsuru asks me, trying to include me into the conversation they were having before I showed up.
“I'm just glad today's are over. I'm not that great at history.”
Noriko speaks up. “Oh no, we have that one next week. I'm so not ready.”
“Me neither,” Saki says. “Want to meet up tomorrow and spend a few hours in the library?”
“Ugh, I hate the library,” Chisato snorts in disgust. “Can't we study, like, down at the Shanghai at least?”
“You know as well as I do that isn't going to work. We tried that last time.”
“Yeah, and we learned what we needed to do to make studying down there work.”
“You mean we found ways that didn't work.”
“Hey it's science! Keep working at something and eventually you'll run out of ways that don't work. Speaking of which, how did that exam go, Hisao?”
(continued...)
By some strange measure, not all of us are taking the same exams at the same time. It seems that 3-1 and 3-3 are taking one set of exams the first week while 3-2 and 3-4 are taking another set, then we'll switch for the final week. That's not the typical way to do it, but this might be better for a school like Yamaku. Either way, it gives us a chance to share information about the exams with each other so we at least have some idea what to expect. Nothing like specific answers, as each teacher mentioned the exams for each week were slightly different, but a general idea of what to warn your fellow students about so they could at least know what they were up against.
“It was pretty challenging, and I actually like science,” I say, doing nothing to ease Chisato's impending chagrin. “Not too bad though. Expect a lot of questions from chapters we haven't covered in a few weeks.”
“I think I'm not going to wait until tomorrow to go to the library. Would anyone care to join me?” Noriko asks, worry plastered on her face.
“I'll still be there tomorrow,” Saki says, sliding over towards me just a bit. “I think I'd rather get a good night's sleep and hit the books tomorrow fresh. My brain is completely fried.”
Mitsuru speaks up. “Chisato and myself were going to be studying tonight anyway. The library is as good a place as any.”
“I can think of a few better places,” his girlfriend says.
“Yes, but we're actually going to be studying.”
Chisato sighs, resigned. “At least there's only a few weeks until Tanabata.”
“I'm hoping we're all still getting together for that?” I ask.
“Oh you know we will,” Chisato answers, her eyes sparkling. “I got this gorgeous new kimono. I can't wait to show it off.”
“Oh no,” I say with alarm, realizing something important. Of all the clothes that my folks sent to me up here, my yukata was not one of them. When I mention this, Saki immediately offers to take me into town before the festival to buy one, and barring that, Mitsuru says I can borrow one of his.
Why he has two on hand, I have no idea.
“I have to get going,” Noriko says, essentially bringing an end to the impromptu meeting. We all murmur our goodbyes to each other and split off into our respective groups.
“Think Noriko will be okay?” I idly wonder as we make our way towards the elevators.
“Noriko's about as good at science as you are with English.”
“So, not very.”
Saki shrugs. “Some people pick up some things better or quicker than others. Knowing her, she aced the spelling and grammar tests and she's going to crush the literature one next week.”
“Are there any subjects you think that you might have some problems in?”
“Not really. I mean, I plan to do well in all of them but I'm not going out of my way trying to study so hard I kill myself, like some of the others here.”
“Damn, I was trying to find another excuse to spend some more time with you this next week.”
“Were you seriously going to try a 'tutoring' angle?” Saki asks me, laughing.
“I was until I heard what it sounded like when said out loud.”
Saki adjusts the strap of her bag to her other shoulder so she can hold my hand. “Well, if that's the case, why don't I just stay over tonight?”
I stumble a bit when she says that, which causes her to laugh again.
There's a bunch of reasons why I can think of that being a bad idea, and an equal amount of reasons why that sounds like a good idea. Upon closer scrutiny however, all of the bad reasons are some variation on the same theme of “curfew violation.”
Looking at it that way, there's really only one reason to say no. I'm not sure what the number would be if I did a similar analysis on all the pro reasons, but it's a number greater than one. Therefore, it's clear which is the winner.
Can't argue with that logic.
“Alright. Do you want to grab something to eat first?”
“I'm starving, can we get something from the cafeteria?”
“Sure. Then back to the dorms to grab your laptop, right?”
“And so I can feed my fish, but after that I'm free.”
We make our way down the stairs at Saki's insistence, taking our time with the hallways already mostly empty from everyone trying to get out of the building as soon as possible. Rounding the final corner into the cafeteria, we see the exact opposite as we're taken aback by the sheer crush of humanity in front of us.
“I didn't think it would be this busy.”
“Do you just want to grab something we can make in the room?”
“Like these?” I say, taking a few steps over and picking up a bowl of instant noodles.
“That's as good as anything, if you're okay with it.”
I grab another bowl, before turning back to her.
“No problem.”
Saki's door closes behind us, and she tosses her bookbag onto her unmade bed with one smooth motion.
“Aren't you going to need that again here in a minute or two?” I ask her.
“Not for the rest of the night,” she answers me, moving towards the dresser with the fishtank on it. This simple act seems to bring its occupants to frenzied life, darting around when they see her. “I'll pick it up tomorrow before we go to class. Can you grab my backpack? My laptop and gym shorts are in there.”
I find it sitting on the floor next to her bed. “Got it.”
“Can you make sure the charger is in there?”
“Looks like it.”
Saki sprinkles a hefty portion of flakes into the top of the tank, causing the fish there to ratchet up their excitement even further as they all make a mad scramble to snare as many of them as they can. At least my fish doesn't have to go through that.
“I have a few movies on the laptop my brother put on there the last time I visited home,” she explains, pulling something out from her closet and tossing it towards me. “Can you put this in the bag?”
“What's this?” I ask, catching it and holding it up for inspection. It's a standard pink t-shirt-about two sizes larger than expected.
“Something to sleep in later tonight,” Saki answers me, brushing the front of her uniform down and taking a moment to appraise herself in the mirror on the back of the door.
“If that's the case,” I muse, “maybe it would be better if I stayed here tonight?”
“No way,” Saki firmly states, already shaking her head. “There are too many girls on this floor and you have nobody around you except for Kenji. If I'm spending the night, I think that's the safest way to do it, don't you?”
“I was just curious.”
“Why?” she asks, teasing me. “Don't tell me you're embarrassed for me to see your room. It wouldn't be messy by chance, would it?”
(continued...)
“No more than yours is,” I say. This is both the most honest and the most incorrect way I think I could have answered that question.
“What's that supposed to mean? Do you think my room is messy?”
I smile at her as I pick up her backpack and sling it over my shoulder. “Not messy. Lived-in.”
“Uhuh, sure. Well come on then, let's get out of here before you have to suffer anymore than this.”
I laugh as I hold open the door for her.
“Not bad. A bit barren, but not bad,” Saki appraises, giving my room a thorough look as I close the door.
“I haven't had a chance to decorate much yet,” I offer up, taking her backpack off and setting it down gently.
“It's not like...oh my god, you really do have more than one of those.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, looking up at her. She's staring at my closet door, which I conveniently forgot to close this morning after getting dressed. More specifically, a few clothing items inside that look very similar to each other. She reaches up and pulls one of my sweatervests off the rod.
“You have three of these.”
“Well, they were gifts from my parents, and I'd like to think I look good in them.”
“One I get, but the fact you have two more makes that disgustingly adorable.”
“Alright, you win. I'll buy some new clothes over summer break,” I say, sitting down on the bed and giving out a resigned sigh.
Saki replaces my vest and makes a move to sit next to me. “Hard to believe how fast that's coming up.”
I put my arm around her and pull her tight against my side. “It's still almost three weeks away.”
Saki closes her eyes and settles against me. “Yeah, you're right. At least the waterpark will be fun.”
“I called my parents and let them know about the plan, and how it would take me a few days before I got home. They just told me to keep in touch.”
“Must be nice, not having your parents breathe down your neck all the time.”
Uhoh. Sensitive subject. Changing gears.
“Did Noriko and Mitsuru get back to you yet about that?”
“Noriko's on board, but Mitsuru won't be able to make it. His family is going to spend the first week of the break in Korea. Looks like it will just be the four of us.”
“Oh really?” I ask. “That's too bad.”
Saki grins up at me. “Oh, don't pretend you aren't happy about it. You get three beautiful women in swimsuits all to yourself for the day.”
I rub my chin dramatically. “You know, when you put it that way...”
“Down, boy,” Saki says, giving me a playful slap on the arm. “I don't mind, as long as I get you to myself.”
“Deal.”
I give her a quick kiss before standing up, and stretching a bit. “I'm going down to the common area to heat up dinner. Do you want anything from one of the vending machines, or...?”
“I'll be fine, I brought a water bottle. While you do that, I'm going to set up the laptop. If there's a DVD or something that you wanted to watch down there, bring it back.”
I really should have let these cool down a bit first. It's not intolerable carrying these things back to my room, but I'm not sure if my fingertips can take much more before they get blistered.
It seems discretion wasn't needed as much as I thought it was, as there were at least three couples hanging around the television playing a video game. Nobody seemed to give any mind to my pouring hot water into two different bowls, or if they did, they didn't care. I had almost convinced myself it wasn't that big of a deal until I ended up walking back through the halls, where the feeling of paranoia reasserted itself.
One lone obstacle remains between me and my room that I'm worried about.
Kenji's door.
I ran into him in the bathroom once or twice this last week, our interaction limited to him confirming that it was me he was talking with, and asking me to hand him various things like an extra roll of toilet paper or his cosmetics bag. I guess even he's been worried hard about the exams, not breathing a word about any feminist conspiracies for once.
Even so, I try to lighten my step when moving past his room, trying to avoid a particularly squeaky part of the floor. I breathe a sigh of relief when I don't trigger any real or imagined alarms, and quickly cover the last few meters to my destination. A few gentle kicks with my toe to the bottom of my door signals Saki to open it.
“Oh, that smells good,” she says, as soon as she closes the door behind me.
I move quickly to set the bowls down on the desk, shaking my hands to try and ease the burning sensation in my fingers. When that finally gets accomplished, I turn and finally get a good look at Saki, and it seemed she wasted no time in getting ready. The laptop is plugged in and set up, and she's actually put the two pillows against the wall, turning my bed into a rudimentary couch.
Lastly, it seems she's already changed. Her uniform is neatly folded and placed on top of her backpack, while her long pink shirt hangs loosely off her frame. I catch a glimpse of her red gym shorts peeking out from under its hem, and it slides just far enough off her shoulder to show a thin red strap.
It looks both comfortable and attractive all at once, and it takes me a moment or two to find the words to speak.
“Changed already? It's still light out.”
“I'm tired, Hisao,” Saki says, trying to stifle a yawn. “Besides, I don't plan on leaving the room again until tomorrow morning.”
“What if you have to use the restroom?”
Saki laughs. “You said it yourself, there's nobody really on this part of the floor except for you and Kenji. Now do you see why I thought it would be a better idea to spend the night together in your dorm room? I'll take my chances.”
It takes everything not to yawn in turn myself. Now that the constant supply of adrenaline from the exams is gone, the exhaustion from the last week hits me like a freight train. Right now, the thought of simply curling up in bed together to take a nap seems like the best idea in the world.
Food first.
“What do you want to watch while we eat?” Saki asks me, bending over to play with the laptop.
“You said your brother put some movies on there for you?”
“Yeah, he's really into cinema. There's a few new ones on here. Have you seen the new Pirates movie yet?”
“There's a new one?”
“Yep! The first one did so well they're turning it into a trilogy. You saw the first one, right?”
“I did, but not in the theatre.”
“Wanna watch that one while we eat?”
“I'm down,” I say, pulling my chair up to allow her to sit in it. She hands me one of the bowls of steaming noodles, and I break apart my chopsticks the instant she hits the play button.
Two and a half hours later, the scene has changed quite a bit.
After the two of us finished eating, I decided to change as well at Saki's insistence, stripping down to my undershirt and putting on my own gym shorts. Even though this is my dorm room, and we're trying to make ourselves comfortable, I can't say I feel just comfortable enough yet to wear anything less than that.
The two of us are seated in a very different position than when we started watching the movie. We had moved up onto the bed, sitting against the wall and leaning against each other for the first half, but then right around the time everyone shows up together on the island, she paused it so we could get more comfortable. She snuggled up between my legs with her back against my chest, content to let me wrap my arms around her.
When the movie ends and the credits start to roll, I notice that Saki hasn't moved for quite some time. Her chest rises and falls lightly, and I can feel how relaxed she is against me. I can't see her face, but I can sense she has her eyes closed.
I wish I could do nothing more than to just sit her with her cradled in my arms until morning and just let her sleep, except for one small inconvenience. My gentle efforts to extricate myself cause her to stir, and she mumbles what sounds like an objection.
“Hey Saki, the movie's over. We gotta get up for a second.”
“Don't wanna,” Saki grumbles, turning slightly to the side and curling up tighter.
“Sorry,” I apologize, “but my arm's asleep and I need to use the bathroom.”
“Ugh, fine,” she groans dramatically, finally rocking herself a bit to allow her momentum to carry her forward.
It's not quite dark outside yet, but dark enough with the blinds and curtains in my room drawn. More of the light bleeding through the edges is coming from the lamps in the courtyard than from the evening itself at this point. Saki stands up and stretches, giving me room to slide off the bed and a clear path to the door.
“Back in a minute,” I say, only to be greeted by a nod and another yawn.
Before I even get into the bathroom, I can hear the shower water running and I instinctively know who it is. I sincerely debate internally if I even really need to use the restroom at this point and risk running into him, but biological urges win out and I decide to just get it over with.
No point in being stealthy, as he would hear me as soon as I turned the water on to wash my hands. And as it turns out, that's exactly what happens.
“Who's there!?” Kenji's voice sounds out from the shower stall, instantly on alert.
(continued...)
“It's me, Kenji,” I answer him with a sigh.
“Oh hey man, how's it going?” he asks me, much to my surprise. Normally we'd have a few sentences of interrogation so he could determine if I was really me or not.
“Not bad, just getting ready to turn in,” I say, trying subtly to drop a hint that I'm not really in the mood for a conversation at the moment. But regardless of whatever social tact Kenji may have developed since we've been introduced, it's not really enough for him to pick up on that cue.
“I hear ya,” he continues, completely oblivious. “These exams are brutal, man. I haven't been able to get my normal sleep this week. It's going to feel great going back to getting four hours of sleep a night.”
“Wait, you only sleep for four hours on a normal night?”
“Of course,” Kenji proudly states, admonishing me. “There's too much stuff to do during the other twenty. I mean, you don't really think that I can become the general I'm meant to be in this upcoming war if I don't prepare myself with knowledge every night.”
There it is. “No, I don't suppose so.”
“You should do the same, my friend. I just finished listening to The Art Of War on tape for the third time. Great book. It's really taught me a lot about how to handle almost every encounter I have with anyone else.”
“Is that so?”
“I can let you borrow it if you want. It's great to listen to while falling asleep.”
“I think I'll pass, thanks.”
“Hey man, just you watch. One day all of this is going to come true, and you'll be one of the ones that the reporters all line up to talk to to get to try and get a picture of who I was. I really think you'd be doing both of us a disservice if you had no idea what to say, you know?”
“...maybe later then. But not tonight.”
“Suit yourself. Hey, before you go, can you hand me my towel? I left it on the counter.”
I look over and see his towel folded up next to the sinks, clear on the other side of the large bathroom area and nowhere near the shower area, not even sitting on the small bench next to each distinct shower stall. Why he decides to put it there, when all his other items are sitting on the bench is a mystery to me.
“Why do you leave it over there?”
“So I know exactly where it is, duh.”
“But you can...you know what? Never mind,” I say, taking a few long strides and retrieving the piece of fabric for him. I sling part of it over the top of the stall door, letting it hang there so he can grab it whenever he finishes up.
“Thanks!” he says.
“Don't mention it,” I reply, and this time I intend to end the conversation before he steers it in yet another direction. “I'm going to head back now. If I don't see you, good luck with the exams the rest of the week.”
Walking back, I feel a bit better about the situation. Kenji was the main reason I was worried about Saki spending the night; not because I think he would rat me out, but because I really don't want to get into the discussion he'd bring up as a result of knowing it. He already thinks I'm deep undercover, but I don't want to try and wrestle with the mental gymnastics needed to keep him thinking that.
Plus, with him taking his shower now, I doubt Saki would run into him later if she got up in the middle of the night.
When I get back to the room, Saki's already put the pillows back where they normally go at the head of the bed and started to turn the sheets down. The laptop is already closed, and the only light is coming from the lamp I have on the nightstand. I decide to go about my evening routine like I normally do and start to pick up a variety of bottles from the lineup on my desk.
“Sorry about falling asleep there,” Saki mentions, sitting down on the edge of the bed and watching me.
I twist off the top of a bottle of water and take a large swig to wash down the half-dozen pills that make up my nightly regimen. Grimacing as I swallow, I offer her the bottle.
“It wasn't a big deal. You were only out for about twenty minutes or so.”
“Thanks for not waking me up. I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was...are we ready to go to bed?”
A small part of me notes that this is the first time a girl has ever spent the night in my room, much less asked me that question in general. That same part takes notice as to how alluring she is in her outfit, but honestly, the combination of mental and physical exhaustion that's resulted from the stress of this week and the specter of the next are pushing any lustful thoughts out of the forefront of my mind.
“Sure,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging my legs up to lay on the side closest to the wall. I hold up the light blanket so she can slide in against me, and she does so with a quiet rustle of fabric.
“One sec,” she says, sitting up. I see her pull her hands inside her shirt, and a few deft movements later where her elbows tent it in various ways, her bra ends up getting thrown in the direction of her other clothing in the corner of the room.
“Much better,” she sighs, winking down at me. “I hate sleeping in one of those. You don't normally wear a shirt at night, do you?”
“Only sometimes,” I answer, a bit more defensively than I intended.
“Take it off,” she requests.
I can't see any meaning behind those words besides her usual playful mischief, so I sit up again just long enough to do what she asks. Satisfied, she reaches over to turn the bedside lamp off and then snuggles against me. It takes a few moments to get properly adjusted so both of us are in a comfortable position, but we eventually end up with me on my back, and Saki on her side next to me, her head in the crook of my shoulder and an arm draped across me.
“You're warm,” she says into my chest, nuzzling me gently. I try not to laugh from the ticklish sensation, and distract myself by running my hand lightly up and down her back. She coos and wraps a leg around mine.
“Comfy?”
“Mhmm,” she answers.
The room isn't completely dark. It never is at night. Enough light streams in from outside to splash on the opposite wall and faintly illuminate the rest of the room. I can barely make out her outline next to me, but I can feel her warmth and the rhythm of her breathing.
It's relaxing on a level I can't fully comprehend, but one I'm enjoying thoroughly.
“Hard to believe summer break starts in a little over two weeks,” I idly say, trying to start some gentle banter before sleep claims us both.
Saki yawns. “I ended up getting the hotel details taken care of. We'll have two rooms this time.”
“I thought Mitsuru wasn't going to make it.”
“He's not. Noriko's going to be staying in the second room with Chisato.”
“So we end up getting a room to ourselves?”
“Yeah,” Saki says, hugging me tightly. “I didn't plan it that way but that's how it ended up working out.”
“How so?”
“Well I didn't want to do anything that might get my father too upset, so instead of trying to ask for anything too specific, I just wanted to see what they had. They only had two rooms left, one with two beds and one with only one. It seemed like a good idea.”
I place my hand over hers and give it a squeeze. “I'm going to miss you for those four weeks.”
“You too,” she says, nuzzling me again. “Do you know when you're coming back to Yamaku?”
“There's no real plan. I'll most likely get up here a few days before class starts again. It's probably going to depend on what day has the cheapest train ticket, unless my parents want to drive me up. You?”
“I'll be back a week or so before. We're getting together with Mrs. Sakamoto and are going to try and do some more recording that week, before we get dragged back into classes again.”
In that moment, my plans for getting back to Yamaku end up becoming a lot more concrete.
“You gonna be okay for those few weeks?” I tentatively ask.
“It's nothing I haven't done before. I'll just spend some time with my brother, put in enough time with my parents to be polite, probably deal with the semi-annual grilling over all the choices I'm making, then we can all stare at the calendar until it's time for me to leave again.”
A thought occurs to me. “Do you do much traveling over the summer break?”
“Sometimes my family would. I only went with them a few times. Why?”
“Well, if you needed to get out for a while, you could always come visit me.”
Saki props herself up on her elbow. “Yeah? You think so?” she asks, her eyes glittering in the low light. I can already see the gears in her head turning, trying to work out the logistics of such a plan. “That would be one hell of a day trip.”
“We'll have some more experience at those by then.”
She laughs, then moves in to kiss me tenderly. “Thanks for the offer. I'll think about it.”
That note seems to be the perfect one to end the conversation.
“Goodnight, Saki.”
“Night, Hisao,” she answers me, settling down against me once again. I lay still and continue to stroke her back, and in only a few moments, I can feel her breathing become deeper and more even.
Finals this next week. Then Tanabata a week after that, followed by our trip to the waterpark and then summer break until the second week of September.
Saki said she might come visit me, and I don't think that she idly said that just for the sake of conversation. As much as I would want her to, I know enough about her family now to know that if it happens, a lot of negative things would have sprung up prompting it.
As far as my own plans go for summer, I find myself strangely torn on how I feel about them. I want to see my parents again, but that's really all I'm looking forward to. I already decided that I'd be getting there a few days after the start of the break and coming back here a week or so before the end of it, which cuts the amount of time I'd be spending back home significantly.
So why, with everything going well at the moment, do I feel a sense of apprehension about it?
Saki shifts against me, and the reminder of the beautiful soul sleeping next to me is just enough to push it out of my mind – long enough for me to embrace the present, and slowly drift off to sleep.
. It was actually Dead Man's Chest. At Worlds End wasn't out in 2007Blackmambauk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:58 amNice to see a little sign of characterization for Saki's brother in loving films, and by the way i say this as a constructive film critic in my own mind and in my own high standards of filmography. That POTC: Worlds End is a complete mess of a film in plot, pacing, characterization and disappointment compared to Black Pearl, but perfect for snoozing to. Good choice sir
I don't see Hisao being a Scorsese fan 