Chapter 18: Short Story - Lucid Dream Pt.I
I set down a cup of hot cocoa on the table for my guest who was covered in mud. I handed her a towel earlier, but it would seem that she had refused to use it, hence why she was still covered in mud. She looked like she was dead on the inside and had given up on life. I could tell from her eyes. I had seen enough of those in my life.
"Do you want to take a bath?"
I asked, but the person didn't respond to me. I took my phone out and tried to turn it on. The battery was dead. That would stem from my behavior of not usually charging it, as I found no use in having it on me.
"Do you know the time?"
The person didn't respond to me.
"Hey, who are you?"
She completely ignored me once again. I looked all around. We were definitely in my apartment room... so why? Why couldn't I remember how we got here? Last thing I remember, I was... I was... what was I doing?
DING DONG~!!
My doorbell rang.
"Excuse me."
I said, then walked over to the door. I wondered who it could have been.
I peered through the eye hole and was surprised to see Horikita. She was dressed in the school's uniform, which I found weird, considering it was a Sunday... or was it?
"Horikita-san... why are you in your uniform?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?"
"Sorry. I just found it odd."
"Really? Why so when you are dressed in the same attire?"
I looked down and found myself wearing my blazer and pants, then I looked up at the clock. It was 4:30. I was guessing pm, meaning school had been closed. No wait. School wasn't even open for the day. How did I get into my uniform?
"What are you waiting for? Come over here."
Horikita beckoned to me. I looked to the table, where she sat next to the girl covered in mud. I walked over to the table and sat opposite to both of them. Horikita kept on looking through her back until she pulled out a pen and notepad. She began to scribble quickly on the notepad.
"What did you want Horikita-san?"
I asked.
"Is that the question you should be asking?"
The girl covered in mud finally spoke. I looked at her once again, a feeling of familiarity rang in that voice.
"You... who are you?"
Her bangs were covering her face so I didn't really see her features well.
"Horikita-san."
"What is it?"
"Do you know who this is?"
I asked, pointing to the girl sitting next to her.
"That is not the question you should be asking."
She told me with a smile on her face, which surprised me. I didn't think the Horikita I knew was capable of smiling at all. I guess miracles did exist. Still, if this was her smile, I understood why she didn't do it often. It was a wide grin that would have creeped any one out.
"Is she your next play thing?"
The strange girl asked. I looked at her from the corner of my eye, trying to see if I had even glanced at her once before.
"What do you mean?"
The girl tilted her head, revealing a tiny scar on her left cheek, as all her hair fell to one side.
"You already forgot, I see?"
"Forgot what?"
"Me of course."
CLANK!!
Metal hitting the floor resounded. Soon, the entire environment surrounding us had become nothingness, just an empty void. The girl who sat in front of me was tied up by chains and Horikita was still talking, scribbling on her paper. When she was done, she handed me the notepad, on which I saw the kanji for Orchid written everywhere.
'Orchids? What's that supposed to be?'
"I regret ever knowing you Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."
The person said as we all drifted off in space. I looked at the person. No. The figment of my imagination. This weird dream person I had completely thought up and had no idea of. The chains dragged her away faster than my eyes could keep track off. I then looked at Horikita.
She was a frozen statue. I put my hand on her ice cheek and a crack formed.
"Huh, so you are an ice queen even in my dreams."
She shattered into a million pieces, leaving me alone in the darkness, where I should have been in the first place. Right now I was dreaming. A lucid dream as they called it. A state in which I was aware of the fact that this was a world created by my brain.
'Interesting.'
I thought to myself. With a single thought, I found myself on my bed and in pyjamas. I closed my eyes to sleep.
.....
"Wake up Ayanokouji-kun!"
I opened my eyes to see my familiar ceiling. I then sat up and looked around. Tatsumaki-san was behind my computer desk, reading a book and Horikita-san was busily shouting at me.
I looked up at Tatsumaki-san and Horikita-san. I could feel my left eye slightly twitching at their sight. Thankfully they didn't notice anything and there was no way they could know what I was dreaming off.
"Oh, Ayanokouji-kun."
Tatsumaki-san called me, so I cocked my head. She brought herself closer to me, her pretty pale face coming closer to mine by the second. I wanted to lie to myself that she was leaning in for a kiss, but that definitely wasn't the case.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Horikita-san that you had a wet dream about her."
"Eh?"
"I arrived a bit earlier when you were asleep, you see. So I heard a bit of what you were saying while sleep talking."
"No, no. You have completely misread the situation. It wasn't anything as extreme as that."
I tried to defend, but she continued with her ranting.
"It's ok, it's ok. You are a hormonal teenager. It is all a part of growing up."
"Ahem."
Horikita's voice sound, causing Tatsumaki-san to stop in her tracks. Both of us looked at her and she had her usual unfriendly scowl on her face. The reason why she found it hard to make friends, even though she lied to herself that it was because she didn't need them.
"Is there something wrong?"
"It's nothing. Please go on ahead."
I sighed. There was no convincing her otherwise from here on out. That was just the kind of person Shiro Tatsumaki was. A hard-headed girl who couldn't be shifted. A friendlier Koenji Rokusuke. A problem for later.
Weekly Power Status
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