Bab 33: Out of Concern

"HAJIME! WAKE UP!" Megumi exclaimed, violently shaking Hajime from his sleep. Beads of sweat poured from Hajime's face as the nightmare continued to torture him. He breathed heavily, and his body stiffened as if he was about to enter a seizure.

Megumi was left with no choice but to slap Hajime with her right hand while she held one of Hajime's arms with her left. The reason why she did that was to lighten the fact that she just slapped Hajime. In an instant, Hajime woke up from his slumber, bolting from the couch as his eyes shot wide open. He looked around as if he didn't recognize where he was at first... and then a sigh of relief left his mouth.

"Oh, it's you," Hajime wiped off the tears and sweat from his face. "Sorry about that, thank you for waking me up."

"I figured you were having a nightmare so I came to wake you up. You were so out of it though, for a moment there I thought you were going to die. Also, you keep muttering the same name over and over again, who's Akiko?"

Once again, Hajime's body stiffened as he turned away from Megumi. As his gaze landed on the window outside, he realized that it was still nighttime. "I'm sorry if I disturbed your sleep, you can go back to the room." Hajime sent her off, afraid that she might pry into his past more than before.

"And you? I don't think you'll be able to fall asleep after that nightmare." Megumi worriedly asked.

"Yeah, you guessed it right, smarty-pants. Don't worry though, at least you have a bodyguard while you sleep. And— "

Hajime's stare then landed on his hand. Megumi was still clenching it after all this time.

"— you can let go now." Hajime bashfully said. Thankfully, there were no lights in the house, otherwise, Megumi would've seen Hajime's face redden. Hajime dreaded to think that Megumi might tease him to no end if she were to know.

"Ah, eh! I'm sorry!" She apologetically responded, letting go of Hajime's hand. "I didn't mean to..."

"Now that I think about it, I actually felt someone clenching my hand while I was in that dream." Hajime turned the situation around. Since Megumi missed her chance to tease him, he'd be the one to take on that role. "I'm kidding, you didn't have to apologize. I should be the one apologizing for disturbing your much-needed sleep. You look like you haven't been getting enough sleep lately."

Megumi nodded along but she didn't explain her current situation to Hajime. Instead, she decided to focus on the topic at hand. Quite frankly, she didn't feel comfortable talking about it and Hajime understood what she was trying to do so he didn't press more questions about the topic.

"In any case... what happened? In your nightmare, I mean."

"Nothing much, just your typical nightmare." Hajime shrugged, making light of the back-to-back nightmare that almost gave him a heart attack. Compared to his previous nightmares, this was the worst one yet, but he didn't want to think about that fact. Without waiting for Megumi's response, Hajime turned around and faced the back part of the couch, gesturing that the conversation was done and that he'd try his best to resume his slumber. Getting the idea, Megumi got up and headed back to Hajime's room.

"Don't hesitate to call me if something else happens. I wouldn't want you dying on my watch due to some nightmare." Megumi told him before she closed the door to his room.

"I'm tougher than you think" Hajime's lips curved upwards into a smile. This was the first time Megumi expressed her concern to him and he couldn't help but find it hilarious. After all, she had always looked down on him. He found it rather uncharacteristic for her to show her concern.

.....

The night wore on, and Hajime couldn't sleep a wink. In the end, he donned his work clothes of a hoodie and pants and headed for work earlier than usual. He didn't bother waking Megumi up since it was still too early, besides, he had an inkling that she will prepare breakfast if he didn't leave soon. Of course, it was just an inkling since he couldn't imagine Megumi actually doing it. He concluded that the meal she prepared last night was out of courtesy. She was hungry, and she probably felt bad about eating alone— or so that's what Hajime thought.

The sky had a nice gray shade on it, lightly showing the moon and the myriad of stars that peered above. Hajime exhaled, a cloud of air escaping his mouth. It was already mid-springtime, and despite the sunny day that was soon to follow, Hajime decided to ignore it as he enjoyed the chilly air that renewed his energy.

Since the park was close by, Hajime opted to once again sit down under his favorite trellis, spending the rest of his free time there before he goes to the site. 'Now that I think about it, I still don't know who gave me that hamburger, huh.' He said to himself, enjoying the quietness and tranquility of the park. Whenever he tried to close his eyes, he was reminded of his recurring nightmare, a grave reminder of what had happened a year ago. Nothing he could do would change what had happened, and it's up to him to live through the present while the past continued to drag him down. He knew that there was no use thinking about it, but every day, he was reminded of it— from the moment he wakes up and at night when he sleeps. Although a year has come and gone, he still couldn't get used to the feeling of solitude.

"Time to work, I guess. For now, let's do what we can, and then try to struggle for another day." Hajime said, extending his palms up towards the horizon, just when the first rays of sunlight peeked out of it.

"Hajime?" A voice from behind him called out.