章 31: The Current Him Only Had So Little To Offer

"What are you doing here alone?"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Heisuke lifted up his chin and stared at the one who approached him. The blinding sunlight was obscured by the man's figure.

"Aren't you busy at the pottery?" asked Heisuke without answering the question, "To come climbing the hill?"

Shuuya clicked his tongue. He sat cross-legged next to Heisuke and said, "The pottery isn't that busy right now. I've done some tableware yesterday. Just waiting for the customers to come to pick them up."

Right now, both of them were sitting on a spot that overlooked the entire Konomiya Town. The tall and narrow trees stood in a cluster, almost resembling a forest that fenced the other side of a clearing.

To arrive here, one had to climb either the long staircase or the other pathway with tall trees accompanying along the way. The scenic views from the elevated platform often caught the attention of anyone venturing here.

It was just a small hill where both Heisuke and Shuuya loved to come whenever they needed peace. Shuuya's pottery kiln was located just right at the foothill. From this distance, heavy and dense smoke could be seen escaping from the furnace.

Heisuke fell in love with this place the first time Shuuya brought him here. If he remembered correctly, it happened when he had just moved in here.

One day, after their class ended, the middle-school-age Shuuya tugged Heisuke to follow him. Both of them panted heavily as they climbed the hill.

The majestic view from the peak easily eased their fatigue.

Shuuya glanced at Heisuke who kept looking in the direction of the sea. He lightly nudged his shoulder against his friend's.

"Wanna poke a hole into the sea? Staring so intently like that?"

Heisuke let out a breath. He answered briefly without looking at Shuuya, "Just thinking of something."

Shuuya animatedly raised up his brows. He didn't hide his intention by obviously staring into his friend's face. Despite the usual calmness, Shuuya was still able to see that Heisuke's mind was on an important matter, at least to him.

Both of them had known each other ever since Heisuke and his mother suddenly appeared in this town more than a decade ago. At that time, the development of this place was still far behind the other coastal cities and towns.

Heisuke entered the same class as Shuuya. The latter remembered how Heisuke never talked and even rarely expressed anything on his face. The young him later learned from his own mother who got closer to Mrs. Saeki.

Heisuke was mute because of a psychological shock. Despite that, Shuuya still befriended the new boy in town. He defended the silent boy when a few students tried to bully Heisuke.

Thanks to Shuuya's high family status that spanned across the city, the ruffians stopped picking faults with Heisuke.

Little by little, Heisuke began to speak again. Still, this friend of his was still clumsy in expressing anything.

"Do you have a problem at work? Hurm... Seems not like it," Shuuya quickly denied the thoughts.

Heisuke didn't say anything. He just let the wind gently brush his short black hair. The breeze brought his mind to the late afternoon a few days ago.

After Hisaki opened up to him, Heisuke racked up his brain to find better words to appease her. In the end, he could only awkwardly bring up something meaningless but, she seemed more cheerful by the time they left the riverside.

The dreams still led to his nights of sleep. At some times, Heisuke only saw short fragments while on other nights, the dreams were longer.

As always, instead of assuming a bystander role who witnessed everything from the sidelines, he possessed the one who she often sweetly called 'darling'.

To be honest, it was still so awkward to face her in reality after being through such dreams. If Hisaki ever got to know about this, she might find him weird but, there was something within him that comforted him, telling him that everything would be fine.

For the first time in his life, an otherwordly event took place. Did all these dreams want to lead him to something?

Those dreams came abruptly to him. Initially, they were vague until he, step by step, unknowingly became closer to her.

Should he ask Shuuya?

Heisuke blinked a few times. He put his gaze on his friend who was fiddling with the wildflowers.

He opened his mouth after taking a deep breath.

"Shuuya, if you keep dreaming of the same thing or if the dreams resemble pieces of a story, what would you think?"

Heisuke's question caught Shuuya off guard. A stare full of incredulity was thrown to the former.

"What? Are you dreaming of a story? Do you wanna be a storyteller?"

A punch met Shuuya's arm.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's not that."

If Heisuke ever told Shuuya everything about the dreams, the latter might say he was just being crazy. Shuuya might even insist he go to the nearest temple to ward off any evil spirits.

"Okay, okay, my bad," Shuuya put both hands up, his lips chuckling. He paid attention to his friend, "What's troubling you? Your questions were unclear. Did you have nightmares?"

Heisuke suddenly shut his mouth. Even though he was the first one who brought up the subject, it was hard to properly answer when Shuuya asked for details.

How should he word it? Tell him that he often dreamed about the same girl. Wouldn't Shuuya think he was infected by lovesickness?

Love, hah.

At least, Heisuke was certain that he did not romantic feelings for Hisaki yet. He respected her and got along with her despite only knowing her for less than a month. But, it didn't mean that he love her even though...

The 'him' in those dreams was a man who genuinely cherished and loved 'her.'

"Hello? Heisuke, are you daydreaming? Hello?"

Shuuya waved his right hand before Heisuke's face, trying to get his attention. This friend of his didn't even try to answer his earlier questions.

As if jolted awake by something, Heisuke abruptly shook his head.

"What... what's wrong with you?"

Shuuya was perplexed by the various changes in Heisuke's expression. It was rare to see his friend appear panicky or restless when he was usually as calm as spring water. Even when he got heavily drunk, Heisuke didn't act out of character.

What happened?

"Urgh... You would laugh at me," Heisuke narrowed his eyes, staring at Shuuya with a gaze full of skepticism, "Won't I sign up to be your laughingstock if I tell you?"

Shuuya's fist struck Heisuke's arm.

"Hahaha! Now you make me wanna know it no matter what!"

Despite what he said, Shuuya didn't pressure Heisuke to say it. Not until his friend was ready. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Well, I forgot to ask you this. How's your plan to do business? Didn't you say you have paid all of the debts?"

"Not yet, we have four months left," Heisuke gave an indifferent shrug, "I actually wanted to pay the rest in advance but, my mother didn't agree. She's just afraid if we need any money for an emergency."

"Does it mean you'd push aside your business plan?"

"I think it's better to learn more," Heisuke smiled faintly, "I don't want to rush into anything. I also need to build my capital if I want to start one."

"Heisuke, you know that..."

"If I ever need help, I'll ask you," Heisuke cut Shuuya off. He knew what his friend wanted to say, "But, I won't be comfortable if all of the capital comes from you. I should have my own savings first."

Knowing that it was futile, Shuuya sighed, "Since you've said so. Sorry for being pushy."

"Nah," Heisuke smiled in understanding, "Thanks for thinking about me. That's enough."

Heisuke didn't plan to continue working under people. He had the desire to build his own business no matter how small it was in the beginning. Only by doing that, Heisuke would feel satisfied with his life.

If he continued his study after high school, he might be able to snatch a decent position either in the public or private sectors. Heisuke was aware of his own intelligence and perseverance.

The current him only had so little to offer.

For a second, those dreams flashed in his mind. In them, he was married to her. It was obvious that they had been spouses for years even though he had never seen a child between them.

Frankly, Heisuke wasn't certain that he would really be married to Hisaki as to how he saw in those dreams. Nevertheless, he was not in an ideal position to offer marriage to any young maiden.

It was better if he only got married later after his condition stabilized. Yet, for sure all of his friends' children had grown up at that time.

Shuuya slung an arm across Heisuke's shoulders. He gave him a cheeky smile.

"You always work hard and are also a fast learner. I'm sure you can thrive. Don't worry, man."

Hearing that put a smile on Heisuke's lips.