Cold Steel - Inazuma Gaiden

VI: The Last of Us

He felt... incredibly tired.

But then again, it has been a while since he last truly slept. There was this inner urge for him to just crack open his eyes, the urge for him to spring into action, however he's had a hard time remembering about the reason why. In fact, the temptation of staying asleep was pretty much irresistible. Not to mention, it's also incredibly warm. Yes. Warmth. Feels like something he hasn't experienced in a long, long while.

Still, there was something on the back of his mind, like there was a small voice inside him trying to remind him of something. Something incredibly important.

"...Urgh?!"

Hinode Nobutada's eyes snapped open - his vision seeing nothing but a blinding flash and a blur, the rush of light and color made the thief reflexively close his eyes again. He felt like his entire body was unresponsive, but he could feel the stinging, throbbing pain all over him. His fingers twitched, but his hands did not move. His throat was making noises, but he could not speak. His ears picked up sounds, but they were incomprehensible. His eyes opened once more, but he could not see.

It's like his senses were an absolute mess.

He took several deep, deep breaths - trying to get more air into his lungs and just maybe it would help in calming his nerves and help him remember what he's forgetting. A few seconds passed, and it turned into minutes, and perhaps many minutes as he just laid there in contemplative and reflecting silence.

...Wait.

Laid there?

So he was lying down. For what? Why was he even lying down in the first place?

He felt pain. But where did it come from?

Nobutada damned himself internally, his mind just wasn't giving him the answers he's seeking. In a split-second decision, he just decided that the best thing for now was to get his bearings straight. Slowly, but surely, he reopened his eyes - and his vision swam with blurs and other blobs of object, that started to gain their shape as he kept, or rather - forced his amber orbs open. He fought the impulse to close his eyelids and return to the embrace of the abyss, and fortunately, his efforts were paid off by the world granting his eyes the first image.

An image of a beige ceiling. It looked like he was indoors. His curiosity got the better of him, and he turned his neck to move over to its side, feeling the soreness and the pain flare up as he did so. Nobutada drew in a sharp breath before he exhaled it in a long, slow sigh as a largely ineffective strategy to numb the sensation. He saw... stone walls, pale in color punctuated by the lack of sunlight in his immediate premises. Though he did spy a few sections of the wall being decorated in a rather familiar motif.

A deep, azure blue - patterns of crashing waves of the ocean accented with gold, white, and black being accompanied by the sea of endless stars above which reminded him of a peaceful summer night's sky, blooming golden flowers with five petals and an extended crown were like freckles along the painted walls, not disturbing nor compromising the design despite the contrast between dark and bright, reflective colors. He would then see the same kind of pattern repeating itself along a few other sections of the room he was in.

That same motif and patterns would also be present in quite a few scroll paintings that filled in the empty space on the spotless walls, and also in several sliding doors that led to other areas of the building.

His hand moved a bit to the side, leaving behind the warm and comfortable confines of what seemed to be a futon, and touched the soft, sleek, and cool surface of the ground. Tatami mats, he guessed. And his guess would be proven right as his eyes focused downwards, finding the yellow rice straws which coldness provide him with a welcome change in comparison to the warmth inside his sheets.