𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 || 𝐉𝐉𝐊

Ch. 18

   𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐮 𝐚𝐰𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨. The swaying curtains allowed him the view of the setting sun that kissed the receptors of his eyes. Small flickers of the remaining light fully awakened him from the sleepiness he couldn't remember feeling.

After a short yawn, he turned around hoping to be welcomed from his nap by his loving twin. Instead, of her peaceful resting face or warm smile, it was an unwanted announcement she had gotten up without him. But, she would return from the bathroom soon. Yeah, that's probably where she is.

   He waited a couple minutes in silence and endless strings of yawns. And, his beloved Rintaro never returned. Meaning her pillow had been cold and alone while he slept. He was alone, miserably. The empty spot in the mattress began to remind Satoru of the same loneliness that it was before Rintaro.

The bittersweet times when he found it comforting to wake up alone. When he was cold and barely looked after, when there was no Shoko or Suguru around. The thought of it alone, made him feel guilty. Guilty for-

"Oh damn, her mission." Satoru peeled the almost useless blanket from his overheated body that suffered the consequences of his nightmares. The blanket plopped against the wall enclosing the lonely bed and landed messily.

His Six Eyes stung, trying to adjust to the sudden movement of him sitting up to dangle his feet over to the edge of the mattress. Once adjusted to the light pain, he desperately searched for a matching pair of shoes littering the floor.

   He dove from the bed and slipped on the nearest pair of shoes over his socks, mentally thanking himself for not taking them off before climbing into bed earlier. Hurriedly, he pushed himself to stand, despite his eyes previous warning.

Satoru walked to the door and practically removed it from its hinges with the force he chose to apply. The sudden feeling of bile rushing up his throat introduced itself to the mix of ongoing worries. He quickly swallowed it down and thought best to ignore it, as he stepped out into the stagnant hallway.

The hair coating the skin of his arm raised and stood proud to a point. An odd feeling of warmth and familiarity brewed within his chest cavity. She's close.

He immediately recalled the time when Rintaro told him how she always knew that he was coming home, despite all the times he tried to surprise her. Since he had never experienced it himself before, he chose to blame his innocent friend, Suguru for telling her every time.

His instincts within his brain kicked in and he could feel her. How thin and stretched the fine string of distance was, yet it pointed him to her direction, northeast. His mind ran fuzzy this time, unable to distinguish an exact direction of what would be there. Damn me for not paying attention to Yaga.

And then, there it was. The exact verse at which Yaga yelled at him for ignoring the important lesson on knowing the schools directions from any place. In the mental flashback, just behind his head, the front of the school being northeast.

He immediately took off in that direction, storming down the various collections of staircases and wet floor signs that pridefully presented their message on obviously dry areas. The string of distance was thicker now, and he could start to visualize where it would end, just beyond the schools doors.

Satoru pushed through the entrance door, slamming his shoulder into the newly cleaned glass that bit back, sending his shoulder into a flurry of concentrated pain. The cool breeze accompanying the almost dark sky placed small bites against his face.