Purotekuta

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I'm running down a hallway, the thundering footsteps chasing me sound identical to my father's.
          I can feel my feet moving; it's like I'm moving in slow motion, the footsteps getting louder and louder with each passing second. On top of that, this hallway seems to be endless. I rack my brain to think of something I could do to make myself go faster, but my mind is foggy and flooding with memories of my past—of memories of me getting beaten by my father.
          A small thought claws its way past the fog; my wings.
          I try to spread them, but it's like they weigh a thousand pounds.
          My vision starts to fade. It's almost like my eyelids weigh a thousand pounds; like I can't hold them open.
          I try to shoot fire from my hands to launch me forward, but find my fire is nonexistent, and my senses are slowly dissipating as well. 
          It doesn't take me long to realize that I'm turning pure, losing my affinity and animal characteristics. I start to panic, sweat dripping down the side of my face.
          All the while, Father's footsteps are getting louder and louder. 
          Mother's voice calls out to me.
          I can't make out what she's saying, I can't hear anything except for Father's footsteps. I try to scream back, to her to tell her I can't hear her, but no sound comes out. I panic, breathing heavily. I feel like dying.
          I want to die.
          Then I hear a voice. One I recognize but can't put a name or a face to. A light shines down on me, and I look up. There is a hole, and a face looking through it, but the face is blurred.
          The hole is too high for me to reach, but I try anyway. Before I can even raise my hand, I can feel the heat starting to increase.
          I look behind me, down the hallway which I was just running down, my heart pounding in my chest. Fire rushes towards me, engulfing the hallways as it comes.
          I look back up and see the face again, my eyes panicked. I hear him yelling for me, but I can't make out what he's saying. It's almost like he's screaming my name.
          I look back down the hall—the fire is much closer, and engulfs me in a rush of red-hot flames.

My eyes fly open, my breathing is heavy, and my body is soaked in sweat. I forget where I am, but quickly regain my senses.
          Something is weighing me down, and I start to panic. I whip my head around and see Akio next to me. I breathe a sigh of relief and relax a little. I quickly check that everything is still here; My wings, my ears, my tail, and my affinity. Yep, everything's still here.
          I focus on Akio once more. I'm lying on my side, facing him, my wings spread out behind me. Exactly how I fell asleep.
          Akio's head is resting in the crook of my neck, his arms cuddled into his chest, his legs tight and curled in like a ball. His bottom wing is spread on the other side of the bed, the other draped over my body.
          I find my free arm on top of him, and the blankets that we were using in the night tangled with each other. Akio didn't seem to be awakened by my sudden outburst. That's good. 
          The clock on the bedside table reads 5:30 am. Did I sleep that long? Normally I don't last for more than two hours. I'm surprised.
          We don't have to wake up for school for another half hour.
          I don't want to wake Akio, so I just lay there, and wait until 6:00 am comes. It comes faster than I expected. It only felt like ten minutes, but it had already been thirty. I slowly and carefully slide out of bed, careful not to wake Akio. He needs as much sleep as possible. Who knows the last time he got a full night's rest.
          I grab my school uniform and head to the bathroom connected to the bedroom to change. After I'm done changing, I make my way to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast for me and Akio before school. Scrambled eggs and toast. After breakfast is made, I head to the bedroom to wake up Akio. I left the door closed, so I knock before coming in.
          "Akio? Are you up?" I ask quietly. Rustling comes from the other side of the door before Akio's voice comes as well.
          "Yeah, just changing into the uniform!" He says from the other side.
          "Okay. Breakfast is ready whenever you are! We have about an hour until school starts," I inform him.
          "Alright, Hajime! I'll be right there!"
          I walk back to the kitchen to put our plates on the table and get some glasses of water and silverware. I hear the bedroom door open, and see Akio walk out in his uniform. "So, what's for breakfast?" He asks.
          "Nothing too special, just some simple scrambled eggs and toast."
          His face lights up with a smile as he sits down at the table, waiting for me to do the same before eating. I sit down, and we start to eat. "So how'd you sleep, Akio?" I ask before taking a bite of the eggs.
          "Pretty good! That's the first good night of sleep I've had in a long time," he says with a smile on his face.
          I nod and take a bite of my food. "What about you, Hajime? How'd you sleep?" He asks with toast in his mouth.
          I remember the nightmare I had and how I felt when I woke up, but then I think of how Akio was cuddled up next to me when I woke up as well.
          "Good," I say. "Although I wasn't aware that you liked to cuddle when you sleep," I say with a smirk.
          His face turns bright red, and water sprays out of his nose as he chokes on the water he was drinking just moments before. We laugh as I help him clean up the mess with some napkins.
          "Oh my god, I'm so sorry that happened! I didn't mean to, I swear!" He exclaims, his cheeks flushed. I snicker at him and smile.
          "Nah, It's alright! I think that's actually what helped me sleep, too," I say with a small smile creeping along my face.
          His face reddens more, which I didn't think was possible, and he hides his face in his hands. I laugh again, and get up from the table, ruffling his hair while I pass by his seat, bringing my plate with me to the sink.
          I carefully place and rinse off my dish and go to get my bag. Akio fixes his hair, quick to follow. "Are you ready for the day today?" I ask, clasping Akio's hand in mine. He nods, and we head out to the main lobby where everyone has just finished eating breakfast in their dorms and is putting their shoes on, getting ready to leave for school. Akio and I do the same, and everyone leaves for the main school building together.
          The moment before everyone walks out the door, I have a thought pass through my head, having no idea where it came from. I think about the kid, Amai, that I ran into before the written portion of the Entrance Exam. That kid who was chasing him just seemed off somehow. The aura that he gave off wasn't one of a child, but a full-grown man. Strange.