When We Crossed Paths

Chapter Twenty Eight: A Nightmare In Realtime

Here we were. A place of...mystery. Lack of clarity. No one knew where they stood at this point. It had been several days. I hadn't heard from Asahi since that awful day. I would text and get no response. I would call and get no answer. I never saw him on my walk to school. I was too scared to approach his house. But I didn't know what to do. I couldn't think. I spent my days with a nasty feeling in my stomach. I knew he was in pain, and I felt completely powerless.

It could be seen clearly on my face, but only Shizuka and my parents knew the reason.

I really sucked as a boyfriend, I'd say to myself. If it was the other way round, Asahi would already know what to do and would've taken action.

But...I'm not as brave as him. I don't have the confidence that he has. I've never been one to take direct action.

"Let's go to his school!" - but that changed today it seemed.

"What!?" I exclaimed.

"Let's go to his school and find out what's going on!" Shizuka declared.

"What about school...here?" I jittered.

"Oh for goodness sake! The time for action is now!" She explained.

"But we can't just turn up at another school." I said making excuses.

"So what!? That Akamori did it by coming here! Why can't we!?" Shizuka said sternly.

"You scare me!" I replied.

"We're going!" She instructed grabbing my arm and dragging me away.

My heart was racing. What was I going to be faced with? How would we find him? Would Asahi even be there?

Would he want to see me?

********************************************

We arrived at the gates of his school. I looked at Shizuka. She had a look of determination. I wished I was as strong as her. Nothing phased her. I don't think I would've gotten here if it wasn't for her. That made me feel worse. I still didn't have a plan. Although, I assumed Shizuka did. She always took charge, which was fine because I was too weak.

"Excuse me! We're looking for Nishimura Asahi. It's very important that we find him. Do you know him?" Shizuka asked a random student.

They shook their head. They didn't know who that was.
Shizuka quickly moved on to the next person. Asking as many people as possible.

I felt that I needed to ask someone too. I couldn't just stand there looking helpless. I ran over to a girl walking ahead.

"Excuse me!" I said. She turned round to look at me.

"Yamashita!?" The girl said.

"Akamori!" I replied.

We stared at each other for a few moments.

"You're here to take action?" She finally asked me.

I nodded.

A light smile appeared on her face. "Good!" She responded. "I don't know where he is though. I know he's here but I don't know what he's doing."

"I'll need to find him then!" I answered.

"Hideki!" Shizuka shouted running towards me. "That boy is in the next class with Asahi. He'll take us!"

"Right!" I responded. I looked back at Akamori who just nodded. Signalling me to go.

****************************************************

Shizuka and I followed Asahi's classmate. We followed from behind because we didn't want him to get into trouble. We were wearing the uniform of another school and people were looking at us. If we were caught then the boy might avoid getting caught in it.

"It's the next class on the left!" The boy suddenly said without looking back at us. "We'll part ways here. I don't want to get into trouble."

"Thank you so much. We really appreciate your help!" Shizuka replied.

Shizuka peaked into the classroom but couldn't see Asahi.

"He must be due soon. His classmate said that Asahi was here today so, we'll just need to..."

"Hideki!?" Said a voice.

I turned round and there he stood.

There was silence. We didn't exchange words. He was shocked to see me. I was shocked to see him, even though I came here to look for him. It was strange...I was really nervous. I wasn't really sure why. It was like at the beginning.

He looked ill. He clearly hadn't been eating properly. He was thin in the face. He looked really pale. His uniform was creased. His hair was a mess. He had panda eyes.

We continued to stare at each other. We both must've felt the same.

"What...what brings you here?" He eventually asked.

"What brings me here?" I replied. "I'm here to find you! I haven't seen you for days. You don't answer my texts or my calls. I was worried!"

"Hideki..." He blubbered.

Without thinking, I suddenly ran towards him. Tears were running down my face. I wrapped my arms around him. I didn't care that people were looking. I missed him so much.
He wrapped his arms around me as well. We both cried.

"Hideki...my love...I missed you so much...I'm sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?" I cried.

"For not being strong enough. For not finding a way to see you. I should've taken action." He explained.

"No..." I interrupted. "...it's not your fault. None of this is your fault. It's my fault. If it wasn't for me, none of this would be happening..."

"Stop!" He said grabbing my shoulders and forcing me back so, I'd see his eyes. "Don't you ever! Think like that. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you more than anything in this world. I was alone and my world was dark and empty. Until I met you. I learned how it felt to love. I learned how it felt to be loved. My dark world became full of light and colour. It is my dad's fault! He is the reason this is happening. Not yours! I will find a way to fix it!"

"But how?" I asked.

"I don't know yet. But I will. I'll make everything better. I'll fix everything. It might be hard going. You might feel pain for a while. But it will get better soon. I promise!"