𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒔

TWO | homesick

Slay
Take care of yourself xoxo
- ACHILLIES

TWO | homesick

"That shock is catching up to you, huh."

As it stood, Satoko only spoke a little bit of English. But hey; when worse comes to worst, a little is still leagues better than none at all. And, if you were going to be here for a while -- which you could only assume you were -- you'd have plenty of time to make her English even the slightest bit more conversational. And the same could be said about your abominable Japanese skills.

You sunk further into the warm water, feeling the water line crawl up your face and rest under your nose. You felt cleaner just by being here. Sakoto sat at the other side of the large pool of water, soaking in the heat that melted away the Frosty temperature of the world outside the door. You can't help but study her, like a biologist to a new specimen. Fuck! She's just too familiar to you. The boy she's always with, as well.

You keep mostly to yourself during the relaxing half-hour in the public bath, listening to the melodic tune Satoko hummed under her breath; with how tired you are, you almost fall asleep at the sound. It had been so long since you even considered listening to music -- from what you recall, your earbuds were still crammed into the bottom of your backpack.

You glance at your clothes, folded neatly on a small stool in the changing room not even five steps away. On top, the damaged blade and your phone sat carefully on top. As soon as you could find yourself an area with data, you'd take to the internet, and try to find any way out of this country. Preferably not by plane.

It's when Satoko starts to move you realise your time in the hot palace of water is up and you heave yourself out of the water, using your hand to fling the droplets off your body. You clamber back into your dirty plane clothes, already pre-stained from previous outings in the shirt. Your jeans had a sick hole where your thighs rub together, from the many years of wearing them out with your thicc thighs. You finish far before Sakoto did, shoving the blade awkwardly into your jacket pocket while you fiddled with your phone.

You bounce from app to app, eventually landing on your funky Manga app, in which you had purchased and downloaded half your storage worth of manga -- and who are you kidding; you'd be nothing but a filthy liar if you said it wasn't mostly just Demon Slayer. During your supposed stay here in Japan, you were determined to get through it all. Start to end. Even going as far as re-reading over what you already completed.

You throw the scroll around, a fun roulette instead of going through it all chronologically. That can't be dangerously spoiler inducing.

Chapter nine is what you land on, and your eyes light up with a newfound confusion. You recognise the streets. You recognise the boy -- Kazumi, as you now know him by. And you recognise the hand.

"The f...?" You slur your words, holding up the tragic flashback scene in comparison to the young lady adjusting her Obi. The only real acknowledgement that Satoko gets as one of the earlier arcs. You hate to say it, she wasn't that significant in contrast to the more... risky situations that the Golden TrioTM unfortunately find themselves in. You groan to yourself quietly, trailing behind your new companion when she slips out of the building.

You couldn't help but wander -- if it were even possible -- when the swamp demon would pull up and try to snatch your new host. Was that thing the culprit of the hand? What was even happening to you.

Your mind wanders to your parents, your sister. As a freshly 18 year-old, this would have been your first time away from everybody for a holiday. Literally, you had barely pulled yourself together enough to get on the plane out of nerves from being alone for the first time. Customs weren't a joke, they're terrifying and you don't know how anyone can go through them so regularly.

Would your sister think of you? Hell, of course she would. The real question is, would they know you're gone? Away, landed somewhere after a tragic accident? If they knew it happened, did they know you survived?

You groan, throwing your head back to blink away your tears; the two in front of you slow to a stop on the pavement, turning your way in concern at the noise, seeing your flushed face and trembling hands and your shakt, shallow breaths. You were on the verge of a bad breakdown. You weren't sure if you'd be able to keep your tears down anymore.

You'll miss them, you'll miss your family.

"[Name]..." Satoko shuffles closer, you can hear loose dirt grind against the pavement under her wooden sandals. She reaches you, and you feel her hand run up and down your back in circles, willing you to sit down. You follow the pressure, and Satoko follows you.

Down, down, down; until your both squatting.

Tears dribble down your chin and make loud patters on the sidewalk. You took sharp gasping breaths when your lungs burnt from holding your breath so long. The noise around you blurs and the only thing you can hear is your erratic heart, pulsing through your body and making your whole being shake under Satoko's therapeutic pressure.

You felt bad. Really, really bad. She didn't need your burden, but here she was, presumably guiding you to her house for you to spend the night. You didn't see any motel or the like, but perhaps it's advertising was different for the time.

That shock is catching up to you, huh.

It takes you a moment after you stop crying, to thank the girl and continue on with the five minute walk back to the young lady's house. She doesn't leave your side the whole time. Kazumi leads, never opening his mouth to you or his fiancée — but from what you can tell, he doesn't speak your language at all.

"Are you well?" Satoko whispers, returning her arm to her side, watching you flick tears with bitter frustration.

You nod, jittering in a heavy breath, and feeling your head go light, "Yes. My feelings are catching up with me, that's all." You say. You don't elaborate or simplify what you feel, she seems to understand, perhaps not completely but you'll live with it.

She's best girl so far.