29 - Moon River

Several hours prior to the incident with Saki's father...

Saki's father had just left her room, leaving her sprawled on the bed. Several minutes later, she got cleaned up and dressed, ready for bed.

Suddenly, rocks were hurled at her window, drawing her attention.

"Rocks...?" Saki thought, cautiously approaching the window.

A figure jumpscared her, causing her to fall onto her butt.

"Kyahh!" She cried out softly as she landed, looking up at the window.

It was Yuuto.

He casually sat on the balcony outside, knocking gently on the glass window as he looked blankly at her.

With a gulp, she got up and opened the way for him. Normally, she would never do such a thing for someone she barely knew, but Yuuto had proven his heart to be in the right place, albeit slightly overzealous. She believed that if he was there, it was anything but vile or self-serving intentions... Probably.

...Much unlike everyone else in her life lately, except her mother. She was still sure her mother was on her side.

"You lied," she said as she let him in.

"Hello to you too," Yuuto replied, scrutinizing her bed as he climbed down from the windowsill into the room, looking around with an air of aloofness.

"Didn't you hear me? You lied," she repeated, her voice more defiant. "My mother didn't kick me out. I knew it. I knew she would never do such a thing."

"Ahh, good for you. So, I assume this is after your father told on you to your mother?" Yuuto said, leaning back and stretching his limbs.

"That's... NO! Why would he do that!? From the start, it didn't make sense for him to say something like that," she argued. "It would hurt... him, too," she added, although slightly reluctantly.

"So you admit that man is a selfish bastard," Yuuto sighed, looking at her from head to toe.

"Be quiet..." she whispered. "I've also been meaning to ask. You wanting to help me out of everyone out there, talking like you know everything about me, and destroying my phone. My parents got me a new one... And while we're not poor, you can't take something like money for granted..." Her voice trailed off.

"One thing at a time. As for why I know you so well..." Yuuto started, looking at her intently.

'What will he say...?'

"You're actually a two-dimensional character in a book I've read come to life. I saw my chance to intervene and jumped right at it," he replied flatly.

"..."

'What did I expect? Of course he won't admit how he knows... Why did I even let him in?' Saki thought, concerned.

"Alright, if you want the truth, here it is: I'm actually so in love with you, I've... become obsessed lately," he said confidently, lightly as he looked at her.

"Seriously now..." she said with a sigh, her shoulders relaxing as she sat on the bed, facing Yuuto.

"It's the truth. I've noticed you for a very long time, and I've been in love with you much longer than with Nao. You may not remember me, but we even went to the same middle school. You were the cutest with those ponytails," he explained.

'He... knew who I was?' She jolted in her place, looking down with a small flush.

"I had always wanted to talk to you, but I was just too scared," he explained.

'That... has to be a lie,' Saki immediately shook her head, knowing very well she was never the subject of attraction before her metamorphosis.

This has to be an excuse or some form of manipulation, she figured. Especially with how he says he was in love with her. If he was, where was he? Surely, she was more approachable than the other girls.

His attraction to her is a blatant lie. That was the only logical conclusion she could draw. He must be saying this just to lower her guard.

But for him to know how she dressed pre-high-school and to recognize her despite her changing her image so much...

The possibility that there is some truth in his words, therefore, could not be disregarded either.

Conflicted, she pondered her response longer, looking down.

"...So, you stalked me...? But, wait... then why did you ask who I was back at the school's bathroom if you knew who I was?"

'Like I said before, she's sharp,' Yuuto thought to himself.

"...Well, considering the entire school was hypnotized, I got shot, and believed I was the only one standing, I'm honestly surprised I recognized myself," he said.

Saki's mind scrambled, her gaze wandering as if seeking more questions on the walls and floors.

Yuuto recognized she was trying to make sense of what had happened. He knew it. Before this girl, he was running out of excuses. He had to distract her now.

"Either way, about destroying your phone. You asked about it," Yuuto said, jolting her gaze back to him.

'Let's get her focused on her initial questions before she starts to wonder about some bothersome things,'

"I'm a proud stalker. I take pride in my work, so what I'm about to say: I'm sure of it. I've got no easy way of saying this, but your boyfriend's a drug dealer and is in huge debt. I destroyed your phone because, with all that adrenaline pumping through me, the first thing I thought of when I saw you clutching your phone was you calling that criminal. And I didn't want that," Yuuto said.

Saki looked down, unsure of how to reply to his accusation.

"I get that you love this guy. I do. But he's just not worth your feelings," Yuuto explained, his tone calm yet firm.

"...How... How would you know!?" she retorted defiantly, looking up at him.

Yuuto tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, as if the answer was more than obvious.

"Ah, stalking..." she muttered to herself.

"Either way, stop meeting him. He'll just bring you down," Yuuto concluded.

A thought crossed her mind. What if he was just saying this because he was jealous? Jealous that someone had won her affection first. If he truly loved her, wouldn't he say the same about anyone else who came along?

After all, when she was with Hayato, she never once felt pain or suffered. Every moment with him was filled with pleasure, ecstasy, and warmth. Fun.

Yuuto, on the other hand, brought nothing but pain and headaches. Despite eventually rescuing her, if it weren't for him, she wouldn't have been hypnotized. Her parents wouldn't have had to buy a new phone. She shuddered as she recalled the jarring image of him immolating someone and then shooting them.

Logically, she should refuse Yuuto's suggestion. But she needed to do it gently, or he would persist, she figured.

"I'm... sorry. It's not your fault or anything. I don't really know much about drugs, except that they're bad... But... I just love Hayato, and I think you're wrong. He was nothing but kind and generous to me—" she started to explain, but Yuuto stood up and walked past her calmly towards the windowsill he had entered from.

"What...?" she mumbled as she watched him breeze by.

"I've said my piece, and you said no. No reason to overstay my welcome," he argued as he climbed through the window.

'What...!? That's it?! He risked being caught by the authorities, spotted by my parents or the neighbors, me shutting the windowsill when I saw him, confessed he stalked me, declared he was IN LOVE with me, told me to stop meeting my boyfriend who I love more than anything, and when I told him no, he just up and left!?' Saki thought, instinctively reaching out for him, jolting up from her bed as her entire attention was now directed at him.

'Nothing about this makes any sense!!'

Saki couldn't understand Yuuto's motive. To give up so easily after confessing all those things that could easily ruin his life if told to the wrong person? And he didn't even seem interested in her body, unlike everyone else...

Her curiosity propelled her forward as Yuuto looked back, halfway out of the windowsill. What was his aim? She had to know.

"I was going to ask you something else. If you feel like you want to hear this one last thing, meet me on the roof in 20 seconds, or I'm gone," Yuuto said, stepping outside and walking onto the roof.

'I will actually leave if she doesn't come out. What I'm about to do doesn't really depend on her answer,' Yuuto thought as he stepped out.

Saki stayed inside, her palm gripping her chest through her nightgown as she bit her lip.

Going outside meant she would relent. She would step into unfamiliar territory, and this time, it would be her choice.

A bit later, she stepped out of the windowsill into the chill night air, looking to the side and watching Yuuto laying alone in the dark.

[BACKGROUND MUSIC: Audrey Hepburn - Moon River]

She gently approached him.

"Twenty-four seconds passed, and you're still here. You lied again," she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I figured I should give four extra seconds to the girl I'm in love with," he said, looking up at the night sky.

Saki's eyes widened slightly as she observed Yuuto's nonchalance. A few seconds of silence went by with neither of them uttering a word.

Saki let out a soft chuckle. "Just four?" she added, a playful note in her voice.

"Four's all I could spare. Don't get greedy now," he replied with a weak smile.

Feeling more at ease, she crept to his side, sitting on the roof beside him and laying her head on the roof tiles.

The two rested next to each other, gazing at the stars.

'What was the question?' Saki thought to herself. Deep down, she felt that if she asked, this moment would pass...

But what was this moment, exactly? She wondered.

He didn't touch her at all. The only thing that had the privilege was the wind, as it always did.

But this time felt different.

A different kind of warmth welled up within her, despite the shivering cold the wind brought with it.

How strange.

How could she feel warmth without anything to warm her? It just didn't make sense.

Just like the boy lying beside her, she realized as she briefly glanced at him.

'I should tell her to go to the safe room and ask her if she likes being abused by her father, as I intended,' Yuuto thought as he lay beside her on the roof tiles.

Just as he intended to turn to her, he felt the gentle grasp of her palm atop his.

Yuuto gasped weakly, his entire body frozen as her fingertips wrapped around his, both their faces still turned up to the stars.

With every passing moment, her grip tightened, her fingers intertwining with his, which remained loose at first.

With a twitch, a small twitch, his fingers stutteringly closed, reciprocating her strength.

Nothing in particular went through Yuuto's mind.

Twenty minutes passed. The two lay motionless, Saki's palm still in Yuuto's grasp.

He thought about letting it all out. About telling her how he could still see Satoshi's face, how he wasn't originally from this world, and... about what he was going to do afterwards.

But he kept his lips tight.

That was his burden to bear. And speaking of burdens... she just had too many of those.

The safe room could come later, he decided.

"I..." Saki started, "I didn't realize... a hand can be warmer than a hug," she softly said with a smile, her voice shivering, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to keep her voice steady.

Yuuto let out another gasp.

'I've stayed here for too long... DAMN IT... What am I doing!? I'm losing nighttime!' Yuuto thought as he slowly sat up.

"Yuuto...?" she called softly, her palm still clenched in his.

'She... called me Yuuto,' he thought, slightly furrowing his brow as his heart momentarily spiked.

"A-ah... I meant, Hirok—" she hurried to correct herself, but Yuuto was quick to interject.

"Yuuto's fine... Just... call me that when it's just the two of us, aight?" he said, looking away as he scratched his head.

"Oh... Alright," she softly accepted, quickly drying her tears away.

"I'll escort you back in," he muttered as he stood up, gently guiding her upwards and walking her back into her room through the window, their palms still held together.

She entered the room and hurriedly turned back to Yuuto. "Oh, right! What was the ques—"

Yuuto placed his finger gently on her lips. "I'll ask you that next time, alright? I'm in a hurry," he said, his voice low and soft. He ducked onto the windowsill, his eyes solemn and heavy as he looked at her, his figure darkened by the moonlight shining into Saki's room from behind him.

Saki blushed slightly... but she didn't mind it at all as Yuuto gradually loosened his finger and turned around.

She merely replied with a smile, "Alright... I'll look forward to the next time we meet," she murmured as Yuuto exited her room, nodding softly on his way out.

After he went down, he walked away from the house.

'She's just... some two-dimensional character... Why are you so riled up... Focus,' Yuuto thought as he placed his palm on his chest, still feeling Saki's residual warmth.

'Just... a character in a tragedy. Nothing more...' he thought as he leaned against a nearby wall, slouched, trying to steady his breathing.

He then slapped himself powerfully.

'Besides...' he mused internally, his eyes darkening. The warmth he had felt swiftly disappeared.

'I decided I'd do something tonight,' he thought, as he spotted Saki's father leaving the house and walking towards the city.

'Let's play ball... Let's take care of this guy,' he thought, his fist tightening as he followed Saki's father.

-----

Inside Saki's room, she grasped her own palm. Baffled at how different it feels when someone else holds it.

'Is this what... Friends feel like, maybe...? True friends...?' She thought as she closed her eyes with a warm smile, her palms still entwined with each other.

'It feels... so warm... like I'm laying on a bed of clouds.'