I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!
...
WHY WAS I THE ONE THAT ENDED YOU?
...
DO YOU HATE ME NOW, MIKU? YUKI-NEE? SAKURA?
...
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!
LAST CHANCE!
LAST CHANCE!
LAST...
...
"WELL, WELL, WELL!
IF IT AIN'T THE DOUCHEBAG!"
"YOU! WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"SEEMS LIKE SOMEONE LET HIS GUARD DOWN AND PAID THE PRICE."
"HEY! I ASKED YOU SOMETHING!"
"LOVE IS BLIND!"
"LOVE? WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU BLABBERING AROUND NOW?"
"BE CAREFUL KID! YOU'RE IN ENEMY'S TERRITORY! I CAN'T SAVE YOU EVERY TIME..."
"WAIT!...WAIT!"
...
Machine beeps...
These dreams keep getting stranger and stranger. Speaking of which, this ceiling...it's familiar.
"And here we meet again! This is a recurring thing now eh, Nao?"
"Doctor Harumi? Ah!"
"Easy kid! You've taken quite the beating in the short amount of time I've seen you. And it's pretty worse than the last time. At this rate, you won't live a long life, and I'll outlive you."
"Long...life? That's quite...the interesting thought...you have there."
"Everyone has one. That's how we live every day. Always striving hard for the better tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on. Don't you?"
"The first thing I get...after regaining my conscious...is...a freakin' philosophy class? You're quite harsh on your patient there. At this rate, I doubt I'd ever want to get treated here again."
"Well, that bonus is only for you, my dear kid. Still, you were bust up pretty bad. I'm not sure what's going on but all I can say is be careful. Not only about yourself, but even the others. At least be mindful of them. Spare them a thought, or two."
"What brought upon this all of a sudden? Was anyone else injured because of me? Though I'm pretty sure that I haven't involved anyone in that brawl."
"Brawl? From what I've heard, it was the sight of a deer and a pack of wolves, pouncing and preying upon a deer."
"Well, I'm hurt. Wasn't there any better way to sum that up? Like, a group of crocodiles picking on a bear?"
"You still love your bears, eh? At least, there's still something that defines you."
"Yep!"
"Yukiko, Miku and Sakura...To tell the truth, they were quite shaken. You weren't responding at all. They thought they lost you, again. Poor girls...living through that hell all over again."
"What about your wife?"
"Funny you must mention about her when I'm talking about the girls. But since you've asked, she just sent texted me about your condition."
"Oh, that isn't bad. I was expecting something more ridiculous."
"Every 5 minutes!"
"Oh! My bad! I take that back."
"Thankfully, this puts an end to my suffering."
"And my mother?"
"She just stopped by for a moment, took a look at you, and just went away."
"That was fast."
"I did think of topping her and ask her why is she leaving. But, I think she realized my motive, and before I could say anything..."
HE'LL LIVE! FAX ME THE BILL ONCE EVERYTHING IS OVER!
"And like that, she just walked away."
"That sounds like her."
"You ain't curious about the girls?"
"Not really. To be honest, I think I know what happened more or less. Miku would have been heartbroken, and stayed quiet, not knowing how to take in all the emotions flowing into her all of a sudden. Meanwhile, Sakura would have been calm, even though she might have fidgeted around a lot, and lost her composure over time. While Yuki-nee, I mean she's a hardball. She might have cried the most, or wouldn't have even responded. She might even tell that I deserved it."
"How did you arrive at that conclusion?"
He placed his hand over my shoulder, and slowly sat down. He removed his glasses and sighed for a moment.
"Let me tell you this kid. What, you and Yukiko have been through, is something that can't be summarized in mere words. You both have all stuck together like two peas in a pod. Even though over time you have changed, and she was forced to accept and adapt to it, she was always with you. I may be speaking on behalf of my daughter and crossing the line here as her father, but I'll tell you this. Whether she has feelings for you or not is a silly question, and how you respond to her feelings depends solely on you. She will accept whatever answer you shall give her. But, the one thing she can never accept is seeing you getting hurt. That's something she never will. Even if she loses to you as a love interest, she will try to take care of you as an elder sister would. And no elder sister would like to see their younger sibling in pain. Especially her."
I moved my shoulder away in response to what he said.
"That's the problem. It's always me. She's always hung up on me. I mean, for fuck sake, she has a boyfriend. She doesn't need to be involved with me anymore. I've already taken her illustrious life as a prodigy away from her. I've already torn apart your family. And yet, she's still latched onto me. It's...It's suffocating. To have someone love me so much. Even though the only thing I've caused is pain. I mean has she ever considered a life without me? She has to know that I can't stay in her life forever. I thought she would have understood that after what happened 3 years ago. But she's just acting like a hung-up ex-girlfriend who's trying to get her boyfriend back by making him jealous!"
Doctor Harumi leaned back on the chair and rubbed his forehead in response to what I said. But there wasn't anything wrong with what I just sputtered out.
"That's true. There's no way that you would stay in one place forever. That's how you are. Say Nao, if I were to ask you to describe yourself, how would you do it? As in what kind of person you are?"
"That's a tough ask. And that too all of a sudden. But if I must say...."
NOMAD!