Feelingless (Asahi's POV)- Part 3/Drowning

It was morning. The air was cold and moist, and the sun was only half awake. The sound of the alarm woke me up. Papers were scattered everywhere; The room was messy. Aiko's hair was all over her face.

I woke up on the floor with my stinky clothes; Saliva was drooling from my mouth. I fixed my eyes and took my sleeves to wipe it off, now it is stained. I stood up and saw that Aiko was still fast asleep. Her eyes were shut closed and her body was still, so I decided to take a shower.

I walked my way to the guest room and shut the door closed. I've been here a few times, so I knew where it was. Quietly, I slumped my back against the door and held my forehead. During the time, I could only have one thought in my head: Who really is Kori Yotashima? Probably I was overthinking. I double locked the door just in case anyone came in. I took out my shirt and still, had the same thought. After undressing myself, I head to the shower.

The warm water from the shower clouded the whole bathroom. Water, running from my head to toes had me thinking:

What if I'm seeing this the wrong way?

It's just like what Aiko said, It's just a girl.

After bathing myself, I wrapped myself with clean towels. The soft cloth of the towel slithered around my neck had made me calm. As I was about to step out of the bathroom, I saw Aiko. What was she doing here? She looked like as if she came in purposely.

"Got what you needed?" I said.

"Actually, no" she said. Her eyes were looking from the top to bottom while biting her lower lip. Her body was slanted, and her hair was fixed. I realised that she was wearing a shawl over her chest. I guess she was here on purpose.

"Got enough looking?" I said while crossing both my arms. I know what she is up to. To be clear, I only treat her as my 'sister' nothing more than that.

"Oh, come on Asahi, let's have some fun." She said. I noticed that she double locked the door.

"Aiko, how many times must I say this?" I told her. I took a few steps back.

"I just see you as my 'sister'" I told her. I picked up my clothes from the bed and showed no eye contact with her. I am sick of us having this conversation every time. Feeling too annoyed, I walked pass-by her. The door stopped me. I turned my head and said with fury," Aiko, we can't keep having the same conversation again. My only purpose here is to resolve my situation with Kori. If you keep bothering me again I- "

"Fine, I understand" She added. That's what I thought. I unlocked the door and pushed down the handle, then I walked away. I can't believe what her motive was in the room. Does she really think that I wanted to be with her? From the looks from my classmates at school, she's only doing this for fame. I knew it all along, but I can't get away from her because of my status. Sigh. It's always about money.

After an hour, I was prepared to leave for King Henry's. I got in the car and waited for Aiko since she was the one who came up with the plan. During the whole trip, we were quiet. We didn't talk to each other and sat far away: I sat at the front seat, whereas she sat at the back. Will we be good again after this? I just want us to know each other, not to get any strings tied.

Finally, we reached at King Henry's Prep School. I can't believe I'm here, showing my face at this school. Before leaving the car, we put on glasses, mask and a cap to not get noticed by the students there; We were quite popular. Besides, we got a visitor's pass, nobody will notice us, right?

First, we were headed to the headmaster's office. It was risky since we had to cross over the hallway where the students were. The principal's office was at the top floor, so we had to use the elevator. We tried to walk at a faster pace, but that signals that we are in a hurry, so we tried to 'blend in' as much as possible. We managed to get in, but right before the doors could close, a student came in.

I covered my mask higher up to my glasses. Sure, it's clique to think that we looked suspicious, but who are we kidding? The student had long blue hair with a headband over her head. Her uniform had her name tag on- "Yoshiro". She held stacks of books and sheets of papers in her hands, she must be the class monitor I guessed. She turned around and found herself awkward.

"So, what's your deal here?" She asked. Her eyes were scanning our body. Did she realise? Sweat was running down from my neck.

"Wait a minute- "She said. Her eyes widened and the books and papers almost fell. So, I guess we were spotted! I clenched firmly onto my pants. I looked over at Aiko, despite the situation, she looked calm.

"Are you guys famous artistes?" She said. Whew~ That was a relief.

"Oh goodness, you spotted us!" I played along.

"Ha-ha. My boyfriend and I were planning to find an area here to shoot our music video," Aiko laughed. She put her arms around my shoulders and turned her head around to Yoshiro. Fine, only this time I'll help you.

Ding! The elevator finally opened. "Well, good luck shooting your music video!" she said. That was a close one. I bent down and went to the balcony for some fresh air. I turned my head around to check on Aiko, she looked fine but distant.

I looked down and said, "Aiko, let's finish our deed here," I said while walking to the headmaster's room.

"Right," She said quietly.

When we stepped into the headmaster's room, he was at his desk writing down a few notes. The pale-blue linen ink was written in most of them.

"Ahem, good morning headmaster" I coughed.

The headmaster lifted his head and was confused. "Yes, good morning to you too. To whom do I owe the pleasure to?" he asked. The wrinkles around his face and his grey hair showed how serious he was.

"Yukata, I'm, we're here to- "I said politely. Suddenly, the door behind us opened and a girl came in. A white-haired girl. She passed by us and sat next to him. I didn't see her face though. Could it be her?

"Granduncle, if there are any suspicious people enter here, don't let them in" she interrupted. Just then, her eyes diverted to my direction and looked back to the headmaster. He looked like he was tired of her but couldn't. My eyes fixed and saw her name tag- "Kori". I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. The headmaster was lost and was about to stand up, but Aiko explained our purpose here to him.

"H-hey, what was that for?" She argued.

I pulled down my mask and took off my glasses; She immediately recognised me and stopped struggling.

"Oh, hot shot. What do you want?" she asked while calming herself down.

"Look, I want to apologise for offending you the other day." I said with a poker face. She laughed while covering her mouth with tears coming out of her eyes. I was muddled.

"You are apologising because I took your drink?" she busted. Hold on, she is the mean girl that I was supposed to be afraid of. What kind of trickery is this?

Finally, she calmed down. "Fine, I accept your apology" she said in a hurry. She was about to leave but I held her hands tight. Her hands were soft like cotton, pale as snow and slim as a stick. I didn't know why but I couldn't stop holding her hands then. She turned around and our eyes met. Everything felt as if time had stopped.

Then, I finally snapped. I let go of her hands and she scattered off. My heart started racing and thumping faster and faster. Aiko finally walked out of the room and saw me standing still as if I saw a ghost. My hand was still hovering in the air. What is this feeling?

"Hey, you done?" Aiko asked with confusion. Her arms were crossed, and she was giving me a weird stare.

"Y-yeah, let's go," I startled.

We walked to the same path as before, but a whimpering sound stopped me. Aiko was still walking but I had to find where that sound came from. I followed the sound and it came from the girl's toilet. I know I'm not supposed to get involved but then it means I left Aiko for nothing.

I slowly creaked the door open and saw her? She was on the floor looking helpless and lost. As my shadow appeared, she looked back and saw me. All I could see on her face were tears running down her cheeks and her uniform torn. On her right hand she held a blade and, on the left... were scars. I didn't know what to do.

I hesitantly grabbed her in my arms and yelled for help. Two teachers came in and dialled for the ambulance. During the time, she had already fainted. Luckily, she was still breathing, but the blood was still flooding. I took out my jacket and wrapped it around her hands to prevent any loss of blood.

After 30 minutes, the sound of the ambulance could be heard. I followed her into the van. Meanwhile, I saw Aiko surrounded by students. I guess they found her identity. I'm sorry Aiko, I'll make it up to you...someday.

At the hospital, the doctor said I wasn't allowed in the ward, so I sat outside. I was shivering with fear thinking, will she make it? I went to Toogle and searched for Mr. Yotashima's phone number and dialled for him.

Come on! Why won't he pick up?

"Hello?" a voice said.

"Yes, Mr. Yotashima. Your daughter is at the hospital near her school. She's in the ward, hurry!" I exclaimed.

After a few minutes, everything was fuzzy. I saw Mr. Yotashima standing in front of the ward, yelling at the doctor, and heard a long beep from the monitor. Then, everything was black, I fainted.

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew where I was; I was back home, in my bed, laying down with stacks of pillows underneath my head. I suddenly had flashes of memory inside my head. Aagh, it hurts. Then, I remembered what happened and quickly got out of bed. I rushed downstairs and saw Mr. Yotashima talking to my parents. I was barely awake, so I only heard muffled noises.

His eyes spotted me.

"Asahi come down here. I want to talk to you" I knew that I could have broken down or pleased about it.

He dragged me aside and said in a low voice, "Kori is fine, but the doctor said that she is suffering from amnesia". My heart skipped a beat. I was hyperventilating.

"Look, you are the only person who saw her then. I want you to keep close to her. You understand?" I calmed and nodded. It's great that she is fine, but she won't remember anything that happened to her before that.

In the afternoon, I got a text from Aiko:

Meet me outside in 5

I switched off my phone and faced it down on my table. I put on my jacket and went outside. It was cold and breezy, so I hurriedly tried to find her.

Under the streetlamp, I saw her figure. She walked out of the light and I could tell that she was disappointed. I know I bailed on her yesterday, and that guilt has been with me since.

"Aiko, I- "She grabbed my waist and kissed my lips. I pushed her away and stepped a few steps back. What the heck?

"Nice to see you, 'brother'. You left me to rot by maggots when I needed you the most. Asahi, I still love you," I knew that she was feeling mixed up and her feelings were not sorted out yet, so I turned around and padded my legs back home.

Ever since then, she spread rumours about me. I didn't want to care at all. I kept receiving messages: you are feelingless. I didn't want to show my reactions about it much. I kept that feeling deep down in me so that they would drown trying to open it.

What can I say? The world is a bitch.

Flashback ends-