50 Dangerous Nights Ahead (1/2)
The 6 AM chime echoed long ago, but Arata stayed in his bed. He stared at his ceiling, his other limbs left unmoving. His heart pounded weakly as if it got tired of raging the moment he regained consciousness and control over his own body. Last night, the events in his sleep were wilder than the ones when he was awake. He could not decide which one was worse to think about.
He placed both hands on his face and tried to press the worry away. He left a gap for his breath to escape his palms. He had gone through scary events in his real life and in the first patch of the game, but the events were growing more and more morbid. It was not like it was not in his taste, but it was getting hard to live through. He could only rely on the game system to keep him alive. The player would never lose his life, right?
”Game over...” he whispered between his palms. What if there was a game over sequence now? He heard there were some in the first patch, but they could be easily dealt with since one could load to their last save. In this life he now lived, what could be his last save point? Will he be able to revive at least?
”This sucks.” Arata huffed, pressing his face harder. ”I need to see Sayaka... but what if she... gave up on commanding Usagi? Do I talk to her through PM? Those things get recorded, right?”
”Arata?” Yukari's voice came after the creak of the door. Her steps seemed to shuffle towards him in hurry. ”Is everything okay? You're mumbling to yourself.”
He brought his hands down and chuckled. ”Nothing. I just... saw very bad things in my sleep. Is anyone else in the house right now?”
”Uhm... my brothers are downstairs.” It took her seconds to answer. ”I overslept and just managed to make breakfast for them at the same time I made one for us.” Yukari chuckled in nervousness. ”Sorry, I just thought it would be okay.”
”Sure, no problem.” Arata got up from his bed and stretched a little. He then noticed Yukari sit down next to him. He kept his gaze at her, waiting for her to talk.
”Arata, can we talk later after class? Without anyone else? Just us...” The best friend almost twisted her lips, ready to get a 'no' from the player. She then took a deep breath. ”Please I really want to talk to you alone.”
The god of the living nodded without a sound. He got up from the bed and smiled at her as he stood before her. ”Sure. Just wait for me downstairs. I need to take a shower.” Before he could go, he felt Yukari's arms around his waist. She pressed her forehead against his abdomen— he just realized he was only in his boxers by then. ”Are you scared?”
”...I'm terrified of your girls... and how you knew I have something to be scared about...”
The two managed to pick themselves up, and after a few more minutes, Arata, Cora, and Yukari ate breakfast with the Ginmachi brothers named Yuuta and Yuuki. Since Yuuta had recovered from his sickness, their parents were back to giving the kids lifts to school. However, they had to leave so early today that Yukari had to walk them to school first. The other two high schoolers ate faster than normal so they could go with Yukari to the kids' school before walking to their own.
Being with Cora and Yukari made his heart calmer than normal. He could only relax with the two of them since they were quite not involved with the conflicts that made his heart race. It was not that he hated the feeling; he just needed to take a break. With a songstress and an honest heart, it was attainable for a few minutes at least.
The serene feeling was shattered when they reached the gates of the school. There were foreign students standing at the side as if waiting for someone. They all wore the same uniform Keita did yesterday; perhaps they were from his class. Arata could only give them a look as he led the girls to the gates.
Their gazes moved from their businesses to a direction after one signaled them to look. As an instinct, Arata shifted his gaze to the same direction they did. For some reasons, he froze as he saw Attori walking with Keiko. Her hair extensions were taken away, and her hair seemed to be newly cut as well. Her make-up was lessened, as well as her accessories. Her arms were kept close, and she went back to the less enthusiastic version of her. Attori, however, still pranced on her way to school.
His eyes were stuck on the two beauties; that was why he did not see the males closing in on them. He just saw Attori stop prancing at the same time Keiko stopped walking. They were confronted by the males. Like some other chances, he could hear them clearly.
”You're Wakaba's little sis, right?” One of the goons asked in a mellow, calm voice. He did not seem to try and scare the girls despite the aura around them. ”Is your brother sick? He didn't show up yesterday... and for our 6 AM class. You can say we're worried.”
”Uh, that's...” Keiko gripped on her bag strap tighter.
”He's in the hospital.” Attori caught the conversation so Keiko did not have to talk about it— using her understanding, that is. ”Some weird guy started a fight with him on his way home. He got stabbed so... he's confined. You can visit him today if you like.”
One of the males whistled as he approached Attori from a side, passing by the first male to talk. He bent down to check out the mad bitch and even went to hook some of her blue hair with his hand. ”Wow, you're a pretty one! Do you have a boyfriend right now?”
The male who talked to them first sighed. ”Morikawa, stop. We're not here to scare them.”
”What do you mean scare? Come on, Ritsu! Why would they be scared of these good faces?” The man named Morikawa laughed out and hummed as he checked out the same girl again. ”So, what do you think, baby girl?”