The Reality

"This could work!"

Masato approved my plan.

"Only if my assumption is correct!"

I look toward Ko.

"Do you want to participate in this?"

"If Masato agrees, then I will take part too!"

"Okay, I'll check if the snake is still around. When I give the signal, run towards your positions."

They both nod.

I carefully walked toward the way out of the crack and looked around and above. Not seeing the snake, I give them a wave, with which they run past me. Masato used his jetpack to get on the beam that supported the tunnel, while Ko hid behind a knocked-down locker.

Okay... This is it.

I ran behind where Masato was, hid behind a table, and readied my taser.

With the setup complete, Ko threw a rock 50 meters before her. The sound of hissing was heard from where the rock was thrown.

"Hey, you ugly snake! Try and catch me!"

Ko began running, with the snake close behind her. When it seemed like the snake would capture her, Masato flew down, and Ko jumped on his back. They immediately went back up.

"Here is a little present for you!"

Masato yelled as he opened the water jug and spilled it all over the snake. The snake seemed to get angry, as it tried to catch Masato with its mouth.

"Can't catch-"

My eyes focused on the cracks where the water was. When I got the perfect aim, I took a deep breath.

You can do this!

I pulled the trigger, firing a ball of electric energy. The snake twitched when the ball hit the spot, probably from the electric overload. It took a minute before it collapsed and shut down.

We... We did it...

When I got out of my thoughts, I heard yelling.

"AH!"

That's Masato...

I ran over quickly.

"Masato! What-"

My whole body froze. I couldn't move an inch. Masato... his left foot was bitten off.

N-No way...

"Masato..."

Tears started falling out of my eyes.

I blew it. He would have had his foot, if I hadn't stopped for a moment.

"D-Don't worry about-OW!"

He screamed when Ko tried to cover his wound with a piece of clean white cloth.

"I-I'm s-sorry!"

"You shouldn't be! It was-OW!"

Ko applied medicine alcohol on his wound.

"Could you at least let me finish?"

"It isn't good if your wound stays open for too long without cleaning it."

As Ko said that, she turned away and left us to speak in peace.

"I should have thought better! I should have been faster!"

"It's not your fault!"

"YES IT IS!"

It felt like my throat was burning after I screamed.

"Look, Noboru, I was too careless and flew lower than needed. It's my fault."

His try at smiling made me feel even worse.

"T-This wouldn't have happened if you didn't meet me."

"Hey, calm-"

"THIS IS MY FAULT! I GOT YOU BOTH INTO THIS!"

I couldn't speak normally anymore, as my voice broke.

Everything... Everything could have been prevented.

"...please...just leave me alone here..."

My squeal could be barely heard.

I got up and ran further down the tunnel.

"NOBORU!"

They both yelled at me. I didn't want to listen.

Waste...

Piece of trash...

Coward...

Stupid...

Ugly...

My thoughts weren't this wild since the first therapy session. 

Illusion...

You were deluding yourself...

You're worth nothing...

Furthermore, you can't change anything...

As the last bits of oxygen left my lungs, I fell to the ground out of exhaustion.

"...how long has it been, since I've been running?..."

Hours, days, how long?

Actually, does it really all matter?

...

I closed my eyes, as I was feeling tired.

I hope I don't wake up again...

My consciousness then faded.

"My foot was bitten off because of your carelessness! Why did you drag us into this?!"

"I'm sorry, Masato. You can do whatever you want with me."

"I'll join in!"

"As you wish, Ko."

The dream that I had was probably one of the most gruesome dreams that I had ever seen. Red. Red was everywhere.

It wasn't until I was woken back up to someone shaking me.

"NOBORU! WAKE UP! PLEASE!"

"...Ko?..."

I spoke in a low, groggy voice.

"THANK GOD!"

She immediately jumped and hugged me. Masato stood behind Ko, thinking about something.

"Noboru..."

He spoke up, getting Ko's attention.

"I know you're feeling guilty for dragging us into this, but don't be! We chose to join you and should have expected something like this to happen!"

"...but you didn't need to-"

"We chose to help you! If you had gone all alone on this, you couldn't have defeated the snake. Instead, we would find out you've died under mysterious circumstances!"

"...what do you get out of this?"

"Has the guilt blinded you again?! We're fighting for the people of the town! Trying to save them!"

My eyes went wide.

That's right... Through my selfish guilt, I forgot the goal.

"I-I'm sorry."

"You should stop saying that."

"H-Huh?"

"In your "reality", you think you did something wrong when in actual reality, you did nothing but defeat the snake."

I look to Ko, to hear her thoughts.

"Me? I think that we gave it our all."

"Couldn't have said it any better, Ko."

They both flash a smile toward one another. I felt a smile creep up on my face.

"What is funny?"

Masato looked puzzled.

"...you always say that I should be with Ko, but I think that you maybe fit each other well..."

My comment made them jump.

"Are you serious?! Me and him?! Never in a million years!"

"Hey! I feel insulted that you think that way!"

Their faces were unreadable, as I didn't know if they were angry, embarrassed, or flustered.

"You would make a cute couple."

I said, jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Stop it! I don't want to imagine that!"

As Ko looked generally annoyed, I got up and patted her on the head.

"There, I was just kidding."

"It isn't funny, even when you're just joking!"

Ko pouted, as she looked away.

"You're hurting my feelings..."

Masato looked like he would cry any second.

"Okay, shall we dispose of the canister?"

Turning serious, they both nodded.

As Ko tried to run down, I stopped her.

"Huh? Why did you stop me?"

"You need to get Masato to the hospital quickly."

When I said that, I gave her a small container labeled "hospital". 

"I'm thankful you brought these containers, Masato. If you hadn't, you would've died."

"Heh... I always think ahead."

He smiled at me, while Ko looked unsure.

"But we're doing this together!"

"Not if Masato dies."

Looking at him, you could see that something wasn't right. He was breathing heavily and around his wound were green marks.

"I will dispose of the canister and come see you at the hospital, alright?"

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

With that, she got to Masato, opened the container, and vanished.

"Thank you, guys..."

I said that, as I headed down the tunnel, now with a flashlight.