The Colorless Cage (4)

There was something terribly wrong.

I was sitting across from Nakamura Aoko, my supposed childhood friend.

I say “supposed” because I genuinely do not ever remember her being my childhood friend.

What I do remember is the idea that she is my childhood friend.

She was staring at me with a gaze that was rather unsettling. It wasn’t aggressive.

It was possessive.

There was something else that was painfully disturbing, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

“Something wrong, Eiji?”

I gulped. It was now or never.

“Hey, uh, Aoko... Weird question, but do you know someone named ‘Ichika’?”

The moment those words left my lips, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy and a chill ran down my spine.

It was only for a second, but I definitely saw a shadow flit over Aoko’s face.

“Hm... Ichika... Ichika... Not at all! Is she a character from a show? Oh, or maybe one of those novels you’re always reading?”

Her voice was sickly sweet, but that settled it. She definitely knew who Ichika was. The only problem was that I didn’t.

These fixations really were bothering me. First, it was breasts (I’m actually an ass man, thank you very much), and now it’s someone that I’ve never met before.

But I just can’t shake it off.

Even the very name ‘Ichika’ feels so... crucial.

“Uh, no. Sorry for the random question, Aoko. Anyway, I’m feeling a little better, so I’m gonna head home now.”

“You can’t.”

Those two words were frightening enough alone, but what really terrified me was her smile that split her face ear-to-ear.

I nearly pissed myself.

“W-Why?”

“Oh my, don’t you remember?”

I frantically cast my eyes around—

“You promised to stay the night at mine.”

—looking for a way to escape.

I had found it.

The second reason why I was so disturbed and why I had been so on edge ever since stepping into this room.

The infirmary had no windows.

“What are you looking for, Eiji? Oh my... Could it be? Are. You. Trying. To. Run. Away?”

Her hand closed around my collar. Tightly.

She jerked me toward her, tearing it in the process.

“I won’t let you go, Eiji. Not this time.”

What the FUCK was she talking about?

“Y-Yeah, uh... I think there’s been a misunderstanding Aoko...”

Right now, I desperately needed an out.

There was just no way I could overpower Aoko, especially not when she now had added “weight” to her upper body.

Added... weight? That’s right! She was so much flatter when she pushed me down and—

Pain.

Pure, unadulterated pain pierced through my skull and nestled in my brain, burrowing itself there like some sort of psychic cocklebur. I tried to scream, but no sound would come out.

There it was again.

That absurdly beautiful face.

How was it that I came to associate this face with the name “Ichika”?

Even through the pain, every cell in my body begged me to remember. The existence known as Ichika.

I could see it clearly.

The unfathomable sadness which dwelt in those bright eyes. Their light tried so desperately to snuff out the darkness dwelling behind them. Strong. Courageous.

Futile.

I wanted nothing more than to hold her tight. To tell her that it was all going to be okay.

That I would be by her side, no matter how many times we had to endure this.

But why?

I blinked.

Tears were falling from my eyes, but I didn’t know why. No matter how much I tried to stop them, they just kept flowing.

There was no reason to be this sad, but I felt an indescribable sense of loss and despair that suddenly seeped to the surface and refused to stop.

“...Why?” I croaked, staring at the girl who was still gripping me by the collar.

It was only now that I noticed that she, too, was crying. They were tears of sadness, each drop as heavy as mine. But there was something else mixed in them.

Frustration. A frustration so deep and so vexing, that I couldn’t help but sympathize with her.

“In the end... You chose her. You always chose her.”

Her expression softened, wearing an eventide smile.

“Fine. If that’s the case... I don’t want this anymore.”

She released me and took a deep breath.

“All I need is a world just for you and me.”

The world contorted as if it were a vortex and I, a lost boat in the ocean, still searching for its purpose yet being inadvertently drawn in.

And at that moment, the door of the infirmary slid open.

I beheld a visage so divine, I doubted that it was real. But in my heart of hearts, I knew that there was only one person this could be.

Ichika.

Her long black hair swayed in some unseen wind. Her elegant figure was framed by the doorway like a portrait. And her violet eyes reflected the light from the windows.

The windows...

No.

I knew her by another name.

To me, there was only one thing I could call her. I don’t know why, but it just seemed right.

Kurokami Izanami. That was the name of this absurdly beautiful being standing before me. It was the name that was exclusive to her and I.

The red string which bound us together.

I reached out a hand toward her. I longed for her touch despite the cause of my desire being foreign to me. But my heart yearned for it even as the wind would not carry my sails where I wished.

Aoko stepped between us. There was an anger that I had never seen within her before. It was a concoction of regret and frustration. An expression of rage that only she could understand.

“I won’t give him to you. Not yet.”

“All dreams must come to an end, Nakamura Aoko. For even the heaviest sleeper must one day wake up.”

“...But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the journey.”

And then there was only white.