Dreams of the Future

Tears flooded Haru’s eyes. He couldn’t help but ask, “do you recognize me at all?”

“Of course, silly Haru. How could I forget?” Grace beamed.

The connection had been successful. Haru and Grace’s memories aligned with each other, and their time together was revitalized instantly. But then, Grace’s gaze turned away.

“But now you know as well. I was never a dream fairy, just another person crossing an unknown barrier.”

Haru responded by holding her close. Two people with wings hovering in the sky – they would no longer fall due to misunderstandings.

“As if that matters to me. I was just sad that you left.”

They both floated gently down until their toes touched the ground. Haru twirled Grace by the arm. She glided into a spin. The grass turned into a dance floor and smooth music played.

“Now, I know why you’re so good at dancing.” Haru stared at Grace’s softening expression.

“Hobbies to appease the parents.”

Grace had lived an even more sheltered life, cut short by an accident. It resulted in a childish enthusiasm rare for her age. Now, the moments that he questioned about her made sense. She had been human all along, naïve but hopeful despite her fate.

Twirling away from Haru, Grace found herself at a piano. Now, it was her turn to choose the pace. Her fingers glided with rhythm, emotion now flooding into each stroke. There was no question about it. Her melody felt lively and true, unlike before.

Haru materialized a guitar, strumming an impromptu beat. Together, a mess of musical notes spiraled between them, no longer caring who to please. It was chaos in the moment, the wild beauty of beats harmonizing. It celebrated the mystery of their meeting.

And finally, Grace danced back over, planting a light peck on Haru’s cheek.

“Thank you for making me real again.”

“Always and forever. I couldn’t come back and not say that.”

The two of them embraced, tears wetting each other’s back. Happy, joyous tears – because nothing would separate them again. Haru would do everything to ensure that.

And with that, the reunion faded to dark.

The next thing Haru saw was his father’s face, checking his wellness upon waking. A grin was plastered on Iwai behind him, and technicians swarmed the other bed.

“The girl’s vitals are a bit stronger, thanks to your help.” Iwai offered a hand.

Haru shook off the drowsiness and give it a shake. It was just a small step but progress in the right direction. They all knew that it was only the beginning.

The door opened suddenly, and a group of familiar faces spilled in. Koichi, Daichi, Kasumi, and Megu too – the lot of them had arrived with faces scouring the situation. Haru tilted his head. He looked at his father for answers.

“I called them here when I saw that the results were promising. It never hurts to have a few other candidates.”

Later that evening, Haru laid back in his bed. It had been quite the eventful day. His friends had all joined in, taking turns connecting to Grace and discovering the real her. She had stuck with the form implanted in Haru when meeting the others. That made things a little less awkward. In the end, they all offered their support as well.

A deal was then formed with Bocculus, allowing for them all to visit by participating in the research. No one objected to keeping Grace company in turns.

Stretching out with a big sigh of relief, he fell asleep happy that she would no longer be alone anymore.

#####

“Are you going to cheat on me now?”

“Of course not. Grace and I are just friends.”

Haru turned to Kasumi, whose tongue was stuck out at him. The question was in jest. Haru’s response wasn’t.

“Oh, and here I was thinking that maybe I could take in Grace instead. Then, we would be rivals instead.”

“Ouch, I love you too. You’re breaking a poor guy’s heart here.”

Haru leaned back on the bench, feigning a pain in his chest. Kasumi just laughed.

“I guess you know how it feels to be ignored for a dream girl.”

Kasumi leaned over and stared into Haru’s eyes. At this point, he could no longer tear himself away from her. He reached around and pulled her close. Their lips danced together for a few.

“Can you forgive me?”

“Of course. I never said that I wouldn’t.”

Weeks had passed since they discovered the truth about Grace, and now, everything had settled back into a routine. School, soccer, band, dating, and Grace – it all blended into a sequence, typical yet exciting, nonetheless.

The semester was off to a blast, so much that he wondered if having this much fun awake or not would come back to haunt him.

“Your next live is coming up. Are you going to sing Endless Sky again?”

“Seems like Mephisto has been getting into the groove of it. He’s a better singer anyway, so I’ll gradually pass the reins to him.”

“Aww, I better enjoy it while it lasts.”

“There’s always karaoke, you know.”

“True.”

Haru looked up, just in time for a soccer ball to bounce by. Instinctively, he zipped over to grab it, tossing it back to one of his teammates.

“How’s training for the Winter Kokuritsu? I heard that if you win the next match, you’ll qualify for nationals.”

“You can thank Daichi for racking up the wins before I even joined. I’m just there to keep up the momentum.”

“I think you do more than that. Mister Not-in-my-house,” Kasumi said with a giggle.

Haru sat back, a smug expression on his face. He looked up at the clouds for a moment, lost in thought.

“Come to think of it, I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

“Oh?” Kasumi leaned over, placing a hand on his cheek. “Do you need a little help remembering?” She bent forward for another kiss.

“ATTENTION! HIGASHI HARU, PLEASE COME TO THE TEACHER’S OFFICE. HIGASHI HARU!”

That made both of them jump out of their skins.

“What the hell?! Why are they calling for me now?!”

He looked over to Kasumi, who placed a finger over her lips.

“You best find out, shouldn’t you?” she said with a grin.

“You know something, don’t you?”

“Maaaaybe.”

#####

Haru’s homeroom teacher looked impatient and unamused. He slapped the desk where an unfilled form sat before them. Haru barely looked at it before he realized why he was called there.

I completely forgot to fill in the Career Consultation thing!

It had been due since the beginning of the semester. And now, he had to spend the next thirty minutes hearing the standard spiel regarding how important future prospects are. By the end of it, Haru was ready to fill the damn thing and leave. Lessons learned.

“Well? Do you have your options lined up?”

“Sure do.”

Haru quickly jotted them in, options 1, 2, and 3, before getting up to leave. As he bolted for the door, a voice called back to him.

“I admire your dedication for pursuing the University of Tokyo, but what are these other options? The World Cup? BUST? Is this a joke to you?”

Haru turned around with a confident smile. “No, perfectly serious. Even if you don’t understand my intentions, I decided to shoot high in all directions. I won’t give up on anything until the very last minute.”

He walked out before his teacher could say anything else, and nearly bumped right into Kasumi.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“The same reason as you,” Kasumi said, a grin still on her face.

“I didn’t take you for someone to be forgetful.”

“I’m not.” She poked him on the nose. “I just didn’t want to rewrite my choices later.”

Haru simply laughed. He should have known. That was her way of say ‘I love you.’