Chapter 45: The Boundary Between Dreams and Reality
I had a dream.
After my grandfather passed away, I came to Tokyo alone.
I left the village where I had lived for 14 years, moved from Saitama Prefecture to Tokyo, which is just over an hour's drive away, and moved into that old apartment.
Although my parents are not around...or I don't know where they are in the world, I still have a guardian in name.
He is a very gentle person. Whenever he is on vacation, he will send delicious sweet potatoes and senbei from his hometown.
Even the formalities such as enrolling in school were helped by the other party. Being able to do this is enough to make me grateful.
Everyone in the village is also very kind. Although they are not related to me by blood, they are willing to use money from their own families to support my education.
Although I understand that this is all because of my grandfather, and everyone told me not to worry about money, I don't think so.
Our village is not rich, and each of them has his or her own family. As an outsider, I cannot enjoy this effort with peace of mind, so I chose to work.
Not only for myself, but also to repay everyone's kindness.
One day by chance, I met a girl.
She had a completely different experience from me. She had a lovely face, but there was no sparkle in her eyes at all. What she stood in front of me seemed to be just a body.
Through conversation, I learned that she came to Tokyo from a very far away place. Because she had no money, she had to choose to stay in different people's homes, and she paid a lot for it.
I listened quietly to the story she told without making any comments.
This society is like this. You either rely on yourself or others. Weak things cannot survive alone, because these are the rules of society.
That's what I should have thought.
But for some reason, a burning feeling kept pouring out of my heart, and an emotion called anger gradually filled my chest.
Everyone just selfishly pushed her to the edge of the cliff little by little, and no one ever offered her a helping hand.
At that moment, I felt a strong desire to help her, so I spoke without hesitation.
"I want to save you."
When I said this in a firm tone, I could clearly see that something strange suddenly happened in the other person's eyes.
It was like a pool of stagnant water was rejuvenated. Tears burst from her eyes. She was obviously smiling, but her expression was so sad.
"……Thank you."
She looked at me and choked with sobs.
"...Yusuke."
The whirlpool of darkness gradually swallowed me up, but her voice still echoed in my ears.
…
"...Yusuke?"
When Yusuke Kato slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Sayu Ogiwara's beautiful face.
"For some reason you couldn't wake up even if you screamed today. You usually wake up with just a little poke." Sayu looked at him worriedly: "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Nightmare...?" Kato Yusuke murmured, feeling that his throat was extremely dry and hoarse, and his throat was quite uncomfortable.
"Yes." Sayu nodded repeatedly, staring into his eyes and said, "I feel like you are moaning in pain."
"Is this so..."
Kato Yusuke whispered, raised his hand and pulled Sayu into his arms, and then hugged her tightly.
"Ugh! Uh-huh... Yusuke... it feels so uncomfortable..."
Sayu said as if she couldn't breathe, so Kato Yusuke relaxed his strength.
"Sayu."
"What are you doing..."
"I will protect you, no matter what."
"...What happened to you suddenly?"
As if she realized something, Sayu pushed Kato Yusuke's shoulder away.
"Is it related to that dream?" She looked at Kato Yusuke, "Yusuke, you... dreamed of me?"
Seeing Kato Yusuke gently nodding, her expression immediately softened.
"You are really worried about me." With amber eyes swaying, Sayu opened her arms and hugged Kato Yusuke, buried her head in his arms, and asked softly: "What did Yusuke dream about? Was I missing?"
"
Kato Yusuke shook his head, put one hand around her slender waist, and whispered in a deep voice.
"It's something even more annoying... I see you standing in the dark, and I'm like a bystander, and there's nothing I can do for you."
"Is that so?" Sayu's eyes became softer and she said close to Kato Yusuke's ear: "But it was just a dream...right?"
She grabbed Kato Yusuke's right hand with her left hand and intertwined their fingers.
"Because we are here now. Your taste, your touch, your temperature, everything is so real."
As if she wanted to tell this person all her inner thoughts, Sayu Ogiwara chanted softly, "I, from the bottom of my heart, feel that it is great to meet Yusuke."
"I am a coward who likes to escape. I have neither the courage to face the past nor the desire for the future... But..."
"Even if I am like this, Yusuke accepts it without reservation..."
"so."
Her eyes were slightly red, and tears were pouring from the corners of her eyes.
"Although there are still many immature places, I want to stay here, so just let me stay with Yusuke...is that okay?"
As he spoke, a smile appeared on Sayu Ogiwara's face, sadness and happiness emerged at the same time, and that smile seemed both real and beautiful to Yusuke Kato.
The faces in reality and dreams gradually merge.
Looking at this scene, Kato Yusuke reached out and hugged Sayu Ogiwara again, then took a deep breath and said.
"You can stay as long as you want."
"Okay..." Sayu sobbed softly, placing her chin on Kato Yusuke's shoulder, cheek to cheek with him.
"Since coming to Tokyo, I have become quite crying..."
"Ah...it's true." Yusuke Kato stroked her hair and said, "She is just a good-looking crybaby."
"What's that? It's disgusting." The girl said while crying and laughing.
"Hey, Yusuke."
"Um?"
"One day, I want to make you feel like, 'It's great that Sayu Ogiwara can come here.'"
"Really..." Kato Yusuke said with a smile, "Congratulations to you."
"Huh...? This means..."
"Ah." Kato Yusuke nodded, confirming her guess, "It's really great that you can come here. I've thought so before."
"...Yu...suke...?"
The petite body trembled slightly, and hot tears wet their cheeks. The girl opened her mouth, but no words came out.
As if she wanted to melt into this person's body, Sayu Ogiwara squeezed into his arms.
Warm and fragrant soft jade embraces her.
While rubbing his temples together, Kato Yusuke clasped his palms tightly and couldn't help but think of this:
At least this time, I won't let everything in the dream happen again.