~*Miyuki*~
Kuori was out like a light after the movie was over. I listened as his heart beat slowly, and felt his breath steadily flutter my hair. I didn’t think he realized how close of a call he had today. That man was dangerous, and that was all I knew. Taisuke hadn’t told me anything else about his former boss. He said that the less I knew, the better. As strong as I knew Kuori was, I knew one thing was for certain. He couldn’t win forever. Nobody is perfect, including the infamous Zero. I just hoped that the day would come when Kuori didn’t have to steal items anymore. There had to be a limit on the amount of objects in the world that were cursed, right? I wanted that day to come soon, very soon. Then we wouldn’t have to worry so much. After all, we had just graduated from high school. ‘Wow…’ I thought. I was no longer in high school. I wasn’t going to go back to school shopping like usual anymore. No scrambling to get summer homework done, or stressing about what teachers I was going to have, or being forced to see certain people again. ‘This, changes everything.’ What college was I going to go to? When would I go? When would I have the money to even do it? How would this affect my relationship with Kuori? I glanced up at his face. It was so soft, peaceful, and he looked so young. He was like an angel. It seemed like I had just gotten him, even though we had been together for a long time now, and have known each other way longer. I didn’t want to lose him. I refused to let him go. I held onto him a little tighter, and heard him mutter.
“Not...Zero...” I caught. I figured he was dreaming about his encounter with the chief.
“It’s alright.” I whispered.
“Mi...” He responded. “Run...” His breathing quickened and his heart began to pound.
“Kuori?” I pondered whether or not I should wake him.
“N-No.” He said a little louder. I could feel beads of sweat on his palms as he clenched onto my back.
“Kuori it’s alright, you’re dreaming.” I shook him a little.
“Don’t touch her!” He yelled.
“Kuori!” I said equally as loud. His eyes shot open, and in them was a look of pure terror. He wildly shot up and looked around quickly. “It’s just a dream, it’s only a dream.” I said calmly. He collapsed onto his back and brought his hands to his face to wipe the cold sweat away.
“Just, a dream.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, are you alright?” I asked.
“I’ll be fine. I woke you up.” He said apologetically.
“No, you didn’t. I’ve been awake, thinking.” I answered propping my head on my hand as my elbow held me up.
“About?” He asked as he continued to look up at the ceiling trying to bring himself back down to earth.
“A little bit of everything.” I answered. “Like how we aren’t high scholars any more, what’s going to happen next. You know, things like that. It’s all pretty daunting. It’s, kinda scary.” I admitted. He turned and looked at me.
“What are you afraid of?” He asked.
“I don’t know, just, not knowing what lies in store. I don’t have the words to describe it.” I tried explaining.
“But, you’ve never known what was going to happen in the first place, right?” He asked. Kuori had a good point. I’ve never known what the future held, but this time, it was different.
“I agree with that. It’s just that, now it feels strange. It was like a large structured system before, I always knew what the basics were going to be, but now it’s like a slate that has been wiped clean. Nothing is going to guide me anymore.” I stopped and looked at him. His bright blue eyes sparkled, and he smiled as sweetly as I have ever seen him smile before.
“You’ll have to guide yourself. Make your own choices. And I’ll be right there behind you, supporting you every step of the way.” He ran his fingers through my hair, and I kissed him softly.
“And I’m going to do the same thing for you. I promise.”
“Deal.” He chuckled a little.
“So, what were you dreaming about that got you so worked up?” I asked curiously.
“Oh, well, the chief was there, and he had you, and I, I was absolutely terrified, but furious at the same time. Something inside of me clicked, and then that’s when I woke up.” He looked down slightly.
“That was quite an experience you had today.” I murmured as I gently touched his bruised cheek, and then his bandaged arm. “I think it got to you a little. Besides, he has no clue who you are, and therefore, can’t suspect me for anything.” I reasoned. “Now, we need to get some sleep. Some real sleep.” I added. Before I could blink, Kuori had me pinned to the bed underneath him.
“Who said we were going to get any sleep tonight?” He smirked. I felt my face get scorching hot in an instant. I kept dodging his eyes, unsure if he was really joking, or if he was even slightly serious. He must have sensed my discomfort, because he let my hands go and flipped back to his side of the bed. Kuori took my hand and brought it to his lips. “I was only kidding.” He said. I smiled and snuggled up next to him.
“Good night. No more bad dreams, alright?” I said.
“Alright.” He closed his eyes and held me close. I soon let everything I had been thinking about go, and fell into a deep sleep. But deep down inside, a dark feeling was brewing. I hoped it was all because of the stress I was feeling from realizing I had graduated, and that I wasn’t sensing something else.
