It was morning. The sky, which was pitch-black, slowly started to grow brighter.
I’m usually quite fast at waking up, but today I just couldn’t find it in me. Was it because of the makeshift bed that had somehow been cobbled together out of a large amount of uniforms and towels?
Probably not the only reason, because I was still in the amusement park. This was an alternate dimension, right? It would’ve been nice if all my problems had resolved themselves while I was sleeping.
Yawning, I drew air into my lungs in order to gain energy, but I don’t have the will to start moving. Between muscle aches, small scratches and abrasions, and burns, my entire body is throbbing in pain. Blearily wrenching my eyes open, I saw a geometrical decoration hanging off the ceiling. Around me were shelves filled with junk.
This was the amusement park’s gift shop. The lights in the building turned on automatically, and it became bright enough that I could no longer stay asleep. I got up with a groan.
I was in a gloomy mood. Really, I just want to scream. Last night, we were attacked by strange monsters; a monkey and a slug that had combined with some sort of screen. We barely managed to escape from those ominous things with our lives.
Letting the smartbug fly, I had contacted Kousuke, although the note I had attached to it was nearly incoherent. My handwriting was bad enough that I wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to read it. Upon reading the note, Kousuke rushed over and led us to the gift shop.
He also carried Torii, who was in tatters. He even helped give her first aid, although there was no kit, so Kousuke was only able to give her stop-gap treatment. Using torn clothes as bandages, he attached her broken arm to a splint, as well as bandaging her head wounds. Kousuke even went as far as to go to a control room shower to get water so he could clean her wounds, even if he wouldn’t have wanted to, given what happened earlier.
His gallant treatment had some effect, as he managed to keep Torii alive. But she was still gravely wounded, and would need to get treated at a hospital by a doctor as soon as possible. But there’s no way to do that in this dimension, so we still have to leave quickly.
“Denkiya...san. Are you...awake?” Hearing a small voice that felt like it could disappear at any moment, I turned.
Bedding had been made from a bunch of uniforms piled high. Kousuke was considerate and made the bedding, thinking it would be better than sleeping on the bare floor or the ground. All three of us— Torii, Utena, and I— slept on it. Kousuke was probably outside; he’d said that he would keep watch.
Apparently, I was the last one to wake up. I didn’t see Kousuke or Utena, but right next to me lay Torii, who couldn’t move on her own and so lay face up on the bedding.
Looking at her again, I could see her wounds, which were so severe I didn’t want to look at them. She didn’t have anything else to wear, so she was still in her uniform, and she had towels wrapped around her here and there in place of bandages. They were soaked through with blood, and she looked pitiful.
Her right arm was in a splint, and also wrapped tight in towels so that she wouldn’t move it. We wiped her body down with a wet towel, though, so at least she looked clean. I could smell blood even from where I was.
“Good morning,” I greeted her. If I asked her not to call me Denkiya, it would probably only waste her stamina with needless conversation. I straightened out my hair, which had gotten mussed up while I was sleeping, with my fingers.
“Are you alright? Torii-san...I’m so happy you’re still alive,” I told her. “I was worried, you know? It looked to me like you really died last night.”
“Yeah. I’m alright, just barely.” Shrinking back, Torii wriggled her wound-covered body in embarrassment.
“Mishiro-kun...gave me first aid, so... He’s a really...reliable person.” Hearing her call my childhood friend with affection caused my chest to twinge in pain a little, so I put my focus into fixing my uniform. As one would expect, wearing a uniform as is would not make for good sleep. So when sleeping, I loosened it up a little by opening a few buttons, among other things.
Torii must have thought she shouldn’t watch me fix my clothes, so she shifted and turned over slightly, taking care to not move her broken arm. Turning her face away, she sighed heavily. “Sorry.”
I was perplexed, what was she apologizing for? “Kousuke was the one who basically did all of the work giving you first aid,” I told her. “Kagamimori-san and I just did whatever small bits we could, basically. So, save your ‘sorrys’ and ‘thank yous’ for him, okay? ...Are you...friends with him?”
“He’s a kind person, he is,” Torii said. “It looks like he’s always concerned about me.”
“Hmm, is that so?” I was thoughtful. “So Kousuke’s nice to you.”
“I think he’s nice to everyone— wait, Denkiya-san, do you know Mishiro-kun?” Torii asked.
“Did I not tell you?” I said apologetically. “We’re childhood friends. I couldn’t get rid of him, even if I wanted to. We haven’t talked to each other at all recently, though. I never thought we’d wind up in the same weird place together.”
“I wonder what this place is, this...amusement park.” Because of the long conversation, Torii started to painfully breathe shallowly. “It’s like...I’m having a bad dream. If I’m going to dream anyway, I wanted it to be a good one...” Her speech started sounding like she was delirious. She’s hurt, I shouldn’t let her talk too much. Ashamed at my lack of awareness, I stood up, seeing as how I’d finished putting on the uniform, anyway.
I put on my apron and the bandana, too. With this, hopefully I’ve become my usual self. “Umm... Do you know where the others are? I’ll go say good morning— or should I stay here and take care of you, Torii-san?”
“No, it’s fine. You’re a nice person too, Denkiya-san.” Torii smiled gently. She looked kind of like a saint, even though, at school, she’s being bullied and ostracized. There was no shabbiness or pitifulness to her, to the point where it was a little irritating.
Maybe I was also one of the people looking down on her secretly in my heart, thinking her inferior and pitiful. Even so, she was treated nicely by Kousuke... Is this jealousy? I wondered.
“Late last night, Kurashima-san came back all of a sudden. So, Mishiro-kun, he...left somewhere, like they were switching out,” Torii explained. “He said he would do something, investigate? That’s what Kurashima-san said— I was sleeping at the time, so they told me after.”
He does like to investigate, that wannabe hero. I wasn’t...satisfied that he’d left a wounded person and me alone to go off doing whatever he wanted. I also felt a little lonely, and I pouted my lips.
Actually, why does Kousuke always try to go off on his own given the slightest opportunity? Was he really just that uncooperative? While I was thinking those thoughts, I also reacted to a name I hadn’t heard in a while. “Kurashima-san?” I questioned. “So he returned? Where was he, and what was he doing?”
“No idea...” Torii trailed off. “You should go ask him, he should be standing watch just outside. Utena-chan is probably with him, too.” Saying that, Torii closed her eyes.
Thinking that we shouldn’t allow her to get cold, I gently placed towels and uniforms on her, like a blanket. This is about all I could do for her. I thought I should do it, so I did. Ah, all I’m doing is going with the flow.
At the end, just once, I softly caressed her head. I did feel that that was too friendly, though. It was like she was a baby.
“Please rest,” I told her. “I’ll come back soon, let’s get out of here together.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Thank you, kind one—”
Those were the last words I ever spoke to Torii.