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the grass below me was damp, a little wet, and it smelled like dirt. i was catching my own breath laying down with another girl beside me. "are you... doing good there...?" the blonde haired girl spoke between her breaths, her name was toriko. we were running for our lives just a second ago after encountering a strange creature on our way back. we were covered in bruises and our clothes were stained dirty with who knows what substances were in this world, the otherside, the world that belonged to me and toriko alone.
"yeah... how about you...?" i weakly said.
"a little... tired... can we lay here for a little while...?"
"mhm... i think i scraped my knee... too..."
"want me to kiss it for you...?"
there she goes again with her uncalled flirting, it was sudden it took me off guard.
"no, thanks."
"aww..."
i already knew what face she was making without seeing it for myself, that gloomy eyes and a slight pout, yeah.
we were staring at the boundless sky, unlike the real world, this one felt... empty. it wasn't necessarily dark blue like how it was supposed to be, rather it was plain black.
"hey, toriko..." i moved my head, now facing her. she was still panting from all the running we had, eyes closed. i stared at her golden locks for a while, her face looked so soft despite it being covered with light mud and bruises, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly.
it's not fair at this point, for a girl to be this pretty...
"...yes?" she answered.
"has the sky here been so... dark...?"
"hmm..."
it was way too dark, i imagined it to be a little brighter due to this vast world, but it really was just black, with no noise, no stars.
that might be it, there were no stars here to lighten this endless night, unlike the bright and colorful sky in the real world, this one has none. it was a little sad yet... it brought me a sense of calm, of peace.
i sensed a tinge of deja vu, it was from way back then. i was laying down in a little puddle alone, staring into the sky. but it was daytime so the sunlight there was illuminating everything beside me, its light pierced right through my eyes.
now that i remembered, the sky back then was way more captivating than this, it was light blue with faint clouds covering it making it look alive, yet, i felt empty. it was stunning compared to the dark sky i was looking at, but now, i felt more... peaceful. what was the difference...?
"...no," toriko answered after her long pause, "the sky, it's bright." i opened my eyes wide and shot her with a confused look, "huh...?"
"mhm... to me, it's beautiful..."
she turned her head slowly facing towards me. with her tired, blue eyes, looking softly at me.
"because i'm looking at you, sorawo, you are my night."
i couldn't help but keep staring at her. usually, i got slightly annoyed when she's being this way but her eyes looked so frail, i wouldn't want to make her cry.
"...your night?" i asked to break the silence.
"mhm..." she moved her left hand, the sound of grass brushing each other,
"...you are the night i always look forward to after an exhausting day," she moved her head closer to mine,
"the quiet night that always comforts me,"
close, way too close, is she going to kiss me again?
"you are..."
her hand carefully reached the back of my hair, pulling it closer until our forehead touched, eyes closed, the softness of her hair scraping mine, it was gentle.
"...the most important person in the world to me, sorawo."
"..."
that... sent butterflies to my stomach. i get it now, no matter how dark the sky was, no matter how empty this world is, with toriko being here... already filled all the void in my heart. the reason why i felt peaceful despite the sky being so dim compared to back then, was because of toriko. toriko was here with me.
as much as i hate it, i was surprised she didn't kiss me but...
"...sorawo, i love you."
the way she slowly pronounced my name, the way i felt her hand caressing the back of my hair.
...i wish she'd kissed me.
i didn't respond, whatever words came out of my mouth would never match hers. her words felt heavy, like she put a lot of emotions in them, it was genuine. mine... wouldn't sound like that, it would feel empty and that would break her heart.
i love her.
i love her so much.
but... is it the same kind of love...?
i don't know.
i felt her hand loosen a little and her head gradually dropped to the ground, she fell asleep. i took my time admiring her adorable face again. there was dirt on her cheek and her eyes seem swollen for some reason, her face was a little red too. had she been crying? no, i didn't remember seeing her cry today, so probably it was from all the running, it must've left her really tired. unconsciously, i brought my hand towards her cheek, trying to brush the dirt off without waking her up, her shallow breath brushed against my palm.
my eyes felt heavy,
let's sleep here for a bit...
i moved my head closer, my hand reaching hers to hold. i closed my eyes, we stayed like this for a while.
"sorawo..."
"hm..."
"i smell blood..."
"huh...?"
oh, it was from me, my knee was bleeding, i thought it was just a little scratch since it just felt numb. since the wound was hidden from my pants that were stained blood at this point, i didn't know it was pretty bad. i left it for hours too and the wound hadn't completely dried itself. does that mean i was bleeding the whole time? how am i not dead yet!? toriko suddenly forced herself to a sitting position.
"you are bleeding, sorawo!"
"oh, yeah?"
"how can you answer that so lightly!?"
"we've been dealing with otherside phenomenons for a while now, toriko, so this is nothing."
"still! let me tend to your wound at least...!"
"do as you like."
she reached into her backpack, took out a water bottle, clean clothes, and some bandages she always prepared. she hurriedly open the cap and washed her hands first, was that like a first aid procedure thing...? she started pouring water into the clothes and then pressed it gently to my wound.
"ouch!?"
"hey! don't move too much!"
"well try to be more gentle!"
"i thought i already am...!"
"it still hurts!"
i writhed in pain, i didn't realize it would feel this painful, and she was just cleaning it with clean water too! just thinking about how antibiotics would feel made me shudder. i closed my eyes preparing for whatever comes next.
huh? it feels soft.
i opened my eyes a little,
toriko had her face near my wound, and the side of her lips had caught some of my blood.
she left a little kiss on it.
"feeling better?"
this dumbass...!
toriko had her usual smirk, probably because i went quiet all of a sudden. i had my hand covering half of my face, and the tip of my ears felt hot. but that wasn't because i was flustered, i was shocked!
was i...?