The corridor was silent again, except for the distant echo of fading footsteps. He could stand there, petrified with guilt, or he could do something.
What if this was their only chance?
-I am in this world in my true guise," he whispered. If I can convince her now... if I can at least get her to listen, maybe... just maybe, she won't attack me if she ever finds me out.
Without another thought, he broke into a run in the direction Haruka had taken. His footsteps echoed violently against the ground, as if this dream world was trying to warn him not to do so. But the decision had already been made.
The corridor curved. She turned left. She saw the faint swish of a skirt rounding another corner. She sped up, ignoring the burning in her legs, the growing ringing in her ears.
-Haruka! Wait! Just listen to me for a moment!
There was no response. Only the violent throbbing in his chest.
He descended the stairs, crossed a corridor that felt narrower than usual, as if the walls were closing in on him. He passed through the empty classrooms, the doors ajar like mute mouths.
At the end, a dim red light illuminated the emergency exit.
And then he saw her. Standing by the doorframe, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Head down, shoulders tense.
When she looked up and saw him approaching, her eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost.
He stopped abruptly a few steps away. Sweat was pouring down his face. He held up both hands as a sign that he meant her no harm.
-Don't come near me," she murmured, her voice weak, trembling.
-I know, I know," he said quickly, "I'm not coming closer. Just... just listen to me, please.
Haruka did not speak. But she didn't leave either.
-I know how you see me. And that's your right. I don't expect you to trust me. I don't expect you to believe me. But at least let me explain one thing to you.
Her eyes, big, full of a fear that hurt to look into, remained fixed on him.
-I am not that person," he continued, his voice cracking. I am not.... Tokugawa Hideyoshi. Or rather, I am no longer. I don't know why I ended up in his body. Or how. But I'm not him. I don't have his memories, or his soul. Only the echo of what he left behind.
Haruka pursed her lips. Her breathing was rapid. Every word seemed to make her flinch more.
-I know what he did. I know it was monstrous. I know because... -He paused, looked down, because I saw it too. I was there. At that cursed scene. In that place that no one should have ever set foot in.
He looked up, his eyes red with anguish.
-The first thing I did was scream. Scream in horror. Of despair. Because... I couldn't allow it. And that's why I stopped. And that's why I'm trying to change. I don't care if everyone hates me, if no one forgives me. But if one day I'm found out, if you... find me out...
The wind blew through the corridors. It carried with it the distant murmur of a non-existent bell.
-I want you to at least remember this. That I told you the truth. That I knelt down in this absurd world, with this face, with this guilt... and asked for forgiveness.
He sank slowly to his knees, his knees hitting the ground with a dry sound. He lowered his head.
Haruka did not move. For an instant, the tension seemed to evaporate from the air. As if the dream doubted its own continuity.
He did not get up. He didn't speak any more. He just let the silence envelop him.
And then, after long seconds, he heard a barely audible whisper:
-If what you say is true... then you live in a hell worse than mine.
He looked up slowly. Haruka was looking at him. No longer with fear. But with an expression somewhere between pity and bewilderment.
-But that doesn't change what happened," he added. His hands were shaking slightly.
He nodded.
-I know.
She took a step back. Then another. But she didn't run away. And before disappearing down the corridor, she gave him one last look.
-I don't know if I'll ever be able to believe you. But now... at least I heard it from your mouth.
And he left.
Sleep trembled slightly around him. The lights flickered. The echo of his footsteps died in the distance.
Yoshi remained kneeling, without moving. Because in that instant, in the silence and darkness, he felt something he hadn't felt since he came to this world:
A seed of redemption. Fragile. Painful. But real.
Or so he thought.