The muffled sound of the bell filled the empty classroom, vibrating off the walls like a last gasp of the day. Yoshi opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the light filtering through the windows.
For a moment, he didn't know where he was.
The transition between the dream world and reality had been so abrupt that it took him several seconds to remember that he was still at the academy. The overwhelming weight of exhaustion still clung to his bones, but at least he hadn't been caught this time. Not by Kyria, not by anyone else.
He sat up, noticing the slight creak of the chair under his weight. He looked around. The professor was gone. Neither were most of the students. Perhaps they deliberately ignored him, or perhaps his presence was so insignificant that it simply wasn't worth waking him.
I didn't know which was worse.
She grabbed her things with slow movements, as if her body still resisted moving in this world that was strangely hostile to her. She stuffed the books haphazardly into her bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. As she left the classroom, she took a quick glance down the corridor.
Then he saw her.
Haruka walked from the corridor that connected to the infirmary. Her gait was calm, but her slightly tense shoulders betrayed discomfort. Perhaps still affected by something. Perhaps simply trying to hide her own pain.
"He must have felt bad," he thought.
Pretending not to see her, he lowered his head and continued on his way. Now was not the time to provoke another confrontation. Not with this face. Not after what had happened in the dream.
He crossed the main gates of the school. The sun was lower in the sky, tinting the streets in shades of orange and gold. A warm breeze stirred the trees, blowing a few dry leaves onto the pathways.
He stopped halfway.
He looked up.
The sky, vast and clear, seemed to mock his anguish.
-Should I go back to the dormitory tonight or tomorrow," he muttered to himself.
There was no easy answer. He knew he could not stay much longer at the inn. His money was running out fast, and soon he wouldn't even have enough to pay for another night. But the thought of running into one of his victims in the corridor of the dormitories paralysed him.
"If I go back now, maybe no one will notice me..."
But it was a white lie that even he could not believe.
If they found him... if they discovered that "Tokura Yoshi" was nothing more than a mask for "Tokugawa Hideyoshi", there would be no mercy!
I knew it!
She pressed her bag against her body and resumed walking, her hands sweating slightly from the tension.
"Tomorrow..."
He finally decided.
"I'm moving back tomorrow. I can't keep spending money I don't have."
He sighed heavily.
But just when I thought I could put that anguish behind me, the memories came back.
The words he said to Haruka in the dream.
"I'm not him... I don't have his memories..."
He stopped again.
He squeezed his eyes shut, as if to expel the guilt that coiled like a snake inside him.
It was a lie.
He remembered everything!
Every moment.
Every despicable action.
Every word his former self had spat out sadistically.
It was all still alive inside his mind like scars burning under his skin!
-I am a monster... even if I try to deny it," he whispered into the void.
Therefore, he feared.
I was afraid to close my eyes.
I was afraid of waking up one day and not being "Yoshi" but "Hideyoshi" again.
He feared losing that fragile will that kept him clinging to a stolen humanity.
He feared himself more than any punishment.
"I won't sleep tonight," he decided.
"I can't afford another dream. Not now."
With his heart beating in a painful rhythm, he hurried his steps towards the inn.
Night was beginning to fall, enveloping the world in shades of blue.
And as twilight devoured the last light of day, a new resolve took root in his soul:
Even if it was crawling, even if every moment was a silent torture, he was going to fight that monster inside him!
Even if no one else ever knew about it.