Chapter 06 - You don't have to wash them if you're just...

[Full Title: You don't have to wash them if you're just going to peel them, right?]

Curled up in bed, I finished going through the last page of my book and flipped it shut. I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them as I stretched and rolled around, tossing the book aside. Then, with a sigh, I found myself staring at the ceiling.

...

I lost track of time again. As late as it felt, it probably wasn't past two in the morning. If I wanted to go down to the library and find something new, I'd have a bit more than an hour to look around and sit in the comfy beanbag chairs before getting kicked out. Even though the library was open for 24 hours, recently, the late night staff has been really adamant about pushing everyone out before three or three-thirty.

An hour should be fine. I wish they'd let me stay longer, though.

I had crawled out of bed and begun dragging myself to the library, books in hand, when a clock above a doorway caught my eye. It was already four.

I sighed and cursed my sense of time. With nothing to do, I guess I would just take a shower or something. I really didn't feel like falling asleep any time soon. The nightmares that came with sleep were too much to deal with every night. Maybe I could even try to read that one book I stopped reading after the fourth chapter or something.

...

I was actually back in the hospital, so I had to use the public showers instead of using my own bathroom in my apartment. Using the shower here had its advantages, though, since I didn't have to worry about a water bill or worry about the hot water eventually running out. I appreciate the privacy of my apartment though. Actually, I'm not sure if it's really that private. This is the... something'th time they've dragged me out of my apartment. I lost count at some point.

...

Wet footsteps.

"Oh? You're up late. Up early? I usually don't see anyone else here at this time."

"Yeah." I wasn't really sure how to respond, but I decided to let her know I was listening, whoever it was.

"So, which is it?"

"Huh? Oh. Up late."

"Can't sleep?"

"Don't want to."

"Hot showers don't really help with that, you know."

"Oh."

Silence, except for the sound of water. I finished my early morning meditation and dried myself off. The other girl finished off a bit later. She probably was waiting for me.

"One way to not fall asleep is to work out, you know."

"Oh. That's... not something I really do."

"Never hurts to start. Wanna come with?"

"Not really. I don't even know you." I came out of the shower stall fully dressed, and she was already there in full exercise gear. She flashed a grin.

"I'm Katagiri Yurika. Nice to meet you."

"Oh. I'm... Akiyuki. Emiri."

"Oh, so you're THAT girl..."

"Don't say 'THAT girl' and not tell me what reputation I have that I don't know."

She just giggled. "Nothing, don't worry about it. C'mon. Let's go work out, it'll keep you awake."

"I don't really want to..." But she dragged me along anyways. I ended up going with it, too, since I had nothing better to do. Might as well kill time with this and then avoid this girl forever.

...

Apparently, sparring was part of her daily routine even though she said she had no exercise partner. Who was she even sparring against, then?

She came charging, fast as all hell, about to make the widest horizontal slice at me with her naginata that I swore got longer every time she hit me with it.  I somehow managed to block it with my bow, but the impact still knocked me aside. I stumbled and ended up falling flat on my face.

"Weak!" She spun her naginata around her neck and shoulders before stabbing the base into the ground. "How are you even alive? You'd be crushed like a fly out there!"

I could feel my heart squeeze.

"Y, yeah. Yeah. You're right." This was stupid. How the hell was I supposed to use a bow against a weapon like that? Bows aren't supposed to be used like swords. I couldn't even stay out of her range, she was fast as all hell.

"I'm not going to hold back just because you're on the ground!" She came charging, her naginata definitely set to stab me. I couldn't do anything this close - a blast took way too long to prepare and fire. I tried dodging to the side, which worked, but she whapped me with the back end of her big stick. I ate dirt again. Mat, actually, I guess, since we were inside.

She grabbed me by the collar and put me on my feet. I stumbled a bit, still in a daze.

"You definitely look like you've had enough for now. Let's grab breakfast, eh?"