fever dream | miyamura izumi

eight

"Izumi, i-it's okay, I'll just go home now," Kisa looked at him, apologetic. She hated that he was dragged into this mess, and she hated that he now knew her darkest secret. Kisa cried in pain as her father continued to drag her down the street by her hair.

But the fire in Miyamura's eyes didn't subside at her words; it only grew.

"Mr. Takagi," he said calmly, but there was nothing calm about him. "I will call the police and tell them all about how you hurt your daughter. It takes 3 minutes for them to come and you'll rot in prison. Now get the fuck away from Kisa."

Kisa's eyes widened and her heart stopped beating. It was almost as if the threat scared her as much as it did her father. She felt her father halt and his grip let go of her; she knew he had to back down.

She was pushed to the floor, before her father yelled, "You'll regret threatening me, boy. And Kisa, let's see what happens when you come home."

With that, he left, and Miyamura rushed to the girl on the ground. Kisa let out a sob she'd been holding in, as he put his arms around her.

It was their first embrace, and Kisa had dreamed of it for a long while, but it had been ruined by the series of events that caused it. She didn't think their first hug would include tear stains on his shirt and scrapes on her arms, as she desperately clung onto him like he was her lifeline.

He kneeled on the concrete beside her, letting her cry into his chest. "I'm so sorry, Kisa."

"Why are you sorry?" she said, muffled by the way her face was buried in his shirt.

"I... I knew someone was hurting you, I've never bought the boxing excuse. But I didn't help you. I could've helped you," Miyamura breathed and he clutched on tighter to the girl.

She pulled away from his chest, looking up at him with her watery eyes. "That's not your fault. You can't help me. I- I don't need help, okay?"

Miyamura frowned at her withdrawal. "What do you mean? You can't keep going like this. Listen, why don't you report him, Kisa?"

Those words struck a nerve in the girl and she immediately recoiled. "No," Kisa shook her head over and over. "No. I can't report him. You wouldn't understand."

"Help me understand," he grabbed her hand, but she coldly took it away from him. She immediately regretted doing so, seeing the hurt expression on his face.

"Izumi, I know you only want to help, but reporting him will only make things worse. It's fine," she stood up wobbly, Miyamura steadied her. "I'm fine."

She began to walk, slightly limping from the gashes on her knees. She didn't know where she was going, but the conversation they were having was one she just couldn't handle.

"Kisa please, you can't walk like that,"Miyamura followed after her. "Just let me help, okay?"

Kisa felt relieved that he finally dropped the topic, and stopped walking. She became confused when the boy went to stand in front of her, turning around and crouching down.

"What are you doing?" she poked his back.

Miyamura looked at her over his shoulder. "Get on my back."

"Izumi, you don't need to do that," Kisa felt her face warm up, and she was sure a pink tint covered her cheeks. She suddenly felt insecure; Miyamura was probably around her weight. There was no way he could possibly carry her for more than five minutes.

"Just get on, Kisa," he wiggled his fingers behind him, signaling her to jump. "I won't drop you."

She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her. As if that was the problem.

"But-"

Before Kisa could protest any further, she felt her legs being grabbed and wrapped around the boy's waist. She gasped in surprise, balancing herself by holding his shoulders.

Miyamura was shockingly strong, Kisa supposed he was secretly hiding muscle under all the winter clothes he always wears.

She rested her chin on his shoulder and braced her arms around his neck as he carried her.

Kisa tried not to think about how good his hair smelled and how close her face was to his; she pushed away the feeling in the pit of her stomach when she became too aware of his soft hands on her legs. But all those efforts were a lost cause, because everything about him was consuming her. And he had no idea.

"We're going to my house. I want you to stay overnight and we can figure things out, alright?" Miyamura said.

There's nothing to figure out, Kisa thought. "Okay."