That day, the sound of Hoshino's footsteps seemed to echo farther down the empty halls of Abydos High School.
The onslaught of the sandstorms had left many areas where golden grains on the floor swapped a single tap for a rustle – and in the worst areas, it was as she weren't walking at all. The silence made this school, even for less than a minute, a part of the sprawling ghost town outside.
Then the sound returned, and the mission remained.
That mission that was hers, somehow – the mission that would drag this all-consuming gold out of Abydos and return the sound of the entire district: Yume's dream.
Dream's dream, Hoshino thought. The President lacked enough self-awareness as it was – but to have a name that meant "dream" and to have an impossible dream?
Perhaps Hoshino would give the President some levity if Yume grasped the realpolitik of the situation – yet, Hoshino also knew that two days' worth of moping and griping was enough for one incident.
If her dream comes true… perhaps it will be worth all these headaches, Hoshino thought as she arrived at the annex. Without slowing down or knocking, Hoshino barged her way in.
"I'm back, Yume… Forget what happened. I'm totally over it." Hoshino tucked a bit of her short, pink hair behind her ear. "More importantly…"
She had barged in without bothering to scan the room. This was the usual time Yume would have another scheme, another petition, another struggle cooked up, and yet…
Hoshino turned in a slow three-sixty. "…Yume?"
Without meaning to, Hoshino tightened the grip on her shotgun. As if he her insides were a lava lamp with multiple colors, fear, anger, and paralysis rose and gave way to each other.
My phone! Hoshino reached into her pocket. During her two day silent treatment, Hoshino had purposely turned off her phone. She hadn't thought to turn it on until now. Even as she waited for her phone to boot up, that lava lamp gradually morphed into an engine, and Hoshino could hear that engine in her ears: badump-badump-badump-badump.
There were two missed calls on the day Hoshino left, a few hours after she had stormed out on Yume, and there was one missed call from yesterday. Hoshino attempted to call Yume. The phone rang… and kept ringing until the automated voice message triggered.
Yume's prerecorded voice sang out: "Hello~, you have reached Kuchinashi Yume, the President of the Abydos Student Council! I'm busy doing something right now – but I promise to get back to you! Thank you for reaching out. If you're going so far to call me… I just know that we have the same dream for Abydos. No matter what, we're going to get through this – together."
Then there was a beep – the place where Hoshino was supposed to leave a message.
Even as the panic sank deeper into her gut, this little beep – this little overlooked detail – curved her mouth upward.
It was so like her. Yume had forgotten that after her voicemail the caller would leave theirs.
For a few moments, you sounded so dependable, Yume. After Hoshino pressed the red button to hang up, she noticed something that had passed her by in her rush to call Yume.
Hoshino had a voicemail – from yesterday.
For a few moments it was as if her ghost had left her body: she was frozen. Even while cradling her shotgun in her other arm, its strap thrown around her body, her arm shook. If she had put her finger on the trigger, she would have fired it into the ground. Something told Hoshino that if she did not press play, then this icy delta would continue growing up from her belly into her lungs – suffocating her.
She pressed play, and there was the sound of fast wind from the phone's speaker. Yume's voice just barely pierced through.
"I'm sorry… Hoshino."
And it was as though Hoshino's veins were filled with oil: her head was so light, she became dizzy.
"The signal is cutting out – there was an urgent matter, so I had to cross the desert, and-"
A loud tchhhk sound cut her off. With the static from the unstable signal, Hoshino had to strain to catch every syllable.
"I…" The wind dusted away the next few words. "Sandstorm-" Yume's own breath stuck in her throat.
There was some time where only the wailing gust came through the phone. It was as though she went dark, but then there was those next few words that changed everything. In the past, Hoshino had teased Yume for having a way of intoning her voice as if she were playing one of those comedic flutes – up, down, up down. In truth, Hoshino loved that sound – even if she could never admit. It sounded as if Yume were always laughing while speaking – but those next withered words. It was as though she hadn't been breathing for a whole minute.
"Hoshino… I'm sorry."
And every part of Hoshino ignited.
"I forgot the compass again."
All the lightness in her veins, in her head, in her abdomen, in her legs, in her arms, in every cell of her body, lightning running up and down her nerves, skin crawling then running – Hoshino made a noise as her throat closed up, and it all lit on fire. Her eyes turned white-hot like the afternoon sun. Tongues of fire licked up her fingers, anticipating the paths she'd claw through the air in her dreadful pursuit. The muscles in her arms and legs tensed, and the pain was as though geysers of steam had screamed out between her muscle fibers. In her hazardous sprint, a cape of wind formed.
"I wrote you a note, but I'm leaving you a message here too. Please be sure to get my notebook. I left it for you. It's at *tchhhk*. It should be easy for you to find! Hoshino… I… "
The message cut off just as Hoshino reached outside.
A/N: No Hoshino*Terror yet. Hoshino is just… very intense after hearing the message.
I really liked Traces of a Dream, so I was inspired to start a what-if scenario for Hoshino and the main story. This will be an expansive scenario, so it will likely be my longest work yet. Likewise, it would be too long to prewrite, and I'd just rather not prewrite this time either. Next chapter will be longer, though.
How much damage will be done before Sensei arrives? Will Sensei be able to save Hoshino? Whatever the case, I hope it will be satisfying for the readers.
Until next time.