28 Little rat was confused

Anemachi, 22 year old, Sakura Miko's current manager.

Miko had always wondered about Anemachi's past that she had always avoided talking about. Yet the more she tried to hide, the more Miko was curious about it.

"..Hmm?"

In the space of endless white void, Miko opened her eyes to the strange dimension she was in. Her consciousness was vague and weak.

"Where am I?"

Miko's voice sank into the void like a pebble into the sea. The space around absorbed the sound completely. It was a surreal feeling.

"Welcome." A voice appeared inside Miko's head, speaking to her mind directly, "So, you're the little rat that caught her attention huh?"

The voice sounded pleasant, spoken with manners, clearly a women's vocal. It somehow reminded Miko of the snow in the winter, beautiful, cold yet fragile. However, the word she used doesn't quite fit these descriptions.

However, this voice spooked Miko.

"W-who are you-"

"Question we shouldn't. I don't have the time for nonsense." The voice expected Miko's confusion and cut it off, "And to be frank, time doesn't favor this journey of ours."

"What? You can't just do that."

The answer Miko received was quite unhelpful. Especially when this voice looked like it knew what was happening now. "Explain to me please."

"Just focus on the image before you." It however paid no attention to Miko's plea.

As the sentences were dropped, the white void before Miko began to disorient on its own, turning and twisting itself as a black crack started to form. And soon, with the rupture before her becoming larger and larger, Miko suddenly heard the sound similar to a glass breaking.

"W-wait-"

And within that moment, the darkness engulfed Miko's vision within seconds, like the tide consuming its prey in a flood.

Miko, terrified of what was happening before her, closed her eyes.

But she heard no sound coming after her.

"Open your eyes, wimp, and look around." The voice once again appeared.

Miko hesitated. Should she continue to follow this voice? The owner of this voice looked like it had some hostility towards her. Who knew what the voice was up to. But, she doesn't have any clue what was happening now, so following the voice might be a good idea-

"Wake. Up."

"Y-yes!"

Sakura Miko opened her eyes immediately as according to the command. She was still timid deep inside after all. More importantly, the voice was fierce.

And she realized the place she was in had now changed.

She was now in a field of white roses.

The thorn of the roses pricked her skin while the soft petal brushed her feet. A gentle wind blew onto her face, bringing the fragrance of the flowers into her nose. It smelt nice, sweet, as if happiness itself had hugged her.

She looked down. The rose's vine stretched above the white ground and beyond the empty horizon of her vision, seemingly endless. Pale white roses traced along them. They reminded Miko of the white vase that her mom in Hokkaido used to love, beautiful, hard, yet fragile. So, so fragile.

She kneeled down. Perhaps she wanted to preserve her strength, perhaps she just wanted to take her chances and discover more of this ethereal world she found herself dreaming of. Yes, dreaming. She was dreaming, right?

She reached out. The petals looked like pristine dyed glass yet they were as soft as feathers when they brushed her legs. Pure, untouched, and gorgeous.

And as soon as her finger touched it, the petal of the roses immediately began to wilt, extending to the whole flower, and into the whole vine. Eventually, a small circle began to form around Miko, made by the wilted flower.

"..." Miko was stunned by what's happening right now.

"Look in front of you." The voice yet again spoke.

"Huh?"

Miko followed the voice's order and lifted up her head, wondering what more the voice wanted to show her. Is this a dream? Is this another world? Is this reality?

She sought answers, yet she received more questions.

She gazed ahead. She saw a person who had left a deep trail inside of her heart. Who held a special position in her heart.

There, a pink haired girl sat silently on an empty ground, surrounded by flowers. Her arms were covering her knees, her head hugging against her thighs. Although far away, she still sensed the moody aura of Anemachi.

She doesn't look fine at all.

"Anemachi?"

Miko left her position as she moved towards Anemachi. She wanted to get close to Anemachi. She wanted her heart to be closer than ever to that person. Now that she thinks about it, has she ever understood her?

Images of the past began to play. Anemachi working alone in her office silently, Anemachi arguing with the management for ads opportunity and sponsorship, Anemachi's occasional late visit at her home when she was streaming at midnight, Anemachi's word when she was often feeling down.

Yet, Miko always felt the wall between her and Anemachi's heart, a wall created by Anemachi to prevent others from entering her heart. It was as if she was hiding something, or rather, she was afraid of something.

Miko wanted to do something for her, anything, if for one day…

She can see Anemachi smile from the bottom of her heart.

"Urgh!" Yet a bone deep pain coming from the feet stopped her steps

She yet again looked down on the ground. There, vines began circulating both her legs, the thorns on it scratching through her skin, it was as if someone was using a rope to restrain her, preventing her from moving on.

Worse still, the vine continued to grow.

"Let me go!"

Miko screamed out her frustration, angry at the vine or perhaps herself. The pain from the thorns meant nothing to her, she and Anemachi both suffered much worse wounds than before. But, her strength wasn't enough for her to struggle from the grips of them.

"Urgh, damn it!"

She reached out her hand instead, grabbing the vine and forcing them to separate from her feet. The thorns pierce through her skin, leaving scratches and blood behind. Yet, the strength on the vine was proven to be too thick and strong, and Miko's hand wasn't able to pull it apart.

"Best to save your strength. You have reached the end of the road, for now."

"Why is the vine stopping me? And why is Anemachi there?"

After a few more futile attempts at ridding the vine, Miko finally gave up the idea of moving on. Instead, she began questioning the voice who seems to know more about this place.

"Look around harder. Don't waste your pretty eyes on binging through manga only."

"Huh?" Miko was confused.

But when she followed the instructions of the voice, she finally understood what it wanted to convey.

She wasn't the only one here.

There was a black haired girl she had seen before in the company a few days ago, a blue haired girl with a two side ponytail, a middle aged woman who looked like Anemachi, a tall girl with straight orange hair, and many other people. She even saw Sora and A-chan among the crowd, though they were quite far away from her. All of them however had their eyes closed, as if they were sleeping.

All approaching Anemachi, and all are the same with her, twangled by the vine. Some are closer to Anemachi than others.

"...What is this?"

Miko was getting more and more confused.

"This is her world, little rat." The voice finally explained, "Her inner world."

"Anemachi's world?" The word sounded fancy for Miko.

"There are many terms and names for it but that will suffice. You can see this as a projection of her actual thoughts and emotion."

"Anemachi's thoughts...Then, who are you? Are you Anemachi's subconscious?"

"That shall be none of your business." The voice paused for a while, "I'm just a foolish soul in a place that I shouldn't be in."

"...I see."

Miko can't help but ask the question she had inside of her, "Then, why am I here? Why is everyone here? Did you drag me here? Why is Anemachi acting that way? Why are the vines stopping me from moving further? What do the white roses mean? Why-"

"Enough questions. We don't have time"

The voice lets out a sharp sigh, "Jeez, why did she even consider you as important in the first place...I didn't even think I was mean this much to her until the second year we were together…Damn it, I swear I will remember this."

"Uhm, hello?"

"What is it stupid rat!?"

"A-ah, n-nothing!"

Best to not piss off the voice while it was in some unstable state.

"Fuff...Anyway, Anemachi was not in a good state as you can see. You didn't get tricked by her act right?"

"A-act?"

Miko knew that Anemachi was hiding something. But to call that an act...Won't that be a bit too serious?

"An actor on the stage performing for his audience's satisfaction. A celebrity showing off her best side to the world. This is the life that this Anemachi had lived until now, well, half the life. The other half is about being approached or approaching helpless humans like you."

"Do you really know her? The girl that is known as Anemachi now."

The voice spoke. This time, however, into Miko's heart.

Had she ever tried to understand this girl who had been protecting her for these few months?

"I...I…" Word failed to come out. Doubt beset her. But she forced herself to continue, "I-if I really don't know her, then how about you just explain everything to me then? Why bring me here without answering my question? If I just have any sort of context, I could much better-"

"It doesn't matter."

"What does the vine mean? What do the white roses mean? Why is she like this right now? All of these things, I have the answer to. But does it really matter if I told you everything right now? Does it change anything? Will you really understand her more?"

Her voice boomed through the ceaseless voice, echoing repeatedly until Miko herself comprehended the message sent. Silence for what felt like hours before the voice spoke again.

"Sakura Miko."

"Don't make the same mistake I did."

"And...Don't leave her alone, ever."

"Help her."

No word can describe the regret she had. A mistake that would take years to repair. But she can no longer be there to fix it.

That's why. "Sakura Miko."

"Please, help her."

The body of Miko began to fade away as she was about to wake up. But the voice continued to speak.

"Don't repeat the mistakes I made. Don't make her be alone anymore. It's heartbreaking even for a spirit. Well, entities of the past shouldn't worry that much, shouldn't they?"

But, if she had a choice, if she could go back in time.

If she could speak to Anemachi again.

"I love you, forever."