Opium Dreams

A mysterious woman arrives in Tokyo . She has the face of an innocent, but behind her peaceful amber eyes lie dark secrets she alone knew...

Sano opened his eyes, surprised by Megumi's reaction. He looked down and saw the bright red spot where the flesh wound had been. The sight shocked him although he felt no pain, not even a slight tingling.

Megumi raised her amber eyes at him, silently asking him. Sano nodded and closed his eyes. He felt her cold fingers gently probe his shoulder, feeling along the swollen red spot. When she touched the place where the wound must be, he felt a sharp pain and he grimaced then. Sano opened his eyes to look at the woman in front of him.

"Is it bad?" He asked.

Megumi did not reply. Suddenly, she felt a soft tug on her sleeves. She looked down to find one of the little girls standing beside her.

"What's wrong with Sano? Is he hurt?" The young girl's eyes began to mist.

"Sano's okay, Suzume-chan," Sano said, smiling at the kid reassuringly. "Don't cry now. Hey, you know what? Why don't you and Ayame go back inside, all right?" He said this so the girls won't see how his injury, now that he was aware of it, was really paining him.

Suzume remained unconvinced. "But what about Sano? Sano come with us. We go back inside," she said.

Sano was now leaning against Megumi, relying on her for support. His legs were beginning to feel weak and he could barely keep his eyes open. He cursed, wondering why he didn't notice any difference before. Perhaps it was Megumi's close proximity. What was it with this girl? Whenever I'm around her, I'm driven to do things that astonish even me.

Sano staggered and Megumi steadied him with her soft hands. The moment caused both of them to look up at the same time and their eyes found each other. Something leapt within their depths and the feeling scared them so that they both looked away.

Suzume was saying, "Sano go back with us. Sano go. Suzume not go without Sano. Sano --"

"Suzume-chan," Ayame, who had kept her silence all that time, suddenly stepped forward and laid her hand gently on her sister's shoulder. Then she led her away, looking at both Sano and Megumi who was smiling at her softly. The two girls turned and headed back inside.

As soon as they were gone, Sano let out a low groan. The pain made him almost feverish. Megumi laid him down softly on the grass under a cherry blossom tree. Then she touched his forehead and studied his pupils. The poison was acting up quickly. After staying dormant for quite some time, it suddenly took effect. There was no time for her to go and fetch the old doctor. She had to deal with this herself.

Megumi watched Sano's bright, young face contort in pain. What should I do?

The Takani was a family of doctors. Megumi's father was a renowned doctor in their village. Since she was a child, she had been exposed to all sorts of medicine and herbal practice. That was how she found out about the plant that poisoned Sano's friend...and now him, too. But she was only young and she had never been formally trained in medicine. I can't do anything for him, she thought defeatedly. The way this poison acts, it will all be over in a few minutes...

Sano was in extreme pain. He kept thrashing his arms and twisting his legs. His throat was on fire and he wanted so bad to scratch it. He couldn't understand the sensations he was going through. One minute, he was cold; the next, he felt unbelievably warm.

Sano didn't realize it but he was mumbling out loud. He held Megumi's right hand in a death grip, clinging to her and affirming that she literally held his life in her hands. He stared up at her, his eyes bright and unfocused. Megumi was looking down at him and there was no emotion in her eyes. She then gently placed her cold hand over Sano's and removed the hand that was within his tight grip. Sano closed his eyes and immediately felt the darkness consume him.