Chapter 134: Night, Seaside, And Hoshihara Ai
Recently these days, Hoshihara Ai’s research has been progressing steadily.
She herself is convinced that the realistic dream she frequently enters at night is actually information from a future spacetime.
But she cares more about another kind, a dream she has only experienced once so far.
It was that one afternoon nap, in that dream, where Sakamoto Ken appeared exceptionally real, and their exchange felt just like in reality.
So, these days she has kept up the habit of taking an afternoon nap, hoping to recreate that scene.
However, it has never succeeded.
After attending the morning meeting about the call for submissions, Hoshihara Ai returned to the apartment.
She casually had some lunch, then as usual, curled up on the lounge chair, closed her eyes, and took a short nap.
……
Meanwhile, everyone at the studio was also having lunch.
Everyone ordered takeout together, with Sakamoto Ken paying.
Natsume Mio and Mikazuki Haruna were also hanging out at the studio, freeloading this meal.
However, after the afternoon, they still left the studio together.
Mainly because the two were always glaring at each other, as if afraid the other would take advantage, neither willing to leave first.
Sitting in the chair, Sakamoto Ken picked up the just-completed chapter storyboard draft, flipped through it once, then handed it to Kaji Keiko.
There’s nothing to worry about with the manga side, but Mio and Haruna, the two of them are definitely heavily influenced by memories from the previous life.
Yandere trope or whatever, hard to say, but those two definitely want to fight……
Truly headache-inducing.
It was now two o’clock in the afternoon, when people feel the sleepiest, Sakamoto Ken stretched lazily, directly reclined the ergonomic chair, planning to nap for a bit.
Sakamoto Ken closed his eyes, and his consciousness quickly sank into a haze.
This sensation…… came again.
Sakamoto Ken’s heart stirred.
He was very familiar with this state; after the first time experiencing it, when he opened his eyes, he met Mikazuki Haruna, in her tower apartment in Chiyoda Ward.
The second time, he met Hoshihara Ai, also in her apartment, that house in Bunkyo Ward.
Both experiences were unusually real: touch, scent, sounds…… even emotional fluctuations were no different from reality, just like really returning to a segment from the previous life.
Then, just like in the previous life, they had an intense exchange.
He didn’t reject this feeling; he even somewhat enjoyed it.
The ending of the previous life was certainly unforgettable, but if he could jump to certain segments in the middle and relive them, it had its own flavor.
He just didn’t know who it would be this time……
Mio?
He hadn’t seen Mio in one of these dreams yet.
This girl is a bit tough to deal with in reality, but if it’s a virtual dream, Sakamoto Ken didn’t mind; after all, waking up from a nap would have no consequences.
Her ideas are flashy and gaudy, but in reality, his ideas are even more exciting.
The hazy state didn’t last long; gradually, rhythmic sounds came to his ears.
Splash…… splash……
It was the sound of waves crashing on the beach.
His vision began to clarify; first entering his eyes was a slightly rough dark wooden railing, with a faint salty sea scent and the aroma of wood entering his nostrils.
He was lying on the wooden plank corridor at the doorway of a wooden house, with some fine sand grains scattered on the floorboards.
The night was deep, and faintly, he could see moonlight dancing on the distant sea surface.
This is…… the seaside wooden house in Shonan?
Sakamoto Ken immediately remembered.
In the previous life, he and Hoshihara Ai had spent three days and two nights here.
This was a wooden house guesthouse right next to a private beach, in a secluded environment with no outsiders to disturb.
They had spent a rather…… well, quite memorable time here.
To the point that after returning, he rested for two full days before recovering.
Ai that girl usually seems very aloof, but once she drinks a bit of alcohol, she becomes completely different……
While recalling, Sakamoto Ken suddenly felt a slight pressure on his chest.
He lowered his head.
A slender foot was gently resting on his chest.
The delicate white skin glowed softly under the moonlight, with plump toes slightly curled, nails shining like shells.
From Sakamoto Ken’s angle, he could see fine sand grains on her sole, leaving a faintly itchy sensation on his skin beside him with gentle movements.
His gaze followed up from the ankle.
The long, even lines of her calf faintly visible in the hazy light and shadow, further up……
Blocked by the shadow of the wooden house corridor pillar.
At this moment, that foot pushed lightly, not too hard or soft, and a clear, cool female voice with a hint of laziness came.
“Awake?”
Sakamoto Ken didn’t answer immediately.
He slowly reached out, grasping the ankle of the foot stepping on his chest.
With a slight force, he moved that restless foot off himself.
Then, Sakamoto Ken rolled over and stood up, looking in the direction the voice came from.
Hoshihara Ai was sitting on the wooden chair nearby, her side facing the sea, her face toward Sakamoto Ken.
One of her arms casually rested on the edge of the table, holding a crystal-clear whiskey glass, the amber liquid inside wrapping a round ice cube, refracting a hazy glow under the moonlight.
The sea breeze blew over her; she had no extra fabric covering her body, the bright white moonlight being the lightest gauze on her, unreservedly outlining the graceful undulating curves of her body.
Sakamoto Ken glanced around, confirming the environment here was exactly the same as in his memory.
He looked down at himself again.
Sure enough, like her, he was in the same bare state.
The slightly cool sea breeze brushed his skin, bringing a bit of shiver.
His gaze turned back to Hoshihara Ai.
His mood was a bit complex; staring intently at Hoshihara Ai wasn’t out of lust, but like seeing a lover after a long separation, his eyes half nostalgia and half emotion.
Hoshihara Ai noticed the change in his gaze.
She set down the glass in her hand, the base clinking lightly against the wooden tabletop.
Those eyes, appearing especially deep and bright under the moonlight, met Sakamoto Ken’s gaze.
The two stared at each other like this until Hoshihara Ai moved.
She directly reached out, her slender fingers gently pinching Sakamoto Ken’s chin, forcing him to slightly lift his head to meet her eyes.
“A Jian.” Hoshihara Ai’s voice carried a hint of playfulness, “Why are you looking at me with eyes like that?”
Sakamoto Ken didn’t avoid her gaze, a faint smile hooking at the corner of his mouth.
“Ai,” he said softly, “you look beautiful.”
Pausing, he added, “I missed you.”
Hoshihara Ai was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
The fingers pinching his chin tightened slightly, the probing in her eyes intensifying.
“Is that so?”
She chuckled lightly, released her hand, but her body leaned forward, arms wrapping around his neck, her breath warm: “Missed me…… why didn’t you come find me?”
“Find you?”
Sakamoto Ken repeated those two words in confusion.
This reaction seemed to make Hoshihara Ai even more certain of something.
She withdrew her arms from around his neck, pulling back a slight distance, those deep eyes staring tightly at Sakamoto Ken.
“A Jian, tell me……” her voice became somewhat ethereal, “where is the place we’re meeting now?”
Sakamoto Ken answered instinctively: “Shonan’s seaside.”
Hoshihara Ai slowly shook her head. “I’m not referring to the location.”
Her gaze sharpened, carrying an almost scrutinizing intent.
“Shonan or being with you……” she said slowly, “are memories deeply imprinted in my mind…… but also things I myself haven’t experienced yet.”
Sakamoto Ken’s heart jolted upon hearing this.
What did this mean?
In his impression, they never had such a conversation at Shonan’s seaside.
At that time, they should have been completely immersed in pleasure, right?
Even if they chatted occasionally, they wouldn’t discuss such strange topics.
Dreams shouldn’t be reenactments of past memories?
Even if dreams fabricate plots on their own, they couldn’t make up content that completely didn’t exist in memory, right?
Things didn’t seem as simple as he thought.
While Sakamoto Ken was lost in thought, Hoshihara Ai spoke again.
“You’re the same, aren’t you? You remember these things too.” She looked at Sakamoto Ken, enunciating each word: “March 31, 2015, Saka, mo, to, Ken.”
