Hospital (6)
Soft, warm thigh flesh yielded gently beneath my hand as I stroked upward. A generous handful of smooth, supple ass filled my palm. I squeezed it greedily while my other hand pressed down on Lana’s back.
“Ah, Ares…! Wait…!”
Her drowsy, half-asleep voice snapped me awake as I buried my face between her breasts. …No, this was still a dream, so maybe I was just sinking deeper into sleep?
Either way—
“Haa, Lana, haa….”
“Nngh….”
I kept my face pressed against her chest, inhaling her scent as deeply as I could. That unique fragrance of hers that always left me restless whenever she came close. Every time I smelled it, I’d wanted to do exactly this.
“Every single time… whenever you came near… I wanted to do this….”
“What… huh?”
“Even though I have a girlfriend… you keep messing with people’s heads….”
The frustration I’d been suppressing for so long bubbled up. I couldn’t forgive her. I’d worked so hard not to betray Ellie, yet this girl acted like my efforts were nothing.
“Kyaa—?!”
I shoved Lana down onto the bed. Her startled expression was oddly satisfying. Of course—this was a dream. In reality she would’ve smiled seductively, but here she wore whatever expression I wanted.
I settled between her legs and pinned her slender shoulders. Her large eyes trembled as she stared up at me, tense.
“You keep doing it… keep shaking people up while smiling so cutely….”
“A-Ares….”
I lifted one of her legs with my hand.
“Kyaa…!”
She let out a small yelp but didn’t struggle or push me away. So she wasn’t going to resist? Was this that whole “mouth says no, body says yes” thing?
Slowly, gently, I stroked the soft inner thigh and brought my face closer.
“Why do you keep tempting me when I told you no…? I already said I have a girlfriend…!”
“Nngh… ah….”
Lana’s breathing grew ragged. Her face flushed, and I could feel her body growing warmer. She felt so warm that holding her would feel incredible. Without realizing it, my face drew even closer. My gaze locked onto her soft lips. I wanted to kiss them. It was just a dream, after all…
“Hey, A-Ares….”
Her pink lips moved, and a cute voice slipped out.
“You said you have a girlfriend, so you’re rejecting me….”
“……”
“Then what about right now…? Why are you doing this…?”
“……”
A dream character was asking me questions. Was that even possible? Or maybe… this wasn’t the dream-Lana asking, but my own subconscious.
“It’s a dream… so if it’s a dream, I can do whatever I want, right…?”
“……”
I gave a vague answer and leaned in again. Just a little more and I could taste those alluring lips. But then—
“So you’re trying to kiss me right now… just because I showed up in your dream? Because I happened to be the girl available?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Or… is this your real… true feelings, Ares?”
“……”
Was my subconscious asking me? If so, what was the answer?
“……”
“……”
Lana’s sweet scent tickled my nose. The warmth of her body made me want to pull her into my arms right now. Was this just simple lust? Or…
“It’s a dream… so be honest… tell me….”
“……I.”
I hesitated before my own question. And then—
“I guess it is my true feelings….”
“……”
“Even though I have a girlfriend… I….”
I admitted it. I was trash. Yeah—even without my memories, I was still trash.
“I have a girlfriend who cares about me so much, and yet I….”
“……”
Once I voiced my true thoughts, my heart began pounding violently. I couldn’t hold back anymore. Facing my own feelings had shattered the last shred of conscience holding me back. I wanted to hold Lana right now.
That honest answer made Lana’s eyes tremble. Then she smiled softly. Was this okay? If so…
I brought my lips forward—
“——Then you can’t.”
“Mmph…!?”
Lana raised her hand and blocked my mouth. Our lips met with her palm between them. Panicked, I grabbed her hand and pulled it away.
“Why, why?! I answered you! So let me do it!”
“…You really want to?”
“I do! I want to kiss you, hold you, do all the things I can’t say out loud! If it’s a dream, it should be fine!”
“Pfft, ahahaha!”
“……”
Hearing my desperate answer, Lana burst into laughter. The tense atmosphere collapsed instantly. Huh? Did that mean even in a dream I couldn’t do it? While I stood there flustered by her laughter, Lana wiped her tears and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Wake up, Ares. You’re still sleep-talking.”
“What…?”
“You’re actually on top of me right now.”
She pulled me into a gentle hug and whispered in my ear.
“Or… should we really do it…?”
“……!!”
I jerked backward at her voice, fully awake now, and frantically patted myself down.
“Th-this isn’t a dream?!”
“Nope. Look around—it’s a hospital.”
“But it’s night! Why are you here?!”
“Obviously snuck in.”
“……”
I had definitely fallen asleep. Then I woke up inside the dream, saw Lana at an impossible hour, and assumed it was a dream. But… it wasn’t a dream?
“Still don’t believe me?”
Smiling, Lana slowly sat up. At the same time she placed her hands on my waist and brought her face to my neck.
“Then how about this…? Still feel like a dream?”
“What—?!”
Smack…
I felt the soft press of her lips against my neck. A slippery tongue lightly tickled my skin.
Smack, smack.
“Kgh, nngh…!”
“……”
She bit down on my neck and refused to let go. At this rate there’d be a mark…!
‘Huh…? This sensation… I’ve felt it before….’
A sudden jolt of electricity ran through my head. Déjà vu…? It felt exactly like a situation I’d experienced once before.
“How is it? Not a dream, right?”
“……”
It wasn’t a dream…
“Wh-what the hell did I just….”
“Ehh~, you already went and did all that and now you’re regretting it?”
While I clutched my head in despair, Lana wrapped her arms around my waist and teased me playfully.
“…You really wanted to, though.”
“Kgh….”
“I’m your favorite, right…?”
“N-no….”
“Liar.”
She giggled. Was she enjoying this? Watching the idiot who went crazy thinking it was a dream—was it funny to her? What a nasty piece of work.
‘How the hell am I supposed to face Ellie tomorrow….’
While I sank into despair and worry, Lana’s face was lit up with a bright smile.
“Well, anyway, if you’re awake now, let’s go.”
“……Huh?”
She stood up and held out her hand.
“Honestly, why do you think I came here in the middle of the night?”
“To do something lewd…?”
“Hmm… that’s not entirely wrong, but…”
Lana grinned and suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Come on. We have to go do your rehabilitation.”
“Rehab…?”
“Don’t you want your memories back?”
Only then did I realize why she had snuck into the hospital at night. …More importantly, wasn’t it just yesterday that a thief stole my gear? This hospital’s security was way too lax.
“Rehab… what exactly are we doing?”
“The doctor said recreating pleasant situations helps with memory recovery, remember?”
“……Pleasant situations?”
In the middle of the night…?
Title: Hey, we’re not supposed to go out at night, right?
From what I saw in the summary post, going out at night is straight-up suicide. Is the inside of the hospital safe though?
I asked the gallery guys after shaking Lana off first. With my memories gone, my judgment was probably shot, so I figured a majority vote would be safer.
So the decision was made. I’d follow Lana.
“Umm….”
“Seriously~, the sun’s gonna come up at this rate. Still can’t decide?”
“No….”
Even with the gallery’s majority vote, I still couldn’t bring myself to move. Ghosts, ghost stories… honestly, I’d only ever seen them on video, so it didn’t feel real. But my body’s instincts were screaming at me to stay put. It refused to let me leave this hospital room.
“Ares… are you scared…?”
“Huh…?”
Lana leaned in, sat on the edge of the bed, and met my eyes. Then she teased me in a small voice.
“……Coward.”
“……”
For some reason, that single word made indignation flare up inside me. Guys really were simple creatures. Instead of primal fear, it was a girl’s disappointed remark that made my body react first.
“I’m not scared.”
“Then why are you like this? Coward, coward. You’re too scared to go, aren’t you?”
“I said I’m not!”
I stood up, annoyed. I knew I was playing right into her hands, but being wrongly accused was even more irritating.
“Let’s go. We just have to go, right?”
“Hehe, are you sure you’re okay? You don’t have to go if you’re scared.”
“Didn’t I say let’s hurry up?”
So I decided to go on a nighttime hospital exploration with Lana.
Gulp.
“……”
Tense, I stared at the doorknob. …Once I opened this door…
Click.
“Aren’t you going out? What are you spacing out for?”
“H-hey!”
While I was still mentally preparing, Lana casually opened the door and stepped out first. Left with no choice, I hurried after her.
“……”
“Waa, it feels kinda tense, doesn’t it?”
“Y-yeah….”
Thud, thud.
The hallway outside the room that I’d walked through countless times during the day now felt incredibly quiet… and somehow unsettling.
‘Was the hospital always like this at night…? No, something’s definitely different….’
I didn’t remember whether I had any kind of sixth sense, but the air felt heavier than usual. Ghost stories and ghosts. The things the gallery guys had talked about finally felt real against my skin.
Just then—
Swish.
“Wh-what the—?!”
“I’m just holding your hand?”
“So why are you holding it…!”
Lana beside me had suddenly grabbed my hand.
“You don’t want me to?”
“Of course not. I have a girlfriend.”
“Hmm~, but you were trying to kiss me earlier.”
“Ugh….”
“You wouldn’t have stopped at just a kiss. If we kept going you would’ve definitely forced—”
“A-alright, I get it, stop.”
“Hehe.”
In the end, I ended up walking through the hospital holding Lana’s hand. Was this really okay…? Well, holding hands wasn’t that bad… No, no, it was still cheating…
“So…? What do we do now? Are we just wandering around like this?”
“Mm-hmm. There should be some kind of rulebook. We need to find that first.”
“……Rulebook?”
“Yeah. If you want to survive the night safely, you absolutely need it.”
A rulebook… The word sounded strangely familiar. …Had I looked for one even before losing my memories?
‘More importantly… we’re supposed to recreate a pleasant experience. …How is this pleasant?’
The dark, gloomy hospital hallway felt more like an unpleasant experience than a good one.
“How is it? Holding hands makes it less scary, right?”
“……”
Well, with this girl next to me, maybe it did feel like a good experience in a way…. The soft hand gripping mine tightly. It felt like she wanted to stay with me, and my heart started pounding for no reason.
‘Ellie… I’m sorry….’
Feeling guilty toward my girlfriend who was probably asleep right now, I walked down the hallway holding Lana’s hand. A little while later, we arrived at the hospital lobby.
“Let’s search here.”
“Okay. ……But shouldn’t we split up to look?”
“Ehh, then we’d have to let go of our hands. Let’s just search one place together.”
“……”
Lana’s cute complaint that she’d rather hold hands than search efficiently. Unable to argue against it, I stayed hand-in-hand with her as we entered the reception desk area.
‘What the hell are we even doing….’
We looked like a dumb couple. Even while crouching down to search through things, we stayed glued together without letting go.
And then—
——Ding-dong.
“……”
“……”
The bell at the reception desk rang. The same bell that called patients who had taken a number.
“……What was that. Did you do something?”
“No, I didn’t touch anything….”
Lana hadn’t touched anything. Neither had I. A machine error? ‘The timing is too perfect for an error….’
A chill ran down my spine. When I looked up, the number display above the desk was glowing red. And then—
“Excuse me….”
A voice came from across the desk. It sounded weak, and even though it wasn’t quiet, it felt strangely faint and hazy, like the speaker had almost no presence.
“Can I ask you something…?”
“What do we do…?”
Lana whispered to me, looking worried. She hadn’t expected this either.
‘Should we just stay still…?’
My instincts screamed at me. Whatever was on the other side of the desk wasn’t human.
“Excuse me….”
The hazy voice spoke again.
“——I’m calling you so why aren’t you answering? How do you handle customers here? If you keep this up I’ll burn this place down.”
The voice had taken on a dangerous edge. Staying silent wasn’t the answer.
“Wait, I’ll get up.”
“Huh…?”
I whispered to Lana and stood up. One of us had to respond. Naturally, it made more sense for me to step up instead of her.
“…I’m sorry, ma’am. …What can I——”
“……”
When I stood up and looked across the desk—
“Huh…?”
There was no one there. And then—
“I wanted to ask for directions….”
“……”
The voice came from below the desk. I slowly peeked underneath.
“Do you know where I can find my legs?”
And my eyes met those of a woman who had no lower half.
‘——Holy shit!’
I almost screamed. I’d expected it wasn’t human. I knew ghosts and ghost stories existed. But actually seeing one made my muscles lock up and my heart pound violently. My voice wouldn’t come out properly from the tension.
“Excuse me… I asked where I can find my legs.”
Because I missed the timing to answer, the legless ghost asked again.
“Ah, well….”
Should I say I didn’t know? No, that wasn’t the right answer. Last time when we tried to ignore her, the atmosphere had shifted. ‘I have to improvise right now….’
I quickly glanced at the hospital map on the wall near the exit. In the dim space, one word caught my eye.
“Uh, the emergency room.”
“……”
“Would you like to go to the emergency room?”
“……”
After my answer, silence filled the reception area for a while. The woman stared at me with a blank expression. Eventually, without saying a word—
Swish, swish, swish.
She crawled across the floor toward the emergency room. A moment later, she disappeared into the darkness.
“What the actual fuck was that….”
My legs gave out and I collapsed on the spot.
“You okay?”
Lana grabbed my hand again, looking worried. Her warmth strangely calmed me down.
“L-let’s get out of here first. Where’s that rulebook you mentioned?”
“I looked but it’s not here.”
“Alright, then let’s go quickly.”
I didn’t know what that thing was, but if we stayed at this desk we might run into another situation like that. We had to leave first. So I grabbed Lana’s hand and hurried out of the lobby.
“Lana… rehab is fine and all, but shouldn’t we just go back to the room?”
“What? Here? …Are you scared?”
“It’s not that I’m scared, it’s actually dangerous…!”
“…You handled it fine just now.”
Did I really handle it fine? I’d managed to send the ghost away with quick thinking, but something still felt off.
‘More importantly… is the hospital room even safe…?’
After what just happened, sleeping alone in the room all this time suddenly felt insane. The dorm rooms were supposed to be safe zones. Was the hospital room the same? What if it wasn’t? …Maybe finding the rulebook should be our top priority. My instincts were screaming that it was.
“…Got it. Then let’s head somewhere the rulebook might be——”
Just then—
Slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap.
“……”
“……”
From the direction of the lobby we’d just left, a grotesque sound echoed through the dark hallway. Lana and I both fell silent and stared into the darkness. A moment later—
────Slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap-slap!!!
“That was a lieeeeee!!!”
The same woman from the reception desk was now crawling toward us at terrifying speed.
“U-uaaahhh!!”
“Ares!”
Panicked, I quickly hid Lana behind me. ‘We’re screwed we’re screwed we’re screwed!!!’
She was moving too fast for me to even think. Her face was grotesquely twisted, veins bulging in her eyes.
“You took my legs, didn’t youuuuu!!!”
She approached me with a spine-chilling voice.
“Uwaaahhh!!!”
It was too late to run. So—
“Uwaaahhh!!! I’m sorry I was wrong!!!”
I charged straight at her and kicked her in the face.
“Lies——!!!”
“You need to go to the blood collection room, not the emergency room!!!”
The woman’s upper body, light without legs, flew into the air. Thud!! Thud!!
She tumbled across the floor a few times before landing upside down, flailing.
“Run!!”
“Pfft…! Ahahahaha!”
Taking advantage of the opening, I grabbed Lana’s hand and started sprinting down the hallway. She was laughing her head off for some reason. ‘Huh…?’
Zap.
And then—
The sensation of kicking the ghost’s face triggered something in my head. A sharp, refreshing feeling. ‘This refreshing sensation… I’ve felt it once before….’
Something that had been blocked up inside my heart. It twitched like it was about to wake up.