My weekend was mostly occupied by several social engagements, and the only thing left was to visit Seto Asaka.
Naga felt that Asaka's ordeal was related to what he had done in his dream. Although he felt no remorse in the dream, the real-life consequences still made him feel terrible. Moreover, the kind of ordeal he experienced was truly a disaster for a conservative woman.
"Section Chief, you really are... uh, unexpectedly kind." Miku, who had accompanied him through all the social engagements, naturally joined in this one as well. This made Naga feel a little more at ease, otherwise, if he were to face Asaka alone, he probably would have a hard time maintaining a normal expression.
Asaka comes from a single-parent family; her father is always busy with work. When Naga rang the doorbell and saw Asaka herself answering, he wasn't too surprised. After all, no matter what setbacks one encounters, life goes on.
Asaka looked thinner than when she started working, her cheeks were slightly sunken, and her eyes revealed a gloomy weariness. She looked at Naga, who was carrying fruit, smiled gratefully, and stepped aside, saying softly, "Please come in."
After sitting on the sofa in silence for nearly two minutes, Miku finally broke the silence.
"Um... Seto, are you feeling better?"
"Yes, it's all over now." Asaka lowered her head, her slender fingers intertwined, and blue veins appeared on the back of her fair hand.
Naga opened her mouth, only to find that her voice was uncontrollably hoarse with nervousness. "Your colleagues are all worried about you. Actually... there's no need for you to resign."
Asaka was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head slightly in the middle of her long, flowing hair. "I... can't go back. Dad said he'd take me somewhere far away, so we, father and daughter, can... quietly start a new life."
Her voice was somewhat childish, with a slightly nasal tone, like a child who had been wronged but didn't want to show it in front of adults. "Thank you so much for coming to see me. I... I'm really fine."
Miku hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is your wound really healed? I heard from a friend that you said you were beaten up badly. That bastard is so awful!" Her raised tone perfectly incorporated an element of righteous indignation, and there was no denying that she was actually much smarter than she appeared.
Asaka clenched her hands, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. She looked up at her former colleague with a confused expression. "I... I don't know how to say it." She paused for a few seconds, then covered her eyes with her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. Her voice suddenly became agitated. "I... I was clearly... clearly treated like that, so cruelly, but... but when I woke up, it was just a dream. Why... why did I have such a cruel, so real dream..." She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know you won't believe me, I... I wasn't raped by the section chief, I... I was assaulted in my dream. It must be like that, I didn't feel the section chief do anything to me at all, my body... deep inside me, the pain inflicted by that man in my dream remains!"
She sobbed and covered her face with her hands. "But nobody believed me. They all just thought I was too traumatized. My dad even wanted to take me for a mental evaluation. I said it was all true...it was all true."
"Ah... well..." Naga scratched his head. "Seto, I... still believe you. Dreams are inherently mysterious. And not everything can be explained by science these days, can it?"
Asaka, her eyes brimming with tears, lowered her hand and looked pitifully at Naga. "Really? Do you believe me? Don't you think I'm going crazy?"
Naga took out a copy of "Nighttime Thoughts" (by Andre Locke) that he had just bought from his bag and handed it to her. "If you can, calm down and read some books about dreams. Maybe you'll suddenly find a way to heal yourself."
Asaka hugged the book tightly to her chest and nodded earnestly, "Thank you, Yumeno-kun."
On the way back, Miku asked him in a rather subtle tone, "Hey, Naga, are dreams really that interesting? I always hear you and Tabe talking about them, but I... I don't dream much at all. And when I do dream, it's hard for me to remember them."
Naga didn't know how to tell her. Telling the truth was definitely not an option, so he vaguely steered the conversation away, saying, "Dreams are actually another world. If you think about it that way, you'll find it very magical."
"Another world…?" Miku suddenly turned her head to look at Naga's profile, strands of hair blowing in the wind clinging to her smooth, fair cheeks.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Naga asked, touching her face sheepishly.
"It's nothing." Miku pursed her rosy lips and brushed the hair from her face. "I just feel that I prefer reality to another world."