"The school's almost empty...," I muttered to none other than my best friend, nicknamed Ayaka. The students were departing one after the other and the school was gradually getting quieter and more vacant. I did favour peace, but I was fatigued from the weary school day using up my energy before I could manage to complete any assignments and I was losing hope in the school bus showing up before I get a sun stroke. There, of course, were other students waiting for the school bus to arrive, but out of my class, only Ayaka remained.
"Don't you find it weird that the co-ordinator hasn't spoken up about the absence of the school bus yet...?," surely, being the mystery lover and observant person she was, she couldn't help but wonder aloud intentionally to inform me of her thought process. Ayaka was always quite mature and more of a quick-thinker than I was, which arised rivalry between us at times. However, she wasn't exactly a person who would be so mature all the time. That trait had apparently belonged to me, and I didn't mind sporting it, really. It was better than my other side, which was much more clumsy, careless, irresponsible and immature and I tried to keep those wavering habits under control from time to time.
"Yeah... like they know something that we don't know of...," I stated, feeling my curiosity increasing to a detective-like extent on such a trivial and boring matter. It has always been like that anyway, and Ayaka was no different, who nodded in agreement to my statement.
"Leave it...it's a matter of minutes before they'll tell us to call our parents anyway...," I voiced reluctantly, my intentions swarming incoherently in my mind. Whether or not I was satisfied with that possibility, I didn't know. I only felt like throwing myself onto a bed and drowsing off for the rest of the day without having to worry about homework. In your dreams, Miyu..., I ruefully scoffed to myself. There's still the great assignment to be completed...along with others...
"I'm sick and tired of this... let's go and wait near the gates, it's no use...", Ayaka decided, not holding back from expressing her displeasure. "Wait a second," I spoke up, causing her to put her plan of exiting the school building on hold, and advanced to my younger sister, Kayo (again a nickname), who was standing among the procrastinating crowd of students huddled in front of the principal's office, occasionally sending a glance my way to confirm I was nearby. She could easily panick if I abruptly disappear without former notice, a trait she had apparently inherited from our overprotective mother, and given how empty the school had gotten, I could imagine her throwing a tantrum if she realizes I wasn't there. Still holding such a habit even though she turned eight not long ago...I didn't need a guess to know she'll have a hard time building up her self confidence. And behind that mask of a cute, shy and quiet student, there was a bossy, annoying and agressive attitude that only flamed out of that mask at home, which was quite a nuisance. From past experiences, Ayaka didn't really need to question my actions since she clearly knew what was going on.
As I arrived to the spot where she stood, Kayo immediately turned realizing my presence without me having to declare it, glancing at me questioningly, and I noted that a fragment of joy didn't abandon her features. The possibility of my father being already here to drive us home must have crossed her mind. I bent down a bit to the shorter individual (yet quite tall for her age), tiredly holding back a yawn.
"I'm gonna be at the gates, so tell me if the coordinator says anything. See ya!," I rushed the words out of my mouth, and before Kayo could fully comprehend what was going on, I had already skipped away to where Ayaka was and we headed for the gates. Kayo attempted to run after me, yelling what sounded like a faint 'Wait!' from where I currently was, but immediately decided against it. At least that's what I could tell with the absence of quick footsteps.
As we languidly dragged our feet after us, exiting the building, the sun's emphatic rays showered us with heat and fiercely striked my field of vision, causing me to continue my maneuver with grimacing eyes and noting to make sure to find a shadowy area. Ayaka spotted a tree at a position from which the gate could be easily seen, exactly what we needed to find out if the bus arrived, or if my father arrived in my case.. It was around time my mother would start growing concerned about my absence and I was ascertained she must've called the school by now. We sat under the flailing branches of the large tree, the amount of sunlight filtering through to us now kept to a minimum by that natural shield.
Ayaka absently let her bag slide down her shoulder beside her to the ground and I followed up with the same action, having seemingly forgotten about the weight on my shoulders due to my brain being occupied with my desire to return home. Then, the next thing I heard wasn't something I would say I expected, because as far as I remember, Ayaka was never excited for anything when she was tired, at one occasion refusing to solve a mystery riddle because she didn't feel like using her mind at the moment. And any ordinary person would do the same thing.
"How about we complete some of the chemistry homework right now? At least we could cut out some tasks off the list this way, right?," Ayaka suggested brightly, much to my bewilderment. Maybe chemistry was an exception...
I gave her a tired look that assured her I was going to procrastinate.
"At least it would be good for passing time, you know!," she argued, trying to convince me to do as she said, being the chemistry-obsessed person she was. Sure, it would be good for passing time. Not for me though... And both of us knew who would emerge victorious anyway. Such a suggestion meant that I had to be up for a challenge. Slight excitement possesing her demeanor only made it more obvious that she wanted a contest. Apparently, our chemistry teacher thought it would be great to give us a ten-pages worksheet full of chemical equations to be completed. And for Ayaka, this was all she needed to for her delight to escalate while she starts working on her assignments one after the other. I wasn't exactly good with chemical symbols... "But you're not quite good with chemical equations so now if you get stuck somewhere I could help out, right~," she chimed gleefully, pointing out my weakness directly without hesitation and waiting for my reaction. I let another sigh escape me as I turned to my bag, shuffling through its contents for the chemistry worksheet. I was too exhausted to continue the argument, and I knew if I told her my reason for not saying any further protests, she would call it an excuse. I found the thick stack of papers and cautiously took it out to avoid getting it folded and took out a pen, positioning the objects on my lap. Ayaka was still rummaging through the books for the worksheet but a broad smirk still reigned over her tired facade. Taking out the sheet, she placed it on her lap happily, twirling a pen between her fingers. Her bag, which wasn't placed in a proper position to be prevented from falling, tumbled down vomiting all of it's contents onto the floor: her school books. Groaning, Ayaka handed me her worksheet and pen, collecting her books to put them back into place. Hiding my amusement, I discarded the worksheets somewhere beside me and went to help her. Chemistry really did hypnotize her mind..
Just as I thought we were done with putting back the spilled books into their places, I spotted a book sprawled over the tree trunk and I took a few moments scrutinizing it, because if you want my opinion, school books weren't supposed to have an illustration of a shrunken detective behind over-sized glasses. And I already knew it wasn't one anyway. The sight of the manga volume of Detective Conan made me unconsciously draw up a wide grin that I only preserved for the times when I'm reading a manga or fanfiction and the characters are too cool to have me keeping an unchanging face. I carefully picked up what any Detective Conan fan like me would call a treasure and turned to Ayaka.
"How did you manage to get the manga volume?!" I exclaimed in both awe and shock, no longer that lazy to use my energy for speaking. Loudly, no less. Ayaka snickered at my perplexed expression blithesomely.
"Hi-mi-tsu~,"she chimed, raising her index finger to her lips and winking. I sighed in defeat, irritated at her antics and wishing I would one day acquire a manga volume of my favourite anime. I handed it over to her and got up but just as I was about to go back to were I sat before, I caught a glimpse of something sparkling at the corner of my eye. I then swivelled my head to the tree trunk and stared down at where the shiny object was lying down. Ayaka was eying me questioningly as I bent down and took a closer look at the object. It was a palm-sized gem that had a faint glow and had a magnificent hue; a mixture of azure blue, bright green, lilac, and some red. I picked it up from it's position resting against the tree trunk and recalled that this was the same place where the manga volume fell from Ayaka's bag. I turned to Ayaka who was still confused and showed her the gem.
"...What's that...?," she asked uncertainly, gazing at the glowing object in awe.
"I'm not sure myself...a gem?" I looked back at the gem and the hue seemed to be flowing, the different shades and colours floating inside the gem and the glow they emitted following them.
"Umm... can I see that for a second? ," Ayaka asked and I handed her the gem. She continued staring at it for a while before finally speaking up.
"Who would've left that here?," she wondered aloud and I shrugged.
"No idea."
"Well... we should probably give that to the lost and found...," Ayaka suggested though from the way she said it, it seemed like I wasn't the only one who had an odd feeling about this gem and the way it was glowing. But right at that moment, the gem's glow became stronger, taking over our surroundings. I winced but later shut my eyes tightly to protect it from the blinding light. The last thought that went through my mind was 'This is no ordinary gem..' before I felt consciousness betray my body...
The sounds of cars moving and the chatter of a lively street where the first to rush in to my ears. Languidly forcing my eyes to part, I blinked a few times, clearing my vision. Yet even after my field of view no longer blurred, I couldn't help but blink. And blink again. I was seated in what seemed like a bench in a park. I raked through my memory trying to remember anything that could give me any leads. Right..., I recalled. The gem...school...what?!
I stared at my surroundings in disbelief. How the hell did I get here?!
I whipped my head over my shoulders to get a full image of the place but stopped when I noticed another individual seated beside me. Blinking confusedly, I gazed at a foreign-looking blue-eyed blonde who held the same expression as mine. An expression of confusion.
"...do I know you...?," I inquired quietly, my curiosity spiraling beyond control as a sense of familiarity struck me. Wait...did I just speak in Japanese?! Moron...she obviously won't understand. I was still a bit amused though. Maybe I was THAT attached to the language of The Land Of The Rising Sun.
"...did we meet before?," she asked in return, and much to my surprise, she also spoke in Japanese. She abruptly stopped and her eyes widened in slight shock. Don't tell me she's... blue eyes and blonde wavy hair...that eerily reminded me with an OC named Kotegawa Ayaka whom Ayaka had suggested to add to my fanfiction... Oh. My. God. My instincts told me there was something odd going on...
"...Miyuki?," she mumbled tentatively, gazing at me warily. I didn't know how on earth this could be possible, but the only believable conclusion that made its presence upon my cognizance was that she was Ayaka. Otherwise there was no way she would know my Japanese name.
"Ayaka?," I called out skeptically, testing for a reaction. Testing and reaction... Look at me speaking in chemical terms. Was it contagious?
"What is going on?," Ayaka- or at least whom I thought she was- asked, though it was crystal clear that none of us had an answer in store. We both gazed at the park ambiguously, trying to find out our current location. It wasn't like any normal park, there were no swings or kids circling the area with endless energy,chasing after each other. Most of the people around us were young couples... a public park? I wasn't sure. I let out an annihilated sigh and slowly rested my head backwards to stare up at the wide sky, but, catching a glimpse of something red, I immediately whopped my head forwards to see what it was...
"The Tokyo Tower..."
But someone had already answered my question...