AN: Hello and welcome back to… this story, I guess. I left the previous chapter on quite the cliffhanger, and then haven't touched this story in a bit, which I apologize for. Turns out, working on three stories simultaneously is quite a bit of work!
Let's not postpone this any longer, and get to it!
Chapter 4 – Resurfacing Feelings
I stared deep into the eyes of the girl in front of me. Just like Yuri and Kanade, she seemed extremely familiar to me, even though I had never seen her before. While I was staring at her, a very familiar tune played in my head. I sometimes heard it whenever I experienced Déjà-vu, but this time it was slightly different, for the tune was accompanied by singing. The singing was faint, but I could hear it, and I was 100% sure that the voice of the singer belonged to the girl standing right in front of me.
"You… do I… know you?" The girl in front of me, who I had just quite literally bumped into, asked me. Her voice… it definitely matches the one I can hear in my head…
"You know, a week ago I would've asked you the same question, but this is starting to feel like the norm right now..." I said and rubbed the back of my head. "Maybe it really is fate, then."
"Fate..? What are you..?" She looked at me, confused, then sighed. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but you seem really familiar to me, and it's creeping me the fuck out."
"Believe me, I had that same reaction the first time it happened. Now, I'm sure there's a good reason for all of this, even though I don't know it yet, but… I'm sure all of us together can figure it out." I said and casually walked past her, stopping just behind her.
"Hey, wait! What do you mean 'all of us'?" The girl grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving, not like I intended to do that in the first place.
"Let me ask you this first." I said and turned to look at her straight in the eyes. "What you… felt when you saw me, you've… felt it before, right? The Déjà-vu?"
"Déjà-vu..? I… Yes, I have. But… why is that important?"
"It's important because I have the same kind of experiences that you do. And we're not the only ones. I know two other girls who I've become acquainted with recently who also experience this Déjà-vu. We… don't know why it happens, but we think we can figure that out together."
The girl stared at me quietly, then let go of my arm. She looked to be deep in thought.
"I'm not saying we have answers, but we believe we have the means to find those answers. Oh, and my name is Otonashi Yuzuru, by the way. Nice to meet you."
"I'm… Iwasawa Masami." Hearing her name caused the tune to return to my head, albeit briefly. What is her connection to it? "I…" She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out.
"I came here with my sister, and one of the girls I mentioned is with us, too. If you want to, you could hang out with us. Who knows, maybe we'll get some answers" I said to her with a smile.
Iwasawa nodded after a brief moment, and the two of us made our way back to the table where Yuri and Hatsune were sitting at. Hatsune had a mischievous grin on her face, while Yuri was covering her face with her hands. Hatsune… what are you up to now?
"Ah, onii-chan! Well? How is your leg?" Hatsune said once she noticed me.
"It's bruised, just like my forehead now, but It'll be fine. I don't think Yuri really meant that kick." I replied to her.
"Your forehead? What happened? Did you slip in the toilet and hit your head?"
"No, I just bumped into a very rude person who was just standing outside the bathroom as I got out." I said and gestured towards Iwasawa, who was stood just behind me.
"Hah! Just like you to be clumsy, Yuzuru! Who is the innocent bystander you have..." Yuri stopped as she saw Iwasawa.
"Hm? Yuri-san? What's wrong?" Hatsune glanced between Yuri and Iwasawa, who were both frozen in place.
"What… what is your name?" Yuri was the first to speak.
"Huh? O-oh. It's Iwasawa. Iwasawa Masami." She replied.
"Iwasawa..." Yuri's eyes went wide for a moment. "Say… do you… like… do music? Like, playing instruments or singing?" She asked.
"Music? I mean, I listen to a lot of music, but… I don't play anything myself. When I was younger, I always wanted to be a musician, but nowadays… Augh, this will sound weird, but… whenever I think about playing an instrument or singing, I… I just get this… feeling… I-I can't explain it..."
"A feeling… like you've… done it before? Like it… means something… more than just what's happening right now?" I queried from Iwasawa.
"Yeah, that's… one way of describing it. Do you ever… experience a… similar feeling?"
"Quite often, actually. We call it 'Déjà-vu', since the things that trigger it feel familiar to us, like we've done it before, but the feeling is… real. As I told you, we don't know why it happens, and why we specifically are affected, but we're trying to figure it out along the way." I explained.
"Other than Yuzuru and I, there's one other person we're aware of who is affected by… whatever this is. Her name is Kanade, and I've known her for a year, while I only met Yuzuru recently. Whatever the cause, there must be some reason for this phenomenon. Another… acquaintance of mine called it fate, but I'm still a little sceptical about that." Yuri continued my explanation.
"I… see. You are… Yuri-san, right?" Iwasawa asked and pointed at Yuri.
"Yep! Nakamura Yuri is my name. The red-headed dolt is Otonashi Yuzuru, and the girl next to him is his little sister, Hatsune." Yuri introduced herself and the two of us, although I didn't need the introduction.
"So, your little sister does not experience this… Déjà-vu?"
"No, I don't. Onii-chan has always been the crazy one out of the two of us. I've always supported him, though, being the good little sister that I am~! I'm glad that he's finally found some equally crazy friends, like Yuri-san. Oh, speaking of which, you should get your friend Kanade to come over! I'd love to meet more of my onii-chan's friends!" Hatsune pointed at Yuri as she finished.
"Oh, good idea. Iwasawa-san, feel free to sit down." Yuri got up and smiled, allowing Iwasawa to sit down with us.
I sat down as well, and with Iwasawa now with us, Yuri was directly opposite of me. Hatsune, being the extrovert that she is, started conversing with Iwasawa immediately, while Yuri called Kanade. Apart from occasionally joining the girls' conversation, I was left kinda alone. The situation didn't feel that awkward, though. I had noticed this recently, but Yuri's presence made me feel… relaxed. I could already be as open with her as I wanted to be, but now I felt like I could truly "put my guard down" around her, so to speak. Soon enough, I found myself staring at Yuri as she spoke with Kanade on the phone. I would get lost in her green eyes for a few moments, before Iwasawa asking me a question, or Hatsune saying something to me pulled me out of my trance. She moved her free hand around quite frantically as she spoke, which I found a little bit adorable. Every now and then, she would glance towards me, and she would smile a little. I felt myself oddly drawn to her. Before long, Yuri ended the phone call and put her phone away, but I was still looking at her quite intently.
"Right, Kanade said she should be able to make it here soon. But..." Yuri said and focused her gaze on me. "I'm pretty sure you were staring at me that whole time, Yuzuru. Is there something on my face?" Shit, she noticed?
"Ah, n-no. I-I wasn't really staring at you, Yuri. I was just… thinking about stuff, and happened to look in your direction, since you're directly opposite of me and all." I said and scratched my cheek as I averted my gaze from her for the first time in a few minutes.
"Reeeeeaaaaally now?" Yuri said and giggled. Gods, her laugh was cute. "It's okay, Yuzuru. I'm used to you doing things like that already. Hentai." Yuri couldn't hold in her laughter after that, and burst out loudly.
"Um… pardon me for asking, but... since you use each other's first names and all..… Could you two possibly be..?" Iwasawa asked once Yuri had calmed down a little.
"Be…? Oh, I get you. No, we're not. It's just… I don't know, ever since we met, we've just kind of… clicked, I guess. This is just our usual banter." I replied to her.
"Y-yeah. Despite being complete strangers at first, after a little bit of time chatting, we felt like the best of friends." Yuri explained with a slight tint of red on her cheeks.
"Oh, I see. Sorry that I asked." Iwasawa said and bowed briefly.
"Hmmm? And why would you be asking that, Iwasawa-san? Don't tell me you've set your sights on my onii-chan?" Hatsune asked with a mischievous grin. Interestingly, it was Yuri who turned away blushing. That's… odd. Is she still embarrassed about what happened at the lingerie store?
"No, I haven't 'set my sights on him'. I was just curious about their relationship, since they seemed so friendly with each other." Iwasawa responded with a straight face. Looks like Hatsune met her match. I knew her teasing definitely wouldn't get through Kanade, but it seems she didn't even need to be brought out to the playing field yet!
"Good!" Hatsune said in English and made a 'thumbs-up' gesture towards Iwasawa. "After all, onii-chan is already reserved for Yuri-san~!" she then continued.
"W-w-what d-do you m-mean by t-that!" Yuri stammered while wildly waving her hands around.
"H-Hatsune!" I said and sighed. "Stop saying stuff like that, you'll give people the wrong idea."
"What, don't tell me you haven't thought of it before, onii-chan?" Hatsune asked and poked my arm.
"I-I t-told you to stop it!" I need to steer away from that topic, right now! "Ahem. Ignoring my sister for now, could you tell us more about your Déjà-vu experiences, and the things that trigger them?" I said to Iwasawa, then glanced at Yuri, who had seemingly regained her composure.
"Yes, please tell us. It might help shed some light on things." Yuri seemingly noticed my attempt to change the subject. I knew I could count on you! That was getting very awkward for the both of us!
"Oh, alright. Hmmmm…" Iwasawa brought a hand to her chin. "Let me think…"
Iwasawa started talking to us about her experiences. Most of her triggers were focused around music, and she didn't seem to have that many of them, at least compared to the two of us. She told us that she had… faint memories of playing the guitar, but she had never even touched one in her life. While her experiences and triggers were different, we could spot some common themes between us. I told her about the tune I heard every now and then, and how seeing her caused me to hear it more clearly. Hatsune stayed mostly quiet, only occasionally joining the conversation. I didn't blame her for it, though. Out of the four of us, she was the only one who had never had any of the experiences we did on a nearly daily basis. I'm glad I could stop her teasing, though. I have to admit, she wasn't completely wrong in her statement. I certainly think of Yuri as a very pretty girl, and I have thought about the possibility of having a relationship with her, but… I don't know enough about my own feelings yet. I'm somewhat drawn to her, but that could just be because of our shared experiences, and the odd… familiarity, or connection that we seemingly have, kinda like I felt with Kanade. And of course, I have to take her feelings into consideration, too. I have no idea how she feels about me, and I doubt she would harbour romantic feelings towards me, since we only met recently. I should probably just wait until we find out the reason for our Déjà-vu. Perhaps then I will know why I feel drawn to her. I had spaced out for quite a while, preoccupied with my own thoughts, as I didn't immediately notice that Kanade had joined us.
"Otonashi-kun, Yuri, nice to see you again." Kanade's voice finally alerted me to her presence.
"Heya, Kanade! Good to see you could make it." Yuri said and smiled at her blunt friend.
"Could I inquire about the people here with you?" Kanade asked and gestured towards us.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you there, Tachibana-san. This here is my little sister, Hatsune." I said and ruffled my sister's hair. "And the girl sitting next to Yuri is Iwasawa Minami. We just met her, but she's… like us, if you catch my drift."
"Yes, Yuri told me something like that." Kanade paused and shifted her gaze to Iwasawa.
"You… you seem… familiar, like these two. But unlike the two of them… I feel like I should be afraid of you." Iwasawa said as she pointed a finger at Kanade.
"Afraid? I do not know why you should be afraid of me. But, forgive me. My name is Tachibana Kanade." She bowed briefly and stared intriguingly at Iwasawa. "Tell me… do you play an instrument?"
"Huh? No, I don't. Your friends already asked me about that, but… why?"
"I get the feeling you would be really good at it. Also… your name brings in to mind a… memory. Yes, let's call it that."
"A memory? What's it about?" I asked as I turned to Kanade, and she brought a hand to her chin, taking on a thoughtful pose.
"The memory has a… melody. I can… see myself walking while humming the melody. Yuri is there, too, and so are you, Otonashi-kun."
"You can remember something like that? But… that's never happened to us." Yuri said. "What's the melody like?"
Kanade thought for a brief moment, and then began to silently hum the melody. I instantly recognised it as the tune I heard on many occasions, and as I looked at Iwasawa, I could her her singing again. Hearing Kanade humming like this triggered something in me. At first, I felt a sting in my chest, and my vision went slightly hazy. All I could hear was her humming, and all I could see in front of me was her. What's happening? Her humming… I've heard her hum this melody before, but… when? And why is it affecting me like this? What… what is this feeling? I clutched my chest as the pain became even greater. I couldn't see anything else other than Kanade happily prancing forward, wearing clothes that looked like a school uniform, though I didn't recognise them.
"Yuzuru!" I heard Yuri's voice, and turned to see her next to me, clothed similarly to Kanade. "Are you okay? Yuzuru! What's wrong?" I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Onii-chan?" Hatsune's voice came from my other side, but as I turned around, all I could see was a hospital bed. A figure was sleeping in the bed, with hair the same hue as mine.
"Otonashi-kun? Is everything alright? You're clutching your chest quite hard." Iwasawa's voice came from in front of me, and again, once I turned to her, I saw something completely different. I saw an acoustic guitar, laying on a stage, completely alone.
As I looked at each one of them, I felt extremely powerful feelings. With Hatsune and the hospital bed, it was sorrow, sadness, loss. With Iwasawa and the guitar, it was compassion, sympathy, but also a sense of relief. With Yuri and Kanade, however… it was something different. For both of them, I felt affection. Attraction. Love. Kanade's felt… distant, nearly gone from my reach, long-forgotten, but there was a slight feeling of dread or fear accompanied with it. For Yuri, it felt close, warm, and within reach, if only I chose to reach for it, but there was also a degree of respect and authority. Suddenly, the images I was seeing started to fade away, and the feelings with them, as Kanade stopped humming. Soon, I was back in reality, and the pain in my chest was gone.
"Yuzuru! What happened? Does it hurt somewhere?" Yuri asked me, and I noticed that she was extremely close to me, holding onto both of my shoulders.
"H-huh? O-oh, I'm f-fine. I think." As I looked at Yuri, the feelings I had felt a moment ago came back. Affection, attraction, love. Her close proximity caused me to blush, and my heart began to beat a little faster. "Just, uhhh… Tachibana-san's humming caused me to… feel something."
"Hm? And what could that be?" Kanade asked and raised an eyebrow. As I looked at her, just like with Yuri, the feeling came back.
"I… I don't know. I felt that… I had heard you humming the same melody before, and… I saw all of you. Or, at least, the things I saw felt like they… were… you… or something. It… was weird." I tried to explain.
"Are you sure you're not going crazy, onii-chan? Because you definitely sound like it." Hatsune's voice came with a nearly overwhelming feeling of sadness and melancholy, but as I looked at her and saw that she was smiling, holding in a laugh, that melancholy was replaced by joy and a feeling of fulfilment.
"Haah, maybe I am. Although… as I look at all of you now, I can… feel things that I definitely didn't feel before. Also, uhhh… Yuri. You're… kinda close..."
As I said that, Yuri's face became crimson red, and she quickly removed her hands from my shoulders, jerking herself backwards in the process.
"S-sorry. Y-you looked like you were in pain, so I-I was w-worried." Yuri said as she backed away and sat back down in her chair. "Ahem. But… what do you mean by 'feeling things that you didn't feel before'?" She then asked.
"That's..." I thought of the feelings I now felt when looking at Yuri and Kanade. "As I said earlier when you were on the phone, I sometimes hear a specific tune when I experience Déjà-vu, and that tune is somehow… linked to Iwasawa. The melody that you were humming, Tachibana-san, was that very tune. Hearing you hum it caused… something, which caused me to suddenly feel very… strong feelings associated with each one of you." I explained to them.
"Interesting. I certainly felt something, too, when I looked at Iwasawa-san, but nothing like you just described." Kanade said and paused for a brief moment before continuing. "What are these feelings that you feel, then?"
"I… well..." I decided it would probably be for the best if I left out the unexplainable feelings of attraction towards Yuri and Kanade. "When I look at Hatsune, I feel… sadness, loss, even. While Tachibana-san was humming, I looked towards her, but instead of seeing her sitting here like this, I saw a… hospital bed." Hatsune looked back at me wide-eyed.
"Loss..? Hospital bed..? That's… very odd, onii-chan. If I didn't know you, I would be concerned for your mental health." Hatsune said to me, sounding the most serious she had ever been.
"What about the rest of us, then? What do you feel when you look at us?" Yuri asked. That was the one question I didn't want her to ask.
"With Iwasawa-san, I feel sympathy and compassion, but also a bit of relief. It's almost like … I don't know, something… happened, and I feel… bad about it? But there's a sense of understanding, and relief that… whatever happened, it ended in a good way." I stopped talking, and hoped they wouldn't ask anything further.
"Like something happened? But… what? And when? This is the first time I'm meeting any of you, and I don't think anything that interesting has happened in my life that would cause such feelings to appear for someone else." Iwasawa said with a thoughtful look on her face.
"In your life..." Kanade said thoughtfully. "It's only a hypothesis, but… we have thought of the possibility before, that the experiences we call 'Déjà-vu' are actually memories from a… past life. It sounds crazy, but if it is true, or possible, it might be the reason for this." She explained as she took a seat at the table, while motioning for a waiter to come over.
"Hmmm… I always thought that was the least likely possibility, but now… suddenly having memories come back to us that we never had… Hatsune-chan, you've never been ill, or otherwise in hospital?" Yuri asked from my sister, who shook her head as a reply. "Feeling things associated with something that never happened… it is starting to sound like a plausible explanation..."
As the waiter arrived and took Kanade's order, the rest of us decided to order another round of drinks as well. It didn't take long for our orders to arrive, and we stayed almost completely silent while waiting, all of us absorbed in our thoughts regarding the situation. I glanced around the table between the three girls, each time the feelings now associated with them coming back to me, albeit not as strongly as they initially did. If Kanade's hypothesis is correct, that would certainly explain some things, but… it would also mean that we all knew each other in that past life. But that also leaves the question of how my little sister isn't affected by any of this. I feel something towards her, and the hospital bed I saw felt all too real… That feeling of loss… Maybe… Maybe she was my little sister in that past life, too, but something… happened to her… before I met any of these girls… I felt like I had just hit a revelation, but the thought of Hatsune not being there…. It sent a chill down my spine, so I steered away from it.
"Otonashi-kun, I believe you have said before that you've avoided things that trigger your Déjà-vu? That you believe they might be… dangerous to your health because of a few accidents?" Kanade broke the silence by asking me a question, to which I nodded as an answer, while taking a sip of my coffee. "Perhaps… perhaps your way of thinking has been… wrong. Think about it. We've recently become acquainted, and because of that, we've had all these memories… 'come back to us'. What if... instead of avoiding these triggers, we should actively seek them out? I'm not a strong believer in fate, but… maybe it's fate that is pushing us towards these things, these… memories. And because we avoid them, we are struggling against fate, not getting any of the answers we seek." Kanade explained. She would make a great philosopher, I think.
"That… sounds almost plausible. But..." Yuri was the next one to speak. "Should we really just give in? To me, it almost sounds like we would become fate's puppets, dancing to its every whim in desperate search for… something." Yuri gripped her cup strongly as she finished.
"Both of you raise valid points, but… How do we know what we have to seek out? I mean, we obviously know which things trigger our Déjà-vu, but I've been in the presence of some of them for long periods of time, and I'm as clueless as we all are." I said.
"That's the thing, we don't know. You cannot find something you are already aware of, yes?" Kanade asked. Well, you're right, but sometimes you might be searching for something precisely because you are aware of it. I get her point, though. "That's why we have to search for it, or any clues we might have relating to it."
"Hmmm… You said you felt like I would be good at playing a musical instrument, right?" Iwasawa asked, and Kanade nodded to her. "Nakamura-san asked something similar, and Otonashi-kun said that the tune he heard had something to do with me. I wanted to be a musician when I was younger, but as I grew older and became more aware of my 'Déjà-vu', I… gave up on that dream, since the very idea of creating music gave me this… feeling. If what you're saying is true..." Iwasawa trailed off and looked to each of us briefly.
"...Then if you started playing an instrument, you would be going along with 'fate', and get the answers you want?" Hatsune was the one to finish Iwasawa's sentence for her.
"Precisely. If there's even a chance that I'll be able to get some answers from it… I'm willing to start playing an instrument."
"In that case, we should probably exchange contact information, so we can keep in touch. Our meeting today was accidental, but given our… shared experiences, we should probably stick together. After all, it might just be fate that's pulling us together anyway." Yuri said with a smile as she took out her phone.
"We'll see, won't we? And even if it doesn't shed any light on the situation… well, you guys seem like a fun lot to hang out with, anyway." Iwasawa replied with a smile of her own.
"Hmmmm…. Onii-chan is befriending even more girls… perhaps we should start considering a harem…"Hatsune said quietly, but not quietly enough for me to not hear her.
"Didn't I tell you not to say stuff like that? Cut it out." I said and chopped my sister on the head gently, eliciting a giggle from Yuri.
Hatsune grinned back at me a with a cute Teehee~!, and chuckled a little as I ruffled her hair again. Yuri stared at the two of us with a smile as she exchanged numbers with Iwasawa. As I looked back at her, the feeling of affection towards her returned to me. A past life where I knew these girls, huh… What would the reason be for the feelings I now have towards Yuri and Kanade, though? With Hatsune, it can be explained with… well, I don't want to think about it, and with Iwasawa, something significant clearly happened, which is what causes this feeling. As for the two of them… why would I feel affection, even attraction towards both of them? And then the other feelings… Iwasawa said she felt like she should be afraid of Kanade when she first saw her, and I felt that too, now. As for Yuri… I directed my gaze at the purple-haired girl across from me. I can definitely feel a sense of authority from her, along with this… warmth. As Yuri glanced in my direction, our eyes met, and I suddenly felt a blush coming to my cheeks, so I quickly averted my gaze.
"Oh, come to think of it..." Yuri suddenly said. "You told us what you felt when you looked at Hatsune-chan and Iwasawa-san, but what about the two of us?" I twitched slightly.
"That is true. You did say that you felt something when you looked at each one of us. It might help if you told us." Kanade said, now turning her auric eyes towards me as well.
"I… uhh… well..." I swallowed and rubbed the back of my neck. It'll be fine, just don't mention the… love I felt. "Well, with Tachibana-san, I felt… dread. Fear, even. Which somewhat clashed with what I saw, as you were… happily prancing about while humming. And with you, Yuri..." I looked at the girl in question, who looked back at me with intrigue, and the blush returned to my face. "T-there was a… feeling of authority and respect, like you were in a position above me, or something."
"Is that all, onii-chan?" Hatsune asked with a devious smirk. Wait… does she… somehow know?
"Uh, y-yeah, t-that's all that I felt, nothing else." I replied and swallowed. Hatsune studied my face for a few moments, before winking and turning away. There's no way she knows, right? Why is she acting like that, though?
"Fear, huh. I wonder why all of you seem to associate that emotion with me. Perhaps… I was not as friendly with you in the past life as I am now." Kanade commented.
"Authority?" Yuri said and smirked. "Well, you got that right, Yuzuru, as I am clearly on the top in our relationship." Hatsune almost choked on her drink as Yuri finished, then erupted into laughter. "Huh? What's so funny, Hatsune-chan?"
"Did you… not pay attention to yourself? The way you worded that… yeah." Iwasawa said awkwardly.
What does she mean by that? And why would Hatsune react like that? The way she worded it… Suddenly, realization hit me like a truck. I could feel a blush rising to my cheeks.
"Ah, yeah… Yuri… I get that you wanted to reply with our usual banter, but… You should have chosen your words a bit more carefully..." I said and rubbed the back of my neck.
"What are you..?" It seems Yuri finally realized what she had said, as her entire face became crimson red. "WAITWAIT NONONONO T-THAT'S N-NOT HOW I M-MEANT IT!" Yuri's shout drew some attention to us, as she frantically waved her hands and wriggled in her chair, trying to explain the situation to us, but given the speed at which the words left her mouth, not much really got through to us.
"Yuri." Kanade said in her usual emotionless tone. "You don't need to cause such a scene. You simply didn't think your words through, that is all. I do not understand why it would warrant such a reaction, unless there really is some feelings behi..."
"Ah, you're right, Kanade! Everything is fine now. I was just a little shocked, is all." Yuri said as she swiftly covered her friend's mouth her hands.
"Heh, I was right in my observation that you guys would be fun to hang out with. I hope we can meet up like this again." Iwasawa said as she finished her drink and got up. "I'll have to take my leave, now, but I'll be in contact with Yuri. And I'll definitely look into getting an instrument, so we can test out Tachibana-san's theory."
"Alright, I hope we'll meet again soon, Iwasawa-san!" I said and waved a hand at her as she walked away from us. "Hopefully without us crashing into each other."
"Yeah, we'll be in touch! See you!" Yuri said energetically.
"It was nice meeting you, Iwasawa-san. I hope my theory works out, so we can find some answers together." Kanade said to her and… smiled? That's the most expressive I've seen her be.
"Goodbye, Iwasawa-san! I hope you'll continue to be a great friend to my onii-chan!" Hatsune said, even more energetically than Yuri, while waving her hand.
After saying goodbyes to Iwasawa, we finished our drinks as well. It was still quite early, so we didn't want to leave for home just yet. Since Kanade was now with us, we decided to continue our shopping trip with the four of us. I thought about everything we had discussed along the way. Actively seeking out our sources of Déjà-vu, huh… I guess for me that would be studying Healthcare, although I don't think it's possible for me to switch at this point in the semester, anyway. I wonder if Yuri or Kanade know anything they could try to do? I don't know really anything about Kanade, but Yuri… well, I don't know enough about her to know if she has anything easily achievable. Now that I think about it… if Kanade's theory is correct, could that mean that there are other people out there, who are like us, but didn't struggle against fate? Would they have found the answers we seek? I was brought out of my thoughts by the laughter coming from Hatsune and Yuri. As I looked at them, the feelings I had felt came back, but the sound of their laughs and their happy faces drowned out those feelings, and I could feel a smile of my own forming on my face.
Fate, if you can hear me, I'm really glad you made me run into Yuri. That was one of the best moments of my life.
AN: Aaaand done! I'm slowly getting this story going, and I get the feeling that it'll only go faster from here! I've already thought up some things that I want to happen in the future, but it might take a while before I can incorporate them into the story, since I am writing three stories at once. I'll try my best, though, hopefully without rushing anything.