Author's note: Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I really hoped I could keep the pace of update up but I was really just too busy. As for the next update, I really can't make any promises but to say "I will try my best".
Finally, we will see the continuation of that conversation. Hope you have fun!
Enjoys!
Qwqs
Edit 1: I rewrote some inaccurate information about what people experience when they progress in their meditation. Please read about the meditation part again for those who have already read once.
Out-of-body experience
"Are you prepared now, Tachibana-san?"
"Yes! Please begin!" Kanade nods
"Then we will begin it: a meditation," saying so, the expert asks Kanade to close her eyes and regulate her breathing.
…
…
…
-o-O-o-
An hour ago
"W-w-why w-would you say something so cruel?! W-what do you mean by giving up on meeting with Yuzuru?!" Kanade screamed hysterically.
Just when she thought that this meeting was a fruitful one, the expert destroyed her hope just like that.
"…calm down first, Tachibana-san; I have a reason for saying this," the expert remained composed as he replied so.
"What could possibly be the reason for that advice?! To separate the people in love…I doubt the reason would be a good one!" she glared at the expert as she said the words in a cool, serious voice with a little bit of moodiness in it.
"…Do you remember all of what I told you earlier?"
"…How is all that related to the advice?"
"'The Three Universal Truths,' 'The Four Noble Truths,' 'The Noble Eightfold Path,' and also for you to help yourself instead of relying on supernatural beings, all of those are related to the reason I gave you such advice."
"The Three Universal Truths teach us that impermanent exists in everything and the impermanent causes us suffering," the expert paused as he took a fleeting glance at Kanade, "You should realize it yourself, right? The fun times do not last long and when they are gone you are sad about it. The Four Noble Truths explains that such sadness is caused by desires and attachments and so the right way to solve it is to rid yourself of them (desires and attachments). The Noble Eightfold Path tells us the ways to get rid of those desires and attachments. Well, the real intention of Noble Eightfold path is kind of beside the point to your problem but it can be applied. And most important of all…"
He paused again for an effect,
"…you, yourself are the only one who can solve your problem, not any supernatural beings or anyone else. No matter which way you choose to solve it, it is something that you have to decide yourself. The advice I just gave you is the way to solve it that I agree with the most."
"…And those teachings are the reason you suggest it to me, yes?" Kanade said, feeling calmer than before. She kind of understood what the expert had wanted to say now. Although that didn't mean she wouldn't confirm it.
"Yes, the best way to solve your problem is to cut off the desires and attachments you have on that boy of the past and instead look towards the future. You have a chance to find new, precious things; you shouldn't waste it on things of the past that you will never be able to get back again. Everything is impermanent so by trying to make it permanent as long as possible, suffering is the only outcome. Love with a dead boy is nothing but suffering."
…Yes, that was what she had understood from his earlier words. It seemed she was right after all.
She thought deeply on the advice she was given.
Is it really alright for her to abandon the prospect of her own future for the past long gone that she was unlikely to be able to get back?
Is it really alright for her to suffer from this strange mutual love that likely will never come true?
And also, without it being said, she realized another problem.
Is it really alright for her to burden Yuzuru with her love when she knows full well how hard it would be for him?
After all, Yuzuru should also have a chance to start a new life as well if he can forget his love for her without her love obstructing him from it.
In fact, the third concern was the strongest one in her mind of the three.
She didn't really mind about her own happiness that much but Yuzuru's happiness was another story.
However despite all of these thoughts, in the end, she reached a conclusion that she can be satisfied with.
Shaking her head, she firmly replied, "I will have to refuse. I can't follow your advice."
"May I ask you why?" the expert inquired.
"There is no reason…" Shaking her head again, she continued, "No, actually there is a reason. I just don't want to, that is my reason."
So what if she has to abandon her future prospect?
So what if this love will never come true?
Even if this causes a little harm to Yuzuru, so what?
She realized after her memories had come back that she deeply loved the boy inside of her dreams and that fact will never change. Although, in the end, it may be as Anon said: nothing is permanent -even these feelings were the same, but what of it? As long as her feelings as of the present still didn't change, there was no way she could give up on him.
"I just want to see Yuzuru. No matter what else happens, it is of little importance to me. As long as there is a possibility of me meeting with Yuzuru again, I will never give up."
It may be selfish but this was her earnest wish.
Anon and Kanade silently stared at each other for a while.
"…"
"…"
In the end, Anon broke the stare and sighed.
"If that is your decision, then I will say no more…" Anon glanced up at her again before he continued, "Then I will give you my second solution now: you have to achieve an out-of-body experience."
-o-O-o-
"So? What do you want me to do?"
After the conversation, Ayato was called back here because of Anon's request.
"There is nothing much really, I just want you to try to use your hypnosis on me," Anon easily replied.
"Use one on you?" Ayato repeated.
"Yes, you can choose whatever you want to hypnosis me about, I don't mind," Anon nodded.
"…" Ayato went silent, confused.
After a while…
"…You are really sure right?" Ayato tried to confirm.
Anon nodded with a smile on his face, "Yes, please do so."
"…"
"…"
They had stared at each other for a while before Ayato broke the stare.
"Then I will begin," saying so, Ayato's eyes turned red.
And so, his hypnosis began.
-o-O-o-
"W-w-what's wrong with you?!" Ayato shouted fearfully.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Is that all you got, Ayato-kun?" Anon easily replied without any difficulty.
There is a reason why Ayato was so shocked.
He was currently using Hypnosis on Anon, but instead of Anon, Ayato felt like his hypnosis was backfiring on himself.
Slowly, but surely, the suggestion he used in the hypnosis went back to him and eroded his mind.
"Let us stop it here," after Anon powerfully saying so, they broke the stare and Ayato went down on his knees, gasping for breath.
"As you can see, his hypnosis didn't work on me," After looking down at Ayato for a while, Anon concluded so.
"…"
"…"
Both Kanade and Akari went silent in shock.
Paying no mind to that, Anon continued his speech.
"This is the result of my strong willpower. I have been training my willpower by meditation since long ago and this is one of the effects I got from it: mental attack resistance."
Anon looked down at Ayato again, "When your hypnosis –a type of mental attack- went to my mind, I resisted it and as a result, the accumulating energy that had nowhere else to go was reflected back to you."
"Of course, I went easy on you since this is just a test and I was the one who had asked for your cooperation. Else your hypnosis would be reflected back to you much more powerfully."
Hearing so, Ayato looked up at Anon, still out of breath.
Paying no mind to that look, again, Anon continued his words.
"The reason why I had to do that is to make you somewhat believe what I am about to tell you right now. I want to tell you how miraculous the effects of meditation or willpower training are. Willpower is a miraculous thing that can be trained by doing meditation…"
The expert turned his face to look at Kanade, "…and what I want you to achieve from doing meditation is an out-of-body experience."
-o-O-o-
After those words, the expert went on promoting how miraculous meditation is and how one can achieve many benefits from it.
And some of the benefits on the supernatural side are the ability to use magic, the ability to read other people's mind, the ability to remember about things from past lives, clairvoyance eyes, and clairvoyance ears. These five abilities are called "5 Apinyas" In Pali language.
Of course, these 5 abilities are extremely hard to manifest on a person even with training. You can say they are like ultimate abilities. By the way, if you include one other ability –the ability of enlightenment (completely ridding oneself of desires and attachments) - they are called the "6 Apinyas" in Buddhist texts.
An out-of-body experience, on the other hand, is a much inferior thing. However, as inferior as it is, it is still very hard to obtain even with training.
The reason Anon explained all of this is to have Kanade tried doing meditation to achieve an out-of-body experience. Since if Kanade was able to do it, she could leave her mortal body and make only her soul go to the Afterlife to meet with Yuzuru.
Of course, it is by no mean an easy task. A normal person may never be able to achieve it in their lifetime no matter how hard they train. That is why this is the second suggestion. It would be much easier on Kanade if she had just given up on meeting with Yuzuru again (the first suggestion).
Optimistically, it would be years or even a decade as an earliest for a person with some talent to achieve an out-of-body experience and Anon is not on the optimistic side of the coin. He thinks Kanade would have to waste years or entire of her youth just to achieve that. In the worst case, she still wouldn't achieve it even if she wasted her entire life; that's why he did not really recommend it to her.
Of course, all this talk is hard to believe in the first place. That is why Anon demonstrated his ability using Ayato as a partner to make his words more believable. The man showed that he is more than meet the eye.
After that, he agreed to teach her the basics of meditation today before she goes back to Japan. After that, she will have to try hard on her own in Japan after knowing the basics.
Now she is alone with Anon in another room receiving his instruction on meditation.
Finishing her thought on all of that for the last time, Kanade closes her eyes.
She is currently sitting cross-legged and laying her hands on her lap with the right hand on top of the left hand in sitting meditation posture.
After she has closed her eyes, as the expert instructed, she regulates her breathing.
At that moment…
…Unknown to anyone here, the ring on her finger slightly shines from her hidden left hand.
-o-O-o-
'How long has it been? Is it already 10 minutes? Anon-san said I only need to meditate for 10 minutes for my first time. Since he still doesn't say anything, does it mean 10 minutes haven't passed yet?'
Around the time her thoughts are all in disorder, as if knowing it, Anon speaks.
"Do not pay attention to anything else but your breathing. Your mind will surely wander around thinking of various things but you have to suppress it. Exhale and inhale: just focus your mind on that."
Following that advice, she tries to rid herself of distractions but to no avail.
'Why can't I focus my mind and my thoughts wander?'
As if to answer her thought, Anon speaks again.
"Yes, it is no easy task to keep your thoughts from wandering; only highly trained people can do that. But you have to try to do it nonetheless. That is the requirement to achieve an out-of-body experience."
'Even if you said that, what I can't do, I just can't do it,' Kanade retorts in her mind.
And again, as if he knows her thought, he answers appropriately.
"If you can't focus on your breathing then try this trick: focus on a thing that has the strongest impression in your mind."
'A thing that has the strongest impression in my mind? Then, that should be…'
"…it seems you have found it, Tachibana-san. It is a little unexpected for the thing that has the strongest impression in your mind to be that, but oh well," Anon speaks again, fully knowing the current state of her mind.
'So it is not just my imagination then. Anon-san can read my mind. I guess he has one of those Apinyas thingy then.'
"Don't be distracted again, Tachibana-san. Focus your mind on that thing and concentrate on it. Forget about anything else," Anon cautions her.
'Yes!'
Responding so, she focuses her entire concentration on the thing –the sound of her own heartbeat.
Back in her previous life, when she was free or feeling anxious, she would often listen to the sound of her heartbeat. That was the way she reminded herself of her gratitude to the one who had given her his heart. She would always express her gratefulness to him as she listened to the calming heartbeat sound. Even in this life, she often listened to her heartbeat to calm her mind without knowing the reason why she did so. She figured it out when her memories had come back… No, when she heard the story from Igarashi-san- it is for her not to forget about what he has done for her.
That's why the thing that leaves the strongest impression on her is the sound of the heartbeat.
It may not be the sound of his heart anymore that she listens to, but old habits die hard. It even carries itself to her current life. She can concentrate much more strongly when she listens to the heartbeat sound.
No longer distracted, her entire concentrate is focusing on only one point. After a while, she sees the light in her mind while her eyes are closed.
"Normally, Buddha taught us not to focus on the light we see during meditation for it is but a distraction from the true goal, but your case is special, so focus on the light that manifests itself in your mind, trying to see through the depth of the light," Anon instructs.
Following his instruction, she focuses on the light, trying to see through the depth of it all. After a while of her efforts, she feels a sense of euphoria wrapping around her entire body. She subconsciously smiles from the pleasure she feels.
The euphoria is so joyous that she doesn't want to ever part from it. At that moment, the silent Anon shouts hurriedly, "Stop! Cease your meditation and come back to me now, Tachibana-san!"
Surprise by his sudden shout, her concentration on the light is broken and the euphoria feeling slowly disappears. Kanade feels intense grief at the disappearance of the euphoria.
"Open your eyes now, Tachibana-san! The meditation is over!" Anon anxiously shouts again with a sense of crisis in it.
Listening to his flustered voice, Kanade opens her eyes.
"Are you okay, Tachibana-san?!" Looking anxiously at her, he asked.
Looking up at him still in her dazzled state (with her mouth still smiling and tears in her eyes), she replies, "U-umm, I-I guess so?"
After seeing nothing wrong with her, Anon sighs, feeling relief, "That's good then. I was afraid for a moment that you would lose it."
"I would lose it? What happened to me, Anon-san?"
"Your mind touched the state of euphoria unprepared," Anon answers grimly.
"The state of euphoria?" Kanade repeats.
"It is one of the states you can experience during meditation," he explains.
"…Is that a bad thing?" Kanade asks.
"Generally, it is not a bad thing. Actually, it is a really good thing. It means you make a progress in your meditation…"
"Then!" Kanade interrupts.
"However, it is never a good thing to happen when you are unprepared for it. I never thought you would progress so much on your first try that I didn't warn you about it."
"Is it really that dangerous?" Kanade inquires anxiously.
Nodding, he replies, "In the worst case, you would be lying around in mental hospital's bed by now if I didn't stop you."
"…"
Hearing that, Kanade sweatdrops.
"It is not uncommon that people lose their mind during meditation. That's why, in general, there is a need for a meditation teacher to instruct people who want to do meditation."
"…"
"Although it mostly only occurs to those who progress very fast in their meditation so I let my guard down. I never thought you would be such a fast learner," Anon smiles wryly.
Still a little confused, she faintly realizes one particularly important point, "Then, that means…"
"That's right. With your surprisingly immense talent, it shouldn't be long until you are able to achieve an out-of-body experience," Anon smilingly answers so.
Still a little shock, a joyous smile different from the previous one manifests itself on her face, "So that mean…"
"Yes, contrary to my previous expectation, with your talent, the chance for you to meet that boy again is quite high," Anon announces the good news.
"I'm so glad…" Kanade murmurs softly.
"It is unfortunate that you have to go back to Japan soon. I will teach you a few points you have to be careful of during meditation and you can call me anytime to ask about the additional problems you meet during your future meditations. I am rooting for you, Tachibana-san, fulfill your own wish yourself,"
"Yes!"
And so the meeting with the expert ends with an unexpected result…
…Unfortunately, at this time, neither of them notices the light on the ring slowly fades away.
-o-O-o-
"That was a fun trip, wasn't it, Kanade-chan?" Akari asks.
Nodding, she replies, "It sure was an interesting trip. Naoi-san."
"Well, it is a shame that the fun time is over and we have to return."
"Right," Kanade agrees.
After the meeting with the expert, they spent the rest of their vacation time traveling around visiting famous attractions. And now they are on the plane back to Japan.
'Now I finally have a way to meet with Yuzuru. An out-of-body experience, huh? I really hope I am able to achieve it soon.'
Although it is hard to believe everything the expert has said, she experienced the wonder of meditation firsthand; that supernatural euphoria feeling. It makes her believe in what the expert said.
'After I go back to Japan, I will start doing meditation every day,'
For the possibility of meeting with Yuzuru again, that is what she decides.
-o-O-o-
"I'm really curious of what they will do next."
In one of the divine realms, those words ring out.
Done!
This chapter was very difficult to write for me so it took me so long to write each sentence. I am quite sure there should be some minor mistakes in the texts. Please help me find any inconsistencies and I will try my best to fix it.
Next chapter a conflict will break out.
