Blessed Messiah

Chapter 6

Mitsuru opened her eyes to the sound of rain.

Small drops of water slapped the windows and the cemented walls from outside, forming a calming symphony to her tired mind. Scarlet eyes slowly took in the room she was in, noting faintly that she has stayed another night in her vast office and the dawn has arrived, casting its azure glow around the dark room as the sun hid behind the clouds to let the rain thrive on. The fragrant aroma of freshly-brewed coffee that was probably delivered by her secretary wafted along the moist scent of rain and she inhaled it gratefully as she found it soothing.

Eventually, after the rain receded knowing that she probably wouldn't get any rest again today, Mitsuru sat up and headed to a small bathroom adjacent to her office. She tidied herself up and sat on the straight-backed chair as she scanned the documents she has yet to finish.

A sense of familiarity was tingling in the humid air and in every move she made, in every action she took. Mitsuru signed the documents she has read and agreed upon, spreading the wingspan of the company with every contract she made and tirelessly paved her way as the papers decreased bit by bit.

But if she paused briefly on a document that contained the contract with the company that would tear down an old, beaten dorm... Well, it wasn't like anyone was there to witness it.

There was something about the dorm that made a cold feeling crawl incessantly within her, from the extremities of her toes to the tips of her fingers. As if it was too difficult to breath and there was a lack of air around her. There was a yearning so deep that it wouldn't make any sense if she tried to put it into words. She yearned for something that she didn't even know what shape it took in because every single thing that connected her memories about it was like a blurry mosaic.

The fact that it branched from a name that was foreign to her yet too familiar at the same time was something she acknowledged a long time ago. That name has never came up after her graduation, and her subsequent efforts to inherit the mass fortune of Kirijo Group's empire. But then, like a storm, the arrival of her old dorm mates held down the thin vapor unreachable by her power alone into something she could connect to a name and a face.

It was just a name, but it was connected to feelings of bone-deep sadness and exhaustion within her. Feelings that has no place in the life of someone who was fated to stand on the pinnacle of power. But they refused to be buried down so they would never came up again, all tangled up and clung to her core like a spider's thread.

It was foolish. It was illogical. That name was the cause of it, but it wasn't the end of it. On the other hand, more things came up the more she touched upon it. It was like she could reach it with her fingertips if she tried hard enough.

There were moments of disorientating clarity, where she could see that it was different from what she remembered, And it scared Mitsuru that something has happened to her memories- what, who, when, where, why, how. She traced those spider's thread and if she closed her eyes and plugged her ears she could reach it.

The pro-

Then it went away. The woven threads would dissolve as if the Moirae Sisters themselves has decided to cut the strings, escaping into tiny particles of light and air before she could say it and hold it within her palms. The moments would submerge into the curtains of time and she would move on.

But the yearning never went away.

It was confusing to her, and it was worrying how much it affected Mitsuru without her notice. Sometimes, it persisted so much that Mitsuru has refused the offers to move into the main office in France or the many hands that has asked for her. The unexplainable sadness and exhaustion was even worser because it left her with days where she wasn't sure what they were telling her.

She only felt that she has to stay here, even if she must be swallowed by a sea of hellfire.

There was something about that name. Something that told her to not leave this city. Never. Otherwise that person would fade away like steam and slip through their fingers again-

Again?

Mitsuru frowned and leaned back, lifting up a hand to shadow her eyes from the rising sunlight outside. She found her thoughts dancing along the vague link, drifting around the conjectures that appeared around her grasp when a soft knock resounded through the room.

She glanced at the watch clasped gently around her wrist and found that it was already noon. She didn't realize what time it was and since when her paperworks has decreased so much that only a small pile of them was left on the exquisite wooden desk. Mitsuru honestly couldn't find any motivation to finish the pile, not with her mind so far away from the orderly framework it used to be.

The President called out from her seat, "Come in."

Mitsuru waited for the entry of her secretary as she sipped on her coffee, taking small comfort from the familiar taste on her tongue before she put the cup on its canister and looked up. But contrary to her expectation, the person who stood outside her office wasn't her secretary but a silver-haired young man wrapped in casual clothing.

Apparently, her surprise was evident in her eyes because the young man smiled in response and chuckled quietly as he approached her table.

"Surprised?"

Mitsuru shook her head and let out a small upturn of her lips. "I thought you were staying in the next town over for a match, Akihiko?"

Her yearmate sat down with a huff on the comfortable chair directly across her and answered, "Was. Did Junpei told you about that?"

"Yes. Also, he said that he wanted to visit our old dorm for nostalgic purpose and hasn't return the key since." Mitsuru nodded. "When did you return here?"

Akihiko played with his phone before he looked up, "Just yesterday. This is my second day in Iwatodai and thought I should greet you for once. Who knows when'll the next time we meet? It could've been years."

She agreed and expressed her sentiment. It truly has been too long since she saw familiar faces from her younger years. And now that she thought about it, this might be the first time her dorm mates gathered in this city since then.

They had changed and grown so much that sometimes Mitsuru felt that their high school years has never happened. It was as if she only went to sleep for a blink and woke up with what was laid in front of her eyes.

"What's up? You had this brooding face on so suddenly..." Akihiko's voice broke her from her reverie.

Mitsuru's field of vision glazed over for a bit as she cast her gaze down. There was a heavy pause that lingered around the atmosphere before Akihiko finally took the initiative and stood up, leaning forward slightly and he was mildly alarmed by the deep-settled exhaustion that emanated from this dormmate of his.

Akihiko knew her since middle school. Mitsuru was raised with expectations far heavier than most girls, and she has matured into someone with enough perseverance that befitted her station. She was not the type that would succumb to exhaustion.

But the red eyes that wore such weary countenance were unsettling.

Gloved fingers settled gently on her shoulder, grasping with a firm force that was aimed to keep her balance. "You should sleep more, Mitsuru. Your complexion is bad, you know. Aren't you tired from being overworked so much?"

And for a moment, Mitsuru was mulling something over as she kept her head down. After another pause, her hands were put on her lap as she looked up at Akihiko.

"No, I'm not. It's 's just that... Akihiko, do you-" Mitsuru trailed her eyes to the side and bit her lips.

"-Do you know what the phenomenon called a déjà vu is?"

Akihiko showed her a puzzled face before his wits caught up to him. "Err... That's the thing where you feel as if you've experienced something that has never happened before?"

He was right, of course. He wasn't as empty-headed as Junpei who was unlucky enough to took a summer class during their high school years because of Mitsuru's intention to improve his study. The worser thing was that she ended up registering Yukari and the leader even though their grades were far better than Junpei. Mitsuru only smiled mischievously after that.

...Now that he thought about it, were they really that familiar with each other back then?

...He didn't remember much...

Akihiko shook his head.

It wasn't important.

After all, those were things that didn't matter anymore now that they barely met again.

He continued to watch Mitsuru as she pushed herself up, walking to the wide glass windows that showcased the impressive bird's-eye view of the entire man made island while she clasped her hands behind her back. Mitsuru's profile stood with her back to him in absolute trust, her stray pieces of hair that rebelled out from the neat bun that hit the weak sunlight looked even more like dying embers when she freed her hair from its hold.

Mitsuru has lost her long hair, opting to keep its length up to her lower shoulder. She looked older and weaker, a far cry from the know-it-all and strict teenager that spent her adolescence to chase after her father's legacy. Junpei, too, was not the reckless, fiery brat he was once. Rather, he has matured a lot but not with losing that obstinate personality that truly made him, him. Though he has yet to meet the rest of his dorm mates, he was sure that change was not something they could avoid.

She has changed. They had changed. It was as if the people he knew before didn't exist. But he would not wonder what was the cause of it all. It was a question which he was sure that not even Mitsuru would want to utter.

Silence enveloped them. "It's funny," Akihiko said.

Mitsuru glanced back at him, still rooted to her spot. Her forehead was wrinkled in unvoiced query at the strange tone of his words. He would have laugh at the rare expression Mitsuru decided to show, but recently, it felt like they were just strangers to each other.

"The whole time after you said 'déjà vu', I can't shake the feeling that we are living someone else's life. It's like you're not Mitsuru at all."

Mitsuru was quiet for a mere moment before smiling and said, "Same here."

Akihiko looked up from the suddenness of Mitsuru's answer and the unexpected aspect of it. But as though she didn't notice it, Mitsuru returned to the scenery in front of their eyes.

But Akihiko was right. Her flashes of déjà vu' were better, far better than this strange existence reality had become. They were like lucid dreams that appeared whenever she didn't expect it.

She dreamt of encouraging shouts, or ones twisted with pained sorrow. She dreamt of careful fingers healing her wounds, of laughing voices tinted with vivid blue sky. They were dreams that made her chest tighten, but they were not nightmares.

Eventually, the clouds departed and the sun reached its magnificent arc, shining upon the city. And as if that moment was just a moment frozen in time, Mitsuru let out a sigh and returned to her desk. Realizing that the moment was over, Akihiko sat back and waited for Mitsuru to gather her bearings.

Mitsuru intertwined her slender fingers on the desk and asked, "Is it correct for me to assume that you and Iori are about to return to the States after greeting me?"

At Akihiko's affirmation, she continued, "Understood, I can directly purchase your tickets from here and for the night, both of you should stay in one of our accommodation."

Akihiko's face looked troubled but she smiled, "No, think nothing of it."

But Akihiko just glanced away and scratched his chin, sweating faintly. Mitsuru sensed something, but waited for the other party to open his mouth. Her patience paid off when Akihiko eventually looked up and said in an unsure voice.

"Actually, I was hoping you would know where he is. I can't contact him at all this past four days."

Author's Note:

Sorry for being MIA, I suddenly have so much things to read thanks to someone that shan't be named and I was struck with an unhealthy case of procrastinating. On the other hand, the more I write this fic, the more despair I felt. Translating the lyrics was even worser and I swear that someone must've been chopping onions when this song was made.

And I'd personally drown anyone in a vat of coffee if they say otherwise.

Ranting over, thanks for reading^^ (and let me know what you think. I can't use telepathy, yo)