Chapter 16: The Determined Descendant Who Leapt Through Time

"Hey! I already told you that the door closes by itself!" a certain cab driver said.

It was one of the first ordeals I had to go through that day, being in a place that I grew up in, yet I somehow knew next to nothing about. But that was to be expected – it was a decision I made, therefore it was my own responsibility, one that I have to bear with until the very end.

"Oh.. umm – I'm sorry" I apologized, having slammed the taxi's automatic door shut with all her might.

"What in the world.. first those foreigners, and now you! Before I know it, I'll need to have them replaced – dangit" the driver said, pulled up the side window, and drove away.

As I looked away from the cab, a thing I had been finding the whole time was clearly visible within sight, Tokyo Tower. From where I stopped the cab, it was probably less than a kilometer away. To me, such a distance wasn't for far. The distance between school and my house is farer after all, so I was pretty much used to it.

'It won't take long' I thought, as I took my first step with optimism.

..It was the only step I took before I started feeling hopeless immediately.

Tall buildings, skyscrapers, as well as the Tokyo Tower itself suddenly disappeared out of view. Looking down at what was in front of me, I thought I was in a totally different world from before I took that step.

The sight I have in front of me simply popped into view without any sorts of transition. If I were to describe it now, I would say that it felt as if you were watching a badly edited video through a VR headset.

All the tall structures I saw earlier were now small wooden houses with two floors at max – the better looking ones had tiled roofs, while the the cheaper looking ones had thatched roofs. Digital advertising screens and the pavement that they were on weren't there either, instead, there were banners in front of stores, advertising whatever it was that they were selling.

The sound of modern machinery like car horns and the sliding open of automatic doors were nowhere to be heard. The only things I heard were the occasional sound of wooden wheels of carriages rolling against the floor as they passed by.

What caught my eye the most, though, were those who were around me. A moment before, I was looking at men in suits, and women wearing the latest fashion. But then suddenly, I was looking at people of both genders walking around in robes of different colors and patterns – some of them were wearing straw woven sandals, while others took their steps on the dusty ground with their bare feet.

Being a young woman myself, I couldn't help but notice the other girls who looked my age. There wasn't a single hint of dye on their hair, and most of theirs seemed to be styled in the same way: by having them knotted up with a hair pin being poke through.

Other than the differences, life seems to be continuing for them as usual. Although, to my dismay, the conversations that happened around me were all related to nationalism in a way.

"It was Russia that started this whole thing!" a guy in a full Gakuren outfit said.

"Yeah, I will definitely join up and rid our Manchuria of any of them that's left!" the other guy in a similar outfit said.

There was no doubt about it, and their inflections confirmed this: I was in Meiji era.

To be taken somewhere so far from your objective, It was hopeless, to say the least. But, to be fair, I knew that this sort of thing would've happened sooner or later – Yukie-san did warn me about it, I was just being neglectful and overly optimistic.

But then I remembered: she gave me some something to deal with this sort of situation, and it was in my blazer's pocket the whole time. It was a device no bigger than a virtual pet would be, but instead of a pet, there was a spinning arrow on the screen. She told me to go in the direction that the arrow was pointing at, and I'll be back in the present eventually.

Holding the device in my hand, I took a deep breath, building up the wall that will prevent me from giving in to the despair. With the same determination as earlier, I took my steps slowly, holding on to the confidence I built up the same way did with the device. I was ready to take on whatever the era was throwing my way..

Though, I don't think the same could be said about the locals when it comes to receiving me..

"Look at that women" somebody said, referring to me, "doesn't she look out of place?"

"Yeah – why is she dressed up like one of those western academic? She's so pretentious" somebody else said.

Those words were as sharp any knife I have held at home, and some that I heard a bit later on were actually sharper, yet they did not bother me in the slightest. I anticipated this sort of reception. It was the Meiji era, where women rights wasn't the biggest of concern, so walking around in a western-looking uniform as a women in this time period probably isn't a great idea.

To be completely honest, I was born ten years earlier than him, so I probably didn't have any right to complain anyway.

I had all the eyes of the local on me all the way through a district. It wasn't the sort of eyes a white man would get if he visits Japan in the present – all I felt coming towards me was contempt. But again, I was able to go through an entire road full of offended people without scratch, physically or emotionally.

Eventually I came across a wooden bridge that goes over a canal of some sort. It was wide enough for an average sized vehicle to go over. I knew that I had to go over – that fact made irrefutable when the device aligned the tip of its arrow exactly at the middle of the bridge.

When I placed my feet on one of the connected wooden parts, I could've sworn that I heard a squeak coming from below. By then, I was already too apprehensive to give this bridge another step forward, but I did so anyway. The canal seemed to be to wide for me to swim across, and I wouldn't want to get my clothes wet anyhow – it was the only way for me to get across.

I took another step, and the squeaking seemed to have become louder, but I kept going reluctantly.

After many steps in, I started to disregard the noise all together, because, after all, 'nothing seems to be falling apart'

That was when I was completely wrong.

As I got to the apex, the wooden piece I stood on suddenly broke in half. With both of my arms, I was able to grab onto the side frames that were still intact, though my feet were already in the water.

Then it happened again. I heard loud snaps coming from both sides of the frame – this time, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Both of frames that I held on to broke off, and my whole body fell into the water.

Whenever there was swimming during PE, I have always found an excuse to just sit beside to pool and watch. Never would I have thought the laziness of mine could come back to bite me in the butt. I desperately flapped my arms and legs around to try to stay afloat – you do not need to be a professional swimmer figure out that it wouldn't work.

I struggled with the water for a short while, pushing myself upward all the while sinking with small waves hitting my face every second. When I eventually ran out of strength, I knew it was going to be the end as I was slowly being submerged, my face being further and further from the surface.

I wasn't a follower of any particular religion, but I started praying in hope that someone, anyone would hear it.

Nothing complicated, It was something along the lines of, "Please, let me go and meet him"

It had been a while since I was able to sit alone, and eat at my new favorite spot, the rooftop. Since I was no longer around her, there was no one to interrupt my moment of peace. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular, I swear (at least I tried not to) – all I wanted to do then, was munching on a store bought sandwich.

As if deliberately trying to pull my leg, somebody opened the door to the rooftop to which I sat across. What emerged from the stairs was a person that you would always see in lab coat, even though she doesn't even teach science.

She doesn't remind me of anyone, I swear.

"So you're here after all, Hikigaya" she said.

"As always, Hiratsuka-sensei" I replied.

Without saying a word, she came and sat down right beside me as if it was a normal thing to do. That was it for a while – nobody decided to say anything, not even she would say anything. I usually don't try to strike up a conversation, but in a situation like this I would at least want us to acknowledge each other.

"Sensei- "

"Hikigaya" she interrupted.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," she said.

Now, that was unexpected, especially for a teacher.. what could she be sorry about, I wondered. Usually, she would be the one lecturing me in a situation like this – she would stop at nothing to bring me to my knees.

"I should've stopped Yukie before all that happened to you" she said as she lit her cigarette she just took out.

"Personally, I don't hold any grudge against her" I said, "After all, she did it to ensure my safety"

Rather than a statement, she replied with a warm smile of reassurance. It was as if she was glad I didn't blame her or the lady for what had happened.

C'mon, being anti-social doesn't mean that you have to be unreasonably insensitive.

With a big sigh, she leaned against the wall, and finally put her lit cigarette to use.

"I still wonder to this day" she said, puffing out a small cloud of smoke, "why didn't I just go after him"

Even if she tried her best to avoid naming someone, I still knew exactly who she was referring to.

"That's not so difficult to answer, it's because you didn't want to give up everything for someone you only knew for three months" I said, "I'm more than certain she thinks so too"

"You don't have to worry, I'm sure she's trying her best to come" she said.

"You're saying it as if I'm worried at all, Sensei. It doesn't matter whether she comes or not"

And it was true – I had been back for almost two weeks, and I was able to go on with my daily life from then on. The only contributions she had made to my well-being weren't at all significant, objectively speaking, that is.

"To her, whether or not you're there makes a whole world of difference" she said.

I could've sworn that I saw her younger self in a flash as she said so, it was as if she was trying to redirect those words to him through me.

It really made me wonder why someone like her wasn't taken already.

"You should trust her more, Hikigaya," she said "We may look the same, but she's a lot smarter than I am"

"To be fair, both of you ended up dating a loner, so I don't think either of you is better than the other in that depart- Ouch!"

Without letting me finish, she punched me in the shoulder.

"Like you're any better!" she said, blushing like there was no tomorrow, "Last I checked, you didn't even breakup with her before coming back!"

Somehow, I find her flushed face to be extremely.. adorable.. not as much as Totsuka's, though.

But my rudeness did manage to lighten up the mood a bit – I realized so when she started laughing at the silliness of the whole thing. I couldn't help but smile as well.

"Hikigaya," she said, putting out her cigarette.

"Yes?"

Without warning, (or waiting for my approval), she rested her head on my shoulder.

Naturally, I started freaking out.

"Sensei?!"

"I know it's not the time that I can do this anymore," she said, her voice filled with regret, "but please, Hikigaya, let me at least pretend that I still can"

Oh, RomCom god, why do you do this?

"Go ahead" I said.

Not that there was anything I could've done to stop her.

"Can you call me by my name?" she said, "You know, the same way you called her"

Now, that may have been a bit too much, but it's not like I didn't know where she was coming from. I am by no means a grown up, but there are times where I want to be younger too – It's one of those way you can use to escape the cruelty of the reality we live in. So, reluctantly, I took a deep breath and built up the courage.

"Shizuka" – I finally said it.

"Thank you, Hikigaya-kun"

For a short moment, I felt like I was really sitting with a seventeen year old Hiratsuka Shizuka, an innocent young women who had not yet gave in to nicotine. It seemed like she was enjoying every single second of it, despite the lack of any meaningful conversation. I allowed her to savor the moment for as long as she wanted – it was needless for me to say it at this point, but she really took her time.

When I opened my eyes, all I see was a wooden ceiling that seemed to get deeper the more to the center it was. Looking left and right, there were traditional sliding doors with white translucent papers on them. Through the slid open door in the right, I saw an open corridor with a garden of some kind being a bit further.

Based on what I felt lying down, the floor was without a doubt, woven rice straws.

But how?, I thought. A moment ago I remembered being in the canal, drowning. Now, I was lying at somebody's house.

I stood up, wanting to explore the premise in which I rested. As I stood up, I quickly realized that I was not wearing my uniform (which by then should still be wet), but a traditional robe.

"It suits you better than the clothes you wore before the accident" said someone. I turned around, and there was woman who looked my age, sliding the door as she came in. I didn't even notice her – probably too mesmerised by the fact that I was still alive then.

She was different from the girls I saw before.. Well, it was mainly due to her hairstyle. Rather than that of a Geisha, she had her hair loose. Overall, seemed like a pretty laid back person.

"Pardon my intrusion" I said, bowing down.

"Please make yourself at home" she said, "I take it that you probably have a lot to inquire?"

"Yes" I said.

"Then, would you like some tea?"

The girl went out of the room for a short while and came back holding a wooden tray with a tea set on top. She placed the tray down in front of me and sat down.

"Here" she said, handing me a cup.

"Thank you" I said, receiving it with both of my hands.

"To be honest I am not sure of what happened myself" she said, "but as far as I know, it was an acquaintance of mine who saved you"

"An acquaintance?"

"Yes, he brought you here at noon and asked me to take care of you" she said, "Do not worry, I was the one who changed your clothes – they should still be drying outside at the moment"

"I see" I said, taking a sip of the tea.

"Also, this is just my opinion, but you bear a resemblance to him.. to my acquaintance, I mean" she said.

"How exactly?" I replied.

"When I look into your eyes, a similar emotion is evoked to when I look into his" she said, "He is always willing to support a comrade in distress, but would not reach out to anyone when he needs help – I think that description suits you too"

There was certainly a degree of truth in what she said. Sometimes, I really do think my problems aren't really worth anyone's time, but if someone were to come and ask for help, I wouldn't hesitate to.

"Are you at all familiar with the name Hiratsuka Hiroto?" she said, "That is his name"

The last name really caught me off guard – after all, that's also my last name. Initially, though, I thought I have misheard her.

"Excuse me, but what is his name again?"

"Hiratsuka Hiroto" she said, "He is one of the people who founded Sobu Preparatory School"

Now, things were starting to make sense in a way I have never imagined.

That person she was talking about was, without a doubt, my great grandfather. It was a scenario worthy of being a paradox had things went wrong.

Make no mistake, though, that was the only start to a long line of coincidences I went through later on.

A/N: Hi there people, thanks for sticking around until now! I really hope the story wasn't confusing so far. After so many train wrecks, the last thing I want to do right now is to create anymore of it. So, from here on, I will try my best to minimize the amount of BS and actually work toward an ending. Once again, thanks to those of you who are still sticking by!