Chapter 10: Strange Happenings
Wednesday, April 10, 2022
6:30 am
Beepbeepbeepbeepbe-
SMASH
I groggily opened my eyes and awoke from my sleep, my vision slowly clearing to reveal the already-deactivated alarm clock that rested on my bedside table. Despite my tired state, I contained a strong feeling of satisfaction at my newfound ability to strike an alarm clock before I've even woken up.
"Do you always hit your alarm clock that hard?" I heard Natsuki yawn from my left.
I turned around and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, seeing that Natsuki was doing just the same. With her ribbons out of her hair and her hair flowing loosely, I couldn't help but stare a bit. Her current state of tiredness combined with her casual appearance made her look, for lack of a better term, adorable.
"Yeah, pretty much." I joked. Natsuki gave me a tired, but amused, smile.
"I could've hit it harder." She joked back, giving me a grin. I grinned back.
After a bit more back-and-forth, we eventually began to get out of bed. We were in the same position as the day before, with me sitting cross-legged on the bed facing the window as Natsuki got dressed behind me. I found it pretty dumb how we still needed to go to school with the possibility of a cult targeting us, but there was no point arguing when the person who was giving the order was the chief of police.
"You'll be safe in such a highly-populated area." He had said. "No one would dare risk attacking you while you're surrounded by so many other people."
'Yeah, tell that to my friends.' I thought, frustrated.
Even just that small thought of the terrorist attack caused my heartrate and breathing to go faster. Visions of the event began to swarm through my mind. The broken bodies of my friends. Covered in blood, bullet holes, their eyes bulging out of their skull with a pain-stricken expression that showed their final moments as being as painful as can be-
"Alex?"
The visions ripped away from my mind as Natsuki spoke her concern, and I was back in reality. Natsuki was leaning around my right, looking me in the eyes with a worried expression. It was a similar situation as the day before, only this time, she was wearing a full shirt.
"J-just a m-minor PTSD a-attack." I stuttered. "N-nothing too serious." It didn't seem like Natsuki was very convinced, as her gaze was fixed on my still-shaking arms. Natsuki's concerned expression refused to leave her face as she looked back up at me.
"Your PTSD is getting worse, isn't it." It was more of a statement than a question. "Alex, I know you have a lot to deal with right now... but if you need anyone to talk to, then I'm always here for you." I considered her offer for a moment, but then shook my head slowly and solemnly.
"I appreciate the concern, but this isn't exactly something I can really talk about right now." I told her with a sad smile. "N-not until this is all over, o-okay?" Natsuki let out a deep sigh, then pulled me into a hug.
"Just don't push yourself too far, okay?" She requested with a smile. "If you need anything at all, the rest of us are here for you, no matter what." She gave me a light kiss on the cheek, then turned to leave the room.
"I thought that was my line." I joked just before she exited the room. She turned halfway around and gave me a sideways smile, before turning back and passing through the doorway.
I lightly chuckled to myself, then began to get into my school uniform. The memories were still squirming around in the back of my mind, trying to escape, but I was able to manage for the time being. Ever since the conversation with Monika the night before, I hadn't been able to recover. My body began to go on autopilot as I recalled the event:
Flashback
Monika and I were relaxing in the backyard together after training with the swords. Even though Keisatsu had entrusted them to me, we thought it best that more than one person know how to use them well.
"Hey, Alex, I was wondering..." Monika started. "Do you have any plans to tell the others about your... *ahem*… past?"
My right arm began to shake a little, prompting me to swing my left hand over and hold it down.
"I... don't think that would be the best idea right now." I answered, shaken. "With everything going on, it wouldn't do anything except stress them out more."
"I guess you have a point..." Monika sighed. "Your friends... what were they like?" I had a sudden, sharp intake of breath. My PTSD from the attack had been coming back slightly ever since Monday night, but it hadn't been getting all that bad up until then.
I stupidly answered, for some reason thinking that I could just power through it.
"K-Kyle was the weirder one." I answered nervously. "H-he was nice, b-but sometimes a b-bit distant." My breathing was beginning to speed up. "J-James was t-the joker. H-he laughed a-at every j-joke someone t-told, and h-he was d-definitely the m-most lively o-of the g-group. He a-and Kyle d-didn't see e-eye-to-eye very m-much, but t-they were s-still friends." I could feel my heartrate going faster and faster. "A-Aurora w-was t-the s-shy o-one. S-she w-was l-like J-James, o-only s-she d-didn't h-have a-as m-much c-confidence a-as h-him-"
I suddenly went ridged, and the images of the event shot through my mind before I could even comprehend them. My mind was overfilled with the memories, and they were all I could think of. My vision went red, and all I could feel was fear.
My throat felt hoarse, but I didn't remember screaming. Through all these sensations, I could just barely make out the outline of Monika looking down at me with a scared expression. The next little while was a blur, and I eventually found myself inside, surrounded by everyone else...
Flashback End
I tucked my phone into my pants pocket as the memory ended, my hands still shaking just from thinking about it. I focused all my attention towards stopping the memories, and the shaking eventually ceased. I had to stay strong for the others. I kept telling this to myself, but it only barely helped.
With a sigh of relief, I turned towards the door and left the room to meet with everyone else.
*Five minutes later*
Before I'd even entered the living room, a vaguely familiar voice rang out from inside:
"Now it's Reyn time!"
And because of that, I looked directly at the TV as soon as I entered. Everyone was looking directly at the TV as they ate, and they were watching YouTube. Yes, everyone was watching a let's play on YouTube on the TV as they ate first thing in the morning.
"I guess you could call it a... Deus Ex... Machina!" The person playing the game joked. Everyone in the room groaned at the horrible pun, including me. The extra groan in the room caused everyone to notice my presence and turn to me.
"Hey, man!" Mc greeted. "We saved you some food. It's right over there." He pointed to the coffee table, where a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon sat.
I gave him a wave of thanks as I walked inside. I picked up the plate of food and sat down in the only empty spot in between Natsuki and Tiffany. Shiro took up the last spot on our couch. On the other couch sat Mc, Yuri, Monika, and Sayori in that order. Keisatsu and Ishi sat once again in their two armchairs.
Natsuki gave me a sudden, quick peck on the cheek, then went back to eating and watching. I followed her lead, but then noticed Tiffany giving me an oddly happy smile. I turned my attention to her, and she suddenly realized she'd been staring.
"You two are perfect for each other." She commented, making me a bit red in the face. This reaction made her giggle at my embarrassment.
"You know, you and Shiro are the only two people in this room who aren't in a relationship." I pointed out jokingly. "You know what that means..." Tiffany took a few seconds to get what I was saying, then went just as red as I was. She sputtered for a few moments before she was able to respond.
"H-he's not my type." She stuttered. Shiro jokingly let out a disappointed "aw" after she said this, causing us to laugh.
My joking was ceased when Natsuki suddenly threw her arm around my back, basically hugging me with only her right arm. She scooted a bit closer to me and rested her head on my side, not able to reach my shoulder. We all silently agreed that the conversation was over, and then turned our attention back to our food and the TV.
*Ten minutes later*
"It's time for you kids to go." Keisatsu suddenly stated as he bolted up from his chair. "This is the time that the most people will be on the road, so you'll be the safest you can be in public."
Monika, Yuri, Sayori, Mc, and Shiro got up first. However, the remaining three people (including me) hesitated.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Tiffany questioned. Keisatsu gave her a look of confusion, then sighed.
"I understand your concern, but you have nothing to worry about." He reassured us. "No one would be stupid enough to attack you while you're surrounded by people." One look at his face was all I needed to tell he wasn't telling the full truth.
He was hiding something. His expression was guarded, like he was trying his best to prevent anything from getting in or out. His body was rigid, showing the same guarded feeling as his face. There was something he wasn't telling us, but that didn't exclusively mean he was lying. For some reason, this reassured me more than it should have.
"Alright." I sighed, trying to look reluctant. "Tiff, Nat, he has a point. They wouldn't risk something like that." Tiffany looked at me in dismay, but Natsuki slowly stood up alongside me. It seemed like Natsuki's trust in me was quite high.
Tiffany looked between the three of us a few times, before closing her eyes and slowly sighing deeply.
"Well, if everyone agrees, I guess there's no point in arguing." She reluctantly agreed. "Okay, let's go."
With a final sigh of reluctance, Tiffany stood up, and the three of us began to make our way towards the front door. As we grabbed our stuff, I found myself confused by something about Monika.
Up until now, she'd always kept her hair tied up into a ponytail with a white ribbon. However, this time, she for some reason opted to leave her hair hanging down, spilling down her shoulders and beyond. Monika had always had a professional air about her, so this small change caught me a bit off guard.
I chose not to ask her about it, though, as it wasn't all that difficult of a question to answer. Sayori was clearly having an influence on her, as was vice versa.
*Five minutes later*
As we walked down the street, the sidewalks were noticeably more crowded than normal. Keisatsu clearly wasn't joking when he said that most people would be on the road at that time. It wasn't packed or anything, but it was to the point where our conversations could easily be overheard by mere passerby.
"This is going to be so weird..." Natsuki said to herself.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Natsuki slightly jumped, a bit surprised at how I overheard her whispering to herself.
"Well, this is the first time we're going to school while we're together." She reasoned. "Won't that be a bit awkward? I mean, I kind of have a reputation for being a hot-headed bitch." I put my hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"It'll be fine." I reassured her. "Besides, it'll give you the opportunity to break that reputation." Natsuki made a small 'hmm', considering the idea.
"I guess you have a point." She admitted.
I waited for her to continue, but she had apparently decided the conversation was over. Understandable, considering it was kind of hard to find a topic of conversation without referencing one of our many current problems.
With this issue, even the others in our group said nothing. Not even Sayori's internal sunshiny self was present. It was depressingly quiet, and no one stepped up to cut the silence as we walked.
*Thirty minutes later*
Still, no one said anything even as we approached the front gate of the school, the building looming over us like the silence we were in. It wasn't only the shock of everything that'd happened so far, but there was a distinct feeling of nervousness in our party as well. Some of us were clearly worried about getting attacked out in the open, despite Keisatsu's reassurance that it was safe. Unfortunately, there were a certain two people who he couldn't account for...
As soon as we passed through the threshold that the gates of the school offered, Monika was grabbed by someone, and the next thing we knew, Chad was standing in front of us with his arm around Monika's waist, Okane standing behind him.
"I can see you changed your look." He taunted with a smug smile. "Are you preparing for me to pound you into the bed-"
Before he could continue with his sexual harassment, Sayori marched up to him surprisingly fast and cracked her fist against his face, causing him to let go of Monika. Sayori's sudden anger surprised all of us, most of all Chad.
He had a shocked expression on his face as he processed what had just happened. Sayori was the gentlest person in the entire group, so his reaction made sense. However, as he saw the look Monika was giving Sayori, his eyes slowly lit up with realisation.
"Wait, are you two together?!" He laughed, then suddenly stopped and gave Monika a serious expression. "Hey, now. I'll show you the CORRECT way to live."
He made another reach towards Monika, but Sayori quickly grabbed his wrist and looked at him angrily. Even though I hadn't seen it that much, angry Sayori was quite a scary sight.
"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Moni." Sayori spoke haltingly and threateningly. I was mentally freaking out. This was really out of character for Sayori, but then again, it was probably warranted due to the recent events.
"Goddamn freaks." Chad sighed, then thrust his other fist forward towards Sayori's face.
It happened so fast, but what followed happened even faster. Yuri, who up until that point had just been looking on in horror, suddenly bolted forward and caught Chad's fist with her left hand while pulling something out of her purse with her right.
Yuri's face was filled with rage, while Chad's was filled with the same. However, that quickly changed to fear as the object Yuri was pulling out of her purse was revealed to be a knife. She held it threateningly in a pose where she was ready to stab him, and no one moved.
Eventually, Chad stepped back from the two of them, and his expression was back to anger.
"You should be submissive and controlled." He told them, pissing everyone off. "That's how this world works. YOU ARE ALL BELOW ME!" He sprinted away, entering the school building and leaving Okane behind.
Okane didn't react. He just stared straight ahead, looking like he was lost in thought. He eventually snapped out of it and looked around frantically. When he realised what was going on, he quickly turned around and ran after Chad, leaving me confused as to what the hell was going on.
"Well then." I said awkwardly. "That was... something."
"It, um... it sure was." Mc agreed, just as awkwardly. "Hey, Yuri, could you maybe put away the knife? You're kind of scaring me."
Yuri suddenly jolted, having not noticed that she was still holding the knife. She frantically put it back in her purse with an alarmed expression, then bowed in apology to Mc.
As Mc continuously told Yuri that she had nothing to worry about, Natsuki leaned in and whispered:
"What was Okane's deal?"
"I don't know." I responded, giving the obvious answer.
Our attention was dragged to Yuri and Mc, who were still having trouble communicating an apology, and the fact that an apology wasn't necessary.
"Yuri, you don't need to apologi-"
"Imsosorryididntmeantoscareyouipromiseitwonthappenagainpleaseforgiveme-"
It was a situation that was strangely quite funny and caused everyone else to laugh. The drama of the previous encounter had dissolved and was replaced with hilarity at this small show.
*Ten minutes later*
I pulled my binder out of my locker and shut the door, closing the lock as I did so. Despite the distraction behind the previous scene, our group was eventually able to continue onward into the school. We had broken up at the front doors and went our separate ways to our lockers, some of us still chuckling.
It was strange to be back at that school, having had so much happen in between. It almost felt like a years' difference in time, so it was a bit difficult to comprehend my situation.
I turned away from my locker and looked down the hall, preparing to make the journey towards my next class. However, as I did, something caught my eye at the end of the hallway.
There was a flash of movement, only just barely enough to see. There was nothing there, but I knew for a fact that I'd seen someone, or something pass around the corner and out of sight. I suddenly had a stroke of fear, so I did my best to calm myself down.
'You're not in any danger here.' I thought to myself. 'It was probably just the janitor.'
It took a bit of effort, but the reassurance eventually flowed through my brain, and I felt mostly safe. Mostly.
I began walking down the hall towards my math class, ignoring the fact that I was currently walking towards where I'd seen that flash of movement.
*Five minutes later*
I entered my math class and was immediately blinded by Shiro once again, the light from the window reflecting through his glasses directly into my face. He was DEFINITELY doing this on purpose.
I turned my head at an angle to the point where the light wouldn't hit my eyes as I approached, adjusting the angle if necessary. I probably looked ridiculous walking like that, but I didn't mind. If I had a choice between keeping my vision or dignity, I'd always choose the vision.
"You're taking all the fun out of it." Shiro joked as I plopped down in the seat next to him.
"I'm sorry that I like sight." I joked back, earning a chuckle from him.
That was followed by an awkward silence, which Shiro quickly filled.
"Hey, what's the Literature Club like?" He asked out of the blue. It was a strange and sudden question, but I answered nonetheless.
"It's honestly pretty calm." I answered simply. "We basically hang out and do literature-related things. And then, every day we share po-"
'Fuck, I forgot to write a poem.' The realisation hit me like a truck, probably harder than it should've. I found myself staring straight forward in shock.
"Alex? You there?" Shiro was poking my side. He repeated himself countless times, and I was eventually snapped out of it.
"S-sorry, I kind of trailed off there for a second." I apologized.
"How the hell do you lose concentration while you're talking?" Shiro asked.
"I'm talented." I joked in answer, earning another chuckle.
A short silence filled the next few seconds, and I took the opportunity to ask Shiro a question that I'd wanted to ask him for a while now.
"Why did you decide to join the Literature Club?" I asked him. For some reason, Shiro looked a bit uncomfortable with this question. He began to twiddle his thumbs, thinking of a reply.
"I... um..." He sputtered. "I just wanted to be a part of a small group, I guess. I didn't want to be with a bunch of people in a crowded room."
I wasn't satisfied with this answer. I wanted to press him for a more detailed reason, but the bell sounded, punctuating our conversation with three dots.
*One class later*
Shiro left the class oddly quick, beating even the bell by one second. Shiro was usually so happy, it left me wondering why he was so uncomfortable with the talk we'd had.
'He's just shaken from the recent events.' I told myself. 'Get a hold of yourself, Alex!' I mentally slapped myself into concentration, then stood up from my desk to meet with Natsuki.
"Hey, Alex." I hadn't even exited the doorway, and I already heard Natsuki greeting me from my left.
I looked in said direction to see Natsuki leaning against the wall, giving me a warm smile. I couldn't help but return that smile, ignorant to the swaths of students curving around us. We stayed staring at each other for what felt like an unnecessary amount of time. Eventually, my vocal cords remembered how to function.
"So, shall we be off?" I offered awkwardly. Natsuki giggled.
"Alright, come on." She responded, walking past me.
As I began to follow beside her, her hand reached over a bit and slipped her fingers into mine, interlacing them. I felt my face heat up at this casual public contact, but Natsuki didn't seem fazed in any way. She retained her warm smile from earlier, comforted by my presence.
*Five minutes later*
"So, anyway, that's how Charlie and the Chocolate Factory made me hate whipped cream."
Natsuki stared at me in confusion as we entered the science classroom, but slowly turned back ahead with a shrug.
Ignoring that previous and uncomfortable conversation, Natsuki and I let go of each other's hands and sat down at our desks, waiting for class to begin. It wasn't long before we were both surprised to see a certain someone in the doorway to the classroom.
Okane.
We'd both known that he was in our science class, but he always got there before us. Not only that, but he looked drained. Pitiful, almost. Like he was just going through the movements of something he was bored of or hated. He walked down the aisle between desks, stopping next to mine. Then, without turning his head or changing his expression, he said:
"You're not going to last much longer."
Then he just moved on, acting as if that exchange hadn't even happened. There was no threatening edge to his voice or anything like that. He sounded almost depressed. I looked at Natsuki with a confused expression, but she merely shrugged her shoulders, signifying that she knew just about as much as I did.
With nothing else happening at that moment, the bell rang. You get the idea by now.
*One class later*
"Finally..." Natsuki groaned as the bell rang. "I thought I was going to fall asleep."
'It wouldn't be the first time.' I joked to myself, then instantly felt bad for it.
"So, I guess I'll see you in the cafeteria." I said to Natsuki. She gave me a smile and nodded, waving her hand goodbye as she left. I followed her example and began to leave with her, but one last look behind me stopped me in my tracks.
In the back row, the only other person in the room other than myself, was Okane. He was sitting at his desk with the same dead expression he had before, just staring at his desk. It was a bit of a disturbing sight, to be honest. However, I told myself that I didn't have time to deal with that and just continued on my way, turning my back on him.
*Five minutes later*
I exchanged the things in and out of my locker rapidly, trying to get to the cafeteria as fast as possible. I felt strangely exposed and threatened out in the open like this, so I nearly jumped through the ceiling when I heard sudden footsteps from down the hall approaching me.
I whirled my gaze around and assumed a defensive stance. And once again, in the weirdest encounter so far that day, Okane was standing there at the end of the hallway. While he still had the same expression on his face, there was something different about it. Just barely viewable behind his eyes and the façade of calm, was a hint of inner debate.
It looked like the two halves of his brain were arguing over something. Over an important decision. I couldn't quite understand why he, of all people, had this look in his eyes. Even though I clearly saw this, I still categorized him as how he'd been treating everyone, and responded accordingly:
"Okay, what the fuck do you what?!" I exclaimed. To my surprise, Okane completely ignored my shouts. The strange look in his eyes faded, and he slowly turned and left around the corner, leaving me even more confused than I already was.
'Goddammit, Alex! Focus on the task at hand!' I scolded myself. With a few mental (and physical) slaps to the face, I eventually got everything sorted and started down the hallway towards the cafeteria.
*Five minutes later*
Sayori didn't call out to me when I entered the cafeteria. I know, every word in that sentence sounded more ridiculous than the last. But let me back up about 1.56983 seconds.
I pushed the cafeteria doors open, them flying outward as I entered the cafeteria. My gaze was already locked on the table we all sat at, but to my surprise, no sound came from Sayori. I looked a little closer and found her just looking at me and smiling. I smiled back and waved, beginning my twelve-meter journey towards the table.
I circled around as usual and plopped down in the same spot as usual next to Natsuki and across from Shiro. I was greeted by everyone as usual, but something still seemed unusual. And I'm not saying that in a bad way.
Some of the club members seemed... different compared to the last time we all sat at that table. Yuri was more sociable and less shy, Sayori was a bit less excited and erratic, and Monika was livelier and happier.
It was nice to see how everyone's changed, despite the recent events. As we all talked, I couldn't help but see a look of happiness in Monika's eyes. Even though it'd been a few days since we'd done it, she still seemed relieved at the final survival of all her friends.
"I'm Kirito!" Sayori joked as she held two small french fries.
'Okay, well, I guess they didn't change all THAT much.' I thought as we all laughed.
*Thirty minutes later*
The bell rang, suddenly cutting off our conversations and triggering multiple disappointment sighs. We all reluctantly got up, said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways to our next classes. Well, I say separate ways, but Yuri and I had the same class, so that specific wording doesn't quite apply completely.
"It has been quite a while since we had a chance to talk to one another with just the two of us." Yuri lamented as we exited the cafeteria. "I must thank you for what you did for me on Friday, as I never had the chance to." I gave her a sideways smile.
"I'm just glad you and Mc are alright." I responded. "Although, speaking of which, how have your arms been doing?"
In response, Yuri suddenly stopped in the middle of the strangely empty hallway. She looked around to make sure we weren't being watched, then held up her right arm and slowly began to roll up the sleeve of her school uniform.
Almost every single cut she revealed was gone, now replaced by light scars along her wrist and a bit beyond. I looked at them for a few seconds, before looking back up at Yuri. She gave me a warm smile of thanks, which I promptly returned.
"Mc and Ishi gave me some tips on how to properly take care of my cuts so they'll heal faster." Yuri explained. "They've really changed my life." She began to roll her sleeves back down.
"Yeah, there's a lot of that going on right now." I joked, causing Yuri to giggle.
Yuri finished rolling down her sleeves, and we continued on our way. However, as we continued, I heard rapid footsteps from around the corner in front of us, something that Yuri didn't react to. I stopped suddenly, and Yuri gave me an odd expression as she stopped as well.
"Alex, what's wrong?" She asked me.
Looking back on it, I realize now that my next decision was a pretty stupid one. Because I was the only one out of the two of us who heard it, I chocked it up to just being my imagination.
"Never mind." I responded stupidly. "I thought I heard something."
Yuri gave me a weird look but decided to not press any further. We continued once again, this time not stopping for anything. As we rushed, my mind wandered to what just happened.
'What were those footsteps?' I asked myself. 'Why was I the only one who heard them? Am I going insane?'
I shook my head to banish the thoughts and focused back on the present.
Yuri and I quickly got to the classroom, entered, and sat down at our desks. Neither of us talked, for some reason. I guess that both of us decided that there was nothing to talk about. So, because of this, we sat in silence until the bell rang.
*One class later*
"See you at the club." I waved goodbye to Yuri as we split up at the door. This day was going by much faster than I thought it would, and I must say, I was quite excited for the Literature Club. It would be nice to have a semblance of 'normal' for once.
I left my thoughts behind as I saw someone in front of me, their back turned to me as they walked down the hall. Even from the back, their identity was unmistakable.
"Hey, Tiffany!" I called out.
Tiffany turned around at the sound of my voice, and her expression lit up. She stopped in her path, waiting for me to catch up. I sped up my pace and quickly caught up with her, both of us transitioning to a walk down the hall.
"I almost didn't understand what you were saying." She admitted. "I've been speaking Japanese so much that it's become my default language."
It took me a moment to understand what she was saying, then remembered that everything I said was translated to the language of whoever I was talking to and vice versa. Out of all the things that had changed about me, that was still the most confusing somehow.
"Yeah." I chuckled, trying to seem casual. "It's kind of weird being the only two people here that speak English."
"It sure is." Tiffany agreed.
There was something off about her when she said that. She sounded unfocused. Confused, even. A glance at her expression supported this hunch. She wasn't fully 'there'.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked her. "You seem... distracted."
Tiffany blinked a few times, only then seeming to take notice of her surroundings. She shook her head to focus herself, then turned to me.
"You remember that thing that happened earlier today?" She questioned. "You know, that thing with Chad and Okane?" I thought back to the event from the front gates, then nodded to her.
"Of course I remember it." I answered. "How could I not?" Tiffany looked back ahead with a neutral expression on her face.
"Is it just me, or was there something off about Okane?" She pointed out. "He didn't say or do anything. He just stood there as if he had nothing to do with it."
I thought about her words, and realized she had a point. Okane hadn't directly partaken in anything Chad did ever since Friday.
"You're right." I said. "And in Science earlier today, he said something to me as he walked past: 'you're not going to last much longer'."
There was an uneasy silence that filled the next few seconds. For some reason, neither of us wanted to talk or even think about it. Before that day, we'd only really thought of Okane as a bully partner to Chad. However, now, it seemed like there was something going on beneath the surface that we didn't know about.
"L-let's just move on." Tiffany suggested at last. "We're probably just overthinking things." I nodded in agreement, but the subject never left my mind.
There was something so unsettling about it that we hadn't seen at the time. Okane was acting almost scared. But that just raised more questions than answers. Who or what was he scared of? Why is this changing how he acts so drastically? Why is it distancing him from Chad?
One idea I had was that he was taking pity on us but didn't want Chad as his enemy for some reason. But that didn't answer the question of what it was he was scared of. He could be scared of Chad, but that didn't make sense when you bring into account how little Chad offered in the way of intimidation.
'What the fuck is going on here?'
*One class later*
As soon as the bell rang, I threw myself out of my seat as fast as I could. It had been four days since I'd read manga with Natsuki, so I was anxious to get there. Before I could get anywhere, however, I was halted by Tiffany's hand snatching the cuff of my right sleeve. I swung my head around to face her.
"Alex, wait." She requested. "Could you maybe show me to the clubroom? I don't exactly remember where it is." She smiled sheepishly. I was originally a bit annoyed at her holding me back, but I couldn't stay mad at her.
"Sure." I answered. "Just let me get my stuff sorted at my locker, okay?"
Tiffany nodded in confirmation, and we began to make our way out into the hallway. Unfortunately, that's when IT happened.
As we walked down the hall, I suddenly felt something snap somewhere in my body. My heartrate jolted up, and my breathing skyrocketed. It was a feeling similar to my panic attacks, but it clearly wasn't that. There was something... extra to this experience. A throbbing pain in my torso.
Before I knew it, these feelings overwhelmed my senses, and I fell to my knees in pain. I clutched my left arm to my torso in hopes to dull the pain, but it was a fruitless endeavor.
"Alex, are you okay?!" I could vaguely hear Tiffany ask from my left.
Suddenly, I became aware of something rising in my throat. I tried to hold it down, but just like everything else going on, it was useless. It quickly reached the top, and I coughed up blood. Not just coughed but vomited up blood. Both at the same time. The pain was overwhelming, but I was just barely able to hear Tiffany's panicked screams:
"Alex! Hang in there!" She frantically exclaimed. "Someone get the nurse! Help him!"
Her voice was eventually drowned out of my thoughts due to the unbearable pain. A small pool of blood had begun to form underneath me, filling me with dread at just how much blood I'd lost. It wasn't long before the pain overwhelmed all my senses, and the world around me went black...
*? ? later*
"H-hello? W-where am I?"
"You have gotten yourselves caught up in something much larger than you." A female voice replied.
"Where are you?! Where am I?!"
"It is all a lie. There is no leader. Only pretenders."
"What are you talking about? This makes no sense!"
"Silver or gold? Which side are you on? We are all eager to see..."
"Wait, don't go!"
*? ? later*
"Alex?!"
This was the first thing I heard as I awoke, and the first thing I felt came shortly after as a warm mass wrapped around my upper torso and neck. My other senses slowly followed, my vision coming last.
"N-Natsuki?" Was all I could say, as that was the first thing my eyes revealed to me.
I was back in the school nurse's office for the third time in two weeks. I was laying on (of course) a medical bed. Before any of this mattered to my subconscious, I first noticed that Natsuki was half-laying on me, hugging me with tears in her eyes.
She was sobbing lightly, so I brought my right arm up and laid it down on the back of her head to comfort her. My hand jolted slightly, however, as I noticed that an IV needle was sticking out of my arm. My gaze followed the connected tube to a blood bag propped up on an IV stand, feeding said fluid into my arm.
"What... happened?" I muttered, that thought being the only one on my mind at that very moment.
"Y-you were p-passed out on the g-ground when they found you..." Natsuki answered, her face still buried into my chest. "With all the b-blood around you, I almost thought you were d-d-dead..."
The tears continued to pour out of her eyes and into my cardigan, soaking into the fabric. I continued to rub the back of her head to comfort her. As I did this, everything else soon faded into the background, and all that existed to me was Natsuki and I.
However, that illusion was quickly shattered when the door opened, and in came the nurse. As he noticed me awake with Natsuki crying into my chest, he gave me an oddly cheery smile. A smile that suggested that nothing was wrong, despite the opposite being apparent.
"Hey, so... what happened, exactly?" I asked him. The shock of the previous situation had subsided, and I was left with a feeling of clarity of the current event.
Surprisingly, the nurse's happy façade disappeared, and he gave me a grave frown.
"I'm not completely sure I know how it happened, but it seems like multiple arteries around your lungs burst at the same time." He diagnosed. "In addition, the arteries that burst have seemingly regenerated on the atomic level, which as far as I know, has never been seen before."
What followed was a surprisingly long and awkward silence. In an attempt to end it, the nurse came over and began to remove the IV needle from my right arm.
"You should be fine to go now." He explained as he pulled it out. "You luckily didn't lose that much blood somehow. Anyway, you should be off. I have some paperwork to do." He turned away towards his desk.
Natsuki helped me to my feet, and promptly walked me to the door. My legs were still a bit wobbly, although I couldn't tell if that was from the incident or just me being shaken up. She opened the door and we passed through, me giving the nurse a wave just before the door closed. I turned to go down the hall but was suddenly yanked back by Natsuki.
Before I knew it, she had turned me around, jumped up, and kissed me on the lips. She clung to my body as tightly as she could as tears slowly flowed down her cheeks (and onto mine). My eyes widened in surprise as Natsuki's stayed closed.
Then, just as quickly as it began, Natsuki pulled away and dropped to her feet, throwing her arms around my torso before she spoke:
"Don't scare me like that ever again." She sobbed lightly. I smiled.
"I'm not going anywhere, Nat." I reassured her as she pulled away. "Now, let's get to the clubroom. The others are probably worried about us."
Natsuki wiped away her tears and gave me a confident smile. She nodded, then grabbed onto my hand and walked down the hallway, pulling me with her. I stumbled into the same pace as her somehow and walked with her, literally hand-in-hand.
*Five minutes later*
As we came up onto the doors to the Literature Club, I reached for the door handle, only for Natsuki to grab my sleeve and pull it away.
"What is it, Nat?" I asked her as I turned to her.
She had a concerned expression on her face, and she was pointing down the hall. I followed her guidance, and saw someone standing there, staring at us. The person was unmistakably Chad, but there was something different about him. He looked angry.
And no, that wasn't the difference. Usually, his anger had a clearly chaotic feel. He hated just for the sake of hating. However, there was something off about his expression this time. He looked like he was expecting something that wasn't delivered on.
I put my arm in front of Natsuki in a protective stance, just in case. There was a silent standoff for a few seconds, or at least, that's what it felt like it was to me. Chad was seemingly uninterested in what was going on in front of him, looking as if he were annoyed with something he just found out as opposed to something in front of him.
He suddenly turned to the side and darted out of sight around a corner. I finally let my guard down, albeit confused about the outcome. Without looking, I reached over and grabbed the door handle to the clubroom, turning towards it as I slid it open.
"ALEX!"
I was instantly tackled to the ground by Sayori, who had leaped out of the doorway as soon as it was open. I fell backward, unprepared, and my head slammed down against the floor as I landed on my back.
Next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor face-up with Sayori on top of me. She was hugging my upper torso like I could disappear any second, and she was crying into my cardigan. It wasn't dissimilar to the situation I'd been in with Natsuki back in the nurse's office when I woke up.
Rubbing the back of her head to calm Sayori down (which didn't do much), I looked past her at the doorway to see everyone else staring down at me, concerned. Mc, Monika, Yuri, Tiffany, and Shiro were all there. I turned my attention back to Sayori, who hadn't changed their action at all.
"Okay, Sayori. I think that's enough." I tried to push her off, but she clung to me incessantly.
Finally, probably due to how awkward the situation was getting, Monika walked forward and began to pry Sayori off me. How she didn't need a crowbar to do that, I will never know.
"Alex, are you alright?" Yuri asked me as I hoisted myself to my feet. "Tiffany told us all what had happened, and..." She trailed off, unable to find the words.
"I'm fine, actually." I answered. "Nothing wrong with me now." Almost instantly, Tiffany jumped in:
"No, you aren't 'fine'!" She exclaimed, startling everyone else. "The floor was covered with blood! What the hell happened?!"
"Your guess is as good as mine." I shrugged. "The nurse was able to figure out what happened, but he doesn't know HOW it happened. Without any clear cause for it, what's the point of worrying?"
Tiffany was about to argue back, but Yuri walked up behind her and floated her hand onto Tiffany's shoulder.
"This arguing will get us nowhere." She softly stated. "Let us just accept Alex's explanation and move on. If there was anything wrong, he would tell us, right?"
Tiffany thought about her words for a few moments, then nodded in reluctant agreement. I was quite surprised by Yuri's recent calls to action. It just went to show how much she'd grown in the past couple of weeks.
"Now, then." Monika got everyone's attention. "Let's get back into the clubroom. We wouldn't want to waste the rest of the meeting, now would we?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, then began towards the clubroom. Monika waited for everyone else to go inside before herself. However, as Natsuki and I approached last, she held out an arm to block us from entering.
"Just so I don't have to explain it later, we won't be sharing poems anymore." She told us, shocking Natsuki.
"But why?" Natsuki asked.
"With how many members we have now, it would take up too much of our free time." Monika explained. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to Sayori. Sorry about that." She turned around and entered the clubroom, leaving Natsuki and I alone outside.
"So, uh..." I muttered, unable to gauge how Natsuki felt. "You alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine." She answered, surprisingly chipper. "Come on, let's go read manga."
She reached over and gripped my hand, pulling me with her as she bouncily walked through the doors to the clubroom. She had a wide, cheery smile on her face. I hadn't expected her to be so comfortable with showing our relationship in public like that, so I can safely say that I was pleasantly surprised.
As we passed through into the clubroom, I took in the atmosphere of the familiar space. Despite how little time I'd actually spent in that room, it had already become a sort of 'happy place' to me. I never had a place I felt so connected to before.
Despite the familiarity, there was clearly something different. The new members, Shiro and Tiffany, were now there. Shiro had pulled up a desk next to Mc and Yuri and was now showing them some sort of visual novel game on his laptop. Surprisingly, both of them seemed quite interested in it, staring intently at the screen as it showed the speech of a girl wearing a green shirt and a tan, very wide skirt with hazel eyes and light-brown hair.
Meanwhile, Tiffany was sitting at the table with Monika and Sayori, speaking intently. They seemed to be deep in conversation, so we chose not to disturb them. Natsuki continued to lead me towards the closet, which we promptly entered. Natsuki instantly made a beeline towards the manga on the shelf and began to sift through it for the next issue.
"Is that what I think it is?"
The sudden voice emanating from behind me startled both Natsuki and I, causing us to jump. I whirled my head around and came face-to-face with an awe-stricken Tiffany. Once my heart attack was over, I gladly spoke my complaint:
"I'm pretty sure my heart just exploded!" I complained. "Warn me next time!"
Tiffany meekly gave me an apologetic look, then pointed towards the shelf behind me.
"Sorry about that." She apologized. "But I recognize that manga series. Is that Parfait Girls?"
"Yeah, it is." Natsuki responded without missing a beat. "What about it?"
Tiffany suddenly looked strangely excited, a spark of joy appearing in her eyes.
"I used to watch the anime all the time when I was a kid!" She recalled excitedly. "Hey, could I read it?"
Natsuki froze and stared at the manga collection, seeming to have a serious internal debate. With a deep sigh, she eventually fished the first issue out of the box and walked over to Tiffany, who's excited glare had only gotten more intense.
"Don't rip or crease it, got it?" Natsuki ordered. Tiffany nodded rapidly.
"You got it!"
Natsuki handed her the issue, which Tiffany took graciously. She backed out of the closet with a friendly wave, then turned away and left us. Back alone together in the closet, Natuski continued ruffling through the manga collection, searching for the next issue.
"There it is." She said at last, pulling an issue out of the box. "Come on." She walked past me and waved me over, prompting me to follow.
We quickly found ourselves in our normal spot, sitting together underneath the windowsill. Natsuki huddled up closer to me than she'd been before, putting an arm around my waist and holding me there. I looked at her and smiled.
"You know, you would've never been this close to me a week ago." I joked. Natsuki gave me a sly smile.
"Oh, yeah?" She taunted. "Well, how about this?"
Quicker than I would've thought possible for her, Natsuki climbed around me, ending up on my lap. My face instantly heated up to the temperature of the fucking sun, and Natsuki turned around to give me a playful smile.
"T-that wasn't an invitation!" I stuttered, causing Natsuki to giggle.
"So?" She inquired. "Are you complaining?"
I stayed silent, not knowing exactly how to respond to that. At that moment, there was only really one thing I was focusing on:
'Down, boy.' I thought. 'Stay down.'
*Thirty minutes later*
After what felt like an eternity of reading manga and struggling to control my 'blood flow' (seriously, now I knew how Relapse Mc felt), I was finally saved by the voice of Monika calling throughout the clubroom:
"Okay, everyone!" She announced. "It's almost time to leave! It won't be until next week that we start to have club activities again, so enjoy your extended private time with your loved ones, Natsuki."
She said that last portion in a joke-accusatory tone. Everyone's heads snapped to our position, and Natsuki pouted in disapproval as she reluctantly climbed off me.
'Oh, thank god.' I breathed a sigh of relief as Natsuki climbed up off my lap, relieving me of any and all pressure in that region, external and internal.
I followed her example, getting up to my feet and closing the manga. Before I could even plan out my next move, Natsuki waved me along as she began to approach the closet. Powering through my confusion, I followed behind her.
"So, what are we doing here?" I asked her as we got into the closet.
"We're going to be bringing my manga collection back to Mc's place." Natsuki answered. "The only reason why I kept it here in the first place was to keep it a secret from... h-him..." Natsuki shivered, remembering the abusive person who called himself her father.
Worried for her mental state, I walked closer behind her and placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She brought her right hand up and rested it on mine, holding it in place. We would've stayed like that for quite a long time if it weren't for the sound of someone clearing their throat behind us.
Both Natsuki and I turned around to see Shiro and Tiffany waiting there, an uncomfortable expression plastered on both of their faces.
"Um... the bell just rang." Tiffany mentioned. "You weren't coming out, so we came in to check on you."
"We'll be out in a second." Natsuki stated. "We're just grabbing my manga collection."
Natsuki turned back to the shelf which the boxes sat on but didn't move after that. She looked like she was thinking, although not getting anywhere with it. After a few more uncomfortable seconds of silence, Natsuki turned back to the three of us.
"Tiffany, Shiro, would you two be okay with carrying a couple of these?" She asked the two aforementioned people.
They both nodded in agreement. Natsuki gave them a gracious smile as she lifted one of the boxes off the shelf and handed it to Tiffany. She did the same thing with Shiro, and then me. Finally, taking a box of her own off the shelf, she pointed us out of the closet.
The rest of the club members were waiting by the door as we exited the closet. Mc gave us a strange look when he saw that we were all carrying manga boxes, but quickly worked it out in his head.
"Let's be off." Monika said as we reached the doors.
She slid the doors open and stepped aside to allow everyone else passage. It wasn't long before the eight of us were all walking down the hallways of the school. There weren't many students left over in the school at this time, but the few that were still there gave us some funny looks when they saw the manga boxes we were carrying. For some reason, I didn't mind.
Although that may have something to do with the fact that I had a strange feeling that I was being watched. The entire time we walked down the halls, I was scanning the area to see if my feeling was right. My eyes were constantly telling me we weren't being watched, but my brain said the exact opposite.
Eventually, I just concluded that my eyes were telling the truth. At least, for the time being. I still couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. Even so, I just gave up with paying attention to that feeling as we approached the front doors.
The doors flew open, and the sunlight from outside spilled into the hallway and over our party. As we passed through to outside, I quickly noticed how few people there were. It was something I would've just ignored normally, but with the current situation as it was, it was a bit dangerous to be out in the open like that.
Despite this, everyone else seemed quite relaxed. They either didn't notice the emptiness of the area, or they just didn't care.
I wasn't really 'panicking' per se, but I wasn't exactly calm either. We were out in the open. We were exposed. Vulnerable. Because of this, I couldn't stop worrying the entire way down the road.
*Thirty minutes later*
I breathed a sigh of relief as we came up to Mc's property. I saw a flash of movement from behind a window on the first floor as we approached, and the door swung open when we turned onto the path leading up to said door. Behind it stood Ishi, holding both the door and a welcoming smile on her face.
She greeted each of us warmly as we passed by her, holding the door open for us as well. I was oddly calmed by this, despite my fear that we were out in the open mere moments ago.
"Welcome back!" The voice of Keisatsu called out from the living room.
After discarding anything I didn't need at the door (giving the box of manga I was carrying to Ishi), I walked further into the house and entered the living room. Keisatsu was sitting in his armchair, watching some sort of crime show on the TV. I walked up behind him and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. He paused what he was watching and turned around to me.
"Isn't it a bit dangerous for us to be walking back here on completely empty streets?" I asked him. "What's stopping someone from attacking us in the open like that?" Keisatsu stared blankly and responded without pause.
"Sound travels further than you think." He simply stated. "If one of you screamed, someone would be bound to hear it and come see what's happening." I considered his words for a moment, which made another question surface.
"Then why do we have to leave in the morning when the roads are the most crowded?" I inquired. Keisatsu opened his mouth to explain, but no words came out. He stared awkwardly for a few moments before answering.
"Good point." Was all he said. "I honestly don't know why I made you do that."
I laughed at his confusion, and he clapped me on the back jokingly as I turned to leave. I immediately heard the sound of him continuing to watch his show and began towards the sliding glass door that lead out to the backyard.
On the wall next to the door were the two katana's, both propped up against the wall in their scabbards. The swords had been cleaned as of earlier that day, most definitely because they had been laying unused in Hiran's house for god-knows how long.
In addition, after looking a bit closer at them, we had learned that both swords were plated with gold and silver as opposed to painted. The gold sword had always felt a bit heavier in my hand, but not so much that I would've noticed that beforehand.
I grabbed both swords by the scabbards as I passed by them, carrying them with me into the backyard. Once again, I was going to train myself to use them better. Despite my already-effective sword skills, I felt it best to continue practicing just in case. I couldn't just let myself be carried by the abilities I was given by Monika.
"So, you want to do a bit of practice dueling?"
Speak of the devil, there she was. As I passed through the doorway onto the back porch, I swung my head to the left in the direction of her voice. There, sitting on a lawn chair, was Monika. She was looking at me with a smile on her face, and I was left confused as to how she'd gotten out there without me knowing.
"Sure." I answered, disregarding my confusion. I thought it better to just not ask. There were still a lot of things about Monika I didn't know, but as it stood, I didn't really care at the moment.
Monika's smile widened a bit as she pushed herself off the lawn chair. She stood up straight and stretched her arms behind her back, limbering up for the training about to follow. With her hair loose and falling down her shoulders and back, she looked like a completely different person.
"Hey, I'm still the same person." Monika joked, seeming to read my mind.
"W-what?!" I sputtered. "H-how did you..." Monika giggled at my shocked state.
"I'm psychic." She answered jokingly.
'Yeah. Sure, Sayaka.' I thought. I desperately wanted to speak my mind, but I was able to restrain myself.
"I wouldn't doubt it." I said instead, holding out the gold sword for her to take.
She clutched the scabbard strongly and I let go, putting my free hand on the handle of my silver sword as we passed onto the lawn. We each stepped a meter or two from the other, then faced each other with one hand on the handle of our respective swords.
With a quick nod from both of us, we silently declared the training duel to begin, and we whipped our swords out of their scabbards. We traded a few strikes, and I used this opportunity to 'strike' up a small conversation.
"You know, in the past couple of weeks, everyone sure has changed." I pointed out as I blocked a swing from my left. "Natsuki, Sayori, Yuri, Mc, and you have all changed so much from how I remember you guys."
"But what about you?" Monika asked as she aimed another overhead swing.
"What do you mean?" I rebounded, blocking said swing and spinning my blade upward.
"Well, everyone else had pretty much gone past their trauma." Monika explained as she sidestepped to avoid. "You helped Sayori with her depression, Yuri with her cutting, and Natsuki with her dad."
"So?" I continued as we rotated around, waiting for an opening. "What are you getting at?"
"Well... it's just... I feel like you're kind of disregarding your own issues." She sounded extremely worried. "I know I shouldn't be asking this, but... wouldn't your friends and family want you to get the support you need?"
This sentence triggered something inside me, and I lost all concentration on the fight. Before I knew it, Monika had knocked the sword out of my hand and I officially lost the duel. But I didn't care. I just kept on staring straight ahead, lost in thought. I could vaguely feel a few tears flowing down my cheeks, but that was pretty much it.
"Alex? Are you okay?" I heard Monika ask.
'I seem to be getting asked that quite a lot.' I thought jokingly.
My eyes finally focused on what was in front of me, and what was in front of me was Monika, staring at me with a very concerned expression on her face.
"Yeah, I'm okay..." I muttered, wiping away the tears. "I'm just not ready to tell them yet. They have enough to worry about as it is."
Our conversation was suddenly cut short when we heard a happy call from the back porch.
"Hey, you two!" Sayori greeted us from said porch. "What are you doing?"
"Just doing a bit of training!" Monika answered. Sayori suddenly put on a serious expression.
"Ishi wants to talk to Alex!" She explained. "She says it's important!" She then backed up inside and slid the door shut without leaving room for another word.
Monika and I looked at each other, silently agreeing to the demands. We slid our swords back into their respective scabbards and began towards the door, Monika handing me the golden sword as we reached the porch.
As we entered the living room through the glass door, I turned to the wall to put the two swords back down. Strangely, I had a harder time of this than I expected. It was like my body didn't want to let go of them, despite my mind ordering it to let go. Eventually, I was able to part with the swords and propped them up against the wall once more.
The living room was once again full, everyone sitting on the couches and armchairs to watch TV. On the television, some sort of anime was on where a guy with weird green and white hair was doing something next to a hut in the middle of a forest. I couldn't take in any more information than that, because the sudden, strict voice of Ishi targeted my attention.
"Follow me." She ordered as she stood up from her armchair.
Ishi started towards the kitchen as everyone kept their eyes on the TV, ignoring the two of us. Not knowing what else to do, I followed her nervously. I had no idea what she could've wanted to talk to me about, so I was a bit anxious it had something to do with the incident that happened in the hallway earlier that day.
We quickly entered the kitchen, stopping next to the table in the center of the room. Ishi turned around and looked at me with a half-worried half-serious expression glued to her face.
"Tiffany told me about what happened in the halls today." She explained, making my heart sink a bit. "And I think I know what happened."
"Wait, what?" I asked. Ishi held up a hand in a 'stop' gesture.
"After hearing Tiffany's account and what the nurse said, I think you may have been poisoned."
I was shocked. Well, not that shocked, but I didn't expect someone to go to that conclusion so quickly.
"Uh... what makes you think that?" I inquired, trying not to show how nervous I was.
"There is only one thing that could've made your arteries burst like that, and it's a specific type of poison." She explained. "However, judging by how quickly they patched up, I'd say that you were administered an antidote at the exact same time as the poison."
I could barely process what she was saying, because it was just so unbelievable. I tuned out everything in my surroundings just to understand exactly what she was saying.
I was poisoned by someone, but that same someone decided to mix in the antidote at the exact same time? It was weird, but I was talking to a medical expert, so I couldn't deny it in the slightest. Even so, the more I thought about it, the less it made sense. Funnily enough, there was only one question that was the full source of this confusion:
"But... why would someone do that?"
"I don't know." Ishi answered.
"But I have a theory." The voice of Keisatsu brought up from the doorway leading to the living room.
Ishi looked between the two of us with a slightly startled expression, then decided the best course of action was to leave the room with a small "bye". When she was gone, Keisatsu walked up to me.
"To put it short, I think that one of the members of that cult we talked about poisoned your food but mixed in the antidote as well so you would survive." He explained.
"Again, why would they do that?" I asked, getting a bit impatient.
"Because that cult member is actually on our side." He said, stunning me silent. "There must be a member of that cult who is acting against them without them knowing. He's a traitor."
I was too surprised to speak, move, or react in any way. I didn't know what to make of this. My mind was spinning by this point, and I just couldn't focus on anything. Sensing my internal distress, Keisatsu put on a smile and clapped me on the back.
"But don't worry about that right now." He said, trying to cheer me up. "Now come on. Let's get back to the others." He took a step behind me and gave me a small push, prompting me to begin walking towards the living room.
In my stunned stupor, I somehow made my way to the closest couch and plopped down next to Natsuki. I continued to stare straight ahead in confusion, until I felt a small tug on my right sleeve. I maneuvered my gaze to my right to see Natsuki looking up at me with another concerned expression.
Seeing Natsuki like that yanked me back to the real world, and my surroundings came back to me. I gave her a warm smile to reassure her that I was fine and looked up to the TV. I wasn't really even paying attention to what was on. I was instead lost in thought, thinking about what the future had in store for me. The previous distress was completely dissolved, and I was filled with a comforting confidence.
'If there's really someone helping us from the other side, I'm sure as hell not going to lose hope.'
Not This Time...
End of Chapter 10