Hi there everyone! I'm back with another chapter everyone!
Like always, thanks again for sticking with this story of mine!
Enjoy ^^
Chapter 5: Decisions...Decisions...Decisions...
The gentle morning rays of sunlight shone through the windows, waking the onyx haired boy from his slumber. Rubbing his eyes of sleep, Satoru gingerly surveyed the unfamiliar room he was in. Hanging chandelier lights, nicely furnished walls decorated with various landscape paintings, generously packed bookcase with a large desk sitting in the far corner. All in all, it was everything but average.
"Where am I?"
Still functioning in a groggy state, the young boy tried to operate as though it was any other day, his body far too used to the usual routine. Had it not been for one particular item, he might have very well spent the entire morning preparing for work.
One opened envelope containing a mysterious piece of magic paper lay neatly on his perfectly furnished desk, the sight of which acted as a mental catalyst, stirring a chain of recollections in it's wake.
Recalling the events from last night, the boy immediately shot up and sorted through his memory. 'I was attending some sort of Yggdrasil beta test event when this all began...so it wasn't all a dream huh?'
Shifting towards the bedside, Satoru's feet instinctively glided around the floor blindly in search for his shoes. Yet when he finally made contact, an unnatural thought rose in his mind.
'Hmmm...since when did I get a new pair of sock?'
Satoru peered down only to confirm that there was indeed a pair that looked to be brand new judging from the untarnished color.
"Strange...I don't really remember hopping into bed to begin with."
However a single glance at the neatly tucked in desk chair suppressed any arising suspicion, the boy deciding it was ultimately not worth dedicating mental leeway towards. Additionally with the upcoming morning session regarding their decision also entailed the task of finding said location. Needless to say, in such a big castle, doing so wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Thankfully he was currently wide awake since Satoru's job normally commenced at fairly early hours, thus giving him the freedom to plan ahead.
'Now then...'
The next half an hour went by rather uneventfully with Suzuki doing what every other normal human being did before going out...to look presentable. However, the job took a lot longer than anticipated, spending more time in the bathroom today than he normally did in an entire week.
'Seriously...how in the world did they even manage to find that many types of toothpastes to begin with?'
In the end, he managed to arrive at a conclusion.
When you present an indecisive individual with a myriad of choices, both will combine to form an ultimate recipe for disaster. A revelation that Satoru pondered whilst still frowning in disgust.
'Ok mixing and using them all in one brush was definitely a bad idea...'
Despite the nauseating mouth odor, his stomach ultimately had other ideas, roaring loudly in it's quest for sustenance. Having downed an extremely meager meal last night, it wasn't surprising for hunger to begin setting in.
'Told you to get supper last night! Now we pissed off the stomach department!' An inner Satoru voice in his head roared out loud.
'You issued no such order Mr Know-It-All!' Another replied while flipping through a stack of papers. 'In fact, you were sleeping through it all!'
'W-W-Well I was tired, besides you are me, you should know when I'm hungry!'
'Not when I'm sleeping!'
'You were sleeping too?'
'I'm you too, if you sleep...I sleep too!'
'Urghhh if only we slipped a packet of chips into our pockets before diving into Yggdrasil.'
'Didn't someone suggest that already?'
One proud looking inner Satoru responded with a goofy smile, pointing at himself repeatedly in hopes for an applause.
Shaking his head, the real Satoru rid his thoughts before rubbing his stomach. If there was one thing that his imaginary inner council did, it was stating a obvious fact that he himself couldn't deny. In any case, acquiring food was his number 1 priority at the moment for lunch was still quite a way off.
'Time to look for the cafeteria...I really hope breakfast is free of charge...'
Jiggling his small sum of pocket change loudly, the young boy sighed as he turned to the door...when a couple of knocks beat him to it.
Honestly, he had no clue as to who would visit at this hour. Of course, there was always the option to feign being asleep. At the same time though, this could be important. Adding his curiosity into the mix and Satoru found himself responding almost naturally.
"Good morning, who might this be?"
"Forgive my abrupt visit Suzuki-Kun, did I perhaps come at a bad time?"
"Not at all." The voice was familiar yet he couldn't quite put a name to it, maybe because of the tone. As unlikely as it was, Satoru couldn't deny the relief that had surfaced, knowing that his angry boss hadn't somehow chased him to another world just to scold him for being late. Speaking of work...what was going to happen when he got back...?
Brushing it off as another matter entirely, the boy swiftly opened the door, discovering the culprit as...
"Commander Kawakami?!"
"Whaooo...I come in peace! No need to wake all the neighbors for help haha."
Immediately covering his mouth in embarrassment, Satoru paused for a while before asking what came to mind first.
"Sorry about that. But errr...what brings you here today sir?" He asked before a dark notion dawned on him. "Don't tell me there was a change of plans and I completely missed the event!"
"No no no hahaha, in fact, judging from your attire, I would say you are far more prepared than the majority. After all, it's no surprise that most turn up late..."
"Agreed, it is slightly bigger than your average human household."
"Only just slightly though."
The two erupted into a fit of comfortable laughter, something that raised a thought or two in the boy. Not to say that the commander wasn't already yesterday, but no matter how you looked at it, the older man was currently way more laid-back and carefree in comparison. So much so that the young boy almost mistook himself as conversing with a very close acquaintance, an odd sensation considering that they had only just met yesterday. In other words, for whatever reason...something felt different. Of course, it was nothing worth complaining about.
Just food for thought if you will.
"In favor of returning to my original point, perhaps we could continue our discussion while seated? that is if it ain't a bother."
Mentally face-palming for not having offered so himself, the boy hurriedly spoke in as calm a tone as he could muster. "But of course Sir!"
Leading the commander inside, Satoru quickly offered a chair to which he accepted.
"So Suzuki-Kun, have you decided?" Kawakami decided to cut right to the chase.
"..." As much as he would like to, Satoru was unable and unwilling to give a definite answer because anything he said now would carry no weight. To say that he didn't contemplate the topic at all would be an indisputable lie. After all, he had dedicated a vast majority doing exactly that. Unfortunately the results didn't accurately portray his efforts. "I don't know sir..."
"What do you think is the logical choice then?" Not a hint of surprise was written on the older man's face, Satoru guessing that his response was nothing unheard of.
"Honestly, I think taking the money and bailing out is the logical choice. I mean no offence, but this whole...business seems rather shady to me. Having never been exposed to magic up till now, my mind can't help but comprehend it that way, writing everything off as mere trickery. Also..."
"Also?"
Several images of his lifestyle these past 3 years briefly flashed through his mind, curving his lips into a small sad smile.
"The whole Yggdrasil dive system...has it ever made an error in the past?"
"I'm afraid I don't quite follow."
"Has it ever selected someone who lacks this 'potential' you speak by mistake, sir?"
As though understanding his trail of thoughts, Kawakami proceeded to offer a reassuring response. "Never before and never will it. Why do you ask?"
"Because your description of these special magicians and my knowledge of myself simply don't align. If anything, I'm someone who ranks below the average line, many kids my age now well and truly ahead of me in life."
"From what I can tell, you seem to leaning heavily towards one side already. Yet your response earlier suggests otherwise, why is that?" Realizing the talk was slowly derailing, Kawakami decided to take another approach.
"Well...because..."
Every time the subject was pondered, the boy found himself being thrown into an endless spiral of emotions...ones that seem to counter his logical side. Every time the scales tipped in favor of leaving, something prevented it, balancing it out without fail. Yet whenever he tried to put it into words, not a single letter formed in his mind. Sensation that defied ordinary reasoning, one he could only label as...
Feelings of...attachment...Yes!"
Somehow...he knew that if he ignored these baseless gut instincts, an immeasurable level of regret would befall on him.
"Because...there is somethings I need to find here..."
"Somethings you need to find?" The grey haired questioned with curiosity.
Having yet to think it through clearly himself, Satoru continued staring at the ceiling as if searching for an answer. Again, there was no plausible reason why besides the fact that it simply feels right. Now that he was aware of it, Satoru knew he would be unable to resist the urge of whatever was calling for him here, his mind now tunnel visioned on locating the sources.
"Mhmm hmm."
"Like an object?"
"Hmmm maybe, it sounds really weird but I feel oddly attached to some things in here..."
"You mean it's more than one thing?"
"Yes."
"Are they really that important?"
"To...the point where I don't want to leave without them..."
"Alright, my advice would be to pick the one that you want."
"One that I want?"
"Of course, having heard your take on both sides of the story, I would say you have reasons for both choices. In that particular case, the best option would be the one that results in less regret."
"Less regret..."
"Look, I'm not here to convince you to take either side, but to make you aware of what each entails. From the common perspective, returning to Earth would be the sensible choice because not only do you get to carry on with your ordinary routine, but with a substantial sum to boot. Let's be real, there really is no downside to that especially for those that have too much to lose back at home."
"So then why do some people opt to stay? It simply does not make any sense."
"Usually those that choose to do so are either the ones with an extreme amount of potential and therefore wish to develop their talents or...Individuals that wish for a drastic change. In other words, people that possess a strong desire to walk a different path in life. However, anyone who falls into the latter category should have a very very solid reason behind their decision, one they can rely on should times get hard."
"Hmmm..." All of this was simply vague in the boy's mind as though he was trying to place himself in the shoes of a fantasy character at the start of a game. To be fair, the concept of magic being real had only just occurred to him yesterday, and even then, Satoru wasn't entirely willing to believe it truly existed.
"One thing is for certain though, this is something you and you alone will have to decide. Don't let the thoughts of others deter you, think alone and act alone if only just this once. But don't forget this one crucial fact..."
A slight pause was enough to cause the boy to redirect his gaze from the floor to the commander's eyes.
"If you choose to go back, there will be no more opportunities to return here in the future."
A/N - Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this! I know it was quite a short chapter, but I really wanted to upload something simply because I was really starting to fall behind on my uploading schedule haha.
Anyways, enough of my rambling. Hope to see you all in the next one!
-Lynn