sorry for updating so long guys, my interest diverted more to the other fanfic im making, as well as being busy IRL such as college and such.
"Is there something wrong, Rock-san?"
Mato spoke out to no one in particular, at least if anyone was paying attention to her. All they would see would be some girl who was talking to thin air, or if they were close enough to hear her, they might even assume she was literally talking to one of the rocks on the sidewalk.
Of course in truth, Mato wasn't talking to no one.
'...Mato, you can just speak to me by thinking of what you want to say rather than actually say those words.'
"Oops, sorry," Mato said before realizing her mistake.
'Sorry,' she apologized again, this time silently. 'I'm still not quite used to talking with you like this.'
'Ah it's fine for now, since no one was looking,' Rock reassured her. 'It's understandable that it will take some time for a normal human to communicate using their thoughts.'
"Well, you won't have to worry so much, Rock-san," Mato declared with vigor. "I will certainly be able to master using my mind."
'...you just spoke that out loud, you know,' Rock pointed out with a sigh. 'Looks like we have a long road ahead of us...'
The two of them, or more accurately, Mato was walking her way towards the school. Unlike last time though, Mato was in no rush and was now able to appreciate the season of fall as the cherry blossoms flutter around them. She was having fun and taking in the scenery, that is until she noticed Rock was being silent throughout their walk. Though Mato knew that Rock wasn't quite the most sociable person, she would occasionally make some small comments here and there.
"So, is there something wrong?" Mato tried asking again. "You're not usually this silent... is there something bothering you?"
'...nothing really,' Rock answered after a while. 'Currently there's no problems right now, besides the whole me being in your body, but...'
"But?" Mato repeated Rock's words.
'...it's just a gut feeling, but,' Rock replied with a frown. 'It feels like something bad will happen.'
"Ahhh... it feels really good to finally see some things that aren't broken down or destroyed."
Chariot declared cheerfully as she walked the path towards her school. Well, not really 'hers', but since she was now occupying the body of the girl known as Kagari Izuriha, it's technically hers now.
"Seeing some healthy and green plants is so refreshing," Chariot remarked as she surveyed the hill. "Ah, look at those birds making a nest at that tree."
Initially, Chariot wanted to just explore and look around the town, but then she realized she'd need to maintain appearances in order to not make anyone butt in and investigate her. Now, she was glad to have made this decision as she was able to see forms of nature which she wouldn't find easily if she had walked around town. And the school was up on a hill so Chariot still had a good view on the town, which looked very clean and organized compared to her own world.
Plus I need to check out and see for myself who these people that are around Kagari.
Chariot continued to enjoy and savor the scenery up until she reached the school gate.
"Ah, good morning Kagari-san. Surprised to see you up so early."
"...good morning to you too... Kuroi-san."
'Kagari' returned the greeting of the twin tailed girl who had just arrived at the school gate. She had planned to just wait for a certain bespectacled girl and then the two of them would head straight into class, but having this girl show up shot down that possibility. Chariot rechecked the memories that Kagari had of this girl and found most of them being negative about her. This girl seemed to be the biggest obstacle in her host's path.
"Eh, what's with that distant greeting?" Mato said with a small grin. "We're friends now, you can just call me Mato."
"O-okay... M-Mato-san," Chariot stuttered as she repeated the girl's name.
"That's the spirit," Mato said she extended her right hand. "Let's be good friends from now on."
"Y-yes," Chariot replied as she mirrored the gesture.
Ugh this girl feels really cheeky.
Chariot put up a fake smile as Mato grasped her hand and shook it once. After that was done, she withdrew her hand and turned her attention to the direction of the school path, trying to ignore Mato as she waited for the other girl to arrive.
"...s-so Kagari-san," Mato spoke after a few minutes had passed. "The weather is pretty great today, huh."
"Not really," Chariot replied curtly without turning her head. "It's a bit too warm for me."
"Ah, I guess it is...?" Mato cocked her head in confusion. "But it doesn't really feel any warmer than normal though?"
"...It's a bit hard to notice but there is a difference," Chariot answered. "You must be fairly insensitive to not feel it."
"Hmm?" Mato paused for a bit before breaking out a grin. "Yeah, that must be it."
"...Huh?" Chariot turned towards Mato in surprise. "Did you just say that?"
"Ah, well, my friends say that I don't really pay attention to my surroundings much," Mato said sheepishly. "I sometimes miss details that everyone else notice instantly, like when looking for differences in pictures or listening to the tune of a piano..."
Mato started blabbering on about several other instances but Chariot had already stopped paying attention to her words and just stared blankly at the girl.
This girl is an idiot.
Chariot had intended her earlier words to make a jab at the girl and get her to stop talking. Instead, she didn't notice the sharpness of her words and it even spurred her on to just move to another subject, and it looked like she wasn't going to be done soon.
I guess I'll have to directly tell her to shut u-
"Ah!" Mato cut off her thoughts as she looked ahead. "Looks like Yomi is here now."
"What!?" Chariot cried out, turning her head towards the same direction.
There were a lot more students showing up compared to earlier, but her eyes seemed to instantly focus on one particular student. The girl had two curls of hair framing her face and was wearing glasses. Though she couldn't clearly see her face due to the distance, Chariot instinctively felt that that girl was the one that Kagari was close to.
"Um, are you alright, Kagari-san?" Mato asked with a concerned look on her face. "You look a bit jittery..."
Crap, I'm being too weird right now. I need to act like normal.
"Ah I'm just alright, Mato-san," Chariot replied. "I was just... feeling a bit too heated earlier."
"Oh yeah, the weather is a bit too warm today, right," Mato said with a nod. "I see, people can get excited with the heat indeed."
"..." Chariot stared at Mato for a while before shaking her head.
This girl...
"Good morning you two," a voice greeted them. "My, I'm surprised you guys are early today, especially Mato."
"Good morning, Yomi-sa-" Chariot cut off the word and just smiled awkwardly at her confused expression.
"Good morning Yomi," Mato greeted back normally before her words registered. "Hey, I don't get late that often."
"Oh that's right," Yomi agreed. "You just barely arrive on time."
"T-that's just cause..."
Chariot tuned out the conversation the two girls were having and focused on the girl named Yomi. Up close, Chariot could see that the girl had green eyes that indeed matched up with Kagari's memories. She could even feel that the body she was in relaxing just being close to Yomi, even though she herself didn't have that much trust towards the bespectacled girl. Some images flashed in her mind, showing that the two had history back when they were little.
Ah I can see why you really care so much about this girl.
"Wow looks like I was the last one, huh," a new voice called out to them. "Bummer, and I thought I woke up early."
"Ah, good morning, Yuu," Mato called out to the brown haired girl before sticking her chest out triumphantly. "This time I came before everyone else."
"Eh, I don't believe you," Yuu shook her head. "You probably came just before I did, right?"
"No really, I..."
Chariot frowned as she examined the girl who just arrived. The memories of Kagari didn't seem to have much about her, besides being friends with Yomi and Mato, mostly on Mato's side though. There didn't seem to be any sort of particular emotions or feelings Kagari had of this girl, compared to her affection for Yomi and irritation of Mato.
This girl seems to be unimportant.
"Um, we should really get going now," Yomi suddenly interrupted them as she glanced at her watch. "Classes are going to start soon so come on," she said before heading to the building.
"Gah, it's already that time," Mato whined as she followed after Yomi. "Well, at least there's no assignments or tests today, I hope."
"Well, consider yourself lucky that you don't have to clean up the court at least," Yuu complained behind them. "I still can't believe Mato woke up so early..."
While everyone else was already heading to the building, Chariot hung back a bit as she looked at the school again.
The school huh. It's been a long time since I've gone to school, or even seen one. Should I go in or just explore the town?
Chariot thought for a minute before making her decision.
It would attract too much attention if I ditched school, so I guess I'll keep coming back here... for now at least.