Chapter 8: Many Memories (Chronicles of Time)
“What did you say?” Himari’s jaw dropped. She stared at him blankly and he rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting her eyes. “You’re…joking right?”
He didn’t reply.
“You’re..kidding,” Natsumi said. Her whole body shook uncontrollably and felt as if it was drenched with ice cold water, then tortured repeatedly. Her mouth opened to repeat her question again but she chose to close it instead. They were all frozen and rooted to their spots.
Yuu broke the heavy mood and grinned out of nowhere. “I can’t believe you all fell for it! Ha! The atmosphere fell quickly!”
Himari slapped him on the arm, furiously. “Don’t joke about death like that! I almost believed it sincerely, you know?”
“Got it,” Yuu shrugged. “Well, for now, you should take a break from school. We’ll notify them of your absence and the reason why. Just focus on resting, and I’ll come back through periods to check on how you’re doing.”
“Won’t the teachers…know…something…is up…if…you’re not…there?” She collapsed onto her bed.
“Don’t worry. Who do you think I am? I can easily create a doppelganger.” Yuu held his head loftily. “Well for now - “ he snapped his fingers briskly, and a small light implanted itself onto her forehead, “I’ll do this. It’ll make sure you won’t die. It’ll notify me if you do.”
She took a pillow and threw it at him. “Screw…you!”
He laughed. “Take care. Let’s go, Himari.”
They left but not after he handed her back her pillow that was launched at him.
***
He stared out of the window, zoned out. The teachers droned on and on with their monotone words that flew in and out of his ears. He toyed around with his pencil, then sighed.
“K-Kaneko-kun, is something wrong?” A girl came up to him and asked during lunch break.
‘Who was she again?’
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern,” He smiled then got up from his seat and left her standing there. “Have a good lunch.”
“You’re going to check on her now?” Himari followed him out of the classroom with a custard bread in her hands.
“Yeah,”
They headed towards the roof where it was unoccupied. It’s supposed to be locked; before Yuu came, they had to swipe the keys from the office (using Sora’s good reputation and name), and create a duplicate. But now, with just one magic touch from Yuu, they have free access to the roof anytime.
“I’ll take my leave now then.” Yuu nodded to her. They exchanged a salute like soldiers departing for battle. He was now back in his room. It felt cold. And weird. Traces of golden strings of mana could be seen through his keen eyes, and he followed it automatically. They gradually became thicker as he got closer to her room. He stopped when he reached her doorway as an intense wave of mana rushed past him. His hair ruffled up, but he proceeded towards Natsumi.
Her whole body was engulfed in a shimmering light with a small white dot floating around her desperately. It seemed to be weaker; it glowed faintly. Her face looked weak, and exhausted. Her body turned and her fingers would twitch every now and then without her realizing it. Her pale state engendered her magic to roam out of her core and exacerbated her condition.
‘Seems like I came back at the right time,’ he thought, glancing at the spell he casted before. He took a seat next to her on the bed and examined her condition attentively. The gold strings embraced her and barely managed to deflect his touch. Mana oozed out of her feeble figure incessantly without a pause. The room felt warmer than the others. Was this the effect of her mana leaking out?
He inhaled deeply then touched her forehead. Red sparks flew and bounced all over the room, clashing with the gold. He preserved, holding his own stance until the red gradually overpowered the opponent. His shoulders fell when the worst was over and his eyes looked at her peaceful face.
‘It’s growing stronger, but this time…I won’t allow it. I’ll crush it while it's weak.’
Webs of his own mana layered itself over his fingers and picked up her strings of mana and began rolling it up. It looked like a ball of shimmering gold yarn, and if it could be made into clothing, it would be legendary. To be born with such beautiful magic she must’ve been given life along with god’s prodigal gifts. It was a pity that she could never learn to master this art….
Natsumi groaned and twitched when he started to move toward the thicker lines. When he approached her core her body reacted with convulsions. But even through all that, her eyes still remained shut as tightly as ever while drops of sweat poured out of her. He tugged on it, only to confirm that her mana wouldn't allow itself be completely robbed by him and was stubbornly resisting his attempts. His concentration was unbreakable, and he steadily gathered some magic to the tips of his fingers and cut each string to separate it from its main body. Every moment was critical, and even just one wrong move could make the matter worse.
‘I never thought that she would have such powerful mana. It’s completely gold.’ He casted another spell over her to seal her mana after he finished with his previous task, then placed the ball of gold into an inventory for later use. ‘I didn’t think it would burst this quickly either. Time is progressing too fast.’
His hand paused when he felt her stirring. Her eyelashes flew up slowly, and she looked at him sleepily.
“Is it lunch break already?” She mumbled, still in the midst of waking up.
He quickly retracted his hand and nodded. “I’ll summon up your meal.”
With a snap, a hot plate of food was served on top of a bed tray that stood on top of her legs. It was convenient since it allowed her to stay in bed. She was given porridge paired with a bowl of hot creamy stew. It was a simple and odd lunch, and yet, she scarfed it all down as if she hadn't eaten for months.
“Eat slowly,” Yuu commented. “You’ll end up choking you know?” He produced a cup of water out of thin air and placed it on the tray. She licked the dishes clean, and with another snap from Yuu - everything was cleared away.
“Shouldn’t you leave now?” She looked at her alarm clock on top of her desk. “Lunch is almost over, you know?”
“Well, since you’re feeling better,” Yuu began, “maybe I should take my leave.”
She waved at him to go on but…
“Maybe I should stay after all. Class is pretty dull.”
‘With this brat, anything could occur.’
Sensing him second-guessing himself, she said positively: “I’ll be fine. Go on. You only have a few hours left of school, what could even happen then? It’s not as if my health would drastically deteriorate.”
That was some bold talk from a person who was almost on the verge of exploding if he came any second later a while ago, but he kept that thought to himself.
“...I’ll be back soon then.”
***
“Something isn’t right,” he muttered, biting his finger. “Something feels off. What is this chill? My connection with master…seems to be disrupted. Something is interfering. But at the same time, master’s powers are expanding and growing quickly. Something is wrong.”
He paced back and forth around the empty classroom then scrunched up his face.
“It feels odd,” he said. “I sensed master suffering for quite a while now, but I also detected another force that’s aiding her. Just what is going on?”
His eyes wandered off, and spotted a familiar shadow passing through the hallway. He ran after it, then slowly adjusted himself to a quick walking pace.
“Himari-san!”
She turned around and spotted him. “What’s up? You finished all the extra work the teachers handed you already, or do you require my guidance?”
“No…but I do have a question.”
“Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Is…master sick?”
Her flinch confirmed and answered his questions and fears. He turned around only to be stopped and restrained to his spot. She gripped onto his arm tightly and shook her head.
“She’s fine, don’t worry.” She assured him confidently. “Yuu’s with her.”
“Those words gave me the opposite effect that you intended.” His face soured at his name.
She laughed a little. “...Yuu's pretty reliable….sometimes.”
He stared at her then sighed. “Alright.”
***
Yuu landed gently onto the roof and sighed.
‘She’s too weak.’
It was as if every second he took his eyes off her, she would somehow disappear then
reappear in another bothersome situation for him to clean up.
‘Who are you?’
‘I’m Lucas, shouldn’t you be more polite to your savior and bow down on your knees as gratitude?’
Another flashback passed through his mind.
‘Oh? This time you’re a noble? How funny! The last time I met you, you were a starving commoner.’
The red haired girl glared at him with aversion. ‘And who are you to comment so snobbishly to me like that?’
A blonde haired turned to look at him reproachfully.
‘What is it that you want?’
‘Not much,’ his younger self shrugged.
‘Then why do you keep on coming back like a stray cat begging for food?’
’Maybe because I want food?”
That memory was replaced with another.
‘I hate you! Give it back to me!’ She jumped towards his hands that held her secret book with her face completely red.
‘Ha! You’re so short, do you think that you can reach me?’ He stooped down to her level and mocked her.
‘Yuu…I wish for you to be happy.’ The last image made him blink twice. Tears streamed down her face as she broke down into glittering pieces slowly and crumbled. A lingering smile remained then soon faded along with her whole existence.
“Ugh!” He put his hand to his heart, feeling a streak of pain and sorrow fly through him. Then it vanished as quickly and as briefly as it had come. His lips curved into a smile fraught with sadness. “So…the spell is still in effect, huh? It sure has been a long time.”
‘Just what kind of curse do you have now?’