Chapter 8: Chapter 7: 30 years ago
Hikaru stood outside, a wide grin spreading across her face as she waited for Shido.
"It's such a great feeling when you do something smart," she thought, feeling proud of herself.
"The fact that I was right about my theory...Man, I am a genius!"
Hikaru's theory about Ratatoskr's method for determining someone's amount of mana had turned out to be correct. "They use a weak wave of mana in the person they want to analyze," she explained. "That amount of mana can't be felt if you're not paying close attention to them. They send those waves to the chosen one, and at the moment of impact, the body of that person will reject those foreign mana waves. After that, they collect the mana that got impacted in the process, analyze the resistance that makes the waves impact, and with simple arithmetic, they get the approximate value of the volume. All I did was control the amount of mana that resists those waves."
"Just like how bats locate their prey by sound," she added, looking up at the sky.
"When did it become so cloudy? Man, can't I enjoy the sunlight?" she complained.
"I just hope it's not going to rain."
Meanwhile, Shido was trying to get Tohka's attention.
"Tohka, wait!" he shouted, approaching her.
"What do you want? Why aren't you with that girl?" she asked, tears in her eyes.
"I don't understand, Tohka. what Was that for?" Shido asked, his tone warm and gentle.
"You said that going on a date is about a girl and boy going to the same place. A date is between two people who love each other. You have Tohka, but you're already going with another girl."
"Date? That's not right, Tohka. I'm just helping her find a library. I'm just guiding her," he explained.
"Really?" Tohka tilted her head to look at his eyes.
"Yes, so you don't have to worry," Shido reassured her with a smile.
"So you still love Tohka?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
Shido blushed for a moment, hesitant to answer. "Yes, I love you," he finally admitted.
"Yay! Thanks, Shido! Don't forget to get me my kinako bread, okay?" Tohka exclaimed, running off to her room in joy.
"Okay," Shido replied, watching her go with a smile on his face. Then he left to meet Hikaru.
As Shido approached Hikaru, she asked, "You take your time, huh? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, everything is okay. Sorry to make you wait," Shido responded.
"Nah, it's okay. Let's go anyway. I don't want to waste more time."
"Okay"
As they walked, Hikaru noticed that Shido wasn't wearing the strange device in his ear. "You're missing something in your ear," she said.
Shido took a moment to understand what she said.
"Oh, that. I don't need it right now," he said.
"Oh? And what is it for?" Hikaru asked. Shido hesitated in answering.
"Well..." "You don't have to answer if you don't want," she said, lowering her head.
Shido glanced at her for a second and sighed.
"It's a communication device. I used to keep in touch with Kotori," he answered.
'It's really easy to extract information from honest and good people. Just make them feel bad,' she thought.
"Is that so? Thanks for your honesty and for not using it with me," she said with a smile. Shido blushed for a second.
"No problem, Hikaru," he replied. 'Her smile is really beautiful,' he thought.
As they walked, Hikaru remembered something. "Can you tell Kotori to take care of my dog? he sleeping in my room, and he could wake up any moment now."
"Oh, okay, I'm gonna call and ask her now," Shido said.
As they walked, Hikaru couldn't shake the feeling that someone was monitoring them.
She glanced at Shido, finding him on his phone, and she lowered her gaze again.
She didn't want to make it obvious to the stalker that she knew he/she was there, so she kept her guard up in case anything happened.
'It's cloudy now, but there's still light I can use,' she thought.
After Shido finished his call, they were already at their destination.
" we're here," Shido said.
"Thanks for the guide, boy. You can return now. I'm going to finish my work and go back. I'll be home around lunchtime," she said.
"I can come back and take you if you want. I mean, do you know your way b--?"
Before he could finish his sentence, she hugged him, making him surprised. "Hi-Hikaru?" he said, confused.
She kept the hug for a second and then let him go.
"Don't worry. I saved the path. I know my way back. You can go now," she said.
"Oh, okay," and he left. 'That surprised me. What was that all about?' he thought
while making his way home Hikaru glanced at him while he walked away. She took a deep breath and entered the library.
'That would protect him if I was wrong. Let's just hope the stalker is after me,' she thought As Hikaru stepped inside the library, she made her way to the librarian, an old man in his 70s.
"Good evening sir. I want to know where I can find history books," she asked politely.
"oh young lady, that would be <B row> on the first floor" he answered with a big smile on his face
"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day," Hikaru said as she lowered her head in respect and made her way to the recommended section.
Upon arriving at her location, Hikaru began to choose what to read. "I have to see history about the major events in this world. I have to make sure that my thoughts are wrong" she said to herself. In the end, she selected some books about wars and major diseases that spread in this world, along with a special book that caught her attention about an event that killed 300 million people 30 years ago.
Sitting at an empty table, Hikaru began to read and compare the information she had gathered.
To her surprise, it was the same event that she remembered from her world. She even recalled some details that she had forgotten about.
"Weird thing that I didn't get a headache from remembering that," she thought before dropping the book onto the table and staring at the library ceiling.
"The last thing I remember was from 1992," she muttered to herself, lost in thought. A girl sitting close to her table caught her attention, she asked,
"Excuse me, can you tell me what date it is today?" The girl looked at her and responded.
"Oh, it's May 11th," "
And the year?"
The girl hesitated for a second and then responded, "It's 2017."
"Thank you, sorry for the inconvenience," Hikaru said before going back to her thoughts.
"Twenty-five years have passed. Did I sleep in that void all this time?" Taking another glance at one of her books, she read, "The first earthquake that caused 150 million deaths...I don't remember that event." Hikaru was in a confused situation and couldn't figure out what happened to her.
As a girl with black hair approached, Hikaru thought to herself,
"I can't remember that event, but it doesn't mean it didn't happen." The newcomer had a wary smile with one eye hidden under her hair and the other glowing red.
'But a major event like that would have impacted my life back then, and i have some information after the date of the event that denied its occurrence'. she thought to herself as the girl sat opposite her.
'That doesn't help at all. If this is my world but just in the future, maybe I may have some related here and like that, I can know wh-'
"Ara~ miss, are you interested in history as I am?" Hikaru's thoughts were interrupted by the newcomer, she shifted her gaze to the girl in front of her.
"And who asked?" she retorted with a raised eyebrow.
"Ara~ I apologize for my lack of manners. My name is Kurumi Tokisaki," introduced the girl with a smile.
"Pleasure to meet you, Tokisaki-san. As for your question," Hikaru glanced at her, "I have a love for learning and I found myself curious about history books today."
"Ara~ I see. Have you found anything interesting yet?" Kurumi asked.
"Hmm, not really. I think I'll try some science books now," Hikaru responded.
"What a shame as a history lover," Kurumi said as she looked over at what Hikaru was reading.
"Are you perhaps interested in that event 30 years ago?" Kurumi asked, piquing Hikaru's interest.
"No, I don't think am I" Hikaru responded, sensing a need to distance herself.
"I see," Kurumi said, giving her attention back to her book. Hikaru followed suit,
'this girl Makes my skin shiver for some reason, and what with this feeling of deja Vu' Hikaru thought and an hour passed.
"Ara~ look at the time. It seems I was so focused on my book," Kurumi said as she stood up from her seat.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, I hope we can meet again in the future," Kurumi smiled, "Hikaru-san".
"The feeling is mutual, Tokisaki-san," Hikaru responded, watching Kurumi leave. As she left.
"I didn't give her my name", she thought while glancing at the girl leaving
ignoring that, she took her glance to the window. "Is that a storm?"
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