章 112: Chapter 112: Nightmare
Fifteen minutes later, the transport ship arrived on time.
"Heh. For those old guys to give you most of the work…"
"Don't think much about it. Aren't we doing something behind their backs? It makes it easier to hide everything."
Mobius became busy with the round of MANTIS surgeries today. Aleph was left to his own devices, thus he had the leisure to walk around the fifth institute with Mei.
"Where did Kevin go?"
"Ah. He said that he wants to visit someone."
"And Sakura?"
"She's off to buy a gift for her sister."
'...Why do I feel like he slipped away intentionally…'
Aleph caught onto Kevin's abnormality. He doesn't believe that he has someone to visit here, more so when his squadmates were deployed in the Western Continent. As for Sakura, it was a completely valid reason.
"I haven't heard of your cat."
Mei pointed out to the black cat 'sleeping' atop his head.
"Ah, this one. It's only been a few days since I took it in."
Aleph repeated the same story he told Einstein, Vill-V, and Mobius.
Nonetheless…
{Result: The subject "Mei" does not completely believe your words.}
'...I can see that.'
It wasn't just Mei. Except for Einstein, everyone else had other thoughts when he told the story about his black cat. It was as if they knew its real identity in the first place.
"I thought you didn't like pets." She remarked.
"Things change. After everything I've seen…"
These were his true thoughts. Only Aleph knew himself that he indirectly caused all the casualties of the fifth eruption. It always weighed in his heart despite how he resolved himself to continue fighting. The other person who came close to realizing something was none other than Kurumi.
As if responding to his words, the cat's eyes opened. She stared at the human beneath her.
The stinging gaze was felt by Mei. She immediately noticed its abnormalities.
'It's… like a human.'
An incredulous thought came to her mind. All the 'feelings' she had since her call with Aleph a week ago connected with all the other clues she has.
'Was that it..?'
It wasn't just her who had these thoughts.
'It is her.'
More than a year ago, Kurumi felt something was wrong. Her pointy finger twitched. It was a manifestation of her intuition when something bad occurs.
Surprisingly, she didn't encounter much danger except for the First Spirit itself. She buried this matter a long time ago. Never had she thought that the one who caused it was none other than the girl with Aleph.
The girl and the cat had an intense staring battle.
'No, no, no…'
Aleph's foreboding came true. There wasn't any logical explanation as to why the two became like this upon their first meeting.
They hadn't even met in person until now!
"Your cat… has an attitude." Mei slowly let out these words. "It is also territorial…"
"It should be normal for cats to be like this…"
While he was busy overclocking his mind thinking of ways to soothe this 'ridiculous' tension, Mei crept up by his side. A soft hand held his. A part of his arm received a portion of the mountain's softness.
Seeing him get startled, a smile rose up from Mei's lips.
"Have you forgotten already? It's too bad we didn't have the time, but…"
Mei started flirting with him. The previous vibe disappeared in seconds.
Still…
'What should I do..?'
The problem that he pushed at the back finally bit him. His vague stance regarding Mei's pursuits, his current situation with his childhood friend, and plethora of others…
Aleph tried his best not to show how troubled he was. His acting was near-perfect, enough to fool most of the people in the world. He continued talking as usual, bringing his conversation with Mei to other things.
It didn't take long before they arrived in Mobius' lounge. The two remained standing for a while. Mei abused the fact that they were 'alone' at this moment.
It was also at that time did she confirm her suspicion.
'Something's making him worry.'
No matter how perfect Aleph's act was, it wouldn't matter once the person with him was one of the few who could notice what was wrong.
Mei was about to ask something when the black cat suddenly leaped from his head to the floor. Much to her surprise, it soon melted in Aleph's shadow. A series of messages came from the cat… rather, the person behind the cat.
Her surprised gaze was redirected to Aleph.
'I see…'
He heaved a sigh. A burden was seemingly taken off his chest, yet at the same time, he was also anxious.
"Mei. Please, don't get surprised by what's going to happen next." He said with a serious look. "I will explain everything."
"Aleph..?"
Mei's voice was halted when a person emerged from the shadows.
It was a girl. Her black and white gothic lolita dress was extremely eye-catching. The next noticeable thing was her eyes—one of them shone in golden light.
…just like the black cat atop Aleph's head.
"Ara. It is about time we talk properly." The girl made a dramatic pause. "Tokisaki Kurumi, Ain's childhood friend. It is nice to meet you… Mei-san."
The girl's elegant bow marked the beginning of a troubled time.
*****
'What am I to him?'
It was a simple yet complicated question to Tokisaki Kurumi. Throughout the three years, Aleph was her dear friend. From his troubles up to his funniest moments, she heard it all. She saw how he grew out of his decadent self.
In a sense, it was one of her biggest achievements.
She grew up from a privileged family. It caused her to want to help others, even by a little. The small acts of help Kurumi did was enough to make her day.
Unexpectedly, it became her turn to be helped. Aleph entrusted her with a strong and important power.
Years of its usage made her realize one thing:
'It is powerful enough to help him.'
Just the mirror's ability to create an isolated world, free of any external influence, could become a safeguard when nothing else could be done to save the world. It was the perfect bunker.
Yet, such an ability was given to her.
Kurumi admitted that she would have long fallen to the First Spirit's schemes without it. She wouldn't have been able to escape from her grasp without it.
That brought her to the previous question:
'What am I to him?'
Was she simply a childhood friend?
Was she simply a helper?
…
'No.'
It was more than that.
He was the one who added another meaning to her 'satisfactory' life. Their daily interactions made her see of another side of the world, be it literally or figuratively.
Kurumi saw the ups and downs he experienced; that the burden of saving the world was beautiful yet far too heavy for a single person.
Amidst everything, he was willing to make a sacrifice when faced with an adversary that threatened Kurumi's life. He did not hesitate to lend her a hand, more so when he thought that his life was over at that time.
It was something that went beyond all concepts, one that she herself could not describe.
Beauty.
Friendship.
Sacrifice.
Love.
Was it one of them?
All or them?
Or beyond all of them?
Aleph entrusted to herself his everything.
In return...
She was willing to give all of hers.
"Ara. It is about time we talk properly."
There was a reason why Kurumi was dubbed "Nightmare".
Once she decided on something…
"Tokisaki Kurumi, Ain's childhood friend. It is nice to meet you… Mei-san."
…she's dead-set on it.
*****
A/N: Welp, apologies for the lack of update yesterday. I got cooked by my projects last night that I completely ditched sleep. Though speaking of being cooked, you will all see whether the MC cooks or gets cooked in the next chapter.
PS: I'll try to make up for the last chapter with a double update... once our finals week end. There are also the Christmas and New Year Omakes to watch out for as well~
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