Chapter 13- A visitor from across the worlds

I spent the whole day with both Iris and Giyu, doing things typical high schoolers do. We went and had fun playing at an arcade, ate at a restaurant where we were treated by Giyu, and hung out at a nearby park and just wasted our time doing lots of different things.

As we sat down to rest at a park bench, the sun went down to a level where it filled the area with its warm orange afternoon hue while sending a refreshing breeze that was slowly shifting to a cooler temperature, signaling that it was about to be night.

"Oh, it's that time of the day already?" Iris said, seeming concerned as she looked at the time on her phone.

"What's the matter? I thought we got all day?" Giyu said.

"Well, it just occurred to me that this is the kind of time when a lot of students will be leaving school and start going from place to place, right?"

"Not that I know…" I replied blatantly.

She turned her head toward me with a look of pity, "you didn't have to answer that…"

"Now that you mention it, a bunch of students does roam around at this kind of time," Giyu said, "so? What's the matter?"

"It's probably because she's an honor student," I said blatantly with a smile, aiming to tease her a bit, "she has to keep an appearance and it would probably be troublesome if someone from her school sees her slacking off and skipping class… must be rough,"

"Thank you so much that you get me… and sorry," Iris said looking a little guilty.

"You don't have to apologize. In fact, I should be thanking you, two," I smiled with gratitude, "thanks a lot… but it's getting late so we should probably call it a day,"

"Well… did you have fun?" Giyu asked as they both looked me in the eye.

"I did. Seriously, maybe we should do these kinds of things again sometime,"

"I agree but not on a school day…" She looked at me with concern, "Remember, today is just a special case, all right!?"

Giyu and I giggled, "yeah, yeah. Don't worry… once again, thanks, you two,"

After that, we exchanged goodbyes and separated. I didn't go with Iris despite us being neighbors because I told her that I wanted to do something shortly before I went home, so I stayed In the park and reflected for a bit.

"Today was fun… I was definitely not lying when I said that. However…"

Despite us totally having a blast today, I still felt somewhat empty as if there was a huge hole within my heart. Even when we were hanging out, this feeling of emptiness somehow keeps bugging me every silent moment we have… as if it was trying to tie me into something.

"The only time I felt this feeling disappear is when I was there…" I mumbled, referring to the place I thought of as a dream.

I let out a heavy sigh for some reason I couldn't understand myself.

"Maybe I should just go home and sleep early… maybe… if I can have such a dream again…"

And so, I walked out of the park and made my way home.

Shortly after leaving the park, I almost bumped into a woman who was crossing by the corner.

"Woah!" I reacted, backing down as I dodged the woman who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Isn't that our school uniform?" I thought, looking at the back of the woman who strangely seemed familiar.

The girl turned around and bowed her head, "I'm sorry! I was in a hurry," she raised her head with a look of concern, "did I somehow hurt you or…"

My eyes shrunk in shock as we locked eyes with each other. She had an incredibly familiar face and tone of voice, as well as a very familiar angelic aura. It was as if I really do know her, the only difference is that she was the color of her eyes and the slight difference in the tone of her hair, she was also wearing glasses.

She looked at me with a slightly shocked expression for a very short moment and smiled, "ah… it's you, we're from the same school, right? We met back at the stairs…"

I couldn't understand what she was saying as I was analyzing how incredibly familiar her manner and tone of voice are.

She let out a small smile and lightly scratched the side of her head, "Once again… back at the stairs yesterday, sorry for…"

"Arisa…?" I said, accidentally letting out my thoughts.

She suddenly looked shocked and then removed her glasses as she stared deep into my eyes.

"How did you know…? I don't recall telling you my name," she said with a cold and serious tone.

"I… Sorry, it's just that you look like someone I know and… Oh, so you have the same name haha, what a coincidence…"

Her stare suddenly felt colder and the mood she emitted became more serious, making me feel further pressure as she continued to stay silent.

What's this? It's like I'm feeling some sort of heavy pressure from this… I don't feel good…

"Anyway… I'm kind of tired, sorry if I'm saying weird things and…" I once again locked eyes with her and I felt shivers go up my spine.

"I… I'll be seeing you around!" I said as I ran away to the other exit.

As I kept running, I looked back and saw her on the road. standing still as she kept staring at me until I turned a corner.

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Later, at home.

After locking the doors and removing my shoes, I quickly went upstairs to my room and sat down in my bed.

"That was… no, maybe she was just a look-alike…" I said, trying to force myself to calm down and think about things logically.

"Yeah… just a look-alike…"

I scratched my head lightly as I began to compare her to the woman in my dream.

"When I really think about it, they have different eye colors… so there is no way…"

Recalling the way she talked and how very alike their looks are despite the difference in eye color made me feel more confused.

"Damn it… I should just stop thinking about it!"

I laid down in bed and tried my best to clear my mind, not thinking of anything as I took deep breaths.

"I just need to… stop thinking about it… I just need to… stop thinking…."

As I repeated those words in my head, I slowly began not to care about anything while I became calmer. The calmer I get, the emptier I felt. It was as if I was removing something important from my existence by being calm.

Though it is fine this way… the lingering feeling of emptiness keeps growing within me the more I notice it, but for me, this was easier…. It was easier than thinking about things I can't do anything about, and it was better than finding the answers to some questions I don't even know myself if I wanted to know.

"Find it…"

I suddenly sat up from my bed as I heard a strange yet soothing voice as if it was whispered directly in my head.

"What on earth…!? Am I really beginning to be crazy?"

I stood up from my bed and began making my way downstairs, "no… maybe this is just fatigue and hunger building up more stress that's already in me… I should eat and get some rest,"

And so, I went down the stairs, grabbed whatever I had in my fridge, and heated it up in the microwave.

"Looks like Iris restocked my fridge for me while I was gone… I owe her and her family some more again…"

After heating up the frozen curry meal, I went ahead and ate.

As I was eating, I felt the emptiness in me feel a lot stronger yet somewhat different. It was as if the empty space has now become a vacuum and its eating away at me… or as if it was trying to pull me to something.

Instinctively, I began eating with haste as if I was trying to be in a hurry for something.

After eating, I did all my nightly routine such as self-care and washing the dishes in an attempt to control whatever it was that was building up inside me.

"What is this…? Why is it like I'm feeling… Excited…?"

And so, before I knew it I was standing beside my bed. Completely ready to sleep.

"What am I feeling this excitement for…?"

"Find it…." The voice whispered directly in my head again.

I gently held my ear, "It's scary how natural that second one felt…"

"Whatever… no matter what feeling this is, it's basically telling me to sleep, right? Works well for me…"

And so, I dived into my bed and closed my eyes in the hope of deep sleep.

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Later… deep in the night.

As I looked at the tiny clock beside me with wide-open eyes adapted in the dark, it was clear for me to see that it was 11 pm sharp.

"It's almost midnight…"

What was this heavy feeling of disappointment building up inside me? I suddenly began having familiar feelings of wanting to just run away or escape.

"This feeling… it's the same as when I was in that warehouse…"

Suddenly recalling an image of the warehouse, I felt a strong sense of pressure within me as if I was desperate for something and that going back to that place was going to give me whatever my soul was craving.

I giggled just from having the thought, "It's crazy… in the middle of the night… but…"

I quickly stood up and grabbed my coat as I made my way out of the house.

I knew it was crazy. Planning to go out and leave the house in the middle of the night so I can go ahead and sleep at an abandoned warehouse somewhere. No one would be doing this unless they're crazy…

Despite my clear logical thinking, the feeling I'm currently experiencing heavily overwhelmed me.

Opening the door outside, my eyes shrunk as I was stunned shocked by the incredibly familiar presence in front of me.

"Eh…? Where the hell do you think you're going at this time of the night…?"

An incredibly familiar high-pitched voice and tone left me shocked yet it also gave me some sort of sense of relief.

The familiar woman slightly tilted her head as she stared at my face with a small scowl.

"Jeez, you look so horrible again… and I thought you going to the other world would have helped you here too…"

despite the growing confusion that was ignoring inside me, hearing her words made me feel a little more relieved as if I knew she'd be able to answer all of my questions or at least give me a sense of relief better than what I'm slightly feeling now.

"R… Reine…?" I asked with a slightly shivering voice, feeling nervous about how she'll answer.

She posed and smiled at me with a wink, putting up a peace sign right beside her right eye.

"YEP! It's your cutest cousin from across multiple worlds, Reine Heiko is my name here!"