Volume 4, Chapter 20: A Fresh Start and Familiar Faces

“Yuki, wake up! We’re going to be late,” someone called out.

I opened my eyes and saw Zhuyu. What the fuck? The last thing I recalled was Mirei and her accomplices knocking everyone out, including me.

“Yuki, let’s go. We don’t have all day,” he urged.

“Zhuyu, what’s going on?” I inquired.

“Did I do something wrong? Yuki, I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. To address me like we’re strangers, I must have made you really angry,” Zhuyu remarked, an apologetic expression on his face.

Such a look on his face was very…. strange. It clashed too much with his usual flat demeanor. And when did Zhuyu care about me so much?

“Anyways, I’ll leave and let you change. Hurry up or we’ll really be late,” Zhuyu informed me before shutting the door.

Did Mirei pummel me to the point I lost my grip on reality? I picked up a phone from my desk. Hm, my room was different. This definitely wasn’t my reality. I opened my closet, finding a school uniform, and changed into it. Checking the pockets, I located an ID and school handbook. Of all the possibilities, I was thrust back into high school?

“Yuki, hurry up! You’re making Long wait!” Mom shouted.

“I’m coming down!” I replied, grabbing my school bag.

I rushed downstairs, going with the flow for now. Zhuyu stared at his watch, waiting for me. This was very awkward.

“I had a headache last night. Kinda forgot if we had any homework,” I made up an excuse.

“Are you feeling better?” Zhuyu asked, looking at me with worry.

Gah, so weird. Normally, his voice contained…. well, no actual emotion, unless he spoke with friends. The tone was softer too. I actually might prefer this version of him.

“Yeah, pretty much back to normal. So, did we have homework or not?” I asked again, digging through my bag.

“There’s nothing due today. We were assigned reading but that’s easy to do,” Zhuyu replied.

We finally arrived at a transit station and Zhuyu passed his ID badge over the scanner. I did the same, boarding a packed train.

“You sure you’re fine, Yuki?” Zhuyu glanced at my face.

“Of course I am,” I replied.

“Okay, I won’t keep prying then,” Zhuyu said.

I took out my phone, hoping it might reveal useful information. Let’s see… bunch of useless pictures. Social media was a dead end too. I looked up, seeing Zhuyu speak with Kyoi.

“Feng-senpai, why?” Zhuyu sighed.

“It’s fun to tease you. Why else? Yuki-chan seems a little quiet. Something happen?” Kyoi answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“I’m fine. Just recovering from a headache,” I revealed.

“Long’s too dense, so he might not care, you know. Perhaps it was just lack of sleep?” Kyoi hypothesized.

“Maybe,” I said, hoping to end the conversation there.

“I hope little Yuki feels better,” Kyoi said, walking away.

“Damn, I forgot to ask her about something,” Zhuyu muttered.

I inspected my phone again, checking call logs and text messages. No sign of Chihiro or Yuka anywhere. However, a familiar name appeared, Kaisi Konoe. Tess’ name and the other heroes were saved as well.

“Yuki, here. Your mom forgot to pack it in your bag,” Zhuyu disclosed, handing me a lunchbox.

“Thanks,” I responded, checking the contents.

It appeared normal enough with sliced octopus, bite-size sandwiches, and green salad.

“Still seems like I’m forgetting something. Maybe I’ll remember later,” Zhuyu murmured.

I stared out the window and saw our high school in the distance. What was up with that extravagant building? Students walked through a large ornate gate, some with downcast faces and others with huge smiles. Cherry trees lined the walkway, petals scattered across the ground.

“Yuki, should I take you to the nurse’s office?” Zhuyu offered.

“No, I’m fine, really. If you don’t mind, just take me to my classroom,” I requested.

“Yeah, of course,” Zhuyu agreed.

I counted at least five floors and saw more buildings to the side and in the rear. Did I attend a ridiculous private school?

“With Yuki again? Man, just ask her to be your girlfriend already,” Kisai greeted Zhuyu.

“What about you, Jin? When are you going to stop being so popular?” Zhuyu retorted, giving him a small smile.

“I’m not that popular, man. You know who is? Freakin’ Darryl. All the girls love him,” Kisai responded, his personality mirroring that of his counterpart.

“Yeah, you’re right. Jin, did you finish the chemistry homework?” Zhuyu asked, checking his watch.

“I’ll finish it during class. Magill-sensei won’t mind at all,” Kisai answered, flashing a brilliant smile.

“I’m pretty sure he cares, but doesn’t say anything since you always get everything right,” Zhuyu said, shaking his head.

A lot of things stayed the same, even in this alternate reality. The banter remained the same as usual. Same with Kisai’s amazing procrastination skills.

“Yuki!” someone shouted.

Felicity barreled towards me and I sidestepped her. She almost fell, but regained her balance immediately. The woman wore a track suit with biker shorts.

“So mean, Yuk! I just wanted to give you a hug. I finished my cross-country morning practice and saw you talking with them,” Felicity pouted.

“Give her a break, Konoe. She had a headache yesterday,” Zhuyu informed her.

“Is everything alright? Did Long take care of you? Tell me and I’ll make him take responsibility,” Felicity threatened.

“Everything’s fine. Zhu-, I mean, Long was pretty concerned about me,” I assured the woman.

“Really? You’re my best friend so no secrets,” Felicity questioned, glaring at Zhuyu.

“Damn, no trust. Are we late for the test prep yet?” Kisai questioned, staring at his watch.

“Yuki, here’s your classroom. If anything happens, ask Tess. Jin, Konoe, I are heading to test prep,” Zhuyu instructed.

A sign, “2-C” written on it, hung above the classroom entrance. Inside, there weren’t too many students and Tess stood in the front. She glanced at the blackboard, a piece of white chalk in her right hand, writing questions on the board. I approached Tess and sighed. This was embarrassing.

“Tess, where do I sit again? I kinda forgot,” I inquired.

“You’re in the third row, third seat from the left,” Tess replied.

“Thanks, Tess, I appreciate it,” I responded.

“Can you pass these handouts when class starts?” Tess requested, handing me a stack of papers.

“Sure,” I agreed.

I reached into my desk and pulled out several books. History, literature, math, science, and one with no title. I flipped it open and saw empty pages. I glanced around, not recognizing anyone, and placed my head down on the table.

“Yuki, you feeling okay?” someone sat down in the seat next to mine.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied.

“Oh, that’s good to hear. Long-niisan told me you weren’t feeling well,” the girl responded, smiling at me.

“Class is starting in one minute. If you didn’t turn in your homework yesterday, do it now. Anyone writing once the bell rings will be penalized with a ten point deduction,” Tess announced, completing her questions on the board.

I passed out the handouts, making sure everyone received one. The desks were all occupied except for one in the back. I stared at the handout, noticing something about individual conferences with Tess. When first period ended, I heaved a sigh of relief. Tess’ lecture mirrored a one she actually gave me before. She left the room while everyone else remained seated. Guess it was teachers who moved around and not us.

“Yuki, can you give this to Long-niisan later? Feng-nee forgot this morning,” the girl from before requested, handing me a stack of papers.

Oh, it finally clicked together. She was Kyoi’s relative, much prettier than her. When I finished lunch, Tess walked in and headed towards me.

“Yuki, your presence is required in the faculty office,” Tess informed me.

“For what?” I asked, packing up my empty lunchbox.

“One of the teachers would like a word with you. I do not know the specifics,” Tess answered before leaving.

I exited the classroom and realized something. Where was the faculty office? Damn, should have asked Tess earlier. Might as well walk around and search. I should eventually find it.

“Hey, Yuki, you look lost,” Ichaival called out.

“Oh perfect. Do you know where the faculty office is?” I asked.

“Did they set you up for this? Those bastards!” Ichaival muttered.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but can you tell me what floor it’s on?” I ignored his comment.

“On the first floor. You can’t miss it. It’s just past the first year classrooms,” Ichaival replied.

“Thanks,” I said.

I passed a stairway on the first floor and found it. A few teachers sat inside either eating lunch or typing on their computers.

“Tomo, over here,” someone directed and I saw a familiar face.

A man in his early forties with a rumpled suit and crooked tie beckoned me over. This guy…. was the substitute teacher during my latest mind dive at Shane and Emily’s lab. How was this possible? Thinking about it only hurt my head.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“No, why would you think that? Did Zha tell you that?” he questioned.

“She didn’t say anything. That’s why it’s scary,” I replied.

“I need you to fill in for the class representative during a meeting after school,” he revealed.

“Wait, why me? There has to be a vice class representative or something like that, right?” I questioned.

“They went home sick for the day and you were chosen by the great system of democracy. Isn’t it amazing?” he explained.

“Where do I have to go for this meeting?” I asked.

“It’s in the student council room. Now, excuse me as I grade papers, and give some zeros,” he answered, clicking a red pen.

“Actually, I don’t know where the student council room is,” I revealed.

“Not a surprise, most people never go there. On the fourth floor with all the other administrative crap. Sorry to foist all of this on you, Tomo. Isn’t it great to be liked?” he chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s amazing. Anything else?” I inquired.

“Nope. Did you want more work? You could grade papers for me,” he offered, waving his red pen around in the air.

“I’ll let you handle that,” I declined and headed back to the classroom.

Classes finally finished for the day. I sighed and ascended up to the fourth floor, searching for five minutes, before locating the correct room. Seriously, why was it that hard to find? I yanked open the door and saw a few people already seated inside.

“Did you have business with the student council president?” a man with glasses asked.

“I’m here to fill in for someone. The class representative for 2-C can’t make it,” I replied.

“You’re a little early. Take a seat. We just need you to listen in and sign something once the meeting ends,” the man said, pointing at a seat.

I sat down and he handed me a folder containing documents with spreadsheets full of numbers. A budget of some sort? Yeah, I wasn’t going to try and read that.

“Tomo, was it?” a man with gelled-hair asked.

I assumed he was the student council president. He placed his tablet down, giving me a smile.

“I’m surprised you even know who I am,” I confirmed.

“Your teacher sent word about your arrival, so I at least know your name,” he revealed.

“I don’t have to do anything hard, right? Because I have no idea what you guys do,” I asked.

“We usually just have papers for you to take back. We do vote but that’s not occurring today,” the man assured me.

“Great. I’ll just sit here and take everything in,” I decided.

Ten minutes later, all the seats were filled and the meeting started. I didn’t pay attention, and by the end, almost fell asleep. The student council president dismissed us at last, reminding everyone to check in with our homeroom teacher.

“Tomo, can you sign off here? It’s just for formality,” the president requested, handing over a sign-in sheet.

I scribbled my name and returned to the faculty office, dropping off the handouts at Old Stone’s desk. Exiting the main gate, I noticed Ichaival with a girl. They turned a corner and I couldn’t get a closer look.

“Yuki, I finally caught up with you. Feeling better yet?” Zhuyu suddenly appeared behind me.

“Son of a-, what are you still doing here?” I exclaimed.

“Waiting for you,” Zhuyu answered.

“Oh, I see. Let’s go then,” I said.

We walked to the train station and I paid closer attention to all the stops. I really hoped my time in this weird, alternate reality would end soon. It was a pain to relearn everything and pretend nothing was wrong.

“Hey, Shigetzu, you just finish classes?” Zhuyu inquired.

I saw Shan with a woman standing next to him. Oh, she was the person who utilized blood to materialize different weapons. So even the members of Lilith’s team existed in this reality.

“Yeah, stopping by somewhere with Natalia first,” Shan replied.

“How are your classes so far?” Zhuyu questioned, leaning on the train doors.

“Not too hard yet. What are you doing here so late? Classes ended awhile ago. Unless….,” Shan observed, glancing at me with a knowing smile.

“She stayed behind to fill in for someone. Yuki wasn’t feeling to well yesterday so I decided to wait for her,” Zhuyu disclosed.

“Wait, how did you know that I had a meeting?” I asked.

“Oh, Tess told me,” Zhuyu revealed his source.

Zhuyu and Shan continued talking until the older man got off at his stop.

“See you later. Darryl said he wants to do something this weekend,” Shan informed the man.

“Really? How rare. Okay, I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow,” Zhuyu said with a smile.

Still wasn’t used to that. Zhuyu smiled, but this version appeared more natural. Seriously, he was more approachable this way. Then again, I didn’t know Zhuyu too well, so maybe he was actually like this. However, the chances of that were pretty slim, considering his blunt attitude.

“Hey, who’s that girl with Sha-…. Shigetzu-senpai?” I inquired.

“That ‘s his girlfriend. You sure you’re fine? No fever or anything like that,” Zhuyu responded, placing his hand on my forehead.

Whoa, too close, too damn close. His actions were logical, considering the relationship with me in this dimension. But, I didn’t know him like that, so this was strange.

“It looks like you’re fine. Maybe you shouldn’t go to school tomorrow,” Zhuyu suggested.

“I just need to get more sleep,” I assured him.

We arrived at our stop and Zhuyu escorted me to my house. I went inside and sat down on the couch. How many more days would I have to endure?

“Yuki, you look stressed, something wrong?” Dad noticed.

“No, it’s nothing. just a little tired,” I replied.

“You sure? Need me to call the school so you can rest up tomorrow at home?” Dad questioned.

“No, it’s not that bad. I’ll lay down and see how I feel by dinnertime,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll start dinner then. Your Mom will check up on you when she gets home,” Dad said, exiting the living room.

“Wait, wait, you’re cooking?” I stopped him.

“What’s wrong, Yuki? I always do unless your Mom’s earlier than me,” Dad revealed.

“Just wondering what you were going to cook,” I said.

“Probably a roast. Your Mom seasoned something last night,” Dad answered.

“Okay, sounds good. Wake me up when it’s done,” I said.

“Of course. You sure you don’t aspirin, anything like that?” Dad asked.

“I’ll be fine,” I replied and headed up to my room.

Now was a good time to search around my room. I yanked open my closet, finding the usual assortment of clothes. The bottom section of it yielded nothing useful. Next, I inspected my dresser, discovering school supplies and more clothes. Oh, a yearbook, dated 2012. I flipped through and checked the table of contents. This was the year Shan graduated. There were photos of him along with all the other heroes.

“I learned nothing. Great,” I muttered and fell asleep.

Sometime later, Mom stood above my bed, holding a thermometer. Dinnertime already? I yawned and felt refreshed.

“Feeling better, Yuki? I heard Long took you home today. Doesn’t look like you have a fever,” Mom asked.

“Much better,” I answered, getting out of bed.

“I’m sure getting some food in you will help too,” Mom remarked, exiting my room and I followed behind her.

I saw a plate of roasted beef, steamed vegetables, and shrimp with chopped pieces of ginger scattered around it.

“Eat up, Yuki. You look better,” Dad observed, handing me a bowl of rice.

“I will,” I said.

The doorbell rang three times after I took my first bite of beef. Damn, this was delicious, on par with Yukie’s creations. Mom brought Felicity, who carried a sports bag over her shoulder, into the dining room.

“Yuki, sorry to barge in!” Felicity greeted.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be staying over tonight anyways,” Mom responded, retrieving another bowl for our guest.

“Did you forget, Yuki? My parents are out of town along with my brother,” Felicity explained.

“Yeah, I totally forgot,” I admitted.

After washing the dishes, I entered my room, and saw Mom setting up a bed for Felicity. My friend sat in the back, staring out my window. What was so interesting outside? I walked over and peered out as well. I only saw my neighbor’s lit up window with the blinds down.

“Hey Yuki, Long lives pretty close by, doesn’t he?” Felicity inquired.

“Yeah, I guess,” I responded.

Felicity remained silent afterwards. What was up with her abrupt question and no follow-up? Whatever, she was weird that way.

“It’s all done. I hope it’s comfortable enough,” Mom announced and then left.

“Thanks for all the hard work, ” Felicity thanked her.

Felicity unzipped her bag, placing a lab book on my table. It was the exact same one used in my current chemistry course in college. Were the classes at our school so advanced it already covered university level material? Considering how elite and posh the school appeared, that made sense.

“Sorry if I’m distracting you, Yuki,” Felicity apologized, flipping to a page containing a hand-drawn table.

“Don’t worry about it. What time are you planning on sleeping?” I questioned, checking the clock in my room.

“Probably around eleven. I have to finish my lab report since it’s due tomorrow. A lot of it is just writing and interpreting results, so let’s chat while I’m doing it. Anything new?” Felicity suggested.

“How about you go first? I’m sure you have way more interesting stories,” I deferred.

“I ran into Darryl and his girlfriend the other day.They look really good together. Yi’s lucky!” Felicity mentioned.

Oh, Jen’s actual name. She seemed awfully calm about the entire situation. Could it be the woman had her eye on someone else? If Ichaival was taken, who was left? Zhuyu, maybe? No, even here, he was pretty close with Kyoi. Shui, Zhang, and the other males didn’t stand out too much. Actually, Shui did, but Felicity didn’t know him that well. Leaving only Kisai as the most viable candidate. He was charismatic and pretty chill to hang out with. Of course, there could always be someone outside of the heroes I was unaware of.

“Yuki, you still there? What do you think of Jin?” Felicity’s words disrupted my trivial analysis.

“Sorry, I was thinking. What about Ki-, uh, JIn?” I asked her to repeat the question.

“I was wondering what you thought about Jin’s behavior lately. He’s lazier than usual, which makes me so mad. But, he still gets better scores than me. God, he’s just too special,” Felicity ranted as she filled in the table.

“Isn’t he always like that?” I countered.

“I swear he’s doing less work than usual. I wonder why?” Felicity sighed.

“Come on, Fel-, Konoe, he’ been like that since you’ve known him. Maybe it’s a sign he’s changing,” I offered a potential reason.

“You’re a silly goose for thinking that, Yuki,” Felicity dismissed my words.

This reality was comforting, too much of a pleasant break from all the heroes’ business. Everyone was nice and all, but things seemed too…. perfect. Similar to a storybook fairytale. That didn’t quite seem right at all.