Interlude

Chapter 14 - Interlude

The next morning, Keisuke was the first to wake up.

What time is it? He wondered, scratching his head. 4:30 AM, huh…

He yawned as he looked over his temporary roommates. Sakura was peacefully sleeping on her side while Noa and Cho were practically glued together in an embrace.

It must’ve been a big success for them… I suppose they are likely together now. Guess I’ll ask them about it later.

Keisuke got up from his futon and stretched his body and bones, then he went to wash her teeth and face. After being done with his morning routine, Keisuke decided to switch it up; hence, he went to take a morning bath in the onsen.

I don’t think there will be anyone this early in the day.

He arrived at the locker rooms’ entrance, where he noticed that the signs for women’s and men’s baths had been swapped, likely due to the day changing, and the staff probably wanted to make sure guests could experience both sides.

If this was an anime, I would’ve missed this and walked into the women’s bath. Good thing I can actually read. An overdone and cliché scene avoided…

He entered and went through the usual procedures, but just as he was about to enter the hot spring area, a pink niji-human girl with long orange hair appeared in front of him.

“Rin-san!?”

“Keisuke-kun? What are you doing here?” Rin exclaimed, clutching onto her towel in front of her.

“That’s my line. This is the men’s bath today!” Keisuke also held his towel more tightly.

“Huh? Really? I didn’t notice…”

Oh my gosh… I spoke too soon.

“Well, I was just leaving, so I’ll get going,” Rin said in a hurry.

“Wait! What if someone comes in while you’re changing? I’ll guard the exit for you.”

“Oh, thanks…”

And so they did just that. Keisuke guarded the door leading out from the locker room while Rin changed back into her yukata and packed her stuff.

“Thank you, Keisuke-kun! I owe you one.”

“Don’t worry about it! It happens.”

“I’ll wait for you in the lounge area, so please come by for a talk once you’re done.”

“A talk?”

“Yeah! I’m curious about what happened after our little conversation on Sports Day; remember? I told you that I’m invested in your story.”

“Ooh, okay, fine. I’ll just change now and get out quickly; I already washed myself anyway.”

“If that’s fine with you. I’ll sit down over there,” she said, pointing at a couch.

Keisuke swiftly did what he said he would, went over to Rin and sat in front of her.

“So, did something happen between you two after?” Rin seemed elated, and so she got to the point.

“Are we going to be love talk buddies now?” Keisuke jokingly asked.

“Why not? I would say we’re already friends, right?”

“Well, sure. I don’t mind.” Keisuke sighed. “I ended up confessing to her on the roof, and I got rejected.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s a huge weight off my mind, and at least I won’t have regrets about it, right?”

“That’s right. Are you still friends, though?”

“Yeah. You were right about that. Our friendship isn’t that fragile.”

“I’m proud of you,” said Rin as she stood up and patted Keisuke’s head.

Keisuke immediately pulled back in surprise, but Rin just chuckled.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you; it’s just I thought… I don’t even know. It just felt right.” Rin sat beside Keisuke and put a finger to her mouth in thought.

“Thanks… I guess?”

“By the way, I kind of forgot to ask amidst our romance talk, but why are you here in the first place?”

“Right back at ya. I’m here with friends.”

“Same! What a coincidence! We heard a new place opened nearby, so we wanted to check it out.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty good, though, right?”

“I know!”

“You two seem oddly close…” Sakura spoke up from behind them, making both Keisuke and Rin straighten up.

“Sakura!? Just when did you get here?” Keisuke exclaimed.

“I only just got here this time, unfortunately. We’ll have to pack our stuff in an hour, unless we want to pay an extra fee.”

“I’ll be right back. I’ll just do a quick trip to the konbini next door.”

“I’ll be going too, then. My friends are surely looking for me by now. See ya next time!” Rin said as she waved at them and galloped away.

“I’ll come with,” Sakura pouted.

“Okay…”

I think she might be a little mad… and envious.

They walked in silence and reached the convenience store in a minute.

I hope everything works out for Cho-chan and Noa-chan. And I hope we’ll get to do stuff like this in the future too. Now, let’s get these blueberries and go home.

******

Noa woke up feeling like she was in a utopia. On top of that, she got blueberries delivered to her for breakfast, making her morning the best she has ever had. Noa devoured the juicy blue fruits in an instant and helped everyone tidy things up. 

They changed back into their casual outfits, handed off the yukatas and checked out from the hotel. Walking to the train in a relaxed mood, this time they had plenty of time before eventually getting on.

Going into a wagon that had seats facing the opposite side’s windows, Noa sat on the edge. She was followed by Cho, Sakura and Keisuke, sitting next to her right in that order. The train car was empty, with the train itself not having that many passengers on a Sunday early morning. 

A gentle warmth that the sunrise emitted through the glass caressed their cheeks, giving them their sleepiness back. The first member to fall asleep was the one least used to waking up early: Cho. 

As Cho dozed off, Noa felt Cho’s head and undone hair slowly slide on her shoulder. Sakura and Keisuke were next to close their eyes and take a nap, with Sakura’s head on Keisuke’s shoulder and Keisuke’s head on top of Sakura’s head. 

Noa looked at the glass in front of her, gazing at her friends’ sleeping faces through the reflections it provided.

It seems that the hot springs’ relaxing effect had hit them. Or is it something else? Because I don’t feel that tired. It must be the energy from the blueberries!

Noa sighed with a warm smile.

“Sorry guys, but I gotta do this,” she whispered, snapping a selfie of the four of them using her free hand.

It’s these moments that are most worth living for… I wish these could just last forever. I mean, I have my girlfriend peacefully sleeping on my shoulders! What more could I ask for? I literally couldn’t have been happier.

Noa leaned back and enjoyed every second of the moment until her stop came up next, which forced her to wake Cho up by brushing her long golden hair.

“Morning… It’s your guys’ stop after mine. This one is closer for me, so even though we met up at the other one, I’ll get off right here.”

“Hmm? Noa-chan?” Cho yawned. “Okay, thanks for waking me up! See you tomorrow!”

“Yep! Thanks for the invitation! I had a great time.”

“Of course! Anytime. Glad you enjoyed it.” Cho looked at Keisuke and Sakura to check if they were still sleeping; confirming that they were, she whispered next: “I love you!”

Noa stood up, blushed, but smiled back brightly.

“Love you too!”

The train stopped immediately after, so Noa hopped off as she waved at Cho.

After leaving the train station, Noa was walking home when she noticed that something was wrong. 

Everything was way too silent. 

Her surroundings seemed to have become darker, as if a rain cloud suddenly blocked all the sun rays from reaching the ground, except that there were no actual clouds in the sky. It just felt like the sun got turned off by a higher being. Noa’s instincts kicked in, remembering the original timeline.

Is this…

A black, shadowy figure appeared in front of Noa. Its body was like a shadow inside a shadow, blackness within the darkness. Although Noa never saw a black hole herself, she could only imagine it looking something akin to this. 

On the outside, which Noa wasn’t sure could be called ‘skin’, the flickering body was accompanied with red stripes and lines intertwining and going back and forth. It had no face, no eyes, nor any individuality or recognizable characteristic that a human or niji-human would have.

It seems that I have stumbled upon an Irregularity. Probably the first one of this timeline.

It seemed to growl about something, but it was inaudible to normal ears. It dragged itself forward slowly towards Noa with an aura of malice.

We can’t let these Irregularities roam freely in this timeline. We can’t let them ripen and harvest innocent souls this time. This surely means Andras was nearby not long ago, but I’ll have to take care of this one first.

Noa intertwined her fingers in front of her chest without bringing her two palms together, channeling her energy into the ability she wanted to use. Like a witch casting a spell, she gathered her energy, which further supported her looking like a mage, because her clothes and hair violently started fluttering in a dark blue glow.

“Shadows of the past; engulfed and consumed by regret, I hope that you may one day find solace.”

Finishing her sentence, a sapphire light in the form of a rod appeared in front of her, spinning violently. The light spun around centrifugally until Noa grabbed onto it, calming it down and forming a trident with a sapphire embedded in it. The Irregularity closed the distance between them in the meantime, so Noa held the trident up high and swiftly swung down at the head of the shadow.

“Remember!”

She used the trident like it was a wooden sword in kendo, and as she sliced the shadow in half, the sapphire started shining, sucking the dissipated shadow in. Noa caught four words from the last grunts of the Irregularity as it disappeared in the gemstone.

“...wish… could have… more…”

The sun turned back to normal, and the birds’ chirping continued like normal as well. Light came back to the environment as sound also seemed to return to Noa’s ears.

Everything seems to be going the same way as in the original timeline. Using my ability to make them remember their pasts through this method, Irregularities can disappear, rest and return home.

Noa let go of the trident, which caused it to vanish into thin air. Then, she fell to her knees and started huffing.

It’s been a while since I’ve used this trident variation. I’m actually exhausted from just using it for a few minutes. I’ll have to train more.

Noa stood up after a while and continued on her route home.

I’ll have to warn Kei-kun about this.