|Lost scenery

There are few things that pique the interest of Shirou and one of them happens to be manga. He has been reading manga for as long as he remembers. It was love at first sight. For the past 6 months, he consumed so much that no genre was unfamiliar to him. He even developed a weird elite taste that sometimes got in the way of his reading.

---This is my favourite manga store. It has everything I’m looking for.It has many coupons and you can even find the rarest manga here. The one I’m currently searching for is “Soul grab”.It has to be here. Soul…..There you go.

“Excuse me.”

He turned around to see Angie Lin, the star novelist of Akate high school, probing through the shelf in search of  manga. She’s also the president of the school’s literary club.

“Oh sorry..”

“I find your apology quite unnecessary. Also, I think I’ve seen you before.”

She had dead eyes..Just like him…He was taken aback by her robotic speech style. Robotic in the sense that it carried almost no weight emotionally. It was like he was staring at a female clone of himself.

---Is this how people see me?? I’m not sure I’m this bad.

“Aren’t you the new transfer student?? I think we are classmates..”

Before answering, he sharply glanced to the left and to the right to see if he would be able to spot anyone else wearing the same uniform..Luckily, it was just the two of them….

“Ignoring people is rude…Didn’t anyone ever tell you that??”

---Oh that’s right..I never answered her..No matter what she says, I doubt I could actually get upset by any of it.

“Yeah, we are classmates.. I was just wondering why you were talking to me casually and not glaring.”

She stared at him without moving her lips, the awkwardness sunk in and he took a few steps back as the discomfort of her staring left him shook. This moment was sincerely depressing for him because he finally found someone who was even more dead inside than him.

---It feels like she’s staring into my soul..

“Those nefarious eyes of yours give me the creeps. Weird…gross..”

---Says the one with the same eyes.

“Is there a problem with talking to you casually??”

---She seems clueless..These are the kinds of people I hate talking to the most..It is energy consuming…

“Forget I said anything.. Bye, it was nice speaking with you..”

“Weird.”

He went straight to the cash register for the purchase. She stared at him as he walked away without moving a muscle. He immediately headed for the station without a moment’s hesitation in an effort to avoid running into that girl again. He received a message from Misaka.

“That’s weird..Why is she asking if I’m home yet?”

Before he got the chance to type in his response,he was suddenly dragged into a dark alley a few blocks away. As this was going on, he struggled and struggled, his vision blocked by the dark cloth forcefully placed on him, he held back a scream as he knew it was futile. After a few seconds of pointless struggling, he was shoved to the ground. He removed the dark cloth and found himself cornered with three figures standing in front of him, blocking the exit. It was pretty dark and they even hid their faces with another cloth.

“Who are you guys??”

---They are taken extra preventive measures to avoid being seen.

The figure in front of him stood speechless then laughed, cracking his knuckles and tightening his fists while the two behind him chuckled along as they ganged up on him.

“Who said you could talk?”

Shirou’s ears caught on to something. Something about the voice of the person in front of him. He couldn’t quite put his fingers on it. The way he spoke was rather suspicious. Either that or he was overthinking things again but something did feel familiar. Caught in his cloud of thoughts, he found his face glued to the wall in an uncomfortable, romantic manner. His face was one with the wall. It was slammed repeatedly; he could even feel the roughness of the wall. With the great force that was applied on the other end, his face became more bloody with each wall slam and by the time he was done, Shirou’s face was bruised all over. The other two joined in and kicked him simultaneously as his battered body fell to the ground.

“I knew he wasn’t much of a fighter but he’s not even fighting back.It feels like we are hitting a doll.”

With every kick that came in, his body felt weaker and heavier, as he looked up, he could see the moon and admired it’s beauty. It was a thought that helped drown out the sound of their shoes hitting his body. It was not effective as he could hear not only the sounds his body made but his own voice due to the screams he made while in pain. He tried his best to hold it in. To hold on..To his consciousness. In the conclusion to a thorough beatdown, the three figures were left panting while their “doll” was on the ground, closing his eyes slowly as he lost consciousness.

“He’s finally out.”

“That felt good.”

“Told ya.”

“I just thought of something. Why don’t we dump him in the dumpster over there.”

“Sounds good. After all, trash like him would have no worries being with his kind. He might even make friends.”

“Hahaha right up his alley.”

As they all left and his consciousness finally faded away, the only word that came to mind was “Nostalgia”……….

Meanwhile….

“Dammit……Dammit…..Dammit…”

With each word, the distance from the target grow wider. The Archery members stopped and stared at the now unrecognisable girl as she missed her shots, one by one.

--That idiot.Who the hell does he think he is??

Wendy finally stopped and dropped her arms while holding the bow, she started shaking.

“This is quite rare coming from her..”

“Missing all the targets..I guess it’s one of those days..”

“Is that really Brent san??I wonder what could have happened to her.”

“Quit the chitchat and get back to practice.”

“Yes, Sensei!!!”

Hatsune Claudia silenced the other members and approached Wendy who was on the verge of tears down with a gentle,warm hug.

“That’s enough..We are taking a break right now..”

“Claudia.”

“Let’s go and sit down, okay?”

She dragged Wendy over to a corner and they both sat down.

“What happened??I’ve never seen you that upset before.”

“It’s Eric.”

“What did that rascal do this time???”

She held Hatsune’s hand and recalled a moment from few hours in the past.

[

Wendy was walking to the spot Nire mentioned as a meeting point in his letter. She was in a bit of a hurry as she lost track of time.

“I better get moving. Well, it’s not like he can’t wait for me.No don’t say that..”

“Hey, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Why’s that, Eric?”

“I want to talk.”

“I really need to get going.”

“Hear me out, okay? I’m a really popular guy, skilled and really handsome. You have the same qualities. So why don’t we go out together? Surely you don’t believe in opposite personalities matching or something, right??I mean we can be the perfect couple.”

“And who decided that?”

“I, of course..”

“Well, I believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I personally don’t mind being with someone with the same qualities. Lastly, I can’t stand you and your arrogance.”

“I’m still working on it. These things take time, you know.”

He moved closer to her face, just like in the previous encounter. He was used to girls swooning over him in a power dynamic that always ended with him being superior. A rejection balanced the scales and he simply couldn’t let that go without a fight.

“You know how hard I tried putting my pride aside just so you could understand me better??? It’s certainly not easy.”

His words left her both clueless and infuriated. All she wanted to do was hurt his pride in the worst way imaginable but she didn’t know how.

“I see.. Sadly I don’t really care if that’s true or not. If it is too difficult then give up, there is no shame in that.”

The more time she spent on this useless conversation, the quicker her mood grew sour. She was absolutely disgusted by his attempts but didn’t know how to stop them for good.

“Whoever you’re waiting for doesn’t need to waste his time, right??”

“I’m sick of all this, you are wasting my time.I tried being polite but you are forcing me to use a different approach.”

“Quit being so difficult, I’m not done talking yet.”

She finally snapped. The image of a single thread being cut in four different places could perfectly describe her outburst.

“Can’t you take no for an answer, you sick bastard?? I would never ever accept an arrogant self entitle jerk like you.I tried being nice but you don’t deserve anything close to that.”

He tried grabbing her hand as she walked away in rage but got a slap in return. Her angered state was similar to a beast in a cage. Once that beast was let out, it was truly unsightly.. It enveloped all her beauty and all that he could see was a beast. He stood still in shock. Her right hand boldly implanted on his left cheek in red.

Nire was still at the spot, constantly glancing at his wristwatch every minute or two; his nervousness slowly turning to impatience.

“Guess I’ll be leaving then. Rinta messed things up somewhere, I just know it.”

He sighed heavily as he finally gave up and decided to leave.

“She’s not coming.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. His eyes were fixated on the ground as he walked but a few moments later, he looked up and saw her walking in his direction but something felt odd.

“She came.”

Those were the words floating in his mind like bubbles. He had waited so long and she was finally here. The whole reason for the letter filled him with both nervousness and excitement. Almost immediately, his excitement got squashed like a bug; she walked past him.

“Did she see me?”

He tried calling out her name but sealed his lips midway. He was not the only one that watched her storm off. His eyes were filled with worry but he knew he wasn’t the right person to reach out to her at that moment.

]

“I wonder why he can never take no for an answer. This case is worse. We might have to do something about it.”

“What do you think we should do? I don’t want to have to make a report to the school concerning this. I want to settle it on my own..”

“That’s so cute..Even when you are angry, you are still kind and considerate..Aww I wish I had a daughter..One that’s just like you… I’ll even use all the letters from your name and rearrange them.”

“And I wish I had a mother just like you….Mind switching with mine??”

“Hey..Don’t say that….”

She flicked her forehead with her middle finger. Wendy gently rubbed the spot and pouted.

“Oww oww oww…I was only joking…”

“You better be.Feel better now??”

“I guess so.Thanks for cheering me up.”

“Don’t sweat it.Now let’s get back to it…Are you ready?”

“Anytime.Please could you pull me up?”

“Sure…Let’s do this.Oh Wendy, when we are done, you wanna go for some drinks??”

“Yeah,I’ll love that.”

--I hope you saw through it…..My rather unconvincing lie…

As this was going on, Yuuki,Kashiwagi and Hayaka were having drinks at a new restaurant they randomly chose.

“Cheers.”

A ‘clink’ sound could be heard as the girls joined their glass cups together to celebrate.

“I’m really glad I took some time off from my schedule for this..You two are the best friends I could ever ask for..”

“Don’t mention it..Just have fun and live this very moment to the fullest.”

“She’s right.Let’s have some fun, Kushieda.”

Hayaka waited patiently for Kashiwagi’s usual squirm and drove herself to the point of tears with laughter.

“Hahahaha works every time…”

“I’ve told you to stop calling me that..It’s embarrassing..”

“I didn’t know you had such a cute name…I kinda like it..”

“No no…Don’t like it..Infact you should forget about the name..My name is Kashiwagi….Ka-shi-wa-gi..Got that???”

“Okay, Kushieda..”

Yuuki and Hayaka both burst out in laughter while Kashiwagi lowered her head staring at the ground, her cheeks flushed.

“Hey Yuuki..”

“What??”

“Could you tell me more about your brother?”

Her scrunched face gave her away, she was in shock.

“Huhhhhhh???? Shirou?

Of course it’s Shirou.. Who else could it be…But..Shirou?”

“Yeah..”

“You just met the guy…”

“I know.”

“What do you see in him?”

“I don’t really know. He’s just so dreamy.”

“You mean lame,right?”

“He doesn’t look lame to me..”

“He’s like an empty shell. Really enigmatic.Boring..Lazy and boring..”

“You said ‘boring’ twice.”

“Mysterious boys are my type.”

“Huh?”

“Yuuki, shouldn’t you be excited that Kushieda is interested in your brother?”

“Hey!!”

“Well, you’re right. I should be. It’s just shocking. Really really shocking…But before I say another word..You’ve heard some rumours about him, right?”

She nodded her head in response.

“Well now that you mention him.Yeah, I think I heard the girls in class talking about him some time ago. They said he was the only survivor and suspect of the fire incident that occurred at Uzomi high school right??Why should I care?? Besides they’re nothing but rumours.”

--Shirou, I wish you could hear this.

She smiled then slammed her glass cup on the table.

“That was a very reckless thing to say but you’re right. Sorry about that.”

Hayaka, feeling left out, decided to join in on the conversation.

“Just get to the main point already. Is he free or not?”

Yuuki covered her mouth with her hands and dramatically gasped as though she was role playing.

“Hayaka, not you too.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m just really curious, that’s all. Besides, you sound so defensive that it’s a bit suspicious. Brother complex?”

“Phew..For a moment there, I thought my brother was heading towards a potential harem. Anyway, back to the initial topic…. Wait, what?”

At that same moment, Wendy and Miss Claudia entered the restaurant and immediately Yuuki saw Wendy, she stared in adoration and fell silent.

“Hey Yuuki, what’s wrong?”

“Uhm nothing..Nothing.”

“Then why did you stop all of a sudden?”

“Sorry about that..”

Wendy looked to her left and spotted Yuuki who nervously looked away.

“What’s wrong,Wendy??”

“That girl with pink hair looks a bit like…..Never mind..”

“So what do you want??”

“Chocolate milkshake.”

Hatsune stared in awe at the waitress who was dressed up in a maid costume. She wasn’t the only one caught by it’s appeal.

“Oh wow.. that’s so cute right?”

“Definitely…Disturbingly cute.”

“So about Eric..Let’s discuss a solution that would drive him away from you..I’ll give you my honest opinion, not as your teacher but as your friend,okay?”

“Sure.”

“His sister is his weakness.Find a way to use that against him.”

“Misaka and I are old friends.We hardly talk.”

“I don’t think you have a choice.”

“You have a point.So how do you think I use Misaka against him?”

“Do you know what he hates the most?”

“Himself?”

Hatsune sighed at the cheeky response then drew her head closer to that of Wendy.

“No…Feeling inferior.”

“So all I need to do is make Misaka look down on him?”

“That’ll definitely tick him off since it’s her, he can’t do anything about it. He would have no choice but to leave you alone afterwards.For the sake of his pride..Or whatever he has left.”

“Are you sure it’s going to work???”

“I think so..You will never know unless you try. Never underestimate a man’s pride.”

“Ugh..It feels like you’re talking from experience.”

The sound of her ringtone sprucely cut through their conversation.

“Hey..Yeah…Late?? Okay, just stay right there. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

She turned to Wendy who was staring at her drink while taking little sips. It was so natural that Hatsune could not help but rub her cheek with that of Wendy.

“You’re so cuteee.I’m so sorry but I’ve gotta go. Apparently I mixed up my schedule. I’m actually supposed to be somewhere else right now. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine. It was still fun.”

“Glad to hear..Let’s do this again.”

She wore a cheerful,plastered smile that eventually faded right after Hatsune left.She looked around for a bit and spotted Rinta.

“Hey Wendy, what’re you doing here?”

“Just getting a drink..What about you?”

“Looking for Nire.I thought I was gonna see him here.”

“Have you tried calling?”

“Yeah, he didn’t pick up.”

“You must be really worried but I have the feeling that you’re just worrying over nothing.”

“A part of me keeps saying that but it doesn’t make me less worried. Anyway,See ya..”

She left right away; Wendy was still fixated on her drink,searching for any observable change.

--I wonder when Nire and I stopped talking.

She got on her bicycle that was neatly parked outside and hopped on it. As she moved, her thoughts naturally recycled all of today’s events and she was nearly immersed in them but her bicycle hit a book and shifted position, nearly forcing her off in the process.

“Darn it, I wasn’t looking.Oh it’s just a book..Soul grab..Who left it here??”

She walked over to the book and picked it up, staring at the floor.

“Why is it so dark around here. It’s pretty late though. I didn’t even notice.”

On the floor were various books scattered across. She managed to pick them one by one and saw one named “love fever”, beside the dumpster.

“ ‘Love fever’…I’ve seen this book somewhere before….That’s right…Yato had it..”

As she approached the book, the vibration from his phone caused a shudder.She moved a step back but went closer to the source of the noise.There was a trash bin at her left, with an arm sticking out from the top of it. Her imagination was filled with endless possibilities but the strongest one stood out. She refused to believe that the person that laid there like a dead body was someone she knew, yet she couldn’t rule out the possibility. At this point, her breaths became heavier and heavier, her heart was dancing, her legs were stiff and her hands trembled at the sight before her.

“Yato? Yato?”

She covered her mouth and hurriedly pulled out her phone but couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

--Calm down…This is not the time to be scared..He needs you.

She dragged him out of the dumpster and laid his body flat on the ground. She set her head on his chest in an attempt to hear his heartbeat. Luckily, he was only unconscious. The fear she had disappeared but the fact remained that he was still in pretty bad shape. She was hesitant at first as she wasn’t sure whether an ambulance would be the best choice. She decided to call Harry Nagasime instead and asked for his immediate assistance.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a different setting. It was a place he knew well thanks to his frequent nightmares. He somehow landed in the same place..The same place all his nightmares happened. They stood on a wooden platform that extended to the borders of the garden that was visible from there. A big tree stood beside them, nearly edging to the side. The platform was supported by wooden pillars at each end.The wind blew violently and his hair swayed from all sides in response. It stopped at his shoulders so it was considerably lengthy. This was an unusual feeling since he never had hair that long before. He frowned and stared at his light,white garment. It was so light that it felt as though he was naked. Another feeling he wasn’t used to. He paused and looked at his hands. They had shrunk in size. He rubbed his face and observed the smoothness that was felt. It was like that of a child.Unknown to him, he was in the body of the 10 year old Yatogami Shirou. His younger self or more accurately, his old self.

“Ready….”

---What’s going on?

“Start.”

Immediately,his opponent ran at him with full speed, his tightened fists released and his palms straightened. They were swung at him in a semi graceful manner. The high intensity made up for it and was complimented with his violent approach.

“I’m not going easy on you.”

“Shinji, but you agreed…”

---Who are these two?

“Uncle, it depends on how he fights..”

---This guy, he looks exactly like me..No doubt about it,I’m definitely dreaming.

He spun his body around and kicked Shirou with the force he momentarily gathered, pushing him back. He struck with pin point accuracy and hit Shirou right in the stomach, nearly causing him to fall to the ground. Although he held his stomach in pain, the force was actually enough to send him flying. The judge for the fight looked at him, full of worry. Not entirely that but also confusion.

“That hurts..”

The figure in front of Shirou grinned and prepared his stance, ready to humiliate him in the most obvious way possible.

“So you finally said something, huh??”

( “---” represents the thoughts of the main character. “--” represents the thoughts of any other character. “[]” represents an important event, most likely past events. “{}” represents various sounds made.)