The Sudden Call

As the first half of classes played out as it should, I couldn't help but feel like I had pushed myself too hard for my own good.

On top of making myself weaker by using the ability at such a big range, I made both Hatomi and Chitose worry about me.

"I really messed up"

"You said it"

Hearing Hatomi say those words to me, I couldn't help but sigh and continue on writing on my notebook "I'm sorry. I just wanted to find out a bit more about my ability in case I could use it in some sort of emergency"

"I understand, but you didn't have to push yourself so much. You could have easily passed out from blood loss"

"I know... I'm sorry about it"

"... You make me worry about you"

"H-Huh?"

"What?"

"Could you repeat that again?"

"... I don't feel like it"

Before I could say another word, she cut off the connection and when I glanced over at her, our eyes met for a split second, but just like that, she looked away from me and simply focused on the board.

"Did I say something that bothered her?"

I let out a sigh and simply focused on the rest of the time that we had off class left.

After around half an hour or so passed, the bell finally started ringing. Indicating that it was the end of class which was something that made me feel better about myself since I could relax without having to worry about using my ability.

I stood up from my seat and as I was about to call out to Chitose and the other two, my phone started ringing for some reason.

The reason I was so surprised about this was because I rarely got calls from anyone. The only ones who I would say I would contact more times then not would be Chitose or Tetsuya, but the both of them weren't on their phones.

I glanced over at where Hatomi was and sure enough, she wasn't on her phone "Who could it be then?" My parents still had a long time before it was time for them to come back.

The number was one that I didn't recognize, but even then, something about it felt odd... It was almost as if I needed to answer it right then and there.

"Hello?"

I picked up the phone and after a few seconds of silence, a mature yet very happy tone of voice spoke up.

"You finally answered. I thought Hatomi had given me the wrong number or something?"

"Who is this?"

"Do you really not recognize my voice Natsuo-san?"

After hearing the voice for a few more seconds, the image of a single person crossed my mind "Miss Nagashima?"

"Bingo~"

"... How?"

"Well, Hatomi-chan was kind enough to give me your number. Since I hadn't been able to get it from the both of you, she connected to me and passed me your number"

"I see..." I glanced over at Hatomi and noticed that our eyes met. She seemed to have noticed that I was in a call and simply sent a single message to my mind.

"I'll be waiting outside"

"Got it"

She made her way out of the classroom and I continued on with the call "Did something happen or is there some other reason that you wanted to contact me?"

"About that... Do you mind if Hatomi-chan hears this as well?"

"Hatomi? Sure, let me just go to her"

"The both of you are in school, right?"

"Yeah, it's our lunch break, so we can talk in peace"

"That's a relief... I didn't want to interrupt the both of you"

"No, don't worry about it"

I quickly exited the classroom and called out to Hatomi "Miss Nagashima wants to talk with you"

"Asami-san?"

"Yeah"

"Let's go then"

With those final words the both of us started on heading over towards the rooftop and once up there, I put the phone on speaker and called out to her "We're ready"

"Perfect~" She cleared her throat and spoke up in a more serious tone "It looks like the head of the facility is starting to catch on to the fact that I have an ability"

"W-What?!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She had been able to work and interact with everyone from the facility for years now without any problems and now she was saying that she had started to notice her boss acting strange? It wasn't normal. There was something else to this.

"Do you think that he's awakened some sort of ability as well?"

"I doubt it. If he did, I would have felt it almost instantly, but that hasn't been the case at all"

"Then how do you know that he's found out?"

"He's just been acting a bit differently with me... Almost like he's observing me as a test subject of sorts"

I glanced over at Hatomi and she genuinely seemed to be worried about that "Can't you use your ability to find out what's going to happen to you in the future?"

"I can do that, but I need to know for sure what I want to see, I need to be in a space that is completely silent and I also need to be able to concentrate on that vision I'm looking for" "But since I'm at work, I don't have enough moments to do so, but I'll try and get any information I can and pass it on over"

"That would be for the best... If the both of us can do anything to help you Miss Nagashima, we'll do so"

As I said those words, a giggle came through the speaker "You really do say some interesting things there, Natsuo" "Another thing, just call me Asami-san, no need for calling me by my last name or by Miss, got it~?"

"I understand"

She giggled once more and let out a sigh "I'll contact the both of you if anything else arises that could not only prove troublesome for me but for the both of you as well"

"We appreciate that, Asami-san"

"Thank you"

"No worries, take care of Hatomi-chan, Natsuo. Make sure no harm comes to her"

"Y-Yeah"

"I'll talk to the both of you soon~"

With those parting words, she hung up the phone and all I could was sigh "Are you all right, Natsuo?"

"I'm fine... I just wasn't expecting something like that to have happened, that's all"

Hatomi let out a sigh and simply started opening up her bento "There's nothing we could do... Even if we do try and do something for her right now, we'll most likely just become a pain to her and probably make it that much easier for that guy to catch her"

"Yeah... You have a point" I stood up from my seat and then she called out to me.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get something from the cafeteria"

"But I made you lunch"

"..."

"..."

"Y-You did?"

"Yes, did I not tell you?"

"No, you didn't..."

"Sorry about that" She pulled out a second bento and presented it to me "I hope that it's to your liking"

I stared at her deadpan expression and I couldn't help but chuckle "Thank you for going through the trouble of doing this"

"Don't worry about it. I was more then glad that I could make some food for someone else"

I stared at her for a bit and even though she would smile from time to time, when it came to her having a deadpan expression, it was still difficult for me to find out how she felt.

"Thank you for the food"

"Thank you for the food"

With those words, we both proceeded to partake in the food that we were given and even though I was talking with her and what not, in the back of my mind, the words that Asami-san spoke still lingered in my mind.

I was afraid that we would be hunted down as well, but since it was only him, I could still feel a bit relieved, but at the same time, I wanted to not only protect Hatomi, but also Asami-san in case what she said was the pure truth.