Volume 2, Chapter 15-2: Back To Normalcy

“That should be it. Time for classes. Wonder what we’re learning today?” Ichizen said in an excited voice.

I sighed and followed him to the next class. I still couldn’t fathom how we evaded punishment after that. I noticed Chihiro and Yuka already in class. Oh yes! I didn’t have to be stuck with Ichizen anymore.

“Yuki, you seemed tired. Are you feeling any better?” Yuka asked, taking out her notebook.

“Uh, something did wake me up. I don’t know exactly if it helped or not,” I replied.

“Oh, oh! I know what you’re talking about. Ichizen is really crazy sometimes. I never expected for him to be so aggressive,” Chihiro said, joining the conversation.

“I don’t know if that was a bad or good thing,” I muttered.

Was this all just a dream? It had to be since I wasn’t just observing like previous mind dives. When would it end though?

“Today we’ll have a surprise quiz! I hope you all studied,” the teacher announced.

Great, just my luck. I sighed, putting away everything. At least I had my calculator. That reassured me a little bit. When I received the quiz, I took a deep breath. If my knowledge carried over, I should ace it.

“You have twenty minutes. Remember, leave your answers in exact form,” the teacher reminded, writing down formulas on the board.

I stared at the piece of paper, finding the problems easy. Ten minutes still remained when I finished. I didn’t even have to use my calculator. So this was what happened when Tess taught someone. She made them better, a lot better. I flipped my quiz over, checking all the answers. Confirming they were correct, I raised my hand and handed it to the teacher.

“How surprising, Tomo. You usually take until the last minute,” the math teacher remarked, accepting my quiz.

I ignored his derogatory comment, staring at the whiteboard until time was up. Chihiro and Yuka stared at me with both confusion and awe.

“Whoa, Yuki, you were really fast. How did you do it?” Chihiro asked.

“Yeah, I’m surprised too,” Yuka agreed, nodding her head.

Ichizen gave me a thumbs up but he was the last person I wanted praise from right now. I didn’t even pay attention as the teacher lectured. Tess already went through most of it already. Was this what Kisai and Shan experienced? If so, it was a nice feeling not having to take notes. When class ended, Yuka and Chihiro gave me surprised looks again.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You didn’t take notes. Are you sure everything’s okay?” Yuka asked.

“I’m fine. I knew the material pretty well,” I answered, watching their reactions.

Yuka, Chihiro, and Ichizen huddled up together. Hmm, what was my next class again? Oh, that’s right, it was art class. I checked my phone, seeing three minutes of passing period left. I better hurry. The room was on the third floor and there were usually crowds blocking the way.

“Sorry guys. I have to get to class. I’ll see you later,” I said.

“Hey, Yuki, we don’t have sixth period today!” Ichizen shouted.

“Wait, what? Really?” I asked, surprised by the news.

“Don’t you remember? The five male idols were suppose to perform, but that’s out of the question now,” Ichizen revealed.

“Did you do it on purpose?” I asked, looking at Ichizen with suspicion.

“No, they defiled my bread. I could never forgive that. No one messes with my sandwiches,” Ichizen declared.

“We still have an assembly though so let’s go. I wish I could skip, but we already spent too much time talking already,” Chihiro said.

We walked to the auditorium, finding seats in the back. The lights dimmed and the principal walked up onto the stage. She was in her mid-forties, wearing a beige suit. Clearing her throat, she swept the audience with her eyes. Adjusting the microphone, she finally spoke.

“We were suppose to have a performance today, but due to an unfortunate incident, it has been canceled. Instead, we’ll have some speeches by our student council,” the principal announced.

No one clapped, showing no noticeable excitement. I didn’t remember the atmosphere being this bad. After listening to several long and drawn out speeches, it was finally over. Walking out the door, I caught sight of someone with a different school badge.

“Yuki, something wrong?” Yuka asked, noticing my stare.

“I saw someone from a different school. Their badge looked familiar,” I replied.

“People come here for the idols. It’s not too surprising. Let’s just go home. I’m sure you want to rest,” Yuka said.

Yeah, that was a good idea. After everything I saw, this was a good day to just go home and sleep. Maybe when I woke up, I would feel better.

“Tomo, Tomo! We’re done with the tests now. You can wake up,” Emily said.

I stumbled out of the pod machine. Emily caught me before I dropped to the floor. She pulled a chair over, guiding me to it.

“Any pain?” Emily asked, handing me a glass of water.

“Just a little headache,” I replied.

“That’s normal. I have to say, that was quite entertaining,” Emily smiled.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at her.

“Our new machine assembles your brain activity into a visual feed for us. I doubt you realized it, but you really exaggerated the original story, didn’t you?” Emily answered.

So they saw Ichizen avenging his sandwich. Emily was correct, although exaggerated, the sandwich incident derived from an actual real life event.

“Yeah, I did. It felt so right though, like it really happened that way,” I nodded, unsure why it became so twisted.

“I think I can explain,” Shane said, walking toward us.

He handed his wife papers. Tess, Kyoi, and Zhuyu followed behind him. Zhuyu had a small grin on his face, no doubt entertained by Ichizen’s actions.

“Your powers were gained during a tragic incident involving Michi. I can only speculate, but you might have been influenced your memories of him,” Shane explained.

“And that’s why he was like that in my memories?” I asked, putting the pieces together.

“Yes, based on the information Tess and the others provided, your friend was quite fond of heroes. If that was the case, your memories reflect that, resulting in such a skewed experience,” Shane continued on.

“I felt this sensation. It’s so similar to a mind dive but much more personal,” I tried explaining.

“Combined with your grimoire, it enhanced your memories which is why it felt so real. Your powers are still maturing, so I don’t have a definite explanation for everything just yet,” Shane replied, flipping through his papers.

I still couldn’t shake off the weird experience of seeing Ichizen, even if it was part of my memories. His actions still matched up with his personality, even if it was on the extreme side.

“Tomo, let’s head back for now. You have seen enough for today. Thanks for your time, Shane and Emily,” Tess decided.

Shane and Emily waved goodbye. We returned back to the building from before, changing back into our original clothes. Tess updated everyone on the situation. No one said anything to me when we returned, which I was fine with. It gave me time to think about what I experienced. When I got home, I laid on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. What a strange day. I turned over and placed my face into the pillow. There was just too much to think about. Time to sleep and worry about it another day.