The Secrets of Muzukashii High School

I wake up in a surprisingly dark room filled with odd junk and what I think might be abandoned equipment. The small glimmers of light allow me to scan the room enough to get my bearings while sounds of activity echo throughout the small storeroom while varying sounds of steps and stomp echo from above telling me this room is directly under the stairs where Hikaru and I were pulled to the Other World. 'Wait. Where is Hikaru?'

I try to rise off the floor only to struggle underneath an unknown weight, I lift my right arm only for it to wrap around something round and soft, curious as to what it is I give it a squeeze which is accompanied by a squeak, I move my hand around the soft surface as i try to figure out what it is I'm holding. I feel like I'm just about to figure out what I've got my hand on when I notice something shift atop my chest.

"Ah, Osada-san. Can you stop please." I see that Hikaru is the unknown weight atop me and with a quick shift of my head and my gaze I see that my hand is caressing her butt over her skirt. 'Oh crap.' Now that I'm aware it's Hikaru my heart starts racing faster than ever, 'A cute girl is lying on top of me, i can feel the weight and shape of her chest is pressing against my stomach and my hand is currently caressing her butt.' 

Despite my desire to let her go my hand squeezes her butt a couple of times against my will. 'What are you doing!?' I mentally scream at the hand that seems to have developed a mind of its own, Hikaru pushes herself off me allowing me to sit up and begin my apologies. Though there is a small amount of light, as I face Hakaru to apologise to her I can't get a good look at her face in the very dim light, 'And did she say san earlier, didn't we agree to use first names and drop the honorifics earlier.'

"I am so sorry Hikaru, I didn't mean to do that, I don't know what came over me."

"It, it's okay. Can we please get out of here?" I guess I can understand her discomfort, being stuck in a dark room with a guy like me who just groped her. Looking around I spot what could be the outline of a door and with a twist of a latch I open it to the small storage space below the stairs on the first floor. Navigating the stacked tables various equipment we escape the confined space and stand in the centre of the hallway contemplating our next step.

"Alright. Our first step should be to see Kocho Tonomura Sensei. I need to run what just happened by him and we'll figure out where to go from there. Lets go Hikaru." 

"Taka... Osada wait." 'And now she's back to using my last name. At least she dropped the honorific this time.' Looking at Hikaru I see she's gone back to being nervous and maybe even a little more self conscious than before. "How did we end up in that room and how did we get back into our uniforms?" 'I guess waking up in a dark room in different clothes would unnerve anyone.'

"It's an effect of the transition between worlds. I've had plenty of near misses where someone would have seen me disappear, especially when I was in or near a public spot. However my every return has always had me appear in a spot no one else would see that was remotely close to where I was initially pulled away from. Thats why instead of us reappearing on the stairs we returned underneath them, away from prying eyes." My explanation seems to reassure Hikaru but the question of her clothes still remains.

"When it comes to matters of being pulled and returning the path to Other World is meant to be one way only. People and their personal belongings are pulled from Earth all the time but it's not meant to work the other way round..." 'aside from the time I pulled a witch through.' "Basically, the state and clothes you are in are the same things you will return to if and when you make it back. The same applies to the Other World, if you feel like you're being pulled back to there, you will appear there wearing the clothes you had on when you left."

Hikaru looks more confused after my explanation and I can't tell if it was how I explained it or that she doesn't fully understand it. Needless to say we're wasting time standing in the hallway so I ask her to follow me and we make our way to the principals office on the third floor. Reaching the door I give it a knock which earns an "Enter" in response, as I open the door Hikaru takes in a deep breath as if she were about to encounter some big shot, 'Has she not meet him yet?'

Walking into Tonomura Sensei's office always feels like I'm walking into a library what with the walls being lined with massive shelves filled with all kinds of books. Standing before Tonomura Sensei's desk I give a bow and Hikaru does the same yet when I look at her she seems as small and quiet as a mouse, 'What happened to the cheerful girl that was with me in Other World? It's like she's gone back to how she was before we were pulled.'

"Takashi-kun, its good to see you. How have you been young man?" The old man sitting at his desk looks up to address me, his small round glasses slightly obscuring his eyes, on his head sits a very grey but decent amount of hair though he can never hope to hide the bald spot that i know is growing on the back of his head.

"Been pretty good, working hard and helping people along the way."

"Very good, now. Who is the lovely lady standing behind you?" Tonomura looks at Hikaru who shrinks at his gaze and meekly stares at the floor.

"This is Hik... I mean Miyazawa-san."

"Miyazawa. Miya...zawa? Oh yes, You transferred in about a week ago right? Its very nice to meet you dear." I know he's being polite and gentle in his approach and the way he's addressing Hikaru right now and it's working, seeing Hikaru start to relax around Tonomura as a result brings a smile to my face but I barely manage to hide it from both of them.

"Its nice to meet you too Kocho Sensei, My name is Hikau Miyazawa. Thank you for having me at your school."

"Ah, such a respectful young lady. Tell me, what bring you two to my office?" I go into the details of the day, describing the drama about the desk this morning leading up to our being pulled into the Other World. I shy over the details of what happened in the Other World and finish with our arrival at his office. Throughout my description of the day's events the kind friendly appearing principle faded away and the more serious and practical Tonomura Sensei I know starts to show.

"I see. As if you didn't have a bad reputation here already, now you're hijacking your fellow students and pulling them into Other World with you. You certainly like to cause trouble in my school Takashi-kun." I know what he's saying about me is a bit harsh but I know he's just messing with me. "And how are you Miyazawa-san? I'm sure this has been a rather distressing experience for you."

"I'm... Not sure about how I feel about all this. Taka... Osada-san has been telling me all kinds of things about that place we went to but being back here now. It all feels like it was some weird dream." 'Hmm, I guess it makes some kind of sense she would think or feel like that, after all she did wake up lying on top of me in a dark room.' Upon hearing Hikaru's response Tonomura Sensei completely drops his nicer persona and goes full serious to point out the position I've put Miyazawa in.

"I see. Well, considering you've been thrown into the deep end it makes sense you'd be unsure about what you experienced. But let me make this very clear, 'You' are a citizen of the Other World now." Hikaru is taken aback by Tonomura's change in attitude but deep down I know she needs to hear and understand this. "As a citizen you are and will always feel the pull of the Other World no matter where you go. As grave as it is that Takashi did this to you, it'll be far worse for you go through this alone as if you do, there will be no way for you to come back home and in all likelihood you would either spend the rest of your life there or die much sooner at the hands of some unknown force or beast in that world."

Tonomura Sensei is laying on a bit heavier than I would have expected and I can see that it is scaring Hikaru to the point of terrifying her. Honestly I hate how hard Tonomura is laying on how bad and dangerous living with this is but in retrospect Hikaru had me to get her back here safely and quickly whereas I had no one to prepare or help me through this, I'd spent months in the Other World and essentially disappeared for a few days here. 'If it hadn't been for Tonomura's incessant pressuring to confirm if I had been pulled into Other World I probably never would have told anyone myself.'

"Please understand Miyazawa-san, You have entered a world very few know of and even less have survived. Its a little unorthodox for me to do this, especially since you transferred in so recently but I will be write you a letter excusing you from the school for the next 3 days so that you can think and decide on you next course of action or at least how you will handle it." Diverting his attention to his PC, Tonomura starts going though it to print something out while turning his attention to me. "Takashi. I want you to stay close to her and cover the basics of world hopping and point out the zone diameter. I can only hope that the two of you can stay close so that you can bring her back whenever the pull occurs."

'Considering the pull happened less than a half hour ago its not likely another on will happen till close to the end of the day.' Tonomura writes on the document he printed for Hikaru while we wait patiently for him to finish, then the bell rings signaling everyone to return to their afternoon classes. Tonomura finishes writing in the document and folds it himself before handing it to Hikaru.

"Do be sure to have your guardians read this, rest assured I will be here to help you with this should you chose to stay and I will be looking into this bullying matter as well." Hikaru looks bewildered upon taking the document and hearing Tonomura mention the bullying, even I'm surprised because I never brought it up. "You think I sit in this office all day doing nothing? Not to mention the event pertaining to Your desk this morning Takashi. Now, you two should get to class and I will follow you up on this, oh and Miyazawa-san. When you get home I'd suggest looking into the history of the school and think of the Other World."

As I casually leave the room Hikaru turns back to bow towards Tonomura so I wait for her. We rush back to our classes and despite the occasional look and snide remark the rest of the day passes without incident. Opting to wait until the majority of students have left the grounds, I guide Hikaru around the school grounds pointing out the outline of the zone surrounding the school, although we have spent the equivalent of an entire day together she feels more distant than ever.

"Is everything alright Hikaru? You've been unusually quiet ever since we got back."

"Huh, oh. Its nothing, guess I'm just coming to terms with what happened today." 'She took almost a whole minute to respond to me, there more to it and she doesn't want to share what it is. But its better if I don't push.' As the sun begins to set the orange sky overhead grows darker and bluer in the distance, having covered the last edges of the zone surrounding the school I decide to do the respectable thing.

"Its gotten pretty late, would you like me to walk you home?" I half expected her to have some adverse reaction to my question but she just looks at me then in the direction of what I assume her home would be.

"No, its okay. You've already done so much today. Perhaps I'll see you when I come back." Hikaru gives me what I know to be a fake smile before heading out of the school grounds, I watch her as she leaves and even as she's about to disappear around a corner she doesn't lift her head or look back. I want to follow her to make sure she's safe but considering where we are and what she's been through I don't want to try pressuring her or seem overbearing so I make my way off the school grounds and head for the place I call my home, 'Something is definitely wrong but I've no idea what it is, hopefully she'll be able to relax and think about what she'll do over the next couple days. Still, I can't help but worry and feel responsible, after all I was the one who exposed and brought her into this new world.'

I walk home while running through all the thoughts in my head, thinking of what happened, reasons as to how and why and scenarios of what and how I could have done things differently but one thing always sticks out to me, 'What happened to the cheerful an energetic girl in the Other World? Was it because of how we came back? Is there something about being on Earth that makes her uncomfortable?' My thoughts succeed in occupying me until I reach the large apartment complex that is where my home is and with a sigh, I walk in through the entrance.