2 Uneventful Days!?

The morning arrived faster than I expected and my trip to Muzukashii was average and boring, as usual. Attending homeroom I spotted a new desk in the place of where Miyazawa's seat was and my original desk was back in its place, despite my being called upon to answer a fair number of questions throughout, the morning classes felt like they went on forever . 'Come on, where is the Pull? I want to leave.' Lunch came and went, then the afternoon classes felt even longer and by the end of the day the only thing running through my head was: 'Where was the damn Pull?' The following day was a little more interesting as my friend Hirokazu Ikegami surprised me at lunch. 

"Hey buddy, long time no see. Been getting into trouble while I was away huh?"

"I wouldn't say I've been actively looking for trouble." 'No doubt he's heard about the desk fiasco. As for other kinds of trouble, nothing much else happened in Other World aside from...'

"Yeah, I'm sure you taking the rap for a debased desk is just par for the course for you. And when it comes to the Other World, trouble is something that follows you like a looming shadow, haha." As much as I'd want to dispute that, 'He's not wrong.' "So, what's this I hear about a cute new transfer student in your class?"

 "Cute, undeniably. But she isn't very social and Nakanishi likes lording herself over her."

"Does this undeniably cute girl have a name, and is there anything special about her?" I'm not surprised he's interested in learning about Hikaru, he has been away for just over two weeks. Though introducing Ikegame to her isn't something I'm eager to do on account of his, 'eccentric' personality.

"Its Hikaru Miyazawa and Let's just say she is very shy."

"Oooh. Shy girls are the best, any chance I could get an introduction?"

"I would but she's away at the moment, maybe tomorrow." As much as I would consider Ikegami a good-looking guy, his overconfidence and overly forward approach to girls tends to result in them doing everything they can to avoid him. But he is an overall good guy, despite the reputation I'd gained amongst the school he approached me and we surprisingly bonded. Things went sideways a while back when I was pulled to Other World right in front of him, oddly enough Ikegami didn't freak out but was instead completely fascinated by the existence and my access to the Other World. Ever since then, we've hung out and I've shared details of what I've seen and experienced in Other World, Ikegami took so much interest he started (supposedly) writing a book detailing my adventures.

"Cool, So. You've got to have a number of stories for me right? Its been 2 weeks and I know that's a lot of time to pass in Other World." Going over a number of events and encounters some time back I make sure not to mention the events that occurred between Hikaru and I. Before long the bell rang signaling the end of lunch and again the one thought occupying my mind aside from learning something I haven't already is, 'Where is the damn Pull?' I've felt the pull almost every day since my first trip to the Other World but now it feels like I've been cut off. 'Does the Other World have no more use for or reason to pull me over there anymore?'

After the afternoon classes finish, everyone either attends their after-school duties and clubs while I'm just hanging around doing nothing hoping for something to happen, but nothing does. The sun fades over the horizon and I stand by the school gates waiting for something, anything to happen, and then Vestra somehow manages to sneak up behind me.

"You know, if you were so eager to meet with me alone you could have visited me in the nurses office."

"Not now Vestra, I'm not in the mood for this."

"For what? we're just talking. Since you're here, help me with the gates." Vestra heads to the opposite end of the gate from me and starts pulling the metal gate along the ground as the wheels at its base squeak, squeal and rattle as she pulls. I do the same but just before we meet in the middle I move to be situated on the other side of the gate to be outside of the school grounds. With a clang of the gates colliding followed by the sound of Vestra locking the gate finishing with large padlock, she gives me a look of serious concern. "Is something the matter, You've been somewhat quiet and inactive lately?"

"What about you, even if I've been off the last couple of days, you've been behaving differently yourself the last few days. Even the students have been talking about your new bedside manner, if you were actually changing why did you act the way you did when we were in the nurses office that morning?"

"Look, before the little argument we had the other day, the reality of the world you've trapped me in had really started to sink in. You are right about me, I'm incredibly selfish. I killed people, I stole from them and more all without remorse or a care. The only thing that mattered to me at the time was me and mine." 'Her sullen expression tells me she's being honest to me here but her serious tone implies that though she might regret what she did, she still doesn't care that she did it.'

"I gained power at an early age and by the time I grew up it was all I cared about. Hell, I was unopposed for centuries, no one could stop me or tell me what to do..." Vestra pauses for a moment while I'm still processing why and for what reason she could be pouring her heart out. "Then you came along and against all odds, you not only defeated me you crushed any thoughts I had that I could ever beat you." I remember that fight going a little differently but I don't want to interrupt so I let her continue.

"You could very well have killed me that day, but you didn't. Then you went and pulled off an impossibility and dragged me into this world where I am essentially a powerless prisoner." Honestly, when I pulled her over from the Other World I didn't expect to not only trap her in this world, but the school grounds themselves. I try to interject at this point but she silences me prematurely by putting her hand up in a stop fashion. 

"I understand that it wasn't your intention to trap me here but it happened and I've come to terms with it. At the end of the day you and I will always be at odds with each other because we can't agree with or forgive each other over past events. All I ask is that you acknowledge my existence and try not to avoid me at all costs, after all, you are the one who brought me here and you should take responsibility for that."

'I don't think I've ever seen Vestra so vulnerable before, even after I defeated her.' It appears that she has said her piece and I honestly can't come up with an instant response, 'Maybe she's right. I have been unfairly cold to her ever since I brought her here, I avoid her whenever I can, while I'm thinking about it we've never had a genuine conversation. Even after that time she helped me.' 

"You're right. I've been rude and callous to you ever since I brought you here, your life in this world is basically a new start, albeit a very poor one. And despite the way I've treated and ignored you, you did go out of your way to help me when I was in trouble. So how about we start over, maybe get to know each other instead of keeping up this pointless animosity."

"I think I'd like that, but let's save it for another day. It's a little too late to try that now." Vestra seems to be in a lighter mood now but she is right, it's gotten to dark and late to continue so we both give each other a farewell and I make an uneventful trip home to my apartment.

Looking around my overly large apartment, I look at open space that is the living room before staring out the large windows that give me a wide view of the well lit city, after cooking and eating some dinner and finishing with a bath, I go to bed feeling wearier than ever. However my mind wouldn't relax as I couldn't stop reflecting on the events of the past few days.

I reflect on the day I shared with Hikaru, and what Tonomura Sensei said to her, I hate the fact that I brought her into a world she should have remained unaware of. In terms of time and focus I have been devoting more time to my life in the Other World than I have been in the World I was born in, then there is the strange circumstance surrounding the fact that I haven't felt the pull at all in the last couple days, finally there is Vestra, and what I did to her.

Vestra was alone when I encountered her, she had built a reputation as a vile witch who destroyed many lives over the centuries so of course I felt a need to deal with and put a stop to her destructive actions and even after the chaos that was the fight we had where she was actively trying to kill me, I just couldn't bring myself to kill her in the end.

'Vestra never seemed like the kind of person who was alone or looked lonely when I first met her, even after I brought her to this world she carried herself with an unflinching confidence. Yet after all the time she has been here it's like that confidence she had is gone and she's been trying to disguise it as something else. Confidence?' I sit up out of my bad as I feel like a massive puzzle piece just fell in my lap.

'Vestra had the confidence to do what she did because she had the power to perform her actions, In the Other World she was all powerful and essentially unstoppable, then I took that all away. Vestra may still feel a small connection to the Other World but she is completely powerless here, not just powerless, for the first time in her life, She's alone. Vestra may have been alone in the Other World, but her overwhelming power kept her from ever feeling lonely, now she's lost that power and for the first time in her life, Vestra is feeling true loneliness.'

Needless to say my night was a restless one filled with reflection and thoughts on what I should do concerning the upcoming days. Hikaru's decision, how I should better approach and talk to Vestra, what do I do about the pull and how can I find out what's been going on with it the last couple days. Despite these thoughts constantly running through my head I eventually fade off to sleep unaware of what the new day would bring.