The Truth and a Mission.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that. What did you say?" I'm not sure what happened, I must have suffered a momentary blank out of sheer rage.

"There is no way to fix it."

"What the Hell! You create a unique custom spell, and you don't make a means to undo it!?" My rage is reaching a tipping point, I can barely contain my voice as I explode at Vestra. 'I can't believe this!'

"It was a one-time spell meant to connect us, if anything the whole purpose of it was to effectively leash myself to you, and I'd regain access to the Other World again along with my powers." 'Again with her damn powers, she is that eager and desperate to regain them that she would willingly latch herself to me spiritually just to gain access to the Other World. I only one problem with that, IT WENT F&$*#!G WRONG!'

"A one time spell. Well, too bad for you, that Link belongs to Hikaru now!" Hikaru and I are now 'Linked' and I have no idea how or even in what ways this damn Link works. 'Okay, calm down and think about this, Vestra has had as much as several months to come up with this spell, clearly, she's either been gathering or building up enough strength and energy to cast it. I was the intended target, that's for sure, but surely there's more to it than just getting back to the Other World.'

"But how, WHY? The day I cast it on you, you just happen to accidentally pull someone else into the Other World with you, and a girl no less. There's no way that can be a coincidence." As focused as I am on what Vestra is saying right now, I couldn't help but notice the, "and a girl no less" comment. 'What is it about this Link that makes me being connected to a girl better or worse than being connected to a guy?'

"Alright, no more stalling and no more questions from you, at least for now. The things I need to know are, what the core of the spell is, what the likely effects are and what kind of modifiers you applied to it?" 'I'm basically screwed at this point, and so is Hikaru. If I can somehow learn everything I can about Vestra's spell, I can inform Hikaru and we can either come up with a way to try and fix it, or find a way to live with it. If there's one thing I know about the magic of Other World, if you're afflicted with a powerful spell, all you need is an even stronger spell to overcome it.'

Tonomura has been oddly quiet, considering the life altering disaster I'm going through right now, and that Vestra is the one responsible for it. If anything Tonomura has dropped his intimidation factor from earlier for a more relaxed one now, he's simply watching the interactions between Vestra and I, and I think he might be enjoying it. However, Vestra is getting just as frustrated as I am, especially after learning that everything she spent her time on has gone to waste.

"Since it's already too late to change anything, the core of the Spell was meant to link two individuals, body and soul. Now, before you panic, it wasn't designed to make us soulmates or anything like that, it was a necessary means of connecting us together. This Link is what would allow me to follow you into the Other World." It sounds legit to me, Vestra is forever trapped on the school grounds, so when the Pull would affect me, it would also Pull Vestra regardless of when it hit or wherever I was inside of the school's zone. 'But if this Link was meant for Vestra, and it went to Hikaru instead?'

"Wait. So if this Link is supposed to send both individuals to the Other World at the same time, what happens if only one person is in the zone and the other is outside of it?"

"Well, in that case, I would have had to wait for you to reenter the school's zone, or stumble into a random one elsewhere." And there was an answer I had been looking for, why I haven't felt the Pull over the last couple days. 'Hikaru isn't in or anywhere near a zone, and because we're now linked, I can't go to the Other World without her, and it would be the same for her.'

"If it were that simple, the problem concerning Miyazawa-san could be considered solved, but that would be a lie." This is the first time Tonomura has spoken up since we learned of the Spell and its purpose, but he has been paying close attention and he is right: "There is no guarantee that Miyazawa-san won't get randomly pulled into the Other World, there are too many zones out there to avoid, and there will always be a chance that both you and she may be in or enter a zone at the same time."

Tonomura truly is an experienced elder of the Other World, he's already fully aware of the situation, while I was still thinking of the possibilities, and considering the options of what I will be required to do in order to protect Hikaru. 'I can't help but wonder, just how old is Tonomura Sensei mentally? He may appear to be in his 70's or 80's here on Earth, but I'm willing to bet he spent a fair number of decades in Other World too. But that still leaves the other question: How did he break free of the Other World's Pull?'

"Back on topic I added a couple of safeguards into the spell but I was unsure of if or how they would work. The most obvious and prevalent one would be..." 'Why is she pausing?' "Your age regression, might have been a result of something I do admit, may have been added with just a hint of malice." I give Vestra a confused but calm and curious Why? and she continues in a lower, weaker voice, "Because at the time I kinda hoped that it might inadvertently kill you and I'd be free in Other World again."

'Kill me!? just by transitioning alongside Vestra, How would that even...?' Then the realisation hits me like a Grounder rolling at full speed.

"You added that, hoping that when we were Pulled together, I would age 300 years in an instant AND DIE!" Tonomura bursts into hysterical laughter upon hearing my reaction to Vestra's failed trap, only to succumb to a coughing fit shortly afterwards from laughing too hard.

"It was something I added to the spell early on. I was still very angry at the time and after leaving it in for so long and adding more modifiers, trying to remove it could have destroyed the spell entirely. On the other hand, you could have gained tremendous strength resulting from the 300 years of growth." I bite back with a, But there's still a chance I could have died, Right? This only prompts another hysterical laugh from Tonomura Sensei, followed by another coughing fit.

"Well, *cough*, this solves the, *cough, cough*, the mystery of your regression." Tonomura clears his throat before continuing, "Since Miyazawa-san is around your current age here on Earth, your Other World age regressed to match hers when you both transitioned over, so I'd say you lucked out with her there." 'Considering that my choices were between reverting to my 17 year old state or aging 300 years in an instant, of course my choice would be to go for the younger option.' 

The conversation dies down a little as we all reflect on what has been said and learned so far, then the school bell rings signaling the beginning of lunch, breaking the silence between us. Thinking back on the subject of modifiers and extras added to Vestra's spell, I realise that we've only covered one of the spell's modifiers so far.

"Alright, we may still have much to discuss, but for now, I suggest we all grab something to eat, give our minds time to catch up and cool down. We'll all meet back here before lunch break is over, then we can finish this. Okay?" Tonomura does make a good point, Vestra and I have been standing by his desk for the better part of an hour, My mind in particular is fried from all the information I've had to process, and an unexpected rumble emanates from Vestra's stomach followed by the embarrassed look on her face tells all of us that food is something we all need the most right now.

We all go our separate ways for lunch, with Tonomura staying in his office to eat his. Vestra and I end up walking into the school cafeteria to grab our respective lunches. Despite our close proximity to each other and being surrounded by numerous other students, we manage to find a table to share and enjoy our lunches, though we don't really engage with each other in conversation.

After Vestra finishes eating, she mentions that needs to return to the nurse's office to make sure everything is okay there before returning to the principle's office. At this point, I'm not worried that she'll try to run away or avoid me, so after I finish what's left of my lunch, I wait around in the cafeteria for a bit, observing my fellow students go about their day.

After leaving the cafeteria, I decide to wander around the halls a bit before returning to Tonomura's office, I pass my usual classes moving from one floor to the next until I'm standing outside of my homeroom, then I spot something that wasn't there this morning. Entering the classroom I walk up to the desk that sits behind mine, looking down at the small vase with a white lily inside it.

My blood boils at the sight of this on Hikaru's desk Again, but I manage to maintain a sense of calm. 'At least they didn't vandalise the desk, again.' I pick up the small vase and drop it into bin by the teacher's desk, I then stomp my foot inside onto the vase, shattering it and ruining the lily.

With lunch break nearing its end, I return to Tonomura's office to find it empty, even Vestra is still absent. I don't worry too much about it and instead head over to the office's wall of books. Grabbing a random manga from the shelf, I opt for reading it in comfort, walking over to the large green sofa Tonomura uses for counseling students. Lying along the comfy green sofa I casually read through the manga, as I read through it, I take note of the adventures in the manga and compare them to the ones I've had in the Other World. Then Vestra wanders into the office with Tonomura still nowhere to be seen.

Vestra walks towards me and in an almost teasing like fashion takes a seat in the sofa chair opposite from me, sitting in a comfortable, yet domineering manner she stares directly at me. I sit up and close the manga book, then adjust my seating position while placing the manga onto the table between us, returning her stare with a gaze of my own. Our respective stares don't last long as the school's bell rings out, declaring the end of lunch break and startling the both of us.

"Do you want to continue this or should we wait for the old man?" Vestra takes in a deep breath and seems eager to get this over with now, and honestly, so do I. I gesture for her to begin while showing her that I am giving her my full attention. "So, the modifiers, there are a few of them, but they shouldn't have a big impact on you while we're here. Though if the Link had been between you and I, You might have grown a great deal stronger than you ever have been."

"What do you mean by that?" Vestra goes over the details of the Link's most beneficial features, like sensing each others location, if only slightly. Overall, her description portrays the Spell as one intended to combine both of the individual's best qualities, allowing even the weaker of the pair to perform feats beyond their natural ability. "So, with the enhanced abilities granted to me by my bond with Kiru, some of that strength would pass on to Hikaru?" 'Oh, crap! I just referred to Hikaru by her first name instead of her last.' Vestra clearly catches onto this, she tilts her head to the side and stares into my eyes with her own, full of suspicion.

"Yes... It would..." Vestra's pauses here unnerve me because of my slip-up, but I need to keep up a strong front. "But the Link is not limited to only physical empowerment; I added an emotional modifier to it as well..." 'Emotional, so like feelings and such?' I give it some deep thought on what Vestra could be implying, though she continues on, she doesn't realise that I'm distracted with my own thoughts and that I haven't been listening to her, as I'm thinking about it how this could affect me, I'm suddenly reminded of Hikaru's behavioral shifting between here and the Other World. 'Hold on, I need to confirm something here.'

"The effects of these modifiers, does their effectiveness change according to which world we are in?" I interrupt her. Vestra seems surprised by my sudden question and the way I've asked it, but she calmly gives me a brief explanation of how the Earth's disconnection from magic results in a weakening of the Spell's effectiveness here.

'And with that, another puzzle piece falls into place, since her introduction at school Hikaru has been shy, timid and closed off thanks to Nakanashi's heartless bullying, but from the moment we found each other in the Other World her attitude changed, she was happier and more expressive than before, and it seems to be because all of my positive feelings for the Other World were overcoming her negative ones.'

The doors to the office open suddenly and in walks Tonomura holding a pile of papers, I can't help but notice from his pace that he is surprisingly spry for his age. Tonomura walks up behind the chair Vestra is sitting in and braces himself up against it, she gives him a look of sheer curiosity as to what he's up to, while I'm more interested in the papers he's carrying, with his sudden entrance, the conversation between Vestra and I is basically over now.

"Sorry I'm late you two, I had to get a few things from the staff room." upon finishing his sentence Tonomura offers me the papers, I take them and give them a look over to see its a culmination of the subjects from my classes over the last couple of days, he then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of folded paper, offering it to me Tonomura answers my question before I can ask it, "This contains information pertaining to Miyazawa-san's home address and the names of her guardians."

"Is it okay to just give me this kind of information?" 'I was planning to ask him about something like this, yet he's gone and organised things well ahead of me, again.' Tonomura waves off my question like he's swatting a fly before making his way over to his desk.

"How else are you going to find her? Use the guise of bringing Miyazawa-san notes and homework to get yourself in, and use that time to talk to her. If she's scared, reassure her. If she's confused or unsure, guide her. If she looks like she's about to cry, comfort her. and if she ever feels like she's in danger, protect her. At this point Takashi, You are the only one who can help Miyazawa-san, so make sure you do so."