The Morning meet up.

After we calm down from laughing about Hikaru ruining the moment, Hikaru's guardian, Chie-san appears, opening the door and turning on the light. Hikaru and I shield our eyes, exclaiming in feigned pain from the sudden change from near total darkness. Although she looks confused and curious at what we were doing in the dark, Chie-san asks me if I am planning to stay for dinner or go home considering the time. I check my phone to see it's gotten quite late, and I still have to get back home. 'Eh, what the hell. I'll call a taxi.'

"If its not an imposition." I'm not sure if it's because my eyesight is still recovering, but it seems like Chie-san isn't excited about the idea of me staying. However, Hikaru seems enthusiastic about not only the prospect of eating dinner, but the notion that I would be staying and joining them.

Dinner itself is a bit plain and boring, 'I've cooked my own meals better and tastier than this.' Sharing dinner with the household in their dining room didn't make it much better. Jun practically scoffed the meal down and left the table to go back to watching the TV, Chie-san seemed less than happy that I was there. 'I think,' only Hikaru seemed to enjoy the fact that I was there. After the meal, Hikaru volunteered to do the dishes and I opted to join her. While cleaning we talked about plans for tomorrow and how we should meet up before reaching the school grounds.

Before it gets too late, I call for a taxi to take me home, before long, a car is on its way to pick me up. I bid my farewells to Jun and Chie-san, Chie-san is the only one to offer me a farewell bow, and what I believe to be another fake smile. Hikaru walks with me to the front door, after I put my shoes on, I take out my phone and load up its map function, which kept track of the path that I walked to get here.

"Hey, Hikaru." Standing by the door, I adjust my phone's map to settle on a unique Y junction where I can meet her, which is somewhat close to Muzukashii High. "Do you want to meet here at this location tomorrow morning?" I hand Hikaru my phone to show her the Y junction, which I deemed the best spot for us to meet, using her fingers to zoom the map out slightly. Instantly, she recognises the location I mean.

"Isn't this out of your way? You shouldn't have to go so far for me." I can't help but smile at how considerate Hikaru is trying to be, but I've already made up my mind, and I'm going to see it through.

"I want to make sure I'm there just in case something should happen, when or before we enter the school grounds. I made a promise after all." 'While I do want to make sure she'll be safe and okay, I do admit that I want Hikaru to see me as someone cool and reliable.' Hikaru nods at me and returns my phone as we hear a car pull up outside. "I'll... see you tomorrow, okay."

The notion of me leaving has Hikaru looking a little sad, I open the front door and walk out of her house. As I pass through the gate, I look back to see Hikaru standing in the doorway. She is waving goodbye to me, so I wave goodbye in return before entering the taxi. I provide the driver with the address to my apartment, and as the car moves, I reflect on the events of the day.

'The waragais; Jun rubs me the wrong way. He's too great a reminder of my father, and I don't think he cares or acknowledges Hikaru at all. Then there is Chie-san, my interactions with her were few, but everything about how she acted around me, to her concern for Hikaru feels false.' My instincts tell me to be wary of those two, and that I'll need to be careful in the future. The taxi stops outside my apartment, and alerts me that we have arrived.

I pay for the ride and head up to my apartment. The moment I walk in the door, the full weight of my day's exhaustion hits me, and I feel weaker than I ever have before. I take a long hot bath, enjoying the relaxation of being in the hot water, I'm once again reminded of how weak my body here is. 'I really have to do something about this.' After my bath I set a new morning alarm and go to bed.

The morning arrives much earlier than I'm used to thanks to the newly set alarm. Fighting through my tiredness, I skip eating breakfast and after leaving my apartment building, I begin my trek to meet up with Hikaru at the meeting point. I'm uneasy about walking through the streets in the dark, thankfully, the sun rises soon after my trek begins, and I reach my destination after a nice long walk.

I stand by the electrical pole that displays the street names at the start of the Y junction. Leaning against the pole, I wait patiently, occasionally glancing in the direction from which I'm expecting to see Hikaru come from. Fortunately, it doesn't take too long before I see Hikaru walking down the street, and after a brief wave from a distance, we meet up and greet each other.

As we walk together, Hikaru and I engage in simple banter, discussing the events of last night and about how we can handle whatever might happen today. By the time Muzukashii comes into view, it's almost time for the morning class. 'Hikaru has it really rough, I had to wake up extra early just to meet up with her at that junction. She not only had to wake up earlier than me but also had to leave her home either just before or at the same time as I left my apartment.'

Just before we reach the school grounds, or the outline of the school's Zone, I place my hand on Hikaru's shoulder to stop her before we reach either.

"Before we go in, I just want to make sure you're okay and ready for this." Hikaru is taken aback by my sudden change in my attitude but nods in response. 'Honestly, I can't tell if she's being honest or putting on a brave front.' "There's no telling what might happen when we enter the Zone, but rest assured, if something does happen, I will be there and I will protect you."

We each take a deep breath, filled with determination as we walk towards the school ground. As I expected, and was dreading, our view of the school is immediately obscured, and the Pull I've been anticipating is so strong that Hikaru and I didn't even have a chance to react.

A gentle breeze sweeps over my body as I become aware that I'm lying on the ground, my eyes open wide and I sit up in a hurry.

"Well, that went pretty much how I expected it." While I'm getting reacquainted with being back in Other World, a tiny figure flies to the ground before turning and launching at my face, striking my cheek with a heavy dropkick, knocking me silly. Despite her tiny humanoid appearance, Kiru is still a legendary weapon of old, so it makes sense that she has a lot of power packed in that tiny body of hers. The force throws me to the side, my face landing in the dirt, stinging from the impact of Kiru's attack. "OW! What was that for Kiru?"

"How about the fact you've been gone for so long? I may not experience time the way you do, but when you leave this world and you're away for too long, I'm at risk of being left behind to rust in the elements, or be mishandled by some random stranger who has no right touching me! Got It!?"

Kiru is really mad at me right now, and this pain in my cheek really hurts. However, I can't help but feel relieved at the fact that I've made it back to the Other World. Remembering that I haven't come here alone, I quickly scan the area for Hikaru. I manage to spot her standing several feet behind me, brushing some off dirt from her Other World outfit. As I sit back up, nursing my still pained cheek, I look back down to Kiru and smile.

"I'm sorry, Kiru. Something happened, but we've sorted it out now," I look back at Hikaru as she approaches Kiru and I, waving and smiling at Kiru. "I hope."

"Well, so long as you understand that. And make sure it doesn't happen again, okay? You're the only wielder I've had in a long time, and I'm not interested in looking for another one anytime soon." I pick up Kiru as she's returning Hikaru's wave and place her on my shoulder. 'Kiru may be harsh in some ways, but I know that deep down she is very caring.' Picking myself off the ground, I quickly pat down my clothes and gear, removing the dirt that has gathered on me. Afterwards, I turn to give Hikaru my full attention.

"Well, we're here... again. You were expecting this, right?" Hikaru question and the manner of how she asks it tells me she is definitely putting on a brave front, but I can't fault her for it. 'At least she's trying, and she appeared close by to me this time.'

"Yeah, kinda. I know that the pull gets stronger if you try to resist it. Resist for too long and it will drag you here eventually, believe me, I know." Hikaru absorbs the information I give her as I scan the distance to figure out which direction Alameria could be in. "Considering it's been three days since we were last here, it makes sense that we were pulled here the moment we entered the zone."

"Alright, so what's next?" I can't help but admire how well Hikaru is taking this right now, 'Then again, it could be a result of the emotional effects of Vestra's spell.' Looking to Kiru, she observes our surroundings to find a gate about several hours away with plenty of time and points it out to us.

"We could head straight for the gate, but I want to stop by Alameria first. I've never been away this long and I had some requests to worry about last time I was here, I should check to see if they're still open." I can tell Hikaru is eager to go back from how she looks to where Kiru pointed out the gate, but she agrees to follow my idea. Likely because of the experience I have with this place.

After determining where Alameria is we make our way over to the town, our walk is quiet as Hikaru is more interested in the beautiful landscape surrounding us, admittedly, even I missed the beautiful red skies of the Other World. What we all saw next, killed whatever pleasant feelings I had, and shocked Kiru and Hikaru.