Chapter 24: Dream Walking (2)

After getting a grip on herself, Hiyori walked out of the bathroom, finding herself on the second floor of the school. She instinctively knew where her classroom would be and at what seat she should sit at. Arriving late she got a pretty good scolding from the teacher before she was let to take her place. Looking around, she saw the looks from her classmates, all giving her weird stares, some even filled with disgust. Even her teacher looked at her like at a lost cause.

 

“...” she remained silent, maintaining an indifferent look but it was greatly unnerving and to simply put, depressing. Those were her own, honest feelings but as soon as she sat down, she slowly, carefully let Yukari’s thoughts in too, trying to figure out her own situation.

 

What she felt was quite the opposite she expected. Yukari’s feelings were mixed and one could say, even messed up. Her reaction to the glares were contempt and jealousy, mixing together. On one hand, she looked down on the rest of the girls here, thinking how vain and bitchy they were, on the other, she was extremely jealous of those who were already maturing beyond their age. She had no better outlook towards the guys, seeing them as horny beasts, wagging their tails, going after the other girls, ignoring the best choice in the classroom; Herself! If a boy would finally realize her worth, she would worship him just as her parents worship God every day! She would sacrifice everything for him! Just as he should do the same for her!

 

“You were not right in the head from the start, huh?” murmured, shaking her head a little. She herself was not an idol, not in the slightest yet she never thought about the others like this! She may have joked with Sayako about it but it was also a joke at her own expense! She had friends amongst the other girls in her class and even amongst the boys. Yukari’s position was the complete opposite and if her thoughts were real, she had to thank herself for that! “Or you are already so badly twisted, that even your memories are affected by it.” thought Hiyori to herself. 

 

Sitting through lessons after lessons was nothing like she remembered it to be. In Yukari’s case It was quiet, boring and nothing like how she, Hiyori, experienced her own school days. Between lessons, when break came, nobody even talked or looked at Yukari, avoiding her desk like she had the plague. Whenever her eyes met with another’s, they immediately averted theirs, avoiding a long eye contact. Hiyori had to realize how much of a difference it made in her life, that she had friends, people she could spend the time with and how different her school life felt like, compared to Yukari’s. When the 40 minute lunch break finally came, she decided it was time to look around a little. Not like anyone would bother her about where she is going! For the first few minutes she just walked around the corridors, looking out the windows, watching the students shuffle around the school building. Even then, she recognized that it was not just her own classmates who looked at her weirdly, a lot of other students and teachers too! Everybody who she walked past either ignored her or watched on with clear disgust.

 

“Do I have a nasty rumor going around about me?” thought to herself, but no new memories came to her. In the end she decided to go up to the roof, checking out the difference between its state now and then. Opening the unlocked door at the top of the stairs, the rooftop was completely empty and there were no chain link fences put up at all, only a waist height railing went around the edges. 

 

“Finally~” came a male voice that made her flinch, and turning towards it, she saw a man leaning against the wall that was surrounding the door, just right next to her. She did not even notice him before! Watching him a memory quickly came to her, recognizing the figure as the PE teacher, Fujiwara Daisuke. At least after the first glance… but something was off.

 

“Sensei?” flinched Hiyori, squinting at him multiple times as no matter how she looked, his face was blurry and hard to make out.

 

“Not really!” shook his head with a chuckle. “Try to focus! Who am I?”

 

Looking more closely Hiyori finally could make out his true facial features. It got clearer and clearer and as it took shape she soon realized that Everlong was standing before her with a small smile. 

 

“Everlong!” yelped as relief washed over her that she was finally not alone, hugging him immediately.

 

“Hehe, good~ You did good~!” patted her back with a surprisingly proud voice.

 

“What do you mean?” blinked, releasing him, looking up at him with question marks in her eyes. 

 

“I was watching you! Examining how you cope with the situation and how strong your will is! You handled it perfectly, not letting her take over your personality and sink into the illusion of her past life!” explained, clearly in a good mood.

 

“Wait! You were watching the whole time?!”

 

“Yep. From the moment our minds melded with Yukari’s! You showcased the talend that was needed for this line of work!”

 

“Um… thanks? But… What would have happened if she took over? If I don't recognize I am not her? Would I be dead? Or…?” asked with a nervous gulp, turning a bit whiter than usual.

 

“Not immediately. You would slowly sink into it though! The deeper you sink, the stronger the melding of minds becomes between you and her! In the end she would devour your personality and she would win.”

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“Perfect… you know, you could’ve warned me or something!” crossed her arms, clearly turning angry at Everlong.

 

“I could’ve but I had to see how you handle things on your own! If I have to hold your hand at all times, you should forget being a partner to me! I would have helped you clear up your mind, but after all this is over I would have escorted you home and that would be it!” answered with a strict voice. “What I do, I do for a reason, Hiyori! And I won’t bring a deadweight with me just so I can watch her die! Or WORSE!” 

 

“...” lowered her head, holding her own fingers before whispering “Sorry…”

 

“Don’t be…” softened his voice, stroking her hair. “You passed the test, you are a strong willed girl, you show great potential!”

 

“Am I?” asked, with a much more happy voice now, looking back up at him.

 

“Yep~” nodded as the black strands of her hair ran through his fingers. 

 

“Oh, by the way, I found out about a few of her feelings!” explained excitedly, telling everything she learned so far about what Yukari’s mind and life was like. 

 

“Hm, so she has some personality problems right out of the gate.” nodded, crossing his arms “We need to find the trigger that led to her suicide! For now your job is going to be to live as her, note down every thought that comes to your head and we are going to complete this puzzle!”

 

“And what about you?”

 

“Well, I am going to play the role of a stalker!”

 

“Huh?” blinked, tilting her head from left to right.

 

“This is Yukari’s memory. She only has knowledge about things she has interacted with!” opened his arms with a smile “Even if I go to any faculties to question others, it would be like trying to speak with mannequins! The files in every cabinet would be empty! Just try to speak with any of the people around here, their answers would be bland or they would just look at you. Maybe say something Yukari thinks they would say to her! Plus… only those things would happen here that left a significant mark on her psyche! So I can only do one thing, follow you around while you experience those events~”

 

“I… did not think about it like that…” murmured, biting onto her thumb. “So I need to pick up the clues…”

 

“Yeah. You are the one in her body! You two are connected not just here but on the outside too. You have to gain your own leverage over her! She knows everything about you yet you do not know her at all!”

 

“And knowledge is power.” smiled at him Hiyori, receiving a proud nod from Everlong.

 

“Exactly! The biggest fear anyone can face is the unknown! As soon as you understand her, you are going to be freed from her. Forever!” said, watching Hiyori’s eyes as they were now filled with fire, ready to do anything!

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