Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The final loop

(84 loops later)

"Alright students, semester's over! Stay safe and don't do anything too stupid. Class dismissed"

The teacher said to the class as he stood at the podium. The teacher, Mr. Ark, was an older fellow, appearing to be in his late 60's. His hair was almost completely white, with a hint of black. Donning the teacher's uniform of the academy, a black suit with black slacks with a red tie.   Definitely one of the more experienced teachers in this school. Despite his old age, he does have the ability to kill everyone in this room. I learned that the hard way. 

As soon the teacher left, the lights in the room started to slowly dim down, but it's not that noticeable unless one were to pay close attention. Not having electrical light sources is still a weird aspect of this era I had eventually gotten used to. Instead of modern light bulbs, there are glass spheres that are hung along the walls that are used for light. These spheres are usually empty, but when magic is applied to these spheres they are able to light up and start to glow for an artificial light source. Filling one of these light spheres completely with magic can  make it last a week, but too much magic will cause it to make a small explosion. A fact that everyone in this school knows. While uncommon, an accident would happen every now and then.

Teachers in this school will usually fill up these light fixtures passively with their magic during class and as soon as they leave, the spheres slowly drains of mana. From my observations, it will be completely empty by the hour using this method.  

I looked around my wooden desk and studied the looks of the other students. Many were excited for the break, but most faces had a sign of relief that they survived another year. I can't really blame them, during my first couple of times, I was exhausted as well. But now, school is basically  a breeze.  

"Woo, finally! Time to kick back and relax"

"Creating a light source without magic or a candle? Impossible!"

"Ughh, got a bad grade for the final. Welp that's a problem for future me."

"Hey want to go to the new café that opened up?"

Chatter filled the air as students started talking among themselves as they slowly trickled out the classroom. I tuned them out to focus my observations to a specific trio in the class. Similar to the other students, they were talking with each other about their plans for break. I was gathering my items, slowly packing my things away to eavesdrop on their conversation. 

Aru and Fiora were talking to each other, while Ava was lingering in the back, glancing at me ever once in a while. 

Their voices were quite audible from where I was at, which was the desk to the right of this group. As usual, the shortest of the three, Aru was sitting on the shoulders of the tallest of the three, Fiora's, while chatting amongst themselves. 

"-nother weird dream Fiora?  You been having that same one for months!"

"I know... I feel like if I don't do something about my dreams soon, I'll regret it. I know it's telling me something. No, warning me of something."

From my previous experiences with Fiora, she has the gift of foresight brought to her by dreams. These visions of the future are usually correct and anything she sees in her dreams are set in stone. Well that's their problem, nothing to do with me. Her dream should be about the death of one of Ava's familiar. It is a shame, but I can't do anything about it. 

Well everything appears to be the same as last time.  From their conversation that's currently taking place, to Fiora's future vision about the death of her pet.  

Aru then jumped off of Fiora's shoulder onto the desk in front of her with a noticeable thud. She turned around and put her fist to her chest, making a mock salute. Her head was tilting up, looking directly at Fiora's eyes.

"Don't worry about it to much Fiora! You have both me and Ava to help ya' out, isn't that right Ava?"

Aru looks to her right where Ava was supposed to be at, only to see nobody there except for air. 

"Uhh Ava? Where'd you go bud?" 

Aru said as she was confused on where her best friend has wondered to. Coincidently, the friend in question was looking straight at me with a twinkle in her blue eyes. 

 

"Hey Hina want to go the the café that opened up?"

I looked up to see that Ava was in front of me. A smile plastered her face as she asked me a question. I looked up at her and put up a fake smile I had been using in front of her.

"Ahh, no thanks Ava. I have something important I have to do today."

I replied back in a cheerful manner. A small smile shown similarly on my face. The smile that Ava had, however, faltered a bit.

"Awww, come on. It's break time! You can't make time just this once?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just a really important matter that I have to do. I'll be able to make time next week though, promise."

With that, a pinky appeared in front of my face with Ava leaning down to my level staring directly into my eyes.

"Muuu, I know you have been avoiding me for some reason. I won't believe you unless you make a pinky promise."

I looked back at her, conceding to her plea. Locking up her soft pinky with mine.

"Alright, alright pinky promise. See? No lies here"

Another promise that I will have to break.

Aru looked down at our hands connecting. Her smile growing, shining brighter than the sun. She squeezed her pinky a bit tighter and closed her eyes, bringing our hands close to her body.

This... this is a bit embarrassing. I have no choice though and have to keep a straight face to maintain my stature.

"Cross my heart and hope to die. If you dare break our promise, I'll enact a punishment onto you!"

"Oh ho, a punishment you say? What about if you break your promise?"

"There's no need for punishment! I'll never break my promise! I never broke a promise in my life!"

I stood up from my chair and slowly approached Ava. When we were about an inch apart, I moved my head close to her ear and started to whisper into her ear.

" If you break your promise, I'll be able to 'punish' you, princess." I replied in a sultry voice. Trying to make it sound as sexy as possible.

"Affuffuufu - ahhh. I mean. Ahhh.  I mean... umm if you want to-"

As soon as I reeled my head back, Ava turned into a stuttering mess. Her face quickly turned red, her eyes having visible swirls in them as her breathing got faster. She could no longer maintain eye contact with me as her head quickly found the glass lamps scattered across the class  more interesting than myself. 

"Teasing Ava again Hina? I know it's fun teasing her, but maybe tone it down a bit. I don't think she even remember where she's at."

I looked behind me to my desk and see Aru sitting on the edge of my desk, appearing to enjoy the show. 

"Oh would you like to join us Aru?"

I replied back to the inchling as she stood up and jumped off her desk. A familiar yellow hammer appeared in her hands. With a soft *bonk* to her head, she managed to grow almost as tall as Fiora, but still short a few inches. Even while she was still shorter than Fiora, she was still taller than I was. 

With her newfound height, Aru grew more alluring to the eye. She still maintained her childlike appearance, but the aura around her was more mature. Her chest not noticeable before, was now at the forefront of her body. It wasn't overly large, or even big for that matter, but my eyes couldn't help but keep drifting down at them. As I drew conscious of this fact I looked back up at her face. 

"Oh I definitely would, but I don't think I would be able to contain myself if I did. If you want, we can go somewhere private and I'll really teach you how to tease someone."

She replied with a knowing wink to me.

If I hadn't experienced these exact words countless times, I would easily be in a worse state compared to Ava. The first time she transformed and used that line on me I lost all feeling in my legs and collapsed, turning into a puddle by her words. Now though, I am able to escape with a light blush appearing on my face. 

"Oh, what's this I see? How about I- WHOA!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Aru got bonked by the same hammer she had previously used on herself. She returned to her previous size, followed by being picked up by the back of her shirt by Fiora  looking like a kitten that got picked up by the scruff of their neck.

"I'm so sorry about Aru."

The magician of the party said to me while still holding onto the normal sized inchling.

"HISSS! LET ME GO!"

Aru actually started hissing at Fiora, struggling to get free of her grasp. Despite being a magician, Fiora has some physical prowess and it shows as she has no trouble holding onto Aru. 

"Hey stop it the both of you! We're still in public!"

Ava said as she had both of her hips and her upper body leaning slightly forward. She glared at the both of them, daring them to cause another scene.

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As this chaos was happening before my eyes, I had to put my hand in front of my mouth to present myself from laughing. 

 

"Phawhaha! Hahahaha!"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at their antics. I was clutching at my stomach, tears started forming at my eyes. No matter how many times I see this, I can't stop myself from enjoying their behavior. Fiora and Aru acting like sisters, constantly arguing for the simplest things. Then Ava acting like a strict, but caring mother trying to calm down her children from fighting. They act just like a family would. 

Hearing my laughter, Ava turned to face me with a finger scratching her left cheek.

"Sorry you had to see that, Haru." Looking slightly to my left while saying that, seemingly ashamed to make eye contact with me.

"I don't think she minds at all. Heck, I don't think I've ever heard her laugh like that!"  Said Aru, still being held by the back of her shirt. "I'll behave! So put me down!" Aru said looking back at Fiora.

Fiora appeared to not notice Aru's comment as she just stared silently at me.

"Hey, Fiora? Buddy? Can you hear me?"

Aru asked again, this time in a more concerned manner.

"Do I have something on my face, or are you also enhanced by my beauty?"

I said to Fiora, but no response.

"Hello is anybody in there?"

I said again to try and get her attention. I'm actually getting concerned myself.

She keeps silently staring at me for a few moments. Her eyes slowly start to widen as if she recognized something.

"Ah sorry, sorry. I'll put you down now" Fiora carefully places Aru back on the desk as she realizes what was happening around her. She looks back at me and asks a single question.

"You will keep that promise with Ava, right Haru?" Fiora said, staring intently into my eyes. Her everything was focused on me and would not relent unless I give her an answer.  

"Like I said, a promise is a promise and I don't intend to break it. Besides, what would I even do next week? School's out for break!" I replied back, hoping to return the jolly mood from before. It didn't do the trick as she continued her wordless stare at me . 

Ava was glancing back and forth between me and Fiora, slightly confused at our exchange. 

"Hey, it's alright Fiora I don't think she plans on breaking her promise any time soon. Besides, we already made a pinky swear with each other and that pretty much makes the promise an absolute!"

Ava glances at me with a smile forming at her mouth. 

After she said that Fiora turns away, thinking to herself about something I can't comprehend. This conversation is a bit different from other timelines, but it shouldn't deviate too much. I know that small things like this can cause future events to spiral out of control, but at this point I'm too tired to care anyhow. 

"Well we've been here for a while" Ava said as she looked around the classroom. All the other students had already left and the Lights really started to dim down. "We're going to head to the dorms now, want to come?" Ava looked at me expletively. 

"Sorry, like I said I have something to do." I lied. "I'll see you guys later! And I'll see you next week Ava." I lied again as I smiled and waved at the trio as they left the room and the door shut. 

As the three left the classroom, I remained alone with my thoughts looking down at my desk. Somehow, my textbooks and class materials were gone and placed back in my bag. Must been Ava who did it when I wasn't looking.

This is probably the last time I'll  be able to talk to them.  I've done all I can to make sure they don't become the world-ending monsters in the future. I'm... so tired, but now I can finally rest. 

 

Did I make the right choice?

I hope I won't be forgotten.

 

As I continue to spiral down into the depths of my mind, I hear the door creak open again. Darting my head to the door, it revealed olive green hair. It was Fiora again. 

 

"Oh Fiora, did you leave something here?"

I asked her as she entered the room. She, however, didn't say anything as she walked straight to my desk I was sitting at and stood still. I had to tilt my head up to see her face.

"Why?" She asked glaring at me. She was visibly upset at me for some reason.

"Why what?"

"Why did you lie to Ava?"

"I don't know what your talking about."

Fiora took a step towards me, her face leaning dangerously close to mine. We were merely inches apart. I could hear every breath she took. Her light green eyes were looking at me, staring deep in my soul. Cold sweat starting forming in my palms. My heart started beating faster as she remained looking at me for a couple of moments. In my eyes, Fiora is a very attractive woman and this situation is making me very vigilant of that fact. 

While she is an attractive person, that wasn't the reason why I started to get nervous. The truth is that Fiora was never a confrontational person, but for some reason she's approaching me aggressively.  This was an anomality that I had never observed before and it... terrifies me 

After what felt like an eternity, she backed off, but she was still keeping eye contact with myself.

"Stand up." She told me, leaving no room for argument.

I did what she said and stood up from my desk. This is then Fiora decided to something unexpected. Not even I could foresee this kind of gesture from her previous patterns. 

She hugged me.

It was a gentle hug. The softness of her body was felt by my entire being. She had one arm around my head, guiding it to her bosom. Her other arm was wrapped around my waist, bringing me closer to herself. She was firm in her movements, but made sure to not be too rough. She smelt faintly of flowers, it might be lavender if I had to guess. 

To say that I was... confused might be an understatement. I had no idea what could have possibly cause her to hug me in this manner. First she comes here alone and accuses me of lying with a stare that could kill. Only for the next second to be her comforting me for some unknown reason.

This hug felt genuine if I dare say. Like I could leave all my worries behind and forget about them for just this moment. The fate of the world meant nothing. Death and destruction for all living beings? Who cares. The only thing matters in this world is me and Fiora. But of course, all things good or bad must come to an end.

"Why?" I asked her in a weak voice the exact same question she asked me minutes ago.

She didn't say anything when I asked. She remained hugging me for a couple of seconds before slowly letting go and reaching towards my bag. She slowly grabbed something out of my bag, revealing a pencil I don't remember having.

"I forgot my pencil." She said deadpanned. 

"There is no way you did all of that for a pencil."

"You're right." She said as she starts heading to the door.

This is just leaving me even more confused. 

Before she opened the door to leave, she looked right at me with determination I had never seen on anyone before.

"I will save you."

 

And just like that, she left the classroom leaving me dumbfounded.