Chapter 9: THE FEAR
Shido gripped his school bag by the door as he prepared to leave for school.
"So guys, take care. I'm going to be home at lunchtime. In case you guys feel hungry, I put some food in the fridge," he said, turning to face Hikaru and tohka.
Tohka waved happily as she replied, "Okay, Shido. Take care."
Hikaru nodded. "Take care, boy."
"No fighting while I'm away, okay?" Shido said as he closed the door.
Hikaru turned to Tohka with a smirk. "You seem happy to see Shido leaving. That's unusual for you."
"Hehe, you don't have any idea. Because I'm..." Tohka trailed off.
"Gonna start studying with Shido in the same class, right?" Hikaru continued.
Tohka took a step back, surprised. "How did you...?"
"I know because I'm gonna go to school with you too," Hikaru answered.
"Kotori, we are ready," Hikaru said.
Suddenly, a blue light appeared, and Tohka and Hikaru disappeared, only to reappear in the Ratatoskr.
"Kotori, what's the meaning of this? I thought I was the only one," tohka said, clearly annoyed.
"You were, but she asked me, and I didn't have a reason to reject her," Kotori defended herself.
"Nee-san, don't worry. I just want to experience school, nothing more." Hikaru said with a smile.
Tohka shouted in surprise. "Nee...san? What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"Starting today, my last name is Yagami, which means we are family by law," Hikaru said, somehow happy.
"I...I don't remember accepting you as my sister though." Tohka said, avoiding the eye contact
Hikaru's smile faded as she lowered her head in sadness. "You hate me that much? I just wanted us to be a family..."
Tohka backed up, annoyed by the sudden change in events. "Hmm, whatever. Do whatever you want, Kotori. Let's go to where Shido is already," she said, huffing.
'she easy' Hikaru thought with a smirk.
Kotori sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Let's finish with you guys."
As Kotori was about to give them their uniforms and a notebook, a deep voice said from behind her,
"It seems you're getting ready for school. You guys should not get in trouble there."
"Oh, Reine. You're here," Kotori said.
"i wanted to check how everything going"
"yes, everything is fine we were" The sudden siren sound in the whole ship made kotori stop.
"What! What happened?" Kotori asked.
"Hikaru's anxiety is rapidly rising captain," warned the Ratatoskr member.
Kotori noticed the thick mana surrounding them and slowly moved her gaze to the girl who was behind her.
Her face was pale with fear, sweat dripping down her face, and her whole body shaking like crazy.
Hikaru started back up, only to fall on her butt but continue to back away in fear.
"Hikaru, what happened? Why do you look like you saw a guest?" Tohka asked, confused by Hikaru's behavior.
"Hikaru, calm down. Why are you suddenly afraid like that?" Kotori said as she approached the frightened girl to calm her.
But as she was about to touch her, an explosion happened, sending all those who were around Hikaru flying away, except for one.
At that moment, Hikaru flew away from the Ratatoskr.
"Captain, can you hear me? Are you all right?" Kannazuki, a handsome man with golden hair, shouted as he rushed over to the scene.
The entire area was in shambles and a large hole had been punched into the ship's wall.
He searched for Kotori and the princess, only to find them safe in Rein's arms.
"Rein-san, are you okay? Are they okay? What happened?" he inquired anxiously.
"I'm fine, and they're okay. As for what happened, it seems like Hikaru lost control and ran away.
For an unknown reason," she said calmly.
"What's with this sudden turn of events? Anyway, let's get them to the medical room for now".
He offered to help Rein carry Kotori and Tohka, though she seemed to be doing fine on her own.
As Kotori opened her eyes, she found herself in the medical room.
A strong headshot hit her as she remembered what had happened.
Glancing to her side, she saw that Tohka was still unconscious.
"And here I thought everything was under control," she said to herself as she stood up from the bed. Just then, Rein appeared in front of her.
"Rein, how long was I unconscious? Is there any news?" Kotori asked.
"Just an hour. Don't worry, and we're still trying to track Hikaru-san," Rein replied.
"We dropped our guard. We should've made her fall for Shido faster," Kotori complained.
"Nothing we can do now. Let's try our best not to make the same mistake in the future," Rein said.
"Yeah," Kotori said as she thought,
'Why did you suddenly lose control like that? That's not how it should go for you... Hikaru.'
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It was now 12:15, and Shido had just finished school. The afternoon class had been canceled because of the clubs.
Shido was heading home, hiding from the rain under his umbrella. He was in a great mood as he walked under the rain,
the only thing he could hear was the sound of the rain.
But that didn't last long, as his phone started ringing.
Putting his phone to his ear, he answered, "Kotori, what's up?"
"Shido, big problem. Hikaru lost control," Kotori said.
"What! What happened?" Shido asked.
"We don't know yet. Her anxiety suddenly rose rapidly, and she ran away. We were able to track
Her. I am going to give you the location."
"Got you," Shido said as he threw his umbrella and started running.
Hikaru was now sitting in an empty chair under the rain. Her head was looking at the ground as if she was searching for something.
Pressed on her hands, blood could be seen dripping from them. Her face was showing confusion, disbelief, and... fear. She moved her hand and hugged herself, trying to stop herself from shaking.
"What happened?" she said, her eyes shaking.
"The moment I heard her voice, the moment I saw her face... not just my body, not just my mind," she stopped.
"My very soul was screaming... screaming to run away, to not be in the same place as her," she lifted her eyes to the sky.
"But why? I don't even know her. This is my first time seeing her, so why?" she collected her breath.
"Could it be she has something to do with my past?" Her thoughts were a mess, she was confused, and she didn't know what to do.
She whispered to herself, "I hope they're fine," as the memory of the explosion she caused replayed in her mind.
"Miss?" a gentle voice interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see a little girl standing before her.
"You're the little girl from that time. Do you need something?" Hikaru tried to mask her fear with a composed expression.
"Are you okay?" the little girl asked with concern.
"Of course, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Hikaru replied, feigning confidence.
"Your face. The expression on it. Yoshino knows those expressions. It's the expression of someone in fear, the expression of someone who doesn't want to get hurt," the little girl explained calmly, without any hint of fear or distress.
Hikaru glanced at the girl for a moment, wondering what she had been through to be so perceptive. She let out a sigh.
'For a little girl to try and cheer me up, I'm pathetic,' she thought.
"Little girl, come here," Hikaru said, gesturing to the empty chair next to her. "Let's talk."
Yoshino hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted the invitation and took a seat.
"Have you found Yoshinon yet?" Hikaru asked.
Yoshino shook her head. "No, not yet. It would be easier if those bad girls didn't keep trying to hurt me," she said sadly.
'The AST huh?' Hikaru thought.
"How about we look for it together? I have an ability that can help us search without those bad girls attacking us," Hikaru suggested.
"Really? So you're a spirit like Yoshino?" Yoshino asked with curiosity.
"Yup. Let's start our search mission!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"Okay!" Yoshino replied with enthusiasm.
As they were about to set off on their mission, they noticed Shido in front of them, leaning on his knees and catching his breath.
Yoshino nervously clung to Hikaru's back, seeking shelter behind her. Hikaru glanced at the boy, silently urging him to speak up.
"Finally found you," he gasped, his breath ragged from running.
"You're gonna catch a cold, boy," Hikaru replied, arms crossed in front of her.
"Kotori told me what happened," he continued, finally catching his breath.
"And?"
"And..." he trailed off, reaching for his communication device. "Kotori, what now?"
"Ah, brother, you're such a pain in the head. Let the votes start," Kotori's voice crackled over the device.
"You don't have to do this, boy," Hikaru's voice interrupted their conversation and caught his attention.
"I'm not in the mood to try those games, and I'm busy now," she said, grabbing.
Yoshino's hand.
"Busy? Wait, Yoshino?" Shido's voice raised in surprise as he noticed the little girl beside Hikaru.
"Shido-san," Yoshino whispered.
"You know each other?" Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"I met her at the shrine yesterday," Shido replied, his eyes shifting to Yoshino.
"You lost your pubby?" he asked her.
Yoshino nodded, looking up at him hopefully.
"I think I know how to find it," he said confidently.
"Really?!" Hikaru and Yoshino both exclaimed in unison.
"Did you hear the story, Kotori? Can you find it?" Shido spoke into his communication device.
"Yes, Shido, let it to me," Kotori's voice replied.
'Yeah, of course, the smart little girl,' Hikaru thought to herself, smiling slightly.
"What about going back to the house while Kotori searches for the puppy?" Shido suggested, patting Yoshino's head gently.
"tell..." Hikaru spoke up, getting Shido's attention. "tell kotori i am sorry about what happened," she said, lowering her head.
Shido smiled. "I think you would feel better if you were the one who apologized to her," he said.
Hikaru glanced at him, her expression softening. "Okay... at least, can you-"
"Hmmm?"
"Nothing, let's just go back," Hikaru replied.
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