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"Did he just... Respond to me?"
You thought to yourself. Your eyes widened when he turned to look towards you, your heartbeat thumped loudly in your chest.
"Amane! Watch out!"
The harsh sound of clattering chairs pulled your attention away from the boy, you tightened your grip on the side of the window and turned to look towards the commotion. Tsuchigomori had been the one to knock everything over in a frantic dash over to the window. He hastily reached out for Amane, looking only at him.
"Tsuchigomori can't see me... Was it just my imagination?" With a short huff, your heartbeat calmed down and you continued to watch the two interact in silence.
Ignoring his teacher's hysterical behavior, Amane smacked the man's hand away from him with a bored look.
"Hey, Sensei, you're worried about me, right?" Amane asked, crouching down into a more safe position on the windowsill.
"Yeah..."
"Then let me ask you one favor."
"Fine.." Tsuchigomori sighed, a warm smile gradually replacing his frown.
Amane grinned at the answer and placed the stone in his teacher's hand.
"Isn't this your treasure?"
"Yup. When I looked at this rock, I felt like I could go anywhere."
"But I've made up my mind not to go anywhere ever again."
The world around you slowly started to build itself back into the present, the feeling of emptiness started to fade away as well. But that didn't stop you from being hesitant to return, what Amane has previously said to you echoed in your mind, and you wanted to know why.
"Amane Yugi..." You mumbled the peculiar boy's name out loud, engraving it in your mind one last time.
Moments before the present finished establishing, the boy looked up at you, as if he heard you call out to him. With a small smile, he pushed you through the window, causing you to plummet into a bright light.
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"Y/N-Chan...! You're awake!" You heard a familiar voice shouted.
A pair of soft hands held your own as you groggily sat up. Looking around, you had noticed that you were now in the infirmary, both Tsuchigomori and Yashiro seated next to you, waiting for you to awake.
"I was worried, you were asleep way longer than me. Sensei said that you were seeing the memories of the Yorishiro too." She explained.
You thought back to the young boy in your dream and nodded. You contemplated whether or not you should tell the two what had happened in the memory.
But ultimately decided not to.
"Hanako-Kun... Is he Yugi Amane?" You quietly asked, looking down at your arm in thought. That's where he had touched you before returning, the sensation was new, nothing you had experienced before.
Tsuchigomori hummed, crossing his arms. "What Number Seven used to be."
Yashiro's face paled as she listened to Tsuchigomori's words, struggling to process the new information. On the other hand, your thoughts were muddled. Although you had already assumed Hanako and Amane were the same person, a million other questions raced through your head based on that topic alone.
"The day before that, humanity went to the moon for the first time. Back then, going to the moon was just a pipe dream."
"But it became reality. So maybe any dream could come true."
"We can become anything. We should be able to go anywhere. While society was full of those hopes..."
"He decided "not to go anywhere". As his homeroom teacher, I was worried about him."
"Or pretended to be."
The word 'pretended' confused you, in the memories, Tsuchigomori seemed genuinely worried about Amane. He bandaged his wounds and tended to his bruises, even when he thought that Amane would fall... He looked seriously worried.
"Pretended?" Yashiro asked with a low voice, she gazed at Tsuchigomori, confused and anxious.
"Yeah, I'd read the record of his future. I asked him to tell me, but I already knew what was happening to him."
"His book said that he would grow up to be a teacher."
"A... Teacher?" You repeated.
"A science teacher. His love of stars developed. And he'd teach at this school. If he lived, he'd be my coworker." Tsuchigomori continued, chuckling to himself.
However, his smile soon faltered and he bowed his head, leaning on the side of your cot.
"He wasn't... Supposed to die like that, while he was still a brat. Yugi Amane is the only human I know who changed the future."
"He cut short his future and didn't go anywhere, just like he said. He's still here as an apparition, the seventh of the Seven Wonders."
Both you and Yashiro stared at the man, Yashiro was still trying to process the information given while you tried to understand what Tsuchigomori was thinking. Just like Hanako-kun, reading Tsuchigomori was like trying to read illegible handwriting. Everything was scrambled and foggy.
As if he had noticed, Tsuchigomori looked up at you. You were expecting him to be annoyed with you like Hanako, but instead, he just stood up from his chair.
"Well, that's all I can tell you for now. If you want to talk again I'll listen."
He turned to you with a tired look, taking another puff from his pipe.
"Stay back, L/N. There's something else I want to talk to you about."
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Apprehensively, Yashiro leaves the infirmary after stating that she'll wait outside. Tsuchigomori sat down again next to your cot, with a sigh he leans back arms crossed.
"You're a Soul Connector, right?" He asked, earning a slight nod from you.
"Yes... how did you know?"
Tsuchigomori scratched the side of his neck, closing his eyes in deep thought. After a moment of silence, he spoke up again.
"Every Soul Connector has an aura that we apparitions can sense. I wasn't really sure of it before, but when you tried to use your ability on me it was obvious."
"Oh.." You mumbled bashfully, if you had known that you were that obvious, you wouldn't have kept doing it.
He chuckled to himself, and took another puff of his pipe, thankfully, he didn't seem too annoyed.
"I have met a lot of people in my line of work. Few of them are Soul Connectors. It's a rare sight nowadays."
"Anyways. That's not what I wanted to ask." He continued.
"In the Yorishiro's memory. Did he... Notice you?"
You froze, already giving him the answer he was looking for. However, that shock was soon replaced with curiosity.
"Yes! But he didn't really speak to me, unlike Misaki."
"Misaki? Huh."
Now that you thought about it, Misaki spoke to you fully aware of your presence. Amane might have noticed you, but he barely said anything to you.
"Yeah... Maybe.." You repeated the words he had quietly whispered to you, making Tsuchigomori give you a confused look.
Ignoring his gaze, you continued on. "You didn't notice me, though. It was as if I was a ghost only he could see."
"That's because your connection with him is stronger than mine with you. Unless we absolutely want to, or if someone forces us, we won't make ourselves present to Soul Connectors."
"Since your Number Seven's friend, your connection might have allowed him to see you in the memory."
Tsuchigomori turned his head to look at the privacy curtains again, giving out a slightly annoyed sigh.
"The boss is fond of you, but be careful."
"He's keeping more secrets from you than you think."
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Tsuchigomori soon exited the infirmary, stating that if you wanted to talk to him, he'd listen. You exited the infirmary with a weary sigh, so much information had been explained to you. Questions from before were replaced by questions now.
On the walk to the school gates, you were silent, which worried your friends.
"Senpai... Are you alright?" Kou asked, hovering a consoling hand on your back before removing it with a shy place in the other direction.
Putting on your best smile, you calmed Kou's, fast-beating heart.
Yeah! I'm just a bit tired from today... That's all."
Despite trying to look the most convincing, the spiritual energy around you was still solidly unsure of your wellbeing. Quickly finding an excuse to leave, you bid your friends goodbye.
"B-Be safe, Y/N-chan!" Yashiro waved, hesitantly, her gaze didn't leave your figure until you disappeared in the darkness of the night.
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