"It's impossible. We lost her."
"Professor. Can't you do the same as you did with Yurine?"
"... It's not impossible... But, are you sure?"
"Yes and I will reset too."
+++
Five years later...
A black haired girl entered the academy doors. She seemed a little lost, looking around for ways to go, then she saw the signboard and a map.. She headed to the staffroom using the signs and knocked on the door.
"Excuse me," she called out and a teacher opened the door. It was a petite girl with short orange hair and golden hair. She was a little taller than the black haired girl.
"Um, I am Nanase Yurika. I am the new transfer student. I am kind of lost..." The black haired girl said.
"Yuriko-chan?" the teacher gasped in shock.
"Sorry, it's Yurika, not Yuriko, um," Yurika's eyes wandered to the nametag. "Nanami-sensei."
"Oh... Sorry... You just look so much like a friend of mine..." Nanami-sensei replied sadly. "What class and course are you in?
"It's okay..." Yurika sighed. "I am in S class and the idol and composer courses."
"Two courses? As expected of Yuriko- I mean um nevermind..." Nanami-sensei said. "First year S class is right down to hallway to the right."
"Um, I am in second year..." Yurika stated nervously.
"E-Eh? How old are you?" Nanami-sensei asked.
"I am sixteen," Yurika replied.
"Oh... Older than Yuriko before she disappeared..." Nanami-sensei muttered.
"I'm sorry?" Yurika asked. "What did you say?"
"Oh um... Nothing! Second-year S class is up the stairs on the right. Do you need help finding your dorm room too?" Nanami-sensei asked.
"Nope, it's fine," Yurika replied. "Thank you." She then left for class.
Nanami-sensei sighed and went back into the staffroom.
"Haruka-chan! Who was that?" Otoya, another teacher, asked.
"A new student who was lost," Nanami-sensei replied. "She looked like Yuriko..."
"Eh? But isn't that impossible? After all, she and Ai-senpai disappeared five years ago!" Otoya said.
"I'm not sure... Her name was Yurika," Nanami-sensei. Yuriko-chan...
"Anyway, if she was still alive, wouldn't she be much older and not attending school?" Syo who happened to be hearing the conversation asked. "Speaking of that, I got the class list of S Class second year." He passed it to Haruka and she opened it scanning down for Yurika's name.
"There it is! She really is in both courses!" Haruka exclaimed.
"Wait there's another transfer student... Dazai Aito... Doesn't that sound like Ai in a way?" Otoya asked.
+++
YURIKA'S POV
With a heart in my mouth, I knocked on the classroom door and entered. The class fell silent and the teacher addressed my presence.
"Class these are our new students," he said. The teacher had blonde hair and wore glasses. "Please come in front and introduce yourselves."
Students?
"Excuse me, you are blocking the way," a monotonous voice said behind me. I turned around and saw male whose height would be considered rather average, but taller than me. He had cyan hair that reached his shoulders and beautiful cyan eyes. I was mesmerized by him. His monotonous voice, his deadpanned face and his cyan-ness. It made my heart skip a beat, yet also feel this painful nostalgia.
"Hello?" He tapped my shoulders and snapped me out of my thoughts.
"S-sorry!" I bowed and apologized, heading to the front. He followed behind and stood beside me.
"Uh, please introduce yourselves, your name, your course, your likes and dislikes, etc," the teacher said.
"Oh, um. My name is Nanami Yurika desu, I'm in the idol and composer course and I hate beaches and I love..."
Ai(ne). A soft voice muttered that in my head.
"-composing and singing." I finished my introduction.
"Next." The teacher motioned to the cyan-haired male beside me.
"Dazai Aito. Idol course. I like to game and dislikes unknown," he replied monotonously. I could practically hear the squealing coming from the girls in the room. I guess I was attracted too, since I was squealing inside. His tone was soft and child-like, yet so blank, like a robot devoid of emotions.
"Dazai Aito and Nanami Yurika." The teacher called out. "If you guys were here last year, you would have already done it, but you guys will have to pair up to compose a song, the dateline is next Tuesday. You guys will be performing in front of the school."
"Huh? Isn't that a bit soon?" I asked in shock. It was exactly eight days away, there was no way we make it in time.
"Well, it's the board's decision, so good luck!" The teacher replied. "My name is Shinomiya-sensei by the way and you guys get time off from class to practice." The teacher pushed us out of class.
Did I just get kicked out of my class on the first day?
"Nanami-san," Aito called out to me. "What can you do?"
"Uh... What do you mean by what can I do?" I asked nervously.
"Your skill in singing, composing, etc," Aito replied.
"Uh... Should I just show you?" I asked nervously.
"Preferably."
"W-Wait, can we not do this on the corridor?"
"Why not?"
"It's embarrassing..."
"... How will you survive on stage if you are afraid of singing in a corridor?"
"F-Fine!" I mustered my courage and sighed. I took out my guitar from my bag and then, I sang a song I created not long ago, along with a bit of dancing.
(A/N: Congrats to those who recognize it.)
Your Frozen Heart
Verse 1:
It's so dark and cold...
Where am I?
I'm falling down into your heart...
You engulfed me into your emptiness.
It feels so cold in here...
And I can't seem to hear a word I say.
Chorus:
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming out for you!
I need you!I love you!
Can you hear me?
I need you by my side...
In your frozen heart tonight...
In your frozen heart tonight...
Your frozen heart...
Verse 2:
I'll start a fire to warm myself.
But there ain't anything to use.
It's so cold...I'm dying.
Dying to see you.
I'm trying.
Trying to see the light.
Finding.
Finding a way out of this dark.
I'm surviving.
Surviving for you...
Where are you?
Chorus:
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming out for you!
I need you!I love you!
Can you hear me?
I need you by my side...
In your frozen heart tonight...
In your frozen heart tonight...
Your frozen heart...
Bridge:
It's so pathetic.
I thought that I knew you through and through.
But how could I have forgotten of such an important fact?
That your heart is frozen
With no ability to love...
And I'm trapped inside...
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming out your name...
Chorus:
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming out for you!
I need you!
I love you!
Can you hear me?
I need you by my side...
Can you hear me?
I'm screaming out for you!
I need you!I love you!Can you hear me?
I need you by my side...
In your frozen heart tonight...
In your frozen heart tonight...
Your frozen heart...
In your frozen heart.
I finished it with a pose and smiled. I glanced at Aito, he was tearing up...
"What's wrong, Aito? I knew it I was terrible..." I sighed.
"No... I don't know why I am tearing up. Your music was perfect, but I don't understand this burning in my heart," he replied.
It's weird cause when he said that, I felt my heart burn as well.
"Your turn then," I said. "Show me what you got."
"Sure." He wiped away his tears and started to sing his.
"Awesome..." I muttered as the burning pain in her heart just grew.
"Why are you tearing up too?" He asked.
"Huh?" I touched my cheek. There were tears... I wiped them and faked a smile. "Why so?"
We spent one week preparing, but during the duration my heart ached uncontrollably. It was weird. I searched online, all they said was:
"If a heart pains when you hear music, you've heard the song before and it pains you deeply. After all, only the heart remembers."