My screams still echoed in my memory, along with the image of the altered notebook and Riku Lancaster's loud voice hammering home the cruel reality... Lumine didn't exist... My consciousness flickered out for a moment. Everything went dark and silent, like sinking into the abyss of a lightless ocean.
I don't know how much time passed, but when I slowly regained awareness, the surrounding noise returned. I was still slumped on the classroom floor, the contents of my bag scattered around me. Mr. Satoru's arm was supporting my shoulder, his face etched with worry and concern.
"Tsukino-kun! Tsukino-kun! Can you hear me!?" The teacher's deep voice tried to pull me back to reality.
I slowly opened my eyes. The scene before me was still blurry. Several classmates stood watching from a distance, expressions mixed with shock and concern. Ken and Zeno tried to approach, but Mr. Satoru held up a hand to stop them.
"Lu...mine..." I mumbled, my voice hoarse. Pain and confusion still overwhelmed my chest.
"That's enough, Tsukino," Mr. Satoru said, his voice softer than usual. "You need to rest. It seems you're extremely stressed and exhausted."
Riku's words and that bizarre project title still circled in my head like echoes in a dark cave. The feeling of being ejected from the world I knew was so intense it was almost unbearable. I looked around the classroom, which now felt alien and cold... Was she really not here...?
Mr. Satoru sighed softly, his eyes behind his glasses filled with a mixture of sympathy and concern. "Tsukino-kun, I think you really need some rest." He walked closer, his presence exuding a sense of firm but understanding authority. "I'll take you to the nurse's office now. We can talk about the presentation later when you're feeling better."
"But my project... our project..." My voice started to tremble. Despair began to gnaw at my heart.
On the way to the nurse's office, I kept muttering about Lumine, trying to explain everything to Mr. Satoru. Every memory was too clear. But it seemed Mr. Satoru was just listening and nodding occasionally to calm me down. He didn't question or show disbelief, but he didn't show belief either. It was an attitude that made me feel even more isolated in my confusion. Whispers from passing students hammered home that I was becoming the "weirdo" in everyone's eyes.
"There must be proof..." I muttered repeatedly, trying to find anything in my memory, in my bag... but it was empty. The notebook with altered contents, the phone with no name, no pictures... The clear memories started to feel like a fading dream.
Upon reaching the nurse's office, the quiet atmosphere and the faint smell of medicine helped me relax slightly, but the turmoil in my head remained. Mr. Satoru briefly explained my condition to the beautiful school nurse. "Ms. Rise," her long purple hair flowing, sharp eyes behind red-framed glasses observing me thoughtfully, yet somehow seemed to see through me, beyond the physical state.
"It seems like accumulated stress and lack of rest," Ms. Rise said, picking up a thermometer. Her voice was gentle but firm. "There might be some mental confusion too. Let's take your temperature, Tsukino-kun. Rest might help." She didn't judge, which put me slightly at ease.
After Mr. Satoru left, Ms. Rise had me lie down. She said I had a slight fever and needed rest.
I closed my eyes, trying to calm the chaos in my head, but images of Lumine kept swirling. I recalled everything we did together. How could it be just imagination? The feelings I had for her... they were too real.
Confusion and exhaustion overwhelmed me until I drifted off. In that dark, hazy dream, I saw Lumine standing alone in darkness, looking desolate and lonely. I tried to call her name, run to her, but my body felt heavy. Then I heard her faint voice... "Help me... anyone..."
I woke with a start to a cool hand on my forehead. Ken, Zeno, and Takumi stood looking worried. They must have visited during lunch.
"How are you, Leo? Ms. Rise said you have a fever," Ken asked, trying to sound cheerful, but worry filled his eyes.
"I... I dreamed of Lumine," I said hoarsely, still dazed.
The three exchanged troubled glances. Zeno looked like he wanted to spout some bizarre theory, but Takumi shot him a warning look.
"Leo," Ken said gently. "Maybe... what you dreamed... it's because you've been thinking about this too much."
"Yeah, yeah," Zeno quickly added, though reluctantly. "Our subconscious is complex, buddy! Sometimes it creates images from our deep desires!"
Takumi nodded. "Lack of sleep and high stress can induce Lucid Dreams or False Awakenings, making it difficult to distinguish dream from reality."
Their words, though well-intentioned, felt like knives twisting the wound. They were trying to find scientific explanations, and all pointed to one conclusion... I was confused or ill.
Ms. Rise walked in with medicine and water. "Oh, you're awake. Feeling better? Still a bit feverish. Take some medicine and rest more." She smiled gently. "Your friends came to visit. See? Everyone still cares about you." Her words felt like indirect comfort but also highlighted my isolation; their care came with the belief I was "not normal."
"Leo, are you still... still thinking that's real?" Zeno asked softly, worriedly.
"I don't think it's real..." I insisted weakly but firmly. "I know it's real. I really dreamed of her. She called my name..."
Takumi sighed heavily. "Tsukino... strong conviction doesn't always equate to truth. Sometimes, the mind's defense mechanisms create narratives to protect us from unbearable pain."
Ms. Rise looked between us before speaking calmly and understandingly. "Sometimes... a weakened body can lead to confused memories, Tsukino-kun. Right now, the most important thing is to rest. When your body is stronger, your mind will be clearer." She looked at me with an unreadable expression, yet somehow sympathetic. "But if this continues to trouble you deeply, and you still wholeheartedly 'believe' in your memories and feelings... perhaps trying to find 'truth' in your own way, or expressing all your pent-up feelings, might be one way to help you get through this difficult time."
I nodded weakly, feeling like my brain would explode. No one understood or believed me. Soon, my frantic mother arrived, called by Ms. Rise. I had no strength to explain, letting her take me home amidst the concerned gazes of my friends.
Back home, I collapsed onto my bed, utterly drained. My body was heavy, my mind numb. I couldn't sleep. Thoughts of Lumine swirled. I replayed everything. Something was wrong. I wasn't the type to fabricate such elaborate stories.
With little strength, I grabbed my old notebook, the one for random thoughts. I had to record this before it faded from my memory too, or before the world erased her further. I forced my trembling, feverish hand to write.
I started jotting down everything I remembered about Lumine in meticulous detail. Her mannerisms, her dark brown eyes hiding myriad emotions yet sparkling with curiosity and sorrow. Her golden-brown hair swaying gently. The faint lavender scent. The first day we partnered, the awkwardness melting into understanding over quantum physics. Her eyes lighting up when discussing passions. Her rare, precious smile brightening my world.
Valentine's Day, the homemade planet chocolates. Their rich, sweet taste still lingered. The warmth in my heart then. The day she confided in me at the coffee shop, about her father's expectations, her mother's memory. Her tears, my clumsy attempts to comfort her.
And the last day at the library. Her meaningful words echoing...
"...working with you... it meant a lot to me, Tsukino-kun..."
"...you made me feel that... maybe I'm not always alone in this world. Thank you..."
Every word, every action, too clear to be imagined. I wasn't crazy. The feelings I had for her... I couldn't fabricate them.
"Komori Lumine..." I wrote her name large on the page, engraving it into my memory, before exhaustion and fever pulled me under again. I clutched the notebook tightly, my last anchor to her reality.
And in that dream... I heard her voice again, clearer than before... not desperate, but a gentle, hopeful call directed at me...
"Leo... help me... I'm still here..."
I jolted awake mid-night, drenched in sweat, heart pounding. That voice... Lumine's voice! It still echoed. "Leo... help me... I'm still here..." She called my name! She's still here!
Memories, almost faded by confusion and illness, rushed back with clarity. I grabbed the notebook beside my pillow, frantically flipping to the page about Lumine... The name "Komori Lumine" I'd written large... I stared hard... My heart leaped! The ink... it looked fainter than before! Not just my imagination; as if lightly erased, though traces remained. It was really fading! Was the "reality" without her slowly consuming the "traces" and "memories" of her existence?!
"No... I won't let you disappear!" I mumbled, fear mixed with fierce determination gripping my heart. If I didn't act now, she'd vanish from my memory, and perhaps, from this world forever!
I sprang out of bed, fatigue momentarily forgotten. A surge of resolve coursed through me. I needed more tangible "evidence"! Something to confirm her existence! I searched my room frantically—wardrobe, drawers, bookshelves...
Then my eyes fell on a pile of documents on my bookshelf... The project summary notes Lumine gave me when I was sick! I clearly remembered bringing them home and putting them there! They must still be there!
I rushed over, grabbing the stack with trembling hands and a pounding heart. Yes! Her familiar, neat handwriting! The small, illustrative diagrams about quantum theory drawn with care! They were still here! Though the paper looked slightly older than I remembered, and the ink also seemed... somewhat fainter, like the ink in my notebook... But it was undeniably her handwriting! I remembered every stroke, every curve!
"Found it!!!" I sank to the floor, overcome but relieved, clutching the notes like the most precious treasure. Tears flowed uncontrollably—not of despair, but of relief, joy, and reignited hope. "Lumine... you're still here... you're really still here... I'm not crazy... I'll save you!"
Her calling my name in the dream... Her fading name in my notebook... And these notes...
This was all the evidence I had now. But it was more than enough to confirm Lumine Komori was real, and she desperately needed my help.
I didn't know what happened, or why everyone forgot her. But I would never forget. And I had to find a way to help her... no matter what. A bond stronger than fear or confusion was building inside me. It was a connection... and a responsibility. I needed a plan. Where to start? Her disappearance wasn't normal. There had to be something more complex, something supernatural, at play.