"Hm?" I looked around in confusion. I was now on the school rooftop, my bento was in my hand, and I was even wearing my school uniform. I checked the time on my phone and it said 12:06, and...
"..." There was a guy, sitting crossed-legged with his back against the wall, staring at me as he munched on cheap reheated food from the cafeteria. It was Haru... Again.
But a few moments ago I was at home on my bed trying to get some rest for tomorrow... How-? What am I doing on the rooftop at lunchtime?
"..."
I see, I get it now.
This is a dream.
"This is very unpleasant," I said, sitting next to him, "To think the first time I would have a dream, it would be with you-- wait, no... This must be a nightmare instead."
"Huh..?" He said, placing his tray on the floor when he hadn't finished eating.
"It's strange," I said. "I've never had a dream once in my life or a nightmare for that matter, and when I finally do, it's about you."
"Uh-huh..." He tilted his head.
"It's okay if you don't understand," I said, "You're just a character in this dream of mine."
I began opening my lunchbox again, the food inside was the same as earlier this afternoon. "Dreams sure are vivid huh..." I said.
Then, I tried to eat the food, and to my surprise, it had the same taste as earlier today as well.
"Wow! I can taste it!" I said, "Dreams are vivid; it's like real life. Holy shit... No wonder people love dreaming..."
Haru looked at me intently, full of interest.
"What? You have something to say?" I asked.
"I'm curious," Haru then asked a question, "You've never had a dream before?"
"Uh-huh."
"What usually happens when you sleep?"
"Hmm, let's see..." I recalled my experience, "I just float around in an empty void I guess? Everywhere would just be darkness, and I wouldn't be able to feel or hear anything. Then when I finally wake up in the morning, I'd get a throbbing headache, and goddamn it's the worst... But today it's different!"
My body perked up. "I'm on the rooftop, I can feel the rough ground, I can feel the heat of the sun, I can move my body around, I can taste food, I can see colors, I can talk, and I can hear you! Dreams sure are amazing!"
"I see..." He looked at me full of pity.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Well, I've got news for you." I tilted my head, and Haru continued his statement. "This isn't a dream."
This isn't a dream.
This isn't a dream.
The words echoed in my head, but that didn't explain anything, it only made me even more confused.
Oh, wait! I've heard of this before!
"Ah, I know this trick!" I said, "I read an article about this on the internet. When you become aware that you're in a dream, you enter the 'Lucid dreaming' state where you can control the dream, but the characters in the dream would try to convince you that it's real life!"
He looked at me intently, "Seriously?"
"Hehe, you won't fool me!" I laughed.
"Then how about this," He said, "Why don't you try to control the dream? Try to fly, or control my actions, or manipulate the surroundings, or make an object float with telepathy?"
This should be easy hehehe.
"Alright then, watch you stupid dream character!" I said, "I shall try and make you float."
"Haa..." He sighed and looked at me as if I was stupid.
I outstretched my hand towards him and focused as much as possible. "Ngh... Come on, float... float...float...float... float, damn it!" A few seconds later I gave up.
"Haa..." Haru sighed.
"W-Well, maybe I haven't mastered dream control yet; hmm, how about I make that water bottle float instead," I said.
"Sure go for it." He replied.
"Hah! Watch; once I learn to make this float, it will build momentum for amazing dream control, hehe," I said smugly, and with my hand outstretched again, I tried to make the water bottle float.
"Float... Float... Float... Argh why won't it float!?" I exclaimed.
Haru face palmed "Because like I've told you, you're not in a dream--"
"Silence!" I raised my index finger, "I am not falling for that."
"Haa..." Haru sighed.
I stand up, "Okay fine! Maybe I can't control this dream yet, but that's because this is my first time dreaming, okay? Give me a break!"
"And I'm trying to tell you that this isn't a dream." He said, "I know that it's hard for you to differentiate dreams and reality since you've never dreamt before, but in dreams you can't taste anything. You having your sense of taste earlier should prove that this is real life."
Okay, he has a point; I don't have any idea what a dream is actually like.
"Okay, but then how do you explain all of... this?" I asked, "I was at home in bed earlier, sleeping. But suddenly, I'm somehow back here on the rooftop with the same lunch from before, and with you having the same lunch from before, too..."
It was giving me a sense of deja vu; no, it's not just deja vu. This was straight up what happened before. I went to this rooftop, and I saw Haru sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall while eating the reheated food from the cafeteria.
"I have an idea of what happened," He said, "Though I'm the same as you, I was about to sleep in bed, but then I was here, eating this trash reheated food from the cafeteria..."
"If you have an idea of what happened that would explain all of this, then please do tell," I said.
"Oh, that? Time was probably reversed." He said as if it was a normal thing.
Time was probably reversed.
Time was probably reversed.
The sentence echoed through my head, this was becoming stupid and ridiculous now.
"Yeah, I think I really am just dreaming," I said, "Because that's ridiculous..."
I pinched my glabella, this was starting to become confusing. He could just be a dream character trying to convince me that this was real, or time was actually reversed. The former is more believable than the latter.
"You don't believe me?" He tilted his head.
"Of course not you idiot." I said, "That's ridiculous."
"Believe it or not," He said, "This world is filled with unbelievable things, time being reversed is just one of them."
"You're being delusional," I said.
"Haa..." He sighed, "Let me prove it to you then, the existence of unbelievable phenomena in this world."
It could just be a trick. Even if he showed me something supernatural, he could still be just a dream character trying to take away my lucidity. A dream character influencing the dream to take away my lucidity... Crap, this is such a confusing paradox, it's giving me a headache. But then again, I don't think dreams can be this detailed...
"...Prove it then," I said.
"Come everyone, I have someone who wants to see you guys." He said.
"Who are you talking to--?" My voice faded away as my mouth went agape when I watched dozens of those green ghosts with the form of children revealing themselves, they were coming from the stairs, from the back of the bulkhead on the rooftop, and climbing from the outer walls of the building, there were dozens of them.
"Ever since I woke up one day, I've had these ghosts as my familiar." He explained, "They obey my every order and my every thought. I am connected to them, and they are connected to me, and I am not the only one who has powers like these. There are people in this world hiding amidst our ordinary society with unexplainable abilities to influence the world as we know it. Be it in a minor, or in a major way, and we are called... Idealists."
"Well?" He continued, "Do you believe now?"
"I saw them before..." I said, "To think that they would be yours..."
This means that he had a ghost stalk me... How creepy.
"Just believe me already; dreams are never this detailed, you know?" He said.
"Fine fine, I believe you." I said, "But if time was reversed then it only raises more questions."
"And those questions being?" He wanted me to expand.
"First, how the hell are we aware that time was reversed? Time being reversed means everything would have been reversed, including our brain, which has our memories. So how the hell can we still remember what happened yesterday-- or well, today?"
"I'm assuming it's because the Idealist who caused the time reversal is newly awakened, and that they're someone nearby, at least in this city. I've faced someone who could influence the time back then so I'm pretty certain about this." He said.
"Uh-huh..." I tilt my head, "So basically the time reversal is incomplete because they're inexperienced, and we're able to notice the warp because of their proximity?"
"Yeah," He said, "Like how being near a black hole makes you notice the time dilation. Otherwise, though, there's no way for us to become aware of the time reversal."
"Hmm," I ask another question, "Why do you think they're reversing time then?"
"Normally my first guess would be that they're in a fight," He said, "But it's a newly awakened power. Idealists usually awaken their power when they're desperate. In this case of time reversal, it's best to assume that they wanted to redo something."
"Hmm, that makes sense." I said, "These things you're telling me are unbelievable, but I'll believe you for now."
"Great, it would be best too if you could cooperate with me." He said.
"Cooperate with you?" I tilt my head, "for what?"
"Ordinary people won't be able to see my ghosts," He explained, "But you can. I'm assuming this must be because you're an idealist too, just unawakened."
Wait, so I can get powers?
"Hehehe..." Outstretching my hand, I then shout from the bottom of my lungs, "Bankai!"
"What the hell are you doing?" Haru stared at me in confusion with his ghosts.
My face reddened up from embarrassment and I instinctively covered my face.
"Sorry..." I whispered.
"I need your cooperation," He said, "To find out if only us idealists retained our memories or if ordinary people did too. More importantly, I want to find this Idealist. Time reversal is a strong but highly dangerous power. It would be best to eliminate them, especially if they're evil."
"Eliminate them... Isn't that kinda dangerous?" I replied. Recovering from my initial embarassment.
"It is, but don't worry I'll handle everything. I just need your assistance and knowledge." He said.
"I don't know... Sounds like I'll be in danger if I go with you." I said, my voice betraying a hint of anxiousness.
"I promise I won't let anything harm you. Won't you assist me?" He asked, sincerely.
"I can't if time did reverse, I have to fulfill my duties as secretary candidate again," I explained.
"Please, this is for the sake of everyone. If the Idealist that holds that power is an evil person, people might-- no, WILL get hurt. And even if they weren't evil, there might be other Idealists in this city that are trying to take that power for themselves..." He explained.
He has a point, if this time reverse power is in the wrong hands, then it could seriously get people harmed in the long run, maybe even killed. And if that happens, I'd regret not helping.
"Fine." I sighed, "You leave me no choice."
"Great," He said. "Glad to have you onboard Ayaka."
"I have one final question though," I said.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Me not dreaming during a REM sleep, and my headaches after one, do you think it's because I'm an Idealist like you said?" I asked.
"You really are a contradiction," He said. "REM sleep but not dreaming, being an idealist yet seeing only black when you're asleep... Haha." He chuckled.
"Answer the question fucktard." I said, annoyed at his remark.
"I think it is," He said, "But it's a heavy contradiction because Idealists always have this one common characteristic."
"And that is?" I asked.
"We always dream, and instead of our REM sleep only being 25% of our sleep time, it's 100%."
"I see... So even in supernatural terms, my condition is abnormal huh..." The realization made me sigh and made my shoulders slump.
Huh? Wait a second, something about his statement sounded familiar...
"Well cheer up," He said, "That just means you have something special... Probably."
"Gee, thanks," I said and rolled my eyes. I began contemplating his previous statement.
What is this feeling? It's like I've forgotten something important... That I'm supposed to remember something... Something really important...
One of the kid ghosts, who seemed to be a girl, walked up to me and offered me a piece of candy.
"For me?" I asked, and the ghost nodded. "Aww, thanks..." Ghosts are unexpectedly nice; maybe it is because of the fact that they are children. I took the candy gratefully and ate it.
Well whatever it is, I can't remember anymore. I'll just leave it on the back of my head for now; I hope I remember soon, though...
"We should go and check things out below, see if there's anyone who's retained their memories." He said.
"Alright, let's go then," I said.
And with that, we left the rooftop and scanned around the school, asking if there was something off today. First, we went to my classroom.
"Hey Yuki, notice something off today?" I asked one of my classmates.
"Something off?" Yuki seemed to be in deep thought, "Hmm, I think an introvert like you running for secretary is off. And you suddenly being with a guy from another class is off too..."
"Hah!? What's that supposed to mean!?" I replied, a little bit flustered.
"Nothing nothing..." She shrugs my reaction off, "Come to think of it, Ophelia came by earlier asking the same question. She asked if anyone noticed anything strange."
"Really? Ophelia did?" I wanted her to clarify.
"Yes, that's right," Yuki replied.
I turn to look at Haru.
"I see, one of the candidates for student council president..." Haru silently muttered.
"She must have retained her memories too..." I said, "Thanks Yuki, you were a great help."
"You're welcome...?" Yuki tilted her head in confusion. She didn't know what was going on nor did she need to.
"One last thing, do you know where Ophelia is?" I asked.
"Dunno." Yuki shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe she went to other classes to ask the same question."
"I see, thanks again." I said, "Let's go." I said to Haru.
We left my classroom and checked on other classes. It was until the first floor that I finally found Ophelia, walking down the hallway in deep thought.
"Ophelia!" I called out to her.
"Ayaka?" Ophelia seems to have noticed me. "And with... Who?" She asked.
"No one important," I said. "Anyways, I'm assuming you're aware of it too?" I asked.
"Ayaka!" She says, her face brightening up, "Time reversed right!? I'm not crazy right!?"
"Yes, yes, you're not crazy; calm down," I said.
"I thought I was going insane..." She sighed with relief, "I'm relieved to find out I'm not."
"Mhm-hm." I nod, "So Ophelia, I'm assuming no one else in the school is aware?"
"That's right. No one seems to be aware, just us two." She said.
"Three actually." Haru said.
"I see, so you're aware of it too, huh." She said to Haru.
"Quick question," Haru asked "Can you see them?"
"See what-- Ah!" Ophelia stumbled back, "It's the ghosts from yesterday! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't kill me..." Ophelia panicked and knelt right away when Haru summoned some of the ghosts.
"So you can see them too, Ophelia..." I said.
"This means she's an idealist like you then." Haru said to me, "You can stand up, I promise they won't hurt you." Haru said to Ophelia.
"R-Really? They were so scary yesterday though..." She said.
"That's because you ran your mouth like an idiot," I said.
"Hahaha..." Ophelia chuckled nervously.
"I think it's safe to conclude now that only idealists were able to retain their memories from the time reversal," Haru said.
"Mhm, that makes sense." I agreed.
"Uhm, excuse me... What are you guys talking about? I'd like to know too..." Ophelia asked.
"Alright, I'll explain," Haru said.
He then explained to Ophelia about Idealists and our questions about the time reversal.
After Haru's explanation...
"This is making my head hurt." Ophelia scratched her head. "Wait... That means I can get powers!? Kamehame....ha!!!" She said copying the pose.
It seems that after all that explanation, the only thing that registered well was that she had the potential to be a power-wielding hero from a manga.
"..." Haru stared in disbelief.
"I had a similar reaction," I said.
"Sorry..." Ophelia crouched down in embarrassment.
"But now that the question about who retained their memories has been answered, where do we go from here?" I asked Haru.
"Hmm," Haru seemed to be in deep thought, "I'm considering consulting my grandfather about the whole situation, he's a tech maniac. Perhaps he could make a device that could pinpoint the center of the timewarp which would lead us to the Idealist."
"Hmm," I think for a second, "How about we split up?"
"And what do you plan to do?" He asked.
"I'm thinking of going around town looking for any incidents today, perhaps a murder case, anything that would make a person want to reverse the time," I said.
"That's a good idea," He said, "But I promised that I wouldn't let anything harm you so we can't split up."
"I'll be fine though... Probably." I said.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Mhm. It's more efficient this way," I said. "You go and consult your grandfather, while I'll be going around town looking for any incident. Sounds good?" I asked.
"Roger that then." He said, "I'll have a dozen of my ghosts bodyguard you though."
Then a dozen green ghosts surrounded me.
"Can't you have them give me more space? It's a little crowded... I think it would be best if they were at a distance. What if another Idealist saw them with me and attacked me?" I suggested.
"You're right." He said, "Well you guys heard her. Make sure to guard her well alright?"
Then the green ghosts nodded.
I can't help but think they're adorable.
"I'll go now then. We can't risk taking too much time, especially since there's a possibility that the Idealist could master their time warp at any given moment and become undetectable." Haru said,
"Understood." I nodded.
"Oh right, let's exchange contact info."
He said.
"Kay' but don't give it to others." I joked.
"I won't." He said, not getting my joke.
After we exchanged contact info, not wasting any time, he left immediately. Now, only me and the crouching Ophelia were left in the hall.
"I'll have to excuse myself for today, Ophelia; sorry," I said.
"It's okay." She said as she stood up, finally recovering from the earlier embarrassment.. "I'll handle everything here, so you go and handle whatever is happening. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it though. But if there's anything I can do to help, feel free to tell me!"
"Then..." I said. "Can you have your butler drive me around town?"