"So full of youth!"
Everywhere she looked, there was the bright, vibrant energy of young students. Elysia ran lightly across the campus grounds, her skirt fluttering with the breeze or rather, with her own movements.
It was just a shame she couldn't truly be part of it.
"I really miss those youthful school days."
The words slipped out unbidden, her voice tinged with an unnameable wistfulness.
Shiraha was walking briskly alongside the driver or rather, the Raiden family's butler. His steps faltered, just for a beat.
"Nee-chan, did you ever go to school?"
He kept his voice low, but Elysia would definitely hear.
Elysia carried herself with an air of mystery, like she knew a little about everything. But she'd never received a formal basic education. Maybe she'd filled in some gaps later, but she'd certainly never experienced actual campus life.
Elysia's eyes narrowed, her smile bright. "No, I haven't. Though I've only ever told a handful of people that."
She leaned in closer, dropping her voice.
"Shiraha, in the entire Fire Moth, the number of people with clearance to access my file is less than a hundred, you know."
Of course, before she became famous, her file hadn't been nearly so restricted. But back then, how many people would have even cared to look? Ironically, that made it even easier to investigate.
"Shiraha....." She stretched his name out long and slow. "What was your name back then?"
She quickened her pace to keep up, her earlier wistful immersion in the campus atmosphere now completely gone. She half-wished she had a monocle to complete the "great detective" look.
Shiraha's expression didn't change. "It was Shiraha."
As for whether Elysia could dig up a matching name from the Previous Era, Shiraha had no idea. He was just a poor, helpless transmigrator. The Previous Era was nothing more than a few scattered story beats to him.
Elysia mulled it over. Her memory was generally excellent. But did she know anyone named Shiraha?
"You weren't part of the Fire Moth resistance faction, were you?"
No, that couldn't be it. The resistance never operated anywhere near her level. Sakura had them completely locked down and hunted.
Shiraha glanced ahead at the butler again, then continued in a low voice. "Nee-chan, your memory really is terrible. But I suppose that's normal. Your position was too high up. Someone insignificant like me wouldn't have registered."
With that, he gave Elysia a quiet look and said nothing more, hurrying to keep pace with the butler. The man's sole task was to deliver him to the homeroom teacher.
Elysia was left alone with her troubled thoughts. Could I have actually known someone named Shiraha before?
No recollection whatsoever.
The enrollment process was simple enough, everything had been arranged yesterday. Ryoma Raiden handled matters with efficiency.
Shiraha followed his new homeroom teacher, a balding, middle-aged man who probably taught science, to his assigned classroom.
After a few perfunctory self-introductions that he barely registered, Shiraha took his seat. He had no intention of fully immersing himself in campus life. It held no real meaning for him.
"Back row, by the window."
Elysia shook her head, tossing out the spiraling self-doubt. Maybe in the Previous Era, Shiraha had simply known of her. That was entirely possible.
She never wasted energy on internal turmoil.
Shiraha ignored her. He gazed quietly out the window, his thoughts troubled. He couldn't see the blackboard properly from here… He'd probably need to request a seat change.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Mei," Shiraha murmured.
The persona he'd crafted was that of a hardworking, upward-striving boy. He couldn't actively request to be moved down a grade. But worrying about a friend? That was a perfectly valid reason.
Elysia stared at him for a long moment. Shiraha, you're six. Mei is nine. Are you really that fond of children?
She offered a consoling fib. "Mei is probably thinking about you right now too…"
Elysia settled onto the windowsill, one leg tucked up for support while the other swung lazily. She listened in on the lesson as well, looking, if anything, more attentive than Shiraha.
"With your level of knowledge, you could probably just go straight to high school, couldn't you?"
Shiraha nodded slightly. "I still need to review everything at least once. This year I'll keep a low profile. Anything else can wait until next year."
He'd learned all this material once before his transmigration. Truth be told, he'd forgotten quite a bit. The good news was that the foundation was still there. A quick refresher would bring most of it back.
Time passed. The thing Mei had secretly hoped for did not come to pass. Shiraha was not bullied in middle school. He did not come crying for a transfer.
The thing Shiraha had been waiting for also failed to materialize.
He'd even been prepared to let the kidnapping incident serve as a natural excuse to stay close to Mei.
Originally, he'd hoped to make early contact with another potential Pseudo-Herrscher candidate Yuna, was it? A Pseudo-Herrscher was still near S-rank combat power with a touch of Authority. A shame, really.
October, 2006.
Shiraha walked out of the school gates as usual. Beside him, Elysia, who had somehow acquired and changed into a school uniform, strolled along with a light step.
Studying? Simple stuff, really.
"Shiraha, at this rate, I'll have graduated middle school before you've even gotten the basics of Honkai manipulation down."
Shiraha: ....
Are those two things even on the same difficulty scale?
And you, an ancient relic of who-knows-how-many years, shouldn't middle school material take you, like, a month or two to breeze through, tops?
He offered a diplomatic reply. "Nee-chan is very intelligent, after all."
Elysia hummed a little tune, already looking forward to getting back to the Raiden house and flinging herself onto the bed for a good roll-around, utterly invisible to everyone else.
But today was different. The perpetually quiet driver wore an uncharacteristically grim expression. Once they were in the car, the heavy silence made Shiraha narrow his eyes.
"Sir, did something happen at home?"
The driver was quiet for a long moment, then seemed to decide there was no point in hiding it.
"The young lady has been kidnapped again."
Again?
The driver elaborated. "Back in 2004, the young lady was abducted by a terrorist organization. The President hunted them down for two full years until they were completely wiped out. He thought this year would be uneventful. That's why he finally agreed to let her attend school."
He glanced at Shiraha through the rearview mirror. "These next few days at school, if any strangers approach you, do not go anywhere with them… No, scratch that. Be extremely careful around strangers at school. Don't get close to them at all."
Shiraha: ....
Ah. He had a vague recollection now. He couldn't recall the exact timeline, but under normal circumstances, Mei was supposed to spend about three years recovering after something like this.
Beside him, Elysia's perpetually lazy gaze sharpened into something dangerous.
"Shiraha. I think it's time for us two remnants to make our debut."
Shiraha gave a small nod. Mei was a good person. The disasters written into her story deserved to be fewer in number.
But for now, he needed to wait. Just a few more minutes of patience.
"Mei will be okay… right?"
Shiraha's voice was soft. His eyes shimmered, a look he'd very deliberately learned from Elysia.
The driver blinked, then quickly reassured him. "She'll be fine. Negotiations are still ongoing. The President is only worried about the kidnappers doing something desperate."
By the time they reached the Raiden residence, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Several unfamiliar black sedans were parked out front. The main gate was shut. Unfamiliar adults stood under the eaves, speaking in hushed, clipped tones.
The moment the car stopped, Shiraha bolted for the gate without a backward glance. He didn't have a key, but that was fine. A running jump, a solid grip on the railing, and a quick vault carried him easily over.
Elysia simply walked through the bars. The instant his feet touched the ground, she reached out and steadied him with a firm hand.
To an outside observer, the sight might have been mildly unsettling, a six-year-old landing with impossible balance. But to Shiraha, this was simply one of the small bonds he shared with the Herrscher of Origin.