*
8th September, Monday,
8 days have passed since Lastia fought Sariel.
"... I see... My aim..." (Arin)
She responded in fragments, to 2 different subjects. What she realised was her own confirmation that the ruling god magical girl of earth was someone named Eterna. The other half was just her response to Taneda's question.
With what Taneda inadvertently told her, Arin noticed that she was closer to the truth than she expected. Unlike Taneda, she was someone with knowledge of the previous era who was researching about the present era. Taneda was the exact opposite, with ties to Eterna as one of the strongest sentinels around, she knew more about the present era and was discretely researching about the previous era.
Naturally Arin's job was easier, but it wasn't her main goal one bit. Eterna might have taken note of Arin's existence, or maybe she didn't. Whatever the case, Arin didn't pose enough of a problem to get smited. Things were in her favour, and the knowledge was only a bonus to aid her in controlling the situation in current affairs should she need to.
"So uhh... What's going on? Aren't you a little too close! " (Arin)
"Fufu~ It can't be helped!" (Lastia)
As she said, she was sitting on the same classroom chair as Sariel. Honestly she was being a nuisance, but her presence was so overbearing that Sariel couldn't say anything.
'After all, the diary said Sariel was always lonely. The only way to remedy this is with some skinship.' (Lastia)
Whatever the circumstances, even the Lastia from 1st September never knew why Sariel ended up the way she was. However the past experiences of Sariel didn't matter at all. What really mattered was the present, the gap in Sariel's heart would be forcefully filled with Lastia's overbearing nature.
Even with almost no memories of her past, Lastia always found what she wanted to do. Even if it was something as insignificant as going to school and getting home peacefully. She will use this nature of hers and aim to quell Sariel's solitude with everything she had. Naturally, Lastia was awkward about this and didn't actually know what she should do. To her, she was quite literally meeting her friends for the first time.
Her sense bind tightly to her heart, a burning urge to get close to Sariel and wipe away any semblance of the spectre haunting her. Arin grit her teeth tightly and her lips were bleeding violently. Her nails dug into her palm and she smiled with a rigid shiver.
'She's clearly jealous! How do I get Tia to stop worrying about me...' (Sariel)
Lastia's attitude has clearly changed, but it was only subtle last week. Such as when she opened the door for Sariel or walked with her to the school gate before turning to the direction of her own home. Maybe it was due to the weekend, with the curse around, Lastia couldn't remember about what happened last week and her worries exploded like a volcanic eruption. Not being able to see Sariel, while her concerns only compounded and grew.
Was this skinship an excessive response to that?
"Uhmm... It's enough, you don't have to do this... It's embarrassing for me too..." (Sariel)
'What the hell is that? Isn't that too cute?' (Lastia)
Her thoughts never escaped her mouth, but her frozen face did give Arin some clues. Lastia moved out of the way. She grabbed a nearby seat and resumed attending the same table.
"Hey... Isn't that like, just crazy?" (Akira)
"You think so? I think it's just fine!" (Celia)
Their conversation could be heard all the way from here, Akira was particularly excited while Celia kept her in check. Now that the curse was beginning to lose its hold on Lastia's memories of Arin and Sariel, she had begun to take notice of other classmates. Of course, all done in small strides. She could only remember Arin and Sariel's appearance and nothing else, she needed the notebook to learn their names and infer who it matched.
The rest of her classmates were in the book too, with rudimentary descriptions and names. However, she avoided interacting much with them in order not to accidentally call them by the wrong names. Akira had a black ponytail with brown strips that ran down its sides. Around 3 conspicuous strips of brown decorated her charcoal black bangs, forming an accent.
The school didn't forbid the dyeing of people's hair, rather it was so convenient to change it with current technology that most people found it bothersome to stick to one colour, so they usually stay with what they were born with. The dye was also permanent, and some brands even came with scents.
Celia always had a citrus esque fragrance around her which calmed Akira down. With a pair of old fashioned spectacles and smooth blond hair, she might have see demure around others but was also a bundle of energy similar to Akira. They sat near the front and centre, so their voice typically leaks towards the entire classroom.
"How peaceful..." (Sariel)
"Isn't that great?" (Lastia)
"Hmph, maybe." (Arin)
She was sulking really badly... Now even Lastia has noticed, even though she shouldn't remember what a sulking expression looks like... The apprehension is evident on Lastia's face, that's some heavy inner turmoil! However, Sariel couldn't help but slip a few giggles.
"Hehe!" (Sariel)
"What are you laughing at?" (Lastia)
Her concerns instantly vanish, shifting her attention back to Sariel. Arin shared a simial puzzling sentiment, turning towards Sariel as well.
"It's nothing. Lastia...
Other than the two of us, do you want to try talking to others too?" (Sariel)
"Wouldn't the curse be in the way?" (Lastia)
She whispered with a hint of lament, but her words never trembled. She usually spoke with such certainty, and only had doubts when she was inquiring. One could say it was nice to have such self confidence, maybe it was due to her photographic memory? No, it wouldn't be right to call it photographic memory anymore. It was memory unlocking, accessing knowledge accumulated in the past, like a computer's RAM usage.
"If you want to do it, I don't see why not. We could always make up some excuse for the future, or cover up your flaws." (Arin)
"These flaws... The inconsistencies will only pile up you know? Let's drop such a vapid dream... I'm fine with just the two of you, it gives me enough strength for a lifetime already." (Lastia)
She didn't realise it, but her words inadvertently made their hearts skip a beat. Sariel would like to repay that trust. Arin...