Tale of Discovery

Chapter 22: First Kiss

I can't reply. Not because I feel guilty about something or I want to come up with an excuse of sorts. It's just that I'm in a trance.

Under the starry sky, I observe her and realize just how beautiful she is. I have this indescribable feeling within me. It feels so familiar, yet so new.

I reminisce about the time I arrived in this world and everything that has happened until now.

Realizing that it's unlike myself to just stare at her, I move closer to her and sit on a rock beside the one she's sitting on.

A sweet smell invades my nose and I can tell that it's her natural scent. I wasn't sure of it before, but I'm unmistakably attracted to Nao.

This girl. She never puts on any makeup yet she is so appealing.

Coming back to my senses, I inquire,

"What song are you listening to?"

She grabs her small music player and shows me the screen while saying,

"It's a band called Zhiend."

"I've never heard of them."

"It's the band that my brother loved.", she continues.

Before things start to get gloomy, I ask her,

"May I listen to it?"

She agrees and hands me the media player as well as the headphones. I put them on and play the music. The next moment, I'm hit with a sense of familiarity. Deja vu? No, it's different.

In the song, the soothing voice of a female that seems to be in her twenties sings a slow and calming song.

The song gives off a lonely vibe. It feels as if I'm in a world all alone, surrounded by nothing yet everything.

"How is it?", Nao's voice brings me back to my senses.

I think for a moment of what to say and decide to go with,

"It's strange. It's as if I'm in some kind of vast space."

The next moment, excitement covers Nao's face as she laughs and lightly punches my arm saying,

"Owoh! You understand it, don't you!"

She then continues, "That's right. The music that Zheind makes is vast and downright lonely."

She tells me that she believes that the reason for this is that the vocalist who's also the composer of the band is completely blind.

I take a good look at her face, as she stares off into the distance with resolve visible in her eyes as she says,

"My dream is to film a Zhiend music video."

Nao then begins to lightly swing sideways as she hums a song.

Once again, I'm captivated by her. I subconsciously reach out to her face and lightly stroke her cheek. I don't stop there and brush her white her to the side.

In response to my actions, she stops moving and humming, then looks my way. This goes on for a short while before she asks,

"You're not going to tell me about it?"

Stunned by her question, I stop moving my hands. What does she mean by that?

"That day, when you chased the guy you said could use our powers. What happened after that?"

I ponder over whether I should tell her about it or not. As I'm doing so, I focus on her expression. I then have a sudden urge to tell her about it. I feel like I will lose a great opportunity that would never repeat itself if I don't do it. If I want her to trust me...

"I'm not from this world." I bluntly say

Her expression goes through several changes. From surprise to shock to an incredulous look.

"I know it sounds absurd, but please watch."

I then get up from the rock and jump off the cliff. I sense Nao behind me suddenly get up and run to the edge of the cliff where I jumped down from.

Halfway through, I utilize Godspeed and jump in the air a couple of times to get back to the top. There, Nao just stands where she is and stares at my legs.

It's understandable, as it seems like there are glowing veins from underneath the school uniform I'm wearing.

"I thought he used it..." I hear her mumble in a low voice to herself.

What's that supposed to mean? So confusing.

"What do you mean by saying that you're from another world?", she asks me in an unnatural tone after a while.

"Exactly what it sounds like. I'm not from this world. I come from a different Earth; alternative world."

"Why are you here? Who else knows about this? Are you going to leave this world someday?"

She asks question after question without any pause. Well, I was wholly expecting something like this. Heck, it would be weird if she didn't react the way she is now...

"I don't know why I am here, but I'm sure I will be leaving this world. I don't know when, but I definitely will. Regarding your second question, only you know about it. I haven't told anyone else about this, including Ayumi."

The thing is will I be able to resolve myself to leaving them? I could leave Sora alone because I knew that I was able to go back to her. Ugh, this is so contradicting and painful to think of.

"What about your sister? Is she from another world?", she continues to ask, failing to mask how bewildered she is.

"No. It's confusing, but she is a normal human of this world."

I still don't understand why I'm telling her about this, but I have a feeling that I should. Nao goes silent for a while, before whispering almost inaudibly,

"So, you're going to leave one day..."

I slowly get closer to her until we're a couple of inches apart. I place my hands on her shoulders, making her face me. Slowly moving my hand from her shoulder to her face, I lean in closer to her and stop at a distance where we can feel each other's breath.

Realizing my intentions, a glint of hesitation appears in her eyes, then goes away the next moment, replaced with a firm look, before she closes them and waits for me to continue.

Taking it as a sign of approval, I lightly press my lips onto hers. Unsatisfied, I go in for a deeper kiss.

I wrap my arms around her body and pull her closer to myself as I keep on kissing her soft lips. Her fragrance, as well as her soft body combined with the lingering taste of ham on her lips, all give me a feeling of pure euphoria.

The kiss that seems to last forever eventually comes to an end. She remains in my arms and stares into my eyes as she says warmly,

"Don't you dare leave me."

"Absolutely," I reply before gently kissing her forehead.

"Let's go back, it's starting to get late.", she states.

Agreeing with her, I hold her hand as we walk back to where we had set our camp enjoying every second of it.