Arc 4

"So you passed out while helping in the control room?"

I nodded, taking a sip from my own drink and glancing out of the window.

Outside the window of the small cafe, a steady rain pattered down onto the cobblestone streets of Shoreline's Old Village.

The world beyond was a gray blur, a constant downpour of rain and mist. It had been that way since the Chaos Event had subsided yesterday, and the city had been put on lockdown for the time being.

"Uh, well, yeah," I admitted, a faint flush of embarrassment rising to my cheeks.

Natasha sat across from me at the table, her hands folded neatly in front of her. Her expression was a mix of concern and curiosity, her large green eyes framed by glasses sparkling with interest.

She wasn't a knockout beauty by any stretch, but there was... just something about her that drew you in and kept your attention. Her slate-colored, dark black hair was tied up with a pink bow, and she wore a white button-up blouse with a blue ribbon tied into a bow, a pair of shorts, and a navy miniskirt today.

Natasha looked every bit the demure girl next door, the type of person who you could easily overlook if you weren't paying attention. But her smile was warm, her voice soft and kind, and her presence was a surprising comfort.

"Must have been tough," she said. "But, I mean, at least you weren't on the front lines. That had to be scary, right?"

"Yeah..." I muttered, thinking back to the previous day and the events that followed. I didn't really want to tell Natasha about my involvement with the Magical Girls, nor my... well, encounters with eldritch horrors from god knows where. "It was definitely something."

So I just gave a vague smile and said, "Well, it was a crazy situation. And hey, it worked out, so it's all good in the end, I guess."

Natasha smiled, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Yeah... we're frankly lucky it happened on the outskirts of Shoreline City. With so many Magical Girls on the island, they were able to contain the event before any monsters could break through the city's defenses."

I nodded, sipping my coffee again and taking another bite of the elaborate cake in front of me.

Natasha continued to chatter away, filling the air with her voice and her thoughts. I didn't mind the company. It was a welcome distraction from everything else going on.

But...

"Umn. Is it really okay for you to treat me like this?" I finally asked.

Natasha tilted her head, blinking in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I glanced around at the fancy cafe, at the elaborate decorations and expensive-looking menu items, and the elegant decor that lined the walls.

I gestured vaguely, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "I mean, you know I'm not exactly from a wealthy background, and I'm still not sure how I feel about being treated to a meal at a place like this."

She blinked, staring at me for a few moments before a bright smile erupted across her face. She giggled, and I felt the tension leave my shoulders as she waved her hand.

"Don't worry about it!" she reassured me, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on my arm. "I'm not exactly hurting for money right now. I mean... I'm here on scholarship but I have enough of a following to pay the bills."

Her eyes twinkled with humor. "Besides, we missed out on hanging out last night, so... consider this the rain check."

"Rain check indeed," I muttered, gesturing at the downpour outside the window. I looked down at the food in front of me. "You didn't have to, but I'll take it."

We continued chatting, the rain pattering on the windows outside, our voices soft and warm in the quiet cafe. The rain outside was a constant, steady beat, but the atmosphere inside was calm and cozy.

Natasha's presence was like a warm blanket, her gentle smile and soft voice wrapping me up and making me feel at home.

"So..." I started, trying to change the subject. "What about you? I've talked your ear off about my situation and my past, but I want to know about yours."

Natasha sighed, taking a sip from her cup.

"Well..." she began, setting the cup down. "Believe it or not, I grew up in China."

My eyes widened in surprise. "China?!"

Natasha nodded.

"It's a complicated story, really. Well, technically I grew up here, but my parents traveled around a lot. My mother was a music teacher and my father was a tech entrepreneur of some sort."

"Anyway, we were always moving from place to place. So I was never really attached to any one place. We never really settled down until my father found success, and that's when we ended up settling in Zhou Ling city. It's umn, pretty close to where Shenzhen and Hong Kong are in your world, actually. It's a nice, coastal city. Kind of similar to Shoreline, if I'm honest. It was nice, and the people were pretty friendly. But my father was always working and my mother... Well, she's always been the artistic type. You know how artists can be, right? So, she was always busy too."

I nodded, leaning back in my seat as I sipped my coffee. "I get what you're saying."

She shrugged, looking down at the table. "My mother was a total social butterfly. But I never really was myself. I just didn't fit in anywhere, you know?"

"Yeah," I muttered, nodding along.

"Right? But I did well in school, I guess. So that wasn't an issue, thankfully. My mom also taught me music, which was a big help in making friends." Natasha sighed, running a hand through her hair.

I grinned. "You know, I really enjoyed the tunes you were playing out on campus during orientation day. You're really good at improvisation."

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, that was me." Natasha smiled bashfully.

"I figured. Like, I didn't get to see you playing your guitar, but uh, I ran face-first into Caroline when I heard the commotion."

I laughed, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

"Oh, my god!" Natasha said, covering her face with her hands.

She groaned, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. "I am so embarrassed. I can't believe that was you..."

"That that was me?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

Natasha shook her head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

I shrugged. "Well, anyway. What's the story between you two, anyway?"

She bit her lip, her gaze shifting nervously. "I don't know... I'm not really sure how to explain it, honestly. Frankly, there's a lot of history between us. Not all of it is pleasant. We used to be friends, believe it or not. Best friends. But... well, after a while, things just changed between us."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Natasha sighed. "It was a complicated relationship, and I legitimately did something that may have traumatized her for life, so I don't blame her. We just grew apart after that, and I guess that's how it was always going to be. That was a few years ago now, and I'm not even sure if she's the same person anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I mean... I don't know. I guess I just can't see her ever forgiving me," she admitted, her eyes downcast.

I could sense she didn't want to elaborate on it further, so I didn't press the issue.

"I understand," I said instead. "It's tough, trying to patch things up with old friends. I mean, I did leave behind some close friends in Philadelphia to cross the portal here. But I'm still not really sure how I'd even talk to them without flat out inventing an interdimensional quantum phone of some sort. I don't think I can ever know what it's like to have a relationship fracture like that though."

Natasha smiled sadly. "I guess you're right," she murmured, taking another sip from her drink.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments, before she perked up.

"So what about you? You mentioned you had some close friends in Philadelphia? Tell me more about that."

"Uh..." I frowned. "Well, there isn't much to tell. You know I'm a big robot geek and that's all I did growing up. So, uh. That pretty much is the story."

Natasha laughed, her voice warm and bright.

"You've gotta have some interesting stories from that," she said, nudging my shoulder.

I shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but nothing that's not going to be really nerdy. Are you sure you're interested?"

Natasha smiled, nodding eagerly. "Yes! I wanna know all about it."

"Okay, then." I grinned. "Let's see, um, I built a drone when I was nine or ten. It was this clunky thing made out of parts from a junkyard. It was a pain in the ass, and it was so slow it took forever to get anywhere with it. But we had a family friend that noticed me building it, and he just started literally holding my hand as I built it."

"Really? That's incredible." Natasha leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Yeah. So I had a close friend named Emmanuel. We built a ton of stuff together, and that's where a lot of my early experience comes from. One thing led to another and suddenly the same family friend was teaching us basic programming and engineering. And then more kids got in on it."

I looked down at the table, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "Manny, me, and a few others — they all kind of helped each other learn. We would share resources and work together to get the best out of each of us. It was pretty awesome. We basically started a middle school engineering team, and that family friend was a huge supporter of us. We got some grant funding, won a couple of small robotics competitions. It was a blast, and I'm not gonna lie... that was probably the best time in my life."

"Then... what happened?"

I shook my head slowly. "Well, after middle school, we went our separate ways. Three of them ended up at the local high school with me, and we frankly carried our team to a national victory."

I let out a long breath.

"I don't know why I was chosen to come out here to Terra out of all the kids there. It was a team effort, and I wouldn't have won anything if it weren't for them."

I sighed. "But, you know... that's how it goes, right?"

Natasha nodded, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"I don't know if I'll ever see them again," I said. "I hope so. But, at the same time, it feels like a part of my life that I'm never going to get back. I guess that's what growing up means, huh? Having to let go of the past."

Natasha's expression softened.

"But... you still have the memories," she murmured. "Those will always be with you."

I grinned.

"True. That's a good way of looking at things," I agreed.

"And, who knows? Maybe one day you can get back together again and make some cool stuff like you used to."

"Maybe." I chuckled. "You're a lot more positive than I expected."

Natasha shrugged, a sly smirk on her face. "Hey, someone has to be. Otherwise, you'd be moping around all the time. And I wouldn't want that for you, y'know?"

I laughed. "That's fair, I suppose. Well, enough of the sappy stuff. Let's talk about something else."

"Sounds good." Natasha nodded.

The rain outside continued to patter, the steady beat of it creating a soothing background to our conversation.

"So what about you?" I asked, leaning back in my seat.

Natasha cocked her head, her expression shifting from thoughtful to curious. "What about me?"

"What's your story?" I asked. "What brought you here to St. Antonia's, and what do you hope to gain from your time here?"

Natasha pursed her lips, thinking for a moment.

"I guess I'm here to learn," she replied. "I want to become the best me I can be. That means learning as much as I can, trying new things, making new connections."

A flash of sadness crossed her eyes. "I'm also running from a lot of stuff in my life, to be honest. There's a lot of... well, baggage that I've left behind. I'm not really sure how to explain that without sounding like a complete nutjob. But, let's just say I'm not sure how I'd handle being around people who know the old me, or even people that know the... what happened with Caroline."

"Running from stuff, huh?" I said, leaning forward with my elbows on the table. "Well, you can say that again. I'm here to learn, but I'm also trying to start over."

I looked at her, my expression serious. "Listen. I won't judge you or anything. It seems to me like you've been through a lot of stuff that's really hard to talk about. But only when you're ready, okay?"

Natasha smiled, nodding appreciatively.

"Thank you." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm sorry I can't really explain it now. I don't think I'm ready."

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "We all have stuff we'd rather forget. You can take your time."

I smiled at her, hoping it was reassuring. "Besides, we're here to learn and grow. So we'll just take it one step at a time."

Natasha nodded. "Thanks, Ikki."

"So," I continued. "Do you have any hobbies?"

"Hobbies?" Natasha repeated. "Well, there's the guitar, obviously."

"Right," I replied. "But is there anything else?"

"Well..."

She blushed, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"I guess I like video games a lot," she said.

I chuckled. "Seriously? You don't seem the type, honestly. I pegged you more as a classical music and poetry type of person. That's cool though."

"I know," Natasha groaned, rolling her eyes. "I just never had the opportunity to explore that side of me when I was younger. So it's a little bit of a hidden talent, I guess."

"Well, that's awesome." I grinned. "I love gaming. Granted, I've only ever had my Dad's old consoles from before the Fall. He was an absolute nerd. But they're still pretty awesome."

"Really?" She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"Yeah. Real vintage stuff," I said, chuckling. "He collected old games and stuff from before he was born, so I have a ton of old systems. But, anyway. I'm getting sidetracked. You like gaming. Cool. What games do you like?"

"Oh, uh." She paused for a moment. "Well, I like playing RPGs. You know, like Kingdom of Fantasy or The Elder Chronicles. The industry is pretty young on Terra but it's all Earth tech, of course. So they've got all the classics."

"Sweet," I replied, nodding approvingly. "That's good to hear. I like RPGs a lot, too. What else do you like to do for fun? Like, what's something you'd be doing if you had free time?"

"Well, I'd be writing, probably," Natasha replied.

"Oh, really?" I said. "Like, music, or...?"

Natasha blushed again. "Well, yeah. But I mean, I like writing short stories and stuff. It's a good way to get ideas out of my head and onto paper, y'know?"

"That's awesome," I replied, nodding.

She really was a talented girl. It honestly made me feel a little inadequate.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Man, here I am with my physics brain, and I can't do anything creative. I mean, I'm decent with technical drawing, but I don't know if you could really count that as an artistic talent or not."

"Hey," she said. "You're plenty talented, Ikki. I mean, throwing a drone together as a ten year old is pretty impressive, in my opinion."

"Well, thanks," I said.

I leaned back, looking up at the clock on the wall. "Oh, shoot. It's almost six o'clock."

Natasha checked the clock as well. "You're right. Time really flew by. I didn't realize we've been talking for so long."

"I should head back to Greenhaven," I said, getting to my feet. "Speaking of which, there's a community barbecue this Sunday that I was invited to. I'm pretty sure you'd be welcome if you're not busy."

"Greenhaven? That's your residence, right?" Natasha asked.

"Yup. The enclave of Earth expats and all the unruly ones."

She laughed, a bright and musical sound. "Yeah, okay. That'd be fun, I think."

"You sure?" I grinned. "I mean, with all the saber rattling those pundits have been doing..."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Please, I can handle myself. Besides, you're the one who invited me, so it can't be that bad. Right?"

I laughed. "Fair enough. I'll see you there, then Are you sure you know what you're signing yourself up for here?"

Natasha smirked, raising a hand and making a mock salute. "Yes. As someone who is a Terran, I shall go forth and spread peace, love, and acceptance between our two peoples!"

"By eating barbecue?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "If that's all it takes, then we've been at this diplomatic relations business all wrong."

Natasha giggled. "Well, you never know. It could work."

We both stood up from the table, pushing in our chairs.

"Well, thank you for the food," I said, bowing my head in a slight nod. "It was delicious."

"No problem," Natasha said. "My pleasure, really."

We exited the cafe and stepped into the cold night air. The rain had died down to a gentle drizzle. I raised my hand to my mouth and blew a loud whistle.

"Thanks, by the way," I said, looking down at her with a smile. "For inviting me. I appreciate it. I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries or anything by going."

"Don't worry about it. It was my idea, after all," she said, shrugging. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's... it's actually been a while since I've just sat down and had a conversation with someone. So it was nice to talk, you know?"

"I do know." I grinned.

A car pulled up in front of the cafe. The headlights flickered, and a small beep sounded from the dashboard as the door unlocked.

"I'll see you on Sunday?" I asked.

"You can count on it." She nodded. "And hey, if you want to grab lunch or something sometime during normal school hours, let me know."

"Yeah. Sounds good." I gave her a wave goodbye. "See ya later, Natasha."

Natasha smiled. "Bye, Ikki. I'll see you around!"

She turned around and entered the car. I watched her go, my cheeks flushing red.

That had been... nice.

Really, really nice.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.