The sweet scent of lavender and roses filled the air. The streets were filled people.
A raven haired girl made her way through the bustling crowd. It was already 5 pm so work and school hours were over. She stopped at the stop light along with the crowd who planned to cross the street. Cars passed through the intersection. She made it a game to count in her head how many cars would pass by before she could cross the street.
The static noise of a microphone whirred across the speakers. The raven haired girl checked her watch. It was exactly 5:10pm, as per schedule of the daily announcement. She sighed. The announcement felt as if it were a reminder to her that everyday was just a mere boring routine.
It was getting dark fast because of the upcoming rain. It didn't help that she was stuck in a crowd so she couldn't run to find shelter for herself from the rain. She cursed at herself for not listening to her best friend.
The short haired woman looked up at the sky. "It's gonna rain tomorrow." She commented as she looked back down.
She looked up at the sky. It was clear skies with no clouds to be seen in sight. "How could it rain tomorrow? We haven't had a single rain drop in a month."
Her friend grinned. "Trust me because I'm your bestfriend."
She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her. "Midari, you know that that isn't a valid reason."
The short haired woman rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Major Buzzkill" She joked as she stood up. "Wanna get ice cream?"
Is she psychic. She thought to herself as raindrop started falling down. A raindrop trickled down her face. She looked up. It's gonna pour soon.
The traffic light changed to red and the stop light changed to the walk symbol. As soon as that happened, the crowd dashed to the other side.
Just as she reached the other side of the street, she got a whiff of a very familiar scent. It was a mix of cherry blossoms and roses. Tears trickled down her face as she turned around to look for the source of the scent.
A memory flashed in her mind as she frantically tried to look for the person.
"You look amazing."
She turned around to see her lover. Her lover smiled and wrapped her arms around her waist.
"You're talking to a mirror." She blushed.
The older woman chuckled and kissed her forehead. "No, you always look as amazing my dear Sayaka."
Sayaka leaned in her lover's chest and took in the lovely scent she always has.
Sayaka was thankful it was raining since it covered the fact that tears streamed down her face.
She caught a glimpse of a silver haired woman passed by. Sayaka immediately dashed towards her but was taken back when the woman turned around. It wasn't who she was looking for.
"I'm sorry" Sayaka managed to get out before walking away, feeling defeated.
She went to the side to take shelter under a store's roof.
"The base of augmented realities, the future awaits at Vox. What are you waiting for?" The speaker turned off as soon as the announcment stopped.
Sayaka leaned her back against the shop's wall as she took a break to catch her breath.
After she was able to rest for a bit, she dashed her way home.
Sayaka collapsed onto the sofa. She was beat from running from roof to roof while avoiding the mass crowd.
She wiped her tears. It was nothing but her imagination. She fished her phone out of her bag and opened the internet to search for Vox. She had heard that announcement to the point that she had memorized it. She could even recite it word for word at this point but she never considered it until now. Until now that she came across that very scent that belonged to her lover.
She scanned the Vox website and decided that she would go there tomorrow.
She turned off her phone and placed it on her coffee table before falling into a deep sleep.
The next day came by and Sayaka hurriedly made her way to Vox corporations after her work.
"Hello! Welcome to Vox, the home of augmented realities!" A man greeted her once she got in.
A few people can be seen using the Vox equipments while roaming around the other rooms.
They must be in an augmented reality right now.
"Hello" Sayaka greeted the man back. "I would like to try out the Vox AR"
The man nodded and gestured Sayaka to follow him. "Right this way, Ma'am"
Sayaka followed the man into one of the lobbies.
"Here at Vox, you can experience augmented realities and much more!" He guided her to an empty room. It was filled with Vox equipments. "What do you want, Ma'am?"
"I would like to change the past. Just one moment. I want to relive it."
Sayaka expected the well dressed man to laugh at her request but instead the man paced around the room, trying to look for something.
Once he found it, he gestured her to follow him again.
"What is that? if I may ask"
They got into a different lobby, this one was much more empty than the last one and it only had a two rooms. The man entered the one on the left so Sayaka followed him.
"I want to see someone again." Sayaka replied. "I want to see her smile again." Her voice was low.
"I see." The man turned on the lights. "You can do that. You can go back in the past."
Sayaka's eyes lit up.
"But this isn't your past"
Sayaka was confused at this. "What do you mean?"
The man went to the center of the room where there was a chair. He tinkered with the machine next to it. "What you'll be experiencing is" He paused as the machine turned on. "parallel realities."
"So another version of me? Is that possible?" Sayaka was amazed at this.
"Yes. However though there are countless parallel realities, there will only be limited choices to the realities you can enter" He went to the corner where there was a desk and a bunch of monitors. Sayaka went up to him.
"Given that we will slim down the realities based on your request and that we will slim down some more with the number of realities that allow us to get in" He typed something on the keyboard.
"What was your name, Ma'am?"
"Sayaka. Sayaka Igarashi"
He filled out the details needed.
"Who do you want to see?"
Sayaka took a deep breath in. "Kirari Momobami"
He nodded and typed it in. A few seconds passed and results of realities appeared on screen.
"There are a lot of realities with you and Kirari Momobami in it."
Sayaka's heart ached at the mention of her name.
"However, there is only one that is most suited for parallel reality travel."
"I'll take that. What are the rules?"
The man nodded. "The travel will be ready by tomorrow since it will take hours to ready the data." The man guided her out of the room.
"You should not get injured or die, otherwise what happens to you in that reality will carry onto here when you get transported back."
"How long can I be in that reality?"
"Two days max. We cannot push any further as our equipments and research have only yielded a beta version so we cannot push any further into the past as your presence will alter the past."
After a few minutes of walking, they have reached the main lobby. Sayaka nodded. "So I can only go back to two days max because I do decisions that could possibly alter the whole timeline?"
The man nodded. "Yes, that is exactly it, ma'am."
"The payment?"
"Since it is only beta, we will require a small payment of 250 thousand yen."
Sayaka agreed and settled the payment before leaving. She made her way to the hospital before heading home. The nurse guided her to the room she's visited so many times the last few years.
"Hi" Sayaka said once the nurse left. She walked towards the bed.
"I don't know if you can hear me but I miss you" Sayaka's voice cracked. "I just want to see you smile again" A tear rolled down her cheeks and dropped onto Kirari's hospital gown.
The silver haired woman fell into a coma due to a car accident they had encountered a few years ago. Sayaka had been working nonstop to support Kirari's hospital bill. She had been offered by the hospital to cut the life support as the older woman hadn't shown signs of recovery. Ririka would often visit with Mary and pay her twin's bill since their parents have decided to stop supporting a year into Kirari's coma.
"This is all your fault." Kirari's mom was enraged. "It has been a year and she hasn't shown any signs." She stood up and walked towards the door. "I don't care if you cut her life support. We are not paying anymore."
Sayaka held Kirari's hand and lifted it to her cheek. Tears rolled down her cheek. Kirari didn't smell like her usual cherry blossom and rose infused perfume that she loved to wear.
"I won't give up on you." Sayaka kissed her hand and leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips. Her lips weren't cold and that was enough for Sayaka to believe that there was still hope for her girlfriend to regain conscience.
She went home and awaited the next day. Sayaka locked their home before heading to Vox.
Once she arrived to Vox, she was greeted by the same well dressed man.
"It's ready."
They went to the room they were in yesterday. He assisted Sayaka onto the chair. "How long will I be gone in this reality?"
"One day. Time moves twice as fast here than the reality you travel in."
Sayaka adjusted her position to try to get comfy on the chair.
"Do you want a quick rundown of the reality you're entering?" The man asked as he scanned the folder he was holding.
"Yes."
He nodded. "You and Kirari are students of Hyakkaou Academy."
Hyakkaou? Isn't that the famous gambling den?
"You live in a dorm with Midari Ikishima"
I see so me and Midari are close.
"You and Kirari don't know each other." The man paused. "But before you react, there is one moment in this reality where you will be spending time with them."
"I'll take anything I can just to see her smile again."
The man nodded and continued reading. "You will die in two days."
"Wait what?!" Sayaka exclaimed.
"Wait wait!" The man rushed to Sayaka to explain. "The Sayaka Igarashi in this reality doesn't exist anymore because she died before they could graduate so if we jump back to the past of this reality, you could easily replace her and no one would even notice."
"But didn't you say I'd also die if I die in that reality?"
"Yes but only by choice. Since you are bound to die in this reality, you will simply be transported back her at the moment of your death in that reality."
"Oohh" It finally clicked for Sayaka. She nodded and they went on the final step of the travel.
"Take care, Miss Igarashi."
Sayaka thanked the man. The machine whirred as it was activated.
Millions of memories flashed before Sayaka in a span of seconds. Sayaka closed her eyes since it was too much for her. The bright lights of her memories were suddenly gone.
An alarm beeped repeatedly. Sayaka shot up and opened her eyes. She was at a dorm.
This must be my dorm. She thought to herself as she looked around.
Midari emerged from the toilet. "Oh you're up. How are you feeling?"
Sayaka was confused. Was she supposed to be sick or something? But then she remembered what the Vox employee said.
"You die in two days"
Sayaka feigned being sick and coughed. "Yeah I'm doing a bit okay"
Midari smiled. "Okay, now get ready for school. I'll be with you the entire time so don't worry."
Sayaka nodded and got into the bathroom. Once the two of them got ready, they walked towards Hyakkaou which was only a few meters away.
The day went by like a breeze and it was afternoon already. Sayaka was with Midari and her other two classmates.
"Hey Sayaka, I got Ririka to convince her sister to come with us tomorrow."
Sayaka's eyes lit up at the mention of her girlfriend. "Thank you, Mary" Sayaka replied softly.
The four parted ways with Midari and Sayaka heading back to the dorm and Mary and Yumeko heading to theirs.
Midari made sure to help and guide Sayaka all the way to the dorm.
"I'm gonna shower first if thats okay with you"
Sayaka was taken back with how sweet Midari was but then she remembered that this wasn't her reality. "Okay" She simply replied.
She looked around her part of the dorm. Their dorm was small, just enough for two high school students.
Sayaka sat down on her bed and checked her phone. She unlocked it with ease. Is this a multi-reality thing where I use Kirari's birthday as my password?
She was stil waiting for Midari to get out of the shower so she checked her phone out. Her heart sank when she read the texts between her and Mary.
I have cancer? Sayaka thought to herself. It finally clicked, Midari being extra kind, Mary asking Ririka to ask Kirari to join tomorrow. Sayaka finally knew why she would die by the end of tomorrow.
She got ready for bed after Midari exited the bathroom. Midari and Sayaka cuddled to sleep since Midari requested to do so. It warmed her heart that her bestfriend cared about her this much even if this wasn't her reality.
The next day came and it was time to go out and do her bucket list as she had scheduled on her calendar. Once they both got up and ready, Midari accompanied Sayaka to Mary and Yumeko's dorm.
"You're not coming?" Sayaka asked when she saw Midari walking back to their dorm.
"I have to set the dorm up for later" Midari was teary eyed. "Take care, Sayaka."
Sayaka's heart ache at seeing her bestfriend tear up. She felt bad for the Sayaka in this reality for having to die so soon.
Mary and Yumeko exited their dorm not long after Sayaka knocked. The three of them got into a bus and got off at the next stop.
Sayaka gasped.
"Is everything okay, Sayaka?" Yumeko and Mary were concerned.
Sayaka shook her head. "Everything is okay, I'm fine" She reassured them.
The three of them walked towards the twins who were waiting by a bench under a tree. Once they exchange greetings, Kirari asked about the plans.
"So the first thing in the plan is to go to the movie-"
"What"
"To go to the movies" Yumeko replied
"No, I heard that obviously" Kirari rolled her eyes. "I meant why are we doing this even"
"Kirari" Sayaka softly said. She wanted to tear up right then and now. Seeing her girlfriend all safe and sound right in front of her touched her heart. All she wanted to do was pull her in a tigh hug and not let go.
"Hmm" Kirari looked at Sayaka. "Okay"
"So you're fine with the plan?" Mary asked.
"Mhm" Kirari responded. "Since it's her request"
Sayaka blushed at this. After they settled the plan, they all went to the cinemas.
Ririka sat at the farthest side of the row while Mary sat next to her. Sayaka sat next to Yumeko who had sat beside Mary. Kirari on the other hand had sat behind her sister but changed seats when she received a text from her telling her to sit next to Sayaka. Kirari reluctantly sat next to the Sayaka.
The movie played and Ririka clung onto Mary the entire time. Yumeko had fallen asleep mid movie while Sayaka occasionally got scared at the jump scares.
"Why are you doing this?"
Sayaka was silent. To be honest, she didn't know why her this Sayaka reality had planned this. All she knew was that she gets to spend it with Kirari.
"I don't know"
Kirari smiled. "You're unique. I like you."
Sayaka's cheeks grew red. She wanted to say she liked her back but her mouth was shut.
They continued with their plan and moved to a casino. They all agreed to meet back at the lobby in an hour.
Sayaka had just followed Kirari to which the latter didn't mind.
"Do you gamble?" Kirari asked as they walked around the casino.
"N-no" Sayaka answered honestly. To be honest, I never knew that this reality revolved around gambling.
Kirari turned around to face her. "I like you. You're different." She took a step forward, towards Sayaka. "You're not like everyone at Hyakkaou."
Sayaka blushed. As much as she wanted to take things slow, she knew that only had until midnight to be with Kirari so she grabbed Kirari's hand and took her to a secluded area of the casino.
"I'm not Sayaka"
Kirari was confused. She tilted her head in confusion.
"I mean, I'm not the Sayaka from this reality."
"So are you what, Sayaka from a parallel universe?"
Sayaka's jaw dropped when Kirari said that.
"I mean, it's not impossible but I don't believe you."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know you enough to distinguish this Sayaka from another Sayaka."
Sayaka nodded. It was already time to head back to the lobby so they could head back to the dorm.
Once they got at the dorm, they ate and celebrated.
Sayaka excused herself and went outside to breathe since the dorm was cramped. She leaned against the railing.
Kirari followed her not long after.
"What's it like in your reality?"
"Its" Sayaka looked at her ring that she had been fumbling with. "quiet different."
"How so?"
"For starters, Hyakkaou is a famous gambling den owned by Jabami"
"Yumeko Jabami?"
Sayaka nodded.
"I see. What about Ririka?"
"Ririka and Mary are married."
Kirari smiled. "So they do make it even in another reality."
"What about me?"
Silence fell between the two. Sayaka didn't dare to answer the question. She was torn between telling a white lie or just telling her the truth.
"So I don't make it huh."
Sayaka didn't respond.
Kirari nodded. "Here's to me being alive here" She chuckled as she raised her beer bottle.
Sayaka had a small smile on her face as she softly clinked hers with Kirari's.
Sayaka checked her wrist watch. She noticed that her hand started slowly fading. She took a deep breath. "Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Yeah sure"
The two went down the dorm's building and started walking.
"Is there somewhere you wanna go to?"
A place popped in Sayaka's mind. "Yes, its a bit far from here. Is that okay?"
"Mhm, I'm fine with a little walk."
The two walked in silence for a few minutes until Kirari decided to break it.
"Why did you travel here?"
Sayaka remained silent. Not long after that, they arrived at the place Sayaka had in mind.
"Cherry blossoms?" Kirari asked as they walked closer to the tree.
Sayaka stopped in her tracks and faced Kirari.
"I came here for you."
Kirari was taken back by this. "Me? Why would anyone want me?"
Sayaka held up her hand, showing her ring. "You're my fiancee in my reality" Her eyes started welling up. "But we got into an accident and you got into a coma after that."
"How long?"
"4 years"
"Why" Kirari looked down. "Why didn't you appear sooner?" She looked at Sayaka. It wasn't visible but Kirari was on the verge of crying.
Sayaka took a step forward and kissed Kirari.
Kirari held Sayaka's nape and pulled her closer.
Sayaka cried into the kiss. She missed the feeling of Kirari's lips. She had felt herself slowly fading from this reality.
The two pulled back from the kiss. Sayaka was slowly transporting back to her reality.
"Do you believe me now?" Sayaka chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood.
"I don't know you here and I regret that very much but I do believe you."
"Why?" Sayaka asked, she was almost done being teleported back into her reality.
"Because that kiss brought back memories but they weren't mine. They must've been your fiancee's" Kirari wiped Sayaka's tears. Kirari's hands remained on Sayaka's face even until the last second of Sayaka being teleported.
Sayaka jolted up. Tears streamed down her face.
The Vox employee came up to her and handed her a box of tissues.
"I hope you enjoyed spending time in that reality, Miss Igarashi."
Sayaka grabbed the box and used the tissues to wipe her tears. "I did. Thank you"