“Well…perhaps we could, if we were able to observe imaginary elements with enough accuracy to pinpoint hers. Then, if we fused them back into her body…”
This answer scored very highly with me.
“Sadly, her body’s already passed away in this world. Imaginary karyomitosis manifests as brain death, and she only held out for a few years on life support.”
“I see…” she said, thinking. “What are our options, then?”
I had one final moment of hesitation, but ultimately decided to tell her. After all, she had listened to my whole story, and instead of asking questions, arguing, or even shrugging her shoulders, her first instinct was to start brainstorming a solution. She was a researcher through and through, and I wanted to trust her.
“I believe the only option is to erase the event that put her in that condition to begin with,” I said. “I just need to find a way to do that.”
“Erase the event?”
“The event that led to the accident. The event that caused her to shift in the first place. If we could undo it…”
“Undo it? Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
She must have put two and two together. No surprise there. Anyone well-versed in imaginary science would have had this thought at least once.
“Yeah. This whole time, I’ve been researching time travel.”
Her almond-shaped eyes widened behind her glasses as she stared back in shock. In a time where something as improbable as parallel worlds had been scientifically proven, time travel still seemed like the stuff of fiction. Anyone would be baffled to hear that I was pursuing it for real.
“I want to go back in time and fix it. That’s my goal,” I said simply.
Spoken to the wrong person, a statement like that would make me sound insane. But Kazune was different.
“That’s incredible.”
“What?”
“You’re truly an incredible person, Koyomi. You’re not just researching parallel worlds—you’ve taken the next step.” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity toward the unknown. “I mean, there’s no way you’d get funding for that!”
“I know. I have to use the funding from my parallel world research instead, and if anyone finds out, I’ll lose more than just my job.”
“Secret research, hmm? Spicy. Consider me your partner in crime. Rest assured, I’ll be the first to find the key to time travel.”
“…You know, I always thought I might end up counting on you, but I never thought it’d be today.”
At this point, I knew we were stuck together for the long haul, but I had a feeling her competitive streak would work in my favor. As a researcher, the drive to be a pioneer was more important than you might think. I could only imagine how many things in life only came into being as the direct result of a friendly rivalry somewhere down the line.
“Modern imaginary science believes time travel to be impossible… That’s because vertical migration of physical matter has to break through the barrier of imaginary elements… Wait, but that’s only an issue in the model. If we were to design a new model… Gah, what am I doing just standing here? Koyomi, I’m going home!”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Aren’t you still drunk?”
“Nope. This conversation sobered me right up.”
“Want me to walk you there?” I asked.
“No, I’ll just hail a taxi. Need to get home ASAP so I can get all my ideas on paper. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Without waiting for an answer, she started walking so briskly, you’d never believe she was staggering around just a few minutes ago. But after just a few steps, she stopped and looked back at me.
“Oh, and…Shiori-san, was it? Say hi for me.”
With that, she turned and walked away for real this time. As I stood there, I heard Shiori’s faint voice echo in my ears.
“She seems cool.”
“Yeah.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
I glared at her on reflex. “No!”
“…Don’t glare at me…”
“Sorry. Anyway, no, she’s not my girlfriend. You’re the only one for me.”
At this, Shiori smiled—so weakly, I couldn’t tell if she was happy or sad. “Thank you, but… You can let go now, Koyomi-kun.”
That was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“I can’t tell how much time has passed, but…I’m guessing a lot, right? I mean, you’re all grown up now…”
Shiori’s appearance hadn’t changed a fraction since the day of the accident at age fourteen. Her mental age seemed older, but I couldn’t say she had matured, exactly. If anything, her thoughts and emotions seemed to be fading with the passage of time.
Her face just wasn’t as expressive as it used to be. Sometimes she smiled faintly, but she never cried or got angry anymore. Maybe that was to be expected, though. After all, she’d stood at this intersection alone for more than a decade now. An experience like that would erode anyone’s humanity.
“It’s okay to move on, Koyomi-kun. You shouldn’t live your whole life alone, just for me… I don’t want that…”
“I’m not. I’m choosing you because I want to.”
“And I appreciate that…but…”
“No buts! I promised you I would help you, no matter what. It’s my life’s purpose.”
“…Okay.”
Saying it out loud made my love for her swell in my chest, pushing me nearly to tears. I wanted to hold her in my arms, but she didn’t have a physical form. I couldn’t even hold her hand. It was so bitterly infuriating that it broke my heart into pieces.
“I’m begging you, don’t tell me to let go. I want to live for you and you alone. I promise I’ll find a way to save you, so just have faith in me.”
“Okay… Thanks, Koyomi-kun.”
She reached a ghostly hand in my direction, so I laid mine on hers. There was no physical contact, of course, but…I wanted to believe the warmth I felt in her palm was no mere figment of my imagination.