"Kiyomi?" I'm woken up.
Not by some witch.
But by Olympia.
I must've fallen asleep after what happened.
But what did happen?
I heard a voice call out to me, but it wasn't the witch, right? Of course not. It couldn't be. That'd be far too strange. Hell, it's flat-out impossible. I don't know why the heck Olympia wants to keep chasing after this rumor.
"Kiyomi, I can tell that you're monologuing, so snap back to reality and respond to me," Olympia says as she pokes my cheek with her finger.
"Sorry about that, Olympia. When did you get here? Wait—What time is it anyway?"
"It's the morning. More precisely, the first period."
First period?
First period!?
"Are you serious? Are you telling me I've been up here this whole time?"
"Yes. After I, ahem, powdered my nose, I went looking for you instead. Not the witch—not this time. I was scared, so scared that something might've happened to you because I couldn't find you. What the hell are you doing anyway? Why did you fall asleep here?"
She was looking for me? Strange. I must've been here all night, so why didn't she find me sooner? Maybe… maybe she didn't want to.
But maybe in a hurry and out of fear, she neglected coming up here.
Pfft, what an idiot she is.
"Can you quit insulting me to the readers? We have to get back to class. They're about to take roll," Olympia interjects.
"Crap. We'd better get to class soon. My family (more so my little sister) is probably pissed they didn't see me in the morning. Hopefully they'll believe me when I tell them that I got up early to freshen up my studies before classes."
"You might not need to go that far. Who would believe that you'd take time out of your life to study?" Olympia chuckles as she belittles me. Is it that far-fetched? "You can just tell them that I told you we needed help cleaning up the school because some lunatic trashed the place."
"Yeah, that does sound more believable—" Wait. Trashed the place? What is she talking about?
"I can tell by your reaction you're confused, but let me explain it to you. While you were AFK here on the roof, someone must've snuck into the school after us and caused a tornado. The classrooms are a mess, and even the hallways are a disaster. Posters are torn, flyers are scattered. The whole school is an entire mess. I don't know why, but they didn't decide to cancel school. I wish they did. Then we'd have more time to hunt this witch," Olympia finishes, with a wide smile across her face and those same glossy eyes I've grown used to.
Maybe instead of using that free time for witch hunting, she can finally get a good night's sleep. Luckily, I was able to, but—
"Oh, that's right, Olympia!"
"What is it?" Olympia asks as she tilts her head.
"The witch. I came across her."
Olympia's eyes open wide, and her glossy eyes turn into a gleam.
But—
She isn't smiling.
Her mouth contorts, and the expression she gives is that of severe shock.
"Let's talk about this later, shall we? First, we need to be on time for our class so we're not marked tardy. If you are, there's no way your family (more so your little sister) will believe your excuse."
"That's true. Let's go."
We made it to class in the nick of time. Our teacher, in their muddy state of mind after what happened to the school, took their time with attendance, and just as I was able to discreetly make it back to my seat, the teacher called upon me. Luckily, I was able to pass out on being late to school.
Olympia had nothing to worry about. She gets called upon for attendance after me, considering her last name comes after mine in alphabetical order, and is also the last one called in our class, so if I was able to make it in time, so was she.
Class passes oddly. The usual lessons, the same schedule—but today it all feels less like learning and more like filling time.
More information, the majority of us won't fully utilize in our day-to-day life, but I have no doubt Olympia will be able to utilize every bit of information she absorbs from school.
Olympia knows how to make the most of anything.
Olympia knows how to make the most of anyone.
As I glance upon her to steal a few looks at her, a part of me wishes that I weren't just someone that she could use.
But that's the essence of relationships.
We create bonds not because we care for the other person, but because we're scared of the dark. And our fear of the dark is what leads us to use torches to keep it away.
But I'm tired, so tired of being afraid.
I don't want to have to use a torch as a form of light, but instead as a form of warmth.
Then again, that's only using it to fulfill one's needs, not because you want that specific thing, that specific someone.
School has ended, and Olympia let me know that she has things to attend to before our witch hunt, so she asks me to walk Kumiko to her home (her being Olympia, again).
Not that I do so as a sense of duty.
I enjoy Kumiko's company, even though I am a little uncomfortable around her.
But also, there's something that I need to ask her.
Or more so, there's something that I need her to confirm.
And there she is.
Kumiko Kikunaga.
The person who knows where the devil resides.
The girl who will let me know that this witch we've been hunting isn't who, in the back of my mind, I most certainly don't want to be.
I want to know. I don't want to know.
Please let me be wrong.
Please let this witch, this bewitched witch, be nothing but some petty rumor.