Our Stories

Unfading Memory [Ushio Noa]

"Hrm...?" Your hazy eyes opened, letting sunlight spill through your eyelids slowly. With a groan, your pupils slowly darted around the room while your mind tried to get back on track. An office... your office, with a clock on the wall telling you that it's already in the late afternoon.

You slowly reared up from your desk, but as you did, you felt your shirt graze against something. You gazed to your left and tugged that something, only to reveal that it was a thin, white-colored blanket. 'Blanket...? But I didn't...'

Ah...

You swerved your head to your right, finding precisely what you had first thought. A white-haired girl sat with an almost unnoticeable smile while she scribbled in her notebook. Her mesmerizing purplish eyes regularly changed focus between you and her book. "Good afternoon, Noa..." Only when you called her name, she gave you her full attention.

Ushio Noa, the secretary of Millennium's Seminar. She was one of your students who had an uncanny ability for memorization. She could easily observe and take note of anything happening around her, with details down to the very last seconds. With her ability, her work as a secretary was a perfect fit.

How long has it been since you've known her, you remembered not. It felt as if you've known her ever since... forever. Why was that, you wondered?

Plop, she audibly closed her book and set it down, facing you with a slight smile. "Good afternoon, Sensei... or should I say, good morning?" She giggled. "Either way works, I suppose." You chuckled. "Were you... recording me again?"

"Yes," She nodded. "Did you have a good dream, Sensei?"

"...Yeah. Why?"

"At 12:33:29, Sensei had a smile on his face for 1 minute and 13 seconds before finally returning to normal expression." She said without even needing to look at her notebook. Even when you've known her for quite some time, seeing her ability at work always left you amazed. "Hm, I see." You hummed.

"What did you dream about, Sensei?" She asked with a curious smile, but behind that curled lips, you could sense something else. A playful tone... along with a knowing one...? "Something quite nice..." You answered as vaguely as you could, but that somehow drew her smile even more. "Hee~"

"At 12:35:09, you mumbled "Stay with me, Noa." in your sleep with another smile for a full minute before settling down."

"..." You were quickly silenced by her knowing smile and composure. This girl... sure is a handful. Heh, but that's part of her charm, no?

"So, what exactly did you dream about, Sensei~?"

"...Maybe some other time."

You couldn't bring the words out of your mouth. How could you? A vivid dream about holding her hand as you walked in the park, while your fingers were interlinked with each other? Why did you even dream of that? How lewd!

You didn't even say anything, and yet!

With how her gaze was locked on to you tightly, you couldn't help but feel... that she knew all along, even when nary a single word came out. A giggle and a continuation of her scribbling were all that you got as an answer, causing a grumble to escape you.