Re: Life In The Original World From Zero [A Re:Zero Fiction]

Chapter 97: Modern Day Life Graduation Part Eleven

A/N: Chapter 97!!! We're unraveling more mysteries here!!!Let's get started right away!! Here we go!!! Please enjoy!!!

"Natsuki-kun, Roswaal-san, what did you do to Hihara Yuuto?" Antonella asked. Subaru and Rem simply stared back at her, not knowing what to respond to this question that came out of nowhere. "Antonella, that's a bit too straightforward, and it's coming from me." Kishitsuji sensei said. "Yes, definitely too straightforward. You have to give them some context first." Matsushita sensei agreed, and Subaru shook his head rather violently. "Matte matte matte chotto matte kudasai, w-what is the meaning of this question?? What do you mean 'what did we do to Hihara Yuuto'???" Subaru spluttered, still trying to wrap his head around the question, and Antonella bowed her head in apology. "My apologies, Natsuki-kun. That was a bad question. Let me explain." Antonella said. "Antonella-san, are you referring to our third night in Okinawa...?" Rem asked tentatively, and Antonella nodded. "I mentioned this to Natsuki-kun when we met at your school yesterday. I was there in Okinawa on the night the food poisoning incident happened. I was there to deal with some... personal issues, but then I experienced a very unnatural loss of memories." She said, and Subaru and Rem gulped again.

"I believe we all experienced similar things that night. Your whole school experienced a very severe food poisoning from the food, and everyone fainted from that. However, I didn't eat anything provided by the hotel that night, and I left my place after learning about certain news about Hihara Yuuto, but after that, it all went black and I also found myself waking up amongst you, thinking that I got food poisoned. I don't understand what was going on." Antonella talked on, and here Kishitsuji sensei chimed in. "It's the same for me. I remember watching Astrid's performance, her revealing her true identity as Iwasaki Iris-san, and Hihara Yuuto showing up, and after that, we all fell ill from the food poisoning and waking up thinking that, and Hihara Yuuto was just... gone. There is just a very odd gap in my memories. I kept having dreams about that night but with things played out differently. They're all so vague that I can't recall what happened in the dreams, but they are similar but different to the reality at the same time. And there is one thing that I remember. It was you and the Roswaals. You are the one thing that I was certain about in my dreams, visions, whatever they are. I refrained myself from bringing this up to you on your last days of school, but now that we've bumped into you, I need answers. It's driving me crazy." Kishitsuji sensei said, his voice calm but contained emotions that Subaru had never felt from his eccentric teacher before.

"Kishitsuji sensei's experiences are basically the same as mine, and Antonella is having the same dreams too. I hate to think that you are still somewhat involved in the nasty incidents caused by Hihara Yuuto, but this is beyond weird, and we need to know. Most importantly, Antonella needs to know." Matsushita sensei said, her tender face showing concern for not herself but her students. Subaru's eyes were widened from shock. He of course knew Antonella's background and her ties with the Hihara family, but in the loop that succeeded, they never had the conversation and revealed to one another about their abilities and identities. What was more, Subaru didn't even think that normal people were able to break through Beatrice's magic to this extent. Suer, Hinata coming up with crazy theories to fill in the gaps in their memories was one thing, but what their senseis and Antonella were showing now, it was as if they were beginning to resist the magic casted on them and rediscover their concealed memories. Subaru wasn't sure what to say next, not wanting to reveal any unnecessary knowledge about themselves, but he still asked the question, both trying to make the conversation progress and pretend he didn't know what he knew.

"Okay... this all seems rather odd and crazy, but let me just ask one question first, Antonella-san. What do you know about Hihara Yuuto, and why do you think that we have something to do with him? I know it all sounds very crazy that we keep appearing in Kishitsuji sensei and Matsushita sensei's... dreams or visions or whatever, but that could just be a coincidence, right? Why do you think we did something to Hihara Yuuto?" Subaru asked slowly, and Antonella nodded. "To answer those questions, I suppose I need to tell you more about myself first. I am from a family that once was a branch of the Hihara family, and that family... it has certain, hm, special abilities passed down, and they exist in my family too. You once ate here in my restaurant. Do you remember what you ate?" Antonella asked, and Subaru and Rem both nodded, their attention focused on her completely. "Yes, we do. Your food is supposed to stimulate our appetite by inducing certain emotions with special spices, right?" Subaru said. "And Emilia-sama had a rather unexpected... reaction to the food." Rem followed, and Antonella nodded again. "That wasn't just spice alone. That was, well magic." She said. "Magic?!" Subaru gave a very convincing shout of surprise, and Rem copied him flawlessly, going along Subaru's act. "You heard me right. Magic. The magic abilities can vary greatly between the branches, and in mine, we are gifted with the ability to control human emotions to a certain degree, and I specialize in doing it through spices mixed with my magic." Antonella said, standing up and bowing at them again formally.