Upon reaching the public library, Leo made a beeline for the familiar corner where he and Lumine usually worked. His heart pounded with anticipation as he scanned the area, but... nothing. No sign of the black notebook, no trace of Lumine's recent presence. A wave of disappointment washed over him, but he quickly shook it off. He began to search the shelves of physics and astronomy books Lumine frequented, checked under tables, peered into nooks and crannies – still nothing.
"No... there has to be something..." Leo muttered to himself, a sense of despair creeping in. He sank onto the same chair he used to share with Lumine, memories of her flooding his mind – her faint smile, those eyes brimming with curiosity, sometimes tinged with sadness.
He needed another approach... he had to think... a clue... "If the notebook isn't here, maybe she dropped something on her way to school, or on her way home," Leo theorized. Lumine's usual route... he had to retrace her steps.
Leo decided to walk back along the path he knew Lumine took to and from school. He started from the vicinity of her house (as best as he could recall from the times he'd discreetly followed her home, unnoticed). He meticulously scanned the sidewalks, searching for anything that might belong to Lumine. He passed the convenience store where she often bought drinks, the small park where she sometimes read while waiting to go home, but still found nothing.
His heart grew heavier as he neared the school. Hope dwindled, but he refused to give up. "Maybe it's somewhere near the school gates... a place where she might have been distracted or in a hurry and dropped something."
And then, as he reached the area near the school entrance, by the garden filled with various trees and flowers, his eyes caught a glint of silver reflecting the afternoon sun from beneath a rose bush. He carefully parted the branches... It was a small wristwatch with a familiar brown leather strap. He recognized it instantly – it was Lumine's! The one she always wore! He quickly picked it up. The glass face had a small crack, and more importantly... the hands had stopped. The hour hand pointed just past six, and the minute hand was near ten, indicating a time of... approximately 6:47.
"6:47..." Leo murmured. What did this time signify? He carefully pocketed the watch; it might be the most crucial piece of evidence he had.
He sat down on a bench, trying to gather his thoughts. "She disappeared after she was about to enter the school in the morning... It's possible that 6:47 a.m. is somehow related to that moment." Leo thought of the pressure and expectations Lumine carried from her family. He remembered her mentioning a desire to "disappear." "That's it... this time... 6:47 a.m., or around then... that might be when she actually vanished!"
The crucial evidence was in his hand, but what now? He needed help... someone who understood bizarre theories and was willing to believe in the supernatural... Zeno!
Leo sprinted back to the Science Club room. He found Zeno, as usual, engrossed in his "Brainwave-to-Haiku Poetry Converter."
"Zeno! I found it! I found evidence!" Leo exclaimed, holding up Lumine's watch.
Zeno's eyes widened. "Whoa! The Watch of Frozen Time! Could this be a dimensional key to rewrite the past? Awesome, Leo! What does it tell us?"
Leo explained about the watch stopping around 6:47 a.m. and his deductions.
Zeno stroked his chin thoughtfully. "6:47 a.m. ... Such a precise time must mean something! In quantum theory, my friend, observation can affect reality! Or maybe... at that moment, Lumine's intense desire to disappear 'collapsed' her wave of possibility, causing her to 'slip' out of our reality! Like a particle shifted to another state without us knowing!"
"So how do I get her back?" Leo asked urgently.
"Energy!" Zeno snapped his fingers. "We need energy strong enough to 'pull' her back! Energy from feelings! Your feelings for her! The feelings she might have for you! The invisible bond that's more powerful than any gravity in the universe! You have to make her realize someone needs her here! Someone is waiting for her return!"
Zeno's words reignited hope in Leo's heart. "That's right... I have to tell her how I feel... so she can hear me... so she knows someone wants her!"
Leo thanked his friend again and bolted from the club room, leaving Zeno stunned for the second time that day. "Well... there he goes again. Guess I'll have to attach a quantum GPS tracker to him, just in case he gets lost in another dimension, hahaha!"
The next day...
Leo was up before dawn. He rushed out of his house, heading towards the school, his heart a mix of excitement and nervousness. Lumine's watch was in his pocket, a constant reminder of his crucial mission.
He arrived at the school gates at 6:45 a.m. Other students were starting to trickle in. The morning air was calm, but Leo's mind was a whirlwind. He clenched his fists, gathering all his courage.
"Lumine...!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Her name echoed across the school entrance. Students walking by stopped in their tracks, staring at him in shock and confusion.
"Lumine, are you here?! I know you can hear me!" Leo ignored their stares, continuing to shout, his heart pounding as if it would burst from his chest.
"Lumine! You still have friends! You have me by your side! You're not alone!" The wind began to pick up, as if responding to his call. He was starting to pant but didn't stop.
"Lumine! Can you hear me?!" He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then roared out the words pent up in his heart. "I… I like you! I like you a lot! I like you more than anyone in the world, Lumine Komori!"
As his shout faded, it was as if time itself had frozen. Everything fell silent...
Then, suddenly... Leo sensed someone's presence. The figure of a girl slowly rounded the corner of the school gate. Her long, golden-brown hair swayed in the wind. Those dark brown eyes were fixed on him.
"Geez... I heard you already, Leo."
Leo was stunned for a moment, his heart seemingly stopping. Tears welled up, threatening to overflow. "Lumine... Is... is that really you...?" His voice trembled.
Lumine walked closer, her face flushed, but a faint smile played on her lips. "If it's not me, then who else could it be? Hey... what you shouted just now... it was really embarrassing, you know?" she said, looking down, then quickly looked up and took Leo's arm. "Let's find somewhere private to talk. There are too many people here."
Lumine led Leo to a secluded spot behind the school building, a place where they had occasionally sat and talked. Once they were alone, Lumine let go of Leo's arm, then turned to face him before throwing herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"I was scared... I was so scared, Leo," her voice trembled as she buried her face in his chest.
Leo hugged the slender figure in his arms tighter, feeling her tremors. He gently stroked her back, comforting her.
"It's okay now, Lumine... I'm here... You're safe," his voice was as shaky as hers. Relief washed over him, bringing tears to his eyes.
Lumine pressed her face against his chest, letting the pent-up tears flow uncontrollably. "Sob... I... I don't know what happened... Suddenly, everything went dark... It was like I was in a place with no one... nothing at all... It was cold... and silent... I called out, but no one heard me... I missed everyone... I missed Iris-chan, Himari-chan... and... I missed you..." She hugged him even tighter. "Your voice was like the only light in that darkness... At first, it was faint... like it was very far away... But then it got louder... clearer... especially just now..."
Lumine's face turned an even deeper shade of red as she recalled Leo's love confession. She pulled back slightly, looking at his face with tear-filled eyes. "What you shouted... all of it... I heard it so clearly... It was like... like a strong rope pulling me back..."
Leo gazed deeply into those dark brown eyes he had missed so much. "I meant every word, Lumine... every single word," he said, gently wiping the tears from her smooth cheeks. "Your watch... I found it in the garden in front of the school. It stopped around 6:47 a.m. ... What happened to you then?"
Lumine looked down slightly, painful memories of that morning resurfacing. "That day... at that moment... I felt like I couldn't bear it anymore. Dad's expectations... the feeling that I wasn't good enough... I just... I just wanted to disappear... to escape from everything..." Her voice was laced with pain. "And then... it actually happened... I disappeared..."
"Maybe... the power of your intense wish back then... it might have... caused you to slip into another dimension, or created an empty dimension around you," Leo remembered Zeno's wild, yet sometimes plausible, theories. "And maybe... the feelings I have for you... what I shouted... it might have been another kind of energy... strong enough to pull you back."
Lumine looked up at Leo again, her eyes filled with understanding and a deep, profound emotion. "Thank you, Leo... Thank you for not forgetting me... Thank you for pulling me back..." She paused, looking at him earnestly, her eyes shimmering. "What you said this morning... that you like me... Did you... did you really mean it?"
The question made Leo pause for a moment. He looked deep into Lumine's eyes, seeing hope and insecurity mixed within. He understood that for someone who had felt so alone and burdened by expectations, those words meant everything.
"More real than anything, Lumine," Leo replied, his voice firm and sincere. "I may never have said it out loud, and I might not be good at showing it, but my feelings for you... they've always been clear in my heart. I like you... I like you for who you are. I like your intelligence, your intriguing reservedness, your rare but most beautiful smile... And even when you're sad... I still like you."
Fresh tears streamed down Lumine's cheeks, but this time, they were tears of overwhelming joy.
"I..." She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "...Thank you, Leo. For everything... for your feelings too." She looked him in the eyes, resolute. "But... about your confession... I... Can I have some time? If you haven't changed your mind, that is?.."
Leo was a little surprised but tried to understand. "Time? What do you mean?"
Lumine bit her lip slightly before continuing in a serious tone, "I... I have good feelings for you too, Leo... more than you might think. But... what happened has made me think about a lot of things, especially my own feelings... I want to be sure... I want to sort out the chaos in my heart first... before we start anything serious." She looked at him with a slightly pleading gaze. "Two weeks... In two weeks, could you please say those words to me again? By then... I should be ready with a clear answer."
Leo looked at Lumine steadily. He understood what she meant. Relationships weren't something to be rushed, and giving herself time to reflect on her feelings was the right thing to do. He might have felt a twinge of disappointment at not getting an immediate answer, but his respect for Lumine and his desire to see her genuinely happy were stronger.
He smiled gently. "Of course, Lumine... Two weeks... or even longer, I can wait." He held out his pinky finger. "Promise me you'll really give me an answer."
Lumine beamed, her first full, bright smile in days, a smile so radiant it lit up the world around them. She linked her pinky with his.
"Promise."
"Just don't go finding a new girl in the meantime," Lumine blurted out, before they both chuckled softly, smiling.
After that, the tension between them eased. Lumine described in detail how it felt to be "gone." It was like floating in a dark, silent void, hearing faint, muffled sounds from the outside world as if underwater, unable to respond or communicate, until Leo's voice grew clearer and clearer, like an anchor slowly pulling her up from the depths.
When they walked back into the school grounds, the atmosphere seemed... slightly different. Many students' eyes were fixed on Leo and Lumine walking together. Some whispered and giggled, others looked on with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
As soon as they approached the school building, Ken, Zeno, and Takumi hurried over.
"Yo! Leo! You were epic this morning, man!" Ken clapped Leo on the shoulder hard, a teasing grin on his face. "Shouting like that in front of the whole school, if she didn't melt, I don't know what would!"
Zeno struck a dramatic pose as if announcing major news. "And then! With the power of a thunderous shout! Princess Lumine appeared! Whoa! This is even better than any sci-fi romance movie I've ever seen! Or did you secretly use the 'Love Sound Wave Amplifier' I'm developing, Leo!?"
Takumi's lips curved up slightly. "The success rate of public confessions seems higher than my theories predicted, Tsukino. Or perhaps the key variable was the 'sincerity' you infused into those decibels."
Leo's face turned crimson as his friends ganged up on him. He glanced at Lumine, whose cheeks were just as red.
"You guys are really..." Leo was speechless, just scratching his head in embarrassment.
Himari and Iris joined them. Himari grinned from ear to ear.
"Lumine! Leo-kun! What happened this morning? The whole school is talking about how Leo-kun was shouting for someone, and even... confessed his love! I'm blushing just thinking about it!" Himari gently shook Lumine's arm.
Iris glanced between Leo and Lumine. Though her expression remained neutral, her eyes held a hint of amusement and interest. "A rather... bold and unexpected move, Tsukino-kun."
Lumine looked down, so embarrassed she wished the ground would swallow her up, but deep down, she couldn't help but feel warmed by Leo's courage. "You guys... stop teasing," she said softly.
When they entered Classroom 2-A, it buzzed with chatter and teasing remarks directed at Leo and Lumine. Mr. Satoru, who walked in just then, even raised an eyebrow at the two students with an unreadable expression before starting the lesson as usual. But throughout the day, Leo and Lumine remained the center of attention and a hot topic among their friends.
And when it was time for the science project presentations, everything proceeded normally. Lumine and Leo presented their "Quantum Theory and Parallel Worlds: Infinite Possibilities" project smoothly, despite the teasing glances from their classmates. Mr. Satoru's questions were as they had prepared for, nothing went wrong, and when their presentation concluded, applause erupted, accompanied by soft, playful hoots.
During lunch break, Leo and Lumine sat together in a corner of the cafeteria, trying to avoid the curious stares of others.
"Well... it seems this morning's incident is more famous than we thought," Lumine said quietly, poking at the rice on her plate.
Leo sighed. "I guess so... But I don't regret doing it," he looked at Lumine earnestly. "Because it brought you back to me."
Lumine smiled faintly, a warm feeling spreading through her heart. "Thanks again, Leo."
After that day, everything in school went on as usual, yet not entirely normal for Leo and Lumine. They continued to spend time together, talking, sharing thoughts and feelings more openly, but with a respectful distance that both understood, waiting for a clear answer in two weeks. The teasing and encouraging gazes from their friends remained, especially when they were seen together.
The next two weeks would be a crucial time for Lumine to explore and understand her own heart, and for Leo, a time of hopeful waiting. But whatever Lumine's answer might be, one thing was clear: the bond between them had already overcome unimaginable obstacles and had grown stronger than ever.