Chapter 3

Minami went home after she had her therapy session with Kaede. Kaede offered her a cup of tea before she went off, though Minami turned down the offer. She needed to get back home and be able to think. What happened today was impossible, really, though somehow she dived into another dimension inside her own mind. It sounds like fanciful talk, but she encountered her own thoughts and fears in the form of ghosts inside her mind…and she managed to overcome them. Some part of her wanted to dismiss the entire experience as a dream, though Minami knew deep inside her heart that wasn’t true.

She walked up the stairs and entered inside her room, her personal sanctuary whenever she wanted to get lost deep in her thoughts. Minami flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and putting her hand behind her head, musing. Her first instinct was to call Hotaru and tell her about it--though Minami decided that she wouldn’t give her a friend a call just yet. She turned over on her side and let out a small sigh. Those people tried to help her, even when she showed disdain towards the validity of their services. Some part of her still insisted that she didn’t actually go inside another world inside her mind, that it was only an advanced form of hypnosis that convinced her that she was. Hypnotism could be a powerful mechanism to change behaviors or overcome fears or solve problems, though some people were skeptical about the procedure. The thought of mind control was unnerving to them; if the subconscious could be easily influenced by a suggestive nudge from the hypnotist, imagine what kind of power that the hypnotist has over other people.

Minami used to be skeptical about hypnotism, too. Though after what she experienced today, when the experience seemed so real and vivid--she couldn’t help but become a little more open-minded about unconventional methods. She still held a skeptic attitude about the paranormal, because not everything was necessarily a paranormal experience, though she wasn’t completely rigid in her opinion as she had been before.

I didn’t properly thank them, Minami realized to herself. Tomorrow, I’ll go back into that place and properly thank them…and apologize for my behavior. They were just trying to help me, is all.

Minami suddenly had an idea spring inside her mind. She dialed Hotaru’s phone number into her cell phone, before she held the phone against her ear and eagerly waited for Hotaru to pick up.

“Hello?” Hotaru’s voice said over the line. “Ah, Minami-chan! It’s so good to hear from you! What’s up?”

“You were right about that place, Hotaru,” Minami said, closing her eyes and smiling a little. Hotaru always managed to put a smile on her face. “I was thinking that maybe the both of us can come tomorrow. How’s that sound?”

“Wow, really? But gosh, what suddenly came over you, Minami-chan? Normally you’re skeptical about the paranormal and everything!”

“Let’s just say that I had a life-altering experience there,” Minami said, before she glanced out her window and watched a V formation of birds fly past the powerlines.

“I’m so happy for you, Minami-chan!” Hotaru said. “I’d love to come with you tomorrow.”

“It’s a date, then,” Minami said, before she began talking about trivial things with Hotaru--what they did for the day, what they thought was going to happen in the future, exchanging gossip about things happening in the school, and all sorts of things.

Hotaru then told Minami that she needed to get some chores done around the house and hung up. Minami then put her cell phone on her dresser next to her bed before she laid back down again, closing her eyes and simply relaxing. Perhaps she needed to catch some sleep so that she can feel energized and perky again. Minami then used her hands as a pillow and fell into a gentle sleep.

--x--

Minami dreamt of the handsome man from PsiCo. She saw him smiling at her, and Minami felt a flush of warmth overflow her. Her heart beat faster, and she suddenly realized that she liked it when that man smiled at her, giving her a special smile that was meant just for her…

He held out a hand towards her, clasping her own delicate hand within his own. She noticed that he wasn’t wearing the black gloves that he wore on his hands. Minami let out a sigh and the man, who she now recognized as Takara Yukimura, seeped his memories into her. She was filled with knowledge of different people and objects, and the warmth of his hand emanated throughout her body.

Minami, Takara said, saying her name like a promise. Your name is Minami…and you’re an important person. I promise I will never forget you.

Minami closed her eyes and she simply enveloped Takara into a warm hug, resting her head against his chest and breathing in his scent.

Names have power, Takara said in her dream. Minami then remembered that he originally told her that if people knew another person’s full name and birthdate, that person can hold power over the other. You now know my full name, as a sign of trust. One day…you will eventually know more about me.

All of a sudden, the dream faded and Minami found herself in the confines of her bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. The feeling of warmth and happiness faded away along with the memory of the dream as her consciousness came into focus. Minami glanced at the clock, and was surprised that it was 12:50 pm of the next day. She only meant to take a little nap, not go to sleep.

Minami shook her head, trying to recall the details of the dream. It was a vivid dream, one that still echoed in her heart. Minami then suddenly felt like a giddy schoolgirl who was crushing on her senior. She only just met the guy and talked to him for a few moments! She didn’t know anything about him and now she’s having vivid dreams about him? Sure, he was handsome and everything, but…

He probably already has a girlfriend, Minami thought to herself. He probably likes sweet girls like Kaede, or sexy women like that fortune-teller.

Minami let out a sigh as she sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. Of course it was a dream, it was just wishful thinking, anyway. Boys were often too intimidated to approach her and the ones that she gathered the courage to ask out rejected her. Minami wasn’t demure and kind like Kaede, nor did she have the fortune-teller woman’s sex appeal.

She then remembered something. Minami grabbed her cell phone from the dresser and quickly punched in Hotaru’s number. When Hotaru picked up, Minami told Hotaru to meet her at the PsiCo Facility at 1:45, glancing at the clock as she did so. That should give her plenty of time to freshen up and everything--brush her teeth, brush her hair, take a fifteen minute shower, and then grab a piece of toast or something before she went off to meet Hotaru. Hotaru agreed, and Minami hung up.

She quickly brushed her teeth and teased the knots out of her hair, before she took a quick step into the shower. The water felt warm and refreshing against her unclothed body, and Minami found herself drifting off to the dream she had last night…

Once she finished washing her hair and lathering her body with soap, Minami washed it all off and finally stepped out of the shower, quickly toweling herself dry. She ran her brush through her hair a second time and blow dried it. Slipping on a blouse and skirt, Minami looked at herself in the mirror and found herself satisfied with her appearance. She quickly dashed down the stairs, took a piece of bread without bothering to toast it and ran off, eating it along the way.

Minami paused in front of the PsiCo facility, having already finished off her piece of bread and resting her hands against her knees, trying to catch her breath. She glanced at her watch and saw that she made it about five minutes earlier than intended, the time being 1:40. Minami let out another sigh, before she glanced at the window again and read what it had to say: PsiCo features various professionals in a variety of fields to suit your purposes. We have psychometric detectives on the case, telepathic therapists, clairvoyant visionaries who can work on your future, along with so much more. Step inside the shop and schedule your appointment today!

Hotaru really likes this kind of stuff, Minami thought. She’s always reading up on psychic powers and everything. She believes in the potential of the human mind and that anyone can become a psychic if they really tried. Sounds like wishful thinking, just like the dream I had, but…

Hotaru appeared along the sidewalk, holding a book in her hand and waving towards Minami. Minami smiled and waved back as Hotaru stopped next to Minami and seemed breathless with excitement. She curiously glanced at the title of the book in Hotaru’s clutches, and saw the title: The Brain’s 90% Potential: Unlock your Psychic Powers Starting Now!

“How’s the book?” Minami asked casually.

“Oh, this?” Hotaru said excitedly, clutching the book to her chest as though it were a precious treasure. “I think it’s really great! I like how it says that anybody has the potential for psychic powers…see, it says that we only use 10% or our brains, right? Well, what about the other 90% then? That’s where the key to our hidden psychic powers lies.”

She then tapped Minami on the forehead as she said this, before she continued on. “Anyway I was trying to look up the secrets of unlocking my own psychic powers, you know, and I’ve done everything that I could from mirror-gazing to meditation and everything else! It’ll come to me eventually, I think…I mean, this kind of stuff takes a long time, right? But anyway, if I can get psychic powers, that would be so cool! I mean, I’m not really good at anything else, so at least I have something special about me, right?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Minami smiled before she patted the shorter girl on the head. Hotaru paused for a moment, peering up at Minami with large, trusting brown eyes. “Silly, you’re already special. You don’t need psychic powers for that. You’re you, Hotaru, and that’s the only thing that matters.”

Hotaru’s eyes brimmed with happy tears, before she just clasped her arms around Minami, embracing her in a tight hug. Minami laughed even as Minami knocked the breath out of her, though she still smiled and continued patting the girl’s head affectionately. Hotaru was a really good girl.

“Oh, Minami-chan! I’m just so happy to hear you say that!” Hotaru said as she nuzzled against Minami affectionately.

“It’s no problem,” Minami said, before giving the girl a comforting squeeze and then detaching herself from the girl’s embrace. “Shall we go inside?”

“Of course!” Hotaru said with a bright smile, and both girls entered into the PsiCo facility.

There to greet them was the handsome blond-haired man from before. Takara Yukimura. Minami unexpectedly felt her heart race when her gaze locked with his. He had such nice eyes…she could stare into them forever

“Hello,” Takara said politely. “Do I know you…?”

He frowned a bit, before he slipped out a piece of paper and smiled. “Ah, yes, Minami. Which one of you is Minami?”

Minami smiled, though she felt a sense of weirdness wash over her. Didn’t Takara recognize her from yesterday? He just saw her not too long ago. However, Minami let it slide and said, “I’m Minami, and this is my best friend, Hotaru.”

“Nice to meet you!” Hotaru said with a polite bow, with Takara doing the same.

“Pleasure is all mine, of course,” Takara said in a rather absent-minded way, his violet eyes seeming distant. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something important to do. Oh, please make yourselves comfortable, someone will be there to assist you in a moment.”

Minami and Hotaru entered into the lobby room. Hotaru helped herself to a coffee-making machine that held cups of coffee flavors and even hot chocolate, in which Hotaru took the latter. While her hot chocolate streamed into her mug, Minami sat down on a chair and began thinking to herself. Why was Takara acting so strangely? Was this his way of joking? Maybe Minami really did make a horrible impression on him and now he was pretending that he didn’t know her. Minami scrunched the folds of her skirt in her hands and let out a sigh.

Hotaru plopped right next to Minami, leaning close to whisper in her ear, “Did you look at that guy? Totally cute, right? He’s your type, isn’t he, Minami-chan?”

“W-…What’re you talking about?” Minami said with a flustered smile, waving her arms about as she tried to correct Hotaru on her assumption. “Well, he’s good-looking, I’ll give you that, but I wouldn’t exactly say that he’s my type…”

“You’re so silly, Minami-chan,” Hotaru said, lifting a hand to her mouth and giggling. “You’re blushing.”

Minami crossed her arms and turned away from her friend, pretending to huff. “I’m totally not! You’re just imagining things.”

“Oh?” Yukiko said as she entered into the room, flicking her long black hair back across her shoulder and holding a fan. “I hear that someone is enamored with our beloved Takara-kun? Hmhmhm…it’s nothing to be ashamed about, really. You’re around that age where a young girl’s heart desires to be with her crush…”

“Who said I was crushing on anyone?” Minami said, becoming even more flustered now that Yukiko entered into the room.

“Ah, hello!” Hotaru said with a friendly smile and wave towards Yukiko. “I’m Minami’s friend, Hotaru. I really wanted to come see this place because I heard that you do really, really amazing and cool things here.”

Yukiko put the fan to her mouth and laughed. “My, my, someone who finds our hard work credible. It is nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Hotaru. Miss Minami here was skeptical about our work at first when she came here yesterday.”

“About that…” Minami said, fighting to subside the blush that crept across her cheeks. “Sorry. I was acting in a terrible manner.”

Yukiko then snapped the fan that she was holding shut, revealing a smile behind it. “Apology accepted. I daresay that I’m hardly surprised that the both of you came here. After all, no one who steps foot in front of this facility comes here without a purpose in mind.”

“Really?” Minami said, her skeptical side coming through for a moment. “I mean, it was just by chance that I came here…right…?”

“There is no such thing as coincidence in the world,” Yukiko said while she snapped the fan shut once more. “All the smallest actions, the seemingly inconsequential things in life, build up and cause chain reactions that can influence the world. It is a phenomenon known as the butterfly effect, where a flutter of a butterfly’s wings may turn into a tornado.”

Hotaru’s eyes brightened, before she came up to Yukiko and clasped her hands within her own. “Wow! This woman is really, really smart, Minami-chan! I never knew about the butterfly effect before!”

“Well, it is part of the chaos theory where a simple change can cause large differences at a later state,” Yukiko said, seeming flattered that Hotaru complimented her intelligence. “Anyway, I think that Takara-kun would very much like to meet with you two personally. He needs some time to readjust, and eventually he’ll be back to his normal self.”

“I thought that he was acting strangely,” Minami said. “I just met him yesterday and he acted as though he didn’t remember me, at first.”

“There’s a reason behind that,” a voice said behind them, which was revealed to be Kaede who had her hands clasped in front of her.

“Eh?” Minami said as she turned around and faced Kaede. “Can you explain why Takara was acting so…weird?”

Kaede simply smiled and clasped her hands behind her back. “I’m afraid that I can’t disclose that kind of information. I’m sure he’ll open up to you when he’s ready. In the meantime, Minami-san…you must be a very important person to him.”

Minami was wondering exactly how she was an important person to Takara when he acted as if he didn’t know her for a second, though for some reason, there was a flutter inside her heart when she heard those words. She didn’t know why, but it made her happy to hear that… “I-I see…”

Kaede smiled before she faced Hotaru and bowed towards her politely. “Hello, I am Kaede Ikeda. I work as a telepathic/empathy therapist in PsiCo.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Hotaru,” Hotaru said enthusiastically, before she took Kaede’s hands in both of her own and said. “So you can really read minds and stuff, right? Can you tell me what I’m thinking about right now?”

Kaede put a hand to her mouth and giggled. “I’m afraid Minami-san will be embarrassed if I reveal your thoughts.”

Minami looked rather suspicious. “What’s Hotaru thinking about?”

Kaede put a finger to her lip, before saying, “She’s imagining you in various romantic escapades with Takara-kun. There was an amusement park scenario, then a beach episode, and it looks like there was a wedding ceremony performance in there.”

“Ooh, you’re good, Kaede-chan!” Hotaru said while clasping her hands together.

Minami, in the meantime, had her face heated up from embarrassment. Just what kind of weird fantasies was her friend imagining her in, anyway? However, the object of Minami and Hotaru’s thoughts appeared before them, a polite smile on his face and a twinkle in his violet eyes.

“Excuse me. I understand that I’m going to be testing one of you?”

“Oh!” Hotaru said brightly, before she got up and bowed. “Excuse me, but I came to this facility because I want to develop my psychic powers. Well, I mean, that is, if I have any. I mean I was reading this book and it says that anyone can use psychic powers, really, it’s all in the power of the mind. But oh dear, I’m not very good at school and I seem to forget things easily…”

Takara gave her a winning smile.

“It’s all right, Miss Hotaru, is it? We will begin with a simple test that will gauge your psychic ability. Here.”

Takara held took out a pack of cards before he shuffled them in the air with a magician’s grace. Hotaru clapped in amazement at this display and Minami herself was actually kind of impressed with his work. Takara shuffled the cards several times, before he smacked the pile into the palm of his left hand.

“Yukiko, you have a blindfold ready?” Takara asked.

“I always come prepared~” Yukiko said, pulling out a blindfold from between her breasts. Minami had to marvel at the woman’s efficiency…and the storage space between her boobs.

Yukiko then wrapped the blindfold around Hotaru’s eyes. Takara then shuffled the cards back and forth, and while still shuffling them, he asked Hotaru to predict what card’s face will appear. He made Hotaru guess one-hundred times, and it turns out that every single time her prediction were wrong. Takara then refolded the cards again, shuffled them, then neatened them back together.

“It seem to me, Miss Hotaru,” Takara said. “That you do have very powerful psychic ability.”

“B-But I didn’t get any of them right, did I?” Hotaru said while she slumped her shoulders a bit as the blindfold was taken off.

“If a person’s predictions are higher or lower than the average, there is a possibility of them being psychic. You may have guessed all the cards wrong, though don’t’ you think that’s rather unusual? Even an average person could have predicted a certain number of cards correctly, so in a sense, Hotaru-san, you are extraordinary in this regard. You should consider this an accomplishment, if you will. It makes you distinguished from the rest of ordinary people.”

Hotaru’s eyes sparkled when Takara said these words to her. Minami couldn’t particularly blame the girl for being lovestruck--Takara was handsome, obviously, though he was also rather intelligent and he had a certain charisma that drew people towards him. Minami fiddled with her spiky pigtails nervously--did Takara see anything extraordinary in her? Kaede said that she was apparently an important person to Takara, but…

“Um…can I take the test too?” Minami asked tentatively.

Takara shuffled the cards, before he stuffed them back into the pocket of his jacket. “That will be unnecessary, Miss Minami.”

“Eh? Why not?” Minami said while feeling disappointment settling in her gut.

“My oh my, what do we have here? We didn’t think that little Miss Skeptic here would be so willing to participate in a psychic test,” Yukiko said with a little smile on her lips.

“Well, I mean, that is to say…” Minami said before she turned away from the group, fiddling with a strand of hair nervously.

Kaede gave Minami a gentle smile before saying, “The reason why it’s unnecessary is because we have we already have your results. I recorded them when we had our therapy session.”

“You’re able to tell that someone has psychic powers through that, too?” Minami asked, before wondering if what she just asked was a stupid question.

“There has been no sign of psychic awakening in your brain,” Kaede said, and upon Minami’s crestfallen face, she added sympathetically. “Of course, in some people, it can take later to develop. Sometimes poltergeist activities are caused by teenagers who are exercising their psychic powers that just awakened. In most cases, the ones who develop later are usually the most powerful psychics.”

Minami still didn’t feel comforted by the fact. As much as she hated herself for it, she felt a little envious of Hotaru, as well, even if she managed to get all the guesses wrong. So she didn’t have any sign of psychic powers inside her brain…and Hotaru, who never really succeeded at anything, really, was the one with special powers. It seemed ironic, though Minami suddenly felt envious of her friend possessing an ability that she would have denied in the first place.

“Not to worry, though, we need someone with a level head,” Takara mentioned while he looked at Minami. “I also have a question that I would like to ask the both of you; would you like to volunteer your services for PsiCo?”

“Eh? What?” Minami asked, her heart fluttering and wishing to say ‘yes’, but… “I didn’t know that you were recruiting volunteers.

Takara took a single card out of his pocket before he balanced it on the very tip of his finger. “Ah, this is a very special occasion, my friends. Starting today, you are now part of PsiCo!”