"You were here the whole time?" I asked Henry.

"Doesn't hurt to wait. Besides, I was waiting for the touching reunion."

"You knew? Why did you lie about not knowing about her power? Why didn't you say so before?!"

"Silence, boy.” Yuriko interrupted. “He was indeed sent on a mission to bring her back, and so he did. Obviously, some drastic methods, such as not mentioning her actual identity, or lying, were used. You just got caught up in the process. But, now that everything's been sorted, he will show you to your dorm."

"I still have a lot more questions, but until that time, take care of Akane. She's like a big sister to me."

"Heh, I should thank you for keeping her safe. But, as to how she ended up with you, I don't know. We'll be having a conversation about this soon."

"I doubt you'll get any answers."

We shook hands, and left the principal's office, while Akane stayed with Ms. Yuriko. But, I couldn't help but wonder about that vision I got after touching the sword---I had NEVER been able to see anything beyond 24 hours, until now. Normally, I can pin-point a certain event if it has occurred within 6 hours, but I have done my own little set of experiments, and have concluded that I can only see things that have happened within 24 hours. But, if my guess is right, then the vision I had was perhaps about 70 years old---which is impossible. Plus, I rarely get visual information by touching objects---that too shabby looking visuals, as if some baby had scribbled on a paper with crayons.

"You seem perplexed, kid."

"Her sword, how old is it?" I asked.

"How would I know? Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, for the principal would then kill me, haha."

"You must have a rough idea."

"Just between you and me, it is at least a few centuries old. Why do you ask? Don't tell me you saw the past of that blade."

"Spot on. And I even got visual information---not very clear, but easily visible. Plus, the sounds weren't clouded, either. And I don't know if this is important, but there was this stone-like thing embedded in the hilt, and it was glowing. Does this mean anything to you?"

"You're a curious kid, I'll give you that. Maintain it, and you'll blend in. I can't answer all of your questions, but, you can, however, go to the academy library---they have tons of books to refer to."

He's not even trying to hide the fact that he's dodging my questions. Guess there's time for everything. I'll just wait for classes to commence.

We walked for another ten minutes, and finally reached the boys dormitory. It wasn't too big, like the other buildings---just consisted of 6 floors.

"This is the boys’ dorm, kid. Your new home."

My new home, huh? The sound of that isn't too bad. I feel bad doing all of this without my dad knowing about it, but hopefully, it's all for the best.

"Your room is the first one on the fifth floor---Room 501. You'll be having a roommate too, so cooperate. I'll be taking my leave, so if there's anything else you need to know, just ask the teachers, they'll be in the dorms too. Good luck."

He left, waving me goodbye. I'm on my own, then. This shouldn't be too bad. 5th floor, was it? Okay, then, off to my new home.

I took the elevator to the 5th floor---the inside of the dorm looks like a damn hotel. I did not see this coming. The passageways look so neat and organised. And it seems so quiet, I might just like it here. Now, where's my room, the first one, was it? Ah yes, this one. Huh, it's open?

There's nobody inside. But, good grief, this room! It really looks like a hotel room. Two separate beds, and amazing air conditioning. There's even a TV, and the bathroom looks good too. I'm already liking this.

"Oh, so you're the new guy?"

"Ah, yes. You must be my roommate." I replied.

"Hey, the name's Yosuke. Miyata Yosuke. Welcome, roomie."

"Yoshida Ryou. Nice to meet you, Miyata."

"Yosuke's fine. So, you like video games, Ryou?" He asked, with a big smile on his face.

I nodded yes. He reminds me of Hiro. I can't believe I left without telling my only good friend. Nevertheless, nothing can be done now. I guess I'll just help myself here.

We played video games until next morning. I've never played this much in one stretch before---it was crazy.

"Wow, you're the only guy who's been able to keep up with me. I'm impressed, Ryou."

"You're a tough opponent to beat. I couldn't help but get a bit competitive."

"So, how come you're joining during this time of the year? Last-minute admission, eh?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah. Henry brought me here."

"Henry? Who's that?"

"Henry Turnwallace? The guy in the suit? I thought he'd be a teacher here...?"

"I know every teacher in this school. Even my PDA has zero results. In fact, there are few foreign teachers too, but Henry isn't one of them. Although, the name does kind of ring a bell."

"What is that thing... PDA?"

"They provide all the students with this. Check your cupboard, it should be in there, along with some other stuff."

I did, and there it was---a smartphone-like device, along with my uniform, and a bag. That's convenient.

"Try using the PDA. Its database contains the names of all the teachers and students."

I searched for Henry's name, but nothing popped up. Strange. Principal Yuriko treated him like an important colleague. I just assumed him to be a teacher---he did introduce us to this academy like a teacher usually would. Never mind, I'll just find out next week.