Alternate Dimension (Part 73)

We both changed into the outfits provided to us, in separate toilets of course. I was too deep in thought about the Kotomi future of my time talking into my head. That I didn't realize that I had already changed with Itsuki talking to me.

Itsuki: "Wow, it does make you look like a respectable person just from the appearance alone, even more than mine. I've never seen you wear something like that before."

Being someone important to the Powell Research company, this is not the first time I've worn something that would have people to look up to me with respect. Personally, I don't feel comfortable if people treat me at a level of respect that is anything other than as equals.

Me: "So, tell me how we are going to rescue him? You didn't say anything except being at a police station nearby. Don't forget that I'm useless when it comes to defending myself against physical attacks.

Itsuki: "Well, with what we wearing now, we could just ask them to release him with no questions asked, but we need to prepare a backup plan. Also, if we do manage to release him, what point in time should we send him back to? There is a 2 year difference between him gone missing, and the time we came from. If we send him back to our time, he could face problems from this workplace and landlord of his apartment. Since he's also a foreigner, and his visa expired by the time he was first reported missing, he could face legal trouble too. Hatsuya can help him avoid all of that, but that would mean his identity completely changed beyond recognition and the chain reaction quite similar to your presence in this dimension when you first came here. If we send him to immediately after he came into this time, our present would have changed and anything we do relating to finding him would come undone, especially that room we were outside of earlier."

Me: "Well, we should ask him. The fact that he's even working in our country tells us that there might be things he likes here that he couldn't get or is unfavorable back in his home country. Oh, and what's his name again?"

We arrive at the police station we believed he's in. Nobody stopped us when we entered the staff-only area. We had just simply barged into the chief officer to ask about the whereabouts of the guy we're rescuing, and he simply told us of his whereabouts and the key with no questions asked. Neither were we stopped by anyone. Is it seriously this easy? We might know for sure once we've managed to get some distance away from the police station with Takagi's friend. This is strangely so easy. Oh there he is.

Me: "Are you the foreigner who claims to be from the future of the year 2008? How long have you been here?"

Itsuki looked at me with a puzzled look: what came out of my mouth was in a foreign language that I've never spoken before, but seems to be the language he understands the most among all the languages he knows. How am I speaking a language I've never learn before?

Takagi's friend: "Well, only a week, but I'm sentenced for years. Please believe me officer. I'm from the future and accidentally came into this time. I wanted to go back, but I was arrested before I could start preparing."

His words are mixed with words from an another language.

Itsuki: "Good news for you. We're here to rescue you, but we are from the year 2010, 2 years ahead of your present, where you can't stay in this country legally and people have noticed you gone missing since you time traveled to here, but we have the power to give you a new identity to become like a person of this country as if you were born here if you really want to. With how you look now, and your name, this would mean changing you beyond recognition, and maybe live a completely different life away from the people you know, though you can still keep in contact with one of us. The next option is if you want to come to our time, but don't want us to do anything to you, you could end up in the same situation as you are in now, without us helping you out, and don't forget that you owe people a lot of things. The next option is to send you back to just after you left your time, but anything relating to rescuing you, including any chain reactions because of it, would come undone and our present as we know it could change. Last option, we'll leave you in this time and remain in this prison, stuck in the past, with the odds against you for someone else to rescue you since you aren't important, and you would be 20 years older when you reach the present time."

Me: "Takagi, the exchange student that came to your secondary school, is working with me now and has helped me to bring down an evil origination that has been threatening and killing off their competition. She wouldn't even be working for me if she didn't hear the news of you having gone missing."

This was a lie, but Takagi did tell me to search for him as Powell staff. Although, I don't know what's on her mind when she joined. Takagi's friend looks hesitated, but thought deeply. It is a major decision that, not only affects him, but me and Itsuki too.

Takagi's friend: "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't like the life I was born into, and, when I watch all those anime and manga, I came to realize how boring it is and decided to come here. My childhood days were nothing but misery... basically, I need my life to be restarted as someone else. Coming here was a start, but I can't really change my history, and the useless things that I know. My family was..."

So basically, he doesn't care about his old life and wants it in exchange for a new one. Entering Japan and work here was one of them, but I can't see how he would adapt to his new life. Being a local and born here myself, I don't know anything about the things foreigners face on staying here long-term legally.

Itsuki: "Before we start, is there any specific thing you want your new life to have? A specific age or place of residence? Someone you know to recognize you as your old self. If you don't specify specifically, it would be up to the people who is changing you to fill in the blanks, who are used to... helping male students of the academy I work at. I had to ask you now because we need to make sure we aren't traveling to your present and directly to ours and more importantly, won't have your change interrupted by those people who are searching for you."

Without warning, Itsuki has brought everyone to the present time, but at the same lab I found myself at when I "returned back" to the current dimension. Since we are in the present time, our appearance has changed: Itsuki only had his hair changed, but the length of my skirt has shortened to what I'm only allowed to wear. What I'm more surprised is that neither of us are wearing the Mizuho uniforms when we left this time, especially for me as students aren't supposed to be able to take it off until after their graduation. Maybe I would find myself wearing one again when I step back in.

Staff: "Okay, we will handle him from here on, and you two can move along now. Oh, and Saeko."

Me: "Yes?"

Staff: "I know it's about 3 years late for me to ask you this, but... the staff of Powell Research Institute were joking when they say that they are Hatsuya's rivals, right? I mean, you founded that company and has become almost as big as us, but you work for us instead. It's almost as if they are a subsidiary of us through you."

This was the same person who was present at the lab where I first found myself in the current dimension.

Me: "Well, I'm not speaking on their behalf, but they are very serious to the point that they don't employ anyone who has previously work for Hatsuya as they are seen as spies. Except some of my trusted staff, none of the staff knows that their own founder, me, works for Hatsuya too."

Staff: "I don't know what you are up to, or you yourself knowing it, but the lifestyle you are having now is too stressful with too many things for you to manage. Your stress level is higher than Itsuki, even though it looks like the other way around, because you can't express anger and the far-above-average things that you do. If you let it get too high, you might find yourself jumping off a tall building. If it weren't for the regular stress-relieving therapies throughout Mizuho, including a feature built into the uniform itself, your stress level could have been far higher."

He described something only a pervert would think of, but from a oddly serious point of view.

Staff: "Just so you know, I was the one who undid Itsuki's nonsense to you remotely. Anyway, we'll let you know when this friend of yours is done. It can take a while for him to tell me what he wants, confirming it, figuring out what to do based on what has been confirmed, and then orienting him with his new self. It's better if he works with that friend of his at your company since there isn't much people that would know him."

Itsuki: "You did what?! Oh forget it. Anyway, see you some other day."

Staff: "Yeah, I'll make sure you don't have time to change out of your Mizuho uniform. Ha ha!"

We walked out of the place and did not look at him.

Me: "Well? What now?"

Itsuki: "I'm kind of tired. Can I go to your house near our parent's place? There are things there I would like to use to calm my senses and rest from this crazy day."

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