You and I after our first Storm

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Whose fault was it?

It was mine. - said the little girl, who admitted that all the mistakes were hers.

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Vertin didn't return to class after that day, so did her companions who joined her plan.

No one knew what happened, except for some certain people.

At first, they thought Vertin's rebellious group just got caught and was imprisoned as usual. However, a week passed, only Vertin's figure was seen while others were marked as dead.

Rumors were spread and most of them blamed the gray-haired little girl for her crazy and stupid plan.

"If it wasn't you, they would be still here!"

A pebble was thrown at the small figure that rarely appeared at school these days.

It seemed to hit her head really hard, as her body waved a little.

The little girl didn't reply. She continued to walk on her way, unaffected by the scolding as well as the hurt on her head.

"You emotionless witch!"

Another pebble flew to her shoulder, then one by one, to every part of her body.

Vertin fell down, yet she still tried to stand up again and again.

"Stop right there!"

A teacher showed up and the angry crowd of children quickly dispersed.

At the same time, there was another girl with a white hairband on her short brown hair hiding behind the pillar near the scene.

She waited there until the teacher and the gray-haired girl were nowhere to be seen, then left in silence.

A few years passed, Vertin became the famous Timekeeper that has saved many many arcanists from the cruel Storm.

Of course, this job wasn't easy in the slightest. There were countless scars that had been healed on her body, except for the one that was the evidence of the inhumane experiments she had been through to be a Timekeeper.

Today, her eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar girl again.

Although they hadn't talked with each other since that terrible incident, Vertin still nodded when she passed by as always.

To tell the truth, the number of times she saw that girl was more than any of her classmates.

Both of them had frequently visited Laplace since they were 12 years old. While Vertin came there to do experiments and received treatment, Mesmer Jr. had to face those insane arcanists that were affected by the Storm.

That's why every time Vertin could leave her laboratory, she would see Mesmer Jr. lowered her head with her hands that were still shaking.

At these times, Vertin would remain silent and try to let people keep their distance from the other girl.

Just a few times she succeeded because it was the area that the staff must pass by.

A new turning point soon appeared in front of Vertin when Regulus successfully survived in her suitcase through the Storm.

In the end, Vertin was given a right to independently find and add other arcanists to her special unit.

It also meant she didn't need to brave the Storm all alone anymore.

Today, her eyes once again caught the familiar figure in the hall of Laplace.

On that girl's face, emotions seemed to be hidden carefully by the indifferent expression. Her back was straight, her hands didn't shake like in the past.

They got close and immediately separated as if they were two completely strangers.

Vertin still nodded as a greeting and Mesmer Jr. didn't reply as always.

The relationship between them was strange, yet Vertin would continue to see her as a friend from one side as long as she didn't reject.

Vertin didn't hope to be forgiven by her, because she knew that she didn't deserve to receive forgiveness from anyone.

It was her fault from the beginning and she must memorize it till the final moment of her life.