Chapter Text
“Thank you for coming, Mr. Mitya!” Vodyanitsa held Mitya’s hand firmly and shook them.
“It was a pleasure watching your performance, Miss Vodyanitsa.” Mitya gave Vodyanitsa a full on smile and turned his attention towards the blue haired girl with her hair up into a bun standing beside Vodyanitsa. “Your performance was great too, Miss Odette. Valeriy and I both enjoyed tonight’s show.”
Mitya’s bodyguard gave both of the girls a nod behind Mitya. Mitya’s scarf gave a thumbs up.
“You two should go home soon, there might be a snowstorm later tonight.” Odette informed them.
“Alright. We will head home right away.” Mitya gave both of them a bow before turning to Valeriy and giving him a small nod. The taller man smiled politely at Odette and Vodyanitsa before following behind the pale haired man towards the entrance of the theater.
Odette was right about the soon coming snowstorm.
The weather was significantly colder as Mitya and Valeriy stepped out of the theater. Their boots crunched over freshly fallen snow, and Mitya shivered a bit as the wind hit him.
Valeriy, though, didn’t seem to have a problem with the cold. He still walked steadily behind Mitya, eyes scanning their environment for any potential danger.
Soon, they reached the intersection where Valeriy usually leaves him.
“I will leave you here.” Valeriy said, already turning on his heels in the other direction.
“Sarge.” Mitya called out, and he heard the footsteps of the taller man stop behind him instantly.
“Yes, Mitya?”
“There’s another show tomorrow night, would you like to attend it with me?” Even though the answer was already obvious, Mitya still can’t help but ask.
A small pause.
Then a nod.
“I will come with you tomorrow night.”
“One more thing.” Mitya called out again. He turned to face his bodyguard . “Come here.”
Valeriy took a hesitant step forward, but still stopped in front of Mitya.
There was a mischievous smirk on Mitya’s face. He got on his tiptoes and pulled Valeriy down by the collar, placing a gentle kiss on Valeriy’s lips.
“Good night, Sarge.” He whispered against his lips. Then he released the taller man’s collar.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!”
His scarf waved behind him at Valeriy, and for a moment, he could see a small smile on Valeriy’s lips. But his expressions quickly returned to the cold and unreadable expression he usually wore.
“See you, Mitya.”
——The next morning
Mitya ran his comb through his hair one more time and smiled at himself in the mirror. His scarf went up above his head and patted his freshly combed hair, which Mitya pulled down immediately almost a second later.
“Hey! I just finished organizing it, don’t mess it up!” He scoffed at the accessory that fell back into its original place.
Footsteps approached his front door, and then a knock came on the hard wood.
“Good mornin’, Sarge.” Mitya said as he opened the door and smiled at the bodyguard.
“Are you ready to go?”
Mitya nodded and grabbed his bag from the table nearby. He stepped out of his house and shut the door behind him. “Ready.”
They usually walk together to the office from Mitya’s house, so that they can get something to eat for breakfast at the stalls on the way.
The walk to the office was settled in a comfortable silence, as Mitya observed the people in a hurry on their way to work, often stopping to write something down in his notebook, only to continue walking with a glare shot at him from Valeriy.
They got bread and milk from a shop close to the office and Mitya finished his portion before they even stepped up the front steps of the office building.
He immediately got to work once they reached the office, opening his notebook and copying down notes onto a piece of paper.
“I’m getting to something, I know it.” Mitya told Valeriy as Valeriy bent over Mitya’s shoulder in curiosity to see what he was writing. Then he went and stood perfectly still at the door, his cautious eyes following every movement that Mitya makes in case anything happens.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur, and suddenly, it was time to go to the theater.
Mitya stretched his arms above his head and leaned back in his chair. “We should probably head over there now.” He said to Valeriy before giving a big yawn. He gripped the edge of the desk to steady himself before standing.
“You’re right. The sun is setting.” Valeriy agreed.
Mitya stuffed the notebook in his pocket and stepped towards the door, gesturing for Valeriy to follow him.
Mitya always thought that the sunset in Snezhnaya was really beautiful. The sun casts a soft, golden light across the fluffy white snow, making the entire world seem warmer than usual. They can see the sun setting behind the tall icy mountains, the world getting darker by the minute.
Mitya and Valeriy were right on time when they reached the theater. They handed their tickets and proceeded to find their seats in the rows.
The show started as soon as they sat down. Valeriy sat a seat beside Mitya, watching the scientist take out his notebook and pen like usual and started writing.
The opening performance was by Vodyanitsa, her beautiful water imp voice ringing across to every corner of the theater. Valeriy was entirely captivated by it, and even though he’s already listened to this song sung by Vodyanitsa multiple times, it still manages to amaze him every time Vodyanitsa sings it.
He glanced to his left, and found Mitya still writing away in the notebook like crazy. “I think this will work…” he can hear him mutter occasionally.
A few more performances later, it was Odette’s turn. She wore her usual blue dress, spinning beautifully like a swan on stage. Valeriy clapped with the other audience as the performances came to intermission time.
He turned to his left, and surprisingly, the scientist was asleep.
Mitya must be really tired to sleep during a performance with Vodyanitsa and Odette being the performers. He thought. Vodyanitsa will definitely scold him later for not paying attention.
Maybe he should help him avoid that.
“Mitya.” Valeriy called out to his left, expecting the pale haired man to wake up instantly. “The show is almost starting again, Vodyanitsa is performing next, you should probably pay attention.”
Still no response.
The show started on stage, and applause filled the space as Vodyanitsa walked on stage.
“Mitya?” Valeriy called out again.
Silence.
Vodyanitsa’s voice started to fill the theater.
This seems awfully familiar…
Valeriy’s entire body straightened as he became more alert. He puts his finger under Mitya’s nose, like last time, and there was no breath.
This was the second time Valeriy had watched Mitya die, and it was in the theater, with a lot of people around. Valeriy, of course, can’t let them see this. He quickly took off his thick coat and draped it over Mitya, hoping that the warmth and pressure will wake the scientist up somehow.
It did.
Mitya squeezed open one eye and blinked, pushing Valeriy’s coat off him. Valeriy managed to catch it before it hit the theater floor.
“Where am I?” He turned to Valeriy and asked.
“Shhh! Not so loud.” Valeriy warned him, Mitya’s scarf also went up to his mouth to muffle his voice. “We’re in public.”
“My bad,” Mitya apologized, his voice a whisper. “But we’re at the theater, right?”
“Yes, we are.” Valeriy replied, his eyes darting towards the stage. “Vodyanitsa is performing right now.”
“Why are we at the theater? aren’t you supposed to be dragging me back to the office?” Mitya leaned towards Valeriy and asked.
Valeriy's heart thrummed against his ribs, he furrowed his eyebrows and observed the shorter man. “You invited me, remember?”
“Hm.” Mitya hummed in response, trying his best to recall. “I can’t remember.”
Applause filled the theater as Vodyanitsa finished her performance.
“What do you remember?” Valeriy placed both of his hands on Mitya’s shoulder, staring straight into his eyes.
Mitya blinked.
“Not much.” He whispered.
Then he thought for another moment.
“Actually…nothing at all, for today.” He paused. “Is today supposed to be the day where I submit my progress report?” Mitya tilted his head at Valeriy.
Valeriy opened his mouth, then shut them immediately. He shook his head.
“That was supposed to be a week ago.”
Mitya raised his eyebrows, surprised at Valeriy’s answer.
“Oh.” He frowned, looking down at his blue scarf sitting on his lap. Then his gaze snapped up to meet Valeriy’s.
“I don’t seem to remember anything from the past week, then.”
——A few days later——
Mitya seemed more tired than usual on Monday morning when he entered the office.
“Did you not sleep well?” Valeriy finally asked him as he spotted the scientist almost nodding off to sleep for the third time that morning.
“Huh…?” Mitya forced his eyes open and blinked hard, his confused gaze landing on Valeriy.
“Oh. Yeah, not really,” he yawned after comprehending Valeriy’s question. “Stayed up late trying to do research.”
“Research? That’s outside of working hours, you know.” Valeriy scowled at him. “Getting rest is more important.”
“It’s not directly related to Project Stuzha.” Mitya flipped through his notes and said.
“Then what is it about?”
“The mysterious death and resurrection you have witnessed of me, Sarge.” Mitya said, smirking as he handed a piece of paper to Valeriy, nodding for him to read the contents on it.
“You got to the bottom of this?” Valeriy asked as he quickly scanned through the page, where he barely understood what Mitya had written down due to his super messy handwriting.
“Yep!” Mitya said excitedly, the sleepiness seeming to drain out of him as he explained his conclusion to Valeriy.
“So, you know Ronova, right?”
“The ruler of death? Yeah.” Valeriy answered. “But what’s this got to do with her?”
Mitya let out a small laugh.
“I was going through some books at my place last night, and I found out that Ronova has placed a curse on researchers of Snezhnaya.”
“What is the curse?”
“The curse is that every time someone from the team makes a breakthrough or has a brilliant idea, she puts them to death and resurrects them later, but their memories of the breakthrough are erased entirely..” Mitya grimaced. “And the purpose of this is so that the technology of Snezhnaya—or Teyvat, won’t progress too fast and eventually lead to the destruction of this land.”
“So you think that the reason you died is because of this curse Ronova put on you?” Valeriy asked, his eyebrow still raised.
“I suspect that, yes.” Mitya nodded. “But I don’t know what are the conditions to trigger it.”
“Last time you died, the night at the theater, you were writing furiously in your notebook and muttering phrases before you passed away.” Valeriy reminded him. “Could you perhaps have thought of something and wrote it in your notebook before the curse triggered?”
“It’s possible…yes.” Mitya said with a thoughtful look on his face. “It is also said that the memories taken will be much bigger as you trigger the curse more and more. I also read that the person who triggers the curse will be in a weaker state after the curse is triggered.”
“Is that why you forgot everything that happened in the prior week?” Valeriy handed the paper back to Mitya.
“Probably.” Mitya looked down at the lines of words he wrote on the page. “I’ll have to do more research on this though. Maybe this afternoon.”
“But first, I have to get back to official work.” He yawned, the scarf covering his mouth as he did the action.
“I’ll be watching over you, Mitya.” Valeriy said to him before the scientist made his way to his desk.
“Thanks.” Mitya mumbled before picking up his pen and throwing himself into the piles of report papers.
——The same day, afternoon——
“Sarge, can you do me a favor?” Mitya dropped his pen on his desk and turned to Valeriy, a suspicious smirk on his face.
“What are you planning?” Valeriy raised an eyebrow at the scientist, unsure of what to answer. What if Mitya does something stupid again?
“I want to do an experiment.” Mitya smiled. “To test how long it takes me to wake up every time I die.”
Valeriy widened his eyes. “No. Absolutely not.” He snapped at Mitya immediately. “We can’t have you in danger. And you said it yourself that the curse makes your body weaker, right?”
Mitya rolled his eyes. “Yes..but it’ll just be once.” He leaned forward, so his elbows were on his lap as he stared at his bodyguard.
“Plus, if you know how long it takes me to wake up, you’ll protect me better in the future, right, my dear bodyguard?”
“That’s true…but—” Valeriy rubbed his temple. Working with the energetic scientist is always a pain. He always has a lot of mischievous ideas in his head, and you’ll never know what step he’ll take next.
“You agreed!” Mitya clapped his hands together. “We can start right now!”
“I never said—” Valeriy started saying, but one look at Mitya’s big puppy eyes staring up at him, he began to soften. “Fine. Just once.” He already knew he was going to regret this.
“Awesome!” Mitya stood up and approached the bodyguard and handed him a pocket watch. “First, I’ll think of some ideas, and once my breath is out, you start timing immediately. Understand?”
Valeriy took the cold, slightly heavy pocket watch in his hand and inspected it. The design is simple, one button at the top to start timing, and pressing the button again will stop the timer.
“Yes. I know what to do now.” Valeriy nodded.
“Perfect!” Mitya said excitedly, plopping down back in front of his desk. Valeriy held the pocket watch and stared at the scientist writing away in his notebook. The moment that Mitya’s eyes lit up as the idea finally struck him, he slumped down onto the table.
Valeriy walked towards the man and placed his finger under his nose.
No breath.
He pressed the button on the timer.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
After what seemed like forever, Mitya stirred.
Valeriy pressed the button again, and the timer was stopped.
“16 minutes and 45 seconds.” He announced as the scientist lifted his head.
“What were we doing?” He asked sleepily.
Oh right.
Mitya had his memory erased.
Valeriy cleared his throat.
“You said you wanted to conduct an experiment on yourself to see how long it takes for you to wake up after you die.” Valeriy handed him the pocket watch. “This is the result.”
Mitya took the watch, blinked at it, and lifted his head to stare at Valeriy blankly.
“I’m sorry, did I just die?”
Oh no. Not again. Valeriy groaned internally. Don’t tell me that Mitya forgot about that too.
“Give me a minute, I’ll see if I can find your research document from last night.” Valeriy headed over to the pile of paper on the edge of Mitya’s desk and flipped through them one by one.
“How much do you remember?” He asked Mitya.
“Not much.” Mitya said thoughtfully. “Up to…probably October 23?” He tilted his head at Valeriy in question.
Valeriy stopped his movement. He really forgot a lot.
“Today is November 14.” He informed him.
Mitya didn’t answer him, the pale haired scientist narrowed his eyes in thought.
Valeriy returned his attention to the messy pile of paper, trying to find the piece of paper Mitya showed him earlier. Finally, he found it stuck between two heavy books on the bookshelf beside the desk, which he has no idea how it got there. Valeriy took it out and handed it to Mitya.
“This is the research you did last night, see how much you can understand.”
Mitya held the paper up and read through it. A sudden understanding flickered through his eyes.
“So that’s how it is.” He said after he finished. “Then we got to add the results to this place.” He pointed at the very bottom left corner, where a space titled: “Minutes between dying and resurrecting” sat. “What were the results, you say?”
He really is calm for someone that realized you have died multiple times, huh? Valeriy thought. Still prioritizing research over his own health.
“16 minutes and 45 seconds.” He repeated, watching Mitya scribble the numbers onto the paper,
“Thank you.” Mitya smiled at him. “Now, you will know approximately how much time is between my death and resurrection each time.”
“But the experiment is done only one time. How can you determine that’s what happens every time?” Valeriy asked, a little bit confused at the conclusion that Mitya came up with, since he usually performs at least 3 experiments before determining the results.
Mitya shrugged. “Data collected from other researchers with this curse said the time ranges from 15 minutes to 20 minutes, mine falls perfectly into the category.” He paused. “Plus, it says here that the curse messes with your health.”
Valeriy wanted to punch the scientist with all his might. Isn’t he the one who said it’ll be fine and prioritized his experiment over his health?! He forced his anger down and managed a nod to Mitya.
“I understand.”
“Great!” Mitya grinned. “We shall consider this a successful experiment! Care to join me for a drink at the Podvorye Restaurant?”
Valeriy glanced at the clock. It is almost time to go home…so it should be fine.
“I will come with you.” He said before Mitya sprinted up, his scarf flowing behind him.
“Catch me if you can!” Mitya called back as he darted out the door, grinning widely.
——The same night——
“Vodyanitsa invited us to dinner with Odette tomorrow night!” Mitya informed Valeriy as they stepped out of the restaurant. “We can go together.” He looked up at Valeriy hopefully.
“As long as you finish your work.” Valeriy replied. “You’re pretty behind.”
“But no matter what, I always get them done on time! Isn’t that so, Sarge?” Mitya smirked. “Never doubt my abilities.”
“To procrastinate, probably.” Valeriy whispered under his breath.
Mitya didn’t seem to catch that, already speeding ahead of him, his scarf wrapping around his neck. “We should go sight-seeing on the mountains one day, Sarge.” He exclaimed as Valeriy caught up with him. “I heard that the views of Snezhnaya are really pretty at this time of the year.”
“Of course.” Valeriy responded.
They reached an intersection, and Mitya suddenly stopped.
“What is it, Mitya?” Valeriy asked him.
“...Which way is it again?”
Valeriy blinked, a bit confused. “This way.” He pointed at his left.
“I know.” Mitya continued forward. “Thanks for the reminder, though.”
Valeriy raised an eyebrow, but still followed behind Mitya until Mitya suddenly stopped again.
“Actually…are you sure?”
Valeriy glanced down at him.
“I’m joking, Sarge.” Mitya laughed. He took a hesitant step forward and looked around him, seeming really unsure of where to go.
“You go left at the end of this road, then make a turn right down the alley, and go up the stairs.” Valeriy reminded him. Does Mitya not even remember how to get back?
Mitya stood there for another few seconds before nodding. “Thank you, now I know.”
“Did you forget the directions back?”
“Haha…of course not!” Mitya gave him a wide smile. He nodded to himself again before turning to Valeriy. “I’m fine on my own now, you can go home and get some rest.”
“Actually, I think-” Valeriy started saying, but Mitya was already heading down the road, giving him a wave before he turned left at the corner.
He should be catching up to Mitya, ensuring that he actually gets home safely.
But he already told Mitya the clear directions, so he should be fine…
Valeriy let out a sigh and turned in the opposite direction, proceeding to go home.
He’ll be fine.
Mitya knows how to get home.
He has lived there for years.
No reason for me to worry.
His footsteps grew a bit faster as the wind got more harsher, and Valeriy tightened his coat around him further.
But he couldn’t even remember the street ten minutes ago.
He stopped.
Valeriy immediately turned in the direction of Mitya’s place, and he broke into a run. There were barely any people on the road at this hour, and Valeriy’s footsteps sounded louder than ever in his eardrums.
Please let him be okay, Archons. He prayed in his mind.
He reached the place where they parted. Valeriy’s breath came out in puffs of white as they froze in the winter, he squinted his eyes to see better under the low lamplight, and immediately froze as he saw the thing in front of him.
Mitya’s notebook, stranded in the middle of the road. His fountain pen was a few meters away from the notebook, ink spilling from the broken tip and onto the pavement.
Valeriy lifted his head, but there was nothing that reminds of Mitya anywhere. He bent down and quickly grabbed the notebook, then the pen, and ran towards the end of the road.
Valeriy scanned the area for any signs of Mitya, only to spot a familiar patch of white hair through a shop window.
He let out a sigh of relief and the tension left his shoulder. Valeriy clutched the notebook and pen in his hands and headed towards the shop.
The bell rang as he stepped into the small space, the temperature inside the shop was very contrasting with the weather outside, with the Kresnik torch burning and letting out warmth.
He nodded to the shop owner behind the counter, and made his way towards the scientist.
“Mitya.” Valeriy called out, trying to keep his voice calm. He looked down and noticed a cut on the back of the pale haired man’s hand. Mitya must’ve died back on the street to get that cut.
Mitya turned from the counter of the shop towards Valeriy. “Oh. Sarge.”
“What are you doing here?” Valeriy exhaled a breath.
Mitya looked around. “I’m not entirely sure.”
There were no signs of playfulness on Mitya’s face.
He wasn’t joking.
“What happened to your hand?”
“I don’t know.” Mitya looked down and held his hand up to the light. “It was there when I woke up.”
“…woke up?”
“Yeah.” Mitya replied. “I found myself in the middle of the road.”
“Are you feeling okay, though?” Valeriy immediately followed up. “Tell me if you’re feeling unwell.”
Mitya shrugged. “Nothing too out of place.”
He paused.
“Where am I?” He spoke again as he glanced out the window. “I don’t recognize this place.”
“Mitya.” Valeriy called out, and Mitya turned to look at him. “What do you remember?”
“…I only know that…I’m in Snezhnaya right now.” Mitya replied, and Valeriy’s heart dropped when he looked into Mitya’s eyes. He’s telling the truth.
“…do you know who I am?” Valeriy’s hands are on Mitya’s shoulders now, his entire body leaning forward to the point of his forehead almost touching Mitya’s.
Mitya blinked. “Yeah, of course, you’re my bodyguard. ” He paused. “And my boyfriend too.” Mitya smirked.
Valeriy let out a breath of relief. Good. He still remembers him.
“Do you know who you are?” He asked again, just to make sure.
Mitya snorted. “Yeah. I’m Mitya, head scientist of Snezhnaya.”
“Okay.” Valeriy exhaled again. “We’re going to get you home right now.”
“Sounds great.” Mitya’s usual expressions returned, his eyes lighting up again. Valeriy headed towards the door and pushed it open, the freezing air outside hitting them the moment the door opened.
Mitya’s steps were hesitant behind him, unlike his usual quick steps when Valeriy mentions going home.
Valeriy sensed that, and he slowed his steps to wait for Mitya to catch up. Then he held out his hand towards the shorter man. Mitya placed his hand in the middle of Valeriy’s palm and Valeriy wrapped his fingers around it.
His hand is freezing, Valeriy noticed.
“Sarge, are you sure we’re going in the right place?” Mitya often asked as Valeriy took turns at the end of roads.
Valeriy will always nod and tighten his grip further over Mitya’s hand.
Finally, they reached Mitya’s front door.
He watched Mitya open his door with shaking fingers.
“Are you fine spending the night alone?” He asked him.
Mitya nodded. “I remember this place now. Thank you for helping me tonight.”
“It’s my job.” Valeriy replied. He was about to say goodbye to Mitya and turn around before he remembered something.
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the two items Mitya dropped in the middle of the road.
“Your notebook and pen.” He handed the things to Mitya. “The pen’s tip is broken, you might want to change it.”
Mitya stared down at the notebook and pen laying on his open palm and nodded. “Thank you, Sarge.” He gave Valeriy a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine on my own tonight, don’t look so worried.”
Valeriy sighed and rubbed his temple. “Have a good night’s sleep. I’ll come and get you tomorrow morning.”
“Good night, Sarge.”
——The next day——
“We have dinner plans tonight, right?” Mitya shut his notebook and turned to Valeriy.
“Yes. With Miss Odette and Miss Vodyanitsa.” Valeriy replied without looking up.
“Ah, yes. Odette and Vodyanitsa.” Mitya repeated, giving Valeriy a small smile. “Then I’m assuming we should head out now?”
“Sure.”
They reach the restaurant soon, and Vodyanitsa and Odette are already waiting.
“Mr Mitya!” Vodyanitsa waved from one of the tables. “Come and sit down!”
“Mitya.” Odette gave him a slight nod.
Mitya paused at the door, and Valeriy gave him a small push.
“Go. What are you doing?” He leaned down and whispered.
“That’s Vodyanitsa and Odette…right?” Mitya lifted his head and asked.
“Yes.” Valeriy furrowed his eyebrows. Don’t tell me he…
“Then we should probably give them a greeting.”
Oh no. He usually doesn’t talk like this to the girls.
He’s not going to do anything out of place tonight, isn’t he?
Mitya waved back at the girls and headed towards the table. He pulled out a chair and plopped down on it. Valeriy sat down beside him.
“How are you doing lately, Mr. Mitya?” Voadyanitsa leaned forward.
“Uh…” Mitya blinked. “Great!” He smiled towards them.
“Do you remember our last conversation?” Odette said after the waiter set down glasses of fire water in front of them. She watched Mitya grab the cup and took a sip, only to cough a bit at the strong taste of the beverage.
“O-our last conversation?” Mitya lifted his head after coughing into his handkerchief. He gave her an apologetic smile. “Remind me, again?”
“...The experiment that you were talking about.” Odette furrowed her eyebrows, her purple eyes blinking with confusion.
“Which experiment?”
“You know, the one you wouldn’t stop complaining about the entire night?” Vodyanitsa chirped in, tilting her head at him.
“Oh…uh…” Mitya leaned back in his chair. He shook his head. “I don’t.”
Valeriy looked up. The entire table went quiet.
“Oh well, we can talk about it again next time when you remember.” Vodyanitsa let out a small laugh, attempting to lighten up the mood.
“Y-yeah. Let’s do that.” Mitya nodded quickly. “It’s just…lately my memories aren’t doing very well.”
“Have you been getting enough sleep?” Odette raised an eyebrow.
“Oh…uh…about that…” Mitya sank down into his chair. “I will try to sleep more earlier.”
Vodyanitsa chuckled again. “You need to take care of your health too.”
“Sure.” Mitya answered.
“Anyways, would you like to attend my show next Saturday night? Mr Valeriy can come with you!” Vodyanitsa clapped her hands together and leaned forward. “I’m going to be performing a new song!”
Mitya blinked. “Show?”
“Yes, Vodyanitsa has been eager to share her performance with you guys.” Odette added.
Mitya was silent. After a while, he spoke again. “Sorry about this…But remind me of your careers, again?” There were no signs of mischievousness in his purple eyes.
Vodyanitsa’s mouth hung open a bit. Then she closed them and turned to Odette. “Oh, um, Odette here is a ballerina at the theater! And I’m a singer at the same theater!” She smiled at Mitya.
“That makes sense.” Mitya nodded. “Thanks for the reminder.”
Valeriy tightened his fists. He never knew that Mitya would actually forget everything about them.
“I would love to attend!” Mitya smiled, his scarf giving a thumbs up behind him.
“I’ll go with him.” Valeriy said beside him, and gave a nod to Odette and Vodyanitsa.
Odette raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between them. Her purple eyes seemed to be asking Valeriy what happened to Mitya. Valeriy shrugged slightly back. She said nothing.
The food arrived soon, and nobody further questioned Mitya’s situation.
Mitya ate the food in small, quick bites, and wiped his mouth with a napkin after he finished. “This is delicious! Probably the best food I’ve ever had.” He grinned at the girls. “Thank you for the meal.”
“No problem, Mr. Mitya!” Vodyanitsa said cheerfully. “We have to thank you too, for always attending our shows!”
Mitya’s expressions faltered for a moment, but then he put the smile back up. “It’s my pleasure!”
They talked for a few more hours, before Odette looked at the clock and said that she has to go, “I need to wake up early for practice tomorrow.” She had said.
“Let’s end this here then. We can continue this in the future!” Vodyanitsa announced as she stood up from the table, the others gradually following her.
They parted in front of the restaurant, and this time, Valeriy made sure that he got Mitya home safely.
“Good night!” Mitya said to him before he closed the door.
“I’ll get you here tomorrow.” Valeriy gave him a nod. Then he turned around and proceeded to head back to his place.
He was stopped, though, halfway before he reached his apartment.
Vodyanitsa stood, arms crossed, with Odette behind her in the middle of the small alleyway.
“Miss Vodyanitsa? Miss Odette?” Valeriy asked them, a bit taken back at the sudden appearance.
“Mr. Valeriy, is anything wrong with Mitya?” Vodyanitsa said, her eyebrows furrowed. “He doesn’t remember my shows. He doesn’t even seem to remember me!”
Valeriy exhaled and rubbed his temple. He closed his eyes for a moment, and gestured to the two girls. “It’s too freezing here. Let’s go to a nearby cafe and I will explain the situation to you.”
Vodyanitsa gave out a ‘hmph’, but still followed after Valeriy.
They reached the cafe, and Valeriy held out the door for them to head in.
Finally, Valeriy sat down across the two girls and started to explain.
He explained about Ronova’s plan, and how she puts a curse on the researchers so that they die every time they have any breakthrough, and how it’s been affecting Mitya’s memories over the past few months.
Vodyanitsa and Odette listened intently, eyes never once leaving Valeriy’s face as he talked.
The table was silent for a moment after Valeriy finished talking.
“It really is that serious, huh?” Odette said first, breaking the silence.
“Yes.” Valeriy nodded.
“Is there any way to…stop this?” Vodyanitsa asked, her pale blue eyes filled with worry.
Valeriy shook his head. “I haven’t found a way, and he hasn’t either.”
“What is going to happen next time he dies?” Odette covered her mouth as she spoke. “It keeps on getting worse, doesn’t it?”
“It also makes his physical body weaker every time he wakes up again.” Valeriy added. He sighed. “I noticed that he can’t catch up to my steps anymore, and never tries to run again. That is a good thing, but it means that he doesn’t have the stamina to do that.”
He lifted his eyes and met Odette and Vodyanitsa’s gaze.
“I just…can’t stop this. I told him to not think, to take breaks, to sleep earlier, yet this still happens.”
“I guess it just doesn’t matter to him.” Valeriy looked away. “He always prioritizes his studies over himself. Can we even save him anymore?”
“Don’t say that!” Vodyanitsa immediately said, scrunching her nose. “We can find a way.”
“There are many other researchers, right? Maybe they can tell us a way.” Odette leaned forward.
Valeriy blinked. Right, maybe…
“Maybe someone knows something that we don’t.” Valeriy nodded slowly.
Vodyanitsa clenched her hands together. “We’ll ask everyone!”
“We can do this, right?” Odette asked.
“We have to do this.” Valeriy gritted his teeth. “Even if it takes everything.
——The next morning——
“Mitya, it’s time to go.” Valeriy knocked on Mitya’s door and called out.
The white haired scientist opened the door lazily and peeked out.
He almost jumped when he saw Valeriy.
“Is…something wrong?” Valeriy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mitya was silent.
Then, he spoke.
“Who are you?”