7 Years From Now

Epilogue 8: Where it all began

*note this is the original timeline i.e, haruto's timeline  (or continuation of epilogue 5)*

Aoi tells him about the files that haruto's father left behind.

haruto asks Aoi..

"umm.. sorry..let me confirm.. you found the files that my father left behind right?.. how did it lead to the whole "cancelling all time leap" thing? and what's resonance..?"

"Haruto.. it's just a theory that's been raised .. we aren't sure of the method yet.."

"but just the theory itself is impressive enough.!"

"yea.."

"so this resonance.. i think dr ichiri was talking about it.. it's the reason for LMD right?"

"your father's document also mentioned resonance.. when they conducted the time leap experiment long before we born--"

Aoi tells him about what ichiri told him about the document. (Flashback to the time where ichiri kadoma and aoi were talking)

Ichiri continues..

"once one of the test subjects claimed that he caught a glimpse of another person's future. and when following experiments resulted in the same thing, the hospital decided to research it. and they called the phenomenon "resonance".. that's what is written here but there is nothing written about the cause and the results. The only thing here is the personal observations of my father.. I'll read them anyway"

and so he reads the document..

"Akitsu Carnation has the qualities to blur the boundaries between people. it's ability to share things meant it was often used in 'binding' ceremonies by the locals. A researcher who found out about  it decided to see it can be used to control people's memories.

 And this was how the research begin in the first place. but that was not all. Certain Carnations had the ability to affect the concept of time. My research was to remove memories by connecting that of individual's...

Meanwhile what the special Akitsu carnation could do was to connect memories of the individual between different timelines.

and this is what we currently call time leaping"

they were listening keenly nodding their head.

"i'll continue.." he started reading the document again.

There was a burning question in my head... What will happen if we were to connect memories with another person while being connected to ourselves from the future?

If we were to receive a flood of information from the future.. wouldn't this cause an overload and become passed off to other individual?

and that's what my father believes to be the identity of resonance."

"that resonance.. is it possible to send more memories to anyone whenever they want?" asked Aoi.

"No its still has to be between people who took the medicine and only in a certain time. anfd it can only be done between people who are connected.."

"hmm"

"but the research for resonance was put to a stop since they deemed it too dangerous. they also eventually found the natural cause of resonance an dealt with it. and so everything looked like it was solved, but it wasn't the case. one by one, everyone who experienced resonance fell to a strange disease--"

(end of explanation and flashback)

Aoi continued..

"which is LMD. and after thar they completely stopped researching about resonance.."

"i see.... but the cause or method for resonance is still unknown.." Haruto states.

"yea.. there is nothing written about it at all. and even if there were any clues.. we don't have any of the special Akitsu Carnations.."

"right... but the fact that we don't know means that there is still a possibilty, right?"

"yea,.. but we really don't know much about resonance at all.... Dr ichiri's father said those who experience resonance are those who are swimming in endless memories. But i don't really understandwhat he meant by that.. Dr ichiri said that apparently, the requirements themselves are satisfied. Like, Dr ichri's father, Dr ichiri and i are all connected, right? and i have been time leaping many times as well, so.."

"many times.. wait..... but how does that lead to being able to cancel out all the time leaps?"

"um.. that's actually a different story.. Director Kikusui and Dr Ichiri's father were at the forefront of the research, but they were aware of how dangerous the research was, so when they were young, they planned to burn all the Akitsu Carnations. they controlled all the supply for the special ones. They probably trimmed those at the old well just to be sure. So if they were to burn their stash, no one would beable to time leap anymore, right?"

"ohh.."

"and not only that.. In the case that time leaping technology was misused, they had a planto cancel everything, so both of them took the medicine to allow to o back to the past. But due to certain incident, Dr Ichiri's father stopped trusting the director. And so he began to think of other ways to send memories back to his past self" 

"i see.. so that's what they meant be resonance.."

"yea.."

"and due to that incident, his father had to take the medicne again, so he lost the time leapig nerve tract that he had prepared. Therefore he only had resonance to rely on."

"okay.. but then why didnt Dr Ichir's father go with his plan?"

"That .. would have something to do with the incident i said before.."

"incident?"

"Dr ichiri's father tried to save a child.. That child had heart condition like You and was awaiting heart surgery with a 50% chance of success. So dr Ichiri's father took the medicine in case the surgey failed.. And i think that was when he had a change of heart."

"I see.. but why was that incident mentioned in my father's documents? isnt that something he heard from Dr ichiri's father?"

"That's.."

there was a pause..

"Aoi?"

"yea.."

"i-i mean that's incredible.. You guys found out so much!.. Say if you're able to find more files and let Dr ichiri make a medicine enabling resonance! Not just me.. everthing including LMD will be solved, because everything would be cancelled out and..   oh.. but i see... If the LMD itself didnt existed.. Kakeru. Honoka and you wouldnt have been in the hospital, so we wouldnt have been friends.."

"hmmm"

"but i'm sure we'll be fine!.. just like how you and i met again, i'm sure we can still meet all others even without LMD. A world without LMD and time leaping is a much better world."

there was a momentary silence.. Aoi spoke up.

"Hey Haruto.. I told you that Dr ichiri saved a child right?"

"yea?"

"that child...   was your mother.."

Haruto was shocked as his eyes widened he spoke..

"HUH?.. so... if we were to succeed and cancel out everthing--"

"yes Haruto...  

you wouldn't be born into this world."

to be continued...