"Ugh, did I drink something weird last night?" A black-haired teenager groaned loudly. His head felt as though it was about to burst.
His eyes opened the next second and stared at a familiar ceiling.
"Huh?!" Noah immediately sat up, momentarily forgetting about the headache, as he looked around with a bewildered expression.
He pinched his cheeks hard and was shocked to find that they hurt. That shock stacked upon the shock he had felt after seeing his surroundings.
"The fk…" Noah stood up straight and looked around him again.
The room he was standing in had been his bedroom when he had been living with his mother.
It wasn't that spacious and barely had any remaining space after having a bed and a desk fit inside it. Noah had only used it until he had turned eighteen.
He had gone to live in an academy after that, one of the biggest mistakes that he wanted to avoid at all costs.
'Speaking of that, what is my current age?' Noah looked down at himself to see that nothing much had changed in his body.
He looked almost identical to his previous self, perhaps an inch or two shorter. Noah couldn't help but wonder what Aiko had changed to give him time powers as everything looked the same to him.
'I guess I should call her Ayame but that name doesn't sound right to me after calling her Aiko for so long.' While wondering about what had changed, Noah made his way out of the room.
He started making his way down the familiar hallway while trying to figure out where his mother could be.
Noah's mother, Erika, would spend most of her day working and would only return home in the evening.
Noah on the other hand would spend his time in a school until 3 pm and would return home immediately.
'Maybe I should go looking for her at her job…' He had barely thought of going out, reaching the end of the hallway, meters away from the door, when the door flew wide open.
Noah blinked in surprise to see his mother running inside with a white coat-wearing man behind her.
Both of them had urgent expressions on their face but when they saw Noah standing right in front of them, they paused.
Erika blinked in confusion for a few seconds and so did the man behind her.
"Uh Noah, how do you feel?…" Erika inquired while slowly walking toward her son.
Noah on the other hand opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead, he bent down on his knees and felt something churning in his stomach.
"Uyaa!" He puked a green acid-like liquid in the next few seconds which splattered on the wooden floor.
Erika immediately bent down beside him and started rubbing his back. The white coat-wearing man unfroze after seeing him puke and immediately made his way to Noah.
"Doctor, hurry up!" Erika shouted as the doctor nodded and placed his right hand on Noah's forehead.
A white glow surrounded his hand as Noah suddenly felt the churning inside his stomach calming down.
"The food he ate in the afternoon caused this. Though this is quite severe food poisoning," The doctor observed before rummaging inside his coat and taking out a six inches vial full of a pink liquid. "Feed him this. Your company will cover my payment."
The doctor handed the vial to Erika before standing up. He brushed the edges of his coat a bit before making his way out of the door.
Erika immediately opened the vial and gave it to Noah.
"Noah, drink it. You will feel better." She added as Noah grabbed the vial tightly and gulped it in one bit.
'So it's that day huh.' He thought while swallowing the liquid. 'I remember that someone at the school had poisoned my food. Though a different doctor had come back then and had charged mom money. Is she working in a different company this time?'
Noah wiped his lips clean as he felt his stomach relax. The vial had contained a basic tonic that would heal everyday wounds yet its price was a bit too much for them to afford on a regular basis.
If Noah had his original body, such a poison wouldn't even be able to enter his stomach. His current body however wasn't on such a level yet.
'I don't need to be worried about being weak. After all, I will turn eighteen in a few hours and unlock my powers.' Noah wasn't too worried about such things repeating themselves in the future.
He knew who had poisoned his food and he would obtain his revenge on that person in a few hours at best. He only needed to wait patiently.
'Also…' Noah turned his face towards Erika. She was looking at him with concern but when she saw that he was fine, she sighed in relief.
Her sapphire blue eyes were gleaming with happiness and her black hair, Noah got his hair from her, was tied back in a loose ponytail.
This was her standard work appearance alongside jeans, a shirt, and a jacket.
"Maybe I should change the place where we buy our groceries from…" Erika mumbled to herself before looking at Noah. "What do you think?"
Instead of replying, Noah wrapped his arms around his mother's neck and hugged her. Erika was left surprised as her son hadn't hugged for quite some time. However, she didn't question him and ruffled his hair in affection.
"Don't worry, Noah. I will try my best to make sure that you don't get such food in the future." Erika announced as Noah pulled back and nodded.
"Mom, don't change the place where we buy groceries from. The grandpa who runs the place is kind." Noah stated his opinion to her earlier question as Erika sighed.
"Guess I am not the only one who thinks that. Heck, he gives people in need discounts and even gives free stuff to the poor. If only everyone was like that." Erika said in a wishing tone.
"At least we follow his examples. If we are even a bit like him, we can encourage others too." Noah used one of Erika's commonly used lines and earned himself a smile.
"Enough talking. Let me change into something comfortable and we will eat. You gotta sleep soon since tomorrow is going to be an important day." Erika then looked down at the floor and raised her right hand towards it.
All of it vanished in a matter of seconds as she stood up and made her way to her room. Noah watched her go with a glint in his eyes before he sighed.
"It's been a long time, mom. You won't die this time." Noah resolved before making his way to the dining room to eat dinner.
It would be the first time in centuries that he would be eating something with his mother.