1

"How's it going with farming your YT points?"

Shiki turned back, and in a very eager mood, posed the question to the three companions walking behind him.

His abrupt stop and enthusiastic pose made him stand out against Aria Alley's numerous neon lights at night. The spiky-haired boy showed off his blue smartphone, which had the Yuki-ON app open.

Yuki-tan's chibi avatar, with her pink and red hair, waved at the three companions with a big smile and bobbed in place.

"The time is 7 p.m.," said chibi Yuki-tan. "The temperature in Shiroki City is currently 15 degrees. It's looking to be sunny tomorrow, so rest up and enjoy the great day. While you're at it, won't you check out the music video for one of my singles?"

Then, chibi Yuki-tan seemingly pulled out a list from the edge of the screen and began running down the list of available music videos for free users.

It was the generated message that the hundreds and thousands of Yuki-ON subscribers in Shiroki City would have gotten used to by now. After that would be her spiel to encourage people to get premium membership before a trailer for her big concert approximately a week from now.

"You know, I hit the 20k milestone just today. I'm soooo excited. This will get me more chances to win the lucky draw for Yuki-tan's concert! Only 5k more to hit the cap!"

With his head mostly hidden underneath his teal hoodie, Kazuki chimed in. "Sorry to spoil the fun, but you remember the last time something like that came up, right?"

"Oh come on. I have turned a new leaf, and I will not be screwed over by RNG this time around!"

"Ummm... I think I'm on 12k. That entitles me to 12 entries on the grand draw."

It was Amagi, who had finished checking her phone.

"How about you, Uehara?" asked Shiki eagerly.

Beside her, the black-haired girl tilted her head a bit before taking out her phone from her jacket's pocket. "It says 8.3k here. I haven't watched a lot of the videos, honestly. Still, I'm amazed our pal here has 20k."

"I know the guy bought special membership from the app's store to accelerate point farming." began Kazuki. He then turned to Shiki. "So, who do you owe money this time, Shiki?"

"Let me take care of myself, okay? Heck, with what I spent, I could easily overtake your measly 2k points, Arata."

"He did not answer the question," sighed the two girls together.

"Who cares about that? Look, we're here!"

Shiki's feet made some noise as it stomped onto Aria Alley's floor. The spiky-haired teen had a confident look on his face while standing in front of the door to a large unit at a corner. On its banner, it read First Strike.

Not too long after stepping near the store did the wafting smell of coffee invade Kazuki's nose.

"When has a café opened up here? Last time I'm here, I remember the karaoke bar nearby, the various pubs, but not this one."

He turned to Uehara and Amagi, but both had a likewise surprised look on their faces. With their nightly patrols often being in other places, neither really had any point in going to Aria Alley much.

"Just last week! Haven't you been reading Misawa's blogs? She made a whole post about this!"

Kazuki's head sunk. Did Shiki really expect him to spend time reading the gossip mill where half of the content were just clickbait?

"Come on, let's go in and join the special event they're having!"

When the four of them entered the café, Kazuki swiftly noticed the interior of the store. In contrast to the rather dated structures of Aria Alley shops, First Strike's walls looked sparkly clean, as if they have been waxed thoroughly. They and the bright white lights created an aesthetic that pleased Kazuki.

Between the windows, colorful posters were plastered, and those lined up neatly all the way to the back of the bar counter at the end of the store. Kazuki's eyes spied multiple boxes, and he quickly recognized them as various party board games.

Come to think of it, a lot of the large tables here were occupied by groups of people playing board and card games.

"Geh...!"

The surprised female grunt surprised Kazuki as he came face-to-face with Rin Amamiya.

The girl, an upperclassman known for her fashion sense, jumped back in surprise, the curls on her bleached orange hair bouncing along with her head.

On her hand was a set of menus that she almost dropped.

"Woah..." Shiki's voice trailed off.

Kazuki immediately knew what Shiki was thinking. It was all too obvious from the way his friend's eyes were glued to the red sorcerer attire that the upperclassman was wearing. He just hoped that Shiki wouldn't set anything off.

The four of them did not know much about Amamiya, but from the passing encounters they had with her, she seemed to be a girl with an attitude who's not afraid to speak her mind.

Not everyone can speak to Lilya Bloomenfled of the student council the way she did.

"Oh, who are these, Rin? Your friends?"

A man with hair slicked back and a monocle had entered the scene, and he placed his hand on Amamiya's shoulder while speaking in a welcoming tone.

"No, Uncle. I have seen them from school, though."

"Oh, is that so?" Amamiya's uncle leaned forward, getting in Shiki's face, "I saw what you're doing. If you want a shot at my niece, you gotta go through me, Kyoya Amamiya, first. Got it?"

"Y-yessir! Actually, we're here for the promo the shop has. Is it true that we can get YT-points if we invite people over to stay and play your newest card game?"

So this had to do with those YT-points after all...

Kazuki resisted an urge to facepalm, and he could feel Uehara thinking in the same wavelength. Amagi, meanwhile, just had a bashful expression on her face as she looked entertained at the ensuring exchange between Shiki and the man.

"You're early. We're just planning to make the announcement tonight, but sure. Take a seat and enjoy yourselves. Make sure to give your schoolmates your best service, Rin."

"Who would have thought that my first schoolmate customers would be you four? Anyway, follow me."

As she led the way, Kazuki decided to hang back a bit. Now that he had a better look at the people, he realized that the waiters were all dressed in some kind of fantasy getup. None were as standout as Amamiya's, but still...

"I think I'm gonna like this place."

2

"Sorry, but victory in this tag match belongs to us. Using the effect of Arata's Arcane Projector, I sacrifice it to add five power and an extra ability to my Genesis Serpent," boldly declared Shiki as he turned a card on his side of the field sideways.

"When a unit buffed by Arcane Projector's ability attacks the opponent directly, it deals an extra four damage to every unit on the field. It's over, girls!"

"Eeeek!" yelped Amagi, who had no cards in hand.

"Not so fast," interrupted Uehara, who proceeded to throw all four cards in her hand down to the field.

"What?!" shouted Shiki and Kazuki in unison.

"Two... Three... Five... Ten! You just had enough to block the attack..." said Shiki, now with a voice of disappointment.

"T-thanks, Uehara," said Amagi.

"I told you going all in wouldn't work," said Kazuki. "You should have played that other card."

"Wow, look at you four go. I should learn Destiny Shard soon, too," commented Amamiya just as she put down a glass of hot coffee on Uehara's side. She then picked up the three empty ones on Uehara's side. "I didn't know you drink this much, Uehara."

"Not a lot do," replied the black-haired girl with a smile.

"D-draw!" declared Amagi as she drew a card from the deck between her and Uehara. "This is it!"

Kazuki's eyes widened upon hearing Amagi's triumphant declaration. When she slammed down a card on her side of the field, he only needed one look at the topdecked card before knowing it was over.

"With Heaven's Providence, I evolve my Seras, Arbiter into Seras, Beacon of Hope."

Anime music played in Kazuki's head as he watched the childhood friend do her thing.

"She can attack on the same turn she evolves, and you cannot block her attack with units that have less than four shield value if there are at least five units total on our field."

She had a smile of victory while pointing at the numerous cards on Uehara's side of the field.

"W-wait, mercy, mercy, Amagi!" pleaded Shiki.

"Let's go, Seras! Sorry, Shiki, but we girls are gonna get the extra YT-points tonight!"

"Whaaaaaaa!"

Shiki ran his hands over his hair in disbelief. "After I spent so long studying the game beforehand, too..."

"Well, you certainly didn't play like it."

"What's that supposed to mean, Arata?"

"Yay! We did it!" happily declared the two girls as they gave each other a high five.

"Our teamwork is just unstoppable!"

Hearing the brunette's words, Kazuki's thoughts drifted elsewhere. She's right, technically.

Ever since Amagi officially joined the team, clearing out stray and suspect Fragments has become far easier. At first, he questioned the fit between the two after Tenka Peak, but things seemed to have worked out in the end.

The experience at Tenka Peak only made the two grow closer. He did not pry in as to what happened inside that Fragment in detail, but he could only assume that Uehara also had to undergo another trial like the one that nearly drove him past his breaking point.

In a way, the two girls have even better team chemistry than he had with either of them, most likely due to his weapon. Assimilator's Core allowed him to emulate their Armaments, but he had neither Amagi's shooting skills nor Uehara's expertise with the sword.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Kazuki blinked to see Uehara looking at him. He then looked at their friends, Shiki's whining to Amagi in particular.

"N-no, it's nothing. I was just thinking that it's amazing how well our teamwork has grown the past few weeks. Amagi and you work so well together."

Uehara chuckled. "As they say, the strongest teams are forged by fire. On the other hand, none of this would have happened had you not been so stubborn during the Dr. Kagami case. For that, I have to thank you, Arata."

The short conversation that had taken an unexpectedly sappy turn was interrupted by the return of Rin Amamiya.

"I take it that the girls' team won. Alright, I'll load up some bonus points on your Yuki-ON! accounts."

She revealed two coupons from underneath her costume and started getting the girls' login credentials.

"Twenty... points?"

Amagi had a puzzled look when her phone came back to her. Everyone in the group knew the source of her reaction.

"Hey, isn't that a bit too cheap? We'll be giving you free advertisement all over social media for your shop, you know? What can we do with just twenty?"

Amamiya responded to Shiki the best way she can – with a shrug. Without another word, she handed out the bill for the day.

"You better go ask my uncle about that. Look, you normally have to grind them or run around town for limited time events. Nothing comes as easy as just playing the hottest card game in town at First Strike."

"Speaking of, why don't we losers get points? It's just a measly twenty anyway."

"I dunno, ask my uncle."

Kazuki felt that it was a lost cause as he watched the senior schoolmate and Shiki carry on with their argument. It had reached random tangents, but as there was no actual tension to be felt, he was able to relax.

"I had a lot of fun, Arata. Thanks to you and Shiki for teaching us how to play it."

"No biggie, Amagi. I told you it's quite easy to learn once you get the phases down. The tag rules don't apply in one-on-one games, so you don't have to spend so much time remembering them."

Turning back to see Shiki and Amamiya still going at it, Kazuki felt that it's about time to stop the nonsense over online points. He reached out to Shiki, but right before he was able to get a hold of his friend's shoulder, a chill ran down his body.

The two girls' reaction sent the same message to him.

"At this time?" asked Amagi.

Kazuki shook his head. "Didn't we just clear the one in Aria Alley a few days ago?"

Uehara nodded while carrying a similar look of confusion. "That's really strange."

"Isn't it?" asked Amagi, having a worried look on her face.

"Let's just get it over with quickly."

As Uehara gave her word, Kazuki finally reached out to Shiki and pulled him back by the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm trying to fight for justice here, an—"

"I'm really sorry, but something came up and the three of us have to take an early leave."

"Wait, what? You serious, Arata?"

Kazuki nodded.

"I'm sorry," bowed Amagi, and it was her act that caused Shiki to finally drop his agitated expression.

In contrast, Uehara casually dropped a bunch of paper bills in front of Shiki. "We'll leave everything to you, Shiki. See you on Monday."

She finished up with the wink that Kazuki saw back in Tenka Peak. Kazuki had to immediately look away and focus on the task at hand as he got up from his seat.

The rest of the girls followed suit, and before Shiki can say anything else, Kazuki saw Amamiya pull him by the collar of his shirt.

"Oh no, you don't. Rin Amamiya doesn't take shit like that from anyone, especially not from you, Shiki. You're staying, and we're having a nice chat with my uncle after some things you said."

"Come on!" groaned Shiki.

Muttering their individual silent prayers for Shiki, the three classmates hurriedly exit the café and headed for the Fragment.

3

Kazuki felt his ears ringing at the screech of the Nullity in front of him. His panting exacerbated, and he clutched onto his chest as he struggled to keep himself up thanks to the unstable ground.

Glaring at the enemy in front of him, a gigantic raven with multiple eyes and feathers that shot out like blades, Kazuki felt streams drop from his forehead.

Perched on top of the pillar in the center of a chamber, the Nullity's eyes that shifted around all locked onto him.

"This is just a Class B?"

His left hand shakily held his shield up. Kazuki shook his head once as he saw that the magical extensions on his shield slowly giving off static effects. Pretty soon, he would not be able to block a wide area with his Armament.

"Thanks for doing the heavy lifting. We'll take it from here."

"Sorry we're late, Arata."

Uehara and Amagi found their positions beside Kazuki, and the three of them eyed the bird Nullity carefully.

"It's very smart for a Class B. Who knew it would know how to separate us and keep you all occupied with its minions?"

Another rumbling wave hit the three of them as the Nullity screeched. From its perch, it descended towards the three of them in a gliding motion.

"I got it!"

Uehara drew her sword and met the raven head-on.

Two sounds followed. A swish and a loud thud.

Screeches of agony followed.

"Looks like it isn't as smart after all," commented Kazuki with a shrug as he saw the Nullity crash onto the walls of its chamber.

However, his calm demeanor immediately shifted the moment he saw something ahead. The Nullity raised its remaining wing, and he quickly saw things flying towards them.

"Everyone, get behind me!"

Putting his shield arm ahead, he activated the extensions on his Armament one last time. The shield grew to cover the three of them.

Just as it finished enduring the first wave of feather blades, it disappeared along with the rest of Kazuki's Armament.

The wielder of the shield Armament dropped down to one knee as a result, but the most important defensive maneuver has been done.

"You're not getting away! Innocence Arc!"

While Amagi fired off her Armament's ability, Kazuki watched as Uehara ran ahead. She was like a blur that followed the many energy streams that looked to converge of the downed Nullity.

It was over in an instant.

After being pelted with the remaining energy beams that were not used up in blocking the feather blades, the Nullity suffered a quick end via bisection courtesy of Uehara.

Kazuki helped Amagi up, and while the two supported each other, Uehara walked back as if nothing had happened.

"Something just doesn't add up. Uehara, nothing like this is supposed to happen, right? How can a Class B spawn out of nowhere?"

"It certainly is a strange phenomenon, Arata. I better ask Ms. Sadohara about this soon. For now, let's go back," replied the black-haired girl, giving a concerned look at her two companions. "I can see that the whole thing took a lot out of you two."

Agreeing, the two Awakeners waited for Uehara to summon their portal back to the human world.

4

"I feel sorry for Shiki," sighed Amagi as she leaned against one of Aria's Alley's brick walls.

"Yeah. Let's just make up to him when we get back to school next week."

Kazuki felt a wave of calm upon seeing Amagi's relieved smile. She had grown very used to life as an Awakener, and it was a development that helped the group a lot.

"You feeling better now, Amagi?"

The brunette nodded.

She had a look that gave Kazuki confidence. Still, he knew that firing off her Armament's ultimate ability still took quite a lot out of her. At the very least, he was glad that the surprisingly strong Class B was taken care of after it took the full brunt of Innocence Arc.

With the self-aiming arrows of light providing Uehara much needed cover to get in close and pick her spots, the two girls really make the perfect combination.

Just then, Uehara returned. She put her phone away as she stopped in front of the two.

"Anything?" asked Kazuki

"After the Dr. Kagami incident, things have gotten a bit tighter with monitoring, but she did not notice anything too suspicious. She said there's no reason to believe that we have another Dr. Kagami in our hands."

"Really? But shouldn't we get to the bottom of this case as early as possible. If there really was a second Dr. Kagami, wouldn't it be better to nip the issue in the bud before it escalates some more?"

"I'm thinking the same thing, but we really have no leads. It's literally just one Fragment with an abnormally strong Class B."

Kazuki frowned. He was never a fan of procrastination for the simple knowledge that things could spiral out of control really quickly. Nevertheless, there's really nothing they can do about it for now.

"Let's just call it a day, Arata, Amagi. I asked for Ms. Sadohara's correspondent to pick us up. She said we should wait at the lounge four blocks away from here. She already had a small room booked for us."

Uehara looked ahead and pointed to one of the many paths in front of them. "It should be way over there. We will use that as our waiting spot."

"Wait, Uehara."

Kazuki turned around the opposite direction and gave a good look at some structures past the walls of the pubs and stores around them. He had his eyes on a nearby building with many flashing lights. It was one of the last shops before the alley that will eventually lead to the other entrance to Aria Alley.

"What are you dawdling for? Can't you see how tired Amagi looks now? You don't look like you're in any better shape, too."

"I just don't know, but I feel that there's really someone behind this Fragment."

"Come on, give it a break," called out Uehara, whose voice now showed a lot more impatience.

"Uehara," Amagi finally spoke up. "I think we can trust Arata with this."

"Huh? But he'll just get himself into trouble."

"Being someone who has known him for so long, I'm willing to trust him on this one. His intuition rarely fails. Or do you not trust him enough?"

Uehara sighed. "Two against one just isn't fun."

Looks like it's decided then.

"I'll be right back."

Kazuki wasted no time and walked the opposite direction. Despite the relative noise around him, he felt each pound of his heart as he slowly got to the darker and less crowded area of Aria Alley. Soon, his steps grew louder.

Then, he was alone.

5

It was a decision purely made from a gut feel, an instinctive feeling that he's closer to the answer than anyone would've thought.

He did not feel too comfortable leaving two good-looking girls out on their own in Aria Alley, but he was also confident that the two should be able to fend for themselves. Despite the possible dangers of the place at night, the waiting area's just a short distance away. It's not even late enough for the troublemakers to start popping out.

What could go wrong?

In fact, it was his situation that he felt more worried about. He was very happy that Amagi backed him a while ago, but now that he's deep in this thing, he started second-guessing himself.

However, turning back now would be no good. It will only build Uehara's relative distrust even more.

He continued walking down the path, passing by some lone buildings that housed bars, karaoke houses, and miscellaneous stores, until a raucous noise caught his attention.

It was the sound of men, and the tone of their voices triggered something unpleasant within Kazuki.

Just a bit further in the distance, he saw two men, no doubt the source of the voice, with vests. It was not too clear given the lighting conditions, but he recognized the pieces that formed the white tiger logo that everyone had learned to grow wary of.

"Hey hey, it's quite brave coming out here alone at night, miss."

"Yeah, tell us where you're from, would you?" followed the second man. "The Baihu have rules set in their turf in Aria Alley, in case you didn't know."

Kazuki can make out the figure of a person in the middle of them. Judging from their lines, he figured it was a girl that the two men were trying to hit on.

"Geez, I just had to have the misfortune of running into one of these scenes," he said before deciding to turn away. Suddenly, something prevented him from fully walking away, and he stopped in his tracks just far enough to hear the rest of the conversation.

"Sorry, but I'm busy right now," answered the girl.

"Aw, come on, you're no fun. How about having fun with us tonight, miss?"

"Shut it. Don't touch me!"

"Awwww, she's mad," mocked one of the men, and his words were followed by a raucous round of laughter. "Why don't you take off your clothes and show us more of that angry pout?"

"St-stop! Let go! Do you know who I am? I'll make you regret this!"

Just then, Kazuki heard the whooshing sound of a hand swinging in mid-air, but the expected sound of a slap never happened. Instead, it was followed by a soft female yelp.

"Let go!" repeated the female voice. "That hurts!"

"You better mind your manners, girl. No one says no to the Baihu. We're gonna have fun tonight, like it or not."

"Shouldn't you be hitting on someone your age?"

Kazuki had enough, and he had quickly walked his way to the commotion before making his presence felt. As a response, the two men looked at him, one of them dropping his grip on the green-haired girl wearing a pink turtleneck.

"And who the hell do you think you are, punk?"

He stared with eyes that rattled Kazuki, yet he continued to put up his tough expression. He cannot make out too much of their details, but the one that growled at him was quite fat and had a scar tattoo on his left eye.

"Who cares? Let's get him!" said his companion.

Without further warning, the companion, the smaller and leaner one of the two raised his fist and aimed at Kazuki.

Kazuki considered himself a below average person in terms of fitness. However, that has since changed largely thanks to the time he spent fighting Nullities. He may not have a lot of physical strength or athleticism, but...

"You're wide open!"

Having ducked the incoming punch, Kazuki threw a backhand chop at the neck of the thug and saw him stagger.

... He had learned the art of understanding the tempo of a fight. And against thugs with no formal fighting experience like these two...

"Arrgghhh!! Hey, help me out, would you?" cried the thin thug, who now had his hand firmly held behind his back, with Kazuki pressuring and squeezing the wrist joint as hard as he can.

...Were all he needed.

A sense of satisfaction and gratification came over Kazuki the moment he used the momentum of the thin thug to throw him into the fatter one, causing the two goons to collide and go down in a heap.

"Go run back to your boss like the pathetic trash that you are. You're light years early to be facing me," boasted Kazuki, trying to put on the toughest and coolest-sounding voice that he can muster.

"Shit, this ain't worth the effort. Let's hit it," said the fat thug.

"Yeah, and you better stay the hell out of our way. Next time we see you, we'll be ready!"

Giving that last bit of trash talk, the thinner thug followed his companion, and they walked away from the scene.

Now that the thugs have left, Kazuki felt all the tense muscles in his body relax. He still felt the blood flow all over his body in overtime, and at times, it seemed like he would just fall down.

It was a completely strange feeling fighting people and being without his Armament. He thanked fate that the two thugs fell for his bluff, for he did not know if he can really take them on for round two should they have pressed on.

With that, his eyes shifted to the ever-sneaky figure trying to take advantage of the chaos to creep up on his side. He quickly slammed his hand on the wall of the alley, blocking the person and incidentally staring straight into the eyes of the green-haired girl.

He knew that he caught the girl by surprise, as shown in the whimper she gave out and the momentary trembling of her body. It was dead silence for a while between the two of them as Kazuki examined the green-haired girl from head to toe.

He knew that her voice and way of talking sounded nostalgic somehow. He was not sure at that point, but having seen the shape of the girl's body against the little illumination he had, he made his conclusion.

It was all thanks to the eyes and voice that felt familiar. That, and the cute curves on her behind as well as... the obviously padded boobs that he recognized almost immediately.

"Just what do you think you're doing here at this time, all alone... Yuki-tan?"

He gave the girl a disappointed look before letting out a sigh.