1

"Ahhh, I still can't get over the summer festival. It was so fun to enjoy it with Amagi, Uehara, Shiki, Fujiwara, and Sana."

Acknowledging his little sister with a smile, Kazuki continued strolling while giving a nod. "Yeah, it was."

"Hmm? You did not seem to have enjoyed it as much, though," frowned Hikari. "Everyone's having fun and you've got your no-fun face the whole time."

With her slightly pouty expression, Hikari took out her teal-colored phone and flipped to a picture of all of them. Everyone on the picture had big smiles on, yet Kazuki had a small, reserved one.

From an outsider's perspective, it seemed that he was holding back for some reason.

"But that's my natural expression. I was happy. You know that. It's just that I was not too big of a fan of the kind of crowds there..."

"As always, Big Bro," Hikari sighed before changing gears. "Still, it makes me happy."

"Huh? What is?"

"Ever since the start of the school year, you seemed a lot more active and enthusiastic about things. You seemed a lot less grumpy, and you stopped holing yourself up in your room as much. Your nights have always been very busy, too."

She put a finger on her chin and pretended to be in deep thought, only to give a not-so-clever follow-up.

"Hmmm.... Is it Uehara?"

"You're mistaken, Hikari! It's just that..."

"Look, it's Sana! Hi!"

Ignoring him, Hikari skipped ahead with her arms waving. Further ahead, the little girl with freshly-done yellow bob cut waved back in a reserved manner. Hikari practically planted herself into the girl, causing her to flinch and making the feather-like attachments on her hair to shake.

Ever since the concert at the Chronodome, Kazuki had not seen Sana a lot. Besides the summer festival and some occasional house invites from Hikari, he had little chance to know more about the cute wallflower.

He did learn a few things about the girl regardless.

The first was Sana's full name: Sana Kurashiki. The second was that the adult that she always traveled with was not a parent but a caretaker assigned that role from her parents who were abroad.

It was a situation not too different from the one he and Hikari had.

"Good morning, Big Bro," softly greeted Sana as she walked to Kazuki.

"Good morning," replied Kazuki as he pondered the third and last point that he learned about this yellow-haired girl.

Ever since the event at the Chronodome, Sana had seemed genuinely friendly towards him. He did not know much of the reason, but it's not like it mattered too much to him to ask Hikari.

All Hikari said was that Sana felt safe with him.

Setting aside those thoughts, Kazuki began walking down the road with the two girls in tow. While he continued walking, he cannot help but pry in to the multiple conversations between the two girls, but all he heard was more of Hikari's motor mouth.

"Those two are really close, aren't they?" asked Sana's caretaker.

Kazuki paused. He then realized that it was his first time about to engage a conversation with this young woman.

Not that it was a surprise, as he generally kept to himself and minded his business even when Sana would come over on Hikari's invitation.

"Yeah, they sure are. Then again, I don't think that I have ever seen Hikari not get along with anyone. Even if you're someone who cannot stand people who can spend all day talking and jumping from one topic to another, I don't know how anyone can hate her."

While he gazed longingly at Hikari, the young woman smirked at him. "You really love your sister, huh?"

"U-uh... yeah," replied Kazuki, taken aback by the sudden comment.

"That's good. Oftentimes, I wish that Sana had parents or even siblings to talk to. I did not mean that they're dead or anything! It's just that her parents are all too busy trying to give her the best life they can give."

"Yeah, I heard. I'm sure they have the best intentions for their daughter. I think it's all good."

"I can't help but feel sad for Sana though. Her parents told me to keep a tight leash on her, but I can't get myself to do it. I just want Sana to go out and experience the world."

"A caretaker's sentiments, huh? Yeah, I also cannot see myself even being strict with Hikari. Not after all she's been doing for me. Heck, you'd probably switch our ages around when you see who does what at home."

The young woman's chortle gave Kazuki a sudden embarrassment.

"Your attitude hides a lot of the niceness inside, it seems. Honestly, I felt quite intimidated seeing you with Hikari. You reminded me of those stoic, emotionless big brothers. That cliché, you know?"

"Do I really give off that aura?" feigned Kazuki despite finding some satisfaction in hearing those words.

He never considered himself to be the sociable person, and while he knew that he did have an inner desire for connections, he still felt socially awkward. Even when he reached out to help, it was always due to a sense of duty.

That was something consistent with him even as the past few months had taught him to open up more, specifically to those people who ironically happened to be girls... and fellow Awakeners at the end of the day.

"You should loosen up a bit more!" joked the caretaker. "There's always room for self-improvement, you know? You're still young and all."

The two of them never talked much after that, and before long, all four of them arrived at Shiroki Girls' Private Academy.

For Kazuki, who has been here almost every day, he still wondered what it was like inside. He only heard some stories from Hikari, but he was sure that a private school in a very technologically-advanced city would have had all those fancy amenities.

"Be careful out there, okay?" he said to Hikari.

"Have a good day, Big Bro!"

Hikari waved as she saw her big brother off. Along with Sana, who gave a modest bow, the two middle school girls walked into the school after saying farewell to their guardians.

2

A month had passed since the disastrous Yuki-tan concert at the Chronodome.

Surprisingly, nothing much came about in the aftermath of the incident. After the encounter with the antagonistic Guren Izaya, Kazuki had fully expected things to set forth into high gear with the Fragments. However, nothing of the sorts had transpired.

Those pocket dimensions to another world manifested at regular rates. Human-spawned ones were non-existent the past month, and there were no reports of people being spirited away into those other dimensions.

Ms. Sadohara insisted on a wait and see approach, and contrary to his own expectations, the Fragments all over Shiroki City ended up being very tame.

She had theorized that the whole chain of events could be caused by the demise of the Render of Bounds.

Being such a powerful influence over the connections between Mu and the real world, its defeat most likely created a ripple effect that caused a change within that world of red as a whole. That was that case if Ms. Sadohara's theories ended up being true.

He also did not know whether it was because the Nullities have gotten weaker or that his teamwork with Uehara and Amagi had improved, but Class C and below Nullities had also become largely irrelevant as opponents.

Whatever the case, he continued his regular correspondence with the school counselor. There was no telling when an inciting incident could happen. When that time comes, it would help to be prepared.

However, as of now...

"The school festival is in one week, and we Class 2-C students haven't submitted our proposals yet. Other classes submitted theirs a week ago, for the love of God. How long do you guys plan to wait this out? Deadline is today, and some people are already practicing for the sports festival that comes along with it. We're running short on time!"

The shrill voice of the class representative echoed throughout the classroom. He was trying his best, but all it elicited from Kazuki was the act to just tilt his head and yawn. It was not rare to see Jun Yamada act like this.

During the trip at Tenka Peak, Kazuki thought that he saw a rather hidden and vulnerable side of the navy-haired classmate, but it did not take long before he went back to his stickler self.

"I told you before, we boys want a maid café! What's the point of being in a class full of cute girls if we're not gonna make them dress as maids and serve us? Ahh, I can feel the bliss as early as now."

"In your dreams, Shiki!" responded a girl from another corner of the classroom.

"How about just hosting a video game tournament?"

"It's only you and your friends who would end up participating, Tomoda," sighed Yamada. "We need to have something where everyone would participate."

"Maybe we can go for an art workshop," suggested another girl.

"You know Bloomenfled submitted the proposal for that weeks in advance already. That's her territory."

"How about a haunted house, Yamada?"

More suggestions continued being thrown out, with the class representative shooting them down one after another, often for the smallest of reasons.

It was a scene that had been going on for several days.

"This will take all day," commented Kazuki to his seatmate.

"That's just how Yamada is," replied Amagi with a chuckle. "Kinda reminds me of the younger you, though."

"Hey, I wasn't as fussy as he is."

The commotion that had taken over the room would soon end with a bang. Multiple bangs, in fact.

Having had enough, Mr. Tsuda had taken center stage. The pile of paper and the furrowed eyebrows complemented his displeased look.

"If you won't get it done, I'll have to make the decisions around here, whether you like it or not. I thought I gave you enough time already. I have to begin homeroom already, and we can talk after classes are done."

The act of fixing his glasses shut the class up, allowing him time to formally start class.

"Okay? Now, I will be going over your exam results last week."

In a snap, Kazuki could see most people's expressions turn into one of nervous anticipation. With the exception of a few, of course, like the class rep who just went back to his seat. Everyone waited with bated breath as Mr. Tsuda ran over the papers he neatly kept in his clear file.

"Do you want to start with the bad news or the good news?" asked him. "No one? I guess I'll start with the good news then."

Isn't it often the other way around?

"First off, I have to congratulate the class. Nobody failed the quarterly aptitude test. That makes it two years in a row for this class. Good job!"

Kazuki felt the heavy weight looming over the class being lifted, and while he did not hear them, he was certain that a lot of people exhaled out of relief.

"And the bad news?" asked Shiki.

"Despite no one actually failing, we did get some very strong recommendations for catch-up classes. So, those unfortunate ones will have to catch up for the entire week doing some extra requirements."

He raised his eyebrows at Shiki, and that was all that was needed to get his point across. Shiki responded in exactly the same manner one would expect: a bit of a fit before drooping his shoulders and accepting his fate.

"Other people of concern are Tachibana, Suedo, Tomoda, and Arata."

W-wha?

Kazuki felt his heart skip a beat just as sighs came one by one from the namedropped people. As for him? He knew that he was not so confident with his answers, but he did not expect his scores to be so low to require remedial classes of any sort. Or were they?

"Sir?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Arata. I did not mean to give you a heart attack. You placed somewhere in the middle of the class, and you are in no danger of having failing grades."

You completely did that on purpose.

"I mentioned you because Ms. Sadohara requested that you visit her at the library after class."

Safe.

At least I did not somehow find myself in trouble with my exam scores. W-wait a minute! Did he say Ms. Sadohara? That's not reassuring at all!

3

Fuyusato Academy's library was nothing short of a breathtaking spectacle.

In this information era where technology had continued its slow takeover of everyday life, there still remained a place for traditional learning. Instead of completely supplanting it, technology seemed to have melded perfectly with tradition, and the library where Kazuki stepped in was perfect evidence of that.

"Since it was you who called me over, and Mr. Tsuda told me that it's an offer I can't refuse, this can't be good, right?"

With hands crossed over his chest, Kazuki impatiently tapped his sole on the smooth tiles. In front of him was the well-endowed woman with eye bags: substitute chemistry teacher and full-time school counselor, also secretly a confidant in matters concerning Mu and Nullities.

Miyuko Sadohara.

"Thank you for saving me, Arata!"

She clapped her hands once, sending her very loosely worn lab coat bouncing at the hems. She approached Kazuki before the latter cautiously backed off.

"You see, the past few weeks have been quite hectic for the chemistry department. It came to the point where they called me to help them in gathering and organizing research materials in this dungeon of horrors. The nerve of those people. I don't have time for that. My title says SUBSTITUTE proctor, instructor, teacher, whatever. A woman's got to have her rest after school hours."

"You could have just said no."

"But that's not an option. You see, someone like me cannot afford to lose the favor of the school higher-ups. I have to save face!"

Kazuki's eyes twitched at seeing the woman's pouty expression. He knew that he should have gotten used to it already, but it still occasionally amazed him at how this woman well past the age of thirty had the lowest mental maturity among the team members.

Despite those, she's no slouch at her fields of expertise, so he had to give her that.

"You had nothing to do, right? Yes, you don't. I intentionally told Mr. Tsuda so you don't have to spend the afternoon brainstorming your class's plans for the school festival. With Nullity activity also at a lull, it's one of the few times we all get the afternoon and evening all to ourselves, and with Shizaki being busy with something else, I can only count on—"

"Alright, I see where this is headed, but I'm sorry. I have no intention of picking up the slack. Maybe you should learn to work for a change."

"Hah! I expected complications like this to happen. That's why I came prepared with a revelation that will blow your mind. Remember how you got off scot-free after the Yuki-tan event? Or how your school records have been suspiciously clean these past few weeks? Or how you ended up passing some exams that you were so worried about?"

She winked repeatedly, and Kazuki rolled his eyes.

Such manipulation would not work on him anymore.

"Aww, come on, help out your big sister here, would ya..."

The counselor clung to him, gripping his sleeves so tight that caused his skin to crawl. He shot his gaze from one end of the library to the other, and his body felt like it was being crushed by the stares at the scene they're causing.

He would not have given in to this woman's demands normally, but the incoming scene could end up being more trouble than it's worth.

After everything that had happened, he also felt that it won't hurt to be a bit nicer, as long as he can avoid being taken advantage of. With this devious woman, that's a tall order.

"Okay, okay."

"Alright! Thank you!"

"H-hey, where—"

Kazuki's words trailed off. In a flash, the crocodile tears had disappeared, and the counselor was gone.

Sighing to himself, he looked at the list, and his eyebrows furrowed at the amount of research materials. It's a list that would take an entire afternoon to go through.

Part of him felt bad about being roped into this. After all, it was clear what the intent of the chemistry faculty was in making Ms. Sadohara work for once.

He's not surprised that the school's higher-ups had caught wind of Ms. Sadohara's slacking off and rightfully given her something to do. He felt that by helping his confidant and fellow Awakener, he was defeating the purpose of the whole assignment.

A moot point. He can do about it now.

"Let's not waste any more time, shall we?" he chuckled before taking a broad look at the library.

Fuyusato Academy's library was three floors high. In a way, he pitied the ones who designed the place. It was a grandiose showcase of interior design, and it boasted one of the richest inventories of books any school had in Shiroki City.

A lot of it was going to waste.

People mainly used the library only for group meetings. As far as information and stories were concerned, the time of print media was slowly passing by. There was rarely anything that you cannot gain by doing a few searches on your smartphone.

Still, the quiet and organized atmosphere felt like a perfect escape for people like him.

As he skimmed the shelves for the first of the research materials, Kazuki had this feeling that had he not gotten into video games and other geek interests, he would have probably found himself here often: enjoying the quiet ambiance and the air-conditioner of the school library.

"Ah, there we go."

In his daydreams, he reached out for one of the books when he unwittingly found his fingers wrapped around a smooth hand.

"Sorry!"

The moment he retracted his hand, he immediately looked at the person who did the same.

"Oh, it's you, Arata!"

The cheerful voice came from a petite girl with a red ponytail. Just like that, Kazuki felt the awkward air turn upbeat, and his worries of getting into unfortunate circumstances with a stranger vanished.

"Yo. Did not expect to see you here, Fujiwara."

"Same. I heard from Senpai that your class is still having trouble deciding on your proposal for the school festival. That's a real problem."

"They're working on it as we speak."

"Ehh? You're not going to help?"

"Well, I got excused because Ms. Sadohara asked me for some favors. Did I not seem like much of a library person?"

Fujiwara shook her head.

"Ms. Sadohara? Wow! You're really close with her, huh? I've always wondered what Ms. Sadohara was like. She seemed really mature, and a lot of the boys seemed to like her. She gives off that cool big sis aura, but being the school counselor, I do not think that people would be looking forward to spending time in her office."

Kazuki found himself stifling a laugh at hearing the succeeding waves of compliments coming from this new student.

"She must trust you very much and look up to you highly."

"It's... not exactly that," chuckled Kazuki. "It's something more complicated. Anyway, what brings you here, Fujiwara?"

"Hmmm, we have some group work in biology class, and I got assigned to do some additional research. I always felt more comfortable here with all these people around. Better than staying home and scrolling away on a computer. Mind looking for our books together?"

This was not what he was expecting. All he had in mind was to get to the books, collect the needed info, and quickly get it over with.

However, he hated the idea of disappointing this girl. Those eagerly-blinking amber eyes and the bobbing ponytail seemed to tease him. It did not seem that anyone was with her as well, so if he left her behind...

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind."

"Yay!"

That could possibly have been the best decision he made.

With Fujiwara's handy expertise with locating books and a knack for knowing where to find the right words on the right pages, everything went by in a breeze.

The blank pages of her notebook and pieces of paper Kazuki had were replaced with long notes and details that were piled on top of the table they sat in front of.

The work was done in a hurry.

However, something seemed off.

Despite maintaining her generally upbeat personality, Kazuki noted that at times, Fujiwara fell oddly quiet and contemplative for short bursts when their short conversations ended.

There were even times when her note-taking and asking of opinions would be interrupted by an uncharacteristic silence when she turned to write things down.

He did not know why, but it bothered him.

Had he been doing something wrong? Was he relying on her too much?

Looking at the notes in front of him, he did feel that perhaps he had made the girl do too much of the heavy lifting.

"Fujiwara? Are you okay?"

That came off awkward.

"Ahaha!" she laughed. "What brought that about?"

"N-nothing. I felt that maybe I am being a bother or what. I-I'll pick up the slack next time, don't worry."

"Hahaha! Nah, it's all cool. No need to pressure yourself that much. Maybe if you can get together with Senpai though..."

The continued laughing and teasing did not help with Kazuki's unease, but that was better than the serious look that preceded that.

"I feel uncomfortable seeing you like that, Fujiwara."

She furrowed her eyebrows before everything clicked.

"Ah, right! Speaking of Senpai... It's something that I've been wanting to ask you, but I'm not sure how to start the conversation."

"Oh, what is it about, then?"

"It's Reijy. He's been acting weird the past few weeks, and I want to find a way to raise his spirits."

"I'm probably the last person you should be telling that to, you know."

"I know. But you were his best friend before, right? If you need it, I would gladly apologize for everything he's done. But before that, tell me something."

With no reply from Kazuki, Fujiwara continued.

"What really happened between you and Reijy? What changed?"

"Why this all of a sudden?"

"He said some mean stuff about you as early as the first day of school, but after hearing stories from Senpai and hanging out with you guys, I do not think that you are a bad person."

Is she trying to get me to warm up to that asshole?

"That's reassuring to hear, but I'll tell you that that Ishida bastard is not wrong. I am a horrible person."

Fujiwara shook her head vehemently.

"You're lying to me. If you were right, why would Senpai speak so fondly of you?"

So that's what it's about, huh?

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Kazuki knew that the redhead would not be taking a no for an answer. He gathered his thoughts, and he decided to start telling a story, a tale that forever changed his life at school.