1

"There!"

Kazuki barely contained himself at the first sign of natural light. At the end of the corridor, a burst of light shone invitingly, managing to break through the moderate fog.

It was a much welcome change of pace, and he was certain that Amagi had also gotten very tired of seeing hallway after hallway. After wandering around for who knows how long and getting no closer to the where the Class B Nullity was, hope had finally shone upon them.

"Arata, be careful!"

Even with taking his friend's warning into account, his feet just cannot help it. Intervals between each of his footsteps shortened, and he could feel his heart pounding in excitement as the light grew in magnitude.

He glanced to the side to see his childhood friend running alongside him, and her eyes now shone with optimism. Despite her warning, she also raced across the corridor, keeping pace with him.

Salvation was at hand, and both of them knew it.

It did not matter that the ground around them shook or that Nullities began appearing out of the walls in front of them.

"Outta the way!" The two shouted in unison.

The arrows of light as well as the blunt force of the shield made quick work of the Nullities, and the two smiled as their feet stepped into soft surface.

Adding to their relief was the sound of heavy objects crashing onto the ground, and a look back was enough to confirm that the corridor they came from had collapsed. They could have triggered a trap, not that it mattered now.

"Ahhhh, it was getting stuffy back there!"

Amagi's bow disappeared, and the girl stretched her hands up.

"Where are we?" she followed up.

Kazuki looked around, and despite the fog that slightly hampered his vision, he could make out long walls around them.

"We're at the courtyard, it seems?" he guessed.

Given that he figured out that they were in a castle, a courtyard would be a reasonable guess. If that's the case...

Kazuki looked towards a certain direction, the one where he last felt the signal from the Class B Nullity.

"We may not have had any luck back then, but maybe we can enter another part of the castle through there."

He began stepping towards the general direction before looking back.

He was not alone, and even if he could force his body to push on, he was not sure about his companion.

Rest didn't sound too bad, after all. The initial bout of adrenaline had helped him through, but he can slowly feel his anxieties and stress coming back. A mental error could be very costly.

Not only will he lose his life, he will prove Ms. Sadohara right.

"You need rest, Amagi?"

She did not reply. Her slouched position and weary face told a story, yet her eyes remained determined to see it through. Getting the message, Kazuki just put his palm out.

"You don't have to push yourself too much. We can take a break."

"E-eh?" she reacted with surprise. "But, Arata, you—"

"I know I got you worried, and I really want to get to the Nullity and end this before anyone else can be dragged in. However, forcing it now would be pointless. We need to take a short break or else we'll just get destroyed the moment we face the Nullity."

He turned back to the direction where he sensed the Class B Nullity.

"You seem tired, and honestly, I am as well. I can't afford to fight at this rate, and even if we do, I think it's too risky. I can't afford to get you hurt any more than you are now, Amagi. I don't know what I'll do in that case."

A look at his brunette friend revealed a blushing face, and Kazuki quickly turned around, a gentle warmth creeping into his face and triggering his social awkwardness.

"S-sorry if that turned out awkward," he immediately interrupted. Not helping matters was the chortle he heard behind him.

"Oh, Arata."

Kazuki exhaled. "However, I'll scout the area a bit. Not gonna go too far, and I will be right back."

With her nod of approval, he started walking around, the trees and the large fountain slowly coming into view.

The good thing was there he felt no Nullities nearby. Whether there was something special with the courtyard or not, he did not know.

Finding a good place away from distractions, he closed his eyes once more. Activating the ability gifted to Awakeners, he heightened his senses and started getting spirit responses in the form of readings.

Scattered signals, both near and far, flickered and bounced off each other, and this phenomenon was something that he cannot figure out. The signals were not strong enough for him to conclude that those were people dragged into the Fragment, yet they gave him an uneasy feeling.

His eyes shut hard upon receiving the feedback from the two signals. They had not left the general area beneath them, and it was clear that their battle was no less fierce than several minutes ago.

The other two continued moving. They were closing in on them, in fact. They seemed to be on the same floor but way farther.

However, the next revelation caused his heart to skip a beat.

The fifth strong signal had disappeared.

Had this person died? Or did he just find his way out of the Fragment?

Before those questions can be answered, Kazuki's eyes were forced open. It was no natural force, but it felt as if a shock ran through his spine.

The sudden drop of the temperature made his skin crawl, and he involuntarily coughed at the crushing pressure around him. His own emotions were being overwhelmed, and he felt a sense of helplessness that he had not experienced ever since entering this place.

In front of him was fog, his sight even murkier than before.

The fountain was gone, and so were the trees. All had been consumed by the all-enveloping fog. The fog had thickened without his knowledge of it, and it all happened during his trance.

The smell of roses invited him to look for the source of the fog, but he can find no clue.

With nothing else visible, Kazuki frantically looked from side to side, while he slowly walked ahead, trying to get a grip of his surroundings.

"Amagi!" he called out.

No answers came from his friend.

"Arata?"

That voice... in here?!

Kazuki's body shuddered upon hearing that male voice. Still, he walked blindly ahead, following the voice.

"You! Where are you?"

The thick fog drowned his voice away, and he thought that his call would have gotten lost in the midst of the fog.

Until a reply came.

Stopping in his tracks, Kazuki turned to the side, and for a second, the fog temporarily cleared away, revealing a boy.

"Arata?" the boy timidly asked, his disheveled brown hair flowing along with his head movements. He stumbled backwards, with his large, circular glasses almost falling off as a result.

Kazuki cannot believe what he was seeing in his own eyes. He gazed at the chubby boy, unable to utter a single word.

This person knew him.

How could he not? How could this boy forget him after all he had done?

"Nakagami?"

Those were the first words that came out of Kazuki's mouth, and the boy reeled back in response.

2

"Nakagami," called Kazuki.

He took a deep breath. The boy in front of him was a blast from the past, one that represented part of his past that he had yet to close the book on.

Ryoji Nakagami slowly steadied himself and got back up. That did not take long before he slipped and stumbled back down, and along with it came a few yelps.

"Arata? What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed. "N-never mind what you just saw!"

"Take it easy, Nakagami."

Kazuki put his hands in front in an attempt to appease the startled boy, and he slowly took steps forward.

"Why?"

Why?

The same question that Kazuki had repeated in his mind. Why did he have to come face-to-face with Nakagami now, all of a sudden?

"Nakagami, I..."

His voice stuck fast in his throat. Kazuki did not know where to start. How could he do so after all he'd done with this person?

Seeing the boy in front of him was bittersweet, but it hurt even more when he remembered Nakagami's last day in school.

He had his tearful goodbye, and Kazuki clearly remembered the look this bullied kid had on his face.

A look of pure sadness.

And it was largely his fault. While Ishida and the others played along with the bullying, it cannot be denied that he also had responsibility on his hands. What made him doubly feel bad was that despite his role in the bullying, he did not even go all the way like Ishida and the others did.

This was the one detail he neglected to include when Fujiwara asked him about it.

In between the teasing and the horseplay, he was playing it cool with Nakagami: acting like a friend when the cameras and the peering lens of the classmates were off.

What a scumbag thing to do.

Even in the end, the last he saw of Nakagami was a face of betrayal. At his lowest of lows, even the one among the bullies who had the inkling of being his friend had abandoned him.

As if it was divine intervention, the chance for redemption had finally appeared, but now that he was about to take the first step in reconciliation, he found himself paralyzed.

How could he even dare ask for forgiveness after mercilessly using this guy as a stepladder in his attempted climb up the social ladder? An ill-fated endeavor at that.

"Nakagami," he continued, finally getting over the mental barrier.

"I don't know how to start, but I have to say that... I'm sorry for everything that's happened."

The statement seemed to catch the boy off-guard, and despite Nakagami crawling backwards, away from him, his eyes seemed to acknowledge the gesture.

"I don't know what I can do now, but if there's something that I can do to make up for it, I'll do it. Let's get out of here first."

There was a look of doubt on the boy's face, but he eventually reached out with his hand, a hand that Kazuki eagerly grabbed as he hoisted him up.

"Whew! You startled me, Arata!"

After his first words, Nakagami's face eased down, and he gave Kazuki a toothy grin, but not before a chuckle and his face twitching for a second. He then coughed repeatedly before wiping his face with his hands in a very conspicuous manner.

Nakagami had not changed one bit.

Those were just some of the mannerisms that Ishida and he needlessly piled on to back then, but Kazuki had no intention of doing so now.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the hall, and I felt like taking a break," he said between pants, "Walking around all day was tiring as heck! Then, I just headed to the washroom, and I suddenly felt dizzy. The rest's history."

Kazuki gave him a good look, managing to confirm his words. Nakagami's wrinkled clothes and sweat-filled collar was more than he needed. The dusty eyeglasses were also another thing.

"Arata?"

"O-oh, sorry!" Kazuki awkwardly replied, quickly placing his gaze back at Nakagami's eyes.

"What about you? It's been so long!"

"That... Erm... We can talk when we get out of here. For now, I need you to..."

He looked around for safe places for them to talk, but with the extremely thick fog in the way, there was almost nothing to see.

On one hand, he did not want an extra load when fighting, but leaving Nakagami alone was also not an option. Finding no compromise, he decided to just bring this guy with them.

"What's wrong? Let's get a move on!"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking. Remember Amagi? She's with me, and we're better off finding her. Three of us together."

"Amagi... Miki Amagi, right? Yeah, definitely! She's here, too? That's so cool! Wait, did I say it wrong?"

"You certainly did," commented Kazuki, who swore he could see a comical sweat drop on him.

"Say, how's it going with her? She confess to you yet? What did you say?"

"Geh! W-what brought this up all of a sudden?"

"Ohh, so it really is true. That's my man!"

Something about the sudden smug look from Nakagami irritated Kazuki. Even through the years they've been together, that's something he had yet to get used to.

"You know, we better leave that conversation later. For now, we need to focus on finding her and getting you out of here," he hurriedly changed the topic while squinting, desperately trying to find his way back through the fog.

"Oh, that thing in your arm, it looks so cool! May I see it?"

Kazuki pulled his hand back, suddenly reminded that his Armament was still in its summoned state. No surprise that his old classmate noticed it, and now there's no way to pretend it was never there.

"Can I wear it? We'd look so awesome, and we can do that tag team move from Eternal Fighter 2. I'll be the—"

"No, no, no, that's not how it works!"

Kazuki pulled his hand away from the overly eager Nakagami, but he quickly regretted it. Given the look on Nakagami's face, Kazuki cannot help but feel sorry.

"You can't spare a try for a friend? I wanna try it on."

It had been a while since he had seen Nakagami's pouting face.

The guy's not exactly the epitome of maturity.

"It's not that. It's that... that... this is something very important, and it's something you won't understand. Trust me, man."

"Aww... that sucks."

"Sorry. Only a select few know what this is."

At that moment, the fog that he had been trying desperately to see through thickened, and it started smothering him from all angles. Even his shield started disappearing from sight due to how thick the fog had become.

"It's always been like that, hasn't it? A select few that does not include me?"

"Wha?"

Kazuki braced himself, sensing a murderous aura emanate from the awkward boy. A Nullity could be nearby, but surprisingly, none of his senses were triggering any alarm bells.

Instead, the scent of roses overwhelmed his senses, and he started coughing.

That second, his shield arm refused to move despite his pleas. Like a chokehold, the fog seemed to wrap around his neck, constricting his breathing and vision.

"You never saw me as a friend." Bitterness filled every word coming out of Nakagami's mouth. "I know it all."

"Yeah, I never did."

His mouth moved on its own, and he was left staring emptily at the "friend" he betrayed.

"You think it didn't hurt? To think that the cool guy whom I treasured so much never stood up for me?"

"Right, I didn't."

"I remember it. When you approached me that day and saw me struggling with Eternal Fighter 2, I thought you're the coolest person in the world. I never thought that this guy who's in the gang of assholes could be a cool dude?' I thought."

"No, you got it wrong, Nakagami! I genuinely wanted to hang out and be friends!"

"How come you never stood up for me? Was being part of the cool kids so important? Even more important than a poor guy you pretended to be friends with?"

Kazuki did not respond.

"Answer me!"

"That was really what it's all about, huh? I-I'm such a horrible person."

"Damn right you are, and it's about time you get your comeuppance. Trapped here, all alone, and without your so-called friends to bail you out this time!"

He threw his hand forward, and in an instinctive move, Kazuki hopped back. He still had no idea what's going on or what's controlling his movements, but there was no mistaking Nakagami's goal.

He was going for his heart with those sharp claws that appeared on his hand.

"Get back here. We'll stay here, in eternal damnation!"

He screamed, making a charge at Kazuki.

"Innocence Arc!"

The arrows of light all converged, nailing Nakagami in the chest. The boy's eyes, flaring with anger, reverted to their usual form. Pelted by the arrows of light, his pupils dilated, and his body winced before he made one final charge towards the object of his wrath.

He gave his all in a desperate attempt at grabbing Kazuki before his entire body disintegrated into black smoke.

Kazuki blinked, still shocked at the surreal turn of events before the thick fog parted, revealing the form of a giant tower in front of him.

"What was that?"

He tried to catch his breath in between coughs. Despite his attacker having been dispatched, his heart continued to torment him so, the heavy weight burdening it down remaining as it was before.

"What was I saying?" he asked himself while looking at his two open palms. The surreal events were a blur in his mind, and he had nothing but vague recollections of what just happened.

Just as the sudden appearance of Nakagami had taken him aback, so did this sudden departure. He was once again separated from a person he had a complicated relationship with.

All without getting a chance to properly apologize.

Two strong arms wrapped around his neck. He hung his head as he let everything sink in, and Amagi's arms just provided much needed comfort.

She had saved him from the demons of his past. 

For the second time.

Just like in Tenka Peak... I'm pathetic.

"Amagi, I want to ask you something."

He gently placed a hand on top of her arm as he asked the question.

"Do you think that Nakagami still hates me?"

She did not answer at first, and the two of them simply held still amidst the uncomfortable silence.

"Will I ever find forgiveness from him?"

Her hand gently brushed his hair before she walked around to face him.

"I cannot answer that. To be frank, what you did back then was terrible. I hated how you got treated afterwards, but there's no denying that what you did was awful."

Hearing his childhood friend's words, Kazuki turned away in shame.

"I do not know if Nakagami will really forgive you, but the important part is to try. When you meet the real deal in the future, make sure to apologize, okay? Make it up to him, and try to start anew."

"Do you think I can do it?"

"Remember Tenka Peak? It's never too late to apologize and get a new start."

She framed his cheeks with her hands.

"If you think you can't do it, let me help you. We'll face Nakagami together. Remember what you told Uehara and the rest of us girls?"

His gaze rose to meet her comforting look.

"You told Uehara that you'll help shoulder her burdens. I embraced the same feelings when our Armaments resonated for the first time. Your honesty, your will to change for the better. Even if you've spent these few months self-loathing and hesitating, I know that you meant it."

Her face had its own mix of frustration and relief, and it all blended into the form of a hesitant smile.

"Arata, we'll help you in any way we can. We're partners who will stick with each other through thick or thin!"

You're too kind.

Kazuki thought before sighing. Having regained the strength to move forward, he nodded, and after Amagi helped him get up, he summoned his Armament once more.

"Thank you," he said while giving a thumbs up. Looking at the tower ahead, he knew that more challenges awaited them inside.

The Class B Nullity stood in wait, as did the prospective reunion with Uehara and Kimura.

There's nothing he can't face with those girls by his side.

You just wait, Nakagami. I'll make it up to you when we meet on the other side.

He ran head-on, straight towards the new challenge that awaited them.