The same day, 12.05 p.m.

 

“Haaaaaaah…”

 

I stretched my body and yawned widely when the lunch period bell was finally ringing. The fourth period was over, and as usual, the teacher gave a warm greeting before she left the class.

 

“Today’s lecture will definitely appear in the next test, so study it intensively, okay? See you guys on Friday.”

 

Ms. Kawasumi, a young math teacher. Usually, one needs to apply for the profession. But rumors said she was invited directly by the principal to work as a teacher in my school right after graduating from college. Well, apart from her warm smile and soft voice, she was quite a monster in terms of her brain power, or so I’d heard.

 

“Eeeeeh!?”

 

“Teacher, I don’t even understand anything about it!”

 

Various responses came from my classmates’ mouths and Ms. Kawasumi only smiled wryly. Well, the lecture today was about integrals and a little bit of calculus. Fufufu, plebeians. You should be ashamed for not understanding a simple lecture like that, was what I thought at the moment. I turned my head to Kyouko and she instantly realized what I was thinking.

 

“That smug face of yours really gives away what you’re thinking, Touka…”

 

“Huh? Is my face that easy to read!?”

 

“Yes, always has been. You’re prolly thinking about, ‘Plebeians, you should be ashamed for being so stupid.’, right?”

 

“Are you an ESPER or what!?”

 

Kyouko opened her mouth to respond to my loud question. But before she could let out a sound, Ms. Kawasumi suddenly uttered with a loud voice.

 

“Ah, I forgot. Guys, when the school is over, you should just go home directly, okay? I heard there’s been a lot of crimes happening nowadays. Especially near the shopping district in the next block. Make sure you have someone to walk with you if you’re walking, alright?”

 

“Yeeee~s.”

 

Harmoniously, the class responded to Ms. Kawasumi’s warning. Everyone was somewhat relaxed and calm even after hearing that. But it wasn’t the case for me and Kyouko.

 

“Hey, isn’t your home near the shopping district?”

 

With a worried look on her face, Kyouko grabbed my hand and raised a question. I could see how concerned she was. It made me a little bit happy, though.

 

“Uh-huh… It’s fi~ne. Even this morning I was walking alone in the shopping district but nothing happened.”

 

I reached for my bag and took out a pair of egg sandwiches I made the night before. I then tore the plastic wrap and quickly shoved it in my mouth.

 

“Hmmm~... As I thought, egg sandwiches are best eaten during lunch! Want some?”

 

I extended my last sandwich to Kyouko, but she only replied with a brief head shake.

 

“Even so, I really hate to do this but I think I should order one of my attendants to take you home…”

 

“Hey, I told you it’s okay. Also, I don’t want you to do something you don’t really want to. How long do you think I’ve known you? Everything’s alright so don’t worry too much, ‘kay?”

 

I wasn’t trying to reassure her or something. I was plainly careless and thinking that nothing would really harm me in any way even if something did happen.

 

“But still…”

 

Kyouko lowered her head while making a concerned face. Seriously, this girl wasn’t my best friend for nothing. She even prioritized my safety more than her hateful standing. But for me, the feeling itself was more than enough. I kept tapping the back of her hand gently, while sometimes tickling it to make her show that refreshing smile of hers.

 

“Then why don’t you yourself walk me home if you’re that concerned?”

 

Jokingly, I spat out a nonsensical idea nonchalantly.

 

Well, Kyouko’s home is in the completely opposite direction from mine. Hers was also much farther, around 20 minutes by car. By car!

 

And that was the sole reason why we almost never hung out together after school. Her parents were so strict to her and the school time, according to what she had told me before, was a blessing for her. At least she wouldn’t be bothered by her parents during school, she had said.

 

“Hmm… Alright, I’ll walk you home.”

 

“H-Huh!? No, no, no, no! Don’t you feel you’re being too overprotective!?”

 

“I just can’t let you in danger! Is it wrong for me to feel like that!?”

 

Kyouko raised her voice and grabbed my hands tightly, squeezing the remaining sandwich that I was eating into pulp between my fingers. Her expression, on the other hand, was somewhat between being angry, concerned, disappointed, and sad at the same time. I didn’t know how but I somehow understood what she was feeling.

 

“Kyouko, your voice! Your voice!”

 

I frantically tried to pull my hands from her grip. What’s with her stupid strength!? Well, her voice already caught the attention of my other classmates. They were looking at the two of us with curious faces.

 

“I don’t give a shit about my voice! But I do give shit to your well-being!”

 

“Alright! Alright! Let’s walk home together, okay? So please let go of my hands! Your brute strength is crushing my bones!”

 

That was the truth. I had begun to feel pain from her grip before I gave up and resigned myself to follow her suggestion. She immediately let go of my hands, and my last egg sandwich turned to ‘mashed up to smithereens sandwich’ and fell on her desk, making a splattering sound as it touched the surface.

 

“Ah…”

 

Both of us let out a stupid sound at the same time. We then looked at each other and started laughing uncontrollably, along with the sighs that came from my other classmates’ respective mouths.

 

If only I’d known what would happen next, I would strongly reject Kyouko’s suggestion at that time. Even if she ended up crushing my arms and hated me. That was much more bearable.

 

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

 

3.32 p.m.

 

The last period was already over and I packed my stuff inside my bag. My shoulder then was tapped by Kyouko, while bowing her body like some kind of prince asking a princess to be her escort.

 

“Your Majesty, I am now ready to escort you home.”

 

“Oh hell no! You know I hate that kind of stuff, don’t you?”

 

“That’s why I did that. Hahaha!”

 

She laughed and pulled my hand gently.

 

“Let’s be quick before my driver arrives.”

 

She hurriedly dragged me who was still panicking after hearing her joke.

 

“Phew! Lovey-dovey as always, aren’t you?”

 

“Oh shut up, Kazuki! Or I’ll blow up your head!”

 

I blushed red when I heard that. Kyouko did look like a gallant prince at that time, as if not letting others touch her woman.

 

“Whoa! Scary, scary… Hahaha!”

 

After getting teased by Kazuki and giving him a light punch in his face, Kyouko continued to drag me all the way to the first floor. I could still hear Kazuki screaming in pain clearly even after arriving at the lockers. Kyouko’s light punch must be a heavy punch for normal people, it seemed.

 

“Hmm? What is this?”

 

When I opened my locker, I quickly spotted a piece of paper with numbers and a word written on it.

 

“230 Days? Huh? What does this even mean?”

 

“Something’s wrong?”

 

Kyouko, who had already stood near the entrance, turned her head and asked me. I immediately hid the letter behind my back and shook my head.

 

“Nu’uh, nothing. Come on, let’s go.”

 

I crushed the paper and shoved it to my skirt’s pocket and wore my shoes, as well as wrapping my scarf around my neck. I then rushed to where Kyouko was standing and walked alongside her.

 

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

 

3.40 p.m., the Shopping District.

 

The two of us had been walking for roughly 10 minutes. Along the way we were chatting casually and joking sometimes, but once we arrived at the said shopping district, our conversation ceased. I glanced at Kyouko and saw her face getting tense. I didn’t know what she was thinking but her being with me at that time really made me feel much safer. I tightened my grip on her hand and she, probably, began to feel more relaxed.

 

“It’s okay. Nothing will happen.”

 

I threw a smile at her after saying that and she responded with a quick nod. Her tension didn’t seem to be completely dissipated and I had no clue on how to calm her down. Well, it was quite easy to understand since Kyouko was so restless. Probably, a lot of what-ifs were flashing up in her mind unstoppably. I don’t know.

 

“This will be over in the best way if nothing actually happens…”

 

“That’s why you’re walking me home, right? Calm down a little, Kyouko. Seeing you being like this pains me.”

 

I put a wry smile on my face but it didn’t seem to work either. Seriously now, how concerned could this girl be?, was what I was thinking at the moment.

 

The shopping district was quite wide, with a lot of stalls and stores selling various things, starting from daily necessities to more specific things such as diving equipment and so on. We passed through the shopping district rather quickly since we were trotting a little bit. Somehow, and strangely enough, not many people were in the shopping district at that time.

 

Ah, maybe they’re inside the shops, I thought. Not to mention that there was a huge crowd in front of the bank across the street. Kyouko, on the other hand, felt more relaxed after seeing there weren't many people in that place. She heaved a sigh and loosened her grip on my hand.

 

“Huh? What’s happening there?”

 

It seemed Kyouko was too tense to even realize there was a huge crowd in front of the bank. Slowly, we headed for the crowd and suddenly…

 

Bang! Bang! Bang! Crack!

 

Along with the sound of glass windows breaking, a few gunshots were heard throughout the entire place.

 

“Kyaaaaaaa!!”

 

“Move! Move! Move! It’s a robbery!”

 

Huh?, I uttered internally. A moment later, I could only feel a hot sensation in the back of my head. My sight was also getting hazy all of sudden. What happened?, was the only thing inside my mind at that time. I tried to turn my head to look at Kyouko, and what I saw in her complexion was a face full of fear and shock.

 

“Kyou… ko?”

 

Almost instantly, the strength in my body was gone. My sight was completely clouded, as I began to feel nothing all over my body. Cold, it was only cold. I couldn’t do anything but fall on my knees, probably, and the only thing that entered my ears was constant screams coming from Kyouko’s mouth, along with other people’s hysterical roars. Everything went black right after.