-Chapter 1-

            “Ahahaha, flowers! There are so many flowers!” a young girl’s voice resounded.

            The sky was a bright, pale blue, with shades of pink tinting the horizon. Fluffy cotton-like clouds dotted this pastel sky. On the ground there were indeed flowers. A large field of flowers stretched out as far as the eye could see.

            In that field, three girls pranced around happily. They all wore white sundresses, and as they ran, the fabric of the dresses fluttered in the wind. After all, a pleasant breeze was blowing through the field of flowers. It was an idyllic peaceful scene, wherein one could relax and be at peace.

            “No way!” one of the girls shouted. “Check it out! It’s a four-leaf clover! I’m gonna be super lucky now!”

            The other two girls ran over and kneeled by her side. Sure enough, the girl with the short, pale orange hair and clear blue eyes held a clover that had four leaves.

“Wow! That’s so lucky!”

            “Indeed. Quite an impressive find.”

            The three girls giggled amongst themselves. Just then, one of the other two girls, a girl with dark hair tied up in twintails, spoke up.

            “Are four-leaf clovers something you can make a wish on?” she asked.

            The three girls all grew silent for a moment, pondering the question that had arisen.

            “I have heard they’re a sign of good luck, but I’m not sure whether they’ve ever been a common object to wish upon.” the third girl, a girl wearing glasses, responded.

            “Well, I don’t care! I’ll wish on it anyway!” the girl holding the clover confidently declared, lifting the clover up into the air.

            “Wow! So what’ll you wish for?” the twintailed girl asked excitedly.

            However, just then, the other two girls grew quiet, staring at the girl as if she’d asked a strange question. The twintailed girl could only blink in confusion.

            “I mean… it’s obvious, isn’t it?” said the girl with the clover.

            “I must say, you can be rather dense sometimes.” the glasses girl chuckled to herself.

            “Huh?” the twintailed girl didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

            Another pleasant breeze swept through the flower field. The girls all rose to their feet once more as the girl with the clover held the lucky charm close to her heart.

            “Obviously, I’d use my wish for you.” she said, looking at the twintailed girl. “I wish for you to get better as soon as possible! So you can come back!”

            The other two girls both smiled endearingly at the twintailed girl, but the twintailed girl didn’t understand what they meant.

            “Get better? Come back?” she asked. “What do you mean? I’m fine! We’re all here together after all…”

            She stretched her arms out, showing the other two girls the beautiful field of flowers they’d traveled through together.

            Nothing was wrong. This was a paradise.

And yet, the other girls remained silent. Rather, they were completely still. Frozen in place with those same endearing smiles. But such pitying looks only confused the twintailed girl, who was seemingly the only one who could still move.

                “There’s nothing wrong with me…” she muttered.

                “You’re mistaken!” her mutters began to turn into shouts. “I’m perfectly fine! I’m normal, just like all of you!”

                The pale blue sky above slowly darkened into a dreary violet, as if in response to her voice. The once gentle breeze began to evolve into ear-piercing violent winds. And the flowers…

                “Huh? No… no…!” realizing the upsetting changes occurring around her, the twintailed girl grasped her head and kneeled to the ground.

                Smoke began to rise into the dreary sky, creating dark clouds that blocked out the color. For you see, the colorful field of flowers was all… burning.

                Why? How?

                For what reason could such a beautiful paradise succumb to such a fate?

                “Who… would do this…?”

                Distraught, the twintailed girl’s eyes darted back and forth. Her friends and their gentle smiles were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the only one there… was herself.

                “Hehehehehe….”

                A self that wasn’t herself.

                Another person that isn’t you, but is still physically the same person.

                “Is this why… I’m not well?” tears fell from the eyes of the girl, as she pressed herself against a mirror. Where did the mirrior come from? Who knows. After all, the world was crumbling around her.

                Soon, she’d fall… deep into the dark abyss.

                The girl lamented her fate, and then…

                Bang!

                “OW!!”

                Yuko Maeda’s sudden scream echoed throughout the entire classroom. Her forehead was throbbing from the impact.

                “Th-that hurt…” Yuko muttered, gently rubbing her forehead. A moment later, Yuko realized she must’ve dozed off in the middle of class with her head on her hand. Her head must’ve slipped out of her grasp and she banged her forehead against the desk just now.

                Of course, after such a loud outburst, almost everyone in the classroom was staring her way. Realizing this, Yuko’s face turned bright red as she blushed.

                “S-sorry about that, everyone…” Yuko looked down at her desk, averting her eyes awake from their gazes.

                “Oh dear, Ms. Maeda…” spoke the homeroom teacher, Mariko Yamagata, finally breaking the silence. “I’d like to imagine my lectures aren’t that boring. I’m doing my best you know?”

                The other students gave off a few chuckles as the laidback teacher could only give Yuko a somewhat saddened, pleading expression.

                “O-oh, no! It’s all my fault, Ms. Yamagata!” Yuko frantically stood up and bowed. “I just, see… I was up later than normal last night is all. I’m sorry!”

                Once more, chuckles echoed throughout the classroom from the other amused students.

                “Oh my…” Yamagata gave a somewhat worried expression. “Well, I hope you make sure to get some proper rest from now on. Every young lady like yourself needs their beauty sleep.”

                “Right, haha…” Yuko chuckled awkwardly, giving one final bow before returning to her seat.

                With Yuko’s brief unintended interruption over, Yamagata returned to her lecture. At the moment, she was going over themes from the latest chapter of the class’s assigned reading. It was a book that Yuko didn’t particularly care for, and thinking about it often made her drowsy. Thus, combined with her lack of sleep the night before, it was a given that she’d doze off the way she did.

                The date was Thursday, May 18^th. It was the middle of spring and classes at Starlight Academy’s eastern district were in full force. It’d been about a month and a half since school started and everyone was generally settled in to their new routines by now. The same applied to Yuko, who was also fully used to balancing her time at school along with the work she did at the coffee shop down in the plaza.

                But as other students around this time of the season pined to return to the days of their golden week vacation, all while dreading the approaching midterms, Yuko could only find herself thinking back to a truly bizarre week she experienced at the end of April.

                A lot of weird stuff happened, and despite learning that there’s apparently an entire parallel world full of people who use crazy magical powers, the strangest takeaway Yuko got from the whole experience was that she could use magic too. Or rather, some strange alternate personality within her could. Dubbed ‘the Guardian’ by her recent friend, student council president Kanna Kawagoe (who’s also a magic knight from that other world, by the way), Yuko could only ponder what on earth the implications of this whole situation were. After talking with Kanna about it a few times since, the two soon realized they couldn’t really figure anything out on their own, so the subject has kind of been left hanging for a few weeks.

                After all, ever since the culprit was dealt with, there haven’t been any other weird occurrences in the eastern district. After golden week, the curfew that was enacted at the end of April was lifted, and once again the district’s usual ‘night life’ emerged again as if it’d never left. Clubs would run late, jobs would have shifts going ‘til 9 or 10 PM… everything was basically returning to normal. Well, as normal as life in this place could be, anyway.

                Yuko sighed as she gazed out of the window at the clear blue sky. It was another beautiful spring day. The odd dream she’d just had already started to slip away into the recesses of her mind. But if there were one word to describe the feeling left lingering within her after experiencing it, that word would be…

                “Nostalgic…” Yuko muttered to herself, in a voice so quiet no one could hear.

---

                “Ms. Maeda, may I have a moment?”

                “… Huh?!” Yuko was taken aback for a moment.

                It was now mid-afternoon, and classes had just finished for the day. Everyone was putting their stuff away and getting ready to leave, Yuko included. But suddenly, Yuko was approached by her homeroom teacher Mariko Yamagata.

                “M-Ms. Yamagata? What is it?” she asked, a look of panic on her face at being called out by the teacher.

                “It appears an urgent matter has come up…” the teacher lowered her head apologetically. “I’m afraid you must come with me to one of the meeting rooms.”

                “Wh-what? But I have to get to work…” Yuko replied in confusion.

                “I believe they’ve already been notified, so…” Yamagata gave her student a pleading expression. It was fairly clear that whatever was going on had bewildered Yamagata as well, and she felt bad having to bring Yuko into it.

                “Well, okay I guess…” Yuko had no choice but to go along with it.

                “Yuko? Teach? What’s going on?” Chisa Ando, Yuko’s close friend, approached the two out of concern.

                “Oh, Ms. Ando. It’s nothing to be concerned about. I just have something to discuss with Ms. Maeda over here.” Yamagata answered.

                “Oh, alright…” Chisa replied, tilting her head. She glanced over at Yuko, who then responded with a shrug. “Well, guess I’ll see ya later, Yuko.”

                “Right, see you!” Yuko waved goodbye as Chisa left the classroom.

                “Well then, shall we go?” Yamagata asked, wearing a gentle smile.

                “Sure thing.” Yuko rose from her seat, bag in hand, and followed after Yamagata.

                The two headed upstairs, with Yamagata leading the way. They passed by the student council room and turned a corner, leading to a hall containing doorways to several different meeting rooms. Yuko wasn’t really familiar with them, but had the sense that teachers probably held meetings here to plan various things throughout the year. Yamagata soon stopped in front of a door toward the back of the hall, and let out a deep sigh.

                “Hey, um, Ms. Yamagata…?” Yuko spoke in a quiet voice. “Before we go in, could you tell me what’s going on?”

                It was highly unusual for Yuko to be called out somewhere individually like this. During the walk over here, Yuko could only wonder what this could be about. Her grades were doing okay, so it most likely wasn’t that. Could it be related to what happened last month? Or was she seriously in trouble for falling asleep in class this morning? Yuko’s mind raced trying to think of the various possibilities on what this could be about.

                “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself…” Yamagata lamented. “All I know is that someone very important has requested to speak with us, so…”

                “Wait, both of us?” Yuko was now even more confused. Despite Yamagata’s kindhearted demeanor making her one of Yuko’s favorite teachers, it’s not like the two had interacted that much outside of class. Though, she is her homeroom teacher. If it’s a matter related to school, then that might explain it.

                But in the first place, who could be in here…?

                Yuko couldn’t help but wonder.

                “It appears so.” Yamagata nodded. “Well then, shall we?” she continued, motioning toward the doorknob.

                “Yeah, let’s go.” Yuko steeled herself for whatever awaited inside.

                Yamagata grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and slowly opened the door. With a light creak, the heavy door opened and inside was what appeared to be a standard meeting room. A long rectangular table was at the center of the room, with numerous chairs on each side. There were several other items common of a meeting room along the edges of the room, from a movable whiteboard to a computer, and even a screen for a projector.

                It only took a moment for Yuko to take in the room, but what drew her attention the most was the adult man seated at the long table and the girl who stood nearby.

                “Wait, Kanna?!” Yuko blurted out on instinct. Sure enough, the girl standing in the room was student council president Kanna Kawagoe.

                “Yes, hello Yuko Maeda.” Kanna bowed, before motioning to the seated man. “Allow me to introduce you. This man is…”

                “Come now, we don’t have to make this so formal do we, little Kanna?” the man waved off Kanna’s formal demeanor.

                “… Fine. Do as you please.” Kanna sighed.

                “Ms. Yuko, welcome!” the man motioned towards the other seats. “My name is Mitsuo Tokushige, and I’m the district manager for this eastern district of Starlight Academy.”

                “Th-the district manager?!” Yuko was shocked. She knew she’d seen this man before, and realized he was the guy who would always give the big speech at the start of each new school year. The district manager is basically the single most important person within any given district of the academy. Yuko could only wonder why someone of that status would wish to speak with her.

                “So it really was you who called for us…” Yamagata sighed, before putting on her usual smile.

                “Good to see you again as well, Ms. Mariko.” Tokushige smirked. “I trust your classes have been doing well?”

                “Of course.” Yamagata replied, taking a seat. “Though I’m sure you’re well aware, sir. All of the statistics of our school’s performance go through you, after all.”

                As Yuko took her seat beside Yamagata, she got the distinct sense that, despite Yamagata wearing her usual smiling expression, she was notably annoyed by this person. Thinking about it further, Yuko realized that Tokushige would likely be her ‘boss’, so to speak.

                Maybe they’re on bad terms?

                Yuko couldn’t help but wonder about such things, having found herself in the middle of this bizarre group of people.

                “Fair enough, fair enough.” Tokushige chuckled, before turning back to Kanna. “So, do you plan to stick around? I only asked you to arrange the meeting for me, little Kanna, not partake in it.”

                “I believe I have the right to monitor this meeting.” Kanna replied flatly. “It is quite unusual for the district manager to request an audience with a specific student, after all. I feel I should at least be aware of what may be discussed here.”

                “Well, if that’s how you feel, then who am I to stop you?” Tokushige shrugged.

                “S-so, um…” Yuko stuttered, feeling at a bit of a loss over this situation. Being surrounded by an adult teacher, another adult who basically runs the place she calls home, and the student council president, was more than a little nerve-wracking. At least she knew Kanna personally, and had grown fond of Yamagata during her classes, but it was still an awkward situation for her.

                “Oh, yes? What is it, Ms. Yuko?” Tokushige turned to Yuko, smiling.

                “Uhh… just, you know. What’s this meeting all about, anyway?” Yuko asked nervously.

                “Ahaha, getting right down to business, I see.” Tokushige nodded. “Well, I’m sure you may feel a bit intimidated right now.”

                Yuko merely lowered her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. Yamagata placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

                “I’m quite curious as well, sir.” Yamagata spoke. “What could you possibly have to say to the two of us?”

                “Well, I guess I’ll get straight to the point.” Tokushige stretched a bit in his seat before continuing. “I have a request for you two. I’d like you to take a trip to Central this weekend.”

                “What?!” the other three people in the room all blurted out the same thing in unison. Needless to say, they were totally shocked. After a brief pause, the first to speak up was Kanna.

                “Just a moment,” Kanna began, taking an extra moment to process what had just been said. “You must be joking! You know that academy rules prevent ordinary students from ever returning to Central until their graduation! Even as the district manager, you cannot arbitrarily break this tradition!”

                “C’mon now, don’t think so little of me.” Tokushige waved off Kanna’s reaction. “It’s not like I’m making this request on a whim.”

                “… Explain.” Kanna eyed Tokushige suspiciously.

                “See, I was contacted recently by Central Hospital.” answered Tokushige. “I’ve been going back-and-forth to Central for meetings for a while now. Even had to get old man Hoshikage involved. In the end, this was the plan everyone decided on.”

                “Why would Central Hospital contact you about Yuko Maeda…?” puzzled, Kanna glanced back over at Yuko.

                “Um…” Yuko lowered her head.

                “I’m sure Ms. Yuko here may have some idea.” Tokushige grinned.

                “Ms. Maeda, what is this about?” Yamagata asked, confused.

                “No, I mean…! I don’t really know!” Yuko waved her hands. “I-I was a patient there during a lot of my time in Central, but I’m better now, so…”

                “Oh dear, is that all?” Yamagata tilted her head.

                “It is not unusual for students of Central to end up in the hospital if they fall sick or injure themselves.” Kanna reasoned. “Even if you were particularly sickly, there should be no reason to be called back now, after all these years.”

                Left unconvinced, Kanna and Yamagata glanced back at Tokushige, hoping for more answers.

                “… Well, I was curious what Yuko might assume just from the clues I gave, but I guess I should explain myself more thoroughly.” Tokushige shrugged.

                “What does that mean?” Kanna whispered under her breath. Yamagata continued to feel lost in this conversation.

                At the moment, Kanna was thinking back to one of her more recent interactions with Tokushige. Unknown to Yuko, Tokushige is fully aware of Yuko’s powerful alternate persona, dubbed ‘the Guardian.’ While Tokushige himself was uninvolved with the incident at the end of April, he was aware of how everything transpired, and Kanna had the feeling he’d soon try to make contact with Yuko because of it. She’d inserted herself into the meeting for this reason, but the topic of Central popping up was totally unexpected.

                Starlight Academy’s central district, often nicknamed ‘Central’ for short, is the academy’s core hub. It’s where most of the academy’s main staff reside, and is also home to various Elementary schools and care centers for all of the younger students. It’s where the students spend all of their time before they’re eventually divided among the 4 districts for Middle school and onwards.

                As student council president, Kanna had a lot of influence in the eastern district, including the ability to find information on any student in the district since they’d entered it. But information from Central or the other three districts was completely unavailable to her. It was just the way the academy was set up: everyone grows up in Central, but then they enter totally new environments once they transfer into one of the districts.

                Kanna, of course, was a transfer student (from another world, no less), so unlike most of her peers, she doesn’t have any particular familiarity with Central. Though she knew she would eventually visit for certain student council duties, she hasn’t actually done so yet. Regardless, Kanna put such thoughts on hold and proceeded to listen to Tokushige’s explanation.

                “So, for starters…” he began. “Ms. Yuko, you said you were a regular patient of the hospital during your time in Central, but do you remember why?”

                “Of course…” Yuko answered, uncomfortably. “I was sick a lot when I was a kid…”

                “Now, do you remember the symptoms you had?” Tokushige asked.

                “… Fevers, headaches, hallucinations… things like that.” Yuko could only stare downward, depressed over having to recall such things.

                “Yes, your records say as much as well.” Tokushige nodded, smiling. “Now then, do you remember how you got better?”

                “… I don’t.” Yuko muttered.

                “Excuse me.” Yamagata spoke up. “In case you’re unaware, sir, you’re making Ms. Maeda here very uncomfortable. Is there a reason you’re making her spell out these private details in front of us?”

                “Sorry, sorry, it’s a bad habit of mine.” Tokushige waved his hand. “The only reason I asked her to spell it all out is because I’d feel rude having to explain it all myself. It’s best to hear these things from the one in question, right?”

                “But why does she need to do so at all?” Yamagata gave him a stern glare.

                “Okay, I think I can explain from here.” Tokushige adjusted his posture and began to speak more seriously. “There’s a 6^th grade girl in Central right now suffering from the exact same symptoms that Yuko once did.”

                The room grew silent for just a moment.

                “Okay…” Yamagata responded. “But what does that have to do with Ms. Maeda here? Should they not just treat this girl the same way they did her?”

                “When did anyone ever say that Ms. Yuko was treated?” Tokushige asked, with a serious expression.

                Yamagata and Kanna glanced at one another before both turning to look at Yuko, who was still hanging her head down.

                “Y-yeah, um…” Yuko stuttered. “They didn’t know what was wrong with me… The whole time I was in the hospital, they mainly just gave me medicine to ease the symptoms. I did eventually get better… but no one knew why.”

                “My… I see…” Yamagata spoke softly, pulling in the depressed Yuko by the shoulder and trying to comfort her.

                “I think I understand.” Kanna finally spoke up. “Central is at a loss on what to do for this girl, so they would like to see Yuko Maeda again, as she is the only other person on record to share the same symptoms and also recover from them. Is that correct?”

                “Bingo.” Tokushige pointed his finger at Kanna, giving a wink. “The girl’s name is Tsukiko Matsuura, and her health has been declining over the past month. If it keeps up, they fear her life may be in danger.”

                “I see…” Kanna nodded. “I suppose that would be reason enough to warrant an exception and allow a student like Yuko Maeda to return to Central briefly.”

                “Correctamundo!” Tokushige grinned.

                “I also understand the reasoning here.” Yamagata spoke up. “But, why must I go to Central as well?”

                “Ah, I thought that would be obvious.” Tokushige answered. “You’re her homeroom teacher. Obviously a responsible adult like yourself should accompany your student on such an unorthodox trip.”

                “Yes, I suppose so…” Yamagata gave a wry smile, before turning her attention back to Yuko, who she was still holding close. “Are you okay now, Ms. Maeda?”

                “Yeah, I’m fine…” Yuko sighed, separating from Yamagata. “Talk of the hospital always makes me uncomfortable, but I have a lot of good memories from Central too, so it’ll be nice to see it again.”

                “That’s the spirit!” Tokushige smiled. “I’m glad we all seem to understand the situation.”

                “This could have been completed much sooner had you just explained the details from the start.” sighed Kanna.

                “Now, now, gimme a break, little Kanna.” Tokushige smirked at Kanna, who only glared back in response.

                “So, um, have we gone over everything?” Yuko asked.

                “Yes, of course, I think we’re good for now.” Tokushige said, clapping his hands together. “I can discuss the specifics with Ms. Mariko here, but the rest of you are free to go. Just know that you’ll probably be heading over sometime after school tomorrow.”

                “Okay, I understand.” Yuko bowed as she rose from her seat, preparing to leave.

                “This is pretty short notice, are you okay with that, Yuko Maeda?” Kanna spoke up, making her way to Yuko’s side.

                “Yeah, it’s fine. I didn’t have any particular plans for this weekend anyway.” Yuko replied with a wry smile, scratching her head.

                “Okay, if you say so.” Kanna remained quiet as she followed Yuko out of the room.

                The two girls walked down the hallway in silence, before ending up in front of the student council office. Kanna motioned for Yuko to come on in, but Yuko shook her head.

                “Sorry, I have work to get to. I’m already late as it is…” Yuko looked down.

                “Ah, yes, my apologies…” it slipped her mind for a moment, but Kanna had already contacted the café to inform them that Yuko would be late, but the meeting ran longer than expected, and it would probably be better for Yuko to get there sooner than later.

                “Well, I’ll see you later Kanna…” as Yuko turned to walk away, Kanna quickly took hold of Yuko’s wrist.

                “J-just a moment… um…” Kanna faced downward, as if troubled. “Yuko, I… I apologize… for standing in on a meeting regarding such a personal matter.”

                Yuko blinked for just a moment, before bringing a smile to her face.

                “Don’t worry about it, Kanna. It’s not like I try to keep it a secret or anything. It’s just something I don’t like to talk about very much.”

                “But still, I…” Kanna let go of Yuko. She clearly felt guilt about something. Thinking the situation over, Yuko took the opportunity to bring up something on her mind as well.

                “Hey Kanna, when I first saw you in the meeting room earlier, I’d kind of wondered if the meeting would have something to do with all that stuff that happened last month, but it didn’t seem like it did…”

                “Ah…” Kanna let out a small gasp.

                “Based on your reactions, I guess you thought the same thing too, huh?” Yuko smiled.

                “… You are correct.” Kanna admitted. “The truth is, that man, Tokushige, he knows about the whole thing. He is fully aware of Alviquan as well. Though, I suppose you may have expected as much.”

                “I had a feeling.” Yuko chuckled. “You seemed antsy over whatever he might say to me.”

                “It appears I fail to hide my emotions as well as I had thought.” Kanna smiled wryly.

                “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re always there for me.” Yuko smiled, before taking on a more worried expression. “Though, be honest, Kanna… That sickness I had back then… Does it have something to do with your world? Or, maybe this Guardian inside me?”

                “H-hmm…” Kanna was taken aback for a moment, but she lifted her hand to her chin and began thinking. “To be honest, I have heard something about some strange new disease going around in Alviquan as of late.”

                “Then…!”

                “No.” Kanna shook her head. “We cannot jump to such a conclusion. After all, the illness I refer to is too recent. It was years ago when you were sick, correct? The timing does not align. Plus, I do not know any details about it. My family has simply mentioned it in passing in some letters I received from them.”

                “I-I see…” Yuko lowered her head. “So I guess it can’t be the same sickness.”

                “Indeed.” Kanna nodded. “Considering there had only been very little interaction between this world and Alviquan until a few years ago, there is little chance they could be related. I can only assume whatever ailed you must originate from this world.”

                “I see… I’ll keep that in mind then.” Yuko nodded.

                “Well then, sorry to keep you here so long.” Kanna apologized. “Please, have a good evening at your job.”

                “I-it’s no problem at all!” Yuko waved her hands, before turning to head off to the café. “See you later, Kanna!”

                Kanna simply waved as Yuko departed. After letting out a sigh, Kanna entered the student council room. Inside, a handful of other student council members were scattered around the room, handling various tasks.

                “President! Where have you been?!” a tall disgruntled-looking boy with glasses spoke up first.

                “I had important business to attend to.” Kanna answered calmly.

                “It sounded like you were just chatting with someone outside.” the boy replied, sounding annoyed at Kanna for having lightly dodged his question.

                “It does not concern you.” Kanna spoke sharply. “Now then, everyone, please prepare your usual daily reports. Due to the lack of time, we shall keep things brief today.”

                The other members in the room all gave a casual response and started getting things together for their reports.

                “Kh…” the boy, however, was annoyed at being shrugged off. Still, he let the subject drop and started getting his things ready as well.

---

                “Sorry I’m late! I’ll get to work right away!” said Yuko, now dressed in her work attire, as she bowed to the Boss.

                “Don’t worry about it! I already heard that Kan-chan might be holding you up anyway, haha.”

                The Boss was a third-year student, just like Kanna, and also happened to be in the same class as her. Since Kanna knew he was in charge of the café Yuko worked at, it only made sense to inform him if she knew that Yuko might end up running late.

                “For now you can just help out at the register.” Boss continued, pointing in that direction with his thumb.

                “Yes, sir!” Yuko swiftly followed her instructions and headed to the register. Once she arrived, she nodded to the one already standing there: Tanabe Murakami.

                “Seems you finally made it.” he said with a smile during a brief moment while a customer was thinking.

                “Yeah, haha.” Yuko laughed awkwardly in response, before turning her attention to the crowd in front of her. “Excuse me! I can take some of you over here!”

                It was the middle of that busy time in the afternoon, so the café was more crowded than usual. During times like this, employees at the café would sometimes split the line in two, despite there only being one register. It can be a little tricky, but people who work well together like Yuko and Tanabe manage to form a good flow of going back-and-forth with the register while taking people’s orders and assigning tables for anyone eating in. It was a skill they’d honed well over their short time working this job together.

                A bit of time passed, and slowly but surely the crowds began to die down, allowing Yuko and Tanabe a chance to relax for a bit at the register.

                “Ahhhh, it’s always a good feeling when we finally get to catch our breath for a moment, huh?” Tanabe said, stretching out his arms.

                “You said it.” Yuko sighed as she massaged her shoulders.

                “So what’s new with you?” Tanabe asked. “Any reason you were late today?”

                “Well, uh… It’s a long story.” Yuko smiled wryly. “But the short of it is, it seems I have to go to the hospital in Central. Basically, it’s to kind of follow up on something that happened there when I was young.”

                “Oh wow…” Tanabe blinked. “I didn’t think there were situations that could get you a trip to Central. Well, outside of being student council president or something…”

                “Trust me, I’m just as surprised…” Yuko replied. “I didn’t expect to ever set foot in Central again…”

                “Right? Haha.” Tanabe chuckled. “Do you remember the closing ceremony at the end of 6^th grade? They went on and on about how the districts would be our new homes and how we’d never return to the ‘nest’ of Central or whatever. Did they still do that when you were there?”

                “Yeah, they did!” Yuko perked up, distinct memories of a similar event popping back into her mind. “I was sick a lot in those days, but that was right around the time I started feeling better and attended classes again, so I remember that speech made me kind of sad. Even though I finally got better, I had to say goodbye to the place I called home. Then of course, the new school year started and I became a middle schooler here in the east district.”

                “Oh man, you were that sickly back then?” Tanabe gave a look of concern.

                “Yeah, but please don’t worry!” Yuko waved her hands around. “By the time I was in middle school I was basically all better!”

                “Okay, if you say so.” Tanabe gave an affirmative nod. “So they want you to head back to Central to follow-up on the sickness? I guess the hospital out there is pretty professional. I could see them wanting to make sure you’re okay now. A bit odd to wait this many years, though.”

                “Well… yeah, something like that.” Yuko decided it’d be best to keep the details to a minimum, so she decided not to mention the mysterious circumstances regarding the illness, or the fact that she’s being called in for testing to help another girl seemingly suffering from the same thing.

                “So, uh… What were you like back in Central, Tanabe?” Yuko asked, trying to steer the subject away from herself.

                “Me? Hmm…” Tanabe fell deep into thought.

                “Did you practice kendo like you do now?” Yuko asked, remembering the times she’d watched Tanabe’s gallant skills during his kendo matches.

                “Kendo? Oh, no, haha.” Tanabe chuckled. “I didn’t pick up kendo until my last year of middle school.”

                “Oh wow!” Yuko was surprised. “Even though you’re so good, you’ve only been at it for a few years…”

                “Yeah, a lot of people are surprised to learn that, haha.” Tanabe chuckled. “Now, let’s see… Back when I was at Central, I mostly just played around. My grades weren’t great, and I was pretty carefree. I just hung out with my friends, and we all pretended to be super heroes.”

                “Aw, that’s cute.” Yuko smiled, imagining a small Tanabe running around playing hero.

                “Hahaha, I wouldn’t say so.” Tanabe smiled with a nostalgic expression. “We were actually pretty big troublemakers. We drove the teachers and dorm staff nuts. Sure we were pretending to be heroes, but most of what we did was rebel against the adults.”

                “Still, I think it’s good to have such a fun-filled childhood!”

                “Well, maybe you’re right.” Tanabe pat Yuko on the head in gratitude. “How about you? I know you said you were sick a lot, but when you were feeling good, what did you get up to back then?”

                “Well, I wasn’t nearly as active as you, haha.” Yuko giggled. “Back then, I had two best friends… We were always together. We did all kinds of things, really. Watched a lot of movies, drew pictures together, and sang… Of course, it was all pretty childish stuff, but it was fun.”

                “Sounds nice.” Tanabe smiled gently.

                “Yeah! Those are some of my most precious memories…” Yuko stared up at the ceiling with a look of nostalgia. “I can’t believe I actually get to go back there again…”

                “When are you going?” Tanabe asked.

                “It seems like we’re heading over right after school tomorrow.” replied Yuko.

                “Wow, sounds like pretty short notice.”

                “Yeah, but I don’t really have a choice.” Yuko shrugged. “It’s fine, though.  I didn’t really have plans anyway.”

                “Well, I hope you make the most of the trip and have a good time.” Tanabe smiled.

                “Yeah, I’ll try to!” Yuko pumped her fist. “Though, for all I know I may be stuck in the hospital the whole time…”

                “That’d be unfortunate…”

                Yuko and Tanabe both laughed. Before long, some new customers entered the shop and their brief discussion came to a close. Throughout the rest of the evening, those two and all the other employees kept busy. Later on, everyone took turns taking a break to have dinner, and before long their shifts ended and the café closed for the night.

---

                “What?! You’re going to Central?! Tomorrow?!”

                The one shouting in surprise at hearing the news from Yuko was Chisa Ando. It was late at night and the two girls had decided to head in to the baths together. They were currently soaking in the tub chatting, when Yuko dropped the news.

                “Not so loud, Chisa!” Yuko panicked. “It’s a unique circumstance because the hospital wants to follow-up on the time I was sick there!”

                “After all these years? That sounds strange to me…” Chisa crossed her arms.

                “Yeah, it surprised me too… But I decided I should try to help out the best I can.” Yuko gave a determined smile.

                “But wow. Central, huh… That really takes me back…” Chisa glanced up at the ceiling. “Do you suppose Aoi has been holding up well?”

                “Ah… I hope she’s doing well.” Yuko’s expression turned somewhat sad after being reminded of her old friend.

                Yuko thought back to the days of her youth. When she was a child living in Central, she had two best friends. One of them was Chisa Ando, who is still by her side today. The other was a girl named Aoi Kosugi: a kind, yet serious-minded girl with glasses. The three friends were always together, and whenever Yuko was sick in the hospital, the other two would always try to support her and be there for her. Sadly, once they’d all graduated and had to move on from Central, the trio got split up. Yuko and Chisa both managed to end up in the eastern district, but Aoi must’ve ended up elsewhere. Due to this separation, Yuko and Chisa have had no contact with Aoi for years.

                “Do you know if you’ll be able to walk around Central on your own while you’re there?” Chisa asked.

                “I don’t think so. Ms. Yamagata’s coming with me, and I’ll probably have to stay with her.” Yuko guessed. “After all, I don’t really recall seeing any older students while we were at Central, right?”

                “Right.” Chisa nodded. “It was just us kids and all the adults.”

                “Though, it would be nice if I could go around and explore for old times’ sake.” Yuko smiled. “I feel like if I ever visit any of the old classrooms, everything would seem so small now! Haha.”

                “Hahaha! That’s true! We’ve all grown quite a bit from those days… in more ways than one.” Chisa gave an inquisitive glance at Yuko’s chest.

                “Hey!” Yuko covered up her large bosom in embarrassment. “Don’t stare, Chisa!”

                “Haha! Sorry, sorry!” Chisa chuckled. “Though honestly, seeing you like this, sometimes I really wonder if we’re even the same age! Your size is comparable to Ms. Yamagata’s, and she’s an adult!”

                “Jeez…” Yuko sighed, her face still a bit flushed. “Chisa, you perv.”

                “I’m just calling it like I see it!” Chisa scratched the back of her head. “Anyway, I hope your trip to Central goes well! I want to hear all about it when you get back!”

                “Right!” Yuko smiled back at her dear friend.

                A little while later, the two exited the bath. After drying off and getting dressed, the girls each headed back to their own rooms.

                It was now fairly late at night, and many students were already starting to head to bed. Yuko sat at her desk, wrapping up a short assignment for class while the TV nearby played the usual repeats of old student-produced programming from years past. It was a film Yuko had seen numerous times, so she basically just let it remain as background noise while she worked.

                Flipping her pencil around in-hand, Yuko would find her thoughts drifting to the coming day’s trip to Central. She felt as though she still couldn’t fully process it.

                “My first time outside of this district in over 3 years…” Yuko whispered at her desk.

                When one grows accustomed to one place, it can feel strange to venture away from it after such a long time. Due to this, Yuko felt as though the fact that she would be somewhere else by this time tomorrow was a bit surreal. Still, rare experiences like this were valuable in their own right.

                Trying to focus again on her assignment, it was a simple question-and-answer form for the assigned reading Ms. Yamagata had discussed during class. The question ‘What did the protagonist feel upon returning to his hometown?’ was the next one printed on the sheet. Yuko moved to fill in the answer.

                “Nostalgia…” Yuko mumbled to herself as she filled in the same answer on the assignment.

[Chapter 1 END]