CHAPTER 1

The Returner Loses His Memories

“…ver for…get… The pain…and…the oath you swore…”

I heard a distant voice. A voice like that of a demon crawling up out of a deep, dark swamp.

Only it was unclear, and I couldn’t quite make out what it was trying to say.

All I could sense was the blinding rage that propelled it. An emotion that, against my better judgment, roused me from my slumber.

“Mmm… Mmh…”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring at a cream-colored ceiling.

“Where…am I? Argh…my head…it hurts…”

My head was throbbing, as if I’d slept for a thousand years. The only bed in the room was mine, and there wasn’t anyone else around, but I heard a persistent beep-beep-beep.

It was a hospital room. Yet try as I might, I couldn’t recall how I’d ended up here.

“Let’s see… I remember I was on class duty yesterday, so I went to school early… Kenta and Suehiko were there. I was chatting with them. Yuuto went upstairs to see his girlfriend, and we gave him crap for it. Then…”

Then what happened? I couldn’t remember a thing.

“Pardon me… Oh my god, the patient’s awake?! Doctor! Come quickly!!”

A young nurse noticed me the moment she entered the room, then turned around and went running down the hallway screaming. Left to my own devices, I wondered if what the nurse did was standard procedure. Then I got the distinct feeling I was on some sort of soap opera and looked around for any hidden cameras.

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just waited for someone to come back. Before long, an impressive-looking doctor entered the room.

“Oh, good morning, my friend,” he said. “You mind if we do a few checkups before we proceed?”

“N-no, go ahead.”

The doctor proceeded to pepper me with questions, which I answered, still wondering just what had happened. After opening my smock to let the doctor examine my chest, I was surprised to find it covered in scars.

H-huh? What on earth happened to me?

I tried not to let it show, but I’m sure I would have screamed out in shock at the terrible sight had the doctor not been present. My one saving grace was that the scars didn’t hurt at all.

The doctor shone a light into my pupils, asked me to move my arms, and checked my heartbeat with a stethoscope.

“…Well, physically speaking, everything looks good,” he said at last. “I was worried about the shoulder wound, but it seems to have healed up nicely, and it doesn’t look infected. We’ll do a scan and keep you here for two or three days. Then you’ll be free to go.”

“Er… Doctor? What happened? Some kind of car accident, was it?”

It was the only explanation I could come up with for my injuries and memory loss. It happened all the time on TV. At least I was in a better state than those coma-prone main characters.

However, the room fell completely silent when I asked.

…Huh? What is it? Is it something serious?

The doctors and nurses in the room shared a concerned glance with one another and nodded before turning back to me.

“Uh…Mr. Ukei, a question, if I may… Exactly how much do you remember?”

“W-well, I was at school, talking to my friends before first period…”

“And what was the date, if I may ask?”

“It was June 8, 2015,” I replied, recalling the sight of my calendar that morning.

My answer caused the medical workers to glance among one another again.

“…Mr. Ukei. I want you to calm down. This may come as a shock, but today’s date is October 13, 2016.”

“…What? Y-you… What?”

“It may be hard to believe, but it’s true,” the doctor said.

“S-so what, you’re saying I lost over a year’s worth of memories? That’s impossible. Or…are you implying I’ve been in a coma for all that time?”

Both ideas sounded ludicrous when I said them out loud. What on earth was the meaning of this?

The doctor shook his head gravely.

“You were first brought to this hospital ten days ago.”

“Oh…I guess that makes sense. If I’d been asleep for a year, I’d barely be able to move… I don’t suppose I just mistook the date, so I guess you’re saying that I lost all my memories of the past year?”

“In my professional opinion, it seems highly likely, yes.”

“I don’t believe it… A whole year…?”

Could this really be happening? Being bedridden for a year sounded crazy enough, but losing a year’s worth of memories was, in some ways, even more unbelievable. I mean, if a year had really passed, that meant I was a third-year student now. I’d have university entrance exams coming up. The National Center Test was only three months away, wasn’t it? How the hell was I going to cope?

“I suspect the amnesia will only be temporary,” said the doctor. “We’ll take you in for an MRI at once. Come with me.”

“O-okay.”

I slipped off the bed, unable to hide my utter shock at these revelations.

“Kaito!! Wh-what’s happened?!”

Just then, a girl threw open the door with such force that it bounced right off the rubber stopper and pinned her in the doorway. A doctor went over to check on her. “Hey, are you all right—? Whoa!” The girl, however, pushed past him, clutching her bruised shoulder and staggering over to me.

“…Kaito. Dear brother. You’re awake. I’m not dreaming, am I? You’re here. You’re back. You’re alive.”

“H-hey, whoa, calm down, you. H-hey, that tickles, cut it out! Ah-ha-ha!”

It was my little sister, Mai. She ran over and threw her arms around me. Then, as if to confirm it was really me, she started running her hands all over my chest, tears in her eyes that seemed on the verge of spilling over at any moment. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen her so upset.

…Wh…? What’s going on?

As soon as I set my gaze on her, I felt a gut-wrenching pain out of nowhere.

“Kaito…oh, Kaito… Sob…”

It really had been over a year since I’d seen her last. It couldn’t have been last night at all. Her hair had grown and her face had matured, but she cried like the same old kid sister I had always known.

“Mai… Ha-ha. I’m sorry. I guess you’ve been worried about me.”

I tried to suppress whatever emotion was forcing its way out of me. It had always been my job as the older brother to comfort Mai when she was sad. I gave her a gentle pat on the head until she calmed down.

“I’ll have to go for a bit,” I said. “They want to do some scans.”

“If you’d like to come with us to the next room, please, Miss Ukei,” said one of the nurses to her. “There’s something we need to tell you…”

“…Okay.”

I parted with Mai, and the nurses led me down the linoleum halls of the hospital.

“Your sister has been worried sick about you,” one of them said. “She’s been coming every day after school to check up on you… Mr. Ukei?! Is something the matter?”

I was crying. I assumed it was because I’d let my sister see me at my weakest.

“N-no, it’s nothing,” I said. “I don’t know why. I just felt so…”

The nurse tittered softly. “I think it’s nice. You don’t often see siblings getting on so well these days.”

“Yeah…you’re right. That’s it. That’s all it is…”

I didn’t think I’d ever wept so hard in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that my sister cared so much about me, but to cry because of it? If Kenta found out, I’d never hear the end of it. He always said I was obsessed with her.

I wiped my tears and proceeded to the scanning room. Little did I know at the time that Kenta would never make fun of me again.

After the scan, I headed back to my hospital room to find Mai there, along with two unfamiliar men. One, a plump, middle-aged fellow in an old tan suit, and the other a taller, more sharply dressed gentleman in a striking black suit. I assumed they must have been hospital staff.

“…Doctor, please tell me,” asked Mai, standing up from her chair. “Did you find anything wrong with Kaito?”

“The MRI turned up no abnormalities. He’s fine.”

“Don’t worry about me, Mai. In fact, I feel great.”

“…Really? You’re sure you’re feeling okay? You’re not lying to me, are you, dear brother? Did they find out you’ve become even more of an imbecile than you already were?”

Mai held my sleeve and refused to let go. She’d been clingy like that ever since she was a kid. The insults were an old habit, too, and knowing why she did it, it was hard to tell her to stop. Anyway, I found it endearing, so I didn’t complain. To be honest, I sort of enjoyed it.

Come to think of it, isn’t it a weekday? Shouldn’t you be at school, Mai? It’s the middle of the day.

She didn’t have to skip school just to come and see me. I was glad she cared, though. Besides, I knew she’d only get mad if I said anything.

“Listen, son. You mind if we have a word?” asked the plump fellow, tactlessly inserting himself into the conversation. “Name’s Miyagawa, and I’m with the Iizuka precinct.”

“My name’s Onishi,” said the other gentleman. “Pleased to meet you.”

Both of them showed me their badges. “Y-you’re with the police?” I asked.

“That’s right. We’ve got a couple of questions for you, young man. You see…”

“Miyagawa. Remember, this boy is still in the hospital. I know the case is important, but I would ask you to refrain from being so heavy-handed.”

“You got me there. I suppose I was a little overeager. All right, Onishi, there’s no need to look so glum. Did I upset you?”

“Your behavior upsets me.”

Miyagawa chuckled while the man in the black suit, Onishi, sighed.

“Er…what’s this about?” I ventured.

“Mr. Ukei, please take a seat. There’s something we need to tell you.”

“O-okay.”

We all sat down around a table, and the nurse left to fetch some tea. After a short while, the doctor began speaking.

“As far as we can tell, your injuries should be no impediment to your day-to-day life. Your deepest wounds were those in your shoulders, which have both fully healed. There’s no numbness or paralysis, either, but we’d like to keep you under observation here at the hospital for a couple of days, just in case.”

“I see. And what about my amnesia?”

That was what I was most concerned about right now.

“We’ve done two MRI scans, but we can’t find anything in your brain to suggest a cause,” the doctor explained. “Your amnesia seems to be purely psychosomatic in nature.”

“So…how long will it take to remember, do you think? I have entrance exams coming up, you see…”

I wasn’t looking forward to cramming in a year’s worth of material in only a few months. Worst-case scenario, I’d fail the exams, and then where would I be?

“Entrance exams? Ah-ha-ha! That’s the least of your worries, son!”

“Mr. Miyagawa, I’m afraid if you don’t treat this poor boy with a little more tact, I’ll have to ask you to leave the room,” said the doctor.

“…You are a handful at times, Miyagawa,” added the other policeman.

“Oh, I do apologize. Me and my big mouth.”

“…Er…what did you mean by that?” I asked, feeling a little apprehensive. Mai clutched my sleeve even tighter.

“Mr. Ukei,” said the doctor. “I want you to stay very calm as I tell you this. First, as I said, you were brought here to the hospital ten days ago. We received a call from your school, where you were found with severe cuts and blood loss, as if you’d been attacked. You had two large stab wounds when you were brought here, one on each shoulder.”

“At school? How did that happen? So…it wasn’t a car accident, then?”

It was starting to dawn on me why these two detectives were here. Something truly sinister must have happened to me.

“I’ll take over the explanation from here, if you don’t mind,” said Miyagawa, raising a cup of freshly poured tea to his lips. “Doubt a doctor will be able to explain anyway. I’ll get the ending out of the way first: Mr. Ukei, you’ve been missing for over sixteen months. The reason you don’t need to worry about entrance exams is because you never made it to third year. Heh, guess you still got finals, though.”

“…What?”

The detective had told me something very unsettling indeed. There was only one question in my mind.

“…You mean…I have to retake second year?”

“’Fraid so, son! Ha-ha-ha!”

Miyagawa burst into uproarious laughter, bereft of compassion for my plight. After he finished guffawing, he continued his explanation.

“On June 8, 2015, there was a mass disappearance at Fujinomiya Institute for Secondary Education. Nearly two hundred students and teachers up and vanished into thin air just before classes were due to start.”

“A mass disappearance?” I replied, astounded. “At our school?”

“You heard me right. In fact, it’s being treated as the largest mass disappearance event in history. But the weirdest part is what the witnesses claim to have seen. You know, the other four hundred students, teachers, and staff who were there when shit went down. All of ’em insist they saw some kind of magic circle of light appear around the ones who went missing, about a meter across.”

“…You mean, like, from a game?”

“Something like that, yeah. I tell you, when I saw the video one of ’em took on their phone, I thought it was an ad for a new fantasy movie.”

Miyagawa sat back theatrically in his seat and sighed.

“However,” he continued, “we just can’t seem to get to the bottom of what really happened. How did so many people go missing without a trace? And now you show up. I guess you know what I’m going to say next, don’t you? You were one of the students who went missing that day. The only one we’ve found after more than a year of chasing dead ends. What’s more, you suddenly appeared in the middle of that classroom in a ring of light, just like how you disappeared. Think you can explain all that to me, son? This old man just can’t keep up.”

“…”

“So you really don’t remember anything, do you? You’re our last clue, son. If you don’t give us something, we’ll have to pull the plug on the whole investigation.”

I disappeared over a year ago? Right in the middle of school, along with nearly two hundred other people? Inside some sort of…what, magic pentagram?

I’d never heard anything so absurd. I could barely process what he was saying.

“What on earth are you talking about?” I asked, the words spilling out before I could stop them. However, my flippant disregard only seemed to anger the detective, Miyagawa.

“You gotta give us somethin’. Your best friends Kenta Kida and Suehiko Ito disappeared that day as well!”

“Th-they did?!”

I could only really half follow the conversation, but hearing the names of my two friends was like a stab to the gut.

“Why are you the only one who’s come back?! And how did you return at all?! Where are the others who disappeared with you?!”

“Please, calm yourself, Mr. Miyagawa,” said the doctor, but the detective’s outburst could not be stopped.

“Shut it! A hundred and eighty-six people went missing, and we’ll never know anything unless this boy speaks up! Where have you been the last year and four months?! What do you—?!”

Clatter!

“…Get out. Don’t you dare speak to my dear brother that way. Your fat belly is ugly enough without you sticking your snout in the dirt for truffles, pig.”

Mai’s chair toppled to the floor as she stood, a dark shadow crossing her stern face.

Oh, shit. She’s really about to lose it.

The women of our household all hid a deadly poison beneath their gentle facades. Their words were laced with venom at the best of times, but rage only exacerbated it. And Mai was especially protective of her friends and family.

“Settle down, Mai. It’s okay, really…”

“If you can’t stand up for yourself, dear brother, then keep quiet. Otherwise, you’re just wasting oxygen.”

“Oof…”

My little sister chopped me to pieces. It felt more hurtful than usual today for some reason. But this reminder of my usual life came as a welcome reprieve from the otherwise highly unusual events of the day.

“Mr. Miyagawa, I understand how you must feel, but I must insist you leave the boy alone. He’s had enough excitement for one day, I fear,” the doctor added.

“Come on, Miyagawa, listen to the doctor. We’ll come back another time,” Onishi said.

Miyagawa closed his eyes in thought, then spoke.

“…You’re right. Sorry about that. But let me just say one last thing, son. Somewhere in your head is a clue that’ll lead us to the truth. Something that’ll help us bring those hundred and eighty-six people back home. If you remember anything, anything at all, please tell us.”

“…I understand. If I do, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Thank you, son.”

Then the two detectives, Miyagawa and Onishi, stood, bowed deeply, and left the room.

“…Miyagawa, you really must exercise discretion. I know you’re desperate for new leads, but don’t forget what happened last month. If you’re not careful, the public could turn against us at the drop of a hat.”

“Yes, I know. I just wanted to make sure the kid was telling the truth, that’s all. Did he really forget everything?”

Miyagawa shrugged and sighed.

“We’ve been on this case for over a year, Onishi, and what have we got to show for it? Still, I knew there was something special about the Ukei family. Kaito’s parents fell to their deaths on the same day he disappeared, and his aunt and grandmother went missing, too. Those magic circles even came after the sister, and she wasn’t anywhere near the school. You really think all that’s just a coincidence?”

“I couldn’t say,” I replied. “Kaito is the only one who’s returned, that’s true. But don’t forget that there were no witnesses around to verify the sister’s claim… Still, it’s too early to do anything rash. The police have already lost the public’s trust once over this case. We have to tread carefully.”

I sighed, but Miyagawa only laughed.

“Ha-ha-ha. I don’t blame the public, Onishi. We’ve been on this case for sixteen months without turning up a damn thing.”

I was still concerned about the Ukei siblings, though. They were the victims of this case, and I pitied them. I felt we ought to leave them in peace.

“Well, we still have to focus on cleaning up this mess,” Miyagawa said. “If the boy can’t tell us anything, perhaps he can still act as the bait.”

“…Sometimes, Miyagawa, you should keep your thoughts to yourself. Besides, we have officers from every department out pulling weeds these days.”

Trust in the police force was at an all-time low, owing to a recent blunder in the handling of this high-profile case. People had gotten killed because of it, and it wasn’t something the police could simply cover up. We would be treading on dangerously thin ice for the time being.

“Ha-ha-ha. Good luck to ’em, I say. As long as the roots survive, it doesn’t matter how many weeds you pull. They’ll always grow right back.”

“Just try not to attract public outrage, Miyagawa. Do keep in mind I’m supposed to be monitoring your behavior.”

“Sorry ’bout that. But you don’t need to worry, Onishi. Anything happens, I’ll be the fall guy.”

“Miyagawa!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

I couldn’t believe this man.

“Still, Onishi. What do you make of it all? Where’s the boy been all this time, huh? You really think he could have…?”

“I presume you’re referring to…”

The public had come up with a theory to explain the events they’d witnessed on video, but it was absurd. Laughable. The disappeared people, they said, had been transported to another world.

“It’s hard to believe, I must say,” I replied. “And unfortunately, there was no video of Kaito coming back. However, he was wearing some rather strange clothes when he reappeared…”

“Onishi, I’m an old dog, you know. I musta watched that video dozens of times. I never believed it for a second…until I saw that boy today.”

For once, I saw an honest side to Miyagawa, stripped of the bluff and bluster. He was being vulnerable with me.

“I can’t for the life of me think what he’s been up to these past sixteen months. Let me ask you a question, Onishi: When was the last time you felt threatened by an unarmed man?”

“…”

In defiance of his supposed abstinence from smoking, Miyagawa put a cigarette to his mouth and lit it. I wanted to say, “Don’t be silly, he’s just a kid,” but something held me back.

Because I had felt it, too.

…A fear like the time my father and I had gone hunting in the mountains and had stared down a wounded bear.

After the detectives left, the doctor introduced himself as Koichi Maeno. We talked a little about what treatments were to follow, and then he sent me to a hospital room. A nurse guided me there, then quickly departed, leaving Mai and me to ourselves.

“…I can’t believe I have to repeat a year,” I said.

I couldn’t think of where else to begin. I’d lost over a year’s worth of memories, all my friends had been turned to light and spirited away by magic, and I was the only person to have come back.

“A year… A whole year… It’s a long time.”

It hadn’t really felt like I’d been gone all that long, but now the reality of the situation was starting to sink in.

“…Mai. Is what that detective said true? Are Kenta and Suehiko really gone?”

I was still expecting her to come clean at any moment and explain how the whole thing was some elaborate prank. But Mai’s eyes drooped—so imperceptibly that only someone in the family could have noticed—and she shook her head.

“…Out of all your friends, dear brother, the only one who didn’t go missing is Yuuto.”

“H-he’s still around?!”

“The police were conducting an open investigation, and they showed me the list of names of the people who disappeared.”

Mai reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, swiping across the screen with a slender forefinger.

“Look at this,” she said, handing it to me. She’d pulled up the front page of the police website. Beneath a banner asking for witnesses was a list of names that scrolled across the bottom of the screen, and on it I found the names of my two friends, Suehiko Ito and Kenta Kido. In fact, most of my classmates were there as well.

“How…? This can’t…”

A meaningless, instinctive refusal issued from my lips. I had never expected that text on a screen could make me feel such dread. The detective’s words sounded once more in my head. The key to finding them was hidden somewhere in the void of my memories.

What happened? And why don’t I remember any of it? Dammit, what do I do?

Whenever I tried to remember anything, it was as though I were trapped in a deep swamp. The loss and impatience fanned the flames of my fear and caused my blood to race.

“…You should sleep, dear brother. I can’t stand you looking as downtrodden as a filthy sewer rat any longer.”

While turning on the waterworks, my clever little sister shrewdly slipped her phone out of my hand. She’d acted the same way I remembered her, out of concern for me, yet I couldn’t help realizing just how much she’d grown.

Time had marched on without me. My forgetting it didn’t mean it hadn’t happened.

Somewhere inside me, within the deepest recesses of my heart…

“…Rgh!”

It hurt.

A pounding headache, like a fire trying to burn its way through my skin and bones.

“Just get some sleep, dear brother. I wouldn’t want your unappealing face to grow any wearier, or else nobody will be able to love you except me.”

“You’re right, Mai. Thanks. Sorry for worrying you.”

As soon as she mentioned fatigue, I felt tiredness assail me. It was still early evening, but I couldn’t stave off sleep any longer. I could think about my predicament later.

So I lay down in bed, and Mai gently pulled the covers over me. You know, it wasn’t all bad being sick every once in a while. At least I had my sister to look after me. I’d tell her I could feel the love, except she might twist my ear off.

“…It’s my job to fix you, useless brother. You just rest easy now…”

“Huh? Mai…?”

My sister closed her lips again without explaining what she meant. It preyed on my mind, but I was powerless against the warm blankets, so I quickly closed my eyes.

“It’s my fault…sob. It’s all my fault.”

In a corner of the room, there was a crying child.

No, not just any child. It was me.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry…”

An old dream. A bitter memory of events long ago, now scorched into my mind.

Mom and Dad were out of the house and had left me, a new elementary-schooler, alone with Mai. She was often sick and rarely left the house, and she had been confined to bed with a fever that morning.

“Can I do anything for you, Mai? I know, I’ll read you a book if you like.”

“I don’t want book. I want to hold hands.”

“Well, okay. I can do that.”

As I took her clammy palms, I remember she looked lost in the clouds.

“Your hands… So warm…”

“Do you need anything else?”

“Nu-uh… Just stay with me… I don’t wanna be alone…”

“Okay, sure. Then I’ll stay right here.”

Rendered weak by her cold, Mai seemed much meeker than usual. I held her hand, and she gradually drifted off to sleep. I always found it cute the way she couldn’t stand being alone. Mom and Dad would usually take care of her when she fell ill, but they weren’t here right now.

There was only me. I felt proud, grown-up. My bratty little sister was being nice to me for the first time in my life. It felt good. Right now, I was the only person she could rely on. I didn’t want anyone to take my newfound strength away from me.

And that was where my mistakes began. I immediately forgot the most important thing.

Because I stood up and left my sister alone. I went down the street, coins in hand, to buy my sister a tub of her favorite apple jelly from the convenience store. She’ll love to have some when she wakes up, I thought.

But in doing so, I broke my promise. I’d decided that was what Mai wanted without asking her and left her all alone by herself. No sooner had I spoken the words “I’ll stay right here” than I went back on them.

When Mai woke up, she left the house to go looking for me and was hit by a car.

“Oh God, please. Please don’t let her die…”

I watched the ambulance take her away, as if into a dark crevasse from which she would never return. The house I returned to alone had never felt so cold.

I was her big brother. How could I ever have made her feel that way? I was pathetic.

I tucked in my knees and shivered, as though packing myself away into a tiny little box.

“Mmh… Mmm… Ah…”

I awoke feeling worse than I had before I’d gone to sleep. I wasn’t tired, but the bad aftertaste of the dream clung to me.

“It’s nighttime already… Damn, my sleep schedule is so messed up.”

I must have been even more exhausted than I thought. According to the illuminated clockface, it was already past eight PM. The only thing I could hear was the regular beeping of the hospital equipment. It felt like I was the last man on the planet.

The cold stillness reminded me of my childhood home, where I’d waited alone for Mai to come back. Come to think of it, it was this very hospital that she’d been taken to.

Perhaps that was why I’d had that dream.

On my bedside table, I found a note that read, “See you tomorrow, dear brother. I’ll bring a fresh change of clothes. Make sure to chew slowly when you eat and wait quietly in your bed like a dead fish.” It was full of my sister’s characteristic bitterness.

“…I’m thirsty.”

Upon realizing this, I also noticed just how hungry I was. Do they not bring patients meals in places like this? I wondered. Mai had mentioned food in her note, but perhaps they’d already taken my dinner away, since I was asleep.

“…I don’t think it’s important enough to ring the bell for a nurse,” I thought aloud. “I’ll live. I’ll just go and see if they have a snack bar or something.”

It was then that I realized I had no money. I searched the desk nearby, but my phone and wallet were nowhere to be found.

“Urgh… Well, I have to eat something.”

Somehow, the realization that I couldn’t procure any food made me feel even hungrier. I stayed there worrying about what to do for a while before heaving a deep sigh and exiting the room. All I could do was track down a nurse and see if they would bring me anything to eat.

The only people in the hall outside seemed to be other patients. The layout was exactly the same as when Mai had been hospitalized here. Following a vague recollection from a lifetime ago, I went down the halls in search of some kind of floor plan.

But then, just as I was rounding a corner, I heard a voice.

“Oh, but isn’t it awful about that boy on the third floor? He was involved in that disappearance last year, I heard.”

“Oh, him. It’s such a shame what happened to him, but I can’t help feeling scared, too, you know? They say it wasn’t his fault, but still…”

Disappearance? Are they talking about me? I thought.

“But this’ll be good for his sister as well. She’s had no one to rely on ever since it happened, you know.”

Hmm? No one to rely on…?

A discomforting chill ran down my spine, as though I knew what was coming. A terrible emotion crept into my heart.

I knew I was going to regret hearing whatever came next, but I couldn’t bring myself to run away.

“She’s so mature for her age, but at the end of the day she’s still a sixteen-year-old.”

“Yes, and even though she got that insurance payout, money can’t buy back her family, can it?”

“It must have been so hard for her after her parents passed. And with her aunt and grandmother missing, too…”

I felt a click, like I’d just been locked in that cold room, waiting for Mai.

Mom and Dad…were dead?

Auntie and Grandma…were missing?

What…the hell? What the hell what the hell what the hell?

“N…no. It can’t be…”

But now that I thought about it, some things just didn’t add up otherwise. The first person who came to my room was Mai. Mom and Dad hadn’t shown up, even when people had started explaining things later.

I’m not being bigheaded or anything, but I knew Mom and Dad, and they would have come running as soon as they heard the news, just like Mai had. And if they couldn’t, they’d have tried calling me, at the very least.

But…what if they were…?

“…Dead? Mom and Dad are really dead…?”

The moment those words left my mouth, it was like I was already completely convinced.

“Auntie and Grandma are gone, too?”

Mom’s mother was the last grandparent I had. She lived in a retirement home somewhere. The only other living relative who could possibly support us would have been my aunt. If both of them had disappeared, then…

…What about Mai? Who was taking care of her? Who had been looking after her all this time?

“That’s… I can’t…”

My eyes started to spin. My chest grew tight, and I found it difficult to breathe. My pulse hastened, and my ears began to ring.

“I have to go… I have to go see her right now!”

I had to see Mai while I still could. I had to speak to her as soon as possible!

“Grh!!”

Gripped by an uncertain fear, I took one step back, then another, and bolted down the hallway, silently searching for a way out. The front entrance was already locked. Attempting to steady my runaway heart, I looked around for a back door.

The security guard there let out a huge yawn, but it was simple enough to conceal my presence from him as I gently slipped into the night. However, the sight that greeted me at the main road was that of an unfamiliar part of town.

The lights of the shops and houses blotted out the night, and the streets were filled with people. As the cool night air went to my head, I realized I didn’t know the way home.

“Dammit…!”

Still, the hospital couldn’t be far from where I lived, and I knew the general area. If I just walked down the main road, I’d soon come across something I recognized.

As I was contemplating this, I heard someone call out to me.

“…H-hey!! Wait up!!”

I turned in the direction of the voice to find a bespectacled woman running up to me.

“Phew, you’re a fast one, I’ll give you that. Let me catch my breath.”

She wore a coat, had a square black bag slung over her shoulder, and looked to be in her late twenties. As she huffed, her breath came out white in the cold.

“Haah… That’s better. Now, you must be Kaito, right? Kaito Ukei?”

“Yes? What of it?”

“I knew it! I knew it was worth waiting here for you!!”

The woman fist-pumped with a pleasant, sociable smile. I didn’t have the faintest idea who she was. How did she know my name? In any case, she either ignored or failed to notice my suspicious gaze.

“My name’s Kumiko Kawakami, and I’m a reporter for a magazine called Utopia Monthly,” she explained. “I was wondering if you might have some time to chat?”

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry. See you.”

“That’s great, then how about that restaurant over—? Huh?”

I turned and walked away from the reporter without another word, but she ran around in front of me.

“H-hey, wait!! Please! Just ten minutes of your time! No, five!”

“There’s somewhere I have to be,” I replied. “Leave me alone.”

“I’m not giving up that easily! From the look of you, I’d say you just escaped from the hospital, right? I bet I could call them up and get them to take you back into custody. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

You’d call the hospital? Stop me from seeing Mai?

As soon as the words sank in, I was overcome by an indescribable darkness that oozed from the very depths of my heart.

“Get out of my way get out of my way get out of my way! I have something to do, so make yourself scarce!”

“Fine,” I said. “If you won’t get out of my way, then…”

I’ll kill you.

“Eep?!”

“Ah…”

Her frightened squeal immediately quenched the pitch-black flame. A darkness I had never felt before.

What was that just now? That was no joke, no empty threat. It was like all the blood in my veins had been replaced with something else. For a brief moment, I had genuinely wanted to kill her. To put my hands around her throat. To smash her head into the concrete.

What was I thinking? How could I even have contemplated something so…barbaric?

I never said it aloud, but I felt the weight of the words nonetheless. I knew through and through that I wasn’t capable of murder. And yet at that moment, I was overcome by an urge to take her life. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to threaten you,” she said. “It’s just…well, I’ve been waiting here all week, you see. I guess I just got a little overenthusiastic…”

For better or worse, my confusion over the emotions that had suddenly burst from me had cooled my head a little.

“N-no, it’s my fault. But I’m sorry, I need to go.”

“Er…sorry to pry, but is it somewhere nearby you’re after? I just worry that if you run around the city like that, you’ll get arrested.”

“Well…”

Now that she mentioned it, the passersby were staring at me and my white hospital gown, especially now that I was arguing with another pedestrian. For the first time, I realized how reckless it had been to break out of the hospital without a plan.

“…Hmm. Seems like you’re not going to talk. Well, I don’t want to make any more of a fuss, and besides, you’re a little scary right now…”

Muttering something under her breath, the woman heaved a resigned sigh.

“Fine, I’ll call a cab if there’s somewhere you need to go. Don’t worry, I’ll cover the fare. I doubt you have any money on you anyway.”

“What? But why?”

I was taken aback by her abrupt cooperativeness. But Ms. Kawakami simply reached out and hailed a taxi. Then she handed me a business card with her number scrawled on the back.

“In exchange, I’d like you to get in touch with me whenever you feel up for it. We’ll have a nice chat then, okay?”

There was an aura behind her pleasant smile that made it surprisingly difficult to argue against.

“Here’s the money. You’d better pay me back, you hear? I collect my debts. You can be sure of that. Now go on. Didn’t you say you were in a hurry?”

Then she ushered me into the taxi and placed some bills into my hand.

“…Thank…thank you.”

“No need. I’m hoping your story will make all that back and then some.”

Giving me a wave, she slammed the door shut.

“Where to, sir?”

I gave the driver my home address, and the cab pulled out into the road.

I looked out the window. If memory served me correctly, it wasn’t far to my house by car. As I watched the strange streets go by, they gradually gave way to more familiar ones.

It was my old neighborhood, and yet something was different. The churning in my stomach refused to back down.

Mai was all alone in that house again.

I can’t leave her alone… I just can’t…

Being alone is awful. It makes everything seem so dark that you can’t tell what’s what anymore. It starts to feel like you’re at the bottom of a deep ocean, surrounded by foes on all sides.

That’s why I kept running and running, trying not to look at it, trying to find somewhere I could breathe free of that dark water…

“…Hmm? What…what am I talking about?”

My head ached. Now that I had calmed down, I started to notice the inconsistency in my emotions. Something wasn’t right. Something about it just didn’t make sense.

I was worried about Mai, that much was true. But why was I so…?

“Sir, we’re nearly there now.”

“Oh, ah. This is close enough, thank you.”

I still wasn’t thinking straight by the time I arrived at my front door. A small house on the side of a hill. In its modest yard were the beautiful potted herbs my mother had tended. And in the garage, without a speck of dust, was the motorbike my father had painstakingly cared for.

I felt nostalgic, even though I had been here only yesterday, from my point of view. Perhaps even though the memories were gone, the yearslong distance still remained.

I never thought I would be moved to tears by the sight of my own home. Still, right now the important thing was Mai.

“…”

I slipped the spare key out from underneath the garden plant pot and entered through the front door. As soon as I stepped into the entryway and removed my shoes, I felt calmer. At the far end of the hallway, light was leaking out from a door that was slightly ajar. Mai must be in there.

I didn’t know what I was going to say to her, but I began walking softly down the hall.

“…That’s what I think. He’s been gone so long, after all.”

I noticed a shrine to our parents, accompanied by a photograph of them smiling blankly, along with the cloying scent of incense.

“He says he’s forgotten everything that happened. I know he’s always been a birdbrain, but this is ridiculous. Still…I’m glad he hasn’t changed. He’s the same old big brother I remember, and I hope he always stays that way.”

Mai kneeled before the shrine with her back to me, hands pressed together, talking to the air without noticing my presence.

“He was hurt so badly that he was unconscious for ten days. I finally got to see my family again, but I was still alone… You’re all so mean. Where did you go off to without me? Why did you leave your precious Mai behind?”

I heard her voice quaver. Was she crying?

“I’ve been so lonely…all this time. Please come back…Mom, Dad…”

I couldn’t just stand there any longer.

“Mai!!”

“What?! Who’s—?!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I left you by yourself, and I don’t even remember why…”

I walked over to Mai and hugged her from behind. Right now, I didn’t care about how strange I was acting. I didn’t care about the dark emotions whose origins I couldn’t trace. At this moment, none of that mattered.

“K-Kaito?! How did you…?! Ah, wait, you’ve got it all wrong, Mom and Dad are, um…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay…”

I held her tightly, so tightly, as if making up for everything I’d lost.

So that nobody could take her away from me as well.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t there for you. Some brother I am.”

“…But you came back. You came back, dear brother. Once you get out of the hospital, I’ll take care of you, and you can help around the house. It’ll be just like before…”

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll be with you. I’ll always be with you… No matter what happens, I’m never going to leave you behind again.”

I wasn’t going to lose her again. I couldn’t afford to lose her again.

Yes, that was all I wished for. All I needed…

“…Grh. Not this again…”

“Kaito…?”

My head started pounding. An emotion wormed its way out of the deepest recesses of my mind. From a fathomless dark hole, to bind me. Something I didn’t understand.

I… I…

“…”

I said nothing. I just hugged Mai even tighter, ignoring that perpetual flame, sealing off those emotions that threatened to break free even now.

This was the only thing I needed, wasn’t it? Then why couldn’t I say it?

“Yes, everything seems to be in order. You can put your shirt back on.”

After prodding me with his stethoscope, the doctor put it back around his neck.

“At least you don’t seem to be suffering from hypothermia. You gave us all quite a scare, you know. The nights can be dreadfully chilly around this time of year.”

“Ah-ha-ha… Sorry about that…”

I gave a nervous grin, before bowing in sincere apology. As deeply as I could.

We’d gotten a phone call at home after I’d escaped the hospital the night before. A patrolling nurse had noticed my absence and raised the alarm. Then after searching the grounds and finding no signs of me, they called my house. When I picked up and heard a panicked voice asking, “I’m terribly sorry, but has Kaito turned up there?” I’d felt so awkward, I considered hanging up on the spot.

But of course, that wasn’t going to solve anything, so I admitted to running away and went straight back to the hospital to prostrate myself at the feet of the staff. It was quite late at night by then, so I’d considered staying at home and returning the next morning, but I wasn’t sure they would be amenable to that.

You see, I learned something very important that night. Grown-ups can be terrifying when they’re angry.

“Swear to me, you’ll never do something so silly ever again!! Please stay right here for the next two days, I implore you!”

“Yes…I will. I shouldn’t have done that…”

“…As long as you understand. I won’t say anything more. I hope you realize that I’m not trying to scare you, but you were seriously injured when you were brought in. The wounds could still be adversely affecting you. You need to stay in bed.”

“…I’ll stay put and reflect on what I’ve done.”

I couldn’t bear being told off like this.

I bowed again as the doctor departed, leaving me alone in the hospital room.

“Haah… Two more days, huh? That’s depressing…”

I curled up on my bed and rolled from side to side. If I didn’t do silly things like this when I was alone, the weight of everything that had happened would crush me.

Mai and I had spoken at length before the people from the hospital came to pick me up.

She told me that Mom and Dad had driven their car off a cliff into the sea the same day I went missing. Apparently, the ocean waves carried the wreckage away, so their bodies were never found. As for Auntie and Grandma, they’d simply disappeared without a trace. Mai was living off inheritances and life insurance at the moment, so she didn’t have to earn a living. The only bright side—if you could call it that—was that there weren’t any fights over wills or anything like that, since our extended family was small.

That was the only saving grace I could salvage from all this.

“…”

Alone in the hospital, I felt utterly powerless, and my idle thoughts turned to the future. A future whose weight was stifling. How was I ever going to support my sister without the love of our parents I had taken for granted for so long?

If Mai knew what I was thinking, she’d probably say, “It’s okay, dear brother. I’ll take care of you. Like a cute, pathetic little piglet.”

As impossible as it sounded for me to look after her, the reverse was even worse.

“I need to get it together.”

Mai had offered to take the day off from school to be with me, but I’d refused. I needed time to put my thoughts in order, and this was the only chance I was likely to get.

“Kaito!!”

“Wh-wha—?! I wasn’t asleep, I wasn’t asleep!!”

I shot upright as the door to my room burst open. There was little entertainment around here, so I had drifted off out of sheer boredom. I couldn’t even walk around the hospital after what had happened last time. Not because I wasn’t allowed to, but because I couldn’t handle the doctors and nurses all staring at me, like, Planning another escape, are we?

So I had spent my time watching reruns of old TV shows, but now my drowsiness had been completely excised.

“Is that you, Yuuto?! Hey, hey, don’t cry, you’ll ruin your good looks…except damn, you’re still as handsome as ever. How the hell do you do that?”

“Ah-ha-ha… It is you, Kaito. It’s really you…”

It was one of my best friends from school, Yuuto Kanazaki. Even the tears in his eyes did nothing to detract from his frustratingly suave features.

“Who else would I be? Guph?!”

“You idiot! Where the hell did you disappear to?!”

“Ow! You punched me!” I yelled back, rubbing my wounded stomach. “Is that any way to treat a guy in the hospital?!”

“Shut up. Do you have any idea how hard this last year has been? A few jabs is the least I’m owed!”

“Ow! Stop it! Guh!”

Just as I attempted to get out of bed, Yuuto caught me in the neck with some lariat-like maneuver, before transitioning to a choke hold.

“Mai’s been worried sick about you, you know. I thought you were supposed to be obsessed with her. So why are you letting her cry?”

“Yuuto…”

“Oh, Kaito. I’m so glad you’re back, I really am.”

“…Uhh… My dear Yuuto, dry your pathetic tears. I shall grant you a second chance.”

“Kaaaitooo!!”

“Ah, wait, Yuuto, stop, it was just a joke, please!”

I tapped his arm in submission until he mercifully released me.

“Phew, free at last. Actually, why are you even here? Don’t you have school?”

“Your sister texted me this morning to say you’d woken up. I came running as soon as I heard.”

“She texted you? …Yuuto, don’t tell me you’ve laid your wandering hands on Mai while I’ve been away. While I am loath to commit violence, I have a duty to uphold as her brother. A duty that involves keeping her away from scumbags like you.”

“Aha! That got a rise out of you, didn’t it? Getting protective? I think your sister obsession is getting worse, Kaito.”

“Oh, shut it.”

Honestly, though, I was starting to see his point. There was what happened yesterday as well, but I could do without Yuuto poking his nose into that.

“You have nothing to fear, Kaito. Shiori’s the only one for me, and you know that. I wouldn’t dream of making a move on Mai.”

“Yuuto… I…”

The pain hidden behind my friend’s jolly smile was plain to see. And it wasn’t hard for me to guess the cause.

“Ah, right,” said Yuuto. “I guess you’ve already seen the list of people who went missing that day.”

“Shiori… She disappeared, didn’t she?”

Yuuto’s significant other was a lovely girl by the name of Shiori Akikawa, who was in the year above us at school. Yuuto had been friends with her all his life, from before we’d met, and Kenta, Suehiko, and I had set the stage for him to first tell her how he felt back in middle school.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Shiori and I were also members of the Little Sister Lovers League. It was indescribably heart-wrenching to see her name on the list of victims the previous day.

“Hey, Kaito. Mai tells me you don’t remember a thing since the disappearances. In that case, how much do you remember about the day itself?”

“You mean…the day everyone went missing?”

“Yeah.”

“All I remember is, I was chatting with Kenta and Suehiko. You’d just gone upstairs to speak to Shiori, and we were making bets on how long you’d be up there.”

“…Ha-ha. So that’s what you three were like behind my back.” Yuuto closed his eyes in peaceful reminiscence. “What happened next?”

“…Well, I heard about it, but to be honest, I can’t recall much myself.”

“Really…? I see. I remember it perfectly. Everything went bright, and a magic circle appeared out of nowhere around Shiori. I’ll never forget the look of shock on her face as she dissolved into particles of light.”

The fact that Yuuto could keep his voice from breaking as he recounted the tragic tale was testament to his growth over the past year. I had nothing like that.

“I’m sorry, Kaito. I know this is a terrible thing to ask… When they first brought you in ten days ago, you were wrapped in bandages from head to toe. I could tell something terrible must have happened. Something you wanted to forget.”

Yuuto bowed his head apologetically.

“But I have to ask, Kaito. I need you to remember what happened. No matter how bad it is. I need to hear something about Kenta, about Suehiko, about Shiori. Even if it’s just a scrap…”

“…It’s okay. I understand,” I replied. “I don’t want to stay an amnesiac forever. As far as I’m concerned, this bomb can’t go off soon enough.”

“Kaito… I’m sorry.”

“I told you that you don’t have to apologize. It’s just…it doesn’t seem like my memories are going to come back anytime soon.”

Of course, I wanted to regain my lost experiences as quickly as possible. But the past day had given me a lot of time to think, and I still wasn’t any closer. Whenever I tried to remember anything, I came up blank, as though there was a big hole in my head. Every thread I followed had been cut short.

“I’ve tried as hard as I can, but I can’t recall anything. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Well, maybe I put too much pressure on you,” he said, shaking his head. “If you can’t remember, you can’t remember.”

The truth was, I felt guilty. Because there was a part of me that wondered if I should remember at all. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted my memories back, but at the same time, I was frightened of what might rear out of that deep, dark pit in my brain. What if it grabbed me and pulled me back into an abyss from which there was no escape?

An awkward silence followed, filled by the sound of the TV in my room.

“Hello, and it’s time for Pickup News. Today we have with us Dr. Kuroi, an expert in the field of criminal psychology.”

At some point, the soap opera I had been watching had ended. Now there was a news show on TV, featuring a presenter I didn’t recognize sitting alongside a middle-aged man with a tragically balding head. Just as I picked up the remote to switch it off, something caught my attention.

“This month has seen another brutal crime perpetrated by an alleged Rebirther.”

“…Rebirther?”

For some reason, my stomach churned when I heard the word.

“Rebirthers, yeah. They’re all a bunch of psychos.”

“Yuuto?”

He wasn’t even trying to conceal his disgust. I’d never seen him so filled with loathing. As I paused, wondering if I should ask about it, the conversation on TV continued.

“Is there any way to stop these tragedies? Let’s ask the experts with us today. Dr. Kuroi, let’s hear from you. What does a man of your position make of all this?”

“Well, after the stabbing six months ago, the Rebirthers mostly stuck to petty theft and vandalism. The police decided to crack down on their activities after a spate of embarrassing displays of incompetence, such as the leaks last year.”

“Part of that was the government’s decision to keep Fujinomiya Institute for Secondary Education open and running, right?”

“Yes. Well, there wasn’t much else they could do. The Rebirthers came after anyone who used to work or study at the school, even if they moved out of the city. But with the school’s extra security, plus the increased awareness among students and staff, it became quite difficult for the Rebirthers to act. So they waited half a year for the heat to die down. What you need to understand about these people is that they aren’t concerned with consequences. They aren’t just lawbreakers; they are believers of a dangerous fantasy.”

“A dangerous fantasy?”

“That’s right. Just like with the rise of Christianity in the fifteenth century, these people believe that death will deliver them their eternal reward. That is precisely why the perpetrators have committed suicide before their capture. With the threat of capital punishment rendered meaningless, it is very difficult to prevent these crimes.”

“I see. You’re saying they don’t mind dying to achieve their goal of reincarnating into a fantasy world.”

“Well, who can say if that’s really where they end up,” replied the criminal psychologist, with a wry smile.

I asked Yuuto to explain what I’d just seen, and he closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

“…Well, I suppose you’ll be at risk if nobody tells you.”

With that unsettling introduction, Yuuto launched into his explanation.

“A lot’s happened since you and the others went missing. It was all over the news, but the police investigation turned up nothing. The school closed down for a bit, and some students and teachers started to move away during that time. The second-years lost three classes worth of students, and the first- and third-years lost one class each. It’s no wonder they were talking about shutting down the school. That’s when a video of the incident one of the students took got uploaded to the internet. The video went viral…and a lot of people died.”

Yuuto made a face like he’d swallowed a bug.

“People died? Back up. How did that happen?” I asked, incredulous at the notion that a mere video could lead to people’s deaths.

“Well, these guys are nuts, that’s why. Hold up, I’m sure I can find it if I look…”

Yuuto took out a decent-size tablet PC and brought up a video. Handing the tablet over to me, he picked up the TV remote and turned down the volume.

“…All right, ready to go.”

The video opened on an ordinary third-year classroom. The students, none of whom I could put names to, had just set up a bunch of erasers like dominoes.

“Whaddaya think, wanna bet? Will it work or not?”

“All right, I bet my lunch it’ll never reach the end.”

“Well, that won’t work. We gotta bet different things.”

“You two! Have a little faith, will you?”

The video seemed to have been taken on a phone, and although the quality wasn’t great, it was pretty easy to get an idea of the mood.

However, the jovial pre-class atmosphere didn’t last long.

It began without warning.

“Oh, I know. Get up on a chair and catch a view from above.”

“All right, but make sure it makes it halfway, at least.”

“Just you watch. All right, ready to— Whoa, what’s that?!”

“Whoa?!”

Just as the person recording climbed onto a chair, the screen filled with a blinding light. I heard the clatter of the chair as he fell to the floor.

“Ow… Wh-what? What happened?”

He stood up and panned the camera around to reveal that a pair of magic circles had surrounded his two friends.

“Eek! What’s happening?!”

“What’s this? A wall?!”

“Hey, is this some kinda prank? I’m trying to study.”

“Huh? What’s going on? I can’t get out!!”

Chaos gripped the classroom. Only about ten students from the class had been trapped, but I could see other people in the hallway stuck within similar rings of light at the edge of the frame. If you ignored the frantic pounding against the invisible walls by students both within and without the circles, it looked just like some sort of weird performance art.

But then the strangeness took a frightening turn.

It was a girl at the back of the classroom who noticed it first.

“EEEEEEK! My…my hand?!”

The video shakily turned in her direction.

What happened next was like a scene out of a cheap science-fiction movie. The tips of the girl’s fingers started dissolving into particles of pale blue light, which worked its way up her arm.

As soon as one person noticed it, others did, too.

“N-no way. Wh-what’s happening? What’s happening?!”

“No! Nooo!!”

“My hands! My legs! Somebody, help me!”

“No, no… It’s cold. What’s happening? I’m disappearing…”

Gradually, the astonishment transformed into dread. The boy who’d set up the dominoes turned to light, along with all the other students.

“Wh-what the hell, man…? Am I dreaming?”

The microphone picked up the stunned words of the person taking the video.

Less than a minute had passed since it began, and yet all that remained of the domino engineer was his head. Even the grainy video could not fail to pick up the look of sheer terror on his face as he panicked and screamed for help.

Soon, every last one of the trapped students was gone, and the person recording pointed his camera downward, at an empty ring of light that had failed to capture anyone. As if on cue, it cracked like a china plate, and both it and the wall of light surrounding it disappeared.

At last, the fantastical sight came to an end, and silence descended upon the classroom, leaving nothing in the place of the missing students but a lonely void.

“…Ah, I’d better stop the video.”

The recording then abruptly switched to a front-facing view, presumably by accident. I saw the shocked face of the student right before the video cut off.

“That wasn’t edited…was it?”

Somehow, I knew. The video wasn’t fake. I felt sick, nauseated. The world spun, and my ears rang.

I’d seen it. I’d seen it before. I knew I had. But where? And why did it feel so painful to watch?

And what was the icy sensation trying to crawl out of the hole in my mind?

I took deep breaths and tried to focus on Yuuto’s voice. Anything to distract myself from whatever this was.

“At first, everyone thought it was fake, just like you did. But there was no other way to explain it, and even VFX experts started weighing in, saying it was real… Of course, I already knew that, because I’d seen it with my own two eyes. Shiori disappeared just like this as well. I see her face at night sometimes. It makes me wish I’d lost my mind.”

Yuuto’s sardonic words rang hollow in my ears.

“Sorry, I went off the rails a bit there,” he said at last. “Anyway, right after this video went online, it was everywhere. The whole country was made aware of it. And while everyone was talking about how fake it looked, there was one theory that kept cropping up.”

“What was that?”

“Something stupid. A conspiracy theory, basically. People started saying that the magic circles were summoning people to another world.”

For some reason, my heart leaped in my chest. Something deep inside me called out, “No! That’s wrong!”

Damn, why the hell do I feel like this?

I could feel the blood racing through my veins, and my vision blurred. I tried to keep it under control, acting like nothing was wrong as Yuuto carried on speaking.

“That wasn’t so bad by itself,” he said. “I mean, obviously something supernatural happened that day, whether it was an alternate dimension or not. Either that, or we all lost our minds at the exact same time. The problem was what happened next.”

“Why, what happened next?”

“Those same people started saying it was possible to go to this world yourself. All you had to do was level up by killing someone who had been present when the summoning happened.”

“Wh-what?”

That seemed like a huge leap in logic. I wasn’t sure I’d heard Yuuto correctly at first.

“Exactly. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But a lot of people believed it. They started converting people through the deep web, and it wasn’t long before things turned violent. Someone from school got called onto a TV show to talk about the incident, and one of the crew stabbed them to death.”

“…”

“Then the police announced the video was genuine, and right after that, the personal information of the students and staff got leaked. That was when things turned really bad.”

Yuuto paused to take a breath before resuming his story.

“People from our school were attacked across the country. They had their things stolen, because people thought they would get more reincarnation points if they had our personal belongings. There was no limit to what they would do. Some of us got hurt or even kidnapped. Our personal information was all out in the open, so nobody could stop them. Kaori went missing around that time, and nobody’s heard from her since.”

“Kaori? You mean Shiori’s little sister? But why? What did she have to do with it?!”

I still remembered the girl’s cheerful smile. She couldn’t have been older than ten. She was always asking us whether she or her sister was the cutest, and you would never see her without the little cat hairpin Shiori had given her. Her big sister was her idol.

“The Rebirthers assigned each of us a point score. Those of us who were at school when it happened were called the Untargeted, and we were supposedly worth a hundred points. Our siblings were worth seventy points, while our parents were worth fifty. Even things like our blood or hair could be worth between one and five points, depending on how much of it you could get. Hah! They’re like rats. True scum of the earth.”

“B-but what about the police? Why didn’t they do anything?”

“We filed a missing person report about Kaori, of course, but nothing happened. There’s no leads.”

“B…but they haven’t found a body, right? She could still be alive?”

“Yeah. We’ll find her one day. Kaori and Shiori both. I’m not going to give up, no matter how long it takes. Don’t worry, I’m still okay… I’m still okay.”

I thought Yuuto was going to crack his teeth, the way he was grinding them. And I also thought I’d heard those words somewhere before. Behind his eyes, I saw deep, dark flames of burning anger, so ready to explode that they were like a balloon on the verge of popping.

I wasn’t sure what to say. It was obvious that one more push could send my friend hurtling over the edge, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Anyway, that’s what I meant when I said that people died because of that video. And the personal information that got leaked by the police, too. There were photos, addresses, enough to track someone down…or to murderer them. Of course, the government and police finally started taking things seriously once people started dying. The local police department hired dozens more officers, and they decided to keep the school open. Easier to look after us when we’re all in one place, I guess. With security beefed up like that, the attacks stopped for a while…”

Yuuto’s gaze wandered to the TV. Oh yeah, there had just been another murder, hadn’t there?

“Kaito,” he said. “I know I don’t need to tell you this, but look after Mai, won’t you?”

“Of course I will. I’ll protect her with my life. I won’t let those bastards lay a finger on her.”

“That’s not what I mean. Besides, if they come after anyone, it’ll be you. I mean mentally. Treat it like she’d kill herself if you died.”

“Huh? I don’t think so. Mai’s made of tougher stuff than that.”

“I know. But treat it like she would. If anything happened to you, Mai would be in pieces. You remember her friends?”

“You mean Yuuki and Satomi? Hold on, you’re not saying…”

I still remembered the day Mai had brought those two over during middle school. My shy and antisocial little sister’s very first friends.

“Yuuki went missing during the crime wave half a year ago. As for Satomi, well…you saw what they said on TV. That was just this month.”

Why? Why?

Why did my little sister have to go through so much pain? What had she ever done to deserve it?

First our parents had died, then I’d gone missing, then she’d lost her friends.

I just didn’t get why it had to be her…

“You’re the only one she has left, Kaito.”

My head throbbed. This was like a sick joke. One that left me with the distinct feeling I’d heard it somewhere before.

Why was this pain all too familiar?

A few days after Yuuto came to visit, I was finally released from that prison called a hospital.

“Thank you,” I said to the staff as I left.

“Oh, no need. I’m just happy there were no complications in your treatment.”

It was the middle of a weekday morning, so nobody came to collect me. Only Dr. Maeno and the nurses were there to see me off.

Mai had offered to pick me up, adding that it would be a shame if I got lost and started crying, but I declined. It wouldn’t do for her to miss another day of school on my behalf. Then she tried offering again, this time saying she was worried the hospital staff wouldn’t be able to pry me out of bed in the morning. Then she asked if I was going to claim I’d forgotten something and go back to ogle the pretty nurses. Then she called me a pervert with a nurse fetish and said she was ashamed to be my little sister. And then…folks, I caved. I’m afraid I’ve never been able to hold out against her scornful gaze.

Each insult seemed worse than the last, and I could barely even hear what she was saying anymore by the end of her tirade. I knew she was talking, but I was busy nursing a wounded heart. Sniffle.

In fact, it was a miracle I had been able to get her to go to school at all, instead of coming to see me immediately.

Anyway, I ended up asking the staff to move my discharge forward so that I could get home early. Once I got home, I would call Mai and tell her there was no need to leave school. She would probably be angry that I tricked her, but I could always smooth that over with some apple jelly.

“I know things are rough in your life right now,” the doctor said, “but take care.”

“Thank you,” I replied. I changed into the regular clothes that Mai had brought me and packed all my things into a bag. Then, with one last deep bow, I left the hospital and was on my way. The sky was clear and blue, and I felt determination forming in my mind.

I had been given much to think about, and there were still things that worried me, but I was sure that I would have nothing to fear as long as I didn’t let my troubles get me down.

There was something else I had to protect before I could think about myself.

“All right then,” I said to myself. “It’s time to settle back into my regular routine.”

My memories were a year behind the world. I had a lot of catching up to do. So much had changed, and so much was the same. There was so much I knew, and so much I didn’t. I had to link it all up, make everything routine again.

I needed to stay by Mai. I needed to protect her. I needed to hold on tight. Nothing else mattered. I couldn’t lose her. Because if that ever happened to me again…

…Hold on. Again?

“Hey, where did we go wrong?”

“I’ll do anything and everything I can for you. I’ll give you half the world if I must.”

“So please, come to my side.”

“Huh?!”

I saw stars in the harsh light of the sun. Ahead of me was a redheaded girl, standing with her back to me.

But as soon as I reached out to her, my head stung, and she vanished.

“…I’m getting used to this.”

Deep inside me, something was clawing its way to the surface. It was the part of me I’d lost. I knew it. Somehow, I could feel it. Somewhere inside that vast hole was a fragment of myself, trying to make itself known.

It was all coming back. And that was good. I needed to remember. For Yuuto, for Mai, and for myself. But I couldn’t be happy.

Because there was something deeply terrifying about it.

The voice inside me was so angry, so distressed, that I could hardly believe it was my own.

My rational mind was telling me to remember. My past self was screaming at me to remember. But some part of me was afraid. Each time I got a glimpse, my fears came hurtling back. Was that really me? What terrible things had befallen me in those absent months?

“But that, just now… That was different.”

It wasn’t full of hate and anger like the other memories.

That memory was bittersweet. Joyous and loving at first…but tinged with the unmistakable sorrow of loss.

“Geez, me. What the hell did you get up to?”

I ruffled my hair as if to deny the embarrassing feelings I swore I’d just experienced. Besides, a vision of a girl accompanied by a feeling of sadness probably just meant I’d gotten dumped.

“…Aaargh! Come on, Kaito! Get it together!”

I stopped on the asphalt road and shook my head. Just then, I heard a voice.

“Hmm? What was eating you up just now?”

“Huh? Oh, er… Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you forgot already. Kumiko Kawakami? Reporter for Utopia Monthly? Ringing any bells?”

Before me was a mature young woman with tied-up black hair, wearing a cardigan. She rifled frantically through her bag, pulling out the magazine in question and showing it to me in an attempt to jog my memory. Her behavior was so at odds with her stylish appearance that I was at a loss for words.

My mother had once told me about the transformative powers of makeup and hairstyling, but I’d never seen such a potent demonstration before.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. I remember you. Ms. Kawakami, right? Yeah, it’s all coming back to me.”

“…You need to learn how to lie, young man. Some people might be filled with murderous rage at an answer like that.”

“No, I really do remember you. It’s just, I wasn’t myself the other night, and it was dark and…and you look totally different now. In fact, I still don’t recognize you.”

“Well, of course! There’s a big difference between my last-day-of-a-grueling-stakeout look and my immaculately dressed ready-for-action look!”

Now she seemed almost happy that I hadn’t recognized her. Frankly, it was downright embarrassing for a woman her age. Perhaps she should work on making herself pretty on the inside as well. Don’t worry, don’t worry, I didn’t say that to her face.

“But that’s not what I came for. I’m here to collect on our deal.”

“Ah, well, it’s been a long day for me. I was kinda hoping to just go home and rest, to be honest…”

“Excuse me?”

“…But on second thought, a nice chat sounds lovely. Where to?”

The sheer pressure of those two words, combined with her piercing gaze, cowed me into submission, and I forced a cheap smile.

“I suppose you haven’t had lunch yet, have you? Let’s find somewhere we can eat and chat. Oh, and take this?”

“What’s this, a face mask?”

It was one of those white disposable ones you wore when you had a cold.

“Yep. Oh, and put these on, too. I can’t believe you’re walking around town with your face exposed. Are you crazy?”

“Wh-what?”

“Put them on already! Get a clue!”

In addition to the mask, Ms. Kawakami handed me a pair of sunglasses and a beanie hat. I put them on at her urging. The accessories made me look like a stereotypical stalker out of a comic book, or something along those lines.

“Didn’t anyone tell you about the Rebirthers?” she asked. “If those wackjobs find out who you are, they’ll suicide bomb you into next week.”

“…R-right. I’ll keep an eye out for that.”

I guessed this threat was more serious than I thought. I kept the disguise on as I accompanied Ms. Kawakami to a nearby eatery.

“Two hamburg steak set meals and two bottomless sodas, please.”

“Thank you, ma’am, that’ll just be a few minutes.”

The restaurant we picked was unexpectedly busy for this time of day.

“You really need to be more careful,” Ms. Kawakami said. “Things have gotten real dangerous in this country. You know how valuable you are to these people, right?”

“…Yes, of course. I’ll be careful.”

She was absolutely right. I couldn’t really contest that point.

“Still,” she went on, “I guess we can relax a little. Looks like there’s a guard on duty.”

Ms. Kawakami nodded in the direction of a tall but otherwise unremarkable man sitting near the entrance to the store.

“You mean…he’s there to keep an eye on me?”

And here I thought I was imagining it. I could have sworn I was being watched ever since I left the hospital. And he wasn’t the only one. Though I couldn’t see them, I could feel the watchful gazes of other people on me. Fortunately, they felt protective, like they were looking not so much at me, but around me.

Hold on. What the hell am I saying? That I can sense their presence? Feel their auras? Who do I think I am, an anime character? Oh god, don’t tell me the memory loss has made me regress to my edgelord phase. I never want to go through that again.

I shook my head, attempting to dispel these illogical suspicions that had been hounding me the past few days. Still, the fact remained that there was indeed a man sitting by the front door.

“Did I not tell you? When I was lying in wait outside the hospital for you, this old man took me down to the police station, and they made me swear a written oath not to write an article about you.”

“…Well, what do you want me to do about it?” I asked, averting my eyes. It felt like she was drilling holes into my skull.

“Not even a simple interview. Not even if I redacted your name, they said. Even just the fact that someone came back is being kept a secret, apparently. ‘What if someone got killed as a direct result of your article?’ they said. And it’s true. I’m not going to have that on my conscience.”

I sighed. “So then why did you call me here?”

“Just out of curiosity. I may not get an article out of it, but after all the work I did to track you down, I thought I might as well ask you some questions.”

“Right…,” I said, not really able to sympathize. “Fine, ask away. I hope it’s worth the thirty thousand yen you spent.”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha…”

Ms. Kawakami gave a nervous chuckle as I wondered what exactly she hoped to gain from questioning an amnesiac.

“Phew, what a day…”

Sploosh!

I hopped into the bathtub, spilling water onto the floor, and let my fatigue be washed away.

“A-amnesia? So…you mean…I did all that for nothing?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘nothing.’ You did manage to upset the police.”

“Grrrr! I knew I should have gone to that mixer instead of wasting my time!”

After that exchange with Ms. Kawakami, I’d returned home as originally planned and gotten in touch with Mai. I had no desire to inform her of my early return over the phone, so instead I sent a brief text message containing only the facts.

My phone rang almost the instant after the message went through, and when I didn’t answer, Mai sent me a text that read, “Dear chicken. Wait on your knees in the entrance hall. We have lots and lots to talk about when I get back. ”

And so it was that my darling sister returned home amid the blood-soaked skies of evening to enjoy a nice long session of having a go at me. She made me explain everything, which was when she heard about Ms. Kawakami.

In that moment, her gaze could have frozen the oceans. She attacked me with wave after wave of stinging insults, such as “It looks like my idiot brother only thinks with his crotch,” and “Perhaps you should learn how to treat a lady before you think about anything else,” and “I suppose it falls on this perfect little sister to educate her useless big brother before he assaults a woman on the street.” If I hadn’t been waiting at the door with a container of the apple jelly of repentance in my hands like she’d asked, she would have been at it until morning.

“Back to school tomorrow, I guess… Can’t believe I’m going to be in Mai’s year now…and Yuuto’s in the year above.”

I changed into my pajamas and made my way back to the living room, where Mai was sitting on the sofa, watching TV.

“Ah, did you enjoy your bath, dear brother? Oh, you must remember to dry your hair completely. You’ll catch a cold, you know.”

“Lay off it, I’m not a kid. Anyway, I came to let you know the bath is free.”

“Ah, perfect. I’ll go and take a dip myself. Unless, that is, you have fouled the water with your putrescence?”

“Please give me a break, dear sister of mine. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“Hmph. Well, you only have yourself to blame for that,” said Mai, snootily turning away and pouting like a child.

Oh my god, she’s too adorable. How can she be so cute?

I watched her leave for the bathroom, then went over to the fridge to get myself a can of soda. When I got back, I turned on the TV out of boredom and saw they were running one of those true crime shows. You know, the ones where they sit a bunch of comedians, celebrities, and criminal psychologists around a table and give them a video to react to.

Looks like it’s about those Rebirther guys…

“…So you’re saying the suspects might not have committed suicide?”

“I’m just saying, what kind of madman slits their own throat? How do people usually commit suicide? It’s hanging, falling, or self-immolation. Why would they go out of their way to choose a method that’s only going to cause them more pain?”

“Maybe that means it was the girl’s last attempt at fighting back? Oh god, that’s scary to think about.”

“But didn’t they say the guy was on drugs? He must have been a real nutjob.”

“Either way, it’s a troubling case. We can only hope that Satomi Saito can find peace in the next—”

I switched off the TV.

“…Guess I’ll head to bed.”

I’d already finished the contents of the can, so I left the living room and went out into the hallway.

“I’m gonna hit the hay,” I called out to Mai, and after hearing “Okaaay,” I headed up the stairs to my bedroom.

Despite having lain empty for over a year, the room was exactly how I remembered it. I noticed the plants my mother had grown, and the bicycle my father used to like fixing. Mai had taken care of everything in my absence.

“…”

I slipped under the covers and turned out the light, closed my eyes, and relaxed.

Then I started searching for the fragments of my lost memories. I had started doing this a few days ago, just before I drifted off.

I plunged deep into the swamp of my own mind, knowing a critical recollection awaited me at its bottom. Something I couldn’t afford to forget. But no matter how much I tried, the memories would never come, and the tendrils of sleep would ensnare me and tear my consciousness away before long. Tonight, however, something happened just before the sandman came.

“…Huh? Mai…?”

“…”

As I was drifting into slumber, I felt a little tug on the back of my pajamas, and smelled shampoo a little pricier than my own. I tried to peer over my shoulder, but it was impossible to check without moving my whole body, so I gave up. I said nothing to Mai, who had somehow sneaked into my bed without me noticing, and closed my eyes once more.

CHAPTER 2

Those Left Behind

Aaall right, Minnalis, Shuria. It’s time to wake up; we don’t have much time.”

“Hmm…hmm?”

“Ah…uh?”

From far off, I heard someone calling our names. Then we felt the splash of cold water on our faces, like ice running down our nerves.

“…Wh…where am I?” I muttered, opening my eyes and coming face-to-face with Shuria. We were both laid out on the floor, facing each other.

I sat up and looked around, but the place we were in defied explanation. It was like a dream. The four walls, ceiling, and floor were all a spotless, milky white. I was fully awake by now, but my mind still felt hazy.

Before me was a woman in her mid-twenties, everything about her white: her hair, her skin, and even the nun’s habit she wore. The very tips of her shoulder-length hair were tightly coiled, like wool.

The first thing I did was look down at myself to ensure I still had my equipment.

“Ha-ha, you’re both trapped!” the woman said. “There’s only one way out of here, you see, and that’s— Wait, wait, wait, what are you doing?!”

White chains came out of nowhere, catching my sword mid-swing and knocking Shuria’s knife out of her hands.

“What do you mean?” I asked, indignant. “We wake up captured and come face-to-face with someone who seems to know what’s going on. Why wouldn’t we attack?”

“I’m not your enemy…! Hey!”

“You just said we were trapped,” said Shuria. “Well, release us, please. I’m afraid we’re in a hurry.”

Yes. We were in a hurry. We needed to save Master!! We needed to save him before…

“It was just a joke! I’m sorry! Look, I won’t do it again, I promise!”

“Just let us out of here already!”

“We need to help Kaito!! Stay out of our way!!”

I poured all my mana into a spear-like projectile of ice, while Shuria used her magical threads to snatch her knife back from off the floor. But the woman flitted to and fro as though she were made of air, effortlessly dodging our attacks.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. These girls are crazy! Is this what being around the hero does to a lady?! Time out, time out! You two are no fun at all! You’re scary! Towa, help me!”

Suddenly, there was a sound like clunking gears, and the pure white ceiling slowly turned a bright shade of green.

“For crying out loud. This is why I wanted to do the talking. I knew you were too happy-go-lucky to handle the exposition.”

“Huh?! What is it now?!” Shuria cried, as the woman’s hair and skin turned the same shade of green as the roof, and she began shedding little motes of viridian light like snow. Her kitten-like, frivolous personality completely disappeared and was replaced by a cool, calm voice like flowing water. It was as if a completely different person had taken over her body.

“Now, then. Having said that, it seems they must be restrained for the sake of a decent conversation… A mooring bind for the boring mind: Link Spillwind.”

“Wh-what’s happening?!”

“Hrgh! Wh…what…grh!!”

I readied myself for anything, but the spell the woman cast was nothing I could defend against. It was like someone had driven invisible wedges into my joints one after the other, forcibly manipulating my body. Shuria and I fell to our knees in a position called seiza that Master often had us adopt for his lessons.

I tried to resist, but I found I could not control my mana at all, much less cast a spell.

“Grh… Why…can’t I…?”

I tried to break free of the mysterious sorcery by force, but then I discovered I could barely even move.

“Ah, that’s a technique called Aiki, written into the very laws of this world’s magic. It dampens any fluctuation of power, magical or physical. It’s not something you two possess the strength to deny, so why don’t we all just calm down and have a nice chat, hmm?”

The woman’s flowery smile was accompanied by an aura of intimidation. She had evaluated our skill level and found us wanting. And as painful as it was to admit, she was correct.

Still, that was no reason to give up. We couldn’t back down.

“Rr…raaaaaaaaghh!!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrghh!!”

“H-hey! Stop it, you’ll hurt yourself if you try to force it!”

I felt my joints cry out in pain, but that was okay. I didn’t care what happened to me.

Because the bond I had forged with Master was nowhere to be found.

I had to help him. I had to help him. I had to help him. I had to help him!!

“A…little…pain…!!”

“…Won’t…stop…us!!”

“Hmm. That’s strange. The current hero shouldn’t have enough power to influence his followers across worlds. Ah, perhaps you think that your life is still linked to his through the bond? Perhaps I underestimated you two after all.”

““Gwah!””

Suddenly, the mysterious restraints snapped, and we collapsed to the floor in blinding agony. Still, we lifted ourselves up as best we could. I felt ready to lose consciousness when I suddenly recalled the image of Master bleeding out on the floor.

“Well, bravo, I must say, for breaking free of that spell. Still, it was rather a shortsighted effort at best. What exactly did you plan to do next, hmm?”

“We can’t give up… If you’re able to somehow negate Master’s abilities…we need to stop you…and quickly…”

“Kaito’s gone. I can’t feel him anymore… We need to see him!”

We had yet to give anything back. All we’d done was take, take, take. He pulled us out of the darkness, granted us strength, walked along the blood-soaked path with us, ate of the fruit of vengeance together with us.

He’d allowed us to kill those who wronged us, but Master’s vengeance was yet incomplete. For him to die before getting a chance to experience what he gave us…

“Hmm? Hold on, you two. Would you happen to be under the impression that your bond with him is gone? If that’s the case, it implies your deaths and his are not linked anymore, so what reason do you have to fight me? Hmm…? Not now, Luna. the grown-ups are talking. And you, Metelia, are unsuited to this as well. Your soul is damaged, and you are too quick to get emotional. And don’t get me started on— Hey, I said cut it out!”

There was the sound of shifting gears again, and this time the roof turned pink. Again, the woman in front of us changed color, with her hair, her clothes, and the light particles all transforming to match the ceiling. She took on a third personality this time, shaking her arms and legs in anger.

“Shut uuup!! God, Towako! How can you be so smart and so dense at the same time? You’re almost as bad as Luna! Aren’t you both girls?! You should understand!!”

Almost immediately after that, however, there was another clunk, and this time the right-hand wall turned a jade green. Then a second girl, possibly five years old, split from the first woman and appeared by her side. She looked like a younger version of the same person, with hair and clothes that matched the verdant wall.

“Nn…nnrrgh! See, Metelia?” the little one said. “There’s your irrational side again. Besides, I don’t see how my gender is relevant. I always consider things logically…”

“But a girl’s mind isn’t logical! That’s why you’ll never understand! You’re just an idiot! A big, fat dummy!”

“Wh-what did you just call me…?”

“Well, it’s true! What idiot tries to use logic on someone acting emotionally? You go stand in the corner over there, Towako! Go on! Off you go!”

“H-hey! I object to this treatment, I’ll have you know!”

The pink-haired woman gave the little girl a push, shooing her away into the corner of the room. Then, turning to us, she said, “First things first. Let’s heal those wounds of yours… Smiling waters, Angel Ring: Blue Healing.”

She raised her arm to chant a spell, and two rings of light appeared above our heads. From out of the rings came a stream of light-blue particles that soaked into our skin and gradually restored our health.

“The damage to your flesh will heal quickly, but the scars on your souls will take a while longer. Shall we have a little chat until then? There’s nothing to fear, for we are not your enemies. Won’t you hear us out? We all just want to help Kaito.”

“But we have to hurry!” cried Shuria. “Kaito’s about to be killed! In fact, he might already be…no, no, no! I don’t even want to think about it!”

She pressed her hands over her ears and shook her head, screaming.

“Like I said,” muttered the girl in the corner, “You two are still alive, so that means he is as well.”

“What could you know?!” I yelled. “I can’t feel the bond anymore! Aah, a world without Master… I would sooner perish…”

But the green-haired girl only laughed as though something were funny.

“Ha-ha-ha, don’t be silly. It’s nothing to kill yourselves over. I wouldn’t be here offering my help if your bond was so weak as to be nullified by a mere crossing of worlds. You just have to look deep inside.”

“Deep…”

“…inside?”

We did as she suggested, but all we could see and feel was a dark hole where blue-black flames had once burned, and a bitter cold that would sooner freeze the approaching hand than consume it.

“There’s nothing there…,” I said. “Nothing at all…”

“It’s empty. Completely empty. It’s cold and dark, and Kaito’s gone…”

Darkness. Pitch-black.

I was all alone again.

Just like I’d been in that cage in the capital. It was exactly the same.

…The same? But wasn’t that after I first kindled my flame of vengeance?

“Gone? Don’t be silly. The power of heaven is far stronger than that.”

I heard a faint, almost imperceptible pulse. However, try as I might, I couldn’t locate the source. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the heat radiating from it.

“Ah! It is there! It really is!”

“Yes! It’s faint, and I can’t see where it’s coming from, but I can feel it!”

I clutched my fists to my chest and wept, while Shuria wrapped her arms around herself and cried.

Kaito was still there, with us. He hadn’t gone away.

“Towako’s right. Your bond is still there. Now, let me ask you something? Is that bond something Kaito made all by himself?”

“No!”

“It’s not!”

“Then think. What is it you have to do to save him?”

“B-but…if we don’t hurry, then that woman will…”

“It’s okay. He’s safe, back in his own world. Nobody on this side can touch him.”

“His own…world?”

“You both need to work hard to support Kaito when he gets back. Prove the naysayers wrong.”

“What do you mean…?”

“But first, you need to learn the truth of this realm. The true nature of the princess, the priestess, the demon lord, and the hero. Why it is that these roles exist.”

The pink-haired woman cast her eyes downward with a hint of sadness. But when she looked up again, her vacant eyes were full of righteous fury, like something had snapped inside her, and she began muttering maledictions under her breath.

“Then we must kill God. Excise the cancer infesting this world… Yes, that’s right. Kill her. We mustn’t let Kaito sully his hands on her! We’ll drown that bitch in a vat of goblin shit!”

“Aah, this is why I said to leave the explaining to me. Sorry about her; she’s a little disturbed and gets like this sometimes. I’ll take over the exposition, if you don’t mind.”

The green-haired little girl came walking over.

“But before that,” she said. “I suppose we should wake up this lot. For now, rest assured that we have confirmed the current hero is alive and well.”

“L…Leone…”

The girl pointed over to a corner of the room, where Leone and the others still lay unconscious.

In the far eastern reaches of the Lunarian See, there sat a town bordering the ocean. Once famed for its beautiful waterways and stately brick buildings, the city now lay in smoldering ruins.

“Kha-ha-ha-ha! See how their cities burn!” spoke a cackling demon, two horns atop his head and a pair of bat-like wings sprouting from his back. “We are truly the most powerful race in the realm!”

In a ferocious display of power, the demon channeled mana into his outstretched arms.

“Tch. The mana buildup is weak. This must be the work of that damn barrier. Man, this sucks.”

The soldiers of the See broke out in sweat as they saw the demons summon up their dark powers in spite of the great barrier’s protection.

“Curse it all! How did demons get this far south?! I thought the fighting was up north!”

“Where are the reinforcements?! Have the paladins from the holy city arrived yet?”

“Hold the line! Yield no quarter!”

Caught unawares, the city guard was in total shambles. The chain of command was broken, but the guards still fought valiantly to protect the citizenry, believing reinforcements were close at hand.

“T-take this, foul beasts! Angel’s Light Formation!”

“““Aye-aye!”””

Several warriors clasped their hands together in prayer and threw up a shield of green and blue light. However, the demon only sneered at their efforts.

“Hmph. Don’t bother me with your pathetic barrier, worms.”

The demon unleashed a spell that shattered the shield in an instant.

“““Graaaaagh!!”””

The force of the destructive blast threw the city guards to the ground.

“Ha-ha-ha!! Just as weak as I suspected. I’ll eradicate every last one of you and use this town as a base to take down the great barrier. Then I’ll be the true demon lord!”

“O holy water, pierce this evil! Rushing Waters: Holy Stream!”

A noise rang out so loud it could be heard even over the chaos of battle. A spear of water glowing white shot through the air and ran straight through the demon before disappearing, leaving a gaping hole in his torso.

“…Wh-what?! Ghuh!”

Though demons were hardier still than the stoutest of beastfolk, few were powerful enough to survive an attack of that caliber. The demon crumpled to the ground.

“Gentlemen, you have fought well, but there is nothing to fear now. So long as the light of our Lady Lunaris shines down upon us, the demons shall never prevail.”

Standing there, with a voice as clear and pure as running water, was the priestess, Metelia Laurelia. Her white robes and porcelain staff combined to create an image so majestic, so awe-inspiring, that it was as though heaven’s light itself shone down upon her.

After a moment of silence, the guards erupted into cheers.

“I-it’s the priestess! We’re saved!!”

“Lady Laurelia! Oh, I knew Lunaris had not forsaken us!”

Then one of the soldiers came over, carrying a wounded comrade on his back.

“Lady Metelia, please! This man became a father just last month! Use your healing arts to save him, I beg of you!”

“Calm down, my child. So long as they still draw breath, everyone here shall be saved. O healing wave of light, seek all in need of solace. Healing Waters: Ripple Drop!”

Metelia swung her staff, and a ripple spread outward from her, healing anyone it touched in the blink of an eye. Even the critically injured had their wounds miraculously disappear, and the color returned to their cheeks as they crawled back from death’s door.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, Lady Metelia! Praise be to Lunaris’s benevolence!”

The soldier embraced his friend, weeping openly.

“Y-you… Priest…ess…”

“Oh? Stubborn, aren’t we? I thought that last attack would have finished you off for good.”

Somehow, the demon managed to stop the bleeding by reforming a layer of muscle across his wound and staggered to his feet.

“Know your place…lowly humans…!!”

Just then, other demons noticed the disturbance and flocked together.

“Who’s that chick? Hey, check out the loser who lost to a girl. What a chump!”

“Damn, he got creamed. Sucks to be him.”

“Musta let his guard down. Best not to mess around with these pests, just kill them as quick as you can.”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! That girl looks so yummy! ”

“Oh, god, the demons, they’re everywhere!”

As soon as one soldier spoke up, the terror spread. Each demon sported monstrous features, striking fear into the hearts of the troops.

“You’re finished, worm. No human can stand up to this many of—”

“Prison of Water: Holy Stream Binding!”

No sooner had Metelia spoken the words of her incantation than magical ropes of holy water materialized in midair, wrapping around the horde.

“Wh-what is this?!”

“Holy water?!”

“I—I can’t break free! How is this possible?”

“Agh, this water stings!”

“I’m sorry to say you have caught me in a rotten mood today,” said Metelia. “I cannot let any further harm befall this precious city and its precious inhabitants. Now, kneel before the majesty of our Lady of Light!”

“Wow…such power…”

“What a divine light…”

As Metelia focused her mana into her staff, the tip chimed like a bell and glowed with a shimmering, halo-like light.

“Hang from the tower the white bell of thunder and lay your offerings beneath.”

“Wh-what?! How could one human possess so much power?!”

“It’s not possible! It’s not it’s not it’s not!”

“Damn you, priestess, puny servant of god!”

“This is some kind of trick! It can’t be happening!”

The magical light struck fear and shock into the hearts of the demons, who, versed in spellcraft as they were, recognized its terrifying potential. The words poured from Metelia’s lips like spring water, like a song to the tune of her ringing staff.

“Let all be judged. Grant us the clear waters, that the light which surrounds it shall banish the wicked.”

Just as the mass of twinkling light reached its zenith and Metelia seemed ready to burst with mana, she swung her staff, and a large crystal bell materialized in the air above the trapped demons’ heads.

“…And let the great bell ring thrice. Crystal Bell: Thundering Wave!”

As soon as Metelia finished chanting, the bell tolled. And as it did, an abundance of water spears, each the length of a person’s height, appeared in the air around it.

Then the bell tolled once more, and the spears tore into the demons.

“Gah?!”

“Guh!!”

“Gigh!!”

“Hekk?!”

On the third toll, bolts of white lightning shot out of the bell and fried each of the demons impaled by the lances.

“““““GAAAAAAAAGH?!”””””

The lightning, bathed in holy power, conducted along the water spears to zap the insides of the demons’ bodies, roasting each of their cells and reducing them completely to ash.

“I…I don’t believe it…”

Watching his compatriots be fried to dust without leaving a single scratch on their attacker, the first demon fell to his knees in despair. The priestess walked slowly over to him, glancing down with a pitiless expression.

“…You demons really are a blight upon the land. Everything you do serves only to push Kaito’s and my honeymoon farther and farther into the distance. Now, by the grace of Lady Lunaris, return to the heavenly realm from whence you came.”

“Y-you monst…er…gh…rgh…”

Metelia’s water spear pierced the demon’s head, a wound from which there was no recovery.

“Ohhh!!”

“She did it!”

“We’re saved!!”

“Our Lady watches over us after all! Everyone, praise Metelia and Lunaris!”

The town erupted in earsplitting cheers. All that remained of the infernal invasion was a smattering of monsters and lesser demons.

“Now, my people. Let us unite and cast the wickedness out of our city! Under the light of Lunaris, let Her power be known!”

Metelia beamed a heavenly smile and spurred the soldiers to fight again. They slew the monsters and lesser demons with renewed vigor, and before long, the sounds of battle had given way to raucous cheers of triumph.

“…”

…Leaving Metelia all by herself, troubles weighing on her heart.

“Are you sure about this?”

Aah, it was the same dream again. The one I’d been having ever since I sent Kaito back to his world. Over and over again. A scene from my past that never transpired.

“Lunaris granted me a vision last night. She directed me to declare Kaito an enemy of God.”

“Hmm. Well, he did manage to keep an awful lot of heaven’s power. I suppose she’s worried he might turn that power against her. She’s desperate. She wants him out of her world at all costs. But she can’t just send him back to his own world and let him run around with all that power. She’s too proud to allow it. So killing him is the only option she has left.”

I couldn’t quite make out where we were, as everything was white and clouded. The only thing I could see was myself, speaking with another woman.

“I know it’s painful, but there was never any way you two could be together.”

The woman shrugged. She looked almost exactly the same as the woman who had snatched Kaito’s pets away after I sent him back to his world. The only difference was that this woman’s hair and the fake Lunarian robe she wore were emerald-green.

“…I can no longer hold faith in Lady Lunaris. And I cannot follow her orders. However, I won’t be able to hold out for long. With each passing day, I feel more and more as if I am turning into someone else.”

“Hmm, I see. So you can’t stop it, huh? Well, I do have a suggestion. It’s not safe, and there’s no guarantee it’ll even work, but then again, messing with souls isn’t exactly the domain of us mere mortals. Maybe I could do more if I was still alive, but right now, this is the best I can do. Just don’t go expecting it to work miracles, okay?”

“That is fine. If I do nothing, then my feelings will overcome me before long. I do not possess the luxury of choice. If there is the slightest chance it allows me to fight back, then please do whatever you can.”

I couldn’t make sense of it at all. From my lips came words I thought I would never say.

What was this dream? What did it mean?

“Hmm, that’s good. I like your attitude. Believe me, I know how much it sucks to have your life dictated by somebody else. But let me be clear: This technique will split your soul in two, which leaves the remainder far more susceptible to Lunaris’s influence. We might be able to use the duplicated soul to overwrite the original in the case of any corruption, and if that works, it’ll make you immune to any subsequent interference. However, if your soul becomes so damaged that it can’t be restored…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. No matter how much I change, my feelings for him will never waver.”

The foggy world faded away before answering any of my myriad questions, and I awoke in confusion. Only a single line from my dream echoed in my mind.

“I love Kaito. And nothing can ever change that.”

The person in that dream was undoubtedly myself. But what did this all mean?

“Lady Metelia! Lady Metelia!”

“…Aah! Haah…haah…”

I awoke in a room at the local church. My handmaiden was gently rocking me, calling my name.

“You sounded as if you were having a bad dream, my lady. I wonder if I might not persuade my lady to refrain from any strenuous exertion for a while? Reinforcements are on their way from the empire and the beast lands…”

“…I cannot. The barrier must not fall, under any circumstances.”

The Lunarian See was home to the Holy Crystal, a magical substance that generated the barrier stretching over the entire continent. It was this shield that kept the demons’ power in check, and if it were to fall, a wave of darkness would devour the land.

There was one very important reason I could not allow that to happen.

I shall need the crystal and a sacrifice of demons in order to summon Kaito back here. Aah, detestable demon lord, how much longer will you continue to stand in my way?

I had hoped to begin by curtailing the influence of the kingdom, but this warranted a change of plan. With my cryptic dreams and the abrupt end to any visions from Lunaris of late, my list of worries kept on growing.

“Hmm? Lady Metelia?”

“Ah, apologies. I was lost in thought. I shall leave town today and head for the front lines.”

There was much to worry about and much to do.

Still, with my thoughts of Kaito for company, I could do anything.

I just needed to keep the faith.

In a hidden training area somewhere in the royal castle of the Orollea Kingdom…

“Is that it?”

This could not be. It could not. My name was Gagerland! I should have been this land’s champion! So why?

“Come, stand. Or is that all you can muster?”

How had it come to this? It defied explanation.

“You were our party’s warrior. I assumed you would be a little stronger than this. Perhaps that was wrong of me.”

Her hair, like silver thread, glistened in the sunlight as her narrow sword cut cleanly through the air.

I had been captain of my town’s guard when I was first approached to teach the princess swordsmanship. At first, I thought it had been a joke. Me, a rank commoner, made private tutor to royalty? And the princess, so young in years and weak of arm. I was doubtful she would prove a competent learner.

However, I could not refuse a request from the royal family, and so I came to the castle as instructed and decided on a mock battle to gauge the princess’s strength.

And yet she’d disarmed me in a flash and sent me falling on my butt.

“You are fit, and I can tell you have been training,” she said, “but in terms of practical experience, you aren’t even on the level of the royal guard.”

How can this be? How can this be?!

The situation was so ridiculous I could not even put the thought to words.

Whatever reason they had for choosing me, I couldn’t let this chance go to waste. Opportunities to impress the nobility were rare, and if I could catch the eye of the royal family, my fame and renown would be assured. With the demon lord’s armies on the rise, perhaps I could even earn myself a place in the hero’s party.

The hero, selected through tournament, dressed in silver armor from head to toe. What a cowardly way of choosing who would get the title. If that royal pain hadn’t shown up, I would be this land’s champion!

Yes… I need to prove myself. That bastard who stole my spot will get his silver ass handed to him once the real fighting starts. Then I can rise up and take his place. I’ll be the hero, the man, the legend. The greatest champion this land has ever known!!

I was sure of it. There was no way it could be any different!

All I had to do was parry the princess’s blows, earn her trust, and then…and then…!

That moment, a sweet, flowery scent hit my nostrils, and my own voice echoed in my mind.

…How could a man bested by a single girl ever call himself a hero?

“Aah…Aah…!!”

The gulf between my dreams and cruel reality threatened to crush me.

This can’t be happening. It can’t, it can’t, it can’t!

“Bullshiiiiiiit!!”

Before I was even aware of what I was doing, I had drawn my real sword and was lunging for the princess.

Oh shit!

It was an act of unbridled rage. But by the time I realized this, it was already too late. The point of my steel blade was almost upon the princess’s throat when…

“Flower of Submission: Primathum.”

…she turned to dust in an instant.

And in her place was an impossibly beautiful sight.

“Huh? Wh-what…?”

It was a large pink-petaled flower. As the tip of my sword made contact, it was rendered to silver dust, forming a pile of sand at my feet. When I pulled the hilt free, I discovered that the only part of my sword that remained was the hilt.

“My, you truly are weak.”

Those words were like frigid water on my soul. When I thought back on what I had just done, I began to feel dizzy. I had attempted regicide, an act of high treason. They’d decapitate my entire family and decorate the castle walls with our heads. My wife, waiting in the other room for my return, would never be able to show her face in public again…

My mind reeled as the consequences of my rash behavior began to sink in.

“I…no… Princess, please, have mercy, I just…my hand slipped! I would never attempt to harm Your Highness!!”

I kneeled at her feet in terror, my face pressed to the floor.

“…Lift your gaze, Gagerland.”

I couldn’t. I feared what I might see if I did. But the princess would not allow me to stay silent forever, so I cautiously I looked up…

“…Ah.”

The person standing there didn’t seem like the princess at all. She was a kindly young girl, with a sweet and gentle smile.

“Fear not,” she said. “I would never forsake a brave warrior who has given so much for his country. It is patriots like you, Gagerland, who make our kingdom great, and it is you I would ask to defend our homeland.”

“Oh…oh…Lunaris bless you, Your Highness.”

She’s not going to have me killed?

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this strange turn of events. The princess was just as loving, kind, and, some might say, naive as people said.

“However, Gagerland, you are not yet ready to be a hero. If you were to do battle with our nation’s enemies now, you would be mercilessly slain.”

The girl hung her head in sorrow.

“I must impart to you one of the great secrets handed down through generations of our kingdom’s history.”

Saying this, she extended her hand. She was clutching what looked like a large seed.

“Wh-what is this?”

“It will grant you the power to change the world. This is how I acquired the strength I now wield.”

“It will?”

I took the seed from the girl’s porcelain palm. I could feel a great power lurking within it.

This seed is the source of the princess’s strength? Impossible. But then…how else could she have bested me? If it’s true that this seed can grant me the power I seek, then…

I gulped. “S-so you’re saying…I can have this?”

“Yes. Simply swallow it whole, without chewing. The Great Spirit’s power dwells within. Take it into your flesh, absorb its strength, and become a champion worthy of defending our kingdom.”

“Me…a champion?”

My lips crept up at the sound.

“Cast aside your doubts, Gagerland. You have been chosen.”

“Yes! I swear to lay down my life in defense of this great nation!”

I raised the seed, about the size of a ration pill, to my mouth and swallowed it. An instant later, a searing pain coursed through my body, and I fell to my hands and knees in agony.

“Grgh… Graaaaagh?!”

It burned! Oh god, it burned!

It felt like my whole body was being remade. I couldn’t so much as think through the blinding pain. I lacked even the strength to lift my head, and so I could not see Alicia’s expression when my consciousness was ripped away.

“This is a trial from the Great Spirit. Do try not to let the Seed of the World Tree consume you.”

I gave a gentle smile and looked down at the form of the groaning yet unconscious Gagerland before calling out to my maidservant.

“Take him to his room, if you please.”

I clapped my hands toward the vacant-eyed servant girl standing in the corner of the room, and she effortlessly hoisted the large frame of the warrior man onto her shoulder. To an outside observer, such a feat would have seemed more than a little strange.

Fortunate, then, that there are none left. Guidott, the knight commander, was the last in the castle to fall under my control.

“Oh my. The princess can be such a taskmistress sometimes. Don’t you agree?”

“…”

The servant girl’s leave was balanced by the arrival of a rather rude-spoken elf of unquestionably dubious appearance. The elf, Endimir, flashed a mocking grin and put his arm around the slightly shorter figure at his side, a person dressed head to toe in a full helm and plate mail.

“Endimir!!” I roared. “Remove your filthy elf hands at once!!”

“Whoa! No need to scream, Princess. Why, somebody might think I was up to no good!”

Without chanting, I tossed a tightly focused Fireball spell about the size of a piece of candy. However, just before it struck the elf’s shoulder, it dropped from its path and into his open palm, where it fizzled into nothing.

This smug bastard made me want to tear out my hair, but at least I had forced him to retract his wandering hand.

“Come now, Princess. You know we elves are your friends, so why all this animosity?”

“Friends? Ha! The only people deserving of my love and respect are the citizens of this country. We are allies, perhaps, but do not presume that this excuses your race from its crimes against this land. You disgust me, mongrel, and the fact I tolerate your presence at all should be proof enough of my goodwill.”

“Oh dear. And after everything I taught you, as well…”

Endimir shrugged off my insults with stoic patience. That spoke not to his magnanimity, but to the fact that he did not see our nation as a threat, so his flippancy only vexed me more.

…No, I must remain calm. I cannot allow this vile creature to unsettle me. There is more important work to be done.

“So, Endimir. What of Gagerland’s wife? Mimenya, I believe her name was. I assume you had her swallow the seed as well?”

“Of course. Hook, line, and sinker. I just had to put it like this: ‘Oh, milady. I sense that you have the talent to be on the hero’s entourage one day, and perhaps your husband will even become the hero himself. I happen to be in possession of something that might help you reach your full potential. What say you?’”

The clown began prancing about, reenacting the scene verbatim.

“Alas, my work here is done, and I shall thus take my leave. Sad news, I know, but do try not to weep for me.”

“…What are you saying?”

“I’m saying this is good-bye, Princess. Something’s come up. Or rather, it’s about to. As much as I’d like to stay for tea and crumpets, I’m afraid I must be off. However, I’m not so vulgar a gentleman that I know not to thank my host. So…thank you, Princess. You were most entertaining…for a fake.”

“W-wait! Hold it right there!!”

But there was only spectral laughter as the elf submerged into his own shadow and disappeared.

“Rrrrrrgh!! This is why I hate half-breeds!”

This world was for humans and humans alone. Why did I have to share it with these beasts?

“…Still. Now there is nothing left to stand between us.”

“…”

With nobody left to observe us, I extended a hand toward the silent, armored girl…and pulled her into a sweet embrace.

“Aah, Lamnecia, my dear sister. Fear not. I shall finish what you started.”

INTERMISSION

A Fool’s Dream

I had always been afraid of the dark.

On moonless nights, I would sneak into my sister’s bed to feel safe.

“Hmm… It seems there’s nothing special about the Untargeted, and a mere relative at that.”

Where were you now?

Eating isn’t the same without you. I can’t even tie up my hair without you.

Where did you go?

I would do anything for you. That was the only thing I still remembered.

“Come, little Kaori, it’s time to begin. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. It’ll all be over very quickly.”

A dark room. A small room. A room that reeked of mold.

Where were you? Where did you go?

I’ll do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to find you.

So please.

Come back to me. Hold me. Stroke my hair. Tell me that you love me.

“Let’s do our best to track down your sister Shiori, shall we?”

Please.

It was cold. It was dark. It was dirty.

Where was I? How did I end up here?

“Hmm, another failure. Looks like the Untargeted are a load of duds. The results from the mana test are disappointing, too. Perhaps that’s exactly why they weren’t targeted? Sigh. This is getting me nowhere. For the sake of my research, I need to capture a Reject.”

“…Ah…eh…aah…ah…”

From my lips came a voice so strained I could hardly believe it was my own. No, this was no voice. Merely the sound of air passing through me.

My throat had been destroyed long ago.

“Ah, not to worry. You’re still useful to me. So long as you’re still alive, there’s lots of experiments we can do on you that we can’t do on Kaori. It’s faint, but the mana test is showing results. Aah, my ancestors were right. Kheh-heh-heh. They all laughed, those ignorant buffoons. But they were all jealous of my greatness! Well, who’s laughing now?!”

I heard the mad laughter as if through a speaker. Oh, yes, that was right. My ears had been destroyed as well.

“Hee-hee-hee. Phew. Now, it’s time to begin today’s experiment. The more we fatten you up, the more mana we’ll get out of you! Isn’t that good? You’ll be instrumental in making me one of the most powerful mages of all time!”

That’s right! That’s it!

I was broken! Broken!

And it was all because of the person in front of me!

Why?! How could this have happened…?

“Now, let’s try this ritual today. It’s supposed to allow you to see into the spirit plane. Granted, it takes away your ability to view reality, but why would you want to keep looking at this ugly world, hmm?”

No…no…no…NOOOOOOOOO!!

“…Ah…aah…ah…”

Help me! Somebody save me!

Mai! Satomi! Anyone!

Get me out of here!! Mom, Dad! I want to go home!!

“Now, now, there’s nothing to fear. Let’s begin.”

Somebody…help me…

“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Aaaaaaaagh!!”

No expense had been spared in the creation of this underground laboratory of mine.

I was so close! Just one step away from achieving my dreams, but he betrayed me!

“Damn you! What have you done?!”

In the darkened room, I let out all the anger and frustration I usually kept concealed.

“That damn shut-in. That worthless loser. How many times did I tell him not to kill her?! Now look at what he’s done, that imbecile!”

Gripped by emotional rage, I kicked the wall and vomited. When that proved insufficient to dispel my anger, I slammed my fists against the wall. My ears rang, and I felt just a little of the boiling heat transfer from my brain to my stinging hands.

“Phew… Tch. Now I need to alter the research schedule. Their souls separate from their bodies once they die. I need to do whatever I can with what remains, and then…”

I ruffled my hair, took a deep breath, and opened the door leading out of my lab. Out in the hallway, the stairway leading up was on my right, while to my left was a room with four colored doors, all facing each other: red, blue, yellow, and green. The red and blue rooms were currently in use, while the yellow room contained the corpse. I entered to find it lying on a slab, pale and bloodless, and partially covered by a sheet.

“Now, where to begin?”

I touched the girl’s cold skin and tugged open her stiff eyelids with my thumb. Her lifeless eyes were dim and vacant. As I tilted her head, her white lips fell partially open.

“These materials are not easy to replace, and a lot of planning goes into their acquisition…”

A list of tasks flitted through my mind, dividing itself neatly into two piles: those I could do with a corpse and those I could not. I tore off the sheet and smiled.

“Let’s make the most of our time together, Satomi! ”

The pallid object on my table was no longer a human being but a lump of flesh. It was in pristine condition, save the large cut across the abdomen, where I had sliced her open. However…

“…Aah, that’s what I like to see. The traces are far more strongly pronounced in this specimen, even in death. Not like those Untargeted at all. The Touched are a different breed!”

I poured a mottled green-and-blue solution over the body, and crimson particles rose into the air. The magical reaction with her was far stronger than with those who had simply been there at the time. If only she were alive, and her soul still present, it would have brought me that much closer to unraveling the secrets of the summoning spell.

“Heh. Hee-hee-hee. I will find a way. There has to be a way. A path into the world from which that spell originated, a land overflowing with mana…”

I rifled around for a silver tool engraved with magical carvings and grinned, licking my lips in anticipation. Soon, very soon, it would be mine. True magic, like that wielded by the mages of old.

This world had lost its magic, and even the simplest of miracles could no longer be performed. Everyone with the ability to manipulate mana had died out. But soon, it would be mine, and with it, the beginnings of a new race of proud mages!

“Aaaaaaagh!! It’s not working!! This cannot be!!”

I drew large crosses across the pieces of paper scattered over my desk, then slammed my fist, pen still in hand, into the table before crumpling up the papers into a ball.

“Aaaargh!! Why not?! Why not?! What’s missing?! What do I still need to do?!”

I was furious. Rage clouded my mind. Why now, when I was just one step away? My goal was almost in reach, so tantalizing it drove me mad.

“What is it?! What am I missing?!”

I had analyzed all the data resulting from my experiments, but not a single scrap of it had given me the result I desired. There was nothing more I could get out of my hard-earned test subjects now.

“…It’s just not enough. A relative of the Summoned, an Untargeted, and even the corpse of a Touched. They’re all just by-products.”

Worthless rejects only gave me worthless data. My research was going nowhere.

“…It’s time to proceed to the next phase.”

He had appeared to me in my darkest hour, as if granted by God. If my experiments so far were for anything, it was all to ensure that I wouldn’t let his unique existence go to waste.

Soon, very soon, I would tear open a hole between worlds to spill fresh mana and rejuvenate this dying land, enabling me to partake of the power of the outer void and usher in a new age of legend.

“I shall be the greatest sorcerer this world has ever known! Hee-hee-hee. For I alone possess the blood of my ancestors, and none shall stand against me!! Keh-heh-ha-ha-ha!!”

Yes, and I would transcend all human reckoning! A new stage of life! Ah-ha-ha-ha!!

CHAPTER 3

A Life Irrevocably Changed

Two months had passed since I was discharged from the hospital. It was now the middle of winter, and my skin bristled in the cold and desiccated air.

Returning to my regular school life hadn’t been nearly as bad as I feared. I knew few of the underclassmen, due to my general dislike of social clubs and extracurricular activities, and even many of my peers were strangers, as classes weren’t shuffled until entering third year. My only acquaintances in the entire school were Yuuto and Mai.

Almost all the students in my class had disappeared. The lucky few who’d avoided that fate all happened to be running somewhere and had tripped and fallen in surprise when the circles materialized, or had otherwise avoided the magic circles when they appeared. That was how Mai had been spared. She’d been late to school for once in her life and was rushing to class when it happened.

However, the handful of my classmates who’d survived lost their lives soon afterward.

About a month before I came back, Mai’s friend, Satomi, had been murdered, and there were the stabbings from six months before that as well. Every last one of my classmates had died in random killings, almost like someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Even Mai’s friend Yuuki had gone missing without a trace.

The only people still alive from the old class 2-3 were me and Yuuto.

That meant I didn’t know very many people in my new class. I’d prepared myself for a barrage of questions, like a transfer student at my own school. No doubt they would all be clamoring to hear where I had been and what I had done.

However, it turned out nobody wanted to ask me about the incident.

“Everyone’s been hurt in one way or another by what happened…,” Yuuto told me, a bitter smile on his lips. “And they’ve all been told that you don’t remember a thing.”

I felt ashamed to have been worried when I heard that. How could I have been so thoughtless?

The school seemed concerned about my well-being, because they had put me in Mai’s class and seated me next to her. Thanks to that, it didn’t take long for me to grow accustomed to my new surroundings. And with my peers treating me as normally as they could, I soon settled into a new routine only marginally different from the one I’d had before.

“All right, time to give back the tests from the other day. Be sure to look over them before class!”

Our homeroom teacher’s voice echoed throughout the room as cries of joy and despair erupted from my classmates.

“I feel like I made a pretty dumb mistake on the last math question,” said my sister, the perfect honor student that she was. “I don’t even want to look at my score.”

However, my heart was pounding.

“D-did you now?”

When my name was called, I walked to the front of the class, picked up my stack of test papers, and brought it back to my desk, making sure not to let Mai see them!

“Dear brother? What’s the matter?”

“I…er…need to run to the bathroom.”

I immediately stepped out of the classroom and headed down the hallway, test papers in hand. Once inside the restroom, I entered the first open stall and locked myself inside, before taking my first hesitant look at the test sheets.

“Oof.”

My fears were confirmed when I saw the scores. Heartbroken, I cast my eyes skyward. Not that there was a sky in there to see.

Mai’s gonna kill me when she finds out…

“Kaito… You’ve made me so upset. Why is my dear brother such a feeble-minded moron?”

I could see it now. I shivered in fright and crumpled the failed test papers into a ball.

If Mai found out about this, she’d have me on twenty-four-hour surveillance, studying in my room from dawn till dusk, all seven days of the week. Even though my life had only recently been thrown into shambles, she wouldn’t take that as an excuse.

Mai had changed when she picked up naginata all those years ago. Along with improving her fitness and general health, the sport seemed to instill in her a merciless obsession with rigid, structured training, and she would force such procedures on me with a smile.

This one time in middle school, I’d played too many video games and failed a test. Even Mom and Dad hadn’t been able to save me from her. I did get a perfect score on the make-up exam, though.

“However, my dear little sister, you are forgetting one very important fact. A big brother never loses. And unlike a certain cartoon boy whose name rhymes with ‘Bobita,’ I won’t make the mistake of disposing of this evidence somewhere it can be found.”

With that, I tore the papers up and flushed them down the toilet, one at a time so it wouldn’t get clogged.

“…There. Evidence destroyed.”

And my punishment with it. No matter how suspicious it looked, Mai wouldn’t get angry if she couldn’t prove anything. She’d always been logical-minded like that.

I’d say, “Well, you know, I ran out of paper,” and she’d say, “That’s disgusting. Learn some tact,” and that would be that.

I casually sauntered out into the hallway, feeling like a king, and returned to the classroom with my head held high.

“Welcome back, dear brother,” said Mai as I returned to my seat. Homeroom had ended, and we still had about five minutes before classes started.

“Oh, sorry about that,” I said. “My stomach just started killing me. And to make matters worse, there was no paper in the stall.”

“I see. And so you used your tests instead. Is that right, my useless brother?”

“Huh?”

I hadn’t expected that.

Uh-oh. Something’s off. I don’t like this…

The sweat dribbled down my brow as an awful feeling overcame me.

“Something the matter, Kaito? You’re sweating.”

“A-am I? There must be something wrong with the air conditioning. Ah-ha-ha-ha…”

“No, there isn’t. The repair people just came to fix it last week. And the temperature in here is rather pleasant.”

“O-oh, really? That’s weird. Ha-ha…”

Mai gave a sharp sigh.

“Kaito, as your sister, I shall stick by your side no matter who you become, whether you get off on torturing women, are aroused by your own sibling, or develop an unhealthy obsession with the shapes of women’s feet.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Wh-wh-wh-what are you talking about?! Please stop. Your big brother has a reputation to uphold! Everyone’s staring at us, and look! Nakamura’s even trying to move his desk away! You’re dragging my name through the mud!”

“Oh? I would have thought a piece of human garbage who obstructs public services by flushing his own embarrassing test scores down the toilet would have no reputation to save.”

Shit. How did she know?

Welp, my bright idea had gone the way of my test papers. By the sight of Mai’s threatening aura, I’d say she’d found plenty of reasons to be angry, proof or not.

“And just look at these deplorable scores. It makes me so sad. Although I suppose that’s to be expected from a vandal who damages school property.”

Mai waved a bundle of papers with a sigh of distress. Papers that ought to have been halfway to the ocean by now!

“What?! H-h-how did you get those?!”

Mai waved the test slowly enough that I could still see the scores.

“I never imagined you would betray me like this, dear brother. Though it filled my heart with guilt, I asked the teachers to make a second copy, just in case.”

Mai heaved another sigh.

“I cannot believe it has come to this. I pity you, dear brother, I really do.”

“I-if you pity me…th-then may I humbly suggest…and this is just my opinion…but maybe you could…consider…letting me off the hook? Maybe?”

“Kaito,” said Mai, showing not a shred of this pity she allegedly felt. “Let’s draw up a study schedule together when lunchtime comes around.”

Right then, the class bell rang, mercilessly shooting down any hope I had of objecting.

“Ah. Farewell, my peaceful days. Tranquility can be so very fleeting.”

It appeared the routine to which I would be returning would involve a lot of late nights, and a lot of books.

On one of those very days, I was studying over at Yuuto’s, a fancy apartment in the center of town.

“Grrr…that’s enough. I need a break…”

Yuuto said he had no family. His mother had passed away while he was just finishing elementary school, and he lived off regular payments from his father. However, his relationship with his dad was not without its problems. He’d only ever told us about it the first time he invited us over.

I waited a while as Yuuto checked my answers, listening to the squeaking of his marker against the paper.

“…Well, I think that’s enough math for today. You should be able to pass that test now,” he said.

“Really? All right! Great success!” I cried, pumping my fist.

Of course, I was incredibly grateful for my friend’s time, seeing as how he had university exams coming up, but right now, I was just pleased to be studying as little as humanly possible. So pleased that I was ready to strike a pose!

“Right, on to social studies next, Kaito.”

“What…?”

“What do you mean, what? You failed that, too, didn’t you? Sorry, Kaito, but I’m not your friend today. Mai threat—I mean, asked me to be strict with you,” said Yuuto, flitting his gaze to a corner of the room.

What the hell, Mai? What dirt could you possibly have on this perfect gentleman of a friend?

“Still, I suppose a little break couldn’t hurt. I’m gonna run to the store. You want a coffee or anything?”

“Yeah, can you get me the brand that has the snowflake on it?”

“…You know that’s just coffee-flavored milk, right?”

Yuuto gave a snarky grin and disappeared out the door. I placed my pen on the table and lay back onto the wood-paneled flooring, letting the numbers spill from my overworked brain.

…I hope Mai’s okay, I thought, as I listened to the constant ticking of the wall clock. Today was Satomi’s 100-day memorial wake. It was originally supposed to be only for her family, but Mai was a close enough friend to Satomi that her parents had allowed her to attend.

“…”

I remembered her smile, tinged with sadness and grief, as my sister had left the house that morning.

“…All right, enough of that. Time to find out what dirt I can gather, too.”

I flipped onto my feet and decided to go search Yuuto’s room. I didn’t need to get caught up in Mai’s sadness as well. I needed to take my mind off it, so that she could come back home to someone pleasant to be around.

“Let’s start in here. I wonder if Yuuto has any dirty mags under his bed?”

I was just fooling around, same as always.

But I was woefully unprepared for what awaited me there.

“…”

Once I opened the door, my words, my thoughts, all vanished.

This wasn’t a teenage boy’s room. It was a cage. The walls were plastered with newspaper cuttings, online articles, forum posts, social media profiles, and photographs, the faces of which had all been crossed out in red pen.

It was as if the whole room was screaming at me. “Why?” it asked. “How? It hurts. I can’t accept it. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?”

This was more than enough to convey how much Yuuto had been suffering this past year. How he was still hurting even now.

I gently closed the door and pressed my fist against it, then my forehead.

“Why did it have to turn out like this…?” came my weak, strained voice. It was just as well there was nobody there to hear it.

When Yuuto returned, we had a quick refreshment break and got right back to studying. I never mentioned what I’d seen in his room. I didn’t know what to say.

I got on quietly with my problems while Yuuto read a book.

“Oh, isn’t it about time for your appointment?”

I checked my watch. It was three PM.

“Crap, I’m late,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’d better hurry.”

I’d made the appointment last week. I gathered up my things and got ready to leave.

“Make sure you get some revision in tonight. You don’t want to be stuck taking make-up classes.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t want to know what Mai has in store for me if I fail another test. I need to reclaim my dignity.”

“You really are obsessed with her,” Yuuto said.

“No, I’m not,” I shot back. “I love her a normal amount.”

With that, I opened the hallway door.

“See you, Kaito. Get well soon.”

“Thanks. See you at school.”

I left Yuuto’s apartment and walked down the busy streets toward the hospital. I was headed to the psychiatric ward to meet with a specialist Dr. Maeno had recommended. We were hoping that these sessions would hasten the return of my lost memories.

“Come on, me,” I told myself as I walked. “What have you got locked up in there? Think about how it could help Yuuto.”

Whatever it was that had been eating me up ever since the day I returned, it didn’t want to speak. The only thing I could hear were its rattling chains.

Yet somehow I knew. And once I remembered what had created this boiling heat within me, there would be no doubt.

The answer I sought was not a happy one.

“That’s right. You’re in a nice, warm place.”

I closed my eyes and listened to the gentle, soothing voice of the psychiatrist. A metronome ticked away on the table, and the sweet scent of flowers filled my nostrils, setting my mind at ease.

Usually we just talked, but the nice old man had recently suggested a few sessions of hypnotherapy to shake things up. To be honest, though, I couldn’t say it was working.

“You hear a phone ringing. You go to pick it up. You hear someone on the other side.”

I tried using the psychiatrist’s voice to construct an image in my mind. But my brain just couldn’t keep up with what he was saying.

“It’s your voice. The person on the phone is you. He’s reminding you what you’ve forgotten. Listen carefully.”

Argh! It wasn’t working. I just couldn’t imagine it.

As soon as he said the word “forgotten,” I saw the old me, trapped within.

No! he screamed. That’s not right!

My imagination gave up the ghost the instant I heard the voice, and the scene disappeared.

This just wasn’t right. It was never going to work. The fire inside me burned a stifling black. It would never come back while my mind was at peace.

“I’m sorry, doc, but I don’t think this is working…”

I opened my eyes and returned to the room, where the psychiatrist and Dr. Maeno were waiting. Obviously, Dr. Maeno was a surgeon, not a psychiatrist, but he was the one who’d observed me when I came back badly injured, so he wanted to keep an eye on my recovery.

I sat there in embarrassed silence while the psychiatrist gave a troubled glance.

“I see. Hmm. Perhaps you’re not compatible with this sort of therapy after all.”

He reached over and stopped the metronome.

“Sorry,” I said meekly, bowing my head.

“Oh no, it’s not your fault,” said Dr. Maeno, patting me on the shoulder. “Hypnosis is highly influenced by the subject’s personality, you see. It’s quite all right. There’s no hurry.”

“Quite true. We’ll end it there for today and take it slow. Nothing good ever comes from rushing this sort of thing.”

“I see… Well then, see you next time, I guess.”

“Yes. Same time next week.”

“Take care, Mr. Ukei.”

I avoided their eyes, embarrassed at the sheer lack of progress to show for my efforts. Then I bowed to the two doctors and left.

Guilt was gnawing at me, along with another inexplicable emotion. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed to be hatred or disgust for Dr. Maeno.

For some reason, I would feel a bitter sense of nostalgia whenever he laid eyes on me, along with a tingle, like a serpent’s tongue lapping at my heart.

It was as though the me trapped deep within was trying to say something. Scream something.

Something I knew all too well.

“Huh? Mai?”

“Ah, dear brother.”

As I left the hospital, I spotted my sister waiting by the gates in her school uniform.

“Why are you…?”

“Why? I came to pick you up, obviously,” she said, pouting and looking up into my eyes. “Can you not even understand that? You really ought to be more attuned to my feelings, dear brother.”

“Aah, sorry. Thank you, Mai. But isn’t it dangerous for you to go out by yourself?”

“Don’t worry, I have a police escort. Look, there’s one over there. And over there, too.”

Mai pointed to a couple of ladies in black suits, who waved back.

Now that she mentioned it, I had a few officers watching over me as well. Even without them, the police presence in this city was way higher than it had been in the past. You could hardly walk down the street without seeing one, and while it was difficult to get used to that, it certainly wasn’t easy to imagine any serious crime being committed while they were around.

“Now, let’s head home… Oh, your little sister’s hands are tired.”

Mai thrust toward me a bag filled with the shopping for tonight’s dinner.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll carry it.”

I grinned and took the bag, while Mai nonchalantly slipped her hand into mine. Her cold skin caused me to cast my eyes downward.

Ever since I’d returned, Mai would hold my hand wherever we went. It didn’t matter if we were at home or at school, she would suddenly link arms or touch me out of nowhere. She hadn’t done that before.

Not that I minded, of course. It didn’t make me uncomfortable, and it surely earned me big brother points, but…

We can’t keep doing this…

My missing memories weren’t my only concern. I was also worried about Mai. The sight of Yuuto’s room had forced me to realize I couldn’t keep ignoring her.

So I steeled myself and prepared to take the first step forward, come what may.

“…Isn’t it about time you stopped doing that, Mai?”

“Hmm? Doing what?”

She cocked her head and looked up at me, puzzled. Yes, I know, it’s very cute, but that’s really not what I need right now.

I already felt like I was bungling it, but I pressed on regardless.

“You’re not a kid anymore. Don’t you think it’s weird to hold hands every time we go out?”

I looked down at her hand, which now gripped mine even tighter than before. I’d like to say it was out of affection, but somehow, I wasn’t so sure. It seemed too strong for that.

“Not really,” she replied. “We’re brother and sister.”

Her eyes grew dark. They certainly didn’t look healthy.

“But Mai…”

“Shut up!! I don’t…want to. Please don’t let go.”

She squeezed me so hard, I couldn’t have released my hand if I wanted to. Like a mother ensuring her child wouldn’t get lost.

…Or rather, like a mother who’s already lost her child once and is making sure it doesn’t happen again.

“If I hold your hand, I can’t lose you again. Surely even a simpleton like you understands that.”

“Mai…”

She glanced forlornly at the ground. There wasn’t much I could say to that.

“…Right. Once we get back, it’s dinner, followed by more studying. Let’s aim for a perfect score on your retests, okay, my dear brother?”

“…R-right.”

What could I say? It seemed like Mai would fall to pieces at the softest touch. So I kept my mouth shut and continued walking.

“It’s time to study, dear brother.”

After I got home, I’d quickly scarfed down dinner. Mai had fortunately inherited Dad’s talent for cooking and not Mom’s, and the food was great, as always. Then I’d taken a break before I went up to Mai’s room to begin our joint study session. Unlike my own room, Mai’s was always clean and smelled nice whenever I visited. I don’t know how she did it.

“Er…sure, but what are you wearing?”

“Hmm? Something strange?”

Mai cocked her head, causing the lensless glasses sitting on her nose to rattle. She was wearing a sand-colored suit, and the aqua-blue ribbon that was usually tied at the end of her hair, which fell to her thighs, was now fastened around chest height. Yes, my conservative and modest little sister had somehow transformed into an office-ready, career-oriented young woman while I wasn’t looking.

Actually, when had she gotten changed? And where?

“No, no, it doesn’t look strange. In fact, it kind of suits you.”

“Yes. I’m well acquainted with your desires, dear brother. What was it that was written on that magazine you bought last week? The Demanding Teacher and Her 24-Hour Private—”

“Aaall righty, then. I’d say it’s about time to get started, wouldn’t you?”

I didn’t ask. I wasn’t listening.

“I can’t say I approve of such racy literature, dear brother. But not to worry. I took everything that I could find and burned it in a big pile in the yard.”

“I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!”

I let the water of my heart seep from my eyes as I continued not listening.

“However, I am no tyrant, dear brother. I understand that boys your age can be insatiable in their lustful appetites. That is why I am prepared to dress in a way that pleases you. Well, what do you think?” she asked, nudging her shapely breasts upward with her arms.

“Please, why won’t you stop?” I cried, my ears surely glowing red. “Do you think I have some kind of humiliation fetish?!”

What was I supposed to do?! She’d found my stash, burned it, and then started analyzing my preferences!

“Come, dear brother. It’s time to start your lesson.”

“…Yeah.”

I’ll tell you what I did. I sat at that desk and wept while my sister grinned, that’s what.

“Hmm. I’m impressed, dear brother. You pass.”

“Finally!”

I threw my mechanical pencil aside and collapsed onto my desk.

“Very good, dear brother. Here, I’ll stroke your head as a reward. There, there.”

I no longer had the energy to resist. I just let Mai do as she pleased. I almost commented on how it felt like she was treating me like a dog, but I managed to hold my tongue. I knew what she would say: “That’s right, dear brother, you are a dog. I’ll always look after you and tell you what a good boy you are.”

The worst part was, she would have been completely serious about it, too.

“Now then, there’s just one test to go. Shall we begin?”

“Huh?”

Just as I tasted relief, Mai casually summoned a new foe for me to deal with.

“You’re nearly there, dear brother! Just keep it up! ”

Huh, that was odd. Through the tears, my little sister’s adorable smile almost looked like that of the devil himself. Strange, right? I thought this was supposed to be her greatest smile, reserved for only the most special of occasions.

“Now, while you take care of that, I’ll go make you a midnight snack.”

With an unbroken grin, Mai left the room, while I stared blankly at my desk.

“…I feel like Mai’s gotten even worse while I’ve been gone…”

I lay back in my chair, gazing up at the ceiling. The fatigue set in at last, and in the silence of the empty room, I muttered…

“Crap. What am I gonna do?”

Mai had undeniably been acting strange ever since I got back. On second thought, our lives had changed greatly even before I went missing. It was no surprise that she’d needed to adapt. It wasn’t so much the fact that she’d changed I was worried about; it was the way she’d changed.

She’s gotten way too attached to me. She’s like a cracked pane of glass.

I thought back to our walk home from the hospital earlier. As I’d held her hand, I could swear I felt her shivering, as if she were possessed by a vicious beast of winter. A beast that couldn’t be stopped. And try as I might, I couldn’t shake the feeling it would tear Mai to shreds the moment I stepped out of line. I wanted to help my sister. I wanted to fix her. I wanted to mend her broken heart. But how? I couldn’t even begin to guess.

“Haah… I know it’s cliché,” I mused, leaning back in my chair, “but perhaps all we can do is wait… Wh-whoa!”

At that moment, I pushed a little too far back and went tumbling out of my seat. But something strange happened. The entire world around me slowed to a crawl, and I calmly thrust out my hands, silently breaking my fall with only my fingertips.

“Whoa, that was close… Hmm? What’s that?”

Now lying on the floor, I noticed something I hadn’t before. A dark stain on the underside of the desk drawer handle that was completely invisible from above. My heart skipped a beat as soon as I laid eyes on it. The dark part of the stain tickled something in the back of my head, and I grew quite uneasy. It was on the middle drawer, the only one with a lock.

“…Hmm, unless Mai’s changed where she hides the key… Ah, here it is.”

I stood up and moved the pen holder aside to find the key, then used it to unlock the drawer.

I was neither seized by idle curiosity, nor did I have any particular motive to pry. It was just…for whatever reason, I was certain I had to know what was inside.

As I wrapped my fingers around the drawer handle, I felt a tingling sensation at their tips, as though they were being stabbed with thousands of tiny needles. Everything went cloudy with thick purple smoke for a moment, before returning to normal.

What am I doing? I wondered, but that didn’t stop me from teasing open the drawer. And when I did…

“…Huh?”

At first, I didn’t realize what it was.

“Wh…what? That’s not… What…?”

It didn’t feel real, seeing it there with my own eyes, but I couldn’t look away. I picked it up, just to make sure. Surely I was just seeing things?

Then everything went dark, save for me and it. I felt dizzy, like I had been doused in a cold, viscous oil that spurted from the deep, dark hole in my mind. A paralyzing sensation swept through my mouth, as if to numb me to all sensation.

“…Mai… What have you done…?”

There was no response to my question. It was a knife.

With dried bloodstains on the blade.

“Good evening, my dear little sister. I wonder if you wouldn’t mind taking a seat over here with me?”

“Hmm? What’s all this about, dear brother?”

One night, after getting out of the bath and returning to the living room, I sat down on the sofa and gestured to the seat opposite the coffee table. Mai came over wearing a puzzled look, drying her hair with a towel. Her cheeks were slightly flushed with heat, and her skin glossy with moisture. Damp patches of her thin, aqua-blue pajamas clung to her skin, emphasizing the balance of her slender proportions. In fact, the contrast between her slovenly appearance and apparent ignorance thereof only added to her charm, in my opinion.

“…Ah, I see. Very well, I understand how teenage boys can get. You’re like a dog in heat. But if it will lessen the chances of you bothering someone else, then by all means, cast your amorous gaze wherever you please. I don’t mind at all.”

Saying this, Mai sat not across the table as I had indicated but cuddled up next to me on the sofa.

“I don’t think you have any idea what’s going on. And you should mind. Look, just sit over there; you’re in big trouble, you know.”

My little sister may have been the cutest in the world, but she was going to have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on her own big brother.

“Hmm? Have I failed in my duties to be a charming little sister, Kaito?”

Mai pouted, trying to speak like a child. She was just going to ignore my request to sit over there, then.

“Listen, you…”

Mai had been slipping into “pamper mode” more and more these days. She had always been like this to some extent; whenever she reached emotional extremes, whether that was on days she was extremely happy or times she grew sad and depressed, she would reveal the lonely personality she usually kept hidden behind insults and abuse.

What this meant was that it was very obvious when she was mentally unstable, and it had been happening a lot recently. I was starting to think about taking her to see a therapist. I was sure it must be the cause of her clingy behavior as well.

I hesitated a little before answering. Mai was a wineglass balancing on the head of a pin right now.

“…You know that’s not it,” I said. “You’re as cute as a little sister should be.”

The source of my irritation was not the physical appearance of my sister, on the verge as she was of blossoming into a fine young woman. It was her dripping wet hair and damp clothes, the same as mine.

Now would be a good time to note that we lived in a normal house with a single bath.

“Mai, I believe you have gone too far this time. This cannot stand.”

“What? What cannot?”

“This idea you seem to have that our bathroom is for two people at once! Don’t come in while I’m in there!”

Yes, my little sister had decided my bath times were the perfect occasion to show her face. She’d justified this by claiming that extraordinary events might serve to stimulate the return of my memories, and there was nothing wrong with it unless I was an incestuous creep just seconds away from sexually assaulting his own sister. Her words, obviously.

However, now that I was reflecting on things, I realized I should have said something the first time it happened. It had started with a one-piece swimsuit, but the invasions were all accompanied by new outfits, each more titillating than the last. It all culminated in the events of today, which saw Mai intruding on my bath wearing only a towel.

I could let it slide no longer. I had to put my foot down before things got out of hand.

“But we used to bathe together completely naked,” Mai complained. “There’s no problem if we’re brother and sister, is there?”

“There is, there is! Where’s your sense of shame?!”

“So I can’t come in anymore?” she asked, lowering her gaze in a move perfectly calculated to leave no doubt how my actions looked.

“Absolutely not!!” I cried.

“Hmm. Well, I won’t risk angering you any further. I think I’ll go to bed.”

For a moment, her brazen attempt to flee left me stunned. “What? Hey, don’t run away on me! Come back!” I shouted after her. I reached out in an attempt to grab hold of her, but she deftly slipped away.

“I am not running away,” she said. “But we promised to go to the movie theater together tomorrow morning, and I wouldn’t want to oversleep. Nighty night, dear brother. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Without giving me a chance to voice my objections, Mai slid out of the room and went down the hall.

“…Haaaaah.”

After everything went quiet, I let out a drawn-out sigh. Suddenly overcome with fatigue, I fell over sideways onto the sofa.

About two weeks had passed since I’d found what Mai was hiding in her desk drawer, and I still hadn’t asked her what that bloodstained knife was doing there. I had been doing my utmost to pretend I hadn’t found it and make sure Mai didn’t discover I’d seen it.

I knew I couldn’t just sweep this under the rug, but I also knew that the moment I asked Mai about it, this peaceful life I’d worked so hard to recreate would all come crashing down—for good this time.

And the longer I left it, the farther I watched Mai walk down that hill, spilling tiny cogs and gears behind her.

God, I’m pathetic. I can’t even help my own sister.

“What am I supposed to do? Mom? Dad?”

I turned to their photographs on the family altar. Only after losing them had I realized how much they’d been supporting me.

All I did was run and run, never intending to stop and do anything.

Just then, our landline rang.

“…Hello?”

“Ah, I’m sorry to bother you this late in the evening. It’s Onishi with the Iizuka police department. Would this be Mr. Kaito Ukei?”

I answered in the affirmative, and the young police officer loosened his speech a little.

“Would you happen to be free to meet tomorrow, Kaito?” came the detective’s sunny words. “You see, Miyagawa has just been in discussions with the higher-ups, and they’ve allowed us to proceed as planned.”

I thought back to the first time the two detectives had visited me in the hospital. They’d made quite a scene then, but they’d been back over the next few days to talk to me some more. As a result, I’d grown quite friendly with them.

“…I see.”

I had asked Miyagawa to do me a favor.

The clothes I’d been wearing when I first reappeared at school had been confiscated as evidence. I wasn’t allowed to take them home, but I had been shown the outfit in a plastic bag at the hospital. There was a damaged set of light leather armor, along with a cape so dark it seemed to swallow all light.

I’d felt a curious sensation in the pit of my stomach the instant I laid eyes on them. The clothes were important to me. Or at least it seemed to me like they were.

Though I didn’t expect my request to be honored, I had asked the two detectives if they could arrange for my possessions to be returned. I figured if the old me cared about them so much, then perhaps they could help jog my memory.

“Ah, is tomorrow not good for you?”

“…No, sorry. I kind of have plans…”

“That’s quite all right. I shouldn’t expect you to drop everything at short notice. I simply thought I ought to give you a call as soon as possible.”

“I’ll come and get them this weekend,” I said. “Give my thanks to Miyagawa, won’t you?”

“Very well. I’ll let him know. And apologies again for calling so late. Good night.”

I returned the good-bye and hung up.

Then I immediately fell to the floor, cringing with guilt.

“Nnnnnng. What am I even doing…?”

Miyagawa and Onishi were both busy with the ongoing Rebirther cases. There’s so many idiots out there, it’s hard to keep up, I had heard them complain.

They were doing everything they could for me, and yet I had waited so long to make my request. Why? Because I had my hands full with Mai and didn’t want to think about anything else. I was being selfish, plain and simple.

“…Haah. Time for bed.”

I turned off the living room light and headed upstairs to my room. The bed creaked as I lay down in it and wrapped myself in my expensive duvet. My mattress, a perfect blend of soft and firm, seemed to suck all the exhaustion out of my body. It had been worth saving up for months to buy this.

“…”

Once I was fully relaxed, I turned my gaze inward and searched for my lost memories. It was the first time I’d done this since finding the knife in Mai’s room.

Even though I wasn’t as far gone as she was, I’d be lying if I said I was in a good place mentally. To be completely honest, I didn’t feel prepared to face the other self who lurked inside me.

I turned out the light and hid beneath the covers, emptying my mind.

I was sure it wouldn’t be long before Mai came silently over and crept into my bed, like always.

They say if you can fall asleep in three minutes, that’s not sleep, it’s passing out.

That bit of trivia I didn’t even remember reading came to me unbidden as I drifted off to sleep, hoping that whatever force of slumber gripped me, it would not let go so easily.

“Listen to me, knave. How long are you planning to take?”

I was dreaming. Yes, I was dreaming. Before me was a vast, dark space that seemed to go on forever, filled with crowns of every shape and size. The surreal sight made me pop into vivid lucidity, and I found myself wondering that if this was a dream, then why couldn’t my subconscious have come up with something a little more cheerful? I wanted to see a bright world that was open and free, the kind that only sleep could provide.

“What are you playing at?”

Suddenly, it felt as though I were melting into the darkness. From within the gloom came a man’s voice.

Not a single ray of light penetrated the area, yet I could clearly make out the man’s silhouette. His face, however, was cloaked in a veil of shadows. He sat atop a heavy throne, gazing down at me with crossed legs.

He was scrawny, with an unbroken, childlike voice, but I could tell from the way he spoke that he thought very highly of himself indeed.

…Who are you?

I got the vague sense that I’d met him somewhere before, as though he were a character from a movie or TV show I’d watched. I couldn’t see his face, of course, but dreams rarely required visual detail to invoke such feelings.

“I am what you see. A part of you. I am the weight of your sin, as well as the strength to lift it.”

Oh, geez. So this is what we’re doing, is it? Let me grab my robe and wizard hat.

I’d heard that dreams were a manifestation of one’s subconscious desires, but this was ridiculous. Freud would have some damning things to say, I’m sure.

So my edgelord phase was determined to follow me to my grave, was it? Well, at least it was better than one more dark, vaguely depressing dream that told me nothing in the slightest.

“Ha, even with me, you play the fool. Determined to stay ignorant forever, are we? You’ve always been a coward, my lord. I should have expected nothing less.”

The part of me, as he called himself, scoffed. What did he bring me here for, to shame me to death? What a dumb dream. How did my brain come up with this stuff?

“Well, it matters not. I’m tired of waiting. Remember already. Free me. You don’t have time to idle around doing nothing.”

…I couldn’t say I understood what was going on, but I gathered that he wanted me to get my memories back.

“What lies beyond your closed eyelids is a new hope. You know that.”

Argh, come on, dream. You know I have my hands full with Mai right now. What’s the harm in putting myself off for a while to make sure she’s all right? Besides, I’m trying to remember, aren’t I? What more do you want me to do?

“You can hear the voice inside you, can you not? It’s been screaming this whole time.”

I know. I know!! I hear it every damn day, and I don’t know what to do anymore!

“Then don’t disappoint me.”

Though I couldn’t see a thing beyond the veil of shadows, I knew the figure was smirking. He was laughing at me.

“Or else you’ll lose everything you hold dear once again.”

CHAPTER 4

The Sound of Slipping Gears

It’s time to wake up, dear brother,” said Mai. “We have to get ready for our date. Come on, up you get,” she said, rocking me awake.

“Huh…hmm? Mai? Urgh, I’m still sleepy… At least let me lie in bed until my alarm goes off…”

I rolled over and opened an eye to look at the clock. It was even earlier than I got up on school days.

“That won’t do, dear brother. If I let you laze around any longer you’ll be demoted from merely useless to an active waste of space. I can’t let that happen to you. Can you at least try to be considerate of your little sister’s feelings?”

“…”

“Big brothers who ignore their sisters get this.”

“Gyaagh?! Ah, ah, aagh!”

She pinched my cheek. I cried out in pain, and Mai dragged me from my bed like a hooked haddock onto the cold, unforgiving floor.

“I’m going to get dressed, so hurry up and get ready.”

“Okay.”

After Mai left the room with graceful steps, I stood up.

“…What a weird dream that was.”

Vague scraps of information clung to my mind, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Argh, I just feel even more stressed now! That’s it, I’m not gonna think about anything today!”

All this overthinking had dampened my mood lately. I knew I was too dumb to come up with an answer anyway, so why bother?

That day, I decided to put it all out of my mind. That knife, my memories, everything. I was going to enjoy Mai’s date, head empty.

“Dear brother! Breakfast’s ready!” came Mai’s voice from the hallway.

“Coming!” I shouted back. Then I took off my pajamas and got dressed.

“Aah, what a nice film. That was so touching.”

“Touching? Did we watch the same movie?”

Out on the busy streets, my sister wore a cardigan over her one-piece dress, along with a beret and lensless glasses to obscure her identity. Meanwhile, I was wearing my casual clothes, plus a cap and sunglasses.

This was what we had to wear anywhere other than at school and at home. And I’d had to sit there dressed like an idiot while the cat and squirrel on the screen did nothing for three hours. That was why Mai’s assessment of the movie had shocked me.

I mean, it was literally just a cat playing with a squirrel. And why the hell did it have to be three hours long? What was the director thinking?

“You need to learn to be more sensitive, dear brother. That was a hidden gem. You don’t get to see many films like that these days.”

There wasn’t a hint of bitterness anywhere on her face. God, she was being totally sincere. There was no point in arguing; she was never going to be convinced otherwise. I guess the pitying look the cashier had given when she handed us the tickets meant nothing, too. And the fact that we were the only two people in the theater.

“Well, we’ve still got time. Want to go somewhere?” I asked.

“The pet shop, the pet shop!”

“Yes, yes. As you wish, Your Highness.”

Mai and I walked through the dense downtown streets until we arrived at a shopping mall that was packed with vendors. She was holding my hand as always, and I heard someone remark “What a cute couple!” as we passed.

We’re siblings, actually, but thanks… Damn, maybe I am obsessed after all.

“Welcome!”

“Look, dear brother, look! They have squirrels! Squirrels! Ah, and here’s a kitten!”

Her love of small animals stoked by the movie, Mai instantly got excited when looking at the pets on display. She couldn’t hide her delight no matter how much she tried. Aah, what an angel.

Yep, I guess I am obsessed.

“That kitten was just born last month,” said the clerk. “Would you like to pet it?”

“Can I?!”

“Yes, just be gentle, okay?”

Overjoyed, Mai picked up the tiny kitten in her arms.

“Look, dear brother, look! He’s so small and cute and fuzzy and adorable!”

Yeah, adorable. And the kitten wasn’t bad, either.

What was wrong with being obsessed anyway?

We stayed there for a while, and I admired my cute little sister stroking the cute little kittens.

“Aah, that was fun. There were kittens and puppies and hamsters and squirrels…”

“Isn’t that nice? I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Let’s go here next, dear brother. I want to see if they have any good stuffed animals!”

“W-wait, slow down!”

Mai grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into a novelty goods store that radiated a level of feminine energy that made me want to run for the hills. Everywhere I turned, there were teenage girls with their boyfriends, squeeing over the kitschy and cutesy merchandise.

“Er…umm…”

For some reason, a wave of guilt hit me, like I wasn’t supposed to be there. I knew why I was getting that feeling—it was like I was using Mai as a cover to infiltrate normie space!

“Are you thinking about something weird again, dear brother?”

“Hmm? Mai? Mgh!”

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around, to be met with a faceful of stuffed animal.

“I know that look,” she said. “It’s the one you always get when you’re lost in your neuroses. You know what they say: Overthinking will not empower you. You just keep your thoughts on me, and everything will be okay. Understand?”

“Mgh, mgh, mghh.”

Mai pressed a sheep plush toy about the size of my head into my face, using the legs to squeeze my cheeks. Then she popped her head out from behind it.

Aah, what a pleasant sensation. What an adorable little sister. Who could blame me for getting obsessed? She was just so cute, dammit.

After that, we played with some frog and cow sock puppets and messed around with hair clips. You know, I think I’m starting to see the appeal of normie stuff.

She’s my sister, you say? What’s that got to do with it? Oh, it’s the normie life for me. Who wouldn’t want to go on a date with such a cute girl? Even though we’re related. Because that doesn’t matter, you see.

“Well then, dear brother. There’s one more place I’d like to go. Would you mind accompanying me?”

“Sure! We can go anywhere you want.”

“Oh, good. Then let’s go to that store over there.”

“Hmm? Which one is…it…?”

Acutia Lingerie.

The shop Mai was pointing at was a pinky, glitzy, no-clothesy store that no man could ever enter. Every one of my happy reveries was expelled from my brain at once.

“Sorry, no can do.”

“My, you sure did turn serious all of a sudden, dear brother. You should try smiling; it makes you look a little less ugly. Shall we go in, then?”

“No, we shan’t. Only dudes with maximum security in their masculinity can waltz into that store and come back alive. Are you trying to get me killed? What do you need me for in there anyway?”

“Well, you see, I went up a cup size lately, and I need something more comfortable to wear in bed…”

“AAAA. AAAA. AAAA.”

“…so I thought if I’m buying one anyway, it might as well be one you like, dear brother.”

“I was trying not to listen!! Stop talking!! Don’t you know the rules?”

“Don’t be selfish, Kaito. Do you want to end up a useless big brother?”

“Telling my little sister what bras I like is even worse! What you’re describing isn’t a useless big brother—it’s a sex offender brother!!”

I steadfastly stuck to my guns until I got my way.

I knew I never should have agreed to this. Or at the very least, I should have insisted on calling it a day out and not a date.

“One bottomless soda. Will that be all? The machine is just over there, so please help yourself.”

After relaxing for a second in the air-conditioned restaurant interior, I walked over to the drink machine and got myself a cup of melon soda. I’d managed to avoid the wicked dangers of the ladies’ lingerie shop by the skin of my teeth after I convinced Mai to let me wander off on my own for a while. She’d said she would be an hour, and my task was to hold on to all the stuffed animals and accessories she had already bought until then.

“…An hour… That’s a long time.”

How on earth could it take an hour just to pick out some fancy bra and panties? I know it wasn’t anything like buying men’s underwear, but still.

“So much time…”

“Oh, you kids and your time. You’ll wish you had spent it well when you enter the workforce, believe me.”

It was Ms. Kawakami, in suit mode. She came over to my table and slumped across it while I slurped melon soda through my straw.

“Oh. Hi.”

The scent of her sweet perfume was the only thing about her that reminded me she was a fully grown woman and not a child.

“I guess it’s been two months, hasn’t it? You after a scoop again?”

“Yeah, some idol drama that nobody even cares about. And before that, I wasted my time chasing up this rumor that wasn’t even true, so forgive me if I’m a little under the weather today. You’ll buy me some food to cheer me up, won’t you?”

Ms. Kawakami sat down across from me as though it were the most natural thing in the world, spouting her childish request with the most brazenly mature-seeming smile I had ever seen.

“No, I won’t. You’re a grown up; don’t you have your own money?”

“Oh, waitress! One rib eye steak meal, please!”

“…You aren’t listening… And that’s the most expensive thing on the menu.”

Bossy as ever, I see. Oh well, she never did ask for that thirty thousand yen back, so I suppose I could let this slide.

“So, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Holding on to stuff my sister bought,” I replied. “So I have about an hour free.”

“Date with your sister, huh? That’s gotta sting.”

Sure, twist the knife, why don’t you?

“Oh, shut up,” I said. “I’m living the dream, enjoying the normie life. You’re just sad ’cause you’ll never spend your youth with a cute little sister like mine.”

“Er, but she’s your sister. It’s not like she’s your girlfriend.”

“…”

How did she call my bluff? This woman just stabbed me in the guts without a moment’s hesitation and tore my self-confidence to shreds.

I didn’t want to talk to her anymore. Ever.

“Well, whatever,” she continued. “So how goes the amnesia? Remember anything yet?”

“…No. Unfortunately for you, I don’t.”

“Hmm? Did I touch a nerve?”

“No… It’s just that I’m kind of on a remembering hiatus right now.”

“Huh…? What does that mean?”

I wiped a line of condensation off the side of my cup, letting it fall onto the crumpled-up straw wrapper. As I watched it gently soak the paper, I was surprised at how easily I decided to open up to Ms. Kawakami.

“…Honestly, I’ve been feeling like I’d be better off not remembering lately. I mean, it’s not like it’s going to help.”

It was as though it had taken voicing this aloud for me to finally accept my feelings on the matter. I could justify it any way I liked, but the bottom line was, I was afraid. I was afraid of allowing the thing that lurked within me to escape. Even for Yuuto, even for the police. Even if it would help bring this case to a close.

“Instead, I want to be there for Mai. She’s had no one to look after her this past year, and it’s been really hard on her. And she’s been acting unstable ever since I got back. Whatever I’ve got going on can wait, can’t it?”

Still, I was telling the truth. Mai had nobody to lean on but me. My highest priority was making sure she was okay.

“Hmm, is that right? I would say that’s all the more reason to regain your memories, wouldn’t you?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Well, if she’s so unstable, then you don’t want to be carrying this ticking time bomb around in your head, do you? Don’t you think she’s worried about you?”

“…”

I couldn’t respond to that.

“And you’re the only family she has left, right? She already lost you once, and with the case still unsolved, I bet she’s thinking it’s only a matter of time before you go missing again.”

“Uh? No, I…huh?”

“We might not know yet if your memories will change anything, but that’s no reason to pretend you’re better off not knowing, is it?”

“…”

Perhaps reading a little into my silence, Ms. Kawakami went on.

“…Well, who knows with you. But usually when people get their memories back, they find out it’s not as bad as they feared.”

“…Is that right?”

“It’s rough, I’m sure. Just stay strong, big brother.”

At that moment, the waitress brought Ms. Kawakami her food order.

“Here you are, one large rib steak meal.”

She placed the sizzling plate in front of Ms. Kawakami. The young journalist clenched both fists and smiled to dispel the serious mood that had fallen over our table.

“And you, Kumiko. You keep your eyes on the scoop, all right? ”

A second later, I remembered that “Kumiko” was Ms. Kawakami’s first name.

“Mmm, that’s the stuff. I was just craving something filling like this.”

She sliced into the meat and took a bite. I still couldn’t find it in me to say a word.

Shortly after wolfing down her meal, Ms. Kawakami said her good-byes and left. I milled around for a while longer before going back to meet up with Mai, by which point it was late enough that we were both ready to head home. By the time we rode the train back and exited the ticket barrier, the sun was low in the sky and cast an evening glow over the city. Mai and I walked hand in hand through madder-stained streets.

“Don’t you think she’s worried about you?”

“Stay strong, big brother.”

My brief conversation with Ms. Kawakami resounded in my head.

Is Mai only acting clingy because she’s worried about me?

Mai had undoubtedly been less emotionally stable as of late. But what if it was anxiety causing her behavior? Anxiety over losing me again.

“Dear brother? Is something the matter?”

“Hmm? Ah, no. Just thinking.”

I glanced at Mai, walking alongside me. I felt something frigid in the warmth of her palm.

“…Do you feel better after today, dear brother?”

“Huh? Do I feel better?”

“You haven’t been yourself recently,” she said. “Are you worried about your memories returning?”

“Wha…?! How did you…?”

I gasped.

“I know these things, dear brother. Ever since you came back from the hospital, you’ve been acting depressed. You seem guilty over something you did to Yuuto, too.”

Mai stopped in the middle of the street with a worried look on her face.

“I think it’s okay not to remember if you don’t want to,” she said. “No matter what anyone else says, I will always be on your side. I never want to hurt you. And I’m sure whatever left you in that awful state, you never want to see it again. You can leave the case to the police. You’re under no obligation to remember anything for them.”

“…”

She’d seen right through me. Not only that, but she knew exactly what to say.

Mai squeezed my hand.

“You’re here now, dear brother. You can laugh, smile, think stupid thoughts, and make me angry. That’s the only thing I want.”

Right now, it was Mai who seemed like she might disappear at any moment.

“…I’m sorry, Mai. You’ve been worried about me, haven’t you?”

Goddamn, and to think I said it was all for her. Could I have been any more wrong?

Why was I like this? Always using whatever explanation I could hastily concoct to justify avoiding the truths I didn’t want to face. What a coward I was. For shame.

“But you don’t have to worry about me, Mai,” I said. “Whatever happens, I’ll always be by your side.”

Yeah. What kind of big brother would I be if I couldn’t even do that?

I turned and faced forward. There were certainly horrible things out there. This other self I hesitated to accept was terrifying beyond belief.

“Or else, you’ll lose everything you hold dear once again.”

I suddenly remembered the dream from that morning.

…This isn’t the time to be scared. I’ve got to stop making excuses and grow a spine.

Tomorrow, I would resume trying to recover my lost memories. Once I did that and accepted my alter ego, I could put an end to the vague fears and insecurities that hounded me now. I could solve the case and make it so I never risked disappearing from Mai’s side again.

I would stop running away. And that meant confronting Mai about that bloody knife, too. Everything needed to be put to rest before we could move forward.

At that time, that was what I truly believed.

“…I see.”

And so I failed to notice…

…the expression on Mai’s face as she gazed at the ground.

“Um…do I go like this?”

“That’s right, very good. Then you just keep doing this…”

“Hmm? What are you two up to?”

We were in the shade of a stone on a grassy plain, underneath the blanket of stars in the night sky.

I had gone a short distance from our campsite to where I had dug a small hole filled with hot water. Then I’d immersed myself in the warmth of this impromptu open-air bath, letting the cool night air wash over me. Once I felt ready to pass out from dizziness, I exited the bath and returned to camp, where, in front of a small crackling bonfire, the two girls seemed immersed in an activity of their own.

“Ah, Master. We were just adding something to your armor.”

“We’ve just finished! Look at this, look at this!”

Eyes wide with excitement, they showed me a flower design they’d stitched onto the inside of my leather armor with a needle and thread.

“Embroidery? What’s that for?”

“For good luck! The daughter of that merchant we met today taught us how to do it!”

“Every stitch is made with our own hair, so it contains our feelings of affection. It’s supposed to ward off bad luck.”

“You used your hair to make this? That does sound like magic. Witchcraft or something— I mean…”

When I realized what I’d said, it was too late. The two girls despondently cast their eyes downward.

“Should we not have?”

“We’re sorry…”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant at all. It just reminded me of something, is the thing. I’m happy you made it for me, honest.”

When I said that, the two girls breathed a sigh of relief.

“But what do you mean, it reminded you of something?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s just that charm is quite famous in the north. The last time someone made one for me, I was, like, ‘A charm from the demon lord’s hair? You sure it won’t bring bad luck instead?’ I got a real telling-off for that one.”

I smiled, remembering the scene.

“I should have learned back then. All I had to do was…this.”

“Whah…?”

“Fwah?!”

I placed both my hands on their heads, stroking their hair.

“Thank you.. And, too. There’s part of you in this armor now. I’ll treasure it always.”

“Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!”

A sound like tiny ball bearings rattled in my ears. I rolled over and stopped my alarm clock, before sitting up in bed.

“…Haah. Those two again. Ever since I saw that redheaded girl, they’ve been dominating my dreams.”

A week had passed since I decided to remember what I could for Mai’s sake, and I’d had similar dreams night after night. Endless snowfields, thick forests, jagged mountains, barren wastelands, and burning deserts.

I was always traveling. Sometimes alone, sometimes as part of a group. And the dreams were always first-person.

“Perhaps they really are my old memories…”

The contents of the dreams were fantastical, impossible. But assuming everyone wasn’t having a massive joke at my expense, then the circumstances of our disappearance, and of my return, were hard to explain. Maybe, just maybe, the locations I saw in my dreams were real.

“…If these are really memories from the time I was missing…”

Most were in black and white, and I couldn’t hear anyone’s voice. But some, like the one I’d just woken up from, were clear and distinct. There were voices, colors, smells, and warmth. Even tactile sensations of things I touched.

There were a few recurring characters in the dreams, all of whom felt deeply precious to me. But whenever I was about to hear their names, they would be drowned out by horrendous static.

“Who were those girls? What did they mean to me?”

I asked this question to the old me, whose presence was the only thing I could feel.

Those two were important to you, weren’t they?

If I really did get teleported to another world, I can see why I’d be angry. I’d do anything I could to find a way home. But you’re back now. Shouldn’t you be happy?

And even if that wasn’t the case, and you missed your friends from that world, wouldn’t you be sad?

“I just don’t get why you’re so angry…”

How many times had I asked myself that question? But now, as ever, the only response I received was a low growl, like that of a starving wolf.

“…”

Still, it wasn’t just anger. There was more to the memories I’d lost than unbridled hatred. There were other emotions that escaped from time to time.

Once again, I’d learned nothing, but I was making progress. I could feel the rattling chains that bound the old me beginning to give. I knew my lost memories would return with just one more push.

“…Welp, if one more shove is all you need, then today’s the day!”

I clapped my hands against my cheeks to fire myself up.

Today, I was going to meet with those detectives and get back what belonged to me.

I arrived at the police station amid blustery winter winds. The only part of me that was still warm was the hand with which I’d been holding Mai’s; the rest felt so cold, I thought my skin would freeze.

“…My glasses have fogged up,” my sister said, removing her spectacles.

“That’s why I told you to wear sunglasses.”

“Sunglasses fog up as well, my useless brother. It’s just you don’t notice because they’re so dark.”

I let go of her hand and took off my sunglasses, along with the scarf around my neck. Then we went to look for a receptionist but ended up running into Inspector Miyagawa instead.

“Oh, Mr. Ukei. Sorry to make you walk all this way.”

“Ah. Mr. Miyagawa.”

“…”

Mai seemed none too pleased to see him, after what had happened the first time they’d met. She cast her glance aside and tugged on my sleeve, which she had been pinching instead of holding my hand.

“Oh dear, seems the little miss has it in for me!”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said, patting her on the head before turning back to Miyagawa. “Were you coming to wait for us?”

“No, I just happened to be walking by. Though I have been waiting for you to show. The reception desk’s over this way.”

Miyagawa led us to the counter, where he explained the situation to the woman behind the desk. He filled out some forms, then said, “I might as well show you where the stuff’s locked up while I’m here.”

“Sure, thanks,” I replied.

He then took us down a hallway and began leading us through the building.

“There’s not many people here today,” I noted.

The police station was relatively unpopulated for its size. It was around lunchtime, so they could have been on their breaks, but I figured at least a few more policemen or office staff would be walking the halls.

“Yeah, well, there’s a good reason for that,” Miyagawa replied. “They’re all distracted.”

Miyagawa pointed at a dumb-looking poster on the wall that read ALICE KUROI! ACTING POLICE CHIEF FOR A DAY!

“Something went down at the event site,” he explained. “I’m heading there, too, after my break. An old man like me can’t catch a break around here, it seems.”

He sighed. As I took another look at him, he seemed tired.

“Have you been busy, detective? I’ve seen the police posted all around town.”

“Hmm? Aah. I guess. I know we got a lot of fresh blood, thanks to the hiring boom, but the more people we have, the less money and time there is. You don’t get nothing in this world for free, you know. So yeah, we’re still busy.” Miyagawa gave a bitter smile. “In fact, we only just found out about another kid connected to the case that went missing a few days ago. They weren’t exactly a model student, though, so we’re still trying to work out if they disappeared or just ran away from home. They’ve done it before.”

Miyagawa gave another grin, but there was very little cheer in it.

“Looks like you can’t trust the police to do anything. If you have time to complain about it, then do your jobs.”

“Mai!!”

“Nah, she’s not wrong,” Miyagawa said. “You got every right to blame us. The top brass are chasing the public’s trust, going after numbers and flooding the streets with rookies. But none of it matters if the people still get hurt on our watch. It’s bullshit.”

“…I wasn’t saying it was your fault specifically.”

“No, we haven’t been careful enough. I know we haven’t.”

“…”

Miyagawa shook his head, and Mai averted her eyes.

“Ah, but don’t tell the superintendent I said that, or I’ll be in trouble,” he said with a grin, dispelling the awkward atmosphere. Just then, we arrived in front of a door reading AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

“Um, are we allowed in here?”

“Just so you can get your stuff back. We’re making a special exception this once. That’s why I came to the entrance to find you.”

Inside was a row of metal racks, kind of like a backstage dressing room. On each of them were cardboard boxes, their contents labeled.

“Wait here for a sec,” said Miyagawa. “I’ll go get yours.”

We waited outside the room while he went inside.

Just then, I realized my palms were sweaty and my fists were clenched. My heartbeat was racing like crazy. Was I really going to get my memories back?

“Dear brother…”

“Hmm? What is it?” I answered calmly. But of course, I wasn’t calm. I just had to pretend I was. I had to be strong for my worrywart little sister. That was the kind of idiot I was.

Whatever I remember, I won’t let it change me. I’ll protect Mai. I won’t ever let her cry again.

For just a second, I thought I felt a flame flicker to life in my heart. It was the ember of the old me. Over the past few months, I had come to understand something about him.

Though the old me seemed like a monstrous void at times, our motives seemed to align whenever I was instilled with the desire to protect Mai.

That was all I needed to know. To feel that the being of rage within me was not so far gone as to forget that. He was me. And I would never abandon my sister.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I promise you, whatever happens, I’ll stay by your side.”

“I’ll hold you to that, dear brother.”

The look in her eyes was faltering, insecure. I patted her on the head and faced forward again.

Once I got my memories back, we’d head right home, and I’d ask her about the knife.

I bet it’s just a stage prop or something.

Come to think of it, why did I even assume it was human blood? I was jumping to conclusions. It could easily be fake.

For some reason, something inside my head told me it wasn’t, but at least I was calming down enough to entertain the possibility.

“Sure,” I said. “By the way, I have something to ask you about when we get home…”

That instant, a horrendous chill ran down my spine. I didn’t know why, but it felt like an enormous snake had just lifted me up in its tongue.

“Hrk?!”

“Dear brother?”

Mai’s worried question brought me back to reality. Everything looked the same, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the walls had grown spikes and were closing in around me.

“Ah, there it is.”

Just then, Miyagawa found what he was looking for and lifted a cardboard box off the upper shelf. Time seemed to slow to a crawl around me, and I couldn’t fathom why.

All I knew was that ever since waking up, I would get this sensation whenever I was in danger.

What was the threat here?

I didn’t know. I didn’t know. And before I could find out…

“Mai?!”

“Kai—!”

I hugged her on instinct, placing myself between her and where I thought the danger was going to come from.

The next second…

BOOOOOOOOOM!!

…a blinding, searing white consumed everything, and an ear-rending blast swept the room. I felt a sharp object pierce my back before the eternal second came to a close.

“! ! !!”

As the dust cleared, I checked to see if Mai was all right. Thankfully, it appeared my swift action had left her mostly unharmed. She was screaming at me in terror, but the blast had knocked out my senses, and I couldn’t hear a word. I just wiped the soot off her cheek and said:

“Thank god…you’re okay…”

Leaving her with those words, I closed my eyes.

The madder sky tinted the world in red. And beneath it, a decaying ruin stood.

“Hey, Kaito? Do you remember the day we first met?”

“Yeah, I remember. Of course I do.”

“I remember what I told you back then. Do not touch me. Do not even come near. Stay right where you are. I guess you and I are two of a kind, a pair of fools. And look at us now.”

“I can’t help the fact that I fell hopelessly in love with you. Besides,, it’s your fault for being so darn cute.”

“You buffoon! You nincompoop! You incorrigible fool! What kind of hero attempts to woo the demon lord? And what kind of demon lord returns it? To keep that up, even now, at the very end, will only make our parting even harder.”

The red-haired girl before me mustered a weak smile.

“I would throw it all away and enjoy what little time I have left. What say you?”

“…”

My chest hurt.

Why? Simple. I knew what she was going to say next. And I already knew I had come here to refuse her.

“I’ll do anything and everything I can for you. I’ll give you half the world if I must. So please come to my side.”

She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment. I had told myself not to give in, and yet even now my heart felt on the verge of cracking.

“Don’t say it. I don’t want to live like that. I’m sorry, but I’m selfish. I want it all. I don’t want our life together to be destroyed, and I don’t want to live with you knowing that everything will go up in smoke in two or three years! I’ll…I’ll find a way to rid you of that curse. No matter how improbable, I have to try!”

“Kaito…”

“I’m never going to give up. I can’t just sit back and let you die, and neither should you! I’m not about to let you sacrifice yourself for the sake of the world!!”

You can’t. It’s impossible. It’s too late. Give up.

There’s nothing left. Nothing to save. Nothing to do except take her life with your own two hands.

You’ll regret not taking her hand when you had the chance.

“I’ll take you back to my world! We’ll restore the great barrier, stop the fighting! You and me, together! Then we can live in my world, happily ever after!”

That will never happen.

“I’ll introduce you to my family. Brag about you to my friends. ‘Look at this cute girl I got to be my wife,’ I’ll say. Yeah, it’ll be fun. Back there, there’s no heroes or demon lords to worry about. We can be ourselves, and no one can tell us otherwise.”

That dream will never come to pass.

“I can’t live in peace not knowing which of our days might be our last. I was summoned to this world to be a hero, and that’s just what I’ll be. I won’t compromise. I’ll give everything I’ve got to make sure we can claim our happy ending. Nothing else matters to me. What the hell am I gonna do with half the world?!”

“…You always were a fool, Kaito. A hopeless, stubborn fool.”

Why? Even in my dreams, I couldn’t make it stop.

Although I couldn’t remember what happened next, I knew it wasn’t the bright future I was fighting for.

“Okay. I’ll believe in you, Kaito! If anyone can save me, it’s you!”

She wiped her tears and retracted her hand.

“Yeah, just trust me! Because I love you, you stupid girl!!”

“Make sure you come back!! I’ll be waiting! And if you don’t, I’ll be sad!! And I love you, too, you big, stubborn oaf of a man!”

With that, we turned our backs on each other and started walking. The sky above was blood-red.

I awoke still not knowing what exactly I had dreamed of, only certain that it was a very important dream. The color of the sky remained burned into my mind for minutes afterward.

The hospital was a fortress of white walls.

I faced my last checkup for the second time before being discharged.

“What are you made of, titanium? Are you some sort of killer robot from the future?”

“Uhh…I dunno. I’ve been quite surprised myself lately.”

“It’s just hard to believe you could suffer a blast at point-blank range and get away with only three days in the hospital.”

“Ha-ha… Guess I’m just lucky…”

“More like unlucky. If luck were on your side, you wouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place. It’s a miracle you even survived.”

Dr. Maeno gave a deep sigh. His assessment completed, he instructed me to put on my shirt.

There had been an explosion.

Supposedly, rats had chewed through the gas lines, causing a leak that was then ignited by static electricity. The blast set fire to the whole room, and it might have spread to the building, if not for the timely arrival of the fire department and the fact that the sprinkler system had been miraculously spared in the explosion.

At first, everyone thought there had been some kind of terrorist attack, but the police investigation quickly turned up the truth and put a stop to those rumors. Now they were dealing with the cleanup. The blast had occurred right in the middle of the evidence room, and decades’ worth of confiscated items were now blasted to bits, burned, or flooded. Even a layperson like me could imagine what a massive setback it was.

Still, my priority now wasn’t what had been lost in the blast but those of us who had been harmed.

Mai and I were lucky enough to get away with only minor injuries. No, scratch that—only she had been mostly unharmed. My entire back had been scorched by the blast, and bits of metal had gotten lodged in there. I must have looked like a porcupine when they wheeled me in. Fortunately, however, the shrapnel didn’t hit anything important, and it had already been removed by the time I regained consciousness.

My sister had suffered minor burns to her arms and legs where I hadn’t been able to cover her, but she was otherwise unscathed. Now, two days after the explosion, they had healed to the point where only a slight reddening of the skin remained.

I’d told Yuuto about what a good job I’d done in protecting my sister from receiving lifelong scars, and he smacked me upside the head. Even though I had a bandage on.

So even though I got turned into a hedgehog for a bit, it was way better than letting Mai come to harm.

There was one other problem, though…

“Um, how’s the detective?”

“Still in intensive care, I’m afraid. He took a burst of shrapnel to the vitals. We’re past the worst of it, but I don’t believe he’ll wake up for some time. At least another two weeks, I’d say.”

“I see…”

Mr. Miyagawa had come out of it with the most severe injuries. The only reason he was still alive was because Mai had called for help immediately. However, he still hadn’t come to. We weren’t even allowed to see him.

“Your tests have come back clean,” continued Dr. Maeno, “but please take care. And keep that head wrapping on until we next see each other, if you don’t mind. Don’t forget to put this cream on your back and change your bandages every day. You might be able to survive a gas explosion, but infections are no joke. Have your sister help.”

“I will. Thank you.”

I bowed and left the examination room, returning to my hospital bed. I was starting to grow used to this place. Not that I’d been here longer than two days this time.

When I got back, Mai was waiting for me, having just stuffed several days’ worth of clothes into her bag.

“There you are, dear brother. I’ve just finished filling out the discharge forms.”

“I see, thanks.”

“Anything for you, dear brother. Now, let’s go home.”

Mai snugly linked arms with me and flashed a smile.

Her grin didn’t look right to me. It was just like the one she used to wear when she’d been weak, sickly, and shy. A light behind fragile windows.

In fact, it was worse now than it had ever been. Her clinginess was borderline pathological.

I knew it…

Mai’s mental state had deteriorated even further. Now it was difficult for her to spend even a moment away from my side. She was skipping school to stay with me at the hospital, and she never even went home. She’d brought enough changes of clothes to keep a constant vigil and bought food and drink from the stores nearby. At lunch, she was always with me, and she would wait outside the door when I needed to use the bathroom. Even when we weren’t doing anything, she would hold my hand, and when we walked, it was always arm in arm.

I kept telling her it wasn’t appropriate, but she showed no remorse, let alone a desire to change.

When I woke up and saw that Mai was spending every waking moment looking after me, I’d tried to get her to leave, but she refused. Her eyes just glazed over like a robot’s while she hugged my arm and said “No.”

Regardless of what I said, she just repeated “No! No! No!” over and over again, leaving me with no choice but to surrender to her whims.

I couldn’t help but think that the broken doll that sat by my hospital bed was a far truer portrait of Mai than the girl smiling and clinging to my arm.

“Yeah, let’s go home,” I said.

How can I get her to go to therapy…?

I started walking, without voicing my concerns to Mai.

Now that things were this bad, I had to do something about it, even if that meant swallowing my pride. I planned on taking Mai to a therapist. This hospital was a decent pick, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to trust Dr. Maeno completely, so I planned to take her somewhere else.

Perhaps it might help jog my memory, too.

Apparently, the outfit I had gone to the station to retrieve had perished in the blast. It was a real shame; although the odds weren’t high, I had still hoped that seeing the items would lead me to recover my lost memories.

But if there was one silver lining to be gleaned from all this, it was that dream I’d had just after the blast took me out. It was the clearest one yet, and it seemed to come from a place very close to my heart.

However, now that I was so close, my urge to forget what had happened to me was as strong as it had ever been. The demon inside me was just a step away from freedom. Free of his shackles, only a single pane of glass separated him from the outside world.

And yet that final barrier was solid and sharp. It felt as though a single touch would tear my fingers to shreds.

I’d lost my greatest clue. And just when I’d made up my mind to remember, the final step revealed itself to be the brink of an interminable abyss.

It was all so close, yet so far.

I wasn’t naive enough to think that a second medical opinion would suddenly lead to a major breakthrough, but I had to do something. Mai was getting worse by the day. I had to get better, for her sake.

“…”

My mounting unease swirled around me like a forest fire, licking at the edges of my heart.

“We’re home!” I announced to an empty house, knowing there was nobody there to hear it.

“…”

Even Mai didn’t say anything. I guess she’d gotten so used to living by herself that she’d fallen out of the habit.

Such a trivial change, and yet not trivial in the slightest.

“Man, I’m starving. I’m gonna go make dinner.”

“How about we cook together, dear brother?”

“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden? We’ve never done that before.”

“I’m just a sound-minded little sister who wants to cook together as siblings, from time to time.”

Mai smiled. Another calm and gentle smile that made my heart ache.

“…Good idea. Let’s whip something up together, then. I’ll wow you with my sick culinary skills, O sister of mine.”

I played the fool as always, trying not to break her heart. Besides, I was worried what Mai would do if I left her to her own devices.

“Tee-hee. I can’t say I hold out much hope for this alleged skill of yours, dear brother. After all, you’ve never cooked anything that wasn’t for home economics class.”

“That’s not— Huh, I guess you’re right. Well, that doesn’t mean I can’t peel some veggies or something.”

For some reason, I had been under the impression I could cook. I guess I must have picked it up during my blind spot. In my dreams, I was exploring another world, so it makes sense I would have had to feed myself, right?

…I didn’t think I would ever accept it, but ever since my memories started coming back, I’ve grown used to the idea that I was living in a fantasy world that whole time.

“Really? You sure you won’t cut your fingers?”

“Don’t underestimate my deft knifework, dear sister.”

Even though I could feel the demon inside me tearing free of his chains, banging against the paper-thin wall between us, I shrugged and laughed. I put down my things in the living room, and we washed our hands before Mai took a peek inside the fridge.

“What are we making?” I asked.

“Hmm, stew…? No, on second thought, curry.”

After sizing up my reaction, Mai changed the menu on the fly. I guess I must have given the game away. Curry would have been my choice.

…Why am I getting déjà vu? I guess someone must have usually cooked for me in the fantasy world, too.

I watched as Mai swiftly prepared two portions of ingredients.

“…You really are good at this, dear brother.”

“Not as good as you, though.”

As I stood peeling the vegetables beside Mai, even I was surprised by how natural the knife felt in my hand. But not as a kitchen tool. More like…as a weapon.

I…I hope I didn’t kill anybody…

It all felt too familiar. The sensation of inserting the blade at precisely the right angle, honed to the point I did it subconsciously.

I had a bad feeling about the actions of my past self, whose anger I was no stranger to at this point.

“…”

“Hmm? What is it, Mai?”

“Oh, I’m just a little jealous of your knife skills, dear brother. I’ve been doing this for a year, and I’m still not that good at it.”

“Heh-heh. What can I say?” I said with a little pride. “Maybe it’s time you reevaluated my worth around here.”

I could tell what she was going to say. “You mustn’t get too big for your britches, dear brother. Pride comes before a fall. Keep it up and you’ll be useless. Bad Kaito!”

However…

“You’re right, dear brother. What a good job!” she said with a smile. Mai had complimented me for perhaps the first time in my life, and yet I wasn’t happy in the slightest about it.

“…Ow!”

As I was distracted, my hand slipped, and I cut myself. A line of blood dripped from my fingertip.

“Shit. Guess I spoke too soon. Mai, fetch the first-aid kit, would—?”

“Om.”

Mai bit onto my finger like a fish on a hook. I could feel her wet tongue on my flesh.

“Mmm…mmm…”

I stared in stunned silence as she sucked on my digit. Before long, she let go of my hand.

“Phah. All better. Now let’s put a bandage on it,” she said, walking over to the kitchen shelf and pulling the first-aid kit down. She fished around, pulling out a bandage, then stuck it on my finger.

“That’s what happens when you get carried away, dear brother.”

“R-right. Sorry.”

Mai had never done anything like that before. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Normally, she would have just run the wound under the sink.

“You know what, dear brother? Blood doesn’t taste half-bad,” she said, licking her lips.

There was a fragile, bewitching aura about her. She was like a single flower blooming by the river—something that you could crush between your fingers in an instant.

“Ah, maybe it’s only your blood that tastes so good. I bet other people’s is like ditch water.”

“…Don’t be silly,” I said, flicking her on the forehead. “Stop talking crap and let’s get back to work.”

“Ow. That hurt. Kaito, you meanie.”

“Less talking, more cooking.”

With that, I went back to peeling vegetables. I was sure that Mai was having a little sulk, but I didn’t look. I didn’t want to look.

“…”

And so I couldn’t say what expression she was making at that moment. All I knew was that while the curry we made that night turned out fine, to me, it tasted of nothing.

After dinner, I whiled away the hours like usual.

Actually, not quite like usual. At Mai’s insistence, I sat outside the bathroom while she took her bath. I couldn’t have one because of my back wound, so I wiped myself clean with a wet towel instead, then asked Mai to rub the disinfectant cream on it before bandaging it up. I thought about changing my head wrapping, too, but it had been reapplied at the hospital already today, so I left it alone.

After changing into our pajamas, Mai and I sat on the sofa eating potato chips, watching boring TV for a while before heading to bed.

“Should probably hit the hay, I guess.”

“All right, dear brother.”

Normally, we would each go to bed separately, before Mai would sneak into my room while I was sleeping after an hour or so. Her presence would always wake me up, but I’d pretend to still be asleep, Come morning, I would wait for her to leave before moving.

But tonight, that didn’t happen.

“Dear brother…do you think we could sleep together tonight?”

“…”

I wondered why she was suddenly asking permission for something she’d always done of her own accord.

“Sure, why not?”

“Great! I’ll fetch my pillow.”

If sleeping together would help Mai deal with her anxieties, then I couldn’t very well refuse.

She soon returned to my room, all smiles. I had already gotten into bed and closed my eyes.

I had school the next day. I’d use the time in classes to research hospitals on my phone.

“…”

I heard the door creak open. Mai didn’t announce her presence at all.

“Turn the light out for me, will you?” I asked.

“…”

I’d left it on so she could find her way in the dark. But she didn’t answer me.

“Kaito… Kaito…”

“Mai?”

“I’m not turning off the light.”

Mai slowly shuffled over to the bed, but she didn’t get in. There was something deeply disturbing about the way she called my name. But when I opened my eyes and rolled over, what I saw made my blood run cold.

“Kaito… Kaito… You’re mine, and nobody else’s. You know that, right?”

I heard a click as Mai slapped a handcuff around my outstretched arm, chaining me to the bedpost.

“Huh? What?”

While I tried to work out what was happening, she took my other arm and both legs and cuffed them to the posts as well.

“H-hey, Mai? What’s going on?!” I asked, my eyes darting around in confusion.

I struggled beneath the covers against my restraints. I’m sure it would have looked hilarious to anyone watching, but to me, it was no laughing matter.

“I can’t turn off the light, dear brother. You won’t be able to see me if I do.”

“Wh-what are you talking—? S-stop it, Mai! This isn’t a joke! Did I make you mad? Just take these off, and we’ll talk things out!”

“I’m afraid not, Kaito. I have to make sure my useless big brother doesn’t try to run away. You’re always appealing to common sense and hiding behind it, but tonight, I’m not going to give up until you understand.”

Mai’s seductive smile was unlike any I’d ever seen. She tore the covers off me. Then she climbed on top of me, straddling my torso.

“Hey, what are you—? Mai!!”

“It’s all your fault, dear brother. You left me all by myself and went away with somebody else.”

One by one, Mai undid the buttons on her pajama top. The thin cloth in the center parted to expose her smooth, bare skin.

“Tell me. Who were they? Who’s ? Who’s ? Who’s ? What were you dreaming about? Why did you say those names with such affection when they’re not mine? Why? Why? Why are you trying to leave me again?”

“Grhh?!”

When Mai said those names, they were drowned out by static, and a searing pain burst through my head, as though somebody had stuck their finger right into my brain.

Through the agony, I looked up at my sister, her face like that of a lost child about to burst into tears at any moment.

“You see, dear brother? You’re better off not remembering. Didn’t I tell you? You don’t need to hurt yourself. If you have the capacity to think, then never stop thinking about me. All you need to do is stay with me forever, and you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.”

“Stop it…rgh…! I was just trying not to make you worry—”

Mai dug her nails into my chest. However, I could barely feel the pain over that of my splitting headache.

Her voice turned fragile and weak.

“Worry? Of course I worry about you, dear brother. Every single day, I worry that someone’s going to take you away from me again. I worry the man I see in your bed is just a dream. It’s terrifying, dear brother, so I need you to cross the line with me. Stay here and let me fill your thoughts. Let me drown out all your worries and fears, so you can finally be happy.”

“W-wait, is that why you tied me down?!”

As my headache abated, I found myself able to think clearly again. Mai wasn’t making sense, and my head still hurt, but what I was able to put together came as a profound shock.

“Mai, we can’t, we’re siblings…”

“Yes. And the big brother I know would never abandon his little sister after he spoils her for life. No matter what happens, no matter what you remember, you’ll never stop thinking about me, will you? If you leave me again, after all that, then… Hee-hee. Hee-hee-hee-hee! ”

She smiled like a delighted child. What would come next if I left her, she didn’t say.

“You can’t be serious…”

“It’s okay, dear brother. I trust you. It won’t come to that. I know you’ll make the right choice. Whatever happens, you’ll choose me in the end. A little gratification to go with your feelings of guilt… Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! ”

There was no trace of a lie in Mai’s eyes. Whatever fucked-up things she was saying, she believed them. She’d gone off the deep end. How had I not noticed it before?

“This is ridiculous! Dammit! I’ll break these toy cuffs and—! Rgh!”

“Ah, you mustn’t struggle, dear brother. Those aren’t cheap, you know. I had to make sure you couldn’t damage them. If you insist on trying to leave me, then I’m afraid I’ll just have to teach you a lesson, won’t I? So why don’t you just lie still?”

“Rgh.”

The sound of her voice made me break into a cold sweat. Her eyes were dim and lifeless, and I didn’t want to know what she would do if I fought back.

“Now, dear brother. Let’s take off your clothes.”

Mai reached toward me and began unbuttoning my pajamas.

“Stop it. Stop it, Mai!”

“Nope! ”

I tried to twist myself away, but I couldn’t accomplish much cuffed to the bed, so my resistance didn’t prevent Mai from undoing my buttons. Soon, my upper torso lay bare.

“Calm down, Mai! Think about what you’re doing!! This won’t make anybody happy! …Grh!”

“That just isn’t true. I’ll be very happy with you by my side, staring at nobody else, loving nobody else. I’ll look after you, care for you, do everything for you. Won’t that make you happy, too, dear brother? Nothing needs to come between us ever again.”

“Think about what Mom and Dad would say.”

“They’d be happy, I think. I still remember Dad’s smile when I told him I’d marry you one day. He said it was okay.”

It was no use. She’d lost the plot. She wasn’t listening to me anymore. She heard the words, and she said things back, but she wasn’t listening.

“Dear brother, which would you like first? A boy, or a girl? I always hoped for twin girls, myself.”

Mai dropped her pajama top, revealing her black lingerie. I quickly looked away.

What now? What now, what now, what now? If I couldn’t stop her, she’d traumatize herself!!

And if that happens, I’ll never get her back!

I was out of time. I needed to make her stop, and fast!

“Don’t look away, dear brother. Take it in. Everything. I kept myself slim and pretty for you. I never slipped in my routine, not even for a day. All so that I could be who you wanted when this time came. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve tried to make myself grow into the kind of woman you enjoy.”

“S-stop it, Mai.”

“Come on, you big silly. Open your eyes. There’s a long night ahead of us, and I don’t want you to miss a second of it. Hee-hee-hee. Come on, open your eyes.”

Mai wrapped her fingers around my cheeks. Her innocent, childlike laughter rattled in my ears.

“You’re hopeless, dear brother. Just looking isn’t enough for you, is it? You want to move on to the next part as soon as possible…”

“M-Mai. Stop it! Mai!”

I felt her hands slide down my torso, and when I felt her fingers reach my navel, my eyes shot open.

Mai’s face was right there. She was so close, I could almost feel her breath.

I stared into her eyes. There, I could hear her screaming. Even though we were almost touching.

“You don’t have to do this, Mai,” I said. “I’ll always be with you, no matter what happens. You know that. I’m your big brother, for crying out loud!”

My cheap words fell on deaf ears. They didn’t even persuade myself, but I had to try something.

“Yes, that’s right. You’re my dear big brother, Kaito. That’s all you need to think about.”

All I had left was my trump card. But even I didn’t know what would happen if I played it.

“…Hey, Mai. If you really want me to forget about everything else, then can you answer me about just one thing? That’ll really put my mind to rest.”

“Of course, dear brother. Anything. What would you like to know? My measurements?”

“What’s with that bloodied knife I found in your desk drawer?”

“Ghh.”

It was like I’d truly cut through to her heart for the first time that night.

If I couldn’t bring her back, then I had to push her off. I wasn’t gambling for a lucky outcome; I was giving her the lesser of two evils.

“Ah…no… No…it’s not… How…? How do you know…huh? Why, why, why? D-don’t…don’t hate me, dear brother! I’m…I’m your little sister! Nooo!!”

“M-Mai…”

She tore at her long dark hair, spilling a stream of nonsense from her lips. Her breathing grew shallow and labored, and her eyes lost their focus. She shivered uncontrollably, pressing her hands over her ears and sobbing.

“B-but but but! I couldn’t help it! The blood…the blood… Aaaaagh?! I’m not dirty, I’m not dirty. Stay out of my way. Why? How? It’s his fault. All of them! Aaaaaaagh!!”

“M-Mai! Calm down!”

As I watched her erratic behavior, I started to wonder if I’d made the right decision. Perhaps bringing up the knife had been a grave mistake.

No. I won’t get anywhere being timid. I have to talk to her. Make her change her mind!

“Mai. Calm down. Mai, listen to me. Let’s talk. I’m not running. Not from myself, and not from you, either! So let’s—!”

However, that brief moment of hesitation was all it took for me to lose my fingerhold completely.

“…Ah, I get it. They’re still in my way. Even now, they seek to take you away from me. I have to make sure they’re all gone before I go any further, don’t I?”

Just then, Mai stopped shaking.

“Someone’s leading you astray, aren’t they? That’s okay. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure they get what’s coming to them.”

She laughed. Another innocent, childlike giggle that seemed liable to shatter at any time.

“It’s okay. I suppose that’s just what I get for trying to leave things half-finished. Hee-hee-hee. My mistake. You’ll just have to wait there until later, dear brother.”

“Mai… Listen to me. Stop this. You’re tired. A lot’s happened, I get it. We’ll go to the hospital together tomorrow, it’ll be okay. I won’t tell anybody about the knife. We can—”

“The knife? What knife, dear brother? I’m going to make everything go away. You shouldn’t have any idea about that.”

“Hrh!”

It seemed Mai was wholly ignorant of the nonsense spilling from her lips. She spoke as though what she said was common sense, then gave me a kiss on the cheek, just like she’d done when she was younger.

“Hee-hee-hee. I haven’t done that in a while,” she said. “Wait here until tomorrow night, won’t you? After I’ve killed everyone, we can pretend it never happened.”

With that, she pulled her top over her shoulders and stood up.

“K-killed?! M-Mai, no! Who are you going to…? Stop!! Please, you can leave me tied up, just…let’s talk about this! You’re making a big mistake!”

Mai didn’t answer. She just turned out the lights.

“It’s time to sleep, dear brother. Tomorrow’s a very important day, and you’ll need your energy. Because by then, the only thing left in this world for you to care about…will be me.”

“Mai…”

She wasn’t listening to me again. She laughed, her cheeks red, and climbed back under the covers with me.

“Goodnight, dear brother. I hope tomorrow will be a good day.”

With that, she wrapped her arms around me and closed her eyes with a smile, quickly falling asleep.

I said nothing. I had bought myself a day but hadn’t managed to get through to Mai. I’d avoided the worst outcome but had failed to snatch the one I wanted.

It was then, in the dead of night, that the final thread supporting my little sister’s sanity snapped.

I heard a clunk, like the sound of slipping gears.

CHAPTER 5

An Unchanging World and a Second Fall

Well then, Kaito, I’ll see you tonight,” Mai said to me the next morning, after I’d spent an entire sleepless night tied to the bedposts.

I had hoped a good night’s sleep might temper her outlook, but no luck. Mai still wore the same broken smile and refused to actually listen to what I was saying.

There was nothing I could do but wait silently as she fed me breakfast and left the house for school. I listened carefully for the sound of the front door closing, so that I could be sure Mai wasn’t going to hear what I planned to do.

“Rgh, I don’t have much time!”

I planned to break the bedposts to get free. Mai wasn’t playing around. I thought of the bloodstained knife and counted myself lucky she hadn’t decided to stab my arms and legs.

My sister was deeply disturbed right now. One wrong step, and she’d never be the same again. I had to stop her before she did something irrevocable, even if I had to tie her to the bed instead.

“I need to get out of these restraints before Mai comes back. Then I need to hurry after her!”

My wooden bed was one of Dad’s old hand-me-downs, and unbeknownst to Mai, one of the posts was a little loose. If I could pull it off, I could escape quite easily. With one hand free, I could reach the clicky pen by my bedside. Then I could use the spring from the clicky pen as a wire to jimmy the handcuffs open. I’d once been obsessed with this TV show about a jailbreak that I saw with Dad, so I’d taught myself how to pick handcuffs with a hairpin. It was actually surprisingly easy once I looked up tutorials online. It would take a little while, but I was confident I could do it one-handed as well.

“Here goes nothing… Hrrrrrngh!”

I pulled as hard as I could, and the wooden post just popped out. It must have been even more rotten than I’d assumed.

Trying to stay calm, I unscrewed the pen with my free hand, removed the spring, and stuck one end into the lock mechanism.

“Just a little more… Got it!”

The handcuff fell away. I undid the cuffs around my right hand, left leg, and finally, my right leg in the same manner.

“Damn, what time is it?”

I was worried I’d taken too long and whirled around to see that according to the clock by my bed, it was already past ten.

Mai told me to wait until tonight. But she also said she was going to school today. That means whatever she’s planning on doing, it’ll be there!

“I gotta move fast!!”

I didn’t know what I was going to do yet, but I knew I had to stop Mai and bring her home. I threw on some clothes and picked up my phone.

“Who can I turn to…?”

Mom and Dad were no longer around, and I couldn’t ask the two detectives, Miyagawa and Onishi, for help. There was also the hospital…but I couldn’t lead Mai to Dr. Maeno in her state.

The only person I could think to call was Yuuto.

“Come on…pick up…”

Mai had not only taken naginata lessons, but also a little aikido. As shameful as it was to admit, she could tie me in knots any day of the week. I needed someone on my side.

As I waited for Yuuto to pick up, wondering why he wasn’t answering, I put on my shoes and ran out the front door…

“Ah, Mr. Ukei. I was just about to knock.”

“Inspector Onishi?”

The police detective was standing right outside my house, his black car parked on the street behind him.

“We need to talk,” he said. “Do you have a minute?”

“Uhh, sorry, I’m a little busy right now. Can this wait?”

“Hmm, not really. Could you make time, do you think? It’s quite urgent.”

I was a little surprised by Onishi’s uncharacteristic insistence.

“Um, well, I’m sorry, but I really can’t right now…,” I replied. I didn’t know what this was about, but the only thing I was making time for right now was Mai.

“That’s a shame. There’s no time. What if I told you your sister’s in danger? I think you’ll regret not hearing what I have to say.”

“Wh…? What do you mean by that?!”

Onishi looked gravely serious. Maybe I should hear him out after all, I thought.

“We’re short on time. Join me in the vehicle over there, where we can speak privately.”

“Just tell me right here!”

“I can’t. We’re wasting time. If you want to save your sister, then shut your mouth and come with me.”

He didn’t seem to be lying. Not that I could think of a single reason he would. Miyagawa and Onishi had both earned my trust. Perhaps Mai really was in danger after all.

…rrrr. Bip. “The number you have dialed is not available…”

I heard my call go to voicemail.

“…Okay,” I said. “I will. But do you mind if I leave a message first? My friend might want to get back to me.”

“Of course. Go right ahead.”

Onishi nodded, and I left a message, saying, “I can’t explain now, but give me a call when Mai’s not around.”

“All right,” said Onishi when I was done. “Now get in the back.”

“C-come on! Will you tell me what’s going on already? Where are we now?!”

We had been driving for about an hour. I’d begged Onishi to explain the entire time, but he never said a word. As I watched the scenery become more and more rustic and unpopulated, I began to grow suspicious. When at last he stopped the car and got out, we were in what looked like an abandoned factory in the countryside.

I’d had enough of him dodging my questions and demanded an immediate explanation.

“Is this your definition of somewhere private? We’re in the middle of nowhere!”

“Well, you can’t get more private than that, can you?”

The place looked like a deserted aircraft hangar and was cluttered with machines so old and rusted it was hard to discern their purpose.

The roof had partially collapsed at one point, crushing several of the machines with debris and leaving a hole in the ceiling from which sunlight filtered through.

Onishi immediately walked over to one of those crushed machines and started moving rocks out of the way, attempting to unearth something.

“What…?” I asked, dumbfounded. The air was full of dust, and it was obvious that no one had been here recently. I had to admit that Onishi had a point about privacy, but I wasn’t convinced this whole ordeal was necessary.

“What about the police station? That would have done just as well!”

“Not so, I’m afraid. Our enemy has eyes and ears there.”

“Enemy? What do you—? No, you know what, just tell me about Mai!”

“Hmm? Aah, that. Are you sure you want to know?”

Onishi didn’t even turn away from his work, hunting through the debris.

“Wh-what?! Why the hell do you think I agreed to come here?! And what are you doing over there anyway?!”

“Just a second, please. Ah, there it is.”

“I thought I made it pretty clear I was in a hurry, didn’t I? If you’re not going to talk, then take…me…”

“Just a second, I said.”

I felt an abrupt dull pain in my leg that quickly spread across my body. Onishi had retrieved what he was looking for, a black contraption of some kind, and turned back to me.

“Huh? Wh-what’s…that…?”

“Why, a bowgun, of course. Or perhaps ‘crossbow’ is a more familiar term? I just used it to shoot you in the leg.”

He shot me. He shot me. He shot me!

I looked down to see a black stick about the width of a marker pen, and a stream of blood running down my ankle.

And as soon as I realized what I was looking at, the shock subsided, and the pain hit me full force.

“Agh! Aaaaaaaggghhh?!”

“Everyone screams at first. It’s enough to wake the dead, for crying out loud.”

“Ghh! Grgh?! Gaaaaaagh!!”

Another shot whizzed through the air, landing in my other ankle. Unable even to stagger, I immediately fell backward onto my rear, and then onto my side. The pain was so unbearable that it seemed like my eyes were going to turn back in their sockets. As I struggled to maintain consciousness, my addled mind brought only a single question to my lips.

“Rgghh! Why…?”

“I promised to bring you back alive this time, and I can’t have you running away,” Onishi explained. “I have a feeling there’s more to you than meets the eye, so I needed to make sure you couldn’t fight back. Security’s been tight recently, and I wasn’t able to get my usual drugs. So I came here to retrieve the weapon I stashed away for a rainy day. A shelter for every storm, as they say.”

Onishi patted the metal frame of his crossbow as he spoke. My eyes grew misty through the pain-induced tears, but Onishi went on speaking without a shred of affectation.

“Now, you asked me why I brought you here. I guess I’ll enlighten you while we wait for my client to arrive.”

Onishi whipped out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth, dexterously lighting it with only one hand.

“Though there’s not much to say, to be honest. You see, I do a few odd jobs and favors here and there, in addition to my public sector gig. My client asked me to deliver you to them alive, before the police got to you.”

“Wh-who? And…before the police got to me? Wh-what do you mean?”

The pain was so intense that my senses were going dull. Fortunately, that caused the pain to abate somewhat. Or perhaps my leg itself was going numb. Either way, it allowed me to talk.

“I’m surprised you can speak,” said Onishi. “Is that the adrenaline kicking in, I wonder? Well, no matter. Since you took great pains to ask, I suppose I can answer. I don’t need to tell you who my client is—you’ll meet them soon enough. As for why the police are after you, I can certainly tell you that. You inconvenience them, you see, and so does that big-mouthed detective. That’s why they tried to kill you both with that little ‘gas explosion.’”

“Wh-what? What?”

The words circled my ears, as though my brain didn’t want to take them in. Yet they seeped through my skin like poison, a hundred knife blades jutting into my heart.

“You see, the government wanted that cosplay getup you reappeared in. A treasure trove of technology, they called it. But Miyagawa refused to hand it over. He thought it was the key to unlocking your memories and cracking the case. Plus, there’s been a lot more Rebirther activity since word got out about you, hasn’t there? The department decided to get to you first to kill the both of you and make it look like an accident, while snatching your confiscated items in all the fuss. Poor Miyagawa, always the fool,” he added with a shrug.

…What the hell is going on? Is this a joke?

It all sounded so audacious that I wondered if the pain wasn’t causing me to hallucinate. And yet somehow, it felt like I’d heard it all before.

“It’s stupid, if you ask me. And look, they got the items they were after, but they didn’t manage to kill either of you. A half-baked plan leads to a half-baked outcome, that’s what I say. Anyway, that got my client panicking, so they asked me to bring you as quickly as possible. This was originally supposed to happen next week, you see, but I was contacted last night and told to move it to today. Not that you’ll hear me complaining. I get to charge my emergency rates just for getting one dumb kid to shut up and come with me.”

“…Grhhhh!”

I was starting to lose the plot of what Onishi was saying. The pain had crossed a threshold, and my mind was beginning to blur. However, for some reason I couldn’t explain, I was getting the same headache as I would when I tried to remember my past.

The bottom line was…I was sold out…?

“The original plan was to get your sister as well,” Onishi went on, “then use her as bait to lure you in. But just as I was ready to act, my client told me to ignore her and take you alone. It’s just not fair, is it? I worked on that plan for days, and to see it all go down the drain is just…well, it’s a bummer. Still, I asked for three times my usual rate on top of an urgency fee, so I can’t complain, can I? Jackpot.”

Onishi chuckled to himself like a hyena. All I could tell was that he had been close to kidnapping Mai.

“…a…e…”

Shut the fuck up. Don’t touch her.

That’s what I wanted to say, but my throbbing head reduced me to a hyperventilating mess, unable to get out a single word.

“Stay right where you are,” said Onishi. “We can talk, but I can’t let you struggle.”

“Ggh?! Rrghh!!”

As soon as I tried to stand up, there was another whistle from the crossbow in Onishi’s hands, and a third agonizing spike landed in my right leg. Just as I was beginning to fall into a numb stupor, the shock threw my eyelids wide.

It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

The pain of Onishi’s merciless crossbow bolt. My splitting headache. The humiliation of having fallen for his lies so readily. It all mixed together to fuel a flame in the pit of my heart.

“…I…trusted you… You…betrayed me…you bastard…”

And to think I had thought of his name when looking for someone to rely on. What a joke.

“C’mon now,” Onishi said. “I feel for you, believe me. All your friends and family bit the dust, and now there’s some psycho after you who thinks they can travel to other worlds. It’s just so sad, you know?”

But he showed neither sorrow nor glee at my plight; he only gave a slight frown, like he was considering what to have for dinner.

“But still,” he went on. “It’s only business. Nothing personal. I mean, the only reason I spoke to you in the first place was because I thought it might make the job a little easier. That’s hardly a betrayal, is it?”

I felt a crack, as if my head had just split in two, ear-to-ear.

This had happened before.

They’d betrayed me. They’d taken everything away from me.

I detested them so bitterly that I’d needed to forsake my sanity just to look them in the eye.

And when I’d lain before them, facedown in the dirt, I’d made a vow. I had. It had always been right here with me.

That was why the simmering force inside me exuded such animosity.

What have I been doing…?

“Well, you’ll probably be dead by then, but if it’s any consolation, your sister will be along soon. No doubt I can get her with the same trick I used on you.”

He laughed, a spiteful ringing in my ears.

The pain racked my skull, eliminating my ability to think and transforming my emotions into dripping magma, mixed with an uncontrollable, growing fury.

“…you.”

This man wants to hurt Mai.

“Hmm? You say something?”

The magma filled the innermost reaches of my heart, just as it had always done. Yes, it had been a part of me for so very long now.

“…ll you.”

This man wants to take everything away from me.

“Speak up. I can’t hear you when you mumble to yourself like that.”

Hot. And viscous. And dark.

I knew what that magma was. It was the grounds on which I’d once sworn a solemn vow.

“…kill you.”

As soon as I said it, the scorching earth filling my body cried out, like a pot of boiling water threatening to bubble over.

“Oh yeah, yeah. You’ll kill me. That’s what everyone says. Sore losers, all of you. You know what, I’m not sympathetic anymore. I try to throw you a bone, and this is the thanks I get?”

I finally remembered. It was all coming back. This fury, this hate; it was my very oath made manifest. The chains that bound me to the task I’d sworn to complete.

“I remember now. I’m…”

“Hmm? What do you mean, you rem—?”

“I swore an oath. I promised to kill every last one of you.”

At that moment, something snapped.

“Huh? Excuse me? Have you lost it?”

“Yeah, I’ve lost it. A long time ago, actually. I just forgot about it.”

With my oath regained, my splitting headache vanished, and the sordid memories of my past life came bubbling up between my brain cells like mud.

I recalled the time I’d spent as a hero in a faraway land, warring with the demon lord and her dark armies in search of a way home. I remembered the day I’d wept for Leticia, and my inability to save her. I remembered my betrayal, and the oath I’d sworn to those who wronged me. I remembered the day I’d died, and I remembered my miraculous rebirth. I remembered my new partners in crime, the inimitable duo of Minnalis and Shuria. And I remembered that there were still those in that world I had sworn to kill.

I rose to my feet and stared upward.

“Just look at that sky…”

How many times had I lain in the gutter like this, gazing at the stars? Of all the blunders I’d made, this one had to be in the top five.

The very first thought I plucked from the whirling maelstrom of my mind was…

“Guess I’ve given Leticia one more reason to be upset.”

She’d once told me I was to think of her and cry when I returned to my world. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten that. I’d forgotten about my unfinished business. I’d forgotten about the two partners in crime I’d left behind. I’d forgotten everything and lived a carefree life.

I’d lost the searing oath I branded upon my soul, afraid to look because I was scared of what I might find.

“I really am pathetic. What have I been doing this whole time…?”

I clenched my teeth and grimaced. It was my own naïveté that was to blame, an old habit I just couldn’t shake. Whenever I was faced with something I didn’t want to deal with, I just put it off, pretended I didn’t notice. That habit had led to my downfall once, and now it had done so again.

But he’d said that after me, my sister was next.

“…You must be a real adrenaline junkie if you can still stand after all that. Guess it’s better than screaming your lungs out.”

I turned my gaze upon Onishi, who had nonchalantly lit a second cigarette.

“You know, like that other girl, what’s-her-name. Your sister’s friend…oh yeah, Yuuki. She was a real crybaby, let me tell you. I had to bring her in alive, so I went to tie her up, and what did she do? She scratched the back of my neck! Can you believe that? Of course, when Miyagawa saw it, he laughed and said, ‘Did a woman do that to you?’ so I had to be careful after that. That girl was a real piece of work, let me tell you.”

“…Ah-ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Wow, you’re a real selfish bastard, aren’t you? I know somewhere you’d fit right in.”

Unlike Dr. Maeno, there was no trace of malice in Onishi’s words. No murderous glee, no rage, and no guilt. He was just the kind of cold-blooded killer Grond would have died for. There was no way I ever could have spotted the evil in his eyes when it hadn’t been there to begin with. At least, not without my memories and all the painful experiences therein.

“Selfish bastard? That’s a little harsh, wouldn’t you say? I mean, who wouldn’t do what I did for the amount of money I was offered? We’re talking tens of millions, kid. Just for a little kidnapping and corpse-ferrying.”

Onishi’s speech was completely genuine. He seriously believed that he was in the right, and that his behavior was only logical.

“Man, and I thought this world was supposed to be the good one. Why do I always seem to get the assholes? Like attracts like, I guess,” I spat.

“You just don’t get it, do you? It’s all about the money. You know how many years I’d have to work to save up this kind of cash? A student like you just wouldn’t understand, I guess.”

I couldn’t believe how proud the man looked while spouting such a clichéd ideology. He couldn’t have failed to realize my transformation, but it probably didn’t bother him, seeing as how he still held all the cards. Or at least he thought he did.

Still, he wasn’t relaxing his guard, and he was still keeping his crossbow trained on me. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me for an instant. I’d read somewhere online that the most heinous killers always seemed the most normal at first glance. I could believe it, because if Onishi was anything to go by, they truly believed they were normal.

“So tell me,” he went on. “You said you remembered. Does that mean you got back your memories of what happened after you disappeared? Did you really go to a parallel world or something?”

“Yeah, I did. I remember everything that happened there.”

“Wow, that’s neat! Tell me, what’s it like there? Is there, like, magic and stuff? That’s what my client said. They think they can use you to somehow get magic in this—”

“It’s exactly the same as this one,” I said, interrupting him. “It’s beautiful and dirty, filled with all kinds of people, with just enough good to outweigh the bad—exactly the same as here.”

“…No, no, no. That’s not what I mean. What I’m trying to say is…”

Onishi tried to rephrase his question, ignorant of what I’d just done.

“…It’s exactly the same,” I repeated. “Exactly the same people, and exactly the same ways of breaking them.”

Onishi froze, dumbfounded.

“Huh? What?”

His crossbow fell to the floor, along with the hand that held it.

There was a lengthy pause.

“See? Even hands come off in the same way.”

“Aaaaaaaaaghhh?!”

Onishi’s red stump spurted blood, staining the white bone and pooling on the ground.

“And you even bleed the same color.”

“Blood? Blood! Aaaagh?!”

Onishi’s confidence of only a few moments prior had completely drained away, along with all the blood from his arm, as he desperately clutched his other hand over the wound.

“I’m dying. I’m dyiiiing!!”

“Hah. Even the way you gutter trash squeal is the same.”

It was music to my ears. The screams of a disemboweled pig who’d tried to steal everything I held dear.

But I couldn’t let him bleed out and get off so lightly.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die…yet.”

Grunting through the pain, I pulled the crossbow bolts free of my legs. Then, with a little more trouble than I was used to, I conjured up the Nephrite Blade of Verdure.

“…O sacred protectors of the forest, whose voice travels on the wind as it whistles through the leaves, whose power is channeled through great boughs. Come to me. Verdant Healing.”

Its soft light sealed my wounds and stopped the bleeding. To Onishi, that light must have seemed akin to that of heaven, appearing by the grace of God to grant him salvation.

“Is…is that…magic?! U-use it on me, please!!”

“Heh. Guess humans aren’t so different after all, no matter what world we’re from.”

Onishi reacted exactly as I’d predicted, changing his tune immediately when presented with a chance at life. I felt the black water fill the cup of roaring flame in my heart.

“Wh-what are you doing?! You said you would let me live, didn’t you?! Hurry up and heal me already!!”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!! Who do you think you are? I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick.”

“Eep?!”

Standing up on my healed legs, I glared down at Onishi, who was now kneeling in pain on the floor.

“You don’t seem to have realized it yet, but the place you now stand is the mouth of hell.”

“Huh?”

I conjured up the Flaming Sword of Wheels, which consisted of a simple hilt with a blade formed entirely of fire. Channeling mana into it made the flame burn so hot that it would instantly char everything it passed through.

I sliced Onishi’s arm again at the elbow, searing the wound closed. His severed forearm fell alongside his hand from before.

“Gaaaaaaaaagh?!”

“See? That stopped the bleeding, didn’t it? Now I can keep cutting off your limbs without it killing you. Oh, come on. Don’t pass out now.”

“Hgragh?!”

I grabbed Onishi by the hair and pulled him up.

“F-f-f-fuck you!! Put it back! Put my arm back!!” he whined, clearly no longer in control of the situation. He extended the stump of his upper arm and yelled at me with such anger, I began to wonder if he’d already forgotten the pain. “You know what I’m gonna do to you for this?! I’ll kill you! I’m gonna kill you! Then I’ll get your sister and your friend, and I’ll sell them to— Ghgh?!”

“Like I said, you’re under a simple misconception here. Besides, what did you just say? Are you fucking stupid? Do you want to die? Is that it? If that’s the case, then just say so.”

“Grh…gggh…?!”

I pressed his face into the floor, twisting it so the rough concrete scraped the skin off his face like a file. He resisted at first, but once I felt his neck go limp, I lifted his head up once more.

“Now, let me ask you some questions,” I said. “If you hesitate, or lie…well, I’m sure you can imagine what will happen, right?”

“Hrk?!”

I stared into Onishi’s face, filling him with terror. He was a little easier on the eyes now that his face was sliced up.

“Still, if I consult my memories, I have a pretty strong hunch…but I’m not sure. I guess it could be someone I’ve never met before.”

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Just please stop!”

“All right then, why don’t we start with who’s behind all this?”

“Kawakami! A reporter lady named Kumiko Kawakami! She’s the one who asked me to—”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s what I figured.”

I wasn’t all that surprised by the name that fell from Onishi’s lips. In hindsight, it was strange how she’d managed to sniff me out despite the fact the police were concealing my existence, not to mention how she’d managed to track my every move. Plus, there had been subtle giveaways in her expressions and mannerisms that pointed to her ulterior motives, the significance of which I could only perceive now that I had my memories back.

Of course, analyzing my recollection like that was flaky business, so I couldn’t be sure. I still had an inkling Dr. Maeno had something to do with everything.

Then again, if he’s the mastermind, he’s a pretty shitty one. He was way too obvious.