Prologue

The sun hung low in the sky. The warm air of late afternoon going unnoticed by the people walking down the shadow covered sidewalks. One girl in particular walked with an almost tangible feel of melancholy. It was April 24th. Four days ago, she would have met an unusual young man with scruffy hair and a scar on his cheek. Four days ago would have been the first of many strange occurrences that would have brought them closer together. Four days of no explosions, no misunderstandings, no tear gas filled class rooms, and no surprises that resulted in the almost apocalyptic reactions to these situations.

Four days of no Sousuke.

Kaname's hand gripped the handle of the large shopping bag from the electronics store at the various thoughts that crossed her mind. Sure, it had been almost a week, but it was still difficult to believe.

Leonard had won. But, for some reason, she could remember everything.

Everything that she had come to know, and everyone she came to care for, were just gone. Another random tear found its way down her cheek. She had tried to test herself many times since the morning of April 20th, but no matter what she couldn't find any proof of what she had once known. She checked the internet, as well as nearly every history book in the school library. Nothing was ever recorded about the existence of armslaves. She even checked all of the magazine stores within nearly a five mile radius, and came up empty. Leonard had succeeded in resetting the time-line. As far as the world was concerned, things like armslaves and Black Technology were nothing more than figments of the imagination. For the first time, Kaname truly wished that she would be pulled into the Whispered trance, if only to assure herself that she would see everyone again.

"…Sousuke", she whispered as yet another stray tear rolled down her face.

It was still a mystery to her that she could remember everything that had happened, but Kaname was starting to suspect that after being overshadowed by Sophia, maybe that had shielded her memories from being reset somehow. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Kaname made her way onto the train heading back toward home. Finding a seat by the door, she took another look into her shopping bag. She had purchased a laptop. It hadn't been overly expensive, but her Father would probably call her in the next few days to ask her about the amount on her credit card.

The first two days after the 20th had been filled with an odd mixture of depression and anticipation. Kaname had spent those days watching and listening for anything that would signal any existence of Sousuke within Jindai's halls. The 23rd had been one of hardest days. Some maintenance was being done on the Gymnasium, and every time they knocked something down, or made excess noise, Kaname would get her hopes up. At one point she had been returning from the teachers' room with fresh attendance sheets in her arms. The sound of one construction worker's jackhammer had sounded similar to bullets being fired, causing her to rush over and smack the unsuspecting man with her halisen. After a rather interesting conversation with Principal Tsuboi, she had apologized to the worker and continued back to the classroom.

Today though, had been a day off from school, and it was when she had decided to look for any evidence of the world she once knew. She probably had a fair number of shop owners wondering if she had gone off the deep end, or had just been watching way too much anime. Either way, she had found herself wandering aimlessly by the numerous shops when she had glanced over to the electronics window. Making a decision, Kaname went in and asked one of the associates for help in finding a good laptop that would work for her. It wasn't really anything special, but for what she was planning, it was more than adequate.

Reaching her stop, she got off the train and resumed her trek back to her apartment. After about twenty minutes, Kaname unlocked her door and began setting up her new laptop. Once everything seemed like it was ready, she stood to make herself a cup of tea. Once she poured herself a cup, she found herself momentarily lost in it. Thoughts of everything and everyone she once knew seemed to swirl and blend together, just like the milk she had added. Kaname watched it a moment, remembering the talk she had had with Tessa so long ago. Feeling the tears beginning to gather again, Kaname wiped them away quickly and retreated back to her dining table, taking a seat in front of the keyboard.

With a long, steadying breath, she opened a fresh notepad document and began typing.