STARTING SONG: none

I hate computers.

CHAPTER TWO

I head towards the cosplay section at the back of the store, doing my best to avoid encountering any sales clerks (not a difficult task, since, with the exception of the one manning the register), the entire staff seems to be stalking the girl I saw from outside). Thanks to their... Distraction, I manage to reach the cosplay section without incident. However, I'm not there for very long before I discover an enormous problem I hadn't considered: There aren't any in my size.

Well, this isn't too bad, I think, looking for the smallest size available. I can just get a needle and some thread, and alter something to fit. Now, the question is whether there's anything here that I can actually wear without feeling like a complete idiot. I suppose my best bet would be one of the school uniforms.

I'm examining one of the uniforms in question, when I hear footsteps getting closer. I duck into the rack and peek out. It's the blue-haired girl, and she's headed in my direction, the store's staff still following close behind her. I can't help but wonder if she really doesn't notice them, or if she's just ignoring it.

The girl had been smiling vacantly, eyes closed, but as she got closer, her smile vanished and she opened her eyes. She looked around a moment, then headed towards the rack I was hiding in. Oh, crap! I think desperately. Did she see me?

The girl walks over and pulls the clothes apart, revealing me. "Ah-ha!" she says. "So that where that smell was coming from."

I hate my life.

I think the worst part of all this is that the fight I had with Nunnally this morning was so stupid. It wasn't even really a fight: She had torn her dress, and I just blew up in her face about it. I don't even know why. I was just feeling frustrated and irritable with our whole stupid situation, and the torn dress pushed me over the edge. Nunnally had actually tried to calm me down, but that just made it worse, until I got to the point where I said the one thing I never should have.

"I hate you, Nunnally! I wish you had died instead of Mother!"

After that awful comment, I ran out, pausing only long enough to grab my wallet. I headed to a park close to the shrine, still too mad to apologize and wanting to cool my head. The watchmen who followed me everywhere were there as well, but they didn't try to make me return to the shrine, or even say a word, so I just ignored them.

I was sitting in the sandbox, morosely scooping sand into a pile, when I heard a strange "chuff"-ing sound from behind me. I turned just in time to see one of the watchmen fall to the ground. The other was turning as well, to face a man holding a silenced pistol, but, before he could do anything, the man shot him, as well.

I just stood there, paralyzed with fear, while the kidnapper approached, only turning to run when it was too late.

I sit up and look around. Where am I? I remember that girl finding me, then being asked a bunch of questions about where my parents are and why I'm wandering around Tokyo in my pajamas covered in garbage, then crying for a long time until I fell asleep. However, none of that tells me where I am, or how my pajamas were replaced with a green school uniform like the one elementary students wear in Ouran High School.

I climb out of the bed where I was sleeping and head downstairs to find I'm still in the Gamers store. The cashier is still behind the register, and the rest of the staff seems to have gone back to work as usual. "Um..." I say, and the cashier turns to face me.

"Oh, good evening!" he says. "You're on TV!" He points to the television on the counter.

I wander over to look at it. It's tuned to the news, where a glum-looking reporter is announcing the death of the young Britannian, Prince Me.

"Huh?" I ask, confused. I can't have been gone for a day yet, so why are they saying I'm dead?

"His body was found washed up on the shore of the Sumida River," the reporter was saying. "Initial autopsy reports..."

Wait. Body? Autopsy? I'm not dead!

"It seems something big is going on," the cashier notes.

I glance at him, then back at the screen. The reporter is still talking, but I can't hear him. What's happening? This isn't right! Is Suzaku's dad behind this? That's the only thing I can think of to explain it. If that's the case, what about Nunnally? Is she safe? "Um, do you have a phone?" I ask. The cashier nods and points towards a nearby door. I enter to find a small office, and pick up the phone. I start to dial the number to the Kururugi Shrine, then stop. If the prime minister is behind this, it's too dangerous to call. But I still need to confirm that Nunnally is okay.

I glance at the clock in the wall. It's too late for Suzaku to be in school, so I can call there, and there's no separate phone line at Nunnally's and my house. The reporter was broadcasting from the shrine, as well, meaning it's probably too dangerous to try and sneak there.

A soft beeping reminds me that I'm still holding the phone, so I hang it up, mind racing. Did they tell Nunnally I'm dead? They would have had too. How must she feel, after what I said to her? Is she happy, thinking her cruel brother is gone for good. My vision blurs and I reach up to swipe at the tears in my eyes with my sleeve. What do I do? "Nunnally..."

After a little while, I calm down to feel confident enough to leave the privacy of the office. "Um, thank you," I say when the cashier looks over at me.

"Oh, think nothing of it, my good man!" the cashier says jubilantly, smacking me on the back. "Thanks to you, Legendary Girl A bought something from our store!"

"Huh?" I ask. "Who's 'Legendary Girl A'?"

"She's a legend who-"

"Are you talking about the girl from before?" I ask, cutting him off. I don't really want to listen to the rants of a madman. "What did she buy?"

The cashier points at me. "Those clothes you're wearing."

"Huh?" I ask again. "No way! How much were they?" I demand.

"Oh, I think altogether, probably around ten thousand yen, but-"

"What's her name?" I snap, cutting him off again. "Do you know where she lives or what school she goes to?" There's no way I'm going to let a stranger take pity on me like that!

"Well, she wears the uniform for Ryou-Oh High School."

"Where is it?"

The cashier frowns. "I can give you the address if you want, but she said you don't have to worry about paying her back."

"Yes, I do!" I promised myself I was going to live and take care of Nunnally without any help from anyone! "Please give me the address," I insist.

The cashier chuckles and writes it on a scrap of receipt paper. I take it, bow, thank him, and run out of the shop.

Then I run back in the shop, because one of the other employees is calling me back. "You forgot your shoes!"

Everyone who reads this far receives a DVD box set of Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai.

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