It was a bright and sunny afternoon at Sanshu Middle School, barely a cloud in the sky and just warm enough to feel good and not hot. It was a perfect spring day for Yuna's favorite part of the day, preparing for their Hero Club activities. Unlike a lot of school clubs, the one ran by their president, Fuu Inubouzaki, was a little more vague and open ended in how it worked, functioning kind of like doing community service and generally finding however they could to help people who put in their requests. Be it trying to find a home for kittens, assisting other clubs down members, or simple garbage collection over at the beach. Yuna always loved to help people, so this kind of club suited her perfectly. On the surface, it was all a pretty ordinary life. However, Yuna was far from a perfectly ordinary girl, so was her best friend, Mimori Togo.

She could do magic.

Two years ago, she had a fantastical encounter. Two kids around her age, 12 at the time, had mysteriously showed up in her town one day and said she had something 'special' about her, offering to teach her the mystical elements of magic, or at least sort of. She had been required to self-study the craft using a book she found in her room not long after. However, the two mages had told her they would be back eventually, hopefully soon even.

And that one fateful encounter two years ago had been the last she heard of them.

Negi Springfield and Fate Averruncus… She wondered where they were and when they would come back. Furthering the mystery was it sounded like they had some kind of connection to Togo's past. The girl was missing some of her memories from an accident, but she still had some feelings, even if the memory wasn't there, and those names had stirred something in Togo she couldn't explain. But they had to be related. Togo had even been capable of magic, despite not knowing about it till Yuna had accidentally told her upon sensing it in Togo. It was a good thing she actually possessed it, Negi and Fate had made it extremely clear magic had to be kept secret to anyone who didn't have it.

"Still thinking about the play, Yuna-chan? You look deep in thought." Her wheelchair bound friend, Togo, teasingly said while Yuna pushed her down the hallway to their club room, warm sunlight filtering in through the glass windows lining the right side.

"Huh? Ah, no, nothing like that!" Yuna quickly said with a smile. Maybe it was the magic or just intuition, but Togo was borderline inhumanly good at reading people sometimes. Sure, she had screwed up with the puppet play and required a lot of improv, but it had turned out well in the end!

"At least it wasn't as bad as the times you almost let magic slip." With a good-natured voice, Togo continued with her playful voice. "You're not supposed to carbonize food that quickly."

A chuckle raised from Yuna's throat, slightest twinge of nerves behind the cheer. Despite how badly they had insisted on it being secret, Yuna had… not been the best about it early on, having a few close calls. Among other things, she'd once tried to use her specialty of fire magic to speed up cooking when she was too hungry to wait. And she had sped up the cooking alright, so much that she turned her poor meal into charcoal in a couple minutes. Probably the closest call she ever had, trying to explain that was fun. Although, knocking somebody airborne, even by several centimeters, with the martial arts club had been a close second...

"It's been a while since something like that happened, nothing happened during the puppet show and it was big success too." With a mostly casual and carefree voice, Yuna defended herself. No, knocking down the stage to reveal her and Fuu had been entirely her own clumsiness. She had good enough control to not accidentally punch a hole in the cardboard. Learning with Togo had helped a lot compared to studying on her own, even if she was still not the best reader. At least she picked it up surprisingly fast from what the notes said about potentially taking months to start out.

"That was still a good recovery on Fuu-senpai and your's part. Magic can't fix everything." With a gentler and more reassuring smile, Togo said to Yuna as they rolled up to the club room.

Spending a moment returning Togo's smile, Yuna directed her focus back to the door. All the nostalgic thinking could wait, they had Hero Club duties now! Tossing the sliding door open and finding Fuu, alongside her younger sister Itsuki, inside, Yuna threw out an energetic greeting. "Yuna and Togo, reporting for duty!"

Both of the Inubouzaki's returned the friendly greeting, Fuu having some less charitable thoughts on the puppet show than Yuna had. Both were in the same uniform as all the girls wore at the school, though Fuu's was a less common variation. Compared to the one Itsuki and Yuna had, which was a tan dress that came down to a 'skirt' at the knees and covered by a small grey blazer which only covered the upper torso, Fuu had a grey jacket covering the length of her upper body, save the bit of the tan ruffled skirt poking beneath it.

Their club president was a friendly and outgoing person, but with her thoughts having drifted to the earlier topic, Yuna couldn't help briefly flashing over to the one mystery about Fuu. Both Yuna and Togo could sense she had some magical presence. Yet, after trying to see if she knew with a roundabout approach, much more subtle than Yuna had been with Togo, her friend was so much better at these planning things, she hadn't given any indication of knowing. It was odd, really odd, but they had given up since Yuna brushed it aside as maybe just having a bunch of potential. After all, Negi and Fate were apparently drawn to her from something special she had and was clueless of. She still believed the two would come back someday and was supposed to be keeping it secret anyway. Still, Yuna sometimes wondered if there was more to it, but even if there was, Fuu must've had her reasons and she trusted their club president!

"Alright then, if we're all here, let's begin the meeting!" With one of the confident smirks often on her face, Fuu directed everyone over to the blackboard in the corner of the room, moving over toward it and allowing a few moments for everyone to get in position themselves. On the blackboard, besides the usual club tenets alongside everyone's names, were some written requests and several pictures of various kittens pinned to it. They looked adorable to Yuna and made her to want to pet each one.

"We've got so many unresolved requests." Fuu lectured, gesturing to the board.

"T-That sure is a lot…" Itsuki muttered weakly.

"And so, that'll be our focus for the month!" Fuu boldly declared with an assured grin on her face and confident hand on her hip.

Wasting no time, Fuu quickly started explaining her plans, involving the school in the campaign to find owners for the cats while she dealt with anyone in charge to get support, and divided up tasks for the rest of the Hero Club…

Or, rather she immediately thought of something for herself and Togo to do, upgrading the website, while Yuna and Itsuki were simply told to 'keep doing what they're doing, but work harder.'

"That's so vague, onee-chan..." At the drectionless directions, Itsuki glumly remarked to her sister with an exasperated sigh, head drooping down.

"You'll be at the coast cleanup, right?" Yuna eagerly asked Itsuki, leaning over to the girl with a positive smile.

"Yes." Itsuki answered with a curious nod.

"We can try asking around there too!" Yuna continued with her upbeat voice, spinning her chair to face Itsuki. Sure, Fuu might not have had an exact plan for them, but Yuna wasn't going to let it get her spirit down at all, a hero had to be proactive and take charge sometimes! Their leader and Togo were doing their parts, so it was up to Yuna and Itsuki to carry some weight too!

"Oh, good idea!" As Yuna hoped, Itsuki brightened up immediately now that she had a plan to follow.

"Operation Website Upgrade: Complete."

Already!?

The rest of the club room instantly had their attention drawn over toward Togo's accomplishment in disbelief. That hadn't been more than a couple of minutes.

"It's really good..." Yuna muttered wide eyed while looking over the new design. Any coding stuff or that like would fly right over her head, but she could at least appreciate the finished product.

Togo was sure amazing.

It had been quite the productive day for the Hero Club, if only the start of something much larger, and the club had even managed to fit in a stop for udon, where Fuu had fortunately gotten a chance to bring up their plans for the cultural festival between her several bowls. However, all things had to end eventually, and with the fading rays of sunlight casting a beautiful orange glow over the landscape while the darkness of evening drew ever closer, it had been time to head home. Fuu and Itsuki had bid Togo and Yuna farewell, before starting the trek back toward their house, bikes in tow. It may have been a bit of a long trip, but the warmth and view of the sunset filtering through the railing as they crossed the bridge made for a nice companion on the stroll.

"So, what should we do for dinner?" Fuu thought aloud, a subdued smile over her features while various meal plans danced through her mind.

"You're still thinking about eating?" Itsuki cast her sister a sideways glance, blinking a few times with an odd mixture of curiosity and impressed.

"You don't eat enough, Itsuki." Fuu verbally jabbed back with a teasing smirk. She'd only had four bowls of udon, alongside Togo's generously donated tempura. It'd be at least two more hours till dinner time, plenty to go by till another meal. A growing, young and beautiful girl had to make sure they were eating properly to keep up their girl power!

"You eat too much, onee-chan." Itsuki responded with a good-natured smile.

Before Fuu could respond to the banter, her phone made a sound, causing her to pull up the device and investigate the source. The message she saw from the Taisha made her heart plummet. It was the message she had been dreading for over a year.

'Inubouzaki Team report. All members consistently at phenomenally high levels.'

The warmth of the sun turned icy cold as a flood of worries was kicked up in Fuu's mind. They hadn't been chosen yet, but with that wording, phenomenal, they may as well have been already. And yet, part of Fuu wasn't surprised at the message. Ever since she had felt Yuna and Togo were capable of magic, the tool that the Taisha had specifically given her some basic instruction on due to being one of the chosen 'leaders' of the Hero candidates, Fuu had been dreading to hear the results of their aptitude. She didn't know how they could've possibly learned it, but the Taisha had only said very little, something about that somebody had accidentally revealed it to a few people, but they were otherwise ignorant of anything else beyond it existing.

"Onee-chan, is something wrong?"

Itsuki's voice made Fuu jump out of her stupor, only now realizing she'd been so stunned as to have stopped walking. No matter what was thrown at her, she had to keep it together, for her sister's sake. "No, it's nothing." Fuu assured, starting her trek once more.

However, despite her assurance, the guilty and worried feelings refused to leave her. She hated lying to the club, to her friends, to her own sister that meant the world to her, but first it'd been the Hero Club's true purpose and then it had been magic. The Taisha had instructed her to not reveal anything about knowing magic to Togo or Yuna, because explaining how she learned it would be alluding to why the Hero Club had really been made and destroy all the secrecy she had worked to maintain. They may have first bonded with ulterior motives, but how much Fuu cared for everyone was very real. But she felt the worst over Itsuki. She was lying to her own sister for two years now, through the upheaval that'd happened with their parents dying, from bringing her into the club because the Taisha left no choice, and not even being allowed to instruct her on anything about the gift she learned. She only hoped that, if they were chosen, everyone would be able to forgive her for the deception, and if they weren't everything could peacefully go on without anyone the wiser. But most of all she hoped her and Itsuki's sisterly bond wouldn't be horribly damaged by it. Thinking of her reaction was a fantastic trigger for anxiety, but she could never really know until it happened, right?

"Hey, Itsuki." After being alone with her thoughts for a minute too long, Fuu finally broke the silence again.

"Yeah?"

"What if… I had a secret?" She wasn't entirely sure why she was taking such a risk, it was probably the Taisha's message flaring up her concerns more than they had ever been, but she needed to know. She had to get some time to prepare herself, just in case.

"Um, I'm not sure what you mean?" Itsuki asked with a tilted, innocent head.

"For example, say I was in the Battle of Koshu-Katsunuma, and I wasn't getting reinforcements, but I had to fight on with my army anyway."

"Um..."

"Kondou Isami." Fuu could see Itsuki was already thoroughly perplexed about the whole thing. It was a little sudden and roundabout, but it was still very far removed from the truth. She hadn't used something too obscure and gone right over Itsuki's head, did she?

"Where did that come from?" Itsuki asked, her voice lowering curiously, yet a hint confused as well.

Fuu chuckled a little, forcing a smile at Itsuki's response, some genuine tenderness at her sibling's adorable confusion masking any visible disappointment she had. Yeah, that had been a little too out of nowhere and sudden when they were having a good time, hadn't it? It was a lot to dump on her 12 years old sister at once. Ah, well, it looked like she would have to cross that bridge whenever she got to it. "Never mind."

"Hrm..." Itsuki hummed to herself for several seconds, contemplatively looking up in thought. Probably wondering why her big sister was talking so weird all the suddenly.

"I'd follow you, no matter what."

Fuu turned her head over toward Itsuki. Dsid she hear that right?

"You're all the family I have, onee-chan." Itsuki spoke softly, yet earnestly, looking over at Fuu with complete trust and familial love in her eyes. Her smile was warm and confident, reassuring even, the shadow of the fading sun over her face somehow making Itsuki's expression look even more genuine. There was no doubt to Fuu that Itsuki would have followed her to the ends of the Earth, if simply she asked.

Fuu looked away and then down at her feet, frowning for only a second until she looked back up and a melancholic smile crossed her lips. It was a bittersweet answer to hear. Seeing and hearing such absolute faith from her sister, it made her heart even heavier over the lies being maintained, yet it was also a relief, a relief to know her sister loved her that much. Fuu was a lucky girl to have a sibling like Itsuki in her life.

"Thanks."

The day had started out much like any other for Togo, heading over to wake up her neighbor, Yuna, before the pair begun their walk to school, with the ever-cheery girl pushing Togo's along in her wheelchair while making some small talk about plans for the day. Her closest friend always had an energy about her that made it hard to not to smile while talking with them and it always made for a positive start to the day and Togo's mood, one of the many things she liked about Yuna.

"Excited to start planning for the culture festival?" Togo asked, looking back at her friend with a grin.

"Definitely! I don't really know what we should do yet though..." Yuna started eagerly, before quickly trailing off with a sigh, but the downcast expression lasted only for a moment. "Whatever it is though, I'm looking forward to it! It's always fun planning with everyone."

"We still have plenty of time to decide, but the earlier we do, the more we have to finish it." Togo answered. "We have so many requests we need to get through first/ The Hero Club has sure been so busy lately, and I saw we got even more traffic after the upgrades I made last night to our website."

Yuna opened her mouth to reply, only for it to close and her attention to shift slightly upward and straight ahead, head tilted to one side with a curious look.

Following her gaze, Togo saw a rather odd looking group of three girls, each appearing around 15-16 years old by her guess, likely high school age. The school comparison was furthered by the fact they were each wearing a school uniform, but it wasn't one Togo recognized. The uniform was a winter one, with a long sleeved, maroon blazer atop a dark plaid patterned skirt. However, the uniform was where any similarities the three had ended.

The first girl had long, almost ankle length, bright orange hair done into thin twintails with bells and ribbons holding it together. A hand was on her hip, punctuating the disgruntled frown over her face while she scanned the area, seemingly trying to find something. The second was perhaps the most 'normal' looking of the group, possessing black hair with a side ponytail and long bangss and enormous case by a strap over her shoulder, one nearly long as her body and not much thinner. The third of the group, however, was by far the oddest looking. Her hair was waist length, yet was also a bright green, a shade Togo had certainly never seen on a real person bfore. Furthering the eye-catching looks, were the two metalic looking decorations which appeared to go over her ears and went diagonally backwards, almost like some weird antenna. Despite the odd sense of fashion, the girl had a composed and formal air about her, very unlike what Togo would expect from somebody who would dye their hair lime green. That couldn't have been natural, could it?

Seemingly noticing the staring, all three girls focused their attention over toward Togo and Yuna.

"Excuse me!" Yuna's voice came in the same moment she fell under the gazes, before she started pushing the wheelchair and Togo closer to the group. "Are you trying to find something? You looked a little lost."

Ah, of course Yuna wasn't able to stop herself from helping anyone she saw in need, that was just the kind of person she was. If Togo didn't go with her to school so often, she certainly would've been late at least a few times because of it.

Togo wasn't sure why, but the thought brought a bittersweet sense of nostalgia to the forefront of her mind. Ever since her accident and memory loss, she would sometimes get a strong feeling and sense she had been in a similar situation before, but that was where it begun and ended. She never got anything stronger than a feeling, sometimes a sense of longing and that there was something important missing too, but it had to be connected to her missing memories somehow. It gave Togo hope that maybe, just possibly, she would recover the time that was stolen from her and be able to make sense of these flashes she got. But there was something else pricking at her mind, more than a possibly familiar situation-

"I'm Yuki Yuna, nice to meet you! And this is my friend."

Yuna's introduction snapped Togo out of her deep thought, making her blink a few times. Ah, she had gotten so caught up in her unexplained emotions she spaced out for a few seconds. She had to get better about that, how embarrassing. "Ah, I'm Togo Mimori. Sorry, I was distracted."

"Don't worry about it. My name's Kagurazaka Asuna, good to meet both of you!" The orange haired girl with twintails confidently introduced herself with a smile.

"Sakurazaki Setsuna." The one carring the large case had a much briefer introduction, giving a small bow with it and a subdued, but still warm tone.

"Karakuri Chachamaru, a pleasure." Similar to the second girl, Chachamaru's introduction was more reserved and her inflection formal.

"Now, what are three high school students doing out this early…? I don't remember any high schools nearby." Togo curiously asked. Maybe it was the deja vu, but she felt a stronger urge to scold these people if they were skipping classes than normal. She bit back the urge to omment on delinquency.

"Well-"

"Asuna-san was trying to show me the route toward school, I got here just recently, but her sense of direction resulted in us veering what I can only assume is far off course." Chachamaru quickly interrupted with a completely neutral, matter-of-fact tone.

Asuna's head immediately whipped over to Chachamaru with an incredulous, betrayed expression.

"But, I think we have gone far enough in the wrong direction that it would be best to use the GPS instead, before we are anymore late." Chachamaru continued without the slightest hesitation in throwing her apparent friend under the bus.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Yuna let out a good natured, sympathetic chuckle. "I understand, I got a little lost when I first started getting to know the area too."

"We should probably get going with how short on time we are, and I assume you need to reach your own school on time as well."

"Eh? Chachamaru-san, shouldn't we ask more…?" Setsuna trailed off and raised a perplexed eyebrow at the green haired girl.

"That's correct..." Togo trailed off, her gaze turning intense as she stared at the girl further. She knew what that other feeling she had was. These girls, all three of them, each had a magical presence to them. She had been so distracted she hadn't noticed it first, but she was positive now.

But why?

Just like before, with Fuu, these people possessed something that was supposedly not known by even double-digit people on the whole island. And it wasn't just one person this time, it was three, all gathered together. With their club president and her lack of any knowledge, it wasn't impossible to file as a coincidence like whaever was the case with Yuna, but three when they knew other people could use it? And they each had a strong presence about them, even moreso than Yuna had?

They knew something. They had to.

"Togo Mimori-san and Yuki Yuna-san, was it?" Chachamaru continued with a smooth, diplomatic voice. "You appear to know the area better than my friend, so would you mind if we asked a few questions? But, perhaps we could talk once the school day finishes. This is not the best place or time for it."

The older girl had a point there, alongside the way she talked making it even more obvious they were hinting at something larger. If they were delayed any longer, they had decent odds of being late and trying to discuss the subject of magic on a public street like this was… Not wise. Togo had a burning desire to ask these girls more, but it very well could've been another dead end on her history. The thought helped somewhat temper her curiosity, being it wouldn't be more than several hours until school ended anyway.

"Uh, sure. We don't wanna be late for school either, sorry." Yuna added apologetically. "But, are you sure you don't need any help right now?"

"Eh, I guess we'll manage for now." Asuna spoke up, sparing a sideways glance to Chachamaru.

"Besides, there are 6 minutes left till school begins." Chachamaru interjected, not showing any shame.

"E-Eh!? That soon already!?" Yuna stammered, her face growing pale. "We'll see you girls later! Togo-san, I'm sorry if we're late!"

Accelerating to a fast walk, Yuna started briskly pushing Togo's wheelchair before the girl could get in a word. "Y-Yuna-chan, wait! We didn't even give them any contact!"

Yuna abruptly stopped, causing Togo to rock forward, and let out a nervous chuckle. "Oops, sorry, Togo-san." Yuna half turned back toward the group they left behind. "Um, look up the Sanshu Hero Club and send us a message on our website, okay?" With the rush they were in, directing them to the website would've been quicker than exchanging numbers.

"Alright, got it! We'll see ya later too!" Asuna called back with an eager wave, joined by her friends giving a less energetic farewell.

Offering her own parting gesture, the best she could from being at an angle, Togo settled in for the rest of the ride to school, but she didn't remain silent, far too much was on her mind.

"Yuna-chan… Did you feel that too?" Togo tensely asked. They couldn't talk too much out in the open like this, but the two had gotten decent at referring to magic in vague or roundabout terms so nobody passing by would think much on the small talk.

"Yeah, I did, Togo-san." Yuna's voice still had much of an upbeat energy, yet it had a more serious hint to it she didn't often get. "It sounded like they wanted to talk too, so maybe they'll know something!"

"Maybe..." Togo trailed off, sinking back into her own thoughts as they neared Sanshu. They had never been able to find anything about her past with only emotions to go off of, and the one link her and Yuna could put a name on, Negi, had no information either. It was practically like the boy didn't just vanish off the face of Shikoku, but never even existed in the first place. She wasn't going to get her hopes up too much, but Togo couldn't deny the growing feeling in her chest. This was the largest possible lead since she met Yuna.

It was going to be difficult to concentrate on school for the rest of the day.

The day begun much like any other for Itsuki, being woken up by her older sister, who was already dressed with breakfast prepared, who also helped her get ready for the day at hand and their walk toward Sanshu. Once at their middle school, Itsuki had parted ways from her sister, they were a third year and Itsuki herself was a first year.

Thanks to Fuu organization, it usually left Itsuki a chance to speak with some of the people she knew in class. The Hero Club were by far the people she was closest with at school, but everyone was in different years, Togo and Yuna being the lucky exception to have class together, but they weren't her only friends. Itsuki couldn't say she knew too many, however. Compared to her sister's outgoing and loud energy, the younger Inubouzaki was more reserved and shy. She really wished that she could have some of her older sister's forwardness at times, they always made it look so easy and shameless, yet Itsuki was always too nervous to even try.

Oh, well. She had to focus on school today. Somebody had brought up a test looming on the horizon that had completely slipped her mind and she hadn't even studied for. This time of the year was shaping up to be so monstrously busy between assignments and the torrent of requests the Hero Club was getting. But, she still had fun with everyone, even through all the hard work, and always helped her sister. If only the school work could be as fun.

A loud, melodic sound split through the entire class room, causing most of the students to perk up in curiosity. Itsuki herself was no exception, for she'd never heard what appeared to be a cellphone's ringtone quite like this, but any curiosity rapidly turned to horror upon realizing the source.

It was coming from her backpack.

Itsuki's face immediately started flushing in embarrassment, the whole room's eyes on her.

"S-Sorry!" Itsuki squeaked, frantically fishing through her backpack and trying to find her phone. Why was it suddenly so hard to find?! How could she have forgotten to mute it during class like this too! This was so embarrassing….

"Inubouzaki-san, please remember to turn your phone off during class."

Her teacher's words, though gentle, still dug into her like a knife and forced out a distressed whine from Itsuki. But, like a ray of light, she finally found her phone at what felt comparable to a small eternity. Yanking the screaming device from her backpack, Itsuki quickly raised it to her face to silence the ringing, but what she saw on the screen caused her to freeze. It was a message she never saw before

"FORESTIZE WARNING. Vertex Approaching, deploy to protect humanity."

Just as the confused girl started to process it, the ringing miraculously stopped, the message vanishing along with it. Had she really read that right? Maybe she mistook it for something else, it'd only appeared for a second and half the words were complete nonsensee.

With a jolt, Itsuki realized she was still standing there like a dumbstruck fool and holding up the entire class. "I-I'm sorry, I'm not sure… why…?" Itsuki trailed off upon looking up from her phone.

Everything, everyone was completely motionless. They were all looking at her, but it wasn't like staring at a person, but more a still image, a statue even.

"H-Hello?" Itsuki nervously mumbled, scanning over the whole room and seeing not a single sign of life. She glanced out the window, but it raised only furrther questions. Leaves were suspended in mid-air and likewise utterly still, as if the wind stopped. Yet, it was so much more than the wind, for the leaves hung in midair like an invisibel force was keeping them motionless, not even gravity effecting it. It was as if the entire world but her stopped.

"A-Anyone?" Itsuki tentatively took a few steps forward into the isles between desks, half hoping if she moved by a significant degree it'd somehow restart the world, but such hope was in vain. Worries rising at the complete nothing happening, Itsuki cautiously made her way to the door. Nothing made sense rigt now, the message, the world, everything stopping. But, she couldn't just sit here forever. Her first thought was to check on the rest of her friends. Her older sister was always such a reliable figure that always knew how to handle the truly serious matters, maybe Fuu would know what to do. But what if her sibling was frozen too…?

Itsuki brushed the thought away with a shudder. No, her sister had to be alright. She just had to be, she always was.

Slowly, the girl slid open the classroom door and poked her head out, cautiously glaning down both sides of the hallway in hopes of seeing someone else, yet she saw nobody. Venturing out, Itsuki stepped further into the hallway for a better view and checked once moe, where she saw a sight that instanly subdued her nerves.

"Onee-chan!" Relief in every letter she spoke, Itsuki said while her older sister sprinted over and push two reassuring hands upon Itsuki's shoulders, panting. Itsuki knew she could always count on her sister. "I was so worried about you, onee-chan! Something weird's happening to everyone, and-"

"Itsuki."

"Huh?"

"Itsuki, listen carefully." Fuu's words were deathly serious, barely restrained anxiety beneath them. Likewise, her expression was grave and worried. Her tone and face were something Itsuki hadn't seen Fuu use since their parents had died.

"What is it?" Itsuki cautiously asked. She didn't like where this was headed.

"We're it." Fuu sounded almost angry with the words.

The younger sibling frowned, initially confused. Was this why Fuu had suddenly asked her about secrets yesterday? Did she know what was going on?

Before Itsuki could dwell on the ominous words, something in the corner of her vision happened which stole both her and Fuu's focus.

The entire sky, at the edge of the Shinju's barrier, split open as if somebody had vertically cut through space itself. The cut in reality rapidly parted and stretched apart, revealing a wonderous arrange of bright and vibrant colors of all kinds. Blue, red, white, mixes, it was like something out of a fantastical dream or an alien world.

But this was no dream. This was all very real.

And the wave of light was coming straight for them.

"Onee-chan!" Itsuki's terrified voice rung out as the ground started to tremble like an earthquake. The girl fearfully moved closer to Fuu, clutching her sister tightly as the wall of colors drew closer and she started trembling.

Fuu mirrored the gesture but kept any fear in check, protectively pulling Itsuki into her arms and angling herself in front of her sister like a shield.

Helpless, Itsuki could only watch the light envelop both of them and await what fate had in store.