After watching three separate movies, those three teams came up to the stage and awarded each of them a trophy before they could return to their respective seats. It would be a while until the host declared the competition over. In its conclusion, Sakurako, her team, her sisters, and the Akazas proceed to find their friends somewhere near the stage. As it turns out, the students, particularly the student councils of both schools and the photography club, are holding a photo session there. Teachers gather around with the Nagibara movie teams to get a photoshoot.

Sakurako looked over the people near the session and saw her other friends from both schools were waiting for them. For once, seeing Kyouko excitedly waving her hand at them doesn't annoy her, assuming that Kyouko might have been thrilled with her movie. Nishigaki, Shihoko, Shiba, Sumida, and George were also there to greet her team. Himawari there seems so happy, but at the same time, looks… a bit on edge.

"Sakurako, yahoo!" Kyouko greeted.

"Kyouko-senpai," Sakurako greeted back. "How did the drawing contest go?"

"I got second place!" Kyouko responded.

"Really?" Yui widened her eyes. "I was so sure you'll get first place."

"Yui-senpai~!" Chinatsu stepped in with a brilliant smile. "I'm the one who got first place!"

Almost immediately, both Yui and Sakurako whiten their faces. The thought of Chinatsu winning the competition with such… interesting art was blasphemy at its best. Sakurako also does a double-take on Himawari and sees Himawari herself looks as if she's been slapped by a wooden plank for not believing this nonsense, probably still looking like that even before the movie. Shiba, Sumida, and George happened to look over and were quite puzzled to see Sakurako with such an expression.

"You… got first place?" Sakurako stuttered, aside from the sweat on her forehead.

"Wah, really?" Akari walked over to the pink-haired girl. "Can I see your drawing?"

"Sure," Chinatsu showed her drawing. "I'm a bit confused why my drawing got me in the first place, though."

Shiba looks over at the drawing. "Oh, wow, that's a pretty looking bird. No wonder you got first place."

Misaka also looks over, despite Sakurako's warning. "That's a perfect drawing, Chinatsu-chan."

"You think so?" Chinatsu asked. "It didn't take me a lot of effort for this one."

Sakurako and Yui have to share a confused glance before risking themselves to gaze upon her art. Although unprepared, they were shocked by the sight of a well-drawn mockingbird resting on a branch. The level of art that is almost comparable to Leonardo Da Vinci himself. The Oomuro blonde looks at Chinatsu's perplexed face, then the drawing again, twice.

"What the goddamn?" Sakurako finally quoted Yui's swearing from her own movie in a whisper.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Chinatsu misheard.

"Nothing," Sakurako shook her head. "I was just… speechless."

"Indeed," Shihoko added, clasping her hands on her tummy. "She's quite ahead of Kyouko-san if I have to admit."

Both Yui and Sakurako look at the ribbon-head blonde, who gives a shrug in response.

"I'm so envious of you, Chinatsu-chan," Furoda admitted, feasting upon her art with such contentment. "Do you think you could teach how to draw like that?"

"I can teach you if you want," Chinatsu offered.

Sakurako simply smiled while Yui chuckled with concern. "Right," they both responded simultaneously.

"By the way, Sakurako," Saoki digressed. "You and your team have made such a brilliant movie."

"Yeah, in such a good way, too. I like that the main characters didn't end up dying as most horror movies do," Misaka played her index fingers together. "But I'm a bit disappointed that it was a cliffhanger in the end."

Chinatsu surprisingly pouts at Sakurako. "Ooh, Sakurako-chan. I can't believe you managed to make a movie so scary, but no one important ends up dying in the end. I was screaming to the top of my lungs, you know?"

"Y-yeah," Kyouko added, oddly with anxiousness. "It was… quite a heart-beating experience."

Sakurako looks over the long blonde's posture and finds a… disturbing mark on her left arm as if a ghost had plastered his hands on her arm. Yui also caught notice of this and started to question if this pink-haired girl was a force not to be reckoned with.

"I can understand that…," Sakurako trailed off.

"To be frank, we're still quite frightened of our movie, too," Chitose added, with her twin sister nodding in agreement.

"It was pretty tense, wasn't it?" Nadeshiko asked them.

"It is," Shihoko agreed. "Too tense for my liking, being in a tight corridor and with all those monsters around."

"Shame you weren't sitting on the teacher's spot," Nishigaki added, her hand holding her hip as usual. "Kitamiya-sensei couldn't even look at the movie, and Tsubasa-sensei almost jumped out of her seat with those few jump-scares."

Sumida merely deadpans at her. "They're standing right behind you, Nishigaki."

The science teacher immediately turned around, and boy Kitamiya and Tsubasa weren't amused. Thankfully, Kitamiya sighs out of annoyance rather than retorts at her.

"Yes, I can't stand the thought of my students getting cut up by those… laggers…." Kitamiya is even unsure why that name is both funny and terrifying. "I didn't even think they actually made it out of that."

"Well, Sakurako-san," Tsubasa called, though blushing a little from embarrassment from her fright. "I found your monsters… disturbingly creative."

"Thank you, Tsubasa-sensei," Sakurako bowed.

Sakurako turns to George, who's pointing a thumb in a direction. "Their teams just finished taking photos. The photographer is asking for your team."

Chizuru sighs in exasperation. "Why do we even have to take a photo session?"

"It's proof of what our students have achieved," Kitamiya firmly explained. "Come on now, let's get yourselves some photos."

"Hai," Sakurako's team responded.

NIshigaki turns to the trio of adults who assisted with the movie. "You too, guys."

"Um…," Shiba awkwardly stepped back. "I don't think that would be necessary for me-."

"Well, well, our 'friend' becomes cowardly now, huh?" Sumida grinned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's the matter, Shiba? Afraid that the students see your ugly face?"

"Do you have to be that mean, detective-san?" Hanako asked.

"What?" Sumida asked back. "This is my way of encouraging her."

Akane crosses her arms. "I can see you two are pretty close."

Shiba's and Sumida's brains seem to process that information for the past few seconds before they both turn at her. "What?"

"Oh, never mind~," Akane deflected playfully.

"Guys, come on!" a voice called out, finding it out to be Ayano's voice near the photographer. "She's waiting for you!"

George tilts his head as if pointing. "Let's get to it."

When everyone begins to walk toward the session, Sakurako feels a soft tug on her right arm. Sakurako turns around to see Misaka holding onto her arm. Sakurako looks at her friends moving to the session and turns back at her. In a slight moment, she notices that Misaka is frowning, not knowing if she's upset or troubled by something.

"Is… is something wrong?" Sakurako asked, sounding almost weary to her own ears.

"There's something I need to tell you," Misaka replied. "After the photo session, I want you to meet me on the west side, outside the school building."

Sakurako narrows her eyebrows. "Why? Do you need any help?"

"N-no, not help," Misaka quickly replied. "It's just… it's something important. I need to go now. Don't bring anyone with you. I'll wait for you there."

Misaka immediately walks away toward one of the auditorium's exits. Sakurako tightens her eyebrows at her early leave before returning to the session. As soon as she walks there, she finds Himawari waiting for her. There was also a flick of concern in her golden eyes.

"Did something happen?" Himawari inquired as they walked.

"I don't know," Sakurako answered. "She told me to meet her again after the photo session."

"What for?" Himawari asked again.

"She said she has something important to tell me," Sakurako replied.

Himawari raises her eyebrow. "We'll meet her after this then."

"Hima-chan," Sakurako immediately added. "She said to not bring anyone with me."

The blunette's stare immediately turns to glare. "Is this something personal?"

"I'm not sure," Sakurako replied, looking away for a moment. "She didn't say if it's personal or not."

"I see," Himawari spoke with slight disappointment. "Then you should meet up with her."

"I will," Sakurako responded before she joined for a photoshoot.

Himawari only stands there for a while, looking towards the auditorium door Misaka used for an exit. She can only wonder what important thing she's planning to tell Sakurako.


After what must have been a few minutes of the photo session, Sakurako soon makes her way out of the auditorium and heads westward of the building through the plaza. No stalls nor people were anywhere near the westward side aside from a small column building across both auditorium and school building, but it wasn't quite a surprise for her. Turning a corner to the right, she finds Misaka resting her back against the wall, playing around with her fingers on her chest. Misaka is resting near the other end of the corner.

Sakurako marches toward her as Misaka turns upon hearing her footsteps. Misaka quickly smiles as she hops off the wall.

"I'm glad you came," Misaka gladly commented. "It must've taken you long back there."

Sakurako stares into her eyes for a moment. "It was a 5 minutes photo session. It's not that long."

"Well, it's pretty long to me," Misaka looked behind the blonde. "No one is with you, right?"

"I already told my friends not to come with me," Sakurako bluntly replied.

Misaka then flattens her eyelids. "You don't have to tell them that, you know?"

"Oh, I shouldn't have?" Sakurako asked back in surprise.

Despite her bluntness, Misaka chuckles as she steps closer. "Sometimes you're so endearing when you are gullible, Sakurako."

"Well…," Sakurako blinked in discomfort. "I am still an idiot, though…."

"Don't say it like that, Saa-chan," Misaka smiled as she patted her head. "I think you're smart. Don't mock yourself."

"Yes," Sakurako nodded. "Anyhow, you said you have something important to tell me."

"I do."

"Is there a trouble?"

Misaka suddenly leans her head back. "That's your first concern?"

Sakurako widens her eyes and then immediately looks away. "Uh, I…."

"Don't worry, I don't have any trouble," Misaka assured, then playfully glared at her. "Unless you did something naughty."

"Uhm, I-," Sakurako stuttered. "I had a fight with those bullies, but that's it."

"Must be fun being a white knight out there, right?" Misaka asked with a grin.

Sakurako becomes more confused. "I don't even have a knight outfit."

MIsaka awkwardly drops her head a bit while keeping that false smile. "Okay, I think I should stop teasing her," Misaka thought.

"Anyway," Misaka cleared her throat. "The reason I want you to meet me here is that… I want to confess to you about something."

The Oomuro blonde raises her eyebrow. "What is it?"

"W-well," Misaka took a slow deep sigh. "The truth is… I like you- no…. I love you, Saa-chan."

Sakurako raises both of her eyebrows, unexpected but unsure how to respond to her declaration. "Y-you're my friend. Of course, I also love you too, Misaka-chan."

Misaka looks on dead into her eyes, at which she pouts as her right-hand caresses her purple side ponytail, probably out of annoyance. Then she looks away, still pouting and her arms crossed on her chest. Now Sakurako is even more confused.

"You don't get it, do you?"

"I'm sorry?"

Misaka steps closer to her, standing so close right in front of her. "Ever since that incident at the store, I always wanted to meet my savior once again to thank you for saving my life. And since I finally met you again while I'm still in the hospital bed, I just… I felt warm knowing you were there for me. You were worried for me. You even spend time with me for fun. I began to like you from that time until now."

Sakurako then notices her cheeks are red. "Why are you blushing?"

"You still don't understand? Geez…," Misaka then gently pushed her against the wall.

"Misaka, wha-"

"Can't you see it? I love you, Sakurako, from the bottom of my heart."


Himawari is still sticking around outside the auditorium, talking to Sakurako's sisters, Sumida and Ayano. It was just a way to waste time after the conclusion of the movie contest and get to know how people feel about the contest. With all her heart, she can say that the movie contest was so thrilling.

However, Ayano is laughing her ass off to herself. "Pffft… they actually called those monsters laggers."

"Yeah, sounds kinda stupid, isn't it?" Sumida inquired with a lazy smile.

"Maybe, but that's actually brilliant," Ayano replied. "I don't think I would keep laughing if they actually exist."

"That's an interesting thought," Nadeshiko replied. "Honestly, I didn't think you would end up in the movie, Sumida-san."

"Sakurako kinda asked me too," Sumida commented. "Shame that Shiba didn't want to take part as an actor."

This is where Himawari begins to wonder. "How did you know Shiba-san, though? It seems you two are having a little dispute."

"Let's just say she's breaking petty rules too much," Sumida sighed. "That's how I know her."

"She seems kind, though," Hanako doubtfully commented.

"Careful, kid," Sumida replied. "Looks can be deceiving, especially a witch like her."

"Oh, mocking someone now, are we?"

"Ah, Shiba-san," Himawari greeted as the beautiful woman joined the circle. "I assumed you finished wrapping things up with the teachers?"

"Yep, the teachers from Nagibara are looking for Sakurako, though," Shiba replied. "They wish to have a little chat with her. But I can't seem to find her anywhere."

"Oh, I know where she went," Himawari then volunteered. "Should I get her?"

"You go do that, my dear," Shiba humbly replied. "Don't want to keep the teachers for too long."

"Of course."

Himawari then takes her to leave and heads westward of the school building, entering from the food stalls area. It did not take long for her to reach there and note how absent that area was. She was about to turn a corner when she glanced at something incriminating. Instead of calling them out, she hid back at that same corner, peeking out carefully at the two girls.

To see Misaka pinning Sakurako against the wall is so bizarre. Frighteningly intimate, in fact, by how Misaka is holding her arms. She could see that Misaka was saying something to Sakurako and vice versa, but she could only hear a fragment of their words from where she is. Tentatively, she sharpens her ears as best as possible to make out what they say.

"…are you this blunt when it comes to love?"

"Misaka, I don't understand."

Love? The blunette might have misheard it. There's no way she loves her, not with a gullible girl like her. Hope that is the case.

"Tell me, Sakurako. Do you like me?"

"Y-yes, I do like you, Misaka."

"As a friend?"

"Yes."

Himawari furrows her eyebrows. "What is she trying to do?" she thought to herself.

"I like you, Sakurako," Misaka pronounced a little aloud. "But more… than as a friend."

Misaka immediately leans her head against Sakurako's and kisses her lips.

A thunder strikes the blunette, unconsciously taking a step back as if suffering a stab in her chest. Himawari couldn't keep her jaw shut as she watched the two smooched each other, particularly when Sakurako processed its intimate act with her eyes closed. Inside her mind, Himawari is begging Sakurako to push her away, but keeping that thought locked in her head is already vain. Sakurako didn't try to resist and fully embraced her touch.

It feels as if Sakurako unintentionally betrayed Himawari.

The moment Misaka stops kissing her, Himawari quickly hides behind the corner and covers her mouth with her hands. What she had seen alone was so jarring that she had to repress herself from voicing a word. But she couldn't hold back a single tear, knowing that very scene would never leave her memory. Her mind jumbled during this confliction of thoughts.

"Misaka-chan," Himawari heard her as she peeked out. "Is this how you love people? Kiss the person you like?"

Misaka chuckles at her question. "Only for special someone, like you, Saa-chan."

"I see…. It feels… weird… wrong…."

"It is…," Himawari whispered, shaken. "How could…?"

"Saku-chan," Misaka paused as she smiled. "Promise me don't tell anyone what we did here."

"… why?" Sakurako asked, seemingly still innocent of what they just did.

"It would be embarrassing, you know?" Misaka chuckled at the clueless blonde. "You don't just tell people we did something we shouldn't."

"Okay."

Himawari wants to end whatever Misaka is doing to her dearest Oomuro, but she couldn't bear another fight, not after they literally fought those bullies. So instead, she kept silent and decidedly moved away from the corner. After repressing her hurtful emotions away, she then walks into the open and looks to her left to pretend she is looking for someone.

"Oh, Himawari," the blunette turned at Misaka's voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, there you are," Himawari replied, managing to convince them with her usual tone. "I hope I didn't interrupt something."

"Don't worry about it. We're just about to finish our conversation," Misaka assured her, though her red cheeks are almost hard to notice. "Do you need anything?"

"I was looking for Sakurako," Himawari turned at the said blonde. "The teachers of Nagibara would like to speak with you."

Sakurako tilts her head. "They're still in the auditorium?"

"Yes," Himawari nodded.

Sakurako turns to the side-ponytailed student council. "Are you coming with me?"

"Sure, I got nothing else to do."

"Okay, follow me," Himawari told them.

Himawari soon leads them to Shiba before the woman leads them to the teachers. The teachers certainly had many questions about the aspects that Sakurako used in the movie. It'll take them a while, but they were finally able to watch the last contest for the evening and its closing ceremony.


Sakurako, Himawari, and their sisters are on the way home on foot, including Himawari's mother. The walk itself is uneventful as they watch the evening sun sinking on the horizon. The path they choose isn't rowdy, but some students from other schools picked this path on their way home. The group busies themselves with chats as they walk.

"Oh my, it cost you that much to make that movie?" Himawari's mother inquired.

"Yes," Sakurako nodded. "Shiba-san covered that for my team, though."

"It seems…," Kaede, Himawari's little sister, paused. "It sounds like most of that money is spent on those fake bullets and guns."

Sakurako stares at her, a look of impression. "You're not wrong. We used up more than 1000 bullets for training and acting."

"I did not expect to be that specific," Nadeshiko procured a drop of sweat on her forehead.

"How much does a blank bullet cost, anyway?" Hanako curiously asked.

"Hmm… we used different bullets, but a 9mm bullet costs 55 yen per round…," Sakurako trailed off. "For a 5.45 rifle round… 120 yen per round-."

"Okay, I think I get the idea, Saku nee-chan!" Hanako quickly interrupted. "Jeez, you really are enthusiastic about guns."

"Well, aside from that," the Furutani mother said. "I heard from your teachers that they're considering putting out your movie on the web."

Sakurako stops in her tracks, and Himawari does the same; the bluenette turns at her mother. "They're going to do that? Really?"

"Yes, honey," the mother responded. "After they discovered how much budget spent for the movie, they think it is worth as a nominee for a short movie award for junior high students."

The blunette sighs and turns at Sakurako. "It seems you took another two steps ahead again."

"Huh?" Sakurako looked confused. "We just did more than one thousand steps."

"That's not what she meant, you baka," Hanako responded rather than retorted. "She's saying that you achieved your goal ahead of us."

After Sakurako nods in acknowledgment, Himawari then decides to ask. "What did Misaka tell you back there?"

Sakurako seems to doze off a little, then turns her head. "I'm sorry, what was that again?"

"What did Misaka tell you back there?"

"Hmm," Sakurako turned forward. "I can't tell you."

The blunette raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because she told me not to," Sakurako replied. "I don't understand, but she said it would be embarrassing if I told you."

Himawari almost leans her head back. "I-is that so? I see."

"Do you want to stop by our home, onee-chan?" Kaede asked toward Sakurako. "I want to play with you this evening."

"Hmm, I want to sleep over at Himawari's place," Sakurako turned at her sisters. "But I promised Hanako to sleep with her tonight."

The Oomuro sisters look at each other before looking back at their second sister. "Actually, I think I can sleep over at Kaede's place," Hanako replied.

Sakurako raises her eyebrow. "But what about mom?"

"I'm sure she won't mind," Nadeshiko assured her. "I'll let her know."

Himawari side-glances at the dull blonde. Despite knowing that Misaka had kissed her, what Sakurako said had confirmed her assumption. Sakurako is foreign to love, not sisterly love, but in a concept that a couple loves each other. From this point of perspective, a sense of hope begins to fill her heart. But also a question that somehow didn't cross her mind after watching Sakurako gets kissed.

"Do… I truly love Sakurako that much despite her setbacks? Despite… that she might like Misaka more than me?"


10:00 PM. Somewhere in the slums.

Heavy rain clouds over the entire empty city; its intensity is almost similar to the rain of ice rocks hitting the roofs. Not forget to mention the strong winds that swept throughout the streets of the neighborhoods. The alleys, however, proved to be an adequate shelter from the gusty winds and would be much better if the alleys had roofs to protect them from the rain. The dark night is also unhelpful in quelling the weather as the cold temperature drastically drops, so it's possible to receive minor hypothermia or fever.

In one of these alleys, a man braves through the storm, knocking on a door of a grey building. The slit on the door opens, revealing eyes scanning the man's face. After a while, the doorman shut the slit and opened the door, allowing him to enter the premises. The man undid his raincoat and hung it on a vacant chair before greeting the doorman and finding his friend, possessively straightening his slick mustache along the way.

There were several men, part-timer crooks, who were playing mahjong and cards to waste their time upon entering the next room. When he saw the man with the silver earring sitting alone at his table, he sat across from him, noticing that his friend was both smoking and texting on his phone. His friend then puts down his phone and ticks his cigar to let the ash drop.

"You're five minutes late, Matsuzaki," his friend replied. "You slipped on the road?"

"The damn weather changed out of the blue!" replied the pixie-haired man. "Wonder why people keep listening to that stupid broadcast when they can't even read the damn weather."

"They still make money out of it, though," his friend replied absentmindedly.

"Money-rubbing newscaster," Matsuzaki rubbed his wet mustache. "So, why'd you call me here? You want a playmate or…?"

"I called you here because I got some news to tell you," his friend replied.

Matsuzaki starts to grin. "You finally found someone who can bootleg for us?"

"I found a guy from Hamamatsu to do the job for us," his friend replied. "He even got us some rums to sell around these parts."

"Just like pirates. Ah, the old times," Matsuzaki clapped his hands. "What about the rest of the gold bars? We only pawned some at a couple of local shops."

"I managed to pawn it to someone outside of town," his friend puffed out a fog.

"Nice, Sashiga," Matsuzaki leaned against the table.

"And that gambling business downtown?" Sashiga told him. "No one caught wind of it just yet."

"Brilliant news as always, friend," Matsuzaki paused and began noticing the rare upsetting look on his face. "But it seems something bad happened, huh?"

Sashiga scratches his scruffy hair before putting his cigar on the ash bowl. "Jin's got clapped."

Matsuzaki furrows his eyes tight, lifting himself from the table as he glares. "What? When?"

"Last night," Sashiga replied. "It was in the news. A shootout in the port due north."

"Oh, I heard about that. Didn't think he ends up dead there," Matsuzaki leaned against the chair. "Didn't he say he was getting some guns from a smuggler?"

"Yeah, he's also there to ship some girls out," Sashiga nonchalantly replied. "I got a word that the police intervened in the middle of the exchange before the gun sellers smoke him and his men out."

"Shit," Matsuzaki rubbed the stray hairs off his forehead. "Any idea who clapped him?"

"There's one. He mentioned he's buying some guns off of Shiba Matsubara," Sashiga responded. "You heard about her."

"Oh, that rich smuggling woman?" Matsuzaki widened his eyes. "You're telling me he pulled a fast one, and she took him out?"

"She could be. Jin must be an idiot to think that he can backstab her like the other small-timers," Sashiga replied. "But I just heard something surprising. The news said that the Sentinels were there."

"Those vigilante freaks?" Matsuzaki shook his head. "What? They disguised as gun sellers before taking him out?"

"That's the best conclusion I have," Sashiga replied. "These people keep popping out of nowhere and taking out our fellow partners more effectively than those cops. It's bad for business. The problem is that we don't know who these people are, and that's where you come in."

"Well, what do you need from me?"

"I like you to do some research about this woman and see if she has something to do with Jin's death."

"I can do that," Matsuzaki then pointed at his friend. "What about you, boss?"

"I'll see if I can scrounge up some lead about the Sentinels," Sashiga replied. "The sooner we find them, the better."

"And when we find 'em?"

"You know what to do."

"Understood," Matsuzakiplaced his hands on the table. "While I'm still here, why don't we play poker?"

Sashiga looks up at him and grins. "How much money you got?"


Same time. Himawari's Apartment.

The heavy drops of rain are banging against the window. Although its sounds were muffled, Himawari could see how fierce the weather was. The temperature itself is acceptably cold, so Himawari saw no need to turn on her air conditioner. Even the chill is pecking her exposed skin. While Himawari watches her windows, Sakurako and the little sisters are currently playing monopoly in the middle of the room. Hanako was close to bankruptcy there.

"How are you this good, Kaede?" Hanako commented. "I don't even have five houses yet, but you already have ten of them."

"I told you, Hanako-chan," Kaede joyfully replied. "I'm good at this game."

"I think it's your turn now, Kaede," Sakurako reminded.

"Oh? Okay, throwing my dice."

Himawari turns at the playing group, at which point seeing her little sister frown.

"Aw, I got locked up in the jail."

"You'll get your turn, Kaede," Hanako held the dice to her chest. "Let's see if I can win this round."

Himawari looks out the window again to watch how the massive rain obscures the sight of the nighttime city. A cup of warm tea would be preferable at this time of day. She only watches for what must've been felt like a few minutes when she turns at the players and finds Sakurako ended up losing the game, leaving only Hanako and Kaede to compete with each other.

Himawari raises an eyebrow. "How did you lose?"

"Bankrupt," she simply replied.

"You used to be good playing this game," Himawari commented.

"I guess I haven't played it for a long time," Sakurako admitted, lying on the bare floor.

A muffled thunder booms in the distance; its light slightly startles the inhabitants of the room.

"Jeez, that scared me!" Hanako sighed. "This is the second time the weather broadcast got it wrong."

"I'm pretty thankful that it rained after the competitions," Kaede optimistically added.

Himawari looks out the window again. "I hope we don't suffer a blackout during this intense storm."

"Hmm," Sakurako simply acknowledged.

Himawari suddenly remembers while turning at the resting blonde. "Did you bring your alcohol?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Hanako is here," Sakurako's reply had her little sister staggered. "She can help me sleep."

"Oh?" Himawari crossed her arms. "Hanako sings a lullaby for you?"

"No," Sakurako absent-mindedly replied; the blunette had expected her to retort at the sarcasm. "Having Hanako lying next to me helps me sleep."

"S-Sakurako nee-chan!" Hanako blushed and had her eyes shut. "You don't have to answer that!"

"Oh?" Kaede showed her interest. "I usually slept by myself. Onee-chan?"

"What is it, Kaede?" Himawari heeded her call.

"Can I sleep together with you on my bed tonight?"

Himawari smiles at her request. "Of course, Kaede."

Hanako looks up at the clock in the room. "It's getting late. I think we should sleep."

Himawari turns at the little Oomuro. "I'll let you and Sakurako have the top bunk."

"Thank you, Hima nee-chan," Hanako nodded.

"I'll pack this board game," Sakurako offered.

Kaede also helped Sakurako pack them up, whereas Hanako climbed up the top bunk. After Sakurako climbs the top bunk and Kaede in her bed, Himawari turns off the light before joining her little sister. Himawari notices a soft, snoring voice from above her in just a couple of minutes. Not only does she know they are sleeping, but her little sister beside her is sleeping like an adorable and cuddly blue teddy bear. Himawari smiled for a moment, and then her mind focused on the top bunk's ceiling. She wants to sleep, but her pained heart won't let her.

"Sakurako, why'd you let her ki-…. No, no, why do I keep thinking about it? It's not that I like her… I think…."

Himawari shakes her head. It distresses her so much just to think about Sakurako's well-being, to think Misaka made her first move against her dear Oomuro. Then again, Sakurako is still ignorant about love from what she sees this far. Himawari frowns to herself and sighs.

"I'm overthinking it. I guess I shouldn't tell her. For now, I should spend some time with Sakurako."

It took her a while to finally close her eyes and access the land of dreams.