In the girl's restroom, Homura rinsed her face with the sink's cold water to wash away the gathered sweat. It was refreshing. It removed all the fatigue in her. The restroom was empty as most of the students were outside in the cafeteria, so the sense of privacy Homura felt was appreciated. She closed the tap and dried her hands, using a nearby towel to remove the water on her face.

When she looked up and saw herself in the mirror, Homura ran a hand through her raven hair and looked closely at her reflection; what she saw was herself, or rather, a shell of her former self. She placed a hand on the misty glass, wondering what she was like when she still had her memories. Despite all these rather positive events that had been happening to her lately, she couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Something close to her. It felt almost wrong to be enjoying herself like this.

"... What am I... doing...?" she muttered, still wondering who she really was, why she was here in this city and school. Homura noticed a purple ring flickering on her left hand and touched it gently. The small gem was beautiful, polished, and rather entrancing, "Was this given... to me?" she pondered before shaking her head, trying to stay in a good mood. Letting out a heavy sigh. Homura walked out of the restroom and noticed Tateyama nonchalantly looking around the hallway with a box of food in his hand.

"There you are," he said and walked up to her. Tateyama stopped in his tracks when he noticed the melancholic look on Homura's face and gave the girl some distance, "The others were wondering where were you."

"I needed to refresh myself," Homura explained, looking away, "And some time to think."

Tateyama's sharp eye scanned her face, then closed and turned back to the hallway, "Head back to the classroom. Get your lunch. Mamoru's sending someone to bring you to the club-room later."

"Alright," Homura nodded and the boy left with one hand in his pocket with the other holding his cake. It wasn't even 5 meters when Tateyama suddenly stopped and turned around to give her a sudden, calm piece of advise.

"If you have problems, share it with someone," he said, sounding different than he usually did, "It's not healthy to keep things to yourself."

Homura's eyes widened and were fixed on the boy's back as he left quietly this time. Her lips pursed and the girl wanted to speak up, but Tateyama was already out of sight and earshot. Looking down at her feet, Homura then went back to her classroom through the opposite way of where Tateyama was going, rubbing her arm with one hand as she she thought of his words.

At the back of the empty classroom, Homura rummaged through her bag in search of her lunch that Narita had packed for her. Tateyama's words from earlier repeated in her head and she understood what he meant. She needed someone to talk to. But she did not know whom she could properly share her thoughts with. Possibly Narita? Hideki? Homura pondered, as she was unsure if the school nurse or the others could properly understand her plight and were the right people to talk to.

Managing to find her lunchbox, Homura also found a large, thick book inside her bag. Curious, she took it out and saw her name written onto the cover. Flipping the pages open, pictures and documents of strange, abstract creatures were plastered on the pages in perfect uniform order, "What is this?" she wondered as she grew disturbed from each drawing. At the last page, a strange lady, with a pale face and red lips, hung upside down as what were supposed to be legs, were large gears that stretched the edges of her blue dress. Small, black figures surrounded her and the drawer felt ominous the more Homura looked.

Homura closed the book after minutes of staring into the page and put it back in her bag, sighing, "Why did I create such a book?"

"Akemi?"

The black-haired girl snapped to where the voice came from and saw one of the first-year students standing at the doorway. She recognized her long, purple hair and short stature from this morning, "You are... Morikawa, right? M-Morikawa Yuri?"

"Yes. Are you lost?" the shorter girl asked, blinking. Looking around, Yuri saw that nobody was in the classroom but Homura. Not even the boys of the Freelancer club. Yuri stepped inside, inquiring, "Where are the others? Where's Tezuka and Hakamichi?"

"They told me to wait here," Homura explained, sitting down on her chair with her food on her lap, "One of them is supposed to bring me to their club-room."

Yuri huffed, not liking how the boys had the audacity to leave Homura alone like this. She then saw the unusual, gloomy expression on Homura's face and felt worried for her. Out of generosity and care for her well-being, Yuri offered, "How about I bring you there? I know where the club-room is."

Homura was hesitant to disobey orders, "But they told me to..."

"It's all right," Yuri went up to her and took Homura's hand, levering her out of her chair and bringing the taller, reluctant girl out of the transparent classroom. Her boxed lunch in her other hand, the two headed for the boy's club-room, walking through the near-empty corridors of the school's classroom section, "B-Besides, you looked kind of lonely in there."

Homura heard the pity in her voice and didn't want Yuri to worry about her. She thought of lying to explain her unusual mood, but she then remembered Tateyama's advice from earlier and couldn't bring herself to do so. She didn't know this girl very well, but since she was so insistent on helping her, Homura thought that maybe she could talk to her instead. With a heavy sigh, Homura admitted, "I was..."

"Anything bothering you?" Yuri asked worryingly, as they walked out of the classroom section and went down the spiral stairs of the school lobby. Some students stared at them as they passed by, but Homura didn't focus on them, "Akemi?" Homura had gone silent for a bit, the raven-haired girl trying to find a way to word her feelings.

They passed the stairs and entered a void hallway from the lobby. Homura suddenly let go of Yuri's hand and stopped, bringing her her hands to her chest, "I've been wondering... about that myself... I-I want to find out who I'm supposed to be. Ever since I came here, I had... the feeling that there was a sort of void in my life," she looked out of the glass windows beside her and peered at the sunlight coming through, "No matter how many times I try, that voids keeps reminding me of a purpose that I had forgotten."

"I am grateful for how everyone have been treating me kindly, looking out for me and such. But, I want to found out who I really am and just what is my purpose," Homura's eyes closed shut, Yuri still standing a few meters ahead of her, speechless, "But since I barely have any connection with anyone... I'm unsure if I'll ever find out. No one really knows just who I am and just what was my goal in my life," she took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, "I want to ask you this, Morikawa: Do you believe I'll ever get my memories back? Do you think I will remember who I'm supposed to be? Because... I'm not sure myself I will ever go back to who I was before and just remain a burden to everyone..."

The younger student remained silent for minutes as Homura freely gave out all the thoughts and doubts that had accumulated inside her mind. Yuri had never seen Homura like this. So frail, so scared, so doubtful. She was almost like herself, in contrast to that girl she had met at the gates yesterday. So, doing her best to cheer her up, Yuri kicked the air with one leg and smiled.

"Even though I only knew you for a day, Akemi... I believe you can do it. You never struck me as a person who gave up so easily. Yesterday, when I first say you, you looked so calculative; deep-in-though; s-so mysterious. And, you looked so determined, like you had a goal to achieve, unlike myself," her foot angled inwards and Yuri's fingers fidgeted, "Even without your memories, I don't think you've changed so much that you'll lose that determined side of yourself. After all, when I first saw you, I actually thought you were a bit cool. The kind of person I always wanted to be myself," Yuri laughed a little and a small, hopeful smile grew on Homura's face.

"Thank you, Morikawa," Homura bowed and Yuri, flustered from she had just said just now, waved off the formality.

"C-Call me Yuri," she insisted, "It's only natural for friends to do that, right?"

Continuing their walk with small chat between the two, that talk made Homura feel a lot better than before and properly relieved her of her built-up stress and doubts. She was grateful for Yuri's help and Tateyama's words as that gloomy frown Homura had slowly grew into a more confident smile. It was as if a large amount of weight had just removed from Homura's shoulders and she couldn't find the words that would properly thank the two.

In a few minutes, Homura and Yuri had reached section where the club-rooms were located. When they took a turn into another corridor, they ran into the tall, orange-haired Takamatsu Makoto, who had a contemplative look on his face and a few sheets of documents held under his arm. The tall senior paced back and forth in the hallway and he didn't seem to notice the pair until Yuri had called his name out, shaking his shoulder gently.

"M-Makoto!"

"Ah, Yuri. Akemi. Sorry. I was just thinking of something," he finally noticed them and bowed apologetically. Makoto extended a hand to Homura, and even if she didn't recognize him, she returned the gesture with an a small nod. Makoto then remembered that he had not formally introduce himself to her since her accident and remedied that fact, "Right, Akemi. I had forgotten about yesterday. Sorry, yet again," he cleared his throat, "I am Takamatsu Makoto, president of the Gym Club."

"H-Hello," Homura gave an awkward smile.

"What's wrong?" Yuri asked, "Your head was in the clouds just now."

Makoto frowned and rubbed the back of his head ruefully, "I'm sorry. It's just that yesterday, we had even more reports of people disappearing from the city. Sadly, that included a few of our teammates for the upcoming competition. None of their friends in the team know about their whereabouts or what happened to them. They just disappeared all of sudden," Makoto pinched the bridge of his nose, looking sorrowful.

Something about that line sparked a bit of life in Homura, "Where did the disappearances happen?"

"Everywhere. It's happening all around the city. Although we haven't asked their families about where they are right now, I still worry for them. They have been gone for a distressing amount of time," gesturing them to walk with him to the club rooms, the two followed the senior as he continued, "Right now, we're left with an undermanned team for the competition, so we're looking for new recruits; you wouldn't happen to have any interest in fighting, do you, Akemi?" he jokingly asked the girl beside him.

"E-Eh?" Homura stammered,"Sorry, I'm not really the type to fight..."

Makoto waved off the apology, chuckling, "I understand, but if you happen to know where are the others or do anything that could help with finding them, I'd be grateful. After all-" as they took a turn to the club-rooms, they were suddenly interrupted by the sight of Saeki Takehito striking Hideki in the face. Hideki hit the wall behind him with a grunt and the Gym Club member grabbed him by the collar to hold him up in the air.

"Say it again, Hakamichi! I dare you!" Takehito barked, his tight grip preventing Hideki from breathing properly.

But despite the blow to his face and the lack of oxygen, Hideki was looking at him dead in the eye with clenched teeth, trying to utter a dry insult through Takehito's iron grip, "I-It's not hard to replace someone in a team full of dumb-asses! I bet even someone f-from the Art Club could even replace your missing teammates! ""

"Takehito! Hakamichi! Stand down!" Makoto bellowed and went up to them as Takehito released the second-year student from his grip and bowed apologetically at his superior. Hideki fell to the floor, grasping his throat and coughing violently.

"S-Sorry, Captain. I was just..."

"Enough," Makoto's voice was stern, "Head back into the club room. Now," he looked down at Hideki, who fixed his collar and avoided the scolding glare Makoto gave him, "You, too, Hakamichi. Both of you. Any more fighting and I would have to report you both to the principal myself."

With a cocky grin directed at Takehito, Hideki opened the worn-out door the to the Freelancer Club and went back into the Freelancer club after he had given an apologetic look at Homura. She assumed that he was the one that was supposed to be picking her up from class, but got distracted by some business along the way. Takehito went back into the gymnasium as well, grumbling under his breath.

The orange-haired boy sighed. The two's fighting had been becoming more frequent and violent lately, unlike the short encounters they always had. But Makoto regained his composure and looked back at the pair, "Sorry about that. Anyways, I'll be heading back my club now. I guess I'll see you two later. Take care, Akemi," giving a bow, Makoto left for the gymnasium as Yuri gestured Homura head into the Freelancer club. Homura gave a gesture of appreciation for bringing her here and for earlier's talk and Yuri returned it with a smile.

Entering the club-room, Mamoru was giving a small lecture to a wounded Hideki as Tateyama sat in the middle of the long, messy table with a tube of medicine and his computer in front of him. The green-haired boy noticed Homura's arrival and gestured her to sit down before continuing where he had left off. Homura sat down on an empty chair and dug into her food, keeping quiet so that she wouldn't interfere in Mamoru's talk.

"As I was saying, since the their team is under-manned, I suggest that you wait for them to begin recruiting those from the other clubs if you and Tateyama are to join the team," Mamoru sternly advised instead of using his usual smug tone. His hands tented and his elbows on his table, Mamoru looked almost serious as he was speaking, "So I suggest that you not provoke them in anyway, understood? No matter what happens."

Tateyama gave a simple nod and Hideki sighed in defeat, rubbing some ointment on his sore face, "Fine..."

"Good," Mamoru went back to his usual demeanor and continued carving a piece of wood by his elbow bit-by-bit with a chisel, "Because I worry about what would happen if you 2 pushed them to their limits, I don't want anything unnecessary to happen that could potentially be dangerous to both of you. Also, I assume you had brought Homura here before you started that fight with Takehito?"

Hideki turned to Homura and scratched the back of his hand in embarrassment, "Sorry about just now... I couldn't help myself... Bastard kept pissing me off," he gave an apologetic nod which Homura waved off.

"I-It's fine," Homura modestly said, earning a raise of a brow from Hideki, "Really. It is. Morikawa - I mean - Yuri, had brought me here. I had a little talk with her on the way as well, so really, I'm fine," Homura looked across the table at Tateyama, who looked to be busy working on his laptop and didn't seem to take notice of her. She wondered how was she going to thank him for earlier, but then remembered that Tateyama isn't the type of person who wanted to be thanked. Quite proven by that time in P.E.

Hideki was a bit confused by her modest claim, but he was at least relieved that someone did bring Homura her. Relaxing back in his seat, he continued eating his lunch, until one question popped up in his head. He looked up from his food and realized one thing as he looked around, "Wait. Where's Takuya?"

Suddenly, the door burst open, making Homura jump in her seat. The club president of the Art Club, a third-year student with rounded glasses and a earrings, entered the room, fuming with anger. Tateyama and Hideki tried to ignore him by distracting themselves with their food, Homura just ate her lunch, and the only that acknowledged the student's presence was Mamoru, "What do you want?" he addressed him, annoyed and leaning his chin on one hand.

"Tezuka, one of your damn club members interrupted my art meeting outside and wrecked my club's drawing supplies!" he barked aggressively and slammed his hand on the table, making Homura jump again as the boys barely reacted. The impact of his fist on the table made some empty water bottles and soda cans tip over and fall to the floor.

Mamoru yawned, "What are you talking about?" Then, his dismissive tone trailed off as Takuya, his hair and uniform stained with paint and his face marked with bruises, limped into the room. All the while, he gave a small cheeky laugh and waved at them with a sore arm, "Takuya!" Mamoru worryingly exclaimed, getting up from his seat. The Art Club president pushed him back down on his seat and Mamoru shoved his hands away, growling, "Get your bloody hands off me!"

"We'll have to see the Council President for this, and you're taking full responsibility for his actions! Send a few of your boys to clean up the mess, too," he jerked a thumb to the doorway and glared at Tateyama and Hideki, who were helping the injured brunette sit down on a chair,"You two! Get off your asses and go clean up the mess outside!"

Mamoru sneered at him and without looking, gestured Hideki and Tateyama to head downstairs. The two nodded, making sure Takuya was alright before leaving to get some cleaning tools; Homura heard Hideki mutter a slight curse under his breath and Tateyama advising him to keep quiet. Homura was keeping still in her seat as she could see Takuya wincing and gripping at his injuries.

"Miss Akemi," Mamoru called for her attention, wanting to request something from her, "Can you please take Takuya to the infirmary?"

Homura nodded and quickly packed up her lunc. Carrying Takuya outside with one arm wrapped around her shoulder, the brunette tried protesting, claiming it was just a few scratches until he jerked in pain. Homura held the boy tight and carried him to the nurse's office to see if Narita or Mirai was there. Mamoru watched them as they went and then looked back at the Art Club leader, stating, "Don't waste my time."

Homura knocked on the door to the nurse's office and heard no answer, to Homura's confusion as she titled her head. Takuya muttered to open it and Homura slid the door to the side herself to see that the place was empty. There were no signs of anyone inside until a familiar freckled girl with black hair rushing into view. Her messy hair and wrinkled uniform implied that she was dozing off for a few minutes when Homura had arrived.

"Sorry about that! Ah... Takuya... Not again," she sighed and Takuya gave a small laugh as a greeting, "Why am I not surprised you had another accident?"

"I was p-practicing my archery on a tree branch just now and I had it under control," he defended, wincing and coughing between words, "Then I kinda slipped and fell..."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get over here," Mirai took Takuya off Homura's arms and settled him down on a bed with a few tissues to wipe off the paint on his face. She tucked him into the bed and looked back at Homura, immediately recognizing her from earlier, "Hey, you're that girl from this morning, right? Yeah, sorry for all that arguing you saw that morning," she gave an awkward laugh, "It happens. But thanks for bringing him here."

Homura nodded, sitting down on a stool, "We haven't introduced each other yet. My name Akemi Homura."

Mirai took out a few medical supplies from a nearby cabinet, taking out what she needed and bringing them to a table, "Name's Mirai, Ayatsuru Mirai. I'm Miss Narita's assistant here when she's not around. If you want to find her, she had gone to pick up Tomura from his school just now," while she spoke, she started treating Takuya's wounds carefully as the boy tried not to squirm, "Although she seemed to be in a hurry. Must have been something important."

"I see," Homura said, taking out the phone Tateyama had fixed. She felt a bit disappointed that she had just missed her.

"It got fixed already, huh?" Mirai pointed out, noticing the phone in Homura's hands, "Looks pretty good. As if you bought a new one," she joked.

"Ikezawa fixed it."

"Yeah, no surprised there. The guy's either fixing electronics, emptying a bag of chips or hitting a punching bag with Hideki," Mirai snorted, "He may not seem like it, but he does a lot of exercise with Hideki. The two work out a lot."

Minutes pass as Homura and Mirai talked while Takuya rested on the bed. At some point, Takuya claimed that he had already healed up until he jerked in pain again and reopened his wounds. Mirai reapplied the medical wraps while Homura finished up the lunch Narita had made for her. Closing the lunch box once she had finished it, Homura clasped her hands and thanked for the meal. Narita's cooking was actually pretty good, now that she had thought about it.

The office doors opened and Homura and Mirai turned around to see Tomura coming in, sitting in a wheelchair pushed by Narita. The wheelchair got Homura curious, wondering what happened as she noticed the small slight bruises on Tomura's face and body. They didn't look bad, but Tomura had looked like he had got in a bad accident. Nothing on Takuya's level though.

"Tomura?" Takuya sat up from his bed, clutching his stomach with bandages on his cheeks, "What happened to you, and where's your prosthetic legs?"

"I kinda... fell," Tomura bluntly explained, his tone dismissive and almost a bit suspicious, "I'm fine, though. There's nothing to worry about me. I guess it's one of the things that makes us brothers, huh?" he gave a small chuckle, but it did little to assure his older brother that everything was alright.

Mirai sighed, "Don't tell me you both have a knack for getting into accidents..."

Homura gave a silent nod at Narita and Tomura as they came in. The older woman sat beside her, leaning back in her chair, "So, how was your first experience in class today?"

"Okay, I guess," Homura took out Narita's repaired phone and handed it to the school nurse, "Here. Ikezawa already fixed it. He told me to give it to you."

Narita was visibly impressed by the repairs that had been made and turned it on to. The phone flashed open and the mobile came back to life. Narita was going to comment on the fast repairs when it suddenly rang in her hand. Narita went to a corner and out of earshot, looking puzzled by the caller ID. Quickly answering it, it looked to be a normal phone call, when suddenly, Homura noticed her expression turning grim. The call ended, Narita switched off the phone and placed it back in her pocket. Everyone in the room noticed the look of fear in her eyes and Homura had to shake her to get her attention.

"Miss Narita?"

"S-Sorry, I was just... It was from Kosaku," Narita ruffled her hair and looked back at Homura and the two Fujimaki brothers. Sitting down on her chair, she shuffled some documents on her table and stated, "I'll need to talk to you three and the other boys later. It's important. Got it?"

Hours later, after school, Narita, Homura and the boys sat in the Shanghai diner again. But unlike yesterday, they were not here to eat. Instead, the school nurse had gathered them all here so that she could tell them something. Narita had been looking troubled ever since that phone call she had received and it had started to worry the boys.

"Today, I want all of you to go and have fun in the city," Narita told them, her sudden words receiving confusion from Homura and the boys. She looked at Mamoru, Hideki and Tateyama and said, "I'll be calling your guardians and parents to pick you up later after their shifts are finished. Tateyama, can you send Homura, Takuya and Tomura back home for me, please?"

Tateyama nodded at the favor, but Hideki raised his hands in an attempt to slow her down.

"Wait, hold on. Miss Narita, what's going on here? Why the sudden change of plans?"

"I have... business to take care of. Don't worry, it's none of your concern. It's just something I want you all to do later," she tried explaining while hiding the obvious fear in her voice. The others wanted to ask the nurse about this, but they knew she wouldn't tell them what was really going on, "Think of it this way: I want you to spend some time with Homura and keep her company. None of you have been to the city in a while, right?"

Being the leader of the group, Mamoru spoke for them, "Alright, we'll go. But are you sure there is nothing wrong?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have things to do that involved work," Narita said, a hand reaching for the carton of cigarettes in her suit pocket.

With that, talks ended and Narita stood outside of the Shanghai as she watched the group head for the train station that lead to the main city. Homura looked back at her and Narita waved to send her off without any worry. Once they were gone and out of sight, Narita fished out a cigarette from her pocket and placed it between her lips. She looked aside and saw a small van parking beside her. The window dropped down to reveal a stern-looking Kobayashi with a nervous Kai driving the van.

Narita turned to them, speaking in a serious tone, "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, it's about Hachiko and Ken. Get in."