Had I finally failed?

There is a feeling as though a haze has permeated and blurred every fiber of my being. It takes more effort than I am comfortable with to string my thoughts together and form something coherent. Why can't it all just be a dream? I would give anything for this to come to such an unsatisfying ending.

What more must I go through in this realm of celluloid and sakuga? If Makoto's dead, everyone's safe. He is the catalyst of every possible bad ending. If blood is spilt it's because of him. Right? This world can breath at last, free of this wretch prowling Tokyo's streets. Wait, no not Tokyo… What was the name of this place? Doesn't matter, everyone gets to live. World peace at last. I have stifled the evil of this overflowing well and set humanity on a course for a brighter future.

Kotonoha.

Yeah? What about her?

I found myself staring out the window of our classroom. The folds of my brain failed to understand the strange images leaking in through my eyes. The outside world appeared so much messier than I was used to, like it was all drawn by crayon in the fist of an infant. The sun seemed brighter than usual, but it didn't hurt like it should. Did I always have a window seat? A sound from behind caught my attention and I turned in my chair without making a sound.

There they sat, Makoto, Sekai, and Kotonoha, laughing, their mouths stretched wide as though nobody had nearly kicked and punched each other to death, as though nobody had been sexually assaulted. As though nobody's blood had been splattered on the tile of a messy kitchen with a dirty knife.

I stood up, or rather I already had. I looked down in confusion at my feet. They appeared to be acting of their own will. It didn't matter. I walked over to the group, envious of the happiness sparkling in their eyes and the laughter falling from their mouths. This was where I belonged, the moment I wanted to stay in forever. I needed this. My steps took a frustrating eternity, like each foot was tied to the ground with giant rubber bands. I couldn't feel the floor, and I missed that satisfactory feeling of the traction between my soles and the tile. I called out to them, tried to ask them what was so funny, but only silence came from my mouth.

Finally, after years of walking, I could hear them. They chatted excitedly, loudly. I listened to their words, anticipating the glee I would soon share with them, but I could not understand a single word they said. The words they used made no sense, not to me anyway. They spoke faster than my ears could keep up. No. Here and there a word caught my attention, something familiar but still not any language I spoke. Why were they talking like this? Was it a joke?

I reached for them but found my arm too short. When I brought my hand to my face it appeared stained dark maroon with a substance that had dried long ago. I could hear someone gargling out pleas for help and the fleshy echo of metal slicing through tissue. The scent of warm pennies registered in my brain. A high-pitched whine was now all I could hear. I tried to scream, but still there was only silence in my throat. I looked to my friends and found them muted, crumpled to the ground like dolls, lifeless and covered with the same dark substance. Tracks of dried tears glistened from their dead eyes.

"何?"

I screamed.

"Rupert what's wrong?"

When I blinked the brightness of a lamp away I could only see Sekai's worried face inches from my own. I relaxed my tense muscles and fell back onto a soft pillow. A rave party thumped and wub-wubbed away inside my chest. It took a moment to wrangle my lungs and stop my breathing catching in my throat. My clothes were drenched and I felt a perilous need for that trash bin in the corner, but other than that I was fine. I could only recall the slightest etch of what my sleeping brain had just conjured.

"Bad dream?" Sekai said after handing over my glasses.

I attempted a nod that came out stiff.

On a white wall a silent clock swung its arms beyond eleven. Almost a quarter till. A nurse rolled by the door with a noisy metal cart, cold utensils chiming with the imperfections in the cart's aged wheels. I wasn't in the infirmary this time, but a full fledged hospital. Sekai sat in a vanilla chair at my bedside and Kiyoura had her face glued to a magazine by the window. Otome looked over to me with a wobbly smile. I wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't want to see me. Yuuki's presence caught me by surprise, and his face mirrored the fading panic I felt in my chest. I guess I had screamed myself awake.

"Are blackouts something you're prone to?" Sekai said.

"It never used to happen. It's disorienting waking up somewhere I don't remember being."

She snaked her hand onto my own. I appreciated the comfort and squeezed back. The memories took their time clicking back into place, but it came to me. The image of Makoto assaulting her… my chest clenched.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Hmph, don't worry about me. I'm not the one half-naked in a hospital bed." The silly look on her face reassured me, but I had my doubts.

"How's he doing?" I asked as I reached a slow hand to the back of my neck. Every muscle in my body moaned in agony. My tussle with Makoto would not be so easily forgotten.

Kiyoura stirred in her seat.

"He's just had a few stitches, it was never more than a nasty cut," Sekai said. "You're both to be released within the next hour."

"No questions? No police?"

She shook her head and whispered, "As far as anyone is concerned, the whole thing was just a bad accident. Not even Makoto spoke up about it, of course he would be in a great deal of trouble if he did."

I looked around again.

"Where is she?"

A shadow loomed over Sekai's face.

"I don't know, she disappeared almost as soon as it all happened."

My lungs expanded deeply and I sighed. Kotonoha's empty gaze stared at me from under my eyelids, soulless eyes of destruction and despair. Witnessing them first hand was nothing like watching them from the screen of a monitor. Looking into eyes like that did something to me, brought out a fear I only thought I had experienced before. They would haunt me to my last dying breath. A sweet girl, a friend, devolving into something so inexplicably malicious and terrorizing. When had it gone so wrong?

I tried to squeeze the sheets of the hospital bed but my bruised hands refused to grasp much tighter. It hurt to think back about how close I had felt to achieving peace among their lives.

I had failed her. Behind that cheery mask she hid from me the reality of her relationship with
Makoto. If tonight's attack was any indication, he had never taken his eyes off Sekai, and I think Kotonoha knew. From the look on Yuuki's face, I wondered if he felt the same. Did he know what really happened in that kitchen?

"I need to speak with her," I said.

"Rupert," Sekai said. "I know Kotonoha is our friend, I want to know what's wrong too, but she's clearly not herself. She wasn't earlier, at least. Maybe it would be better if you spoke with her tomorrow after we've all had a good night's sleep."

I wanted to laugh. Sleep? After all this? Not a chance. I've been dealt another bad hand and now I was going to pay for it with a restless night of possibly empty attempts at formulating some kind of plan.

"She saved my life, Sekai," I sighed. "Kotonoha only acted the way she did out of defense."

"Would he have actually used that knife?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But he sure made a show of it in there."

If I had to stay much longer the hospital would have been my only bed for the night. We had just enough time to make the last train. Sekai assured me she would have stayed the night by my bed if it came to it. I failed to hide the blush from anyone. On our way out when we asked the hospital staff about Makoto we were told he had already checked out. He was with company when he left.

"I forgot to mention," Yuuki said as our group walked through the night to the nearest railway station. "Your mother came by while you were asleep. She wanted you to call her as soon as you woke up. She's sorry she couldn't stay since she's working late. I thought she was going to faint."

"That's fine. I don't really feel like talking about the whole snafu anyways. I'll see her when I get home."

No one brought the incident back up. Instead we concerned ourselves with how late it was and how exciting tomorrow's events would be.

We had only a few minutes to spare when we reached the train. Eager for their beds after an eventful day, everyone plopped down on the seats closest to the door. Sekai insisted on sitting within my personal space bubble, her head on my shoulder. After only a short ride Yuuki stood up.

"This is my stop. I'm glad you're okay, Rupert. We'll hang out during the festival tomorrow."

I nodded. "Sure, Yuuki. Thanks for stopping by."

I could text him later, but I probably wouldn't feel up to it. I felt guilty over dragging him back into this mess. At this point, he was the purest soul among us, he deserved his time with Kitsuregawa.

One by one our group dwindled as our respective stations came to pass. Otome left quietly, never quite looking in my direction. I tried to send her a friendly wave, but I don't know if she noticed. I still felt horrible about brushing her feelings away, but how did one proceed in such a situation? Her friendship was extremely valuable to me, a potential friend to Kotonoha in a school full of venomous jealousy.

When Sekai's turn to leave came up her grasp on my hand tightened.

"Think you can handle waiting until tomorrow to see me?" she teased.

"I can't make any promises. The horror of it might force me to skip town."

"Hmph, you should watch what you say to me with a busted face like that."

I winced when she placed a warm hand on my cheek with a tenderness I did not deserve. She feigned a pout before her eyes softened. A sly look overcame her before she zoned in and placed a quick peck on my swollen skin.

"Don't go fainting in front of anyone else. See you tomorrow, Kiyoura," and with a twirl she was gone from view as the train rumbled on.

Just me and the Napoleon complex left. I didn't know if I should be relieved for this chance to set the record straight or not. My gelatinous insides told me they'd rather I still be unconscious.

The little passenger car swayed and shook as sleeping Japan passed us by. The cab's lights were dim and yellow. At the other end one tired bulb flickered off and on with every bump. Outside the smudgy windows there wasn't much to see at this hour, though a few neon lights advertised that not all life yielded to the night.

"I haven't told her," Kiyoura said. One of the passengers in the cabin gave a generously timed sneeze.

"Kiyoura," I started. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened."

"You don't look very apologetic."

She was right, so I proceeded to do something I've never done in my life. I bowed. I bowed hard, probably further than I needed to. It was awkward and I felt like an idiot with the blood rushing to my face. I don't know if I was even doing it properly and I had no idea what to do with my hands, but if there was one legitimate gesture I could recall cropping up in Japanese media again and again, it was the bow.

"I would never cheat on Sekai. What happened back there with me and Otome was a complete misunderstanding. It all happened so fast I-"

"I don't care anymore," she butted. I couldn't see her face, but even with her monotone voice I could tell I'd had an effect. I slowly cranked myself back up.

"If it's for Sekai's happiness I have no choice. If you end up hurting her I have no one else she can rely on, Makoto devolving into the filth he's become."

She sighed. "I still can't believe it. I used to like him. I wish that knife had been more true."

I looked over at the girl seething in her seat. It shocked me just how much hate could be contained in such a modest vessel.

"He's the worst kind of scumbag," I said. "But death might be pushing it. Prison maybe. Perhaps I'm a naive simpleton, but I believe in second chances."

Kiyoura sent her rubied irises up at me.

"You're too forgiving to people who don't deserve it."

"I never said I forgave him. Tomorrow I'll be by Sekai's side, and you can take that to the bank."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Uh, I mean you can trust me to keep to my word. I guess that didn't translate so well."

"Hmm."

The silence returned, tense and unnerving as ever. Between my hands I fumbled with the cellphone from yesteryear. A few dents and scratches already coated its dim plastic surface. If there was one thing these relics had going for them compared to the phones back home, it was durability. Their batteries ran on forever, too.

"Um, Kiyoura?"

A thought had crossed my mind. I wanted to put something out there and get an answer I could dwell on, even if it was Kiyoura, but I wondered if she might be one of the best people to ask, calculating as she was. She didn't make a sound, so I took that as a sign to proceed.

"Hypothetically... say you're putting together a crazy social experiment on a group of friendly yet volatile people. Your goal is to keep everyone alive and happy for as long as you can." I stole a sideways glance at the silent girl.

"Of course, as a respectable scientist, you should emotionally keep your distance from these poor souls because attachment is the last thing you need in case everything burns to the ground."

Kiyoura cocked in ear in my direction. I continued, relieved that I actually had an audience.

"In the end, everything flies off the rails and you end up emotionally attached anyway, now stuck as a subject in this strange scenario. How far would you go to keep everyone in order if you could? Maybe it's cowardly to think of running away and saving your own skin, but if these kids are hellbent on someone dying… Should you bail and leave them to their own devices? Or stick through to the end and risk a bloody, painful death?"

Click clack, the rails thundered back.

I looked around at the sparse faces on the train with us, suddenly self conscious that someone was judging me. I did sort of sound like a madman there. Thankfully, the only other people riding with us looked too close to passing out to even register our presence. Man, it's stuffy in here.

I began to wonder if Kiyoura planned on answering me before my stop came up. Did I project myself too hard?

"I would not run away."

I looked down at her, but she had turned to stare out the window.

"But I would only protect those dearest to me."

A heavy breath escaped me. "I should've known as much."

All night I tossed and turned, half entertaining the elusive idea of a foolproof game plan for the festival, half actually trying to sleep. Before I knew it my window seared my blinds with the sun and mother was serving me a bountiful selection of entrées for breakfast. She fretted over my health, even saying I could stay home from the festival, but I waved the thought away. I ended up drinking more than my usual share of tea with more sugar than I normally took it. Fatigue would not take me today, not as long as caffeine stood by my side.

"Kotonoha?"

Standing on the sidewalk, bolder than the brass of the front door's doorknob, was the infamous knife-wielding schoolgirl, minus the knife, haloed in the morning sun while I slumped before my doorstep at a loss for words. The taste of my excessively considerate breakfast still lingered on my tongue. When she noticed my approach she lit up with delight. I forced down a swallow that fought back against my rebelling meal.

"Good morning, Rupert. How are you feeling?"

Like I spent the night on the Green Mile. "A little exhausted. I had another restless night, y'know, the usual. But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school earlier like the rest of the student council?"

She shook her cute head.

"It's fine for the last day. I talked to my classmates and now I get today all to myself after the shift mix up from yesterday."

"I'm impressed," I said, wide-eyed. "Good for you, standing up for yourself like that. I suppose next on your list you'll be striking out bullies with one punch."

How were these girls so skilled at pulling one-eighty personality flips from thin air like this? I hooked a finger under the knot of my tie.

"Still," I coughed. "Shouldn't you be heading to school with, uh, Makoto?" I am ashamed that it took me until after the sentence's utterance to understand how ridiculous the notion sounded.

"Mm, I don't think he really wants to see me right now," she said. Her smile never dimmed a watt despite the ever growing shadow creeping over me. I sent the ground a hollow chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess not…"

We walked along the burning cement, polar opposites in our appearances. Her stride bounced and never faltered, her soft tone hummed away as she streamed topic after topic. It was like stabbing her boyfriend had finally broken the seal and unearthed the confident and fearless girl within. I imagine quite a number of people would pay top dollar for that kind of breakthrough. Next to her I could not bring myself to answer with anything more than a simple one or two-word grunt. My shoulders slouched and I wondered if an energy drink was in order. I've never had one before. Were there any in those huge vending machines?

Lack of sleep placed a heavy damper on my mood, but it paled in comparison to the real cloud hanging over me. While Kotonoha appeared oblivious to it, the elephant in the room threatened to keel over and snap my insignificant body every passing moment. How does one address this? Is there a proper way to time such a conversation? Maybe I should wait or have someone else talk to her. Would her parents consider a psychiatrist? No, I can't go revealing her delicate state of mind by ratting on last night's attack. They would have her fitted for a straitjacket in a heartbeat.

Maybe I really should just leave it all alone.

I looked over at her, peering at the person I once thought I could understand. Her cheerful, porcelain features made me want to believe everything from last night had been another nightmare. I grew envious of her ability to ignore reality.

Sympathy, alienation, anger, confusion, fear, it all swirled around in my murky insides. To think I had begun to disbelieve any of my friends were capable of the atrocities they were forced into doing by their cruel authors, that perhaps my presence had a nullifying effect on any outrageous and over-the-top intentions. I guess I thought that if I never took my eyes from this particular pot then it would never actually boil, but boil it did.

I shuddered. I had never seen so much blood in person before.

But the thing that tugged the most at my uvula was a nagging little thought that echoed somewhere in the blackest spectrum of my moral compass, a thought that I pretended not to hear.

This is exciting.

"I don't want 'exciting', I want the way things were!"

"Rupert?"

"Wha-"

I blushed beet red and coughed. Had I really lost all concept of self restraint?

"Your stare is making me nervous," Kotonoha said as politely as ever. I still took a second too long to avert my gaze.

"Sorry," I said, slapping at my cheeks. "I had the sudden urge to act out a play I read back in middle school."

What the hell was wrong with me? No matter how ensnared in the realm of boredom I become, this whole mess would never be worth breaking free from it.

Kotonoha looked at me with a tilt. "You're really not a morning person. You have those dark rings around your eyes again. Maybe you should stay home for the day."

"I can sleep when I'm dead." Which just might be sooner than later.

"I'm worried about you, Rupert."

"Hah," I laughed louder than I meant to. "I just- you're kind to concern yourself, but don't sweat it. I'm the last person you need to worry about.

"Mmm."

"Why did you save me?"

I had said it without thinking. It appears I've lost complete control of my mouth. Now a cold sweat is breaking out between my shoulders.

"Save you?" she said, looking into the sky, a thoughtful finger on her chin. "Didn't I already say? You're my knight. We protect each other."

"Kotonoha, I mean the way you did it. And you… what if you'd done more serious damage?"

What if Makoto had needed more than some stitches, what if he had died? My head reeled at the thought. No question about it, the police would be involved then. Would I be testifying in a Japanese anime's court? Maybe we could get Phoenix Wright to defend her, or whatever his non-localized name is.

"All that matters is you're safe now," she said with a wave. Her gait had moved an inch closer. "And we'll always be there to save each other."

I could see a poor, scared little man dying in the sheen of her eyes. I felt sorry for the fool until I realized it was just a reflection of me.

The scent of imminent doom lingered on the horizon. Realistically, Makoto and Kotonoha were over. I don't know many couples that were able to get over the fact that one lover nearly gouged the other's kidney out. Since Kotonoha made the decision herself maybe she didn't need a relationship right now.

"I wish it hadn't gone the way it did," I said. "But truly, I am grateful. Friends that would actually kill for you are rare these days."

Was it a sign of just how lost my mind had become when the two of us were able to casually switch our conversation back over to the typical chitchat? I pushed it all away, for her sake.

"Y'know, when I talked to you about the craziness you were gonna get yourself into at the festival, I didn't actually expect you to one-up yourself," Yuuki said.

I had managed to squeeze in some alone time with Yuuki. Kotonoha still had to help open her class's event back up, even if she wasn't working it today, and Kitsuregawa hadn't arrived yet to whisk Yuuki away. I pretended that my own class didn't need my help for the time being.

"Thanks, I try," I said over a bottle of milk tea. The vending machines out here were packed full to bursting with so many varieties and brands of tea and coffee it made my head spin. I picked the most regal looking bottle and didn't regret it. Not exactly full to bursting with heaps of caffeine, but it would do for now.

"I never would have dreamed Katsura was capable of such violence," Yuuki said. He looked out the empty classroom's window at the students trickling in for the festival's last day. "Maybe we never needed to worry for her safety in the first place."

"Hmm," I mumbled. What Yuuki said wasn't entirely true. Kotonoha only entered this bloodthirsty mindset when someone threatened to take something away from her, not when she was directly in harm's way. I found myself grinding my teeth as Taisuke's face wafted its way into my thoughts.

I couldn't say this to Yuuki. I'd look more insane than I already did. How could I explain knowing all of this without saying I once had an omnipresent view of these kids' lives through anime and manga?

"Then let's just focus on making sure she doesn't go berserk again, or at least I will. I don't want to water down the festival by distracting you from Kitsuregawa."

The boy lit up like a bonfire.

"I-It's no big deal. I don't mind helping."

"Really, Yuuki, it's no big-"

A group of students walking by blew my thoughts away. They had stopped at the classroom's doorway just to peer in and stare at me uneasily. I stared back and gave a light wave. They put on a few alarming expressions before retreating.

"Is there something on my face?" I said, running a hand over it. Then I ran a hand over my trousers. No, my zipper was perfectly secure.

"Oh," Yuuki said quietly. "You haven't heard the rumors?"

"You know I only talk to roughly three people, including you, right?"

His fingers fiddled with his hair and he averted his gaze.

"It's been going around that you stabbed Makoto last night."

I didn't realize my mouth had fallen open until my chin was dripping with tea.

"Fire," I said.

"Huh?" Yuuki said, looking at me like I actually had morphed into someone that needed a sippy cup.

"Nothing, the bonfire for the dance just popped into my head. It's a serious health risk that I need to take into account."

"I suppose… Are you alright?"

"Anyway," I said, dragging my sleeve across my dripping face. "They're insane. Even the police believe it was an accident."

"Yeah, I don't know how it started, but it was already a hot topic with the students in my class before you arrived today."

I ignored my gut and shrugged. I didn't have time to deal with the opinions of this school of idiots. They can assume all they want.

"I won't let it affect my stride. In fact I've already had a nice run in with some delightful girls that were absolutely thrilled with my foreign heritage."

"Really?"

"Their disgusted looks and snobby attitudes sent my self-esteem through the roof."

"Oh," Yuuki said, his shoulders deflating. "That's horrible. Who were they?"

I waved it away. "I didn't catch their names, but it's fine. I can fend for myself. I have the strength and vigor vested upon me by the anime gods. I can vanquish any foe."

"Are you sure you're fine?" Yuuki said. "You're saying some pretty strange things today."

"Do I not look fine?"

His stare wavered.

"Exactly. Where do you get your glasses, by the way? They're delightfully large."

Instead of an answer Yuuki decided to stare off into the distance, his pupils consuming the entirety of his eyeballs. His face darkened and he hunched over in his seat.

"Is it my turn to ask whether you're fine?"

He swallowed and nodded his head in a direction behind me. If I had known what awaited by the classroom entrance, I would have never looked.

"Rupert!" rang the shrill voice of Hikari Kuroda. I melted into my seat and pretended I wore the face of a different man. I only made it rougher on myself when she yanked from my chair with that uncanny high schooler strength I envied so much.

"You're supposed to be helping me bring in cakes from my family's restaurant."

"I don't remember agreeing to this," I groaned. "And isn't that cheating or something?"

"Who cares?" she grumbled, dragging me out the door. "We're not doing enough to keep up with demand so I had to improvise. It'll lighten all our loads."

"A-alright, Squid Rings, calm down before you choke me to death."

My back agonized over the stacks of baked goods boxes I had dragged in under the whip of Kuroda, but that apparently failed to satiate her fear of the oncoming crowds. Despite the buffer of ready-made cakes at our disposal, she still demanded that we continue our shifts as normal, and that meant two people in the kitchen at all times, putting together even more sugary delectables.

I previously wanted a moment of silence to actually straighten out my thoughts, and this proved the perfect moment with Sekai yet to show up, but I had not counted on finding myself painfully stuck one-on-one with Makoto again. Even with our backs to each other I could feel the tension between us vibrate with each scrape of a whisk. Lesser creatures would falter under the room's sudden fluctuation in gravity.

"I wasn't going to stab you," Makoto finally said, halting my egg beating mid-stroke.

I looked at him on the edge of my peripheral. His clenched fists had me a little worried, but I'm sure he knew better than to instill a rerun of yesterday's antics.

"Would any of last night's witnesses agree?" I said to the wall.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Makoto sighed. "When I see you with her, I just… I love Sekai more than anything. I can't stop thinking about you two together."

"You know, I went into this committed to helping you."

More than anything I wanted to hate this kid. I've spent my entire time here trying to keep him from becoming the next local headline, prevented his blood from polishing the floor, and he goes off and tries to spill mine instead. I almost wish he had... I wanted to hate him, but I pitied him more than anything.

"It's just a little jealousy, Makoto. If I were suddenly out of the picture and you somehow found a way to be with Sekai, you'd just end up longing for Kotonoha. The grass is always greener, y'know?"

He replied with that uncomfortable silence I've grown to hate so much. I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes in thought. He's still just a kid, right? Everyone deserves a second chance, or a third, fourth, and so on. If we keep up this tedious dance of ours I fear it will be my hands coated with his blood.

"You should apologize to Kotonoha."

"After last night…"

"I've seen relationships come back from worse," I lied.

"..."

"I guess I can't really blame you for not forgiving her."

Still more silence.

"Remember the way you felt about Kotonoha the first time you fell for her?" I said. "Remember how beautiful you thought she was? The endearing way she blushed at the slightest provocation, or how passionate she becomes when you ask what she's reading. The way she makes you wonder how anyone could hide so much turmoil under that delicate mask."

I'm embarrassed to note that saying all that out loud even made my heart flicker. Something shifted under the kid's scalp, or at least his wiggling brow gave that appearance. I don't know when Makoto lost the power of thought, but maybe I could pound it back into his dense cranium.

"Besides," I said. "I think you burned that bridge with Sekai after last night's scuffle. You're lucky I'm still willing to talk to you."

"I'm lucky you're such a good person," he said finally. "I don't get you. Why would you try so hard to help someone like me?"

Something somewhere in my feeble body faltered and all the strain in my muscles fell away. He didn't deserve my kindness, I know. Maybe I need to work on not being so taken by unforeseen compliments, but at that moment I wanted so sorely to go back to the way things were when I first fell into this land. I wanted everyone to be friends and pretend hormones were not enough to make them into enemies. I put down my utensils and walked over to the opposite counter. Makoto finally turned and looked at me as though I were about to reenact last night.

"I'm willing to bury the hatchet if you hand me the shovel."

I held my hand out to him and he shook it.

Then I noticed Makoto's clamshell phone laying wide open on the countertop. I grimaced at the image of Sekai painting its wallpaper.

"First off, you gotta get rid of the wallpaper."

By the time I could sneak away from the kitchen the customers were low in number and most classes were closing up shop for the last time. My mind was made up that these would be the last ounces of sweat I would ever shed for this lousy little project. I feared I may never recover from my new distaste for the pungent odor of flour and eggs.

Sekai had never showed up, but a strange text from Kiyoura had alleviated the panic that had been gradually accumulating while I slaved in the kitchen. The two were having their own fun as close friends. She even sent my a photo of Sekai crying over some dropped food I couldn't identify. How she managed to get a hold of my number I had no idea, but it couldn't be too difficult a task to peek into Sekai's contact list.

If I had worried about finding any of my companions among the slowly draining halls then I was quickly relieved to be immediately intercepted at the entrance to our little cafe. For the second time that day, Kotonoha's sudden appearance froze me in place. I twisted my head around to see if Makoto could see her, but he must have still been back in the kitchen.

With some effort, I pulled a smile and we began wordlessly making our way from the halls and to wherever it was the rest of the crowds were disappearing to. Just a few more hours and this nightmare festival would finally be over, not that it really meant anything. Going by how unpredictably events were playing out it felt as though anything could happen from here on, no matter how well tonight went.

I found Kotonoha to be relatively quiet compared to her morning banter. Instead of striking up further conversation I took the time to stare out the passing windows. The sun was very low on the horizon, almost completely out of view behind distant buildings. I was captured by the beauty of the sky, deeply crimson and calm. For a moment I felt a peace that came so rarely. Then my mind wandered back to the vacant hallways. It should have been obvious where everyone had disappeared to, but my mind was elsewhere. It did not take long before my unvoiced question had an answer.

"Would you accompany me during the folk dance?"

My foot caught a raised portion of cement and I made a great show of checking my shoes for a defect that was not there.

"Very funny," I grinned. "You will never cease to surprise me, Kotonoha."

"Rupert," she said, a soft wispy hand blanketing my whitening knuckles. "I want to dance with you."

My chattering teeth disappeared behind a tight frown. I searched every corner of her gentle face for the slightest tell, something, anything to give away the fact that she was joking. Clearly, over the course of only a few hours Kotonoha had obtained the skills of a master prankster. I marveled at her sincerity, she could go on to become a world class poker player with a bluff like that…

"Why me?" I said barely above a whisper but loud enough for her to hear.

"You know why," and her face spread into the most pure and gentle smile I had ever seen as she stared up at me, her eyes glistening and arced in joy.

I needed to vomit.