10 Years Later.

Tuesday.

I was happy. I was happy up until the day that the letter arrived. No, realistically it was a slow decline, but the letter was indisputably the catalyst. On the day that I'd gotten it, I'd been working for an exceptionally cranky Haiji Towa who, despite loathing my very existence, seemed to find advantage in me being his assistant. In his words, 'those who can't even make it into one university are lucky to even get a job.' Haiji still recognised my intellect and business intuition and took advantage of that. Coaxing me into doing literally all of his work as head of the Towa Group. That, and getting his coffees and cigarettes.

Again, he loathes me. Obligatory loathing, of course, since I was friends with Monaka for a long time as a child. Their family hadn't been a particularly friendly one, despite the wealth and status. Both Haiji and his father were horrible people, who despite not having much room to talk, expressed disgust in the face of Monaka's existence. She was the love child of their father's affair, a mistake, and the reason for Haiji's mother walking out on them. She was expected to act as furniture, else the consequences would be dire, and often physical.

If not for Monaka's unyielding genius, she probably would have been treated even worse somehow. Her extensive IQ and aptitude for robotics left her as the perfect head for the Towa Robotics Branch, even when she was as young as eleven.

Monaka and I had shared a particularly advanced understanding of the world, the both of us collided in intellectual capability through opposite sides of the spectrum. I had a learned aptitude, which was forced into me from a young age by my demonic parents. Monaka was tenacious, with a gifted mind and a social understanding beyond comprehension. We bonded intellectually in ways that other children could not. We were fluent in an above-adult language and for me, it only seemed to make her stand out that much more.

I hadn't seen her in a long time, and there was a definite reason for that. Despite us ageing and the time that had passed, I don't think any of us really wanted to keep in touch with her after what had happened. Genius minds came with twisted sides, and hers were seemingly endless.

I did forgive her, though, a long time ago in my own mind. Part of me always knew that she was victim enough in this as we were. The others… I doubt ever even looked at forgiveness as an option.

Much like them, Monaka had found her peace somewhere else, although I wasn't particularly certain of the details. As far as I knew, nobody even attempted to ask Haiji. He hated talking about her, and frequently denied relations or even her existence. A part of me was glad that she was far away from him… safe. Another part of me had decided that if I could live my life wanting Monaka to be happy, then I could live my life wanting happiness for myself. And that's what I was. I was happy.

Until the letter arrived.

It was waiting for me in the hands of my roommate and high-school study-group partner, Kimiko. She held it out to me while sorting through her own mail, and without a clue of what I was setting loose upon myself, I opened it. At first I turned it over again, taking in the curved, unusual presentation of my name. There were no details on the front of the letter other than my address, either. Placing the envelope aside, I carefully unfolded the paper inside. In amongst the folds, a photograph had been tucked away. It was the first thing I saw and it nearly stopped my heart when I looked it over. It was like time stopped, and the only thing I could hear was the pounding of my own heart against my head. I felt sick, like I was going to throw up. I quickly read over the letter.

'The Future Foundation gave you all a second chance.

…But some other people might not be so forgiving if they find out about THIS.'

I looked the photo over again and then turned it over. There was something written on the back. An address, a date and time, and…

'Can't wait to see you there (or else)! Black-tie. Bring drinks. ;)'

- Bagkun

The picture… it was blackmail. And it left out any other option but compliance. Somebody had been sitting on this picture for sixteen years. Somebody was there on that night, and they had evidence of the worst crime we'd ever committed. The one we'd never confessed to, and the one that would get us killed if any of the wrong people found out.

My breathing slowed to a wheeze. I could feel myself paling. I was dizzy and sick to my stomach. I made a grab for the arm of the lounger and lowered myself onto it. Kimiko had only just returned to the room, and looked at me with concern over the cup of tea she'd just made. It only took that one look at me for her to place her mug on the nearest surface and head back into the kitchen for a glass of water. She brought it over soundlessly and seated herself to my right. I glanced at her, brows furrowing. I had no idea what I was supposed to say to her.

Thankfully, Kimiko wasn't the type to ask too many questions. She simply sat there, staring blankly at me from her spot. Kimiko had an unnerving stare, too. As long as I'd known her, she'd often get lost in the action and forget to blink. Being particularly wide-eyed and mostly just intense, both presence and personality-wise, most people considered her to be creepy. I'd never really thought that, myself. In fact, I'd never really had much of a problem with her at all. After all, it had never directly been a hindrance to me, personally.

There was a period of time during high school in which she had an infatuation with Masaru. In the words of Kotoko, she had been a 'stalker' and a 'weirdo pervert'. Both Masaru and I had agreed that she was simply enthusiastic, although it was easy for him to say, since she did literally everything for him, no matter what. Despite sleeping in Masaru's closet and trailing him closer than his own shadow, she DID always make a point to do his chores and generally help me around the house.

Others mostly saw THAT side of her, but I knew her before all of that. She was a normal girl. Smart, and a good friend. One of the only ones that stuck with me after high school. She studied at Towa City's University, which had been built during the reparation period and was infamously pretentious. As a mathematics prodigy, it was easy for her to get in.

She ended up simply teaching statistics at the university since she was so good with her work. Neither of us ever left Towa, and neither of us seemed to ever want to do things differently, so we continued living together platonically, going about our lives. We were happy. I was happy.

Until the letter arrived.

The letter that sat in my hands and burned them like acid. I was fumbling as I tried to find my breath. I thought that this was out of my life. I didn't want to go back to the nightmares and panic attacks… but fate was indisputably sucky, and I was left with a huge pile of 'fuck you' in my mailbox.

I flipped the image again, checking the details. It was a local address, which was somewhat convenient. It definitely made things feel safer knowing that I was close to home. I finally turned to Kimiko and accepted the glass of water she was still holding.

"What is it, Nagisa?" She asked, tucking some of her long, dyed strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear. I quickly finished my mouthful of water and placed the cup on the side table.

"…Just an invitation."