The SSS was running low on supplies.

Nakamura told us about a guild that creates weapons located underground, but the place is loaded with traps.

She reassured us that the traps have been deactivated for this operation. Once we got there, however, we found the traps reactivated, possibly due to Angel's arrival there.

I've never experienced what death was like here. Witnessing Noda, Takamatsu, TK and… Matsushita especially, all made me realise how badly I want to avoid any similar fate.

It was weird, while getting over these traps, I felt a familiar sense of adrenaline, and I even surprised myself at how well I've been doing so far. That was until…

"AAAAAAH!"

We all screamed in unison as a large pitfall suddenly appeared from underneath our feet, with gravity claiming Ooyama as its first victim. Luckily, Shiina provided us with a suitable moment to pull ourselves out of the situation.

"Aaaaagh! Too heavy… I can't hold on!" Nakamura was on the receiving end of both Hinata's and Otonashi's weight, and of course I wasn't helping either. I was clinging onto Otonashi who was clinging onto Hinata and so on. If we stay like this any longer we're all sure to die.

"Should we let go?" Hinata's suggestion spawns an alarmed response from Otonashi.

"Hold up, don't go deciding that on your own!"

"Uuuuuggggghhhhh" Clearly this was too much weight for Nakamura to carry…

"To lose three here at once… ugh… Would be… strategically… unsound!" Shiina wasn't doing much better…

"I know that, dammit! Hurry the hell up… ugh… and climb!"

"Goto, can you handle it!?"

"Yeah…"

No choice then.

I desperately attempt to escalate, grabbing onto any leverage Otonashi and Hinata could offer, until.

"AAAHHH!" Nakamura and Shinna were beginning to loosen their grip. This is too dire a situation to get embarrassed now.

I latched onto Nakamura's ankle and struggled to move as fast as I could.

Nakamura was trembling, and was incapable of even making so much as a whimper by this point.

As I skied further up her body, I felt the rough sensation of fabric and smooth skin brushing against my cheeks, my nose invaded with a heavenly scent, with Nakamura's pained moans vibrating through my ear holes.

I almost made it to the top, until…

"I'm sorry!"

I crawl further up Nakamura.

Fragile, soft, squishy plumps nuzzle against the top of my head, which spread delicately across my temples, tenderly slips down my ears, and steadily descends past my cheeks like a waterfall as I get near her stiff, rigid face.

Wholesome thoughts! Think wholesome thoughts!

I finally manage to get a hold of her shoulders and lift myself up with Shiina's help after scaling Fujimaki.

I alleviate Shiina's strain without delay.

Otonashi is the next one to ascend.

He's successful!

Hinata, however,"Kyaaa! Does that look like a handhold to you!?" "uwaaaaaah!" had an unfortunate accident…

Nakamaru, Otanashi, Fujimaki, Shiina and I were all that was left of the SSS… Until Fujimaki's inexperience with swimming and Shiina's weakness to cute animals lead to their untimely "deaths."

Nakamura was noticeably hurt by Shiina's departure especially, "To think even Shiina would be sacrificed to the traps…"

"Was that seriously a trap there!? Also, I have no clue how she didn't know it was a toy at a glance…" Otonashi was in as much of a loss as I was, "There's a ladder. Let's climb."

We carried on in quietude. I wasn't in the mood to talk anyway.

Otonashi interrupts our noiseless excursion," Hey, can we take a break for a bit here?"

Nakamura interjects, "So you two are the only ones left, huh…?"

"Ah, yeah… Looks like it…"

"If this were a real battle, they'd all be dead for good… some leader I am…"

"Nothing you could do about it… Those traps were made for Angel… They'd be pointless if they weren't at least this dangerous, right?"

"If it were up to you, everyone would be here right now. Don't fret over things that were completely out of your control."

Otonashi agrees, "We've made it this far, but I'm super tired now. So, let's take a break, ok?"

Nakamura checks herself," All right… I want to dry off, anyhow."

"I'm amazed you can keep all those weirdos under control. How did you end up getting chosen to be leader?"

"I was the first to fight back. That's all there is to it."

"...Against Angel?"

"Yeah."

Nakamura opens up to us about her former life…"All I could do was pound on the floor in despair…"

"The police arrived thirty minutes later…I was the only one left alive. Really, I don't care if I'm reborn as a water flea or anything. For me, all that matters is that if there really is a 'God,' I want to stand up to them. I mean, it's all just too unfair… it's just too mortifying…"

She was right. Just hearing her story pissed me off. No kid should ever have to go through that garbage.

"I hadn't done anything wrong… Until that day I was so sure I'd been a perfect big sister… And then in just thirty minutes, everything I wanted to protect was snatched away. That's just way too unreasonable, right…? That kind of life's unforgivable, right…?"

Otonashi and I were left mesmerized by Nakamura's words.

"...You really are strong, Yuri. If my memories end up being anything like that. I might decide to hurry up and disappear as soon as I can. But you, you're fighting back."

"That's right."

Like winds to a flame, Nakamura rises to her feet.

"Come on, let's go. I'll protect you both."

Relieving your regrets carves a path to the next level.

To Nakamura, the concert was a simple tool of distraction to use against Angel, for Iwasawa, this concert, and all the concerts that came before it, were the chance for her to sing her song.

In the end, we gained knowledge on Angel's skills, but lost Iwasawa.

Despite the possibilities of disappearance, the rest of us continued to resist.

Lately, I've been hanging out with Yuzuru for target practice. He, as well as I, were astounded at how high my accuracy was. It was like muscle memory.

In due course, one of our training sessions was interrupted by Hinata's pleading for help.

He wanted to form a baseball team, but didn't have enough players.

Apparently, beating Angel in a baseball tournament was on Nakamura's list of "things to do to piss off the student council president."

"Defeating Angel using her own rules will absolutely be more satisfying than breaking them and causing a ruckus." Not her exact words, but something to that extent. Also, "Failure to do well will result in a punishment worse than death," for the cherry on top.

No pressure, right?

Hinata attempted to recruit more players, but they all went for Takamatsu instead. Yui, Shiina, Noda and a few NPCs were the only ones available.

Like Iwasawa, this baseball game meant more to Hinata than what we initially thought. Yuzuru was worried there was a posibility for his disappearance if we won the tournament…

That was until Yui stepped in to save the day by tackling Hinata and causing him to drop the ball during a pop fly, which cost us the game. But all in all, we were glad Hinata stayed.

Nakamura wasn't as thrilled about our loss though.

Her next scheme involved a little cheating.

The plan was for each of us to cause a commotion during exams, then while everyone's distracted, Takeyama would swap Angel's sheet with a fake.

The intended result was for Angel to fail all her exams so that she would lose her position as student council president.

Simpler said than done in my case, my anxiety is fluctuating just thinking about causing a scene in front of all these people…

"Goto, are you listening?" Nakamura brings me back to reality.

"Ah, yeah, yeah, I got it."

"Good, don't let me down!"

Don't let her down.

I don't wanna chicken out.

These people are only NPCs.

"It's not a big deal! Don't stress about it!" I kept telling myself.

Nakamura never told us we'd go sky high if we failed to distract the class. Why do her punishments always have to be so severe? I felt a little bad for Hinata due to him being the recipient for both his and Ooyama's rocket show.

Well, here it goes!

My time to shine!

My heart is racing recklessly!

My moment!

Here!

I!

Go!

"AAAAAAH!" I let out the mightiest scream I could muster and vigorously flipped my desk over.

"THIS IS BULLCRAP! THIS EXAM IS TOO HARD!"

"Goto, what is the matter with you?!" The teacher snapped at me.

"IT'S OUTRAGEOUS FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME TO HAVE TO TAKE THESE EXAMS! I JUST TRANSFERRED HERE LIKE THURSDAY! I DEMAND A DO OVER WITH EASIER QUESTIONS!"

"Goto, take your seat this instant!"

"PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO LET ME RETAKE THE EXAM! MY VERY FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!"

"Well, you should've thought of that before skipping my class, now take your seat!"

"I REFUSE! NOT UNTIL I GET A RETRY!"

The teacher signs and ignores me for the remainder of class.

The gravity of my situation strikes me like a lightning bolt of dread, feelings of embarrassment and shame overwhelmed me. I could feel each and every eyeball as I picked up my desk. Even after class had ended, I remained, unmoving in my seat, contemplating my actions.

A ferocious pat on the back that almost knocks the oxygen out of me interrupts my dawdle in elseworld.

I turn to see Nakamura's proud grin before she pulls out with everyone else.

Maybe this was worth it after all.

Every morning I'd go on a walk and wander aimlessly around the school to cool my nerves.

Naoi had been selected as the new student council president after Tachibana was let go. Due to our past misdeeds, he wasted no time in forcing us to reflect on our wrong doings and locked us up in what he calls "the reflection room."

On impulse or natural instinct, Nakamura thought up her next idea post haste. This next ploy embraces the art of stealth.

Our objective was to make trouble during class without interfering with the students. Because we were dealing with an NPC this time, Nakamura thought we needed to be more careful with how we disrupt the peace. At least I don't have to bring as much attention to myself as before.

Kaede Tachibana.

If I were to describe her, I would say she's the serene and composed type. I feel like there's more to her than meets the eye, maybe we're misunderstanding her intentions. It's been especially bothering me ever since yesterday's ticket operation when Yuzuru pointed out her innocuousness.

And speak of the devil, or angel.

I detect Tachibana near a bending machine sitting on a bench.

I think I'll go say hi. I feel bad for cheating her out of the student council, so I want to know how she's been doing.

…Should I? I don't know… Maybe she doesn't care… it's probably just safer to leave her be.

I let out an exasperated sign.

There goes my stupid anxiety again. I can't let these thoughts get to me. If I want to get better at socializing like I said I would, I need to make that first step.

"H-Hey, good morning T-Tachibana!"

Tachibana looks up with her signature nonchalant expression.

"Good morning."

"How's, um- how's your morning going?"

"It's been alright."

"Ah, that's good."

I reluctantly take a seat next to her. She seemed mildly stupefied at my forwardness.

"Hey, I know it's probably none of my business… but are you sad about leaving the student council?"

"...Not really… I have more free time now."

"Haha, yeah, I guess that's true."

Our conversation arrives at a standstill to no one's shock.

We sat there for a while, taking in the bright and lively scenery. The bell's tingling signals the beginning of class and Tachibana sets off.

"Ah hey, I'll go with you! Um, wanna hang out for a bit after class?"

She scans my face for a second, "Hm, I don't mind."

"Alright!"

As expected, the guys were clowning it up in class.

I didn't do anything special on my end, just sat there doodling and daydreaming about nothing. Yui's strategy of constantly asking to use the bathroom was pretty funny though.

By and by, our shenanigans captures Naoi's eye, but my misconduct was so lowkey he left me alone when the others escaped to avoid punishment.

Tachibana got invited to lunch by Yuzuru so she thought we'd all go together. Yuzuru was staggered to see me with her. I kinda felt like a third wheel, to be honest, but he insisted and told me not to fret about it.

Tachibana, Yuzuru and I didn't have much to talk about, so we just chatted about random, mundane stuff. Neither Yuzuru nor I dared to bring up anything related to the SSS in fear of souring the conversation.

Our harmonic evening was cut short by Naoi's menacing aura.

"Tachibana. What are you doing at this hour?"

Yuzuru intercedes, "Can't you tell? We're eating."

"Eating food during break time is against the school code."

"I'd forgotten. You're right. It is against the school code. I had forgotten that." Tachibana then proceeds to blitz through her food with enough style and etiquette to make a Victorian princess jealous.

"Take them away."

He's taking this way too far, "Oh bullcrap! You're just abusing your power!"

The other council members forcefully drag us to a metallic room reminiscent of a cell. The grating clangs of heavy metal colliding discontinued our feud.

"Damn it! He didn't have to lock us for eating mabu tofu during break! Where the heck are we, anyway? It's like we're in solitary confinement!" Yuzuru's frantic shouting prompts no response.

"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." Tachibana lazily hops onto a bed in the corner.

"Hey! Now isn't the time…"

"What else is there to do?"

She's so lax!

The unforgiving booms of explosives blast through our ears…

My head starts acting up again…

"What's that sound? An earthquake? Is there a battle? Or help. That's right! I have this!" Yuzuru whips out a two-way radio.

"Yuri! we've been locked up!"

White noise…

"It's broken! She dumped a piece of junk on me!" He flings the radio out of frustration.

"Otonashi? Otonashi? Do you copy? Otonashi?" Nakamura's static voice materializes.

"I hear you!"

"I'll assume you can hear me, Otonashi. Listen carefully. Ayato Naoi wasn't an NPC. He's a human with a soul, just like us."

"That's impossible!"

"Doesn't that seem strange? As former vice president, he should have been behaving like a model student. Therefore, he should have gotten obliterated; unable to maintain his human form. But he's cruel. He's been bullying normal students behind our backs. He acts accordingly in public, but he's ruthless behind the scenes. That's how he's been maintaining his balance in this world."

"But why would he do that?"

"He's running loose in our world now that Angel is no longer there to keep him in check. We still don't know what he's after. We're going into battle."

My head is pounding…

"It's a horrible battle, unlike any we've ever faced. He knows we can't attack the normal students; he's using them as shields and hostages. We've got no choice but to do what he says. This has turned into a one-sided battle."

Pounding…

"He's shooting down our friends one by one."

Pounding…

"Hey, Otonashi, I bet you're with Angel now, aren't you? Hey, Otonashi? Bring Angel to us. We need Angel if we're going to put this horrible battle to an end. We're running out of time."

It hurts…

"Please, bring her to the field."

Screams of agony and gunfire… It hurts so much…

"Reo, you okay?" I'm worrying Yuzu, I better snap out of it.

"I'm fine, don't worry!"

Yuzuru thought of a clever way to use Tachibana's weapons in order to bust the doors open.

Once our freedom was secured, we rushed out and headed for the battlefield…

Bloodshed… carnage everywhere...

Death… blood… smoke… the smell of gunpowder… it's all coming back to me…

Wake up, go to school, go home.

Wake up, go to school, go home.

Wake up, go to school, go home, all day everyday.

On weekends, I'd just aimlessly browse the internet until my liberty clock hit 12 pm on a Sunday night.

Rinse and repeat.

That was pretty much my life. Being too self-conscious to talk to people and too anxious to put myself out there dismantled my odds at forging any meaningful relationships.

My life had no meaning, no direction nor any fulfillment.

I was a hamster on wheels, a scratched cd playing the same scene over and over again because it was broken.

I'm broken.

A never ending spiral of a monotonous history is what I'll ultimately leave behind.

A legacy of nothing.

I hoped to someday break free from this constant loop, for my life to have some semblance of purpose.

Luck.

Luck is unpredictable, unforeseeable, and most importantly, unattainable, but at this point, I had nothing else to turn to that would unchain me from my shackles.

The draft.

An unlucky draw of a number to change your life, for someone else to determine your time, your experiences, and your ending.

But that's not where I wanted my story to go.