GoldenPiggy: So many theories about Alice's friend! But you're missing one unsaid element though. To be fair, both Shun AND Masquerade are in danger.

Cup of Violet Tea: Sure, I took your suggestion! Shun actually will get to hear something, but it's not pleasant.

Marshall arts: Thanks for the compliment! Ah, I don't have an actual career yet.

MagicxMusicxMelody: I'll let you decide. You're still keeping track? Geez! I'll make the last word extra fancy and smart then.

ahmedzafar malik: It's okay. Thanks for reviewing!

Cherry-Tree: Yes, they concluded it's the same person. The absolute real motive is yet to be revealed.

InnocentDiamond: I know, Alice's becoming deep and scary. Things happen. I still have to explain why Masquerade exists, don't I? No worries. ^-^

SSR: Happy belated Pi Day! Yesterday was 3-14, and my math teacher brought pie for her students to eat.

Dan: Indulgences.

SSR: Well, I have math right after lunch, so the pie was dessert. Then there was a trigonometry joke on the white board that said "Respect the symbol. Use radians. Eat a radian of pie." that we didn't understand. I'm not in trig yet.

Shun: Pretty sure that's high school material if the teacher won't even let you learn sine/cosine/tangent yet.

SSR: Algebra's the highest math taught here.

Julie: Two weeks until Spring Break! Let's celebrate!

Runo: Do you realize it's TWO weeks?

Julie: But still...

SSR: By the way, I'm bringing back details from Chapter 1 because we're getting closing in on the time loop, but it's not the end! Just keep reading.

Chapter Eighteen

Unnamed Motive

...

...

Shun let go of that stinging spoon and tried to shake that feeling away, but that ended up stinging him even more. "Who's keeping you occupied away from proper business?"

"You know..."

"Alice, are you alright? Please tell me what's wrong."

"It's just that-"

"Alice! Back already?" Runo burst through the front door and flipped the sign over from Closed to Open. "Break time's over. People will be coming in for afternoon tea and snacks."

"Already?" Alice peered out the window and saw some teenagers running over. "I recognize a few of them from the food fair. I'll set the tables."

"Please do." Later, Runo pulled Alice's over before Alice entered the kitchen. "By the way, I talked to Dan earlier, and he's sorry about embarrassing you in front of Shun."

Alice looked at Shun, who was focused on other thoughts, and looked back. "It's okay. Shun's a nice guy, but he's missing something. Maybe next time."

Runo nodded and let go, but before Alice could enter the kitchen, Shun called her over. "Alice, don't forget this spoon and jar." Alice place her hands on her face in realization and took them away. "Before you go, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you think we even have a chance at getting together?"

Alice took a seat and stared at him. "Oh, that issue. Most likely not. Partly because I'm in a disorganized situation at the moment, but also the fact that you're missing something."

"Me? Missing what?"

She closed her eyes for a second and reopened them. "Actually, I think you lost something and is desperate to get it back. I want to wait until you've found it, because otherwise, you're just as disorganized too."

Shun was speechless. How on earth did she read my mind?

"If there's nothing else, then I should get back to work. Customers are coming in."

Shun turned around to see chatting people open the close the door loudly. "Sure, go ahead. It was nice meeting you, though."

"Same here." As she helped Shun to the door, Alice added, "Remember what I told you earlier, okay?" Then she whispered, "Or else you'll lose it forever."

Shun turned around and waved slowly back to her slowly. "I-I will." he stuttered. What just happened? I never stutter. After walking far enough away from the diner and finding a bee charm in his hand, Shun shouted, "Julie!"

"At your service!" She appeared behind him and saw the charm as he turned around. "It still amazes me how those things appear in your hand every time without knowing."

"At least it's not like that spontaneous stinging pain. I felt it again earlier while holding spoon she gave me. Should we go now? We can talk about Alice's subliminal messages later."

"Agreed." Julie took out the charm bracelet and attached the bee charm onto an empty slot. "By the way, how many charms did you say the bracelet you gave Alice had?"

"I think there was seven. Haven't you asked me that already?"

"You sure it's seven?"

"It's just-" After a moment of frustration, he looked and breathed deeply. "It is seven. I gave her the bracelet on her sixteenth birthday, which was seven months after we met. How could I forget? Anyway, why do you ask?"

Julie counted the current six charms in front of his face. "Because we're almost done collecting charms."

Shun stared furiously at the bracelet and snatched it. "Let's just get out of here."

However, neither one of them counted on having Masquerade watch entire process from Shun calling Julie over to them disappearing to the next place together. "Six down, one to go. I'll wait until when you two collect the seventh charm to make my move. Then everything will be mine."

But neither did Masquerade count on having another certain person seeing him spy on Shun and Julie.

"Not if I get there first..." she whispered.

...

...

Shun fixed his eyes on the letters and digits floating across the digital display above a large corporate bank. "We're close. Maybe a little too close."

"How close?" Julie asked, not understanding the meaning of the date across the screen.

"I officially meet Alice tomorrow, if today's date is as the board says."

Julie looked around and swallowed. "Marucho once told me that what Masquerade does to alter what Alice saw and experienced usually requires 24 hours to take effect, but unless he's really desperate..."

"Then we'd better find Alice. The only problem is that we're in the business district of Wardington, and it's even worse than New York City."

"No kidding. Why don't you tell me about Alice's subliminal messages?"

"Oh, that." Shun pointed to the street left of him. "Let's go this way. Before I left, Alice kept saying someone's keeping her occupied with unimportant or irrelevant issues to the point that she can't focus on her proper business. We need to find out who or what is keeping her busy."

"And what her 'proper business' is. Otherwise, there would be no motive. For anyone."

"That's true. Wait, don't move!" Shun blocked Julie with his left hand and pressed the crosswalk button with the other. "I've crossed a lot of streets back at the harbor, downtown Wardington, and where we just came from, but this crosswalk scares me, and it's not because of the traffic."

"Is it because the shrine's nearby? It's to your northeast."

Shun faced northeast and immediately recognized the stairs one had to take that led from the sidewalk at ground zero up to the entire shrine plaza about ten feet higher. "You're right. It felt like only yesterday that Alice and went there for omikuji."

"Well, given the time span that we have gone through, it technically was yesterday."

"Wait. That does make sense. Stupid me." He took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "A 'future blessing' in 'expected persons'. I still don't get it."

"Maybe you're waiting for Alice to come back? But there's also this." Julie took out a piece of paper from her pocket. "This is Alice's fortune that she received also on the day. 'Great curse' in 'lost articles'? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Actually, Alice also said that I am missing or have lost something, and wants to wait until I find it back. Sounds kind of like both of our fortunes combined." Shun compared the two omikuji side-to-side. "What if Alice's death was just an accident? That she was meant to lose her life that day? At least tying it to the pine tree would've postponed it."

"But what if the person keeping her occupied is who killed her? That's motive."

"But who?" Finally, the traffic light changed green, and the tweeting sound indicated it was safe to cross. "Anyway, should we go to the shrine?"

"I don't see the point of it, but—move faster! There's only eleven seconds, and we haven't even crossed the street!"

"That fast?" Shun tripped untimely, and it took him a while to get up after hurting his knee. "Four seconds?! Since when did-"

"Come with me." Someone's hand grabbed Shun wrist and dragged him to the other side of the street.

Julie had no choice to but to step back. "Now I wish I was a Guardian of Space so I can walk through cars like magic." Suddenly, a thought popped in her mind. "Guardian of Space... Shun, what-"

It was impossible for her to speak to someone like that across the street with this level of noise.

Meanwhile, Shun took a seat by a lamppost and rubbed his knee. "Terrible timing with those stupid lights. By the way, thanks for saving me out-" The person turned around, and Shun recognized her face. No way. I've been through this too many times. It's becoming repetitive.

"Shun, what were you thinking? You could've died out there."

That was the first time Alice called Shun by his name before he introduced himself.

SSR: Six down, one to go! And then comes the actual action.

Shun: Why do I always get hit by cars?

SSR: No you don't.

Shun: Well, close to getting hit. Is it just me, or-

Everyone: IT'S JUST YOU.

SSR: So this is what I have planned. The next couple (maybe triple) chapters will be this "business" district, then comes the actual truth confessions and fighting.

Julie: Let's focus on just "now" because the last line says otherwise...

SSR: That works too. Don't forget to review!