Inoue Akira and Tennouiji Kotarou are from Rewrite, a 2011 visual novel published by Key, translated into English by Amaterasu Translations, and adapted into an anime by Studio 8bit. Elements of the following story were also inspired by Inoue's story in the now-defunct mobile gacha game, Rewrite: Ignis Memoria (which never received any English translation), as well as her appearances in the fandisc Rewrite Harvest festa!

Spoilers and references to all other heroine routes, as well as Moon and Terra.

Records of the Harvest Festival, Part 1

Just as the sun rises, I wake up feeling fully refreshed. In my heart was a strange sense of…stability? Determination? Purpose?

I fire off a good morning message to Inoue, asking her if everything was all right with her parents. I also tell her about Shizuru's break-in, and suggest we meet at the forest.

Then, I go and prepare breakfast–going for japanese-style this time. Egg, fish, and some vegetables went into a lunchbox, and freshly steamed rice went into another. Miso soup with tofu went into a thermal flask, and green tea into another. I make enough food for heavy eaters preparing for a long day ahead, then pack everything into my backpack.

Finally, into a tiny insulated bag only slightly larger than my fist, I deposited three small vials from the fridge, and fill out the rest of the bag's space with tissue paper.

It would be my secret weapon.

To the empty house, I say a greeting.

"I'm headed off."

I'm not sure what compelled me to do it. In all my years here, there had been nobody for me to greet…nor had I been amiable enough with my parents for such things.

Perhaps this was a sign.

~~[r]~~

"Someone's" view

I force my hand to move to stir my morning coffee.

Ah, yesterday had been a whirlwind. Report to Guardian HQ after school, only for Shizuru-senpai to tell me to 'go make sure Tennouji Kotarou isn't at his house, while we investigate it for anything suspicious'.

And it happened right after I warned him. Talk about ironic.

It was a nice bonus that I got to go to the house of the cute and nerdy-looking mysterious girl with the hat and glasses–the one that had been "secretly" following me since I transferred in.

Tanuma Imako. Apparently, she was in the year above me.

She wasn't very senpai-like, though.

It turned out that we liked a lot of the same things.

And, more importantly, she had huge boobs. Boobs that somehow nobody noticed when she was in her school uniform.

I could still feel their softness in my hand.

I wonder. During training, illicit relations were forbidden, but I know some others, especially the older ones, did it anyway. I had even been approached a few times myself, but I rejected them all.

Because none of them were cute girls. Such a shame.

But I had never been confessed to before.

Not by someone I thought I could come to like.

That stammering, tear-filled face…I couldn't get it out of my mind.

"Hitomi-san! I like you! Please go out with me!"

Maybe the senpais had encouraged her? I couldn't see her type as the kind that would be brave enough to do it on their own.

I looked at my hand again. She had taken it, a-and–

"Gaaaah!"

In my empty apartment, I raged at the heavens.

How was I supposed to concentrate for the rest of the day? Nay, the rest of the week?

It was the real thing!

What had that girl been thinking!? Was she mimicking some ero-game heroine, or something?

Treat yourself with a bit more respect!

But…

I'm also happy that it was me!

My head lands on my kitchen counter with a thud.

~~[r]~~

"Good morning, Kotarou!"

"You're already here?" I take in her appearance: her black, cat-eared newsboy hat was back, as was her white jumper and her denim trousers (but not overalls). "All kitted out, I see."

"Yeah. I thought to get a head start. All the world's secrets are mine for the taking!" Her hand wraps into a fist, an encouraging motion. "I brought some equipment. And we can talk about how Shizuru broke in." Inoue shakes her head. "Maybe we can give her some saury to plead leniency. That's how I bribed her to bug your phone, after all."

"I figured it was something like that." I smile. "Here, breakfast. We should eat up, in case we don't get a chance to have lunch."

"Good thinking."

As I spread out the boxes on a table, a thought strikes me. "About Kotori…"

"Kanbe-san's mostly calmed down. We apologised to each other when I came here early just now."

"Is it really so simple?"

"Personally, I don't think so." Inoue's smile becomes rueful. "We girls are vicious creatures that hold long grudges, you know? But I trust her to not endanger our lives, nor Kagari's."

"You're a girl, Innoway."

"I never said I wasn't." There was a grin on her face. "And speaking of Kagari…"

I follow her gaze. Kagari was standing under a tall tree, her gaze directed off into the distance. "This feels ominous." I remark. I walk over to her, at the same time Kotori emerged from her hut. "Kotori."

"I don't know anything about this," she says immediately.

"Thanks, but I was going to leave that till later. Come and have some food. Real food."

She nods mutely and heads for the table.

Time for the fourth person. "Kagari."

"Homo. Homo sapiens."

That was the scientific name for humans, wasn't it? "Where did you learn this, Kagari?"

"Reading. Watching. Listening." She looks at me. "Everywhere."

I furiously tried to recall what else Guardian knew about the Key. It was…nomadic? Periodically returning to its birthplace? "Where did you go?"

"Everywhere. Searching. Good memories." She tugged at my sleeve. "Good memories."

"Yeah," I say. "I want those too. Come, don't be alone."

"Singing…"

"I'll…Papa will do something about it."

I lead Kagari by the hand over to the table.

"Coffee."

"I don't have that."

"Unprepared, are you?" Inoue grins at me. From her knapsack, she retrieves an ordinary can of coffee. "Bought this at a vending machine. Here you go, Kagari."

The human-shaped familiar makes a happy noise. "Do you know how to open a can, or…never mind." I stop my words as she snaps it open with a crack.

While we eat, Inoue opens her laptop. "I was researching Kazamatsuri Cultural Hall." Floor plans and architectural drawings were laid out on the screen. "These were publicly available on the library's online archives, as well as on Martel's own website. I'm not sure how useful it's going to be, though."

"It's better than nothing, but the real HQ isn't likely to be in a publicly accessible area. They'd also probably still have things like secret underground tunnels." I recall some of the weekend adventures I had with the Occult Club. "Or maybe even supernatural spaces like that City of Stone we wandered into accidentally."

"We'll need to talk to Imako." Inoue frowns. "I don't like relying on her to this extent, but…"

"I think we should try and see how far we get by ourselves first." I also didn't like the idea of overly confiding in the girl. A friend she might be, but her words from the past day echoed in my head.

My feelings run as deep as any other summoner.

I can't stand life.

Those had been her honest words.

What about the other Gaians I knew? Chihaya, and Pres? Did they both also feel this way?

Would it be possible to recruit them to my side?

"What are you thinking, Kotarou?" Inoue looks at me.

"I thought about calling the Occult Club members. Chihaya, and, er, Akane." My eyes flicker to Kotori for a moment, but my childhood friend doesn't change her expression.

"Geh." As expected, Inoue makes a face at the mention of my Pres. "Maybe we can think about contacting Ohtori-san, but the Witch is out. She's already suspicious enough even before we knew about the supernatural." Her notebook comes to her hand. "Do you know where Ootori-san lives? What about security measures?"

"Security measures? We aren't breaking into her house, are we?"

"More like, her abilities as a summoner, in case…" Inoue exhales. "In case we can't come to an agreement, and we need to fight our way out."

I found myself gritting my teeth. "Then, Chihaya is out."

"That's a strong reaction."

"She's the master of the strongest familiar." To think that I had nearly forgotten. "It's also human-shaped, in the form of a tall, handsome man with black hair. I think he's been around school."

"Ah, that dreamy fellow. I think Tamako's smitten with him." Inoue nods. "The butler?"

"Sakuya." Kotori speaks quietly. "His name is Sakuya. A human-shaped familiar…"

"You know of him, Kanbe-san?"

"He was around in the Occult Club. He baked snacks for us."

"And he has a personal vendetta against me in particular." I speak sourly. "Bloody drama queen, making mysterious comments left and right. 'You remind me of my destiny', my ass."

Inoue chuckles, then appears to sink into thought. "Are there very many human-shaped familiars?" She directs the question at our resident summoner.

Kotori shakes her head. "No. It's all mainly animals. Having a familiar that can fully think for itself, which is as smart as a human…I think the only one that exists is…"

We all look over to Kagari, who was eating some rice with a spoon.

Was she as smart as a human? Probably. She could speak and read, and she seemed to learn things quickly.

I look back to Inoue's face. She seemed to be examining my own with some intensity. "What's up?" I ask.

"Just thinking of a few ideas." She stands. "Well, if everyone's done, we should get going."

"Going?"

"To Kazamatsuri Cultural Hall. After all, Martel Group Japan's holding open-to-public talks daily for the duration of the festival, and I intend to attend. Come, Kagari." Inoue says the last sentence faux-pompously.

"You can't be serious." I say.

Kotori shakes her head. "It's outreach," she says quietly. "To people who come from outside of Kazamatsuri. To recruit and promote themselves. They do this every year."

I give Kotori a look.

"My house gets sent bulletins. After all, my parents are still registered as Martel members." Kotori shrugs.

I thought about Kotori puppeteering the corpses of her parents around as familiars, going about their business, and my mouth twists at the image. My head turns back to Inoue. "And we're taking Kagari with us?"

"Neither Imako or Hitomi noticed anything wrong. The perception filter should work. Besides, it's the last thing Gaia will expect–for the Key itself to walk into its HQ. They'll be out searching the forests, or at least the streets."

~~[r]~~

We take a roundabout route to conceal the location of Kotori's atelier, passing by several trees with shimenawa around them on the way. As we leave, Inoue gives a deep sigh of relief.

I hazarded a guess at the reason. "Kotori still stressing you out? She didn't give you a hard time earlier, did she?"

A shake of the head. "No. It's just me feeling uncomfortable on my own. But," she adds, "I do have things to tell you."

"Why do I not like where this is going?"

"Someone approached my Dad last night while he was on the way home from work." Inoue lets out a quivering breath. "They identified themselves as plain clothes security, and said that his daughter had been caught trespassing in restricted areas of the Kazamatsuri forest that were private property. They said that it was an informal warning, and they'd not press charges if he stops me from going out there in the future."

"Damn it, Shizuru." I mutter under my breath. "Learn to help a friend out, would you?"

"I think she did what she could." Inoue steps over a tree root. "If they were serious about covering this up, I think they really would have raided my house."

"But they already broke into mine."

"The good news is that what you had wasn't everything. The more important thing, actually, is that they won't know that we know that Shizuru-chan and Konohana-san are members of Guardian." She paused. "Or that Ootori-san and the Witch are members of Gaia."

Unless Hitomi decides to blab, I thought to myself. "And that's important?"

"If Konohana-san suddenly wants us to go somewhere with her, then we'll know what she actually wants."

"Us, and your parents," I agreed, before remembering something important. "Wait! Your parents! Did they–"

"Don't worry. I had a nice little chat with them." Inoue's mouth was a smug, catlike grin–but only for a moment, as it quickly faded. "And by that, I mean we had a big argument."

"Another one?" I wouldn't mention it to her, but I was beginning to get slightly worried about the strain the investigation was inflicting on Inoue's relationship with her parents.

"The one yesterday was hardly an argument, seeing as how I couldn't say much in my defense. But we argued last night after I got back, and this morning we talked things out peacefully."

"Oh?"

"My Dad said that, against his better judgement, he wouldn't stop me, and that he would do what he could to help."

I recalled Satoru-san's words.

Knowing my daughter, you couldn't have stopped her. Nothing stands in her way once she gets going.

He had been laughing at me. I wondered what he felt, now that his daughter was putting herself in very real danger. If it had been my own child, I would have been worried sick.

…My own child, huh? Had I ever thought about this kind of thing before?

I was missing my youth, but what about what lay beyond?

"What sort of help?" I ask curiously.

"Playing dumb with the authorities." She shoots me a thumbs-up. "He also said other things, like succumbing to fear when his daughter was charging headfirst towards her goals." She paused. "I think my Dad thinks too highly of me. Even after I told him how scared I had been in the forest."

"And you still decided to keep going. That's real bravery."

"Oh, you're flattering me."

I pat her on her head, sank my hand into her bronze hair. "Yes. Don't worry. We'll get through this. I'll protect you from the weird creatures and the strange people that turn up at your house."

~~[r]~~

The foliage-covered stepped sides of Kazamatsuri Cultural Hall rose up as we approached it, like a mountain in the middle of nature.

"I came here a few times for family outings when I was young," Inoue said. "My Dad and Mom would just bring me to random exhibitions of all kinds that they had. If it was during the autumn, we would buy sweet potatoes, and eat in the gardens where the trees had turned orange."

I picture the scene in my mind. Not for the first time, I felt a slight ache in my heart. "I don't even know how this place looks like in autumn. I haven't come here at all since I came back to life, and before that…"

Being dragged here every other day by my parents. Listening to speeches I didn't care about. Being talked down to by a young Kotori. Long, long hours of listening to music, whiling my time away, doing nothing.

How about you think of this as a second chance? Let go of all your past mistakes. Live your newfound youth to the fullest. Inoue had told me that.

"...those memories aren't good." My mouth curls into a rueful grin.

"Not…good…memories?"

"Yes, Kagari." I rub her head.

"Well, that got serious real quick," Inoue joked. "Let's just get into today's talk, shall we?"

"As long as you're not forcing me to ask questions at the end." I respond with a quip of my own.

The foyer, as it turned out, was surprisingly packed, more than usual. Was it because of the harvest festival? Were people from abroad coming here to listen to what Gaia had to preach? "Do you think Gaia has any overseas branches?" I whisper.

"Best not to use the G-word here." Inoue replies. "Martel does, though, but whether it's only Martel Japan that's a front, or that other branches of Martel across the world are also in on it, we don't know yet." She took a quick look around: escalators, plants, nice flooring. "Also, remind me to question Hitomi. I'm beginning to have more questions about the other one."

I nod.

We follow a throng of people into an amphitheatre, and find a pair of seats close to the back. "Have you ever attended a Martel seminar?"

"Nope."

"Well, it's not that much different from a normal lecture about science. Except, of course, for the part where they hate humans." I raise my palms. "Er, not that they're that blatant about it–"

"No, I have a feeling I get what you mean. They'll dress it up in nice language, make it sound reasonable to the public, but there'll still be a distinct anti-human element. At least for events like this. If they're too extreme from the start, people will sense that something is wrong."

"Er…"

"It's cult psychology. I read up on it, when we started this whole investigation." Inoue speaks matter-of-factly.

The lights dim, and the talk begins. It was a very broad topic, on industrial society and its consequences, especially environmental destruction. In a sense, someone could listen to this lecture alone and walk away with a good idea of what Martel's basic values are.

As the lecturer speaks with an impassioned voice, gesturing at the projected screen, Inoue nods and scribbles away in her notebook. As unlikely as it was to happen, I hoped that she wasn't getting swayed by the lecturer's words.

Before the talk, I noticed one or two people turning back and and giving me double-takes, as if not believing what they were seeing.

It reminded me of the weird looks that some of my older neighbours had given me.

…which of course they would. They would be wondering why the teenage son of that family in that house still looked the same after ten whole years.

Shit. Had it been a mistake to come here?

Maybe I should have worn a disguise? A mask and sunglasses? But that would have made me stand out even more.

It was weird to think that people would remember me, even if only a little, when I remembered so little of my time here.

So, you're saying that mankind is the greatest obstacle to protecting the environment, aren't you?

I made a face. Maybe I should have kept my head down. Just like how Hitomi was in Guardian now, quietly following her own ideals.

But the Kotarou of the past couldn't have done that.

No, that's not quite right either.

He only learnt how to do that in Guardian. And he only stopped sulking after Sougen Esaka personally beat some sense into him.

Ten bouts, ten losses.

That, I remember vividly.

I should have learnt how to wield a gun. A firearm would have made up for my ability that wasn't suited to direct combat, and the natural physical limits I had without rewriting.

"That concludes the presentation. Are there any questions from the audience?"

I glanced sideways at Inoue. "Don't even think about it. We don't want a whole auditorium's worth of people paying attention to us."

"I know, I know."

After a round of questions and a few closing remarks, the lights come back on, and people begin to leave. "Well, that was interesting," Inoue remarks nonchalantly.

"That's all you're going to say?"

"It matches what we know about Martel as a legitimate scientific environmental protection group." Inoue's tone was neutral. "As well as what you've told me from what you've remembered," she added.

"Now what?"

"I guess we loiter around for a bit. Ooh, it says they're giving free snacks in the atrium."

"If there had been free snacks in my time, I would have found coming here a lot more tolerable," I grumble. Guess Martel did some fundraising in the ten years I was asleep.

We exit the auditorium, and go into the airy, high-ceilinged atrium, where was indeed a buffet of snacks lined up. Instead of the food, I found my eyes being drawn upwards, into corners, pillars… "There's security cameras everywhere," I mutter. "Of course it wouldn't be this easy."

"We could wander around the public areas," Inoue nods. "Pry the boundaries of where's restricted or not."

"Kagari's with us, though." I pass the white-haired girl a muffin, while taking one of my own. "If we get caught…"

"I think it'll be fine if we don't obviously trespass."

With that, we began prodding. Inoue pretends to be enraptured with the building's architecture, and takes several pictures. She even approaches a few people (some of them notably robed) and asks them a few questions.

"That's getting into risky behaviour."

"Eh, a few couldn't hurt. I think I can read people well enough to know who's fine for asking questions. A few of them even asked if I'm a real reporter."

"And what," I keep myself calm, "did you tell them?"

"Oh, I just said I was flattered, but that I'm only a student, taking a look at the organization that sponsors the harvest festival. Most of them were happy as they thought it would lead to better publicity."

We wander into less crowded corridors. There were conference rooms, seminar rooms, and even what looked like practice rooms for music and dance, bigger than those I had seen in school. The doors were of polished wood, and a long rectangle of glass was built into it so you could see the interior without opening.

In one studio, we spied a dark-haired man playing a grand piano, as if in a trance. It wasn't until we noticed the red cloak hanging by the side that we cautiously left.

I eat slowly, making the muffin last. Acting as if we were just casually walking around. I feed Inoue some blueberry tart (that I had also swiped) with my other hand, while she busies herself with her camera and notebook.

As we go more deeply into what seemed like a music-oriented wing of the hall, something collides into my knees.

I look down.

A little girl looks back up at me. She had big, round eyes, and black hair with a white ribbon in it. Her velvet-looking black clothes reminded me of a nun's outfit.

"A lost child?" Inoue asked.

"..." The girl stares at Inoue briefly, then back at my face.

Then, she looks Kagari straight in the eye.

I hear Inoue's sharp intake of breath, along with my own.

For her part, Kagari simply stares back, silent puzzlement in her own eyes.

I knelt down, bringing my eyes level with hers. "What's your name?" I say gently. "Are you lost?"

"Mmm."

Fantastic. At least Kagari spoke. I didn't know if I had it in me to deal with two mute girls at once.

For a few seconds, we simply stare at each other again…before she snatches my half-eaten muffin out of my hand, kicks me in the knee, and takes off running.

Kagari lets out a giggle, and Inoue simply chokes in disbelief.

"You little–!" Out of wounded pride more than anything else, I take off after her.

How was this little girl this fast?

I think about pushing myself to my rewritten speed, but I didn't want to accidentally hurt her…nor did I want to attract suspicion from security staff that might be on the lookout for superhumans.

The chase takes me up a few stairs, through another corridor, then down a few more stairs.

"Get back here!" I yell.

Why would she even take a half-eaten muffin?

Through another corridor we went, up a few more stairs, then–

"Shimako!" A stern female voice rings in the air. "What are you doing?"

The little girl, who was apparently named Shimako, runs to the woman's legs, hugging them. The woman herself, dressed in office wear and glasses, looked at her, and then at us: two teenagers and one preteen girl (in appearance), who had come running after a child she was presumably taking care of.

"Nagai?" I blurt out the woman's name, before I could stop myself.

"Nagai?" She looks at me weirdly. "My name is Tsukuno."

Shit. "Sorry, must have mistaken you for someone else." I scratch my head and portray a look of embarrassment: oh no, stupid me.

"No worries." She gives us a short bow. "My sincere apologies if this girl has been giving you problems."

"It's no trouble." I nod. "Well, she did take my muffin," I added, lamely. "It was half-eaten, so it might not be hygienic…"

Behind the woman's legs, Shimako sneaks a peek at me. Her mouth had crumbs around it, and my half-muffin was nowhere to be found.

"...well, that's no longer a problem, for better or worse," I finish.

"I'm sorry." The woman apologises again. "She is…well…she has some developmental issues. We at Martel are taking care of her, and others like her."

"Keep up the good work, I guess." I make a non-committal comment.

"By the way, you look familiar," the lady says. "Have I seen you around somewhere before?"

I freeze where I stand.

Because I had wanted to say the same thing.

Because she had also looked familiar to me.

No, not familiar. I recognised this person, even through the curtains of time.

Someone who had dropped out of Guardian, who was supposed to have their memory wiped like I had.

Had it also not worked fully on her?

Why was she now working with Martel, so close to Gaia?

Was she a spy? A deep-cover agent?

But Guardian didn't have any spies, not in the usual sense. No superhuman could ever infiltrate an organization of summoners…because their two modes of thinking, at their very basis, their fundamentals, were too different.

That was what Esaka had said, and what Imako had reinforced. "Ah, really?"

"Oh, I see. You're one of Akane-san's friends, aren't you? At Kazamatsuri High?"

I let out the breath that I had been holding without realising. "Yeah. I'm Tennouji Kotarou, member of the Occult Club. You're her secretary, right?" I venture.

"Not formally, as such, but I am working together with her."

"Of course, of course."

Internally, my mind was running at the speed of light.

So, Nagai, who had dropped out, who had her memories erased, who had lost all her powers from being demoralised, had been swayed by Gaia's ideology, and joined them.

What did I remember of her?

Quiet. Always hanging around Nishikujou. Someone who seemed to fade into the background.

"I'm sorry. If I lost to you, I'd be dead last in class."

An apology, for when she unexpectedly used her ability.

Ranked 41 out of 42 people in our cohort.

But unlike me, she didn't have any secret cheat code that could let her rank up if she wanted.

Something about this whole situation struck me as unfair, but I couldn't find the words to describe it.

"Tsukuno." Another familiar voice sounds, clipped and annoyed. "What is taking–ah."

"Yo, Pres."

"Imbecile."

~~[r]~~

"Imbecile."

I hold up a hand, waist height, and Inoue bumps into it from where she had been stepping forwards. Pres' automatic reply was as curt and smug as usual, but the sheer familiarity of the tone filled me with a certain sense of reassurance.

Even though I had said goodbye. Even though I had come to realise that the Occult Club that I had wanted could never exist, and was not where I belonged.

"Akane…" I take in her appearance: the usual long-tailed black bow in her pale hair was there, but it was now matched by a simple but elegant black dress that reminded me, in some strange way, of western mourning clothes. "You going for a funeral or something?"

"Imbecile." She repeats herself, but this time, I could sense the tiniest hint of a smile in her tone, just for a moment. Her eyes fall on Inoue behind me, who was simply watching with wary eyes, before she speaks to me again. "Here on a date, are you? Enjoying the harvest festival?"

"Very much. My thanks to Martel for sponsoring this whole thing." I grin, not letting my true emotions show. Akane's own expression was–it was still her usual haughty look, but I could spy traces of other things.

Wistfulness. Tiredness. "Are you all right? You don't look so good."

"I am fine, thank you very much." Her face closes off. "I would be much better if there weren't any muckrakers crawling about the building." She shoots a significant and blatant glance at Inoue.

Behind me, I could hear the quiet grinding of my girlfriend's teeth. "Muckrakers?" My tone was light. "I don't see any around."

"Oh, but there are. Like bugs in the woodwork. And just like vermin, it would be better if they were all exterminated." Pres' words and tone were now all but openly malicious.

"Getting in the middle of the circle of life?" Despite me holding on to Inoue's hand, she finally speaks up, matching Akane imprecation for imprecation. "I didn't think you and your kind would do that. Aren't you all about living in harmony with nature?"

Akane simply sighs and raises an upturned palm, a gesture of exaggerated exasperation. "Perhaps 'pollution' would have been a better metaphor. Poison in the air, so to speak. The synthetic stench of meddlers, stirring up equally artificial trouble."

I sighed to myself. These two would never get along: Inoue, who lived to reveal secrets, and Pres, who lived and breathed them, and who was hiding things, even now.

"Akane-san." I didn't even notice that Nagai–that Tsukuno had reentered the corridor. "Someone from the choir is asking for you. And I think Sakura-sama also wants your attention."

Inoue's fingers tighten in my hand.

Choir. A person named Sakura.

"You'll have to excuse me, Tennouji. Unlike yourself, my schedule's not free enough to go gallivanting about." She gave a curtsey. "Good day to you."

I look back to Nagai, and to the child named Shimako, who was peeking at me from the doorway. It was a strange thing, but that little girl reminded me a lot of how Akane had been, all those years ago.

Too many questions. I wondered if there was a day they would all come together into one coherent answer, pieces falling into place on a puzzle board.

In that moment, Shimako darts back into the room, out of my sight.

"You'll have to excuse me as well." Nagai inclines her head. "Thank you for being kind to the girl."

"Akane or Shimako?" A half-sarcastic, half-sincere reply makes its way out of my mouth.

"I was referring to Shimako, but yes, thank you for your kindness to Akane-san as well. For someone in her position, it's hard for her to make friends."

"Perhaps it would help if she changed her attitude." Inoue makes a biting comment to herself.

Nagai's hand rested on the polished wood of the door handle, but before she pushed it open, she stopped. "You're…Tennouji, right?"

"Yeah."

"You…have we met before?"

"Like I said, I was a student in Kaza High."

A slightly troubled expression rises to the secretary's face. "I was not referring to that. Rather…I feel as if I should know you from somewhere."

"It's called heja pu. Uh, deja vu." I correct myself as Inoue elbows me. "It crops up sometimes, recognising something as familiar when you've never encountered it before. Maybe you've met another guy that resembles me?" I offer a joking suggestion.

"You seem to know a lot about this weirdness."

I grin. "I mean, I was in the Occult Club. I like…weirdness." I refrained from saying the word 'supernatural' out loud.

"I see." Nagai gives me a nod. "Perhaps I made a mistake. It's a bit strange to say, but I got the impression that…the other person…was a lot more gloomy." She inclines her head again. "Well, excuse–"

"You! Secretary!"

A large, unpleasant-looking man had strode up to us. He was dressed in a suit…and had ears that vaguely resembled gyoza, which I tried not to stare at.

"What is it, Takasago?" Nagai addresses the man politely.

"Tell the wench that Suzaki wants to see her. Immediately."

"With all due respect–"

"Immediately!" Spittle flew from the man's face, and he turned and stormed off, but not before a final comment. "And tell her it's important!"

Inoue and I exchanged a look. Maybe, just maybe, portions of the whole image were beginning to come together. "Are you all right, N–Tsukuno-san?" I ask.

"Yes." She shook her head. "Akane-san isn't going to like this one bit. Excuse me."

She departs back through the door, which swung closed–

–or would have, if Inoue hadn't darted forward and held it open, a crack barely a centimetre wide. She fumbles for her camera, and I reach out to steady the handle.

A few seconds later, we were gone.

~~[r]~~

Another view

Senri Akane exhaled in exasperated relief at Takasago's retreating back. To say that things had taken a turn for the worse would be putting it lightly.

A two-front war against the modern faction of Gaia and the hunters both, and her side was the weakest, with the least power and resources behind them.

"This isn't the place I belong."

"I suppose this is goodbye."

And in the midst of everything…

"You say that, and then you appear before me again, Kotarou." A quiet mutter to herself.

Returned to Martel, to Gaia, with an unfortunate addition by his side, and a mysterious force watching over him.

A force which, stretched thin as she was, could not afford to investigate.

How much did he remember? How much did he know?

Her vision swam before her.

The Holy Woman's Transcription. As Kashima Sakura drew closer to death, she drew closer to Kashima Sakura.

Some things became more blurred, but other things became all the clearer.

From another door, one at the auditorium's lower level, Chihaya entered, Sakuya in tow.

"Good." Akane stood, and walked over to the pair. "I was just about to call for you both."

It was fortunate–very fortunate–that Gaia's strongest familiar and his summoner were still within her grasp.

She did not want to think about how she would deal with everything going on, had she been alone.

"Akane-san…"

"Akane-san, you do not look well." Sakuya did not mince his words.

"It will pass." Akane dismissed the concerns of the familiar. "I have a side job for the both of you. Monitor Tennouji Kotarou."

For a brief moment, Sakuya's face twisted–a flash that did not go unnoticed by both girls, although neither really knew the reason behind the expression.

"He is acquainted with the both of you, so behave naturally. Do not draw attention to yourselves beyond what is needed; people might come running to see exactly why we're keeping a watch on this boy in particular."

"Eh? But you haven't told us the reason either." Chihaya points out.

"He is close to the Key." Akane's thoughts homed in on the other girl that had been with them.

The girl that had been silently watching.

Judging.

But what did she look like?

Akane could no longer remember. Like water off oil, the memory seemed to elude her.

But she did remember an older boy ten years ago who had taken care of her, who had somehow comforted her when she had been scared…and then disappeared.

"In fact," she finished, "you can say that nobody is closer to the Key than he is."

~~[r]~~

In the park, we find a bench and sit down. In each of my hands was a solid European-style sandwich that Inoue had thought was interesting, that we had decided to grab for lunch. The area was relatively out of the way, but seeing as it was the harvest festival, there were still plenty of people to be found.

Not that the crowd or the noise bothered us. At this point, we were both focused on the image on the small screen of Inoue's camera.

An auditorium. The small figure of a woman in a wheelchair in the middle of the seats.

And on the stage, a choir of singers all dressed in white robes.

Like an alligator, Inoue takes a bite out of a sandwich in my hand. "What do we do? Singing? And then a choir? I don't believe in coincidences. Especially not like this. And that wretched witch…"

Funny how both girls from the Occult Club that Inoue couldn't get along with were the ones I knew in my past life. "Should I go talk to Akane? She probably still has some goodwill for me, even if she dislikes you."

"The feeling is mutual."

I let out a short chuckle before my face settles into a more serious expression. "There's something wrong with her–"

"Many things wrong, actually."

I laughed again. "I meant that it was like…she was suffering from a headache, or something. It's either physical pain, or something bothering her. Maybe even both."

"Don't go and get all sympathetic, now."

"It might be something we could use." I exhale, looking out at the greenery before me.

"You're not suffering from those headaches any more, right? Or have those weird pains in your head?"

"I've been fine since I regained my memory," I reassure Inoue. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing." She puts down the camera, takes her lunch from my hand, and starts eating normally. "I thought…maybe seeing someone from your past might have given you some weird reaction, or something."

"I knew both Akane and Kotori previously, though."

"That's different. You know them in your current context as a student, and you've already become familiar enough with them. This is different." She looks right at me. "Wait, you knew Akane?"

"I went to Martel. She was from an orphanage affiliated with Martel, and the caretaker often asked me to take care of the kids." I paused. "Especially Akane, because she was nearly mute in those days." Like that little girl just now.

"If only she could be as quiet now."

"You're really snappy today, aren't you?"

Inoue looks slightly abashed. "Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." I ruffle her hair again. "It's funny. Keep on going. Oh, yeah. I also rescued her from a tree…I think."

"You think?"

"She got lost in the forest the day I died. She was stuck on a branch, fleeing from familiars. I don't even know how she got up there."

"What did you do?"

"I took care of the familiars, caught her as she fell down. She was unconscious at that point, probably tired. I left her at the bottom of the tree, because I sensed something, a-and then…"

"K-Kotarou…" Inoue brushes my hand.

"And then I died." I turn to Kagari. "I'm sorry."

"The Key…"

"It was a sin." The words came out quietly.

There was no other way to describe it. To approach something so sacred and pure with the intent of destroying it…was it any wonder that I had been struck down?

"Papa." Kagari speaks. "It's okay."

And if I believed that, I would sooner believe the Occult Club was my personal harem, like in those eroges that I wasn't supposed to play until I was of age.

Well, technically, I was old enough, but still…

I took a long, deep, calming breath. "I'm going to get a drink. Do you want anything, Inoue?"

She shook her head wordlessly.

At the vending machine I buy Kagari's hundred-yen (well, it was technically a hundred and ten yen, but that was a minor detail) coffee, and then stare blankly at what was available. For some reason, the morning at Martel had tired me out.

It was only the first day, too. And who knew what would happen at night, when summoners and superhumans could roam free with less prying eyes?

And then, a voice I know too well speaks up.

"Kotarou."

I turn to look at the figure–a short, blonde girl wearing red overall shorts over a white top. "Shizuru."

Her face was unreadable. "Kotarou. Can you come with me? I need to tell you something."

"If you're going to confess your love, I regret to inform you that I'm already taken," I joke. My eyes rapidly dart around, trying to spot if she had any reinforcements.

"This is serious." The grave expression that matched her words was one that I had never seen before. "A matter of life and death."

"Life and death, you say?" With surprising speed, Inoue joined us, Kagari with her. "Sounds like something I should be hearing about."

Shizuru's expression took on a troubled tint. "Akira."

"I'm afraid I don't have any saury for you today." Inoue speaks gently. That was Shizuru for you–you just couldn't bring yourself to be anything other than nice to her.

"You need to stop investigating."

"Investigating what? As a reporter, there's a lot of things I'm looking into at one time–"

"Familiars. Summoners. And superhumans."

Of all the things I had expected, Shizuru being this direct was not one of them. "Why?" Inoue asked.

"Because it's dangerous."

"And how would you know?" I speak up.

She looks me in the eye. "Because I'm a superhuman."

I did not expect this at all.

"Is this really okay?" Inoue says. "You revealing yourself like that? Your secret organization has rules against this, right?"

"It's okay. Because you're both my friends."

"Even me?"

"You gave me saury. You're a friend to me." The blonde girl speaks in earnest. "But…don't investigate this any further."

"I'm a reporter, though. It's my sworn duty to reveal the truth, no matter how dangerous it is."

"Sometimes secret things are secret for a reason." Shizuru shakes her head. "Don't keep pushing, Akira. I…"

She takes a step towards us, and raises a hand to my face–-

"!" Inoue's eyes widen.

–a red ribbon lashes out like a whip, knocking Shizuru's hand aside–

–slicing deep into the flesh of Shizuru's hand–

–scattering blood into the air.

The blonde girl takes a step back. An uncharacteristically intense look was coming from her single visible eye. "Who is this girl, Kotarou?"

Already, the cut in her hand seemed to be healing. That was her ability, was it? Her lack of reaction at having her hand cut open, too–she seemed like a real professional.

"A friend of Inoue's," I say calmly. "She came over to visit because she wanted to see the Harvest Festival."

"She…" Shizuru began, but Inoue had already stepped forwards

"What were you about to do to Kotarou, Shizuru?" Inoue demands.

"You don't understand." The normally docile girl shakes her head. "What you're getting involved in is dangerous. More so, considering how much you've put together. Gaia won't be merciful if they knew how much you knew."

"And Guardian?" I shot back. "What's Guardian's mercy?" Faint images of people coming to my hospital bedside in the dead of night surface in my mind. "Stealing people's memories? Hiding in the shadows, deciding what is right for the rest of humanity?"

Shizuru recoiled as if I had slapped her. Her tiny hand curled into a fist. "Better…" Her voice trembles, as if she was trying to convince herself. "Better for you to forget than to die!"

It was my turn to flinch. I had not expected this outburst. Not from her.

"Shizuru-chan…"

"You too, Akira. You're a good person. I don't want you to get hurt. Either of you! You're both…you're both normal people!"

"That doesn't give you the right to just play around with people's minds like that!" Inoue countered. "Memories aren't a toy! They make up a person!"

"Do you think I don't know that?!" Shizuru shook her head. "I know…better than anyone…and I thought very long about this…but I would rather see you both alive, than to investigate any further and end up hurt!"

She looked close to tears.

I know…better than anyone.

"Damn it." I quietly mutter under my breath.

"I'm sorry." Inoue apologies. "But I'm not going to give up on this. I know enough that Guardian fights monsters. But if what they do is right, it should be done out in the open, where people can see. And if what Guardian does is wrong, all the more so it should be revealed." She looks up at the sky. "Gaia, too. I don't believe people would want to end the world without a very good reason. And if it's a bad reason, like simply wanting to see others suffer, then it should also be revealed, and punished."

Shizuru falls silent.

In a moment of compassion, or maybe weakness, I speak. "And you don't have to worry." I drop my voice to a quiet volume. "You see, I'm a superhuman too. I'll protect Akira, and I'll reveal the truth. Wait and see."

I give up a tactical advantage to reassure my friend.

Shizuru's azure eye widens. "Don't tell anyone," I smile. Inoue shakes her head, but she was smiling as well.

What Shizuru was about to say next I would never know, because at this moment, a familiar voice chirps at us, interrupting.

"Shizuru! Kotarou!"

The tension did not quite drain out of the scene as I had hoped.

…which was strange, because Inoue and I were supposed to be the only ones that knew that Chihaya belonged to Gaia.

Had Shizuru gotten wind of this information somehow?

"...Eh? What's wrong?" Chihaya looked at all of our faces. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Chii." Shizuru slipped into a state of what I think could be called 'relaxed awareness', like water smoothing into a thin plane instead of a torrenting gush. "No, it's nothing. I was just about to leave. She looked again at Inoue, at me…and at Kagari. "Remember what I said."

Quick and silent as a ninja, she departs.

"I wonder if she's fine," Chihaya says, slightly worried.

"Perhaps Youtarou-kun here simply said the wrong thing." Chihaya's butler, who had been following behind, spoke up.

"It's Kotarou." It appeared that the world has decided to throw me an abrasive bastard right after encountering a saint. "I believe I've told you my name before. Either your memory is addled, which makes you an incompetent, or you lack basic manners, which makes you an imbecile. Which one are you, Ohtori Sakuya?"

There was a quiet intake of breath from behind me, and I felt Inoue squeeze my hand lightly, both reassurance and warning.

Chihaya's mouth hangs slightly open, and even the butler looks momentarily taken aback at the sudden aggression.

Of course, he recovers quickly. "You fail to consider the possibility that you are undeserving of my manners, Fuutarou-kun."

I shrug. "The latter it is, then. I honestly don't know why you're resorting to such pathetic name-calling and snide remarks when you could have told me what your issue with me was on day one. It's unbecoming and childish–how old are you, anyway?" I throw in the last remark, fully knowing he was a familiar. Any answer would give us some sort of clue, no matter how small.

Sadly, Chihaya intercedes just as he was about to reply. "I think that's enough of that, Sakuya." She looks at me. "I'm sorry. We're disturbing you on your date, right? We'll leave now."

With a somewhat forlorn expression, Chihaya departs, her butler right behind her.

"You okay? It's not like you to suddenly be all prickly like that. Not to mention," Inoue gives me a look, "you sounded a bit like the Witch–no, like Imako-chan there."

"Maybe I got inspired." It was one thing to be condescended to when you were actually ignorant, but being talked down to in that same manner was highly grating now that I knew…what I knew.

Not to mention, was it a Gaian trait to speak in a more fancy manner? It felt that Pres–Akane and Imako fit the bill.

Then I remembered Chihaya, and dropped that idea.

But still…

My feelings run as deep as any other summoner…

I wonder what wounds Chihaya had in her heart?

A summoner under that cheerful exterior, and the master of the strongest familiar at that.

And then there was Shizuru.

Also a nice girl, and perhaps the nicest person I would ever meet. Someone with a pure heart–

–who lived in a run-down apartment for her own reasons, and was a superhuman member of Guardian, who fought monsters, familiars, and who…

…had experiences with memory loss?

The outstretched hand. Kagari interfering to defend us–

…who could cause memory loss somehow? Was that it? Or had she just tried to knock us out, take us back to her headquarters or something?

I was beginning to wish that there had been one big event that had revealed everything to everyone. Maybe, then, the Occult Club would have died a fast and painless death, instead of being slowly strangled by everyone gradually growing distant–

"Ouch!" I rub my arm. "What did you do that for?"

"You're becoming all moody and brooding again, old man." Inoue rolls her eyes. "Come on. Let's enjoy the festival. And give Kagari-chan some good memories to bring home."

"You say that as if she's really a family friend visiting from elsewhere," I retort, but I find myself smiling already. "And stop calling me an old man."

"I'll do that for as long as you're a grumpy grinch."

~~[r]~~

"How about this one next? It's another shooting game!"

It was fun trying out almost the carnival games, of course, but I had also been taking the opportunity to practise using my enhanced capabilities with more precision…while also doling out justice to the less scrupulous stallkeepers.

Like that ball toss stall.

Thankfully, with my instincts, I could even the odds against even obviously rigged games. Inoue taking a picture of the subtly hidden fan blowing off the side and then leaving with a snappy remark was the icing on the cake.

But guns, huh? I couldn't really do much about that.

Tossing a coin at the shopkeep, who caught it with a grin, I picked up one of the toy rifles lying on the tableclothed surface of the booth.

My eyes caught wind of an obvious prize, a box on the top shelf, and I smiled. It had been a stupid idea that Inoue had come up with while we were walking around, but still, it was worth a try.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the type of superhuman that used ranged weapons, so I would have to find other ways to use my gifts.

I sighted, then pressed the trigger. A pellet bounced off my target, shifting it slightly, but not enough.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Kotarou."

"As always, your remarks are worth their weight in gold, Innoway."

Time to get serious. All superhuman ability was just hunting instinct, and all of that, in theory, could be replicated if one had the same physical output.

And this was a gun. It didn't need strength, not to swing or to stab or to throw.

It just needed…

I closed my eyes, and focused.

The wind–the movement of every single particle of air. The tiny vibrations as people walked by, their footsteps thudding on the earth. The exact position and angle the box was on the shelf, and the corresponding vector needed to knock it off that was available to me with what I had.

"Got it…"

The toy discharged with a bang.

Almost anticlimactically, the box fell to the ground.

"Congratulations!" The shopkeep's expression was mixed, clearly not that all overjoyed about having to give away one of his top prizes. "You've won yourself…a pair of earmuffs!"

"Great!" Inoue accepted the box happily. "Just what we wanted."

The man blinked, clearly expecting a different response. "Is…is that so?"

"For us, yes." Inoue unwrapped the prize, and a fresh new pair of fluffy pale purple earmuffs went on Kagari's head. "But it's a bit deceptive, making the prize look like a pair of expensive headphones."

The shopkeeper let out a grunt as if he had been punched in the gut, and his accompanying expression only became more wooden as Inoue snapped a picture of the stall.

"See ya!" I gave on last cheery wave as we left. "Don't you think that was a bit mean?" I remark.

"It's for justice." Inoue grinned. "'Top 8 Ways Festival Games are Rigged Against You' should be a fun article. I'll even let you steal it, if you like."

"What, Innoway giving up a scoop? Have pigs started flying?"

"Bah, these kinds of articles are barely real journalism." Inoue rolled her eyes. She turned to Kagari. "Can you still hear the singing, Kagari?"

The girl tilts her head at us.

"I think I know the problem." I gently removed the earmuffs from Kagari's head, before letting it rest around her neck. "Can you still hear the singing with those on, Kagari?"

"I don't know. Nobody's singing at the moment."

Inoue sighs. "I think I'm starting to get used to exactly how we tell our daughter things."

"Oh, really?"

"Kagari," Inoue addresses the girl, "the next time you hear that strange singing, put on the earmuffs, then tell us whether you still hear the singing with the earmuffs on."

"A bit precise in your instructions there, mom."

"Better that than to have Kagari-chan misunderstand, dad." Inoue matches my joke, and we both laugh. Kagari just looks mildly bewildered, but not altogether unhappy.

"I think that covers all the games in this section," I say. At least, I hope it would be good enough for Anzai-san of Monthly Terra.

We proceed to a more open area of the festival where the stalls were set up in a green space surrounded by glass-and-steel office buildings.

"Ah, Yuki!" Inoue spots her club president next to a stand selling flowers. "And Yuuka-chan!"

"Akira!" The gregarious redhead gives us a wave. "Out on a date, are we?"

"W-We're just doing reporting work together!" Inoue stumbles on her words.

For the first time, I see Inoue's other close friend–the kouhai Yuuka-chan. Her hair closely resembled Kagari's, except for the blunt bangs at the front, and the colour, which was a green so dark it was almost black. Her eyes looked sleepy, though I had the impression of a girl that could muster up surprising strength. "Greetings," she said quietly.

"Uh, hello," I say lamely.

"You should buy some flowers for Akira. Here, some anemones just came in." She hands me a bunch of white flowers.

"Er, thank you?"

Yuki raises an eyebrow. "If I recall, in the language of flowers, those have a negative–"

"A-Ah! You're right!" The green-haired girl makes to take back the flowers, but then hesitates. "No, wait. These are white. It's fine. And it suits Akira. Especially right now."

Inoue scratches her head. "I know we wrote about this before, but I can't remember exactly what…"

"Truth. That's what it means. You're pursuing it right now, right?"

"Yeah." Inoue nods. "Did you…"

"Pres handed it over yesterday. As well as told me what to do." Yuuka looks down, while Yuki looks away. "I looked. At everything." The green-haired girl slowly raises her face, until she held Inoue's gaze with her own. "I never told you both this, but my parents both work with Martel, you know?"

My blood freezes in my veins, and both Inoue and President Yuki go very still.

"That's why I'm working here now," she continues. She waves a hand at the florist stall.

"Of course." Yuki speaks, her tone neutral. "Martel has ties to quite a lot of establishments in this city."

"...their holy ground." I whisper. We should have expected this.

"...but I won't betray your trust in me," Yuuka finishes. She puts her hand over her heart. "You're both my precious friends. My comrades."

My face remains fixed. "How sure are you?" I rounded on her. "What if–"

"Stop it, Kotarou." Inoue gently grasps my arm. "I trust Yuuka-chan. Besides, if she was going to turn us over, she never would have told us of the Martel connection in the first place."

"Sorry." I bow. "I got ahead of myself here."

Yuuka nods, showing no offence taken. "...Akira certainly got herself a good catch, didn't she?" she remarks quietly. "I wonder when someone like that will turn up for me someday…"

"Right!?" Yuki speaks voraciously, a sharp contrast. "It's just like I've been telling you–"

"Have you two been gossiping about me while I'm not around?" Inoue demands.

Yuki smirks. "In our club, it's called exchanging information and opinions."

"You're the worst! Hurry up and graduate, you hag!"

"Hey! Show more respect for your seniors!"

A round of laughter passes between the girls.

Left out, I shoot a sideways glance at Kagari, who seems to be contentedly drinking in the atmosphere, and at my surroundings.

Nobody seems to be following us…probably. It was difficult in this crowd, anyway.

"Okay, let's get going." Inoue nudges me. Inoue's redheaded President gives us a cheery wave goodbye, and her quiet junior inclines her head as we leave.

"Had a good talk?"

"Yeah!"

I look up at the sky, which was beginning to turn a rosy pink. "We should probably start heading back soon. It's about the time where–"

"-where the monsters come out to play, yeah." Inoue nods. "Just like in old fairytales. Get home before the sun sets."

"It seems a shame, though. I feel as if you haven't been playing enough. Even Kagari played more than you, since you were mainly watching and writing most of the time." Something tall and noticeable caught my eye. "How about you try that?"

It was a high striker machine–the kind where you struck a plate with a hammer in order to send a counterweight upwards to ring a bell on a tower.

We walk over to it.

"I've heard about these things." Inoue gazes upward at the bell. "They say there's a trick to hitting it."

"There's a trick to everything, though." I tell Inoue about how I shot down the earmuffs.

"You can't expect a normal human to do that." She shakes her head. "Though I thought it was something like that, the way you were focusing. Honestly, I expected you to start glowing with a strange light there and then."

"I didn't actually glow, right?"

"Thankfully, no. Though I wouldn't have been surpri–mmhg!"

The rest of Inoue's sentence was drowned out as I pulled her–and Kagari–off to the side. "What's wrong?" she whispers, adapting to the situation immediately. "Where?"

"Hunters." I glare at a head of spiky red hair. "That's my old teammate. Imamiya something-or-other. He might be looking for me, if Shizuru reported what we did to the rest of Guardian."

Inoue's head swings around like a searchlight. "Not big on given names back in training camp, huh?"

"Those people weren't the kind I'd make friends with." I make a face. "You heard what Imako said. And what I told you."

"Yeah, I know."

Kagari tugs at me, and I turn, only to see her limbs moving jerkily.

"What's wrong, Kagari?" Inoue demanded. "Kagari?"

"They must be singing again." I cursed under my breath. "The song makes her freeze up, but you also told her to–she's fighting it to listen to you." Wary of getting strange looks, especially from the Guardian members I knew were prowling about, I put the earmuffs on the little girl properly, before gently guiding her off to the side. "It's not working. It's resonating with her on a level deeper than hearing."

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple." A worried frown was on Inoue's face, a stark contrast from the easy expression that had been present just minutes ago.

We stand away from the flow of people until light returns to Kagari's eyes, at which point Inoue wraps her up in a hug. "I don't like this. Can't we just march down to where they are and stop them now? It's not like we don't know where to find them."

"I don't think I'm strong enough to fight off an entire faction by myself." I saw Inoue's expression. "Not in a frontal assault, at least." I add. "But I know we need to deal with this soon. It feels as if Salvation could happen at any moment."

"I'll give Imako a call, see if she's in."

I nod. With no small amount of frustration, I walk back to the high striker machine, and pay the person managing it the cost of one Kagari coffee. This single incident had soured the good mood of the entire day, and I needed to vent my frustrations.

I'll expose the truth, and end this!

The hammer descended like the fist of God on the striking plate, and the counterweight shot up, up, up the rail, where it hit the bell with a resounding, satisfying clang.

~~[r]~~

Another view

As afternoon turned into evening, thick clouds gathered in the sky, blocking out the light of both the setting sun and the rising moon.

In the dark clothes he usually wore in his role as a familiar, Ohtori Sakuya stalked through the forest, his mind heavy with thoughts.

Tennouji Kotarou had not been…what he had expected.

From the first moment he had saw him, he had recognised him for what he was–someone like him. A superhuman who had the ability of self-enhancement, above and beyond any other ability a superhuman might have.

Rewrite.

At that time, he had thought Tennouji Kotarou an ignorant child, with his gift wasted upon him. He had certainly behaved as such, with frivolity, without care for the future.

He found himself starting to revise his opinion.

The Tennouji Kotarou he had met today had been nothing like that.

Frankly, he was beginning to get worried, and the worry only increased the closer he drew to his target.

His eyes swept past nothing but trees. One of them had ceremonial rope around it, with its accompanying shide paper streamers. Tennouji Kotarou's hideout, and thus the Key's location, was around here somewhere.

He would do his duty.

Secure the Key for the sole purpose of protecting it–as was the original intention of Akane's faction.

He had other rules, too.

He would not harm civilians. He would not kill unless absolutely necessary.

That was how he had kept himself working for Gaia–for Chihaya's sake.

Perhaps he would secure the boy, and give him some guidance. A Rewriter running around with nebulous goals could be the most dangerous element of all. Perhaps it was a shame Kotarou had not fallen in love with Chihaya–but then again, would he have been able to tolerate it? To accept it?

A slight tremor shook the ground, and the superhuman-familiar stopped in his tracks, discarding his ruminations.

Yes.

There was only one thing he should be focusing on.

To serve his mistress to the fullest, and to protect her until the end.

Almost as if the world had been waiting for him to finish his thoughts, a javelin of light shot down from above, nearly piercing him–

Impossible! Surely the fool hasn't allied himself with those fringe lunatics?

And yet, even as a dark shape against the night sky, he recognised the familiar for what it was.

Kilimanjaro.

An advanced familiar based off an ancient dragonfly that was was designed to be both powerful and energy-efficient. Its wings could refract and focus light, turning it into a deadly weapon.

With a formidable foe in front of him, there was no longer any time to think.

This was going to be long and bloody.

It's the beginning of the end. Copious notes for a long chapter:

Martel HQ, or the Kazamatsuri Cultural Hall, is based on the real-life ACROS Fukuoka building, located in Chuo Ward in Fukuoka. Most of the my descriptions of the building's interior were based on the photos on the ACROS website.

Tenma plays the piano at the end of the anime's episode 11. I decided to add that little tidbit here, too.

Nagai remembering Kotarou: Kotarou's mannerisms are now halfway between his joking Occult Club self and his (fully) brooding younger Guardian self–enough to trigger a bit of Nagai's memory, as opposed to in Akane route (full Occult Club), or in the latter half of Terra where Kotarou was disguised.

Flower language: in hanakotoba (Japanese flower language), anemones (アネモネ) have the negative connotation of 'transient love' and 'abandonment'. By the way, Kotori's theme/flower is not the Anemone, as it is in some wrong translations, but the Soft Windflower/Anemone Flaccida (ニリンソウ).

Yuuka: her name in Inoue's dying message was in hiragana, but it can mean either 'gentle flower' or 'fragrance', hence me staging her as a civilian with Martel ties.

Review please!