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).

Warning: contains sort-of spoilers for Moon and Terra. Assume that events not mentioned occur in more or less the same way as in canon.

7th October, Thursday

You have power and are discontent with the world. Tell me, do you wish to change the world? Or would you rather change yourself?

I stared at the final question on the questionnaire once more, and shifted my gaze to the other note on the table, where "yoU wilL diE in tWO daYs" had been scrawled in a frightening, blood-red font.

Do you strive to change yourself, or your environment?

The simple, innocuous question stuck out to me.

In a fit of childish pique, I traced a giant circle around both options.

~~[r]~~

9th October, Saturday

"Hey~! Tennouji." A cheery voice greeted me. It was Inoue. "Are you free right now?"

"As you can see." I shrugged.

"Let me ask you just one thing, then." She had an eager expression on her face. "You're on speaking terms with everyone in your class, but…"

"But?" I quirk an eyebrow at her.

"Your only close friend is Kanbe Kotori, and you don't even feel confident about that, so you've tried to become friends with Yoshino Haruhiko, but he ended up hating you instead."

I spit out the juice in my mouth, and Inoue gave a yelp of indignation. "My notes!"

"The hell are you investigating now?" I demanded.

"I can't help it, okay? I start looking into things before I realise I'm doing it."

That's some journalistic spirit, all right. "Maybe you should get that checked."

"But…it's not enough." Inoue's amber eyes bulged as she stared at me. "If I give it my all… I can find out more…"

A sudden jerk of her head to the side, accompanied by her mechanical tone, caused me to take a step back in fear. "You're scaring me! Stop awakening your dormant powers!"

"Illegal entry…" The girl rounded on me like a zombie, and I held up my hands.

"Look, I got into this school properly." I tried to pacify her. "Stop bringing it up before people start spreading rumours." At her unmoving self, I continued. "Is that all you wanted? I'll be going–"

"Wait!" Inoue springs back to life. "You joined the Occult Research Society, didn't you?"

"Guess nothing escapes your ears," I mutter.

"I can find out everything…everything there is to be found…"

And now she was back in zombie mode. "Stop making that face. You look like the walking dead."

"If on my journey I encounter God, God's secrets will be revealed…"

Wasn't the line 'if you meet Buddha on the road to enlightenment, kill him'? And I'm pretty sure that wasn't about journalism either. "Just make sure you don't break any laws in the process," I say seriously.

"I w-wouldn't do that!" And back to life again. This girl certainly switches gears fast, doesn't she? "I'd never even consider using a wiretap, even!"

That sure seemed like I needed to check my clothes later.

"I've heard that the Occult Club is quite volatile," she continued, unperturbed.

"I guess." I shrug again.

"You met the Witch, didn't you?"

"And she made me promise not to tell anyone about her."

Inoue's eyes drooped slightly. "I see."

Honestly, I didn't expect her to give up so easily.

"It'd be way to dangerous to face her without being properly prepared first," she mused, before looking back at me. "And I doubt she'd feed someone like you any important information anyway."

"Don't underestimate me!" I puff out my chest. "I'd have you know that I hold the position of…of…"

"...of?"

"...her guinea pig," I finished lamely.

"Not…even…a…pet." Inoue scribbles in her notepad.

"Dammmmn ittttt!" I gave an exaggerated skyward yell.

"Well, that's what I expected, anyway." Inoue waved a hand.

"Can I leave now?"

"Just one more question." She seemed pretty intent on this.

"What?"

"...You're my rival."

"That wasn't a question at all!"

"You're trying to uncover the secrets of Kazamatsuri too, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't call them secrets," I scratch my head. "But I have run into a few strange phenomena I'd like to investigate."

"Sounds like we might have a conflict of interests there." Inoue placed a palm on her hip and smiled. "May the best investigator win!"

"Meaning?" I looked at her quizzically.

"I'll be looking forward to your exploits." Still a cheery smile. "As the newest member of the Occult Research Society. See you later!"

She left, leaving confusion in her wake.

"Rival, huh?" I mulled it over. "She sure seems like a weirdo, but why not? Might be fun."

~~[r]~~

17th October, Sunday

Night

"My 150 yen!" I curse as the machine swallowed my money, but then stopped as I realise a more serious problem had occurred. A blackout? Again?

Something felt…not right.

I glanced up at the sky, where a pale moon was shining down–

–and caught movement at the edge of my vision.

A dog? On the roof? I rubbed my eyes and looked again. A girl?

A girl, with a skirt past her knees, with something flickering, fluttering…jumping from one building to another.

I instinctively tried to move, but my legs felt locked in place.

Chasing mysterious shadows in the dead of night? That was as good as a death wish.

But what if it came after me just for spotting it?

There was nothing to do but keep pursuing.

My legs would probably be a good choice. I just need to be fast enough to follow on foot.

I closed my eyes, and rewrote myself.

~~[r]~~

18th October, Monday

Evening

As a result of chasing that black dog and ghost girl, I somehow ran into Shizuru at a ramen stand in the dead of night…which led to her and Lucia joining the Occult Club the next day.

What a turn of events. I sigh at the setting sun, while deciding what to have for dinner. I really should be cooking for myself to save money, but eating out once in a while should be fine. Plus, walking around outside would give me better ideas for that magazine article–

"-Hey! Watch where you're going!"

I stumble backwards, away from the figure I collided into. "I'm sorry," I reflexively replied, before taking in the person in front of me. "Inoue?"

"Tennouji?" The brown-haired, amber-eyed girl stepped back. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you that." Judging by the camera around her neck, and the notebook in her hand, she was up to her usual activities. Then again, since when has she ever taken a break? "Investigating Kazamatsuri's secrets again?"

She put a finger to her lips. "That's classified," she said teasingly, before her tone returned to normal, "but actually, I'm about done for the day and headed for dinner."

"So you're going home, then."

"I said headed for dinner. Don't you have any listening comprehension?" Inoue rebuked me, but her tone was cheerful and without malice. "Which means I'm looking for somewhere to eat. What about you?"

"Same here," I scratch my head again. "Actually, do you…"

"...want to eat together? Sure!"

This girl is probably going to spend all dinner wringing me for information. Oh well. "Know any good places?"

"Is pasta okay?"

We end up outside a familiar establishment, where red letters inside a green circle spelt out the restaurant's name.

"That reminds me," I said, after we had both given our orders. "There was a battlefield promotion here the other day."

"...Excuse me?"

I told Inoue about what I witnessed while having lunch with Akane, about the owner being arrested for missing court dates, and the assistant manager being promoted on the spot.

"Yep, certainly an interesting scoop." Inoue scribbles away on her notebook. "I knew it was a good decision to have dinner with you. But, ah, are you sure you don't want to report on this yourself?"

"I'm not interested in that kind of stuff." I wave a hand. "You can have that for free."

The girl across me cheers up, before being slightly indignant. "Are you even taking me seriously as your rival? I'll catch up to you before long, you know?"

"Like I said," I spoke, a tad exasperated, "I'm only interested in occult happenings. UMAs and espers and all that. Also, you shouldn't be saying you'll catch up to me, when you're already ahead."

"A-Ah, you're right. I am, aren't I?" Inoue goes slightly pink at the ears. "But you're not too far behind either. You told me about the stairs and the night school, right?"

"Those aren't occult happenings," I found myself grinning as I seized the opportunity to throw her words back at her. "Don't you have any listening comprehension?"

The food arrives, and we make more small talk, about grades and other things.

"How come you're eating out?" I question.

"It's a rare occasion where both of my parents are away for work." Inoue twirls spaghetti around her fork. "Normally, my mom cooks."

"Must be nice to have a loving family." That remark comes out of me before I stop myself, and, as expected, Inoue pounces on it.

"Oh? What's this about your family?"

"Nothing." I quickly say.

My tone must have come out a bit harsher than I expected, because Inoue recoils slightly at my words. "I'm sorry," I add. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"No, it's fine." Inoue shakes her head. "Come to think of it, that was a bit insensitive of me, wasn't it?"

"Don't worry." I try to wave it off. "Look, it's not like, a serious trauma or anything for me. My parents are just away most of the time. Almost always away, in fact."

Come to think of it, I really haven't seen them for a while. Well, it's been that way ever since I was young. Ever since I got back on my own two feet after that accident…

I clear my head of dreadful thoughts and try to change the topic, since Inoue still looked slightly down. "Actually, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Ask me? What?"

"What's with all this 'Ashen Boy' business?" I demand.

"I told you, I was investigating how you got into the school through illicit means."

"That's uncalled for." I lightly retort. "But I know that already. Why the title?"

"Oh, just a little wordplay." The girl across me had a small smile. "You know how, in Japanese, high officials suspected of corruption are called grey or ashen officials, right?"

"I've heard of that idiom, yes." I nod. "Ah, I see. Very funny."

"I know, right?" Inoue looked pleased with herself, and I roll my eyes.

"Truth be told, I don't really mind you investigating me as long as you're not causing disturbances to my life," I say honestly.

"Really?" Inoue looked excited.

"Because I have nothing to hide!" I thump my chest with my fist proudly, and it was Inoue's turn to give an expression of disbelief. "Also," I continued, "because anything that you would find that I don't already know about myself would likely be of interest to me as well."

One lie followed by one truth. I think about my biggest secret: the ability to rewrite myself, to arbitrarily increase my physical parameters as I saw fit, and recalled the first time she approached me, where I had gotten worried about the possibility of her finding out. Hopefully she'll go easy on me if we become friends, or something.

"You're a bit of a weirdo." Inoue gave what appeared to be her honest judgement. "Ordering an investigation on yourself?"

"That wasn't exactly what I said, and you know it." I take a sip from my drink, and the bustle of the shop washes over us for a few moments.

"What about you, Tennouji?"

"What do you mean, 'what about me'? Haven't we been talking about me this whole time?"

"I meant about your investigation progress, Mr Pet-of-the-Occult-Club's-President."

"A whole lot of duds," I admit freely. "And idiots coming in to the clubroom claiming to have superpowers."

"You got my tip, right?" Inoue said. "About the puppeteer?"

I nod in assent. "Haven't been able to check him out yet, though." A puppeteer, eh? Puppeteers, or doll-users…"Oh yeah, that reminds me." I face Inoue again. "If you see any strange black dogs, or hounds, don't approach them."

"Excuse me?" Inoue said. "Are you telling me to stay out of a scoop?"

"I know you're very enthusiastic and all, but don't." I say seriously. "It's dangerous."

"Tell me everything you know." Our intrepid reporter doesn't let up.

Resigning myself, I tell her about last night's incident. About the girl I saw during the blackout, and the hound chasing after her on the rooftops.

"You sound like you're serious." Inoue says.

"You're free to not believe me. But I'm serious about not approaching the hounds." Even if they weren't strange UMAs that could somehow leap from rooftop to rooftop, wild dogs of that size were still dangerous.

"You don't need to worry. I've always kept an eye out for danger." Inoue still looked determined.

"Good grief." A sigh escaped my lips. "Well, I see there's no stopping you. Not that I would expect any less of my rival, after all."

~~[r]~~

20th October, Wednesday

I find myself unceremoniously ejected from the clubroom as Akane expressed her displeasure at yet another dud. Facing the door, I let myself sigh, before I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turn around, only to find a finger poking my cheek.

"Inoue," I take in the girl with a brown bob cut, who was grinning. "What do–what's up?"

"Want to go investigating with me?"

That took me by surprise. "Are you sure you should be asking me? Aren't you scared of me stealing your scoop or something like that?"

Inoue appeared to think to herself for a moment. "I'll let it slide this time. Just come with me." She looked at me again. "Unless you aren't free?"

"I am." Going along with Inoue was probably better than killing time myself, and so I found myself dragged along in her wake.

But really? The back alleys?

I say as much to Inoue, and she responds. "Yeah." She was already in three places at once, running her fingers along the walls, eyeing every nook and cranny. "I've been hearing rumours about this place. Mainly about strange people in robes going to and fro, but there's also been weirder stuff, like one or two people saying they were transported to an alternate dimension or something." Seemingly satisfied with her current examination, she moved ahead.

"An alternate dimension?" I jogged to keep up.

"Yep. Like the layout of the back streets suddenly changing and becoming a maze, or walking for an abnormally long time but still being in the same alley. Of course, they could have just been drunk or high on drugs, but still…"

I think back to the endless corridor I found myself in with Yoshino. "Nope, I think you're on to something here."

"Oh? Does that mean you've had a similar experience?" Interest was clear in her voice.

"Yes, yes. I'll tell you later."

"Right. Gotta focus on the current investigation."

We turn a few corners, spot a few people loitering around who gave us weird looks, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Say, do you make plans when you go out to investigate?" I question Inoue as I walk slightly behind her, subtly glancing around every once in a while. If our school uniforms didn't already make us stand out, the camera hanging from Inoue's neck probably would.

"No, not really." Her answer comes easily. "Going with the flow is better. True journalists know how to adapt to their surroundings."

Don't make journalists sound like animals going through the evolutionary process, Inoue. "So you just came here with no plan today?" I ask. "What if you end up finding nothing?"

"True journalists persevere in the face of setbacks, too." Her tone remains as cheery as ever.

Yeah, I thought it would be something like that.

…Come to think of it, Inoue's actually quite amazing, isn't she? Compared to myself with the Occult Club, I've never seen her even look remotely dismayed, not even once. She just goes on from scoop to scoop without stopping. And she's been doing this for longer than I have, too.

Movement flashes in the corner of my eye, and I raise a hand to stop her.

"Tennouji?"

"Quiet," I say. I peek around the corner, and surely enough, it was a man…dressed in a strange grey robe.

"What–"

"Ssssh." I shush her, and motion for her to slowly look around. The man appeared to be looking around, waiting for something, and he tapped his feet impatiently. To my side, I catch a sharp intake of breath from Inoue.

"I don't think we should let him spot us." I gave my assessment of the situation in a low tone, and glance at Inoue to catch her nod in response. "If we just act normally and walk across we should be fine."

Another nod. "Okay," I say. "Let's go."

And that was how we peacefully got out of there unharmed…which was what I would liked to have said. Sadly, however–

"Oh no!"

The flash of a camera lit up the alleyway, and the robed man's neck snapped to face us almost instantly.

"Good afternoon," I attempt to diffuse the tension, all while subtly nudging Inoue to a position behind my back. "Nice weather we're having today, aren't we?"

"...I will need you to hand over that camera, Miss." The man was completely unamused. "Alternatively, you can detach the camera's memory card, and surrender that to me instead."

I could feel a bead of sweat beginning to form on my neck. "Now, now," I continue playing the jester at the man looming over me, desperately trying to buy time to think. "I'm sure we can talk about this calmly–"

"N-Not on your life!" From behind me, Inoue shouted at the man…then sprinted away.

Are you for real? I think incredulously to myself.

Well, I guess that was the plan now.

"You–!" As the man made to dash after her himself, I kicked at his knee, causing him to fall over with a grunt of pain. With my current physical capabilities, catching up to her was easy enough, and before long I caught up, keeping pace beside her with my equivalent of a light jog.

"Tennouji!" Inoue looked relieved.

"If you were going to use me as a distraction, I'd have appreciated a warning," I joke."More importantly, ar–get down!"

I shove Inoue and myself to the ground as a black blur passes by above us, making my hair stand on end.

"T-Tennouji…"

"It's not over yet," I warn. My arms rise into a fighting stance. "Get behind me."

A dog had placed itself between us and the exit, and, judging by its growls, it wasn't going to let us go easily.

A well-shaped mass of muscle, with dark fur suiting it as a hunter of the night.

This…was bad. If I had been alone, I would have been able to escape easily. But now, an ordinary human being was behind me. An ordinary human being, that would likely be torn to shreds if I let her be.

Guess there was no choice. "Inoue," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth, trying not to provoke the dog, "when you see an opportunity, just run and get out of here. Don't look back, or worry about me."

"Understood."

She didn't protest. Good. That would make things easier.

"Ready." My voice was quiet. "Get set." A little louder. "GO!"

I lunge forward, and in the same moment, the dog pounces, fangs bared.

With Inoue no longer behind me, I was free to sidestep, and I did. My right leg impacts the dog's face in a well-placed kick.

But unlike humans, pain of this magnitude would not cause a beast to relent. It lunges forward once more, and this time, I felt fangs sink into my left leg.

Pain flashed through me, but I ignored it. I aim my right leg again, and my second, weaker kick connects to the same spot as my first.

The dog lets go, and I turn tail and flee.

But not along the surface. A beast with that speed would catch up to me in an instant.

I instead run to the nearest fence, and leap upwards. My hands catch the top, and I quickly pull myself upwards, out of the way of another lunging bite.

Let's see you get me now, stupid dog.

Scrambling to my feet on the fence edge, I run along its length, then jump to a neighbouring house's roof. From there, I jump from roof to roof like I had saw the ribboned girl did.

Finally (the exact length of time was probably not that long, but it had certainly felt like an eternity), I felt comfortable enough that I had gained enough distance, and slowed down.

Now, time to look for Inoue.

Thankfully (for me), she hadn't wandered far, and I jump back down to land in front of her. "Honey! I'm home!"

She stumbled back in shock for a moment before collecting herself. "Very funny," she remarked, before noticing the blood. "You're hurt!"

"That I am," I say neutrally. "But don't worry about me. I'll apply some ointment and everything will be as right as rain by tomorrow."

"...Okay." Inoue's voice was uncertain. She was still scanning me with her eyes, concerned.

"Why the long face?" I say. "Didn't you get a good scoop today?" I stare pointedly at her. "Please tell me you didn't lose the pictures after all the trouble I went through."

I felt like I succeeded in lightening the mood, because Inoue's mouth curls upward into a weak smile. She turns and shows me the pictures on the camera's tiny LCD screen.

A few shots of the robed man. And a few shots of me heroically fighting what appeared to be a dog.

"Too bad we can't really see the man's face," I remark. "Else we could track him down right away."

"True." Inoue agreed. "But this isn't the first photo I've taken of people in robes. I'll be able to cross-reference them and see what comes up, maybe what organisation they belong to, if any."

I nod. "Guess that's part of an ongoing investigation."

"You're right." Inoue says. "Well, at least I have some material to work with for today. 'Tennouji Kotarou, the protector of Kazamatsuri'," she states the title. "'Protector of pure maidens from wild beasts'."

"Is it just me, or did you sneak in a compliment to yourself there?"

"Well, I am a girl after all. It falls on us to compliment ourselves when nobody does so."

~~[r]~~

21 October, Thursday

Lying on my bed as the day ended, I messaged Inoue.

Thanks for the tip on the puppeteer. I managed to get Miss Club President Witch to spit out her banana milk. She didn't really seem to have a good explanation, either. And we checked for wires and motors and everything.

The reply came shortly.

Idiot. What are you telling me these extra details?

Still, I'm glad I was able to help. Oh yeah, since I didn't get a chance to talk to you at school today–you're okay, right?

For some reason, being called an idiot made me smile. That, and the fact that she asked after me.

Yeah, I'm fine. More or less healed up by now.

My fingers pause. I didn't want the conversation to end there, but there was nothing–actually, there was something I was curious to know.

By the way, do you believe in the supernatural?

The reply takes a bit longer to come, but it arrives.

That's good. I know I didn't exactly show it, but I was worried.

As for the supernatural…you can say that I don't believe in things I can't see with my own eyes. But then, we've seen some strange things recently, so I'm not ruling anything out. Did you know? I did a bit of research after yesterday. That dog you fought–I don't think it matches any existing breeds. There's something going on in Kazamatsuri, I tell you!

I snort. That was Inoue, all right.

Maybe you're not as big an expert on dogs as you think? And when did you find the time to take a picture, anyway?

It was probably her journalistic instincts at work again. Photography when you were supposed to be running away…good grief.

Oh shut up. I'm reasonably sure of these things. And there's always time to take pictures! What's the point of seeing something you can't document?

Yep, as expected of Inoue.

(I had the distinct feeling that I was going to have that same thought several more times in the near future.)

I spend a while more messaging her before I fall asleep.

~~[r]~~

24th October, Sunday

"...and then Akane threatened to crush me socially to the point where I could only barely keep my life together if I ever wrote an article about her." I detail the Club's exploits of the previous day where we had tried to track down where Akane actually lived.

It was Sunday morning, and Inoue had invited me for a UMA investigation on the outskirts of Kazamatsuri's forest. Above us, the sun's rays filter through the canopy, and a cool breeze swept through the trees.

A good day for a picnic, if I ever saw one.

"Maybe I should step up my investigations of the witch," Inoue mutters, her face growing a shade dark.

"Assassination was also on the table," I added.

"That's not going to stop me," she says with absolute conviction. She stops for a moment, lifting her black newsboy cap off her head to brush her hair with a hand.

It being an off day, neither of us were dressed in our school uniforms. I had on my usual casual clothes, complete with my usual pine-green jacket tied around my waist, and Inoue was dressed in a white long-sleeved cotton blouse that looked a bit like a sweater, and a pair of dark azure linen overalls with long baggy trousers.

Of course, a camera still hung from her neck, and now it was back in both of her hands as she fiddled with it. Raising it to her eye, she peered through the viewfinder again, before putting it back down with a dissatisfied look.

"Nothing, huh?" I say, before looking around with my own two eyes.

…with my own two eyes that had been enhanced a few times before, I might add. Still, I spot nothing out of the ordinary. "Want to stop for lunch?"

"Sure. That sounds good."

I set down the two bags that I had been carrying: Inoue's, and my own. As for why I was carrying her bag like a butler, well…let's just say she hadn't been managing to take good pictures while having to shoulder a load.

Inoue spreads out a mat, and sits down cross-legged. "Well then. Let's eat. Here's your portion."

"Yes, let's eat–excuse me? My portion?" My hand had drifted to my convenience-store sandwiches before an out-of-place statement registered in my mind.

"You heard me." Inoue sets down a bento box in front of me. "Go ahead."

I gingerly opened the lunchbox to find…an average lunch. Rice, fried chicken, a rolled omelette, and some pickled vegetables.

I looked back up at Inoue, who was already happily eating away out of her own box, and meet her eyes. "Did…did you make this?" Was I about to eat a girl's homemade lunch for the first time in my life?

Inoue puts down her utensils, and grins at me. "What do you think?"

"I-I…"

What the hell was I supposed to say in response? Do I just go 'thanks' or something?

"Ah, Tennouji. It's cute of you to have gone silent like that." She grins at me a while longer, before sighing and returning to her own food. "Unfortunately for you, you can thank my mom for the food today."

"A-Ah." I look back down at the lunchbox, feeling a weird mix of emotions. Was I worried? Disappointed?

"Stop staring at it and eat it already. I can guarantee that Mom's food is ten out of five stars."

"Right." With that admonishment, I begin eating.

Truth be told, it wasn't anything special. There wasn't going to be any kind of cliche where the food was unexpectedly delicious and I end up making all sorts of ridiculous faces. Still, looking at Inoue sitting across from me, I got the feeling that she was…what was a good word for it?

Happy? No, it was more than that. Very loved? Beloved?

"By the way," I say, "what exactly did you tell your mom to get her to make two lunches?"

"Just that I was going to be out with a friend for a whole day, doing some hiking. Actually, I told her not to bother, but she went ahead and did it anyway…" Inoue sighed. "I'd rather have some cup noodles. We could make a fire to boil hot water and everything. It'd feel more like a camping trip."

"You can't tell me you seriously prefer cup noodles over this–" I gesture at my half-eaten food "-nutritious lunch?"

"Excuse me?" Inoue interrupts. "Cup noodles are the best. Easy to prepare, and comes in a lot of flavours, all of them tasty. It's the perfect food."

"They're also very unhealthy," I remark mildly. Not that I had anything against cup noodles in particular; I just wanted to see how Inoue would react if I disagreed with her on something she was so obviously passionate about.

"That doesn't matter!" She slashed her chopsticks in the air, nearly taking my eye out. "It's the perfect food for a stakeout! If it's good enough for the policemen, it's good enough for me!"

"This isn't exactly a stakeout, though." I point out. "And what do you mean, the policemen?"

The next ten minutes were spent listening to Inoue rant–excuse me, speak enthusiastically about the Asama-Sansou incident, a one-and-a-half week long hostage crisis that took place in Nagano back in 1972, of which the police rescue operation on the final day was said to be Japan's first-ever marathon live television broadcast.

"It was a full-on siege in the mountains! They brought a wrecking ball with a crane and everything!"

I think you mixed up your words a bit there, Inoue.

As I heard her talk, I started to understand her a bit more. After all, that exciting incident was no fiction, but real life. And youths like us all pursued excitement in some way. Was it any wonder why she took to journalism?

Someone once said that youth was life's version of walking on a tightrope. And it was clear to me that Inoue was doing a fine job of it.

"...Tennouji?" Inoue waved at my face, and I snapped back to attention. "Are you listening?"

"S-sorry," I managed to get out. "I didn't mean to…"

"No worries." Inoue remained cheerful. "Did I bore you?" Her mouth quirked slightly at the side. "I don't think I've ever, erm, gone off like this before."

"No, not really." I shake my head. "For a muckraker, you're actually a very honest person, aren't you?"

"I don't like the way you phrased that." Inoue poked me lightly with her chopsticks. "Also, you'd better finish your food before the bugs come for it.

Sure enough, a grasshopper had now made its way over to my lunchbox, which thankfully was now mostly empty. "You're okay with bugs, Inoue?"

"I've trained myself to n-not mind them." She was doing a good job of it, but I could still detect traces of discomfort. "It's part of a reporter's job to be able to operate on any terrain."

I smile a bit at the comment, and look down at the little guy, who was now intently examining my remaining rice.

Then, I frown. "This grasshopper has horns."

"Horned grasshoppers exist as a species, Tennouji. And before you ask, I did some insect and nature photography as part of my training."

"I see." I nod and examined the grasshopper again. "But do they usually have three?"

A camera's flash blinds me and startles my new friend, causing him (I'm assuming the grasshopper is a male) to leap. I look back up at Inoue, who was now peering at her camera's LCD screen. "What was that for!?"

"Horned insects and animals usually only have either one or two." Inoue said. She fiddled a bit more with the camera, before packing everything up at breakneck speed. "Now I know there's something weird going on." Taking the leftover rice from my bento box, she chucked it at the forest floor, before packing it up with the rest of the items.

"That's littering, you know." I point out weakly, not having the heart to protest.

"That's bait," Inoue corrected me. "Besides, it's biodegradable. If you're so worried about it, then I'll come back and clean it up later. But for now, UMAs await!"

~~[r]~~

28 October, Thursday

"Are you going out with Inoue-san?"

Kotori innocently asks me during club, and the sudden, expected question causes me to choke on (but thankfully not spit out) my tea, sending me into a coughing fit.

"N-No!" I turn and look at my childhood friend, once I had recovered. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"Come to think of it," Lucia adds, "you've been talking to her a lot lately."

"I have not." I defend myself.

"Really?" Chihaya joins in. "Haven't you been talking to her every day in school this week?"

"I hope you're not planning on asking her to join the club." Akane's idly speaks from behind her desk. "It's not just that it's noisy enough as is, but as President, I won't tolerate any muckrakers around."

I know I should have felt happy at Akane finally acknowledging her role as President, but somehow I still felt a flicker of irritation. "Don't be rude, Pres."

"I'm stating my views plainly, Tennouji." Akane was as unflappable as ever. "Don't get angry. Or perhaps," her mouth curved upwards into one of her customary smug smiles, "you have some feelings for her after all?"

"Oi, oi, oi." I felt the need to defend myself. "Those are some baseless accusations. I simply see her as a fellow seeker of truth."

"Considering your original motive, I'd say you're more of a seeker of breasts." Kotori needled me from the side.

"Har, har." I say. "Anyway! It's really only for research purposes. Like collating the UMA information we got from when we visited the forest on Sunday–"

Much too late I realised I said something that I really shouldn't have, but all the members were already on me like hungry beasts.

"Oh hoh hoh," Kotori closes in. "So that was why you weren't around when I came to your house. A date in the forest, eh?"

"So? What were you doing outside that you couldn't tell us about?" Shizuru questions.

"I told you, we were only looking for UMAs!" I deny everything vehemently. "And it wasn't a date!" I address Kotori specifically with the last part. "And you!" I turn to Lucia. "Stop thinking anything along the lines of 'doing unspeakable things outdoors'!"

Lucia goes redder than she already had been, indicating a successful preemptive strike, and I deftly take a few steps to place Shizuru between her and myself.

"Still, though. She made you lunch, didn't she?" Kotori comments.

"That was her mom." I instantly snap back, along with making a mental note that somehow, Kotori had eyes in the forest (but thankfully not ears, if she hadn't heard our conversation).

"Geh." Kotori seemed dismayed. "And here I thought Kotarou had finally became a man."

"Good try, Kotori." From the side, Shizuru gave Kotori a thumbs-up.

Right, so she had just been guessing. Of course.

~~[r]~~

2nd November, Tuesday

Night

The whole business about the haunted house turned out to be about the last days of an old candy store all along.

Having returned to the club room, I try to write an article…but for some reason, it didn't go well. For one, it simply felt too depressing.

Lost days. A warm childhood, filled with good memories. The inevitable passage of time.

I give up, and instead decide to send my notes to Inoue. She'd probably make better use of it, after all.

Her reply comes almost instantly.

"Thanks for the good lead. A lot of people like to read this kind of stories."

"Good to know. Also, don't stay up too late."

"You're not my mom."

I chuckle at the reply and shut my phone, before glancing around at the clubroom. This late, the only person left was our dear Club President, who was busy playing around on her laptop as usual.

Sighing, I stood. I wanted to write a more occult article, given that our original lead had been a bust, but Akane seemed unwilling to move, and it would probably be a chore to get her to come along with me.

"Be back in a bit. You'll still be here, right?"

At Akane's affirmative grunt, I leave to conduct my investigation.

The lead I had chosen was the eighth out of the seven mysteries of the school: a woman that wanders around our school at night. Separate accounts say that she moves around at high speeds and has a mangled mouth.

With that said, however, I had a funny feeling I knew who this 'mystery' was. Sure enough, as I knock on the door of a half-lighted classroom, a familiar face snaps around to look at me, much like one of those horror-movie ghosts.

"It's the police," I deadpan. "You're under arrest for being out past curfew."

"Tennouji!" Inoue was clearly surprised, but she didn't look displeased at seeing me. "What are you doing here?"

"Investigating a rumour for the Occult Club." I continue in the same idle tone. "You know that you're going to become a new school mystery soon?"

I tell her about the eighth, and she places her fingers under her chin in a thoughtful look.

"Hmm…I can see it happening. My facial expression can become somewhat grim when I get too focused."

"Yeah, for sure." I snort. She had made plenty of scary expressions in the forest the other day, after all. "What are you investigating this late? Almost all of the clubs have already ended activities." The last statement was from observation rather than experience; I had never joined any afterschool group before the Occult Club.

"I'm after the cursed spirit of the headmaster," Inoue says proudly.

"Excuse me? How can a living person have a spirit?"

"Apparently, the cursed headmaster wanders the school at night, handing meal tickets to everyone he meets."

"That…doesn't sound scary at all."

"I'm not referring to actual meal tickets." Inoue wags a finger. "Think of it like a horror story, where things don't look like what they seem."

Akane's mysterious coupons come to mind. "...Are you referring to fraud?" I slowly say.

"There's all sorts of rumours about our headmaster. Like that he's taking bribes, or offering special treatment to select students, or that he's in bed with some mysterious organization or other," Inoue rattles off.

"Not to be rude, but have any of your investigations of this sort ever produced any results?" I ask.

Because for a person as honest as Inoue…if someone like her ever uncovered anything serious, I got the feeling that she would have received threats, or worse.

"It has." Inoue says simply. "Well, it was last year, and it was published under my senpai's name, but we did expose a student-teacher affair at this very school. The teacher got in trouble and had to leave after that. I know my senpai received some unkind words from both of them, but she threatened to publish their whole exchange if anything happened, and that was the end."

That was fine for dealing with individuals, but what if she ever ran afoul of some powerful organization? Or even a powerful individual? Still, Inoue seemed like a stubborn enough person to me. I doubt she'd back down even if the Yakuza came knocking on her door, or something.

I decide to change the topic. "Are you still investigating mysterious individuals in school?"

"Are you telling me you know some of them?"

Inoue's sharp, as usual.

"Yeah," I nod. "I know the witch of the school, Senri Akane."

It was probably a terrible idea to bring a person who lived on solving mysteries to a woman who breathed them as if they were air, but eh, whatever.

"I already know that." Inoue looks mildly disappointed. "She's your club president, isn't she?"

"Yes, but that's not the point," I wave. "You haven't met her in person before, have you?"

"I haven't." Inoue says. "Even on the days where I stake out your clubroom, I never see her leave."

Was it just me, or did she admit to some egregious behaviour right there? "You do know that she has been accompanying us outside on some of our field trips, right?"

"You can't expect me to be stationed outside your door 24/7." Inoue makes a reasonable point.

"Fair."

As I had thought, Pres was not at all pleased to meet Inoue. In fact, you could almost say she was displeased.

Discontent.

Vexed.

Irate, even.

"Tennouji." Akane spoke to me in an eerily calm voice, after Inoue had excused herself. "If you ever let that reporter in the clubroom again, I will demonstrate the full extent of my black magic."

"A-Acknowledged." I hurriedly grab my belongings and leave.

After closing the door with a heavy sigh, I wiped the back of my neck, where sweat had started to form. Well, I did know it was a terrible idea, and yet I did it anyway. Maybe I should rewrite myself to be less of an idiot.

Turning around, I jumped again in surprise. "Inoue? Didn't you go home already?"

"I was waiting for you," she said. Her notebook was in her hand. "I'm also going to grill you for all you have, now that I know your president is a recipient of our ghostly headmaster's meal tickets."

I wrack my head to recall the earlier exchange. "I don't recall her showing the vouchers to you."

"It's an educated guess." Inoue seemed to be gritting her teeth as she flipped through her notebook. "I knew it was a bad idea to face the witch without proper preparation. Now she's going to be on high alert. This sure complicates things…"

"I'm sorry Akane said all those rude things to you," I say apologetically.

"Eh, I don't mind." Inoue waved a hand. Her anger seemed to have temporarily abated…or perhaps had been saved somewhere for later. "Walk with me for a bit?"

Feeling as if I owed her that much, I got into step beside her. Stepping out onto the crosswalk, the cool Kazamatsuri night air assailed us both.

Inoue takes a deep breath. "Mmm. I feel better already."

I guess that was her strategy for dealing with frustration. "You alright?"

"Yep." Inoue nods. "I'm fine. Just needed to blow off some steam."

"What's your favourite drink?"

"Oolong tea, but I–"

"Hot or cold?"

"Cold is fine–hey, I said to wait!"

"Too late." I had already crossed over to the vending machine and bought the drink in question, and I tossed the can over to her. "Nice catch."

"I swear, you didn't have to." Despite saying that, she instantly cracks the can open and takes a sip. "Thanks, Tennouji."

I grab some coffee of my own and walked up to stand beside her. For a moment, we simply looked over the school grounds, and what we could see of the rest of the city.

"...I'll give you some compensation."

"Hah? Excuse me?" I turn to my side.

"You did try to introduce me to the Witch, however clumsy it was. And you've also been giving me a lot of leads, now that I think of it."

"Gee, thanks. So, what do I get?"

"You get to ask me one question, which I'll answer truthfully." She holds up a single finger. "So, what will it be?"

"Bit stingy of you, isn't it?" I remark.

"Information is a reporter's greatest currency, you dolt. Also, this offer is only open until we leave."

"You mean I need to ask you now?"

"Before you get a chance to think too much about it? Yes."

I look Inoue in the eye, then look back out at the grounds. I knew I could always go for the "what's your deepest, darkest secret", but I had a strong feeling that it would be a trap. Besides, someone as straightforward as her would probably be immune to blackmail…not that I intended anything of the sort.

Maybe a pervy question? "What colour are your panties" is also a classic, but again, I simply couldn't see her as the type to get flustered. Also, I didn't really want to piss her off without getting anything in return.

"You're giving this an awful lot of thought, so I'm going to have to stop you here. Time's up!"

"That's way to quick." I complain. "But I've already thought of something."

"Go on…"

"You know, we've been talking for awhile now."

"Mm-hm."

"I'm referring to when you first came to talk to me." I gesture with my hands in a "I'm not referring to just today" motion. "But there's something you've never told me."

"What?"

"Your given name," I say, straight-faced. "'Inoue' is your surname, right? But you've never told me your given name."

She stares at me for a bit. "You know, if you were that curious, you could have asked sooner."

"How would I have brought it up?!" I wring my hands in faux-exasperation. "I can't just go 'hey, Inoue, what's your first name' out of the blue, right?"

"For the record, I would be okay with that." She gives a small pout. "What a big deal over nothing."

"Does this mean I get another question?" I ask, jokingly.

"No." She smiles, only mildly smug. "And my given name? It's 'Akira', written with the character for 'crystal' from 'crystallization'." She shows me the back cover of her notebook, on which was written the sentence: "This is the property of Inoue Akira."

"That…that's a pretty name," I comment lamely.

Honestly, how do you even follow up on such things?

"Thanks." She ruffled her hair slightly. "But I don't think it's especially special or anything. In fact, single-kanji names have been going out of fashion recently."

"Really?"

"Well, there was a downward trend when I wrote an article about it last year. Maybe it's begun to reverse since then," she mused.

"Is there anything you haven't written an article about?"

~~[r]~~

7th November, Sunday

A swamp with iridescent waters. Unidentified, mutated animals all over the place.

Akane's words about the point of no return keep echoing in my head.

It was gloomy to the point where hearing Inoue's upbeat voice had no effect. Still, I tried to maintain a facade of good cheer, in spite of my lethargy.

"Remove your bugs from my belongings this instant." I deadpan. "Also, let's just assume you're right about everything and cut to the chase."

"Gee, you're no fun today." Inoue says. "Just to confirm: did you guys go all the way to where the river ends?"

"We did." I say tersely. "To be very honest, I don't want to remember it."

"I call it the rainbow swamp." Inoue's words were quick. "Do you already know the cause?"

"Nope. What about you?"

"I can't tell you that. Are you stupid or something?"

I sigh. "You're terribly mean, trying to get information out of me while keeping your own guarded."

"But that's the basics of a good reporter!"

"Anyway," I say, "I'll just spill the beans. It's not like the Occult Club is pursuing this lead any further; it's too heavy for the blog."

"It sure seems more like what I would write about."

Picturing her listening intently, I tell her about Akane's suspicions, about the domestic drainage of the commune living upstream.

Which, as Inoue's investigations found, was a total pack of lies. Turns out it had been buried pesticides all along. Go figure.

"I'm actually preparing to go check the area right now."

"You sure are going all out on this," I comment.

"Just my usual efforts. In any case, don't tell anyone else about this, all right?"

"Who else could I tell? Like I said, the Occult Club has officially washed its hands of this matter."

"You can quit. I'd hire you."

"Very funny. Ask me when you're running your own national newspaper." Though, with the way she's going, that might not be as far in the future as one would think.

"In any case, I need to get ready. I'll show you how the pros do it." My self-proclaimed rival chirped over the phone.

"Yeah, okay–wait a damn minute." I sit up on my bed as I finally fully absorb the last few lines of the conversation. "Are you saying that you plan to go deep into the forest to investigate?"

"Yes."

"By yourself?" I demand.

"...Yes?"

"No way in hell." I breathe.

"You can't stop me, Tennouji." A less enthusiastic voice sounds over the phone.

"I know I can't," I say. "And I know if I tried, you'd probably find a way to go anyway."

"Then–"

"I'm coming with you."

Inoue's common route takes parts from both Kotori's (because Inoue was a big influence in Kotori's route) and Akane's (because Akane Common is where Tennouji gets the most into investigating the occult) common routes.

Cup noodles: see Inoue's data under Kotarou's Memory in the VN.

Inoue's informal outfit is based on card art from Ignis Memoria. I believe (slash) a (slash) VFW43 has all the images. Her first name is taken from VNDB.

Ashen Boy (灰色少年): comprises of 灰色, which means grey (literally, ash-colored), and 少年, which simply means boy (or young man). The idiom that Kotarou references is "灰色高官", hai'iro koukan. Look it up on Jisho if you want.

(By the way, Sekai Project localized the term to "loafer", which…doesn't convey any nuance of the original whatsoever. This is why translation notes are superior, I swear to Kagari.)

(By the by the way, "Kagari" means 'brazier' or 'bonfire', which is why you had all the torch imagery in Terra and season 2 of the anime. I don't know if this whole guiding light/fire/ash metaphor was deliberate but it was a neat touch.)

Next time: a forest expedition.

Review please!