Chapter 8 - White Memories

Mess.

What a mess.

Yakumaru's nimble fingers danced swiftly among the bottles on her cluttered desk, the sharp scent of various alchemical concoctions lingering with the smoke of flickering candles. She sighed, realizing that she had to replace several, courtesy of her best friend's supreme clumsiness. Naru barely bothered with keeping her room orderly, let alone making her bed or anything that might contribute to the overall acceptability of the chaos surrounding her.

The two were practically roommates. While Yakumaru had her own place, she found solace in the extra space here, even if it meant paying the price of tidying up the mess whenever she found the time, since Naru was always too busy to do it. And even if Naru did have the time, she wouldn't bother; that was just not in her nature.

In a rush, Yakumaru threw on her battle-worn clothes, adjusted her cap and utility belt, casually munched on a piece of yesterday's toast for some much-needed nutrition (growing girl and all), and then darted out the door.

"Sorry it took so long," she said, turning her attention to the boy in the corridor. "I'm having some problems—"

Yakumaru halted when she realized there was another person present, smiling gently at the mysterious boy with spiky hair.

"Oh, Yakumaru-san. It's a pleasure to meet you once again on this pleasant evening."

Yakumaru's eyes rolled at the pompous words. The name of the person standing next to Kamijou was Kongou Mitsuko, a relatively famous person by the way. She was reputed to be one of Misaka Mikoto's main fighters and generals, hand-picked to be one of her vanguards. Or so she heard. In Yakumaru's opinion, she just seemed like another snobbish, self-absorbed girl, exactly the kind she usually didn't get along with.

"I wish I could say the same," said Yakumaru, her gaze quickly falling on the boy standing there with his arms crossed. "I'm ready when you are, Kamijou."

"Okay. See you later Kongou-san."

At some point, Yakumaru had decided not to use honorifics when talking to that strange boy. She felt a mixture of insecurity and a twinge of fear every time she spoke to him, but she promised herself that she wouldn't let intimidation get to her. The image she aimed to convey was that of a mature girl with no insecurities... something she most certainly was not. But hey, fake it till you make it.

Not two seconds into their walk down the corridor, they were interrupted.

"Can I ask where the gentleman is taking the lady?"

"You already asked," replied Yakumaru, squinting at the annoying girl with the fan. "We're on a mission, don't get in our way."

"Not exactly on a mission."

Yakumaru would have preferred him to keep quiet, but now she could only sigh.

"It's something more personal," the boy continued, stopping suddenly, forcing Yakumaru to do the same.

"Hmm... if that's the case." Kongou used her fan to partially cover her face. "Allow me, Kongou Mitsuko, to assist you in this endeavor."

Great.

Wonderful.

Fantastic.

It was all Yakumaru wanted more than anything, to go out on a dangerous unofficial mission with little equipment with a scary guy who could probably fold her like origami with his bare hands, accompanied by one of those troublesome girls who ran District 7. What a night.

"I don't know if it's a good idea. "

She mentally applauded Kamijou when she heard this.

"But if I've accepted Yakumaru's help, then-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Yakumaru protested. "You can stop right there. We're a team, have you forgotten? That's extra baggage here in the faction, a valuable one by the way."

"I'd rather you didn't refer to me so rudely," said Kongou.

"And I'd rather you'd gone back where you came from, but here we are. Life is unfair sometimes."

Perhaps if she threatened to argue with that girl every two minutes, Kamijou would change his mind. Or did he actually enjoy the prospect, and that's why he accepted her help too? That's all it took. That boy was a sadist, apparently.

"Maybe Yakumaru-san is right."

Yes. That's better. Leave the luggage behind, they were enough. Fight your sadistic nature, Kamijou. Yakumaru realized that she was beginning to have an increasingly strange view of that boy. Fingers crossed that he wouldn't rip out her heart and devour it while standing in front of her at some point.

"Probably," Kongou said, her eyes doubtful, unable to lock onto his. "But... I feel trapped here, you know? A bit of fresh air is all I need. I can take care of myself, but I don't want to go out there alone, so this is the perfect time since it's not an official mission. And you're the only person I trust here. Please..."

What the... seriously, was that girl really using such a simple trick? What cheap manipulation, even her big eyes watered slightly. There was no way that boy—

"Well, if that's the case. Welcome to the team, Kongou-san."

No way, huh?

My God, what a night.

x-2-x

There's no better place than home. An old saying... even that is being denigrated by this decadent world. Nevertheless, the sight of his apartment in the background brought a sigh of relief to Kamijou Touma. Destruction loomed everywhere, transforming the once-familiar street into an almost unrecognizable landscape. Strangely, amidst the chaos, his home appeared to be miraculously intact.

It had been a good, long walk so far, and a bit hectic too considering that they had to change routes a few times because, to Kamijou's usual misfortune, they encountered some 'Shattereds' and the boy would rather not have to face them.

And there was still something that kept bothering him.

"Sometimes I feel like the nights are getting colder and colder," he said, smoothing his scarf around his neck.

"Are you the kind of person who can't stand the cold, Kamijou-san?" asked Kongou, walking beside him as she had done the whole trip.

"Not exactly. I've walked for miles in sub-zero temperatures in the past, it's just that this city is a lot colder than I remember. Something to do with the PBs?"

"I'm sure it's just you."

He could blame it on his battered jacket if he wanted to. Maidono had been generous, but he hesitated to request better clothing. Consequently, all that remained was for him to endure it, as was his usual practice.

Kamijou's gaze shifted behind him. Yakumaru stood there, her steps steady but somewhat distracted. She had uttered hardly a word throughout the entire journey. Occasionally, as he attempted to draw nearer to match her pace, she would slow down even further, engrossed in fiddling with bottles of peculiar liquids while muttering incomprehensible phrases. She was probably just someone very professional, concerned with doing the mission as efficiently as possible. This attitude made him a little nervous at times. Perhaps he'd gotten used to Naru's relaxed, carefree manner, the way she smiled amid disagreements, imparting a semblance of normalcy to the disarrayed world.

His contemplation was abruptly interrupted by a peculiar beep.

"Are you hiding something there, girl?" Yakumaru said, looking at Kongou suspiciously. "I've seen you disguising something in that fan of yours, is there anything you want to tell us?"

"Huh?" Kongou looked away, a hint of nervousness shining through. "It's nothing, it's just... a tracking device."

The expression that appeared on Yakumaru's face was a mixture of skepticism and distrust. She walked in quick steps towards Kongou, standing in the dark street. She didn't say anything, but the other girl seemed to understand just the same.

"I understand you might think I'm a spy, but that's not the issue," said Kongou quickly, her face concealed behind her fan. "I simply want to communicate with my team. Unfortunately, those guys confiscated my radio, and your faction hasn't granted me any access."

"Wait a minute." Yakumaru narrowed her eyes. "So that's why you wanted to come with us so badly? And here I was thinking something else."

Kamijou recalled the day she had inquired about a radio when he had rescued her. Upon reflection, if her sole intent was to locate her friends, there seemed to be nothing inherently wrong with keeping such information to herself. At least, that was his perspective. Yakumaru, however, expressed disapproval by shaking her head and gesturing towards Kongou's fan while uttering a few words of dissent.

But...

The girls' conversation abruptly faded into the background. A frigid feeling snaked down his spine, and it wasn't a mere sensation; it felt almost tangible, as if an icy force were clutching his body from within, rendering him immobile. A pressure. Not just internal now, it was coming from outside, emanating through the air, suffocating him.

There was something there.

It was like those moments when you were alone at night, in the dark, and a strange noise echoed from another room. Your body went on alert, even though you told yourself it was nothing, just the wind, you refused to get up, to go and meet the unknown. That's how he felt. He wanted to move his head, to look in the direction of that pressure, but he was paralyzed.

Kamijou took a deep breath. Once... twice... three times. Little by little, the sensation subsided, his senses returning, the world around him coming into focus. He finally managed to push the bad feeling away, taking courage, and looking in the direction where the pressure was coming from.

And there was the source of everything.

"What?" It was barely a whisper. He was sure his lips didn't even open.

It was a... thing. No. It was a color. Perched atop one of the apartment buildings, amid the shadows. This color had a shape, something that resembled the human form. Resembled. It couldn't be human. It was grotesque, animalistic. What unsettled him the most? The thing was barely discernible. All he could perceive was that color. Unknown, mutating, transforming. It pulsed and shimmered, a spectacle of transformation, until the contours became sharper, the focus more defined.

"It's... white." Once again, he was sure his lips hadn't moved.

He couldn't stop staring. His body seemed immobilized, as though the creature emitting that otherworldly color held him captive, akin to a sleep demon inducing paralysis.

"Hey, Kamijou, I'm talking to you."

Until that voice and that touch on his shoulder jolted him back to reality. The once overwhelming color that seemed to inundate everything no longer plagued him as he turned his head, locking eyes with Yakumaru. Her gaze held a touch of concern, dispelling the surreal hold of the spectral hue.

"You've suddenly gone pale," she said, tilting her head and frowning.

"Ya... kumaru... san..."

His lips felt simultaneously frozen and parched, though he was certain it was a product of his mind. And there were still those whispers.

"Kamijou?" Yakumaru regarded him with an odd expression. "Hey, what's the matter?"

The boy had to force himself to shake his head, like an animal that had just come out of the water, its heavy body becoming light little by little. Acting on instinct and without affording himself time to think, he turned and pointed in the direction of the current issue.

"There," he said, starting to gasp. "That thing is—" He stopped talking, that feeling from before completely gone.

"Um... Kamijou, there's nothing there."

Yakumaru was confused once again, but she was telling the truth. It was gone. That thing. That color. Gone. And with it, the world seemed to have color once again. But, incredible as it may seem, there was still something wrong. Had the world returned to what it really was? What kind of influence had that thing had on him?

"Was it a PB?" asked Yakumaru, standing in front of him, arms crossed, her eyebrow raised. "What was it like?"

"It was..." He had to pause, finding that he couldn't describe what he saw. "I can't explain it. Bipedal, not that big, and... with a strange color. Or several colors, I really don't know."

"Strange color?" Kongou asked, approaching the two of them and now staring at the spot Kamijou had pointed out. The boy had never seen her look so serious and worried. "You mean white, don't you?"

"Yes," he said, but then put his hand on his chin and corrected himself. "No. I mean, it was a color there, but I can't describe which one. But yes, it looked white."

"Well," said Yakumaru, "PBs have strange colors. Some even have multiple colors. We call them 'prismatic beasts' for a reason after all. You said it was bipedal? Uncommon, but not that rare. If it wasn't big, then it wasn't an abomination, that's good. Although it doesn't make that much difference to you." She shrugged nonchalantly as she said it. "Anyway, if it was just a normal low-class PB, we'd better get going, even I can handle one like that, I don't know why the strongest guy on our team went pale at the sight of it. You scared me a bit, ya know that?"

"It wasn't a normal PB," cut in Kongou, with a tone so serious and sharp that it seemed to cut through the cold night air. She looked at Kamijou, but her eyes didn't seem to seek his, too much insecurity there. "Are you sure what you saw? A biped, smaller than the others, flooding the surrounding world with a strange color until only white remains?"

The urgency in her alarmed tone made Kamijou swallow hard. It was an accurate description, one he would undoubtedly have provided if panic hadn't gripped him at that moment. It could only mean one thing: the girl had witnessed the same phenomenon, but not on this day.

A simple nod was all he could manage. The girl promptly averted her gaze, scanning the surrounding buildings.

"Not good," Kongou said, her lips now visibly trembling. "We must leave. Immediately." Turning to face the two of them, she took a deep breath. "The White Queen is out there."

x-3-x

The first thing Yakumaru thought as she climbed the stairs of that dormitory building was: How did a guy like that live in such a place? It was just an ordinary building, probably dedicated to a school just as ordinary, one that no one would remember the name of after a day or two, and no student would be proud to study there.

Of course.

There was that thing about him being a level 0.

Of course.

Yakumaru called it bullshit.

Perhaps some kind of disguise to avoid attracting attention. She had heard that number 1 used to live in a very ordinary apartment building, so it was safe to say that it was the same here.

"So," she said, watching him turn the handle but discovering that it was locked. A rather strange thing, by the way. "Kamijou, what are ya doing here? Have you hidden something interesting that you don't want anyone to find out about?"

Before answering, he kicked the door hard like a cop in an action movie. It seems he didn't have an extra key hidden in a vase.

"To be honest, I hardly know why I'm here."

Huh? Now that made her face twist and a doubt swim in her head.

In any case, the boy didn't elaborate, entering the apartment followed by Kongou, who was waving her fan around as a strange beep emitted from it.

"It's not exactly as I remembered it," he continued. His voice was softer than usual. He even seemed a little vulnerable now. "That wall has been renovated... and the Kotatsu is no longer here."

The place was very simple indeed, resembling the common design of a compact one-room apartment. Oh, behold the epitome of simplicity. Boasting the latest in non-existent decor, a masterclass in the art of having nothing. Except for that round table, surrounded by chairs that scream, "Sit on me if you dare, but don't expect any comfort."Come to think of it, if this was part of "no man's land", there was a good chance that one or more nomads were using it as a shelter, because, clearly, when you're a nomad, you want your pit stop to be as barren as your social calendar.

Finding a nomad was always a coin toss. It was either someone very weak who wasn't accepted into any faction, or a complete monster like Sogiita Gunha. Yakumaru knew a nomad girl quite well, she even used to go to their faction sometimes. She was tough, so she was certainly still around.

"There's something here," Kongou announced, her fan turned to the floor. "I really am a lucky girl."

The girl was suddenly happy for some reason, her hands now slapping against the floor of the place where she was on all fours, rather inappropriate for someone wearing a skirt short enough to make Yakumaru, our connoisseur of modesty, raise an eyebrow.

"I was right to bring you, Kongou-san," said Kamijou, his gaze elsewhere than on the girl on the floor. He was a gentleman, Yakumaru would give him that. "We've barely got here and... wait what's that?"

The fan girl's prize had been claimed. Concealed beneath the false floor was a modern-looking amateur radio, an item that appeared new but likely had been meticulously crafted from scratch using customized components. Yakumaru's intuition proved correct; this was undeniably a location frequented by nomads.

"How did you find that?" asked Kamijou, now sitting down next to the girl who was no longer involuntarily trying to give them a taste of her underwear choices. "Is that tracker of yours synchronized with that thing there or something?"

"Radio waves are easy to track," Kongou replied, placing the radio on the floor and turning it on, static filling the room. "Of course, I was lucky the device was on. Maybe the person who used it last was in a hurry."

"Something common among nomads," added Yakumaru.

"You think this is a nomad hideout? Well, it must be better than using your faction's radio."

"You're raising a lot of suspicions here, spoiled girl." Yakumaru walked up to Kongou, arms crossed in an intimidating manner. "What do you want anyway? It's strange that you have this device with you and no one has noticed until now."

"I had removed the battery." Kongou wasn't even looking at her. "Luckily, your friend, Kami no Shinigami, gave me an extra battery. She's a very nice person, despite her sinister nickname."

That seemed quite on character for Naru, not even caring about the consequences of something like that.

In any case, Yakumaru wasn't very interested in all that, so she decided to take a look around, walking towards what seemed to be the bathroom.

Odd. The place was exceptionally clean and well-preserved, even for a spot frequented by nomads. Had the owner enlisted an exceptionally dedicated maid or something of the sort? Even the bathtub retained its pristine white hue.

Hold on.

Blankets?

Someone was sleeping there.

"What are you doing?"

Yakumaru nearly jumped in surprise when Kamijou suddenly entered the bathroom. As if he wasn't scary enough just standing there emitting a strange aura as usual, he was staring at her seriously. As flippant as she liked to be, her heart raced when he acted like that. But pretending that everything was fine was her specialty, so she forced herself to calm down, even though her hand betrayed an involuntary nervous twitch.

"I'm just exploring," she responded casually. Or something that seemed casual. For God's sake, hide your nervousness. "What? Don't tell me this is where you stash the important things you came for?"

"I told you, I didn't have anything specific in mind."

"Oh? Right." She nodded with a smile, only to abruptly adopt a deadly serious expression. "As if I'd buy that nonsense."

"I thought you'd say that." He scratched his head and then started walking. "These blankets are new. Someone had the same idea as me."

For some reason he took off his shoes and then got into the bath, stretching out his legs and arching his body backwards, as if he were actually relaxing in a hot bath.

"This is where I used to sleep," he said, his eyes now closed. "Talking like this makes it seem so long ago."

"And indeed it was. At least a year, since you didn't even know what a PB was. That or your memory is in serious trouble."

"It wouldn't be a surprise."

While it sounded very serious, the boy put a smile on the corner of his lip. There was something about that smile, so deprecating, so full of mystery.

Yakumaru considered herself to be reasonably good at reading other people, but in the presence of this boy, she found herself questioning her own abilities. He was uniquely enigmatic in an almost paranormal manner.

Taking advantage of the fact that he had his eyes closed, lost in contemplation, she approached the bathtub, removed her shoes, and neatly placed them next to his.

"Huh?" He frowned at her. "What do you want?"

"What does it look like?" Yakumaru lifted her slender leg, making contact with the cold bathtub surface with her sock-covered foot. "Come on, give me some space."

The boy hastily withdrew his legs, averting his gaze as the girl entered the tub on the other side of him. The space was limited and, even though they were both sitting with their legs retracted, they were almost touching. It felt a bit awkward. If she had thought it through, she might have reconsidered, but now it was too late to back out. Remember, to act maturely, even if she was far from it.

"Ya know," she said, now trying to look him in the eyes that escaped hers. "This isn't a comfortable bed to lie in. Is it part of some secret training to kill gods?"

"Eh?" He smiled slightly at the joke. "Actually, my specialty is saving gods, not killing them."

The relaxed way he said it made it sound like he was serious. Maybe it was. From what she'd seen and heard about him, it even seemed a little plausible. What on earth was she thinking? Naru had built up so much hype around the guy that Yakumaru was entertaining notions as ludicrous as gods.

"Hey," he said, "can I ask you something?"

"I'll think about your case. You should receive a notice within three working days."

Despite her response, he shook his head and leaned back, proceeding with his question nonetheless.

"Funny." He chuckled, the sound muffled. "It's about your notebook. What do you write in it? A diary, perhaps?"

"Apparently, that's living rent-free in your head, huh? Not telling ya, I'm sorry."

"Hmm... I see." He leaned forward, chin resting on one knee. "If that's the case, how about I tell you something about myself? Maybe then you'll trust me a bit more."

"Curious. You're not going to tell me that this bathtub was a love nest for you and your ex-girlfriend. What was her name again? Index? Kind of disgusting."

"No and... no. Index is not my ex-girlfriend. I slept here because I let her sleep in my bed, and there wasn't room for both of us... sort of."

Yakumaru felt it was inappropriate to make any further comments or ask questions about their relationship. She could be a disrespectful girl at times, but she wasn't that stupid.

Instead, she mimicked his movement, resting her chin on her knee. They were a little too close now, she could even smell the soft, masculine scent coming from him. And she was sure she saw him shiver a little at the sudden closeness. It was kind of cute when he acted like that.

"Okay, tell me a dirty secret, and I'll tell ya what I write in my notebook. But don't be disappointed when you find out, it's no big deal after all."

"I don't know if it's dirty, but..." He hesitated, his words almost a whisper. "Remember what I mentioned earlier? About my memories?"

"Huh?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that my life so far has barely lasted a year?"

She even thought about making a funny comment, but the boy's serious and inscrutable expression silenced her. There it was. The thickening aura of mystery that enveloped him, to the extent that Yakumaru even felt her mouth go dry.

"What do you mean?"

In response, he gestured towards his own head, his finger mimicking a gun. Oddly, she was certain she had seen Mai-sama do something similar a few times. Had he borrowed her gesture? Or had she, in fact, borrowed it from him?

"My memories," he finally said. "One day, I woke up in a white hospital room... and that's the first thing I remember in my whole life. Everything else... fifteen whole years... white."

The sigh that escaped his mouth was so tired, so dejected. He said it so simply, like someone telling the time of day, but the weight of those words.

Suffocating.

Even nauseating.

It wasn't what Yakumaru expected.

No.

She thought of many possibilities, like some strange accident involving his powers that he didn't tell anyone about, or even something crazy like he was an agent of a faction that was sent to destroy her faction from the inside out, and now she would become a victim of it.

But that?

"Have you... lost your memory?" She uttered the words slowly, savoring them, but the taste was bitter. So bitter, it made her stomach churn. "You called it a secret, so who else knows? Only your family?"

He shook his head, his gaze now drifting into the unknown, his posture once again arching backward, away from her. Was it strange that, at that moment, she entertained the thought of leaning a little closer so that the distance between them wouldn't widen?

"I don't know exactly how many people know. Some of them found out on their own, others I had to tell due to the necessity of the situation, and perhaps some of them didn't even tell me that they know the truth. But so far, you could say that I've only managed to tell two people. Three, including you now."

Just two people. Out of all the people that boy knew, she and two others were the ones he chose to confide in. Hell, it seemed like not even his parents were aware. It might be a bit cruel considering that this was something that was surely destroying this boy little by little, but was it selfish of her to feel so good about being one person in such a select group? She felt so exclusive now. Special. Yeah, that's a word that certainly didn't suit her. After all... someone as pathetic as that would never be special.

But even so, that's how she felt now. For the first time in a long time.

"Why me?" she asked in a weak voice, instinctively leaning a little towards him. Her hand was now clutching the small notebook hanging from her utility belt. "I mean, something like this just to take a look at the stupid things I write in here. I'm even embarrassed to show you now."

"I just thought I'd feel a bit better if I told you. And that wasn't our deal."

Why was he acting so casual again? It bothered her, much more now. For God's sake, be a bit tougher on the girl who's been throwing shit at you for days on end. That way she wouldn't even be able to look at him without being embarrassed from now on. She had chosen to follow him here as a kind of reward for taking care of Naru back then, she had even regretted it almost instantly after realizing what she was doing. But now? Now she felt bad for being so hesitant. She wagered that he wouldn't hesitate to help her if she asked. Or even if she didn't ask.

"What an idiot I am," she muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing," she replied. Holding out her hand, she presented the orange-covered notebook adorned with an alchemical symbol, an intricate fusion of circles and lines. "Here, take a look."

"Finally."

Yakumaru regretted it momentarily and then put the notebook back. The boy didn't look at all pleased, but she just wanted him to look at her latest work first, she'd been at it for days, so it couldn't be all that bad.

Once again she handed him the notebook, and this time he took it so quickly from her hand that it scared her, it was almost as if he was saying silently "You won't get away from me".

As soon as he laid eyes on the yellowed pages there, nervousness washed over her body like a tide. No matter what she tried, there was no way she could hide her sudden embarrassment. She even wondered if she was blushing right now. Probably not. For God's sake, no.

"Um... that's a poem, right?" he asked, not a second after staring at the sheet. "So you write something like this? For a moment I thought it might be a sketchbook too. Oh, there are some drawings."

"D-don't look at that." Yakumaru didn't know what to do with her hands, but she found that hiding her face with them was the best option. So much for the mature, confident image she was trying to convey. "It's a work in progress."

"Yeah." He just twisted his lip and made a casual gesture as he turned the sheet over. "Let's see this poem then."

She had memorized the poem by then, but it was nice to be able to hear someone speaking it out loud.

And the boy soon started.

"I touch the mirrored surface, without cruel lies.

Pale, helpless. Shards, Cacophony.

Perish until there is nothing left.

Once whole, now fragments glisten in the light.

A mirror's tale, a story redefined.

Each crack reveals a truth, both day and night.

"Beauty lies in brokenness," it's said, not wrong.

But it only reflects what it sees.

A cold, soulless surface, singing its shattered song."

And then Kamijou fell silent.

Moments.

That turned into seconds.

It would be a minute soon.

"It would be interesting to get some kind of comment," said the girl, nervously adjusting her cap. The cold surface of the bathtub was even calming her down now. "So... I know it sucks. Poems aren't really my thing, I prefer plays actually, but that was too long to read in a bathtub in the middle of nowhere so... damn it, stop looking at me like that and say something, do you want to make me even more nervous than I already am?"

"I'm not even looking at you."

Well, she wasn't looking at him. Waving her hands in front of her face to disguise what she was feeling wasn't as good an idea as it seemed.

"And actually, it's not bad at all." Now Kamijou was looking at her. Those dark blue eyes just stood there, locked on hers. "I don't know anything about poems, but it's all about getting the message across, isn't it?"

"Message?"

Yakumaru really wasn't that good at writing poems, but she at least knew the basics enough to know that a poem doesn't always have some hidden message that the author has hidden like a puzzle for the reader to put together. Perhaps the boy thought that everyone was like that and that's why it took him so long to say something.

Curious.

"So did you understand what I meant here?" she asked, once again leaning towards him in that bathtub instinctively.

"More or less." After taking one last look, he put his hand in one of his coat pockets, as if looking for something there, and then continued, "There are things that don't need fixing. They're fine the way they are."

Immediately after saying this, he took his hand out of his pocket, revealing a large piece of glass. No. It was actually a piece of mirror, with cracks everywhere on the surface, replicating and distorting the image of the boy there.

It was Yakumaru's turn to be unnaturally silent.

Whatever "message" she was trying to convey by writing the poem, it certainly wasn't that. Yet somehow it resonated with her. Leaning a little closer, she sighed as she looked at her own broken reflection in that mirrored fragment.

"Hmm... you're good at that," she said without thinking. "Maybe I should ask your opinion on everything I write from now on." She drew back a little, her hands on her knees, a soft wince on her face, her chin resting on her arms, her gaze now distant. "By the way, why do you walk around with a piece of mirror in your pocket?"

"Well, you're a girl, so you should understand that checking your appearance is always a priority."

"It would be nice if you left the sarcasm to me, you're terrible at it."

"You're not so good yourself." He punctuated the bold words with a rather mischievous smirk.

Yakumaru couldn't resist and let out a little giggle, prompting the boy to join in with a light laugh of his own. She liked to think her laugh was contagious, although they say everyone's is, so she's still average. Nothing special at all.

"I'll tell ya a secret too," she said. With a quick gesture, she took off her cap and let her long hair flow behind her. "When I was little, I had a dream... a rather silly one."

"Oh? Did you aspire to be a model?"

"I suppose that's an attempt at flattery, so thank you. Very smooth. But, in reality, I dreamt of becoming an actress."

"Actress? Is that why you enjoy writing plays?"

"Yes, even though plays aren't as popular these days. I think the focus should shift to movie scripts."

Or perhaps forget all that and concentrate on the present. It's not as if she's really going to live long here in this hellhole anyway. That's the fate of people like her. Oblivion. Nothing more.

The girl let her body fall backwards, her eyes closed as she tried to relax in that cramped bathtub. A hot bath would be good right now. Maybe she should take a long one in the tub in Naru's room. If she was destined to forever live in the shadow of her best friend, it might be best to embrace it and find enjoyment in the experience.

"Maybe I was just fascinated," she said, her arms now resting over the bath as she relaxed. "Seeing one person, living the lives of so many. Maybe I wanted to feel what it's like. To be whoever I wanted to be, at least for the short time while the play lasted."

"It wasn't a silly dream. In truth, it still isn't. I mean, there's still a world out there, full of opportunities for you to be whatever you want."

"Unfortunately, it's too late." Her hand traveled to her utility belt, where she took out one of her transparent vials, the one she used to check her own appearance. "I've already chosen my path, and I've already accepted the consequences it has brought me. And it's not as if anyone can go out there, not without being killed in the next instant."

"What if one day you could? If someone found a way to fix all this?"

The problem was that there was no way to fix any of it, regardless of how optimistic she or anyone else felt. This was a world without dreams. Embracing one's circumstances seemed to be the only path forward. Strangely, she didn't want to say it out loud to that boy. It wasn't that she didn't have the courage, she just didn't want to push away that momentary optimism, that faint feeling he was emanating at the moment. It was comforting.

"Ya know... Kamijou." Yakumaru smiled lightly once again, getting out of her relaxed position and bringing her face close to his once more. "Maybe, just maybe—"

"Kamijou-san, you have to listen to this."

Yakumaru sighed when she was interrupted by the girl with the fan. She had even forgotten that there was a third person there. Next time. Wait, is she wishing for a next time alone with him? Well, they're teammates. There will probably be moments like that in the future.

Preferably in the near future.

x-4-x

"I tried using the radio to communicate with my team, but this one won't do," said Kongou, fiddling with some buttons on the radio on the round table.

Kamijou knew practically nothing about radios, so he tried to guess that this one should use some kind of special frequency and that was it.

This trip of his was a bit strange. He had no idea what he wanted to find here, but his intuition told him that this was where he should be. The place where he was always when everything was over, his sanctuary.

And in the end, his intuition seemed to prove somewhat correct.

"Okay, the joke's over," a strange, distorted female voice sounded from the radio. "Identify yourself or I'll blow up that entire apartment building with you inside."

"That's the second time she's threatened me," said Kongou, looking at Kamijou a little worriedly.

"And it will be the last," asserted the voice, irritation evident despite the distortion. "Identify yourself."

"Unfortunately, I can't. Revealing my name might pose a danger to my faction depending on who you are and where your allegiances lie."

If Kamijou didn't do something, the place would probably explode at any moment. While he admired the girl's bravery in defending her friends, he wasn't inclined towards self-destruction. Consequently, he gently took the voice-capturing device from the girl's hands and signaled for silence.

"My name is Kamijou Touma. I'm just a nomad, with no faction. I came here because this apartment—"

"Kamijou?"

He had the idea of lying to protect his faction, but maybe he should have lied about his name too. It would be a good idea if he started repeating to himself that he was someone famous for some reason, maybe it would sink in and he wouldn't make such silly mistakes.

"Kamijou, is it really you?" The voice on the other end sounded even more alarmed than before. "The voice checks out, but you never know. Damn it, how can I solve this without revealing myself?" She paused for a long moment, and he even heard her sigh. "Listen, boy, if it really is you, you'll remember this. New year's eve. Job in Shibuya. Does that tell you who I am?"

"Shibuya? Wait." He was sure he was smiling now. "It's you—"

"Don't say my name, boy. Exposing myself here could be a problem, you never know what tricks that bitch has. I'm not an expert in all that nonsense, so you can't be too careful."

"Understood, Senpai."

When he said it automatically, the girl on the other side laughed, which made him scratch his head nervously.

"At least it's not my name," Kumokawa said, her voice cheerful. "I guess that's okay. My God, how nice to hear your voice after all this time... but wait, what the hell are you doing there? "

"Well, it's my apartment then—"

"No, boy, I meant what are you doing outside your cryogenic chamber? Who got you out? I can't think of many people who can defeat Accelerator, so either the rumors are true or it's all those magicians' doing. Goddamn it, what's been going on for the last few weeks anyway? It's just problem after problem."

"Cryogenic chamber? Huh? Senpai, how do you know that?"

He couldn't attribute it solely to the fact that she was an amazing older girl; there was something else at play.

And that something was soon revealed.

"Because I put you there, boy. "

His head suddenly seemed to spin and he couldn't close his mouth.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten?" continued the girl on the other side. "Well, you've been there for a while, so maybe all that has slightly damaged your brain. What a problem. Better—"

"Who are you talking to, human girl?" another female voice sounded on the other end of the line. "I thought I heard the voice of my understander, but it's a bit implausible."

Even with the distorted voice, Kamijou instantly understood who that person was. He even managed to force himself out of his state of shock.

"Othinus?!" he asked, leaning over and increasing his grip on the device in his hand. "Where are you? What about Index? Is she all right?"

"So it really is you. What a dangerous situation." Othinus sighed. "I'm sorry, human, but we don't know her whereabouts at the moment."

He was sure that voices continued to sound through the device in his hand, probably Kumokawa had said something again, but suddenly everything seemed distant. It was as if the voices were coming from the bottom of a barrel, reverberating, almost incomprehensible.

That cold sensation once again.

Flashes of memory began to flood his head. Memories of here, of this very place he was in. He saw a wall of the apartment being destroyed, and something came through it.

And that something pierced his body, making him bleed to death.

x-5-x

"Shit! There's another one over there," a female voice shouted, and just then he saw an explosion of flames appearing in his blurred vision. "Those damn Shattereds. Can't they just leave us alone?!"

It was Yakumaru. Kamijou saw her while lying on the asphalt, realizing he was no longer in the familiar surroundings of his apartment. The two girls had likely collaborated to move him out of there after he collapsed.

His hand went to his abdomen, where he had been pierced by something, but there was no wound there.

"Just a memory," he muttered to himself.

Indeed, he hadn't blacked out due to blood loss or any physical injury. The wall being destroyed and that thing attacking him was merely a recollection from the distant past. The sheer shock of that sudden memory was what caused him to lose consciousness. At least, that was his current understanding of the situation.

His trembling, heavy hands pushed the asphalt, his legs felt like those of a rusty machine, but he used all his strength to make them work.

"Ah, thank God he's awake," said Kongou, helping him up and offering her shoulder for him to lean on. "You gave us quite a scare, Kamijou-san."

"What happened?" His eyes focused on the destroyed street ahead. The sea of flames there was consuming the body of a person, one of those infected known as 'Shattered'. "Why did you carry me here?"

Before she could respond, a sharp sound, reminiscent of an alarm or a clock, pierced the air. It was coming from Yakumaru's wrist.

"Last alert," she said, slightly out of breath. He observed a small cut on her cheek, a battle scar from the fight the two engaged in while he was unconscious. "It's approaching."

"Approaching?" Kamijou didn't want to ask, but his mouth almost moved involuntarily. "What's approaching?"

Yakumaru walked over to him, then positioned herself on the other side, supporting him on her shoulder. With a subtle nudge forward, she signaled them to hurry.

"Take a look around, Kamijou," she said as the three of them commenced walking together. "You've been unconscious for quite some time."

He finally realized the situation he was in. The streets were dimly illuminated, not by artificial lights but by the natural light steadily growing from the horizon.

"We have to hurry," Yakumaru urged, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "We don't want to be caught outside when dawn breaks."

Hello! Welcome to the end-of-chapter notes. We had a piece of the mystery revealed here, the person responsible for Kamijou being put into cryogenic sleep. And dawn is coming.

Much of this chapter was told from Yakumaru's point of view and I tried to make the narrative a little different from the usual at these moments. Did you notice? Here in this story, Yakumaru is a bit sarcastic and sassy, so I tried to emulate that and also show a bit of how she feels about everything going on around her.

Oh, before I forget, I know that technically Kamijou also told that whole group in the bar in England about his memories, but there were only two people he had this "heart-to-heart" talk with. That's what he meant there. If I'm forgetting something, let me know.

In the next chapter, we'll have a bit of action, as well as another revelation.

I'll reply to the reviews now:

Spidergy: Hello! Good to hear that I'm getting better at this. Do you like my other story too? That's nice. Thank you very much. The intention is to really delve into this 'Urban Legend' that is Kamijou Touma, to try to show both sides of it through different points of view. And to answer your question, trying not to give away too many spoilers, the group will eventually take a look at what he's 'hiding'. I've already planned it, but it's going to take a while, and in a way, it's going to be a bit unexpected how it turns out. I hope you're enjoying the interactions of this group of misfits so far.

Dimz: Hey, reader-san. Part of it, yes. It turns out that Mugino and Maidono are facing a huge miscommunication.

ImagineBreaker2206: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this change of direction. And yes, Mugino has matured a bit here. As for Takitsubo, I can't talk about her without giving away spoilers, but I can tell you that we'll be 'hearing from her' soon. Kinuhata will have more interactions with Kamijou. As will Yakumaru. The latter is one of the main characters, so expect a lot of them.

5queso: Yeah, Hamazura is in bad shape. Mugino is in it to the end, whatever the cost. We'll know exactly what his problem is in a few chapters. Many thanks as always.

Trjz: So glad you're enjoying the action scenes. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Uzunami1: I appreciate that. Answering the question, I don't know about the other stories, but here it's been a long time, so she's simply forgotten about this detail at the moment. But in the future, she'll comment on it.

Until next time!

By the way, the next chapter might take a little longer to come out, busy end of year, you know? And it will probably be the last one of the year, which is somewhat appropriate considering the end of it. That's it for today. Moon leaving.