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

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

Record: Paper, Scissors, Key (II)

"Something smells good." Inoue's voice was approving as she entered the house. "Beef bowls?"

"That's right." I nod, before a thought strikes me. "Wait, how did you even get in here? The gate's locked."

"I climbed over it, of course." My girlfriend holds up her dirty palms. "You really should clean the outside of your house more often, Kotarou. Where's the washroom, by the way?"

"Nobody's going to climb over the gate!" I exclaimed. "And the washroom's in the back."

I could hear Inoue humming contentedly as she ventured deeper into my house. Come to think of it, this was the first time she had come over.

Well…

"Woah," I mutter, my thoughts interrupted as I caught a glimpse of the sky outside. "It's pitch-black up there. Looks like a real storm's coming."

Some old people said that they could feel it in their bones when rain was coming. But for me and my enhanced senses, it was more of feeling a strange sensation on my skin.

Was it electricity? Static charge?

"It's going to rain soon, huh?"

"Bwah!" I let out a yelp as Inoue's skin suddenly brushes against mine, as she wraps her arms around my waist.

"Stop squirming around."

"Sorry. Did you bring an umbrella?"

"Nope," she says cheerfully. "If it starts pouring, I guess I'll just have to stay here until it stops."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "All according to plan, right?"

~~[r]~~

"This is a solid five out of ten."

"Gee, thanks." I roll my eyes.

"It's not good, but it's something you can eat every day." Inoue nods and clarifies.

Wait, was that a stealth compliment or something?

"Speaking of food," Inoue continues, "what are you going to do for the harvest festival?"

"Dunno. Haven't really thought about it, to be honest. I thought I'd just write some articles, but I haven't made any concrete plans or anything."

"You do know the festival starts on Wednesday, right?" Inoue takes in my shocked expression, and just shrugs. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I would have forgot, too, if the Newspaper Club hadn't been dividing up work."

"Right. You're going to be busy, aren't you?" I try to keep my face still, but a part of me still felt dismayed that I had to spend less time with her.

She grins. "I got President Yuki to lighten my workload. My duty this time is to freelance."

"Which means?"

"I get to simply walk around and report on anything particularly interesting."

"That just means you're free to do what you want!" I exclaim.

"Exactly. Glad you caught on." Her smile fades slightly. "I had to tell her I was working on something huge, though." She looks at my expression. "Relax, I didn't tell her anything about the supernatural, or even hint about secret organizations. We'll expose that whole thing in one fell swoop!" Her fist makes a satisfying clap as she slaps it on her palm. "Well, between that and how productive I've been the rest of the year, I basically got a free pass."

I know Inoue is both hardworking and talented, but I ask anyway. "What do you mean, productive?"

"I'm tied for second place for most contributions." Inoue sticks out her chest proudly. "Ahead of me is the Pres, and beside me is the silent killer, Yuuka-chan."

"Do you all really keep track of that kind of thing?"

"It's not a competition or even formal, but Pres does know I do more than the average member." She goes on to tell me about Yuuka, a quiet, hardworking junior that she befriended after they worked on the same story.

"...seriously, that girl needs to stand up for herself more." Her spoon clinks against the bottom of the bowl. "Oh, I'm done. Thanks for the food!"

I take the cutlery and empty bowl, then turn to head to the kitchen to start cleaning up. "Glad you enjoyed it. You can sit on the couch and wait while I–Inoue?"

I tilt my head to look over my shoulder, but Inoue had already disappeared.

"Wow!" A voice drifted from upstairs. "It looks exactly as it did over the video call!"

"Don't mess things up too bad!" I call, rinsing everything. It wasn't as if I had much to hide.

Dirty magazines under the bed? In this day and age?

We do encrypted folders now, baby. The future has come.

"By the way, Kotarou. Your birthday is May the 2nd, right?"

"Yeah, it is." I don't remember exactly when I told her–it must have been when we were making casual conversation. Honestly, if I didn't remember her birthday as well–March 6th–then I probably would have thought she found out through investigating me.

Then again, she probably did find out through investigating me.

There was a pause, in which Inoue did not respond.

Then, I come to a realisation, and begin washing the dishes at ten times my usual speed. "INOUE!" I yell at the top of my lungs, my hands still moving feverishly. "Don't you dare open that–I mean, whatever it is you're thinking of doing, don't do it—-!"

~~[r]~~

Of course, I was too late.

When I entered the room in a huff, Inoue was the perfect image of smugness, with one leg crossed over the other in an uncharacteristically girlish manner, and a catlike grin on her face.

On the screen of my laptop was…well, let's just call it my secret collection, in full view.

Sitting on my chair, she swivelled around to face me. "So, you like them big, huh?"

I hang my head. "Well, it is what it is."

"Indeed." Inoue looks at me. "Well, you are a boy after all. And it's not as if I forgot why you started looking for occult things in the first place."

My head rockets back upwards. "Wait, what?"

"Senri Akane. Boobs." She closes the window, clearing the computer screen of lewd content, then stands up. "Need I say more?"

"Ah."

"Ah," she mimics. "If you want boobs, there's a pair right here, you know?"

And in the next second, my mind went blank.

"Well?" Inoue asked. Her eyes, burning intensely, seemed to be taking in every last inch of my reaction, from the expression on my face to the tiniest movements of my body.

Very hesitantly, I lightly squeeze my hands–my hands, that Inoue had seized and placed on her own chest without hesitation, and which she was still holding on to.

Behind a softness that I didn't want to think about was a fiercely pounding heartbeat.

"I think words aren't sufficient to describe them," I eventually find a response, and speak. "I mean, that words can't convey how wonderful they are."

"Weasel words, Tennouji."

And she was back to calling me Tennouji. Was she angry at me or something?

I run through possibilities in my head, then pick a hypothesis and test it. With a deft motion, I free my hands from her grasp, then picked her up in a princess carry, before lightly setting her down on my bed. Then, I look to the windows to the sky outside, which was still shrouded in dark clouds, before closing said windows and drawing the curtains shut.

The ones downstairs should already be closed–I remember doing that before we ate, in case the rain came in later.

Was there anything else I had to take care of?

No, not really.

I turn my gaze to Inoue, who was still and unmoving on my bed, looking very much like a deer caught in headlights. A blush was on her face. "So?" she asked. "What're you going to do next?"

"Hmm." I think to myself, and climb over her. "What would you like me to do?"

Inoue tsks at me. "I could tell you, Kotarou, but unfortunately us maidens are troublesome creatures who prefer to have their minds read. A lot of the magic is lost if you only do the things I tell you to do, you know?"

"I see." I absorb the information, then silence her with a kiss.

~~[r]~~

The beeping of a phone stirred me awake.

From where we were cuddling, Inoue's arm shoots out and silences the alarm. "Okay," she mumbles into my chest. "It's time to get to work."

"A focused one, eh?"

"Honestly, I would love to stay like this until dinner, but an investigation is an investigation." There was a clatter, and she turned towards the windows. "What's going on out there?"

"Feels like the world is ending," I joke, but my heart wasn't in it.

I draw back the curtains, only to see a wall of pouring rain, the whole world outside tinted in dark grey. Even with the windows closed, my ears could pick up the howling of the wind without trying.

And…

My hands ball into fists instinctively.

"That feeling again?" I mutter to myself. "How?"

"What's wrong?" Inoue had straightened her untidied clothes, and now walked up beside me. "Wow, it's perfect weather to get back into bed."

"..."

"Spit it out, Kotarou."

"Do you remember back in the forest? When I kept getting the feeling that we were being followed?"

"Yes." Inoue replies me seriously, and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she reopens them. "I don't feel anything. Maybe a bit of uneasiness, but that's just because you're scaring me. A bit." She raises her hands. "Not that I'm telling you to hide things from me to stop me from worrying, or anything."

"I know."

I gave the view outside the window one last look, then shut the curtains again. Well, if it came, it came. No sense worrying about it, not when there were better things to do. "So," I turn back to Inoue, "how are we going about this? The master bedroom and the safe is just down the hallway."

"I thought about that, but there's something more fundamental we can start with first." Inoue has a glint in her eye.

"Which is?"

"An interview, of course! State your name for the record, Mister Ashen Boy."

When did she even take out her pen and notebook? I sit down crossed-legged on one end of the bed, across Inoue who was sitting sideways. "Tennouji Kotarou. Tennouji as in the ward in Osaka, 'Ko' as used in 'coral', and 'tarou' is the usual Tarou."

Inoue nods. "Very clear. Thank you."

"I aim to please."

"'The subject displays sassy tendencies.'" Inoue scribbles.

"Don't go around adding unnecessary information, now." Honestly, I was enjoying this. It reminded me of when we first met. At that time I thought her personality was weird, but now it's all part of her charm. Funny how things went.

"Is it true that you paid your way into Kaza High?"

"Hey hey, I'm getting a strange sense of heja pu here."

"It's deja vu, Kotarou." She looks up at me. "And this question isn't all for fun. When I was, um, investigating you, I found a lot of irregularities in your background, like you had no history at all. That's why I thought you were admitted through a direct interview. But," and she taps her pen against the air for emphasis, "students who get admitted through direct interview have a separate set of records, and your name isn't in there."

"That's a real thing?"

"It's mainly for students who get in on athletics or performing arts instead of academics," Inoue nods. "But you said you were recovering from an accident when you first enrolled. I thought that was a good enough explanation at first, but…"

"Things still don't add up, huh?" I try to think. "Oh, I know why. It must be because of my biggest secret." The second biggest secret if we include supernatural things, I think to myself.

"Oh?" The glint in Inoue's eye intensifies.

"I was recovering from the accident for a while, so I'm actually older than all of the second-years. My parents transferred me to Kaza High so nobody would know, and I could have an ordinary school life."

And there it was. The one secret that had gotten me so worried the day Inoue told me she was first investigating me. The one secret that, if exposed, would probably put an end to my youth–or at least, the ordinary youth I was seeking.

There was a pause.

Then, Inoue bursts out cackling. "That's it? That's it? All the pieces are in place! That perfectly explains the rumours of illegal acceptance!"

She seemed happy enough that I would have been expecting her to hover in the air.

"So, you're my senpai? My Kotarou, a senpai? But you hardly look older than us at all!"

"Yeah, rub it in, will you." I sigh. She was positively glowing at this point.

"That's my personal curiosity satisfied. Mm, today was indeed productive, for many of Kotarou's secrets were revealed." She looks at me, then stretches my cheek.

"Ow ow ow! What are you doing?"

"Just checking." Her excited grin had not subsided in the slightest. "So, exactly how much older are you? A few months? A year?"

"I'm–"

Wait, exactly how long had I been hospitalised again? I dig through my memories, but I couldn't find the answer. "I can't exactly remember at the moment."

"That won't do. We need to be thorough. Do you have any documents lying around or something?" Inoue turns to me. "Are you spacing out again?"

"Nothing. Just sort of relieved."

"Oh?" Her grin turns teasing for a moment, but she seemed to think better of it. "I think, after you demonstrated clearly supernatural powers, almost nothing would shock me. Unless, of course, you suddenly say you're a spy sent by either secret organization to seduce me, genius high school reporter. That would be a surprise."

"If I were a spy sent for that I would be a very bad one, seeing how much I've fallen in love with you." I smile myself.

"You say the best things sometimes, Kotarou." She leans against me again, and her head eventually settles in my lap.

There was a flash of lightning, followed by a loud boom of thunder that made us both jump.

"Right." She looks up directly at me, her hands clasped around her waist. "The medical records–though I could probably go to the hospital and look it up." She feels around for her notebook and pen, which were still conveniently within reach. "Hmm, what to ask–ah, I know. Which middle school did you go to?"

"Oh, that's easy." I tell Inoue the name of my middle school.

"I'll investigate that later, as well." She makes a note. "Did anything happen during middle school? Things out of the ordinary?"

I search my memories. Nothing in particular comes to mind. "No, not really."

"Did you go to any clubs?" Inoue presses on.

"Only the go-home club. I wasn't really interested in anything."

"Hmm." Inoue looks unsatisfied. She takes a few moments to ponder. "I think I'm going about this the wrong way. "Can you tell me about your classmates, Kotarou?"

"Oh," I say. "That's easy as well. There was–"

I draw a blank.

"Ahem." I clear my throat. "There was–"

There was…who? That did…what?

"There was?" Inoue gently prompts me, but I couldn't find anything.

"I don't know." My voice comes out hesitantly, cautiously. Inoue sets down her notebook and pen, then sits up properly so she was now level with me.

"Your middle school classmates, Kotarou. Even if you were extremely unsociable, you should still be able to describe them, at least one or two. Or your teachers, even." She prompts me again, but I was out of words.

"I can't remember." The honest admission worms its way out of my mouth. "Anything at all. How is that possible?"

"It's not supposed to be." Inoue looked thoughtful. "Unless…amnesia? From the accident? It might be possible. But the unknown duration of the hospitalisation, and how much of a blank it is…accounting for the possibility of the supernatural…a cover up? Stumbling onto the forbidden?"

As Inoue speaks more to herself than to me, I recall a sombre expression on a heart-shaped face. The summoner, Tanuma Imako.

"Then you're suffering from amnesia."

A sentence said with absolute certainty. Hinting at a forgotten meeting with the Key, and other things besides.

"Kotarou." Inoue seemed to be in a trance, her zombie mode turned up to eleven with none of the sluggishness that the name implied. "How long have you been living in this house?"

"Since I was a kid. For as long as I can remember." I race ahead, forestalling the obvious follow-up. "Even before the accident. I'm quite sure of this."

"And this has always been your room?"

I nod.

"How often do you clean? Throw out old stuff?" She blinks. "Not very often, I think."

"Don't make me out to be some sort of slob." I joke on impulse, but I see her point.

"Then, let's turn it upside down. To see what of Tennouji Kotarou's past remains."

We get to it. We empty every bookshelf, every drawer, every closet.

"Oh, that reminds me." I chance across a memory card stashed with my undies. "There's this."

"Give it here. I'll update it." Inoue plugs it into her laptop and starts tapping away.

"What should I be looking for in the meantime?"

"Any stuff from middle school or older. Test papers, notebooks or reference books would be best. Anything dated. If not, anything old would do. If you happen to come across the medical documents, that would be good as well. Also, is this the only copy you have?"

I feel around under my bed. "No. Here's the other one."

"What a classic location." She turns the card over in her fingers. "It's kind of nostalgic now, isn't it?"

"It is." So much had been happening every single day that even our time in the forest now seemed like the distant past.

And speaking of the distant past…

"Nothing."

I eventually lie against the front board of my bed.

Two hours of searching had turned up not so much as a hint of a test score. Only things from the first year of high school, last year, had appeared.

"No luck there, huh?" Inoue frowned. "What's the oldest thing you own? A toy or a piece of clothing?"

"It would probably be this." I take out my music player with its set of earbuds. "I used this all the time back then. It helped me get through bad times with my parents." Inoue takes the device and examines it, while I walk over to my wardrobe. "And this is the jacket I liked to wear all the time…I think."

A normal hooded black jacket, featuring the design of a yellow star on a red stripe.

Inoue looks from the music player in her hands, to the dark outerwear I was holding up. "Subject seemed to have suffered from a severe case of chunnibyou," she deadpanned.

Man, was her judgement as harsh as ever.

Not that I can fault her. I do remember being somewhat of an edgy teen, after all. "Don't knock this jacket," I joke. "It's the official uniform of the Earth-Saving Hunter–AAARGH!"

Pain shoots through my head, and I collapse onto one knee.

"Kotarou!"

Something was there! I could feel it! Why couldn't I grasp it?

"I'm fine. It just hurt for a moment." I stand back up. "Sorry, Inoue."

"Worry more about yourself!"

She forces me to sit back down on the bed, then starts pacing about the room. "The memory loss could just be from your accident. That's what common sense would say. But my instincts are telling me there's something still not quite right." Inoue's footsteps pause. "It might be time to search your parents' room." Another pause. "You're fine with that, right?"

"I suggested opening my parents' safe in the first place." I get off my bed.

"Great, because I've never had a chance to open a safe before."

And she was back to being giddy with excitement. "You're being too enthusiastic about this!"

"It's like an itch! If something's hidden, I want to expose it, and if something's closed, I want to open it. Like pots, or rice cookers."

"Rice cookers?" I think back to the few times the Occult Clubroom's rice cooker had been left open. And the clubroom's lockers. And when my pencil case always was somehow open after any of Inoue's visits to my classroom.

Well.

I decide to not question my girlfriend's quirks, and crack open the door of the master bedroom. "The password should be laying around. Try not to make too much of a mess."

"I know. I'm a master of infiltration."

If she could elude even Pres, who probably has her own surveillance devices in the clubroom, then she might be right, though it might still be best to not let her spend too much time in here.

Relatively quickly, I find a small scrap of paper behind the keypadded safe, a sturdy metal box as tall as my knee, and wave Inoue over. "You want to do the honours?"

"You're really appealing to me, aren't you? That makes me happy. Of course the answer is yes."

She presses the combination, and the door swings open with a beep. "Too easy. It's almost unsatisfying. Now, let's see what we have."

There was the usual cash and jewellery, but of more importance were the folders of documents, with dull, muted colours. "You know," Inoue says, leafing through papers, "I could do quite a lot with this information. Are you really sure you want me reading through all of these?"

"Well, I trust you. You probably just want to know more for the personal satisfaction, right?"

"Yep."

"Then, what's the problem?" I leaf through some papers myself, and find some insurance documents. "Oh, here it is. Claim submitted for the hospitalization of Tennouji Kotarou, duration of stay…"

The date draws my eyes. The day, the month.

And the year.

It pulls me in like gravity.

It sucks me in like a black hole.

The paper falls from my limp fingers.

"Kotarou?"

The world had turned upside down.

No.

The world was fine.

It was me that had been turned upside down.

How?

How could this be possible?

I deny it. I try to deny it, with all my might.

Inoue's words come back to me.

See what is there.

It forces me to look.

So I grasp at the facts.

Kotori.

The girl who was my childhood friend.

The girl who I knew the longest.

The girl who was the sa█e age a█ m█–

"Kotarou! Kotarou!"

An anguished cry.

Ribbons pierce into my arm.

Punishment for attacking the pure.

Spurting blood.

My blood.

Falling tears.

Tears of a girl.

A girl younger than me.

A mission.

A failed mission.

A failure.

A failure that needed to be erased.

And when I was lying there, they came.

With the drug–

A pleasant haziness, but it was more scary than pain.

I had to fight it. I'm going to fight it.

I didn't want to forget.

I didn't want to lose myself.

Even if my memories were terrible.

Even if I was a terrible person.

I still wanted to be 'me'.

My trembling right hand slowly raises itself to my face.

I know a solution.

The ultimate power. The power to become whatever I wanted.

The power to let me unlock the past, to tear that door open.

Right here. Right now.

I would pay any cost.

Because I was tired of living a mystery.

I brace myself, and tap into the wellspring of my life–

"Kotarou!" Someone grabs me. "Whatever it is you're thinking, don't do it!"

Someone tackles me to the ground. A tight hug. A soft, warm kiss.

I remember this. This was the warmth of someone who was dependable. Someone who I could rely on, even if the world had had gone mad.

Someone who had saved me once, from the Key. From my own fear.

"I..no..ue…" My voice felt hoarse.

"Enough of this! How's a girl supposed to focus on uncovering the mysteries of the world if her boyfriend keeps making her worry!"

The words were damning, but the tone was only of concern.

She lets go of me, but stands over me, her hands on the ground next to my head.

I felt as if I was waking up after sleeping too much in the heat. My head throbbed with pain. "What…what happened to me?"

"You went very still all of a sudden, and you dropped the paper. I thought you were going to collapse, but you just sat there. Suddenly, your hand moved, and your face had this strange expression, like you were going to do something dangerous. So I did what I thought would work."

There was the faintest hint of tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Thank you, Inoue." I think better of it. "Akira."

Her breath hitches. "That's really unfair. You make me worry, then you make me happy again…"

"That's just how it is with me, I'm afraid." I sit up slowly. The pain was beginning to fade, and with it, my mind was beginning to clear. "You should also probably read this before you decide whether to carry on with me or not."

Inoue takes the document. Her eyes scan it intently. "I see." The corner of her mouth tugs upward, the hint of a smile. "We probably shouldn't tell Dad until much later."

"That's it? This is more serious than just now. It's a…" I take a deep breath, and force myself to speak it out loud. "It's a full ten years, you know?"

"Look, Kotarou." She stands up and points directly at me, an accusing index finger right between my eyes. "Would you feel better if I said I was disgusted by you? Scared of you?"

"No!"

"Then, what is the problem?" Inoue's voice had a hint of frustration, a quality of 'why-won't-you-just-get-it-already'. "Fact 1. You have the body of a high schooler. Supernatural elements aside."

I nod.

"Fact 2. You have the mentality of a high schooler." She interrupts me as I try to speak up. "One month ago, you were trying to lust after Senri Akane's boobs in a very immature fashion. You're certainly no mature adult."

I back down.

"Fact 3–well, this isn't a fact, but a guess. You have the combined memories of a high-schooler."

Well…

"By that," Inoue continues, "I mean you have no additional memories that a high-schooler wouldn't have. Not like working in society, or even being a NEET for ten years. You grew up, went to elementary school, went to middle school, and now you're here with us. It's not like you're some pervert who failed to mature into an adult."

I exhale.

"Have you heard of cryonics?" Inoue asks me. "It's a science fiction concept. It's to preserve a person's body by freezing it at very low temperatures. The idea is that you get to wake them up later, without them having aged, since the body was held in a state of stasis."

"So you're saying…"

"You're not old. You've just been moved…let's say, moved in the flow of time. Displaced."

"That's a poetic way to put it."

"A good journalist must also have a flair for language." Inoue smiles warmly. "In any case, forget it already. I don't know what happened before that, but ten years spent in a hospital bed unconscious doesn't count as living, Urashima Kotarou. But if you still don't like it, how about you think of this as a second chance? Let go of all your past mistakes. Live your newfound youth to the fullest." Her grin turns impish. "And help me with my reporting."

"The last of these is not like the others." Despite myself, and all of the uncertainties I felt, I begin to smile as well.

We start tidying up, removing the evidence of our break-in. "So, what n–what now?" I reach out to hold the top of the safe as a wave of dizziness hits me.

"You can rest for a bit. We can rest for a bit, since you've been tiring me out." Inoue drapes my arm around her shoulders, and I let her, despite not really needing the support. "Did the shock of the truth let you remember some things?"

" 's still a lot of..blanks…but bits and pieces are starting to come back slowly."

"We can probably use that as well."

"Use it?"

"To uncover the two secret organizations. You're a superhuman. It's likely that you would have some connection to them. I don't think your accident was something as simple as a car crash, either."

"It wasn't." That was all I felt like saying at the moment.

We reach my room. "Actually," I say, "can we go down to the kitchen? I'm in the mood for a hot drink."

"Good idea."

Outside the windows, the storm was still in full force.

"You can sit still. I'll make it." I look at Inoue's concerned expression. "Don't give me that face, Innoway. I'm not some old man who can't do anything by themselves."

"Innoway, huh? I'm not sure how to feel about that nickname. How about you try calling me by my given name?"

"Yeah, that the problem. I've been calling you Inoue for so long that it seems weird to call you anything else." The kettle gradually goes to a boil, and I shut off the gas stove after. "You don't like it?"

"Nah, it's fine."

~~[r]~~

Another view

The Occult Club Club Room, at Kazamatsuri High School.

The mood of Senri Akane (Successor of Gaia's Holy Woman, Witch of the School, and Occult Club President) was about as pleasant as the weather outside.

In other words, she was annoyed.

Vexed.

Irate, even.

"How is possible that every single one of the familiars I sent to monitor Tennouji Kotarou have been slain?"

It was a mystery.

She knew that it could not have been Kotarou himself, nor could it have been the reporter girl. After all, she had been looking through the eyes of one of her birds at both of them before it had been killed. And neither of them, she was sure, was a summoner.

"A third party, then, Lady Akane."

Three other people were present in the luxurious room with her.

Ohtori Chihaya, another summoner of Gaia; Shimako, also in line to succeed the Saint; and Ohtori Sakuya, Gaia's strongest familiar.

"But who could it be?" Chihaya continued to raise Shimako in the air, and the little girl yelped in delight. "Kotarou isn't connected to Gaia or Guardian, is he?"

"He is not." Akane replied in a biting tone. "Which makes this a little concerning. Between Guardian and Suzaki's faction, we have enough to be dealing with, without the possibility of yet another front in this conflict."

"Not to deliver more bad news, but did you hear? Several research facilities seem to have been reactivated, and the number of large combat familiars continue to grow." Sakuya had a frown on his face. "Open war is going to break out soon."

"Don't tell me things I already know." Akane rubbed her temples. "Pass me the headache medicine, will you?"

She took the pills and gulped them down with a single sip of water.

"It's the weird singing that you've been listening to all day." Chihaya looked as unhappy as her familiar. "Must you really be there?"

"Kashima Sakura always makes it a point to observe the rehearsals of the choir, even if it's only for a short while. Where she goes, I go." Akane let out a bitter laugh. "Did you know? The closer a Saint is to her death, the closer she keeps her successor around. That's the ancient tradition."

"In other words, you're saying Kashima Sakura's days are numbered," Sakuya summarised.

"I'm still more concerned with the mystery party protecting Tennouji." The Successor reclined in her chair, willing the persistent pain to pass.

Distant memories surfaced in her mind.

In a past life, before she had been fully conscious, she had been saved. And when her savior had came back into her life, so many years later, she had welcomed him into the Occult Club.

Unfortunately, that was all she could do. She was bound by too many responsibilities, now.

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

"Both, huh?" she muttered quietly to herself. "Whatever shall I do with you, Tennouji Kotarou?"

~~[r]~~

Another view

"Man, it sure is coming down outside, isn't it?" Imamiya Arata complained. "How're we supposed to conduct an op in this weather?"

Ignoring the red-haired superhuman, Shinsaibashi Hitomi entered one of Guardian's few mobile command centres in Kazamatsuri. Settling into a plastic chair in the makeshift meeting room, she took out her handheld console and began to play, but her thoughts weren't on the game itself.

On the screen, her character moved much slower than she could have in real life.

What was the saying from that anime? That you have to cross swords with someone to get to know their feelings?

Well, she had crossed swords with Tennouji Kotarou, and was looking forward to doing so again. Not many other people could give her a good spar, and even then, she didn't want to trouble those that could (like Lucia- and Shizuru-senpai) too much.

"Only when you hit your absolute limit will your skills improve," she muttered to herself.

She had heard this exact phrase, once. During a lecture at boot camp.

During a guest lecture from the famed Esaka Sougen–the founder and leader of the Bayern Knights, who was now retired.

Kotarou had more or less said it, word for word.

Good instincts? Of course they had been. They had been the result of training, after all. Harsh and rigorous training that would be hard to forget.

"Hitomi-chan~! How was last night?"

"Eeek!" Hurriedly, she closed her handheld then sprang to stand at attention. "Nothing to report, ma'am! No civilians were harmed, and there were no witnesses!"

"Some good news, at least." Nishikujou Touka sighed, and went to get a cup of coffee. "Also, Hitomi-chan. You don't need to be so serious around me, you know?"

"Yes, ma'am." The easygoing girl's tenseness was a sharp contrast to her usual self, and for good reason–as much as she tended to bend the rules, Hitomi found that the best way to stay out of trouble was to follow them when she could, and to keep a comfortable distance from her superiors.

"Are you doing well in school? I know you transferred here relatively late into the term, but are you getting used to Kazamatsuri?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And stop calling me ma'am when it's not serious!" Nishikujou pouted.

"Yes, m–I mean, yes."

The schoolteacher-superhuman sighed. She would have loved to dote on Hitomi the way she doted on Shizuru and Lucia (mostly Shizuru), but the girl always had an air of distance around her that she thought would not be easily passed.

Or maybe it was just because Hitomi, standing height 180 centimetres, was a whole head taller than her. That made things a wee bit more difficult.

"Any news on the Key yet, ma–I mean, Nishikujou-sensei?"

Nishikujou-sensei. She supposed that was slightly better. "No. We've had teams combing the forests and the city outskirts, but no luck yet. It'll probably be easier to search during the Harvest Festival when we can move more freely." She sighed. "Did you get a chance to make many friends in school?" Touka turned the topic back to school life. "I've been hearing some rumours that you're very popular."

"Er, I guess."

"Also about that little incident involving scissors." A small smile came to the schoolteacher's face.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Wow, talk about a blunder. She couldn't remember the last time she had come this close to accidentally revealing her powers.

(Revealing them on purpose was another thing altogether.)

"Don't worry, don't worry. It's been written off. Accidents happen from time to time, after all."

Another awkward pause in the conversation, and then Hitomi hesitantly spoke. "Sensei, can I ask a serious question?"

"Sure."

"What happens when a person leaves Guardian?" Immediately realising how it sounded, Hitomi backpedalled. "It's not like I'm thinking of leaving or anything! I'm just curious."

Touka's expression became thoughtful. "If it's retirement after years of service, it's probably like in the military where you're trusted to not tell anyone classified information." Her grin faded. "But if it was someone in my position or lower, you'd probably have your memories erased to guarantee security."

Hitomi nodded. From the beginning, the importance of secrecy had been made clear to her, along with the multiple sensible reasons why things were how they were–-not that it had stopped her from doing what she liked.

After a few more minutes of conversation, she exited the meeting room with a sigh. Conversations with superiors always tired her out.

More so this time, since she had been lying, and was continuing to lie, just by keeping silent.

She thought again about Tennouji Kotarou and Inoue Akira.

She wondered if it had been a mistake, letting them go while they knew what they knew.

But she felt strongly that it had been the right thing to do. More than that, she liked them both. They had let her interrupt their date, and hadn't shown ill will towards her afterwards.

Well, noticeable ill will, in any case.

"You stay away from my boyfriend, transfer student!"

Her fingers drifted up to her cheek. At least nothing had happened this time round.

"Hitomi-san." Someone greeted her, and she turned.

"Lucia-senpai! Shizuru-senpai!" A smile came to her face. "What's up?"

"We're here to see Touka." Shizuru said. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Why would I not be?"

"You looked like you were thinking hard about something for a moment." Lucia said. "If there's something bothering you, don't hesitate to tell us."

"Thanks, senpai."

~~[r]~~

Another view

Tanuma Imako strode through the entrance of the Martel Japan headquarters, perfectly dry despite having entered from the storm outside.

She had been awoken from her afternoon nap feeling a strange sense of dread, by a dream that had not been quite a nightmare, and yet was still more unnerving.

It had been fine when it was just a ribboned girl that was destroying the world. If she was sacred, she could still pass it off as fantasy, and besides, she held no great attachment to the world in the first place.

But when you started dreaming of people you knew…

That was one of two reasons. The other reason was a strange, unnatural itch on the back of her left wrist, where one would normally wear a watch. Unlike the dream, its meaning was much more clear.

It was the result of the makeshift familiar that she had given Tennouji using the last of its energy to send an alarm–an alarm which she had designed to trigger if a certain familiar was ever closer than approximately ten metres away from it.

She had scratched at it to silence it, but what it signified still rang in her mind.

Deeper into the building she went, through long, dark corridors, down many winding flights of stairs. In contrast to the maroon tracksuit she usually wore, she had on more presentable clothes, if only in an attempt to be less conspicuous in the formal building: blue denim overalls with a long skirt over a somewhat loose white woollen jumper, and dark stockings and trainers instead of slippers.

Unfortunately, being a highschool girl was still slightly out of the ordinary for Gaia's research and development division, but she had come to this place with a purpose clear in her mind, with the Key finally awake.

"You." A drawl stopped her in her tracks. "You don't belong here, do you?"

The man had blonde hair, purple eyes, and was wearing a red hooded coat of a summoner.

"What, cat got your tongue? Should I call for the guards? Or should I dispose of you myself?" He licked his lips.

"Midou. Now is not the time." The man's companion spoke. He had dark hair, and was wearing the more traditional red robe.

"It's not as if Tenjin's done with Kilimanjaro yet, right?" Midou sneered. "Besides, intruders are a security risk."

"...that's my line." Tanuma pushed up her glasses and spoke, though one hand still clutched on to her green hat. "Since when were bloodthirsty murderers allowed in?"

"You know nothing of murder, soft girl of this peace-filled country," the man looked her up and down, and spat at her. "Should I show you?"

Heat began to gather in the corridor.

"Midou!"

"Try that, and I'll kill you first." Tanuma glared right back at the animalistic summoner, spurred on by the featherlight weight of her own familiar at her neck. "Get out of my way."

In case it wasn't clear, Kotarou's black hoodie is his outfit in the anime adaptation of the Terra route. Urashima Kotarou = a reference to Urashima Tarou, the Japanese folktale. Urashima spends ten days with the princess Otohime in the Dragon God's domain (usually depicted as underwater), but when he returns to the mortal world, he finds that a hundred years have passed.

Yuuka was one of the girls mentioned in Inoue's last message during Kotori route (along with Yuki and Tamako). Of course, the details were made up by me. All three of them have now been mentioned in this fic.

Midou, Tenjin and Tenma were referred to as researchers by Gil and Pani in their introduction during Chihaya route. Makes sense, seeing as Suzaki's faction is the one trying to find pragmatic uses for summoning.

Anyway, sorry for the copious notes. The chapter just kept going, so I made the choice to split it up (again) even though this part is shorter than usual.

Looks like Kagari-chan's debut will have to wait a little longer.

Review please!