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

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

Records of the Harvest Festival, Part 3

Another view

Nakatsu Shizuru was staring at her hand as she took a break in one of Guardian's air-conditioned mobile command centres.

"What's wrong, Shizuru?"

"Lucia." The blonde greeted her best friend. "Kotarou…"

"Kotarou?" Lucia perked up. "Did something happen?" She once again recalled the encounter with the summoner that happened while she was staking out Kotarou's house–both as a member of Guardian, and as part of a small effort with Chihaya, to investigate what the boy was up to.

It did not help that the very next day, Kotarou had been absent from class, and yet shown up at school anyway.

Both superhumans and summoners.

It was strange, how much that line was haunting her.

It was on that line alone that she had gradually stopped talking to Chihaya–not that she would have enough free time for leisurely chats, what with the harvest festival ongoing.

And then Shizuru, after hearing her worries, had took it upon herself to infiltrate Kotarou's house–

–where they had found out he had been investigating the supernatural for real.

Just as they thought, he had encountered monsters–familiars–in the forest, and was now looking into them, presumably with that journalist girlfriend of his.

It was not the first time the existence of the supernatural threatened to be revealed. With its connections, Guardian could orchestrate cover-ups without an issue, and a normal person stumbling on familiars and the like was routine, in the long history of Guardian's existence.

In short, they had made a report about possible civilian exposure, and it would soon be handled. Business as usual. All routine, and nothing out of the ordinary.

But…

The nagging feeling in her head had not died down.

The feeling that Kotarou was tied to the supernatural, in one way or another–but Konohana Lucia simply could not see Tennouji Kotarou as a summoner.

He was too cheerful, too airheaded, and too carefree for that.

Then…

"Kotarou's friend hurt me." Shizuru said.

"What?"

"Yesterday." Shizuru gazed at her hand. "I tried to…his memory, and then–"

"What!?" Lucia's eyes went as wide as saucers. In all the while she had known the blonde, Shizuru had always shied away from using what was referred to as her 'secondary' ability, instead relying solely on her capabilities as a 'walking chemical factory', for reasons Lucia could understand.

The fact that her best friend had tried to use what she treated as a taboo was a testament to the depths of her emotions.

"He was with a girl, and when I tried to alter Kotarou's memory, I was attacked."

"How?"

"I can't remember." Shizuru said slowly. "It's strange, isn't it? I know Akira was with him, but I can't remember the other girl. Not how she looked, nor how she attacked me. Isn't that strange?"

"You don't think it's the…"

Before Lucia could say anything more, there was a clatter at the door.

~~[r]~~

"Take Kagari and run!" I shouted.

There was no more time to think.

From where she had been standing, Hitomi vanished…and reappeared right in front of me, twin swords held crossed, right in front of her–

Memory, recognition, guided me even before conscious thought could happen, and I found myself leaping backwards to evade, my claws already manifested, right as the blades carved a brutal 'X' shape in the place where I had been standing.

Yet there was no reprieve, because Hitomi's left shoulder was already dipping low, and her body spun with preserved momentum, her curved swords already whirling around.

Each impact was a hammer blow, felt in my wrists, and with some effort I twisted them outwards, shoving off the superhuman…and returning back to where we had started. "Cross Scissor?" I say. "Spinning Slash?"

"So you remember my attacks. I'm honoured." Hitomi's voice was even. She flicked her swords in the air. "Come, senpai. If I'm to perform the evil act of cutting you down, let me at least enjoy it!"

The words were barely in the air before she herself took to it in a leap, a pounce.

Rapid slashes came from every direction, each targeting a tendon, a vital organ, a weak spot.

All of them were fast–much faster than the previous time I had fought her.

But I had changed from the last time.

Taken back my memories, and rewritten myself–

Myriad maneuvers appear in my mind's eye, and I pick one: sidestep, dodge under, attack upwards–

Hitomi's eyes widened as she tilted her head backwards, a narrow escape–

A blade blocks my follow-up jab, and I raise my claw of blood just in time to block her second blade.

"So you know it's an evil act." We were eye to eye.

"What else would you call being forced to fight your own friends?" Hitomi's stare was intense. "Even to save the world?"

"You don't have to fight us. You could just let us go–"

"While you're harbouring the Key? Something that can endanger so many lives?"

"We're looking for another way out."

Hitomi slips the lock and leaps backwards. Her green windbreaker flutters in the air. "You don't know if such a way exists." She levels her left blade at me, an accusing finger. "Are you really going to gamble with the fate of the entire world? Do you think you have that right, to risk all the innocent lives out there?"

They accept the state of things, and don't care about the world or the weak…

The thought came to me.

But it was unfair.

Of course Guardian cared about humanity. They cared enough that preserving humanity's survival was their top priority.

But there was always a cost.

Secrecy. Influencing the world from the shadows. Operations that bordered on the illegal.

And the killing of the Key, the planet's familiar.

The Key, an innocent and blameless existence.

A sacrifice.

A messiah.

The word that had started it all.

Even if it was the correct thing to do, was it truly right?

"You're right," I say. "I don't. But tell me." I point my claw at her, luminous green. "Has Guardian ever tried? Tried another way?" Hitomi's words come back to me. "Didn't you say you love heroes, and defeating monsters, and happy endings?" My voice rises. "Which part of this is happy? How are you a hero, when you've just been blindly following what you've been taught?"

"I don't agree with all of Guardian's ideals! You know that!"

"But you've never tried to change anything, have you?" I shout. "I remember what you told me! You said you purposely tried to not stand out! But you had the talent, didn't you? Why didn't you shoot for the top? You could have done something there!"

"And so could you!" Hitomi shouts back. "You were in Guardian, weren't you?"

Her words hit me like a speeding truck.

"I remember what you said," she continues. "Only when you go all out and hit your absolute limit will your skills improve. That's a quote by one of Guardian's most legendary warriors–"

"Esaka Sougen." I finish the sentence. "Yeah, he kicked the shit out of me, and told me to get my act together–"

"So you've been personally trained by him?" Hitomi's eyes narrowed.

The tone was all too familiar, and I felt a rueful smile surfacing on my face. "Yeah. It was him, too, that personally recruited me." My grin only widened when I saw Hitomi tense further. "Not that it stopped me from being last in class. Not that it stopped me from being an outcast when I didn't live up to expectations. Not that it stopped me from nearly dying during my first mission right out of basic training."

"You're joking." Hitomi shakes her head. "With how strong and fast you are, you should have had no problem being an honour student. You could have done what you've been telling me to do!"

I grimace at her words. There had been times where I had thought about it–about simply rewriting myself and joining the elites, leaving the failures in class behind.

Even back then, I had been cautious about my ability. And now that I was almost certain of the cost, I was glad that I hadn't done it.

But…could there have been a better way? A compromise?

"You're right." My voice was bitter. "If only I hadn't been an idiot teenager. If only I had thought about things more. If only," I look away from the superhuman's eyes, "I could get back those ten years of my life." I stare back at Hitomi. "But I'm not looking back any longer. I'm going to do what I can, in the here and now. I'm going to expose the truth that people deserve to know, and find another way to avert Salvation."

Hitomi laughs. "That's a good look you have in your eyes, Kotarou. I can see you won't back down. Well, neither will I. There's only one thing left to do now, isn't there?"

As if to signal the coming battle, thunder rumbled overhead, in a sky darkened with clouds.

"If you want to be beaten down so badly, I'll have to oblige!"

[BGM: Fight for nowhere – Rewrite and Rewrite HF! Arrange Album "dye mixture"]

They came.

Blows too fast for normal human eyes.

Movements too quick for a normal human body.

But I was no normal human.

It was like a dance. It was like fighting the wind.

The clash of my lifeforce against Hitomi's iron sent sparks into the air. The superhuman leapt off the side of a tree, shot at me like a deadly bullet, bounced off another tree, and shot at me again.

Her blades were death in flight.

I absolutely could not let her land a single hit. It would be instant defeat.

Game over.

It was like a danmaku game. A bullet hell. A bullet curtain.

This was a blade curtain.

And yet, even as I parried yet another strike, I knew.

The girl didn't actually want to kill me. Not really.

Yes. I knew what she really wanted.

A fight to the death–without the death.

A pure battle. The type that you could only get when your life was on the line–

But there was no time to think about what words could convince her to stop.

A misstep, and her blade comes dangerously close to my arm. I could even feel the passing air–

–as it itself left a shallow cut, sending out a splash of blood–

–which I manipulate, turning it into a cutting arc of my own, which slices into the sleeve of Hitomi's jacket, just right above the elbow.

"Blood manipulation?" Hitomi was in high spirits, despite the situation. "I'm jealous now. That's a cool power. But what's that on your right hand?"

"My lifeforce." I spit back. "I'm no superhuman. My abilities come at a cost–and yet, even after paying, you're still easily faster than me, stronger than me. Of course I was last in class."

"Burning up your life? Heh. That's like summoner-like, isn't it?"

Before I could process this small revelation, another force rushes in at us–at Hitomi.

"Dima!" That was Kotori's voice.

A tiny furry creature, a blue blur on the forest ground–

The superhuman–the hunter–does not hesitate.

"Dankuuken!"

An almighty boom sounded, and the small mammoth-like familiar was instantly obliterated by the so-called ultimate attack in a single decisive strike.

I closed in, taking advantage of the opening, and aurora light grazes her side just as she leaps away, declaring her attack–an attack I had not seen before.

"Crane Wing!"

The hair on the back of my neck stands, a prickling sensation, as my opponent pivots and rushes towards me.

Hitomi had thrown one of her curved swords.

Unlike in video games, throwing your sword was an act of stupidity. Skill with wielding a sword did not translate to skill in using it as a thrown weapon. Not to mention the fact that even if you hit, you'd still be only left with your bare hands, defenceless.

However…

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a grey disc, tracing an arc in the air–

–heading back towards me–

–at neck height–

We weren't dealing with normal humans here.

I should have known. There had been members of Gaia that could read the movements of the air and use thrown weapons with literal superhuman precision. This was nothing to be surprised at.

Hitomi's left sword was outstretched, a deadly thrust–

–I dodge to the side, and parry, and duck down low, avoiding death in flight–

–remembering too late, as Hitomi's empty fist grows large in my field of vision, that you didn't need a weapon to hurt someone.

The sword buries itself in an apparently sacred tree, stabbing right through the paper streamers hanging off the ceremonial rope. In the same moment, I eat a right cross to the face, right as I claw outwards in desperate retaliation to deal some damage of my own.

I hear voices.

"Kanbe-san! Can't you stop them?"

"She took out Dima in a single shot…I don't think any of my other familiars would help…"

Tumbling backwards, I roll and spring up just in time to see Hitomi yank her sword out of the wood and rush at me once more–

–just in time to spot that she had yet again thrown her weapon, this time the other sword, which was now closing in from the side.

I brace my body close to the ground, and charge at her myself.

A move that I had stolen once before. To imitate, and adapt–

"Wolf's Claw!"

"No way!"

But the surprise doesn't stop her from avoiding my attack–jumping over the low swipe, going to the side of the high cut, and I twist my body, bringing up both forearms in a hasty defense, right as the superhuman snatches her sword out of the air and descends on me like a guillotine.

I grimace as I feel myself sink into the ground. Hitomi was using her height to her full advantage. "Stop this, Hitomi," I say. At the very least, she looked as strained as I felt. "Why are you still with Guardian? You should join us. Fight by our side."

A flash of some emotion crosses her face, and I surge upwards, breaking the deadlock, shoving her off.

She retaliates with a Cross Scissor. The metal misses me by a hair–

–but the overpressure wave does not. Two horizontal cuts dig into my chest, ripping through my shirt.

"Kotarou!"

"It just looks worse than it is." I reassure Inoue. It was true, though. They were nowhere near deep, and the bleeding was already coming to a stop.

The same could not be said for Hitomi. My wild strike had nicked her midriff and arm, with various other cuts elsewhere. Unlike me, she didn't have my ability, and now blood was staining her simple white shirt, dripping onto her frayed jeans.

Still, she looked unfazed. Her eyes were more alive than I had ever seen them before, burning with a fierce intensity. "You think this is easy? To turn your back on everything you've ever known?"

"You already know you don't belong there, Hitomi." I stare her in the eyes. "Do you really want to be in a place where you can't be your true self? Where you have to dance around the rules all the time?"

To be in a place where you had to hold yourself back from standing out–

"It's not like in anime when the handsome hero goes rogue!" The girl yells back. "You're turning your back on the familiar world around you–even if it wasn't all that pleasant–and everyone you've ever knew, and going out into the abyss alone! Can you even comprehend that?"

I did not want to think about how it would like to stand against the entire world by myself.

But I decide not to answer.

I decide to goad her instead.

"I thought you were living your life honestly." I point my claw at her. "So straightforward about your hobbies. Talking freely about what you like cheerfully. But, where we all couldn't see, you were killing a part of yourself. Compromising. Lying."

"You–"

"I thought you were an honest soul." I press on. "But you were just honest about the small things, while betraying much higher principles every day."

The superhuman's eyes flash in anger.

I expected a war cry. A yell or a declaration of some sort, much like the hotblooded protagonists she so resembled.

But there was only silent fury.

She rushes at me in a head-on assault.

A flurry of attacks, each flowing smoothly into the next, slashing and cutting and stabbing.

As it was, I could block every single one. There were no feints or tricks, after all.

It was simple and pure destructive power.

Power which I was beginning to crack under.

Hitomi really might just be strong enough to keep attacking until I perished of fatigue.

As I blocked away, the world seemed to fade away. There were only visceral sensations: bones jarring in my wrist, muscles aching in my arm, sweat dripping down my face–

A breeze caressing my skin, and rustling the branches above–

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

A voice rings loud through the air.

A familiar voice, at an alien volume.

A powerful wind swept through the trees, and a dark shadow descended from above. Something blasted me away, and I tumble through the air.

My recovery roll places me right next to Inoue, who grabs my sleeve as I leap to my feet. "Kotarou! You have to stop them!"

"You don't need to tell me!"

But there was no opening.

Hitomi's twin blades hacked away, only to meet solid air which stopped them feet aqay from the summoner's body. Blasts of air shake the flora, dislodging fallen leaves and twigs from the earth.

A wide-ranging gust causes me to flinch, but Hitomi, the target, blocks it, her swords crossed upright.

And then…it was too late.

As if in slow motion, I saw everything occur.

Hitomi surged forwards, her swords held high.

A slash downwards.

Displaced air blowing the black hood back, revealing a green beanie.

The summoner's eyes widening in terror behind her glasses, as the swords that should have been stopped continued moving–

A tiny light emerging from next to her shoulder, flapping its wings–

Immediately extinguished, right as Hitomi's curved swords continued on their path–

–right as Hitomi herself finally realised who was in front of her.

"Imako! Hitomi!" Inoue yelled.

Imako's legs folded from underneath her, and she collapsed to the ground.

So too did Hitomi's weapons, which fell on the forest floor with a dull noise.

The superhuman's face expression was of absolute horror. "What–how–no–"

Inoue had wrapped her arm around Imako's shoulder. "Imako…"

But the summoner was inconsolable. In her trembling, cupped hands, a white butterfly weakly beat its wings, and turned into dust.

Imako's voice was a quiet whisper, but I heard it clearly.

"Asper…Asper…"

Still looking shell-shocked, Hitomi takes a hesitant step backwards. And then another.

I step around behind her, cut off her escape route. I keep my eyes on both her, and the fallen Imako.

Finally, Hitomi spins around and tries to flee, but with surprising speed, Imako grabs her heel, and the superhuman trips.

The two girls both tumble to the ground, landing in an awkward position. Exactly the type of awkward position that a romcom protagonist and a love interest would usually end up in.

"I-I-Imako-san." The swordsman stammers. The completely novel experience (I guess) seemed to have short-circuited her.

"Why?!" Imako shouts. "Why must it be like this!"

"I-I'm sorry." Hitomi continues to stammer. "That was your–"

"I liked you, Hitomi-san!" Imako shouts in the superhuman's face. Her hands were still planted on the forest floor right over Hitomi's shoulders, and Imako herself was still right above her.

"Oh boy." I mutter under my breath.

Inoue smacks me lightly. "Shut up," she says.

"I-I-I'm sorry," the superhuman manages to get out. "I–"

"You were my first love! I liked you from the moment you first transferred in and I saw you! I was so happy when you accepted my feelings! When you took me out to see the festival! When you accepted me! So…" Tears well up in Imako's eyes. "Why must you be one of them!" She hammers away on Hitomi's chest. "Why! Why! Why! After everything! Why!"

The weak blows that punctuated every word slowly came to a stop, along with the words, and. Just like a wet tissue crumpling, she folds up on Shinsaibashi's chest.

Above us, the sky, which had grown clouded without us noticing, now started shedding water.

The swordswoman looks to me for help, despair in her face.

"Don't look at me," I say. "You caused this."

"Alright, alright." My girlfriend speaks up in a conciliatory tone, completely unbothered by the falling rain. "This has all turned into a bit of a mess, so why not we pack it up and go somewhere else to talk?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to my flat," Hitomi says dully. "Far away from here."

~~[r]~~

Kotori opted to stay behind, so it was a strange quartet consisting of a Gaian summoner, a Guardian superhuman, a stray superhuman, and a perfectly ordinary reporter that walked through the streets in the rain.

No, not a quartet. Kagari trailed behind, and I pulled her along as Hitomi led the way in front. The Key had the same vacant look in her eyes that happened when Gaia was singing, but there was no choice but to focus on what was currently happening.

Meanwhile, Inoue was supporting Imako, who seemed to have some trouble walking.

Around us, people paid no attention, themselves hurrying to get out of the rain. "Are you okay?" I asked Imako.

"It's fine." The summoner's stutter had vanished, and all that was left was a wispy voice, barely audible above the rain.

Despite her words, it was clear she was not fine. "Was…your familiar…" Did the death of her familiar cause some rebound, since summoner and familiar were linked? Long ago, I was taught to always go for the summoner first–the weak link that when taken down, would cause the familiar to fall.

"He was giving more than taking." Imako answers my unasked question, then falls silent.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we reached the familiar run-down apartments that Hitomi lived in.

Correction: that Hitomi and Shizuru lived in.

What was going to happen if the blonde girl came back now?

I asked Hitomi.

"Everyone's out on patrol." She spoke in the same dull voice. "It's the harvest festival, after all. We'll be at Gaia's throats all week." The door unlocked with a click, and she entered. "Come in."

Inoue settled an unprotesting Imako onto the tiny couch, and Hitomi returns with some towels.

To say that the atmosphere was awkward was an understatement. Doubly so, when our energetic kouhai that was usually fully of good cheer now looked broken inside. "I'll make some hot tea."

I followed Hitomi into the kitchen.

"Making sure I don't drug the tea, huh? Good thinking."

"It's not like that. Besides, if we didn't trust you, we wouldn't have followed you back to your house." I sigh. "Are you okay?"

"You're showing this much concern for someone who tried to kill you?"

I roll my eyes. "You weren't trying to kill me. You just wanted a good fight, didn't you?"

Hitomi is silent. For a while, there was only the sound of rain on the windows. Eventually, the kettle comes to a boil with a whistle, and she speaks. "Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"Not really," I say.

We simply look at each other for a while. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know."

"Never fell in love with a Gaian before?"

Hitomi grins at me. Though tension was still clear in her face, it seemed that she was not completely distraught–or, at the very least, was someone who could bounce back quickly. "Surprisingly, no." She picks up the tray, bearing the few yunomi teacups. "That little girl with you…"

"She's the Key." I confirm, after subtly checking that both Hitomi's hands were occupied.

"I'm surprised I can even see her." Hitomi shakes her head. "I thought only people with special 'eyes' can see them."

"Well, you are named 'Hitomi' after all," I joke. "But it's more likely that she's 'letting' you see her." Or that her mental interference abilities are somehow blocked while she's paralyzed by the song, I thought to myself. "Come on. Stop stalling."

We head out to the living room. The black Gaian robe, soaked with rain, was hanging on a hook on the wall, next to Hitomi's familiar hunter-green jacket. Both girls had made do and dried themselves off somewhat, but I could still see that Imako's eyes were blotchy and red.

Hitomi set the tray down on the dining table, then unbuckled her two sheathed swords from her belt and laid them, under our sharp stares, carefully on the floor. "I lay my weapons down." With the proclamation made, she too sat on the ground, though notably with her blades out of reach.

Still, the awkward silence persisted. The weight felt like the time Imako had panicked in the Newspaper Club's interview room, which I now knew for certain was her using her familiar's powers.

I glance at Inoue, trying to get her to do something with my expression alone.

Thankfully, she seemed to get the message. But just as Inoue opens her mouth to speak, Imako's quiet voice sounded.

"Shinsaibashi-san."

"Y-Yes!" The superhuman jumps at the formal mode of address.

"I didn't know…you were in Guardian."

The hard question off the bat. I exchanged another glance with Inoue.

"I'm sorry." Hitomi hung her head, before raising it slightly, only so slightly. "But in my defense, I didn't know you were a summoner either. And that black robe…"

"Yes." Imako confirms. "I'm from Gaia. I guess we both made fools out of ourselves, huh?" There was a brittle laugh. "What are you going to do now, Shinsaibashi-san?"

"I…"

"How about you just finish me off?" The summoner tugs down her collar and bares her neck. "You've already killed my familiar, after all. Just finish it, then go back to where you came from and get a commendation or something!"

"Your…familiar…" Hitomi's mouth slowly opens and closes.

"Asper…" Imako closes her eyes. "My…"

"A white butterfly…" I muttered. It was clear that, unlike those dogs or birds, Imako's familiar wasn't all that replaceable, nor disposable.

"My parents made him for me." The summoner takes a deep breath. As if it was something she needed to say, she launches into a story.

Like in mourning.

Like an eulogy.

"I was born in Takamatsu."

"Shikoku?" Inoue asks.

Shikoku. Something clicks in my memory. What was it?

"Yes." Imako says quietly. "I…even when I was young, my body wasn't too good. I couldn't do much physical activity, and I wasn't too smart either…in fact, my parents moved all of us to Kazamatsuri, because they thought being surrounded by nature would be better." She coughed. "Here being Gaia's holy ground probably helped as well."

"All of us?" Inoue asked.

"I have an older brother. He's studying abroad," Imako says shortly. "We've never been close."

"Your parents are…also from Gaia?"

"Yeah." Imako glares at Hitomi. "Is there a problem?"

"No. Not really."

"They're top scientists working for Martel." Imako made a face. "They always pushed me to get the best grades. My mother would force me to study. 'You can't do anything else, so just hit the books!' That's what she used to say."

"That's horrible." Hitomi said.

"But they also made me my familiar." The summoner looks down, at her hands. Her usual green beanie cap was still mildly damp from the rain, but Imako's fingers continued playing with it, all the same. "It was the one vacation I remember, when I was very young, long before we moved to Kazamatsuri. We took a ferry to one of the nearby islands, and then, one bright morning, my mom and my dad took me into a clearing in the forest, where I met Asper. I made a contract instantly, there and then." She laughed. "When I couldn't contract with even a lump of clay before."

I remembered all the stuffed animals that Imako had in a box. Were they all training familiars of some sort? That made sense, but I also remembered the Occult Club interviewing people who could move stuff like dolls or dummies.

Maybe you could contract with anything.

"That was when I became a summoner for real…and when the dreams started." The last part was directed at Inoue.

"Messiah." Inoue made a face. "I'm sorry people were giving you strange nicknames."

Imako's fingers finally fell still. "It's not your fault. In some way, it was better than people only acknowledging my existence because they wanted something from me."

"Imako…" Hitomi began.

"Shinsaiha–Hitomi-san." Imako stumbles over her name. "What else do you want from me? You've already–my heart has–"

"I'm leaving Guardian."

"Are you sure, Hitomi?" I speak up.

"Shouldn't you be convincing me to leave, instead of asking me to second-guess myself?"

"I don't want your decisions to be half-hearted." I look the superhuman in the eye. "If you change your mind later and decide to go back, it's going to be trouble."

"I'm not going to change my mind."

"Even if this makes you an enemy of everyone you've known so far?" Funny, how less than an hour ago, we were on opposite sides of this argument. "You said it yourself. You're going into the abyss. You're going to have to fight your Lucia-senpai, and your Shizuru-senpai, and all your teachers and friends that I don't know about. It's not the same as me."

"You're a member of Guardian too?" Imako shoots me a question.

"I, er–"

The summoner pushes up her glasses. On her face was a tiny hint of a smile. "I jest. I've had suspicions that you were a former member of Guardian for some time now."

"How?"

"It was an easy conclusion to come to." Imako says. "You've encountered the Key before, but you're not a member of Gaia. In fact, you're a superhuman. You say you're not a member of Guardian, but you're suffering from some mysterious amnesia." She looks at me. "The most logical conclusion is that you were a member of Guardian, in the past."

I swallow.

"Hunting the Key, most likely. And getting injured in the process so badly that you had to leave." Imako's gaze was piercing. "Either physical or mental trauma caused you to forget."

I scratch my head. "Yeah, about that. I basically, er, recovered and remembered everything."

"Ten years," Hitomi muttered absentmindedly. "That means you're…"

Inoue was giving me a look. "You told her about your amnesia?"

"I guessed, and Kotarou confirmed it." The summoner speaks before I could reply. "The Key's ribbon is embedded in his arm, and what happened in the forest when you both got lost didn't add up."

At the mention of the Key, Hitomi's gaze seems to sharpen.

I tensed. If Hitomi was to make a move on Kagari, right here and now–

"...I think I've realised something very important." The navy blue-haired, ponytailed girl was giving Inoue and I sharp looks. "You both knew that I was a superhuman. From Guardian."

"You admitted it to us." I say, not sure where she was going.

Hitomi shakes her head. "That's not the problem. The problem is that, at the same time, you two also knew that Imako was a summoner?"

"...yeah?" Inoue sounded strangely defiant for some reason.

"And yet you still both set us up on a date!" The accusing finger pointed from me, to Inoue, and back to me. "What the hell are you both playing at? Have we just been dancing in the palm of your hand the entire time?"

Inoue looks as if she had been punched in the face.

"Well," I respond, "in the first place, it was Imako that asked us to help investigate you–"

"Akira!" Imako now looked scandalized. "Y-Y-You promised that you wouldn't–"

"Technically–" and now my girlfriend had recovered, "-it was big mouth Kotarou here that spilled the beans."

"If I have to blame someone, it would be Innoway." I made a cross with my forearms in front of my chest, and shamelessly throw my girlfriend under the bus. "She said, and I quote, 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'."

"Did I really–"

"You did." I shoot her down. "Well, seeing as I went along with it, I guess I'm also responsible. Though I was reassured when you two seemed to have a lot of chemistry."

Neither summoner nor superhuman looked especially convinced by my words.

"Look." Inoue speaks, backing me up. "If not for this whole supernatural Guardian-Gaia thing going on, you two would be the best of friends. Maybe even more. If you ask me, I think giving this up and continuing to fight isn't the smartest thing you both could do."

"I'm leaving Guardian," Hitomi repeats. "I've made up my mind." She swallows. "Even if I end up fighting Shizuru-senpai, or Lucia-senpai, or even Touka-sensei." She looks at me. "I think…I think that I've had doubts for some time now. It's about time I do something with my own hands, instead of waiting for things to happen."

"Glad you finally decided to shake the world yourself." I found my mood lightening.

"It also helps that I'll no longer be forced to kill the girl that I love." She turns to Imako.

"Come now, Hitomi." Imako's voice was brittle once more. "You've only known me for what, a few days? Less than a week? You call that love? Compared to how long you've known everyone else in your life? Come off it. How about you just–"

"I won't!" The superhuman draws herself up to her full height, and her lanky frame looms over the shorter summoner. "So what if it was short? A connection is a connection, isn't it? I don't care if it's stupid or unrealistic. I'm not giving up on anything. It's my duty to dream of how things could be. Of a happy ending for everyone."

There was a long pause, after which Imako looked down. "Do what you want."

~~[r]~~

With the rain not stopping, and with all of us tired from the events of the day, it was a languid Hitomi that called in pizza delivery for dinner.

"Your friend there." The superhuman gestured to Kagari with her slice, when the food has been given out. "She's not human, isn't she?"

I sighed. There was no hiding it at this point. "Her name is Kagari. She's the Key."

Hitomi closed her eyes for a moment, reopening them after a pause. Several thoughts seemed to cross her mind before she finally spoke. "I can't believe it's really a little girl."

"'She'," Inoue corrects absentmindedly. She was watching Imako. "Are you not going to eat?" she addresses the glasses girl.

The summoner did not respond. Her plate, which had a single slice of pizza on it (seafood), lay untouched, and she was instead sketching away with a pencil, her usual leather notebook propped against her slightly plump thighs.

"You need to eat." Inoue says gently.

"I'm not hungry."

I looked over. The page was a familiar corridor–that of the one outside every classroom at Kaza High. On the adjacent page was a tiny drawing, that of a butterfly in flight.

The pencil finally halted, and Imako looks up at me. "The sealed space that Gaia can access has several different entrances. We should be able to bypass going through the building's entrance itself if we can use it." She paused. "Theoretically."

"Only theoretically?"

"I was going to spend the rest of the day putting together the infiltration plan, but…" Her tired gaze completes the rest of her sentence.

"I'm sorry."

"Forget it." There was a deep exhaustion in her voice. "What's done is done. I just want to…"

"No pressure, but you're really the only one that can do this."

"Salvation." Her voice was a quiet mutter. "Can you call Hitomi over?"

I made a gesture, and Hitomi walks over. The superhuman cautiously sits down next to the summoner, and her face immediately takes on a mixed expression when said summoner simply leaned sideways to rest on her shoulder.

"I-I thought you hated me now." Hitomi's expression was the picture of hesitancy, like she was handling a delicate glass structure, the spindly kind with many thin parts easily broken off.

Imako simply stayed where she was, not speaking a word.

Trying not to get wrapped up in the awkwardness, I fish for the remote to turn on the television.

"Now, for the weather report. The storm system near Kazamatsuri shows no sign of dispersing. It's unfortunate, but expect heavy rains and strong winds to continue intermittently until the end of the harvest festival…"

"Can things still go on, Imako?" Inoue walks over. "The mission tomorrow."

Imako's eyes flicker. "I'm…not sure."

"Kagari's condition is getting worse." I speak up. "It honestly feels as if Salvation can happen any day now. I swear I can hear that song when everything is quiet."

"The song?" Imako blinks again. Her expression was unreadable.

"Like a choir. People singing."

"You didn't say anything about this." Inoue was unhappy.

"I wasn't sure."

"Song? Mission?" Hitomi looked at our faces.

"We're planning to break into Gaia's headquarters." Inoue outlined. "We need to know more about summoning, and the Key, and Salvation." Inoue looked from Hitomi to Imako. "Gaia says that Salvation is the cleansing of the world, and Guardian says that it's ruin. But whatever it is, it's not absolute."

"Not…absolute?" Imako said slowly.

"Yes. Because if there existed an event that would truly kill off all humans, there would be nobody left alive to tell the tale."

"But people can still leave records, right?" Hitomi pointed out. "And even if they don't, we can extrapolate. We know that detonating, like, a hundred atomic bombs all over the world would effectively be an apocalypse, since we can do the math and science. We don't actually need the event to happen to know what happens."

"The realm of the supernatural is out of normal science," Inoue refuted. "If there are some laws that summoning and superhumans need to obey, we–as in, normal human beings–don't know. Gaia might. That's half the point of this operation."

"I'm coming with you."

"I thought you would say that." Inoue nodded. "Is that fine, Imako?"

"Can I even say no at this point?" The summoner spoke in that same tired voice. "One more doesn't matter. Even if it is a Guardian member."

"I won't be for much longer."

"By the way, before you officially resign." Inoue turned to Hitomi with a hungry look. "Does Guardian keep any records? Any secret history?"

"The Vatican." Hitomi says. There was a glint in her eye. "Or at least, so the rumours say."

"The conspiracy theories are get more credible day after day," I muttered.

"Of course." Inoue looks deep in thought. "One of the world's oldest religious organizations…"

"From what I remember, Guardian has two main factions." Hitomi said. "One is more religious, and affiliated, as you can guess, with the Church. The other is more secular and deals mainly with stuff like paramilitary organizations." She stared at the TV, which was now playing some commercial. "I think Lucia-senpai and Touka-sensei are from the former. Shizuru-senpai seems to be more affiliated with the latter."

The superhuman locks eyes with me as she says this, and I meet her gaze, knowing what she was reminding me.

"As for records, I would offer you access to the servers, but I don't think I have clearance, and historical stuff isn't likely to be there anyway," she finished. There was a quiet buzz, and the superhuman narrowed her eyes. Fishing out her cellphone, her face morphs into a scowl as she reads the message received. "Crap. I missed a check-in. I need to–"

"Then we'd better leave." Inoue stands. In a tone that brooked no argument, she spoke. "Imako. We're escorting you back."

The round-faced summoner simply nods silently.

"Take my umbrella. I have my jacket." Hitomi sends us off.

~~[r]~~

The rain, which had been heavy before, had dwindled to a drizzle, albeit a persistent one.

"In the old days, I used to not need an umbrella. Asper would keep me dry."

"How do Gaia's familiars get their names?" I asked. The image of a mass of lava fills my mind. "The dude that I fought called his Fuego or Fogo or something."

"If it's a unique familiar, it's named by the makers. Fuego means something like 'burn' or 'incinerate', I think."

"Makers? I thought each summoner made their own familiars."

"Things like scout birds and attack dogs are mass-produced, based on set templates that have been proven to be the most efficient. Some Gaians also only specialise in making familiars, as opposed to using them. Having a familiar that's a companion that you have a strong bond with…is a romantic notion that occurs more in fiction than reality."

The light rain continued to fall.

"But that was how it was with you and your familiar, right?" Inoue asks the question on both our minds. "I noticed it. Your hand always goes to your collar if you're not playing with your hat. Was that where he was?"

My mouth opens slightly in surprise. It was just like Inoue to notice things like that.

"Yes. You're right. He was always near me, right here." The summoner reaches to her neck, where a loose sweater or hooded jacket would give just enough space.

I think about an insect crawling on my skin, constantly, and shudder. "I'm surprised you could deal with that."

"A familiar isn't a real lifeform. And he was…always…"

"Your parents named him?" Inoue intervenes.

"My parents said he was named after the clouds." Imako had that same thousand-yard stare. "My father is a meteorologist. I think it was him that chose the name."

An environmental scientist. Of course he had ended up working with Martel.

…What did my own parents even do?

"And your mother?" Inoue asks. To my amusement, I noticed that my girlfriend had unconsciously slipped into reporter mode. Her hands were almost twitching for her notebook.

"A biologist." Her tone tells us to stop asking.

I could understand that sentiment very well. "Can you do something like, resummon your familiar?" I turn the topic back to the supernatural.

"I don't know how to make him. Not the full process. Even if I did, I don't have half the materials." She closed her eyes. "Butterfly scales, reinforcing a wood carving…"

I remember Kotori making a scout bird out of leaves, twigs and berries. "That seems easy enough to get. The forest is right there."

"I don't know about the butterflies, but the wood was definitely special." A strange sharpness seems to appear in her eyes as she speaks, before she exhales in a tired breath. "I'm sorry. I'm going on and on about my familiar, aren't I? In the end, it's not like he was truly alive. It's just a construct, made animate by lifeforce…"

I look over at Kagari. If we treated familiars as just things…

"Don't say that." Inoue says immediately. "I think he protected you right at the end. He had a will of his own, and was your companion. And even if he wasn't, it's fine to feel sad. I know I would feel sad to, if something like, I don't know, my precious camera got stolen."

"You're comparing your camera to someone's faithful companion?"

"Hey, to a journalist, their camera is an extension of their body. And it's also been with me through a lot, and it's full of my precious memories."

Quiet laughter sounds, and the both of us turn to look at Imako. "Are you all right?" Inoue asks.

The summoner wipes tears from her eyes. "I'll be fine. I feel slightly better, actually." More wiping. "Can I ask? You're…both my friends, right?"

"Yeah." "Definitely." Me and Inoue respond as one.

"I understand." Though her voice was still unstable, it seemed that some strength had returned.

Hitomi fighting Kotarou in the forest was one of the earliest scenes planned, though I had to make a lot of adjustments along the way. That, and Imako finding out she was a member of Guardian.

It's honestly mindblowing that we've finally reached a scene were I thought: oh, this is still very far away.

There's also another point I'd like to bring up: where are all the Guardian defectors? Chihaya leaves Gaia in a few routes, but the only member of Guardian who outright left…is Kotarou himself. You'd think at least some superhumans would disagree with how things were run and defect. In a sense, Hitomi was created to fill that niche (among other things).

Takamatsu, unlike Kazamatsuri or Hikarizaka (Clannad's setting), is an real Japanese city. It's in Shikoku and faces the Seto Inland Sea to the north.

This is definitely not foreshadowing or anything.

Review please!