updating on a semi-regular basis now


Chapter 1

When Maki had applied to a small rural college for pre-med, she had not expected to fall in love with a girl who was shattering the material of time and reality. Maki had expected to go to college, become a doctor, and to take over her parent's hospital one day. There had been deviances in that plan, allowed indulgently by the universe: music, Love Live, schoolgirl relationships. But Maki's feet never slipped off the path set before her. Her name was Maki Nishikino, and she was going to become a surgeon one day.

Never had Maki assumed that her future was malleable.

There had been omens of what was to come, however small.

The night Maki had been accepted into Akisame University, white streaks fell from the velvet black sky in an unpredicted meteor shower. She'd ran up to her rooftop to catch the stars coming down from her telescope; the light rained down for hours. The next day, the astronomy blogs went wild covering the unexpected event. The next meteor shower visible in Japan hadn't been predicted for another month. The new shower was named the Alpha Cygnids, because it fell under the constellation of the swan Cygnus. In the coming months, Maki would look back at that omen as the most foreboding one.


Maki had woken up at six AM for the first day of college. She had picked out her clothing the night before: black shorts, black shirt, black throw, obligatory sunglasses, everything from her water bottle to her playlist for the train station had been picked out. Maki had eaten fresh pears and a scoop of peanut butter for breakfast, a breakfast she would always remember later. Nothing about her morning routine had suggested a cataclysm waiting.

This was it. This was college. No going back now. Maki couldn't enjoy the scenery on the short ride in, the blossom-dappled shrines and gentle hills that folded the tiny private college town in its green embrace. This town was not hers, not the way Akihabara was. The tips of the trees had sprouted bright green, full of dewy leaf buds, and Maki thought of the familiar maples outside her own bedroom window.

Maki could not enjoy the rush of students that crowded into the partly-forested campus; the calls to friends from the previous years, the fresh smell of spring that covered the main courtyard. The dandelions were allowed free rein in the cracks of the brick path, the grass had been cut, the fountains were sparkling in full clear splendor.

Maki thought only of her classes, and her isolation.

Principles of Biology was her first class, in a high red stone building covered in ivy. Maki tried not to think of Otonozaki. She looked out the window; in the hazy overcast day, girls could be seen atop the roof eating, chatting together. Maki sighed.

Hanayo and Rin had gone to the same school in Tokyo, Hanayo for drawing, Rin had a baseball scholarship. Nico had offered to live together in Osaka but Maki had to turn her down. (Not that Maki didn't regret it now.) Nozomi and Eli had a cute apartment in Sapporo now, and Kotori, Umi, and Honoka had started their own little band, travelling around the world. Maki missed her friends. Her heart ached when she saw a collection of girls walking together into the massive lecture hall. Maki once had that belonging, for one brief moment.

With a shallow exhale and slumped posture, Maki took a seat in the back. Her gaze drilled to her textbook, as she drafted an outline of the projected lesson on her laptop. Half an hour later the professor arrived, ten minutes following that students started trickling in. Maki watched at first. The girls in their cute clothes discussing the lesson plan , the boys full of energy and volume. Maki stopped watching after she saw a bright young girl in a hoodie, orange hair, full smile. The girl was too much like Honoka.

Maki would view that first week as the strangest blur later: the rush to classes, eating alone in the courtyard, the long walks around campus, hours in the library. After classes she'd find an empty choir room to play the piano. Just like the old days. It wasn't terrible. There was a comfort in repeating the old behaviors. Music and books filled her, kept her from drowning in this beautiful lonely place.

Maki's schedule was a heavy one for a freshman. 18 credits. Even her father suggested she tone it down, to learn to adjust to college before filling every waking second with classes and homework. What Maki couldn't bring herself to say was she couldn't imagine joining another club again, finding new people to talk to. Her lab partner was a pompous twit, her roommate in the apartment just as distant and cool as she was. Homework was always finished far too fast. Nights became flute sessions, rehearsing old dance choreographies in her room, notebooks full of half-finished songs. She would leave her windows open in the evenings, her delicate melody carrying out into the wet spring air.


The second omen of what was to come had been ignored at the time. It wasn't much, just a single article Nico had linked her to: Violent conflict at the Kitano Hotel. It recounted a deadly scuffle between two international travelers.

So what, Maki texted back.

Nico's response was almost immediate. It's the hotel we stayed at when we went to New York.

Was it weird to be your own fan like Nico clearly was? Where do you even find this stuff?

muse fans would make pilgrimages to New York City and Akihabara, Nico told Maki. There had been several accounts of ghostly voices, missing time, and a general feeling of unease at the Kitano Hotel, according to the idol conspiracy podcasts in Nico listened to in her spare time. The shoot-out was just the newest oddity in a trail of synchronicities revolving around muse and their fans.

Uh huh, Maki responded.


It was the middle of the second week before Maki had noticed a particular voice in Principles of Biology that kept asking absurd questions. It was basic stuff, things anyone who had paid attention to biology class in high school would have known, but… "But what do bacteria eat? The voice questioned, hand raised high. "Where they carnivores or herbivores? Bacteriavores?" The professor seemed amused the first Wednesday and by Friday was throwing chalk at the girl. By the second week he was looking murderous from under his cap of messy white hair.

"Of course aliens exist, professor!" The girl had piped up in a discussion of early life that had somehow led to a discussion of potential life on other planets. "How could they not?"

The wizened professor raised his eyebrows, "You look familiar."

The girl's voice got high. "Oh no, not me, I'm just a curious student…"

"Weren't you on TV…?" He adjusted his glasses, staring her down now.

"Ah! Gotta go, sorry prof! Catch you next time!"

There was a rustle from the front of the classroom. The girl tripped up the elongated steps, careless in her dash out of the classroom . "I'll get the notes online!" The girl, like Maki, wore sunglasses. Orange Hair tousled into a bun. A scarf, covering her lower face. But Maki would have recognized that bluster anywhere.

The face was unmistakably, without a doubt, Honoka Kousaka.


"I thought you were in the United States." was all Maki could manage between gasps. Hands on her knees, water bottle banging against her leg, out of breath from running up two flights to the roof. A caught heart, beating with an unpracticed body's blood.

Their eyes met.

Honoka sprung up, nearly tackling Maki in her energetic hold.

"Woah, woah."

"Maki! I missed you so much! We haven't been the same without you! Our beautiful composer!" Honoka lifted Maki up in her arms, as if she were a child. "Maki Maki Maki! Why didn't you tell me you went here? What are you doing out here anyways?"

Maki gave the best hug she could with her arms pinned by Honoka's bear-hug. "Is everything okay? What are you doing here?"

"Eh heh." Honoka smiled, a sheepish awkward smile that suggested more. The two girls sat on the roof's benches now, overlooking the college campus. Sunlight fell from dispersing clouds and hair glistened with golden highlights. Honoka's demeanor was every bit as fresh and shiny as she was when she was 16. They sat close together. There was something comforting in Honoka's presence; still smelled of oranges and yuzu, after all this time. It was the first time Maki had skipped class in her life.

"The band broke up." Honoka said, after several minutes.

"What do you mean?" Maki took Honoka's hand unconsciously. "Did something happen?"

Honoka's expression wavered and she looked away. Shadows hung in Honoka's bright blue eyes. There was silence, for a moment.

When Honoka spoke again, her voice was bright and soft, like she was doing an advertisement. "Umi got this incredible job over there. She's some sort of gun showgirl now… like a gravure model. With guns. Can you believe that? It pays super well too, at least, if you're a cute ex-idol. And Kotori works on this wool farm. They wanted to stay after the tour, so... I think they might try to become American citizens."

"I do not believe that. That's ridiculous. We had to harass Umi to wear a bikini for the promo swimsuit shoots."

Honoka laughed. "I'm happy for her. She can break free a little, right?"

"I really can't believe it." Maki did not know how she felt about her old songwriter becoming a gun gravure model. "Will they be okay? I'm sorry you guys broke up."

"I think so! They're doing what they love!" Honoka gave her a bright smile. Maki almost suspected it was forced. "So I decided to come back to Japan and figure things out. My mom went to this college, so here I am I guess! I think . Eheh." Honoka looked sheepish. "I'm so glad you're here, Maki.

Maki wouldn't say it out loud, but she was elated that Honoka was here too. "I… I'm glad you came back from the States." She'd missed her friends, all of them. But Honoka especially, who Maki hadn't seen since the second-years had left for the states.

"You'll tutor me, right Maki?" She stuck out her tongue.

Never to appear overeager, Maki crossed her arms, as if Honoka was impeding on some grand schedule. "I suppose I can try to fit you in."

"You better!" Honoka winked at her. "We'll have a lot of fun, okay?"


The third omen of Maki's the most obvious: a tarot reading from Nozomi.

Maki hadn't truly wanted a reading. Afterwards, she'd hardly thought of it. After the ribbings Maki had gotten about Santa, Maki had little desire to indulge in any other form of superstition. But Rin and Hanayo had asked for a reading before they started college, and when Nozomi offered to read for Maki as well, it seemed rude to turn her down.

They'd done the reading over video chat. Nozomi had lit candles all through her apartment. The warm background had an intense, hallowed feeling. Nozomi had let her long hair down as a dark veil that covered her upper arms and shoulders; she'd worn dark makeup and a moonstone at her nearly bare-breast. Maki thought she looked like a goddess.

"Just do whatever you did for Rin and Hanayo, I guess."

Nozomi tsked. "Surely you want your own answers? You are not Rin or Hanayo."

Maki could already see the future pounded into her head: Bachelor's. Med School. Hospital. "Just tell me what this semester will hold for me."

Nozomi flipped over a card. "The Fool. You are beginning a new part of your life."

"I had no idea."

Rustling came over the headphones. "You are… meeting a fate." More shifting. "It's confusing. There's deception. Trickery. It will upset everything you know."

Maki yawned.

A low voice, not quite Nozomi's, spoke. "You will burn out. Your hands will be overburdened, unable to hold all that the universe puts before them. But…" The dark goddess smiled. "Illusions will come to bring love."

Maki wanted to roll her eyes, but settled for nodding.

Nozomi pulled another card. "Look."

Two people held golden cups, touching. Above them sat a floating lion. "The Two of Cups."

"Yes. "There is something waiting for you, Maki. Someone."


Chapter 2

Honoka shone in a crowd. There was a glow about her, something that drew the attention of everyone in the room to listen to her. Charisma, Maki thought.

Honoka's charisma was gentler than the stern poise of Eli, somehow more comfortable than Kotori's charm. Honoka was a leader. Even in the world of the tiny rural academia, far from the land of idols and pop culture, Honoka could charm anyone she talked to. They got lunch together every day after classes, and often girls of all ages surrounded her, swapping stories and passing notes and homework in a great buzz of networking.

Maki didn't care for the ardent voices that followed Honoka everywhere; the younger girls that looked up to her, the older girls that regarded her as some kind of ingénue. She was touched but annoyed, she should say, it was hard to get a word in when half the freshman class seemed to share their lunch table. Soft perfumes, candies, and laughter. Maki rolled her eyes but tried to keep up with the conversations. What Maki hated most was the envy on the more serious girls' faces, or those that disregarded Honoka as stupid for her energy and kindness. Maki would move towards her side protectively, when her snide lab partner said something dismissive or in their shared class discussions or in the café the biology class would often frequent. Whether it was effective or not, Maki could not tell. She'd been told she had a scary resting face more than once. Time to use it.


"Why are you in the biology major intro class, anyways?" Maki asked after particular rough quiz. (Honoka was having trouble remembering the terms of the plant organs.) "You're music education. You don't have to do any of this." The girls were walking to the train station, Honoka's stop just before Maki's. A thin slice of moon rose above whispering boughs that lined the cobbled street. The stars were brighter here, brighter than Maki had ever seen. They twinkled a distant blue-white from light years away.

"Eh hehe well, um, I signed up so late there weren't any other science classes left," Honoka put her arms behind her head, posture loose and lazy as they drifted along the road. Maki could not help but envy her open body language. She longed to move with each whim, every step careless and easy. Fingers were twirled in her hair, face heated, averting her eyes away from Honoka. "Everything happened so fast. I was just glad to get onto the schedule at all."

"I'm surprised you didn't just keep trying to be an idol." They met eyes for a brief second, the stars reflecting in Honoka's cornflower eyes. Maki blinked, the bright color startling her.

"Well…" Honoka looked down at the ground. "I guess, I want something I can count on. muse was my whole world and I loved it so much, but our little band wasn't the same. Kotori and Umi were my best friends, Maki. And they... they moved on to other things. But I've got to pursue my own goals. And that's here, and if that means taking a hard biology class before I take on the rest of the world, then that's what I'm going to do.

"I…" Maki knew Honoka was the most determined person in the world. She always had been, even at sixteen. What do you say to a force of nature, the heat of the sun that fed the plants and kept the planet warm? She was a flower and Honoka was a ball of gas that the planets revolved around. "You'll always get to where you're going, Honoka. If it's you. You got me to Love Live, didn't you?" Something felt strange and hot and self-conscious inside her, standing beside her senior. Was the feeling envy, that Honoka was blazing her own path? The sensation did not feel bitter enough for that. "Really, you're amazing."

"You're gonna make me blush!" Honoka waved her hands in front of her face, flustered. The moon's curve followed her head, as if it were a halo. "You're pretty great yourself, you know!"

Maki just smiled. "We're going to go over my science notes tomorrow. Be prepared."


Nico would call, sometimes, in the later hours of the weekends. Slurred words, grumbling of workloads, conspiracy idol theories, nostalgia for the days at Otonozaki.

Nico's first phone call had been a godsend to Maki, her fifth drunken phone call of "fuck communications I wish my life was over I should have been a professional idol, what's a beautiful girl like me doing in this backwater town" was starting to worry Maki. Would this be Maki's fate, too, three years into pre-med? Maki told Nico to stop drinking after the third incident; to get her notes and quit complaining. Nico had told her to go fuck herself.

Weekends were still quiet. Maki had no desire to see the arcade, to visit the little village shops filled with candies and trinkets. Honoka had invited her out with the other girls the first couple of times, but had stopped by mid-June, accepting the inevitable declined offer. Being social at school was bad enough. She had no desire to spend even more time with the strange girls, who always seemed to be whispering about so-and-so and so-and-so's hook-up last drained Maki. Bed was far more seductive than any freshman girl's useless fumbled kisses.

She dreamed, again and again, of charts and graphs and glowing green liquid dripping through the cracks of a golden vase. Of kisses at a poolside. Of drowning, deep in a sunless ocean.

Maki's weekends disappeared. An alarm set for eleven suddenly became waking up at four PM. How did it happen? She didn't want to admit it to Honoka, but her refined spreadsheet schedule had become far more makeshift as she found her hours eaten by the soft downy mattress. Labs that were scheduled to be written for two had suddenly become written in haste, even days or sometimes hours before they were due. Maki's pace felt sluggish. Med school felt like an eternity away from her busy work; years awaiting her began to pile above her head. Could she even cut it as a doctor? Maki's phone went off: she ignored it. Maki tossed the lab report into the trash bin, turned out the light, and crawled into the covers with the sun still setting.


Chapter 3

A rainy June Sunday brought a study session. Maki insisted on five PM.

"Isn't that a little late for you, Maki?" Honoka asked, her questioning expression somehow reaching over the phone's receiver into Maki's head.

"Got a lot of papers to write. We'll get plenty done, don't worry. You'll be up for your piano class." Honoka had taken well to the piano in her first months of learning. Maki had only given sparing advice, not wanting to overwhelm her friend, but Honoka had taken each piece of advice as grave instruction and practiced every day.

The study session started normally enough; snacks and flashcards. Honoka's apartment was soft and colorful, full of music posters and maps and light pink pillows. She even had a string of lights above her bed. Maki smiled and shook her head. They sat close together, Maki hiding the flashcard in her palm as Honoka screwed her eyes shut, trying for the life of her to remember the parts of a fern.

"…s…spores?"

"You got it, Honoka!"

Honaka grinned at her. Even as she'd gotten taller, her face slightly more mature, her smile hadn't changed in the slightest. Maki looked away, feeling odd to dwell on Honoka's unadorned lips. (Maki had put on a coat of lip stain before coming over.)

"What's next?"

"Well, the study guide says we should go over chapter three and four for tomorrow…"

"Right! We'll tackle those worms and jellyfish!"

"Hopefully not literally."

The book was a massive weight on her lap. Tiny text on thin paper should be illegal, Maki thought. Honoka read with her finger under the characters, mouthing the inscription under her breath. The pressure shifted along with her hand that was trailing slowly along the page and Maki couldn't help but notice each passing motion. Honoka's recitations were dangerously close to her ears and Maki blushed, remembering their high school days; how the older girl got her to listen to START: DASH! all those years ago. Maki crossed her arms. It was so stupid and she could feel the blood rushing up and-

"Have you heard from anyone lately?" Honoka interrupted Maki's thoughts with a hot palm on her sleeveless arm.

"Nico mostly." Maki pretended she didn't see Honoka smiling at her. "Rin and Hanayo check in here and there. Nozomi did a tarot reading for me."

"Oh, I was wondering if you'd heard from Eli or Umi. I haven't heard from either of them in awhile."

"That's weird. I guess they're both busy with work." Nozomi had sent her an email a few weeks back and hadn't mentioned Eli. Maki felt a surge of guilt, she hadn't had the energy to respond.

"I'm sure they're happy, wherever they are." Honoka looked uncomfortable. Uncharacteristically, her bright hair fell in her eyes, her glance fixated upon the floor. She grabbed a chip out of the anime-girl covered bag. Her chewing was listless as she stared out in overcast night sky. The bright leaves rustled in a cool air that seemed to rise from the depths of the earth and into the tiny college student apartment.

"If anyone can take care of themselves, it's those two.."

Honoka gave her an unconvincing smile. "Yeah."

The strangest feeling passed through Maki. Was this what their charmed group was to become; a collection of strangers that had all joined hearts in singing once upon a time? Had her music truly joined them together?

Maki climbed onto the bed and closed her eyes. The pound of rain had begun to dance over the windowpane. What could she do now, anyways? Maybe she'd text Nico in the morning. Maybe she'd work up the energy to check her emails, to respond guiltily to Nozomi.

To Maki's surprise, Honoka nestled in the bed next to her. Her orange hair contrasted with the bright blue pillow she laid on. "You think everything will be okay, Maki?"

"You saved our high school, Honoka. You can do anything," Maki didn't know if she believed herself. Something, somewhere felt not okay. Maki gave Honoka a slight pat on the head. "Maybe we'll invite everyone over some time. Except for our international friends."

Honoka snorted. "I'm getting a headache. Can you do that thing you used to do?"

Maki used to give massages to her bandmates when they were stressed out. But that was so very long ago. The last time she did that Rin was still making her little cat claws at everyone. Massaging Honoka in private was… more intimate. "S-sure. I mean. If you really want me to."

"Please?"

"Geeze. Okay."

Maki's palm wandered over the crown of Honoka's head. Her fingers ran through the thick, slight waves. Honoka's hair had gotten longer in the three years, a little darker but still vibrant. The auburn color made Honoka look older, more mature. "It'll be fine, Honoka. Worry doesn't work for you." Maki followed the orange strands down Honoka's neck, back, gently moving the pads of her fingers in circles along the bare skin.

Honoka moaned softly into the pillow. "That… that feels nice, Maki... you're gonna put me to sleep."

Maki blushed. This was the most intimate she'd been with anyone since she and Nico had broken up. "Well. You worked hard for it today."

Honoka shifted, nuzzling Maki's naked knees; her hot breath heavy. "You're really good at that."

"Yeah, whatever."

A snoring told Maki Honoka had fallen asleep. She smiled. Her work had been done. The rain was making Maki feel sleepy herself, her eyes getting heavier. The book in her lap was ball and chain, the flashcards looking menacingly at her. She put the book down, put the notes back in her bag, flipped the light off, pulled one of Honoka's blankets over her. She'd just put her head down for a minute, surely Honoka wouldn't mind….

Maki had just reached the threshold of sleep when she heard Honoka's voice mumble in the darkness.

"Umi, stop…. Please…"


Chapter 4

June 7th, 2016: I dreamt of Eli. She had come back from her business trip. We were laying in bed – a hotel room? Very fancy. She was telling me about an idea for a new song. Something about swans.

Eli become a queen in black feathers and a crown with a single spike. We became intimate. As we kissed and grinded our hearts became bright and close. But then everything went dark, Eli's spirit was pulled out from her skin. A shade. A fetch. She was so bruised and bloody...

The sink was full: overflowing tea cups, red-stained plates, bowls full of suds rather than the delicately crafted miso soup Nozomi had mastered during the long winter months in Sapporo, spoons slick from one-serving-of-peanut-butter-dinners. A curved glass toy floated above the antique serving dish Eli's grandmother had gotten for them. Its many generous bulges caught the pattern of the dish below, magnifying the cobalt flowers and swirl of vines. Nozomi smiled, despite her worries.

It was morning, or something like it between the lazy hours of ten and one. June rain. The flowers on the railing would like that. Nozomi had dragged herself out of bed, away from her strange dreams (carefully recorded) to begin her household chores for the day. Rider, her very big and very fluffy cat, pressed into Nozomi's legs and let out an urgent, almost human meow. His bowl was empty. Nozomi had not knelt down to run her knuckles over Rider's back in almost three hours.

Eli had left for the day. Week. Month. When Nozomi and Eli had first moved in together, Eli had left goodbye notes, scribbled loving affirmations in the dry erase board, and returned from work with Nozomi's favorite take-out dishes. Now Nozomi was grateful for a blurred goodbye kiss in the early hours of the morning. She thought of last night. Eli had drunkenly stumbled into the strap-on harness, thrusted at her for five minutes, and passed out still inside Nozomi. Nozomi sighed. She started to scrub away at the teacup-turned-shot-glass.

Nozomi and Eli lived in a nice neighborhood in a nice apartment. After college, they'd moved in together officially. They'd gone shopping together for the apartment: tiffany lamps, a semi-impressionist painting of a swan, a teacup set. They ate together. (Sometimes.) They slept together. (Sometimes.) Nozomi read fortunes for a living now, in the comfort of a rented office across the street. Her skill as a psychic had blossomed from the girl reading tarot cards for her friends to a respected reader in her community. Nozomi thought it was what she always wanted: her own place, her own business, and a beautiful woman to share her life with.

But the more Nozomi considered what she wanted, she thought, setting her intentions as she wiped the washcloth over the many ridges of her artisan dildo, she realized what she wanted was to understand what her girlfriend did for a living.

Eli had gone straight to the family business after she'd graduated. There was a Japanese branch, Eli told her, which was the general partner company to a casting manufacturing factory and Eli was selling a specific model of a rare 1990 model engine which was used in the – Nozomi had usually stopped listening right about there. Eli had done a few semesters with Nozomi and gotten some kind of management certificate, but she hadn't graduated with Nozomi. Often she was out of town on training retreats or conferences. Eli gave few dry details when pressed, and none when politely inquired to.

On rare occasions, Nozomi would get flashes to places she'd never been to before. Airports, cities, villages. Sometimes the people would be speaking another language. She got the impression Eli was running sometimes, or holding something. Nozomi would try and almost always succeed in psychically turning away from whatever Eli was doing. (Not that it would matter, Nozomi didn't speak Russian.)

Nozomi had asked Eli once if she felt like she was missing out on a real college experience. Eli had seemed surprised by the question. "Aren't you worried you're missing out on the real life experience?"

Nozomi, being a young college student with worries of her own, had not pursued the matter further. But now, after they'd moved in together, Nozomi had trouble articulating the basic human desire to Eli to understand how her girlfriend paid the rent. Did Eli manage the Japanese branch? Was she a well-paid intern? Was she being groomed for a position later on? What did Eli's family company manufacture again?

The rent was always paid, so Nozomi tried not to worry. Why should she worry? Nozomi had a beautiful girlfriend in a beautiful apartment and she was doing the work she loved.

Not worrying was of course, not an option. Nozomi's intuition was bugging out at all things personal; at Eli, at her friends, at making plans to visit Venice next year.

So she'd asked her cards. Multiple times. "What do I need to know about this situation?" "Is there information I am missing about this situation?" "What would be best for me to do in this situation?" (Never, "Is Eli cheating on me?" "What is Eli doing?" "What is going on with Eli?" as that would have been an invasion of privacy.)

Seven of swords. Tower. Hanged man.

The seven of swords was obvious. Deception. Betrayal. Nozomi did not have a true idea of what Eli did for a living, and it was being hidden from her. To what end? The Tower confused her- what would happen? What world-changing event would strike the foundation of the earth in two? The hanged man seemed to be a favorite of her cards in the Eli readings. Slow down. Surrender. Wait. Watch and see.

Nozomi worried.

The dishes were done. Nozomi had been washing the last glass for five minutes. She'd get a shower. Boil the rest of the sex toys. Feed Rider. Lunch. Prepare for the newest batch of clients. Check her email. Wonder about the state of the world and her relationship. Wonder what cataclysm she'd missed.

There was an angry buzzing in the bedroom. Her cell phone. She almost ran to the phone. Was she that lonely? "Hello, this is Nozomi speaking."

"Nozomi... It's been so long, Nozomi. I need to tell you something." Nozomi did not expect the voice at the other end. She hadn't heard the voice in over a year. High and sweet and right now wavering. "I need to talk to someone. Nozomi, do you know? I... I don't even know if I know. Umi is in trouble and I... I... I don't know what's going on anymore."

It was Kotori.

Nozomi took a deep breath. "I don't know, but I'll do my best. Tell me what happened."


I initially uploaded this when it was 4 chapters long and I was too lazy to upload the chapters individually. Four years and so many more chapters later, reuploading the chapters individually would create *so* much work.

Comments always appreciated!