"KATSUUUJI!"

The shout practically rattles the windows and doors, halting you in your tracks while the other second years cover their ears and stare in your direction. With a start, you whirl around to find Shibutani looming menacingly in the middle of the hall, scattering students this way and that as he strides towards you.

"Jeez, senpai, you scared the crap outta me. Can't you just say 'hi' normally?" you groan.

He instantly drops the dark expression and lets out one of his usual baritone chuckles.

"The element of surprise is a necessary tool for any keeper of the peace. Never pass up the opportunity to gain the upper hand!"

"And what exactly do you think I'm getting up to?"

Shibutani affectionately cuffs you on the shoulder, nearly dislocating it in the process.

"Nothin'. I'm just messin' with you, Tetsuo," he says, briefly slipping into his loose, delinquent dialect.

Then, after a few furtive glances around the corridor to see if anyone heard him, he clears his throat and straightens back up.

"Jokes aside, I find myself free of responsibilities this afternoon. How would you like to accompany me to the arcade again?"

"Sure thing – it's been a while. Just…take it easy on me this time, okay?"

"Excellent!" he booms out while at the same time refusing to acknowledge your request. "I must say, I've been needing to unwind for quite some time. Not to mention the konbini across the street is supposed to have some intriguing promotional ice cream snacks this week…what do you suppose a hot sauce flavor might be like?"

"Is it alright if I never want to find out?"

After a few days of consistent snow, the sky today is gray, but dry, so the two of you decide to walk to the arcade in order to avoid the late afternoon rush on the trains. Along the way, the conversation turns to what's been going on with the Student Council.

"I have to say, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that being the interim president is more overwhelming than I anticipated. Managing the Disciplinary Committee was challenging enough, but this…" Shibutani gives his head a weary shake, "…I can't help but wonder what the rest of the council was thinking when they chose me for this position."

"It's 'cause they feel like you're the only one who's put together enough to handle it. They chose you because they respect you, senpai."

Shibutani raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"'Put together'? I'm not sure that's how I would describe myself lately. For all his scheming, Souichiro was nothing short of a machine when it came to council business. You've seen his binders – his plans for the year were meticulously detailed. After reading through them, I don't know that I measure up."

Souichiro's smirk, dripping with smug superiority, swims before your vision.

"I'm the Student Council President, I've got an image to maintain!"

"Don't say that, senpai," you spit, unable to keep the venom from your tone. "You're twice – no, ten times the person he was. Don't ever feel like you have to compare yourself to that fraud."

Concern spreads across the older boy's face.

"…But of course. I apologize; I hadn't meant to bring up such a sore subject." He gestures up ahead to the arcade on the corner. "Let's forget about such things for now."

Perhaps due to the cold weather, or the fact that it's the last week of school before vacation, the place is crammed full of junior high and high school-age students. Their body heat makes it nice and toasty inside, forcing you to shed your jacket almost immediately. Kindly old Mr. Kaneko glances up from behind the counter and gives you a friendly nod as Shibutani leads you back towards the fighting game cabinets.

Spotting a pair of vacant Virtua Fighter machines, the two of you slide onto opposing stools and fire them up. A couple younger kids cautiously hover over Shibutani's shoulder, pointing and whispering behind their hands as he selects his character. You'd purchased a port of the game for your home console and touched it a few times since you'd first faced Shibutani this summer, but you're fairly certain that your chances haven't improved much, if at all. Nevertheless, some of the fire you felt earlier is still lingering, and you resolve not to be pushed around this time.

Shibutani peeks over the top of your cabinets.

"Ready?"

You nod.

"Well then! Let's see what you've got!"

This time, you open the match by rushing Shibutani down and trying the only special move you'd taken the time to learn – the uppercut. Your opponent is unimpressed. With an amused "Hmm," Shibutani blocks your attack and counters with a simple light punch, knocking you out of the air. Undeterred, just as soon as your character gets up, you input the same attack again – and this time, it connects. Some of the braver kids in the gathering crowd laugh (but not too loudly), and surprisingly, so does Shibutani.

"Ho! And here I thought you'd back down! Well, rest assured, I won't be falling for that again."

With that, Shibutani launches into an aggressive assault of his own. As his character dashes up to yours, your instinct to block kicks in again. His jab glances harmlessly off of your guard, but he follows it up with a grab that leaves you no time to react. In no time at all, he's pushed you to the edge of the ring and started melting your health. There are brief windows in between blockstrings where you're able to attempt a counterattack, but no matter what you try, you always seem to guess wrong. Before long, the round ends with Shibutani the victor. A few of the spectators wander away, sensing that they won't get to see the result they're hoping for.

You, on the other hand, are still a bit more optimistic, despite getting thrashed. Even though you only landed one hit, there's still something there.

"Round 2, let's go, senpai. I'm not through yet."

"Hah!" Shibutani barks. "I should hope so! I'd like to be challenged, if it's not too much to ask!"

You begin the second round by rushing him down once again. However, instead of launching straight into another attack, you stop right in front of him to see how he'll react. Just like the last round, he throws up his guard.

"Gotcha."

Before he can act, you close the gap and catch him in a grab, breaking his guard and knocking him down. A gasp of surprise goes up from some of the remaining onlookers, and some of the kids who'd left begin to drift back over. You shut them out – Shibutani's character is about to get back up, and you think you have an idea of how he'll respond.

Sure enough, as soon as he's back on his feet, Shibutani retaliates with an uppercut. For someone so courteous in real life, he nowhere near as respectful when it comes to fighting games. That makes it all the more satisfying when your gamble pays off, and you successfully block his wakeup attack. However, it's at this point that you realize that you don't remember which of your character's moves are anti-airs.

Panicked, you start mashing buttons, which does nothing but make you look stupid as you whiff several attempts to capitalize on Shibutani's mistake. This proves to be the perfect opening for Shibutani to execute a devastating combo that launches you out of the ring, ending the round.

With a collective sigh, the bystanders move on, and Shibutani sidles around the cabinets towards you. Despite giving you a thorough rinsing yet again, his eyes are shining with pride through the dim light.

"Ah," you groan sheepishly, "I blew it. You're absolutely bloodthirsty, you know that, senpai?"

He responds with a friendly shake of his head.

"On the contrary, Tetsuo. If you're able to anticipate your opponent's strategies and adapt, even a novice can upend more practiced players. And I must say, there were a few moments in that last round where it felt like you were reading my mind! Overall, that was a marked improvement over last time."

"Yeah, it was nice to actually get to play the game for a change."

Shibutani lets out a burst of deep laughter.

"Come on now, no need to be salty! If you want to get better, then you need to work on your fundamentals. Let's go again. This time, I'll show you what to do."

For the next hour or so, Shibutani gives you a crash course on the basics of the game – running through all of your character's moves, choosing the best actions to take in certain situations, and coaching you through a couple matches against the AI. Once you're through with that, the two of you play a few more rematches. Naturally, Shibutani continues to win each and every one, but at the very least you almost manage to take a round from him on a few occasions.

After a while, the heat coming off the machines and the throng of people milling about the arcade becomes a little too much to handle, so you and Shibutani duck out to the convenience store across the street for ice cream. The snacks in question turn out to be little balls of vanilla ice cream coated in glossy, confectionary shells of varying outlandish flavors. Although you'd expressed a desire to stay as far away from the hot sauce flavor as possible, you end up relenting and purchasing a bag in solidarity with your senpai (in addition to a far more sober sweet melon flavor as a backup).

Taking a seat atop a low retaining wall next to the arcade, the both of you cautiously sample your dubious snacks. Just as you'd expected, the hot sauce flavor is positively foul. Any novelty the spice might have lent it is effectively neutralized by the ice cream, leaving nothing but an unholy union of tastes that have no business mingling with each other. Shibutani, however, loves it, so you're more than happy to pass the rest of the bag over to him. By the time you finish, the sky's grown considerably darker and the streetlights flicker to life, casting a hazy yellow glow over the scene. Now that you've cooled off, you pull your jacket back on, watching your breath crystallize contentedly.

A soft jingling sound goes off next to you as Mr. Kaneko emerges from the arcade.

"You're not too cold out here, are you, gentlemen?"

You shake your head no. "Just taking a break, sir."

The old man hmms before stepping back inside. A few minutes later, he reemerges with a couple steaming cups of black coffee.

"Here," he says, pressing one into your hands. "Just don't stay out too long," he adds, and retreats indoors once more.

"That old guy sure likes you, senpai," you remark, noticing the warm smile spreading across his lips. Shibutani takes a sip of coffee and sighs.

"For which I'm grateful. I owe him a lot."

He sets his cup down on the wall next to him and stares up at the wispy snowflakes that are just beginning to fall.

"Back when I was running with the Yatabuya, this arcade was the usual hangout spot for one of our rival gangs. They were a despicable bunch of vandals that never passed up an opportunity to jump one of my boys whenever they got the opportunity."

Shibutani knots his brow, and his speech loosens again.

"We hated those sons-of-bitches. Coming from the other side of town, they had no right to be wanderin' around here like they owned the place, harassin' decent people and gettin' us blamed for it. Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted 'em out, so we marched down here to take care of business."

He leans over and points to the door.

"We busted right in and gave 'em hell. Grabbed whatever we could find and beat the piss out of 'em until they got the message. They never ended up coming back to this side of town again, but…" Shibutani sighs and runs a hand through his pompadour, "…the place was trashed. We'd ruined almost half the machines, and poor Kaneko-san was practically on the verge of tears while he was callin' the cops on us."

Suddenly, some of your memories begin to stir.

"Hey, I remember when that happened! It was on the news that night; they arrested six high school students and the arcade closed down for months. That was you?"

Shibutani looks away and doesn't answer until he regains his composure.

"…It wasn't my finest moment. In doing what I thought was right, I'd caused more damage than our enemies ever had. Instead of being sent to juvenile prison, I was allowed to serve my punishment through community service. In order to make up for what I'd done, I spent my entire summer working for Kaneko-san. I did whatever he asked of me without question, from cleaning up after hours to throwing out troublemakers and cheaters. Eventually, he trusted me enough to help him repair some of the games themselves, and it was then that I realized the depth of his love for the place.

"The knowledge he had of those machines could only come from someone who had dedicated years and years to caring for them. I can only imagine what he must have felt, watching us destroy them in blind pursuit of some crude form of justice. I think it speaks to the foolishness of our actions that, to this day, I have never once seen Kaneko-san as upset as he was then."

Even though it's clear to you that the Shibutani of several years ago and the one sitting next you now are as different as night and day, he doesn't seem to feel the same way. He speaks like a man haunted, his features tight with regret. On some level, you think you understand.

"Do you think you got let off the hook too easily?"

"All the time. That's why I keep coming back, even though Kaneko-san has considered the matter settled for years now. It's also a large part of why I joined student council – to protect the weak in a way that wouldn't put others at risk. But even then, you still proved to me that I hadn't learned my lesson yet. I still pursued justice selfishly, as a means to ease my own guilt."

He tips his cup back, finishing the last of his coffee.

"Still, after what we've been through together, I think that I'm beginning to understand what it means to truly be like the heroes I idolized as a kid. It means always using your strength in the service of others, despite what may seem right or good on the surface. Justice is a tool that requires nuance to wield properly, sometimes without regard to your own comfort."

As you finish your own coffee, you find that for some reason, its warmth isn't reaching your heart. All you can seem to think of are the Shadows you fought to reach this moment. Have you truly used your strength in the service of others?

"…Senpai. When we fought Hoga and Saito, did you feel like what we did was just? Actually, let me take that back a step further – was it even right of us to defeat your Shadow? I know that everything we did was a means to and end, and that this world was never going to survive with-"

You swallow, unable to bring yourself to say his name.

"-with…him in it. But still, those Shadows didn't represent evil desires, just the dreams of people that felt like they were too weak to make them real."

Shibutani fixes you with a searching, pitying gaze.

"You pose a difficult question, but I believe it may be one you've already answered yourself. Do you remember what you told my Shadow in the moments before my dream collapsed? 'We'll have to do it the hard way. We'll support the weak and the suffering.' I will not deny that remaining as a Shadow may have made my life simpler. But at the same time, I think about what I've learned since I awakened, and I can't help but feel as though doing things the hard way may have been the right choice in the end. I don't believe that defeating my Shadow was something that you did for anyone's sake but mine."

"And what about Hoga and Saito?"

A frown creases Shibutani's wide face.

"As for them…I suppose I cannot say. Not everyone's circumstances are the same, after all. I'd like to think that we acted in everyone's best interest, and I know for a fact that you always demonstrated empathy for our foes, even when others did not. Perhaps one day, when I'm finished with my studies, I'll have a better answer for you."

"Oh yeah, you're graduating in March, aren't you?" you say. You're grateful for the opportunity to change the subject, although the idea of Toshima High without Shibutani is melancholy in its own way. "What're you planning to study at university?"

"Law," he answers, staring pensively at the bottom of his empty styrofoam cup, "more specifically, I'd like to become a defense attorney. I want to give a voice to those who feel abandoned by justice, and give them an opportunity for redemption. Just as Kaneko-san did for me."

Getting up, he crushes the cup between his giant fingers and tosses it in the recycling bin.

"That said, your mother studied law herself, right? Perhaps I should ask her about the bar exam next time I'm over at your house."

"Yeah. I mean, she never ended up practicing, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind talking about it," you tell him. But as soon as the words leave your mouth, another headache sets in, accompanied by the same high-pitched whine. You can't put your finger on it, but something doesn't feel right.

Shibutani notices you squeezing your eyes shut. Possibly mistaking it for fatigue, he pulls you to your feet.

"It's getting late, perhaps we ought to head home. We'll take the train this time – it's bound to be less crowded by now."

But before he sets off down the street, he stops for a beat, then turns back to you.

"Thank you again for coming with me this afternoon. It's a pleasant change of pace to just be a normal student for once. I'm truly thankful to call you my friend."

"No problem, senpai-" you start to say, but Shibutani cuts you off.

"Come on, now, Tetsuo. I'm not going to be your senpai for much longer. Please, call me Shigesato."

"Ah. Then… No problem, Shigesato-san."

Shigesato makes a face like he's just swallowed spoiled milk.

"Eh? What's with the honorifics still? You messin' with me or somethin'?" he growls in his gangster drawl.

You throw your hands up disarmingly.

"Sorry, sorry! It's gonna take some to getting used to, that's all!"

The sounds of your back-and-forth fill the otherwise quiet air with life, mingling with the snow that swirls in ever-thickening curtains against the darkened sky.

• • • • •

Later that night, you dream for the first time in a while. As you wander down a long, dark hallway with no end in sight, something far in the distance catches your eye. Undulating and shapeless, the object glitters in pearlescent hues, radiating an ethereal beauty that compels you to seize it. But no matter how many steps you take, your prize only drifts farther and farther away. What's more, your body feels sluggish and unresponsive, as though covered in heavy weights.

After a pursuit that seems to take ages, the object vanishes from your sight, and the hallway reaches its end. You emerge onto a small, grassy yard, barely large enough to be considered one.

You know this place.

Your mind churns furiously in an effort to weave the scattered threads of your memory into something cohesive, but then you spot something in the corner of the yard, and it all falls apart.

A shadowy figure, no more than a silhouette, kneels beside a hole carved into the earth.

Six feet wide. Six feet deep.

With your breath stolen and your heart racing, you watch as they reach inside and retrieve the shimmering object you'd been chasing with trembling hands. As it hangs in the air between their greedy fingers, it begins to take a more defined shape, its glow intensifying the more it coalesces.

Then, just as you're on the cusp of being able to identify what it is, you wake up.

Although it was just a dream, you're still on edge from what you witnessed. Whatever that thing was, it belonged to you, and watching that person take it was like having your very soul stolen. Even now, you can still feel your heart throbbing as though it was being pulled from your chest.

However, instead of fading now that you're awake, the sensation grows stronger. The tension that permeates your entire body blooms into full on panic, and as you squint into the darkness surrounding you, you realize why – there's someone standing near the door to your room, and they're holding your guitar.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF THAT!"

A livid, primal cry forces its way out of your lips as you throw caution to the wind and fling yourself upon the intruder, wrenching your guitar from their hands and tossing them bodily aside. The thief falls into the lone square of pallid moonlight streaming through your window, illuminating a pair of terrified jade eyes.

"Tetsuo, stop! It's me! Rin!"

The sound of her voice cuts through the red mist swirling about in your head, returning you to your senses like the flick of a switch. Suddenly, you become aware of your aggressive stance, hulking over her like a beast about to strike. Why didn't you realize it was her? What were you about to do?

A flood of shame and disgust washes over you and you drop to your knees in front of her, scooping her petrified body into your arms and squeezing it tight.

"Wh-What was I doing?" you whisper, half to her, half to yourself. Strangely, but much to your relief, Rin doesn't appear to be upset. Instead, she merely studies you worriedly.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm fine," she breathes, running a quick hand through your hair. "One of these days I oughta let you know when I'm coming over."

Gently, she extricates herself from your arms and stands up.

"But now's probably not the time for jokes. I really am sorry for surprising you like this, but…I just had to see you again. I had to know if you were all right."

"All right? Why wouldn't I be-"

A grim realization squashes that question in it tracks. Would someone who was 'all right' do what you did? You clear your throat to mask your hesitation.

"Wh-What do you mean? I've been fine."

It's technically not a lie. Up until just now, the past few weeks have been nothing short of idyllic. What's really peculiar is why Rin was here in the first place - and holding your guitar, no less. Furthermore…

You give Rin a more thorough inspection now that your pupils have had the chance to adjust to the low light. The edges of her blouse and pants are frayed and dirty, and hints of scrapes and bruises dot her pale skin.

"…What happened to you?"

She glances down as if noticing for the first time, and bites her lower lip. For a moment, she stares you down, seemingly looking for something in your expression. Whatever it was, she must not have found it, as she winces ever so subtly before answering.

"This? I just…haven't had the time to clean myself up lately. Things have been kinda crazy since…"

She hesitates.

"…since we left Cloud Seven."

You're not following. Her evasiveness feels like a cry for help, like she expects you to understand what she's talking about without telling you directly. If it's really that important, why not be upfront?

"W-Wait, what do you mean by that? Actually," – another, more important question bubbles up from the depths – "where have you guys been since then?"

Although you're too ashamed and afraid to admit it, you realize that for the past couple of weeks, you had completely forgotten that Yoko, Gin, and even Rin existed. While you'd been spending so much time with Mariko, Hayate, Koharu, and Shigesato, you hadn't even noticed that the others weren't there.

The troubled look in Rin's eyes intensifies.

"Tetsuo…do you not remember what happened?"

The accusation sets you adrift, a rudderless boat floating helplessly into an oncoming tempest.

"Of course I do! I…I…we…"

Your voice trails off as you frantically dive through your recent memories. Deeper and deeper you plunge, through layers of saccharine and mundane details, desperately casting about for something to anchor yourself to.

Finally, you brush up against it. The edge of a bundle of raw emotions, flashes of violent glee spurred by revenge with you at the center – almost unrecognizable, but unquestionably you. That one touch is all it takes for your memories of Cloud Seven to come flooding back in against your will. Frightened, you lose your nerve, bury it deep, and turn away.

"…I don't remember," you say at last.

Rin takes a deep breath.

"God, where do I start? Nisekao…we left him on his own towards the end, but he must have been able to terminate the Cloud by himself somehow. I don't know how he managed it. Once we made it back to the real world, he wasn't responding at all, so we had Yoko take him to the hospital."

Despite the nature of the news, a hint of relief courses through you. At least you can recall that much.

"As for me, I-"

She pauses, coiling and uncoiling a curl of hair around her finger until she finds her voice again.

"-I've been looking after Gin. Yoko's been helping out, too."

"Wait, is he still hurt?"

"Sort of. Mariko never really got the chance to finish healing his wound. He's not happy about being cooped up inside, though, and it's only a matter of time before we won't be able to keep him there anymore."

The way she says that makes your blood run cold. It sounds more like a warning than good news. You take a tentative step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. This isn't like her.

"Rin, what's wrong? You're starting to worry me here."

"Aughhh!"

All at once, her frustration boils over. She lets out a short, anguished cry and turns away, mussing up her hair in frustration before rounding back on you again.

"It's you. We've tried over and over again, but nothing's working!" she hisses, seizing you by the arms and staring up at you with shimmering, wet eyes. "You promised me that everything was going to be all right! You promised me that we didn't need Avalon! But I watched you tear that kid to pieces, and nothing's changed at all!"

Her grip loosens, and she stumbles backwards. Sniffling, she wipes her nose on her shirt sleeve and balls her hands into determined fists.

"No. Th-That wasn't fair of me. I'm just getting scared because I'm not sure what comes next. Gin's given up on you, and he's not going to play along anymore, no matter what Yoko or I say. But I…I'm not going to give up. Because I love you, I'll figure out a way to save you."

Drowning.

You're drowning, flailing about in a sea of confusion, battered by intrusive thoughts that you're no longer sure are yours or not. Deprived of clarity, the pounding in your temple returns as the waves threaten to pull you under and suffocate you completely.

That persistent unease, the sense that things aren't as they should be, that terrifying noise at the core of your heart – she knows what it is! So why?

"Why won't you be honest with me? Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

She pulls you in close, close enough to feel her breath on your neck and the beat of her heart against yours.

"I'm so sorry, Tetsuo. This whole time, we've been nothing but unreasonable with you. I know it's cruel, but please, put up with my bullshit for just a little while longer. I'm going to keep believing in you…so keep believing in me."

She crosses the room in a flash and throws the window open wide. But just as she's about to leap out into the yard, she takes one last glance back over her shoulder.

"One more thing before I go. That car outside…it's your mom's, right?"

The question's so unexpected that you answer without thinking.

"N-No, she doesn't need one."

Rin winces in response.

"I see. Stay safe, Tetsuo."

And with that, she's gone, disappearing into the night without a trace, leaving you mired in a bog of uncertainty.

• • • • •

Sleep eludes you for the rest of the night. In just a few chaotic minutes, the peace you'd won had been upended, leaving you questioning what is and isn't real. By the time the sun peeks above the horizon that Saturday morning, your nerves are fried and your mind is exhausted from running in circles for hours on end, fruitlessly searching for answers in the nooks and crannies in the ceiling.

You shuffle into the bathroom to splash some water into your reddened, bloodshot eyes, otherwise Mom will start asking questions. Fortunately, she doesn't say anything beyond the usual "Good morning" when you come downstairs for breakfast. Miraculously, for all the noise you and Rin had made, she seems none the wiser about what had happened.

Feverish questions swarm through your brain as you absentmindedly push forkfuls of scrambled egg around your plate, the most pressing of which being the reason for the abnormal urgency behind her voice.

You're going to save me? From what?

Souichiro was dead, and Avalon with him. The butterflies, too, had vanished, and Black Monarch Syndrome had completely disappeared from the public consciousness. What was it then that had Rin so shaken?

And then there was her final question. Innocuous as it was, you can't shake it out of your head. What did it matter whose car it was? Compared to everything else she said, it was a bizarrely mundane note to leave on.

You glance out the window at the driveway. It's empty now, as it usually is. Dad always leaves early to make sure the restaurant is ready to open by lunchtime.

"Something the matter, honey?"

Mom leans over, peering at you with a concerned expression. Quickly, you turn aside so she doesn't notice your tiredness, but it's too late.

"Oh lord, your eyes! They're all red! And those bags…how late were you up last night?"

You've never been able to lie to her. Not well, at least.

"…Had a hard time sleeping last night. Nothing to worry about," you tell her. Which, of course, is exactly the sort of thing that tends to make people worry.

"Yeah, mmhmm, of course not," she responds sarcastically, switching on the electric kettle before crossing the living room and pulling the kotatsu out of the closet.

"H-Hey, hold on, what's all this now?" you protest, but Mom isn't having any of it. Before you know it, she's herded you out of the kitchen and under the heated table. Almost immediately, your body begins to relax against your will and you slide down onto your back, inching further into the kotatsu's warm embrace.

Kneeling down beside you, Mom hands you a freshly brewed mug of tea. The hot liquid works its magic right away as it eases the anxiety that's twisted you into knots.

"Poor kiddo. All that stress from exams must've finally caught up with you."

Mom reaches down and strokes your hair. As she runs her fingers through your shaggy locks, your eyes start to droop.

"Just take it easy, Tetsuo. Even if it's just for today, let me take care of you, and get some rest…"

The sound of her voice, soothing and reassuring, chases away your doubts and fears. Perhaps…perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to close your eyes for a little while…

However, in the brief moment before you fall into slumber, Rin's last question flashes through your mind again.

Could it be…that the car wasn't what was important?

The idea barely has any time to solidify in your cognition before sleep overcomes you, and you fall unconscious.

• • • • •

Some time later, the sound of the front door sliding shut snaps you awake. Groggily, you squirm out of from under the kotatsu and switch it off as you scan the room. Judging by the time on the clock, it's only been a couple hours since you fell asleep. More curiously, Mom is nowhere to be found, and a quick check around the house confirms as much.

Was that her that just left? It couldn't have been anyone else, but why would she be leaving the house in the middle of the day, especially when you weren't feeling well?

She's probably just going to the corner store to pick up more tea or something, you reason. There are plenty of perfectly normal reasons why she might leave you on your own. It's not like you're a child, after all.

Still…

Despite your nap's best efforts to wipe them out, Rin's suspicions have planted a seed inside your head, and before you can talk yourself out of it, you find yourself grabbing your coat, shoes, and guitar and setting off after her.

Last night's snowfall has covered the ground in several centimeters of fluffy, wet flakes, making it simple to identify the treads of your mom's slip-on sneakers as they make their way towards the heart of Toshima. It isn't long before you spot her crossing the street ahead of you in the direction of your family's usual pharmacy.

Of course – she's only gone to buy some medicine. She probably thinks I have a cold or something, you think, watching her from the sidewalk on the other side. However, instead of going inside, she walks right on past, around another corner, and out of sight!

Bewildered and determined not to lose her, you sprint across the street just as the walk sign turns red, eliciting a slew of honking and angry shouts from drivers who have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting you. Their irritation slides right off of you like water on wax paper, though. Right now, the only thing that matters is finding out where she's going.

Continuing to follow her footsteps in the snow, it isn't until you've caught up with her again that you realize where she's led you. This is the old residential neighborhood where you and Nisekao skipped school for beef bowl. Although it was only a little more than a month ago, it feels like ages to you.

As you follow your mother deeper and deeper into Toshima's shabby heart, you recognize more and more places that are familiar to you, fitting neatly together like pieces of a puzzle to form vibrant memories. There, next to the fish market, is the candy store where you spent so much of your weekly allowance. And there, across the street, is the apartment complex where your best friend from primary school used to live before he moved to Sendai. And here…

At last, Mom stops at the gate in front of a little, squat house clad in peeling grey paint. Taking care to maintain your distance so that she doesn't notice, you watch as she lifts the latch, walks up to the door, and lets herself inside. After a few minutes, it becomes clear that she's not coming back out, and you edge towards the house for a better look. But as you approach the gate yourself, you suddenly notice three things that stop you in your tracks.

The first is that you came here before with Nisekao, to pick up a change of clothes.

The second is the nameplate beside the gate – instead of 'Fukui', it bears your name. 'Katsuji.'

The third, and the one that sets the world spinning around you as your heart plummets into your stomach, is the mask set into the front door - pure white, crown-like, and emblazoned with the numeral 'III.'