So, uh welcome to my blog I guess

Hi guys! My friends all have blogs so on a whim I decided to make this thingy. Don’t expect too much activity because I’m absolutely garbage at monologuing for an hour about random crap.

There will likely be sporadic posts about random stuff I’m writing and drawing or something, but that’s likely to be it unless I get into the hang of this ‘blogging’ thing.

Ciao!

Kāishǐ – Qiūtiān

Bachin—
A slap to the face.

“Hey. Wake up.”

I woke to that.

“Ow?”
“I can’t believe you. Sleeping in on Sister’s birthday.”
“You’re the one who dragged me off to Tanabata yesterday.”
“And you’ve been like a hikikomori since Kaito visited. Lighten up.”

Koto was sitting on me.
My ‘twin’ sister Kotone was sitting on me.
I pushed Koto off of me.
Or tried. ‘Tried’ is a better word.
I tried to push Koto off of me.

She laughed at me.

“It’s because you’ve been shut-in this whole time, y’know.”
“It’s-only-been-a-month-so-shut-it. And get off of me.”

I ended up rolling out from under her.
Well, after she got up, that is.
The sun shone rays of light onto my bed.
How long was I out?

Koto was already in her uniform, a checkered yellow and light grey skirt, a light grey blazer, and a yellow tie, all ready.
I apparently slept in my uniform. Light grey pants, light grey blazer, yellow tie.
Light grey for Circle, Yellow for Ninth Year. This year should be light blue, If I remember correctly.

…My clothes were wrinkled.
‘It’s fine if you sleep in your uniform, Aki.’
I sighed.
Koto tied her hair back with her yellow ribbon while I patted my clothes.

Everything was wrinkled. I shouldn’t have listened to her.
Having one set of outdoor clothes was so troublesome.
Even Tanabata yukata were too expensive to do anything more than rent one.
And we could barely afford the luxury to rent one.

“Inoue Pharmaceutical’s CEO Mikhail Inoue had this to say about the recent rumours surrounding Monochromacie’s visit to their headquarters on Tanabata Eve: ‘The security cameras found no sign of her, pardon the pun, ‘monochrome’…'”

The local news droned on.
It was obviously a slow news day.

I took my phone off my desk, and mounted it on my wristband.

The newsman rattled on about rumours about Monochromacie, Taiping Centre’s grand reopening, and even some rumours about Grand Advisor kagami coming for Founder’s Day.
Not slow enough to mention that it was Sister’s birthday, I guess.

“Do wonders for the Academy, and it’s like no one remembers.”

I murmured those words, trying to focus on what the newsman said, instead of what he didn’t say.

“Hm-hm, I’d think they’d rather do something about her on the anniversary of her death.”
“Her birthday’s important too, Koto.”

Koto yawned.

“To them it’s just the second day of Tanabata week, you know.”

I sighed.
I was and still am completely confused with how well Koto took it.
Sister practically raised us. How is she so nonchalant about all this?

“If this reassures you, Aki, I know she’s not forgotten where it counts.”
“It’s obvious we haven’t forgotten about her isn’t it?”

It’s been three years of people telling us that.

‘She lives on inside you two.’
‘Haruna will live on as long as you two do.’
‘You two will keep her memory alive.’

How cliché.
Sister never liked clichés.

“Hey, Akito? What’d’ya think?”

I turned to look at Koto.

“You look the same as usual?”
“I meant my ribbon.”

She tied her hair back in a single ponytail— the yellow of her ribbon complementing her light brown hair.
My eyes ended up drifting to her eyes. Something that usually happens whenever she asks me to do something like this.
That ‘cut’ in her iris was pretty distinctive, after all.
It never seemed to bother her at all despite it being quite obviously not normal.
Just another one of her—

Bachin—
A flick to the head.

“Ow?”
“No, it’s obvious, isn’t it? The Grand Advisors haven’t forgotten about her.”

I blinked.
Did she do that just to catch me by surprise? And, well, it’s not obvious at all!
If it was so obvious, wouldn’t they have contacted us in the past three years?

I took a breath…
—In.
—Out.
…before I had another meltdown about it.

“If you say so, I suppose.”

Koto sighed.

“Haruna was their favourite. There’s no way they’d just forget her like that.”

She walked out, looking at me with a side glance all the while.

“Favourites aren’t forgotten so easily. They’re looking for her. Wherever she ended up. Whatever really happened.
Now come on, let’s go already”

I followed her out of our apartment.
Or tried. ‘Tried’ is a better word.
I tried to follow her
The door had closed in my face.

Her laugh was very audible through the door.
I glared at her as I opened it.

“Where are we going today, Koto?”
“Hm-hm, I dunno. Tanabata sales are still ongoing in Econ, and Central looks great this time of year. There’re also those ‘summer classes’ Eiji told me about, but I don’t really remember.”

What?
I stopped in my tracks.

“That was today?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine Aki.”

She stopped to turn and wink at me.

“You didn’t need to change your clothes anyway.”

I stared at her for a second.

“So, that’s why you said sleeping in my uniform is fine.”
“Maybe that’s why. I dunno.”

She shrugged as she continued forward.
I glared at her, quickly matching her pace.

“How did you talk me into joining this again?”
“Hmm, I think it was mostly because Eiji’s been worried about you. As usual, to be fair.”

Professor Eiji always worried about us.
Especially since Sister disappeared three years ago.

I grumpily stared ahead as the school’s main entrance came into my vision.

Doushin Academy. 「同心Dōshin」 meaning “concentricity.”

How fitting for a school in Circle. Doubly so since Circle circles around Central. Triply so since Doushin circles around Circle too. Circular halls, Circular spires, Circular fields. Circles in circles in circles. It was pretty dizzying.

Doushin was the designated high school for Circle, ResiA to ResiN, Years 10 to 12. Many of its alumni end up entering Central, so it’s grown a reputation of being like an escalator straight to Central.

Many students from Lucida Proper end up coming here as a result. Funnily enough Doushin itself splits Lucida into ‘Lucida Proper’ and ‘Lux.’ Lux itself is split into Circle and Central, so no one tends to call the area ‘Lux’ — well, no one from ‘Lux’ that is.

To fulfill the reputation of Doushin, the entrance exams are apparently designed to keep the students at a place of excellence. So high that it’s said every one of Doushin’s students are members of the bright future.

Though, if Koto is any sign of the truth of that idea, that ‘bright future’ isn’t much brighter than a matchstick.

An energetic voice snapped me out of my reverie.

“Oh! Kotone and Akito! I didn’t think you volunteered too!”

Koto responded before I could say anything.

“‘Too?’ So does that mean Mister Apprentice volunteered?”
“Yup. You know him, always the teacher’s pet.”
“Isn’t this for a festival or something though?”
“Yeah, the Summer Fair! I’m helping out the drama club.”

She paused for a second.

“And a bunch of other clubs.”
“The usual, then.”

She sighed and slapped her forehead.

“Stop dodging my question. You two aren’t here to help, are you.”
“Don’t we all hate festivals like this?”
“Why’re you such a pa-“

I needed to interrupt them there.

“Um, hello? I’m completely lost here? I thought we were here for ‘summer school?'”

Kotone spun on her heel to look at me.

“How sad. I can’t believe my brother forgot about our Lie Detector Alicia here!”

Koto waved her hand to introduce ‘Alicia.’
I didn’t. And it’s Alice. You always get it wrong, Koto.

Alice waved her arms around, and raised her voice.

“Stop dodging the question! And it’s Alice! You always get it wrong, Kotone!”

And there’s the Alice response I know. ‘Lie Detector Alice’ or not, she still had that trademark temper.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay Krisu!”
“Why’re you such a pain, Kotone!”

Alice spent a few seconds with her hand on her head.
Her face just screamed ‘Why do I even bother.’
Or rather ‘Why’re you such a pain, Kotone,’ I suppose.

She abruptly turned to me, hand sticking out.
“And you, Akito! Where have you been!? Aoi has been worried sick about you, you know!”

Alice was always worried more about how others felt more than even herself.
She especially cared about Aoi, Koto, and me. Best Friend perks she says.
If the ‘Alice’ from when we first met saw her today, she wouldn’t recognize herself..
The only thing that hasn’t changed about her is her blonde hair.
She really liked that braided ponytail look, after all.

I sighed.

“He’ll be fine after a few more research trips with Professor Eiji.”
“That’s false? He’s been muttering to himself about why you’ve been skipping School Council meetings all month long! Heck, even Professor Kitamura’s noticed weird Aoi’s been!”

Crap. Aoi’s been that bad? It hasn’t even been a month since I last saw him!

“I’m sorry, okay? I just haven’t had a good grasp on anything since Kaito visited out of the blue.”

Her brow furrowed.

“A truth?”

She muttered.

Wait.
Did I really forget to tell her?
Crap. I’ve really been more shut-in than I thought.

“Hasn’t he been travelling across North America?”

I sighed.

“I’ll wait until Aoi’s here. He deserves to know too.”
“Don’t be like your sister and try to dodge this.”

Alice stepped forward to put a hand on my shoulder.

“If it’s something that’s caused you to be so shut-in, I think—“

—The bell rang.

Alice slapped her head and stepped back..

“Ugh. We’ll continue this later, then. Okay Akito?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Don’t you dare dodge this Akito!”

Alice ran off in a hurry into the labyrinthine halls of Doushin.
Though not before Koto got her goodbyes in.

“Ciao, Alex!”

Right on cue, Alice span on her heel.

“It’s Alice! Why’re you such a pain, Kotone!“

With that she disappeared into the school.

“Well then, we should get going to the meeting, shouldn’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go before Eiji kills us.”

Doushin’s halls were oddly full for summer classes, even accounting for the students here just for the festival preparations. It definitely wasn’t this lively last year. Students crowded the halls, talking to each other loudly as they waited for the classroom doors to open.

“Hey! You’re here because of what the Dean said last week?”
“Of course! ‘Making our schools more competitive this year.’ That means he’s making the entrance exams harder again, right?”
“Ah… Did the Dean really say that? Brother said that the tests were already hard enough two years ago…”
“Well, Doushin is like an escalator school straight to Central. It only makes sense, I guess…”
“Crap, I should’ve joined the cram classes!”

Wait, what?

“Uh, Kotone?”
“Hm-hm?”

She kept walking forward while humming innocently.

“That’s the real reason why you signed us up for summer cram schooling here isn’t it.”
“Hm-hm? We’re escalating straight from the middle school division, that doesn’t apply to us.”
“Kotone. Even I can tell that’s a lie. We even had to write entrance exams to get into the middle school division from the elementary school division.”

That stopped her in her tracks.
Though the complete and utter look of panic that graced her features as she turned to look at me definitely wasn’t a good sign.

“Uh. You didn’t remember that? Really?”
“Akito! Save me!”

She ran over to me, crying. I just couldn’t stay composed with this.
Just as useless as ever, huh Koto.

“Ahem! Kotone. Please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself again, you know?”

A deeper voice interrupted that embarrassing scene.

Aoi walked in in his uniform, looking a bit bluer than usual. Light blue accents instead of yellow. Huh.

“Aoi! Save me!”

Kotone ran over to Aoi—

And got chopped over the head by Professor Eiji’s free hand. 

“Calm down Kotone. You’re going to be in my class this summer, so, just, stop. Please.”
“Yes, Eiji.”

Professor Eiji simply stared down at Koto.
The bags under his grey eyes made it even more foreboding.

“Yes, Professor Kitamura.”

Kotone changed her mood just like that. As expected of Professor Eiji.

“You two are late, you know.”

Professor Eiji told us as we walked into his class, cooling a cup of coffee all the while.

“Not that it really matters. The Sub-Dean told me it’s a short day today. I had to cut my plans down to a single test. What a pain.”

Professor Eiji stretched his arms before taking a seat at his desk.

“Huh?”

Koto decided to grace us with that very insightful comment as we took our seats.

“Yup.”

And so Aoi responded. It’s been a while since I’ve heard that very insightful exchange.

I sat in the second row from the front, on the window side of the room. The warmth of the sun always felt nice there, like a warm embrace.
Koto took the seat beside me, as she usually did. She once told me she liked the feeling of being surrounded by friendly people on all sides.
Aoi, on the other hand sat in front of me, directly across from Professor Eiji’s desk. As expected. 

“It’s ’cause of the festival preps, then?”
“Yup. Sub-Dean Yamada apparently moved it up in ‘Sweetest Summer’ Haruna’s memory.”

The Sub-Dean did that? At least someone else remembered.

Professor Eiji nodded along, tiredly looking at his phone.

“Exactly so, Aoi. He moved it up a week so classes were cut short to let the clubs organize their festival activities.”
“B-but he also made the entrance exams harder this year!”
“That’s why you should study more, Kotone.”
“That’s mean, Aoi…”

Professor Eiji massaged his forehead, took a sip from his coffee, slammed his desk, and stood up.

“Class! If any of you are not aware, my official Apprentice, Aoi Inoue shall serve as my Assistant and Acting Class President for the duration of my summer class. “

Aoi stood up on cue, turning to face the class.

“As Acting Class President, I hope that you all remember that despite the time of year, this is still Doushin Academy. We expect the best from everyone, no matter the reason why you are taking this class.”

With those introductory words said, Aoi cleared his throat.

“Stand!
Bow!
Sit!”

And with those three orders Aoi began the class.

~§~

Despite both Aoi’s and Professor Kitamura’s assurances that the class was cut short, it still felt like forever.
Koto was scratching at her homework as Professor Kitamura wrapped up the introductory lecture.
First week is Math, second is Japanese, third is Contemporary English, fourth is Social Studies…

I thought August only had three weeks this year…
Oh crap. I sound like Koto right now.
I looked around the class to distract myself.

A sea of white and yellow all around. Ninth year students here to prepare for the exams, it appears.
White and yellow all around. Except for a single speck of blue.

“Um, Aoi?”
“Hm-hm, Akito?”
“Why’re you already blue?”

Koto stopped her scribbling to stare at Aoi. She had to have noticed by now.

“Oh? You noticed? Even Alice didn’t notice!”

A snapping sound.

“Traitor.”

Koto looked absolutely betrayed when she said that, her pencil fragments forgotten.
Her glare would’ve slaughtered Aoi on the spot. Well, if glares could kill, of course.

“Um, Kotone, um, I took the Advanced Exams?”
“Aoi. Why didn’t you tell me about them?”
“Kotone, um, I told you months ago?”
“So, Koto neglected to tell me because she forgot.”

Koto looked like she was going to strangle him.
‘Absolutely.’ Absolutely was a better word.
Koto was absolutely going to strangle him.
She stood up and rushed towards Aoi—

My phone rang out of the blue.

That snapped Koto out of her murderous rampage.
I checked the Caller ID. Never hurts to be sure it’s not a wrong number.

‘Satou Haruna.’

What? Her phone number was deleted years ago.
The Grand Advisors themselves told me they confirmed it.
ECHO wouldn’t have that big of an oversight would it?

A quick scroll of my phone’s contact list confirmed it.

Sister — NUMBER DELETED — 2236.07.24

What a sick joke.
I hung up.

“Who was it?”
“It said it was from Sister. I rejected the call.”
“Huh—“

Koto was cut off before she could say anything.

‘Satou Haruna.’

Again?
Koto walked over to look at my phone.

“Huh. Y’know, people like that won’t stop. Especially if they’re tricking ECHO enough to use deleted numbers.”

I sighed. Koto’s usually right about these kinds of things.
I answered the call.

“Sweet-Satou Kaito.”

Sweet-Satou?
I blinked.
It’s an oddly familiar voice. Soft, yet confident. I can’t quite place it.

“Who is this?”
“No one that matters to you.”

I paused.
‘Arrogant.’ Arrogant was a better word. Soft, yet arrogant.

“Why are you calling then?”
“Go to… that alley. ResiA, ResiB. The one between those two.”

Another pause.

The alley between Residential Districts A and B? Why would anyone who anonymously contacted want me to go to a place as heavily monitored as a Residential District?
Why the hell is she talking like that?
Why the hell am I actually considering this?

“What? Why would I listen to you?”
“Well, you don’t have anything else to do, do you?”

I guess she did have a point there?
Why the hell am I actually considering this?

“I’ll go there then I guess?”
“Good! The alley between ResiA and ResiB! Remember that!”

With that short exclamation she hung up. And I slapped my forehead.
Why the hell did I agree to that.

“So, uh, I guess I’ll see you guys after I do this thing I just got a call to do?”
“‘Kay, see you later then, Aki.”

Ah, yes, Koto. Always worried about me.

“I’m sorry? Where’re you—“

I ran out the room before Aoi could talk further.
At least this lets me sidestep the conversation with Aoi and Alice.

I sprinted to the front doors, and stopped. Alice was helping outside, right?
I don’t want to have to fib to Lie Detector Alice.

I pushed the door open.

The field outside was filled with people, both big and small. The Festival affected students from all three divisions of the school, I guess.

I stepped out, looking for any sign of Alice’s blonde hair.
That braided ponytail could be seen from a mile off.
Especially in the sea of darker coloured hair that was Lux.

I stepped forward onto the top stair, when I heard a voice.

“Akito. You’re looking for someone?”

I turned around.

“Alice?”

She stared at me.
I should’ve guessed she’d find me. She’s quiet at the best of times— Inaudible at the worst.
Of course today was one of her ‘inaudible’ days..

“Uh, I’m just going to meet a friend in Resi, you know?”
“Half-truths are still lies, you know.”

As direct as always, Alice.

“I was really worried when Aoi texted me saying you ran off after getting a weird phone call.”

She stepped forward.

“Is this just your way of trying to dodge my questions?”

I stepped backward. Right onto air.
Alice grabbed my arm.

“A-Alice, you know that this is just a staircase, right?”
“I’m quite aware.”

So she pushed me back even more.
Only my toes were touching the stairs now.

“That’s why I need to make this hurt you more, right?”

Ah, crap. I made Alice this worried about me?
…She just has a weird way of showing concern, I swear.

“I-I got a weird phone call, okay?”

Alice furrowed her brow.

“A truth? What was it.”
“J-Just someone telling me to go to an alley!”
“Why did you even think about doing something that shady?”

She pulled me back up.

“Fine, you know what? I’ll go with you there.”

What?

“To make sure this isn’t some psychic crap, of course”
“Why would a psychic be in Circle anyway?”
“Why would you think about going to do something stupid?”

She paused.

“Unless you’re just that stupid.”
“Touché.”

Only a few steps in, and Alice’s phone rang.
Alice sighed. It was like she already knew what it was about.

“I’m stuck helping the soccer club for the next hour.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“—And that’s just across the street from the Resi Districts.”

I paused mid-breath. 

“So you can keep an eye on me?”
“Did you already forget what we just talked about?”

The bells rang. We began to circle around to ResiA.
The Residential Districts across the street all looked the same.
The same cobalt-tinted steel supports, the plaster and brick facade, the same towering heights.
Outsiders would probably think it’s unnerving of sorts, but Lux has been this way for as long as I can remember.

“Did that voice sound familiar to you?”
“I think it did? I don’t really know where I’ve heard it before, though.”
“Strange.”

Alice paused in her step, her heavy braid swaying slightly.

“Half-remembered voices, and odd alleys.”

I paused, so I didn’t get too far in front of her.

“Are you sure you didn’t get into some weird psychic crap?”

I stared at her incredulously.
Alice and her obsession with anything paranormal.
Or “parapsychological.” She’d call it “parapsychological.”
Alice and her obsession with everything parapsychological.

Once, she ran across the street because she saw a black cat out of the corner of her eye.

“That was Sil playing a trick on me, I know it was!”

Oh, crap I said that out loud.

Alice just stared at me, huffed and continued walking.
I followed quietly behind her, before I could shove another shoe in my mouth.

The next time she spoke, she reverted to that monotone style of speaking.
Like how she was when we first met, all those years ago.

“I told you about Silver, right?”
“Silver…?

She paused.
Silver. Sil. She mentioned that name a couple times before.
A friend from her past.
That’s all I knew of that name.
All any of us knew about that name, for that matter.
Other than Alice, of course.

Sadly, it’s still the only thing we know of her life before she arrived in Lucida.

“No. It’s not important.”

This happens often when something or someone reminds her of Silver.
She reverts to her emotionless state from before we met.
Then she clams up.

“Did you take your meds, Alice?”
“Of course! I’m not like Sil, Akito!”

She spun on her heels, letting me catch up.
Uncertainty plagued her face.
What was going on?

“Who’s Sil?”
“Silver. A friend.”

“Just… be careful, okay? Aki—”

Everything went dark. No—
Everything went white. No—

    …s-lf–ic sh-o–r-…

A song started in my head. No—
A song ended in my head. No—

“Did you hear that?”
“Hear wh…”

    …-rs-n-c f-ow-r-…

Everything was distant. No—
Everything was near. No—

“…ito?”

    …-er-u– p-d–e-…

Everything existed. No—
Nothing existed. No—

“…n me!”

    …—on–m —-l-s…

Spinning left. No—
Spinning right. No—

    …—n— —-s…

Everything was dark. No—
Everything was bright. No—

    …— —- —- —-…

It was soothing. No—
It was—

“…!”
Painful!

“Ow!”

Alice slapped me in the face.
Her voice was monotone. Again.
What happened?

“Th-thanks, Alice.”
“What did you hear? You said something about a song.”
“I-I don’t know? Just a song I couldn’t understand?”

She clicked her tongue.

“It’s her again. I know it. It’s Sil”

She paced out of the alley—

“Wait, when did we get—”
“You were gone for a couple minutes.”
“What—”
“I’m going to find her. Before she causes more trouble.”

Alice paused, and turned to me

“First, this will help you, Akito.”

She stared into m—
—as left alone.

I blinked.

Sil. What di—
—e camera mounted on the cobalt-blue metal supports stared at me.

I leaned against ResiA’s wall, and took a breath.
—In.
—Out.
Cold. No sign anyone was here.

Nothing.
I looked down the alley. 

I saw a girl after a sil—
—camera watching the alley tilted upward to look past me.

Nothing else happened.
I paused and bit my lower lip, to think about what just happened.
Alice left to do something.

I looked around again, and sighed in relief.
I’ll have to ask her about what happened later when she comes back.
‘Induced time loss’. That’s what Alice called it. She did it once before. To help me stop thinking about what happened that day.
What happened this time?
No. I can’t think about it. I’d lose time again.

I took a breath to steady myself.
—In.
—Out.
I refocused on the call. On the alley.
…don’t think ab—

There was nothing here but the sounds of the birds above.
—In.
—Out.
I walked out of the alley and looked around the area.
…don’t thi—

Was that call some sort of stupid prank?
—In.
—Out.
Past ResiB to my right were the clean and quiet streets of the Residential Districts.
…stop thinking ab—

To be fair, that made perfect sense. Everyone was likely out doing something.
—In.
—Out.
Beyond ResiA to my left was the bustling Economic District. It’s never quiet there.
…intrusive thoughts are fun, aren’t they?

Especially since Taiping Mall is still being rebuilt there.
—In.
—Out.
Even the road into Central was packed with students and non-students alike.
…blank, blank…

I paced back to ResiA.
That call was definitely a stupid prank, wasn’t it..
—In.

Then I heard it. Indistinct chatter, barely audible from where I was.
—Out.

Two voices, echoing in the quiet alley as they approached.
It came from above, no doubt.

I took a step toward the middle.
The voices were a bit louder there.

I leaned on ResiB, the cold chill seeping into me again.
If it was louder here, they’re likely above ResiB.
An echo that bounces once is louder than one that bounces twice.
And their voices were louder here.

It had to be two espers.
No other supernatural type would so blatantly disregard common notions like “gravity,” or “safety.”

I walked towards the centre of the alley, if just to glimpse the espers above ResiA.
I looked up.

There was a small blue-and-orange figure floating.
Or falling. ‘Falling’ is a better word.
There was a small, blue and orange figure falling towards me.

「哎呀Āiyā!！」

She turned around in mid-air. Eyes wide, screaming.

Thump.

And our heads collided.
And I blacked out.

Bachin—
A slap to the face. And—

“Hey-hey! You okay!?”

I woke to that.

“I told you to pay attention to where you’re going, Ma’am!”
“‘Ma’am?’ Didn’t I tell you to call me Kagami, Sora?”
“Th-that doesn’t matter right now!”
“Yes. It doesn’t. so call 9-1-1 already!”

I rubbed my head.
Definitely a bump forming there.

“Ow.”
“Ah! You’re awake!”

I looked at her. Kagami? Her name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“Huh. Looks like you don’t need to call the ambulance after all, Sora.”
“If you’re sure about it, Ma—Kagami.”

That Kagami girl was wearing what looked like a somewhat garish shrine maiden costume. The usual red and white cloth was instead coloured blue and orange, tied with a sash that ended in two metal cones, one engraved with a snowflake, and the other, a flower. Her hair was in a single ponytail coming off of her left side, with the other side simply left untouched. The last notable thing about her were her oddly-coloured eyes, left a bright orange, right an ice blue.

Oh.

It’s that kagami.
Only one kagami would dress like that.
The Grand Advisor of the State, kagami.

“So, why were you here, Aki?”

I turned to look at her escort.
My eyes widened.

Sora?
It’s been three whole years since we last saw each other, hasn’t it?

She was wearing relatively plain clothes. A light grey skirt that ended above her knees, and a yellow blouse. Her hair looked like the Grand Advisor’s, only mirrored.

Did she really keep that hairstyle for three years?

“Would you believe me if I told you I was asked to come here, Sora?”

I took the situation in while I was nursing my injury.
What an awkward way to reunite with your childhood friend.

A beat.

Yeah, very awkward.
I stood up and dusted myself off, as kagami glanced at her escort.

“So, Sora?”
“Yes, kagami?”
“When are we gonna get to Central.”
“Um, maybe an hour? I can’t see Central from here.”

I’m sorry, what? An hour? Circle’s Resi districts are the closest to Central!
There’s an entrance, right there between ResiA and EconD!

“Sora. The entrance to Central is right there.”

I simply pointed at the junction between ResiA and EconD.
Sora looked mortified.
kagami on the other hand simply smirked.

“See? I told you that Circle’s Resi is close to Central.”
“P-please don’t say more, Ma’am.”

kagami turned to Sora.That smug look didn’t leave her face. Not even for a second.

“So. ra. It’s okay. You’re only fourteen.”

The Grand Advisor stood on the tips of her toes to pat Sora on the head.
Sora’s right eye twitched.

“I. am. sixteen!”
“It’s okay Sora! You don’t have to lie to me!”
“I. am. not. that. short!”

She’s still sensitive about her height?
She’s, like, only a few centimetres shorter than me now.
I shrugged it off. Sora is Sora, after all.

“Hey, uh, kagami, ma’am?”
“Just call me kagami, Autumn.”
“Autumn?”
“Your name comes from Aki—Autumn, does it not?

I just stared at her.

“Right, uh, kagami? Do you know anything about someone calling me to go to this specific alley?”

She put on a pensive look, before her head drooped down in exhaustion.

“Sister.”

She turned back to look at me. 

Sister? As in her actual sister, the other Grand Advisor, mira? What—

“Yeah, so it was probably Sister. She was probably playing a game with you.”

I blinked.

“Wait, why me.”
“Well, you’re a Sweet-Satou, so it’s like second nature to us. We had fun with your sister when she was still around.”

Games. Sister mentioned those games.
The way she talked about those games made her feelings on those games quite clear.

“What the…”

Sora looked just as exhausted as I was.

“You know, when I accepted this mission, I kinda expected it to be more serious?”

I looked at Sora incredulously.

“Wait, so you were assigned this glorified babysitting job?”‘

She breathed in, and smiled—
A broken smile I’ve seen on my face countless times before.
I’ve only seen her with that smile once before.

“Yeah.”
“She’s officially filling in for your sister, Autumn.”

Oh. That explains things. She looked up to Sister as much as I did.

If not more.
—In.
—Out.
Of course she took it this hard.

“It’s okay, Sora.”

She looked at me. Her eyes glittered, reflecting the light of the alley around us.

“Sister was basically just their gofer anyway.”

That snapped her out of it.

“Ha?”

I turned to glare at kagami out of the corner of my eyes.
She’s, of course, innocently whistling.

“What do gophers have to do with this?”
“Gofer, as in go-for. A bit different than those big rodents.”
“So I signed up to be their errand-girl!?”

kagami started whistling louder at that.

“Sister used to come home every day complaining about the random crap the two made her do.”
“Ha!?”
“Not to mention those games.”
“Haa!?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her expression. Sora hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw her.

“Still the same airheaded Sora, I see.”
“Still the same sour Akito, I see.”

We couldn’t hold in our laughter after that. She really hasn’t changed.

“So, Aki, wha—”

A loud noise drowned out her voice.
A loud noise, like thunder.
A loud noise, like an explosion.
A loud noise, like—

BANG!

“Autumn, get down!”

—a gunshot.

Everything slowed.

The bullet whirred towards me.

However, kagami was already moving.

The ends of her sash spat hot air out as she tackled me to the ground.
The bullet shot through where I was just a split-second ago. 

kagami rolled off of me, quickly recovering, and reignited her sash.
She blurred forward, denting the metal supporting the back wall as she kicked off of it.
Her flip was perfect, her sash whipping about her as she rolled mid-air, soaring towards the assailant.

Another mid-air flip and she landed left foot first, left foot pivoting, right leg swinging, as she kicked the shooter behind his legs.

A sickening, wet, cracking noise filled the alley as she broke both his legs.

She used her elbow to pin him to the ground, as he screamed in pain.
Another voice joined in as I snapped back to reality.

My shoulders—
My legs—
I couldn’t feel—

A piercing beep, and a sharp poke in my wrist sent waves of numbing cold inside me.
The cold sank in as it drowned out my pain.

I only realized that voice was mine after cold relief flooded my body.

“What—”

Sora’s eyes flickered from kagami, to me, to the shooter, and back.
Her arms were in a half-ready stance in front of her. 

“Sora. Call 9-1-1.”

Her eyes kept flickering between us, the rest of her body as still as a statue.
It was like she was waiting for another attack to come.

—In.
—Out.
—In.
—Out.

kagami yelled at Sora again, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying.
Everything was a blur.
The numbness had finally enveloped my body in its cold embrace.

Red and blue lights began to flash.
Everything just sounded indistinct.

“A-Aki?”

I turned to the voice.

“A-are your shoulders better?”

I nodded.

A bullet shot past where I was just—

Was this real?

A bullet shot past where I was—

Was this just some sick nightmare?

A bullet shot past where I—

A woman dressed in a black shirt and pants began speaking to me.

A bullet shot past where—

I couldn’t hear most of it.

A bullet shot past—

“…you’ll heal…” and “…wristband protocol…” were the only words I heard.

A bullet shot—

Someone hugged and squeezed me, knocking me out of my daze.

“Aki.”

It was Sora.
Of course it was Sora.

I squeezed her back to let her know I was okay.

“Sora.”

She squeezed me in response.

“When we’re done, let’s do something in Central.”
“I… think Tanabata is still going on, Sora.”
“It’ll be my treat, Aki.”

I let myself relax in her arms.

“Thanks, Sora.”

Commençons – Ciel

I was woken up by an annoying sound.
“Wake up! It’s time to wake up y’know? Wake up!”
“Too loud…”
I rolled over, smothering my face and ears in my pillows.

“Sister! Wake up!”
“Mn, there’s no school today… A few more minutes…”

I swatted at that sound, but I only hit air.
Grand Advisor, why did you make these things so annoying to stop?

“It’s too early, Chihiro. Yesterday was the longest day ever…”
“Fine.”
The phone beeped.
Ah, she hung up. My phone softly clicked as it fell back onto my wristband.

I rolled on to my back.
“AH!”
The sun was blinding, even with my eyes closed. Ah, why did the window have to be above my bed.
Window above my bed?
I opened my eyes to a stark white unfamiliar ceiling.

“Oh, right.”

I moved out last night.

I lied there, motionless, and just took everything in. The white walls of my new room, the dark granite desk to my left. The soft wooden flooring, the intricately decorated door frame. It was just so new, so different. My old dorm was so much more crowded. Two beds, walls painted in cotton candy blue and pink. Chihiro clacking away at her computer. The differences, they were everywhere. A single bed. White walls. An empty black desk.

Chihiro’s absence.

I live alone now. That was the most surreal part of it all. We’ve never been separated. Not since Lunar Flare Academy. We were even adopted by Mother together.

I sighed.
“This is the way I have to live from now on. I’d better get used to it.”

My phone rose up from its charging bay and detached into two halves, cool, moist air blowing between the sections. Its light projected onto the air, and formed its screen, the one that just popped up in front of my face. I just ended up covering my face in my pillows again as it did what all phones do.

Ring… ring…
Ring… ring…

I swatted the answer button.

“Sora!”
A voice that sounded older than Chihiro’s yelled at me. It sounded a lot like Mother. No, in fact it sounded exactly like Mother.
“Sora! It’s Mother!”
It was Mother!?
“Mother!?”
“Get up!”

I quickly sat up on my bed.
Mother was the busiest during the day. That itself was enough to make me pay attention.
My eyes adjusted to the sun, and I could make out Mother’s brown hair, her light skin, and her circular glasses.
The only problem was Mother never wore glasses like that.

“Chihiro. I know it’s you.”
“That was kind of the point, Sister.”
“Chihiro. Next time, fake the video part of the call too.”
“Like I said, that was kind of the point, Sister.”

I stared blankly at her, and lied back down on my bed without saying another word.

“Sister.”
“Chihiro. There’s no school today. A few more minutes please.”

I covered my face in the pillows once more.

“Don’t actually make me call Mother.”
Chihiro pouted in the way only little sisters could pout.

“Sister, why don’t you get up? Supervisor Robert said that your first orders would arrive today.”
“But the sun is so warm today…”
“Sister, get up.”
Chihiro glared at me. And pouted. I can’t really argue with her when she’s acting that cute.

I slid out of bed, and stumbled around the room as I walked to the kitchen across the apartment. My phone hovered near me as it usually did. Chihiro was babbling about the news, trends, and other random stuff, as she usually did. I idly stared at the cereal options I had in the kitchen, as I usually did.
There was only wheat and rice cereal there.

I sighed.
So many things change, yet others never change, huh.

I dismissed the choice from my head, since it didn’t matter. I grabbed one of the two at random, poured the cereal into a bowl, and poured the milk I had. Soggy cereal was disgusting, so I quickly started to eat. Though, ‘eating’ was a strong word for what I was doing. It was more like nibbling, really. Cereal is healthier in the morning than other things as they say, or something.

“They just announced Grand Advisor kagami is coming for this year’s Founder Day, didn’t they? I kinda want to meet her, Sora! She’s definitely cuter than mira, isn’t she?”
“Yeah.”
I was too busy focusing on my cereal to really care. The Grand Advisors were like celebrities at the Academy, but both of them are usually here during summer. Those two, the twin android scions of the founders, would never miss a Founder Day.
kagami’s blue and orange hair was nicer than mira’s green and red hair though. At least, in my opinion. There wasn’t much of a difference anyway. Those two tended to have the same hairstyle; with one side tied in a ponytail off to the side. Just mirrored. Like my hairstyle.
I went back to my breakfast – it was almost soggy. I ended up topping it off with more cereal.

Apparently Chihiro got through all the news she deemed interesting when I started to listen to her again.
“Do you remember that ‘Taiping Mall’ across the sector? Apparently, its renovations are actually ahead of schedule for once. They said it should be open within the week. I know what you’re going to say, but, do you want to go there with me?”
“Yeah.”
“I know, I know, what’s the point of a-”
She paused. I yawned, and went back to my bowl.

“Did you hear about that new law that just passed? That one about robots permitted to kill any human it sees? It’s a bit too gruesome, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Sister. That one isn’t real. I know you’re not paying attention.”
I looked up from my cereal and just stared at her.
“That was kind of the point, Chihiro.”
“Sister. That’s rude. Why didn’t you just tell me that you didn’t care earlier.”
“Like I said, that was kind of the point, Chihiro.”
Chihiro pouted.

“Besides, I’m hungry. And tired.”
Chihiro audibly sighed. Again. A rarity in these days.

“Sister, it’s an important day for you, isn’t it?”
“That doesn’t really change the fact I’m tired, Chihiro.”
She pushed her glasses up, and looked at me. Her eyes glanced at my every movement.
All for something I thought was pretty obvious.
“Sister. It’s because I’m not there, isn’t it.”
I glanced at her.
She went silent and closed her eyes.

Just like that, she opened them again as a determined look graced her features.

“Sister. I’ll ask Central to transfer me to your Sector.”
“Chihiro, you know they need you in Central.”
“It’s the absolute least I could do for you, Sister. You’ve always been there for me. Please at least let me return the favour.”
“Chihiro. I’ll be fine!”
She went silent and closed her eyes again.
“Okay.”
“Chihiro. I’ll be absolutely fine! I’m going to get used to it soon! You’ll see! I’ll be the best Liaison the Academy’s ever seen!”
“If you say so, Sister.”
I finished my cereal in silence, as Chihiro looked at the floor despondently.

“I’ll just request access to the ECHO systems for your apartment then.”
Chihiro was looking off to the side now, that determined face slowly appearing again.
I glanced to the side.
“Just don’t cause too much trouble for the police, okay?”
“Hah, I work directly under the Chief Detective. It shouldn’t cause any trouble whatsoever for them.”
She started typing something, probably an email to Supervisor Itsuka.
“Especially since the star detective of Ciel Academy asked for it.”
Chihiro punctuated that statement by winking and flipping her hair. Chief Aoki is definitely going to chew her out for saying that.
“Aha! They let me in! Definitely faster than I expected, though.”
“Well, since the ace detective didn’t know it, obviously its ECHO evolving.”
I began to wash my bowl and spoon as she processed what I said.
“Hey!”

“Hm. Sister.”
I placed my recently-rinsed bowl into the drying rack.
“Yeah?”
“There’s someone wearing the Academy insignia reading the occupant list just inside the building.”
“Do you think that’s the Advisors’ messenger?”
Why wouldn’t they just email me though?
“Well, you’ll be able to ask him soon enough.”
Chihiro signaled towards the intercom. It rang. Right on cue.

The intercom’s video display detached from the wall and displayed the face of a young man. His short hair was brushed to the side, only looking a little messy.
“Hey! Is this Sora Tokuda?”
“Ha? Are you from Central?”
“Wasn’t that a bit blunt?”
“Ha?”
“Young children like you shouldn’t address your elders like that, don’t you know?”
“Ha? I’m Sora Tokuda.”
“You definitely look too young to be Sora. You can’t even be in Seventh Year.”
I’m definitely not that young looking.
He leaned forward, like he was inspecting me.
“Uhuh, definitely too short to be in Tenth Year.”
“Ha? And what are you, in Fortieth Year?”
“Oh, wow. How snappy for a young girl like you.”
I was going to punch that idiot.
“I’m definitely only a couple centimetres below average, idiot.”
“‘A couple centimetres below average’ there too, huh”
I was absolutely going to punch that idiot.
“Ha?”
“Ah, right. Young girl, apparently she copied the Grand Advisor’s hairstyle. Very unimaginative, if i say can say so. Like, an off-centre ponytail? Even those Twins know how simple it is.”
“Ha?”
My right eye. It started twitching there, I swear.
“A light blue streak of hair too, if I remember correctly. Ah, exactly like yours! Are you a fan of Sora or something? She hasn’t done anything other than be their transport lackey though.”
“Ha?”
My right eye. It was definitely twitching by then, I swear.
I closed my eyes to stop it. It didn’t really work.
“Chihiro. Please lock the external doors.”
She sighed and nodded silently as she typed something into her console.
“Hm… Like the younger Tokuda sister, too. Wow, you must be a big fan of the Head Researcher to play her kids. A bit creepy isn’t it?”
I was definitely going to punch that idiot.

I opened a door and walked through –
and grabbed the idiot’s collar, pulling him down.

“Gotcha!”
He said that with a completely stupid and insufferable smirk.
I wanted to it punch off so much.

“Got what.”
Chihiro decided to speak for me, my phone following through the doorway I made.

“Hey, Sora! Calm down! I just wanted you to come down here! No hard feelings, right?”
His carefree attitude and that smirk just made my right eye twitch more.
“Before I knock you out, can you tell me the name the hospital bed will be signed out under?”
He started to shake after ‘knock.’
“H-hey now, calm down Sora. Y-you don’t have to punch me!”
He stuttered through that, barely getting those words out.
Then that smirk came back.
“A Liaison like yourself shouldn’t have to suffer with a criminal record right?”
“Hm, a messenger like you should know that threatening a minor with legal punishment doesn’t quite work well.”
Chihiro wiped that smirk off his face.
“Criminal records for minors are only accessible by those with full read/write access to ECHO. And well, since only the Grand Advisors and the Executor of the State have that privilege…”
I pulled him closer to me.
He started to shake again.
“Y-You don’t want to punch your student council president, do you? It’d be a black stain on your official school record.”
This idiot was on the student council at my school? The president, even?
“I’m still not an official student until next week, idiot”
A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his head.
“H-hey now, I’ll tell the Grand Advisors if you punch me, I’m their friend you know?”
“Guess what, I don’t. Since you still haven’t told me your name.”
“I-it’s Ayumu Tohno! N-now please let go of me, I’m not going to tell you your official orders until y-you do.”
I glared at him and released him.

Then that smirk came back. Along with my twitch.

“Now that’s over and done with. I, Ayumu Tohno, am here to deliver a message to one Sora Tokuda!”
He said that with so much flair and bravado that I couldn’t even believe he existed.
He reached into his right pocket.
Then began frantically searching his left pocket.
Then his shirt pocket.
It was obvious what happened.
“You forgot the orders didn’t you.”
My exasperation finally bled into Chihiro, as we both commented on it.

“Yup, he did.”
A light voice chimed in as a tablet spun across the lobby and whacked the idiot on the back of the head, earning a loud “Ow!” from the idiot.

“Hey, idiot, next time I tell you to be my messenger, don’t forget the orders the second I give them to you.”
The accused spun around and pointed at video call of a young girl.
Blonde hair, with light green and red highlights, styled with a single ponytail coming off the side of her head. The call identified her as mira.
She couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a young girl.
“You only told me to give it to her because you forgot everything about Sora!”
“So? As the current Grand Advisor, I can do what I want!”
It definitely helped that she acted the part.
“You know that’s not even remotely true!”
“Um, no offense Ms. Grand Advisor, but how did you even get here!”
Chihiro’s confused look served to fuel a smirk on mira’s face.
“Magic!”
“Wormholes.”
Oddly enough the serious answer came from the idiot.

The two of them started a weird kind of staring contest right there.
The idiot grit his teeth while glaring at her, and the Grand Advisor just smugly looked at him.
Since that was going nowhere, I picked up the thrown tablet that ended up at my feet.

“Ha? My current orders are to stay on standby at the school. That’s it?”
My voice broke the silence of their glaring contest.

“Yeah, yeah that sounds about right.”
I ended up looking at her in pure exasperation of this entire scene.
“Oh, right! There should be a secondary order on the next page.”
“Ahem! Why did you even bother gracing us with your presence, oh great and powerful mira?”
The idiot raised his voice there.
Life in Central Tower must be ‘fun’ with people like these two around.
“A lowly apprentice programmer such as yourself can’t bare to fathom the depths of my reasoning.”
“I swear I’ll crack your code just to kill you with a virus.”
“You couldn’t even crack ECHO, you idiot programmer.”
With that said she waved her hand dismissively.

The other order was to escort the other Grand Advisor, kagami, to Central.
A very simple job.
“Ms. Grand Advisor? Why assign my sister this one?”
Chihiro raised the question that was on both our minds.
“The escort mission?”
The idiot said the obvious.
“What else, idiot.”
I swear I should’ve just knocked him out.
“Ahaha! I see that you’ve made a great first impression, idiot!”
“I’ll make a ‘first impression’ on you, stupid robot.”
“You’ve already tried that haven’t you, idiot?”
I cleared my throat, if just to remind them I was there.
“Just tell her already. What, are you malfunctioning or something?”
“I’m collecting my thoughts, idiot.”
I had to massage my head at this. This was getting stupid.
“Well, Sora. You’re lucky enough to recieve the rare position of…”
She trailed off there. No doubt for dramatic flair.
“…of…”
Or not.
“I don’t think you actually made Haruna’s errands an actual job, stupid robot.”

Haruna?

The moon shined bright that night.
“Liaison 31221. You know what this is.”
“Haruna, you shouldn’t go. I didn’t hear about this ‘mission’ from the Supervisor.”

“Well we do need someone … the city and the shrine.”
“…No, you don’t, though.”

“Apprentice, Don’t worry! It’s from the Grand Advisor! Off the books!”
“That’s what worries me!
She walked away with a smile on her face.

“Ah, whatever, kagami’s … lonely trip back home.”
“That’s … your problem…”

Emergency lights flashed. Sirens blared.
“Be cautious! Liaison No. 31221 has gone rogue! I repeat! Haruna Satou has gone rogue!”
Supervisor Itsuki shouted over the speakers.

“Like, why…”
“…replaced her…”

The snow was cold that night.
“I’m sorry Sora. Haruna…
is gone.”

“I’ll do it.”
Chihiro called my name.
“I’ll replace her.”
They paused.
Chihiro called me again.
They looked at me with concerned faces.
My face was wet. When did it become wet?
The Grand Advisor looked down at her desk.
Ayumu ran over to ask if I was okay.
This was what I wanted to do, right?

Commençons – Printemps

“The night sky is beautiful, isn’t it? Altair and Vega are both bright tonight.”
―A girl once said, to a boy.
“Hikoboshi and Orihime? You know, I never took you for a romantic.”
She hit my arm, just barely enough to hurt. Just like when we first met. What a moody girl she was back then. What a moody girl she still is now.
―She was still just a child, after all.
“Oh, shut up.”
“That hurt, you know?”
―A young child sent to an unthinkable place.
“You really are insufferable, you know?”
With smile on my face, I patted her soft, messy, long, brown hair.
―A lost child, in a world that turned slowly.
“Ahh, the stars are beautiful tonight aren’t they? Look, the Summer Triangle is quite bright today.”
“Sadly enough, it appears we have started repeating ourselves. Not even the Advisors’ sweet light could save us from this travesty.”
―A young child who ran into her darkness.
“Aren’t you Liaisons supposed to ‘shine their light’ for them in ‘times of dark?'”
“I doubt they meant it literally, idiot…”
She looked towards the ground. Dyed red.
―A tired child who could only see her future, dyed red.
I looked back towards the console. Dyed red.
This was stupid. This whole damn thing was stupid.
―Her entire life was stupid.
“…They’ve probably started hunting for us. Hide. You should—”
“I can’t go! You want me to leave you alone? We said we would help each other! Fulfill our dreams! There’s no way I could ever leave you to die like that!”
―A lost child, abandoned by the world.
“Those two are not people you could just play cat and mouse with! This thing will fix everything! This is what we worked so hard for! Those two are― are just scared! They made this thing to fix everything!”
She pointed at that damned device.
―A child who met another, and brought light to her darkness.
“We don’t know that! Even if it did, you’re willing to die if you couldn’t activate it on time? Listen to yourself!”
Her stubbornness was so infuriating sometimes!
―A stubborn child who refused to leave her, even when she asked.
I saw it.
The bright flash of the electric comet.
―The twins pulled them. The twins pushed them.
I heard it.
The loud crash of directed thunder.
―The twins cut a string, leaving one to her fate.
It was only one of them. I could do this. I had to do this.
“Damnit. Thats her, isn’t it. Go! With your ability she won’t―”
―Strings were cut, and yet she stood firm.
I interrupted her and began to walk forward. She was the only one fast enough to start and end this.
“Haruna, I’ll keep her occupied.”
―The other pulled to meet her, until they were out of time.
“F-Fine.” Her voice was shaky. The air was darkening in time with her breath.
I stopped, and looked back at her. It was the first time I saw her this shaken up.
―”Do you regret what happened all those years ago?” A small child once asked.
“I-If you’re so sure. Promise me. You’ll come back alive.”
“I promise.” We turned and ran. Her face in tears forever staining my memories.
―My answer was, and always will be, no.

That day ended in a flash of darkness.