2 – August 12th (Thursday) – The previous day

August 12th, Thursday. Haruki Misora did not know that she was experiencing the day for the second time. Just after 2 PM, she received a phone call.

The call turned out to be from Souma Sumire, who asked, “Can you come up to the school roof? Kei wants us to get together.”

With no reason to refuse, Haruki answered, “Understood.”

“Okay. See you on the roof,” Souma Sumire responded, hanging up.

After changing into her school uniform, Haruki left her house.

It was August, the hottest time of year. Summer had reached its peak, and the heat was leaving beads of sweat across Haruki’s forehead despite her easygoing walking pace. She stole a glance into the park on her way over, but didn’t see Mari there. It only made sense, as it was too early for her typical visit. She continued towards the school, never having stopped.

Haruki had been searching for her emotions for the past month. As a result, she had come to realize just how packed with emotion the town around her was. Elementary schoolers rode past her on bicycles, laughing. A well-dressed woman walked by with a bouncy rhythm to her steps. An office worker sat in the shade of a tree, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Haruki was certain that each of those actions contained their own types of emotions and feelings that she could not comprehend.

A girl close to Haruki’s age passed by, quietly humming. Humming was yet another act that Haruki simply could not understand. She had never figured out the meaning behind songs and singing. She had to sing as a requisite of music class, but had no memories of trying to sing on her own.

Haruki tried humming with a few short sounds, but she wasn’t sure if the sound she produced could be classified as music. She would not have been able to point out the rhythm if someone else asked her.

Passing through the school gates, she entered Nanasaka Junior High. The school was also a melting pot of mixed emotion. Soccer members shouted in the courtyard as cheers erupted by the poolside. It was likely that listening to the brass band’s performance in the school building could elicit a level of emotion in others.

But Haruki couldn’t parse anything significant from her surroundings. It was as though she viewed the colorful world around her in monochrome. She walked through a colorless schoolyard into a colorless building. Her footsteps echoed as she headed directly for the rooftop of the southern building.

She stood for a while in front of the door atop the stairs. It was a square, gray door. Would other people see it in a different color? Could emotion be present even in something so mundane?

Unable to answer her question, she opened the door.

A gust of wind blew by as sharp summer light illuminated her surroundings. Above, Haruki could see the blue sky and white clouds, but she wasn’t sure if she could see those colors for what they truly were. She wondered if having emotions would change even the color of the sky.

Souma Sumire, Sakagami Yousuke, Nakano Tomoki, and Asai Kei were all up on the roof. Haruki honed in on Asai Kei, walking straight towards him.

He spoke first. “We need to get your emotions back, Haruki.”

“I agree.”

“Then let’s begin.” Asai Kei looked towards Sakagami Yousuke, muttering, “If you would.”

Sakagami Yousuke walked towards the two of them, putting his hands on their shoulders. 

“Close your eyes,” Kei ordered. That was step one of the procedure they needed to follow to properly use Kei’s ability of remembrance. Haruki had gotten used to it over time.

“What time will we be recalling?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

Haruki had no reason to refuse, so she closed her eyes as per his instructions.

“Here we go,” she heard.

Following that statement, Haruki Misora recalled her memories of the next day, August 13th.

Mari. The discovery of a girl created by an ability. The mother’s disappearance. The Bureau employee in a black suit. The thoughts she had. The words Asai Kei said. Finally, a reset.

She remembered it all. Not a single moment was missing, but one moment stood high above the rest. During her memories of the next day, there was an experience of a sharp pain in her chest. Right in the center of her chest, from where her blood flow originated, there was a deep and heavy ache.

I get it. I’m feeling sadness. She was experiencing a sadness that was reserved for tomorrow.

She opened her eyes, finding herself back in the world on the rooftop. The sky was blue, and the clouds were white. She had thought that once she had emotions, the colors would seem different. But she was wrong. Instead, everything was becoming blurrier, harder to see.

Haruki Misora couldn’t understand that there were tears in her eyes, but what she did know was that her emotions were distorting what she saw.

Smiling, Kei declared, “Let’s go wipe away that girl’s tears. We’ll make sure that the world never has a need for them.”

✽

Asai Kei saw the tears in Haruki Misora’s eyes. He responded with, “Let’s go wipe away that girl’s tears. We’ll make sure that the world never has a need for them.”

As he said it, he remembered something else Souma Sumire had said.

Alright, I can make you act like the good guy.

Immediately after that, she had told him the truth behind the late Kurakawa Mari and her stillbirth. Something about all the events that followed that moment felt meticulously planned. Of course, it wasn’t possible that she could’ve been behind it all. Mari’s mother, the Bureau, Haruki Misora, there were just too many variables for one person to have been able to predict and control. But even so, just as she had claimed, Asai Kei was now playing the part of the hypocrite.

“So, what’s the plan?” Nakano Tomoki asked. He, Souma, and Sakagami had already been informed about the situation by Kei. A woman would depart Sakurada tomorrow morning, leaving one girl deeply scarred. It all had to do with the Bureau and the power to create a child through an ability.

Kei answered, “The issue is clear. The mother is incapable of loving her daughter. All we have to do is give her back her love.”

Haruki was the next one to speak. “How would we go about that?”

“You would know better than anybody. If my ability is copied onto Mari’s mother, it’s quite possible that she would remember her love for Mari.”

“And that would solve the problem?”

“Can’t say for sure, but it’s worth a shot.” Kei knew that it had worked that way for him. The influence of memories on an individual’s feelings was easy to justify after having experienced the recollection of his love for his parents. He smiled as gently as he could manage at Haruki. “If that doesn’t work, then we’ll find another way.”

In his head, though, he was thinking something else. In all reality, it could get to the point where we’ll have to call it quits. Kei wasn’t in the position to be shifting the goalposts for what defined Mari and her mother’s happiness. It was entirely possible that Mari’s mother would remember her love for Mari while still wanting to leave, and he would have no grounds to refuse her. He would try to do whatever he could, but not everything was under his control.

Kei shifted his gaze to Sakagami. “Can I count on your support?” Sakagami was smiling, as usual. He may have been a good person, but Kei still thought him too inept to be particularly reliable. At the same time, his ability was needed for the plan to work.

“Of course. It’s not good to separate a parent from their child,” Sakagami responded.

Beside Sakagami, Souma chimed in, tilting her head. “There’s one thing I don’t really get.”

“What’s that?” Kei asked.

“Why’s Nakano-kun here?”

“Aw, c’mon, Rep. No need to say it like that.” Tomoki grinned.

Kei hadn’t heard Souma be referred to as “Rep” before, so it was interesting. Sighing, he answered, “It’s fine, Souma. Tomoki comes in handy, despite appearances. Things will go a lot better with him here than without.”

“Well, I don’t need you to tell me that. He’ll do anything the girls ask him to do, and he’s actually surprisingly finicky about cleaning. He’s probably the first person I’d pick if I needed help in the class,” Souma responded.

“Then what’s the problem?” Kei asked.

“Well, we’re not exactly talking about the school festival here. Doesn’t this require a little more discretion?”

Her point was certainly valid. The situation had escalated to the point of the Administration Bureau kicking Mari’s mother out of Sakurada. Anything that Kei and his group did would be in direct opposition to the Bureau’s desires. The less people they involved, the better.

“Boy, that conversation went downhill real quick,” Tomoki frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kei asked.

“You can’t just throw around insults about me like that.”

“Who was throwing insults? You’re just making that up.”

“Name one thing you said that was nice.”

“I don’t just toss around the phrase, ‘Things will go a lot better with him here than without’ willy-nilly.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fair.”

Kei had said that as a joke, but evidently Tomoki bought it as a sound argument. Oh well, better than continuing that pointless debate.

Souma flashed an over-the-top, villainous grin. “You two sure get along well.”

“As you can see,” Kei replied.

Everyone’s role was crystal clear in Kei’s eyes. Sakagami Yousuke’s ability was essential, and Souma Sumire was necessary to guarantee Sakagami’s cooperation. Without her, the best Kei would have was blind faith in Sakagami’s goodwill, which was frankly not going to cut it. Haruki Misora’s attachment to Mari was the heart and soul of the operation. To that end, Kei was like her support.

Lastly, there was Nakano Tomoki. If nothing else, Kei saw him as an insurance policy. If everything went south, Kei knew that Tomoki would stick with him. It was helpful to know that he could trust someone unconditionally regardless of the circumstances. Things would go a lot better with him there than without.

Kei returned to the topic at hand. “As things stand, Mari’s mother is going to depart Sakurada tomorrow. That gives us until then to fix the problem.”

Tomoki’s head tilted slightly. “Just… use your ability on her, right? It can’t be that hard.”

“Mari’s mother isn’t home today, and she won’t be back till very late.”

“How do you know that?”

“Before the reset, I asked Mari about it.” Her mother didn’t get back at least until Mari went to sleep, then they were on the way to the hospital with Tsushima the next morning. Tsushima’s accompaniment was now undoubtedly due to the Bureau’s involvement in her case. There was no way the Bureau was going to overlook a human made by an ability. “Basically, we have a very limited window of contact with Mari’s mother. I think our best moment will be when she’s on her way home tonight. It’ll be a lot more difficult to deal with her on the way to or from the hospital tomorrow.”

Sakagami frowned anxiously. “So you want to stake her out all night?”

“At least until she gets back. Everyone will have to come up with a reason to explain why you’ll be home late tonight.”

That left them with nothing in particular to do for the time being.

✽

Everyone headed towards the rooftop exit at their own pace, but Souma Sumire asked Asai Kei to stay. Talking with him wasn’t a necessary step towards achieving her desired future. In fact, the following conversation wouldn’t change anything about the future.

I like talking with Kei. It was a special time for her. I like looking into the distance to see who he becomes.

Souma Sumire held the ability of future sight, activated specifically through conversation. As long as her conversation continued with someone, she could see their future.

“What do you need?” he asked. His tone was relaxed and calm, as it always was. But it would turn into confusion in the very near future. She knew that for certain, and was in fact quite looking forward to it.

She walked towards him, taking each step with purpose. “There’s something I just have to know.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

Souma stopped right in front of him, whispering into his ear. “What do you want to do with Haruki Misora?”

“What does… that mean?”

“You were drawn to Haruki because she didn’t see herself as special. You thought her rare personality fit your ideal of goodness.”

“Can’t deny that.”

She had no self-preservation, no pretenses, not even any desires; she had no defining form. She didn’t even recognize her own goodness. She was like an unanswered prayer.

His ideal.

It was so specific and well-defined that it was almost unsettling. But she was the most beautiful human he knew, as defined by himself.

“Somehow, it’s like you’re trying to give her feelings. It’s like you’re intentionally trying to change who Haruki is.”

“I am.”

“Now you’re just contradicting yourself. You thought she was beautiful, and now you’re trying to destroy her.”

“You might be right.”

“Why? Don’t try to tell me that you didn’t notice.”

Of course, Souma Sumire already knew his answer. But she still asked. She wanted to hear him put it into words.

Asai Kei smiled, the corners of his mouth bending upwards. “No reason, really. Just for the heck of it.”

Souma Sumire smiled back as gently and warmly as she could manage. “Liar.”

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“Oh, I do believe in you. More than anyone else.”

Souma took one more step towards Kei. She gazed into his eyes, closer to him than ever. “You want Haruki to be able to live normally, laughing and crying just like any other girl. You value her happiness more than your ideal of goodness. Am I wrong?”

Kei shook his head. “Her rules just get in the way of me using her reset power. The quicker she becomes normal, the more convenient it is for me. That’s all there is to it.”

“You are such a liar.” No matter how badly he tried to skew his argument, all that he truly wanted was Haruki’s happiness.

Kei held a special admiration for Haruki’s loveliness. In the same way, Souma found Asai Kei to be lovely. He didn’t have the purity that Haruki possessed, but that didn’t matter to Souma. In her eyes, the boy who personally knew of chaos and confusion yet never let go of the pure wishes inside of his heart possessed the real beauty. He didn’t have the pure goodness that Haruki had, but that didn’t matter either. Acknowledging evil while still embracing true goodness was better in Souma’s mind. He wanted to save everyone, so it was only right that he should be saved, too.

I’d rather not be able to see the future.

Were it not for her powers, she wouldn’t hold her special feelings towards Asai Kei. What would it have been like to not have future sight that first time she met him atop the tetrapods? She wouldn’t have known about the powerful kindness that existed inside of him, and possibly just written him off as a strange boy.

Asai Kei’s future, no matter where it took him, was always full of both kindness and sadness. Every time, he would selflessly live for others, all the while denying his own righteousness. He would mature, grow old, and live through pain and exhaustion, yet still maintain his resonant beauty. He would be hurt over and over, yet never broken. He would always be Asai Kei, no matter what the cost might be.

Souma had never met anyone like Kei. As she considered that, it was clear that his cruel life was due to his ability. What kind of ideal was he aiming towards that would cause him to desire the ability to remember every single moment that he experienced?

Through her future sight, Souma Sumire slowly learned everything about Asai Kei. The more she saw his future, the more special he became to her. It was only natural. Future sight wouldn’t allow anything else but love at first sight.

It’s just not fair at all. How could she be expected to act so nonchalant around the person whom she had fallen for in the entire present and future?

Letting her whole body relax, Souma leaned into Kei. He stopped her from falling over, his expression clouding with confusion.

“Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

His voice was unusually panicked. It made him sound a little younger than he normally did, which was cute.

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’m not feeling so well after all.”

Every now and then, she had the impulse to hug him. With her own hands, in her own simple way, she wanted to tie him to herself.

She put her arm around his back, whispering to him, though her mouth never opened. You know something, Kei? If I wanted to, it’d be really easy to manipulate you.

She had the ability to know the future, after all. She could spend every moment telling him everything he wanted to hear. Like cheating on a test, she could become his ideal girl, getting all the questions right down to the smallest detail.

You know something else, Kei? You would still choose Haruki Misora.

The only way she could ever embrace him was by way of a surprise attack.

Try as she might, Souma could never bring herself to be Haruki Misora’s friend. How could she begin to buddy up to someone whose fate was to snatch away the one thing she had always wanted?

Souma Sumire pulled her arm around Asai Kei just a little tighter.

✽

Haruki Misora watched the whole scene take place from the other side of the door.

When she was halfway down the stairs, she found herself with a question she wanted to ask Asai Kei, so she turned around. He had said something within her memories of the next day that piqued her interest. If you had a zeroth rule, what would it be? She thought it would be worth talking some more with him about that subject.

I’m not following my rules right now. Initially, she had followed her rules by allowing Mari to be taken by the Administration Bureau, then something within her had rejected that decision. Perhaps that meant her rules needed to be amended. Did they need to be changed? Added to? As that possibility struck her, she recalled his challenge about creating a zeroth rule.

To that end, she found herself back on the rooftop. On that rooftop, Asai Kei and Souma Sumire were hugging each other.

She considered making her presence known, but she knew the conversation regarding a zeroth rule wasn’t all that pressing.

For now, I’ll give the zeroth rule some more personal thought.

Her decision made, Haruki turned on her heel, heading back down the stairs.

No matter how much she thought about a zeroth rule, nothing concrete came to mind.

Haruki Misora arrived at the agreed upon bus stop at 5:25 PM, finding everybody else already there. Kurakawa Mari’s house was fairly far away from Nanasaka Junior High, so everybody got on the next bus and headed northwest.

They made it in front of Mari’s apartment right around 6 PM. They knew that Mari’s room was on the far right of the complex, up on the third floor. Haruki Misora and Nakano Tomoki were positioned on the nearby one-way street at an angle that allowed them to see both the window and entrance of Mari’s apartment building.

“It’d be better to have both of you together. That way, instead of acting suspicious and trying to blend in, you can just look like two middle schoolers standing around talking,” Kei had said. He had gone off elsewhere with Souma Sumire and Sakagami Yoususke, claiming that a large group would be detrimental.

Haruki knew what Mari’s mother looked like, so as long as she had Nakano Tomoki with her, making contact would never be an issue. His ability was to transmit his voice long distances. Specifically, she had been told that he could transmit any sounds he was hearing to a desired target at any specified time. He couldn’t send the message without knowing the recipient’s face, but it was much more discreet than making a phone call. The one-way street they were on would work to their advantage, as Haruki could easily find Mari’s mother and make instant contact.

6:30 PM came and went, and as the sunlight faded, a light turned on in Mari’s apartment. It was likely that Mari’s mother would not be back until after that light was out. Per Mari’s future testimonial, her mother hadn’t come back home until after she was asleep.

“I feel like bursting into song or something,” Nakano Tomoki said.

Haruki turned her gaze towards him.

“C’mon, say something. We’ll look suspicious just standing around in silence.”

Haruki gave Tomoki’s request some thought, but she didn’t have anything in particular she wanted to discuss. “Why would you desire to burst into song?”

Nakano Tomoki smiled. He had a very childish grin, not unlike Mari’s smile. “Well, look at the situation we’re in. I’m spending a summer evening alone with a girl. On top of that, we’re hatching a fantastical plan to win a young girl’s love back from her mother. This is the perfect place to put in some kind of theme song. Maybe even give it a bit of a romantic twist.”

Haruki couldn’t make heads or tails of what the boy was saying.

“What, you think it would be inappropriate or something? You gotta make these moments count for all they’re worth. All we need is a smile and a theme song. I’m sure Kei’d be right on board with me.”

“I am not so sure about that.”

Nakano Tomoki laughed, “Haha! Well, I’ll take what I can get. You know, I never could figure you out at school, since you’d just sit around looking sullen all the time. But from what I’ve seen today, I can tell you’re a heck of a good girl.”

“I am a… heck of a good girl?”

“Sure thing. You’re a lot like Kei. Can’t see it on the surface too much, but he’s an absurdly nice guy.”

Asai Kei. Easily the person that evaded Haruki’s understanding the most. “Is he… a good person?”

“You bet. Best guy I know.”

Ah. So that really is the case. Haruki had figured as much. She nodded. “I understand completely.”

“Hm? Whaddaya mean?”

“I had been wondering for some time, but I always had an inkling of suspicion that he was a good person.”

Nakano Tomoki smiled widely, looking like he was greatly enjoying himself. Haruki half expected him to burst into song. “Yup. Until you really lay into him, you can’t find out how good he is. He tries to play it slick, but he’s just a sheep in sheep’s clothing.”

“A sheep?”

“Well, at first glance, he seems nice enough. Take a closer look, though, and you can tell how much he’s faking it. At that point, most people would assume he’s actually messed up and just trying to look like a good person.”

“But on the inside, he is still a sheep?”

“Yup. When you really get to looking, you can tell. He’s a good person pretending to act like a good person. Most people mistake him for a bad guy, ‘cause if you found a zipper on a sheep’s back, you’d usually assume it was a wolf underneath, right?”

Haruki felt like she caught a good bit of what he was saying, but she shook her head. “If you found a sheep with a zipper, then it could only be a human underneath.” Obviously, it would be a person wearing some kind of costume.

Tomoki laughed loudly. “Look, all I’m saying is, he’s really bad at being a bad guy. It’d be nice to see him act a bit more honest. He’s such a great guy, but it’s like his heart is never really in it. Instead, he tries to act all villainous by pulling elaborate stunts.”

“And you believe that I am similar to him?”

“Uh… Well, when you put it that way, not really… Oh, but what you just said sounds a lot like something he’d shoot back with.”

“What I just said?”

“That a sheep with a zipper could only be hiding a human.”

Haruki didn’t get it. How could that be similar to what he would say? On another note, why did that even matter?

She turned her gaze back towards Mari’s room light. She watched the room that Mari was currently all alone in.

“No need to be scared,” Nakano Tomoki commented.

Haruki didn’t understand who he was talking to. It never crossed her mind that he could be speaking directly to her.

“Here, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Asai Kei is never wrong.”

“Never wrong?”

“Yup. When his mind’s made up, there’s nobody he can’t help.”

“Is that really true?”

Nakano Tomoki shrugged, offering no words of reply. It was possible that he had lied. He could have made that up just to help them both feel assured. But that line–

Asai Kei is never wrong.

Something about it seemed to stick with her.

✽

It was almost 8 PM. Asai Kei and Sakagami Yousuke were sitting on a bench placed alongside a beautifully paved street just one road down from Mari’s apartment. Beside the bench was a street light with a vending machine placed underneath. Small insects buzzed around the vending machine. The summer night was hot and humid, and the thick air stuck to their skin and made it difficult for their sweat to dry.

Just earlier, Souma Sumire had claimed she wanted something to drink before vanishing. She went off to who knew where as if there wasn’t a vending machine right next to them. Kei just couldn’t understand her sometimes.

Kei noticed Sakagami passing him sideways glances. Evidently, Sakagami was the kind of person that hated silence when he was with someone he didn’t know.

Kei broke the silence. “So why did you become the student council president, Sakagami-san?” He didn’t particularly care, but he was just filling time anyway, so the small talk didn’t have to go anywhere meaningful.

Sakagami tripped over his words for a while before finally responding, “Mostly because nobody else was.”

“So like, there weren’t any other candidates?”

In Nanasaka Junior High, student council candidates would be solicited from the general student body, then voted over. However, if Sakagami was the only candidate last year, it would make him a shoo-in for the position.

Sakagami nodded. “Mhm. Usually, student council members nominate themselves for president, but since nobody wanted to, I just went for it. I’m not really suited for the role, though, am I?”

Kei considered for a moment before answering, “What kind of person do you think would be suited for the role of student council president?”

“I dunno, maybe someone like… Souma-san?”

“Souma-san was only a first-year during the election, though.”

“I know, that’s why I ran. I still think she’d be better in the role, though. I’m just not cut out for public speaking.”

Kei had to admit that if Souma were the president, the student body wouldn’t have to put up with his constantly quivering voice at student assemblies. “Nothing wrong with a mistake here and there. Nobody’s expecting a grand speech from the student council president.”

“Well, yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Besides, I don’t mind talking with you all that much.”

“Why?”

“You keep things short.”

“Haha,” Sakagami laughed, his voice quiet. “I don’t really think me being around makes any kind of difference.”

“Sure it does. Without you, Mari’s mother would be skipping town soon.”

“But you don’t need me. You just need my ability. Any other guy with the same ability would have worked.”

“But right now, you’re the only one with a copying ability, so we do need you.”

Sakagami let out a quick breath, like a computer expelling excess heat. “Aren’t you… scared, Asai-kun?”

“Scared of what?”

“The Administration Bureau made the final call to take Mari’s mother out of the city, right?”

“Well, technically, she made the express decision, but the Bureau definitely wanted her out of the picture.”

“Is it really okay for us to go against that?”

Kei sighed internally. “And how do you define okay?”

“Define?”

“What exactly would need to happen to make this okay?”

“Well…”

Kei waited, but Sakagami never responded. He continued, “They aren’t gonna threaten our lives for this. In fact, there’s basically zero chance of them laying a hand on us. It’s not a thought crime or anything, so they can’t punish us for saying what we want. At most, they might find us annoying. If that’s really so bad, then we can find some other way to solve this.”

Kei wasn’t sure if pushing him harder or sweet talking him would get better results. I didn’t think it’d be this hard to get him on the victim’s side.

Sakagami shook his head. “I’m not talking about the specific punishments. It’s just… aren’t you scared of breaking the rules? Like, emotionally?”

“Why should I? Rules are put in place to enforce ethics.” To Kei, a rule was put in place to definitively label what was bad as bad. He continued, “If we’re stretching to say that the Bureau’s decisions are rules, then the rule they just set breaks deeper ethical rules. No point in following stuff like that.”

In reality, that wasn’t Kei’s full, nuanced opinion. He didn’t think it was right to break any rules. He actually thought that if the rules were wrong, then the right course of action was to take the proper channels to change the rules. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of time for such roundabout methods.

Sakagami shook his head yet again. “You’re really strong, you know.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Because I’m weak. I’m scared of so many things. I don’t like being scared, so I just follow the rules. I just want to live in peace.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“No, I don’t think you do.” Sakagami gave a strained smile. He didn’t look very far away from crying. “I think that all that stuff you said was right, Asai-kun. I think you’re trying to do something good here. But you and Haruki-san really scare me.”

Personally, I think Souma Sumire’s the one to be scared of.

Kei almost shared his mind, but decided to keep quiet. Sakagami’s fears were hardly relevant to the current situation, and it was probably best to keep out of his business.

They sat in silence on the bench for some time.

Eventually, Souma finally made it back. She was holding a plastic bag in her right hand, and she pulled out a blue bottle from it. It was a glass bottle of ramune.

“Where’d you even buy that?” Kei asked.

“I saw it in a nearby supermarket on the bus ride over.”

She sure had good eyesight. “And you went all the way there just to buy some?”

“Ramune’s just perfect for a summer night, don’t you think?”

With no reason to refuse, Kei and Sakagami both took a bottle of ramune. It might have just been a trick of the light, but as Kei was taking his ramune bottle, he got the sense that Souma looked a bit sad.

With nothing else to do, the three sat side by side, drinking their ramune. The marbles inside their bottles made a racket of clattering as they moved up and down.

Souma looked up at the night sky. “It’d be nice if there were fireworks going off right now.”

Kei just couldn’t understand her at all.

✽

Souma Sumire looked up at the night sky. “It’d be nice if there were fireworks going off right now.” She wanted to look at something pretty.

Beside her, Kei tipped his ramune bottle up.

Souma had personally bought that ramune for him. Even though she knew what he was going to do with it later. She bought it with full knowledge.

I really don’t want Kei to get hurt.

The words rolling through Souma Sumire’s mind barely functioned as justification.

Besides, she knew that it was the most appropriate choice. The ramune bottle would make the situation go smoother than any other method.

She almost pulled a face, but immediately fixed her expression back to normal. She couldn’t let Asai Kei catch on to anything. Any deviation from the route would be catastrophic.

Sakagami finished his ramune, standing up from the bench. “That was great. Thanks for the treat.” He headed across the street towards the trash can opposite of them to throw away the bottle. There was a recycling bin next to the vending machine, but it was only marked for empty cans, not bottles.

Once Sakagami had gained some distance, Kei quietly whispered, “Hey, Souma. Is Sakagami gonna give us problems?”

“What do you count as a problem?”

“I dunno. I just don’t know him very well. I don’t know what to do around people I’m not familiar with.”

Souma turned to look at Kei’s profile. “Should I take that to mean you’re familiar with Haruki and I?”

Kei sharply turned towards Souma, glaring. “C’mon, take this seriously, Souma Sumire.”

Before Souma knew what was happening, she was already smiling.

Despite the circumstances.

“You’ve never called me by my first name before.” Something about it made her happy.

Kei made a small frown. “We’re talking about Sakagami-san.”

“Yup.” Souma Sumire knew what would happen next. “Guess we’ll just have to trust him for now, won’t we?” She put on another smile, one that was entirely intentional.

✽

Nakano Tomoki contacted them just before 9 PM. Evidently, a black car had pulled up to the apartment building with Mari’s mother inside.

“She’s here. Let’s go,” Kei instructed, getting up from the bench. Souma and Sakagami trailed shortly beside him.

Before long, they met up with Haruki and Tomoki. Tomoki turned around to report to Kei, having been peeking around a corner to check on the apartment. “She still hasn’t gotten out.”

“‘Cause the light’s not off yet,” Kei answered bluntly. Mari’s apartment was still lit up. It was clear just how far Mari’s mother was going to avoid contact with her daughter.

Kei turned his attention to the black car parked in front of the complex. The lights in the car were on, so he could clearly make out Mari’s mother in the passenger seat. Beside her in the driver’s seat sat a man in a disheveled suit. Kei instantly recognized him. “That complicates things. There’s a Bureau employee in there.” Tsushima, to be exact.

“What do we do?” Tomoki asked.

Thinking quickly, Kei responded, “I’m gonna head into the building with Haruki and Sakagami-san. You and Souma stick around here and draw their attention. Even just a small distraction will help.” Mari’s mother knew Haruki, so they would immediately be busted if she saw them.

Tomoki turned towards Souma, who nodded calmly. “How about we pretend to be a couple?”

“What, we’re gonna act all lovey-dovey right in front of the car?”

“No, I was thinking more along the lines of slapping you as hard as I can.”

“That’s what a couple is to you?” Tomoki muttered under his breath, though he ultimately didn’t raise any objections.

As Souma slapped Tomoki, Kei headed into the apartment complex with Haruki and Sakagami. He couldn’t help feeling bad for Tomoki, and made a mental note to buy him a soda on the way back home.

Kei headed to the intercom, entered Mari’s apartment number, and had Haruki talk with her. He used Haruki to instruct Mari to turn off her lights at 9:30 PM, specifying a time that would allow him to save again just before meeting with Mari’s mother.

Mari’s room was on the third floor, so Kei had everyone wait on the stairwell between the third and fourth floors. At 9:25, they passed the 24-hour marker from their reset, allowing them to save once more. Mari’s mother likely hadn’t moved from the front of the complex as she waited for the light to go out. When Haruki muttered, “Save”, Kei thought back to five minutes prior and discovered that they had not yet reset. Everything was ready.

Shortly after, they heard the sound of the elevator moving. The elevator doors opened, thin light bled from inside, and Mari’s mother exited the elevator.

Kei walked up to her from behind, and she turned around, probably having heard his footsteps. The hallway light illuminated her frightened expression.

Kei smiled, leading with, “I apologize for doing this so late at night. My name is Asai Kei. You are Kurakawa-san, are you not?”

The nuance of her expression shifted from mostly fearful to being flabbergasted. “Yes. Um, what do you want?”

Kei took hold of her arm, moving slowly so as not to startle her. He kept his eyes locked on hers. Concern quickly washed over her face. Immediately, Kei said, “We are Mari-chan’s friends, and we know what you’re planning to do tomorrow.”

Her expression dramatically shifted. She suddenly looked like she had been threatened at knifepoint. Kei had expected as much. She made a small noise, trying to shake off Kei’s hand, but Kei gripped her tighter. “Do it now, Sakagami-san,” he whispered.

The confused expression plastered on Sakagami’s face didn’t look all that different from Mari’s mother. “Excuse me,” he mumbled, touching Kei with his right hand and Mari’s mother with his left.

Kei decided to hash out the details after she remembered the past, opting for a simpler approach. “Mari’s going to cry if you leave her. I beg of you, try to consider things from her point of view.” He began pulling up memories from seven years prior, trying to pinpoint a memory from just after the real Kurakawa Mari died, when Mari came into being. The moment just prior to that.

“Hold on,” Sakagami interjected, sputtering, “It’s not working. I can’t use my ability.”

Kei didn’t like how that sounded. He turned towards Sakagami. “Hurry it up.”

But Sakagami shook his head. “No. I can’t. Dammit, I don’t…”

Kei put more force into his whispers. “Sakagami-san. This is the right thing to do.”

“I know, but… but I… I just… can’t.”

Mari’s mother started waving her arm wildly, and Kei let her go. He hadn’t lost the war, but they had definitely lost the current battle. He had failed to account for their weakest link. Mari’s mother bolted away.

Sakagami looked like he was about to cry. “Sorry. I just… didn’t think it would be so forceful,” he mumbled.

Haruki Misora stared at Kei, her expression the same as always. “Did we fail?”

Kei shook his head. “Nope. Turns out there’s just something else we gotta do.” It was an obvious lie. They had failed, plain and simple. But if nothing else, he needed to put on a strong face for Haruki. He couldn’t afford to let her get shaken up.

The reason for their failure was obvious. Kei hadn’t learned enough about Sakagami. He had convinced himself that he did enough prep work in getting Sakagami’s cooperation, but reality had just hit him in the face with his lack of preparedness.

Abilities worked at the behest of each user. Each one had limits behind the overall usage, but activation was purely at the will of the one who held the ability. Or, to put it another way, an ability wouldn’t work if the user didn’t want to use it. The user’s will played a great role in their ability. Ultimately, Sakagami Yousuke couldn’t do anything behind the Bureau’s back. His fear was crippling, and he wouldn’t be able to overcome it just for some girl he didn’t know.

Looks like I’m the one who can’t understand others’ emotions, Kei thought to himself. If he couldn’t even be asked to put in that amount of leg work, Haruki would probably find her way to real emotions before he ever did.

✽

Changing the future requires knowing the future.

The night’s events had been set in stone long before they ever took place. Souma Sumire was well aware of that reality. In fact, she was the only one who could have changed that future. Still, she made the decision to allow Kei’s mistake. It was ultimately the most efficient path.

It was 10:15 PM. Roughly 30 minutes had passed since the memory transferral plan’s magnificent failure. Souma found herself alone at a bus stop not far from her house. She had gone with Sakagami towards their individual routes home, but after they parted ways, she didn’t feel like heading directly to her house.

Asai Kei, Haruki Misora, and Nakano Tomoki were still nearby Mari’s apartment building. Souma knew well what Kei was planning to do next. She had seen it over and over and over again.

In her hands was an empty ramune bottle. She never found the opportunity to throw it away, and somehow had ended up carrying it all the way home. Souma toyed with the bottle in her hand, gazing up at the night sky. The marble inside rattled back and forth with the motion. That sound echoed through the otherwise dark and silent night.

The moon sat in the sky, currently in its first quarter phase, soon to approach a full moon. Souma had a particular fondness for the phases of the moon. New moon to full moon, full moon to new moon. The constant cycles from an empty to a full circle were pleasant to watch. What was even better about it was the constant, unchanging nature of the cycle, paired with the consistent circular makeup of the moon.

Kei should be doing the same thing right about now.

He’d be sitting down on a bench near Mari’s apartment building, watching the moon while toying with his empty ramune glass. Just like Souma.

Souma took off her watch, holding it in front of her face. The second hand creeped forward with repetitive scratching sounds, as though she were scraping it with a fingernail.

Right about… now.

A black car shows up in front of Kei. It stops, the door opens, and a man in a disheveled suit steps out. It’s Tsushima, the Administration Bureau employee. Kei had used Nakano Tomoki’s ability to summon Tsushima with the intention of tying up the loose end Sakagami had introduced.

Souma’s eyes were fixed on her watch, and she was unable to tear her gaze away from it. The future she had seen in her mind through Kei time and time again was actually occurring somewhere else in the world. That future was slowly becoming the present with each forward tick of the second hand.

Tsushima looks straight at Kei, his eyes dead with resignation.

Kei meets his gaze, holding an empty ramune bottle in one hand as he asks a question.

I have a favor to ask. We want to help Mari. Can we have your permission to do so?

His voice echoed in Souma’s head, sounding as real as if he were right there in front of her. But of course, he wasn’t there. The only sounds around Souma were the chirps of summer insects and the slow ticking of her watch’s second hand. The only sight in front of her eyes was the face of that very same watch.

Tucked away in another corner of the night, Asai Kei was saying the very words that were fresh in Souma’s memory.

We want Mari’s mother to stay in Sakurada. We can help her remember her love for Mari, and truly bring happiness for Mari. Please, give us your permission to let them be happy.

Tsushima answers.

I don’t think that’s possible.

Both of their voices are calm, as if their emotions are still and unmoving. But in reality, emotions are tumbling and mixing and flowing all throughout them.

Kei explains how he can combine his perfect recall with the ability to copy another ability. He then provides a follow-up.

Sakurada’s abilities don’t work if you don’t want them to. Mari’s mother must have wanted Mari to be born with everything she had.

Tsushima answers.

Emotions change all the time.

Kei challenges him.

So we’ll make her remember her past emotions.

Tsushima responds.

Remembering isn’t always a valid option. Sometimes it’s better to just forget.

Kei chimes in again.

A mother’s love for her child could never be invalidated.

Souma Sumire closed her eyes. She wondered how Asai Kei must have felt as he said those words. Even if he wanted to, he could never forget. How did he feel as he spoke, carrying his burden of guilt for abandoning his own parents?

She wanted to be with him. She wanted to watch him as he said such things with a completely straight face. She wanted to hold him close, telling him that he didn’t have to keep doing that to himself. But she couldn’t. She was just sitting alone at a bus stop bench.

Kei continues his speech completely casually.

She needs to remember her love for Mari.

Tsushima will never give in, no matter what Kei says. But Kei is well aware of that. Nothing that he argues is for Tsushima’s sake. The whole conversation is for Sakagami, the recipient of Nakano Tomoki’s ability.

Souma opened her eyes. Her watch face stared unmoving at her. With another scratch, the second hand pushed forward.

Asai Kei repeats his request.

Please give us permission to use our abilities on her.

As he finishes his sentence, he flashes a signal to Nakano Tomoki. They had set up the signal in advance to communicate when to stop transmission.

Sakagami Yousuke would remain unaware of the events that followed in the next few minutes. Asai Kei would use those next few minutes as effectively as possible in order to persuade Sakagami. Souma Sumire knew exactly what was coming next. After all, she had set him up with the ramune bottle.

Asai Kei raises his empty ramune bottle into the air.

All of the strength drained from Souma Sumire’s hands. The ramune bottle she had been holding slipped out of her fingers and onto the asphalt below.

Small shards of glass skittered about, shimmering in the moonlight.

✽

***CONTENT ADVISORY: This section contains self-harm***

The sound of breaking glass made for a jarring experience, and it certainly wasn’t suitable for nice, quiet nights. At least, that was what ran through Asai Kei’s head as he smashed his ramune bottle into the pole of the nearby street light.

Behind him, Tomoki let out a small yelp of surprise, and Kei turned around to look at him. Beside Tomoki was Haruki Misora, and though she was leaning forward, her complexion had not changed in the slightest.

Up to the present moment, everything had gone according to Kei’s plan. He hadn’t even told Tomoki what he was going to do next. Spending the time trying to convince him would have been too annoying. He glanced down at the broken ramune bottle in his hand.

“You think something like that’s gonna be enough to threaten me?” Tsushima asked, his voice calm and level.

“Not exactly.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Kei pressed one of the sharp points of the bottle across his wrist and pulled. Skin split, blood vessels ruptured, and blood began spraying from his arm.

It hurt more than he had expected. The bottle cut deeper than he thought it would.

“What are you doing?!” came at him from two opposite directions, Tsushima in one and Tomoki in the other. Tomoki picked himself up from the bench. Even more surprising was Haruki next to him, a look of shock on her face. It was almost enough to make Kei smirk.

He thrust his arm out to stop Tomoki from doing anything further. Lukewarm blood slithered down his wrist, dripping onto the asphalt below. Watching it felt unsettling, like viewing the writhing of some living creature.

Kei faced Tsushima, repeating, “Please give us permission to use our abilities on Mari’s mother.”

“I don’t have that kind of authority.” His tone had changed. Perhaps he was starting to feel conflicted.

Perfect. With an internal grin, Kei slashed the bottle again. More blood began to trickle down, this time in between his wrist and elbow. “I don’t care if it’s just a lie. Until you say it, I won’t stop.”

“Are you even thinking straight? You’ll die.”

“Guess so.” As long as he got what he wanted, dying didn’t matter. Haruki had already saved. Survival was irrelevant.

Blood continued to flow endlessly from his arm. His left arm was dyed bright red, like a scene from a horror movie. Kei had heard somewhere before that flowing blood could feel somewhat pleasant, but that had been a blatant lie. The feeling of blood trickling along his skin was nothing but disgusting. “Please, this is all I ask. It can just be lip service. I need you to say that we have your permission.” Kei took the opportunity during his sentence to open up a third wound.

A deep wrinkle creased Tsushima’s brow. “I understand.”

He really was a good man. He’d probably be good as a sidekick, or a spinoff ally of justice character. He wanted to stop the hurt of a middle schooler in front of him, no matter how unreasonable the request. Kei didn’t know too much about the man personally, but the gamble on his inner goodness had paid off.

“I’m gonna need you to say that again. Spell it out for me.” Kei held up his index finger behind him. That was Tomoki’s sign to activate his ability again, as they had discussed beforehand. Kei’s sliced up arm was the only aspect he had left out of the initial explanation.

Kei’s entire purpose was to create a master cut of his conversation with Tsushima. Since Tomoki could send any lines at a specified time, he could simply add the new lines in with adequate spacing from the old, making it seem as though the entire intermission hadn’t happened. As far as Sakagami would know, permission was granted to them following a short, amicable discussion.

“I understand. You have my permission,” Tsushima stated.

Kei smiled, the corners of his mouth bending upwards. “So it’s fine for us to use our abilities on Mari’s mother.”

“Yes, it’s fine. So you–”

“Thank you very much for your time.” Kei held up his finger again, purposefully cutting Tsushima off. With that, Tomoki’s ability would cease. That would keep Sakagami from hearing any unnecessary additions.

At the same time, he let go of his ramune bottle. It smashed on the blood-dripped asphalt, shattering into even smaller pieces. Sweat poured from his forehead.

Tsushima scoffed. “This is insane. What could this possibly do for you?”

“Well, this and that happened.”

“No matter what I say, the Bureau’s decision will remain unchanged.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that. Very well aware.” Kei sat down on the asphalt, having lost the strength to stand. His head was spinning from blood loss.

Haruki Misora quietly approached. Looking down at Kei, she asked, “Why would you do something like this, Asai Kei?”

Kei smiled. “To craft the perfect lie. Couldn’t think of any better way to get past Sakagami-san.” He needed a way to force the Bureau employee to acquiesce, but the most effective way he could think of with the options at hand was to take himself hostage.

His work complete, the pain coming from his wounds seemed to suddenly multiply. Every heartbeat shot another agonizing blade through his arm over and over again.

Tomoki was saying something. He was probably pretty pissed, but there was no need to be so loud about it.

Haruki was still staring down at Kei. Her face looked similar to, yet distinctly different from her typical expression. If he had to guess, it was a complicated mixture of all kinds of emotion.

Even if remembering this pain in my arm is what it takes, it’ll be worth never forgetting that face.

Still sitting on the asphalt, Kei looked up at Haruki and smiled, asking, “Do you think you could reset for me, Haruki?”

They’d need to go back an hour if they wanted to get anything done.

***END OF CONTENT ADVISORY***

See footnote for section summary¹

✽

9:25 PM. Asai Kei was in Mari’s apartment complex some ten minutes prior to the attempt to use their abilities on Mari’s mother. Haruki Misora and Sakagami Yousuke sat next to him on the stairwell between the third and fourth floors.

Kei thought back to five minutes prior. Immediately, sharp pains shot through his left arm. The memories of their actions prior to the reset came along with that pain.

“We reset,” Kei noted, pulling a face. Even if it was only one hour, the world had indeed reverted back.

Sakagami’s eyebrows shot up. Beside him, Haruki turned towards Kei, her face as expressionless as ever.

Pushing away the unforgettable pain, Kei continued, “We’re changing plans. We’re gonna get in contact with Mari’s mother tomorrow morning instead.”

Sakagami’s face immediately relaxed from obvious relief. As if trying to hide it, his face quickly reverted to a neutral state. “Why?”

“A little bit after now, around the 10:30 area, Tomoki and I ran into the Bureau employee. We had a chat, and he seemed a lot more reasonable than we expected. He seems pretty agreeable, so I had Haruki reset. It’d be better to get the Administration Bureau’s permission before we do anything rash.”

Sakagami smiled in response, without trying to mask it like the prior time. “That’s great to hear. Do you really think we can get permission, though?”

“Dunno, but it’s worth a shot.”

“Could I… maybe go with you?”

“No. Just Tomoki and I will do. You’ll know how it goes down with Tomoki’s ability.”

Sakagami nodded. He was blissfully unaware that Tomoki’s ability worked even after a reset. Kei wondered how he might react to knowing that the words he heard were only said in a time that had been erased.

Sakagami would receive their conversation in about an hour. Since the middle section would be removed, it would just sound like a friendly conversation where a Bureau employee gave express permission for the group to use their abilities.

The only problem that presented itself was that Tomoki’s summons to Tsushima were still valid. Kei decided he would send another message to Tsushima before the time that he was supposed to appear in the park. He’d just say that they had waited for a long time and eventually gone home.

As Kei watched Sakagami’s careless grin, he inwardly shook his head. While Kei didn’t think all lies were inherently bad, it was obviously wrong to lie in a way that only benefitted himself. A lie that someone else was compelled to tell through his own self-mutilation was probably on him in the end, too. Granted, he couldn’t think of any other way out of the situation, but that Bureau employee had put it perfectly.

He shouldn’t have chosen it, so it was the wrong choice.

Footnotes

¹ Kei utilized the ramune bottle that Souma had given him earlier to harm himself as a means to threaten Tsushima and extract spoken permission from him, to be sent to Sakagami via Tomoki’s ability. return