3 – The same day, 10:45 AM

His eyes were closed. Feeling nothing but the rumbling of the moving car, Urachi Masamune brought a certain memory to mind.

It had been two years ago. His second time meeting Asai Kei.

The boy had the Reset ability user standing beside him. Also in his entourage was a boy with a copying ability and a girl who could remake the world as she pleased. Urachi Masamune was in front of The Index, facing off against the boy with other Bureau members beside him.

He still remembered the smile on the second-year middle schooler Asai Kei’s face. It was like the boy looked down on the entire world. But there was an unmistakable element of despair in that smile as well. No doubt he was looking down on himself, too.

“I want to bring a girl back to life,” the boy said. “I’m looking for an ability that will do that.”

The whole situation was a farce. Urachi Masamune had barely been able to hold back his laughter.

Never in the history of Sakurada had there been an ability to bring back the dead, not in such a direct way. The closest ability known was the Reset ability he was already standing beside.

You were so desperately reaching for something that didn’t exist, Asai-kun.

But then again, the second Witch was alive and well. Perhaps he really had achieved his goal, in one way or another. But that accomplishment was only an extension of the second Witch’s power. She had set everything up perfectly in place ahead of time for it. Asai Kei had nothing to do with it.

Two years ago, that boy had waged a war that had no success state.

And here we are again. What will he do this time?

Had he matured in those two years, or was he still just a dreamer chasing after an illusion?

But either way, Asai-kun, I don’t see any chance of you winning. Not as long as persuasion was his ultimate strategy. That simply would not work.

The car stopped, and The Index’s voice rang out.

“We have arrived.”

Urachi Masamune opened his eyes. The brightness stunned him for a moment. “Alright then, let’s get going.”

Finally, it would all be over.

✽

The lobby of the karaoke establishment was playing music that he had never heard before. Admittedly, it was possible he had heard the song before, but couldn’t remember it. But that was all the same to Urachi Masamune. He couldn’t even make out the lyrics well enough to tell if it was a Japanese song or not.

Kagaya stood in front of the reception desk. His well-built figure and black suit looked entirely out of place for karaoke, which Urachi found quite amusing. The poor young employee behind the bar looked terribly confused.

As much as Urachi wanted to keep watching the situation unfold, he knew it would be rude to stare too much. He opted to turn towards The Index beside him. “A little out of character for Asai-kun to pick a place like this.”

The Index tilted her head. “Really? It’s a pretty typical place for high schoolers to visit, and he can easily rent a private room here.”

“No, that’s what I mean.”

“Hm?”

“The Asai-kun I know would never risk a private room.”

Kagaya was with him, as he always was. Wouldn’t Asai Kei have considered the possibility of Kagaya locking the door right after entering the room? On top of that, being out in public tended to work in the favor of the weaker party. The whole situation was now skewed towards Urachi.

“Well, I’m sure he’s cooked up some sort of scheme,” Urachi concluded.

Kagaya returned from the reception desk. “This way,” he said, heading deeper into the building. Urachi and The Index followed behind him.

As they waited on an elevator, Urachi pulled his notebook out of his pocket. He opened it to a page that listed all the people with special abilities within Kei’s purview.

“It would be quite troublesome if Murase Youka or Ukawa Sasane were cooperating with him,” The Index mentioned.

Urachi Masamune never remembered names well, but even so, that pair of names struck up a memory of two powerful ability users. He nodded. “I’m sure he’s got at least one of them on his side now.”

If anyone else with special abilities was around, they could easily deal with Kagaya’s lock. A locked door wouldn’t really matter if someone else made a hole in the wall.

The elevator doors finally slid open, revealing a cramped space. Kagaya got in first, positioning himself by the button panel. Urachi and The Index followed in behind him, and the doors slid shut as the elevator motor began whirring.

Still focused on his notebook, Urachi muttered, “You’ve gathered quite the talented friend group of ability users, Asai-kun. It’s enough to make a man jealous.”

“The number of relationships he has established is reaching an unacceptable level. Not only did he make contact with the Nameless System, he connected with the second Witch before even the Administration Bureau did. On top of all that, the younger generation of ability users is flocking to him, specifically those with a great deal of power.”

“It sounds pretty scary when you put it that way. But…” Urachi smiled. “It would be so much easier for him if he had an ability worth relying on.”

He was already in checkmate.

The elevator doors opened, and Urachi stepped into the hallway, Kagaya and The Index behind him.

“What do you mean by that?” The Index quietly asked.

Instead of a response, Urachi pointed ahead, asking Kagaya, “Is that the room?”

A boy stood before a door marked, “304”.

“Yes.” Kagaya nodded.

The boy in front of the door was not Asai Kei. It was a slightly taller boy with a crew cut. The boy opened the door, bowing deeply. “Welcome. Please, let yourselves in.”

Urachi stopped in place. “Who are you?”

The boy looked up and smiled. His expression was youthful and pure. “I’m just the doorman.”

Beside Urachi, the Index whispered, “He is Nakano Tomoki.”

Ah, one of the names in my notebook. The boy with the ability to send out voices.

“Kei is waiting inside. Please, go ahead.” The boy gestured inside the room with an open palm.

The room inside looked like no more and no less than a karaoke booth. But of course it was. In fact, Urachi had been to that very establishment a few times. He certainly wasn’t against a good round of karaoke.

Asai Kei was seated on a sofa to the right. And that was it. As far as Urachi could see, there wasn’t anyone else in the room.

As the trio entered, the door closed behind them. Evidently the doorman post was ongoing.

Asai Kei smiled, standing up before offering a bow. “Urachi-san, Index-san, Kagaya-san, it’s been quite some time since our last encounter. Thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy day to be here.”

Urachi pointed to the door. “Is that boy in the hallway on guard duty?”

Asai Kei shook his head. “No. His job was only to open and close the door.”

Urachi expected The Index to chime in and call out a lie, but she didn’t. Was that actually the truth?

Asai Kei sat back down on the sofa, still flashing his smile. “Shall we sing something?”

Urachi sat down opposite the boy, shaking his head. “As much as I would like to, Administration Bureau employees are not allowed to sing on the job.”

“Really?”

“I dunno. Probably.” It had been intended as a joke, but it wouldn’t surprise Urachi in the slightest to discover that actually was a rule. Bureau members were expected to act particularly serious while on duty. “Now, Asai-kun, let’s move this conversation along efficiently.”

“Ah, but this establishment requires the purchase of at least one drink. The waiter will be along presently to take our orders, so we’ll hold the conversation until then.”

“That’s not a concern. I made sure the staff would not interfere with our room.” That had been the source of Kagaya’s long negotiations.

“I see. In that case, I’ll get right to the point.” Asai Kei smiled by bringing up just the corners of his mouth. “I believe that abilities should remain in Sakurada. I think it would be a tremendous waste to do away with such beautiful, miraculous powers.”

Urachi Masamune smiled back. It was a faint smile that somehow stretched across his entire face. “I believe that abilities in their entirety ought to be removed from the world. It seems obvious to me that any power that would disguise a tragedy as hope is demonic.”

“It would appear that we’re at an impasse.”

“Very much so. If neither of us has room for compromise, then I suppose we are both free to act in our own interests.”

“I wonder about that. Would you agree, Urachi-san, that wanting to erase an ability is the same as wanting to control it entirely?”

“Yes, I would.” An enforced prohibition could be seen as the ultimate form of control. As far as Urachi was concerned, that was the ideal strategy for the Administration Bureau.

Asai Kei offered a deep nod. “Well, then we do agree on one thing. Although I believe this town should have abilities, I also believe that they should be under absolute control.”

Urachi tilted his head. “Meaning?”

“Meaning that we are very alike. At first glance, we seem like complete opposites, but from a different perspective, we have more similarities than not.” Asai Kei narrowed his eyes, continuing to smile with just the corners of his mouth. “I plan to control all abilities, as well. I will show you what it means to control tens of thousands of abilities without forgetting a single one.”

Asai Kei looked forward with quiet, emotionless eyes. His observation was like that of a teacher trying to grade a student’s presentation.

Urachi Masamune sighed, shifting his gaze to a random corner of the ceiling. “That’s not a job fit for a high schooler.”

“I am well aware of that. Controlling abilities would require that one be a part of the Administration Bureau, and even then would require years of service beforehand.”

“Not even close. That’s not a job even fit for a Bureau member.” Not even becoming an employee of the Bureau would be enough to control abilities.

Asai Kei flicked a light smile. “I understand that, as well. It’s not a Bureau employee that controls abilities, it’s the system of the Bureau itself.”

Urachi couldn’t help but smile. “That’s right. The Bureau wouldn’t recognize a dictator.”

Urachi took out his black notebook, opening it up. It was getting around the time to start erasing his memories. But before he could make even a single note on the situation, he was stopped by Asai Kei’s next sentence.

“But if the Administration Bureau’s system is so absolute that not a single Bureau staff member can go against it, wouldn’t that make it a dictatorship? Surely you would agree, Urachi-san.”

Urachi turned his eyes towards Asai Kei. “Oh, I certainly do.”

Finally, they had found something they could wholeheartedly agree on.

The Administration Bureau was held under the dictatorship of its own systems. To that very day, it was still the same tight ship run by its initial three founders.

“That is indeed one of the Bureau’s problems, Asai-kun. There is no room for growth or change within the iron grip of the system’s control. If there are any errors, the system won’t account for them. They will simply remain forever.”

“I know.” Asai Kei was still smiling. With that smile and a deep nod, he turned towards Kagaya. Specifically Kagaya, not Urachi. Looking straight into Kagaya’s eyes, he spoke. “The people sacrificed for the system can never be saved, can they? The Administration Bureau’s system was never programmed to bring back the two members of the Boundary Line.”

After the surprise wore off, the recognition set in. Urachi Masamune had to applaud the boy, at least in his head. I see. This boy is interesting.

Asai Kei was much more offputting than Urachi Masamune could have ever imagined.

Of course, the couple that made up the Boundary Line were two of the three founders of the Administration Bureau, as well as Urachi Masamune’s parents. Kagaya had locked them in time.

And now he’s bringing them up right in front of Kagaya. Not to mention in front of their child, Urachi, no less.

It was an extremely strategic maneuver. The sacrifice of those two individuals was a much greater burden on Kagaya than it was on Urachi. Urachi had long since accepted their chosen sacrifice, but Kagaya had never been able to reconcile the immense guilt over his personal role in it. From what Urachi could tell, he considered himself as no less than a murderer.

Who does this boy think he is? Asai Kei had an extremely precise grip on their psychology. On top of that, he didn’t hesitate to take advantage of his knowledge if it could turn the conversation in his favor. He had manipulated everyone into his trap, smiling all the while.

As if trying to break Asai Kei’s observant gaze on Kagaya, Urachi chimed in, “Let me make sure I have this straight, Asai-kun. You want to become a dictator over the Bureau in order to eliminate the problems inherent to the system? You think that when someone with heart and determination leads the organization, the errors can be rectified?”

Asai Kei nodded calmly, still smiling. “That about sums it up. But there’s one more thing.”

“That being?”

“I cannot completely trust myself. It’s very possible that I would make a mistake. Something I believe to be right and true could just become another error in the new system, no better than the ones you’re talking about now.”

“Yeah, that’s a pretty natural fear.”

“With that said, Urachi-san, I have a request to ask of you.”

The boy straightened his posture, his smile went away, and he looked directly at Urachi. The look in his eyes was so serious, as if he were ready for the world to crumble beneath him.

Urachi Masamune closed his eyes. He felt as if he had to reset something.

But that didn’t stop him from hearing the boy’s voice.

“I need people around who can counsel me. Not systems, but real, feeling people who can watch over my actions.”

When Urachi opened his eyes, Asai Kei was bowing to him, and not just as a trite gesture. His forehead was touching the table.

“I believe you could be one of those people. I beg of you, Urachi-san, please work alongside me.”

It was a rather straightforward turn of events.

But do you really think I’d accept that kind of proposal, Asai-kun?

Of course not.

All Urachi Masamune wanted to do was erase abilities. There was no chance that he would get caught up in a scheme to manage or control them.

Urachi leaned forward slightly, resting his chin in a hand that he supported on his lap. Keeping that position, he nodded. “Alright.”

The boy raised his head, betraying his puzzled expression.

Seeing that brought a genuine smile to Urachi Masamune’s face. “That sounds like a wonderful proposal. I must say, I’m impressed. I’ll support you wholeheartedly.”

He was, of course, lying. No doubt the boy knew that as well. But what good would it do him to point out the lie?

He really thought he could talk me out of it. I suppose he truly is an idiot.

Urachi had never intended to actually listen. If the boy actually thought he could win via dialogue, he was about to be sorely disappointed.

Urachi Masamune held out his right hand. “Here’s to our future, Asai-kun.”

Asai Kei hesitantly gripped Urachi’s right hand. The boy’s hand was soft, childish. It was almost as though it could break if Urachi gripped it too strongly.

Releasing his grip, Urachi pointed beside him on the sofa. “You should already know Kagaya. There’s nobody else that I trust more.”

Asai Kei lifted his eyebrows ever so slightly. It seemed that he knew what was going to happen next.

Smiling kindly, Urachi continued. “I’m sure that Kagaya will be of great use to you as well, Asai-kun. I’d like the two of you to get along.”

Kagaya wordlessly held out his right hand.

Asai Kei responded to the gesture with a sharp glare.

Urachi, meanwhile, only smiled wider. “Is something wrong, Asai-kun?”

Kagaya’s ability locked anything that he touched with his right hand. When used on a person, it turned them into no more than an unthinking, unfeeling stone.

“Go on, shake hands,” Urachi prodded.

Would Asai Kei take Kagaya’s hand? That hand was more dangerous than any gun. To accept would be foolish. His time would stop, and his little game would be over. But to refuse was to end the negotiations. His persuasion would have failed, and the game would still be over.

Would he choose foolishness or cowardice? Neither was desirable, but there was no middle ground.

So, what will you do, oh great and wise Asai-kun?

Asai Kei closed his eyes, making him look even younger. He took a deep breath in, then let it out, just once.

Then, his eyelids flicked open. He smiled. “I hope we can get along, Kagaya-san.”

The boy raised his right hand, grabbing Kagaya’s in a fluid motion.

“It’s all over,” Urachi Masamune whispered.

“No. It’s only just begun,” Asai Kei responded calmly. His time had not stopped. After holding Kagaya’s hand for roughly two seconds, he let go, leaning back into the sofa. He was still smiling calmly.

Kagaya spoke up in a small voice. “I have forgotten how to use my ability.”

Urachi Masamune couldn’t help himself. His voice peaked in a loud, sharp laugh. He laughed until he coughed, then clapped his hands together with a loud popping noise. “Oh, Asai-kun, you certainly have a great amount of amazing friends.”

“There aren’t that many of them, really. But, you’re right. They’re all helping me.”

“It must feel so great to have everything going to plan.”

“Not everything. Why, you wouldn’t look me in the eyes even once, Urachi-san.”

“Of course not. I could never risk such a move.”

Asai Kei focused towards Urachi. “When did you notice?”

As if it wasn’t obvious. “The fact that you chose a karaoke booth as a meeting place gave everything away.”

The boy needed a private room, no matter how disadvantageous. More specifically, he wanted two private rooms directly next to each other. A karaoke booth was the perfect fit. All the rooms were arranged in a regular, predictable pattern.

“Would you indulge me to tell you my theory, Asai-kun?”

“Indeed, by all means.”

Urachi stroked his chin in a slow, leisurely motion. “Obviously, you’ve gathered all of your friends together.”

“You could put it that way. I hope they see me as their friend.”

“The trick to making friends is to believe that they are your friend, regardless of their circumstances.”

“I see. This is becoming quite the learning experience.”

“Well, that’s beside the point.” Regardless, it was established that Asai Kei’s compatriots were in the next room over. “Among them is one who can manipulate memories, under the condition that eye contact is established for five full seconds. Oh, what was her name again?”

“Oka Eri.”

“Right. Oka Eri. A wonderful name, that. Also among them is the one who can copy abilities from one person to another. Putting that together, you gained the temporary ability to manipulate memories.”

Asai Kei tilted his head. “The one who can copy abilities is Sakagami-san, but his ability requires direct contact with both people.”

Urachi shrugged. The boy’s bluff was practically transparent. “It’s easy enough to touch you if need be. Making a hole in the wall is simple.”

There would have to be a hole behind him big enough for someone else to touch him, but small enough to be covered by his back. It would be simple enough for the copier to touch Kei and transfer the ability from there. The hole itself would be easy to make, given that he had a friend who could erase anything she touched.

“That said, you gained memory manipulation and used it to make Kagaya forget how to use his ability.”

The boy nodded. “That is precisely what I did.”

Of course, Urachi couldn’t have been wrong. The plan he just laid out was the only possible way for Asai Kei to establish a success state.

“I’m sure you intended to use that ability on me, didn’t you? You thought you could manipulate my memories so that I would do what you wanted.”

It would have been an absolutely barbaric violation against Urachi, but surely Asai Kei would have been smart enough to realize that was the only way to win against him.

Even so, it was all pointless.

Urachi Masamune touched Kagaya’s shoulder. “But you see, Asai-kun, all your efforts have been in vain.” Urachi used his ability to rewind a target’s time. By removing a mere ten minutes, Kagaya would remember how to use his ability. “And just like that, he’s back to normal.”

Kagaya was glancing around, his eyebrows flicking up in surprise. It was likely he had some memory displacement due to the rewind.

“Perhaps I should repeat myself, Asai-kun. It’s all over.”

Asai Kei had been listening the whole time without moving, and broke his pose only to tilt his head slightly. “Over? I really don’t understand. We’ve only just begun.”

Urachi shook his head slowly, as if his movements alone would be persuasive enough. “Do you think I’m still continuing this pointless ramble for my own enjoyment? Why do you think I just let you use that ability on Kagaya without even warning him when I saw it coming?”

Did he truly think there would be no issues with using an ability on a member of the Administration Bureau?

Did he think he could just get away with sealing a Bureau employee’s ability?

If so, he really was stupid.

“This all went down exactly how I expected it to. Using an ability against us was the same as signing your own death warrant.”

Urachi had arranged several Bureau members in advance to be on call nearby. Additionally, he had instructed The Index to make a phone call when he clapped his hands.

With perfect timing, the door opened, and men in black suits filed into the room. There were only four or five more people, but it was enough to quickly fill up the small karaoke booth.

With a purposeful change of inflection, Urachi said, “Asai Kei, you have used an ability to obstruct the work of an official member of the Administration Bureau. You will hereby be detained in accordance with the Administration Bureau’s formal policy.”

The boy was still smiling. It was a tired, worn smile. “Wow… I really don’t understand.” He looked up at the ceiling, continuing, “How could you think you were the only one biding your time, Urachi-san? How could you be so sure that you were the only one who knew the other’s hand? How could Souma Sumire have so much trouble with someone that makes so many silly mistakes?”

Asai Kei stood up slowly. “I’ve been waiting for the last two years for the chance to sweep the Bureau’s feet out from under them. But I never thought it was all that much worth gloating about.”

The boy looked down at Urachi. His gaze seemed to fall down with all the weight of the sky itself. For the first time, Urachi found himself meeting the gaze of those eyes. Those strangely sad eyes.

“Urachi-san. This… is where it all begins.”

As he said those words–

Urachi Masamune’s body was suddenly wrapped up in a strange floating sensation, like he was falling.

✽

He was putting up the tough guy act, but the situation had deteriorated beyond his expectations.

This is so exhausting, Asai Kei mumbled to himself. Urachi Masamune had made every single decision that Kei had dared to hope he wouldn’t. But he knew what kind of opponent he was facing. As it stood, their only option was to make a show of force.

But even so, it’s going to plan. Even the forceful steps had their own purpose.

Kei rushed down a long slide. In fact, the slope was so steep that it felt closer to falling than sliding. The slide shot him out of the karaoke booth and across the road outside. Kei traced directly along its arc at an extremely high speed. Then, he fell down so fast that the cityscape around him seemed to fly into the sky. Just like that, he crashed down into several soft, white pillows.

Kei got the wind knocked out of him as his vision flooded with white. Then, immediately after, his vision cleared away as the entire slide and all the pillows disappeared at once.

By the time Kei could make sense of things, he was sitting in the rear seat of a car. Right beside him was Urachi Masamune, who was also surprised, as would be expected. The man’s voice sputtered out with a slight quiver.

“That was… yes. Ukawa Sasane.”

“Correct. She only needs one minute to construct anything she desires.”

Ukawa’s ability allowed her to freely manipulate and control any non-organic matter. In one fell swoop, she created a slide, pillows to catch them, and holes in both the karaoke booth and car.

Urachi smiled in amazement beside Kei. “I don’t think I’ve been on a slide since elementary school.”

“That’s a shame, they’re an excellent mode of transportation. You could consider it primitive, but it works automatically, and it’s ecological.”

“They do tend to wrinkle your suit, though.” The comment was topped off with a playful shrug. All things considered, Urachi seemed to be rather amused. “Well, it seems that we have our doorman in the passenger seat. But who’s the one driving?”

Kei glanced up to the front of the car. Just as Urachi said, there sat Nakano Tomoki in the passenger seat. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open. You could even hear him snoring. He looked like a child worn out from playing all day.

But although the man in the driver’s seat had similarly sleepy eyes, his shock of curly hair came as a stark contrast.

It was Tsushima Shintarou. He chimed in with a grumpy snort. “Yeah, fill us all in, Kei. Who’s the geezer in the fancy suit?”

Kei snickered internally. He doubted it was really in Tsushima’s best interests to start insulting someone who was essentially his superior. But since their time of cooperation had already been reset away, it was only natural that they would have no idea who the other was. “I’ll explain on the way. Let’s get this car moving.”

Unless they got going, the Bureau staff would pretty quickly catch up to them. That was why he had turned to Tsushima, someone who could drive.

Tsushima stepped on the gas, but not without a click of his tongue first. The car jolted forwards at a violent speed. “So hey, where are we going, anyway?”

“Just keep heading straight down this street for now.”

“Jeez. You know how ridiculous it is for a teacher to ditch work for one of his students, right?”

“Well, this is a pretty ridiculous situation.”

Urachi Masamune flipped through his notebook beside Kei. “Hey, driver.”

“Hm?”

“Your name wouldn’t happen to be Tsushima Shintarou, would it?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Well, isn’t that fantastic?” Urachi closed his notebook, looking up towards the ceiling of the car as if trying to watch the sky. “I truly cannot understand your thought process, Asai-kun.”

“How so?”

“How so? How about the way that you use someone on my side as your driver? How does that benefit you? That just seems like you’re taking unnecessary risks.”

Kei could see his point. “I don’t think there was much else I could do. I don’t know anyone else with a driver’s license.”

“So that’s why,” Tsushima grumbled. “Hey, Kei, it’s about time you get to explaining. What exactly is goin’ on here?”

Kei really didn’t want to go through everything again, but he couldn’t just ignore the question, either. Left with no other choice, Kei pointed to the seat beside him with an open palm. “This is Urachi Masamune, the head of the Countermeasures Department in the Administration Bureau.”

Urachi grinned from his seat in the car. “Well met, Tsushima-kun. I’ve heard good things about your work for the Bureau.”

The expression in the rearview mirror shifted drastically from listless and vague to sharp and serious. As for which look was closer to Tsushima’s natural face, Kei couldn’t tell.

“That’s a shocker,” Tsushima responded.

“You’re not the only one surprised,” Urachi commented.

Tsushima’s voice turned hushed and furtive. “What are you doing with the head of the Countermeasures Department, Kei?”

“I asked him to a meeting, then kidnapped him.”

Urachi nodded along with Kei’s words. “Indeed. I am presently Asai-kun’s hostage. That makes you an accomplice, Tsushima-kun.”

Tsushima’s eyebrows furrowed. It was possible he still didn’t grasp the full scope of the situation, or thought that the kidnapping aspect was something more metaphorical, perhaps even a joke.

But, just as we said, I’m kidnapping Urachi-san right now.

Kei interlocked his hands on his knees. “Let me break down the situation for you.” When put in layman’s terms, everything was rather simple. “Urachi-san wants to erase abilities from Sakurada, whereas I believe that they should be protected.”

That was it, at the end of the day.

Urachi cut in, “We are both in stark opposition to each other.”

“I called Urachi-san out to meet with me and talk things over. But–”

“But I had no intention of hearing Asai-kun out. Ultimately, I only went along with him so I could take the opportunity to arrest him.”

“In response, I decided to kidnap Urachi-san.”

“Hold on,” Tsushima sputtered, cutting the two off. “That doesn’t track at all. How does any of that lead to a kidnapping?”

Kei shrugged half-heartedly. “Because Urachi-san refuses to hear me out through normal means. He doesn’t even want to try any form of negotiation. If I want Urachi-san to actually sit down and listen to me, I have to tie him down myself.”

Tsushima’s brows furrowed yet again in the rearview mirror. “Kei, I’m on his side here.”

“I know that much… oh, I see what you mean. But that’s exactly why I asked you to drive.” Kei smiled. “You had already sided with Urachi before I reset, Tsushima-sensei. I know that you think abilities ought to be taken away. But I figured that since I have to convince you both anyway, why not just do it all in one go?”

Tsushima’s gaze in the rearview mirror turned to a glare. “This isn’t a matter of efficiency. If he tells me to, I’ll stop this car. This is not a kidnapping situation.”

That was fair enough. “Fine then, if I must. Why not make it a classic hostage situation?” With a sigh, Kei stuffed his hand into his pocket. His fingers met a cold, hard substance.

Out of his pocket came a small, foldable fruit knife. It was just a cheap little thing that he bought at a nearby store.

We all have our own little part to play here.

Kei was never going to stab anyone, and Urachi and Tsushima both knew it. But still, Kei needed to wield a knife, and he had to hold it at Urachi. They needed a whole sham of a performance just to carry out a normal conversation. It was all such a drag.

As Kei started unfolding his knife, Tsushima spoke up. “Kei. You’re taking this too far.”

“I agree. I shouldn’t have to do all this, and yet here we are.”

“We don’t have to do this.” Tsushima’s eyes reflected back at Kei in the rearview mirror. They were cloudy, sad, and tired. “Sir?”

“What?” Urachi responded.

“It seems that you were right. I suppose I am Asai Kei’s accomplice now.”

Urachi Masamune leaned forward, putting his chin in his hands. “You’re siding with Asai-kun?”

“For the time being, I don’t seem to have any other options.”

“You would prioritize your work as a teacher over your work as a member of the Administration Bureau?”

“I wouldn’t say this is the work of a teacher.”

Urachi shook his head. “I’m not so sure. Asai-kun is quite intentional. I think he knows that you would try to protect him.”

“You may very well be right.”

“Then why go along with this foolishness?”

“He may not stab you, but he could still stab himself. If I stop this car, then Asai Kei is gonna be the next hostage. Might as well skip the middle man.”

Asai Kei lowered his eyes just slightly.

He had known.

Not by any measure of future sight. Just by considering who Tsushima Shintarou was, as a person. His inclusion was only natural once Kei had thought through his possible moves.

Tsushima Shintarou’s voice continued. “Besides, that kid really hates violence. Hates it more than anything. Anyone would get exhausted having to do something they hate.”

The car continued forward.

Kei, Urachi, and Tsushima all moved along together.

Tsushima kept going. “Adults have a responsibility towards children. If a child is at risk of exhaustion, it’s an adult’s responsibility to take it on for them.”

For just a moment, Kei closed his eyes.

I have so many people protecting me.

He really hadn’t wanted to use the knife, no matter the reason. He hated it, and he hated his lack of choices.

He dropped the knife back into his pocket.

Swallowing down many other words that he could have said to Tsushima, he instead responded, “Well then, let us begin.”

Now I can start the actual persuasion work, Kei thought. Finally, he could begin to bring the future he wanted closer, and give it his all.

✽

Ukawa Sasane rubbed her pinky finger, which was encircled by a rough metal ring that clamped down tightly on it.

Ukawa’s ability allowed her to freely reshape any inorganic matter. But if she ever lost concentration on what she was changing and how, then it would stop taking effect. So she wore tight rings around her finger to help her focus as she used her ability. She would use the uncomfortable squeezing at the base of her finger as a reminder that she was currently using her ability. It was small, but still helped her.

Ukawa Sasane was currently focusing her powers on the karaoke establishment. She was turning every door and window into walls, to make sure the Bureau employees inside would stay inside. Ukawa was standing on the street outside, staring at the building.

A voice chimed up from beside her. “Done over here.”

A glasses-wearing girl, whose name she was sure was something like Murase, was standing next to her. Murase had the ability to erase anything by touching it. She had been tasked with removing the Administration Bureau’s means of transportation.

Ukawa turned her gaze towards the other side of the street, and could still see all three black sedans lined up in front of the building. “What’d you do?”

“Poked holes in their gas tanks.”

“Oh. Gotcha.” Looking closer, she could spot the growing black stains underneath the cars. “Work on those next, would ya?” Ukawa pointed to a row of bicycles parked next to a utility pole. “We’ll need two of them. Get rid of the locks.”

“We’re stealing them?”

“Just for a while. We’ll have to vamoose soon.” Ukawa took another iron ring out of her pocket, slipping it onto her left middle finger as preparation for a new instance of her ability. Focusing on the feeling at the base of her left middle finger, Ukawa began to imagine what the world would look like once her ability took place.

Murase’s voice came in from beside her. “You’re a champion of justice or something, right?”

Ukawa could focus on that much without getting distracted. She nodded. “Yup.”

“And you’re cool with stealing someone else’s bicycles?”

“I’m not cool with it, but we gotta do what we gotta do. Those bikes are parked illegally, so they have no right to complain if they’re gone when they get back. Besides, I’m a champion of justice, not a good person.”

“The difference being?”

“Well, a good person might just let someone else hit them, but a champion of justice would hit back.”

Murase frowned. “And how’s that going for you, being a self-aware champion of justice?”

“I don’t know how to answer that. I should think any champion of justice would know that they are a champion of justice.” Obviously, they couldn’t be a champion of justice otherwise.

As their conversation progressed, a corner of the karaoke establishment suddenly gave way, crumbling down like a falling sand castle. It was easy enough to assume that was happening due to an ability. Neither of them had really expected the Bureau to be held for long just because they took away some doors.

“Hurry up,” Ukawa urged.

“Guess there’s nothing for it.” Murase reluctantly trudged towards the bikes.

Two Bureau suits came down from the karaoke building.

Ukawa’s ability needed about a full minute for activation. I’d guess there’s maybe 20 more seconds to cook up this one. Definitely too much time.

As she struggled through her options, a warm hand touched her back. “Make eye contact with one of them.”

Instantly comprehending, Ukawa glared at one of the suits as they both started dashing towards her. Would there even be five seconds of time?

Ukawa counted in her head. Five, four, three–

One of the suits stopped about ten feet in front of her. He put a hand to the ground.

Instantly, Ukawa lost her balance. Her feet sunk into the ground as if she were on deep snow. Glancing down, she saw that the ground below her had transformed into sand.

Guess we know how they got out of the building now.

Walking was a bit out of the question now, but that was beside the point. She once again focused her gaze, glaring directly into the other suit’s eye. He looked back, and their eyes met straight together.

She continued her countdown. Two, one–

Zero. Instantly, the man stopped. He gracefully and immediately spun 180 degrees, tackling down the first Bureau suit who was touching the asphalt, as if trying to protect Ukawa.

Ukawa felt the hand leave her back, and she called out to the people behind her. “Nice one, Sakagami, Oka Eri.”

Sakagami had clearly copied over Oka Eri’s ability, since they had also come out of the room with Ukawa and Murase.

The two Bureau suits fell over, all tangled up. That was only natural, since one of them had been given new memories that forced him to protect Ukawa at all costs.

“It’d be nice to use my ability myself, but nobody’ll look me in the eye,” Oka Eri replied.

“Well, guess that is what it is.”

“Now they probably won’t look you in the eye, either. Not that my memory manipulation isn’t easy enough to undo, anyway. So, what now?”

“We need to get outta here, the sooner the better.”

Asai had told her that if they were going to be caught, it was better to do so without putting up a fight.

But hey, if we’re gonna get caught anyway, might as well make a spectacular escape.

Ukawa looked towards the bicycles, her gaze meeting Murase’s just as the other girl finished erasing the bike locks.

“What’re we doin’ with those?” Oka Eri asked.

“Riding them, of course.” Ukawa told Sakagami and Oka Eri to get on the same bike as she walked up to the bike Murase was on. The bikes had luggage racks, so they were easy enough to double up on. Ukawa sat backwards, back-to-back with Murase. “Alright, let’s go”

As soon as she said that sentence, a minute had passed since focusing on her new ability usage.

“Get pedaling,” she announced, activating her ability.

Her vision shifted dramatically as the world jolted upwards. It almost felt as though she were flying into the sky, and it wasn’t just her, or even just her bike. Instead, the ground itself was rising, thrusting her upwards.

A steep slope had suddenly appeared, and the two bikes began sliding right along it, pulled down by gravity. A small shriek came from behind Ukawa.

She immediately voiced her thoughts. “You have a cute scream.”

Murase’s reply was sulky. “You should at least warn somebody before you do that to them.”

The bike was accelerating at just under falling speed.

“Well then, I probably better tell you that this hill won’t be here for long.” Ukawa took off her rings as she spoke. She wouldn’t need her ability for much longer.

She shifted her gaze to the bike beside them. Oka Eri held on to the handlebars, clearly enjoying herself. In stark contrast, Sakagami Yousuke was gritting his teeth, desperately clinging to Oka Eri’s shoulders.

“Hey, Sakagami.”

The boy responded with the most timid of movements, only daring to shift his eyes to the side.

Ukawa continued, “That look really takes me back. Makes me think of two years ago.”

Asai Kei, Haruki Misora, Sakagami Yousuke, and Ukawa Sasane. The four partners in crime, teaming up against the Administration Bureau those two years ago.

Sakagami shoved a smile onto his face. “Guess you’re right. I really didn’t wanna go back to those times if I didn’t have to.”

“Figures. You seem like the type who’d hate this kinda thing.”

Fighting the Bureau, running for his life… Sakagami wasn’t the type to go against societal norms and land in those situations.

Sakagami lowered his eyes. “You’re right… I really hate this. I hate it so much that this makes me sick.”

“You scared?”

“Of course I am. Who wouldn’t be scared? I can’t even argue with a teacher at school without my legs shaking up a storm.” Sakagami smiled in a way that seemed to be holding back tears. “But I’ve gotten used to being scared, more or less. I can just hold my breath and get through it.”

“Hmm.”

Sakagami had been something of a mystery to Ukawa two years ago. He had never seemed like the kind of guy who would rebel against authority.

“So, you hate this, it makes you sick, and you’re scared out of your mind, but you’re still gonna help Asai?”

Sakagami shook his head. “Oh, I’m really not in this to help Asai-kun.”

“You’re not?”

“Nope. Everyone else seems so taken by that guy, but to be honest, I’ve never really been on his side. I don’t really want to help him do anything, if it was up to me.”

Oh, I get it. “You have a crush on that Souma Sumire girl, don’t you?”

Ukawa had yet to meet the girl known as Souma Sumire, but she was evidently a person of great interest.

Sakagami’s eyes widened, then he broke into a smile. “Well… that more or less sums it up.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah, but…” Sakagami looked down. “But I guess… in the end… I would’ve ended up hating her, too.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because she lied. She deliberately deceived me. I always thought Souma-san was just another normal girl. Someone without an ability, who always strived to do what was right.”

“Seems like that illusion got shattered.”

“Quite. When Asai-kun told me the whole story surrounding Souma-san, I was a confused mess. I figured that once I finally sorted everything through, I’d end up hating her.”

Interesting. “And how did that go?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m still confused.”

At that moment, the bicycle seemed to have caught on a pebble or imperfection. There was a violent jerk, and the sound of the wind in Ukawa’s ears cut into a new tune.

Sakagami’s voice was just barely audible over that shift. “Because despite the lies… despite all the things I had wrong… I just can’t bring myself to hate her. Maybe I’ll end up hating her some day, but a part of me thinks it’ll be worth thinking of her fondly. Because–”

He had spent the past while looking down, and his gaze suddenly shot up. “Because somehow, the thought of hating Souma-san is way scarier than the idea of fighting the Bureau, or being chased down by a bunch of adults.”

Ukawa Sasane smiled. “Y’know, you’re a real brave coward.”

Sakagami Yousuke smiled back. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

Wrong. “That’s not true. Really, it takes a timid person to be truly brave. Bravery is pushing forward, no matter how afraid you are.”

That was why Ukawa Sasane could never be brave, no matter how much she wanted it. She was never afraid, so nothing she did could ever be out of courage. She felt like Asai Kei and her were similar in that way. It was probably true of Urachi Masamune, too.

But even in the face of all those people, there was someone who exemplified her point still more perfectly.

“Take Haruki Misora. No matter what she does, I wouldn’t really call her brave.”

That girl wouldn’t hesitate to play a game of Russian Roulette where it was her turn six times in a row.

“She’s really just nothing but love and trust, and to be honest, not a single shred of courage.”

But despite having no courage, Haruki Misora could do anything and everything.

After all, at that very moment she was there, alone, the closest to the enemy.

✽

“Why are you here?” The Index asked.

Haruki Misora responded with complete calm. “I am here to meet someone. That someone is not you.”

While Asai Kei, Urachi Masamune, and all sorts of Bureau officials were all running about, Haruki Misora had remained alone in the karaoke booth. She had waited in her room until being sure that all the Bureau members had left the opposite room.

When she got out in the hallway, she was confronted by The Index. Still, that was one of the expected outcomes, so she wasn’t surprised.

The Index glared harshly. “You’re not gonna run?”

“Running away is not part of the role I have been assigned.”

“Role?”

“It matters not if you capture me. I still do not need to run away. My only purpose is to complete the role I have been assigned.”

Haruki had separated from Kei, Murase, Ukawa, and everyone else, waiting for the perfect timing.

“Was this role given to you by Asai Kei?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“You trust him too much,” The Index mumbled in exasperation.

Was that really true?

“Do you not trust Urachi Masamune, given your position?”

The Index shook her head in pure-hearted disgust. “That’s unrelated. Your relationship with Asai-kun is entirely different.”

“What about it is different?”

“I doubt Urachi-san. He scares me and, quite honestly, I probably hate him.”

I see. “You were correct in describing us as completely different.”

Haruki could understand The Index’s fear, at least to a degree. It wasn’t as though she didn’t fear Asai Kei in the slightest. That said, she was entirely perplexed with the idea of hating him. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fear aspect, either. Maybe The Index was miscategorizing two completely separate emotions with the singular name “fear”.

The Index stared at Haruki with all the harshness of pointing a gun. “If I were convinced that Urachi-san was in the wrong, I could leave him. But you would follow behind Asai-kun whether he was right or wrong, wouldn’t you?”

Haruki tilted her head. The Index’s remark was completely incorrect. As if she was working off entirely wrong premises.

When she thought about it for a while, she realized what was wrong. “If I thought that Kei was in the wrong, then I would argue with him.”

“I’ve never seen you do that.”

“Because I have never thought him to be wrong before.”

“That’s impossible.” The Index sighed in exhaustion. “Nobody can live their whole life without making a single mistake. You trust Asai-kun too much. It’s like you don’t even have your own will.”

Haruki had heard that before from many different people in many different situations. But no matter how many times she heard it, she had never been able to accept it. She had never brought herself to nod along with it. Perhaps that was because it was up to her to put a voice to things that were bothering her.

Which meant–

“I do have my own will. I have emotions and philosophies that drive me.”

“Sure doesn’t seem that way to me.”

“But I do.”

Haruki herself had only come to recognize her will recently. It was hard enough to come up with a way to describe it to others even theoretically, but she was certain that it was real.

“I am always watching over Asai Kei. My emotions and philosophy have determined his actions to be right. I have, fully and entirely of my own will, decided to believe in him.”

Whenever she rationally thought things through, Haruki Misora came to the conclusion that Asai Kei was in the right. That was all there was to it. She was not ignoring her will by any means.

“I think reality is contrary to your expectations. I can believe in him because of how strong my will is.”

The Index knitted her brow. “No matter what you say, everything comes off as overly exaggerated.”

Haruki Misora tilted her head again. “Is that so?”

“That aside, Asai Kei has abandoned you here. Do you really think that was right of him?” The Index challenged.

Abandoned? “I do not understand what you mean.”

“He left you here all alone. How else could you describe this? Surely Asai Kei would know that leaving you here could only result in you being taken in by the Bureau.”

Even assuming that anything she said was correct… “How exactly did he abandon me here?”

“Because you’ll be taken in by the Bureau.”

“Being taken in by the Administration Bureau does not pose a problem.” Being nabbed by the Bureau quickly would be much safer than what would happen after running away from them. On top of that, she wouldn’t be targeted by any dangerous abilities, and would be removed from the threat of further ability outbursts.

Haruki stared straight into The Index’s eyes. “Besides, I likely will not be taken in by the Administration Bureau.”

“Why?”

“Because this was Kei’s decision.”

“It’s up to Kei whether or not you get captured?”

Precisely. “Asai Kei is never wrong.”

Him being wrong only meant that there was no right answer.

The Index shrugged. “Well, it’s true that all my colleagues went after the rest of your friends.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“But even by myself, I am confident I could capture you.”

“True. I am certain as well. However…” Haruki looked to the hallway corner. “We are not alone.”

The Index followed her line of sight. The corner was far enough away and dark enough that it was hard to see well.

But before long, there was the unmistakable echo of footsteps. They thumped along slowly, the sound of a heavy, purposed walk.

Haruki Misora knew well enough who would appear at the end of the hallway. It was one of many things that Asai Kei had already predicted.

Haruki Misora returned her gaze to The Index. The woman’s ability was not well suited for capturing people. “I highly doubt that you could handle two people at the same time.”

The Index nodded. “True enough. But…” The footsteps went quiet as the man stopped. “I’m not the one who’s outnumbered, am I?”

A Bureau official stood at the end of the hallway. One known by the name Kagaya.

The Index folded her arms across her chest. “It would seem that not everything has gone to Asai-kun’s plan.”

Haruki inwardly shook her head. No. This is exactly what he told me.

Haruki’s purpose in staying was to meet Kagaya. Turning towards him, Haruki spoke. “The discussions have finally begun.”

The most important discussion, the one that would determine the very future of Sakurada, had already started in a certain car.

✽

“So then, let us begin,” said Asai Kei.

Tsushima Shintarou showed no sign of interrupting from the driver’s seat. Nakano Tomoki sat in the passenger seat, his eyes still closed.

Urachi Masamune, seated beside Kei, shrugged his shoulders. “Do you really think you are capable of convincing me?”

“Oh, most certainly.”

“Well, despite appearances, I’m a pretty stubborn guy. Much more so than you might think.”

“But you’re also composed. If anything I say has merit, I’m sure you’d be willing to concede that.”

Urachi rested his chin in his hands, shifting his gaze to the scenery out the car window. “Eh, whatever. Guess I’m your prisoner now anyway. If I can’t get up, I’ve got nothing else to do but listen to you talk.”

Kei took his own glance out the window. The car was driving down an east-west road that headed straight across Sakurada. It was an ordinary road, the kind that you’d find in the outskirts of any regional city. He recognized a suburban bookstore that he’d been in a few times as they passed by.

“So, what kind of talk will we be having this time?” Urachi asked.

“The same conversation we’ve been having: the one about abilities in Sakurada,” Kei answered. “Should abilities be in Sakurada, or should they be removed? That’s the only argument worth having.”

“Then it’s not worth starting up again. We’ve both clearly stated our sides, and are convinced in our opposing points of view. If we really want the other person to come to our side, then war is the only way that will happen.”

Kei shook his head. “I can see why you would think that. And it very well may be that there are situations where the only way forward is to punch someone. But this is a different situation.”

“And what makes it so different?”

Well, for one, this decision could have a verdict. A third party could decide whether Asai Kei was right, or Urachi Masamune. But it wasn’t worth drawing out all the details.

Kei forced the conversation forward. “No matter how I look at it, Urachi-san, I can’t see abilities as a bad thing. I can’t see the world being a better place with them taken away.”

“Really? I could see that without even having to take the time to think about it.”

Kei nodded. “I do see that abilities can both help and hurt people. And of course, those who have been helped would like them, while those who have been hurt would hate them.”

“And those two lines of thought run parallel.”

“Well, sure. If you’re only looking backwards.”

But nobody could draw two perfectly, theoretically parallel lines. People were naturally more distorted than that. Thoughts never worked out as perfectly straight lines, and if they were drawn out long enough, then the intersections were inevitable. If they hadn’t intersected in the past, then they very well could in the future.

“Are you familiar with the plank of Carneades, Urachi-san?”

Urachi nodded slightly. “A skeptic’s discussion of the comparison between one person’s life and another.”

Carneades was a philosopher who, among other things, offered up the ethical thought experiment known as the plank of Carneades.

Say that a ship was wrecked, leaving the entire crew to be thrown into the sea. One sailor clung to a singular plank floating in the wreckage. The plank itself wasn’t very large, looking just barely solid enough to support his weight.

Then, another sailor reached out to grab the same plank. He wanted to try using it to float, but if both sailors held onto the same plank, then it would sink. The first sailor pushed the other away, and he survived while the second drowned.

“Do you think the sailor was right in his actions, Urachi-san?”

If the man had done nothing, then the plank would have sunk, likely leading to both of their deaths. The man killed someone else in order to ensure his survival. That was indisputable.

Urachi Masamune nodded. “I think the sailor did the right thing. It’s better for one person to survive than for both to die. Besides, it’s only human nature to desperately cling to survival. I think everyone should do their best to survive.”

“I see.”

“What about you? Surely you wouldn’t say that we should just find a way for both of them to survive?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. The best outcome would be getting both to survive.”

Urachi smiled. “That answer avoids the very purpose of the thought experiment. Such a ridiculous answer doesn’t understand the premise.”

“The premise, you say?”

“Exactly. What’s impossible is impossible. With the plank of Carneades, one of them has to die. That premise is absolute. Surely you can understand that.”

Kei decided to neither confirm nor deny Urachi’s claim. Instead, he continued speaking calmly and consistently. “Well, Urachi-san, stories just like that have been told since the beginning of time. Putting lives on the line, directly killing someone, indirectly killing someone. People have debated this exact issue for generations.”

“Your point being?”

“I know a very similar story.”

Asai Kei gently closed his eyes. He couldn’t stop the wave of immense guilt, but he spoke nonetheless. “A certain boy had a special ability. His right hand could stop anything it touched from changing… which was to say, it could stop the target’s time.”

A certain man appeared before the boy one day. That man was the one who kept all the rules of the world in line. That man’s death would change the rules so drastically that chaos would erupt across the entire world. The only way to prevent such chaos was to stop his time, so the man could never die.

The boy stopped his time to protect the rules of the world. One person was sacrificed to protect the happiness of many.

“Now then, the question.” Kei smiled. He didn’t know what kind of expression he should make when having such a conversation. “Did the boy do the right thing?”

Urachi Masamune’s natural smile disappeared, to be replaced with a displeased glare. “That’s a really bad joke. There’s no place for that question to even be asked. Kagaya did the right thing, and besides, it wasn’t even his decision to make. The Administration Bureau forced it all on him.”

Kei looked into Urachi’s eyes. “Alright then, say Kagaya rebelled against the Administration Bureau’s decision. Let’s say he felt too guilty to stop your father’s time. Would that have been the wrong thing to do?”

There was a moment. For just that slight period of time, Urachi Masamune was lost for words. For the first time that Kei had seen, he wasn’t putting up an act, and was genuinely confused and taken aback.

Kei smiled. He really didn’t want to. But he smiled. “It’s the same problem. If you couldn’t bring yourself to push another person off a plank, and you both drowned, would that be wrong?”

Urachi shook his head. “You can’t compare those two situations. Sacrificing someone for yourself and sacrificing someone for the world are completely different choices.”

That was probably true. But that answer avoided the very purpose of the thought experiment.

“Then let me rephrase that.”

Survival. Protecting the peace of the world.

“You kill one person, and absolute happiness for the world is guaranteed. But are you wrong for not being able to make that sacrifice?”

“Yes, you’re wrong,” Urachi spat. “It’s not the right decision. Spoiling yourself with your own weakness and kindness is naive, and it’s a disservice to society. People have to make decisions every day that make some unhappy so that everyone can be happy.”

Kei nodded. “That’s a very strong way of thinking.” It was strong, and it was just. “But you can’t force that strength upon everyone else, Urachi-san. Do you really expect everyone else to calculate the value of the people around them no differently than a series of mathematical gains and losses?”

Kei didn’t expect an answer. Urachi Masamune was smarter than that. He could think through all sorts of things quickly and efficiently. He was, at his core, a pure and kind person, and he wouldn’t be able to immediately offer an answer to such an unanswerable question.

So Kei continued. “If I’m honest, I think either answer would be sufficient.” Anyone could choose whatever suited them. “If the sailor holds onto his plank, pushes another off, and survives, then we should praise him for his courage. If he couldn’t bring himself to push the second sailor off, and they both died, we should praise him for his deep compassion. Both answers are correct.”

When one side was decided to be right, the other was made necessarily wrong. But whether something was good or bad was a decision that everyone needed to make for themselves. In every case, what mattered was the choice. Sometimes, people had to make a choice while they were suffering. But once that choice was made, all that was left to do was believe in it.

“For the plank of Carneades, I said that both people should survive. You called that a ridiculous answer that didn’t understand the premise. And you were absolutely right. One person does have to die with the plank of Carneades. But…”

Kei looked back out the window. Sakurada flowed past him. The view wasn’t anything special. They could have been anywhere.

“But if we think of the plank of Carneades as a real problem, something that’s actually happening, and not just a thought experiment in our heads, then the whole story changes.”

A sailor pushing someone off to survive wasn’t the problem. Whether he was guilty of something or not didn’t really matter.

“It becomes a warning, something that needs to be prevented from happening again. So that if the same accident were to occur in the future, both people could be saved.”

The story only boiled down to one thought: A tragedy happened. Nothing more, and nothing less. The obvious reaction was to find a strategy to prevent the same tragedy from happening again. How could the premise be changed to make sure nobody would ever experience the same tragedy? That was what mattered.

Urachi Masamune shook his head. “What on Earth are you even talking about, Asai-kun?”

Isn’t it obvious? “I’m talking about Sakurada’s abilities.”

He wanted to wipe away every tear he could. He wanted to smile as much as possible.

And when it all came down to it, when he wanted to sum up the entire conversation, it was rather simple.

“This is about Kagaya-san and your parents. We’re past whether he did the right thing, or the wrong thing, to either of them. We need to be thinking about what’s best to help everyone else we can in the future.”

The future always took precedence over the past. The past was just reference material for future decisions. And future decisions should always be about how to avoid giving things up. How to help everyone. It was obvious.

“Who’s everyone?” Urachi asked.

“Everyone involved in this problem. Kagaya-san, your parents, and of course, you. Think this through with me. How can all four of you be happy?”

“I’m already happy. All the better if abilities are out of the question.”

“But what about the other three? What about, for example, something that Kagaya-san could do to erase all the guilt he feels towards you?”

That question didn’t even really need thought.

With a sigh, Urachi answered, “To remove his ability from my parents.”

Kei smiled. “Exactly.”

“That would be impossible. My father’s ability must be protected above all else. Without that ability, the world would fall into chaos.”

“Yes, that’s right. But it’s not your father that’s the most important, it’s his ability.”

Urachi’s eyes quivered. He fully took in what Kei was saying.

Kei offered another smile, a heartfelt one.

“So all we have to do… is separate the ability from the ability user,” Asai Kei concluded.

✽

Ukawa Sasane and Sakagami Yousuke were talking on the backs of their bikes, so they couldn’t separate the two very much.

Oka Eri was left with no choice but to ride directly beside Murase Youka.

Oh, man. There’s definitely something wrong with me.

Villains weren’t supposed to be concerned with the convenience of others. Just as she was getting ready to pedal harder, a voice shot out towards her.

“I didn’t expect this. Thought you’d get all stubborn and refuse to help Asai.”

Murase Youka. She had never liked that girl. But ignoring the comment would just feel like running away, which would only serve to make her feel worse than she already did.

With no other choice, Oka Eri pushed on a smile. “It’s complicated. There’s a lot at play.”

Wind always flew directly in her face when she was riding a bike. It was like her own personal headwind as she soared through the sky. It felt good. Even better on a stolen bike.

Oka Eri rang the bike bell for no particular reason. But some unseen part of it must have rusted, because the only sound to float out and away was dim and sloppy, falling into the rest of the scenery behind them.

“I really don’t get what Senpai’s deal is. It’s like, he looks just like he used to two years ago, but then he also doesn’t.”

She was just talking to herself, really. She didn’t want a reply.

And yet one came.

“Hard to imagine Asai as a middle schooler.”

“He was shorter. By a lot.”

“Well sure, but anything else?”

“I dunno.” Oka Eri stood up, shoving the pedal down. The action caused her to shift slightly off-balance, prompting a small yelp from Sakagami behind her.

Murase Youka pushed her own pedals down, clanking the gears forward. It put the two of them right back next to each other, so Oka Eri started the conversation back up.

“Senpai is incredibly selfish.”

“Yup.”

“But at the same time, he never really considers himself.”

“That’s true, too.”

“I just don’t get it.”

That wasn’t entirely true, though. She could get it. Or at least, there was a small part of her that understood.

The bike rode over a small pebble. It wasn’t much, but still made them bounce several times, eliciting more noise from Sakagami.

“Far as I can tell, I think I’ll always hate Senpai. He’s always getting on my nerves. Pissing me off.”

Oka Eri looked up to the sky. It was a little scary to keep riding without knowing what was ahead, but she pedaled on anyway. “He asked me to the movies not too long ago.” Probably just trying to hang out and get closer.

“Really? Did you go?”

“Of course not. He invited me to your school festival, and I didn’t go to that, either.” And that was what pissed her off so much. “I bet this is all the same to him. Sure, he needs my ability. But it’s all the same as the movies or the school festival to him.”

No doubt he included her in his plans so that they could get closer together. He definitely had that kinda angle. Asai Kei was always calculating that way. He always had everything planned down to the finest detail.

“That’s what makes him so much like he used to be two years ago.”

Asai Kei was probably the only guy out there who would use a revolution against the Administration Bureau as an opportunity to get closer to a kouhai.

But… I knew that.

There was an ideal that Fujikawa Eri had wanted to chase when she became Oka Eri two years ago.

In all honesty, that ideal was probably closer to the current Asai Kei than it was to the current Oka Eri.

Someone who’d do anything to achieve her goal. Who would never stop until she found a way. Who always wore a daring smile.

That strong Asai Kei who Fujikawa Eri had always wanted to be.

“…And that’s what pisses me off so much.”

The words she muttered probably didn’t reach Murase Youka, instead just drifting off behind them with everything else.

✽

Asai Kei bent up the corners of his mouth into a smile.

It was easy. The answer was so simple.

“All we have to do, Urachi-san, is get Sakagami-san to copy your father’s ability. Once it’s transferred somewhere else, Kagaya can lock it there, and your father will be free.”

Urachi Masamune’s face scrunched in displeasure. “That would change nothing. You would just be sacrificing someone else instead of my father.”

“What if we didn’t use a human, then?” Sacrificing another person was never even on the docket. “Why not try copying the ability onto a cat, for starters?”

“A cat?”

“Yes. By sacrificing a cat instead of a human, we can help your father and Kagaya-san at the same time.”

Technically, to save both parents, they would need two cats.

Urachi Masamune took a notebook out of his pocket, flipping through its pages. “That’s impossible from the outset. There’s never been precedent for a non-human having an ability. Besides–” His hand stopped on a specific page. “Sakagami Yousuke’s ability. Yes, it only works on humans. Bringing a cat or a dog along would be pointless.”

But was that really true?

“What makes you so sure that an ability can only be copied onto a human?”

“Well, I can’t be sure. Abilities vary greatly between all cases.”

“Then just take a shot in the dark. Most important issues can be reasoned through if you think about it.”

With a resounding thump, Urachi closed his notebook. “To put it simply, it’s a matter of will.”

Sakurada’s abilities only worked if the user wanted them to. Conversely, if they weren’t desired, they wouldn’t work. That rule was absolute.

“A cat would have no will to use an ability for itself,” Urachi concluded. He sounded bored, but he was definitely right.

It was time for checkmate.

“I have a friend whose ability lets her share her consciousness with a cat. That would allow a cat to have the same level of consciousness as a human.”

All said, Kei didn’t really like the method. He didn’t want to have to even sacrifice a single cat. It went against his ideal. He wanted to do everything he could to make even individual cats happy. After all, he wanted to be God.

He wanted to be all-powerful, saving anyone he wished with a wave of his hand. Without ever having to make sacrifices or keep other people down. It was all he had ever wanted. He still wanted it. But, no matter how much he wished for it, he knew it was unattainable.

This is the most I can do. Sacrificing a cat instead of a human. He still didn’t have anything better at the moment.

He continued in a monotonous drone. “With the utility of a few abilities, it would be possible to save your parents. Sakurada’s abilities can do more than you give them credit for.”

Urachi Masamune stared directly at Kei, shaking his head lightly. “So what?” His voice continued on in the same tone he had kept prior, as if he were reading from the back of a book. “Let’s say it goes magnificently; My parents and Kagaya are saved. So what?”

Little by little, his voice got louder. “So an ability saves someone once. That doesn’t mean anything. Even if you only count the exceptional cases where abilities help others, that’s not enough of a case to make them worth keeping around.”

Kei refused to break eye contact. “Alright. How many will it take, then? How many people need to be helped to justify an ability’s worth?”

“It’s not a matter of amount,” Urachi spat, almost shouting. “People shouldn’t rely on uncertainties like abilities in life. They need to accept difficulty and despair, choosing to live in spite of reality.”

Kei took a deep breath. He had almost reflexively shouted back, but it felt silly, so he let out the breath as a sigh.

That’s not my style anyway.

He didn’t like conversations where the only person heard was the loudest. It was like a screaming match between animals. Or even worse, like a fight.

Keeping his voice subdued, Kei answered. “You are the one who can’t accept reality.” Because abilities were real. “You are the one trying to create a fantasy world where you can push away abilities, pretending like they never existed, and make reality what you want it to be.”

Surely Urachi was aware of that himself. If a first-year in high school could see it, then surely he could.

“What if we actually just gave it our all? Avoiding risk is only natural, but we can’t let risk keep up from moving forward. Let’s just take a single step forward, even if it’s a step of fear. That’s how we can make reality a better place.”

Urachi Masamune let out a breath. It almost sounded like a short, self-deprecating chuckle. Or maybe it was a sigh of exhaustion. Kei wasn’t sure even he knew.

“Look, Asai-kun… there might be some merit to what you’re saying.” Urachi’s eyes still showed rationality and sincerity. They were calm and mature, yet a boyish spark remained.

Yeah, we really are alike. Now Kei was convinced.

Asai Kei and Urachi Masamune both had their own childish streaks. They both had their own weak points. And all they wanted to do was keep those weaknesses from showing to anyone else.

“But no matter how right you may be,” Urachi continued, “I will not be moved. I am convinced that abilities are evil. That is an unchangeable reality.”

His voice had petered down into little more than a whisper. He now sounded the part of a lonely child.

“I thought so. Didn’t think I would be able to convince you,” Kei admitted, dropping his eyes. “Yeah… I knew that.”

Words could serve many convenient purposes, but sometimes they weren’t enough. Sometimes, no matter how much two people wanted to understand each other, they just couldn’t.

Man, I really am a cheater. He knew it was a low blow.

“I apologize, Urachi-san.”

From what Kei could tell, Urachi had genuinely listened to him. The man had taken it in, carefully paid attention, and followed his emotions and beliefs.

But I’m not like you. Kei was more cowardly than that.

“The truth is, I was never trying to convince you.”

I never wanted to admit defeat. He wanted to be capable of always fighting, refusing to give in no matter the circumstances.

But he couldn’t think of anything else to do, so he gave up. Just like his decision to sacrifice a cat.

Kei had never really intended to have a conversation with Urachi Masamune.

Asai Kei looked towards the passenger seat. “Thanks, Tomoki.”

Tomoki, who had been keeping his eyes closed in a feigned sleep, sat up quickly. He rubbed his eyes, turning around. “Hm? We done?”

Nakano Tomoki’s ability was to make his voice heard. His messages were one-way, and couldn’t be avoided by any means that Kei knew.

In order for his ability to work, Tomoki needed to picture the person it was going to. That was the reason for his role as the doorman. By the time Urachi and his entourage showed up to the karaoke establishment, everything was already set up for their chosen persuasion tactics.

“Just one more thing,” Kei added, checking his watch. 11:30 AM. Right on schedule.

His smile vanishing, Kei continued.

“It’s as you heard, Kagaya-san. With the right abilities, we can save those who would otherwise remain unsaved.”

The obvious was finally put into words.

✽

“Kei decided that you would be our focus, rather than Urachi-san,” Haruki Misora stated.

She stood in the hallway of the karaoke establishment, The Index and Kagaya before her.

Kagaya was looking into the distance just higher than anyone else stood, his expression dazed. No doubt he was listening to the ongoing conversation between Kei and Urachi, courtesy of Nakano Tomoki’s ability.

Haruki recalled what Kei had told her.

Our secret ingredient will be Kagaya-san.

Urachi Masamune’s goal was to erase all information about abilities from Sakurada. He needed Kagaya to deactivate the ability placed on his mother to make that happen. Meaning Urachi’s final plan hinged on undoing Kagaya’s lock.

It went without saying that only Kagaya could undo his own ability. If they could get him on their side, Urachi’s plan could not succeed.

I’m going to start by drawing Kagaya-san over to our side. If we do that, Urachi-san will have no choice but to join us as well.

Haruki Misora checked the time on her cell phone. 11:30 AM. Right on schedule. Holding her cell phone in one hand, she walked up to Kagaya. “You have a decision to make.”

For all intents and purposes, Kagaya still looked mechanical. Just another expressionless and emotionless Bureau suit, sucked into the system.

“If you have the ability to save someone you want to save, then you should take that chance. If you have the opportunity to correct a past error, then it should be taken advantage of. What will you choose, Kagaya-san?”

A world without abilities, or with them. Urachi Masamune’s ideals, or Asai Kei’s.

His choice to make.

“Kei once said that abilities were not special powers at their core. He compared them to convenient tools, like a car or cellular phone. He believes them to be as much a part of a person as a hand or a foot, or the words they speak.”

If that was true, then no matter which world he chose, things would remain the same. People would be able to do what they could, and be unable to do what they couldn’t.

“A doctor cures illness, a researcher develops technology, a baker bakes bread, and a mother caresses her child. In the same way, a person uses their abilities. To Kei, those actions are all one and the same.”

For a brief moment, Haruki Misora closed her eyes. She got the slightest inkling that she was about to cry. Her emotional needle swung around in a strange direction that was neither happiness nor sadness, neither positive nor negative.

“Asai Kei–” She forced her eyelids up. The Kagaya she could then see looked oddly young. Like a small, vulnerable child. “All he desires is to make the world around him as good as it can possibly be. And to accomplish that, he believes that by making more people happy, he himself can become happier.”

That was how he had always been, ever since she first met him. A boy that hated the sadness of the world, and carried it as if it were his own. A complex and chaotic character that was nonetheless so staggeringly simple.

“And Asai Kei wishes for you to be happy, too. He will labor for you, seeking long and hard to find what your best outcome could be.”

Choosing to persuade Kagaya wasn’t a matter of efficiency to Kei. She knew it was more than that.

He was always thinking of others, those who were sad, those who were suffering, and he never forgot them. After all, he wished for everyone’s happiness. Of course he would do that.

“So you get to choose too, Kagaya-san. Is Asai Kei right, or is he wrong? Make your choice.”

As far as Haruki Misora was concerned, he was more right than anyone else. No matter how much he had to consider, and no matter how many doubts he had, he always came out as right.

Asai Kei is never wrong.

It wasn’t because he was particularly smart. It wasn’t because he was incredibly talented.

It was because he was the boy who would hold unfailingly to what he knew to be right, and never forget what he stood for. That boy could never be wrong.

“Kagaya-san. It is your choice to make whether you believe that his proposed ending will make you the happiest.” Haruki Misora held her cell phone out towards Kagaya. “If you press the call button, you will be connected to Asai Kei, with Urachi Masamune right beside him.”

Kagaya took the cell phone with trembling hands.

Haruki turned away from him, walking the opposite direction. She had been informed before that it was difficult to talk on the phone when somebody was standing right nearby. She didn’t really get why that would be, but she decided to be considerate nonetheless.

“Hey.” The first voice to break the silence came from The Index. “I don’t get this at all. What’s going on here?”

Haruki Misora stopped in place, looking towards the other woman as she answered. “Kagaya-san has joined our company, just as Kei planned.”

The Index frowned. “But he was just forced into it.”

Haruki nodded. “Yes. That is the way Kei tends to work.”

He would prepare the right option, and offer it in a way where there was no other choice but the right option he had selected. That was his typical MO.

“Now, with that said–” Haruki Misora glared at The Index. “I have not yet heard my apology.”

The Index only looked on with a puzzled expression, as if she had missed something. “Apology?”

Haruki nodded. “Kei was right, and he did not abandon me. I was correct to believe in him of my own will, following my careful observations.”

Although even Haruki herself had a hard time believing it, she was in a bad mood. She had been for quite some time.

For as long as she could remember, Haruki had always thought that she would be the only one to understand just how right Asai Kei was. Nobody else could, and quite frankly, that never bothered her. It was up to each individual to decide what they thought.

But things had changed.

Now, she wanted everybody to see and accept Asai Kei for who he was.

After watching for a while longer, The Index eventually let out an exhausted sigh. “Fine, fine. I was mistaken. But–”

“But?”

“But it’s a bit overkill to believe in everything he does just because it’s right.”

Was that true? Haruki wasn’t sure. If she couldn’t believe in what was right, then wasn’t it her feelings that were actually the overkill? If any kind of trust was excessive, it would be trust in something that wasn’t actually right.

Or at least, that was what Haruki Misora thought.

✽

He remembered their last words before they went to sleep. The sleep that they expected to last forever.

“This was something we all decided on.”

“To us, you are the perfect form of salvation. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

There was an eight year gap between the times the two of them were put to sleep. But regardless, everything they said was the same.

“We knew you would be born long ago. That was why I could entrust this city with my ability. That was why I chose to live on.”

“We were even able to have a child. He’s such a good boy. He can be overly zealous at times, but he’s got such a strong spirit.”

Their words were so exactly alike that he could hear them overlapping.

“The knowledge of your birth gave us such great joy.”

“So if you’re tempted to hold on to any feelings of guilt over this, don’t.”

Kagaya recalled those words he could never forget.

“Hold your head high.”

“You’re doing the right thing.”

But, of course…

He had never really been able to believe them.

✽

The call that Kei had with Kagaya was very brief.

“You will have my support for this venture.”

He then asked Kei to hand the phone to Urachi. Their conversation wasn’t very long, either. Kei could only hear three short sentences.

“It’s me.” “Ah, I see.” “I understand.”

Then Urachi handed the phone back over. The call had already ended.

Urachi looked down, pressing his palm into his forehead. Kei couldn’t tell what kind of face he was making. “So, Asai-kun, is this all going to plan?”

“It is.”

Kei had figured it would be significantly easier to bring Kagaya over to his side than Urachi Masamune. On top of that, doing so would present a significant structural problem to Urachi’s plan.

“Where did I go wrong?” Urachi mumbled.

Not that it was really a question of having done something wrong.

Urachi kept his head down, looking like a runner exhausted after finishing a marathon. “Was I ignoring Kagaya’s real feelings?”

That was getting closer to the truth, but he was missing a particular nuance.

“I think what you were really ignoring were your own feelings,” Kei offered.

Urachi raised his eyes, looking towards Kei. “Mine?”

Kei nodded. Urachi was blind to his own weaknesses. “I know that you trust Kagaya-san. You might trust him more than you even recognize. It was never a question that Kagaya-san would always side with you.”

If Urachi had thought it through a little more, he probably would have seen it coming. A guy in Kei’s position had almost no choice but to target Kagaya. Now, Urachi knew that much, and had kept Kagaya back at the karaoke place instead of going after everyone else. Kei, assuming Urachi would do that, had also kept Haruki at the karaoke establishment.

But Urachi was only concerned with protecting Kagaya from physical threats. He should have known how effective emotional manipulation would have been against Kagaya, but he ignored that aspect.

And that was because Urachi trusted Kagaya, and only Kagaya. He would have never dreamed of a world where Kagaya was willingly not on his side.

And really, it’s the same for me. Kei couldn’t imagine a world where he didn’t have the support of Haruki Misora. If someone managed to turn her, then his defeat would be ensured.

Urachi Masamune shook his head. “When did you discover that as my weakness?”

“In the time that you can’t know.”

“You mean… when abilities disappeared?”

“Yes. The time that I reset away.”

It happened on the night that all information about abilities disappeared from Sakurada. Kei ran all through the town in the rain, ultimately finding Urachi Masamune, a civil servant who knew nothing about abilities.

“And what… did you do that night?”

“I talked to you. For a good two hours.” They talked about all sorts of trivial things as Kei listened earnestly to Urachi Masamune’s voice. “I got to know you in those two hours better than you might think.”

And that was all he did. He spent two hours trying to get to know Urachi. It was nothing special. But he did come to realize just how much that man trusted Kagaya.

Urachi smiled weakly. “Ah… You’re so different from me.”

“Actually, I think we’re quite alike.”

“I could never use the same kind of inefficient methods that you do.”

Is that really what he thinks? Kei looked back out the window. I thought this was an incredibly efficient method.

Asai Kei and Urachi Masamune definitely had differences somewhere.

The car drove alongside the river. It was a long path, but the river was destined to eventually make its way into the ocean. Kei turned his eyes back into the car, stinging from the reflection of the light off the water. He saw that Nakano Tomoki had closed his eyes again in the passenger seat. Maybe he’s actually asleep this time.

Tsushima Shintarou sat in the driver’s seat, holding onto the steering wheel without saying a word. Kei wondered how much of the conversation he was understanding. Nothing had been explained to him prior, so it was possible that he didn’t get anything, but at the same time, Kei felt like he fully grasped the situation.

“Urachi-san,” Kei called. It was time to start pulling in the future he desired. “I now hold the key to your plan. You cannot win unless I give it back to you.”

Now there was nothing to be over. His agenda could never advance.

Urachi Masamune raised his head, looking Kei in the eye.

“I want to have control over every ability,” Kei continued. “I’ll join the Administration Bureau, gain authority over various abilities, and remake the system that controls them to suit my ideals. And Urachi, I want you to help me. I need your strength.”

Urachi’s eyes had yet to waver. They were exhausted, but they were strong. “And what exactly are your ideals?”

That was an easy one. “To avoid misfortune, and if at all possible, eliminate its very existence.”

“That’s childish. A ridiculous fantasy. Do you really think something like that could happen?”

Asai Kei smiled. “No. It can’t.” Anyone could see that was an impossible ideal. “But we can solve problems one at a time. Even if our goal is an eternity away, we can still take our own steps towards it.”

They didn’t have a time limit, after all.

Humanity had been chasing after such futures for thousands of years, and maybe even longer. Hoping to improve problems, if only by a fraction. Hoping to be as happy as possible. It was the foundation of civilization.

There was no need to change that in the future. It was a goal worth spending humanity on, theirs or otherwise.

“We can accept reality, while still refusing to give anything up. We’ll have enough allies on our side to build a new system that can outlive us. And then, even if it’s a thousand years or ten thousand years down the line, we can stand in that fantasy land of victory.”

Maybe they couldn’t reach their ideals. But that didn’t mean they had to stay in place. If the goal was to save everyone in the world, and he only ended up saving one person, that didn’t make the effort worthless.

“As long as we don’t give up, then we’ll never be able to lose. Nobody can say what’s unachievable if we’re willing to spend an eternity of our own time on it. As long as we don’t stop moving, we can go anywhere.”

Urachi Masamune simply stared for a while, his eyes betraying no emotion.

But then, he smiled again. It was another mask-like smile, but maybe that truly was his honest expression. “I’m not interested in some fairytale about what could happen in a thousand years.” He tapped his temple with his index finger. “What do I get out of lending you my assistance?”

He was finally giving in.

Kei prepared to say what he had planned for such a situation. Not that what he had prepared was particularly interesting. “When I make a mistake, you’ll be the first person to know. Everyone will have full knowledge of my actions, and you’ll always have the option to turn on me.”

He wished he could put it more directly. He just wanted to join hands with Urachi. It wasn’t all that complicated, but he had to resort to such roundabout methods to make it happen.

“Besides,” he continued, “If I’m an obstacle to your goals, it would help you a lot more to have me as an ally than an enemy.”

“And what good is it to build up allies who only follow you in theory, while increasing the number of people who could betray you?”

“Well, I should think that’s obvious.” Kei smiled, bending up the corners of his mouth. “Because someday, you’ll become a real ally. I will eventually convince you that the future I’m dreaming of is better than the future you dream of. The only way I can do that is to have you by my side, even as a fake friend.”

Unless they were face-to-face with one another, they could never understand each other.

“I think we really are similar, Urachi-san. The only differences between us are our beginnings and our ends.”

Urachi Masamune, born in Sakurada and growing up around abilities as a natural part of life. He thought the reality of abilities was actually just a problem.

Asai Kei, born in a faraway town only to visit Sakurada. To him, abilities were like hope itself made manifest.

“I think that we’re similar enough that we could understand each other if we really tried. And even if we can’t fully understand each other, we can at least try, and get most of the way there. We just have to believe that we can.”

Like an innocent baby believing the random string of babble coming from its mother to be real words. An innocent mind that truly tried to decipher and understand the possibilities. The possibility of understanding, of getting to know someone.

All they could do was believe that some day, they could be moving forward together, both seeking the same goal.

“So let’s be friends, Urachi-san. Even if it’s only in name. Even if it’s only just for now.”

Kei held out his right hand.

He couldn’t imagine pursuing a different future.

✽

Urachi Masasmune was resting his chin in his hands. He glanced at the boy’s hand out of the corner of his eye.

“You know, Asai-kun… I rather detest handshakes.”

The lukewarm feel of a stranger’s palm made him shudder.

Suddenly, his father’s hand came to mind. The morning of the day that his father was to go to sleep, he placed his hand upon the young Urachi Masamune’s head and spoke.

You are incredibly strong. But you must learn weakness.

It was just a random memory. There was no reason for it.

“I detest many things, actually. Meetings with lots of people, childish and impossible dreams, other people’s hands. I detest them all.”

He gently closed his eyes. He was so tired. He had been laboring away for so long, and he felt like all his fatigue was hitting him at once.

He put his right hand into his pocket, his fingertips brushing upon the familiar feeling of his notebook. It was the notebook with every single one of his plans. For the last few weeks, it had even served as his substitute set of memories.

“Something else I detest is putting things in my pocket. I don’t even have a cell phone.”

He had never enjoyed carrying a notebook around. He was waiting eagerly for the day when he didn’t need it any more, and could throw it away.

He opened his eyes a crack. Asai Kei’s right hand was still held out before him.

Urachi Masamune turned his head to look out the window. The streets of Sakurada passed by.

I detest this town, too.

The very notion of a town that would accept something like abilities made him shudder.

But he wanted to be able to like the town. He wanted to make a sincere effort towards liking the things he hated.

He could still feel his father’s palm atop his head.

If you know weakness, then you can learn forgiveness.

But remembering a few words wasn’t going to change anything. Nobody else was allowed to determine how he felt.

People learn compassion so they can forgive themselves.

His eyes remained focused on the familiar sights of the city.

Urachi Masamune held out his black notebook toward the boy.

End of Chapter 2