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winglian

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Yuri: "Sorry to bother you so late." Tomoe: "Oh, don't worry about it..." Osamu: "Excuse me..." *Hisaka-san suddenly came in with Mitsushima-san in tow. He was soaking wet, and I could tell at a glance it was something serious.* Naruko: "Are you all right?" *The Nakizakis next door had overheard our situation. As soon as these two showed up, Nakizaki immediately came over to see how things were going.* Aine: "What in the world happened?" Yuri: "I am not entirely sure. He was just standing in the rain all by himself, and when I called out to him..." Yuri: "He started crying." *Now that she mentioned it, his eyes were very red. He must have cried quite a bit.* Aine: "Does it have anything to do with Koyuki-san?" Osamu: "Oh...!" *Mitsushima-san recoiled the moment Aine spoke her name. Looks like she hit the bull's-eye.* Naruko: "What about Arie-san?" Osamu: "...Oh... oooh... I... don't... know what to do..." Osamu: "Guh, oh, oooooh...!" *He burst into tears yet again.* *I figured it might calm him down a little, and encouraged him to take a bath.* *Considering he was soaking wet, Sempai meekly did as requested. He might not have had the willpower to refuse.* Yuri: "I'm sorry about this. It feels like I've gotten you involved in this mess..." Tomoe: "No, it isn't your fault, Hisaka-san." Aine: "That is right. I am glad you brought him with you." *Aine had likely been worried about him since the other day. She looked a bit relieved.* Tomoe: "You don't know what happened either?" Yuri: "No, I don't. But..." Tomoe: "Did you think of something?" Yuri: "Mitsushima-san was absent from school today." Tomoe: "He was? But..." *He was wearing his uniform. Why would he be out in his uniform at this hour if he took the day off?* Yuri: "Oh, please excuse me, then. I have to get going..." *Hisaka-san looked at the clock and started to stand up.* Yuri: "Um, please help out Mitsushima-san if you can." Aine: "Yes! Please leave it to us!" *Aine answered in my place.* Osamu: "Sorry. Thank you for letting me use the bath." *Mitsushima-san looked slightly better now that he'd taken a bath. He seemed to have calmed down a little, too.* Osamu: "Sorry for causing you nothing but trouble." Tomoe: "No, don't worry about it. Is your uniform dry? We did put it through the dryer." *I didn't have anything as fancy as a dryer in my house, so I asked the Nakizakis if they would mind.* Osamu: "Yeah, totally dry. Thank you for everything." *He tried to force a smile, but was failing miserably.* *What in the world had happened with Arie-san?* Aine: "Um..." *Aine raised her hand like she was in class.* Aine: "I know you just got out of the bath, but could we go out for a little while?" Osamu: "Huh...?" *The creak of the door rebounded off the high ceiling and echoed loudly throughout the chamber.* *I still felt tense whenever we came here. It was a place I made sure to avoid whenever possible.* *I gulped down my tension and put a nonchalant look on my face so the two of them wouldn't notice.* Osamu: "Is it all right to just come in like this?" Aine: "It is completely okay. Come now, go on ahead!" *Aine urged him forward and went inside like she owned the place.* Aine: "You should pray to angels in times of crisis. Even if it is something that is difficult to tell a person, you can tell an angel, yes?" Osamu: "Well, I guess..." *He gave an ambiguous nod, but he probably didn't think angels would be able to help him.* Osamu: "You're right. This is all I can do." *He showed a lonely smile and turned to face the altar. His expression had at some point turned serious.* Osamu: "..." *He brought his hands together and closed his eyes. He must surely have been reciting a prayer in his mind.* *Could an angel like Aine hear his inner thoughts? His expression was becoming gradually more depressed.* Osamu: "..." *Sempai opened his eyes. Had he gotten what he wanted to say off his chest?* Osamu: "...I beg of you." *Once he was done, he bowed his head deeply once more. His stature was very sincere, and so serious it almost felt divine.* Aine: "..." *Aine gazed upon him as though it was breaking her heart. There were the faintest of tears welling in her eyes.* *What in the world had Mitsushima-san said?* Aine: "Um... I do not want to send him home like this." *Aine whispered to me.* Tomoe: "You don't want to send him home...?" Aine: "I would like to somehow keep him here a while." *There was such immeasurable solemnity in her eyes that I knew she would never back down. At that moment, Mitsushima-san raised his head.* Osamu: "Thank you very much, you guys. Now if only an angel would grant my request..." Tomoe: "True enough." Osamu: "Okay, I guess I ought to be going..." Tomoe: "U-Um..." *I stopped him on reflex.* Osamu: "What's the matter?" Tomoe: "Um..." Tomoe: "It looks like it's stopped raining." Osamu: "Huh?"

Osamu: "Ugh, it's cold..." *Sempai wrapped his arms around himself. This observation deck provided no cover, so the unimpeded ocean breeze chilled us to the bone.* Aine: "But it is so pretty." *Aine gazed out into the distance at the night skyline which looked almost as if it's speckled with gemstones.* Osamu: "Oh, you're right." *The sight made Sempai's eyes gleam.* Osamu: "It's just like a flower garden." Tomoe: "Flower garden?" Osamu: "Look, those lights. Doesn't the way they flicker and twinkle look like flowers swaying in the wind?" Tomoe: "Flowers, huh?" *Did they really? Now that he mentioned it, I might be able to see the resemblance.* Osamu: "Maybe you can't see it?" Aine: "Do you like flowers, Osamu-san?" Osamu: "Yeah, I do. I take care of the academy's flower beds, too. I can't do anything else really, but I guess that's my one hobby." Aine: "Wow, that is so nice. I think it is lovely!" Osamu: "You're exaggerating..." Aine: "Flowers are very pretty. I feel so relaxed whenever I see them in full bloom." Osamu: "Really? Me too. I'm happy you understand how I feel." *Aine opened his heart.* *I was sure she hadn't done it intentionally. Aine's thoughtfulness may have had a way of getting through to people naturally.* Aine: "So, what in the world happened?" *Aine asked. Mitsushima-san immediately looked depressed.* Osamu: "Well..." Aine: "Is it difficult for you to talk about?" Osamu: "...Yeah, sorry." *It must have had something to do with Arie-san. I doubted he was capable of making a face like that for any other reason.* Osamu: "In all honesty, it would be great if I could be of any help to her... but it feels like there's nothing I can do..." Aine: "Is that so?" Osamu: "Yeah..." *Mitsushima-san pursed his lips together in frustration.* Aine: "Are you really sure? Is there really nothing you can do, Osamu-san?" *Aine asked again.* Osamu: "Uh, well..." *Once asked again, he showed hints of hesitation.* *He probably felt like he was being criticized about it.* Tomoe: "Aine, don't be too pushy. He's saying he can't. Everyone has their own limits." Osamu: "...Yeah. This all seems like way more than I can handle..." Aine: "You will not know unless you give it a try, will you?" Tomoe: "You think so? People rarely have control over what life throws at them. Hardly anything is simple in this world." *The world is huge and complex. We're all so tiny in comparison, and what we are capable of doesn't amount to much.* Osamu: "You're right... I really am powerless..." Aine: "The same goes for everyone." *Aine interrupted Mitsushima-san's thought. He noticed the serious way Aine was gazing at him and winced a little.* Aine: "Will you stand idly by just because you cannot do anything? Would you be all right with that? Are you able to simply do nothing?" Osamu: "I-I..." Aine: "Feeling powerless is just part of being alive. But if that is enough to make you give up... then I am sure she must not be very important to you." Osamu: "Th-That's not true!" *Mitsushima-san suddenly shouted in anger.* *Talk about a shock. It was the first time I'd ever heard him yell like that. I didn't even think he was capable of raising his voice like that.* Osamu: "Arie-san is a very important person to me. I believe I could die happy as long as she would smile for me." *His brooding voice carried too much weight to be discarded as a joke. Aine suddenly smiled gently.* Aine: "In that case, please help her." Aine: "It does not matter whether you are able to change anything. Would you not agree that trying to help is what is most important?" Aine: "Knowing that someone is there trying to lend a hand... I believe that can give people strength in and of itself." Osamu: "You... really think so? Even if it's someone like me?" Aine: "Of course." *Aine smiled as grandly as the shimmering nightscape. Mitsushima-san appeared dazzled as he looked at her smile.* Osamu: "...Yeah." *Mitsushima finally nodded.* Osamu: "I can't keep quiet and watch. I'm positive she can't talk to anyone about it." Osamu: "Now that I've noticed, I have to do something for her." Osamu: "But I'm not sure what that something should be..." Aine: "Let us think about that together. We will help you." *"We" must mean I was included as well.* *Still, I didn't feel like arguing. I kept quiet and nodded at Aine's side.* Osamu: "...Yeah. Thank you." *Mitsushima-san smiled. Light glistened at the corners of his eyes, much like the flickers of the night skyline.* Aine: "You have got to help her, Mitsushima-sempai." Osamu: "Yeah, I'll do my best. I don't know what I can do, but I'll give it my all."

*Another stupid day had begun.* Koyuki: "..." *Lately, I'd found myself wondering why I was even alive.* *I had managed to stop thinking for all this time, too... Being here was just far too painful.* *But for the first time in ages, these were the thoughts that came to mind...* *Why was I alive? No, the better question might be... why wouldn't I die? The sooner I died, the more dignity I would retain.* *Why was _anyone_ alive?* *The Track and Field Club must have had morning practice today. They were out in the field running like their lives depended on it. Hilariously so. What good could possibly come of doing that?* *Then, I suddenly remembered Shunsuke-kun. Him, and his childhood friend.* *Shunsuke-kun had transferred, but I wondered what had happened to those two? Had they started going out?* *I had sensed Shunsuke-kun's affection for me a while back, and that he wanted to tell me how he felt.* *But I had known I wasn't the one meant for him.* Koyuki: "Why...?" *I was certain there was no one meant for me. Would things be different if I did have a man I was intimate with? Would he protect me?* *I could have had an innocent romance like theirs. Why was I the only one who had to suffer like this?* *There was no use in thinking about it, and yet, I had started to feel bitter.* Osamu: "Morning, Arie-san!" *Though the voice was familiar, it was so loud I thought it must be someone else. It turned out to be Mitsushima-kun after all.* *He stood on the other side of the window, next to the flowerbeds.* Koyuki: "What are you doing?" *I didn't have to ask. He was carrying a watering can, so he was obviously going to water the flowers.* Osamu: "Uh, watering the flowers." *He answered just as I'd expected. How carefree. The flow of time seemed different around him.* Osamu: "S-Say... Want to come out here?" Koyuki: "Huh?" Osamu: "Um... The flowers are blooming and they're really pretty." Koyuki: "The flowers?" Osamu: "Y-Yeah..." *This just might be the first time Mitsushima-kun had ever invited me to do something. People hardly ever invited me to do things, so it was a little new to me.* Koyuki: "...Sure." Osamu: "Huh? You sure?" *He seemed surprised when I agreed. Mitsushima-kun was a pretty funny guy.* *I looked around and made sure nobody was there, then climbed through the window.* Osamu: "Huh? You're coming through that way? Will you be okay?" Koyuki: "This much is fi─" Koyuki: "Ah!" *My leg got caught and my body tilted forward.* Osamu: "Ah, look out!" *Mitsushima-kun supported me when I lost my balance. His soft hands were holding my shoulders back.* *It was kind of... warm.* Osamu: "H-Hurry down. Can you make it down?" Koyuki: "Y-Yeah..." *I took his hand and stepped down from the window frame.* Osamu: "Are you okay?" Koyuki: "I'm all right. Sorry." *For some reason, I was incredibly embarrassed. I couldn't look at him, so I looked down at the flower bed instead. It really was pretty.* Koyuki: "It must be a lot of work tending to the flowers. Is this part of the class rep's job?" Osamu: "Nope, I'm just doing it because I enjoy it." Koyuki: "Is that so?" *He was so docile, I thought he might have been forced into doing it.* Osamu: "Is it weird that I like flowers even though I'm a guy?" Koyuki: "That's not it at all. It's nice to have something you like, isn't it?" *I didn't have anything like that.* Koyuki: "They're really pretty. I thought flowers didn't blossom in winter." Osamu: "Ahaha, there are flowers that bloom in winter, too." Osamu: "These are Euryops daisies. A much-appreciated flower that blooms during winter, when few others do." Koyuki: "Wow, it sounds kind of whimsical." Osamu: "Whimsical? Ahaha." *Mitsushima-kun was smiling happily. There must have been something funny about what I said. Still, there was no other word but "whimsical" for a flower that preferred to bloom at the coldest time of year.* Osamu: "Want to try watering them?" Koyuki: "Huh? Me? I've never done it before, though." Osamu: "Watering is simple enough to do even if you never have before. Look." *He pushed the watering can into my hands. Despite how cowardly he could be sometimes, I guess he had a confident side, too.* Koyuki: "What should I do?" Osamu: "The soil is dry right now, so you can water them plenty. Euryops daisies flourish in climates with low humidity, so when the soil dries out, you need to give them plenty of water!" Koyuki: "Hm. Like this?" Osamu: "Yeah, that's right. All over." *I watered them per his instructions. Doing this gave me kind of a strange feeling.* *Even though I was a woman, I had no interest in flowers, and had never so much as watered one before.* *Come to think of it, I couldn't cook, either. I guess there wasn't much that was womanly about me at all.* Osamu: "How is it?" Koyuki: "Hm... Not half bad." *I was only watering flowers, yet my heart was mysteriously aflutter. What a strange feeling.* Osamu: "It's nice, huh? There's more to watering flowers than just the act. I think it enriches your heart, too." Koyuki: "It enriches your heart?" Osamu: "Yeah." Koyuki: "..." Osamu: "Oh... I-I guess it sounded like I was showing off, huh? Acting smug doesn't suit me at all..." *Mitsushima-kun looked like he was going to cry.* Koyuki: "That's not true. It's not like it doesn't suit you." Osamu: "Y-You think so?" Koyuki: "Yeah. Say, can I come here again?" Osamu: "Huh?" Osamu: "Y-Yeah! Of course!" *He agreed with a funny amount of emphasis. It was so hilarious, I couldn't help but smile.* Osamu: "Oh, that was strange, huh?" Koyuki: "It's not like that... Hehe..." Osamu: "It _was_ weird..." Koyuki: "Yeah, it was." *How long had it been since I'd laughed? I was surprised I was still able.* Osamu: "I'm glad." Koyuki: "Huh? About what?" *When I wiped away the tears and lifted my face, Mitsushima-kun was smiling at me. Despite being laughed at, he continued to smile.* Osamu: "I'm glad you smiled for me. You look your best when you smile, Arie-san." Koyuki: "..." Osamu: "Huh? Did I say something strange?" Koyuki: "What you said just now was way more smug than what you said before." Osamu: "Huh? W-Was it? I'm sorry..." Koyuki: "But, thank you." *My heart fluttered once more in my chest. It wasn't all that cool, but he had a pretty smile on his face. I was sure it was genuine.* *So genuine that the likes of me really shouldn't get anywhere near him, since I would only sully him.* Osamu: "Be sure to come again, okay?" Koyuki: "...Yeah." *I nodded, thinking I needed to stay away from him all the while.* *I mean, wasn't this enough? If we got any closer... it would be an utter disaster.*

Koyuki: "Maybe I was a little too early?" *It had been a while since I had come to school this early. Unsurprisingly, there were only a few people wandering around campus.* Koyuki: "But I'm guessing he'll come early to tend to the flowers." *Mitsushima-kun would likely come here to do just that at this hour.* Osamu: "Oh?" *I heard a voice from behind.* Osamu: "It _is_ you, Arie-san. You're here pretty early, huh?" Koyuki: "Just like I thought. Ehehe..." *My plan had been so successful, I couldn't help but laugh.* Osamu: "Huh? Is something funny?" Koyuki: "Not really. Never mind that, you've got bed head." Osamu: "Huh, really? Where?" Koyuki: "In the back." Osamu: "Oh, you're right... I didn't notice at all. How embarrassing..." Koyuki: "Want me to fix it for you?" Osamu: "Y-You don't have to do that. It's too embarrassing." Koyuki: "Oh, it's fine. Come on, turn around. Stay still." Osamu: "Oh, wai─ Hey, wait. Aaah..." Oomura: "Hey!" Koyuki: "Huh?" *My hand stopped just before it reached Mitsushima-kun's head.* *That voice made my body subconsciously recoil, but it jolted my heart even more violently.* *I couldn't believe it. Why was Oomura _here_?* Koyuki: "..." Osamu: "Um, what's going on?" *He must have noticed how tense I got and stepped forward.* Oomura: "This is Miharugaoka Academy, ain't it?" Osamu: "Yes, it is. Um... do you need something from our academy?" *Mitsushima-kun asked timidly. He must have been suspicious after seeing how Oomura was acting.* Oomura: "I came to repair the air conditioning. They called me in frickin' early." Osamu: "I-Is that so...? I'm sorry..." *Mitsushima-kun cowered and bowed his head. It really wasn't something he needed to apologize for...* Oomura: "Hey, woman. Show me to the staff room." *Oomura designated me specifically.* Osamu: "Oh, I can show you the way..." Oomura: "Shuttup! Get outta 'ere, brat!" *Mitsushima-kun shuddered after Oomura yelled at him, and yet he continued to act as if he was trying to protect me.* Osamu: "No, but, um..." Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun, it's okay. I'll show him the way." Osamu: "But..." Koyuki: "It's okay, really." *I smiled to calm him down and turned to face Oomura. He continued to stare at Mitsushima-kun, an expression of utter disinterest on his face.* Koyuki: "I'll guide you." *I took the lead and walked ahead of him. I forced myself not to look back at Mitsushima-kun, who I was sure was watching me with concern as I walked off.* Oomura: "Hmph." *Oomura followed after me. The thought of him coming here of all places had never crossed my mind.* Koyuki: "...Were you really called here to repair the air conditioning?" Oomura: "Security let me in. It's work." *I was sure security _did_ make sure he had an appointment. And, they let him in.* *Still, I couldn't believe Oomura was at our academy.* Oomura: "Bleh, I hate schools. They're nasty as hell." Koyuki: "Then why don't you hurry up and leave?" Oomura: "Hmph." Oomura: "Was that brat earlier your boyfriend?" Koyuki: "Huh?" *What in the world was this guy saying? Of course Mitsushima-kun wasn't my boyfriend...* Koyuki: "How could you even think that?" Oomura: "Haha, guess so! There's no way a dirty woman like you'd ever be able t'have a boyfriend." Koyuki: "Please stop that. Not here..." *It was still early, and while it seemed like no one was here, someone might hear him.* Oomura: "Hey, c'mere." *He suddenly grabbed my arm. I felt a grinding pain in my bones.* Koyuki: "Wh-What are you going to do? Please let me go." Oomura: "N'er mind, c'mere!"

*He dragged me into a nearby classroom by force.* Koyuki: "What are you planning to do by dragging me in here like that?!" Oomura: "I didn't see a grade or class number listed, so this is an empty room, right?" *A vulgar smile crossed Oomura's face as he grabbed his belt.* Koyuki: "You can't be serious. Here...?" *His smile was becoming more and more coarse. He really did intend to do it here, huh? He must not be in his right mind.* *This man was literally insane.* Koyuki: "Please don't do this here. I'm..." Oomura: "Hey, y'think yah can run away? If yah don't want that brat to find everything out, anyway." *When he mentioned Mitsushima-kun, my blood boiled and rushed to my head.* Koyuki: "Don't drag him into this!" Oomura: "Oh, so yah _are_ serious, ain'cha? So a slutty pig like you is after a nice little sonny like that?" Koyuki: "N-No! That's not..." *Mitsushima-kun wasn't like that. I just didn't want him to get dragged into all this.* *He and I were from different worlds... I didn't want him to be affected by the filthy one I resided in.* Oomura: "In that case, you better behave." *Oomura slid down his pants and rubbed against me provocatively. It was so repulsive that dread quickly rose up in me.* Oomura: "Don't act like yah hate it. You actually can't help but want it now, ain't that right?" Koyuki: "Th-That's not true at all!" Oomura: "That so?" *Oomura's rugged hands slipped under my skirt, and suddenly caressed my privates.* *Splash...* *A wet, lewd noise echoed through the room.* Oomura: "See, look! Yer already dripping wet." *He wriggled his hands further under my skirt as he sprayed his revolting breath by my ear.* Koyuki: "Mmhm... Eeh, ahaa..." Oomura: "Yer voice and yer pussy are already melting. Truth is, yer really a slutty whore." Koyuki: "I'm... Mmmu!" Oomura: "I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna shove it in from the back end!" Koyuki: "Ah, ahaaaha...!"

Koyuki: "..." *Today was terrible. No, I hadn't had a day that _wasn't_ terrible in a long time.* Koyuki: "I wonder what happened to Mitsushima-kun?" *Despite what I'd just gone through, his face was the first thing that came to mind. Maybe he was worried about me?* *Then again, was it really okay for me to see him after being fucked by that filthy Oomura? His wretched stench may have stained me to my core.* *Even if it had, I wanted to see Mitsushima-kun. His gentle smile popped into my mind once more.* *The convenient thought that Mitsushima-kun might accept me as I am came to mind. He may not be reliable, but he _had_ tried to protect me earlier.* *Even as he was being threatened by that fiendish Oomura.* *Mitsushima-kun might just be able to...* Koyuki: "Help me..." *Before I knew it, those words had spilled effortlessly from my mouth.* *I couldn't take much more of this. If this continued any longer, it would destroy me. It was practically a miracle that I hadn't broken down already.* Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun..." *It didn't matter what it took. Right now, I desperately needed to see that smile of his.* *I found him in the usual place. He was watering the flowers again today.* Osamu: "..." *However, his expression wasn't as perky as it usually was. He must have been worried.* *Still, I was sure he would smile for me like he always did once he saw me.* *And I was sure seeing that smile would soothe me, if only a little.* Osamu: "...Ah." *He noticed me. He stopped watering the plants and looked my way.* Osamu: "Arie-san." *Mitsushima-kun smiled. The usual smile. This smile made me...* *Squick...* Koyuki: "Huh...?" *Squiiiiick...* *An obscene noise emanated from my skirt.* *It was too faint for Mitsushima-kun to have heard it, but it was plain as day to me.* *With that sound came the sensation of something lukewarm spilling out from between my legs... The nasty semen Oomura had shot into me earlier.* Osamu: "What's wrong, Arie-san?" *His smile vanished, and a concerned look superseded it. His puppy-dog eyes gazed at me anxiously.* *Oh, it was no use... I was a lost cause...* *I wasn't deserving enough to ask for his help. I couldn't drag someone so kind and innocent into my depraved problems.* *I would just end up sullying him.* *I didn't want him to be corrupted like I had. I wanted him to stay clean and pure forever.* *Being with me would only serve to ruin his life as well.* *I couldn't get any closer to him than I already was.* *Only I needed to be polluted by that man's poison. I _had_ to be the only one.* Osamu: "Arie-san?" Koyuki: "..."

Kiyohito: "All right, let's go home! I'm starved. Wanna grab some ramen before we head back?" Naruko: "Ramen at this hour? It's just a few hours away; hold out and have it for dinner." Kiyohito: "I'll make sure I eat dinner at dinnertime, too." Tomoe: "Your stomach's going to explode." Osamu: "Um, where is Kirinokojima-kun...?" *You always manage to pick out your name subconsciously when it's mentioned.* Kiyohito: "Hm? Looks like Tomoe's got a visitor." Kiyohito: "Isn't that a third-year?" Tomoe: "Looks like it." Osamu: "Oh, Kirinokojima-kun! I've got something to talk to you about..." *I suspected it wasn't me, but an angel he had business with...* *Based on what he told me, that aforementioned man had finally shown up at the school.* *And despite his claims that it was a business call, he apparently made Arie-san guide him and dragged her away with him.* *It seemed Arie-san's situation wasn't getting better at all. It was getting way worse.* Osamu: "It sounds like Arie-san _is_ in a lot of trouble, so I want to do something for her..." *Sempai looked down and clenched his fists in frustration.* *It was an unexpected gesture from someone who normally looked so timid and faint of heart. He didn't seem the type to get angry.* *He must have been really worried about Arie-san.* *Sempai lifted his head and looked at me.* Osamu: "Would you be willing to lend me a hand? I want to help out Arie-san, but I doubt I'll be able to do it with my strength alone." *A light of intense determination burned in his eyes.* *I got the feeling this was the first time he'd ever asked such a huge favor of anyone. He wasn't all that great at asking, either.* Aine: "Of course we will help! Let us go check on Koyuki-san together!" Aine: "Right, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "...Yeah, as long as it's just checking on her." *It really didn't feel like I could say no right now. Besides, if she was being followed around by such a shady-looking man, that was enough to make me worry about her, too.* Osamu: "Really? You'll help me out? Thank you...!" *Sempai looked relieved and showed me a smile.* Aine: "Let us go help out Koyuki-san together!" *Aine was eager, but I was more heavy-hearted than ever before.* *Why did Arie-san get involved with such a horrible man? Had I thrown myself into something really messy?* *I couldn't shake the feeling...*

*Arie-san left school, and we spied on her from afar.* Aine: "Let us go! Please make yourselves scarce so that she does not notice us!" Tomoe: "Are you sure it's okay for us to tail her? This many of us, at that." Aine: "We have no choice; it is to help Koyuki-san out!" Osamu: "I'm sorry; please do." Aine: "Okay, time to go." Osamu: "Y-Yeah." Aine: "She went that way." Osamu: "Y-Yeah..." *Arie-san moved along without hesitation. She advanced straight ahead, through the business district, and then eventually a huge park.* *It was difficult to imagine her having any business in the park at this time of day, but beyond that park lay the nightlife of the city. The so-called pleasure district.* *The area had many sketchy shops, and children were taught not to go there. The academy instructed us even now not to venture there without a good reason.* *It didn't seem like Arie-san had any intention of stopping by any of the stores that lined the shopping district, either. It looked to me like she was just heading deeper in.* Osamu: "..." *Her face looked uneasy and tense. Her complexion was what you'd expect of someone jumping in a pool in midwinter.* Tomoe: "Are you all right? Would you be better off calling it quits? Should we go it alone from here?" Osamu: "N-No. You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine." Osamu: "I've got to hold it together." *That last comment sounded like he was trying to persuade himself. That alone showed how resolved he was.* Tomoe: "Got it. Let's go." Osamu: "Yeah...!" Osamu: "Ah..." *Arie-san entered the building without hesitation. It came so naturally to her, it was like she was used to coming here.* Aine: "This place is..." *Aine had realized what sort of place this was, too. A love hotel. A place men and women used for less than pure acts.* *And Arie-san went in, essentially meaning she had that in mind...* Osamu: "..." *Mitsushima-san was staring at the entrance of the love hotel with eyes that seemed both scared and sad.* *Could there be some emotion we couldn't even imagine swirling around in his heart?* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san, are you all right?" Osamu: "Yeah..." *When he answered, both his voice and lips were trembling. If I looked closely, even his body was shaking a bit.* Aine: "What should we do...?" Tomoe: "Hmm..." *Mitsushima-san was still fixated on the hotel's entrance.* *What did he want to do? Did he have a plan in mind?* Osamu: "It's creepy for me to act like such a stalker, isn't it?" Osamu: "But I'm worried about Arie-san. He didn't seem like a good person at all from what I saw of him when they were together..." Osamu: "If she _is_ hypothetically with that person right now, I need to make sure of something. What sort of relationship do he and Arie-san have?" *Sempai squatted down on the spot, his voice oozing with determination. It seemed he planned to wait for Arie-san to come out.* Osamu: "You two can go home. Sorry for making you join me on such a weird errand." Tomoe: "No..." *I shook my head and sat down beside him.* Tomoe: "We've come this far, so we'll stick with you until the end." Aine: "That is right, very right! It is cold, so we shall wait with you." Osamu: "...Thanks." *Sempai smiled. It was a forced, lonely-looking smile.* *The temperature began to steadily decline. Today in particular was very chilly.* *Arie-san came out three hours later, on the dot.* *She was alone when she went in, but not when she came out.* *I now understood what Mitsushima-san meant. You shouldn't judge people by appearances, but this guy _did_ look like bad news.* *A certain author once wrote, "Once upon a time, teachers were teachers, and thieves were thieves. You could tell which they were at a glance, but villains now wear the masks of honest men."* *Based on that example, this was a villain from the good old days.* *I could sense from his aura that this was a terrible, nasty man.* Koyuki: "..." *Arie-san's face was as expressionless as a Noh mask.* *I couldn't sense any amount of rage or sadness─or joy, of course─in her expression.* Oomura: "Why don't we link arms once in a while?" *The man touched her arm, but she shook him off, still expressionless.* Osamu: "Arie-san..." *I could tell all sorts of emotions were bubbling up inside Mitsushima-san. Rage, sorrow... and helplessness.* *That mishmash of emotions exploded within him, and then...* Osamu: "Oh, oh... oooooooh...!" *_It_ burst forth from Mitsushima-san's body, which wasn't large by any means.* Osamu: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" *He screamed and raced toward the love hotel, straight at Arie-san and that man.* Aine: "Ah, Osamu-san!" *He had likely gone deaf to Aine's cries. We quickly rushed after him.* Osamu: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Oomura: "Wh-What?" *The man seemed startled when he saw Mitsushima-san rushing up to him screaming, but that only lasted for a second.* Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun..." Oomura: "Oh, this guy? He's head over heels for yah." Koyuki: "He isn't." Osamu: "D-Don't touch Arie-san!" *Mitsushima-san suddenly took a shot at the man, but his punching technique was so feeble and inexperienced that the man easily dodged it.* Osamu: "Whoa...!" *With a swing and a miss, Mitsushima-san lost his balance and tumbled over.* Oomura: "What's this guy's deal? Guess it's true youngins blow their lid easy nowadays." Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun!" *Arie-san tried to run to his side, but the man wouldn't let her go. He tightly gripped her arm to ensure she wouldn't escape.* Koyuki: "Let me go!" Oomura: "That's a nice look fer yah. I wouda' been much more fired up if yah'd made that face fer me tonight." Koyuki: "Please stop!" Osamu: "S-Stop it!" *Mitsushima-san picked himself up and glared up at the man.* Osamu: "Take your hands off Arie-san!" Oomura: "Why do I gotta listen to yer commands, huh? Brats like you oughtta hightail it home, jack it, and nod the hell off!" Osamu: "If you don't let her go, I'll make you pay!" *Sempai threatened him, but the man laughed heartily.* Oomura: "How yah gonna make me pay, exactly?" Osamu: "Uh... uh... Aaaaaah!" *He took another swing at the man. This time he didn't dodge it. Instead, he swung his arm, thick as a log.* *Clonk!!* *The crash and bang of the heavy strike echoed. Mitsushima-san's body flew back and smacked hard against the asphalt.* Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun!" Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san!" Osamu: "S-Stay away...!" *Still flat on his back, Mitsushima-san held up his hand, signaling for us to stay back.* Tomoe: "But..." Osamu: "I'm all right, but if things start to look bad, call the cops." *He stood back up again. His face had been knocked out of shape, and the place he'd been hit started to swell.* Oomura: "Want s'more? You a zombie or something?" Osamu: "Rrraaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Oomura: "If yah wanna get pounded so bad, I'll beat yah good! C'mon!" *The man didn't go easy on him. It looked like he was getting more and more enraged while he punched and kicked Mitsushima-san around.* Osamu: "Ugg, gah... urg...!" Koyuki: "S-Stop...! Stop this already!" *Arie-san clung to the man to try and stop him, but he instantly knocked her away.* Oomura: "Yer in the way!" Oomura: "Heheh, I'll kill you...! Take this! Hah! Hyah hah hah!" *Sempai had collapsed and couldn't move. The man continued to kick him over and over again without holding back.* Osamu: "Urg... Ugg... uh..." *He couldn't even protect himself. All Mitsushima-san could do now was groan as the man kept kicking him without restraint.* Aine: "T-Tomoe-san!" Tomoe: "I know." *I knew how Mitsushima-san felt. This was enough.* Tomoe: "Aine, call the police." *I handed Aine my cell phone and headed to Sempai's side.* Oomura: "Hey! Die already!" *The man was still mercilessly kicking Sempai.* Tomoe: "Please stop it already." *I put my hand on his shoulder as he continued to pummel Sempai in a mad frenzy. The man tried to shake me off, but I resisted and tugged on his shoulder.* Oomura: "The hell do _you_ want?!" *The man barked at me and turned around.* Tomoe: "He'll die if you keep it up." Oomura: "Fine by me, damn it! I'll kill 'im!" Tomoe: "You don't seem to understand what it means for a person to die, do you?" Oomura: "Huh? What's that supposed tah..." Tomoe: "..." Oomura: "Uh... Th-The hell's with your eyes...?" Tomoe: "..." Oomura: "Have you killed someone before?" Tomoe: "..." Oomura: "S-Say somethin', would yah? Those eyes..." Oomura: "S-Seriously?" Tomoe: "..." Oomura: "C-Crap...!" Tomoe: "Don't run away." Tomoe: "If you run, they'll catch you anyway. You've gone too far." Koyuki: "I-I'll testify, too! About everything you've done to me all of this time!" *Arie-san raised her voice as though she were protecting Mitsushima-san.* Oomura: "Guh... Ah..." *The man went wide-eyed and glared at her for a moment before hanging his head and accepting defeat.* *We heard the sirens wail, and I could see the patrol car coming our way.* Aine: "Oh, over here! Over here!" *Aine waved her arms wide and signaled to the patrol car.* Osamu: "O-Ooh... Arie-san..." Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun..." *Arie-san took hold of his hand and sobbed as he went limp and deliriously mumbled her name.*

Aine: "She is free at last." Tomoe: "Yeah. There was no way out of it after how everything panned out." *The cops arrived, and Mitsushima-san was taken to the hospital. I figured he'd be hospitalized for a few days in the worst-case scenario, but he apparently hadn't been injured that badly.* *I was glad it hadn't turned into anything more serious.* Aine: "I wonder what will happen to that man?" *It seemed his name was Oomura. He was a blue-collar electrical worker, but also associated with wannabe yakuza members behind the scenes, and dabbled in drugs and prostitution.* *Arie-san appeared to be a victim of his.* Tomoe: "It does sound like he was committing a lot of crimes. I'm sure he'll be behind bars for quite a while." *He was going to be put on trial, and I was sure he'd get a prison sentence.* *The police told us that he'd been indicted on several crimes, and would likely do a few years' time for it.* *Anyway, now Arie-san had been freed from him.* Aine: "Do you think those two will be all right now?" *She must have been referring to Arie-san and Mitsushima-san. Arie-san had postponed her visit to the police and instead went to the hospital with Mitsushima-san.* *After we checked on Sempai and his condition, we saw Arie-san in passing. They might still be questioning her about the situation right about now.* Tomoe: "Who knows." *Mitsushima-san shielded Arie-san with his own body. Even though he knew he didn't stand a chance physically, he risked his life for her.* *His feelings had to have gotten through to Arie-san.* *And no matter the form it took, this was probably the best outcome we could've hoped for, especially now that the authorities had stepped in. It wasn't an issue a mere student could handle on his own.* Aine: "Osamu-san really does love Koyuki-san." Tomoe: "Looks like it." *He couldn't have possibly done all he did if he hadn't.* *I wonder what the future would hold for those two?*

*Ultimately, my relationship with Oomura never became public. It seemed Mitsushima-kun was stubborn in not talking about me.* *Of course, part of me wanted Oomura to pay for his crimes.* *But if my relationship with Oomura came to light, my parents would surely find out everything that had happened to me. The school might find out, too.* *Oomura would still be prosecuted for his many other offenses regardless, and wouldn't evade a prison sentence. The policemen said he would probably do hard time for a while to come.* *With that in mind, I doubted Oomura would commit any further crimes. It might be okay to find some peace in that knowledge.* Koyuki: "...Oh, I'm going to overwater them." *Mitsushima-kun was currently in the hospital, so he was absent from school.* *I was worried about his injuries, but given the circumstances, I shouldn't intrude on him while he was recovering.* *I searched, wondering what I should do with myself, and decided to water the flowers.* *He said I didn't have to give them very much, but it looked like a human hand was vital in this dry season.* *Had there been a day where I only did something for myself?* *Mitsushima-kun had been coming here and doing just that, all alone, without anyone ever praising him for it.* *When I thought about that, it felt like my heart was being crushed. My chest ached when I remembered his face.* *Before I knew it, I found myself thinking... "I want to see him."* Osamu: "Arie-san?" Koyuki: "Huh...?" *The voice I'd wanted to hear called my name. I turned around, and there he was.* Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun..." Osamu: "Did you give them water?" Koyuki: "Y-Yeah... I mean, that's all I can do." *I couldn't look him in the eye. As much as I wanted to see him, now that he was here, I couldn't do it.* Osamu: "Is that right? Thank you." *He smiled. I stole a glance at his face, and I honestly felt glad I had watered the flower bed.* Osamu: "Oh... Arie-san, you're smiling." Koyuki: "Huh...?" *Surprised, I looked up at him. I hadn't noticed until he mentioned it, but... I was smiling?* Osamu: "You really do look your best when you smile, Arie-san. When I first met you... actually, I guess I just happened to catch sight of you, so I doubt you noticed..." Koyuki: "Huh? What's with that?" Osamu: "I happened to see you on the train on the day of the entrance ceremony. You gave up your seat to an elderly lady with bad legs." Koyuki: "Entrance ceremony? On the train?" Osamu: "Yeah, you were talking to her with such a big smile on your face that day." Osamu: "It made me think, 'What a fantastic person.'" Koyuki: "I see..." *To be honest, I didn't remember it at all.* *I was sure anyone would give up their seat to an elderly woman with bad legs. It wasn't that unusual a thing.* Osamu: "I thought to myself, 'It's a student from our academy, and her uniform is new so she must be a first-year.' When we ended up in the same class, I was really surprised." Koyuki: "That's what happened...? You should have told me." Osamu: "Yeah, but I thought you might be bothered if someone like me talked to you. I didn't want you to think I was a stalker or something." Koyuki: "Of course I wouldn't!" Osamu: "Ahaha, thanks, but I guess silently watching you from afar might have been grosser..." Koyuki: "I'm telling you, it's not like that." *I felt kind of sad to hear him say that. It _really_ wasn't like that for me.* Osamu: "No, just looking really _was_ cowardly of me." Koyuki: "It wasn't. I was saved because you were watching over me." *If he hadn't realized what was going on with me, I'd probably still be Oomura's toy.* *Mitsushima-kun had risked his life for someone as sullied as me.* Koyuki: "You... still have some bruises." *Several places across his face were still painfully discolored.* Osamu: "This much is nothing." Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun, thank you. Thank you so much..." *Once I thanked him, I couldn't hold back all the feelings boiling up inside me.* *Tears escaped my eyes, and I panicked and covered my face. Bursting into tears was such a sissy thing to do.* Osamu: "A-Arie-san? A-Are you all right?" *Mitsushima-kun was panicking. That was to be expected. It would bother anyone if a girl suddenly started crying in front of them.* Koyuki: "I'm okay... I'm really okay..." Osamu: "Yeah, it's all right, so don't cry, okay?" *He spoke to me, seeming flustered. Almost as if he was comforting a child.* Osamu: "I'm really all right. My injuries aren't serious, and the school didn't really get involved in any capacity..." Osamu: "And most important of all, I'm plenty happy that I was able to do my best for you, Arie-san. So don't cry." *His hand loitered in midair, like he wasn't sure whether or not to touch me. His diligence crumbled as I cried.* *And then it occurred to me.* *This boy might accept me the way I am.* *He might save me.* *I was well aware how convenient a thought it was. After he risked his life and got injured to help me, I would make him bear yet another heavy burden?* *A tainted person like me wasn't proper for him. I knew that, but still...* *As I thought about that, I gazed at him and our eyes met.* *His eyes were staring intently into mine.* *"Please don't let my miserable desires reach him." I wished for that as I stared back at him.* *Mitsushima-kun's pupils shook. Then, a frantic light burned in them.* Osamu: "U-U-Um...!" Koyuki: "Y-Yes?" Osamu: "Um, the truth is, um, I... have something... I want to tell you..." Koyuki: "Wh-What could it be?" *My heart raced. I shouldn't have any idea what he was trying to say to me, but I found myself hoping all the same.* Osamu: "Um, uh, well, um..." Koyuki: "Y-Yes...?" Osamu: "I-I... um... Arie-san, I..." Koyuki: "Wh-What about me...?" Osamu: "L... L... L..." Koyuki: "L-L-L..." Osamu: "...Love you!!!" Koyuki: "..." Osamu: "..." Koyuki: "..." Osamu: "...U-Um... Y-You don't have to answer me right away..." Osamu: "...Huh? Arie-san... Why are you crying...?" Koyuki: "I'm... sorry... I'm so happy..." Osamu: "Huh? Happy? ...Does that mean?" Koyuki: "Yes... Please treat me well." *I nodded over and over.* *Over and over and over, so much that it troubled him.* *Over and over again...*

Aine: "You told her how you feel?! Congratulations!" Osamu: "Th-Thank you." Osamu: "I was so surprised. I never thought she would say okay to it." *By the sound of it, Mitsushima-san had confessed his feelings to Arie-san at last, and she'd even said yes to him.* *He was surprised, but I didn't think it was all that unexpected. I'd noticed they had a spark between them.* Osamu: "I figured I would come tell all of you. You guys helped me out in more ways than I can mention." Tomoe: "I'm happy for you. Congratulations." *It would be great if I could honestly give my blessing like Aine or Nakizaki at times like this, but as usual, I couldn't get behind it.* *There was just no way I could believe love was such a great thing.* Osamu: "Thanks. Thank you so much." *Had we really done anything worthy of him thanking us so much?* Aine: "Be happy! If any more problems turn up, then please tell us!" Osamu: "Yeah, thanks, but I've got to do my best and protect Arie-san on my own from now on." *Mitsushima-san looked down at both of his hands.* *The hands which stood up to that terrifying man. Such an experience had to be a first for such a docile guy.* Osamu: "See you later." Tomoe: "See you." *Mitsushima-san left the rooftop. Aine saw him off, all smiles.* Tomoe: "Are you sure you should be so happy about this? You didn't even get a red thread this time." *I hadn't performed any angelery, but Aine was in a really good mood, and didn't seem to care either way.* Aine: "It is fine. As long as we bring two people together with the red thread when they are truly troubled and lose their shards." Tomoe: "Is that how it is?" Aine: "It is." *Aine asserted it. She acted like she wasn't in it for personal gain. Of course, an angel who only ever thought about their own interests would be a horrible one.* *But I couldn't help but feel that a purehearted angel like her hadn't yet noticed the many pitfalls that came along with love. Humans weren't exactly pure creatures.* Tomoe: "Hey, will those two really be okay?" Aine: "Huh? What do you mean?" Tomoe: "I don't mean anything by it; something just feels off." *Would those two be able to find a trouble-free happy ending?*

Osamu: "Even in the city, you can find quite a few edible herbs." Koyuki: "Wow, really?" *We walked home side by side as we carried on a silly conversation.* *I never would have thought that we could act like normal lovers.* *It was almost like I was an ordinary student.* *...No, I _was_ an ordinary student now.* *He had brought me to such an ordinary place. It was okay for a woman like me to be here with him, from now on and forever.* Osamu: "Hey, did you know? There are a few kinds of edible herbs growing at the academy." Koyuki: "Huh? Really?" Osamu: "Yeah, I'll give you a lesson on which they are next time." Koyuki: "Yes, teach me. I wonder if I could try using some in my cooking? I'll put together a lunchbox for you." Osamu: "Huh, really? I'm looking forward to it." *He smiled. Whenever I saw this smile of his, I got a warm feeling inside.* *And at the same time, I felt like my chest was tightening.* Osamu: "Okay, this is as far as I go. See you tomorrow." Koyuki: "Ah..." *On reflex, I gripped his sleeve and stopped him.* Osamu: "Hm? What's wrong?" Koyuki: "Well, uh..." *I had done it in the spur-of-the-moment, and had no real motive behind it.* *But I knew instantly what I wished for. I wanted to stay together longer.* *A sort of bittersweet, semi-painful, convoluted emotion filled the depths of my heart.* *It felt as if the core of my body was starting to burn.* Osamu: "Arie-san?" Koyuki: "..." *Mitsushima-kun hadn't even kissed me yet. He was so inexperienced, and he stealthily held my hand while nobody was around.* *He was so serious and a late bloomer, so I was sure he wouldn't do anything brave.* *But... I already wanted more. A sensation I hadn't felt in a while, and a metamorphosis in my body.* *I... craved him sexually...* Osamu: "Arie-san?" *He eyed me, seeming concerned. I was so embarrassed, I couldn't look back at him properly.* *All things considered, I doubted he had any sexual experience.* *If he knew I craved him all on my own, wouldn't he scorn me?* Osamu: "Um, did I do something to hurt your feelings or something?" Koyuki: "Huh? No, it's not like that." Osamu: "Then..." Koyuki: "Yeah, um... if it's all right with you, would you like to drop by my place?" *I couldn't come up with anything clever and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.* Osamu: "To your house?" Koyuki: "Y-Yeah... My parents will be home late today..." Osamu: "Huh...?" *What in the world was I saying? It totally sounded like I was soliciting him now...* *Was he thinking dirty thoughts, too? He was turning beet red.* Osamu: "But, um... I'm a man, too... so if I'm all alone with a girl, there's no telling what I might do..." Koyuki: "Huh...?" *I was so surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth I stared straight at his face.* *As always, he turned bright red and was terribly bashful.* Koyuki: "..." *He looked so cute that way. It eased my heart.* *He wanted me that way, too.* Koyuki: "...Whatever you do, it's fine by me. Whatever you like..." *So embarrassing. This must be what they mean when they say it feels like your face will catch fire.* Osamu: "B-But... Arie-san, are you sure it's all right?" *He asked with concern.* *That was when I realized it. He was definitely worried about me. About what happened to me.* *He may have been worried that I was sexually traumatized by what happened to me. Given the sorts of acts I had been forced to perform, that would be entirely reasonable.* *...Maybe I just wasn't normal?* Koyuki: "...Yeah, I'm fine. I want you to make me forget all about it." *I felt as though it would cleanse me if he slept with me. Yes, I just knew it would. So I wanted him to fuck me.* *...For sure.* Osamu: "...G-Got it. I'll make you forget all about it." *He looked extremely nervous. He got all stiff when he answered me, but when he grabbed my hand, it seemed he had made up his mind.* *There was no doubt he had mustered up the courage. I was so happy.* Koyuki: "Then..." Osamu: "Y-Yeah..."

Osamu: "..." *Mitsushima-kun was seated on my bed and looked completely tense. He was likely nervous, and looked frozen in place.* *This might even be the first time he'd ever been in a girl's bedroom.* *How cute.* *But it seemed I was really nervous, too. For it to be this normal was a first.* Koyuki: "Um... Want something to drink?" Osamu: "N-No, I'm all right." Koyuki: "A-Are you...? Then..." *How should we do this? I had always been forced into it, so I didn't know how to initiate it normally.* *My body was already reacting in anticipation, and it was turning into a real mess down there. I couldn't help but want him to hurry and touch me.* Koyuki: "..." *I silently sat beside him. Our shoulders naturally touched each other.* Osamu: "Ah..." *We only touched a little, yet that was enough to startle him.* *He casually covered his crotch with his hands. He was probably already super hard, wasn't he?* Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun..." *I turned to him and called his name. He was lured in and looked my way.* *We were so close we could feel each other's breath. The tips of our noses were practically touching.* *I gazed at him. His pupils were shaking in trepidation. So cute. The second I had that thought, I couldn't stand it anymore.* Koyuki: "Mitsushima-kun..." *I closed my eyes and puckered my lips ever so slightly.* Osamu: "A-Arie... san..." *He gulped and timidly touched his lips with mine.* Koyuki: "Mm..." *The kiss was so gentle, I briefly wondered if our lips were touching at all. This was the first time I'd ever been kissed so affectionately.* *I'd always been kissed rather violently, with a tongue crammed into me, forced to suck down his saliva...* *...No, stop that. Don't think about all of that at such an important moment.* Osamu: "Arie-san... C-Can I... touch you?" Koyuki: "Huh?" *It took me a moment to understand what he was asking for. He was asking permission to touch me? Nobody had ever done that for me before.* Koyuki: "Yeah, of course." *I nodded with a smile to ease his nerves. Next, he finally touched my breasts.* Koyuki: "Mm..." *He touched them almost like he was checking their texture. It felt good, but made me a little impatient. I wanted him to be more intense...* Osamu: "Arie-san..." Koyuki: "No... Mm... Call me Koyuki..." Osamu: "K-Koyuki..." Koyuki: "Osamu... kun..."

Koyuki: "Aaan... aah... Osamu-kun..." Osamu: "Mm, oh, mm..." *Osamu-kun awkwardly shook his hips. His movements were so clumsy even to me.* *Maybe that was why these urges I felt deep inside hadn't subsided. I thought they would go away once he penetrated me...* Osamu: "K-Koyuki... Guh, aah..." Koyuki: "Go... deeper..." *I wanted him to push in and fill me, but his shaft only reached in shallowly.* *I wanted him to fuck me harder...* Koyuki: "More... mm, aah... Osamu-kun..." *I pushed my crotch forward, but his tip was forced in only slightly deeper.* *I wanted more, but was this all he could manage?* Koyuki: "More... more, mmm... ooh..." *I rocked my hips while still pressing against him. The tip of his penis was rubbing my insides, but it wasn't quite right.* *Oomura's was larger and more rugged. It grinded against me deep inside, and felt so good...* Osamu: "K-Koyuki-san...? Aah, agh..." *Osamu-kun sounded panicked as he spoke to me.* *I barely had time to think "Huh?" to myself before his hips quickly pulled away, and his penis came out of me.* Koyuki: "Ah..." Osamu: "Ooh...!" *Hot fluid surged vigorously from his tip the instant he pulled out. Two or three powerful spurts struck against my body.* Koyuki: "Aaah, mmm... aah..." *Not inside, and not on my face, but somewhere in between.* Osamu: "Oh, oooh... Sorry, I can't stop... fuaah, agh..." *Only the sheer amount was impressive. His manhood vomited murky white as it quivered over and over again. I could feel how hot it was, but it wasn't enough to satisfy me.* *If only he'd blown his load on my face, or in my mouth! If only he had come inside me...* *It would have felt incredible if he came inside me. Oomura always came inside without caring about my situation for a second.* *That feeling... like a fire in the pit of my stomach...* Koyuki: "..." *What the hell was I thinking? What Oomura had done to me was revolting. Why was I comparing Osamu-kun to him?* *Not to mention, thinking Oomura felt better...* *Something was wrong with me. Something...* Osamu: "Haa, haa... Koyuki-san..." Koyuki: "..." *Was I mad? Had I gone insane?* *And here I thought I had finally gotten away from him. Was I a lost cause? Had I been driven crazy by that man? Could I never go back to being normal?* *...Now it made sense. I _was_ hopeless... A lost cause...* *A deranged woman like me... didn't deserve a purehearted guy like him. I would only taint him.* *I couldn't do this anymore...* Koyuki: "..." Osamu: "Wh-What's wrong?" Koyuki: "...Nothing. Nothing at all..." *I couldn't be with him, not the way I was now.* *I had...* *...no right to be with him.*

*Mitsushima-san came up to the rooftop that afternoon, and it looked like it would start to rain at any second.* Osamu: "Hello." *He wasn't wearing his usual smile, and looked visibly depressed. Enough that I hesitated to greet him at first.* Aine: "What is the matter?" *Aine spoke first and asked with concern in her voice.* Osamu: "It's just..." *There was no pluck in his tone. It was obvious something was troubling him even though he'd just started dating Arie-san.* Aine: "Are things not going well with Koyuki-san?" Osamu: "You could say that..." *He drooped his shoulders feebly. It _really_ didn't look like things were going well at all.* Tomoe: "Did you two have a fight or something?" Osamu: "No, not a fight... It's probably my fault." *He wouldn't get to the point, but things weren't looking good. What in the world happened?* Aine: "If something is bothering you, please tell us whatever you like. We will help you out! Keeping it all to yourself will not solve anything." Osamu: "Yeah, I guess you're right..." *He hung his head and looked more and more powerless by the minute. Was it really that difficult to talk about? Trying to force it out of him didn't feel right, either.* Osamu: "I wonder if I'm incapable of pleasing Koyuki-san?" *Mitsushima-san whispered that through a sigh.* Aine: "That is not true! Koyuki-san said she would go out with you, did she not?" Osamu: "Y-Yeah..." Aine: "Then I am sure that if you do something for Koyuki-san, it will make her happy no matter what it may be." Osamu: "It sure doesn't look that way..." Aine: "Huh? What do you mean?" Osamu: "N-Nothing. Just, well... Koyuki-san hasn't been very peppy lately." Aine: "Is that right? Whatever could be wrong?" Tomoe: "It may be out of your hands for a while. Not a lot of time has passed. Won't it take her a while to forget?" *What happened to her was horrible. She probably needed some time to recover.* Osamu: "Yeah, you're right. I wonder..." Osamu: "Is there nothing I can do? Anything I can do to cheer her up?" Aine: "What about a present?" Osamu: "A present..." Osamu: "Yeah, that sounds good! I haven't given her anything yet, either!" Aine: "Something to commemorate your relationship would be great! Right, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "Yeah, sounds good to me." *I honestly agreed with her, too. Ordinary lovers would definitely do something like that for one another.* Osamu: "I'll do that, then! But what should I give her?" Aine: "Good question... In that case, we shall go look with you today!" Osamu: "Really? Please, by all means." Osamu: "I've never given a girl a present before, and I have absolutely no clue what I would buy on my own." Aine: "Please leave it to us! I promise we will pick out a present that will make Koyuki-san happy!" Osamu: "Yeah! It would be great if it makes her happy." *He smiled happily. He may have been picturing Arie-san's overjoyed face in his mind.* Tomoe: "I hope it cheers her up." Osamu: "Yeah!"

Tomoe: "Are you sure that was okay? Did we go over the budget?" *Mitsushima-san was hugging the present box to his chest as if it were something really precious.* *He bought his gift at a stylish accessory shop earlier. He went completely over the budget he'd mentioned to us beforehand.* Osamu: "It was kind of expensive, but I just knew that had to be the one." Aine: "It is a commemoration after all! Hehe! I am sure your feelings will get through to her, Osamu-san!" Osamu: "It would be nice if they did." Osamu: "Huh? Koyuki-san...?" *He stopped walking.* *That was definitely Arie-san. A real case of "speak of the devil."* Aine: "Will you give her the present right away?" Osamu: "Yeah, but..." *He was hesitating to approach her, and I immediately understood why.* *Arie-san was acting kind of weird. She was loitering around, unsteady on her feet, like there was no life in her.* Osamu: "I wonder what's wrong?" Aine: "Let us go greet her." Osamu: "Yeah. ...Ah." *Mitsushima-san stopped midstep. He had dropped Arie-san's present.* Osamu: "Sorry, wait a second." *He picked up the present and lifted his head.* Osamu: "Huh? Where's Koyuki-san?" Tomoe: "What? Huh...?" *I couldn't see Arie-san anymore, either. It appeared she'd slipped into the crowd.* Aine: "Huh? Where could she have gone?" Osamu: "Koyuki-san..." *He looked worried. She _was_ acting strange just now...* Tomoe: "Why don't you go look for her? We'll help." Osamu: "Thanks." Aine: "Then let us start over there!" Osamu: "Yeah..." *Her eyes were completely hollow earlier. Worse yet, her and Mitsushima-san's relationship was off to a rocky start.* *What the heck happened?*

Aine: "Have you found her yet?" Osamu: "No, I couldn't find her." Tomoe: "I wonder where she went? The only place we haven't looked is around here." Osamu: "Yeah... Koyuki-san..." ???: "Mm... aah... mm..." Tomoe: "Hm?" *I thought I heard a voice coming from somewhere.* Koyuki: "Aaan... ah, aah... mmm..." *I listened closely, and could clearly tell it was Arie-san's voice.* *But, this voice was...* Aine: "Do you hear a voice?" *Aine also noticed it, but it didn't look like Mitsushima-san had.* Osamu: "This voice... is Koyuki-san's..." Aine: "Oh, you are right. It _is_ Koyuki-san's voice." Aine: "Koyuki-sa─Mrrgmgmgg!" *I quickly covered Aine's mouth as she started to shout. After all, this voice was...* Koyuki: "Aaah, it feels good... mm, aaah, it feels so good..." *I could hear her voice clearly now.* Aine: "Huh...? This voice..." *Aine finally noticed it. The special ring that voice held.* Osamu: "..." *And naturally, Mitsushima-san heard it, too. His face was pitifully pale.* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san..." *Her voice was coming from the nearby thicket.* *But wouldn't he be better off not looking? Wouldn't he be better off pretending he hadn't noticed a thing and left?* *I couldn't help but think so, but...* Osamu: "..." *His face still pale, he walked toward the thicket from where the voice was emanating. His expression was tragic, like he already knew exactly what was there.* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san..." *We hesitated to stop him, and in the end couldn't do it. All we could do now was watch over him and see what was about to occur.* *I followed after him, feeling powerless all the while.*

*An unimaginable spectacle was unraveling before my eyes.* Koyuki: "Aaah, mm... It feels good...! Shove it harder... into my pussy...!" *Arie-san was breathing heavily, surrounded by filthily clad men. I turned away on reflex.* Osamu: "..." *But Mitsushima-san never broke his gaze. He couldn't look away.* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san." *I spoke to him, trying to tell him he shouldn't watch this, but he didn't even try to look away.* Koyuki: "Good, so good...! Stick that super-fat cock inside me! Shove that fat dick even deeper into my pussy!" *One of those drab men thrust into her from below as she furiously stroked and sucked on the other surrounding cocks.* *It didn't look like she was being forced into any of it, either. Arie-san was enjoying it. She was happy and accepting of her situation.* Aine: "Koyuki-san... Why...?" *Aine whispered that sounding completely aghast. Why had it come to this? Arie-san was supposed to be dating Mitsushima-san, so why was she with those men?* *A barrage of questions flooded my mind, but I didn't voice a single one.* Aine: "I-I have to stop her...!" *Aine finally took action, but Mitsushima-san grabbed and stopped her.* Aine: "Huh? Osamu-san? We have to hurry and stop this!" Osamu: "It's fine." Aine: "'Fine'...?" *That was unexpected. Mitsushima-san was trying to accept the situation.* *However, he was crying.* *He practically bled tears as he watched Arie-san wail in pleasure while being defiled by those filthy men. Mitsushima-san had resigned himself, trying to come to terms with what he was witnessing.* Aine: "Why... Why will you not stop her?" Osamu: "It's my fault." Aine: "Your fault? What do you..." Osamu: "It's because I have so little experience, and wasn't able to satisfy her..." Osamu: "I knew I wasn't good enough to satisfy her when we had sex. That's why our relationship has become so strained..." *Once he made that confession, I finally understood. He may not have been able to say it, but that was why he had come to us for advice on the rooftop today.* *It was only natural he couldn't bring himself to talk about it. Arie-san's privacy was on the line.* *He couldn't do anything to fix it, so he wanted to talk to someone, but couldn't.* Osamu: "That's why it's my fault. Mine, for being unable to satisfy her..." Aine: "Th-That is not true...!" Koyuki: "Mmmgyahmm! G-Good, it feels so good! My pussy, feelshh so gooood! Ah!" Koyuki: "Fill me more, more! Shove it in deep! Mess my pussy up!" *Arie-san cried out in inarticulate joy as she was made into the mens' plaything. Mitsushima-san didn't take his eyes off the heart-wrenching sight.* *He was searing the image into his eyes, like he was punishing himself.* Aine: "Osamu-san, this cannot go on...!" *Aine urged him with concern, but he remained fixated on the scene before him.* Osamu: "Koyuki-san..." *He whispered Arie-san's name.* Aine: "Ah...!" *I heard the sound of something cracking.* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san..." *I knew what that meant. That was the sound of Mitsushima-san's heart fracturing.* Koyuki: "It's good, good, it feels so good...! Mmmah! I'm gonna come! I'm coming, coming...!" Koyuki: "My pussy... feels so good, faaaaah... Coming, coming, I'm gonna come...! Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Osamu: "..." *Mitsushima-san continued to watch the hellish scene until the very end, shedding almost bloody tears all the while.*

*The men left, and Arie-san cleansed her body with the park's water.* *It didn't seem likely that would be enough to get herself completely clean, but that was the extent she groomed herself.* Osamu: "...Let's just go." *Having seen everything with his own eyes, Mitsushima-san turned away as he said that.* Aine: "You are not going to speak to her?" Osamu: "I can't do that... I have no idea what I would say." *That wasn't surprising. There was nothing _to_ say after seeing what she had done.* *Besides, his heart had already...* Osamu: "Let's hurry out of here." *He started to walk away.* *Snap!* *A sound came from underfoot. He'd apparently stepped on a twig. It surprised me how loud it was.* Koyuki: "Huh...?" *Arie-san spoke up. Her voice was clearly directed our way.* *When we turned around, she was looking at us. Her eyes were as wide with shock as could possibly be.* Koyuki: "Osamu-kun...? Why... are you here...?" *Her face was completely pale.* Osamu: "..." *Mitsushima-san hung his head in chagrin. Her expression was tragic as she stared at him.* Koyuki: "Don't tell me... you... saw everything...?" Osamu: "..." *He didn't answer her, but his silence was all the answer she needed.* Koyuki: "I-It isn't what you think! That was, um...!" *But she instantly fell silent. That was only natural. There were no words that could justify what we had witnessed.* Osamu: "It's okay, Koyuki-san." Koyuki: "Huh? What do you mean, 'Okay'?" Osamu: "I understand. It's my fault. I know it." *Mitsushima-san attempted to smile, but it was easy to discern the sadness in his voice. The sorrow that came when someone had given up on something.* *Arie-san seemed to have realized that, and her face warped in grief.* Koyuki: "That's... not it... It's not your fault..." Koyuki: "It's... all mine..." *Arie-san's voice was becoming shaky.* Koyuki: "I didn't want you to know... Anyone but you..." Koyuki: "I figured if I did this, you might find out someday, but still..." Koyuki: "But it's hopeless...! You just can't satisfy me sexually... My body aches..." Osamu: "Koyuki-san..." Koyuki: "I hated it so much... but my body can't forget... Repulsive desires have been drilled into my body... _This_ body... I can't fight it with willpower alone anymore..." Koyuki: "I'm sorry, Osamu-kun... I'm so sor─ Ah, oooooh...!" *Arie-san let out a sob and crouched down.* Osamu: "Koyuki... san..." Koyuki: "I... hate this...! Why did this happen...? Why did it... turn out this way... I don't... want this...!" Koyuki: "Nooooooooooooooo...!" *What would become of these two...?*

*After checking that my arrow hit its target and following through, I nocked my next arrow and drew the bow.* *Krk, krk, krk...* *Though my bowstring roared by my ear, it sounded so far away. My body moved autonomously while my mind remained elsewhere.* Tomoe: "..." *Those worries should have stayed locked up in my mind, but I could tell they were clouding my concentration on my target.* *Yesterday, Mitsushima-san's heart had fractured. Likely anyone would be traumatized if their lover talked to them that way.* *Arie-san must have been equally shocked by yesterday's events. Even though they loved each other, he couldn't satisfy her physically.* *Krk, krk, krk...* *Left untouched, would the two of them break up? What would happen if I were to return his shard?* *What could Mitsushima-san do for her if he recovered his heart? Wouldn't the same events just transpire again?* *Krk, krk, krk...* *If so, both of them would only get hurt again.* Kenzou: "Are you unsure of something?" *I suddenly heard a hoarse voice. It was Kenzou Nakizaki-sensei.* *He was Nakizaki's father, and the one who taught me how to use a bow.* *There were times I felt like he saw through me completely when we talked. Maybe it wasn't just a feeling; it was probably true.* *Even now, he probably perceived that I had other thoughts on my mind as I drew my bow.* Tomoe: "...Yes. I'm not sure what to do." *As such, I answered honestly.* Kenzou: "Doesn't sound like you're talking about yourself." Tomoe: "You can tell?" Kenzou: "You never worry this much about yourself, Tomoe." Tomoe: "Oh, is that right?" *Was it? I didn't really know personally.* Kenzou: "'What should I do for someone else'... It's a given to be unsure of stuff like that. There's no real way to know what the right answer is." Kenzou: "There's nothing you can do to accurately predict how another person feels, nor to predict the future." Kenzou: "What does it actually mean to 'do something for someone else'? Sometimes something that doesn't seem beneficial to someone at a glance may actually be surprisingly good for them down the line." Kenzou: "If you follow that logic, you may find there _is_ no single right answer." Tomoe: "There's no right answer? Then what should I do...?" Kenzou: "No, maybe it's less that there's no right answer, and more that there's no _wrong_ answer?" Tomoe: "No wrong answer?" Kenzou: "Meaning you'll be in the right no matter what you do." *Sensei grinned brazenly. Still, it didn't seem like he was just being vague.* Kenzou: "It's not a matter of what you do. It's why you do it... But that may lead you to an answer that's neither right nor wrong." Tomoe: "So it all comes down to how I feel?" Kenzou: "I guess my point is, sometimes how much thought you put into helping another person is what's important." Tomoe: "I see." *I was starting to understand, but I felt like I'd gone straight back into an emotional maze.* Tomoe: "But it's difficult." Kenzou: "Yeah. But there's nothing wrong with that. Archery is the path to virtue." Tomoe: "'Archery is the path to virtue.'" Kenzou: "Devote yourself in such a manner." *He summed up our conversation with that out-of-place comment, then suddenly took my bow.* *Then, he fired naturally and fluently, as though it were like breathing to him.* Tomoe: "Well done. So you can hit it with that sleepy look on your face, too, Sensei?" Kenzou: "I've taken thousands of shots. Missing isn't caused by external factors. The cause lies within you." Kenzou: "As long as you act righteously, your aim should never stray." *Put simply, people trained themselves because that was a nearly impossible undertaking.* *It's not what you do, but why you do it... Would that ultimately lead me down the right path?* Tomoe: "'Archery is the path to virtue'... huh?" *I wasn't God or Buddha, so I couldn't pass judgment on the best course of action.* *Should I return the shard, or shouldn't I? Which would be best for both of them?* *I could think all I wanted, but I would never know for sure. I couldn't know, but I _could_ feel. In a way, my ignorance allowed me to give it sincere thought.* *What can I do for those two?* *What can I do for those two?*

Tomoe: "Phew..." *Yeah, that's what I thought. I couldn't decide whether or not to return the shard.* *If something didn't change, I knew the same thing would happen again if he recovered the fractured piece of his heart.* *It wouldn't be much different from bringing someone back from the jaws of death just to send them straight back to their doom.* *Then again, there was no guarantee it would go that way. Things might turn out differently the next time, too.* *Human beings might be capable of bringing about a different outcome even if thrust into the same circumstances.* *There was no telling which way it would go. Since it was unpredictable, I had better just stop making poor judgment calls.* *A person isn't their true self while their heart is fractured, so I should return his shard without a fuss.* *Thinking about it rationally, wasn't that for the best?* Tomoe: "All right." *All that was left was to trust Mitsushima-san and Arie-san.*

Tomoe: "..." *I just didn't know.* *There was an incredibly serious issue on the line this time. If I made one wrong choice, there was no guarantee it wouldn't drastically alter their lives for the worse.* *I decided to "do" nothing. That was my decision.* Tomoe: "I don't want them to suffer anymore." *Heartbreaking incidents might be necessary for human growth. Nevertheless, a life of too much pain and grief would surely break a person's heart.* *Even if that weren't the case, Mitsushima-san's heart hadn't been able to bear the heavy sorrow and had fractured.* *Wasn't telling him to give it his best all over again like whipping a dead man?* Tomoe: "Now is the wrong time." *An opportunity to return his shard might present itself down the line.* *But it would be too hasty to do it now. Didn't he need a little more time for his heart to heal?* Tomoe: "I'm sure of it." *I wouldn't return his shard after all. For now, I wanted the two of them to just heal their hearts in peace.* *That was all I wished for.*

*From our vantage point, we could see Mitsushima-san walking below.* Aine: "Tomoe-san." *I received the reshaped shard from Aine and equipped my bow.* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san... I believe you're likely the only one who can save Arie-san." *Please regain those feelings...* *Krk, krk, krk...* *The bow filled with power the more I drew it. Then, once it was fully drawn, I let go.* Osamu: "Ah...?" *Mitsushima-san stopped in place for a moment, then turned around. Naturally, he didn't notice me up on the rooftop.* Osamu: "...Was it just my imagination?" *He started walking again and headed home. He didn't look any different from before.* *Still, he should notice soon. Notice his feelings for Arie-san.* Tomoe: "I wonder if he'll suffer?" Aine: "He may..." Aine: "But I am sure everything will work out!" Tomoe: "You have no basis for that, do you?" Aine: "Ahaha, I guess you are right... Do you still think things will end poorly for them, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "Who knows?" *I honestly had no idea. All I knew was that Arie-san ultimately hadn't broken the curse cast upon her after going out with Mitsushima-san.* *Had enough time simply not passed?* *If so, that curse might be lifted if Mitsushima-kun persevered and spent time taking care of her.* *But if it _wasn't_ just a matter of time...* *If it were something out of Mitsushima-san's control, then...* Tomoe: "Huh...?" Aine: "What is the matter?" Tomoe: "..." *Something was bugging me. Something out of Mitsushima-san's control? Could it be...?* *Something was bugging me. Something out of Mitsushima-san's control? Could it be...?*

*...Was I overthinking it?* *It might take some time, but I was sure Mitsushima-san would break Arie-san's curse.* *That's what I wanted to believe.* Aine: "Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "No, it's fine. It _is_ those two we're talking about." *Yes, those two would work things out. I was sure they would find their own answer together.*

Tomoe: "It might be out of Mitsushima-san's control..." Aine: "Huh? What are you talking about? We returned his shard properly." Tomoe: "That isn't enough. I sincerely doubt Mitsushima-san is capable of saving Arie-san with his strength alone." Aine: "That is not true. I am sure the power of Osamu-san's love will save her..." Tomoe: "Even if Arie-san's heart is fractured?" Aine: "Huh? ...Koyuki-san's heart is fractured?" *It was entirely possible. I didn't know why, but I could just sense it.* *Arie-san's heart had to be fractured. I couldn't shake that feeling.* Tomoe: "Let's go check on her." Aine: "Y-Yes!" *Even though Mitsushima-san had recovered _his_ shard, if Arie-san's heart was fractured, his efforts to rescue her would likely be in vain.* *It was an angel's turn to take center stage.*

Osamu: "..." Osamu: "...Oh, that's no good." *I hurriedly lifted the watering can. I had spaced out and almost overwatered them.* Osamu: "I'm acting kind of strange..." *My chest prickled with pain. I thought it was just my imagination at first, but it definitely did hurt.* *What could this pain possibly be...?* Osamu: "Koyuki-san..." *Her name spilled from my lips without warning. My heart throbbed in intense pain.* Osamu: "Why am I..." *I thought I had given up on Koyuki-san already. There was nothing I could do to help her after what I had witnessed.* *She even said herself that I couldn't satisfy her. That was why she did what she did...* Osamu: "I left her no choice but to do something so awful." *If I had pulled myself together a little more... if I could have satisfied her, then Koyuki-san wouldn't have been forced to do something so extreme.* Osamu: "It's my fault." *I had no right to see her anymore. This was more than I could handle.* *...Or so I thought. I realized I was just trying to believe it. I was just trying to make myself accept it to escape getting hurt.* Osamu: "Have I hurt Koyuki-san again?" *Wouldn't she just end up turning to the same vices if I up and disappeared?* *My fist naturally began to clench. I didn't want to make her do that anymore.* *I opened my gripped fist and stared at it.* *I had to grab her with this hand of mine and never let go. Otherwise, I was sure she would vanish into thin air, never to return.* *Koyuki-san was the one suffering, so I had to be strong for her.* *It didn't matter if I got hurt. She was the one who had to be saved.* Osamu: "...All right."

*After school, Koyuki-san was gazing out the classroom window. There were no other students wandering around.* *She hardly ever used to talk when she was at school, but now, she spoke even less.* *Koyuki-san hadn't really spoken to me since the incident, either. Nor had we looked each other in the eye.* Osamu: "Koyuki-san." Koyuki: "..." *She sluggishly lifted her head. Those stagnant eyes devoid of brilliance looked up at me.* Osamu: "Teach me." Koyuki: "...Huh?" Osamu: "Teach me what you've had done to you up until now. What I can do to please you." Koyuki: "What... are you saying?" Osamu: "I won't let you sleep with anyone else anymore. From now on, I'll be your master." Koyuki: "Master..." Osamu: "Yes, I'm your master. I'll fulfill your every wish. In exchange, you'll be my possession." Koyuki: "Osamu-kun's possession..." Osamu: "Sound good?" Koyuki: "...Yes." *I could sense the light returning to her eyes in that moment.* *Her eyes were glistening, as though gleaming in a bewitching light.*

Koyuki: "..." *That night, we found Arie-san standing in front of the station.* *She had a covetous air about her, as if to say, "Somebody call me over, I don't care who!"* Tomoe: "Aine, can you tell?" Aine: "Hm... Now that you mention it, I can tell to an extent, yes." *It sounded like she was having trouble determining whether her heart was fractured or not.* Aine: "If we do not talk to her more, find out how she feels, and get closer to her, then it is a little tough for me..." Tomoe: "Not on the radar, huh?" *Why couldn't Aine tell? It was clear to me that her heart was fractured.* Koyuki: "..." *When I looked at her, pain ran through my chest, like my heart was in a vice grip.* *For some reason, I assumed it was similar to the pain Koyuki-san was feeling.* Aine: "But Tomoe-san, do you know the reason why you feel like her heart has fractured?" Tomoe: "It's just that: a feeling. I'm not an angel, so it's probably just intuition." Aine: "Human intuition is not something to be trifled with. People have the power of imagination, or empathy─the ability to imagine what is in another's heart. Tomoe: "The power of imagination, huh?" *Was empathizing and imagining what was in a person's heart the same as trying to actually see it?* *I wanted to know what was in her heart... I stared hard at her with that wish in mind.* *Thump!* Tomoe: "Ugh..." Aine: "Oh, what is wrong?" *What the heck was that? My chest... No, my back?* *A pain I'd never felt before seared through me. Pain encircled my body to the rhythm of my heartbeat.* Tomoe: "My back..." Aine: "Your back? What is wrong with your back?" Tomoe: "Well, I'm not sure what it is..." Aine: "Ah, Tomoe-san!" *I stood up to Aine's cry. Arie-san was being beckoned over by some strange man.* Koyuki: "..." *Arie-san remained silent and tried walking over to him.* Tomoe: "Damn..." *A deep pain continued to erupt from my chest. Something told me that this pain really _was_ what Arie-san was feeling.* *Aine had seemed to be able to feel another person's pain like it was her own when she conversed with them in the past. Was this the same sensation?* *Maybe I had unknowingly been infected with that sense due to sticking around Aine and helping angels all of this time.* *The dull pain gouged quite deeply into my chest, so far down I couldn't tell if it was there or in my back anymore. This pain may have been the source of the ache I felt along my spine earlier.* Aine: "What shall we do?" Tomoe: "Sorry, keep Koyuki-san here if you can." Aine: "Huh? What are you going to do, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "I'm going to go get Arie-san's shard." Aine: "Get it? Where? Do you know where it is?" Tomoe: "Probably..." *For whatever reason, I felt like it was calling out to me. A part of me knew where it was as of this moment.* Tomoe: "I'll be right back." Aine: "Oh, Tomoe-san!"

Tomoe: "Here...?" *How strange. I found my way here with hardly any trouble. The closer I got, the stronger its presence became.* *Was I just imagining this sensation? Or was it the same thing Aine always felt?* *Had I stolen the work of an angel without even realizing it while watching Aine's behavior?* Tomoe: "I'll think about it later." *The shard was calling to me. Saying that it wanted to be returned to its owner as soon as possible.* *Despite the chilly winter air, the flower bed was in full bloom. It was as if it was shining in the darkness of night.* Tomoe: "Ah..." *I could see something glittering conspicuously in a patch of brilliant yellow flowers that was clearly out of place.* Tomoe: "Could this be it...?" *I picked it up, still half doubting myself. It was lukewarm, flickering like a human heartbeat. The moment I touched it, I was overwhelmed with a sense of relief.* Tomoe: "..." *There was no doubt in my mind now. This was the shard of Arie-san's heart. I had no basis for saying so, but I was mostly convinced.* Rios: "That's a pretty amusing thing you're doing, human." Tomoe: "Huh...?" *When I turned around, Rios was floating there in the darkness. Helen was naturally at his side.* Tomoe: "Why are you here?" Helen: "How did you know where it would be?" *Helen asked me in Rios's place. Her question sure put me on the spot.* Tomoe: "I could just sort of tell. No real reason." Rios: "It isn't something you can find without a reason, though." Tomoe: "My intuition for this sort of thing probably got stronger after helping Aine for so long." Rios: "Your intuition, huh? Heh..." *Rios sneered at me. Nasty as ever. It was the sort of attitude of someone hiding the cards in their hand while trying to peek at your own.* Tomoe: "Answer my question, too. Why are you here?" Helen: "It is no wonder. We are always watching." Tomoe: "Watching? Watching what, exactly?" Helen: "All of you." Tomoe: "Huh...?" Rios: "Helen." Helen: "..." *Rios spoke, and Helen went silent. She held her tongue, and didn't look like she would say another word.* Tomoe: "Oh well. I'll get you to tell me what's going on one day." Rios: "If the time should come." *What "time" did he mean? I knew now wasn't the right time to ask, though.* *I held the shard against my chest and ran off.*

*Aine and Arie-san were still there when I returned to the station.* Koyuki: "What in the world is going on? How long are you planning to keep me here?" Aine: "No, just a little longer... I want you to hear all the things troubling me." Koyuki: "I heard you earlier." Koyuki: "But all you've talked about is the lack of side dishes in your meals, or how you like bananas so much you overeat them." Aine: "Those _are_ my troubles..." Koyuki: "Can't all of this wait?" Aine: "I suppose, but..." *It appeared keeping Koyuki-san here had caused her a lot of hardship.* *Showing my gratitude for her efforts in my heart, I waved to Aine with Arie-san's shard gripped in my hand.* Aine: "Ah...!" *Aine smiled in relief and, for a moment, shifted her attention in my direction. Arie-san took that opportunity to move into action.* Koyuki: "Okay, I've gotta go." Aine: "Ah...!" *Arie-san left in a hurry. I quickly ran over to Aine, who was hesitating about whether or not she should pursue her.* Tomoe: "Aine, this is it." *I showed her the shard I'd gone looking for.* Aine: "This is Koyuki-san's shard? But how did you know?" *There was no point asking me; I had no idea. Now wasn't the time to think about it.* Tomoe: "Forget that; if you don't hurry, Arie-san will leave." Aine: "Oh, that is right!" *Aine turned to face the shard. She cupped her hands around it, quietly closed her eyes, and concentrated. Her hands then cast a dim light.* Aine: "...Phew. I am done." *She handed the shard, now in the form of an arrow, back to me. Next, I readied my bow.* Tomoe: "All right, here it goes." Tomoe: "..." *I saw Arie-san walking a few dozen meters ahead.* *We were in a residential area at night, lit only by streetlights. Her back looked several times smaller than what it was. From here, she almost looked like a speck.* Aine: "Tomoe-san." *Urged by Aine, I drew my bow. As I prepared to fire, my target mysteriously looked larger than before.* *"As long as you act righteously, your aim should never stray."* *I could hear Sensei's voice. He was right. The target was external, but only I could take action. The power to hit or miss lay completely within me.* *The red thread tightened. As the bow filled with force, the light-emitting arrowhead spoke in a sad voice.* *"I want to go back to where I belong..."* *That's exactly what it sounded like it was saying.* Tomoe: "Just wait." *Arie-san's figure seemed to appear before me. My hand released the bowstring. Gently, I implored the arrow to reach its target.* Koyuki: "Ah..." *Arie-san quivered a moment before stopping in place. She looked around restlessly, but of course, there was nothing there.* *I hadn't hidden myself very well, but given the darkness and distance between us, it didn't look like she had noticed us.* *Arie-san just tilted her head in doubt and started to walk again.* Aine: "Now both of their shards have been returned." Tomoe: "Yeah." Aine: "How do you think the two of them will turn out?" *Aine looked a little anxious.* Tomoe: "...I'm sure it will all work out." *That was what I believed when returning their shards. I shouldn't start doubting myself now.* Aine: "Even so, I am surprised you were able to tell Koyuki-san's heart was fractured." Tomoe: "I'm not sure how I knew, either. It was just a feeling I had." *I had been all but convinced. Why had I been so confident of it?* Aine: "Tomoe-san, maybe you have the makings of an angel?" Tomoe: "What do you mean? It's not like you can become an angel just by putting in the effort." Aine: "You are right, but still." *Throb!* Tomoe: "Ugh...?!" *There it was again... An intense pain burst through my back. It hurt so much I instantly squatted in place.* Aine: "A-Are you all right?" Tomoe: "...I'm fine. My back just hurts a little." Aine: "Your back? Are you hurt?" Tomoe: "No, I don't think that's it..." *Had I pulled on the bowstring too hard? But there had been occasions I'd drawn it further than that, and I'd never felt pain like this before.* *It wasn't muscular pain, and it didn't feel like I'd injured a tendon, either.* Tomoe: "..."

*A residential area along the route we took to school every day, late at night. With no sign of anyone else around, Koyuki-san began to crawl on all fours.* *Her, naked with a collar around her neck. Me, holding the leash tied to it.* *It was almost like I was walking a dog. No, not "almost," I _was_ walking a dog. Koyuki-san was my bitch.* Koyuki: "No... someone will see me..." *Koyuki-san cried out with an ecstatic voice. The idea of someone seeing her was turning her on.* Osamu: "Koyuki, do dogs talk?" *I still wasn't used to addressing her without an honorific, but did my best to drop it when we did erotic role-playing like this.* Koyuki: "Woof. Woof, woof!" *Koyuki-san yipped happily in response. She looked so elated with drool oozing from her mouth.* *She only acted this way when we were alone. Everything was normal otherwise, and nobody else had realized the extent of our relationship yet.* *Koyuki-san was able to act normally day to day due to these sessions where she "let off steam." Without them, she would go on lust-fueled rampages and perform the same depraved acts as before.* *So, I took control. Control of her. She was able to lead an ordinary everyday life because I satisfied her like this.* Koyuki: "Woof, woof!" *Koyuki-san suddenly lifted a leg under one of the streetlights.* *Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhh...* *A vigorous stream of piss gushed from between her legs.* Koyuki: "Grooon, mmm..." Osamu: "Koyuki, bitches don't raise a leg when they go pee. You're such a vulgar pup." Koyuki: "Grooooon..." *Koyuki-san barked happily. Honestly, I hated seeing her this way. All I wanted was for her to go back to smiling kindly, and with dignity.* *But she needed this treatment to function right now, so I had to take care of her.* Osamu: "Vulgar bitches need punishment. You better brace yourself for later, okay?" *I had to do my best.*

Koyuki: "..." *I didn't say a single word to Osamu-kun after that.* *The longer I went without talking to him, the more I regretted it. Why had I said something so horrible to him?* *I didn't want to hurt him like that, either.* *Why did I hurt the person I love? Why hadn't I been able to control myself?* Osamu: "..." Koyuki: "Ah..." *Osamu-kun looked toward me. It had been a while since our eyes had met, so that was enough to make my heart pound and mind race.* *Of course, those pangs were anything but pleasant. My heart was in disarray, and was close to what you'd feel when terrified.* *After all, I was sure he hated me. There was no way he would ever forgive me for hurting him like that.* *I was terrified...* Koyuki: "..." *...But things couldn't stay this way.* *I didn't want to break up with him like this.* *Absolutely not...* *As always, Osamu-kun was watering the flower beds. My heart was paralyzed, and I couldn't breathe as soon as I spotted him up ahead.* *I exhaled heavily. My chest emptied, and then I naturally inhaled a big, deep breath. I felt a little calmer now.* Osamu: "Koyuki-san." Koyuki: "Ah..." *I was thinking of calling out to him first, but he beat me to it.* *I never expected him to greet me, so I was shaken.* Koyuki: "Y-Yeah... It's been a while..." *We were in the same class every day, so saying "it had been a while" felt kind of strange. Still, Osamu-kun smiled happily in response.* Osamu: "Yeah, it has." *My heart started to pound again.* *This time, I didn't dislike it. It was a little suffocating, but it was a happy feeling.* Osamu: "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you all this time. I'm a kid at heart, so I got fixated on something silly." Koyuki: "Something silly...?" *Anyone would be upset and become obsessive after seeing their girlfriend do and say such horrible things.* *And yet, the person whom I said such terrible things to just smiled back at me.* Koyuki: "I'm sorry..." *The one thing I'd never been able to bring myself to say now came out of my mouth so easily. I probably had Osamu-kun's smile to thank for that.* Osamu: "It's okay. You're the one who went through real pain." Koyuki: "No..." *My vision grew blurry upon hearing those kind words. It seemed I had begun to cry.* Osamu: "A-Are you okay?" *Osamu-kun started to panic. The way he was kind of flustered and unseemly was so like him. I felt relieved.* *I honestly thought, "Ah, I'm glad I fell in love with this person." With that thought, I was content.* *This was plenty. Having this much done for me made me happy enough.* Koyuki: "Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me until now." Osamu: "Huh? Until now..." Koyuki: "I believe there must be someone who's better suited for you. Someone with happier circumstances, ignorant of anything vulgar, and who will smile together with you somewhere bright and cheerful." Koyuki: "You're better off with someone like that─someone who isn't me. I believe you'll be happier that way, too." *He could be far, far happier than with someone as utterly corrupted as me.* Koyuki: "And I'll be happier that way, too..." *I smiled as I cried.* *I was sad, but happy. Happy, yet kind of heartbroken. Human emotions were a strange thing.* Koyuki: "So, thank you. Thank you for setting me free." Koyuki: "I can't change the past, but I've become free thanks to you. And that's more than enough for me..." Koyuki: "You be free now, too, Osamu-kun. Don't be tied down by someone like me..." Osamu: "I'm already free." *Osamu-kun smiled at me once more. He was like those yellow flowers blooming gallantly in midwinter.* Osamu: "I'm free, so I fell in love with you, Koyuki-san." Osamu: "But..." *That flowery smile suddenly wilted.* Osamu: "But, I can't make you happy, can I, Koyuki-san? I'm not capable of satisfying you..." Koyuki: "That's not..." Osamu: "You wound up doing what you did because I had disappointed you. It isn't your fault." Osamu: "If I had only been able to truly make you happy, then I wouldn't have driven you to do such a thing..." *Tears formed in Osamu-kun's eyes. His expression was warped in agony, like he was feeling a deep pain.* *A heavy pain ran through my chest, like the agony had infected me.* *I was the one making him suffer, but he believed he was the one tormenting me.* Koyuki: "Osamu-kun... I'm sorry..." Osamu: "I'm the one who should be sorry..." *He bit down on his lip so hard, it would likely bleed.* *Ah, were we a lost cause? Was it impossible for us to be joined together?* *And yet, I... I love him so much, too...* *But I had made my partner unhappy. That was scary. Scary, and sad.* *So we probably were better off breaking up...* Osamu: "I don't want this." Koyuki: "Huh...?" *His trembling voice made me look up.* Osamu: "On second thought, I don't want this." Koyuki: "Osamu-kun?" Osamu: "It's true that I wasn't able to satisfy you. I don't know if I will going forward either. But..." Osamu: "But, I still love you, Koyuki-san." Koyuki: "Osa...mu..." *I erupted into tears the moment I heard those words. I couldn't really tell if I was happy or sad, but the tears continued pouring from my eyes as if I was broken.* Koyuki: "Me... too... I love you...! Osamu-kun..." Koyuki: "I'm not the right type of girl for you... but even so, I love you..." Osamu: "Koyuki-san..." *Osamu-kun took my hand. It was incredibly warm. I felt so relieved, and shed more tears from his mere grasp.* Osamu: "I'll do my best. I can't change the painful things that happened to you in the past, and I don't know if I'll be able to satisfy you..." Osamu: "But I _will_ love you as much as I possibly can." Osamu: "So... stay with me, from now on and forever." *It felt like his voice was permeating every nook and cranny of my body.* *The tears wouldn't stop. I gripped his hand tightly to try and convey the feelings I couldn't put into words.* *Osamu-kun squeezed my hand in return.* Osamu: "Euryops daisies symbolize 'harmonious relationships' and 'cheerful love.'" Osamu: "I won't let you fall into the darkness ever again. Your painful past might torment you at times, but let's do our best from now on, together." Koyuki: "Osamu-kun...!" *I nodded back as I cried. I didn't know to whom or what, but I was grateful with all of my being...* *...To whomever it was that allowed me to meet this person.*

Osamu: "..." *The flowerbed was crammed to capacity with multicolored flowers again today. I admired how they bloomed so well amidst this cold weather.* *There was a yellow flower nestled in the middle that had caught my eye.* Osamu: "A Euryops daisy, huh?" *A flower which symbolized "harmonious relationships" and "cheerful love"... both things I currently lacked. I wanted them, but couldn't get my hands on them.* Osamu: "A harmonious relationship... That's impossible." *Cheerful love, huh? I thought I could give that to her, but it was all an illusion.* *The darkness Koyuki-san carried ran deep, and wasn't a burden I could bear all alone.* *Nothing seemed to matter anymore.* Osamu: "...That's right." *What was wrong with that?* *All was well if that was Koyuki-san's wish. Was there any need for me to force myself to try and satisfy her all alone?* *I just had to satisfy her desires to the extent I was capable of.* *Anything beyond that was out of my hands. No single person could possibly pull it off on their own.* *So, that was fine.* Koyuki: "..." *Koyuki-san was on the rooftop alone. She was looking far off into the distance, almost like she would fly away from that spot at any second.* Osamu: "Koyuki-san." *Her back twitched in surprise when I called to her. She slowly turned around.* Koyuki: "Osamu-kun..." *Her expression was filled with disbelief. She probably assumed I would never speak to her again.* *This _was_ the first time I had spoken to her since that incident.* Osamu: "It's been a while." Koyuki: "Yeah..." Koyuki: "Um, how should I put it, um..." Osamu: "I know. If you don't do dirty things, and someone doesn't make you feel good, you won't be happy, right?" *Her body shook in surprise at my comment.* Koyuki: "Well, that's... um..." Osamu: "It's all right. I'll do my best." Koyuki: "Osamu-kun..."

Koyuki: "Faah... mm, waah..." Osamu: "Well? Does it feel good? You like it when I do this to you, don't you?" *I asked Koyuki-san as I plowed into her harder and harder with each thrust. I used such force, I thought I might break her.* Koyuki: "Faah... mm, mm... aan..." *But her reaction was dull. She wasn't quite turned on yet.* *And yet...* Osamu: "Auu, oooh..." Osamu: "You feel, way too good down there... ugh, aah..." *If I was too intense, I might end up coming alone. Looks like I _wasn't_ capable of satisfying her on my own.* Osamu: "Oh, ooh... Koyuki-san..." *But, it felt good, so whatever.* Koyuki: "Ahee, aah..." *Koyuki-san's vagina clamped down hard on me.* Osamu: "Oh, guuuh...!" *The stimulation made a hot mass suddenly billow up and burst from within me.* Koyuki: "Ah..." *Mmpch, mmpch, mmpch!* *I came inside Koyuki-san.* Koyuki: "Faah, aah... ah! Gushing... Aaah!" *Koyuki-san cried out in ecstatic pleasure as I shot my load inside of her. She looked so happy.* *Koyuki-san loved this sort of thing.* Koyuki: "Afuu, hee... mm, shooting in... filling, me... up... So much, hot come... mm, aaah...!" Osamu: "Haa, haa, haa..." *I came, but I could keep going. I wasn't through yet.* Koyuki: "Ah, aah...? It's... still big...?" Osamu: "That's right. There's plenty more where that came from." *Fwssh, scmk... mmch...* *I started to move once more. Coming once wasn't enough to satisfy me anymore.* *After how much I had spewed, her pussy was sopping wet. I ransacked her with my still-stiff penis.* Koyuki: "Mmah, aah... an incredible noise... The smell of semen, is incredible..." Osamu: "Koyuki-san... oh, oh..." Koyuki: "Mm, aah, oh... ah! Your dick, feels so good... So good...! Mm, aaah...!" Osamu: "Kuh, oooh..." Koyuki: "Ah, aah... more... get my pussy, sloppy and wet..." Koyuki: "Mm, ah! More... fill me more... cram that euphoric dick into me more...!" *More, more, more... I worried I was being compared to that man every time she said that to me. I didn't want his face popping into my head.* Osamu: "Damn... it... kuh!" *In a rage, I pounded my hips against her for all I was worth.* Koyuki: "Fgyaah! Ah, aah... Mooore...! Ah!" Osamu: "Koyuki... san... Ooh..." *Even my rage turned into Koyuki-san's pleasure.* *I was sure she'd go into town hunting for men after this. All to appease the ache of her body.* *I had no right to tell her to do otherwise. I was the one who had let her go.* *My chest hurt. What happened to her shouldn't be any of my concern anymore, so why?* *I swung my hips feverishly to forget the ache in my heart.* Koyuki: "Aaaah, more... more, hit me deep insiiiide...! Aaah..." Koyuki: "Aaauuuh! Ah, aan... Mmmuh... aaah!" Koyuki: "Aaah, mmm...! More... Ah... more... Ah!" Koyuki: "Mooore...! Mm... More! Aan, aan... aaah...!" Osamu: "Koyuki-san..."

*That arrow pierced its target and was practically sucked in.* Aine: "Ah..." Aine: "It hit! I hit it! Tomoe-san, I hit it dead-center!" Tomoe: "I can see that. Don't get so worked up about it, and remember to follow through." Aine: "Oh, yes..." *Aine tried to act cool and went silent for a brief moment, but there was still a wide smile spread across her face.* Tomoe: "Don't get giddy, either." Aine: "But..." Aine: "But I got a bull's-eye for the first time! I am really happy!" *She was brimming with joy, and her expression grew undisciplined.* Tomoe: "...I guess it's fine. It _is_ a first." Aine: "That is right! Today is worth celebrating! Let us have a feast!" Tomoe: "Don't tie food into everything." *Oh well, I guess it would be fine for today. I could just talk to Nakizaki about it later.* Tomoe: "Okay, now for the last ten." Aine: "Yes! I will hit the target with every arrow I have left!" Aine: "I only hit the target once..." Tomoe: "It starts with a single arrow. Now that you've hit it once, you'll hit it again." Aine: "That is right! I will do my best!" *Aine was elated to have hit the target, and was extremely fired up about her accomplishment.* Tomoe: "Huh? Come to think of it..." Aine: "What is it?" Tomoe: "If I recall, your guitar should be fixed by now..." *Aine's guitar, which previously had five strings, now had all six. It was now whole again.* Aine: "Oh, right. It was all better after we helped that couple recently, huh?" *Despite how much time and effort went into repairing it, that important fact had apparently slipped Aine's mind.* *Not that I was one to talk. I had completely forgotten about it myself.* Tomoe: "I guess that means you don't need me anymore." Aine: "Ah..." *Even though she was terrible at using the bow, so long as she had her guitar, Aine could perform her angelery on her own.* *No, that was how it was originally done, so everything had gone back to normal.* *As such, there was no real need for her to learn how to use a bow properly, either. She didn't need to use it, nor did she have a reason to extend her stay.* Aine: "Uh, um... What shall we do?" Tomoe: "What do you mean, 'What shall we do?'" Aine: "Well, uh... Will you be forcing me to leave?" *Aine looked up at me with puppy-dog eyes, a look of sheer abandonment spread across her face. It felt like I was doing something terribly wrong...* Tomoe: "Didn't we agree that you could stay here until we repaired your guitar? Besides, there's no reason for you to hang around here anymore, is there?" Aine: "You are correct... but even if you tell me to up and leave like that, there are various tasks I must attend to first." Tomoe: "What sort of tasks?" Aine: "Well, um..." Aine: "It is starting to get colder outside nowadays, and I would like to eat some warm food..." Tomoe: "Stop acting like you're human." Aine: "A-Anyway, there is a lot going on. So, um..." Aine: "Would you help me with my angelery for just a little while longer?" *Aine glanced up at me and pleaded with a look of desperation. It invoked an incredible desire to protect her.* Tomoe: "...Even I wouldn't tell you to get out on a moment's notice." Aine: "Really?! That means it is still okay for me to stay here?!" Tomoe: "For a while, anyway." Aine: "Yay─!" *Aine practically flew into the air... No, she actually _was_ flying with joy. She was that happy about it?* Tomoe: "Let me just say one thing: You can stay here, but I'm not going to help with your angelery anymore." Aine: "Huh? Why is that?" Tomoe: "What do you mean, 'Why?' It's no longer necessary. You can return shards on your own now." Aine: "You are right... but we are a two-man team!" Tomoe: "Don't make us sound like some sort of dream team. I don't recall us ever formally partnering up." Aine: "Aw. That was what I had in mind, though." Tomoe: "Don't decide that on your own." Aine: "I suppose that is fine..." *Aine pouted and appeared to be sulking.* Aine: "Oh, but..." *Aine's expression turned back to normal and she gave me a long, hard stare.* Aine: "You do not have to help me, so please listen to my song at least once." Tomoe: "Oh, I get it." *Angels returned shards via song, and an instrumental accompaniment was essential to do so.* *The point being, Aine would be singing accompanied by her guitar.* *I wondered what sort of song she would sing. Something told me I'd be interested in hearing it.* Tomoe: "If it turns out ridiculously bad, I'm going to laugh at you." Aine: "I-I am not so bad you would laugh at me! Yeesh, you are so mean!" *Aine pouted again. The way she acted was oddly human.* *Whenever I talked with Aine like this, I would nearly forget that she was an angel at all.* *But Aine _was_ an angel. She couldn't possibly stay here forever.* *Although she would be around a while longer, her stay definitely had an expiration date. We were an angel and a human. We couldn't be together for too long.* *Not that I was expecting her to in the first place.* *But as long as we had a little more time left, I felt that I may as well enjoy it. That might even be nice.* Tomoe: "Got it. You can stay until I hear your song, then." Aine: "Yes!" *This was how Aine's and my cohabitation was extended for just a little while longer.*

Aine: "..." Tomoe: "..." *I peeked over to check on Tomoe-san, who was probably fast asleep. Tomoe-san was a light sleeper, so the slightest disturbance would wake him.* Aine: "Quietly... Quietly..." Aine: "Hah..." *Lately, I had been waking up in the middle of the night. I wonder why? When had this started?* *I would suddenly come to and, once I sensed Tomoe-san in the nearby bed, feel short of breath. I had never felt this way before...* Aine: "Hah..." *I sighed left and right. Just like the people we had helped, I did nothing but sigh over and over again.* Aine: "Hah..." *Why was this happening to me?*

Aine: "Wah, it is so cold!" *The academy roof was pitch black and very cold.* Aine: "Haah. My breath is pure white!" *The puff of white breath ascended into the night sky.* Aine: "If everyone breathed out like that at the same time and it climbed into the sky, would it look like it is snowing in Heaven?" *I would love to try that... But if I said that to Tomoe-san, he would make fun of me again.* Aine: "Tomoe-san..." *For whatever reason, my chest twinged when I whispered his name. Why was that? It was a total mystery to me.* Aine: "Seriously, why is it?" Helen: "Oh, this is rare." Aine: "Ah..." *A remarkably dark shadow appeared against the black sky.* *Not a moment later did an angel with jet-black wings appear. It was Helen-san.* Aine: "Good evening." Helen: "What is a white angel up to at this hour?" Aine: "A white angel..." *Being referred to that way was very strange. Angels having white feathers seemed normal to me.* *Maybe black feathers were more normal as far as black angels were concerned?* Aine: "I am on a walk. I had trouble falling asleep." Helen: "It would appear you're still staying at his home." Aine: "You mean Tomoe-san?" *Helen-san nodded.* Helen: "Have you finally gathered all of the missing red threads for your guitar?" Aine: "Oh, yes. Somehow." Helen: "Doesn't that mean you no longer have any reason to be with him?" Aine: "Well..." *I never expected Helen-san to ask such a thing, so I did not have a proper answer in mind.* Aine: "That is true... But I want to stay with him for a little while longer." Helen: "Why is that?" Aine: "Because..." *I wanted to give her an honest reply, but nothing really came to mind. Why...?* Helen: "Have you fallen in love with him?" Aine: "Huh...?" *I was confused by Helen-san's question. Me, fall in love with Tomoe-san...?* Aine: "Are you asking me that?" Helen: "There's nobody else here." Aine: "Um, I mean... I am an angel, and Tomoe-san is a human." Helen: "That may be true, but angels and humans are similar. Communication through spoken word is possible, and I think all of the conditions for mutual passions to develop have been met." Aine: "Have they? It is difficult for me to tell." *An angel falling in love with a human... Can that really happen? Not to mention, me, fall in love with Tomoe-san?* Aine: "Angels do work for the sake of humans. Despite this, they must not fall in love, would you not agree?" Aine: "Besides, angels and humans should not ever be joined together." Helen: "You're right." *I felt a sudden jolt in my heart when I heard Helen-san's blunt reply.* *As I thought, angels and humans should not be together...* *Hm...? Why was I so bothered by it?* Helen: "Are you shocked?" Aine: "Huh? Th-That is not true, but..." *It was like Helen-san could see right through me. How was she so intuitive...?* Helen: "If you aren't emotionally attached to him, then why do you stay?" Aine: "Well..." *I pictured Tomoe-san, and when I gazed at his image in my mind, a feeling boiled up inside of me.* Aine: "Because I am worried about him." Helen: "Worried? Why?" Aine: "Because..." *I thought about it, and it was likely something that had been bothering me for some time. It was something any angel could figure out if they observed him closely.* Aine: "Because Tomoe-san's heart is most likely fractured." Helen: "I see." *Helen-san replied, seemingly unfazed. Had she noticed despite only meeting him a handful of times? Was everything crystal clear to her?* Helen: "You plan to stay with him until you've returned his shard?" Aine: "If I can. I would like to." *Yes, that was why I wanted to stay with Tomoe-san for a while longer, so that I could return his shard to him.* *Probably...* Helen: "But if it's just to return his heart shard, you don't _actually_ have to be with him to do so, do you?" Aine: "Huh?" *Now that she mentioned it, Helen-san might be right. Huh? Then why was I...?* *It couldn't be because of what she said earlier, could it?* Aine: "..." Helen: "Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Listen to your heart and make sure of your feelings first." Aine: "Okay..." Helen: "More importantly, do you have any idea where the shard is located? Without the shard, you won't have anything to return to him." Aine: "Oh, about that..." *I hadn't shown this to anyone, so I was hesitant to reply, but...* *This might actually be the right time.* Aine: "Actually..." *I held out both of my palms to the empty sky. A light dwelled there for a moment, then took form.* Helen: "Is that a... shard?" Aine: "Yes." *What appeared in my hands was a heart shard─one I had held onto for a very, very long time.* Helen: "And that's his shard?" Aine: "I do not know." Helen: "You can't tell?" Aine: "I have tried to look into it before, but I could not see anything, so I have no idea whom it belongs to..." Helen: "That explains why you've held onto it all this time." Aine: "...Yes. I always thought it would be nice if I could return it with my own two hands someday." Aine: "I often wonder if the shard is drawn to its owner..." Helen: "What a romantic delusion." Aine: "That may be so... However, I did meet Tomoe-san." Helen: "That shard was drawn to him, and that's why you suspect it is his? Even though you've never been able to confirm it?" Aine: "Well..." Helen: "Isn't that just wishful thinking?" Aine: "You could be right... I have been with Tomoe-san for a while now, but I have never been able to see inside his heart..." *I had failed to see even a speckle within either the shard itself or Tomoe-san's heart.* *As such, I had yet to confirm whether Tomoe-san was its rightful owner. How should I go about proving it?* Aine: "Could it be because I'm an inexperienced angel?" Helen: "I agree that you're inexperienced, but I doubt that's all there is to it." Helen: "Rios and I were not able to look into his heart, either." Aine: "You could not?" Helen: "As you would probably suspect, we also noticed that his heart is fractured. As such, we tried to pry into his heart, too." *I could not believe Helen-san and Rios-san had done such a thing.* Helen: "However, his heart was being guarded by a very strong, solid shell, so we were unable to perceive anything within it." Aine: "So Rios-san was not able to, either..." Aine: "...Oh?" *I was... strangely relieved? Knowing that other angels besides myself were not able to peek into his heart...* *I wonder why I was relieved about that...?* Helen: "Is something the matter?" Aine: "Oh, no... It is nothing." Aine: "So, there is still no telling whether Tomoe-san is the owner of the shard or not." Helen: "You're right about that, but shouldn't you be able to find out?" Aine: "Huh? What do you mean?" Helen: "You have a full set of guitar strings now, correct? You should be able to perform angelery alone." Aine: "Ah..." Helen: "If you give it a try, you'll know for certain. If you perform your angelery and the shard returns, then it belongs to him." Helen: "And if it doesn't return, then it isn't. Wouldn't you be able to verify it that way?" Aine: "Yes, that is right..." *Now that I could perform angelery on my own, all I had to do was try. Helen-san was exactly right.* Aine: "But..." Helen: "Is there some drawback in doing so?" Aine: "No... I was just thinking, would it really be okay to return this shard even if it _did_ belong to Tomoe-san?" Helen: "What do you mean? Your hesitation doesn't make any sense to me." Helen: "Though the color of our wings may differ, we are both angels. It is a given that shards exist to be returned to their owners." Helen: "Angels have no right to decide whether or not to return them. Would you not agree?" Aine: "You are right... but that is what Tomoe-san has always done." *He always did his work as an angel while stopping to contemplate whether he really should return someone's shard or not.* *Tomoe-san weighed his options, and considered what would be best for that person.* *That was why I felt the need to think it over. Even if it were Tomoe-san's shard, I had to answer the underlying question, "What would be best for _him_?"* *Something told me I could not return this to him otherwise.* Helen: "It seems the humans have had quite an influence on you." Aine: "Have they...? I _do_ support Tomoe-san's methods." Aine: "While I believe that shards are fundamentally meant to be returned, I want to always think it over and consider their best interests first." Helen: "I see. Is staying with him giving you time to think it over?" Aine: "Yes, that is right." *That was how it should be. I _was_ an angel after all.* Helen: "If that's how it is, I understand. You've decided to stay with him a little longer." Aine: "Yes... Thank you very much." *Why was Helen-san so concerned about this? Or maybe it was actually Rios-san who was worried about Tomoe-san?* Helen: "Has he changed a little?" *Helen-san suddenly asked me.* Aine: "You mean Tomoe-san? Let me see... I wonder myself." Aine: "Now that you mention it, I do think he has changed a little... Why do you ask?" Helen: "Just as he has influenced you, I believe you have influenced him as well." Aine: "Huh? Really?" *I had an influence on Tomoe-san? That would actually make me a little happy...* Helen: "His heart may have changed since you first met. His firmly shut heart might even open up in the future depending on how you proceed." Aine: "Do you really think I can do it?" Helen: "That all depends on you." Aine: "All depends on me..." *Was it really up to me whether to open up Tomoe-san's heart or not?* *And if I did manage to, would that help me figure out whether this shard belonged to him? That would be fantastic...* Aine: "Um, thank you very much! I will give it my best shot!" Helen: "Is that right?" Aine: "Uh, but... why are you giving me advice like this?" Helen: "Who knows? I haven't a clue. Perhaps you and he are..." Aine: "Tomoe-san and I are...?" Helen: "...On second thought, never mind." *Helen-san gave up on her thought mid-sentence.* *What was she about to say, I wonder? I wanted to ask her, but I doubted she would tell me now.* *Now that I thought about it, was us meeting here a mere coincidence?* Helen: "All the same, it _is_ a very pretty shard." *Helen-san said as she looked down at the shard in my hand.* Aine: "Yes. I was surprised when I found it, too." *It had been my first time ever seeing such a mesmerizing shard. It was so beautiful, I didn't realize it was a heart shard at first.* Helen: "It's also rather large to be a heart shard. It would be quite surprising if a human with a heart this fractured could live an ordinary life." Aine: "...Yes." *It truly was a massive, gorgeous shard. Did it really belong to Tomoe-san? I had mixed feelings, and thought it would be nice if it were, but also desperately hoped it was not.* *I did not want to think that Tomoe-san had spent all this time in this condition, having lost such a large piece of his heart.* Helen: "As difficult as it was for you to return the Student Council president's shard, I am positive his heart will be far more challenging to mend." Aine: "You think so too, huh?" Aine: "Tomoe-san tried so hard back then..." Helen: "It was quite admirable. That must have been the most ideal return of a shard by bow I have ever seen." Aine: "Tomoe-san is very skilled with a bow and arrow." Helen: "He also possesses the tenderness to embrace the hearts of others." Aine: "Huh...?" *Did she just praise Tomoe-san? That was unexpected...* Helen: "Be that as it may, you are an angel. You're capable of returning shards with song, so you are in a better position to do so than he was, since he was forced to use a bow." Helen: "Regardless, it will surely be a trying task." Aine: "Yes..." *Would I be able to successfully return such a difficult shard?* Helen: "Returning a shard to such a firmly closed heart will be a challenge... It might be easier to return it to him if you could open up his heart even slightly first." Aine: "Yes." *She was right. The one thing I could do was to sway Tomoe-san's heart in any way possible. What should I do to make that happen?* *I had to think. I had to think long and hard. What could I do for Tomoe-san...?* Helen: "All the same, you do seem to be putting your utmost effort into this." Aine: "Huh? A-Am I?" Aine: "I mean, I _am_ an angel. Should I not give everything I have for humans?" Helen: "Is that how it works...?" Helen: "Yes, I do get the feeling that you're a bit abnormal as angels go. It's just as Rios says." *Rios-san said that about me?* Aine: "That is not true. I am an ordinary angel." *And as an angel, I wanted to know more about Tomoe-san in order to fulfill that role. I also wanted to heal his firmly closed heart.* *I felt that way _because_ I was an angel. I was sure of it.*

Girl: "I want to become an angel..." *Oh, I was dreaming. This dream again?* *Dreams were the only place I could see her now. Meeting her like this made me happy, but also incredibly sad.* Tomoe: "An angel? Is becoming one even possible?" Girl: "Once upon a time, a person became an angel so they could save everyone." Tomoe: "Wow, really?! Do you think we could both become angels, too?" Girl: "I'm sure we can! Once we do, we'll be able to make everyone happy!" Tomoe: "Yeah!" Girl: "If you became an angel, who would you want to make happy, Tomoe-kun?" Tomoe: "Lemme think... Mom?" Girl: "Yeah, that's right. Your mom, huh?" Girl: "Anyone else?" *That's right. Just as she asked, I listed many more names after that.* *Not just people, either. I prayed for the happiness of the pet dogs in the neighborhood I was friendly with, cats, birds... and for the happiness of plants, and all living things.* *I turned the question back on her. "Who would you want to make happy?"* Girl: "I would pick..." Aine: "Tomoe-san!" Tomoe: "Huh? Me?" Aine: "Tomoe-san! It is morning time!" Aine: "Tomoe-san, it is morning!" *Aine was there when I opened my eyes. She had apparently woken me up.* Tomoe: "..." Aine: "Are you finally awake, or are you still half asleep?" Tomoe: "I'm awake." *Oh, it was just a dream?* *I wasn't fazed by it. In fact, it was something I shouldn't ever be able to forget. It was a dream I was often plagued with, and had almost every night.* *But lately, whenever I had that dream, I would be quite shaken once I awoke.* *It felt as if it had become more and more vivid as time went on. So much so, it was like I was actually experiencing it in the present, rather than witnessing past events.* *My one saving grace was that I luckily hadn't reached the end of the dream yet. I wasn't confident I could remain of sound mind if I were shown that scene over and over again.* Aine: "To-mo-e-sa-n!" *She shouted my name into my ear and brought me back to my senses.* Aine: "You look like you are going to fall asleep! Please, wake up already!" Tomoe: "...I know." Tomoe: "Actually, why are you the one waking me up?" *Wasn't this the first time Aine had ever woken me?* Aine: "Winter break starts today, right?" Tomoe: "Yeah." *I'd forgotten about it until she mentioned it. Winter break had begun, and in one more week, the year would end.* Tomoe: "Nakizaki said she had something to take care of today, didn't she?" Aine: "She did. That is why she entrusted me with this duty!" *Aine made a clenched fist. She seemed to be tremendously fired up about her assigned task.* Tomoe: "You took over for Nakizaki, huh? You're making it sound like I'm utterly helpless." Aine: "Is that not the case?" Tomoe: "I just don't do anything because Nakizaki does it for me. I could at least do the bare minimum if I actually tried." *Granted, I didn't care to do anything for my own sake, so that was practically the same as not being able to take care of myself.* Aine: "There you go again! Acting all tough." Tomoe: "I'm telling you the truth."

Aine: "Oooh..." *Aine's eyes went wide at the breakfast dishes I placed before her.* *I told her I would "make breakfast," but it was the bare minimum: rice, miso soup, and an omelet. Regardless, there was an obvious sparkle in her eye.* Tomoe: "Go ahead, eat up." Aine: "Th-Thank you for the food..." Aine: "Wow! This miso soup is delicious!" Tomoe: "I just made miso soup with dashi broth in it..." Aine: "Ooh... And the omelet is so fluffy!" Tomoe: "The trick is to add a little bit of milk." Aine: "I cannot believe you were such a great cook, Tomoe-san!" Tomoe: "You're exaggerating. I live alone, so I'm capable of at least this much. I just don't have many opportunities to cook." *I didn't exactly care to cook for myself, either. But the thought of preparing a meal for someone other than myself was oddly motivating.* Aine: "Yeah, it really is delicious! Om, nom, nom...!" Tomoe: "You really are a glutton." *I guess it wasn't so bad having someone eat the food I'd made. I kind of understood how Nakizaki felt.* *Of course, I doubted this would happen many more times. It wasn't like Aine would be here forever.* Tomoe: "..." Aine: "Oh, what is the matter, Tomoe-san? Are you not going to eat?" Tomoe: "...I'll eat." *Strange... What was that feeling I just had? When I thought about Aine leaving, I...*

Aine: "Hey, Tomoe-san. Have you heard a bell ringing since earlier?" Tomoe: "Today _is_ New Year's Eve." Aine: "'New Year's Eve' refers to the last day of the year, correct? Do they always ring bells on the last day?" Tomoe: "In Japan, we have a New Year's Bell Ringing Ceremony. They ring it when the new year starts." Tomoe: "We only have churches here, and there aren't any Shinto shrines nearby, so it's customary to ring the church bells for the ceremony instead." Aine: "Wow, is that right? There must be an awful lot of bells, then. They have been ringing all day." Tomoe: "The bells are rung 108 times during the ceremony." Aine: "Huh? 108 times?" Tomoe: "They say mankind has 108 worldly desires. Maybe they ring the bell once for each desire to rid them from this world?" Aine: "I see, that is intense. Yes, very intense." Tomoe: "It sounds so shallow when you say it, though..." Aine: "What are your worldly desires, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "I don't have any." Aine: "There must be something. Do you not want to eat delicious things, go somewhere, or want lots of money?" Tomoe: "...I'm not interested in any of that." *My heart wasn't even vaguely moved.* Aine: "Why is that? If I asked Kiyohito-san, for instance, I am sure he would immediately list 108 different items." Tomoe: "Knowing Kiyohito, you're probably right." *He'd probably name off a whole bunch even if you didn't specifically say "108."* Aine: "So then, please tell me what you would like to do, Tomoe-san. Like your New Year's resolution!" Tomoe: "My New Year's resolution..." *I mulled it over, but nothing came to mind.* Tomoe: "We'll be third-years soon, so I'll have figure out what I want to do for a career. I have no parents, and no real wealth to speak of, so maybe I'll skip higher education and go into the workforce." Aine: "Is it your dream to get a job?" Tomoe: "It's not my dream... but it may turn out that way." Aine: "Tell me what your dream is, and I hope it is not something stuffy and boring! Tell me what you want to do!" Tomoe: "What I want to do, huh...? I'd be content if I could keep up my current way of life forever." Aine: "You want your life to remain the same?" Tomoe: "I think it would be great if my empty, insubstantial lifestyle could go on forever." Aine: "Insubstantial, is it? Is that how you see your current life?" *Her expression turned lonesome. Did Aine think I was calling _her_ insubstantial?* *That wasn't what I meant. In fact, ever since she showed up, my life had become far more lively than ever before.* *When I said, "The way it has been," I meant my life _before_ Aine.* *Right now, my life was a little too refreshing.* Aine: "..." *Despite her visible loneliness, I refused to confirm or deny anything. What point was there in explaining myself?* *Only those with the determination to protect something had any reason to justify their remarks.* *I was not one of those people... or I shouldn't be, anyway.* Aine: "Okay, let us make your New Year's resolution... to find a resolution!" *Aine cried out cheerfully.* Tomoe: "What's with that? Does that really count as a resolution?" Aine: "It does! Anything can be a resolution as long as you have something to aim for! I am sure you will find something you want to do by next year!" Aine: "I will cheer you on until the end! I will support your dreams with everything I have!" Tomoe: "You make it sound like you'll be here next year. You'll only be here for a little while, you know." Aine: "Well... I can leave anytime, but only once I stop worrying about you!" *Aine sounded angry. Did that mean she wasn't _ever_ going to leave so long as she was worried for my well-being?* Tomoe: "Knowing _you're_ worried about me must mean I'm totally hopeless." Aine: "Yes, you are hopeless, Tomoe-san." Aine: "Wait, what do you mean by that? You make it sound like I am _super_ hopeless!" Tomoe: "And you make it sound like you're not." Aine: "I-I am not that hopeless... Maybe..." *She didn't sound very confident at all.* Tomoe: "All right, it's decided. My New Year's resolution is to become a new me that won't make you worry." Aine: "Huh? That is your resolution?" Tomoe: "Having you worry about me is humiliating." Aine: "Y-You are going to say all that...?" Aine: "Oh, I know! In that case, my resolution will be to make you into a decent human being!" Tomoe: "I may not be a decent person, but I doubt you'll be able to change me." Aine: "I will give it a try!" *Aine was all fired up.* Tomoe: "Okay, why don't we both make a formal wish?" Aine: "How do we go about doing that?" Tomoe: "Honestly speaking, we should go to the church, but it's cold, so we'll just do whatever works." *I opened the window for the time being. The bell chimes instantly got much louder.* *I faced the direction of the sound, and felt as though it were descending from the heavens. I gently placed my hands together.* Aine: "Um..." *Aine stood by my side and mimicked the gesture.* *With my hands joined, I closed my eyes and tried to come up with a prayer somewhere within my heart.* *...* *But as I expected, no prayer came to mind.* *"Become a new me that won't make Aine worry," huh? That was what I said before, but when it came down to it, my desire to do so completely faded.* *It was strange, but there was nothing I could do about it.* *Reluctantly, I kept my eyes closed and pretended to make a wish.* Aine: "I wish... for Tomoe-san..." *She may not have been aware of it, but Aine was whispering her wish aloud.* *Was she wishing to make me into a decent human being? Something told me that wasn't quite it.* *An angel joining her hands together in prayer was a wondrous sight. What sort of being would grant the wishes of an angel?* *When I gazed upon her profile, Aine opened her eyes.* Aine: "Oh? Are you finished?" Tomoe: "What's it matter? As long as you were able to make your wish." Aine: "I did make sure to pray. Did you pray as well?" Tomoe: "Yeah, more or less." *I didn't want to tell her that I couldn't do it, but she squinted her eyes and looked at me with doubt.* Aine: "Did you by chance _not_ make a wish?" Tomoe: "Uh, I did try to... For as long as I can remember, I haven't had much luck with that sort of thing. I just can't do it very well." Aine: "You can't make wishes?" Tomoe: "Even if I try, it doesn't go well." Aine: "Really? For as long as you can remember?" Tomoe: "Who knows. Hard to say." *Now that we were on the subject, I remembered making a lot of wishes when I was younger.* *"She" and I would look for and talk about the good things in life. We called it "playing happy."* *We listed anything and everything we could think of, and often thought, "It would be great if that happened," or "That would be amazing."* *In doing so, we felt as though our hearts were filling with happiness.* *We loved that game, and felt as though we could truly become happy someday if we held onto that accumulated happiness within our hearts.* *But...* Tomoe: "Maybe I've always been bad at wishing." *But reality had different plans. I probably stopped wishing for things after that incident...* *I lost the right to make such selfish wishes after what happened. That was why I couldn't bring myself to do it...* Aine: "Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "...Yeah. On second thought, I don't need to wish for anything." *I said that as nonchalantly as possible so things wouldn't turn serious, but Aine gazed at me with sympathy all the same.* *As such, I looked away from her.* *I looked up at the dark sky from where the bells resounded. The clouds hung heavily overhead, making it impossible to see the stars which were sure to be behind them.* *I had a sudden thought: don't people wish upon stars, too?* *Stars were nothing more than masses of stone, gas, and so on. Could you genuinely pray upon such things, and believe that your wish would come true?* *Would a star grant a person's wish?* *Whether or not it was true made no difference. The very act of wishing or praying might be a significant gesture to humankind.* *If so, a human who wished for nothing, nor had the right to wish for anything, was just...* *Smooch...* Tomoe: "Huh...?" *A soft sensation touched my cheek.* *It took some time before I realized that Aine had kissed me. The wheels just weren't turning in my head.* Tomoe: "Wh-What was that, just now?" Aine: "What was it...? It was a kiss..." Aine: "Did I... do it wrong?" Tomoe: "That's not really the issue... Why did you kiss me?" Aine: "Well..." Aine: "Think of it as an angel's blessing for someone who is poor at making wishes. Humans who have been kissed by angels will become happy, regardless of whether they wish for it or not." Tomoe: "I've never heard that before. You force people to be happy? Even if the person doesn't actually want to be?" Aine: "Yes, that is absolute. I am an angel, so you know it must be true." *Aine insisted, but I could only imagine that she had done it on impulse.* Aine: "It is true. Do not worry, Tomoe-san; you will become happy." Tomoe: "...I see. Guess it's out of my hands, then." *Once I realized that, I found myself agreeing with her.* Aine: "Yes!" *Aine nodded, smiling from ear to ear. An angel's kiss, huh? It certainly did seem like the sort of thing that would make someone happy, but since it was Aine, I was skeptical.* *It just occurred to me... but Aine would be _really_ upset if this didn't bring me happiness. The sight of her sad expression popped into my head.* *If that was the alternative, then I wanted to act happy for her... That feeling had budded within me before I even realized it.* *It was a malformed feeling of "wanting to act happy for her sake" rather than a desire to "be happy."* *Even so, that didn't change the fact that it was my wish.* Aine: "...Achoo!" Tomoe: "Huh? A sneeze?" Aine: "N-No. Angels do not catch colds." Tomoe: "Whenever I look at you, I forget that you're an angel." *The window had been left open, and the room had grown chilly. I closed it, and the sound of the church bells turned into a dull melody.* Tomoe: "Ah..." *I checked the time just as the two hands overlapped one another. It was midnight.* Tomoe: "It's the new year." Aine: "Oh, you are right! I was planning to jump the second the year changed, too!" Tomoe: "What's the point of that?" *Kiyohito's line of thinking must have influenced her.* Aine: "Um, Happy New Year." Tomoe: "...Yeah. Happy New Year." *For a moment, I questioned whether I should say, "Best wishes in the year ahead," but ultimately decided against it. After all, there was no telling how long this angel would be around.* *Could I act the slightest bit happy for her until that time came?* *Acting happy for Aine... Would I be able to make that warped wish which had budded within me come true this year?*

*The archery dojo was freezing this time of year.* *The arrow rushed forward, cutting through the freezing air, then deeply penetrated its target.* Tomoe: "..." *As I took in the sharp, cool air, I drew my bow once more.* *While my body performed various subconscious movements, my mind was littered with deep thoughts.* *The concept of "happiness" loomed heavily over me.* *What was happiness? What should I do to "appear" happy?* *With that question on my mind, I simply gazed forward and indifferently drew my bow.* Kenzou: "Jeez, it's cold!" *I heard a foolish, unfitting voice echo in the tranquil space; it was Sensei.* *I broke my stance and turned to face him.* Tomoe: "Happy New Year. My best wishes for the year ahead." Kenzou: "Yes. Happy New Year to you, too. I'm surprised you're out here in this weather." Tomoe: "That's not something an archery teacher should say." *Besides, he didn't look particularly cold. There was a white steam of sorts radiating from his entire body. It looked almost like an aura.* Kenzou: "Your technique has changed a little." Tomoe: "Huh? Has it?" *I was confused by his sudden, offhand comment. It wasn't something I'd considered before.* Tomoe: "It shouldn't have changed that much, especially since I haven't been practicing as often." *Helping out that angel had taken up a significant amount of my free time.* Kenzou: "It's more like _you_ have changed rather than your technique. It shows in your bow work." Tomoe: "I've changed?" *Had I...? That didn't feel real to me at all.* *Suddenly, Aine's face came to my mind.* Tomoe: "Was it really that obvious?" Kenzou: "Yes, something feels different. Your bow work was horrible before." Tomoe: "Huh? Was it really that bad?" *I never thought I was exceptionally skilled, but I didn't think I was _that_ bad. This was the first time someone had critiqued me about it, too.* Tomoe: "If I was that horrible, you could have told me... Wait, I never did pay you the monthly membership fee, did I?" *As such, I wasn't _actually_ his student. I wasn't entitled to ask for his input or formal instruction.* Kenzou: "Oh, I wasn't talking about your bow work itself. The sight of you drawing your bow was the awful part." Tomoe: "Huh? What are you talking about?" Kenzou: "You weren't aiming at that target. You were always shooting at yourself, weren't you?" Tomoe: "Ah..." *My chest ached, like my heart had been pierced by an arrow. I see. Sensei had seen through me completely.* Kenzou: "As far as you were concerned, the bow was something that existed purely to hurt yourself." Tomoe: "You could tell...?" Kenzou: "I would notice that much even if I wasn't receiving tuition from you." *No, tuition had nothing to do with it. Wasn't that something you normally wouldn't notice? It was something that only existed in my own heart. There was no other word for it than "astounding."* *It was just as Sensei said. Performing archery was something that I'd used to punish myself for a long time now.* *What I had been looking at wasn't the black and white target hanging in the distance. It was what I had imagined overlapping with it in my mind. Yes... it was myself. That was what I had always shot at.* *At the center of that circle was my heart. Whenever an arrow plunged through, an unbearable pain ran through my real chest.* *I would endure that pain and draw my bow over and over again.* *The entire objective of wielding my bow was to cause myself pain.* *It was quite the sadistic act. I was conscious of that fact, but I couldn't stop myself from doing it.* *In order to lead an ordinary life and survive in the here and now, I believed I needed to be bathed in immense agony.* *I mustn't ever become happy, but I _did_ need to survive.* *It was my own way of coping, but that had given birth to a whole new dilemma.* *I lived in order to suffer. I couldn't be allowed to live in peace.* *That may have been the feeling driving me.* Kenzou: "I used to wonder if giving you that bow was a mistake, and part of me always regretted doing it." *Sensei scratched his head as a wry smile crossed his face.* Kenzou: "I never thought you'd keep at it just to punish yourself." Kenzou: "And I had always thought that the bow was one weapon you couldn't possibly hurt yourself with." *His tone grew more lax. It was a habit of his whenever he went on a tangent.* *I understood what he meant. For example, you could injure yourself with a sword. The samurai had developed a method of suicide called "seppuku."* *Unlike a sword, that sort of act wasn't possible with a bow. No matter how hard you may try, you couldn't possibly launch an arrow at yourself and expect to die.* *However, that level of common sense often didn't exist in a person's heart. Similarly to how you could kill another person with just your imagination, it was possible to kill yourself that way, too.* Kenzou: "I don't doubt that your current level of skill is due to your abnormal practice methods. I don't have any students at my dojo who use the bow as sincerely as you." Tomoe: "That's not praise, is it?" Kenzou: "Probably not." *No matter how serious I was, my determination was misguided.* Kenzou: "I've wondered what to do with you. I even considered taking your bow away." Kenzou: "But if I _had_ taken it away, I'm sure you would have found some other way to hurt yourself again." Kenzou: "So I figured, if that's how it would be, then I was better off letting you keep it." *Sensei sized me up with his eyes.* Kenzou: "That bow of yours changed at some point. You're not aiming at yourself, or the target... You're shooting something else entirely now." *Not myself, or the target... When he put it that way, only one other thing came to mind.* *The returning of heart shards.* Kenzou: "Did something happen?" Tomoe: "...No. Nothing like that." *I couldn't tell him, but he was as sharp as I had expected.* *It was true, though. What I had been firing at recently were human hearts. I had been wielding my bow in order to restore their fractured hearts.* *It was entirely different from what I had been doing before. I guess it had inevitably affected my bow work during practice, too.* Kenzou: "If it's something you can't talk about, that's fine. I just wanted to say that I think it's a change for the better." Kenzou: "Your archery feels a bit off this morning, though." Tomoe: "You noticed that, too?" Tomoe: "...Ah." *I realized after asking that without thinking that I had messed up. Saying that was as good as admitting there was something troubling me.* Kenzou: "You don't need to hide it. It's normal for a guy your age to have a worry or two." Tomoe: "Yeah, that's true. I wouldn't say it's something as serious as a 'worry,' though." Kenzou: "Really? If it's something you can't handle by yourself, then you could always ask your seniors for help." Tomoe: "That's true..." *He seemed to be telling me to rely on him in his own, roundabout way.* *But I didn't know how to phrase it. It would be a bit much to ask him, "What is happiness?"* *All right, in that case...* Tomoe: "I do have one question, then. When do you feel happy, Sensei?" Kenzou: "When do I feel happy? Let me think..." Kenzou: "When I sneak a beer in the middle of the day, maybe?" Tomoe: "Sure..." *That was an extremely insignificant happiness. I shouldn't have asked.* Kenzou: "Also, when I finish off my drink at dinnertime and am able snag an extra." Tomoe: "All your happiness stems from alcohol?" *Part of me wondered if I should have even asked.* Kenzou: "Well, isn't that what happiness is? Building up all sorts of insignificant yet blissful moments can make you surprisingly happy." Tomoe: "I see..." *He did sound sincere, but everything that made him happy _was_ alcohol related.* Kenzou: "Aside from that, I'd say it's when my wife and daughter are doing well and are smiling." Tomoe: "...I see." *He apparently intended to finish off with a rational idea.* *He was probably right, though. The people who are important to you, who smile for your sake... That might be what true happiness was.* *Aine's face suddenly appeared in my mind.* Tomoe: "Why did Aine just..." Kenzou: "Hm? What's wrong?" Tomoe: "Oh, nothing..." *I quickly shook my head to clear away my idle thoughts.* Tomoe: "Thank you very much. It was very informative." Kenzou: "Really? Well, if anything's on your mind, feel free to come ask for my advice anytime. I think of myself as your foster parent." Tomoe: "...Yes. Thank you very much." *Hearing him say something so heartfelt was a truly joyous thing.* *However, the moment I felt a shred of happiness, I felt a strong sense of guilt cloud over my mind.* *Pleasure and joy were evil. That was a given for me, and was something I'd never given much thought about, but it left me feeling fairly on edge lately.* *Aine's smiling face popped up before my eyes once more, which put me even further on edge than before...* *Happiness was really complicated.*

Aine: "It has been a while since we were here!" Tomoe: "It's been two weeks, huh?" *Winter vacation had ended, and Aine was overjoyed at the sight of her beloved school. It seemed this eccentric angel loved school even more than she loved humans.* Naruko: "Still, it's so cold. Winter should relocate already." Tomoe: "I did say that you didn't have to tag along." Aine: "I love the cold, though! It really braces your body and soul." Tomoe: "Really?" *She was definitely shivering. She didn't _look_ like she was enjoying it.* Yuri: "It's said that when you live in cold climates, you tend to gain weight." Aine/Naruko: "Huh?! Is that true?!" *Aine and Naruko said in unison.* Naruko: "Aine-chan, this is bad. The coldest part of the year is about to start, too! Shouldn't we just migrate indoors?" Aine: "W-We cannot! This is 'The Love Counseling Room Closest to Heaven,' after all!" Naruko: "What's more important, that branding, or excess fat?" Aine: "Hmmm..." *She was seriously worried about the possibility. Not that it really mattered to me either way.* Minamo: "New year, same old and pointless conversations, huh?" *Wakamatsu had kept to herself until now, but she spoke up in an astonished tone, seemingly unable to let that one pass.* Aine: "It is not pointless! This is a place where many people come for love consultations, after all!" Tomoe: "Not _that_ many people come here, but now that you mention it..." *It hit me the moment she mentioned love consultations. How were those couples doing now?* *Their relationships certainly weren't what _I_ would call "happy," but were they at least satisfied?* *Maybe they could help me to understand the true meaning of happiness.* Aine: "Is something wrong?" Tomoe: "Hey, Aine. Have you followed up with anyone after your love consultations?" Aine: "Huh?"

Naruko: "This is the place." *We had arrived at Kayo Ukutsu's classroom. She was Nakizaki's friend, and the first person we had helped.* Naruko: "What's got you so interested in Kayo all of a sudden?" Tomoe: "I was just wondering what happened to her after the fact." *Hashiguchi, Ukutsu's love interest, had changed schools and they quickly fell into a long-distance relationship. They had been bound by the red thread of fate all the same.* *What form of happiness were they experiencing right now?* Aine: "Oh, there she is! Over there!" *Ukutsu was there, but I couldn't tell it was her at first glance. If you asked why, it was because she was making the exact opposite expression from what I had imagined.* Aine: "What is the matter with Kayo-san?" Naruko: "Seriously, her face is super gloomy." *Nakizaki lowered her voice, sounding concerned. Anyone would be worried after getting a quick look at her face.* Kayo: "...Huh?" *Ukutsu noticed us and made her way over.* Kayo: "It's been a while. What's up?" *She greeted us with a smile, but there was still no enthusiasm behind it. Based on her facial features alone, she looked like someone whose heart had fractured.* Naruko: "Um, did something happen?"

Aine: "Huh?! You broke up?!" Kayo: "Hey... Not so loud...!" Aine: "I... I am sorry... But..." *I understood why Aine was so surprised.* *They broke up... Weren't two people joined by the red thread supposed to be bound together forever?* Naruko: "Really?" Kayo: "There's no reason I would lie about something like this." Naruko: "That's true, but..." *Yes, it was true she wouldn't gain anything from lying. Besides, Ukutsu wasn't the type to make such horrible jokes.* *Did that mean the two of them really had broken up?* Aine: "Um, what happened? Why did you break up?" *That seemed like a very rude question to ask someone, but I didn't butt in. I was curious, too.* Kayo: "Well... He started dating someone else after he transferred." Aine: "Huh? No way..." Kayo: "He was 'lucky enough' to run into an old childhood friend of his; she was a girl he knew long before he met me. She was apparently his first love..." Kayo: "And on top of that, I heard she was the one who confessed her feelings to him." Aine: "D-Does that sort of thing actually happen?" Aine: "Wait! Even if they do, you two were already dating, so it should not have mattered!" Kayo: "Yeah..." Kayo: "Still, saying it shouldn't have mattered doesn't help. People can't control who they fall in love with..." Aine: "That is true, but..." Naruko: "Did you and Hashiguchi-kun sit down and talk it through?" Kayo: "No, we only talked about it once over the phone. That's all..." Naruko: "No way. You should try talking to him one more time!" Kayo: "I guess so, but..." Kayo: "The truth is, I'm going to be transferring soon myself." Aine: "Huh?! You are?!" Naruko: "Really? To where?" Kayo: "Well... Because of my dad's job, we're going to America..." Naruko: "America..." *It was quite shocking, to say the least. That was so far away. They were already in a long-distance relationship, and now they would be even further separated.* Kayo: "So, there's no point..." Aine: "No way..." Kayo: "Hashiguchi transferred, ran into his childhood friend and first love, and I'm moving all the way to America..." Kayo: "It has to be fate. I can only imagine fate decided we weren't meant to be together..." Aine: "B-But..." *Aine was understandably speechless. I couldn't believe it myself, considering these two were supposed to be bound by the red thread of fate.* *Why did things turn out this way? If what Ukutsu said was true, what in the world had we been doing all this time?* Kayo: "And after you gave me so much advice... I'm sorry." Aine: "No, you do not need to worry about me. But..." *I understood Aine's confusion perfectly. What was the meaning of all this? Why had this happened...?*

Aine: "This is so strange! So very, very strange!" *Aine had been enraged ever since, but she was probably more confused than anything else. She couldn't keep her emotions in check unless she vented.* *That just showed how abnormal this situation was.* Naruko: "Aren't two people joined by the red thread supposed to be together forever?" Aine: "Yes, that is how it is supposed to be... We say 'forever,' but naturally humans have a finite lifespan, and will someday separate..." Aine: "In that sense, I do believe it is possible for couples to be separated in the event one person in the relationship succumbs to illness, but..." *I understood what she meant.* *Humans had an expiration date, so unless they became immortal, death would inevitably split couples apart. Not even the red thread could overcome something like that.* *Still, that only seemed natural to me. If that were possible, it would mean that red threads would have full control of even a person's life span.* *All that meant was that the red threads weren't omnipotent.* *That wasn't the case this time, though. It was a breakup caused by an unfortunate twist of fate.* *What's more, this particular twist felt forced and designed specifically to drive them apart.* Aine: "This is so, soooooo strange!" Naruko: "Setting that aside, if Kayo went through a breakup, then what about the others?" Aine: "Huh...?" *Nakizaki's comment gave me goosebumps. I didn't want to imagine it was possible, but I couldn't deny the possibility now.* *Something supposedly impossible _had_ already occurred.* Tomoe: "Let's look into it tomorrow." Aine: "Yes..." *We needed to gather all of the facts first. I only hoped it didn't turn out to be the worst-case scenario...*

*We found Mitsushima-san by the flower beds.* Osamu: "..." *He was taking care of his beloved flowers, but his expression was still gloomy. It was like he was there in body, but not in spirit.* Aine: "..." *Aine was hesitating to speak to him, as his expression was nearly identical to Ukutsu's. I had a feeling I already knew the answers to our questions.* *But we still needed to make sure of it.* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san." *I spoke up to get his attention.* Osamu: "Oh, Kirinokojima-kun, and Aine-chan." Aine: "Hello." *He smiled at us, but it seemed quite lonesome.* Tomoe: "Um, this is a strange question to ask, but... how is Arie-san doing?" *I couldn't ask him outright, so I started the conversation in a roundabout fashion.* *Mitsushima-san's modest smile was instantly overshadowed with misery, which confirmed my lingering questions instantaneously.* *They had already broken up.* Osamu: "Well, I haven't seen her in a while." Tomoe: "You haven't...? Um, did something happen?" Osamu: "Yeah... She left this city." Aine: "Huh? She left? Why?" Osamu: "I heard her family found out about that incident." Aine: "Huh? It cannot be..." *Even after Oomura was arrested, Arie-san never reported him to the police. She probably kept it to herself for her own protection.* *If the police had known, they would have gotten in touch with the academy and her parents back then.* *That man had more than enough crimes to his name to receive a heavy sentence even excluding the incident with Arie-san.* *With that in mind, Mitsushima-san and Arie-san had decided to keep quiet in order to protect her reputation.* *Her family had found out despite all of that?* Tomoe: "How?" Osamu: "Well... He apparently had this big change of heart and started confessing to all of his crimes without being coerced." Tomoe: "He did?" *He didn't seem like the sort of person who would repent for his actions. It was a good thing that he was that kind of person, but Arie-san's secret had gone public as a result.* Osamu: "Because of that, Koyuki-san's family decided it would be best to just leave the city entirely." Osamu: "I don't blame them for thinking that way, considering what happened to their daughter..." Tomoe: "You have a point..." Osamu: "Her family told me not to see her anymore, because it would make her remember what happened." Aine: "No way... But, you saved Koyuki-san!" Osamu: "Still, it's inevitable that her family would see it that way. She may never be able to move on from that incident if she stays with me..." Tomoe: "What did Arie-san say?" Osamu: "She didn't say anything. I think she was in shock over the whole thing, and just went along with whatever she was told to do." Osamu: "I guess she went to a relative's place in Tokyo for the time being..." Tomoe: "I see..." Aine: "Osamu-san..." Tomoe: "..." *What was this all about? What the hell was going on? Why had this happened...?*

Aine: "None of this makes any sense...!" *Aine was on the brink of tears.* *Her feelings were understandable. It was unbelievable, but every other couple we had gotten involved with and brought together had already broken up.* Aine: "This cannot be true. Something is reaaally wrong here!" *Aine protested through her tears. It certainly _was_ strange. What the heck was going on?* Tomoe: "Nothing's going to change if we just sit here and cry about it. Why is this even happening? We've got to figure it out." *We were involved in this whole mess, too. I didn't intend to leave things alone without a fight.* Aine: "You are right..." Naruko: "But, how?" Naruko: "Kyah?!" *A huge crow suddenly crossed our path. It must have been perched on a nearby fence or something. It flapped its large, black wings before landing at the top of a telephone pole.* *When I saw it looking down smugly at us with its jet-black feathers, I recalled a certain angel.* *We turned to look at each other, and our eyes met. We must have come up with the same idea.* Aine: "Let us go to them!" Tomoe: "Yeah."

*Creeeak...* *The heavy door opened with that ominous sound.* *The hall was illuminated, but I didn't sense anyone inside. This deserted church had a rather repelling ambience to it.* Aine: "Excuse us..." *Aine went inside while giving a typically human greeting. I followed after her.* Tomoe: "Nobody's here. Maybe they're away?" Aine: "No..." *Aine looked up at the tall ceiling. Up above, we could see a space where darkness lurked, and then, that darkness descended.* Tomoe: "Hm..." *Two black angels calmly alighted before us.* Aine: "Good evening." Rios: "So, you finally came." *The black angel suddenly spoke as though he had anticipated our arrival.* Tomoe: "What is that supposed to mean? You knew we would come here?" Helen: "Yes. I was sure you would turn up eventually." Aine: "Huh? Why?" Helen: "Don't you have questions about the red thread?" Aine: "How do you know that...?" *Aine had a frightened look in her eyes, as if she'd seen something terrifying.* Helen: "I assumed that you would someday realize it. There is a secret behind the red threads." Tomoe: "A secret?" Aine: "With the red threads? I have never heard anything about this before." *Rios twitched an eyebrow at Aine's objection.* Rios: "Do you have the intelligence of an earthworm? If it was easy information to come by, you wouldn't call it a secret." Aine: "Ah..." *What he said was harsh, but he wasn't wrong. It seemed there was a secret behind the red thread, one that even angels weren't aware of.* Helen: "Due to your unique situation, it was reasonable to expect you would eventually have questions about the red threads." Aine: "That is why you knew we would come?" Helen: "It is not something you could learn about by investigating. You had no other choice but to come here in search of answers." Tomoe: "Which means you know the truth behind this secret or whatever it is?" Helen: "A foolish question. If we did not, we wouldn't be having this conversation." *The black angels' confidence made me gulp. They now seemed far more mysterious than before. What in the world was this secret?* *We really might find the answer we were seeking here.* Tomoe: "...All of the couples we got involved with and brought together broke up. They were all unnatural breakups, too." Tomoe: "Do you know why that happened?" Rios: "You're asking rather foolish questions." *His self-important tone didn't suit his immature appearance. His gaze pierced me, much like a finely sharpened blade.* Aine: "I am begging you, please tell us! Why are lovers bound by the red thread breaking up so easily?!" Rios: "I don't mind telling you, but... Will you continue to perform angelery if you learn the red thread's secret─its true nature?" Aine: "Wh-What does that mean?" Rios: "Exactly what it sounds like." *He made it sound like the red thread's secret would be enough to make Aine want to quit being an angel.* *Aine gulped, now nervous.* Aine: "I... I will be all right. Please tell me." Rios: "Make sure you don't regret it." Helen: "I will explain, then. The red thread is..."

Aine: "..." *Aine had been silent ever since we got back home. She hadn't even touched the meal that Nakizaki had brought over for us.* Tomoe: "Why don't you try eating something?" Aine: "..." *As expected, no answer. What the black angels told her must have come as a great shock.* *What they had said shocked me, too. The red threads don't actually make people happy; in fact, they make people _unhappy_.* Aine: "..." Tomoe: "We have bananas. Want one?" Aine: "..." *Again, no reply. She must have been completely distraught to not be lured in by bananas.* Aine: "What are angels, exactly?" *Or so I thought, when she spoke.* Tomoe: "What are they...? Angels are angels." Aine: "Angels exist to make humans happy. If we fail to bring them happiness, then what does it all mean?" Tomoe: "That's a good question." *The black angels' story went like this: A fixed quantity of red threads exist in the world, and never fluctuates. At present, no extra red threads existed.* *Long story short, whenever a new couple is bound by a red thread, another pair of lovers who are supposed to be joined by a red thread somewhere else are driven apart.* *The limited number of red threads simply circulate between different people.* *Newly bestowed blessings are stolen from elsewhere, and our own happiness is fated to one day be taken away by another person.* *That was what it all boiled down to.* Aine: "This was all my fault." Tomoe: "I'm the one who did it." Aine: "Huh? No, that was just because I forced you into it..." Tomoe: "But I'm still the one who did it." *I was the one who returned their shards. I was the "perpetrator" who had gotten directly involved. That meant that _I_ was the reason for their misfortune.* Aine: "N-No! You did not do anything wrong! It is all my fault!" *Aine wasn't necessarily wrong. She had dragged me into this against my will.* Tomoe: "...Even then, it doesn't change the fact that I was part of it." *A murderer would still feel the lingering reality of having killed another person with their own hands, even if they did it at another's request. A similar, indelible feeling lingered within my own hands.* *As I gazed down upon them, it looked as though they were covered in blood.* Aine: "N-No! You are definitely wrong! You are not at fault..." Tomoe: "It doesn't matter whose fault it is anymore. I've done something which can never be undone." Aine: "N-No... Do not say it cannot be undone..." *Despite her protests, her voice was frail. Even Aine understood what I had done was irreversible.* Tomoe: "Isn't that more than enough of a reason why I can't help but regret it? There's no going back now, so I have no choice but to silently accept it." Aine: "Tomoe-san..." Aine: "I-It will be all right! I am sure there is some way..." Tomoe: "What way would that be?" Aine: "W-Well..." *Aine struggled to come up with a response, but ultimately said nothing.* Tomoe: "See? You couldn't return the shards on your own, so you came crying to me to do it, right?" Tomoe: "If you're that big of a failure of an angel, how could you possibly fix this?" *Aine was taken aback and dejectedly drooped her shoulders.* *My plan was to get her into her usual, talkative mood, but I seemed to have hurt her pretty badly with that last comment.* Aine: "A failure... Yes, you are exactly right." Tomoe: "Uh, all I meant was..." Aine: "It is okay. You have said that many times before. I know better than anyone else how hopeless I am..." Tomoe: "No..." *Only at a time like this would she go speechless.* *Nothing I said to Aine ever managed to diminish her positive outlook. I never expected her to feel so hurt.* *But if I gave it some thought, it made perfect sense. This matter with the red threads was already making her suffer horribly...* *...And I had just mercilessly finished her off while she was down.* Aine: "..." Tomoe: "..." *With an immensely heavy mood hanging over us, we both fell silent.* *I knew things would turn gloomy if we kept quiet, but there was absolutely nothing I could say.*

Tomoe: "I'm going to turn off the lights." Aine: "Sure..." *After preparing for bed, I turned off the lights in the room.* *I assumed the oppressive mood would improve once the lights went out, but the gloominess only grew heavier.* Tomoe: "..." Aine: "..." *I got in bed, but couldn't sleep. Even Aine, who normally fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow, seemed to be tossing and turning in her futon.* *No matter how much time passed, the unusual snores I often heard from her never came.* Aine: "..." *Then, I sensed Aine getting up. She grabbed her pillow and futon, and left the room.* *For a moment I wondered if she was going to leave the house, but that was unlikely, considering she had grabbed her bedding. She probably went to the first floor.* Tomoe: "Is she uncomfortable being around me?" *Now that she was gone, the tension in the room began to dissipate. Although we had just gone back to how things used to be, it felt like a rift had opened between us.* *It felt uncomfortable to be together, but it caused me to feel a sense of loss when we weren't.* Tomoe: "What do you expect from me?" *I let out a soft whisper. Between the red thread and what was going on in our household, the new year was off to a messy start.* *What had happened to that wish I made while listening to the church bells ring in the new year?* *And what was that kiss all about?* Aine: "Tomoe-san..."

Naruko: "Rise and shine!" Tomoe: "Oh, Nakizaki. Morning." Naruko: "Oh, you were already awake?" Tomoe: "Yeah, sorry. I woke up early today." *More like I hadn't slept a wink. I had been wide awake ever since Aine snuck out of the room. In the end, she never came back upstairs.* Naruko: "Oh? Where's Aine-chan? Is she already up?" Tomoe: "Isn't she downstairs?" Naruko: "Downstairs? ...Did you have a fight or something?" Tomoe: "...It's nothing like that." *Nakizaki didn't know what we had learned yesterday about the red threads... and I wasn't sure I could explain what was going on between Aine and me right now without elaborating.* Naruko: "If it's really nothing, then that's fine..." Naruko: "I'll head downstairs first, then! I'll get breakfast ready right away." Tomoe: "Yeah." *I should probably tell Nakizaki about the red threads, and about what happened to Ukutsu while I was at it. I was reluctant to bring it up, but it seemed unavoidable at this point.*

*The ashen sky hung ominously overhead.* Naruko: "Brrr, it's cold...!" Tomoe: "I told you, you don't have to force yourself to tag along." *Kiyohito was shivering beside Nakizaki, too. It had been some time since the three of us were alone together. It felt like we'd gone back in time by a couple of months.* Naruko: "I'm honestly not forcing myself. You look surprisingly comfortable, though." Tomoe: "I'm fine _because_ I'm cold." Naruko: "Still, doesn't it feel extra chilly out today?" Kiyohito: "There's a good reason for that: because Aine-chan's not here." *Kiyohito made it sound obvious, but it only startled me.* Tomoe: "Why would it be cold just because Aine's missing?" Kiyohito: "Because Aine-chan is so lively! It feels warmer with a bubbly girl like her around, so yeah." Tomoe: "You think so? If that's your criteria, I think Nakizaki is pretty lively, too." Naruko: "Nah, I'm just super noisy... Hey wait, why?!" Kiyohito: "Oh, rolling with the punches! It's getting warmer up here already." Tomoe: "Speak for yourself." *Nakizaki's suggestion had nothing to do with it, but it _did_ feel really cold out today.* *_Was_ it because Aine wasn't here...? No way. It was foolish to even consider it.* Kiyohito: "So, what _is_ up with Aine-chan? Taking the day off?" Naruko: "Yeah, she has a small cold. I told her to get some rest since she wasn't feeling well." *Aine had been lying awake in the living room, but I sincerely doubted she'd caught a cold. She was an angel, after all.* *It _was_ true that she looked pretty lifeless, though. It must have been emotionally related.* *Aine hadn't said a single word to me this morning, either.* Kiyohito: "Did you two have a fight or something?" *Kiyohito watched my expression as he said those words.* Tomoe: "We seriously didn't. It's just a cold." *We really hadn't gotten into a fight. If we had, then we could make up. Things were only this awkward between us _because_ that wasn't the case.* *We were like two out-of-sync gears that couldn't realign no matter what we tried.* Kiyohito: "I see. Guess that means there's a cold going around, huh?" Kiyohito: "I hope she gets better soon." Tomoe: "Yeah." *Aine was going to have a much harder time recovering from this than from some common cold. She might never be the same again unless we resolved the issue with the red threads.* *Worse yet, it was an issue we could do absolutely nothing to fix.*

*When I told everyone the truth about the red threads, they all went completely silent.* Erich: "Wh-What are you talking about?!" *As expected, Erich-chan was the first to raise her voice. She was really angry.* Menes: "That means we haven't been helping anyone? Worse yet, we've been forcing delayed yet guaranteed _misery_?" Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Erich: "What she said! That's what we've been working so hard to accomplish?!" Aine: "...I am sorry." *I understood how they felt, but all I could do was apologize.* Menes: "It's nothing you need to apologize for. You shouldn't talk to her like that either, Erich." Erich: "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." *Erich-chan's shock made perfect sense to me. I was still stunned, too, and I imagined Menes-chan and Licha-chan also felt the same way.* *Our entire purpose had seemingly been flipped onto its head.* Menes: "You figured it out due to your guitar strings breaking, right?" Aine: "Yeah." *The fully restored guitar was propped up against the wall in the corner of the room. I thought I would finally be able to sing again, and maybe get Tomoe-san to hear my song, but...* *That opportunity had been forever lost. I refused to sing if it would only cause others sorrow, and knew Tomoe-san would not want to hear such a song anyway.* Erich: "So this means that the missing guitar strings were replenished with the red threads of the couples you helped?" Aine: "That seems to be the case." *Due to that, lovers who should have experienced endless happiness had met bleak ends.* Aine: "It is my fault..." Menes: "Don't blame yourself so much." Licha: "Mhm." *Menes-chan's words and Licha-chan's soothing hand on my back comforted me. All the same, there was a hazy feeling bubbling inside of my chest.* Erich: "So, how is Tomoe doing?" Aine: "Ah..." *When she asked about Tomoe-san, I couldn't respond right away.* Menes: "Did you get into a fight over this?" Aine: "I would not call it a 'fight'... Tomoe-san appeared to be incredibly hurt by this, actually..." Menes: "Yeah, I'm sure he was. He's the one who actually returned the shards. It's only natural he would feel responsible." Erich: "It's not your fault, Aine. You shouldn't worry about it. In a way, we're victims, too." *We were victims? That was exactly how I would expect Erich-chan to interpret it, and she was probably right.* *Still, Tomoe-san definitely would not see it that way, even though he was a victim, too...* Aine: "I swore on the New Year's bells that I would make Tomoe-san happy. I made that promise very recently." Erich: "New Year's bells?" Menes: "The bells humans ring as they enter the new year, right?" Aine: "Yes... Tomoe-san and I wished upon them together, but he was not able to make a wish for himself..." Erich: "Why?" Aine: "Tomoe-san's heart is probably fractured." Erich: "Huh? It is?" Menes: "Well, he _is_ eccentric enough for me to believe it's fractured... but I never noticed." Licha: "Mhm... Mhm..." *As I thought, nobody seemed to have noticed it.* *Though they were by his side, nobody had been able to peek into Tomoe-san's heart. It made me feel like Tomoe-san was actually all alone, and it pained me.* Aine: "I was thinking of wishing for his happiness in his place. Maybe I could even be the one to make him happy..." Aine: "Or so I thought, but..." *Everything suddenly took a turn for the worse after that. How ironic...* Erich: "'Make Tomoe happy'...? Aine, do you..." Aine: "Yes?" Menes: "Erich." *Erich-chan was about to say something, but Menes-chan gently stopped her.* Menes: "You should wait until she realizes it on her own." Erich: "Oh, you think so?" *They were discussing something in hushed voices.* Aine: "What is the matter?" Erich: "Oh, uh-uh, it's nothing!" Menes: "We were just saying that Tomoe-kun must be super important to you." Aine: "Yes, of course! Tomoe-san is very important to me." Licha: "..." *It was both obvious, and something I could say proudly, but everyone was looking at me with dazed expressions.* Erich: "I'm impressed you figured that much out without noticing." Aine: "What have I not noticed, exactly?" Menes: "Oh, never mind. Anyway, Tomoe-kun is important to you, right, Aine?" Aine: "Yes, of course." Menes: "So then, what will you do for him?" Aine: "Well..." *What _should_ I do? What could I do to make him smile?* Erich: "You won't return his shard? ...Wait, I guess you can't." Aine: "Correct..." *Now that I knew the inner workings of the red threads, I could not return Tomoe-san's shard.* *Us angels getting involved would eventually bring Tomoe-san nothing but misfortune.* Aine: "To be honest, I really want to return it to him, but it may not have ever been possible for me in the first place." Erich: "Why is that?" Aine: "His heart apparently fractured a long, long time ago, and Tomoe-san seems strongly opposed to his heart being touched..." Menes: "Oh, you're right. I could see that." Erich: "Yeah, I can't see into his heart one bit. Even if it is fractured, returning his shard would be really difficult. I'm sure he would reject it outright." Aine: "Exactly. I am uncertain of what to do at this point..." *That was why I suspected I could not have returned his shard either way, although I _had_ considered trying.* *But now, even that was out of the question.* Aine: "Do you think there is anything I _can_ do?" *Just as Tomoe-san had said, I was an inexperienced, hack of an angel. Even though my guitar was operational, I couldn't return shards anymore.* *Not being able to use my guitar meant I could not get Tomoe-san to listen to my song. It made me very, very sad every single time it crossed my mind.* *I truly was helpless. What else could I possibly do?* Menes: "What should we do from now on...?" *I heard Menes-chan's quiet whisper.* *If we performed our angelery, it would only end in tragedy. With that in mind, returning shards like we had before was no longer an option.* *What _should_ we angels do going forward?*

Aine: "Why are you all here?" *They had been here for the last three days, but I wasn't sure why.* Erich: "Well, it's not like we had anything else to do with our free time." Menes: "It's cold outside, too." Licha: "Carefree." *They were all completely complacent. Tomoe-san had not said anything, but I wondered if he was angry?* *I had not spoken to Tomoe-san since that day, but it was far less awkward this way.* Aine: "What are your plans for the future? Are you going to quit your work as angels?" Erich: "Come on. If we do anything, we would just be making people unhappy. Asking us about it won't fix anything." Menes: "Doesn't the same go for you, Aine?" Aine: "It does, but..." Erich: "All that leaves us with is dozing off here." Menes: "Doze..." *Everyone was completely out of it, but lying around _was_ about all they could do at this point.* Licha: "Is it okay?" Aine: "Is what okay?" Licha: "Our angel work... If we don't do it... everyone will disappear." Aine: "Disappear?" Licha: "Annihilation." *Licha's comment put a serious look on everyone's face.* Erich: "W-Wait a second. What's that supposed to mean?" Licha: "Angels are born to make humans happy. If you renounce that duty, you lose your reason for being." Erich: "We'll disappear if we stop performing angelery?" Menes: "Does that mean... we'll die?" Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Aine: "N-No way... That cannot be..." Licha: "It's true." Erich: "I-I've never heard that before! Where did you get that info from?" Licha: "Rios." Aine: "Huh? Rios-san?" *A heavy tension immediately sprung up between us at the mere mention of Rios-san's name. It reminded me that his nickname was "Angel Slayer."* Menes: "What does that mean? Why would Rios tell you that, Licha?" Licha: "He didn't kill her. She was destined to disappear." *Her... The vocalist girl who came before me?* Erich: "Huh...? What does that mean?" Menes: "Rios didn't kill her, she was destined to die from the very start?" Licha: "Mhm." Licha: "She probably found out the secret of the red threads." Menes: "And then she went to Rios for advice?" Licha: "Mhm." Erich: "How do you know all of this, Licha?" Licha: "I asked Rios. Interrogated him, even. Back then." Erich: "Huh? For real?" Licha: "Mhm." Licha: "Rios didn't go into much detail. He couldn't afford to tell me the truth about the red threads." Licha: "But, she figured it out all the same. Which is why Rios told only her the truth, and once she found out, she most likely..." Menes: "Rejected angelery of her own accord." Licha: "I finally know the whole story. That girl didn't want us to learn the truth about the red threads." Licha: "That's why she went to him without telling us anything, and secretly disappeared." Menes: "If we had learned the secret of the red threads, we couldn't continue to perform angelery, either. If that happened, we would disappear, too..." Menes: "She was trying to protect us." Licha: "There are some things in this world you're better off not knowing." Erich: "No way. Then... They're _not_ Angel Slayers?" Licha: "Uh-uh" *Licha-chan shook her head side to side.* Menes: "Rios and Helen respected her decision to quietly disappear, huh?" Licha: "If they had told us how she really disappeared, then they would have been forced to tell us the truth about the red threads, too." Menes: "That would have gone against her will, and would have also proven fatal for us." Erich: "You're saying they protected us?" Licha: "Exactly." Erich: "Why?" *Erich-chan glared at Licha-chan.* Erich: "If you knew that they weren't angel killers, couldn't you have told us sooner?" Licha: "I didn't know the full truth at the time. Rios said it wasn't something we needed to know." Menes: "So you kept it to yourself?" Licha: "Mhm." Erich: "Come on..." Menes: "Angels who abandon their work disappear..." Licha: "Those who have lost their reason for being disappear." Menes: "Angels are born to make people happy, yet they abandon the very act they were created to perform..." Menes: "That is the moment when such beings lose their 'reason for being.'" Erich: "What's the big idea? That's easy enough to say, but the red threads _don't_ make people happy, so it's out of our hands!" Aine: "..." *Red threads did not bring people happiness.* *They might make them happy for a short time, but it was nothing more than a fleeting happiness. Something which temporarily lifted people up just to hurl them back down.* *Once an angel considers giving up on angelery, they cease to exist.* *What should we do, then...?* Erich: "...Saying that won't help anything, will it?" *Erich-chan said with resignation.* Aine: "Erich-chan..." Erich: "I mean, it's completely out of our hands. We can't do anything to change it..." Erich: "Angels exist to make people happy... but now that we know that's impossible, what's the point of us being here at all?" Erich: "If that's how the world... how angels themselves work, then it's meaningless." Menes: "...Yeah. Us lounging around, with no objective or direction is quite pointless." Erich: "Angels have no life span, so that's just excessive. Living an idle life for all eternity without purpose is just plain torture." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." *Based on what they were saying, it seemed they had accepted their fates. Were they not afraid of disappearing... of dying?* *I _could_ understand their point of view, though. I doubted any of us could endure living forever with no purpose.* Aine: "Are you all okay with that?" Erich: "I'm not. I'm not, but... that's just the way it is." Erich: "We can't possibly perform angelery knowing it will make humans miserable." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Menes: "True. If that's how it's going to be, I'd sooner up and disappear." Licha: "Mhm... Mhm..." *Everyone may have been making light of the situation _because_ they were scared, and were trying not to dwell on it too much.* *The thought that I would disappear scared me, too. Still, I found something within my heart that terrified me even more.* *The idea of not being able to see Tomoe-san anymore petrified me.* *The times I spent with him spun around and around in my mind.* *When we met, the first time we returned a shard, when he taught me how to use a bow, eating dinner together every night, talking on the school roof, when we went to sleep at night...* *And finally, New Year's Eve. The sensation of my lips when they kissed his cheek.* *All of those memories were of fun times.* *I knew we had gone through plenty of painful, horrible times, too, but the memories that flashed back to me were fun ones.* *If I were to disappear right now, everything would end while things were still awkward between us.* *We had been having a difficult time talking to each other lately. That had become the status quo.* *How could it all come to an end with such a sad memory...?* Licha: "Aine..." *I heard Licha-chan's sad voice. I wondered what was wrong, when I noticed everyone was looking at me with concern.* Aine: "What is the matter?" Erich: "That should be obvious..." Menes: "Aine, you're crying." Aine: "Huh...?" *I touched my cheek with my fingertips. It really was wet. My face was covered in warm droplets.* Aine: "I did not notice it at all..." Licha: "Thinking about Tomoe?" *Licha-chan asked with concern.* Aine: "...Mhm." Aine: "I do not want to say goodbye to Tomoe-san like this. Things are still really awkward between us, and I have not heard his voice much lately, either..." Aine: "I feel like all of the fun memories we made together will disappear along with me if this keeps up..." Aine: "I... cannot let that happen!" *The tears continued to stream down my face. Angels could cry? They could cry this much?* *The sad faces of all the people I had met popped into my mind. Did I look like that, too?* Erich: "Aine, you feel that strongly..." Menes: "You need to talk to Tomoe-kun, then." Aine: "But... We are kind of in the middle of a fight..." Erich: "You don't want to say goodbye like this, do you? You'll never get anywhere if you don't talk to him." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Aine: "You are right, but..." Menes: "Besides, things can't stay this way. Didn't you wish upon the New Year's bells to make Tomoe-kun happy?" Aine: "...Yes." *That was something I could never forget. It was always on my mind.* *However, the situation had completely changed since then. I could never sing my song for him now.* Aine: "It is no longer possible for me to return his shard..." Erich: "What are you saying? Surely there are other things you could do for him." Aine: "Huh? There is... something else?" Erich: "You haven't been returning shards on your own for a while now." Aine: "That is because... my guitar was broken..." Erich: "Weren't you still doing everything you possibly could for humans in the meantime? You didn't give up all hope just because you couldn't return people's shards." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Menes: "That's right, Aine. Isn't there something you could still do for Tomoe-kun?" Aine: "You really think so? There is still something I can accomplish?" Erich: "Of course there is! And I'm sure it's something only you can do." Aine: "Only I can do...?" Menes: "I'm positive there is something you can do for him, not as an angel, but as an individual. You've just got to find it." Aine: "Not as an angel..." *Something I could do for Tomoe-san... Did such a thing truly exist?* *I had no confidence in anything did...* *But... I did not care what it was, I wanted to do _something_ for him. Anything at all would do.* *I did not want to keep sitting here feeling this way, simply watching and powerless to do anything until I finally disappeared.* Aine: "Thank you, everyone. I will search for it." *I wanted to find something I could do for him without using angelery. Something uniquely me.* *Then it hit me. Once was enough... Just once, I wanted to see Tomoe-san smile from the bottom of his heart...* *What was the first thing I had to do to make that a reality?* Licha: "The past..." Aine: "Huh? What did you say, Licha-chan?" Menes: "Tomoe-kun's past." Erich: "Yeah, that would make sense. Something must have happened to him a long time ago for him to become so rebellious." Aine: "Tomoe-san is not rebellious. He is just a little sensitive." Erich: "How do you possibly interpret that as 'sensitive'?" Menes: "She is right, though. If you really want to help him, figuring out what happened would be the best place to start." Menes: "That might tell you what he needs most." Aine: "...Yes." *I agreed. Besides, I simply wanted to know more about him.* *I wanted to know much more...* *Which meant there was only one person I could rely on.*

Naruko: "Kirinokojima's past... huh?" *I asked Naruko-san when I visited her. She gave me a sad look in return.* *It was very unsettling. I could hardly believe that Naruko-san, someone who was always so energetic, would look so depressed just by bringing up the subject.* *Had Tomoe-san gone through something that traumatic...?* Aine: "Did something bad happen to him?" Naruko: "Yeah..." *Naruko-san seemed unsure about whether to talk about it.* Aine: "Please! I want to help Tomoe-san!' *I cried out. Naruko-san seemed surprised by my sudden outburst.* Naruko: "..." Aine: "Should I not have asked?" Naruko: "No, it's not that..." Naruko: "I see. That's how you feel, Aine-chan?" Aine: "What? What do you mean...?" Naruko: "You want to do something for Kirinokojima that badly?" Aine: "Yes, I do. I really, really, reaaally do!" Naruko: "Ahaha, that much, huh? I guess you've outdone me at every turn." *Naruko-san's smile was strained, yet also somewhat happy.* Naruko: "Got it, I'll tell you what happened to Kirinokojima, then." Aine: "Th-Thank you very much!" Naruko: "But listen. I don't know all of the details, either. Only Kirinokojima knows the whole truth now." Aine: "'Now'...?" *The way she phrased it caught my attention. She made it sound like someone other than Tomoe-san knew about his situation...* Naruko: "Yeah, 'now.' There was one other girl who knew what happened, but she's... no longer with us." Aine: "Huh...?" Naruko: "Kirinokojima experienced a very sad love. A love that was very, very tragic..." Aine: "Tomoe-san was in love?" *It surprised me that he had ever fallen in love, given how much he hated romance.* Aine: "I cannot believe it." Naruko: "I'm sure, but it's true." Naruko: "And he may have stopped believing in love _because_ he trusted in that love so deeply." *Naruko-san winced as if it caused her pain to so much as utter those words. For some reason, a deep pain ran through my own chest, too. It felt like needles were pricking my heart.* Aine: "How long ago did it happen? Whom was it with...?" Naruko: "It was... a couple of years after we met, I guess?" Naruko: "I don't know where or how he met her, much less what sort of girl she was." Naruko: "Kirinokojima and I didn't talk much during that time... I don't know if it was related, but he was always running off by himself somewhere." Aine: "To meet that girl?" *I felt another prick of pain in my chest. What was this?* Naruko: "Yeah, he was apparently going to Yamanote Church." Aine: "Yamanote Church...?" *I envisioned the church in my mind─the same place where the black angels resided.* Naruko: "It's been remodeled since, but it was in ruins at the time." Aine: "Ruins... They met in a place like that?" Naruko: "They played there together, but I only heard about it after the fact." Naruko: "After there was no turning back." *Sorrow rang through her voice.* Aine: "How do you mean...?" Naruko: "After that girl... passed away." *Passed away... Meaning, she had died. In angel terms, annihilated. How?* Aine: "What in the world happened? What were they doing there?" Naruko: "Sorry, not even I know that. What I _do_ know is what sort of condition Kirinokojima was in afterward." Naruko: "He was found at the abandoned church almost completely asphyxiated." Aine: "Huh? Asphyxiated...?" *I shivered. Tomoe-san had nearly died? Or maybe he really _had_ died...?* *This was completely unbelievable...* Naruko: "He was rushed to the hospital, and luckily, they were able to resuscitate him. He didn't have any noticeable injuries, and the doctor even said he would make a quick recovery, but..." Aine: "He did not?" Naruko: "His life had been saved, but he was an empty shell of his former self. All he did was stare at the white walls and ceiling of his hospital room." Naruko: "He didn't eat, and he refused to even sleep." Naruko: "He wouldn't touch any of the meals brought to him, and he'd just stay up all night. I think he went a full week without sleep." Aine: "It was that bad?" Naruko: "They kept him nourished on an IV drip, but there wasn't anything they could do about his insomnia. They tried to medicate him, but it didn't work." Aine: "No way..." *I imagined Tomoe-san lying wide awake, staring up at the ceiling of a pitch-black hospital room. It felt like my chest was going to burst at the thought. That was far too cruel.* Naruko: "Not being able to sleep is rough. There are nights where I can't sleep on occasion, and they feel super long." Naruko: "But you know, I believe that was Kirinokojima's way of punishing himself back then." Aine: "Punishing himself...?" Naruko: "Through sheer willpower, I think he forced himself to stay awake. He never looked like he was in pain, though." Aine: "Did Tomoe-san... really have to put himself through something so agonizing?" Naruko: "I don't know... but Kirinokojima himself seems to think so." Naruko: "I can't begin to imagine what could have happened to make him feel that way." *Naruko-san looked so lonely when she said that. Not being able to understand how Tomoe-san felt appeared to be very saddening for her.* *I understood how she felt.* Naruko: "That's why I can't fully comprehend how Kirinokojima is feeling. I have no idea how much he's suffered." Naruko: "All I could do was to stay by his side and watch, but he looked so miserable back then that it tore my heart to pieces." Naruko: "A lot of things happened afterward, and he eventually recovered, but he never so much as tried to believe in love or romance, or to get involved with them ever again." Aine: "Tomoe-san.... really loved that girl who passed away, didn't he?" Naruko: "Probably. Very, very, very deeply, at that..." *What sort of person was she? I got this strange feeling, like I both did and did not want to know.* *What was this strange feeling? Jealousy? Why would I be jealous, though...?* *Could it be? Was I really... in love with Tomoe-san...?* Aine: "..." *When I asked myself that question, it just kind of clicked. "Oh, I get it. I love Tomoe-san. How about that."* Naruko: "That's all I know. Kirinokojima had a girl he loved dearly, and then lost her..." Naruko: "Then..." Naruko: "Kirinokojima said that he was the one who killed her." Aine: "Huh? Tomoe-san did?" *My mind went blank. Tomoe-san killed a person...?* Aine: "..." Aine: "Huh? Huh? Th-That is... impossible. Tomoe-san could never kill anyone..." Naruko: "Yeah, I agree, and I can't imagine he would _actually_ do something so horrible." Naruko: "But, Kirinokojima believes it, and he's always blamed himself for it." Naruko: "This one time, I heard Kirinokojima whisper..." Naruko: "'If only I had never fallen in love with her, that never would have happened'..." Aine: "No way..." *After hearing this story, I understood why Tomoe-san rejected love so adamantly, and why he believed love only brought sorrow.* *It was because of his past.* *Still, for him to have felt that way was so very sad and lonely.* Naruko: "That's all I can tell you. You'll have to ask Kirinokojima directly for the rest." Aine: "Do you think he will tell me? He has not told you either, right, Naruko-san?" Naruko: "Right, I've never heard the full story." Naruko: "I've never actually asked him, though. Or maybe I couldn't. I wasn't confident I could take it." Naruko: "But I think it will all work out if you ask him, Aine-chan. Do you think you can stomach everything he has to say?" Naruko: "Or rather, I wish you would." *I was startled. The way Naruko-san was staring almost felt like she was praying to me.* Naruko: "Isn't it painful enough to keep everything bottled up inside? There are times where the simple act of talking about it makes things easier." Naruko: "Maybe Kirinokojima is suffering even now, since he has never told anyone?" Naruko: "I wish you would hear him out, and listen to his entire story." Naruko: "He'll tell it if you're the one who asks. I'm sure of it. That's what I believe." *Naruko-san's gaze conveyed just how worried she was about Tomoe-san, and painfully so. I understood it well, as I felt the same way.* Aine: "...Okay." *That was why I would give it a try and talk to Tomoe-san. I was scared, but I would request it of him. I would ask him to tell me things he had never told another living soul.* *And then, no matter how depressing a story it was, I would accept it head-on, and would not run away.* *If in doing so I was able to help shoulder even a little of Tomoe-san's burden...* *It might put him at ease, if only slightly.* *I believed that was the only thing I could do at this point in time.*

*That night, Aine showed up out of nowhere with her pillow in hand.* Aine: "Tomoe-san, we should sleep together tonight." *Despite what she said, she didn't look remotely tired. In fact, there was a bright sparkle in her eyes.* *Ever since we found out about the red thread's inner workings, things between us had become awkward, and she had been sleeping in the living room. I wondered what prompted this change?* Tomoe: "...Do whatever you want." *I was suspicious, but I didn't have any real reason to turn her down. This had been our routine for ages now.* Aine: "Thank you very much." *Aine arranged her futon next to mine on the floor like usual, then turned off the lights and laid down.* Aine: "..." Tomoe: "..." *She was quiet, but I could tell she was sitting in place holding her breath. Now that I noticed it, I couldn't sleep, either.* Tomoe: "...If there's something you want to say, then say it." Aine: "Oh, yes..." *Aine gulped in the darkness. I could sense that she had made up her mind about something as she opened her mouth to speak.* Aine: "I heard from Naruko-san." Tomoe: "Nakizaki? Heard what?" Aine: "About your past. About how there was someone you really loved a long time ago." Tomoe: "..." *It was such an unexpected topic, I instantly became apprehensive. I figured anything Aine had to say would be fairly laid back, but that wasn't how it turned out.* Tomoe: "...What did she tell you?" Aine: "Naruko-san said that she did not know all of the details." Aine: "She mentioned that there was a girl you seemed to love dearly, and that she had passed away. That you happened to be there when it happened." Aine: "And that you seemed to believe she died because of you... no, that you killed her." Tomoe: "...I see." *All Nakizaki knew was what happened after the fact, so that should about cover it.* *I had never told Nakizaki anything about it, nor had she ever asked me.* *Nakizaki was more sensitive than she looked. She was too considerate to pry into people's personal matters.* Aine: "I want to know. What sad things have happened to you, Tomoe-san?" *But Aine pried away. With complete ease, she stomped over the barrier I had casually put up. Or at least she was trying to.* Tomoe: "Why do you want to know? That's pretty tacky." Aine: "Ah... I am sorry..." *Despite how depressed her voice sounded, I sensed she was keeping her discouragement in check beyond the darkness.* Aine: "All the same, I want to know." Tomoe: "Why do you want to know so badly...?" Aine: "If, just if... you are carrying a burden no single human should bear, I want to help shoulder that burden with you." *I knew that beyond the darkness, she was staring straight at me. Her powerful gaze reached me clear as day, even if I couldn't see it.* *The intensity of her gaze and desperation in her voice puzzled me somewhat. I had never met anyone who worked so hard to weasel their way inside of my heart so directly.* *Despite my aversion and reluctance, yet another feeling welled up within me.* Tomoe: "...You truly are a meddlesome angel." Aine: "Being an angel has nothing to do with it." Aine: "It has nothing to do with being angel or human... I simply want to help ease your pain, however little it may be, any way that I can." *By no means was her voice loud, nor was it rough.* *Still, the words that spilled from Aine's mouth were oddly encouraging, so much so that I momentarily lost my presence of mind.* *Aine had trespassed into the space I had perpetually built walls around, and worked so hard to keep people out of.* *What's more, I couldn't prevent it from happening.* *Maybe the truth was that I wanted to let someone in?* *...That question sprouted within me.* Tomoe: "...It's a pretty boring story." *Before I knew it, I said that aloud.* Aine: "I want to know regardless." *Aine nodded. I realized then that my eyes had adjusted and I could see her in the darkness.* Tomoe: "...All right." *A part of me was mystified at myself as I nodded to her.* *Why did I suddenly feel comfortable sharing this information? Was it because I wasn't talking to a human, but an angel?* *Did I feel relaxed because I was dealing with a different species, similar to how there were people who talked to their pet cats and dogs about their most private worries?* *No, maybe it was closer to the feeling of making a confession to God?* *I couldn't figure it out, so I decided not to dwell on it. When I did that, the words just came spilling out of me.* Tomoe: "I met a girl... Eina, sometime around this time of year." Aine: "Eina-san...?" Tomoe: "Yeah, Eina." *Saying her name made my heart ache. I had sealed away my memories of her forever. Still, I could never forget about her even if I tried.* *The moment the lid on my memories was opened, they came bursting out like they had been waiting for it.* Tomoe: "Eina and I met at that church. It's much prettier now compared to how it was back then." Aine: "Yamanote Church, right? I heard about it from Naruko-san." *I nodded back at her question.* Tomoe: "It was abandoned back then, and was a place most people wouldn't go to willingly." Tomoe: "But there were definitely people who went there _because_ it was so desolate. We were that sort." Tomoe: "She and I didn't want to stay at home, but we didn't have anywhere else to go." *We were drawn to that place in search of a place to call our own. That was where we met.* *That may have been a fateful encounter, in a certain sense.* Eina: "Why did you not want to stay home, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "Mom didn't want me around since she always had men coming over." Tomoe: "My mom was what you might call a 'promiscuous' woman. She was always dragging men back to our place, and every time she did, she would make me go outside." Aine: "That... That is horrible." Tomoe: "As far as she was concerned, those relationships were important. You always talk about supporting people in love, don't you, Aine?" Aine: "Yes, but... Having to make sacrifices like that for love is..." Tomoe: "Weren't the people we got involved with also constantly forced to give up something in order for their relationships to work out?" *It was true. They chose making their deeply desired loves a reality, even if it meant throwing something else precious away, or making sacrifices.* Tomoe: "I think I've come to understand that feeling better than I used to. I get the feeling I understand how my mom felt now, too." Tomoe: "Love must have been more important to her than I was." Aine: "Do not say that..." *Aine was on the verge of tears. I continued talking to try and prevent her from crying.* Tomoe: "It's fine, really. I don't resent my mother for it or anything." Tomoe: "No... Maybe I do." Tomoe: "If she were a better person, I never would have met Eina." Aine: "Are you saying... you would have been better off never meeting her?" Tomoe: "Yeah." *None of that ever would have happened if we had never met.* Tomoe: "But, in the end, my own weakness caused everything to end horribly. I held a childish grudge against my mom, and wondered why she wouldn't pay attention to me." Tomoe: "Because of that, I ran away from home once, just to see if she would worry about me. I'm sure it's something most kids do." *I tried it on the night a man was coming over. After being thrown outside, I turned desperate and just kept walking.* *It didn't take long before I stopped recognizing where I was, but I just kept following the unknown path.* Tomoe: "Then, I ended up at that church." *An abandoned building─that church─finally came into view.* *It seemed likely that there would be something scary inside, so being a child at the time, I was naturally scared.* *Considering my original goal was to make my mother worry, I figured it didn't matter what happened to me.* *However, what I found inside was anything but scary.* Tomoe: "Ah, there's an angel here..." Aine: "Huh...?" Tomoe: "That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw Eina." *I remembered it all vividly.* *A portion of the decaying ceiling had fallen through, and a pillar of light from the gibbous moon shone in. She was sitting in that pillar of light all alone.* Tomoe: "I'd never seen her before, but for some strange reason, it felt like I had known her all my life." Tomoe: "After I got to know her a little better, I figured out why. Our living environments were similar." *Her home life was complicated, and her parents were constantly fighting. She didn't want to be around to see it, so whenever they fought, she ran away to that church.* Tomoe: "Before long, I started going to that church just to see her. It wasn't running away anymore. It was our meeting spot." Tomoe: "Whenever I showed up, Eina was there. I thought it was strange that her parents fought so much, though." Aine: "I do not think that was why. I believe Eina-san wanted to see you, too, Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "Really?" *I thought the same thing, but I never got the chance to ask her myself, so I couldn't be completely sure.* *Still, it would make me happy if it were true.* *It was all far too late for that, though...* Aine: "So, what happened with Eina-san?" *Aine urged me to continue, a somewhat pained look on her face.* Tomoe: "Are you sure you want to know?" Aine: "Why do you ask?" Tomoe: "You look like it's hurting you to listen." Aine: "Huh? Not at all." Tomoe: "Really? Well, all right." Aine: "..." *Aine really did look like she was having a rough time. Was her bad habit of being overly empathetic showing itself?* *I ignored how Aine was acting and resumed the story.* Tomoe: "Soon enough, yeah, it must have been us escaping from reality. We invented a certain game." Aine: "A game?" Tomoe: "A game called 'Playing Happy'..." *It was a foolish game thought up by two kids who yearned for ordinary happiness.* *A game where we both listed all the things we thought described "happiness."* Tomoe: "Mom's omelet rice! She only makes it once a year... So instead, she makes it every day!" Eina: "Oh, yeah! That sounds yummy. I want some, too!" Tomoe: "I'll totally give you some! It's really good." Eina: "In that case, I'll give you some banana cake in return! I love the banana cake Mom makes!" Tomoe: "Yeah, that sounds good. I really want to try it." Eina: "Yeah, I want to eat it together." Tomoe: "What do you think I can do to make sure Mom is nice all the time?" Eina: "When does your mom get angry?" Tomoe: "When she fights with her guy friends, or whenever they break their promises and don't show up." Eina: "But if they keep their promises, and they don't fight, she'll always be nice to you!" Tomoe: "Yeah, you're right! But... how can I make that happen?" Tomoe: "Even when Mom's in a good mood, sometimes her guy friends get angry and she gets really grumpy." Eina: "Would it be okay as long as they don't make her mad, then?" Tomoe: "How can I keep them from getting angry?" *While we thought of ways to become happy ourselves, we ended up on the topic of how to make _everyone_ happy.* *In order to make that happen─to bring happiness to us and those closest to us─we needed to make everyone else in the world happy, too.* *As children, we followed that line of thought to its extreme.* *We wished for the happiness of our friends and families, the cats and dogs in the neighborhood, the birds, plants, and all manner of living creatures.* Aine: "She sounds more angelic than most angels." *Aine said, distraught. She could be right. Back then, we may have better resembled angels than the angels themselves.* Tomoe: "Actually, she often told me, 'I want to become an angel.'" Aine: "Become an angel?" Tomoe: "Yeah." *"If I became an angel, I could make you happy, Tomoe-kun."* *It was Eina's favorite saying, and it made me feel embarrassed every time I heard it.* Tomoe: "I didn't know about love or romance yet." *As such, we weren't entirely sure what our feelings meant yet, nor could we put a name to those emotions, either.* *Which was why all we could do was make those pure, innocent wishes.* Aine: "I feel like I can kind of picture you two together." *Aine gazed outside into the darkness, as if it were a screen displaying that distant past.* Aine: "If you two could be together, I am sure you would find happiness... I feel that so strongly that an angel would not even need to have a hand in it." *Having said that, Aine's eyes returned from the illusionary screen. A sad hue was cast across her eyes which shone in the darkness.* Aine: "So, why...? Why did you two not become happy together?" *A dull ache jolted through my heart. As faint as it was, it wouldn't fade. That pain gouged into the furthest depths of my heart.* Tomoe: "Love stole everything from me." Aine: "Love... did...?" Tomoe: "No, it was a mistake to ever fall in love in the first place." Aine: "No way... Why?" *Why... Why did something so awful happen? I could only imagine it was due to the fiendish nature of love itself.* Tomoe: "I never should have fallen in love with her." *So then, why did we meet? Why did we meet, and why did I fall in love?* Tomoe: "My mother killed Eina's father." Aine: "Huh...?"

Aine: "..." *My heart was still racing.* *"My mother killed Eina's father."* *I could not forget the moment when Tomoe-san uttered those words. The second he did, I could clearly envision the scene in my mind.* *The sight of a middle-aged man being stabbed to death by Tomoe-san's mother.* Aine: "Ugh..." *It was not unusual for me to paint a mental picture of something if I was given enough information, but it had never been so vivid before.* *That might just be how powerfully it resonated within Tomoe-san. I might also just be too empathetic.* *I pictured a motherly-looking woman with a remarkably dreadful expression stabbing a man with a kitchen knife. The man tried to escape, but the woman pursued him with knife in hand.* *She slashed away at his body over and over again, only for the blade to plunge deeply into the man's throat.* *Blood gushed and sprayed from his neck like a broken faucet. It was like it had happened in front of my very eyes. I could practically feel the warmth of the man's blood.* *In a daze, Tomoe-san's mom gazed at the mound of flesh at her feet. A shocked expression instantly rose to her face; it was the face of incredulousness.* *Her expression was frail, as if she were an entirely different person from the moment she swung the knife. Like a demon had briefly commandeered her body and committed the previous act of violence.* *Baffled, she turned her attention to the blade in hand and was taken aback. Even now, a demonic twinkle dwelled within those eyes.* Aine: "N-No...!" *It was not as though she could hear my voice. This was something that had already occurred.* *And right there, with me watching, his mom readied the blade against her throat...* Aine: "...No!" *I let out a shriek and hugged myself. That was when I realized I was shivering.* *I could clearly picture the incident in my head. Whenever I thought about it, my hair stood on end. It was such a vivid, terrifying sight.* *Most frightening of all, the victim of his mom's murderous act was that girl's dad...* Aine: "Why...?" *Tomoe-san's mom and the girl's dad had apparently been lovers.* *Adultery... They were having an immoral relationship, but neither Tomoe-san or that little girl knew that.* *Their illicit affair had become so complicated, it could only be settled by taking things to a very dark, terrible extreme.* Aine: "Why...?" *I could not help but envision it that way.* Tomoe: "Naturally, we couldn't see each other anymore. Actually, Eina came to see me anyway, but I couldn't see her." *After his mom died, Tomoe-san was all alone. He was temporarily placed into the custody of an orphanage, and Eina-san came to visit him there many, many times.* *However, Tomoe-san simply ignored her.* Tomoe: "How could I possibly look her in the eye? My own mother _murdered_ her dad." Aine: "But Eina-san wanted to see you, did she not?" Tomoe: "...Yeah. She came over and over, practically every day, and before long, her mother found out about it." Tomoe: "One day, her mother figured out where she was going, found her in front of the orphanage, then slapped her as hard as she could." Tomoe: "It was only natural, considering she came to see the son of the woman who stabbed her husband." Tomoe: "Her mother dragged her back home, and as you would expect, Eina never came back." Aine: "So, it was over between you two?" Tomoe: "No, not necessarily. Instead of visiting the orphanage, Eina waited for me at that old, run-down church." *Eina-san waited for Tomoe-san all by herself, and she believed he would come for her someday.* *Eventually, Tomoe-san did go to meet her. It happened right after he left the orphanage, and was taken into Naruko-san's home.* *Tomoe-san wanted to be alone, but could not think of anywhere else to go. He mentioned that he never expected to find her there.* *But, there she was.* Eina: "Thank goodness. I get to see you again." *Eina-san was overjoyed the moment she saw his face.* *Part of me understood exactly how she must have felt in that moment.* *Not being able to see the person you love is painful. She must have been really happy.* *Eina-san truly loved Tomoe-san, which was why she wished for his happiness from the bottom of her heart.* *Tomoe-san felt the same way about her.* Tomoe: "At the time, I told her I wanted to become an angel." *Tomoe-san repeated back Eina-san's favorite phrase, one that she had used many times prior.* Tomoe: "At the rate we were going, we wouldn't be able to see each other anymore, and her mom would just drag her back home." *They were not allowed to see each other...* Tomoe: "Her mom was looking for a new place for them to move. It wasn't surprising she wouldn't want to live in a city she detested anymore." *Once they moved, the two of them would be separated. As children, there was nothing they could do about it.* *But to them, not being able to see one another was no different than having their body and souls ripped apart.* Aine: "So, you turned to angels?" Tomoe: "I taught Eina the story of the Originator, the one who became an angel. I wasn't fully convinced that it was true, but she believed it with all her heart." Tomoe: "That's why she said, 'Let's become angels together'..." *That was the only way she could think of for the two of them to stay together. Their relationship was the most important thing to her in the whole world.* *Despite not knowing what "love" meant, Eina-san cared for Tomoe-san deeply. The power of her pure emotions made my chest grow tight.* Tomoe: "I didn't know how to make that happen, so we just sat side by side on the floor of the church, holding hands." Tomoe: "It was a really childish idea, but we thought if we fell asleep praying, when we woke up, we would become angels." Eina: "Tomoe-kun, I love you." Tomoe: "Before I fell asleep, Eina gave me a kiss. That made me feel content, and I nodded off." Tomoe: "It was the middle of winter. The church was run down, with tons of holes in the walls, so it was terribly cold." Tomoe: "We held hands, and were cuddled up against each other, so neither of us felt cold, and yet..." *When Tomoe-san woke up, Eina-san's body had turned cold.* *Tomoe-san had lost yet another person who was precious to him, and was left behind, all alone in the world.* Aine: "Why did such a pure love have such a sad ending?" Aine: "Huh...?" *Before I knew it, the black angels were there.* Aine: "You were listening?" Rios: "If you talk to yourself here, I would have to listen whether I like it or not." *I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Perhaps I rattled on a bit more than I should have.* Rios: "There's something you should know. You're really misinformed." Aine: "Misinformed?" Rios: "There is nothing pure about the human concept of love. It is mere lust." Aine: "Lust..." Rios: "Love is the ultimate act of egotism, of wanting to make another existence yours. There are no pure loves." Aine: "I... I do not believe that is true! I believe there are many types of pure loves where you only think about the other person's best interests!" *I knew that. I had seen relationships like that with Tomoe-san.* Rios: "That is also seeking something in return. If there is not even the slightest possibility of making the other person their own, people will lose interest in their partner." Rios: "Continuing to care about another person while knowing they will never be bound to you would be an anomaly." Aine: "No way..." *I got the feeling I understood what Rios-san was saying.* *Love _was_ something which demanded feelings be reciprocated, and desiring your partner to care about you might be a form of lust, but...* Aine: "If that is true, then why are two people in love bound by the red threads? Is it not because that is something special?" Rios: "It means human lust is limitless. They cannot be satisfied with any modest happiness. What they seek escalates rapidly." Rios: "Even though the future happiness they wish for is fleeting..." Aine: "No way... But...!" *Tomoe-san and Eina-san were not like that. He told me they had prayed for the happiness of many people, and of many things.* *That was entirely different from greedily wishing for their own happiness...* Eina: "I want to become an angel." Aine: "Huh...?!" Rios: "What's wrong?" *A scene from Tomoe-san's story flashed before my eyes... Why did it feel so real, like I had witnessed it for myself?* *Oh, no... Everything was going black...* Rios: "Hey? What's wrong?" Rios: "Hey?!"

Aine: "...Mmm..." *Her long eyelashes trembled, and her eyes opened.* Tomoe: "Aine? Are you all right?" *Her eyes, which still appeared to be glazed over, gradually focused on me.* Aine: "Huh, Tomoe-san? ...Good morning." Tomoe: "Don't 'good morning' me. Are you all right?" Aine: "Um... What happened to me?" Tomoe: "You apparently collapsed in front of Rios. He said you went to the church?" *My story must have been responsible for this. That had to be why she went to the church alone.* Aine: "Ah..." Tomoe: "Do you remember now?" Aine: "More or less. That sounds about right." Tomoe: "Rios was worried about you, too. I guess even a stoic guy like him can get freaked out." *That only made me even more anxious. It was really disheartening to see a person─not that he was actually human─who was normally calm and collected look so disturbed.* Aine: "Did Rios-san bring me all the way here?" Tomoe: "He did. How do you feel?" Aine: "Oh, I am okay now. Perfectly healthy." *She could have fooled me. Her complexion was poor, and her expression was sullen.* *Most of all, she seemed totally lifeless.* Tomoe: "Is it a cold...? No, I guess it couldn't be." Aine: "You are right. Angels do not catch colds." Aine: "I might be a bit tired." Tomoe: "Did this happen because of the strange story I told you?" *That story must have been emotionally taxing on her. Maybe she was still trying to process it all?* Aine: "That is not it. It is not your fault. I mean it." Tomoe: "...I see. Still, take it easy and rest for a while." *I pulled the disheveled comforter back over her. Aine obediently closed her eyes.* Aine: "Yes, I will sleep a little longer." Tomoe: "When you wake up, Nakizaki is going to make something delicious for you." Aine: "Wow, I am looking forward to it." *She opened her eyes again and smiled. Seeing that smile helped me to relax a little.* Tomoe: "Okay, good night." *Just as Aine said, I was sure she was exhausted.* *That had to be the reason...*

Aine: "This is super yummy!" *When Aine woke up, she shoveled food into her mouth with her usual vitality.* Naruko: "You shouldn't eat so fast. You're still sick." Aine: "I am all right, it is not a cold. This really is super delicious!" *Aine smiled for the first time in forever. When I saw her smile, it made me feel as though I didn't need to worry anymore.* *But then, suddenly, I had another misgiving. That smile looked like the sort you'd get when trying to get over something.* *Had something changed inside Aine? And if something had, what was it, exactly?* Aine: "Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "Yeah?" Aine: "...No, on second thought, never mind." Tomoe: "What's with that? Now I'm curious." Aine: "No, I mean it." Aine: "Naruko-san's food really is yummy. I want to eat her cooking forever." Naruko: "Ahaha, thanks. I'll make you more tonight and tomorrow, too." Aine: "Yay~!" Tomoe: "..." *She had a huge grin slapped across her face. I was relieved to see it, but some part of me still felt uncertain.* *I had a bad feeling about this.* *What's more, that bad feeling would likely become a reality.*

Kiyohito: "Is Aine-chan still sick?" Tomoe: "Yeah, just a little." *Two weeks had passed since then. She looked healthy, but her condition hadn't improved in the slightest. In fact, it seemed like she had gotten worse.* Kiyohito: "I hear there's a nasty cold going around." Tomoe: "Seems like it." *Human illnesses shouldn't affect Aine. It would be great if it really were a cold, though. Without knowing the cause, there was nothing we could do to treat it.* Minamo: "They say idiots never catch colds, but I guess they were wrong." Yuri: "I hope she gets better soon. It feels chillier than usual up here without her around." *Hisaka-san held out her cold-looking hands to me.* Yuri: "Here, have some. Can Aine-chan eat candy right now?" Tomoe: "Oh, yes, that should be okay. I'll give it to her." Kiyohito: "This is from me, then." *He held up a single banana. It looked a little overripe, and there was a conspicuous black spot on it.* Tomoe: "Weren't there any nicer-looking ones?" Kiyohito: "What're you talking about? Bananas taste better a little overripe. They're softer and better for your digestion, too." Tomoe: "Is that how it is? Well, I appreciate it." Minamo: "Oh, this is from me, then." *Wakamatsu held out a notebook.* Minamo: "They're notes from our lectures. I think everything recent should be there." Minamo: "She's a poor student on a good day, so if she falls even further behind, she won't be able to recover from it." Tomoe: "Thank you." *I accepted everyone's sentiments gratefully. I hoped all of their feelings got through to Aine.* *And, it would be great if she got better soon...*

Licha: "..." Aine: "..." Licha: "..." Aine: "..." *What was this about? Licha apparently came to check on Aine, but she was tight-lipped as ever. In fact, she had barely said a word since she got here.* Aine: "Sorry I worried you, but I am all right." Licha: "Mhm." *I didn't follow, but her intent seemed to have gotten through. Were there some things only fellow angels could understand?* Licha: "..." *Then, Licha stood up. It looked like her get-well visit was already over.* Aine: "See you later." Licha: "Mhm." Tomoe: "Thank you very much." Licha: "..." *Licha didn't budge, though. Instead, she stood in place and stared at me.* Tomoe: "Um..." Licha: "Treat Aine well." Tomoe: "Huh?" *She spoke so suddenly, it surprised me.* Licha: "Treat her well." Tomoe: "Yeah, of course I will." *The moment she said that, a flurry of questions filled my mind.* Tomoe: "Aine _will_ get better, won't she?" Licha: "..." *No answer. Was it the usual Licha silent treatment? She had just spoken, though. Was there some reason she couldn't answer me?* Licha: "..." Tomoe: "Ah..." *Licha abruptly disappeared.* *"Treat her well." Licha's voice, which my ears still weren't accustomed to, spun around in my head.* Tomoe: "Licha left." Aine: "Zzz... Zzz..." Tomoe: "Oh, she's asleep." *Aine had dozed off despite being awake just moments ago.* *She was sleeping a lot lately, and unlike before, she wasn't snoring anymore, either.* Aine: "Zzz... Zzz..." *Aine breathed so quietly in her sleep that it made me wonder if she had stopped breathing entirely.* Tomoe: "..." *Watching Aine lie there like this reminded me of the past.* *That time in the cold, run-down church. When I simply held my knees with that lifeless girl by my side, now as cold as the deep, dark reaches of the ocean.* *The sudden recollection made my heart pound in my chest. The crippling uneasiness was suffocating.* Tomoe: "Aine..." *I didn't want to wake her, but I tried calling her name in a quiet voice.* *Simply saying her name generated a sweet pain in my chest. Feeling suffocated just from saying a name was bizarre.* *But when she was like this, it felt like Aine might disappear into thin air, and I couldn't remain calm.* Tomoe: "'Treat her well,' she says..." *What in the world was that supposed to mean?* *Thinking about it made me feel even more anxious. I took in a heavy breath of air.* *Having nothing but bad thoughts wasn't going to do me any good.* Tomoe: "'Treat her well'... huh?" *How should I go about doing that, I wonder?*

*I escorted Aine outside into the backyard. She seemed to be doing a little better today, so I invited her out for a little fresh air.* Tomoe: "Are you sure you're not cold?" Aine: "I am all right. The cold air feels nice." *Aine took in deep, comfortable breaths. It could have been my imagination, but it looked like her complexion had improved.* Aine: "I guess I cannot sleep all the time. Getting some exercise would be best." Tomoe: "Don't push yourself, okay?" Aine: "I am all right." Tomoe: "Is there anything you'd like to have for lunch?" Aine: "I want bananas, then. Also, a sweet omelet." Tomoe: "Bananas and an omelet? Got it, I'll go ask Nakizaki about it." Aine: "..." *I could sense she was watching me, and when I lifted my head, our eyes met.* Tomoe: "What's wrong? Are you cold now?" Aine: "Huh? No, it is not that..." Aine: "I was just thinking, you are being so nice to me." Tomoe: "Huh? Oh..." *I _was_ being nice, so of course she'd notice. It would be problematic if she didn't.* *From Aine's point of view, it must have been highly unusual for me to be so kind.* *...Thank goodness I was actually able to treat her well. That came as a small relief.* Aine: "It makes me kind of happy." Tomoe: "Happy...?" *That momentary feeling of relief was replaced with amazement. That word, "happiness," was gradually spreading and filling my own chest.* *And then, those waves of happiness quickly changed into agitation.* Tomoe: "That shouldn't be enough to make you happy. Are you suggesting that's just how mean I've been to you normally?" Aine: "Oh, I do not mean it like that. It just occurred to me, 'This sure makes me happy...'" Tomoe: "Hm..." *Despite my casual answer, I couldn't suppress my confusion at the sudden sensation enveloping my core.* *It was an emotion I had hardly ever felt before, and yet, it felt kind of nostalgic.* *What in the world _was_ this emotion?* Aine: "Yeah, I think I am feeling a lot better today." Tomoe: "Really? There's no need for you to act tough or anything." Aine: "It is true. They say illness starts with the mind, right?" Tomoe: "Even though you're an angel?" Aine: "It is not all that different, even for angels." Tomoe: "I guess so." *Looking at Aine gave me that impression.* *I didn't know if the same could be said for other angels, but Aine was always thinking of the well-being of humans.* *The things she did or attempted weren't far off from what a normal human person would do, either.* *If she wasn't careful, she might end up more human than any other.* *"Illness starts with the mind," was a human proverb, but it might apply even to Aine.* *If that were the case, then perhaps "happiness" was to thank for her sudden recovery?* Tomoe: "Want to try going to school tomorrow?" Aine: "Yes, I would like to." *A gentle smile crossed her face.* *Seeing that blissful smile made my heart jump, so I turned my attention to the winter sky.* *In truth, I wanted to gaze at that smile of hers forever...*

Aine: "Good morning. It has been a while." Kiyohito: "Oh, Aine-chan! Have you been doing well?" Kiyohito: "Wait, I guess you took time off because you weren't well. Wahaha." Yuri: "Have you lost some weight? Are you okay?" Aine: "Yes, I am fine now. My meals have all been really yummy." Minamo: "Is that seriously how you measure your health?" Naruko: "Yeah, you nailed it." Aine: "Yes, that is right!" *Aine smiled, and everyone else did so in return. What an ordinary, unexceptional sight it was.* *So why did such an ordinary scene make me feel so emotional?* Tomoe: "..." Kiyohito: "Hm? What's wrong, Tomoe?" Tomoe: "Huh? What do you mean?" Kiyohito: "How to put it... You're making this kinda pathetic-looking face?" Tomoe: "What do you mean 'pathetic'?" *Now Kiyohito was saying weird stuff, too? Why had I been so affected by a seemingly ordinary sight?* Minamo: "Don't take any more time off, okay? Putting notes together for you is a lot of work." Yuri: "Putting notes together?" Kiyohito: "You take an awful lot of time off yourself, don'cha, Minamo-chan?" Minamo: "W-Well... Never mind me." Aine: "Minamo-chan, thank you for the notes. Also, thank you very much for the candy, Yuri-san. It was very tasty." Yuri: "I am glad to hear that." Aine: "And Naruko-san, thank you so much for always making me meals." Naruko: "Yeah, you're welcome. Wait, what's up with you all of a sudden?" Aine: "I was just thinking about how grateful I am to get to eat delicious meals every day, so I wanted to show my gratitude." Minamo: "Is this that whole 'learning to be grateful for your health after you get sick' sort of thing?" Aine: "Something like that." Naruko: "I'll make you something good for dinner tonight, then. You need to eat a lot to get better, okay?" Aine: "Yes, I am looking forward to it." *Aine's smile was so radiant, I couldn't help but stare.* Aine: "But, I have to make sure not to eat so much that I get fat." Tomoe: "Don't worry about that. Just pace yourself. You could stand to gain a few pounds." Aine: "You think so? I will eat a whole bunch, then!" Aine: "Please do not evict me if I get as fat as a pig, okay?" Tomoe: "I wouldn't chase you away for a reason like that." *After I said it, I was shocked that I'd answered that way without any hesitation.* *When had I changed my mind about that? At first, I wanted nothing more than to get her out as soon as possible.* Aine: "I will be able to eat lots, then." Kiyohito: "You sure look happy, Aine-chan." Aine: "Eating Naruko-san's meals at home with Tomoe-san... As far as I am concerned, nothing would make me happier." Minamo: "What's that supposed to mean?" Yuri: "Surprisingly enough, maybe that is just the nature of happiness." *The nature of happiness...* *Sensei's face immediately came to mind. He had said that something as silly as an adult beverage at dinnertime was happiness for him.* *It didn't make much sense to me at the time, but now I felt as though I understood it a little.* *That was such a short time ago, but part of me was starting to realize that what brought me happiness may be just as foolish.* *When had I started to feel that way, I wondered?*

Kiyohito: "Okay, all over. Let's head home!" *Kiyohito and Nakizaki turned up after classes ended.* Tomoe: "Think we could drop by Aine's classroom for a bit?" Naruko: "Oh, are you going to pick her up?" Kiyohito: "Wow, you're a nice guy, Tomoe." Tomoe: "I guess... She _did_ just get over being sick." Kiyohito: "I'll head on home first, then." Tomoe: "Huh? You're not going to tag along?" Naruko: "Me too. I've got some shopping to do, so I'll be on my way." Tomoe: "If you're going shopping, we'll join you... I bet you're shopping for dinner anyway." Naruko: "Don't worry about it! Tell Aine-chan to look forward to dinner tonight for me." Tomoe: "Got it." Kiyohito: "See you tomorrow~!" *Kiyohito and Nakizaki left.* Tomoe: "That means I'll be going home alone with Aine?" *Now that I had come here alone, it was still kind of difficult to just waltz into an underclassman's classroom.* Tomoe: "If only Nakizaki and Kiyohito were here." *I was sure I could have called Aine without a second thought if they were around.* Tomoe: "Aine's still here, right?" *I wasn't going to get anywhere if I didn't make sure of that first. I peeked into the room through the opened door.* *Aine was still at her seat. She seemed to be getting ready to go home while rambling on with several of her friends beside her.* Aine: "Ah, Tomoe-san!" *Aine spotted me and called out my name. The girls who were with her looked toward me simultaneously.* Girl: "Did you come to pick her up? That's so sweet!" Aine: "Yes, Tomoe-san is very kind." Girl: "That's so nice! I've always wanted a kind big brother like that." Aine: "Tomoe-san is just a distant relative, though." Girl: "That's perfect, then! If you're just distant relatives, you can get married!" Aine: "Huh? Married?" Girl: "In all honesty, I really want a kind _boyfriend_ more than a nice brother." Aine: "Boyfriend..." *Aine's face flushed a bright shade of crimson as she glanced over at me.* Girl: "Aine, why are your cheeks so red?" Girl: "Hey! Don't tell me you've got a brother complex?" Aine: "What is a 'brother complex'?" Girl: "A girl who loves her brother, obviously." Aine: "No, Tomoe-san and I are just close relatives... Still, I do love him." Tomoe: "Huh...?" *I was startled. That statement could invite all sorts of misunderstandings. Sure enough, her friends let out shrill cries of glee.* Aine: "Is that strange?" Girl: "I think it's wonderful! I'm a total glutton for weird stuff like that!" Aine: "Weird?" Girl: "Oh, don't listen to her. Anyway, look over there. 'Tomoe-san' is waiting for you~!" Aine: "Oh, that is right. I will be going home now." Girl: "Yeah, see you tomorrow." Girl: "Hang in there!" Aine: "Uh, sure?"

*It felt like it had been ages since Aine and I had gone home alone together.* Aine: "Naruko-san and Kiyohito-san left already?" Tomoe: "Nakizaki said she was going shopping to get stuff for dinner, and told me to tell you to look forward to it." Aine: "Really? That makes me super excited!" *I was relieved to see such a healthy-looking smile. Food really did have a tremendous influence on Aine.* Aine: "Oh, please look. It is so pretty!" *Aine said happily as she looked up at the sky. When I did so, the western sky was glowing a dark, murky red. It was a typical winter sunset.* Aine: "It is such a deep red! Ah, it is incredible." Tomoe: "Yeah, it sure is." Aine: "It is hard to believe the sky could turn this red. Nature is amazing... Sniffle..." *Watching the sunset had moved her to tears. Hadn't she gazed out and cried the first time she stood on the academy rooftop, too?* Tomoe: "Don't cry over a sunset." Aine: "I am sorry... Sniffle..." *She briskly wiped her eyes with both hands, but new tears seeped out as quickly as she could wipe the old ones away.* Aine: "The sun will set any time now." *The sun was sinking beyond the horizon. As it did so, the silhouette of Aine, who should be beside me, began to rapidly fade into the shadows.* Tomoe: "...!" *An incomprehensible emotion suddenly pierced my heart. I nearly cried out to her, but I gritted my teeth and resisted the temptation.* *As it grew darker, Aine's figure quickly grew more and more ambiguous before my eyes.* *It felt as though Aine might disappear any moment, so I reached out for her. I took hold of her hand which had only moments before wiped away her tears.* Aine: "Huh...?" *Her hand was still wet and cold. I clasped it tightly, and Aine squeezed my own hand back.* Aine: "Is something wrong?" Tomoe: "...Nothing." *If I said anything more, I'd likely start crying.* *I didn't want Aine to disappear. Suddenly, I realized what that feeling actually meant.* *I got it now. I was in love with Aine.* *Once I realized it, it was all so simple. Why hadn't I noticed something so obvious?* *However, I figured out the answer to that question, too.* *Me falling in love with someone was out of my hands.* *I had no right to do so, nor could I possibly make anyone happy. I didn't deserve any sort of happiness.* *Not falling in love was for the best.* *Because I knew that, I had kept that emotion at arm's length, and did my best to never give into it.* *It was in my own, and everyone else's, best interest.* *That was why I hadn't realized how I felt before.* *But now, I _had_ noticed it. I really was in love with Aine.* Tomoe: "How about that..." *There was a sharp pain in my chest. Still holding my hand, Aine tilted her head and looked up at me.* Aine: "What is wrong?" Tomoe: "Oh, nothing." Tomoe: "It's getting cold now that the sun's setting. Let's hurry home." Aine: "...You are right." Aine: "Can we keep our hands this way? It is okay, right?" Tomoe: "When you put it that way, I can't exactly say no." Aine: "Yay~! Let us go, then!" *We walked home hand in hand.* *Walking like this caused not only our hands, but our arms and shoulders to occasionally touch. My chest ached intensely every single time.* *Being with the one you love was supposed to be a very happy thing, but I felt utterly hopeless.* *Throb!* Tomoe: "Ack...?!" *A sudden, intense pain forced me to let go of Aine's hand and squat down.* *For a moment, I assumed the pain was coming from my chest, but it was that searing pain in my back again.* *Throb... Throb...* *On both sides of my back... Sharp pain coursed through roughly around my shoulder blades.* Aine: "Wh-What is wrong?" Tomoe: "I-I'm okay. Just... a little dizzy..." *I played it off and caught my breath. Luckily, the pain was receding bit by bit.* Tomoe: "...Phew. Seriously, I'm okay." *I was finally able to stand upright. The breeze from the north carried away the cold sweat on my forehead.* *It was great that the pain had lapsed, but what in the world was causing it?* Aine: "Are you sure you are okay?" *Aine took hold of my hand again while peering at my face.* Tomoe: "Yeah, I really am." *I nodded back, trying to give her peace of mind.* Tomoe: "It's getting dark. Let's go home." Aine: "Yes..." *I started walking, and lead the concerned-looking Aine by the hand.* *There was no longer any trace of the pain in my back. What the heck was that all about?*

Aine: "Tonight's meal was delicious!" *Aine was entranced.* *She looked quite pleased with the meal Nakizaki had prepared for her. It was a nice, happy-looking smile.* Tomoe: "You're such a glutton." *It annoyed me a little, and made me wish I could make meals as well as Nakizaki.* *If I could, then I could make Aine look happy like this, too.* *However, reality was cruel. I couldn't make Aine happy.* Tomoe: "..." Aine: "Oh, Tomoe-san, are you angry?" Tomoe: "...Huh?" Aine: "I thought you said I could have your croquettes? I promise I did not steal them." Tomoe: "Yeah, I know. Actually, I'm not angry." Aine: "Is that so? But you were making such a scary face." Tomoe: "I was...?" *I really was a lost cause. How could I make that face in front of Aine? All I was doing was making her worry.* Tomoe: "It's nothing, really. Come on, let's go to sleep." Aine: "Yes, let us sleep. I brushed my teeth, so I am ready anytime." Cat: "Meow~!" *As soon as Aine crawled into her futon, the stray cats gathered together out of nowhere and all snuck in with her.* Aine: "Yay! It is so warm." Tomoe: "I'm turning off the lights." Aine: "Wah, it is pitch black! Dark rooms are kind of fun, huh?" Tomoe: "Not at all, actually? I'm not sure what you find so entertaining about it." Aine: "Oh, really? I think it is very exciting." Tomoe: "Don't get too excited, just hurry up and get to sleep. You'll only get sick again." Aine: "Oh, please wait. Can we talk for a little bit?" Tomoe: "Talk? I turned off the lights because we're going to sleep." Aine: "Just for a little bit. Please talk to me about something." Tomoe: "'Something' doesn't give me much to go on..." *I didn't mind talking if that's what Aine wanted. However, I didn't have any fun stories in my repertoire.* Tomoe: "...I don't know what to talk about." *I gave up and answered honestly.* Aine: "Anything is fine. Whatever you say is great." Tomoe: "Whatever I say?" Aine: "Did you find something you want to do, or a wish you would like granted?" *She put me on the spot with that question.* *If Aine wished for my happiness, then I wanted to make that wish into a reality for her.* *Despite feeling that way, as always, no wish of the sort came to mind.* *The one thing I had realized were my own feelings─that I was in love with Aine─and nothing more.* Tomoe: "Sorry, I don't know." Aine: "Really...?" *Aine's voice sounded kind of sad, and hurt my heart. I really did want Aine to smile...* Tomoe: "Oh, I know. I want you to smile." Aine: "Huh? All you want is for me to smile?" Aine: "That is simple... but, sure!" *Aine smiled. It was the sort of full-fledged smile that was dazzling even in the darkness. I thought it was so pretty, and at the same time, my chest ached.* *Why did seeing something beautiful make my heart hurt?* *Perhaps it was similar to the resignation I felt knowing it was something forever beyond my reach.* Aine: "Was this enough? Did that make you a little bit happy?" Tomoe: "Hm... Not as much as I thought." Aine: "Aw, why? I smiled because you told me to..." *Aine sulked.* Tomoe: "Sorry." Aine: "You do not need to apologize... I really do wonder what I should do to make you happy." Tomoe: "It's not like I'm _unhappy_. I feel happy enough even now..." *That was how it should be. I was all alone with the person I loved, and she was smiling at me. That should be the epitome of happiness.* *However, there was a part of me that had taken a step back from the situation. A voice─my own voice─told me that I must never become happy.* Aine: "Nobody would make a face like that if they were happy." *She sounded worried. What expression had I made? Now I felt sort of guilty.* Tomoe: "Sorry." Aine: "I told you, you do not need to apologize. Hm, in that case, let me see..." Aine: "I will do something for you that I think might make you happy!" Tomoe: "Huh? What's that, exactly?" Aine: "Never mind, please just listen. Um..." Aine: "Wow, the dessert was a banana!" Tomoe: "Huh? That's great, I guess?" *I had no other way to respond to that.* Aine: "Huh? That is it? I busted out my ultimate weapon, too... It is a total home run in my book." Tomoe: "I'm sure you would be happy about it, but bananas are pretty ordinary if you ask me." Aine: "I pity you if that is the greatest extent in which you can appreciate the splendor of bananas, Tomoe-san." *Now she pitied me?* Aine: "Then, 'Dinner was curry rice!'" Tomoe: "It's always about food?" *The rule did seem to make sense to me now.* *Aine imagined and proposed a list of things that should make me happy. Was I supposed to tell her which of those things actually succeeded?* *I couldn't come up with anything on my own, so Aine was doing it for me.* *I felt bad for doing this to her, but we'd kind of gotten off the subject at hand.* *It was my own fault I was so miserable, and listing off one item after another wasn't going to solve anything.* Aine: "How about... picking up 100 yen!" Tomoe: "Wouldn't that bother the person who dropped it?" Aine: "Ugh... Yes, you are right." Aine: "You are more angelic than an angel, Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "There's no way I'm an angel." *I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a demon... but by no stretch of the imagination was I even close to being called an angel.* Aine: "That is not true. You look like an angel to me." Tomoe: "That's because your eyes are messed up." Aine: "Like I said, that is not true!" Aine: "Moving on to the next thing. You look at the clock and it is 11:11!" Tomoe: "Well, I _would_ think, 'Hey, the ones are lined up.' Would that make _you_ happy?" Aine: "It would make me feel very lucky, at least." *It made her happy just to see ones matching up on a clock? That seemed stranger than anything else.* Aine: "Then... What about when you wake up, and I'm the first person you see... maybe?" *She said with embarrassment, shyly seeing how I would react.* *Feeling the pressure of her eyes on me, I imagined it.* *...That _did_ sound pretty great, actually. Yeah, definitely.* *On second thought, though, the feeling that objectively came to mind was stronger. I couldn't make the feeling, "I'm happy!" into my own.* Aine: "Is that no good, either...?" Tomoe: "I wouldn't go that far." Aine: "Hm, well then..." *Aine hummed to herself as she mulled it over. I was filled with this awful feeling as I watched her fuss so much over me.* Tomoe: "..." *But then, it all felt kind of nostalgic, as if something like this had happened before...* Tomoe: "Oh..." *I see, it was that make-believe game.* *Back then, Eina and I both did whatever we thought would make the other happier.* *Something told me that those moments were the ones where I was truly the happiest I'd ever been. However, the happiness I felt was confined in that place.* *Still, the time we spent thinking up happy things together brought me lots and lots of happiness, hadn't it?* Tomoe: "..." *Unfortunately, that bliss was also directly linked to my saddest memories.* *Was that why my heart ached at the slightest tinge of joy?* Aine: "Tomoe-san, I knew it..." *Aine was about to say something, then stopped.* Tomoe: "Knew what?" Aine: "...No, never mind." *Aine shook her head and smiled at me. It was the farsighted smile of someone who was determined to do something.* Tomoe: "What is it? Don't make up your mind about something important all by yourself, okay?" Aine: "Ahaha, you have gotten to know me very well." Tomoe: "Of course I have. We've been together for a while now." Aine: "You are right. When I think that you have gotten to know me so well, it makes me happy." Tomoe: "Really?" *It would be great if that were true─if I had learned about Aine through and through.* Aine: "I want to know more about you, too, Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "You _do_ know me, since we've been together for so long." Aine: "...You are right." *Though she nodded, an ambiguous smile crossed her face this time.* *And just like that, I couldn't tell what Aine was thinking anymore. I guess it was still far too early for me to say I knew her.* Tomoe: "Come on, let's go to sleep. It'll be bad if you get sick again." Aine: "That is true. Good night, then." *I closed my eyes...* *...and thought of how I wanted to get to know more about Aine all the while.*

*Oh, this is...* Eina: "There's this flower bed next door, right? All of these pretty flowers bloomed, and they looked really happy!" Eina: "Do you think they bloomed so beautifully because the lady next door loved them so much?" Tomoe: "Flowers must get happy when people love them, too." Eina: "I am sure they do." *This was a story I had heard about Tomoe-san's past; it was his memory. I was seeing his memories in my dreams...* Eina: "I love you, too, Tomoe-kun." Tomoe: "Huh?" Eina: "Now you'll become happy, too, right?" *It was kind of like... that girl's feelings naturally seeped into me. Was it because I felt the same way?* *Because I also loved Tomoe-san, and wanted him to be happy...* Tomoe: "I love you, too. We'll both be happy now." *I never imagined Tomoe-san would ever profess his love. My chest throbbed with pain. Was this... jealousy?* Eina: "We'll be happy together, then." Tomoe: "Yeah." *Tomoe-san's smile... I wanted to see him smile like that, too.* *To make that happen...* *I really would have to return his shard to him.* *He would likely experience many hardships as a result.* *His partner attached to the other end of his red thread was no longer of this world...* *Regaining his feelings for someone who no longer existed might just be rough on him. He might suffer.* *All the same, I could not leave his heart fractured. If I left him that way, I was sure he would never smile like that again for the rest of his life.* *I did not want that. I wanted him to smile, and to be happy.* *I was positive that Tomoe-san could overcome any hardship that might befall him.* *So, I would return his shard.*

Erich: "It's not all bad. If his partner has already passed on, then I'm sure he won't be bound by a red thread." *I nodded in agreement to Erich-chan's opinion.* Aine: "That is right. That means Tomoe-san will not suffer any misfortune at the hands of the red thread, either." *That was another reason I was able to make up my mind to return his shard.* *For better or worse, the guitar strings were all assembled.* *Though nothing would come of it immediately, I would hesitate at the thought of returning his shard if I knew he would become unhappy someday.* Menes: "If he isn't bound by a new thread, then it won't create another unhappy person who has their red thread stolen." Aine: "That is right!" Menes: "Well, we can't actually say that with complete certainty." *There was still a lot about the red threads that we did not know, so we could not be sure that everything would be okay, but I _did_ think it was worth trying.* Erich: "There's no reason to hesitate, then. Hurry up and return his shard already!" Aine: "But, I am worried... I am sure his heart will reject the shard." *I had mentioned it before, but Tomoe-san had quietly yet stubbornly sealed off his heart, more than I had ever experienced before.* Menes: "It's still no use? I'm pretty sure you've opened up his heart quite a bit." Aine: "I am not so sure about that..." *I believed his heart had opened up a bit more than when we first met, especially lately.* *But when it came down to returning his heart shard, I suspected I would be met with strong resistance.* *It was like he was forcing himself to never be happy due to the intense guilt he felt over that girl's death.* Aine: "Tomoe-san's awareness of the existence of 'heart shards' will also get in the way." Erich: "Yeah, you've got a point. There's a high chance he'll realize what's going on even if you manage to catch him by surprise." Erich: "And if he does figure it out, I'm sure he'll resist." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." *Licha-chan nodded. It sounded as though it really would be difficult for me to return his shard. I was really unsure about all of this...* Aine: "What would you do, Erich-chan?" Erich: "Huh? Me?" Erich: "There's no way I could pull it off. He and I don't really click." Aine: "What about you, Menes-chan? You love Tomoe-san, right? So..." Menes: "True. I wouldn't mind if I thought I were able, but I doubt I could. Licha's probably in the same boat." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Aine: "Why would you say that? Are you not all much more experienced as angels than me?" Menes: "That may be so, but I still think only you can return Tomoe-kun's shard, Aine." Aine: "Huh? Why? I am totally inexperienced..." Menes: "Because, don't you know him best of all?" Aine: "I know Tomoe-san best?" Erich: "Besides, aren't you the one who swore to make him happy? That means you need to be the one to take care of him." Aine: "Of course, I think that would be best if I were capable..." Licha: "You can do it..." Aine: "Huh...?" Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." *Licha-chan nodded. She was encouraging me, quietly urging me to do it.* Menes: "If you can't do it, then no one can. I'm sure you're the only one who can open up his heart." Erich: "Yeah, so give it your best shot." Licha: "Mhm." Aine: "Everyone..." Menes: "The truth is, you want to return the shard to him with your own two hands, don't you?" *When Menes-chan asked me that, I thought it over again.* *Yes, that was exactly right. I wanted to return Tomoe-san's shard with my own two hands. My own, and nobody else's.* *That was probably just my ego talking─an assertion unbecoming of an angel. If returning a shard would make someone happy, then it should not matter who performs the actual act.* *And yet, I wanted oh so desperately to be the one to do it, even though I was an inexperienced angel who was always made a fool of and called a "quack."* *Even though I was unsure as to whether or not I could properly return it...* Menes: "I'm sure it'll work out for you, Aine." Erich: "That's right! We'll help you out, too." Aine: "Thank you..." *With all of their encouragement, I may have managed to work up some confidence.* *...No, I was still terrified, but I now felt as though I had to return it. I needed to return Tomoe-san's shard, and his precious feelings.* Aine: "I will do my best." *Tomoe-san had been helping me all this time.* *Now it was my turn to do something for him. I had to make sure his shard reached him.* *In order to do so, I wanted to probe a little deeper into his heart.* Aine: "What should I do to get closer to Tomoe-san's heart?" *Just a little more, that was all I needed. I wanted him to open up his heart to me, and for him to drop his guard.* Menes: "Well, people bare their hearts most when their bodies are exposed, right?" Aine: "Huh? When they are exposed?" Aine: "Like in the bath?" Erich: "Idiot... That's not what she means." Aine: "Huh? What do you mean, then?" *Only Menes-chan was grinning, while Erich-chan, and even Licha-chan were blushing scarlet. What was going on?* Aine: "Another time you are naked would be..." Aine: "...Ah." *I finally understood what she meant. What on earth was Menes-chan suggesting...?* Menes: "Ehehe, right?" Aine: "B-But, angels and humans cannot..." Menes: "As long as there's love, it'll be fine~!" Aine: "That is easy for you to say...!" *I would not be okay...!*

Tomoe: "..." *When I got home, I discovered a group of angels gathered together in my living room. What's more, they were all shooting intense looks at me.* Tomoe: "What's going on?" Aine: "Uh, n-nothing really...! Nothing at all!" *She gave a flustered answer, her face beet red. What was she panicking for?* Menes: "Okay, why don't we head home?" Aine: "Huh?! You are leaving?!" Erich: "Come on, it won't do us any good to hang around here." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Menes: "If you would like me to join in, I would be more than happy to stick around." Aine: "Y-You cannot do that!" *Aine's shout echoed throughout the room.* Tomoe: "Why are you yelling?" Aine: "Ah..." Aine: "I-I am sorry... It is nothing..." *It clearly wasn't nothing. What the heck were these angels being so secretive about?* Erich: "All right... On that note..." Menes: "We'll swing by later. Let us know how it goes, okay?" Licha: "..." Aine: "Ah, you guys..." *Aine gazed helplessly at their departing figures.* Tomoe: "What were you all being so hush-hush about?" Aine: "W-We were not being 'hush-hush' about anything..." *It really didn't seem that way. They were acting suspiciously, any way you looked at it.* *For them to gather together and act so secretively could only mean...* Tomoe: "Oh, could it be..." Aine: "Huh? Wh-What is it...?" Tomoe: "...Are you not feeling well again?" Aine: "Huh?" Tomoe: "I mean, isn't it strange? You were hiding something from me and being all sneaky about it. You _are_ hiding something, aren't you?" Aine: "No, that is not it..." Tomoe: "If you're not feeling well, just tell me. You don't need to hide it." Tomoe: "I might not be able to do anything about it, but I don't want you to leave me in the dark about this stuff, either." Tomoe: "I don't want to think about it, but if something were ever to happen to you, I doubt I could forgive myself this time." Aine: "Tomoe-san..." Tomoe: "So..." Aine: "I am sorry I made you worry, but that really is not it. This is, uh, not that..." Tomoe: "What is it, then?" Aine: "It is... um..." *It looked like Aine wouldn't budge on the subject. Seeing her act so suspiciously made my chest ache.* Tomoe: "Got it. That's enough." Aine: "Ah..." *I cut the conversation short and went up to my room.* Tomoe: "Doesn't this make it look like I ran away?" *Why did I feel the need to run? Still, the intense pain in my chest had been absolutely unbearable, and it was difficult to be around Aine any longer.* *Maybe because it felt like she was rejecting me...?* *Someone rejecting me had never made me feel this way before. It may have been possible back when I was a child, but ever since that incident with Eina, it had been nonexistent.* *After all, I never thought I would ever be accepted by anyone. I didn't wish for it, nor did I feel I had any right to do so.* *And yet, the thought of Aine rejecting me made the pain in my chest even more unbearable.* *I was surprised at myself for feeling such an ordinary emotion, one that hated being rejected by the girl I loved.* Tomoe: "..." Aine: "Tomoe-san..." *Aine timidly peeked into the room, looking uneasy.* Aine: "Um, I am sorry for earlier, but I am really not hiding anything. It is not like that at all!" Tomoe: "It's fine. I was at fault, too." Tomoe: "I've got no reason to pry, so don't feel obligated to tell me." Aine: "No, I will tell you. It does involve you, too... In fact, how you feel is most important." Tomoe: "How I feel?" *What was she talking about? I couldn't wrap my head around it, but I remained quiet and waited for Aine to continue.* *Aine fell silent with her head hung. She would occasionally look at me, seemingly troubled, with her face dyed pure red.* Tomoe: "Your face is red. Do you have a fever?" Aine: "No. Um, uh, there is something I would like to ask you..." Aine: "Tomoe-san, do you... love me?" Tomoe: "...Huh?" *For a moment, I didn't understand her question. I ruminated over her words a few times in my head before it finally clicked.* Tomoe: "Wh-Where is this coming from?" *I lost my cool for a second. I had been upset with her moments before, wondering if she had rejected me, but now the entire world had changed.* Aine: "Do you... hate me?" Tomoe: "Of course I don't hate you... If I did, I'd have driven you out ages ago." Aine: "Really?" Tomoe: "Really." *What the heck was going on? This was as good as me saying that I _did_ love her.* *Wasn't this like a confession of love? I was in no position to even be capable of confessing my love for anyone...* Aine: "Tomoe-san, I... love you, too." Tomoe: "Huh...?" Aine: "I love you so much." *The meaning finally clicked after the second time she said it.* *The inner workings of my mind had come to a screeching halt. Each and every word Aine spoke made no sense to me.* Tomoe: "You love me...?" Tomoe: "There isn't a single person alive that you dislike." *Aine was an angel who loved humans. So long as they were human, she would love them unconditionally and equally.* *As such, there was no deeper meaning to the word "love" when she said it. At least, that was what I told myself.* Aine: "I-It is different from that sort of love. I know I am an angel, and I do think this is strange myself, but..." Aine: "I appear to have fallen in love with you." *Her glossy eyes gazed at me with an almost painful intensity. Her heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it plain as day.* *Aine was in love with me...?* Aine: "So, that is why... I want to know more about you." Tomoe: "Know more... You already know me pretty well, don't you?" Aine: "No, I do not know nearly enough yet. You have not even begun to show me any of your true feelings." Tomoe: "Really?" Aine: "Really." *Aine replied, sounding a bit annoyed. It was hard for me to tell, but I doubted she was doing it intentionally.* Aine: "So, I want to learn more about you. I want to see so much more of you, and all of the different expressions you wear." Tomoe: "That doesn't really help me. What is it you want from me...?" *I didn't have the first clue what to do. What was Aine wishing for?* Aine: "So, um..." *Aine hung her head for a moment. It looked like she had made some sort of monumental decision, and looked back up at me again.* Aine: "Um... Um, um, uuum..." *However, she didn't seem like she was going to get any further than saying "Um."* Tomoe: "What is it?" Aine: "Um...!" *Bam!* *She yelled out one more time, then suddenly hurled herself at me.* Tomoe: "Wh-What are you doing?" *Aine clung to me and wouldn't let go. I could tell that she was putting every ounce of strength she had into the embrace.* Tomoe: "I can't breathe..." *It was suffocating, yet not. It should be, but for some reason, I was relieved. Wasn't this the first time Aine had ever gotten this close to me?* Aine: "I thought I might get to know you better if I stuck even closer to you..." Tomoe: "If you stuck closer to me...? That doesn't have anything to do with it. The body and heart are two different things." *Just because our bodies were connected didn't mean she would get close to my heart.* Aine: "What else should I do, then? I cannot come up with any other way to reduce the distance between us other than to hug each other tight like this..." *Aine said with her face still pressed against my chest. Because of that, it felt as though her words had reached straight into my heart.* *Wouldn't that mean the body and heart _weren't_ all that different?* *If we brought our bodies closer and closer together, wouldn't that help bring us emotionally closer? Would I understand Aine's heart better, too?* *I thought it over, but the answer didn't come to me.* *The one thing Aine _had_ made clear to me was what she was after right at this moment.* Aine: "So, um..." *Possibly overwhelmed with emotion, Aine's voice became weepy. It sounded like she would burst into tears at any moment if I made her say anything more.* Tomoe: "...I got it." *I replied and slowly wrapped my arms around Aine's tiny body, then hugged her tightly.* Aine: "Ah..." *Aine's rigid body slowly relaxed.* *It almost felt like the strength she had moments before was being channeled into my embrace.* Aine: "Tomoe...san..." Tomoe: "You're right. I can't come up with any other way." *A way to reduce the distance between our hearts... I didn't know if any other method existed. In truth, such a thing might _not_ exist.* *That might be why lovers hug each other in silence.* Tomoe: "But... What should we do first?" Aine: "Wh-Who knows? I have no experience with this sort of thing..." *I was inexperienced, too. However, as a man, I should probably take the lead. I understood that much, at least.* Tomoe: "Let's move this over to the bed for now, then." Aine: "Ah... Yes."

Aine: "Ehehe, I am so happy..." *There was a comfortable pressure on my chest. Was it possible for another person's weight to feel so wonderful?* *I couldn't believe that this foreign, yet comfortable weight was nestled firmly against my body. It may have been due to the residual sense of unity I felt from before.* *How close I felt to Aine before and after becoming one in body really did seem completely different.* Aine: "Ehehehe..." *Aine turned her eyes upward at me from on top of my chest and smiled.* *I got a ticklish feeling deep in my chest just from her looking at me. It was strange how a simple gaze could affect me so much.* Tomoe: "What have you been smiling about since earlier?" *In an attempt to hide my embarrassment, I ended up phrasing my question rather bluntly. Aine's smile remained unfazed all the same.* Aine: "Tomoe-san, you really came a lot, did you not?" Tomoe: "Wh-What are you bringing that up for...? You sound a little too happy about that..." Aine: "Really? The fact you came so much means it felt good though, right?" Tomoe: "Well, I guess so." Aine: "What is wrong with being happy, then? If I made you feel super good, then of course I am very happy." *Aine may not have been aware of it, but the way she was acting and speaking was devilish. I couldn't look back at her when she was being so blunt.* Tomoe: "You looked like you enjoyed it quite a bit yourself, Aine." Aine: "Yes, it felt great~! It was total bliss." *She sounded innocent, completely unabashed, yet replied slightly shyly.* *Aine was so hopelessly adorable that way, I was at a loss. I didn't know what I should do.* *Aine, on the other hand, didn't seem to think that way at all. She looked up at me, all smiles.* Tomoe: "...So, do you think we accomplished our goal?" Aine: "Goal?" Tomoe: "Doing something about the distance between our hearts, or something like that." *I had a feeling I knew how Aine would respond without having to ask. That in itself was the answer to whether we'd met our goal.* Aine: "Yes. I feel like I was able to get closer to you than ever before." *Aine replied with a smile full of confidence.* Aine: "What about you, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "The same goes for me." *Not just in terms of physical distance─Aine felt very close to me in every way.* *This might be the first time I had ever felt this close to another person.* Aine: "Ehehe, thank goodness..." *After seeing Aine smile with relief, I was able to relax myself.* *Laying together like this, skin against skin, felt natural. In fact, the very thought that we had to part after this made me feel lonely.* *But... we were still two different people, so we would definitely have to separate eventually.* *It seemed easy to forget that we weren't of the same species. There was no way we could stay together like this.* *Even if we were hypothetically both human, I was incapable of making anyone else happy, nor did I have any right to do so.* *That thought made me feel sufficiently depressed, and the happy feelings I had until just moments before felt like they were all a lie.* *It made me wonder, even if for an instant, what dreamy idea had been going through my head?* Tomoe: "..." Aine: "It is all right." Tomoe: "Huh...?" *Aine smiled, looking like she didn't have a single worry in the world. That smile absent of a single speck of gloom, and those words which made me sense her unwavering confidence, encouraged me.* Aine: "I am sure it will be okay. You are all right, Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "What about me is all right, exactly?" Aine: "You will be able to become happy for sure." *Aine asserted again, looking full of conviction.* Tomoe: "Happy..." *That word felt incredibly distant to someone like me. Even now, I felt as though I mustn't ever feel it.* *However, Aine seemed convinced I _could_ be happy.* Tomoe: "Why are you so sure of that...?" Aine: "Because, _I_ will make you happy, Tomoe-san." *Aine said, as if speaking directly to my heart. Those words really did reach the very depths of my core.* Aine: "I will make you happy, so you do not need to worry about a thing." Tomoe: "...You're being awfully conceited." *It really was audacious of her. Who would have thought Aine would be the one cheering me up?* *Yes, I was being encouraged. When I thought about being happy, it made me feel gloomy, and when I was unsure, joyous feelings spread through my chest again.* *Was it normal for a heart to fluctuate so wildly? I felt like I'd forgotten about that for the longest time.* Tomoe: "Thank you." Tomoe: "But, the feeling is enough for me. Haven't I told you? I have no right to be happy." Aine: "Yes, you are fine just the way you are, Tomoe-san." *Aine's smile didn't waver.* Aine: "It will be okay, even then. You do not need to worry about that." Aine: "You may not believe you want to be happy right now, but you are not meant to be that way forever. I am positive you will come to wish for such a thing in due time." *Aine wished for my happiness once more, almost as if it were a spell. She was convinced I would be all right even if nothing felt further from the truth.* *Like she was casting magic upon me...* Aine: "Tomoe-san..." *Aine pressed her face back against my chest, as if she were trying to hear my heartbeat.* Aine: "Tomoe-san, am I there inside of you even a little... even just a smidgen?" *Aine recited into my chest, to my heart which should lie beyond, deep inside.* Tomoe: "Of course. Why are you asking that?" Aine: "No, if so, then that is great." Aine: "Just a little... even if it is a single piece of me, as long as I am there inside of you..." Aine: "Then, I am happy." *Aine smiled. Happily.* *And yet, my heart began to buzz slightly.* *Aine's smile looked so very happy. Aine, who felt so very close to me... felt as though she had become a bit distant, for some reason...* *Why did I feel that way?*

Tomoe: "Zzz... Zzz..." *Tomoe-san was sleeping, and unusually deeply at that. Unlike me, he had always been a shallow sleeper.* Aine: "Maybe he is worn out?" *Or perhaps Tomoe-san's heart had become just a little lighter after what we had just done? That would make me happy.* Aine: "I may have been the one who got the most happiness out of this." *Who knew sex could bring so much bliss?* *I understood all human couples' desire to "do it." Why did sleeping with the person you love feel so wonderful?* *Not that sleeping with him was all there was to it...* Aine: "Tomoe-san was inside of me... Becoming one with the person you love sure feels amazing..." *By joining our bodies, I felt as though our hearts had also made a connection.* *I felt very happy. Too happy, to the point it made me sad.* *After all, this was the first and last time.* *Had Tomoe-san felt happiness as well?* *He looked quite peaceful as he slept...* Aine: "Ehehe, so cute." *It would make me happy if he slept this soundly every night going forward. Would he sleep just as well once I returned his shard?* *Yeah, I was sure he would. He would rest soundly every night, have sweet dreams, and wake up refreshed in the morning...* *I was positive he would get those ordinary, peaceful days back.* *I did think he had to go through some adversity to make it happen... but getting back his feelings for someone who had died now wouldn't help him move on with his life on its own.* *Knowing Tomoe-san, he should be able to overcome it. I was sure of it.* *That was what I believed.* Aine: "Honestly, I wish I could see it through myself..." *However, that would certainly be a difficult task, considering I was going to disappear very soon.* *Once I returned his shard, I would never work as an angel ever again.* *Having lost my reason for being, I would disappear in the near future.* *I would not get the chance to see whether Tomoe-san would move on from his past or not with my own eyes.* *In truth, I wanted to help him...* Aine: "Ah..." *Yes, it was this feeling. The feeling that my existence had suddenly become faint.* *It felt like I would simply melt into the air, dissolve into something much larger than myself, and that I was becoming diluted to my limits...* *That was why my very being became weaker and weaker. Before I knew it, I was feeling that far more often than I would like.* *I believed that was my life force gradually diminishing. There was no doubting I would continue to fade a little at a time before finally vanishing.* *Angels who did not do their job, who had lost their will to do so, would surely disappear. That happened to Licha-chan and the others' old friend.* *One more time, and then I would never perform angelery ever again... Once I returned Tomoe-san's shard, it was all over.* *Then, I would lose my reason for being as an angel... and disappear from this world.* Aine: "I cannot let Tomoe-san see me like that." *After I returned his shard, I would disappear into the shadows, quietly and alone.* *Not being able to see Tomoe-san after his shard was returned to him was extremely painful, but there was no other way; it was what I had decided.* Aine: "I apologize for putting you through future hardships." Aine: "But, it will be all right, because you are you." *Tomoe-san should be able to overcome it for sure.* *He was brimming with love, not an imitation like we were. He was a genuinely angelic person.* *He would love many people from now on, and I wished that he would be loved by even more people than that.* *And one day, I hoped he would find someone truly, truly precious to him, and that he would obtain a life filled with love.* Aine: "No matter where I may be, I will pray. I will pray forever and ever, even after I have disappeared." *I would vanish and become a prayer.* *"May Tomoe-san become happy." I would become that prayer, and spread to every nook and cranny of this world.* *I prayed that my wish for his happiness would be omnipresent around the whole world.* *I would pray for the people everywhere in the world touched by that wish to love Tomoe-san, no matter how little.* Aine: "Well then, Tomoe-san..." Aine: "Be well."

Menes: "Are you ready now?" Aine: "Everyone..." *Everyone stood by my side to lend me their strength. Not only was I inexperienced, my powers had weakened considerably.* Aine: "Yes, I am." Menes: "Hehe, that's a fine smile." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Erich: "Sing your heart out, okay?" Aine: "...Yes." *Tomoe-san, please listen. This is the first and last song I will sing for you.*

Aine: "...?!" *I suddenly choked up. A tearing pain coursed through my back. Why was this happening at such an important time?* Erich: "Ah...! Aine, you're..." Menes: "Your feathers... are turning black...?" *Everyone was looking at me with astonishment. All of their eyes were focused squarely on my feathers.* *I could not see them, but I could certainly feel it. I could feel my feathers changing.* Licha: "Aine..." *Now it made sense. The feathers of angels who learned that the red threads do not bring people joy, yet still get involved with angelery, turn black.* *This act of angelery was very selfish on my part. I did not care if it made someone else suffer as long as Tomoe-san could be happy... That was how things were.* *Any angel that performed such a selfish act, one that would make a human unhappy, was branded with a black seal.* *I did not care either way. It was enough for me if Tomoe-san could be happy.* *Tomoe-san... please remember the emotions you have lost... your precious heart shard.* *Was this...* *Was this... a dream?* *This was me... me when I was a child. This scenery was... that time...* *I remembered. No, I'd never forgotten, nor could I possibly forget.* *The memory I closed an iron curtain upon, that I always tried not to remember, and tried not to see. That curtain had simply been opened.* *Her dead body should be lying right across me. Her corpse was so beautiful, but she didn't seem like she was dead.* Tomoe: "Eina-chan?" *It was unreal enough that when I woke up beside her, I immediately called out to her.* *Once I touched her, I knew. She was cold to the touch, and she was no longer breathing.* *"She became an angel."* *That was my first thought, since we had snuggled up and lay down together with that very goal in mind.* *Like the Originator, who became an angel in a similar manner, we believed we could become angels if we only wished for it.* *But for some reason, only I had awakened. I woke up, learned the reality, and fell into a deep despair.* *I must not have been qualified to become one. I had no right to be an angel. Only she, who was so pure and brimming with love, had received God's permission to become an angel. I was sure of it.* *Wasn't that what I thought the first time I saw her? "Ah, there's an angel here..."* *She... Eina was worthy of angelhood, so only she was able to become one─or so I believed.* *Soon after, I realized something was odd. I quickly became scared, and looked down upon she who was supposed to have become an angel. A feeling of dread began to overwhelm me.* *Had she _really_ become an angel?* *After all, wasn't this a corpse, plain and simple?* *Hadn't she just died? She hadn't become an angel; she was dead.* *And also, hadn't I known that from the beginning? That we might die if we lay down in this frigid weather, wearing these clothes?* *No, maybe that's what I had wished for all along.* *Becoming angels was mere sophistry. Wasn't dying with her all I truly wanted?* *My mother killed her father. I was the son of a person who stole Eina's precious father from her. I had no right to be in love with her.* *Eina had said she accepted me all the same, but I was sure she would realize it someday... That I wasn't a being worth loving. That I was a being who should be detested.* *I was sure I would one day lose her. I likely couldn't bear a world without her. Had I prodded her, killed her, because I wanted to be with her forever?* *She was so pure, I knew she believed that we really could have become angels.* *And then, she died.* *I was impure, abandoned on this filth-covered world. She, who believed in angels from the bottom of her heart... I couldn't possibly believe in something like that. After all, there was a corpse laying next to me.* *I killed her...* *I knew it was true. I tricked that pure girl, and this was a murder-suicide.* *Unfair as it was, only I survived. I survived in this vacant world by accident.* *Even though she was no longer with me, I really had nothing left to live for in this world...* *Therefore, this was my punishment for stealing what was precious from her, and trying to prod her into being mine for all eternity. I was sure of it.* *With my own hands, I had destroyed what was most precious to me. Why the hell had I done such a thing?* *I thought about my mother, who had killed her father.* *Why do people destroy the things they love with their own hands? My mother wasn't such a bad person, either. I believed that she really had cared for Eina's dad.* *So, why had things turned out so horribly for her? And... why had things turned out this way for me...?* *"Falling in love was a mistake."* *Yes. Love was pure insanity. Before long, one would destroy their partner, and then themselves as well. Yes, I was broken.* *If I had watched my mother, I would have figured it out sooner. I didn't learn anything from the lessons she taught me firsthand, and had killed Eina.* *I shouldn't have fallen in love with her. No, I shouldn't have fallen in love with anyone, ever.* Tomoe: "I'll die, too..." *That's what I should do. I shouldn't be allowed to live a carefree life all on my own.* *Besides, I had nothing. No family, and now, no Eina. Even if I were to keep living, I had nothing.* *Though I believed it, I couldn't even dredge up the willpower to die, nor the will to do anything at all...* *Unable to even move, I simply hugged my knees. I could tell by sitting there by the dilapidated church in that harsh, midwinter cold that my body heat was being sapped away.* *If I remained still, I would eventually die, too... I knew it. I _wished_ for it.* *In reality, I _was_ dying, and my life was spared when Nakizaki discovered me just before I succumbed. Having failed to die, I couldn't even bring myself to resent Nakizaki.* *I couldn't bring myself to feel any desire, not even the desire to kill myself.* *Thinking back on it now, that must have been when my heart fractured.* *Ever since then, I had been a living corpse. A being who was simply "alive" because I wasn't dead.* Tomoe: "Huh...?" *Suddenly, my icy-cold body was enveloped in something warm. Warm and soft, like rays of the winter's afternoon sunshine...* *This wasn't a memory. This hadn't happened in reality.* *This was practically salvation, like I was being pardoned.* Aine: "You are forgiven." Tomoe: "Huh...?" Aine: "I will forgive you." Tomoe: "Aine?" *Aine's voice and this melody were forgiving me. Why was Aine here?* *Was it because this was a dream? Because it was a mere dream?* *It was so pleasant that it didn't feel like a dream. My defiled body felt like it was becoming cleansed by the second.* *At some point, I began to sob. My body felt like it was being purified of its tainted sorrows and releasing a torrent of unrelenting tears.* *What a happy dream this was. Was I allowed to have such a dream? To feel such happiness...?*

Tomoe: "Ah..." *I woke up crying.* *No, I wasn't just crying, I was wailing. When I touched my cheeks, they were soaking wet.* *And not just my cheeks, even my pillow was drenched.* Tomoe: "What's going on...?" *This had never happened before. How long had it been since I last cried?* *Probably not since that incident when I was young, where I wailed while Nakizaki rubbed my back. It looked like I had wailed again today, too.* *Had I always bottled up my tears to unleash them all at once?* *Maybe that was why my heart felt kind of... light? So light, or more like...* Tomoe: "What is this, exactly?" *And what in the world was that song...? It was a voice I had heard before. It was probably... yes...* Tomoe: "Aine's song." *When I whispered that half in doubt, it turned to conviction. That was Aine's song. It was the first time I had ever heard it, but I didn't doubt that one bit.* Tomoe: "Was it... a dream?" *_Had_ it been a dream?* *I looked beside me. Aine, who should have been sleeping with me, wasn't there.* Tomoe: "Is she downstairs?" Tomoe: "Aine~?" *She wasn't in the living room, either. It was deserted, with no signs of life.* *It felt that way throughout the house, not just the living room.* *There was no real sign of her. It was like the other presence I had cohabitated with was all a lie. Just like how it had felt the whole time I had lived alone.* Tomoe: "Aine...?" *I was spurred on by intense anxiety. I didn't know what, but something was happening. What was it, exactly?* *Suddenly, a presence appeared before me.* Tomoe: "Aine?!" *I immediately realized how wrong I was. It was Menes and the other angels. When I saw their pained, forlorn expressions, the intense anxiety bubbled up within me even more.* *Wasn't this the first time all three of them had appeared before me without Aine around? Something really _must_ have happened.* Tomoe: "Aine's not here." *I kept it short and cut right to the chase. Their gloomy expressions became even more profound.* Menes: "Yes... Aine isn't with us anymore." *Menes said something, but it didn't make sense to me.* Tomoe: "That's right, she isn't here. Did she go somewhere?" Erich: "I doubt she'll be back. Aine disappeared." Tomoe: "Disappeared? Where did she go?" Erich: "Who knows..." *Erich turned to her colleagues, obviously at a loss.* Licha: "You shouldn't look for her." Tomoe: "Shouldn't look for her...? I don't get what you're saying. What happened to Aine?" *My question made the angels fall silent. My anxiety only intensified with each passing moment.* Tomoe: "Hey, what in the world happened to Aine─" Licha: "To put it into human terms, she died... Think of it that way." *Licha said curtly. There even seemed to be a cruel tinge to those unadorned words.* *It was beyond all comprehension. Though I hadn't yet made sense of what she had said, a sharp pain coursed through me, like I had been drilled through the chest.* Tomoe: "Died...?" *Only when I said it aloud did I finally understand. Aine died. Which meant she was no longer of this world.* Tomoe: "...What are you saying?" *It had to be a joke, but it was way too nasty to be one.* *At a loss for words, the three angels just looked at me with grave expressions.* Erich: "Don't you get it? Aine's not with us anymore. She died." *Erich said, seeming near tears. She sounded a bit irritated, like saying it hurt her, so to hurry up and figure it out already.* Tomoe: "Of course... I don't get it." *Why was she telling me to understand?* *Just hours before, Aine was pressed up against me, skin to skin. She was closer to me than she had ever been before.* *Why had she disappeared all of a sudden? How could she suddenly die...?* Tomoe: "...Ah." *I remembered the song I had heard in my dream. That was Aine's song... and the timbre of her guitar.* *I'd never witnessed it firsthand, but angels would sing songs to return a person's shard.* Tomoe: "Don't tell me... she disappeared to return _my_ shard?" *I was astonished by the possibility. Aine had disappeared in order to return my heart shard.* Erich: "Not exactly, but Aine's feathers did turn black." Tomoe: "Her feathers... turned black?" *Rios and Helen's figures popped into my head. Aine had become like them?* Licha: "The red thread doesn't bring people happiness." Licha: "Having the determination to commit angelery knowing that, without caring that it will bring another sorrow, will turn an angel's feathers black..." Menes: "That's how it appears to be." Tomoe: "So, Aine forced herself to perform angelery for my sake, then..." Erich: "Aine doesn't want you to see her that way, so she went into hiding." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Tomoe: "No way..." *Aine threw away her pride as an angel for my sake, then went into hiding to prevent me from seeing her altered form.* *Then, this was all my─* Erich: "Don't you dare blame yourself for this." *Erich said in a flat, almost angry tone. No, she was definitely angry, and glared at me with a flushed face.* *But that's when I realized it was because she was trying so hard not to cry.* Erich: "Aine didn't sacrifice herself for you. Don't think something so sad." Menes: "That's right. Aine did it because she wanted to. She did it because she loves you." Menes: "That was why, no matter what it took, she wanted to return your shard to you before she disappeared, Darling." Tomoe: "Huh? Before she disappeared..." *That uneasy feeling in my chest came again. A terribly overwhelming premonition spread through my chest in an instant.* Menes: "Angels who have abandoned their angelery are fated to eventually disappear." Tomoe: "Huh? What's with that? What does that mean?" Licha: "Angels who don't do their jobs disappear." Tomoe: "What...?" Erich: "Angels exist to make people happy... although it didn't actually turn out that way. Still, that's why angels are born." Erich: "Angels who give up their will to do so, and actually stop working for the sake of humans, disappear. There's no need for beings who have lost their reason for being in this world, correct?" Tomoe: "But, that's so..." Tomoe: "Didn't you guys agree to stop performing angelery _because_ you're thinking of humans' best interests? You'd be giving birth to new, unhappy people by joining people's red threads elsewhere." Tomoe: "Didn't you stop performing angelery to make sure those people would never be unhappy? That's totally because you're thinking about what's best for humans." Menes: "That's correct, but it doesn't appear that's how the rule which governs us works." Licha: "Red-thread-oriented." Tomoe: "No way..." *Why did so many have to be manipulated for the sake of these fault-ridden red threads?* *Why did Aine have to die?* Tomoe: "But, Aine's still alive, right? Nothing should have happened to her this quickly..." Menes: "We don't know. At the very least, we can't sense her presence anymore." Tomoe: "...What do you mean?" Erich: "We should be able to sense Aine's presence as long as she's well, but we can't. In other words..." Licha: "She's already disappeared." Tomoe: "What...?" *My mind went blank. Aine already disappeared?* Tomoe: "Aine... died... is what you're saying?" Menes: "It would probably be best to think that way." Tomoe: "..." *I couldn't find the words. Aine disappeared? No, died? Don't be ridiculous...* Tomoe: "You're kidding, right? This is all a joke... isn't it?" *I knew they had no reason to lie or tell a sick joke like this, but...* *They didn't respond, but their tragic expressions were more than enough.* Tomoe: "No... It can't be..." *My mind was spinning.* *Aine died? What the hell was that? How did that... Why did things turn out this way?* *That's right. It was all the red thread's fault.* Tomoe: "...What are the red threads? Who the hell made something so stupid?" Menes: "You said it..." *What were the red threads...? Why, and for what purpose did such objects exist? Who the hell made such a thing...?* *As anger boiled up from within me, I remembered just one thing, and it all suddenly fizzled away.* *Aine was gone, and I could never see her again.* *That single fact filled me, and nothing else in the entire world mattered.* *I didn't care who was happy or sad. The fact that Aine was gone now was all that mattered to me.* *There was no meaning in anything else, nor did anything else interest me.* Tomoe: "Aine..." *Why did this always happen? Why was it always the people most important to me who disappeared?* *The pain was so intense, it felt like my chest would burst open at any moment. Aine was gone, and my chest felt like it would shatter into a million pieces.* *This was the agony of a heart that had regained its shard. I hadn't felt such intense pain in so long...* Erich: "Say... What sort of shard was it that Aine returned to him?" Menes: "Weren't they feelings for a girl he loved a long time ago?" Erich: "But he's... clearly filled with feelings for Aine." Menes: "Oh, come to think of it... Why is that...?" Licha: "..." Tomoe: "Aine..." *Was having your heart shard returned something this painful?*

*The door creaked open.* Tomoe: "Come out. You're here, aren't you?" *Soundlessly, the black angels appeared. I glared at them, but they remained calm and acted like nothing was wrong.* Rios: "That's quite a scary face you're making today." Tomoe: "Why didn't you tell me? Aine was already weak when she collapsed here, wasn't she?" *Rios had been unusually concerned about Aine when she fainted and he brought her home.* *Thinking back on it now, Rios being worried about anyone when he was normally calm and collected was strange.* Tomoe: "I'm guessing you've known for a while now. So, couldn't you have told me?" Rios: "And after I told you, what could _you_ do?" Tomoe: "Well..." *There likely wasn't anything I _could_ do.* *Even if I had known about her condition and unavoidable death, all I could have done was sit there and watch helplessly.* *Knowing would have frustrated me unnecessarily.* Helen: "You have no reason to blame yourself. You are not at fault." Helen: "This is something that nobody can change... Yes, this must have been fate." Tomoe: "Fate..." *How nice it would be if you could sum it up with such a simple word. However, that word was of no consolation to me.* *It couldn't change the fact that Aine was gone.* Rios: "An angel who held humans so near and dear chose to return your shard even if it meant sacrificing another. Make certain you take those feelings into consideration." *Rios said something unusually kind.* *On the other hand, it sounded like he was making the reality that Aine was no longer of this world known, and I began to feel hopeless.* Rios: "However..." *Suddenly, the black angel wrinkled up his brow and pondered something.* Tomoe: "Do you know something? If you do, tell me." Rios: "...No. Unfortunately, that isn't it." Rios: "None can oppose the curse of the red thread. That is absolute." Rios: "He couldn't change it, either, huh?" *The black angel whispered quietly.* *I was curious whether "he" meant me or someone else, but I didn't have the willpower to question him any further.* *Aine was gone.* *That fact alone was everything to me now.*

Tomoe: "..." *Winter grew more bitterly cold by the day as a northern wind blew cruelly upon people's hopes and dreams.* Naruko: "Ugh, it's freezing! Let's go inside already!" Tomoe: "You go on ahead. I'll be there soon." *Nakizaki had complained about the cold several times now, but remained fixed in her spot. The same went for Kiyohito, too.* Kiyohito: "You're acting awfully strange today, Tomoe. Aren't you cold?" Tomoe: "Not really." *I knew it was cold, but oddly enough, I didn't feel it. It was like I had lost the ability to even sense it.* Naruko: "You're such a liar. Your lips are dark blue!" Kiyohito: "For real. You're like some little kid who went into the pool on a cold day." Tomoe: "You really think so?" *Despite what they said, I wasn't moved by it at all. Along the way, I seemed to have forgotten the assorted emotions I _should_ be feeling right now.* *Had Aine _actually_ returned my heart shard?* Kiyohito: "Well, I am worried about Aine-chan." *I explained everything that happened to Nakizaki, but told Kiyohito that Aine's health had deteriorated and she was now living with another distant relative.* *Nakizaki was the one who crafted that particular excuse.* *I couldn't even conjure enough willpower to think that far.* *With Aine gone, it felt like everything had changed. Just like the day Eina had passed away.* *Why did this have to happen over and over again?* Tomoe: "I wish I'd died back then, too." Naruko: "Huh...?" Tomoe: "Why did I survive? I should have just died with her back then." *I finally confessed the words I thought of time and time again, but never said out loud.* *I constantly repeated that phrase in my mind. "Why was I the only one who was saved?"* Naruko: "Stop saying stuff like that..." *Nakizaki sadly contradicted me, but I couldn't stop myself. I had gone all this time without saying it, but I couldn't stand it anymore.* Tomoe: "I should have died back then, too." Naruko: "Kirinokojima!" *Smack!* *My cheek gradually grew hot. It took some time for me to realize that Nakizaki had slapped me.* Naruko: "Don't say something so stupid!" *She shouted, like a fire had been lit within her. Her eyes became glassy and welled up with tears.* *And yet, my heart still wasn't moved. Nakizaki gazed at me, her expression warped with sadness.* Naruko: "Don't say something like that, even as a joke..." Tomoe: "Sorry..." *Despite my apology, I still felt like it was happening to someone else entirely.* *It didn't feel like I was a part of this reality, like I was watching a poorly produced play.* *As I shifted my focus into the distance, a stream of light poured between the rift in the clouds at the edge of the sky.* *An angel's ladder. The last time I saw one was before I met Aine, I think? It was believed that angels descended from those staircases of light.* *Even though the angel most precious to me was no longer in this city...* *What purpose did angels serve, anyway? That was my biggest question after having my shard returned.* *Even if one were joined by a red thread, they were destined to someday become unhappy. There were many unhappy people in the world.* *So then, what meaning did angels have? Did that mean everything Aine had done amounted to nothing?* *Maybe Aine had disappeared _because_ that was how this world worked...*

Tomoe: "Ah..." *I spotted a familiar figure as I passed by the flower beds. It was Mitsushima-san.* Osamu: "Oh, Kirinokojima-kun." *That unexpected smile stopped me in my tracks. Mitsushima-san was supposed to have gone through a terrible breakup with Arie-san. How could he smile like that...?* Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san, what were you doing?" *I could tell by looking, but I couldn't help but ask.* Osamu: "I was watering the flowers." *He gazed at those yellow flowers with adoration. Unlike last time, there was no longer a heavy cloud looming over him.* Osamu: "These Euryops daisies are unusual flowers which bloom in the winter time. They're tenacious flowers that flourish in low humidity." Tomoe: "Sure..." *Why was he giving me a lecture on flowers? But, more importantly...* *How was Mitsushima-san able to smile like this?* Tomoe: "Um..." Tomoe: "Did something happen with Arie-san...?" *I wondered if he had seen Arie-san since then, but he smiled somewhat sadly and shook his head.* Osamu: "No, not yet." Tomoe: "Really? ...Then, why..." *"Why are you smiling so much?" I couldn't go through with asking him that, but my question seemed to have gotten through to him.* Osamu: "I could act sad and miserable, but what would that change?" Tomoe: "You're right, but..." *He was looking intently at my face.* *I knew how depressed I must have looked right now. It was difficult to look him in the eye, so I hung my head.* *He may have been right, but I could never be as optimistic as he was. It would be different if Aine were to come back home smiling, though.* *Wasn't Mitsushima-san's situation equally hopeless that acting cheerful wouldn't help anything?* Osamu: "I've stopped giving up." Tomoe: "Huh...?" *His dignified tone surprised me, and I lifted my head to meet his gaze. His eyes captivated me. I discovered a brilliance within those orbs that would never fade, and I found myself unable to look away.* Osamu: "Lately, I've been writing letters to her every single day, and sending them to where she's currently living." Tomoe: "Letters..." Osamu: "Foolish, isn't it? I talk about what I did that day, how I'm doing, tell her about the flowers..." Osamu: "I'm writing what happened each day in my letters, with one of these flowers accompanying it." *He looked down at the yellow flowers. There was an unmistakably certain, powerful light dwelling within them.* Osamu: "I realized that I wasn't the one going through the most hardship right now─it's Koyuki-san." Osamu: "Now that the past she wanted to forget has caught up to her, doesn't someone need to support her right now?" Tomoe: "Mitsushima-san..." Osamu: "It's all thanks to Aine-chan that I realized that." Tomoe: "Huh? Aine?" *My whole body responded to her name.* Osamu: "She was always encouraging me to keep trying. She always smiled, and worried about someone she just met." Osamu: "When I think back on all of that, I can't help but smile. When I smile, I feel this strength inside of me." Osamu: "This time, just like Aine-chan had done for me, I'm going to do everything I can for Koyuki-san." Tomoe: "With your smile... comes strength...?" Osamu: "Don't make that face, Kirinokojima-kun. Try to smile. If Aine-chan saw you looking so down, she would be sad, too." Tomoe: "No..." *Aine wasn't here anymore, so there was nothing for her to be sad about. That thought made my heart sink.* Osamu: "Did something happen to Aine-chan?" Tomoe: "Oh, no..." Tomoe: "Nothing at all. She went to her relative's place for a while, but she's doing well." *I covered it up with a little white lie.* Osamu: "I see. That's good." *He was all smiles once more. He didn't seem like the type of person who dwelled on sad things.* Osamu: "Tell her that I'm doing well, too. I haven't given up on Koyuki-san, and I can still hold my head up high and say with confidence that I love her." Osamu: "And, these feelings make me stronger. Tell Aine-chan all of this is thanks to her." Tomoe: "All thanks to Aine..." *He didn't know the truth about angels, nor that it was them who had made him and Arie-san so unhappy.* *In spite of that, he proudly declared how grateful he was to Aine, and with such lively eyes, too. There was a powerful, unshakeable light within them.* *Was that because of Aine, too?* Osamu: "Let me know when Aine-chan comes back, okay?" Tomoe: "Oh, sure." *I nodded anyway, even though I knew Aine would never be coming home ever again.* *Mitsushima-san went back to watering the flower beds, almost like he was showing affection for Arie-san through those yellow flowers.* Tomoe: "Even though his red thread has been severed..." *The red thread which bound Mitsushima-san and Arie-san no longer existed. The red thread's misfortune had torn them apart... And yet, he hadn't even begun to give up.* *I etched Mitsushima-san's gaze and figure into my heart. My heart pounded furiously, as if the blaze lit in his eyes had spread to me.* Tomoe: "I wonder how everyone else is doing?" Tomoe: "...Ah." *When I looked down at the schoolyard, I spotted a female student running. It was Ukutsu.* Kayo: "Haa, haa, haa!" *Like always, she was running. I placed my hopes on her racing figure.* Tomoe: "Ukutsu!" *I called out and stopped her.* Kayo: "Hm...?" *She stopped and turned my way.* Kayo: "Oh, you're Naruko's, um... Kirinokojima-kun." Tomoe: "You're running?" Kayo: "Hm? Yeah, just as you can see..." Kayo: "If I couldn't run, I'd have nothing left!" Tomoe: "I see..." *There was a faint smile etched across her lips. Just like Mitsushima-san, I could see the same light within her eyes, too.* Tomoe: "How are things with Hashiguchi?" Kayo: "We're all right!" *She replied instantly. My chest quivered from her assertive tone.* Tomoe: "'All right'...?" Kayo: "A little while back, an angel appeared in my dreams." Tomoe: "Huh? An angel?" Kayo: "When I was heartbroken over Hashiguchi, an angel was there to encourage me." Kayo: "...It could just be a case of wishful thinking, I guess. It may have just been my imagination, but an angel did appear in my dream!" Kayo: "I remembered the angel cheering me on, and it felt like I was being told to give it all I had one more time, so I wouldn't have any regrets." Kayo: "That's why I'm going to see Hashiguchi." Tomoe: "Going to see him? To Hokkaido?" Kayo: "I'll run there!" Tomoe: "Uh, you're going to 'run' there...?" Kayo: "Ahaha, just kidding! The running part's a joke, but I really am going to go see him." Kayo: "If I give up for good, I'll definitely regret it. I might regret it even if I do go see him, too..." Kayo: "But, I'm definitely going. I'm not the same person who couldn't express how I felt about him anymore." Kayo: "I stopped feeling sorry for myself, showed some courage, and told him I loved him. I'm not that hesitant person who couldn't accomplish anything anymore." Kayo: "So, I'm going to go see him, and tell him how much I love him one more time." *Ukutsu's eyes were shining with a fiery blaze, one that was brilliant to gaze upon.* *Were these the eyes of someone who had their red thread taken from them, who had been thrust from the precipice of happiness into the depths of sorrow?* *It was true that the Ukutsu running here and now was completely different from the shriveled-up Ukutsu who couldn't confess to Hashiguchi.* Tomoe: "I see. So you're really going?" Kayo: "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Tomoe: "No, that's not it. I feel like you just gave me some courage." Kayo: "Ahaha, really? You're gonna make me blush." Kayo: "Okay, I'm going to run a little more to fire myself up." *She gave me a casual wave of the hand before running off.* Tomoe: "Ukutsu! Give it all you've got!" *I called out to her. Ukutsu turned back to me while running and smiled. Her reassuring figure slowly faded into the distance.* Tomoe: "I see. So she really is going to go to him." *Ukutsu hadn't given up, either. She hadn't given into to the likes of the red thread.* *Looked like Aine had changed her, too.* *After that, I met with the other people we had joined with red threads.* *There was unfortunately no change in their situations, but none of them had given up, and were all looking toward the future. Their eager desires to stand up and fight were impressive.* *The one thing they all had in common, the same as Mitsushima-san and Ukutsu, was that Aine had been the one to give them the energy to stand up and press on.* Tomoe: "Aine, did you see?" *I wanted to show Aine how everyone was doing now.* *I wanted to show her that everything she had done as an angel hadn't been in vain.* Tomoe: "Aine, please see this." *Where in the world was she...?*

Tomoe: "Everyone I've met with keeps talking about Aine and angels. Even though she... no, angels are the source of their unhappiness." Erich: "You're being pretty blunt saying that to our faces." Tomoe: "Well, it's true." Erich: "It is, but still." *Erich pouted at me. After Aine left, these three started hanging around my place.* *They claimed to have time to kill now that they were no longer performing angelery, but they were likely worried about leaving me alone.* Erich: "Well, Aine personally helped them more than any angelery." *Erich said, sucking in her pursed lips.* Tomoe: "She did?" Licha: "Right. This was her influence." Menes: "Yeah. It wasn't angelic ability, but her own." *Not angelic abilities, but her own...* Menes: "After the true form of the red threads became clear, it negated the angelic ability 'to bring people happiness,' but did nothing to negate Aine's own abilities." Menes: "Regardless of her position as an angel, she loves humans from the bottom of her heart, and wishes for their happiness." Erich: "That was why she worked so hard to make emotional connections with people, and went the extra step beyond simply returning their shards to do things no other angel would do." Licha: "That is Aine's ability." Tomoe: "Aine's ability, huh...?" *It kind of made sense.* Menes: "So, listen. I'm sure nothing Aine did was in vain." Erich: "I know Aine would be really delighted if she knew. She was worried about the red threads actually making people unhappy more than anyone else." Menes: "Yeah, I would have loved to tell her." *Menes's comment was past tense. The sadness of knowing Aine was gone tormented me again, but...* *Angels _did_ make humans happy. Angels wouldn't be outdone by the red threads. Wasn't Aine the embodiment of that fact?* *I wanted to let her know that angels really could make mankind happy. That what she had done wasn't futile.* *I also wanted to show her how Mitsushima-san and the others were doing now. They were all working hard to stand up against their sad fates, and were trying to live their lives to the fullest.* *Knowing Aine, I was certain she would try to fight alongside them once again.* *She would definitely join them in opposing their sad fates, all to make humans happy.* Tomoe: "Aine always put others before herself, huh?" *That's when I realized how incredibly selfless Aine was.* *Everything Aine did was for the sake of others. She never even remotely considered her own happiness.* *Hadn't Aine said she wished for my happiness the night of New Year's Eve? When I couldn't make a wish for myself, she wished for my happiness for me.* *Aine had no room to criticize me. Wasn't she more indifferent to her own happiness than I was?* *In that case, who would wish for Aine's happiness? Who would make Aine happy?* *I would wish for it, then.* *I wanted to wish for Aine's happiness. To do it in her place, since she couldn't wish for herself.* *The desire wholly and fully consumed me. I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.* *It had been ages since I had felt so strongly about something. I was surprised at myself for having such intense, passionate impulses left in me.* *No, I didn't have anything before now. This was what Aine had given to me.* *This was all thanks to the heart shard Aine had returned to me.* *I wanted to wish for Aine's happiness. No, in reality, I already was.* *With my own two hands, and nobody else's.* *That was what happiness meant to me. Aine's happiness was my own.* *I wanted to make Aine happy, and wanted to be happy myself.* *Those two wishes were one and the same. I finally realized that.* Licha: "Tomoe?" *Licha's voice brought me back to reality. When I came to, three sets of eyes were locked onto me. They gave me a worried stare.* *Although I was conscious of their gazes, the furious impulse I had for Aine raged within me.* Tomoe: "I want to make Aine happy." *I voiced my feelings aloud. Confusion rose to the angels' faces.* Erich: "You can say that all you want, but..." Menes: "Aine isn't here anymore." Tomoe: "I want to make her happy all the same. I don't want to give up on these feelings." Tomoe: "These are the feelings Aine gave back to me, after all." *Aine sacrificed herself to give them back to me. I didn't want to neglect them, and now, that was my own happiness.* Erich: "Tomoe... The person you love really is..." Menes: "Aine, huh?" Tomoe: "That's right." *That seemed like an odd question for them to ask at this point, but Erich and the others seemed shocked.* Tomoe: "Why are you surprised?" Erich: "Because, your heart fractured a long time ago, right? You regained that shard and were suffering." Menes: "Essentially, you regained your feelings for the girl you loved in the past, and we figured you would suffer since it was an unattainable love." Tomoe: "Ah..." *They had a point. I was sure that was when my heart fractured.* *The feelings that shard contained naturally weren't for Aine.* *They were for Eina.* *Considering I didn't know Aine back then, that was only natural. The shard was for Eina, and that was the shard I recently recovered.* *But at present, I was filled with feelings for Aine, almost like those feelings were one and the same.* *What in the world...* Tomoe: "Huh...?" *Something about my left pinky felt out of place. When I looked down, there was a red thread tied around it. I could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary thread.* *It had an exceptional radiance, and stretched off into empty space.* Tomoe: "This is..." Licha: "A red thread." *Licha spoke the words that popped into my mind.* *This really _was_ a red thread...* Erich: "Wait, why is there a red thread? Didn't your partner already pass away? Whom in the world is it supposed to be connected to?" *What was going on? Where did this thread lead?* Tomoe: "Wait, it couldn't be..." *I felt like I knew the answer all along.* Tomoe: "Aine...?" Erich: "Aine? ...Huh? You're saying this red thread is connected to Aine?" Tomoe: "Probably." *My answer was vague, but I was nearly convinced of it. No, in my mind, it was a fact.* *I knew, from the bottom of my heart, that Aine was on the other end of this thread.* Menes: "It can't be... Why are Aine and Darling bound by a red thread?" Erich: "Wait a minute, didn't Aine disappear? How is this happening...?!" Tomoe: "I have no idea, but I'm positive that it's Aine on the other end of this thread." *I gazed out to where the red thread stretched. The end vanished into empty space, but I was sure Aine lay on the other side.* *Had Aine not disappeared? Why was I joined to Aine by a red thread? ...I had all sorts of questions, but there was only one problem.* *How in the world was I supposed to find Aine?*

Rios: "You're here again?" *The black angel grimaced the moment he laid eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to care.* Rios: "Hm...?" *The black angel's expression changed. His pointed gaze turned to my left hand, which I displayed readily.* Tomoe: "Tell me where this thread leads. I want to go there." Helen: "That thread... Whom in the world is it connected to?" Tomoe: "Aine." *I answered without hesitation. Their expressions quickly shifted, and were filled with surprise.* Rios: "Aine? Why are you and Aine bound by a red thread?" Tomoe: "I don't know. In any case, Aine is at the other end. I just know it." Tomoe: "So, I want to go to the other end of this thread. I want to bring her back." Rios: "Hm..." *Rios groaned. Helen too went stiff, looking quite amazed.* Rios: "If... And I do mean _if_ this thread is connected to Aine..." *He said as much, then trailed off after a sudden realization.* Rios: "...I see. That's how it is?" Tomoe: "What? What did you figure out?" Rios: "Aine is still alive." *The black angel said smugly. I already knew that much...* *Still, I was curious how he had reached that conclusion.* Tomoe: "Why do you think that?" Rios: "The red thread." Rios: "That red thread is the result of Aine's final act of angelery. Performing angelery and being bound by a red thread is the sign of an angel's job well done." Tomoe: "You mean... her life span was extended?" *I didn't know if the term "life span" was appropriate, but that was effectively how it would work out.* *Aine, who thought she had weakened and used up the last of her strength, had survived through her final act of angelery.* Tomoe: "Where in the world did Aine go, then?" Helen: "She was prepared for death. There is no doubt that she decided not to stain her hands with angelery any longer." Helen: "Since she has lost the will to perform any further angelery, though the moment of her annihilation has been postponed, her vanishing is all but certain in the near future." Rios: "I bet she's quietly waiting somewhere until she disappears." Rios: "No, she might even be hibernating, mistakenly believing she's already vanished." *I wanted to laugh at the notion that anyone could mistake themselves for being dead, but it was plausible knowing Aine.* Tomoe: "In that case, I want to find her. Tell me where she is." Rios: "You want to go to her that badly, huh? Do you think she'll come back with you so easily?" Tomoe: "What do you mean?" Rios: "Even if she were to come back, it won't change her fate. As long as she's renounced angelery, she _will_ vanish." Rios: "Do you want to bring her back just so you can watch her disappear before your very eyes?" Tomoe: "Of course not." *I didn't want to see Aine disappear, but what _should_ I do?* Rios: "Nothing about the situation has changed. As usual, angels cannot bring humans happiness. Will she come back while things are this way?" *It was frustrating, but what Rios was saying was definitely correct.* *Aine wouldn't come back while things were like this, and even if she did, she was fated to disappear eventually.* *The situation was completely unchanged.* *Rios was right...* *...Save for one thing.* Tomoe: "Angels _can_ make humans happy." Rios: "What?" Tomoe: "Angels... no, Aine can." *Though they had suffered through the tragedy of the red thread, I told him about all of the couples who hadn't lost hope.* *That may have been an act that could only be accomplished because she was Aine, but it was also proof of the potential angels possessed.* Rios: "I see. People still haven't lost hope?" *Rios grumbled. It seemed the miracle Aine had brought about had moved even his heart.* Tomoe: "It's unfair to assume that angels only cause catastrophe. Aine definitely gave people hope, and I want to tell her that." Tomoe: "So, I need to see her." Rios: "Following that red thread to Aine's location isn't all that difficult." *What Rios said was unusually promising.* Tomoe: "Really?!" Rios: "But, wait." Rios: "Like I said before, even if you go to that woman now, she won't just come back readily, and even if she does, you'll just suffer through her death firsthand." Tomoe: "I know, but there's nothing else I can do right now..." *The frustration was causing rage to build up inside me. All of this was the red thread's fault.* Tomoe: "What in the world _is_ the red thread, anyway? It makes humans and angels suffer so much..." Rios: "That's it." Rios: "The red thread is something that was originally given birth from a heart that wished for mankind's happiness. It was something that was supposed to make people happy." Tomoe: "Then, why?" Rios: "That's because the will of another presence is getting in its way." Tomoe: "Another presence? What's that supposed to mean?" *Throb!* Tomoe: "Guh...?!" *This... again... This pain, like something was trying to pierce through and crawl out of my back...* *Throb... Throb!* *It was more intense than ever before. A searing, incessant pain assaulted me, causing my whole world to spin.* Tomoe: "Kuuh... Gah, aaah...!" Helen: "What's the matter?" *The black angels' expressions unsurprisingly changed.* Tomoe: "My... back..." Helen: "Your back?" *Throb...!* Rios: "Mm... Don't tell me you're..." *Rios started to say something, but I couldn't make out his comment to the end.* Tomoe: "Gaaaaaaaaaaaah...!" *Pain engulfed my entire consciousness...*

Tomoe: "...Guh, ugh..." Tomoe: "Urgh... This place... is..." *When the pain stirred me awake, I realized I was in my bedroom. Bright sunshine shone through the windows. It appeared to be morning.* Helen: "Are you okay?" Tomoe: "Huh...?" *I thought she was Aine at first glance, but it was actually Helen standing over me. This felt so out of place that I ended up staring at her.* Helen: "Is something wrong?" Tomoe: "Nothing... It's just weird seeing you in my bedroom." *Her standing under the morning sun was probably why it felt so bizarre. I had thought the black angels lived and lurked solely in the darkness of night.* Tomoe: "Did you two carry me back here?" Helen: "Rios did." Tomoe: "I see..." *He had done the same for Aine, too. We really owed him a great deal.* Helen: "Does your back hurt?" Tomoe: "Oh, yeah. It happens every now and again." *Helen looked quite sullen after that response.* Tomoe: "Do you know something?" Helen: "...Would you mind showing me your back for a moment?" Tomoe: "Show you...? Uh, hey...?" *She flipped up my shirt before I agreed. I could hear her gasp from behind me.* Helen: "This is..." Tomoe: "What's wrong? Is something wrong with my back?" Helen: "Yes. The area around your shoulder blades is swollen." Tomoe: "Swollen?" Helen: "...Yes. Almost like something is trying to grow there..." Tomoe: "Huh...?"

Rios: "They're wings all right." *Rios concluded immediately after taking a look at my back.* Tomoe: "'All right'? ...You're saying wings are going to grow out of my back?" *When I said it out loud, I was dazed by how absurd that sounded. How could wings grow out of _my_ back?* *I couldn't help but shiver. The idea that I was transforming into something other than myself terrified me beyond all reason.* Tomoe: "Are they... angel wings?" Rios: "Correct. Angel wings are beginning to grow out of your back." Rios: "Long story short, you are in the process of angelification." Tomoe: "Angelification..." *That word went in one ear and right out the other. I couldn't quite comprehend it.* Tomoe: "You're saying... I'm becoming an angel?" Helen: "That's correct." Tomoe: "...Seriously?" *I considered laughing, but couldn't.* *The black angels weren't laughing, either. They seemed to be serious.* Tomoe: "How is this even possible? Me, becoming an angel?" *I remembered this city's legend. The progenitor of the angel legend, also known as the "Originator," had wished for mankind's happiness and became an angel.* *Eina knew that story and declared that she wanted to become an angel, too.* Tomoe: "Is that how the Originator became an angel...?" Helen: "The story of the Originator is simply an urban legend." *An unexpected answer.* Tomoe: "Really?" Helen: "Perhaps I should say he became the power source which gave birth to angels, rather than that he became an angel himself?" Rios: "The power of this so-called Originator's wish became the source from which angels were born, but a human did not become an angel." Tomoe: "Now it's making even less sense. Why am I going to become an angel?" Rios: "It's not unprecedented." Tomoe: "Huh?" Helen: "Is that true?" *Helen asked, seeming surprised. Did that mean Helen hadn't known, either?* Tomoe: "What is that precedent, exactly...?" Rios: "I finally understand. Let me enlighten you on why that red thread is connected to Aine." Tomoe: "What's the reason? Is it because she returned my shard―" Tomoe: "Wait, huh?" *He was on to something. It _was_ strange that I would be bound to Aine by a red thread when that shard came from a past love.* Helen: "Let me sum everything up." *Helen began to speak with a pensive look, as if she were trying to collect her thoughts.* Helen: "Your heart fractured at a very young age. Naturally, those feelings were not for Aine. They were the feelings you had for the girl you loved at the time..." Helen: "An unfortunate incident occurred, and you threw those feelings away." Helen: "Why, then, were you bound to Aine once that shard was returned to you? Herein lies an inconsistency." *She had a point. By all rights, the red thread should have bound Eina and me together.* *However, Eina had died a long time ago. I shouldn't be bound by a red thread to a person no longer of this world.* *That was why Aine chose to return my heart shard in the first place. Being bound by a new red thread meant making someone else unhappy somewhere in the world.* *Returning my shard wouldn't cause that to happen... or shouldn't have, at least.* Tomoe: "Why are Aine and I bound by a red thread...?" Rios: "There can only be one reason." *His expression all but screamed, "You don't get it yet?"* *Why were she and I joined together? People were bound by red threads when their fractured hearts were restored and their feelings came to fruition.* *Me being bound to Aine meant that she was the target of my fractured heart's affections.* *But the reality was different. My heart fractured with feelings for Eina...* Tomoe: "...Huh?" *A wild thought suddenly popped into my head.* *No, it was _too_ wild. It couldn't be...* Rios: "Did you finally figure it out?" Tomoe: "But... wait, that's not possible, is it? Eina died a long time ago." Rios: "She died, and at the same time, became an angel. Wouldn't that mean Aine and Eina are one and the same?" *Rios finally put it into words.* *Eina became an angel? Now that I'd heard him say it, it became increasingly blatant how utterly insane the idea was.* Tomoe: "That's..." Rios: "Not possible? But if it were, it would explain everything." *That was true... It explained why Aine and I had become bound by the red thread after she returned my heart shard, and that she was still alive somewhere.* *It made sense in theory, but I couldn't just blindly accept it.* *A human became an angel? My logical side wanted to reject the entire idea as nonsense.* *But... On the other hand, that idea settled into my heart like it was something which had always naturally resided there.* Rios: "There's no need to worry. It just means that you care about the same person now as you did in the past." Helen: "It appears Aine lost her memories of when she was human, but even after becoming an angel, you two were reunited, and she developed feelings for you once more." *Even though she became an angel, she fell in love with me all over again...* *An intense emotion suddenly filled my heart. It was an intense stream of feelings, like a furious torrent.* *Then, her young voice came back to me.* Eina: "I want to become an angel..." Eina: "If I became an angel, I could make you happy, Tomoe-kun." *I remembered that Eina had said that.* *She _had_ said as much, and I'd bet anything she believed she really could become an angel, too.* *But in the end, she lost her life.* *Had she really become an angel? For my sake? To make me happy?* *And then, she appeared before me again?* Tomoe: "That's amazing..." *I cared for both Eina and Aine. The person who tried to become an angel, and the person who risked her very existence for my sake.* *They loved me so much, and I was a fool who never realized it.* *A jumble of various emotions raged within my heart.* Rios: "Are you crying?" *Rios and Helen were looking at me with surprise. Based on how they were acting, I _must_ have been crying.* *I couldn't really tell. I was simply wrought with emotion, and a heavy stream of tears fell from my eyes. I had done nothing but cry lately.* Rios: "Hmph, this isn't the time to get so emotional. You're in the process of becoming an angel, just like Aine." Tomoe: "I don't care." *I answered without hesitation. If I could become an angel like Aine, then I would do so in a heartbeat. I would throw away every ounce of my humanity if that's what it took.* *I wasn't attached to my humanity anyway.* Helen: "You intend to become an angel like Aine and live together? Surely Aine wouldn't wish to live if it meant bringing misfortune upon others." Helen: "At present, she is trying to disappear." Tomoe: "It's the same for me. If Aine is going to disappear, I'll disappear with her. That's fine by me." Rios: "Hmph, your emotions are just running wild. That's a fleeting, worthless idea." Tomoe: "Even so, I don't care." *I really did feel that way. She left me all alone once before, but this time, I would go with her. I _could_ go with her this time.* Rios: "A foolish, effeminate, emotionally charged argument." *Rios sneered at me with disdain.* Rios: "But, that's too bad. You're not an angel yet." Tomoe: "What should I do to become a full angel?" Rios: "Your angelification is likely due to your involvement with angelery." Rios: "The angelic power which passed through your body with each repetition of angelery must have had an influence on you." Rios: "I'm sure you would turn into an angel eventually if you kept on performing angelery, but you have already learned that the red threads don't bring people joy." Helen: "Surely you cannot perform angelery knowing that someone, somewhere in the world, will be unhappy for it. For that matter, I am sure Aine won't allow it, either." Tomoe: "Ugh..." *Yes, Aine would surely forbid me from performing any more angelery.* *Between becoming an angel and making others unhappy...* *...Aine would never allow it in either sense.* Rios: "Of course, I doubt you could do it on your own even if you wanted to. You were only able to make-believe you were an angel because Aine was there for you." Rios: "I sincerely doubt you can perform angelery without her assistance." *That was another nail in the coffin. I couldn't imitate an angel without Aine's help.* *In order to become a temporary angel, I needed the bow Aine strung with a red thread. I also couldn't reshape shards into arrows.* Rios: "If you understand, then settle down. Even if you become an angel, nothing good will come from it." *So he said, but becoming an angel like Eina, no... Aine, was reason enough for me.* *However, just as Rios had said, I was helpless on my own. Would my wish fail to come true once again? Neither living with Aine, nor even dying with her?* Tomoe: "What should I do, then...?" *I blurted out how I truly felt, but my question went unanswered...*

Naruko: "Oh, you haven't even touched your food." *Nakizaki said as she looked down at my plate.* Tomoe: "Sorry. I don't have much of an appetite." *She went to the trouble of making dinner for me, so I felt guilty for not touching it. Still, I couldn't work up the motivation to eat no matter what I did.* *My mind was filled with the conversation I had with Rios and Helen this afternoon.* Naruko: "What will I do with you? Eat this, at least." *She held a single piece of shumai to my mouth. I reluctantly took a bite, but it was oddly flavorless to me. Still, I chewed it well and gulped it down.* Naruko: "Very good. I'll let you off the hook with that." Naruko: "Make sure you eat a real meal tomorrow, okay?" Tomoe: "I'll do my best." *Nakizaki smiled wryly at my reply, but her expression quickly turned serious.* Naruko: "Is this about Aine-chan?" Tomoe: "More or less..." Naruko: "I see." *She looked like she wanted to press the topic further, but was being considerate of me and remained silent.* Tomoe: "Aine is probably alive." *So, I told her on my own.* Naruko: "Huh?! Really?!" Tomoe: "Yeah, probably. Things are looking pretty bleak, though." Naruko: "Bleak? Why?" Tomoe: "Aine is probably gone forever unless we can turn this into a world she would want to return to." Tomoe: "The way things are now, Aine and the other angels won't be able to make humans happy." Naruko: "I see. That's the most important thing to Aine-chan, too." Naruko: "What are you going to do?" Tomoe: "I don't know." *What _should_ I do? In order for angels to make humans happy, I would need to rewrite the laws of the red threads entirely.* *Was such a thing even possible? Was there a method where I _could_ change the laws of this world?* *I doubted a mere human like myself could do anything.* *What about an angel?* Tomoe: "If they could, I bet they would've done so ages ago." *The fact the black angels were just sitting on the sidelines meant it was beyond their control.* Naruko: "How did it turn out like this? Isn't making people happy their entire purpose?" Naruko: "Didn't the Originator's wish, which was to make humans happy, give birth to the angels and the red threads?" Naruko: "So then, why didn't it work out like that? That's as good as the Originator dying in vain." Tomoe: "I agree, but based on what Rios and Helen said, someone else's will is interfering." Naruko: "Someone else? Who?" Tomoe: "No idea... They don't know, either." Naruko: "I see. If they don't know who, they can't do anything about it." Tomoe: "Yeah." *I was skeptical whether they could change anything even if they did know, either.* *I felt so powerless. I couldn't even protect the people close to me. Why was I so weak...?* *Pat...* *Nakizaki placed her soft hand on my shoulder.* Naruko: "It's all right. I'm sure there's a way." *She seemed to be encouraging me.* Tomoe: "...Thank you." Naruko: "Yeah." *She was right. Panicking wouldn't change anything. For now, all I wanted to do was see Aine.* *I didn't need to do anything that didn't work toward that goal. Despair and discouragement were pointless. I just needed to think.* *What should I do to make the world into one where Aine's wish would come true?* *Think...*

Tomoe: "..." *I stared at the dark ceiling overhead, mulling it over and over again in my head. However, nothing noteworthy came to mind that seemed capable of abolishing the status quo.* *It was only natural. If it were so easy to change, there would be no problem.* Tomoe: "..." *I heard a bird chirping outside. Dawn might be right around the corner.* *It looked like I wasn't getting any sleep tonight. Not that I was even remotely drowsy; I didn't need sleep.* *There had been lots of restless nights when I was a kid, too, huh?* *It was right after that incident. I stared straight at the hospital ceiling for days on end without sleeping.* *I couldn't remember if I had actually fallen asleep during that time.* *My eyes were open, but at the time, objects not of this world frequently popped in and out of my view.* *My brain may have been in disarray due to the sleep deprivation. Alternatively, I may have been in a state where my eyes were open but my brain was asleep.* Tomoe: "..." *I was reliving that time. Strange images appeared and disappeared from my line of sight, as if I were dreaming with my eyes wide open.* *There was a game I played as a kid. A game I played with Eina, where we found happiness.* *Before long, we not only searched for happiness, but started thinking of ways to make all lifeforms happy.* *In the end, it was simply our childish egos.* *We could only obtain the happiness we wished for if we altered the world around us entirely, so we thought long and hard about how to go about doing that, in our own childish way.* *Mom would get mad at me when she was in a bad mood.* *Why was she in a bad mood? Because the person she loved was in a bad mood.* *That just meant we needed to cheer him up. To do that, we would need to...* *That was how our train of thought worked. Finally, the thought we always landed on was...* Eina: "In that case, we should just make the planet happy." Tomoe: "The planet?" Eina: "This planet. Earth." Tomoe: "Earth? Is it possible to make the Earth happy?" Eina: "I don't know... but I'm sure we can do it!" *Huh? This sound...* *Was there a sound like this back then, too? If I had heard it, I'm sure I would have noticed, but nothing came to mind.* *Oh? Why was something I had no memory of showing up here?* *No, there was nothing strange about this happening if it were a dream.* *Even if a dream used a memory as its base, it wasn't unusual for there to be things that didn't exist, or occur in real life, to appear.* *Still, I was very curious. What in the world was that sound?* *When I listened closely, I started to hear some sort of scream. Some creature's furious outburst of emotion.* *When I actually heard this noise, a bizarre feeling, somewhere between sadness and happiness, arose in my chest.* *Suddenly, I realized... Wasn't whatever owned this voice watching us...?* *Yes. The dream I was currently having wasn't from my memory. It was far too objective a scene for that to be the case.* *This was a scene the owner of this voice was seeing...* *Was it the memory of this voice's owner?* *The voice was... delighted? Was it overjoyed to watch what we were doing? It sounded incredibly happy, at that.* *Why? Why was it so very enraptured by our foolish kid's game?* *Who in the world was it?* *"Tomoe-san..."* Tomoe: "...Huh?" *My whole body reacted to that voice. It belonged to the person I wished to see most, whom I was praying to find at this very moment.* Tomoe: "Aine?" *"Tomoe-san..."* *It was Aine. Aine was calling out to me.* *No, this was a dream. Aine was what I desired in real life, so that was just being reflected in my dream...* *"Tomoe-san..."* *And yet, it didn't seem like it could possibly be a mere dream. I couldn't dismiss it. After all, Aine was calling for me.* *Aine's figure appeared before me, overlapping with my mental image of the distant past.* Tomoe: "Aine...!" Aine: "Tomoe-san..." *Aine repeated my name over and over again. She looked like she wanted to say more, but all she did was call my name with a distressed expression.* Tomoe: "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to save you?" Aine: "Save..." Aine: "Save it for me, please..." Tomoe: "Huh? Save 'it'?" *Based on her wording, she wasn't talking about herself.* Tomoe: "Who do you mean?" Aine: "..." *Aine was distraught and struggled to answer.* Tomoe: "Either way, I'm going to come save you! Where are you? Where is that place?" Aine: "This place is..." *Aine looked around. I didn't know if she could see it, but it was the church.* Aine: "..." *However, Aine never answered. The torment never left her face as her figure gradually began to fade away.* Aine: "Tomoe-san... Please save it for me..." Aine: "This planet..." Tomoe: "Huh? This planet...?" Tomoe: "Hey, Aine! Aine!" Tomoe: "...!" *I jumped to my feet, and my dream vanished. I found myself in my bedroom with light seeping through the gaps in the curtains. It was morning.* *No, that didn't matter.* Tomoe: "Aine..." *I saw Aine. That couldn't possibly have been a dream.* *She needed my help, and begged for me to help someone. Who _was_ that someone, exactly?* Tomoe: "Aine, where are you? And also..." *What was, "Save this planet" supposed to mean?* *What should I do?*

Tomoe: "..." *The scenery that extended as far as the eye could see through this dry winter air was all part of the Earth. The actual view consisted of what mankind had created upon it, though.* Kiyohito: "What are you staring so hard at?" *Standing beside me, Kiyohito gazed out at the same scenery.* Kiyohito: "Nothing looks all that unusual to me." Tomoe: "You can see the Earth, right?" Kiyohito: "Huh? Earth? Yeah, I can... I guess? It's just a bunch of buildings." Tomoe: "Yeah, I suppose you're right." Tomoe: "Hey, can I ask you something strange?" Kiyohito: "Wow, making it any stranger's gonna be tough. How weird are we talking?" Tomoe: "Do you think the Earth ever seeks mankind's help?" Kiyohito: "Wh-Whoa... You sure brought out the big guns. You skipped weird and went straight to loony." *It was only natural that he would be so apprehensive. Of course he would be. I would take a step back if someone asked me the same thing.* Tomoe: "Sorry for asking something so weird." Kiyohito: "No, it's fine. I never expected you to say something like that, so it surprised me a little. That's all." Kiyohito: "But, there are at least theories that the Earth has a will of its own, so it seeking help could be plausible." Tomoe: "Huh? The Earth has a will of its own?" Kiyohito: "Oh, haven't you heard? It's not all that new of a way of thinking." Tomoe: "Really?" Kiyohito: "The theory has been floating around for a while now, that the Earth is an independent life-form." Tomoe: "Earth is a life-form...?" *I'd never considered that before. It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, I guess.* Tomoe: "How did they reach that conclusion?" Kiyohito: "It fell under the idea that if you compare the Earth to humans, just as other life-forms inhabit the Earth, bacteria and similar live on human bodies." Tomoe: "Wow..." Kiyohito: "If you follow that line of thinking, people have said that humans, which continue to multiply endlessly, might be a type of cancer." Tomoe: "Cancer..." *That hypothetical explanation made sense, but was quite depressing if you really thought about it.* *If Aine heard this, she'd probably get angry and argue against it. She'd go, "That is not true!"* Kiyohito: "Well, it's just a hypothesis, and I heard there were lots of objections, too. I was just saying, theories like that do exist." Tomoe: "I see." *The Earth was an individual life-form. If that were true, I guess it wouldn't be so strange for it to have a will of its own.* *Was its will getting in the way of humans becoming happy by way of the red threads?* *Because humans were cancerous?* Kiyohito: "Does this have something to do with Aine-chan?" *Kiyohito's question dragged me back to reality.* Tomoe: "Why did you bring Aine up...?" *I couldn't tell what part of this conversation he'd associated with her.* Kiyohito: "You only ever look that serious when it has something to do with Aine-chan." Tomoe: "I do?" Kiyohito: "For sure." *He asserted it so easily. He was totally right, so I couldn't say much of anything.* Kiyohito: "I haven't got the foggiest idea how Aine-chan and the Earth are related, though~!" Tomoe: "Yeah, me neither." *Was that really a sight the Earth's will had seen? Were it and Aine related in some way?* *There were so many things I didn't understand.* Kiyohito: "Is Aine-chan all right?" *He asked with a serious face.* Tomoe: "...She's fine." *I answered, hoping it was true.* *I didn't know where she was, or how she was doing right now, but the red thread extending from my pinky was still clearly visible.* *I could definitely feel Aine's presence on the other end.* *She was surely doing well there... Believing that was all I could do.* *Throb!* Tomoe: "Ack..." Kiyohito: "Hey, what's wrong?" Tomoe: "Oh, nothing. I apparently pulled a muscle in my back..." Kiyohito: "You did? You sure have been through a lot lately..." Tomoe: "Yeah, it's a real hassle." *The throbbing, agonizing pain hit me in spurts. The symptoms didn't seem to be worsening, but they didn't seem to be improving, either.* Kiyohito: "I've been feeling kinda down ever since Aine-chan stopped coming to school. I hope she comes back soon." Tomoe: "Yeah." Kiyohito: "I'm not sure what's going on with her, but make sure you help her out. You're the only one who can do it." Tomoe: "Yeah, I know." *That was right. I would come through for her.* *It was my turn to reciprocate the happiness Aine had given me.*

*In a rare turn of events, I didn't sense the black angels when I arrived at the church.* Tomoe: "I guess that's fine." *I only came here because there was something I wanted to confirm. I should be fully capable of taking care of it on my own. I really did get a feeling there was a hint here somewhere.* *No, maybe I should say this place was the only lead I had.* *It was a sight I had seen many times in my dreams. Someone was watching over us, but was it really the Earth?* *Also, Aine's message...* *I assumed I would find something if I came here, but...* Tomoe: "It's pretty hard to tell now that it's been all cleaned up." *When I was younger, this place was in absolute ruin.* *It looked quite different now that it had been remodeled, so I made an approximation of the spot I was looking for while searching my memories at great length.* *I was looking for the place Eina and I played together.* Tomoe: "This must be it..." *I found the spot by comparing the position of the unmoved window to the scenery I could see beyond it, then took a seat.* *This should have been the exact spot I sat in when I was a kid.* Tomoe: "This takes me back..." *It wasn't all nostalgia. If I had to say, there were more painful memories than not.* *This was where the person precious to me passed away. The place where I destroyed someone important to me with my own hands. The place I learned of love and sin.* *Despite that, I had to try to find some sort of clue.* *I remembered the scene from my dream. A scene where we were children, and where we simply made wishes with childish purity.* Tomoe: "This is where we made our wish." *Our wish for the happiness of this planet.* *At first, it had been a game that had stemmed from our egotistical desire to become happy.* *However, it naturally evolved into the act of wishing for the happiness of many.* *What should we do in order to become happy...? Pondering that led into wishing for the happiness of the people and beings all around us.* *All because we realized powerless children like ourselves would never be able to be happy otherwise.* *Eina and I arrived at the conclusion that if we didn't make the planet happy first, then neither us nor anyone else would be happy.* *That was surely just a simple coincidence.* Eina: "If the Earth catches a cold, everyone will freeze. If it sneezes, the houses and buildings will collapse. And yet, nobody thinks about this place we all live in at all." *That was how she had described it at the time. It was such a childish concept.* Eina: "It would be great if we could make the planet happy, too." *That was what she wished for, so I wished for it with her.* *Aine hadn't changed at all since back then. Realizing that had eased my mind.* *She disregarded herself and constantly made wishes for other people.* Tomoe: "This planet may have reacted to Aine's pure feelings." *As I thought back on that time, I decided to "Play Happy" on my own.* Tomoe: "Aine's happiness is my happiness. When she smiles, it makes me happy. I want to make it so Aine can smile, so..." *Aine was the only thing that came to my mind. How had I been able to wish for the happiness of others back when I was a kid?* *Maybe it was no use to do this on my own...* Tomoe: "...Aine, what should I do?" *No matter what, one times one always equaled one. My world would never broaden on my own.* *Back then, Eina... Aine was there for me. She was always by my side. That alone was enough to make me feel whole.* *She was the reason why I was able to wish for the happiness of so many things. It was all because of her...* *Still, there was no meaning in doing this alone. I doubted I could change anything by myself...* Tomoe: "Aine, are you here? Didn't you call for me?" *Maybe she wasn't here after all? This was the only place that even remotely made sense, though...* Tomoe: "Aine..." *I looked down at my left hand. Even now, I could clearly see the red thread extending from my pinky. It stretched out and vanished into space...* Tomoe: "Huh...?" *Suddenly, the red thread began to emit a faint light.* Tomoe: "What... is this...?" *I could sense her through the red thread. It had to be her.* *It was because of this thread that I knew she was on the other side, and she felt the same way I did.* *Aine was looking for me, too. She was calling for me.* Tomoe: "Aine!" *I cried out to her.* *No reply.* Tomoe: "Aine!" *...* *...* *Pii... Puu...* Tomoe: "...Huh?" *Puu... Pii...* Tomoe: "This is... *Was... Aine snoring? Was she asleep?* Tomoe: "Aine, wake up!" Aine: "Huh? Ah?! I am sorry, I fell asleep!" *I sensed Aine's surprise, and then...* *Aine suddenly appeared before my very eyes. She descended upon me via a method that utterly disregarded the laws of physics.* Aine: "Oh, Tomoe-san?" *She seemed perplexed, and looked around while rubbing her eyes drowsily.* Aine: "Is this... the church?" Tomoe: "That's right, we're in the church. You... Where were you sleeping?" *I asked, desperately resisting the urge to break into tears.* Aine: "I am... not quite sure, actually..." Aine: "I thought I had already disappeared, and figured that this should be my final resting place. Something about the church made it seem like a fitting spot for me to die..." *Eina's deceased form popped into my head. This was her final resting place, too.* Aine: "I was a bit worried that Rios-san and Helen-san would find me, but I ended up falling asleep..." Tomoe: "You always were a sound sleeper..." *I was relieved to see Aine act like her usual self.* Aine: "And so, I think I was dreaming the whole time. In that dream, I met it." Tomoe: "'Met it'...?" Aine: "It was... probably this planet. This planet's will..." Tomoe: "The Earth...?" *Aine replied with a nod.* Aine: "I cannot be sure since it did not give me its name, but I think it likely was." Aine: "This planet is very sad, isolated, and very lonely. So I wanted to be by its side." Aine: "I fell asleep, though, huh? It felt oddly comfortable, so I got really sleepy..." Aine: "It was so comfortable, I dozed off. It was like I was in a mother's tummy." *Aine smiled happily. It seemed the experience had been pleasant for her.* Aine: "As I was sleeping, this planet told me many stories." Aine: "It wasn't using real words, so it was difficult for me to understand... But it tried its hardest to express its feelings." Tomoe: "The Earth told you how it felt?" Aine: "Yes. Ever since it was born, the Earth has been watching over mankind for a very, very long time now." Aine: "I am sure it wishes to bring all human beings true happiness." *The Earth... wants human beings to be happy?* Tomoe: "Ah..." *It was that voice again―a voice that made me feel instant sorrow and wrangled my heart.* Aine: "This planet is crying." *A grief-ridden expression crossed Aine's face again. The Earth was crying?* Helen: "This is..." *As if drawn in by the Earth's howls, the black angels appeared.* Rios: "Is the planet resonating...?" Tomoe: "Resonating?" Aine: "Rios-san." Rios: "Hm...?" *His eyes went wide when he spotted Aine.* Helen: "You have returned." Rios: "I see. It's you?" *What did he mean by that? Either way, Aine didn't seem bothered by it and started to speak.* Aine: "I... finally realized it. This planet is very hurt. So, I will stay with it forever..." Rios: "I see. You were with this planet's will?" *Rios seemed to come to terms with it immediately. He nodded a few times, then gazed at Aine and me.* Rios: "It _was_ you two, after all." Tomoe: "Huh? What do you mean?" *He made it sound like he had something against us.* Helen: "It was no coincidence that we established ourselves in this location." Helen: "This place has a strong connection to the planet." Tomoe: "A strong connection with the Earth? This church?" Rios: "Why are you so surprised? You're the ones who caused it." Tomoe: "Huh...?" *I had no idea what he was saying. Why mention us now?* *Aine looked like she was having trouble following the conversation, too.* Tomoe: "What are you suggesting we did?" *When I questioned him, Rios stared back.* Rios: "Aine doesn't appear to remember, but I bet you do. What happened when you were children." Tomoe: "When we were children..." Tomoe: "Huh? Don't tell me..." *Did he mean our "Playing Happy" game?* Rios: "It was likely due to your pure feelings from when you were children, and because you two made an urgent, sincere wish." Rios: "Your pure wish caused this planet to discover a seed of hope it thought it had lost." Aine: "A lost seed of hope? What in the world...?" Helen: "This planet's heart is fractured. We arrived at the same conclusion Aine conjectured quite some time ago." *The Earth's "heart" was fractured...?* *For an instant, I felt this helpless sensation, like I had been hurled into outer space.* *The Earth's heart was fractured? How could that happen? Was it even possible?* *If the Earth did have a will, would such a being possess a heart?* *In that case, could its heart be fractured just like a human's?* Helen: "We've been conducting an investigation for a long time now, ever since we realized the deceitful nature of the red threads, all to find a way of dispelling the red thread's curse." Helen: "That's when we found this place. This spot is deeply rooted to the Earth's will." Helen: "Why does this place have such a strong connection to the Earth? ...Naturally, we looked into it even further." Helen: "In doing so, we learned that this was the place a childish prayer was made." *He was referring to the make-believe game Aine... Eina and I had played.* Tomoe: "You two knew about me, then?" Rios: "I had completely forgotten, though." Helen: "Up until you got involved with angels, and began acting as an angel's proxy..." Helen: "...We wondered if something might happen yet again, and have been observing your actions." Tomoe: "You have?" Helen: "And to that end, we have continued to observe the Earth's heart here. We deemed this place to have the deepest connection to the Earth's will." Helen: "Though its heart is fractured, the Earth still pinned a ray of hope on this church." Tomoe: "The church..." *I turned to investigate my surroundings. It looked quite different compared to its once dilapidated state, but this was certainly the place where we played our game of make-believe.* *This same church was connected to the Earth's will...* Helen: "It was by observing the Earth's heart in this location that we realized its heart was fractured." Rios: "The Earth is in despair of humankind." *Rios sounded as though he were condemning humans.* Helen: "Humans betrayed the Earth's trust. Once given a fulfilling environment, they endlessly pursue their avarice and occasionally bring ruin upon themselves through their swollen appetites." Helen: "The Earth despaired over humans and sensed danger within them, even. If things remained unchanged, humans would destroy themselves for their own selfish desires." Helen: "No, that already has been an ingrained part of their culture." *Mankind's own desires would spell its own destruction... Deep down, I knew there was something about that hypothesis that I couldn't deny.* *As a fellow human, I knew well the depth of my own desires.* Helen: "For that reason, the Earth's will placed a limiter upon the red thread system which blesses humans with joy." Rios: "So that humans wouldn't rest on the laurels of their happy lives and bring about their own downfall." Tomoe: "..." *So, it all boiled down to the Earth wishing for mankind's happiness and advancement, but it had also placed a limiter upon humans since it had lost faith in us?* *Which then ultimately turned into the irrational act of bestowing misery upon people...* *What a contradictory train of thought.* Rios: "It's all due to humankind's imperfect nature. As they say, 'you reap what you sow.'" Tomoe: "That's true..." *My only choice was to accept it.* *It was true that humans might wring their own necks due to their overinflated desires, and that civilized society had led to mankind's downfall before, too.* *In fact, history had shown that pattern time and time again. I thought it over, and it was understandable for the Earth to despair over mankind for its behavior.* Aine: "That is so sad..." *Aine whispered, sounding truly upset.* Aine: "It has to hurt people even though it loves them... No, _because_ it loves them." Tomoe: "Yeah... You're right." *It really was sad.* *I heard that voice again. The Earth's sadness was distinctly conveyed to me through that voice.* *For the sake of what it loves─because it truly loves humans─it has to hurt them.* *That would definitely cause anyone's heart to fracture.* *Was the planet really that depressed? Was it so powerless despite its massive size?* *A being that sad was something we had to save.* *And I was sure the only thing that could do it... was an angel.* Tomoe: "If its heart is fractured, isn't that the perfect time for an angel to step in? If one could restore the Earth's heart, then..." Helen: "Exactly. However, we haven't found that vital shard." *A simple, insurmountable answer.* Rios: "We've searched for its presence ever since we realized that the Earth's heart being fractured was a possibility." Rios: "For an incredible amount of time." *This was an immortal angel talking. If it was long enough for _him_ to describe as "incredible," then it must truly have been a long, long time.* Tomoe: "You still couldn't find the shard after so long?" Helen: "We _are_ talking about the Earth's will, after all. It's on an entirely different scale than a human's..." Helen: "The way things stand, we cannot even imagine what form its shard might exist in." Aine: "The whereabouts of the Earth's shard..." *Aine looked quite puzzled, too. It was true, though. I couldn't even imagine such an existence.* Rios: "But unless we find it, angels and humans will never escape the red thread's curse for all eternity." Aine: "Besides... Unless we return this planet's shard, it will continue hurting the beings it loves forever." *Aine's sad eyes fell upon her feet, as if she were pitying the ground under her soles─the Earth beyond.* *Wasn't there some other way...?* *Or so I thought, but even after Rios and Helen spent such a long, long time searching, it proved futile. Racking my brain a little wasn't going to be enough to accomplish anything.* Rios: "I thought you two might be able to change something, though." *Rios said, looking between Aine and me.* Helen: "We do think that you two are the closest to the Earth's will, after all." Tomoe: "We're..." Aine: "The closest to the Earth?" *Aine and I looked at each other.* Rios: "As far as the Earth is concerned, you two are its sole seed of hope. It has been that way ever since that incident. I had thought that seed may have been completely used up once before, but..." *Then, Rios turned his attention to Aine.* Aine: "Yes?" *Aine couldn't comprehend his gaze. She did not possess her memories from when she was human.* *Back then, Eina died. That may have looked as though the seed of hope had been expended.* *But, he was wrong. Eina became an angel and was here yet again. She had found her way to me, even though she no longer had memories of when she was a person.* *And she fell in love with me all over again...* *What could we accomplish? Of that, I wasn't sure.* *However, I no longer felt insecure like I had just a short while ago.* *Aine was here for me now. I wasn't alone. So...* Rios: "The Earth is aware of it, too. That is why it is resonating with you two, like so." Rios: "We may have no other choice but to place our bets on you now." *That might be the first sign of humility Rios had ever shown us.* Rios: "I doubt you will be able to find the shard, but you may be able to open its heart just a little. You, who were once able to win over the Earth's hopes." *He said as he turned to me, seemingly waiting for a reply.* Tomoe: "...I can't exactly say you can leave it all to us." *Those were my honest feelings. I didn't have a single clue what we could do.* Tomoe: "But, we may as well give it a try." *I looked at Aine, and she nodded back at me with a smile.* *We would give it a shot. There was only one thing we could do, but we would try it all the same.* *The one thing we could do together...*

*Aine and I were now alone. We faced each other, just like we had done when we were kids.* Aine: "How should we do this?" Tomoe: "It's simple. We just come up with and share ideas that we think are happy." *Aine couldn't remember the rules of our game, so I explained how to "Play Happy" to her.* Aine: "Things that sound happy, right? I have all sorts of those~!" *Aine's smile was brimming with confidence. Seeing that smile was enough to make me believe that everything would be all right.* Tomoe: "Here I go. First..." Tomoe: "Being able to see your smile." Aine: "Is that your idea of happiness, Tomoe-san?" Tomoe: "Yeah, of course." *I told her the truth. I was never able to speak my feelings so candidly before, but now I could.* *This had to be thanks to the shard Aine had returned to me.* Aine: "That is a little embarrassing..." Aine: "But I feel the same way. I am incredibly happy when I see you smile, Tomoe-san." *Aine stared straight at me with a happy smile on her face. I returned that smile with my own.* Aine: "That is the first time I have ever seen you smile." Tomoe: "Oh, really?" Aine: "Yes, you have never done it even once before, Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "I haven't? I wouldn't really know myself..." Aine: "However, your smile is exactly how I imagined it. It is very lovely." Tomoe: "It is...?" *I couldn't help feeling flustered after hearing her say she loved it so openly. Feeling this emotion that had always felt so distant to me before only made me more embarrassed.* Aine: "Ahaha, you are blushing~!" *Aine laughed happily as she watched my cheeks flush bright red.* *Seeing her smile filled my heart, and naturally made me smile again.* *Happiness was a domino effect. That was why we couldn't be satisfied with only our own, personal happiness. We had to make everyone else happy too, in one fell swoop.* Aine: "I wish I could watch you smile like this forever." Tomoe: "Me too. I can show it to you as often as you would like." Aine: "Thank you very much, but..." Aine: "I will not be able to look at it for very long, will I?" Tomoe: "...Yeah." *Neither of us had forgotten. We knew that at the rate things were going, our time remaining together was limited.* *The curse of the red thread, and the fate of angels who stopped performing angelery.* *Those factors would soon tear us apart in the not so distant future.* Aine: "If this keeps up, angels might disappear from this world." Tomoe: "You may be right." *All angels would probably quit performing angelery if they learned that the red threads only brought misfortune.* *Returning shards to people was an angel's job. Any angel who stopped doing so would lose their reason for being and disappear.* *As such, angels may go extinct one day.* Tomoe: "I wonder what we should do to make our time together last?" *This was a time of joy. Though nothing lasted forever, I wanted to treasure our time together as long as possible.* *I wanted to spread this happiness far and wide, until all sadness vanished from this world. Of course, I wished the same for the planet, too.* *In order to make that happen...* Aine: "The red threads, right?" *Yes. We had to do something about the red threads.* *To do that, we had to return the Earth's shard.* *We had to make the planet Earth happy. Both of us, together...* *We had to make it remember how to wish for someone's happiness, how it felt to trust again.* *Just as Aine had done for me.* Aine: "What can we do to make this planet happy? Is returning its shard the only way...?" Tomoe: "Looks like it..." Tomoe: "It would be great if all of mankind cared for the planet more, in the same way the Earth loves them." Aine: "Currently, it feels like the Earth has a case of unrequited love." Tomoe: "Unrequited love..." *It was a fitting metaphor. The Earth had showered humans with affection, but none of them had realized it.* Tomoe: "I do like it, though─this planet." Aine: "Me too. It is very beautiful." *Now that she mentioned it, Aine had said something similar when she saw the view from the academy rooftop. She had cried back then, hadn't she?* Aine: "I love it." Tomoe: "Me too." Aine: "I want more and more people to fall in love with it." Tomoe: "Yeah, you're right." Tomoe: "Huh? What's going on...?" *Unlike before, this time there was a large reaction.* Aine: "The Earth...?" *Something was happening. What in the...?* Rios: "What is this? What did you two do?" *Rios and Helen appeared once more, and they seemed to have sensed that something was amiss. When I saw them, I was shocked.* Tomoe: "Hey, your bodies..." Aine: "They are shining..." *Both of their bodies were glistening radiantly.* Rios: "Urgh...?!" Helen: "What in the world...?" *After I pointed it out, both of the black angels noticed their abnormal condition for the first time. They looked down upon themselves, now puzzled.* Tomoe: "What's going on?" Aine: "Your bodies appear to be reacting to something..." Tomoe: "Something..." *There was only one thing it could be: the Earth.* Rios: "..." *Rios and Helen looked like they had reached the same conclusion.* *However, they were unsure of what was causing this reaction.* Tomoe: "Is there some connection between angels and the Earth?" *For that matter, why wasn't Aine's body reacting to it? What was the meaning to all of this?* Rios: "..." *Rios stared intently at Aine, who seemed to be the lone outsider.* *Then, his eyes opened wide, like he had an epiphany.* Rios: "Could this be, maybe..." Tomoe: "Did you figure something out?" Rios: "No, that's impossible... But it has to be..." *Rios may have figured it out, and was agonizing over it on his own.* Helen: "Rios?" *When called, he lifted his head. He looked uncharacteristically dazed.* Rios: "Give me some time." *Distraught, he said only that. I had never seen such a distressed expression from Rios before.* *What the heck had he noticed?*

*Aine came back home for the first time in a while.* Aine: "Delicious! It is all delicious!" *Aine continued to compliment the food Nakizaki had prepared as she scarfed it down.* *She didn't at all look like a person... no, angel who had been prepared to die once already.* Naruko: "It's nice to see Aine like this. Is she okay now?" *Nakizaki asked me.* Tomoe: "Not exactly." Naruko: "I see..." Naruko: "Well, anyway, thank goodness! Aine-chan came back for you!" Tomoe: "Yeah, she did." *In any case, I was glad we were able to see each other again. For now, that was enough.* Naruko: "Aine-chan, do you want seconds?" Aine: "Please!" Erich: "What's with the happy-go-lucky attitude?" Aine: "Huh...?" Aine: "Ah, Erich-chan! Everyone!" Erich: "Wah! You're getting rice everywhere!" Aine: "Oh, sorry. I was just so happy, I did it by accident." Erich: "But, well... I'm glad to see you're so lively." *Erich said heartily after being reunited with Aine. I knew well just how worried she had been about her.* Menes: "Really. Welcome back." Licha: "Mhm. Mhm." Aine: "I am home. I am sorry I made you worry too, Menes-chan and Licha-chan." Menes: "No need to worry about that. It sounds like you went through a lot." Erich: "Forget all that! Did something happen today?" *Erich changed the subject. Her face was obscured with anxiety.* Aine: "What do you mean? ...Is something wrong?" Menes: "Were you all right? Today, all of our bodies suddenly started to shine." Aine: "Huh?! You, too?" *Aine and I looked at each other. It was the same as with Rios and Helen.* Erich: "Oh, so it happened to you, too?" Aine: "Oh, no. _I_ was okay, but..." *Aine actually looked uneasy about it. Rios, Helen, Menes, and the other angels had apparently undergone the same change.* *It was reasonable to imagine that phenomenon had occurred within every angel.* *However, nothing had happened to Aine, and Aine alone.* *Why was she the only one unaffected, when even the black angels had gone through the same change?* Menes: "If nothing happened to you, then there's no reason for you to look so worried, is there?" Erich: "Yeah! _Our_ bodies suddenly started to shine, so _we're_ the ones who are worried!" Aine: "That is true..." Licha: "So, what happened?" *Even Licha, whose expression always remained stoic, looked somewhat uneasy. Aine appeared troubled with everyone questioning her.* Aine: "I truly do not know. Rios-san said he was going to look into it, though." Erich: "Hm. I wonder if they have some sort of lead?" Aine: "About that. The truth is..." *Aine summarized today's conversation.* *She primarily focused on how the Earth's heart was fractured, and how it was the one responsible for tainting the red thread's power.* Licha: "The Earth is..." Erich: "For real?" *Naturally, nobody could hide how surprised they were that the Earth not only had a will of its own, but that its heart was fractured.* *It was likely that no one had ever conceived such an idea before now.* Menes: "The Earth's heart, huh? If that's the way things are, then this is totally out of our control." Erich: "Yeah. Our only choice now is to resign ourselves to fate." *The appearance of such an overwhelmingly massive entity had caused a look of heavy resignation to fall upon their faces.* Aine: "Rios-san was acting like he had an idea of some kind, but he told us to give him some time." Erich: "Seriously? He thinks he can pull something off? He wasn't just acting tough?" Aine: "I am not sure about that..." Menes: "I suppose that means we'll just have to be patient. There's nothing else we can do." Licha: "Mhm..." Aine: "Right..." Tomoe: "..." *Rios's distressed expression suddenly popped into my head. Why did he make such a face?* *What in the world had he realized?*

Tomoe: "I'm turning off the lights." Aine: "Yes, good night." *I turned off the overhead light and slipped into bed.* Aine: "Ah~! A familiar pillow really is the best." *When she snuggled into her bed for the first time in days, Aine said something very unangelic.* Tomoe: "What was the place you were in like? Since you fell asleep, I'm sure it was at least cozy..." Aine: "Yes, very. It was warm, and I was dreaming the whole time... It felt like something was protecting me." *It kind of made me picture a nap in a sunny spot on a mid-autumn day. Was that how it was?* Aine: "Like I was dozing forever... and it felt like I had a long, long dream." Tomoe: "The Earth talked to you, right?" *It hadn't spoken to her using words, though. Aine may have interpreted that in the form of a dream.* Aine: "Yes, probably." Tomoe: "You may have given the Earth some advice." Aine: "Huh? I gave it advice?" Tomoe: "Yeah, just like you always do for others on the academy rooftop." Aine: "Oh, maybe so. The Earth may have vented by telling me the feelings it could not bear on its own." Aine: "However, I could not speak nor answer. I only listened to what it had to say..." Tomoe: "That's plenty. Aren't there times you feel more at ease just by letting it all out?" *That was exactly what we had done.* *We had never been able to do anything particularly impressive. If we did anything helpful, it may have just been the act of "listening."* Tomoe: "Having the Earth come to you for advice is a pretty big deal." Aine: "No way..." Aine: "I am powerless on my own, so before I knew it, I was calling out for you..." Aine: "When I came to, there was a red thread on my left hand. I could feel that you were on the other end..." Tomoe: "Yeah, I felt it, too." Aine: "Really? That makes me so happy..." Aine: "You are the one who woke me up, right? Because you called out to me..." Aine: "Yes, I am sure that was it. I got the feeling that the red thread was being tugged on, and it woke me up from my dream." Tomoe: "I see..." *Something occurred to me after hearing all this. Aine really may have been in the process of disappearing, but had likely escaped annihilation by a hair's breadth due to a red thread being generated between us.* *In a state of suspended animation, Aine had been called to the Earth's side, and heard what was happening to it as a bedtime story of sorts.* *And at that time, I may have roused her. Thank goodness she woke up for me.* Tomoe: "Well, anyway, I'm glad. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." Aine: "You did?" Tomoe: "Yeah, about everyone we've helped." *I told her about how all of the couples we had counseled were doing their best.* *And about how, even after suffering through the red thread's misfortune, they hadn't fallen into despair and were eager to see her again.* Aine: "Is that so? Everyone is living their lives to the fullest. Thank goodness..." *Aine let out a sigh of relief, one that had come from the bottom of her heart. Then, she emphatically stood up and smirked as though she had been struck with a good idea.* Aine: "Let us go see everyone tomorrow, then! I want to see all of them, too!" Tomoe: "Oh, yeah. That would be nice." *I was sure everyone would be delighted to see her. I knew it would cheer her up to see how hard everyone was working.* *I wished Aine could keep that smile forever. I would work myself to the bone if I could make that happen.* Aine: "Okay, then, good night." Tomoe: "Oh, could I leave the desk lamp on?" Aine: "Sure, that is fine... Are you going to read?" *Aine asked as she looked at the old, bulky book in my hands.* Tomoe: "It's a book about this city's folklore. I borrowed it from the academy library." Aine: "Folklore? Do angels and stuff come up in it?" Tomoe: "Yeah. Angels, the Originator, and so forth." *Many years had passed since I moved to this city, but I had never fully learned the legend of the Originator and angels.* *All I knew was that anyone who lived in this city would eventually cross paths with the tale.* *I figured this was as good a time as any to look into it.* Aine: "I want to see, too! But..." Aine: "Faaaaah..." *Aine let out a big yawn. It looked like she had reached her limit.* Tomoe: "I'll be borrowing it for a while, so you can just look at it tomorrow or something. A lot happened today, so I'm sure you're tired." Aine: "I am... Okay, once you have read it, please tell me all about it." Aine: "Reading books is not one of my strong points." *What a lazy angel.* Tomoe: "Yeah, got it. Good night, then." Aine: "Good night..." *Once Aine pulled up the covers, she immediately started snoring in her sleep.* Aine: "Pii... puu... pii..." *Her nostalgic, unusual breathing pattern.* *To feel so fulfilled from such a strange sound... humans really were inexplicable creatures.* Tomoe: "Now then..." *I opened the old book.* *It would be great if this story helped me find some sort of clue...*

*That night, I had a dream─a dream straight out of the book I had read.* *The contents played out like a drama as I watched the upbringing of the person called the Originator.* *Perhaps it was due to having just heard Aine's story, but for some reason, that person looked just like Eina.* *The Originator was apparently the priest of that old church.* *The priest couldn't sit idly by and watch that happen, so she risked her life and made a wish to Heaven.* *Throughout her life, she made angel statues within which she placed her wishes. The material she used to do so was the gem called the Heartstone.* *She searched for that stone, which was said to possess a mysterious power, and went around sculpting angel statues from them. It was from those statues that true angels were born.* *She searched for that stone, which was said to possess a mysterious power, and went around sculpting angel statues from them. It was from those statues that true angels were born.* *Just like the Originator from the book, the one in my dream who wore Eina's face, carved statues of angels─an immense number of them, in fact.* *The material they had been made of was a strange stone which appeared to cast its own light. That _had_ to be the Heartstone. The book explained how the stone itself looked visibly powerful.* *Anyone who lived in this city should have at least heard of the legend of the Heartstone: a stone said to possess magical powers which makes people's loves come true.* *It was, however, a legend through and through, and there shouldn't be anyone who had actually seen it in real life─not in this city, anyway.* *The legendary stone _did_ exist in the dream, and the Originator gave birth to angels from it.* *"I pray for sorrow to vanish from this world."* *The Originator, who took on Eina's form, had but one wish. She continued to carve out angels as she wholeheartedly wished for all mankind to be happy.* *Her desperation was so great that the sight made my chest hurt.* *Watching her made me realize that she had likely lost someone precious to her. I wasn't sure why, but I could tell. Maybe it was because I had gone through the same experience.* *The Originator could no longer do anything for the person most precious to them. All they could do now was pray.* *Prayers came from powerful emotions that gushed forth in an effort to reach something beyond one's capabilities, and were often used as a last resort.* *The Originator had nothing left, so she prayed. That only made her wishes all the more earnest.* *As I slept, the person called the Originator continued to carve angels while praying forevermore...*

Aine: "I am glad to see everyone was doing well!" *Aine was in high spirits after seeing everyone for the first time in ages.* *We had met up with all of the people we had gotten involved with. When Aine saw them trying their best, she looked quite happy.* Tomoe: "See? An angel actually was able to make humans happy. Everything will be okay." Aine: "...Yes. You are right." *Aine gave me a small, lonesome smile.* *Despite how well everyone was doing, it didn't change the fact that they had gone through tragic breakups instead of finding happiness.* *Aine probably felt responsible for that.* Tomoe: "I'm telling you, everyone is doing fine. Let's believe in that." Aine: "Believe..." Aine: "Yes, that is true. I want to believe, too." *Aine finally showed me a smile. There were surely various implications hidden in what she just said.* *A desire to believe that everything would work out for the best for them, us, and the planet as a whole...* *That wish powered Aine's bright smile. Relieved, I turned my gaze upon the cityscape.* *I recalled last night's dream as I gazed out at the slightly parched, yet beautiful winter scenery.* *The image of the Originator, who continued to carve angel statues while wishing for human joy, popped into my mind. She had taken Eina's form in my dream, and that image was seared into my memory.* *I was sure many people had wished for similar blessings, not just the Originator. No, there shouldn't be a person alive who didn't wish for happiness.* *At the very least, I hoped this would one day be a world where those wishes could be heard.* *As I contemplated these thoughts, I realized that Aine's presence was the only reason I could feel this way now.* Tomoe: "Hey, Ai─" *Throb!* Tomoe: "Gah?!" *Severe pain instantly rushed through my whole body.* *A heavy tremor, one that could flip Heaven and Earth, penetrated my insides. I fell to my knees on the spot.* Aine: "T-Tomoe-san? What is the matter?" Tomoe: "Oh, it's noth─" *Throb!* Tomoe: "Guh... aaah...!" *Even though I was in front of Aine, the unbearable pain caused me to let out a shrill cry.* Aine: "Tomoe-san!" Tomoe: "I... I'm okay... It'll subside if I rest here for a minute..." Aine: "What do you mean 'subside'? Do not tell me it is some sort of illness...?" *Aine's face was as white as a ghost's. Her complexion had lost all color, and the hand she used to rub my back stopped short at my shoulderblades.* Aine: "Huh...? Tomoe-san, your back..." *Aine stroked my back to make sure of the texture.* Tomoe: "No. It's nothing..." Aine: "It is not nothing. Could these possibly be..." Aine: "Angel wings...?" Tomoe: "N-No..." *I didn't want Aine to know I was turning into an angel. It would only make her worry.* Tomoe: "These are just, um..." *It was no use... My mind had clouded over in pain, and I couldn't come up with a decent excuse. I was sure my silence would only make Aine even more uneasy, though...* Helen: "It is a temporary symptom." *With a flap of her black wings, Helen swooped down upon us.* Aine: "Ah, Helen-san. What do you mean, 'temporary'...?" Helen: "Too much angelic power has run through his body. However, if given some time, it should naturally heal. Luckily, he will not be performing angelery in the future." Aine: "Is that so? Hah, thank goodness..." *Aine took a breath, relieved from the bottom of her heart.* *Helen's explanation was clearly a lie, entirely different from what she had told me.* *Helen turned a loaded gaze at me, and then...* Helen: "You don't want Aine to know about your body, correct?" *She whispered quietly, so only I could hear.* *Was this her way of helping me out?* *Helen really saved me this time, but... I hadn't expected the black angels to be so considerate of me...* *My impression of the black angels was definitely changing a little at a time.* Helen: "You won't be able to hide this from her forever." Tomoe: "I know." *Still, I wanted to hide it from her as long as possible.* *If Aine knew that I was becoming an angel, what would she think? Would she be delighted that we could be angels together?* *...I doubted it. Aine wouldn't take any joy in that news.* *That was why I didn't want her to know.* Tomoe: "More importantly, is something up?" *Helen's appearance likely meant that she had something to say.* Helen: "Rios wishes to see you. He said he has figured out something regarding yesterday's incident. Something important." Tomoe: "He did?" *I was tense at the thought of yesterday's events. I could tell Aine was nervous, too.* Aine: "Tomoe-san, let us go." Tomoe: "Yeah."

*Rios was waiting for us in the church, alone and in silence, his form illuminated from the light passing through the stained glass.* *Was it just my imagination, or did he look different than usual?* *Rios looked up when we arrived.* Rios: "Good of you to come." *He spoke to us first, but strangely, I didn't sense the same daunting feeling I usually got from him.* *This was the first time I was able to step foot in this church and actually feel "welcomed."* *Rios' expression was no different from usual, but it also seemed philosophical, somehow.* *The one other surprise was that Menes and the other angels were also there.* Aine: "You all are here, too?" Erich: "He called us here. He said he had something important to tell us." *Erich answered, sounding displeased. For him to call Erich and the others here must mean it involved all angels, and must have been considerably important.* Licha: "..." *As you would expect, Licha and Menes looked quite nervous, too.* Tomoe: "Did you figure something out?" *I asked as casually as possible. Rios gave me a quiet nod in return.* Rios: "Yeah, I did. I figured out where the Earth's shard is located." Tomoe: "Huh?!" Aine: "You did?!" Erich: "For real? You're not just saying what we want to hear, right?" Helen: "It is the truth." Erich: "Seriously...?" *Everyone was dazed into silence. They couldn't keep up with this unexpected development.* *He located the Earth's heart shard? I didn't think it would be anything so serious.* Tomoe: "Where is it...?" Rios: "In order to explain that, I need to tell you something regarding the history of angels." *Rios urged on Helen with his gaze.* Helen: "You all know the story of how angels were born from a wish made by the human known as the Originator, correct?" *I had just looked into this yesterday. I was startled since it felt like this wasn't a mere coincidence.* Tomoe: "I do. It's said they used a gem called a Heartstone to sculpt angel statues." Rios: "Wow, you're well informed." Tomoe: "It's a coincidence. I was curious and looked into it yesterday." Menes: "Yes, I'm familiar with it, too." *Erich and Licha nodded from beside me. It seemed as though everyone knew about it...* Aine: "Oh, is that so?" *...Except Aine appeared to be out of the loop.* Erich: "You really are out of touch with this stuff, Aine..." Licha: "It's something basically all angels know." Aine: "Really...?" *The word "quack" really was on the tip of my tongue, but this wasn't the time to crack jokes.* Erich: "But there isn't a single angel statue left in this city, is there?" Helen: "That is correct." *There wasn't a single trace of the legendary angel statues, nor of the Heartstone they were sculpted from left in this city. That was why it was all said to be a mere legend.* *The Heartstone and angel statues didn't actually exist.* Rios: "It's only natural that the angel statues no longer exist, but they _were_ real." *Rios said, clearly unfazed. This must have been the response he assumed he would get.* Tomoe: "Why? If the statues were here, then what happened to them?" Aine: "Were the statues transported elsewhere?" Rios: "No." Erich: "Why, then? Where did they go?" Rios: "You still can't tell?" *Rios looked between us and intimidatingly narrowed his eyes.* *I didn't get it. If he was suggesting the angel statues really were made, then where did they disappear to?* Licha: "Oh... Could it be...?" *Licha gasped, clearly in shock. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were quivering slightly. Unusually enough, her emotions were clearly visible on her face.* *What in the world could it be...? I wanted to ask, but based on how she was acting, questioning her seemed like a terrifying prospect.* Rios: "Did you finally figure it out?" Licha: "It can't be... but..." *Licha trailed off, so we kept quiet, and prompted Rios to continue.* *His eyes had a curious excitement to them, and he finally revealed the answer.* Rios: "It's because we angels _are_ the angel statues." Tomoe: "Huh? Angels are..." Aine: "The angel statues?" Menes: "..." *Everyone was at a loss for words. Of course they were. If angels were born from statues, then wouldn't that also make them pieces of the Heartstone?* Rios: "It shouldn't be that surprising. It just means the legend of the Originator giving birth to angels is true." Tomoe: "Uh, but..." *Yes, I was familiar with the legend. Regardless of whether or not it was true, it didn't seem out of place, and it _would_ explain everything.* *Still, why did the concept of angels being born from statues confuse me so much?* *Did the idea that inorganic matter had given birth to organic life-forms make me feel adverse on an instinctive level?* Aine: "We are all made of stone...?" *Aine boldly asked. The color had drained from her face, and I could tell she had received quite the shock.* Helen: "No, strictly speaking, that is incorrect." Menes: "Huh? It is?" Erich: "What part did she get wrong? If you're saying we were born from some stone, then isn't that what it would mean?" Rios: "It _is_ correct that angels were born from the Heartstone." Rios: "However, the Heartstone is no ordinary stone." Tomoe: "It isn't actually a stone?" Erich: "What is it, then? Spit it out already!" *Erich yelled impatiently. She may have felt like this was all being dragged out.* *But the same went for everyone here. We all wanted to know the full story as soon as possible.* Aine: "Please tell us! What is the Heartstone?" *Rios was still looking around at everyone pretentiously. No, he may have been afraid to explain it all aloud.* *His feelings appeared to get through to everyone loud and clear, and the mood enshrouding the church only grew heavier.* Rios: "The Heartstone is... No, it is Heartstone _because_..." Rios: "It is a part of the Earth's fractured heart─its heart shard." Tomoe: "Ah..." *I was surprised at myself for accepting that astonishing answer so readily. I even felt catharsis that all the pieces had finally fit together.* *The Heartstone was the Earth's heart shard.* *Which would mean...* Menes: "We angels were created from the Heartstone, so..." Licha: "_We're_ the Earth's heart shard." *Rios confirmed this with a large nod.* Rios: "We angels are the Earth's heart shard, and are beings similar to its children." *His words weighed so heavily that it instantly brought the mood down even further.* Erich: "Angels... are the Earth's shard..." Rios: "When the Earth's heart fractured, the shard most likely shattered and spread across the globe." Rios: "Whatever the case, the heartstone is the Earth's heart shard. Its mystique and hidden power is unfathomable." Rios: "It is valued as a special and holy stone, as a gemstone the whole world over." Menes: "And the angel statues were made from it." Rios: "That's right." Rios: "Both the Originator's strong feelings and Earth's wish were one and the same. They wished for the happiness of all mankind." Rios: "That was all the more reason those two sentiments joined together, and a miracle occurred." *The Earth's fractured sentiments resonated with the Originator's passionate feelings.* *Although it was only a shard, it was then that it borrowed a portion of Earth's incredible power, and that wish was fulfilled.* *It gave birth to angels, beings who helped humans.* Erich: "B-But... if that's true, then isn't it strange?!" Erich: "How did angels end up unable to make humans happy anymore?!" *It was the curse of the red threads.* *Due to the red threads, angels had been rendered incapable of making humans happy. The one responsible for that was, again, the Earth.* *If angels really were born from the Earth's shard and the Originator's wish to "bring mankind happiness," then that didn't quite add up. The most important aspect hadn't come true.* Tomoe: "...No, that's wrong. The Earth couldn't avoid it. Since its heart was fractured." Rios: "That is correct." *With its heart fractured, the Earth had given up on making all humans happy.* *However, the shard that had inherited the Originator's wish began to work on its own toward granting the wishes of those the Earth had given up on.* *Those were angels.* *That was why the Earth introduced a constraint, and placed it upon those beings called angels. That was the true form of the red thread...* Rios: "Well, we'll never know the truth without asking the Earth directly." *That was the true nature of the red thread...* Erich: "What's with that? That's crazy." Aine: "I do feel kind of sorry for it, though..." *Aine's depressed voice quietly echoed through the room.* Aine: "It should feel the same way we angels do, so it must be tough for it to not be able to believe in human happiness." Tomoe: "Yeah." Aine: "We need to return its shard, and fast." *Aine glanced my way. I knew what those eyes wanted from me.* *She was telling me to return the shard.* Menes: "Yeah. Darling is the only one among us who can return the shard." Tomoe: "Only me? Why...?" Tomoe: "Ah." *I realized it instantly. The angels _were_ the shard to be returned. Naturally, they couldn't perform angelery.* Erich: "It has to be you. You're the only one who can return the Earth's shard." Tomoe: "Uh, but..." *I was worried whether I was capable of such a thing. Could I perform angelery without Aine's power?* *But, more importantly...* *Wouldn't everyone disappear if I did return the Earth's shard?* Licha: "Don't worry about it." *Licha seemed to have read my mind. No, it wasn't just her, but all of the angels standing around us.* Tomoe: "That's easier said than done..." Erich: "If you're worried about us, don't be." Menes: "We were surprised about being the Earth's shard earlier, but we've come to terms with it now. I suppose it _is_ rather strange that we've accepted it so easily." Menes: "We really must be the Earth's shard. Not only does returning to the Earth's heart feel natural to us, but I actually _want_ to do so, and I'm sure everyone else feels the same way." *Menes looked around her, seeking visible confirmation from the other angels. They all nodded quietly, and smiled as if they had accepted everything.* Rios: "There is nothing to fear. We are merely returning to our original body, and fitting into where we belong." Helen: "We have neither the slightest fear, nor regrets. We wish to hurry back to our rightful place." Erich: "After all, it is for the sake of mankind. That is the only thing we angels wish for." *I truly couldn't sense an ounce of affliction in the angels' expressions. In fact, they all had refreshing smiles.* *Of course, their smiles were weighing heavily upon me.* *But...* Tomoe: "On second thought, I can't do it." Erich: "What are you saying? You have to. You're the only one who can." Aine: "That is right. I am sure you can do it, Tomoe-san." Menes: "Yeah. I'm sure you can, Darling..." Tomoe: "No!" *I accidentally raised my voice.* Tomoe: "No, that's not what I mean. It's not a matter of whether it's possible or if I'm capable of doing it." Erich: "What is it, then?" Tomoe: "It's because..." *I gazed at Aine. If the angels disappeared, then Aine would surely disappear, too...* *We had finally been reunited only to be separated again. No, this time, she would disappear for all eternity, never to be seen again.* *I... didn't want that.* Aine: "Tomoe-san..." *Aine must have understood how I felt, and looked heartbroken. With a pained expression, she forced a smile and stared at me.* Aine: "It will be all right. Look..." *Aine held out her left hand. Sure enough, I could see a red thread tied to her pinky.* Aine: "We are bound by the red thread." Tomoe: "That doesn't mean..." *The red thread was no help whatsoever. It would just be recollected eventually...* *...Wait.* Menes: "If we return to this planet, the red threads should start to operate normally." Erich: "Surely the threads will no longer be stolen from others, nor bring misfortune upon humans." Licha: "An eternal bond." Tomoe: "Eternal..." *This bond would become eternal?* *But that would mean Aine would no longer be by my side. What would happen to our red thread?* *Wasn't an eternal red thread meaningless if we couldn't be together?* Rios: "I doubt the red thread will influence this in any way, but you two shouldn't be separated." Tomoe: "Huh? Why...?" *Rios quietly gazed at Aine. Seeing such a strange, sympathetic warmth in his eyes had caught me off guard.* *Rios might actually be a kind guy.* Rios: "Because you're a fake angel, Aine." Aine: "Huh...? A fake angel?" Erich: "What does that mean?!" Rios: "Among the angels here... no, among all of the angels in the world, Aine alone is a rare, unique being." Menes: "She's unique...?" Rios: "True angels were given birth via the miracle of the Heartstone―the Earth's shard―and the Originator, but not Aine." Tomoe: "Ah..." *I finally figured it out. It was because Aine was originally human, and wasn't born from the Heartstone like the other angels.* *That was why nothing unusual happened to Aine's body before. In other words, Aine wasn't a being that was meant to return to the Earth.* Aine: "What do you mean?" *Aine wouldn't be able to understand because she didn't possess memories of when she was human, but I did. That had to be it.* Rios: "You don't need to understand. Have this guy tell you the whole story later." *Rios said gently, jerking his chin toward me. Aine looked at me inquisitively.* Rios: "Go ahead and take your time, after this is all over and you're alone together." *Did that mean Aine and I wouldn't be separated?* *We could be together forever? Finally...* *So then, why did I still feel so skeptical?*

Tomoe: "Phew..." *I let out a sigh, and my white breath rose into the heavens. Stars scattered across the winter night's sky.* *I would be returning the Earth's heart shard tomorrow.* *It would probably be best to return it as soon as possible, but it would apparently take some time to call together all of the angels across the world who were made from the shard.* *So, tonight was the final night. I decided to stay at the church tonight, too. Aine was already asleep inside.* *She had asked me what Rios had meant while on the verge of slumber, but I insisted that I would tell her everything once it was all over.* *I would be willing to bet that it would take some time to explain everything to Aine, who was missing those memories.* Helen: "Are you having trouble sleeping?" *A voice came from behind me. It was Helen.* Tomoe: "More or less." Helen: "I understand how you feel. It is a job with heavy responsibility." *Helen said, sympathetically.* *We had entirely different views on the subject, but Helen and the other angels all wished to return to the Earth's heart. They didn't seem to think it was something I should pity them for.* Helen: "Really, do not pay us any mind." Tomoe: "I know." *Despite saying so, there was no way I couldn't.* *That was just how these things were. The ones going on a trip were always refreshed, and those who remained became sentimental.* *Be it a trip, or death, it was always like this.* *It all fell upon those who were left behind.* Helen: "I trust you understand what else this means?" *Helen's eyes shone in the darkness. My intuition inferred the meaning of her question in an instant.* Tomoe: "...Yeah. You're saying I'll be staining my hands by performing angelery again?" Helen: "Yes. I am referring to that risk." *Of course I hadn't forgotten. The sharp spasms only popped up now and again, but even now I was afflicted with a dull, continuous pain in my back.* *Whether I liked it or not, those immature wings had made their presence known.* Helen: "Your angelification appears to be progressing at a steady pace. Performing any further angelery would mean..." Tomoe: "I know." *In short, I would become a complete angel.* *The situation was dire, and if I stained my hands with angelery any further, it would likely threaten my humanity.* *I was hit with that realization once I was told that I would be responsible for returning the Earth's shard.* *I didn't dare mention it earlier this afternoon. There was no one to replace me, so bringing it up wouldn't help.* *And it wasn't like Rios had forgotten, either.* *He was fully aware, but hadn't said a word. He couldn't. In the end, mentioning it was pointless.* Helen: "Rios is worried, too. I am sure he feels guilty..." Tomoe: "I'm perfectly fine. There's no sense in apologizing." *Either way, I had no choice but to do it.* *It sounded like Aine would be able to stay behind after all, but she had yet to recover her strength. She didn't seem capable of returning the Earth's shard in her condition.* Tomoe: "As long as I can become an angel like Aine, what's it matter? The curse of the red thread will cease to exist, and we'll work diligently at our angelery together." Helen: "Is that so? That might be nice." *Helen was smiling. It was a very gentle smile. Returning to their original body might be a blessing to these angels.* Tomoe: "It does make me a little sad to know that everyone is leaving us behind." Helen: "...That is unexpected. I never thought you would say such a thing." Tomoe: "I'm sure it's thanks to the shard Aine returned to me." Helen: "Is that right? It would be great if this planet underwent a change similar to the one that happened to you." Tomoe: "It's okay. I'm sure it'll go well." *I tried to convince myself it was true. I was plagued by doubts, but I couldn't complain to Helen about it.* Tomoe: "Anyway, you and the other angels are the ones returning, and will become part of the Earth again, right? In that case, I'm sure it'll be okay." Helen: "...Yes. Your words are reassuring." *Helen smiled one more time, then nodded lightly in my direction.* Helen: "Anyway, my regards for tomorrow. It isn't set in stone that you will really transform into an angel yet, but at least be ready for it." Tomoe: "Yeah, I know..." Tomoe: "Hm...?" Tomoe: "Ah..." *I heard something behind me and turned around to find Aine standing there. Even in the darkness, I could see the color had drained from her face.* Aine: "What do you mean? Tomoe-san is transforming into an angel...?" Tomoe: "Uh, well..." *She heard us... I hadn't planned on telling her, either...* Aine: "What is going on? Tomoe-san, you will become an angel?" *Aine was a bit shaken up.* Tomoe: "Calm down. It's nothing to panic about, is it? I'll just become the same as you, Aine." Aine: "No way..." *Aine's expression turned to one of despair.* Tomoe: "You're exaggerating. It's not that big of a deal." Aine: "It _is_ a big deal. You will no longer be human, you know? That would be horrible..." Tomoe: "Like I said, it's not a big deal. Even if I become an angel, I'm still me. It won't change anything." Tomoe: "Will you no longer accept me for who I am if I cease to be human?" Aine: "It is not like that, but..." *Aine fell silent. Given how I said it, that was all she could really do.* *I knew the way I phrased it was mean, but I had no other way of putting it.* Tomoe: "It'll be fine, then. There's no way around it." Tomoe: "I have to do it. And of course, I'd like you to help me." Aine: "But, I..." Tomoe: "I'll be okay." Tomoe: "Tomorrow, all of the angels from across the globe will disappear. We'll have to do this all on our own from now on. We'll be super busy." *I said that jokingly, and as cheerfully as possible. Even then, Aine didn't smile.* Tomoe: "Besides, it's not for sure that I'll transform into an angel yet. Right?" Helen: "...Yes, that is right." *Helen nodded, looking apologetic.* *The odds of that were probably fairly low. Still, I used it as an argument.* Tomoe: "It'll be okay. So long as you're there with me, anyway." Tomoe: "I want you to be by my side from now and forever. Will you do that for me?" Aine: "Well, of course, but..." Tomoe: "That's plenty, then. I don't need anything else." Aine: "..." *Aine still looked uneasy, so I took her hand. It was shaking.* Aine: "Tomoe-san?" *Aine looked up at me with surprise, and then gave my hand a tight squeeze. When she did, the trembling stopped.* Tomoe: "Oh?" *Apparently I was the one who had been shaking. I was so pathetic. How could I possibly cheer her up when I was the one trembling?* Aine: "...On second thought, please leave everything to me tomorrow." *Aine gripped my hand and tried to persuade me.* Tomoe: "But..." Aine: "I will be fine. I may be a 'quack,' but I am an angel. Returning shards is my job." Aine: "I will show you that I can do it better than you, Tomoe-san. Say, do you not think it would be better that way, Helen-san?" *Aine directed that question at Helen. She stared at her, almost as if she were praying.* Helen: "...Will you be all right? How are you doing physically?" Aine: "I am fine. I am all better!" Aine: "So, please let me do it." Helen: "...True. If Aine is all right, that may be the better solution." Aine: "Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "...You're sure you're really okay?" Aine: "Yes, I am fine." *She smiled to give me peace of mind, but that smile seemed forced.* *I knew I shouldn't give in to Aine at times like this, but I also knew that she was only thinking of my best interests.* *If that was what Aine desired─if that was what brought her happiness─then I had no reason to oppose her.* Tomoe: "...If things go wrong, then I'll take your place right away." Aine: "Oh... Yes, I understand!" Tomoe: "I'll leave it to you tomorrow, then." Aine: "Yes!" *It was now in Aine's hands, and I would back her up to the best of my ability.*

*Before dawn─the city was mysteriously quiet.* *Even considering how early it was, the entire area was eerily empty. Not even the birds that normally awoke to the dawn were singing.* *It seemed like everyone and everything was waiting with bated breath for what was about to transpire.* *However, it would likely end without anyone noticing a thing. That no human would notice anything had even occurred was for certain.* *The angels that had gathered around us looked understandably nervous. In patient silence, they simply waited for their moment to come.* Rios: "They're here?" *Rios looked up at the sky and whispered.* *It was then that it hit me. It was supposed to be sunny at this hour, but instead the sky had grown dim. I thought it was just really cloudy, but that wasn't it at all.* Tomoe: "Ah..." *I said unintentionally when I realized the true form of the objects filling the sky. They were countless angels.* *They were colossal in number, enough to mask the sunrise. They were gathering in the skies above this city.* Erich: "So many...!" *Even Erich and the others looked up at the sky in awe.* Aine: "These are angels from around the world..." Menes: "There were this many?" *The seemingly infinite angels that dangled overhead looked like some sort of gigantic, living creature. They swirled and waved about in the sky.* Erich: "Wait, what are we going to do about this?" Licha: "..." Menes: "Don't we have to get going, too?" *As soon as Menes said that...* Tomoe: "Ah..." *The sky cast a hazy light.* *No, it wasn't the sky, but the arrangement of angels. They were emitting a faint radiance that made the heavens look like they were glistening.* *It was like we had wandered into some peculiar slice in time that was neither dawn nor day.* Licha: "Ah..." *I looked back to find Licha and the others' bodies emitting that same radiant light. Rios and Helen were also glowing like they had once before.* *As expected, Aine was the only one unaffected.* Erich: "The angels and the Earth are resonating with each other?" Helen: "It seems so. It would appear the time has come." Aine: "..." *Rios turned his attention to Aine.* Rios: "It appears you will remain after all." Aine: "...Yes." *Aine gave a firm nod. Her expression seemed prepared for what was to come. As she was doing so, the light emitting from everyone's bodies grew more powerful.* *Before I knew it, the light warped vertically, shone from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads, and penetrated Heaven and Earth. They were like several pillars of light standing side by side.* *The sight reminded me of the pillars of lights that godly beings descended in.* Rios: "Let's go." *At Rios's command, everyone nodded.* Menes: "Okay, we'll be counting on you." Aine: "Yes, please leave it to me." Rios: "Failure isn't an option, got it?" Aine: "I know." Tomoe: "I'm here with her. Don't worry; she won't fail." *Rios smiled. His expression was so refreshing, it left me stunned.* Tomoe: "Wow..." Rios: "What's that face for? Are you sure you'll be all right?" Tomoe: "Oh... I was just thinking, 'You can smile like that, too.'" *I said exactly what I thought, and Rios suddenly replied with a silly face of his own.* Rios: "Don't get surprised by each and every little thing." *He gave me yet another eloquent smile.* *He may have actually been an unexpectedly decent guy. If only we had learned that sooner, perhaps things could have turned out differently.* *Of course, it was too late now.* Rios: "Okay, let's go." Helen: "Yes." *Rios and Helen looked up at the sky. The light that enveloped their entire bodies reached all the way to the heavens.* *As if following that light, they both disappeared into it.* Menes: "Darling, I love you!" Tomoe: "Y-Yeah..." Erich: "Ahaha, later!" Licha: "Bye bye." *One after another, they all ascended into that brilliant radiance above, and were incorporated into the group of angels that were gathered overhead.* Aine: "Everyone..." *As if she were praying, Aine looked upward.* *She watched over them as the shining sky began to swirl like a vortex. It grew and churned at a rapid pace, then converged into a single point in the center.* *As it did so, the light grew smaller and smaller before disappearing at its core.* *Just as I began to wonder if the light had vanished entirely, I spotted a single, brilliant point. It was like the tip of a pin was floating in the air.* Aine: "That is it!" *Aine pointed skyward. The ball alighted down to us at a slow, steady pace. Aine nestled it in her hands.* *It rumbled in her palms like a living creature.* *Unlike the ones I had seen prior, this particular shard had an entirely different presence. There was an evident aura hanging around it that suggested it was "alive."* Tomoe: "This is the Earth's heart shard?" *It was very pretty, but surprisingly small when you considered it was on the Earth's scale.* *It was hard to believe that so many angels had become such a tiny sphere of light.* Aine: "Everyone..." *Aine cupped that warm, luminous orb in her hands with adoration. It was like she was offering it a prayer.* *When I realized that her friends were inside of it, I could easily imagine that Aine had mixed feelings.* Aine: "...I have to make sure to deliver everyone's feelings where they belong." *She gave the jewel one last, adoring embrace. Then, her expression turned serious.* Aine: "I will do it." *Aine held out the orb and closed her eyes once more.* Aine: "Oh, shard... Shard of the Earth's sentiments..." *Aine recited aloud. The ball of light began to rapidly change form within her grasp.* *As I watched, it turned into a tear-shaped guitar pick.* *Aine took it in hand, her expression suddenly riddled with nervousness.* Tomoe: "Are you okay?" Aine: "Yes, I am fine." *With her breathing finally settled, Aine picked up her guitar. With her eyes closed, she took a few moments to compose herself before she started to sing.* *It was the first song I'd ever seen Aine sing in person. Her voice was crystal clear, like a ray of spring sunshine.* *Finally, her nervous expression began to relax as she sang. Aine practically glistened with liveliness.* *And yet...* Tomoe: "Urgh...?!" *The Earth groaned as if rejecting her song. Was it resisting us? Resisting the return of its heart shard?* Aine: "Ugh...!" *Aine raised her voice even louder. Sweat rose above her brow.* Tomoe: "This is..." *Aine strummed her guitar even harder, and practically screamed the lyrics.* *Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip...!* Aine: "...Huh?!" Tomoe: "What...?" *The guitar strings made a terrible sound and suddenly snapped. The red threads, which were believed to be unbreakable, had just...* *Riiiiiiiiip...! Riiiiiiip...............!* *The strings snapped one after another. Aine's singing had ceased, and she stared at her guitar in a daze.* Aine: "Wh-Why...?" Tomoe: "..." *All we could do was watch as the last of the strings finally snapped.* *The red threads we had worked so hard to assemble, and after sacrificing so many people, had snapped so easily...* Aine: "What should we do...? What can we do...?" *All Aine could do was look down at her now unstrung guitar, dumbfounded.* *The Earth continued to groan, almost like it was standing triumphant.* *A furious rejection. Who would have expected such opposition from the Earth?* Aine: "Everyone..." *Aine tightly grasped the pick-shaped shard once more and prayed. What the heck should we do now...?* Tomoe: "Aine, form an arrow." Aine: "Huh? An arrow?" Tomoe: "We have to use the bow." Aine: "But... Y-You cannot...! If you perform any more angelery, then...!" Tomoe: "There's no time for that. Hurry...!" Aine: "Ah...!" *Aine cried out in surprise. The pick in her hand cast a dazzling light.* Aine: "What...? Why...?" *As if it were alive, we watched in awe as the shard started to change shape on its own. At last, it turned into a massive arrow.* *It may have spanned longer than I was tall. At the very least, it was way more massive than Aine's stature.* Aine: "An arrow...? But how...?" Tomoe: "I see. You want to go home, too, huh?" *I spoke to the arrow. It shined brightly in response.* Aine: "It wants to go home...?" Tomoe: "Back to the Earth... To its original home." *It wanted to go home, and desperately wished for me to send it back to the Earth―to its heart. To that end, it changed into the necessary shape of its own accord.* *The Earth truly loved humans. It wished for their happiness, but for the same reason, had bound mankind by red threads.* *The Earth must have been tormenting itself, much like when I imagined shooting myself with my arrows.* *Something told me I understood its pain. The distress of having hurt the target of your affections, and the agony of being unable to love someone you wished so dearly to love in the way you wanted.* *This planet and I may have had a thing or two in common. Was that why I had been chosen instead of Aine?* *That was the feeling I got.* Tomoe: "Isn't it okay for you to forgive yourself already?" *I addressed the Earth beneath me. Mankind would surely be okay. A human such as myself said so, so there was no doubt.* Tomoe: "I _am_ already half-angel, though." *The Earth roared in response to my wry smile.* Tomoe: "But, I'll be with you from now on. Let's protect human happiness together." Tomoe: "I'll send everyone back to you!" *I deliberately referred to the shard as "everyone." This was Erich, Menes, Licha... Helen, Rios, and countless other angels.* *Surely they had all worked hard to ensure mankind's happiness. This time, it was my turn to lend my strength to them.* *I took the arrow from Aine's hands.* Aine: "Ah, you cannot...!" Aine: "B-Besides, even if you try to use a bow, we no longer have any red threads to use as a bowstring!" Tomoe: "...I know." *I knew that all too well, but there was still one method remaining...* Tomoe: "Oh...?!" *The arrow radiated light in my hands. Blazing heat scalded my palms.* Tomoe: "Guh... Aaaaaaah...!" Aine: "Tomoe-san!" *With a loud sizzle, my palms burned bright red. There was an intense heat and pain along with it. Then came the terrible smell of scorched flesh...* *But, that wasn't all.* Tomoe: "Oh, oooooooh... OOOOOOH...!" *Power began pouring into my palms from the arrow. Tremendous strength flowed into me, almost like water running vigorously through a hose.* Tomoe: "Guh, oooh...!" *There was the sensation of my body swelling several times in size. Immense energy enveloped my entire body. If this kept up, my body was going to explode!* Tomoe: "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH...!" *Crack...!* *I could hear the sound of something tearing. It was coming from my back.* *Krak... krak, krak, krak, krak...!* *A power far too massive for my tiny body was rampaging within me, seeking an exit. And that power was headed straight for...* Aine: "Ah...! T-Tomoe-san... your back...!" *The power was converging onto my back. Then came the sensation of my back bulging outward more and more every second.* Tomoe: "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!" *Krak, krak, krak...* *Krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak krak!* Aine: "Tomoe... san...!" *The swelling feeling which pervaded my body vanished all at once and was replaced with an exhilarating sensation which made my prior suffering seem almost unreal. You could even call it cathartic.* *From a simple glance over my shoulder, I could see wings spewing from my back. They were massive, and were a beautiful shade of white. I could move them of my own free will.* Aine: "Tomoe-san... What has happened to you...?" *Aine gazed at my white wings with a look of intense hopelessness. Her eyes suddenly stopped above my head.* *Could it be...?* Tomoe: "I don't... have a halo? Maybe that means I still haven't become an angel completely." Aine: "In that case, I should be the one to do it...!" *I cast a smile upon Aine, who likely said that in order to prevent me from becoming an angel.* Tomoe: "There's nothing to worry about. It'll all be over soon." *That was one thing I could say with absolute certainty. The end was near, and was set in stone. I just had to solemnly carry out what had already been decided upon.* *I pictured my own bow and called to it from within my heart.* *After the air wavered a moment, a familiar bow appeared in my hands, just as Aine had once done.* *I gave a mighty flap of my wings, and my body lifted upward. I could do this.* Aine: "Tomoe-san!" Tomoe: "It'll be all right. I'll be right back after I return a piece of the Earth's lost property." Aine: "You say that... but what will you do with a bow with no string?!" Tomoe: "But I _do_ have a string." *It had been there for some time now─the red thread that would become my bowstring.* *It was the red thread that bound Aine and me together.* *I reached out for it.* Aine: "Huh...? Ah!" *Aine finally realized what I was doing and tried to get in my way, but I was one step ahead of her.* *The red thread which bound us together was now in my hands.* Tomoe: "Sorry, I'm going to borrow this for a second." Aine: "Tomoe-san!" *I could hear Aine's cry from behind.* *I flapped my wings mightily once more. My body soared high into the sky in the blink of an eye with that single stroke.* Aine: "Tomoe-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" *Aine's voice faded into the distance. In no time at all, her figure left my sight.* *Within seconds, I had reached a high enough altitude to overlook the entire city.* Aine: "Tomoe-san, please wait!" *I could hear Aine's voice in the distance. She appeared to be chasing after me, but I doubted she would catch up to me for a while yet.* *It would all be over before she arrived.* Tomoe: "I'm begging you." *I strung the bow with the red thread as I spoke to it. The string was absorbed into it, and became one with the bow upon which it was affixed.* *The red thread then cast a brilliant light.* Tomoe: "...!" *I could feel an intense flow of power gushing into the bow from its string, along with a distinct, copious stream into my palms.* *With that injection of immense power, the bow visibly began to change form...* Tomoe: "This is...!" *It became a gigantic bow which surpassed my own height.* *Strength gushed into my body through the bow. It felt like my entire body had swelled several sizes.* *My body was brimming with power, like I had absorbed the planet's power in doing so.* *It was an almighty sensation which even gave me vertigo.* *The Earth was crying. Was it sad...? Or was it a cry of delight?* Tomoe: "I'll return your lost heart shard to you now... To your praying heart." *I drew the bow and aimed at the ground.* Tomoe: "Oh, shard... Shard of the Earth..." Tomoe: "Even as we speak, I can feel how strongly it cares for us humans." *The Earth had wished for our happiness, and believed happiness was achievable. It trusted that one day, we would grow and find willpower equal to its own.* *It wanted to get along with us.* Tomoe: "We came to betray those feelings, huh?" Tomoe: "But, I'm sure it will be okay. Aine... No, angels taught me that humans have potential." Tomoe: "So, I want you to believe in us one more time. I'll work myself to the bone, and do anything within my power." *Aine and I would become the only two angels in this world. No...* *I couldn't think of that right now. I needed to concentrate on returning the Earth's shard...* Tomoe: "So, I will return this to you!" *I drew back the bow as hard as I could. Power surged into the nocked arrow. I could feel it filling with strength.* *The strength accumulated to its absolute limits, just like a cup of water filled to the brim, held together by surface tension...* Aine: "Tomoe-san!" Tomoe: "...Return to where thou belong!" Aine: "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" *The arrow launched in a straight line toward the Earth's surface, aiming directly for the center of the church.* *It ignored the church building and all physical boundaries, and plunged into the ground directly beneath.* *It struck directly where we once amused ourselves with our "Play Happy" game.* *An invisible wind blew as the ground radiated light outward from the church.* *Neither of those were something humans could sense, but now that I had become an angel, I could see and feel it plain as day.* *This planet's heart shard had been returned. I just knew it to be true.* *Since I had fulfilled my grand duty, I felt relieved.* Tomoe: "This is what it's like to be an angel, huh?" *Now that angels were no longer of this world, I was one of the planet's most valuable angels.* Aine: "Tomoe-san!" *The only other angel, Aine, finally caught up to me. She was completely out of breath, and crying.* Aine: "Ah... Are you...?" *Even with a quick glance, I bet she could figure it out pretty quickly. Still, Aine asked me anyway, and I gave her a huge nod.* Aine: "Tomoe-san, why...?" Tomoe: "With this, the red thread's curse is gone. Misfortune won't befall couples joined by red threads any longer." Aine: "But, Tomoe-san, you..." *I smiled back at Aine as she cried.* Tomoe: "Aren't I an awesome angel, though? My feathers are a few hundred times cooler than yours." Aine: "Now is not the time for jokes..." Tomoe: "This is how it's meant to be. This was destined to happen." *I was sure everything that had happened was set in stone the moment Aine had appeared before me.* *No, it may have already been decided back when I first met Aine when we were kids, when she was still human.* *Ever since the moment we fell in love.* *With a single glance, that angelic girl had stolen my heart.* Aine: "Tomoe-san..." *Aine was bawling her eyes out. With my fingertips, I wiped away those huge tears wetting her cheeks.* Tomoe: "Don't cry. We're the only angels left in the entire world." Tomoe: "From now on, we'll have to do what everyone else was doing all by ourselves." *I persuaded Aine with a smile. She nodded over and over, crying all the while.* Aine: "I understand. From now on, we will do it together..." *Krkle...!* Aine: "Huh...?" *Krkle... krkle...!* Tomoe: "What...?" *It took a moment for me to notice the changes happening right in front of me, but...* *Krkle... krak, krak, krak...!* Aine: "Wh-What is that sound?" Tomoe: "This... is... Oh?!" *I finally figured it out. Aine's feathers had begun to shatter. What should have been her soft plumage had started to turn into a hard porcelain.* Aine: "Huh? What is this? Why...?" *Aine noticed her own abnormal metamorphosis as well, but she didn't look like she had any idea what was happening, and was simply perplexed.* *All the while, the cracks in Aine's feathers were visibly spreading. She couldn't possibly remain airborne with them any longer. The sight reminded me of Icarus from Greek mythology.* Aine: "Tomoe-san...!" *Aine looked up at me with a tear-stained face. Having lost its support, her body was fading into the distance little by little. No, she was returning to the surface.* *Now it made sense.* *I whispered it within my heart. _This_ was the calamity of the red thread which had befallen us, huh? It came in the form of me stealing our own red thread, but its curse had still applied...* Aine: "Tomoe-san... No...!" *Aine reached out to me, and I desperately tried to take hold of her...* *Whoosh...* *But I couldn't grasp Aine's hand. My hand slipped straight through hers.* Aine: "No... Why...?" *I could make out Aine mouthing those words as she slowly descended to Earth. Her eyes were wide with shock, in perfect, disc-like circles.* *That was when I realized it. Her eyes searched the sky for my figure, but she slowly lost sight of me.* *I held my hands in front of me. I could still see them, but it appeared they were vanishing from Aine's sight.* Aine: "Tomoe-san!" *I smiled at Aine and shook my head left to right.* *The angel I had become was apparently different from the angels before me. I didn't seem to be a being humans could easily interact with. A presence that could only watch over them, quietly at their side.* *That seemed closer to the original image I had of angels. Aine and the others were too similar to humans. I might have simply returned to the guise in which angels were supposed to exist.* Aine: "Tomoe-san...!" *Aine called out to me again. Her voice and figure quickly grew distant as she descended to Earth.* Tomoe: "Aine, it will be all right. I'll watch over you forever, right by your side." Aine: "I do not want that...! You said we would be together forever! You said we would do our job as angels together...!" Tomoe: "I'm sorry..." *Crackle...* *The fissure in Aine's feathers had spread all the way through. Then, kraks even began to form in the halo above her head.* Aine: "Tomoe-san...!" *Aine's expression was shrouded with despair. I smiled at her with the same smile she had when she told me she loved me.* Tomoe: "You have to smile, Aine. Weren't you always smiling?" Aine: "That is... impossible..." Aine: "What is going to happen to us?" Tomoe: "Exactly what it looks like. I became an angel. So, you can't be one anymore." *So that we were no longer bound together...* Tomoe: "You're going to become human." Aine: "I am going... to be human...?" *Aine likely didn't understand, but it wasn't surprising. She had originally been human, and was simply returning to what she once was.* Tomoe: "Be glad. You're becoming one of your beloved humans." Aine: "But... If you are an angel, then I want to stay an angel, too! I want to work as angels together!" Tomoe: "It's okay. I'll be watching you the whole time. I'll always be there beside you." Aine: "But..." Tomoe: "Come on, smile. I love you most when you're smiling, Aine." Aine: "...!" *Aine forced herself to form a smile as a river of tears spilled from her eyes. She wasn't smiling at all. It made me break out into my own smile.* Aine: "Why are you smiling...?" Tomoe: "Because, you're making a funny face." Aine: "Y-You are so cruel..." *Aine was pouting, but that was cute in its own way. It naturally brought a smile to my face.* *Perhaps that had enticed Aine, and a smile momentarily rose to her face, too.* *That instant, a dazzling light escaped from the spiderwebbing cracks in Aine's feathers.* Aine: "Ah...!" *Aine's feathers and halo shattered into pieces. The morning sun, which had begun to rise over the horizon, shined upon the innumerable, fine shards that sparkled like jewels.* *Aine's entire body was bathed within that light.* Aine: "Tomoe-san!" *Aine was falling with the Earth's surface as her destination. This was the only way for her to go back to being a worldly being.* *As she turned to the surface, I sent her a smile with my blessing: an angel's smile sure to bestow humans with happiness.* Tomoe: "Aine, be well. Thank you for everything." *Then, my entire being, now the sole angel in the world, dissolved into the empty space...*

Aine: "Tomoe-saaaan..." *Tomoe-san faded before my very eyes. My tears were flying above me.* Aine: "Tomoe...saaan..." *...Suddenly, it felt as though the velocity at which I was falling, and the tears that ascended above me, had slowed. Moments later, it felt like I was floating.* *How mysterious, especially since my wings had already shattered...* *At the same time, the world was being engulfed in white. Tomoe-san was no longer there.* *As my vision turned whiter, so did the inside of my mind.* *What was going to happen to me now? Was I... going to die?* *Wait, this place was... Tomoe-san's yard.* *Oh, Tomoe-san... When was this, again? If I recalled...* *...Oh! I remembered!* *It was back then─that time Tomoe-san was practicing outside with his bow...* *The first time we met...* *Shiiiiiiiiiing...* *Yes. It was on that day when the shard started making a fuss. It was almost like it had guided me here.* *That was when I saw him.* Tomoe: "..." *He was shooting arrows at himself. No, there was no arrow nocked, but he was definitely targeting himself.* *I could see it. Tomoe-san was staring straight ahead with his bow at the ready.* *What he saw there was surely an imaginary target, and what laid there was Tomoe-san himself.* *He was firing countless arrows into that Tomoe-san.* *Strangely, not a single drop of blood sprung from the wound. Instead, he was shedding tears of blood, as if everything were spilling from his eyes in its place.* *And yet, no emotion appeared on his face. He was expressionless, like it were a sort of mask.* *Not only did he not appear to suffer, neither sadness nor any other shred of emotion showed on the surface.* *Ironically, that made _me_ feel extremely sad.* Tomoe: "..." *Tomoe-san fired his imagined arrow. Once, twice, three times, four times... over and over again.* *There were so many arrows sticking into his body that I couldn't see him anymore.* *Shiiiiiiiiiing...* *The shard let out a shriek each and every time. Those cries of grief placed a strangling pain upon my heart.* Aine: "Please stop it already!" *The moment I cried out to him, the shard quivered in my hand, as if it couldn't take this for another second.* *That was the catalyst that made me drop the shard.* *The heart shard was falling in between Tomoe-san, and the other Tomoe-san he had imagined as a target.* Tomoe: "Huh...?" *Tomoe-san's expression changed. But, that could not be. How could an ordinary human see a heart shard?* *And yet, he certainly acted as though he had noticed something.* *Then, those fingertips released the string.* Tomoe: "Ah..." *Shiiiiiiiiiing...!* *The unnocked bow let out a furious wail.* Aine: "Ah..." *I saw it clearly. The imaginary arrow pierced straight through the heart shard.* Aine: "Kyah!" *Yes, I remembered.* *The especially mighty scream the shard let out at that moment hit my entire body.* *Pain, suffering, sorrow, resignation, and despair... A mixture of various, vast emotions swallowed me up, and then...* *Snap!* *With my consciousness fading, I saw the guitar strings break. The unbreakable red threads had snapped...* *I had always wondered why they had broken, but now I understood...* *Maybe it was the message Tomoe-san's heart and his shard were sending me?* *Thanks to it, Tomoe-san and I were able to connect.* *Yeah, I am sure of it. That is what I want to believe.* *Tomoe-san...*

Aine: "Mmm..." Aine: "Five more minutes..." Cat: "Meow, meow!" Cat: "Meow, meow!" Aine: "Ugh... Just three more minutes is fine..." Cat: "Meow, meow, meow!" *Thump!* Aine: "Fwah!" *Something pounced on my stomach, immediately stirring me awake.* Cat: "Meow, meow, meow!" Aine: "Jeez. You cannot wait three more minutes?" Cat: "Meow!" *Looks like that was not an option. They were probably hungry. Come to think of it, so was I...* *Grooooowl...* Aine: "You are hungry, huh?" *There was no way around it. I had better get up.* Cat: "Hamnamnman!" *The cats were eating well this morning, and seemed to be quite gluttonous.* *They were all strays. Even when I locked the house up tight, they always managed to sneak in around mealtime or when I went to sleep.* Aine: "Where are you getting in from?" Cat: "Meow!" *Suddenly, I got the feeling I knew the answer. Was it just my imagination?* *Actually, I got the feeling I had just awoken from a long, long dream. Maybe it was something that happened in it?* Aine: "What sort of dream was it?" *I tried to remember, but could not.* *It was like this every morning. It truly felt like I had a dream, but I could not remember the slightest detail about it.* Aine: "Hmm... It makes me so curious..." *This happened every day, but for some reason, I was exceptionally curious this morning.* Aine: "Maybe it was a fun dream?" *...I did get the feeling that it could be that, but something told me it was incredibly sad, too.* *It felt like many things had happened.* Aine: "Hmmmmm..." Aine: "Ah..." *Someone was here.* Naruko: "Excuse me─!" *Moments later, Naruko-san came into the house of her own accord.* Naruko: "Morning, Aine-chan!" Aine: "Naruko-san, good morning." *It was Naruko-san from next door. She often worried about me since I lived alone, and came by to check up on me. She was like a big sister.* Naruko: "Aine-chan, did you eat breakfast?" Aine: "No, not yet. I was just thinking of eating something now." Naruko: "Is that right? Perfect timing, then!" *Naruko-san placed the tupperware she had been holding onto the table.* Naruko: "I made French toast, but I made too much. Have some, if you'd like." Aine: "Yay! I love your French toast! Thank you for the meal!" *Breakfast secured! Naruko-san was great at cooking, and I loved her since she brought over meals for me often.* Naruko: "Okay, I'll see you again later at the academy." Aine: "Yes, see you later!" *Naruko-san headed home. I opened up the tupperware without delay.* Aine: "Mm, it smells so good~!" Aine: "But..." *Naruko-san made way too much again. This would be plenty for two to eat.* Aine: "Can I eat it all?" *I hadn't weighed myself lately, so it made me kind of anxious...* Aine: "I say that now, but I will probably end up eating it all! Better eat it while it is still warm." Aine: "Time to eat~!" *This was the reason I didn't go to school together with Naruko-san.* *Stopping by here every morning was part of my routine, so I always left earlier than necessary.* *While it was morning, the church itself was still dimly lit. It was a quiet yet very calming place all the same.* Aine: "Good morning." *I greeted the angel statue. Perhaps I should have actually gotten down on my knees and prayed properly, but that seemed kind of wrong to me, so I kept it to a simple greeting.* *Angels felt much more like friendly beings to me than something to worship. It had always been that way for me, since a long time ago.* Aine: "A long time ago..." *When was "a long time ago," exactly?* *I did not remember my past very well, so it was difficult to tell.* *Still, I had a feeling angels had always, always been close to my heart.* Aine: "My best regards again today." *...* Aine: "Huh...?" *I thought I heard a voice answer me and looked around. There was nobody here.* Aine: "Just my imagination?" *It was not as though the angel statue replied to me, right?* *It had to be something else. The voice sounded as though it came from above and behind me, not in front of me.* Aine: "..." *I turned around one more time. As I thought, there was nobody there.* Aine: "I guess it is just my imagination." Aine: "Oh, the time! If I do not hurry, I will be late!" Aine: "Ah, see you later!" *I gave one last parting greeting to the angel statue and rushed out of the church.* Aine: "Hah, in the end I was still late." Naruko: "Did Yuno-chan make you stand out in the hall?" Aine: "Yes..." *Yuno-chan-sensei had a childish face, but she was scary when she got mad. She instantly made me stand out in the hall.* Kiyohito: "With the buckets, too?" Aine: "Oh, she spared me from the buckets!" Minamo: "You shouldn't get excited over that. You were thrown out in the hall, so reflect on it." Aine: "I am sorry..." Female Student: "Excuse me..." *I was not sure when she arrived, but there was a girl there with innocent-looking features.* *Was she new? She seemed quite anxious. Perhaps it was due to how many of us there were?* Aine: "It is all right. Everyone here is nice. Are you a first-year student?" Female Student: "Oh, yes." *When I smiled at her, the nervous-looking girl smiled a bit.* Female Student: "Um, I heard I can get love counseling here..." Aine: "Oh, yes! This is 'The Love Counseling Room Closest to Heaven'!" *I had opened a love counseling room for business right here.* *Naruko-san and Kiyohito-san had originally made this place their own, and people often asked Naruko-san for advice, so she would listen to their stories here on the roof.* *It was not that I decided to just jump on the bandwagon, but I had decided to primarily give love advice here, too.* *This spot was the place closest to the sky, so I named it, "The Love Counseling Room Closest to Heaven."* *When it came to the one symbol for romance in this city, it had to be angels. Being close to Heaven meant being close to angels, too.* *As such, I thought it was a good name. I liked it a lot.* Aine: "I am Aine Kirinokojima. Pleased to meet you." Female Student: "Oh, pleased to meet you. Sempai, you're Angel-san, right?" Aine: "'Angel-san'?" *What was she talking about?* Kiyohito: "Aine-chan, since you give love consultations, people have started calling you that. Especially the first-year students." Aine: "Oh, really? Being an angel would be so cool...!" Female Student: "Still, you're famous as an angelic upperclassman. They say you'll give any type of advice needed." Aine: "Yes, I will counsel you in anything you want. My specialty is with romance, though." Aine: "Oh, I do not think I would be very helpful when it comes to matters of money, but I will do whatever I can!" Naruko: "Nobody would come here of all places for financial advice." Kiyohito: "Aine-chan, you've gotta keep your eyes peeled so you don't end up someone's co-signer! ...Hm?" *Kiyohito-san tilted his head.* Aine: "Is something the matter?" Kiyohito: "Nothing much... I just got this feeling like there was someone who used to look out for you." Aine: "Huh? Someone who looked out for me?" Kiyohito: "Wasn't there?" Naruko: "Hm, now that you mention it... I do kinda feel like there was someone..." Naruko: "Oh! I know!" Aine: "Huh? Huh? Who?" Naruko: "It must be an angel!" Kiyohito: "Huh?" Aine: "An angel?" Naruko: "Nihehe! I'm well aware of it~! You're genuinely in love with an angel, Aine-chan." Aine: "Huh?! Wh-Wh-What are you saying...?" Female Student: "Is that true? You're in love with an angel?" Aine: "W-Well, um... is that strange?" *It was exactly as Naruko-san said. I was in love with an angel.* *When did it all begin? I was not sure, but I had a hunch I had always, always been in love with an angel.* Kiyohito: "Are angels even men in the first place?" Minamo: "Aren't angels genderless?" Aine: "That is not true. Angels can be either male or female." Minamo: "I've never heard that before." Aine: "Even if you have not, that is how it is. For that matter, the angel I love _is_ a boy." Kiyohito: "Wow, really? What sorta guy is he?" Aine: "Let me see..." *I brought his image to mind.* Aine: "He always has this sour look on his face, rarely smiles, calls people 'quacks,' and says some cold things, too." Aine: "But the truth is he is kind, and very angel-like!" *Everyone was staring at me blankly.* Minamo: "What's with that? He's 'angel-like'? You're already totally talking about an angel." Aine: "Oh, did I say that? Yes, of course I am talking about an angel, but..." *Why did I say he was "angel-like"?* Naruko: "All the same, that's a pretty specific image you've got of him, huh? It's like it's someone you actually know." Aine: "Yes, I feel like I really do know him." *I got the feeling such an angel was by my side, and was always watching over me.* *I was in love with that angel.* *I did not know what he looked like for certain, or anything else for that matter, but I definitely felt his presence.* *It would be great if that angel was the person fated for me...* Aine: "Ah..." *I thought I saw it for a second. Was it my imagination? No, I was sure I saw it!* Minamo: "What? Something wrong?" Aine: "Oh, no, it is nothing." *I kept it to myself. They would just tell me I was strange.* *Who would believe that I saw a red thread on my left pinky?* *It was only for an instant, but I knew I saw it. I bet if I told everyone, they would laugh at me again.* *But I really _did_ see it! There was nothing I could do about it.* *I looked up at the sky. The gentle spring sunlight poured down from overhead, as if it were wrapping around and protecting me.* *I could feel my angel's presence within that gentle sunshine as well.* *He was nowhere, yet everywhere at the same time.* *So, I was not lonely, right?* *...* Aine: "Huh...?" *For a moment, I thought I heard a voice. Why was that? I had never heard this voice before, and yet it felt nostalgic.* *Nobody else seemed to have heard it, nor realized it. Could it be my imagination?* Aine: "...No." *On second thought, I _had_ heard it. I knew I heard that nostalgic voice.* Naruko: "Oh, Aine-chan?" Minamo: "Why are you crying?" Aine: "Huh...?" *I had apparently started crying. Now that she mentioned it, everyone did look very wobbly.* *I did not know why, but the tears just continued to fall harder and harder.* Aine: "It is... nothing..." *I looked up at the sky as hard as I could, trying not to cry. Even then, the tears would not cease.* *It felt as though the downpouring spring sunshine was gently petting my head as I sobbed.* *I was sure he was here, too.* *Because he said he would be by my side forever. I was sure he was there for me.* *So...* Aine: "Hah!" *As I cried, I flashed my brightest smile at the sky.* *Do you see it? The smile you said you love most of all?* *I am trying my hardest again today, with your beloved smile on full display.*

Kiyohito: "Oh, Minamo-chan's not here today, either?" Kiyohito: "She's been really antisocial lately." Naruko: "Yeah, you're right. I wonder what's up?" Aine: "She's been taking a break from classes for a while now, too." Yuri: "Oh, do you think she's sick? It has been rather cold." Tomoe: "No, she's all right. Isn't she just really busy?" *That was the life of a celebrity for you... Not that I could actually say that out loud.* Kiyohito: "'Busy'? Busy with what?" *Kiyohito chimed in, intuitive as always.* Tomoe: "How would I know?" Kiyohito: "Really? You sure made it sound like you were clued in." Tomoe: "Of course not." *He really was sharp.* Kiyohito: "Tomoe, don't tell me you..." *He narrowed his eyes at me, his expression suddenly serious.* Tomoe: "What is it?" Kiyohito: "Did you make a move on her?" Tomoe: "...Huh?" Naruko: "'Make a move on her'? Do you like Minamo-chan, Kirinokojima?" Aine: "Huh? Huh? Huh?" *Everyone looked at me in unison.* Yuri: "Oh, is that so?" Tomoe: "What? Not you too, Hisaka-san. Of course I don't." *How could I ever fall for someone? Completely impossible.* Kiyohito: "Yeah, guess you're right. Tomoe's totally frigid." Yuri: "Huh? He is?" *Hisaka-san's eyes went wide again.* Tomoe: "Please don't take everything he says seriously. He makes things up all the time." Yuri: "Oh, does he?" Kiyohito: "C'mon now, you shouldn't believe everything he tells you, either." Yuri: "Huh? Wh-Which is it?" *She didn't know whom to believe now. What a difficult person.* Naruko: "Anyway, I doubt Kirinokojima would actually fall for Minamo-chan." Tomoe: "Exactly." Kiyohito: "Yeah, you're probably right." Aine: "Aw, really? How can you all just accept that so easily?" Naruko: "That's just the type of person Kirinokojima is." Yuri: "Well, I suppose so..." Yuri: "Ah... Is this something else I shouldn't take seriously?" Tomoe: "No, it's fine this time." Aine: "But it _is_ a problem that everyone thinks of you that way, Tomoe-san." Tomoe: "I'm fine." Kiyohito: "But Tomoe, haven't you noticed that she hasn't been coming to school lately?" *Kiyohito asked. He sounded kind of cocky about it, too.* Tomoe: "Well, yeah, of course I did. Someone who's always here is missing." Kiyohito: "Really? You don't seem like the kinda guy who cares about stuff like that." Tomoe: "You make me sound so cold-blooded." Aine: "I think you do have a ruthless side, though. When I broke the bathroom lock the other day and got trapped inside, you did not notice at all." *I didn't think it was all that strange for an angel who could vanish into thin air at will to disappear for a little while.* Yuri: "Still, I wonder what has happened to make her miss school so much." *Hisaka-san sounded worried.* *I wanted to explain the situation and put her at ease, but it wasn't my place to do so.* Tomoe: "I'm sure she's fine." Naruko: "How can you be so sure?" Tomoe: "Uh, well..." *I couldn't exactly say "because I saw her on TV yesterday."* *She wasn't just doing photo shoots anymore. With all of her recent TV appearances, her popularity was steadily rising. I was positive she was doing well.* *Then again... Maybe she _did_ look a little worn out.*

Manager: "Good work. You have tomorrow off." Minamo: "Yes. Thank you for all your hard work." Minamo: "...Phew. My shoulders feel so stiff..." Minamo: "But I finally got a day off, huh?" *I had been so busy that I didn't even have time to go to school. Naturally, I hadn't seen him recently, either.* Minamo: "...Hey, just whose face is popping into my head?" *Mama would scream at me if she knew I was thinking about a boy from school. Something like, "Idols don't fall in love!"* Minamo: "Idols, huh...?" *What the heck was I doing with my life? Day after day, I did exactly as I was told, but I didn't want any part of it.* *What was wrong with me?* Minamo: "...I wonder if I'll get to see him tomorrow?" Minamo: "Ah..." *I was thinking about Sempai again.* *We hadn't seen each other in a while, but why did his face always pop into my head?* Minamo: "But yeah, I wonder if he's doing okay?" *I wondered if he missed me or anything.* Minamo: "...Probably not. Nope, nope. That would never happen." *He wasn't that kind of person, but...* Minamo: "I wonder what sort of face he'll make when he sees me again after so long?" *Would he look the least bit happy?* *Now I was kind of looking forward to tomorrow.*

Tomoe: "Oh... It's been a while." Minamo: "Huh? That's all?" *Wakamatsu suddenly made her appearance after a long absence, and her eyes were wide with surprise.* Tomoe: "What do you mean, 'That's all?'" Minamo: "Oh, nothing..." *She looked somewhat disappointed. Did I do something wrong?* *Compared to the lively atmosphere from yesterday, the rooftop was now deathly quiet, and Wakamatsu and I were all alone.* Minamo: "How are things? You know, working as an 'angel's proxy.'" Tomoe: "There's not a whole lot to talk about." Minamo: "Hmm, is that right?" Minamo: "..." *It wasn't surprising that there were a lot of pauses in conversation. She had to be bored being all alone with me.* Tomoe: "Looks like it's just us today. I bet you wanted to see the others, huh?" Minamo: "Huh? Y-Yeah..." Minamo: "...What about you, Sempai?" Tomoe: "What about me?" Minamo: "I've been gone for a while. So um... were you lonely or anything?" Tomoe: "Lonely? No, not really." *For some reason, she seemed oddly tongue-tied.* Minamo: "Sh-Shouldn't you just admit you were lonely at times like this, even if it's a lie...?" Tomoe: "Oh, should I? I was lonely, then." Minamo: "That's less than thrilling to hear when you sound so unconvincing." *It looked like I had upset her all over again.* Minamo: "Well, whatever. It's not like I was hoping for anything more." Tomoe: "Hoping for what?" Minamo: "N-Never mind. Okay, time for class!" *With that, Wakamatsu cut our first conversation in ages short and left. She sure was in a rush...* *Still, I was glad she seemed to be doing well.*

Minamo: "Hah..." *I hadn't seen him in a while, so why was I acting this way? I was being a total creep.* Minamo: "Haaah..." *Poke, poke.* Minamo: "Hm?" Aine: "Is something bothering you?" Minamo: "No, not really..." Aine: "But you have done nothing but sigh since earlier." Minamo: "It's nothing, so leave me alone." Aine: "Would it not be best if you did not sigh so much, though? If you sigh, then all the happiness will run away." Minamo: "Huh?! Seriously?!" *How many times had I sighed today? How much happiness did I have left?* Aine: "If you are worried about something, please talk to me. You and I are close friends, are we not?" Minamo: "What do you mean, 'close'?" Aine: "Could it be love sickness?" Minamo: "Huh...? Love sickness...?" Minamo: "Wh-What are you saying?!" Yuno: "What are you talking about over there? We're in the middle of class." Minamo: "Oh... I'm sorry..." *Oh no, I was too loud. I vowed to never stand out, too...* *But everyone was looking at me.* Minamo: "..." Aine: "Hey, Minamo-chan." Minamo: "We're in class. You're going to get us in trouble again." Aine: "But..." Minamo: "You're so persistent!" Minamo: "...Ah." Yuno: "You two... Go stand in the hall!" Minamo: "We got sent out into the hall because of you." Aine: "I am sorry~ These buckets sure are heavy, huh?" Minamo: "What sort of idol gets thrown out into the hall and forced to hold buckets...?" Aine: "That _is_ a new one. But do you not find the idea rather endearing?" Minamo: "There's nothing good about it. Shouldn't you be reflecting on what you did?" Aine: "I-I am, I am." Minamo: "Jeez..." Aine: "But... Now we can take our time and talk!" *Aine looked around, then raised her voice. She probably planned on drudging up our earlier conversation.* Minamo: "It's nothing, really. I'm fine, so go stick your nose in some other poor, lovesick couple's business instead." Aine: "But I am worried... You are a good friend." Minamo: "Huh? Your friend?" Aine: "Yes, my friend. A precious one." Aine: "Everyone feels that way. Naruko-san, Kiyohito-san, Yuri-san..." Aine: "And Tomoe-san, too." Minamo: "Kirinokojima-sempai does? He thinks... I'm precious?" Aine: "Yes, of course!" Minamo: "..." Aine: "Oh? Minamo-chan?" Minamo: "...Huh? Wh-What?" Aine: "Your face is red." Minamo: "I-It's not what it looks like. I'm just... feeling kind of hot since these buckets are so heavy." Aine: "They really are..." Minamo: "...But, Kirinokojima-sempai..." Minamo: "He doesn't seem like the type to consider anyone 'precious,' though. Especially not me..." *That was obvious after hanging out with him for so long.* *He wasn't a cold person, but you couldn't exactly describe him as being kind, either.* *It made you wonder if he was emotionally stilted in some way.* Aine: "I honestly do not think so. Tomoe-san is a kind person." Aine: "But I am not sure how to get him to show it." Minamo: "I wonder about that." Aine: "I believe so. Um, Minamo-chan, do you..." Minamo: "What?" Aine: "Do you like Tomoe-san, by chance?" Minamo: "Huh?" Minamo: "Huh? Huh? Huh? Me, like Kirinokojima-sempai?" Minamo: "Th-There's just no way! I-It's not like I think anything of Sempai..." Minamo: "..." Aine: "..." Aine: "Is that right~?" Minamo: "O-Of course it is." *Why did my chest pang whenever I made excuses? And why was I getting so worked up? Could I really be...* Aine: "Ah! That is right!" Aine: "I have to get home early today, so I cannot go to the roof after school today." Minamo: "Where did that come from?" Aine: "Everyone seems busy today, you know? But I wonder if Tomoe-san will be there? I cannot help but wonder if he will be lonely up there by himself..." Aine: "Do you not think so, Minamo-chan?" Minamo: "Huh? I..." Minamo: "H-He's not some child; of course he won't be lonely. It looks like he prefers being alone." Aine: "Does he? Anyway, I think Tomoe-san will be alone after school." Minamo: "What do I care?" *...I see; he would be alone again after school. Maybe I should go apologize for earlier?* *Yeah, I should. I had to apologize to him properly.* *It wasn't like I had any other motive in mind.*

Minamo: "Oh, it's already this late?!" *Why did Yuno-chan-sensei have to scold me, especially on a day like today?!* *I mean, it was my fault for being loud in class, but did she have to rag on me about my attendance, too?!* *Will Sempai still be there...?* *I got my heavy breathing under control as I stood before the door leading to the rooftop.* Minamo: "...Phew..." *With my breathing now calmed, I began to feel nervous.* *If what Aine said was true, then I would be alone with Sempai... All of her weird comments had me feeling oddly self-conscious.* *Just be cool... Just be cool...!* *I mentally psyched myself up and grabbed the doorknob.* *I opened the door gently and peeked out. It was deserted, just as Aine had said...* Minamo: "Jeez, Sempai isn't here, either." *Nobody was here. Not a single soul.* Minamo: "What the heck. I got nervous for nothing." *Why _was_ I so nervous, anyway?* *I was just meeting a single person. My job required me to pose and talk in front of way more people than that.* Minamo: "He's so socially awkward..." *Despite what Aine had said, I doubted Sempai thought much about me.* *It wasn't fair for only me to be agitated about this.* Minamo: "...This is stupid. I'm going home." *Sempai, you idiot.* Minamo: "Wah?!" *As I turned heel to go home, I was shocked to nearly run into an older man. I realized then that he was the janitor.* Janitor: "Oh? There was still a student up here?" Minamo: "I'm sorry. I am heading home right now." Minamo: "U-Um... Was there anyone else still in the building?" *I figured it couldn't hurt to ask while I was here.* Janitor: "Now that you mention it, there was some boy in a second-year classroom earlier. Yes, that's right, the boy who's always lounging around on the roof." Minamo: "Huh? Is that Kirinokojima-sempai?" Janitor: "Oh, I don't know his name." *It _had_ to be him! He might still be there if I went right now!* Minamo: "Th-Thank you very much!" Janitor: "Ah..." *I ran to the third floor, where the second-year classrooms were.* Minamo: "Oh, this is the place." *This was Kirinokojima-sempai's classroom. I ran here in a hurry, but was he still hanging around...?* *When I peeked into the classroom through the open door, there was nobody to be found.* Minamo: "...I see." Minamo: "Wait, what am I even doing...?" *I quickly came to my senses and was shocked at myself. I couldn't believe I came to check his classroom on the off chance he would still be here.* Minamo: "I'm kinda acting like a stalker, aren't I?" *But I'd be back at work starting tomorrow, and I might not be able to see him for a while.* *And yet, the way we said goodbye today was so awkward (although I may have been the only one who thought so).* *That was why I wanted to apologize to him for it.* Minamo: "I guess there's nothing I can do about it if he isn't here." *I went to all the trouble of coming here, so going straight home now would be annoying.* Minamo: "I wonder where Sempai's seat is?" *Someone said it was by the window?* *The window seats were naturally pretty far back into the room.* Minamo: "..." *I quickly scanned my surroundings. The hallway was empty, and the other classrooms had fallen deathly quiet. Given the time, everyone must have gone home already.* Minamo: "...All right." *I readied myself and went inside.* *After taking a good look at all the window seats, I took notice of the one furthest back. I was pretty sure that was Sempai's bag sitting on the desk.* Minamo: "So this is Sempai's seat?" *If I remembered right, didn't he sit next to Taira-sempai?* *I checked the neighboring seat.* Minamo: "Oh, there's a letter. 'To Kiyohito Taira-sama'..." *Yeah, it looked like this _was_ Taira-sempai's seat.* *Maybe it was a love letter? Even a carefree guy like him was popular, huh?* Minamo: "Which would mean this one must be Kirinokojima-sempai's after all." *It was just a desk and a chair, but when I thought about Kirinokojima-sempai using them, my heart began to flutter.* Minamo: "Nobody's here, right...?" *I looked around once more, then sat in his seat.* Minamo: "...Pretty much just an ordinary desk and chair, huh?" *Well, of course they were. And yet, I felt sort of satisfied with myself.* *When had I turned into such a moronic girl?* Minamo: "This is on par with some elementary school boy licking the recorder of the girl he likes, isn't it?" *Even so, my heart was throbbing, and I felt so content. I sure was pathetic.* Minamo: "I feel kind of..." *I began to feel rather gloomy. I was so busy lately. Maybe I was stressed? Starting tomorrow, I wouldn't be seeing him for a while...* Minamo: "That's why I wanted to see him. Sempai..." *I put my cheek against his desk. That was enough to make my heart pound.* *No, not _just_ my heart...* Minamo: "Oh no... What should I do...?" *I was completely turned on.* *I would masturbate once in a while to reduce stress, but I had obviously never done it outside my bedroom before.* Minamo: "Here of all places..." *Maybe I was turned on _because_ this was a public place? Was this my fetish?* *If I were in my room, Sempai wouldn't feel so within reach. This ordinary desk could be all it took to make me feel closer to him.* *I wanted to please myself while feeling Sempai near to me. Masturbating in his chair would probably feel amazing...* *Once I found myself thinking that, I discovered I could no longer resist the temptation.* Minamo: "It's your fault for not waiting for me, Sempai..." *If someone walked in, they'd be able to instantly figure out what I was doing. I closed the front and rear classroom doors tightly.* *If somebody came now, they would have to open a door first. That would tip me off and buy me a little time.* Minamo: "It's just for a minute..." *I would never get another chance like this.* *So just this once...*