Quote:“Who the heck are you? No…What are you is more like it.” The woman stretches her wings, and then folds them behind her back, covering them with her robe.

“I am Rui, an angel.” All thought processes…have officially stopped.

“An…angel? What the hell are you talking about!? Am I dying or something?” Rui laughs, waving a hand at me.

“No, no. It’s not like that. Actually, I’m here for a better reason. You see; we’re becoming…concerned.” Concerned? “Now why would this be?” Rui looks at a cushion I had on the floor.

“May I sit?”

“Of course, sit down. Now, tell me everything.”

“There seems to be an…issue. One that seems to be affecting you a lot.” I nod, wondering what Rui is getting at. “Okay, what is this issue?” Rui points at the sky. “A certain someone seems to have inadvertently made your life the way it is.” “So…you mean there is a God?” Rui chuckles, shrugging her shoulders. “Let’s not get into the metaphysical, but there ARE what we call ‘Patrons’, who can be considered gods, in a way. They control certain aspects of this world, and see to certain people. Like Phobi, Patron of the Fearful. He is the one who gave you your acrophobia.”

Acrophobia… Wait, how does she…? “Okay, how do you know about my fear of heights?” “Phobi keeps a database, but he’s a jerk. Occasionally, he’ll give someone ‘phobophobia’ because he can. Do you know what that is?” I shake my head. “It means ‘Fear of Fear’. He’s been known for doling out silly phobias such as Tetraphobia, fear of the number 4, and even plain stupid ones like ‘Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia’, or the fear of long words. He’s an idiot. But I digress… Simply put, you were born on a day that was presided by Bure, the patron of misfortune, who is assisted by Kyrios, the patron of clumsiness.” “Huh? That sounds pretty bad.”

“As a result of this combination, you have been proven to be clumsy, forgetful, and a long list of terrible things have happened to you. Well, actually, I think what happened last year was the work of Durau, the patroness of relationships and affection. She did quite the job on you, and thinks that it’s hilarious. Actually, a lot of us do.” Hearing this, all I can think is that my life is being sabotaged by gods. Swell. “Okay, so why are you here? Was I chosen for something? Do I have some hidden power?” Rui laughs at the notion, waving her hand again. “No way. I’m here to help atone for these things. You see, you have been awarded three wishes, which will be granted without fail, as long as it does not include changing who you are. Is this acceptable?” Acceptable? I can wish…wait. What would I wish for? As if something wanted this to happen, a loud banging sound comes from next door as I contemplate. I know my first wish now.

“Another party. Dammit. I wish I could have my own house. Nothing too big, just someplace I can live. Paid off, of course.” Rui nods, snapping out her wings. Before I can even try to understand, we’re sitting in a pretty nice house. All of my stuff has been moved in too, and everything was where I would put it. “Okay, wish number two?” Looking at my refrigerator, I remembered that I’d need money for bills and such. “Okay, I wish I had an account that deposited enough money to live on and occasionally go out with every month. Is this okay?” Rui nods, and begins to mumble to herself, before handing me a card. “The account is based in my realm. You must use this card.” I nod, slipping the card into my wallet. I rack my brain, trying to think of another wish. Unable to some up with anything, I sigh. “I’ve got nothing.” Rui smiles. “Okay, I’ll simply explain further about the terms that allowed this to happen while you think.”

“You see, the fact that your life isn’t so great isn’t the only reason. We have noticed that you’re kind of a pushover. You do anything you are asked to, and you try to help everyone. The thing is, my eldest sister, Lynd, didn’t bless you as it was expected due to your demeanor. She is the Patron of the kind. In other words, you are kind to others in spite of your own unhappiness. Even so, you have almost no friends. Humans are funny like that. You have also had quite a bit of trouble with women, am I right? I also wonder why that is…” I sigh, standing up. “Could you stand up for a second?” Rui nods, and I help her up. Yup, as expected, I barely reach Rui’s shoulder in height. “See? I’m barely 175 centimeters tall. My arms are too long, and I’m broke. What girl would dare go out with me?” I flop backwards onto my cushion, pouring a cup of tea for both Rui and myself. Rui takes the cup, and looks at me. “What does that have to do with anything? You’re a kind boy, I’m sure that anyone would be lucky to have you around.” I laugh. “Tell that to the other students. Y’know, I wish that I could somehow stay around someone like you. Haha, that’s impossible, isn’t it?” I think about what I said, realizing what I had done. “Wait! Take that one back!” Rui throws out her hands, and where my mirror was, a roulette took its place. On it was a bunch of faces. I knew a few of them from around the campus, and on top was Rui herself. Rui looks a bit surprised to see her face, now that I look. She shrugs and throws the wheel as hard as she can, sending it spinning quite easily.

“Wait! That was an accident! Take that one back or something!” Rui looks at me, concerned. “Well, I can, I guess. But if I do, you’ll lose everything you wished for, and your luck will only get worse.” I watch the roulette’s arrow spin, eventually slowing down. “Okay, I’ll take that risk.” I also notice Rui’s face. Anxious. Maybe she’s hoping… Nah, too much to ask. When the arrow DOES land, she breathes a sigh of relief, letting out a yelp of happiness. It’s not her. As if in response to her actions, the arrow jumps a bit, twirling the wheel one last time. This time, I do recognize the face the arrow lands on. It’s Rui. Now how did that happen? Rui seems to be wondering the same thing.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Rui is transfixed with the roulette, then bolts to the nearest mirror. Ah, I figured. I guess all the “Someone would be lucky” carp was for show.

“Eh, I thought this might happen. It looks like my luck’s about to get worse. I’m so sorry, Rui.” Rui seems to be a bit occupied, and is talking to someone in the mirror.

“B-but… That wish can’t be legitimate, right?” The woman staring back at her laughs, amused for some reason.

“Were you not just encouraging the boy? You’re not exactly being a good role model. Let me speak to the Iin kid.” Rui turns around to see my dejected face, and I’m wondering why I can only create problems. She points primly at me.

“My boss wants to speak with you.” I stand and walk over to the mirror, sitting down in front of it.

“You are Iin Tatsuno, yes?” I nod, wondering what she wanted. “Wait… The guy Durau got last year? For real?” She starts laughing hysterically “Oh, man she got you good!” This isn’t fair. Now I’m being laughed at by gods… She composes herself and continues, though her smirk is still there. “Well, it seems as if your wish has been granted. Rui will stay with you on Earth, and I will see to it that you are not separated. I apologize for my idiot sister’s reaction; she was under the impression that she was immune to your wish. She can be pretty selfish occasionally. Well, not even occasionally, it’s more like usually. Well, I’m leaving Rui in your care. Ciao!” Huh? Hey, hold up!

“Wait!” Rui’s sister looked surprised that I said anything.

“Yes?” “If she doesn’t want to be here, then I have no right to force her. Besides, the wish was an accident anyway. I’ll simply go back to living my usual life, and if you need to wipe my memory or something, by all means, do so. It’s not my place to make someone miserable.” Uru looks at her sister, who still is looking pretty pissed off.

“Rui, you need to take a page from this human’s book. He’s sacrificing his happiness for you. Do you have anything to say?” Rui looks at me, then at her sister. She proceeds to sniff with disdain. Oh, great. Here we go.

“No. It’s his fault in the first place. The boy needs to learn what he is dealing with. Hmph, trying to detain an angel, eh? Who do you think you are?” This causes her sister’s face to begin to flush with anger.

“You…you have become a very spoiled, rotten person.” Uru’s smile returns, except now she’s looking kind of rueful. “You know what? I have JUST the thing for you, Rui. I, Uru, Patron of Divine Communications and inter-dimensional travel, hereby ban you from setting foot on this plane until you have learned to respect those you swore to protect. I’ve been sticking up for your two-faced attitude for too long. It’s always ‘She’s not really like that!’ or ‘She’ll try harder, I promise!’ with you! No more. Do what you wish, but don’t bother even attempting to come home. It’s been over a thousand years, and you still have not learned, have you?” Uru sighs, tired from talking. I shudder, tears beginning to form. What kind of college student am I? Crying over such things, what an idiot I am. Despite the flak I just caught for a mistake…why the hell am I trying to defend her? Because I’m a pushover, that’s why.

“I never meant for any of this to happen. Really, this isn’t the first time someone’s been like that, I’m actually pretty used to it. Let her go back home, Uru. Drop her punishment on me somehow, seeing as it IS my fault. My way of apologizing to Rui.” Rui scoffs, looking at me like I am some type of bug. “That’s more like it. You heard him, Uru. Send him some type of punishment. I’m going back to my quarters. Foolish human, thinking he’s done something great when he’s…” I zoned out, left with my own thoughts.

I think I’m tired of her mouth. I’m sick of the names. I’m sick of being a pushover. I’m tired of the ridicule. I hate it. I hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, I freaking hate…these…people. People who look down on me because of my situation. Because of my looks. Because I’m broke. Because…I’m a fallible human. I look at myself inside my head, and I begin asking questions to…myself?

Inside my head, a six year-old version of myself is looking back at me, a questioning look in his eye. Back and forth we go. He asks, I try to answer. “Why do they say such cruel things, me?” I dunno, I just don’t know...

“Why don’t you know, me?” Because I don’t. Do you?

“Not really. I’m confused here” Huh… I am too.

“I thought angels were nice people.” That’s what I get for watching too much anime…

“These people are mean, me. I don’t know why. Maybe I should just go back. Home, I mean… Me?” I may explode if I do nothing. Or more likely, I will simply dissolve to nothing.

“I think it might be about time I stood up for myself. Yes? No?” I think so, what about you?

“Oh? I do too. Go on ahead. Oh, is she still talking?” Okay, now I’m REALLY sick of her mouth.

“I think I am too, me.” I know. I’ll fix it.

“Shut up…” Rui stops in her tracks. “What did you just say?” “I said shut the hell up! You’re getting annoying.” I need to think. Y’know what? I don’t think it’s worth it. She talks like she’s this really nice person, but when she actually has to lift a finger herself, that all goes out the window. Hm? Something is wrong with Uru.

Uru steps out of the mirror. “Something is wrong here.” The room becomes cold, and I look around. “What?” The doorbell rings, and I begin to answer. Uru placed an arm in front of me, pushing me back down. “Wait here. I’ll get it.” She gets up and opens the door, and to my relief, it’s only Yuri. Wait a second… How’d she know where I was? “Yuri? What’re you doing here?” Yuri throws out her hand, and ice is sent flying all over the room.

Quote:Uru turns around, yelling for us to move. “Get down!” Rui kicks over a table, using it for cover and leaving me stranded in the open. I, on the other hand, am confused, and scramble to find some type of cover. Making my way out into the hallway, I run into another room, only to bump into Yuri.

“Ah!” I turn and run the other way, sliding behind Uru across the polished wood floor. “What the heck is going on!?” Uru looks at Yuri, who was swinging claws made of ice at Rui.

“She’s been possessed. Probably by some type of demon? Though, I have never seen one this diligent. Rui! What are you doing, you know you can’t fight like that!” Rui is easily swatted away, and Yuri chases her as she skids across the floor.

“What do you mean, Rui can’t fight?”

“The demon has possessed a human. The only way to fight back is to do the same. Unsurprisingly, Rui was so stubborn, she never decided to learn. This means that while this girl can do what she wishes to Rui, Rui can do nothing to defend herself, except for what she does best.”

“And that would be?”

“Run away.” I look back at Rui, who was, as expected, running away. It was almost comical, when you think of it. An angel, running from a college girl. One who had never even gotten into a fistfight before, terrorizing an immortal. A goddess’ younger sister, at that. Anyway, I’m torn between running for my life or attempting to help.

Despite all the carp I took from her, I have to do something, right? I step forward to help, only to run right into Yuri, who, by the way, had just finished kicking the carp out of poor Rui. “Ah… Yuri, what’s going on?” I take a step back, attempting to run. Yuri steps forward, and I fall backwards, knocking over a cup. Uru kicks a table out of her way, making sure that Rui isn’t dead.

“Release the girl, or I will make you. I have no wish to destroy you. Of course, you will be punished, but at least you won’t be killed.” Whatever had control of Yuri responded by flinging more ice. “Your loss. I will have to destroy you here.”

“Wait! Don’t hurt Yuri.” I step forward, prepared to…do what again? How the hell could I, a regular guy, do anything to this…thing that’s possessed my friend. I don’t know if it’s called ‘bravery’, or ‘stupidity’; it’s probably the latter, but I have to do something, right? Despite what happened last year, I have to try, right? Yes, that day was the culmination of my troubles. The day when all of it came together in one huge ball of misfortune and strife. And it’s the fault of a patroness, huh? I still have to try, to help, don’t I?

One Year ago…

I was in my third year of high school, just about to plan for Golden Week. Apparently, I was such a lame guy that I had only one friend that whole year. Yuri Inoe was the only person in the Literature Club when I was looking for something to do in my second year, so I joined, seeing as she was the only person I knew in middle school. Well, seeing as I had awaited Golden Week for so long, why not spend it with someone I know? Things couldn’t get THAT bad, right? Wrong. I asked Yuri if she wanted to go to a museum dedicated to literature for the first day, and she said yes eventually. So far, so good.

“Welcome, my Golden Week!” That awaited first day came, and I was wearing what I normally do. A T-shirt and some jogging pants should do, I thought. Finding the museum, I was amazed by how nice Yuri looked. I had never really seen her like that, and honestly didn’t really look at her that way. It was a pretty sudden change from the normal Yuri, who never really stood out, and even wore her uniform on days that she didn’t have to. I, on the other hand, always stood out for all the wrong reasons. It definitely didn’t help my popularity, that’s for sure. Like Yuri, I eventually stopped caring for such things.

Inside of the museum, it looked like Yuri was having a lot of fun. I, however, was not. At all. People knocked me over, I fell into a fountain, and I forgot my wallet. Despite this, I was still sort of glad I asked Yuri to come. After having to explain that I had left my wallet at home to Yuri, nothing seemed to go right. I tripped over myself repeatedly, and almost got myself killed when a car flew over a curb and nearly hit me. Things got worse from there. Frankly, the only things really keeping me from turning around and going back home were Yuri and my pride, and even that was beginning to falter. After yet another screw up, I was on my last limb. And that’s where things got really bad.

“Huh… This is actually going pretty well, despite the fact that I’m broke, was nearly killed, and my arm is seriously throbbing right now. Haha, I’m glad I asked you along, Yuri.” She nodded, looking at me. “Thank you. I had quite a bit of fun.” I laugh, but only to avoid crying. Here I was, with an amazing girl, and I was broke. No money, no luck, what did I have to offer? Not a damn thing. Of course, I didn’t want to lament my terrible luck in front of Yuri, so I invented an excuse so I could complain to myself and get it out of my system in peace.

“Erm… I have to go to the bathroom for a second. I’ll be back.” I ran until I made it back to the museum, then looked into the mirror in the bathroom. “Why? This is in no way fair. I did everything I could in this life, and this is what I get?” Tears began to stream down my eyes, and wipe my eyes. “This is just terrible, isn’t it? I’m stuck in one place all my life, and whenever I try something, no matter how great it seems, it turns out like this… And to top it all off, I’m with Yuri while all of this is happening. Why? Why, dammit!” I sit by myself until I calm down, and go back outside, only to see Yuri at the door. “Oh, hiya, Yuri.” She didn’t look too happy. Houston, we have a pissed off girl here, which, by the way, is a MAJOR problem.

Eventually, she speaks. “So I’m terrible, huh?” I was beyond confused.

“What? No, of course not.”

“I heard everything you just said.” Except for the important parts, no? “You’re ‘stuck’ with me, right? Ugh, just go home Iin. I never want to see your disgusting face again!”

“Wait, this is a misunderstanding!” She stepped forward, placing her hands palms out on my chest.

“Get lost!” She shoved me, and I went toppling down the stairs. Landing head first, a spike of pain shot into my head, and I blacked out.

Apparently, I had been out for about twelve hours when I came to in a hospital room. My parents apparently didn’t know, as they weren’t there, and Yuri had left a long time ago, according to the doctors. “You’re lucky. You have a mild concussion, but it’s not too bad. Most people have major brain damage after a fall like that. Someone must be looking out for you.” I looked out of the window in the room.

“No. Nobody’s looking out for anyone else in this world. Maybe it’d been best if I had amnesia or something.” I sighed, and rolled out of bed.

“Wait! You can’t leave yet, what about your head?” I wave behind my back.

“I’m sorry sir, but I just don’t give a damn.” I spent the next five or six hours wandering the streets, trying to forget what had happened, I didn’t get home until three in the morning, and by then, my parents knew all about the fall. They also knew about what happened beforehand, and simply ignored me that night, thinking it was best to leave me alone. Misunderstanding after misunderstanding today…right.

I was deemed depressed, and was kept under lock and key for that week, though I didn’t care. I wasn't depressed, I was simply thinking. I was wondering why everyone else got some type of luck in their lives, and the one time I survive something abnormal, I didn’t really want to have to deal with it in the first place. I spent more time sleeping than normal when not at school, and I was moving on autopilot.

It passed, but I never really was the same. Hokkaido, the place I had called home for so long, seemed like a harbinger of trouble. A rendition of Hell itself. I stopped talking to people, and I began writing more. Except…my writing wasn’t all that cheery. Bleak, it was my impression of this self-centered world I had found myself in. I was left alone, and that was just fine for me. I would stay like that until leaving for college, when I found out that Yuri had been accepted to the same place. One day, I thought. One day, I’d explain what really happened. One day… Maybe then, my luck would change, I thought. Throughout the summer, that day never came… I didn’t think it ever would.
…
…
…

A long shard of ice slices my shirt, snapping me out of my reverie. Uru stood in front of my, reaching out her hand. “I guess it’s about time to show my sister what she failed to learn, huh?” I nod, and take it. Something changes, and before I know it, I’m keeping up with Yuri quite easily. Except…I’m not really in control. I can see, but not through my eyes. I can move, but not with my body. Like everyone else in this world, I’m just along for the ride.

“What’s going on?” I watch as my body, controlled by Uru, easily swats Yuri around the room until a small girl is sent crashing into a wall, leaving Yuri facedown on the floor. Suddenly, I have control of my body again, and Uru stands smirking. The small girl looks up with spiteful eyes and sticks out her tongue.

“Just get it over with. I hate you patrons, always messing with us as if we planned on doing something wrong. I’m simply here to exterminate the boy who hurt my host.” Uru laughs, still looking down at the girl with eyes like snow.

“Okay, I can understand that. But you do know that it is my duty to send you back to Hell, right?” The girl kicks back, folding her hands behind her head.

“Yeah, I knew the consequences. I want to know why you think all people from Hell are evil or something. Is it my fault I was born where I was? Have you ever been to Hell? No to both, right?” She starts to shudder, her tough-girl attitude faltering. “Just…make sure the girl, Yuri, doesn’t get hurt again.” I make my way over to the wall, sitting down near a corner.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” The girl looks scornfully at me.

“Of course. She did save my life from one of your little friends here. Anyway, what do you care? You simply want me gone, do you not?” I look at the ceiling.

“Why is it that no matter where you go, you…”

The girl finishes my sentence. “Can’t escape what you ran from in the first place? I don’t know. And what do you care?” I look at the girl, pointing at Uru, who was taking care of Rui until she woke up.

“The patrons have been ruining my life too, y’know. It seems that I was their little experiment. ‘How crappy can we make this kid’s life?’, they figured. In fact, the incident you referenced where I inadvertently hurt Yuri, that was a patroness’ fault, if I recall what Uru said correctly. Durau, I think her name was. But that’s nothing compared to what you’ve gone through. Maybe there are some good people in Hell, I don’t know. But I don’t think you’re a really bad person. Besides, Yuri’s a pretty good judge of character, so I don’t expect her to be wrong on these types of things. I may not really understand what’s going on, but I do understand some things, like how much you respect Yuri for saving you, however she managed that. Look, I’ll see if I can buy you some time, see to it that you get out of here safe. It’s the least I can do.” Time to examine her answer…

“No. I will not leave here. One, I don’t necessarily trust you.” That’s a blow to my pride, or what little I have at least. “Two, I don’t want to leave. I like staying with Yuri.” Actually, that’s the answer I was looking for. Someone’s voice rang out from behind my back.

“Well, that’s good. Just stay out of trouble, you hear?” Uru? I turn around to see her standing up with Rui slung over her shoulder, still out cold.

“Is Rui okay?” Uru looked at her sister.

“Actually, I did this one. She got mouthy with me, and I just couldn’t help myself. Sorry.” Can you be any less laid back? Doubt it. Oh, well.

“So, what’s going to happen with Yuri?”

“She will only remember parts of what she’s seen today. Even then, it will be pretty blurred, so you should take her home. Invent a story of some kind.” I nod.

“What about Rui?”

“Oh, I’ll take care of that!” Uru sounds a bit too happy on that one. And so I left, with my usually chipper mood out wandering somewhere in the clouds. I propped Yuri up on my shoulder, with the girl helping me on the other side.

“So… I don’t know your name, but you know mine. That’s not fair, is it?”

“Nanaka. Do NOT reference that stupid show. I am not six.” Eh? I begin to snicker, remembering that the anime her name resembled was Yuri’s favorite.

“Really? That’s your name? That’s pretty awesome, Nanaka. Especially seeing as Nanaka 6/17 is Yuri’s favorite anime. Now, for a small moment of immaturity… ‘Magico Domiko! Turn me into a grown-up!’ Hah, that was a great show. Yuri had to force me to watch it a few years back, but after a while, I didn’t mind. Those days…”

I smile to myself, remembering the days when Yuri and I hung out for no reason, with no added pressure or awkwardness. Of course, things got pretty weird as soon as we hit high school, but we hammered things out. Or, at least until… I miss being twelve and bored. Oh? Nanaka’s talking.

“Hm?” She’s looking at me pretty oddly. I wonder what’s wrong.

“You really like her, don’t you?” What!?

“Eh? Wh-What are you talking about!? Don’t be an idiot!” Stumpbling over my words, I look away, my face practically on fire. Nanaka gives me this sly smile, like an adult that knows something a five year old doesn’t. “Whatever, you may wanna pay attention to your self before you fall down some stairs or somethin’.” This time, it’s her turn to turn red.

“Hey! I told you not to mention that!” I pull Yuri onto my shoulders and run ahead, barely able to outpace Nanaka. “Get back here!”

I laugh as I stop at Yuri’s dorm room. Apparently, we had made quite the ruckus, because people were staring. “You want me to freeze them all?”

“Erm…no. I’ll try NOT to get us killed, thank you.” I open the door, laying Yuri down on her bed and motioning to turn off the lights. Something makes me stop for a while. “Huh… She looks pretty peaceful while she’s sleeping.” Eh? Nanaka’s giving me that smile again.

“Look who’s interested in sleeping women.” Oh? So it’s gonna be like that, huh?

“You sure you’re okay by yourself? I mean, nobody wants you running around with a toy wand because you’re a screw-up and you hit your head or something, right? On that note, I’m hungry.” As I finish my sentence, my stomach gives an audible growl. A VERY audible growl. “Aheheh. I guess I’m hungrier than I thought… I’ll head home now. See ya, and tell Yuri I said hi.” Nanaka looks at Yuri, then back at me. When that annoying smile crosses her face again, I pause, wondering what’s going through that brain of hers.

“You could wait until she does wake up. It should only be about twenty minutes or so, right?” While I contemplate the suggestion, my stomach angrily declines, roaring with discontent. Nanaka sighs, pulling out four packs of instant ramen.

“You should eat before you die or something. Geez, men are so simple-minded.” I’m honestly contemplating sending back a retort when Uru pops out of a mirror, tossing a blank-looking Rui onto a mat.

“Hiya! Oh, is that ramen? I’ll have some! Gimme yours, Iin.” While I have trouble saying no to people, my stomach sure doesn’t. It gives a growl that sounds amazingly similar to “Hell no!”, and we all start laughing. In the middle of a conversation, I start to feel dizzy.

“What the…” I fall onto my back, only to find myself standing again, except in a dark room, toys scattered all over the floor.

My head again. Of course, standing right there is my six year-old self, humming “Diamond Star”, one of my favorite songs. This time, it’s me that initiates the conversation. “We’ve got some pretty cool friends now, don’t we?” “Yeah. I hope they don’t leave like the others did…” I nod, thinking about the people who thought I was weird and stopped talking to me as soon as someone figured this out. “Yup. Now, I wonder what’s up with Rui. She’s been staring at a wall for a while-growl…” Ah, my stomach. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you, me.” “Bye-bye!” I wake up, and almost no time has passed.

“Hey! Are you alright?” I nod, pulling a bowl of ramen close to me.

“Itadakimaaaaasu!” I dig in to the food, barely stopping to breathe while the others laugh. I stop, looking at their faces and scowling. “What? I’m hungry!” Ah well. Huh…Rui’s still zoned out. I’ll go and figure out what’s wrong with Rui. Right…after…I…eat.

Quote:“Ah! Okay, time to focus on the task at hand. What’s up with Rui?” Uru grins, pulling out a key of some sort.

“Re-education.” Nanaka and I look at each other, both of us confused.

“Re...education? Erm…can you explain?” Uru shrugs.

“Why not? You see, being in charge of who goes in and out of our world, I, being amazing as I am, also am in charge of discipline for those who are in this world! It is simple, I reset my sister’s mind.” I’m silent for a second as the notion sinks in. Then I pop.

“WHAT?” Uru grins again, dangling the key above her head.

“Awp.” Wait… Did she just swallow that key?

“Hey, hey! What was THAT for?”

Uru pats her sister on the back, and she falls over. “To make sure she doesn’t get it somehow. And to make sure that you can’t decline my offer.” Nanaka is looking back and forth between the two of us, becoming more and more confused, not that I blame her. “Yeah… I need you to look after Rui for a year.” I stare at the grinning patroness, hoping to catch some type of indicator that she’s joking.

“…You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Nope! Just keep her around, I made sure that she knows how to get rid of demons before the reset, and I didn’t touch THAT memory. I’m not stupid.” I’ll have to disagree, woman who just ‘reset’ her sister so that she’s practically drooling all over the carpet. She continues, looking less serious by the second. “She’ll be your bodyguard of sorts, and your attitude will hopefully rub off on her. Oh, I don't feel like teaching her how to function in public. Good luck with that.” Lazy! Do it yourself!

“Well, I’m off! Have fun, you insane kids!” I think the saying is ‘You crazy kids’… “Oh! And by the way, she’ll memorize anything you put in front of her, so use these to teach her how to read over stuff to keep her occupied.” She tossed five or six books on language in front of me. “She’ll also do anything you say, but don’t think of anything stupid, okay? See ya!” She steps through a mirror, and I’m left with, quite literally, a brainless girl, and a demon.

“Why can’t I live a normal life?” My ideal life, one with no abnormalities…it’s been thrust out of reach. I can picture it in my mind. A flag, pure and white, being burned while those two wander around, ruining my life with their extreme ways of doing things. Damn them! I heard something go, to put it simply, plop. “Eh?” Rui had fallen on her side, and didn’t bother to get up. I sigh and pull her upright, which does nothing to fix the situation. She falls right back over. “C’mon, Rui! Sit up!” Rui bolts upright, knocking me onto my back. I sit back up, rubbing my aching head.

“Ow. Okay, this is a start…” I go and fetch the books Uru left, wondering where she had gotten them. “Here. Read these.” Rui picks one up, then grabs her stomach and falls over again. “What’s going on now? Rui? Do you need food or something?”

“Food?” She looks around, sits upright, then looks back at me, looking kind of confused. “Food?” I sigh, then Nanaka comes into the room with a few pre-packaged sandwiches, handing them to me.

“Thanks, Nanaka.”

“My friends call me Nana-chan.” Seeing an opportunity for payback on the ‘simple-minded’ crack, I jump on it.

“Uh-huh… This means what again?”

“Jerk.”

“Seems I’m not so simple-minded after all, huh?”

I open a sandwich, looking back at Rui. I hand her one and point to myself. “Do exactly what I do.” I slowly and carefully eat the sandwich, doing as best I can to actually teach something. Rui seems to get the idea…sort of. She downs it in less than ten seconds, though she has some issues swallowing the last few bites. “Okay, that’s done now…” I hand Rui the books again, telling her to read them. Much to my annoyance, she does nothing. “…It’s getting really late now… Geez, I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.” Rui’s simply flipping through the pages, not taking any time to read, and I’m just tired. I actually don’t feel like walking all the way back home, but it doesn’t look like I have much of a choice here, does it?

I decide to wait until Yuri wakes up before I leave, just so I can make sure she’s okay. Though Nanaka’s guess of twenty minutes was a ways off, Yuri did wake up sooner than expected. Of course, she’s confused, so Nanaka buys us some tome while I make my exit before I’m seen, dragging Rui along.

While walking down the street, I reflect on what’s happened. “Well, today was definitely…odd.” I turn around and groan. “Now even more carp’s been heaped on.” When did my life suddenly become so weird? I throw open the door to the place I wished for, dragging myself to a futon and sitting down. “So…now what? I guess you don’t know either, do you?” Rui looks around, then shakes her head. I knew she wasn’t reading that book. I sigh and prepare to go to bed. Before that, I notice my flash drive sitting on my desk. “Eh, may as well. It’s late anyway.” I drag myself to my laptop and turn it on, plugging in headphones while typing in my password. “So…Let’s see what I can do for now.”

Hours later, I finish editing one of the various stories I’ve written, and shut off the computer. “Eh, that was more trouble that it’s worth.”

“I don’t get it.” Ah, it’s only Rui talking… Wait just a second here.

“Hey! So you were paying attention!”

“Yes.” Apparently, that’s all she has to say on the matter… My life HAS gone down the toilet, hasn’t it? No point griping. It’s late, so going to sleep is obviously the best idea. Hopefully, though it seems unlikely, tomorrows Society meeting won’t be too stressful. When I finally go to sleep, I realize that something is happening… No, something is beginning to happen, and I have a hunch that it's definitely gonna affect my studies, to say the least.

Quote:I wake up the next morning, rolling over like I normally do, only to hit a wall. “Ow. Tch, what the heck?” While I rub my head, the events of the day before rush back to me, solidified in my head as fact when Rui runs into a wall chasing, believe it or not, a roll of melon bread. “Does it REALLY only take one day to ruin my life?” My question is answered with the crash of pots hitting the ground as Rui chases her runaway snack. “I’ll take that as a yes.” After personally handing Rui the bread (And opening it. I’ll hammer that out later.), I go take a shower. While I sit under the hot water, I think of the events that got me into this situation.

“Demons, Gods, and angels, huh? What is this, a manga?” I gripe on my situation for a while longer, then exit the shower and prepare for whatever my pathetic luck has in store for me today. After dressing, I remember that my bike’s chain broke yesterday, so I’ll have to take the bus. It’s only Tuesday, so there’s no way that too many people would flock the busses, but any publicity is bad publicity in my case, whether it be because I’m famous for being unlucky, or people still see me as an idiot, it doesn’t matter. I grab my wallet and flash drive, making sure I had my student ID. It’d stink to have to actually pay to use the campus transportation, seeing as I have no… Oh! That card, I forgot I had it. In fact, I’ll put it up before I lose it like I have nearly every other card I’ve had. (Luckily, this means I have no credit card debt! Again, this also means I’m broke 90% of the time.) Enough of that, however.

“Rui! I’m off! I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?”

“Where are you going?”

“The university. I have a meeting today, so I’ll be gone for a while. Why? Do you want to come?” Rui nods, and I pull out an MP3 player from my drawer. Fitting large headphones over my head, I head out the door, Rui in tow. “The nearest bus stop… That way!” I point to my left, though I’m not entirely sure. Turning the player on, I walk in a straight line, knowing I’d have to hit a stop eventually. Of course, people look at me like I’m some type of alien or something, but I don’t really notice. “There!” The bus is just pulling up to a stop when I spot it. “Tch, not going to make it… Wha!” Rui grabs my hand and takes off towards the bus stop, and I’m just hoping that I don’t die.

Rui easily makes it without any issues, though I have to catch my breath. “Rui… Don’t do that without saying anything please, you’ll end up being the death of me.” I swipe my ID card and pay for Rui’s fare, though it robs my pocket of almost all change. Ah, I’ll have to buy something to get some coins today. I’ll need some type of drink soon anyway, it’s abnormally hot today. While I wait, I take a look around the bus. Not many people are on, that’s a good thing. In fact, nobody from any of my classes are here, so I’m in the clear. I kick back and enjoy the ride while I can.

Ten minutes later, the bus stops in front of the main building, and I hop off, dragging Rui along to avoid any unwelcome inquiries. Utterly bored, I pull out my Pandora, a handheld that I usually keep on me, putting on my glasses while playing a few games while “God Only Knows” plays on my MP3. Looking through a window, I see my reflection and note that I look like a shorter Keima Katsuragi. Advancing to the final stages of the game I’m playing, I stop walking. “I can see the ending.” Rui looks over my shoulder, looking sort of confused.

“Ending?” I nod, then hit one last choice on the game I was playing. Actually, it was a random guess, but it seems to have worked, as the screen changes to a pretty cool scene, denoting that I had cleared the game.

“Another RPG down. Hmph, insolent game, how dare you challenge me! You have been defeated!” Rui looks pretty confused, but that’s to be expected.

I’ll explain. I’ve always been into RPGs. They always have a character that always screws up at the beginning, but becomes a more reliable person as the game goes on. Due to my constant playing of the genre, I’ve cracked open quite a few games. However, that specific game, which I had downloaded years ago, had been giving me issues. Rather, the final boss was. Level grinding was never an issue; I’m pretty patient. However, the stupid boss always fries my priestess within four turns, the carp. This time, however, I decided to let my pathetically low-leveled thief character take the blast while protecting my priestess characters with defensive spells with the mage. Eh, that’s just my otaku tendencies speaking. Ignore my going off on a tangent.

As usual, the clubroom was bustling with people running around to meet our next deadline. “Hey! Otamega! Get your butt over here!” Ah, it seems Yuri’s back to normal, though the ‘Otamega’ insult was definitely unnecessary.

“Hey, hey! That’s not nice!” I reply, annoyed.

“Whatever, just get to work. We’ve got to publish our first compilation by Friday, and we’ve both got classes all day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Y’know, this feels a lot like high school, doesn’t it? Ack!” Someone bumps into me as they run to a printer. “Haha, see? Now, what do I need to do?” Yoku, the VP of the Society, stops running and greets me, though it doesn’t get the results he intended.

“Oh, look. Hi Iin.” Yuri swats her brother on the head with a newspaper, shoving him into a chair.

“Get back to work!” She points at me with the newspaper, and I gulp, assuming that I was next.

“You’re in charge of the fiction section. I want to have it in my hand by Thursday, fully revised and ready to publish. Hm? Who’s the girl; she looks familiar.” Way to not notice anything, Yuri.

“This is Rui. For some reason that I don’t really understand, she’ll be staying with me for a while. Do NOT misunderstand. It is a homestay, a homestay, I tell you!” Yuri breaks into the same sly grin I’ve seen on Nanaka, except a bit more…accusing? I’ll bet that she’s imagining something weird, with the way she looks. Exasperated, I sigh. “Don’t think such perverted things, Yuri. It’s not a good look.”

I plop into a chair, going through all of the files loaded onto the laptop the club borrowed from the school. “So? How’s the work going?” That cheery tone, it can only mean one person…or demon, if you want to be technical.

“What’re you doing here, Nanaka?”

“Obviously it’s because I’m a member of the Composers’ Society, you idiot.” I sigh.

“I know that. I want to know why you’re here, as in the school.”

“I pulled some strings and got myself put into the school’s student database. I put Rui in, too. Oh, and I’m part of the Committee, just like you, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me. I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on you. Now get to work!” Yuri swivels in her chair, throwing a box of pencils at the both of us.

“Hey! Quit slacking! Anyway, I’ve got an idea. Get those compilations done and see me in my dorm ASAP. Got it?” I turn back to the computer and go back to merging files.

“Yeah, I’ll get it done.”

Minutes pass, and I actually manage to get some work done. “Eh, I wanna take a break.” Rui was told to sort out the requests by where they were supposed to go, which, to her credit, she was doing very diligently. She’s actually pretty efficient. I get up and buy a can of soda for myself and, on a whim, another two for Yuri and Nanaka. Yuri looks at me kind of weird when I hand both her and Nanaka a can.

“Hey, how do you know Nana-chan?” Not exactly a question I was expecting. This isn’t good. “Well, you see…” I sneak a glance at Nanaka. Help! She gets it, and comes up with her own excuse.

“Oh, I just helped him find some kid’s mom a few days back. Your friend is a pretty nice guy.” I breathe a sigh of relief to myself, glad to get out of that situation. That was close.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Yuri looks pretty confused, but she buys it.

As the day goes on, nothing changes except for the heat. People have begun to slow down and become lethargic, and other clubs are calling off meetings due to the heat. Even Yuri’s threats become half-hearted and weak. Her brother is sleeping right through the weak-armed swats from the newspaper, which is rare enough. “Hey. Get to work. Now.” See? When Yuri’s tired, all production normally stops. Frankly, Nanaka and I are the last two who are actually doing anything, and she’s not looking too good. I wonder what’s up with this heat…

“Done with the paperwork for the Sales Committee. I’ll go print the stuff now.” Yuri waves a hand weakly, beyond the point of caring. Actually, I’m pretty tired too, but I can’t relax, I’m the workhorse of the Head Committee. I throw open the door, welcoming the cool air and head to the printer. It’s not long before I’m practically crawling. That cold air didn’t last long. “Ah…I’m so tired.” I arrive at the printer, and I lean against the tile wall, which is surprisingly cool.

“What’s up?” I start, immediately recognizing the laid-back, I-really-couldn’t-care-less tone.

“Uru, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, nothing. Just here to make sure you can’t deny my offer from yesterday. And Celine's pissed, hence all of this heat. Trust me, it's worse in Heaven” And how, pray tell, will you do this? I know better than to ask, she’ll tell me herself. And how the hell did a goddess of weather get pissed off, anyway?

“I went through the trouble of paying your tuition, along with Rui’s, so you owe me a LOT of money. It’s not good to be in debt to a Patroness, you know.”

“What do you want now? I know you want more than for me to look after your sister, or else you wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble.” She laughs.

“You’re sharp. Actually, I do need you to look after my sister. This time, my older one. She wants to keep an eye on Rui herself, so you need to keep her out of trouble, got it?” As soon as she finishes, Uru’s thrown into a headlock.

“Keep WHO out of trouble?” Who the hell is this person? And why do these supernatural people keep intruding on my life? It’s mine, and you can’t have it!

“Ah, sorry! Iin, meet my sister Lynd. Y’know, the Patroness of the Kind that Rui mentioned yesterday?” Doesn’t look ‘kind’ to me.

“Ah, so you’re Iin. You’re so tiny!” I don’t think I like her very much.

“I’m not tiny, you’re just tall!” I rage, fighting the urge to stomp my foot like a child.

“Uh huh… Anyway, I’ll be staying in an apartment across the street from your place, and I got a job here. You’ll see me fairly often.”

“Sure, sure. Just don’t ruin my life like Uru constantly tries to.” I blow a sigh and go back to printing, while Uru seems VERY proud of herself. Great. Another supernatural being has descended from the heavens to further complicate my life.

I finish the work, and head back to the clubroom. “Done! We’re ready to publish once we get the green light from the campus bookstore. Now what?” Yuri grins, and a pit forms in my stomach. This can’t be good. She walks to the blackboard and dismisses all non-Head Committee members.

“I have an extra project that I wanna do.”

“This project is what?” I’m wary, unsure of how to take this news, while Yoku finally wakes up and looks excited. For some reason, Lynd and Uru are still here… Don’t tell me…

“Oh, yeah. I forgot to announce the overseer for the Head Committee’s meetings! Everyone welcome Lynd and her sister Uru.” The Committee cheers, and I just want to cry. “Anyway, back to this project. I want us to…”

Now, Nanaka’s interested. “Want us to what? Quit it with the suspense!”

Yuri gives us that terrible grin, which can only mean she’s got some harebrained scheme up her sleeve that I’m going to disagree with. “We’re gonna write a manga!” There it is. Something that I want nothing to do with, given her…eccentric tastes.

“No. I want NOTHING to… Okay, let me ask. Do I even have a choice in the matter?”

“Nope. Everyone else does.”

“Thought so. I will still voice my complaints, is this acceptable?”

“Why not?” She’s not going to even give me the choice to have nothing to do with it, will she? So unfair.

“So, what will it be about?” Now, I may not want to get involved, but I don’t want Yuri picking the genre. Knowing her, she’ll pick something like a one-gender harem and get us shut down.

“That’s what we’re gonna decide today! I want a pilot done by Monday, so we’re gonna be here all day! Isn’t that fun?”

“No.” I decide to be blunt with the matter.

“Whatever. So, I think we should start with this line here.” Yuri picks up some chalk, and writes some words on the board. ‘I have no interest in normal humans. If any of you are…’

“No. I do not want to be sued!” I snatch the eraser and get rid of the sentence. “Think of something normal!”

“Aw, I really liked that idea. C’mon! Please?” Yuri pleads, giving me what I call ‘the Face’.

“Hey, don’t give me that!” I turn away, avoiding her eyes. Dammit, why am I the only sensible one?

“C’mon! Pretty Please?”

I’m about to say no again when an idea crosses my mind. “Maybe we CAN use that one… I have an idea, as much as I hate to say it.” Acting on its own accord, a smile spreads across my face.

“What’s up with the grin? What are you thinking?” The other members gather around, interested in the fact that I’m actually getting involved.

“How about a parody manga? That way, you can have all of the anime and manga references you want! It’d be about a bunch of high school students in a club that does almost nothing, which in and of itself is a parody of an anime. Is that okay?” Yuri looks like she’s about to burst, and even Rui looks excited, though she has no idea what’s going on.

“There we go! Iin, you’re in charge of planning, just for that idea. So, what do we parody first?” Wait, I get involved ONCE, and I’m promoted? What? Anyway, Nanaka, Yoku and I look at each other, and Lynd voices all of our opinions.

“Lucky Star, of course!” Okay, maybe I’m having a little bit of fun. Maybe. But only a little.

“So? How do we do that?” Yuri writes Lucky Star on the board and draws a line under it. “What do we do with it?” I propose an idea again.

“The opening? And, of course, you wanna get this one, Nana-chan?” Wait… What did I just say? Apparently, nobody noticed the nickname being used, and seeing as I, someone who has NEVER gotten on board with ANYTHING Yuri comes up with, am excited, I can see why.

“Chocolate coronets! How do you eat ‘em?” Nanaka seems pretty happy, and everyone is pitching in with the ‘Coronets’ idea. Actually, I have one in my bag, and I’m getting hungry. I rustle around and pull it out, popping open the bag.

“Well, I say that you should start at the skinny end.” I take a bite and the chocolate starts to slip out the bottom. “Urk!” I flip it over and eat the chocolate. I finish the snack, and we get to work once we’ve calmed down. Hm, maybe I can’t keep complaining about Yuri’s insane plots. What am I saying, of course I can.

Quote:The Committee immediately starts working on the manga, which is a pretty good idea, seeing as it came from who seems to be the queen of bad ones. I helped out, which is insanely rare, and we were actually making progress. By ‘progress’, I mean our script was essentially someone recording what we were doing and translating it with names to the manga’s notebook. On a whim, I decide that maybe the club needs some humor. As in, a Setokai No Ichizon reference.

“Hey, shouldn’t the main male character call the club his harem? That would be pretty funny for him to be rejected time and time again. Oh, and why not have characters that portray what everyone wants in a manga character?” The whole Committee likes the idea, and we each get to design a character. Due Thursday, of course. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Yuri this animated, and even Rui’s pitching in, though she got sent off to watch “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and its spin-offs. First to finish their character was Yoku.

“Okay, here’s what I’ve got. Serei Yao, aged 16. He’s modest, quiet, and rarely is in the spotlight. However, due to this, he lets the overly eccentric members do what they wish. The exact opposite of me, I guess.” We fall silent, hoping that he was kidding. I turn to Yuri and whisper in a shaky voice.

“H-He doesn’t honestly believe that he’s nothing like that, does he?” If the answer is yes, then I have really underestimated Yoku’s ability to be utterly clueless about his sister’s activities.

Even Yuri looks depressed. “I hope not.” The rest of us simply look concerned. Next to finish at about eight at night is Uru.

“I don’t care about what you do with mine, as long as she has all of the lines on this sheet of paper. Here.” Please, do NOT let her lines be utterly unreasonable or just plain dumb.

I take the sheet and read it to myself. ‘Special Ability’, ‘You shall not pass’, ‘You’re stronger than I thought, but this is over’, ‘Hmph, I told you that you stood no chance’, ‘Prepare yourself, it’s been a while since I’ve used this attack’ and ‘Rising Air!’. Dazed and confused, I had the paper to Yuri, hiding my face in my palm. While Yuri, looking more and more confused as she goes through the paper, reads, I try to figure out what that last thing means.

“Uru, what the hell is a ‘Rising Air’?” Uru looks up, looking at me like I’m the idiot here. As if.

“My character’s ultimate attack, obviously.” …This was supposed to be obvious? Calm down, Iin. She’s not human, give the girl a break. Breathe… Breathe… Okay, I can’t do it; I’ve got to lodge my complaint.

“You’re not giving us a choice on what to do with the character here!” As the words leave my mouth, I get an idea. A damn good one too, if you ask me. “Okay, you’ll have all of those lines for sure. No problem.” Yuri looks confused, and I just look smug.

“What are you planning?” I smirk and explain my plan.

“I asked Yoku to record the conversations on paper in case we needed some inspiration. We’ll simply use that EXACT conversation at one point or another. Also, it gives us a minor plot to use for a chapter, seeing as we won’t really need a full-blown one. Plus, this gives us one element we need for a successful school-slash-parody manga: Tsundere!” Yuri looks at me like I’m stupid, and then brightens almost immediately. Whew, thought I had gone overboard for a second.

“Now you’re thinking the right way! Let’s get a-crackin’!” Seeing a chance for another parody, I jump on it!

A sly grin crossing my face, I kick back. “Sure, let’s go!” Yoku gets it and continues the joke.

“Fuunga!” The perceived lack of motivation seems to piss Uru off, and she inadvertently finished the parody.

“Quit screwin' around and start!” This is met with laughs and high-fives abound, leaving Uru confused, and we all get back to work, for once having fun with even the menial tasks.

At around midnight, everyone is done for the day, and we all agree to meet again once everyone is done with classes tomorrow. (Or later today?) So…about nine PM, given Yuri’s and my hellish schedules. Geez, it’s insane. But… What am I thinking? Shoo shoo, counter-productive thought!

The Committee splits up, half of us going north, Yuri, Nanaka, Rui and I headed south. Well, Uru’s going wherever she feels like going, but that’s not really important. Everyone’s in a good mood, and Rui finally understands what’s going on around her, due to a 10-hour anime session enforced by Yuri herself. We’re all talking about the manga and how we think the collection of our work will sell. Of course, we don’t have any confirmation that it’ll even be sold yet, but Yuri doesn’t allow us to be pessimistic about the idea.

“This is just so awesome! We’ve finally gotten our work out there, and now we’re doing a manga! I never thought we’d ever do something like that! And even Iin’s participating, which is abnormally rare… Why ARE you doing this, Iin? You’re like a different person when you help out.” I could point out that supernatural beings have flipped my life upside-down, but I won’t.

“I don’t know. It just seems like the Society’s done so much since the pre-semester meetings. I don’t want to let them down, I guess.” I shrug, trying to piece together what’s going on myself. Yuri, on the other hand, steals my bag and runs ahead of the rest of us, turning around and sticking her tongue out when she’s far enough ahead.

“Come and get it!” She turns back around and heads into her dorm. Which, by the way, people are still up and about in. Wonderful, I’m about to be the cause of MORE ruckus in their eyes. Oh, well. I guess I have to have fun sometimes, right? I give chase, picking Yuri herself up to get my bag back. Short I may be, but I can get my stuff back when I need to.

“Eh, I’m not as weak as you think. Give me this, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Remember, our first class is at six!” Yuri waves me off, though I’m not convinced that she’ll remember. I’ll be sure to get her up in the morning. I wait until Nanaka gets in, then I head down the street with Rui. I guess you could say that today was hectic, and I’d agree, but everyone needs SOMETHING to spice up their lives. Oh, great. Now I’m burning my peaceful life too! Help!

Quote:“Ah, I’m so tired.” I throw myself onto my futon, landing on my butt. “Yo, Rui! You may as well go to sleep, I’m going to have to leave early. I’d like it if you woke me up at 5 AM, so could you?” Rui nods, and I yawn. “Thanks. Well, good night”

“Good night… I will see you at 5.” She takes my extra futon and goes to sleep, and before long, I doze off too.

I’m suspended in a totally white room, faced with mirrors all over the place. “What the hell?” Oh, I’m dreaming, I guess. I ‘swim’ through the air over to a wall where I see someone I know very well. Myself. Well, 6-year old me. “How’s it going, me?”

“Haha, you like your new life, don’t you?”

“Yup! So… What’s up with the mirrors?”

“They protect me. Well, I think they do. Anyway, that’s besides the point. You’re…different since I first saw you. What’s changed from your usual self?”

“And you look like Ian a bit more now. On to your question… Well, I guess that I’m used to it now, though it’s only been a day. Plus, I decided to cut my losses and join in on the fun. And then there’s… Never mind.” I look away, feeling something rise in my head. An unusual feeling, though one not unwelcome. Though it IS counterproductive and I throw it away, changing it into something I’m more used to. I rationalize it, I guess.

“I can read your thoughts, you know. You’re still not over the issue with Yuri, are you?” The small me looks concerned. Pitying, even. He looks at me, which makes me kinda uncomfortable. I stammer, trying to find the words to explain myself. In the end, I can’t.

“I think that you wish that the Patrons hadn’t interfered. I think that you need to…” The image fades as the mirrors on every side shatter. I reach out a hand that I know won’t reach myself, hoping for an answer.

“I what!? I need to what!? You’ve got to finish!”

“Just know this. An extraordinary life could lead you to something that an ordinary one will not.” I reach out to myself, still waiting for him to finish his first sentence. I manage to grab his hand and try to pull him up, something telling me to do something in the background. The younger me utters one sentence. “Wake up, Iin. Wake up…”

Then he’s gone, and I’m sitting awake on my futon, Rui standing over me with my bags. “It is five in the morning. You look distraught. What’s wrong?” I rub my head, looking around.

“Nothing. Sorry, let me go get ready.” In about ten minutes, I was ready to head out the door. Getting Rui to wear normal clothing was a different story. We ended up leaving at 5:30, WAY behind schedule.

Waking up Yuri is insanely hard, I find out. As in, she sleeps through EVERYTHING. In the end, we propped her upright and let her sit like that until the discomfort woke her up. “How’d you get in here!? And why am I sitting up while I’m sleeping?”

“You left the door unlocked. Nanaka’s already up and about, and classes start in about twenty minutes, so we need to get moving.” I wave to Nanaka as she tosses everyone some toast.

“Dammit! I totally forgot!” Yuri bolts from the spot, pushing things out of the way. In ten minutes flat, we’re on our way out again.

“We can make it if we hurry, but we really need to move!” I’m counting down the minutes when I realize that we can actually do it. We can beat the bell, as unlikely as it seems. In fact, we end up in class with exactly twelve seconds to spare, and we’re seated in Literature Analysis at the bell.

By the time an hour passes, we’re all on the edge of our nerves…except for Rui, who’s getting down every word the professor says. I’ve got four pages, Nanaka’s got three, and Yuri has barely started. She’s always been like this. She procrastinates, then asks for my notes, seeing as I’m the more level-headed out of the two of us. I lend her my notes, and she pulls an all-nighter before exams and passes with ease. It’s annoying, seeing as I actually have to WORK to stay at the top of my class. Funny, but it seems like she’s actually putting some effort in today. That’s definitely rare.

By the time class ends at 8:30, my butt is asleep, but I’ve got ten pages of notes. Nanaka’s been asleep for half of an hour, and Yuri gave up after page six; it almost looks like her head is spewing smoke. Rui, on the other hand, has nineteen pages of notes. Not notes, she copied the whole damn lecture! What the hell? Oh, we were assigned a project. It seems that some people are going to share notes. Most people work alone to avoid extra work, but I know that Nanaka and Yuri won’t stand a chance, so I guess Rui and I have to help them out. Not to say that I’m not tired, but Nanaka looks absolutely DEAD. She’s barely functioning, let alone absorbing anything that’s being said. And Yuri? Well, she’s Yuri. Not much I can say there.

Next we have Astronomy until two. By the time nine rolls around, I can somewhat understand, so I get started on that essay from Literature Analysis. As it turns out, I end up tuning everything out and missing a bunch of stuff, but I finish the essay. Amazing what a few hours can do. Good thing I brought my laptop, or I’d be screwed. I end up copying Rui’s notes until my next class at four. (Of course I used a copying machine. I’m not gonna WRITE all of that!) Until then, we kick back and relax in the Society’s clubroom.

It seems that Nanaka’s at least trying here. Nice to know that she works harder than Yuri. “I think I got it! Nope, I don’t. Iiiiiin! Help me out here!” Normally, I don’t respond to cries for help, but it seems that Nanaka is actually stuck, so I help her get started on her essay. Of course, seeing this, Yuri follows suit.

“Iiiiiin! I don’t get this stuff! Or this, or this, I just need to see your notes!” She hold out her hand, and I reluctantly hand her my notebook.

“Whatever. Here. Get that essay done, you hear?” While I look on in disdain, Yuri salutes me, smile wide on her face.

“Yes, sir! I’ll get it done!”

“Okay. Until then, I’ll check the bookstore to see if we’ve got anything” I leave the room, heading down the hall before running into the bookstore Management Committee’s head. “Oh, hiya. What’re you doing down here?”

“Here this is the response for your collection.” He thrusts an envelope into my hands and runs off, presumably to catch a class before it starts. I, however, head back, opening the letter. “We are pleased to inform you…” That’s always a good thing. I read through the rest, and sure enough, the collection will be printed and sold for 1720 yen each. “Yes!” I throw open the clubroom’s doors, holding the paper in the air. Ah, Yoku’s here now. “Accepted!” Upon hearing the word, all of the members spring out of their seats, congratulating one another and slapping high-fives across the room. Suddenly, Yoku’s patting me on the back.

“Thanks, Iin. I have no idea where this club would be without you.” Yuri overhears, and waves me over. Handing her the letter, I oblige, laughing with the rest.

“And here’s the packmule that made this possible. I kid, he’s a really important part of the Society, and without this guy, we’d be a club going nowhere. Well, thanks, Iin. I’m glad I got to know you, as is everyone else here!” I’m laughing nervously, unsure of how to deal with the attention.

“Thanks, guys. All of you.” I just happen to glance at my watch, and give a yelp. “Oh, carp! It’s 3:45, we’ve got to go! I’ll see you tonight, Yoku! And tell Lynd and Uru that I’ve got Rui with me, please!” Rui, Nanaka, Yuri and I file out of the room, and I push them all until we reach the lecture hall.

Okay, let me come clean here. Yeah, I fall asleep. It was about eight, but yup, I doze off during class. Nanaka’s motor was non-existent, but Yuri was diligently taking notes, though this makes me feel terrible. I woke up at about eight forty-five, and picked up from where I left off, peeking at Yuri’s notes every once in a while. You know how there’s one person that you always feel like a failure if you end up learning from them? Like learning something from Tsukasa or even Yui from Lucky Star. It’s just plain degrading.

Quote:Class ends, and I slump into the hall, barely alive. “Geez, I managed to get the notes, but… I hate Wednesdays. I just do.” We meet in the clubroom as scheduled, though only the Committee came, though I’m a little late because I went to print my paper.

“We’re back. How’s it goin’?” Yoku looks up from his work and smiles. Funny, but no ill will comes from his smile, much unlike his sister.

“Not much happened in my lecture. Yours?” Erm… About that…

Yuri rats me out immediately. “He went to sleep. Oh, and he lent me his notes from Lit Analysis. By the way, are you done with your essay already?” I nod, feeling superior.

“Well, yeah.” Well, Nanaka seems impressed, though Yuri’s not.

“Really? Geez, how long did it take?” I hand her the printed version of my paper, going through my bag for my Composer’s Society notebook, where I keep notes from meetings.

“Most of Astronomy. I copied Rui’s notes later. Anyway, let’s get back to work, shall we? Cool guys shouldn’t have to-Oof!” Yuri picks up her textbook, and I rub my head. “Ow… Overboard?”

Yuri smirks, shouldering her book. “Not really, I wanted to see if you could sense it. I guess you’d make a terrible weapon.” Was that necessary?

“Are you insane?” I glare at Yuri, though everyone else is laughing. It’s not funny! Not funny, I tell you!

“Most likely. Oh! And I stayed up all night getting these done!” Yuri tosses a folder onto the nearest table, and I go through them. Drawings. What the hell?

“These are actually pretty good! But never do that again. One, it’s bad for your health. Two, it’ll affect your studies. Don’t push yourself too hard here, we need to do some work too. Anyway, this is Uru’s character, right? Ah, we’re going with the tsundere idea. She looks the part; she dresses the part, and her eyes… Reminds me of Kagami Hiiragi. This is…Okay, I know who THIS is… That clueless face, it can only be your brother. And I see that you…Why the hell did you draw Haruhi Suzumiya?”

“Huh? That’s me, not Suzumiya. Note that the brigade leader armband is on the wrong side. And the hair is too long to be Haruhi.” But everything else looks the same. Is this going to be alright? I think we might get sued, to be honest. I flip to the next page to see a character that does not look amused at all, in stark contrast to everyone else who looks to be having a good time. He seems…boring almost.

“Who’s this person? He looks bored.” Yuri looks at the paper, then flips to the next page, pointing out the same face.

“That’s you. Note the thin smirk on the profile drawings.” Is her opinion of me really that low? Geez, that’s just mean.

“Yeah, if that’s you impression of me, well, I have nothing to say to THAT. Anyway, the whole club is obviously this character’s ha- Ack!” That DAMN textbook again.

“Yeah, you’d make such a terrible weapon. Gee, you’d kinda be pathetic in a shounen manga, wouldn’t you? I’d say…you’d be a broken lance or something.” I get up, rubbing my head and glaring at Yuri.

“And you’d make a horrid Meister. Can you say, expelled?” Yuri sticks her tongue out, and I sigh. In the middle of the conversation, someone knocks on the door. “Who is it?”

“Iin! Open up!” A little kid’s voice comes from behind the door, and my eyes snap open.

“Ian?” I open the door, and my five-year-old brother bounds into the room, followed by my parents. “How’s it going, kiddo? Hi Mom, Dad.” I turn and introduce them to the Committee, who all look confused besides Yuri. “Guys, this is my family, who were supposed to CALL BEFORE SHOWING UP, I believe that was the agreement, no?” My mother laughs nervously, and my dad looks at her accusingly, apparently trying to deflect the blame.

“I’m sorry, but we won some plane tickets to Kyoto, so we had to come. It was pretty sudden. Oh, are these your friends? They all look so nice! I see you’ve got a lot of women around, do you?” Uh-oh, here we go.

“I hope you’re not doing this and that and those other things and…” She goes on and on, rambling about stuff I don’t catch. (Nor do I want to.) Let me explain. My mother writes manga, and is one of the biggest Otakus I know. Sometimes she kinda brings her work home, and as a result, her mind’s usually in the gutter. Normally my father stops her, but when she’s thrown in her full-blown fantasies, we know to simply steer clear. Well, Ian just learned that last year. Poor kid.

“Mom. You’re daydreaming in public again.” Geez, she’s practically drooling. My dad’s more confused than anything, so he busies himself with the notes from my classes.

“Ah, this stuff seems pretty advanced. I don’t get it, but good work. Oh, and I heard that you somehow paid for you tuition? How did you manage that? Did you win the lottery or something?” Eck, that’s not good. Okay, you can do this Iin. Just come up with an- Wait. He just gave me one. Idiot! Fool! Why did I not see it?

“Yup. Scratch-off card. It was supplied by the school, and the winner got full tuition.” My dad’s always been trusting, unlike my mother, so he buys it. My mom didn’t hear, she’s off in her own little world, wherever that is.

“Anyway, this manga… Let’s get down to character persona. Plot significance, all that.” Nanaka immediately spoke up.

“We need a tear-jerking story! Meaning one of our characters will go through a tough patch. Something people can relate to!” We all look at each other, confused. Yuri, the only exception, immediately has an idea.

“Well, how about this?” She launches into a rendition of her idea, animatedly moving around to portray the characters’ movements. This won’t be good.

“Iin Tatsuko, our main protagonist, is a bit excited. He asked to see his childhood friend, Yui Inoue after class on a boring Friday afternoon. Until then, he thinks aloud to himself.
‘Well, today I’m gonna do it! I’m going to admit my feelings!’” Oh, THIS can’t possibly end well. Regardless, she continues.

“He looks out the window at the school festival’s final moments. He didn’t want to clean up right now, if he did, the festivities are truly over. And he would have missed his chance. ‘Yes… I must do it today or never!’ Tatsuko turns to see Yui poking her head into the classroom. ‘Oh, hi Tatsuko. What did you want?’ Poor Tatsuko stammers, but finds the courage to begin. ‘Well, I actually have something to tell you…’ Yui’s face brightens, and she agrees. ‘Actually, I do too! Y’know that baseball player from class 12-B? Ren Amano? We just started dating!’” What the hell is this development!? Regardless, Yuri continues.

“Tatsuko stops moving, and looks at the floor. ‘That’s…great. I have a question. Do you…see a future with Amano?’ Yui nods, beaming. ‘Yeah! In fact, we’re about to go on a date now! You need to hurry up and ask a girl out so we can have a double date or something soon! See ya!’ ‘Yeah… Bye.’ Tatsuko can only reach a feeble hand while Yui walks away, out of his reach forever. The End.” Yuri turns around, looking proud of herself, only to encounter a bunch of sobbing listeners. Sure it’s a story, but we all feel poor Tatsuko’s pain. Yoku is probably sobbing the hardest, he’s on his hands and knees.

“Why? Poor Tatsuko, why did such a cruel development befall you? WHY!?” Nanaka isn’t much better off.

“Tatsuko-san! Don’t lose hope! There’s still SOMEONE out there!” I’m sobbing more out of being pissed at this odd development in the plot.

“Hey! Yuri! Treat Tatsuko-san with a bit more concern for his circumstances! That was just too sad! And why the hell does he have MY name, and why does Yui’s name bears a striking resemblance to yours? It’s just not fair to poor Tatsuko-san!” Hell, even my mother is crying.

“That poor boy! He can never attain the correct route! He must have screwed up during a major flag, that HAS to be it! I feel your pain, I have done it many a time! Be strong, Tatsuko-san! The reset button is always in reach!” WHAT!? Is she talking about dating sims? H-Games? She has been talking about something called a “T. H. E.” lately, though I have no idea what that is. Yuri pats Yoku on the back.

“Don’t worry, there’s a Part 2! A happy ending!” What’s she cooking in that head of hers? She again launches herself into another weird tale.

“Walking home, our protagonist is really under the weather. Dragging his feet, simply going through the motions. He’s happy for Yui, he really is, but he can’t shake this feeling of regret and…resentment? ‘Agh, begone, counterproductive thought! I have no need for you!’” Hey, that’s my line. “But woe is Tatsuko-san! He just so happens to meet the couple that crushed his dreams in such a cruel fashion, on their way to a restaurant. Amano speaks, noticing his despaired face. ‘Hiya Tatsuko! Hey, what’s up? You look terrible, man.’ Yui gasps, remembering the conversation from school. ‘Don’t tell me…’ Tatsuko holds his breath, waiting for the realization to make him an outcast. ‘You were rejected already? That…that jerk! Who is it? Who? I’ll give her a piece of my mind!’

“Tatsuko looks away, relieved and disappointed at the same time. ‘I’m fine. Really, I am. Go have fun, you two. And congratulations, Amano. Treat her well, got it?’ Tatsuko walks on, still depressed, only stopping when he hears Yui scream.” Where are you taking this? I advise you to stop this weird tale right now, Yuri! “Tatsuko dashes back to save Yui, who just made him into a fool not too long ago.” I can relate, I can relate. “Desperate, he runs faster than he ever has! Arriving on the scene, he encounters a male high school student standing over Yuri with a baseball bat, and Amano out cold a few feet away. ‘Yui!’ ‘Tatsuko! Help!’ Without thinking, Tatsuko charges in to help, only to be cuffed in the head.

“Despite feeling groggy, Tatsuko manages to hold down the errant student until the authorities come and arrest him. By this point, Tatsuno had taken quite a few shots to the head, and had to be taken to the hospital. Three hours later, ha wakes up to see Yui hanging over him. ‘Tatsuko-san! Are you feeling okay? Tatsuno looks around, then back at Yui. ‘Who are you? Who’s Tatsuko?’ The End.” More sobs. This time, I’m the first to complain, biting through the salty tears to voice my support for the new amnesiac.

“Poor Tatsuko-san! That carp stole your memories, good and bad! I blame Yui!” Yuri looks more confused than anything.

“That was supposed to be a happy ending, you know…” What? Before I can voice my disbelief, Nanaka beats me to it.

“How was that happy!? Poor Tatsuko, he never stood a chance, but he fought anyway. And for someone who felt was oblivious to his feeling, at that! A brave person, in the highest sense! I agree, this is Yui’s fault!” Coming from a demon who was just trying to kill me a few days ago, I guess this is major praise. It also seems that Yuri is no good with happy endings.

“Did anyone write any of that?” I look around to see if anyone did, though I doubt it.

“I did.” Rui raises her hand, showing off an exact replica of Yuri’s plotline. “I’ll leave it on the table when we get home.” My father chokes on the soda he was drinking, and my mother springs onto her feet.

“Home? What is this, Iin? Do you live with this girl?” My father is still choking, and Ian confiscates the can.

“Why does everyone misunderstand? She’s a roommate of sorts. She needed a place to stay for a year, and it happened to be me.” Mom still looks skeptical. “Really, it’s the truth.”

“He’s right. Is this a bad thing?” Rui looks more confused than ever, though she still backs up my story. I need to thank her later.

“No, my mother is just overreacting. At least, I hope she is…” Mom lies back in a chair and yawns.

“You can live with a girl all you wish to, though you should have taken her to visit us first. Y’know, meeting the parents? Oh! I’ll start preparations immediately!”

“Preparations for WHAT?”

“Your wedding, of course! She can wear my wedding dress! Or maybe even a high school uniform!” What? Do I look like someone who would cosplay at a wedding?

“What the hell? I said nothing about that!”

“So you’re just going to live with a girl and have no commitment?”

“It’s only for a year!”

“You can’t fool us forever. If you go elope, we’ll find out!”

“Who elopes anymore!?” Geez, my family is INSANE! But, family is family, and as crazy as they are, I’m still glad to see them. I guess.

The Committee finishes out the meeting and heads home for the night, while my parents and Ian catch a cab to a hotel they’re staying at. Before leaving, my mom waves out the window. “Go have fun, you crazy kids!” Y’know what? I take back that last statement. Ian aside, they’re annoying as hell.

Quote:Rui and I walk home, following Yuri and Nanaka as usual. I stretch, wondering what I’m going to do, only having one class tomorrow. It’s pretty early, but after 6:30, I’m free! Well, until Sunday, at least. It’s still insanely hot, though it is only September. Something can’t be right here.

“Agh, it’s so HOT OUT!” I’m dragging my feet, and though it’s pretty dark out, it’s humid. That doesn’t help the matter at ALL. “Geez, summer’s over, and it’s still burning up out here. I hope the high school students don’t have to wear their winter uniforms, they’ll burn.” Who am I kidding? Yuri and I had to wear our winter uniforms when it was 34 degrees! It’s not that hot today, but something tells me that it will be soon.

I’m deep in thought when something pokes me in the back of the head. “Ah! What the-?” Yuri was standing behind me with a devilish smirk.

“You think too much. Someone’ll get ya if you don’t pay attention!”

“I’d chase you, but it’s too hot to walk, let alone RUN.” Yuri seems to deflate at the thought, immediately beginning to fan herself.

“Don’t remind me. Listen, how many classes do you have tomorrow?” Huh? I though she knew my schedule. Eh, it’s so hot, I wouldn’t be surprised if she forgot.

“I have Contemporary Media tomorrow, so I’ll be up insanely early. I’ll be out by 6:35. Why?”

“Just wanted to know. Well, see you tomorrow!” She runs off, waving as Nanaka follows.

“Well, that was…weird.” I walk the rest of the way down the empty street, kicking a can as I go. Something was up. Yeah, Yuri is lazy, laid-back, and always relies on others for work. But her memory is impeccable. As in, she rarely forgets ANYTHING. It was like she was confirming something. Nah, I’m just getting ahead of myself, reading into the situation too much. That’s it, yeah. I hope.

I arrive at my place, unlocking the door. After a bit of looking around, I go in, ushering Rui in behind me and shutting the door. It’s not THAT late, I’m just tired. It’s about nine, but it’s so hot out, I don’t want to do anything, so I simply run some water and soak.

“This is nice. Huh…” It was time to think for a bit. Something was different on the way home today, normally I’m at least invited into Yuri’s dorm. “It’s probably the heat. No need t think too hard.” Huh… Frankly, I don’t buy that. I’m cynical by nature, and when I see something wrong, normally, something is wrong. Eh, I might be reading too much into it, but I’m genuinely worried. I guess if Yuri had been possessed again, Rui would have noticed, so that can’t be it. Ah, that’s something for tomorrow. I let myself sink into the tub until only the upper part of my head is above water. Being as idle as I was, I nearly drowned when someone called out from behind the door.

“Hey! I’m spending the night here, is that okay?” Oh, it’s Lynd. Wait… That doesn’t change the situation!

“Er, why? Don’t you have your own place to stay? And how the hell did you get in here without me knowing? Or the key for that matter!”

“Mirror. Isn’t that obvious? And I have something I want to talk to you about.” Hell no, it’s not obvious! In what…oh yeah, different worlds and all that. Agh, this is getting weird.

“Yeah, yeah. Wait a second.” I wrap a towel around myself and run towards my closet, closing the door behind me. After changing in peace, I wander back out into the open, scratching my head. “So…what did you want?” Suddenly, Lynd looks serious.

“Something has…happened. You see, a certain demon has…escaped our custody, and well, it wants you dead.” I blink, unable to process the information cleanly.

“Why me? What did I do, and more importantly, what am I going to do about it?”

“Well, being your Contemporary Media professor, I’ll be able to keep an eye on things. And I have no idea. I haven’t been authorized to initiate contact with the demon, and it could easily kill Uru, who is a novice at defending herself.” Great, a demon that can kill a goddess wants me dead. What next?

“Wait, if you’re not allowed to fight the thing, and it could kill Uru, what if it somehow DOES find me?” Lynd looks away, and I become suspicious. “You’re going to let me die, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s…irrelevant. Something for later.”

“Cut the bullcrap! Stop dodging the question. You’re going to let me die, are you not?”

“…” Her silence is answer enough.

“Geez, are you all like this? So I’m going to die because you can’t hold down a demon. How did it escape, anyway?” I stand, hands on my head in disbelief.

“We do not know.” I turn my back on the two.

“Why is it after me?”

“We do not know.” I suddenly feel a need for sarcasm. I mean, it’s not like things could get worse, right?

“You don’t know, huh? Well THAT’S just great. Just freakin’ peachy, because I’m the one affected here, and you don’t know. Huh, funny how THAT works, isn’t it?” I calm down for a bit. “What are the chances that this thing finds me? And am I going to die?” I sit down, too tired for further sarcasm.

“As close to 100% as you can get. In fact, it probably will by tomorrow, maybe by Saturday. It’s not that bad, there is a small chance. It is a matter of-” Forever dodging the question! I have to interrupt; I’m just tired of the dodging and half-answering.

“Screw your damn MATTERS! Give me the truth! Am I going to die?” Lynd looks away, and FINALLY answers my question bluntly.

“Most likely. As in, 99% sure.” Though I knew the answer, the air still goes out of me. I am going to die. I have to repeat this to myself in my head before it sinks in, and even then it doesn’t really.

“Damn… You’ve GOT to be kidding me. Well, if I’m going to die, then I’m going to spend my last night the way I’d want to.” I turn on my Pandora, going through the games I haven’t finished yet. Rui looks concerned, and a bit…sad.

“So you’ve given up, then? That’s it?”

“What can I do? I’m going to die anyway.”

“And this is how you’ll spend your last night?”

“Yup. I’m sure that if Uru gives you your memories back one day you’d be happy that you got to see me on my way out.”

“But…there’s till a chance…” Lynd interjects.

“As stubborn as my superiors are, no there’s not. There’s a 99% chance he dies tomorrow. He’s guaranteed to die by Saturday night. Unless, of course, someone gets through to those idiots, but that’s unlikely.” I kick back, selecting a game that I was in the middle of a level grind on.

Rui looks at me, while I simply enjoy what little of my life I have left. “So we’re giving up.” Lynd is a bit reluctant to answer.

“Well…” I’m not, however.

“Yup, that’s the plan. And we can all thank the Patrons! Thanks for, once again, ruining my life. You’re all doing great! Jerks.” Lynd looks concerned with my answer.

“Well, THAT’S a little presumptuous, isn’t it?”

“No. You guys have made my life miserable up until now. Frankly, I just don’t care anymore. Do what you wanna, I’m playing through all these games. Ah!” Rui jumps.

“What?”

“Ian. Mom. Dad. They don’t know, and…I really didn’t get to say goodbye, I was a bit too annoyed. Well, I said goodbye to Ian, kinda, but not the way… What’s this?” I’m crying. And for once, I don’t attempt to stop the tears. “Oh, geez, Mom… Dad… Ian… Hell, I didn’t even say goodbye to Yuri. Or Nanaka, or even Uru and Yoku. Though Uru likely knows, I’m not going to worry the others. Do you see what your kind DOES? What you’re doing to me? What you’re doing to all of us? Do you see it clearly, Lynd? Just today we were having fun, and I learn that I’m going to die. Speaking of which… What happens when I die?” Lynd looks into my eye, and I feel strangely calm. The crying stops, and I wipe my face.

“If you had died of natural causes, you’d go to Paradise. But…” Quit dodging my questions! I just want some damn answers, is that so hard?

“But what, dammit!”

“When a demon kills a person, or even a Patron, they normally…” Lynd trails off.

“Go on, what’s the worst that can happen, I’m already on my way out.”

“They normally eat your soul, okay! They will eat your soul!” Though I should be concerned, I simply flop backwards without a care.

“More bad luck. Oh, well. So…what happens when my soul is eaten?”

“All evidence of your existence is scourged from this plane. Memories, photos alter themselves, and people cannot find any reference of you.” Of all the carp I’ve just heard, this affects me the most.

“So…you’d forget?”

“Yes.”

“Rui and Uru too?”

“Yes.”

“Ian, Mom, Dad, Yuri and Yoku, all of them? Even that kid, Shin Matsuro?”

“Yes, all of them…”

“Huh…bummer. Oh, look. I leveled up my mage. That was easy.”

“Don’t you care!?” Rui explodes, looking at me like I’m the one in the wrong. And of course, being in the state I’m in, I explode right back

“Of course I do! Do I look like the person who’d not care about my family forgetting who I am, who I was, rather. I’m not that cold. But I am practical. If there’s no chance at survival, then what’s the damn point? Hell, I’m about to die. That means I’m free! I can do what I want, how I want to. But I won’t. That would be pointless. Besides, you’d forget too, so what are you complaining about? I’m indifferent for a REASON. Do you really think that this doesn’t hurt at all? Geez, my little brother is going to forget who I am. So are my parents, as are the others, including you. Showing emotion at this point would be a waste of muscle use. You’d forget by tomorrow, anyway. I just wish… No, that’s just as illogical as showing emotion at this point. Anyway, I have a class tomorrow, I’m going to bed.” I lie down and almost immediately check out.

“You’re a bad liar, Iin.” Oh, look. It’s me. Go away.

“Leave me be.”

“You’re not ignoring them because it’s illogical, it is because you are afraid of what might slip out.”

“So what if I am? I’m going to be eliminated from the earth anyway, so why worry about such trivial things? Death is final until the afterlife, and I won’t even get THAT luxury. No point in these type of discussions.”

“I’m scared. What is it like to die? To be erased? To become non-existent? Do you know that you are? Are you conscious of it? Iin, I don’t want to die.”

“Everyone dies. That is a fact. Except for those damn Patrons. They get to live forever, they get to screw with me, and they get to do EVERYTHING THEY WANT! And what can I do? Nothing besides die. It’s…just not fair. It’s not.” Am I crying in a dream? “This is their fault, you know? If I could simply lead a normal life…” Yeah, right, like THAT could ever happen. The six-year-old me looks sad, and I feel terrible.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m just…me. What can I do? Nothing. I say just enjoy the rest until we both die.” The mirrors shatter, and I’m sitting up next to a red-eyed Rui. She had been crying for a while.

“It is three thirty. Your class is in thirty minutes.” I stretch, then everything I heard yesterday hits me full-force. Again, I feel almost nothing.

“Are you coming to class today, Rui?” She nods, and I leave to get dressed.

Within ten minutes, I’m out the door, Rui following. Today I decide to walk to class, since I’m in no hurry. I have twenty minutes, and frankly, I want to drag today out for as long as possible. It doesn’t work. Before I can seem to even blink, I’m striding through the door of my class and sitting down in the back. When I pull out my notebook, something falls out, and I pick it up. A piece of paper.

“Hm… What’s this?” It’s a note, saying that I need to go to the Society’s clubroom after class. Well, I figure, it’ll take my mind off of things. And I’ll get to live a bit longer.

Before I know it, the clock hits 6:30, and class ends. Why? Why can’t time slow down, just for today? A pit forms in my stomach, and I shakily stand. By this time, Lynd spots me panicking, and looks away. She knows what’s going through my head. Almost automatically, I force myself to walk to the clubroom, feeling sick the whole way. I arrive, opening the door and expecting to see the whole club, so imagine my surprise when the only one there is Yuri. Also, imagine my shock when I see a knife in her hand. Now where have I seen THIS before?

Quote:“Yuri, what are you doing with that?”

“I am going to kill you, of course. What did you think?”

I back away, bumping into a wall. “Wh-Why?” It occurs to me that this has to be that demon that Lynd mentioned yesterday. Is that why Yuri didn’t know my schedule yesterday? Damn, I should have known better.

“Have you ever felt that something that wasn’t fair wouldn’t be changed unless you did it yourself? Don’t you think that the Patrons are stuck-up and self-centered?”

“Well, yeah, but what does that have to do with me?”

“Some of the Patrons, namely Lynd and Uru, think very highly of you. I want them broken. And killing you with whom you admire most seems to be the best way to do that.”

“Oh, really?” Yuri pushes off with one foot and throws me against a wall, holding the knife to my throat.

“Yes. Really.” She thrusts the knife at my neck, but I grab her arm, struggling to prevent the blade from piercing my throat. I look at Yuri’s face, which seems to be contorted with pain. The real Yuri is in there somewhere, but I’m running out of steam here.

“Tch, looks like I am going to die… Well this sucks, doesn’t it?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m trying my hardest to stop myself.”

“Yuri? Can you move?” Nothing changes, I’m still barely alive, but at least I have some hope, right?

“No. I’m trying, but nothing’s working. Iin, I don’t want to die yet.” That’s exactly what the smaller me said last night. But what can I do? I’m only a human, and I’m getting tired.

“Damn, I’m going to die at this rate…” I have nothing. There’s no way out, save for one miracle. Someone opens the door, and Lynd walks in, looking around. I’m saved! I’m going to see another day! She looks our way, reaches out a hand, and stops. I‘m sure she saw the knife. There’s no way she didn’t. But she walks back out the door, locking it as she leaves. She had been told not to interfere. That’s it. I’m done. There’s only one thing left to do.

“Yuri.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“I had one yesterday. I’ll stick with that one.”

“And that is…?”

“I’m gonna let go.” I force a smile, even though I feel sick. “Don’t worry, I’m okay. I’m…” I sniff, barely able to see, and my arm starts to waver.

“What? Are you stupid? You’ll die!” I try to force myself to ease my grip, though my nerves won’t let me. This won’t be easy.

“That’s the point, of course. carp, this isn’t working.” Let go, dammit! I roll to the side, and Yuri stabs the wall where I just was. Oh, so my hand lets go NOW, of all times. I stand up and spread my arms, while Yuri hesitates.

“Iin…” Chance!

I kick a table over, and dive behind it to catch a second of respite. At this point, I’m working on auto-pilot, hoping to find a way out. Suddenly, the table feels abnormally hot, and I smell…burning wood? “Gah!” I spring up on instinct, and barely miss having my head impaled by a flying knife. Someone knocks, and I back towards a wall.

“Hello? Iin? Yuri? Is anyone here?” Nanaka! Maybe I do stand a chance after all!

“Nana- Urf!” Yuri kicked me in the chest, and I dropped to my knees.

“I’m coming in!” The room becomes cold, and I lay sideways, gripping my stomach. Apparently, Nanaka does something to the lock, and the door easily slides open. “What’s going on?”

I struggle to stand, but I simply fall back to my knees. “Yuri, she’s been possessed. Some sort of demon escaped from the Patrons, and f-” Yuri kicks my in the stomach again, and I nearly black out. Instead, I throw up. Hacking, I don’t even have the power to move anymore. I simply allow myself to black out. Leaving the important matters to Nanaka, now. Agh, I’m tired.

I’m suspended in the air, surrounded by a blanket of what I can only call nothing. I know it exists, but it doesn’t really, I have no idea what it is. Anyway, I swim through the substance, trying to remember what I remember it from. Now that I think of it… What am I doing here.

“So you’re not going to die, right?” My younger self yawns and sits down, and suddenly we’re in the mirrored room.

“Ack, my stomach hurts. I feel like carp, I can’t think straight, and I passed out. I may not die, but in a while, I’ll probably wish I did, haha-Ow.” Okay, laughing is out of the question. That hurt way more than I would have liked.

“You’re funny”

“I’m in pain. How is that funny? Hah-Ow. Well, now what?”

“I think you should talk to Yuri about that, don’t you?”

“Not really. Huh, I’m starting to feel slightly better. In fact…” I tentatively stand, and feel nothing. “Huh… What just happened?”

“You forget who’s out there. A Patroness was right outside the door, you know.”

“Sure, but does that mean that the other demon is gone?”

“Well, how about you look for yourself? I’ll see you later, me.”

“Guess I will.” The mirrors shatter, and I straighten up, back in the clubroom. “Ugh, my head… So, what happened?” Nanaka stretched, laughing at the guy with red hair in handcuffs.

“I kicked his butt. Apparently, he’s got something that only works on Patrons. I’m not one, so he wasn’t so tough. He’ll be put away in Hell for a LONG time, since he nearly broke the Treaty. Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Not like I wanted to anyway.

“Where’s Yuri?” Nanaka pointed over to a desk where Yuri had her face buried in her hands.

“Right over there. She’s still conscious, which is kinda weird. Something tells me that she won’t forget this one.”

I look around, then decide to pay her a visit. “Hiya, Yuri. Are you okay?”

“I could be asking you the same thing. In fact, are you?”

“You first. I did ask before you.”

“Erm…I’m okay, I guess. You’re not hurt or anything?” I laugh like the idea is silly, even though I was just in agony less than half of a minute ago.

“Nah, you’ve done worse than THAT before. I didn’t even need a hospital this time!” Yuri looks away.

“Do you hate me?”

“Erm, no. If shoving me down the stairs didn’t make me hate you, I’m obviously an idiot, and exhibiting the common sense to avoid you is simply out of the question.”

“I heard the whole thing.” Eh? What thing?

“Eh…What are you talking about?”

“Last year. I didn’t miss any of it. I knew…what you were talking about, when you were in the bathroom, I mean. I was having fun, but I got…scared? I thought that I might screw up, and I did something stupid. I…I thought that if I shoved you, you’d hate me, and I wouldn’t feel so guilty, but that didn’t work, did it?”

I stay silent for a while, then sit on a desk. After an awkward few seconds, I begin to laugh. “Ha…haha…Nyahahahahaha! Geez, didn’t I already tell you that I’m an idiot? Of course that didn’t work. Anyway, I need to go home and make sure my insides don’t pour out of my mouth. See ya!” I get up and head for the door.

“Wait!” I stop and turn around, confused.

“Hm?”

“Um… Well, I… Thank you. And you still owe me those pilot scripts, don’t think you’re off the hook!”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t. Well, it’s the end of our first week of classes. I have absolutely nothing to do, and I’m bored out of my mind. Do you have anything in mind?” Yuri thinks for a while, deciding on what to do.

“How about we go get some breakfast or something, it’s not even noon yet. Grab Rui, I’m paying.”

“Nah, my treat. I’ve got the money to burn anyway.” Someone grabs my shoulder and I tense up.

“Hey, I’m coming too! Don’t worry, I’ll pay for myself.” Ack, Lynd. Someone else kicks the door open, leading Yoku in.

“Hey, what happened here?” I yawn and shrug.

“I’ll explain over lunch. Lynd’s buying.”

“I most certainly am NOT!”

“Aw, you won’t pay for someone who you so blatantly ditched to eat? That’s mean!”

“Ugh, humans. Okay, I’ll buy the food. Don’t go overboard!” Nanaka tosses me my bag, shouldering hers.

“There’s a cake buffet down the street. How about we hit there?” I pump a fist, heading out the door. And there was Rui, waiting at the entrance.

“Well? Are we going to get some cake or not?”

“Well, of course. Guys, we’re gonna stuff ourselves! Call it a Committee Special Meeting for now. Or, a ‘Stuff our faces’ Meeting.” It’s nice to have something odd in your life, but nothing makes you appreciate who you have than the idea of losing it all. Ah, well. I’m starving!

Quote:“Ack! These rules are kinda excessive! We’ve got an hour, and make sure to keep all plates empty when we leave, got it? I’m not going to pay any extra fees for-” By the time Lynd was even close to finishing her little tirade, we were already heaping our plates with cake and other desserts.

“Hm, maybe you should put some back, Yoku. We’ll have to pay extra if you don’t finish all of that…”

“Look at your own plate, Iin. It’s practically overflowing.” I look down at the chocolate cake, fudge, apple pie, and mousse on my plate.

“Eh, I can finish it! Right, guys?” Nanaka is still filling her plate, though she got a second one to avoid anything dropping. Yuri, on the other hand, is actually pacing herself, something that the rest of us neglect to do. Bad move on our part.

Five minutes later…

“Itadakimaaaaasu!” I stab a slice of cake and shove it into my mouth, grateful not to have been the one to pay for the entry fee.

“Itadakimasu.” We all attack our plates, savoring as much cake as possible. For a while. Ten minutes in, we slow down a bit, plates half empty. Twenty minutes later, we’ve all but stopped making any progress. Another ten, and we’re ready to pop.

“Ugh…I’m done.” I lean backwards, unable to continue. Yoku forces another small slice of cake down, waving his fork like the weapon of a dying general.

“No! Push forward! We can finish! I hope.” Yuri tries the same, but can’t do it, while even Lynd is looking at her plate with disdain.

“Ugh, I’m too full…” Lynd’s head hits the table, and just like that, she’s the first to go.

“I-I’ll try…” I weakly finish off my plate, then clutch my stomach, hoping not to die in the meantime. “Go on, finish your plates…”

“Eat mine too, Iin.” Yuri pushes her near-empty plate over to my side of the table, and I roll my head to the side.

“…I’m going to die.” I groan after finishing off the last of the plate.

“Quit being a baby. You did just nearly kick the bucket a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah, and you were the one with the knife, if I recall.” Yoku looks past the point of confusion.

“What’s going on here!? What do you mean, my sister had a knife?” I blink, surprised for a while.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot that you don’t know. Well, we’re done here, so I’ll explain later. Meet us at Yuri’s dorm in about ten minutes.” Apparently, this does not go over well.

“Hey, you’re supposed to ask me first!”

“You’re just as involved as I am, seeing as you’ve been possessed twice now. Besides, I still have to drop off those scripts, don’t I?” Yuri’s eyes light up, seeing a shot at getting the manga started.

“Okay, just this once. Get those scripts ASAP, got it?” I give a dismissive wave,

“No issue. Rui has it. I asked her to get it earlier while I stopped by the clubroom.” Rui hands me a twenty-page document, containing three different scenarios for the manga. “Here you go. I missed a bunch of notes for this, you’d better be thankful.” I hand her the stack, and Yuri flips through it as we leave.

“Okay, then let’s go! Why do we need to wait if you have the scripts?”

“I have my reasons. I’ll see you in a bit.” I walk off in another direction, and for once, I’m not followed by Rui. She knows that I need some time alone, and she follows Yuri and the others, shooting concerned glances over her back.

I start on the path home, but after a while, I abruptly turn, headed back to the clubroom. It’s like…something is drawing me there. I wonder…

I stride through the door, looking around. Of course, I can’t see anything with the lights off, so I flip them. And sitting behind a desk, twiddling her thumbs, and staring at me is…Yuri. Except this time, she doesn’t have a knife. But…why is she here, of all places?

Quote:“Erm…Yuri? Why are you here?”

“Um… I-I have something that we need to talk about.” Huh. She looks very uncomfortable, and she keeps fidgeting. I wonder what’s wrong?

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Um… I… Never mind. I’ll talk about it later. Anyway, we’ve got some time. Is there anything you need to do?” I think for a while. It’s rare for Yuri to ask someone else what he/she wants. It just is. Something isn’t…normal here. But it is a welcome change, I think. I really don’t know how I feel about this.

“I don’t know. Frankly, I’d like to not waste this little weekend we have, but all of my work is done, so I’m pretty bored.”

“Well, there’s this movie I really want to see, and it just came out yesterday. I was wondering… Maybe you’d come with me?” Wow. THAT came out of left field. The question was, is it unwelcome? Agh! Counter-productive thoughts, again! I sigh.

“Well, why not? But… It’ll just be us two.”

“Yeah.” Now won’t THIS be awkward. Or will it? The feeling of being uncomfortable emanating from Yuri is gradually disappearing. And I’m scared out of my wits. After last year, I have every right to be afraid. What if I screw up? What if a Patron decides to step in and ruin everything? (Again.) My brows furrow in thought, and I yelp when something touches my shoulder.

“You’re over-thinking it. Just go with it, one step at a time. But if you really don’t want to…”

“It’s not that, I promise. It’s just…after what happened last year, you can’t blame me for being, well, scared, I guess. But I do tend to think too much.” I sigh, looking at the ceiling. “It’s weird. Everything is different now, but nothing has really changed. Oh, I’m just rambling. Never mind me.”

“You know... You haven’t changed that much.”

“Haven’t I? Change isn’t evident until it is evident.” Yuri laughs, feigning annoyance.

“Ugh, you and your cryptic answers. Let me finish. You’ve been having more fun lately. And you’ve stopped avoiding me, which is always a plus. Though, sometimes I wonder… What goes on in your head? Exactly who is Iin Tatsuno?” I look at the wall, processing the question.

“I’ll get back to you on that. A lot of stuff has changed recently, hasn’t it?” Yuri looks surprised that I said what I did, so I change the subject. “Oh, I forgot!” I head to the back of the clubroom and fish through a hopelessly full drawer on a desk and pull out an envelope. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Open it and find out.” I grin, imagining her face once she opens the envelope.

“Iin? Did you have something to do with this?” She holds out seven plane tickets. I just smirk. “Iin? Wh-what’s this?”

“Round-trip plane tickets to Osaka, of course. One for everyone in the Committee.”

“H-how? How did you manage to afford this?” My hand unconsciously goes to my wallet, twiddling that card I got a few days ago.

“I have my ways.” Actually, I have no idea where the tickets came from. I checked the drawer the day after my parents left and there they were. It’s pretty likely that my parents left them, so I’ll have to remember to thank them later. And pay them back, really. “Anyway, do you still want to catch that movie?” Yuri thinks for a while.

“Well, it really doesn’t matter to me. Staying here is just as good. It’s more familiar, so maybe… We could just talk?”

“I got it. So we’re staying here?” Yuri nods, and I feel that she’s becoming more comfortable with the situation. “Well, if you say so.” I lie backwards, staring at the ceiling. “Yuri?”

“Hm?”

“Lately, you’ve been thanking me for a lot of stuff. Well, I think I may as well thank you. And apologize.”

“Apologize? For what?”

“For all of this insane stuff. And thank you. For giving me a second chance. If there’s anything I can do, ever, you just say the word, and I’ll be right there, no questions asked.” After that, we simply chat for hours on end.

Seven P.M…

“Ah! We’ve got to get back to the others, it’s late!” I bolt up, grabbing my bag and jacket while looking at the nearest clock.

“Really? Oh, carp!” I stretch, and Yuri’s already moving. Or rather, she would if she hadn’t tripped. Time seems to slow down, as cliché as it is, and she’s falling forward. Before I can think to react, to even process what just happened, I’m already using my arm and shoulder to steady Yuri.

Now isn’t THIS awkward? We somehow catch each other’s eyes, and we look away in embarrassment at the same time. Great. “Erm… A-Are you okay? Nothing’s hurt, right?”

“No, I’m alright. Erm…That was awkward.” Ah, so I’m not the only one.

“Um, yeah, it was. So…should we get going now?” Something in the back of the room catches my eye. “Wait a second.” I pick up a large book from the back desk and flip it around. “Well, what’s this?” The cover says ‘Composer’s Society-Northern Hokkaido Prep Academy’. “Hm? It’s for our old high school. Why is it here, I thought I left it at home. A slip of paper fell out of the back, and I pick it up.

“What does it say?”

I unfold the paper and read it aloud. “Hey, Iin. You may have forgotten this. Just because I’m not around doesn’t mean that I don’t know what you tend to do. College is nice, but don’t get too excited and forget your friends, alright? And keep this safe! There are some nice pictures of Yuri and her brother in here. There’s another book like this in the back drawer, where you’ve no doubt found my little surprise. Use that to record your best moments in college. And write back, you hear? Have fun! Signed…Shiori Tatsuno” My mother.

“Your mom left that while she was here? She’s sneakier than I thought!” Yuri looks on in bewilderment. I chuckle.

“I should’ve seen it coming. She has a knack for leaving things like this in places without being noticed, hence how she can get away with reading manga before deadlines without my dad knowing. Hm, I wonder what’s in here?” I flip through the pages, looking at pictures of the Composer’s Society while I was in high school. Front and foremost was a picture of me writing while Yuri beat the living hell out of Yoku for sleeping. “You’re violent, you know that?”

“I don’t recall doing th- Oh! Now I remember! That was the week we were working on Historical Fiction, remember? You ended up doing all of the work because the rest of us goofed around.” I groan and flip the page.

“Yeah. I do.” The night goes on like this until about twelve, when we decide to show the others the tickets. Apparently, it goes over very well.

“No. Way!” Yoku is beside himself, like he always is when a big surprise rolls around. Of course, Rui takes the practical approach.

“What about classes? We’ll be gone for a week, so we’ll miss a lot.” Lynd waves a dismissive hand, yawning.

“I got that covered.” Okay, this makes me wary, and I voice my opinion as such.

“How? I mean, I’m kinda skeptical.”

“Clones!” Wow. That’s one way to do it. “We’ll leave tomorrow!” Huh. Didn’t think we’d all be on board so easily. It is pretty sudden, but everyone looks excited. I smile to myself, allowing myself to lapse into the same stupidity that affects my friends. Briefly. I still have to be the sensible one. But I guess even I can kick back and be an idiot sometimes.


Ignore the poll, my computer derped a bit, and when I hit 4 options, it put two for some reason. Sorry.

Quote:[Weaver]-Heaven, 12:53 AM

“Hey! I’ve got you!” Tch. Caught already. I slowly turn, backing towards the door a few meters behind me. “Where do you think YOU’RE going?” I groan, annoyed by yet ANOTHER idiot who misses the blatantly obvious. Really, such pointless questions.

“Out of here, that’s for sure. You regular angels and your uppity laws, they make me sick. What makes MY kind inferior? Not intelligence, THAT’S for sure.”

“Weaver, we’ve been through this. Your kind rebelled against Heaven and the other angels. The proof is on your back.” My wings moved uncomfortably, which only served to piss me off.

“For being treated like dirt! IDIOTS!” I turn and continue to run, and the stunned angel goes for help. Weaver. My name. One I had been assigned. My parents would not look at me once they’d seen my back, so I was put into Purgatory with no name. I throw open the door, striding to a module inside of the high-tech room. Right as I start to arrange my escape, someone, a woman, calls out from the door.

“Wait! You don’t know what you’re doing!” The Patroness at the door had been my Overseer while in Purgatory, essentially a prison with grass and clouds. Huh, he got help pretty fast for a regular angel.

“Well, I’m at the drophole for Earth, and I’m at the module, and I hate this place. I’m PRETTY sure I know that I’m escaping. Why is this so hard to get, geezums.” I start punching in random coordinates. A city in Japan, wherever that is, called Osaka appears on-screen, and a hole opens in the floor, revealing a blue sky.

“Why? Why, Weaver? Was I not kind to you?” I blow a sigh.

“Yeah. You were. THIS idiot, on the other hand, constantly stole my food, tripped me at all chances, tried to KILL me, and were general douchebags. Yeah, I don’t think one kind soul beats a thousand idiots. Especially with me being the last recognizable member of my kind. The rest were lucky enough to avoid the ‘Trait’. Lucky bastards.”

“Just…no. Don’t run yet, it’ll get better, I promise!”

“You don’t understand. At all.” I drop through the hole, only to have my hand grabbed. I begin to address her, but I realize that I was never authorized to learn my Overseer’s name. Huh…just another right I don’t have.

“Elsi.”

“Huh?” My feet dangle over a cloud.

“My name. It’s Elsi, Patron of the Fair. I know that seems like a contradiction to what the angels under MY territory do-”

“Seems? It IS.”

“Whatever. But the point is that I don’t get it. Why leave?”

“Because there HAS to be something better down below. You just don’t get it, Elsi. I don’t have a choice in the matter.” I’ve always seen Elsi as a sister of sorts, despite me not knowing her name. It really makes me feel like carp when she starts to cry as a result of such a non-sensical relationship. Bah.

“Don’t say that. Please, don’t. There is a choice. There is always some kind of choice. You have options.” Great. Here, we see firsthand the silly optimism and naïveté of the Patrons in this domain. She does still have a firm grip on my hand, though, and I give Elsi credit for that. Really, she’s not making escaping very easy. In more ways than one, though I hate to admit it. “There is a choice, Weaver. It’s just a matter of whether or not you SEE it.” A sardonic smile crosses my face briefly.

“Really, now? Please, enlighten me. Tell me of this AMAZING option that you have in store for me. One that isn’t total nonsense, please?” The smile fades once tears start hitting my face at a slightly quicker pace. Did I say something offensive? Having absolutely NO social skills (Also the angels’ fault. Thanks for locking me up, guys. You’re awesome. Sarcasm, in case the angels here really are as stupid as they tend to display.), I have no idea if it really was my fault. Something I’ll need to brush up on when I get to Earth. “You…do think you have an alternative, don’t you? Let’s hear it, though it is likely total folly.”

Elsi speaks softly, almost at a whisper. “Stay. I’ll get you out of Purgatory, and you can live with me. I know you’re the last of the Forgotten. I know that the other angels want you dead. I understand that. But…that means nothing to me. You can still lead a normal li-” I sigh and interrupt in a somber tone. As I thought. But…why does a part of me want to believe her? It’s illogical. Plain stupid, yet…I don’t want to leave Elsi.

“But that’s just it. I can’t. Because I have the ancestry I do, because of who THEY were. Because of the supposedly radical idea of peace and equality is freakin’ HEAVEN, I can’t. This name…my wings. All of it just means…that I can’t take you on your offer.”

“…You’re leaving? Please, Weaver. Please, you’re like my only sibling!”

“Elsi.”

“What? Tell me, just don’t go!” I take a look at her face one last time, and loosen my grip on her wrist, and I fall a bit.

“I’m no different that the guy behind you. I’m an angel too, you know.” And with that, Elsi loses her grip and I begin to fall. Elsi grabs for my wrist with a broken, piercing cry that makes me sick, and makes me feel…regretful, or something stronger. Like I’ve lost a limb or something.

“WEAVER!” I turn to face downwards, and open my wings. Using what had caused me to be ostracized most, I flap with all my might to escape the idea of running back to Elsi, illogical as it may be, and burying myself in her arms. I almost pause to look back, but in the end, I decide not to. Picking up speed, I beat my wings with a rhythmic strength that no other angel can. My curses, you could call them, but to me, they’re just my wings. My four wings.

Quote: [Iin Tatsuno] Friday Morning, 8:21 A.M.

“Holy…” This. Is. Awesome. So, here we are, boarding a plane for a vacation for ourselves. I’m so excited I can barely keep still. In fact, I bounce on the balls of my feet before sitting down next to Yuri. Rui takes a seat across the isle next to Uru, and Nanaka sits in front of me with Yoku. Lynd sits by herself, communicating with Heaven. How do I know? Well, she has no phone, yet here she is, with something that eerily resembles an iPhone.

“This is so COOL!” Yuri is beside herself with excitement, but I have something on my mind. Some weird stuff happened last night, and frankly, I’m creeped out.


[Iin Tatsuno] Earlier that morning… 1:12 A.M, Friday Morning

“Ah… Home, sweet home. Plus, I’m not dead!” That’s always a good thing. I flopped onto my futon, pulling out a flashlight and a notebook.

“What are you going to do with that?”

“Working on the script for the manga. It’s a lot of work, so I want to get it done now so Yuri can get the drawings done soon.” Actually, I was working on a specific scene, where the characters were trying to get their club off the ground. As soon as my pencil touched the paper, though, an explosion of light erupted behind my eyes.

“Iin!” I heard Rui scream, but after that, I’m long gone.

The light faded, and everything looked the same, except for one thing… Rui was nowhere to be seen. Actually, my notebook was gone too.

“What the hell? Rui!” I swiveled on my feet, looking for some clue as to what was going on. Of course, I found none. “What the hell is going on? Uru? Lynd?” Tch. Not a soul answered. I went outside, only to see no lights on at all. All of the houses were dark. Not a car was on the street, and even the buses were nowhere to be seen. The cold hand of panic seized my throat, and I rushed off to check Yuri’s dorm. Through the window, I could see that even the library, which never shut off all of its lights, was completely dark.

“Where…am I?” Nobody answered, of course. That would have been WAY too easy. “Am…I trapped here?” THAT thought went over like a ton of bricks. Suddenly numb, I wander around the street, looking for some sign that I could escape. No such luck. I stopped and picked up a dandelion, but it somehow…shimmered? My hand passed through it the first time. I tried to pick it up again, and it worked, but the job was done. I was thoroughly weirded out.

“What the hell?” I wandered down the street, looking for SOME way I could figure out what’s going on.

After a few hours, I noticed something that REALLY shook me. Nothing had changed. It was still just as dark out, the moon hadn’t moved, and there was no breeze. At all. It was strange and unnatural. (Yes, even more so than Patrons and angels.)

“How did this even HAPPEN?” I waited, hoping the smaller me would answer like he normally does, but I hear nothing. In fact, he’d been silent for the whole time. Tears began to well up in my eyes. “Dammit, why is this happening? I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!” Heat rushed from my head downwards, but it wasn’t from being so pissed off. It wasn’t a very welcome or pleasant heat, either.

“Dammit, screw this…world, whatever it is. I just want to leave. I don’t care how. Just…GO AWAY!” The ground erupted into shards, and giant cracks raced across the ground. Buildings fell, light posts exploded, and windows shattered. At the middle of this destruction was me, filled with rage and stomping around on an epic tirade, cursing the world for my woes. I slumped to my knees, tired, and waited for the world to end. And it did.

I found myself face-down on the floor back at home, in minor pain, like I’d run into a wall. Rui was looking at me as if I’d grown something on my head.

“Where did you go?”

“No clue. It was just like here, except…empty.” Rui looked at me long and hard, and her eyes expanded.

“No… Listen. Don’t tell Lynd or Uru about this. Not until I say you can, got it?”

“Erm, sure.” I replied. “But can you tell me why?”

“You’re in danger. You didn’t just go to another dimension or something, you created a whole different world. There’s no way that should be POSSIBLE for a human. Unless…” Rui looked away, mumbling to herself. “No. There’s nobody who could expose Iin to Noise on Earth. Not possible. Dammit.” She looked back at me.

“What’s up?”

“Go to sleep, the trip is tomorrow. I’ll look into what caused your little disappearing act. Whoever did this… I wonder…” I looked at her back as she paced back and forth.

“Rui?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll see you… Erm, when you wake up. Good night, Iin.” She wandered to her own futon and fell asleep almost immediately.

“Yeah… Good night, Rui.” I sighed dejectedly, and went to sleep.

[Iin Tatsuno] Friday Morning, 8:27

“We have reached cruising altitude, you may take off your seatbelts. Thank you for flying with us today, and enjoy your flight.” The PA crackles to a halt.

“Well, we’re on our way!” I munch on a bag of pretzels while Yoku hogs a whole bag of butter cookies, much to his sister’s chagrin. “This is so awesome!”

“Yup. Anyway, gimme.” Yuri holds out her hand, and I scowl. Regardless, I tip the bag towards her. “Thank you!” She fishes out a handful. “See? HE shares his food!”

Yoku scoffs. “Iin’s way too nice on you. You’ll spoil her, man.”

“Shut up.” Yuri doesn’t necessarily like his comment, apparently. I laugh at the two of them as they argue, and take a look at the plane. The seats kinda remind me of my mom’s writing chair. Blue leather backrests against a primarily plastic body. Despite the oddly shaped headrests, they’re actually comfortable. I flip open my phone, which I bought before the trip, and switched to a video feed. It keeps tabs on those clones that Lynd had created so we could go on the trip.

They dutifully act as we would if we were in class. Rui’s copies EVERYTHING, mine takes diligent notes, Nanaka’s clone’s head is practically smoking, but she’s trying her best, and Yuri’s…is asleep. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“Iin.” I don’t notice Yuri calling my name and poking my shoulder at first, but getting smacked with a newspaper tends to get your attention. “Iin!”

“Ow! What do you want?” Geez, that hurt!

“Not much. I just wanted to thank you again.”

“For the pretzels?” I’m confused. She hit me to thank me for some food?

“No, you idiot!” Well, THAT’S uncalled for. “I meant the trip. And…pretty much everything, I guess.”

I wave her thanks off. “Aw, it’s nothing. No need for any thanks.” Yoku laughs at my dismissive response.

“You never do take credit for anything you do, do you? Hah, when you say something is nothing, it’s likely something major to the rest of us. You’re too modest, you know that?”

“Is that so?”

“Yup!” Yoku replies. “Hey! Anyone want a cookie? They’re good! I’ll trade ya, Iin.” I chuckle and hand him the bag, noting that he had sworn to never let them go a few minutes back.

“Thanks. You want one, Yuri?” Yuri takes one out of the bag, smiling at me.

“Sure! Thanks.”

“It’s no issue.” I quip. Nanaka looks over the back of her seat.

“Too bad we don’t have this kind of stuff in Hell. We mainly have to use a train, but some people take mass buses.” My brain blows a gasket trying to process the idea that Hell, of all places, has trains and buses.

“What’s Hell like, anyway?” I ask. I’d been meaning to ask for a while. It just happened to pop out now, but better late than never, right?

“Depends on who you are.” Nanaka shrugs. “I was born and raised in Hell, so it’s not much different than Earth. If you end up in Hell for offenses on Earth, however, it’s MUCH worse than you humans think it is. On the northern side, which is for regular citizens, there’s school, malls, skyscrapers, and even snow every once in a while!” I have somewhat of a problem digesting this information, oddly enough.

“Hell has…snow?”

“Yup! It’s so cool! But it gets REALLY cold sometimes. Like, zero degrees, or even in the negatives sometimes.” Erm… Are we still talking about HELL? “We even had grades in school. The grading system was exactly the same as it is here!”

“Really, now? What were you best at?”

“Trigonometry. Everything else were about C level, but I managed a few As in Trigonometry.” People from Hell studying trig. What the hell is wrong with the universe!? (Pun not intended.)

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s pretty cool, knowing that Hell is just like Earth. It’s like I’m not missing anything. But… Never mind.” Her smile becomes somewhat rueful, wistful even. You can see it in her eyes. It’s like something is missing. They’re hollow, if that makes any sense. Is it possible that Nanaka’s homesick?

“Nana-chan…” carp. There that name goes again. Well, I consider her a friend, so why not?

“It’s nothing.” Nanaka shakes her head profusely, flustered and confused-looking. That means it HAS to be something, right?

“Yoku, switch seats with me.” He looks at my face and deems it to be too serious to not swap.

“Sure, why not?” Seconds later, I’m sitting next to Nanaka.

“So. What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.”

“Well… It’s just that things were so…weird when I first got here, y’know?” Nope, I don’t. “Everything was unfamiliar, and it was scary. As soon as I got here, I was jumped by a Patron. Yuri scared him off, and we started talking. I was beyond afraid, y’know? It was so different at first. I didn’t know anyone, and I couldn’t get back home. I didn’t know my exact location, or who I could trust.”

“Huh… Well? What happened?”

“I happened to sense the presence of an angel nearby, and I remembered seeing a picture of you, so I went to check it out. Yuri looked so sad when she talked about all the memories you two shared. I assumed that you had hurt her in some way, and then you were talking to a resident of Heaven. It was actually kind of stupid to believe that.”

“How so?”

“Yuri speaks so highly of you. As far as she’s concerned, if there’s nobody left to trust, she says trust you. One hundred percent of the time, without fail. I had somewhat hated you for supposedly hurting Yuri, so imagine my surprise when it turned out the other way around. It threw everything into disarray. But now that I know you, she may have been right on who to trust.”

“Really, now? Let’s hope it never comes to that. Yuri’s influence has quite apparently robbed me of all common sense, or else I wouldn’t have signed on for this manga idea. Apparently, my sanity is going off on its own.” And my humanity, given the morning’s events, but I don’t say that.

Nanaka gives me this coy little smile. “Now who would be at fault here?”

“Quite obviously the rest of you. I was perfectly sane two weeks ago.” I snicker. “Sometimes, I just want to kick back and talk. Screw the manga, screw classes, I just want to enjoy life. Especially now…” I cut myself off, choking up a bit.

“Iin?” Nanaka looks concerned, so I pull myself together.

“It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. I’m okay.”

“You’re always trying to protect everyone. You can’t carry everything alone, plus everyone else’s burdens too. You make a nice pack mule for the Committee, but you can’t do it all.” I can’t tell them, though. Would she…know what’s going on? Not taking the chance anyway. I simply nod without giving anything away. Nanaka yawns.

“Hm?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m getting a bit tired, is all.” She yawns again, and ten minutes later, Nanaka is asleep on my shoulder.

Nanaka breathes in and out as she sleeps, creating a peaceful rhythm that contrasts sharply with my life the past two days. Normally, I’d be sweating up a storm with a girl sleeping on my shoulder, but for some reason, I’m not. I ponder on this odd occurrence for almost two full minutes until the answer hits me. I just don’t see Nanaka that way. She’s more like a sister than anything. In fact, I can’t help but shun the very thought of even imaging a relationship beyond that. But…she’s still so peaceful. I constantly have to remind myself that she’s an ice-wielding demon. Frankly, I don’t really care.

“Hey, Iin.” Yuri pokes her head over my seat.

“Yeah? Be sure to stay quiet. She’s asleep.”

“Got it. Well, I’ve been wondering something for quite a while now.”

“Okay? What is it?” I have no idea where this is going.

“You and Rui get along, right?”

“Erm, yeah.”

“Oh. Anyway, it seems so cool to be in your position, but that’s just an outside view, right? I have no clue how it happened, but I’m guessing it’s not all peachy.” I almost break and tell her everything, but I bite my tongue. Instead, I recap that whole first day with Rui.

“…And that’s how it happened. It’s not all that bad. Uru’s cool when she’s not being stubborn, and Lynd’s great.”

“Uh-huh. What about Nana-chan?”

“She’s kinda like…a sister.”

“Rui?” I take a bit longer on that one. What does Rui mean to me? Well, having no memories, I have to throw out any first impressions. I guess…

“A good friend of mine. Like a cousin or another sibling.” Yuri nods.

“Ah. Erm, please excuse my asking, but… Where do I fall?” I almost choke on a cookie after that question. I hack for a while before answering.

“Where did THAT come from?”

“I’m sorry. Don’t answer that.” She looks like…she’s afraid of what the answer might be?

“No, no. I was just surprised, that’s all.” I sigh. “That’s more your call than anything.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’d like to believe that last year was simply a fluke. We’re both older, and we’ve been through a lot. Namely yesterday, but I’ll leave that be. Until you decide on something more or less, I’d consider us the best of friends, I guess. But in the end, it’s your call.”

“Until I decide?” She looks kinda confused, so I elaborate.

“You already know how I feel. No point in reiterating it now. I’m just waiting for some type of response from you. Hopefully, I’m not being a total fool. If you don’t think it’d work, say so. I won’t hold it against you, though I will be hurt for a week or so. But I’ll get over it. Just think about it, you don’t need to rush a decision.”

“Got it… Iin?”

“Yup?”

“Thanks. I know I’ve been saying it a lot. I know that. But really, thank you.”

“No issue.” I have no idea what she’s thanking me for, but I’ll just go with my usual answer. I look outside the window, noting the blue sky. Meaning that there is a tomorrow to me, no matter what the hell is going on inside my head and body. I tap Yuri on the shoulder.

“Hm?”

“…If something were to happen to me, so I wouldn’t be human. Theoretically, would you still be the same Yuri, even if I wasn’t the same Iin?”

“Depends. Who’s the real Iin Tatsuno?” I think for a while, fully reliving the morning after getting home. I look at the ground.

“The real Iin Tatsuno? When you figure it out, slip me a notice, because I have no idea right now.” My voice is kinda shaky, and I look at my hands as if they were claws or something.

“Iin… Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Erm, no. Not really.” I take a deep breath. I want to tell her. I really do, but… No. I can’t. I have to keep this to myself, until I find out what the hell is going on. That’s my only option.

Quote:“We are now landing at out destination. Please stay seated until further notice, and thank you for your patronage. Please stay seated until further notice.” The plane rolls to a stop, and seconds later, I’m trying to wake up Nanaka.

“Hey. Nanaka, wake up.” I shake my shoulder, and Nanaka wakes up, blinking groggily.

“Wha…?” She looks around, barely registering her surroundings. “We’re here?”

“Despite the lack of logic in that statement, yes. We’re ‘here’.” By now, everyone else has exited the plane. “Anyway, we have to catch up to the others. C’mon, let’s go.”

The rest of the Committee waited for us at a restaurant after getting our bags for us. We order our food, though Yuri gives me this odd concerned look while I pick up the trays.

“Iin, is something wrong?” she asks.

“Huh? No. What would make you think that?” I lie through my teeth and sit down. I don’t like lying to Yuri. But how can I say anything if I don’t know the whole story myself? There’s no point in making her worry pointlessly. Or at least, that’s what I like to tell myself.

“So there’s nothing wrong? Nothing at all?” She looks skeptical.

“Not at all. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” I lie again. Yuri sighs, resigning herself for now.

“I can’t help it. You’re not telling me something. You’re normally so honest, so there has to be a reason. I Just know that if you ever need to tell me anything, I’m all ears.”

“Erm…yeah, I’ve got it. Thanks.” We both sit at a table isolated from the others. I have to wonder…how long will this peace last? This is my life, after all. I just want some answers, is all. Yuri pokes my shoulder, making me yelp in surprise.

“Don’t dwell on it, whatever ‘it’ is. We ARE here to have fun, after all.”

“You know what? You’re right.” I take a deep breath to calm myself down. “Okay, settle down Iin. Think for a second.” On one hand, I could be dying. That’s never good. On the other hand, the others don’t know that, outside of Rui, so I can’t really dwell on that. Plus, we’re on vacation. Even if I’m gonna die, why not enjoy it? Eh, worrying is counter-productive.

“I guess it’s about time the woe-is-me talk to stop, huh?” Yuri asks, referring to my slumpish state of late.

“I guess so. Well, let’s get out of here. I wanna see what our hotel looks like, then we’ll go sightseeing.” I get up and stretch. Though I have settles down some, whatever is happening to me is still a priority. Just not now.

“I’ll tell the others.” Yuri offers, giving me some time alone.

“Thanks. I’ll go flag a cab.” Before going off to get the others, Yuri smiles at me, and I feel lightheaded. I’ll get that cab before I say or do something stupid.

Thirty minutes and two very annoyed cabdrivers later, we arrive at our hotel. If I do say so myself, they look pretty nice. Tall, graceful, and aged in a good way. Like it has some history about it, but it’s not old enough to be ancient and dusty, hence the glass plating on the top floors.

“Sorry about that, guys.” By ‘That’, I mean Lynd and Uru’s constant bickering. Plus, we had to flag an extra cab because there were so many of us. I’d be peeved too!

“No problem. I’ve dealt with worse.” Then you, sir, do not get paid enough. We pay the drivers, and they leave.

“Huh… That went well.” Uru quips.

“Hey, no it didn’t. You two aren’t off the hook.” Fuming, I tromp inside to check in. I give Uru and Lynd a death stare as I go.

Apparently, we made it just in time for sightseeing. The buses were nearly empty, we had the city to explore, so what do we do? I have no idea, since as soon as we dropped off our bags, it happened again. Again, Rui is the only one to witness it, as everyone else wanted to change. And again, I am alone. This is becoming a serious trend.


[Heaven]

Something is wrong. Elsi can tell. She pulls up her console, riffling through the files, looking for something she knows isn’t there. Except it is there. A file that she thought she had deleted in the past two days. Too painful to look at. “Weaver.”, she whispers, looking at her drophole, as if waiting for the clumsy angel to come crashing through. She misses him. She realizes that she shouldn’t have let him go. But he made his choice right? She at least could keep tabs on him. Opening the file, she frowns as she goes through the data.

Name: Weaver (Assigned Name)
Age: Unknown. The Patroness Elsi refuses to disclose this information. The Database cannot access the data of the Forgotten.
Description: 183.2 centimeters tall, 58.8 kilograms, dark skin tone, four-winged, related to the Forgotten.
Temperament/Personality: Snide, sarcastic, irate, easily excited, stubborn. Has zero social skills, due to not being allowed to grow up in a normal way. Trusts only the Patroness Elsi, and nobody else.
Notes:…NO FURTHER DATA IS AVAILIBLE. SUBJECT IS NON-EXISTENT ON THIS TIMEPLANE. ANOMALY CAUSED BY IIN TATSUNO. ATTEMPTING CONTACT, PLEASE WAIT…

This hasn’t happened before, Elsi thinks. The Database can access anything that was on this plane, of which there was only one. Hence the word ‘Universe’. Apparently, something had changed the-

“What the…?” The console screen flashes red.

ERROR. ERROR: UNAUTHORIZED PLANE HAS BEEN DETECTED. DATA EXTRACTION IS A NON-FACTOR. OUT OF RANGE. OUT OF RANGE.

The Database HAS no range. It can track…dammit. Just who is this Iin Tatsuno, Elsi asks herself. The Database cannot find him either. Or anything else on Earth. Or in Hell. Or…in Heaven? What did this Tatsuno person DO?