In the darkness of her room, she laid asleep. Her short brown hair that ran to her neck fell over her face, strands laid out on the desk.

Her eyes slowly opened as she woke up, and she noticed the orange light peeking through the edges of the window sill, illuminating her face with a slight glow.

“It’s already noon…”

Lifting her head up, she put a hand over her chest. 

“It stopped hurting…”

She reached across the desk, towards a crumpled napkin. Streaks of red laid hidden beneath the layers. Nosebleed.

“I’ve got to work this out, or else…”

Standing up, she looked at the ceiling. Then, she lifted her hand. A gust of wind blew from under her, lightly brushing her hair as it found its way to the ceiling.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

In front of us was the familiar red panda vending machine.

“Here you go.”

In Ayaka’s hand, she held a grape juice box towards me.

“You liked this last time, didn’t you?”

“Yeah…”

Taking the juice box out of her hand, I stared at the sky.

“ーLike a friend, huh.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No, nothing at all.”

Without a word, I opened the juice box and stuck my straw into it. Seeing me drink the juice she offered me, Ayaka smiled, before looking away.

“Does it taste good?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s nice.”

With our simple exchange, Ayaka studied my face as she scratched the bottom of her chin. 

I frowned.

“...Is there something wrong with my face?”

“Ah? Oh no no no, I was just studying your eyelashes!”

With a laugh, she shrugged her shoulders.

A slight laugh of my own tingled in my lips.

“I see.”

Turning around, my gaze made its way to the ground.

Like a friend.

“Ayaka, you go to Keshite High right?”

 “Keshite? Yeah, that’s right. You did too, I believe.”

“Yeah…”

Kicking a pebble into the tree, I bit my lip to steel my nerves from freezing up during conversations.

“You know if you still go?”

 “Still go? Yup I do!”

Ayaka dug in her pocket, and pulled out her ID, before flashing it to me with a smile. Her face matched the one on the ID perfectly.

Ayaka Hirano.

Keshite High School.

Age 16.

Grade 10/B.

 “...I see.”

Nodding, my gaze found its way to the ground.

Sliding the ID into her pocket, Ayaka turned away from me.

“Though, it might change soon.”

“Change…”

The first thought that entered my mind was the warnings from my dad, how GIRUS has been reported as active. Then, my mind wandered to the encounter with the strange person under the bridge.

“So, what about you, Ayato?”

“ーhuh?”

My face slowly turned, and met Ayaka’s. She was peeking back at me, her head tilted.

The memories of last week blurred in my mind, and I found myself staring at Ayaka’s face for a good few seconds.

I bit my lip.

 “About that... I dropped school.”

“I see. So that’s how it is, huh.”

Without turning to face me, Ayaka stared out towards the horizon.

I followed her gaze, to see the orange streaks of sunlight in the sky.

“ーIt was recommended by my dad. Something about GIRUS being active, and school being dangerous.”

“It makes sense. Your dad is smart. Honestly.”

A sigh escaped Ayaka’s lips, her eyes closing.

“I think that was the better decision.”

Without elaborating further, her eyes opened, and she turned away.

Then, she began to walk. Noticing I didn’t follow her, she turned around.

“Hey, hey! Since we’re using time to talk and idle, let’s squeeze in some exercise too! After all, it makes no difference.”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

As we walked, Ayaka popped the lid of the grape juice box she had in her hand, taking a drink.

I observed the juice box in her hand.

 "You're not drinking this time?"

"I told you I only do such on Fridays! This is normal grape juice!"

"I-I see."

We walked across the city streets in silence. The wind speed was the same, and streets were deserted as always. 

Ayaka frowned.

“Ah, this conversation is going silent. I told you, feel free to ask anything!”

Ayaka scratched her chin as she glanced at me. Seeing me looking at the ground, she let out a sigh before turning back forward.

My head slowly lifted to see the back of her body, her long black hair that ran to her shoulders.

“ーAnything, huh.”

Truth was, there were too many things that I didn’t understand to be able to narrow things down to a few questions.

If the problem of not being able to choose was from the fact that there were no choices, then the problem here was that there were too many choices.

What was important to me, even I didn't understand.

But I did figure, if there were killers trying to kill me, perhaps that would be useful.

“Ayaka, you know what GIRUS is? A-are they trying to kill people like us?”

“GIRUS? Kill people like us?”

She glanced back at me, seeming to see if she misheard it or something. Then, she laughed.

“Well, it’s not wrong but there’s oughta be a better way to word that.”

She brushed her hair back, stroking her chin.

“Have you ever heard of this thing called the CHIRUS war?”

Frowning, I glanced up at Ayaka.

“VIRUS war? No, that sounds like some sort of pandemic.”

“VIRUS? Pandemic? No, nothing like that. CHIRUS war.”

“CHIRUS… No I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“I see… Well it was a war between KRS and GIRUS thirty years ago.”

“...A war?”

Without thinking, my feet stopped moving. Ayaka, noticing it, also stopped and looked back at me. Looking at my expression, she sighed.

“Don’t look at me, I wasn’t alive back then. Besides, it’s been ten years since I read anything about it, so I hardly remember any logistics. The most I remember was that KRS won and GIRUS lost, then they were casted below the land and that’s it.”

“I see… Then I guess there’s nothing more to it. I’ll ask you something else later.”

“No no, you’re wrong!”

She waved her hands back and forth, trying to get my attention.

“Just ask me anything else! I was just a bit lacking on that topic in particular!”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see if I can come up with any other questions.”

My head dropping down, I began to walk again. Ayaka stared at me. Then with a turn, she started to walk again. In the silence that clouded us, I sighed.

“I don’t get it at all.”

My voice was silent, dissipating into the air.

The only thing in my vision was the floor. 

The stone bricks were laid down in a clean, zig zag. Aside from the specks of dirt, the floor was clean. Each step covered around half a tile, andー

"Hey, the ground's not that dirty. You're not going to step into mud or dog poo or anything."

"ーーhuh?"

I glanced up.

Ayaka had stopped walking. 

She was glancing at me with the corner of her eyes, her lips pursed. 

"It's okay to look up, you know. You're missing out on the beauty of the city."

"ーIs that so?"

"Tell me what you see in front of us."

My eyes wandered to her face as I lifted my head to meet hers. Her head was tilted, her long strands of black hair blowing ever so slightly in the wind. 

Ayaka turned her face away from me.

"ーThe city, not my face."

"My bad, my bad."

My head turned to the streets in front of us. 

The trees that grew in the city slowly shook with the wind, the orange light of the afternoon reflecting the windows off a coffee shop. A few people sat in it, drinking their coffee peacefully.

“Something blue. A recycling bin. A fire hydrant. A lamp. A sign. A coffee shop. Aー”

“Sheesh, you’re verbose. Say it like you're writing a book.”

A moment of silence passed.

“A calm long street in the afternoon, with peace in the air, colored with warm light.”

“Does it look nice?”

Another moment of silence passed.

“It looks comforting, I suppose.”

The wind ran against my hair, gently lifting strands on my forehead back. The posters on the buildings rippled in response, the windows reflecting just a bit of the sky’s blue.

“Then it sure can’t hurt to keep your eyes up, can it? It’s pretty after all.”

The wind ran through her hair as she stepped forward, turning her face towards the city, where I looked at, leaving a silence between us. 

With my silence as a reply, she stretched.

“Wah, you really remind me of someone I knew.”

“Someone you knew…”

Without answering my prompt, Ayaka tossed her juice box into a trash can and began walking.

“Well, let’s continue our walk, shall we?”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“Ah, this place is…”

In front of us, the road where I had met that strange figure was here.

The same forest. The same lamp.

It wasn’t night yet, but there was a slight tinge in my spine.

Ayaka, stopped, and gave a glance backwards to me.

“Is something wrong Ayato? You seem to be shaking.”

“N-no, it’s nothing. J-just a bit cold.”

“Cold? Winter ended a long time ago.”

“A-Ah! Winter’s not the only time it can be cold…”

Laughing, I waved my hands towards her, assuring her everything was natural.

Tilting her head in confusion, Ayaka turned away from me.

“Well if you say so…”

She continued walking into the forest.

As I watched her walking into the forest, there was a chill in the back of my spine.

It wasn’t just from the dangerous encounter I had yesterday, there was something else too. The same cold feeling I had when I came across here yesterday. And then there was also that warning my mom and Ayaka herself told me.

The City is going to get dangerous.

I did feel the need to warn Ayaka about the experience I had here, but I looked around the surroundings.

Light peeking through the trees, I had a good vision of everything. There were no traces of anybody, not even animals. Brightful, it was hard to imagine much happening here.

The weird guy must’ve left.

The report my dad told me about was told that GRS hasn’t been here yet, and that there weren’t any traces of GRS on this side of the island we were on, all were on the East side.

“I suppose it can’t be that bad.”

Taking a deep breath, I followed Ayaka.

After walking fast for a bit, I caught up to her.

“Mmmm, mmmm. It’s quite warm here. Dunno why you’d be shaking from the cold.”

Ayaka nodded up and down, her eyes closed, a smile on her face. When she opened them, she turned around and shot me a glance.

“Have you ever been on this route before?”

“Me?”

The memories of the cloaked figure floated around my mind.

They weren’t particularly pleasant, and they weren’t something I desired to talk about.

“No, I didn’t.”

“I see.”

Ayaka nodded her head again, before turning towards the road.

“Well then, why don’t I take you on a new route? A non-standard one. Make our walk a little more interesting.”

“...What do you mean by non-standard?”

“I’ll show you!”

With that, Ayaka spun a 90, and walked straight into the forest.

“W-wait, is that dangerous?”

“Dangerous? No, not at all. There’s nothing in this forest.”

Without even turning, Ayaka dismissed my concern, and continued walking deeper.

A sigh escaped my lips.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt too much.”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“Ah, we’re here!”

Ayaka hummed as she walked forward, her hair floating in the wind, the edges of her jacket wrapping around itself.

The orangeness of the afternoon streaked across the sky. Below, the waves of a large, clean lake rolled back and forth. The wind had picked up, the leaves of trees shaking.

The moment we left the forest edge, a clean, smooth pavement laid in front of us. At the edge, a polished silver railing stood, beneath it a downwards hill that led to the lake.

Ayaka made her way towards the railing, and leaned forward. Her eyes gazed passively towards the rolling waves.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“...Yeah.”

A moment of silence passed. I watched Ayaka as she gazed at the lake. The wind ran through her hair, lifting strands of hair up. She didn’t seem to pay attention to anything else, zoned out.

Staring at her, it reminded me of something she said earlier.

“...Ayaka, back then, you mentioned something about cursed abilities. What are those?”

 “Cursed abilities?”

She turned around and looked at me. When she saw my unchanging, serious expression, she tilted her head.

“Wait… Don’t tell me you actually don’t know them.”

“...I don’t.”

“Y-you don’t?”

Ayaka blinked a few times, and then suddenly burst out laughing. Clutching her stomach, she pushed herself against the railing to stay standing.

“Hahahaha!”

“I-is something supposed to be funny?”

“W-whoever pranked you sure taught you well!”

Her laughing slowed down as she pushed herself up. Brushing off her jacket, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

“LI type abilities are those that only GIRUS have. It’s not possible for a normal KRS to be able to use them.”

“An ability that only GIRUS have…”

A practice session with my dad flashed in my mind where he had used some form of LI ability.

LI Exhauire, and LI Shatter.

While I stood there gaping at her, Ayaka sighed and crossed her arms.

“I suppose it is theoretically possible to use them as a KRS. But only if your core is infected with dark matter from the Burning Lands.”

“Burning Lands?”

“Ah. Burning Lands. Where GIRUS lives, after losing the war. It’s said to be so hellish that no one that has gone has ever been seen alive again.”

“...So odds are, anyone using cursed abilities is pranking?”

“Yeah. Most likely so.”

With that, she turned back and looked at the lake. Her eyes closed, and she stood there, her wind blowing as she looked like she was sleeping.

“Pranks, huh.”

My mind wandered to the practice session with my dad. There was an urge I had to tell her that it was all real, the fact that I couldn’t use them was because I was incompetent.

A prank.

The water rolled back and forth, washing slowly onto the rocky shore.

Don’t tell anyone about your ability, not even Kazane.

These were the words from my father. Thenー

A blue, crystal looking rock appeared in front of my face. The moment it appeared, the air around my face had dropped.

I jumped back, my arms flailing.

 “Uwah! Cold!”

The crystal dissolved, collapsing into a pool of water that splashed at my feet.

When it cleared, Ayaka was laughing, clutching her stomach as she leaned on the railing.

“Hey! Don’t scare me like that!”

I grumbled in annoyance, trying to understand what just happened.

“S-sorry, s-sorry! But just now, your look… bwahahaha!”

Through her apology, she laughed.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, before reopening them.

Seeing her laughing, the corners of my mouth tugged up. The muscles in my face relaxed.

I watched her as she took a breath, and then pushed herself back up against the railing.

“Sorry, I lost myself there.”

She apologized as she slowly turned to the ocean, hiding her mouth under her hand.

“It was a demonstration of non-cursed abilities. For example, my energy form is ice, so my abilities are all type KO.”

“Ice… What are KO abilities?”

“Eh? You don’t know what KO abilities are? What about the other basic ones, FU, YA, SE abilities?

“No… I have no idea what you just said.”

“Hmm. Perhaps you had less understanding than I thought.”

She frowned, tilting her head and scratching her chin. Then, she shrugged.

“Well, it’s not too important anyways. They’re just ability types after all. What’s actually useful are the abilities themselves. They are really really useful!”

She waved her hand. In front of me, another two ice rocks appeared. One on the bottom twisted and bent, until it resembled a mug. The other one turned into water, and collapsed into it. Before it fell onto the ground, I caught it.

“Free drinks. Quite convenient. Though drink fast, your mug might melt.”

With her own cup, she took a sip from it.

I frowned at the cup in my hand.

“Uh, are you sure this water is safe? Where did it come from?”

“Huh? Well, it should be safe. Since it was made with my ability, it should’ve come from my KRS core.”

“Your core? So it’s like, a body fluid or something?”

“Ehh? No no no not at all!”

She waved her hands in front of her, 

“I barely studied the cores or anything, so I can’t say if it’s not counted as a body fluid, but I know for certain that it's water! Pure water! The same water from there, but clean!”

She pointed towards the pond while wearing an awkward expression on her face.

Seeing my hesitance to drink the water, she took an exasperated sigh. The water mug I held in my hand melted, and its water splashed at my feet.

“Ah! Sorry if I offended you!”

“It’s nothing. It’s not like it costs much energy or anything.”

But as she said that, she saw that my gaze didn’t leave her. Her eyebrows furrowed, and I had a feeling we were thinking the same thing.

“Sheesh! Next time we meet, we’ll go to some lab. Then we can see if the water is anything in particular or not!”

After giving me an annoyed look, she turned and gazed out at the sky. The focus in her eyes vanished, and it was as if she had been absorbed by the lake’s beauty. Watching her, I couldn’t help but smile.

“There’s a lot for me to learn, huh.”

My voice was silent.

Putting my hand on the railing, I looked out.

In the horizon, the sun was setting, its streaks of light burning the sky.

“But somehow… I feel like I can do it.”

It’s not like there’s mud or poop on the ground or anything.

With a smile, I lifted my chin, to see the ripples on the lake, and the sky.

As I always observed, the clouds moved, inching towards the horizon.

“I guess, it’s not all too bad. After all, there’s still a huge horizon ahead of me.”

Lifting my hands off the balcony, I stared at them.

“Everything should be alright. After all, there’s a lot to do, but a lot is waiting for me.”

Someday, I was going to get the hang of my ability. 

And when I thought about it.

Even if I didn’t get to the top or anything.

Even if I ended up as some random person that sat out most of the time.

I thought it was okay.

“I’m going to move towards this bright future.”

With my hand stretched out towards the lake, I smiled.