I am inside scenery I can only remember in my dreams.

I already know who the person facing me is, but having no 'box', I cannot recall this place deliberately except in my dreams. I don't know when we had this conversation, either. "Do you remember that I told you that I can see you as an individual even though your kind don't have individualities?" I don't know. Feels like I have heard about it, but also feels like I haven't. "Thanks to what happened this time, I am beginning to recognize the reason as to why I can distinguish you. It might be because, while rejecting nothing, you don't accept anything." This sounds like nothing but a word play to me. "In the first place; the everyday life, which you don't get tired to mention all the time, is different from the everyday life as it is perceived by others. You include the loss of things in your perception of everyday life, am I right? This is, in fact, different from the common definition of everyday life. Other humans are unable to take it as it comes," he says with a smile. "Every human is distorted, and their everyday life gets twisted by their individual values. You could say that a 'box' forces this distortion upon others. You are sensitive to these intentional distortions of the everyday life by the 'boxes' of others and you find them repulsive. Am I wrong?" I really have not the slightest idea what he's talking about. Let me be already. "This time around your body was attacked directly. And even so you managed to retain yourself without being affected by the 'owners' values. This is because you intuitively recognize others' distortions as such. And if you know something is distorted, it's only fair enough that you cannot accept it. But you know what? The ability to see those distortions separates you from ordinary people. Because of ityou cannot accept anything." I can't help frowning, but he continues insistently. "Seen from me, your field of vision is terribly small. But those abilities... Aah, I see. Perhapsyou might resemble me." Please stop.

You are disgusting. When I say something like that to him, he laughs and changes his freely shapeable appearance to someone familiar's. '0', looking like no one but me, Kazuki Hoshino, says: "May I interpret this as dislike for the same kind?" That's not it! We don't resemble each other at all!

April 29 April 29 (Wednesday) 00:02

The first day begins.

April 29 (Wednesday) 23:57

The first day ends.

April 30 April 30 (Thursday) 00:00

The second day begins.

April 30 (Thursday) 12:37

Lunch break. The reason for my yawn just now might be the mysterious call I received at six o'clock this morning. I'll make you a boxed lunch today. The call had been terminated before I could respond anything. What's that mean...? It's the last day of April and thus Golden Week meaning that our consecutive holidays are soon to come, too. I go to the corridor and wait for Otonashi-san like I always do. We have lunch together in the school cafeteria every day, but she has never made me a boxed lunch before. "Kazu-kun! Haru just let me in on it! A Boxed-Lunch-with-Maria event is waiting for you?!" It's getting noisy. Next to Kokone, who has gone round me, is a grinning Haruaki. "...Haruaki, didn't I tell you to keep quiet about it to spare me some trouble?" "You did, but I'm free to obey or not!" What an awful friend. "Kazu-kun, what's the deal with that exciting event?! Details, please!" "...well, for some reason I suddenly got a call this morn" "A wake-up call?! All lovey-dovey, aren't ya!" Please let people finish. "A wake-up call..." This murmur makes me spin around.

...Ugh, another bothersome person arrived. "Ah, Rikorin. 'Sup." "Good morning..." The short and short-haired girl who was addressed strangely by Kokone is called Riko Asami, a freshman. She is a classmate of Otonashi-san's and member of the Maria Otonashi fan club that flourished after the school entrance ceremony. They normally come here together, but it seems she went ahead today. Maybe it's just me, but her face and voice seems even gloomier than usual to me. Said Asami-san is gazing at me absent-mindedly. "...Um?" Or is she scowling at me? "You're getting a boxed lunch from Maria-san or something, huh? Heard of it." "Y-Yeah, seems like it." Asami-san doesn't say anything in reply and keeps staring at me. "......if only the batteries in your mobile would explode... if only you would use those suspicious and way too cheap batteries you get in that certain country... swell batteries, swell...!" Her mumbled curses give me the creeps. "B-But why Kazu-kun of all people, hm?" Kokone cuts in with a smile, trying to clear the tension in the air. "Thanks to that, Kazu-kun's been getting kinda scary glances from the guys recently, hasn't he? I heard he's first in the 'I'd like to kill him by feigning an accident' ranking!" "What's that deranged ranking... who on earth would say that...?" "I did." Haruaki raises his hand. "Of course I handed in a vote! I can't stand you being all lovey-dovey with Mariachan!!" I almost tumble over. I'm sure Haruaki is just joking, but the glances have certainly gotten scary lately. I don't think Otonashi-san is the only cause for this, though

"Mh? Why are you looking at me?" "......nothing." I bet she's not aware that me being so pally with her is probably a cause as well... Kokone just cocks her head. Unlike during that March that was almost going to continue for all eternity, she now wears her hair with a ponytail bound on one side. A "side-ponytail", I suppose? "Say say, I've been wondering: how did you tame Otonashi-san?!" "Now, 'tame' is really not the right word..." "Otonashi-san should be used to being hit on, so you didn't use the usual methods, right? Ah, now I get it! You made her feel that you were the special one for her, huh?" Kokone says triumphantly and starts to make some random assumptions. "Let's see... you might have saved her from some pervert who attacked herOh, doesn't that sound quite plausible?! The pervert was like Hey sweety, your navel fluff smells so good... Wha! Now if that's not a scab down there! B-But I don't care!! And right when he was about to charge at her while murmuring those words, you saved her from his evil claws, right!?" "I don't have the guts to defy such a 'real' pervert... in the first place, we aren't dating each other, you know?" This is an absolute fact. But Kokone's grin just gets broader. "Sooo, how do you explain that incident at the ceremony, mm? Mm? Mmmm?" "T-That's" The war proclamation at the school entrance ceremony. I know in what way everyone misunderstood this. I absolutely have to come up with an explanation and get her to stop that big grin. "That's just, you see, Otonashi-san's a little odd and" "I'm odd, you say?" A familiar voice behind me. I reluctantly turn around. Maria Otonashi. On seeing her face, my body spontaneously grows stiff. No, it's not like I broke out in cold sweat because of her accusing words. I merely grew stiff because I saw her incredibly pretty face without having had any time to prepare myself.

I have yet to get used to her resolute personality and stunning looks. I can't help but get flustered. I count up to three in my mind as I always do my preparations to talk to her. I've been together with Otonashi-san for a human lifespan. I'm aware of that. But I don't 'feel' like I did so anymore. "Why are you so stiff? Do you think I'm angry? I wouldn't get angry because of that, now would I?" "Y-Yeah." While I was bewildered, Asami-san toddled wordlessly around Otonashi-san to stand behind her. "...mh? What is it Asami?" Asami-san didn't answer and just continued to stare at me. Haruaki opened his mouth instead. "She's a bit strange today. Maybe she's worrying that Maria-chan was swept away by Hoshii because of this decisive boxed lunch-event." "......to call her 'Maria-chan' is much too over-familiar. You ought to append a sama..." Asami-san mumbled her words again with a half-opened mouth and down-cast eyes. "Whatever. Let's go, Kazuki." "Err, to the school cafeteria?" Otonashi-san uttered a irritated sigh. "Why can't you get it at the point of time I told you that I would make you a boxed lunch? Isn't it clear that I did so because the situation is unfavorable at the school cafeteria?" Unfavorable at the school cafeteria? We met every day during the lunch break, in order to discuss the 'boxes' or '0'. Well, but it's not like there's new information every day, and there's almost never anything that mustn't be heard by strangers. Or, instead of 'almost never', 'never' since Otonashi-san had entered school. Therefore, the school cafeteria has never been a problem.

But today the school cafeteria was unfavorable. "So that's the reason for this boxed lunch. ...but isn't there bread at the store?" When I murmured this, Otonashi-san suddenly drew close to my face and whispered into my ear. "...I got fed up with the bread from there during the 'Rejecting Classroom'. You understand, don't you...?" Ah, well... I can understand that you don't want them to hear the word 'Rejecting Classroom', but if you draw this near in front of Asami-san, she might think we want to show off, you know? I sneaked a peek at her, and as expected, her glance seemed a lot sharper to me. "Err, Maria-san. May I join you today...?" "Sorry, Asami. I want to eat with just Kazuki today." "Just you two..." "Well, let's go Kazuki." Otonashi-san grabbed my arm and started to walk away. Haruaki said something like "Hyaa~~" without reading the mood. ...I wonder how Asami-san is feeling about this? When I turned around due to uneasiness, she was murmuring something with cast-down eyes. "......if only a female cockroach with a swollen abdomen would enter your mouth, lay her eggs inside your stomach, breed, and eat you from inside...!" She's saying scary things!

April 30 (Thursday) 12:43

"Somehow it feels nostalgic to come to the back of the school building." The back of the school building is a place where we talked quite often during the repeating world.

Apparently Otonashi-san didn't plan to indulge in reminiscing, shooting a glance at me, and handing over to me a cloth-wrapped boxed lunch that she had taken out unceremoniously from her bag. "...T-thanks." "You're welcome." I untied the cloth and removed the cover. It looked ordinary. Somehow this was a bit unexpected. The first dish I tried was the asparagus bacon. I put it in my mouth. ....mh, the taste's ordinary, too. "Err... this asparagus bacon is really tasty." "That's frozen food." ........err, I see, yeah, well then of course it's ordinary. This time I took the hamburger. As expected, the appearance and the taste were both ordinary. "......err, this hamburger is really tas-" "That's frozen food, too." ...as I thought! I checked the contents of the boxed lunch. If it's like this, then the potatoes, meatballs, dumplings and the mixed vegetables are all without a doubt frozen food, too. "Don't make a strange fuss about it. There's no need to praise me frantically." "...say, Otonashi-san. Did you never cook inside the 'Rejecting Classroom'?" Otonashi-san told me that she tried numerous things, beginning with martial arts, inside those recurrences. "Oho? It looks like you badly want to criticize my cooking." "I-It's not like..." "It's like this. ...I don't really mind, though. I did cook, in fact. I'm good enough to cook some quite refined dishes. But I couldn't get myself to like doing it. I was

unable to find the same pleasure in cooking as I felt by pursuing various martial arts." "So that's why you skimped on the lunch..." "Finally you said it clearly." Whoops. I got a glimpse of Otonashi-san's expression. ...well, she doesn't seem particularly angry. "...err, but say, you aren't interested in cooking, so are you perhaps also not interested in food itself?" "Not exactly. I'm happy when I eat something delicious." "By the way, what's your favorite dish?" "Strawberry tarte. Basically all confectionery that uses strawberryhey, why did you grow stiff with the meatball still in your mouth?" "Ah, no" Such a cute favorite dish? I could still understand if it was something like sweetpotato paste, but I don't think strawberries suit her at allI was about to say this aloud, but could bear it somehow. Whew, dangerous. "Hohoo, you have some nerves to claim to others that their favorite dishes don't suit them." "......I've never said so." "Sweet-potato paste would suit whom, you said?" ...why did you see so easily through me, Otonashi-san? "But so you like eating, but you don't like cooking." I changed the subject by saying so. "I still cannot really find any pleasure in savoring my own cooking myself. I can't help but to perceive it as work." I see. Naturally there wasn't anyone that would eat her cooking for her in this repeating world. I've almost never cooked until now, but I know that seeing someone eat one's own cooking is one of the pleasures of cooking.

Therefore it feels suddenly like work if there's no one else to eat it. "...That doesn't matter. It's not like I called you to the back of the school building to chat about such a thing." "Y-Yeah." "I'll move onto the main subject now." Saying so, Otonashi-san searched her bag and took her mobile phone out. "I received a mail late at night yesterday." "A mail?" When I had asked back, she held the display wordlessly out in front of my eyes. I was able to grant my earnest desire. Now I can go out with you. Those letters were displayed. Err... what's this? The mail of a fresh couple... or so it looks like. Err? In other words, Otonashi-san started to go out with someone? This Otonashi-san? When I looked at her she was smiling wryly at my reaction. "Well, I understood with your reaction when we met today, though. ...Kazuki, take a look at the sender." I looked as I was told. The name after 'From' was--- "Eh?" Kazuki Hoshino. So I was the one that sent this mail? ...no, no, no, that's impossible. I don't have the slightest memory of this. But since it was indeed sent...? "At first I thought it was a forgery. But that's unlikely since the mail filter is turned on. It's safe to assume that this mail was sent by your mobile phone." "But Otonashi-san, I don't remember having sent this" "Then how about checking your outbox? It should still be in there if the box wasn't emptied." I nodded and took out my mobile phone. When I checked it, I found the mail.

I was able to grant my earnest desire. Now I can go out with you.

The same text was in the already-sent mail. "T-That's" I turned pale. "Rest assured, Kazuki. I gather from your look at least that this mail wasn't sent with your deliberate will. But if it really was done by someone else, then he must have used your mobile phone after 02:00 in the morning to send me this mail." The date of the mail is April 30. In other words, 02:23 this morning. At this time, my mobile phone was beside my pillow. I woke up because of Otonashi-san's phone call today, so that's beyond doubt. So that means, someone broke into my room late at night? What's this? Why would someone go so far...?

"Kazuki." Otonashi-san said this to me when I was confused. "I slipped into the 'box' called 'Rejecting Classroom' some time ago. Do you know why I was able to do so?" "...?" I can't grasp the intention in her words. "It has something to do with this subject. I am a 'box', thus I could slip inI told you this, but that doesn't explain directly the reason why I could slip in, does it?" "...now that you say it, indeed not." "I am able to perceive 'boxes' and can find them. And then I can slip into this 'box'." "...yeah." "A method to send a mail from your mobile phone to mine after 02:00 in the morning. Alternatively, a method to make us think so. There are probably numerous ways to do so, but I considered following." Then she said it. "This is the deed of a 'box'."

a 'box'? "Well... I wonder? I mean, why would someone specially use a 'box' just for something like" "Kazuki, didn't I mention it? I am able to perceive 'boxes'. ...Aah, as you say, this mail might have nothing to do with it. But I can say one thing for sure." Otonashi-san stared at me almost with a scowl and spoke.

"Someone is currently using a 'box' nearby." Not because of her words, but because of her straightforward glance, I finally realized what was about to happen to me. It's happening again. Again, a 'box' is going to try to destroy my everyday life. "Well then, Kazuki, let's return to the mail. Assuming this was accomplished with the use of a 'box'; what is the meaning behind this mail, then? Considering it as a mere prank of the 'owner' that acquired abilities is a bit too optimistic, isn't it?" "...so you what do you think...?" "It's a declaration of war against us. Or else it might simply be a fact." "A fact...?" What could this mean? Otonashi-san didn't really start going out with the 'owner' as far as I can tell. "Maybe it's some kind of metaphor. Or this future was set definitely using the 'box'... but just this is beyond question:" Otonashi-san breathed out lightly and continued. "The 'owner' is trying to interfere with us directly, using his 'box'." Right, it's like that. Or else there'd be no reason for him to send such a message from my mobile phone to Otonashi-san. "...what should I do?" "It's beyond doubt that a 'box' was used. I need to find out how this 'box' is used and grasp its nature. I want you to help me with this. You're sensitive to slight

changes of your everyday life, aren't you? Hence, you might notice some abnormalities in this everyday life that I don't notice." "Okay, got it. I'll try searching!" "Please do. I'll contact you too, when I come across something." I was going to start eating again since I thought our talk was over. But then I noticed that Otonashi-san still had her chopsticks stopped and stopped myself. "Is there still something, Otonashi-san?" "Mhh... aah, I guess so." Otonashi-san continued strangely vaguely. "It's trifling, really, but there's something that bothers me. And it's unpleasant. Therefore I'll tell you." "...OK, please do." "Why did you change your method of addressing me?" "Eh?" She raised an unexpected question. "...if there's no special reason, I don't mind." With these words, Otonashi-san continued to eat again. It bothered me, but I decided to think that it was really nothing of importance and continued eating.

April 30 (Thursday) 22:38

Slight changes to this everyday life. I tried thinking about it while sitting on the writing desk that I had been using since primary school, but nothing came to mind. Changes. There are changes everywhere. Unable to find an answer, I had opened my mobile phone for no particular reason. A picture of Mogi-san in pajamas was displayed on the screen. While she did seem even thinner than usual, there was nothing pitiful at all. She was making a peace sign in the hospital with a smile as bright as a sunflower.

"Kazu-chan is grinning! He's viewing lewd pictures!" I closed my mobile phone in a hurry when I heard the voice of my sister, older than me by three years. "I-I wasn't!" "You're disturbed~ How suspicious~" My older sister, Ruka Hoshino, climbed on the upper bunk of our bunk beds with a broad grin. ...And again she's only wearing her underwear, Ruu-chan. Geez... despite being almost 20 years old, she's still tottering around in this appearance all the time. She should be aware that I'm currently a second year high school student in his teens. "Aah, let's guess, you looked at a picture of Kasumi Mogi-san, didn't you~?" "Wha-!" How did she---?! "Awa, was it a bull's eye? Uhehe..." "W-wait a sec! To begin with, why do you know about Mogi-san... Ah! Don't tell me you looked through my mobile phone without asking?!" "I didn't~. I just saw her name when she called you once, really. I just tried to comment on the picture with something random~... but then again, aren't you a bit perverted for looking at pictures of girls while grinning?" This is exactly why I want my own room! To hide my discomfort, I embraced my mobile phone and dove into the lower stuck. "Say, say, is Kasumi Mogi-san your girlfriend?" "N-No, she isn't!" "So what's your relationship, then? Or rather, what does she think of you?" "......err..." What relationship... I wonder? What -does- she think of me? Well, she did confess to me inside the 'Rejecting Classroom,' and the fact that she sent me this picture means that she feels something for me... probably.

Her consideration for me, isn't unpleasant. But more than this... to be honest, I don't know. My feelings from inside the 'Rejecting Classroom' aren't here anymore. It's likely that we had been affected by each other. I have some memories that imply this. But right because of this, I'm unable to view her from a brand new standpoint. I have no idea how proper those feelings of mine are in this everyday life. "Well... we surely are friends!" Although this was the answer I arrived at after thinking desperately, she didn't reply. Strange...---after I thought this and concentrated, I heard the calm rhythm of her sleep. ...It never ceases to amaze me how fast she falls asleep. Come to think of it, I haven't replied to this mail yet. When I noticed this, I began typing a reply. I looked at the clock at the corner of the screen. 22:59

I was in the midst of typing the mail. But suddenly, my consciousness was interrupted.

April 30 (Thursday) 23:18

Well then, let's make a call.

May 1 May 1 (Friday) 08:14

Kokone ignored my nonchalant "Good morning". Though she usually drops in arbitrarily into my conversations, today she was strangely distant and talked to other classmates instead. But despite this, she sneaked peeks at me from time to time, with a slightly scary face. I don't know what her reason was. I have no idea why she suddenly started acting like this. Since I wasn't in the mood to happily chat with my other friends with this state of things, I tried to appear unapproachable by eating a cheese-flavored Umaibou. "Did you do anything to Kiri?" As expected from Daiya. He ignored my delicate signs completely and asked me point-blank. "...Dunno." "I see... Mh, right. I'll tell you something good." "Something good?" Does he perhaps know the reason for Kokone's strange attitude this morning? "It's about the time she took her first periodic test in the first year of junior middle school. She was eager to get good marks---since it was her first---and studied almost all night. Because of that, she fell asleep during the test in the third lesson. It would have been no problem if she just slept silently, but no, she talked in her sleep inside the silent classroom. If I remember correctly, it was something like 'Aah, this plug suit is too tight, I don't fit in...'." "...say, Daiya, what are you talking about?" "What I'm talking about? I'm talking about her weak point. She doesn't dislike others so easily. This is your chance to get away from her by getting on her bad side. Tell her this now and youre out of the game!" "Uhm, I don't want that, you know...? And I think that story is pretty cute, actually." "No, it stays cute only up to that point. It gets funny starting from there, you know? From there on starts Kokone's Drool Legend."

Because I had a bad premonition about this, I blocked my ears wordlessly. But Daiya grabbed my arms. "No, I won't listen anymore!" "Noo, it's not about this story. Just look there!" I looked in the direction Daiya was pointing. Otonashi-san and a male student were facing each other and were talking about something, with quite serious expressions. The intellectual male student wearing glasses with black frames on his long, narrow eyes is the class committee chairman Ryuu Miyazawa. Unlike Daiya, who was elected for this position in the first year just because of his grades, he does his work with awareness of his responsibility. Being an honor student but not a wonk, he is popular as a reliable chairman with all. Unwillingly, I approached them. To be honest, I have trouble dealing with Miyazawa-kun's self-confident attitude. "...What's wrong?" The two of them turned around to me when I addressed them. "Oh, Kazuki. Well, I was going to enter the classroom but then this guy stopped me." "Isn't that natural? Why do you unconcernedly enter the classroom of your seniors? It's not even lunch break!" Which reminds me, Otonashi-san seldomly comes here when it's not lunch break. Maybe it's because she at least paid lip service to the school rules, rather than ignoring them outright. "I bet you're planning on carrying Hoshino off somewhere again, am I right?"

"What I do with Kazuki is none of your business." "Oh, it is my business. I'm committee chairman for the time being. I have the task of managing the students of this class. Can't you see that the first lesson is about to start? If you took him away now, you wouldn't be in time for the start." "I couldn't care less. We have something to do that is more important than anything else."

At first, I didn't know what she meant by that, but after thinking about it, I realized that there was only one possibility. It had to be about the 'box'. For me, this is also a task that was more important than anything else. "Um... Miyazawa-kun. I'm sorry. I'll go with her." When I said so, he stared at me with a critical frown. I reflexively stepped back from this piercing gaze. "Say, do you listen to everything she tells you?" "T-That's not it." "What a pathetic guy you are. How about having your own thoughts instead of being ordered about by a girl?" "Hey, I can't accept that. With this phrasing it sounds almost like Kazuki doesn't have his own will." Otonashi-san interjected him. Miyazawa grinned to her objection and answered. "Yeah, sorry. Were you offended by your beloved being badmouthed? Ah, or, did it bother you that I implied that he's ordered about by your selfishness?" "You---" Otonashi-san scowled coldly at him. Miyazawa chuckled. "What? If you want to obje-" "You seem like you're acting on purpose." Upon hearing her, Miyazawa stopped his words. "Being the committee chairman is too weak a reason for meddling in our affairs like this. You didn't seem to care a bit until now, did you? What is it, all of a sudden? What do you intend by approaching us forcibly? Are you trying to invent some pretext that enables you to approach us naturally from now on?" "...I have no idea what you're talking about." "In that case, very well. Your behavior just caught my eye because I can't help but be sensitive to my environment as things are now. One can't be too careful. Also, if it wasn't just a misunderstanding of mine, then this should have had at least a deterrent effect on you."

I watched their verbal sparring in mute amazement. What did Otonashi-san say all of a sudden? "Kazuki, let's go." Otonashi-san said so and pulled me with her. "Ah, yeah..."

Miyazawa-kun was looking wordlessly at my grabbed arm with a faintly stiffened face. Certainly, it may be a little strange that he got involved with us, although he usually has nothing to do with us. When I was pulled out of the classroom, Haruaki, who was apparently in the restroom, and Asami, who chased after Otonashi-san, were standing there. "Oh, what's up Hoshii? On the run?" "...on the run..." Asami-san heard Haruaki's thoughtless words and looked with a sticky gaze at our joined hands. After that, she raised her gaze slightly and looked with narrowed eyes at me. ...scary. "Oh, what's wrong Rikochii? You're acting strange today." She continued to stare at me without caring about this nickname she would usually get angry about. "A-Asami-san seems a bit odd since yesterday... right Haruaki?" "Mh? Really?" Haruaki, forgetting about yesterday is just too airheaded. "...Maria-san." "Sorry, but I'm in a hurry now." She said so, glancing at Asami once, and turned around. Asami-san seemed struck by her attitude and cast her eyes down. Then she murmured something. "......if only the underground board of this school would get spammed with slander of Kazuki Hoshino and pictures that ruin his dignity from the stump..."

Otonashi-san's attitude isn't even my fault!

May 1 (Friday) 08:31

Like yesterday, we're behind the school building again. "You know what this is about, right?" I swallowed, and nodded to her question while she leaned against the wall. I suppose she had new information about the 'box' that's currently in use. "There are several things I want to ask you." "Okay." "Why is it that we're often together like we are now?" "Why? ...well, because being by my side is convenient for you, isn't it? Since you're likely to meet '0' this way." "...exactly." I considered this to be a problem-free answer, but Otonashi-san frowned. "Wait. So this means you're aware of your position and definitely haven't misunderstood things, right?" "...? What do you mean?" "That is---you see! ...no, never mind. Right, there's no way you'd say something like this with halfhearted feelings. I have to answer you earnestly. I just wanted to get away from this. Kazuki, I---" "Wait a sec!" When I had interrupted her, Otonashi-san raised her voice. "---Why did you interrupt me!" "S-Sorry... but what on earth are you talking about? Wasn't it about the 'box'?" "About the 'box'...? What are you saying? The 'box' is important, sure enough, but it should be obvious that I asked you to come because of your call yesterday?" "Call yesterday?" "Yes, yesterdays---"

Her voice cut off, her eyes opening wide as she took a deep breath. "...I see. The mail from the day before yesterday. No, but that shouldn't... having spent this much time together with Kazuki, this should not happen even if it's via phone..." "Otonashi-san...?" "Kazuki, I'm going to check something now." She stopped murmuring and proclaimed so, distinctly. "Yesterday, you---confessed to me over the phone, right?" Confession? Does she mean confession as in Will you go out with me? "You announced to me over phone that you would confess again personally tomorrow---or in other words, today." "II didn't---" "Yeah, you wouldn't do that. Right, thinking about it, that's true." "Of course I wouldn't! W-Why did you suddenly claim that I did such a---" "Then just confirm it with your cell phone." Being told to do so in a calm tone, I nodded, took out my mobile phone and checked my dialed calls. The name at the top: Maria Otonashi The time of the call was May 01, 01:49AM. That's impossible. I should have been asleep at that time. I don't remember calling Otonashi-san. "Yesterday... no, date-wise, today. You annoyingly called me at two o'clock deep in the night and confessed to me. This is how I know the current state of affairs." There's no way I'd do that. But on the other hand, Otonashi-san wouldn't lie and make this up just to tease me. However, by no means could I possibly have done anything I didn't do.

"Could it be somebody's prank? I don't know how they did it, though." "A prank...huh? So in short, you're telling me that someone used your mobile phone to confess to me as a prank or something?" It may sound unreasonable, but that's the only thing I can think of. When I was about to nod, Otonashi-san continued. "With the exact same voice as you?" "---Huh?" Otonashi-san continued when I opened my mouth without thinking like an idiot. "As long as you don't have a twin brother from whom you were separated at birth, I shall assert this. This was without doubt your voice, Kazuki." "Y-You just heard wrongly! You just mistook the caller for me because the call came from my phone number... probably..." "Kazuki, I have spent a human lifetime together with you. It is not possible that I would mistake your voice." Her expression was filled with conviction. I don't think she mistook someone else for me either. But that means that I'm the one that confessed to her? No, that's not possible either. Otonashi-san is convinced that it was my voice, and I am also convinced that I didn't confess to her. But there was a call, in fact. "It's contradicting..." "Right, it's contradicting. Absolutely. Therefore---" Right. Such a contradiction shouldn't be possible. Therefore--"This is the---deed of the 'box'." My chest reflexively tightened when I heard the word 'box'. Though I still don't know what's happening, my chest already hurt with fear. "We have to hurry up and find a countermeasure. The 'owner' is obviously targeting us. And with ill will at that." "What should I...?"

"Let's think... I need some time to sort out the situation. For now, please wait until I have an answer. I'll decide on how we're going to act." I nodded wordlessly. "Then this conversation has ended. I'll return to my classroom." Otonashi turned around with these words and left without looking back.

May 1 (Friday) 09:32

When I returned to the classroom after the first lesson ended, Kokone was already standing with a daunting pose beside the door. For some reason, she scowled at me when our eyes met. Her face was slightly red. Maybe she's angry? "......I've been waiting..." "Huh?" "I've been waiting for you to approach me!" She raised her voice moodily. "Despite this you skipped the first lesson together with that girl! What's with that! I don't get it! You're being cryptic, Kazu-kun!" In my view, the reason for Kokone getting so agitated was cryptic, but for now I decided to keep that to myself. But this behavior of mine seemed to irritate her again, so she backed me up against the wall of the corridor while grumbling "Nh~~~~". "Err... I'm sorry." "Why do you apologize?!" "Huh? ...I-I'm sorry." "No really, why do you apologize?!" Kokone drew even closer to me, while I couldn't help but to become more bewildered. "Or do you want to apologize?! Do you want to undo it by apologizing?! Isn't that cruel?! W-Well... that would save me, though..." "W-Wait... what are you talking about?"

We're talking past each other like I did just before. ...Eh? Wait a sec. So then, don't tell me--"Why don't you get it, I wonder?! That is---... T-That is... you see..." Her face reddened even more, and now it was crimson up to her ears. If it's what I think it is, then I don't want to hear it. Kokone, however, whispered into my ear after she checked to see if anyone were nearby. "I'm talking about---your confession via phone yesterday." What...? I confessed to her? I lost my words and became speechless. Kokone looked at me with upturned eyes. "Well... I..." I don't know exactly how she interpreted my behavior, but she cast her eyes down. She chewed on her words for a while, but then began to talk. "I'm sorry... I-I don't know how I should react... I mean... I considered you a friend, and thought all the time you'd think so, too... And then... he doesn't have anything to do with it, but still... there's Daiya..." She clenched her fist as if to muster some courage and looked at me. "...please wait. I don't know when I can give you my answer, but please wait until then. ...Sorry." She seemed really pained---which almost made my heart break. That confession wasn't mine! I wanted to say so, but such an explanation would be completely meaningless. I absolutely cannot tell her. Kokone grasped this painful expression of mine in a different sense and formed an unhappy expression that matched mine. Then she turned around and trotted back into the classroom. I waited until she completely disappeared into the classroom and murmured. "I, too, consider you a friend!" I clenched my fist.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me. I took out my mobile phone and examined my dialed calls. ...Why didn't I notice when I looked before? The timestamp is May 1, 01:29AM. Below the name Maria Otonashi was the name Kokone Kirino.

May 1 (Friday) 11:00

Well then, let's see how things went.

May 1 (Friday) 12:00

The first thing I heard was a girl crying. Daiya's face was right in front of me, at point-blank range. I don't have the slightest idea what's going on. What's this? Unambiguous hostility was dwelling in Daiya's gaze. Directed at whom? No question about it. I was the one reflected in those eyes at point-blank range. In other words, he was looking at me as an enemy. Then I was struck with delayed pain. The region around my cheeks and mouth was aching. Both my hands were aching as well. Daiya had mounted me and had grabbed both my wrists. I finally managed to grasp the situation. We're in the music room. Although I am, in fact, supposed to be in the third lesson, which is history, I am currently in the music room, which we should been in only during the fourth lesson. Blood is stuck to my uniform. Who's blood? ...probably my own. After all I've been tasting iron in my mouth just now. I have a cut in my mouth, apparently, because Daiya had hit me. What happened... what on earth happened?! "Daiya... what's---" "Don't open your mouth, Kazu. If you say more than you already did, I'll crush this mouth of yours."

The hostility in his eyes is serious. Those plain words aren't exaggerating, so I bet he would really use violence if I said anything unnecessary. What's this nightmare? But if it was a nightmare, this pain wouldn't be so real and strong. So this is reality. The crying had still not ceased. ---who's crying? I looked in the corresponding direction. Kokone Kirino was crying. The first sensation I got was understanding. I see. So that's why Daiya hadn't been stopped by her even when it had escalated to this situation. The next sensation was a question. Why Kokone? And then again the next sensation that expanded was horror. ---no way. I confirmed the current situation. Kokone was crying and Daiya was in a rage. So who made her cry? So who made him angry? I am in the music room. Hence it should be the fourth lesson now. I don't have any memories of what happened during this time. But still I'm here. In a place different from where I was before. In other words-----I moved unknowingly? For example, like when I had unknowingly sent a mail to Otonashi-san and confessed to her. For example, like when I had unknowingly confessed to Kokone and destroyed our relationship. For example, what if I had unknowingly done something that hurt Kokone, and provoked Daiya's anger? "Isn't it enough already, Daiyan?" Haruaki said so and laid his hand on Daiya's shoulder. Isn't it enough already? Does this mean I did something that's worth getting knocked down and punched once or twice?

Daiya let go of my hands by throwing them to the ground and stood up slowly while still scowling at me. And then almost like to take the occasion---

"Ugh!" ---he stomped on my stomach with all his strength and turned his back on me. I squirmed with pain. I saw the faces in my surroundings. Everyone---my classmates, the music teacher and even Haruaki---was looking at me as if looking at something unidentifiable. Kokone pressed her face against Daiya's chest and cried even louder. I tried to rise. Because of the pain, I wasn't immediately successful. But nobody lent me a hand. I started thinking in a posture that resembled genuflecting. Why do I have to endure this? Why is this considered acceptable to everyone else? I don't know what happened. But I do know the origin. ---It's the 'box'. Right, the 'box' is to blame. It's not my fault. I haven't done anything! So why do I have to go through this regardless! I stood up, on my own. Though they were all looking at me, no one came to my side. I'm aware of it. No one would know that this is the fault of the 'box'. Hence, no one tries to come in contact with me. No one approaches me. No one addresses me. No one. Not Daiya, Kokone or even Haruaki. No one. No one. No one no one no one---

"Kazuki, are you alright?"

No one but her. A smile formed on my lips. The surroundings had frozen on her appearance--probably because it's still in the midst of the lesson. But I didn't wonder a bit. "...Maria."

Upon hearing me call her real name without thinking, she opened her eyes wide while standing outside of the door to the music room. But she instantly concealed this expression again and rushed to my side. Ignoring how no one approached me before, she stood in front of me, drew so near to my face that I could see her individual eyelashes and gently touched my swollen cheek. "First of all, let's get your wounds treated. Follow me to the infirmary." "...Okay." I followed her silently when she started to walk. No one called out to us while we did so. The crying grew louder as soon I had left the classroom. At least, to me, it seemed to do so.

May 1 (Friday) 12:17

No one was in the infirmary. When she had realized this, Otonashi-san looked at my injuries and touched it, and then she took a medicine box out of the shelf and started treating my wound with deft movements. "But I never thought I would come upon such a disastrous scene when I went to you because I had some thoughts concerning the 'box'." She asked while disinfecting my wound. "You have no memories, right?" I nodded. For some reason she seemed horribly annoyed and sighed. "It's really always the same with you since the 'Rejecting Classroom'. I'm starting to get annoyed by that, you know?" "...well, what can I do about it?" "Of course, I'm just joking." While saying so, Otonashi-san reached out for my head and applied some gauze.

"The first thing I saw was the part where Oomine stepped on you. Do you also not remember what happened before that?" "...the time I regained consciousness, he was already on top of me." "So you don't have the slightest idea why he hit you?" "Yeah. I don't know why." Having heard my answer, she crossed her arms. "Kazuki, do you have your cell phone with you right now?" "My cell phone? It should be inside the pockets of my pants..." "Something might be left on it. Try searching thoroughly." I started quickly to press the buttons as I've been told. Received Calls, Dialed Calls, Inbox, Outbox. None of them had changed in my view. I opened the data folder. Voice Folder I had one? I opened it. There was one file named with 12 digits. I guess the digits state the time the file was created. If it wasn't edited in specific since, this file was created at May 1, at about 2 AM. Or in other words, yesterday deep in the night. I opened the file and pressed the phone to my ear. A voice started playing.

Good morning Kazuki Hoshino-kun. Or should I say, good day?

What's that? I paused the file reflexively. Why is the voice of some unfamiliar guy recorded on my cell phone? Why is this guy talking to me? "What's wrong Kazuki? Did you come upon anything?" I wasn't able to answer her, and pressed the play button again, with trembling fingers.

Well, doesn't matter I guess. After all, you don't care about such a detail either. What you care about who I am, isn't it? Ah, right, right. You know about the 'box', right? '0' explained it to you, right? So there's no need for me to explain that to you? He knows about 'boxes' as well as '0'? So is this guy the 'owner'? You should have noticed already that your everyday life started to get destroyed. Yeah, that's very good. After all, I'm doing that on purpose. Why, you ask? To eliminate you, Kazuki Hoshino. With the gap between his casual sounding voice and the content, my heart beat quickened. I will eliminate you. I will destroy everything you value. Having obtained the 'box', I will steal everything from you. I can easily do so. After all I am--- The voice got interrupted. No, that's not quite exact. I merely dropped the mobile phone. "Kazuki...! Are you alright? What on earth did you hear?" "Ah---" There was obviously hostility. The other party has obtained the most powerful weapon---the 'box'---and declared that destruction would be brought against my life. Otonashi-san picked up the cell phone and opened the voice file. "This is---!" She raised her eyebrow and was absorbed in listening to the voice. After a while she flipped the cell phone shut, returned it wordlessly to me, crossed her arms and lost herself in thought. "Kazuki." She opened her mouth finally and unpleasantly spoke my name. "Having been pondering all the time since the case this morning, I had some vague ideas for how we should proceed. But I still couldn't come to a conclusion. But after hearing this voice recording, I made up my mind." Otonashi-san spoke while looking straight at me.

"I won't trust you anymore."

"---huh?" I opened my mouth like an idiot since I didn't get the meaning of her words. "You've also noticed by now, haven't you? This time's 'box' seems to use its power directly on you. You've already fallen into the hands of the 'owner'. Thus I cannot trust you." I repeated those words in my head. She can't trust me---? "W-Why? I would never betray you, would I!" "Right, but only if you're Kazuki Hoshino." "Eh?" "But are you really Kazuki Hoshino? Or are you the 'owner'?" "W-What do you mean by this incomprehensible talk, Otonashi-san? The 'owner' is the person that recorded his voice on there, isn't he?" "...did you not finish listening to the voice? No, even when you did not, you should have at least recognized this voice." "Otonashi-san, did you find out whose voice it is? So we do already know who's the 'owner'? So you're acquainted with the 'owner'?" "...well, I suppose it's not impossible that you don't recognize the voice right away. In fact, you've never heard that voice in that manner, and the style of speech was too different as well." Otonashi-san didn't answer my question and murmured this instead. She then turned her back to me and made to leave the infirmary. "W-Wait! Please, at least tell me who the owner of this voice is!" She stood still. But she did not turn around to me. "Kazuki, try listening to this voice once more when you've regained your composure." Saying so, she walked away.

Stunned by her absolute rejection, I wasn't able to call out to her. Otonashi-san left me alone in the room. I listened to the recording once again and then, hearing this voice, which is unfamiliar to me though I'm hearing it all the time, I understood. "Hahaha..." I let out a laugh unconsciously. Fair enough. It's only natural that she can't trust me like this. "---sh..it" So, so what should I do now...! I can easily do so. After all I am--- I listened to the words I overheard last time. ---someone who shares the same body with Kazuki Hoshino. It was the voice of no one else but myself.

May 1 (Friday) 13:00

Let's keep quiet for now.

May 1 (Friday) 14:00

My consciousness was disconnected. And now my consciousness recovered. I was sitting on my chair. Though it was supposed to be still time for lunch break, I was suddenly there. I confirmed the time. It's fourteen o'clock, so the fifth lesson is about to end. I looked around hurriedly. Kokone and Daiya's seats were empty. Perhaps the two of them left early. The others were more or less concentrating on the lesson. For now, I couldn't discover any abnormalities. My textbook, notebook and my writing utensils were placed on my desk. It seems I haven't written any notes. There's no doubt left anymore.

Two humans exist in this body. Apart from [me], there's [another me] whom I cannot perceive. And just now this [other me] had been controlling this body. The chime rang. The break's starting now, but because of what happened in the music room, nobody approaches me. Everyone just looks at me from far away. I suppose this is also a state that was intentionally caused by the [other me]. After all, the [other me] declared an intent to eliminate [me]. This is his attack. I fell flat on my desk. What should I do about this [other me]? Now, that I was even abandoned by Otonashi-san. "Hoshii." I raised my face when somebody addressed me. His expression was clearly different from the usual joking one. Haruaki asked me with a serious face that didn't suit him. "Say, why did you do that to Kokone?" I shut my mouth. There's no way I'd be able to answer this. I don't even know what that is. "You know? I don't think you said that without reason, Hoshii. Therefore I think that you had a reason and that I'm just unable to understand it. But still, if it stays like this I won't get it! So please tell me!" Haruaki painfully said. "If you don't, I honestly can't be your ally." Hearing those words, I thought. To me, Haruaki is the last fortress that protects my everyday life. Would Haruaki believe me if I told him that I was controlled by [another me]? ...if it's Haruaki, he might believe me. But--"---I can't tell you. I can't tell you right now."

I mean, my own understanding of the situation is still muddled. I wouldn't be able to provide an explanation coherent and understandable enough to make him believe me. "But I will tell you soon!" To show him at least my sincerity, I said so while looking him in the eyes. "Got it. I'll wait." I'm sure he would really want to complain, but Haruaki suppressed this and stayed brief. And then he went away silently. I'll wait. Haruaki said so. Therefore I mustn't talk to him until the time comes. I will lose him if I address him carelessly. And I won't be able to retain the everyday life when I lost Haruaki, my last fortress. ...Yeah, I gathered what I have to do now. I have to learn more about this 'box' and the [another me] as quickly as possible. But how can I do so? I mean, I can't even communicate directly with him. "......Ah" Right. To begin with, how did I learn of his existence? That is because he addressed me. I left the classroom to the corridor and took my cell phone out. In order to send the [other me] a message using its My Voice function. Of course it's not certain if the [other me] will answer. But it should be worth a try, whether or not it'll actually work. "Pleased to meet you; is that correct, [other me]?" I started the recording. "I now understand that you share the same body with me! But I'm still confused. I want you to tell me more about this 'box'. And I want you to reveal who you are." Will he answer my questions if I state them in this direct manner? After all, he's trying to eliminate me. Therefore I decided to provoke him.

"But I don't care whether you reply or not. Whatever your reply, it won't affect my behavior. I don't care whether you feel pure hostility against me, or have a noble goal, or have a reason that would make me pity you." I was surprised myself by my unusual, but naturally emerging, hostile words. But I felt that it had to be said. "I will not permit your existence." I had the feeling that this determination of mine had to be conveyed. I cannot permit this, can I? There's no way I could. Letting myself be stolen by someone. My legs had started to tremble and I had leaned against the wall without realizing. Probably that's because my body couldn't keep up with the first distinct feeling of hostility I felt in my entire life. I closed my mobile phone and took a deep breath. I will crush the [other me]. No matter what his circumstances are, I will not permit his existence.

May 1 (Friday) 15:34

I noticed a voice file recorded by Kazuki Hoshino.

May 1 (Friday) 16:00

In front of me was the face of an unknown female student. In surprise, I let go of the strap I had been holding and fell over. While bearing the giggling of the surrounding people, I stood up and analyzed the situation. Strap? So I'm inside a train? No need to even think about it. My body had again been controlled by the [other me]. I took out my cell phone right away and discovered a new voice file. I pressed the 'play' button.

I see, so you can use this as means to communicate. I was just thinking that it'd be boring if things happened one-sidedly. Therefore I'll deign answer your questions! My own voice resounded from the speakers. I accepted the 'box' and let a certain 'wish' be granted. That is, to become you--Kazuki Hoshino! I held my breath. And really, when I did so I took you over... but look, could you really call this state 'taking you over' when I'm just able to steal some of your time temporarily? Rest assured! That's only temporary. The taking-over process will be completed one week after I used the 'box'. As soon as the date changes to May 6, in other words to the last day of the Golden Week, your soul is going to leave this body. With only mine staying in here. So in other words I have to destroy his 'box' within a little more than four days. Is that sufficient to explain the situation? Well then, you asked who I am. Huhuhu, this is indeed a difficult question! Who am I? To be honest, I don't know exactly myself! I mean, I'm Kazuki Hoshino, actually. But I don't think you accept this answer, do you? Because it can't be helped, I thought of an alias to distinguish between us! You may call me--- He said with my voice. ---[Yuuhei Ishihara]. An unfamiliar name. I engraved it into my memory. Well then, so let me tell you my impression. You will not permit my existence, you say? Sorry, but I broke out in laughter! You cannot even meet me. At most you can blow your voice into your cell phone, like you did now, right? So how do you plan to do as you announced? [Yuuhei Ishihara] laughed hideously with my voice. Because I pity you, I'll teach you just one way to get rid of me. More than half of Kazuki Hoshino is already mine. Therefore it's simple--- He spoke. ---just commit suicide.

Again he continued his unbearable laughter. I was eager to press the 'stop' button, but his message still continued. His voice settled down and the final words of [Yuuhei Ishihara] were replayed. Oh, one other thing. There was a mail from one of your friends! Just in case, since you might have not noticed yet. A friend...? I swallowed my saliva and opened my Inbox. The name Haruaki Usui was displayed at the top. Though I don't remember having opened it, the mail was marked as already-read. What--What on earth did that guy do to Haruaki---! I took a deep breath. But I couldn't calm down and chewed on my lips. It's vexing, but my hands were trembling. I opened the mail. Please don't talk to me for a while. Aah--Like this, the last fortress that protected my everyday life broke down.

May 1 (Friday) 23:22

I'm having a dream. I'm having the same dream that I have had several times already.

May 2 May 02 (Saturday) 00:11

I woke up due to a rumbling sound on the desk. I got up from the bed, took the mobile phone, which was the origin of that sound, in my hands and looked at the LCD screen. Maria Otonashi Maria Otonashi? Why does she phone me? She calls me even in this state of affairs, so does this mean that Kazuki Hoshino hasn't told her what is happening to him? ...no, I guess he couldn't tell his lover this absurd story about the 'box'. But I think she should notice his change, even when he hasn't told her... whatever. I stopped racking my brains and accepted the call. I mean, how should I resist the desire to talk with the girl I admire? "Hello." Kazuki. Come to my room. Wow. Is she always like this to Kazuki Hoshino? Well then, how should I answer? I validated my situation. Using this 'box', I'm able to take over Kazuki Hoshino completely within one week. To accomplish taking him over, it would be best to refrain from doing anything. Naturally it would be better to have no contact with Maria Otonashi. But I must not misunderstand. This is not my aim. The thing I want to do---that is, to torment Kazuki Hoshino so much to make him scratch his own neck sore, to make him succumb so heavily that he submits his own body with the words "Please do with me as you wish" while genuflecting, to steal his body perfectly by making him an empty shell by May 5, that only exists to surrender his body to me. That is my desire. Why do I have this desire? That is, because by doing so I'm able to feel that I am Kazuki Hoshino.

If I don't feel that I'm Kazuki Hoshino, then it's like I'm just freeloading him. Then everything's meaningless. I guess that I have to share this body with [Kazuki Hoshino] for a while is also because I wouldn't be able to gain the feeling of being Kazuki Hoshino otherwise. Gosh, this 'box' is really well-made. Hey, why are you silent? I see. So there's nothing to waver. Maria Otonashi is without doubt an important existence for Kazuki Hoshino. If he loses her, he's going to suffer tremendous damage. Therefore, [Yuuhei Ishihara] will steal Maria Otonashi from [Kazuki Hoshino]. This is absolutely necessary in order to fulfill this absolute desire of mine. "Ah, I'm sorry. I was absorbed in thought." While recalling [Kazuki Hoshino]'s way of talking, I opened my mouth. "Err, your room. Okay, if you come for me." Based on Maria Otonashi's phrasing, I gather that Kazuki Hoshino visits her room on a daily basis. Are you trying to get pampered? It isn't a distance you couldn't overcome by bicycle, is it? "My bicycle is in a bad condition right now, you know." I tried to deceive her randomly. I don't know where she lives. Therefore I'll be in trouble if she doesn't come for me. Geez, while being the male of us you still want me to come for you? Isn't it the other way around normally? ...well, whatever. I'll come by bike, okay? "By bike you mean... a moped?" No... it's a 250cc? Damn! There's no way Kazuki Hoshino wouldn't know of Maria Otonashi's bike. Aah, I see. I haven't told you yet that I bought a bike. "Ah, y-yeah."

That was close! ...no, there's no need to get nervous, after all it's not like she saw through me with just this. But I'm getting nervous just because Maria Otonashi is the other party. Come to think of it, I'm not even old enough to get a license after all. You're unlicensed?! So it was rather the right decision to not pretend poorly to know about it. Well then, I'll be at your place in 15 minutes. Wait outside. The phone disconnected before I could answer. "...Kazu-chan, who was that just now? Judging by what leaked to me, it was a girl, right? And anyway, why didn't you go to the veranda?" A girl in underwear---probably Kazuki Hoshino's sister---said so. I see. Kazuki Hoshino doesn't phone inside when his older sister's here. I'll remember that for the time being. "At this time, I don't think it was Kasumi Mogi-san..." 'Kasumi Mogi'? Who's that?

May 02 (Saturday) 00:31

Exactly 15 minutes later, Maria Otonashi arrived on a simple, boorish motorcycle. "Come on." Maria Otonashi threw a helmet to me. I caught it, but didn't know what to do. Because she stared silently at me, I put on the helmet for now. "What are you idling there with the helmet put on? Hurry up and get on." I sat down behind her as she said. After some hesitation I clasped her waist. Maria Otonashi didn't say anything. A slender waist. The waist of my adored Maria Otonashi. After less than 10 minutes she stopped the bike in front of a 5-story mansion. At first I was a bit reluctant to let go of her, but nonetheless I alighted the bike uprightly and inspected this building after taking off the helmet. It was made of

bricks and seemed to be quite high class. And there's even self-locking. The rent might be quite expensive. It's unlikely that she would bring her lover--on top of that, deep in the night--into the mansion where her family lives. Probably she's living alone. And now she's leading her lover into this room. In other words... it's *that*. It has to. My heart beat with an intense roar. She, however, didn't seem to care and got on the elevator. When the elevator had stopped, she opened the door of room 403 at last. The instant I entered the room, I smelled a light touch of peppermint. It was a studio apartment of the size of 10 Tatami mats. I guess it's because there is almost no furniture that it feels extremely big. "Why are you looking around so curiously? Nothing has changed since you were last here." "...Yeah." I tried to appear calm and sat down on a cushion. When Maria Otonashi had observed this with a side glance, she opened the closet and searched for something. "Well then Kazuki, hurry up and stretch out your hands." Stretch out my hands...? Does she plan to kiss the back of my hand or something? "What are you hesitating? Like this." Maria Otonashi stretched out both her hands. I imitated her as told. *click* What's this sound? - at the same time when I thought this, I felt a tightening sensation on my right wrist. I looked at the corresponding wrist.

Handcuffs. "...what kind of joke is this, Otonashi-san?" "Joke? I give this question back to you: what kind of joke is this? We're doing that every time, aren't we?" Every time...? Handcuffing me? "What? So you're in the mood today to do a resistance play? Geez... you really are beyond help." "O-Ouch!" Maria Otonashi twisted my hands forcefully behind my back with skillful hand movements and a bewitching smile, and applied the handcuffs also on my left wrist. She then applied foot cuffs to my feet and made me lie on the ground. I tried moving lightly. I'd probably be able to stand up, but except this I can't move freely. "Shall we use that today, too?" Maria Otonashi took out a black cloth, which was then wrapped round my eyes. My field of vision was blocked. What a situation. My body is almost completely in restraint, my field of vision is blocked and I'm rolling on the floor like a hornworm. Almost as if I was captured by the enemy. ...Mh? Aah, I see. "Seems like we're done with the preparations. Let's begin." Maria Otonashi should have noticed that something is happening to Kazuki Hoshino. There's no way she would still do things that are done between lovers. So, assuming this --- as whom is Maria Otonashi currently treating me?

"Well---" She continued her words. "--- you aren't Kazuki Hoshino, so who are you?" I see. This means that everything up to now was just a play to constrain [me]. "Huhu..." Brilliant. As expected from Maria Otonashi. That's the reason for my admiration for her. I'm really glad that I didn't have to abandon this illusion. "Why are you laughing? It seems you're not aware of the situation you're in." I'll try a last vain struggle just in case. "No, no... Otonashi-san. You're being absurd." "Stop this futile acting." Aah, so it was useless after all. But right because of this, my laughing doesn't stop. "You're an inscrutable guy. Why are you so joyful, although I just deceived you completely and constrained you?" "May I ask? Why do you think that I am not Kazuki Hoshino?" I stopped acting and asked her. "I listened to your voice recording while knowing of the 'box'." I understood with her frank statement. Not just the reason why she saw through me, but I also understood why she is a special existence. "But even when you know about the 'box' and even when you heard this message, isn't that too little to figure out whether Kazuki Hoshino is [me] or [Kazuki Hoshino]? Since when did you know it's me?"

"Since you said Hello on the phone." "...you're joking, right?" There's no way it would be possible to distinguish a person with the exactly same type of voice just with this. "Kazuki answers the phone with Yes?. He doesn't use Hello. Of course I wouldn't have taken heed of that if it wasn't for this situation. But I do know that Kazuki is involved in this 'box'. It's natural to be skeptic. What remained was to confirm. It was enough to talk purposefully until you made a fault. I'll tell you something good: Kazuki has never been in this room." "That is indeed something good." Because it would be unforgivable for someone pathetic like Kazuki Hoshino to visit the room of a noble lady like Maria Otonashi frequently. "In other words, you deceived [me] and confirmed whether I really existed." "There's no need to confirm such a trifle only now. I wanted to confirm whether you share the memory with Kazuki or not. Huhu, and as it seems you don't have Kazuki's memories." "......" So she was already a step ahead in terms of confirmation. I admit that this is an important point. If [Yuuhei Ishihara] and [Kazuki Hoshino] shared their memories, then all information would leak when she tried to work out a plan with [Kazuki Hoshino]. She wouldn't be able to cooperate with [Kazuki Hoshino]. "Well now, let me ask: who are you?" "Can't you see? I am Kazuki Hoshino!" "Don't mess around with me and answer."

Lying on the ground, I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not messing around with you. I am Kazuki Hoshino. A being that was determined to become so, using the 'box'." "...what do you mean?" "I'm talking literally. My 'wish' was to become Kazuki Hoshino. The 'box' grants any wish, doesn't it? Thus, I am Kazuki Hoshino. I can't call me any different." On my words, Maria Otonashi kept silent. "...to become Kazuki Hoshino, you say? What an oddball... Why Kazuki of all people? I don't think Kazuki Hoshino's body is so desirable actually?" "Because you're by his side." I answered immediately. "------I am?" "Yeah, I admired you. This admired Maria Otonashi will be at my side. Just this was reason enough for me to take him over." I heard Maria Otonashi letting out a sigh. "...I never would have guessed that I am the main reason that made you want to take over Kazuki." She complained like this, but regained her composure right away. Then she spoke to me. "I understood that you insist on being Kazuki Hoshino. However, I can't call you Kazuki." "Then just call me [Yuuhei Ishihara]." "[Yuuhei Ishihara]? Never heard of that name. This isn't your real name, or is it?" "Who knows?"

"Hmpf, whatever. But you have to tell me just one thing: how do you switch with Kazuki?" "What meaning is there in asking this?" "I don't need to answer your question." "Well, then I don't need to answer either." "I am amazed that you can say this in a state of having your hands and feet bound together." "You can't deceive me! You can't do anything to me. After all, using violence against me is, in fact, violence against Kazuki Hoshino's body." "There are countless ways of torture that have no impact on the body...but, I cannot use violence anyway..." Maria Otonashi said something with a small voice. "Did you say anything?" "No, nothing. ...leaving that aside, you don't plan to tell me, do you?" "Mh, let's see. To be honest, I don't mind either way, but I won't tell you." "You don't mind either way?" "Well, yeah. After all you're forced to do something about the 'box' or else [Kazuki Hoshino] will disappear when it's May 6. Could you alleviate the condition in any way when I told you such a triviality? I will absolutely not tell you how to take the 'box' out, you know? Or will you try killing me? Kazuki Hoshino would die as well, though!" I laughed with a put-on voice. How's that, Maria Otonashi? This situation is more hopeless than you would have ever imagined, isn't it?

"Huhuhu..." But for some reason, she let out a silent laugh. "...why are you laughing? Is the situation so hopeless that you can't help laughing?" "Hopeless? This is? Huhu... This menace is just like a mosquito bustling about, compared to the rejection we set once against. The only menace I'm faced with right now is that you won't tell me how you switch with Kazuki, right? How is this hopeless?" "The only solution is to kill Kazuki Hoshino - that's how I explained it to you, but did you perhaps not understand?" "That's the reason for my spontaneous laugh. After all --- that's a lie." I lost my tongue. "I understand that you want to exhaust me, but I'm afraid I can't be deceived by such a lousy lie." "...why do you think it's a lie?" "You said it yourself. You said that you're Kazuki Hoshino. But Kazuki Hoshino doesn't have the 'box'. In brief, he can't be the 'owner'." "What's this word play? You can't escape from reality with this!" "You still don't get it? Okay then, I'll pose you a question." Maria Otonashi spoke with a firm voice.

"Do you really believe it's possible for a soul to dwell in the body of another human?"

"W-" Well--"You can't reply immediately, huh?" Aah... damn. I don't know why. I don't know why, but it seemed to me like a bad mistake that I had become speechless in this timing. "The 'box' grants 'wishes' completely. A person that thinks more or less rational is unable to fully believe that his 'wish' gets granted. And as I thought, you don't believe from the bottom of your heart either, judging from your reaction to my question. The 'box' incorporates the doubts when it grants a 'wish'. Hence, the 'owner' was not able to take over Kazuki Hoshino." "......" "Which means that the 'owner' exists as before without having taken over Kazuki Hoshino's body. ---separately from you." Without minding my silence, she asked me. "So what are you, when you're not the 'owner'?" I couldn't answer. "If you don't know, I'll say it for you. You are an artificial being that came forth by the distortion of the 'wish'. You're just the fake imitation of the 'owner'. Right, to name it --- a fabrication" She laughed silently and continued. "And since you're just a fabrication, you are not the 'owner' I'm supposed to search for." I see. So that's why --- I don't have the 'box'.

"Hahaha" But so what? To begin with, I put this 'wish' into the 'box' because I wanted to throw away such a bastard as myself anyway. I'm not even the 'owner'? I'm a fabrication? I'm rather glad of that! Exactly because I am nobody, I can without doubt become Kazuki Hoshino. "...what does this laugh mean, [Yuuhei Ishihara]?" "Huhu, does that really matter? However, there's something I want to ask. So I am a fabrication. I'll admit that! But who are you who could see through that?" "Who I am, you ask...?" For some reason Maria Otonashi was at a loss of words. "......you are a fabrication. And I am---" "Why are you brooding like this? Actually, I'm just asking because I want to know why you're so knowledgeable about the 'box'." "...Aah. What, that's all?" When she comprehended my intention, she regained the usual firm tone in her voice. "I am a 'box' myself. And since I am a 'box' myself, I am naturally versed in the characteristics of the 'box'." "...you're a 'box'? Is this some kind of metaphor?" "Interpret it as you please." A 'box', huh? If she's telling the truth, then that would really match perfectly. "By the way, there was something I had to tell you, wasn't there?" "...what are you talking about?"

"Oh? Didn't I tell you properly? Yesterday night, that I'd say it to you tomorrow. Since the day finally changed, I'll say it now!" I then spoke with a smile that was so broad that I felt regretful for only being able to show her half of it because of the blindfold. "I love you, Maria Otonashi." She classified herself as a 'box'. I think that matches perfectly. I really think that matches perfectly; for being an object to obtain and for being my enemy.

May 02 (Saturday) 07:06

I have slept in an unfamiliar room with handcuffs applied. "......err.." My head didn't work properly since I had just awoken. A white room. I smelled a pleasant odor. I heard the sound of a shower. My back was hurting. A Futon was laid out. But I had also foot cuffs applied. Wait. What is this? My sleepiness was swept away at once. I tried hurriedly to stand up, but tumbled again. While holding my two arms under my hurting nose, I sat up and looked around again. There was a semi-double bed, a table, a notebook and speakers on the table, a difficult-looking book. On the whole, there aren't many things. Looking at the sailor uniform at the edge of the closet, I noticed that I was probably in the room of a girl. The deed of [Yuuhei Ishihara]? Right, of course it is. The sound of the shower stopped. After a while I heard the sound of a hair drier. I assume it's the occupant of this room who's in the dressing room. Which means, a girl...?

So a naked girl is on the other side of this wall...? What's this situation... And anyway, what on earth have I, no, has [Yuuhei Ishihara] done to this girl?! The sound of the hair drier stopped and the door to the dressing room opened. "U-Uwa!!" Seeing the appearance of her only wearing a white shirt, I hurriedly averted my eyes. "Ah, you woke up?" My thought process stopped at a blow upon hearing this extremely familiar voice. "Eh?" The face of a familiar person awaited me when I looked up reflexively. "Ah, Otonashi-san...?" "Who else do I look like?" Being said so, I viewed her full body. Yeah, it's unmistakably Maria Otonashi. Then I suddenly noticed that I was actually staring at her in only underwear and a thin shirt and averted my eyes hurriedly. "S-Since you know that I'm here, be a bit more careful please!" "What is there to panic? About this much is nothing to fret about, is it?" ...this is just wrong as a statement of a girl. That was something that Haruaki would likely say when he sexually harasses Kokone. - When I was about to tell her this, she preempted me with outrageous words. "To begin with, haven't you seen much more of me than just underwear, yesterday? Is there still the need to get nervous just by this?" "......Eh?" "I never would have thought you would do *that* as soon you enter my room despite the well-behaved face you made at first. Geez, you really got me there." "W-What are you talking about...?" But the current situation implies that she's telling the truth. After all this is her room, she just took a shower and walks around in scanty clothing---

"T-This is a joke, right?" I asked timidly. "Yeah, it's a joke." Otonashi-san answered frankly. "Huh?" "...uh-huh, I see. So you're [Kazuki Hoshino]. This idiotic reaction when you open your mouth gaping wide is quite hard to imitate, after all." What may this unbearable feeling be that's emerging in me although it was a joke as I wished...? "......Otonashi-san. Say, the fact that I'm here before I knew means in other words that you talked with [Yuuhei Ishihara], ri--- huh?" While I was speaking, Otonashi-san had come up close to me that was lying clumsily on the ground. She was so near that I could smell a pleasant odor from her long hair... probably shampoo or some treatment or something. "W-What is?" A clicking sound made me realize that Otonashi-san was removing my foot cuffs. ...well, that's good, but she could have at least told me briefly. When she had finished removing the foot cuffs, Otonashi-san kneeled up in front of me. "Umm..." I followed her example and kneeled, too. Then she opened her mouth slowly. "Kazuki, who am I?" What is she saying out of the blue? She is Maria Otonashi. I can answer so without hesitation. But why is she asking such a question in this situation? "Call the 'Rejecting Classroom' to mind." "Eh? ...ah!"

Now that she mentioned it, I could recall a scene where she let me write her name similarly to now. At the time, Otonashi-san asked for her own name to have someone write Maria - a name which could only be known to someone who retained their memory. So for what sake is she asking for this now? For the sake of distinguishing me. Otonashi-san is asking for this to distinguish [me] from [Yuuhei Ishihara]. Because if I say a name of her which only [I] can know, she's able to identify me as [me]. "---Aya Otonashi." Therefore I spit out this name. The name she had once spoken out in the 'Rejecting Classroom' which only [I] can know. But that she asks for this means that she doesn't know which one I am right now? I have to go so far to make her recognize that it's [me]? This is somehow --- very mortifying. "Aya Otonashi, huh?" For some reason she murmured so, heavy-heartedly. "...was my answer wrong?" "No, you're right. I just didn't expect that you would be able to answer this clearly. That's all." "......Okay then. But so you understood that it's [me]?" "For the time being, yeah. I think you know already, but I grasped the overall situation by now. I have also already heard the voice file [Yuuhei Ishihara] recorded." "Okay." "I have also talked to [Yuuhei Ishihara]." "...How was he? Did he tell you anything?" "Mhh, I can't say for sure." Otonashi-san answered bluntly somehow.

"Ah, but wasn't he ferocious? After all you had to apply foot cuffs." "Of course I considered this possibility and thus applied them. No, it's more correct to say that I rather applied them for you, Kazuki." "...huh?" "How did you react when you realized that you're constrained? What actions did you take?" "Well, I became confused... I even stumbled after all." "I wanted to call forth this reaction." "......you wanted to bully me?" "No. I thought I could observe the second when [Yuuhei Ishihara] switches to [Kazuki Hoshino] by waiting for this agitated reaction. In the end I missed the scene, though, because I was taking a shower. It's a real pity that I couldn't see this funny reaction of yours." So she wanted to bully me eventually! "Okay then, that's it for now. Kazuki, we're leaving." "...huh?" Otonashi-san made an amazed expression for some reason. "Of course to your home. What time do you think it is!" "Eh?" I looked around in the room and found a clock. It's 07:15AM. "Or do you want to come late? It's time to go to school." "Hah..." We only have at the second and fourth Saturday off in our school. "What is 'Hah'? Do you plan to go to school with empty hands?" ...She has a point. We have to go to my home. "......Um, may I also go home alone?"

"What are you saying? You don't even know how to reach your house from here, do you? Can you go back home alone? And anyway, you wouldn't make it in time by foot. I'll give you a ride on my bike." "O-Okay." What should I do...? I mean, it wasn't by choice but I slept over without permission. How would it look to them seeing me come home at early morning? I tried checking my mobile phone and saw, as expected, several incoming calls from my mom in the message history. This is bad. If there was in addition a girl of the same age by my side--"Um, Otonashi-san. Could you please hide yourself when we reached my home...?" "Why?" Otonashi-san stared to me in puzzlement. Of course my intent didn't reach her... There is nothing else for it but to slip into the house and prepare myself without mom noticing.

May 02 (Saturday) 07:34

My attempt to return without being noticed ended in an absolute failure. "That was a failure." Otonashi-san murmured while walking towards the station after having parked the bike near my home. "......indeed." I concurred with a sigh.

My mom discovered me right when I was about to climb the stairs. Of course, a sermon followed. That can't be helped. I properly understand that mom had to get angry at me since I stayed out overnight without any notice. It can't be helped, but---

With the time passing, Otonashi-san naturally became tired of waiting in front of the house. And as expected, mom concluded that the suddenly appeared Otonashi-san was the origin of my staying out and stared at her. Surprisingly, Otonashi-san reacted with a soft smile to this gaze and spoke the following: "It's not like Kazuki was out in the nightlife. He was merely together with me the entire time, until morning. I haven't called any other people to my room. We were completely alone, so please be at ease." ...no, this is not what you should say in this situation, is it? My mom froze so clearly she was almost pitiful, as she isn't what one could call a mother that had managed letting go of her children. Otonashi-san didn't comprehend this attitude and continued with a frown. "...? As I said, Kazuki didn't go anywhere and just slept in my room. There is no problem with this, is there? Aah, but occasionally I was a bit rough, though." Mom looked silently at my wrist. There were still the reddened traces of the handcuffs. My mom collapsed right there. When Otonashi-san had held her up reflexively, she finally understood with a "Aah!". "I see. We are a boy and a girl in our teens, huh?"

"How should I only face her from now on...?" Remembering this scene, I sighed deeply. "What are you talking about?" "Huh? Didn't you say 'that was a failure' just now?" "Yeah, I said. I was talking about the bike." "The bike?" For now I understood that she didn't share my worry at all. "I gave you a ride on the bike, right? Including [Yuuhei Ishihara], two times even. I called this a failure."

"...? Why so?" "Try imagining what would have happened if [Kazuki Hoshino] and [Yuuhei Ishihara] switched while riding. It wouldn't be surprising if you let go of my waist and fall down just like you did when you were surprised by the handcuffs before." "Ah..." So that's why she left the bike in front of my home. "What a careless failure, considering it's me... I'll be careful from now on." "Yeah. ...By the way, Otonashi-san. Could you tell me now what happened when you were with [Yuuhei Ishihara]?" The moment I asked this-"------" Otonashi-san stopped. And looked at me. Expressionlessly. "Eh...?" Why this face? She opened her mouth, still expressionless. "I cannot tell you what happened." "W-Wh---" "Why? Didn't I tell you before?" Then she spat out her next words expressionlessly. "That I won't trust you anymore." She did tell me. I indeed heard those words before. There's no way I'd forget. But-"But wasn't this revoked...?" After all it's not like the time when we didn't know the state of affairs anymore. Otonashi-san understood the reason for my inexplicable behavior.

"Don't revoke that on your own accord. You didn't get anything, did you? To begin with, we don't know how much truth is in [Yuuhei Ishihara]'s words. Maybe he does in fact have the memory of [Kazuki Hoshino] and uses both of those personalities for his benefit." "T-That's unreasonable!" "Indeed, I might be overthinking it. But there's still nothing that proves it." "But---" "Let's assume that the characteristics of the 'box' are true as [Yuuhei Ishihara] told us. Even so---" Otonashi-san clapped suddenly her hands. I closed my eyes reflexively to this sound. "Now assume that the shifting occurred in this instant. I have no means to ascertain this. So I would be talking to you as [Kazuki Hoshino], not noticing that you switched to [Yuuhei Ishihara] really. We don't know when you switch. An important plan might leak to [Yuuhei Ishihara]. Therefore it's dangerous. It's basically the same as the case with the bike just now." Indeed, that's right. ...But I am [Kazuki Hoshino]. "This is an example --- you consider yourself as [Kazuki Hoshino], right?" "Of course I do!" "But what if you were someone that's convinced of being [Kazuki Hoshino]?" "That's im---" 'That's impossible' is what I was about to say, but then I kept silent. So is there anything that proves that I am really [Kazuki Hoshino]? My appearance? My personality? My memory? But then what makes [Yuuhei Ishihara] [Yuuhei Ishihara]? After all he exists in the same body. No, that's wrong. I am [Kazuki Hoshino]. I won't mistake this. I will absolutely not doubt this. "This was just an example. Don't think too deeply about it. But Kazuki, you understood why I can't trust you, right? I have yet to comprehend this 'box' - the

'Sevennight in Mud'. Until then, I can't trust the personalities that dwell in Kazuki Hoshino." So when is it that this 'Sevennight in Mud' gets clarified and I'm trusted again? Won't this be as long as [Yuuhei Ishihara] is within me? I am not trusted. Though Otonashi-san is supposedly my ally, I am not trusted by this ally. The nearby station came in sight. I halted. "Why are you standing still? There's not much time left until the train arrives." "...why do I go to school?" I forgot because I was together with Otonashi-san. If this was the everyday life, I would naturally go to school. No, even if it was not, I would still go just to offer resistance. But if I go now, I'll destroy my place to be completely, although one could say I've lost this place already. "To collect information about [Yuuhei Ishihara]. There's no doubt that he is someone near to us. In the first place, only the students of our school have contact with both you and me. The importance of collecting data in school should be obvious." "But there's no need for me to be there, is there...?" "The conditions change greatly from when you're there and when you're not. Today is the last day of school before the consecutive holidays. We mustn't let this chance escape." She said. She said that she doesn't care if my everyday life gets destroyed in order to obtain the 'box'. I misunderstood her. I had considered her as an unconditional ally. But that's not true. I mean, Otonashi-san isn't together with me to save me, but to meet '0' and obtain a 'box'. So what am I to her? Most likely-----just bait to catch '0'.

"...Kazuki, I understand that going to school must depress you. But you gather that this is the best action to take, don't you? Not acting while being aware of this isn't like you." Otonashi-san said to me reprovingly. Surely to accomplish her own goal. Otonashi-san doesn't trust me. However, since I'm neither able to see [Yuuhei Ishihara], nor to oppose him directly, I'm dependent on a supporter. And no one comes to mind except her. To trust my supporter in this situation is just like entrusting him with my life. I have no other choice but to blindly believe the words of my supporter. If Otonashi-san wanted to ruin me, she could easily set a trap for me. "...what should I do at school?" But still, she's the only supporter I have. "Let's see, for example---" She proposed various things to which I agreed. She had easily thought of effective plans as anticipated, but exactly because of that I'd be afraid if she... betrayed me. "Do you also have a something?" One thing came to mind: "How about changing our naming?" "...What do you mean?" "Instead of Otonashi-san, I'm going to call you Aya from now on. [Yuuhei Ishihara] doesn't know of that name, so he won't call you like this for sure. Therefore, calling you Aya proves that I'm [me]. How is this?" Otonashi-san kept quiet. "Is this plan unusable?" "......no, I think it's quite effective. Let's use it." She agreed. But, for some reason she seemed slightly displeased. But still... Aya Otonashi, huh?

Aya Otonashi was the name of an illusion that doesn't exist within our everyday life. Furthermore---it was once the name of my enemy. Those were thoughts that flashed through my mind at once.

May 02 (Saturday) 08:11

I realized that the air had frozen right when I entered the classroom together with Otonashi-san. Of course, no one greeted me. Daiya naturally didn't, but neither did Haruaki. Kokone's seat was still empty. Maybe she's going to be absent today. ...Because of me? --Of course. I guess even Otonashi-san did not expect my situation to be this bad. She darted a sad glance at me. But then she pulled herself up, focused on my classmates and clapped her hands two times. "Listen everyone!" Their gazes focused on her immediately which is probably because they paid attention to us anyway. "Is there anyone that knows a person named 'Yuuhei Ishihara'?" Upon hearing this, several students suspiciously exchanged glances. Otonashi-san said that the probability is high that the 'owner' would be one of my classmates. Since it wouldn't be logical to seek an unknown person's body so much as to use a 'box', I suppose she's right on that point. But isn't the 'owner' the [Yuuhei Ishihara] inside me? Or does she mean that there exists another entity separate from him? I don't really get it. However, for the time being, I do think it's effective to just ask the class about the name Yuuhei Ishihara. "Hey, you, what are you up to?" Miyazawa-kun addressed us with an awfully disdaining glance at me.

"You again? What? Do you know Yuuhei Ishihara?" Miyazawa-kun sneered at us and replied with something that was unrelated to her question. "Why can you two still be together like this, after such a thing?" What does he refer to with this? I looked at my other classmates. Anger dwelled in their eyes. This anger has probably emerged from some kind of righteous indignation against me. In other words, those classmates cannot forgive me for being together with Otonashi-san?. "What are your excuses, Hoshino?" I was stuck for an answer since I didn't know why they couldn't forgive this. And I mustn't ask for that thing that [Yuuhei Ishihara] had done. Therefore, I had no other choice but to keep silent. Miyazawa-kun reacted with a plastic sigh to my silence. "Whatever. I won't broach that subject again! ---This is going to be personal now." Miyazawa-kun continued loathingly. "The de facto husband of my mother... ah, this might be out of context. Yuuhei Ishihara is the de facto husband of my mother.." A sudden acknowledgement. "...Miyazawa. Will you tell us more about Yuuhei Ishihara?" "No, no... just by hearing our relationship should give you an idea of how hard it is to speak about it." "We have our reasons. Isn't the fact that I said the name 'Yuuhei Ishihara' reason enough to tell me more?" Miyazawa-kun frowned, but agreed even so reluctantly with a "...okay, got it". Because of the delicate subject, he urged us to change the place to the corridor. "Well, it's not like I'm hiding anything---" With these words, Miyazawa-kun introduced the talk.

His parents divorced when he was in the first year of middle school. Reason was the change of the emotions of the spouses. Both of them found new lovers and chose to live together with them. And in the case of the mother, the new partner was Yuuhei Ishihara. Both Miyazawa-kun's true father and his true mother didn't want to take him along into their new households since he was a symbol of their past family life. They didn't display it bluntly, but since it was not something one can hide, Miyazawakun sensed it. He didn't know why this happened to his parents. But for him, as their son, those circumstances didn't matter. This was without doubt betrayal, and something that cannot possibly be forgiven. Eventually, after some argument, his father took custody of him. But it was unthinkable for him to build a new household with his father and the new mother. When he had refused to live together with them, he started living alone in an apartment in the second year of middle school, receiving only living expenses from his father. As it seems---during middle school he considered himself to be the unluckiest human on earth, being in this unhappy family which appeared often in cheap dramas, but is only seldomly found in reality with one's own eyes. Thus, he naturally bore a grudge. Against his parents who were responsible for this environment, against his new mother, and against Yuuhei Ishihara. "So I think they should just die." Miyazawa-kun cursed at them without any emotion in his voice. "I understand your feelings, but you shouldn't say such things." "Thank you very much for this nave word of advice." Miyazawa replied, with a sardonic laugh. "Is this enough already?" "...Yes. I'm thankful that you spoke with us about this delicate subject." "Oh? That's not like you." "Surprisingly, you have your troubles, too, huh?" "Thanks for the sympathy."

The chime rang at this point. "Well then, I'll return to my seat. Ah, and Hoshino---" While returning to the classroom, Miyazawa-kun darted me a glance for the first time since we began the discussion about Yuuhei Ishihara. "Don't get me wrong. The fact that I answered Otonashi's questions doesn't mean that I forgave what you've done. I cannot forgive you." Spitting out those words, he walked to his seat. The other class members smiled at him to praise his straightforwardness against me. Though, he probably intentionally said that while walking back, so that the others heard those words, too. ......That's just cruel. I laid on my desk and covered my head with my arms. "Kazuki, I'll return to my own classroom. You haven't forgotten what I told you on the way to here, right? Try doing it." I raised my head reluctantly, took my mobile phone and sent Otonashi-san an empty mail. Otonashi-san checked the mail and nodded. I then erased this sent mail from the outbox. "Don't forget sending this mail during classes!" Send me a mail every 10 minutes. That was Otonashi-san's instruction. By doing so, she's able to probe the switch between [Yuuhei Ishihara] and [me]. That is because [Yuuhei Ishihara] doesn't know of this instruction and will hence not send the empty mail. But well, since we don't know all characteristics of the 'Sevennight in Mud' yet, we can't call it a reliable method. "Still need anything?" "Nope, Aya."

Otonashi-san looked astonished for just a second, but in the end she didn't say anything else and left the classroom. I sighed. ...Yuuhei Ishihara is Miyazawa-kun's mother's de facto husband? This person is the [he] in my body? Somehow it didn't stand to reason that a foreign adult would desire the body of Kazuki Hoshino. Suddenly, my mobile phone vibrated inside my pocket. I took it out instantly and opened it. A new mail arrived. I opened the mail inbox. The name Maria Otonashi was displayed. Hm, did she perhaps forget to mention anything? Ah, or was it something she can't speak out loud? There was only one line of text in the mail. A very simple line, which was probably written with the possibility of me being [Yuuhei Ishihara] in mind. Don't believe. Ah, that. Why does Miyazawa-kun interfere with us since yesterday? There is one reason that comes to mind immediately: That is---because Miyazawa-kun is an ally of [Yuuhei Ishihara]. Because of that, he came approaching us forcedly. In order to tell [Yuuhei Ishihara] about us. I mustn't believe Miyazawa-kun's words, since he might be in this position. I guess that's what she tried to convey with this mail. Sure enough, I don't really think that Yuuhei Ishihara is the same person as the [Yuuhei Ishihara] in me. But on the other hand, I don't think that all he has told us is a lie either. Those feelings that he showed while speaking about his family affairs cannot be fake. I returned my gaze to my mobile phone. I read her simple mail once more. Don't believe. ...Ah, maybe she means something different. Maybe she doesn't mean "don't believe what Ryuu Miyazawa said".

Rather, I mustn't believe---anything. I can only find out about what [Yuuhei Ishihara] has done while controlling my body, by hearing about it from others. But I have no allies among those others. Even Miyazawa-kun, Haruaki, Kokone, Daiya and Aya Otonashi aren't my allies. I erased the mail. I'm instructed to delete any mail from Otonashi-san immediately. I clenched my fist. "---why" Why do I have no allies when even [Yuuhei Ishihara] has one?

May 02 (Saturday) 09:05

Surprisingly [Kazuki Hoshino] was taking classes. I was sure he'd still be constrained by cuffs in Maria Otonashi's room. It honestly astonishes me that [Kazuki Hoshino] came to school despite the terrible scene here. Did Maria Otonashi make him do it? Because she wanted to gather information? If so, then she's heartless. Well, whatever. The outcome won't change either way. Kazuki Hoshino's everyday life will get destroyed either way. After all I arranged things so that Kazuki Hoshino's everyday life is going to get destroyed just by being with Maria Otonashi. Why did I confess to Kokone Kirino? Of course, to destroy Kazuki Hoshino's everyday life. But the reason that I specially chose this method is just a whim of my revenge. I mean, can this be forgiven? To have a such intimate female friend while being blessed with a lover like Maria Otonashi? Thus I chose to destroy this relationship by using a confession. And it had bore fruit immediately. On top of that, the repercussions were tremendous. The confession to Kirino was a more vehement bomb than I had expected.

I got smacked by Oomine. To tell the truth, the statement from me that brought this situation forth was not even made with the intention to offend her feelings. I merely said: Come on, let me hear your reply! I said this simply to sound out the situation between us. But Kirino got shocked for some reason and broke out in tears, to which Oomine reacted oversensitively and smacked me. Why did this happen? I didn't understand at the time, but thinking about it now, it's simple. [Kazuki Hoshino] and [Yuuhei Ishihara] don't share their memories. For example let's assume that Kirino has already given [Kazuki Hoshino] her reply to the confession. Now, I asked her this question. How would she have perceived those words? I can't say for sure, but I believe they would have hurt her feelings. I still don't know why Oomine reacted oversensitively, though. I had heard rumors about him having special feelings for Kirino. I hadn't been able to confirm anything about this by observing his attitude, but those rumors might just be true. I haven't seen myself what I'm going to tell now, but I have noticed this later on after listening to Haruaki Usui. As it seems, at the point in time when I was attacked by Oomine, most of the members of the class 2-3 were assuming that this was a quarrel that started because Kazuki confessed to Kirino. The problem is that Maria Otonashi appeared. Kazuki followed her without hesitation. As if clinging to her. Completely ignoring the emotions of the crying Kokone Kirino--the girl he had apparently confessed to. And even after this, Kazuki Hoshino kept being together with Maria Otonashi as if nothing had happened. It's only natural that his classmates became mad with anger when he deserted the popular Kokone Kirino like this. However, since Hoshino had no other choice but to rely on her, he couldn't act independently. Like this, Kazuki Hoshino's everyday life is gradually getting lost. Not because of me, but because of [Kazuki Hoshino]'s own behavior. Heck, this is just too great.

I informed the teacher that I'd go to the toilet and went to the corridor. When I had done so, Maria Otonashi already awaited me. She opened her mouth with a frown. "Why are you laughing?" My mouth bent without me noticing, it seems. "I guess because you were waiting for me, Otonashi-san." "Hmpf, trying to act like [Kazuki Hoshino], [Yuuhei Ishihara]?" She could make out that I'm [Yuuhei Ishihara] just from this? No, that's not what should astound me. She rushed to the classroom 2-3 right after the shift. Probably because she knew that [Kazuki Hoshino] switched to [me]. I assumed that they made some kind of agreement to distinguish the two of us. "Follow me." She instructed me. "Where do you plan to lead me to?" She smiled faintly to my question. "What are you saying? Didn't you announce the destination yourself?" "Hah?" "You're going to go to the toilet, aren't you?"

May 02 (Saturday) 09:14

"You really don't mind? If people found out that you're here with Kazuki Hoshino, wouldn't this become a serious matter for the two of you?" She had led me to a stall in the girls' restroom. "...he" Maria Otonashi sneered at me when she had seen me entering mindlessly. What on earth is she thinking? Certainly, the restrooms on the third floor of the second building are hardly ever used since there are only special classrooms

here. Even less during classes. But even so, I don't get the reason why she brought me specially to such a place. "I guess so. We'd get suspended from school. We'd get pointed at by our classmates." "You're already somewhat out of despair? If so, shall I make some noise as you wish?" "Feel free to do so." She said relaxedly and sneered at me. ...Apparently she saw through me that I had no intention to do so. Kazuki Hoshino's current environment is going to become my own. I may have harmed his everyday life more than planned, but there's no way I'd long for an even more cumbersome situation. "Okay [Yuuhei Ishihara], open Kazuki's mobile phone." "...why so suddenly?" "Open the image. The third one from the top in the data folder." This provoked an urge to resist, but since it won't do any good to pick a quarrel here, I obeyed her honestly. I opened the image. It was the picture of a lovely girl in pajamas, probably selftaken. "So tell me, who is that?" "...what meaning is there in this question?" "I won't answer since it would worsen my conditions." What a frank answer. I looked at it again. An unknown girl. Telling her honestly that I don't know this girl would probably be to my own disadvantage, I suppose. I shifted my attention to the background. This is without doubt a hospital. Come to think of it, I've heard of a big accident about two months ago in the vicinity. Is she maybe the victim of then? The name of the victim was... I don't remember. ...I don't know anyway. So let's venture a guess. "'Kasumi Mogi'."

I tried saying the name I had priorly heard from the underwear-girl, Ruka Hoshino. "I'm afraid you're wrong." Didn't work, huh? I smiled bitterly without thinking. "Well, I didn't know her name--so what?" "It's a lie." "Hah?" "It's a lie that you were wrong. It is indeed Kasumi Mogi. But you have never seen her as it seems." Maria Otonashi said so without changing her expression a bit. "......aren't you unfair?" "What is unfair? You are too nave to think that it would work out somehow by guessing right. Well then, I'll pose another question. How are Kazuki Hoshino and Kasumi Mogi related?" I have no clue what's the point of those question. Well, I guess it's also on purpose that I don't understand her intent. I groped in my mind for a vague answer. "......they're friends." "And?" So Maria Otonashi doesn't let me get away with such an answer, after all. "How should I give you a better answer when I don't know Kasumi Mogi?" This is a natural consequence. An obvious answer since I've already told her that I don't know that girl. There should be no problem with this answer. "You don't know Kasumi Mogi?" Nevertheless, Maria Otonashi spoke as if I made a fatal mistake. "...Didn't I say so from the start? I've never seen the girl on this photograph." "Yeah, you've never seen her. You said that. But how is 'never seen' equivalent to 'do not know'?" "...You're being cryptical. I have never seen her, so there's no way I'd kno---"

---wait, that's not true. "I see. With this, I grasped your true identity fairly well. You are no student of class 2-3." ......that was what she had been planning. Kasumi Mogi has probably not come to school because she's hospitalized. Thus I have never seen her. Students of the class 2-3 do, however, know her even when they have never seen her. It's only natural that they would mind the name of the person whose seat is always empty, and they would have an occasion where this name is mentioned, no doubt. Right, the intention of those questions was--to narrow down the suspect. "Hmpf, to be honest, it appeared likely to me that Ryuu Miyazawa was the 'owner'. But since you're not a student of the class 2-3, it seems I was wrong." Ryuu Miyazawa? Why does she mention this name? Don't tell me that he acted on his own accord because I was unable to give him instructions today, being captured by Otonashi-san? "You... no, to be accurate the 'owner,' has to be someone who's not our classmate but knows us well. I don't think that there are many people that know much about us. He is a person Kazuki and I can think of easily, right?" Of course, I didn't say anything in reply. "Further, I have one more thought. It's about Yuuhei Ishihara. Ryuu Miyazawa called Yuuhei Ishihara the de facto husband of his mother. When searching for the reason he told us about this, following reason comes naturally to mind. Right --" Maria Otonashi declared. "---Yuuhei Ishihara does not exist." I held my breath. "This name was random from the start. But either you or Ryuu Miyazawa thought about using this to your advantage. You contemplated to conceal the identity of the 'owner' by making us think that Yuuhei Ishihara really exists, right? And you

chose this complicated relationship of a de facto husband because it would be hard to investigate this matter like this, no?" He doesn't exist, hence we can conceal him--huh? I see. She's almost right. But she's wrong. Yuuhei Ishihara is indeed the de facto husband of Ryuu Miyazawa's mother. However, we can say that he doesn't exist anymore. After all Yuuhei Ishihara is already dead. "Was this all? If so, is it my turn now?" I guess she became cautious because of my sudden question. Maria Otonashi scowled. "...What do you want to discuss?" "It should attract your interest, I think! Perhaps it's even something you searched for with all your might." I opened my mouth with a smile. "I'll explain it to you. How the 'Sevennight in Mud' works."

May 02 (Saturday) 10:00

Looking at each thing that entered my sight, I collected data and regained Kazuki Hoshino. The sky. Concrete. The ground. Sand. Maria Otonashi. My hand. Kazuki Hoshino. This place is the back of the school building. I am---me. I got used to it, since I switched several times so far. But exactly because I got used to it, I noticed: This is an apparent death. I completely vanish during the time when I'm not myself. I don't even dream. This is a death that approaches me step by step. If I don't destroy the 'Sevennight in Mud' until May 05, I'm going to disappear forever. In other words, I'll die. "Kazuki?" The girl in front of me asked. I nodded silently, but noticed that this won't suffice and thus added "Yes, Aya". Otonashi-san looked at her watch and frowned.

I noticed the worn-out electric guitar at her feet. "This? I brought this along from the light music club." It's quite an old one, but since the strings are properly changed to new ones, I suppose that this guitar is still in regular use. ...I bet she brought this along without permission. "I fiddled around with it in the 'Rejecting Classroom' to kill time, you know." Otonashi-san picked the electric guitar up and started to play. She did so skillfully, much better than me who can hardly hold down the F-cord. She stopped her performance immediately and held the guitar out to me. "Eh?" "Play. I know that you inherited the guitar of your sister." "Ah, no... I can't really play well, you know?" "I don't care. Play the guitar all the time while I'm speaking. If you do so, I know it when you switch to [Yuuhei Ishihara]." I see. So that's why she brought this guitar along. I'm a very poor player of the guitar, so it's kind of embarrassing, but still I started playing a famous song of an older rock band that was in the practice book. "I'm surprised you know that I've got the guitar of my older sister." "There's nothing I don't know about you." She said so boldly. "...Do you not forget things from the 'Rejecting Classroom', Aya?" This question came suddenly to mind, so I asked her while playing the guitar clumsily. "Mh well, I remember everything. ...no, to be exact, I surely forgot some things since it was such a long time of similar happenings. But basically I remember most of it." Otonashi-san frowned and looked at me. "Is it perhaps different for you?"

"Yeah, I don't remember much about it anymore. I have no feelings that accompany those memories, so I'm rather oblivious. Kind of how you can't remember the face of every person you pass by in town." Hearing those words of mine, Otonashi-san opened her eyes wide and stood completely still. "Eh? What's wrong?" "Ah, no---" Seeing her obvious disturbance, I became perplexed all the more. "So you remember almost nothing of what we did together in the 'box'?" "W-Well, yeah." "I...see..." Otonashi-san kept silent for some reason. Waiting for her to continue, I gazed at her, but she hurriedly averted her eyes. "Now that you say it, it's plausible. There's no way you'd remember like I do. Because you aren't an 'owner'. I see, it finally makes sense. So that's why---" Then she continued murmuring with averted eyes. "---that's why you call me Aya." "Eh?" "Nevermind." Otonashi-san regained her gallant expression and scowled at me. "Oi, Kazuki. You stopped playing the guitar." I hurriedly started playing again. Since I forgot until where I played, I started the song again from the start. "Geez, because you babbled nonessential things, I couldn't enter the main subject, could I?" "Sorry. So, the main subject?" "...mh, let's see. Since I don't know yet whether I can believe in [Yuuhei Ishihara]'s words, I'll leave that out for now. I want to talk to you about this time's 'box' while I'm still convinced that you're [Kazuki Hoshino]."

I nodded and suggested her to begin. "To tell the truth, there are different kinds of 'boxes'. It might be faulty to express it like this, but to explain it simply, there are 'boxes' that operate to the inside and there are 'boxes' that operate to the outside. While the 'Rejecting Classroom' was more of an inside-type, this time's 'Sevennight in Mud' is more of an outside-type." "...? What's the difference?" "The inside-type 'box' is for the case when the 'owner' considers his 'wish' to be impossible in the real world. For example, Kasumi Mogi, who was the 'owner' of the 'Rejecting Classroom', didn't believe that it's possible to redo the past. Hence she created a space, removed from the real world, where she could believe in her 'wish'. Mogi crammed herself and her classmates into this 'box' where she could believe that her 'wish' is possible." I nodded while playing the guitar. "And then, the outside-type 'box' is for the case when the 'owner' considers his 'wish' to be possible in the real world. The 'owner' of this time's 'Sevennight in Mud' seems to perceive his 'wish' to be grantable if he had the power of the 'box'. Indeed, to take over a body may seem plausible to occur in real life. Which means that there's no need to specially create an unreal space. The reason that I still cannot properly perceive the 'box' also lies somewhere in that area." "I don't really get it, but so if one can't believe that the miracle of the 'box' can occur in the real world, it becomes an inside-type, and if one can believe in it, it becomes an outside-type?" "Yeah, pretty much. If we scored them with numbers with a maximum value of 10, the 'Rejecting Classroom' would get an inside level of 9 and the 'Sevennight in Mud' would get an outside level of 4. The higher the outside level, the more it would affect reality." It's obvious that the influence of last time's 'Rejecting Classroom' was almost nonexistent, since the involved classmates cannot remember it. But, so that means that this time's 'Sevennight in Mud' isn't like that? "Ah---" I noticed the cruel nature of the situation in those words. I'm currently scorned by all my classmates. Furthermore, my relationship with Daiya, Kokone and Haruaki have all been destroyed.

"So--so-, my destroyed everyday life---" "Yeah, it won't return." My hand that was playing the guitar halted. Its sound vanished. It won't return? My everyday life won't return? My everyday life was corroded and is beyond remedy now? So------it doesn't exist anymore. The thing I want to regain doesn't exist anymore. The second I realized this, my sight turned black as if all breakers of this world had been turned off at one blow. I mean, I have no goal anymore. There's no meaning in destroying the 'box'. I completely lost sight of everything. I don't care anymore. I started walking away unsteadily. Otonashi-san said something, and I replied with something. I don't know what she said nor what I replied, but I don't care. I want to scream. But even when I scream, there is no one that rescues me.

May 02 (Saturday) 11:00

I was in a convenience store for some reason. In my hand I was holding a weekly Manga magazine. I checked the time on Kazuki Hoshino's mobile phone. Actually I should be taking the third lesson right now... so why am I in a convenience store? I looked around, but Maria Otonashi wasn't anywhere. What does this mean? Don't tell me they broke up? I had the doubt that this might be a trap, but I couldn't let go of this chance to get in contact with Ryuu Miyazawa. I typed his phone number by heart. The call sound resounded for a while. Well, he should be in the classroom, so he wouldn't be able to answer the phone right away.

I aborted the call and cleared the outgoing calls history. He immediately called me back. "Hello? Ryuu Miyazawa?" ......hey, why do you call me by my full name? Ryuu Miyazawa asked so, seeming a bit ill-tempered. "I am no one. Someone in your memory might have not called you by your full name, but for the current me, I thought this was the most natural way." ...Is that so. So, you have something you want, don't you? What is it? "I think you have classes now, but you don't mind?" ...Nothing's more important than you. "Is it okay to say that as class committee chairman, I wonder? But I'm happy you say so. Okay, I'd like to discuss how we're going proceed..." I don't think we should talk about that at school. Won't you come to my apartment? "I don't mind... But you do realize that I can't say whether 12:00 is my time or not, right?" That's why I proposed my apartment. We just have to restrain [Kazuki Hoshino] at my place before it's 12:00. 13:00 is your time again, isn't it? "I see. So let me teach you a nice way of restraining! It's actually how Maria Otonashi tricked me, you know---" I gave him an explanation about handcuffs and footcuffs. Cuffs, huh? Sounds good. So can you buy some before we meet? "Sure." You know where I live, right? "Yeah. Later then." I disconnected the call and cleared the call history with fast movements. Ryuu Miyazawa's apartment, huh?

Now that I think about it, this is the first time I'll be there. Up to now I restrained myself from going there. What an irony that I'm first able to go now that I got into this body.

May 02 (Saturday) 11:47

Ryuu Miyazawa's apartment was in a wooden two-story building, two levels less than the mansion Maria Otonashi was living in. It wasn't self-locking either. I walked to the door on the second story and rang the bell. Ryuu Miyazawa showed his face promptly. "Here---a present." Saying so, I handed him a brown paper bag over. A pair of handcuffs and footcuffs were inside. Ryuu Miyazawa accepted it with almost no change in his expression. I took off my shoes and entered the room. The room was about of the size of six Tatami mats. The room was very small, but he had been keeping things tidy and in order. While being amazed at how much place the computer takes, I sat down on the floor. "Ah right, I've been wanting to complain to you. You acted on your own accord and told Maria Otonashi unnecessary things, didn't you?" Ryuu Miyazawa smiled wryly, "That 'you' didn't sound kind.". "That girl got wind of your attempt at concealing. It seems she noticed already that you and I are working together." "So it's as I had expected." I raised an eyebrow because he said it very easily. "...I don't get you. So you purposely revealed that you're my assistant?" "Well, I guess so?" Hey... that sounds like a really lame excuse. "Maria Otonashi doubted me just because I tried to come in contact with Kazuki Hoshino. We're up against such a gal. Therefore I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to deceive her."

"But there's no need to purposely tell her!" "...Your aim is to make [Kazuki Hoshino] submit himself, right?" "It is, ---so?" "Without doubt, Otonashi will stand in your way before you can do so, because you cannot attack [Kazuki Hoshino] directly. In other words, you can only attack [Kazuki Hoshino] via Otonashi. But as you know, she's smart. So your attack via Otonashi would be parried easily." "Well, you have a point..." "Therefore I came up with the idea that you just need someone who can attack [Kazuki Hoshino] directly, instead of doing it via Otonashi. Of course I'm the only one possible." "...I see." "For this purpose, it's best to make clear that I'm your assistant. But if I had revealed it to her openly, she would have been on guard. That's why I did like this!" He said this indifferently. A wry smile floated over my face spontaneously. I didn't think he'd considered things this much. I already considered him to be reliable, but he is even more so than I thought. "I already have a plan!" "Tell me more." "We'll show him a corpse." Ryuu Miyazawa said so. "Do you really think we can make him fall into despair with that? Well, of course he'd get a shock when seeing a corpse, but well..." Ryuu Miyazawa's mouth curled up upon hearing my question. "'You killed this person just now.' How about telling him that?" This is---most interesting. Instinctively, my mouth curled as well.

"I'll make [Kazuki Hoshino] fall into despair. Don't worry." Ryuu Miyazawa declared so, ransacked the bag and threw the cuffs to me.

May 02 (Saturday) 12:00

Who is the guy in front of me? I peered at him and noticed that it was the sharp gaze of Ryuu Miyazawa, only without glasses. Why is Miyazawa-kun...? I was hand- and footcuffed in a small room I had never seen before. The seriousness of the situation was clear to me. What did I do again, before I switched? ...I can't remember. When I had been told that my ordinary life won't return, my sight became black --- and then I was here before I knew. "This is my room. I restrained you." "...Why?" "Why, you ask? Didn't [Yuuhei Ishihara] explain it to you? To make you surrender." In other words, Miyazawa-kun doesn't act for his own sake, but for the sake of [Yuuhei Ishihara]? "Hoshino. Has Otonashi told you about the details of this box?" I shook my head. "So she kept it secret, huh. Well, admittedly, it is an appropriate decision. [Yuuhei Ishihara] said that he had told her with the expectation that she'd inform you, you know?" Come to think of it, I think she was about to tell me something that she had heard from [Yuuhei Ishihara]. "I'll explain it to you instead! ...haha! It really is less cumbersome now that I've revealed my enmity." "...enmity? What?" "Nothing. ...so, you know that this box will erase your existence within one week, right?"

"Yes ...But may I ask something first?" "What is it?" "I cannot trust your words. After all you're my enemy, aren't you? I can't just believe your explanation since, in fact, you have been trying to deceive me already." "Quite right." Miyazawa-kun accepted my words readily and didn't show any unrest whatsoever. "I myself have started wondering if I have a talent as a swindler. That's a new discovery for me. But I'm only going to tell you the truth now. Feel free to make sure whether it is true or not. If you don't want to listen, just block your ears. ...Well, you wouldn't be able to because of the handcuffs, though." Miyazawa-kun said without emotions, approached me and handed over a cut-off piece from a notebook to me.

00-01 02-03 11-12 09-10

01-02 03-04 13-14

23-24 04-05 15-16

1st day 2nd day 3rd day 4th day 5th day 6th day 7th dayEnd

"This is a note [Yuuhei Ishihara] gave me." Which means that [Yuuhei Ishihara] wrote it. His handwriting, with rounded letters, was surprisingly neat.

"Today's the fourth day." 09-10 was all that was written on the fourth line. Though there were always three number pairs, on this line was only one. There were none from there on, either. "What on earth do those numbers mean...?" "Hoshino, have you not noticed that your time decreases day by day?" "...Huh?" "[Kazuki Hoshino]'s time gets stolen by [Yuuhei Ishihara] bit by bit everyday! This note is a listing of the hours that have been stolen from you. For example, 0001 means that the time from 00:00 until 01:00 has been stolen from [Kazuki Hoshino] by [Yuuhei Ishihara]." I looked again at the note. The number pair 09-10 at the date mark of today. Which means that [Yuuhei Ishihara] controlled this body today from nine o'clock until ten o'clock. Indeed, I wasn't conscious at that time. "But then he just steals three hours of my day? It doesn't get more for him!" "...hey, you ought to think a little more before you speak. I said 'the time gets stolen'. The time isn't stolen for only that day. This time stays in the possession of [Yuuhei Ishihara] thereafter. For example, the hour that has been stolen from you between 00:00 and 01:00 won't be [Kazuki Hoshino]'s again." I still had troubles understanding. "Gosh, do you still not get it? Mh... maybe it's easier if you divide one day into 24 blocks and imagine having three of them stolen every day. Your blocks decrease to 21 on the first day. 18 on the second day. 15 on the third day. And on the seventh day, there will only be 3 left. The moment the date changes to the eight day, none remains. In other words: Game Over." I finally understood. I also understood why he explained this to me. To teach me about the 'Sevennight in Mud' becomes a disadvantage for [Yuuhei Ishihara]. The reason why he taught me anyway is --"Ah, seems like you noticed. You get it, right? Therefore, this can't be a lie. A lie yields hope when you realize it's a lie. On the other hand, when you feel that a

cruel fact is reality, you fall into despair all the more. And you realize, if you think back a little, that this is reality of what happened to you, right?" Right. My body tells me that it's the truth, too. "Shall I calculate for you? [Kazuki Hoshino] has 7 blocks left today, including the time now. 9 tomorrow, May 03. 6 at May 04. 3 at May 05. 24 altogether. Do you get it? You don't even have one day's time left!" Miyazawa-kun spoke in order to corner me. "To corner you by telling you the truth. This is the reason why [Yuuhei Ishihara] reveals this fact. Thus, this is nothing but the truth." 'I still have four days left'. I certainly had been thinking like this. But this was a big mistake. The progress of the battle has already inclined clearly towards [Yuuhei Ishihara]. When just considering the time we spend in this body, [Kazuki Hoshino] has already become the irregular existence of us. Furthermore, he has Ryuu Miyazawa as his partner. Oh. It really is hopeless already. "I'm surprised you're so composed." Now that he mentions it... Despite this hopeless situation, I was calm. Which is... plausible. After all, I've already fallen into despair, even without this. "Hey, Miyazawa-kun. May I ask you something?" "What is it?" "Why do you assist [Yuuhei Ishihara]?" Seemingly it was an unexpected question---Miyazawa-kun kept silent. "You wouldn't assist him if there wasn't a quite important reason, would you? Furthermore, if [Yuuhei Ishihara] told you that he's in my body, you wouldn't believe such a thing readily. Right?" ...Mhh, yeah. Let's try to trick him. "How about such a reason? For example --- you yourself are [Yuuhei Ishihara]."

An irrational argument which would cause a big laughter if it was wrong. But Miyazawa-kun maintained his sharp gaze and kept quiet. "......I myself am [Yuuhei Ishihara] really, huh? Well ---" Miyazawa-kun smiled bitterly once and continued. "That's right." "---Huh?" Those unexpected words made me lose my tongue. "Honestly, I was tired of it already. I would have never dreamed that hiding this would exhaust me like this. So I want to tell you my circumstances to find some relief." Miyazawa-kun sighed, seeming very tired. "Hoshino. Is there something that's important to you?" "...There is." Maybe There was would be more accurate. My everyday life was destroyed after all. "So you may understand my feelings. In my opinion, a really important thing is not something you take care of with utmost devotion nor something you concentrate your lovey-dovey love-love on. I think a really important thing is something that becomes your stem. Therefore if it gets lost, you break as if your spine was removed and turn into an empty shell. Therefore, a really important thing is --equal to oneself." "Your That's right just now didn't mean that you yourself are [Yuuhei Ishihara], huh?" "Of course not. If I was him, I would never allow such a detestable conduct." But he is supporting [Yuuhei Ishihara] who does so. Because [Yuuhei Ishihara] is really important to him. "If he wishes for this, I'll do it. If it's to protect him I'll do anything. Even if it's not right to do." This attitude was neither proud nor stubborn. He was bitterly biting on his lips and his eyes showed resignation somewhere, but were without wavering.

"...I understand what you mean! But why is [Yuuhei Ishihara] such an important existence to you?" Miyazawa-kun muttered "...hm." and continued. "Probably... no, not probably. I'm sure of it. The reason why he is so important to me, that's---" He spitted out his next words, seeming unpleased. "--- because I'm his older brother." "Older brother? Huh?" I couldn't comprehend those sudden words right away. "So the relationship between you and Yuuhei Ishihara was a lie? ...huh? But...eeh..." "Yuuhei Ishihara is the de facto husband of my mother. This is true." "...umm, so, Yuuhei Ishihara and [Yuuhei Ishihara] are completely different individuals to begin with?" "Yeah. Using this bastard's name made it a bit complicated, but it's like you say." "So not Yuuhei Ishihara but your younger brother's inside me..." Is [Yuuhei Ishihara] so important to Miyazawa-kun as to make him call himself [Yuuhei Ishihara], just because they're relative by blood? ...no, I can't really understand this emotion. I have an older sister. Of course she's important to me. But I'd never do anything for my sister, Ruu-chan. "Didn't I tell you? My family environment." Miyazawa-kun said so, without answering directly to my question. "All of it is true, except of the fact that I concealed being his brother. My life until then was destroyed with the divorce matter. Children have to rely on their parents, don't they? But those parents say We don't need you!. That I'm a hindrance. That I'm trash. That I'm a mistake of their past. Everything was destroyed for me. It may sound clichd, but this was total despair. I wasn't a human anymore at the time." He smiled in self derision and continued. "But I wasn't the only one that was no longer human. He, who was taken charge of by my mother. This other non-human was what saved me. I guess it was a mistaken dependence. But I returned to life thanks to this dependence. He became my stem and, like my spine, I cannot live without him."

He then scowled at me. "I don't want to return to when I was inhuman. I will protect---me." I thoroughly understood that Miyazawa-kun's younger brother is an irreplaceable existence for him. "...But I can't comprehend it." Miyazawa-kun urged me wordlessly to continue. "How is it real happiness when [he] becomes Kazuki Hoshino? I also don't think that this means protecting him. I think that he has to find the right way being himself." "You're right, I guess." Surprisingly, Miyazawa-kun agreed without hesitation. "So---" "Don't spell it out! I know. I know all of that. But it's already too late!" "...Huh?"

May 02 (Saturday) 14:00

I found out the reason why it's too late. Though I couldn't grasp the situation when I was shown that suddenly, I realized that it was indeed too late. "Those are the corpses of Yuuhei Ishihara and my mother." I was again in an unknown home. It was a normal living room without noteworthy features. If it wasn't for the red liquid splashed all over. I looked at the corpses. The corpse of a middle-aged woman. With the head split open. The cerebral matter scattered around and the shape of head changed into a crescent moon. The corpse of a middle-aged man. This was probably the real Yuuhei Ishihara.

His head was split open like the woman's corpse. But not only that. His limbs were bent in incredible directions as if his joints were completely ignored. A gruesome scene, that let one feel that someone had an enormous grudge. But anyway, it really stinks in here. "Aah---" The stench made me observe the corpses calmly, whereupon my thinking made a leap. Why---is this here? "This is his attack against you!" A fluorescent lamp illuminated the two corpses palely. "This murder was committed using the body of Kazuki Hoshino. You know what that means, right? As long you're Kazuki Hoshino, you won't be able to get away from the sin of murder. When you get caught by the police, Kazuki Hoshino will undergo punishment." His voice resounded already from far away and didn't reach my head. Miyazawa-kun looked at me at first, but then let go a faint sigh. "......which was the scenario we planned to use to corner you, but let's scrap that. As I told you before, despair that was born of a lie will become hope when the truth is revealed. Those corpses are the cause. The cause that made him want your body." "The cause...?" What if murdering those two was the trigger that made him want to steal my body? Based on Miyazawa-kun's statements, I suppose [he] considers himself to be in misfortune. What would [he] 'wish' if he obtained the 'box' after causing such an incident? I don't think he would want to regain his lifestyle. He wouldn't want himself. Therefore he would want to steal another one's body. "...I understood why the 'owner' came to have such a 'wish'! But.. I don't really get the reason why you'd support him in realizing this 'Sevennight in Mud'. Wouldn't it be better to recommend him to destroy the 'box' and deliver himself up...?" "If he went to prison, I wouldn't be able to be by his side anymore, would I?"

Indeed. But still, going to prison or becoming another person. Isn't the former one still the better choice...? "You look like you can't comprehend me. ...ah, I see. Surely, you wouldn't know. Say, have you never wondered about this? If he's inside you, where is his original body right now?" Come to think of it, I never thought of this. I was assuming that he vanished since he's inside my body. "I'll give you the answer to this question! Take your phone out." I understood with just this. I took out my mobile phone, opened the data folder and checked the voice files. There was a new one. I played the file. My original body? I've already killed that! I stopped breathing. So [he] committed suicide after killing Yuuhei Ishihara and his mother? Why such a foolish act...!!? I mean, wouldn't it be a hindrance? I have no need for that body - I'm not that kiddo anymore! ......Wait! So in other words --"It's too late; got it? I cannot protect the person I want to protect anymore." --- Right, it's already too late. Not only for Miyazawa-kun, but also for me. After all [his] original human died. Which means that the 'owner' died. Which further means that there's no way to destroy the 'box' anymore. In short --- the 'Sevennight in Mud' cannot be prevented anymore. It's too late. We are completely too late. "I have no other choice but to make the 'Sevennight in Mud' come true." He spat out those words so plainly that I immediately understood that he was choking off his emotions. He spoke distinctly: "Thus, Hoshino --- I think I'm going to erase you."

He slowly raised his pale head; his eyes were---blank. "I'll mow down your will of resisting entirely." Without looking in my eyes, Miyazawa-kun proceeded his words. "But I can't be at ease with just this. Because there's Maria Otonashi. So I've been thinking. Making you surrender and stopping Maria Otonashi. I've been thinking about how to accomplish both at the same time." Miyazawa-kun's mouth distorted slightly, whereupon he continued. "Capturing Otonashi. But by having you do it." "...And this makes me surrender?" "Yeah. Think about it: if we capture Otonashi and confine her until May 06, we're out of danger from her - which is obvious, though. If Otonashi doesn't move, the 'Sevennight in Mud' won't be averted." So betraying Otonashi-san is equal to abandoning the last resort myself. Hence, it would mean that I've surrendered. "So let's move on to the execution. ---Hoshino, I'm going to confine you in my room now and I will use you as a trap to capture Otonashi. I'll take you with me, no matter how much you resist. I won't flinch from using violence. Well, no resistance will be of use as soon you switch again, though." "Then... why don't you just wait that I switch?" "If I did so, you might try to justify yourself by thinking that you were confined involuntarily. There's no meaning when you don't betray Maria Otonashi on your own accord. After all, we have to make you surrender." ......I see. "So what will you do? Wanna try some resistance?" Miyazawa-kun took some knuckle dusters out of his pockets and put them on. His eyes told me clearly that this wasn't a bluff. Should I betray? Her, Maria Otonashi --- no, Aya Otonashi.

What is there to betray? We don't trust each other to begin with. Also, Miyazawakun might not have noticed yet, but I don't feel like resisting anymore, since I came to know that my ordinary life won't return. Should I fight against Miyazawa-kun? No way. Why should I choose the painful path to no avail? "------" And still, I can't say it. I can't say a simple sentence as 'I will betray Otonashi-san'. Why not? I don't get it. Nothing will change if I don't say it. I have already given up and when the time for the shift comes, I'm going to get confined. The outcome won't change. And still, when I try to vocalize my betrayal, my chest gets attacked by a burning ache. "M-Miyazawa-kun, say---" Bam. "---Ugh!" Miyazawa-kun performed violence. I prostrated without being able to even raise a proper voice. Miyazawa-kun's expression was still blank when he looked down on me. He won't possibly lend my words an ear. He will strike with no mercy when I show any sign of resistance. I know. I can only decide for betrayal. Isn't it alright? After all Aya Otonashi's an enemy. He grabbed my shoulders and made me stand. He held his fist against my defenseless stomach. "Come on, let me hear your words of betrayal!" "You may---" Nothing would change, so there shouldn't be any reason to hesitate. So why--"You may---confine me."

Why does my heart seem to break just by speaking those words out?

May 02 (Saturday) 23:10

I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming the same dream again.

May 3 May 03 (Sunday) 07:12

I woke up. It wasn't the sensation of switching, but the normal sensation of awakening. I was lying on the ground of Miyazawa's room with cuffs applied to both my hands and feet. Miyazawa-kun was sitting on the bed. Dark circles were under his eyes. Maybe he hadn't slept properly in the last few days. When he had noticed that I had awoken, he took out a washcloth and wiped my face. The menthol in the washcloth wiped away my sleepiness. "I'll instruct you now." Having finished wiping my face, he said so without greeting me. "You will restrain Otonashi by handcuffing and footcuffing her and demonstrate your will of betrayal by doing so. You just need to do that. Simple, isn't it?" "...really?" "Ah?" "Will you really believe that I surrendered if I do so?" [He] is free to judge how he wants to. He might not be able to accept this as 'surrendered' and request an even worse absurdity. "He said that he'd be satisfied when he just can steal Maria Otonashi from you." "Steal...?" A mail from some time came suddenly to mind. I was able to grant my earnest desire. Now I can go out with you. I finally understood the meaning of this text. Seems like [he]'s mistaking us for lovers. Thus he's under the impression that he could go out with her when he completed the 'Sevennight in Mud'. But this is unreasonable. It's impossible to obtain everything from me just by taking me over.

"You cannot steal her from me!" I can. I took almost a leap. A voice answered to my murmur, which shouldn't be here. I am Kazuki Hoshino and no one else! Hence, I'm able to obtain her like this. The voice originated from the speakers besides the computer that was controlled by Miyazawa-kun. Do you think this is absurd? Do you think I cannot become Kazuki Hoshino because you are? Of course. Only [I] am Kazuki Hoshino, no one else could be. So tell me, what makes Kazuki Hoshino? At the very least you can't notice the difference by the personality. After all you would still recognize someone you haven't met in ages as the same person, even if this person's atmosphere and personality have changed completely, right? Hearing [his] words, I recalled the words I had once heard from that person. So tell me: when you see someone acting a bit unusually, would you think right away 'This is someone else. Someone took him over.'? "------ugh!" Indeed, Daiya, Kokone and Haruaki have all recognized [him] as Kazuki Hoshino. Even Otonashi-san, with whom I have spent more time together than with anyone else,--Even Maria Otonashi cannot distinguish [Kazuki Hoshino] from [Yuuhei Ishihara], does she? "...uh" Well, but since she knows of the 'boxes', she might perceive [Kazuki Hoshino]'s vanishment as vanishment of Kazuki Hoshino's existence as a whole. Therefore I'll teach her that Kazuki Hoshino won't disappear when I become him. Doing so, Kazuki Hoshino will continue to exist in her. A chuckle resounded from the speakers. And then I'll be able to obtain her.

As long the looks stay like Kazuki Hoshino, he will be recognized as Kazuki Hoshino, even when the inside changed. This is certainly true. Therefore I don't think he's talking complete nonsense. ...but it's an overstatement that he could become Kazuki Hoshino. "Do you think it's extreme logic?" I closed my mouth when Miyazawa-kun judged me correctly. "Hoshino, what would you do if you learned that an important person to you had split personality?" "Eh?" I frowned at this example he suddenly threw toward me. "Is your important person only one of those personalities? Would you distinguish each personality carefully and say that one is important to me, I don't need that one, I don't mind that one? No, you wouldn't, right? Regardless of the personalities, this important person is in the end only one human." "......Could be." "Thus, it doesn't really matter whether the inside is [Kazuki Hoshino] or [Yuuhei Ishihara]. If she accepts that it's Kazuki Hoshino, her emotions will be maintained. It's not [your] personality what Maria Otonashi considers important. I'm sure, it's rather---" Miyazawa-kun continued without altering his expression a slightest bit. "---Kazuki Hoshino's existence itself." Some sort of power was contained in those words. He did not only say them to corner me. "...but I'm afraid I'm not such an important human to her." He smiled wryly. "You might have not noticed since you're the person concerned. But I know. Otonashi is dependent on you! Therefore it will be hard for Maria Otonashi to endure the loss of you when your personality disappears. She will then try to make up for this loss with something. It's obvious what she would use as compensation, isn't it?"

"...you think it's [Yuuhei Ishihara]?" "Not exactly. It's Kazuki Hoshino who does certainly still live, though slightly altered." "That's why [he] will obtain her eventually...? This is only your suitable guess. Why can you be so convinced?" "Because she's the same as me." Miyazawa-kun said so annoyingly. "Eh?" "Because I'm depending on someone like Maria Otonashi does. That's why I easily know what she's going to do." I finally understood the reason why there's such a power in his words. Miyazawa-kun knows it. He knows the sensation when an important person disappears and turns into something different. "Stop being so nitpicking. You just have to betray Maria Otonashi. If you do so, she will start mixing up [Kazuki Hoshino] and [Yuuhei Ishihara]." "...Why so?" "Otonashi would never dream of [Kazuki Hoshino] betraying her. Even if you were the one that handcuffed her, she would think it was [Yuuhei Ishihara]. But in fact it was [Kazuki Hoshino] who did. Consequently, she will become unable to distinguish the two of you confidently. The borderline between [Kazuki Hoshino] and [Yuuhei Ishihara] will disappear." And then she's going to consider [me] and [him] as the same. If she's like this by May 06, Otonashi-san will accept it with no resistance, even if [he] steals everything from me. That's what Miyazawa-kun is saying. "Did you get me? Okay, I'll instruct you, then." "...Wait a sec." I interrupted him. "What?" "What do you plan to do when [he]'s not convinced of having stolen Otonashi-san completely from me?"

I think it's going to be like this. We aren't going out, after all. Hence, it's not possible to steal her from me. It can't go as [he] planned. "Won't you cause her suffering? Won't you still use me?" Miyazawa-kun kept silent for a moment and admitted it by saying, "I guess so." And added without reserve--"So what?" "'So what'...? U-Under no circumstances could I... do that. I surely decided to betray her. But that doesn't mean that I want to trouble her so---" "Do you want me to hit you again?" "......Even so, I won't be able to!" I don't care if I have to suffer. In that case, I merely have to endure the pain. But I absolutely do not want that someone has to get hurt because of me. This has nothing to do with her being my ally or not, I just cannot accept it. He observed me for a while, but in the end he just sighed regretfully for some reason. "You're okay with that?" "......with what?" "If there's no meaning in violence, then we just have to use another kind of threat, you know?" "...What do you mean?" Miyazawa-kun didn't answer to my question and kept silent thereafter.

May 03 (Sunday) 08:45

I was standing in front of Kazuki Hoshino's home. "But your idea is really nasty, huh." "How so? If it's for your sake, this idea is natural. And anyway, you are the one that executes it, aren't you?"

He said so, calmly. "Do you think this underwear-girl will obey me politely? If not, she'd be pitiful." "Well, I'll pray for it to go well!" Ryuu Miyazawa returned shallow words, almost as if he had no interest in what's going to happen. No --- Perhaps he really has no interest. For him, who wasn't able to do anything against that incident, all other things might have become indifferent. This theory had no basis, but I thought so for some reason. "Okay, I'll start." "Ok." It's a matter of course, but I opened the door without ringing the bell. "I'm home." I climbed to the second floor. Ruka Hoshino was sleeping in underwear like always.

May 03 (Sunday) 10:06

Miyazawa-kun pressed a mobile phone against my ear. N-NOOO!! I heard a scream from the phone. I recognized the owner of this voice immediately. After all it's a voice I hear virtually every day. "Ruu-chan...!!" Why do you do such a thing?! Stop it, Kazu-chan!! "Ah---" What... what did he do!? What did he do to Ruu-chan, using my body!? "This happened because you didn't listen to us like a good boy!" "But Ruu-chan has absolutely nothing to do with it! So why did you do such a---!!"

"Because she has nothing to do with it, you suffer. Exactly because of that we're doing that!" Having heard those words, I spontaneously tried to throw myself upon him --- but failed and fell unsightly to the ground. I had forgotten that I was restrained with footcuffs. Miyazawa-kun stepped on my crawling body and pressed the mobile phone against my ear. "Uuh..." Since I wasn't even able to cover my ears, I closed my eyes reflexively. Though this would be to no avail. Such a voice came from the phone: Kidding~~~! "Huh...?" Kazu-chan, why do you want me to say such things? Big sis has become anxious about your future. I raised my head dumbfoundedly and looked at Miyazawa-kun. What on earth? A joke...? Miyazawa-kun removed his leg from my body. I sat up while keeping my gaze on him, who still didn't show any expression on his face. "Why are you calming down, Hoshino?" "Eh?" "This were sound files recorded with the 'My Voice'-feature. It's not real time. What if I reversed the order of those files? Maybe the sound file you just heard happened before the other one?" "Y-You can't...!" "Just joking!" "Ugh..." I feel miserable for being so easily deceived. "Geez... what are you swinging from joy to sorrow and back all the time. It's not the problem whether she was actually hurt or not, is it? The problem is that Ruka Hoshino's completely guardless against [Yuuhei Ishihara]'s actions. "

Saying so, Miyazawa-kun turned the foot on my body around. "[Yuuhei Ishihara] will become Kazuki Hoshino. Can you imagine just how much of a hindrance the existence of a sister is then? Heck, you're living in the same room! Of course she'd notice Kazuki Hoshino's change and it would be impossible to terminate this relationship since you are siblings. She's the person that may become the greatest barrier. That seems to be the reason why he's indecisive. How should he deal with her?" Having said this, Miyazawa-kun made a double click and started another voice file. You will betray Maria Otonashi for us, won't you [Kazuki Hoshino]? This was a threat. A simple threat which meant that he would kill Ruka Hoshino if I didn't obey. "So what will you do, Hoshino?" If I handcuff Otonashi-san, she might end up hurt. But If I don't, Ruu-chan might have to die. There's no way I could decide on one! ---However, Otonashi-san won't be killed. Also, if it's for her, she might be able to overcome the situation with her skills. No, of course she will. ---she will defeat us.

May 03 (Sunday) 21:04

"Otonashi does take so long to arrive here...? Quite surprising. I was sure she'd know the place right away." Miyazawa-kun said. "Well, she might be unable to notice that you're being confined. [Yuuhei Ishihara] went home once, after all. However, she ought to sense something since her calls are blocked... say, Hoshino, did you have a big quarrel that would justify blocking her calls?" I couldn't answer. Because I didn't know anymore how I parted from her when my sight turned black in despair. "Well, doesn't matter, huh. We're going to act now anyway."

Having said so, he took out my mobile phone. That he didn't do anything until now was because [my] today's time had not been clear until 19:00 was stolen from me. But my time window is settled now. It's settled that today's time is going to be [mine] until 23:00. "...Ah, which reminds me." Having said so, Miyazawa-kun took out a packing tape and stuck two layers on my mouth. Since I had been handcuffed already, I was naturally not able to take it off. He initiated a call. To whom... is obvious. "Hello?" ......Who are you? The room was silent. I too, could hear Otonashi-san's voice clearly. "Ryuu Miyazawa!" ...Miyazawa, why do you call me from Kazuki's mobile phone? What happened to Kazuki? I knew that you were [Yuuhei Ishihara]'s partner, but--- "Partner? As if I'd help out that piece of shit! He merely grasped my weak spot and threatened me." What is he saying...? Your weak spot? "Yeah. I didn't support him, he grasped my weak spot and used me. But I've had enough of it! And fortunately I hit upon a simple and good solution strategy." A solution strategy...? "If it's for you, you should easily be able to think of it. It's really simple." ...Don't tell me--- "Exactly. I just have to kill Kazuki Hoshino." Miyazawa-kun spoke indifferently without putting any weird emotion into his voice. I then finally noticed that he was just making up this story. But his performance seems just too natural. Even I, knowing the truth, thought for a second that he might be telling the truth there.

Therefore I don't think Otonashi-san would be able to see through this made-up story. ...What are you saying? I don't know what kind of weak spot he grasped of you, but the risk is just too high. I didn't know you were so silly as to make such a choice? "You're easy to see through. Seems you are surprisingly bad at deceiving someone." ...... "Murder is indeed a risky gamble. It wouldn't be worth it. But this risk doesn't apply to Kazuki Hoshino right now. You should know why, don't you?" ...I have no idea. "Haha, don't play dumb! Okay, then I'll tell you. The answer to the riskless murder is 'just take advantage of the moment of the shift'." Otonashi-san had noticed it as well, I suppose. After all yesterday she told me that it would be dangerous if I switched during her driving. If one took advantage of this logic in a more certain way, it would be dead easy to feign an accident or suicide. This is what he means by riskless murder. "If I'm able to put an end to his threat, I'll do as much as this." ...Why do you inform me about this? "There is at least someone you'd like to shoot if you had a bullet that would never be found, right? But using this bullet, I'll also erase someone I have no grudge against. Since he would be just too pitiful, I thought I might allow him to speak to his lover a last time at the very end." Just how selfish are you...!? "Oh? Hoshino has only a few hours left, you know? He's as good as dead! But rest assured; I'll kill him when he's [Yuuhei Ishihara]. I'll quasi conduct euthanasia for him. Isn't it rather fortunate that he can die before being taken over completely by this scumbag?" Kazuki will regain his body!

"This only what you think, isn't it? No one would be able to look at things so positively in such a situation!" Gh... "Well, that's it. Okay, I'll let you hear his last words." Of course he didn't remove the tape from my mouth when he had said so. He moved the mouse and made a double click. My voice resounded from the speakers. Please save me--- I thought this was a cheap line. If only-----Aya! ---he didn't mention this name. Why does he know this name...? They don't know the 'Rejecting Classroom', so they should not be able to know this name. No... they might know. I have used this name in the classroom of 2-3. Surely, Miyazawa-kun noticed that this name had to be some kind of code and reported it to [Yuuhei Ishihara]. But she, who doesn't know that those words belong to [him], can't notice this fact. Therefore--......I'll come to save you right away, Kazuki. ---she believes that this voice was mine. You made a mistake. Otonashi-san declared this. You should have made this call just before he would switch to [Yuuhei Ishihara]. Now's 21:12. You can act at 22 o'clock at the earliest. There are 48 minutes until then. I'll defeat you and take Kazuki back in this time. An announcement that failed its purpose. Not knowing that her words don't unsettle him, but rather calm him down.

May 03 (Sunday) 21:32

And then she came. Not even 20 minutes had passed since the call. The window was broken up and its splinters scattered about in the room. She had smashed the glass with her sneakers and was now standing in the center of the room in her normal clothes. "...That you arrived this quickly means that you had known my whereabouts?" Miyazawa-kun was looking at her from the corridor right in front of the entry and was pressing a kitchen knife against me. "Do you really think it was hard to find out? You'd never make such a phone call in public. Hence you'd likeliest be at home, don't you think? After all no other places would come to mind." "But weren't you still too fast if it was just this?" "I had already known your residence at the point in time when you revealed being the partner of [Yuuhei Ishihara]. ...Come on, isn't it enough already? Remove your hands from Kazuki. Didn't you say yourself that you don't want to take the high risk of murdering? If you stab, this isn't just a risk anymore. You're sure to get punished for inflicting bodily injury or more." "Shut up." "There's no need to cause hysteria just because it didn't go as you planned. Isn't the point that you don't want to get threatened by [Yuuhei Ishihara] anymore? Hand Kazuki over to me and I promise to stop those threats!" "That's just your hollow promise, isn't it?" He acted as if he was irritated and didn't listen to her. Why does Miyazawa-kun take this attitude? ---that is, he is raising the drop height. Miyazawa-kun is acting out the generic enemy role and tries to set up the stage to make my betrayal more impactful. Otonashi-san is going to defeat the enemy, Miyazawa-kun, and will save me. Of course she will feel relieved and pleased. And there she'll be betrayed by me. Thus, for the sake of this 'drop height', Miyazawa-kun must not release me readily right now.

"Buzz off! Isn't it enough already for your last rendezvous?" "Don't ridicule!" But why does Otonashi-san not attack him right away? Sure, his knife is currently pressed against my throat. But this is a meaningless threat. Miyazawa-kun would never stab me since (in this setting) he wants to commit a riskless murder to do something against being threatened. "I have valued you as a firm person with logical thinking, you know?" That she said those words means that she knows that he doesn't plan to stab me. And still she doesn't step forward. "Cool down, Miyazawa." But indeed, she cannot exclude the possibility that I get stabbed. Miyazawa-kun would perhaps lose his temper and mistakenly stab me. ......is this the reason? Does she not make a move because she's not completely sure that he will not harm me? "......" No way, huh. After all she has no reason to protect me so much. I don't know the reason for now, but Otonashi-san doesn't make a move. It's a deadlock. Miyazawa-kun poked my flank hidden from her gaze, with his left hand. ......I know! I have also received instruction for what to do in a deadlock. I don't want to act actively, but seems I have no other choice. He had told me not to hold back, because otherwise she would notice that it's just a performance. I swallowed my saliva once and proceeded to action. I---bit into Miyazawa's hand as hard as I could. "...Uwaa!!"

This scream was not acted, but a proper reaction to the pain. Miyazawa-kun dropped the knife completely natural as arranged beforehand. The opening we produced in his guard. Otonashi-san did not miss this chance. It truly happened in a split second. A six Tatami's size room. In the next moment, she was already in front of our eyes. She rushed towards him and butted her head against his nose bone. She stepped into the space between Miyazawa-kun and me and drove him back by hitting his chin while he was holding his nose. She then quickly picked up the knife and threw it away out of his reach. "Step back, Kazuki." I nodded and did as she told me. Otonashi-san, too, stepped slightly back from him and started speaking. "Give me the keys to the hand- and footcuffs, Miyazawa. I'll let you go with this much." "......You're softer than I thought." Miyazawa-kun said while suppressing his nose bleed with his hands. "You could have as well just choked me. Doing so, I would have had to give you the keys." "...There's no need to go this far." Because of those words, I remembered. Right. Otonashi-san does not like to use violence. She was able to just because she had to in order to save me. But she would never be able to choke someone only to make him give her some keys. Miyazawa-kun corrected his stance. And then he jumped at her to seize her. But at the moment he touched her, Miyazawa-kun's body flew through the air. "Wha---!!" This was no acting, but a genuine exclamation of surprise. It happened so quick he couldn't even perceive his defeat. It was a magnificent shoulder throw.

"If you approach me, I'll knock you down." "...Damn, I didn't know you were a Black Belt in Judo!" "It's no wonder. After all I'm just a White Belt. ...Well, I have defeated several Black Belts already, though." Having said so, she gripped him with a Kesa-Gatame. "Ugh..." "I heard a metallic sound when I threw you." She searched Miyazawa's pockets with her free left hand. She found the object in question in no time and threw it to me. The objects that fell with a metallic sound on the floor were the keys to my hand- and footcuffs. "Kazuki, what's the time? Please tell me exactly." "...21:39." "So there's no problem. Kazuki, take your mobile phone immediately and escape over the Veranda. I'll cut after you in five minutes. Until then I'll make sure he's unable to move." Miyazawa-kun took a quick peek at me. Don't worry, I won't follow her instruction. But because of the Kesa-Gatame, I'm unable to handcuff her. What should I do? I can't restrain her like this. I dropped my gaze. And saw something. Whereupon I hit upon it. I hit upon the worst, but just because of that meaningful, way to betray her. Aah, if I do this I'll become the absolute enemy of Aya Otonashi. I have already decided, so I was already assuming it may end like this. But this is just too bad. The keys don't fit. The appropriate keys were in my possession from the start. I removed the cuffs. Being freed from the handcuffs, I picked up --- the kitchen knife Otonashi-san had thrown to me. "Aya." I pointed the knife at Otonashi-san.

She will recognize right away that I lack the guts to stab. But that doesn't matter. It does not change the fact that I betrayed her. "Let go of Miyazawa-kun, obediently." Otonashi-san noticed the point of the kitchen knife. And--"Eh...?" Not Otonashi-san, but I raised my voice without knowing. She had opened her eyes wide and stopped breathing just because I pointed the knife at her. I have never seen her looking this defenseless. Using this chance, Miyazawa-kun freed himself from her lock. But she stayed petrified. I approached her with the knife, crouched and handcuffed her. When she had let both her hands get restrained with no resistance, she finally opened her mouth. "What... does this mean, Kazuki?" She said falteringly. "What is this... I don't understand. Why do you point a knife at me...?" "He betrayed you!" Miyazawa-kun explained in my stead. "Betrayed...? There's no necessity to do so. Kazuki cannot do anything against the 'Sevennight in Mud' without me. He would only betray me when he surrendered to you and gave up. But this is just not possible. Therefore he would never betray---" "So this means that Hoshino surrendered to us and gave up, doesn't it?" "He gave... up?" I reflexively averted my eyes when she drew a clinging gaze to me. "Hu---" A laughter leaked out of Miyazawa-kun's mouth. "Huhu, ahahahahaha! What's this sad sight, Otonashi? Stop it please! I had a relatively high opinion of you when I fought against you, you know? But just how

delicate are you to get this shocked just because your lover betrayed you! This is plainly disappointing!" "Kazuki." Otonashi-san did not even deign to look at Miyazawa-kun, who was laughing like this. Otonashi-san was gazing at me all the time. "Is this true? Have you really surrendered to [Yuuhei Ishihara] like he says?" "......I have!" I wrung out. When she had heard this, Otonashi-san looked down, hiding her face, and started trembling. "Whoa, wait a sec! Why are you trembling? Don't tell me you started crying! Oi, oi, don't overact! Honestly, stop it, this is just too hilarious!!" To this much more than expected outcome, Miyazawa-kun continued to raise his laughter. "Ah right, Otonashi. I'll tell you something good! This guy is without doubt [Kazuki Hoshino]. He's not [Yuuhei Ishihara]. The guy that betrayed and handcuffed you is without doubt [Kazuki Hoshino]!" "......I know." She answered, her head hanging. "What?" "I'm very well aware that he is [Kazuki Hoshino] and no one else." Otonashi-san was still looking down, but stood finally up. I could still not see her face. She approached me swayingly. I stepped back with the knife in my hand reflexively because of her odd behavior. She was approaching me though I was holding a knife and she was restrained with handcuffs. I stepped back further. I bumped into the wall. She pounded the wall above my averted head strongly with her restrained hands. "Kazuki, did you really surrender to such a group?" She spoke in a deep, intonationless voice. I shrugged my shoulders and peeked carefully at her.

She raised her head slowly. Ah, I see... she was trembling because of anger. "You, the sole one who inflicted a defeat on me since I have become a 'box', surrendered to a half-hearted and frail group, you say? Do you want to insult me...? You want to tell me that I'm lower than that lame group of losers, huh...!" Her seemingly-suppressed voice grew steadily louder. "Don't mess around with me, honestly, don't mess around with me! Don't say such utter nonsense! There's no way your belief would be broken so easily by such a bunch...!!" She swung her restrained hands down again. I closed my eyes reflexively. The wall clanged. A loud sound above my head. I opened my eyes slowly and found her snarling face that had reddened in vexation in front of mine. "O-oi! What's wrong, Otonashi? Have you gone insane because of the shock of his betrayal?" "You be quiet." She spat out so, with her gaze fixed on me. "...I felt that something was wrong since the call. But I was convinced you'd never cooperate with them. That's why I believed Miyazawa's words. Yet, you're like this... Shit! This is just bullshit!" Otonashi-san looked down at my knife as if she had just now noticed, and sneered even more with an amazed expression. "...What's with this kitchen knife? Will you stab me when I don't obey you? Haha, very funny. Go ahead, stab me! My guard is full of openings. Come on! Come on come on! As if you could!" "Uuh..." I lowered the knife instinctively. "Say it. Why did you do it. ---Say it!" I hung my head and said, while grinding my teeth to my wretchedness. "Ruu-cha --- my sister was taken hostage. I have no other choice than to obey them."

"Because of such a trifle..." "This is not a trifle! Ruu-chan is my sole---" "You are a man who was prepared to make his beloved girl get run over by a truck." I held my breath. "Wait a sec, Otonashi!" Otonashi-san turned around to Miyazawa-kun unwillingly. "What? Can't you see that we're busy?" "No, you see, shouldn't you deny that he's [Kazuki Hoshino] since he has done such a thing to you? So why are you convinced that guy's [Kazuki Hoshino]?" Right, Miyazawa-kun cannot ignore this. His aim was ab initio to make her mix up [Kazuki Hoshino] and [Yuuhei Ishihara]. "You say quite strange things, don't you? Kazuki is Kazuki of course. There's no way this would change." "Why on earth can you distinguish them!? ...ah, I see. You're persuading yourself. Because you believed that the voice that appealed for help belonged to [Kazuki Hoshino], you're maintaining this mistake all the time and don't doubt him." "I knew that that voice belonged to [Yuuhei Ishihara]." Miyazawa-kun frowned. "Don't lie! Do you mean you recognized that it was a recorded voice?" "No." "So why on earth would you notice that it's not [Kazuki Hoshino]!?" "Of course I would notice." She opened her mouth as if she stated a matter of fact.

"Kazuki would never call me Aya when seeking for help."

"------Ah." I remembered.

I remembered the name I called when I was mounted and hit by Daiya, all alone in the music room. Exactly, she's right! I could never call her Aya when seeking seriously for help. I mean, this is the name of the person I have once fought against. "...So tell me, why did you come save him?" "If it was as you explained, saving [Yuuhei Ishihara] would be the same as saving Kazuki." "...Wait a sec. Wouldn't this mean that you're perceiving Kazuki Hoshino as [Yuuhei Ishihara] right now?" "Yeah, I actually did. But I know that it's [Kazuki Hoshino] by taking a glance at him." "......Oi, oi! You're totally lying now. In actual fact, you weren't able to distinguish them until now!" "This was only about the timing of the shift. I just need to observe the movements of his facial muscles for about three seconds to see the difference. I can now recognize Kazuki as Kazuki." She can recognize that I'm me? Although no one else could? "...Such a thing is impossible! Don't shit me!" "I guess so. If it wasn't Kazuki, I'd probably not be able to distinguish them. But only for Kazuki, it is indeed possible." "Why?!" She then stated--"Because I have been together with Kazuki longer than anyone else in the world." Those words I have grown familiar to, somewhere, some time. "Ah---" My voice involuntarily escaped. I put my hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face me, astonished. Seeing me like this, Miyazawa-kun frowned and said:

"What's the matter, Hoshino? You surely aren't going to remove her handcuffs just because of this clichd nonsense, right? You know what will happen to your sister if you do, right?" For some reason, this threat didn't work on me anymore. "Umm, Otonashi-san." If I say it, I won't be able to turn back anymore. But I have already decided, even though I wavered. "Let me touch your 'box'." The astonishment on her face changed. "You don't even need to ask. I couldn't hinder you even if I wanted because of the handcuffs." Despite having pounded against the wall without fearing the knife, she said so. She continued her words slightly embarrassed with a smile. "...you just have to touch it arbitrarily." With those blunt words, she allowed me to do so. I nodded lightly and pressed my open hand against her chest. "------Ah."

I was thrown to the ground of the sea. The second time I see the ground of the sea. It's an unchanging scene in which everyone looks happy. However, it's just a lie that everyone can be in happiness here. Someone is crying in the midst of them. Someone who knows that this bliss is just a lie and cannot join them. I have already heard this crying. It's grueling. There's no oxygen, so I cannot stay here forever. That's why it's grueling? Or is it because I know that I cannot cure her pain? Because I know that I cannot do anything against this utter solitude of her?

I felt tears on my cheeks. Like I did in a certain 'box' once before. "------I'm sorry." I recalled everything of her. Why did I only think she was using me as a mere bait for '0'? Why did I only think she was making light of my everyday life? There's no way she would do such things - she, who puts everyone else first. She believed that I would be able to fight against the 'Sevennight in Mud' even alone. That's why she didn't seek contact with me after I rejected her. But I was unable to believe in her and... betrayed her. "I'm sorry." I said it once more. She averted her eyes, seeming a bit awkward. "...No, I might have not considered things enough. I arbitrarily had high hopes of you, without considering that you forgot all the happenings inside the 'Rejecting Classroom'... maybe. ......umm, I noticed just now, so please forgive me." I shook my head. She sneaked a peek at me with a side-glance. "I'll tell you something I didn't tell you before because I thought you'd grasp it on your own. Kazuki, your everyday life won't return. However--" She returned her glance, relaxed the corners of her mouth slightly and said: "---We can regain your everyday life." Aah--With only those words, I wouldn't ever mistake my place to be again. I am... me. I am---Kazuki Hoshino. I took the keys out from my pocket. I inserted them into the lock of her handcuffs. "...what are you doing, Hoshino!? You abandon the life of your sister just to be fancied by your lover?! You really are horrible..." "No. Sure enough, I decided. But it's not like I abandoned my older sister." "So what? If you don't obey, Ruka Hoshino is going to get killed!"

"She won't." "Why can you say that?!" "It's simple." This isn't some sort of bluff, I just announced my intention. "Because I won't let you." I don't need to obey them anymore. I don't need to restrict myself on the choices they prepared for me. Because I can't lose anymore, now that she has become my ally. I made the decision to entrust everything to her. I turned the keys round. The handcuffs opened and fell to the ground. I grasped her free hands. She looked at me, I looked at her. "Please, lend me a hand---" I won't mistake it anymore. I won't mistake the name to call anymore.

"---Maria."

When I did so, she---really, just for a split second--She smiled, innocently, like a normal girl her age. "There are conditions." She spoke again with her usual dignified expression. "I may not need to say this specifically. I believe that you will fulfill this condition anyway. However, I, too, feel anxiety and it quite hurt me. So please let me say it." I nodded lightly, without knowing her intention. "I won't lose sight of you. So, please. You, too,---" Maria averted her eyes once. Then she looked again at me and said clearly: "---don't lose sight of me anymore."

Aah... I see. I did not notice at all until then. I became alone pointlessly, but it wasn't just me that had to suffer because of this. At the same time I let Maria all alone and made her suffer. Since this 'Rejecting Classroom', Maria was always [Aya Otonashi]. She is trying to be the 'box' itself. Her real self, [Maria Otonashi], isn't anywhere. I am Aya Otonashi. Pleased to meet you. But I am not strong. I recalled the scene when she lamented faintly. Right, I am the only one who can call her Maria, because I am the only one who witnessed her first school transfer. If I forget, [Maria Otonashi] will be forgotten by really everyone - probably even by herself - and will vanish.

"Stop it already!" Upon hearing this voice, I let go of Maria's hand. "Isn't this ridiculous? Collude or not, it doesn't change anything! Kazuki Hoshino will be taken over and his sister, Ruka, will be killed. Or do you perhaps think you could just enter your imaginary world?" Miyazawa-kun sneered at us. "You cannot win! After all, [Yuuhei Ishihara] has killed himself. You can't possibly find a dead guy! Of course, you can't destroy the 'box' either. How will you solve this problem? Come on, tell me!" He is... right. The 'owner', Miyazawa-kun's younger brother, isn't here anymore. We can't do anything against this fact. "......I know already who [Yuuhei Ishihara] really is." Miyazawa-kun opened his eyes wide for a second after hearing Maria's words, but then he saw her low spirited expression and curled his mouth up. "So? Did you find him?"

"...No. I searched all day long, but didn't find him." "Huhu, well, it's understandable. You can't possibly find a dead person after all!" Miyazawa-kun proclaimed triumphantly. ......Oh? What is this strange feeling? I feel something's terribly wrong with Miyazawa-kun's delight. What...? It's too late---got it? I cannot protect the person I want to protect anymore. He said that. That he helped to complete the 'Sevennight in Mud' is because it's the only way to protect 'himself'. Because his younger brother that was just this important to him had died. I see. "------That's a lie." When I murmured this, Miyazawa-kun turned around to me right away. "You said that he's dead, but that's a lie. It's a matter of course if you think about it. You'd never do such a thing, nor would you allow it." "......What are you babbling about, Hoshino? Don't try to wrench the meaning in your favor!" "He was important to you, wasn't he?" Miyazawa-kun frowned to this sudden question, admitted it however. "Yeah." "So you would never talk about his death with a laugh, right?" Of course I just thought it was unnatural, so it doesn't really count as evidence. Hence, if Miyazawa-kun evaded my question composedly, he would have deceived me again. But--"Therefore, he's not dead yet, is he?" But Miyazawa-kun could not counter my question. He hung his head. "A lie yields hope when you realize it's a lie."

I said this line. He himself had once told this to me. I continued my talk when he had raised his head. "You were right." He opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth. I looked silently at him, but he clenched his fist, grinded his teeth and scowled at me. "------Sh... it...!" He was, however, not able to do anything and dropped his gaze. He then started walking unsteadily and passed by in front of us. He stretched his hands out towards the desk and picked the mobile phone up. He operated the phone wordlessly, pressed it against his ear and listened to something. "I didn't make it in time." It was a murmur that sounded as if he was speaking to himself. "I didn't make it in time. I was taking a bath at the time he called me. Thus, it was already too late when I noticed this voicemail." I guess he's listening to said voicemail. "I should have been able to save him before it happened. If I had noticed his pain earlier, I could have averted it. And yet, I was intoxicated with my own unhappiness and overheard his scream for help, although he was supposed to be my important person. This is the outcome of it." Saying so, he opened the top drawer. "I know it's already too late. I know I can't make it in time anymore. But you know? He's still screaming! I don't want to... hear this scream anymore." He inserted his hand into the drawer. "I will stop his tears. For this sake I'll bear up any sin and any punishment. I have just this much resolution! If you have complaints, just tell me!!" "Of course we have." Maria declared.

"You stopped your thinking. You have not chosen anything. You're just trying to cover your ears because you don't want to hear this scream. You're just enjoying the pains of fighting meaninglessly against us." She dropped her gaze once, but then she spit out the next words. "You cannot revoke the past by doing this." ".........So, what?" He hung his head and whispered. "Will you undo this outcome full of corpses, or what? You wouldn't be able to. I cannot acquire a bright future, no matter how much I struggle. So I want to at least grant him what he wishes for. That's all. So---" He took his hands out of the drawer. "---get confined obediently already!" He took out a stun gun. Miyazawa-kun rushed towards Maria. "Maria!!" Maria grabbed his outstretched right hand quickly and twisted it. Miyazawa-kun cried out faintly and dropped the stun gun. "Ugh---" I picked up this stun gun. Maria is able to restrain him, but she can't use more violence than this. Therefore, it's my turn. I accepted his scowl without averting my eyes. I won't back off. If he points enmity at me, I have to follow suit. "Sorry." I pressed the engaged stun gun against his neck. Miyazawa-kun moaned and collapsed right away. "...Kazuki, let's leave this room." "Okay." But when I was about to leave the room, my right leg was grabbed. "---!"

I turned hurriedly around. Miyazawa-kun had grabbed my right leg in collapsed state. But with a strength I could easily shake off. He raised his head. "......Sorry." What...? "Sorry for not making it in time. Sorry that I wasn't able to save you in time. I'll get stronger... I'll get stronger for both of us... so please, give me just one more chance...!" Aah, no. This terribly strong entreaty isn't pointed at me. I bit on my lips and lifted my right leg. I was easily able to shake his hand off. Then I pressed the stun gun against Miyazawa-kun's back. "......You have no chance anymore." Because I'm going to destroy this wish. I turned it on. His head fell, silently, and stopped moving. ---Sorry. I'm sure he said this to [him]. But maybe, this apology was also directed at [me]... I suddenly thought so. I stepped over Miyazawa-kun and picked his mobile phone up. "Kazuki, what are you doing?" I played the voicemail. ...save... me..... Please, Nii-san, save me....!

And then I grasped [Yuuhei Ishihara]'s identity.

May 4 May 04 (Monday) 07:49

I noticed that I had been restrained by hand- and footcuffs and was lying on a futon on the ground. But I couldn't think properly yet, still dazed. I was inside anguish I didn't know whether it's reality or dream. The feeling was like that of sinking into a bottomless swamp. I struggle and struggle to no avail, sink deeper and deeper, and in the end forget for what sake I struggle. I even become unable to struggle. I just sink deeper into the mud. My body gets filled with mud. I become mud myself. My inside and my outside, both become only mud. Therefore, lose sight of my contours since they're painted out. I cannot see myself anymore. ......I, huh. [TL Note: Japanese has several ways to say 'I'. He's referring to 'Boku'] When I entered this body, I first called me like this purposely, but by now I use it completely naturally. I guess this is not because I'm getting used to it, but because my mind is dragged along by Kazuki Hoshino's body. That's why I'm able to believe that I can become Kazuki Hoshino---being dragged along by this body. I finally awoke and straightened my upper body. I recognized this place because of the pepper mint fragrance. It's not the apartment of Ryuu Miyazawa - where I should be---but Maria Otonashi's room. I heard a weak sleeper's breathing. I looked to the bed and saw Maria Otonashi sleeping turned to me. Her expression wasn't stretched as always. Her face looked like the one of a girl at my age when she's sleeping. ....No, she is in fact at the same age as me. "Why are you staring at me?" Her innocent expression disappeared instantly. "You look cute when you sleep, Otonashi-san."

"So you're [Yuuhei Ishihara]." She saw through me right away. Although this time frame between 07:00 and 08:00 belonged to [Kazuki Hoshino] until yesterday. Maria Otonashi raised her upper body and peeked at my eyes. "I'm afraid you're alive." "......Hah?" I couldn't react properly to such a sudden statement. "I'm telling you that the 'owner' is still alive." I still couldn't comprehend the meaning immediately. But then I slowly realized that she had just made a outrageous statement. What on earth...? I had still trouble coming along and was just looking at Maria Otonashi's face. She looked with a scornful expression at the dumbfounded me, and stood up. "Well, I think it's time to go. I don't have the leisure to chat with you." Maria Otonashi took a jacket out of the closet and put it on. "Where do you go...?" "A foolish question. I'll go search the 'owner'. What else?" If the 'owner' is alive then this is a plausible action. She opened the door and left without turning around. What? What does this mean? What on earth happened? Did our strategy yesterday fail? Otherwise I wouldn't have come under this situation. For now I have to grasp the situation. I searched my mobile phone in order to phone Ryuu Miyazawa. I saw Kazuki Hoshino's mobile phone lying on the table. I reached my hands out for it--"----!" The mobile phone rang with such a timing that it seemed as if it had waited for me and made me cringe with fear.

According to the clock, it had just turned 08:00. 08:00 is my time since yesterday. Surely, Ryuu Miyazawa waited for this time and made a call. I took the phone in my hands and looked at the phone number. "......Eh?" It was not the number I had expected. This number surely was... ---no, this can't be! The owner of this number would never call me! But then, who is it? My fingers were trembling faintly, but I acted as if I didn't notice and pressed the Phone-button. "......hello?" ...... The caller kept silent. "Hello? ...Who is it?" Riko Asami. "Wha---" I became speechless. Why are you so surprised? "Y-You---" Did you think I was dead? Did you think I was killed? Bad luck, huh. We're actually having a conversation now. It was indeed Riko Asami's voice. "This is impossible! You can't be alive! Ryuu Miyazawa should have killed you!" ...hu, huhu, I know this more than enough, but you can only see yourself. How foolish. Don't you get it? This person would never be able to kill me. Ryuu Miyazawa cannot kill Riko Asami? ...I can't believe it. Riko Asami should be an eyesore for Ryuu Miyazawa as well. You're a fool to consider having killed someone without using your own hands. You're a piece of trash one can't even look at. Why can't you get burned in an incinerator as trash is supposed to?

Riko Asami took advantage of my confusion and goofed on me. I finally accepted the fact that she wasn't dead and noticed a certain thing. "...why are you talking like this?" The way I talk? "You're talking almost like---" Almost like myself in the past? Like I did before starting to pretend to be tough? Like myself when I was dark and just able to endure? ...I'm surprised you can claim that... Riko Asami laughed reservedly and continued to speak. ...When you haven't changed yourself. I haven't changed, she says? I, who have worked this hard all the time? I, who admired Maria Otonashi and formed a new self? I, who is going to become Kazuki Hoshino? ...I have not changed? Don't kid with me! In spite of just being Riko Asami! "...Don't kid with me! Did you call me because you wanted to pester me or what?" Upon hearing my enmity, she, who should have been timid in the past, spoke: Yes! "...Eh?" You know? I can't forgive someone like you who's trying to overtake someone other's body. ...Honestly, what's that? You ought to know your place. You ought to drop dead. Therefore--- Riko Asami said without emotion. ---I think I'll crush this 'box'. "What... are you saying...?" You know I'm able to, right? After all, I, Riko Asami, am the 'owner'. I lost even the words to counter her and fell into silence. My hands were trembling. Riko Asami giggled silently and said to me. [TL Note: Now 'Atashi' was used as 'I'. This is used by girls.]

Don't think about getting saved alone! Okay, [Riko Asami]-san?

[TL Note: You got it. The owner's Riko Asami. However, in the story she was always referred to with 'he'. That is because it wasn't possible to address her neutrally in English.]

May 04 (Monday) 10:01

...save... me..... Please, Nii-san, save me....! This scream for help belonged to Riko Asami. Come to think of it, Miyazawa-kun has only said siblings, but did never mention younger brother. I arbitrarily considered her a boy because she spoke with my, a male, voice and called herself Yuuhei Ishihara at that. Of course he didn't correct me on purpose, probably. But I would have never dreamed of Asami-san being Miyazawa-kun's younger sister. After all they don't have the same last name and I have never heard such rumors. Despite visiting our classroom every day, she didn't show any signs of it. I suppose they were concealing their sibling relationship purposely because of their complicated family affairs. Perhaps she did not only come to our classroom to meet Maria, but also to see Miyazawa-kun. I asked Maria, who had come back to the room before I switched to [me], while she was removing my handcuffs. "Since when did you know [Yuuhei Ishihara] was a girl?" "Mh, my suspicion that [Yuuhei Ishihara] might be a girl became strong the time when we entered the girl's bathroom together." "......so [Riko Asami] entered the girl's bathroom with my body, right?" "Why do you need to ask such a matter of course?" She said amazedly. ...Um, shouldn't I be the one to be amazed at you? "I grasped her true identity during the research I did thereafter. Most of Miyazawa's prior classmates during his middle school time knew of his blood

relationship with Asami. I then discovered the corpses at her home and became confident that Riko Asami is the 'owner'." Maria saw those corpses, too... She ended removing my handcuffs and let out a sigh. "But only where is she...?" Maria told me that she had been searching for Asami-san after discovering on her own that Asami-san's the 'owner', but she found neither hide nor hair of her. Maria crouched down, looked for something under the bed and tore something off. "What are you doing?" "I installed a IC-Recorder under the bed. I thought that Miyazawa or someone might call her and leak something we don't know yet." Maria pressed the play button of recorder. She searched for a place [Riko Asami] speaks by pressing repeatedly on the 'fast forward' button. ......hello? This voice resounded. "...she made a phone call!" "Yeah." The voice of the other party was almost unbearable. But it was probably the voice of a girl. At the very least, it wasn't Miyazawa-kun. I tried checking up the history of my mobile phone on the table. She cleared the received and dialed calls history as it seems, I didn't find any new entries. It seems as if they were having a quarrel. Maria connected the recorder to her notebook, downloaded the sound file and started listening to it with headphones. I guess she does so to hear out all details. Maria frowned so hard it was almost scary. After a while, she held the headphones out to me. I nodded and put them on. Hello? ...Who is it? Riko Asami.

I doubted my ears. I listened to it for a while, but started having doubts. This is Asami-san? But she doesn't speak like the Asami-san I know. Asami-san doesn't usually speak so calmly and subduedly. The personality of the Riko Asami I know is the same as the one of [Yuuhei Ishihara] --- no, [Riko Asami]. But which reminds me, Asami-san acted strange since April 30th. Right, she seemed somehow dismal. So her odd attitude wasn't necessarily because Maria made me a boxed lunch. Come to think of it, the 'Sevennight in Mud' had already started at that time. Asami-san acted her former self. ---Why? Don't think about getting saved alone! Okay, [Riko Asami]-san? I perked my ears up to the rest of their conversation.

May 04 (Monday) 11:02

I recalled my phone conversation with Riko Asami.

Don't think about getting saved alone! Okay, [Riko Asami]-san? I flinched a moment from her ill-will, but pulled myself together and objected. "...And how do you plan to take the 'box' out? Do you know how to, or what?" I don't know. But I'm still able to destroy it. I lost my tongue when I heard how she said this plainly. I want to escape. I also want to erase you because I hate you. I'm able to do both at the same time. You know what I mean, don't you? For this method I just need--- Riko Asami spoke, still with her hardly understandable voice. ---to commit suicide before the 'box' is completed. I had already heard those words before. Aah, I see. Those are the same words as I had once sent to Kazuki Hoshino.

Don't tell me you really thought you could take over Kazuki Hoshino's body? I'm so sorry, but that's impossible! It's impossible that you could ever win against someone, that you could ever attain happiness! After all you are me. Riko Asami. You should know your place. You should die. Someone like you should definitely die. Like Riko Asami had done in the past, she cursed with a small voice that was almost unhearable. You ought to die by hanging that would cause you intestinal voiding so everyone would need to hold their nose because of you. You ought to die by jumping off a roof so you would bother the passers-by with your brain that scatters about. You ought to die by jumping in front of a train, annoying the passengers by splashing all your innards over the platform... that would suit you. Tell me, what you think? Riko Asami asked me. Which manner of death would you like for Riko Asami? She asked me for her own way to die. I see. When the 'owner', Riko Asami, dies, I will inevitably vanish. I am completely driven into a corner right now. "......Stop it!" I conveyed my great nervousness with those short words, which caused Riko Asami to rejoice. What should I stop? To kill myself? Why? Didn't you try to kill me? "T-That was because... I hadn't noticed that I would vanish if you died." Hihaha, don't be silly! Did you think you haven't vanished yet? Brilliant. This is just too brilliant. ...did you perhaps seriously think you could become Kazuki Hoshino? "I can! If you don't hinder me, I can become Kazuki Hoshino! And then I will steal his happiness!" Aha. Doesn't matter, though. After all I'll commit suicide anyway. "Didn't I tell you to stop it!?" Why should I listen to you? I'm your enemy, you know?

"Enemy?" Yes, enemy. You should know that your self, especially your former self, is your enemy. "Stop kidding me! Though I could become Kazuki Hoshino if it wasn't for you, why are you like this?! Horrible! You really are horrible!" Having heard those words, Riko Asami started to giggle joyfully at the other side of the phone. "What's so funny?!" 'Horrible', huh! Riko Asami spoke while giggling. Don't overdo the self-loathing, okay?

This was my conversation with Riko Asami. "Uh, ghu---" I held my chest to the welling-up nausea. Gross. Why, why... Why did I have to talk with Riko Asami...? Ryuu Miyazawa told me he had killed her, so did he lie to me? "......I'll get killed." This was no threat. I know that because I know Riko Asami better than anyone. She, who hates herself more than anyone else, would never accept the completion of this 'box'. Probably she will crush the 'box' at the night of May 05th. Because she wants to wear me out by making me wait down to the last moment. To avert this, we had to kill Riko Asami. ...But even if Ryuu Miyazawa had killed her, I would have vanished because the destruction of the 'box'. So what? Does this mean I'm destined to vanish, no matter how hard I try? "......What should---" I'm cornered. I'm caught by Maria Otonashi, cannot make contact with Ryuu Miyazawa and am about to get erased by Riko Asami.

Why did it turn out like this...! The time progress was originally only to corner Kazuki Hoshino! "What should I do---" ......Wait a moment. I recalled my own murmur. What did I just say? I? [TL Note: She got, as mentioned above, used to calling herself "Boku". But now Riko just called herself "Atashi" which is used mainly by women.] Didn't I stop calling myself like this when I got into this body? Didn't I stop using it naturally? Don't tell me I started being self-aware? Self-aware of being Riko Asami? No, nononononono! I am not Riko Asami! I am no one, a fabrication, that will eventually become Kazuki Hoshino-----

"To think you could escape from your own deed just by this; I find this childish side of you terribly adorable." What is this voice? A terribly charming voice, I had already heard once, entered my body. No. That's not true. I can --- escape from Riko Asami. And still, "Ah, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH" A giant amount of memories came to mind at once. Memories that should have been forgotten when I entered this body came to mind. Though I can't process such an amount all at once, they came to mind unavoidably.

What I saw was the scene of the first time Yuuhei Ishihara used violence against Riko Asami. The 13-aged Riko Asami was bawling, frightened of this brute who had a deep red face.

Aah, yes. It was like this at the beginning. His first act of violence was scolding Riko Asami's temper. The 13-aged Riko Asami hated him because he wasn't her real father, considered him an enemy and expressed her ill will. Yuuhei Ishihara couldn't bear this up in the end, and thus made a move in violence. This was the trigger to an everyday life of violence. Well, which may be plausible because that undesired problem child became silent and obedient when using violence. So violence against Riko Asami became an effective and pleasant method for that brute. It was equally pleasant for the mother who was greatly embarrassed by Riko Asami's temper. Riko Asami had been trying to destroy this family, and thus had been riotous. This was a problem that had bothered this old bat all the time. Morals change depending on the environment. Riko Asami's opposition against the violence and the family started to disappear slowly. Everyone, including Riko Asami herself, stopped questioning this violence. They stopped questioning the violence, but this didn't change the fact that Riko Asami's heart continued being torn up. Riko Asami heard the sound of her heart being torn up countless times. This was not a powerful sound, but a modest one as if someone threw a little stone into a pond. At first she only thought "Aah, it tore up again" when she had heard this sound, but after a while she noticed that she lacked something important. This man's violence, that was inferior to a real brute's one, would certainly not be of interest for outsiders, being common. It would be expressed with "ill-treatment" or some other simple word. This single word would probably give one the feeling of comprehension. Therefore, Riko Asami did not name this violence. The gaps of Riko Asami's lacking heart were closed by violence. Which meant that Riko Asami would accept this violence when she started to like herself. Hence, Riko Asami doesn't admit her own existence.

The next thing I saw was the scene of the entrance ceremony of the high school. She, who stood at the platform as top student---Maria Otonashi.

Riko Asami saw her and drowned. Just by looking at Maria Otonashi and hearing her voice, Riko Asami became unable to breathe and crouched painfully down. This is a thing. The ultimate tool. She seemed like the lifework of a craftsman. She had just this much directivity and intentionality, she looked almost artistic. She was this kind of absurd being. Riko Asami had started to cry without noticing. This is it. This is what she needed to escape from herself. She needed to make a perfect fake self, as Maria Otonashi had done. Riko Asami started to cut her self loose. She threw her gloomy self away and created a neutral and strong self. But she didn't do as well as Maria Otonashi. The more Riko Asami came to know her, the more she realized that it would not be possible to imitate her. Maria Otonashi was able to create a perfect self because she's out of standard. No one else would ever be able to imitate this. Maria Otonashi is definitely---not human.

At last I saw the scene of April 28th. The day Riko Asami obtained the 'box'. Riko Asami was holding a worn-out plush bunny in her hands. Blood was splashed on this plush toy that was once won by her brother at a crane game and it was lacking one ear. There were two corpses. The brother was screaming in this puddle of red liquid. Riko Asami was completely broken by Yuuhei Ishihara. There was nothing in this house that was not broken. Everything had ended. Riko Asami's all had been trampled down there, and had been destroyed once and for all.

I was crying. The illusion disappeared finally, washed away by my tears.

"......something, something like this..." I must not admit this. I must absolutely not admit being Riko Asami! --- therefore, I will become Kazuki Hoshino. I won't forgive [Kazuki Hoshino]. I won't forgive him, who blathers about everyday life being happiness, and all the ones that don't even know that they can only laugh because they're stealing someone other's happiness. I'll have the last laugh. I'll show it to this [Kazuki Hoshino] who doesn't even try to comprehend my misfortune. I'll use you. Maria Otonashi doesn't mix me and [Kazuki Hoshino] up anymore. So I cannot deceive her anymore. So I just need to use the original one. I'll threaten [Kazuki Hoshino], make him obey me and deceive her. He shall call forth his own ruin and fall into despair. He shall become unable to call the everyday life happiness. I took Kazuki Hoshino's phone and recorded my voice. "[Kazuki Hoshino], I'll kill your entire family. I'll massacre them brutally. I'll cut them up and kill them so brutally that you won't be able to recognize the corpses anymore. So better do what I say. If you do, I spare them depending on my mood. Absolutely don't let Maria Otonashi hear this message. Okay then, these are my instructions---"

May 04 (Monday) 12:06

---I'll kill you. And then I'll become Kazuki Hoshino. And then again, don't tell anything to Maria Otonashi! "...how foolish." Having heard this voice, Maria murmured so and frowned. "Being cornered, she completely lost sight of her situation. There's no way I wouldn't listen to this message in such a situation." Various insults and "Deceive Maria Otonashi and slip out of captivity!" were contained in the voice file.

I wasn't frightened of this threat. No matter how much [Riko Asami] tries to appeal, now that we're working together, it's impossible for her to commit murder with this body. This attitude of her was just pitiable. Maria, who had formed her mouth to a straight line, had surely the same impressions. Maria had examined Riko Asami's circumstances yesterday and the day before yesterday. What she found out was, while being rumors, awfully cruel. Furthermore---those corpses, which are a mistake that cannot be undone, do exist in actual fact. As long she doesn't complete the 'Sevennight in Mud', a future with no hope is awaiting her. That's why Asami-san cannot bear it anymore. "......Oh?" "Why are you suddenly making a dumb sound?" "No, I was just confused a little. Uum, Asami-san and [Riko Asami] spoke together, which means both of them exist separately, right? ...is this even possible?" "This just means that Asami had more or less common-sense. She was trying to take you over, but could not fully believe in slipping into other people. That's how it came to be like this." "...So, the Asami-san that's the 'owner' is the real one...?" "It's not about real and fake. But Asami continued to suffer without change when [Riko Asami] was brought forth by the 'Sevennight in Mud'." Asami-san could not escape even after obtaining the 'Sevennight in Mud'. Being left behind, she's planning to commit suicide---taking [Riko Asami] with her. "We absolutely must prevent her suicide. That's another reason to find Asami. But where on earth is she? ...Damn it, but there's only one day left!" Maria was obviously nervous. It's Maria who puts everyone else first. Asami-san dies and the 'Sevennight in Mud' ends---she cannot allow such an outcome.

"......Maria, how about using this threat?" Hearing my words, Maria frowned and looked at me. "What do you mean?" "...ah well, it just came to mind. I was thinking that things might move when we responded to the threat purposely and let [Riko Asami] act..." "Sure enough, things might stand still like this." Maria crossed her arms and pondered. "Let's assume we responded to the threat and I suppose she would visit Ryuu Miyazawa." "Yeah, I think so, too." "--Wait. Maybe Miyazawa knows Asami's whereabouts anyway?" "...I don't think so. If he knew, he would never support completing the 'Sevennight in Mud'." "You have a point... but then again, he told us that we will never find Asami. So this statement would lose its basis. ...Does Miyazawa misunderstand anything...?" Maria frowned and pondered for a while. "...It doesn't help to think about it. For now, let's just assume that Miyazawa doesn't know Asami's present condition." I nodded. "But is there any meaning in letting [Riko Asami] act on her own? We don't need [Riko Asami] but the Asami who's the 'owner', you know?" "...err, I think there is meaning. Guessing from what we heard through the IC recorder, I think [Riko Asami] knows how to come into contact with Asami-san." "Cooperate with [Riko Asami] and let her come into contact, huh? That's impossible. It's hardly thinkable that a girl who makes such a threat would live up to your expectations." ...That's certainly true. "Or do you plan to break her heart, make her surrender and make her obey you forcefully?" let [Riko Asami] free. Then... right,

Maria laughed faintly and said so jokingly I answered to this joke. "Good idea." Her expression stiffened up. But I was equally surprised by my own cold words. But apart from my surprise I had hit upon a method. Being in a similar situation as [Riko Asami], I hit upon a method to break her heart and make her obey us. If we let [Riko Asami] go, she will contact Miyazawa-kun. To her, Miyazawa-kun is like Maria to me. Therefore--"We just need to make Ryuu Miyazawa betray [Riko Asami]." While saying so, I thought: Can I really do it? Involving Miyazawa-kun, making [Riko Asami] fall into despair and destroying the 'Sevennight in Mud'. Which means that Asami-san is going to return to herself who caused an outcome that cannot be averted anymore. I don't think there is happiness in the future that would await her there. What I'm about to do means sacrificing Asami-san. ...Let's stop pretending to be a good person by acting as if I was indecisive. In fact I have already decided long ago. I decided at the time when I announced I don't permit your existence. to her, when I started perceiving her as enemy. 'I will defeat [Riko Asami]'. 'I won't admit her'. Maria was looking at me, who had gained determination, with mixed feelings. "I------" "......Can you not support me?" "That's... not it. I know it can't be helped because you would disappear the other way. However, even so I cannot accept the inevitable misfortune that awaits Asami." She said so and bit on her lips.

"Because you can't permit other's misfortune..." "...That's not all. If it was just this, I might still be able to endure it. But you know? I noticed." She said while looking to the ground. "I noticed that [Riko Asami] and [Aya Otonashi] are the same." "...the same?" "......" Maria didn't respond to my parrot-like question. But I understood thanks to her silence. Maria, who is trying to be a 'box' is still [Aya Otonashi], and [Riko Asami], who came forth due to the 'box', are similar in the aspect that both of them are separated from their original self. Maria, who says that she's in the same environment, knows Asami-san's feelings all too well. I don't know what's best to do. I can only state what I understand to the silent Maria. "But Asami-san doesn't wish for it." I continued. "She doesn't wish for herself to disappear!" "......Yeah, I know." Maria murmured so and raised her head. But even so, we cannot change Asami-san's future.

May 04 (Monday) 12:35

I stood in front of Miyazawa-kun's room and took a deep breath. Maria had already slipped into the room next to this one. She had confirmed that this next room was unoccupied last time. I breathed out and rang the chime to Miyazawa-kun's room.

There was no reaction. As expected, though. But I was sure. That Miyazawa-kun is in there. "Come out." I knocked the door. "Come out, please come out---" What I'm going to do will hurt him terribly. I was aware of this fact, but did continue nonetheless. "Please come out---Nii-san" I addressed Miyazawa-kun like Riko Asami had done via phone. "Save me, Nii-san!" Miyazawa-kun was probably planning to spend the time until May 06th secluded in his room without contacting [Riko Asami]. But I'm sure he can't ignore [Riko Asami] when she seeks for help directly. Thus, the door opened. Miyazawa-kun looked even worse than yesterday. "......Is Otonashi nearby?" "No." "...What did you do until now?" "I was caught by Maria Otonashi... But I was able to deceive [Kazuki Hoshino] and slip out from there! However, why did you not answer my phone, Nii-san?" "---Well... ...Anyway! Why do you call me 'Nii-san'? Haven't you stopped that?" "Err..." Asami-san called him Nii-san in that phone call, so did she change it? I suppressed the emerging nervousness and countered quickly with a random explanation that came to mind.

"I thought it may be weird to not call you Nii-san though Maria Otonashi is calling me Riko Asami by now... Leaving that aside, why did I get caught, Niisan? What should I do now?" I asked him a question before he could doubt my explanation. Miyazawa-kun kept silent to this question and bit on his lips. His expression brought me conviction. Miyazawa-kun is believing that I'm [Riko Asami]. "Will you save me, Nii-san?" Of course I didn't want to see Miyazawa-kun so bitterly. I want him to say that he won't save [Riko Asami] anymore. I want him to say that he will help us. That way I won't have to torment him anymore. "Yeah, I will save you!" Yet, Miyazawa-kun showed me a stiff smile and said so. I went on to the next step. "Save? Could you please stop that?" Not able to grasp the situation, he opened his eyes wide to those words. "......Huh?" "I'm telling you to stop saving [Riko Asami]!" He did, however, still not grasp the situation and stood completely still. Thus, I cleared things up to him. "I am [Kazuki Hoshino]." "Hoshino...?" He murmured. He stayed dumbfounded for a while, but at last he noticed that [Kazuki Hoshino] was imitating [Riko Asami] and seized me by the collar with wild anger flashing in his eyes. "What are you up to, you bastard?! Is it fun to tease me?! Do you know just how repugnant you're acting, HUH?!" "I know..." "So what is this?! Try explaining yourself!"

I started wavering when I was about to open my mouth. Because the words I was going to say would easily hurt him. "Miyazawa-kun, it's just that you try to help [Riko Asami] reflexively when she seeks for help. Maria told you, didn't she? You haven't chosen anything." The sharpness remained in his eyes, but his grip on my collar weakened slightly. "......Didn't I tell you? I'm just saving my sister." "You were about to save her again right now after all. But it wasn't your sister, but me who sought for help, you know?" Hearing those words, Miyazawa-kun opened his eyes wide. "Tell me, Miyazawa-kun. Is a mysterious being you can't even distinguish from me really so important?" I'm sure he wants to counter my ill will. But unable to object, he just kept biting on his lips so much that they turned white. "Feel free to save your sister. I can't do anything about that! But you know? [Riko Asami] is not your sister. Come on, Miyazawa-kun, tell me once again:" I posed my question. "Who will you save?" Miyazawa-kun scowled at me. I scowled back at him. "......Damn it!!" Miyazawa-kun roared and let go of my collar furiously. He raised his fist to take his anger out on the wall... stopped this, however, and slumped down. "......Just do what you want." He said with his gaze to the ground. "Just do what you want! If you want to stop the 'Sevennight in Mud', do it away from me. Don't bother me anymore. I won't interfere anymore." "I'm afraid to say---that's not enough." Miyazawa-kun looked up to me.

"...What is not enough?!" "It's literally as I said. This much determination, this much resolution is not enough. You will have to actively destroy the 'Sevennight in Mud' for us." He screwed up his face in anger. "You bastard---are you aware of what you're saying?! You seriously want me to help you torment her?!" "I guess so." "Don't shit me!! There's no way I could do that! I won't interfere... you should know that this is my limit!" "Well, yeah, I know. After all, you were about to help her a few moments ago, right?" "......" "That's why I'm saying that it's not enough. Nothing will change with just this amount of resolution! [She] will still come to you and depend upon you without doubt. And you would eventually hold out your hand again; you'd basically be supporting the 'Sevennight in Mud'!" Having heard my words, Miyazawa-kun averted his eyes und murmured. "But... I can't abandon her so easily." "But you have to make a decision. [Riko Asami] will soon come here." "......What?" "[Riko Asami] urged me to escape from Maria by threatening me. I decided to act as if I obeyed her demand. [She] will definitely come to you when she thinks that I complied to her demand." ".....The next switch occurs at 13:00, huh." "Yes. Until then you have to decide how you treat her. If you save [Riko Asami] and the 'box' completes, only [Riko Asami], who is nobody at all, will remain. If you reject her, we will recover Riko Asami." "You want me to believe you? Haha... this is quite a stupid trade." "So you don't mind the former outcome?" Miyazawa-kun clenched his fist to my words.

"...of course I do! I'm aware of it all even without you! But rejecting her... that's just impossible, isn't it...?" He may say so, but he is still not able to decide. This is troublesome. Miyazawa-kun must reject [Riko Asami]. He must make her fall into despair. Therefore, I went on to the last step. "I was always wondering. Why do you, Miyazawa-kun, believe in the existence of the 'Sevennight in Mud'? I mean, isn't it quite unbelievable for someone who has never obtained a 'box' that [Riko Asami] is inside me?" He raised his head and peeked at my face. "Teach me! How could you believe such a unrealistic matter?" "......what do you want to imply?" "Can you not come up with the reason? Okay, I'll tell you! I can only think of one reason to believe the existence of the 'box'. Tell me, Miyazawa-kun, you have---" I asked him a certain question I kept quiet about to Maria. "---met '0', haven't you?"

Miyazawa-kun's expression stiffened extremely up. "I don't know how you have met him. But I know that '0' wanted you to help [Riko Asami]." "------" His face turned paler and paler in his mute amazement. I guess he didn't understand right away who I meant with '0'. '0' can originally not be perceived by anyone but the 'owner'. I was only able to perceive him when I was told his name. And then remembered what he had done to me. "---Ah" Miyazawa-kun held his head with still wide opened eyes. "I know what you feel since I know '0'. It's not like you forgot him. You just can't remember. Therefore, you may not be able to remember what he has told you,

but it has entered in your subconsciousness. That's why you were able to believe the 'box'. And he made you think that you must help [Riko Asami]." "......W-Wait a moment. Why... Why do you know about this anyway, Hoshino?!" He raised his head with a trembling voice, unable to hide his fear from me. "As I said: I don't! But I know that '0' won't achieve his aim when you don't help [Riko Asami]." "His aim...? What on earth is his aim...?" "His aim is to observe me. ...Well, you can't understand probably, but it's the truth. But this 'box', while being interesting to observe, is very frail. [Riko Asami] is just too much at a disadvantage. Retaining oneself in the body of someone else is painful without doubt. She wouldn't be able to oppose me as long she doesn't have at least information about what's happening when it's not her turn.He had to arrange things to allow us to fight, or else this 'box' would just be destroyed without any enjoyment for him. Hence, '0' used you to achieve a balance." Having heard those words, Miyazawa-kun lowered his head slowly. Then he stopped any movement. "...That's all I can tell you!" This is the last spell that shackling him. A spell implanted to him unknowingly that made him protect the 'box'. Now that I clarified things to him, this spell should be resolved. "Okay, I'm off then. It's almost 13:00. I leave it to you to decide how you treat [Riko Asami] when she comes to meet you. Since [I] won't be there then, I can't stop you." "......I will save her. Did you not hear me?" I didn't reply. Because I realized that he just didn't want to admit his defeat. I closed the door without confirming his expression. "......" I walked towards the stairs. I immediately heard someone rushing to me from the next room. But I did not turn around. "Kazuki... why didn't you tell me that '0' had been interfering!"

It's not like I didn't tell her. It occurred to me right before we arrived here. There was no time to tell her. "Why do you not answe--- Kazuki???" But this anger of her was pleasant to me. I laid my head on Maria's shoulder. I am the enemy of [Riko Asami]. Thus I have to make [Riko Asami] surrender, even if this means to use Miyazawa-kun. I have no other choice. I must do so. But still--"Distressing someone is quite... distressing." I whispered such a thing, unable to raise my head. But I chose to regain my everyday life. I was about to sacrifice someone for my own sake. That's why I longed for someone to blame me. To scold me with "You're repulsive!". However, Maria kept silent for some reason. Even worse, she stroked my hair gently. "......" I wonder why? Why was this so pleasant, despite being the exact opposite of what I was wishing her to do?

May 04 (Monday) 13:00

There was no fragrance of peppermint. AtashiI was holding a weekly manga magazine in my hands as I had once done before. I was able to slip out of Maria Otonashi's room. "Haha!" I succeeded! My threat succeeded! This feeling of being cornered vanished into thin air. Everything's all right. I can still fight now. First I have to meet Ryuu Miyazawa. I left the shop and made sure of my whereabouts. I know this main street. Ryuu Miyazawa's apartment should be nearby.

I went to his apartment and rang the chime. Ryuu Miyazawa opened instantly. His face was pale. The rings under his glasses turned even darker. And he did not speak anything. He was just looking silently at me. "...hey, what happened?" "......Nothing." His denial showed me, however, that something had definitely happened. "Did Maria Otonashi do anything to you?" "No... she didn't do anything." His answer had no intonation whatsoever and hence sounded almost mechanical. Something was obviously wrong. Well, he seemed strange already before, but this strangeness went a step further. "Won't you enter for now?" He urged me plainly. I did as he said while being a bit suspicious of him. "...What's that?" I noticed right after entering that his windows was broken. "Aah, Otonashi broke it." Nii-san answered dispiritedly. Maria Otonashi must have done something to him. It can't be explained in any other way. "...did our strategy fail yesterday?" "Yeah." Again a half-hearted reply. ...Honestly, what's wrong? "Why did you not answer Atashimy phone?" "...Atashi, huh." "Hah?" "Didn't you use to call yourself Boku?" [TL Note: Again the matter of Boku/Atashi. See above for details.] ...Right, I have to fix that again.

"...Just a little mistake. BokuI am no one after all." "......It's after 13:00, huh." He said so while looking into the distance. "Well yeah, but why so out of the blue...?" "You stole this time frame at the third day. Therefore it's you with no doubt. That's why I can be sure. But if it was 14:00... I would probably assume that Hoshino is trying again to deceive me and wouldn't notice that it's you. Unlike Maria Otonashi, I cannot distinguish you guys by your usage of your facial muscles, you know." "......You've lost me there." "Tell me, how do you call me?" "Hah? Ryuu Miyazawa of course, haven't I been calling you like this all the time?" "Yeah, I guess so. Right." "Stop that weird talk and better tell me what happened yesterday!" "Okay." After he nodded, Ryuu Miyazawa sat down on his seat and stared into the black monitor. "I executed our strategy. As you can see, it proved to be a failure." I expected him to continue, so I waited for him while he was just staring into the monitor without movement. However, he did not talk. "Eh? That's all...?" "I don't know any more! Our strategy failed and Kazuki Hoshino was taken back by Maria Otonashi. I don't know anything about what happened thereafter. I have no idea what happened between them!" "......What? That doesn't help me a bit." "Well, I guess it doesn't." Ryuu Miyazawa said so coldly, still without looking at me. "......Are you planning to abandon me?" He did, however, still not look at me.

I see. That's what he's up to. He will again just cover his ears and ignore everything. "You regret it, don't you?" Finally he looked up to me when he heard those words. "You regret that you noticed Riko Asami's misfortune when you rushed to her because of her beg for help --- and that she involved you in this matter, right? Exactly! If you remained untold, you would have been able to live carelessly, just lamenting your own misfortune. If you didn't answer Riko Asami's phone that time--" "I don't regret that!" He intercepted me. "I only regret that I didn't notice earlier. If I did, I would have been able to avert all this. Therefore, this incident is from the origin to the outcome all my fault. I don't want to make such a mistake anymore!" He finally turned his head to me. "That's why I decided to continue helping Riko out. No matter what, this decision won't change." "......Nii-san" My chest warmed up. Nii-san is saying this in all honesty. "Thank you, Nii-san... Continue to help me out!" "'Nii-san', huh." Nii-san nodded slightly. "Hey... let me confirm your goal." "Why so late? ---Well, I don't mind! My goal is to obtain Kazuki Hoshino. To make [Kazuki Hoshino] surrender for this sake. To torment Kazuki Hoshino so much to make him scratch his own neck sore, to make him succumb so heavily that he submits his own body with the words 'Please be my master' while genuflecting." "...I see, so that's it without doubt?" "Of course. Haven't I told you several times?"

Nii-san murmured a few times "You did, you did," lowered his gaze and stopped talking. This seemed weird to me, so I peeked into his face. "------Eh?" He was crying. Nii-san was crying. "N-Ni-san, why are you crying?" As it seems he didn't notice until I told him; Nii-san confirmed that he was crying by touching his cheeks, surprised, and wiped his tears roughly away with his arm. How long has it been since I've last seen Nii-san's tears? Last time was probably when we noticed the deception of our parents. Nii-san stopped crying entirely after that. To be able to continue fighting against an invisible something inside him, he stopped showing any weakness to others. This person was crying. "......I will save her." He murmured. "I made this decision. I decided to help my sister out. My weak Riko. I decided to help her out at least this time, because I had failed to support her when I was busy with my own issues. I decided. To save her. To save her, save her, save her, save her, save her, save her. I did decide this, but ---" He raised his head and looked at me.

"------Who are you?"

My breath stopped. "Riko is the one I decided to save. But --- who are you? Tell me, who on earth are you!?" "...W-What are you saying, Nii-san? I am---" "No one. You said so yourself a few minutes ago, didn't you?" ...I did. I said so indeed.

"Exactly. You can't be Riko. If you were Riko, why would you look like Kazuki Hoshino? But you aren't Kazuki Hoshino either. So who are you? Tell me... why should I help out a completely unknown guy? I don't give a fuck about you!!" This is wrong. I knew that these could not be Nii-san's true feelings. "For me you're just a fake of my sister, who I cannot distinguish from [Kazuki Hoshino]!" Those words were only for the sake of hurting me. And for the sake of hurting himself. "N-Nii-san---" "Stop that!" Nii-san said in order to suppress his heart. "Don't call me 'Nii-san', you damn stranger!!" Like that he crushed his heart and--"Aah---" --- Atashimine, too. Nii-san won't save me. Because I'm not Nii-san's sister. Yeah, that's right. I am not Riko Asami. So who am I? Kazuki Hoshino? No. Not yet. Wait a sec... in the first place, did I really wish to become Kazuki Hoshino anyway? "Aah---" What is it that I really wanted? Actually, I might have known that since I obtained the 'box'. I recalled the time before my parents divorced. I thought we were a quite happy family. At holidays, we often went to the shopping street, watched movies or went to shabu-shabu all-you-can-eat restaurants. We were this kind of family. My father visited my room always at first when he came home from work, whereupon I used to urge him unsuccessfully to knock before entering. My mother made always refined and cute boxed lunches for me. I quarreled all the time with Nii-san, but even so, we always played together.

I thought that were all on good terms on the whole. I never doubted that we could always be together like other families. But this was all a lie. Our household didn't crumble down. It had been a lie from the start. I remember that Nii-san once said this to me when they told us about the divorce: That's great. So we finally needn't act like a happy family anymore. And I'm released from these feelings of guilt. I couldn't grasp the meanings of those words right away. But after a while I understood. I mean, why did my parents look like they were on good terms though they would be going to divorce now? Why did they smile awkwardly after treating me kindly? It was all just pretence to deceive me and make me think we were a happy family. But not even for my sake---they just did it to soothe their own feelings of guilt. That's why I thought that happiness can only be attained by stealing it from others. But is it really something you can steal? So, what did I want to do? I don't know. I have no idea. No clue. I don't want to know. I don't have the 'box' anymore, after all. But for now I ought to escape. I must escape. I ought to slip out of this room quickly. I just have to slip out of here. Then I can still escape. I tried escaping quickly, but stumbled. Standing up seemed somehow like a waste of time to me, so I headed towards the door almost crawling. For some reason, slender, beautiful legs, like from a model, appeared in front of my eyes. I looked up. "W-Why---" The person standing there was---Maria Otonashi. Such timing... don't tell me...?! I turned around and looked at Nii-san. He was holding his head in his arms and secluded himself from everything around him.

Nii-san knew that Maria Otonashi was right nearby. He had already decided to abandon me. Knowing that I would come, he had already decided from the start to hand me over to Maria Otonashi. "---It's unreasonable anyway." She said in an intonationless voice. "One can't possibly throw oneself away. Even if you did, your self would come chasing after you. You knew this since the beginning. That's why you cannot throw yourself away even if you have the 'box'. What you can achieve with your 'wish' in the 'box' doesn't go further than this. You cannot gain anything in the 'Sevennight in Mud'. You are just slowly sinking into the mud." She, whom I adored, said this to me, who was unable to be like her. So what about you? Can you, too, gain nothing because you have thrown yourself away? I looked up at her face. Her glance seemed sorrowful to me somehow. I have to escape. But where to? This room isn't my refuge and Maria Otonashi is blocking the way in front of me. I'm still just crawling on the floor and can't do anything. I can't go anywhere. I, can't go, anywhere. "Let me ask you a question. I asked this already once ago, but answer me once more. Tell me ---" She posed her question. "---Who are you?" I'm--"Who am I...?" I'm the one who wants to know that. She took her mobile phone out for some reason and held it to me, who was sitting on the ground. Let me tell you who you are. It was the voice of [him], who does not doubt his identity, no matter how hard I rattle at his existence.

[Kazuki Hoshino] answered my question. You are nobody at all; You're just an enemy who only exists to be defeated by me. "No......" I am not such a being. I don't live for your sake! As if I'd accept such an absurdity! "---I am Riko Asami!!" I admitted it, but then I realized that I just made a big mistake. I mean, I cannot possibly become Kazuki Hoshino anymore, now that I admitted being Riko Asami. I cannot make myself think so anymore. My retreat was cut off with this. The moment I realized that--"Aa, aaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" The 'box' started suddenly to swell up. It rushed through my veins like a bullet and hurts my whole body, it hurts, aah, I can't endure it! Stop it, it hurts, stop it, someone save me! I want to take it out! But I cannot take it out, I can't, I can't. The 'box' doesn't exist in this body! But then why does it hurt? Stop it, stop it stop it!! "I got it... I got it already, so stop it..." It's because I understood that I cannot be anyone but myself. I made a mistake. I mistook the 'wish' to seek from the 'box'. I don't need such a body. That doesn't make any sense. I... I only --"I only wanted to attain happiness!" But this is not possible anymore. Happiness doesn't await me anymore, since I have stepped on a way stained in blood. I clung to the girl who succeeded in becoming another self, who called herself a 'box'. I won't mistake it anymore. I won't mistake it anymore, so please!

"Save me!"

May 04 (Monday) 14:00

Strangely enough, I noticed immediately that it was because of tears that my field of vision was blurry. I wiped off those tears, and saw Maria standing in front of me, suppressing her feelings.

May 5 May 05 (Tuesday) 02:10

I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming the same dream again.

I toyed with the rabbit plush, missing an ear, in front of the corpses. I plunged my index finger into the torn seam and widened the hole. I put my fingers into the head and moved them around. The shape of the rabbit's head changed. The touch of cotton feels good. Back and forth, up and down. The eyeball came unstuck. Cotton fell out of its torn face. I looked at my hands. Except for the fact that they're stained with blood, that began to dry, they shouldn't have changed. But those hands looked to me as if they had rotten and became pitch black. My body is full with something like mud, consisting only of hatred. I want to cut up my body and scrape this mud out. "I see. This is rather interesting."

"Hyy!" This sudden voice startled me so much my heart had leapt into my throat. "This is an outstanding distortion for an incident that happened nearby to this boy. I'm interested indeed. The way you're involved in this incident is splendid and your feelings for this boy seem amusing, too." I turned around and looked at the owner of this voice. He looks... Aah, right, that's because it's a dream, huh. He looked obscure as if he was veiled in haze. I couldn't even recognize his gender. "W-Who are you? S-Since when are you here?" Instead of answering, he (she?) just smiled. I looked at Nii-san without thinking. He did not notice this person yet as it seems and was still crying soundlessly in dismay.

Where am I anyway? This was supposed to be my home, but something's wrong. It didn't feel real, almost as if I slipped into a photo. "You are a very interesting being as well, though not as much as this boy. I knew already that humans get empty inside when they hate themselves, but observing this with my very own eyes is truly amusing. I see no reason to not give you a 'box'." Ignoring my questions completely, he said weird things. But there was something I understood. He is charming. Incredibly. "Do you have a wish?" Of course I do. I was always begging, after all. "This is a 'box' that grants any wish!" He said so in his charming voice and held some kind of container out to me. As he mentioned, this looked like a box. But for some reason I could not perceive it clearly, although it was virtually right in front of me. I tried touching it. I realized that it's real just by this. Not because of something like logic, but because I felt with my entire body that it is real. I accepted it. "How can I use it...?" "Picture your wish precisely to yourself. That's all! Humans have the ability to grant wishes from the beginning. Therefore, this 'box' isn't so special. It merely simplifies your wish and makes it easier to be granted like that." My 'wish' is to stop being Riko Asami. To become someone other than Riko Asami, whom I despise. So who shall I become? The first that came to mind was my adored Maria Otonashi. But this is impossible. She is no human after all. She's not a being someone like me could become. But then it occurred to me. "I wish,"

He is the boy that can call everyday life important as if it was a matter of fact. He is the boy that obtained Maria Otonashi for some reason. 'Everyday life is important'? Don't kid me. Try saying that again after experiencing my everyday life! I can't forgive him for enjoying happiness without reason. Hence, give it all to me! "I want to replace Kazuki Hoshino." When I had spoke this out, the 'box' started folding up. When the 'box' became tiny and hard, it flew towards me like a bullet and penetrated into my body through my eye. Without leaving me enough time to feel any pain, it entered my heart and started to rule my entire body over the veins. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm being cut up, crushed, torn apart, scattered about, ruled by the 'box', ruled and---I vanished. "Replace him, huh? Huhu... you are truly unfortunate." He said with a charming smile. "How unfortunate for you to realize just being a replacement." Why? It is only bliss that I vanish. "An empty human can only picture an empty 'wish'. I'm sorry, but I was fully aware of that, you know?" He said with a truly charming, gentle smile. "Aah, how adorable! To think you could escape from your own deeds just by this; I find this childish side of you terribly adorable!"

And then my dream continued with me being thrown into the mud. Swallowing mud, unable to breathe or speak.

May 05 (Tuesday) 06:15

I had awoken already a while ago. But I was just lying on Maria Otonashi's bed like a puppet, lacking the willpower to move. I have to come in contact with Riko Asami. Even while knowing that, I cannot move. Maria Otonashi had sat down on a seat and was looking at me all the time.

And yet, I can't move. I can't even avert my eyes from this piercing glance of her. After a while of exchanging glances, she was finally the one who ran out of patience and averted her eyes. She stood up and left to somewhere. She came back after a few moments and pressed a cup of coffee upon me. I just viewed the steam in front of my eyes. I didn't accept the cup for a long time, which made her run out of patience again; she started drinking the coffee herself and said something like "Bitter...". "......Mhh, right, since I'm idle anyway, I'll talk a bit to myself." She said so while looking with a frown at the cup. "I am a 'box'. I can, in fact, grant 'wishes' exactly as the 'box' does." She said so as if it was just incidentally to drinking coffee. "But I'm a failure as 'box'. The happiness I can bring is only fabricated and fake." She seemed to be talking indifferently, but I could clearly see bitterness in her expression. "I wonder what happiness is. Is it something you can obtain depending on your sentiments? If so, can someone who unwillingly erased his entire family obtain happiness just by changing his heart?" I thought she was talking about me. But this might not be true. "...I think it's impossible. I am here because I think so." She has to be talking about herself. "I don't know your circumstances exactly. But I don't think you can attain happiness just by changing one sentiment in your situation. Aren't you thinking so, too?" Exactly. Hell awaits me wherever I go. "You wanted me to save you, right?" She said so after emptying her coffee. "If you don't mind it being flawed, I shall grant you a 'wish'." Normally one would think this is a blatant lie. But she was deadly serious. Therefore, this was more than enough, leaving aside whether to believe it or not.

"......really?" It was more enough to make me open my mouth. "Yeah. If every path leads you to hell, I shall present you with another one. It may be just an illusion, but in your case you have no other choice, right?" If she wanted to raise my hopes just to make me move, she wouldn't speak like this. "But are you alright with using such an unrealistic power, Maria-san...? Don't you have to pay some kind of compensation for using your power, like in a Manga?" Maria Otonashi kept silent. "So there is a catch, right?" "...Nothing you should care about." "If you phrase it like this, I care about it all the more!" She let out a sigh to my words and said: "I lose a part of my memory." "Eh...?" "By using the 'Flawed Bliss', I forget about the target of the wish and the people that had to do with him up to a certain point. In fact, I have almost no memories. Neither do I have memories of my family, nor of my friends. I only have the memory that I wished to do so on my own accord." "What the...?" This is just too cruel. "...But doesn't this mean that you would forget about Kazuki Hoshino when using the 'box' on me...?" She didn't reply to this question. Surely because I was right. "...I don't get it! Why would you go this far just for my sake? You'd even abandon the memories of a dear person, why...?" "That's my affair. As I mentioned before, it's nothing you should care about." "There's no w---"

"You're the same as me." She interrupted me. "I don't want to see you in misfortune. I wouldn't be able to bear up with this. In the first place, do you think I would have turned into a 'box' if I overlooked such things!" And for this sake she'd be ready to lose dear memories? That's just weird. Weird, but---. Exactly because of that she was able to become a perfect creation. If I can escape hell by this, and if it's what she's wishing for, then I shall accept her offer. "Please lend me the phone." Maria Otonashi nodded and handed Kazuki Hoshino's mobile phone over to me. I noticed that my phone number was noted in the dialed calls history. I guess they tried to call me on my phone. But that's not enough to get in touch with her. I, too, had tried to reach her on that number, but it didn't connect. She didn't phone me from my number. It was the number of Yuuhei Ishihara's phone. I dialed. After a few moments, "Hello?," Riko Asami answered the phone.

May 05 (Tuesday) 21:42

When completing the note I got from Miyazawa-kun at May 02nd, it turns out like this. 00-01 02-03 01-02 03-04 23-24 04-05 1st day 2nd day

11-12 09-10 06-07 05-06 12-13

13-14 16-17 08-09 07-08 14-15

15-16 20-21 19-20 17-18 18-19

3rd day 4th day 5th day 6th day 7th dayEnd

The three remaining cells 10-11, 21-22 and 22-23 indicate the time that belongs to [Kazuki Hoshino] today. If I don't stop the 'Sevennight in Mud' today, [Kazuki Hoshino]'s time blocks will shrink to 0. It's 21:43. In other words, [Kazuki Hoshino] has one hour and 17 minutes left until it's 23:00. Until then we have to do anything we can. The preparations for this have already ended. [Riko Asami] got in touch with Asami-san. Asami-san accepted our wish to meet her and stated time and place. And now we were facing Riko Asami.

The place that was suggested by Asami-san was our school. The school does have a security system, but it doesn't activate just by climbing over the school gate. The school was empty because of the Golden Week. Only she was standing in the midst of the desolate schoolyard. "Why do you think have I decided to meet you?" As expected, her whispering voice was completely different from the speaking style were used from her.

"I know Maria-san's aim, after all. You came in order to avert my suicide and steal my 'box', right? But even though this is inconvenient for me, I decided to meet you. Do you know why?" Asami-san said and seemed somehow unable to focus her eyes. "I wanted to see you once more for the last time at the end. I wanted to see the person I adored; the person who achieved what I didn't: creating the perfect self." "You're wrong." Maria interrupted her with a distinct voice. "You want me to stop you from committing such a silly act like throwing your life away." Riko Asami listened silently to Maria. And then her mouth curled slightly up. "I'm afraid such a clichd words don't work for me. What a shame... I didn't want you to say such a painful thing." "Hmpf, why did you meet us, then? Do you think I can't see that you're afraid from dying?" "You're rather my guarantee." "...guarantee?" "I thought you might kill me when I noticed being afraid from committing suicide." Riko Asami spoke so indifferently. "......" I wonder why? Why does their exchange---make me so irritated? There should be other feelings I ought to have. Nervousness, fear, sympathy those feelings would be much more natural. And yet, why am I feeling irritation? I thought and thought---and noticed. ------Oh no, this can't... "Asami-san." I had probably noticed this unknowingly. It's only reasonable to get irritated then! This idle talk is completely meaningless, isn't it?

"You have met Miyazawa-kun during the 'Sevennight in Mud', right?" Asami-san nodded slowly to my sudden question. "To make us believe that there's no escape from the 'Sevennight in Mud', Miyazawa-kun lied to us that the 'owner' was dead. He tried to make me give up to complete this 'box'." "...So?" Asami-san urged me to continue, whereupon I nodded. "I'm sure Miyazawa-kun was convinced that we wouldn't be able to find you. But you're alive. So where did this conviction come from?" Asami-san hesitated only for a moment and said: "...That's because I promised to hide when I met him. Hence, Nii-san---" "Why?" I broke in on her and asked so. "Why would you, while being ready to commit suicide in order to stop the 'Sevennight in Mud', need to cooperate with Miyazawa-kun, who is the ally of [Riko Asami] who wishes its completion?" She kept quiet. "Isn't this a little mismatched?" "...You wouldn't understand my conflict, Kazuki Hoshino." I can't endure it anymore. I can't bear up against this hatred anymore. "It's disgusting! Stop this weird speaking style already!" "......This is my original way of talking. I guess you don't know about it, but since middle school---" "Now won't you stop this acting already? You don't want to hide anyway since you decided to appear before us again, right? So,"

"Stop this tone already, '0'!"

Maria opened her eyes wide and looked at Asami-san---no, '0'.

The expression on Asami-san's face disappeared. I could no longer feel anything from Riko Asami in this inhuman face. "You started this acting already on April 30th, right? Your bad taste is just over the top! Now that I think of it, Asami-san felt only strange to me at the time. At the next day, Haruaki forgot that she had been strange. That's because of your characteristic that everyone except of the 'owner' forgets about you, isn't it? You did never enter the classroom because Miyazawa-kun was there, right?" Asami-san was still expressionlessly listening to me. "Miyazawa-kun was only able to tell this big lie that Asami-san's dead, because he knew that her body was taken over by you, '0'. If an inhuman being like you tells him something like I won't appear anymore after taking Asami-san's body over, he would naturally believe it. " Asami-san did still not change her expression. "He may have forgotten about your existence, but seems like he hasn't forgotten about the fact that his sister was taken over by someone. Hence, the only salvation for Miyazawa-kun was to complete the 'Sevennight in Mud'. This is how you made him [my] enemy. This is how you prepared the stage to make [me] and [Riko Asami] able to fight each other." I scowled at Asami-san and declared: "Like this, you enjoyed observing me." The moment I finished speaking--"Huhu" This void expression crumbled down and Riko Asami vanished completely. No, the body was still the same. But it's obvious now. Riko Asami cannot exist within this expression. No human would be able to form such an abysmal smile. "Oh, I really have to praise you!" '0' clapped his hands while maintaining the smile. He can keep his composure because he knows for sure that he's out of our reach, no matter if we found him. "...You seem quite amused, '0'." Maria said with a frown.

"Amused? Huhu, of course I am! This time was really worth observing. It was truly interesting to see how Kazuki Hoshino would react when his body was stolen, how he would think, how he would suffer! I hadn't expected that you would perceive [Riko Asami] distinctly as enemy and hurt her. Huhu, compared to last time it was a very short time, but in return it was luxuriant." "You pervert." Maria's insult did, however, not make '0' stop his smile. "Very well---I'll give this 'box' to you then." I was unable to understand his words right away. What did he just say? Give the 'box' to us? Why? We have not even started the negotiations for the 'box'... "......what are you scheming?" Maria asked for me. "Oh? Is my behavior strange, perhaps?" "Do you want to tell me that this calm attitude of yours is just a bluff and that you're cornered because we found you?" "Your answer misses the mark entirely. Why do I need to be cornered? ...I see, it seems there is a misunderstanding. My goal is not to be your hindrance, but to observe Kazuki Hoshino, you know? I was able to enjoy observing him more than enough in this 'box'. I have already achieved my goal. Therefore I have no reason to not give you this no longer used 'box'." Now that he mentions it, it's evident. '0's goal was not to complete the 'Sevennight in Mud'. No, if it were completed, this would rather--"Ah...!" "Oh, seems like you noticed even though I made no mention of it. How pitiful." Surely he's happy to have seen my pale face. '0' said so with a smiling expression. "Exactly, the 'box' you call 'Sevennight in Mud' was not supposed to be completed from the beginning. Riko Asami is a quite amusing human, really. But I would never sacrifice my dear object of observation just because of such a minor existence. Letting [Riko Asami] take over Kazuki Hoshino? I can't allow this." '0' chuckled.

"Therefore, no matter whether you found me or not, I would have given you the 'box' eventually. Giving you the 'box' readily is not strange at all." I looked at [Riko Asami] as hostile in order to get myself back. For this sake, I hurt [Riko Asami] and made her suffer. I even involved Miyazawakun in this. I even betrayed Maria once. And yet, Although I went through all this, "It was all futile." After all I just danced to '0's pipe? If so, what was the point in this week... "I was not futile." Having heard this denial, I looked at her without thinking. Maria, who declared so, gave '0' a daring grin. "What do you mean?" "Don't you get it? Kazuki's goal is to regain his everyday life. It's only natural that he gives his all to achieve this goal. That's why nothing would have changed. Even if he was able to guess that you had no plans to complete the 'Sevennight in Mud', his actions would not have changed." "Why so?" '0' asked curiously. "It's a matter of course." Maria said as if she was laughing at '0'. "One could never rely on something fragile like your whim." Aah, I see. The deed of handing the 'box' over to me is merely a whim he does 'because this ends up the most amusing for him'. I would never rely on something like this and not move. Even if it was wasted effort, I would have gave my all to find a solution for this 'box'. "I see. But leaving Kazuki-kun aside, for you it was entirely wasted effort. This 'box' can already not be used again, after all."

"What a laughable simple thinking. Your appearance made me proceed at least a step. Because you just proved that I will run across '0' or 'boxes' if I'm together with Kazuki." "Hm...?" Having heard her words, '0' opened his eyes wide affectedly. "Are you serious?" Maria answered with an amazed expression. "Hey, I have already spent a life's time chasing after the 'box'. Why would you doubt my words?" "No, that's not what I mean! I don't care about your foolishness. I'm asking whether this proof that you can come across me when being together with Kazuki-kun has any meaning." Maria's opened her eyes wide to these words. And then she turned slowly pale. "You hadn't noticed... or rather, you hadn't thought about it deeply?" '0' said with a smile. "This proof is meaningless. You plan to leave Kazuki-kun anyway, don't you?" Wh...at...? "D-Don't talk nonsense!" "Huhu, isn't this pale face of her the best proof for the truth of my words? You know, Kazuki-kun? She's planning to let [Riko Asami] use her 'box'!" "Using the 'Flawed Bliss'...?" Having touched that 'box', I know. Having seen this ground of the sea, I know. Letting someone use her own 'box'. This is an absolute taboo. Even I know that using her 'box' is a fatal mistake. "If she does so, she will forget about you. Having lost those memories, she will certainly go away from you guys." "W-Why do you know such a thing!" "Because it was always like this when she let someone use her 'box'."

I looked at Maria without knowing. Seeing her biting her lips, I realized that he's telling the truth. "Why would you want to use the 'Flawed Bliss'...?" "...Didn't I tell you? I cannot accept the inevitable misfortune that awaits Asami." For this sake you don't mind ignoring your own desires...? Aah, I see. She was always like this. She is a person who can even throw her own life away to save another person. "I am a 'box'. I am no human. I have to exist for the sake of saving others. Right, because of this---" Maria regained her imposing expression and declared distinctly: "I shall stay [Aya Otonashi]" But where are [Maria Otonashi]'s feelings in those words? ---don't lose sight of me anymore Weren't those the true feelings of Maria? Weren't those the true feelings of the girl that could no longer bear up against solitude? This is just wrong. Ignoring one's own feelings cannot be right. But I can't tell her that it's wrong carelessly. Not knowing what made her gain so much resolution, I can't deny her. "Maria." Therefore I can only speak out this name, that only I had been able to call, and confront her with my own feelings. "I don't want that." Maria's face stiffened up slightly. "I definitely don't want you to forget about me and disappear!" "......Kazuki." "That's cruel! While telling me to not lose sight of you, you plan to lose sight of me! That's just cruel!" Maria looked at the ground after hearing my cry and bit on her lips.

"......But if I don't, Asami will---" I gripped Maria's right hand forcedly which made her stop her words. She looked at me wide-eyedly. "Asami-san will be all right." "...Why can you say so?" "Because I believe in something you may not be able to believe in and what may make you irritated." I put some more power into my grip. "I believe that there is no despair that can't be solved by the everyday life." I noticed that her fingers were more delicate than I had expected. No, not only her fingers. Maria's entire body is delicate. In contrast to her personality. "Therefore Asami-san will be all right, even if the 'Sevennight in Mud' gets destroyed. There's no way only despair would await her!" "......you want me to believe in that?" She whispered. I already thought that it would be rejected by her. I mean, she seeks for the 'box'. There's no way she could accept me, who believes in the everyday life, despite seeking for the 'box' that brings destruction to the everyday life. But I believe in the everyday life nonetheless. "She just has to find hope." "...What?" "I admit that despair might await Asami-san. But there is even hope within this despair! At least I know of one." "What hope...?" "There is a person that values Asami-san just this much. Can't this become her hope?" I noticed that faint hesitation started to appear within her expression.

"...Surely this would apply if nothing had happened. But Asami is going to go to prison for a long time without doubt because of that incident." "But even so, if the two of them combine their power, they will be all right. If they realize how dear they are to each other, they will be all right! Don't you think so?" "......" "Maybe I'm just conceiting myself to understand Asami-san. There is still one hour left to [Riko Asami]. You can still confirm her feelings before coming to a decision! ...No, don't just confirm, please help her find hope. I'm sure there is." I pressed her hand a little more tighter. "You might as well bring her real happiness instead of an illusion!" Having said so, I let go of her hand. Maria gazed fixedly at her own hand. "......U-Umm, now's Golden Week, right?" Upon hearing my sudden words, Maria raised an eyebrow and raised her head. "Because of all this we had no time to enjoy our holidays, right? But, you know, tomorrow still a holiday, so umm..." I closed my eyes, pulled myself up and spoke. "So, umm... let's go somewhere tomorrow. Err... right, let's go eat strawberry tarte. You mentioned you like that, right?" Maria opened her eyes wide. She had been stiffened up all the time, but her cheeks softened now as if this was a lie. "Huhu... what are you saying?" "Y-You don't want to?" "...This will mean that you spent each day of the Golden Week with me, you know?" "Eh? Is there a problem with that?" When I said so tilting my head, Maria smiled wryly for some reason. "Never mind." "Mh? So will you promise?" Promise.

When I spoke this word out, her mouth strained again. Maria looked once down. She reflected upon the meaning of such a promise and opened her eyes again. Her mouth relaxed, she raised the corners of her mouth and said to me in a awe-inspiring but gentle voice: "I promise. I promise you a future in which we can go eat strawberry tarte peacefully tomorrow." Yeah, so I have nothing to worry about anymore. Like this, I waited for the last switching.

May 05 (Tuesday) 23:00

Nothing ended. Although Maria Otonashi had promised me that I would never switch again to this body, nothing ended. For some reason I was standing in the midst of the schoolyard, but here was nothing but darkness. I know the school building's nearby, but I can't see anything. Nothing. Nothing's nearby. Only Riko Asami and me were facing each other. I don't get it. What's this situation? Where did Maria-san go? "It's been a while." Riko Asami opened her mouth in front of me. I raised an eyebrow. Something's wrong? "Huhu, I suppose you don't recognize me in this appearance. I am '0'!" "Eh?" An obviously different tone in the voice and a charming smile I would never be able to do. Aah, right. Indeed, this person is '0'. "Why are you in Riko Asami's appearance before me...? And where's Mariasan...?" '0' only smiled to this question, and just approached me silently without reply. Because of this queer intensity of him, I stepped back instinctively.

"Kazuki Hoshino said that there's even hope in your everyday life!" He said so and reached out for me. Then he put his fingers into my mouth. "A-gh...?" "Though there couldn't possibly be." Riko Asami's fingers ran wild in my mouth. They got dirty with my saliva. This saliva on her fingers tasted almost like the body fluids of an insect to me. "Because you perceive your own taste just by this." '0' said with my looks. "---which is the taste of mud." ...Yeah, it tastes like that indeed. It's bitter, incredibly bitter---I can't bear it. Although this should be Kazuki Hoshino's body, mud started to spread slowly like a virus. My body blackens. It gets stained with the color of sin. The filthy mud overflows and violates me '0' took his fingers out of my mouth. I fell on my knees. The mud inside me shook once because of this. "Your repulsion against yourself can't be helped. You were---", I felt nauseous when I heard this word. "---by the person you hated the most. Thus, this mud inside you will stay there to all eternity." '0' laid his hand on my shoulder. I raised my head and saw the face of Riko Asami I don't even want to see. "There can't possibly be hope for you, who cannot get rid of the own mud." I know this much. There's no way I'd find hope in my everyday life. There was none until now. So why should there be any for me, now that I committed a crime on top of being stained? Riko Asami is no more. "That's not true." I turned around to this voice behind me, still on my knees.

Maria Otonashi was standing there with wild breath. Besides her was Nii-san. Niisan, who does not consider me his sister anymore. "You were faster than expected." "What the hell was this violence against [Riko Asami], '0'!" Maria Otonashi roared angry at '0'. "Huhu... I'd prefer if you and Kazuki Hoshino-kun got separated, you know. I just adjusted her a bit to my convenience. ...Well, did you find something that could give her hope?" "I did." Maria Otonashi affirmed right away. '0' did not change his expression to this reaction, however. "Riko." Nii-san called my name. A terribly strange feeling. I see, because it's the first time. The first time Nii-san addressed me by this name since I've got into this body. "...what is it at this late hour? You don't consider me your younger sister, do you?" "You're finally aware of being Riko Asami, right? If so, things change. I can call you Riko Asami." I kept quiet, so Nii-san continued. "Tell me, what do you plan to do now? The 'Sevennight in Mud' is going to get destroyed. You will return to being Riko Asami. You and I will get separated. What will you do then?" "I will use Maria-san's 'box'!" "Asami. Sorry, but I take that back." "Eh...?" I looked without thinking at Maria Otonashi. "After listening to Miyazawa, I changed my mind. I can't let you use this 'box'." She said boldly without showing any shame for revoking her promise.

No, it's obvious! I'm sure she realized how foolish it would be to lose her memory just for my sake. "Then I'll die!" A completely natural answer. This is of course the best solution in this case. Nii-san frowned to my words and spat out those words: "Do you think [Riko Asami] belongs only to you?" "...Huh?" I am Riko Asami. Therefore, I belong to me. Isn't this natural? "Why are you looking so surprised? You belong to yourself? No way!" Nii-san said, amazed at me. "You also belong to me! And not only that. You also belong to Maria Otonashi, and you belong to Kazuki Hoshino. So, you know," He scowled at me. "I won't permit you to die on your own accord!" I don't get it. I don't get why Nii-san says so to me with a gentle face. "So how is my sin forgiven...? I'm not even allowed to die?! Two people are dead because of me. I have to---" "Riko." He stopped me from continuing. "This is the main reason why I decided to not let you use my 'box'. I misunderstood. Well, Miyazawa may have kept quiet about it purposely, but I misunderstood the truth." Maria Otonashi continued. "Ryuu Miyazawa was the one who killed those two, right?" ...No. Surely, it was Nii-san who conducted it. But I knew that this would happen when I sought for help from him. Nii-san merely realized my wish at the time and executed it.

Hence, this is my sin. "Don't misunderstand, Riko! I didn't kill them in place of you. I hated them. I detested them. I was just unable to control these intense feelings of mine." That's a lie. Sure, he might have hated them. But just with those feelings, he would not have been able to execute it. He crossed the last line because he wanted to free me. I was the one who made him pull the trigger. "I thought about escaping with you. But this isn't realistic. We are still minors and wouldn't be able to live the life on the run. Even if we could, I don't think we'd find happiness in a life of being chased." Nii-san smiled wryly and spoke. "Thus, I will deliver myself up. I will prove your innocence. This is the best decision I can make." Nii-san is trying to take all my sin from me and take it together with him to prison. "......Why do you, for my sake, such---" "Don't make me say such a thing!" I don't get it at all. Why? We may be siblings, but we are different humans. He doesn't profit from doing something for me. Nii-san took something out of his bag and gave it to me. I accepted it silently. The touch of it seemed familiar to me. I looked at this something I had accepted. "---Ah." My voice leaked out. I mean, wasn't this destroyed? Wasn't everything important to me destroyed? "I washed it, stuffed it with cotton and sewed back together. That's all. Well, it's certainly not like new, but you can say it's repaired, right?" It was a rabbit plush. The stuffed plush I had received from Nii-san, who had won it for me in an UFO catcher.

"A, ah---" I knelt down. A cry left my mouth unwittingly and I started to shed tears. Those tears washed some of the mud inside me away. ...Of course not all of it. I won't get rid of this mud. ---But some of it was indeed washed away now. Maybe, Maybe--"......Nii-san" Maybe I didn't even need to wish to the 'box' to begin with. Maybe I just hadn't noticed. Because I'm sure-----my 'wish' was already granted a long time ago. "I'm sorry, Nii-san. It was all my fault, I'm sorry." Because I hadn't noticed this, Nii-san had to substitute for me. If I had valued myself, the outcome would have differed. "This time it's my turn to save you, Nii-san." I wiped my tears away and stood up. Nii-san was looking at me slightly surprisedly. "I will save you from suffering... I'll wait for you. Until we can be together again, I will wait for you." My voice was still trembling and my smile was kind of forced, but even so, I said distinctly: "I will wait for you as Riko Asami." Wide-eyed, Nii-san was frozen for a while, but then his expression relaxed slowly. Unlike yesterday, vitality was dwelling in his eyes. "You know what?" Nii-san opened his mouth while smiling. "'I didn't make it in time'. I always thought like this. But perhaps---perhaps I made it barely in time."

I can definitely not say that I'm fully satisfied with this outcome. Nii-san and I will, without doubt, hate our past until death. However, we managed to get hold of something to persevere somehow. Without doubt, we grasped it.

Maria Otonashi, who had viewed us silently, nodded with a smile. "So I could hold my promise with Kazuki." Having said so, her smile disappeared with her scowling at '0'. "Now come out with the 'box'!" '0' nodded without stopping to smile. My 'box', the 'Sevennight in Mud', is going to end with this. '0' held his hand against his, Riko Asami's, eye. My eyeball got touched. Although I'm not the one who is being touched right now, I'm feeling it. '0' reached into the eye as if he wanted to take it out. Unable to endure the pain, I screamed low-voiced and closed my eyes. It hurts! ...But while it really hurts, I think it's right. I feel it's right. Hence, I endured the pain of my eyeballs being crushed. The pain stopped. I looked once again at '0'. He had finished his work. My eyeball was unharmed and '0' was holding a little, black 'box' in his hand that looked like a bullet. "So is this perhaps the proof for Kazuki Hoshino-kun's words 'there is no despair that can't be solved by the everyday life'?" "......This time, maybe." "Huhu... I see. You have no other choice but to say so. It is, after all, a denial of your existence as 'box'. Kazuki-kun can say really cruel things." Maria Otonashi scowled at '0' and stole the 'box' out of his hands rudely. "With this I can go be together with Kazuki. That's all I want for now." "Are you procrastinating your conclusion? Do you still not decide whether you return to being [Maria Otonashi] or stay [Aya Otonashi]?" "What a silly question."

Maria Otonashi gazed at the 'Sevennight in Mud' in her hands. She bit on her lips as if she hated this 'box'. "The answer was decided a long time ago." "I suppose so." '0' replied half-heartedly, seeming uninterested. "I am a 'box'." She stopped biting on her lips and spoke. "I can't return to me back when I was not a 'box' yet." Her strong gaze. It was the expression of the creation I had adored all this time. "Therefore it's the best to maintain my current individuality. You may take this as Choosing to stay [Aya Otonashi]." "Then why do you keep company with Kazuki Hoshino?" "------" She kept silent. "Isn't this rather inconvenient for you? Didn't you offer Riko Asami to use your 'box' because you thought so, too?" "...I have no idea what you mean." "Huhu, you might still be captivated by the curse of the world of recurrences. This Kasumi Mogi might be a powerful enemy of yours, right?" ".........hmpf." She looked again at the 'box' and rolled it between her hands. "......I had decided. Long ago. And yet this Kazuki said I don't want that...!" She murmured with a tiny voice and revealed, only for a moment, a bitter face. But, she erased this expression right away. She regained the expression of the perfect creation, which I found beautiful. But I'm sure the creator of this creation went through great pains and sorrow while creating it.

I wonder how she, who granted the 'wish' of the 'Sevennight in Mud' already with her sole will, had looked over me and the 'box'. At last, she bit on her lips, looked at the bullet-like 'box' and---

---crushed the 'Sevennight in Mud', seeming sorrowful somewhere.

May 05 (Tuesday) 23:56

This awakening was clearly different from the others. I felt strangely refreshed. I felt now that my body really had been stolen by [Riko Asami]. I opened my mobile phone and checked the time. 23:57 [I] was here in the time frame that was stolen from me on the first day by [Riko Asami]. It's over. But leaving me no time to be deeply moved, my body was suddenly grasped tightly. "Eh?! Ah... M-Maria...?" She's embracing me? But it's not a gentle hug at all. It was a tight pressure as if trying to adhere to me. "W-What's the matter?" She didn't reply to my question. Because I couldn't help it, I let her continue hugging me as she pleased. I couldn't see her expression. "......Say it one more time." "Eh?" "I'm telling you to say Maria one more time." "......err, M-Maria." ".........say it once more."

"Maria." "......" She kept quiet. "It's your fault." Maria said suddenly. "Don't get carried away. In the first place, I'm only together with you because I can meet '0' like this. There is no deeper meaning in it. And yet you're always being carried away and do only unnecessary things. All my suffering this time was your fault." "......I don't really get it, but isn't that a bit cruel?" "It's the truth, you fool." When she finished speaking, she thrust me away. This time's violence?! And yet, she's smiling happily after all. "Well, shall we go then?" "Eh? Where to?" "What are you saying? Didn't you promise me yesterday, that we'd go eat strawberry tarte tomorrow?" "...Well, sure I said that. But it's still the fifth of ---" "Look at the time." I took my mobile phone out as told. 00:00 The date had changed actually. "I know a family restaurant that is opened at night and serves strawberry tarte. Let's go there." "E, eeh? T-That's not the problem... doesn't 'tomorrow' usually stand for having slept and woken u---" "Stop nitpicking. Let's go quickly."

Maria then pulled my hand. Duh... maybe I should not have made such a promise? I have a hunch that I'm also going to be dragged around all day tomorrow. ...Well, I don't mind I guess? Since it's not disagreeable at all. While being dragged along by Maria, I looked at the two who remained at the center of the schoolyard. Two intimate siblings were smiling while taking each other's hands there.

May 18
While crumpling up a package of beef tongue flavored Umaibous, I looked around in the classroom. My classmates weren't minding me anymore in particular. They only seem a little nervous because of the midterm tests that start tomorrow. "Ya, Kazu-kun!" "Ouch" Kokone chopped on my head while greeting me. "......Morning." "You know, I was actually only strolling. In Shibuya." "Hah?" Kokone started suddenly to talk triumphantly. "I just planned to go to Marui or to listen to some music at HMV. But I guess the world just can't overlook my charm! And this E-Cup of mine!" Now it's even one size bigger... She laid a fashion magazine on my desk and pointed her finger on it. There was a photo of Kokone standing in town with a smile in there. "Ah, wow." These were my honest impressions. Kokone became even more elated. "Hohoho, by the way, in those merely two hours I was addressed five times, including flirts. I rejected them but then I was even scouted as model... Sigh... society just doesn't seem to let go of me. So, how do you like this photo? How is it?" "......Well, good I guess?" "You think so, too? And just look at my comment! I just mistook the cords of my parka for my earphones and put them into my ear!, what a tasteful comment of a cute clumsy girl. That's Moe." "Moe, right." Because it would probably get long if I said unnecessary things, I answered randomly.

Kokone said then with a bad-tempered voice to Haruaki, who had watched with half-opened eyes: "...What, Haru?" "No, nothing. I was just thinking that singing one's own praises is gross." "...guys that have only jerseys at home are gross." "What!? Don't make fun of my Adidas jerseys!" "I'm not particularly making fun of Adidas. I'm making fun of you." Seeing this exchange, I smiled without thinking. Lucky me. This means that my everyday life has returned so much that such exchanges can take place. In fact, I was on the verge of becoming unable to see this anymore. The 'Sevennight in Mud' may have been destroyed, but the happenings during it have not disappeared. The fact that I confessed to Kokone doesn't disappear. It's all thanks to Maria's wittedness that we could return to such a relationship. I recalled this risky exchange that happened at Mogi-san's hospital room.

It was at afternoon on May 09th. Mogi-san was sitting on her white bed, wearing the pajamas I had seen many times on the photograph on my mobile phone. Kokone was standing next to her with open hairs today. Both of them were scowling at me. Of course I had taken notice of those gazes, so I stared at the mattress of the bed in order to avoid making eye contact. At the corner of my vision I could see Maria's legs. ...Is this what you call 'battlefield'? "I would appreciate an explanation, Hoshino-kun."

I stiffened up to Mogi-san's voice, which was razor sharp and calm at the same time. "So you confessed to Koko-chan even though you had Otonashi-san as girlfriend? What does this mean? I didn't know you were such a careless boy...?" Kokone had consulted her good friend Mogi-san about the confession. As a result, we were called by her, and now we're here. "Koko-chan had already told me that you seem to be on good terms with Otonashi-san... but judging from what I heard, I can only conclude that you're already going out, right?" "Err..." "......Why didn't you just tell if you're going out?... I look stupid for thinking that we got on better terms recently..." The sharpness disappeared slowly from Mogi-san's voice. Her expression clouded clearly. "Explain it to us, Kazu-kun!" Kokone said in anger. "W-Well, umm... W-We're not going out, to begin with." [TL Note: his stuttering made "Tsukiau" (go out) to "Tsuttsukiau", which may be translated as "feel each other"] "You haven't groped each other?! T-That's not what I asked! How erotic..." "Why such a clichd misunderstanding! That's wrong!" "I can't believe you anymore! I'm amazed that you can say such a thing in front of Otonashi-san! Even though you call each other by the first name!" Because we were being noisy in the hospital room, the glances focused on us. Not even the nurses dared to approach us and just watched us from far away. ...Couldn't you come and rebuke us please? Kokone took a big breath and looked with a serious face at Maria. "...Do you have no issue with him? Why are you so composed, though Kazu-kun confessed to me?" "Mh. ...Well."

Maria crossed her arms to Kokone's words. She looked at me at a glance and curled her mouth slightly up. ...I have a bad feeling. "Disturbance because of his confession to Kirino. Of course there is none." "...Why?" "Because I made him do it." Everyone was shocked. Of course, I'm included. Umm, what did Maria just blurt out? "...........What does this mean? Otonashi-san has tempted Kazu-kun to confess to me?" "Exactly." "...K-Kazu-kun, what on earth?!" "Hoshino-kun, what's the meaning of this?!" No, I want to know that myself. "Since Kazuki can't explain it properly anyway, I'll do the explanation." Maria's mouth was still curled-up while she said so. She's definitely enjoying this situation... "First, as a fact I have to mention right away, I got dumped by Kazuki." Kokone and Mogi-san looked at me with wide eyes. N-No, really, I don't understand, too! "Thinking back now, he said something like I think nothing of a minor being like you." There's no way I'd say such a thing, is there?!

"What the... that's too conceited, isn't it? Kazu-kun should go die." "E-Even I found this repulsive just now, I think." "No, err......" I wanted to make excuses, but since I don't know what Maria's up to, I couldn't say anything.

"I couldn't accept this harsh rejection readily. But well, if he had another person he likes, I would surely not give up, but I would accept the rejection. So I asked. If there is someone he likes." "A-And there he answered with his L-O-V-E for me!" "Well yeah, after quite a long time of hesitating, he mentioned your name." Kokone reddened slowly while babbling "Ee, err", upon hearing Maria's words. Mogi-san turned contrastively blue, next to her. ...this looks kinda like a traffic light. "But listen, having heard Kirino's name, I could still not fully believe him. Because they looked to me like mere friends. That's why I urged him to confess to her in front of my eyes and that I would accept it if he had done so." "And so Hoshino-kun confessed to Koko-chan..." Mogi-san murmured so, seeming close to tears. Kokone was still blushed and looked worriedly at Mogi-san with side-glance. ...hey, Maria, what are you scheming...? "Well, but Kazuki has just now revoked his statement that he loves Kirino." "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH" Kokone shouted out. "K-Kokone, this is a hospital!" "Shut up you damn capricious bastard." "......" "In short. In the end, that he loved Kirino was just a random lie he told me in order to turn me aside. Being threatened by me to confess, he was already unable to retreat." "Mmh... I got the situation. But... But, but! I still think this is a bit cruel to me!" "Doesn't this indicate just how much he trusts you? Didn't he believe that you, as a dear friend, would forgive him if he apologized?" "Mmmmmmh..." "Maybe he didn't mind even if you misunderstood him by any chance?" "Eh?!"

Kokone turned red again. ...No, really, why did you add an unnecessary line there, Maria? "But this does not change the fact that we involved you, Kirino. Kazuki and I regret what we have done. Please forgive us." "I-I'm really sorry..." I felt the chance to apologize here. Kokone's cheeks were still faintly red when she narrowed her eyes and looked at me. ".....Have you reflected on your behavior?" "Y-Yes. I'm sorry." Seeing me say words of reconsideration, Kokone pursed her lips and spoke. "Got it! I'll forgive you. But don't do that a second time! No matter how much I'm used to confessions, even I got startled, you know! I worried so much about what I should do that I couldn't sleep that night, you know!" "So you're used to confessions." "Hah! Within the single year since the school entrance I have easily reached double figures! ...AH, that doesn't matter now! Have you reflected properly?!" "S-Sorry. I have, properly..." Kokone had raised a loud voice again, was smiling relieved. Kokone, too, had wished for our relationship to return. If we preserve the everyday life everyone wishes for like this, it won't be destroyed so easily. "Okay then, I'll go home." I said so and tried to leave the room after winking to Maria. ...to be honest, I want to leave quickly because those many glances on us are pretty embarrassing. "Wait a moment." "...What's the matter, Mogi-san?" "Umm, err... you dumped Otonashi-san, right? So I wondered why you are still together...? You really aren't going out, right?" Mogi-san asked with a trembling voice.

"Err... well, yeah." She looked alternately at me and Maria, and looked down. "......Uuh, just watch! I'll be discharged from hospital in no time! I must quickly return to school. I'm uneasy... very uneasy..." "D-Don't worry, Kasumi! I'll supervise him!" Mogi-san went into a huff upon hearing Kokone's words. "...Koko-chan. You looked pretty happy when she said Maybe he didn't mind even if you misunderstood him by any chance." "I-I didn't!" Mogi-san scowled at me with teary eyes for some reason. "Hoshino-kun, you silly!" "Uh..." "Why did you do this false confession to Koko-chan and not to me?!" Uuuh... does the problem lie there?

Lunch break. Maria and I were facing each other at a table in the school cafeteria. Maria was slurping some Ramen, that tastes like gum, expressionlessly. Though she looked so happy back then when she ate strawberry tarte. Well, but when I was about to take a photo unconsciously, she hit me seriously and continued eating with a grimace. "Kazuki, will you come to my place today as well?" The male student next to her spouted out his fried rice. "I'm considering going to the library room today. What do you think?" "I don't mind."

I visited Maria's room in the last two days. It wasn't really for fun, she just taught me because of the upcoming tests, since she's by far the top student of our school. But still, a second year student that's taught by a first year... "Mh, but she won't come, huh. Can't be helped, I'll eat up the remaining stew, though it's a bit much." "...it was tasty, honestly." "I haven't asked for your impressions." She said coldly, although I took her into consideration. "But still---" Going to Maria's room; if she heard our conversion I bet she'd get moody. Thinking about this, I recalled how she always ate next to Maria until two weeks ago. It's almost as before. Mogi-san started pouting in hospital and Daiya still ceases to speak with me, but I think I have regained a comfortable life. However, Riko Asami and Ryuu Miyazawa do not exist in this everyday life anymore. Our Golden Week had been prolonged for four days, so school didn't start until May 11th. This is because the suspect of a murder incident went to this school. While we were resting, the principal of our school appeared on TV and said something about Miyazawa-kun being an excellent and serious student. The first day after holidays was a big fuss. It was such a pandemonium that some girls seriously cried and the media overran us with their cameras. It didn't look anything like the usual classroom scene anymore. But after one week, the classroom was as before. Our class mates declared mentioning only the name Ryuu Miyazawa to a silent taboo. His name is compulsorily associated with that murder incident, which leads to the unusual. For the sake of preserving the everyday life, not even his name may exist.

Of course I'm going to remember Miyazawa-kun. I won't be able to forget him. And still, Miyazawa-kun will not even appear in the conversations of the members of this class. Miyazawa-kun cannot return to this everyday life anymore. And it's not any different for his sister, Riko Asami. At the moment this incident was announced, her place disappeared from here. Although not even their classmates knew that Riko Asami was the sister of Ryuu Miyazawa, it's now known all over the country. Her photo and address were uploaded to a giant bulletin board and she was entirely overran by the media and curious people, though being a family member of the victims actually. Asami-san retired from school before we knew. "Kazuki, what's the matter? You're making far eyes." Maria asked me after completing her Ramen. "Ah, no, it's nothing..." "You recalled Asami, didn't you? ...Geez, you only think about girls." "Don't phrase it so suggestively..." Maria smiled happily at me when I was disturbed. I'm convinced now. This person is definitely S. No, well, I knew that already long ago, though. "You don't need to worry about Asami. You know this much, right?" Maria said with her smile. I, too, smiled unknowingly to those words and nodded. Right, I don't worry about her. I took my mobile phone and opened the most recent voice file. Good morning Kazuki Hoshino-kun. Or should I say good day? This was a greeting that was exactly the same as the first one of her. But it wasn't the voice of Kazuki Hoshino, but the one of a girl. The voice of Riko Asami.

The creation time of this file was 02:00 on May 06th according to the file properties. Just about when Maria and I left the family restaurant. I don't know when she had stolen my phone, but Maria entrusted her arbitrarily with it. For the sake of letting her leave me this message. What should I say? Maybe: I'm sorry for all the troubles? If you forgave me just with words, I'd say as much as you want. But I guess that's not possible. You won't forgive me, and I have done something of this magnitude. That's not right at all. Resentment is a hindrance in the everyday life, after all. Similarly I think that Nii-san's sin will also never be forgiven, no matter how many punishments he may undergo. He may get 10, 20 or even more years in prison, but his sin won't be forgiven when he leaves there. His deed was, while being for my sake, not right. I'm sure he will slowly notice the weight of his sin. I also think his heart is going to break several times. But you know? He will be alright! After all, Nii-san said I made it in time while knowing of all this. Her voice was bright and didn't give me the impression of a bluff at all. Those were Asami-san's true feelings, without doubt. I am alright, too. I finally realized it. I won't lose sight anymore. She knew that she will have to go through great troubles. She knew already that she won't be returning to this school a second time. And even so, she said: I am Riko Asami. The message ended here. I don't know what kind of pains she will have to endure. But she will never call herself 'no one' again. Therefore, she's going to be alright. For sure. Asami-san didn't tell anyone where she'd go - not even Maria. Thus, there's no real basis, but there is this rumor that I have heard a few times. According to it, Riko Asami is living and working in a farm in Hokkaido.

I hope this is true. I hope she's building a place for Miyazawa-kun to return to there. That I'm convinced that she's able to do it might be because I'm optimistic. But even so, I can believe. I can believe that they will regain a life in which they can laugh happily together again.

"Aah, so you were together with Otonashi." I came to my senses again when I heard those words. I raised my head to this voice I had missed. Daiya was standing in front of me. Despite not having talked to me since he punched me, he sat down next to Maria as if nothing had happened. ...I-I wonder what's the matter? Does he perhaps want to make peace with me? I hope so, but I don't think he'd be able to say honestly so. "Kazuki." "Y-Yeah?" "I heard the reason for your inexplicable behavior!" Maybe Kokone told him about what we talked in this hospital room? Daiya grinned boldly at me, who was dumbfounded. At once, I noticed something. The piercing that was originally only attached to his left ear could now also be seen on his right one. Daiya stated then: "You've associated with '0', haven't you?"

Author's Notes
Good day, I'm Eiji Mikage. I'm very sorry for the long wait since the first book. I actually wanted to get the continuation out as soon as possible since it wasn't clear whether the story would continue from the contents of the first one... Honestly, I don't even know the reason for this long delay myself.

Well then, Eiji Mikage is naturally a penname. I'm asked about the origin of this penname from time to time, but since there's no real reason to it, I have always had troubles answering this question. But even if there's no reason to it, it has become my penname. I'm known by this name in the editorial department and among the other authors. Almost none of them know my real name. I even call myself "I'm the author Eiji Mikage" when I phone the editorial department! That's ticklish somehow, now that I think about it... Then I think that all my dear readers know only the name Eiji Mikage of me. It might be the faulty expression, but for the readers, Eiji Mikage is no human but a book-writing machine. I'm only demanded to write amusing books. I am still unable to nod firmly when I'm asked whether I give my everything for this sake. In order to become the ideal author for my readers, I still have to pull myself together more. That's what I often think. Okay, this time's thank-you note. Thanks to the illustrator 415 aka Tetsuo-san for those fantastic drawings. When we were talking about the second volume and I said "Kazuki gets handcuffed by Maria in underwear and a single white shirt!", you told me your impressions right away, "You're a pervert". I will definitely not forget that. My editor in charge, Kawamoto-san, thank you for sticking to me while I wrote this tangled story. It really helped me. The third volume may get even more complicated, so that will be troublesome for you, huh! *saying so as if I wasn't concerned* Finally, thanks to all my dear readers that accompanied me up to this second book. I hope we can meet again in the third book.

See you another time!

- Eiji Mikage

Comments
Eiji Mikage I live in Saitama. I arrive mostly an hour before my appointments at the meeting place. It's sad to be alone.

Tetsuo My name has changed from 415 to Tetsuo! The person behind the name hasn't changed, though! Best regards /^o^\

Disclaimer
Under no circumstances would you be allowed to take this work for commercial activities or for personal gain. Baka-Tsuki does not and will not condone any activities of such, including but not limited to rent, sell, print, auction.

Story Illustrator Translator Editor PDF Maker

: Eiji Mikage : Tetsuo / 415 : EusthEnoptEron : Kadi, Grrarr : Arczyx