Yūka's POV

Words couldn't express how grateful and happy I was when I saw Tachibana-san. She approached me with her hands on her hips, looking confident. Is this the same Tachibana-san I met earlier? She looked way different.

Tachibana-san noticed my confusion and pouted, crossing her arms. "Mou, this is ME, Yūka. Have you already forgotten the girl you saw having a sentimental moment at the rooftop?"

Eh? So we're on a first name basis already? That's fast. Maybe I should call her Mitsuko-san now. And... "If you're mad for me interrupting said moment, then I'm terribly sorry," I said with a sweatdrop. She sounds like she's guilt tripping me. But I don't know her that long so I have no idea if that was her intention.

"Oh naw. I'm not mad. It's nothing really." She shrugged and her gaze turned towards my peers. "I guess I have to jump into action now, huh?"

"Maybe..?"

I could feel my eye twitch. We're acting way TOO calm that it's driving me insane. Seriously, we're having an average everyday conversation when there are freaking crazy dolls coming after you. How believable.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and Mitsuko-san glanced at me. "Oh yeah, I promise that I'll answer every single question that you throw at me after this. But for now, let me do this," she said then winked at me, disappearing in an instant.

I looked around to try and spot her but all I can see is my peers falling to the ground one by one until I was the only one left. Mitsuko-san stood at the middle, smoothing out her orange hair.

"W-what..?"

She sighed. "Later. I have to deal with something right now."

In a heartbeat, she was in front of a giant FLYING squid with a crossbow in hand. But what surprised me more is a barrier looking thing surrounding me and the others. It looked like translucent glass, but I swear I could see something moving within the shards of glass. A crying child, a happy family.. Are these memories?

The glass continued to float around, sometimes bumping into each other. The scenes changed from time to time, and I found myself staring at awe. We all know that what I'm seeing right now is awesome. Superb. Marvelous. Breathtaking. And the list goes on.

Okay, the flying squid almost gave me a heart attack; it surprised me more than the floating shards of what seemed like memories. Just imagine it having the size of a megalodon, or at least around the size of it. With its big ol' eyes staring at you after undergoing REM (Rapid Eye Movement), I can't help but shiver and look away. I kinda feel like I'm in a horror movie. Nothing could surprise me more than.. this.

"Scared?" I looked up at Tachibana-san who had her back turned to me, and I returned a small 'yes'. She chuckled, extended her arm, and snapped her fingers. "Well, scare no more, for I am here!"

I take what I said earlier back. There's something that can surprise me more than flying squids and shifting environment.

Tachibana-san fired her crossbow at the squid. I thought that the attack wouldn't work because a.) it's just one arrow and b.) the arrow looks like it'll break the moment it touches the squid because glass, but then the arrow multiplied. There are literally hundreds of arrows speeding to pierce the squid.

I was about to tell Mitsuko-san that she might do it but she readied her crossbow again. I was puzzled alright. I know that she must be alert because the enemy isn't defeated yet, but surely the arrows at that quantity would kill it, right?

The squid's eyes rolled and stopped at the direction of the arrows. With what seemed like a growl (I'm pretty sure that squids don't do that, but I swear that's what I heard. Maybe. I'm not sure.), it squirted black ink. Black ink! I covered my face in shock and forgot about the barrier protecting us. For a while. When I felt indifferent, I peeked through the gaps in my fingers and saw Mitsuko-san holding out her hand in front of her. I looked around and was terrified to see the melting environment.

"Acid..?" I gasped, thankful of the barrier. Who could've thought that the black ink is acidic?!

I returned my gaze at Mitsuko-san and caught a glimpse of a humongous glass arrow heading towards the middle of the remaining ink.

"Divine Arrow of Punishment."

A deafening scream took over the place and I covered my ears. The scream is so loud that I think my ears are going to bleed. Followed by the sound is the dissipation of the ink, the return of the normal environment, and something small falling from the sky.

The barrier protecting me and the others also disappeared. I looked over at Mitsuko-san to see her change back to her uniform and pick something from the ground. Is that the thing that fell from the sky earlier?

"This is what you call a grief seed," she said as if reading my mind. "Well I guess you can examine that for a bit while I do my work." She tossed me the 'grief seed' before walking to my companions. I want to see what she's planning to do with them, but I also want to take a good look at this thing I'm holding.

With a sigh, I put the 'grief seed' in my pocket and walked over to her. "I think I can examine it some other time," I said. She glanced at me for a second before turning back to the others and nodding.

"So maybe after school or something? This whole magical thing is serious, so teaching you all I know about this will be a few steps taken towards safety," she replied and put her hand on one of my classmate's chest. Her hand emitted an orange glow as her eyes closed and it took her a few minutes before she opened them.

"Umm, what are you doing?"

"Rewriting their memories."

I was sort of surprised by her response. I was expecting her to be more vague but welp, she just told me so bluntly that she has some kind of magic, other than creating cool looking barriers and wielding a crossbow that fires glass.

I let her do her thing and went to look for my stuff. A few feet away from my previous position, I spotted my scattered belongings. Picking them up, I searched for any damage and fortunately found none. They weren't affected by the acid for some reason. I don't even know why they're a bit far away from me. All I can remember is that some of them should at least be near me. Especially the scissors. That's the last thing I held when I defeated the creepy looking dolls.

I shoved my belongings inside my bag and was about to go back when something caught my eye. My head whipped to the direction of the trees and saw something glowing. Something... sea greenish? Before I could confirm it, the glow disappeared, and I was left with an unsettling feeling. I'm not sure yet, but I think...

Someone's spying on us.

***

"Ehhh? What in the world really happened, Yūka?" Yūno whined from beside me. I shot her a look and shook my head.

"I told you, I have no idea either. I was asleep just like you guys," I answered and fiddled with the keychain attached to my bag. "The last thing I remember is tripping and shaming myself."

"Yes!! That!! That's all I could remember too! Weird..."

I gave her sideways glance before letting out a giggle. "Do you think we have some disease or something?" My pacing slowed down as the gate of the school came into view. "Falling asleep in such a place is just unusual and, well, weird."

Yūno grimaced. "Some sleeping disorder, I guess? Ugh, no! No one would like me with that kind of sickness! Who falls asleep in the middle of nowhere?!" She wrapped her arms around her and shivered.

"Not really in the middle of nowhere. I'll be astounded if we survive if we actually did fall asleep," I said, smiling. Yūno huffed from beside me, her face scrunched up in disgust... or is that annoyance? To be honest, I have no idea. She's pretty hard to read, unlike me.

"Yūka!"

Our heads snapped to our left and we saw Hiroyuki running towards us, his brown hair swaying from side to side. I instantly felt the heat rising up to my cheeks and I looked down at the ground, muttering a small 'hello' which thankfully he heard. "Hey Yūno!" Yūno nodded and he turned towards me with a cheeky grin. "Wanna walk home together?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but I remembered Mitsuko-san. Right, I have to meet up with her. Smiling apologetically, I bowed slightly. "Sorry, I can't today. I have to go somewhere."

I saw his face droop for a second before he flashed me a smile. "Too bad. I guess tomorrow could do. Anyways, I hope you have a great day!!" He waved at us before going through the main gate of the school.

I turned to look at Yūno and say that I'll be going on my way but I stopped when I was greeted with a disappointed look. Slowly raising my eyebrow, I asked her with a stoic look, "What?"

She snorted, shaking her head before grumbling. "Seriously, Yūka? I feel bad for your crush." Yūno inhaled sharply, clutching her chest then fake coughing. "He must be hurt."

My eye twitched in annoyance as I tried to calm my racing heart. "First of all, he's not my crush. I would like it if you stopped teasing me about this nonsense," I crossed my fingers and tilted my head to side, "Second, we walk home together everyday. A day when I'm not available like this won't make a difference."

"Yeah right."

Confused by her reply, I furrowed my eyebrows. She blinked a few times before smirking. "Ahh, teens these days. How could someone be so dense and so in denial?"

Dense? In denial? "I don't get what you mean..."

She jabbed her finger into my chest, her face inches away from mine. I squirmed under her stare.

"That! I'm talking about you two!" She leaned back and massaged her temples like a teacher dealing with a troublesome student. "I think everyone that knows you and Hiroyuki knows that you like each other, except for the two of you."

I was left gazing at her. Her words are still processing in my mind. Hiroyuki and I... both like each other? Like? Him? Me? Huhhh....? When the words sank in, I shook my head pretty hard that it made me kinda dizzy.

"Stop messing with my brain, Yūno! There's no way that he likes me! I don't even like him!" I screamed.

"Yeah, you don't like him. You love him. And he loves you too. Awwww." She giggled like an annoying high school girl (well she is) and started chanting possible ship names.

Rolling my eyes, I spun on my heel and walked away, ignoring Yūno's calls that are slowly getting distant. Fortunately, she didn't come after me so I don't have to deal with her childish whines. My feet took me to the entrance of the school where I spotted Mitsuko-san staring at the ground, a few strands of her orange hair tucked behind her ear while being secured by two golden clips.

Putting up a smile, I walked up to her and tapped her shoulder, causing her to look at me. Upon realizing that it's just me, she gestured at me to follow her as we walked out of the school gates.

"So, what happened with your classmates? Your teacher?" She asked, glancing at me from over her shoulder as I walked behind her.

"Well.." My eyes gripped the handle of my bag tightly. "A certain someone kept taunting me with questions. I was scared that I might slip, but luckily, I didn't.." I answered honestly. I'm not really good at lying. I only got away from Yūno because of Hiroyuki..

I saw a glimpse of Mitsuko-san nodding. As we walked in silence, I admired her features. Her orange hair almost looked the same color as the sky during sunset, only a bit darker. Not to mention her golden eyes, they look alive when they're in the light. It's too bright. She is. Much like an idol, unlike me. After all, I'm nobody. Unconsciously, my mouth let out a sigh.

A soft giggle made me look up at Mitsuko-san. I was expecting to see her back, but what greeted me is her beaming face. I blinked and took a few steps back, covering my face with my bag. "W-what are you s-smiling about?" I questioned, peering over my bag while frowning.

"You just compared yourself with me, right?"

Her reply made me stare at her in shock. My eyes cast downward. "N-not really.."

"Look here." Her voice echoed in my ears and once again, I met her gaze. I let my arms rest as I shot her a confused look. "I am who I am. You are who you are," she said, her eyes losing its color for a second that I thought it was my imagination. "We have our strengths and talents, even weaknesses. Don't compare yourself with others, okay? You're unique."

She turned her back against me and started walking again. I heard some incoherent mumbling coming from her. I think I understood some words like 'at least', 'they' and 'to', but those aren't enough for me to get the whole picture.

Shrugging it off, I immediately caught up to her. The walk to her apartment took about 10 minutes. It wasn't that long, but I sure wanted to flop on a couch once we got there. But yeah, manners. I have to be respectful.

Mitsuko-san dug her hand into the pocket of her skirt, fishing out her keys. Once she got them, she unlocked the door, hearing a 'click' before pushing it open. I peeked behind her and saw nothing. Well, I guess it was dark.

"Come on." She ushered me inside as she turned on the lights, illuminating the room. Surprisingly, it was pretty big and neat. We left our shoes at the front door as I muttered a small "Pardon the intrusion.." before heading inside. Mitsuko led me to the living room and I sat on the couch, instantly feeling relaxed because of the softness of it.

"Welcome to my apartment." She grinned and outstretched her arm, showing me the place. "This is the first time I invited someone over so I don't really know how this hospitable treatment works."

I waved my hand as if to tell her 'It's fine' but she pouted. "No," she said sternly. "You're a guest. I must make you feel at home." Her eyes scanned the area. I can only sweatdrop as she clapped her hands suddenly.

"Hold on, I'll make us some tea. What would you like?"

"Uhh.. Anything's fine I guess.." I replied. She looked unsatisfied with my response but said nothing and walked to the direction of what I would guess is the kitchen. Patiently waiting for her return, I swung my legs back and forth, my eyes taking in the sight of the living room.

The room was pretty wide. In front of me is an oval-shaped glass table. At the center is a vase filled with petunias. The colorful flowers succeeded in making the room more warm and cheerful, making me smile. Aside from the petunias, the cabinets on the yellow striped walls also have different flowers in them, arranged beautifully, with each color complimenting each other.

My eyes travelled to the smart TV attached at the wall in front. I think it was about 52 inches, and I gaped. Ours is 43 inches so this is just wow. Below it is another cabinet, filled with things such as speakers and the remote. But what caught my attention is the three picture frames.

Standing up, I got closer and leaned to take a better look at the pictures. The first picture is a girl with her orange hair tied in pigtails while holding a chubby cat. The cat kinda looked like a cartoon I saw before. I think the name was Garfield or something. Looking at the girl again, I can't help but chuckle at the sight. She looks so happy.

Must be Mitsuko-san, I thought. Moving to the next picture, I blinked at the sight of a new face. It's a boy with unnatural white hair and dark pink eyes. He was holding the hand of the same girl in the first picture, only they look a bit older. The girl's hair is longer and is now tied in a ponytail. They both look messy, being covered in mud and all. I let out a short chortle and moved to the last picture. This time, the girl is standing between two adults. A woman and a man. Could these be Mitsuko-san's parents? It seems that Mitsuko-san got her features from her mother, who had the same color of hair and orbs. Her father, with his brown hair and eyes, looks gentle and protective. I bet her parents are really caring and loving.

"Yūka?"

I whipped my head to see Mitsuko-san holding out a tray with a kettle, coasters and tea cups. She set them down on the table as her gaze landed on the pictures. "Oh.. You're looking at that, huh?"

I immediately went back to the sofa and sat down, muttering an apology. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.." I put my fore fingers together as she poured the tea unto the cups.

"No, it's okay. They're just pictures. What's the deal?" She chuckled. I don't know if it's just me, but her laugh sounded rather dry. They're hollow and just, um, forced. I wonder why?

"Mitsuko-san, if you don't mind me asking..." My voice trailed off as my fingers traced the tip of the cup. Mitsuko-san sipped her tea beside me, her eyes looking at me as if to say 'Go on.'

I took a deep breath. "Where... Where are your parents?"

She flinched, averting my gaze. She set the tea cup on the coaster, her lips parting and closing occassionally as if she's hesitant to reply. Catching up to her silence, I was about to tell her that it's fine to not answer when she cut me off."They're abroad.." Her voice sounded heavy, her eyes losing the spark in them. The bright golden color is fading, replaced by something close to bronze.

I don't have to be good at reading people to know that her parents are a touchy subject for Mitsuko-san. Careful to keep the thought in mind, I changed the topic. "So... Uhh, what about the magic thing?"

She ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath before facing me. The sharp look she gave me made me gulp and she noticed, so she leaned back. "Listen carefully."

I nodded to show that I'm all ears. Her eyes travelled from the tea cup then to me, before she sighed. "I want you to know that what I'm about to reveal is no joking matter. After all, death is part of the deal."

=====
You know a deal that doesn't include death? Voting!!

*le inhala* *le exhala* I'M TERRIBLY SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR MONTHS! It's true that it was hell week when I posted that I wouldn't be able to update but guess what? Writer's block hit me like a truck right after. And then, there's another hell week. *sobs* And because I wasn't able to attend school for 3 days, I missed a ton of tests, quizzes and homeworks, and not only that. Because of my terrible habit of procrastination, I have two more researches left. I haven't even started yet on either. Then there's the finals week. I'm really, really sorry. I hope I can make up to you guys with this chapter.

~Kazumi_Nyay624