I WAITED FOR THE CARS to pass before crossing the street. I wasn't sure if I had this right, but I tried to recall Ray's voice. If my memory served me correctly, he'd told everyone to meet at this place.

Plaza—check.

Fountain—check.

I glanced at my phone (it was just before 9:30). I was early and nervous... The five of us were about to meet for the first time in real life.

The fountain shower billowed into the basin below, its shape reminding me of a willow tree as I walked around it, while fresh droplets bounced across the air like glitter. Someone with silvery hair was sitting on the other side of the fountain bench with his eyes closed. The devices in his ears told me he wanted to shut the world out, yet I could not ignore him. I mustered the courage to step closer when he suddenly looked up. In an instant, I saw the image of Subaru from two nights ago, his eyes shining in the dark, but something was different.

"Subaru? Is that you?" I stood there mystified as he tilted his head, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Who else would it be?"

"But your eyes..." I trailed off, looking at them.

A grimace flashed across his face, but he fixed his expression immediately, and I was reminded of how he'd hid his eyes before, that he didn't like talking about them. That much remained true.

"Sit down." Subaru calmly patted the space next to him, so I took a seat. I wondered how long he'd been here.

"I've been anxious all morning. I couldn't stay still, so I'm here early," I admitted, changing the subject. "What about you?"

"I made an excuse to go out," he said, his gaze downcast. "It feels a bit uncomfortable staying at home."

"Do you have trouble with your parents?"

Subaru crossed his legs. "No, nothing like that..."

I guess he just doesn't like being at home. I wondered if it had anything to do with him not liking his eyes. What had happened to make him so self-conscious about them? I gazed at his left eye, the one I knew to be naturally blue, and then the other. They were so captivating. Subaru looked back at me, clearly unsettled.

"What?"

"N-Nothing. It's just that..." He's wearing a coloured contact lens, isn't he? "I know it's a touchy subject for you, but I really like your eyes, Subaru. Your real ones are beautiful just the way they are."

Without really saying anything, Subaru ogled me, his gaze growing even more intense. He needed to stop looking at me like that! But before I could say so, my stomach rumbled, and my eyes bulged at the loud reminder that I had forgotten to eat breakfast in my haste. I glanced over to see Subaru covering his mouth with the back of his hand as if to contain his chuckling.

"Oh, come on. It's not something to laugh about!"

My cheeks reddened and I pursed my lips in a pout, bending over to hide my belly. But then, instead of keeping it in any longer, Subaru let out a hearty laugh.

"I've never heard a stomach growl so loudly before! It's interesting."

His words come out with a hint of a smile. I was morbidly embarrassed, but Subaru's laugh was so genuine that I watched him in awe; I'd never seen him smile before let alone laugh. He was so cute when he did that suddenly I couldn't help but giggle, and he looked at me as if surprised for a moment before quickly retracting his smile.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing..."

"Let's go," he said unexpectedly.

"Where are we going?"

I looked around, but I couldn't figure out what he meant. Subaru jerked his chin up to point to the café across the street.

"I'd like to get a bite," he said as he shifted his weight and stood up. "Do you feel like joining me?"

His last sentence was quiet, somewhat reserved, and I blinked a few times noting some redness in his cheeks. Is he shy? Why was that so cute? Somehow, he had always come across as listless, but I could see now that there were many more sides to him. I wondered what else I would learn if I went with him, but I also worried we might miss Licht, Ray, and Thoma. I bit my lip as my stomach grumbled again like it was choosing for me.

"Can't hide it now, can I? I really am hungry."

Subaru read my concern. "There's still some time before the others show up, so let's go."

Before my gut could protest any further, we crossed over the pale red bricks of the plaza, to the café. The atmosphere of the place was bright and welcoming, and there weren't too many people there, though the hum of private conversations occupied the room. We sat where it was a little quieter, and before long, a waiter came by. Subaru did the honours of placing our orders.

The waiter returned a while later and set a huge dish in front of Subaru.

"One large breakfast plate, here. And, a latte with extra sugar for the lady," he said and left us to enjoy.

Subaru stared at the food with interest. It was a large breakfast of half a baguette, two bacon strips, scrambled eggs, and coleslaw, with sweet potato wedges on the side.

"This is yours, right?"

I laughed sheepishly as Subaru grabbed the latte in front of me. I reached for the plate that was supposed to have been mine to begin with, only Subaru reached for it at the same time. In that split second, our fingers touched. I could feel the slight flush of heat across my face, and I became so awkward, like this was a date or something. But I snapped out of it promptly, dismissing those thoughts.

"Umm, let me," said Subaru.

"Oh, thanks." I retracted my hand and watched him slide the plate across the table. "I thought you said you wanted something to eat. You only ordered a drink."

"I'm fine with this," he smiled slightly.

This makes me look like I eat a lot! I mean, I do, but still!

"Why aren't you eating?" Subaru asked and proceeded to dump the extra sugar into his drink. So, Subaru has a sweet tooth, huh?

I pressed my lips together and forked up a sweet potato wedge. "Oh man, this is so good!"

Subaru let out a chuckle. Noticing my childish behaviour, I put my fork back down, but he encouraged me to eat.

"I'm not going to make fun of you if that's what you're thinking."

"I didn't think of it that way."

"I like that you're honest," he said.

"Wh-What?"

Subaru took a sip of his coffee. I watched him lick his lips before he set the cup back into place. "I think it's great that you don't put up a front. You're able to just be yourself."

I appreciated the compliment, but I could not help wondering if that meant Subaru wasn't able to be himself. I supposed it shouldn't have come as a surprise given how he felt about his eyes, but it made me sad just thinking about it.

"I happen to like people who can be themselves," he smiled at me suddenly, and a bolt shot through my chest.

Does Subaru realise he's a lady killer?

Unable to respond, I focussed on the yummy meal in front of me. After we finished, Subaru settled our bill—he insisted—and we headed back to the fountain. We arrived with a minute to spare, and at 10:00 on the dot Ray showed up. There was no mistaking him, even from afar, with his fiery hair and signature university jacket.

"Is it just you two?" he asked.

"It seems so." He's getting straight down to business.

Ray clicked his tongue and looked at his watch. It had only been a few minutes, but Ray was already impatient—seeing as he'd come right on time, I could guess that he hated to be kept waiting. He didn't even sit down. Subaru, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind.

"Seriously, which part of ten in the morning didn't they understand?"

"Let's wait a bit longer," I said. "I'm sure they'll be here."

As Ray folded his arms, I leaned forward from the fountain to get a better look at him. He seemed very similar to the Ray I knew in The Nightmare. Well, of course, he was the same person, but the atmosphere surrounding him now... seemed to change him. Maybe it was just the soft blue of the sky against his red hair, or the sunlight bouncing off his eyelashes.

"Gosh, we're wasting time," he griped. Yup, this is definitely Ray. "Let's go."

Ray turned to leave, but as Subaru and I stood up, we heard a voice in the distance.

"Heeeey!"

"Is that Thoma?" I asked.

Honey brown hair, denim jacket, red chequered shirt tied around the waist of his black tee and trousers. Thoma dashed towards us, his bright smile even more magnificent in the light of day. He halted when he reached us, doubling over as he caught his breath.

"Were you really going to leave without me?"

"You're late," said Ray pointedly.

"Just by ten minutes, jeez!"

"Hey, Thoma," I greeted him with a smile, hoping he could forget about Ray's rudeness. "I knew you'd show up."

Thoma laughed, standing up straight and fixing his fringe. I'd never really paid attention to how beautiful his hair was, or how he had a section of it tied up into a short ponytail. Still, Thoma wasn't any different than he was in the nightmare world; he was still as hyper as ever. It felt kind of obnoxious under the circumstances, but his presence always lightened the mood.

"Wow, look at you guys," he puffed. "I can't believe we're all here."

But we weren't all here.

"What about Licht?" I piped up, and they looked at me. "You didn't forget, did you? We should wait for him, too."

"Hey! So, you'll wait for Licht, but you weren't going to wait for me? Wow, Ziya. I see how it is."

"Okay, okay." Playing along with Thoma's sarcasm, I lightly patted him on the cheek.

We agreed to wait for Licht in the park for an hour. But he didn't show.

"I guess it's no use waiting for someone we're not sure is coming," said Ray. "We only met him last night and we didn't get much from him either."

"He could be dead," muttered Subaru.

"C-Come on, don't say stuff like that." My eyes widened at him, my voice shaking when I spoke.

"It's not impossible."

Thoma hummed. "If he died, we would've heard about it on the news this morning."

That's true. His words offered me some semblance of relief.

"Well, whatever the case," chimed Ray, "we've got stuff to do. If he's just being lazy about coming here, then we should get moving without him."

Ray walked off and we all followed after him. I didn't think that was the case about Licht, at least, I hoped it wasn't. But what was it then? I couldn't understand why he hadn't met us at the plaza. I couldn't understand a lot of things about him, like how he'd known my name, or how I felt as though I should have known his. His eyes were violet, I should have remembered them. But then, I'd felt the same way about Subaru.

We ended up at Ray's house—a stretch of freshly mown grass led us from the gate to the front door. Inside, Ray took us into the living room and asked us to wait there as he started off in another direction.

"Wow, you sure got a nice place here, Ray," said Thoma. The room looked pretty clean. "Do you live alone?"

Ray just passed us by and went across the hallway. Subaru looked around, seeming particularly interested in the bookshelf. Though I felt almost too nervous to look at anything, I took in my immediate surroundings: around a glass coffee table were three long, white couches, which could probably seat about four people each in front of the grand wooden wall unit that framed the flat-screen and speaker system. Then, there were the bookshelves, stocked with an assortment of reading material and mementos that had Subaru and Thoma's full attention. The entire suite was squared out and contemporary—clean.

"Oh, look, he was so cute when he was little," said Thoma when he picked up a framed photo.

"Ooh, you're right! Look at those cheeks!" I leaned over and studied the picture: a smiling woman standing beside a young boy with a determined smirk. "Is this his mom?"

But Thoma's hands began to tremble slightly. "We, uh, better put this back."

"Thoma?" For a second, I could have sworn there was a small, sad look on his face.

"I get it already," Ray's voice came from afar, and we turned to see a woman alongside him, dragging a suitcase down the corridor.

"I'll call you in the morning, alright?"

"Mm-hmm. Have a safe trip," he smiled so gently. That's new.

The woman noticed us and stopped in her tracks. She was the woman from the picture, Ray's mother, though her ebony hair fell longer now than it used to.

"These are the people I told you about."

"Oh, hello," she said pleasantly. "It's not often that Ray brings his friends over. Unfortunately, I'm on my way out for a business trip, but make yourselves at home, alright?"

"And you better get going or you'll miss the train," Ray shooed her playfully, helping her on her way out.

How sweet. The scene warmed my heart, reminding me of my own life at home. Even if we ended up like adventurers in the nightmare world, we were still just someone's kids.

"Must be nice," Subaru's sudden comment made me glance over. It was almost inaudible, but I couldn't miss it.

I thought about our short talk at the fountain—I hoped that someday he'd find a place where he felt safe to be himself.

As soon as Ray came back to the living room, Thoma locked his arms around Ray's neck. "Aww! I didn't know you were such a mama's boy."

"Hey, let go of me!" Ray scowled, and Thoma obliged with a cackle.

Ray fixed his hair as he dropped to the sofa. "Alright, now I believe we have things to talk about."

"Why are you so serious again?" asked Thoma. "Didn't you bring us here to celebrate the joy of living?"

Ray's eyes went dark. "We'll have no life to celebrate if we can't figure out how to escape our nightmares."

"Your mom was in such a hurry, we didn't get to say goodbye," I thought out loud.

"Yeah, about that," Ray began, bringing his thumb to his lips. "She's not actually my real mom. I don't have a dad, by the way. She lost her husband before I entered the picture."

"You were adopted," said Subaru, who had remained by the bookshelf all this time.

The pair of them sounded so calm, matter-of-fact like they were talking about the weather or something.

"Why are you suddenly bringing that up?" asked Thoma solemnly.

"Because if my hunch is right, the same goes for all of you."

Ray's saying we're all adopted? The suddenness of it stupefied me. I wanted to convince myself that he was wrong, that my real mom and dad had raised me, but I stopped myself. I guess I wouldn't know for sure...

"You can't just go telling people they're adopted, Ray," said Thoma. "Why would you even think that in the first place?"

"You yourselves admitted to not having any childhood memories."

"That still doesn't mean..." Thoma trailed off as Ray folded his arms.

"Subaru seems to agree with me."

I bit my lip, glancing at Subaru, who quietly listened to the conversation. Was that why he seemed so hesitant to talk about his parents? Because he knew they were not his real family?

"To some degree, it makes sense," he said. "We're all without a past. Ray and I know we've been adopted. There's the orphanage, too. There's a 50% probability it's all related to the nightmare we've been having."

The revelation hit me hard. In an instant, my parents' faces flashed into my mind. We were happy, weren't we? I'd always wondered about my past, but I'd never considered that I might have been adopted.

"Ziya?" Subaru called me back to reality before I could drown in all the memories of the Christmases and birthdays and family gatherings with people with whom I might not share any blood.

It was overwhelming, but, they had still been with me all my life—the only family I'd ever known. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I don't know if it's true or not."

As I considered the possibility, Thoma gritted his teeth. It was hitting him just as hard, if not harder. I lightly tugged at his sleeve and uttered his name.

"If it's true, then..." he paused. "Where did we come from? Why were we at the orphanage?"

"You don't have to accept it right away. We don't know for sure yet," said Ray. His gaze softened as he looked at us. "But if it's true, it might just be the key to solving these nightmares."

"I understand." Ray's usually abrasive with his words, but he knows this is a lot to take in.

I started to think of Mom and Dad, the ones who had raised me. If they weren't my parents, who were they? Did they know my birth parents? Were they dead? Perhaps the trauma of losing them was the reason behind my amnesia... I probably should find out for sure, when I see them later.

But I couldn't bring myself to ask.