Chapter 2: It Began, Prefaced as “The End”

Chapter 2: It Began, Prefaced as “The End”

“Thank you for all of your hard work, everyone... This will be the last time.”

Yaegashi Taichi sat in Rec Hall Room 401 with his four other fellow second-years. The two first-years were absent that day. And as it happened, that was the day «Heartseed» turned up, almost as if it had planned it—oh, who am I kidding? Of course it planned it, Taichi thought.

Just two days had passed since they’d been given their career planning surveys.

“Sorry, uh... what?” Nagase Iori asked, blinking.

“I said... thank you for all of your hard work...”

“The second part, you shit-for-brains!” Inaba Himeko roared.

“Oh... I believe I said... this will be the last time... Yes, that sounds about right...”

As usual, it spoke in a lethargic drone, piloting the body of physics teacher Gotou Ryuuzen. Unlike the normal Gotou, however, something about it screamed inhuman . Indeed, this was not Gotou—this was a different entity entirely. An entity of unknown origin that had foisted countless otherworldly phenomena upon the Cultural Research Club. An entity known to them only as «Heartseed».

“What do you mean, the last time...?!”

“Well, Kiriyama-san... It means exactly what it sounds like, I would imagine...”

“Okay, but... the last time for what? ” Kiriyama Yui replied in a shaky voice.

Beside her, Aoki Yoshifumi leaned forward, as if to shield her. “We’re not gonna buy that crap from some apathetic liar like you!”

“I beg your pardon, Aoki-san...? At what point did I ever lie to you...? Maybe I left out crucial details... or dodged a few questions... but believe it or not, I actually haven’t lied to you... No, wait... I apologize... I actually have lied quite a bit... especially near the beginning...”

“Are you here to jerk us around again?” Taichi asked coldly.

During the last phenomenon, «Heartseed» had only made contact with the two first-years. As such, it had been nearly six months since the five of them last spoke to it. Not to suggest they missed talking to it, mind you. Its presence always triggered painful memories and deep-seated contempt.

They’d all tried their best not to think about it—to put it behind them and get over it—but when faced with «Heartseed»’s half-lidded eyes, slumped shoulders, and utter lifelessness, it all came rushing back.

“Let’s all take a second and calm down,” Inaba said quietly.

She let out a long breath, and Taichi intuited that she was trying her best to keep her composure despite the burning rage she clearly felt inside. Glancing around, he could tell that the others had caught on to this, too. Together, they wordlessly agreed to let Inaba take the reins for now. The moment it looked like she needed them, they would be there.

“...So, what’s the deal with this ‘last time’ shit? Why now?”

“Oh... Well, you see... My work here has come to an end, that’s all...”

“So you’re done, but «The Second» or whoever else might not be? Is that it?”

“No... Chances of that are... nil... most likely...”

“So you’re saying there is a chance!” Nagase snapped before she could stop herself.

“Look, maybe you could just trust me on this... Well... Given what you’ve been through, Nagase-san, I understand that might be a tall order... Regardless, I think you’ve all... worked hard enough for one lifetime. So this last round will be... yes, that’s it... a bonus stage...”

“You know, the word ‘bonus’ generally implies something good . And given your track record, I’m not getting my fucking hopes up.”

“We don’t want your stupid bonus stage! Just leave us alone!” Kiriyama shrieked.

Inaba clucked her tongue in frustration. “So, is this new phenomenon already active? Because we haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.”

“Oh god... Did you do something to our kouhai again...?” Taichi whispered as a chill shot down his spine.

“Relax, you two... It hasn’t started yet...”

«Heartseed»’s lip curled in an amused smirk. Amused . Today, for once, this typically inscrutable entity was emoting .

“But it’s about to.”

This was the first time «Heartseed» had ever warned them in advance. Over time it had adapted its tactics, and as a result, «Heartseed» itself had changed ever so slightly. But now all those tiny changes had added up, and for some reason, Taichi had a feeling that they’d created something brand new.

“For the record... this won’t impact any of you...”

“...What? Then why bother telling us?” Inaba asked, staring blankly.

“Well, obviously... to give you your bonus stage... Anyway, I’m getting tired of dealing with you, so... I’m just going to give you the rundown...”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot what an unrepentant asshole you are.”

Only a few meters separated the CRC in their chairs from «Heartseed» standing at the door... but as with heaven and earth, that gulf could never hope to be closed.

“This time around... you will have dream-like visions... in which you see the hopes and dreams of other people... more or less...”

“We’re going to have dreams... of other people’s dreams?” Nagase repeats skeptically.

“Oh... I suppose that sounds a tad confusing... Basically, you will have visions... of other people’s wishes... be it future ambitions... or short-term desires... Hence, dreams of dreams...”

Its explanation was patronizing to the point of outright condescension.

“To put it simply... I figured I’d show you images of people’s hopes for the future... completely at random, of course... Oh... Not just images, but sound as well... Similar to the sort of dream you might have in your sleep...”

“So we’re going to have dream-like ‘visions’ of other people’s desires... Sort of sounds like the Sentiment Transmission, in a way... except instead of feeling other people’s feelings, now we’re dreaming their dreams...” Inaba mused. Despite her clear distaste for all things «Heartseed», she was already hard at work analyzing and digesting this new information. “On top of that, these ‘dreams’ will run the gamut from future ambitions to short-term desires... Look, pal, I don’t think you’re gonna wring anything more out of us with some half-assed Sentiment Transmission knockoff.”

“Exactly! We’re stronger than that now!” Nagase chimed in.

“No... You misunderstand... Perhaps I should have been more clear... When I say ‘other people’... I don’t mean your fellow club members... I’m referring to... everyone in this school.”

“What? No... Y-You’re joking... You can’t be serious...!” Kiriyama sputtered, wrapping an arm protectively around herself.

By the time Taichi’s brain finished processing this, his body was trembling in fear.

“You will see the dreams of everyone who attends this school... with the exception of yourselves... Oh, and... Uwa-san and Enjouji-san are exempt as well... seeing as they already associated with me once... Oh, but... I suppose you already knew that... Okay... I’m done...” «Heartseed» continued, in a tone that utterly lacked the appropriate level of gravitas.

Apparently the five of them would now suffer visions of someone else’s hopes and dreams for the future—mainly in image format with some accompanying sound—popping up randomly in their minds. Supposedly it would be easy to tell once the phenomenon struck.

These visions would include both short-term and long-term desires, but for the most part, the dreams themselves would feature desires the subject was actively preoccupied with. Only the five second-years of the CRC would be able to have these visions, and the subject of said visions could be anyone at Yamaboshi except for the seven current members of the CRC. When asked if this would apply to teachers, «Heartseed» responded vaguely: “Oh... Well, probably...?”

It was also possible for multiple people to see the same vision. These visions would be completely randomized regarding when they struck and who they featured, but allegedly it would be comparatively easier to see visions of those nearby. And if someone wanted to see a vision of a specific person—or if that person was simply on their mind—that would also potentially increase their chances of “dreaming” about them.

“So... now that I’ve given you a fairly thorough explanation... as you can see... you have nothing to fear... It’s the perfect bonus stage... Yes, how lovely...”

«Heartseed» had a point there; nothing about this seemed directly threatening, per se. But Taichi still didn’t like the idea of it using people outside the CRC as part of the phenomenon.

“You are free to use this power... however you wish... This is the end, so... I intend to observe as closely as I can...”

“What do you mean by that?” Taichi asked.

“Well... as close as I can possibly get... It’s the last time, after all...”

At this point, with the way it kept repeating “the end” and “the last time,” it was starting to feel like it actually meant it.

“Depending on how you use it... you could accomplish wonderful things... but rest assured... this time, you don’t have to worry about... ‘entertaining’ me...”

We don’t? But wasn’t that your goal?

“And if you wish... I’ll consider expanding the limits of the people you can dream about... Consider it a sort of... token of my gratitude... for all the fascinating things I’ve witnessed thus far...” It spread its arms out wide—a gesture that would’ve been dramatic if it hadn’t been so sluggish.

Taichi wasn’t angry, nor was he frightened. He simply felt distinctly uncomfortable.

«Heartseed» claimed this was the last time. It didn’t seem to want to cause trouble for them... and it was spreading its influence to people outside of the club.

Looking around, Taichi could see that the others were similarly struggling to process this... well, except for one.

Inaba Himeko sat with her arms crossed, her posture perfectly straight, her head held high—looking up at «Heartseed», but looking down on it at the same time. Of course . Inaba was always one step ahead of the game. Taichi felt bad for putting all the heavy lifting on her, but at the same time, she was the best fit for the job.

“Whatever,” Inaba scoffed coldly. She and the entity stared each other down for a moment, but Inaba didn’t flinch. “Oh yeah, almost forgot to ask. Will these people know that we’ve dreamed about them?”

“No... they won’t...”

“Figured as much. Otherwise you’d have one hell of a time keeping everyone quiet,” she replied smugly.

“You seem to be enjoying this quite a bit, Inaba-san...”

How did it make «Heartseed» feel to get a taste of its own medicine?

“I just pity you and your stupidity, that’s all. Honestly... To think you’d try to saddle us with such a total non-issue.”

“I see... Perhaps I should have expected someone of your caliber to catch on so quickly... but still... did you really think I wouldn’t be aware of that...?”

“You’re just embarrassed that I caught you with your pants down.”

“Am I...?”

Once again, the two of them silently glared daggers at one another. An intense battle was playing out somewhere beyond Taichi’s understanding. Then «Heartseed» looked away, its gaze drifting to each of the other four.

“Well then... since Inaba-san has such a strong grasp of the situation... I’ll be going now...”

Once again, the entity refused to admit defeat, even once. Inaba scowled, but «Heartseed» promptly turned its back on her and put its hand on the doorknob.

“Hey! One last thing: when will this be over?” Inaba asked.

“Who knows...? I’ll be seeing you again before long...”

And with that, it was gone.

“...D-Do you really think this’ll be the last time?” Kiriyama asked, breaking the silence that lingered after «Heartseed» had left the clubroom.

“I find it hard to believe, but... I can’t see why it would bother lying to us at this stage,” Nagase replied.

“Wait, so... one more phenomenon, and then we can kiss «Heartseed» goodbye? Is it time to throw a party, or something?” Aoki made no attempt to hide his uncertainty.

“Dreaming other people’s dreams... What on earth would we call this one, anyway?” Taichi mused, having already resigned himself to his fate.

None of them showed any signs of fear. They were ready to face what came next. That was the strength this past year of oddities had given them.

“Hmph... You wanna name it?” Inaba scoffed. “Alright, fine. Let’s see... Watching other people’s dreams... without their permission... peeping Tom... no, X-ray vision... Okay, how about ‘Dream Vision’?”

“Works for me... Ugh, it’s really not safe to get other people involved in this,” Kiriyama sighed.

“Seriously,” Aoki agreed. “Seven is already a lot of people, but now it wants to screw with the whole school? That’s one heck of a jump!”

“We’ll really need to be careful. Now more than ever,” Taichi murmured.

They had the strength to rise to the challenge, but it was still uncomfortably heavy. How could they possibly handle a phenomenon that would affect hundreds of people? The thought alone was enough to make Taichi shiver.

“Alright, guys. We’re going to be holding the fate of other people’s lives in our hands, and that’s serious business... which is why we need to start brainstorming our strategy!” Nagase declared in her most cheerful voice, as if to shoo the doom and gloom from the room.

“That won’t be necessary,” Inaba replied without hesitation.

“Okay, so—wait, what?” Aoki slumped his shoulders. “We don’t need to? ¿Por qué? ”

“«Heartseed» was right; this is a bonus stage. Don’t you get it?”

“Uhhh... No, I’m not sure I do,” Taichi replied quizzically.

“Even if the phenomenon happens, nothing has to happen .” Inaba tapped the table with her index finger. “Think about it. Say it strikes, and we have a Vision of someone’s Dream or whatever. They don’t know we saw it. And you know what that means?” Her eyes hardened with powerful resolve. “We do nothing, and it’ll be like we never saw it in the first place.”

“Wait, so, like... you want us to just ignore it?” Kiriyama asked.

“Damn right. Until now, the phenomena were contained within the club, and we’d all know when it was happening. But the rules are different this time. With Dream Vision, no one will ever find out that we saw. So what problems does it create? None.”

She clearly had a lot to say on the subject... perhaps a little too much.

“I mean, sure, there’s a chance we’ll learn something that will make it hard to interact with that person, but we just have to suck it up. All we have to do is endure it.”

She didn’t even pause to take a breath.

“The thing about bonus stages is that they’re optional . Which means we don’t have to do a goddamn thing. Hell, we didn’t even need to pick a name.”

It was a perfectly sound argument... There were no flaws in her logic... and yet...

“So obviously there’s only one real option here.”

...why did it feel like she was in a rush to end the conversation?

“We do nothing. We don’t let the Dream Vision start shit.”

“S-Slow down a sec, Inaban! We don’t have to rush to a conclusion!” Evidently Nagase was of the same mind as Taichi.

“I’m not rushing. There’s simply no other option here. Are you really going to argue that we should get more people involved? After everything we’ve been through?”

“...Well, no. That’s the one thing we’ve been trying to avoid at all costs.”

“Right. And if we take action based on the information these Visions give us, we’ll be making things happen that never would have otherwise. And in doing so, we’ll be breaking our own rules. Are you following me, Yui? Not even going to bother asking Aoki.”

“Hmm... Yeah, I’m with you... I think...”

“Wow, rude much?! I mean, you’re not wrong, but still!”

“Okay, hold on a minute.” Instead of this one-woman show, Taichi wanted to give the others a chance to think it through. “Obviously we haven’t experienced these Visions yet, so it’s hard to say what they’re like, but... suppose they inform us of something really dangerous that’s going to happen. You want us to ignore that?”

“They’re not visions of the future, so I don’t think that would ever happen, but I’ll bite. Supposing that we found ourselves in those circumstances...”

For the first time in what felt like forever—at least since the two of them became an item—Inaba fixed Taichi with a steely, dispassionate gaze.

“...Yes, we should ignore it.”

“What? Surely we can make an exception for, like, actual emergencies!” Kiriyama shouted.

“That’s a slippery slope. If we use the supernatural to change something, we’re essentially rewriting fate itself, don’t you think?”

There was no counter-argument.

“So like I said, there’s only one option,” Inaba continued. “Do nothing.”

□■□■□

After some more debate, club activities ended for the day, and Inaba left the clubroom without waiting for anyone.

“Inaba! Wait! Sorry, guys, but I gotta go,” Taichi told the others right before he raced out of the room.

It was Inaba who had declared club activities to be over—right after shooting down a proposal to wait until a Vision occurred before making any final decisions.

She was speed-walking so fast, she was practically running, but Taichi managed to catch up to her just outside the Rec Hall.

“Hey! Why are you in such a rush, Inaba?!”

But when he grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her back to face him—he nearly let out a gasp. Her eyes were shining with tears, and something inside him told him he needed to be there for her.

“You were really scared when «Heartseed» turned up, weren’t you?”

“Did I... do a good job back there?” Inaba choked, clinging to Taichi’s uniform. He put his hand on hers.

“Of course you did. God knows I wouldn’t have been able to process it that fast. But you figured out the most crucial elements of the Dream Vision, just like that. You’re incredible, Inaba.”

They hadn’t seen «Heartseed» in months, and Inaba wrestled with anxiety on a daily basis... but because no one else could hold a candle to her powers of analysis, she had no choice but to stand at the helm herself. That was her burden, and it could be highly stressful at times.

“I’m pretty sure my logic is airtight... but «Heartseed» implied it’s already taken that into consideration... so I’ve got to be missing something...”

“You’ve done more than enough, Inaba. If you missed something, then none of us were ever going to catch it anyway. We’ll all figure it out together.”

“But I’ve been feeling so pathetic lately...”

“Pathetic? The Inaba I know is a total badass,” Taichi replied with a smile, hoping to nip her negative spiral in the bud.

“No!” she shouted back. “Ever since we started dating, I’ve been so—!” Suddenly she froze, eyes wide, then buried her face in Taichi’s chest. “I’m sorry. That asshole just showed up out of nowhere, and it freaked me out, and now I’m all worked up... Forgive me...”

“Okay. I forgive you.”

He tried to put his arms around her, but she quickly pulled away.

“Haha... What a stupid conversation,” Inaba joked halfheartedly. Taichi was proud of her for pulling herself together so quickly, but at the same time, he wished she would’ve let him console her a little.

She turned away and started walking. “Yeah, it’s gonna be fine,” she said aloud, like she was trying to reassure herself. “As long as it wasn’t lying to us, absolutely nothing will happen.”

Taichi started to tell her she was right—

“And even if something does happen, all we have to do is ignore it.”

Ignore it . No matter what happens... ignore it? Do nothing? Let them suffer?

Considering the Dream Vision hadn’t even struck them yet, they didn’t really know what they were dealing with, and so Taichi had taken her proposal with a grain of salt. But upon further reflection, her suggested strategy sounded kind of... monstrous?

“You can do that, right, Taichi?” Inaba asked, glancing over at him... but he was no longer walking beside her. He was standing behind her, staring after her. “Huh? Taichi?”

Realizing he wasn’t following her, she quickly came to a stop. Just then, he snapped to his senses and raced back to her side.

“I’m doing the right thing... aren’t I?” Inaba asked, though whether to him or to herself, he wasn’t certain.

But either way, Taichi couldn’t find it in him to agree or even ask her to go into detail. He simply stayed silent.

□■□■□

On his way home, Taichi felt completely restless. There was no telling when «Heartseed»’s new phenomenon, Dream Vision, would strike. They’d all agreed to send an email out at the first sign of anything unusual. No word from anyone yet.

He rounded the corner and turned onto his street. Almost home, he thought. What a relief. Soon he wouldn’t have to worry about some mystery vision assaulting him while he was out in public.

“Haah... haah... What the?”

He heard a voice, and out of the corner of his vision, he could see someone else standing on the sidewalk. He glanced over... to find a familiar girl standing there, her hair tied back and bangs pinned up.

“What? Fujishima? What are you doing here?”

Sure enough, it was Fujishima Maiko, the former Apostle of Love who had lost the class presidential race in their second year. And while it had crushed her to lose her title, as of late she was slowly but surely pulling herself together. She was in full workout mode, wearing a long-sleeved white tracksuit and sporting anti-slip ear grips on her trademark glasses.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m jogging.” She grabbed the towel hanging from her neck and dabbed at her sweat.

“Jogging? Oh... Exercising. Right. Isn’t your house kinda far from here?”

“Yeah, I’ve traveled quite a ways. I take a different route each day, you see... Anyway, much as I’d love to stop and chat, I’d better get going. You don’t mind, do you?” She bounced impatiently on her heels.

“Right. Sorry for interrupting. See you at school.” She was clearly eager to get back to her workout, and he wasn’t about to stop her.

“S-See you!” And with that, Fujishima hurried past him and down the street.

But just as Taichi was musing to himself about her rigorous dedication... his sight blurred. Suddenly he was seeing double—hearing double. It was unlike anything he’d ever experienced, and he couldn’t escape.

[There’s a girl. It’s Fujishima. She’s standing in front of a door. The door has a placard with a stick figure of a woman on it. Fujishima rushes through the door, runs into a stall, pulls down her pants, and—]

“Wh... What was that...?” Taichi mumbled to himself without realizing. Then a wave of dizziness washed over him. “Nngh...!” He pressed a hand to his forehead.

The vivid imagery replayed in his mind. It was like a spontaneous daydream—gone in an instant. Barely any time had passed; nothing around him had changed... and yet the memory of what he saw (and heard) still lingered. Well, to an extent, anyway. A lot of it was fuzzy.

One thing he was sure of: that was not something he imagined of his own accord. He felt violated, like someone had stuffed a videotape into a VCR in his brain and hit Play without his permission. In no way was that anything like a normal daydream.

No, there was only one conclusion to be drawn from this. A conclusion that fit way too perfectly. It was «Heartseed»’s Dream Vision.

Taichi glanced over his shoulder. Fujishima was still staggering down the street.

According to «Heartseed», the visions would show them the desires of everyone around them, from short-term wishes to long-term aspirations. And Fujishima clearly wasn’t running straight. Was she just tired, or... did she really need to...?

“F-Fujishima!” He trotted after her, closing the distance between them.

She turned back to face him, her complexion ashen. “Wh-What is it?”

“...Do you need to use the restroom, by any chance?”

Taichi took his place at the dining table, where two cups of tea sat steaming. He’d felt a little dizzy earlier after the Dream Vision struck, but he’d recovered fairly quickly.

He thought back over what had happened. In the Vision, the “camera” was located approximately one meter behind Fujishima, positioned slightly above her, almost like he was her guardian angel. Much like a regular dream, a lot of the details (like the inside of the restroom, for example) were completely fuzzy. The events of the Vision also jumped around—at one point she had entered a stall, and then the “scene” cut to a shot of the placard on the door. This, too, was reminiscent of a regular dream.

Then he heard the toilet flush, and after a moment, Fujishima quietly reappeared. “Um... Thank you,” she offered, clasping her hands together and fidgeting slightly, her head bowed.

To Taichi, this was a rare and unexpected display of bashfulness—

“Nothing worse than having to pee when you’re lost wandering through suburbia. I tell you, it felt like my bladder was about to—”

“Why are you going into detail?! I thought you were embarrassed!” As usual, Fujishima was somewhat removed from societal norms. That, and she was quick to change tack. “Anyway, I know you didn’t exactly come over to hang out, but at least have a cup of tea before you go.”

She paused for a moment... then walked over and took a seat. “You’re right. Wouldn’t want to be rude.” She grabbed her sports towel off the table and hung it around her neck once more. “Oh, right... Almost forgot,” she began again after a moment. Her gaze returned to the floor. “If you have any air freshener... I’d really like to... spray it around in there.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the smell will dissipate pretty fast.”

“Okay. Good thing you have a smell fetish.”

“Look, are you embarrassed about it or not?! And no, I don’t have a smell fetish!”

She was impossible to read, to the point that he was starting to suspect that she was doing this on purpose. Is she TRYING to make me think about it?

“By the way, Yaegashi-kun... I’m impressed you figured out that I needed to go.”

“Huh?” This caught Taichi off guard. He swallowed.

“I didn’t want it to be obvious, so I was trying pretty hard not to let it show.”

Then it occurred to him: he had inadvertently disobeyed Inaba’s orders to ignore the Visions. It was all so sudden that he hadn’t really stopped to think it through.

“Well, you were pretty unsteady on your feet...”

“For all you knew, I could’ve just been tired. I wasn’t squeezing my legs together.”

“W-Well... you looked really pale...”

“But you stopped me before you saw my face—”

“I’M HOOOOME!” a cheerful voice suddenly rang out near the front door. It was Rina, Taichi’s younger sister, home from school.

Rescued from the losing argument he was having, Taichi heaved a sigh of relief—then stopped. Wait... Why do I feel like we’re about to have an even WORSE argument...?

“Hey, Taichi? I don’t recognize these exercise sneakers—” As Rina popped into the living room, she froze in her tracks, her backpack still hanging from her shoulders.

With her long, wavy hair, she seemed more grown-up than the average sixth-grader, but at the same time, her big, round eyes afforded her an air of youthful innocence. Either way, it was plain to see that she’d someday grow up to be a beautiful young woman.

“Uhhh... Who’s this...?”

“Is this the younger sister I’ve heard so much about? It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fujishima Maiko. Your brother and I are fri— I mean, riv— I mean... It’s complicated.”

“Damn it, Fujishima, couldn’t you have just said classmates or something?!” Why would she leave it vague?! She has to be doing this on purpose!

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yaegashi Rina... Wait, what do you mean, ‘it’s complicated’?! But my brother already has a girlfriend... Oh my gosh, don’t tell me... Now he’s got a second one?! No, wait... She said it’s complicated... Then that means—friends with benefits?! ”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re picturing, but for the record, she and I are just—”

“Oh, and your brother graciously let me use the facilities here,” Fujishima added, indicating the bathroom. This was a full bathroom, mind you, complete with tub and shower.

“Huh? The bathroom? Wait... Your hair’s wet... and you’ve got a towel... You used our shower?! Then... were you guys doing what I think you were doing?!”

“The hell do you think we were doing?! Because I’ll have you know, it wasn’t each other!”

“Oho, I see what you did there. Well played, Yaegashi-kun.”

“Could you shut up for a minute, Fujishima?!”

“Wow, my brother sure moves fast... I’d always assumed he’d be a late bloomer, but now I’m starting to think I should’ve had ‘the talk’ with him a bit sooner... Didn’t realize he was that aggressive... Oops...”

“Rina, I’m telling you, you’re operating under a massive misunderstanding right now! And why the hell would YOU give ME ‘the talk’?! You’re in sixth grade! Please don’t tell me you’ve already—!”

“Whoa there, big bro! You’re jumping to some pretty crazy conclusions! Trust me, I’m waiting until I’m at least your age before I... take that step, you know? It’s not something I want to rush into.”

“Well now, it seems your little sister actually has principles. Unlike you.”

“Keep your comments to yourself, Fujishima! ”

“Oh, but that doesn’t apply to kissing.”

“Aaaaaaaagggghhhh!!!”

“Wow... I didn’t realize people actually curl into the fetal position in real life.”

“Listen, Taichi... If you’ve done it before, then I want you to tell me about it. I want to know what it’s like from a man’s point of view... you know, for future reference... Gosh, this is so awkward!”

“Awww, look at you blushing! You’re so sweet and precocious, I can’t take it!”

Once again, his sight blurred, and something forced its way into his brain. He clapped a hand over his mouth. Images appeared in his mind unbidden—

[There’s a girl. It’s Fujishima. Opposite her is Rina, looking flushed. Fujishima approaches her and grabs her by the shirt. Rina closes her eyes and waits—]

Intense disgust flared up inside him—and the next moment, it was gone again. Like a daydream. He lowered his hand. Had he imagined that of his own will? No way. Which meant...

“NO! Not cool, Fujishima! Don’t even fantasize about that!”

“Gosh... I think this is the maddest I’ve ever seen him... I can almost see the steam coming out of his ears...”

“Surely fantasies are allowed! I’m not harming anyone! Besides, it’s not like I’d actually ... Wait, what? How did you know?! Are you psychic?!”

“N-No! But I know you, and I know how you operate!”

In the end, it took another thirty minutes before the misunderstanding was resolved—during which Taichi sincerely regretted ever going against Inaba’s wishes.

+++

«Heartseed» was on its way to the staff room, piloting the body of Gotou Ryuuzen. As it passed a student in the hall, the air itself seemed to shift.

“Hey, «Heartseed»,” the girl drawled in a soft, airy voice. Her half-lidded eyes indicated that she wasn’t who she seemed.

“...«The Second»... Not you again...”

“Oh, relax... I’m allowed to watch... aren’t I?” asked the entity who had foisted the Age Regression phenomenon upon the Cultural Research Club.

“...I’d prefer if you didn’t...”

“You’re so strange... You’re the most fascinating of all.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere...”

“So... it looks like your task is complete. But is that what you want?”

“...What do you mean...?”

“You seem sad that it’s ending... correct? But why? Isn’t that strange?”

«Heartseed» froze in place. There was an abnormally long pause.

“......Who knows,” it replied finally. “Regardless... there’s nothing more I can do...”

“Oh really... If you say so. Anyway... I’ll be watching, so... have fun.”

The instant it was done talking, «The Second» vacated its host body, leaving her to collapse on the spot. She snapped to her senses.

“Huh...? What the...?”

Alarmed and confused, the girl hurried away. Once she was gone, «Heartseed» headed on its way to the staff room, while attempting to look as human as possible.