Notice: Edited on June 1st, 2025
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As I sit in the last class for the day, my mind begins to wander. Class after class, I had been patiently sitting through them all. At one point, I thought about my current situation and wondered - does sitting through these classes help me in any way? Thanks to a combination of both Haruka Kasugano and Yu Otosaka's memories, I have a decent understanding of sciences and Japanese literature. Now, the Japanese language is no longer foreign to me.
So, will these classes be of help? Honestly, I doubt it. Maybe I will learn something new when it comes to science, which I may or may not use in the future should I develop some new abilities. Or perhaps using knowledge gained to my advantage in certain environments. It's an interesting food for thought...
Once the bell rings, Nao comes over to my desk. "Come on, let's get going."
Right... today we are supposed to visit her brother.
We leave the school and head to a train station nearby. There, as we wait for the train to arrive, Nao asks me if I am hungry. I am not, which I tell her so. She then proceeds to buy station-special food with pure excitement apparent on her face. The sight of her jumping place as she holds the food with such enthusiasm brings a smile to face.
"Cute..." I mutter, hopefully in a voice low enough that she doesn't hear.
Eventually, our train arrives - an express one, which Nao eats her food on. It doesn't take us that long to reach the desired station; after which we get off and ride a bus - one that directly heads to wherever her brother is at, according to Nao.
On the way, Nao decides to tell me a bit about her past.
"When we were younger, I passed the exam of a magnet school for a national university. When I went to tell my brother about it, he encouraged me and then told me how he was going to make his debut in music soon.
"But... in the end, I never got to go to the school. Our mother, one day, began speaking of a school that my brother and I should transfer to. My brother couldn't accept it and argued with her. Eventually, it got to the point of our mother getting on her knees with her head pressed against the floor, begging us to go to the school, claiming that it would help our family's financial situation. After that, my brother couldn't say anything else, and so both of us ended going along with her request and transferred to the school.
"That place... It looked like an ordinary school outside, and I got to make new friends easily. Though, if there was one thing that stood out, it was that at the end of the day, I had to take a physical exam - ones that involved unorindary devices.
"Even though my brother and I were in the same school, we never got to meet each other. Whenever I wanted to look for him, my friends would prevent me from doing so. And so, I was unaware that my brother had become a guinea pig for scientists.
"My brother had the special ability to manipulate vibrations in the air at will. He was discovered when he used his power on a live stage to make his guitar make various sounds. Scientists believed that his ability could be used to jam communications, or even jack airwaves; in the end, I managed to meet my brother after one year, but it was too late by then. He was no longer the brother I once knew. He couldn't even recognize me, his little sister, anymore.
"They had kept me there, as siblings of those that developed abilities had a high likelihood of developing one as well. At one point, I had enough of it all and ran away.
"Afterward, I met someone. Someone I could place my trust in..."
Hearing her words, it takes me a moment to process it all. They were sold. By their own mother, no less. This was not what I had in mind. I expected her brother to have been abducted or something, not sold into it.
Various questions swirl in my mind: Why did their mother do it? How could she do it? How could someone sell her children for any price?
I want to give the woman the benefit of the doubt, but then I remember that she claimed their transfer would improve the family's financial situation. So... was it truly just for money?
Disgusting. How utterly disgusting.
I breathe in and out a few times to calm my nerves. Forget it, it's in the past now. What's done is done, and I can't do anything about that even if I wanted to help. What matters right now is who is the guy she met. I open my mouth to ask her, but right at this moment, she says, "We've arrived."
Upon getting off the bus, I examine our surroundings - an interesting place that is far from city. There was a long pathway leading to a huge building. We both begin walking to it.
Once we're inside, Nao walks to the reception and says, "I'm Nao Tomori. I've come to see my brother."
The receptionist takes a moment to check something on her computer then responds, "He's in room twelve, go ahead."
Nao then asks, "Can I take him outside?"
"As long as it's within our grounds, that's fine."
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We get to room twelve. Beyond it, I can sense something is wrong. Just as I consider focusing on my hearing to find out what's going on, Nao knocks on the door lightly twice before directly sliding it open. What meets my sight is a brown-haired guy without a speck of sanity on his face shouting as he shreds his pillow apart. Feathers are flying all over the room and are scattered all over the ground.
"The painkillers have worn off again..." Nao lightly mutters, oddly calm despite the situation as she approaches the bed and presses a button.
"What... is he doing?" I ask as I move closer.
"Composing. He thinks he is playing the guitar. The grunting is the main melody line," she explains.
Shortly after this, a nurse rushes into the room and injects the guy with something. She then removes the quilty and pillow that were damaged and gets new ones.
Once everything is settled, Nao asks her brother, "Would you like to go outside? At this time of the day, the scenery looks the best."
The guy, now no longer screaming, just sits on his bed. He stares into the void, his eyes utterly lifeless.
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The three of us head over to a hillside nearby. The green pasture is beautiful sight.
She sure wasn't kidding when she said the scenery is beautiful.
It's dusk at the moment, so the color of the sky fits perfectly with the boundary between the sea and sky, which are clearly visible from where we stand.
"How did you get your brother to such a place?" I ask her, curious about how she could afford it.
"It was all thanks to the person I could place my trust in," she replies.
"This person..." I say, "can you tell me more about him?"
For a moment, Nao says nothing as she simply stares into the horizon.
"He was someone that had suffered," she eventually began, "and he hoped to end the suffering for others. Even if it came at a great cost."
"A great cost?" I repeat.
"...He lost of much of what he treasured. Despite that, he believed it was worth it."
"I see..." A bit too cryptic, but I get it. She probably doesn't want to tell me the full details for whatever reason.
"Otosaka..." Nao says, surprising me a little, "Thank you for joining me today."
"Don't mention it," I say as I turn to gaze at her face, "I should be thanking you for trusting me with this."
To that, Nao turns her head to look me in the eyes.
Then, she smiles.
I smile back at her.
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Once I'm home, I'm met with an apron-wearing Ayumi standing with a pout on her face. She's clearly displeased. Knowing her, I say apologetically, "Sorry for being late. I didn't expect the student council to take so much of my time."
"Oh! Ayu didn't know you're a part of the student council! It's my first time hearing of this!" she flips moods like a switch.
I give her head a light pat as I move along to get changed. Ayumi goes back to cooking.
As I get changed, I begin to think of today's happenings. Based on what Nao said, there is a high chance that Ayumi could have special abilities of her own. If I were to get captured, chances are, Ayumi will end up just like Nao.
"It's done!" I hear Ayumi exclaim.
After changing, I head to the kitchen and immediately spot a plate of curry rice on the dining table.
I take a seat, grab a spoonful, and chew on it. Too sweet!
"Could it be... that you used the secret ingredient...?"
"Ayu did! It's the secret recipe of the Otosaka household!" she exclaims.
Ah, yes, the secret recipe of diabetes.
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The next morning, I get ready for the day and head to the kitchen. There, Ayumi hands me my lunch box for the day.
On the way to school, I give Ayumi another piggyback ride.
Classes pass by normally, that is until the guy soaked from head makes yet another appearance. All of us head over to the student council room. There, he enters and drops a water droplet on the map. "The ability is - Channeling."
Nao takes it upon herself to explain the ability being one that brings back dead spirits to the living world. How does she know anyways? Is it from experience?
Before we can consider the location, the soaked guy continues to say, "There is another - Pyrokinesis."
I notice both Nao and Joijiro are alarmed. So, we're either dealing with ability users hanging out together, or someone that has two special abilities... My knowledge when it comes to this sort of stuff is lacking, so I can't be sure.
Regardless of that, the three of us set off.
Eventually, we arrive, and end up encountering a bunch of delinquents.
"Hello," Nao greets one confidently, "Is there anyone here with the ability to talk to dead spirits and control fire?"
The thugs flinch and make eye contact with one another.
"Don't worry," Nao goes on to say, "we have abilities of our own." Following which each of the delinquents' eyes widen one at a time. She's making herself invisible to each one at a time.
That seems to be enough, as after some hesitation, the guys opt to lead us to an underground club of some sorts.
As we follow after them, I make sure to raise my guard and keep my senses sharp. Can't be careless here.
Once we're in the club, before any of us can say anything, Joijiro screams at the top of his lungs, "YUSARIN!!!"
You've got to be kidding... Is that the idol girl I saw on TV? I have a headache already. Joijiro starts getting creepy, shouting enthusiastically about how he has bought all her CDs and merchandise.
It doesn't long before Nao has enough as she steps in to introduce herself, pushing Joijiro out of the way, "Hello. My name is Nao Tomori. Nice to meet you."
As the idol girl, Yusarin is about to answer, Joijiro steps back to Nao's side and says, "And I am Joij-"
Before he can finish his sentence, he receives a swift kick to his guts as Nao exclaims, "I wasn't talking to you!"
The idol girl somehow seems to be unfazed by this whole ordeal and casually introduces herself, "Nice to meet you! I am Yusa Nishimori, nicknamed Yusarin!"
Then, Nao wastes no time as she probes into the two abilities we came here for. That's how we uncover the mystery surrounding it. As it turns out, the dead spirit of Yusa's sister can take over Yusa's body using Yusa's power - Channeling. That spirit, whose name is Misa, has the ability of pyrokinesis, which is the manifestation and control of flames.
Unlike her sister, Misa is much more... volatile. She also vividly expresses her distaste for Joijiro the moment she notices him acting like a creep.
After that, we got to find out that Yusa is facing an issue. Said issue being that she had accidentally discovered something scandalous about a producer in the company she worked at. Here she was now, on the run.
Nao decides that it's better to solve this issue for the girl. And to do so, we arrange an act...
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Yusa, more specifically Misa, waits at an open space for Yusarin's producer to arrive as the rest of us hide in the shadows. After a while, we see three black vehicles. The producer gets off, and accompanying him are four bodyguards - black suits and all.
The producer gets ahead of himself like a comic villain immiately, as he begins rambling about how he has her cornered and will get rid of her to leave no loose ends, completely oblivious to two of his bodyguards getting knocked out, dragged, and then replaced by the delinquents we met earlier. They are wearing flame-resistant clothes, for good reason. As to how they got their hands on such a thing, or rather, how they had it in the first place... it had to do with the fact that they were all friends of Misa prior to her death.
In any case, hearing the producer's threats, Misa scoffs at him and raises her arm, using her pyrokinesis to set one of the "bodyguards" ablaze.
"I guess I'll get rid of another one too," she says as she sets another one of the "bodyguards" ablaze.
Misa then raises her other arm and says, "All I have to do to have a normal life once again is to simply get rid of you guys."
She then waves her hand, and one of the two actual bodyguards left grabs his knife and stabs his own thigh... Which is obviously my doing.
Still, this HURTS! My possession ends and I return to my body, but there is still a lingering feeling of the pain of the stab. As it turns out, my pain tolerance hasn't been boosted. At least, not while I am possessing someone else.
Misa once again waves her arm, and then the one bodyguard left is sent flying, thanks to Joijiro. She then walks towards the producer and seemingly punches the air, but the producer feels an actual punch- courtesy of Nao. Misa then kicks the air, and the producer gets actually kicked. Nao looks like she's enjoying this. Is she sadistic by any chance?
As the finale of the act, Misa approaches the producer and stands right above him. She then threatens the man to never repeat his actions if he cherished his life, before simply walked away from him.
With the operation over as a major success, all of us regroup some distance away to celebrate a job well done.
But then I suddenly feel a chill down my spine. I quickly turn my head in a particular direction, just in time to catch sight of a man dressed in black running away. I hesitate for a moment before sprinting in his direction and as soon as I'm about to catch him, my speed lowering to not turn him into paste, his speed increases by a huge margin - becoming almost as fast as Joijiro when he uses his ability. Not discouraged, I think about possessing him, but before I can attempt it, I feel a sudden headache, preventing me from focusing on my ability.
The guy stops using the abnormal speed. Taking this chance, I put all of my strength into my legs and dash towards him. As I get near, he suddenly turns transparent, but it doesn't matter much, because I can still sense his body and movements.
I notice him shift his torso and turn his wrist.
The next thing I know, flames manifest out of thin air, making me instinctively dodge and focus my senses on my surroundings. Once the flames dissipate, I look over at the where the guy is supposed to be and notice him having moved quite far away using the enhanced speed once again.
Not willing to let him get away, I put a great deal of force into my legs and jump on top of the closest building. I jump across one building to another as I keep an eye on him. But then, a motorcycle comes out of nowhere at an insane speed, the rider of which grabs the suspicious guy's arm, pulls him on, and then uses alleyways to speed out of my sight. As it moves, the motorcycle appears to glitch, after which it teleports and speeds up.
The hell...?
Realizing that it's pointless to pursue any further, I stop at the edge of a building and begin pondering about what just happened.