Sunny found himself confused, ignoring the blatantly harsh stare digging into the back of his head.
It was the next day. He had managed to acquire about a dozen hours of peace — a luxury, it seemed. That wasn't to say his agenda was empty. The grind couldn't stop just because he got his ass thoroughly beat by a woman in a mech suit.
So, his plan for the day was pretty simple. Get up, go to the Space Anchor, warp to Kravax, pull up to Constance's underground Echo arena, and beat some ass. After raising his prices, that is. He had left a note before entering the Second Nightmare, letting her know that he'd be unavailable for a while...
...His plan collapsed before it even began. He got to the Space Anchor, and, looking at the complex mental map of past locations the Astral Express has passed through, failed to locate Kravax. Actually, it was... blank, as if it was never there in the first place. The same could be said for the surrounding planets — half the star system had been erased off the map.
And that was why he was confused. Somehow, the Space Anchors placed around Kravax's star system were compromised.
Sunny pondered deeply on it for a few moments, before deciding that he was just going to be confused. The Space Anchors weren't something that anyone can interact with, much less perceive. They were a boon only applicable to those who carry the Trailblaze...
Which was anyone who stepped foot on this train, apparently. There was no way that the Trailblaze aligned with Sunny of all people, at least. It was far too sociable for his tastes.
...Actually, wasn't he oddly social, recently?
Then again, people just came to him. But that had to mean something, right?
He frowned, discarding the unnecessary thoughts. Instead, he had to deal with his current dilemma.
And who better to ask than someone far less popular than him?
"Hey, March, bestie, do you have any idea why a Space Anchor would disap—"
Once he fully turned around, he froze mid-speech.
From across the parlor car, March sat with a sense of solemness much unlike her. Or more like her? It was a bit confusing.
Crossed legs, crossed arms, short pink hair (that grew a bit longer?) framing a face that could only be described as deceptively cute. Eyes of the same color, tinted with the slightest hints of baby blue, were delicately cradled by sockets furnished with lashes that embodied perfection.
Dressed in a blouse painted a blue so light that it was almost white, as well as jean shorts over a set of slightly see-through dark stockings, Sunny wondered if she was going out today. For as long as he had the misfortune of living on this train, he kind of just thought her mundane clothing was just for show...
Same with Dan Heng. And Himeko always wore the same dress, for some reason. And Welt.
Did the latter two have copies or something? It wasn't as if they were wearing garment Memories...
'Wait, don't worry about that. Worry about the... the audacity to look at me like that!'
And audacious March was. This whole time, since the very moment that he had stepped into the parlor car, she had been glaring at him. When Sunny said glare, he meant that she was looking at him like he accidentally killed her best and only friend.
It was kind of a turn-on, actually.
The funny part was that her behavior was actually an improvement. Because, unfortunately for Sunny, she had been completely ignoring his existence for like... two or three months now? It was kind of crazy.
So, he found himself a little surprised that she was actually looking in his direction.
Which was basically an invitation to talk, honestly.
"So—"
March hissed at him.
Sunny slowly blinked.
"Uh—"
She hissed again. Sunny recoiled back, despite being across the compartment.
'Is she trying to be a cat?'
He didn't really mind cats, actually. They usually minded their own business, were lazy, and...
...Sounded weirdly familiar, it seemed. In any case, Sunny liked cats because they didn't really do anything. Kind of like how he liked pretty girls, but only because they were pretty and nothing more.
Cats...
Girls...
'...Bazinga.'
Through a spark of brilliance, Sunny manaaged to invent(?)...
'Catgirls!'
He felt like a genius! Honestly, why hadn't anyone else thought about that? Girls who were as lazy as cats, so they didn't really do anything besides look pretty... with the addition of cat ears! And maybe a tail?
Having been introduced to world of sexy Foxians, Sunny has grown more receptive to the idea of humans with animalistic characteristics. Hot humans, especially.
Like catgirl March...
...And now she was looking at him with an even harsher glare, if that was even possible. Now, it was as if Sunny had killed her after shitting on her (metaphorically), but refused to let her go on into the afterlife to be with her loved ones, and dragged her back into the world of the living to be eternally damned with his presence.
...This was going nowhere. Sunny scoffed, turned, and walked away as he pulled out his phone.
"Well, fuck you too, you fucking fucker. I'm going to fucking use the fucking internet as it's fucking intended you fucking fuck. Go fuck around with your fucking fuckery."
As Sunny exited the parlor car, March stared.
And stared.
And stared a little harder.
Then, she promptly slammed her head on the table, groaning at herself.
***
Of all the days for the members of the Express to actually go out and do something, it just had to be the day when Sunny needed a clear answer to a question. And March just had to be the only person hanging around, just for her to still be pissed at him because she knew he was right.
Fine. He'd just use the internet. That's what it was for, anyways.
He typed into the search bar:
"What happened to Kravax?"
The top result was... from the IPC. An announcement of dismantled trade routes. Naturally, he clicked on it to check what the cause was.
That was how he found out that Kravax, amongst countless other worlds, have been shredded to nothingness. All because of one phenomena...
The Iron Rain.